The Above Average Awards: Drama 2015

***This post has given me trouble on the blog, for some reason. It was accidentally published by my dog in January (as she literally stepped on my mousepad and published it), but it was released, in completion, on February 27. Regardless, enjoy...

When I decided to cut back on my blogging, earlier this year, I had no idea of the immediate effect that it would have on the number of films that I watch. I mean, without any expectation to share my opinion, I definitely cut back on watching films that I wasn't particularly excited to see. Nonetheless, when it came time for awards season and every "award-worthy" 2015 film was released in the short span of three months, I quickly regained my desire to hit the theater. Something about good movies just makes you want to watch more good movies. And, something about Avengers: Age of Ultron just makes you want to denounce the name of Disney.

So, as you check out my 2015 best list, know that I didn't see as many films, this year. However, I likely only missed the crappy ones...

Best Actor

Honorable Mention: Christian Bale (The Big Short), Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant), Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs), Michael Keaton (Spotlight), Ryan Reynolds (Mississippi Grind), Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies), Benicio del Toro (Sicario)

#9 - Ryan Gosling
(The Big Short)

For the second time since the creation of The Above Average Awards, Ryan Gosling is landing on my yearly best list (The Ides of March), and I'm really stoked that he continues to choose such great films. Who knew that the dancing fool from Remember the Titans would go on to do such great things?!? In an ensemble that absolutely blew me away, Gosling was one of the best. And, the jokes from his best scene--the one with the Jenga set--were highly improvised. Another great accomplishment for an actor who gave an amazing performance!

#8 - Liev Schrieber 
(Spotlight)

If you ever told me that Liev Schrieber would one day land on one of my yearly best lists, I probably would have laughed in your face. Honestly, I can't say that I've ever enjoyed seeing Schrieber on any screen, but his turn in Spotlight is so subtly amazing that I couldn't help but add him to my list. Essentially, his level of under-acting produced the best performance of Schrieber's lengthy career. Subtlety is undoubtedly the theme of the acting, throughout Spotlight, and Schrieber pulls off that subtlety better than anyone else.

#7 - John Cusack and Paul Dano

(Love & Mercy)

My love for The Beach boys knows no bounds! When I was little, my parents and I would jam out to their greatest hits CD--every. single. summer. And, I wouldn't have had it any other way. Thankfully, Love & Mercy gave me an even closer look at my favorite musical group of all time, and the great performances by both Paul Dano and John Cusack were amazing to watch. I could not decide which performance was better and both were so necessary to the success of the film. So, here they are... together, as they were always meant to be! 

  

#6 - Sharlto Copley

(Chappie)

My defense of Sharlto Copley as one of the most underrated actors is not subtle, if you are familiar with this blog. Unfortunately, the critical mass has failed to appreciate what he has accomplished, because they are so concerned with picking apart Neill Blomkamp. However, if you've seen Chappie, you can't help but love the innocent robot that is so easily humanized by Copley's movements and voice. This is the second year that Copley has landed on my list (last time for Elysium), and I can't wait to sing his praises again, soon!

#5 - Jason Segel
(The End of the Tour)

When looking at Jason Segal's full body of work as an actor, he has to be one of the least impressive actors to ever find success in Hollywood. He has zero range and lacks the ability to independently create laughter. So, I must say that I never would have imagined him landing on this list (much less in the drama category). Thankfully, I was wrong, as Segal totally rocked it in The End of the Tour, which was undoubtedly one of 2015's best films, regardless of how little attention it received. Check out this great performance, right now!

#4 - Tom Hardy
(The Revenant)

With all of the hype surrounding Leo's pre-destined Oscar win, Tom Hardy's far-superior performance in The Revenant has faded into the background, which is quite disappointing, particularly considering what a big year the actor had. But, Hardy will keep on keeping on, and he will surely appreciate the love given to him by THE Tanner Jones. Kudos to Hardy for making me love the bad guy soooooo much more than the preemptive Best Actor winner.

#3 - Jacob Tremblay

(Room)

Brie Larson is likely to take home the Best Actress Oscar, this weekend, but the true star of Room missed out on even being nominated. When I first heard of Jacob Tremblay's performance in this film, I assumed that I would enjoy it, considering my love for child actors. But, until I saw the film, I couldn't truly wrap my head around the range that Tremblay displayed, even at such a young age. When his character, Jack, was hurting, Tremblay hurt. When Jack was sad, Tremblay was sad. And, most importantly, when Jack was happy and curious, Tremblay was happy and curious. Everything that this kid was able to bring to the screen screamed greatness and truth. Kudos to Room for impressing, and kudos to Tremblay for blowing me away!

