Cutting Room for February 22

by Ryan Syrek

• The Omaha Film Festival (omahafilmfestival.org) may not start until March 7, but the party starts much sooner! The annual “OFF’scar Party,” which is held on Feb 26 at the Mastercraft Building (1111 N 13^th St, suite 130), features a cash bar, food from The Brazen Head and hopefully lots of drunken conversations with people trying to pronounced Michel Hazanavicius’ name. A mere $15 gets you in...

Bawler, Shotcaller

by Ryan Syrek

Maligned though they may be, the Oscars remain the most recognized celebrity back-patting contest and the best way to playfully gamble until March goes mad. As is our annual tradition, I will lay before you my picks for who will win and, more importantly, who should win, even though my track record is less Carnac the Magnificent and more Miss Cleo.

Best Actress

Will win: Viola Davis (The...

Cutting Room for February 15

by Ryan Syrek

• March is home to more than leprechauns and toilets full of what once was green beer, as it’s also home to Disabilities Awareness Month. In collaboration with The Meyer Foundation for Disabilities, Film Streams at the Ruth Sokolof Theater is presenting four free screenings and panel discussions on Mondays in March. The forthcoming foursome of films will cover such subjects as autism, Down...

Movieha - Omaha’s Movie Podcast!

by Ryan Syrek

Hello again, true believers! We're ready to regale your ears with fine audio entertainment! This week, we tackle the Oscar-nominated shorts, cut through new trailers like a Machete, drop a brick with Netflix Roulette, and end with some pretty, pretty poetry. So get to listening!

On Your Radar: Osombie

Try not to watch a trailer in which Osama Bin Laden is resurrected as a zombie, I dare...

See Eye, Eh

by Ryan Syrek

Safe House

Director Daniel Espinosa’s Safe House is a shaky-camera action orgy that has as much use for its female characters as it does for a tripod. It’s the sort of generic, bro-tastic movie that Denzel Washington has been sleepwalking through since way before Liam Neeson weaseled in on that game. As much as it resembles those horrifyingly sexist Dr. Pepper 10 commercials with its “no ladies allowed”...

Cutting Room for February 8

by Ryan Syrek

• If you’re a child of the 1990s, the phrase “Snootchie bootchies” doesn’t necessarily sound like the demented ramblings of a man with a massive head wound. The signature catch phrase of Jay from the beloved/loathed duo of Jay and Silent Bob will be uttered once more, as their creator, Kevin Smith, intends on resurrecting them for Jay and Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie. Of course, the...

In Short Order

by Ryan Syrek

2012 Oscar-Nominated Shorts

Animated and live-action short films typically get about as much attention as soft-spoken and fact-based political discourse, until it’s time to fill out an Oscar ballot. Lucky for us, Film Streams at the Ruth Sokolof Theater (filmstreams.org) is continuing their glorious annual tradition by screening the tiny nuggets of awesome that were nominated this year. The magnificent art house also...

Cutting Room for February 1

by Ryan Syrek

• Film Streams (filmstreams.org) wants us to all just get along. To help reinforce the need to quash our beefs, the theater is buddying up with the Werner Institute for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution to bring Irish filmmaker Declan Keeney to town. On March 1 at 7 pm, Keeney’s documentaries We Are Not Afraid and We Carried Your Secrets will be screened, with a post-show Q&A with Keeney. The...