Category: film

Here I will have discussions on film, filmmaking, and prominent figures in the filmmaking world. There’s also film reviews and movie pitches as well! Enjoy!

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Movie Pitch: Tree Loop

Posted on by spacecortez

Genre: Quirky Comedy/Drama/part Sci-Fi

Director: Wes Anderson or Taika Waititi

Writer: Simon Pegg or Joss Whedon

Actors: Elijah Wood, Charlie Day, Zach Galifianakis etc

 

Charlie Day & Elijah Wood both work as Park Rangers in a giant Yellowstone-like National Park. Charlie Day is the opposite of everything Elijah Wood’s character stands for. The chaos to his order. Zach Galifianakis as the head of the Forest Rangers. Charlie Day is the veteran and Elijah Wood is the rookie being trained. Starts as a sort of “Day in the life of” scenario following Elijah on his first day of training at the Park. Charlie is a bit deshoveled and irritable,  he isn’t as devoted to the idea of the park as Elijah is.

They are sent to investigate an anomaly with a gigantic redwood tree in the forest. Elijah believes that Charlie doesn’t know what he’s doing and thus has no respect for him, which leads to him digging further into the anamoly with the tree. The tree’s identification is unknown to the public as it is the oldest known tree in the world. Elijah falls into a hole deep in the roots… the tree is one of the few spots on the planet that are in direct contact with the flow of the universe. This is a thread of connection between dimensions.

The rest of the story follows  Elijah’s character as he tries to find a way back to his dimension, but he never finds it. He can only enter the tree and fall into other different dimensions, there seems to be no rewind, or discernible path, between them. From here we can have fun with repeating the actors as slightly different versions of their characters in each dimension, sometimes they don’t even recognize or know Elijah’s character. He also has a doppelganger in each new dimension, but he doesn’t think of this right away. He eventually stumbles upon a dimension in which he happens to be an artist and finds peace in this new life. The message of the movie is that life is what you make of it, you may not have been born into royalty or fame and fortune, but sometimes you have to make the best of your situation. Elijah ends up impersonating himself and taking over this life and making the best of it.

I would peg the humor of the film as not exactly slapstick or modern humor, but rather just a weird ambiance with an embrace of the unknown and whimsy. Trippy and existential with lots of practical effects, I feel like a lot could be done with the premise and that a lot could be said with the ideas at hand. Personally I’m at a point where I’d like more unexpected turns being taken in films. Unpredictability is something I adore when I encounter it in films and keeping a fresh take on big ideas could be worthwhile!

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Review: Independence Day Resurgence or “We’re gonna need a bigger planet”

Posted on by spacecortez

The sequel to 1996’s biggest blockbuster has arrived. The question at hand is, ‘yeah, but is it any good?’ That answer takes a bit of unraveling. The first “Independence Day” is a fun and cheesy sci-fi romp that doesn’t necessarily age well, but it knew what it was, namely brash and bold in its own certainty of itself. This film doesn’t quite hold to that charming confidence, but it does have some aspects that really do shine through.

This film starts off slow. Slow compared to the first film that is. I didn’t have that immediate sensation of dread like the first film with the alien spaceships invading right off the bat. Be that as it may it kind of makes sense now that this film’s universe has been dramatically altered from our own with the advancements that the alien technology has brought. Which while this is actually a pretty fun idea, it does separate the audience from the immersion that the first one had just by the very nature of the fact that aliens were invading our planet, this version of earth is very similar to ours, its just not quite ours. However once the invasion begins the film doesn’t really drop its pace which is both welcome and necessary in this sort of movie.

Lets get the easy stuff out of the way now. Jeff Goldblum is great here and is one of the best parts of the film, in fact he and the other returning characters from the first film help to instill that 90’s sense of fun that you’ve been looking for. Throughout the runtime Jeff Goldblum is having a great time and getting even weirder with his character, he’s a joy to watch onscreen again. However, the rest of the cast has some issues. Jesse Usher in particular was simply a poor shoe-in to replace the void left by Will Smith’s captain Steven Hiller. We all knew we’d feel the loss of his presence in the sequel, but when the character that is supposedly his son happens to not only be uncharismatic but also noticeably bad at acting, we notice that lack of charisma that much more. His lines aren’t exactly Oscar worthy to begin with but he doesn’t do much with what he’s given. Liam Hemsworth is serviceable here and does a fine job with his material but never really becomes a fan favorite, he’s just there to fly ships and shoot aliens, and he does a pretty good job at it. Judd Hirsch on the other hand.. he probably should have just been a cameo at best, his arc was the least essential by far and just distracted from the rest of the film. I have to take the time to mention Deobia Oparei’s character here, he’s an African warlord that hunted down aliens after a ship landed in central Africa during the first film. He’s got a little bit of that 90’s inspired characterization of what an African warlord would look like and act like, it wasn’t too overdone, but almost. Anyways, his inclusion was honestly pretty cool, his backstory of hunting down aliens and killing them with dual machetes would be one intense story, fan fiction anyone?

Then there’s Bill Pullman and Brent Spiner. Bill Pullman has an interesting arc here, but it never quite reaches the heights that you want it to. There is no fist pumping moment of rousing integrity and grit here.When the first film had that unbeatable speech it would assuredly be hard to top, but how they handled a certain moment in this film speaks to the unique issue that this film has. Bill Pullman’s former president Whitmore has a scene in a hangar where he begins to give a speech meant to inspire, and at first it does, but all of a sudden, it just ends. Wait.. why? His best line is also undercut by the sense that the film doesn’t know what to do with itself. Pullman’s Whitmore meets a giant alien face to face and proclaims “On behalf of the people of Earth, happy Fourth of July!” That line should have been exciting and quotable until the end of time, but the way the film handled it leaves the audience with a whimper when it should have easily been a bang!

This is a film where some actors and ideas are meshed within the world that the first film inhabited while the rest of the film and actors are in this new world where blockbusters are now grim and dour. Long gone are the quips of the past or that sense of fun. In fact Brent Spiner’s character, Dr. Brakish Okun, is the one that embodies the spirit of the first film the most! He was just a side character we all thought died in the first film, but he really nails the inherent cheese and knowing charm that is missed in the rest of this film. This is captured perfectly after he wakes from his twenty year coma and finds out we have integrated the alien technology and giddily exclaims, “We have alien guns now?!” with wide eyes and accompanying grin. The film would have benefited greatly by including more of that.