#2 - Steve Carell

(The Big Short)

People love Steve Carell because he's Steve Carell, and, for me (and many others), he is fun to watch, regardless of what he is doing. But, if you listen to the excitement and joy that Carell has found in his recent dramatic plunge, it will truly make you appreciate his work even more. To know that he doesn't want to just be the funny guy makes him all the more funny and believable. Carell landed at number 2 on my list, last year, and, this year, he is playing second fiddle yet again. One day, he is sure to land on top! Carell is just so easy to love!

#1 - Mark Ruffalo

(Spotlight)

If there is one word that comes to mind, when thinking of Mark Ruffalo's turn as Mike Rezendes in Spotlight, it's passion. I'm not sure that I have ever witnessed an actor portraying a character's passion as well as Ruffalo did here, and he was able to portray the character's passion, without letting his own passion or acting get in the way. Ruffalo was able to take Mike Rezendes from a character you want to trust to a character you want to be to a real, living person that you want to become. If everyone on this earth was as passionate about their contribution to society as the reporters of Spotlight, this world would be a better place. Thankfully, we at least have the knowledge of this wonderful team of people that truly made a difference--none more so than Mike Rezendes. Kudos to Mark Ruffalo for bringing that to life and giving the most impactful performance of 2015.

Best Actress


#3 - Lupita N'yongo
(Star Wars: The Force Awakens)

While most people are waiting for Maz Kanata's backstory before making any sort of judgement on her character, I'm already 100% sold. She was easily my favorite part of The Force Awakens, and the way that Lupita N'yongo was able to bring her to life was absolutely perfect. I just want my own personal Maz. You know... for wisdom and supernatural initiations... stuff like that!

#2 - Brie Larson
(Room)

Brie Larson is so lovable. Not only is she gorgeous, but she truly appreciates her work and clearly has a knack for picking great roles. While I might always remember her as the goofy teenager that fell in love with Jonah Hill on 21 Jump Street, she will surely be remembered throughout the land for her amazing turn as Ma in 2015's indie wonder-film--Room. While I will say that she owes much of her success to the amazing talent of young Jacob Tremblay, there is no doubt that Larson can bring it. And, again, she's so easy to love!

#1 - Kate Winslet

(Steve Jobs)

Steve Jobs was one of my most anticipated films of 2016, and I must say that I was a bit disappointed in the end result. Thankfully, Kate Winslet provided a large silver lining to said disappointment with her portrayal of Joanna Hoffman. This character, although a real person, was very much a creation of Sorkin's need for more and more strong dialogue to mask his poor plot. Regardless, Winslet blew me away, and gave me a new appreciation for what she can do. Sure, I'm only like 20 years late to hop on her bandwagon, but she was kind enough let me ride along anyway! Best female performance of 2015, by far!

Best Film

Honorable Mention: Room, Spotlight



#5 - The End of the Tour

While The End of the Tour wasn't particularly beautiful or unique in its direction, the film's dialogue and emotion was so beautifully unique that the film really didn't need anything but two guys to read the words from the pages. The performances were good. The story was good. But, the film was able to say so much in all of its subtle goodness. There is a strong chance that you missed this film, over the course of the year, but let me be the force that pushes you toward The End of the Tour.

#4 - Chappie

As soon as I saw the first trailer for Chappie, I knew that the film was going to deserve more credit than it actually received. Blomkamp pitched the film as a sci-fi comedy. The trailer pitched the film as sci-fi action. And, the film was actually a very rich attempt to create a moral code for artificial intelligence and the future of conscience, which is quite a complicated subject matter. Unfortunately for Chappie, the critics weren't all pleased, but this particular critic was impressed by yet another underappreciated Blomkamp success. If you haven't seen Chappie, go watch it! If you watched Chappie with a cynical mind, go watch it again! Audience expectations are so important to a film's success, and that's exactly where Chappie missed the ship. I promise, this film is fantastic!

#3 - Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Ok, ok... Let's get down to business. There was no 2015 cinematic experience better than the one created by Star Wars: The Force Awakens. When "STAR WARS" flashed on the screen after the Lucasfilm logo, I felt like a kid in the best of candy stores, as my eyes widened and my heart leapt. From a critical perspective, it might not have been among the best of 2015, but, with regard to having fun at the theater, no film could top it. Kudos to my main man J.J. and the folks at Disney for giving us at least one good film... before their imminent destruction of the franchise.

