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Fall Preview 2016: Honorable Mentions

Welcome back, everyone. Usually I release my Fall Preview each year at the end of August to encompass all theatrical releases between September and December; however, due to being a bit busier than usual this—and the fact that September is always the weakest month of the fall in terms of film releases anyways—I have delayed the release of my list until now. With the 89th Academy Awards just 148 days away, the bulk of my research and preparation for the release of a decent chunk of potential Oscar-worthy movies begins now!

Okay, let’s get the fall movie season started. For the fourth consecutive year, I have created a list of my most anticipated movies of the season. My list consists of ten films (plus five honorable mentions) that, on their face, look like they could be very good. I take into account a range of criteria when considering films for this list, including, but not limited to, the cast, director, producers, media hype, trailer, and pure conjecture. Below is the schedule for my three Fall Preview posts, so make sure to be on the lookout this weekend:

Today: Honorable Mentions

Sunday: No. 10 – No. 6

Tuesday: No. 5 – No. 1

Kicking off this year’s Fall Preview are the five films that just missed out on making my list of the Top 10 movies I am most looking forward to seeing (in alphabetical order). Enjoy!

The Accountant

The Accountant is a film about Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck), a mathematics savant with little to no social skills. Although it appears Christian is a small-town CPA, he makes his living as a forensic accountant for dangerous criminal organizations. With the government on his heels, Christian takes on a state-of-the-art robotics company as a legitimate client. As he gets closer to the truth about a discrepancy that involves millions of dollars, the body count starts to rise.

This film is either going to be really good or really bad. But I cannot help myself from being intrigued by the casting of Ben Affleck in such an atypical role. Whether he is the good guy or the bad guy, Affleck historically portrays characters with copious amounts of charisma—that clearly is not the case here, as Christian Wolff embodies the exact opposite of term “social butterfly.” With the addition to the cast of the firecracker Anna Kendrick, the Oscar-winner J.K. Simmons, and the ever-brooding Jon Bernthal, The Accountant has the dominant “acting” factor on its side.

I am also interested to see what director Gavin O’Connor will bring to the table here. I have not seen his 2011 film Warrior, which featured performances from Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton, but the praise it received is undeniable nonetheless. Further, he impressed me in 2008 with Pride and Glory, so my hope is that he continues to find his groove, building upon the success of these two particular films. The Accountant is set for a theatrical release on October 14, 2016.

Director: Gavin O’Connor (Jane Got a Gun, Warrior)

Starring: Ben Affleck (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Gone Girl), Anna Kendrick (Trolls, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates), J.K. Simmons (Zootopia, Whiplash), and Jon Bernthal (Sicario, Fury)

Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk

Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk is a war drama based on the 2012 award-winning novel of the same name. The film follows Billy Lynn (Joe Alwyn), a 19-year-old Army specialist fighting in Iraq. Following an intense battle where Billy and his comrades barely survive, they are brought back home to the US and celebrated as heroes. Once they are back, they embark on a promotional tour across the country, which ends in a halftime show at the annual Thanksgiving Day football game. There, the film follows Lynn as he recounts the tragic memories of the war and losing his sergeant in a firefight.

When I first watched this trailer, I had two distinct thoughts: (1) Wow, this story looks like it is going to be an intense, tear-jerking ride; and (2) Damn, part of this looks like Ang Lee went full-blown Disney. If the latter turns out to be the case (i.e., cheesy melodrama…blahhhhh), I know I will not enjoy the film. Therefore, I am hopeful that Ang Lee is relentless in making this feel-good film all the while intense and dramatic. The veteran director rarely makes mistakes as a filmmaker, which is why I am putting a fair amount of faith in Billy Lynn’s potential to be a sleeper hit this fall.

