Underworld: Blood Wars - Movie Review

The Movie: Underworld: Blood Wars

The Director: Anna Foerster

The Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Theo James, Charles Dance, Lara Pulver. Tobias Menzies, James Faulkner, Bradley James, Clementine Nicholson, and Daisy Head

The Story: Vampire death dealer, Selene fights to end the eternal war between the Lycan clan and the Vampire faction that betrayed her. - imdb.com

The Great Wall - Movie Review

The Movie: The Great Wall

The Director: Zhang Yimou (Hero, House of Flying Daggers}

The Cast: Matt Damon, Tian Jing, Andy Lau, Pedro Pascal, Hanyu Zhang, Lu Han, Kenny Lin, Eddie Peng, Ryan Zheng, Karry Wang, and Willem DeFoe.

The Story: European mercenaries searching for black powder become embroiled in the defense of the Great Wall of China against a horde of monstrous creatures. - imdb.com

Cook Up a Storm (决战食神) - Movie Review

The Movie: Cook Up a Storm (决战食神)

The Director: Wai Man Yip

The Cast: Nicholas Tse, Jung Yong-hwa, Yan Tang, Bing Bai, Anthony Wong, and You Ge.

The Story: A Cantonese street cook and his chief rival, a French-trained Michelin-starred chef, discover they have a lot in common as they prepare for a world-famous culinary competition. imdb.com

2016 Recap - The Performances

In 2016, I watched a lot of movies. Probably more in one year than I ever have before so there was a lot of acting to take in. Most are passable and get the job done adequately and then there's a few that make you cringe and wish the casting director had made a different choice. Finally, there is a select handful that really catch my attention and never for the same reason. These performances are so unique, often very powerful, and, if nothing else, they are just fun to watch on screen.

The Lego Batman Movie - Movie Review

The Movie: The Lego Batman Movie

The Director: Chris McKay

The Cast: Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson, Ralph Fiennes, Zach Galifianakas, Jenny Slate, Jason Mantzoukas, Conan O'Brien, Doug Benson, Billy Dee Williams, Zoë Kravitz, Seth Green, Jemaine Clement, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Adam Devine, Hector Elizondo, and Mariah Carey.

The Story: With the fate of Gotham City hanging in the balance, Batman aka Bruce Wayne must come to terms with one of his biggest fears.

John Wick: Chapter 2 - Movie Review

The Movie: John Wick: Chapter 2

The Director: Chad Stahelski (John Wick)

The Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane, Riccardo Scamarcio, Ruby Rose, Common, Claudia Gerini, Lance Reddick, Tobias Segal, and John Leguizamo

The Story: "After returning to the criminal underworld to repay a debt, John Wick discovers that a large bounty has been put on his life." - IMDB.com

Split - Movie Review

The Movie: Split (The Visit, Unbreakable)

The Director: M. Night Shyamalan

The Cast: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson, Jessica Sula, Sebastian Arcelus, Brad William Henke, and Betty Buckley.

The Story: "Three girls are kidnapped by a man with a diagnosed 23 distinct personalities, and must try and escape before the apparent emergence of a frightful new 24th." - IMDB.com

I Am Not Your Negro - Documentary Review

The Documentary: I Am Not Your Negro

The Director: Raoul Peck

The Story: "Writer James Baldwin tells the story of race in modern America with his unfinished novel, Remember This House." - IMDB.com

Patriots Day - Movie Review

The Movie: Patriots Day

The Director: Peter Berg (Deepwater Horizon)

The Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Kevin Bacon, John Goodman, J.K. Simmons, Michelle Monaghan, Christopher O'Shea, Rachel Brosnahan, Jake Picking, Lana Condor, Jimmy O. Yang, Melissa Benoist, Alex Wolff, Themo Melikidze, John Fiore, and Khandi Alexander.

The Story: Based on true events, “Patriots Day” is a powerful story of a community’s extraordinary courage in the face of adversity and chronicles in detail one of the most sophisticated and well-coordinated manhunts in law enforcement history. - Official Website

Monster Trucks - Movie Review

The Movie: Monster Trucks

The Director: Chris Wedge (Epic)

The Cast: Lucas Till, Jane Levy, Thomas Lennon, Barry Pepper, Rob Lowe, Danny Glover, Amy Ryan, Holt, McCallany, Frank Whaley, and Aliyah O'Brien.

