Much like the worst list, here's what we saw that we just loved this year. Didn't see everything released this year (count is less than 80 for us), but there were some real gems out there!
10. Trainwreck: Perhaps the deepest, richest and most intelligent raunchy comedy of the year.
9. Joy: A very inspiring and entertaining film, with a stellar performance from Jennifer Lawrence, but takes a little too long to get going.
8. The Final Girls: A clever and very well done little meta-comedy horror about a girl who goes back into her late mothers most well known film...a cheesy 80's slasher flick. And when I say in the film..I mean...in the film.
7. Everest: Taken from several different accounts of the 1996 Mt. Everest disaster, this film gives you an outstanding look at what happened on that tragic May 10th, including the first release of actual dialogue from the event. Heartbreaking.
6. Spring: A deep, atmospheric monster movie that uses an angle never used before. A captivating and beautiful watch.
5. Straight Outta Compton: In spite of some of the blatant revisions to make the group look good (that bit with Eazy and Cube reuniting in the club?! CHEESY!), still an utterly mind blowing film, outstanding!
4. Jurassic World: Great casting, great story and great fun! Great way to kick start the series.
3. Ex Machina: Mans emotions are his greatest ally and worst weakness, and how we process them is at the heart of this brilliant sci-fi tale thats woefully underseen.
2. The Martian: A great book turned into a better film. Great performance from Matt Damon and a solid supporting cast make a solid two hours that hold you enraptured.
1. Spotlight: The hands down best film of the year and one of the best of the decade. Who'd have thought a film about 4 reporters at the Boston Globe breaking open the Catholic church sex abuse scandal would be so deeply engrossing, so rich and entertaining. You owe it to yourself to find and see this masterful piece of work.
Friday, December 25, 2015
Thursday, December 24, 2015
10 WORST Films of 2015
Not letting this die completely! Of course not! We'll always have our 10 best and worst of the year! As always, this list is composed of films we've actually seen, not word of mouth. As it sits at this writing, we're at 78 films for the year. So here goes!
10. We Are Still Here: A weak, tepid attempt at a horror film that only petrified me in that I'll never get those precious minutes of life back.
9. Child 44: An interesting premise about child murders in Soviet era Russia that just collapses under its own slow pace.
8. Goodnight Mommy: Another horror movie expecting its twist to carry it through. Slow and ordinary, I don't get all the praise.
7. Monsters: Dark Continent: A sequel so bad, it makes the horrible original look like a masterpiece.
6. Chappie: A half assed Short Circuit, hopefully this will kill the careers of the one hit South African wonders.
5. Jupiter Ascending: A incoherent mess of a sci fi film that should have stayed on the shelf.
4. Carol: A dull drama that again is gaining praise for its subject matter. I've seen tectonic plates move faster.
3. Fantastic Four: Sure it seems trendy to bash this film, but it really was a piece of shit.
2. It Follows: Maybe the most overrated movie on the list, once again a very interesting premise done in by its wooden actors.
1. 50 Shades of Grey: There are not adjectives enough to describe how dull, boring, wooden, weak, poorly written and supremely stupid this movie is. Oh, I managed to come up with a few!
HONORABLE MENTION: Star Wars: The Force Awakens: While not really a "bad" film per say, this is far and away the most disappointing film of the year. Was so saddened.
10. We Are Still Here: A weak, tepid attempt at a horror film that only petrified me in that I'll never get those precious minutes of life back.
9. Child 44: An interesting premise about child murders in Soviet era Russia that just collapses under its own slow pace.
8. Goodnight Mommy: Another horror movie expecting its twist to carry it through. Slow and ordinary, I don't get all the praise.
7. Monsters: Dark Continent: A sequel so bad, it makes the horrible original look like a masterpiece.
6. Chappie: A half assed Short Circuit, hopefully this will kill the careers of the one hit South African wonders.
5. Jupiter Ascending: A incoherent mess of a sci fi film that should have stayed on the shelf.
4. Carol: A dull drama that again is gaining praise for its subject matter. I've seen tectonic plates move faster.
3. Fantastic Four: Sure it seems trendy to bash this film, but it really was a piece of shit.
2. It Follows: Maybe the most overrated movie on the list, once again a very interesting premise done in by its wooden actors.
1. 50 Shades of Grey: There are not adjectives enough to describe how dull, boring, wooden, weak, poorly written and supremely stupid this movie is. Oh, I managed to come up with a few!