Despite having Ang Lee at the helm, the film could epically fall flat as a result of its cast. With Chris Tucker, Garrett Hedlund, and Steve Martin on board, the film has hope; however, I still have reservations about Vin Diesel, Kristen Stewart, and the movie’s lead, Joe Alwyn. As far as Diesel goes, I will be frank—other than his motion-capture and voice work as “Groot” in Guardians of the Galaxy, I have little reason to believe he is a worthwhile actor at all, as his filmography epitomizes the term “weak sauce.” Throw Kristen Stewart into the picture, and I become far more concerned—Bella is a complete and utter drag to stomach on the screen. Lastly, the trailer seems to show Alwyn giving a fantastic performance; however, it is his debut performance. Because of that, it only makes sense to exercise caution. How can I have such worrisome thoughts while still having hope for the film? It all comes down to Ang Lee for me. Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk is set for a theatrical release on November 11, 2016.

Director: Ang Lee (Life of Pi, Brokeback Mountain)

Starring: Joe Alwyn (this is Alwyn’s debut film), Kristen Stewart (Café Society, Twilight), Chris Tucker (Silver Linings Playbook, Rush Hour), Garrett Hedlund (Pan, Unbroken), Vin Diesel (Guardians of the Galaxy, Fast and the Furious), and Steve Martin (Love the Coopers, Pink Panther)

The Birth of a Nation

The Birth of a Nation tells the true-life story of the slave rebellion led by Nat Turner (Nate Parker), a literate slave and preacher. The film follows Turner as his financially strained owner, Samuel Turner (Armie Hammer), accepts an offer to use Nat’s preaching to subdue unruly slaves. As Turner witnesses countless atrocities—against himself and his fellow slaves—he orchestrates an uprising in the hopes of leading his people to freedom.

I have been awaiting the release of this film for a long time. With such anticipation, what is the reason for only including it on my Honorable Mentions instead of higher up the list? It is simple: It is hard to overlook the sexual assault controversy surrounding the film’s auteur, Nate Parker (I am not going to address it any more than I already have, but I encourage everyone to read into this compelling story at http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/08/why-the-debate-over-nate-parker-is-so-complex/496700/).

Back to the film. My interest in the film dates back to the conclusion of the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. After taking home the festival’s most prestigious award­­—the Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic—filmmaker Nate Parker inked the largest film-rights deal in Sundance history: Fox Searchlight Pictures bought the worldwide rights for $17.5 million (Parker also took home the Audience Award: Dramatic, as well). Mix in some serious critical acclaim, and I was hooked. I was also drawn to Parker’s desire to bring about systemic change via the silver screen with his film; in 2015 he stated, “There’s so many things that are happening right now in 2015—100 years after the original ‘Birth of a Nation’ film, here we are. I’d say that is what I hope sets my film apart, is that it’s relevant now—that people will talk about this film with the specific intention of change.” Despite Parker’s personal controversy, I am looking forward to his film’s underlying message of social change in a time where our nation desperately needs it. The Birth of a Nation is set for a theatrical release on October 7, 2016.

Director: Nate Parker (this is his feature-length directorial debut)

Starring: Nate Parker (Beyond the Lights, Red Hook Summer), Armie Hammer (The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Lone Ranger), Aja Naomi King (How to Get Away with Murder, The Rewrite), and Jackie Earle Haley (RoboCop, Lincoln)

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a fantasy film inspired by J.K. Rowling’s book of the same name, which itself was the supposed textbook in the “Harry Potter” universe authored by fictitious Newt Scamander. The film follows Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) as he arrives in New York City in 1926 to meet with an official from the Magical Congress of the United States of America. At this meeting is a magically expanded briefcase, which houses a number of dangerous creatures and their habitats. When the creatures escape from the briefcase, it sends the American wizarding authorities after Newt.

