The following things happened in 2015:
- Two gunmen belonging to Al Qaeda killed 12 people in Paris in response to a cartoon in the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.
- The Egyptian military launched airstrikes against ISIL after the beheading of Egyptian Christians.
- A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal, killing thousands.
- Cuba and the United States reestablished diplomatic relations.
- Gravitational waves were detected for the first time.
- Liquid water was discovered on Mars.
- Justin Trudeau became Prime Minister of Canada.
Linked entries can be viewed in their entirety on YouTube.
Underlined entries were viewed on Netflix.
Excellent
1. Home
Dreamworks film about an alien learning the value of humanity. It's a funny movie full of likable characters and interesting twists. I was surprised to learn that Rihanna voiced "Tip" and that Jennifer Lopez voiced her mom. Rihanna also recorded an album based around the movie.
2. The Big Short
Went back and saw it for the tenth time. At some point in the not-too-distant future I'll probably see it again. In case you haven't seen it, it's part documentary on the 2008 financial crisis, and part drama centered around several investors trying to short the housing market. It explains a complicated flaw in the U.S. banking system through the daily ups and downs of several flawed characters, and does so in a way that few other movies can match. Steve Carrell's performance is my favorite thing in this movie, and his character's journey could be seen as a metaphor for what the American economy went through at the time. Almost, anyway.
Fun Fact: What's director Adam McKay up to these days? His science fiction movie Don't Look Up, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence, should appear on Netflix soon.
Some Good Ones
1. The Intern
Robert De Niro stars as an older man reentering the workplace, with Anne Hathaway as his entrepreneurial boss. I liked the way De Niro's character walks a line between friendly old man and threateningly adept newcomer, and Hathaway, an actress often miscast, is genuinely engaging.
2. Pitch Perfect 2
Elizabeth Banks really comes to the fore in this one, both as director and as a commentator within the movie. It's not as funny as the first one, a fact which is unsurprising, but the wardrobe malfunction which starts the movie is hilarious and Hailee Steinfeld is a decent stand-in for Anna Kendrick, who isn't in as much of this film.
3. Run All Night
Fast paced crime thriller featuring Liam Neeson and Joel Kinnaman. I get that by 2015 moviegoers were a bit tired of Neeson's "particular set of skills," but this movie doesn't miss a beat. The director, Jaume Collet-Serra, is directing Dwayne Johnson in Black Adam at the time of writing.
4. Cinderella
If you're a guy like me you'll probably find parts of this movie nauseating, but you know what? It works, it really works. Disney knew who they were making this movie for, and it wasn't another attempt to combine a fairy tale with Lord of the Rings. Cate Blanchett is undoubtedly the best part of this movie, giving a nuanced performance that adds a lot of depth to a familiar story. Director Kenneth Branagh was also firmly in his element with this one, and he gives each character just enough room to breathe before advancing the plot forward.
Fun Fact: Many MCU connections. Kenneth Branagh of course directed 2011's Thor, but Cate Blanchett also appeared as Hela in Thor: Ragnarok, Stellan Skarsgard played Erik Selvig in several MCU films, Hayley Atwell played Peggy Carter in the Captain America movies, and Richard Madden, who plays the prince in this movie, will be appearing as Ikaris in 2021's Eternals.
5. Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
Resident Evil Lite? Whatever it is, it's a fairly plausible detour into Young Adult Science Fiction. Except for the "security expert" that is. That has to be the least secure facility ever. I never saw the first one, but I liked this one more than The Hunger Games.
On the Fence
1. Wild Card
There's a great story in there... somewhere. It's a movie full of great scenes: Jason Statham's character falling off the wagon, the revenge scene, the fights, the conversations with "the gambler," but these scenes don't add up to much. I kept having the feeling that the movie hadn't really started yet, and before I knew it the end credits were rolling. Parts of this film are memorable, but Statham's been in much better movies.
Horniness, Also Amounting to Nothing: Sofia Vergara is FINE. She's so fine she probably has no idea how fine she is. She was the highest paid actress in American TV from 2013 to 2020, and also the highest paid actress in Hollywood in 2020. Were I forced, at gunpoint, to choose between Jessica Alba and Sofia Vergara I'd probably take a bullet.
Weird, Weird Trivia: While we're on the subject of the superfine Sofia Vergara, she underwent in vitro fertilization between 2015 and 2017. The two fertilized embryos which resulted were kept in cold storage in California. Afterward Vergara set up an inheritance trust for the two embryos, and the man administering this trust sued Vergara on behalf of the embryos in Louisiana, where a right-to-live lawsuit on behalf of embryos is possible. The case was later dismissed because the embryos were conceived in California.
2. Insidious: Chapter 3
It's uh, not awesome, but it does manage to generate a fair amount of suspense. I know I've seen the first one, I just can't remember what it was about.
Fun Fact: Actress Lin Shaye, who plays the psychic in this movie, has been in over a hundred feature films, and has a career stretching back to 1975. She's been in a ton of horror movies.
Some Bad Ones
1. The Good Dinosaur
A dash of Ice Age and a sprinkle of The Lion King and you have The Good Dinosaur. Really though, dinosaurs growing crops? Compare this to any previous effort by Pixar and it's going to be disappointing. This movie was, by the way, Pixar's first box office bomb.
2. The Boy Next Door
Jennifer Lopez does the obvious thing and bangs the boy next door. And then of course he turns out to be a psycho. And then? You may or may not be able to guess the rest.
3. Hitman: Agent 47
Yawn. Another hitman on a mission to kill one person and protect another person. The first half reminded me a lot of The Terminator, and by the time the second half arrived I'd already lost interest. Zachary Quinto is probably the best thing about this movie, but that's not saying much.
Less-Than-Exciting Trivia: In the future they might cross this movie franchise over with Tomb Raider, Just Cause, Deus Ex and Thief.
4. The Age of Adaline
What's the point of changing your identity if you're going to hang around the same part of the U.S.? And what's up with that science-y explanation as to why she doesn't age? What, we electrocute ourselves and we can live forever? And then we electrocute ourselves again to reset the aging process? Blake Lively is good in the lead, but parts of this movie don't make sense.
5. Insurgent
More Young Adult Science Fiction. Is this the sequel to something? Feels like it is. No idea what all the discussions of "divergents" and "factions" were about, but I only made it to the "truth serum scene" anyway.
I'll Give 'Em Points for Trying...
DYI thingamajig in which aliens hunt another alien on a desert planet. For me the fun thing was imagining how I'd shoot this movie myself, using my cell phone. Not sure how you'd do some of the visual effects, but the rest of it would be pretty easy.
Fun Fact: One of the "soldier aliens" is played by Damion Poitier, who briefly played Thanos in 2012's The Avengers.
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