Favorites of 2019: Directors, Actors, Actresses, Supporting Roles & Villains

The end of the year doesn’t just mean putting out your best/favorite movies of year. It can be a time to also reflect the individuals like directors, actors, actress, supporting roles, villains and everything in between. So, that said, I’m here to do just that. We all have our favorites, and these are mine. This is of course my opinion. I tried to shorten the list as much as I could, but like every year, it was a bit too hard so I left the lists as such.

 

Also, villains are probably considered Supporting Actors/Actress in other lists, but again, to not only make the lists shorter, I want the villains to have their own category, because everyone loves a good villain, right?

 

Finally, everything and everyone will be in alphabetical order. Also, if someone is missing, it could be because I didn’t see them (aka missed the movie), or they just missed the list/had to be cut out. This is also part one of two different lists. Enjoy.

 

Directors

Anthony and Joe Russo – Avengers: Endgame

Ari Aster – Midsommar

Bong Joon-Ho – Parasite

Jordan Peele – Us

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett – Ready or Not

Rian Johnson – Knives Out

 

Honorable Mentions

Craig Brewer – Dolemite Is My Name

Greta Gerwig – Little Women

Olivia Wilde – Booksmart

Martin Scorsese – The Irishman

Melina Matsoukas – Queen & Slim

Quentin Tarantino – Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood

Robert Eggers – The Lighthouse

Taika Waititi – Jojo Rabbit

 

Other Notable Directors

David F. Sandberg – Shazam!

Clint Eastwood – Richard Jewell

James Mangold – Ford v Ferrari

Lulu Wang – The Farewell

Marielle Heller – A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Mike Flanagan – Doctor Sleep

Robert Rodriguez – Alita: Battle Angel

Rob Letterman – Pokemon Detective Pikachu

 

 

Actors

Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc – Knives Out

Dwayne Johnson as Hobbs & Jason Statham as Shaw – Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw

Eddie Murphy as Rudy – Dolemite Is My Name

James Badge Dale as Gannon – The Standoff at Sparrow Creek

Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck – Joker

Leonardo DiCaprio as Rick Dalton – Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood

Paul Walter Hauser as Richard Jewell – Richard Jewell

Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man – Avengers: Endgame

 

Honorable Mentions

Christian Bale as Ken Miles – Ford v Ferrari

Daniel Kaluuya as Slim – Queen & Slim

Himesh Patel as Jack Malik – Yesterday

Robert De Niro as Frank Sheeran – The Irishman

Roman Griffin Davis as Jojo – Jojo Rabbit

Willem Dafoe as Thomas Wake – The Lighthouse

Zack Gottsagen as Zak – The Peanut Butter Falcon

 

Other Notable Actors

Brad Pitt as Roy McBride – Ad Astra

Jack Lowden as Zak Knight – Fighting with My Family

Jack Reynor as Christian – Midsommar

Mena Massoud as Aladdin – Aladdin

Pierfrancesco Favino as Tommaso Buscetta – The Traitor

Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man – Spider-Man: Far from Home

Vivelk Kaira as Javed – Blinded by the Light

Winston Duke as Gabe Wilson – Us

 

 

Actress

Awkwafina as Billi – The Farewell

Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly – Bombshell

Emma Thompson as Katherine Newbury – Late Night

Florence Pugh as Dani – Midsommar

Jodie Turner-Smith as Queen – Queen & Slim

Kaitlyn Dever as Amy & Beanie Feldstein as Molly – Booksmart

Lupita Nyong’o as Adelaide Wilson/Red – Us

Naomi Scott as Jasmine – Aladdin

Samara Weaving as Grace – Ready or Not

Saoirse Ronan as Jo March – Little Women

 

Honorable Mentions

Ana de Armas as Marta Cabrera – Knives Out

Charlize Theron as Charlotte Field – Long Shot

Elle Fanning as Violet – Teen Spirit

Florence Pugh as Saraya Knight/Paige – Fighting with My Family

Jessica Rothe as Tree – Happy Death Day 2U

Julianne Moore as Gloria – Gloria Bell

Mackenzie Davis as Grace – Terminator: Dark Fate

Rosa Salazar as Alita – Alita: Battle Angel

Thomasin McKenzie as Elsa – Jojo Rabbit

 

Other Notable Actress

Cate Blanchett as Bernadette Fox – Where’d You Go, Bernadette

Jillian Bell as Brittany – Brittany Runs a Marathon

Joanna Kulig as Zula – Cold War

Kyleigh Curran as Abra Stone – Doctor Sleep

Mckenna Grace as Judy Warren & Madison Iseman as Mary Ellen – Annabelle Comes Home

Sarah Paulson as Dr. Ellie Staple – Glass

Sophia Lillis as Nancy Drew – Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase

Vanessa Kirby as Hattie – Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw

Zoe Margaret Colletti as Stella Nicholls – Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

 

 

Supporting Actor

Brad Pitt as Cliff Booth – Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood

Chris Evans as Ransom Drysdale – Knives Out

Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy Freeman – Shazam!

James McAvoy as The Horde – Glass

James Ransone as Eddie Kaspbrak & Bill Hader as Richie Tozier – It Chapter Two

Tom Hanks as Fred Rogers – A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

 

Honorable Mentions

Alessandro Nivola as Sensei – The Art of Self Defense

Al Pacino as Jimmy Hoffa – The Irishman

Bokeem Woodbine as Uncle Earl – Queen & Slim

Chris Hemsworth as Thor – Avengers: Endgame

Happy Anderson as Morris – The Standoff at Sparrow Creek

Nick Nolte as Clay Banning – Angel Has Fallen

Navid Mohammadzadeh as Naser Khakzad – Just 6.5

Sam Rockwell as Captain Klenzendorf – Jojo Rabbit

Taika Waititi as Adolf – Jojo Rabbit

Will Smith as Genie/Mariner – Aladdin

 

Other Notable Supporting Actors

Adam Brody as Daniel – Ready or Not

Dean Chaumoo as Bedders & Angus Imrie as Young Merlin – The Kid Who Would Be King

Ken Watanabe as Dr. Ishiro Serizawa – Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Kulvinder Ghir as Malik – Blinded by the Light

Joe Pesci as Russell Bufalino – The Irishman

Phi Vu as Ryan – Happy Death Day 2U

Raymond Cruz as Rafael Olvera – The Curse of La Llorona

Wesley Snipes as D’Urville Martin – Dolemite Is My Name

 

 

Supporting Actress

Billie Lourd as Gigi – Booksmart

Florence Pugh as Amy March – Little Women

Julia Butters as Trudi – Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood

Shuzhen Zhao as Nai Nai – The Farewell

Zoey Deutch as Madison – Zombieland: Double Tap

 

Honorable Mentions

Elisabeth Moss as Claire Walsh – The Kitchen

Faithe Herman as Darla Dudley – Shazam!

