The Nice Guys (2016)

Directed by Shane Black
Written by Shane Black and Anthony Bagarozzi
Starring Ryan Gosling, Russell Crowe, Angourie Rice and Margaret Qualley

A mismatched pair of Private Detectives investigate the apparent suicide of a fading porn star in 1970s Los Angeles. As they dig deeper they uncover a conspiracy that is bigger than they could've ever imagined.

Director Shane Black returns to his roots by following his second film, "Iron Man 3", with a detective oriented dark-comedy much like his first film "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang".

As was expected, this film delivered many laugh-inducing moments. The writing and plot were just as expected. What was a bit of a surprise was the chemistry between Gosling and Crowe. Their banter and interactions with each other were flawless and very believable, even in the most ridiculous of moments.

While the story was impressive in itself, the set dressings and wardrobes to emulate the 70s seemed flawless. At least to myself. I never experienced the 70s in person. So maybe some of the more experienced viewers noticed some faults. However, I was never taken out of the story by an ill-timed prop or car.

This is one of the funniest films I have seen in a while. And I cannot praise the two headlining actors enough. They truly brought this film to life. It was a refreshing change to the typical cookie-cutter film…

I realize I used "cookie-cutter" in my last review as well. I apologize. But let's be honest. So many movies these days are similar, it's rare that you see two films that break from the norm in two days. I'm having a good week.

My Rating: 8/10

Green Room (2015)

Written and Directed by Jeremy Saulnier

Starring Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat and Patrick Stewart

After witnessing a murder, the members of a punk band are forced into a vicious fight for survival against a gang of malicious skinheads.

For whatever reason, I couldn't find a trailer on Youtube to embed on this review. But click here and check it out.

Blogger is being a piece of fecal matter right now so here is my short, but sweet review.
The setting alone for this film are enough to turn closed minded audiences away. But for those brave enough to venture into the theatre, (or in my case, just a fan of aggressive music) they will be treated to the most suspenseful film I have seen in a while.

There are no rules to this story. Everyone is fair game and I was honestly unsure of where the film was going. Which, in a world filled with cookie-cutter plotlines was like a breath of fresh air. Director Jeremy Saulnier created yet another masterpiece (GO SEE "BLUE RUIN") with his third feature film.

In his short career, he has birthed a sub-genre of horror/thriller movies that stand out amongst a sea of such films. I don't know what he calls them, but I hereby dub his genre "Boonie Slasher".
In a film this small, it is awesome to see someone like Patrick Stewart involved. And he is utterly terrifying.

GO SEE THIS MOVIE YOU IDIOTS!!!!
My Rating: 9/10

Money Monster (2016)

Directed by Jodie Foster
Written by Jamie Linden, Alan DiFiore and Jim Kouf
Starring George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Jack O'Connell and Caitriona Balfe

The host of a financial TV show host finds himself as a hostage to a man who lost everything following advice he was given by the host himself. With nothing to lose, the man holds the entire station up with a bomb until he finds some answers.

In today's world, I would think that it would be hard to make a movie audience feel a connection with an armed terrorist. In fact, without Wall Street and their shady business proceedings as the antagonist, I would believe it to be impossible. But there is one thing Americans hate more than armed criminals. And that is fraudulent businesses.

In this economical thriller, director Jodie Foster makes a film in which it is easy to feel for the man with the bomb. In her fourth film as director, she humanizes everyone from the down-on-his-luck criminal to the douchebag TV personality. But what she doesn't do is try to justify the shady business tactics used by Billion dollar corporations. As she shouldn't.

Although, the majority of the characters are extremely two-dimensional and have little to no arc, the role of Kyle, played by Jack O'Connell is one of the most heart-wrenching characters I have ever seen. Even though, in the eyes of the law he is in the wrong, you can't help but root for him in the corrupt system that is public trading.

"Money Monster" may not ever crack a top 10 list of mine, or even anyone else's. It's not mind-blowing. It's not revolutionary. It's not even amazing. It's a slightly above average film at best. But in this terrible year of movies thus far, I'll take what I can get.

My Rating: 7/10

Midnight Special (2016)

Written and Directed by Jeff Nichols
Starring Michael Shannon, Jaeden Lieberher, Joel Edgerton and Kirsten Dunst

A father and son run from the U.S. Government and a cult drawn to the child's special powers.

In an era of film where director's like Colin Trevorrow and Rian Johnson only use independent films as a springboard into bigger studio films, it is nice that there is a director out there that is dedicated to his own work and continues to deny intrusion from cinematic corporations.

That's not to say that abandoning independent films to create the next "Star Wars" or "Jurassic Park" movie is a bad thing. It's just refreshing that Jeff Nichols, a man who undoubtedly has the pull to grab some sort of franchise, sticks to his guns and creates unique stories.

In his fourth film, Nichols has created an intriguing sci-fi thriller in what feels to be a mix of "The Road" and "E.T.". It is a beautiful story, that admittedly, I was unsure of upon my first viewing. I could tell that it was a well made film, but due to my previous expectations not being met, I was left confused and desired a second watch.

"Midnight Special" is a film that rewards multiple viewings. Symbolism and minute details are more apparent once you know what to expect. I noticed things that I completely missed the first time around and it all stitched every question I had up very nicely.

It isn't out of the ordinary these days for a trailer of a film spoil it's entire plot. In this case, not only did the trailer contain the mystery, but much of the film did as well. I enjoyed questioning the plot throughout this thriller rather than being completely up to speed as most studio films allow you to be. The mysterious element is one that I doubt, Disney and Warner Brothers will adopt, but I would love if they did, even if just for a few projects.

Jeff Nichols and his latest film is everything that I love about independent film. Had a major studio been involved in more than just distribution, I feel they would have tampered with the story to the point where it lost everything that makes it special.

