Leftovers + The Force Awakens

Given the Lost connection, it's interesting how these 2 filmmakers utilize teen angst. In The Leftovers, Evie's dysfunctional family resides within a community that believes, following the rapture, they were blessed with zero departures. So, she joins a white-clad cult who smoke and remind people we're too guilty for salvation. In The Force Awakens, Kylo Ren resides within a family that helped end the subjugation of the Empire. He joins the black-clad First Order, changes his name from Ben, and studies the dark-side. The climax of each story notwithstanding, did these 2 characters just want to piss of their parents?

Inside Out

by April Franco

Pediatric therapists love Inside Out. In a world where kids are bombarded with so much so soon, it is refreshing to know that an effort has been made to tell young people, “Hey! It’s okay to feel what you feel.” Life can be very hard, especially when adults are making life-changing decisions for you.

 
This film was so clever in explaining the workings of the brain. It was impressive to see the way moments are remembered and forgotten. Responsibly explains how okay it can be to feel. And most importantly, the way joy, sadness, disgust, anger, and fright can coexist.

Dope + Me & Earl & the Dying Girl

Both movies embody a youthful originality that reminded me of John Hughes or Richard Linklater. Unlike these directors, there is a heaviness to Dope and Me & Earl you can't find in "hangout movies" from the 80s and 90s. Issues like drugs, gun violence, and cancer need to be addressed, especially if they impact youth. But I found myself getting wrapped up in the friendships in each movie. I just wanted to hang out, inhabit these worlds for a few hours. I guess it's selfishness on my part to want to dance with Ally Sheedy or cruise with Matthew McConaughey.

Jurassic World

A successful formula: dinosaur park, dinosaur expert nobody listens to, profit-minded park manager, and military man who wants dinosaur soldiers(?). Entertaining as heckfire, but with one major surprise. When did young women stop being safe in dinosaur movies? A winged dino picks one up and both are eaten by a huge...alligatorsaurus, I guess. It's kind of horrific, but does it create a level playing field in family movies? Newman got spit on and torn apart in the first Jurassic Park and I didn't give it a second thought. Has gender equality finally cracked the dinosaur/sci-fi fantasy genre?

Avengers + Ex Machina

In science-fiction, artificial intelligence is always bad. Even when it's good. Whether it's an automaton with the powers of Google search and the drive for human extinction or an alluring lady-bot with a desire to see the world. Both Ultron and Ava are conscious of their creator, but they feel detached, resentful, even superior. They don't want to live as puppets or dolls on a shelf. They have innate, human desires to take control of their own lives. Unfortunately, and this is where sci-fi gets all deep, Ultron and Ava believe they must destroy their creator to live free.

This is the End + True Story

Here me out: what started as a joke became a full-on analysis of personal honesty. The characters that James Franco & Jonah Hill play in both movies are convinced they are essentially good people trapped in horrible circumstances. In This is the End, James & Jonah are too self-obsessed to understand why they didn't get into heaven. In True Story, James is a heartless murderer who manipulates people with emotion. Jonah abandons journalistic integrity in favor of a great story. In each situation, the lies the characters tell themselves create the foundation for a (im)moral universe. 

A Most Violent Year

"I can think of at least 2 things wrong with that title." The story takes place over a month and the violence was, well...brief. Not that I require Liam Neeson level brutality from every film, but I was anticipating a Goodfellas-ish underbelly. It's 1981 New York and hardworking immigrant, Abel Morales, is repeatedly having his oil trucks hijacked. There's a great moment where he sits down with the "Oil Families" of NYC to make peace. It's The Godfather, with Abel portraying Micheal Corleone. The difference being Abel stays the course and never fully embraces the reality of his business.