Captain Fantastic (2016)

A father is raising his six children out in the wild -- teaching them everything from political science to stalking and taking down prey with a knife. They’re healthy, bright, and seem quite happy. When news of the mother’s death (who’d been in the hospital for months) reaches them, they decide to travel down to the funeral in Arizona, despite the real risk of having the family split up as a result.

This is smart and original and kicked off an interesting conversation.

A-

Jackie (2016)

The set-up is that Jackie is giving an interview a week after the assassination of her husband, so we see the events she’s describing in flashback while coming back to the interview itself periodically.

I have no idea if Natalie Portman does an amazing job here -- I know zero about the actual Jacqueline Kennedy. I do know that it’s a very precise performance and that she seems to be portraying a woman whose every public action was a deliberate performance. So, though it may be accurate, the whole thing also came off quite artificial and very, very cold.

D+

Elle (2016)

Woman is attacked and sexually assaulted in her home, but she doesn’t call the police due to a fraught history with them (her father’s an infamous mass murderer). Eventually it happens again and then things get really weird. And really yucky -- I’d say aggressively offputting.

Yes, it’s well directed and acted and it was difficult not to be interested, but it was kind of a bizarre subject and I was a little skeeved out.

C

Sicario (2015)

This film is both implausible and so very boring. We were left in the dark for quite some time about what was going on, which was frustrating enough, but the bigger problem was that every single person on screen was an asshole. I hated them all and just wanted them to stop being in my sight.

D-

20th Century Women (2016)

Not so much a contained story as a slice of life with bonus flashbacks and flashforwards. Though I liked the characters and was interested in what was going on, I was left with a touch of “is that it?” by the end.

B+

The Lobster (2016)

If you’re single, you’re taken to a hotel where you have to find a partner within a certain amount of time or be turned into an animal of your choosing. You can extend your time in the hotel by successfully hunting & tranquilizing the singletons who've escaped to live in the woods.

Everything I’d read about this prior to seeing it convinced me that this would be my type of story, but instead it was just weird. Sometimes that can be cool: I can definitely get down with some weirdness. But this was never anything but off-the-charts nuts -- but in the absolute dullest manner. For example, in one scene a man is talking to his new partner and their assigned daughter over a meal. He tells them the weight of a basketball and says "did you know that?" Neither the woman nor the girl did know that. He then says "Do you know how much a volleyball weighs?" and the girl responds sincerely "No, but I'd love to find out." See? It's weird. It's not funny or interesting.

I kept thinking “oh, here’s where it’s gonna get good," but it just never really did. Gary apologetically bailed after about 40 minutes and he definitely made the right decision.

D+

Zootopia (2016)

The entire movie kept pounding the message we fear them because of our past, not because of our present -- which is certainly a worthy one, but it doesn't leave much room for fun. It was cute and there were a few pointed observations (e.g. a sloth working at the DMV), but it was really just all about the lesson rather than laughs.

C

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

This was basically a pretty-good chapter of a book a don’t care about. Like at all. People I trust have told me it’s the best Star Wars movie and I have no reason to doubt that.

B-

Manchester by the Sea (2016)

Over dinner after the film, Gary asked me if I would label this a “perfect” film. I considered for several moments and then had to say “yes” because I couldn’t think of a single thing that I would tweak.

Though the story is incredibly sad, there were also some very funny moments, just as in real life. I loved the way the back story unfolded -- how we found out what has made this lonely, closed-off man who he is. I also really admired that the story didn’t turn out the way I expected and even hoped it would. Instead, writer/director Lonergan chose honesty, which was perfect.

A

Breathe (2015)

Quiet but happy high schooler becomes fast friends (in both senses of the word) with the new girl in class. This new girl has the ability to make you feel like the most important person in the world one minute while sucking all of the air out of the room the next.

Though I’m closing in on 50, I can still remember what it felt like to be made the temporary butt of jokes by a capricious “friend.” I don’t miss high school and it’s kind of uncomfortable when a film does such a good job of conveying that lonely, helpless feeling that the cruelty of peers can engender. 

A surprising story that feels true. This is incredibly well done.

A-

Sleeping Giant (2016)

Young teen summering on the lake with his nice family starts hanging out with a couple of rougher-than-he’s-used-to cousins. There’s wrestling, petty theft, smoking, sex talk, arguments, and plenty of dangerous behavior.

This is one of those movies that just gets what it’s like to be a kid who’s unsure of himself but desperately wants to grow up and be cool. There’s fear of being hurt physically, emotionally, and socially: it’s frankly a terrifying time of life that makes one incredibly susceptible to peer pressure and terrible decisions.

B+

The Salvation (2015)

Danish immigrant to America is finally able to send for his wife and son and loses them to violence immediately.

The rest of the story deals with all of the aftermath. There's retaliation, political fallout, and a town in turmoil. And it’s impressively handled. Not only is it beautifully shot, the film is silent when it should be (which is often) and told with economy.

Mads Mikkelsen sure knows how to pick interesting projects.

B+

The Brothers Grimsby (2016)

About as far away from Fences as we could get & just what we wanted to watch after that depress-o-thon. I don't mean to imply that this was any good, but we did laugh a few times and went to bed in a better mood than we would have.

C-