Title: Split (2016) Release date: Jan 20, 2017 (USA) IMDB Rating: 7.5/10 Writer: M. Night Shyamalan Director: M. Night Shyamalan Stars: Anya Taylor-Joy, James McAvoy, Haley Lu Richardson, Kim Director Genre: Horror, Thriller Production Companies: Universal Pictures, Blumhouse Productions, Blinding Edge Pictures Runtime: 117 mins
Review:
Why is it that people seem to have a morbid fascination with dissociative identity disorder? Part of the reason could be the endless possibilities that the condition offers, and this is exactly what Shyamalan has taken advantage of with Split. Clearly McAvoy is in his element here – with a simple pucker of his mouth or raise of his eyebrow, he completely transforms himself. In one moment, young and innocent; a second later, completely monstrous. This is very much a one-man show. That’s not to say that there aren’t other strong performances here – namely from Anya Taylor-Joy, whose characteristically restrained performance strikes just the right chord – but they pale into insignificance when compared to the absolute feast that McAvoy gives us.
However, what starts as an interesting character study quickly descends into sci-fi chaos – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it just turns out to be something slightly different to what you’re initially expecting. There’s no denying that Split doesn’t pack quite the punch of Shyamalan’s early work, but it’s pretty damn close.
Although Split is fascinating, tense and creepy to the point of discomfort, its main issue is that it puts all its cards on the table too early. Although Shyamalan does leave us a few characteristic twists and turns right up to the end, some of the reveals are irrelevant to the overall story, making you wonder why they weren’t omitted altogether.
Title: Manchester by the Sea (2016) Release date: Dec 16, 2016 (USA) IMDB Rating:8.2/10 Writer: Kenneth Lonergan Director: Kenneth Lonergan Stars: Casey Affleck, Ben O'Brien, Kyle Chandler, Richard Donelly Genre: Drama Production Companies: Big Indie Pictures, Pearl Street Films, CMP Entertainment, K Period Media, B Story, The Affleck/Middleton Project Runtime: 137 mins Review:
Sometimes we're not sent to hell: We live there already.
Lee Chandler was happy once. He had a wife. Three children. His whole
family—father, brother, the entire brood—lived in Manchester, Mass., a
pretty, chilly community on Cape Ann. Brother Joe owned a boat. And
sometimes, when the weather permitted, Joe would take his own son,
Patrick, as well as Lee out to sea—a bright white boat bobbing between
gray water and gray sky. But then a tragic accident shattered Lee's life. Now he lives alone
in Boston, if you could call it living. He works as a janitor, cleaning
toilets and shoveling snow. He sees each day with the same cold eyes,
greets each moment with the same unsmiling mouth. Then, when work's
done, he heads to his cramped basement apartment, shuts those cold eyes
for a few hours until he must open them again.
He doesn't try to kill himself—not anymore—so he just kills his time, day by meaningless day. Then one day, Lee gets word that Joe's in the hospital again—another
heart attack. He rushes back to Manchester. But by the time he arrives,
it's too late: Joe's gone. The man who for so many years served as Lee's
only light and support in a cold, gray world is now a cold, gray slab
in the hospital basement.
Lee breaks the news to Patrick during his high school hockey
practice. The next few days are a storm of preparations for the funeral,
for the wake, for what comes next.
Title: Moana (2016) Release date: Nov 23, 2016 (USA) IMDB Rating: 7.9/10 Writers: Jared Bush (screenplay), Ron Clements (story by), John Musker (story by), Chris Williams (story by), Don Hall (story by), Pamela Ribon (story by), Aaron Kandell (story by), Jordan Kandell (story by) Directors: Ron Clements, Don Hall, John Musker, Chris Williams Stars: Auli'i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Rachel House, Temuera Morrison Genre: Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Musical Production Companies: Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios Runtime: 103 min
Review:
A feast for the eyes. From Disney, it represents a pinnacle of CG
animation. Its colors are incredibly vivid. The screen is bathed in
bright cerulean hues of the limitless ocean sparkling in the sun and the
lush greenery of tropical-island paradises.
