Review on: Spotlight AKA That One Movie with the Newspaper and the Priest Sex Scandal

I am embarrassed to say that I was one of those people too focused on the attacks on September 11 to realize this scandal when it broke.

When I came into this movie, I expected a movie about an uproar in the late 90's, some threats, but ultimate retribution. The full scale of what happened at this time was just apparently so huge that the pieces were just begging to fall into place. I'm really relieved they kept this movie where the focus belonged, which was in the people affected.

Nothing appears to be left out of what went on, and sometimes I found myself wishing they would hold back. It all felt so real, so immersive, that you prayed that was it. 

Thankfully, they poured this terrible information on you with tact and heart. It wasn't a gruesome shock value piece that makes golden heroes and blackheart villains, but made a movie that was emotional and paced excellently. 

The thing about these things being made into entertainment is that while it raises awareness to people like me, I don't leave feeling like I got a whole lot out of it besides that. I feel it almost wrong to make these situations into movies with storylines, instead of documentaries as they should be. Granted that documentaries don't reach the same audience of entertainment film, it is just my personal opinion that no matter how great these films are, you leave the theatre with an awful feeling in your stomach and not knowing what to say to your friend beside you besides: "Wow, that was terrible, what happened."

Don't get me wrong. I loved this movie. I think everyone should see it once... But just once. Maybe I have too old of a soul, but I'd like to believe there is more value from movies with repeat ability.

Bottom line: This is a great film. A Great Film. Like Oscar worthy. Will I be watching it again? Probably not.

Review on The Force Awakens (SPOILER FREE)

MOVIE: Star Wars: The Force Awakens, AKA the Biggest Nerdfest of Our Generation

Where to begin on this one...

I, of course, come in with a complete bias of the situation before me, having been a Star Wars fan since I was able to comprehend movies. I am a forgiving soul when it comes to the sacred franchise, as I will even argue the merits of the dreaded prequels. There are few movies these days that make me revert back to a state of childlike wonder, with out loud cheers and gripping the seat with anticipation.

I weep for those going to this movie having not been previous fans of the series, as this movie was no doubt made by a fan for the fans. There are so many shoutouts, homages, easter eggs and even direct quotes from the original trilogy that I found myself feeling a bit force fed (if you would pardon the pun). Coming in as a fan already though, I felt like I was in on some inside joke between JJ Abrams and those few in the fandom club, and it felt pretty nice.

The movie is the first covered by the Disney umbrella, as you may know, so I knew they were going to be careful with such a huge endeavor, especially since they announced their upcoming cash cow amusement park extension. Of course, it's going to be good. It's got a reputable director at the helm, the original cast, an outrageous budget and a devoted fanbase of 30 years going strong. I caught the 'Certified Fresh' rating and all the celebrity tweets raving about it's excellence. Of course, it was going to be good.

But just how good was something I wasn't expecting. I tend to be a harsh critic on script-writing and acting most of all, and this was where I found myself most impressed. The script was just clever enough to feel new but just on the nose enough to remind you that you were still watching a Star Wars movie. And the acting, oh man, the acting. Particularly by the newbs to the universe, Ridley, Boyega, Isaac, and Driver, were out of this world (again with the pun pardons). Ridley was a badass female lead to do the girls proud, while Boyega delivered some of the cheesier lines with believable ease, Isaac was funnier and more likable than I anticipated.

But let's talk a bit about Adam Driver. I expected just another Darth Vader-esque villain trope, marching around to the Imperial March with a mask on and intimidating people around him with his height and heavy steps. However, every time that mask came off was when the real money-making began for him, and there was a moment he made me cry with his conviction. Let me tell ya, I never cry. Except for in TFA when Adam Driver lets his vulnerable yet somehow monstrous eyes bore into your innermost soul.

The only complaint I guess I could nitpick out was the blatant fact that the story felt maybe too familiar. The plot is basically A New Hope spun for a modern generation. However, we all enjoyed a New Hope, so why not? 

