jane got a gun (2016). directed by gavin o'connor.

when in doubt, watch gavin o'connor. kidding. but this is not a bad watch. tough woman in a cowboy setting, what is there not to like? natalie portman plays the wife hell bent to protect her injured outlaw husband from a bunch of tugs headed by ewan mcgregor (he doesn't sound too scottish so it's OK) with the help of her ex boyfriend, the taciturn joel edgerton. while the story was not as driven as it could have been, i like portman's character of being her own woman firm with the choices she had to make given the situation that she was in. in a world of war and poverty, rest assured that the victims will always be women and children, while men fight to senseless deaths. 

changing lanes (2002). directed by roger michell.

this movie is actually very good. i like the intensity of the protagonists played by ben affleck (oh he does make some good movies. i always thought the last film he's pretty good was good will hunting (1997)) and samuel l. jackson, having a really bad day and getting it at each other to feed one person's anger and another person's ego. i feel like it is a metaphor of toxic masculinity, the need to prove that one is a man by doing self destructive and morally questionable things. tight direction and all around good acting. i was glad i watched this last night. 

the accountant (2016). directed by gavin o'connor.

i didn't plan to see the accountant. not a fan of affleck, though i did pay to see a movie that he's in - and that was because david fincher directed it - gone girl (2014). i got the date wrong because i wanted to see nocturnal animals, but it's only going to be shown next week, so what the hell. i settled for a gavin o'connor fare. 

which is not necessarily a bad thing. 

what i like about gavin o'connor's movies is that he makes movies which are straightforward, almost by the numbers, but he usually have good actors working on it that it elevates the movie to something grander - think warrior (2011) with tom hardy, joel edgerton and nick nolte. i actually like that he doesn't overplay his hands, which can be annoying, it happens when people try to make things complicated that they actually are. the accountant was close to the border, but it didn't go as far. the risk of doing that, it makes a satisfactory watch, but not a great on. 

after watching this movie - which i kind of have mixed feelings about - critics are evidently divided into two camps - one which is kinder to the premise of an autistic accountant with military training punching people to a pulp like liam neeson would have done to save his daughter, or another who finds such story line simply preposterous. i always remind myself that suspension of disbelief is a must while watching anything, so this movie is enjoyable if the audience can be persuaded to be sympathetic to the main character who has trouble connecting with people. i don't know if ben affleck is trying too hard to emote autism, or he does it really well. as i mentioned before, o'connor would have outstanding actors in his film - this one is no exception - like anna kendrick who is underused, j.k. simmons, john lithgow and jeffrey tambor. actually i was impressed with the line up on the movie poster. 

worth a watch, but like i said, not exactly spectacular. 

doctor strange (2016). directed by scott derrickson.

let's start with what i like about doctor strange. i like the visuals, taking the concept further from inception (2010). good performance from supporting cast - tilda swinton and chiwetel ejiofor, though rachel mcadams was severely underused. now to what i don't like about doctor strange - it's like watching an episode of sherlock in which he can fly. benedict cunberbatch is very adept at playing brainy annoying characters, like robert downey jr. is excellant at playing arrogant millionaires who can save the world. i won't fault cumberbatch for his style of acting - most people have one style and they stick with it throughout their careers. perhaps what is really wrong with doctor strange is that the story is thin - if not for these good actors the story wouldn't be half as interesting.  

crimson peak (2015). directed by guillermo del toro.

i am disappointed with this film. i adored del toro's previous film - pan's labyrinth (2006) - so my expectations are high that the master of horror will outdo himself. but that's not what he sets out to do with this one. while the set and atmosphere of horror is atmospheric, and the costume is nice too - i am afraid that's all that is good about the film. i feel like they all go to waste because it's all surface but not enough story - character development is so so that i don't find any of them believable. 

recently i watched the woman in black 2 (2014) - it's unfortunate that del toro's is an expensive version of this film. 

pawn sacrifice (2014). directed by edward zwick.

my brother said the thing that he doesn't like about director edward zwick is that he doesn't deliver a punch line. that may well be true - but the story of bobby fischer and his paranoia is like slipping on big slope down hill to a black hole. the guy is obviously unstable - but so many interested parties propped him up to serve their agenda while conveniently sacrificing his need for mental health.  i like the cold war atmosphere depicted in this film, and i think the actors are excellent. it's always good to see tobey maguire doing something outside of his spiderman suit.  

and yes - chess is very intense. 

the visit (2015). directed by m. night shyamalan.

two siblings went to visit their grandparents for the first time as they are estranged from their mother who had run away from home when she was younger. the kids are excited and decided they will film the whole event as a way to reconcile their mother with her parents. at the first the old folks seems pretty regular - but it didn't take long for them to be not so regular for shyamalan to employ his suspense here and there. what i like about this film is that it doesn't take itself seriously - there are some funny moments when it is scary at the same time. word of advice - don't let your kids travel alone to visit someone you hardly know. 

the voices (2014). directed by marjane satrapi.

the tragedy of human life is that we are borned alone, and for some of us it is a persistent condition with no escape. yes, ryan reynolds character is most likely schizophrenic who refused to take this medications because he wants what we all take for granted - friends, companionship, someone to talk to - which he could not get through regular means of interaction due to trauma that he experienced in the past. he's likable, but very alienated at the same time. you feel sorry for him and empathize with his burden of pain - never trust a sunny disposition that could be hiding a world of hurt. 

ps: i think marjane satrapi wrote that delightful book - persepolis. 

big eyes (2014). directed by tim burton.

it's a delight to watch a tim burton film - i like the contrasts he employed by having bright colours in the film despite the fact that it is about a talented painter - a woman being exploited by her husband for fame and riches. the upbeat mood of the film is well conveyed by christoph waltz - abuser, manipulator, always too fond of the limelight.  he doesn't care that he's putting his wife on a regular basis - and this is not just about the money, it's also about feeding his fragile ego. it's very satisfying that the film ends with him losing rights to the big eyes painting - when he all but forget how to paint, because it's never his work in the first place. 

self/less (2015). directed by tarsem singh

a miss from tarsem singh. i couldn't even finished it even though i usually enjoy watching matthew goode and ryan reynolds - the both of them can't save a film lacking in, a believeable plot, i guess - that quality in christopher nolan films that gets you to suspend reality voluntarily. watching self/less, i am constantly reminded of how silly the whole story is, and it is a tired regurgitation of tried and tested action movies plots that it doesn't have anything new to offer the viewer.