Category Archives: Year of Release

2015, Comedy, Drama, James Marsden, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Joan Cusack, Kristin Wiig, Linda Cardellini, Shira Piven, Tim Robbins, Welcome to Me, Wes Bentley

Welcome to Me (2015)

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Kristin Wiig (Bridesmaids, The Skeleton Twins) got off to a bit of a late start in her movie career. Still, the hilarious Saturday Night Live alum is making up for lost time and immersing herself in as many unique roles as possible. In my opinion, the funniest female cast member in the history of SNL isn’t allowing herself to be typecast like so many of her predecessors (both male and female) by basically starring in full-length versions of the skits they performed on television. In recent years, many alumni (especially the females like Amy Poehler and Tina Fey) are establishing themselves as legit, in it for the long run actors, writers, directors, and producers. Many of the three names mentioned in this paragraph will rank the talents as 1) Fey, 2) Poehler, and 3) Wiig. I may be in the minority when I say Wiig is my favorite of the three, followed shortly by Fey. For me, while super-talented, Poehler is a distant third.
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2014, Adam Levine, Begin Again, Comedy, Drama, Hailee Steinfeld, James Corden, John Carney, Keira Knightley, Mark Ruffalo, Musical and Performing Arts, Yasiin Bey

Begin Again (2014)

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Begin Again had all of the makings of a great movie. It had an all-star cast with Mark Ruffalo, Keira Knightley, Hailee Steinfeld, and Catherine Keener (in addition to Maroon 5’s Adam Levine). It had a fantastic soundtrack (with most of the songs sung by Knightley). But most importantly, it was tying itself to John Carney, screenwriter/director’s 2007 gem Once, perhaps the most incredible “musical and performing arts” movie that you’ve never heard. I started off liking this movie so much. After 30 minutes, I felt confident it would be as good as, if not better, than Once. The problem was that as believable as Once felt, this movie felt unbelievable by its third act. It was a movie that stretched so far past the idea of a feel-good story that you really couldn’t at all take it seriously. If I had to break down the three acts, I would give Act One an A, Act Two a C, and Act Three a D (based on the implausibility of not just the last act itself, but because it doesn’t effectively bring resolution to any of the issues the characters are dealing with in the first two acts of the film). This movie reminded me of August Rush, but, to be honest, I’d have to watch August Rush again to see if that’s a fair assessment. I do remember wanting to like August Rush much more than I did.
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2015, Action, Adventure, B.D. Wong, Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pratt, Colin Trevorrow, Fantasy, Irfan Khan, Jurassic World, Nick Robinson, Science Fiction, Suspense, Ty Simpkins, Vincent D'Onofrio

Jurassic World (2015)

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It’s been 12 years since we last saw the Tyrannosaurus Rex tearing up the supposedly revamped dinosaur park in Jurassic Park III. While much better than the 50% rating it earned on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie pretty much signaled the end of the franchise. Gone were Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum. There was talk over the last decade to reinvigorate the series, but nothing ever materialized. Then came the move to call this Jurassic World rather than Jurassic Park IV and add all new players to the game. Had this movie been released in 2005 (to continue the pattern of every three years), I think this movie would have stunk. Even with its 2015 release date, it still could have stunk. But it didn’t stink. It wasn’t the original (93% on Rotten Tomatoes and $350 million domestically + another $50 million on re-release in 2013, not to mention the millions it earned overseas and through rentals). However, it was still very, very good. I’ll go as far as to say that if this was the first movie with Jurassic in the name that it would have earned higher than its respectable 71% on Rotten Tomatoes. With over $200 million drawn on opening weekend, it’s likely to smash any of its predecessors at the box office (by contrast, Jurassic Park earned just $50 million in its first weekend). Regardless, I felt that if the movie received a rating of over 65% fresh, it would probably do very well at the ticket office. I didn’t think it would do this good. But I feel like it deserves its positive reviews and its revenue. It was a very entertaining movie and one that I recommend seeing on the big screen.
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2005, Anand Tucker, Claire Danes, Comedy, Drama, Hidden Gems, Jason Schwartzman, Romance, Shopgirl, Steve Martin, Top 10 Movie of 2005

Shopgirl (2005)

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Long before Claire Danes started earning multiple Emmy Awards as the bipolar Carrie Mathison on Showtime’s knock-out series Homeland, she was starring in lesser-known, independent movies like Brokedown Palace, Igby Goes Down, and 2005’s completely underappreciated Shopgirl. I watched this movie for the first time back in 2008 or 2009 and was blown away by how awesome and authentic it felt. This was long before Homeland. I have since watched every episode of Homeland (including seasons 1 and 2 twice each), so it was cool to re-watch Shopgirl, knowing everything that I know about the character she plays on the television show that earned her fame. Ironically I thought this was the first movie that Steve Martin (Parenthood, Three Amigos!) wrote. It turns out he’s written dozens of films (including Three Amigos!, Roxanne, LA Story, The Jerk, and Bowfinger), but this was the first real non-comedy that he wrote. Maybe the difference was that with Shopgirl was that he wrote the novel in addition to the screenplay. And let me say that he did a great job. I had a couple of problems (which I will include below), but for the most part, he killed it. I would not read this review unless you’ve seen this movie. It’s going to be chock-full of spoilers. I would love to hear what you think about it if you have seen it. If you haven’t, stop reading now and check out the movie.
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2014, Anthony Kelley, Brie Larson, Crime, Drama, Jessica Lange, John Goodman, Michael K. Williams, Rupert Wyatt, Suspense, The Gambler

The Gambler (2014)

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Rupert Wyatt’s (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Star Trek 3) The Gambler is a movie that should have done better both with critics and at the box office. Accruing just $33 million domestically and a 46% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, this movie deserved a better fate. Sure it has its flaws, but 98% of all movies do. One factor against The Gambler was that it wasn’t striking the right audience. The first preview of this movie was a quick 30-second throwaway commercial during a ball game. I do not recall seeing a more extended trailer for this movie in the theater. When I did see the television commercial, it made it seem like it was a shoot ’em up action flick. That’s not what it was at all. I’ll say that this was one of Mark Wahlberg’s (Lone Survivor, The Perfect Storm) finest performances to date. I know Wahlberg is hit or miss with many people, but the man has talent. He has proven he can successfully do drama (The Fighter, Three Kings, Rock Star),  crime (The Departed, Four Brothers), comedy (The Other Guys, Date Night), and action (Shooter, The Italian Job, and a host of others). Wahlberg can play a good guy as well as he can a bad guy. But rarely does he play a vulnerable character or a character that doesn’t look like an all-star for a least a good chunk of the movie. Without revealing too much, I will say that this is one of Wahlberg’s most insecure and vulnerable characters. It’s also a role he doesn’t overplay, which, I think, would have been very easy to do. While I didn’t love everything about this movie, I certainly liked it. I would recommend it to all Wahlberg fans or fans looking for a light drama, light crime movie that you don’t have to overthink or take too seriously to enjoy.
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