Wednesday, January 20, 2016

"13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi" Review

An Open Letter to Michael Bay - Play to your strengths. Your films are excess: glorious, gleefully stupid excess. Stick to explosions; stick to one-liners; stick to ridiculous caricatures. Look at your best movies: The Rock, Pain & Gain, Bad Boys, hell, I'll stick up for Armageddon. They don't take themselves seriously; they bask in the world of madness you facilitate and work as adult live-action cartoons. Play to your strengths. Historical tragedy is not one of them.

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi tells the story of the attack on a diplomatic U.S. compound in the Libyan city of Benghazi on Sept 11 and 12, 2012. Among the four Americans killed was the Libyan ambassador, Christopher Stevens. The movie follows a six-men security team as they work to protect employees of the nearby CIA annex from hordes of terrorists. 
The movie suffers from coming after a string of war films, namely Lone Survivor, Fury, and American Sniper, whose stories took more risks and were executed well. Here, writer Chuck Hogan sticks to archetypes - the soldier with a pregnant wife, the soldier who clowns around on the job, the nebbish chief who knows nothing other than protocol, etc. - and structures the film like a video game, where our heroes swap aimless dialogue before a wave of indiscriminate terrorists charge their position. Rinse and repeat.


Some directors can work around such a script, but Bay is content to use the same moves from '95. He shoots our heroes in a tilt from below; he never stops moving the camera, loading up as much of the frame as possible; he rarely lets an explosion slide without a wide shot for us to revel in the fire. We've seen it in Bad Boys, we've seen it in Transformers, we've even seen it in the properties he produces, like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014). Enough is enough. I'm not against calling cards; from a Tarantino fan, that'd be hypocrisy. However, Tarantino's signature moves - the trunk shot, tweaking genres, mixing in elements from older movies - work for two reasons.

With every movie, he gives his style a new context. In Pulp Fiction, the trunk holds Jules' and Vincent's guns, is a twist on the blue-collar worker pulling out their tools for work. In Kill Bill, the trunk holds a gagged and bloodied Sofie Fatale, the scene changing into a potential execution. With Michael Bay, the wide shot for the explosion makes the same comment every time: "Woah, that's massive!" His trademarks aren't integrated into the narrative to distinguish the storytelling.

Tarantino's moves also work because they're not only directed, but written, produced, and in some cases, acted by, him. People claim Tarantino's movies live in the same universe, and considering that, excluding Jackie Brown,  his films are original stories, he has more of a luxury to live in his own head and project his viewpoints on-screen. Bay has made adaptations of Transformers, and with Pearl Harbor and 13 Hours, retold historical events. With an adaptation of some visual media, there's already an expectation of style, of look, that when Bay's mannerisms get into it, betrays the original aesthetic of the property. With historical events, the expectation is based on news footage, previous reports, and the calling cards distract us from the story and remind us who's behind the wheel.

The performances are solid; John Krasinski carries some dramatic heft, and I did enjoy Pablo Schreiber, even if some of his comedy was out of place. The main actors have chemistry, and given stronger characters, would better sell the brotherhood of war movies like this often explore. The supporting cast, sadly, is either underused or relegated to awkward comic relief, often in a scene that doesn't match, tonally.
13 Hours is already a divisive film, straddling Rotten Tomatoes' fresh/rotten percentage. Potentially, this can be attributed to Michael Bay's direction (more mature than his most recent works), or the politics behind the events of Benghazi and Hillary Clinton's role. Thankfully, one need not be politically savvy to understand the film; Bay focuses the story to the "what, who, when" of the events, merely hinting at his political bias. If you enjoy Bay's films or the war genre, there's a chance you might like it but I'd make sure to check out something like Lone Survivor or Fury first. 

Thank you all for reading; I'm the Man Without a Plan, signing off.



Friday, January 15, 2016

"The Revenant" Review

With 2014's Birdman and this year's The Revenant, Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu has cemented his place as one of the most bold and enthralling directors working today. Iñárritu is meticulous; each of his visions, going back to Amores Perros, is wound like a clock, moving at just the right pace, designed with the smallest details in mind. His films are usually small, but The Revenant is Iñárritu's $135 million epic - an odyssey of war, survival, and revenge through the hell of the American frontier.
Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a fur trapper who, after several misfortunes befall him and his men, is betrayed by the greedy Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) and left for dead, his son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck) brutally murdered. Glass, mortally injured, wrestles against Indians, frontiersmen, and the wilderness in a visceral, blood-soaked struggle for vengeance. All the while, the rest of the men are navigating their way home and a group of Ree Indians search for the chieftain's daughter, kidnapped by "two white men".

In a career that spans twenty-seven years, working with directors like James Cameron, Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, Clint Eastwood, Quentin Tarantino Sam Raimi, and Baz Luhrmann, Leonardo DiCaprio is, and will forevermore be, a titan of cinema. I argue the only reason The Revenant, opening in 3,375 theaters, compared to The Force Awakens' 4,131, opened with only about $3 million less, is because of his namesake. He's the perfect blend of critically, commercially, and publicly acclaimed, and the memes about his ongoing Trix-Rabbit-like hunt for an Oscar say it all - this man deserves recognition in spades. The Revenant is DiCaprio's Raging Bull.


Compared to his recent string of characters - Jordan Belfort, Jay Gatsby, Calvin Candie - DiCaprio doesn't get to exude the sly, fast-talking cockiness he's known for. Hugh Glass is soft-spoken and meek, with a matter-of-fact attitude that stems from vulnerability rather than confidence. He ignores insults, doesn't lash out or retort back, but when he responds, does so in a way and moment where it gives him maximum benefit. Because of one injury, Glass is left mute, so much of the film is told through his face. We see the pain, sorrow, fury, pensiveness - it's all here, and combined with Iñárritu's direction, DiCaprio highlights every emotion precisely, yet fluidly.