The Story: A high school senior ends up with a monster in his monster truck and it's up to them to save their town from a corporate created environmental disaster.

Truman (SIFF 2016) - Movie Review

The Movie: Truman

The Director: Cesc Gay

The Cast: Ricardo Darín, Javier Cámara, Dolores Fonzi, Eduard Fernández, Oriol Pla, and Elvira Mínguez.

The Story: Julián receives an unexpected visit from his friend Tomás, who lives in Canada. For four intense days, the two men, accompanied by Julián’s faithful dog, Truman, will share emotional and surprising moments prompted by Julián’s complicated situation. - trumanfilm.com

xXx: The Return of Xander Cage - Movie Review

The Movie: xXx: The Return of Xander Cage

The Director: D.J. Caruso (The Disappointments Room)

The Cast: Vin Diesel, Donnie Yen, Deepika Padukone, Ruby Rose, Tony Jaa, Toni Collette, Samuel L. Jackson, and Ice Cube

The Story: Extreme athlete turned government operative Xander Cage coming out of self-imposed exile and on a collision course with deadly Xiang. - Official Facebook Page

The Birth of a Nation - Movie Review

The Birth of a Nation is based on the life of Nat Turner and his rise from slavery into leading a rebellion. The film was written, produced, and directed by Nate Parker who also plays the lead character along with performances from Aja Naomi King, Armie Hammer, Gabrielle Union, Aunjanue Ellis, Jackie Earle Haley, and Penelope Ann Miller.

The Eyes of My Mother (SIFF 2016) - Movie Review

The Movie: The Eyes of My Mother (Official selection of the 2016 Seattle International Film Festival)

The Director: Nicolas Pesce

The Cast: Kika Magalhaes, Will Brill, Olivia Bond, Diana Agostini, Flora Diaz,

The Story: A young, lonely woman is consumed by her deepest and darkest desires after tragedy strikes her quiet country life. - Official Website

The Love Witch - Movie Review

The Movie: The Love Witch (Official Selection of the 2016 Seattle International Film Festival)

The Director: Anna Biller

The Cast: Samantha Robinson, Gian Keys, Laura Wadell, Jeffrey Vincent Parise, Robert Seeley, Jennifer Ingrum. Randy Evans, and Lily Holleman

The Story: Elaine, a beautiful young witch, is determined to find a man to love her. In her gothic Victorian apartment she makes spells and potions, and then picks up men and seduces them. However, her spells work too well, leaving her with a string of hapless victims. When she finally meets the man of her dreams, her desperation to be loved will drive her to the brink of insanity and murder. - Official Website

Hidden Figures - Movie Review

The Movie: Hidden Figures

The Director: Theodore Melfi

The Cast: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Mahershala Ali, Aldis Hodge, Glen Powell, Kimberly Quinn, Olek Krupa, Kurt Krause, Saniyya Sidney, and Ron Clinton Smith.

The Story: Based on a true story. A team of African-American women provide NASA with important mathematical data needed to launch the program's first successful space missions. - IMDB.com

Don't Breathe - Movie Review

The Movie: Don't Breathe

The Director: Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead)

The Cast: Stephen Lang, Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette, Daniel Zovato, Emma Bercovici, and Katia Bokor

The Story: A group of thieves makes a big mistake when they attempt to break into the house of a blind man who turns out to have a few surprises waiting for intruders.

A Monster Calls - Movie Review

The Movie: A Monster Calls

The Director: J.A. Bayona (The Impossible)

The Cast: Lewis MacDougall, Sigourney Weaver, Liam Neeson, Felicity Jones, and Toby Kebbel

The Story: A mythical tree monster comes to the aid of a boy who is struggling with the reality of losing his mom to a terminal condition.

Fences - Movie Review

The Movie: Fences

The Director: Denzel Washington (Antwone Fisher)

The Cast: Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Stephen Henderson, Jovan Adepo, Russell Hornsby, and Mykelti Williamson.

The Story: A black man in 1950's New York trying to raise and hold together a family while struggling with the demons of his own upbringing.

2016 Recap - The Animated Films

2016 was dominated once again by Disney as they had two films from Walt Disney Animation and one from Pixar Studios release with a ton of critical acclaim. Out of all the animated films I saw, two stood out as being the clear front runners and it went down to the wire of creating this post to decide which one would be listed as this year's favorite animated film.

