Project Almanac, The Wedding Ringer

I'm not a huge fan of found footage films. The Blair Witch Project invented it with incredible skill, Chronicle perfected it in my opinion. Otherwise I enjoy picking them apart for logical inconsistencies than entertainment value. E.G. WHY ARE YOU STILL FILMING?! But I'm a sucker for time travel movies, especially those that aren't afraid to have fun with the paradox's that are inevitable. Project Almanac isn't perfect in it's found footage format but it almost works. The predictable hilarity that ensues when a bunch of teenagers get their hands on a time machine is perfect and entertaining. Who wouldn't go back and Ace that test or win the lottery or that time when you embarrassed yourself in front of that pretty girl? What if you could go back and sweep her off her feet? But these kids being kids don't fully realize or care about the consequences involved. It's not a groundbreaking film by any stretch...but it reminds me of the movie last year Now You See Me, you're having so much fun watching it you don't really care. B+

I love Kevin Hart. The energy alone he brings to every movie makes them watchable. Josh Gad is usually hilarious so you'd think the pairing of these two was a match made in Hollywood Heaven. And don't get me wrong, some of the jokes land, but often I was rolling my eyes in obvious pleas for laughter. My favorite part was the Usual Suspects tribute when their elaborate ruse is (or might not be [no spoilers]) discovered. So many other scenes felt redundant and just tired. Like an old school vs young boys football game that turns very physical or the dinner scene where poor grandma is accidentally set on fire. The Wedding Ringer is unfortunately a far cry from Harts last January release Ride Along. A for effort, C for execution.

Thoughts on the Oscars.

Every year the Oscar nominations come out and every year people get very, very upset about what they thought should have or shouldn't have been nominated. I am no different than anyone else. So here are some thoughts about the obvious snubs and the snubs no one is talking about.

1. The Lego Movie for Best Animated Film

I honestly have no idea how this was missed. The only thing that makes any kind of sense is that because of the scenes with human actors that is wasn't purely an Animated Film. In which case I can maybe see what they're talking about. I personally liked Big Hero 6 and How to Train Your Dragon better anyway so not that big of a deal for me.

2. David Oyelowo for Best Actor

This is a hard one for me. Oyelowo killed this role, to be sure but the Best Actor race was by far the most competitive of this years Oscar categories and I am not happy with the results anyway. But more on this in moment.

3. Ava DuVernay for Best Director

This is an obvious snub. Bennett Miller should in no way have a spot on this list. I honestly don't understand the love for Foxcatcher anyway. Brilliantly acted but otherwise completely tedious. DuVernay definitely deserved a spot and in my opinion so did Matt Reeves or Clint Eastwood instead of Morten Tyldum.

So those are the big three that everyone is talking about. Here though is my personal snubs that I found annoying.

1. ANDY FREAKING SERKIS and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes for everything.

I said I'd talk about the Best Actor race a little later and later is here. Let's take a look at the Best Actor Noms for a moment: Steve Carell for Foxcatcher, Michael Keaton for Birdman, Bradley Cooper for American Sniper, Eddie Redmayne for The Theory of Everything, and Benedict Cumberbatch for The Imitation Game. I've already said the best thing about Foxcatcher was the acting. That said, Steve Carell wasn't the one that stood out to me. Michael Keaton and Eddie Redmayne were sure bets and deserve their noms for sure. Bradly Cooper was a surprise and he certainly gave his best performance. Benedict Cumberbatch...I love him, but he really didn't do anything new in this role. In short, all of these performances were fine, some were great, but NONE CAME CLOSE TO WHAT ANDY SERKIS DID AS CAESAR!!! Motion capture is here and it's here to stay and one of these days the Academy will have to acknowledge that. Andy Serkis gave a layered, complex, and compelling performance for the ages. He made us care about an ape more than any humans that appeared on screen. It is an incredible shame that people will dismiss this movie as SciFi and nothing more. It was one of the best movies of the year and holds it's own in terms of storytelling, characters, or performances against any other prestige drama to come out. In my opinion Dawn should have gotten nods for Best Picture and Best Director as well.

