MTWOF: Black Mass, Sicario, Bridge of Spies, Crimson Peak, The Big Short

Welcome to the third installment of MTWOF. In this series, I discuss films that piqued my interest and found worth sharing with everyone. For this edition, I will be talking about two movies which have already been reviewed by critics and three which are yet to be released locally or in the US.

BLACK MASS (2015)

Direction: Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart, Out of Furnace)

Screenplay: Mark Mallouk (writing debut), Jez Butterworth (Edge of Tomorrow [I love this film] and the upcoming James Bond film Spectre)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Dakota Johnson, Kevin Bacon, Peter Sarsgaard, and Benedict Cumberbatch

US Release: 18 September 2015

Philippine Release: 21 October 2015

IMDb Synopsis: The true story of Whitey Bulger, the brother of a state senator and the most infamous violent criminal in the history of South Boston, who became an FBI informant to take down a Mafia family invading his turf.

In the past five years, Mr. Depp has been in more flops than hits (critically and commercially): The Tourist (2010), The Rum Diary (2011), Dark Shadows (2012), The Lone Ranger (2013), Transcendence (2014), and this year's Mortdecai (2015). All of these have been paycheck films and he seems to be really going for these big budget movies. A report even surfaced in 2013 that he exited Black Mass (2015) because the producers cannot afford to pay him USD 20 million! Well, it's good that it turned out to be false as Depp is enjoying what some critics have gone on to say as his best performance to date. James Bulger is a fine departure from the tiring strings of this actor's eccentric incarnations courtesy of his neverending Pirates of the Caribbean (2003) sequels and Tim Burton collabs. He is currently in the top five of pundits in their Oscar predictions. It is yet to be determined how he would fare relative to his competition, especially with another Oscar overdue actor Leo DiCaprio in contention for The Revenant (2015). 

A lot is owed to the young director Scott Cooper, who gave Jeff Bridges his Best Actor Oscar in Crazy Heart (2009) after a long and illustrious career. Cooper is a storyteller who has yet to find his stamp and niche but nevertheless, is interested in realizing his optimum talent as a filmmaker. 

Mob films are a genre of their own and the exploration of real-life stories of crime bosses, contemporary and from the past, is always an exciting adventure.

Rotten Tomatoes: 75% of critics gave the movie positive reviews

Consensus: Black Mass spins a gripping yarn out of its fact-based story -- and leaves audiences with one of Johnny Depp's most compelling performances in years.

Metacritic: 68/100 

Consensus: Generally favorable reviews

Check its box office gross here.

MTWOF: The Martian, Demolition, Our Brand is Crisis, Trumbo, Truth

This is the second installment of Movies to Watch Out For series in this blog. For this edition, I will be discussing five movies screened at the 40th Toronto International Film Festival.

THE MARTIAN (2015)

Direction: Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma and Louise, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down)

Screenplay: Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods, World War Z)

Cast: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara, Jeff Daniels

US Release: 2 October 2015

Philippine Release: 30 September 2015

IMDb Synopsis: During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.

MTWOF: Steve Jobs, The Danish Girl, Suffragette, Room, The Lady in the Van

The 2016 Oscar season has begun. That's right after the Venice Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, and the Toronto International Film Festival, which for the past few years has been the litmus test for Oscar-baity films. While film critics organizations and industry groups will start handing out awards in late November, pundits are already starting their predictions on which movies will be recognized come 14 January 2016 with Academy Award nominations and then a new set of predictions will be generated for the actual Oscar statuettes across 22 categories for long-form features.

This Movies to Watch Out For (MTWOF) series in my blog which I am commencing this year and which I hope to continue in the years to come will be a weekly thing (if possible). I will be featuring movies which piqued my interest and found worth sharing. This means that I will not only be writing about movies which are Oscar-friendly; I will also be discussing about local and world cinema films. I'll start with just five movies and maybe expand to ten if I'll be having trouble keeping my list updated.

STEVE JOBS (2015)
Director: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, Trainspotting)
Screenwriter: Aaron Sorkin (A Few Good Men, The Social Network, Moneyball)
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Jeff Daniels

Frances McDormand: The 21st Triple Crown of Acting Winner

McDormand as Marge Gunderson in the Coen brothers' Fargo (1996)

Frances McDormand won a very deserved Emmy Best Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie for her wonderful turn as the acerbic titular character in the somewhat depressing HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge (2014) last Sunday evening (Monday morning Manila time). It was her first win and her second nomination; she was previously nominated in the Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Special category for the TV Movie Hidden in America (1996). She also delivered the shortest speech of the night: