THE OPTIMIST - MOVIE REVIEWS

       The buzz surrounding La La Land has been palpable and infectious. From the trailers I found myself interested, but the insane amount of positive feedback and whispers of possible golden statues in its future placed La La Land from a "I'll get around to seeing it" level to a "I've got to just see this thing already!" state of mind. I'm literally forty-five minutes removed from seeing the movie as I type this and I've got to say right off the bat that this movie is fantastic. I didn't want it to end, and when it did, the bubbling brew of emotions in the cauldron of my soul cried out for more! (A bit over the top? Deal with it. It's that good!). As a love letter to Hollywood, old-time film-making, and the power of a musical, La La Land will sweep you off your feet, place you gently down while caressing and tugging at every emotional string your body entails.    Writer/director Damien Chazelle, a mere rookie in the world of featu

   As the year comes to a close, movie theaters become chalked full of great films to experience as a new year of possibilities gets ushered in. This is awards season, and films vying for the gold are spewing into the cinemas at an alarming rate. That's not to say there haven't been award-worthy films earlier in the year. It just seems like there's always a push towards the year's end. One of these films of which I speak is the Denzel Washington-directed Fences . Based on the screenplay and original play written by August Wilson, Fences tells the story of an African-American father named Troy (played by Washington) who struggles with race relations in the United States while trying to raise his family in the 1950s and coming to terms with the events of his life. It is a harrowing, heavy tale that is unlike any film to have come out this year. The movie itself plays out like a stage production, relying on the rhythm and poetry of August Wilson's words mingled wit

     From director Morten Tyldum, who gave us the thrilling Oscar nominated film The Imitation Game , comes a romantic sci-fi adventure that is highly entertaining, yet falls just short of being spectacular. Passengers is one of those films that has a fun premise, great execution, but then suffers from a classic Hollywood trope of making sure there are explosions in any movie with an inkling of action, ultimately taking away from what was working well to begin with. As the movie went along I kept thinking to myself "Man, this is REALLY good!" But as the third act began, it gave way to some interesting narrative choices, ultimately skewering the possibility of true greatness. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed this movie a lot for reasons I will expound on, and I highly recommend seeing it.     Passengers is set sometime in our future. There is a company that has monopolized the business of colonizing other planets and offers the opportunity for people to leave the

   If you were to ask me if I was more excited for either The Force Awakens or Rogue One , I don't know if I could answer you. The Force Awakens rode heavily on the nostalgia factor and for that reason alone it garnished loads of anticipation from both me and everyone else in the world. With Rogue One we enter this new realm of the Star Wars legacy in that for the first time we have a Star Wars movie that isn't a saga episode, nor does it focus on the Skywalker family soap opera. Rogue One is something new, something fresh, and it's bloody brilliant. I went into this movie with heated anticipation to see just how much this movie connected with the established narrative. Instead I found myself focused on the characters and the story presented, allowing the minor callbacks to past films to garnish the zesty meal of a movie before my eyes. Rogue One will surprise you, it will tap the Star Wars nostalgia button deep down in your psyche, and then gut-punch you with such

       From  Denis Villeneuve, the director of Prisoners and Sicario , comes one of the most exceptional science-fiction films of the year with Arrival . I feel like sometimes I am stuck on a merry-go-round when discussing the originality of films these days, stating the lack thereof over and over and over again. There have been some really great and enjoyable movies this year, both good and bad, both original and not; if 2016 had anything to say about it, it would be that originality is only few and far between the mammoth assembly line blockbusters that we've come to expect. It's like double western bacon cheeseburgers from Carl's Jr. I freaking love those things. They have all the ingredients of an extremely tasty burger: beef, cheese, onion rings, bacon, all smothered in barbecue sauce. I could easily eat those all the time. But, every now and then I just want a 12 oz. cut of prime rib. Within a year stocked with double western bacon cheeseburgers, Arrival is in

       Is there a possibility that we as a movie-going society will get superhero fatigue? Between the Goliath production companies at Marvel and DC, the amount of comic book-based superhero movies coming our way is insane. How does one maintain a growing, cinematic universe without falling victim to audience fatigue? I'll tell you (because I have all the answers, right? LOL!) You forgo the working model and make singular movies within the larger narrative that have an individualistic identity within the larger whole. You do this by allowing creativity and art to surpass the machine of committee-made movies. Marvel's latest chapter in their insane cinematic saga Doctor Strange is a mind trip of a movie if ever I've seen one. Though not the greatest Marvel movie to have ever come out, its originality and utter weirdness is such a breath of fresh air.    Benedict Cumberbatch makes his glorious debut into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Dr. Stephen Strange, a highly

  Mel Gibson makes his triumphant return to the chair-behind-the-camera with his latest war epic Hacksaw Ridge . Gibson has been a part of so many award-winning titles, a couple of which he's played a role much larger than just actor. In his illustrious career, Hacksaw Ridge is actually his fifth movie that he has directed. All of his directorial outings have either been met with praise or controversy. Not since Braveheart , however, has he delivered such a masterful piece of work worthy of comparison. I haven't been as emotional invested in a film in such a long time; not because it's a war film but because the story, acting, action, every aspect of the movie works to pull you in and engage your senses. I'll admit, amidst the carnage that befalls the screen, there is so much heart to this movie that you would have to be a stone-cold individual not to be moved by it.    War movies in general can be hard to view. Often times the graphic violence of real li

   The golden age of Hollywood was chalked full of actors and actresses that personified the term "movie star". Like their films, they were larger than life. The elegance, the mystery, the swagger, the talent, all led to a feeling that these individuals were more than just people. The way the film industry has evolved today, not only is the acting work force significantly larger, it has become so versatile and diversified that the term "movie star" has become less meaningful...in the golden age sense. For my hard-earned dollar, I will venture to say that Tom Cruise is one of the last few that would be considered a bonified movie star. He has become, not only a well-known actor, but a high-end producer. His latest film Jack Reacher: Never Go Back even as an opening "A Tom Cruise Movie" credit. The man is larger than life with enough swagger you can laugh at. Whether his movies are good or bad, he always seems to bring people to the cinema. I get though