Articles written by John Hoty

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About me - John Hoty

A writer writes, right? That's me - writing just about anything on the unrelenting world of pop culture as we think we know it. I concentrate mostly on screenplays, ad writing, and freelancing. If I could write professionally on a daily basis... a dream come

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Entertainment > Characters & Performances Performances that should have gotten nominated for the Oscar: 1 of 14
Year after year, more of the best performances by actors are forgotten come nomination day thanks to Academy politics and sentimental voting. We're all used to it by now but we certainly don't have to respect it. Countless performances by both venerable and lesser known actors have charmed and shocked their way into our memo... More..
Entertainment > Celebrity Commentary Assessing Tom Cruise's acting: 1 of 11
With an unprecedented career rolling strong into it's third decade, Tom Cruise has conquered the box office and quelled critics' and audiences' misconceptions that this young man with the electric smile is nothing more than just a pretty face. With every famous role he's played Cruise has delivered a 100%. From his blink-and... More..
Entertainment > Characters & Performances Best actors of all time: 7 of 58
Jack Nicholson - a cinematic icon renown for his anti-establishment roles and record 12 Oscar nominations, with 3 claimed statuettes. A full-throttle talent with as much or more versatility as any of his contemporaries, Nicholson can play the good (The Pledge, About Schmidt) , the bad (The Shining, A Few Good Men), and the v... More..
Entertainment > Movie Genres Revisiting classic comedy films: 1 of 5
We're all partial to comedy films and we all stand by our favorites like they're a higher religion. We've argued the topic for years and years. We've all quoted the lines more times than the original actors in rehearsals and re-takes. We've declared our Top 10 Comedies in so many ways throughout our lives that the process it... More..
Food & Drink > Wine The best cheap red wines: 1 of 5
Finding the best "cheap" red wine to pair with your meal or event is as easy as plucking a grape from the vine, so long as you follow a few simple rules. For starters, "cheap" doesn't always mean what it appears and when shopping for red wine it's best to refer to what your seeking as "inexpensive" or "modest." You walk into... More..
Entertainment > Movie Awards & Nominations Movies that should have received the Academy Award for best picture: 2 of 9
This is clearly a list that has been written and re-written countless times since the Academy Awards were first handed out in 1928, but let's just focus on the inexplicable, shall we? From no-brainers to flat-out upsets, the following films needed to be awarded the statuette for Best Picture, regardless of Academy politics a... More..
Entertainment > Movie Reviews Movie reviews: Eastern Promises: 4 of 17
I must say, considering all the hype that has surrounded David Cronenberg's last three films, I have not been impressed. However, "Eastern Promises" displayed a more patient, mature Cronenberg approach that I felt was completely absent from 2006's "A History of Violence." This time around the director again employs his new f... More..
Entertainment > Characters & Performances Who is the better actor, Robert De Niro or Al Pacino?: 6 of 24
Both Pacino and DeNiro are so comparable from their early work in the 1970's when they each made their marks portraying intense, brooding and unpredictable characters that have long taken their place in the spectrum of indelible movie characters and studied performances. These 2 fine actors have been nominated for a combined... More..
Entertainment > Characters & Performances Greatest movie performances of all time: 1 of 4
For every Oscar-winning performance that makes history, there is another (if not more) deserving characterization that goes unrewarded and all too often buried in the wake of award season plaudits. So many of the cinema's greatest performances have gone un-nominated by Mr. Oscar; or nominated yet inexcusably unrewarded; or o... More..
Entertainment > Movie Reviews Movie reviews: There Will Be Blood: 9 of 28
Almost a week after first seeing Paul Thomas Anderson's epic THERE WILL BE BLOOD, I find myself still reeling in its wake. To deem this film "great" would be a serious understatement that I could not live with, nor would it justify my respect for it. Here is a movie - a FILM really - that wastes none of its 158-minute runnin... More..