HONORABLE MENTION: Star Wars: The Force Awakens: While not really a "bad" film per say, this is far and away the most disappointing film of the year. Was so saddened.
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Update!
Saw Avengers: Age of Ultron today. Really enjoyed it. It's been a pretty hectic day here so the review will likely show up Monday.
Monday, March 16, 2015
Updates on Top Picks 2015!
FEB. 6: Jupiter Ascending F
MAR. 6: Chappie C+
APR. 17: Child 44
MAY 1: Avengers: Age of Ultron
MAY 15: Pitch Perfect 2 (Moved from 5-18)
MAY 22: Tomorrowland
JUN. 12: Jurassic World
JUL. 24: Pixels
AUG. 14: Straight Outta Compton
SEPT. 18: Everest
OCT. 2: London Has Fallen
OCT. 16: Crimson Peak
Oct. 16: Bridge of Spies
NOV. 6; Peanuts
NOV. 20: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Pt. 2
NOV. 27: The Martian
DEC. 18: Star Wars Episode VII - The Force Awakens
MAR. 6: Chappie C+
APR. 17: Child 44
MAY 1: Avengers: Age of Ultron
MAY 15: Pitch Perfect 2 (Moved from 5-18)
MAY 22: Tomorrowland
JUN. 12: Jurassic World
JUL. 24: Pixels
AUG. 14: Straight Outta Compton
SEPT. 18: Everest
OCT. 2: London Has Fallen
OCT. 16: Crimson Peak
Oct. 16: Bridge of Spies
NOV. 6; Peanuts
NOV. 20: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Pt. 2
NOV. 27: The Martian
DEC. 18: Star Wars Episode VII - The Force Awakens
Mini Reviews for Top Picks!
Jupiter Ascending: Horrible, awful, terrible, silly, stupid and ill conceived. F
Chappie: Unlike the previous film has a clever (albeit one thats been used many times before) concept and a strong cast, but the writing isnt quite there to pull it all together. Interesting to see Hugh Jackman as a villain though. C+
Chappie: Unlike the previous film has a clever (albeit one thats been used many times before) concept and a strong cast, but the writing isnt quite there to pull it all together. Interesting to see Hugh Jackman as a villain though. C+
Monday, February 23, 2015
Oscar Winners!
Winners are in bold, my winner picks are bold underlined.
Best Animated Feature
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Song of the Sea
The Tale of Princess Kaguya
Best Documentary—Short
Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
Joanna
Our Curse
The Reaper
White Earth
Best Film Editing
American Sniper
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash
Best Production Design
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Into the Woods
Mr. Turner
Best Animated Short
The Bigger Picture
The Dam Keeper
Feast
Me and My Moulton
A Single Life
Best Live Action Short
Aya
Boogaloo and Graham
Butter Lamp
Parvaneh
The Phone Call
Best Sound Editing
American Sniper
Birdman
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar
Unbroken
Best Sound Mixing
American Sniper
Birdman
Interstellar
Unbroken
Whiplash
Best Visual Effects
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Best Documentary — Feature
Citizenfour
Finding Vivien Maier
Last Days of Vietnam
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga
Best Supporting Actor
Robert Duvall, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Laura Dern, Wild
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Emma Stone, Birdman
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods
Best Costume Design
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Into the Woods
Maleficent
Mr. Turner
Best Original Song
“Lost Stars,” Begin Again
“Everything is Awesome,” The LEGO Movie
“Glory,” Selma
“Grateful,” Beyond the Lights
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You,” Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me
Best Original Score
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Mr. Turner
The Theory of Everything
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy
Best Original Screenplay
Birdman
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Nightcrawler
Best Adapted Screenplay
American Sniper
The Imitation Game
Inherent Vice
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
Best Foreign Language Film
Ida
Leviathan
Tangerines
Timbuktu
Wild Tales
Best Cinematography
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ida
Mr. Turner
Unbroken
Best Actress
Marion Cotillard, Two Days One Night
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Best Actor
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper, American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Best Director
Alexandro G. Iñárritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game
Best Picture
American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Oscar Picks!
As per usual, my choices are in bold.