#2 - Kingsman: The Secret Service

Modern, non-superhero, action flicks are given the worst rap of any film genre out there. In a world where sequels and indie flicks rule, there's not much room for the emergence of new "universes." Thankfully, Kingsman: The Secret Service says "Oh, really?!?... Watch this!" The action was great. The bloody, ruthless nature of the film was great. The performances were spot on. And, the direction of Matthew Vaughn was among the most genius that I saw in 2015. In less than two minutes, the film had already engulfed you in a world full of fun action that had a small moral core and a large appreciation for slicing people in half and taking out an extremist church. Kudos to Vaughn and to 20th Century Fox for being willing to offer up some fun action, without the word Marvel attached.

#1 - The Big Short

When I was a senior in high school, I had absolutely no clue what would become of my life, and, of course, at the time, I felt like I should probably have the answer. And, as the evolving moderate that I was preparing to become, my nightly routine typically included falling asleep to the beautiful sounds of The Colbert Report. One night, while waiting for Colbert, I happened to catch the second half of The Daily Show and had the chance to hear Michael Lewis, the author of The Big Short, pitch his book about a few nobodies who were able to game the entire financial system, as a result of its fraudulent, crumbling roots. Lewis talked for about 8 minutes that night, but those few minutes were enough to convince me to read his book, as soon as I could get my hands on it. And, considering I was a kid who never read for pleasure (or school, for that matter), his pitch was obviously great. As you might expect, at age 18, my understanding of the financial system and its complicated lingo was quite minute, which made it quite a brain-straining task to make it through The Big Short. Thankfully, about halfway through the book, Lewis literally gives you a gold star for making it to that point. The gold star was enough to make me think, "If adults are getting gold stars for reading this far, I must be doing pretty darn good." So, I powered through and finished what might be the most intriguing book that I've ever read in my life. My interest in finances and the world of business was officially piqued. And, I went on to get my degree in Finance. 

While I do believe that the Lord has a way of working things out, there is no doubt that The Big Short truly initiated my desire to devote four years of my life to learning about business and the financial system. And, while I didn't actually end up launching my career in the financial sector, I would guess that I am in the top 1% of all movie bloggers and film journalists, with regard to my understanding of the financial system... Not to boast or anything! So, I say all of that to let you know what The Big Short means to me, as an individual. And, as much as I expected the film to be a half-hearted attempt at telling a very, very complex story, it turned out to be the greatest film of 2015... by a laaaarge margin, in my book. 

Obviously, the film appealed to me as someone who loves listening to people talk about the financial world, but, when I put on my film critic hat, there just isn't anything that compared to The Big Short, this year, with regard to original and genius filmmaking. I mean, who knew that the director of Step Brothers had it in him?!? The pace of the film is perfect. The explanation of complex financial instruments is genius. The characters are so easy to love. I mean, this thing has it all! 

If you think that the film would be a bore to you, because you hate learning about finances, please take the time to check this thing out, particularly if you have any affinity for the amazing actors in the ensemble. If you have zero knowledge of the topic, you will still understand what's happening... I promise! Also, as someone who has a good grasp on the events of the financial crisis, I can say that this is a great film for anyone with a good understanding of finance. 

For any of you who actually took the time to read all of that, congratulations on being a victim of my not taking the time to write an entire review of The Big Short. 

To everyone out there in the free world, go watch The Big Short! THE best film of 2015!!!

Well, there you have it! Even in a year of less blogging I was able to pull together a great list of films and performances. Now, let's see what happens on Sunday night!

A Look Ahead to 2015

Well, here we are... The new year is upon us, and this one promises to be BIG!

I apologize for being so sparse, over the past two months, but I've been a bit swamped between finals, getting married, and the Holidays. Nevertheless, I'm back (hopefully).

As always, my 2014 best list (The Above Average Awards) will be coming your way sometime in February, in order to give me time to catch up with some late-releases and rentals. So, do not forget about 2014 yet!

However, it is a great time to take a look at some films that are sure to be on my watchlist, in 2015, and some that I will be sure to avoid. Feel free to persuade me!

Happy New Year, everyone!

