2016 Releases

Arrival – Denis Villeneuve

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Arrival starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, and Forest Whitaker.
Photo Credit: Jan Thijs/Paramount Pictures

Canadian director Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Sicario, Incendies) has done something extraordinary. Arrival is what had been missing from the 2016 movie year and exactly what was needed, a truly unique and enormously entertaining film. Much more than the average science fiction film, Arrival takes alien encounters very seriously. Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner play the roles of acclaimed linguist Louise Banks and physicist Ian Donnelly, who are called upon by the U.S. Army to provide input on the alien visitors and their gravity-defying ship. They are tasked to find out why they came and what they want. As expected, it can be very difficult to communicate with a being that doesn’t speak or think in terms humans can understand, so they have a long and complicated road ahead if them. It’s both intriguing and entertaining to watch the story unfold.

From the get-go, Arrival is unsettling, mostly due to Jóhann Jóhannsson‘s haunting score (listen here). A generally somber mood is crafted right at the beginning with a cryptic monologue by Adams and a series of flashbacks. Most of the movie is dark and shadowy with some exceptional cinematography and sleek production design, both of which Arrival received Oscar nominations for. The acting is superb, with a striking performance by Adams, which was sadly ignored by the Academy.

Much like Villeneuve’s other films, every scene and conversation has a purpose; no screen time is wasted on cheap science fiction thrills like scary aliens or battle sequences. Arrival is as sophisticated as it is unique. There is some action and some intense moments, but overall it would almost classify as a science fiction drama. If you are in the mood for something light à la Independence Day: Resurgence , you will be very disappointed. The characters are in a race against time to solve a puzzle – in this case an alien language – where the consequences of getting it wrong could mean war.

Just shy of 120 minutes, Arrival is a great length and does not take an hour to end once things ramp up (looking at you, Return of the King). It takes you on a complex journey and holds back some key information for a big reveal that will leave you breathless and perhaps even choking back some tears. Some will even think that the movie is over too soon, that there could have been more – more explanations or more conclusions – but in the end, Arrival is as close to perfect as a film can get. Nothing is as it seems, and you’ll probably re-watch it as soon as you can to fully appreciate Villeneuve’s mastery.

The film was released in November 2016 and grossed just short of $200M worldwide.

Arrival was nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It ended up walking away with one win for sound editing.

Watch the official trailer here:

The Accountant – Gavin O’Connor

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The Accountant starring Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, and J.K. Simmons. Photo Credit: Chuck Zlotnick/Warner Bros

The Accountant starring Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, and J.K. Simmons.
Photo Credit: Chuck Zlotnick/Warner Bros

Director Gavin O’Connor doesn’t have very much to boast about in terms of past films, only 2011’s Warrior can give any sort of indication that he knows what he’s doing – and not many people saw that one – so despite the last minute marketing effort, the expectations for The Accountant were set pretty low. It could go either way, the movie could either be heavily character driven and not nearly as exciting as the previews indicated (like O’Connor’s Pride and Glory), or it could be a standard action-thriller with all the right moves. As it turns out, The Accountant was neither. The action sequences are fast-paced, satisfying, and deadly and the character development is intriguing, dramatic, and tasteful. The successful fusion of both of these genres is what makes the movie interesting and widely appealing.

Ben Affleck stars as the main character Christian Wolff, known to the U.S. Treasury Department as “the accountant”, among other aliases. He is a mathematics savant with autistic tendencies who has used his exceptional skills to provide accounting services to the criminal underworld for years, while managing to stay alive between jobs. As expected, he has his unique quirks and his ability to understand social cues is virtually non-existent, but his neurodevelopment disorder is never ridiculed or used as the brunt of the joke in The Accountant. Some scenes and exchanges are amusing, but the general “handling” of the condition (as well as its diagnosis) is in no way offensive. Christian’s other impressive skill, explained in a series of childhood flashbacks, is that he is a killing machine; of course, he only puts this to good use when the situation calls for it and when it appeals to his moral code.

