Top 20 Movies of the 2010's: #12-11

12.Kick-Ass (2010): Deadpool gets credited for starting the ultraviolent, meta R-rated superhero comedy movement. Something that the cinematic history books aren't likely to say is that Kick-Ass did the same schtick six years earlier. Not only did Kick-Ass beat Deadpool to the scene, for my money it did a far better job of being a properly fucked up take on a widely popular genre. Aided by a magnificent set of morally questionable characters (Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the titular hero, Chloe Grace Moretz as the foul mouthed Hit Girl, Nicolas Cage as Hit Girl's vigilante father Big Daddy, Mark Strong as the ruthless mob boss Frank D'Mico, Christopher Mintz-Plasse as D'mico's punk son who desperately want to get involved in the family business), Matthew Vaughn brought Mark Millar's graphic novel to life with an ideal mix of depravity and hilarity that allowed it to become an instant cult classic.

11.Marriage Story (2019): I sincerely wasn't prepared for Marriage Story. Noah Baumbach created a story about divorce that spends so much time establishing its characters, why their relationship deteriorated and how their initially civil separation process devolves into a nasty custody battle that the wall of fiction that typically exists in a narrative film gets broken down. Every situation, word, emotion and person on the screen feels completely authentic and that deep, almost eerie foot in reality is what makes Marriage Story such a singularly devastating film to sit through.

Movie Review: Fantasy Island

Reimagining a late 70's/early 80's television series about guests who travel to a mysterious remote island to live out their fantasies as a supernatural horror movie is a pretty clever idea. Countless stories have told audiences that wishes don't usually end well, so why not turn one of the few pieces of art where happily ever after's were the norm into something sinister? While the wishes do indeed go poorly for the guests in the Jason Blum-produced version of Fantasy Island, sadly the movie itself does too.

Fantasy Island falls into the dreaded no man's land of teen horror flicks. It's far too inept from a writing and generating scares standpoint to work as an effective genre piece yet is just intriguing enough to not be a completely laughable stinker. There's some semblance of dumb fun to be had trying to piece together the jumbled mystery plot that features nonsensical, unexplained mythology galore, some awkward tonal shifts, a bizarre sense of restraint following its more absurd revelations and a couple of charismatic presences (Jimmy O. Yang, Michael Pena) in an otherwise stiff ensemble cast (Lucy Hale and Austin Stowell in particular might want to get their pulses checked to confirm that they are indeed still alive) prevent Fantasy Island from ever achieving the high level of unintentional hilarity that it flirts with throughout. With cult classic status off the table, what's left is a harmlessly bad early year entry into the horror movie pool that will be easy to forget. It's a real shame that this was so close to being another unapologetically kooky aquatic winter classic a la Serenity, and I'll be holding this oddly specific strain of failure against Jeff Wadlow, Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach for the rest of their careers.

Grade: C-

The Best and Worst of Alexandra Shipp

“The Best and Worst of” series chronicles the career highlights and lowlights of an actor starring in one of the week's new theatrical releases. This week, I take a look at the filmography of “All the Bright Places” star Alexandra Shipp.

Films starring Alexandra Shipp that I've seen:
Straight Outta Compton
X-Men: Apocalypse 
Tragedy Girls
Love, Simon
Dude
Dark Phoenix
Shaft
Jexi

Best Performance: Jexi (2019)
Jexi was an efficient, very amusing comedy with a couple of nice subversive touches and Shipp's performance is a key reason why I found it to be such a pleasant watch. Driven by a winning mix of sarcasm and warmth, Shipp makes San Francisco bike shop owner Cate the ideal character for an R-rated comedy with a prominent romantic subplot.

Worst Performance: Tragedy Girls (2016)
What a difference a few years makes. Unlike the turn in Jexi that I just praised, Shipp is woefully unfunny and downright obnoxious as one half of a clout-seeking blogger turned serial killer duo in this thoroughly unpleasant slasher comedy.

Best Film: Straight Outta Compton (2015)
In an era where music/entertainment biopics are becoming even more of a cornerstone in theaters, Straight Outta Compton managed to set a new gold standard for the genre. Director F.Gary Gray and a stellar cast (Jason Mitchell, O'Shea Jackson. Jr, Corey Hawkins, Paul Giamatti) avoided the drabness that often plagues these type of films by filling the dramatization of N.W.A.'s story with plenty of energy, passion and emotion. Hopefully the slew of upcoming big screen biopics about the likes of Aretha Franklin, Elvis Pressley and George Michael will follow in the lively footsteps of inspired flicks like this, Rocketman and Get on Up instead of the flat, familiar mold of Bohemian Rhapsody and All Eyez on Me.  

Worst Film: Tragedy Girls (2016)
Tragedy Girls boasts a terrific horror comedy setup: A pair of high school seniors (Brianna Hildebrand, Shipp) who run a true crime blog start killing people with the hope of gaining more followers. Thanks to a witless, tonally-challenged script, main characters that are vile without even being remotely interesting and an alarming shortage of laughs, it fell well short of capitalizing on the potential of its premise.  

Thank you for reading this week's edition of “The Best and Worst of”. The next victim of my praise and ire will be “The Way Back” star Ben Affleck. 