Kathy Bates as Bobi Jewell – Richard Jewell

Katie Sarife as Daniela – Annabelle Comes Home

Scarlett Johansson as Rosie – Jojo Rabbit

 

Other Notable Supporting Actresses

Eliza Scanlen as Beth March – Little Women

Helen Mirren as Queenie – Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw

Nasim Pedrad as Dalia – Aladdin

Margot Robbie as Kayla Pospisil – Bombshell

Melanie Scrofano as Emilie – Ready or Not

 

 

Villains

Baba Yaga – Hellboy

Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise – It Chapter Two

Henry Czerny as Tony & Nicky Guadagni as Aunt Helene – Ready or Not

Jake Gyllenhaal as Quentin Beck/Mysterio – Spider-Man: Far from Home

Lupita Nyong’o as Red – Us

Rebecca Ferguson as Rose the Hat – Doctor Sleep

 

Honorable Mentions

Asia Kate Dillon as The Adjudicator – John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum

Gabriel Luna as Rev-9 – Terminator: Dark Fate

Jackson A. Dunn as Brandon Breyer – Brightburn

Octavia Spencer as Sue Ann – Ma

Marisol Ramirez as La Llorona – The Curse of La Llorona

Mark Dacascos as Zero – John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum

The Seven Deadly Sins – Shazam!

 

Other Notable Villains

Alligators – Crawl

Idris Elba as Brixton – Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw

King Ghidorah – Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Josh Brolin as Thanos – Avengers: Endgame

 

Be on the lookout for Part II coming.

Favorite Directors, Actors, Actress, Supporting Roles & Villains

The end of the year doesn’t just mean putting out your best/favorite movies of year. It can be a time to reflect the individuals like directors, actors, actress, supporting roles, villains and everything in between. So, that said, I’m here to do just that. We all have our favorites, and these are mine. This is of course my opinion. I tried to shorten the list as much as I could, but like every year, it was a bit too hard so I left the lists as such.

 

Also, villains are probably considered Supporting Actors/Actress in other lists, but again, to not only make the lists shorter, I want the villains to have their own category, because everyone loves a good villain, right?

 

Finally, everything and everyone will be in alphabetical order. This is also part one of two different lists. Enjoy.

 

 

Directors

Chris McKay – The LEGO Batman Movie

Christopher Nolan – Dunkirk

Denis Villeneuve – Blade Runner 2049

Edgar Wright – Baby Driver

Guillermo del Toro – The Shape of Water

J.A. Bayona – A Monster Calls

James Mangold – Logan

Jordan Peele – Get Out

Patty Jenkins – Wonder Woman

Matt Reeves – War for the Planet of the Apes

Taika Waititi – Thor: Ragnarok

 

Honorable Mentions

Andy Muschietti – It

David F. Sandberg – Annabelle: Creation

Greta Gerwig – Lady Bird

James Franco – The Disaster Artist

Kathryn Bigelow – Detroit

M. Night Shyamalan – Split

Martin McDonagh – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Steven Soderbergh – Logan Lucky

 

 

Just Missed the List

Ben Wheatley – Free Fire

Craig Gillespie – I, Tonya

Darren Aronofsky – Mother!

James Gunn – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina – Coco

Nacho Vigalondo – Colossal

Michael Showalter – The Big Sick

Ridley Scott – All the Money in the World

 

 

Actors

Andy Serkis as Caesar – War for the Planet of the Apes

Chris Hemsworth as Thor – Thor: Ragnarok

Chris Pine as Steve Trevor – Wonder Woman

Daniel Kaluuya as Chris Washington – Get Out

Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill – Darkest Hour

Hugh Jackman as Logan – Logan

Lewis MacDougall as Conor – A Monster Calls

Michael Fassbender as David and Walter – Alien: Covenant

Michael Keaton as Ray Kroc – The Founder

Sam Rockwell as Dixon – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man – Spider-Man: Homecoming

 

Honorable Mentions

James Franco as Tommy – The Disaster Artist

Richard Jenkins as Giles – The Shape of Water

RJ Cyler as Billy/Blue Ranger – Power Rangers

Ryan Gosling as K – Blade Runner 2049

Ryan Reynolds as Michael & Samuel L. Jackson as Darius – The Hitman’s Bodyguard

Sebastian Stan as Jeff Gillooly – I, Tonya

Sharlto Copley as Vernon – Free Fire

Steve Carell as Bobby Riggs – Battle of the Sexes

Will Arnett as Batman/Bruce Wayne – The LEGO Batman Movie

Will Poulter as Krauss – Detroit

 

Just Missed the List

Ansel Elgort as Baby – Baby Driver

Armie Hammer as Ord – Free Fire

Chadwick Boseman as Thurgood Marshall & Josh Gad as Sam Friedman – Marshall

Chris Evans as Frank Adler – Gifted

Dave Franco as Greg – The Disaster Artist

Jackie Chan as Quan Ngoc Minh – The Foreigner

James McAvoy as David Percival – Atomic Blonde

Jeremy Renner as Cory Lambert – Wind River

Jason Sudeikis as Oscar – Colossal

Javier Bardem as Him – Mother!

Joel Edgerton as Paul – It Comes At Night

Kumail Nanjiani as Kumail – The Big Sick

Mark Rylance as Mr. Dawson – Dunkirk

 

 

Actress

Anya Taylor-Joy as Casey Cooke – Split

Aubrey Plaza as Ingrid Thorburn – Ingrid Goes West

Dafne Keen as Laura – Logan

Frances McDormand as Mildred – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Gal Gadot as Diana – Wonder Woman

Jessica Chastain as Molly Bloom – Molly’s Game

Margot Robbie as Tonya Harding – I, Tonya

Mckenna Grace as Mary Adler – Gifted

Noomi Rapace as The Settman Siblings – What Happened to Monday

Sally Hawkins as Elisa Esposito – The Shape of Water

Saoirse Ronan as Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson – Lady Bird

 

Honorable Mentions

Anne Hathaway as Gloria – Colossal

Emma Stone as Billie Jean King – Battle of the Sexes

Rebecca Hall as Elizabeth Marston – Professor Marston and the Wonder Women

Sophia Lillis as Beverly – It

Talitha Bateman as Janice & Lulu Wilson as Linda – Annabelle: Creation

 

Just Missed the List

Charlize Theron as Lorraine Broughton – Atomic Blonde

Jennifer Lawrence as Mother – Mother!

