As a movie lover, I kind of hate December. The studios hold movies all year long then
release them during the holidays. Some
get lost in the shuffle, as no one could possibly see them all. Some get yanked from theaters before any word of mouth can develop. Some blockbusters take up so many theaters, there's no room for any secondary film. So my December report lacks some movies I wanted
to get in here, but they will have to wait, like Point Break, Sisters, The
Revenant, The Hateful Eight, Carol, and Joy.
I’ll get to them.
Spotlight – 10
When I look back at 2015 I will think of two classic movies
that should stand forever, and this is one of them. As I exited the theater I was so furious I
had to try to think about something else.
I didn’t want to think about it, and I didn’t want to talk about
it. The raw emotion that this movie
generates has to be experienced to be appreciated.
This is the story of the Pulitzer Prize winning,
investigative “Spotlight” team of 5 reporters at the Boston Globe who
investigated the local Catholic Church’s handling of abusive priests over
several decades. It’s low-key,
methodical, and detailed as they plod through allegations that begin to slowly
expand to an incredible level. The new
editor of the Globe, played by Liev Shreiber, pushes the team to go beyond the
horror of the abuse, and to dig into the system of the church, and how they
moved priests around repeatedly after transgressions.
You’ll gasp in unison with the audience as you watch the
year’s best ensemble cast plow their way through the heartbreak. You'll wince at the pressure that is exerted
on them from a community that is 53% Catholic, probably the highest in the
nation. Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams,
and Mark Ruffalo are superb, along with the rest of the cast. They bring the heat.
Many have compared this to “All the President’s Men” as a
wonderful examination of journalism. It
has that kind of intensity. I find it
most interesting that the movie hasn’t made it to Mississippi yet. We had to go to New Orleans to see its one
single daily showing. The theater was
packed. What’s going on here? It’s been in release for weeks. Many more millions will see the fantasy
movies than this one, and that’s a shame.
This is some serious stuff, and I’ll be fascinated to see who sees it,
and who refuses to see it. Yes, two classic
movies in 2015 – one that I’ll watch over and over, and one that I don’t think I can
watch again.
Creed – 10
This is the second great sports movie of 2015, along with
McFarland USA. Let’s face it – it’s not
that hard to make a good sports movie.
From Rocky to Rudy the principles have been the same. Underdog, knocked down, gets back up, fights
through adversity, overcomes against the odds – all while the music swells to
just the right rousing volume. Or don’t
you hum the Rocky theme as you finish your workout?
So, how does this latest Rocky installment rise to such
great heights? Several reasons. The script and direction by second time
director Ryan Coogler are nearly perfect.
The boxing scenes are the best ever filmed because they are so up
close. Also, I really appreciated the
fact that like most real boxing, a lot of the punches don’t land, which movies
usually get wrong; although I must say that towards the end it does get to the
point where fighters are just pummeling each other and it begins to look like
the rather ridiculous old Rocky fights where a punch never missed. The lure of blood I guess.
Sylvestor Stallone revisits his Rocky character at a new
crossroads in his life, with a new fight on his hands. Michael B. Jordan is pitch perfect as the really,
really angry young man Adonis Creed, illegitimate son of the late Apollo Creed,
who died in the fictional ring of Rocky IV before the fictional Adonis was
born. Adonis, who has been reluctant to
identify with the Creed name, seems to have so much anger that a boxing ring is
the perfect place to keep him out of trouble.
Somehow the movie manages to make all that fiction seem real, and while
we know its fiction, we are so invested in the characters, that when that music
swells, well we’re going to lose it.
We’ve been had by another great sports movie.
Concussion – 10
Surprisingly, here’s another great sports movie. Yet, it’s not typical in any way. There’s no swelling music here, just drama building to a crescendo.
It starts with one of the great performances of the year
that unfortunately will go unrecognized.
David Morse, who has been great so many times, is stunning as Mike
Webster, the retired and battered center of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He may have been the greatest center to ever
play. But, something is wrong with
Webster. Headaches, dizziness, and a
desperation that has him living in his truck as he descends into a madness. That desperation is seen in the face of his
doctor – Dr. Julian Bailes, the former Steelers team doctor, played by Alec Baldwin,
who can only ask, “What am I missing?”
When Webster dies it’s up to Dr. Bennet Omalu to find out
during an autopsy and subsequent research what was happening. Will Smith gives the performance of his
career as Omalu as he investigates several more NFL deaths, names the condition
CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) and suffers the backlash from the NFL
and the public. Omalu is from Nigeria,
and he doesn’t understand football, and his quest to speak for the dead makes
for one hell of a movie.
The incredible juggernaut that is capitalism, that has
driven the prosperity of our country past every other economy in the world, has
had one unfortunate side effect.
