About Jess

Jessica regularly contributes to the FTS blog page and comments. She has a column called "Best Picture Series" where she dissects Best Picture Oscar winners.

gentleman1 Since I’ve been going through the Best Picture winners I have been a little too stuck in the past two decades. The first edition of the series was on All About Eve which took home the 1950 Oscar, but since then I haven’t gone back to another black and white film. To remedy this problem I went back three years before that to watch Gentleman’s Agreement, a film with timeless themes and moving performances.

WizardThe biggest effect seeing the new movie, Oz the Great and Powerful had on me was that I just really wanted to rewatch my childhood favorite The Wizard of Oz. I’ve seen it countless times and am in agreement with the majority of the film watching public that is it a remarkable classic. True story time–I starred as Dorothy in my preschool class’s production of the musical. When I was little I could’ve sworn that I acted out every line and sang every song that Judy Garland had uttered. In actuality, I had probably only performed a bastardized, dumbed down version and sang along with a chorus of my 5 year old classmates, but it felt like a big deal. It connected me to the movie and put it at a level of adoration that hasn’t relented since I was that little girl with red sequins hot glued to her shoes. And with that in mind, I would love to discuss 10 of my favorite moments from one of my favorite movies.

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Stoker (2013) Directed by Chan-wook Park. Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman, Matthew Goode. IMDB says: ”After India’s father dies, her Uncle Charlie, who she never knew existed, comes to live with her and her unstable mother. She comes to suspect this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives and becomes increasingly infatuated with him.”
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stoker Just as expected, January was a super boring month. I only managed to see Zero Dark Thirty (which is a 2012 movie anyway) and Mama which was nothing to get excited about. Maybe February will be better but probably not by much.

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headerHere at FTS we want to give a random top 10 list about..well whatever we want. I was recently lucky enough to not only see the original Die Hard for the first time, but in theaters. Despite all the hype of being one of the best action movies ever made, I walked away thinking it was just that. John McClane really was one badass motherfucker who took part in some amazing action sequences facing one of my new favorite villains played perfectly by Alan Rickman. Not only does it feature awesome set pieces but its script boasts great one liners making this one quotable film.

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header Here at FTS we’re obviously about movies, first and foremost. However, we all have our own TV junkie tendencies. I watch way too much television, but I still have managed to miss out on some of the biggest series that are hugely popular today. When I look at this list I wonder, do I even watch TV? It’s almost unforgivable that I haven’t watched a few of these. I do plan to watch all of them at some point, but for now they are on the to-do list. Just as a rule, these only include currently running drama programs since there are way too many shows that have already ended to include on one list, and comedies could be their own list entirely.

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sideeffects Just as expected, January was a super boring month. I only managed to see Zero Dark Thirty (which is a 2012 movie anyway) and Mama which was nothing to get excited about. Maybe February will be better but probably not by much.

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shakespeare This Oscar season I’ve heard the Shakespeare in Love upset brought up a lot, mostly by Silver Linings Playbook hopefuls. Back in 1998 Saving Private Ryan seemed like the shoe in win–much like Spielberg’s Lincoln appears to be this year. As much as I hate to admit it, I don’t think SLP has much chance against Lincoln (I’m holding out for Argo in this case) but I’d like to see the film that actually broke through the expectations. I’ve heard it’s one of the worst winners while others defend the film’s charm.

ybr1 YellowBrickRoad (2010) Directed by: Jesse Holland, Andy Mitton. Starring: Cassidy Freeman, Anessa Ramsey and Tara Giordano. Verdict: SUCKS.

When this small budget horror film came out a couple years ago it got a lot of buzz among genre nerds. Some thought it was a brilliant, original film that surpassed all the same old trash out there. Others thought it was a stupid, silly film that deserved none of that praise. I’m firmly in the second camp and spent the 98 minute running time just wishing it could be over already.

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Zero Dark Thirty (2012) Directed by Kathryn Bigelow. Starring: Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, and Joel Edgerton. IMDB says: ”A chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L. Team 6 in May, 2011.”

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