Projections Movie Blog

'Admission’ star a graduate of Dustin Hoffman school of acting March 29, 2013 | Comment on this article

NEW YORK – It might not be instantly apparent as you’re watching young actor Nat Wolff in the college-oriented comedy-drama “Admission,” but there’s a touch of Dustin Hoffman (a la “The Graduate”) in the teen’s studiously idiosyncratic performance. “Admission” features Wolff (of TV’s “The... Read More

Under the Radar DVD of the Week: 'The Atomic Kid'

March 25, 2013 This week, the oddest DVD to appear on release lists is: “The Atomic Kid” The 1950s were a time when kids in U.S. schools did “duck and cover” exercises in case of a nuclear attack, and the whole world was caught in the grip of the the cold war and the fear of atomic warfare. It was in this jittery... Read More

DVD review: ‘The Boy from Oklahoma'

March 25, 2013 He was born in New York City, raised in Beverly Hills and he was 43 years old when he starred in the title role of “The Boy from Oklahoma.” He may have been a bit old for the “boy” part of the title, and his origins were far from red dirt country, but the name Will Rogers Jr. certainly seemed to make him... Read More

Movie review: ‘Admission’ a likable but light look at college pressures

March 22, 2013 On a scale of sheer likability, “Admission” scores fairly high on its SATs (See At Theaters). This earnest but lightweight comedy-drama-romance from director Paul Weitz (“About a Boy”) – scripted by Karen Croner from a novel of the title by Jean Hanff Korelitz – is a busy affair with a high-achieving... Read More

Nat Wolff: Acting his way into M.I.T.?

March 22, 2013 NEW YORK – While he was acting in “Admission,” the new comedy drama about the rigors and fickleness of the college admissions process, 18-year-old Nat Wolff was also resume-deep in his own, real-life efforts to get into his chosen university. Wolff, the son of actress Polly Draper (“thirtysomething”)... Read More

Tina Fey admits wilting during Ivy League interview

March 20, 2013 BY DENNIS KING NEW YORK – As an admittedly geeky high school senior from the suburbs of Philadelphia, Tina Fey applied for admission to the hallowed ivy halls of Princeton University – and didn’t get in. So she says there’s a certain delicious irony to her latest starring role in director Paul Weitz’s... Read More

Under the Radar DVD of the Week: 'No Job for a Lady: The Complete Collection'

March 18, 2013 This week, the oddest DVD to appear on release lists is: “No Job for a Lady: The Complete Collection” In this era when Hilary Clinton made a credible run for the U.S. Presidency and women hold powerful seats in all levels of government, the 1990 British TV series “No Job for a Lady” might seem a quaint... Read More

Magic of Vegas casts crazy spell on cast of ‘The Incredible Burt Wonderstone'

March 15, 2013 BY GENE TRIPLETT LAS VEGAS, Nev. — What happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas, no matter what the players say. Take, for example, “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone,” a comedy about the glitzy world of professional magicians that was filmed on location in Sin City and will magically materialize... Read More

Movie review: 'The Incredible Burt Wonderstone' doesn't quite do the trick

March 15, 2013 Now you see it, now you don’t. The funny stuff, that is. “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” succeeds in conjuring some hilarious hocus-pocus one minute, then fails to pull any hilarity from its hat the next, depending on who is on-screen at any given moment. Read More

DVD review: 'Garrow’s Law – The Complete Collection'

March 14, 2013 More than just a courtroom procedural uniquely set in Georgian London in the late 1700s, “Garrow’s Law” is also a deeply compelling, reality-based legal drama of historical significance that explores startling social injustices in English law during this grim period. Based on the work of real-life barrister... Read More

Under the Radar DVD of the Week: 'Return of the Beverly Hillbillies'

March 11, 2013 This week, the oddest DVD to appear on release lists is: “Return of the Beverly Hillbillies” Ten years after Jed Clampett divided up his oil fortune, sold off his gilded California mansion and moved back to the Ozark boondocks, “The Beverly Hillbillies” staged a partial reunion in 1981 in the... Read More

Blu-ray review: ‘Two-Lane Blacktop’

March 08, 2013 Age has been kind to “Two-Lane Blacktop,” director Monte Hellman’s 1971 existential road-trip movie about two drifters drag-racing their way across America in a grey ’55 Chevy. Once considered mainly a cool, indie cult flick following in the considerable ’70s wake of “Easy Rider” – a work perhaps... Read More

Under the Radar DVD of the Week: 'Beijing Bicycle'

March 04, 2013 This week, the oddest DVD to appear on release lists is: “Beijing Bicycle” There is poignancy and truth and rawness in “Beijing Bicycle” (due out on DVD Tuesday), and much like the Italian classic “The Bicycle Thief” the film is an unvarnished gem that shows us struggles of the poor in a country... Read More

