Articles Posted by John Shannon

John Shannon

John Shannon studied Creative Writing at the University of Maine where he also served as a film critic for the Maine Campus Newspaper. He currently resides in the greater Portland area of Southern Maine where he works by day and watches film by night. He can be reached via email at refocusjohn@gmail.com and followed on Twitter @JohnWShannon

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    Review: “Iron Man 3″ Brings The Franchise To New Heights

      Note: This review contains spoilers for Iron Man 3 and Star Trek Into Darkness. Marvel is making cinematic history. In the wake of 2008′s Iron Man the studio called their shot and planned a series of films that would culminate in the first cinematic superhero team-up The Avengers, and while they stumbled a bit here and [...]

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    BluRay Review: “Lincoln”

    Back in November I reviewed Lincoln during its theatrical run, and my feelings on the film haven’t changed much. There are some incredible moments and wonderful performances, but its still minor Spielberg. It’s interesting to note that Jurassic Park also hit BluRay this week, and between these two films the versatility Spielberg has on display [...]

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    DVD Review: “This Is 40″

    Judd Apatow has finally passed his sell by date. The comedic genius behind Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared, Knocked Up, and The Forty Year Old Virgin hasn’t lost his touch but he’s certainly lost perspective. 2009′s Funny People was a creative misfire that showed his ambition to be more than the dick-and-fart jokes guy, but This [...]

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    DVD Review: “Lay The Favorite”

    With a cast headlined by Bruce Willis and Catherine Zeta Jones and a director that has The Queen and High Fidelity on his resume, one wouldn’t be mistaken to expect a lot more out of Lay The Favorite. There’s plenty of talent on hand here that’s given us some great work in the past, and [...]

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    “Lincoln” Is Coming To DVD And BluRay

    I wasn’t entirely impressed with Lincoln when I first saw it in theaters, but I’m certainly aware that I’m in the minority on that. Most people absolutely adore the film, and I’m interested in giving the film another shot when it comes out on BluRay. That second shot now how a date: according to today’s [...]

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    The 2013 Oscar Live Blog

    Hey there, everybody! Tonight’s the big night, and the stars are currently walking the red carpet and heading into the Dolby Theater. The ceremony starts it about an hour, and I’ll be updating this page during commercial breaks with the results as well as commentary, analysis, and a breakdown of how my predictions fared. I’ll [...]

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    Get Ready For The Oscars This Sunday

    The 85th annual Oscar telecast is this Sunday night, and I’ll be live blogging the program here on MovieVine and posting updates during commercial breaks. If you want minute by minute updates I’ll be live tweeting the show as well. Last year I posted predictions a few days before the awards and tallied my accuracy [...]

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    Review: “Silver Linings Playbook” Is Charming And Disarming

    David O. Russell isn’t a well known director, but his filmography might be one of the most exciting and varied of his generation. When a director has films like Three Kings, The Fighter, and I Heart Huckabees on his resume, you better believe his next film is worth paying attention to. Russell’s latest work is [...]

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    BluRay Review: “The Perks Of Being A Wallflower”

    Coming of age novels and films are a dime a dozen. Every aspiring novelist or film maker has toyed with the idea of making a semi-autobiographical work that involved their teenage experiences. Most of these pieces are terrible, but every once in a while a coming of age story turns all the right tumblers and [...]

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    Marvel Has Cast Their First Guardian Of The Galaxy

    Guardians of the Galaxy is the biggest question mark when it comes to Marvel’s Phase Two slate, but with James Gunn directing I’m very, very excited for the first big screen adventure of Star-Lord and Rocket Raccoon. The casting of Star-Lord, aka Peter Quill, a human astronaut chosen to become an inter-galactic policeman, has been [...]