A
delight for the ears. Songs by “Hamilton’s” Lin-Manuel Miranda,
composer Opetaia Foa‘i and Grammy-winner Mark Mancina are at a “Lion
King” level of excellence. The picture’s “We Know the Way” is an
anthemic ode to exploration and self-discovery that has the hallmarks of
an instant classic.
Title: Arrival (2016) Release date: Nov 11, 2016 (USA) IMDB Rating: 8.1/10 Writers: Eric Heisserer (screenplay), Ted Chiang (based on the short story "Story of Your Life" written by) Director: Denis Villeneuve Stars: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Michael Stuhlbarg, Forest Whitaker Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller Production Companies: 21 Laps Entertainment, FilmNation Entertainment, Lava Bear Films Runtime: 116 mins
Review: Denis Villeneuve's latest film may be about aliens visiting Earth but it's the people who hold his interest - he frequently puts the focus on faces and the smallest of interactions is key from the start. Not that its difficult to be smitten by Amy Adams, who since her breakthrough role in 2005's Junebug has shown a knack for bringing an easy smile and instant emotion to characters that is hard to beat. Here she plays Dr Louise Banks, a linguist - although our introduction to her is not via her job, but her humanity, as we see her with a baby girl, her daughter, quickly growing up until, too soon, she experiences loss. "I remember moments in the middle," she says.
Cutting to the present moment, we quickly learn that aliens have arrived at various points on planet Earth in gigantic egg-shaped obelisks and the good doctor is being asked by US Army Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker) to join a multinational project to make contact and find out what, if anything, the visitors want. It would be easy to opt for the usual sense of thriller threat and military bombast that normally accompanies such arrivals, but Villeneuve takes a different tack, lending a sense of awe to the way that people are treating the alien craft, even if those in charge are nervous.
Title: Underworld: Blood Wars (2016) Release date: Jan 6, 2017 (USA) IMDB Rating: 6.3/10 Writers: Cory Goodman (screenplay), Kyle Ward (story by), Cory Goodman (story by), Kevin Grevioux (based on characters created by), Len Wiseman (based on characters created by), Danny McBride (based on characters created by) Director: Anna Foerster Stars: Kate Beckinsale, Theo James, Lara Pulver, Charles Dance Genre: Action, Horror Production Companies: Lakeshore Entertainment, Screen Gems, Sketch Films Runtime: 91 mins
Review:
Hey, remember when everyone was obsessed with those ‘Underworld’ movies? I’ll bet you don’t because that never actually happened. Yet here we are, 14 years later, and there are still sequels being made. ‘Underworld: Blood Wars’ is the latest title in the franchise. It’s not particularly better or worse than any of the previous handfuls of nonsense. It’s just the same old crap refried and served up again.
It would be nice to say that this one is so bad that it’ll finally put an end to this ongoing cinematic nightmare. Sadly, this garbage fire will likely keep burning. Why? Who knows? I mean, bellbottoms once made a comeback. Stupid doesn’t die. It just gets stronger.
So what’s this one about? I honestly have no idea. On a certain level, the ‘Underworld’ mythology is brain dead simple. There are vampires and there are werewolves. They fight an ongoing war. Selene (Kate Beckinsale) is at the center because of fate or whatever. She has some sort of halfbreed monster daughter who’s a secret to something or other. That’s important. Just not enough for that character to be in this movie. That would allow the overall narrative to advance and this sequel is all about wheel-spinning. Instead of building new ideas, the flick just replays old ones. Once again, Selene is caught up in vampire politics, which I guess are bad. Once again, she fires handguns at werewolves and jump kicks some naughty vamps. Once again, it’s all pointless. Whatever. Who cares? Clearly not any of the army of ‘Underworld’ screenwriters.
Let’s start by the movies that we thought we would like but didn’t. Every year, Hollywood announces a few movies that we get excited for, but some of them always end up having a rating close to 6 on Imdb. This year’s big winner in this category was... Assassin’s Creed. Undoubtedly one of the flicks that generated the most buzz, not even a stellar cast - Academy-award nominee Michael Fassbender and Academy-award winners Marion Cotillard and Jeremy Irons - could be its saving grace. It’s currently scoring 6.4/10 on Imdb and 31 on Metacritic. Yikes!