Reportedly, DiCaprio learned two native languages (Pawnee and Arikara) and ate a raw bison liver for the role. We've heard similar stories of Method-style actors that get involved to a crazy degree, mainly from Daniel Day-Lewis (My Left Foot) or Adrien Brody (The Pianist). However, the only way that level of preparation works is if the performance benefits, and for The Revenant, god is in the details. It's in the tone and cadence of DiCaprio's voice as Glass speaks to his Pawnee son, that reveal not only a mastery of, but a comfort in the language. It's in the moment DiCaprio, a vegetarian, gags on his first bite of that liver. These small moments add up throughout the film and help us settle into the illusion.

On the other side is Fitzgerald. The marketing focuses on Glass, but really, The Revenant is a battle, both physically and morally, between these two men. Fitzgerald is a selfish brute, spouting every thought for everyone to hear. It would be easy to dismiss this character as a stereotype of a bumbling, racist frontiersman, but he's just as ambitious and just as cunning. Tom Hardy has always been an actor who completely sells both a hulking presence and and crafty wit, and he does so with aplomb here. Hardy disappears in the role, and if he were to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, it'd make perfect sense. 

Through Emmanuel Lubezki's cinematography, The Revenant reminds us of the scope of the world we inhabit. When we see these towering mountains, or vast, untouched landscapes with a speck at the bottom that's supposed to be Glass and his horse, the film puts into perspective how fragile we are. These moments often serve as jaw-droppers, where we look at Glass and silently praise him for his tenacity. I also see moments where the characters impact the landscape just as much; Fitzgerald fires a gun, and minutes later, the shot triggers an avalanche. In a sense, the wilderness is an extension of the drama between our two leads, serving to heighten the suspense and the madness of it all.

It's ironic the two films I was most looking forward to in the beginning of 2016 was this and The Hateful Eight, because I find them opposites in reference to morality and justice. Where Hateful Eight is brutal and claustrophobic, I find The Revenant, for all of DiCaprio's foaming at the mouth and near-bleeding to death, hopeful and full of faith. The Hateful Eight points out hypocrisies of law enforcers who deem themselves detached from the moral consequences of murder under the guise of legality. Eventually, the characters succumb to a more emotionally-driven form of justice, where the oppressed strikes against the oppressor, and this instinctual justice feels right in the end. The Revenant doesn't believe its world to be as cynical; Iñárritu uses spirituality - a dream sequence in an abandoned church and a conversation with a Pawnee Indian where the Indian tells Glass, "revenge is in the Creator's hands" - to suggest an overarching moral enforcer, one that doesn't depend on the loose emotions of humanity, but also one that punishes the oppressors. Unlike The Hateful Eight, a trial won't serve someone like Fitzgerald well.

Glass crawls on his belly, writhing and moaning, jutting his jaw out like a bear, and as the movie develops, we see an evolution in not only his physical presence, but in his heart. He embraces this spiritual connection, going from a beast driven by rage to a man in connection with nature and the overarching guidance of the world. This transformation is painful to watch, and as I sat, my audience winced and groaned more than a few times; I joined along. The landscape starts as an impossible adversary, but as the movie progresses, he begins to see it as an ally, a teacher, perhaps a God? 

The Revenant is not an easy film to stomach, what with the violence and gore, but in the end, I found it hopeful, a shining beacon for a spiritual betterment in us. DiCaprio is the frontrunner for the Oscar this year, but with performances like this, he's too good for the Academy. Hardy is brilliant; there are wonderful supporting performances from Domnhall Gleeson and Will Poulter. Lubezki captures imagery that demands a theater seat, and Iñárritu wrangles them all together for an experience unlike many you'll see, not only this year, but this decade.

Thank you all for reading; I'm the Man Without a Plan, signing off.




Thursday, January 14, 2016

Some Thoughts on the 2016 Oscar Nominations

This morning, the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences released their list of nominees for the 88th Academy Awards. In my look at this year's Golden Globes, I considered the Globes to be the first concrete benchmark of what to expect, and what can I say? I'm right. There are only a few tweaks I didn't expect, so, like last time, I'll post the full list of nominees below, with a quick "Who will win, should win, and win in my spherical-cow-populated world?" sum-up below each category (wherever I can be honest and knowledgeable).
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Best Picture

The Big Short

Brooklyn

Bridge of Spies

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Room

Spotlight

Who Will? - The Revenant
Who Should? - Room
Spherical Cow? - Room

Best Actor

Bryan Cranston - Trumbo

Matt Damon - The Martian

Leonardo DiCaprio - The Revenant

Michael Fassbender - Steve Jobs

Eddie Redmayne - The Danish Girl

Who Will? - Leonardo DiCaprio
Who Should? - Leonardo DiCaprio
Spherical Cow? - Jason Tremblay - Room

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett - Carol

Brie Larson - Room

Jennifer Lawrence - Joy

Charlotte Rampling - 45 Years

Saoirse Ronan - Brooklyn

Who Will? - Cate Blanchett
Who Should? - Brie Larson
Spherical Cow? - Brie Larson

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale - The Big Short

Tom Hardy - The Revenant

Mark Rylance - Bridge of Spies

Mark Ruffalo - Spotlight

Sylvester Stallone - Creed

Who Will? - Tom Hardy
Who Should? - Tom Hardy
Spherical Cow? - Tom Hardy and Sylvester Stallone share, then do a ridiculously bad-ass 70's cop movie together.

