Nearly a decade ago, Casey Affleck received a Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for TheAssassinationofJesseJamesbytheCowardRobertFord. It was that same year in 2007 that he starred in his brother Ben’s well-received directorial debut GoneBabyGone and appeared for the third time in OceansThirteen as part of that blockbuster trilogy.
Since then, Affleck’s career has been a mix of smaller flicks like Ain’tThemBodiesSaints and OutoftheFurnace with supporting roles in studio fare like TowerHeist and Interstellar. He also made a strange excursion into directing with the Joaquin Phoenix “documentary” I’mStillHere.
His 2016 started rather unremarkably with two pics that came and went – TheFinestHours and Triple9. Yet it was that same time early in the year that word came out from Sundance about ManchesterbytheSea, Kenneth Lonergan’s drama about grief and family. And the word was quite impressive.
At the close of 2016, Manchester stands as a serious awards contender with its star assured a nomination for Best Actor. It is likely it will come down to Affleck and Denzel Washington (Fences) for the win. The former has already picked up a number of critics prizes for his most acclaimed role thus far. He closed out the year by hosting the “Saturday Night Live” Christmas show, including a very amusing bit involving Dunkin Donuts.
The Sundance Film Festival next month will showcase Affleck’s next project – AGhostStory alongside Rooney Mara. Who knows what that will bring, but it certainly kickstarted a supremely lauded year for Affleck this year.
After a number of smaller film roles in some notable pictures ranging from Out of Sight to Far From Heaven to Syriana, it was another smaller role that catapulted Viola Davis to the attention of moviegoers in 2008. Her one scene in Doubt alongside Meryl Streep and Amy Adams earned the actress a Supporting Actress Oscar nomination. She didn’t win, yet it furthered some more substantive roles including 2011’s The Help for which she received a Lead Actress Academy nod (losing to Streep in The Iron Lady).
Yet in 2016, the third time could well be the charm for Davis for her supporting work in Fences, in which she reprises her Broadway role with director/star Denzel Washington. It’s all part of a remarkable couple of years for Davis in which she deservedly gets a mention in my Year Of posts. Her work in Fences and expected Oscar win would come just a year after becoming the first African-American actress to win Lead Actress in a Drama Series at the Emmys for ABC’s “How to Get Away with Murder”. Davis also had a prominent role in this summer’s blockbuster Suicide Squad, portraying the government agent responsible for getting all those bad guys together.
Film and TV lovers have been noticing Viola Davis for some time now and 2016 may well prove to be the year where Oscar voters finally do.
Before this year, Margot Robbie was primarily known as Leonardo DiCaprio’s stunning wife in 2013’s TheWolfofWallStreet and, to a lesser degree, costar to Will Smith in 2015’s Focus.
Yet it was in 2016 that she blew up big time, as the Aussie actress was perhaps the best thing in two summer flicks – TheLegendofTarzan and especially SuicideSquad, in which she teamed up with the Fresh Prince once again. Her Harley Quinn character in Squad was a bright spot in a mixed bag of an experience.
Robbie’s considerably larger star power has led to her being attached to a slew of upcoming roles. She will eventually reprise her Harley role in GothamCitySirens, which will pair her with other notable female DC super villains such as Poison Ivy and Catwoman. She’s also signed to portray notorious figure skater Tonya Harding in biopic I, Tonya.
No doubt about it – this screen bad girl had a very good 2016.
Over the years, Ryan Reynolds has seen his share of hits in multiples genres from rom coms (The Proposal) to action flicks (Safe House). He’s also earned the kudos of critics for appearing in acclaimed indie product such as Woman in Gold, Buried, and Definitely, Maybe.
Reynolds has also had his share of flops, from R.I.P.D. to Self/less to name some recent ones. And while they weren’t necessarily big financial disappointments, he also had the distinction of appearing in two comic book adaptations that aren’t well-regarded: 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Green Lantern. It was in Wolverine where he costarred with Hugh Jackman as Wade Wilson, better known as raunchy superhero Deadpool. Again, this wasn’t met with much approval from comic book lovers.
