Room

"There's so much of 'place' in the world."

Just a quick recap of this movie's Oscar status:

Emma Donoghue - nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay (of her own book of the same name)

Brie Larson - nominated for Best Actress for her role as "Ma"

Lenny Abrahamson - nominated for Best Director

Room - nominated for Best Picture

Room is a masterpiece of storytelling that uses its medium to its utmost potential. Go into this movie blind - don't watch the trailer whatever you do - but know that you are about to experience something unique, beautiful, emotional, and complex.

Room, if you don't know the premise, is about a woman named Joy who is kidnapped and kept in a garden shed as a sex slave for 7 years. During her time in "Room", she has a son named Jack - who changes everything. The relationship between "Ma" and her son Jack unfolds on screen, and the story is told through his perspective.

Despite the heavy subject matter, Room finds the absolute perfect sweet spot between the dark and the light. My favorite movies are the ones that make me feel a wide range of emotions in their runtime, and Room goes above and beyond that criteria. I laughed and I cried. Every muscle in my body tensed up, and I got chills for 30 seconds straight. It wrecked me.

Jacob Tremblay, who plays Jack, is among the best, if not the best child actor I've ever seen. His chemistry with Brie Larson, along with the movie's fantastic attention to detail, make the movie feel authentic and special.

Though I had heard the second act was less than the first, I disagreed - it deals with a different antagonist, but the impact of it is crucial to telling the story and I enjoyed it just as much as the first act.

The camerawork is visionary and makes full use of camera movements to force perspective of space - making small places seem big and small and showing how big the outside world really is.

The music, composed by Stephen Rennicks, completely enhanced every frame - I would have preferred Room's score to be nominated over Carol's.

This is a movie about the good and the bad in the world, finding strength when it's the hardest to, and the relationship between mother and son. It sticks with you. It never falls into the cliches it should've fallen into. It might make you cry multiple times, of sadness and of joy. It changes the way you see the world.

It's easily one of the best films of 2015. I hope it takes home some Oscars, and I hope you go see it before then.

The Revenant

"I'll be right here."

This was my second most anticipated movie of the year - behind Star Wars. It did not disappoint in the slightest.

This "survival/revenge thriller", brought to you by the dream team director and cinematographer behind Birdman, is the best looking movie I've seen all year. It was shot using all natural light, and every single frame - from the crisp icy water to the ominous torch-filled night - is absolutely stunning.

It's wonderful that scenes that are so hard to watch are so beautiful to look at.

DiCaprio's character, a frontiersman named Hugh Glass, goes through hell and back in this movie. It's absolutely brutal. The pragmatic violence and visceral story left me physically and emotionally drained. The themes of trust, loss, life, death, and the relationship between father and son pour out of the natural scenery - DiCaprio accurately describes director Alejandro Iñárritu as "a master painter painting a landscape".

The movie has an evocative heartbeat: a fluently vivid pacing that lies in perfect harmony with both the movie's score and DiCaprio's pained breath.

Tom Hardy continues to amaze me with his ability to seamlessly become the character he is tasked with portraying, delivering a gut-wrenchingly provoking performance - worthy of a supporting actor nod for sure.

Leonardo DiCaprio. Nominated for four Oscars. Winner of none. He's got this one in the bag.

His ability to realistically and convincingly portray the pain Hugh Glass endures - both physical and emotional - is nothing short of incredible.

He may have some competition - notably Fassbender for Steve Jobs and Redmayne for The Danish Girl - but Leo deserves this. He's going to win it.

My dad really put it in perspective - pointing out the point of movies. To stir up deep emotion - to change your way of thinking about the world around you and the feelings within you.

The Revenant thoroughly succeeds in that regard. Go see it on the big screen.

Joy

“Inspired by the true stories of daring women. One in particular.”

I really wanted to love Joy. The day the trailer came out, I watched it 7 times. I still love watching the trailer. Sadly, the movie itself didn't live up to the hype.