Concert Review: While She Sleeps-- Somerville, MA--February 22nd, 2020

Lineup: While She Sleeps/He is Legend/Savage Hands/Silent Season
Venue: ONCE Ballroom

Silent Season: Decent enough local opener that fit the bill nicely. Silent Season's clean vocal-driven style makes them easy to differentiate from most other metalcore bands and all of their songs were pretty catchy. Really the only downside to their music is that their vocalist's screams were nowhere near as strong as his Jesse Leach-esque cleans. Based on their solid live show and somewhat inspired take on a genre that is widely popular in this area, they should have no issue becoming a fixture on the Boston metal scene.

Savage Hands: Going out and leaving everything you have on a stage is a great way to endear yourself to an audience when you're an up-and-coming band. This is exactly what Savage Hands did here. They came on stage with a clear desire to let the crowd know who they are and what they're about, and didn't deviate from that mission for the whole 25 minutes they were on stage.

Delivering a vintage style of metalcore that is built around the buildups and payoffs of its breakdowns with non-stop energy and passion is a foolproof way to get a metal crowd to lose its shit. The pits popped at all of the moments they were designed to and that only made the group go even harder on stage-which was just beautiful to watch. While I'm not sure if there was enough I liked about the actual content of their music to explore them further on record, they're definitely a legit live act that instantly earned my respect.  

He is Legend: He is Legend is a band that I've inexplicably ignored for ages. They've drawn comparisons to bands I thoroughly enjoy (Every Time I Die, Norma Jean) and came up during the mid-00's era that helped form my love for extreme music. Not even the recent recommendation from a close friend that I attended this show with was enough to get me to listen to them. In what can only be described as an inevitable conclusion to this long-running trivial saga, I became flooded with regret and self-disgust as soon as they started playing.

Driven by deep, scuzzy riffs, old school rock n'roll fury and a proudly goofy attitude, He is Legend is a kickass southern-tinged hard rock/post-hardcore/metalcore hybrid that appealed to me on a deep level. That glorious combination is especially satisfying in a live setting where hard-hitting guitar licks and furious energy hit their visceral peak. I'll be looking back on this occasion as yet another reason of why I need to do a better job of checking out artists that appeal to me on paper and/or are recommended to me by people who have knowledge of my tastes in a more timely fashion. Feeling like an idiot for consciously ignoring an artist when you dedicate so much time to exploring an artform royally sucks and is something I'm going to start working on right away.  

While She Sleeps: It took four albums and nearly a decade of being a signed, internationally-known act for While She Sleeps to embark on a headlining tour through the United States and Canada. As easy as it would be to complain to that this was long overdue, particularly since they've grown a sizable following around Europe since 2015's Brainwashed, I was mostly just glad that they were finally getting a chance to live out part of their dream after grinding so hard for so long to get this opportunity. Unsurprisingly, While She Sleeps didn't let the people down that had been waiting so long for this historic run to happen.

What's really remarkable about While She Sleeps is how they've managed to become an even more assured, wrecking ball of a live act in the nearly five years since I saw them last. While having music that combines emotionally-charged lyrics that touch on a variety of political/social issues with big riffs, catchy hooks and well-timed breakdowns is an excellent blueprint for getting a strong audience response in metal/hardcore scene, it's their electric stage presence and superb understanding of what draws fans to their music that really makes them standout. They want people to really run wild at their shows and by creating setlists that focus on their most anthemic tunes ("ANTI-SOCIAL", "Four Walls", "Silence Speaks", "You Are We") along with doing everything in their power to ensure that the manic energy levels never let up, they are tremendously successful with that goal. Every call to sing along is met with a sea of voices, there was constant activity in the pits and when vocalist Lawrence Taylor decided to climb up to then jump off the railing of the adjoining second floor bar/lounge at ONCE Ballroom, people happily moved over to catch him and assist him with crowdsurfing back to the stage. This type of blissfully joyous, relentlessly energetic atmosphere is exactly what you want out of a show in this genre and that is why While She Sleeps are one of the most fun, electrifying live acts in metal right now.  

Grades:
Silent Season: B-
Savage Hands: B
He is Legend: A-
While She Sleeps: A

Setlists:
He is Legend:
White Bat
Burn All Your Rock Records
The Seduction
Dixie Wolf (The Seduction Of...)
The Fight Song (Marilyn Manson cover)
Everyone I Know Has Fangs
Eye Teeth
Boogeywoman

While She Sleeps:
ANTI-SOCIAL
I'VE SEEN IT ALL
INSPIRE
Civil Isolation
Brainwashed
FAKERS PLAGUE
Death Toll
Four Walls
THE GUILTY PARTY
Hurricane
Silence Speaks
You Are We

Top 20 Movies of the 2010's: #14-13

14.22 Jump Street (2014): 22 Jump Street was the latest example of an increasingly rare oddity in the world of cinema: a comedy sequel that was better than the original. Maintaining the clever meta tone of its predecessor to take aim at laziness of sequels, adding noted scene stealer Jillian Bell to an already hilarious primary cast (Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube) and putting together a nearly endless supply of great dialogue/gags allowed this to clear the very high bar set by 21 Jump Street.

