Movie Reaction: Patriots Day

Formula: (Deepwater Horizon – Oil Drilling + Running) / United 93

Peter Berg knows what he does well. He likes true stories, preferably about everyday heroes (Marines, blue-collar workers, cops). He doesn't shoot films with judgment. His films are shot as well as their edited. He doesn't let a single character take over the story. That was true with Deepwater Horizon. That was true of Lone Survivor. And, that is true of his latest film.

Patriots Day tells the story of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and the ensuing manhunt for the men who caused it. It begins shortly before the marathon. We meet several, seemingly unconnected characters: a Boston police sergeant (Mark Wahlberg) who has to work security at the finish line of the race to get off the commissioner’s shit list; a young couple (Rachel Brosnahan and Christopher O'Shea) getting afternoon drinks; a Chinese immigrant (Jimmy O. Yang) living on his own in Boston; a police officer at MIT (Jake Picking) trying to get a date with one of the students; the sheriff (J.K. Simmons) of Watertown [outside Boston], getting a muffin for his wife; a suburban Muslim family (Alex Wolff, Themo Melikidtze, Melissa Benoist) up to something nefarious. Others too. Of course, their stories collide over time as events unfold. I remembered very little about the actual events, so it was unnerving waiting to find out where their stories intersect. I imagine it still plays well if you remember every beat, since the tension is baked into the story. The narrative doesn't rely on any single person to drive it. The actors in the large and continually growing ensemble show up and disappear as needed. For example, Khandi Alexander turns up toward the very end for one dynamite scene and that's it.

Berg's management of all those people and stories is impressive. The last movie I saw to do it so well was Eye in the Sky, which I consider high praise. The stories are presented matter-of-fact and it doesn't feel like much is embellished other than Wahlberg being in the right place at the right time too much. That's forgivable considering that his character is intended as an amalgam of several people in order to give some connective tissue for all the events. There's really not a weak performance in the ensemble. Jimmy O. Yang, who I previously just knew as Jian Yang from Silicon Valley, gets some incredibly tense moments. Melissa Benoist challenges herself more than I've seen her do before. People like John Goodman and Kevin Bacon show up for small roles just to add even more legitimacy to the film.

Berg is happy to play on an audience's emotions. The end, in particular, is filled with scene after scene designed to put a lump in your throat or cheering. If you've seen his movies before, you should already have an idea of what to expect. Again, he knows what he does well and doesn't shy away from those things. He even manages to fit in some exciting moments. One of Berg's greatest strengths as a director is staging action sequences, so it would be wasteful if he didn't have some. The actual bombing is disorienting and unsettling. The eventual shootout with the bombers in Watertown is enthralling and explosive. Berg is great at knowing how to inject humor at the right times to stop the film from becoming a slog.

Along with Deepwater Horizon, Peter Berg managed to make two of the best movies of 2016, which is pretty remarkable. Patriots Day is a well managed film. The cast and direction are top notch. It's respectful without being dull and procedural. It's not always an easy watch, which may turn away some people. It's worth seeing though. As far as I'm concerned, Berg can give any true event he wants the movie treatment, because the results will be great.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend 

Delayed Reaction: Housebound

The Pitch: A New Zealand haunted house comedy.

I don't like to get too caught up with the review aggregator sites. There's some major holes in the methodology. They reward movies more for being pleasant than interesting, for example. I get irritated whenever a film comes out and a Rottentomatoes score is referenced as if it has any meaning beyond pass/fail (and even then it's questionable). Because, that's what it's a rating of: passing or failing grades, not quality. That said, how the hell does this movie have a 97% rating? It's a fine movie. I didn't dislike it, but it wasn't anything special. I must be missing something.

