Three Films, One Night

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Doc

I watched three excellent movies last night on some of the streaming services (Amazon Prime and iTunes). I want to give a mini-review over these three.

The Autopsy of Jane Doe. Another great horror film from 2016. This was unexpected and chilling. A body of a woman is found in the basement of a house where everyone else was slaughtered. The woman had no marks on her. So the police took her to the morgue, hoping their local M.E. could find a cause of death. Brian Cox played the medical examiner and Emile Hirsch played the M.E.’s assistant, who also happened to be his son. This was really creepy and scary. It is also excellent because it is treated like a mystery, with some really intriguing work with the autopsy. You’ll be seeing this on the list of best horror films of 2016 coming soon here at EYG

4 stars

De Palma. The great director sits down and discusses his career. This documentary is Brian De Palma sitting down with directors Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow and answering questions about all his movies, diving into insights about choices he made, thoughts on the movies he created, and ways he navigated the waters of Hollywood. This was an entertaining look at a director who has been influential and engaging.

3.6 stars

Tickled. This was the biggest surprise of the night and probably my favorite documentary of the year. Tickled is a documentary created by David Farrier and Dylan Reeve. The doc started harmlessly as Farrier, a local news reporter, was looking for a two-minute fluff piece story to end the news. Friends of his told him about a bizarre “competitive endurance tickling” video online and Farrier emailed the company behind the video to ask about the “tickling.” The company Jane O’Brien Media responded with an email filled with homophobic insults directed toward Farrier. This only served to inspire him to look into the story more, and he discovered a deeply dark and disturbing world behind the competitive tickling.

The film does a brilliant job of investigative journalism, discovering the secrets behind Jane O’Brien, an online bully who went out of “her” way to damage the lives of the people who went against her.

The film is about more than just tickling. It is about online predators. It is about online harassment and cyber bullying. It is about the dark corridors of the internet and how people can get themselves caught in a web of deceit and lies.

You will not believe everything that happens in Tickled. It really plays more like a thriller or a great mystery story. It is an astonishing documentary.

5 stars

Lion

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Doc

Image result for lion movie poster

Lion is the tale of two movies contained within one. One half that I really liked, and one that I could have done without.

This is the true story about a five-year old boy named Saroo (Sunny Pawar) who is separated from his brother Guddu (Abhishek Bharate) and accidentally finds himself on a train traveling across the country of India. He finally escapes from the train in Calcutta with no idea how to find his way back home. Saroo has to struggle with language barriers, dangerous individuals, and deadly circumstances.

However, he winds up being adopted by a family in Australia, John (David Wenham) and Sue (Nicole Kidman) Brierley. Twenty five years later, Saroo (now played by Dev Patel) is in a relationship with Lucy (Rooney Mara) and he remembered important details about his past and began a search for his mum and brother.

I really enjoyed the first half of this story, with young Saroo trying to survive and avoid the dangers that are clearly everywhere in India for a young child. Sunny Pawar was outstanding in this film. You never knew what was going to happen next. You knew he was going to make it to Australia, but I have to admit that I just had no idea how he was going to get there. Plus, Pawar spent most of his screen time running like the wind.

However, the second half of the movie really came down to earth (Google earth, maybe?). At this point, Saroo became whiny and downright deuschy. He mistreated his girlfriend, froze out his mother and mouthed-off to his emotionally damaged adopted brother (Divian Ladwa). All of this because of the guilt he felt over leaving behind his brother Guddu and his mum.

The film also became too emotionally manipulative with several flashbacks and visions of Guddu, most of which were taking place in the head of Saroo. This all felt like Oscar baiting, taking a story of determination and a person overcoming the odds and started tugging on the heart strings in a false-hearted way.

Sure the true story is cool. That’s why I do not think they needed all the bells and whistles that they threw into the third act of this movie, just to try and get attention of the Oscar voters.

The first half of this film was really compelling. The second half was not so much. It is an interesting true story. I just did not appreciate the “very, special episode” feel of this.

3 stars

Fences

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Doc

Image result for fences movie poster

As I was watching Fences, it really had the flavor of a theater play.

Of course, there was a reason for that. Fences was a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning play written by August Wilson.

Troy (Denzel Washington) was the protagonist of the film. A 53-year old former Negro League baseball player who was now a garbage man. His second wife, Rose (Viola Davis) did everything she could do be the perfect wife for Troy. She asked him to build a fence around their property.

The movie really does not have much of a story. In fact, I would venture to say that it has no story. This movie is a character piece where, in place of a story, there are events that happen to the characters and we see how they react to them.

Since this is a character study without a really set plot, you had better have some great characters. Fences has characters in spades. This movie have two brilliant performances from its lead actors. Denzel Washington and Viola Davis give a tour de force acting class in this film, displaying the amazingly sharp and constantly entertaining dialogue by August Wilson. There are some of the best monologues in Fences of the year. And this dialogue could not be delivered better, as Washington and Davis are at the top of their game.

