Silence

Martin Scorsese’s Silence tells the story of two Christian missionaries (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver) who face the ultimate test of faith when they travel to Japan in search of their missing mentor (Liam Neeson) – at a time when Christianity was outlawed and their presence forbidden. The celebrated director's 28-year journey to bring Shusaku Endo’s 1966 acclaimed novel to life will be in theaters this Christmas.

Easily one of the longest feeling movies I have ever watched.  The actual run time was 2 hours and 45 minutes but I felt like I was just watching this all day.  I'm not saying it's bad.  It's actually a pretty good movie for the most part and easily the best acting of Andrew Garfield's career by far.  But I cannot stress how long this movie felt.  If I would have seen this in theaters I don't think I ever would have made it.  

On quality - I do recommend the movie.  However, unless you have pretty much a whole day to give to it I don't know that many will be seeing this.

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter

Picking up immediately after the events in Resident Evil: Retribution, Alice (Milla Jovovich) is the only survivor of what was meant to be humanity’s final stand against the undead. Now, she must return to where the nightmare began – The Hive in Raccoon City, where the Umbrella Corporation is gathering its forces for a final strike against the only remaining survivors of the apocalypse.

Please tell me that this is actually the final chapter and that the movie title isn't just teasing us.  How in the blue hell that this franchise has six installments is beyond me.  It's not even like you can enjoy this stuff simply if you are into zombies because they have managed to ruin that with nonsense special effects and the worst acting ever.  This one was no different than any of the previous ones - just  more of the same crap where I half pay attention and half think of other things that I could be doing. 

No, I would definitely not recommend anyone wasting their time with this.  Hopefully this is really the end but people not seeing it could maybe ensure this process?

The Founder

The Founder, directed by John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side, Saving Mr. Banks), features the true story of how Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton), a struggling salesman from Illinois, met Mac and Dick McDonald, who were running a burger operation in 1950s Southern California. Kroc was impressed by the brothers' speedy system of making the food and saw franchise potential. Writer Robert Siegel (The Wrestler) details how Kroc maneuvered himself into a position to be able to pull the company from the brothers and create a billion-dollar empire.

How the hell did this movie not garner more academy attention?  This movie was better than more than half of the Best Picture nominees.  They did an excellent job of the slow build to this story.  You were very hooked and invested even knowing how it would play out.  They managed to make me hate Michael Keaton for the role he was playing and I have always loved that guy.  This was a very well done movie. 

I would absolutely recommend people checking this one out.  It is a great (although upsetting) story about ego and business. The irony of a story like this coming out in our present times was off the charts.

Sleepless

Sleepless stars Jamie Foxx (Django Unchained, White House Down) as undercover Las Vegas police officer Vincent Downs, who is caught in a high stakes web of corrupt cops and the mob-controlled casino underground. When a heist goes wrong, a crew of homicidal gangsters kidnaps Downs’ teenage son. In one sleepless night he will have to rescue his son, evade an internal affairs investigation and bring the kidnappers to justice.

This movie was beyond formula.  You saw the movie by seeing the trailer.  Still kind of watchable even factoring that in.  The only problem was that the movie just kept on going.  It should have been at least 30 minutes shorter.  The extra twists and turns knocked it down from an enjoyable cop trying to clear his name movie to how much longer is this movie going to go.

I wouldn't really recommend anyone bothering with this.  It's fine for like watching on tv when you are home doing nothing but there should be no kind of planning to see this or money involved at all.  

Moonlight

Moonlight is the tender, heartbreaking story of a young man's struggle to find himself, told across three defining chapters in his life as he experiences the ecstasy, pain, and beauty of falling in love, while grappling with his own sexuality.  Anchored by astonishing performances and the singular vision of filmmaker Barry Jenkins, Moonlight is a groundbreaking exploration of masculinity-a sensual, intoxicating piece of cinema that uncovers deep truths about the moments that define us, the people who shape us most, and the ache of love that can last a lifetime.

Every year there is always one move that comes out around award season that I know is artistically excellent and worthy of praise but I'm bored out of my mind while watching it.  This was that movie for 2016.  I know it was great movie.  I know it was well done.  But I was struggling to stay awake watching it and was not hooked by it no matter how much I really wanted to be.  It also doesn't help that I had heard such great things about this movie before finally seeing it because I have no doubt that altered my viewing of it as well.

I would sort of recommend people checking this out - especially if you want to be able to compare all of the heavily nominated movies.  I know that this was a very well done movie.  I just didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped.

