Best Films of 2015

December 31, 2015

jmunney Best in Film 2015, Best of 2015, Cinema , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

best-movies-of-2015-collage

Clockwise from Top Left: Inside Out; Spotlight; Ex Machina; The Big Short (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshots)

Box office records kept falling in 2015, and some of the biggest blockbusters were actually among the best films of the year! This is appropriate enough, as bigness was the name of the day in 2015, with Big Emotions and Big Ideas all over this list. Whether it was through muckraking journalism and statesmanship, the birth of new heroes, or the burning desire to make personal connections, the makers of the best films of 2015 made sure audiences heard what they had to say.

This top 10 list was originally posted on Starpulse in December 2015.

1. The Big Short – Spoiler alert: as the wild ride of Adam McKay’s adaptation of Michael Lewis’ bestselling nonfiction thriller about the players who anticipated the bursting of the U.S. housing bubble settles into its conclusion, the epilogue reveals that every Wall Street fraudster was imprisoned and new stringent legal regulations have been implemented to prevent another crisis. Except, of course, that didn’t happen. This is an esoteric topic, but the audience for “The Big Short” knows it has been screwed. The level at which this swindling occurred is astounding and ridiculous, and the filmmaking that captures it is just as absurdly gut-wrenching.

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What Won TV? – December 20-December 26, 2015

December 27, 2015

jmunney Television, What Won TV? , , Leave a comment

In this feature, I look back at each day of the past week and determine what shows “won TV” for the night. That is, I consider every episode of television I watched that aired on a particular day and declare which was the best.

affairseason2finale

Sunday – The Affair
Monday – Jeopardy!
Tuesday – Jeopardy!
Wednesday – Jeopardy!
Thursday – Jeopardy!
Friday – Doctor Who
Saturday – I watched some football.

This Is a Movie Review: The Big Short

December 26, 2015

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews , 2 Comments

BigShort

Have you ever seen a movie with an indelible moment and wondered, “How did I not hear about this before seeing it?” The Big Short is likely to leave you feeling this way, as nearly every feature fits this description, and most reviews are not just a list of everything that happens in the movie. You may have heard about the cameoing celebrities talking directly to the camera, but that is only the tip of the iceberg.

In its editing, production design, and sound composition, The Big Short is just sick (in all connotations of that word). Adam McKay has shown some flashes of narrative experimentation in his Will Ferrell comedies (the Applebee’s commercial in Talladega Nights, direct acknowledgement of the lack of consequences following the battle royale in Anchorman, the musical breaks in Step Brothers), but in those cases they did not overwhelm the whole movie and they fit more naturally. This time, he goes completely for broke.

As for the cast, Christian Bale sinks into another character, Ryan Gosling revels in the slime and eccentricity, and the rest of the ensemble sinks their teeth into the muck. But Steve Carell shines the brightest as a trader whose arc presents the most human moments of the narrative. The whole system tears him up internally as much as it tears up any semblance of financial integrity. When he and his team visit a Florida community decimated by evictions, it is a sobering reminder of how real this crisis is for a lot of people. The film would be excellent without this segment, but with it, it is at another level.

Other recent Wall Street-based films have portrayed this type of fraud just as well, but The Big Short takes it a step further by not taking it a step further. It betrays hardly any hope that it can actually make a difference. Free of that burden, the message is: we might be as fucked as we ever were, but at least we can still make an absolutely insane movie.

This Is a Movie Review: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

December 26, 2015

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews , , 2 Comments

ForceAwakens

-I cried from anticipation during the first spaceship shot after the crawl.
-Daisy Ridley’s facial expressions convey a constant state of surprise. It is terribly endearing.
-It is the rare Star Wars character who can say that his decision in a moral quandary is simply the right thing to do. John Boyega has the earnestness to pull that off as ex-stormtrooper Finn.
-There is a bit of a potential romantic spark between Rey and Finn. He is clearly smitten the moment he sees her warding off scavengers. True, she yells when he keeps grabbing her hand, but that is more about practicality. (Come on, Finn, it’s not faster for either of you to be holding hands while running.) Right now, they have an intense friendship borne out by surviving death-defying adventure together, and it can develop or not develop however should be most natural.
-Rey’s desert attire is perhaps the best outfit in Star Wars history. Dressing decisions ought to be made based on comfort, functionality, and style; these three elements all feed into each other in this case.
-Adam Driver as Kylo Ren gives the performance that Hayden Christensen was supposed to give in the prequels. His petulant manchildishness is also reminiscent of Spaceballs’ Dark Helmet (in a good way).
-As Resistance pilot Poe Dameron, Oscar Isaac is the least tortured he’s ever been. Interesting.
-BB-8 does not disappoint. “Droid, please.”
-All your favorites are back! Even more than you might expect. They mostly pick up right where they left off, R2-D2 more than anyone else. Harrison Ford looks the most comfortable he ever has been as Han.
-Wow, this is exactly the same movie as A New Hope. Thankfully, the characters are so great that it is just thrilling to watch them (sky)walk through the beats.
-A few dramatic moments may happen too quickly, but they play in a way that might make you think, “perhaps there is a way to do it differently than the precedent that has been set.”

This Is a (Quickie) Movie Review: Chi-Raq

December 21, 2015

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews Leave a comment

Chi-Raq

Father Mike Corridan’s (John Cusack) firebreathing homily sets the tone and thesis statement for Chi-Raq. Rattling off statistics about gun culture and poverty with the passion of the Holy Spirit, he sounds much more like a fiery Pentecostal minister than a stereotypically low-key Catholic priest. There is no universally accepted response to gun violence, but Spike Lee is absolutely damn sure that doing nothing is just about the worst idea possible. So he has created this modern-day update of Lysistrata, complete with both women refusing to give up their sex until the violence ends AND the poetic dialogue. Some of the actors flounder a bit with the unnatural cadences of verse, while pros like Angela Bassett, Sam Jackson, and even Wesley Snipes kill it. Chi-Raq recognizes the humanity of everyone in this narrative, a fact that is too often astoundingly ignored.

