"Cartel Land" - Quick and Dirty Review

I do not have much to say in regards to Cartel Land; one of the documentaries nominated for the 2016 Academy Awards. It was released a few months ago so I am a bit late to the party. It is also a hard piece to talk about because it is a direct representation of real events and footage. What I can critique is how the film is put together and how coherent its thesis is. Keep in mind that my documentary criticism experience is rather low as I do not watch as many documentaries as I do other films, but I will do my best to tell you my quick impressions of the film.

Bailey LuBean's Top Ten Films of 2015

Well, it is finally that time. I have seen enough of the films in 2015 to feel comfortable with compiling my top 10 list for the year. Granted, there are some smaller films and foreign pieces that I have not seen, but I tried to see as many as I can and I feel that my list is a pretty definitive representation of the year.

"Anomalisa" - Review

"I Think You Are Extraordinary"

A Wonderful Moment in Anomalisa

The most honest and tender cinematic experience of the year comes to us from the creators of Community, Moral Orel, and Rick and Morty and a bunch of Kickstarter supporters. This is a film that rarely ever exists, which is even more reason to go out and see this immediately. This is a special film and it deserves to be seen.

"Norm of the North" - Review

Twerking Bears. Twerking Bears Everywhere.

Why do I do this to myself?

The better question is why does this exist.

Oh wait. I remember. It costs nothing to make and clueless masses are going to give it money not realizing that they and their children are being taken advantage of.

Norm of the North is one of the laziest major studio releases I have ever seen. When I did research into how this production began, I learned with no surprise that this was originally going to be a straight to video release. It should have been a straight to garbage bin release.

"Ride Along 2" - Review

Here We Go Again

I dare you to find a more mediocre film than Ride Along 2. Granted, I did not hate this film like others (including one I'm about to write about next) but that just adds even more to the mediocrity of it. It did not make me angry to be in the movie theater, but it felt like a tremendous waste of my time watching it or writing about it. The sad truth is that no matter what I write about this movie, a ton of people are going to go see it anyway and it will be a big success for the studio who did not even have to put any effort into it.

"The Revenant" - Review

Give That Man An Oscar!

Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant

Alejandro González Iñárritu had a great 2014, earning himself best director and best picture for the excellent film Birdman. The success of that film paved the way for a major studio to let him make a big budget art film and boy did he deliver on that front. The Revenant is one of the most brutal and bold Hollywood films in recent memory. It is also an excellent film that is deserving of its 12(!) Academy Award nominations. Most deserving in those nominations is a very powerful Leonardo DiCaprio who may finally have his year of Oscar gold. About damn time.

"Brooklyn" - Review

Eat Your Heart Out Nicholas Sparks

Saoirse Ronan and Emory Cohen in Brooklyn

I do not like Nicholas Sparks adaptations. Save for The Notebook that managed to transcend its material through its assured direction and memorable performances, each one is a copy-paste replica of the other with no emotional investment in the characters or the writing. They are lazy. Nicholas Sparks is to romance as Michael Bay is to action films. Granted, there can be a factor of guilty pleasure found in many of these directors' respective movies, but not in a positive way. I mean in a way that involves lots of heckling friends and a bunch of alcohol.