Posts Tagged ‘2016 movies’

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Finding Dory (2016)

August 26, 2016

Starring: Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Ed O’Neill
Director: Andrew Stanton (Wall-E, Finding Nemo, A Bug’s Life), Angus MacLane

Bottom Line: Finding Dory is a more-than-worthy long awaited sequel to Pixar’s Finding Nemo, continuing the story, but this time focusing on Ellen Degeneres’ Dory, a fish that has no short term memory, and the character that was arguably the star of the original film anyway. The movie opens in heartbreaking fashion – with a very young Dory getting separated from her family and having no idea how to get back to them before forgetting about them altogether. Something sparks her memory and Dory embarks on an adventure with Marlin and Nemo to find her parents, ultimately landing them in the Marine Life Institute, where Dory was born. Finding Dory is touching and funny and does a great job of calling back old characters while introducing classic new ones like Ed O’Neill’s self-serving and incredibly resourceful octopus Hank and Kaitlin Olson’s blind whale-shark Destiny. And Becky, a crazy bird that is hilariously wacko. Of course, it goes without saying that the animation in Finding Dory is absolutely stunning.

Finding Dory is great fun for both kids and adults, a worthy sequel to Finding Nemo, and, arguably, the first great Pixar film since Toy Story 3 in 2010.

Replay Value: A must own for me.
Sequel Potential: Pixar’s #1 movie domestically, with chances to pass Toy Story 3 as the studio’s all-time most lucrative theatrical release – all of which is a formula for more sequels.
Oscar Potential: Pretty rare that a Pixar movie this good isn’t a shoo-in for Best Animated Feature, but Zootopia is just as good and Kubo and the Two Strings – which I haven’t seen yet – is sitting at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Grade: 7.5/10 (Highly Enjoyable/Must See)

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Zootopia (2016)

August 17, 2016

Starring: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba
Director: Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Jared Bush (Tangled, Bolt, Wreck-It Ralph)

Bottom Line: Zootopia continues Disney Animation’s resurgence, following on the heels Frozen and Tangled‘s recent success. Gorgeous and hilarious, Zootopia is also incredibly relevant, with themes that jive with today’s All Lives Matter movement. Hidden beneath the cute mammals and constant humor is a movie about prejudice, racism, and defying the odds. Can a bunny really be a cop? Are predators predisposed to return to their killing instincts? Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman voice great chemistry as the lead roles in an unlikely team up of an optimistic bunny cop and a con artist fox. And the sloths! The sloths at Zootopia’s version of the DMV is hilarious. Zootopia is well paced with plenty of memorable characters and lots of humor, all while delivering some pretty adult messages about equality and friendship.

Beautifully animated, clever and funny, and fit for both kids and adults, Zootopia is one of the most enjoyable films of 2016.

Replay Value: Excellent. A must own for families.
Sequel Potential: Absolutely.
Oscar Potential: Midway through 2016, Zootopia is a shoo in for Best Animated Feature (unless The Jungle Book qualifies?) and would currently land on my list of Best Picture contenders.

Grade: 7.5/10 (Highly Enjoyable/Must See)

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Suicide Squad (2016)

August 17, 2016

Starring: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto, Viola Davis
Director: David Ayer (Fury, End Of Watch)

Bottom Line: Suicide Squad is a pretty good example of how the Rotten Tomatoes rating system can be misleading: at 27%, you might expect this to be terrible… it’s not. What a 27% rating really means is that roughly 3 out of 4 critics thought Suicide Squad wasn’t a good movie and, well, it’s not. But it’s not really a bad one either. It’s just a simple, fun action/comedy that does a decent job of lightening up the overly grim DCU film universe.

Margot Robbie is perfect casting as The Joker’s sweetheart Harley Quinn. She not only looks the part, but she plays Harley with the requisite blend of crazy/sexy/funny. Speaking of The Joker, Jared Leto does a remarkable job as the notable Batman villain; a tough taska considering Heath Ledger won an Oscar for the iconic role less than a decade ago. Leto’s Joker looks and sounds like a comic book villain – he’s totally nuts and over-the-top both in appearance and in his actions. The surprise of the cast is Will Smith as Deadshot. When I heard that casting, I raised an eyebrow in doubt, but Smith is easily one of the film’s highlights. If there’s any emotional resonance in the film, it’s with Smith’s Deadshot.

What didn’t work so well was the main antagonist in the film. It’s not The Joker as some might expect, it’s The Enchantress – and she’s terribly lame. Much like Zack Snyder’s awful light show conclusion to Batman Vs Superman, Suicide Squad’s finale is equally as bad, with lots of in-your-face visual effects, laughable dialogue, and a cringe worthy performance from Cara Delevingne.

