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#TravelTuesday: A look At Austin’s Westin Hotel

by Rita Cook on February 21, 2017

Music capital of the world — check! Cool vibe, great bar, and trendy restaurant — heck yeah! It’s all on the list and it’s the perfect location right downtown in Austin. The Westin Austin Downtown...

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#TravelTuesday: The Alise Chicago Has History With A Modern Vibe

by Rita Cook on January 31, 2017

When I first arrive in Chicago for my two-night stay at the Alise Chicagol, I am struck with a bit of homesick. After all, I lived in Chicago for 10 years. I lived and worked...

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North Texas Film Critics Name Top Films of 2016

by Rita Cook, President, North Texas Film Critics Association on January 3, 2017

The North Texas Film Critics Association named its award winners and voted the romantic musical La La Land as the best film of 2016, according to the results of its annual critics’ poll. Completing list...

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All Bets are Off in ‘Rules Don’t Apply’

by Rita Cook, President, North Texas Film Critics Association on December 15, 2016

As usual, Warren Beatty throws himself into everything he does with great aplomb and in his latest offering “Rules Don’t Apply” he acts, directs and produces just as he has done in some of his...

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‘The Love Witch’ Casts an Enchanting Spell

by Rita Cook, President, North Texas Film Critics Association on November 17, 2016

It’s a fun campy drama/horror film shot in 35mm and wrapped up in a piece of cinematic entertainment that can best be described as a visual tribute to the Technicolor thrillers of the 1960s. “The...

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‘American Pastoral’ Falls Short

by Rita Cook, President, North Texas Film Critics Association on November 10, 2016

It was adapted from the Pulitzer winning book of the same name, which was written by Phillip Roth, but the “American Pastoral” film version is lacking in substance and gratitude and it does not follow...

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Find out why “A Man Called Ove” is a Foreign Film for Everyone

by Rita Cook, President, North Texas Film Critics Association on October 27, 2016

Very seldom do I walk the path of high recommendation for a foreign language film since I am often reminded subtitles are not for everyone. “A Man Called Ove” however, is for everyone who is feeling...

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“Denial” Makes the Facts Hard to Ignore

by Rita Cook, President, North Texas Film Critics Association on October 11, 2016

Based on the book History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier the film “Denial” is Oscar primed. Perhaps that is part of the reason the film has been released at just...