Getting Back In The Swing of Things

Well...I'm a little bit behind in posting on this blog.  Reviews, updates, random other stuff...you name it, I just haven't gotten around to writing it up.  Sure I still got the football picks on time but those take WAY less time to do as opposed to a review or most other things I've posted on here.  Now we're only a few days away from the halfway point in February and I have yet to do a single post for any movie I've seen so far in 2015.  No posts regarding what to expect from this blog in 2015, no updates, no review of 2014 in general, etc.  Mainly a lot of stuff I had intended on doing and at least starting to do last month, but clearly have not got around to doing.  Kinda like late work in school with it being manageable at first until it keeps piling on and on until one of two things happens: 

1) - You put your foot down, say "Enough Is Enough!" and start chipping away at everything you want to do.
or
2) - You become so overwhelmed that you just give up.  On the inside you still want to go on, but your outside demeanor suggests otherwise. 

Well I don't want to give up on this just yet so I'm sticking with Option #1.  So today I'll be catching up on some reviews.  Tomorrow expect a few more reviews and more in terms of updates, random thoughts about various topics, and what to expect from this blog in 2015.

'American Sniper' (R) ***
The latest from Clint Eastwood follows the life of Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper), from his tours of duty becoming the most lethal sniper in American military history to his home life with his wife (Sienna Miller) and the challenges he faced at home and abroad.  Nominated for 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Bradley Cooper), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing.  It has it's issues (the war scenes are way way better than the at home scenes between him and his wife and the use of a doll for one particular scene) but for the most part this was really good, and often quite intense with an incredible performance by Bradley Cooper.  The Best Picture nomination is a bit surprising, but this still worth checking out.  
 
'Foxcatcher' (R) **
Based on the true story of Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum), an Olympic wrestler whose relationship with sponsor John du Pont (Steve Carell) and brother Dave Schultz (Mark Ruffalo) would lead to unlikely circumstances.  The latest from Bennett Miller, director of 'Moneyball' and 'Capote'.  Nominated for 5 Academy Awards, including Best Director (Bennett Miller), Best Actor (Steve Carell), Best Supporting Actor (Mark Ruffalo), Best Original Screenplay, and Best Makeup and Hairstyling.  The story itself is very interesting and tragic, but the movie on which it's based on is incredibly slow, too quiet, and lacks any sort of tension for MOST of it's over two hour running time.  It certainly is nice to see Steve Carell in a rather serious, dark, disturbed role though.   

'The Imitation Game' (PG-13) **1/2
While being questioned after being arrested on charges of indecency, mathematician Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) recounts being recruited during World War II to help crack the Nazi enigma code along with several other fellow mathematicians.  Nominated for 8 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Morten Tyldum), Best Actor (Benedict Cumberbatch), Best Supporting Actress (Keira Knightley), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score and Best Production Design.  It's a bit slow at first and it get's predictable at certain points, but Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley (who plays a member of Turing's team and his ex fiance) are consistently good and they make the movie worth seeing.