A list the movies I've been keeping up with recently. Some of them are good, most are average, and fewer are insufferable. I've found that for the most part I enjoy movies even if they aren't great. Just take me for some sort of journey with some seltzers and pretzels and I can vibe. That's all I ask.
Fallen (1998)
This movie features one of the more clownish plots I've seen in awhile. I've been on a 90's Denzel kick and this was up in the queue. All I knew going in was Denzel and John Goodman, plus the IMDB description of: "Homicide detective John Hobbes witnesses the execution of serial killer Edgar Reese. Soon after the execution the killings start again, and they are very similar to Reese's style."
Cool. Easy enough. Watching Denzel play cop is incredible, and it saves the movie for me. If I'm gonna dive into some seltzers and carbs, I gotta be entertained. Denzel is usually enough for that.
About halfway through the movie it takes a twist into "wait the serial killer is actually a demon moving from body to body". They really lost me there. The ending was predictable, and I still really don't get why the left turn was needed. Denzel and Goodman cooking as some homicide detectives is enough. Don't bring us demons.
Kill Bill Vol II
I love a good two part movie. Kill Bill 1 and 2 are both fantastic. They’re not the exact same in feel and style either. Vol. 2 opens up with Uma speaking right into the camera in black and white. Not that it’s a massive change from the story, but it did enough to change the style as Uma continued to speak to the audience. It started a new feel from the per usual two part story where part two is just a story continuation from part one. It was an odd, and welcomed style change.
As far as an overall movie, Kill Bill Vol. 2 is every bit as good as a singular movie as Vol. 1. Relating to a movie experience, it wasn’t as good as Vol. 1. Which is mostly because I had already been introduced to all of the plot lines and style of violence. So it wasn’t as surprising and fun of a movie experience. Nevertheless, it was still a really well made movie that was entertaining and fun. My only exception, the whole being buried alive thing. Not my style. Between Casino and Kill Bill Vol. 2, I’m good on the being buried alive scenes. Terrifying and freaks me out, even in the movies. If you can get past that, which I did by taking deep breaths and reminding myself I’m not being buried alive, then this is a great watch.
Spectre
I’m not that negative of a movie fan. I usually watch movies that I know have a shot to be entertaining, and mostly the movies that I see are entertaining. This movie guide is filled with entertaining movies that I have for the most part enjoy. James Bond movies are usually the same. I haven’t seen a James Bond movie that I haven’t enjoyed. Especially the recent movies with Daniel Craig. Skyfall, Casino Royale, and Quantum of Solace were all great Daniel Craig Bond movies. Action and a decent story are a good recipe. As long as it’s held together by decent acting and visuals. I don’t ask for much when it comes to Bond movies.
Spectre was a bad movie. I haven’t seen a movie in a long time that just bored me to the point where I turned it off near the end. The worst part was is that I literally had nothing else to do in place of watching it. The story wasn’t captivating, and it lost me. Spectre proved to me what I said in the above paragraph is false. In the past I assumed that three things were necessary for a simple action movie to be entertaining. I assumed it had to have a decent story, good action, average acting, and great visuals. Spectre had amazing visuals and thematic views, acting which wasn’t bad at all, and action. So in theory that should have been good enough. It wasn’t. Unless you have a need to see every Bond movie for some reason, don’t waste your time. Although this movie made me want to go to Austria. (See above picture)
Bridge of Spies
Bridge of Spies is a good, good movie. It’s not great, and it’s not worthy of an Oscar win. But it’s a really entertaining movie that Hanks is fantastic in. It is the usual type of fantastic Hanks movie. He plays such great character roles that even though it’s completely recognizable that it’s Tom Hanks, he still makes you believe he’s the character he’s playing. That is frankly the best way I can think to explain it, I understand that it wasn’t that clear. However, I think if you have seen many Hanks movies you know what I mean. He’s unbelievably recognizable in both voice and visuals, yet still does such a good job in his role you aren’t focused on the fact that its Tom Hanks playing a negotiator in a Cold War prisoner negotiation.
Relating to the story itself, it was a really entertaining story to watch portrayed in a movie. I’m also down for a hostage negotiation in Germany. Who doesn’t love Germany based movies? I can’t think of a Germany based action, thriller, or drama movie that has ever disappointed me. I’m sure there has been one or two, but overall, it’s just a good location for movies. There are so many interesting visuals and historic portrayals are even more fascinating. I don’t think Bridge of Spies is good enough for an Oscar nomination, personally I would have taken Creed over Bridge of Spies. Despite that, this film is worth a watch if you want a good ole fashion Hanks prisoner negotiation movie.
