Shabby's movie picks
I listed almost all movies I watched last year here. The list is incomplete because I sometimes forget or was too lazy to write the titles down. But I'm sure I missed only a few. I'll skip the entire list and, instead, share here those I enjoy and would recommend. Those without any descriptions are because they don't need it.
The Peanuts Movie
I ♥ Snoopy (dogs, generally), so this is no surprise.
The Big Short
A drama comedy based on Michael Lewis' book of the same title about the events of the subprime mortgage crisis in 2007-2009. I first thought this was going to be like Wolf of Wall Street with the quick appearance of Margot Robbie, but this has more substance imo; Michael Lewis explains better the economic meltdown.
Finding Vivian Maier
(Source: Black River Imaging)
A biography documentary of photographer (also nanny) Vivian Maier. She gained posthumous recognition after the discovery of her 100,000 street photographs. If you're a striving street photographer or want inspiration, this is the movie for you.
Deadpool
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a British-Canadian-Irish romantic drama that stars Saoirse Ronan as Ellis Lacey, a young Irish who moves to Brooklyn to find work. She gets a decent job at a department store and into bookkeeping class, and eventually falls in love with a young Italian.
Captain America: Civil War
10 Cloverfield Lane
A scifi psychological thriller that has no resemblance to its predecessor. The film stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Michelle, who survived a car accident with the help of Howard (played by John Goodman). She was kept inside for their safety or was it really?
The Nice Guys
Crime comedy film that stars Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe who play as detectives set in the 1970s. It has slapstick humor that's not exaggerated.
Star Trek Beyond
McCoy is my favorite.
Hail, Ceasar!
George Clooney as Baird Whitlock gets kidnapped that left Eddie Mannix, the problem solver/fixer in the showbiz, in a bind if they don't pay up the USD100k ransom. Of course, there are other problems that needs fixin'. I need to re-watch this film to understand it better and see Channing's dance in a sailor uniform. :D
I Spit on Your Grave
and I Spit on Your Grave 2
The two I Spit on Your Grave movies are each standalone stories on vengeance by tortured and raped women. Both aren't for the faint-hearted.
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is an American mockumentary comedy that stars Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone (the trio behind The Lonely Island). Conner is a kid music prodigy that started a rap group with childhood friends, but they eventually disbanded being Conner took all credit for their rising popularity. Famous celebrities make a cameo in the movie. One of my favorite scenes in the movie was Mariah Carey's opinion on the song "I'm So Humble," saying with a straight-face: "I really connected with that, because I’m the most humble person I know." Hilarious!
Suite Française
From Irène Némirovsky's book of the same name, Suite Française is a romance between Lucille Angellier (played by Michelle Williams), a French lady, and Commander Bruno von Falk (played byhis hotness Matthias Schoenaerts), a German set at the time of Nazi-occupied France.
The Kodai Family (Koudaike no Hitobito)
Based on the manga series of the same name by Kozueko Morimoto, stars Haruka Ayase as Kie Hirano and Takumi Saito as Mitsumasa Kodai. Mitsumasa and his two other siblings are telepathic, which they got from their British grandmother. This power makes it hard for them to get involved with anyone until Mitsumasa met someone with a wild imagination.
Evergreen Love
Evergreen Love is a romance film about an office girl stuck with a home and work routine, who always gets picked on by her boss, and is often alone. Things change for her when she finds a guy collapsed in front of her home. They end up living together and even falling in love. Based on the novel "Shokubutsu Zukan" by Hiro Arikawa.
Scoop
A Woody Allen film. The magician Sid (Woody Allen) gets involved with journalism student Sondra (Scarlett Johansson) when a dead reporter appears to her during Sid's tricks. The dead reporter reveals who the Tarot Card Killer is and Sondra believes this is her chance to get a big scoop. Shallow comedy crime movie, but I enjoyed it. :)
Doctor Strange
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Eddie Redmayne redeemed himself, to my eyes that is, in this film after seeing The Danish Girl. XD
Far From the Madding Crowd
Another romance film that stars Matthias Schoenaerts. Far From the Madding Crowd is based on a book of the same name that was considered one of the best love stories of all time. It tells the story of Everdene; her life as a farmer to an estate owner and relationships with sheep farmer Gabriel Oak, her neighbor William Boldwood, and soldier Troy. She enjoys her independence, but she did have to make a choice.