Sing - Movie Review

The Movie: Sing

The Director: Christophe Lourdelet and Garth Jennings

The Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, John C. Reilly, Taron Egerton, Tori Kelly, Jennifer Saunders, Jennifer Hudson, Nick Kroll, and Nick Offerman.

The Story: In a modern civilization populated by animals, a koala struggles to keep his theater, and his father's dreams, alive. To keep from getting shut down, he puts on a singing competition that turns out to be much more than anyone bargained for.

2016 Recap - The Korean Films

During the summer of this year, I discovered that my local AMC theater had an ongoing program of Korean film screenings which gave me a great opportunity to see some really great stuff I never would have otherwise had a chance to watch. Read below for a list of all of my Korean film reviews including my 2016 TwoOhSix favorite!

2016 Recap - The Horror Films

2016 was a solid year for the horror genre but maybe not one of its best. There were several films that really stood out and there were others that needed a bit more work or just didn't live up to their potential. Below, you will find a list of all the horror movies I saw this year broken into three categories along with the recipient of my favorite horror film of the year.

The Conjuring 2 - Movie Review

The Movie: The Conjuring 2

The Director: James Wan (Furious 7)

The Cast: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Frances O'Connor, Simon McBurney, Franka Potente, Madison Wolfe, Lauren Esposito, Benjamin Haigh, and Patrick McAuley.

The Story: Lorraine and Ed Warren travel to north London to help a single mother raising four children alone in a house plagued by a malicious spirit. (From IMDB)

Why Him? - Movie Review

The Movie: Why Him?

The Director: John Hamburg (I Love You, Man)

The Cast: James Franco, Zoey Deutch, Bryan Cranston, Megan Mullally, Keegan-Michael Key, Griffin Gluck, Zack Pearlman, and Cedric the Entertainer.

The Story: A college student invites her family to spend their Christmas vacation with her and her eccentric boyfriend so they can get to know each other.

The Monster (TFF 2016) - Movie Review

The Monster, an official selection of the 2016 Tacoma Film Festival, tells the story of what could happen when your car breaks down on a little used stretch of highway in the middle of a forest at 12:15am. The movie was directed by Bryan Bertino and features acting performances by Zoe Kazan, Ella Ballentine, and Aaron Douglas.

Passengers - Movie Review

The Movie: Passengers

The Director: Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game)

The Cast: Chris Pratt, Jennifer Lawrence, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Sheen, and Andy Garcia

The Story: A malfunctioning spacecraft heading to a colonization planet causes two people to be woken up from cryosleep 90 years too soon and they need to figure out why before disaster strikes.

Now You See Me 2 - Movie Review

The Movie:
Now You See Me 2 brings back the Four Horseman and their bag of tricks to match up against an unknown foe who seems to have their number.The film was directed by Jon M. Chu (G.I. Joe: Retaliation) and features Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Mark Ruffalo, Lizzy Caplan, Daniel Radcliffe, Sanaa Lathan, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Jay Chou, and Tsai Chin.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - Movie Review

The Movie:
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is the latest installment of the Star Wars saga and tells the story of how the rebel alliance obtained the plans for the infamous Death Star battle station. Directed by Gareth Edwards, the movie features acting performances from Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk, Donnie Yen, Wen Jiang, Ben Mendelsohn, Forest Whitaker, Riz Ahmed, Mads Mikkelson, Jimmy Smits, and James Earl Jones.

La La Land - Movie Review

The Movie:
La La Land is a comedic musical drama about a musician and an actress who inadvertently and inexplicably cross paths on their way to fame. The film was written and directed by Damien Chazelle (Whiplash) and features acting performances from Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, J.K. Simmons, Rosemarie DeWitt, Callie Hernandez, Finn Wittrock, and John Legend.

Office Christmas Party - Movie Review

The Movie:
Office Christmas Party is a holiday comedy about an office Christmas party. The movie was directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck and features a star studded cast that includes Jason Bateman, Olivia Munn, TJ Miller, Jennifer Aniston, Jillian Bell, Kate McKinnon, Rob Corddry, Sam Richardson, Randall Park, Jamie Chung, Abbey Lee, and Karan Soni.

Hacksaw Ridge - Movie Review

The Movie:
Hacksaw Ridge is based on the true story about a young man who enlisted into the army during World War II and became one of America's greatest heroes without ever holding a gun. The film was directed by Mel Gibson and features acting performances from Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Vince Vaughn, Luke Bracey, Hugo Weaving, and Teresa Palmer.