For years, Reynolds fought hard to make a version of Deadpool the way he wanted to and finally got his wish in 2016. The result? Well, the aftermath easily earns him a place among performers who had a sterling year. Deadpool opened in February to an astonishing $132 million and an eventual $363 million domestic haul. The pic is easily the actor’s largest grosser ever. It had the largest opening ever for an R rated feature and is second all-time for pictures with that rating (just behind The Passion of the Christ). Additionally, it is 2016’s current #5 earner. And he earned a Golden Globe nomination for his work.
So… yeah, the gamble paid off for Reynolds in a way that was unimaginable just a year ago. Naturally, we will see a sequel in 2018 yet Mr. Reynolds will have a busy 2017 as well. In March, he costars with Jake Gyllenhaal in the outer space thriller Life and in August he headlines action comedy The Hitman’s Bodyguard with Samuel L. Jackson and Gary Oldman.
For 2016, the massive Deadpool juggernaut gave Reynolds his likely signature role and a different kind of superhero tale that was tremendous fun.
Towards the end of each calendar year, I’ve put up posts honoring the people who have captured our movie going attention during that time period. 2015 was the first year that I honored a feeling in one post as opposed to an individual. Last year, it was Nostalgia and it fit due to the box office potency of titles like Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Jurassic World, among others.
In 2016, the initial posting is again not a human, but a studio. And it’s Disney. The Mouse Factory has set the all-time record for studio grosses in a calendar year and its list of blockbusters is something to behold.
Currently, Disney is responsible for half of the top ten grossing pictures of the year and that list will grow to six very shortly with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Let’s break it down: Finding Dory ($486 million) is #1 with Captain America: Civil War ($408M) at second. Rogue is likely to join the top three for a Disney trifecta atop the year.
#4 is The Jungle Book ($364M). #6 is Zootopia ($341M) and #9 is Doctor Strange ($226M). Moana is sitting at #11 right now with $162M.
In short, the studio is making a killing on their three most valued properties: animation and the live-action adaptations of them, Marvel Studios, and the Star Wars franchise. That is bound to continue in 2017 with animated features like Cars 3 and Coco. As for the live-action remakes, expect March’s Beauty and the Beast to do boffo business. On the Marvel side, we have Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Thor: Ragnorak. And of the Star Wars juggernaut,we have Episode VIII (still untitled) invading theaters in December.
Of course, not everything Disney released this year was a smash. There were high-profile flops like Alice Through the Looking Glass and The BFG. Also, Pete’s Dragon did decent business, but nothing compared to its other renderings of the animated classics. In 2017, a big question mark is whether or not they can successfully reinvigorate another once popular series with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.
Those few disappointments aside, it was a watershed year for Disney and they deservedly get the first mention in my year end honors.
There’s a well known thing in Hollywood referred to as The Black List, a compilation of screenplays that have yet to be produced. Executives in the film industry vote on which ones that they think are the best. Since the inception of the list in 2005, some that have made it on there eventually became awards worthy material. This includes eventual Best Picture winners SlumdogMillionaire, TheKing’sSpeech, Argo, and Spotlight. There’s Best Picture nominees like Babel, Juno, AmericanHustle, TheWolfofWallStreet, Whiplash, AmericanSniper and TheRevenant. We have hit movies of all genres including Superbad, TheFighter, TheHangover, Arrival, and JohnWick.
The 2016 Black List was released today and the pic that received the most votes caught my eye. It’s BlondAmbition, a biopic about Madonna that’s set in the 1980s as she was a struggling artist in NYC before becoming the world’s most famous Material Girl. Elyse Hollander is the screenwriter and it’s probably safe to assume this will be on the silver screen in relatively short order.
A well made Madonna biopic (paging Damien Chazelle to direct) could be quite a sight to behold. And, of course, it got me thinking. Who should play her? There’s always the option of casting an unknown. After all, taking on the role of music’s most successful female artist might work better with a performer unfamiliar to our eyes.
Yet one name in particular entered my mind when I read the news today: Chloe Grace Moretz. I think she could pull it off. Even if the film took a couple of years to get off the ground, she’s only 19 right now and would certainly fit the age appropriate timing of that are in its subject’s life. I also thought of Greta Gerwig and she could be interesting, but she’s in her early 30s and Madonna would be in her early to mid 20s here. It could still work though.