Monster Trucks

Looking for any way to get away from the life and town he was born into, Tripp (Lucas Till), a high school senior, builds a Monster Truck from bits and pieces of scrapped cars. After an accident at a nearby oil-drilling site displaces a strange and subterranean creature with a taste and a talent for speed, Tripp may have just found the key to getting out of town and a most unlikely friend. 

I don't know that I have ever seen a more blatant attempt to take money from parents looking to keep their kids entertained or busy for an hour or two.  I basically made it 30 minutes into this movie before yelling how in the blue hell was something like this made and turning it off.  I felt the same way from the trailer but figured I would give the movie a shot since it showed up online.  But my expectations were dead on.  I honestly can't even see kids caring enough about this movie to want to finish watching it either.  It was that silly, pointless and a waste.

I would absolutely not recommend anyone wasting their time with this.  I honestly want my 30 minutes back.

Split

While the mental divisions of those with dissociative identity disorder have long fascinated and eluded science, it is believed that some can also manifest unique physical attributes for each personality, a cognitive and physiological prism within a single being.  Though Kevin (James McAvoy) has evidenced 23 personalities to his trusted psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley), there remains one still submerged who is set to materialize and dominate all the others. Compelled to abduct three teenage girls led by the willful, observant Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy, The Witch), Kevin reaches a war for survival among all of those contained within him—as well as everyone around him—as the walls between his compartments shatter apart.

Finally - a movie from M Night Shalamalalalalan that I liked instantly and wasn't annoyed at any point or had to think for a while on whether it was good or bad.  The trailer for this looked awesome and I was very strongly braced for a massive disappointment but ended up liking it very much.  Don't want to give anything away but while the split personality went a little over the top towards the end, the final scene oh $hit moment was great.

I would recommend people checking this out.  It was an enjoyable watch and James McAvoy was excellent in it.

XXX: Return Of Xander Cage

The third explosive chapter of the blockbuster franchise that redefined the spy thriller finds extreme athlete turned government operative Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) coming out of self-imposed exile and on a collision course with deadly alpha warrior Xiang and his team in a race to recover a sinister and seemingly unstoppable weapon known as Pandora’s Box. Recruiting an all-new group of thrill-seeking cohorts, Xander finds himself enmeshed in a deadly conspiracy that points to collusion at the highest levels of world governments. Packed with the series’ signature deadpan wit and bad-ass attitude.

This movie was beyond corny.  I was literally groaning at the dialogue pretty much every two minutes.  The stunts were ridiculous but that's the main sell of the movie.  It's one thing for a movie like this to not take itself seriously.  I'm usually all for that but this one was basically openly mocking itself and it's level of corniness.  I couldn't even make it through the whole movie because of how bad it was.

I wouldn't recommend anyone wasting their time or money with this.  It was really that bad and this is coming from a huge Vin Diesel fan

Live By Night

What you put out into this world will always come back to you, but it never comes back how you predict. Taking fatherly advice is not in Joe Coughlin’s nature. Instead, the WWI vet is a self-proclaimed anti-establishment outlaw, despite being the son of the Boston Police Deputy Superintendent. Joe’s not all bad, though; in fact, he’s not really bad enough for the life he’s chosen. Unlike the gangsters he refuses to work for, he has a sense of justice and an open heart, and both work against him, leaving him vulnerable time and again—in business and in love. Driven by a need to right the wrongs committed against him and those close to him, Joe heads down a risky path that goes against his upbringing and his own moral code. Leaving the cold Boston winter behind, he and his reckless crew turn up the heat in Tampa. And while revenge may taste sweeter than the molasses that infuses every drop of illegal rum he runs, Joe will learn that it comes at a price.

This was a textbook half and half movie.  When they were doing the gangster stuff - this movie was awesome.  Kept marvelling once again at how good of a director Ben Affleck is.  But when it was the slow and romance stuff it was kind of blah and dragged.  The movie was still watchable and enjoyable but it kind of felt like it didn't know what kind of a movie it wanted to be.  Because of that it ended up probably being the worst directorial effort from him to date.

I would somewhat recommend people checking this out.  It's not a bad movie but doesn't really commit to what it wants to be enough and gets dragged down because of it.

The Bye Bye Man

People commit unthinkable acts every day. Time and again, we grapple to understand what drives a person to do such terrible things. But what if all of the questions we’re asking are wrong? What if the cause of all evil is not a matter of what… but who?   When three college friends stumble upon the horrific origins of the Bye Bye Man, they discover that there is only one way to avoid his curse: don’t think it, don’t say it. But once the Bye Bye Man gets inside your head, he takes control. Is there a way to survive his possession?

Wow this was bad.  Like really bad.  I know that horror movies are not known for their acting but this was seriously some of the worst ever.  Like homemade movie acting.  The story was garbage and the scares were also non-existent.  I was pretty much begging to leave less than halfway through the movie.  