When Christian takes on what is thought to be a low-key job investigating some missing money at a robotics company, things start to unravel. Both he and a fellow accountant Dana (Anna Kendrick) find themselves in a situation that calls for him to mostly use his secondary set of skills. Anna Kendrick is delightfully awkward as always and manages to compliment the mostly stoic Affleck. The plot (or plots) is a bit of a mess at times, but the conclusion mostly makes up for any mistakes along the 128-minute pathway.

The supporting cast is quite good, with John Lithgow (Interstellar) as the head of the robotics firm, J.K Simmons (Whiplash) and Cynthia Addai-Robinson as the treasury agents hot on Christian’s trail, Jon Bernthal (Sicario) as deadly hitman, and finally Jeffrey Tambor in a small role as a fellow inmate.

Critics haven’t been very impressed with The Accountant since its release on October 14, 2016, but audiences have generally found it entertaining and worth watching. It’s not your everyday garden variety action film, nor is it a boring piece solely focused on character development. While it won’t win any awards or be remembered for years to come, it takes the good parts from each genre and manages to win you over in the end.

The Accountant was a solid #1 hit in its opening weekend, bringing in over $24M domestically (U.S.A).

Watch the official trailer here:

Snowden – Oliver Stone

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Snowden starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley.

Snowden starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Zachary Quinto, Tom Wilkinson and Melissa Leo. Photo Credit: Jürgen Olczyk/Open Road Films

While some may believe Oliver Stone‘s Edward Snowden biopic was made a decade too early (the events in the film occur between 2009 and 2013), there is something to be said for presenting the story to the public while it is still relevant and while things aren’t yet resolved. The details leading up to, and the events surrounding Edward Snowden’s exposure of the U.S Government’s secretive surveillance programs was something Oliver Stone was born to direct (and write), given his penchant for politically controversial topics (the Kennedy assassination and the Vietnam war, for example). The Oscar-winning  writer-director of Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, JFK, and Nixon, to name a few, took on the challenge of capturing the story and also the essence of the man who leaked extremely classified NSA documents to journalists from The Guardian in 2013.

Snowden stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Edward Snowden, Shailene Woodley as his girlfriend Lindsay Mills, and a number of other accomplished actors as colleagues, friends, and contacts. Familiar faces such as Nicolas Cage, Melissa Leo, Zachary Quinto, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Olyphant, and Rhys Ifans are featured throughout the film in various roles. Unlike most other Oliver Stone films, Snowden will appeal to a much larger audience; it’s not as slow-moving or as long as some of his more famous films (which can range anywhere from 2 hrs to a whopping 3 hrs and 12 mins).  The topics presented in the film may be complex, but they are explained clearly and certainly spark a sense of alarm and disbelief as the far-reach of the government is presented before your eyes. As one can expect from a movie like this, the world of coding and hacking is displayed in a stylish manner – all flashing lights and visual effects – which generally appeals to everyone aside from computer nerds who tend to know better.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt became Edward Snowden in this film. His mannerisms, his speech, even his look is completely captured almost to the point where it becomes creepy. It takes a moment to adjust to the new voice and to stop thinking of it just as an actor’s “really good impression”, but rather a performance – a full embodiment of the character Edward Snowden. It’s a complex thing to try to show the internal struggle of a man torn between being patriotic and doing (what he perceived as) the right thing for his fellow man. The other actors do a great job in their supporting roles, but the focus stays on the subject at hand – Snowden. Even though you know how it ends, the film remains captivating and does not drag on (which tends to happen when a movie pushes past a 2 hr runtime).

It can be argued that the film only shows one side of the story and doesn’t take into account the potentially dangerous implications of Snowden’s actions, but it’s the side that needed telling just the same. A striking number of people don’t know the story, or even that it happened in the first place (which is even more shocking); so aside from the Oscar-winning documentary Citizenfour, this is the next best thing to get to know the man behind one of the biggest security breaches in United States intelligence.

Snowden was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival in early September 2016 and its wide theatrical release was September 16, 2016. The official runtime is 134 minutes.