Best Supporting Actress

Jennifer Jason Leigh - The Hateful Eight

Rooney Mara - Carol

Rachel McAdams - Spotlight

Alicia Vikander - The Danish Girl

Kate Winslet - Steve Jobs

Who Will? - Kate Winslet
Who Should? - Jennifer Jason Leigh
Spherical Cow? - Alicia Vikander - Ex Machina

Best Director

Adam McKay - The Big Short

George Miller - Mad Max: Fury Road

Alejandro González Iñárritu - The Revenant

Lenny Abrahamson - Room

Tom McCarthy - Spotlight

Who Will? - Alejandro González Iñárritu
Who Should? - Alejandro González Iñárritu
Spherical Cow? - Alejandro González Iñárritu

Best Original Screenplay

Matt Charman, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen - Bridge of Spies

Alex Garland - Ex Machina

Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley, Ronnie Del Carmen - Inside Out

Josh Singer, Tom McCarthy - Spotlight

Andrea Berloff, Jonathan Herman, S. Leigh Savidge, Alan Wenkus - Straight Outta Compton

Who Will? - Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley, Ronnie Del Carmen - Inside Out
Who Should? Josh Singer, Tom McCarthy - Spotlight
Spherical Cow? Josh Singer, Tom McCarthy - Spotlight

Best Adapted Screenplay

Charles Randolph, Adam McKay - The Big Short

Nick Hornby - Brooklyn

Phyllis Nagy - Carol

Drew Goddard - The Martian

Emma Donoghue - Room

Who Will? - Nick Hornby
Who Should? - Emma Donoghue
Spherical Cow? - Emma Donoghue

Best Animated Film

Anomalisa

O Menino e o Mundo (Boy & the World)

Inside Out

Shaun the Sheep Movie

Omoide no Mânî (When Marnie Was There)

Who Will? - Inside Out
Who Should? - Anomalisa
Spherical Cow? - The Peanuts Movie

Best Foreign Language Film

El abrazo de la serpiente (Embrace of the Serpent) 

Krigen (A War)

Mustang

Saul fia (Son of Saul)

Theeb

Best Cinematography

Edward Lachman - Carol

Robert Richardson - The Hateful Eight

John Seale - Mad Max: Fury Road

Emmanuel Lubezki - The Revenant

Roger Deakins - Sicario

Who Will? - Emmanuel Lubezki
Who Should? - Emmanuel Lubezki
Spherical Cow? - Adam Arkapaw - Macbeth

Best Editing

Hank Corwin - The Big Short

Margaret Sixel - Mad Max: Fury Road

Stephen Mirrione - The Revenant

Tom McArdle - Spotlight

Maryann Brandon, Mary Jo Markey - Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Who Will? - Stephen Mirrione
Who Should? - Hank Corwin
Spherical Cow? - Hank Corwin

Best Production Design

Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo, Bernhard Henrich - Bridge of Spies

Eve Stewart, Michael Standish - The Danish Girl

Colin Gibson, Lisa Thompson - Mad Max: Fury Road

Arthur Max, Celia Bobak - The Martian

Jack Fisk, Hamish Purdy - The Revenant

Who Will? - Jack Fisk, Hamish Purdy - The Revenant
Who Should? - Jack Fisk, Hamish Purdy - The Revenant
Spherical Cow? - Mark Digby - Ex Machina

Best Costume Design

Sandy Powell - Carol

Sandy Powell - Cinderella

Paco Delgado - The Danish Girl

Jenny Beavan - Mad Max: Fury Road

Jacqueline West - The Revenant

Who Will? - Jenny Beavan
Who Should? - Jenny Beavan
Spherical Cow? - Joanna Johnston - The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Love Larson, Eva Von Bahr - Hundraåringen som klev ut genom fönstret och försvann (The 100-Year-Old Man who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared)

Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega, Damian Martin - Mad Max: Fury Road

Sian Grigg, Duncan Jarman, Robert A. Pandini - The Revenant

Who Will? - Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega, Damian Martin - Mad Max: Fury Road
Who Should? - Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega, Damian Martin - Mad Max: Fury Road
Spherical Cow? - Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega, Damian Martin - Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Original Score

Thomas Newman - Bridge of Spies

Carter Burwell - Carol

Ennio Morricone - The Hateful Eight

Jóhann Jóhannsson - Sicario

John Williams - Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Who Will? - Ennio Morricone
Who Should? - John Williams
Spherical Cow? - Harry Gregson-Williams - The Martian 

Best Original Song

The Weeknd, Belly, TBD, Stephan Moccio - "Earned It", Fifty Shades of Grey

Diane Warren, Lady Gaga - "Til It Happens to You", The Hunting Ground

J. Ralph, Antony Hegarty - "Manta Ray", Racing Extinction

Sam Smith, James Napier - "Writing's On The Wall", Spectre

David Lang - "Simple Song #3", Youth

Who Will? - Sam Smith, James Napier - "Writing's On The Wall", Spectre
Who Should? David Lang - "Simple Song #3", Youth
Spherical Cow? - Meek Mill, Jhené Aiko & Ludwig Göransson - "Lord Knows / Fighting Stronger", Creed

Best Sound Editing (They Design Sound Effects, Either Making New Ones or Boosting the Old)

Mark A. Mangini, David White - Mad Max: Fury Road

Oliver Tarney - The Martian

Martín Hernández, Lon Bender - The Revenant

Alan Robert Murray - Sicario

Matthew Wood, David Acord - Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Who Will? - Matthew Wood, David Acord - Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Who Should? Matthew Wood, David Acord - Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Spherical Cow? Matthew Wood, David Acord - Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Sound Mixing (They Blend On-Set Sounds and Ones the Editors Make and Balance All Together)

Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom, Drew Kunin - Bridge of Spies

Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff, Ben Osmo - Mad Max: Fury Road

Paul Massey, Mark Taylor, Mac Ruth - The Martian

Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, Randy Thom, Chris Duesterdiek - The Revenant

Andy Nelson, Christopher Scarabosio, Stuart Wilson - Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Who Will? - Andy Nelson, Christopher Scarabosio, Stuart Wilson - Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Who Should? Andy Nelson, Christopher Scarabosio, Stuart Wilson - Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Spherical Cow? Andy Nelson, Christopher Scarabosio, Stuart Wilson - Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Visual Effects

Andrew Whitehurst, Paul Norris, Mark Williams Ardington, Sara Bennett - Ex Machina

Andrew Jackson, Tom Wood, Dan Oliver, Andy Williams - Mad Max: Fury Road

Richard Stammers, Anders Langlands, Chris Lawrence, Steven Warner - The Martian

Richard McBride, Matt Shumway, Jason Smith, Cameron Waldbauer - The Revenant

Roger Guyett, Pat Tubach, Neal Scanlan, Chris Corbould - Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Who Will? - Roger Guyett, Pat Tubach, Neal Scanlan, Chris Corbould - Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Who Should? Roger Guyett, Pat Tubach, Neal Scanlan, Chris Corbould - Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Spherical Cow? Roger Guyett, Pat Tubach, Neal Scanlan, Chris Corbould - Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Documentary, Feature

Amy

Cartel Land

The Look of Silence

What Happened, Miss Simone?