Movies I Just Can't Wait to See

Chappie (March)

While We're Young (March)

Avengers: Age of Ultron (May)

Inside Out (June)

Ant-Man (July)

Trainwreck (July)

The Walk (October)

The Jungle Book (October)

Peanuts (November)

Untitled Christmas Eve Project (November)

Star Wars: Episode VII -- The Force Awakens (December)

Joy (December)


Other Notable Films

Kingsman: The Secret Service (February)

Fifty Shades of Grey (February)

Cinderella (March)

Insurgent (March)

Pitch Perfect 2 (May)

Mad Max: Fury Road (May)

Tomorrowland (May)

Jurassic World (June)

Ted 2 (June)

Minions (July)

The Fantastic Four (August)

Vacation (October)


Big Movies I Will Avoid (At All Costs)

Taken 3 (January)

Jupiter Ascending (February)

Furious 7 (April)

Terminator: Genisys (July)

Star Trek Into Darkness

 

Expectations:

If you’ve ever read my blog, it’s likely that you know about my great love for J. J. Abrams. Some may even call it “an obsession.” However, as someone who is often asked for his opinion on entertainment issues, I believe this obsession is healthy! Regardless of my love for Abrams, 2009’s Star Trek was absolutely brilliant, and I believe that most people would agree with me. The recreation of the classic Star Trek characters was done so, so well, and I don’t think it really received the praise that it deserved. Of course, as good as the first film was, my expectations for Star Trek Into Darkness were very high, and I honestly believed that Abrams could pull it off. On top of that, he kept almost every detail of the film secret. There is nothing more exciting to me than a director hiding details! Really, there was not even a small piece of me that thought this film could be bad… AT ALL!

Plot:
Because of the secrecy of the trailers and the news, I will avoid saying too much about the plot of Star Trek Into Darkness. I will lead off by saying that, after watching the film, I don’t really understand the broad title, so don’t try to find answers in the “Into Darkness.” With that being said, I thought the storyline, along with the twists and turns, was great. Abrams managed to fit a lot of happenings into a short (for a blockbuster) two hour run time, and that made me happy, because I was able to go to bed at 2:30 on Wednesday night, after the midnight premiere. I will say that there were a few extremities, with regard to the events of the film, which were a bit over the top. However, the entire Star Trek name encompasses nothing but over-the-top extremities, so it is to be expected.

Characters:
The only real problem that I had with Star Trek Into Darkness was the lack of screen time for some of the main characters. Somehow, in his first Star Trek film, Abrams was able to create a back-story for every single character from the original Star Trek cast and come up with a time-travelling storyline featuring two Spocks (all in just over two hours!). In the sequel, it seemed like situations were created just so the characters would have something to do. In particular, John Cho’s Sulu and Anton Yelchin’s Chekov just didn’t have anything to do, and I like each of those characters, so it was tough for me get over that. Very few of the characters were BAD, but many were a bit underutilized, in my opinion.

Negatives:
The only real negative in this film was the random addition of Peter Weller’s Marcus. While the character was important, I just didn’t like the fact that he became SO important SO quickly.

Positives:
If you've seen 2009's Star Trek, you know just how great the entire cast of this film turned out to be. Honestly, there were no low points in the casting of the first film, which is so so so rare when dealing with a remake of any kind. If you take a great cast and use that entire cast in a sequel, you are most likely going to get success in the category of "characters." That was certainly the case with Into Darkness. Every returning cast member was just fantastic, and I really thought Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto excelled in furthering the relationship between Kirk and Spock. This film leaves you with no doubt that you care about both of these great characters. In addition to the returning cast members, Benedict Cumberbatch's turn as bad-guy John Harrison was brilliant. Filmmakers are getting so good at creating villains, and I'm quite glad.

Conclusion:
Iron Man 3 may have been a good start to the summer movie season, but it's highly unlikely that any other May film will shine quite like Star Trek Into Darkness. A successful cast and storyline usually make for a good film. Throw in the great ending and the graphics, and Into Darkness is a GREAT film! With J. J. Abrams jumping ship to helm the next Star Wars film, the future of the Star Trek film series is in question, but we can all hope that whatever comes next is somewhere close to the greatness that was Star Trek Into Darkness. If you haven't seen 2009's Star Trek, watch it! If you don't really care for science fiction films, watch this one! With the great plot and great characters, you will forget that space is even a part of the equation. I promise!!! I give Star Trek Into Darkness 3.93 out of 5 stars.