Michelle Williams as Gail Harris – All the Money in the World

Seo-hyun Ahn as Mija – Okja

Zoe Kazan as Emily – The Big Sick

Zoe Lister-Jones as Anna – Band Aid

 

 

Supporting Actor

Christopher Plummer as J. Paul Getty – All the Money in the World

Daniel Craig as Joe Bang – Logan Lucky

Dwayne Johnson as Hobbs & Jason Statham as Deckard – The Fate of the Furious

Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard – Blade Runner 2049

Jacob Batalon as Ned – Spider-Man: Homecoming

Liam Neeson as The Monster (voice) – A Monster Calls

Michael Rooker as Yondu – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Patrick Stewart as Charles – Logan

Samuel L. Jackson as Preston Packard – Kong: Skull Island

 

Honorable Mentions

Cillian Murphy as Shivering Soldier – Dunkirk

Doug Jones as Amphibian Man – The Shape of Water

Demian Bichir as Miguel Alvarez – Lowriders

Domhnall Gleeson as Monty ‘Schafer’ – American Made

LilRel Howery as Rod Williams – Get Out

Nick Offerman as Dick McDonald & John Carroll Lynch as Mac McDonald – The Founder

Paul Walter Hauser as Shawn Eckhardt – I, Tonya

Ralph Fiennes as Alfred Pennyworth – The LEGO Batman Movie

Shea Whigham as Cole & John C. Reilly as Hank Marlow – Kong: Skull Island

Taika Waititi as Korg & Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk & Jeff Goldblum as Grandmaster – Thor: Ragnarok

 

Just Missed the List

Bradley Whitford as Dean Armitage – Get Out

Christopher Meloni as Roger, Ike Barinholtz as Jeffrey & Bashir Saladuddin as Morgan Russell – Snatched

Jack Reynor as Harry – Free Fire

Jeremy Ray Taylor as Ben, Finn Wolfhard as Richie & Jack Dylan Grazer as Eddie – It

Jon Bernthal as Griff – Baby Driver

Michael Cera as Dick Grayson/Dick – The LEGO Batman Movie

Pedro Pascal as Whiskey – Kingsman: The Golden Circle

Ray Romano as Terry – The Big Sick

Steve Zahn as Bad Apes – War for the Planet of the Apes

Stephen Merchant as Caliban – Logan

 

 

Supporting Actress

Allison Janney as LaVona Golden – I, Tonya

Ana de Armas as Joi – Blade Runner 2049

Felicity Jones as Mum – A Monster Calls

Laurie Metcalf as Marion McPherson – Lady Bird

Pom Klementieff as Mantis – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Robin Wright as Antiope – Wonder Woman

Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie – Thor: Ragnarok

Tiffany Haddish as Dina – Girls Trip

 

Honorable Mentions

Amiah Miller as Nova – War for the Planet of the Apes

Bella Heathcote as Olive Byrne – Professor Marston and the Wonder Women

Holly Hunter as Beth – The Big Sick

Lucy Davis as Etta – Wonder Woman

Michelle Pfeiffer as Woman – Mother!

Riley Keough as Kim – It Comes At Night

 

Just Missed the List

Elle Fanning as Loretta Figgis – Live by Night

Glenn Close as Dr. Caroline Caldwell – The Girl with All the Gifts

Karen Gillan as Nebula – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Linda Cardellini as Joan Smith – The Founder

Salma Hayek as Sonia Kincaid – The Hitman’s Bodyguard

Sigourney Weaver as Grandma – A Monster Calls

 

 

Villain

Allison Williams as Rose Armitage – Get Out

Annabelle – Annabelle: Creation

Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise – It

Cate Blanchett as Hela – Thor: Ragnarok

James McAvoy as Dennis/Patricia/Hedwig/Kevin/Barry/Jade/Orwell/The Beast – Split

Jamie Foxx as Bats & Jon Hamm as Buddy – Baby Driver

Michael Keaton as Adrian Toomes/Vulture – Spider-Man: Homecoming

 

Honorable Mentions

Calvin – Life

Common as Cassian – John Wick: Chapter 2

Michael Shannon as Richard Strickland – The Shape of Water

Skull Crawlers – Kong: Skull Island

Sylvia Hoeks as Luv – Blade Runner 2049

Zach Galifinakis as The Joker – The LEGO Batman Movie

 

Just Missed the List

Charlize Theron as Cipher – The Fate of the Furious

Kurt Russell as Ego – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Tony Goldwyn as Barry Norris – The Belko Experiment

Woody Harrelson as The Colonel – War for the Planet of the Apes

 

 

Mini-Review – Underworld: Blood Wars, Sleepless, Patriots Day, Live By Night & The Bye Bye Man

Hey everybody!

Welcome to another edition of Mini-Reviews. This is a longer one than usual, due to me falling behind. So let’s get to it, shall we?

 

*As always, these will be spoiler free reviews*

 

Underworld: Blood Wars

Director: Anna Foerster

Writer: Cory Goodman

Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Theo James, Tobias Menzies, Lara Pulver, James Faulkner, Peter Andersson, Clementine Nicholson, Bradley James, Daisy Head and Charles Dance.

Synopsis: Vampire death dealer, Selene fights to end the eternal war between the Lycan clan and the Vampire faction that betrayed her.

 

The Underworld series started off as an interesting franchise that had some cool mythology and made Kate Beckinsale a big name to those not familiar with her. The sequel came along and was just okay which lead to a prequel for the third film. Then the fourth film came out and things took a turn for the worse. The series had lost its footing and became lost in its attempt to make itself relevant. This now leads us to Underworld: Blood Wars, which is more of the same, but thankfully better than Underworld: Awakening, which isn’t saying much really.

Blood Wars starts off by giving us a bit of a refresher on the series so far – leaving some things out – but also shows that Selene (Kate Beckinsale) is now a fugitive from the remaining vampires and new Lycan leader, Marius (Tobias Menzies), who wants the location of Selene’s daughter. The problem is that even Selene doesn’t know where her daughter is, and with the help of David (Theo James), his father Thomas (Charles Dance), and a vampire council member Semira (Lara Pulver), Selene is brought back into the fold to help deal with Marius.

Like I mentioned, Blood Wars is more of the same from the previous films – stylized action set-pieces, new mythology and characters being introduced and Kate Beckinsale in tight leather kicking-ass. Other than that, the film doesn’t really do anything that feels substantial. Things are brought up that would be considered twists or could have landed bigger if written better or anything the film did actually mattered.

The film is too rushed for its own good. Everything lands too quickly, and the final act of the film just happens. One particular part in the final act does mean something since it’s connected to the beginning of the film, but other than that the final act is structurally not sound.

When it comes to the cast, they all do the best they can with what they are given. Kate Beckinsale is the only real saving grace of the cast since she’s played the part so many times now. Theo James is just as bland as he was in the last film, while Tobias Menzies’ Marius is supposed to be this great Lycan leader, but doesn’t really do anything that frightening – also his cheap two dollar CGI wolf character doesn’t do him any favors. Lara Pulver as Semira could have been a great character if she had more screen time as could have Clementine Nicholson’s Lena, who is part of a new vampire clan, Finally, Charles Dance’s Thomas should have had more time, because you know, its Charles freaking Dance.

All in all, Underworld: Blood Wars is a passable sequel, and a better one than Awakening, but again, that’s not saying much. Things feel like they just happen, and the structure of the film is just off that you can never really feel any sort of enjoyment. One thing that really bothered me is the ending. I obviously don’t want to spoil it, but considering how it ends, it just felt like the whole film was for nothing.