13.The Nice Guys (2016): Following up Iron Man 3 with a throwback noir buddy movie was a gusty move by Shane Black, but it paid off beautifully as The Nice Guys ended up being a wildly entertaining ride that brought out the best in the seasoned writer/director. Black's witty, quotable dialogue-filled script along with the perfect odd couple dynamic between Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe makes this a hilarious, compelling mystery procedural that only gets better as it goes along.

Quick Movie Reviews: Horse Girl, The Photograph, Sonic the Hedgehog

Horse Girl: What begins as a quirky indie comedy about a seemingly awkward craft store employee (Alison Brie) quickly morphs into a dark, disturbing character study about a woman's increasingly difficult struggle with mental illness. While co-writer/director Jeff Baena's (The Little Hours, Joshy) surreal, improv-heavy style obstructs whatever message Horse Girl is trying to convey and leads to an abrupt ending that is pretty underwhelming, Brie works overtime to maintain a level of intrigue that no amount of uneven filmmaking can erase. Her fearless, transformative performance makes it easy to feel awful for her character even as she engages in increasingly alarming behavior as a result of her paranoid schizophrenia. Although Brie will likely continue to predominantly star in comedies, this is the type of powerful, multi-faceted acting showcase that will hopefully result in her landing more dramatic roles in the future.
Grade: B-

The Photograph: A great mainstream romantic drama released on Valentine's Day that isn't even remotely sappy or contrived almost seems too good to be true, but The Photograph is indeed real. The story dedicates a good chunk of time to fleshing out its characters, the leads (Issa Rae, Lakeith Stanfield) have that rare type of explosive chemistry that becomes apparent from the moment they first appear on screen together and the eventual happy ending feels earned because the road to get there was refreshingly bumpy. It sure as hell isn't perfect (the flashbacks involving Rae's character mother and the love interest she left behind aren't nearly as engaging as the scenes in the present), but writer/director Stella Meghie deserves major kudos for creating a warm, heartfelt love story that is far more convincing than your average big screen romance.
Grade: B+

Sonic the Hedgehog: What a turnaround for this little blue alien speedster. Less than 9 months after horrifying the internet with the presence of some unsightly human teeth, the redesigned big screen  Sonic is leading a movie that's setting the box office ablaze (it made $113 million worldwide in its first four days of release). Truly an inspirational underdog story that people in the film industry should celebrate for years to come. As for the movie itself, I found it to be a good time. It's a goofy little family adventure comedy that moves at a brisk pace, produces some decent laughs and gives Jim Carrey a valid reason to return to the vintage manic goofball antics that made him such an exciting comedic force in his mid 90's to early 2000's heyday. For a video game adaptation about a hedgehog that runs really fast and collects magic rings that allows him to transport to different places across the galaxy on a whim, that's more than enough for me to deem it a success.
Grade: B

Top 20 Movies of the 2010's: #16-15

16.A Star is Born (2018): Seemingly every living generation has had their own version of A Star is Born. The original starring Judy Garland was released in 1937 then went onto be remade in 1954 and 1976. Having a property with a storyline (young up-and-coming artist develops a relationship with an established star then goes onto surpass their fame in short order-which complicates their romance) and a tragic ending that is pretty widely known makes the process of delivering a worthwhile modern era reboot a very difficult task. Miraculously, Bradley Cooper did just that with his stunningly grounded take on this classic tragic romance. By getting emotionally raw performances out of the main cast (Lady Gaga, Sam Elliott, himself) and allowing the central relationship to unfold then deteriorate in a very natural way, he established a sense of authenticity that allowed the film to sidestep its potential eye-rolling melodramatic plot points and become something unexpectedly powerful and devastating. Accomplishing something like with his debut outing makes me really excited to see what Cooper does next behind the camera.

15.Inception (2010): Inception set off the first really spirited film debate of the decade following its release in July 2010. During the last scene when Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) returns home to his kids and spins his deceased wife's (Marion Cotillard) totem, had he returned to the real world or was he stuck in a dream? Personally, I don't really give a shit either way because neither scenario adds or takes away from the excellence that preceded it. Not only did this movie put the world's collective brain into a pretzel, it offered up some of the most jaw-dropping action setpieces ever put on film, boasts a dense plot that never stops being enthralling and provided most of the world with a stellar introduction to Tom Hardy.

The Best and Worst of Karen Gillan

“The Best and Worst of” series chronicles the career highlights and lowlights of an actor starring in one of the week's new theatrical releases. This week, I take a look at the filmography of “The Call of the Wild” star Karen Gillan.

Films starring Karen Gillan that I've seen:
Oculus 
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Big Short
In a Valley of Violence
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Avengers: Infinity War
Avengers: Endgame
Stuber
Jumanji: The Next Level

Best Performance: Jumanji: The Next Level (2019)
Gillan's second turn as Jumanji's famed "Killer of Men" Ruby Roundhouse was even better than her first. An increase in the dramatic character moments for the person (Morgan Turner) stuck inside the video game avatar that allowed for a bit more serious acting along with the return of her fierceness, strong comic timing and effortless camaraderie she shares with her co-stars (Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black) made this a particularly noteworthy effort from one of the industry's most promising rising stars.

Worst Performance: Oculus (2014)
To be fair, Gillan's performance was one of the better things about Oculus. However, her turn as a young woman determined to locate and destroy a cursed antique mirror that forced her parents to slowly go insane when she was a child isn't overly impressive-especially when compared to the level of conviction she's displayed throughout the rest of her filmography.

