Post Oscar-time Oscar Roundup

CAROL

DRAMA-2015

PLOT:  Two women fall in love in the 50’s.

                Cate Blanchett is Carol Aird, a very blonde, rich, elegant woman and Rooney Mara is Therese Beilvet is a working woman and the two fall in love but there are problems.  Carol has a husband and a lovely young daughter.  The word lesbian is never said and it is very subtle how the relationship grows.  Blanchett is fantastic for she wants to be the perfect wife and mother but longs for her lady lover.  Mara is good too as a mousey young woman trying to find her way.  If you see the movie get some sleep for it is very slow moving.

STEVE JOBS

DRAMA-2015

PLOT:  The man who started the digital revolution.

                It is really not a bio in the usual sense but it tells a surrealistic backstage craziness before he goes on stage to sell the latest product.  This is a dialogue drive movie written by Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network and TV series The West Wing) and there are emotional explosions-not physical explosions. Michael Fassbender are great as Jobs, he is arrogant, amazing and few times compassionate.  The movie tells a little bit why he is that way.  Kate Winslet is very good as Joanna Hoffman, his assistant who as to deal with his annoying pettiness on a daily basis.  Who really stands out is Seth Rogan!  I don’t think he is funny in his comedies but in this dramatic role as Steve Wozniak he is outstanding!

SPOTLIGHT

DRAMA

PLOT:  The true story of a team of reporters who investigate priests who molest children and how far the cover-up goes.

                Everyone involved with the movie is outstanding acting (Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Stanley Tucci), writing direction(Josh Singer Tom McCarthy).  It is so scary that we have to be worried about people in authority-police, priests and doctors and when journalist tell their story they better be right! It also shows that even the best reporters are not perfect and take pride in their work.   It is hard to stomach as victims tell their stories of how pastors abused them so be warned.

JOY

BIOGRAPHY COMEDY-DRAMA

PLOT:  A loosely base true story about Joy Mangano , who invented the Miracle Mop.

                The trailer for this movie is so misleading.  You think it is a comedy about a young woman named Joy (Jennifer Lawrence) and her whacky family.  It is not.  It is about Joy who created the sensation the Miracle Mop and horrors of having it patented and be successful.  Lawrence is very good.  She is driven by debt and to prove to family and friends they were wrong that she can achieve to be a profitable entrepreneur.

TRUMBO

BIOGRAPHICAL DRAMA

PLOT:  The true story of Dalton Trumbo who was the top screenwriter then labeled a communist.

                Dalton Trumbo (Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad) was one of the popular screenwriters in Hollywood in the 40’s until they found out he was a communist.  He was blacklisted, went to jail, could never use his real name in Hollywood and for a while wrote B-movies to support his family.  Trumbo never played the ‘victim’.  He adapted to every bad situation with humor and creativity.  The cast was very good including Helen Mirren as gossip columnist Hedda Harper, comic Louis C.K. as Arien Hird and John Goodman is truly amazing as Frank King who makes B-movies for living and proud of it!  He plays the most outrageous characters so well he deserves a special Oscar.

ROOM

DRAMA

PLOT:  A young woman is kidnapped, has a son and they are trapped in shed.

                Joy (Brie Larson) is a kidnapped woman who has a son, Jack (Jacob Tremblay) and they live in a small squalid shed.  Joy loves her son very much so she pretends that Jack is dead so her kidnapper has to remove the body and that’s how Jack escapes.  It sounds very exciting but it is very slow, very real, and very scary.  The two are saved now Jack has to adjust to modern life.  Larson won an Oscar for her performance but Tremblay should have been nominated for Best Supporting Actor for it was his story.

50 Shades of Sex and Violence

RIDE ALONG 2

ACTION/COMEDY

PLOT:  The squeal to Ride Along.

                Ben Barber (Kevin Hart) is now a rookie while James Payton (Ice Cube) is the tough detective still teaching Ben the ropes.  They team together again to stop a crime lord in Miami.  The comedy provided by Hart is great and the action is not bad either.  This is a movie you will enjoy if you like Kevin Hart if not do not go.