Alas, the silver medal in this category goes to another action/adventure/fantasy movie: Suicide Squad. The premise of a secret government agency recruiting some of the most dangerous super-villains sounds good enough, but the plot has been classified as “lazy” and “predictable”. It stars Will Smith, Jared Leto and Margot Robbie. Score: 6.4/10 (Imdb) and 40 (Metacritic).
The bronze medal departs from action movies and moves into noir territory - or at least, what attempted to be noir. The Girl on the Train, based on the New York Times best-selling book, starred English-darling Emily Blunt as a divorced alcoholic who gets caught up in a missing person’s case. Blunt’s performance as an unreliable narrator is surprisingly convincing and has even earned her a BAFTA nomination, but the story unfolds poorly. Overall, it scored 6.6/10 (Imdb) and 48/100 (Metacritic).
Comedies were also a big source of disappointment this year - and just when we needed them the most. Why Him? and Keeping Up with the Joneses, for which we had high hopes, rank 6.6 and 5.8 respectively.
Other movies in this category include The Accountant, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Collateral Beauty and Live By the Night. Of these, Collateral Beauty has taken the hardest blow. With an ensemble cast comprised of household names like Will Smith, Kate Winslet, Dame Helen Mirren or Keira Knightley, it’s currently scoring 23/100 on Metacritic.
Ready for the award season
After talking about the ones we didn’t like, we move on to those movies that have dazzled both the public and the industry alike. They were born ready for the award season, and you can start betting on your favorite!
La La La Land is one of the must-see movies of 2016. And it has received ravishing reviews as well, scoring 7 Golden Globes already. The plot is simple - a jazz pianist (Ryan Gosling) falls for an aspiring actress (Emma Stone) - and it unfolds effortlessly. It’s a marvellous tribute to the Hollywood of another era, one of movies with fewer special effects and more screwball comedies. And like The Artist a few years ago, which produced much of the same nostalgia, it may sweep the Oscars. It currently scores 8.7/100 (Imdb) and 93/100 (Metacritic).
Arrival is possibly the best sci-fi movie of the whole year. It
tells the story of a linguistic professor (Amy Adams) who must interpret the language of apparent alien visitors that appear in 12 mysterious spacecrafts around the world. And with 8.3/10 (imdb), 81/100 (Metacritic) and at least a Golden Globe nod, it’s Adams who seems to be speaking the language of award season. (It’s worth noting that Adams also plays a wealthy gallery owner haunted by her ex-husband’s thriller book in Nocturnal Animals, by director Tom Ford, which was also nominated for numerous awards).
Manchester by the Sea is another strong contender for this year’s award season. Directed and written by Kenneth Lonergan, it’s anchored on strong performances by Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams as an uncle who takes care of his teenage nephew and his estranged wife. It already secured 93 wins and 195 nominations (!), a rating of 8.4/10 (Imdb) and 96/100 (Metacritic).
And thankfully, there’s a strong chance the Oscars won’t be #sowhite this year. Fences, directed by none other than Denzel Washington and written by the late August Wilson, brings a working-class African-American family in the 1950s to the big screen. Washington plays the main role and Viola Davis gives an amazing supporting actress performance that already won her a Golden Globe.
Hidden Figures is another movie capturing the lives of African-Americans. Set in the 1960s, it’s based on the true story of three African-American women (played by Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe) who provided NASA with important data that ultimately allowed the U.S. to complete its first space missions.
Also within the 50 best movies of 2016, you should keep an eye out for Lion, Hell or High Water and Moonlight.
Spin-Offs, Sequels and Remakes
“Everything Old Is New Again”, or so the song goes. And perhaps, no other year proved the motto as true as 2016. It was a year plagued with spin-offs and sequels (and there are more announced for 2017, even on TV) - but are they really making cinema great again?
Star Wars is possibly the most successful franchise in movie history. Besides, with the release of Star Wars: Episode VIII scheduled for next year and the death of the original (and irreplaceable) princess Leia Carrie Fisher, it’s has certainly been on everyone’s mind. It’s therefore unsurprising that Rogue One: A Star Wars Story made more money than anyone else in the popular movies of 2016. The story is set immediately after the events of the original 1977 film and stars Felicity Jones in the main role. Score: 8.1/10 (Imdb) and 65 (Metacritic).