Winter on Fire

Best Documentary, Short Subject

Body Team 12

War Within the Walls

Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah

A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness

Last Day of Freedom

Best Short Film, Animated

Historia de un oso (Bear Story)

Mi ne mozhem zhit bez kosmosa (We Can't Live Without Cosmos)

Prologue

Sanjay's Super Team

World of Tomorrow

Best Short Film, Live Action

Ave Maria

Day One

Alles wird gut (Everything Will Be Okay)

Shok

Stutterer
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As far as Oscar lists go, I must admit I'm not mad, an opinion, when I spoke to my college advisor earlier, which isn't as equally adopted. Are there snubs? Of course. However, according to IMDB, Aaron Sorkin's screenplay for Steve Jobs was "snubbed", and I found it the weakest of the Golden Globe nominees (which it won). They thought Michael Keaton should've picked up a Best Actor nomination for Spotlight, and I wholeheartedly disagree. Wherever your allegiances lie, we must always remember that the Oscars are not the sole marker of cinematic excellence. As cult classics and lists of "The Worst 'Best Picture' Winners" remind us, we don't all agree on what's great or what thousand movies are a must-see before death. Art is subjective. Anyone who tries to convince you otherwise is an egomaniac and moron.

The Oscars serve as a celebration of film, a New Years' party for movie lovers to reflect on 2015's best. The Academy may nominate a movie you've never heard of over your favorite, and that's okay! Take that as an opportunity to try something new, experience stories and performances that would never be on your radar had it not been for the awards. I also suggest you not let the contest cloud your judgment on those films. It's rare that the Oscars pick films that flat-out suck (I await the flood of comments proving me wrong).

Before the ceremony on February 28th, I urge you to, at least, watch the Best Picture nominees. This year, like last, I'll be doing another showcase, where I rank them from #8 to #1, in terms of what I think should win the Oscar. Some films I've reviewed, some I've haven't, and this will (finally) force me to check out Mad Max - from the first movie to Fury Road. These weeks can be a fun time for all of us, so let's grab our popcorn, throw it at the idiot texting in front, and enjoy some great movies!

Thank you all for reading; I'm the Man Without a Plan, signing off.

Monday, January 11, 2016

Some Thoughts on the 2016 Golden Globes

If the Academy Awards are the Super Bowl, the Golden Globes are the Pro Bowl, but while not having as illustrious or weighty an impact on the industry, the Globes serve as the first concrete benchmark of what we should expect for the rest of the awards season. Each city's critic association has their list, and the American Film Institute publishes their list of the year's best (in 2015, I think they hit the nail on the head), but the Golden Globes is like a dress rehearsal for the actual show. Result may vary, but the winners are usually the smart bet for the Oscar. Without further ado, let's get to it!

The Winners

Best Motion Picture, Drama 

Mad Max: Fury Road

Carol

The Revenant - Winner

Room

Spotlight

(Thoughts: I've yet to see either Fury Road or Carol - hopefully, I can catch a screening of the latter tonight - but it doesn't take long for me to disagree with the choice. I love The Revenant and Spotlight, but Room is an extraordinary picture that moved my heart more than I can fathom or grasp after only two viewings. I'm not too pissed or confused, however. The Revenant is a masterful epic, a survival/revenge thriller realized to a bloodthirsty, colossal degree by its filmmakers; and are you really surprised when names like DiCaprio, Hardy, or Iñárritu are involved?)


Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy 

Joy

Spy

The Big Short

The Martian - Winner

Trainwreck

(Thoughts: I've never agreed with the Globes' notion of splitting up Best Picture into Drama and Musical/Comedy, seems to condone a line of thinking that two films of different genre can't be judged on the same front. If you're good at what you do, you're good, no handicaps needed. I find this category as an excuse for nominating films or performances that'd be scoffed at by *real* critics. Golden Globes, if you want to call Spy one of the ten best pictures of the year, just nominate it with everyone else. It'd save us time and pretense.)


Best Actress - Drama 

Saoirse Ronin, Brooklyn

Cate Blanchett, Carol

Rooney Mara, Carol

Brie Larson, Room - Winner

Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

(Thoughts: I agree wholeheartedly.)


Best Actress - Musical or Comedy 

Jennifer Lawrence, Joy - Winner

Melissa McCarthy, Spy

Amy Schumer, Trainwreck

Maggie Smith, The Lady in the Van

Lily Tomlin, Grandma

(Thoughts: Lily Tomlin in Grandma gave a lifetime in less than eighty minutes: a concerned grandmother, a frustrated mother, an almost-jaded rebel, a widow, an acerbic wise-ass, a regretful ex-girlfriend (on two occassions), and a reinvigorated woman.)


Best Actor - Drama 

Bryan Cranston, Trumbo

Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant - Winner

Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs

Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

Will Smith, Concussion

(Thoughts: It's a fearless, no-holds-barred performance like Hugh Glass that cements Leonardo DiCaprio's legacy as not only one of our best actors today, but of all time. Simply put, Leonardo DiCaprio is too good for the Academy.)

Best Actor - Musical or Comedy 

Christian Bale, The Big Short

Steve Carell, The Big Short

Matt Damon, The Martian - Winner

Al Pacino, Danny Collins

Mark Ruffalo, Infinitely Polar Bear

(Thoughts: I argued for a bit between Damon and Bale, but Damon's humor and quiet tenacity won me over. I think other actors could do Bale's role; no one could play Mark Watney better than Matt Damon.)


Best Supporting Actor 

Paul Dano, Love

Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation

Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies

Michael Shannon, 99 Homes

Sylvester Stallone, Creed - Winner

(Thoughts: When I heard Stallone was receiving Oscar buzz for this role, I arched my eyebrow. I saw Creed, loved it, put it as my 5th favorite of the year. Now, Stallone's won the Golden Globe. This Oscar may become a reality, and it would be 100% earned. Raw, vulnerable, and nuanced, this takes Stallone's best role and pushes it even further than I ever expected. It is excellent in every sense of the term.)