The ultimate compliment for a horror-comedy is that it offers legitimate scares while still being funny. Few movies succeed at it. Scream did it. The Cabin in the Woods is pretty good about it. Housebound doesn't. It's more like Tucker and Dale vs. Evil. It successfully mimics horror tropes, but never stops feeling like a comedy. So, let's just quit pretending it "succeeds as a horror movie". And that's not a bad thing. I love Tucker and Dale. That just means it has to wholly work as a comedy. This has a dry sense of humor, similar to Edward Wright's films. I don't prefer it. That's just a matter of personal taste. To recap: it didn't scare me or make me laugh. That's not great for a horror-comedy.

I'm being pretty negative. Sorry about that. I'm distracted by the noise around it rather than focusing on the movie. Housebound is a confident debut feature for writer/director Gerald Johnstone. The cast fits the characters well. The story finds a way to sidestep expectations just enough to keep things interesting and it doesn't feel at all constrained by its budget. I never got pulled in by the story or humor though.

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend

January Movie Preview

That was a busy December. So busy, in fact, that I couldn't get my January preview up in time for the first weekend of the month. I'm sorry. You just missed another Underworld sequel if for some inexplicable reason, you are waiting on what I have to say. Back to December though. Super busy. So many movies. More than any recent year, the studios saved everything for late releases in 2016. I've averaged at least two movies a week since November and I'm still not done with 2016. All sorts of movies are being slowly rolled out. Movies like Hidden Figures, Patriot's Day, Silence, and 20th Century Women, that I've covered in previous months, are expected to expand wide or nation-wide in January (or maybe even February). Because of this, the January slate is particularly dismal. There is exactly one movie that I'm looking forward to, and it's technically a 2016 release as well. I can only hope that February gives me reason to look forward to 2017.

2016
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec  
2015

Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June | Jul | Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec 

2014

Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec

2013

Mar |  Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec

1/6

Underworld: Blood Wars
Kate Beckinsale is back as a kick-ass vampire in the middle of a full-scale war between the Lycans and vampires.
Working For It: I like Kate Beckinsale...and, uh...
Working Against It: I'm not a fan of the series. I'm not caught up on the series. This looks indistinguishable from the other films in the series. They established an audience since 2003 and I'm not part of it.
Verdict: Despite Love & Friendship reminding me that I enjoy Kate Beckinsale, this isn't happening.

I, Daniel Blake [Limited]
Last year's Palme d'Or* winner is about a middle aged carpenter who bonds with a single mother over their similar difficulties with the state welfare program in Britain.
Working For It: The Palme d'Or doesn't mean nothing, even if I've seen only 2 of the last 10 winners.
Working Against It: This looks pretty generic. I remember it was mocked for winning at Cannes last year. And, it's not a coincidence that I've seen so few of the winners at Cannes.
Verdict: I'm going to trust my mistrust of Cannes' winners.

*The grand prize at the Cannes Film Festival

1/13

The Bye Bye Man
About  a monster who chases you the more you think about him.
Working For It: It's January, so that means it's time for the counter-programming horror release (Thanks, White Noise). It's a clever enough idea: being chased by your own awareness of a fear.
Working Against It: I'm not a jump-scare kind of person and this appears to be highly dependent on those.
Verdict: I'd have to hear some incredible reviews, and even still, that didn't get me to see Don't Breathe last summer - which I do regret.

Monster Trucks
A Nickelodeon live-action film about an alien (or something) who takes over a guy's car and the guy and alien become friends or allies.
Working For It: I'm sure this will appeal to kids well enough.
Working Against It: ...except, I'm not sure it will. This looks like a January bury. It's a different take of Herbie the Love Bug that looks pretty generic. It's not the kind of movie I see a lot of parents bringing kids to see because it is on the wrong side of the annoyance threshold*.
Verdict: Hard no.

*Annoyance Threshold - The point at which a children's movie becomes too annoying for an adult/guardian to put up with. Oogieloves In The BIG Balloon Adventure is a great example of this.