For anyone that knows me well, it is obvious that this film would always be on my radar this fall—I am a devoted fan of the entire “Harry Potter” universe developed by genius author J.K. Rowling. It has been five years since the last Harry Potter film was released, so for me, to come back into Rowling’s magical universe is a dream come true. The film’s director and screenwriter only add to my eagerness: David Yates and J.K. Rowling, respectively. I have extremely high hopes for the film with Yates behind the scenes, as he directed the final four Harry Potter films—those films definitely took the series to a new level, and with Yates’s deep knowledge of Rowling’s universe, he will surely deliver a gem. Speaking of Rowling, the “Harry Potter” mastermind penned her first screenplay with Fantastic Beasts. On paper, Rowling has never let me down—I have the same hope for her debut script. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is set for a theatrical release on November 18, 2016.

Director: David Yates (The Legend of Tarzan, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)

Starring: Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl, The Theory of Everything), Katherine Waterston (Steve Jobs, Inherent Vice), Dan Fogler (Barely Lethal, Take Me Home Tonight), and Colin Farrell (The Lobster, Winter’s Tale)

Manchester by the Sea

Manchester by the Sea, set and filmed in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, tells the story of Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck). Following the sudden and unexpected death of Lee’s older brother Joe (Kyle Chandler), Lee becomes the legal guardian of Patrick, Joe’s son. The story then follows Lee back to his hometown of Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, as he must deal with his new role while balancing issues with his separated wife (Michelle Williams) and the North Shore community.

If you have not heard much about this film—which I imagine most haven’t—it is high time to get familiar. I wish I could vouch for Kenneth Lonergan as a film director, but I simply cannot—I have never once seen one of his films (to my credit, he basically hasn’t done anything as a director). However, what will probably pique your interest is a major writing credit on his résumé: Gangs of New York. That film is one of my all-time favorites, and Lonergan’s script was dramatic, intense, and as witty as they come—I sure hope he is able to emulate that dexterity here in Manchester by the Sea (Lonergan also penned this script).

As far as acting, this film has a variety of talented actors that will surely put on fantastic performances. But the one person that makes me want to rush out to see this the moment it hits theaters is Casey Affleck. In my opinion, Casey is a far superior actor to his older brother Ben (you know, Batman). He has continually impressed me with well-crafted, nuanced performances in films like The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and Gone Baby Gone (the latter of which was directed by Batman Affleck himself), and after watching the Manchester by the Sea trailer, all signs point to another gifted performance. Manchester by the Sea is set for a wide theatrical release on November 18, 2016.

Director: Kenneth Lonergan (Margaret)

Starring: Casey Affleck (Triple 9, The Finest Hours), Michelle Williams (Oz the Great and Powerful, Take This Waltz), and Kyle Chandler (Carol, The Wolf of Wall Street)

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My Review of the 85th Academy Awards

Well, this year’s Oscars have officially come and gone, and at this point, I am already excited for next year’s show.  But before I start preparing for another amazing year in film, I wanted to share my reactions of last night’s broadcast with all of you.  Even though Seth MacFarlane provided some hilarious laughs, in the end I felt he was just another average host.  I hope next year the Academy employs someone that can keep me feeling pleasantly entertained for the entire show.

Speaking of the entire show, once again, this year’s broadcast was WAY too long.  This is one thing the Academy needs to continue working on fixing because by the end, most viewers were bored and tired.  One of my favorite things about this year’s show, though, was dedicating the ceremony’s theme to music in film.  As you probably saw in an earlier post of mine, I truly feel music is the most important part of a movie in regards to creating feeling and emotion within the viewer.  The various musical performances added an authentic flare to the Oscars.

This year’s Academy Awards had some awesome moments, some not-so-awesome moments, and some downright unforgettable moments, and I am using this post to share my reactions to some of these moments with you:

Best Moment: (Les Misérables performance)

In a night centered on the theme of music in movies, the cast of Les Misérables stole the show.  Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen, Samantha Barks, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, and Aaron Tveit all reunited on stage to perform a combination of three songs from the film: “Suddenly,” “I Dreamed a Dream,” and “One More Day.”  I enjoyed each of these songs in the actual movie, but I was quite glad to see these amazing songs performed once more by this astounding ensemble—definitely the highlight of the show for me.