This Is a (Quickie) Movie Review: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2

December 21, 2015

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Mockingjay2

The final installment of The Hunger Games is a collection of several great scenes and production details, but the overall product is not commensurately impressive. I bemoaned the announcement that the final book would be split into two movies, and the end result did not disabuse me of this notion. As the rebel fighters make their way to the Capitol, they are bombarded by a succession of ingeniously fiendish mutants and booby traps; they are the dangers of the hunger games themselves unleashed. The rebels are more impressed than intimidated, noting that the gamemakers have not stopped doing their jobs, even though the official games are no more. It is like a large-scale, lethally high-stakes Home Alone. There is plenty of room to draw out thematic points on this canvas, but the approach Part 2 (and Part 1) takes is not ideal for underscoring them. More close-ups of Jennifer Lawrence’s preternaturally expressive face might have helped.

This Is a (Quickie) Movie Review: The Peanuts Movie

December 21, 2015

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Peanuts

How old are Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang? Their constant concern about interpersonal relationship dynamics in their latest cinematic iteration would suggest that they are at least preteens, but part of the conceit of Charles Schulz’s creations is how wise (and neurotic, introspective, fastidious, etc.) beyond their years they are. The Peanuts Movie makes it clear that Sally is in kindergarten, and we know her big brother is only a couple of years older. Thus, it is so endearingly hilarious that Charlie frets over the possibility of going into escrow upon being paired up with the Little Red-Haired Girl on a book report assignment. The emotions these kids wear may be many sizes too big, but the values they display – loyalty, respect, individualism, joie de vivre – are timelessly adult.

SNL Recap December 19, 2015: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler/Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band

December 20, 2015

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SNL: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in December 2015.

“SNL’s” Christmas episodes often have a homecoming feel, insofar as good vibes are easier to come by than usual, and visits from old friends are part of the deal. Usually sports teams designate a winnable game as homecoming, because nobody wants to lose homecoming. So it only makes sense when the “SNL” Christmas lineup features as co-hosts two of the show’s most famous alums who have developed quite the comedic partnership, and as musical guest one of the most iconic rock stars of all time who has a beloved Christmas song in his arsenal. It would take a lot of effort to screw this one up.

Republican Presidential Debate – The GOP primary circus is a bit of a boon but also a formidable challenge for “SNL’s” political machine. The endless supply of candidates ensures plenty of buffoonery but makes for material that is by definition unfocused. Sketches that cruise through a menagerie of characters are reliable for a few laughs, but they are rarely classics. The best political moments have one or two star impressions. Who is the star of this sketch? Is it Darrell Hammond dropping in for his iconic Trump, Beck Bennett as a wimpy Jeb Bush, or is the star the lack of a true star? The best impression is probably Jay Pharoah’s Ben Carson, but he does not have the screen time to show for it. This is all to say, there is plenty of quality here, but it’s all just crowding each other out. B-

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What Won TV? – December 13-December 19, 2015

December 20, 2015

jmunney Television, What Won TV? , , , , , , Leave a comment

In this feature, I look back at each day of the past week and determine what shows “won TV” for the night. That is, I consider every episode of television I watched that aired on a particular day and declare which was the best.

amy-tina-bruce

Sunday – The Last Man on Earth
Monday – Fargo ended Season 2 on its own terms.
Tuesday – Jeopardy!
Wednesday – Jeopardy!
Thursday – Billy on the Street (but Honorable Mention to The Big Bang Theory for its most tender episode ever)
Friday – Jeopardy!
Saturday – Lola Fabray performing “12 Days of Christmas” after putting 12 shots of rum in her eggnog on SNL

East West Bowl 3: Pro Edition Lineups

December 18, 2015

jmunney Key & Peele, Sports, Television , , Leave a comment

This one is sure to be the most extravagant.

EAST
Creme De La Creme, Vanderbilt University
Cosgrove Shumway, Clemson
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, University of Alabama
Doink Ahanahue, Marshall
Legume Duprix, West Virginia University
Leger Douzable, University of Central Florida
Quisperny G’Dunzoid Sr., Central Connecticut State University
Grunky Peep, Georgia Southern University
D’Brickashaw Ferguson, University of Virginia
Strunk Flugget, University of South Carolina
Stumptavian Roboclick, Grambling State
Cornelius ‘Tank’ Carradine, Florida State University
Vagonius Thicket-Suede, Duke
Marmadune Shazbot, Tulane University
Swordless Mimetown, Jacksonville State University

WEST
Prince Amukamara, University of Nebraska
J.R. Junior Juniors Jr., Texas Christian University
Faux Doadles, University of Oregon
Fozzy Whittaker, The University of Texas
Myriad Profiteroles, Utah
Busters Brownce, Illinois State
Turdine Cupcake, Yuniaty (?)
Rerutweeds Myth, University of Washington (“Washingtwon”)
Ishmaa’ily Kitchen, Kent State University
Takittothu’ Limit, College of the Canyons
Snarf Mintz-Plasse, East Los Angeles College
Frostee Rucker, University of Southern California
Splendiferous Finch, Northwestern University
Triple Parakeet-Shoes, Ball State
Logjammer D’Baggagecling, North Texas University
A.A. Ron Rodgers, Cal

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