Matt's Musings

After a fast and furious February, the movies are taking a little breather. Last weekend 2018 officially wrapped up with the Academy Awards, and next weekend the 2019 blockbuster season begins with Captain Marvel. So it makes sense for Hollywood to take a beat. But more on that in a minute. Last week I thought How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World was the best anchor, and it was. It even bested its projections. And I thought Happy Death Day 2U could return value, and I placed in on five screens. It did, becoming the Best Performer. So, wouldn’t you know it, I actually scored a Perfect Cineplex. Of course, it was also the Most Popular Cineplex. But, still, an achievement is an achievement. Can it be duplicated? This week there are only two wide releases, and neither is too inspiring. As always, if you think you’re better at the game than me, I encourage you to join me in a Fantasy Life App Blog league! You can join the league here . Let’s see how this week stacks up. ...

Here's a look at the new movies I saw this week. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Starring: Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, F. Murray Abraham, Cate Blanchett, and Gerard Butler Synopsis: It's been quite a year for animated films so far, with "The Lego Movie 2" opening February and dominating and the third and final installment in the "How to Train Your Dragon" franchise opening the final weekend of February. These animated treasures bookended the month, and not coincidentally are my favorite films of 2019 so far. It's early yet, but I'd imagine both will be in the running for awards come this time next year, too. "The Hidden World," the third film in this franchise, brings the story of Hiccup (Baruchel) and his dragon Toothless to a beautiful end. These films have always been about friendship, ultimately, and this one is no exception. It's also about growing up and moving on. For both Hiccup and Toothless that means taki...

Meteorological Spring begins on March 1, which is Friday. So while we're in the grip of winter in most spots still, there is a light on the horizon. In the mean time, the flood of original content continues, giving you plenty to watch while you're inside keeping warm and out of the snow. In these weekly posts I look at the pilot and second episode of new scripted series this winter. Don't see a new show listed below? Check previous weeks. Monday Nights: The Enemy Within, Mondays at 10 p.m. on NBC (Premiered February 25) About : This latest series is a crime drama with a twist. Erica Shepherd (Jennifer Carpenter) was a decorated CIA Agent who turned traitor. She helped a terrorist kill four CIA Agents and continue his reign of terror until she was apprehended by a task force led by FBI Agent Will Keaton (Morris Chestnut). Three years later, that terrorist is still on the loose, and Keaton is forced to turn to Erica for help, despite the fact one of her victims was his f...

"Your people crossed into our land, there will be no conflict. Your people killed our people, there will be no conflict. I'm done talking. Bring me my daughter, or there will be conflict." - Alpha, "The Walking Dead" "The Walking Dead" returned for the second half of its ninth season on Feb. 10. Each week I'll be looking at the episode, the deeper themes, and the world. I've said before that I wouldn't want to have to live in the world of "The Walking Dead." There are a lot of ways in which I might die. But last night, watching the latest episode "Bounty," I couldn't help but smile at Ezekiel's (Khary Payton) side mission to get a projector bulb. The world is brutal and full of threats, but if you want to make life normal, if you want to bring things back, you have to bring back the trappings of normal life. For Ezekiel, that means the power of cinema. I could well imagine myself risking (and probably)...

The 91st Academy Awards are tonight. Below is my prediction in all 24 categories. Tune in tonight, as the awards begin at 8 p.m. EST on ABC, to see how I did. And please feel free to leave your predictions below! Best Picture: * A Star is Born * BlacKkKlansman * Black Panther * Bohemian Rhapsody * Green Book * Roma * The Favourite * Vice About: This is the big award of the night. It will be the last one given out and will likely be the most unpredictable. Unlike other races, the Best Picture award is decided by preferential ballot. That means voters rank the films, one to eight, and the one with the highest cumulative score wins. So a film doesn't have to be No. 1 with most voters to claim the prize, it just has to be universally liked. And as such, the take on this year is split. If I was doing a preferential ballot, I'd rank them: A Star is Born, Black Panther, The Favourite, Roma, Green Book, BlacKkKlansman, Vice, Bohemian Rhapsody. I also don't think it's an ...