THE 5^TH WAVE

SCI-FI/ACTION

PLOT:   Aliens try to kill the humans on Earth.

                Okay it is a timeless tale of aliens trying to control the earth but it is shown through the eyes of a 16 year old girl named Cassie Sullivan (Chole Grace Moretz, Hit Girl from Kick Ass movies) then the “waves” come and the earth is in turmoil and when the army takes her younger brother, she is determined to find him.  Moretz is great and she is an up and coming action babe!   The attractive Alex Roe is romantic interest. If you like Hunger Games, Divergent you will enjoy this.  The trailers didn’t impress me but the movie did.

50 SHADES OF BLACK

SPOOF

PLOT:  A comedy about the erotic romance sensation 50 Shades of Grey.

                Hannah Steel (Kali Hawk) meets Christian Black (Marion Wayans) as she interviews him for her paper and begins the kinky, sexual relationship.  The film is actually more vulgar than the film they are making fun of.  The movie feels very long and it is not because of the gross humor.  The picture has potential-some parts are very good as Florence Henderson, yes that Henderson who was the mother in the Brady Bunch, as the woman who got Christian into bondage.  It was a shocking stretch for her and she is funny! Hawk is more shapely than her white counterpart Dakota Johnson.  Jenny Zigrino as Kateesha, Hannah’s white roommate who is so stereotype black is hilarious.  Wayans wrote the film and if more comedy than crude was it would have much better.  It didn’t make much money in theaters but will be better on video.

KUNG FU PANDA 3

ANIMATION

PLOT:  The further adventures of Po, the panda and friends.

                Po (voice by Jack Black) must teach his friends more martial arts, he meets his panda father, learn chi and stop an evil adversary.  It is a lot for a panda but Po is up to the challenge.  If you enjoyed the other two you films you will enjoy this one.  It s great for children and kids!

DEADPOOL

ACTION/FANTASY

PLOT:  The origin of the superhero.

                Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) who used to be in Special Forces now is a mercenary.  He falls in love with an escort Vanessa ( Morena Baccarin, TV show Gotham).  Life is good then he finds out he has terminal cancer so he leaves her and goes to secret lab to get better.  His cancer is cured and he has superpowers but his faces is disfigured and he wants the person responsible Ajax(Ed Skrein, Game of Thrones) to fix him. 

The movie is funny and action packed.  Reynolds was born to play Deadpool!  If you seen him in X-Men Origins: Wolverine he is much better in this one.  He is foul-mouth with non-stop wisecracks.  After this sequel maybe he should do a solo film about Hannibal King, vampire slayer.  The movie is a hit and it is rated R so don’t be surprised if more superhero movies are going to be more violent and lots of sex. 

TRUTH

POLITICAL DRAMA

PLOT:  True story about anchorman Dan Rather had to step down for false documents about George W. Bush in his life in the service.

                OMG!  Journalists in the movies catch hell!  If you blinked you would have missed this well-acted movie about Dan Rather (Robert Redford) and his producer Mary Mapes (Cate Blanchett) who tells the public George W. Bush had special treatment in the military.  The aftermath was destructive, people were fired, forced to leave their jobs and characters smeared.  The film focus mostly on Mapes who got the story and caught all the trouble that came with it.  I am usually not political in my reviews but if you watch this film (and believe it) this is why Jeb Bush didn’t make it as president-this time.

Of Chicks and Chipmunk's Rights

ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: ROAD CHIP

ADVENTURE/COMEDY

PLOT:  The further fun adventures of Alvin.

                The chipmunks are worried that Dave is going to marry his girlfriend and drop them so they have to stop him from giving her the engagement ring.  Story is not important but cuteness of the three and the crazy things that happened to them are.  It is not high-brow comedy but it is funny.  Great for families.

  

SUFFRAGETTE

HISTORICAL DRAMA

PLOT:  A young laundress by accident becomes involved in the women’s right to vote in Britain 1912.

