Caro the Movie Critic

2015 has been shaky from the start but then the summer kick things into high gear and delivered some fantastic movies ranging from indie films to animated films to even the summer blockbusters. This has been a great year for the movies. I usually have an easy time selecting my favorite movies of 2015 but out of all the years I had to make a Top 10 list of 2015, this has been the toughest. There were 34 movies to choose from this year and they had all different range and I believe variety is the best way to describe the movies in 2015: the best of the best. So, without further ado, let's get on with it: You Tube link:  Caro the Movie Critic: The Best Movies of 2015 Honorable Mentions: Anomalisa The Big Short Bridge of Spies Carol Creed It Follows Love & Mercy Me and Earl and the Dying Girl Steve Jobs Straight Outta Compton 10. Brooklyn This is a rich period drama that features not only a love triangle between Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen and Downhill Glee...

A dinosaur and his boy story. Let's think about this. What happens if the asteroid missed hitting the dinosaurs 65 million years ago? The dinosaurs would not mind and just go on eating grass and maybe eating other dinosaurs. However, this has been a dinosaur mania this year with Jurassic World  coming out earlier this summer, which was a fun summer popcorn flick with flaws and illogical situations. But, Pixar had a great movie,  Inside Out , which is one of the best movies of 2015, and it has been a while since Pixar has released two movies in one year. With this late release from Pixar, even though it is not at the top of their game, it is a technical achievement with an average but adorable story. Poppa Henry and Momma Ida (voiced by Jeffrey Wright and Frances McDormand) have three dinosaurs but their youngest and mischievous is Arlo (voiced by Raymond Ochoa). However, as they are hunting for food near a river, both Poppa Henry and Arlo get separated as Poppa is being ...

I have only seen 6 documentaries this year which also includes Amy and I Am Chris Farley . But, I have to be honest, this has not been a particularly strong year for documentaries except for onethat got me emotionally and mentally as what I examine for when they uncover the truth or some facts from the people involved in these documentaries. But, here are the four I have seen this year: Listen To Me Marlon, Unrated, 4 stars This is the most insightful documentary of the year as we only hear Marlon Brando narrating his life and experiences what he has gone through regarding his family, his private life and his film experiences regarding The Godfather , Apocalypse Now , Last Tango in Paris , etc. It is like Marlon Brando came out of his grave to give us another profoundly moving movie only we hear his voice and scenery and nothing else. The Look of Silence, R, 3.5 stars Joshua Oppenheimer's follow-up documentary is a light-hearted but still-disturbing film regarding a ...

Jennifer Lawrence as Joy Mangano.  It's another rags-to-riches story that sets an underdog in a corporate business that tries to make a name for herself. I've seen many of those movies in recent years raging from crazy to inspiring. Crazy is the exact definition for The Wolf of Wall Street and Scarface . But, anyway, try being a person who has to take care of two children and parents and other relatives in a small household. I mean, it's a lot of work for one person and also to have financial struggles under your belt. It's a modern Cinderella take in the corporate world and that premise is refreshing, however, the movie is too full of events and moments of making promises and supplying disappointments that you get cranky after a while. Plus, the inconsistent balance between direction and script-writing from David O. Russell is quite noticeable. Joy Mangano (Jennifer Lawrence) is a Long Island-based entrepreneur in the 1990s whose Miracle Mop was being sold in mul...

Leo trekking in the wilderness. How in the world did the filmmakers go through the experience of making this movie? I'd actually want to watch the behind-the-scenes of the movie because some of those conditions look like murder threatening their health. But, watching this movie made me realize the unfair reality and graciousness of the possessions I have because, to tell you truth, I am not a needy person but many people are greedy. It's tough for people in those times to survive in that snowy, harsh landscape in the icy-cold conditions but that's what Hugh Glass was going through to push their limits to get his revenge. Even though it may have been a revenge story, it is beautifully simple structural film full of symbolism and poetic artistry immersing ourselves in this fantastic movie. The movie commences in 1823 in which a quasi-military hunting party of fur-trappers and fur-hunters are hunting for pelts in an ambiguous northern territory under the command of Cap...

Poor Bruce Dern with Russell and Leigh yelling.  Quentin Tarantino is one of the most versatile filmmakers in the industry and he takes a story into another level of excitement. Pulp Fiction is the quintessential movie in his filmography as far as I'm concerned with balancing the humor and violence in such original fashion and style with a great cast. He also takes another genre and spins it backwards to become an original Tarantino film such as Jackie Brown with the blaxploitation genre, Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2  with the martial arts genre,  Inglourious Basterds in its WWII genre reinventing his own history and Django Unchained in its spaghetii western genre. He has made another spaghetti western with some Reservoir Dogs type of dialogue and story, however, his direction is a bit self-indulgent this time around with his style but it is a fun spaghetti western with original characters having their spotlight. The movie is divided into six narrative sequences but I w...

A little session for Ferrell, Wahlberg and Cardellini. Well, stepdads and former dads, aka ex-husbands, can create a conflict in bitter households, especially, creating a nightmare for the children in the family. They will be confused as to where their place belongs to. But, we, as children or older children, can get attached to our mothers. Ultimately, we decide for ourselves as to whether or not we like the newest member of our family even if it does not go well in our step-mother's or step-father's marriage. Even though its narrative is thin in solely in its jokes, which, unfortunately, are inconsistent, it explores some mechanics of fatherhood which balances not as clearly as it should be, but it could be a factor while watching the movie on cable. Brad Whitaker (Will Ferrell) is married to Sara (Linda Cardellini) and is stepdad to her kids, Dylan and Megan (Owen Vaccaro and Scarlett Estevez). Brad is infertile due to an unfortunate groin radiation. Despite his best...