Ultimately, Suicide Squad has some working elements – particularly the cast and the tone – but a poor choice in main villain and another terrible DCU third act make the film pretty mediocre. Still, if you come in with tempered expectations – and there’s no reason you shouldn’t – Suicide Squad is a fun movie.

Replay Value: Leto and Robbie make the movie worth watching again, but this isn’t something I’ll snap buy on bluray.
Sequel Potential: Harley Quinn is getting her own movie, which is great news. Leto’s Joker will surely have more appearances in the future. There’s a better movie to be made with the squad and with over $200M in box office receipts, we will probably get a chance to see it.
Oscar Potential: None

Grade: 5/10 (Watchable)

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Ghostbusters (2016)

July 25, 2016

Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Chris Hemsworth
Director: Paul Feig (Spy, The Heat, Bridesmaids)

Bottom Line: Honestly, I thought this was going to be a huge bust and it wound up being a pleasant surprise. The casting in this movie wasn’t bad news to me, but I thought the trailer looked terrible. Fortunately, the team that was responsible for Bridesmaids – director Paul Feig and actresses Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy – once again find a successful blend of comedy and charm, reinvigorating a dormant franchise that has long been in need of a reboot. But an all female reboot? Why not! It works just fine, as Wiig and McCarthy are two of the strongest comedic actresses working today and they are as solid and funny as expected here, plus SNL’s Kate McKinnon absolutely steals the show in what I believe is her first major film role. She’s so funny we will probably all hate her in about 5 years due to overexposure. Chris Hemsworth is also a fun addition, hamming it up in the part of dimwitted secretary. Part of my concerns with the trailer were that the special effects looked overwhelming, ala Superman Vs. Batman, but all the supernatural hoopla fits in perfectly.

2016’s version of Ghostbusters isn’t going to blow anyone’s mind, but it’s a worthy successor to the – let’s be honest here – overrated original. That film is unfairly hailed as a classic when it probably tops out at slightly above enjoyable, which is pretty much what you can expect from this movie. The good news is we should all be looking forward to new adventures with this team of Ghostbusters.

Replay Value: Fun enough that I’d watch it at least one more time.
Sequel Potential: This reboot should reinvigorate the franchise for years to come.
Oscar Potential: None.

Grade: 5.5/10 (Watchable/Recommended)

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The Conjuring 2 (2016)

June 29, 2016

Starring: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson
Director: James Wan (Saw, Insidious, The Conjuring)

Bottom Line: Director James Wan’s The Conjuring was so good and scary that I forced my wife – who hates scary movies – to watch it. She just had to; it was an absolute must see. Unfortunately, The Conjuring 2 loses quite a bit of luster. The story isn’t as interesting and the scares aren’t as original or nearly as startling. It’s like most sequels: a subpar rehash of something that worked really well the first time around. There are some cool sequences that involve the painting seen in the poster above, but most of what happens in the actual haunted house is substantially more boring and redundant.

The Conjuring 2 is an okay horror movie, but far from the must see that the original was. Nothing you need to see in theaters and it can really probably just be skipped. Fans of the original are probably more likely to be disappointed than not.

Replay Value: Probably won’t ever see it again.
Sequel Potential: James Wan movies usually becoming unkillable franchises.
Oscar Potential: None.

Grade: 4.5/10 (Watchable/Forgettable)

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Captain America: Civil War (2016)

May 7, 2016

Starring: The Avengers
Director: The Russo Brothers (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, You, Me and Dupree)

Bottom Line: Somehow Marvel keeps outdoing themselves. Starting with The Avengers in 2012, Marvel has been putting out a nonstop string of top notch superhero films (with the clunky Age Of Ultron being an exception). With the same creative team responsible for The Winter Soldier in charge of making Civil War, fans of the MCU had every reason to believe this could be Marvel movie yet.

And it is. While The Dark Knight will be extremely difficult to top as my favorite comic book movie of all time, Civil War is quite easily my second favorite. Just like The Winter Soldier, the label of “comic book movie” can be dropped from the equation when discussing Civil War‘s greatness – it transcends the genre; this is simply great filmmaking.

Civil War explores what happens when The Avengers are held responsible for the consequences of their actions – in other words, what happens to innocent bystanders while they are trying to save the world. So when the United Nations steps in to try to control the superheroes, Steve Rogers and Tony Stark find themselves on opposite sides of the agenda – and then all sorts of fun things start happening.

