Tuesday, December 29, 2015

"Close But No Cigar" of 2015

These films are not movies that I hated this year. In fact I liked them but thought that they could be better. This year I may get an eye roll or two, especially for one film in particular. My picks for “Close But No Cigar” are not ranked in anyway. Here we go!

SPOTLIGHT

This is the one I may get the most flack for because it is a good film and you're going to see it on a lot of “Best Of” lists, but the movie just fell short for me. It lacked a certain cinematic edge to it. The buzz surrounding SPOTLIGHT had my expectations at a ALL THE PRESIDENTS MEN level. And it reached at those heights a few times, but too often it felt like I was watching television.

TOMORROWLAND

What a great and fun movie! This film had me all the way up to the end which was weak. This may appear on some “Worst Of” lists which maybe is right? But I totally dug the imagination behind the film.

THE FINAL GIRLS

I might be blamed for being too picky on this one. When I fist saw THE FINAL GIRLS I loved it so much that I watched it twice! Yep, twice. Immediately destined to be my favorite film of 2015. But I slept on the idea. Then I slept on it some more, a lot more. Something was bugging me about the film. And that was, how can you have a movie set inside a 80's slasher film and not have it be a boob and blood fest?

The lack of gore puzzles me but I've come to the conclusion that the film was made for the SCREAM generation, not for the FRIDAY THE 13TH kids. But still, overall THE FINAL GIRLS is one heck of an entertaining movie! The killers mask; however, has got to go. Super lame.

STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON

Probably one of the most overrated films of the year. Again, like JURASSIC WORLD , STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON suffers from nostalgia goggles. The film also suffers from typical Biography Drama troupes. And like me if you only know about N.W.A. through MTV and VH1, then you already know the story? Yes, STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON feels like a Cliff Notes version of the groups story. But remember it's awesome, because “I remember that”!

With that being said; the actor who played Eazy-E, Jason Mitchell did an outstanding job and his performance is worth the price of admission alone!

A MOST VIOLENT YEAR

This is technically a 2014 release but opened to wide release on New Year's Day. This film could have been the next GODFATHER, but it was missing one tiny element. It wasn't violent enough! Everything about the movie is good but the story drags a little bit. What an opportune time for some mafia action to jolt the audience. And by no means does it have to be exploitation, just a little something? Please!

AVENGERS AGE OF ULTRON

More times than I'd like to admit, hype gets the best of me. If you read my review of AVENGERS AGE OF ULTRON it doesn't make sense why the movie is on this list? I need to correct something. This sequel is not better than MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS. It's still a good movie but I hyped my review way too much. Upon my fourth viewing the cool "comic book movie" moments don't feel earned like they did in the first Avengers movie. And I'm afraid it's no where near GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY coolness. Which was my favorite film of last year.

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