Room

After five-year-old Jack and his mother escape from the enclosed surroundings that Jack has known his entire life, the boy makes a thrilling discovery.

This is the story we are all afraid of and pray it never happens to anyone.  The story starts seven years after Ma (Brie Larson) has been kidnapped and is forced to live in a small room with her 5 year old son Jack (Jacob Tremblay) who keeps sane by greeting the furniture in the room and at a young age was taught by his mother that the world is a small place and what he sees in the room is real and the TV is all fake.  Good plan by a young mother when she has a small child and has no way to communicate to him the gravity of the situation they are in, but as Jack gets older, and they get desperate to get out, plans change.  It’s hard to not give much of the story away but it is pretty clear the direction this story takes.  What would you do if you were trapped in a room for 7 years? Exactly, try to escape.  The story isn’t fast moving but it keeps you engaged, and as it develops we experience the pain and bravery that it takes to do what you must to protect your child, and to believe in him to save your life.  Jacob Tremblay is very good in this role, so good that he actually begins to annoy you with his yelling and screaming, which to me means he is doing his job as an actor.  If not for all the outbursts we wouldn’t be able to connect to his mom and her difficulties.  As the story plays out we learn so much about the characters and the struggles they and their family members have gone through for the past 7 years not knowing if they will ever see their daughter again.  Speaking of which, a mention must go out to Joan Allen, and William H. Macy, for their performances as well.  My only wish is that the story would have expanded on a few unanswered questions that arise, if you’ve seen the movie you might know what I mean, or else it’s just my crazy mind wanting more closure.  If you have yet to see the movie, you will see what I mean, or not, my mind is wild.  If you are a big fan of the Oscars you will want to check this out before the show, if not, I recommend it for a movie night.

Nominated for 4 Oscars

Best Motion Picture of the Year

Best Actress in a Leading Role – Brie Larson

Best Achievement in Directing – Lenny Abrahamson

Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay – Emma Donoghue

Enjoy the show

4 out of 5 rooms

The Danish Girl

A fictitious love story loosely inspired by the lives of Danish artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener. Lili and Gerda's marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili's groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.

One of the things I love most about awards season is the acting dominated movies that turn out to be a master class on acting.  It brings me make to the days of old Hollywood when that was the majority of motion pictures that were released every year.  There probably aren’t a lot of people who could watch Cat on a Hot Tin Roof over and over again, but if you really enjoy acting it’s a great go to piece to learn from the masters.  Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander turn it on in this picture and make you feel them and they connect you to them and take you on a phenomenal journey.   I would suggest a quick trip to Google and research the two main characters before watching, but if you don’t it’s not a big deal.  As I said before, this is a heavy acting movie, and for all you purists out there you will enjoy this and see why Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander have been nominated for Oscars.  Period pieces are always a pleasure to watch and this is one beautiful picture all the way around with amazing costumes and locations.   At the Oscars last year Eddie Redmayne won for his role in The Theory of Everything, and if it were not for that I would say he is a lock to win for this role.  With that said, I believe the trophy will go to Leonardo DiCaprio this year, and the race for best Actress in a Supporting Role comes down to Alicia and Kate Winslet, it’s too close to call but I’m going to guess it goes to Alicia Vikander.  Enough of this award talk, check this movie out, it’s a two-hour master class that tells an incredible story. 

Nominated for 4 Oscars

Best Actor in a Leading Role – Eddie Redmayne

Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Alicia Vikander

Best Achievement in Costume Design – Paco Delgado

Best Achievement in Production Design – Eve Stewart, Michael Standish

Enjoy the Show

4.5 out of 5 dresses.

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution, to paint a portrait of the man at its epicenter. The story unfolds backstage at three iconic product launches, ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac.

Absolutely this is a great movie, how could it now be?  Steve Jobs was one of the greatest minds that influenced technology and changed the game forever.  We all know of his reputation and in the business world it is one that propelled him to the top.  His visions were amazing but at the same time he was a relentless person who wasn’t to be messed with, especially when it comes to his company.  If you have seen the Jobs movie with Ashton Kutcher (which wasn’t too bad) you are in for a treat with this picture.  In case you don’t know this movie is directed by Danny Boyle and written by Aaron Sorkin, so yes, as I’m sure you guessed by the mention of Sorkin, it’s very dialogue heavy.  In the case of a movie like this there is no other way to make it.  Michael Fassbender and Kate Winslet are wonderful, Seth Rogen surprises with a commanding performance as Steve Wozniak.  Steve Jobs was a visionary who was willing to sacrifice everything including family to accomplish his goals.  The early interaction is tough between him and his employees, as well as with his daughter.  This sets the tone of who he is early and gives us a glimpse of his drive and intelligence.  As the story continues the walls start to come down involving family showing that he is caring and wants to be a good father.   The story of Steve Jobs is amazing and if you have read his book you know a lot about him already which is great considering where this movie begins.  If you haven’t read the book, don’t worry, you won’t be lost or confused.  If you’re a Microsoft fan, you may not watch this movie, but all Apple lovers in the world have probably already seen this and if you haven’t, hurry up and do so.  For pete sake, this is the man who put music in our pockets, revolutionized phones, and told us that we were missing something between our phones and computers so he gave us the iPad.  Amazing!!