Best Animated Feature
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Song of the Sea
The Tale of Princess Kaguya
Best Documentary—Short
Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
Joanna
Our Curse
The Reaper
White Earth
Best Film Editing
American Sniper
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash
Best Production Design
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Into the Woods
Mr. Turner
Best Animated Short
The Bigger Picture
The Dam Keeper
Feast
Me and My Moulton
A Single Life
Best Live Action Short
Aya
Boogaloo and Graham
Butter Lamp
Parvaneh
The Phone Call
Best Sound Editing
American Sniper
Birdman
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar
Unbroken
Best Sound Mixing
American Sniper
Birdman
Interstellar
Unbroken
Whiplash
Best Visual Effects
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Best Documentary — Feature
Citizenfour
Finding Vivien Maier
Last Days of Vietnam
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga
Best Supporting Actor
Robert Duvall, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Laura Dern, Wild
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Emma Stone, Birdman
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods
Best Costume Design
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Into the Woods
Maleficent
Mr. Turner
Best Original Song
“Lost Stars,” Begin Again
“Everything is Awesome,” The LEGO Movie
“Glory,” Selma
“Grateful,” Beyond the Lights
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You,” Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me
Best Original Score
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Mr. Turner
The Theory of Everything
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy
Best Original Screenplay
Birdman
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Nightcrawler
Best Adapted Screenplay
American Sniper
The Imitation Game
Inherent Vice
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
Best Foreign Language Film
Ida
Leviathan
Tangerines
Timbuktu
Wild Tales
Best Cinematography
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ida
Mr. Turner
Unbroken
Best Actress
Marion Cotillard, Two Days One Night
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Best Actor
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper, American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Best Director
Alexandro G. Iñárritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game
Best Picture
American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
Thursday, January 15, 2015
2015 Oscar Nominations
Here is the master list. As soon as I've caught the 10 features and shorts that I need to complete my viewings, I'll post my picks in each category.
Best Animated Feature
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Song of the Sea
The Tale of Princess Kaguya
Best Documentary—Short
Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
Joanna
Our Curse
The Reaper
White Earth
Best Film Editing
American Sniper
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash
Best Production Design
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Into the Woods
Mr. Turner
Best Animated Short
The Bigger Picture
The Dam Keeper
Feast
Me and My Moulton
A Single Life
Best Live Action Short
Aya
Boogaloo and Graham
Butter Lamp
Parvaneh
The Phone Call
Best Sound Editing
American Sniper
Birdman
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar
Unbroken
Best Sound Mixing
American Sniper
Birdman
Interstellar
Unbroken
Whiplash
Best Visual Effects
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Best Documentary — Feature
Citizenfour
Finding Vivien Maier
Last Days of Vietnam
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga
Best Supporting Actor
Robert Duvall, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Laura Dern, Wild
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Emma Stone, Birdman
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods
Best Costume Design
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Into the Woods
Maleficent
Mr. Turner
Best Original Song
“Lost Stars,” Begin Again
“Everything is Awesome,” The LEGO Movie
“Glory,” Selma
“Grateful,” Beyond the Lights
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You,” Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me
Best Original Score
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Mr. Turner
The Theory of Everything
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy
Best Original Screenplay
Birdman
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Nightcrawler
Best Adapted Screenplay
American Sniper
The Imitation Game
Inherent Vice
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
Best Foreign Language Film
Ida
Leviathan
Tangerines
Timbuktu
Wild Tales
Best Cinematography
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ida
Mr. Turner
Unbroken
Best Actress
Marion Cotillard, Two Days One Night
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Best Actor
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper, American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Best Director
Alexandro G. Iñárritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game
Best Picture
American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Oscars Week!
That's right, the Oscar noms are due on Thursday the 15th! Usually announced around 7:30AM CST, we'll have them up within 10-15 minutes of the completion of the announcements.
Monday, January 5, 2015
Top Hits for 2015!
As always, dates can change. Check your local listings. Must sees will once again be in BOLD.
FEB. 6: Jupiter Ascending
MAR. 6: Chappie
APR. 17: Child 44
MAY 1: Avengers: Age of Ultron
MAY 18: Pitch Perfect 2
JUN. 12: Jurassic World
JUL. 24: Pixels
SEPT. 18: Everest
OCT. 16: Crimson Peak
NOV. 6; Peanuts
NOV. 20: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Pt. 2
NOV. 27: The Martian
DEC. 18: Star Wars Episode VII - The Force Awakens
More added as they're announced!
FEB. 6: Jupiter Ascending
MAR. 6: Chappie
APR. 17: Child 44
MAY 1: Avengers: Age of Ultron
MAY 18: Pitch Perfect 2
JUN. 12: Jurassic World
JUL. 24: Pixels
SEPT. 18: Everest
OCT. 16: Crimson Peak
NOV. 6; Peanuts
NOV. 20: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Pt. 2
NOV. 27: The Martian
DEC. 18: Star Wars Episode VII - The Force Awakens
More added as they're announced!
