Deadpool– In development and then shelved for years by Fox, Deadpool is vindication for Ryan Reynolds. He’s been in a string of underperforming movies and Deadpool was the pet project he couldn’t get made. So the tide turns and this goes on to make an  insane amount of money. Deadpool is a largely unknown Marvel character, but his fan base loves him to death. A smartly made movie because they keep it very simple. Who is Deadpool? He’s a wise-ass named Wade Wilson who got screwed over by a jerk named Axel. They mixed a love story with a tale of revenge and glued it all together with cursing, comedy, and violence. Turns the superhero genre on its ear and the people have rejoiced. Bonus points for getting Colossus done perfectly on screen after all of these years.
The Big Short– This is a huge transition for writer/director Adam McKay and it’s great. He’s known exclusively for comedies, so taking a crack at the credit and housing bubble crisis of 2008 is surprising. It’s framed really well and explains everything in a breaking the fourth wall manner that’s funny and appreciated. Really creative way to present the subject of four individuals figuring out how to play in the house of cards before everything came crashing down. Ultimately a sad and aggravating story, it’s a movie to watch, especially if you don’t know how the banks punched the entire world in the brown eye and skipped away laughing.
The Hunger Games: Mocking Jay Part 2– Pretty good ending to this series, liked it more than I thought I would. It’s a gnarly war movie when all is said and done. Wraps everything up well and is a definitive end for Katniss Everdeen. There’s some great set pieces that use the Hunger Game traps in new ways and they don’t pull punches, this movie is dark right up to the end. Smart pacing with breaks from the action that give you great character moments and messages. The only movie I didn’t like from this series was the second one as it just a retelling of the first.
The 5th Wave– You got a problem on your hands when your movie is unintentionally funny. It’s a rote young adult novel with a “twist” that is dead serious in tone but had me cracking up. About as cliche as you can get, skip this one for sure.
Zootopia– What a great animated movie! This thing is gorgeous and I didn’t hear about it until it came out so it was a total surprise for me. Set in a city of anthropomorphic animals, Judy Hopps (rookie cop rabbit) and Nick Wilde (con artist fox) stumble upon a massive conspiracy and the two unlikely animals to pair up have to work together to figure it out. The Disney crew that made Big Hero 6 made this and it’s a major triumph. Great for kids and adults.
Legend– I wanted to see this solely because Tom Hardy plays the lead brothers of the movie. He’s fantastic (as usual) but I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would and I’m not sure why.  In London in the 1960’s, identical twin gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray were a brutal force to be reckoned with. They messed up and paid off a ton of people to build their empire. Maybe I didn’t like it because it’s so effective at being such a downer.  While both brothers are dangerous, Ronnie comes off as really unsettling right from the beginning, he’s a certified nutter. Reggie is a thug, but he’s much more likeable and easier to relate to. Then the movie goes along and you see the monster in him. He’s no better than Reggie. Props to Tom Hardy for playing these two so convincingly different that I forgot they were the same actor (and congrats on the SFX on making it look so convincing). I think Frances’ story got to me in the end. It is so sad and she narrates the movie so it feels as much her story as it does the twins. The last 20 minutes or so are brutal. The more I think about it, the more I realize I liked it. Really effective filmmaking.