Underworld: Blood Wars

2.5 out of 5

 

 

Sleepless

Director: Baran bo Odar

Writer: Andrea Berloff

Cast: Jamie Foxx, Michelle Monaghan, Scoot McNairy, Gabrielle Union, Octavius J. Johnson, T.I., Dermot Mulroney, and David Harbour

Synopsis: A cope with a connection to the criminal underworld scours a nightclub in search of his kidnapped son.

 

A remake of the French film Nuit Blanche, Sleepless takes place mostly in one location and is surprising a little better than I thought it would be, even though I had watched the original film years before.

Sleepless follows Las Vegas officer Vincent Downs (Jaime Foxx), who along with his partner Sean (T.I.) steal a bag of cocaine at the beginning of the film. Little do they know, the cocaine belongs to a crooked casino boss Stanley Rubino (Dermot Mulroney) who is going to sell the drugs to the dangerous Rob Novak (Scott McNairy), the son of a local mob boss. In order to get the drugs back, they kidnap Vincent’s son Thomas (Octavius J. Johnson) and demand he return their product. Of course, things don’t go over smoothly as Internal Affairs agents Jennifer Bryant (Michelle Monaghan) and Doug Dennison (David Harbour) become involved.

Like I mentioned, the film is a little better than I thought it was going to be, but Sleepless does run into some issues throughout. The film doesn’t do Jamie Foxx any favors besides making him look like an action hero. Foxx’s usual charisma is put on the backburner so he can be almost stoic at times, which is a bit of a shame. Although, the result does lead to impressive fight scenes, including a kitchen scene and a highly impressive hotel room fight.

The rest of the cast do their best with what they are given. Scoot McNairy is one of the best underrated and unknown actors around, and while he plays a villain well, they could have done just a little more with him. Michelle Monaghan plays the straight-laced IA agent who has her moments, and after watching this, I hope we see more roles like this from her, and her chemistry with the always reliable David Harbour is spot on. Dermot Mulroney looked like he enjoy playing a slimy villain, Gabrielle Union only has a handful of scenes, so her casting feels wasted and T.I. also has only a few scenes but all of his scenes feel the same when you look back afterwards.

All in all, Sleepless feels a bit hallow at times, but it does have its moments that make the price of admission worth it.

Sleepless

3.5 out of 5

 

 

Patriots Day

Director: Peter Berg

Writers: Peter Berg, Matt Cook and Joshua Zetumer

Cast: Mark Wahlberg, John Goodman, Michelle Monaghan, Kevin Bacon, Alex Wolff, Themo Melikidze, Jimmy O. Yang, Rachel Brosnahan, Christopher O’Shea, James Colby, Michael Beach, Vincent Curatola, Jake Picking, Melissa Benoist, and J.K. Simmons

Synopsis: An account of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and the aftermath, which includes the city-wide manhunt to find the terrorist responsible.

 

Considering Patriots Day is based off a real event, and one that I’m sure most of us remembering watching on TV as the events unfolded, I’m going to play with the “no spoilers” rule here a bit. The film follows the events at the Boston Marathon and what the first responders and FBI did to find and capture the Tsarnaev brothers.

The film has a lot of players on the board, we mostly follow Boston Police Sergeant Tommy Saunders (Mark Wahlberg), a made up character based on several people, who is at the finish line of the marathon when the first bomb went off. The events bring everyone is like Police Commissioner Ed Davis (John Goodman), Governor Deval Patrick (Michael Beach) and FBI Special Agent Richard DesLauriers (Kevin Bacon) to find Tamerlan Tsarnaev (Themo Melikidze) and his brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (Alex Wolff) which involved shutting down all of Boston and lead to a dangerous shootout in Watertown.

Peter Berg really does have a knack for true-story films, Lone Survivor and Deepwater Horizon were great films, and all star Mark Wahlberg, but the thing that makes these films, along with Patriots Day is how he handles the material. Berg treats the events with tremendous respect and never tries to feed the audience a political agenda or lean the audience a certain way. He lets the story tell itself and lets the characters come to life in their own way, even though most of the characters are based on real people. It’s also a credit to the great cast that they are able to do so.

However, with a big cast like this, the film does have a lot of characters to follow that a lot of them don’t get real time to breathe and don’t get the justice they deserve. J.K. Simmons has a small, but good, role as the Watertown sergeant Jeffrey Pugliese, Rachel Brosnahan and Christopher O’Shea play couple Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes who were close to the first blast sight, Jake Picking plays Officer Sean Collier, who was shot by the brothers, and Jimmy O. Yang plays Dun Meng, who has a dangerous encounter with brothers halfway through the film. Another thing Patriots Day falls into is some pacing issues before the final act of the film, but again, it’s the cast the keep the film together.

Two of the highlights of the film, if that’s what you want to call it considering the nature of the real life events, is the aftermath of the bombing. How Berg moves the camera through the destruction and through the eyes of Tommy is both horrifying and telling on how the first responders probably felt when they helped so many that day. The other is the shootout before Dzhokhar runs and hides in the boat he was later recovered from.

All in all, Patriots Day isn’t an easy film to watch due to the nature of the events and how Berg was able to recreate it. The cast, despite being one person too many, does a tremendous job paying respect to people they were playing and to those affected by the actions that happened that horrible day and what happened afterwards.

Patriots Day

4 out of 5

 

 

Live by Night

Director: Ben Affleck

Writer: Ben Affleck

Cast: Ben Affleck, Chris Messina, Sienna Miller, Elle Fanning, Zoe Saldana, Robert Glenister, Remo Girone, Chris Cooper and Brendan Gleeson

Synopsis: A group of Boston-bred gangsters set up shop in balmy Florida during the Prohibition era, facing off against the competition and the Ku Klux Klan.

 

Based off the novel by Dennis Lehane, Ben Affleck writes and directs what has become a bit of a passion project for him, so it’s a bit odd to see what became of the film. Affleck has shown he’s a great to solid director with films like Gone Baby Gone, The Town and Argo, but Live by Night will be – hopefully – the only blemish on his resume.

Ben Affleck plays Joe Coughlin, a former World War I soldier and son of a police officer (Brendan Gleeson), who returns home and starts to see himself as an outlaw and runs heists throughout Boston. He eventually falls in love with Emma Gould (Sienna Miller), who happens to be the mistress of Irish mob boss Albert White (Robert Glenister). This puts him on the sights on White’s rival, Italian mob boss Maso Pescatore (Remo Girone) who wants Joe to work for him. Joe eventually does and Maso sends him down to Tampa to run his bootlegging operation. Once there, and reunited with his old partner Dion Bartolo (Chris Messina) and they make a nice empire for themselves. That all changes when Joe starts falling in love with Graciela (Zoe Saldana), and struggles to keep his moral code in place.

