Loving is the true story of the law-making marriage of a white man (Richard Loving, played by Joel Edgerton) and a black woman (Mildred, played by Ruth Negga). In love and with a child on the way, the two get married in Washington DC in the 1950’s, where the marriage is legal, but are arrested upon their return to Virginia where their biracial marriage is illegal. Facing a long jail sentence, they agree to leave the state, but grow to miss all of their family, friends, and way of life in Virginia. They eventually return and try to hide out in a farm house away from town. When they are again discovered, they finally turn to the courts for help, with their case going all the way to the Supreme Court. A heart-warming film, even if there are some rough patches. Negga is brilliant and deserving of the award nom’s she received (and on a side note, since I first noticed her in Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD a couple years ago, she has seemed to pop up suddenly in movies and tv shows all over the place). However some of the supporting actors are truly terrible, almost appearing to read lines off the script with little emotion. Also, the film does drag. At one point I thought this whole story could be told in a 30 minute documentary instead of a 2 hour film. Still, it’s an important story to hear, with lasting implications for equality.

Bleed for This is an all-right boxing drama, based on the true story of Vinny Pazienza. Vinny, as played by the continuing-to-rise star Miles Teller, is at a crossroads in his career, having been a former championship boxer, but now facing a series of defeats. After a huge comeback win to put him back on top, he is immediately involved in a bad car wreck, resulting in a broken neck that nearly paralyzes him from the neck down. Refusing to have his neck bones fused, which would prevent further injury but also end his career, he slowly rehabilitates back to fighting shape. Teller is fantastic and well deserving of praise, but the film relies on a few too many cliches. I like to root for the underdog without the film telling me to root for him, if that makes sense. Not a bad movie overall though.

Fences is brilliant. You know what to expect from the esteemed Denzel Washington, but the whole cast is great here. A lot of overarching themes in this film, but most significantly for me was the changing way of life, and attitudes of and about the black community in the 1950’s. Denzel plays Troy, an aging father who thinks highly of himself, and enjoys his life as “man of the house” and center of his universe, and thinks all things in his household should revolve around him. He reminds everyone that he could have been a great ballplayer, but wasn’t given a chance because of the color of his skin, and everyone seems to let him live out this (possible) fantasy. His outlook of life faces opposition though when his growing son tries to tell him that times are changing, and black men can make change and do more than submit to the way things have been. Absolutely stunning acting in this film, with harsh dialogue (more “N” words than a white suburban boy is comfortable hearing), but a fascinating tale. There are scenes so full of emotion, you can help but gasp aloud and get choked up.

Train to Busan is a unique twist on the zombie apocalypse movie. This Korean film has the lead characters on a train bound for another city when the breakout happens. In “newer” zombie fashion, these aren’t your slow, sluggish crawlers. They run and jump and chase down the survivors. The living people on the train fight the zombies and each other, being picked off one by one through the film. It is a thrilling movie, and the new take on the classic tale is just different enough to keep you engaged. A good, gripping film.

Marguerite is a touching, endearing film for foreign film lovers. It is based loosely on the story of Florence Foster Jenkins, the opera singer of the 1920’s who thought she was great, when in reality she was anything but. This is the second film about her, the other being the American film starring Meryl Streep. I didn’t much care for the Streep version, which played more on the comedic value. This French version though is much stronger. Instead of in America, the movie changes the backdrop to post-war Europe. Instead of focusing on the idea that Marguerite can’t sing and everyone snickers behind her back, this version instead looks at why she is trying to be a singer. She is lonely, in an unloving marriage, and really only sings in public at the urging of her staff and supporters, who have their own agenda. The viewer really feels for her plight. A strong film, though a heartbreaking one.

Masterminds is goofy, stupid comedy, but it is decent goofy, stupid comedy. It has an all-star cast of SNL alums and other familiar faces. Based on the true story of the robbery of a cash holding company (Loomis Fargo) by an armored car driver, its characters bumble through the theft and subsequent hide-out from the authorities. The team behind the movie obviously took the somewhat humorous truth (basically some hicks rob the place and start throwing around cash immediately afterwards, not really thinking about getting caught) and make the characters even dumber. I’ll admit you’ll have to be in the mood for mind-numbing dumb comedic dialogue, but if you are, there are a lot worse ways to spend 90 minutes.

Beauty and the Beast is the newest in the live-action remakes of beloved Disney cartoons. So far, the ones I have seen have been done very well, and that stays true for this one. If you aren’t a fan of the Disney cartoon, you won’t like the film, but fans will enjoy it heartely. There’s nothing I can tell you about the film you probably don’t all ready know. Casting was done very well, and yes, Hermione Granger makes a great Belle. Great cast, great songs (some new ones as well), and outstanding, colorful cinematography all produce an enjoyable family film.

I really liked Hacksaw Ridge, I really REALLY liked Arrival, but The Edge of Seventeen may be the best I’ve seen recently, and I’m not sure why this one didn’t get more Oscar love. My only guess is generally, coming-of-age films don’t mix well with awards, but this film is not your typical movie of this genre. Nadine is a, you guessed it, 17 year old who has spent her entire life feeling outcast from society, and rather than being depressed or angry at her situation, she has embraced it. However, her one and only friend starts to date her arch enemy (her older brother), and it leaves her feeling truly alone for the first time in her life. I can’t say more than that for fear of giving away what makes this film great, but take my advice on this one. It is a beautiful film, with the lead Hailee Steinfeld truly remarkable as Nadine. See this one, it is worth your time. This film will make you laugh, make you cry, and sometimes both at the same time.

Moonlight earns my vote for most overrated film of 2016. Not to say it is a bad film, it is actually quite good, but certainly not the best film of last year. It is the story of a gay black man growing up in the inner city, as seen at three moments in his life. First we see him as a young boy, not knowing himself as gay obviously, but he is targetted by his peers for being different. This continues in the second act when he is a teenager. As an adult in the denouement, he has embraced the thug life and has respect in the street, but he has never acted on his sexual preference so as to stay safe and keep his tough persona. He has to reevaluate though when a lost love comes back in to his life. It’s a new spin on the secret lives people have to live to survive. The film has a strong cast and is moving, but everything from the videography to the soundtrack makes it seem like it is trying to reach the awards podium more than the at-home viewer. Again, its a good, moving film, but be prepared to be let down after all the hype.

Manchester by the Sea is however a film that lives up to the hype, and by hype I mean the running jokes that it may be the most depressing film you see. The film starts with Lee (Casey Affleck, in a deserving-of-praise role) living a quiet, obviously troubled life by himself. He drags himself through each day and is obviously suffering from some deep depression, but we don’t know why. He gets the call that his brother has died and with no wife, Lee has to come take care of all the of the details and now look after his nephew. We learn through flashbacks what has driven Lee to this state, and these tidbits over time make the film even more depressing. The movie is brilliantly acted by Affleck and worth seeing for his skill, but don’t expect a big happy ending.

Denial starts with with strong subject matter, but falls flat due to fairly poor dialogue and writing. Based on a true story, it stars Rachel Weisz as an author who was sued by David Irving (Timothy Spall) for libel. Irving was (and still is I believe) a Holocaust denier who said jews were not killed on purpose by the Hitler regime. When Weisz’s character calls him out on this in her book, Irving sues, and the trial almost becomes a trial for redemption for the Holocaust survivors. Unfortunately a lot of the dialogue is repitative. There are a multitude of “ah ha!” moments followed by the actors explaining in great detail what they have discovered, and then repeating it again in case the viewer missed it the first time. What could have been a fantastic historical film becomes just standard fare with little to get excited about. I get bored just thinking about the idea of a second viewing.

The Girl on the Train is another so-so movie. Emily Blunt is outstanding as the lead, but she alone can’t save this one. She plays Rachel, a struggling alcoholic who has lost her husband and career, and has become obsessed with her ex’s new life. She drives the train past their old house every day and spies in on him and his new wife, as well as the neighbors surrounding them. When she spots a female neighbor with a new man, and then the girl goes missing, she is forced to try to put together her spotty memories to help the police. I can see elements of what made the book this film is based off so popular, but the movie itself bogs down in cliche plot twists and a rather unremarkable, seen-from-a-mile-off ending.

Trolls is a good one for the family. Unlike my recent viewing of The Secret Life of Pets, which won over kids but offered little for adults, Trolls offers a great balance and can be enjoyed by everyone. It stars those cute little trolls of toy fad from the 60’s through 90’s, and offers up an impressive voice cast. The tiny trolls are almost nauseatingly cute and happy all of the time, and it is discovered that when a big ugly Bergen eats a troll, that normally depressed Bergen becomes happy too. The trolls flee the area so as to avoid being eaten, but are rediscovered 20 years later and a few are captured. The head troll, Princess Poppy, leads the rescue effort, and may just teach the Bergens how to find happiness on their own along the way. A cute film, lots of laughs and a good message for the kids too.

Next up are two of the best films I’ve seen in quite awhile. The first, Arrival, is sci-fi for the masses. The backdrop, of aliens coming to Earth and our inability to communicate with them, is definitely science fiction standard fare, but this film is much more than that. Louise (Amy Adams) and Ian (Jeremy Renner) are brought in to try to learn the language and find out what the aliens want, but of course politics get in the way. With a dozen spaceships spread out all over the world, the individual countries start a war of words with each other, not wanting to share information with each other for the greater good, and leading the world into a possible world war. Sadly, probably not too far off the truth if our planet really would be visited in this day and age. A very tense film, with a truly exciting and surprising ending. I can’t recommend this one enough, even if you think it isn’t a film you’d normally watch.

Hacksaw Ridge is another great one too, this one also much different than what it sets up to be. Initial glances predict a standard war film, taking place in the Japanese front of World War II, but again it surprises you with a lot more. The true story of Desmond Doss, as played by Andrew Garfield, it tells the tale of a man who felt conviction to serve his country in the war, but who refused to even touch a gun due to religious beliefs. He thought he’d enlist as a medic, but learned quickly that he would have to fight his own government first before he ever made it to the war. When he does get to the front, he proves his worth and heroism. The battle scenes are horrific, so it is not for the squeamish, but an engrossing film made all the more touching for the truth behind it.

I understand some stuff I’m just not going to get. I egotistically like to consider myself a strong reader and an “ok” thinker too, and I do like to be challenged by what I’m reading (or watching, as the case may be), but I don’t get Toni Morrison’s Jazz. I’m not a big fan of the structure and sometimes “near” stream-of-conscience writing. If it’s jazz, it is free jazz.

The book starts at the end (or nearer to the end anyway). Joe and Violet have been married for ages and both are sort of tired of the arrangement in their own way. Joe has had a fling with Dorcus, but when Dorcus tried to end it, Joe killed her. Violet then showed up at the funeral and slashes at Dorcus’s face with a knife, while she lay in the casket. That’s how the book starts. We then delve into what made Joe and Violet each their respective persons, with much of their history told in dream-like flashbacks. They both are carrying around a lot of baggage from their mothers, and are only a generation or so removed from slavery, so they have that on their shoulders too. They both come from violent beginnings and have enough issues to keep a modern day psycologist busy for years.

Violet doesn’t talk to Joe much, so he had sought out Dorcus mostly for companionship. Violet had spent most of her life not wanting any children, until it became too late. I guess in a way she saw the much younger Dorcus as an interloper in more ways than one. After Dorcus is dead and the above scene has played out, we finally get a new companion for Joe and Violet. Dorcus’s friend, Felice, arrives, and since we are all out in the open now, Joe and Violet embrace her and ultimately find each other again.

I have to admit, when I finished this book, I googled “Toni Morrison Jazz overrated” to see if I was alone in my thoughts, and I got more hits for her novel Beloved than this one. Since that book too is on my list to read one day, I have to say I’m not exactly looking forward to it. I’m not going to say Jazz is a bad novel, by any stretch, and I can definitely appreciate Morrison’s contributions to the genre and her voice. This one just didn’t connect to me.