 

The things I enjoyed most in this film where some of the world building that came with the advancement of time and technology. The giant mothership clasping to Earth’s side like an enormous tic was just the right amount of ridiculous “The Ship is landing in the Atlantic ocean!” “Which part?” “All of it!” That, that’s just great, exactly the right amount of cheese for me personally. They also give a reason as to why the aliens are invading and the scale of their galactic threat. I personally quite enjoyed that there were reasons behind the alien’s actions now, I don’t believe the first film touched on that and I approve. There’s also a lot more alien action in this one, you see them up close and they have more of a physical threat in this installment. My absolute favorite moment of the entire film however was a quick nod to the White House moment from the first film. Of course they rebuilt the capitol building, and as soon as I saw it I expected something. Just know that it pays off in a short comedic beat. More charm like that and the film could have been much greater.

 

The film ends with a pretty direct tie in to another sequel and at this point I would see it. This installment didn’t do enough to tarnish the franchise for me and it got enough right that I found myself enjoying more than not. They just need to connect with the spirit of the original more than copycatting the more current blockbuster tropes.

Final Score: 3/5

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Review: The Shallows, or “Jaws Junior”

Posted on by spacecortez

*Warning, there will be mild spoilers near the end*

Ah Summer, with its arrival come longer sunny days, time spent vacationing with family and friends, maybe a road trip… and of course, sharks. Aptly released right before Discovery Channel’s famed Shark Week “The Shallows” is a taut and fun popcorn thriller that is very self aware of its own content and audience. The film opens with Blake Lively as Nancy seeking out an off-the-beaten-path beach in Mexico that her mother had visted years ago when she was pregnant with Nancy. Once found she thanks her native chauffeur and is off to surf the secluded waves. After meeting two locals that know the area for its reliably good waves Nancy surfs in the sun and enjoys herself. This is where the film feels more like a music video than thriller for a short but noticeable amount of time. As she goes out for one last ride for the day Nancy is finally encountered with the large predator lurking in her midst.

From the moment the shark is introduced until the resolution there is a palpable amount of tension throughout this one location, one character, film. We are told only what we need to know about Nancy before the encounter as she is ripped from her board and dragged into a cloud of red saltwater. She’s reliable, a former med student that didn’t finish her degree, and that she’s mourning the loss of her mother and has estranged feelings towards her father over that course of events.  After Nancy breaks the surface and is aware of the danger she is in, she furiously paddles and thrashs towards the closest thing to get her out of the water, a floating whale carcass. This begins the shark’s behavior of relentless pursuit as it lies in wait and strikes at it’s most opportune times. From there Nancy ends up clamboring to a jutting rock that only lies above the water during low tide.

Now, whenever a shark movie comes out, the immediate reaction is to compare whatever it is with the king of all shark movies, “Jaws”. This movie is certainly no “Jaws”, but it is probably the best shark thriller to come out since Spielberg’s classic. The shark itself in “The Shallows” is a fine cinematic adaption of the real thing, it’s overly aggressive, threatening beyond doubt, and well, he’s no small fry. The shark is entirely CGI but it’s done so well that you can hardly tell that it’s not actually about to rip Blake Lively in half.

The movie does a wonderful job of setting the audience up to believe, or hope, that she will be saved by the handful of people she encounters during her traumatic event. Instead of giving up at every loss of faith in humanity when she is let down by them she figures out another solution to her problems. Ironically she is failed by men at every turn until she ultimately tricks the shark into its own demise, I won’t reveal how, because that would ruin the surprise. In the end it is a child that finds the washed up go-pro camera that Nancy had recorded her goodbyes into, while also capturing footage of the shark, that sends the child running off to retrieve help.

Ultimately if you are urging for a thriller in the surf and sand, “The Shallows” is fairly servicable to those efforts. The tension is kept high once it gets rolling, and its a fun way to spend an hour and a half. If you enjoy monster flicks, this one will probably satisfy.

 

Final Score: 4/5

 

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Long Time Coming

Posted on by spacecortez

Hey there. It’s been awhile. No no, it’s not you, it’s me. Lately I’ve been wrapped up in screaming into pillows and tweets to express my feelings on the political process. I know what you’re thinking, “this isn’t about movies, what are you doing? I didn’t come here to hear about Bernie, Hillary, or Trump!” and you won’t, fear not intrepid blog readers with  hearts of celloid, for that topic is too sweeping and utterly failing to discuss here. This is a place beyond the edge of reality where we analyze adventure and discuss imagination. Lately life has kept me out of the movie theater, as it does from time to time, and I figure its about time to dive back in. This summer doesn’t have as many big offerings as years past, but this weekend alone has several options that have caught my attention.

The Nice Guys

I have no earthly idea how this film has still passed by me. Roundly considered to be a great time at the theater due to the performaces of Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe, “The Nice Guys” is a private eye buddy cop movie set in the dirty and dark Los Angeles of the 1970’s.  With Gosling playing the alcoholic private eye with a heart of gold and Crowe selling the muscle, what’s not to love? The film indulges in its strengths with a slick script and brutal clarity with a dash of slapstick tossed in, this one looks to be a gem.

Warcraft

Now officially the highest grossing video-game film adaption yet this one is a curiosity pick for me. I’m not familiar with the games, at least I’ve never played them, although I know plenty that did back in the days of dorm rooms and ramen noodles. I am, however, a fan of fantasy and this movie looks to supplement my lack of swords and monsters inbetween episodes of Game of Thrones. It’s also very pretty, and I can turn my mind off for like-minded films within this genre, so I’ll probably check it out.

The Shallows

Even though only one out of every four “Jaws” films is great, I still love the idea of a harrowing Shark Attack flick. Admittedly the first trailer for this film had me doubtful of the concept, Blake Lively on a rock with a shark circling nearby. The second trailer however showed us that Blake Lively had character reasons to be on this island, and that she’s a resourceful character striving against nature. That’s the primal reason the first Jaws is so great, characters that are human and believable. Hopefully that aspect comes across in her battle with the beast.

Independence Day 2: Resurgence

Everybody and their mother loved the first “Independence Day” and while the film doesn’t necessarily age well, I rewatched it last summer, I can respect its love for small scale model destruction. This time the aliens return, and we have their fallen comrades technology to fight back.. again. This one is a bit of a shrug, but admittedly I have a weakness for big summer blockbusters. There’s nothing better than sitting in a cold theater on a hot summer day watching landmarks explode with splendor, it’s our very own fireworks show, so hell, lets just kick back and enjoy it. Plus, Jeff Goldblum!

Swiss Army Man

After two “mindless fun” entries lets bookend this with another film looking to do something great. “Swiss Army Man” feels surreal in its very nature. Even the combination of Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe feels odd, yet with an uncanny perfection about it. Truly unique in story and scope I hope the film does well against the other entries arriving or staying this weekend, we need more original ideas like this. How else will we get films that feature a man using another dead man to escape an island in the ocean, while probably losing his mind? Seriously, check out the trailer if you haven’t heard of this one.

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Marvel’s Civil War: Should we be worried?

