Beth's review - "I will admit that I cried through this entire movie and if you are a new mother you probably should not watch this movie. I am not sure if this film should go into the horror genre or the drama genre. Brie Larson does a great job of really portraying the different dynamics of a girl and her son being held imprisoned. This movie gave me such a gut wrenching reaction. 9 out of 10."
Brent's review - "The ultimate depressing award contender movie. This was a very well made film about a woman and and her son who live for multiple years in a woodshed after the mother's abduction. That being said it was a very intense film that kept me interested throughout and had some of the same eeriness of one of our favorite horror movies 'The Vanishing.' This film narrowly missed out top ten and was as good of a movie as can be made about the subject matter. 9 out of 10."
Up next, we continued in the "terrible things that happen to children genre" with the film "Spotlight," starring Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams and Liev Schreiber, and directed by Tom McCarthy ("The Visitor," "Win Win").
For our thoughts on this, scroll down to our Best (and Worst) of 2015 list below. Oh, the suspense!
Beth's review - "After watching the two movies above, this movie was definitely not as depressing. With that said it was also pretty predictable. Tom Hanks is the honorable good guy against the world. The film looked great and the acting from Tom Hanks and Mark Rylance was really good. With that said it was just kind of boring and predictable. 7 out of 10."
Brent's review - "If you tried to imagine an Oscar nominated movie, knowing nothing about it, you might predict that it was a period peace about a man who is forced to stand alone in his morals against a corrupt system and probably starred Tom Hanks and was directed by Steven Spielberg. That's a long way of saying this was a well made but surprisingly formulaic movie. It also didn't help watching two better movies within a 24 hour period. The story didn't complete resonate with me either as the Russian spy was made too sympathetic of a character while never giving any accountability for the reality of his reason for being in America. 6.5 out of 10."
This weekend we also went to the Cinema Center Oscar Party, bringing Cliff along with us as well as Brent's parents and our friends Al, Cherie, Jack, and Connie. We came away with some cool stuff, including the awesome print of local photographer John Gevers's landscape "How Now Brown Cow" from New Zealand (pictured in the gallery below). Cliff was amazingly good for staying at a party for three hours, 90 minutes of which was past his bedtime. Overall it was a fun evening supporting a great Fort Wayne institution.
It's not movie related, but we also had new flooring installed in our dog room this week. Gone is the stained stinky carpet of the last five years. In its place is this tile which looks like authentic white ash wood flooring. We went with the tile so it would be easy to clean up and because of the lifetime warranty. The wood look also adds to our room's overall feel as a "three season room."
On Sunday we went to the Fort Wayne Home and Garden show with Beth's parents. Cliff once again was a trooper, deciding to walk through most of the expo and snacking on Ritz crackers (and leaving a trail where we went). For us, the high point of the event was a friendly usher giving us free tickets and letting us skip in line when we arrived. We also picked up some bamboo pillows that we're interested to try out (if we have crooked necks tomorrow, you know they weren't as good as advertised).
Beth's thoughts - "This is a story about a submarine expedition searching for lost treasure starring Jude Law. The setting of a submarine always provides a unique suspense, where you never know if they will all drowned or not. This movie has some of your standard submarine plots, but the acting is really good and the characters pull you in to the story. Even though the plot is pretty simple, I was not sure how this movie was actually going to end."
Brent's thoughts - "Spotlight tells the story of the investigative reporters that examined the church's cover up of known child molesters for decades in Boston. For me, the film this reminded me the most of was 'A Few Good Men,' in that it featured a ton of great performances by iconic actors but still felt a bit like a made for tv movie. I blame the music and overall mystery plot of the movie, which at times felt like a CBS procedural. All that being said, out of the three Academy Award nominees we watched this weekend, this was clearly the best overall."
Beth's thoughts - "I really was not sure about this movie before watching it. I was glad to see that they decided to make it a sequel instead of a remake and it ended up being a great addition to the franchise. The action of this movie really makes it best if you can watch it on a big screen. When you think about it for being a really long car chase this movie really draws you into it. At the time of writing this (while watching the Oscars) it has also already won 6 Oscars, who would have thought that was possible for a sequel to a 1979 movie."