A decade ago, I never would have dreamed that I’d be more excited to see Captain America and Iron Man duke it out over a Batman/Superman conflict, but this is the world we live in today – Marvel is king and DC is… struggling. Where it seems like DC is trying to do too much by having its big three all in the same film, Marvel seamlessly tells a story that involves up to 12 superheroes. Everyone contributes in Civil War – both to the humor and to the awesome action pieces – and it never feels like the film is crowded or trying to cram too much into the plot.

It also somehow introduces two major characters into the MCU – Black Panther and Spider-Man – and instantly turns them into fan favorites. Fourteen years and six films later, we finally get a Spider-Man that feels totally true to the character. Tom Holland is genius casting – he’s a teenager and this Spider-Man acts like a young Peter Parker should: wowed by everything around him and constantly running his mouth to hilarious results. To say I can’t wait for Spider-Man: Homecoming would be an understatement. And Chadwick Boseman is brilliant as T’Challa, the Wakanda native that takes up the Blank Panther mantle when he becomes king of his nation. His nuanced performance is the best one Marvel has produced since Robert Downey Jr. first blew us away in the original Iron Man. I can’t wait to see what he does with a starring role in 2018’s Blank Panther.

Civil War is about as fun as summer blockbusters get. With solid performances all around, good surprises, the perfect dose of humor, and relentlessly awesome action, this movie takes over the top spot as Marvel’s best film yet – and it’s not all that close, it really blows The Avengers away. Phase 3 of the MCU and the upcoming Ininity War movies are in great hands with the Russo brothers. Take note DC… this is how you make great movies.

Replay Value: A rare movie that’s worth seeing in theaters more than once.
Sequel Potential: Marvel’s Phase 3 has release dates all the way out to The Avengers: Infinity War Part II in 2019.
Oscar Potential: I would have nominated The Winter Soldier over American Sniper for Best Picture, but comic book movies are generally dismissed come awards season – even The Dark Knight got snubbed. Maybe Civil War will finally break tradition and snag a Best Picture nomination.

Grade: 7.5/10 (Highly Enjoyable/Must See)

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The Jungle Book (2016)

May 6, 2016

Starring: Neel Sethi, Ben Kingsley, Bill Murray, Idris Elba
Director: Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Chef, Elf)

Bottom Line: Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book was borderline amazing. Favreau and his team of computer VFX geniuses bring the Disney animated classic to stunning life in this “live action” adaptation. I quote “live action” because all the characters – with the exception of Mowgli – and all the locations are computer generated – and you can barely tell. Of course, motion capture technology has drastically increased the realism of these artificial performances. The voice acting is all A-listers (Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Ben Kingsley, Giancarlo Esposito, Idris Elba) and top notch throughout. I didn’t hate the kid that played Mowgli, but Favreau got a much better performance out of the kid in his last movie, Chef.

While this version of The Jungle Book is far more intense and scary than its predecessors, it should still be suitable for most families, especially those with older kids. The Jungle Book was absolutely gorgeous and a testament to how far animation has come – in fact, it’s the new bar for CGI film making.

Replay Value: I would be happy to watch this again. A must own for families.
Sequel Potential: Crushing the box office = guaranteed sequel (already announced).
Oscar Potential: A strong favorite for any Visual Effects awards – this is really superb work here.

Grade: 7.5 (Must See/Excellent)

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Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016)

April 18, 2016

Starring: Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jessie Eisenberg, Amy Adams
Director: Zack Snyder (Man Of Steel, Watchmen, 300)

Bottom Line: What a mess. I knew this movie was in trouble from the first time I saw the Doomsday reveal in one of the trailers. I was on board with Ben Affleck as Batman and I loved the Jessie Eisenberg casting as Lex Luthor, but that first full trailer had me squirming uncomfortably – it looked like Zack Snyder was going to ruin everything by bloating the action with visual effects, explosions, lasers and fire. This was not a finale I was looking forward to.

And I wanted to so much. Even though the previews looked mediocre to me, as a humongous Batman fan, I was still dreaming that this movie could be everything it should be. It’s not. And it’s even worse than you think it’s going to be.

It’s been nearly a month since I saw it and, honestly, I can remember very little about it, but I can still distinctly taste the displeasure I experienced while watching it. There were numerous moments where I looked at my buddy like “is this really happening right now.” From a Batman origin vignette to a neverending – and painful (like phsyically) – conclusion, and everything in between, Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn Of Justice was a wild disappointment.

