The Worst of 2016

A couple of weeks ago I did my Best of 2016 and highlighted some of the best movie experiences I had this year.  Now, I’m going to take a look at some of the worst and most disappointing experiences I’ve had this year, and this year was a doozy.  There were a large number of big-budget movies that fell somewhat flat, and some that were just atrocious.  So, let’s get this shitshow on the road.

Gods of Egypt

Oh, boy.  Where do I begin with this one?  I knew from the first moment that I saw the trailer for Gods of Egypt that this was not going to be a good movie.  It was loaded with CGI and a lot of that CGI was NOT good.  It was blatantly obvious at times.  The performances across the board were pretty awful, particularly Gerard Butler as Set.  The only one that managed to pull his own weight was Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Horus.  I’ll be honest, I enjoyed the film on a certain level, but when it comes to the director Alex Proyas, he’s done a hell of a lot better.  I mean, this is the guy that gave us The Crow and the twisted sci-fi noir film, Dark City.  He’s capable of making good movies, so what the hell happened here?  Egyptian mythology has incredibly great stories to tell, but Gods of Egypt just wasn’t good.

Traded

About 7 years ago, a little movie called Taken took the world by storm with a very cool story about Liam Neeson trying to save his daughter from the illegal sex trade and ended up being a thrilling film.  That would be a concept that work in a Western, wouldn’t it?  If handled properly, then yes.  However, Traded just doesn’t cut it.  It feels like a cheap Western knock-off of Liam Neeson’s movie, with Michael Pare in Neeson’s shoes.  His performance was pretty good, but everybody else just phoned it in.  In a kidnapping, there needs to be a sense of urgency, it’s why the good kidnapping thrillers work so well.  There’s a time-crunch involved.  Here, everybody seems to taking their time.  Bringing Kris Kristofferson into the mix was a good idea that was poorly executed.  He’s the kind of guy that belongs in Westerns, but he’s completely wasted here.  If it wasn’t for Michael Pare’s performance, this whole movie would be a complete waste of time.

Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice: Theatrical Edition

I know what you’re thinking:  How can Batman V. Superman be on both my best and worst lists?  Let me explain:  I actually really liked the film, but the extended version of the film was the better version.  The theatrical release was a mess, with plot threads that just….didn’t go anywhere.  My other big issue was that this movie shouldn’t have happened for another year or two at least.  Superman needed a second movie of his own to prove that he was a re-established character.  Instead, Snyder and company went full-bore into the Death and Life storyline that needed more time to set up.  I’m glad they’re doing it, it’s just too early.  As far as comic book movies go, this was not one of the better ones this year.

Ben-Hur

This one seems pretty obvious.  I guess if you haven’t seen the Charlton Heston version of the film, then it might be ok.  However, I did see Heston’s movie, and it is a far superior film in EVERY way.  The problems with the new movie are several.  For one, they took a large story that took Heston’s film 3.5 hours to tell, and whittled it down to 2 hours.  That means they cut out a LOT of important information and crucial character development.  Also, Jack Huston is no Charlton Heston.  I appreciate what they were trying to do with the film, but it feels like a pale imitation.  The chariot race, which was the big centerpiece of the previous film, is loaded with bad CGI.  I understand that doing a chariot race like that is cost-prohibitive, but it would have felt more real.  Also, I do like the fact that Messala gets more development as a character, but this was supposed to be Ben-Hur’s quest for redemption, not Messala’s.  It’s called Ben-Hur, not Messala.  It has its moments, I’ll give it that, but when stacked against the previous version, there really is no comparison.

Ghostbusters

Of all the movies that I’ve seen this year, this one hurts me the most.  I should have expected it, given the disastrous marketing and PR campaigns, but I held out hope that was going to be at least decent.  My initial review of the film gave it a 6/10, but the more I think about it, it doesn’t even deserve that.  I’m not revoking my score, but the new Ghostbusters was unmitigated cluster-fuck.  It has nothing to do with the cast, though, who did a fairly decent job with what they were given.  What they were given, however, was a poorly-written shit-show.  Top that off with a laughable villain and a horrendous new theme song and you have a film that really has no place in the Ghostbusters franchise.  Director Paul Feig has and is still trying to defend the film, even though, it was a box-office disaster.  It was not a good movie.  This was the movie that put me into a bit of a funk over the past few months for movies.  I didn’t see a movie in theaters until Doctor Strange came out.  That’s how much Ghostbusters disappointed me.  I may give it a second chance down the road, but I’m still irritated that this wasn’t the movie that we deserved.