‘Hollywood Sketchbook’ conjures artful world of costume design

March 03, 2013 From Indiana Jones’ rakish fedora and battered leather jacket to Ben-Hur’s form-fitting togas to the Godfather’s sharp, double-breasted suits, Hollywood costumes usually came to life well before needle-and-thread in the early pen-and-ink concept sketches of designers. A wealth of those lavish sketches,... Read More

Under the Radar DVD of the Week: 'Monsieur Gangster'

February 25, 2013 This week, the oddest DVD to appear on release lists is: “Monsieur Gangster” A slapstick mobster spoof that has achieved cult status among certain French cinephiles but will likely be viewed as a dense, untranslatable mess by English speakers, “Monsieur Gangster” is due out on DVD Tuesday. This 1963... Read More

Guessing who gets the gold for some of 2012's best

February 22, 2013 BY GENE TRIPLETT There are moviegoers who still remember Steve McQueen’s shocked and anguished cry at the tragic end of “The Sand Pebbles” — “What the hell happened?” That’s probably the question that shot through the befuddled minds of Ben Affleck, Kathryn Bigelow, Tom Hooper and Quentin... Read More

Oscar guesses: Let’s see how the Las Vegas odds makers do

February 22, 2013 BY DENNIS KING The Oscars are being given out Sunday night, so all across the land the game’s afoot. In office pools, barrooms, classrooms, living rooms and at water coolers everywhere popcorn pundits are analyzing and strategizing and prognosticating over who will take home the little golden statue for... Read More

Oscars ‘In Memoriam’ montage recognizes select few

February 21, 2013 There comes a moment (or three) in every Oscar telecast when the party becomes muted and solemn, when the lights dim and a sentimental song plays over a gauzy and brief montage of Academy members who made their final curtain calls in the past year. The “In Memoriam” sequence, a regular feature of Oscar... Read More

Oklahoma stands in for Russia in 3-D sci-fi film

February 18, 2013 BY GENE TRIPLETT Politicians turning into rats? Maybe not so hard to believe. But Oklahoma City standing in as Moscow? Guthrie acting as the Russian capital? Now that sounds like science fiction. Leave it all to the special effects guys. In today’s high-tech movie world, everything’s possible in... Read More

Tamara Tunie takes her lumps in simulated 'Flight' disaster

February 18, 2013 BY GENE TRIPLETT The opening minutes of “Flight” feature one of the most realistic and terrifying plane crash sequences ever staged on film, and although no one was really killed or seriously injured, Tamara Tunie came away with some very real bruises. “It was the first time that I had shot anything like... Read More

2 3 Next

About the writers

Dennis King

Movie Critic

King spent 31 years as an ink-stained wretch working for newspapers in Seminole, Ada, Oklahoma City and Tulsa. He holds a B.A. degree in English from the University of Central Oklahoma and for 16 years served as an adjunct instructor in journalism and English at Tulsa Community College. For 20 years, he was full-time film critic at the Tulsa World.

In 2006, he left Tulsa and along with his wife, Suzan (a retired English professor), moved to a cabin in Dingmans Ferry, PA. There, along the banks for the Delaware River, he chased after two rambunctious Labrador retrievers, fly fished the waters of the Poconos and did his best to become a full-time trout bum. Still scratching a writer’s itch, he freelanced articles for Explorer magazine and Gray’s Sporting Journal and wrote a stage play about classic movies and old movie theaters, titled “Spirits of the Coronado” (after his long-gone boyhood theater at 39th Street and MacArthur Boulevard).

In December, he and Suzan moved into an apartment in upper Manhattan, where they plan to eat bagels for breakfast and street-cart hot dogs for lunch, haunt the Angelika Theater and the Film Forum, go to plays and museums, ride the subways, complain about the subways and generally live like true New Yorkers.

Gene Triplett

Entertainment Editor

Gene Triplett is another Oklahoma newspaper dinosaur who's been cranking out copy for 34 years, first at the upstart, long defunct Oklahoma Journal, covering just about every news beat imaginable, then at The Oklahoman, where's he's bounced back and forth from features to the news side as assistant city editor, city editor and entertainment editor, managing to hold down the latter position for more than 10 years. He holds a B.A. degree in journalism -- also from the University of Central Oklahoma -- and, also like his colleague King, chases after two loony Labrador retrievers. He does not live by a trout-filled river, but he and his wife Carol do own a swimming pool, much to the delight of their dogs.

The Tripletts enjoy gourmet outdoor cooking year-round (rain, sleet or snow), entertaining friends, road trips to scenic wooded parks that rent rustic lakeside cabins, listening to music, watching classic movies and, in the summertime, swimming with their dogs.