Watch the official trailer here:

The Lobster – Yorgos Lanthimos

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The Lobster starring Colin Farrell, John C. Reilly,Ben Whishaw, and Rachel Weisz Photo Credit: Despina Spyrou/A24

The Lobster starring Colin Farrell, John C. Reilly,Ben Whishaw, and Rachel Weisz
Photo Credit: Despina Spyrou/A24

In the eyes of movie critics, The Lobster is a marvel, it’s both hilarious and thought-provoking; to the average movie-goer who is unacquainted with the strangeness of film festival movies, The Lobster can be summed up with one word: weird. Depending on your preference when it comes to movies, this can be either good or bad. In a dystopian state, Colin Farrell plays David, a man trying to find a mate within 45 days lest he be turned into the animal of his choosing – in this case, a lobster. The movie is just as strange as it sounds and the only saving grace is that the premise and the characters are so odd and so serious, that you can’t help but laugh at the peculiarity of it all. The Lobster is both a drama and a dark comedy. All lines are delivered dead-pan (there is no such thing as a smirk or a smile) and the supporting cast of John C. Reilly, Rachel Weisz, Léa Seydoux, and Ben Whishaw help to propel the film toward its even stranger second-half.

While it didn’t win the Palme D’Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival (the highest prize awarded at the festival), it did win the third-most prestigious prize, the Jury Prize. Unfortunately, this puts The Lobster in the company of films the average person has never even heard of. Historically, only a small number of films that do well at prestigious film festivals such as the ones in Cannes and Toronto  become Oscar contenders with wide theatre audiences and big box office numbers. The Lobster isn’t likely to be one of those given a wide release, but it may get some love come awards season, given the interesting performance by Colin Farrell. Forty pounds heavier and sporting a thick moustache and generic haircut, Colin Farrell is impressive as the defeated, droopy, un-charismatic David.

A movie like The Lobster can only really be recommended to those who appreciate two hours of really dark humour, artistic camerawork, and a uniquely strange plot.  The style is not unlike Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom), but in this case it is even less mainstream and the comedy in The Lobster isn’t exactly “obvious”. Those who truly “get it” will likely find it to be a brilliant, witty, and unconventional satire unlike any other.

Whether The Lobster is just a quirky film with quirky characters or a deeper, social commentary on the pressures of being single and the ludicrousness of applying rules and systems where they do not belong, is entirely up to the viewer. One thing is for certain, though, you’ve never seen anything like it.

The Lobster can now be rented or purchased through Apple.

Watch the official trailer here:

Independence Day: Resurgence – Roland Emmerich

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Independence Day: Resurgence starring Jeff Goldblum. Liam Hemsworth, Bill Pullman, Jessie Usher, and William Fichtner. Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox

Independence Day: Resurgence starring Jeff Goldblum, Liam Hemsworth, Bill Pullman, William Fichtner, and Sela Ward.
Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox

Alien invasions shouldn’t be complicated. The premise of 1996’s Independence Day starring Will Smith, Bill Pullman, and Jeff Goldblum couldn’t have been any simpler: aliens found us, they want to destroy us. Period. The effects in the movie were cutting edge but it mostly relied on the characters. No one can deny it was ridiculous and far too long, but at least it had substance. Twenty years later, squeals of delight were unmistakable when the trailer for Independence Day: Resurgence was revealed. Everyone (well, almost) was coming back! Time for America to kick some more alien ass on behalf of the planet! It had so much promise. Unfortunately, twenty years of technology and overthinking by original director/writer Roland Emmerich took over and the movie turned into some overblown, overloaded, CG-dominated, hollow train wreck. The fact that it (somehow) took five writers to develop the script is nothing short of baffling.

Newcomers to the Independence Day sequel include Liam Hemsworth, Jesse T. Usher, and Maika Monroe. They’re the young ones to draw in the new crowd, but they don’t really get the opportunity to offer up much more than their pretty faces. The old cast is there for pure nostalgia and to make the movie a true sequel. Jeff Goldblum is always a delight, and twenty years hasn’t made him any less funny as David Levinson, the guy who always finds a way to beat the aliens. David’s very Jewish father (Judd Hirsch) also makes an appearance, Yiddish slang and all. At first it actually seems quite remarkable how many original characters make a comeback, but less impressive when you think of how many blockbuster opportunities they would have had in the past twenty years (psst, the answer is “not many”). The result still has its fun moments, but is only mildly entertaining.