Underworld also brought a new installment to light this year: Underworld: Blood Wars is the fifth of the series. And if one wonders why they are still making them, here it is, drawing people to a movie theater near you. But it was universally panned, scoring 6.4/10 (on Imdb) and a meager 22/100 on Metacritic.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a spin-off of the Harry Potter series. Set 17 years before Harry arrives in Hogwarts, it stars none of the series main characters and received a mild reception. It scored just 7.7/10 on Imdb and 66 on Metacritic.
Deadpool was the eighth installment of the X-Men series and was the ninth highest grossing movie of the past year. It’s also the highest grossing R-rated film in History: it achieved an impressive 783$ million revenue at the box office against a 58$ million budget.
Other spin-offs and sequels released this year include Captain America: Civil War, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Inferno (the third installment of the Da Vinci series) and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. There was room for a remake too, The Magnificent Seven, originally shot in the 1960s.
The Blockbusters
And of course, we couldn’t forget about this year’s blockbusters:
Passengers more than doubled its budget at the box office. Moreover, it had a storyline of a true blockbuster: a spacecraft travelling to a distant colony has a malfunction, and two of its passengers (Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt) are awakened 90 years early. It’s not a bad movie, and yet one that doesn’t add anything new to the genre. Score: 7.1/10 (imdb) and 41 /100 (Metacritic).
Deepwater Horizon was another movie designed to be a blockbuster, but its box office sales barely covered the budget. It’s an epic disaster film of American proportions about an oil drilling on behalf of BP gone wrong. As of now, it has 7.2/10 (Imdb) and 76/100 (Metacritic).
Speaking of epic, The Great Wall, a Chinese-American production, had a 150$ million budget. It’s one of the most talked about movies of the year, despite not having premiered in the US yet. The available scores on Imdb (6.3/10), Rotten Tomatoes (44%) and Metacritic (48/100), however, are rather disappointing.
Not For the Faint of Heart
We’ve already covered quite a few thrillers, adventure and action films. But there are others, which won’t be up for major nominations and didn’t spark much anticipation, that still provided us with a few good bursts of adrenaline.
The most noteworthy of them all is the psychological thriller Split, which came out of the Fantastic Fest Film Festival in September and still awaits a mainstream release in a few countries. James McAvoy plays a kidnapper with 24 different personalities against Anya Taylor-Joy and Haley Lu Richardson as his victims. Score: 7.6/10 and 76/100 (Metacritic).
In an unusual theological thriller, acclaimed director Martin Scorsese takes us to Japan, where two priests attempt to locate their mentor and propagate Catholicism in the process. Silence scored 7.6/100 (Imdb) and 79/100 (Metacritic).
Other popular films of the genre include the The Autopsy of Jane Doe and The Girl with All the Gifts, both reviewed in 6.9/10 on Imdb, Collide and Max Steel.
Fantasy and Animation Films
Animation films are crowd-pleasers. And 2016 was no exception. Sing is set in a world of anthropomorphic animals, where an optimistic Koala (Matthew McConaughey) hopes to save his theater with a singing competition. Reese Witherspoon and Seth MacFarlane also star. Score: 7.3/10 (Imdb) and 59/100 (Metacritic).
Moana follows suit. It’s set in Ancient Polynesia, where Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) tries to fix things after a terrible curse. It’s ranked 8.0/10 on Imdb and 81/100 on Metacritic.
Other movies in this category that received a great deal of attention were Trolls, The Secret Life of Pets, Zootopia and The Sausage Party.
Other well-ranked fantasy films include A Monster Calls, the emotional story of a boy coping with the death of his mother with the help of a magical tree, and The Jungle Book. The new adaptation of the famous book stars the likes of Bill Murray and Ben Kingsley.
History Buffs: Lookout!
Besides Hidden Figures, which might be up for some strong awards, there are other three historical movies that we could not ignore in 2016. Hacksaw Ridge finally saw the light of day after 14 years in development hell. Directed by Mel Gibson and set during WWII, it tells the story of the first soldier who won the Medal of Honor without firing a single shot. It’s a successful comeback for Gibson and already one of his highest ranked movies (8.5/10 on Imdb 71/100 on Metacritic).