Brent's thoughts - "This wasn't a perfect movie, but it succeeded in doing two very important things: it brought back the most iconic science fiction characters of all time and introduced new compelling lead characters to take over that same series. It says something that I was more interested in the new characters than in the ones I've have thirty years invested in. The plot and action sequences were both adequate, which isn't high praise for a top ten movie of the year. I'm a big proponent in a movie being more than the sum of its parts however, and when this one was over it felt like the type of movie we all wanted it to be."
Beth's thoughts - "I really enjoyed this movie. The combination of great acting with Michael Fassbender and Kate Winslet with the great pacing from director Danny Boyle, and quick dialog of Aaron Sorkin really make this movie. This was a long movie, but it felt so quick. It focused on three big events in Steve Job's career, but this movie is so good, it makes me want to watch another 2 hours just like it focusing on different events. I'll admit that Steve Jobs is a huge jerk in the movie, but Michael Fassbender just nails the part so well that he makes you root for him."
Brent's thoughts - "There were only three movies I considered for my best of the year movie pick: the two that tied for number one and Sicario. For me, this was a more tense viewing experience than horror films 'It Follows,' 'Bone Tomahawk' or extended chase scene 'Mad Max: Fury Road.' It also featured some of the best acting of the year by its three lead actors. The ending of the film is probably a bit darker than many viewers are wanting from a two hour bite of entertainment, but a film about Mexican drug cartels probably shouldn't have a really happy ending."
Beth's thoughts - "We love westerns and Kurt Russell so it is no surprise that this movie ranked so high on our list. The best part is watching the interaction between the group of cowboys, including the cool sheriff (Russell), the old deputy, the cool gunslinger, and the honorable husband. With all that said I must point out that this is the most violent movie we watched this year. In fact, this is one of the most violent movies I can remember."
Brent's thoughts - "This film has received tons of praise this year, and it is all well deserved. Sometimes all a great movie needs is one idea that works as a visual. A few years ago we really enjoyed a movie called 'Baghead.' The writers/directors of the movie said that they came up with the movie based on the creepiest thing they could think of, a dude with a bag on his head, standing in the woods, staring at you. Similarly, 'It Follows' is built around the very simple premise of something slowly walking towards you, and never stopping. Add to that another great performance by up and comer Maika Monroe, this film has quickly become a front runner for best horror film of the 2010's."
Beth's thoughts - "This movie was amazing. It is about three Korean assassins during Japanese rule of Korea. There is a lot of action and a lot of plot in this movie, but there is also a lot of humor. There were so many twist in this movie, that I thought I knew the ending a couple of times and I was never right. I will admit this movie is not for everyone since it is subtitled and really long, however, it is right up our alley."
Brent's thoughts - "Ridley Scott directing science fiction is just about enough to crack a top ten list on its own. This film took the best ideas from 'Apollo 13,' 'Gravity' and 'Castaway' and spun them into a very compelling story built on tons of read world science. Matt Damon brings a lot of the earnestness that makes for a easy to root for leading man. The supporting cast was filled with great characters in small roles that kept each scene in the movie moving, and a montage set to David Bowie's 'Starman' sealed the deal as this for my favorite movie of the year."
For anybody not reading closely, at this point it is the WORST MOVIES OF THE YEAR.
4. Tremors 5:Bloodlines
3. The Voices
2. American Ultra
1. Fantastic Four
Beth's thoughts - "I think all five of these movies are terrible and if you have not watched them then be thankful you did not waste your time. American Ultra and Fantastic Four were both so bad that I think they deserve to be tied for the worst movie of the year. Just looking at the Fantastic Four poster makes me cringe, Miles Teller as Reed Richards was possibly the worst casting and the plot made no sense whatsoever. American Ultra did not have one single character that I liked or even believed. The other three were bad movies with The Voices being so weird that I could not get on board."
Brent's thoughts - "Our three through 10 worst movies were all bad but not what I could all time terrible. The top two movies however were the type of bad that makes me wonder how people who get paid to make movies could have ever thought they were good enough to release to the general public. Fantastic Four was essentially 80 minutes of origin story that didn't make sense with bad actors, followed by ten minutes of a fight scene that also didn't make sense and a stupider payoff. I HATED this movie."