Nominated for two Oscars.

Best Actor in a Leading Role – Michael Fassbender

Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Kate Winslet

Enjoy the show

4 out of 5 apples

Spotlight

The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.

I have to say that this movie has been on my must see list for a while and after finally seeing it I am very upset with myself for taking such a long time to watch it. Especially after all the hype it received, the accolades it’s receiving.  The worst part is that the DVD has been on my mantel for almost 2 months before I got around to seeing it.  Stupid move on my part, I should have watched this immediately after receiving the DVD.  This was a huge story when it broke, and luckily for me having been raised Catholic and also an altar boy, I never experienced any of this.  Before people start making up their minds before giving this movie a chance I want them to know it is more about the reporters doing their jobs to bring this story to the public than it is about the church.  Obviously the church is involved but the incredible story behind this scandal, but the true story is the passion of the reporters, and how hard they worked to get this story and to try and correct a wrong that had been happening for decades.  The cast is magnificent and Michael Keaton is kicking ass on his comeback tour.  Mark Ruffalo as always is fantastic, once you get past the weird accent he gave his character you really discover the passion he has for reporting the news and getting to the truth.  Rachel McAdams, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci are on par once again delivering the performances we are used to from high caliber actors.  Not to be forgotten is Liev Schreiber who comes to town as the new editor of The Boston Globe with a very calm demeanor, but with incredible knowledge and a no fear attitude that really helps to propel this story to the next level.  This is a must see movie and I recommend it to all movie lovers and to see it before Oscar night.

Nominated for 6 Oscars in these categories.

Best Picture

Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Mark Ruffalo

Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Rachel McAdams

Best Director - Tom McCarthy

Best Writing, Original Screenplay – Josh Singer, Tom McCarthy

Best Achievement in Film Editing – Tom McArdle

Enjoy the show.

5 out of 5 deadlines

Deadpool

A former Special Forces operative turned mercenary is subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopting the alter ego Deadpool.

Fantastic!  Awesome! Hilarious! Fun! These are only a few words to explain how damn good this movie is.  Kick Ass! That’s another one.   This movie is fun for the true fans and for those who don’t know anything about Deadpool.  You have to trust me on this, the theater was packed with people that I talked to who had not heard of Deadpool but are fans of the Marvel movies and said “the Deadpool trailer looked fun so we wanted to check it out.”  Ryan Reynolds has been working for 7 years to get this movie mad and it took a huge call out from the fans to the studios to finally get it over the hump.  Early outlooks have it on pace to make 100 million this weekend, take that studios, we the fans know what we want, so listen up.  Deadpool takes a huge turn from any Marvel movie to date, it’s also the first one to be rated R since the Punisher. (Hey Marvel, make nice with Thomas Jane and make another one.)  From the opening scene with the greatest credits in movie history this film starts on full throttle and takes a refreshing turn on how to explain Deadpool’s origin story.   The writers were amazing and took shots at everyone, including the studio, X-men, even Ryan Reynolds, pay attention during the opening credits scene.  Ryan was born to play this role; he has the charm, wit, and the perfect amount of smart-ass to pull it off.  The action is fantastic and the killing is gruesome yet fun at the same time.   You can’t ask for more in a story, action, romance, comedy, and some of the best one-liners you have heard in a long time.  The audience was having so much fun that the movie seems to go by very quickly, I know as I walked out I was left wanting much more and I’m very excited to see the path they take this character on.    It’s early in the morning and I’m aware that this review is all over the place but there is so much to talk about because this movie is such a great ride and a breath of fresh air.  I guarantee you that the love story in this movie doesn’t interfere in anyway, for once it actually adds to a story. If you are a fan of Deadpool, action, comedy, love stories, or, just Marvel movies in general you are going to love this movie.  As always, stay through the credits to see the button at the end.  If you are a fan of 80’s movies you will enjoy it very much.

Enjoy the show

5 out of 5 popcorns.