2015, A New Beginning
OK dear readers (are there any of you left?),
2013/14 saw a noticeable reduction in activity here. Oh sure, I can blame it on having a girlfriend or playing more soccer and being more social or any multitude of reasons.
But the plain and simple fact is this: I didn't want to write anything. I was burned out.
It's not that my love for film has vanished, quite the contrary in fact. I still believe that film is the most beautiful art form in the world. It's a medium that can transport you to another world, or make you confront deep dark fears, or make you fall hopelessly in love. If done well, you don't ever feel like you're "watching" events unfold, you feel part of them.
I was lucky enough to grow up in whats considered a "golden age" of film. The late 1970's brought us such technical innovations as Star Wars, Superman The Movie and new life breathing into tired genres from Halloween and Phantasm.
The 1980's brought more and more. I was fortunate enough to have seen Escape from New York and Blade Runner on the big screen. In fact, a friend of mine still "owes" me $100 after we made a childhood bet. I said that by the year 2000, we would see a lot of that film in our society. He disagreed. I think we know how that worked out. I even saw National Lampoon's Vacation on that 40 foot section of magic.
So what does all this mean for the blog? Well, simple. We're going to soldier on into the new year. We are going to lose some features. The running Oscars blog will go away. I will still post my choices and the winners on here, but the running commentary we've had till The Walking Dead took over Sunday nights in Feb. will be no more.
We'll also drop all coverage of the Razzie Awards and the Golden Schmoes awards. Also, we will no longer review every single film seen. We'll focus mainly on films listed as Top Hits and the occasional under the radar gem that I find.
Top hits will stay, as will the Best of/Worst of lists. We'll be sure to add more in depth reviews of the big films, as time will be more free by not feeling like I have to write a review of some crappy thing we decided to watch on Netflix one night just because it was a movie I watched.
This new leaner format will allow more focus and more time. I watched 124 movies for the first time in 2014 (thats not even counting finding Top Gun on TV one boring afternoon or the yearly screenings of Christmas Vacation or ThanksKilling.) So you can just imagine how overwhelming that can feel knowing you just watched 3 movies today and now you've gotta sit down and write a review, even a mini one, for each damn one.
Let's get to it friends, Top Hits for 2015 coming later today!!
2013/14 saw a noticeable reduction in activity here. Oh sure, I can blame it on having a girlfriend or playing more soccer and being more social or any multitude of reasons.
But the plain and simple fact is this: I didn't want to write anything. I was burned out.
It's not that my love for film has vanished, quite the contrary in fact. I still believe that film is the most beautiful art form in the world. It's a medium that can transport you to another world, or make you confront deep dark fears, or make you fall hopelessly in love. If done well, you don't ever feel like you're "watching" events unfold, you feel part of them.
I was lucky enough to grow up in whats considered a "golden age" of film. The late 1970's brought us such technical innovations as Star Wars, Superman The Movie and new life breathing into tired genres from Halloween and Phantasm.
The 1980's brought more and more. I was fortunate enough to have seen Escape from New York and Blade Runner on the big screen. In fact, a friend of mine still "owes" me $100 after we made a childhood bet. I said that by the year 2000, we would see a lot of that film in our society. He disagreed. I think we know how that worked out. I even saw National Lampoon's Vacation on that 40 foot section of magic.
So what does all this mean for the blog? Well, simple. We're going to soldier on into the new year. We are going to lose some features. The running Oscars blog will go away. I will still post my choices and the winners on here, but the running commentary we've had till The Walking Dead took over Sunday nights in Feb. will be no more.
We'll also drop all coverage of the Razzie Awards and the Golden Schmoes awards. Also, we will no longer review every single film seen. We'll focus mainly on films listed as Top Hits and the occasional under the radar gem that I find.
Top hits will stay, as will the Best of/Worst of lists. We'll be sure to add more in depth reviews of the big films, as time will be more free by not feeling like I have to write a review of some crappy thing we decided to watch on Netflix one night just because it was a movie I watched.
This new leaner format will allow more focus and more time. I watched 124 movies for the first time in 2014 (thats not even counting finding Top Gun on TV one boring afternoon or the yearly screenings of Christmas Vacation or ThanksKilling.) So you can just imagine how overwhelming that can feel knowing you just watched 3 movies today and now you've gotta sit down and write a review, even a mini one, for each damn one.
Let's get to it friends, Top Hits for 2015 coming later today!!
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