Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Movies I Missed in 2015: Part 3

21. Victoria



I don't know much about the story and even less about the creators, but the whole movie is shot in one, continuous take and I hear it's an amazing experience.

22. The Final Girls



Not to be confused with Final Girl, which also came out this year. Okay, to be totally confused with it, so here's the difference. That one has Abigail Breslin and is sort of Hanna meets The Most Dangerous Game. It looks like an awesome thriller more than a horror movie.

This one is a straight-up horror/comedy in the tradition of Scream and The Cabin in the Woods. Taissa Farmiga and her friends get pulled into a slasher flick and have to survive, using their knowledge of the film and the genre in general. Looks pretty funny and I still want to watch it as a double-feature with Breslin's movie.

23. Our Brand is Crisis



Totally love Sandra Bullock. Often love Billy Bob Thornton. Our Brand is Crisis was really poorly reviewed, but the trailer looked funny to me.

24. The Peanuts Movie



I've heard nothing but good things. I love the Peanuts when they're done right and by all accounts this is them done right.

25. Spotlight



I wasn't interested at first, because I thought that the focus was going to be on the scandal and I'm done processing that story. I didn't think there was a new angle that would make me think about it in a different way. My understanding now though is that Spotlight is about journalism in general and is the best movie in that genre since (and possibly including) All the President's Men. That plus the cast makes me very eager to see it.

26. Trumbo



Another great cast and what looks like a really fun performance by Bryan Cranston.

27. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2



I missed Mockingjay, Part 1 last year due to life and never found time to re-watch everything before this one came out. And... I enjoyed the first two movies, but neither of them grabbed hold of me in a powerful way. Probably because I read the books. This is why I usually wait to read the books until after I've seen the movie. I tend to enjoy both versions more when I do it that way.

Anyway, I do plan to finish the movies, but not until this last one hits home video.

5 comments:

Erik Johnson Illustrator said...

I missed a fair amount of these fall releases like Peanuts, Mockingjay, Spectre and the Good Dinosaur because I knew I was going to end up having to see The Force Awakens more than once!

Michael May said...

Good planning!

Siskoid said...

Victoria: Always interested in this kind of experiment (pioneered by The Russian Ark), hopefully it doesn't become overused.

The Final Girls: We wanted to watch during Halloween season, but I don't think it was yet available.

Our Brand Is Crisis: As a media person, I'm interested by stories like this. Will probably see it sooner than later. I recommend "No" with Gael GarcĂ­a Bernal as a similar story that's probably a much better and more authentic take.

The Peanuts Movie: Loved it. Great for little kids and wise adults alike. Stay until after the credits for several surprises along the way. Just great.

Spotlight: Very strong journalistic procedural, and YES on par with All the President's Men. Intellectual, but packs a final emotional punch. All journalism students must see and start emulating instead of whatever terrible 24-hour news cycle stuff is there current example to follow.

Trumbo: In and out of theaters before we got to see it, but we really really did. Damn shame. Soon though.

Mockingjay Part 2: Part 1 was the first installment I really liked because it was about propaganda (see above comments about my media watch interests). Part 2 doesn't have games per se, but it does get back into that "here's one trap, here's another, and another" feel of the first two films, which leave me cold. Too many epilogues too. So just okay for me.

Michael May said...

Put No on my list.

Nice to hear that someone else has seen The Russian Ark. I love what that movie accomplished. Hoping Victoria takes it to the next level with a story I like more.

Siskoid said...

Both are in my collection.

Russian Ark isn't an easy film. It's a technical achievement to be sure, but it's so much a story as it is a HISTORY of Russia entire.

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