gold

In Theaters January 27th Synopsis: GOLD is the epic tale of one man's pursuit of the American dream, to discover gold. Starring Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey as Kenny Wells, a prospector desperate for a lucky break, he teams up with a similarly eager geologist and sets off on an amazing journey to find gold in the uncharted jungle of Indonesia.

Inspired by the true events of the Bre-X Mining Fraud of the mid-90s, this movie is unfortunately uninspired. There are themes about idealism, persistence, obsession, greed, and pride in this movie that it can teach us. There's also the whole down-on-his-luck, fast rise to success, then down-on-his-luck again, plot structure that's the moral lesson of this story. Basically, you've already seen this movie. Short of the real-life adaptation aspect, there's nothing new here to really offer, which in turn makes it kinda boring to watch. 

I'll give kudos to Matthew McConaughey though, because he seems to be the only actor here that's really making the effort to make a character that stands out. He is acting his ass off here, and in some cases it can be argued that he is over-acting in scenes that doesn't really need it. At least he tries to bring some energy to this lackluster tale. 

loveditenjoyedititsokay  IT'S MEH  itsterrible

toni erdmann

Winfried doesn't see much of his working daughter Ines. The suddenly student-less music teacher decides to surprise her with a visit after the death of his old dog. It's an awkward move because serious career woman Ines is working on an important project as a corporate strategist in Bucharest.

The title of this movie is actually the alias of Winfried Conradi, who is a man that likes to joke around with silly gags and insane pranks. In the opening scene, he actually jokes about a mail bomb, so you can see with how far he likes to go with his sense of humor. He isn't the only focus of this story however, as this is also about his daughter Ines Conradi, who is a stressed out workaholic, whose life pretty much only revolves around her job. Her business dealings may be hard enough to handle already, but she also has to deal with her Father's hi-jinks. 

As a Father-Daughter story, this is really charming and amusing in all the right ways. Seeing how far Winfried Conradi takes his Toni Erdmann persona is very entertaining, if not cringe-worthy in the awkward humor variety. Of course he has to drag his daughter along with his jokes, much to her displeasure. It's the connection between the two that really keeps the story moving, and you just want to see where it's going. 

This movie does have a long run time of 162 minutes, and a lot of the scenes are extended sequences that tend to meander at times. However some of those lengthy scenes play off like a comedy routine, and the build up eventually leads to a punch-line that's worth waiting for, or at least allows us to watch what is essentially a train-wreck of a situation. 

lovedit  ENJOYED IT  itsokayitsmehitsterrible

academy awards nominees 2017

I was able to watch all the movies related to the Best Picture, Best Acting nominations, and more, for the 89th Academy Awards. Check out what I said about those movies via the handy hyper-links in this #isawthatmovie blog. 

Full list : http://oscar.go.com  

BEST PICTURE
Arrival
Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
La La Land
Lion
Manchester By the Sea
Moonlight

BEST ACTRESS
Isabelle Huppert, Elle
Ruth Negga, Loving
Natalie Portman, Jackie
Emma Stone, La La Land
Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins

BEST ACTOR
Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling, La La Land
Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington, Fences

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Viola Davis, Fences
Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea
Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Nicole Kidman, Lion
Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea
Dev Patel, Lion
Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals

BEST DIRECTOR
Damien Chazelle, La La Land
Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester By the Sea
Denis Villeneuve, Arrival

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Arrival
Fences
Hidden Figures
Lion
Moonlight

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Hell or High Water
La La Land
The Lobster
Manchester By the Sea
20th Century Women

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
My Life as a Zucchini
The Red Turtle
Zootopia

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Arrival
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Silence

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Deepwater Horizon
Doctor Strange
The Jungle Book
Kubo and the Two Strings
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

This isn't the full list of course, but many of the other movie reviews can easily be searched for on this blog. I have to say that I am highly disappointed that "Sing Street" didn't get a nod at all. I'm also confused as to why "The Lobster" is even on the list, since it had a foreign film release in 2015. 
Also check out the Spoilers Pleeze podcast, where me and Jiaming discuss the whole nominations list. 

xxx return of xander cage

Watch the teaser trailer for xXx: Return of Xander Cage! Coming to theaters January 20, 2017. Director: D. J. Caruso Starring: Vin Diesel, Deepika Padukone, Donnie Yen, Tony Jaa, Nina Dobrev, Rory McCann and Samuel L. Jackson.

