Bleed For This

If you've ever seen a boxing biopic before, then you've already seen this movie. It's not a fictional movie though, as it is based on the inspirational true story of World Champion Boxer Vinnie Pazienza, who suffers a neck injury that threatens to derail his boxing career. Just from that one sentence alone, you already know where this story is going, even if you've never heard of "The Pazmanian Devil." 

Despite the cliche filled plot, it's not a bad movie by any means. It's done well enough, and it's worth watching just for the cast. Miles Teller, Aaron Eckhart, and Ciaran Hinds, are all really good in this, likely making this movie better. Since it is a boxing movie though, I have to point out that the boxing scenes were just fine to watch, not great. Yes, it's yet another boxing movie, and there are simply better ones out there. 

loveditenjoyedit  IT'S OKAY  itsmehitsterrible

Loving

As far as historical importance is concerned, this movie gets my respect for tackling this story. Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga also did a great job as Richard and Mildred Loving respectively. I could argue that it's worth watching this movie just for their performance, because even though I was genuinely interested with the story, the film turned out to be a bit too slow and dry for my taste. One could even describe it as boring. It just wasn't an exciting movie to watch, and it seems like this story would simply play better as a documentary. 

Director Jeff Nichols may have an understated and meticulously paced style to his films, but this movie in particular seems to just be going through a series of check lists of what needs to happen for the story. Of course that's usually a problem that happens with historical biopics, as showing the passage of time for the narrative can prove difficult to convey on screen.  I at least did appreciate the moments that further emphasizes the love that Richard and Mildred have for each other, and how their situation caused difficulties in their relationship. Those are the scenes that made it easy to root for the couple, and I just wanted more of that. 

loveditenjoyedit  IT'S OKAY  itsmehitsterrible

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them

If you are a huge fan of the Harry Potter books and film series, then the big screen return to the Wizarding World is already a big plus for this movie. The fact that this is based in America is instantly fascinating, as the world building gets expanded to include the cultures and laws that are different than from the world of Hogwarts. There is admittedly a very familiar plot that involves an antagonistic wizard, but for fans it will be somewhat excused from the fact that it ties in with a beloved character from the Harry Potter franchise. Simply put, there are elements in this movie that fans will really enjoy, but is this story still able to bring the magic to it's viewers? 

A lot of this movie's success somehow falls on the lead protagonist Newt Scamander; preciously played by the talented Eddie Redmayne. Regretfully, I have to say that besides his charming affection to the fantastic beasts that reside in his suitcase, the character itself is much too bland. Newt plays off more like a cipher for the viewers, and that's just not that interesting. Thankfully, the supporting cast carry that weight. Dan Fogler, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, all play characters that I simply enjoyed following more than Newt. 

As for the plot itself? It's fine. The story moves along as necessary, the small bits of humor adds to the movie, the action scenes were just flashy enough, and the magical creatures are always fun to see on screen. Everything about this film is just fine. Not great, but not bad either. Either way, I'll still be looking forward to the next installment. 

lovedit  ENJOYED IT  itsokayitsmehitsterrible 

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

Never mind questioning how pro-war or anti-war this is, because while it does make some critical commentary about the war, that's not the purpose of the movie. If anything else, this is very much pro-troops. The story attempts to bring us closer into understanding the point of view of a soldier, fresh from a battle in Iraq, that is brought back to do a victory tour in a "war free" place like an NFL game in Texas. Joe Alwyn stars as that soldier; Billy Lynn, as we see him deal with some post-traumatic-stress-disorder, while being paraded around like some celebrity.

A lot of the themes in this movie is about perspective. Actual life or death war, to the hectic nature of putting on a halftime show at a sporting event. People who have actual respect for the people who serve in the military, to people who only see the superficial image of the hero soldier. The horror of having to fight a war, to the romanticized view of fighting a war. The casualties of war, to the profits of war. There are times that those different perspectives may have felt forced or clumsily told to us, but the intentions were definitely in the right place. 

Needless to say, this is very much a "talking-heads" drama, and not a typical war movie. In fact, it feels more like a stage play that's translated into a movie narrative, which may not be everyone's preference. The actual war scene is also probably only ten percent of the whole movie, and isn't overly flashy; unless you see it in 120FPS (more on that via the PS). Director Ang Lee's goal here is to make this story feel more intimate and personal for the viewers, by having the actors talk directly to the camera during conversational scenes a good majority of the time. I thought he actually succeeded in his overall vision. There may be people who will not share his vision, but hopefully they will still find the message of the story to be a very poignant one. 

lovedit  ENJOYED IT  itsokayitsmehitsterrible 

P.S. I did see this movie in the purest form of Ang Lee's vision, in it's 120FPS HFR (High Frame Rate) version. Most people will balk at watching a movie in that format for various reasons, but I personally really thought it added immensely to the experience. The stark clarity of detail of the images on screen is just simply amazing to watch, and made the whole thing feel so much more immersive to the point of realism. With a lot of first person perspectives implemented throughout, the HFR actually did make me feel like I was right there with the characters of the story, experiencing everything right along with them. This video format really helped emphasize Ang Lee's direction of making the story more intimate, less larger than life, and more personal feeling. 

Christine

Based on the true story, this is without a doubt the perfect vehicle to showcase Rebecca Hall's talent as an actress. Her portrayal of TV reporter Christine Chubbuck is a tour de force performance, and is simply one of the best of 2016! At first I was turned off by her character's unapproachable and depressive personality, and my interest with the movie waned at the beginning. As her story kept going and going, and her life kept spiraling out of control, I couldn't help but be absolutely captivated by the movie until the very end. 