Best Supporting Actress 

Jane Fonda, Youth

Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight

Helen Mirren, Trumbo

Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina

Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs - Winner

(Thoughts: Vikander should've won. Her mastery, of not only emotional, but also physical manipulation was breathtaking. She was the best part of Ex Machina, delivering a stunning, career-best performance.)


Best Director 

Alejandro González Iñárritu, The Revenant - Winner

Todd Haynes, Carol

Tom McCarthy, Spotlight

George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road

Ridley Scott, The Martian

(Thoughts: From what I've seen of Fury Road, I think I'd praise Miller's world-building and control of that story's anarchy, but I've yet to see it. Iñárritu's The Revenant is a visual marvel, laden with themes of faith and justice, expressed through some of the most powerful imagery I've seen in the past year. His control of the frame is unbelievable, but what else would you get from last year's Oscar winner?)


Best Screenplay 

Emma Donoghue, Room

Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer, Spotlight

Charles Randolph and Adam McKay, The Big Short

Aaron Sorkin, Steve Jobs - Winner

Quentin Tarantino, The Hateful Eight

(Thoughts: I mean the following statement, not as a slight on Sorkin's writing, but a question of judgment on behalf of the Globes' voters: every other option was a better choice. Sorkin's script had a unique structure and his trademark snappy, intellectual dialogue, but not much that merits an award. I choose Randolph and McKay's well-paced, refreshing script that balanced comedy and tragedy with aplomb.)


Best Original Score 

Carter Burwell, Carol

Alexander Desplat, The Danish Girl

Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight - Winner

Daniel Pemberton, Steve Jobs

Ryuchi Sakamoto, The Revenant


Best Original Song 

"Love Me Like You Do," Fifty Shades of Grey

"One Kind of Love," Love & Mercy

"See You Again," Furious 7

"Simple Song #3," Youth

"Writing's on the Wall," Spectre - Winner

(Thoughts: For as much as I despise Youth, I enjoy "Simple Song #3", and do so in spades over Sam Smith's dirge.) 



Best Animated Film 


Anomalisa

The Good Dinosaur

Inside Out - Winner

The Peanuts Movie

Shaun the Sheep Movie

(Thoughts: No surprise here, Inside Out was a juggernaut. I preferred The Peanuts Movie. I didn't get to see Shaun the Sheep Movie or Anomalisa, though I hear both are brilliant.)


Best Foreign Language Film 

The Brand New Testament

The Club

The Fencer

Mustang

Son of Saul - Winner


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There were awards given out for television, but you know what kind of blog this is. The full list can be found here. On the 14th, the Oscar nominations will be revealed, but if the Golden Globes list is anything to go by, I think this award season, with the exception of the Best Picture, Screenplay, and Supporting Actress runs, are going to be in pretty good hands. All that's left to do is wait.

Thank you all for reading; I'm the Man Without a Plan, signing off.

Saturday, January 9, 2016

"The Boy" Review

January is the month synonymous with "terrible movies, and even worse horror films." This month is my warm-up, the time for an easy lob over the plate and a subsequent home run smash of CONDEMNATION out of the park. My level of anger exceeds "flurry of F-bombs", on the verge of "speaking in tongues." And if we're being honest with each other, reader, I kinda love it. So what opinion of volcanic proportions does the Man Without a Plan have towards The Boy, a movie about a woman haunted by a creepy doll?!

It's ok. In fact, I'd recommend it. (Don't worry, this is weird for me too.)

When Greta (Lauren Cohan) accepts a job to nanny for the Heelshires (Diana Hardcastle & Jim Norton), an eccentric, old English couple, she's stunned to discover their "son", Brahms, is in reality, a porcelain doll. Mrs. Heelshire gives Greta a schedule for taking care of Brahms, including feeding him, reading books out loud, and playing classical music at the volume I reserve for Mastodon's Blood Mountain, stressing that he is very "particular" about each task being done just right. Greta is (naturally) weirded out, choosing to ignore the doll, but as shoes go missing, floorboards start creaking, and strangers start breathing heavily into the phone, she begins to suspect a more malevolent force between Brahms' glassy eyes.

I'd have an easier time recommending this if it were directed with a subtler hand - the movie will follow jump-scares with awkward slow motion; show the audience an object, and not half a second later, zoom in to remind us of its importance as if we needed our hands held; interject digitally imposed effects with quick edits. For a film that wants me to constantly question if what's happening is real or not, all the flashiness is distracting, and pulls me out of the illusion. 
On top of this, for the first half of the movie, the "creepy" stuff that's supposed to convince us the doll is alive is the same kind of stuff we've seen in other scary films: the jiggling doorknob, the ghostly child giggles, the doll randomly appearing and disappearing. It's not done poorly, just done before. 


But let's talk about what's good here. First off, the doll IS unnerving. I wouldn't designate it nightmare fuel like "The Conjuring"'s Annabelle, but the movie sticks to a classic scary staple - pale little kids in suits are just...unnatural. Now, make it a doll. Just saying, when Brahms gives the camera a stare-down, it gets a little uncomfortable.

The movie borrows from a handful of horror - The Others, Sinister 2, and Friday the 13th Part 2, to name a few - but the choices made to cobble the story together are well selected, and serve to give the later half some fair twists from what I expected. Just when I was slipping into boredom, the film grabbed me; so if you're a horror nut finding yourself bobbing in and out of boredom, give it a chance, it'll get there.

I'm probably giving The Boy the benefit from lowered expectations, but as far as horror movies go, this one intrigued me and got better around the end. It got creepy and took some chances that paid off. In no way is this a masterpiece, but given my usual crop, this is a step in the right direction. Go on a matinee and have some fun. The Boy comes out January 22nd. 

Thank you all for reading; I'm the Man Without a Plan, signing off.







Wednesday, January 6, 2016

My Top 10 Favorite Movies of 2015!