I would not recommend that anyone bother wasting their time with this.  It's a textbook January horror movie that is a complete waste of time and money.

Patriot's Day

In the aftermath of an unspeakable attack, Police Sergeant Tommy Saunders (Mark Wahlberg) joins courageous survivors, first responders and investigators in a race against the clock to hunt down the bombers before they strike again. Weaving together the stories of Special Agent Richard DesLauriers (Kevin Bacon), Police Commissioner Ed Davis (John Goodman), Sergeant Jeffrey Pugliese (J.K. Simmons) and nurse Carol Saunders (Michelle Monaghan) this visceral and unflinching chronicle captures the suspense of one of the most sophisticated manhunts in law enforcement history and celebrates the strength of the people of Boston.

I have always tried to stay away from any current event type stories or tragedies.  I am worried about the sadness and tragedy weighing me down.  Just a thing I've always done.  This story was completely different for me.  I don't know if it's because so many of my favorite childhood memories are from my regular trips to Boston, my Red Sox fandom, my college memories from once again regular visits to Boston or the fact that I was there with my daughter and her boyfriend 24 hours earlier than the incident and even asked my father what they needed alll the heavy police vehicles and presence for.  I followed this whole story non-stop for days and remember standing at my nieces first bday party watching Big Papi's speech the following weekend with one of my oldest friends who grew up near Boston in dead silence.  I was very eager to see this movie but was afraid that it would be the usually tragedy movie that is done all wrong.  Very happily - that was not the case.  They did this one right by focusing on the everyday people that stepped up to become heroes when their times came.  They didn't focus on the act or the criminals as much as the news does.  I very much enjoyed this movie.

I would absolutely recommend that people check this movie out.  It was a very good watch and made you feel good after such a horrible event.  

Hidden Figures

Hidden Figures is the incredible untold story of Katherine G. Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe)—brilliant African-American women working at NASA, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, a stunning achievement that restored the nation’s confidence, turned around the Space Race, and galvanized the world. The visionary trio crossed all gender and race lines to inspire generations to dream big.

This was a very enjoyable and historically important movie.  It's not like you didn't know everything that was going to happen but you were still hanging on each development or hurdle that the characters had to face and you were hooked by all of them as well.  They also did a great job of balancing the seriousness of it all and doing that justice with spurts of sarcasm/humor.  That balance is what really carried the movie besides the great performances of all involved.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out.  It was very entertaining and did great justice to the importance of these women's achievements.  

A Monster Calls

A visually spectacular drama from acclaimed director Juan Antonio Bayona (“The Impossible”), based on the award-winning children’s fantasy novel. 12-year-old Conor (Lewis MacDougall) attempts to deal with his mother’s (Felicity Jones) illness and the bullying of his classmates by escaping into a fantastical world of monsters and fairy tales that explore courage, loss, and faith.

Wow!  I can't tell you the last time a movie hooked me and destroyed me so much emotionally.   To say that 2016 was easily the most difficult year of my life would be a massive understatement.  There were of course tons of positives but the losses and the events around them were huge.  This movie basically combined several aspects from 2016 and showed how the 12 year old processed it all.  The movie while crushing was also very touching and incredibly imaginative.   I am not even sure that this review is doing justice to how good of a movie it was because I'm starting to get emotional all over again like I was during the movie.

I would absolutely recommend people checking this out.  Be warned that it is a very emotional movie but was so well done.  

Underworld: Blood Wars

Kate Beckinsale returns as Selene. Theo James is also back as Selene’s ally David, reprising the role he played in Underworld: Awakening.  Tobias Menzies and Lara Pulver take on the roles of a formidable new Lycan leader and a fiercely ambitious Vampire, and Charles Dance again plays Vampire elder Thomas.

There has to be a way that they will stop these movies?  It's sad that at this point this is really the only thing that Kate Beckinsale does.  The movie was just more of the same tired stuff from the other movies.  It's not even worth me writing about it.

I would not recommend anyone bother with this.  It's just a 90 minute viewing of Kate Beckinsale in leather and vampires fighting werewolves.  If you have seen any of the others - you have pretty much already seen this one then too.

The Ten Best Movies Of 2016

Honorable Mention - Arrival
Never in  a million years did I ever think that I would walk out of this sci-fi movie thinking or having some of the most intense thoughts/conversations about life and a what if type scenario like the one this movie ends up posing.

10 - Pete's Dragon
This was one of my favorite movies growing up as a kid so I was pretty skeptical when they announced a remake of it.  But Disney kept their live action remake magic going with this very enjoyable watch that unfortunately got lost with its end of summer release.