My Rating: 8/10

Demolition (2015)

Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée
Written by Bryan Sipe
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts, Chris Cooper and Judah Lewis

As an investment banker struggles after losing his wife in a tragic car crash, his increasingly confessional series of letters to a vending machine company catch the attention of a customer service rep with whom he forms an unlikely connection.

To follow up his masterpiece in "Dallas Buyers Club" and the wildly disappointing movie "Wild" (pun not intended, I promise), director Jean-Marc Vallée seems to have type-cast himself, in a way, with the types of films he creates. Perhaps he has finally found a style that he feels best expresses himself, or maybe he's just trying to recapture the success of "Dallas Buyers Club", but I feel he is starting to drift away from what made that film great while he tries too hard to keep himself significant.

At it's core, this film is (or could have been) intensely beautiful and heart wrenchingly emotional. It could have created a bond between protagonist and audience that could not be easily broken. After all, anyone that has lived a significant portion of their life has experienced the loss of a loved one in some way.

But instead, we are presented with a convoluted story of a selfish, unforgiving man. And perhaps that is exactly what the writer, director and actor wanted him to be. But I can't help but feel that it fails on so many levels.

The film feels as though it believe it is more clever than it is, elbowing you in the ribs as if to say "You see what I did there?". But in reality, there isn't much to point out. There are no deep metaphors or well constructed character arcs. In fact, it's hard to tell how the main character comes to the end of his journey. It kind of just happens. But about an hour after it should have happened.

Jake Gyllenhaal, while a decent actor, has seemingly been doing everything within his power to get an Oscar nomination. And it's been painfully apparent in every film he's been in since "Nightcrawler" (with the exception of "Everest").

Naomi Watts' role, as much as I love her, served absolutely no purpose other than to be a Macguffin. She disappears for much of the film, and when she is in the scene, you feel a sense of anticipation for everything to finally come together. But it never does.

If I'm honest, the first six paragraphs of this review paint a worse picture than it deserves. It's not a terrible movie. There is just a lot that I had to say regarding the plot. It wasn't terrible. It was just bland. It didn't have the emotional punch to the gut that made "Dallas Buyers Club" so great. And much like "Wild", it didn't appear as though the protagonist knew how to act around people.

I don't know if Vallée is going for something that I just can't comprehend, and if you feel differently than I do, please contact me to discuss it. I would like to see another view of it. But it just felt as though everyone involved in the higher-ups was just trying to hard.

My Rating: 5/10

Eye in the Sky (2015)

Directed by Gavin Hood
Written by Guy Hibbert
Starring Helen Mirren, Alan Rickman, Aaron Paul and Barkhad Abdi

In the age of drone warfare, much of the decision making regarding military attacks is done behind closed doors and spread amongst several people on different continents. This film by Gavin Hood opens those doors and lets the audience take a look at what goes on behind them.

While this is not the first film of its kind, "Eye in the Sky" is unique in its own way. It focuses on the moral struggle that not only the drone pilot faces, but also the numerous higher ups that chime in to green light the attack. Although the film takes place in three countries, it has a very claustrophobic feel to it. You are centered in on one small location for each character which only adds to the importance of the subject at hand.

With this all-star cast in which most of them act and react to things that aren't actually there (while filming), it is amazing how believable every performance is. Even though I know Aaron Paul and Helen Mirren are probably looking at blank screens, I believed that they were watching the events unfold before them in real time. That is something that is more difficult than it seems. Just ask Sir Ian McKellen.

One of the things that I loved about the film was Barkhad Abdi's return to the screen. You may remember him in his Oscar Nominated role in "Captain Phillips". When an actor comes out of nowhere and has success like he did, right away. I always worry that it won't go anywhere for them and that it was a fluke. But even in this, he proved to be a decent actor. And while we all know he will be typecast, at least he is making money doing so. And more money than he would driving limousines.

Overall, this film was a shining light in the dark months of film in early 2016. It is better than damn near everything that came out by a long shot, with a few exceptions. What makes this film great is that it creates a discussion or morality, not just between characters and audience members with opposing political beliefs. But for me, an internal dialogue of what I believe to be the just conclusion, if there even is one.

It had so much more going on than it needed to. It could just have easily had a lot of action and yelling and called it a day. But it chose to take the more difficult path and actually argue both sides of the debate logically and realistically. It was an unexpectedly intelligent and open minded film all while bringing up a subject that should be discussed more.

My Rating: 8/10

Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Directed by Zack Snyder
Written by Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer
Starring Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot and Amy Adams

A lot of Superhero fans were upset with me when I pointed out the Rotten Tomatoes score for this film. Some stated that film critics hate Super Hero movies (not true). Others stated that the then 33% (now 29%) was an exaggeration of it's failure. And while that may be true. Let's face it. This movie just wasn't good.

If you enjoyed it, that's completely different. Hell, I enjoyed it. But technically speaking, with editing, cinematography, acting and writing, it was one of the worst $250 Million dollar movies I have ever seen.

The acting was stiff, but that was expected. The writing was campy, as expected. Zack Snyder, a man who more or less invented steady cam action scenes, created sequences that were terribly shot and it seemed as if the camera operator was shaking under the weight of the camera. And the editing! Oh my, how it was some of the worst editing in recent memory. The film had very little flow and there were so many scenes that felt like they were cut short.

It was an enjoyable movie, but by no means was it a good movie. There were too many problems to forgive. And while I don't expect the average movie goer to notice, that is the reason I did not like it. The entire thing felt phoned in from what's supposed to be a professional cast and crew. It was as if they were forced into making it. For a film they've been teasing for decades, it was too little too late.

Thank God I don't have to pay for movies.

My Rating: 5/10