Sully, directed by Clint Eastwood, is another historical drama recounting the key minutes and wise decision-making of Chesley Sullenberger (Tom Hanks) before he landed on the Hudson River and saved all his passengers and crew.
Snowden managed to be less controversial that its namesake and inspiration Edward Snowden (played by Joseph Gordon Levitt), who’s still seen as a true American hero by some and the worst of traitors by others. It scored 7.4/10 (Imdb) and 58/100 (Metacritic).
Honorable Mentions
Possibly, the best documentary of the year is Dangal. The Indian film about former wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat’s glory at the Commonwealth Games. It has an impressive 9.1/10 on IMDB!
The most well-rounded comedy was The Edge of Seventeen, with 7.9/10 (Imdb) and 77/100 (Metacritic).
Title: The Magnificent Seven (2016) Release date: Sept 23, 2016 (USA) IMDB Rating: 7.0/10 Writer: Akira Kurosawa (based on the screenplay by) Director: Antoine Fuqua Stars: Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio Genre: Action, Adventure, Western Production Companies: Columbia Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures, Escape Artists, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), LStar Capital, Pin High Productions Runtime: 133 mins
Review:
Antoine Fuqua always feels far away from making a truly great film. It’s been 15 years since he made Training Day, a film that feels just a little dated. Some of us here at Bago Games find that his 2013 White House action film, Olympus Has Fallen, is really entertaining, maybe even good. The Magnificent Seven isn’t going to change anyone’s minds on the director. In fact, it solidified my opinion that he doesn’t know what goes into making a good film, and a good movie this is not. Especially when you compare it to two of the greatest films within their respective genres, Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven (1960). But is there anything redeeming about this version?
Title: The Girl on the Train (2016) Release date: Oct 7, 2016 (USA) IMDB Rating: 6.6/10 Writer: Erin Cressida Wilson (screenplay), Paula Hawkins (based on the novel by) Director: Tate Taylor Stars: Emily Blunt, Haley Bennett, Rebecca Ferguson, Justin Theroux Genre: Mystery, Drama, Thriller Production Companies: DreamWorks, Marc Platt Productions Runtime: 112 mins
Review:
"The Girl on the Train" is the latest slice of that bittersweet
dessert, and it clearly aspires to the gourmet delicacies of the recent "Gone Girl," its married angst interrupted by bursts of violence. But a slightly convoluted script, a few flat casting choices and some uninspired direction leave it short. Emily Blunt is
Rachel, an alcoholic divorcee who remains obsessed with her since
re-married hubby -- so obsessed that, riding by their old house on the
commuter train, she can't help but spy on him. Except eventually her focus changes to a neighboring house - where a
young couple seems to live in blissful love. Seem to, until Rachel spies
the wife embracing another man. One night, a drunken Rachel hops off the train, determined to
confront her ex-husband's new wife. Except she blacks out. And when she
comes to, she's got blood on her. And it's the other, cheating wife who's disappeared.
Title: Passengers (2016) Release date: Dec 21, 2016 (USA) IMDB Rating: 7.0/10 Writer: John Spaihts Director: Morten Tyldum Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, Michael Sheen, Andy Garcia Genre: Adventure, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi Production Companies: Columbia Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures, Original Film, Company Films, Start Motion Pictures, LStar Capital, Wanda Pictures Runtime: 116 mins
Review: The sci-fi movie Passengers looks interesting enough in the trailers. Moviegoers have also been excited to watch the movie since it has Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt in it. But has the movie impressed everyone who has watched it?
After watching it, one might feel that some story is missing from the movie. One also might feel that the Pratt and Lawrence’s romance is not very charming. Storyline of Passengers
The movie’s storyline features a spaceship called Avalon. It is currently on a 120-year voyage to reach a distant colony planet called Homestead Colony. There are 5,000 people on this spaceship who are going there.
The real twist in Passengers comes when a malfunction takes place inside the hibernation pods of Avalon. This malfunction awakes the passengers 90 years earlier. The trailer features writer Aurora Lane (Lawrence) and mechanical engineer Jim Preston (Pratt) who are passengers on the ship dealing with this mystery.