2. Jake Gyllenhaal for Best Actor

Another actor I thought should have been recognized. Gyllenhaal gave his best performance by far and proved that he is an actor to be reckoned with. To summarize my list of Best Actors, this is how the nominations should be in my opinion.  
Andy Serkis for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Jake Gyllenhaal for Nightcrawler
Eddie Redmayne for Theory of Everything
Michael Keaton for Birdman
and take your pick for this fifth nod, it could go between Cooper, Oyelowo, or Carell and I would be happy.

3. Weird notes.

Birdman didn't get a nod for Film Editing??? Really??? It was by far the best edited movie of the year. If you saw it you know what I'm talking about, it not, they made it look like one long continuous shot. So, yeah...impressive.

No Hobbit love for Make Up and Hairstyling??? That is just outrageous. The movies subtitle is Battle of the Five Bearded Armies ...or something like that...

Also no Hobbit love for Original Song. Sorry Billy Boyd, you deserved One Last Goodbye.

Writing Adapted Screenplay..........DAWN OF THE FREAKING PLANET OF THE FREAKING APES!!!!!! Okay....I'm done....I think....

American Sniper, Taken 3, Inherent Vice

American Sniper: Clint Eastwood triumphantly returns to directing with perhaps his best film in years. Bradley Cooper does his finest work as cowboy turned Navy SEAL Chris Kyle. The war scenes are taunt and expertly executed. It's a gut punch of a film that grabs you by the throat. Not unlike last years excellent Lone Survivor.  A

Taken 3: Or Tak3n apparently. Like it's title, the movie tries to be so clever it ends up just looking stupid. Liam Neeson does his Liam Neeson impression but even he hardly cares enough to disguise his Irish accent anymore. The action is good if repetitious, the characters no more or less developed then before, and twist are eye rollingly predictable. It's sad this franchise has to end on this stinker. Here's to never being Taken again. D-

 Inherent Vice: One good thing about Taken 3 that I forgot to mention: It's not Inherent Vice. It should have really been titled: Incoherent Mess. The directing is outstanding and the acting is acceptable and that's all the praise I can muster for this all over the place movie. And that's obviously the intent of the filmmakers. They wanted to make a movie as confusing and weird as a drug trip, unfortunately this was a bad trip dude.  F+

The Year of the Movies: 2015

Every once in a while a year comes along that redefines cinema: 1939, 1977, 1994, 1999... 2014 wasn't a bad year by all accounts but it was just an appetizer for the banner year that 2015 is shaping up to be. I'm going to go by month and list the potentially biggest movies, then at the end, I will list my most anticipated.

January: 

Usually a bad month for movies, but this year, there are a few movies you should check out even in January. We have the final conclusion to the Taken series. An Ethan Hawk thriller called Predestination that is based on a short story that pretty much fried my brain for weeks, so it definitely seems like one to watch. Also Kevin Hart has a new comedy, The Wedding Ringer. He has been on a roll recently and this looks funny too. We FINALLY get a new Micheal Mann movie with Blackhat, starring Chris Hemsworth and Viola Davis. This is the must watch of the month. Also we get the new Johnny Depp comedy Mortdecai. So there's that if you aren't tired of him parodying himself yet. 

February:

Another usually quiet month, but this is 2015, there are no quiet months for movies. We have Sponge-Bob for the kiddies, Jupiter Ascending for the SciFi, and Fifty Shades of Grey for the...actually I don't know who would watch that, but its here. We also have a dark horse with Kingsman: The Secret Service which is shaping up to be a surprise hit comedy. 

March:

A new Neil Blomkamp film Chappie which looks to be a great SciFi movie. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel...with a title like that, what else do you need? Cinderella gets the live-action, Disney, fairy-tale treatment. Another yawn inducing Paranormal Activity. A Chris Hemsworth starring, Ron Howard directed tale of the story that inspired Moby Dick: In the Heart of the Sea. The YA Hunger Games wannabe Divergent sequel; Insurgent. Also the second Kevin Hart comedy of the year...and this time costarring with Will Ferrell...and it's called Get Hard...so it's basically a must see. 

April:

Another year, another entry in the Fast and the Furious series. Yeah, I don't care, but a lot of other people do, so there's one coming out. Also another Nicholas Sparks movie...This time it's called The Longest Ride though! We also have another Paul Blart: Mall Cop movie. The most interesting movie this month is a little picture called Child 44 starring Tom Hardy and Gary Oldman. It's the mystery of child murders in the Stalin ruled Soviet Union. Should be good.