The Drop
(Source: The Suffolk Voice)
Tom Hardy and Matthias Schoenaerts in one movie? Yes, please! :D
Bob Saginowski (Tom Hardy) is a bartender at a neighborhood bar used for money-laundering drops. One night, Bob comes across an abandoned pup inside a garbage can and rescues it, but leaves the puppy with Nadia (Noomi Rapace) who lives near where he found the pup. He really thought hard whether or not he should adopt a dog as though adopting a baby. How adorable! But the story is actually more than just the pup.
Star Wars: Rogue One
Second Star Wars movie that made me want to go home (from the theater) and play Battlefront. Not because it's a bad movie; the bgm reminded me so much of the game and how much hours I spent on it. :P
The Handmaiden
Directed by Park Chan-wook of Oldboy, The Handmaiden is an erotic thriller about a con-man who intends to bilk a Japanese woman with the help of a thief who will serve as the handmaiden. This is definitely the best I've seen last year.
White God
A Hungarian thrilling canine apocalypse movie that's not an easy watch especially if you're a dog lover, but still a must-see.
Green Room
One of the good thriller/horror movies in 2016, this is about a punk-rock band in an attempt to escape from getting killed by neo-nazis after witnessing a murder.
Cafe Society
Cafe Society is written and directed by Wooden Allen. It is a romance comedy drama set in the 1930s that stars Steve Carell, Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, and Blake Lively. Eisenberg plays Bobby who moved from Bronx to Los Angeles for a better career then finds himself in love with a woman who is actually involved with a married man. Kristen Stewart delivers quite a surprising and charming performance in this film probably because I always associated her to Twilight. I loved the music in this film.
Special mentions:
Please do share (in the comments section below) any movies you've seen last year or even recently that you highly recommend. I'll surely check it out.
The Peanuts Movie
I ♥ Snoopy (dogs, generally), so this is no surprise.
The Big Short
A drama comedy based on Michael Lewis' book of the same title about the events of the subprime mortgage crisis in 2007-2009. I first thought this was going to be like Wolf of Wall Street with the quick appearance of Margot Robbie, but this has more substance imo; Michael Lewis explains better the economic meltdown.
Finding Vivian Maier
(Source: Black River Imaging)
A biography documentary of photographer (also nanny) Vivian Maier. She gained posthumous recognition after the discovery of her 100,000 street photographs. If you're a striving street photographer or want inspiration, this is the movie for you.
Deadpool
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a British-Canadian-Irish romantic drama that stars Saoirse Ronan as Ellis Lacey, a young Irish who moves to Brooklyn to find work. She gets a decent job at a department store and into bookkeeping class, and eventually falls in love with a young Italian.
Captain America: Civil War
10 Cloverfield Lane
A scifi psychological thriller that has no resemblance to its predecessor. The film stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Michelle, who survived a car accident with the help of Howard (played by John Goodman). She was kept inside for their safety or was it really?
The Nice Guys
Crime comedy film that stars Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe who play as detectives set in the 1970s. It has slapstick humor that's not exaggerated.
Star Trek Beyond
McCoy is my favorite.
Hail, Ceasar!
George Clooney as Baird Whitlock gets kidnapped that left Eddie Mannix, the problem solver/fixer in the showbiz, in a bind if they don't pay up the USD100k ransom. Of course, there are other problems that needs fixin'. I need to re-watch this film to understand it better and see Channing's dance in a sailor uniform. :D
I Spit on Your Grave
and I Spit on Your Grave 2
The two I Spit on Your Grave movies are each standalone stories on vengeance by tortured and raped women. Both aren't for the faint-hearted.
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is an American mockumentary comedy that stars Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone (the trio behind The Lonely Island). Conner is a kid music prodigy that started a rap group with childhood friends, but they eventually disbanded being Conner took all credit for their rising popularity. Famous celebrities make a cameo in the movie. One of my favorite scenes in the movie was Mariah Carey's opinion on the song "I'm So Humble," saying with a straight-face: "I really connected with that, because I’m the most humble person I know." Hilarious!