What say you? What other actresses could potentially do justice to Madge?
Four years ago on a Thursday evening, I made the snap decision to start a movie blog. I did it without much thought and with little clue what I wanted it to be.
I knew two things: I love movies and I love writing. And so I penned my first blog post. It’s called “My Love of Movies”. Look at it. Isn’t it adorable?
Yes, maybe the anniversary posts have dwindled in quality as time has passed. With every year comes the familiarity of the blog having become more of a reality. More of everyday life. What I’m writing at this moment is my 1,516th post.
Truth be told – 2016 hasn’t been the best year for movies. Oh, don’t get me wrong. There’s always those moments that I’ve described so lovingly in previous posts. A truly hilarious scene at an animated DMV run by sloths in Zootopia. A comic book adaptation in Deadpool that had moments of raunchy inspiration. And there’s a lot more for me to see in 2016.
Let’s get real for a second, friends. 2016 hasn’t been the best year for lots of things. Political discourse for one, but let us not go THERE.
Sequels. Too many of ’em. Too many we didn’t ask for.
Apparently Zoolander did say all that needed to be said fifteen years ago. Audiences weren’t ready to travel back to the Blair Witch woods. I could go on.
But I won’t. No, where 2016 has been truly sad is in the people we’ve lost. Hans Gruber of Die Hard is one of the greatest film villains in screen history. Alan Rickman brilliantly played him, along with lots of other amazing performances.
Gene Wilder may hold the record for appearing in the most flat out brilliant comedies, not to mention being a part of our collective childhoods in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
Our ears have been blessed to experience the music of Prince and David Bowie and witness their contributions to film.
I know what you might be thinking… this anniversary post is a bummer, dude!
A silver lining. A consolation point. We will always have film to remind us of the aforementioned artists brilliance.
We will always have the knowledge that the cherished memories we have of them are preserved.
We will always have the knowledge, film lovers that we are, that more memories will be formed with new amazing performers.
Every week on this blog, there are more box office predictions to be estimated. More Oscar Watch movies to be discussed. More reviews to be written.
There’s always more. It’s the NeverEnding Story of film that I described here three years ago:
Are there times it feels stale when the latest unwanted sequel is rolled out? Sure.
Are there moments you wonder where else the superhero genre can possibly go when we get a new one every couple months now? Yes.
And then Star Wars: The Force Awakens turns out to be a pleasure… and not unwanted. And then Deadpool brings something new to the genre.
I remember four years ago tonight writing that first blog post and wondering if I’d have any ideas for a second one. Then I figured out what I wanted the blog to be… and it constantly changes.
I love doing it. I thank you for reading it and I’m humbled to report that 2016 has been the most viewed year so far already! I’ve also tremendously valued my partnership with Fantasy Movie League that began this year and continuing my history of getting out predicted by Joe Giuliano at box office numbers.
2016 has been a challenge for us who love the silver screen and love incredible music. We remember that vile antagonist of John McClane in my favorite action movie ever.
We remember that gentle and hilarious man who brought us into a world of pure imagination.
We remember bathing in the beautiful sounds of the Purple Rain.
And we wait for the next moments of inspiration and all the other emotions that the movies bring.
What a great day for this here movie blog! Over the last many years, my favorite film critic on the Internet has been James Berardinelli, who writes at reelviews.net. I admire his writing style and have followed him for years. Years ago, he struck up a relationship with the late, great Roger Ebert. Mr. Ebert even proclaimed Berardinelli one of the finest critics working. High praise indeed. I reached out to James recently with the following five questions and he was generous enough to respond to me. I sincerely appreciate it and the Q&A is below for your enjoyment!
Question 1: You’re clearly a writer, as opposed to strictly being a film critic and have written novels in your spare time. Tell me a little bit about your novels and whether or not that preceded your work in film reviewing or came later?
