Passengers

This movie is not going to get a fair shake at all. Because this stars funnyman Chris Pratt, and the wonderful Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence many are going to think this is really great.  It's not.  Passengers is a very good idea that never really gets off the ground.  Ironic for a movie about a 120 year space ship voyage to another planet. 

The real problem here is not our stars, or even the supporting cast, but it's the lack of any real story. Yes, our heroes wake up 90 years before their journey is supposed to end, and they will ever reach their destination, you never really know why what is happening...is happening..or not happening.  This is just a platform for 2 A-list stars to flex their star muscles and be loved by their fans.

Clearly too, there are going to be more of these as it is set uo for more, as our space ship still has about 88 years to go before reaching its end game. So prepare for more. Is this a waste of time? Well, no, but it's not nearly as good as it should be.

Strong on star power, effects, and idea. Weak on execution.  Should have been much better.

Manchester By The Sea

This is one of the best movies of this year, or any year.  This stars Casey Affleck, and Michelle Williams and both are absolutley terrific. Both are award nominated for this movie, and both are a serious threat to win. As is this movie.

This is the story of Lee (Affleck), who is a very strange and downtrodden young man who is a classic underachiever.  The entire movie has you wondering why he is the way he is, as we cannot really understand it. The writing is amazing, as we never stop learning about Lee, and his life and the players in it.  This is a very strong movie, very intense at times, and funny at others.  Williams plays Lee's wife and she is incredibly good in her small, but central role.  This is shot in New England, as this is so real you will feel like you are in Lee's life.

This movie also contains the single best acted, directed and filmed scene of the year, which could win them both Oscars or Golden Globes.  This movie is emotive, very powerful and immensley topical.  Simply put, Manchester By The Sea could be the years best movie.

In semi-limited release, but don't miss this.

Nocturnal Animals

If you are easily freaked out by potentially possible scenerios, then walk right past this and see something else. This is a very intense drama that is so real it makes us all squirm.  This is the story of a writer, Edward (Jake Gyllenhaal) and his love Susan (Amy Adams). They have been divorced for many years, and Edward has finally written the novel he always wanted to.  He sends a copy of the unpublished manuscript to Susan, and she reads it. This is told in flashback form, and we see the written word acted out for us, as Edward, now is "Tony" in his own novel.

The novel is so disturbing, so intense and hard to read, Susan has a tough time getting through it.  This novel parrellels Edwards life and Susan's to a degree.  This movie deals with graphic violence, intimidation, and sexual violence. This movie is not for the faint of heart.

This also stars Micheal Shannon who is simply fantastic as the broken down derective who is assisting "Tony" as a character in his novel. He is the best thing in this movie. His stock is rising so fast, he is rapdily becomming one of my favorites. 

Incredibly adult.  This too is in limited release, but this is good.  Not for everyone, but quite good.

Collateral Beauty 

This is a really good idea, and my feeling is this would read in a book very well.  But as a movie, I'm not sure.  This has an all star cast including Will Smith, Kate Winslett, Helen Mirren, Keira Knightley, Edward Norton and others.  So clearly star power is not the issue here.

This is the story of Howard, his friends and his advertising company. Howard has an extreme personal tragedy and retreats entirely from life. This is the story of bringing him back as best as he can be brought back.  As he writes abstract letters to things like, Death, Love, and Time.  And he gets an answer from each of them - but how?

This is done as well as it can be, problem is I think you need your imagination here more than your eyes.  This is a story that doesn't transfer well to the visual.  Plus, in this adaptation, the ending was insanely predictable.  You will be way, way ahead of the movie, even though they think they are smarter than you.

This is emotional, entertaining, and pretty well paced. Is this great?  No.  But it's worth the time and money if you are in for a emotional ride at the movies.

Office Christmas Party

What can you say?  It's 2 hours of footage from a huge office party.  Big cast, some laughs, topical at times.

Story attempted, but you don't really care about it. You just want to see the party shenanigans and watch all of our stars again try their hand at non-scripted improvisational jokes.

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