Fey and Poehler just wanna have fun.  There have been a lot of magical comedic duos in the past: Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon, Steve Martin and John Candy/Martin Short, Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, Seth Rogen and James Franco, etc. But, I would also put Tina Fey and Amy Poehler in that category of those duos because they have a spark in their chemistry and play off each other like clockwork. Their jokes on SNL, the Golden Globes and in the interviews are hilarious when they try to loosen everybody up including themselves. The movie is another collaboration between them after their movie, Baby Mama , however, I felt that their comedic chemistry is so loose that the story becomes tedious and standard, which is a real disappointment. Maura Ellis (Amy Poehler) is a divorced nurse who is helping out a man, who appears to be homeless but he was really a working man causing her to be embarrassed. Maura has a Skype chat at her home with her parents, Bucky and Deanne (James B...

Run...another bad guy is chasing us. Here it is, at last, Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens. The most anticipated movie of the year or ever since the announcement with the Disney merger with LucasFilm and/or there will be another Star Wars film. To tell you the truth, I was a bit worried and skeptical simultaneously because of the taste we got from the prequels. I asked myself, "Do I need to see another Star Wars movie? Does the people need to see another Star Wars movie?" Science fiction is a popular genre nowadays and it has been an excellent year for the genre: Ex Machina , The Martian , Interstellar , Gravity , etc. I think that this was the right time to release another Star Wars movie to give us a taste of exciting entertainment to finish off the year. When finished watching this movie, the inner force of the inner child in me has awakened me to say that the force is with them as they delivered a highly entertaining film filled with nostalgia, glee and suspe...

What the hell kind of movies are these? 2015 did not get off to a good start, however, the second half of the year was comparatively stronger without question. Even though I was impressed that there was not as many awful movies as I thought, it saved me some time because it allowed to really think about the best movies of 2015, which will be posted later. But, we had some pretty dismal and superbly awful movies that I should discuss with y'all and go through the pain that I had to suffer through with these "final presentations" that the studio and filmmakers presented to us, the audience. Let's knock these movies one more time. YouTube Video Link:  Caro the Movie Critic: The Worst Movies of 2015 (Dis)Honorable Mentions: Aloha Get Hard The Gunman Hot Tub Time Machine 2 Love the Coopers Mortdecai Terminator: Genisys 10. Pan This is no surprise as to why another live-action turd of a version of Peter Pan does not work. It is like children direct...

Anakin's first transition into the Dark Side.  Here it is, at last. Star Wars: Episode III: The movie that we will finally see to witness Anakin transitioning into the Dark Side of the Force. But, that's essentially the plot that we wanted to see in the first place because the previous two are pointless buildups to this movie. I felt like that the first two predecessors did not have anything at stake because we knew that most of the characters will survive. There was no emotion or depth. I actually liked this movie, despite, again, the terrible dialogue, for the complex emotion that the characters go through with some things at stake with a few great sequences bookending this final chapter before A New Hope . During a fantastic space battle sequence over Coruscant between the Republic and the Separatist Alliance, Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker (Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen) lead a mission to rescue the kidnapped Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmi...

Anakin and Padme fighting in the arena against the enemies. And, we move on to Episode II. Love is weird. I mean, writers in Hollywood try to engage us in romance or melodrama that can get us lost in a particular relationship between two people we like on-screen. I mean, Casablanca , When Harry Met Sally..., The Princess Bride, Titanic, etc. But, this movie is not one of them. George Lucas' latest installment has some nifty action sequences in the middle and near the end that are well-crafted but there are many flaws and many scenes that are underwritten or underdeveloped that are poorly executed or just not exciting. And, I'm specifically talking about the romantic scenes between Anakin and Padme. Ten years have passed since the Trade Federation had invaded Naboo, the Galactic Republic is threatened by a Separatist movement organized by Count Dooku (Christopher Lee), which kills one of Padme's (Natalie Portman) decoys. Senator Padme Amidala comes to Coruscant to vo...

Duel of the Fates. Here we go, the prequels...ugh. Back in 1999, I knew some knowledge regarding Star Wars as I saw the original (I mean, the original trilogy on VHS and not the BS re-dubbed version) trilogy and knew and remembered most of the characters. Luke Skywalker. Princess Leia. Han Solo. Chewbacca. Darth Vader. The original trilogy is timeless. Now, George Lucas, the "visionary" director behind these next films that I'll review, opt to make a decision to continue on with the tradition of making the first three films before the origins of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader's story. He wanted to make the origins of Darth Vader's uphill to the Jedi side and downhill to the Dark Side. With the first movie, there are moments of greatness with the action sequences and battles but pedantic attempts to develop the characters with thin exposition and terrible dialogue. The movie begins with Supreme Chancellor Valorum (Terence Stamp) sending out Jedi dispatches: J...

Wait, where's your hammer, Thor? A whale's out there. There are not many movies about whaling that wants to keep audiences afloat but combining the spectacle and storytelling is a challenge because we pay so much attention to the cinematography and visual panache that is both eccentric and alive. However, sailors, in particular, have a dangerous job of trying to catch fish and whales but also have a disgusting task of taking out the guts and blood. Plus, the only risk, in my mind right now, is that you cannot be sea sick, otherwise, why do you take the job? However, this movie is a stunning visual experience that is sumptuous and luminously crafted, but the character development and narrative is thin that it becomes an incomplete experience to behold. In 1820, veteran whaler Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth) is the first officer aboard the Essex . He finds out and is pleased to hear that his second officer is Matthew Joy (Cillian Murphy), an old friend. The ship's captain ...