Drama

Passengers

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Directed by Oscar-nominated director Morten Tyldum who is best known for 2015’s The Imitation Game, Passengers is a fairly good and visually appealing sci-fi film that ultimately falls short of its lofty potential with its casting of Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt. Set in the future when intergalactic travel is possible, Chris Pratt plays Jim Preston, a mechanical engineer from Earth who mysteriously wakes up too early from hibernation on his way to the distant colonial planet of Homestead II. Over time, he falls in love with the only other passenger to accidentally wake up, a beautiful young woman named Aurora who is played by Jennifer Lawrence. After their relationship begins on a rather controversial foot, they discover that something is very wrong with the spaceship they are traveling on with 5,000 other hibernating passengers. If they do not come up with a solution, the two are faced with spending the rest of their lives in space since they are supposed to reach their destination in 90 years. Although they are surrounded by luxurious amenities and a friendly robotic bartender named Arthur, played by Michael Sheen, they are desperate to find a way to go back into hibernation. The highlight of the movie is the terrific chemistry between Lawrence and Pratt, two of the hottest actors today whose charisma and attractiveness make their on-screen love interest more appealing. Also, the modern sets and props, accentuated by CGI, give the film a realistic and polished vision of future space travel. Overall, despite the visually arresting aesthetic, the movie never fully takes off and is beset by a slow pace with very little action, unusual for a Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster with such a high budget and talented actors.

A Monster Calls

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Based on the best-selling 2011 book written by Patrick Ness after the death of writer Siobhan Dowd who came up with the original idea, A Monster Calls is an emotionally powerful movie that mixes a tragic story about human suffering and fantastical elements of allegory. The film follows Conor, a 12-year-old boy living in England who must cope with his single mother suffering from a terminal illness. Feeling extremely isolated at home and school where he is bullied, he is visited by a monster in the form of a tree who provides him an outlet for his difficult life. The monster, voiced by Liam Neeson, feels very much part of his vivid imagination and is inspired by his love for drawing creatures. The appearance of the friendly monster late at night serves as a coping mechanism for Conor as he is subjected to the unfathomable experience of watching his mother, portrayed by Oscar-nominated actress Felicity Jones, slowly die and without the constant presence of his father. Eventually, the monster forces him to rebell against his school bullies and his less-than-endearing grandmother, played by Sigourney Weaver. The filmmaker crafts an evocative, almost magical story by interspersing fantastical animated sequences that feel as if they jump off the pages of an artistic child’s notebook. It provides a visually spectacular experience that helps to underscore the deeply moving emotions of the suffering characters. Overall, I found it to be a wholly unique movie whose message is ultimately uplifting despite the fact that it can be best described as a tearjerker. The imagery is symbolic of the raw emotions of a child too young to have to go through such profound grief.

Jackie

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Directed by the critically acclaimed Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larraín, Jackie is a powerful film about the JFK assassination as told from the personal perspective of Jacqueline Kennedy, with a remarkable performance from Academy Award-winning actress Natalie Portman. The JFK assassination has been explored many times in cinema and television, yet this movie gives a uniquely important contribution by depicting the personal toll the horrific event had on those intimately involved. The movie follows Jackie as she experiences the visceral shock of watching her husband being viciously murdered and the aftermath as she tries to cope with his death as well as helping the American people cope with the tragedy. It is primarily told through a series of flashbacks as she recounts those fateful days in November 1963 to a journalist, played by Billy Crudup, at the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. Although much of the dialogue is fictionalized dramatization, the filmmaker crafts a vivid picture of the emotional trauma experienced by Jackie, not just as another public figure, but as a wife who just lost her beloved, albeit complicated husband. We witness her heart-wrenching grief of suddenly becoming a widow and having to tell her two young children that their father is gone. Portman gives a nuanced and dignified performance, very much like the real young and stylish first lady, who must deal with her own emotions while at the same time planning the logistics of burying an American president, moving out of the White House, and ensuring a seamless transition to the new president. The film’s power lies in its subdued and vignette-heavy structure that focuses on intimate details rather than the sensational criminal act of the assassination itself. It feels very much like an independent movie because of its artistic use of cinematography, slow pace, and in-depth character studies that rely on terrific acting performances. The filmmaker also cleverly uses songs from the musical Camelot to underscore the idealistic JFK presidency, often referred to as Camelot, that came to a crashing halt with an act of violence. Overall, I found it to be a film of immense poignancy that effectively captures the human emotion of grief, primarily as a result of Natalie Portman giving one of the more memorable acting performances of the year.

La La Land

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From Damien Chazelle who received a Academy Award nomination for best director for 2014’s Whiplash, La La Land is a vibrantly energetic film that revives the musical genre to its former glory. At its heart, it is an ode to old Hollywood and the thriving contemporary metropolis of Los Angeles. The movie follows a young woman named Mia, terrifically portrayed by the fresh-faced Emma Stone, who has moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. Like many other young actors and actresses, she has dreams of hitting it big time, but she has the typical experience of being rejected and stuck in a dead-end job to make ends meet. Through a series of chance encounters, she meets an equally aspiring young artist named Sebastian, played by the brilliant and handsome Ryan Gosling, and they began a whirlwind romance told through exuberant musical numbers. Sebastian himself is an old school jazz pianist who has difficulty breaking through the highly commercialized music industry, and he has dreams of opening an old fashioned jazz club. Like the film’s style and genre, both characters feel like they are from a bygone era and remain idealistic despite the challenges they face in their respective rapidly changing and business-oriented entertainment industries. This new paradigm is reflected by John Legend who plays a musician catering to contemporary taste simply to make a buck and forces Sebastian to face the harsh realities of the music business. What makes the movie so special is its interspersal of wildly energetic and magically shot sequences in which the characters sing and dance in highly choreographed fashion, reminiscent of Fred Astaire musicals. The film employed the rather clever technique of dimming the lights around the characters as they began a musical sequence. Not particularly a fan of musicals, I was pleasantly surprised that the filmmaker only used musical numbers when it was necessary and not too over-the-top to be distracting from the storyline. Overall, I found it to be one of the more joyful and exciting experiences I have had at the movies: the musical elements were effusively entertaining and the plot was well-crafted nostalgia. I would recommend it to those looking for a light-hearted time that harks back to the heyday of old Hollywood romance and musicals. 

Lion

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Based on an incredible true story, Lion is a terrific film about the heartbreaking tragedy of a lost Indian child who overcomes his circumstances to attempt to reconnect with his loved ones. The first half of the movie follows a 5 year old boy named Saroo from an impoverished Indian village who is separated from his family after falling asleep on an abandoned train that ends up thousands of miles away in Calcutta. We witness his gut-wrenching search for his mother and brother in a foreign region without being able to tell authorities where he is from or how to contact his family. Reminiscent of the 2008 movie Slumdog Millionaire, the film shows the abject poverty and deplorable conditions of the very young orphans living on the streets in the densely populated slums of India. After several dangerous encounters, he is eventually placed with a white Australian couple, played by Academy Award-winning actress Nicole Kidman and David Wenham, who provide him the means to lead a successful life in Tasmania far away from India. In the film’s second half, Dev Patel, in his best performance since his breakthrough role in Slumdog Millionaire, portrays Saroo 25 years later who has a seemingly well-adjusted life in Australia and is in a long-term relationship with a young woman played by Rooney Mara. However, his sense of purpose is upended after discovering the newly released online tool Google Earth and realizing that it may be possible to find his family. He uses the software’s satellite imagery to retrace the train routes he took on that fateful day to locate his Indian home. Desperate for a long shot hope of reconnecting with his biological mother and brother, he spends countless hours meticulously combing through Google Earth and other online research material. Although ultimately an uplifting inspirational story about literally rediscovering oneself, the movie vividly recounts the heart-wrenching agony of a child being separated from his family and having to join a brand new family thousands of miles away. Furthermore, the filmmaker effectively underscores the story’s painful truth: despite tragically losing his family, his adoption allowed him to escape a life of destitution that would have been practically guaranteed if he remained in India. Overall, I found it to be one of the more poignant cinematic experiences that was both depressing and beautifully uplifting at the same time while providing the already talented young actor Dev Patel with a truly career-defining performance.

Miss Sloane

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Directed by John Madden who is best known for 1998’s Shakespeare in Love, Miss Sloane is a riveting political thriller about a high-powered Washington lobbyist who uses her sometimes dirty tactics to help pass a gun control bill. The terrific acting performance from Oscar-nominated actress Jessica Chastain is really what makes the movie shine. Chastain portrays the lead character Elizabeth Sloane whose ruthless reputation makes her a particularly well sought-after lobbyist at one of the nation’s leading lobbying firms, run by Sam Waterston’s character. Complicating the audience’s characterization of her as a spineless and greedy lobbyist, she rejects an offer from the extremely powerful gun lobby to help defeat a bill mandating universal background checks for gun purchases. Instead, she shocks everyone by joining a small lobbying group, led by Mark Strong’s activist character, whose intent is to pass that very law. The filmmaker makes the interesting decision to have the story be played out mostly through flashbacks as Sloane is being investigated at a Senate hearing whose chair is a hostile Senator played by John Lithgow. Reinforcing the notion that politics is a nasty business full of conniving characters, the film follows Chastain’s character as she commits morally questionable and borderline illegal activities for the sole purpose of winning. However, the viewer feels torn because her actions can be justified as being in the pursuit of a just cause. The final plot twist in the end really drives home the film’s central question of whether the end justifies the means. Overall, I found it to be an enjoyable political thriller that feels especially relevant in today’s toxic political environment and transcends the genre by having one of the year’s best performances from Jessica Chastain. 

Rules Don’t Apply

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Directed by Academy Award-winning director Warren Beatty, Rules Don’t Apply is a light-hearted film presenting a glorified look into early Hollywood through a fictionalized romance between a starlet and driver in the employ of billionaire Howard Hughes. Set in 1950s and 1960s Hollywood, the story follows the young and religious Frank Forbes, portrayed by rising star Alden Ehrenreich, who moves to Los Angeles in hopes of getting a wealthy benefactor to finance a real estate project. As the driver for many young actresses under contract with Hughes’ movie studio, Forbes falls in love with one of these women, a young and naive actress named Marla, played by the fresh-faced Lily Collins. While this budding romance, strictly forbidden by their boss, surreptitiously unfolds, we witness the hilariously absurd behavior of the notoriously peculiar Howard Hughes, played by Warren Beatty in his first acting role in almost 15 years. Over the course of the movie, Forbes, along with another driver played by Matthew Broderick, becomes a close confidant to the obscenely wealthy business executive, aviator, and movie producer who is evidently plagued with a whole host of mental problems. Much of the film’s charm comes from the zany and often laughable antics of Hughes, whether it be ordering several hundred gallons of banana nut ice cream or hiding away in a hotel suite. At times, the plot seems to be all over the place and too reliant on poking fun of Hughes. Although it looks nice on camera and is filled with a wide range of Hollywood A-listers, the movie does not feel as polished and satisfying as some of Warren Beatty’s other works. It comes across as more of a piece of nostalgia harking back to the pinnacle of Beatty’s career as an international sex symbol in the 1960s and 1970s. It also seems like a platform for many famous actors and actresses to simply have the opportunity to cameo in a movie alongside such a highly respected figure as Warren Beatty. Overall, the film does contain entertaining moments that work as cheap laughs deriving from the quirky nature of Hughes, but it ultimately falls short of the high expectations set by the return of such a talent as Warren Beatty. It should not be treated as more than a superficially amusing comedy whose greatest asset is Beatty’s depiction of the exceptionally strange historical figure Howard Hughes.