Sleepless
Jamie Foxx is a cop caught in the middle of casinos and gang members, trying to rescue his kidnapped son.
Working For It: Jamie Foxx can certainly lead a gritty action movie like this. The cast is solid but unspectacular, featuring Dermot Mulroney, Michelle Monaghan, Sccot McNairy, T.I., and Gabrielle Union.
Working Against It: God this looks generic. I've watched the trailer and a couple TV spots and I don't have a sense of what the movie is. Foxx is a cop. He's in over his head. He sure looks cool doing it. I think that's the movie.
Verdict: Jamie Foxx is a deterrent for me, making me unlikely to ever see this.

The Book of Love [Limited]
Jason Suideikis' wife (Jessica Beil) dies. He copes with it by befriending Maisie Williams, a local homeless girl who wants to build a raft for some reason.
Working For It: That's a fun cast with some TV All Stars rounding out the supporting roles (Mary Steenburgen, Paul Reiser, Orlando Jones). The preview looks rather somber or saccharine, but if that's actually masking a lighter tone, this could be pretty good.
Working Against It: It seems like every TV writer/director (which Bill Purple is) ends up making a dramedy when they make their move to film. I'm not crazy about those results.
Verdict: Don't get me wrong, I anxiously await adding it to my Netflix queue, but that's about it.

The Comedian [Limited]
Robert De Niro is an aging comedian who is down on his luck, until he befriends Leslie Mann and stumbles into a late career resurgence.
Working For It: I'll tend to give anything about the comedy world a shot even if I end up hating it (Punchline). I still consider De Niro a plus casting move and Leslie Mann tends to be better than whatever role she's given (See The Other Woman). There's potential for a lot of fun cameos by [primarily] older comedians.
Working Against It: I'm hoping that they really don't make De Niro and Mann's relationship romantic, because that 30 year age difference is a little uncomfortable. Also, for someone who I've seen so many of his movies (Ray, The Devil's Advocate), I sure don't have a sense of what director Taylor Hackford is about.
Verdict: Enough praise for Leslie Mann may be enough to get me looking for this. Still doubtful though.

1/20

The Founder
The story of Ray Croc, the founder of McDonald's and how he essentially stole the company from the McDonald brothers.
Working For It: Michael Keaton is committing to the Ray Croc role. John Carroll Lynch and Nick Offerman look like fun McDonalds brothers. The movie did the Oscar tap dance for a while but appears to have given up on that (except maybe Keaton for Lead Actor), which is probably for the best. I'm more excited for this one than I should be.
Working Against It: I do worry about why this kept getting pushed (originally slated for release this past Fall). Is it like Monuments Men, where, despite the pedigree of the people involved, it just wasn't meant to be taken that seriously, or is it not very good?
Verdict: Absolutely going to find this, even if the reviews are savage. The trailer has me hooked.

The Resurrection of Gavin Stone
A former child star (Brett Dalton) get sucked into a local Church's Easter play as part of his community service.
Working For It: It's not often that you see Brett Dalton, Neil Flynn, and WWE legend Shawn Michaels in a film together.
Working Against It: I'm not a big fan of these religious movies that have the production value of a Disney Channel Original (if that) with writing to match. There's an audience for this who will enjoy it. I'm not one of them, and it's not for religious reasons.
Verdict: Maybe if it was a Hallmark movie called "Jesus Christ ChildStar"...no. Even then, still no.

Split
Three girls are kidnapped by a man (James McAvoy) with 24 different personalities and must work with the helpful personalities to escape.
Working For It: It's an M. Night Shaymalan movie. I know what he's about by now and this could be fun. I like McAvoy and one of the kidnapped girls is Anya Taylor-Joy, who was great in The Witch.
Working Against It: I'm sorry, but it's hard for me to not chuckle at how much this is requiring James McAvoy to overact.
Verdict: I'm not saying "no", but I am saying "unlikely".

xXx: The Return of Xander Cage
Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) is back for another mission that he will get done however he wants, looking as cool as he wants.
Working For It: This is an even less serious cousin of the Fast and the Furious movies. By casting Deepika Padukone, Ruby Rose, and Nina Dobrev, I think they are being pretty clear about the appeal of the movie. I don't imagine I'd have a bad time watching this.
Working Against It: I don't feel a pull to see this. It's completely disposable, which is both its selling point and to its detriment. I can't tell if this will be a fun mess or just a mess.
Verdict: Leaning toward no. Probably more than leaning.