To say the story line is complex and convoluted is an understatement; there’s so much going on that you generally stop caring past a certain point. If the whole point was to make it “bigger” than the original, then they definitely succeeded. But “bigger” doesn’t always mean better. Independence Day: Resurgence explores the reasons why the aliens come back; it turns out it’s for the Earth’s core and – big surprise – to destroy the planet! What you get in the end is a flurry of fighter jet chases, a display of way too much alien-derived earth (and moon) technology, entire cities picked up and slammed back down, tsunamis (à la San Andreas), destroyed landmarks, and a clumsy attempt at a deeper plot involving a giant alien queen  and a mystical white sphere. The only saving grace is that this film is 2 hrs instead of 2 and a half, but somehow it still feels just as long.

Unfortunately what made Independence Day great in 1996 is exactly what Independence Day: Resurgence lacks. Some audiences may still be able to derive some escapism pleasure from it all, but most will wish they left the original to stand on its own. All of a sudden Will Smith seems like the smart one here for not taking part in this mess.  Then again, he can afford to turn down a summer blockbuster role from time to time.

Independence Day: Resurgence was released in theatres on June 24, 2016 and has since taken home more than $300M worldwide.

Watch the official trailer here:

The Nice Guys – Shane Black

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The Nice Guys starring Ryan Gosling, Russell Crowe, and Angourie Rice.

The Nice Guys starring Ryan Gosling, Russell Crowe, and Angourie Rice.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

The humour is clever – but not too clever – the violence is plentiful, and both are hilariously random. The Nice Guys centers around an unlikely pairing, a sleazy private investigator Holland March  (Ryan Gosling) and an independent enforcer Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe), who work together to find a young woman at the centre of some convoluted plot. It’s a buddy film where the buddies don’t really get along, which makes sense when you consider the other films written by the writer-director Shane Black: the Lethal Weapon movies and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. You may also remember the sharp dialogue between Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) and the young boy (Ty Simpkins, who happens to be in the opening scene) in Iron Man 3 – which was arguably the best part of the film – well, that was also Shane Black.

Ryan Gosling can do tragic romance (The Notebook), he can do romantic comedy (Crazy, Stupid, Love), he can do artsy, indie quirkiness (Lars and the Real Girl), he can do serious drama (Half Nelson, Blue Valentine) and now it’s clear that he can do slapstick comedy. He falls, he squeals, he gets drunk, he makes mistake after mistake, and it’s absolutely delightful. His actions most of the time leave his unlikely partner Healy in awe of his stupidity (much like Val Kilmer and Robert Downey, Jr. in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang). Their chemistry, however, is undeniable. To make up for March’s terrible investigative skills and his affinity for booze, his daughter Holly (newcomer, Angourie Rice) is also a prominent feature, working her way into most scenes with the two men. She is a great addition and certainly holds her own on the screen; she’s someone to watch for. Kim Basinger also makes a brief appearance in a supporting role.

The storyline, set in 1977 Los Angeles, is rife with craziness and absurdity; it’s all so ridiculous that it makes you giddy. Not everyone will enjoy this type of loose humour, but those who do will be laughing out loud. It is a completely different breed to action comedies like Deadpool, where the laughs are all gained from quick one-liners and fast talking comedians thinking of new ways to swear (also, grossing close to $800M worldwide…). In The Nice Guys, the jokes are more quirky and less in-your-face; you laugh because you aren’t sure what else to do.

The Nice Guys is rated R in the U.S. and 14:A in Canada for nudity, coarse language, violence, and sexual content. There’s enough of it to make some parents uncomfortable, so (young) family viewing isn’t recommended. The film is just shy of 2 hours, which is a nice change from the summer blockbusters currently in theatres.