It was also a little tough seeing our once spry heroes all aged and even decrepit. Everyone is slower, greyer, weightier. However, it's the original cast or nothing. How they look in the grand scheme of things is way preferable than an alternative.

Also, most of my guesses about the so-called 'twists' in the story were right (even some that were not directly revealed were heavily foreshadowed), so I advise to not go in with hopes of the same outrageous shockers we got with the Empire Strikes Back. Even when you are not sure what's going to happen next, you'll see a road sign coming from a mile away to warn you. Still, we may see them coming but it somehow didn't ease their impact any less. At times, I was grabbing my heart violently to ease the feels. Other times, I saw my friend in the row ahead of me turn to share a look of awe. 

Because there is something about Star Wars. It's different. It's ingrained on our hearts to love it almost as a part of our culture. We love it and it's finally loving us back in an epic way. I can't wait to see it again.

Bottom line: Even if you aren't a Star Wars fan, this is a great time to become one.

A

Review on The Good Dinosaur

MOVIE: The Good Dinosaur A.K.A. That New Pixar Flick with the Lost Brontosaurus

Honestly, I probably wouldn't have seen this one in the theatre had I not been assigned to it four times in one day. That would have been a shame. I should know by now not to doubt a movie company that has the time to sit and think about a movie's script for the three-four years it takes to animate it.

Pixar knows how to find you by the feels and wring them out in a vice. Feels that make you find yourself grabbing your chest crying at the end of Toy Story 3 and say: "Oh, there you are, heart, I forgot you were there." Damn you, Disney.

The plot is pretty straightforward. Arlo is our main Dinosaur. He experiences tragedy and feels it and you feel it with him. He comes across the boy that is more like a pet dog than anything and he even names him Spot. They bond over their mutual tragedies and try to get home together.  

There were a few times I drew back and I thought to myself: is this really for kids? Like the way that death of a family member was shown... or time the pair accidentally gets high (I note that the kids did love it, though)... or when they come across a creature that cons them into saving a cute critter just so he can eat said critter very shockingly. I was rather appalled by the last one and took more than a few minutes bitching about it to a coworker. That big-eyed raccoon thing was way too cute to die that violently.

The scenery is breathtaking, and I love nature, so I enjoyed that part immensely. At one point, I threw on a pair of 3D glasses to see what other's were seeing, but most of the movie is regular anyway, so it didn't feel like anything to write home about. 

I did enjoy the film every time I saw it, maybe even more each time when I spotted something new. Granted, I've always been a sucker for brontosauruses since The Land Before Time, when I used to draw them with markers for my mother a hundred times a day. 

However, maybe I'm a bit emotionally jarred, but it seemed like there was an overdose of sad parts and tragedy and I'm not one who likes going to the movies to experience tough grieving for a dinosaur. It's a similar feeling I have towards Up, only there it was for humans and I felt less ridiculous. With great power comes great responsibility, Pixar. I say stop it with the morbidity. I also felt a bit of that one hour, forty minute runtime, but maybe I was just tired along with the main characters.

Bottom line: It's definitely worth a see, but expect the gut to be wrenched. Because Pixar. 

B

Review on Creed

MOVIE: Creed AKA Rocky Reboot with a Hot Black Dude

I wasn't that interested in this movie at first, given that it would be about the 19th Rocky movie we have out there and I feel plenty content with the classics like Rocky 1, 2, and 4. The heart of Rocky 1 was that here was this unassuming guy with a deep Philly accent and a crooked mouth that wrote a film and shot it with an extremely modest budget and built an empire on a sleeper hit. It's just like the Matt Damon/ Ben Affleck story with Will Hunting, except the main star talks like he had a stroke at a young age, which in my opinion, makes his success that much more impressive.