Eight films have been nominated for Best Picture this year. I will be taking a look at each of the nominees leading up to the big awards on February 24. Roma Starring:  Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira Directed By: Alfonso Cuaron Total Nominations: 10 Nominated For: Best Picture, Best Director (Cuaron), Best Actress (Aparicio), Best Supporting Actress (de Tavira), Best Original Screenplay, Best Foreign Film, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing About : And we come to the final nominee for Best Picture, the Mexican film "Roma." I saved this one for last because I think there's a decent chance it is the last film standing tomorrow night. At a minimum, I'd assume it wins a few awards, including likely recognition for Cuaron. But let's consider its chances. I think it's nearly a lock to win Best Foreign Film, and I also think Cuaron will win as Best Director. Conversely, I think it's unlikely to win in th...

It's Academy Awards Week, and as part of the run up to the big day I'm looking at the races. Come back on February 24 to see my official picks prior to the awards Sunday night. Best Actor: * Bradley Cooper, "A Star is Born" * Rami Malek, "Bohemian Rhapsody" * Christian Bale, "Vice" * Viggo Mortensen, "Green Book" * Willem Dafoe, "At Eternity's Gate" About: This is a really tough race. There are five good actors here, and it's possibly a four-man race if some of the pundit predictions are correct. Rami Malek has long been the front-runner, and he's won a number of awards. But there's been a strong push of late for industry favorites like Mortensen and Cooper to get some love, and Bale has been a strong dark horse for his great work in "Vice." This feels like one that could go right down to the wire. I personally would love to see Cooper win because he's been so great and often over looked in ...

The Academy Awards are just days away and I'm previewing the races. Stay tuned for my official picks on Awards Day, February 24. Best Director: * Alfonso Cuaron, "Roma" * Spike Lee, "BlacKkKlansman" * Pawel Pawlikowski, "Cold War" * Yorgos Lanthimos, "The Favourite" * Adam McKay, "Vice" About: Continuing a theme, this is a category where a couple of the nominees come from the world of Foreign Films, including the favorite Cuaron. Of course Cuaron is no stranger to the Academy, having given us "Gravity," "Children of Men" and "The Revenant," among others, in the past. And his "Roma" is one of the hottest films of the year. I think he gets the win here. If I were to pick a dark horse, however, it would be Lanthimos for "The Favourite," which is a film with many ardent fans. Best Original Screenplay: * First Reformed * Green Book * Roma * The Favourite * Vice About: This is a...

We’ve reached the last weekend in February, and it’s Oscars Weekend, too. That may have an impact on the lower end of the Box Office competition as folks try to make sure they’ve seen all the nominees before the big show on Sunday night. Last week, it was hard to gauge what would be a success. I bet on Valentine’s Day and Isn’t It Romantic , but it was Alita: Battle Angel that seemed to have more critical fans and made a big splash at the Box Office. Needless to say my Cineplex was well off the mark, but better than those that bet on Happy Death Day 2U . This week we have three more wide releases, joining a flood of films that have opened in the last two weeks and all the Best Picture nominees still out there. That makes a crowded field yet again, so you have to be careful what you bet on to win. As always, if you think you’re better at the game than me, I encourage you to join me in a Fantasy Life App Blog league! You can join the league here . Let’s see how this week stac...

It's Academy Awards Week, and as such I'm looking at the big races and making some predictions. Be sure to tune in for the big show to see how I fare on Sunday, February 24. And be on the look out for my official predictions on Sunday, too. Best Cinematography: * Roma * Cold War * Never Look Away * A Star is Born * The Favourite About: This is one of the big award categories, and this year the race is quite interesting. Three of the five nominees—60 percent—are films in the Foreign Films race. That's quite a showing, and quite a statement. If we were considering a winner that's not among the foreign films, I'd love to see "A Star is Born" win, but I think that's unlikely. The two films I think are probably the front runners here are "Roma" and "Cold War," and if pressed I think "Roma" is likely to win. In fact, I think it could be a big night for "Roma." So that's where I'm leaning at this point...