Nocturnal Animals

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Written and directed by famed fashion designer Tom Ford, Nocturnal Animals is a stylishly peculiar film noteworthy for its nuanced acting performances and cinematically stunning details. The movie stars Amy Adams as a wealthy contemporary art gallery owner living in Los Angeles who one day receives a draft for a novel written by her estranged ex-husband. As she reads the mysterious and violent manuscript late at night at her immaculate modern mansion, the viewer is transported to the novel’s actual story set in desolate West Texas. The main protagonist, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, is driving with his wife and daughter in the middle of nowhere on their way to Marfa, Texas when they are unexpectedly confronted by a group of men led by Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s vicious character. As the story progresses, the movie switches back and forth between Adams’ character who has flashbacks to her ex-husband, also played by Jake Gyllenhaal, and the written narrative as the protagonist searches for his missing family. The always terrific and creepy Michael Shannon appears as the local detective investigating the disappearance and has no qualms with seeking justice outside the law. Amy Adams’ character becomes increasingly horrified with the feeling that her ex-husband’s writings may allude to their soured relationship and the possibly violent repercussions. Therefore, the film in both of its parallel story lines is at its heart a story of love and betrayal and is full of macabre themes emphasized by the strange qualities of the film. Clearly not for everyone, especially those disturbed easily, it is very much an artsy movie concerned with the look and feel and whose plot leaves you hanging at the end. The director Tom Ford’s career in high fashion is readily apparent in the way that he creates a beautifully shot film complete with sumptuous scenery and costumes. Overall, I found it to be a highly well-crafted movie with top-notch acting and cinematography but sometimes to be too weird and dark for most moviegoers.

Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk

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Directed by Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk is a rather unique war drama that disappointedly falls short of its lofty ideals and creative story structure. Based on the critically acclaimed 2012 novel written by longtime Dallas resident Ben Fountain, the film follows a young soldier named Billy Lynn, portrayed by Joe Alwyn in his first feature film, who is being celebrated as a hero at a football game in Texas. It largely takes place in real time as Billy and his fellow soldiers in Bravo Squad participate in a Thanksgiving Day halftime show for a NFL team clearly based on the Dallas Cowboys. As he is essentially being used as a patriotic prop alongside the pop group Destiny’s Child, he experiences vivid flashbacks to his time serving in the Iraq War where he was credited with saving other soldiers’ lives. The movie juxtaposes the horrors of war felt by many servicemen with the extravagance and frivolity of a highly commercial American sporting event. Although the spectators, including the wealthy team owner who is based on Jerry Jones and played by Steve Martin, speak words of praise for the military, their actions show a deeper cynicism in which soldiers are taken advantage of in pursuit of self-interest. For instance, Martin’s character unabashedly undervalues the soldiers by offering to pay them very little for the rights to their story to be used in a film. Over the course of the movie, Billy also must deal with his distraught sister, played by Kristen Stewart, who urges him to leave the army. By raising such issues, the film conveys the struggles that many in the military experience on a daily life. Unfortunately, the largely lackluster script and contrived acting performances do not do justice to the emotionally powerful source material. Overall, I found it to be a movie full of potential that was never fully able to overcome its shortcomings.

Manchester by the Sea

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Written and directed by noted playwright and screenwriter Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea is a truly exceptional film about the powerful emotion of grief and is anchored by perhaps the best performance of the year from Casey Affleck. In a career-defining role perfectly suited for him, Affleck plays the somber character Lee Chandler who is stuck in a dead-end job as a janitor in Quincy, Massachusetts without much hope for the future. His lonely life dramatically changes with the death of his brother Joe, portrayed by Kyle Chandler, who worked as a fisherman in their hometown of Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts. Without any remaining immediate family in the area able to help, Joe’s teenage son Patrick is placed under the guardianship of Lee. Extremely hesitant throughout much of the movie to take over the parenting responsibilities, Lee is forced to return to the quaint sleepy fishing town of Manchester-by-the-Sea where he must face his tragic past. The director artfully paints the difficulties Affleck’s character experienced by seamlessly blending flashbacks with current events that bring back mostly bad memories. We are introduced to his ex-wife, played by the brilliant Michelle Williams, who is equally grief-stricken after their shared unimaginable family tragedy several years prior. Lee’s nephew Patrick, portrayed by the young Lucas Hedges, is a fully human character epitomizing the effects of grief. He rarely shows emotions typical of most teenagers and becomes much more rebellious after his father’s death. Patrick occasionally breaks down emotionally and his already weary uncle must somehow overcome his own heartbreak to support Patrick at such a time of crisis. The movie effectively underscores the characters’ emotional turmoil by setting the story in an economically depressed town during the unbearably cold winter. Although it is a charmingly beautiful New England on the North Shore, Manchester-by-the-Sea has a layer of despair emphasized by the harsh and dreary winter. Overall, I found the film to be a towering cinematic achievement evoking the raw emotions associated with being human and made powerful by the mesmerizing Casey Affleck who unquestionably deserves to win the Oscar for best actor.