Fences (2016)

Directed by: Denzel Washington

Written by: August Wilson

Starring: Denzel Washington & Viola Davis






"Fences" is a great metaphorical film that revolves around a family's problems with the patriarch.

Denzel Washington plays Troy Maxson, a father of two sons from two different women with daddy issues. This being his third movie he's directed, of course, he makes himself the star. But he plays a magnificent complicated character that makes the audience fearful of him just like the other characters are.

Meanwhile Viola Davis, who plays Rose, Troy's wife, is outstanding. She should definitely win this award season for Best Supporting Actress. There were a few reaction shots of Denzel during their scenes together and I think his reactions were genuine shock of how amazing her acting is.

The one issue that this film has is there's a lot of talking. At the beginning, I was zoning out and therefore the film seem to lag, which was just establishing the storyline. The main reason for the talking though is because this film is based on the play and it does play like a play.

Despite that issue, I felt this film should be nominated for much more than Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress. It should be a part of Best Picture, Best Director, and more. But I do need to watch some more nominated films before I can determine who should win. But, for sure, Viola

The film is a must see. (But have some food at the beginning, just in case it works for you to.) 5 popcorns.

Manchester by the Sea (2016)

Directed by: Kenneth Lonergan

Written by: Kenneth Lonergan

Starring: Casey Affleck & Lucas Hedges





Casey Affleck plays Lee, a lonely janitor that tries to avoid his problems. But when his brother dies, his love to be the guardian of his nephew, Patrick, played by Lucas Hedges.

The whole film is basically learning about Lee's background and how that can influence his decision to take care of Patrick.

It was a somber comedy where one moment you are laughing about how great and complicated these characters are and then a few minutes later you become sympathetic for the same reasons.

As for Affleck's performance, this is his best yet, but I don't think it's award-winning. As for Hedges, I feel that he did a great job portraying a teenage boy, which he probably is.

The music for the film sometimes got in the way with it being too dramatic and Opera like.

The film had some great nature shots to show the beauty of Manchester. It was directed well, but the ending was unsatisfying. Maybe it's because I'm used to a certain ending. Nevertheless, the film is good. 4 popcorns.

Passengers (2016)

Directed by: Morten Tyldum

Written by: Jon Spaihts

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, & Michael Sheen




You guys, this film is amazing!

Jim Preston (Pratt) is woken up 90 years too soon from his hibernation chamber on a ship that is traveling to a new planet to start a second Earth.  But no one else is awake.  For a year, his only companion is Arthur (Sheen), until he makes the most difficult choice of his life.

They say this film is like "Titanic," which it is, but isn't.  The problem is similar, but that's about it.

Anyway, let's get to what makes this film amazing!

1) Jennifer Lawrence's performance:  I was blown away.  There is one particular scene where she is burning with rage and you can feel it transcend through the screen.  I felt angry along with her.  She's nominated right?  She better be.

2) Chris Pratt's performance: True Chris Pratt acting.  Always love it.

3) Michael Sheen's performance: Usually I don't like his acting or maybe it's his characters, but this particular one is great.  It felt so robotic, but real at the same time.  (He's a robot btw.)  Perfect non real companion.

4) Great problem and spaceship: Amazing graphics and the problems that arise in the film are not all necessarily original (i.e. "Titanic"), but the way they are presented is unique.

Awesome film.  5 popcorns.

Sing (2016)

Directed by: Christophe Lourdelet & Garth Jennings

Written by: Garth Jennings

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, & Seth McFarlane




When Mr. Moon's (McConaughey) theater is in trouble, he sets up a singing competition to bring in crowds.  But various obstacles stand in his way that might bring his theater to a close.

This movie is cute.  That's the best way to describe it.

I felt that there needed to be more auditions though.  The way the film went was there were auditions, he picked a couple animals and then suddenly it was the finals!  The film felt crammed in that sense, that it went too fast because it wanted to get everyone's storylines in.

But the characters were relatable and likable.  Even the ones you think you won't like, you end up liking at some point.

I think this is a more rentable film, therefore 3 popcorns.

Why Him? (2016)

Directed by: John Hamburg

Written by: John Hamburg, Jonah Hill, & Ian Helfer

Starring: James Franco, Bryan Cranston, & Zoey Deutch




Stephanie (Deutch) is deeply in love with her boyfriend and tech mogul, Laird (Franco).  Unfortunately though, she has yet to tell her parents.  During the Christmas holiday, she invites her family to California to meet her new boyfriend.  But the tech mogul is the complete opposite of Stephanie's conservative father.

I saw this film twice.  The first time, I simply enjoyed the film with all its comedy ploys.  The second time I noticed some mistakes.

First mistake is with the editing.  There were a few spots where the audio didn't match the actor's actions. They put the audio over the shot, but you can tell that the actor's lips weren't moving.

Another editing mistake was during the conversation between Stephanie and Ned (Cranston).  There's one moment where there are a few strands of Stephanie's hair in her face, then it's a cut and the strands are gone.

Third, there are some parts where the film dragged, but it was crucial to the plot.  Then there were some parts where it was funny, but it had nothing that moved the story forward, such as the bathroom scene.