The Nice Guys was released in North America on May 20, 2016 and can still be found in theatres.

Watch the official trailer here:

Eye in the Sky – Gavin Hood

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Eye in the Sky starring Helen Mirren, Alan Rickman, and Aaron Paul. Photo Credit:

Eye in the Sky starring Helen Mirren, Alan Rickman, and Aaron Paul.
Photo Credit: Keith Bernstein/Bleecker Street

To strike or not to strike, that is the big question. Eye in the Sky is a thriller that puts both the characters and the audience in an uncomfortable position regarding a seemingly simple drone strike. A group of well-known terrorists are meeting in a house in an inaccessible area and are gearing up for an activity that involves a couple suicide vests, the answer here is easy – take them out.

The colonel in charge of setting up the mission in the friendly country of Kenya (Helen Mirren) has been tracking a British born terrorist for years and finally has the ability to take her out, along with a group of other terrorists, including a new American recruit. When the mission takes an unexpected turn from “capture” to “kill”, things get a little more complicated when a young girl wanders into the kill zone. The film shows the various government officials and their advisers (Alan Rickman, Iain Glen), the drone pilot (Aaron Paul), and the local ground team (Barkhad Abdi) struggling with the decision to risk the little girl’s life for the greater good.

For the American government and the British colonel, the presence of the little girl does not change anything; the suicide bombers are likely going to endanger or kill a much larger population in the very near future, so it is best to fire the missile and contain the situation. The others are more worried about the moral and political consequences of murdering a little girl in a friendly country. Eye in the Sky works you into a panic because time is constantly running out, the decision has to be made; the trouble is, no one wants to be the one to make the decision. It is undoubtedly a dark subject, but echoes of Kubrick’s satirical Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb work their way in as frustrations and the passing of the buck border on ridiculous. It is a nail-biting, frustrating, and darkly amusing film that most people would enjoy, as long as they are prepared to feel drained and little guilty afterwards.

Helen Mirren and Alan Rickman (in his final performance before his death) are the veterans, their characters know what needs to be done and they struggle to stress the need for urgency. Their combined talent as actors help to convey the utter  preposterousness of the situation, which often results in a few snickers from the audience. Aaron Paul delivers a great performance as the drone pilot faced with potentially killing an innocent bystander, and ultimately the one who will have to live with the blood on his hands – even though he is safe in Las Vegas, thousands of miles away from the target. Eye in the Sky is Barkhad Abdi’s first movie after his oscar-nominated performance in Captain Phillips and he nails the small-but-important role as the critical man on the ground in Nairobi.

It is a pretty tense 102 minutes and Eye in the Sky takes advantage of every one of them. It is ultimately the perfect length for a movie like this and Gavin Hood (Tsotsi) should be applauded for smoothly showing the story from multiple points of view. You will not leave satisfied with the end result, but that is the whole point. Eye in the Sky should spark a much bigger discussion: What would you do?

Drone strikes are  certainly the future of modern warfare and have already been used successfully (and unsuccessfully) overseas. There’s always the debate of the ethicality of being able to  wage war from the comfort and darkness of our military bases and boardrooms, and killing multiple people by the push of a button thousands of miles away. Light and reality are conveniently always on the other side of the door. In the end, Eye in the Sky makes this connection with precision.

Eye in the Sky was released in theatres April 1, 2016 and showtimes can still be found in a select few theatres in many cities.

Watch the official trailer here:

The Jungle Book (2016) – Jon Favreau

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The Jungle Book (2016) starring Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, and Ben Kingsley.
Photo Credit: Disney

The Jungle Book will make you feel like a kid again and make you believe in the fantastical, even if just for a couple of hours. You will see talking animals and will never think twice, you will see a young boy running through the jungle, hopping through trees, and you will never balk.  Nothing could be more real.