Washington and Davis were not the only strong performances in Fences. Stephen Henderson was very understated and believable as Troy’s best friend Bono. Grimm’s Russell Hornsby played Troy’s first son Lyons, trying to get by on his music. Jovan Adepo played Troy and Rose’s son Cory, who wants to play football, but Troy has certain rules to allow it. All of these actors do a wonderful job here.

However, the biggest selling point of Fences is the chance to see Denzel Washington and Viola Davis perform their craft at a level you don’t often see. I would not be surprised if both Washington and Davis are not only nominated, but actually win the Academy Awards this year. Their performances are understated, complex and layered. Every word, every glance meant something. They were remarkably human, bringing these characters to life.

Without the performances of Washington and Davis, Fences would have failed dramatically. This was an example of a movie where the performances were greater than the sum of its parts. Judging the movie as a whole, there are problems here. It feels like a play, lacking much of the plot needed for a feature length film. Some of the pacing of the film was troublesome as time jumped forward several times and it was a long film. The fact was the performances were so electric that any other detriments Fences may have had can be cast aside. I would not want to see Fences in the nominated list of Best Films but Denzel Washington and Viola Davis might be the favorites in the individual categories.

3.75 stars

The John Carter Memorial Award 2016

Posted on December 26, 2016 by Doc

John Carter

It is time, once again, to give out the John Carter Memorial Award. This award is given every year to the biggest flop of the year.

A flop can be a fun movie. It can be an entertaining movie. However, it is one that fails to connect with the public and, because of that, fails to make any money or to reach expectations for said movie.

Now, these days, films are bolstered by their overseas numbers. Many of these films in the running for The John Carter Memorial Award made a healthy chunk of their money back with overseas ticket sales. Something like Warcraft could have been considered in this category except it had such a huge opening in China.

There are those films that opened poorly, but few people expected huge numbers from. Films such as Rules Don’t Apply, Morgan, The Brothers Grimsby all had low low opening weeks (Rules Don’t Apply was the 6th worst ever in 2000 or more screens), but these aren’t massive blockbusters.

The BFG could have claimed this award, but, again, it has gained second life overseas as it was released in October and is still gathering money from other countries. Whereas the USA rejected the film, the world seems to understand it more.

Previous “winners”: John Carter (2012), The Lone Ranger (2013), A Million Ways to Die in the West and Expendables 3 (2014), and 2015’s trio of winners, Jem and the Holograms, Pan and Rock the Casbah.

So we are down to the final choices fro 2016. The three runners-up and the “winner” of the John Carter Memorial Award.

2016 Runners-Up: Ghostbusters, Gods of Egypt, The Divergent Series: Allegiant

The 2016 John Carter Memorial Award goes to….

Alice Through the Looking Glass.

Image result for alice through the looking glass

The first Alice in Wonderland movie surpassed $1 Billion dollars. This film only made $77 million domestically. It made some money back overseas, but the expectation of this film reaching the monetary levels of the original was gone very quickly. It made $700 million less than its predecessor. Amazing. And well deserving of the John Carter Memorial Award.

The EYG Stan Lee Movie Cameo Award-2016

Posted on December 25, 2016 by Doc

Stan Lee

Yes, it is the time to present the 2016 EYG Stan Lee Movie Cameo Award. This prestigious award has been given in the past to such luminaries as John Cena, Stan Lee, Chris Evans, Sigourney Weaver and Hugh Jackman. Who will join this list as this year’s winner? Let’s see, shall we?

And of course…SPOILERS!!!!

#10. Justin Bieber (Zoolander 2). One of the only things worth the time in Zoolander 2 and it was spoiled in the trailers. Bieber is killed at the beginning of the film, giving the iconic Zoolander look. That started off one of the worst films of the year.

#9. Ben Affleck (Suicide Squad). Ben Affleck’s Batman was one of the best parts of B v S this year, so he returned in cameo as Batman in Suicide Squad. However, the best part of the cameo came when Bruce Wayne showed up to face off with Viola Davis’s Amanda Waller in the post credit scene. It indicated what could be happening in the DCEU’s future.

#8. Johnny Depp (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them & Yoga Hosers). Depp showed up at the end of the film as Grindelwald. He will probably be in a larger role later. If you add the cameo Depp had in Yoga Hosers as his reoccurring character, Guy Lapointe, then Johnny Depp may have rediscovered his niche.

#7. Hugh Jackman (X-Men: Apocalypse). One more turn as Logan, we see the iconic moment when Logan breaks free from the Weapon X program. We also see a sample of his blood which might be leading directly into next year’s Logan.

#6. Bill Murray (Ghostbusters). None of the cameos in the new Ghostbusters were great. They all seemed to pull the viewer out of the movie and send them back to a happier time, when Ghostbusters was a great movie instead of a so-so one. Bill Murray’s charatcer was a skeptic of the new Ghostbusters and that made it interesting if nothing else.

#5. Justin Timberlake (Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping). There were a ton of cameos in Popstar, but the Timberlake cameo as a chef was the best. Justin Timberlake has shown a willingness to be funny, even if he is the butt of the jokes.

#4. Melissa McCarthy (Central Intelligence). McCarthy showed up at the end of the film as an old flame of the Rock. She was unexpected but funny addition to a decent buddy “cop” film.