Suite Française
From Irène Némirovsky's book of the same name, Suite Française is a romance between Lucille Angellier (played by Michelle Williams), a French lady, and Commander Bruno von Falk (played by
The Kodai Family (Koudaike no Hitobito)
Based on the manga series of the same name by Kozueko Morimoto, stars Haruka Ayase as Kie Hirano and Takumi Saito as Mitsumasa Kodai. Mitsumasa and his two other siblings are telepathic, which they got from their British grandmother. This power makes it hard for them to get involved with anyone until Mitsumasa met someone with a wild imagination.
Evergreen Love
Evergreen Love is a romance film about an office girl stuck with a home and work routine, who always gets picked on by her boss, and is often alone. Things change for her when she finds a guy collapsed in front of her home. They end up living together and even falling in love. Based on the novel "Shokubutsu Zukan" by Hiro Arikawa.
Scoop
A Woody Allen film. The magician Sid (Woody Allen) gets involved with journalism student Sondra (Scarlett Johansson) when a dead reporter appears to her during Sid's tricks. The dead reporter reveals who the Tarot Card Killer is and Sondra believes this is her chance to get a big scoop. Shallow comedy crime movie, but I enjoyed it. :)
Doctor Strange
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Eddie Redmayne redeemed himself, to my eyes that is, in this film after seeing The Danish Girl. XD
Far From the Madding CrowdAnother romance film that stars Matthias Schoenaerts. Far From the Madding Crowd is based on a book of the same name that was considered one of the best love stories of all time. It tells the story of Everdene; her life as a farmer to an estate owner and relationships with sheep farmer Gabriel Oak, her neighbor William Boldwood, and soldier Troy. She enjoys her independence, but she did have to make a choice.
The Drop
(Source: The Suffolk Voice)
Tom Hardy and Matthias Schoenaerts in one movie? Yes, please! :D
Bob Saginowski (Tom Hardy) is a bartender at a neighborhood bar used for money-laundering drops. One night, Bob comes across an abandoned pup inside a garbage can and rescues it, but leaves the puppy with Nadia (Noomi Rapace) who lives near where he found the pup. He really thought hard whether or not he should adopt a dog as though adopting a baby. How adorable! But the story is actually more than just the pup.
Star Wars: Rogue One
Second Star Wars movie that made me want to go home (from the theater) and play Battlefront. Not because it's a bad movie; the bgm reminded me so much of the game and how much hours I spent on it. :P
The Handmaiden
Directed by Park Chan-wook of Oldboy, The Handmaiden is an erotic thriller about a con-man who intends to bilk a Japanese woman with the help of a thief who will serve as the handmaiden. This is definitely the best I've seen last year.
White God
A Hungarian thrilling canine apocalypse movie that's not an easy watch especially if you're a dog lover, but still a must-see.
Green Room
One of the good thriller/horror movies in 2016, this is about a punk-rock band in an attempt to escape from getting killed by neo-nazis after witnessing a murder.
Cafe Society
Cafe Society is written and directed by Wooden Allen. It is a romance comedy drama set in the 1930s that stars Steve Carell, Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, and Blake Lively. Eisenberg plays Bobby who moved from Bronx to Los Angeles for a better career then finds himself in love with a woman who is actually involved with a married man. Kristen Stewart delivers quite a surprising and charming performance in this film probably because I always associated her to Twilight. I loved the music in this film.
Special mentions:
- The Light Between Oceans because Alicia Vikander. I can't say it's a great film, but photography is beautiful.
- Train to Busan third favorite zombie film after Zombieland. The first is Shaun of the Dead. ;)
- The Jungle Book. Because Baloo. :)
- The Danish Girl is about real-life Danish painter Einar Wegener who was the first man to undergo a sex-change operation. Alicia Vikander is also in this film.
- Me Before You is not as heavy as other over-dramatic tragic romance stories.
- Saint Young Men where Jesus and Buddha are best buds.
Please do share (in the comments section below) any movies you've seen last year or even recently that you highly recommend. I'll surely check it out.
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