Despite what your eyes and heart may think, Jon Favreau‘s big budget Disney movie was filmed entirely in an L.A. studio. The only “real” element of The Jungle Book is Mowgli, played by newcomer Neel Sethi in his Hollywood debut. And what a debut! The fact that he was interacting with hand puppets and a blue screen most of the time is simply astonishing, especially for a 12-year old with no acting experience. He certainly holds his own as the star of the movie and looks every bit the part of Mowgli, the young boy raised by wolves in the thick of the jungle.

The all-star cast providing the voices for the animals includes: Bill Murray (Baloo), Ben Kingsley (Bagheera), Idris Elba (Shere Khan), Christopher Walken (King Louie), Lupita Nyong’o (Raksha), and Scarlett Johansson (Kaa). Each actor was absolutely perfect for their character and brought them, literally, to life in such a way that did justice to the original movie. You might be one of the lucky ones who giggles like a child when Bill Murray breaks into a subdued version of “The Bare Necessities” and Christopher Walken sings “I Wanna Be Like You” in his universally recognizable voice. It was a necessary risk to add a couple of the original musical numbers and it paid off, especially for the adults who were hoping to hear at least a couple notes.

There’s no doubt that The Jungle Book will appeal to almost everybody, from young to old; from a child who has never seen The Jungle Book (1967) to the adult who remembers seeing it in theatres. The only warning is that some scenes might be too intense or scary for really young children, and if you’re terrified of snakes you might want to close your eyes when you hear Scarlett Johansson’s husky voice.

One thing is for certain, Jon Favreau has an immense appreciation and respect for both the 1967 Disney classic and Rudyard Kipling’s stories; and it shows. The Jungle Book is 21st century magic.

The Jungle Book has grossed nearly $800M worldwide since it’s release on April 15, 2016.

Watch the official trailer here:

Watch this truly remarkable behind the scenes featurette:

10 Cloverfield Lane – Dan Trachtenberg

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10 Cloverfield Lane starring John Goodman and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Photo Credit: Michele K. Short / Paramount Pictures

10 Cloverfield Lane starring John Goodman and Mary Elizabeth Winstead.
Photo Credit: Michele K. Short / Paramount Pictures

10 Cloverfield Lane may have nothing to do with J.J Abram’s original Cloverfield (2008), but it is one hell of a movie just the same.  It was released in March 2016 with virtually no build-up and no press. Produced by J.J Abrams (Star Trek, Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Directed by the unknown Dan Trachtenberg, and marketed as a “blood relative” to Cloverfield, 10 Cloverfield Lane has received a lot of praise so far and is definitely a good start to 2016.

There are three characters in this movie and the whole thing takes place in an elaborate underground bunker. While this may not sound exciting, the whole atmosphere and the constant state of anxiety will have your stomach in knots for just over an hour and 45 minutes. Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) wakes up after a bad accident and finds herself locked in a bunker with no idea how she got there and why she is seemingly being held against her will. Howard (John Goodman) is the man keeping her there. He is quick to anger and his motives aren’t quite clear; there’s just something “off” about him and you know he can’t be trusted. Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.) is the third person in the bunker and is thankfully a little more light-hearted. As the movie progresses you find out a bit more about why they’re in the bunker, but you never really know until the very end. It’s an intense ride and a unique type of thriller that doesn’t come around very often. Avoid spoilers at all costs.

John Goodman’s performance in 10 Cloverfield Lane is superb and possibly a career best. He is easily the most terrifying part of the movie, which is certainly out of the ordinary for the man best known for The Big Lebowski and Rosanne. Some of his scenes will leave you wide-eyed in shock. The underlying sense of dread remains constant until the last few moments of the movie when all is revealed. People who are squeamish and quick to scare likely won’t enjoy themselves as much as those who prefer a good thriller. Calling 10 Cloverfield Lane a horror movie is a bit of a stretch, but there are certainly some elements of that genre present throughout the film. Thankfully the found-footage style of Cloverfield was abandoned for this movie, but it is filmed in a way that will make you feel cramped, like you’re with them breathing the same stale air in the bunker the whole time.

10 Cloverfield Lane has been in theatres for just under a month and has already racked in over $80M worldwide. Check out local listings to see it on the big screen before it’s too late.

Watch the official trailer here: