2015 COFCA Awards Winners

2015 COFCA Awards Nominees

It’s that time again. The Central Ohio Film Critics Association has named its winners for 2015, led by the investigative drama Spotlight. Here is the full list of the 2015 COFCA awards winners: Best Film 1. Spotlight 2. Inside Out 3. Room 4. Mad Max: Fury Road 5. Ex Machina… Continue reading

The Revenant (2015)

The Revenant (2015)

At its most fundamental, The Revenant is as spare and simple a revenge story as they come. A man, betrayed by those he trusted, is left for dead only to survive and seek revenge. It’s with brute savagery and dreamlike beauty that director/co-writer Alejandro González Iñárritu (director of last year’s best… Continue reading

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013)

The Wolf of Wall Street is Martin Scorsese’s best movie since 1995’s Casino, and that’s saying something as Marty’s output is consistently very good. The film, based upon the life of stock broker Jordan Belfort, is a completely out-of-control three-hour spectacle of sex, drugs, greed, and comeuppance. The cuts from… Continue reading

J. Edgar (2011)

J. Edgar (2011)

J. Edgar is a by-the-numbers biopic that’s just never quite as engaging as it should be. Interesting things happen onscreen, but there is an inexplicably empty, sterile feel to the whole affair. This seems surprising considering that J. Edgar Hoover is one of the more polarizing characters in all of… Continue reading

Inception (2010)

Inception (2010)

Inception is a colossal piece of work, not only as a storytelling marvel, but also as a technical achievement. It’s so rare these days that we, the moviegoers, get to experience something wholly original. Much like he did with 2000’s Memento, writer/director Christopher Nolan has taken it upon himself to… Continue reading

Shutter Island (2010)

Shutter Island (2010)

Shutter Island is a solid psychological drama anchored by a great lead performance by Leonardo DiCaprio, masterful and patient direction by Martin Scorsese, and a genuinely creepy atmosphere that permeates every scene. To say this is Hitchcock-esque is an understatement. I wish the whole thing had been shot in black… Continue reading

Body of Lies (2008)

Body of Lies (2008)

It’s pretty apparent that Hollywood wouldn’t mind if the War on Terror lasted one hundred years (hey, it’s the only figure we’ve been given to work with). The post-9/11 thriller factory is still working at full capacity, but Body of Lies emerges as more of a cautionary espionage tale than… Continue reading

Blood Diamond (2006)

Blood Diamond (2006)

Thoughts of 2004’s Hotel Rwanda zipped through my head as I watched Blood Diamond. As you may recall, Hotel Rwanda told the story of Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager who took in thousands of Tutsi refugees to his establishment during their civil war with the Hutu militia. Blood Diamond is… Continue reading

The Departed (2006)

The Departed (2006)

Welcome back, Marty. After trying to score Oscars for Gangs of New York and The Aviator (both solid films, don’t get me wrong), Martin Scorsese is back to the old stomping grounds with The Departed. You know the good stuff: crooks, double-crosses, mafia, brutal violence, corrupt cops, colorful language, the… Continue reading