Posted on by spacecortez

 Spoilers for Batman V Superman follow

In the wake of Warner Brothers’ box office hit ‘Batman V Superman’ the next big comic book movie showdown is between Marvel Studios’ most bankable sons, Steve Rogers AKA Captain America and Tony Stark’s Iron Man. However with all of the hype and excitement preceding DC’s showdown between gods with capes and the subsequent critical downpour from movie reviewers across the board the question worth asking is, will Marvel befall the same blunders and windfall of dollars that Warner’s prized combatants did? And more importantly, if the fans embrace it does it matter what the general audience, or critics, think?

You can bet Marvel Studios is watching the release of their competition like a hawk. Why wouldn’t they? This is, after all, two of the biggest brand name superheroes of all time engaging in fisticuffs on the silver screen and it just so happens to come right before Marvel is releasing their own Superhero slamfest in May. Below I will list and explain the five reasons why I believe that Marvel Studios will come out of their superhero brawl with less bruises than than DC did. To be fair, I do prefer Marvel’s storytelling style (comics, cartoons, and films) over DC’s, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy DC’s characters. I’m a fan of all the Justice League members and have been known to dig into the Justice League Dark comics and I enjoy a good Constantine comic every now and then as well. I just love good storytelling, but preference is preference and my bias does lean towards Marvel. Nothing has to be black and white though, there can be shades of passion and indifference alike. Here are my reasons I believe Marvel’s Civil War will fair better than Batman V Superman.

1 An established universe

Marvel’s established world has an emotional core that’s been building for twelve movies now. The film ‘Civil War’ will have an easier time threading an emotional story arc for both Iron Man and Captain America than the comic did because this version of the Marvel Universe stands on these two characters shoulders. We were initially introduced to this world through the eyes of Tony Stark, we’ve been with him as he’s grown and advanced as a character and as a hero. While the other perspective of this film comes from Steve Rogers, a character that I believe has the strongest films to date within the MCU.  It’s a battle of idealogies as Rogers represents the classical ideals that comes with American values, while Stark on the other hand reps Modern American ideals, realizing that the way we’ve been doing things isn’t always the right thing. These are two very different personalities that have evolved over time and we’ve witnessed them chart this course from the very beginning. This fact alone allows the filmmakers to connect their characters to the audience with ease.

2 With friends like these..

None of the MCU’s movies have been as divisive as either ‘Man of Steel’ or ‘Batman V Superman’. Sure, there have been a few Marvel misfires (I’m looking at you Iron Man 2 & Thor) that haven’t quite hit the mark, but they were still valuable entertainment and received nowhere near the vitriol from critics and fans alike. Furthermore Marvel has taken virtually unknown comic properties like ‘Guardians of The Galaxy’, or unexpected characters like ‘Ant-Man’, and made them work far better than anyone thought possible. Marvel has done the opposite of the DC film universe so far, forging science fiction morality tales that often have a great deal of focus on the characters in play. DC has incredible characters of Godly ability but instead focus on the weight of that power and all the brooding that, apparently, comes with that.

3 One story, not several

Civil War is being adapted from one comic book arc, not several storylines like ‘Batman V Superman’. The man of steel’s second outing tried to cram many aspects of Frank Miller’s ‘The Dark Knight Returns’ and ‘The Death of Superman’ into this adaption while earning neither’s acomplishments in storytelling because of the narrative context of comics compared to how this film universe has been set up. By that I mean that the comics had the advantage contextually by the very nature of the medium that allows for months of storylines to come together piece by piece, however when taking the two incredibly different timelines that ‘The Dark Knight Returns’ and ‘The Death of Superman’ inhabit and try to mesh them together it simply doesn’t hold up thematically. The representation of Superman in both storylines are widely different from each other for one, and ‘The Death of Superman’ was built on decades of lore and had to do more to traverse its goal of actually killing Superman (Which we all now know he was put into a “healing coma”). Marvel’s Civil War, while having to adapt the story to fit their continuity obsessed film universe together, does have an easier time as it’s attempting to adapt one, albiet massive, storyline.

4 Truer to the source material

Marvel Studios is creating a more faithful rendition of their characters than DC. Yes they are putting a more modern spin on their characters and the world they inhabit, but they are doing so in a consistently faithful series of decisions. DC is also attempting to insert their heroes into the world of today, but Marvel seems to be paying attention to the core personalities of their heroes that transcend whatever adaption they may be currently going through. This doesn’t mean that each film has to have every other scene ripped from the pages of ‘Astonishing Tales’ or anything like that, but it is nice to notice the spirit of the characters inhabiting the performances onscreen.

5 High stakes fun

Marvel has a proven track record of setting the stakes of any narrative to a high, or dramatic, degree for an appropriate payout in the end while maintaining a ‘fun’ atmosphere about the project. ‘The Avengers’, ‘Winter Soldier’, and ‘Guardians of The Galaxy’ all excel at this notion while other films don’t always nail this beat, even ‘Ant-Man’ performed well by making Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang a relatable character. At the end of the day, Scott’s just a divorced dad trying to maintain a relationship with his daughter by any means necessary. Civil War in itself will only reiterate this idea by incorporating side characters like Spider-man and Ant-Man into the picture for an unattached perspective allowing for the quips that Stark himself may be too preoccupied for this go around. It seems to me that Marvel knows how to pull those emotive strings in all of us, while not falling into any one tone or mood too heavily.

‘Captain America three: Civil War’ will undoubtedly make big money at the box office just as ‘Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice’ did. It stands to prove that the critics voice in all of this means nothing to longtime fans that will watch and rewatch this film. For some simply see the trinity together onscreen is enough, or Darkseid’s emblem emblazoned in Batman’s sweaty paranoia nightmare sequence, the point being that while the film has its flaws it also has a core audience that adores it. Just as with any review or discussion on film in the end it all really comes down to subjectivity. We all like different things, we all enjoy different films, bands or musicians, sports teams,  or political candidates. This is fine, this is good. We need diversity in our entertainment, so it’s great to see both Marvel and DC creating entirely different approaches to the superhero genre, if everything were the same, we’d all forgo it after a few years anyways.

I do, however, believe that Marvel has it in them to deliver a more positively received film than ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ based on the creative crews behind both sets of films and from the world building groundwork that has been done by both studios. Marvel’s done more legwork to get where they are today than DC in terms of their current shared universes, and they have a consistent world they have built and people have a good general idea of what to expect. As Guardians of The Galaxy, and hopefully Doctor Strange in November, proved they can take smaller properties and keep their formula from becoming stagnant in a world of many, many, superhero films coming out over the next few years. So, no, I don’t believe its time to sell all our Marvel Studios stock just yet. In the link below I’ve included a fun supercut of Marvel Studios films leading up to ‘Captain America Three: Civil War’ Enjoy!

Road to Civil War: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cR6Xa6fEAg

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Review: Batman V Superman, Dawn of Justice OR “WTF Zack Snyder?”