Even though David O. Russell gets criticized for using the same actors over and over again, I don't have a problem with it. I love his main 3: Lawrence, De Niro, and Cooper. 

I can't quite put a finger on what Joy did wrong, but it just wasn't anything special for me. I enjoyed the movie, and it was definitely worth a watch, and I was glad I saw it, but it didn't blow me away like Silver Linings Playbook did.

The premise of the movie is the woman who invented the self-wringing mop - very, very loosely based on the real live entrepreneur Joy Mangano. 

That above sentence alone is enough to make me lose all interest in this movie. So, from a very glass half full perspective, props to O. Russell for having the guts to take a swing at this.

It works well but isn't spectacular - if I had to compare this movie to a snack it would be peanut butter and celery. It has its moments (well shot, nice generational story, stellar performances), but under all that tasty peanut butter you have the blandness of the celery (Bradley Cooper's character, narrating grandma, self wringing mops). 

So overall, you don't need to see this in theaters - but one day, it will make for a great rainy day Netflix selection.

If you're looking for a great "inspired by true events" movie, go see The Revenant instead.

The Big Short

I was 10 years old during the 2008 housing crisis. I didn't even know it existed until this year - and I certainly didn't know a thing about it until after I watched this movie.

The Big Short seriously impressed me because not only was it extremely entertaining, it was educational and even thought provoking. My biggest worry of going to see this movie was that I was going to be too dumb to be able to understand any of the economics/wall street lingo a movie about the 2008 housing crisis would have.

Don't let that stop you from watching this movie at all.

It was actually kind of scary in timing - right at the moment during a complex "wall street" conversation, when I was distracted by the thought, "What have I gotten myself into?", the narrator kind of "pauses" the movie. I'm not going to spoil it for you, but they put the story on hold for a second and give you an incredibly easy to understand, funny economics lesson.

This movie is probably the most unique I have seen all year. From the flashy editing to the "Office-esque" camerawork, from the "docu-drama" story set-up to the frequent destruction of the fourth wall, The Big Short managed to immerse and un-immerse me in a brilliant way. 

Every single performance is spot on. There wasn't anybody I wasn't impressed by (Bale, Gosling, Carrell, Pitt... the list goes on).

I loved this movie. There are memorable scenes that made me feel. I was happy, sad, shocked, even angry - about a crisis I didn't even know existed. Go see it.

The Hateful Eight

The Bounty Hunter. The Hangman. The Prisoner. The Sheriff. The Mexican. The Little Man. The Cowpuncher. The Confederate.

All in glorious 70mm.

It takes an excellent storyteller, writer, and director to craft an entertaining 3 hour movie that predominantly takes place in two locations - a one-room haberdashery and the blizzard outside of it.

This movie also introduced me to the word "haberdashery", which definitely scores it some points.

For his 8th film, Quentin Tarantino goes big. This was the first movie I've ever seen with an intermission. It was well executed - the perfectly placed 11 minute break gave me time to stretch my legs, visit the pee pee palace, ponder the thrilling events of the past, and speculate on the infinite possibilities for the future of the movie.

The Hateful Eight feels like an epic - 5 sprawling, yet increasingly intriguing chapters filled with brilliant Tarantino dialogue that can only flow from the mouths of a stellar cast - Kurt Russell's mustache is at it's peak and Sam L. Jackson is, well, a western Sam L. Jackson. No complaint there. 

It's nice to see Tim Roth and Michael Madsen work together again - something we haven't had the pleasure of seeing since Reservoir Dogs. Walton Goggins stole the show and conveyed an impressive character arc - and I'd never even heard his name before.

Jennifer Jason Leigh, who hasn't been in anything huge lately, was perfectly cast. She's creepy, hilarious, and very easy to hate. I would love to see a best supporting actress nom for her performance.

Ennio Morricone, who also composed the score for The Thing, composes another beautiful score for The Thing's western, more human counterpart. The two movies would make for a great double feature.

The death toll is high, the violence is plentiful, some parts are tough to stomach, and it's a movie you'd never want to watch with your mother - everything you need for a great Tarantino flick. It's not as good as Inglorious Basterds or even Django - but it's not losing by much. 