Best Film: Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Delivering any sort of innovation is incredibly difficult when you're dealing with a megafranchise that's been running for over a decade and always has to be conscious of the overarching story that's tying every film together. This carefully crafted continuity is what made Avengers: Infinity War such a refreshing high note for the MCU. Having a Marvel film driven by a sense of impending doom as the heroes face a foe that's more powerful than them elevated both the narrative and emotional stakes to unprecedently high levels.

Worst Film: Oculus (2014)
Although I've only seen a couple of his projects (this and the dreadful Gerald's Game), Mike Flanagan's filmmaking style has already managed to really bother me. His attempts to build dreary atmospheres are largely unsuccessful and his storytelling is flatter than Kyrie Irving's globe. Here, decent acting and a couple of creepy scenes isn't nearly enough to save Oculus from its brutal pacing and cheap, moronic ending.

Thank you for reading this week's edition of “The Best and Worst of”. The next victim of my praise and ire will be “All the Bright Places” star Alexandra Shipp. 

Top 20 Movies of the 2010's: #18-17

18.Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016): Nine years after Hot Rod, The Lonely Island (Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone) produced another masterful comedy that sadly made no money in theaters, but went onto develop a rabid following once it hit home video/HBO. Applying their signature brand of absurd, sneaky clever humor to a mockumentary that pokes fun at the shallow ridiculousness of the music industry results in a movie that is consistently hysterical, highly rewatchable and features some of the best parody songs ever written.

17.Room (2015): Room is not an easy movie to watch. It deals with topics such as sexual assault, depression, trauma, abduction and the specific set of difficulties that human beings (both adult and child) face when trying to readjust to the real world after spending such a prolonged time involuntarily removed from it in a manner that is uncomfortably realistic. As harrowing as it is, the unflinching yet compassionate way that Room deals with these distressing subjects as well as how the narrative allows the mother/son protagonists (Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay-both astonishingly good) to slowly regain a sense of normalcy after the unspeakable horrors they were experienced made this an unbelievably potent human drama that is impossible to shake after consuming.

Top 20 Movies of the 2010's: #20-19

Welcome to my countdown of the top 20 movies of the 2010's! This past decade produced a ton of spectacular films and there's no possible way to recognize to all of them on a list of this size. Titles like Get Out, Jojo Rabbit, Ingrid Goes West, The Spectacular Now and Nightcrawler that all made a significant impact on me didn't even finish in the top 30-which speaks volumes about the abundance of great art that was released during this time period. Below you'll find the first two films that made the list along with the final five that I cut from consideration in alphabetical order. My current intention is to do at least two entries in this countdown per week, which seems attainable considering the relative lack of new releases hitting theaters and streaming services during this stretch of the calendar. Hope you enjoy this trip through the past decade in cinema and please feel free to leave your own picks in the comments section.

Just Missed the Cut:
21 Jump Street (2012)
American Hustle (2013)
The Disaster Artist (2017)
Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)
Wind River (2017)

20.The Fighter (2010): The simply unreal hot streak David O. Russell went on in the early part of the 2010's got started with a biopic about boxer "Irish" Mickey Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and his loving yet overbearing family that keeps meddling in his career. Russell's knack for packing his films with energy and raw emotion along with some tremendous performances from its primary cast (Wahlberg Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo) elevated this above a traditional sports underdog drama.

19.Straight Outta Compton (2015): Having a group with huge personalities that had a history of inciting controversy with their incendiary lyrics and dealing with internal conflict laid down a very solid base for a film adaptation of N.W.A's career. Straight Outta Compton fully realized that potential and went onto become an electrifying standout in the crapshoot music biopic subgenre. The casting choices (Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E, O'Shea Jackson Jr. as Ice Cube, Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre, Paul Giamatti as Jerry Heller) were nothing short of perfect, it covers a remarkable amount of ground (Ice Cube's ugly exit, the group's personal experience with police brutality, Eazy-E's AIDS diagnosis) without ever feeling overwhelming or losing focus and above all, it displays the level of tangible passion for its subject that isn't nearly as common as it should be on a project like this.

MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT

As always, January was a time to celebrate everything I loved from the previous year in movies and music. Now that the 2019 best of lists are finished, it's time to shift my focus to another long-term project. 

The 2020's are now upon us, which means there's a whole decade that just wrapped up that needs to be recapped (well it doesn't NEED to be, but I'm doing it anyways!) Over the next month or so, I'll be unveiling my 20 favorite movies and albums of the 2010's along with a couple of other TBD lists showcasing the pieces of art from the past decade that left the biggest impact on me. The first of these countdowns will start tomorrow with the unveiling of my first two picks for the top movies of the decade. I'm incredibly excited to begin working on these pieces and I hope you enjoy reading them.

Chris Maitland

Movie Review: Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emanicpation of One Harley Quinn)

DC's redemption arc has been a long time coming. Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad and Man of Steel represented a brutal start for a superhero universe that was trying to establish a loyal audience in a space monopolized by Marvel. Once they stopped trying to emulate the formula that turned their rivals into the most unstoppable empire in blockbuster entertainment, the tides started to turn. With the notable exception of Justice League, Warner Brothers has spent the past few years focusing on standalone films and the results have been pretty ideal as Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Shazam! all amassed relatively widespread praise.

