There really was no need for a Bad Santa 2 as the original has become a holiday cult classic and it has been 13 years since. Sure, it does have the mean streak that made the first popular, unfortunately the humor mostly falls flat.
Manchester by the Sea is a film that excels on the performance by Casey Affleck with honorable mentions toward Michelle Williams in her brief role and the young Lucas Hedges in one of his first major stint.
While not the strongest of the numerous MCU films so far, Doctor Strange at least is still a fun flick helped more by the charisma of both Benedict Cumberbatch and Tilda Swinton more than a routine, thin plot and another forgettable villain.
Nocturnal Animals might not have engaged me on an emotional level, the writing and storytelling from Tom Ford are still fantastic and the performances from Jake Gyllenhaal, Amy Adams and Michael Shannon were amazing and, at least in Shannon’s case, award-worthy.
American Pastoral receives, let’s say, mediocre reviews but for my money, I found all of the performances genuine and the story rather compelling, if not outright depressing and sad; for his first outing as director, Ewan McGregor did a fine job.
I still actually prefer the remake (if only for Nic Cage), but the original Gone in 60 Seconds is pure entertainment for the car chases and that it was independently made. The acting isn’t the best, nor is the writing, but the stunt work was impressive.
These three movies by Claude Chabrol range from dark, to black dark to more light-hearted and each are, simply, well done with probably my favorite being The Swindle as I tend to enjoy crime-centric movies a bit more, however each feature great performances, most notably though Marie Trintignant.
Although I didn’t think Arrival was a masterpiece critics, and audiences, claimed it to be, there’s no denying that it is one of the more unique sci-fi films I’ve come across in that it’s less sci-fi and far more character driven with a positive message behind it.
Well intentioned as it might have been, and telling a World War II story that’s probably not familiar to the average American, USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage features lazy performances, especially by Nicolas Cage though he does have a couple okay scenes, and some laughable visual effects.
Queen of Katwe is a charming, uplifting true life drama featuring some fine performances by Madina Nalwanga and David Oyelowo under Mira Nair’s quality direction. The Blu-ray released by Disney offers up great video, solid audio and a nice selection of bonus material.
John Wick is one of the surprise hits of 2014 and even though Keanu Reeves might not be a great actor, this role was tailor made for his skill sets in fighting and stunt work. Add to that, the story, albeit thin, is good enough to carry the 100-minute running time.
Justice League Dark is a middle-of-the-road entry into the DC Animated Universe. It’s also a bit inside baseball in that probably die-hard fans of the comics will get something out if it while others will find it crowded and the magical elements even made it harder to follow.
Life on the Line is a misfire of a movie if only that they could’ve told a great story of the unsung heroes who work to keep the power on in some of the most difficult circumstances. Instead, this film tosses in a terrible B-plot with unnecessary characters making this just another poor release starring an actor relegated to direct-to-video status.
The 9th Life of Louis Drax is a mix bag of a film, it’s weird enough to make it an engaging mystery-drama and the young man portraying Drax wasn’t half bad, however the soap opera aspect of the story wasn’t good. In the end, though, if the trailer manages to grab you, it’s probably worthy of a rental.
The Light Between Oceans isn’t half bad as heart-tugging rom-dramas go and it is better written and acted compared to your typical Nicolas Sparks schlock, but at the same time, despite a talented cast and some great scenes, I didn’t find this nearly as emotional and I can’t see much replay value.