The Red Turtle [Limited]
An animated Studio Ghibli film about a man (and, later, a woman), who is trapped on a desert island for several years.
Working For It: I've heard some high praise for this wordless [I believe] feature. Studio Ghibli isn't known for delivering sub-par movies.
Working Against It: Despite the high praise for Studio Ghibli, the latest of their movies that I've seen is Spirited Away, so I clearly don't put them as a priority. That's on me. I do intend to look for this one though.
Verdict: Eventually...

1/27

Bastards
Ed Helms and Luke Wilson find out that their mother has been lying to them about their dead father for years. They hunt down their real dad (J.K. Simmons) and he is not pleased to meet them.
Working For It: I like Wilson and Helms when they have a good partner. Simmons is a natural for a role like this. While this is director Lawrence Sher's debut feature as a director, he's amassed a strong resume as Director of Photography history over the last decade (The Hangover I, II, and III, I Love You Man, Due Date, The Big Year) and this movie is fitting with all of those.
Working Against It: I'm not sold on the Helms/Wilson pairing. They both like to fill similar roles in movies. There may be too much overlap here. And, it's already too easy to confuse this with a half-dozen other movies.
Verdict: Weak no.

A Dog's Purpose
Josh Gad is the voice of a dog who is reincarnated into four different dogs over 50 years, telling the story of each life and each owner.
Working For It: The trailer alone tugs at my heartstrings enough to make me interested. Add in Britt Robertson and Dennis Quaid and that probably seals it.
Working Against It: When it's this obviously tugging at my emotions, it might be better to see this at home rather than a sure-to-be dusty theater.
Verdict: Toss up. I don't think I'm going to know if I'll see this until I'm sitting in the theater.

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter
The sixth and final installment of the franchise brings Milla Jovovich back one more time to finish off the Umbrella Corporation for good.
Working For It: Milla Jovovich, Ruby Rose, Ali Larter, Rola. Gee, I wish there was a way to determine the casting strategy for this. They are committing to calling this the end, and the story appears to be giving the film massive stakes.
Working Against It: I know what you're thinking: Didn't they just release one of these movies earlier this month? No, that was Underworld, but I understand your confusion. I havent seen any of these movies and I probably never will.
Verdict: Just as soon as I see the first five.

Delayed Reaction: The Unborn

The Pitch: A young woman is haunted by her unborn twin brother...or something like that.

I need to get something out of the way right now: Why did I see this movie? I love horror movies, but I didn't really think this would be great. I saw this because Odette Annable is pretty. I can pretend that just about anything else brought me to it and that would be a lie. Odette Annable isn't in enough things that I watch, so I ended up seeing this. It was only after I started the movie that I realized that it was written and directed by David Goyer who helped the Nolans write the Dark Knight trilogy. I had no idea that Gary Oldman, Idris Elba, Megan Good, and Carla Gugino had parts in this. None of that. Just Odette Annable.

Ok, that's out of the way now, and I feel a lot more freedom to speak honestly about this.
It's pretty bad. There was too much going on in the story. The characters were thinly drawn. Even the scares were lazy jump-scares. I'm not a fan of the movie. But it was very watchable. That's because I don't get the feeling anyone took this too seriously. The story is insane. Something about a Jewish demon called a dybbuk that originated during the Holocaust, because apparently that's the only time Hollywood is willing to talk about Judaism. At some point, there's a Jewish exorcism (because that's a thing) and they call in an Episcopalian Priest for assistance.

That's how you really know the movie isn't serious. There's an exorcism. The call in a priest for help. And he isn't even Catholic.

Megan Good has lines like "What was that? One second she was fine, then she has a bitch flip". That's not a line from a movie that wants the audience buying in completely. Clocking it at under 90 minutes, it's hard to be angry at the movie as a waste of time. Besides, it gave me exactly what I was looking for*.

*And it's worth noting. Odette Annable was perfectly fine. This didn't prove anything about her range as an actress. But, remember Mama (Jessica Chastain) or The House at the End of the Street (Jennifer Lawrence). At some point, no one can save a mediocre script, no matter how talents.

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend

Club 50 Wrap-Up: 1994

Years Completed:
1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 
1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 
2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2010 | 2009 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014

I haven't had to write one of these in a while. I'm just about out of years and in no hurry. I'm pretty much waiting on 1992 and more recent years.

When talking about 1994, there's only one story that matters: Jim Carrey. Has there even big such a big rise to fame in a single year? He went from a featured player on In Living Color with minimal film roles to the star of the 6th, 9th, and 16th highest grossing movies of the year. That's insane. The only comparison I can think of is how Chris Pratt had Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World within a year. Even that doesn't match though, because Pratt was firmly established in film and TV before then (and, let's be real, the dinosaurs were the stars of Jurassic World). And, thinking anecdotally, there isn't a single television program from 1994-1996 that didn't have a character say "smokin", "alrighty then", or "so you're saying there's a chance" at some point. Jim Carrey's collective roles that year are the only thing that can compete with the pop culture permeation of Forrest Gump.

Otherwise, it was a pretty standard year. There were 6 sequels in the top 50 and only 9 have had sequels made since, which is typical for that period. It's strange to see how much non-animated content was being produced for families, like The Santa Clause, The Flintstones, and The Little Rascals.

To wind down each year as I complete them, I'm going to hand out a few superlatives or anecdotal awards to highlight some of the highs and lows of the year's top 50 box office earners.

First Seen: D2: The Mighty Ducks

I feel like I saw both D2 and The Lion King in theaters and D2 came out first. It's one of those two. I know that much. Either way, it's a good way to start off a year.

Last Seen: Major League II

I actually should've seen this a lot sooner, but I forgot that I borrowed it from a friend for almost a year. For someone who spends as much time as I do organizing things, that's a huge black mark.

Happiest Surprise: Maverick

Normally, I use this section for a movie that surprised me while I was completing the Club 50 project. However, this predates that goal by a decade. I'm including it though, because it really did surprise me. Maverick is just plain fun to watch. It balances the comedy with decent Wild West actions. It's self-referential and never takes itself to seriously. Mel Gibson is at his most charming. James Garner and Jodie Foster are a lot of fun. There isn't anything revolutionary about it and that's fine.

Biggest Disappointment: Pulp Fiction

Keep in mind, I can use this distinction for either global or personal reactions. The consensus is that this is a classic and perhaps Quinton Tarantino's best film. My personal opinion is that it's fine. Had it not been hyped up, it wouldn't be such a disappointment.

Looked Better Then: The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult

I could laugh at the computer effects of Disclosure or point to ridiculous sequels that tainted franchises like The Santa Clause, The Flintstones, and The Mask. I've gotta go with the final Naked Gun movie. When the film was released, 3/18/94, it was the supposed last film in a successful franchise featuring beloved former football star OJ Simpson. On 6/12/94, a couple people were found murdered and suddenly, OJ wasn't so liked. That series might've had a better shelf-life had he not probably murdered two people.

Looks Better Now: Dumb and Dumber

After two sequels, one with Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels, one without them, the original looks all the more impressive. The Farrelly are very hit and miss. Their comedic sensibilities very much belong to the 90s. Nothing has quite matched their debut feature.

