The Knight Owl Returns; An Overview Of 2015 In Movies

*Turns on monitor* *Dusts off keyboard* *Adjusts chair*

And here we go again.

Due to the ass end of 2015 getting kinda hectic, I've been away from the old blog and haven't posted since mid August. A truly sad fact that I hope will not be repeated at any point this year. However, the hiatus was with good reason, and now that I'm back, I have the stored creative juices necessary to start off 2016 with a bang. In regards to what's been going on with me in the past 6 months or so, here are the bullet points:

• Mandi and I moved to a new place of residence. It is an improvement.
• We also got a dog named Bruce. However, in the best interests of both ourselves and Bruce, we found him a new home. We maintain contact with the new owners and when last seen, Bruce was happy, healthy, and not very well behaved.
• For unknown reasons, I had a near crisis about turning 30. Then I turned 30 and now everything is fine. Yay for me!
• I am now SUPER into the X-Wing Miniatures game. I'm not too bad at it. 

That's pretty much it. Now it's 2016 and while the past year wasn't my worst, it did have its ups and downs. The same, apparently, was true for the film industry. To be honest, there weren't too many movies this year that overwhelmed me with joy, but there were one or two that made up for the majority. Some really great trips to the theatre, some abysmal wastes of time, and a lot of gray in between. In order to get back up to speed, the following are a collection of hard and fast opinions of the major releases I saw from 2015 in the order in which they were released. I promise they aren't as long winded as I usually get, and some are even shorter due to my already having reviewed them. Enjoy, and as always your reactions and opinions are welcome even if/especially because they differ from my own. 

On with the show...

• The Wedding Ringer: Kevin Hart is one of those comedians that, while I love their stand-up, does not translate well into film or TV. I'm glad he's getting his due, as I do think he's one of the funnier people in the world right now, but this is just one of the billion films he's in where his character just isn't as funny as Kevin himself. At least his career didn't go the way of John Mulaney's TV show. 

• Jupiter Ascending: Remember what I said about abysmal wastes of time? See my review for elaboration.

• Chappie: While I have a lot of appreciation for Neill Blomkamp's talent as a film maker, it's time for the visual presentation and setting of his films needs to change just to prove he's not a one-trick pony. There's a lot to really like about this film that is undone, in my opinion, by the stunt casting that is Die Antwoord. I don't know or care why they were in this movie, but it nearly turned a respectable genre film into a really long and expensive music video, and the film experience suffered for it.

• Trainwreck: Apatow at the height of his comedic powers, and Amy Schumer lighting the world on fire. This is my R-rated comedy pick of the year, which is pretty much uncontested anyways. This movie is worth the watch if only for the scene stealing performance of John Cena, who I'd rather see in a comedic movie role than a wrestling ring any day of the week.

• The Gunman: This was a less entertaining version of Jack Reacher or The Equalizer staring the french bulldog that is Sean Penn. All too little action, forgettable characters, and a predictable plot. I'll assume the book was better.

• Furious 7: It is exactly what you expect it to be, which isn't a bad thing at all. Over the top action flick is all you need sometimes, and the star studded cast adding the likes of Jason Statham, Tony Jaa, and Rowdy Ronda doesn't hurt. I wish this was going to be the end of the series, as the heartfelt send off of Paul Walker would have been a nice epilogue to the franchise that made his career, but they'll keep pumping these movies out until Vin's old and gray and needs to park in the handicap spots.

• Avengers: Age Of Ultron: I really want to like this movie more, but I don't. It is a very conflicting combination of great individual scenes, trailers for upcoming movies, and dudes chilling on a farm. At least James Spader is awesome. My review goes into it further.

• Pitch Perfect 2: As much as I enjoyed the first film, I feel as though this was just an unnecessary retreading of a movie that was already pretty by-the-numbers. When Anna Kendrick can't sell me on a movie, it's a special kind of not great.

• Mad Max: Fury Road: If Star Wars TFA wasn't as good as it was, this would be my favourite film of the year, no question. A crazy clusterfuck of amazing visuals and impossibly great action scenes. Even more remarkable that the franchise hasn't seen life in 30 years and the mastermind George Miller is in his 70's. If you haven't seen Fury Road yet, witness it as soon as possible. WITNESS!

• Inside Out: Pixar again shows its ability to hit me right in the feels. The movie is as funny and entertaining as it is emotional and relevant to not only kids, but to those who have kids and, specifically for me, for those who haven't really finished growing up in the first place.

• Jurassic World: Not great, Bob. See my review.

• Minions: A perfect example of too much of a good thing. A fun and charming element of another more well rounded film becomes quickly tiresome and loses its edge pretty quick. I get that I'm probably not the target audience for this movie, but I really liked the Despicable Me movies and the role that the minions played in them. But a whole movie about the little bastards is just too much.

• Southpaw: I'm a sucker for a good fight movie, even if they all end up as Rocky clones, and Southpaw isn't far from it. I walked into the film thinking it would be hard to convince me that Donnie Darko could be a boxer but Jake Gyllenhaal pulls it off. The more I see of him, the more I appreciate his work. Southpaw is pretty good, but is nowhere near as good as the other boxing movie that came out this year.

• Terminator Genysis: Haters can hate, I had fun with this movie. See my review.

• Ant Man: While it was nice to see the Marvel movie formula changed, Ant Man still suffers from some of the same problems as every other film in the MCU. It was definitely one of the more fun Marvel films, and a fresh approach to the introduction of a character, but at times feels like it was only made to justify having one more character in Civil War. 

• Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation: Much like Furious 7, you know what you're getting out of this. I've always been a big fan of the M:I films (even the overly ridiculous M:I2) and this one's no different. Props to Tom Cruise for making it seem possible that a 50-year-old midget can be the world's biggest bad ass. 

• Straight Outta Compton: While the overall plot of the film reminded me a little too much of that episode of Saved By The Bell where the group is a famous band, the true story behind NWA truly is a harrowing tale that should have an impact on anyone, no matter who you are or what your musical tastes might be. This is a much more important film than some might think, only made more so by the brilliant performances the film features. 

• Black Mass: This is the Johnny Depp I prefer over the goofy, eccentric, Jack Sparrow-y roles that he's so famous for. A serious, committed character actor doing service to the subject matter. Black Mass is a dark crime drama in the same vein as The Departed, effectively presented as a 1970's period piece, and packed with great performances from the likes of Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbiatch and what may be my favourite performance by Depp. 

• The Martian: If Fury Road is my second favourite movie of the year, The Martian is a close third. What could have easily been a very tough movie to watch is made surprisingly entertaining solely by the efforts and performance of Matt Damon. This film would live or die on the back of who ever played Mark Watney, and Damon not only made it bearable but really fun. I know the joke is that Damon has to get rescued in movies a bunch, but performances like this make it worth the effort. 

• Crimson Peak: While a visually beautiful and dark film, there's just not a lot that happens in it. What was made out to be a Victorian era ghost story and horror film ended more like a Jane Austen novel. Not necessarily a bad film, just not what I was looking for.

• Spectre: As much as most people prefer Skyfall, I have to say I enjoyed this a lot more. Christophe Waltz continues his tradition of stealing every scene he's in by being equal parts charming and evil prick. If this ends up being the last of the Daniel Craig era of Bond films, then this is a nice way to wrap it up.

• The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2: Much like the second half of the book that this film is adapted from, it gets going pretty fast and doesn't let up until the end. I'm happy to see that the craze of young-teen novel adaptations is dwindling, and that one of my favourite series ended with the same style and quality with which it began. And, as it goes without saying, Jennifer Lawrence is The Best, capital letters.

• Creed: When I first heard this movie's synopsis, I could not have been less excited. Now, I can say it accomplishes the same feel, the same heart, and the same impact of the original Rocky. Stallone delivers his best performance in years, maybe decades. Michael B. Jordan is the real deal, despite being in that apparently terrible Fantastic Four movie (haven't seen it yet, can't wait). Apparently this has been the year of resurrecting franchises from my youth, and Creed is one of the best examples of it. 

• Star Wars: The Force Awakens: And we have the best for last. I've seen this film 3 times now, and can officially say I can't empathize with anyone who doesn't think this is a great Star Wars movie. Sure, this movie has its faults, but they're the same faults as the original trilogy that everyone wanted so badly to be emulated in a new series of films. Yes, it's similar to Episode IV, but in the best ways possible. This movie is a perfect combination of leaving me satisfied yet excited to see more, something the Marvel films could learn a thing or two from. It might not be the Star Wars movie we deserve after all this time, but it's the one we need. 

And that's it for 2015, folks. Happy New Year!

Knight Owl