The Martian
I admit I was wrong about the Martian. I completely judged it by the trailer and thought it was going to be another Interstellar or Gravity. I’m really glad I was wrong. This movie was fantastic and completely entertaining for the 2 hours and 24 minutes you’ll spend watching it. It perfectly balances the terror of being left on Mars, with some humorous elements to lighten the mood and keep it from being a long depressing space movie. It was really a pure delight to watch all the way through. There were a couple of emotional moments, but it wasn’t a frustrating emotional experience. It was oddly a liberating emotional experience even though the movie plot itself is unrealistic and in of itself unemotional in nature. Matt Damon just did a really good job throughout the movie’s entirety.
Damon stuck out in ways that I’m not sure many actors could pull off and come out looking as bright and shiny. If you had a few actors pulling their A games, I think there a few others would could have pulled of a somewhat similar performance. Brad Pitt, Denzell Washington, and maybe Christian Bale if it were a crazier type of humor. Brad would have struggles with being likeable the whole time in isolated scenes. Clooney isn’t gritty enough. I’m not sure there is another actor who can be charismatic and funny without coming off fake and pretentious while be on screen as much as Damon was on screen talking into the camera. Gosling has the potential to do so and I think Denzell would be the closest in Damon’s ballpark at balancing the desperate nature of being abandoned on Mars, while making it somehow lighthearted and humorous. I already knew Damon was a great actor, one of the best. However, I didn’t know he could pull something like this off. He was the best part about the movie and entertaining in every scene he was in. Fantastic movie purely because of Damon, worth the time.
Frost/Nixon
The forever interesting Nixon Watergate saga is so fascinating that I could watch just about any movie about it. One, because I wasn’t alive when the actual events happened and hence I’m pretty impressionable when it comes to opinions about the whole thing. Two, because there are seemingly infinite different views and side stories to come at Watergate with. All the Presidents Men was my first cinematic peek into the story, and Frost Nixon was my second dive into the Watergate saga. Of course, Frost Nixon wasn’t purely on Watergate, it was on the famous set of interviews David Frost did with Richard Nixon shortly after he was out of office. I had little to no reference on how accurate the interviews were portrayed, but what I did have reference too was whether it stood on its own as a movie. Since I knew nothing about the accurate truth, I was just an observer in the story portrayed on screen by Frank Langella and Michael Sheen.
The job by Frank Langella in portraying Nixon was genius, and of course earned him an Oscar nomination for his role. I wasn’t even around when Nixon was alive, and yet I could still tell he was doing all the little things that Nixon did. From the obvious peace signs, to the sweaty upper lip. It was all spot on and absolutely fantastic to watch. The movie itself was just as entertaining for my wife, who usually isn’t interested in political drama. Even though this movie isn’t all there as far as accuracy, it was still incredibly interesting to watch and witness all that led up to Nixon’s Watergate specific section of the interview. Great movie, worth the watch if you’re interested in Watergate. Perhaps worth the watch purely for Frank Langella’s role as Nixon, such a great acting job and great movie.
Birdman
Birdman is a fun movie to experience. It’s fun for a variety of reason but the main one is the incredible nature of the entire movie being filmed in one take, or being made to look like it was shot in one take. Which made it really cool to experience the story from the perspective it was shot in for the entirety of the movie. The second most interesting aspect of Birdman was the fascinating look inside Broadway and an actor trying to overcome his past. I thought it was comical he was formerly a massive superhero and in those movies as the superhero “Birdman”. The shots at Robert Downey Jr. were also pretty funny, although I enjoy RDJ as Iron Man, sue me. But I had never been behind the scenes of Broadway and specifically the psychology of Broadway. Definitely a good movie, and worth a watch.
Mad Max Fury Road
Mad Max slipped its way into the top movies of 2015 in my opinion and totally deserving of its many Oscar nominations. The costume design, sound, and visual effects make the movie Oscar worthy even if the story was sub par, which it wasn’t. Mad Max is totally worthy of its many Oscar Nominations. Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron were both great in starring roles throughout the movie, they were complimented by a group of actors that weren’t so over the top in their roles to overshadow the weirdness of the plot. It would be easy to take the matter of a Tom Hardy being a blood bag and make it over the top, but they did a good enough job at making it a subtle topic that I hardly recognized it. Which is nice when it comes to odd movies. Some odd movies are trying too hard to be weird and go over the top to say LOOK AT US WE’RE WEIRD. Mad Max didn’t do that. It was weird, yes, but it wasn’t trying so hard to be weird that it distracted from a fascinating story with great cinematic feels throughout.