This is an awesome mystery movie about human nature, racism, and manipulation - filled with dramatic tension throughout. I left the theater more than satisfied and once more blown away by Tarantino's ability to write and tell a story. 

If you have the chance to catch one of the 70mm Roadshow showings, take it! The colors are lush, the use of light is noticeable, and Tarantino fills the wider aspect ratio with purpose. With the Roadshow experience, you get an overture, an intermission, and an awesome little collectible booklet filled with great pictures and fun facts about the movie. This was no doubt my second favorite theater experience of the year (behind Star Wars of course).

"Spend the holidays with someone you hate."

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (NO SPOILERS)

"Have you felt it?"

Star Wars is back in every way.

Regardless of your feelings on the infamous prequel trilogy, it's a fact that it divided the Star Wars fanbase. The Force Awakens is just what the saga needed - unifying Star Wars fans once more.

This was the best movie experience I have ever had. After waiting 12 hours in line, the atmosphere of the opening night was filled with wondrous anticipation. There were costumes and lightsabers, people laughing and strangers mingling. A guy in our theater flew around a remote controlled Millennium Falcon to the crowd's delight. Kids playfully dueled in the open space in front of the mammoth IMAX screen. 

It was the best audience - there were times the cheering drowned out the surround sound - but at the most important moments, you could hear a pin drop.

The Force Awakens has all the charm of a Star Wars movie. The characters it introduces are extremely lovable and the characters it brings back somehow become more lovable.

It's hilarious, action packed, and sincere - you can see the passion that was poured into each performance, the set design, and all of the film's effects - both practical and computer-generated.

Some of the moments do feel strongly reminiscent of earlier movies, and the film does hit some of the beats from A New Hope, but it is different in more ways than similar. I've heard TFA described as "an awesome mixtape of the original trilogy". Isn't that what Star Wars is about? Telling an old story in a new, fresh, exciting way?

Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson, Andy Serkis - these talented people bring their roles to life in a way that their characters seamlessly become iconic.

In short, this is movie magic at its finest - an enthralling, thrilling, passionate ride that was blended perfectly - reminding old fans of what makes the saga so special and roping in a whole new generation of fans (who now have 6 other movies to explore while we wait for VIII).

Of course it's not a perfect movie, but I couldn't have asked for a better one.

The force has awakened, working in new, fascinating, and mysterious ways. 

John Williams is back. 

BB-8 is adorable, Kylo Ren is terrifying, and Luke Skywalker is - well, you'll have to see for yourself.

Thank you to everyone who cared about making this movie. It shows.

In the words of Patton Oswalt, "JJ did it".

Now, the waiting game begins again - only 521 days to go until Episode VIII.

At least we'll have Rogue One to tide us over.

May the force be with us.

Krampus

The opening scene to Krampus is a glorious slow motion montage of Black Friday shoppers in a frenzied rage. Suffice it to say, I was thoroughly entertained throughout this movie.

Krampus is funny - Adam Scott and David Koechner bring many cringy and dark-humored laughs along with the rest of the cast (including an irritated mom, a drunk aunt, and some quirky child actors). Sometimes I couldn't tell whether to laugh or be terrified.

I did wish it got to the action a little quicker - but Krampus's first appearance was well worth the wait.

The effects were great fun and fit the movie like a glove. From the terrifying practical effects of Krampus himself and a few of his helpers to the mischievous CGI gingerbread men, there was always something fun/scary to look at.

I've heard Krampus described as a "purposeful B-movie", and I think this is pretty accurate. It's absolutely crazy in every regard, but it pulls it off for the most part.

The ending is fun to talk about. But no spoilers here.

Sadly, when I left the theater, I didn't feel any more Christmas-spirited than when I walked in (the opposite of how I felt after seeing "The Night Before").

It's a fun, fun movie, and you should definitely take some friends to see it if you're into goofy horror - but I probably won't see this one next year when Christmas rolls around again.