Hello, 2017! My New Year's Resolutions!

It's a new year!  While I typically don't think of the change in year as being such a big deal (I mean, it is just literally going from one day to the next), it really feels like a bigger change this year due to a lot of change I am currently going through in my own life, which is the reason I have been a bad blogger as of late.  I have not written new posts as regularly as I like and have not reviewed the last two movies I have seen, however I have a good excuse.

Over the past month and a half I have been preoccupied with getting started at a new job and moving to a completely new state!  With that said, my first New Year's Resolution is to be better at upkeeping the blog.  The fact that I've moved is simply an excuse, precisely as I called it.  I have had time the past few weeks to write blog posts but have felt uninspired to do so.  I believe it's simply changing environments so much and not being around the familiar that has made it harder to be productive with the blog and with my own writing pursuits as well (which hint-hint, that is my second New Year's Resolution, but more on that in a moment).

When it gets right down to it, I have never been a huge fan of change, but change is precisely what God has planned for me right now and I think I've done pretty well handling it overall.  With this being my first time away from home, I do get the occasional bouts of homesickness like anyone does, as well it's hard to feel at home in a new place immediately when you lived in your last home for 23 years!  Right now I still sorta feel like I'm in an extended stay hotel.  It's gonna take an adjustment period, and part of that adjustment period is learning when to carve out time for blogging, writing, and filmmaking.  On top of that, taking the time to do those things will help to start making life feel normal again and not all that different.  While I am in a new place surrounded by new people, I am still who I've always been and am resilient and capable at facing life head on, so this is where my New Year's Resolutions come in.

As I've already mentioned, my first resolution is to blog more regularly again.  In truth, I have been slacking off  for the past year or two and I miss being more regular with my blog posts.  My second resolution is to be more disciplined in my writing.  When I talk of writing, I am not talking of blogging, what I am talking of is my work on novels and screenplays.  I am never going to become the multi-millionaire I feel I'm going to one day be if I don't ever actually finish a book or a script and actually get them out in the world, which leads directly into resolution number three.  This may seem like my resolution every year, but I am determined to get my first narrative feature film made in 2017, or at the very least, written and financed so that I can start making it.  I feel a calling on my life that God has placed upon me that I still have yet to fully embrace.

I have these stories in my head, that whirl around in my heart and soul that I know are gifts from God, gifts that he wants me to share with the whole world.  While I know I need to continue paying the bills until the so-called "big break," I know I need to devote more time to making something actually happen with my dreams rather than sitting around and talking about them.  To share a quote from one of my favorite books and movies of all-time, courtesy of JK Rowling and Albus Dumbledore, "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."  That to me is one of the most underrated book and movie quotes of all-time, and in pretty much every way, that is a lesson I need to take more to heart.  I am already making big changes in my life with my new job, new home, and other new experiences I am embarking upon trying to fulfill other personal dreams of mine, but it also means that I need to take things one step at a time.

Life changes don't occur in the blink of an eye.  They take time, they take planning, and they take faith, as is evidenced in essentially a two month whirlwind where things had to be meticulously thought out and faith was required to get all the needs met for this move.  I didn't just get this new job one day and the very next was up here, settled and working.  It's been a process, and while I am now physically settled, I know it is going to take a few weeks, maybe even a few months to start to feel emotionally settled.  Throughout all of this, I am seeking to continue growing closer to God (which thankfully my new job is helping to facilitate the strides I already took in 2016), while also returning to some normalcy after the insanity that has been the last two months.  It's been real hard for me to unwind and not feel like I have something that I have to do every second of every day because I have been so on the move recently.  I say all of this to say that this post is very much my making a contract with myself to slow down a bit and get back into the normal swing of things, while still keeping one eye toward the future.

All in all, I am excited for what 2017 will bring.  2016 unfolded in so many unexpected ways.  Each time there was a setback, there was a blessing just around the corner, and as I'm coming to learn, that's sort of how life works in general.  At this point last year, I would have never imagined I'd be living three hours away from home, on my own, with an 8-hour-a-day/five-days-a-week day job, but here I am.  Isn't it amazing how God works that way?  So hello, 2017!  In the next few days look for my annual year end lists, encapsulating my favorite movies from 2016, as well as my annual list of the movies I am most looking forward to in the coming year!