I watched this movie at home, which put it at a disadvantage to begin with as opposed to experiencing in a theater. Despite watching at home it was still incredible and sneaked its way into my top few favorite movies of 2015. The sound was gorgeous throughout the entirety of the movie and the visuals were good enough to stand on their own despite not seeing it in the theater. This was the first Mad Max movie I had seen and I wasn’t disappointed with actor choice, sound and music placement, the visuals, and the story. The visuals were great from the landscape and cinematic feel, to the costume design. Totally worth seeing even if you have never been into the Mad Max movie franchise at all. Definitely worth the time.
Kill Bill Vol I
Tarantino’s blood squirting masterpiece was a sight for sore eyes. It’s nice to experience a bit of classic Tarantino occasionally. So I haven’t just watched all his movies in one weekend. I’ve tried to keep them spread out to enjoy them more. The way he tells stories is always so fascinating. From the Anime portion of the movie, to the Japanese Garden scene as the final act of the movie, it’s all so interesting to pay attention too. Since I have an 8 second attention span due to my ineptitude and constant phone checking, it’s great to watch a movie this captivating.
Sicario
Sicario truly fits the bill for a non stop crime thriller. Except, it actually does a good job at it. Emily Blunt plays an incredible starring role in the film. Josh Brolin does a great job being the good guy/bad guy in the film. The movie creates a weird dynamic of the good guys against bad guys, and yet the good guys being questionable. This awkward dynamic of good bad and evil, always creates an interesting twist within crime movies. Especially when it is a good guy feeling like they are doing the wrong thing, and the rest of the good guys feel like they’re doing the right thing. That is basically this movie in a nut shell, with a ton of great action scenes. Surely worth a watch, and make sure you have the ability to listen to it loudly. One of those movies that has the ability to create a movie theater experience in your home.
The Big Short
The Big Short is a fantastic movie. It perfectly balances a unique blend of comedy and horror.
The comedy being Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, and Steve Carrell’s different characters all being hilarious. Christian Bale was weird Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling was loud slick financial guy, and Steve Carrell was basically a louder more brash version of Michael Scott.
The horror being the massive nature of the housing crisis. I was in middle school when the financial crisis happened, I believe, and so I didn’t really care as much as I should have. My family was fortunate to not become homeless as a result and so it didn’t change my little world. Seeing the way that Adam McKay and his group told the story through the eyes of the people who benefited most from the financial crisis was a thing of beauty. A thing of beauty in terms of how the story was told, not that a few lucky people benefited from a massive crisis.
There were a few cameos from Margot Robbie, Anthony Bourdain, and Selena Gomez. They all explained different complicated financial terms in order to understand aspects that are essential to the story. Random celebrities helping explain these terms was a hilarious way to break down the fourth wall and bring some laughs into some pretty shocking story twists. Again, these story twists were shocking for me because I was a kid when this happened. It blew my mind at the extent of the crisis and how many people live’s it changed. It was also mind blowing at how much money was involved and how much greed blinded most of the people’s eyes who were involved.
Overall, one of the best movies that have come it this year. Every character is perfectly placed and together create a funny and horrific movie experience. Must see.
Heat
Heat is the iconic 1995 film that features Pacino and De Niro in a crime movie together. I had to watch the entirety of the movie for the first time since it was the 20th year anniversary on December 15th. Years ago I watched the first bit of it then stopped for some reason. This time I didn’t stop, and I’m very thankful for that. What a fun movie. Not on the level of Goodfellas, Casino, or Scarface; nevertheless it was really fun to see Pacino vs De Niro, even though they weren’t in many scenes together.
There were so many classic Pacino and De Niro moments throughout the flow of the film. They are such good actors that they were themselves and yet created the new characters in the movie well enough to carry the story. In other words, I was watching every Pacino / De Niro performance, and yet it was still somehow fresh and new. If you’re a fan of their movies, you know what I mean. Not to mention, the movie features an incredibly powerful ending.
Maybe I’m a sucker for anything De Niro and Pacino are in, and just having them in one movie together makes my brain combust, but it’s likely that Heat is just a really solid, timeless movie.