If you need a movie to be the epitome of such phrases like "mindless entertainment," "it's so bad it's good," "guilty pleasure," or other similar descriptions, then "xXx : Return Of Xander Cage" is the one for you. Full disclosure here, but I've never seen a xXx movie before, and I didn't really know what Xander Cage is returning from, nor do I have any deep knowledge about the previous installments. I'm sure there were some easter eggs or fan service that referenced the past movies, but somehow it didn't seem to matter. This movie was written in a certain way, that anybody could start from here. In fact, I don't think they'll mind. 

Let me be forthright and just say that this movie is dumb, ridiculous, outrageous, unbelievable, silly, and will bombard you with so much stupidity that it's just daring you to stop watching it. With that said, I actually had some fun with this. This is like a cartoon done in live-action, but without the realism, and the general rules of physics don't apply here. This is like what would happen if you mashed up Mission Impossible with The Fast and The Furious, poured Red Bull and Mountain Dew into it, plus include the X Games, Martial Arts, and Parkour, then drop it into a lava pit of the 1980s that includes it's cheesy dialogue, and mix it all with the budget of an action flick from 2010. If you're okay with the result of that combination, then you'll be okay with this. 

I found this movie quite likable because of it's action set pieces, and wow are they crazy enough that you have to be impressed with the film makers for deciding to put all that on screen. From skiing through a jungle, riding a bike on water, running towards traffic on foot, this movie is insane... but in a good way. Just watching Donnie Yen, Deepika Padukone, Ruby Rose kick ass, Tony Jaa being in this, and Toni Collette continuously giving us an angry look, makes the price of admission worth it. Of course the movie also goes out of it's way to unashamedly remind us that Vin Diesel is the guy every man wants to be, and every girl wants to be with, which is a tired trope but works more or less here anyway.

If you're wondering how the overall story is. Don't. While the premise itself is enjoyable, it's nothing you've never seen before, and it has it's plot holes and logical flaws. The story is really just there to string together the action sequences anyway, and the scenes that are blatantly pandering to the audience. What you should take from this movie is that you actually enjoyed the ensemble cast of ridiculous characters in it, and would love to see them together again in another movie. I know I do. 

loveditenjoyedit  IT'S OKAY  itsmehitsterrible

the founder

In Theaters Everywhere January 20th! SYNOPSIS Written by Robert Siegel (BIG FAN), THE FOUNDER is a drama that tells the true story of how Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton), a salesman from Illinois, met Mac and Dick McDonald, who were running a burger operation in 1950s Southern California.

There's an extended segment around the first third of the movie, that chronicles how the McDonald brothers; Richard and Maurice, started the restaurant chain. It was an engrossing and inspirational tale, that honestly made me immediately go "wow, I think I'm definitely going to go to McDonald's right after the movie." Well, let's say that by the end of the movie, I wasn't in that much of a hurry to go to that fast food chain anymore. If you are already familiar with the history of the corporation then you know why. Ray Kroc. 

Just as much as this is the story of McDonald's history, it is really more about Ray Kroc. He started off as being the best thing that could have happened to the McDonald brothers, with his know-how, determination, persistence, and ambition, to properly franchise the restaurant. What happens then is a fascinating tale about one man's thirst for success and power, that lead the way to the behemoth that is the McDonald's of today. Micheal Keaton is amazing as Kroc. He plays the role in a way where you can equally admire the guy and despise him. The back and forth between Keaton, Nick Offerman, and John Carroll Lynch, are also one of the highlights of this movie, and the rest of the supporting cast are good in this too. 