Favorite: Forrest Gump

In recent years it's become cool to hate Forrest Gump. That's your prerogative. Personally, I think it's a marvelous film. Its pop culture influence is ubiquitous. For a film that's ultimately about very little, it has a tremendous amount of heart to it. Tom Hanks deserved the Oscar he received, even if the reason why has become a popular punchline. It is one of the strangest movies to lead the box office in a given year in my lifetime.

2nd Favorite: The Lion King

It's hard to pick a high point for the Disney Renaissance. Beauty and the Beast got a Best Picture nomination. Aladdin was the highest grossing film of 1992. The Lion King made the most money overall in that period. They are all classics.

3rd Favorite: True Lies

I believe in "James Cameron Magic". Really, there's nothing special about this film. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Tom Arnold have played these characters in a dozen other movies. The balance of the action and humor is just better in this.

Honorable Mention:

Maverick

I'm not actually sure if this is a good movie, but I love it. Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, and James Garner are delightful.

Dumb & Dumber

The Farrelly brother's opus. Actually, can an opus be your first work? Ok, their peak, maybe.

Speed

Cruise Control has done a major disservice to the original, which is an action classic and a testament to using a mid-level budget to maximum effect.

D2: The Mighty Ducks

Quack. Quack! QUACK! QUACK!!! Ducks fly together!!!

Least Favorite: On Deadly Ground

Don't overthink it. The Shadow was pretty atrocious. Legends of the Fall and Wolf I didn't get. But Steven Seagal starred in, produced, and directed On Deadly Ground. To date, it's his only [and hopefully final] time directing a feature film.

Movie Reaction: Hidden Figures

Formula: (Good Will Hunting * Apollo 13)/ Selma

It's nice to simply enjoy a movie. It really is. It's nice when a movie isn't filled with polarizing auteur choices or anti-heroes that challenge you to root for them. Sometimes, I like a simple story, making big points, with likable characters, played by talented actors. In a nutshell, that is Hidden Figures. It's an affable crowd-pleaser.

Hidden Figures tells the story of three African-American women working for NASA in the 1960s. Katherine Goble (Taraji P. Henson) is a computer who gets an assignment working for/with the men coming up with the math to put a man in space and back on Earth. Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) is attempting to get a supervisor job for the "Colored Computers" department while also making sure the department doesn't become obsolete after the purchase of an IBM computer. Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae) aspires to be a NASA engineer despite the qualifications continually being moved out of her reach. All three woman are incredibly smart and capable, only being held back because of their race and gender.

One look at a Wikipedia article tells you things ended up pretty well for them. What the movie does well is showing how they go about getting these happy endings. Katherine continually proves her value by working twice as hard as the men in the room with twice the obstacles. Dorothy finds a way to make herself indispensable to NASA. Mary confidently creates a path to get the job she wants. It's impossible not to root for them to succeed. And the people in their way aren't just a bunch of racists. It's a system that's rigged against the them and there's people afraid of change for all sorts of reasons. Vivian Mitchell (Kirsten Dunst) is Dorothy's primary obstacle to becoming a supervisor by simply dismissing her, not hating her. Paul Stafford (Jim Parsons) is against Katherine because he feels threatened by her, so he's happy to let the rules holding her back stay in place. Like in real life, most of the discrimination they face is subtler (but obvious). I don't even think the N-word was used in the film. There are some pretty ugly things that happen, but the film is more concerned with smaller victories that build up than any one big moment.

Henson is the de facto lead in the movie and she does fine work. It's a mostly restrained role, but when she gets to erupt, you feel it. Spencer and Monae both get moments to shine as well. Spencer certainly reminded me why that Oscar win for The Help wasn't a fluke, and Monae is having a helluva year between this and Moonlight. Kevin Costner, as the head of NASA* has a good mix of "white savior" and demanding, no-nonesense boss to him that works just right. Dunst and Parsons are able to play the heels without ever being villainous. It's a very impressive ensemble.