Worst Moment: (Catherine Zeta-Jones’ performance)

Catherine Zeta-Jones returned to the Oscars stage a decade after her musical film Chicago took home six Academy Awards, including Best Picture.  Adding to the theme of music in movies, Zeta-Jones performed “All That Jazz” from Chicago.  Even though she did an amazing job in the original film and has put together a pretty successful Broadway career, her performance at the Oscars was beyond dreadful.  She was clearly lip-synching and her faux singing was even more horrendous than Ashlee Simpson on Saturday Night Live a few years ago.  It was most definitely a forgettable portion of the show last night.

Most Endearing Moment: (Acceptance Speech for Inocente)

When the filmmakers for the winner of Best Documentary Short gave their acceptance speech, they included a heartfelt sentiment: they brought the subject of their short film on stage.  The short film is about a teenage artist, Inocente Izucar, who is living homeless in San Diego, California.  Through the attention she has received from the short movie, she is no longer homeless and is making progress as a professional artist.  The filmmakers brought her on stage to recognize the way she has turned her life around in such a short time, and the moment was genuinely endearing.

Most Boring Moment (Barbara Streisand’s performance)

After an already long presentation of this year’s “In Memoriam,” songstress Barbara Streisand performed “The Way We Were” in a special tribute to Marvin Hamlisch.  Even though her rendition of this song originally won the Academy Award for Best Original Song nearly 40 years ago, I was bored out of my mind by her 2013 performance.  I understand it is a sentimental song and added to the “In Memoriam” moment, but this portion of the show dragged on way too long and the song virtually put me to sleep.

WTF Moment: (Tie for Best Sound Editing)

Even though I am a dedicated fan of the Oscars, I was just as shocked as everyone when the Best Sound Editing category ended in a tie.  Yes, a tie with two winners—the sound editors for both Zero Dark Thirty and Skyfall received the award.  After doing some research, it turns out that this was actually the sixth occurrence of a tie at the Academy Awards.  The first tie was in 1932 when Frederic March from Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde and Wallace Beery from The Champ each shared the Oscar for Best Actor.  The most recent tie was in 1995 when Frank Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life and Trevor tied for Best Live Action Short Film.

Best Monologue Joke: (Ben Affleck and Argo)

Seth MacFarlane began the show discussing some of the films up for major awards.  He commented on the snubbing of Ben Affleck for Best Director: “Argo tells the previously classified story about an American hostage rescue in post-revolutionary Iran.  The film was so top-secret that the film’s director is unknown to the Academy.”

Worst Monologue Joke (Tarantino and his usage of the “N” word)

Seth MacFarlaneWhile discussing the controversy Django Unchained has received for its usage of the “N” word, MacFarlane said, “I’m told it’s actually okay for Quentin Tarantino to use that word because he thinks he’s black.”  Hardly anyone laughed and Seth quickly jumped to the next joke after realizing this one was a dud.

Monologue joke I hated to laugh at, but did anyway: (Chris Brown and Rihanna)

While explaining the storyline of Django Unchained, MacFarlane said, “This is the story of a man fighting to get back his woman, who’s been subjected to unthinkable violence.  Or as Chris Brown and Rihanna call it, a date movie.”

Best Acceptance Speech: (Daniel Day-Lewis for Best Actor)

Becoming the first actor in the history of the Oscars to win the Academy Award for Best Actor three times, Daniel Day-Lewis had plenty to be happy about.  His acceptance speeches have always been more than eloquent, and this one was no different; however, he showed a lighter side of himself by joking with presenter Meryl Streep, stating that he was actually supposed to play Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady and she was supposed to play Honest Abe in Lincoln.  He has always been a stand-up professional, and even though I felt a couple other nominees should have won this award, he gave a humble speech celebrating his win.

Worst Acceptance Speech: (Claudio Miranda for Best Cinematography)

The cinematographer for Life of Pi received his first Academy Award last night.  And if he wins in the future, hopefully he learns to make a better speech.  He was breathing as if he had just run a marathon, and he was staring into space and making odd noises in between sentences.  He started getting way too much into detail about specific camera shots from the film and could hardly get his words out.  I know he was happy and overwhelmed, but it was odd to watch.

