2017
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June | July | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov
2016
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec
2015
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June | July | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov
2016
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec
2015
2014
2013
The story of how Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero met
and went on to make The Room.
Working For It: I'm nearly as excited for this movie as I am for The
Last Jedi. I've seen The Room with friends more times than a
responsible adult should've. It's James Franco as the director, producer, and
star (kind of like Wiseau in The Room). The cast is flooded with
performers I enjoy like Franco, younger Franco, Ms. younger Franco (Alison
Brie), Zoey Deutch, Seth Rogen, Josh Hutcherson, and Sugar Lyn Beard as well as
many others with cameos as themselves. The movie also exists in this weird
space where I'll like the good version of this movie and the awful version of
it about equally.
Working Against It: ...Well, I'll probably end up watching The Room
again because of this, so that's certainly a negative.
My Position: Locks don't get much more secure than this.
A mute woman
bonds with a human-like creature in the top secret lab she works in.
Working For It: Guillermo del Toro is always good for some imagination
and visual flair. The cast is full of great utility players like Michael
Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Octavia Spencer, and Michael Stuhlbarg, not to
mention Sally Hawkins in the lead role.
Working Against It: I'll be honest. I've never quite connected with del
Toro's movies. I let Crimson Peak pass me by in theaters and Pan's
Labyrinth just didn't fill me with the same wonder that I saw other people
get*. Also, it's not the film's fault, but I'm getting really tired of seeing
the trailer for it.
My Position: It's likely to be enough of an awards player that I'm
pretty much guaranteed to see it, and I really do want to give del Toro as many
chances as possible to win me over.
*I suppose there's Pacific Rim to consider. I enjoyed that, but I wouldn't say I loved it.
A 1950s story about a Coney Island carousel operater
and his wife who get mixed up with the mob.
Working For It: I'm inevitably going to see any Woody Allen movie. It's
just a question of when.
Working Against It: Despite having Kata Winslet, Justin Timberlake, Juno
Temple, and --ok-- Jim Belushi, it's just a little too busy this time of year
for me to make the annual Woody Allen movie a priority.
My Position: He's due another Blue Jasmine or Midnight in Paris,
but this doesn't feel like it.
12/8
Morgan Freeman and Tommy Lee Jones battle for
popularity at a luxury resort. And, I guess Freeman is in witness protection.
Working For It: This kind of feels like an American response to The Best
Exotic Marigold Hotel. Freeman and Jones don't normally get to be this
loose. I don't see much of Rene Russo either.
Working Against It: I saw that this was from the director of Bull Durham,
White Men Can't Jump, and Tin Cup, did the math in my head, and
determined that, yes, that makes perfect sense.
My Position: Just as soon as I seen Going in Style and Last
Vegas.
A darkly comedic Tonya Harding biopic.
Working For It: Margot Robbie has a very long leesh as far as I'm
concerned, and Allison Janney as her overbearing mother is too perfect to
resist. It's kind of baffling that no one has made a major movie about this
before.
Working Against It: Director Craig Gillespie has a pretty spotty track
record (Lars and the Real Girl - yay. Mr. Woodcock and TheFinest Hours - meh). This also seems like a strange project for the
screenwriter of Stepmom, Hope Floats, and P.S. I Love You.
My Position: Robbie just about makes this a lock.
A teenager decides to investigate the murder of his
friend on his own.
Working For It: Ansel Elgort as the lead. Chloe Grace Moretz in a
prominent supporting role. You have my attention.
Working Against It: I don't know the director from much and the writer has
some interesting credits (Allied, Pawn Sacrifice, Locke)
without anything that really wows me.
My Position: Maybe if Moretz was the lead, I'd make it a priority
like If I Stay or The Fifth Wave. As is, it'll probably get lost
in the season.
12/15
No spoilers! La La La!!! I can't hear you!
Working For It: I can't give enough reasons why I'm excited for this.
