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.
Continue reading Vacation (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.
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).
The most unexpected surprise movie of 2015 was the incredibly well-written and well-acted The End of the Tour. While 
Why not save the best for last? It doesn’t always work out that way, but The Revenant was the final movie released in 2015. In fact, except in a few select theaters in a few select cities, you couldn’t see the film until January 7th. Was it worth the wait? It was. We’ve seen trailers for months building this movie up. Each time I saw a preview, I couldn’t help but get excited. This may have been my most anticipated movie since