#3. C3PO & R2D2 (Rogue One). They have been in every Star Wars movie to date, and it was just a matter of time before they reared their droid heads in Rogue One. Their cameo set up that they would be needed soon and was a good bit of fan service for two of the most popular characters in the franchise.

#2. Chris Hemsworth (Dr. Strange). Seeing Thor in one of the post credit scenes with Dr. Strange did two things. One, it reminded us all about Thor and his problems with Odin and his brother Loki. And Two, it placed Dr. Strange squarely in the middle of the MCU. The Dr. Strange movie was fairly isolated from the MCU, but this dropped our soon to be Sorcerer Supreme smack dab in the middle of what is to come.

And our winner of the EYG Stan Lee Movie Cameo of the Year is………. our first time repeat winner of the award…. and who would be better to be the first two-time winner than the man whom the award is named after?

#1. Stan Lee (Deadpool). This is arguably the greatest Stan Lee cameo of all time. Stan Lee as a disc jockey at a strip club? Perfect!

Related image

Congrats to Stan for his the second victory in this category. You are clearly the King of the Cameo! (Stan Lee has appeared on this list every year since we started giving the award).

“I See Kid Actors” Award-2016

Posted on December 25, 2016 by Doc

Kid Actor

The year 2016 actually saw quite an upswing in young children acting in both TV and movies, so this category is filled with a bright future for the entertainment community.

Here are your runners-up and the winner of the “I See Kid Actors” Award for 2016.

Runners-Up

#6. The Boys from Stranger Things. Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Metarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin and Noah Schnapp. These four young boys are one of the major reasons why Strangers Things was such an amazing hit. They boys were so relatable that we all fell in love with them immediately and cared what would happen to them.

#5. Lulu Wilson (Ouija: Origin of Evil). She was really creepy in this surprise sequel. This movie works in part because of the great performance by this young girl. Who would have guessed it? The trailer for this film looked horrendous and yet Ouija was all kinds of entertaining.

#4. Ferdia Walsh-Peelo (Sing Street). Ferdia had to carry this film and he did a brilliant job of it. This was Ferdia’s film, including the singing and Sing Street succeeded beyond all wish. Not only did he carry Sing Street, but it was his film debut. He has a bright future in the entertainment business.

#3. Angourie Rice (The Nice Guys). Rice was one of the best parts about The Nice Guys and she held her own opposite Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling. That is asking a lot of a young actress. And we will be seeing more of her because she has the role of Betty Brant in the upcoming Spider-man: Homecoming film.

#2. Neel Sethi (Jungle Book). This performance is all the more impressive when you realize that the boy has no one to act off of. Everything is CGI here. I mean…everything. And yet, Sethi is wonderful as the lost boy Mowgli. Jungle Book is not as successful as it was without the performance of Neel Sethi.

And the winner of the “I See Kid Actors” Award for 2016 is….

#1. Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things). Once I saw the performance of Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven, I knew who was winning this award. Eleven was a brilliant performance. She was haunted by a past and confused by a world she did not know. Eleven was such an anchor to Stranger Things that this role had to work. And Millie Bobby Brown showed that she could do anything.

Worst TV

Posted on December 25, 2016 by Doc

Shows I stopped watching. These may not be bad, but they were shows that I began to watch but for whatever reason, I just let slip off.

#4. American Horror Story: Hotel (FX). Fell behind this show and just did not feel the need to catch up. I did love the episode with the ghosts of the serial killers though.

#3. Fear the Walking Dead (AMC). A weaker version of the parent show. Just could not get into the new characters.

#2. Secrets and Lies (ABC). I watched season one, and I started on season two, but it was on Sunday night and there were more interesting shows on at that same time. I never caught back up on Hulu or other streaming services. Plus, the character of Detective Cornell was the most annoying character on TV.

#1. Grimm (NBC). I really enjoyed Grimm for several years, but I got annoyed by its repetitive plots and twists. Each season was basically the same, just with a different character. I still watched because I liked Monroe and Nick, but it got to the point where I just did not care any more.

Worst Storyline: Who’s going to die? (Agents of SHIELD). This was very anti-climatic since the answer was Lincoln and the world as a whole said, Ok. Don’t get me wrong, I am glad that it wasn’t Coulson or May or Mac. It was the choice of least impact. Runner-up: Flashpoint (Flash)

Worst Return: Fish Mooney (Gotham). Probably the only misstep Gotham made this year was bringing back Fish Mooney. And they even did that reasonably well.

Worst Season Finale: The Walking Dead (AMC). Sure it created a great cliffhanger that paid off in the season opener, but the tease of the episode was uncalled for. We did not see Negan until the very end and by that time, who cared? It almost drove the viewers away, and it could be part of the reason why The Walking Dead has been hemorrhaging viewers since.

Worst character design: Diamondback (Luke Cage). See….

Image result for diamond back Luke Cage

Biggest Mistake: ABC canceling Agent Carter for Conviction. Hayley Atwell was doing just fine as our favorite secret agent in the 1940s era USA until ABC pulled the plug after season 2. Then they cast Atwell in a series that lasted only a handful of episodes. Big mistake!

Biggest Insult to a Character: Barb (Stranger Things). Hey, didn’t Barb get stuck in the Upside Down world too? Ah, who cares…we got Will back. To be fair, we did see the dead body of Barb in the other dimension, but it was the “so what” feel that everyone had in the real world that was insulting to the character.

Bad Trend: General Hospital (ABC). I have watched GH for decades, but this season, I found myself skipping weeks at a time, not caring too much about what was happening. The writing was pretty poor this year and characters were doing things I hated. Even the death of Morgan could not get me back full time. I hope this trend can correct itself soon or maybe the days of network soaps might be ending.

I Miss: Top Ten Show (Collider). John Rocha and Matt Knost would come up with a topic and would create their own top ten list of movies and then they would debate what the show’s top ten list would look like. I miss this show that I would watch every Wednesday on YouTube. Come on Collider…get this show back!!!

2016 Best Shows that I Don’t Watch

Posted on December 25, 2016 by Doc

Better Call Saul (AMC)

Image result for better call saul

I loved Breaking Bad, but I have never gotten into Saul’s solo prequel series. Maybe one day I’ll binge it like I did Breaking Bad.

This is Us (NBC)

Image result for this is it nbc

Apparently the pilot of this was just remarkable. I was not interested. Sterling K. Brown is amazing though.

Game of Thrones (HBO)

Image result for game of thrones

This is probably the biggest hole in my TV viewing, but I feel like I am too far behind to catch up. Maybe one day….

Image result for veep

Veep (HBO). Julia Louis-Dreyfus is always winning awards for this show, but since I do not get HBO, I have to go out of my way to see it and that makes it a time commitment that I just do not have.

Atlanta (FX)

Image result for atlanta tv show

Collider’s TV Talk crew loved Atlanta, but I have not made time to see this either. TV Talk has recommended other series before so maybe this will have to be a binge.

Best TV-Streaming

Posted on December 25, 2016 by Doc

The third and final new category to divide the TV shows into is the Streaming category. This includes all streaming sites such as Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime as well as the pay television networks such as HBO and Showtime.

Best Shows

Honorable Mention: Black Mirror (Netflix), Edge and Christian’s Show that Reeks of Awesomeness (WWE)

#10. The O.A. (Netflix) This was just released last weekend and I binged it on late Saturday and Sunday. I really enjoyed this series about a girl who returned after being missing for years but she was now able to see. I especially liked the ending, which I know caused a lot of uproar in the online community. I hope the series does not get a second season because I love the way the show ended with an ambiguous conclusion.

#9. 11/22/63 (Hulu). Based on the Steven King novel, 11/22/63 was the story of James Franco going back in time to try and prevent the assassination of JFK. Instead of releasing this all at once, Hulu released one episode a week just like normal television outlets. Every Monday night I looked forward to the next chapter in the saga.

#8. Orange is the New Black (Netflix). Orange had another solid season, but there is only so much you can do by this point. The accidental death of Poussey was shocking and traumatic. but I really disliked the season ending cliffhanger because it did not make sense with the rest of the narrative.

#7. The Night Of (HBO). Great crime drama that not only explored the world of racial stereotyping, but also looked at what the prison system can do to an innocent man. Greta performances from both John Turturro and Riz Ahmed made The Night Of appointment TV.

#6. The Tick (Amazon Prime). This is just one episode that Amazon allowed you to vote on to decide whether or not it should go to series. This episode was great. It looked at the Tick in a different light, particularly Arthur who was darker and more troubled. The Tick will be back for a full series order and I cannot wait.

#5. House of Cards (Netflix). The trouble between Frank and Claire highlighted this season as they tried desperately to get Claire as his running mate for the upcoming election. The Underwoods are better together than apart and so is House of Cards.

#4. Westworld (HBO). Cowboys and robots. How can you go wrong? Westworld is based on a 1970s movie of the same name and it had amazing performances and a central mystery of exactly what was going on that engaged the viewer. We have to wait until 2018 for season two of Westworld and that is truly a crime.

#3. Luke Cage (Netflix). Sweet Christmas! Luke Cage came front and center in his own Netflix series based in Harlem. This was funny, exciting, dramatic and full of great music and performances for the ages. Luke Cage continued the trend of sensational Marvel series on Netflix.

#2. Daredevil (Netflix). Speaking of great Netflix Marvel series, the original series returned this year for season two and only upped its game. Daredevil brought us the best ever cinematic Punisher and the best ever cinematic Elektra. Daredevil and Frank Castle in the graveyard is one of the best episodes of TV of the year.

#1. Stranger Things (Netflix). Didn’t see this coming. This eight episode series dropped this year and became a huge pop culture phenomenon. Set in the 1980s, Stranger Things touch on our nostalgia as well as creeped us out. The great cast of young actors engaged us and we fell in love with them. Millie Bobby Brown was one of the best young actors we have seen in a long time. And the central mysteries and mythology of the show were some of the best since LOST. It felt like the X-Files, ET, The Goonies, Alien, Silent Hill, Akira, John Carpenter all mashed into one. I loved Stranger Things.