Great Expectations: February 2012

On behalf of Hollywood, I apologize for having no Great Expectations for the month of January. Unfortunately, no movies came out in January that I wanted to see AT ALL. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy did hit my local theater in January, but, because they were actually released in December, I didn't want to give January the false credit. Luckily, for all you moviegoers, February does have a bit more promise (though it isn't much). Here are the three movies that I most want to see this month (in order of release date):

The Woman in Black (February 3rd)

Chronicle (February 3rd)

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace in 3D (February 10th)

Movie News for the Week of September 16, 2011

1. Earlier this week, Mel Gibson announced that he would be developing a film about Judah Maccabee, a Jewish warrior. As you can only assume, many Jewish organizations are throwing a fit about Gibson being involved in anything Jewish, but he has yet to remove his name from the film.

2. It has been announced that both Top Gun and Ghostbusters will be returning to theaters in the coming months. In other, Ghostbuster-related news, John Hodgman has really stirred the pot with some of his comments this week. The "PC guy" implied that he was offered a large role in a third Ghostbusters movie. He also added in his comments that Bill Murray would not be a part of the film, which would certainly be huge. No one knows if this is true or not, but we will certainly wait and see.

3. For the theatre lovers out there, some big news about the film version of Les Miserable surfaced this week. Both Helena Bonham Carter and Russell Crowe have signed on to star in the film. Also, there have been rumors floating around that the movie may be shot in 3D, which, if you ask me, is absolutely pointless. IT IS A MUSICAL. If there was like 3D music, now that would be cool.

4. The creators of HBO's recently completed Entourage say that they will be making an Entourage movie. The only question right now is when the movie will be made.

5. The popular Broadway show The Book of Mormon will be turned into a movie. The creators said that they would let it run its time out on Broadway and go touring before making the movie, but they seem very convinced that a movie will eventually happen.

6. Jake Gyllenhal's Source Code will likely be turned into an hour-long drama on CBS. There are few details on the project as of now. There is no one in talks to take over Gyllenhal's lead role, but you can expect to hear more in the coming months.

7. For all you Star Trek fans waiting for the sequel, wait no longer! J.J. Abrams signed on to direct the film this week and he says that he wants to get the project moving quickly. The script is expected to be finished by the end of the month and Abrams wants to begin filming this winter.

With the controversial Star Wars Blu Ray coming out this week, I decided to show you a few cool Star Wars things I have found recently. Enjoy!
1) Han Solo Ice Trays
2) Bill Murray as Han Solo
3) A building design based on the sandcrawlers from A New Hope

Movie News for the Week of July 12, 2011

1. The Star Wars news continues to roll in. Now a LEGO Star Wars TV special is being developed by George Lucas. The series will complement the Clone Wars series as Lucas promises a "new and fun" take on the classic.

2. An Angry Birds feature film is becoming more of a reality each day. I don't understand how this will be interesting, but I thought many people might be excited about it.

3. Javier Bardem has signed on to play in the new, untitled James Bond film. Most believe he will play a villain, but this has not been confirmed. The movie has taken a while to get started, due to the financial woes at the production company, but everything seems to be coming together.

4. FOX has ordered more scripts for a Napoleon Dynamite animated series. The series, based on the film, will premiere in the fall.

5. It has been rumored that Adam West will make an appearance in The Dark Knight Rises. West was the star of the original Batman TV series and would be a great surprise in the film, however big the role.

6. Paramount Pictures will replace the well known Dream Works name with a new animated division. The title of the new division is Paramount Animation (very original). Paramount will be working on a more limited budget, which could spell disaster for the films being made by the new division of the well-known company. Dream Works has yet to find a new home, but will likely be picked up by a new company in the future, sooner or later.

7. Not much of a surprise but certainly a big piece of movie news began this week. Johnny Depp is very very close to signing on for a fifth Pirates film. As a huge fan of the series who had mixed emotions about the fourth film, this news depresses me. I don't want one of the best film series ever to be ruined by Disney's quest for cash, but they never ask me.

Movie News

1. Armie Hammer, who played the Winklevi in The Social Network, has signed on to play the Lone Ranger in a movie version of the classic tv show. Johnny Depp will play Tonto.

2. George Lucas said that he has prepared 50 hours (two seasons worth) of a Star Wars tv show. Lucas said that he is waiting for a cheaper technology to come along that would make the show more economical. The show would be based on the period of time between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.

3. Peter Jackson, director of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, has announced the names of the new films based on the Rings' prequel The Hobbit. The book has been split into two movies, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again.

4. The Hangover 3 is already being scripted. Director Todd Phillips has said that the third installment will be the final movie in The Hangover series and will be much different than the first and second films.

5. Shia LaBeouf says that he will not be involved in any more Transfomers movies. He also commented that he did not believe director Michael Bay would be involved in any more of the movies either.