Live by Night is unfortunately a bit of a mess, which is odd considering Affleck was passionate about getting the film made, and took so long to make. That’s not to say there is some great stuff within the mess, but it is the scattered material that keeps the film from being great. Not only that, the film has a bit too much going on that by the end, it feels like the film is forcing itself to tie-up the loose ends that were introduced beforehand. It’s a bit of a shame too, considering Affleck has shown he can handle himself with great material.

The cast itself is great, but it’s a shame that some characters don’t have time to expand and get developed more. Chris Messina, who is always great with the right material, playing Joe’s right-hand man Dion Bartolo could have used more time onscreen as could Elle Fanning’s character Loretta, the daughter of Tampa sheriff Figgis played by Chris Cooper. Especially considering Fanning is involved in a big subplot. Zoe Saldana also pops in but doesn’t really do much after her initial introduction, and reminding Joe that he doesn’t need to be cruel to do the life he’s involved in. Brendan Gleeson’s glorified cameo suffers just a bit due to him using his natural Scottish accent that makes it a little hard to understand. Sienna Miller’s character could have been an interesting character, but her arc gets cut too soon.

Affleck does okay as the Joe, and even though we follow him throughout the film his moments of doubt and morality being tested are usually rushed to the point that it just feels like Affleck is trying to get to the next scene, which is odd considering the film is over two hours. When it comes to working with his production designer and cinematographer, he works well. Every scenic shot is beautiful to look at, and the sets look amazing.

All in all, Live by Night has some issues that could have been avoided, but sadly they aren’t which hurts the film in the long run. The cast is great, but none of their characters are developed fully or pushed to the wayside to tell Ben Affleck’s Joe story. While the action scenes are top-notch, Live by Night is just a tad underwhelming in the long run, but in no way should change your view on Affleck’s directing ability.

Live by Night

3.5 out of 5

 

 

The Bye Bye Man

Director: Stacy Title

Writer: Jonathan Penner

Cast: Douglas Smith, Lucien Laviscount, Cressida Bonas, Jenna Kanell, Michael Trucco, Cleo King, Leigh Whannel, Doug Jones, Carrie-Anne Moss and Faye Dunaway

Synopsis: Three friends stumble upon the horrific origins of the Bye Bye Man, a mysterious figure they discover is the root cause of the evil behind man’s most unspeakable acts.

 

It’s a bit of a shame that after the great year horror had last year – finally – a film like this comes along and washes all that away. Apparently based off a story called “The Bridge to Body Island” by Robert Damon Schneck, The Bye Bye Man has an interesting concept that falls apart once the film gets going. That’s only the beginning of this film’s issues.

The film follows three college friends in Elliot (Douglas Smith), his girlfriend Sasha (Cressida Bonas) and their friend John (Lucien Laviscount) who buy and move into an old house off campus. Everyone seems okay at first until Elliot finds an old coin on his nightstand left by the previous owner. He then discovers writing underneath the drawer that says “Don’t Think it, Don’t Say it” and under that are craved words “The Bye Bye Man.” At first he laughs it off, but when the three start experiencing strange things in and out of the house, they soon learn The Bye Bye Man (played by the awesome character actor Doug Jones) is indeed real, and after them.

One of the problems with The Bye Bye Man – one of many – is we don’t get a sense of the characters, and hardly care for them. Elliot is the closet one to actually having a backstory, while Sasha is just the girlfriend who, at the beginning, tries to convince Elliot that what is happening is real, but after Elliot goes along with it, she becomes a bit annoying, and John somewhat disappears for a bit and we really don’t miss him. Jenna Kanell pops in as Sasha’s friend Kim, who is a psychic of sorts and, based off the trailers, is the one that gets killed by the train, which is the highlight of her character.

However, the saving graces of the film – cast wise – is the small roles by Carrie-Anne Moss, Faye Dunaway and Leigh Whannell. Faye Dunaway appears near the end of the film and adds to some backstory of The Bye Bye Man, Carrie-Anne Moss plays a local detective that could have been played by really anyone else, but Moss adds some gravitas to the role. Leigh Whannell plays Larry Redmond a writer that “discovers” The Bye Bye Man and is involved in the best scenes in the film: flashbacks. Finally, Doug Jones does this best he can with what he’s given as the titular character.

All in all, the concept of the film sounds good at first, but once we start seeing what he does and really think about it afterwards, The Bye Bye Man fails to execute on its promise. The characters are bland and are never developed and a muddled story doesn’t help. The Bye Bye Man is almost passable film while watching, but nothing you’ll remember.

The Bye Bye Man

2 out of 5

 

Let me know what you think.

January Movie Releases

Happy New Year!!

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, we have a new year in front of us which means one thing: new movies! Now, January is usually referred to as Hollywood’s “Dump” Month. Meaning they will release movies that they don’t think will perform well or are not confident in. Sometimes that is the case, but sometimes a movie will shine through. January is also filled with expanded releases of movies that came out in December so there is also that to look forward to.

You’ll notice that I will put the companies attached and responsible for releasing the film as well. Just trying something new to expand the page a bit and instead of posters, now you’ll be seeing trailers. I’ll try to update whenever new trailers come out.

 

 

6th

 

Wide Release: Hidden Figures

Based on the book my Margot Lee Shetterly, a team of African-American women provide NASA with important mathematical data needed to launch the program’s first successful space missions. I had the opportunity to watch the film on its limited release late last year, and I have to say it is a fantastic film. Do yourself a favor and go watch this. The film stars Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kevin Costner, Jim Parsons, Kirsten Dunst, Mahershala Ali, Aldis Hodge and Glen Powell.

 

Wide Release: A Monster Calls (Fantasy Drama – Focus Features/Participant Media/River Road Entertainment/Apaches Entertainment/La Trini)

Based on a script and book by Patrick Ness, A Monster Calls follows a boy as he seeks the help of a tree monster to cope with his single mom terminal illness. The film stars Liam Neeson as The Monster, Felicity Jones as the Mother, Sigourney Weaver as the Grandmother, Toby Kebbell as Dad, and Lewis MacDougall as the boy and Lily-Rose Aslandogdu as Lily.

 

Underworld: Blood Wars (Action – Screen Gems/Lakeshore Entertainment/Sketch Films)

Selene (Kate Beckinsale) returns to once again try and end the war between the Lycan clan and the Vampire fraction that betrayed her. Blood Wars does look like a step-up from the last film, but I don’t know how the film will actually turn out. The film also stars Theo James, Tobias Menzies, Lara Pulver, and Charles Dance.

 

 

13th

Wide/Expansion Release: Patriots Day

 

Limited Release: The Comedian

A look at the life of an aging insult comic played by Robert De Niro. The film also stars Leslie Mann, Danny DeVito, Cloris Leachman, Harvey Keitel, Eddie Falco and Billy Crystal.