*Maybe not his official title, but that's sure how it's presented in the film.

The story is familiar, which is somewhat unavoidable. There's only so many ways to tell a civil rights story of this sort. As with most movies, what sets it apart is how well it's done. It shifts the focus between the three women in just the right amounts. The movie never feels sorry for them or wallows in the injustice. It assumes the audience is smart enough to know what things are wrong, which allows the film to focus on what's so impressive about the women instead. The side story with Katherine falling in love with a National Guard Colonel played by Mahershala Ali felt unnecessary. I'm also wondering if John Glenn (played here by Glen Powell) really was this saintly and likable, or if the screenwriter just really likes him. Those are small gripes or quirks though.

Hidden Figures is exactly the movie I expected it would be. It's not a groundbreaking achievement in film making or anything. It is completely enjoyable to watch though, and that's enough. It's far better than I expected from the director of the uneven St. Vincent, although I can see some shared DNA in the tone. It's perhaps the least conflicted crowd-pleaser in the likely Oscar field this year and it will be hard to find an audience that it doesn't work for. It didn't blow me away. That's about the strongest thing I can say against it.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend

Golden Globes 2017: Post Mortem

The Golden Globes have come and gone again. Most years, I do a post predicting the results of the ceremony. The thing is, the Globes are stupid. More so than the Emmys or Oscars. Those are stupid too, but at least they try. So, this year, I'd rather look back on the Golden Globes to assess how it went. Still, just as dumb, but requiring far less effort from me.

The Good

Atlanta
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) love being the first to award something. In TV, that means giving The Affair a Best Drama Series win or calling the opening half of Brooklyn Nine Nine's first season the Best Comedy Series. Occasionally though, it means Donald Glover can begin his EGGOT campaign (Emmy/Grammy/Golden Globe/Oscar/Tony). Atlanta had a great debut season and Donald Glover deserves all the praise he can get. Technically, I liked Veep better in 2016, but it already has the Emmy love. Let Atlanta, another one of my favorite shows in 2016, have the Golden Globes.

La La Land
Did it need to dominate the night? No. Although, I'm happy to see it win everything it could, because, it was my favorite film in 2016. I was especially pleased to see "City of Stars" win best song against a stacked field.

Moonlight
It would've been a shame if it was shut out entirely. If it was going to win only one award, Best Picture - Drama is the one to win. 

The Bad

Billy Bob Thornton
Matthew Rhys is never going to win any major awards for The Americans, is he?

Aaron Taylor Johnson
It's hard to not look at this as Maherhsala Ali being robbed. Even Jeff Bridges would've been fine. I like Aaron Taylor-Johnson. His toilet scene in Nocturnal Animals deserves some kind of recognition. Given that he wasn't even the best supporting actor in the movie, this win doesn't feel right.

Hell or High Water
I would've liked to see this sleeper critical hit win something: Best Picture, Screenplay, Supporting Actor. It deserved better. But, the limited number of categories for the Golden Globes sure makes it hard.

The Meh

The Night Manager
I didn't watch The Night Manager, so I'm not allowed to be that critical about the picks. I've heard good things about the performances. I'm not convinced that Tom Hiddleston, Olivia Colman, and Hugh Laurie all needed to win. At least it didn't stop the American Crime Story freight train from winning the Limited Series/TV Movie award.

Jimmy Fallon
He was a fine host. He mostly stayed out of the way, which is the best thing a host can do. I liked the opening number with him, then I found myself forgetting who the host was by 10:30 pm. If he isn't going to be Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, then disappearing is fine.

Delayed Reaction: The Guest

The Pitch: A stranger shows up, claiming to be a veteran from the same troupe as a family's deceased son and proceeds to wreck their lives.

