The Walk, the 2015 film starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt (500 Days of Summer, Don John), put director Robert Zemeckis back into the driver’s seat of the unique, quirky, character-driven drams he is best known for. While he can do the heavier dramas quite effectively (Flight, Cast Away, Contact), we remember him less for these movies than some of his other movies. Known for his ability to incorporate technology while still telling emotional stories, The Walk does just that. After looking at his filmography, I see that this is the first movie Zemeckis has ever directed based on a true story. He does a good job. While The Walk is not one of the 20 best movies of 2015, it is entertaining, and many more people will leave the movie liking it than disliking it.
Category Archives: Genre
Love & Mercy (2015)
Love & Mercy, the Brian Wilson biopic that shows two time periods of The Beach Boys’ life’s most recognizable face, is one of the most underrated movies of 2015. Forget whatever you know or think you know about Brian Wilson. For me, that was absolutely nothing. I knew he was a member of The Beach 
Boys, but that was about it. After seeing this movie, I’m not really a fan of The Beach Boys, but I have a new appreciation for the band, especially for Brian Wilson. While the band is known for its carefree car tunes like Surfin USA, I Get Around, and California Girls, not all were as peachy as I thought. I’ve always considered The Beach Boys one of those bands that didn’t have a lot of substance in their songs. Not being a Mr. Happy Go Lucky type guy and having been to the beaches of California only a couple of times, I couldn’t relate to their music like I could a Tom Petty or Bruce Springsteen. Their songs, to me, were just that. Peachy. While I will not go out and buy their entire anthology, I will listen to some of their songs, which I might not have in the past. Initially, I had no intention of seeing this movie. I thought it was a documentary at first. But I’m glad I decided to see it. Every fan of the band and everyone who enjoys a good biopic should go out and see this movie.
45 Years (2015)
I drank the Kool-Aid on this one. In many previous reviews, I discussed who would receive the five Best Actress Academy Award nominations. I kept including Charlotte Rampling (Melancholia, The Eye of the Storm) as one of the five based on everything I had been reading. I regret including her name, but, in my defense, January 29th was my first chance to see 45 Years. I saw it a day later and am uncertain what I just saw. I love heavy dramas and movies about broken relationships. I also like slow, methodical movies if they are building towards something. The pieces were in place for 45 Years, but this movie ultimately didn’t do it for me. I realize I am in the minority when I give it a less-than-average review. Nevertheless, it earned a stellar 96% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Intern (2015)
It’s a good feeling when a fading legend proves that he still has something left to give. Robert De Niro (Cape Fear, Taxi Driver) is one of the most accomplished and legendary actors of all time, having earned seven Academy Award nominations for acting, including two wins (The Godfather: Part II, Raging Bull). He has proved that he can be successful across many genres, including drama (The Deer Hunter, Cop Land), comedy (Analyze This, Wag the Dog), action/adventure (Midnight Run, Ronin), and mystery/suspense (Heat, Sleepers), to name a few. He can play some of the most likable characters we’ve ever seen (Leonard Lowe in Awakenings, Jack Byrnes in Meet the Parents) as well as some of the most reprehensible, violent, and hostile characters who we will never forget (Max Cady in Cape Fear, Ace Rothstein in Casino, Al Capone in The Untouchables and many, many more).
Vacation (2015)
Forget what the critics say (27% on Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB Metascore 34/100). If you like the National Lampoon’s Vacation movies, you’ll enjoy the Ed Helms (The Hangover, television’s The Office) led Vacation. It follows the same formula as the other movies in the series, and it has Ed Helms! Ed Helms is one of the funniest men in Hollywood! He took his bit part in the middle half of The Office and made it impossible for the writers not to keep him. With respect to Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, and Jenna Fischer, The Office became Ed Helms’ show once Steve Carell exited. Even when his movies miss (The Hangover Part III, The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard), it’s not because of him. He keeps these terrible movies from becoming complete zeroes. So, how does he do as a grown-up Rusty Griswold with all the nuances of his father, Clark (Chevy Chase – Spies Like Us, Three Amigos), and his mother, Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo – Coal Miner’s Daughter, American History X)? He doesn’t miss at all. Instead, he crushes it in 2015’s comedy of the year.