 

Wide Release: Live By Night

Based off the novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane, Ben Affleck writes, directs and stars in this great looking film that is set during the Prohibition and follows Joe Coughlin, the son of a prominent Boston police captain, as he rises through the ranks of the criminal underworld and the trouble he falls into along the way. Besides the film looking great, it has a great cast in Zoe Saldana, Elle Fanning, Sienna Miller, Brendan Gleeson, Chris Sullivan, Anthony Michael Hall, Titus Welliver, Max Casella, Chris Messina, and Chris Cooper.

 

Wide Release: Silence 

Based on the book by Shusaku Endo, Martin Scorsese directs this historic drama set in the seventh century when two Jesuit priests (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver) face violence and persecution when they travel to Japan to locate their mentor (Liam Neeson) and propagate Catholicism. Based off the trailer the film looks very powerful, and the early word from its limited release has made that statement true. Now tith its wide release, hopefully we’ll get a chance to experience that. Silence also stars Tadanobu Asano, and Ciaran Hinds.

 

The Bye Bye Man (Horror Thriller – STX Entertainment/Intrepid Pictures/Los Angles Media Fund)

An adaptation of the short story “The Bridge to Body Island,” by Robert Damon Schneck, the story centers on three Wisconsin college students in the 1990s, who move into an old house off campus. They unwittingly unleash a supernatural entity known as The Bye Bye Man, who comes to pretty upon them once they discover his name. The friends must try to save each other, all the while keeping The Bye Bye Man’s existence a secret to save others from the same deadly fate. The film looks okay, and a bit cheesy based on the first trailer – at least for me. This is actually the third move for the film as it was set for an October release, then a June release, then a early December release, and now this date.

 

Monster Trucks (Sci-Fi Adventure – Paramount Pictures/Paramount Animation/Nickeldeon Movies)

Another film that was moved three times now, although this one was done to complete post-production, Monster Trucks takes the idea of the popular derby and flips it on its head by making it literal. There are alien monsters that take over trucks and are on the run. Of course humans help them and what follows is some insane looking over-the-top action. Stars Lucas Till, Jane Levy, Rob Lowe, Amy Ryan, Barry Pepper, Samara Weaving, Holt McCallany, Frank Whaley, Thomas Lennon, and Danny Glover.

 

Sleepless (Action Thriller – Open Road Films/FilmNation Entertainment/Vertigo Entertainment/Riverstone Pictures)

A remake of French film Nuit Blanche (which I highly recommend you watch), a cop with a connection to the criminal underworld scours a nightclub in search of his kidnapped son. The film look okay, I was a huge fan of the original film, and this one does look like they’re upping the action, which is fine if the movie turns out good. The film stars Jamie Foxx, Gabrielle Union, Michelle Monaghan, David Harbour, T.I., and Scoot McNairy.

 

20th

Limited Release: The Red Turtle

Produced by the famous Studio Ghibli, the dialogue-less film follows the major life stages of a castaway on a deserted tropical island populated by turtles, crabs and birds.

 

Wide Release: 20th Century Women

 

The Resurrection of Gavin Stone (Family Romance Comedy – High Top Releasing/WWE Studios)

Gavin Stone (Brett Dalton), a washed up former child star, is forced to do community service at a local megachurch and pretends to be Christian so he can land the part of Jesus in their annual Passion Play, only to discover that the most important role of life is far from Hollywood. The film also stars Neil Flynn, Anjelah Johnson-Reyes, Liam Matthews, D.B. Sweeney, and WWE Legend Shawn Michaels.

 

The Founder (Biography Drama – The Weinstein Company/FilmNation Entertainment/The Combine)

Michael Keaton stars in this film that tells the story of McDonald’s founder, Ray Kroc. I don’t think I’ve ever actually thought about the story of McDonald’s and since I’ve seen the trailer, it’s peaked my interest and I’m sure to many others as well. Also, the studio has high hopes as they moved the film from its release date last year in August to prime Oscar contention time. The rest of the cast includes Laura Dern, Patrick Wilson, Linda Cardellini, Nick Offerman, B.J. Novak, and John Carroll Lynch.

 

 

Split (Thriller – Universal Pictures/Blumhouse Productions/Blinding Edge Pictures)

M. Night Shyamalan is back at it. The film stars James McAvoy as Kevin, a man with at least 23 different personalities, is compelled to abduct three teenage girls. As they are held captive, a final personality – “The Beast” – begins to materialize. The film also stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson, Sterling K. Brown and Betty Buckley. Honestly, this doesn’t look that bad. McAvoy looks like he’d nailing the role and it actually looks like a cool and effective thriller.

 

xXx: The Return of Xander Cage (Action Thriller – Paramount Pictures)

Directed by D.J. Caruso (Disturbia, Eagle Eye, I Am Number Four), Xander Cage (Vin Diesel), thought to be dead, is bought back by his handler Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) to lead a team to stop a massive attack. The film also stars Nina Dobrev, Donnie Yen, Ruby Rose, Tony Jaa, Toni Collette, Rory McCann, and Deepika Padukone.

 

27th

A Dog’s Purpose (Dramedy – Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment/Walden Media/DreamWorks SKG)

Based on the novel by W. Bruce Cameron and directed by Lasse Hallstrom (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Dear John, The Hundred-Foot Journey), the film follows a dog (voiced by Bradley Cooper), who looks to discover his purpose in life over the course of several lifetimes and owners. The film also stars Britt Robertson, Peggy Lipton, John Ortiz, and Dennis Quaid.

 

Bastards (Comedy – Warner Bros./Alcon Entertainment/The Montecito Picture Company/DMG Entertainment)

Upon learning that their mother has been lying to them for years about their allegedly deceased father, two fraternal twin brothers hit the road in order to find him. The film stars Owen Wilson, Ed Helms, Glenn Close, Ving Rhames, Terry Bradshaw, and J.K. Simmons.

 

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (Screen Gems/Constantin Film International/Capcom Entertainment)

The last installment of the Milla Jovovich and Paul W.S. Anderson Resident Evil series, which could be a good or bad thing, depending on how you feel about the series. The Final Chapter picks ups immediately after the events from the last film and follows Alice (Jovovich) returning to Raccoon City where the Umbrella Corporation is gathering forces for a final strike against the only remaining survivors. The film will bring back Ali Larter as Claire Redfield, Iain Glen as Dr. Alexander Isaacs and Shawn Roberts as Albert Wesker with new cast members Ruby Rose, William Levy, Eoin Macken, and international star Rola.

 

Gold (Drama Thriller – TWC-Dimension/Black Bear Pictures/Living Films/Hwy61)

An unlikely pair venture to the Indonesian jungle in search of gold. The film is giving off a semi-American Hustle vibe and seeing Matthew McConaughey lose himself in the character should be interesting to watch. The film also stars Bryce Dallas Howard, Edgar Ramirez, Toby Kebbell, Rachael Taylor, Corey Stoll, Bruce Greenwood, Bill Camp, and Stacy Keach

 

What are you looking forward to?

December Movie Releases

It’s December, ladies and gentlemen!

The year is almost over! How has your year been, because it’s been a great year for films, huh? December is also a tough month to set, because this is the big Oscar month, so a lot of films end up getting limited releases, expansion releases, and then wide releases. So if anything is off, it’s because of that. I’ll do my best to get everything where it’s suppose to go, and if not I’ll come back and update the schedule.  So let’s jump right in the films that will close out the year.

Also, Happy Whatever-It-Is-You-Celebrate!

 

2nd

Limited Release: Jackie (Biography Drama – Fox Searchlight Pictures/Why Not Productions/Wild Bunch)

Following the assassination of her husband, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy (played by Natalie Portman) fights through grief and trauma to regain her faith, console her children and define her husband’s historic legacy. The film has gotten a lot of love at the film festival circuit, and is getting a lot of Oscar buzz. It probably helped that this film has been in the works for a long time too. Jackie also stars Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, John Hurt, Billy Crudip, Max Casella, Richard E. Grant, and Caspar Phillipson.

 

Limited Release: La La Land (Drama Comedy Musical)

Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone reunite for La La Land which follows a jazz pianist who falls for an aspiring actress in Los Angeles. The film is getting a ton of great reviews from the film festival circuit so this one is one you should keep your eye out for. Also the trailer really gives off the vibe that the film will be a nice tribute to films of old. The film also stars Finn Wittrock, Rosemarie DeWitt, John Legend, Jason Fuchs, Hemky Madera, and J.K. Simmons.

 

Incarnate (Horror Thriller – Universal Pictures/Blumhouse Productions/WWE Studios/IM Global/High Top Releasing/Deep Underground Films)

A scientist with the ability to enter the subconscious minds of the possessed must save a young boy from the grips of a demon with powers never seen before, while facing the horrors of his past. The film stars Aaron Eckhart, Carice van Houten, David Mazouz, Emjay Anthony, Matt Nable, and Catalina Sandino Moreno.

 

 

9th

Expanded/Wide Release: Nocturnal Animals

Expanded Release: La La Land

Expanded Release: Jackie

 

 

Office Christmas Party (Comedy – Paramount Pictures/DreamWorks Pictures/Bluegrass Films)

When his uptight CEO sister (Jennifer Aniston) threatens to shut down his branch, the branch manager thrown an epic Christmas party in order to land a big client and save the day, but the party gets way out of hand. The film also stars T.J. Miller, Kate McKinnon, Jason Bateman, Rob Corddry, Olivia Munn, Jillian Bell, Jamie Chung, Abbey Lee, Randall Park, Matt Walsh and Courtney B. Vance.

 

16th

Limited Release: The Founder (Biography Drama)

Michael Keaton stars in this film that tells the story of McDonald’s founder, Ray Kroc. I don’t think I’ve ever actually thought about the story of McDonald’s and since I’ve seen the trailer, it’s peaked my interest and I’m sure to many others as well. The rest of the cast includes Laura Dern, Patrick Wilson, Linda Cardellini, Nick Offerman, B.J. Novak, and John Carroll Lynch.

 

 

Collateral Beauty (Drama – New Line Cinema/Village Roadshow Pictures/Overbrook Entertainment/Anonymous Content/Likely Star/PalmStar Media)

An advertising executive encounters three mysterious figures who encourage him to move on from the past. The film looks like it’s going to be a powerhouse with the cast, but the idea does seem odd, and one that you can probably figure out from the trailers. Hopefully the execution works. Will Smith, Kate Winslet, Keira Knightley, Edward Norton, Naomie Harris, Michael Pena, and Helen Mirren star.

 

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Sci-Fi Adventure –Walt Disney Pictures/Lucasfilm)

Gareth Edwards directs the first spinoff/standalone film of the new set of Star Wars films, which actually takes us back in time as it follows Rebels on a mission to steal plans for the Death Star. Listen, it’s Star Wars, people are going to go watch it. However, the film’s last two trailers were freaking awesome, of course the film however, will have some closer eyes as the “dirty” word in Hollywood has hit the film: reshoots. Nonetheless, the film looks great and more importantly it looks different. The film stars Felicity Jones, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Diego Luna, Riz Ahmed, Jonathan Aris, and Forest Whittaker.

 

21st

Sing (Animation – Universal Pictures/Illumination Entertainment)

A koala named Buster (Matthew McConaughey) recruits his best friend to help him drum up business for his theater by hosting a singing competition. I don’t know if I’m over talking animal animated film this year, but I’m not getting behind the Sing train. The voice cast also includes Scarlett Johansson, Reese Witherspoon, John C. Reilly, Seth MacFarlane, Taron Egerton, Nick Offerman, Peter Serafinowicz,  and Jennifer Saunders.

 

Patriots Day (Lionsgate/CBS Films/Closest to the Hole Productions)

Directed by Peter Berg, the film is an account of Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis’s (played by John Goodman) actions in the events leading up to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and the aftermath, which includes the city-wide manhunt to find the terrorists behind it. Berg has already made a splash this year with Deepwater Horizon with Mark Wahlberg, so I can only think that this will be either as good or just as good. Patriots Day also stars J.K. Simmons, Kevin Bacon, Melissa Benoist, Michelle Monaghan, Alex Wolff, and Rachel Brosnahan.

 

Passengers (Sci-Fi Adventure – Sony Pictures/Columbia Pictures/Village Roadshow Pictures/LStar Capital/Original Film/Start Motion Pictures/Company Films)

A spacecraft traveling to a distant colony planet and transporting thousands of people has a malfunction in its sleep chambers. As a result, two passengers (Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence) are awakened 90 years early. Two of the most liked and extremely talented actors in Hollywood are getting together for a film, and one that looks not too bad, I think we looking at a big hit here, don’t you think? Michael Sheen, Laurence Fishburne, and Andy Garcia also star.

 

Assassin’s Creed (Action – 20th Century Fox)

Based on the popular video game franchise, Michael Fassbender stars as Callum Lynch, who with the help of revolutionary technology that unlocks his genetic memories, experiences the adventures of his ancestor, Aguilar, in 15th Century Spain. Callum discovers he is descended from a mysterious secret society, The Assassins, and amasses incredible knowledge and skills to take on the oppressive and powerful Templar organization in the present day. Justin Kurzel, who directed the well-received and great film Macbeth, directs and reunites not only with Fassbender but Marion Cotillard as well. The film also stars Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, Ariane Labed, Mathias Varela, Brian Gleeson, and Michael Kenneth Williams.

 

 

23rd

Limited Release: A Monster Calls (Fantasy Drama – Focus Features/Participant Media/River Road Entertainment/Apaches Entertainment/La Trini)

Based on a script and book by Patrick Ness, A Monster Calls follows a boy as he seeks the help of a tree monster to cope with his single mom terminal illness. The film stars Liam Neeson as The Monster, Felicity Jones as the Mother, Sigourney Weaver as the Grandmother, Toby Kebbell as Dad, and Lewis MacDougall as the boy and Lily-Rose Aslandogdu as Lily. The film looks fantastic and I can’t wait to see how it does. The limited release is due to Focus Features trying to get the film an Oscar run. The film will come out early next year.