As I said in my Blair Witch reaction, I couldn't be more in the can for the writer/director team Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett than I currently am. Their work on V/H/S, V/H/S 2, and You're Next has me curious about whatever else they make. The Guest is very much in the vein of You're Next. It's more horror-thriller than horror-scary. The biggest concern in the film is making sure Dan Stevens looks cool. The music selection for any time he walks into the room is slick and a little foreboding. It's a film that is in love with its villain.

I was more interested in the beginning, as the family slowly realizes the kind of person Stevens is, than in the end when it's just a murderous chase. I laughed at how convenient it was that the high school just happens to have a horror maze set up. Maika Monroe pulled off a nice horror back-to-back following this with It Follows. She runs scared with the best of them, so good for her. I wouldn't recommend this for anyone looking to be scared. Maybe mildly unsettled. It is pretty good for thrills though.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend

Delayed Reaction: Tron

The Pitch: Computers...they're, like, the future. Anyway, here's some light-cycles.

It hard to think of a movie that was more ahead of its time than Tron. That's the legacy (see what I did there) of the film. It was a full decade before The Lawnmower Man and still looks more impressive. While I won't suggest that all the lingo in the film makes perfect sense even now, it must've been complete gibberish in 1982 to all but a small percentage of the public. Looking back, it's almost a blue print for how to make a cult-hit.
-A niche topic.
-What it lacks in formal polish, it makes up for in commitment to an idea.
-Jeff Bridges.
These are all things that age well.

The movie itself is fine. That's about all the enthusiasm I can muster for it. It's pretty surface level good guys v. bad guys. It's not the most thrilling movie. It still looks pretty good for being 30+ years old. I'm not sure if it would've been worth watching if not for the effects. That's a significant 'if' though.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend

Movie Reaction: Lion

Formula: Slumdog Millionaire + Philomena

It's amazing that Saroo Brieley is alive. The same goes for the thousands of children like him. I'm definitely pretty comfortable living how I do and can't even fathom his situation. That thought is almost entirely what Lion relies on.

Lion is the story of Saroo, a young boy living somewhere in India. He's quite poor, but he has a mother, sister, and older brother who care greatly for him. That is, until he accidentally gets trapped on a train for several days and separated thousands of kilometers from them. He is unable to remember the name of the town he lives in and has no way to reconnect with his family. After living on the streets of Calcutta for a few months, he's eventually adopted by an Australian family. He grows up happily for 20 years until he finally decides that he needs to find his family in India. The incredible thing is that this is a true story. A common one too. The film is based on Saroo Brieley's book about his life story. It's an incredible journey.

Lion is broke into two parts. The first part is Saroo as a five-year old boy. After establishing his relationship with his family, the movie shows how he gets stuck on the train and how he survives in Calcutta. I've never been to India, but it doesn't feel like they exaggerated much about how some people live there. The young Saroo (Sunny Pawar) does a great job. He isn't the most naturalistic actor, but who is at - well - however old he is? That's half the run time of the film. That second part features Saroo (Dev Patel) as a grown man. Despite having a loving family in Australia (parents played by Nicole Kidman and David Wenham in small, but significant supporting roles), he is haunted by the family he lost. This is even getting in the way of his ability to have relationships, most notably with a girl named Lucy, played by Rooney Mara. Eventually he becomes obsessed with finding his Indiana family and reuniting with them.

I don't want to fully give away the ending although you can already guess most of the beats. I'll go ahead and tell you that the film is all in service to those last few minutes. It spends so much time with young Saroo so that it can sell the audience on how much Saroo loved his family and how cruelly he was separated from them. The story sags a little in the middle while it tries to make someone searching on GoodMaps interesting. It's all worth it once you get to the end. If you can finish watching this without getting at least a little misty-eyed, then you are at least a little dead inside.

Lion is a pretty simple movie. It has good performances from Dev Patel, Sunny Pawar, and Nicole Kidman. It makes good use of the Indian setting, perhaps reveling in the poverty a little too much. It struggles to fill the time in the middle some, but it's all worth it for the powerful ending.


Verdict (?): Strongly Recommend