Image result for genre of stranger things

Best Actor-Streaming

#5. Charlie Cox (Daredevil)

#4. Mike Colter (Luke Cage)

#3. Riz Ahmed (The Night Of)

#2. Kevin Spacey (House of Cards)

#1. John Turturro (The Night Of)

Image result for john turturro night of

Best Actress- Streaming

#5. Sarah Gadon (11/22/63)

#4. Thandie Newton (Westworld)

#3. Evan Rachel Wood (Westworld)

#2. Robin Wright (House of Cards)

#1. Winona Ryder (Stranger Things)

Image result for winona ryder stranger things

Best Supporting Actor- Streaming

#5. Griffin Newman (The Tick)

#4. Ed Harris (Westworld)

#3. Mahershala Ali (Luke Cage)

#2. Anthony Hopkins (Westworld)

#1. Jon Bernthal (Daredevil)

Image result for jon bernthal daredevil against tombstone

Best Supporting Actress- Streaming

#5. Simone Missick (Luke Cage)

#4. Blair Brown (Orange is the New Black)

#3. Samira Wiley (Orange is the New Black)

#2. Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things)

#1. Alfre Woodard (Luke Cage)

Why Him?

Posted on December 25, 2016 by Doc

Image result for why him movie poster

I hated this first trailer. This looked completely stupid and I wondered why an actor the quality of Bryan Cranston would lower himself to be in this film.

And then I saw it, and I actually enjoyed it very much.

Is it predictable? Of course. Are these characters pretty basic? Yes. But the one thing that this movie is that many movies of the same ilk are not…

It is funny.

Ned (Bryan Cranston) and Barb (Megan Mullally) Fleming head out to California on the bequest of their daughter Stephanie (Zoey Deutch) so they can meet her boyfriend Laird (James Franco). This caught them off guard, particularly Ned, who could not believe that his daughter would have been capable of keeping this kind of secret from him.

When they arrived at Laird’s house, they realize that he is extremely eccentric, foul-mouthed and socially awkward. They also realize that he is a video game creator and is worth millions of dollars.

Laird tried his best to get off on the right foot, but his lack of a filter inside his head only served to show Ned that this man was not right for his little girl. Then, Laird surprised Ned by asking his permission to purpose to Stephanie. When he was rebutted, Laird became determined to earn Ned’s respect and his blessing by Christmas.

Jame Franco does what James Franco does best. He has played this character several times, in several other movies, but I really liked him here. I don’t know the difference, but Franco’s portrayal of Laird seemed more childlike than other times he has played this character. Plus, he had the incomparable Bryan Cranston to work with.

Keegan-Michael Key appeared in the film as Gustav, Laird’s personal trainer and guru, and he is remarkably funny, stealing every scene he is in. If he is not spouting wisdom, he is trying to keep Laird’s reflexes ready by launching surprise attacks on the multimillionaire. Key is easily the best part of the movie.

Megan Mullally (formerly of Will and Grace) is hilarious here as well. She has some really fun comedic moments sprinkled in the story. We also have a cameo of sorts for the voice of Kaley Cuoco, who played a “Siri” kind of character named Justine that has a run of Laird’s house.

The end of the movie does take some twists that are over-the-top (particularly a cameo from Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS), but there are also some good moments to counterbalance the problems.

I cannot argue that the story is not predictable. It is obviously predictable. I actually thought to myself about a third of the way through how this was going to end up, and I came up with two possible endings. And strangely enough, they were both there. Still, there are a lot of things that make why Him? into more than just another dumb comedy, especially the actors and their enjoyable chemistry with one another. And it is funny, which many of today’s comedies cannot claim to be.

3.5 stars

Passengers

Posted on December 25, 2016 by Doc

Image result for passengers movie poster

I heard all kinds of negative reviews about Passengers. Honestly, I thought it was pretty good.

Now, I think this is the issue. There is something that happened in the early part of the film that is somewhat different than what the trailers indicated and that “twist” has caused the fervor over this movie.

Yes, I do not think that this movie takes advantage of the possibilities that it raised. I think this could have been a real science fiction film with an issue that could split the viewers. The problem is that the issue is not developed enough and eventually discarded completely for a more typical, big budget third act filled with set pieces and action. This film could have been as thought provoking or as brave as Arrival was earlier this year, but it decided to stick to the safe path,

Having said that, it may not be fair judging a film on what it is not or what it could have been. Passengers is an entertaining film as is, though there are flaws in it.

Because of technical difficulties on the space ship, Jim Preston (Chris Pratt) awakes from his hibernation 90 years early. Jim was one of 5000 passengers on a trip off earth and on their way to a colony on another planet. Problem: it takes 120 years to arrive. So everyone spends time in a hibernation chamber that never malfunctions.

Until it did.

Jim spent a year alone aboard the ship with only an android Arthur (Michael Sheen) to talk to.

I cannot talk any more plot without spoiling the story, so I will not say any more except that Aurora (Jennifer Lawrence) also awakens and the two of them start a romance as the only two conscious people on the ship. However, the ship is continuing to malfunction and they must race against time to prevent the ship from being destroyed.