Is DC ever going to catch Marvel on the popularity front? Probably not, but matching or exceeding the quality of their product is well within reach-especially since they have the luxuries of being able to experiment with content that isn't suitable for a family audience and not being constrained by having to tie all of their titles into a bigger shared narrative.The Harley Quinn-headlined Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is a potentially huge moment for the DC brand as it marks the first time they've created something really special that can go toe-to-toe with the best this genre has to offer.

Something I've always found kind of odd about superhero movies is the difficulties they can have in establishing a tone that consistently matches the personality of the main character. The prospect of global annihilation, a romantic subplot or some kind of family melodrama has a habit of getting in the way of letting the heroes defining traits shine through. Birds of Prey doesn't even consider flirting with being one of these films.

Every single thing about Birds of Prey's is embedded with the spirit of Harley Quinn-who is once again played with just the right amount of charismatic madness by Margot Robbie. The busy non-linear plot never comes up for air, the action sequences are vibrant, chaotic bursts of pure adrenaline and it's completely unafraid to embrace its origins as an over-the-top comic book with a legitimate rebellious streak. While its proudly cartoonish vibe will definitely grate on some, its frenzied energy hypnotized me into a state of pure euphoric glee.        

Making Quinn's emancipation from the constraints of a flawed film that didn't always utilize her properly possible was the efforts of director Cathy Yan and screenwriter Christina Hodson. These two wisely used Robbie's pitch perfect portrayal of Quinn as a springboard to build a deranged world that truly revolved around her. Quinn's gift for creating mayhem at every turn attracts the attention of bad guys (Chris Messina, Ewan McGregor-who gives a master class in overacting as primary villain Black Mask) and an eventual team of partners (Ella Jay Basco, Rosie Perez, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Mary Elizabeth Winstead) that are exactly the kind of fiercely determined, visibly fucking insane people she belongs with. Paring characters that seamlessly complement Quinn with messy situations that routinely end in massive stylized fights breaking out establishes a colorful, anarchic environment that is easy to get sucked into and hard to forget.

Outside of a couple gripes with the specifics of how the Birds of Prey are put on the collision course that brings them together and the underutilization of Winstead-whose hardass crossbow-wielding/motorcycle-ridding assassin Huntress steals almost every scene she's in, Birds of Prey is a hell of a superhero flick that boasts a pretty unique feel that really clicked with me. If James Gunn can bring the same brand of R-rated chaotic fun Yan and Hodson assembled here to next year's The Suicide Squad, this little Harley Quinn-driven corner of the DCU is going to continue to shine.

Grade: A-

The Best and Worst of Jim Carrey

“The Best and Worst of” series chronicles the career highlights and lowlights of an actor starring in one of the week's new theatrical releases. This week, I take a look at the filmography of “Sonic the Hedgehog” star Jim Carrey.

Films starring Jim Carrey that I've seen:
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective 
The Mask
Dumb and Dumber
Batman Forever
Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
Liar Liar
The Truman Show
Me, Myself & Irene
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Bruce Almighty
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Fun with Dick and Jane
Yes Man
Mr. Popper's Penguins
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone 
Kick-Ass 2
Dumb and Dumber To

Best Performance: Me, Myself & Irene (2000)
Lloyd Christmas and Ace Ventura are iconic goofball characters that Carrey was born to play while Truman Burbank showed off his tremendous dramatic acting ability that has unsurprisingly been underutilized since his comedy gifts launched his career. That being said, his work in Me, Myself & Irene managed to impress more than any of those aforementioned turns. Playing a Rhode Island State Trooper with dual personalities gave Carrey an opportunity to give a multi-faceted performance that not only allowed him to steal scenes with his unmatched commitment to selling physical comedy bits, but also beautifully convey the tenderness and charm that complements the crass absurdity that this Farrelly Brothers project is known for.  

Worst Performance: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Carrey tends to be a lightning rod whose manic energy props up even the shittiest of projects he's appeared in (The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, Batman Forever, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events). The lone exception to that rule is his miscalculated turn in Ron Howard's poor live action remake of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Carrey's performance is neither menacing or heartfelt enough to capture the two sides of Whoville's favorite outsider villain turned beloved citizen who is entrusted with carving the Roast Beast.  

Best Film: Me, Myself & Irene (2000)
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Dumb and Dumber and Liar Liar are tremendous pieces of absurdist comedy that I hold in very high regard. Me, Myself & Irene just hit those same notes harder and better. Carrey is a tour de force in this completely hilarious, insane and deceptively sweet film that represents what is possible when the Farrelly Brothers are at the top of their game.

Worst Film: The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013)
Remember The Incredible Burt Wonderstone? Well, I don't really either. How a John Frances Daley/Jonathan Goldstein-penned comedy that starred Steve Carrell, Steve Buscemi, Carrey, Olivia Wilde, Alan Arkin and the late great James Gandolfini ended up being so god damn forgettable is the type of mystery that is just too baffling to solve.

Thank you for reading this week's edition of “The Best and Worst of”. The next victim of my praise and ire will be “The Call Of the Wild” star Karen Gillan. 

