A Look Ahead to December 2016

December looks to be one of the best months for movies in a long time. The year of 2016 has been disappointing movie wise to say the least. But this December has some movies that just might be the saving grace for the year as a whole. From big blockbusters to much hyped indies, these are my most anticipated movies for December of 2016 (in order based on release date):

Man Down

I hadn’t even heard of this movie until I sat down to watch Allied this past weekend. And I can’t get some of the images from that trailer out of my mind. Man Down stars Shia LaBeouf (Transformers), Jai Courtney (Suicide Squad), and Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight). Based on the trailer it will chronicle the life of a soldier postwar and how he deals with the consequences of his actions from the battlefield.

Release Date:
December 2, 2016

Nocturnal Animals

An all-star cast, including Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler), Amy Adams (Arrival), Michael Shannon (Man of Steel), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass), Isla Fisher (Now You See Me), and Armie Hammer (The Social Network), leads this thrilling drama following a “story inside a story.” Aside from the cast, much of the movie is a mystery to me and that’s how I would like to keep it. Buzz from the festival circuit is enough to make me excited for this movie.

Release Date:

December 9, 2016

Star Wars: Rogue One

The most obvious one on this list, Star Wars: Rogue One has all the makings of another classic in a galaxy far, far away. This past Sunday night only confirmed how much hype is behind the movie having both Fandango and Cinemark’s websites crashing as soon as presale tickets went online (luckily I was able to sneak in after only forty minutes of waiting). Seeing the plans of the Death Star being stolen sounds like a shallow idea for a movie but the talent on and off screen as well as the early trailers prove once again that the world of Star Wars is as lively and exciting as ever. I know I’ll see Rogue One twice if not more than that and that’s why it’s at the top of my most anticipated.

Release Date:

December 16

La La Land

A movie I’m surprised about how excited I am for is La La Land directed by Damien Chazelle of Whiplash fame, one of my favorite movies of 2014. I’m surprised due to the fact that this movie is a musical, a film genre I am not a huge fan of. Starring Ryan Gosling (Drive) and Emma Stone (Easy A and Superbad), La La Land has been garnering huge Oscar buzz and much critical acclaim. And I don’t even know that much about the plot. The trailers so far have done a good job of introducing the tone of the movie without spoiling any of the main plot points.

Release Date:
December 16, 2016

Assassin’s Creed

Hopefully the movie that will finally break the streak of bad video game movies, Assassin’s Creed visually looks like it could be just that film. With Michael Fassbender (X-Men Franchise) of and Mario Cotillard (The Dark Knight Rises), Assassin’s Creed should not fail from the talent involved in front of the screen. My worries lie behind the scenes within an unknown director in Justin Kurzel (MacBeth) and the writers of Allegiant involved. But the trailers did excite me enough to include this movie on the list.

Release Date:

December 21, 2016

Sing

Musical hits from the 1940s to the present day combined with an all-star cast look to make Sing one of the best animated movies of 2016, which is saying something based off the many incredible animated films we have gotten this year. Again the director, Garth Jennings (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)

, has me a bit nervous because he has a small repertoire of films in his book but again the jokes and musical talent involved are at a high enough quality to make me excited for this movie.

Release Date:

December 21, 2016

Fences

Fences is one of the plays I read in my senior year of high school. It was one of the few works that I enjoyed in high school and it’s exciting for me to see it translate to the big screen. The trailers show that both Denzel Washington (Training Day) and Viola Davis (Prisoners) will deliver powerhouse performances and could be just great enough to take home the Oscar gold in February.

Release Date:

December 25, 2016

One of the most exciting things for me about all these upcoming movies is the number of unknown directors helming the projects. Most of these movies feature directors with only one maybe two movies to their credit and hopefully these movies will all be good enough to make each one of them a household name.

Comment with your most anticipated down below and give the blog a follow.

Don't Think Twice

     Don’t Think Twice, starring Keegan-Michael Key, Mike Birbiglia, Gillian Jacobs, Kate Micucci, Tami Sagher, and Chris Gethard and written and directed by Mike Birbiglia, tells the story of a comedy improv troop living in New York City. When one of them makes it big on a Saturday Night Live type show, the others must learn to live with seeing one of their make it big well they themselves still strive for a big break.

     The biggest strength of this movie lies with the ensemble cast of aspiring improv actors. Each one is at a different stage in their careers and helps to shine a different light on the lives of those in the amateur comedy world. As Jack (Key) begins his rise to fame, the others must confront their own failings and shortcomings which helps to drive the action of the movie. There are no weaknesses on display shown by any of the actors or actresses and each one is given their moment to shine. And the ending of the movie is not what you might expect but is most certainly earned and

     The setting of the movie lends to a grittiness that I greatly appreciated. As a fan of sketch shows such as Saturday Night Live, it was interesting to see what presumably happens behind the scenes. This movie could have come off as feeling incredibly fake or cheesy but Birbiglia helps to ground it and bring real emotion to the story, presumably because he often draws on his own life experience to tell the stories. His directorial debut, Sleepwalk with Me, gained much critical praise and I hope to view it in the near future.

     One of my only real problems with the movie was the mindset that I came into it with. Viewing it as a comedy hurts the movie because a lot of the best jokes are shown in the trailer (which I fortunately waited to watch until after the movie). But walking into the movie with the mindset that you are watching a drama with comedic beats would almost certainly have enhanced my viewing experience. Also, as with nearly every comedy, a few of the jokes fall flat but fortunately that happens few and far between. My last minor complaint comes with Birbiglia himself. I felt like his character said some things that felt out of character in favor of pushing ahead the plot of the story.

     But don’t think that these minor complaints should hold you back from seeing Don’t Think Twice. It will make you laugh, cry, and most importantly think, something I feel happens far too little nowadays.

When should you see it?

Wait a Week

Allied

     Allied, starring Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard and directed by Robert Zemeckis, tells the story of two spies (Pitt and Cotillard) who fall in love while on mission behind enemy lines during WWII. But that’s just the start of the movie as alliances are tested and lines become crossed as Max Vatan (Pitt) must investigate if the women he loves, Marianne Beauséjour (Cotillard), to determine if she is a Nazi spy.

     Throughout this movie, Zemeckis proves once again he is a master behind the camera. From sweeping shots of deserts outside of Casablanca to incredible air rides subtly placed into the background, Allied is most definitely a beautiful looking movie. I personally loved his use of his camera around cars where he would zoom in through the back window and out through a side seamlessly blended as if no glass was there.

     The two leads, Pitt and Cotillard, prove again why they are two of the best in the movie business with their relationship feeling authentic. I feel as though Pitt is having a quiet resurgence of sorts as he was great in Fury and The Big Short and Allied again shows his acting chops. Cotillard on the other hand is more of an enigma to me as I have seen very little of her work, but her acting in this movies makes me want to go out and see some of her other films such as Two Days, One Night or Big Fish.

     While the camera work and acting were both top notch, the movie is hurt by the story it tells. Although the leads are able to sell the story they are given, the movie feels much longer than its two hour and four-minute runtime. The first hour of the movie plods on as Vatan and Beauséjour spend weeks together in Casablanca. Although it helps to build the relationship, it feels overextended. The attempts at suspense also fall flat specifically in a scene with a Nazi commander that could have been dripping with anticipation but rather feels like a waste of time. And the conclusion of the movie is the only way the story could have ended but it does not feel satisfying.

     The cinematography and acting on display in this movie make it not a completely wasted effort, but the story ultimately hinders it from being something truly special.

When should you see it?

Dollar Theater