Writing the "Worst" list, as purging as it was, emotionally drained me; there's only so much anger one can course through their body at a time before it gets exhausting. Returning to my keyboard today, I feel a lot better, more energetic. So, with a sense of rejuvenation in tow, here's the fun part of this year-end retrospective: my top ten FAVORITE movies of 2015!

Honorable Mentions (think of this as #15-11):
- Bridge of Spies
- Dope
- Jurassic World
- Macbeth
- Crimson Peak

10) Spotlight - The night I saw Spotlight, it was the second film in my double-feature with Love the Coopers, and I'll put this in perspective: Spotlight is as good as Love the Coopers is bad.

"Spotlight" is the name of the Boston Globe's investigative team, and the movie recounts their 2001 look at the Catholic Church's cover-up of pedophile priests since the '70s and '80s. As the team (played by Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, and Brian D'Arcy James) investigates, they learn how entrenched the cover-up really is, as the story mutates from a local presence to an international epidemic.

No review I've read mentions director Tom McCarthy's and cinematographer Masanobu Takayanagi's use of space; they'll often shoot conversations from a distance, or put the characters at the bottom of the frame and leave the rest wide open, usually with a church looming in the back. The Catholic Church's power is always felt, and even when characters converse about these highly sensitive topics in public, in a way that honestly, anyone should be able to become privy to with ease, no passerby ever does a double-take - they just keep walking. McCarthy perverts our visual understanding of what makes up a normal conversation to highlight how the Boston community's awareness of this behavior; everyone knows about these stories, but because of the Church's cultural influence in the city, especially in its lower-income neighborhoods, no one wants to speak out and undergo a stigma from the rest of the community.

The film doesn't glorify its protagonists; at one point, it highlights how, initially, the Globe buried the story in the Metro section, putting Keaton's character in a poor light. It doesn't shirk blame from anyone, not the Church, the community, the police, or the media. Ultimately, it's a combination of all these people, intertwined, that led to this institutional cover-up. As the film peels back layer by layer, I found myself disgusted; after a while, these cases feel like a virus, consuming every corner, every home, rotting a community from the inside out. Spotlight is important for this reason: it highlights how power can lead to an overall moral degradation, and how the extent of corruption can grow, exponentially, when justice isn't sought out. This is a tense, thoughtful, important film.


9) The Big Short - The Big Short is CNBC-meets-Schoolhouse-Rock, a populist's answer to the following questions: What the hell caused the 2008 recession, and where were the signs? The movie answers the latter: "They were always there. You never bothered to look." As for the former, I'm gonna keep this spoiler-free.

Writer-director Adam McKay soaks the world of Wall Street in pop culture, to showcase where the average person's focus was at the time. While Steve Carell fails to get it through to a stripper that she won't be able to refinance on her six mortgages, Finn Wittrock and John Magaro's characters are brushed off by stock traders, who'd rather play at the gun range than discuss the faultiness of subprime loans. In a brilliant move, the film uses celebrity cameos to teach concepts that sound scary to most, like 'collateralized debt obligations'; it gets us laymen in the know while making it easy to understand.

The film does a great job of using comedy to deal with tragedy; I can't help but chuckle as Christian Bale talks to the two Goldman Sachs reps about setting up a bet against the housing market, and they (like so many in this film) have the best "Are...are you kidding me?" looks on their faces. We know Dr. Burry is right, so for the rest of the film, we're waiting on the punchline, waiting to see these idiots get their just desserts.

However, when the bomb drops, it's not funny. It's foreshadowed by Brad Pitt's character, as he equates every percentage point of employment to the death of 40,000 people, but it's when the market crashes that the film sobers up, from hearing a giddy Ryan Gosling scream, "I'm jacked to the TITS!" (a line I hope to God people start yelling at him as he walks down the street), to watching a husband, wife, and two preschool kids reduced to living in a sedan.

Carell and Bale (in an especially top-notch performance) do inspired work, and while the star-studded cast gets in great performances, check out lesser-known actors, like Wittrock and Magaro as a young trading duo, and Jeremy Strong as one of Carell's team.

The Big Short delivers a dark chapter of American history with heart, humor, and wit. If you come out of the film as pissed and outraged as I did, good. That's how it's supposed to be.


8) It Follows - Now, this is how you do it! After so many years of mediocre-to-downright-awful horror flicks making it to my local cineplex, I'm so glad David Robert Mitchell's It Follows broke out of an indie hellhole into the mainstream consciousness. This is one of the most well-directed and chilling horror films of the decade, and with time, will stand tall next to films by Carpenter, Craven, and Cronenberg.

This movie relies solely on execution, because if you were to tell me a year ago that I'd honor a film about a sexually-transmitted demon stalking teenagers as one of the best films of the year, I'd punch you in the gut. But from the first trailer, with its unapologetic '80s vibe, complete with a synth-laden masterpiece of a score (shout-out to Disasterpiece), I was hooked and hyped; subsequently, the film didn't disappoint.

Maika Monroe is great as Jay, a Detroit teen, who falls for a guy named Hugh, and they have a budding romance. However, as soon as they hook up, she wakes up under a bridge, tied to a wheelchair. Hugh begins to explain that the "thing" that's following her is passed on sexually, and will hunt her down until it either kills or Jay passes it on to someone else. The thing only walks, which feels easily avoidable, but the rub is, it's smart, and can look like anyone, even people in Jay's life. This demon preys on her psychologically, whittling down her sanity, all the while waiting for a chance to get her in a corner.

The film does a great job of using wide landscapes, that seem to stretch a mile wide, in contrast with our heroine, usually in the middle of the frame. I find myself constantly looking in the background, and the tension that hits my chest whenever I see someone walking towards Jay and her friends sent shivers up my spine. Most of the film is spent in anticipation, to the point that when the monster does appear, it hits the right level of shock and terror.