This is a very heartbreaking story, and I feel that a lot of people could relate with what Christine Chubbuck was going through. Besides watching Rebecca Hall's acting here, it's worth recommending this movie because the story itself has an important message that could potentially help people who are having a hard time with depression. 

lovedit  ENJOYED IT  itsokayitsmehitsterrible

Arrival

No, this is not an action film involving aliens, although you actually do see non-humanoid looking extraterrestrials here. The majority of the movie has a methodical slow pace and editing. It's generally just people having conversations, and a visual insight to what's going on inside Amy Adam's character's head. So if that doesn't sound like a movie you may want to see, then feel free to ignore this. Actually, I take that back. See this movie! Everybody needs to see this movie, simply on the strength of what it's all about. 

It's hard to talk too much about the plot of the film without giving away spoiler details, but it does have an amazing premise of a movie, even if it borrows familiar elements from similar films of this genre. At times it felt like a recreation of actual events, with some moments of pure exposition, and educational segments thrown in there. Despite the lack of action sequences, I was still on the edge of my seat in electric anticipation on where the story was going to take us next, even if you might be able to guess where it was heading. 

While the whole cast of actors are good in this, the movie is purely an Amy Adams showcase. This is her movie, and she is great in it. The rest of the characters are very much in the supporting category, and one could argue that their development was severely lacking, even for those who we are suppose to care about; Jeremy Renner. Besides Adams, Director Denis Villeneuve deserves all the praises he should get for this movie, and this might arguable be the most important film that he's ever made.

From the melancholy that surrounds Adams character, the fascinating mystery about the aliens' presence, to the fascinating world wide reactions from the event, there's a lot to talk about with this movie. Needless to say, I was completely engrossed by the story, and by the end, I equally felt a great sadness as well as a jolt of happiness, and I wanted to re-watch it immediately. 

LOVED IT  enjoyedititsokayitsmehitsterrible 

Hacksaw Ridge

There is a religious aspect to this movie, but it's not preachy. There is a message about trying to do good by not killing, but there's still a lot of violence and death shown here. This is based on a true story, but somehow there are still a lot of plot and character cliches. This is yet another movie about World War II, but it's a really good one that's absolutely worth watching. 

Mel Gibson did a fantastic job directing Hacksaw Ridge, and brought us some amazing war sequences that was very brutal and thankfully not romanticized at all. Andrew Garfield successfully brought to life this man who has a strong belief in God's teachings, but at the same time wants to help out in a war that's filled with killings and death.

This is a movie about belief, conviction, determination, bravery, and tries to honor the men who fought and died in the wars for their country. Some people will come out seeing this movie a little inspired by American Army Medic Desmond Doss, and that's only a good thing. 

lovedit  ENJOYED IT  itsokayitsmehitsterrible

Moonlight

"At some point you've got to decide for yourself who you gonna be, and let nobody make that decision for you." That's the struggle of self discovery that a lot of children, teenagers, and adults, go through. This story chronicles one such person, who is trying to be himself, but the world and people around him constantly tries to tell him he has to be somebody else. It's a powerful story that at the superficial level may not look relatable to certain people, but the thematic message should resonate with everyone anyway. 

Directed by Barry Jenkins, this movie has a very deliberate slow pace to it, which might annoy some people. However, that method allows each lingering scene to really sink into your thoughts, and make you feel the sadness, confusion, and desolation, that the main character is going through. The movie also has a very subtle way of telling it's story with a lack of obvious expositions, and assumes the audience is smart enough to understand the context of what they are watching. 

"Moonlight" is a drama through and through (some would say "Oscar-bait"), and that's admittedly not everybody's cup-of-tea. It's definitely worth checking out at least for the strong cast, and the primary actors who play the different time periods of the main character. 

lovedit  ENJOYED IT  itsokayitsmehitsterrible

Doctor Strange

Spectacular action sequences, exhilarating chase scenes, filled with awesome visual effects that would make the movie "Inception" jealous. Benedict Cumberbatch is great as Doctor Strange, and provides some good comedic moments. The rest of the cast are also effective here. Tilda Swinton is good as The Ancient One, and Benedict Wong is a welcome presence as the character "Wong." I found the premise interesting, fascinating, and holds great potential for more entertaining stories. However, this unfortunately is still an origin story. 

Although there are some unique plot turns that aren't necessarily derivative as you would think, the movie somehow still felt like a formulaic Marvel movie anyway, or at least similar to many super hero origin stories. Even so, I was entertained, and I had a lot of fun watching this, but as soon as it truly really grabbed me, it was already over too soon. I do want to see more of Doctor Strange and this supernatural world that it introduces to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but so far this is just a promising start of a potential new franchise to follow. 

lovedit  ENJOYED IT  itsokayitsmehitsterrible

The Handmaiden

Director Chan-wook Park can put another instant classic in his filmography. Filled with beautifully framed imagery, alternating between Japanese and Korean dialogue, we got a psychological and erotic story here that contains some delicious plot twists and turns. Thieves and con-artists. Two female characters who just want to escape their lives. Riches and luxury. A perverted uncle. Some tragic backstories. A charming but duplicitous man. Some wicked sense of humor. This movie captivated me from beginning until the end. 

Big kudos to the two lead female actresses; Kim Tae-ri and Min-hee Kim, for some amazing work here. From subtle facial reactions to full blown physical sensuality, they deserve your utmost attention for the characters they brought to life in this fantastic story. 

LOVED IT  enjoyedititsokayitsmehitsterrible