August, Osage County: A Study in Discomfort

Julianne Nicholson, Meryl Streep, and Julia Roberts bring the somber in August: Osage County. (Photo credit)

It’s right about now that I can be found frantically trying to catch up on all of the year’s best movies. Usually around the end of January I realize I have seen very little of note and am scrambling to fill in the blanks come Oscar season. With Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts earning Globe, SAG and Oscar nominations for their roles, August: Osage County was high on my awards-season must-see list.

Who Would Play Her in a Movie?

Yesterday would’ve been my grandmother’s 91^st birthday. She died almost two years ago after a long, rich life full of family, travel, community service, music, baking, love, and laughter. As a family we went through some old pictures to compile a scrapbook in celebration of her life and I discovered many photos that I had never seen, especially of her early years. Every so often, I’d find one and think, “Wow – Nannie looks like a movie star!” I was inspired to do a post where I try to cast the role of my Nan in the story of her life, even though she was one-of-a-kind.

Summer Movie Recap: “Where’s the Beef?”

Is it just me, or has this summer been a bit of a dud, movie-wise? Lately, when I go see a movie, I’m way more excited about the previews than I am about the feature – generally not a good sign. As a self-professed cinephile, I’m very familiar with the Oscar-dictated ebbs and flows of seasonal cinematic patterns. I get that the summer is for blockbusters, and that producers/promoters hold off releasing potential Oscar contenders so they’ll be fresh on the minds of Academy voters come the December 31st deadline. But even so, usually there are a number of guilty pleasure movies (at the very least) that are interesting and engaging during the summer. But I think I missed these this year and am left to look ahead to the next few months with eager anticipation to break the long drawn out dry spell I’ve been having at the theatre.