Here's a look at the new movie I saw this week. Happy Death Day 2U Starring: Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Phi Vu, Suraj Sharma, Sarah Yarkin, Ruby Modine, and Rachel Matthews Synopsis: Sequels are tricky, especially with a high concept kind of film. The first "Happy Death Day," which centered on a woman (Rothe) doomed to re-live her birthday time and again as she is murdered until she could solve the crime, was unexpected. It took the familiar "Groundhog Day" concept and added a layer of horror and humor. And it worked, especially thanks to Rothe in the lead role. Now two years later, we get a sequel. But how to take the same concept and make it feel fresh? Well that's the tricky part. In this case, the focus shifts a bit to the loveable roomate Ryan (Vu), who is working on a time-bending science experiment with his partners (Sharma and Yarkin) that is responsible for creating the loop in the first place. When he tries to fix it, things go awry and ...

It's Oscars' week, and I'll be looking at the big races throughout the week as we get ready for the big awards on Sunday, February 24! Best Animated Feature: * Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse * Incredibles 2 * Ralph Breaks the Internet * Isle of Dogs * Mirai About: This is a tough category, and while Pixar dominated for many years it's become a more open competition this year. Heading into the Golden Globes I expressed a hope that "Spider-Man" would win, while stating a belief that it wouldn't. It did win, and it's continued to win the animated category in awards presentations since. That gives me a good feeling. I think it was not only the best film in this category (I've seen four), but one fo the best films of the year. I expect it to take home the award on Sunday, too. If not it, I think "Incredibles 2" could be the best chance at playing the spoiler. Best Foreign Language Film: * Roma * Cold War * Capernum * Shoplifters * N...

We're in the heart of winter, having just past President's Day Weekend. In fact, this Tuesday morning much of America is still mired in the midst of a deep freeze. Here in CO, it's about nine degrees with four inches of snow on the ground. That means more time gathered around our TVs and heaters to keep warm. And this last week, we got a group of new shows, with more coming in the following weeks. We're in the Peak TV Era, and nothing stays slow for long. In these weekly posts I look at the pilot and second episode of new scripted series. Don't see a new show listed below? Check previous weeks. Tuesday Nights: Boomerang, Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on BET (Premiered February 12) About: This is not a re-make so much as a continuation of existing IP. The existing part is the 1992 movie starring Eddie Murphy and Halle Berry (who is a producer on this new series). The TV show, which is from Ben Cory Jones and Lena Waithe, follows the adult children of the main characters ...

"I'm not gonna lie. Walking around in dead people's skin is pretty messed up." — Henry, "The Walking Dead" "The Walking Dead" returned for the second half of its ninth season on Feb. 10. Each week I'll be looking at the episode, the deeper themes, and the world. Peace never lasts long for those in 'The Walking Dead." When one threat is dispatched, it seems another is just around the corner. And such is the case in this second half of the ninth season. First they lost a friend, and now Alpha (Samantha Morton) and her gang are at their doorsteps. And next week promises to be something of a clash, but more on that when we arrive. Most of last night's episode was about learning the new foe through her daughter, Lydia (Cassady McClincy). She was captured in the mid-season premier and it was left up to Daryl (Norman Reedus) and by extension Henry (Matt Lintz) to try and get information out of her. And, to some extent, to determi...

"I had a friend once who was in the exact same position you're in and he thought I didn't have his back, but I did. I wanted to see him go to the majors more than anyone else. And I knew that if I told him the truth, it would cost us our friendship." — Miles, "God Friended Me" Life is about choices, and often with the advantage of time we spend time wondering about the road not taken. That was the focus of last night's episode of "God Friended Me," which returned from several weeks of hiatus with a new episode. Of course with no episode next week, it's not like we'll get a steady run to sink into. And so this one will leave us with a few questions. We didn't get much forward momentum with Miles (Brandon Michael Hall) and Cara's (Violet Beane) potential relationship, nor did they do much to uncover the origin of the God Account. Which was actually somewhat refreshing. And it set in motion some stories for the other charact...

Eight films have been nominated for Best Picture this year. I will be taking a look at each of the nominees leading up to the big awards on February 24. A Star is Born Starring: Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, and Sam Elliott Directed By: Bradley Cooper Total Nominations: 8 Nominated For: Best Picture, Best Actor (Cooper), Best Actress (Gaga), Best Supporting Actor (Elliott), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Song ("Shallow"), Best Sound Mixing, Best Cinematography About: And now we come to my favorite of the eight nominated films. I loved this movie, and its powerful performances, production and soundtrack. I think it was one of the best films of the year, too, and it's rightly been nominated many times over the course of awards season. Heading into the Golden Globes I thought it was a favorite. AND THEN, it didn't really win much. And that's when I realized that despite how much I like it (or maybe because of it given my track record) it is not likely to...