May: 

It's the month everyone is waiting for: Its the Age of Ultron for everyone's favorite Avengers! And the villain is James Spader...so that's awesome. We also have a Tom Hardy starring Mad Max that looks amazing! There's also a Pitch Perfect sequel for the ladies, and Tomorrowland and San Andreas for anyone else... Basically this is when I change my address the the nearest theater. 

June:

The third chapter of Insidious hits big screens a week before the long awaited Jurassic Park sequel. Which is a week before the new Pixar movie, Inside Out, hits. Which is also a week before Ted 2 comes out. Something for everyone this month.

July:

Another Terminator that tries to make things feel fresh. Magic Mike will try to make it rain at the box office again. Minions liberate themselves from their Despicable Me roots for a solo film. Ant-Man...yes, a movie called Ant-Man is actually coming out. But it's a Marvel movie so don't laugh yet. A Peter Pan origin story and Point Break remake will also be released before months end. Another film to watch is Pixels, looks to be a great comedy for all the nerds. Basically aliens use 1980's video game characters to invade earth, so who can save earth but the geeks who love 80's video games?

August:

A Fantastic Four reboot, Goosebumps adaptation, Sinister sequel, Hitman reboot, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon sequel are ALL coming out in just this month... This is when I take out a loan in order to keep going to the theater...

September: 

From here on out a lot of release dates could be changed but as the month stands now we will getting The Maze Runner and Hotel Transylvania sequels. In the original department we get a Civil War drama The Keeping Room and the tale of Whitey Bulger in Black Mass. Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, and Benedict Cumberbatch all star so mark your calendar now. 

October: 

In just the first week of October, Frankenstein, London Has Fallen, and The Walk are all scheduled for release. Later in the month we also get The Jungle Book and an Untitled Steven Spielberg directed/Tom Hanks starring Cold War thriller.

November:

What a month; The Hunger Games wraps things up. We get James Bond and Jason Voorhees sequels, the second Pixar movie of the year, The Good Dinosaur, and a Peanuts Movie. Also we get a Martin Scorsese and Ridley Scott movies, both of which sound awesome. 

December:

Mission Impossible 5? Alvin and the Chipmunks sequel? The only thing people are really caring about is the most anticipated movie of the year...no....the galaxy. Star Wars: The Force Awakens. 

So that's 2015 in a very large nutshell. Now for my most anticipated movies. I will limit myself to five because you actually just read the movies I plan on seeing this year.

Honorable mention: Mad Max: Fury Road

5. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

Mockingjay was my favorite book: Deal with it. If they follow that, it should be the perfect ending.

4. Black Mass

Modern-day mobster story, with THAT cast?? Duh.

3. Avengers: Age of Ultron

Six words: I've got no strings on me. Chills.

2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

1. Jurassic World

Yes, let the riots begin. I'm more pumped for Jurassic World than Star Wars. Don't get me wrong, both have me hopping with anticipation, but Jurassic World is my first love. I loved Dinosaurs since I was little, then I found out about a movie with them in it? Jurassic Park was my first 'grown up' movie and for two hours I sat transfixed by the magic of Isla Nublar. I read the books, I had dozens of plastic Dino's that I recreated scenes with, my cousin and I even had our own "Dinosaur Newspaper" that we hand-wrote and taped together on notebook paper. Then I watched Star Wars and discovered a Galaxy far, far away, and yes, fell in love with that mythology. But not even sabers and Vaders can take the place Saurus and Raptors.  

Top 20 of 2014

The Bottom Half:

20. Big Eyes
A great, relatively clean, true story of one woman's battle for her own paintings. Strong performances by Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz. Climax's in a hilarious courtroom battle.

19. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
A strong entry in the Hunger Games series, just not as strong as Catching Fire. It's the Hunger Games like you've never seen them: with no Games...and singing...and commercial production. Still, performances and build up the conclusion makes this one to watch.

18. Belle
An overlooked historical drama that is based on a true story. A star making performance by Gugu Mbatha-Raw and if not for the next entry, the best love story of the year.

17. The Fault in Our Stars
This generations Titanic...except better, smarter, etc... Great story, great acting, great everything. I don't know why Shaliene Woodley isn't being talked about more this Oscar season, she deserves it.

