The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince) (2015)

This is a gorgeous little movie that mixes traditional computer animation with creative stop motion animation. The animation is brilliant. That is by far the best part. I admit I didn't read The Little Prince. So I don't have the same connection to this story that other people have. But it is a touching story with an uplifting moral. There is this strange balance between English and French in this movie. The dialogue is in English but the text is in French. The production is French, but was supposed to be accessible to a wider audience. And yet it has had a difficult time breaking into the American market. I had to see it on an international flight. But I would highly recommend it to all kids.

Finding Dory (2016)

This is Pixar's long promised sequel to the classic Finding Nemo. The film is actually very similar to its predecessor; similar but not a copy like the new Star Wars. This movie makes much more use of flashbacks. This is partially due to the nature of Dory's short term memory loss, but it also capitalizes on cute baby Dory whose eyes make up more than half of the entire fish. The story is familiar but very well executed by once again moving from the open ocean to the an aquatic environment in a human context. Ellen is fantastic as a forgetful fish. But Ed O'Neill steals the show, essentially playing his usual curmudgeon character as an octopus. And there's a great cameo by Sigourney Weaver's voice.

What is so incredible about this movie is the advances in animation made over at Pixar. The octopus is such an intricate character to animate. Movement and camouflage involve several moving tentacles and a body that moves like nothing else does. Further, the under water scenes better reflect the lighting of the ocean. The sea floor is dark and scary and murky and the effect that you would normally get with a camera comes through in the animation.

As with all Pixar movies, it preys on emotion. There is always that moment about three-fourths in to the movie that is supposed to make you cry. But I felt like that moment, in comparison to other Pixar movies, is a little too predictable and a bit too cutesy to be as powerful. It relies on you feeling bad for baby Dory, rather than stemming from pure emotion.

The short film preceding Finding Dory was Piper. The animation is incredible, it looks absolutely real. The birds and the sand and the beach and the water are so lifelike. The story is simple and sweet. It makes you smile. And what more can you ask for from a short film than to evoke genuine emotion.

Concussion (2015)

This is a pretty solid and predictable movie. No frills or surprises, just exactly what you'd expect from a sports movie--or a football game.  The movie is about Dr. Omalu, a Nigerian medical examiner living in Pittsburgh where the Steelers are king. He is good at what he does, and does his job with care and respect. When his job only asks him to find the "how" he also searches for the "why" to understand the patient as he was in life. At its heart, it is a movie about a skilled immigrant (who does the job better) trying to become an American. He does what he thinks Americans do, by "faking" it. Soon he comes to realize that Americans care about one thing only: football. And corporations care only about money.

The movie is very Will Smith-centric. He plays the man with many degrees very convincingly. He sounds smart, nailing the scientific terms. He keeps the accent on the whole movie. Apparently, he doesn't sound quite Nigerian, but he certainly sounds African. It's a singing kind of accent; his voice goes up and down a lot. There is a scene in which Omalu tries to convince the man from the NFL to "tell the truth" and he his passion for his work shows honestly. It is his best performance in a while. 

A Most Violent Year (2014)

JC Chandor creates a gritty 1981 New York City, with a brooding atmosphere of crime and violence.  Alex Ebert's score with a very prominent flute darkly colors each scene contributing immensely to this effect.  Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain act with an intensity to match the period.  Isaac plays a businessman whose business is under attack, putting a big contract at risk.  He must protect his business and his family, though Chastain, as his wife, holds her own.  The real genius of this movie is Chandor's screenplay.  The only way to describe it is a slow burn.  The story trudges along slowly, but it is never boring.  Every scene is quite deliberate and intriguing.  The pace only enhances the suspense and intensity.