                Maude Watts (Carey Mulligan) washes other people clothes for a living.  She has a husband and a son who she loves dearly. She has to deliver a package to an owner and sees first hand of women throwing rocks at stores to get attention to the cause. Soon by events she becomes involved that will change history-the woman’s right the vote.  Selma told us the black version of black people had to sacrifice to get the vote this movie does too for females.  The acting is very good especially by Mulligan for she goes through so much! Meryl Streep is not in the film that much even if she is in the poster.

The Billion Dollar Franchises Awaken

CREED

SPORTS DRAMA

PLOT:  Retired Rocky Balboa trains Apollo’s son.

                Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) is older and alone then Apollo Creed’s son wants to be a fighter and wants Rocky to train him. Soon they form a bond. Michael B. Jordan is great as Adonis Creed and Stallone is fantastic as the now father figure Rocky.  The boxing is brutal!  No two fighters can last as long with the punches they exchange in the movies.  You have seen these kinds of movies before but this one is well made.

THE GOOD DINOSAUR

ANIMATED

PLOT:  Arlo is lost dinosaur and will do anything to find his family and meets a young cave boy who    becomes his friend.

                The animation and the music are great.  It had funny moments but this film is frightening for young children!  Bugs are used as musical instruments or eaten!  It is rough stuff so if you do bring your kids be warned.

               

PEANUTS MOVIE

ANIMATED

PLOT:  Charlie Brown and friends are back on the big screen.

                Charlie Brown, that lovable failure is back in 3D animation and it is good.  There is really no story.  It is nostalgia about the characters and situations that made Peanuts wonderful.  All ages will like it and some will love it.  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

STAR WARS:  THE FORCE AWAKENS

ACTION/ADVENTURE/FANTASY

PLOT:  The first of the new Star Wars saga.

                It has been 30 years since the end of Darth Vader and the Empire but there is a new enemy emerging named the First Order led by the evil Kylo Ren to crush the resistance.  If you are not a Star Wars fan you will enjoy this movie!  It is epic and action packed.  If you are a Star Wars fan you love this movie!  Why?    It is new and nostalgia.  Some people will be disappointed because it is not completed in this film but it is the first of a new series.  You will learn more in each film.  Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Adam Driver are great as new characters to the franchise as well as Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill.

Family Faction and Action Gets Traction

SPECTRE

ACTION/ADVENTURE

PLOT:  The 24^th James Bond movie.

                First of all, the meaning of the evil organization named SPECTRE Special Executive for Counter Intelligence Terrorism Revenge and Extortion.  James Bond (Daniel Craig) last as 007.  The group is lead by Blodfeld (Christoph Waltz) and his reason to hurt Bond is professional as well as personal.  It is a great movie if you haven’t seen a current James Bond movie.  The opening sequence is just amazing and the fight scene with former wrestler Dave Bautista (Mr. Hinx) brutal.  There are slow spots helping you with the story.  It is worth to watch.

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2

ANIMATED

PLOT:  The sequel to Hotel Transylvania.

                You don’t have to see the first movie to understand this one.  Mavis (Selena Gomez) Dracula’s daughter married a human and Dracula (Adam Sandler) wants his grandson  to be more monster than human.  The movie is very funny, delightful and in a strange way teaching children accepting people or creatures as they are. It is delightful for all ages.

HUNGER GAMES:  MOCKINGJAY PART 2

ACTION/SCI-FI

PLOT:  The final chapter of Hunger Game series.

                Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) knows who the enemy is now and he is President Snow (Donald Southerland) and wants to kill him but is he really the bad guy?  Our heroine has to deal with death, deception and worship.  It is the saddest ending to a franchise I have ever seen.  The trailer is so misleading for the other three movies are a building up and you would expect an action-packed ending and it is not that.  The novels I know are better.  The writer is trying to say something important and does but it is grim throughout.  If you enjoyed the other films you will like this one but if you didn’t  don’t go.