I generally enjoyed Snowden, the telling of the man who became a whistleblower, called either a traitor or a hero depending on where you stand. I’m a big Joseph Gordon-Levitt fan and liked him in this film too. The film played the right balance of being a true “movie” and not just feeling like a big production documentary, and still getting all the pertinent info out there. It still amazes me (though it shouldn’t) that our government could stick a camera on anyone, record anything, and look at any “private” message or email without a warrant of any kind. A fascinating film, if for nothing else than just the information it presents.

The 9th Life of Louis Drax could have been a really great film, with an interesting backstory and strong development along the way, but ultimately it falls flat for various reasons. Louis Drax is a 9 year old who is injury prone to say the least. He has suffered near endlessly since birth, and tells his life story in a queer, humorous way. The film starts with him in a coma, apparently the result of his father pushing him off a cliff. The father is in hiding, and the stricken mother stays by Louis’s side in hopes of a miracle. The movie borders on the fantastic (and inches over in several places), and has a definite science-fiction like vibe to it, as the comatose boy tells his story and the viewer is just along for the ride. Unfortunately we are hinted too often at the big climax long before it arrives, ruining the surprise and lessening what could have been so much more. Still, I liked it mostly, and sci-fi junkies like myself may still find enough to enjoy.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children seems to not find true audience, outside of Tim Burton die-hards. It has his beautiful style and is visually stunning if you like his dark, yet colorful direction, but seems to be unsure of what kind of movie it wants to be. It is about a boy named Jake who discovers his recently deceased grandpa was a “peculiar”, that is a person with special abilities. These peculiars hide from monsters who want to kill them and eat their eyeballs, and they hide inside “loops” where they replay the same day over and over again in time. The scary scenes seem really too intense for younger kids (even if the movie does make the monsters invisible so as to not show any true blood), yet much of the dialogue is a little too dumbed down for adults. The idea of the movie is better than the movie itself.

I was intrigued by The Birth of a Nation because its subject matter was mentioned in a book I just recently read. It tells the history of Nat Turner, a slave in the early 19th century who eventually rose up and led a rebellion, killing about 60 white people during their revolt. It is a powerful film built on a powerful idea, but sort of hid in the Oscar buzz because the writer, directer, and lead actor, Nate Parker, was once accused of rape and that 15 year case resurfaced when this film was being distributed. Whoever he is as a person, his film is pretty strong, for at least the first 2/3rd’s. Turner is a slave, and grows up with with the slave owner’s child (Sam Turner, played by Armie Hammer). When Sam inherits the farm, he continues to treat Nat and his other slaves much better than his neighbors do with theirs. Nat even starts to think they have a true friendship, until one day he is brutally whipped for crossing a line with Sam, and from their Nat starts his revolt. The final act is a bit sudden and feels rushed, and the film could maybe have been better as a week-long miniseries than a 2 hour movie, but still a solid film.

Frank and Lola on the other hand is pure rubbish, and I like Michael Shannon as the lead actor. I can’t tell if the film suffers from bad writing or bad editing, but is probably a victim of both. The movie is just very disjointed and choppy, in all aspects. Frank is a great chef but is down on his luck, and he falls for Lola, a bubbly young lady 10+ years younger. He immediately becomes the jealous older man, always wary of her intentions with other men, which is made worse when she does in fact have a one-night affair. The rest of the film becomes a quasi-mystery of who did what to who, but it just feels like you are watching some bad MTV reality show with all the contrived drama.

I’m clearly on the outs with Sully. It got rave reviews from critics and fans alike, but I couldn’t get in to it, mostly because Tom Hanks is just a little too good. He plays the pilot Sullenberger, who famously landed the airliner in the Hudson River, saving all of the passengers and crew. The film is mostly about the aftermath when he faced questions about his decisions in those critical moments. Sully is soft spoken and possibly the humblest person to have walked the face of the earth since Jesus. He doesn’t understand the adulation heaped upon him for just doing his job. Hanks plays the part perfectly, and thus almost boringly. He is so quiet in his day-to-day that I just wanted someone to shake him to get a reaction. Strong acting as usual from Hanks, but just not enough there to keep me excited.