As a historical biopic, the movie was really smart in picking and choosing which parts of the story needs to be focused more, while some are either not talked about or are just simple plot points to enhance the main film's premise that is Ray Kroc. The narrative was very accessible, and I really appreciated that. 

lovedit  ENJOYED IT  itsokayitsmehitsterrible

20th century women

SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/A24subscribe Watch the first teaser for 20TH CENTURY WOMEN from acclaimed filmmaker Mike Mills (the Academy Award®-winning Beginners), and starring Annette Bening, Elle Fanning, Greta Gerwig, Lucas Jade Zumann, and Billy Crudup - In Theaters December 25th.

What I found to be incredible about this movie is that for a story that goes in many different directions, juggling multiple characters that had the depth to justify their own movies, tackling several deep life related subject matters, is a nice snippet of a look at life in 1979 Santa Barbara California, and even celebrates the punk rock music scene, is that Director-Writer Mike Mills was able to put all of that into a fairly accessible and captivating narrative. 

The premise features three females in three different age groups, a teenage boy, and an adult man, that have stories and experiences that should encourage the audience to have a discussion about who we should be and what we should do in this modern world. The narrative is all told in a somewhat stream of consciousness style of showing us scene after scene after scene, that are like slice of life moments, from philosophical discussions, punk rock music, history, montage sequences, monologues, and traditional interpersonal drama. 

What a fantastic cast this movie has. Annette Benning and her clever life observations. Elle Fanning and the confidence of her character. Greta Gerwig and her outgoing personality. Lucas Jade Zumann as the kid in the coming of age story. Billy Crudup as the man's man who just wants stability in life. All of them are excellent in this, and I just wanted to follow all their characters' lives, way past the end credits. 

LOVED IT  enjoyedititsokayitsmehitsterrible

split

Split - In Theaters January 20 http://www.splitmovie.com Writer/director/producer M. Night Shyamalan returns to the captivating grip of The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs with Split, an original thriller that delves into the mysterious recesses of one man's fractured, gifted mind.

NO SPOILERS HERE!!! I felt the need to emphasize that fact, because as with M.Night Shyamalan movies, they have a tendency to be defined by the last plot points of the story. Without mentioning any kinds of reveals, depending on your opinions, the ending plot points will make you either go "you've got to be kidding me" in either a negative light, or a positive one. I myself thought it was a rewarding ending, but results may vary. 

For a psychological thriller about three girls who are held captive by someone who appears to have a multiple personality disorder, it's actually a pretty solid movie. Sure, there will be those who might feel that this is an inappropriate representation for those with that kind of a disorder, but I don't think that was the intention of the filmmakers. Sure, there will be those who might find the movie boring for it's deliberately slow pacing, but I thought it was successfully just taking it's time to build up the tension to the eventual conclusion; without the need to overplay jump scares too. 

Patience and many leap of faiths are definitely needed to fully enjoy this movie, although I think it moved things along well enough, by giving us compelling scenes of the girls trying to escape, and the scenes of them interacting with their captor. The movie also has a welcome sense of self-awareness, and isn't afraid to toss in some levity here and there to balance out the suspense; like McAvoy acting like he is 9 years old.

Speaking of acting, kudos to Anya Taylor-Joy for her excellent role as Casey, and James McAvoy is fascinating to watch playing multiple roles in the movie. McAvoy may not be as good as Tatiana Maslany is in "Orphan Black," but he is still pretty effective in acting differently enough to define the various personalities. These two actors alone made it worth it to watch this movie, even if you were already spoiled about the ending. 

lovedit  ENJOYED IT  itsokayitsmehitsterrible

live by night

See LIVE BY NIGHT in theaters January 13, 2017 - directed by and starring Ben Affleck. http://facebook.com/livebynight http://twitter.com/livebynight http://instagram.com/livebynightmovie --- Oscar winner Ben Affleck ("Argo") directed and stars in the dramatic crime thriller "Live by Night."

Here I thought that this was going to just be a rather straight forward but entertaining gangster drama set in the prohibition era. To my surprise, it goes to ambitious heights of also tackling strong subject matters such as racism and religion, among many others. What a mistake that was. I get that those plot points where also in the novel by Dennis Lehane that this film is an adaptation of, but it turns out that there are way too many stories here that's trying to cram itself into a two hours movie format.