92nd Annual Academy Award Predictions

I'm not going to front, the Oscars appear destined to be pretty uninteresting this year. This perceived lack of excitement has nothing to do with the nominees themselves. I'd actually say that this is one of the better overall groups of nominees in recent memory, which is indicative of the tremendous quality of the movies released in 2019. My qualms have everything to do with the complete lack of drama surrounding the ceremony. While there's always an undeniable degree of predictability to the Oscars, this year's edition is particularly egregious with the winners of just about every notable award being the closest thing to a lock that they can possibly be before the presenters open up the envelope. Here are the films and individuals I expect to walk home with gold statues on Sunday night.    

Best Picture:
Nominees:
1917
Ford v. Ferrari 
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story
Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood
Parasite

And the Winner Is... 1917
Best Picture offers far more intrigue than any of the other major awards since it's the only one of the bunch where the Academy has a history of deviating from the crowd. This year the potential "surprise" winners are Once Upon a Time in.. Hollywood-which fits right into the "Hollywood loves movies about itself" cliché and Parasite-a reported favorite among the younger Academy voters that would also allow them to atone for the perceived slight Roma received in this category last year. However, they almost always go the safe route and with its straightforward story of heroism, 1917 fits that bill better than any of the other nominees.    

Best Actor:
Nominees:
Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory)
Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood)
Adam Driver (Marriage Story) 
Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)
Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes)

And the Winner Is...: Joaquin Phoenix 
The same four people have won the acting honors at every single major awards show, so there's not going to be a lot of in-depth analysis being tossed around here. Phoenix's showy performance in this highbrow take on the origin story of an iconic comic book character is the perfect excuse to give one of the finest actors working today his first Oscar.

Best Actress:
Nominees:
Cynthia Erivo (Harriet)
Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story)
Saoirse Ronan (Little Women)
Charlize Theron (Bombshell)
Renee Zellweger (Judy)

And the Winner Is...: Renee Zellweger
Zellweger has lapped everyone else in this category a hundred times over at this point. The triumphant comeback tour she's been on these past few months will conclude on the highest possible note when she picks up her second Oscar for her universally acclaimed portrayal of Judy Garland.  

Best Supporting Actor:
Nominees:
Tom Hanks (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood)
Anthony Hopkins (The Two Popes)
Al Pacino (The Irishman)
Joe Pesci (The Irishman)
Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time in.. Hollywood)

And the Winner Is...: Brad Pitt
Apparently all you need to do to win Best Supporting Actor is appear in a Quentin Tarantino movie. Barring some kind of shocking late surge from Joe Pesci or Al Pacino, Pitt appears poised to become the third consecutive QT collaborator nominated in this category (Christoph Waltz won for both Inglorious Basterds and Django Unchained) to take home the award. Anybody who wants to be rewarded with Oscar gold for playing second fiddle in Tarantino's reported final film should start forming an orderly queue ASAP.

Best Supporting Actress:
Nominees:
Kathy Bates (Richard Jewell)
Laura Dern (Marriage Story)
Scarlett Johansson (Jojo Rabbit)
Florence Pugh (Little Women)
Margot Robbie (Bombshell)

And the Winner Is...: Laura Dern
Wrapping up this shoo-in portion of the ceremony is Dern-who is miraculously the only member of the Marriage Story cast that has been able to turn the substantial buzz they received at the beginning of the season into a trophy case full of awards. Since Driver and Johansson are going to go home empty handed, I'm going to treat Dern's well-earned win as an honorary award for the entire ensemble.

Best Director:
Nominees:
Bong Joon-Ho (Parasite)
Sam Mendes (1917)
Todd Phillips (Joker)
Martin Scorsese (The Irishman) 
Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood)

And the Winner Is...: Sam Mendes
While Bong Joon-Ho has gained some steam in recent weeks, it would be pretty shocking to see Mendes lose at this point after winning the top honor from the Director's Guild-who has agreed with the Academy all but once since 2003 (Ang Lee's 2012 win for Life of Pi was the lone deviation). By making a long take-driven war film that puts the audience literally right in the trenches of World War I, Mendes pulled off the type of unbelievable technical wizardry that this award was designed to honor.  

Other Categories:
Best Original Screenplay: Once Upon a Time in.. Hollywood
Best Adapted Screenplay: Little Women
Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 4
Best International Feature: Parasite
Best Documentary Feature: American Factory
Best Cinematography: 1917
Best Editing: Ford v. Ferrari 
Best Original Score: Joker
Best Original Song: "I'm Gonna Love Me Again" (Rocketman)
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Bombshell
Best Costume Design: Little Women
Best Production Design: Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood
Best Sound Mixing: 1917
Best Sound Editing: 1917
Best Visual Effects: 1917
Best Animated Short: Hair Love
Best Documentary Short: Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone
Best Live Action Short: Brotherhood

Quick Movie Reviews: The Gentlemen, The Rhythm Section, Taylor Swift: Miss Americana

The Gentlemen: Something about The Gentlemen just felt off from the start. All of the ingredients for a classic Guy Richie movie are present (British criminal underworld full of quirky individuals, colorful expletive-filled dialogue, a busy, twisty narrative), it's just that the chef seems to have forgot his way around the kitchen. Ritchie's signature energy is nowhere to be found, the dialogue mostly lacks wit or quotability and despite some good performances from the likes of Charlie Hunnam, Colin Farrell and Hugh Grant, the characters just aren't very memorable. If it wasn't for said efforts of aforementioned ensemble cast or an inspired final 20 minutes where the laughs finally hit start to hit, this would've been a completely middling affair.  Hopefully this is Ritchie's way of trying to shake the rust off and not a case of him completely losing his fastball after spending such a long time away from the game he used to effortlessly dominate.
Grade: B-

The Rhythm Section: What will likely go down as the most memorable thing about The Rhythm Section is that it registered a historically bad opening this past weekend by grossing just $2.7 mil in 3,057 theaters. Terrible box office take aside, Reed Morano's latest is a relatively competent yet ultimately disposable spy thriller that fails to establish any significant stakes or excitement.

