Steve Jobs: Not the Ashton Kutcher Version

Steve Jobs attempts to tell the complicated tale of Steve Jobs' life through three different product launches for the Macintosh (1984?), The Cube (1988?), and the imac (1999). A good script from Aaron Sorkin and superb acting from Fassbender, Daniels, Rogan, and Winslet help carry the story. It deals a lot with his very complex relationship between his daughter, who he denies for several years, his baby mama, and his employees/coworkers, etc. The relationship between "Woz" (engineering genius Steve Wozniack) is interesting and complex. Daniels plays former Pepsi CEO and the Apple CEO who gets Jobs ousted John Sculley. Winslet and Fassbender's back and forth is superb. I think they should've pushed for more film dealing with his later years. I would've liked an ipod release, or something for his last 15 years. There is plenty to cover in Steve Jobs life, but I wanted more of the redemption story and the push to make Apple a giant again. Bottom Line: 8.2 out of 10. I'm a sucker for great acting and Aaron Sorkin's writing. I would again mention this will be out on video soon and that's totally fine to catch it when it's cheap or free. I do think Fassbender will get a nomination in another loaded Best Actor field. Dicaprio in the Revenant will be another seeming surefire nomination on top of Fassbender, Gyllenhall, another Eddie Redmayne Oscar-bait role in the Danish Girl, and who knows who else will fill the card.

Mockingjay Part II: The Conclusion

I needed to see this in theatres because I thought the previous three films were all excellent. This movie is a very different from the others in that it's actually pretty light on heart. The movie is an action movie similar to an Alien/Predator movie in that it follows a small task force led by Katniss and some other tributes and all-stars. It's very serious and a different feel for sure. The rebels are trying to take the capitol, kill President Snow, and complete their rebellion and win freedom for all. The capitol is heavily fortified and it gets ugly in the process of taking it over. Katniss is again at the forefront and her celebrity is utilized in ways she isn't a fan of. Her love triangle is still in the works, though Peeta is still a bit crazy and bloodthirsty at times from the brainwashing. Bottom Line: 7.4 out of 10. I was disappointed, but it's still a solid film. I was hoping for more in this final installment, but it gets the job done. You can wait until it's on video or cable.

Southpaw

I fell into the Black Friday madness and bought Southpaw for $9 knowing I wanted to see Gyllenhall's Oscar bid. The movie follows him as a boxer from the tough New York foster system. He marries Rachel McAdams, they live in a mansion, they have a daughter, and he fights UGLY. He is a brawler who is somehow 43-0 and holds a bunch of title belts. The movie follows him through another title defense and 50 Cent plays a promoter who is actually pretty good in the role. Gyllenhall defends the title at a pretty steep cost to his body, particularly his face. He retreats to the solace of his wife and daughter. There is another fighter looking to challenge for the crown and in a skirmish SOMEHOW Rachel McAdems gets shot and dies from it on the floor of a hotel. That sends Gyllenhall into a talespin and he somehow loses everything, which I refuse to believe is even possible. His violent tendencies cost him custody of his daughter and he has to rebuild from the bottom working at a gym and training with Forrest Whitaker, the damaged one-eye trainer. Bottom Line: 7.1 out of 10. Very well acted with the exception of his daughter (as bad as that sounds to bash a kid acting...). It's worth a shot when it comes to cable. Gyllenhall bulks up very well for the role, but it's tough to buy him as a bad boy still.

Spectre: The Newest Bond Offering

I was excited to see Spectre knowing the GOBS of hype, great cast, and solid track record from the other Daniel Craig Bond films, Quantum of Solace being excluded from the "solid" comment. This movie picks up with Bond tracking men to a hotel in Mexico City (By the way I missed the first 5 minutes, so I may have missed something important, etc. sadly). Bond hears of plans to blow up a stadium and he starts shooting guys, hitting the explosive device. After the huge scene he successfully kills everyone involved, takes off a ring with an Octopus symbol (SPECTRE's symbol) on it, and escapes in a helicopter. The attention gathered from the incident puts MI:6 and the "OO" program in serious jeopardy with Britain's new Joint Chief of Staff. Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, and Naomie Harris all come back to reprise their roles of "M", "Q", and "Moneypenny", which is great. Waltz is the new addition that I was incredibly happy about. He plays the classic role of "Blofeld", Bond's greatest enemy. Bond continues to search for SPECTRE fueled by a video recorded from Judi Dench's "M" letting him know to search out and kill Marco Sciarra. Monica Bellucci is very underused as Sciarra's widow. Bond begins to peel back layers of SPECTRE and finding out from Mr. White himself that SPECTRE is very serious and gives Bond information on the promise that Bond will protect his only daughter (insert Lea Seydoux). It's similar to most Craig-style Bond's, though Waltz is VERY underutilized as Blofeld and the primary villain. There's not enough screen time between Bond & Blofeld. This film is lacking in feeling too in my opinion. I liked Dave Bautista as the generic super-muscle. The story is stale in that it feels too similar to Skyfall. British Intelligence is compromised at the highest level, bad-guy has eyes everywhere, it's Bond vs. technology and the smarter bad guy. Bottom Line: 7.3 out of 10. I was far from impressed, but it was still a decently entertaining film. Seydoux's very good and I expect her to be around for a very long time. Hopefully she continues to do American films.

Run All Night

Seeing the cast of Ed Harris and Liam Neeson I knew I would eventually see this movie. It popped up on HBO and I was in. The movie follows Neeson's character "Jimmy", who was a hitman for Ed Harris' fledgling crime syndicate that is now the largest in the city, which I think is Boston or New York, I don't think they ever specifically say? Jimmy is an old drunk who does nothing with his life and Shawn Maguire (Harris) is the only person who cares about him anymore. Maguire's son Danny is trying to be a part of the family business, but instead just does a bunch of coke and is an idiot. He brings a deal to his dad where Russian's are going to send heroin to the ports he controls and he'll get a nice cut and a few million dollars up front. Shawn turns down the deal, his son freaks out and the Russians want revenge on Danny. The Russians randomly book Jimmy's son Mike, who drives limo, hates his dad, and trains children without father's to box in his spare time, so he'd be the "good guy" in this film. The Russians are shot by Danny, the last one in a side alley that Mike and one of the kids he trains to box see, and record on the kids phone. Danny then realizes he'll probably have to kill Mike, but he escapes, goes home, and his dad comes over to smooth things over. He hates his dad Jimmy, which they make apparent constantly, but realizing it's his best bet to stay alive, he listens. Danny, despite orders from his father to leave it alone, breaks in to kill Mike. Jimmy shoots Danny, and the movie finally starts to get more entertaining. Jimmy goes to war vs. Shawn Maguire and finally people start dying and this becomes a real film. Harris is underused, Neeson is solid, but unspectacular, I'm not a fan of Joel Kinnaman (new Robocop) who plays Mike. Story is one you've seen before, but it's still entertaining and done alright. Bottom Line: 6.2 out of 10. Nothing special here, but after the paragraph I wasted explaining the film you can fast forward, save 30 minutes and see the good parts finally.

Dope: Limited Budget Gold

Dope follows a group of "nerdy" kids in Englewood, CA. There are three in the group and they live 90's hip-hop style. High-tops that rival Will Smith's at his peak, but not quite Kid from Kid n' Play. They deal with the realities that to get to a good college it takes a lot. They start hanging out with a drug dealer who stuffs a backpack with two kilos of MDMA (Molly) and off the adventure goes. Great references to 90's culture and hip-hop is all of the place, so I dug that. ASAP Rocky makes a guest appearance and is great in his turn as the drug dealer they start hanging out with. Bottom Line: 8. 8 out of 10. Underrated hit this year that is well done throughout. It's worth watching and poses the great question of are kids in "rough" neighborhoods looked down upon (yes) during college applications and does their experiences in fact make them a better choice than white kids from privileged upbringings? Big fan and I hope this gets some love during awards season.