Mitchell uses the demon to comment on female sexuality and how it factors into a woman's identity. After Jay has sex with Hugh, everyone approaches her hesitantly, with caution, even though there's no way they'll get the demon chasing after them; this is Jay's fight, and ultimately, she has to confront the consequences. Throughout the movie, most of the supporting cast's conversations with Jay are specifically about sex; luckily, we get enough in the beginning to get a sense of Jay's personality, but because her sexuality is forced to the front of every conservation, she ends up becoming objectified (Hugh at one point, remarks Jay shouldn't have a problem passing it on because of her physique). Even a towel-covered Jay, in one scene, looks down at her vagina in horror, in an attempt to externalize it from herself. It Follows highlights the psychological deterioration that can occur in someone's mind from being identified primarily through sexual terms, serving as a biting critique of the horror genre's clichéd "virgin-whore complex".

Are there technical problems and lapses of logic from our heroes? Of course, especially in the third act (seriously, a toaster?), but what works here, works so well. If you're in the mood for a chiller, It Follows is a must-see.


7) Ex Machina - In a recent string of AI films - Chappie, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Transendence, Her - Ex Machina is the best, a claustrophobic thriller that analyzes the biology of being human, to the point where I unconsciously check myself to make sure I'm human, still. Domnhall Gleeson plays a good innocent, naive but in no way stupid, and Oscar Isaac delivers on eccentricity and an unhinged demeanor (blame it on the alcohol), but Ex Machina doesn't work without Alicia Vikander as the android, Ava.

Vikander, in a word, is deliberate. In a move that'd ensure Robert Downey Jr's character from Tropic Thunder a headache, Vikander is a human, disguised as an android, who's supposed to walk and talk like a human, but not the stilted, mechanical Bishop from Alien way, just 15 degrees shy of full-blown human - you never go full human. She delivers a masterful performance, adapting in the slightest gradients, according to what the audience is meant to perceive about her "humanity."

The film isn't a seminar; Ex Machina is visceral & violent, with a dark sense of humor and foreboding atmosphere, drenched in crisp, saturated colors. Equals parts Paul Verhoeven and David Cronenberg, Ex Machina challenges and disturbs, yet leaves me with a hopeful feeling. It feels strange to say, but I'd enjoy a sequel that could explore AI interaction on a wider social plane.


6) The Martian - The Martian does one of the most refreshing movies I've seen from sci-fi in years: it takes the piss out of space.

Botanist and last man on Mars Mark Watney (Matt Damon) doesn't have time to fixate on the fearsome majesty of the Red Planet; he's gotta grow potatoes out of poop and set up solar panels for his dune buggy (c'mon America, if a guy who perpetually lives inches away from implosion can sustain himself using solar energy, what's stopping us?)! It's this matter-of-fact, do-or-die attitude, sprinkled with healthy doses of optimism and sarcasm that sets the film apart from Gravity and Interstellar, and makes for Ridley Scott's best film since Gladiator.

The Martian is always Damon's movie, but as soon as NASA gets involved, and we introduce Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jeff Daniels, Donald Glover, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Benedict Wong, the film starts to feel like a class project in middle school, where everyone's working to solve each puzzle. The solutions these characters come up with to unprecedented problems are fascinating, and do a service to the ingenuity behind Andy Weir's original novel and Drew Goddard's screenplay (an Oscar nom is all but announced). The spirit of collaboration really shines through in this film, and while the entire film isn't sunshine and rainbows (the scene where Mark performs emergency surgery on his gut comes strikingly to mind), I always leave this film with a positive feeling and a smile on my face. But maybe that's just the disco...


5) Creed - I'm going to take a brief moment here to brag, because I feel like the only one of my friends who truly believed in this film. I was ready since the first rumors. When I saw Michael B. Jordan shadowboxing in the trailer, got a taste of his physical prowess and transformation, I knew this was a must-see. When my screening ended, a week before the film's release, I knew this was one of the year's best films. 96 million dollars, a 93% "certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a Golden Globe nomination for Sylvester Stallone later, I think the rest of the world has (finally) caught up with me.

Creed and the rest of the Rocky franchise has a way of getting me excited about movies, not in the bombast a superhero picture will bring, but in the form of escapism that seems attainable. Philadelphia has an actual statue of Rocky Balboa, and when watching Sylvester Stallone's Rocky or Michael B. Jordan's Adonis, I feel a connection to these characters, a sense of realism I rarely feel. These people are so fully realized, so well-performed, that they leap off the screen; Rocky feels like a grandfather, Adonis a cousin. Their stories and hopes stem from such an honest place - the feeling of wanting to pursue one's dream, the desperate search for a justification to continue living - that I never feel I'm in a movie.

As a boxing film, director Ryan Coogler gives the film youth, girt, and flair, and that's what we want from our genre pictures: a fresh way to tell an old story. We can talk about the "one-take fight" or the chicken-chasing, seeing Mick's gym and the almost-possessed gasp to life Adonis has after being knocked down, and these are fantastic choices made by Coogler and team, used to entertain and evoke nostalgia.

However (and I just realized this as I'm typing), my favorite shots in my favorite Rocky movies: VI, I, and this one are the exteriors, the landscapes of the city. In some inexplicable way, this is where these movies transcend their plot, their genre trappings and husky Russians. I get an overwhelming feeling that this neighborhood, this fictional version of Philly, is sincerely alive; this is a product of filmmakers' hard work and collective visions. It's rare to come across characters who inspire you. It's even rarer to believe in them so much, that we allow ourselves the indulgence of thinking we could become them.

4) The Gift - I heard The Gift, when first reviews were trickling out, was being compared to Hitchcock, deemed worthy of the master of suspense. I don't know if the head of marketing needed to be dunked in ice water, but the trailer didn't sell me at all. I got a laughably bad Lifetime stalker flick with a goofy villain. I certainly didn't think I'd get the scariest film of the year.

The goofy villain I initially scoffed at was Joel Edgerton's Gordon, an old high-school friend of Robyn's (Rebecca Hall) husband, Simon (Jason Bateman). I thought Gordon's blank stare and awkward demeanor was going to be ridiculous, but the film (also written and directed by Edgerton) gives off the vibe that Gordon's not all the way there from the beginning. We see him through Robyn's eyes most of the time, and what works so well is that she conveys that universal feeling with all authenticity, that moment when you get a bad vibe from someone, can't quite place your finger on it, but just know that all you want to do is leave.