The ending itself I thought was pretty weak. There are things that happen that stretch credibility so much that it hurt the overall film. I would have liked them to have gone in a different direction, but I understand the decision. The action at the end was just problematic for this film. Honestly, it felt out of place because the movie was trying to be something different than it ended as.

Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence are engaging and gorgeous throughout the film and make a solid pair. Their chemistry is good, and they have some fine scenes with them together. The issue with them floats over the story too much though without sufficient result at the end.

The film looked great. There really is no excuse for bad CGI any more. In a world where we can travel dimensions with Dr. Strange and see what looks like real apes riding horse in Planet of the Apes, poor CGI is inexcusable. Passengers looks beautiful, in particular the shots of outer space.

This film certainly is better than 32% on Rotten Tomatoes, and I can only assume that the biggest issues people have is the problem at the moral center of the film. Yes, that problem is not sufficiently handled, but it is not completely ignored either. Passengers could have been considerably better than what it is, but that does not make this a bad film. My lowered expectations probably helped as I was entertained through most of the movie’s run time, but the ending did strain that entertainment some.

3.1 stars

La La Land

Posted on December 25, 2016 by Doc

Image result for la la land movie poster

Musicals are hit and miss for me, but a well done movie musical can be glorious. La La Land certainly fits that bill.

Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) is a struggling jazz pianist who is trying to live out his dream of owning and running a jazz club. Mia (Emma Stone) is a struggling actress who is working at a coffee shop to pay the bills while trying to audition for that big break in Hollywood. These two characters’ stories intersect and we have a great, old-time love story with music.

It is not just music where the characters burst into songs (although there are examples of that as well), but the score and background music really is amazing in this film. The dance numbers are spectacular and the story is in perfect tune.

Others have said this, but it is an apt statement so I will say it as well. La La Land is like a love letter to the old time musicals of the 1930s and 1940s. You could almost imagine Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in the lead roles of La La Land instead of Gosling and Stone.

Emma Stone is revolutionary here. This is here best performance ever, and while Ryan Gosling is awesome too, Stone stands out so much with the emotion of the story and the doubt that creeps into her mind that she is definitely the highlight of this film for me.

The film’s ending is extraordinary to me. I do not want to spoil it, but I love how they took this in a different, unexpected direction, and it really brought out the emotional feels.

The film is set in present day, but there is a feel of an old time film. If you had told me that the film was set in the 40s, I wouldn’t have any issues believing you. That tone is definitely a choice by director Damien Chazelle. Chazelle also directed Whiplash and used music in a remarkably original way there as well. Not only is the music grade A, but the film is beautifully shot. Scene after scene Chazelle provided a visual masterpiece. Even something so simple as Gosling dancing with an older black woman on a bridge was just jaw dropping in beauty.

The story is exceptional. There is not just the love story here, but it is a tale of two people who want to follow their dreams, but have to come back to reality. That struggle to not give up on your heart’s desire is at the center of La La Land, and might actually get more service than the love story itself.

It is a lot of fun and full of great music. The dance routines are mesmerizing. Both Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone deserve Oscar nominations for their performances and La La Land should be considered on the best musicals we have had in many years.

4.6 stars

2016-TV Cable

Posted on December 24, 2016 by Doc

The second of the new categories for 2016 in television is cable. The onslaught of cable TV has been only increasing each year as the number of cable TV networks have increased. Here are the top ten shows from 2016 on cable.

Top Shows

#10. Dead of Summer (Freeform). This show from creators of LOST started really strong, starring LOST alum Elizabeth Mitchell, but it got silly as the season progressed. I lost interest about episode 8, but I did wind up finishing up. The horror genre had a great year in 2016, and this was a television example of that.

#9. Orphan Black (BBC America). I will admit to not having finished season 4 of Orphan Black. It is something that I need to get done, but it is still worth inclusion on this list, if not only for Tatiana Maslany.

#8. OJ: Made in America (ESPN). From the 30 on 30 series, this five part documentary was remarkably engaging. It did not just focus on OJ Simpson, but the way the country was- with race relations and celebrating celebrity. One of the best pieces ESPN ever did.

#7. Preacher (AMC). Based on a comic book, Preacher is another one that took some time to gather itself. However, by the finale, Preacher was cooking with gas. The whole Heaven-Hell aspect of the show is something we have never seen before and Cassidy is the best vampire currently on TV.

#6. Mr. Robot (USA). This is easily the show that is too smart for me. Half the time I am not sure what is happening on Mr. Robot, but I am always entertained. The “sitcom” episode of Mr. Robot is one of the year’s best episodes and Rami Malek is a gem.

#5. Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency (BBC America). One of the most recent additions to the list, Dirk Gently was a book written by Douglas Adams and adapted for television by Max Landis. It was weird and funny and worth every second. Great chemistry with the show’s stars (Samuel Barnett and Elijah Wood), who might be the best buddies of the year. Plus, the moment when Gordon arrives and Dirk and Todd expect explanations only to discover that Gordon doesn’t know what is going on either is one of my favorite TV moments of the year. I laughed loudly at that.