I started writing books when I was in fourth grade and continued writing them through junior high, high school, and college. I had my first brush with a publisher around 1990. At that time, he told me that although the book I submitted was probably good enough to be published (with some changes), it wasn’t a good gamble for him because I didn’t have a name. So I spent the next 25 years acquiring a name. I began writing the current trilogy in 2007 and completed it (for the most part) in 2013. Over the last three years, I spent time haggling with publishers until I got fed up with the traditional framework and decided to self-publish.
Question 2: You had a relationship with Roger Ebert before he passed. What was it in your estimation that made Roger special in his craft?
His ability to relate to people on an everyday basis. Also, his generosity. People would come up to him and engage him in small talk, ask for a picture, etc. He always made time for them.
Question 3: Is there or a film or films that spring to mind that you believe are totally overrated in the circles of film criticism? On the contrary, what is a movie that hold in high regard that received mostly negative critical response?
I find most of Ingmar Bergman’s films to be unbearable tedious. Not all of them but many of them. For something more mainstream, “The Sixth Sense,” which I found to be a predictable and tedious. As for a film I hold in higher regard than most critics… how about “Revenge of the Sith.” Most of the movies I laud are *liked* by other critics, just not beloved. It’s hard to think of many that I loved but everyone else hated.
Question 4: How long does it take you to write a review? Is there a period of time you prefer to wait after screening before you create your review?
Some reviews take longer than others. The average is probably about 45 minutes, but there are some that take as long as 90 minutes. I see most films at evening screenings and don’t write about them until the next day.
Question 5: You are one of the first film critics to gain attention primarily through the Internet. How do you believe this digital age has changed the face of film criticism?
As a means of making a living, it has destroyed it. It’s no longer possible to make a living wage by writing about film. But, in terms of making a wider variety of opinions available, it has been amazing. I remember pre-Internet, if I wanted to read something about a new release, I was limited to reviews in the local papers (there were three of them) and The New York Times (which was published everywhere). Then there was “Sneak Previews” and some of the TV stations had short movie reviews. That was it. No depth and not much breadth. Not so today.
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– James Berardinelli
Since his highest grossing picture ever some eight years back with The Bourne Ultimatum, Matt Damon has seen his share of critical and or commercial box office disappointments. This list includes such titles as Green Zone, Hereafter, The Adjustment Bureau, We Bought a Zoo, Elysium, and The Monuments Men.
Yet 2015 gave Mr. Damon his second largest hit of all time with The Martian, a science fiction epic (and comedy according to the Golden Globes) that captured the favor of critics as well. In fact, the Mars tale is likely to find itself the subject of Academy Awards nominations and that could extend to its star.
The Martian stands at $222 million in domestic grosses and is within ever so close reach of Damon’s pinnacle gross of $227M that Ultimatum topped out at. The film also served as a resurgent project for director Ridley Scott after a series of financial disappointments including Body of Lies, Robin Hood, Prometheus, The Counselor and Exodus: Gods and Kings.
For Damon, 2016 will return him to the Jason Bourne role that gave him his famous franchise. And it’s The Martian that easily gave him his most acclaimed part since that series.
For close to a decade, Tom Hardy has been turning up in mostly high profile supporting roles and became a household name thanks to one Christopher Nolan. His breakout came in Nicolas Winding Refn’s acclaimed indie pic Bronson. The aforementioned Nolan took notice and soon Hardy found himself cast alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Inception and as villain Bane in The Dark Knight Rises. Other notable appearances along the way include Warrior, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Lawless, Locke, and The Drop.
It’s been an impressive filmography but 2015 put the 38 year old Brit into a whole new stratosphere. This summer he took over the role made famous by Mel Gibson in Mad Max: Fury Road and the results were a worldwide box office smash that is gaining momentum for a Best Picture nomination.
This fall, he starred in Legend which cast him in the dual role of real life gangsters The Kray Brothers. Reviews were mixed, but Hardy earned raves for his work.
The calendar year will end with him paired up with DiCaprio once again in the eagerly anticipated The Revenant, which is also subject to plenty of Oscar buzz. In fact, it looks more probable than not that two Academy nominees for Best Picture will feature Mr. Hardy. He also could find himself in line for his own first Oscar recognition in Supporting Actor for The Revenant.
With three buzzworthy features to his credit in 2015, it was a furiously good year for this actor.
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