Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs directed by Danny Boyle, starring Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seith Rogen, and Jess Daniels.

This is a gimmick movie in that it takes place in three separate times of Steve Jobs life, that of a certain launch of a product.  Then the movie weaves a story of around the character of those three launches.  I like how this movie does a warts and all reveal of Jobs, showing his genius and jack ass mentality in equal measure.  This gimmick works in wonderful ways and is used as more staging pieces and visual ques than anything else.

The actors in this movie are what make this movie sing and worth watching.  Everyone involved brings their A-game as this movie is basically a character study of Steve Jobs and the people around him.  Seth Rogen does his best acting since I've seen him acting, and that's saying something from me, because I'm not the biggest Rogen fan in the world.  But this movie belongs to Michael Fassbender and Kate Winslet who are just amazing in every scene they are in.  Playing off of each other in wonderful ways and prove that acting is just more than memorizing and saying lines.  They both embody their characters and breath life into them.  

Watch for the gimmick of the structure but stay for the acting, it is well worth it.   

The Revenant

The Revenant directed by Alejandro G. Inarritu, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, and Domhall Gleeson.

Easily better than Inarritu's previous movie Birdman and one of the most visually stunning movies I've seen in a long time.  This movie needs to be seen at least once because there's no other movie out there that's even like this one.  This movie is one of kind as it rests on a revenge plot: man versus man.  But this movie also has the man versus nature element of it that truly sets it apart from other movies of this genre.  Character is here but not much depth as the man versus nature aspect of the story dominates the entire movie but not in a bad way by any stretch of those words.  This is one of the best man versus nature movies I've ever seen.   

The reality on display is simply amazing as the production and costume design fully step up to their game to compliment the reality trying to be conveyed.  

This movie completely transported me to the pioneer era it was representing as it did a no holds bar visualization of that time period.  Much like 2001: A Space Odyssey, the medium is the message here as the visuals convey the entire story.  What visuals are on display.  The landscape becomes a solid character in this movie, much like the monolith was a character in 2001.  It's brutality on full display in every frame but yet the harshness of that brutality is weighed against the beauty of the wilderness.  Nature isn't evil as it is fighting against man as much as man is fighting against it.

Yes, the bear attack scene was intense in it's viciousness and sudden-ness so much so that when it was over I watched it again and was still amazed at it a second time around.  The only other scene that compares to this is when the main character has to survive a blizzard and gets into his dead horse for warmth.  Both of these scenes in their gory, bloody detail show not only a will to survive but further establishes the landscape as a character, showing the viewer that the landscape is more than woods and snow.  There is more out there than just what a person can see and that something isn't evil but is just part of life and how a person survives is up them. 

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice directed by Zack Snyder, starring Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Laurence Fishburne, Gal Gadot, Holly Hunter, and Jeremy Irons.

The title of this movie alone foreshadows everything that is wrong with this movie and most likely everything that will be wrong with future installments of this "series" of "connected" movies.  I don't think it will be the Dawn of Justice but in reality will be the Dawn of Messiness, Sloppiness, and Impatience.   

This is DC's attempt to catch up with Marvel, it stalls right out of the gate, and falls flat on it's face.  There is no patience here. There is only a madcap scramble to catch Marvel and this movie reeks of that dash, instead of doing a patient world building, which these characters desperately need.

Blame the screenplay and writers for the movie being this bad, bloated mess it turned out to be.  DC's whole philosophy for connecting movies and continuity seems to be lets throw everything at the screen, see what sticks, and then weave it all together.  I feel sorry for all the actors involved in this "project" because there is a good series lurking in this mess, if it only had the time to develop, then I think it would be rather exciting.  But unfortunately all development seems to be regulated to how comic continuity is handled these days - meaning none at all with only pretensions of it being there.  All that is left of any continuity are shadows made by ghosts.

All the trouble I had with Man of Steele is just amplified here.  What we have is a bunch of good actors just sidelined to running around, staring at things, and reacting to things.  There's not a lot of scenes where they are acting together, with these caliber of actors all in the same movie that's a real crime, and the movie is severely lacking because of it.  Without this focus on character there's no investment into anything they are doing.  DC seems to be on welfare investment - relying on previous knowledge or unrelated movies as the groundwork for these characters.  They haven't worked for anything and don't really seem all interested in working for anything.

I will say this though, Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman was a pure revelation in this movie.  She stole every scene she was in - the few she was in - and her only down fall was that she wasn't in enough scenes.  I really hope they do well by her movie but as they previous track record seems to be, I doubt it will be all that good.

Daredevil Season 2

Daredevil Season 2 starring Charlie Cox, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Vincent D'Onofrio, John Bernthal, Royce Johnson, Rosario Dawson, and Elodie Yung.

I'm just going to say this once again as I've been saying it since Marvel started producing it's own property: Marvel has done it again.

Completely addicting this season turned out to be as it further explored these characters with such a depth that it should shame normal dramas since this is basically a comic book show. 

I've never liked the Punisher as a character but this drama series brought life to a character that I always thought was rather a one trick pony.  They completely fleshed him out and really made me want to see more of him, know about this history, and his future.  It also helped that John Bernthal played him with such an energy and commitment making him a convincing and sympathetic character, who's character is basically out for revenge.  Then throw in Elecktra who just sparkled with a fire and energy, as she played well off of Charlie Cox's Daredevil.  This show had everything this season as it further wove the tapestry of the world building of Daredevil.  Even the secondary characters got plenty of time to shine in the light. 

Good series looking forward to more seasons.

Killing Floor

Killing Floor written by Lee Child.

I really liked the movie Jack Reacher with Tom Cruise so I thought I'd give the first book in the series a try.  Not a bad book but not overly great, a good way to pass the time but I would watch the movie over reading the book.  This book isn't what the movie is based but I felt the movie did a better job of a story line.  The story line for this book wasn't that great and I could see most of the plot devices and story twists happening a mile away, which made this book feel real long and the pacing slow.  I don't plan on reading an more in the series after this book because it didn't engage me enough to want to read any more but I do plan on seeing more movies of Jack Reacher as long as Tom Cruise is still playing the character. I like his take on the character. 

Not bad for a Summer read though just not good enough to want to read more.

Creed

Creed directed by Ryan Coogler, starring Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone.

A good continuation of the Rocky movie.  Nothing really new here, though which is OK.  All the typical themes, motifs, and story plot points are all hit here but the main character played by Michael B. Jordan does a wonderful job of selling this movie.  His charisma and acting ability alone are worth watching this movie for as he continues to prove he was no fluke in the little known movie Chronicle and every other movie he's been in since that one.  This movie is odd in that it's like a reboot but yet not one that feels gimmicky.  This reboot feels more organic in tone than most which feel more forced.  Not a classic movie by an means but a good one to pass the time and a good continuation of the Rocky franchise.

Sleeping with Other People

Sleeping with Other People written and directed by Leslye Headland, starring Alison Brie, Jason Sudeikis, Adam Scott, Jason Mantzoukas, Margarita Levieva, and Amanda Peet.

Romantic comedies are only made good by two things: chemistry and character.  This movie has both of those as it further explores the themes brought up with When Harry Met Sally, that is can a man and woman just be friends without having sex.  The answer is obviously no but Alison Brie and Jason Sudeikis share some wonderful scenes together as their chemistry sparkles along with their distinct personalities.  A good romantic movie if not a little more crude on some levels than normal, not in a shocking, gross out comedy way but in a real life conversational type of way that doesn't feel exploitative, only more natural like two friends just talking things through, and that fits in perfectly with the movie.