THE OPTIMIST - MOVIE REVIEWS

    It's that time of year again! The Super Bowl of movies has arrived and, even in the midst of controversy, it's still exciting, especially for us movie nerds! Once again, I've placed my bid on what and who I think will win the coveted golden statue. Below you'll find the official Optimist Selection of Winners. Let's see how many I get right! *UPDATED 2/29/16 - CORRECT and INCORRECT predictions can now be seen. Got 10 out of 24, not too bad...but not too good either! There's always next year! BEST PICTURE: The Big Short Bridge of Spies Brooklyn Mad Max: Fury Road The Martian The Revenant Room Spotlight OPTIMIST PICK: The Revenant BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE: Bryan Cranston – Trumbo Matt Damon – The Martian Leonardo DiCaprio - The Revenant Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs Eddie Redmayne – The Danish Girl OPTIMIST PICK: Leonardo DiCaprio - The Revenant BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE: Cate Blanchett – Carol Brie Larson – Room

  In my quest to see all of the Best Picture Nominees before this weekend's Oscars ceremony, I finally got around to seeing "Room". If you haven't seen or heard of this movie, I wouldn't blame you. It's a low-budget, indy film that happened to make it's way into the Oscar conversation late last year, and for good reason. Though my pick for Best Picture still sits with "The Revenant", "Room" is definately worth the consideration. It's a brilliantly acted film. I mean BRILLIANT. Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay knock it out of the park with their performances. Larson is nominated for Best Actress and is my front-runner to win. Jacob Tremblay is a child actor who gives one of the most realistic and amazing performances from a child actor I've ever seen. Kudos to director Lenny Abrahamson for being able to get such pround performances from his lead actors.    "Room" is the harrowing tale of a mother Joy (Larson) and her

   Well, the first comic book movie of 2016 has arrived and boy is it a doozy. Marvel's "Deadpool" is being hailed as a "game-changer" and in many ways that sentiment is true. Let me be frank, I've only recently begun to delve into the world of comic books and graphic novels, and I really didn't know much about Deadpool going into this viewing other than the main premise of the film. I am, however, a huge fan of comic book films, both good and bad. I like seeing these iconic literary characters brought to life on the big screen, and I'm not alone in this mindset. Marvel has done a fantastic job establishing their cinematic universe, ultimately changing the fabric of comic book movie franchises. I'm excited to see what DC has in store with their own cinematic universe unfolding with next month's "Batman v. Superman". When all is said and done, "Deadpool" is here and Marvel's done it again. This movie is a freakin

   Biopics are an interesting breed of movies. Some are good, some are bad, some are entertaining, some are more boring that staring at a wall of bricks. As a film-lover, I'm ashamed to say I often dismiss biopics. Not completely mind you, I see them eventually. They just don't end up at the top of my list. For example, last year's "Straight Outta Compton" was a movie I felt "I'd get around to seeing". My wife really wanted to see it, I was interested, so we went. That movie was awesome, truly one of 2015's greatest films. That being said, the first time I saw the trailer for "Eddie the Eagle", my initial thought was "Eh, looks interesting. I'll see it eventually." Then something magical happened. Pre-screening passes for "Eddie the Eagle" graced themselves to my wife and I and as I write this I'm an hour removed from the movie's ending and let me just say, this movie is definitely worth the viewing.

   Pre-screenings are the best. Whether the movie was bad or good, you get to see a movie for free weeks before it's released! It's a blast, and I had the privilege of seeing "How To Be Single", a romantic comedy slated for release February 12. Set in present day New York City, the movie follows a group of lonely hearts seeking the right match. Alice (Dakota Johnson), Robin (Rebel Wilson), Lucy (Alison Brie), Meg (Leslie Mann), Tom (Anders Holm) and David (Damon Wayans, Jr.) discover that they all have one thing in common: the need to learn how to be single in a world filled with ever-evolving definitions of love.    This movie was funny. Sloppy, but funny. The first two thirds of the film seemed too incohesive in its storytelling. What I mean by that is that time seemed to jump quite often without the story feeling like time had past. The various story lines moved so quickly that it makes it really hard to connect with these characters. I found myself not really

     The dynamic duo of Ice Cube and Kevin Hart are back in their hilarious follow-up to one of the funniest movies in the last few years. “Ride Along 2” delivers much of the same stuff we got in the first film, but with all the sequel bloat that comes with it. Set not too long after the events of the first, Ben (Hart) and James (Cube) travel to Miami to bust up a crime ring led by head honcho Antonio Pope (Benjamin Bratt). James is obviously underwhelmed by his future brother-in-law and is reluctant to bring him along. If there's anything we learned from the first movie, it's that when these two are together, hijinx will ensue. Add the quirky comedic flare of Ken Jeong (The Hangover trilogy) and the beautiful Olivia Munn, the laughs are bound to ensue. Right?    Let me just get this out of the way: I liked this movie a lot, but not nearly as much as the first. “Ride Along 2” falls into the same category as most other films, failing in comparison to its predecessor. Tha