Daisy Ridley was excellent in The Force Awakens. I already loved Adam
Driver, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, and Adam Driver before that movie came
out. Mark Hamill and Andy Serkis get increased roles this time. Carrie Fisher's
final movie role. Gwendoline Christie, Lupita Nyong'o, Benicio Del Toro. Rian Johnson
is an exciting and unexpected choice for director. And, even without any of
that, this is a Star Wars movie and I'd see it if it was starring Hilary
Swank, Sean Penn, and Sasha Baron Cohen and directed by Uwe Boll*.
Working Against It: Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Maybe if, like, the whole
cast murders a bunch of people...then I'll only see it once.
My Position: It's not a question of "if", only "how
much".
*I pray to god that never happens.
Animated film about a gentle bull who gets captured,
mistaken for a dangerous bull, and must escape to find his family.
Working For It: Blue Sky (Ice Age, Rio) is by no means my
favorite animation house, but they aren't bad. The voice cast is fun and varied
with people like John Cena, Kate McKinnon, Daveed Diggs, and Gina Rodriguez.
Working Against It: From an animation quality perspective, this doesn't look
like they put their full effort into it. And there's nothing about the story
that pulls me in. There is a difference between something intended for all ages
and intended for children.
My Position: Nope. I'm not seeing a late showing of this and I'm not
going to be the lone non-parent adult seeing it in the afternoon.
12/20 & 12/22
A musical about P.T. Barnum putting together his
circus.
Working For It: Casting doesn't get much more ideal than Hugh Jackman
for the role. It's also got Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, and Zac Efron,
which are all pluses.
Working Against It: First time director with a visual effects background is
a dangerous thing, especially when he just hasn't worked that much.
My Position: I'm entirely undecided. This could be a complete mess or
it could be good Christmas season fun (or both).
Four teens are sucked into a Jumanji video game and
put into the bodies of adult avatars.
Working For It: Someday, I'd like to write a dissection of The Rock's
habit of jumping into established series and outperforming or reviving them.
He's done is with Fast and Furious, G.I. Joe, Journey, WitchMountain, and perhaps Jumanji now. It's pretty impressive. This is a
sequel in name only though. I like the quartet of Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black,
Karen Gillan, and Kevin Hart. Seeing Chris McKenna, who probably wrote whatever
your favorite episode of Comminity is, as a credited writer encourages
me about the tongue-in-cheek tone of the movie. And, Jake Kasdan has enough
good directing credits (Freaks and Geeks, Orange County, Bad
Teacher) also to encourage me about the tone this will hit.
Working Against It: Yes, it's a stupid premise. Mostly, I'm tired of the
"Jack Black as a teenage girl" thing just from the trailer. A whole
movie of it might be too much.
My Position: I could pretend that I'm above this movie, but there's a
better chance that I'll see this than I won't.
The story of the kidnapping of J. Paul Getty's
grandson in the 1970s.
Working For It: I was already very on board with this movie when I first
heard about it. The trailer is great. It's got Michelle Williams, Mark
Wahlburg, and Timothy Hutton. The actual event it's based on is worth a Wikipedia read. Ridley Scott looks to be fully engaged and looking for the Best
Director nomination that somehow eluded him for The Martian. Then after
the Kevin Spacey scandal, six weeks before the planned release date, Scott
announced he'd be reshooting Spacey's scenes with Christopher Plummer without
pushing the release date back at all. Similar to The Interview a couple
years ago, I'm too curious to pass this up.
Working Against It: Well, the plan to reshoot so soon before release could be
disastrous.
My Position: I suppose if I start hearing early reviews with worlds
like "trainwreck" in the heading, I'll think twice. I'm pretty set on
seeing it though.
A husband and wife decide to shrink themselves in
order to have a better life.
Working For It: This movie has an interesting premise (a world in which
people can be shrunk as a sort of early retirement) and a good cast (Matt
Damon, Kristen Wiig, Christoph Waltz). It doesn't hurt that it could be an
Oscar player.
Working Against It: I've never been a big fan of Alexander Payne's movies (Nebraska,
The Descendants, Sideways, About Schmidt, Election).
This social satire looks like it has all the sublty of a brick to the face. It
wouldn't take much for this to be overbearing.
My Position: I'll be looking for an excuse to pass on this one, but
I'll probably end up seeing it and hopefully be pleasantly surprised by it.
Owen Wilson and Ed Helms are twin brothers who track
down their father who they previously thought was dead.
Working For It: Wilson and Helms have the right energies to pair
together. In addition to them, the film features Glen Close, JK Simmons, and
Christopher Walken. The first time director was the director of photography for
numerous other comedies, including the Hangover movies. I feel like that
should translate well.
Working Against It: I'm pretty worried by how much this movie has been
pushed back. I've seen trailers for it for a year now. At this point, I
expected it would get a VOD burn off, not a Christmas nationwide release.
My Position: I'm not even sure the best case scenario version of this
movie would be worth making a priority.
The Bellas reunite for a USO Tour.
Working For It: The whole cast is back. Kay Cannon penned the script
again. I feel like the worst version of this movie is still going to be pretty
good, and I expect it will be better than that.
Working Against It: The second movie went even harder at the laughs
than the first and ignored the story as much as possible. That worked
because the first movie set up such a solid base, that I was just happy to be
hanging out with the characters again. I worry that a third installment may get
too far away from what made the first movie great. Perhaps it will sacrifice
too much of the premise in favor of making self-aware jokes.
My Position: This is probably my third highest
priority this month behind The Last Jedi and The Disaster Artist, because it's
certain to be enjoyable if nothing else. Besides, if I saw Table 19 for
Anna Kendrick, you better believe I'm seeing her in a Pitch Perfect
movie.
An Army captain in 1892 helps transport some
Cheyenne through hostile territory.
Working For It: It has Christian Bale in the lead role and Rosamund Pike
and Jesse Plemons in supporting roles. I have a growing fondness for westerns,
especially modern attempts at the genre.
Working Against It: I know director Scott Cooper through reputation. I
haven't gotten around to any of his movies (Crazy Heart, Out of the
Furnace, Black Mass). That's partly coincidence and partly not.
My Position: I could easily see this one falling to a Netflix
priority
The story of how the government tried to quiet the
Washington Post when they published information from the Pentagon Papers in the
early 70s.
Working For It: This one is mamouth. Speven Speilberg directed. Tom
Hanks AND Meryl Streep starring. [Co]Written by the Oscar winner for Spotlight.
Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk, Tracy Letts, Bradley Whitford, Matthew Rhys,
Alison Brie, Carrie Coon, Jesse Plemons, and Zach Woods all in supporting
roles.
Working Against It: Nothing is working against the movie. Frankly, Spotlight's
Oscar win only two years ago is probably the only thing preventing it from
being the Oscar frontrunner, sight unseen.
My Position: I don't think you hear me. Speilberg. Hanks. Streep. Of
course I'll be seeing this.
12/27 & 12/29
A yound man begins a relationship with a dying older
actress in 1979.
Working For It: This has primarily been sold as an Annette Bening
vehicle and a possible make-up call opportunity after Oscar voters largely
ignored last year's 20th Century Women.
Working Against It: Director Paul McGuigan's filmography sure isn't
encouraging (Victor Frankenstein, Push, Lucky Number Slevin)
for this kind of movie.
My Position: This is worth skipping unless Bening becomes a big
awards player.
The true story of a woman who ran a high stakes
exclusive poker game and was eventually taken down by the FBI.
Working For It: Jessica Chastain is the lead character. Idris Elba and
Kevin Costner appear to have major supporting roles. A lot of other familiar
names too. This is Aaron Sorkin's log awaited directorial debut.
Working Against It: There's a chance that Sorkin may only be a great writer.
There's no rule saying everyone has to be able to direct.
My Position: It's hard to see how Chastain at the very least doesn't
carry this movie even if everything else falls apart.
A dressmaker in the 1950s falls for a young woman.
Working For It: This actually looks like a pretty dull movie, but it's
Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Day Lewis teaming up again. I'll drink that
milkshake right up.
Working Against It: As I said, this looks pretty dull.
My Position: A Paul Thomas Anderson movie is always interesting, even
if I don't care for it. That's enough to justify the cost of the ticket.