Edgerton directs this film like a clock, precise and mechanical; each aspect of the film works to wind you up emotionally, and silence the theater to the point where you can only hear yourself breathe. Robyn and Simon live in a swanky California home with many large windows, she's often framed to the side with lots of blank space available, and at points, you can see Gordon in the background - he's not drawing attention to himself, but he's there. This movie, both physically and emotionally, leaves our characters bare and always scrutinized, and preys upon our fear of losing privacy.

As the film unravels, the laundry list of fears grows; the movie ramps up to a nail-biting, horrifying climax, and I really don't think I've heard so many people over 30 scream before, but I think at the core of The Gift lies an abysmal fear: what would happen if everyone knew your dirty secrets...and you were to embrace the ugliness? Our brains tend to kick us in the teeth so often, in an attempt to keep us from swelling the ego, but I think what we often don't realize is that our brains do this in order to curb the bad thoughts, to stop us from enveloping ourselves in self-destructive behaviors and attitudes. It's so strange, in this modern world of everyday acceptance and always embracing your "inner self", that it would feel healthy to keep some of this closed off, but what The Gift reminds us is, as the extraordinarily cheesy tagline sums up, "not every gift is welcome."


3) Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens - What can I write about The Force Awakens that almost literally EVERYONE hasn't? Honestly, I feel it's too early to do a retrospective on what this movie means to me, because I'm still living in it! The Force Awakens is currently $10 million away from Avatar's domestic box-office record, landing on everyone's top ten lists (guilty), revitalizing the fan base who refuses to agree on one theory about any character, from Rey to Luke to the damn Stormtrooper with a spinning baton. The hours I've spent in restaurants while my friend Matt regurgitates every piece of knowledge he has of the extended universe are almost innumerable...and incomprehensible (hehe).

The talk of the movie as a phenomenon eclipses the conversations of its quality, which are both good and bad - I've never seen a theater experience quite so anticipated and revered as this, but it does skew the public's reaction to the film. I tried not to see any trailer on YouTube; any info on The Force Awakens was to be discovered in-theater, which I found helped temper any ridiculous expectations.

I was ready to be transported back into the world I loved, and that's exactly what I got. Spacecraft battles, lightsabers, droids, crazy-lookin' aliens, smugglers, Stormtroopers, the Force - they're all here. I love Rey, Finn, Poe, Kylo, and BB-8; there's no doubt in my mind I'll grow to love them, and my future kid will grow up learning to love them as we watch films together. I think that kind of statement is the best part about the whole thing; Star Wars is lodged in the firmament of our culture, not only in America, but worldwide. It spans races, creed, and generations, celebrating our love of boundless imagination and eye-widening storytelling. What can I say, Star Wars is back, in fine form and here to stay.


2) The Man From U.N.C.L.E. - The first time I saw The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was the most fun I've had in a theater in 2015. Talk about a film that brings you back to childhood - I felt like James Bond on an Aston Martin careening down the highway in my Camry afterwards. This is, without a doubt, my favorite spy movie. It's immaculately designed, filled to the brim with action, laugh-out-loud funny; and it revels in the joys of fantasy.

A lot of people are pointing out Finn and Poe's bromance (or potential romance, we'll have to wait till Episode VIII); I point to Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) and Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer). These gentlemen are magnetic, quipping back and forth, arguing about the superiority of their nations like grade-schoolers over a baseball team, leaving Gaby Teller (Alicia Vikander) to step in and keep them focused on the mission. For all the chases, stunts, and fights, the movie's best enjoyment comes from the comedy, and specifically, the comedy derived from our dual leads.

Guy Ritchie is the perfect director for this; he doesn't stop for a second, always giving the audience something to look at, whether it be a joke in the background, a dynamically lit close-up of Napoleon's eyes, or a group of extras dressed in gorgeous 60's-era dresses. He consistently tries out different moves with the camera - different angles, zooms, lenses - and curates the selection so well that the end result is exhilarating. There's so much bang for your buck here, and it is all wonderfully worth it.


1) Room - Room blindsided me. Up until December, I would've told you my favorite film of the year was The Man From U.N.C.L.E., but 45 minutes into this film, I had a realization: not only was this my favorite movie of the year, but one of my favorites, period. It's one of those rare movies that gives me an honest appreciation of life and the inherent beauty of it and what the future holds.

Jack (Jacob Tremblay) is five years old. He lives with his mom (Brie Larson) in Room. Every day, they wake up, eat breakfast, do stretches, watch TV, and color. Jack is infinitely curious and likes to ask his mom a lot of questions, which she happily and readily answers. Jack tells us about his understanding of life: there's Room, then TV, then Space. He and his mom are real, but the people in TV are flat and made of colors. Space is seen through Skylight and full of stars. The movie tells the story of their lives from Jack's 5th birthday forward.

And honestly, that's all I can tell you.

In the spirit of discovery, and having an audience discover things for themselves, you're going to have to trust me with this and only use what I've given you. Don't worry, I've tested this with my girlfriend - it's better to go into this thing cold . What I can tell you is that Tremblay and Larson are an incredible duo with Oscar-worthy performances; there's never a moment where I forget they're not really mother and son. The script, written by the novel's author, Emma Donoghue, is masterful, loaded with passion, love, intelligence, tension, and the sincerest joy. Director Lenny Abrahamson tells it all faithfully through Jack's point of view; we experience everything through his eyes, his resilience, exuberance, frustrations, and love for his mom. He never lets Jack know more than he should for the audience's sake; we're right here with him, and Jack is a delight to spend two hours with. Two hours feels way too short.

Jack and his mom represent two sides of my sentiments towards time. His mom finds herself caught by the pains of the past, finding it difficult to move on with life. In contrast, Jack is open, always looking forward to the future and new experiences. He helps her overcome personal traumas, and likewise, I feel I should do the same. Room is a heart-changing experience, one that broke me down and built me back up. It's a testament to the spiritual experience film can provide, in allowing us to connect with other human beings, and both the darkest and brightest parts of ourselves. It is great art, great storytelling, and my favorite movie of 2015.

Thank you all for reading; I'm the Man Without a Plan, signing off.