Those are my personal picks for the worst movies for 2016, which is thankfully coming to a close.  I’m honestly hoping that next year is going to be better for more mainstream movies.  With a new Alien movie coming out and a new Blade Runner, we may have a decent year ahead of us, as far as movies go.  So, with that in mind, I hope everybody has a happy New Year, and I will see you in 2017.

RIP Carrie Fisher

Carrie Fisher
October 21, 1956-December 27, 2016

2016 has been a rough year, especially when it comes to celebrity deaths.  Alan Rickman, David Bowie, and Anton Yelchin all passed before their time.  But the one that truly stings the most is Carrie Fisher.  As of this writing, she died this morning after suffering a massive heart attack over the weekend.  Her mother, Debbie Reynolds had reported that Carrie was in stable condition as of last night.  Carrie had apparently gone into cardiac arrest on a flight.  They had to use CPR.  Her passing stings the most because she was such a trailblazer.  Her breakthrough performance was that of Princess Leia Organa in Star Wars.  She proved that not only could you have a strong female presence in an action movie, but also maintain a presence in a heavily male-dominated industry.  Carrie Fisher paved the way for future female action stars, which includes Charlize Theron, Zoe Saldana and Sigourney Weaver.  Not only did she stand tall with her male co-stars, but she stole the show at several times during the Original Trilogy.  She had since starred in movies like The Blues BrothersScream 3, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.  She had a very commanding presence when she stepped onto the screen.

It was not just her work on the screen that garnered attention.  She had since become a major advocate for mental health issues due to her own personal experiences with drug addiction and bipolar disorder.  Carrie Fisher had become a symbol of hope for so many people who also suffered from mental health issues.  Carrie Fisher was a mother, daughter, sister and a wonderful person to be around from all accounts.  Carrie Fisher is survived by by her mother, Debbie Reynolds; her daughter, Billie Lourd, and her brother, Todd Fisher.  For those of us who didn’t know her personally, we will always remember her as Princess Leia Organa.  Her life and her accomplishments should be celebrated.  The world is lesser for her loss, but is strengthened by what she has done.  Good-bye Carrie Fisher.  The Force will be with you, always.

The Best of 2016: Movie of the Year

Well, here we are, coming up on the end of 2016, and what a year it was for movies…except for summer, let’s not speak of that again.  I’m still trying to recover.  In all seriousness, we’ve had a great number of phenomenal movies this year.  Some of my favorites weren’t even big budget films.  They were smaller independent pictures that really had a lot of effort put into them.  That being said, for my last post on this topic, I will give you my movie of the year.  But before we get there, let’s go through a number of films that came really close to nailing it for 2016.  Now, I will be including movies from the middle of December of 2015 onwards because I feel a movie needs to be in theaters more than a month to qualify.  So any movie released on December 15, 2015 or later can be included on this post.  So, let’s begin:

Runner Up #1:

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

For a guy who is a MASSIVE Star Wars fan, one would expect this movie to be my movie of the year.  Make no mistake, this is an awesome movie.  It blows the entire Prequel Trilogy out of the water.  This takes some of the best elements from the original movies and it amplifies it.  It’s got incredibly memorable characters like Poe Dameron, Finn, Rey, and the old cast which includes Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher.  It’s a well made movie with some really clever and sharp dialogue.  There’s a lot of humor here and there’s plenty of drama to add to it as well.  The villain of the film, Kylo Ren, is very memorable and the action is second-to-none.  The Force Awakens doesn’t get my movie of the year because it does follow the original film a little to closely, and that’s a minor quibble, but it’s enough to keep the film from being Movie of the Year.  It’s still an awesome movie, though.

Runner Up #2

The Witch

As far as horror movies go, 2016 was a banner year for the genre.  The Witch is quite possibly one of the best horror movies I’ve ever seen.  It’s incredibly atmospheric, tense and though-provoking.  It’s a period piece set in the time of the Puritans, so there is bound to be tension in terms of religious symbolism.  It’s unusual for a film that’s not overly gory to be very chilling.  I don’t want to spoil it, but there is a lot that goes in this film between the family members that’s really intense.  It’s a beautifully shot film with a haunting score that’s sure to remain with you long after the credits roll.  It has to be seen to be believed.