It’s easier for me to pinpoint the things I did like than for me to list all the stuff I hated. Ben Affleck is a good Batman and I could see a great film being built around this version of The Dark Knight, but it’s not this one. Still, Affleck did a good job and I’m looking forward to seeing how much of a role he has in the upcoming Suicide Squad movie. Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman was a pleasant surprise as I was worried about how she would fit into the story and whether or not she could even play the role. She’s great and this Wonder Woman is awesome. Again, looking forward to the Wonder Woman movie.

What I’m not looking forward to are the Justice League movies. This was such a botch job that if Zack Snyder has any involvement with those movies (he’s currently slated to direct them both) other than a relatively hands off producing role, I just can’t imagine they are going to be any good. The thought scares me. It is truly incredible that DC Comics can be this far behind Marvel in both quantity and quality. But I can promise one thing, if they continue letting Snyder be in the driver’s seat, they are in trouble.

I hated Doomsday. He looks terrible. He’s about as indistinguishable as a troll in the first Harry Potter movie. And how did he come to be? Don’t ask. Jessie Eisenberg as Lex Luthor? Unbelievably awful. He spends the entire movie playing the role so frivolously that you never really take him seriously. He wants to be Heath Ledger’s Joker, but he comes across more like Jim Carrey’s Edward Nygma before he becomes The Riddler. There are a bunch of dream sequences that are supposed to foreshadow upcoming events (I think), but they are jarring and take you out of the movie – Bruce Wayne even has a dream within a dream sequence. What. I really like the look of Henry Cavill as Superman, but his role in this movie is really disappointing. The showdowns with Batman are kind of cool, but kind of cool doesn’t really cut it for Batman Vs. Superman.

Geez, I probably can’t tell people not to watch this movie. They are going to anyway. And if you’re going to watch it, you might as well watch it on the big screen… but it’s not good. I’ve heard a number of people say they enjoyed the movie and I can’t understand it at all. It was a huge let down and it was absurdly BORING. The last 45 minutes felt like it dragged forever. I couldn’t wait for it to be over. At best, this movie was totally forgettable… at worst, it was horrible.

Replay Value: My initial thought was I’d never watch it again and that’s hard to believe. This a freaking BATMAN movie. I’ll watch it again, but… only because I have to – it’s who I am.
Sequel Potential: All the JLA members are getting solo adventures and the whole crew will be teaming up for two Justice League movies.
Oscar Potential: None.

Grade: 3.5/10 (Just Skip It/Forgettable)

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Deadpool (2016)

February 15, 2016

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller
Director: Tim Miller

Bottom Line: Deadpool was everything I was hoping it would be: entertaining and hilarious. And it delivers both in heaps. The last couple years produced two of the funnier superhero movies with Guardians Of The Galaxy and Ant-Man, but Deadpool makes those films feel about as fun as Schindler’s List in comparison. It’s truly uproarious. With the exception of some slow moments as we delve into Mr. Pool’s origin story, you will never stop laughing.

Ryan Reynolds is at his best when he’s doing comedy and Deadpool is his first really funny role since playing Monty in Waiting all the way back in 2005. After seeing his involvement with the disastrous portrayal of Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and the terrible adaptation of Green Lantern, there was plenty of reason to be skeptical that another Ryan Reynolds superhero movie could be any good – and yet Reynolds felt like perfect casting, even before the wild success the film has enjoyed over its record-breaking first weekend. The rest of the cast is solid too. T.J. Miller of HBO’s “Silicon Valley” is great as Wade’s buddy and it’s interesting seeing “Gotham‘s” Morena Baccarin play a more sultry and humorous role.

But Ryan Reynolds is the star here and he delivers the performance of his career. Just imagine Van Wilder growing up to become a mangled superhero, but with way funnier (and even more obscene) dialogue. Yes, this is not a family film. There’s sex, nudity, graphic violence, and never-ending cursing and harsh sexual innuendo. The kids growing up watching The Avengers should maybe sit this one out… but honestly, I’d probably let my kid watch it. It’s possible to teach your kids what’s right and what’s wrong and how to speak and act – even while exposing them to some pretty raunchy stuff.

Deadpool is a winner – a must see comic book film and all around excellent at being the movie it wants to be: a not-too-serious R-rated superhero comedy. Deadpool is fantastic.

Replay Value: I will buy it when it comes out. I’m curious to see how it holds up considering most of its enjoyment is a result of the humor.
Sequel Potential: Already green lit and supposedly fast-tracked for 2017.
Oscar Potential: It’s so early it’s hard to imagine this being considered for awards. I’ll say it whiffs on Oscar noms, but if anything deserves extra credit here it’s definitely the script.

Grade: 7/10 (Highly Enjoyable)

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