16. Big Hero 6
Two Words: Hairy Baby! Seriously, Baymax is the greatest sidekick since Jimmy Cricket. Marvel and Disney do it again...except this time, for kids! (Who are we kidding? For adults too!)

15. Guardians of the Galaxy
Three words: I Am Groot! Seriously, Groot is the greatest sidekick since Baymax. Marvel does it again and this time it's definitely for adults. Will satiate the hunger for Star Wars for one more year.

14. Theory of Everything
Eddie Redmayne becomes a star overnight with his physically transformative, emotionally devastating role as physicist Stephen Hawking. Felicity Jones also shines as Hawking's first wife Jan Wilde. Also, it's a darn good movie.

13. Gone Girl
Never read the book, didn't have to to be completely blown out of my seat. David Fincher tells a riveting story of a troubled marriage and the search for a missing wife. The commentary on the news reporting is spot on as well.

12. How to Train Your Dragon 2
A fantastic sequel to a movie that is already an animated classic. Vikings, dragons, adventure! Your kids will love it and you will too. Some of the best story telling in animation history, (Frozen has nothing on it.)

11. Edge of Tomorrow
A very overlooked Tom Cruise scifi adventure. Everything about it is whip smart and surprisingly funny. Emily Blunt kicks butt. The beach scenes will have you on the edge of your seat.

And with that we reach the Top Ten!

10. X-Men: Days of Future Past
Quite simply the best X-Men movie yet. Reset all of the mistakes of the past and had a blast doing it. Quicksilver's escape from the Pentagon might be the best scene all year.

9. The Judge
A movie that was inexplicably dismissed. Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall play off each other perfectly. Vira Farmiga does her fantastic thing, and the story moves compellingly and logically. One that should be looked at again...and again.

8. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
The best Marvel movie of the year and perhaps of all time. Great spy/fish out of water feel to it. They pretty much dismantled everything familiar about the MCU. It had the Falcon and Crossbones origins in it too!

7. A Walk Among the Tombstones
The best Liam Neeson movie since Schindlers List. Yeah, I went there. Smarter, darker, and more interesting than anything else he's done since. Unfortunately it was written off by many as "just another Taken." It's so much more.

6. Nightcrawler
Jake Gyllenhaal does it again. Nails an incredible performance in an incredible movie. It moves at breakneck speed and is like an accident in NASCAR. Terrible to behold but impossible to stop watching. Truly captivating.

5. Selma
The true story of Martin Luther Kings fight for the right to vote in the 1960s. An incredible performance by David Oyelowo of the flawed Civil Rights fighter and great direction easily wins this a place in the top five.

4. Unbroken
The true story of Luis Zamperini's life as an Olympic athlete who survived a plane crash in the Pacific Ocean, 47 days on the open sea, and Japanese prison camps. It's not always easy to watch, but it is amazing.

3. The Imitation Game
Benedict Cumberbatch gives a layered performance of a man with secrets, tasked with breaking and keeping the biggest secrets of World War 2. To do that he has to make the worlds first computer. An amazing and sad true story.

2. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
It was so hard not to name this the best movie of the year because it probably is my personal favorite. It's straight up Shakespeare with chimpanzees. Some of the greatest, best developed characters this year weren't even human. Andy Serkis is revolutionary as Caesar and if he doesn't pick up an Oscar nomination for his work, it will be downright criminal.

1. Boyhood
How can anyone not name the movie that took twelve years to make as number one? Richard Linklater wisely veers away from the sensational and captures, better than anyone ever has before him, the quiet insignificant moments that make growing up such an experience. It's a messy, beautiful, screwed up, amazing thing.

Selma, Whiplash, Birdman

Selma: Perhaps the best biography of the year. Well rounded, acted, and directed. Focuses on Martin Luther King's fight for voter equality and is better for it. It's not just a film about a man.  A

Whiplash: Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons kill their respective roles as drum student and teacher. Teller plays the balance of innocence, determination, and obsession perfectly just like Simmons plays sadistic, manipulative, and downright scary. The final sequence will leave you breathless. A-

Birdman: I had heard so many great things about this movie and it unfortunately disappointed. Some superb acting but felt like it missed it's cue to end. Also the trick of making the whole movie look like one shot started out cool but it quickly became just annoying. I wanted to like it, it just didn't help its case beyond the acting. B