Biggest Surprise (Ang Lee for Best Director)

85th Annual Academy Awards - ShowWhile most people were angry that Ben Affleck was snubbed in this category, it was a common consensus that this award was Steven Spielberg’s to lose.  Lincoln has been one of the most recognized films of the year, and with Affleck out of the category, it seemed like a guarantee that Spielberg would go home with the gold.  However, Ang Lee, the director of Life of Pi, shocked everyone by winning over the heavyweight favorite.  Also, for the first time since the Oscars ceremony held in 2006, the winner of the Best Director award was not the winner of the Best Picture award—interestingly enough, the last time this happened, it was in fact Ang Lee who won Best Director for Brokeback Mountain but lost to Crash in the Best Picture category.

Best Quotes from my family’s Oscar Watch Party: (Leslie Froman and Marcia Towle)

While watching the Academy Awards with my family, some unforgettable quotes were uttered, and I feel the need to share these with you as an added bonus.  During William Shatner’s cameo appearance in the monologue, he mentioned the Academy Awards, to which my girlfriend Leslie remarked, “Hang on, rewind that.  He messed up.  He said ‘Academy Awards’ instead of ‘Oscars.’”  Yes, she learned last night for the first time that the Academy Awards and the Oscars were actually one and the same.  The next best quote was from my own mother.  As they announced the nominees for Best Supporting Actor, they showed a clip from Tommy Lee Jones’ role as Congressional leader Thaddeus Stevens in Lincoln.  During the clip, my mom said, “He is an ugly Lincoln!”  No, Mom, that’s not Lincoln.

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Best Director

This year’s group of Best Director nominees includes an interesting dynamic of filmmakers.  The category features three directors with no previous Best Director nominations at the Academy Awards (Michael Haneke, Benh Zeitlin, and David O. Russell), and two experienced veterans in this category (Ang Lee and Steven Spielberg).  Between Lee and Spielberg, they have been nominated eight times for Best Director, winning three of those awards.  This will be one of the most anticipated awards throughout the entire ceremony, and I am personally thrilled to see who emerges as the winner in a category characterized by variety.  The following is my Oscars ballot for this category, Best Director:

WINNER: David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook)

David O. Russell’s most popular films of his career are I Heart Huckabees (2004) and The Fighter (2010), but he has truly created a masterpiece in Silver Linings Playbook—this will surely go down as his best film to date.  I was greatly impressed by the acting performances in the movie, but I was also equally fascinated by the amazing script, also written by Russell—the ways in which he recreates this story on the screen are absolutely dazzling.  To say the least, I was strongly moved by almost every scene in the film, and this is due to Russell’s outstanding directorial effort.  Russell’s motion picture also becomes the first film since 1993 to be nominated in each of the Big 5 categories at the Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay).  Russell has never previously been nominated for Best Director at the Oscars.

2. Michael Haneke (Amour)

Even though Michael Haneke is up for his very first Best Director award at the Oscars, he is no stranger to accolades in the film industry.  The Austrian filmmaker has written and directed some of the world’s most admired foreign-language films, and he is one of only seven filmmakers to twice win the coveted Palme d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival (The White Ribbon, 2009, and Amour, 2012).  Haneke’s Amour was one of the most invigorating tales of the year, and his film has received a significant amount of acclaim all around the world, including five nominations at the Academy Awards.  Haneke has never previously been nominated for Best Director at the Oscars.

3. Ang Lee (Life of Pi)

As I stated in a previous post, I was not overly thrilled to see Life of Pi because it looked like a cheesy movie for kids—that was until I finally saw it.  Ang Lee is considered one of the greatest modern filmmakers, and he has only added to his legacy with Life of Pi.  Lee employed a wonderful writer and an amazingly fresh, young cast, and the ways in which he uses his veteran filmmaking skills to tell this elaborate story is nothing short of stunning.  Lee was previously nominated for two Best Director Oscars, winning the Academy Award in this category for Brokeback Mountain (2005).

4. Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild)

Benh Zeitlin has directed a momentous movie in his very first attempt at feature films.  I was quite surprised that this was his first feature film because after viewing the movie, it looked as if a world-renowned filmmaker created it.  If Zeitlin decides to make more films in the future, he is sure to become a staple at the Oscars after giving us one of 2012’s best motion pictures, Beasts of the Southern Wild.  Zeitlin has never previously been nominated for Best Director at the Oscars.

5. Steven Spielberg (Lincoln)

Steven Spielberg has garnered a substantial amount of critical acclaim for his newest film, Lincoln.  Even though it is touted as one of the year’s best and is predicted to win a slew of Oscars, I found the movie quite boring and bland, other than some great acting performances.  Personally, the movie did not seem much different, in entertainment level or filmmaking style, than Spielberg’s War Horse (2011), and I was bored to no avail by that movie.  Spielberg was previously nominated for six Best Director Oscars, winning the Academy Award in this category for two films: Schindler’s List (1993) and Saving Private Ryan (1998).

Directors snubbed in this category: Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty)

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Top 15 Films of the Year, No. 6 – Life of Pi

Life of Pi is a film directed by Ang Lee, with a screenplay by David Magee.  The film follows Piscine Molitor “Pi” Patel, a teenage boy whose family owns a zoo in India.  After Pi’s father decides to move the family and the animals to relocate in Canada, their ship becomes caught in a bad storm.  Pi’s family dies, and he ends up stranded on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with one of the Patel family’s Bengal tigers named Richard Parker.  Over the next 227 days, Pi and Richard Parker must continually fight for survival.  The movie is a magical tale of spirituality and extraordinary resilience.

A seasoned veteran in the filmmaking business, Ang Lee has created a visually appealing adventure film in Life of Pi, and it only adds to his already acclaimed directorial efforts.  Over the course of his career, Lee has shown great range as a director.  The diverse group of projects he has taken on, including Sense and Sensibility, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Brokeback Mountain, has demonstrated this range in a manner that has already earned him eight Academy Award wins.

To be honest, when I first watched the trailer for this film, it looked like the type of movie that I most definitely wanted to skip—it just looked too fantastical and too much like an over-the-top kid’s movie.  But when it was nominated for a vast number of Oscars, I finally decided to view the film.  I was instantly surprised at how much I really liked this movie.  Not only was it visually appealing with all of the high-tech special effects, it was also a well-made film with an amusingly humorous, but dramatic script.  Quickly, it became one of my favorite movies of the year.

I cannot help but appreciate the intricate detail Ang Lee uses when directing his movies, and Life of Pi will most definitely go down as one of his best of all time.  Ten nominations was previously Lee’s personal best for an Academy Awards ceremony (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, 2000), but this year, Life of Pi is up for a remarkable eleven Oscars.  Life of Pi is rated PG for emotional thematic content throughout, and some scary action sequences and peril.

Academy Award nominations for Life of Pi:

Best Picture (Gil Netter, Ang Lee, and David Womark, Producers)

Cinematography (Claudio Miranda)

Directing (Ang Lee)

Film Editing (Tim Squyres)

Best Original Score (Mychael Danna)

Best Original Song (“Pi’s Lullaby,” music by Mychael Danna and lyrics by Bombay Jayashri)

Production Design (David Gropman and Anna Pinnock)

Sound Editing (Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton)

Sound Mixing (Ron Bartlett, D.M. Hemphill, and Drew Kunin)

Visual Effects (Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer, and Donald R. Elliott)

Best Adapted Screenplay (David Magee)

Previous movies on the countdown of the Top 15 Films of the Year:

7. Amour

8. Les Misérables

9. Beasts of the Southern Wild

10. Looper

11. The Perks of Being a Wallflower

12. The Dark Knight Rises

13. Flight

14. The Master

15. Argo