The heroine Stephanie Patrick (played admirably by Blake Lively) is a recovering addict who reluctantly recruits an ex M1-6 operative (Jude Law, in a similarly solid performance) to train her to go after the terrorist group that placed a bomb on a plane that killed her parents and siblings. Unlike your typical vengeance-driven protagonist, Patrick is sloppy and has far too much of a heart for a business that tends to be reliant on coldblooded killing. While that compassion and lack of polish in combat gives the character a nice touch of humanity that is usually absent from these types of movies, those traits also make it very hard to believe that she's able to repeatedly escape from the string of encounters with seasoned assassins she has in the second half of the film. Even if I was able to completely toss aside these instances of implausibility in an otherwise grounded film, the unassuming payoff for a story that hinges on a character's unwavering thirst and determination for revenge makes this a hard film to really enjoy. Morano shows flashes of potential as an action director with her solid staging of a car chase and close quarters shootout in a Marseilles apartment and Lively anchors the film gracefully, it's just not enough to elevate The Rhythm Section from the depths of above average popcorn entertainment.  
Grade: B-

Taylor Swift: Miss Americana: Netflix has followed up last fall's Travis Scott: Look Mom I Can Fly with another quality biography documentary about one of the biggest stars in the music industry right now. Miss Americana does a good job of showcasing the unheralded work ethic that has allowed Swift to dominate the pop world for such a long time while also tackling the pressures and insecurities she's dealt with as a result of being in the spotlight for over half of her life in surprisingly candid detail. The manic fashion in which it hops between eras of her career and obstacles she's faced outside of creating music make it feel a bit disjointed at times, but it remains a pretty interesting, insightful and well-made project throughout that made me develop a new level of respect for Swift.
Grade: B

2020 NFL Mock Draft (Post-Super Bowl/Pre-Combine)

1.Cincinnati Bengals: Joe Burrow, quarterback (LSU)
2.Washington Redskins: Chase Young, edge rusher (Ohio State)
3.Detroit Lions: Jeff Okudah, cornerback (Ohio State)
4.New York Giants: CeeDee Lamb, wide receiver (Oklahoma)
5.Miami Dolphins: Tua Tagovaiola, quarterback (Alabama)
6.Los Angeles Chargers: Jedrick Wills, tackle (Alabama)
7.Carolina Panthers: Justin Herbert, quarterback (Oregon)
8.Arizona Cardinals: Javon Kinlaw, defensive tackle (South Carolina)
9.Jacksonville Jaguars: Isaiah Simmons, inside linebacker (Clemson)
10.Cleveland Browns: Derrick Brown, defensive tackle (Auburn)
11.New York Jets: Andrew Thomas, tackle (Georgia)
12.Las Vegas Raiders: Jerry Jeudy, wide receiver (Alabama)
13.Indianapolis Colts: Henry Ruggs III, wide receiver (Alabama)
14.Tampa Bay Buccaneers: K'Lavon Chaisson, edge rusher (LSU)
15.Denver Broncos: Patrick Queen, inside linebacker (LSU)
16.Atlanta Falcons: A.J. Espensa, edge rusher (Iowa)
17.Dallas Cowboys: Xavier McKinney, safety (Alabama)
18.Miami Dolphins: Mekhi Becton, tackle (Louisville)
19.Las Vegas Raiders: Trevon Diggs, cornerback (Alabama)
20.Jacksonville Jaguars: Cole Kmet, tight end (Notre Dame)
21.Philadelphia Eagles: Brandon Aiyuk, wide receiver (Arizona State)
22.Buffalo Bills: Zack Braun, edge rusher (Wisconsin)
23.New England Patriots: Kenneth Murray, inside linebacker (Oklahoma)
24.New Orleans Saints: Jacob Eason, quarterback (Washington)
25.Minnesota Vikings: Noah Igbinoghene, cornerback (Auburn)
26.Miami Dolphins: D'Andre Swift, running back (Georgia)
27.Seattle Seahawks: Ross Blacklock, defensive tackle (TCU)
28.Baltimore Ravens: Yetur Gross-Matos, edge rusher (Penn State)
29.Tennessee Titans: Tristan Wirfs, tackle (Iowa)
30.Green Bay Packers: Tee Higgins, wide receiver (Clemson)
31.San Francisco 49ers: Terrell Burgess, safety (Utah)
32.Kansas City Chiefs: Cesar Ruiz, guard/center (Michigan)

The Best and Worst of Mary Elizabeth Winstead (2020)