Movie Review: "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them"

Return to J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the first of a new five part prequel series to Harry Potter.

In Fantastic Beasts, we are transported back to 1926 New York, during the height of the Jazz Age, where Rowling lifts the veil on the American Wizarding World for the first time.  It is here we meet British magizoologist, Newt Scamander, who is traveling the world cataloging magical creatures and keeping a literal zoo within his magically enchanted suitcase.  When Newt's suitcase is opened and some of his magical creatures escape, Newt must return them before getting arrested by MACUSA (the American equivalent to the Ministry of Magic), with the aid of an ex-auror named Tina, her sister Queenie, and a No-Maj (aka American Muggle) named Jacob.

Fantastic Beasts sees the return of many of the behind the scenes talent from the Harry Potter movies.  David Yates, the director of the last four Potter movies, has directed this one as well, while David Heyman, the producer of all eight Potter movies, is onboard here too, alongside Rowling and Steve Kloves, who wrote the screenplays for seven of the Potter movies but is merely a producer this time.  Of course the biggest draw of this movie is that it is the first screenplay ever written by J.K. Rowling herself.  While there was a fictional Hogwarts textbook that Rowling wrote about fifteen years ago that bears the same name, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, this movie is not so much an adaptation as it is the story that tells of how the author of that textbook, Newt Scamander, wrote it.

In all honesty, how much you enjoy Fantastic Beasts really all stems back to how much you love Rowling's Wizarding World.  If you are not already a fan of Rowling's work, this movie will not change your mind.  On top of that, this movie would not make a great entry point for someone who has never read a Harry Potter book or seen any of the movies.  If you don't know your Muggles from your Nifflers, you might be a little lost, with that all said, as a diehard fan of the books and movies from the Wizarding World, Fantastic Beasts is a more than satisfactory return to Rowling's imagination.

Like with all of Rowling's writings, there are deeper themes running underneath the whole story that help to give the story weight.  No theme is more prominent than that of tolerance and understanding, however the real draw of Rowling's writing is the colorful characters she creates.  Fantastic Beasts is no different, with these characters being brought to life by the great actors playing them.  Eddie Redmayne plays Newt Scamander with an awkward sensibility that often finds him more attune to creatures than other people, but throughout the course of the movie you really get a sense for Newt's heart and come to love him for who he is.  Then there are sisters Tina and Queenie Goldstein, played by Katherine Waterston and Alison Sudol.  Tina is very straight to business while Queenie is a little more open and flirty, especially with Jacob, the No-Maj that tags along for the ride.  Actor Dan Fogler steals practically every scene he is in as Jacob, acting as the main source of comic relief for almost all of the movie, and Jacob's potential romance with Queenie is easily one of my favorite aspects of the whole story.  Then there are the titular fantastic beasts themselves, who all are characters in their own ways, in particular the platypus-like Niffler who garners many laughs.

Once the credits roll, you realize you've gone on a great adventure.  To compare the modest adventure in this movie to the grand ones in the Harry Potter stories is almost a little foolish.  Like the Star Wars prequels, we ultimately know where this story ends, but it is how we get there that is what makes Fantastic Beasts worthwhile.  Fantastic Beasts is definitely a different experience from the Harry Potter books and movies, but it also has all of the heart, humor, and thrills of those other stories to be a fantastic addition all on its own (pun definitely intended).

I give Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them a 9 out of 10!

Movie Review: "Doctor Strange"

Marvel continues its hit streak with Doctor Strange, the most peculiar movie to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe since Guardians of the Galaxy.  As far as superheroes go, Doctor Strange is easily one of the more obscure.  While many diehard comic book fans know who Doctor Strange is, the average person doesn't and that was clearly going to be the biggest hurdle for this movie to overcome.  As a fanboy who never really read much Doctor Strange, I went into this movie without any preconceived notions of what to expect and was more than satisfied.  I believe others who know nothing about Doctor Strange will be as well.

The titular Doctor Strange is a world famous neurosurgeon named Stephen Strange.  He is arrogant and exceptionally good at what he does, however when he injures his hands in a car wreck, he can no longer do his job.  Strange starts searching the world for a cure, eventually meeting the Ancient One, a sorcerer who trains him in the mystic arts.  Throughout the course of Strange's training, he discovers a new purpose for his life and realizes that there are larger things at play in the universe than just himself, placing him upon a path to safeguard Earth from supernatural threats.