Posted on by spacecortez

Warning: Massive Spoilers Throughout!

First, let me say that I am a gigantic superhero film fan and I wanted to love this movie. I am a fan of both Marvel and DC characters, especially Batman and Superman. I also quite enjoyed ‘Man of Steel’ and approve of both Henry Cavill as Superman and Ben Affleck as Batman. In fact, the performances within this film are actually the least egregious aspects of it. Rather it is the handling of said characters actions and motivations throughout the muddled story that plague it most in my opinion. I believe Zack Snyder, or maybe the studio heads (its legitimately hard to tell), honestly missed the point of the characters. In fact, the whole idea of Batman Versus Superman is silly in general as you have to work pretty hard to get two, supposedly, intelligent characters that are, again supposedly, morally good to duke it out. A far better movie would have been an adaption of ‘World’s Finest’ where the two meet, are appropriately cautious of each other, then realize they need each other to surmount odds they could not traverse on their own merits.

Overview:

‘Batman Versus Superman’ takes place eighteen months after the events of ‘Man of Steel’. the initial beginning to the films takes us back to the finale of that movie first with Superman battling it out with General Zod in Metropolis. We are introduced to this scene from a different angle this time however, from the literal street perspective of Bruce Wayne as he rushes through downtown Metropolis in a valiant effort to save friends and collegues of his in the Wayne Enterprises building. Here is a strong opening to the movie that brilliantly sets up how Bruce Wayne’s perspective of paranoia and unease towards the Man of Steel is earned and understood.

Sadly that is some of the last good character motivation we get throughout the film. Yes, lots of things happen in this movie, but they just… happen, there is no cohesive storyline that connects all of these events. Thus we get, in my opinion, Zack Snyder’s weakest film to date. And yes, I saw ‘Sucker Punch’. In fact, ‘Sucker Punch’ has similar issues to this film. Looks great, but the plot is a quagmire. I feel the only proper way to analyze this movie is to separate out the core aspects of it and dive into each one individually, because there are good aspects to the movie, they’re just buried in a tangle of mistakes.

Superman:

“I don’t care..” That single line best represents my issue with the adaption of Superman in this film. Somehow Zack Snyder lost the Superman he crafted in ‘Man of Steel’ while transitioning to this story. This version of Superman is dour, brooding, and devoid of the ability to maintain his own trademark optimism whatsoever. You may say these same issues plague ‘Man of Steel’ but I disagree, the level of outright mishandling of the core mindset of the character that is on display here is a confusing creative choice. ‘Man of Steel’ did not have the same misunderstanding of what makes Clark Kent Superman. At the end credits of that movie I felt that Henry Cavill’s Kent was on his way to becoming a more traditionally inspired take on the character.

Never has Superman been this grotesquely unsure of his own actions, he even congeals over whether or not he is actually a good person. Let me be clear though, Henry Cavill’s performance is not what seems to be the problem here. It seems that the creative team was trying to push Superman out of the way, because Batman is here now! That’s my take anyway. In fact, they even set up what could have been a great scene when Superman visits the Senate to discuss his take on his actions, to answer the question of whether or not the world actually needs a Superman. What a great chance to dive into the philosophy of the man of steel! But no, the scene is wasted on an attempt at tension and to point out to the audience that, yes, Lex Luthor is a sinister bastard. I think we could all infer that just from looking at that haircut.

Superman’s portion of the film is possibly what irks me the most as he was greatly underutilized. Superman may have gotten top billing along with Batman but he clearly wasn’t the focus of the filmmakers. They wrote the character as a little too cocky for me at times and then on top of that they had the audacity to kill him.. but only to bring him back in time for the Justice League movie. They did not earn that moment. Superman honestly deserved to have at least one more film before this one to work out his character within this emerging DC world. I submit that a George Miller directed sequel with Brainiac as the villain would have been beyond excellent. Reality, however, dictates that we do not live in that world. We must trudge on with the bungling harbinger of the eventual Super Friends movie that we have before us.

Let me just add that Superman’s greatest superpower is his ability to inspire hope in others. In this movie he could barely find it within himself, let alone inspiring others. How did this happen?

Batman:

Okay, first off, Batman kills people now? This ultimately undermines his heroism, plus when it has happened before in the comic form it was a big deal, he never killed without great purpose and dire need. This was a drastic leap from the character’s moral code without any explanation whatsoever. If he hadn’t utilized blatant murder so flippantly maybe I could see past one super baddie getting his teeth punch down his throat and neck snapped, but Ben Affleck’s Batman simply had no regard for people’s lives in this movie. I would even consider it a begrudging pass if he had one conversation with Alfred challenging him on this, to at least have some sort of acknowledgement to this change in ethics. As it stands Ben Affleck’s Batman is essentially the Punisher in a Batsuit. If I wanted that take on a character I’d just watch season two of Daredevil on Netflix, and you should, its a far better use of your time than this film.

However, I have to say, beyond that Ben Affleck’s version of Bruce Wayne and Batman’s fighting style is downright excellent. This is the only character with solid motivation and reasoning as he moves throughout the storyline. His banter with Jeremey Irons’ Alfred are some of the best lines throughout the film. Batman himself gets several great lines such as, “You’re not brave. Men are brave.” Nice. Too bad that quality didn’t transcend the rest of the film.

One last thing though. Why did we have to have a montage sequence where he’s throwing tires and ropes and chains? A good ole workout won’t do you much good when your rival combatant can take a Nuke to the face and continue the fight moments later. A better montage would have been Bruce and Alfred constructing that admittedly badass supersuit Batman just happened to have lying around for the final showdown. I can’t even remember how he got that.

Lex Luthor:

Suprisingly I didn’t despise Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor as much as I thought I would. I don’t believe he’s the Luthor the audience deserves, but its the one we got, so we must go on. Once his schemes involving the manipulation of Batman and others were unraveled I was somewhat impressed with his cunning ability to have multiple schemes going at once. I was not, however, impressed with his actions regarding him pushing Superman into a fight with Batman near the climax. It was just lazy writing. It was the easy way out. Which is painfully irritating for a character that is supposed to be incredibly intelligent.

Jesse Eisnberg’s Lex Luthor wasn’t the Lex Luthor I wanted, nor one that I was familiar with, but the character’s spirit did seemed buried in this performance, as if this were his origin tale as to how he became the Luthor we knew and will know.. hopefully. Although, I’ll be honest, Mark Strong would have been my first pick in casting for Luthor.

Wonder Woman:

Gal Gadot’s amazonian princess was fairly solid in her performance. Her fighting with Doomsday was also action packed and appropriate for the character. This does not mean she was needed in this film though. Her reveal and moments of interaction spread throughout the film feel desperately pushed by the studio, almost as if you can hear executives at Warner Brothers saying “Well we need her in this movie so people can get used to the idea of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman before the Justice League!” She will be the only solo character to get an another origin before the Justice League, I wish she had her film before this one though. It would have made her presence all the better for the fanboy antics that she riled up upon her arrival.

