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From Heneral Luna to Han Solo: The year in movies
In a year that saw new releases in the “Rocky”, “Star Wars”, and “Mad Max” franchises, one could be forgiven for checking their calendar to make sure we are, in fact, living in the 21st century.
But make no mistake, the year is indeed 2015, and over the last twelve months, moviegoers were spoiled for choice by silver screen successes big and small. From mustachioed generals to conflagrations by the dozen, here’s our annual round-up of another great year at the movies.
HOMETOWN HEROES
By this point, regardless of one’s opinion on the state of local education, everybody is familiar with the big screen’s version of General Antonio Luna’s (John Arcilla) exploits in the Philippine-American War. Building on a tidal wave of support and positive word of mouth spread through social media, “Heneral Luna” may very well be 2015’s biggest success story, overcoming threats of being pulled from cinemas to bag a quarter of a billion pesos at the box office, making it the country’s highest-grossing historical film of all time. With a mid-credits scene that owes more than a little to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, here’s hoping director Jerrold Tarog and his cohorts can continue their success in bringing Philippine history to rip-roaring cinematic life.
A Second Chance
Not only is (the creatively titled) “A Second Chance” the sequel to classic rom-com “One More Chance,” it now also reigns supreme as the highest-grossing Filipino film of all time. John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo reprise their roles as Popoy and Basha to show that grown-up relationships aren’t always rainbows and butterflies. Director Cathy Garcia-Molina film has her older (and wiser?) characters delve surprisingly credibly into the trials and tribulations of eking out a middle-class existence in modern Philippine society, and yes, even finds time to let us know, finally, “What is.”
BEST OF THE BLOCKBUSTERS
Furious 7
Light years removed from its origins as a drag-racing-based remake of “Point Break,” the “Fast and the Furious” series has transformed over time into a surprisingly dependable action franchise that now resembles nothing so much as the nitrous-powered love child of “The Expendables” and “Ocean’s Eleven.” Faced with the tragic death of Paul Walker mid-way into production, the filmmakers resorted to doubles, digital trickery, and even Walker’s own brothers as stand-ins to complete the movie. The completed film now stands as a fine tribute to Walker, as well as another blockbuster notch on the series’ string of hits.
Director George Miller again plunged audiences headfirst into the world of road warrior Max Rockatansky 30 years after 1985’s “Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome.” With Tom Hardy taking over the role that made Mel Gibson famous, while Charlize Theron rides shotgun and owns the screen, Miller’s dystopian future (as lensed by renowned cinematographer John Seale) has never looked so eye-bleedingly beautiful.
Jurassic World
Handily juggling the film’s responsibilities as both reboot and sequel to a franchise that had lost its way over the course of two misguided sequels that followed Steven Spielberg’s now-classic original, director Colin Trevorrow helmed the return of everybody’s favorite prehistoric beasties to the big screen in spectacular fashion. Starring Chris Pratt in squinty-eyed-action-hero mode, “Jurassic World” succeeded by subverting audience expectations in gleefully self-aware fashion, while delighting with its fantastical depictions of a fully operational dinosaur park.
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
Tom Cruise’s self-starring pet projects, spun off from the classic 1960s TV series, have been entertaining moviegoers since 1996, but nobody could have predicted that the fifth film, “Rogue Nation”, would actually beat 007 at his own game by being an overall superior effort to this year’s “SPECTRE.” Seeing as both films involve a disgraced intelligence unit out to prove its relevance (and/or innocence) while their government seeks to replace them with digital surveillance and each climaxes with shootouts on the streets of London, you’re honestly better off watching this one.
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens
Fans of the venerable space opera had their faith rewarded with this continuation of the adventures of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia in their first outing under the Disney banner. While hewing perhaps a little too close to the Classic Trilogy, director J.J. Abrams’ “The Force Awakens” is a rousing return to a galaxy far, far away, balancing out the nostalgia with generous helpings of thrills, wit, and whimsy. Given the rocky reputation of the prequels that preceded it, a resetting of the board to remind us why we loved these characters was indeed necessary, and one looks forward to what new wonders will come next.