Deepwater Horizon, on the other hand, is exciting to a fault. This one tells the tale of the infamous BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Many of us rightfully revile the events surrounding that contastrophe, but this film puts a human face on those who faced the destruction head on, purely because of the greed of the BP bigwigs. BP just wants to rush the digging site, because of delays and rising costs, whereas the crew of the ship cautions against haste. When the ship literally starts to blow up around them, it becomes a heroic moment for those aboard to save their friends. I almost can’t believe there were as many explosions in the real event as what happened in the film, but it is a disaster movie after all. Strong acting by Mark Wahlberg and Kurt Russell, and a solid action film, made more tangible for the real loss of human life on that terrible day.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople is all right. That’s about all I can say. It is about a trouple teen, Ricky Baker, who finds new foster parents out in the New Zealand wilderness. His foster mother goes out of her way to make him feel welcome, though his foster father is a bit indifferent. Just when Ricky starts to lower his guard, the mom dies. Through a strange bit of events, Ricky ends up in the bush (wild) taking care of the foster dad, until the two grow close over the course of a couple months. They spend the rest of the film hiding from authorities, who think the foster dad has kidnapped Ricky. The film borders on the silly side in an almost-Wes Anderson sort of way, but has a good message of redemption for all, and not just Ricky.

It is really unfortunate when a kids movie is just plain boring for adults. I can see kids loving The Secret Life of Pets, but I finally gave up on this one after about 45 minutes. Beautifully animated but full of jokes only meant for the under 8 year old crowd, it lost my attention about 15 minutes in and never regained it. If you have kids, you probably have seen it, if you don’t, then don’t bother with this one. I’m not saying a children’s movie should have adult humor, but it needs to at least be engaging for adults (see Pixar).

Jason Bourne is yet another sequel that should never have been made. It is jam packed with action, but also jam packed with completely unbelievable plot elements, that don’t make any sense even on a superficial level. It starts with an obvious ploy to get the viewer to think there is (even!) more to Bourne’s past. The movie literally starts with Jason Bourne telling the viewer that he finally knows all his missing past, and then finds, but wait, there’s more! It is almost an insult to movie making. The obligatory car chase is good, I have to admit, but most of those bumps during that ride seemed to be over all the holes in the story. Truly eye-rolling worthy.

Little Men is the kind of movie that critics love, but for the rest of us, it’s pretty “meh”, and the ratings on rotten tomatoes pretty much play that out. It’s about a boy and his parent who move into the recently deceased grandfather’s apartment. The family is struggling financially, which the boy is fairly unaware of, not understanding why they are moving. Under the apartment is a retail store which has long been rented out to a single mother running a fabric shop. The boy befriends the woman’s son, and they quickly become close. However, the boy’s parents want to raise the rent on the woman, to help their own situation but also because the grandfather hadn’t raised it in decades, and she is paying a fraction of the going rate in the burgeoning New York suburb. She tries to play on the parents emotions, explaining how she was a close friend to their deceased father, but to naught. The boy however only understands that his parents and his best friend’s mom are not getting along, and the other family is going to be forced to leave. The film tries to be deeper than it is, and it hard for me to get behind young actors for the most part anyway. Not terrible, but not as heralded as you might read.

Coming Through the Rye is better, and has some strong moments, but overall I still didn’t get in touch with the characters. Strong acting by Alex Wolff portraying Jamie. Taking place in the 60’s or early 70’s, Jamie is a young man with some emotional problems. His goof-off brother dropped out of school and was promptly drafted for the Vietnam War. Jamie has little social skills and is often bullied at his all-boys boarding school. He has a fixation on J.D. Sallinger after having read Catcher in the Rye, and sets out to get Sallinger’s permission to turn it into a play. The film almost feels like a modern John Hughes-esque all day adventure, coming-of-age tale. A nice film overall, and it has moments of great film-making, but falls just a little short.

Don’t Think Twice is fantastic. You’d think with Keegan-Michael Key it would just be a zany comedy, since it is about a comedic troupe after all, but it is a lot more. Jack and his best friends run an improv comedy show in New York, which caters to the people with a low cover. They are all talented and each dreams of making it to Saturday Night Live (called “Weekend Live” in the movie). When one of them does get picked up, it creates a rift in their tight group, leading to hurt feelings all around. It has plenty of funny moments, but it is also easy to tear up at the end, and well worth a viewing or two.