Story:

There is a way that this story could have worked beautifully. Alas, it did not. Lex Luthor tricking Batman into picking a fight with Superman by manipulation is an interesting idea. Although, I would have preferred Batman not being duped by such a young, slightly annoying, Luthor. The movie just has so many creative choices that make no sense whatsoever. For example, when Lois Lane, who is ultimately wasted throughout this film by the way, picks up the Kryptonian spear Batman forged and threw it in a well filled with water, only to force Superman to save her and retrieve it, felt so blocky and half baked in terms of editing, movement, and pacing. And how many times will Lois Lane be shoved off the side of building? One of these days we’re going to expect her to get saved as she always does, then splat. Dead Lois. It would be consistent with Zack Snyder’s concern over the characters in this world, like Jimmy Olsen. Oh, did you not realize he was in this film? He was the CIA operative posing as a reporter with Lois Lane in the opening of the film. Zack Snyder shot Jimmy Olsen in the head in the first ten minutes of this movie. Ugh. It’s not like he was the most interesting character in the world, but did they have to shoot him in the face?

I can’t mention story here and not point out the flaw in storytelling that is the Martha scene. Both Superman and Batman’s mothers are named Martha. Right before Batman is about to kill Superman with a spear forged from Kryptonite Superman mumbles out “Save.. Martha” and Batman loses his mind, “WHERE DID YOU HERE THAT NAME?” and Lois Lane just so happens to appear at the last second to explain to Batman that Martha is his mother’s name. Batman immediately realizes he was tricked, or something like that I guess, and goes off to save Superman’s mother from Lex’s hired thugs. What? Wow. That is so sloppy and incoherent of a choice to make right at the climax of the fight.

Zack Snyder:

He is now the Michael Bay of Comic Book movies. He just doubled down on everything that didn’t work in ‘Man of Steel’ and nothing that did. Granted, he is not the only one to blame by a long shot. Warner Brothers very clearly had their mitts all over this in an attempt to have the competitive edge against Marvel Studios. Which ironically is probably what made this film suffer the most. As the director I do believe he deserves some of the blame though. He really didn’t get the point of the characters, or if he did he let the story take this shape anyway without righting the careening ship. Like the Captain of the Titanic in full denial Zack Snyder forged ahead and smashed right into that iceberg full of money. We all knew, by the way, that regardless of what this film was like, it would make boatloads of cold hard cash. It definitely has already, and that’s great if you loved this movie, which is fine. I didn’t hate the film in the least, rather I was massively disappointed with it. What worries me now though is the two part Justice League movie, both of which he is directing. If he had such a difficult time handling two of the seven League members, how in the hell is he going to be able to step up to the plate and deliver us two quality films about these characters?

The Super Friends:

Lastly, speaking of the other Justice League members, they too were shoved hastily into this film. When Batman steals Lex Luthor’s secret files concerning the other members of the eventual team he sends Wonder Woman an email with the contents. She clicks through the icons, which by the way have each character’s logo emblazened on them, to see video content of Aquaman, Cyborg, and The Flash. Wow is that incredibly lazy. I mean, someone got paid to write this film.. and that’s how they thought an appropriate reveal of several members of the Justice League should play out. At least the Flash has another moment where he appears to Bruce Wayne through time travel to warn him that Lois Lane is the key, and that “You were right about him!”, although if you didn’t know that A: The Flash can time travel, or B: that typically anytime a red blur with lightning surrounding it appears in the DC universe it’s usually the Flash, that moment would be lost on you.

So, all in all, the film has moments of greatness that are ultimately lost in the muck among the many many problems this film has. Lets all hope they find a better way to handle the Justice League, because I desperately want it to be an epic fufilling movie-going experience. As it stands now I am very concerned about it. Superman may not be able to, but lets all just have a bit of hope. I’ll leave you with a fun article and accompanying video, enjoy!

http://www.theverge.com/2016/3/27/11313366/batman-superman-team-up-animated-movie-dawn-of-justice

Final Score: 2/5

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Review: DeadPool or “This time they didn’t sew his mouth shut!”

Posted on by spacecortez

By now everyone has seen this movie, but nonetheless, I felt like adding to the chorus of praise its getting. There might be some spoiler-ish content, if you haven’t seen this movie (somehow) go check it out, if you’re old enough, its amazing.

Deadpool has had a long history getting to the big screen. This isn’t even technically his first time on the silver screen, but in all honesty, that wasn’t the real Deadpool anyways. This movie rectifies the atrocities of ‘Xmen Origins: Wolverine’ by poking fun at the disservice to the title character, and poking fun at Wolverine himself, and Hugh Jackman for that matter. If that sounds strange to comment on the actor that portrays Wolverine rather than the character himself, then you don’t know Deadpool very well. He constantly breaks the fourth wall to address the audience, and he knows he’s in a movie, or a comic, and uses it to his advantage, comedic or otherwise. Lets get to something very important regarding this movie first though: THIS MOVIE IS NOT FOR CHILDREN. There. Now you know. Deadpool had to be rated ‘R’ ( and trust me, it’s a hard ‘R’) because it helped elevate the performance of the character and his personality. We couldn’t have an accurate Deadpool without his ability to motormouth his way through grotesque violence and mayhem, that would be almost as debilitating to the character as say, sewing his mouth shut and giving him katanas for arms.. oh wait.

Ryan Reynolds is the only person I can even consider portraying this character after seeing this film. Stan Lee even said Reynolds was born to play this role. His comedic chops are put to the test here and it works! Reynolds has been pushing for this film ever since the disastrous ‘Origins’ portrayal of Wade Wilson back in 2009, and the long haul paid off for him. Along with ‘leaked’ test footage and one of the most talked about scripts roaming around for years before Reynolds stepped back behind the camera the hype for this character was insane once the audience got a little taste of the potential. So, here we are seven years later with a suprisingly great Deadpool movie, congratulations Ryan Reynolds, you’re officially redeemed and now everybody loves you.

So, this story is about Wade Wilson, aka Deadpool, and his lover Vanessa (firefly alum, Morena Baccarin). Wade is a former special forces operative turned mercenary when we meet him. His sense of humor, already very ‘Deadpoolish’ to begin with, is what ties him ever closer to Vanessa, his lover who happens to be a prostitute with her own twisted sense of humor. They have something legitimately special together onscreen and it helps to motivate the audience to get behind Deadpool’s copious amounts of blood he spills to get her back from Ajax, or Francis (played by Ed Skrein), who has become quite the meme in the fallout of the film’s release date.