 

Limited Release: Silence (Drama)

Directed by Martin Scorsese and based off the novel by Shusaku Endo, the film is set in the seventeenth century, where we follow two Jesuit priests that face violence and persecution when they travel to Japan to locate their mentor and propagate Christianity. The film has been looking for a release date and what better date to come out in than in December around Oscar season right? The film stars Liam Neeson, Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Shin’ya Tsukamoto and Tadanobu Asano.

 

Why Him? (Comedy – 20th Century Fox/Red Hour Films/21 Laps Entertainment)

A dad (Bryan Cranston) forms a bitter rivalry with his daughter’s young rich boyfriend (James Franco). The film looks decently funny, at least we can hope, and seeing Cranston on the big screen is always nice – even if it’s a film like this. The film stars Zoey Deutch, and Megan Mullally.

 

25th

Limited Release: 20th Century Women (Comedy Drama)

The story of three women who explore love and freedom in Southern California during the late 1970s. The film stars Annette Bening, Elle Fanning, Greta Gerwig, Alia Shawkat, Laura Wiggins, and Billy Crudup.

 

Limited Release: Paterson (Drama Comedy) 

Set in the present in Paterson, New Jersey, this is a tale about a bus driver and poet, who also happens to be named Paterson (Adam Driver). I saw the trailer for the first time recently, and it looks like a great little indie film that will showcase Adam Driver.

 

Limited Release: Hidden Figures (Drama)

Based on a true story, a team of African-American women provide NASA with important mathematical date needed to launch the program’s first successful space missions. The film stars Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kristen Dunst, Jim Parsons, Mahershala Ali, Aldis Hodge, Glen Powell, and Kevin Costner.

 

Limited Release: Live By Night

Based off the novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane, Ben Affleck writes, directs and stars in this great looking film that is set during the Prohibition and follows Joe Coughlin, the son of a prominent Boston police captain, as he rises through the ranks of the criminal underworld and the trouble he falls into along the way. Besides the film looking great, it has a great cast in Zoe Saldana, Elle Fanning, Sienna Miller, Brendan Gleeson, Chris Sullivan, Anthony Michael Hall, Titus Welliver, Max Casella, Chris Messina, and Chris Cooper.

 

Fences (Drama – Paramount Pictures/Scott Rudin Productions/Bron Studios/MACRO)

Based on the play by August Wilson, and directed by Denzel Washington, Fences follows an African American father who struggles with race relations in the United States while trying to raise his family in the 1950s and coming to terms with the events of his life. The film stars Washington, Viola Davis, Mykelti Williamson, Russell Hornsby and Stephen Henderson.

 

So, what are you looking forward to?

‘Maleficent’ Review

Dir: Robert Stromberg

Cast: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Sam Riley, Brenton Thwaites, Juno Temple, Imelda Staunton, and Lesley Manville

Synopsis: A vindictive fairy is driven to curse an infant princess only to realize the child may be the only one who can restore peace.

 

 

*Reviewer Note: This will be a spoiler free review.*

 

 

It is a common thing in Hollywood now to retell classic stories from our childhood and give them a new take. Whether it be a gritty or realistic one, or even a total retelling of the story. In the case of Maleficent, it is not just a retelling but also a look at the point of view from the “villain.” The reason why I say “villain” is because Maleficent makes the title character, Maleficent (Jolie), a sympathetic character.

 

The start of the movie plays as an origin story for Maleficent. We see her at a young age, as the narrator – even telling us this is a story we never knew – tells us the magical world is not on the best terms with the human one. Nevertheless, Maleficent befriends and eventually falls in love with a human, Stefan (Copley). We see them as they grow and were told eventually Stefan stopped coming and worked his way into working in the castle for the king. With the king falling ill, and taking a beating from Maleficent and the other magical creatures, Stefan finds a way to become the king but the catch is he has to kill the woman he was once in love with. Finding not able to do it he takes something else from her, her wings.

 

The rest of the story you can probably guess; Stefan becomes king, Maleficent becomes evil, curses the baby Aurora, etc.  Where the story twists is when Maleficent begins to feel sympathy for Aurora, and becomes her unlikely protector since her official fairy guardians Flittle (Maville), Knotgrass (Staunton), and Thistletwit (Temple) are incompetent.

 

Now I will admit, I was a bit hesitant about Maleficent because it looked like it might suffer from Snow White and the Huntsman-syndrome. The movie is great looking for the most part. Although it should not be too much of a surprise since the director is not only a first time director but an Oscar winner for Special Effects, Richard Stromberg (Alice in Wonderland, Avatar). Stromberg knows how to make a scene look bright and vibrant but also dark and moody. Needless to say, he knows how to make a scene look cool but going back to Snow White and the Huntsman-syndrome, sometimes all the scene is, is just a pretty looking scene or cool wallpaper.

 

Now that’s not a knock on the special effects, like I said, a lot of is great to look at. But, even with a movie that has ton of special effects, it can not just rely on that, we need the story and even though the concept of Maleficent seems like a good, the movie sometimes falls flat on that end. Next to some of the effects, the best thing about the movie is Jolie’s Maleficent.

 

Jolie gives a great performance as usual. She displays the right amount of emotion ranging from pain, envy to sadness, but in reality, this is a redemption story for Maleficent. Having her heart broken and then cursing Stefan’s daughter Aurora (Fanning) to then feeling sorry for Aurora. Maleficent might be the best character in the movie, although that isn’t really saying much, when all the other characters seem either one-dimensional or are just not that interesting. The other best character is probably her minion Diaval played by Sam Riley, who gives a solid performance.

 

Elle Fanning’s Aurora doesn’t really have much to do. Really all her performance is smiling a lot. She does have some moments to do other than smile but it’s kind of a waste of Fanning’s ability.

 

Sharlto Copley’s Stefan will probably divide fans but needless to say, he’s not the King Stefan we knew in Sleeping Beauty. Also, the dark tone moments come from him and his interactions either with himself or with Maleficent. Copley is a great actor but just like Fanning, his ability is only limited to what the script and director wants.

 

The comedy here is mostly left to the fairies Flittle (Maville), Knotgrass (Staunton), and Thistletwit (Temple). Although there is some humor with magical creatures, Maleficent and Diaval having their moments too.

 

All in all, Maleficent is a great concept but doesn’t really pack the punch you want it to. Even the twists to the story aren’t great considering you might see some coming or just don’t pack the emotional punch I think the creative team thought they would. There are some pretty things to look at but Jolie and Riley make, or at least try, to make the movie mean something more.

 

Maleficent

3.5 out of 5