Pardon my digs at Sly Stallone, I do appreciate the guy and his commitment. He's not as young as he used to be and he's still making Rocky movies-- and Creed proves they can still deliver. In fact, I beg the argument that Creed would have felt like half a movie without him. I appreciate Michael B. Jordan making tough acting look easy like Whitney made belting out singing look easy, but the movie needed The Italian Stallion as a mentor and father figure, for sure.

I felt like it was a great plot device to have Adonis Creed take the spangly gloves of Apollo, as the drama was felt with his mother fearing to lose another family member to the fighting game, and also the built-in fame that being 'Baby Creed' provided. It made for an interesting tale that rags-to-riches Balboa never experienced.

Most of all, the way they shot it was the thing I appreciated most. The cinematography was new and well thought-out, sometimes having complicated fight sequences all in a well-choreographed single take. Older fans of the franchise will appreciate quite a bit of throwback to the first Rocky film, with the infamous soundtrack, Philly steps and without spoiling too much, sometimes lining up frame-by-frame with well known scenes from the past.

The movie gave me very few complaints. The love story was a bit new-millennial, and made me long for the days of the true gentlemanly style way that Rocky courted Adrian. Also, there were times when the more 'street' lines felt scripted and forced, as if a white guy was trying to write ghetto dialogue by what Urban Dictionary advised. I did also spot more than a few times where the fighters hesitated on one another, as if trying to remember their practiced punch routines, but with fights as complicated as they showed, you tend to give them a free pass.

Bottom line: The Human Torch handled his part like a champ, but on a movie like this, needed Balboa to lead the way with his blessing into a reboot arc... And he led him to the light.

A-

Review on Spectre

Movie: Spectre Aka 007 aka the Fifty-Millionth Time Bond Faced his Demons, Bedded the Girl, and Saved the World.

Let's face it. Bond has a sexually transmitted disease by now, or even a few. I couldn't help but go into the movie thinking that Bond is a bit of an outdated concept. I had a feeling the movie was going to be a bit formulaic, and I wasn't wrong.

Let's face it though, we're all going to keep seeing Bond movies, no matter how misogynistic the character creator must be and no matter how routine his rebellious world-saving antics get. Because men want to be Bond, women want to do Bond. It's inbred. It's classic by now.

I, for one, certainly appreciate me some Daniel Craig. Even as he gets older with wrinkles and salt and pepper hair, he keeps his ass top notch. His clothing is on fleek, His swag is enviable.

But Bond uses women like Kleenex. At one point, he tried to show the French woman how to use a gun, against her protests. It was assumed she didn't know how. It was a little satisfying for her to feed him some crow with some showy gun moves. Moneypenny continues to be on the sidelines, being of the most use over the phone and pushing pencils. I itch for a Jane Bond in this universe somewhere.

He also has this blatant disregard for nice cars or authority. Why does this guy still have a job? Surely, another double '0' could be skilled enough to replace him. Hell, 009 was mentioned by name several times, and I was left curious as to what the classical music-loving agent was up to while Bond stole the Astin Martin that was meant for him.

But I digress.

Let's talk about Christoph Waltz and why the heck didn't they use him as a Bond villain sooner? Even as they cast him here, he was sorely underused. I craved more screen time with him, especially with that grand make-up job they did where they split his eye. The MUA got paid fo sho.

It was obvious that the money here went to blowing up a lot of vehicles, planes, helicopters and buildings, as well as gorgeous cinematography and flawless diamond earrings on the blonde French girl's ears. (I keep calling her the French girl and I feel like I'm being insulting to her. I had to look up her name. It's Lea Seydoux.)

In short, It's a Bond movie, never truly disappoints, but we were so spoiled with Casino Royale's high bar that it's tough to be satisfied for the same old, same old. But the villian is chilling, the girls are beautiful, the shots are breathtaking, and the intro with Sam Smith's song resonates through the film in the best, most haunting way.

Bottom line: Worth a see.

B-