9 - Bad Moms
This movie had me laughing my ass off from beginning to end.  I loved the three moms and Katheryn Hahn seriously stole every scene she was in.  She was on a Will Ferrell level from Old School.  This was definitely my favorite comedy of the year.

8 - Finding Dory
Pixar doesn't do bad (except for Cars 2).  I would like to see more original stuff from them but was more than happy enough with the sequel to Finding Nemo.  They did a great job of respecting the old characters and introducing the new ones.

7 - Loving
Joel Edgerton continues to climb my favorite actors list with his turn in this movie about a bi-racial couple against all odds.  This movie did an amazing time of taking you to a time and place and made you feel the plight of people like the main characters in this movie.

6 - Manchester By The Sea
This was one of the most real feeling movies I've ever seen.  I mean they take you right in to a family's experience with the toughest thing to deal with.  Casey Affleck put in one of the best performances of the year here and this movie should get a lot of love come awards time.

5 - Rogue One
This movie being at 5 on my list is not a sign of it being not as good as other Star Wars movies, it's more a testament of the movies ahead of it being that good.  Regardless, this first attempt at a stand alone Star Wars story was awesome.  They did a great job of introducing you to a whole new band of characters and making them an important part of the overall story.  The one knock I'll make about this is that besides knowing how it would end - you don't feel as strongly as you would otherwise as the end plays out.

4 - Deadpool
So glad that they finally had the balls to make a R rated comic book movie.  This was easily the most enjoyable ride of the year (for adults) and Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool is one of the greatest pieces of casting ever.  So glad that this movie finally came to be after years of trying.

3 - Captain America: Civil War
This movie was incredible.  Consider the large scale of characters in it and the sky high expectations and I have to say that the combination of Marvel with The Russo Brothers just gets better and better.  I'm very glad that they are taking over the Avengers movies moving forward.

2 - Birth Of A Nation
Hopefully this movie does not get forgotten come awards season because of its early release date.  This was one hell of a powerful movie.  I left the theater so angry that things were like this at one point.

1 - La La Land
A musical has not hooked me like this movie did since Moulin Rouge.  From the opening number (which has been my alarm clock song since seeing the movie) I was hooked.  The chemistry between the two leads was electric and this movie was just a very enjoyable watch and one of those movies that makes going to the cinema in the first place feel magical.

The Ten Worst Movies Of 2016

Dishonorable Mention - Batman Vs Superman: Dawn Of Justice
The movie was watchable and really was not bad enough for the Bottom 10 list of the year but I will never understand DC Comics complete and total inability to get out of their own way.  Especially with the constant success of every Marvel movie no matter what hero that they bring to the big screen, how can they screw the pooch so much with the most recognizable superheroes in all of comic book land?

10 - Hardcore Henry
First person video games are a huge success.  Why not make first person movies?  This movie is exactly why you should not do that.

9 - Fifty Shades Of Black
I'm usually a fan of spoof movies and really like Marlon Wayans.  But this movie was just weak subject matter I guess because it didn't hook me and was a total waste of time.

8 - Krampus
Were we really missing a Christmas based horror movie?  Is that was the masses were calling for?  No.  No they weren't.  And if they were - make it look more than a homemade movie.

7 - The Forest
A wannabe knock off of The Blair Witch Project from a couple years ago.  Pretty much watched this whole movie with my annoyed face on.  Just stop, Hollywood!

6 - Nine Lives
Really?  Is this where Kevin Spacey's film career has gone?  Voicing a cat?  So sad.  Also - total garbage that I don't even think kids would enjoy.

5 - When The Bough Breaks
Why bother making a suspense movie if there is literally no suspense?  I've never been less bored by a movie like this.  True they are always formula but you don't have to literally mail it in as much as they did with this one.

4 - Boo!  A Madea Halloween
I'm saying this as a huge fan of the Madea character . . . . . . please stop, Tyler Perry.  Please.  You are ruining a classic character with garbage like this.

3 - Blair Witch
I let my hopes get up for this and that they would finally do justice to the original movie based on the marketing that they were doing for this movie.  But no.  Just another wannabe turd.

2 - Gods Of Egypt
How the hell do you make a big budget movie about Egyptian gods look so cheesy?  This was like an 80s cheesy movie that wanted to be taking seriously with current filmmaking abilities.  Just looked completely awful.

1 - Independence Day: Resurgence
Wow!  I can't remember that I saw a sequel this bad.  It takes alot for me to become the guy in the audience that is just talking out loud and heckling the movie basically but this movie brought me there.  This was so bad that I couldn't even walk out because my annoyance needed to see how much worse it would get.