The movie dissects its timeline to great advantage considering pacing and the overall structure of the story. We see Deadpool suited up in his red and black PJs whilst mowing down dozens of gun weilding thugs before we see him as Wade. The opening credits alone are amazingly meta and prove that the filmmakers know their audience going into the film. The best way to break down Deadpool is that at its core, its a revenge story. Wade has a life altering blackout in which hospital tests prove that he has incurable amounts of cancer coursing through him. A secret organization offers to “make him a superhero” and heal his cancer, seeing no other feasible options he accepts. Turns out its a horribly painful experience and that the people behind this transformation aren’t exactly the good guys.

Cue the revenge quest that teams the foul mouthed Ryan Reynolds with X-Men characters Colossus (voiced by Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand). Of whom we got more appearances out of than expected, the scene where Colossus tries to lecture Deadpool on the importance of doing the right thing and the responsibility of being a real hero is perfect. Its just one small moment that entirely captures the spirit of Deadpool. The supporting cast does an excellent job throughout the film as they all play off of Deadpool and elevate the story and material surrounding his story. Weasel, played by T.J. Miller, was pefectly cast as the best friend of Wade before and after his transformation into Deadpool. His style of humor perfectly fits within the realm that Deadpool inhabits.

So, this movie is crass, sassy, incredibly violent, and very, very funny. If this type of humor and violence doesn’t offend you, then strap in because this film works on every level for its target audience and does an excellent job introducing the character to newcomers as well. Oh, and there’s also a naked fight scene.

Final Score 5/5

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Will the Ghostbusters reboot work like Creed, or fail like Genisys?

Posted on by spacecortez

Hollywood has a problem with sticking too close to known quantities or properties in the filmmaking business. They are seldom comfortable with new titles as they have the potential to fail, ie a failure to generate profits. Thus I’m sure many Hollywood insiders are generally in favor of the ticket sales from last year’s biggest movies. ‘Mad Max’, ‘Jurassic World’, ‘Creed’, ‘Mission Impossible’, ‘James Bond’, and (of course) ‘Star Wars’ all proved to be gigantic financial successes after returning to the silver screen after their respective hiatuses. However, not all of the returns to Hollywood’s past were as successful. ‘Terminator: Genisys’ for example was widely accepted as a gigantic ode to failure. ‘Spectre’ also left something to be desired from James Bond’s antics especially after the exceptional ‘Skyfall’ as well. Okay, so financially these returns to genre and franchise can be financially succesful, but critically can they compete? The answer is a mixed bag. For some the answer is a resounding YES, ie ‘Mad Max’ and ‘Creed’. For others however the critical analysis of these films can be somewhat dissapointing. ‘Jurassic World’ for example earned Titanics (Yes, I’m using the famed boat as a unit of measurement) full of money yet it doesn’t get near the filmmaking prowess of the initial offering.

Is it a retelling of the story that doesn’t hold to past iterations as in Mad Max:Fury Road? Or a sequel reboot like Jurassic World?

If I were to answer this question after only seeing the trailer and knowing nothing else about the story I would definitely assume this iteration is a sequel that takes place thiry years after the original, because they literally reference that point in the opening text. However, I hear that this film may simply be a reboot just with a modern setting and female cast. This is confusing marketing if that’s the case, and doesn’t make much sense to me, especially if there’s that much rumored Bill Murray cameo.

Does the PG-13 rating hold it back from a greater potential?

While I don’t believe that ‘Ghostbusters’ itself needs to be rated R to get butts in seats, or for creativity’s sake, the talent behind the camera has created several films where the deciscion to make it an R rating has benefitted them in opening up the freedom to drop their constraints pertaining to the matter. Paul Feig has a decent track record so far though and the cast seems funny and competant so here’s hoping this amalgamation of ghosts, ghouls, and girls nears the greatness of the original.

But will it be good?

We won’t know until it hits theaters this summer amidst other blockbuster franchise returnees such as ‘Independence Day: Resurgence’ & ‘Finding Dory’. Until then this trailer does a fine job of introducing us to this version of the Ghostbusters, lets just hope it doesn’t suck like the last ‘Terminator’, but that’s a whole nother story.

For further analysis, check out the ScreenJunkies trailer reaction below:

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#OscarsSoSubjective

Posted on by spacecortez

 Relevancy

This year the Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, celebrated eighty-eight years of doling out the tiny golden guys to the filmmaking community at large. 2016 brought with it renewed criticism that the Academy was out of touch with the rest of the community of not only filmmakers, but everyday citizens as well. Race played a big part in the acknowledgement that all nominees were white while 2015 had offered films centering on african-american characters and stories that were essentially ignored by the Academy. ‘Straight Outta Compton’, ‘Creed’, and ‘Dope’ were just a handful of films that I personally believe should have gotten more attention and acknowledgement by the famed awards show. In fact the reaction on twitter, giving rise to the popular #OscarsSoWhite hashtag, alone has put the Academy, for lack of better terms, in the limelight when it comes to this subject and they have begun to incorporate structural changes to the membership of the board of voters that has been a long time coming.

The show as a performance was on point and appropriately topical given the circumstances of the national zietgiest. Chris Rock deftly handled the subject and made for a competent, and important, host for the times. I can’t think of a better actor to have handled this year’s show. Kevin Hart also had a moment to focus on positvity rather than any negative reactions to come from the awards show results. On the whole it was an entertaining night of fanfare and respect for the craft of filmmaking, how Lady Gaga didn’t win for her musical nomination after that performance is still puzzling though, more on that later.

Best Actor: Leo fights a bear to win an Oscar

Admission: I haven’t yet seen ‘The Revenant’. Now however, I need to. Its been a long time coming for Leonardo DiCaprio, personally I think he should have won way back for his performance as Howard Hughes in Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Aviator’ in 2004, but now that he’s won a lil gold guy of his own we can finally put all those Leo oscar memes to bed. Finally.

Best Picture: Spotlight shines a light on journalism

I also missed ‘Spotlight’, but the film did seem compelling by its very nature. Any film that champions true journalism, especially when its tough and the world is against you, is sorely needed in this political climate we find ourselves in currently. The cast is a knockout and the screenplay won gold as well so it seems this ensemble piece nestles itself neatly between compelling and enthralling.

Best Director: Coogler and Miller’s missed opportunity

In my personal opinion the greatest missed opportunity came at the expense of Ryan Coogler’s ‘Creed’. Not only was it not nominated for Best Director, it definitely should have been, but even ‘Mad Max’ director George Miller couldn’t break the spell and oust last year’s winner, Alejandro Inarritu. Granted, as noted before I haven’t seen ‘The Revenant’, and I did love ‘Birdman’, but the technical prowress that Coogler showcased in ‘Creed’ was beyond impressive and deserves to be lauded.

‘Straight Outta Compton’ also should have gotten at least some kind of recognition, especially with how current that storyline is right now in America. Topical, loud, rebellious, and important ‘Straight Outta Compton’ connected with the pulse of the times and to ignore it outright certainly did no good deeds for the Academy members.