The greatest thing about Doctor Strange is how mindblowingly original it is.  The action in this movie is not merely two super powered dudes slugging it out, it's not even two wizards casting spells at one another, this is sorcerers warping the realities of time and space with magic.  Streets fold in on themselves, portals to other dimensions are opened, and time is manipulated routinely throughout the movie.  Then there is arguably the coolest fight sequence of the year when Doctor Strange's astral form does ghost battle with a bad guy's astral form.

Director Scott Derrickson and his screenwriting partners, Jon Spaihts and C. Robert Cargill, deserve huge kudos for being able to think outside the box.  Doctor Strange goes beyond most of the action movie norms to craft action that occasionally has shades of other movies, but cranks it all up to eleven.  Of course the biggest kudos should go to Marvel Studios' president and Doctor Strange producer, Kevin Feige.  Doctor Strange has long been a passion project for Feige.  He saw something in the comic book adventures that many others throughout the years didn't and his determination pays off for the audience.

When you really get right down to it, Doctor Strange is another base hit for Marvel Studios, if not completely a home run due to the usual trappings of superhero origin stories and being part of an interconnected universe of movies.  If Sherlock didn't already make Benedict Cumberbatch a mega star, his work as Doctor Strange will.  In a great many ways, Cumberbatch almost brings more cheek than Tony Stark, with a little more likability to boot.  Then there is Rachel McAdams who is likable as the obligatory love interest, Dr. Christine Palmer.  While McAdams essentially plays a role we've seen her do many times over in other movies, she helps further ground Strange's humanity.  Rounding out the cast are the likes of Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Mordo, Benedict Wong as Wong, and Madds Mikkelsen as the bad guy, Kaecilius.  All play their parts well and further ground the absurdity through their acting.

All in all, Doctor Strange is a fun time at the movies.  The movie takes itself seriously enough to make it seem like the stakes matter, and yet it has the good, winking sense of humor of the first two Iron Man movies and Ant-Man to keep the movie feeling light.  When you really get right down to it, that is what people have come to expect from Marvel Studios and they continue to deliver on that promise with each subsequent movie, and Doctor Strange is no exception.

I give Doctor Strange a 9 out of 10!

Movie Review: "Jack Reacher: Never Go Back"

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back features Tom Cruise once more in the role from Lee Child's bestselling book series.  A former MP turned vigilante drifter, Reacher is once again drawn into a game of political intrigue when his successor in Washington, Major Turner (played with kick butt awesomeness by Cobie Smulders), is falsely accused of treason.  Like the first Jack Reacher movie, there are twists, fist fights, and shootouts galore, however unlike the first movie, Never Go Back has a much tauter story.  There are less plot holes in Never Go Back than there were in the first Jack Reacher movie, and that is what makes this one the better of the two.  While director Edward Zwick does a good job directing the action, the movie doesn't necessarily do anything new in the action/thriller genre, but it does what one expects of a movie like this exceedingly better than pretty much any other action movie in recent memory.

I give Jack Reacher: Never Go Back a 9 out of 10!

Movie Review: "Sully"

Clint Eastwood's latest directorial effort, Sully, is a movie worthy of the accolades it has received.  Detailing the true story of the Miracle on the Hudson and the NTSB investigation that followed for pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger (played with extreme likability by Tom Hanks), Sully is another strong movie in a string of recent hits for Mr. Eastwood.  While it would be very easy to wonder how a 90-minute drama could be created detailing an event that occurred in about two minutes of real time, screenwriter Todd Komarnicki tells the story non-linearly to keep a sense of momentum.  One way that Komarnicki and Eastwood help keep the story fresh is they revisit the crash at multiple intervals and detail it from a different perspective -- similar to Akira Kursoawa's classic, Rashomon.  By doing this in parallel with the NTSB investigation, Sully maintains a sense of white knuckle suspense for the entirety of the movie.  That is the true brilliance of this movie.  While we already know how the story ends, Clint Eastwood manages to keep our stomach tied up in knots because of his smart directorial choices, using minimal music and not overplaying the actual crash but showing it as it harrowingly happened in real life.

I give Sully a 9 out of 10!