The two characters appeared running everywhere on the ship to know the reasons for the malfunctioning. There is also Avalon’s android bartender, Arthur (Sheen) on the ship.
Title: Sing (2016) Release date: Dec 21, 2016 (USA) IMDB Rating: 7.3/10 Writer: Garth Jennings Director: Christophe Lourdelet, Garth Jennings Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane, Scarlett Johansson Genre: Animation, Comedy, Drama, Family, Musical Production Companies: Universal Pictures, Illumination Entertainment Runtime: 108 mins
Review:
It’s hard not to compare Sing to another 2016 animated flick about animals learning life lessons in a multispecies metropolis, and the creatures of Sing never seem as introspective or innovative as their Disney cousins in Zootopia. But although the let’s-put-on-a-show story line feels familiar, there’s real heart to the critters’ desperate pursuit of their dreams. The eye-popping performances are meticulously animated, and a crowd-pleasing soundtrack helps keep this show on the road. Sing may be a melody we’ve heard before, but it still sounds sweet.
Title:Suicide Squad (2016) Release date: Aug 5, 2016 (USA) IMDB Rating: 6.3/10 Writer: David Ayer Director: David Ayer Stars: Will Smith, Jaime FitzSimons, Ike Barinholtz, Margot Robbie Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi Production Companies: Dune Entertainment, Atlas Entertainment, Warner Bros., DC Entertainment Runtime: 123 mins
Review:
The DC Cinematic Universe is back with its 3rd entry in its franchise.
Now if I’m honest, I am not the hugest Suicide Squad fan. I read a lot
of the comics, I have read most of their new 52 stuff up until New
Suicide Squad got boring and repetitive especially only having one
excellent story arc, and even then there were some problems with that. I
am currently reading the current Suicide Squad book though I am keeping
my options open as to whether I am going to continue reading it. DC is
clearly counting on this to be a massive success because they have made
it one of their twice monthly issues which has been reserved for
characters like Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow and Wonder
Woman and this could come back to haunt them, because if the film is not
a success it may not lead people to buy the comic. The film is also
coming off the back of Batman V Superman
which I recently reviewed for the site and as of when I wrote this
review I still had not seen the extended cut so I can’t give an opinion
on it just yet.
Title: Assassin’s Creed (2016) Release date: Dec 21, 2016 (USA) IMDB Rating: 6.4/10 Writers: Michael Lesslie (screenplay), Adam Cooper (screenplay), Bill Collage (screenplay) Director: Justin Kurzel Stars: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson Genre: Action, Adventure, Family, Fantasy Production Companies: 20th Century Fox, Regency Enterprises, The Kennedy/Marshall Company, Ubisoft, CatchPlay, Syncopy, New Regency Pictures, Hong Kong Alpha Motion Pictures Co., Latina Pictures, RatPac Entertainment, Alpha Motion Pictures, DMC Films, Ubisoft Entertainment, Mo Runtime: 115 mins
Review:
Assassin’s Creed is an American film about a criminal who, after
being executed, is brought back to life and used to tap into the
memories of his ancestor from the 15th Century, he discovers the history
of the secret Assassins society. The most important thing to know before reading this review is that
I’ve never played any of the Assassin’s Creed games, nor have I ever
felt any desire to. That said, there are all sorts of video game movies
that have entertained me even when I’ve never been invested in the world
before. Assassin’s Creed isn’t one of those movies, because it’s an utter
mess. Committing one of the worst sins an action blockbuster can do,
it’s simply tedious from start to finish, consistently failing to grab
my attention at any moment, and never even trying to do something
original or exciting to save the desperately falling wreckage from
ending in a fiery ball of disappointment.
Title: La La Land (2016) Release date: Dec 25, 2016 (USA) IMDB Rating: 8.6/10 Writer: Damien Chazelle Director: Damien Chazelle Stars: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Amiée Conn, Terry Walters Genre: Comedy, Drama, Musical, Romance Production Companies: Marc Platt Productions, Gilbert Films, Black Label Media, Impostor Pictures Runtime: 128 mins
Review:
It would be inaccurate to say there’s never been a film like La La Land — there have been movies like it many times before — but it’s been a while. Movie musicals these days are mostly lifeless exercises in prestige and Broadway adaptation, The original movie musical — with songs writing explicitly for the screen — is about as rare a species as the South China tiger.