Best Supporting Actor: Stallone V Rylance

Admittedly, while I still believe Sly earned the Oscar more-so than Rylance, it couldn’t have gone to a better second contender. Mark Rylance’s role as the mild mannered Soviet spy caught on American soil in the cold war was a restrained and grounded performance that reveiled more of the personality of the character as time went on. It was one of the best aspects of Spielberg’s sandbox of American drama, ‘Bridge of Spies’. There’s still a chance Sly has one more Rocky role in him left for the ‘Creed’ sequel but I feel he’ll be more likely to go the way of Kenobi if he even chooses to rejoin the sequel at all.

Alicia Vikander: Ex Machina vs The Danish Girl

Not to take away from the levity of the oscar win that Alicia Vikander got, but I feel as though she won it for the wrong film. The Danish Girl is all well and good, but it is very clearly the sort of film you would expect the Academy to dole out awards to. The very notion of the story lies within the comfort zone of the Academy. A marginalized character that rebels against the larger machinations of the public, or establishment’s (of the time in which said story takes place), unchallenged perception. Like I said this is not to take away from the performances, or direction, staging, score etc, I bring it up because it is painstakingly predictable that this film would get nominated and win. ‘Ex-Machina’ on the other hand, is a unique small scale sci-fi dealing with heady questions of existential threat and the rise of supercomputers and, eventually, Articifical Intelligence. Moreover, Alicia Vikander’s performance as Ava is what grounded the film, and set it soaring to new heights. It’s a film that deserves recognition, but I suppose it will have to settle with snagging the special effects Oscar away from Star Wars for now.

Mad Max: Knockout by production

While George Miller didn’t win Best Director, he should be more than happy with the outcome of his film’s night at the Oscars. The Juggernaut that is ‘Mad Max’ swept the technical awards at the show, and it certainly deserved every win it racked up. At the end of the night the wastelanders were adorned with six Oscars in total: Production design, Film editing, Costume design, Make-up, Sound editing, and Sound Mixing. What a lovely day indeed!

Animation: Inside out turned us all inside out

We all knew ‘Inside out’ would win this year’s animation Oscar, how could it not? The film was a heartfelt and tear jerking experience about a young girl moving to San Francisco from the midwest. That might not sound like the most compelling plotline in the world, but trust me, it’s brilliant. Seriously, it’s a beautiful story and will mean all the more to you if you have children.

How did Sam Smith win for that Spectre song?

I still have no idea how Sam Smith won for that lackluster Bond opening. Of course anyone would have a hard time topping Adele’s Skyfall, but Smith’s offering was less than stellar to say the least. It must have been odd receiving the award after Lady Gaga’s powerful performace. Although in all honesty it matches the overall quality of that Bond flick, passable, but could have been so much better.

In other Musically related news Ennio Morricone finally won some incredibly well deserved limelight for the score to Quentin Tarantino’s ‘The Hateful Eight’, which makes all the sense in the world as that score elevated the nature of the film to another standard. If you haven’t seen the film, you definitely should, the score, not to mention cinematography, is wondrous.

Art is subjective

This was an interesting year at the famed awards show to say the least. Ironically, by being out of touch with relevancy the awards show garnered enough bad press to make some real changes in how the membership works. Of course the show also had it’s gaffes, praises, upsets, expected wins, deserved wins, and of course, obligatory fanfare. But, that is what the whole thing is about right? Putting on a show. Being entertainers. It’s a reflection of the people in the room that it takes place in. But is it what ultimately thrones or damns film? Of course not. We all have to remember that awards are simply up to the subjectivity of the Academy. Yes we can all agree to a certain degree of what makes or measures a “Good” film, but none of that really matters in the end because everyone has a differing taste in opinion. You know what they say about one’s man’s trash, it’s another man’s Oscar. This goes the other way as well, but it really all just depends on what you enjoy. There are films I love beyond measure, movies that I put on when I’m not feeling well, when I’m elated, when I want to be scared… these films will never win an Oscar, and sometimes that makes the film shine a little brighter. Not every film can win, and some simply shouldn’t- not because of anything quality related, but because some films don’t need to be put on the Academy’s pedestal, they’re already on ours.

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Favorites of 2015

Posted on by spacecortez

2015 was another excellent year for the film industry! Cars, Dinosaurs, Spies, Emotions, Space, Robots, and Boxing! Last year had all of those genre regulars and more, especially the spies, we had a great many antics within that realm. Here though is where I take a moment to zone in on all the films that I believe earned high praise. These aren’t Oscar picks, nor are they the films I think that are “The Best”, but rather my personal favorites of 2015, aka the Future.

Ex-Machina

Between the Avengers sequel, Chappie, and this lovely little film by Alex Garland you might sense an anxiety about artificial intelligence in the cultural Zeitgeist. This film is the best out of those three and not because of any special effects, although it does look good when it has to, but because of the ideas it introduces and leans on. The story centers on Genius Mastermind Nathan Bateman’s (Oscar Issac) latest creation, artificial intelligence, and the turing test administered to said creation by an employee of Bateman’s tech company in the form of Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson). Alicia Vikander’s performance as the savvy AI Ava is the masterful centerpiece performance that the axis of the story pivots on throughout. A smart psychological thriller worth falling in love with.

Kingsmen: The Secret Service

I went into ‘Kingsmen’ not knowing what to expect, it is from this point that I benefitted from most. It was unexpected , high octane, gleeful action snazzed up in a fine suit and cufflinks. With a nicely fleshed out cast surrounding the new talent ‘Kingsmen’ took the spy movie to a memorable new place, and in a year when both Mission Impossible and James Bond earning  entries in their respective pantheons, that is no small feat. Taron Egerton stars as the young street level inductee into the british spy organization known as, you guessed it, The Kingsmen, a highly refined and hyper violent group that saves the world while looking exceptionally dapper. Watch for the Church scene, it’s a bloody affair. This is  strong kinetic action in a new property that knows its place in the world of genre fair spy films, and it revels in it.

What We Do in The Shadows

Easily my favorite comedy of the year, ‘What we do in the shadows’ utilizes the mythology of The Vampire to spin pure comedic gold. Viago, Deacon, and Vladislav ( Taika Waititi, Jonny Brugh, & Jermaine Clement) play three vampires, all born and from different time periods, that all room together in the same house in New Zealand and squabble with each other over things like rent obligations, chore responsibilities, getting into nightclubs, and squashing conflicts among themselves. Done in a mocumentary style in which a film crew follows the vampire gang around filming their everyday lives. I found it to be a pun and wordplay laced riotfest throughout the runtime. Genius comedy filmmaking in a unique style and voice.