Eight films have been nominated for Best Picture this year. I will be taking a look at each of the nominees leading up to the big awards on February 24. Green Book Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, and Linda Cardellini Directed By: Peter Farrelly Total Nominations: 5 Nominated For: Best Picture, Best Actor (Mortensen), Best Supporting Actor (Ali), Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing About: We are coming to the final group of nominees for me to preview. This includes not only some of the ones I liked best, but the ones I think have the best shot. Both things are true of "Green Book." It's a good movie, and one of the few in this group of Best Picture nominees that has the most broad appeal. That can help a film win the biggest prize in a field that has as many polarizing choices as this. Remember, the way folks vote for Best Picture now is to rank all eight films from one to eight. It's the film with the highest average that wins. That means a film c...

With the Broncos' preparing for the 2019 season, I'm looking at the outlook of the key positions. On offense, I've broken into three groups. Last week I looked at the offensive line. This week, I'm looking at the quarterbacks. With the skill positions coming next week. 2019 Outlook: Boy did this change after Wednesday, when the Broncos agreed to a trade for Joe Flacco, quarterback from the Baltimore Ravens. The trade can't be completed until the new league year on March 13, but it's expected to be a fourth round pick. Flacco, at a cost of $18.5 million in 2019, joins the quarterback group that currently includes last year's free agent pick up, Case Keenum, and recent signee Garrett Grayson. The Broncos named Flacco the starting quarterback, and if the 34-year-old can hold up physically and play well, he'll likely be in that spot at least all of 2019. Where does that leave Keenum? Well, he's the odd man out. He carries a cap figure of $21 millio...

Last weekend was a rough one, not just for the Box Office but for those trying to make predictions. And with a four-day weekend and a trio of new releases, this could be even harder to predict. But more on that in a moment. Last week it seemed like The Lego Movie 2 was the biggest film and best anchor. It was at the top of the Box Office, but it wasn’t close to a great value as it missed projections. So, too, did What Men Want , but it was a better anchor when paired with The Upside , which returned the best value. It was a mediocre weekend at the Box Office, and when that happens it’s even harder to hit the right lineup. But I think I can do better. This weekend we have Valentine’s Day (which is today, but dates will continue to spill over into the weekend) and President’s Day, giving folks a long holiday. In addition, two of our new releases opened Wednesday, and one opened Thursday, giving them all a jump start on the holiday and making it tougher to handicap. Nevertheles...

Here's a look at the new movie I saw this week. What Men Want Starring: Taraji P. Henson, Aldis Hodge, Max Greenfield, Josh Brener, and Richard Roundtree Synopsis : Back in 2000, Nancy Myers gave the world "What Women Want." It featured Mel Gibson as a clueless guy that gets the power to hear women's thoughts and it makes him a better guy. Now, 19 years later, we get the gender reversed version of this film. It makes sense in this era of re-boots, re-makes and re-imaginings. And it also makes sense this time of year, as folk are looking for romantic comedies to hit up in and around Valentines Day. In this re-imagining, Henson is a sports agent that wants a promotion to be a partner at her firm. She's great at her job and has a roster full of big clients, but none of them come from the traditional power sports. Her boss (Brian Bosworth) suggests it's because she doesn't know how to talk to men. In order to land the promotion, she needs to sign a hot n...

The new year has started pretty quickly with new shows, but we hit a little lull. This week only a couple new streaming series premiered. Still, it was just the calm before the storm as a group of new shows premiers this week. But in the meantime, let's look at what we got last week. In these weekly posts I look at the pilot and second episode of new scripted series this winter. Don't see a new show listed below? Check previous weeks. Streaming Series: PEN15, Now Streaming on Hulu (debuted February 8) About: Hulu's latest comedy, a 10-episode comedy, takes the action to 2000 and sets it in middle school. So what's the catch you might ask? Well stars and co-creators Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle are playing themselves in seventh grade though at this point they're quite a bit older. And therein lies the humor. Or so the show would have you believe. These girls are playing it pretty straight in terms of sinking into their teenage selves, and the rest of the classm...