Sunday, November 26, 2017

Thanksgiving 2017: A Week of Movie binging


HAPPY HOLIDAYS BLOG READERS!!
I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving.  I did.  I’m kinda proud of the fact that I hosted the Superbowl of meals for the first time this year and found time to see a bunch of movies during the week.  In the days leading up to and past the Thursday feast I found myself visiting the cinema six times.  Is it a bit obsessive? You bet it is.  Did I enjoy the movies I saw? Mostly.  Did I enjoy myself watching them? Of course.  Most importantly did I enjoy the company of the variety of people I saw them with? ABSOLUTELY.  Without further ado here’s my breakdown of what I saw Thanksgiving week 2017.

The Star
The Star was first up.  I went to a Friday matinee before my shift at work, which is something I’ve become rather fond of doing.  The film it self follows the animals surrounding the birth of Christ.  In a time of incredible visual effects and animation techniques I found the animation in this film sloppy.  The film itself was ok.  The story is one I’m overly familiar with.  The best part was Tracy Morgan voicing a camel.  I had fun watching his scenes and imagining him goofing off in the recording studio.

Justice League
This film was not as bad as I was expecting it to be.  Justice League was a far cry from the excellent DC release Wonder Woman earlier this year and leaps better then last year’s Batman V Superman.  I enjoyed some of the battle sequences but overall found the film messy.  There seemed to be a few enjoyable moments sprinkled in the film.  I’m under the impression that those moments were created by Joss Wheadon of The Avengers when he was brought.

Lady Bird
I enjoyed watching Lady Bird but don’t understand the hype.  Apparently it has close to 100% on rotten tomatoes.  The movie is well written and had some very clever moments I didn’t like the central character.  I found her to complain to much.  The other problem I had was with the ending.  Don’t worry no spoilers but I found it to be contrived and it wrapped the film up in to neat of a bow.  I thought that was unnecessary.  It would of been better without the last five minutes.  

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri
I absolutely loved Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri.  The movie told a heart wrenching story with a very dark and twisted since of humor.  Every performance in the film was spot on and the writing incredible.  There will be a place for this film on my top ten list of the year when I publish that list next month.

Coco
Damn you Pixar! You created yet another masterpiece with Coco.  The filmmakers told a simple story, that like The Star has been told multiple times in multiple ways.  Unlike The Star the filmmakers added a truly original voice to the chorus.  The movie brought a lump to my throat and the detail to animation was incredible!  I’m a huge advocate of the experience of movie going, esp theatrically.  If you’re picky about what you see on the big screen make this one a priority. 

Roman J Israel Esq
When I first saw the trailer for Roman J Israel Esq, my first reaction was awards bait for Denzel Washington.  After seeing the film I feel confident in that reaction.  Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed the movie.  I thought the story was simple in plot and overly moralized.  I wish the filmmakers had met more in the middle on those two points.  However I liked how the story was told.  Yes it’s filled with slick legal tricks but it didn’t seem to be heavily weighted down with legal jargon that one would find in a John Grisham adaptation.  Though not as good as Coco & Three Billboards outside Ebbing Missouri I’m glad I saw it and enjoyed it more then some other films I saw this holiday week.  I’m looking at you Lady Bird.

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