Monday, October 26, 2015

Film Columbia 2015

22 movies in 7 days. I'm completely exhausted but it was totally worth it. This was my big vacation for the year. I had so much fun seeing movies and reuniting with some wonderful people. There were a lot of good movies this year and a few that were... not so good.

As I do every year with this, I'm not doing long reviews for each movie. For one thing I just don't have the time. The other thing is most of these movies haven't been released to the public just yet so I don't want to spoil things too much. I'm just going to give a few brief thoughts and then my rating. So here we go-

Suffragette:

  • Wonderful movie set in 1912 about the early days of the British Woman's Suffrage Movement. Powerful performances especially by Carey Mulligan, who's sure to get a Best Actress nomination. My Rating: 9/10
Mia Madre:
  • A foreign movie about a director who has to cope with her dying mother while trying to deal with a crazy actor on the set of her latest film. The movie wasn't terrible, but aside from a few funny moments I just found myself bored. I didn't care too much about the characters either. My Rating: 7/10
Cemetery of Splendor:
  • This was such a chore to get through. I'm still not sure what it's even about. A few pretty scenes here and there overall it was a mess. Avoid this movie at all costs unless you have trouble falling asleep. My Rating: 3/10
Jack of the Red Hearts:
  • Sweet little movie starring Anna Sophia Robb as Jack, a troubled teen who poses as a caretaker and forms a close bond with a young autistic girl and her family. Great acting by all. A little sappy at times but overall it's very well made. My Rating: 8/10
 Louder Than Bombs:
  • Predictable movie starring Gabriel Byrne as a man struggling with his feeling about his wife's death and his relationship with his two sons played brilliantly by Jesse Eisenberg and Devin Druid. Narrative could be seen as confusing to some. My Rating: 7.5/10 
45 Years:
  • British drama about a couple about to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary. The husband receives some shattering news and it changes the wife's perspective on their marriage. A little dull but the movie is pretty short. I thought the performances by Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay were very believable. My Rating: 7/10
Very Semi Serious:
  • An interesting and funny documentary about artists who've had several of their cartoons featured in the New Yorker over the years. My Rating: 8/10
Monsoon:
  • A documentary about the monsoon season in India. Okay overall but at times I questioned some of the direction. If you're an animal lover like me there's a scene that will really turn you off. My Rating: 6.5/10
The Lady in the Van:
  • Maggie Smith can do no wrong! Based on the play of the same name that also starred Maggie Smith about writer Alan Bennett and the bag lady who lived in her van in his driveway for 15 years. Good movie even with the slightly out there ending. My Rating: 8/10
Labyrinth of Lies:
  • Powerful drama based on a true story. A young prosecutor names Johann Radmann (Alexander Fehling, who's amazing in this) who in 1963 brings many German guards serving  at Auschwitz during World War 2 to trial for murder. I strongly urge everyone to see this when it comes out. My Rating: 10/10
Brooklyn:
  • An old fashioned love story set in the 1950's about a young Irish immigrant played by Saoirse Ronan who is torn between her Italian American boyfriend and a nice Irish man from back home. They don't make many movies like this anymore which is a shame. My Rating: 9/10
Sweet Red Bean Paste:
  • A charming and surprisingly touching Japanese movie about an elderly woman who suddenly shows up to help a man, who runs a confectionery shop, perfect his red bean paste used in his pastries. This movie had me tearing up quite a bit. My Rating: 8.5/10
May Mountains Depart:
  • A love story/family drama told in 3 time periods- the late 90's, present day, and the near future. Has some really nice cinematography. However, I enjoyed the first two parts much more than I did the third. My Rating: 7/10
Measure of a Man: 
  • Vincent Lindon stars in this well made and very relevant French drama as a man who is unemployed and struggles to take care of his family, which includes his special needs son. My Rating: 8.5/10
Truth:
  • The great Cate Blanchett and Robert Redford star as CBS producer Mary Mapes and anchor Dan Rather during their report that claimed that Bush Sr. used his influence to put Bush Jr. in the National Guard who then skirted his duties. I wasn't too impressed with Robert Redford's performance. However, Cate Blanchett really shines here. My Rating: 8/10
 Trash:
  • Has some similarities to Slumdog Millionaire but that's not a bad thing. Tells the story of three friends who accidentally find a wallet that has evidence to destroy a politician. The three leads are outstanding young actors. Hope they do well in the future. My Rating: 9/10
I Saw the Light:
  • I really wanted to like this movie but it's such a lazy attempt at a biopic. Tom Hiddleston plays legendary country singer Hank Williams. The only positive thing I can say is that he looks and sounds like him. Other than that Hiddleston is just doing a bad imitation. The editing was just awful and the movie had some of the worst dialog I've heard in a long time. Avoid this if you can. My Rating: 5/10
Taxi:
  • Delightful and at times funny movie directed by Jafar Panahi, who's been banned from making movies for 20 years in Iran for so called "propaganda against Islam". Yet somehow he's made three movies since his arrest. Such a pleasure to watch. My Rating: 9/10
Spotlight:
  • This was the Saturday night surprise movie. So much better than last years. Directed by Tom McCarthy, it tells the true story of the Boston Globe and how they uncovered the huge scandal of child molestation and the cover up within the local Catholic Archdiocese. Great performances by Michael Keaton, Liev Schreiber, and Stanley Tucci. As much as I love Mark Ruffalo, I felt like he was overacting here. My Rating: 8.5/10
Beyond Glory:
  • Stephen Lang stars in this one man performance based on his play where he brings to life the story of eight Medal of Honor winners. Very powerful. My Rating: 8/10
Son of Saul:
  • Boy this was a downer. Of course going into this knowing it was a Holocaust movie I expected it to be. Powerful movie. I just wish they had developed the main character more. My Rating: 7.5/10
Heart of a Dog:
  • I like to think I'm pretty open minded when it comes to movies. I'll watch just about any genre. I went into this expecting a cute movie about a dog. Instead I get some strange shit straight out of the Terrence Malick school of movies. Took everything in me not to walk out. How much did I hate this? Let me put it this way- I'd rather sit through all four of Michael Bay's Transformers movies while getting a root canal. My Rating: 2/10

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