Nevertheless, this film is funny.  The funniest film that's out right now for sure.  4 popcorns.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

Directed by: Gareth Edwards

Written by: Chris Weitz, Tony Gilroy, John Knoll (story), Gary Whitta (story), & George Lucas (characters)

Starring: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, & Alan Tudyk





This film takes place before Episode 4. Anakin is already Darth Vader and there is already a rebellion.  Jyn is a fugitive with great connections.  The rebellion wants to get in touch with her father, who is building the Death Star.  Unfortunately, she has no idea where he is.  Her and others travel across the universe in search of him in order to kill him and end the Death Star.

Where to begin?

Okay first off, CGI of Grand Moff Tarkin is a big no no.  He looked like Dobby from Harry Potter films.  You can just tell off the bat that he was CGI because it was so noticeable.  They should have eliminated his part of made him have fewer lines.  It was that bad.

Despite this film doing well in the box office, it wasn't good.  For half of the film, it didn't feel like a Star Wars film.  It felt like it's own thing, which gave way to the dislike.  Once the space battles started, then it got better.

Another thing is that there were too many characters and locations.  The characters I could keep up with, but locations were a little lost on me.  What do you guys think?

Anyway, it was good, but not Star Wars great.  4 popcorns.

Office Christmas Party (2016)

Directed by: Josh Gordon & Will Speck

Written by: Justin Malen, Laura Solon, Dan Mazer, Jon Lucas (story), Scott Moore (story), & Timothy Dowling (story)

Starring: Jason Bateman, Olivia Munn, & T.J. Miller





I was expecting this film to be funnier, but it wasn't.  Don't get me wrong, it was still funny, but not as funny as I thought it would be.

When Clay's (Miller) company is threatened to be shut down by his sister (Jennifer Aniston), he feels it is his duty to save his employee's jobs.  In order to do so they have to get the contract for a big shot client.  In order to impress him, they invite him to their office Christmas party, which in the end becomes out of control.

The different characters involved, besides Bateman and Munn, were great!  I laughed with Miller, Aniston, and others.  As for Bateman, I never think he's funny.  Same goes for Munn.

I suggest renting this film because you don't need to see anything on the big screen.  3 popcorns.

Moana (2016)

Directed by: Ron Clements, Don Hall, John Musker, & Chris Williams

Written by: Jared Bush, Ron Clements (story), John Musker (story), Chris Williams (story), Don Hall (story), Pamela Ribon (story), Aaron Kandell (story), & Jordan Kandell (story)

Starring: Auli'i Cravalho & Dwayne Johnson


Finally another Disney film!

Moana (Cravalho) is on a quest to save her people by searching for the Demi-god Maui (Johnson) in order to convince him to give back the heart of Te Fiti.

This princess is lovable, funny, charming, and beautiful.  She shows that you don't need a man to rescue your village.  Maui isn't that helpful and there is no romance in the film, which is the nice trend that Disney continues.

Overall, I liked the film, except the crab part.  The crab looked more like a snail and creeped me out.  I guess it was supposed to be the villain, but it was barely in the film that it seemed unnecessary.  Couldn't they have created something else?

The person I went with noted that Maui was ugly and why couldn't he look more like Johnson.  My guess was because they didn't want the audience to think their relationship could develop romantically.  I thought he looked find.

Amazing music and very catchy.  Beautifully done, except the crab part.  4 popcorns.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

Directed by: David Yates

Written by: J.K. Rowling

Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Collin Farrell, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, & Dan Fogler




Newt (Redmayne) travels to America in order to mate one of his fantastic beasts with another.  Unfortunately while he is there, he ends up releasing some of his beasts out into the No-maj world.  He tries to capture them, but gets captured himself by Tina (Waterston) who is trying to redeem herself in the workplace.  After some convincing, Newt and the rest of his friends search New York for the rest of his beasts while being blamed for a mysterious dark force terrorizing the city.

This film is definetly darker than the rest of the Harry Potter films.  But then again, this isn't a "Harry Potter" film.

I expected Newt to be more extroverted and talkative, but instead he was shy and quiet.  But, hey, I'm not the writer.

I thought the creatures were very creative.  All of them had their own unique trait and were beautiful...for the most part.

You can also tell that there will be more movies to come.  Can't wait for them, the cast, magical creatures, and costumes to come back in the following films.  5 popcorns.

The Edge of Seventeen (2016)

Directed by: Kelly Fremon Craig

Written by: Kelly Fremon Craig

Starring: Hailee Steinfeld, Woody Harrelson, & Kyra Sedgwick




Nadine (Steinfeld) is hating life, especially when her best friend Krista (Haley Lu Richardson) and brother Darian (Blake Jenner) become a couple.  Meanwhile, Nadine is trying to grab the attention of a boy she likes while dealing with her social breakdown.  Will she be able to get through this dilemma or is her friendship with her best friend over forever?

I loved this movie.  It was hilariously funny all thanks to Steinfeld and Harrelson.  The plot was interesting and I appreciated the character growth throughout the film.

This film is great for teens and adults.  You can relate to Nadine, because there has to be some situation in your life where you've overreacted.  If you need a good laugh, go see this film.  5 popcorns.