“The Best and Worst of” series chronicles the career highlights and lowlights of an actor starring in one of the week's new theatrical releases. This week, I take a look at the filmography of “Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)" star Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

Film starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead that I've seen:
Final Destination 3
Death Proof
Live Free or Die Hard
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
The Thing
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Smashed
A Good Day to Die Hard
The Spectacular Now
Kill the Messenger 
Faults
10 Cloverfield Lane
Swiss Army Man
The Hollars
All About Nina
Gemini Man

Best Performance: Smashed (2012)
This was an incredibly difficult decision as Winstead has turned in a murder's row of unbelievable performances (The Spectacular Now, Faults, 10 Cloverfield Lane, All About Nina) since she graduated from her humble B-horror movie beginnings roughly a decade ago. Even though she's routinely been an unstoppable force on screen, her work in Smashed is on a whole other level of excellence. Her turn as an elementary school teacher who is struggling to get sober is the single most heartbreakingly accurate portrayal of an alcoholic that I've ever seen in a movie and that authenticity along with the unfiltered yet compassionate script made this film a runaway triumph.      

Worst Performance: The Hollars (2016)
John Krasinski's directorial debut is a pleasant enough indie dramedy that I felt got far more shit than it deserved. Honestly the only thing about The Hollars that I had a real issue was how Winstead was utilized. Her talent is completely wasted on a useless secondary character that seems to only exist so the protagonist (Krasinski) can be reminded that he loves his girlfriend (Anna Kendrick) and is ready to tackle fatherhood despite his doubts over his ability to care for a child.

Best Film: The Spectacular Now (2013)
By amassing a dedicated following full of people that start swooning at the mere mention of their name in just under seven years of existence, prolific indie studio A24 has achieved something that's never really existed in the film world outside of Disney. Brilliant projects like The Spectacular Now that were released while the studio was still in its infancy arguably planted the seeds for the birth of this particularly intense strain of cult fandom. Thanks to its unbelievably grounded approach and raw performances from an outstanding cast (Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Kyle Chandler, Winstead,), The Spectacular Now becomes an especially potent coming-of-age romance story.  

Worst Film: A Good Day to Die Hard (2013)
With the release of Zombieland: Double Tap, Jumanji: The Next Level and Bad Boys for Life over the past few months, I've been granted the opportunity to ramble at length about how an energized cast that's eager to reprise their roles and a smart writing/directing team that understands how to naturally move a series forward without forgetting what made it work in the first place are crucial to creating a worthwhile sequel. A Good Day to Die Hard represents what happens when you make one that has neither of those things. Bruce Willis looks like he enjoyed his fifth outing as John McClane as much as his annual prostate exam, McClane's signature one liners are inexplicably absent for the vast majority of the proceedings and the action sequences are flat, joyless bits of CGI-riddled dead air that spit in the face of the electric spectacle that the first four entries in the franchise offered up with varying degrees of success. If the rumors of a reboot prove to be true, hopefully Willis will put forth some actual effort and the studio will hire people that are more talented than John Moore and Skip Woods to run the ship.    

Thank you for reading this week's edition of “The Best and Worst of”. The next victim of my praise and ire will be “Sonic the Hedgehog” star Jim Carrey. 

Super Bowl 54 Prediction

Conference Championship Record: 2-0 

Overall Record: 5-5

Kansas City Chiefs over San Francisco 49ers: Not since Patriots/Seahawks back in 2014 has a Super Bowl matchup been so difficult to predict. The significant lack of big game experience and potentially exploitable flaws that exist on both teams have turned this into a brutal coin flip that has drained confidence from even the brashest gamblers and pundits that exist in the wonderful world of NFL forecasting.

In essence, this is a showdown between old and new school NFL philosophies. The 49ers can beat you with punishing physicality on defense and an ability to sustain long drives with a strong running game while the Chiefs can beat you with their dynamic speed/athleticism and big play ability that makes them a threat to score at any given moment. History has shown that the team with the better defense tends to have the edge in these matchups, but I have to give the slightest of advantages to the team with the better offense.

Yes, the 49ers have a very real chance of exposing another soft defensive front with their monstrous downhill running attack led by Raheem Mostert-which would help keep the ball out of the hands of Patrick Mahomes and this lethal Chiefs offense. Yes, the 49ers have a deep, imposing defensive front (Dee Ford, DeForest Buckner, Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead) that should be able to cause some problems for the Chiefs average o-line and force to them to run far more than they'd like to. Yes, Jimmy Garoppolo and this underrated 49ers passing attack is being alarmingly overlooked going into this game and could very well do damage against an unsuspecting Chiefs D.

 However as scary as the 49ers are, I just can't pick against a team that's led by a QB in the middle of a hot streak. Mahomes has been absolutely unreal in the past two playoff games (615 YDS, 8 TD, 0 INT, 65.7 CMP%, 131.5 QBR, 106 Rushing YDS, 1 TD) and his escapeability/fearlessness paired with the sheer depth of vertical threats they have at their disposal could prove to be difficult for the 49ers (particularly their stout but not overly fast secondary) to slow down. Plus given the path they've had to this game that was set in motion with the bye they earned courtesy of a stunning Week 17 Patriots home loss to the Dolphins, the football gods might finally be pulling for the Chiefs after 50 straight years of heartbreak-fueled championship futility.