Mad Max: Fury Road

What can I say about ‘Mad Max: Fury road’ that hasn’t already been said? It’s grandiose. Gorgeous. Brutal. Spectacular. Intense. Gritty. Pure Fun. If you somehow haven’t seen this film yet, you need to. Point blank. It’s that simple. Need more? It’s the best car chase sequence in film history and its oddly, and beautifully, feminist in its nature. With the addition of Charlize Theron’s Furiosa the decades old series has roared back to life, even without the original Mad Max himself, Mel. Tom Hardy played Max in a gruff and tortured turn and it worked better than expected. George Miller has made a ground breaking Mad man’s masterpiece in his seventies, we should all be so inspired.

Turbo Kid

This film is the bloodiest entry on my list. It’s also the most heavily 80’s inspired piece as well. ‘Turbo Kid’ is an independent flick that takes place in a radioactive wasteland version of an apocalyptic future… in 1997. The toxic tale follows our young and lonely protagonist (Munro Chambers) as he takes on a tyrannical one eyed overlord, Zeus (Michael Irondside), to save his newly acquired, and bombastically enthusiastic friend Apple (Laurence Leboeuf). There’s saw-blades and fountains of blood, bicycles chase sequences, and a cowboy with a robotic arm. It’s weird and self aware, and a lovely unique film, check it out!

Dope

This story is about well meaning misfits Malcolm, Jib, & Diggy (Shameik Moore, Tony Revolori, & Kiersey Clemons) as they navigate the end of their High school experience in modern day Los Angeles. As self proclaimed geeks that are in love with 1990’s hip hop and culture the three are fleshed out, layered characters that get caught up in outrageous scenarios. Malcolm in particular is the character we follow most closely as the story progresses. As life in a tough neighborhood has its own challenges Malcolm has his sights set on gaining higher education admittance, he just has to survive with his friends until graduation. The message of the movie lays out nicely over the course of the story and admittedly, I might be partial to coming of age storylines if done well, and this film definitely falls into that category. This won’t be the last time you see the three leads, they each ooze charisma were all a joy to see onscreen.

Inside Out

Pixar hit another homerun with ‘Inside Out’. It’s instantly memorable and heart wrenching. Only this studio could take such a concept and make it so relevant to the inner child in each of us. We follow Riley, a young girl that must navigate the new challenges of life in San Franscisco after her family moves to the west coast from the wintry Midwest. Riley’s emotions, Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, & Disgust all vie for the best method of handling these new hurdles in life. Learning concepts like ‘It’s okay to be sad’ and ‘Life has ups and downs, we all just learn to live and make the best of it with a healthy mindset’. It’s a brilliant film with a stellar voice cast to round out a profund idea with Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, and Mindy Kaling.

Jurassic World

I may get some flack, maybe even lose some credit for having this film on my list for some, but I can’t help the fact that I absolutely loved this film. Is it perfect? No, not at all. Is it better than the original Jurassic Park? No, absolutely not! But it IS a very fun monster movie with a super predator hunting our heroes. I quite enjoyed the antics of Owen and Claire (Chris Pratt & Bryce Dallas Howard) as they tried to retrieve and save Claire’s nephews from the Indominus Rex. Like I said, I recognize that some characterizations were slightly cartoonish to say the least, Vincent D’Onofrio’s villainous character for example has hilarious motivations, using Raptors for Military use? If you thought a Dino theme park was nuts then strap in, it gets a little nuts. It’s just great to see dinosaurs in movies again.

Mission Impossible 5: Rogue Nation

Who knew Tom Cruise had this revival of the last few years in him? After a resounding return to form in the fourth Mission Impossible the lastest doesn’t quite live up to Ghost Protocol’s standard, but its an incredibly enjoyable return to the Impossible franchise. As in both Rogue Nation and this year’s 007’s Spectre the plot centers around our hero spy taking on a shadowy organization on a globe trekking scale with plenty of action, intrigue, charm, and huge set pieces. If you want a solid spy movie, this might be the best of the year,  which is saying something in a year when the genre exploded with numerous unique attempts.

Creed

My personal favorite of the year, ‘Creed’ is the story of Adonis Creed, son of famed Rocky Balboa opponent Apollo Creed, as he comes to terms with the legacy of his father and shaping his own future going forward. Stallone shines again as the Italian Stalian in one of the best performances he’s given in years and Michael B. Jordan deftly crafts Adonis as a hungry and determined personality that snaps and crackles with potential in his punches. The beauty of Rocky’s story coming full circle as he trains Adonis in the ring coupled with exquisitely shot fight sequences in and out of the ring ties everything together incredibly well in the end, the film doesn’t even feel like it should have the right to be this good. There isn’t a single shot I would change, and I find it a disappointment that Ryan Coogler wasn’t nominated for Best Director for this film, he deserves it.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Star Wars. Modern Mythology at its finest. The Force Awakens did exactly what it needed to do following the somewhat disastrous prequel films of the early 2000’s. It brought back memorable characters, like Chewbacca & Han Solo, scenery and aesthetics from the original films, and established new fan favorites in Finn, Rey, and Poe (John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, & Oscar Isaac). We also got new villains in Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren and Andy Serkis’ Supreme Leader Snoke, the overlord of the new evil regime The First Order. Granted, this isn’t the best Star Wars movie, it’s just a really satisfying entry in the saga that never ends.

Hector and The Search for Happiness (2014)

Lastly, here is where I cheat a bit. Technically yes, this film came out in 2014, but I didn’t even know of its existence, much less watch it, until 2015. This film has one of the qualities I love most about movies: It’s got an earnest positivity about it that doesn’t quit. I also have a tendency to love films that involve Simon Pegg. ‘Hector and the Search for Happiness’ is about Hector (Pegg), a psychiatrist in Britain that feels unfufilled by the doldrums of his overly regimented life. He laments giving people advice while not yet having lived life himself. Thus he goes off on an international quest to find the formula to Happiness. Is it a particularly challenging film for the viewer? No, not really, but that’s okay. It’s a tale meant to uplift, and maybe I’m a shmuck for it, but this film made me feel things, and I love it because of that.

Potential Contenders that (somehow) I missed: Straight Outta Compton, The Revenant, The Big Short, Spotlight, Sicario, The Danish Girl, Trumbo, Brooklyn, Peanuts, Spy, Trainwreck, Sisters, Joy, Chappie, & Concussion

Those are the films that affected me most over the course of 2015. It was a uniquely stellar year in which Hollywood learned that some franchise returns can yield Box Office smashing results like Mad Max, Jurassic World, and Star Wars. However they also learned that some franchises don’t soar as high as they could or should, here’s looking at you Terminator Genisys and 007’s Spectre. Let’s Hope this year holds as many gems, if Deadpool is any indicator it’s going to be a weirdly amazing year. Go see Deadpool if you’re old enough, it’s a bloody riot in the best sense. Then see it again.

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