LAUGH TRIPS
Spy
Melissa McCarthy and her “Bridesmaids” director Paul Feig skewer the traditional spy action movie by presenting the ostensibly clumsy comedienne as a highly rated field agent whose greatest weakness is her crush on a top operative, played by Jude Law. Rose Byrne ends up owning many of the film’s funniest scenes as a foul-mouthed arms dealer whose shallow demeanor and incredible hair make the perfect counterpoint to McCarthy’s by-the-book spy. Worth seeing just for Jason Statham making a total and complete ass of himself as an arrogant agent.
Trainwreck
Possibly the most politically incorrect film of the year also happens to be one of the funniest. Directed by Judd Apatow and starring Amy Schumer headlining her first feature, “Trainwreck” tells a surprisingly touching love story about a woman who finds her stance against monogamy crumbling after she meets a charming sports doctor. Chock-full of profanity, sweetness, and hilarious cameos from the likes of Lebron James and John Cena (you’ll never look at either athlete the same way again), “Trainwreck” is a film that shouldn’t work, but ultimately does on the strength of its actors, and the sincerity of the script, also written by Schumer.
FAMILY FUN
For anyone complaining that Pixar had run out of good ideas, this fresh take on the notion of people being controlled by their feelings (personified by a brilliant cast of comedic pros) was a welcome throwback to the venerable studio’s glory days. Directors Pete Docter (“Monsters, Inc.”) and Ronnie Del Carmen push all the right emotional buttons in a visually-inventive, heart-rending tale of childhood, imagination, and what we leave behind as we grow up.
The Peanuts Movie
While yet to open in the Philippines, “The Peanuts Movie” (set to be released here as “Snoopy and Charlie Brown” – sigh) has all the hallmarks of what made Charles M. Schulz’s characters beloved staples of many a childhood. While Snoopy inevitably gets a couple of hero moments, the film never loses sight of its massive ensemble, rendered here in all their neurotic glory. The filmmakers’ effort to pay tribute to the odd squiggles and jerky animation from the hand-drawn specials of years past go an especially long way towards reminding us that, sometimes, you actually can go home again.
MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
Steve Jobs
Following the success of “The Social Network”, a biopic featuring famed Apple founder Steve Jobs (Michael Fassbender) written by that film’s scribe, Aaron Sorkin, seemed like a surefire Oscar shot. Sadly, even the inclusion of director Danny Boyle couldn’t save “Steve Jobs” from failing in its goal of being the definitive word on the late genius. The film’s biggest failing may be that it tells a story the world already thinks it knows. Pity, because Fassbender actually did a pretty good job.
After “Casino Royale” and “Skyfall” (The less said about “Quantum of Solace”, the better) reset the board with their successful deconstructions of the 007 franchise, “SPECTRE” was poised to become the biggest Bond of them all. What we got instead was less a heroic return to form as it was a tired exercise in ticking boxes off a checklist of Bondian tropes. If “SPECTRE” is indeed Daniel Craig’s last go-around as cinema’s favorite alcoholic sexist misogynist dinosaur, he surely could have asked for a better send-off than this.
Bloated, overstuffed, and seemingly wrought into existence for the sole purpose of setting up future Marvel movies, “Age of Ultron” was nowhere near the triumphant culmination the first “Avengers” film had been back in 2012. Maybe we’ve just had to many superhero films in too short a timeframe, or maybe this one just wasn’t very good, but when all is said and done, “Age of Ultron” just wasn’t a very good time at the movies.
CREAM OF THE CROP
Conspiracy theories and controversies notwithstanding, director Erik Matti and his cohorts, in their follow-up to the critically acclaimed “On the Job”, have struck dramatic pay dirt yet again with another unflinching tale of greed, corruption, and family. Perennial good guy John Lloyd Cruz delivers a bravura performance as Edgar, gradually becoming nigh-unrecognizable in onscreen manner and appearance as his character resorts to desperate measures to protect his family. To say any more would be doing this masterwork a disservice, and anyone seeking to keep it from getting its due ought to be ashamed of themselves.