Star Wars the Force Awakens
What more needs to be said? Star Wars is back and if you have enjoyed Star Wars movies in the past, then you’re certainly seeing The Force Awakens. Just seeing Han Solo, the Princess, Chewbacca, R2-D2, and everyone else on screen, is going to be incredible and it was just as good. New characters were great, and old just as funny. Nathan and I dive deep into The Force Awakens on our podcast page.
Mission Impossible Rogue Nation
Ethan Hunt is back! What a guy. Hanging off planes and stuff. This Mission Impossible decided to take a back road and focus on Ethan Hunt having to save the world and himself. Wait what? That’s what every Mission Impossible is about? Oh well, this one was just as good as all the other films, and it included Alec Baldwin. So that was fun.
I’ll never care how corny some of the scenes are throughout the Mission Impossibles are. Ethan Hunt is pretty charming and funny in these movies. Which is hilarious and ironic considering Tom Cruise isn’t.
This time around the CIA has shut down the IMF and Hunt is on the run from the CIA and attempting to shut down the Syndicate at the same time. Quite a tough job for most agents, but then again, Ethan isn’t a normal agent. With the body of an awkwardly ripped 66 year old dad and the mind of a 17 year old playing Call of Duty, Ethan will be the hero once again.
Per usual, Mission Impossible Rogue Nation proved to me that Mission Impossible Movies will always be fun.
Theory of Everything
Finally got around to seeing The Theory of Everything. Really good movie portraying Stephen Hawking, the theoretical physicist who suffers from motor neurone disease. Eddie Redmayne did an unbelievable job playing Stephen Hawking in the film. From beginning to end his portrayal was brilliant. Even though this was a great film, there were a few issues I had with it.
I wanted to see more of the nuts and bolts of his scientific journey. Granted, this was more so a love story and a portrayal of Stephen and Jane’s odd relationship. So I was probably wrong to expect more science involved throughout the movie. Either way, the relational aspect to this movie threw me off. Made the movie kind of less emotionally engaging for me. My mind kept focusing on the oddities of his relationships with Jane and others. The focus shouldn’t have been on that throughout the movie, I wanted to see the greatness of a man overcoming an incredible disease to still make an impact in the world. They showed that, but the relationships kept distracting me! Probably my fault, great movie despite my inability to focus on his accomplishments.
Black Mass
The Whitey Bulger story is one that lives in infamy among the history of South Boston. Black Mass portrayed the true story of the crime legend that helped the FBI take down a rival Mafia family that was invading his turf. Johnny Depp portrayed Whitey Bulger in this crime thriller. He is joined on screen by a star-studded cast featuring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Dakota Johnson, Kevin Bacon, Peter Sarsgaard, Jesse Plemons, Adam Scott and many more. Scott Cooper directed and you could see threads of his work on Out of the Furnace. Black Mass was highly touted coming into the week where it debuted against Everest. I chose to see Black Mass over Everest because I am a huge sucker for Mafia movies. When those movies feature a cast of characters like Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dakota Johnson, Kevin Bacon, Peter Sarsgaard, Jesse Plemons, and Adam Scott; I’m sold immediately.
I hadn’t really gone into the Whitey Bulger story much until I had seen the movie and looked up some information. It really is crazy how twisted the story gets with the line between informant and when John Connolly finally realizes all that is going on. If you enjoy dark crime movies, this is the movie for you. Johnny Depp absolutely kills it, there are scenes in this film that rival Goodfellas as far as tense moments go. Really good film, totally suggest it.
Cop Car
Didn’t expect to be watching Cop Car this weekend. I hadn’t even heard of it until I turned it on and watched. I was shocked at how good of a movie it was. The premise sounds incredibly cheesy, yet interesting. They did such a good portrayal of a couple of kids who ran away and found a cop car. It was a fun thriller to watch that only takes up about 80 minutes. Give it a go!
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Little behind on the Mission impossible movies here, but I just got caught up to this point and man I love these movies. I’m a sucker for good spy movies. Every Mission Impossible Movie fits the bill for excitement and entertainment. Cruise fills the role perfectly and they finally became self-aware of the sometimes cheesy nature of the films. In the climax of the movie when it’s time for Ethan to save the world by pushing a button, he says “Mission Accomplished!” as he presses the button.
Then afterwards, he and some fellow agents were joking around about it. I love cheesy catchphrases in action flicks, I love them even more when the characters make fun of themselves while doing so. Bravo Rogue Nation.