Sometimes science gets put on hold for the sake of profits. It happened with tobacco, and it wasn’t the
government that slowed down the roll and the role of big tobacco. It was another group of profiteers (we’ll
call them lawyers) who held tobacco accountable. It’s happening today in climate change, as
those that would be impacted by adjustments cry “hoax.” But, imagine taking on what could be argued
as the most powerful force in the U.S. – the sport that we all love to
watch. Perhaps when the dust has settled,
and the cost of repetitive impact on the brain has been fully analyzed, football
will go the way of tobacco. Hard to imagine,
but something to ponder, and another reason I’d like to be reincarnated in
about a hundred years – just to see what
happens.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - 9
Less relevant words have never been written than what I
think of this movie. That’s because you
need no guidance. You are either a Star
Wars zealot that only the walls of confinement could keep you from seeing this
movie several times, or you are a Star Wars fan like me, that likes the
franchise and thinks the first two were pretty hard to top as space entertainment,
but you didn’t go overboard into full-on worship. Or, you don’t care anything about it, which
puts you in the distinct minority that is a threat to Disney’s stock
price. You see Disney paid 4 billion
dollars, that’s billion with a b to George Lucas for the rights to Star Wars,
and their quest to get a return on that exorbitant investment will be as
fascinating to watch for the rest of my life as anything else I can think of,
business-wise. That they’ve turned the
creativity over to JJ Abrams who reinvigorated Star Trek, then abused it in the
second run, makes it all the more interesting.
Can it hold his attention? Can it
hold mine? Can they maintain the
hype? Every time I watched a commercial,
I thought about it. Why are they
advertising so much? Is there anyone who
hasn’t decided whether or not they’re going to see it? Are they still trying to persuade undecided
voters?
I remember driving from Hattiesburg to New Orleans with some
fraternity brothers to catch the first movie, and I don’t think there was
another time we did that. It was a
movie-going thrill that has been rivaled few times.
Movie-making technology has improved tremendously in the 38
intervening years. That’s evident from the opening moments of The Force Awakens
and Abrams commits to the story telling with his usual verve.
It begins on a planet called Jakku where the inhabitants
speak with a British accent. I’m
referring to the new star of the star wars, Daisy Ridley, who as Rey, brings that
accent and the youthful enthusiasm that the series needed to revive it. There was a lot riding on her casting and it’s
a home run. She has the charisma needed
to carry the next few installments and that’s great news. Throw in mixes of nostalgia and humor, old
characters and new, old robots and new, and the wars have begun. While the movie’s first hour is largely set-up,
it’s the second half of the movie where the action is pumped up to the level of
excitement that Disney is going to need. Buy or Sell?
The Big Short - 9
As I was moving up the ranks in my previous corporate life,
and buying a new house in a new city every few years, my VP told me, “always
buy more house than you can afford.
Qualify for the lower payment of the adjustable rate, and your income
will grow as your payment grows.” Of
course his intention was partly to keep me motivated. Great approach for someone who would probably
never be in a house for very long. But,
who would have thought it would be applied to millions of first-time buyers?
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the mortgage loan
crisis. I would maintain there’s nothing
wrong with stressing the opportunities of home ownership. But something went wrong, then it got
packaged and sold. The risk was not
properly assessed. And then there was
money to be made betting against it but by some who saw that it was all going
to come crashing down.
Those who saw profit opportunity in the crash (we’ll call
them prognosticators) are portrayed here by Hollywood superstars Brad Pitt,
Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Christian Bale.
They specialize in numbers and it’s Bale’s character (Burel) who
recognizes the inevitable first and has to convince some banks they need to
create and sell him an insurance instrument whereby he can bet against them,
which they are all too willing to do as they laugh at him. Thus a convoluted
market is born, but it turns out to be one of many that the banks are playing
around with. When it all comes crashing
down, it’s the American taxpayer of about 2053 who comes to the rescue. Don’t get me started.
Needless to say the movie is fascinating. It’s told in a very herky jerky style with
gimmicks like celebrities explaining things to the audience. For example, here’s Margot Robbie taking a
bubble bath and explaining something, but I wasn’t really focused on what she
was saying. It’s the most poorly edited
scene I’ve seen in movie in years (it’s like they weren’t even trying to match
shots) but I doubt anyone will care. The
movie uses so many different styles and approaches that I think it most
compares to Annie Hall.
This is based on a Michael Lewis book. I’ve read some of his books (Moneyball and
Boomerang) and he has a way of explaining complicated things so well, that I’m
going to have to read this book to, in the hopes that maybe someday, just once
in my life, I’ll be in the smart minority.
I maintain that how we got to the housing collapse and how we dealt with
it is going to make for some fascinating economic history reading for many
years to come.
Scanning the Satellite
The Seven Five – 10
Showtime is showing this incredible documentary about police
corruption in Brooklyn during the 1980’s.
It consists of interviews of many of the primary players in the bust of
many cops, but most importantly Michael Dowd, known as the dirtiest copy ever. How he earned that distinction will stun you
and keep you shaking your head throughout.
It’s an unbelievable story.
Focus – 5
Lovely to look at, but too ridiculous to believe for longer
than 30 seconds is this con man caper film with the stunning Margot Robbie and
the always appealing Will Smith. I will
sum this up by saying I can suspend disbelief for 2 hours, but not common sense. The only thing entertaining in this movie is
how farfetched it becomes.
The Boy Next Door – 5
There’s something wrong with my remote control. Every time I leave the room it switches to
the Lifetime channel or the Hallmark Channel.
They feature different movies but only one plot. This is one of those movies with one big
difference – Jennifer Lopez – so it got a theater release. She is so charismatic that you actually
believe some of this. Then, you can’t
believe you wasted 2 hours.