So when Seb (Ryan Gosling), a struggling musician living in Los Angeles, says in La La Land that he loves jazz because “it’s conflict and compromise. It’s new every time — and it’s dying,” it’s clear he’s not just talking about jazz. Seb is also a conduit for La La Land writer/director Damien Chazelle to express his frustration with the state of movie musicals and, through Seb’s romance with an aspiring actress named Mia (Emma Stone), to do something about it. With infectious enthusiasm, charismatic leads, gorgeous songs, vibrant colors, and dazzling camerawork, La La Land restores the original movie musical to its former glory.
Title: Deadpool (2016) Release date: Feb 12, 2016 (USA) IMDB Rating: 8.1/10 Writers: Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick Director: Tim Miller Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Karan Soni, Ed Skrein, Michael Benyaer Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Thriller Production Company: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Marvel Entertainment, The Donners' Company, TSG Entertainment, Kinberg Genre Runtime: 108 mins
Review:
In a world that is becoming flooded with superhero movies, “Deadpool” throws a whole new type of character into the mix but undoubtedly hurts its own creativity by not taking as great of leaps as it could with its plot and villains.
Ryan Reynolds stars as Wade Wilson, a mercenary-for-hire with a wisecracking mouth.
Wilson discovers that he is terminally ill with cancer. Desperate to find a cure so that he can stay alive with the love of his life, Wilson puts his trust in, and disappears with a sketchy throw-away henchman in a suit who claims that he knows someone who can cure Wilson’s cancer.
Title: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) Release date: Dec 16, 2016 (USA) IMDB Rating: 8.1/10 Writers: Chris Weitz (screenplay),Tony Gilroy (screenplay), John Knoll (story by),Gary Whitta (story by), George Lucas (based on characters created by) Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo Stars: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk, Donnie Yen Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Production Company: Lucasfilm, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Allison Shearmur Productions, Black Hangar Studios Runtime: 133 mins
Review:
Like Batman v Superman, Captain America: Civil War
starts with mankind grousing about all the collateral damage caused,
time and again, by the efforts of superheroes to save the planet. Earth
survives, true, but sometimes a downtown does wind up obliterated, and
then the caped, the powerful, the all-but-indestructible end up hearing
nothing but bellyaching. (This, not coincidentally, is one of the
ongoing themes of the presidential election – does the world even
deserve a country as good and helpful as the United States? Only the
costumes aren’t as imaginative.)
The difference between the two blockbusters – and Captain America is destined to become one, instantly – is a matter of attitude. BvS,
which was a lot more enjoyable than the reviews indicated, was
intensely conscious of its mythic baggage. If you gave Batman and
Superman each their own boulder to push up an endlessly steep cliff,
they’d probably say, “That’s a just pebble. Got anything larger?” The
characters in Captain America, by comparison, are a kind of
extreme bowling league: They’ll demolish as many pins as happen to be
set up, of whatever size, but they’ll make sure they have fun doing it –
regardless of their own lachrymose backstories – and let us have a good
time, too.
Title: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) Release date: Dec 16, 2016 (USA) IMDB Rating: 8.1/10 Writers: Chris Weitz (screenplay),Tony Gilroy (screenplay), John Knoll (story by),Gary Whitta (story by), George Lucas (based on characters created by) Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo Stars: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk, Donnie Yen Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Production Companies: Lucasfilm, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Allison Shearmur Productions, Black Hangar Studios Runtime: 133 mins
Review:
For a longtime Star Wars fan like myself, “Rogue One” was an
entertaining and worthy addition to the saga, though it left me wanting
the franchise to finally break free of nostalgia and actually explore
new ground.
Although the story is pitched as the first “standalone” Star Wars
movie, it is more of a prequel to “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope,”
telling the backstory of how the Rebellion stole plans for the Death
Star. It folds rather neatly into the 1977 film, ending mere hours
(minutes?) before the start of the original movie.
The characters are mostly engaging, particularly the sarcastic new
droid K-2SO. No wooden dialog here, with spirited battles instead of the
inane romantic and political banter of the Lucas-directed prequels.