Despite some of the positive things I could say about it, like the high production values, the gorgeous cinematography, the locations, the action set pieces, some legitimately great scenes that can be found here and there, Chris Messina as Dion Bartolo, Elle Fanning as Loretta Figgis, generally all the talent on screen, despite all that I unfortunately have to say that the overall narrative itself holds this back from being a good film. I'll go ahead and toss this argument in here, but the whole story probably would have played better as a TV series.

I suppose I should place the blame on Director, Actor, Screen-writer Ben Affleck for not being able to pull this off, but there's something else that I need to blame more. The lead character that he plays, Joe Coughlin. What an insufferable and uninspired character. His tragic criminal turned gang leader with a heart of gold, is like the embodiment of a humble-brag, and the perfect trigger to make people roll their eyes. Just like the overall movie, there's clearly am ambitiousness to make Coughlin be this anti-hero for the masses, but all it did was make me like the whole film even less. 

loveditenjoyedititsokay  IT'S MEH  itsterrible

paterson

Official Site: http://www.BleeckerStreetMedia.com LIKE us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BleeckerStFilms FOLLOW us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/BleeckerStFilms -- This Winter, discover the quiet triumphs and defeats of daily life. Adam Driver and Golshifteh Farahani star in Writer/Director Jim Jarmusch's new film, Paterson. In select theaters December 28.

Directed and Written by Jim Jarmusch, this movie's tone and atmosphere has a very meditative and poetic feel to it, which should tell you that this isn't something for everybody. While some are going to really love the introspective nature of the narrative, there will be many who would find this super boring and pretentious. I suppose I fall somewhere in between that, because there are moments in the movie that really put me in an incredibly relaxed mood that I could have fallen asleep right there and then. It's slow pacing seems to invite people to wander off and get distracted, but something seemingly innocuous will happen on screen and will just grab back your attention. 

The premise is about an aspiring poet named Paterson; played wonderfully by Adam Driver, who happens to be a bus driver in the city of Paterson, and this movie chronicles a week's look into his everyday life. I appreciated the fact that like with most people, it focuses a lot on how routine and mundane Paterson goes through his days. The repetitiveness will turn some people off, and the major highlights are simply Paterson starting his day with the girlfriend he lives with, interacting with other regular people he meets, eavesdropping on other people's conversations, writing up poetry, and ending the day in a bar that he regular visits. 

There's a lot about this movie that I appreciated and what it's trying to convey. It's almost like a love letter to the different everyday people who are trying to just stand out and pursue who they want to be, as well as a cheerleader to the city of Paterson New Jersey and the people who resides in it. 

lovedit  ENJOYED IT  itsokayitsmehitsterrible

patriots day

http://www.patriotsdayfilm.com An account of the Boston Marathon bombing, PATRIOTS DAY is the powerful story of a community's courage in the face of terror. 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.

As a historical recreation of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, I thought Director Peter Berg did a terrific job adapting that event into a movie. Part of what really worked was that he was able to effectively juggle the huge ensemble cast of characters into the narrative, from the people of law enforcement, the victims of the bombing, and those responsible for the attack. When things happen to those characters, you have enough context to care about who they are, which really adds to the weight of the story.

The main focus of the movie is mostly about what immediately happened after the terrorist act. We're shown the huge procedural work and the hunt for those terrorists, as well as what those bombers did next. Everything there were very engaging, and no disrespect to the fact this actually happened in real life, but the whole thing played really well as a gripping tense thriller, that included some incredible plot turns, chases, gun fights, and explosions. Thematically, this is about the resolve of a city and it's people, to fight back against those who have hurt them, and to still be able to find hope and love at the end of a great tragedy. 

If there is one primary complaint about the movie, it's Mark Wahlberg's all-purpose fictionalized character of Sargent Tommy Saunders. It's one thing that his character just so happens to conveniently and coincidentally be everywhere the story needs to go, but he even has several monologues that were so heavy handed in reminding us what the thematic point of the movie is. Most everything about his character was just so eye rolling worthy. Despite that issue though, "Patriots Day" is still quite the movie experience, and it was hard not to feel completely transfixed to what was being shown on screen. 

lovedit  ENJOYED IT  itsokayitsmehitsterrible