#4. The Walking Dead (AMC). The show that normally had ruled this category has slipped a little bit. The big cliffhanger reveal could not mask the fact that the show has had some pretty poor episodes over the last couple of seasons. The Walking Dead is still appointment TV, though and with the best villain of the year, Negan, anything could happen.

#3. American Horror Story: Roanoke (FX). After AHS: Hotel, I felt that AHS might be finally slipping. I was not a fan of Hotel, so I approached the new, “mysterious” AHS with trepidation. And they just knocked it out of the park. I loved everything about Roanoke. The faux reality show set up with actors recreating the parts to the “real” people giving commentary were all fabulous. And then, the second part of the season was even better as they returned to the spot of the horror from “My Roanoke Nightmare” for even more frights. Awesome job from Ryan Murphy and crew.

#2. Bates Motel (A & E). Just a fabulous season as Norman Bates creeps closer to the persona of the Psycho killer that we knew was coming. We see how Norma Bates dies this season in one of the biggest surprises there was. Making it all the more tragic was the amazing relationship the show created with Norma and Sheriff Romano. Norma and Alex stole my heart in their all-too-few scenes together. Seeing Alex holding the dead body of Norma was heart wrenching, and makes me want him to get Norman. Of course, he probably won’t do that. Bates Motel will be entering its final season this year and it should be epic.

#1. American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ (FX). On a normal year, Bates Motel would have taken this place easily. However, we had one of the greatest 10-episode series ever in The People vs. OJ. I could not believe how engaging this show was, considering we all knew the outcome. The world watched this trial develop in real time during the 1990s, so you wouldn’t think a scripted show about that same trial would be successful at all. Yet, it was magnificent. Each role was perfectly cast and deserve the awards that have been heaped upon it. This might have been the overall number one show of the year for me.

Best Actor- Cable

#5. Dominic Cooper (Preacher)

#4. Freddie Highmore (Bates Motel)

#3. Andrew Lincoln (The Walking Dead)

#2. Rami Malek (Mr. Robot)

#1. Courtney B. Vance (American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ)

Related image

Best Actress- Cable

#5. Lily Rabe (American Horror Story: Roanoke)

#4. Melissa McBride (The Walking Dead)

#3. Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black)

#2. Vera Farmiga (Bates Motel)

#1. Sarah Paulson (American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ)

Image result for people vs oj

Best Supporting Actor- Cable

#5. Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead)

#4. Joseph Gilgan (Preacher)

#3. Christian Slater (Mr. Robot)

#2. Nester Carbonell (Bates Motel)

#1. Sterling K. Brown (American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ)

Image result for people vs oj sterling brown

Best Supporting Actress- Cable

#5. Lauren Cohen (The Walking Dead)

#4. Ruth Negga (Preacher)

#3. Adina Porter (American Horror Story: Roanoke)

#2. Kathy Bates (American Horror Story: Roanoke)

#1. Carly Chaikin (Mr. Robot)

Image result for carly chaikin mr robot

Best TV- Network

Posted on December 24, 2016 by Doc

I split the television categories into three separate sections. They would be Network, Cable and Streaming/HBO/Showtime. It is amazing that there are so many great TV shows out there now a days that I have to categorize them. It was just a few years ago (after LOST went off the air) that I thought I had nothing to watch.

First category to cover will be Network TV. This will include ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX and CW shows.

First up: TV Shows

#10. Scandal (ABC). This one has been higher up in past years, but it has been damaged for me. Ever since the “Olivia Pope was kidnapped” story line, I have found Scandal to be slipping. I still watch it every week though, so I haven’t given up on this Thursday night staple.

#9. The Big Bang Theory (CBS). Another long time show that has seen better days. I do like the advancement of the three main couples on the show, and it is still a funny show. Sheldon Cooper has probably changed the most of any main character on a TV show.

#8. Flash (CW). The Flash has been up and down for me. I go through time when I think the show is really great and other times when it feels like the same old stuff. This year’s midseason finale was very strong though so hopefully the second half of this season will be solid. The Flash has great characters and entertaining actors. The whole “Flashpoint” part of this show felt rushed and weak. I have enjoyed the addition of Tom Felton.

#7. Speechless (ABC). This one was unexpected. A comedy about a boy in a wheelchair who has cerebral palsy? Who thought that would work? But it is really funny. They took it to the only reasonable level… making these characters anything but the typical lovable characters we see on TV. These characters have edges to them. And Minnie Driver is just fantastic! Kudos to Micah Fowler as well. He is really good in this show.

#6. Agent Carter (ABC). Sadly, this looks to be the final season of this show. Agent Carter was a great show with Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) as an early age agent and the scene stealing star Jarvis (James D’Arcy). We also got Madame Masque in this season! What happened on Agent Carter has also affected the world of Agents of SHIELD.

#5. The X-Files (FOX). Mulder and Scully returned for some fun episodes and some serious nostalgia. The episodes were uneven, but it was great just to see Mulder and Scully back together again. And the episode “Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster,” was classic X-Files fun.

#4. How to Get Away With Murder (ABC). This show recovered from a weaker season two to recapture some of the magic from the first amazing season. It did it on the back of a serious surprise. SPOILER… Wes was the dead body under the sheet. Wes? Who saw that coming?