In a Valley of Violence is good, not great, but an entertaining couple hours. It caters to the “B” movie crowd and makes no attempt to hide it. Set as an old school western, it stars Ethan Hawke as a wondering gunslinger with a past. On his way to Mexico, his detour through the small town of Denton runs afoul of the local dirty sheriff, played by John Travolta. Spoiler alert, Hawke ends up killing everything that moves. Downright silly dialogue at times, but this film isn’t just for fans of the genre. It is enjoyable and has some nice action scenes, and Ethan Hawke is, as always, captivating on the screen.

The remake of The Magnificent Seven doesn’t reach the heights of the original in many ways, but it can be a diverting afternoon, thanks in most part to its strong cast of Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke (more western Hawke!), Chris Pratt, Peter Sarsgaard, and others. When an evil tycoon threatens a struggling town, the inhabitants call on a ragtag group of do-gooders to save the day. The film builds very well for the first half, but doesn’t quite do enough to flesh out the main characters. It rushes to a fairly nice final battle, but then ends so suddenly that I wasn’t sure it was over when  the credits started rolling. Western fans will probably find plenty to like, and the film’s esteemed cast do their parts to keep it all flowing.

William Styron’s Sophie’s Choice started out very well for the first two thirds, but by the finale, I was exhausted with all three of the main characters. The ending was somewhat surprising but ultimately felt right for all involved.

Stingo is a young writer from Virginia, which seems like the deep south to his current surroundings in New York in 1947. He is sexually frustrated, having had several close encounters but has never gone “all the way,” and it is always near the forefront of his thoughts. As cash dwindles and he refuses to ask for money from home, he moves into a cheap apartment where he meets Sophie and her beau Nathan.

Sophie is of Polish descent and a recent survivor of the holocaust, and Nathan is a brilliant jewish scientist born and raised in New York. Sophie doesn’t talk much about her past, but we learn about her as we go. We also find before too long that Nathan, while usually kind and loving to Sophie and his friends, will sometimes fill with rage and become the most spiteful, vulgar, abusive, and detestable man anyone has encountered. We do not understand why Sophie stays with him, and Stingo envisions a time when he and Sophie can be together.

Sophie eventually relates her tale to Stingo over time. She was married in Poland with 2 kids when she was sent to a death camp. She only survived because she was fluent in German and other languages, and was able to serve in various tasks to the Nazi officers. Still, she was forced to choose on the first day which child to save and which to send to their death, and was then separated from the living child anyway. She never learned of this child’s ultimate fate. When coming to America, Nathan saved her after she collapsed due to malnutrition and vitamin deficincies. She explains Nathan’s drastic lapses as a reaction to narcotics he takes to help cope with the stress of his job.

Stingo is approached by Nathan’s brother, Larry. Larry confides that Nathan is not a brilliant doctor, it is all a farse and that Nathan in fact has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals for most of his life, and is a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic. Larry is concerned with Nathan and Sophie’s impending wedding, since Sophie is unaware of Nathan’s true history. It comes to a head when Nathan once again becomes violent, to the point he threatens to kill Sophie and Stingo, accusing them of having an affair. Stingo and Sophie flee south, but Sophie gives Stingo the dodge and heads back to New York. By the time Stingo comes back up, her and Nathan have killed themselves, dying by cyanide in each other’s arms.

We realize at the end that Sophie could never come to terms with the choices she made regarding her children, as well as other things she refused to do during the war that could have helped the resistance. It is easy to vilify Nathan and root for Stingo, but they are only doing what they know how to do, and when Stingo had a chance to really care for Sophie and keep her safe, he could only think about his own desires for her and dreams for his future. I mostly enjoyed the book, couldn’t put it down for the first half, but the latter part just seemed to bog down. Sophie’s narrative, while I’m sure an attempt to build suspense to its conclusion, dragged out until I just wanted to know how it all ended. A good book, but could have been more.