Truth
Nearly forty years after portraying crusading newsman Bob Woodward, screen icon Robert Redford now plays disgraced “60 Minutes” anchor Dan Rather. Despite looking little like him, Redford is a solid presence in “Truth”, which tells the story of the news show on then-President George W. Bush’s allegedly fictitious military career and its disastrous effect on the careers of Rather and producer Mary Mapes (a brilliant-as-always Cate Blanchett). Overall, the film play like a (slightly) less preachy version of the “The Newsroom’s” second season while credibly detailing the challenges faced by journalists and the importance of due diligence in verifying the veracity of their facts.
Spotlight
Borne of a ‘Black List’ script (scripts believed to be too controversial for traditional studios to produce), “Spotlight” tells the story of the Boston Globe news team that dug into – and eventually broke the story of – sexual abuse by Catholic Priests in the Massachusetts area. Boasting a who’s who of character actors (Live Shrieber, Michael Keaton, Stanley Tucci, and Mark Ruffalo, to name a few), the film pulls avoids sensationalism, yet pulls no punches in its depiction of the importance of ethical journalism and informed reportage in an age of instant connections and digital media.
Straight Out of Compton
Even if you’re not a fan of hip hop, this story of the N.W.A.’s fearless approach to their art and fight to make their names in a (sometimes literally) cutthroat business scored critical raves for its unflinching look at the road to superstardom and the lengths people would go to achieve it. Questions to the authenticity of Paul Giamatti’s performance as N.W.A manager Jerry Heller notwithstanding, the film is remarkable for the number of real-world personalities (both living and dead) brought to eerily-accurate onscreen life by the talented cast, including star-making turns by O'Shea Jackson Jr (as his real-life father, Ice-Cube), and Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E.
In an age when the spy thriller is either outlandishly high-tech or byzantine to the point of exclusionism, “Bridge of Spies” is refreshingly straightforward and old-fashioned. This isn’t to say the plot is simplistic, being based on the real-life story of a US airman being held in East Berlin at the height of the Cold War. Tom Hanks stars as the man negotiating to get the pilot home, and director Steven Spielberg shows just how good he is by depicting the proceedings in powerful fashion with a minimum of tricks.
Sicario
Where Steven Soderbergh’s “Traffic” was seemingly the final word on the twisted relationships between Mexican drug cartels and the US law enforcers tasked with their eradication, “Sicario” plunges deeper into the world of narcotics and the roles played by loyalty, duty, and greed. Gorgeously shot by cinematographer Roger Deakins, “Sicario” is a haunting tale that sees Emily Blunt grounding the proceedings as Kate, an FBI agent tasked with a covert op that could make or break her career. Initially coming across as typecast, it is Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin who steal the show men who personify precisely what one has to give up in
to maintain the order Kate signed up to protect.
The Martian
This film not only features Matt Damon in a tour-de-force performance where he’s pretty much the only character onscreen for a hefty chunk of the running time, but “The Martian” represents a return to form for director Ridley Scott in the genre that made him famous (with 1979’s “Alien”) after the wildly uneven (if visually stunning) “Prometheus”. This is the second film in two years that has seen Damon as an astronaut trying to return home, but it goes without saying that he is infinitely more likeable here than in “Interstellar.” With a compelling story, awe-inspiring imagery, and a jet-black sense of humor about it, “The Martian” is definitely one of the year’s best.
As the seventh film in a series that began in 1976, “Creed” had no right being as good as it eventually ended up being. Of course that’s what they said about its predecessor, 2006’s “Rocky Balboa”, which seemingly put a bookend on the exploits of Sylvester Stallone’s signature character (sorry, “Rambo” fans). “Creed” won audiences over over with its crowd-pleasing mix of emotion, training montages, and pathos, all carried on the Michael B. Jordan’s newly-sculpted pugilist shoulders as the title character. — BM, GMA News