Runner Up #3

Blood Father

It’s been quite a while since Mel Gibson took the lead role in a film.  He’s still got it, despite the issues that he’s had in the past.  Blood Father sees Mel Gibson as an ex-con who takes in his estranged daughter after she’s been on the run from a Columbian cartel.  Mel Gibson’s performance in this film is simply one that you have to see.  It’s his best performance in years.  Erin Moriarty plays his daughter, and the two work wonderfully together.

Aaaand my Movie of the Year goes to…..(drum roll, please):

Forsaken

 

What?!  A Western?!  Have I gone mad?   It’s entirely possible.  For me, Forsaken is probably the most compelling experience I’ve seen in movies this year.  One of main reasons is that both Kiefer Sutherland and his father Donald are playing father and son.  It’s truly movie magic seeing these two in scenes together.  The movie itself is a traditional Western, but that’s not a bad thing, but it focuses more on the characters and the story than it does the action.  Everybody in the film does an incredible job, including Michael Wincott and Brian Cox.  It’s incredible how well this movie came together, and it’s a damn shame it didn’t get a wide theatrical release like it should have.  It’s a great movie that outshines all the others that I’ve seen this year.

There you have it:  My Movie of the Year: Forsaken.  That is going to conclude The Best of 2016.  Next year promises to be even bigger, so I’m looking forward to it.  Before the year is over, though, I would like to go over my greatest disappointments of the year.  I may do that after I’ve completed my Game of Thrones marathon, which starts tomorrow.  Next week is going to be a bit of a challenge, but it’s one that I believe I can tackle.

The Best of 2016: Performances

For this post, I’m looking for the best acting in films this year.  This post is going to be different because everyone that I mention here is a winner.  Getting a strong performance out of an actor regardless of their experience is not an easy thing to accomplish, so the ones that I mention here are the actors/actresses that put in the best effort.

Michael Fassbender in X-Men Apocalypse

Michael Fassbender has come a long way since 300.  His performance as Magneto in the new X-Men films is phenomenal, but it’s his performance in Apocalypse that really gives him an edge.  His character of Magneto has settled into an ordinary life with a wife and daughter until Apocalypse wakes up.  His family is killed and he turns his rage on everybody else.  This scene is an emotionally powerful moment in the character’s arc in the film, and I don’t think anybody else could have done it as well as Mr. Fassbender.  He’s phenomenal.

Kiefer Sutherland/Donald Sutherland in Forsaken

It’s a very unusual thing to see actors who happen to be father and son playing…well..father and son.  Kiefer Sutherland and his father Donald play a father and son who are estranged from each other, because of Kiefer’s character’s exploits.  The scene that I selected is the only one I was able to find, but it’s very cool seeing these two powerhouse actors performing together in the same scene and film.  The relationship between the two actors makes their performances all the more intense.  This is the strongest performance I’ve seen from Donald in years, and there are points in the movie that it’s heartbreaking.  When Kiefer’s character confesses to his father about an incident during his time as a gunfighter, it’s heart-wrenching.  I don’t think anyone else could have pulled it off.  Aside from the movie being a fantastic western, it’s anchored by amazing performances from everyone.

Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice

Say what you will about Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice.  A lot of people didn’t care for it, and I had my problems with it, but the one thing that most people can agree on is Ben Affleck’s performance as Batman.  Ben Affleck plays on older and more world-weary Bruce Wayne who has seen a lot of terrible things in Gotham, and he witnessed first-hand the destruction of the fight between Superman and General Zod.  As a result, he has a very skeptical view of the Kryptonian and seems to feel that he’s a serious threat to the planet.  Ben Affleck delivers a very grizzled and nuanced performance not only as Bruce Wayne, but he makes his Batman scary as hell.  He’s one of the main reasons why I loved Batman V. Superman.

John Goodman as Howard in 10 Cloverfield Lane

Now, I mentioned this film as one of the best thrillers of 2016, but there’s a reason for that:  The performances.  Everybody here is in top form, but the one who steals the show is John Goodman.  He is one of the greatest character actors alive.  His performance as Howard is not only creepy at times, but also unhinged at others.  You have no idea who this guy is or what his intentions are, but Mr. Goodman manages to make this guy likable at the same time, which allows the movie to play with the audience.  10 Cloverfield Lane was a phenomenal film and John Goodman’s performance is one for the books.  It’s definitely worth taking a look.

Well, these are the most compelling performances I’ve seen this year, so apologies if this seems like a short post, because it is.  For me, anyway.  Tomorrow, I’m going to wrap things up with the Best Movies of 2016.  It will be for the best movies released this year.