Hell or High Water - Movie Review

Hell or High Water was directed by David MacKenzie from a screenplay written by Taylor Sheridan (Sicario). The film, starring Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Jeff Bridges, and Gil Birmingham, follows two brothers as they execute a scheme to keep from losing their family ranch and the pair of Texas Rangers who are hot on their trail.

Nocturnal Animals - Movie Review

The Movie:
Nocturnal Animals, written and directed by Tom Ford, is a dramatic thriller about a writer whose violent novel has his ex wife wondering if he may be seeking revenge for their failed marriage. The film features acting performances from Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Michael Shannon, Isla Fisher, Armie Hammer, Karl Glusman, Robert Aramayo, and Laura Linney.

Sky on Fire (Chongtian huo) - Movie Review

Sky on Fire is an action thriller that follows a security lead of a high tech pharmaceutical company who must keep top secret stem cell research from falling into the wrong hands. The movie was written and directed by Ringo Lam and features acting performances from Daniel Wu, Simon Yam, Hsiao-chuan Chang, Amber Kuo, Ka Tung Lam, Leon Lai, and Jingchu Zhang.

Manchester by the Sea - Movie Review

Manchester by the Sea, written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan, follows a man who must deal with his brother's death, the will that leaves him as the guardian of his 16 year old nephew, and a return to the hometown that he had to get away from. The film features acting performances from Casey Affleck, Kyle Chandler, Michelle Williams, and Lucas Hedges.

Bleed for This - Movie Review

Bleed for This, written, produced, and directed by Ben Younger, is based on the true story of boxer Vinny Pazienza and his struggle to return to the ring after a near fatal car crash. The film features Miles Teller in the starring role as well as Aaron Eckhart, Amanda Clayton, Christine Evangelista, Ciarán Hinds, Ted Levine, and Katey Segal.

Loving - Movie Review

Loving, written and directed by Jeff Nichols (Midnight Special, Mud), reveals the true story of an interracial couple living in 1950's Virginia who are arrested simply for being married. The film features acting performances from Ruth Negga, Joel Edgerton, Will Dalton, Terri Abney, Sharon Blackwood, Marton Csokas, Nick Kroll, Jon Bass, and Michael Shannon.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - IMAX or Cinerama

Do you plan on seeing Rogue One: A Star Wars Story when it comes out on December 16th? Do you know where you are going to see it and which theater will give you the biggest and best experience? My comparison of Seattle area theaters will help you make that oh so important decision!

Vanishing Time: A Boy Who Returned (가려진 시간) - Movie Review

Vanishing Time: A Boy Who Returned tells the story of a legendary object that has the ability to stop time for those who find it and how it affects their lives for better or worse. The film, written and directed by Tae-hwa Eom, features acting performances from Hyo-je Lee, Eun-soo Shin, Dong-won Gang, and Hee-won Kim.

Moana - Movie Review

Moana, created by Walt Disney Animation Studios, introduces audiences to a young girl who will be chief of her island tribe and a demigod who must help her save the world. The film features vocal performances from Auli'i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Rachel House, Temuera Morrison, Jemaine Clement, Sina, and Alan Tudyk.

Allied - Movie Review

Allied, written by Steven Knight and directed by Robert Zemeckis, is a dramatic story of espionage and romance set in Morocco and London during World War II. The film features acting performances from Brad Pitt, Marion Cotillard, Jared Harris, Lizzy Caplan, Simon McBurney, and Matthew Goode.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Japanese Posters

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is sure to be a global phenomenon when it is released in December so it makes sense that we are starting to see marketing materials hitting the internet from other countries. I really like the look of the Japanese character posters and especially since they highlight a very diverse cast of characters to go along with the female lead played by Felicity Jones.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - Movie Review

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, directed by David Yates, is the most recent cinematic adaptation of the wizarding world found in the best selling J.K. Rowlings novels. The film features performances from Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Colin Farrell, Ezra Miller, Carmen Ejogo. Jon Voigt, Alison Sudol, Ron Perlman, Zoë Kravitz, and Dan Fogler.

Inferno - Movie Review

Inferno, directed by Ron Howard, continues the adventures of professor Robert Langdon originally made famous by the best selling Dan Brown novels. The film's cast includes Tom Hanks in the starring role along with Felicity Jones, Omar Sy, Irrfan Khan, and Ben Foster.