#3. Designated Survivor (ABC). The highest new series on the network list, Designated Survivor brought Kiefer Sutherland back to TV and put him in the White House. It also threw a ton of behind the scenes Machiavellian tricks and machinations. Is it kind of hard to believe? Sure, but it is always exciting. And the midseason finale? I can’t wait for this one to come back.

#2. Agents of SHIELD (ABC). This one had Ghost Rider! That’s right…Robbie Reyes was a regular on Agents of SHIELD. His scenes with Daisy were great and these two had chemistry off the charts (unlike the lack of chemistry Daisy had with Lincoln). The end of last season had knocked this show down a bit, but it returned strong this year. Plus, we got a “Slingshot” online mini-series.

#1. Gotham (FOX). Yes, I typed that. I know… I can’t believe it either. Season one of Gotham was pretty bad. Season two got better early, but slipped into the realm of camp during the second half. I was not thinking much about Gotham. Then this season started and we were introduced to Jervis Tetch (aka The Mad Hatter) and the season was off to a sprint. And it just got better each week. Each story was exciting and must see. Everything was working. I just hope it can maintain this pace in the second half of the season.

Best Actor

#5. Jim Parsons (Big Bang Theory)

#4. David Duchovny (X-Files)

#3. Grant Gustin (Flash)

#2. Kiefer Sutherland (Designated Survivor)

#1. Clark Gregg (Agents of SHIELD)

Image result for clark gregg season four

Best Actress

#5. Gillian Anderson (X-Files)

#4. Felicity Huffman (American Crime)

#3. Hayley Atwell (Agent Cooper)

#2. Minnie Driver (Speechless)

#1. Viola Davis (How to Get Away With Murder)

Image result for viola davis who is under the sheet

Best Supporting Actress

#5. Candice Patten (Flash)

#4. Ming-Na Wen (Agents of SHIELD)

#3. Mayim Bialik (The Big Bang Theory)

#2. Bellamy Young (Scandal)

#1. Chloe Bennet (Agents of SHIELD)

Image result for daisy Johnson

Best Supporting Actor

#5. Jack Falahee (How to Get Away With Murder)

#4. James D’Arcy (Agent Carter)

#3. Robin Lord Taylor (Gotham)

#2. Gabriel Luna (Agents of SHIELD)

#1. (TIE) Cory Michael Smith and Benedict Samuel

Image result for cory michael smith riddler season three

Image result for jervis tetch gotham

Assassin’s Creed

Posted on December 24, 2016 by Doc

Image result for assassin's creed movie poster

One of these years there will be a movie based on a video game product that is good. However, Assassin’s Creed is not that movie.

And it was a shame, because I really thought this could have been the one. After Warcraft earlier this year was not very good, we turned our attention to Assassin’s Creed, starring the excellent Michael Fassbender. Trailers looked entertaining. The question about if this would be the movie that finally broke the trend of crappy video game movies was raised.

Then, we saw the film.

Assassin’s Creed was poorly written, boring, and wasted that opportunity to be a trend setting film to bring the genre of video game movies into respectability.

Cal Lynch (Michael Fassbender) was on death row and was executed for some crime involving a pimp (apparently). However, he was brought back to life by a company led by Sofia (Marian Cotillard). How did they do that? Well, you know, by doing it. That was a detail that was not important here. Instead, what they wanted was to hook Cal up to a machine that could send him back into the past (15th Century Spain to be exact) where he would be inside an ancestor of his named Aguilar, a member of the group known as The Assassins. Through Aguilar’s eyes, Cal would try and find a MacGuffin called the Apple of Eden. The Apple apparently held the power to cure the human race of free will or some kind of crap. Sofia was backed by the Templars, an organization that has always been fighting the Assassins and who wanted the Apple for their own nefarious and underdeveloped reasons.

Plus, when hooked up to the machine, not only did Cal get sent back into the body of Aguilar, but his present day body did all the same actions and movements of the body from the 15th Century.

Oh, and Jeremy Irons was here too. He played Jeremy Irons as the father of Sofia.

I was sorry to be watching this movie ten minutes into it. I was bored and wishing it was done almost immediately. As soon as the movie showed us young Cal (Angus Brown) seeing his mother dead by his father’s hand, things began going downhill.

By the way, Christopher Columbus appears in this movie (played by Gabriel Andreu).

This film had a lot of potential but it squandered it away with a rotten and needlessly convoluted story, dull characters with muddied motivations, and some full out dumbness. Even the action, which was okay, was hard to follow since the camera was constantly cutting form one scene to another. It was impossible to see any of the potentially good action scenes.

The film was filled with cliches as well. At one point, a runaway wagon pulled by horses rushed toward a cliff. Seriously, haven’t we seen this a hundred times?

This film tried to be two different films and, by doing that, really damaged both. It made little sense and was dull, dull, dull.

Assassin’s Creed, with its great cast, could have been the movie that made the video game movie genre not be the butt of the jokes any longer. Unfortunately, this is not even close to being as good as Warcraft. That is a really sad thing to say.