Hello, all! I, Andreas Babiolakis, have been given the wheel to direct the course of path for the Film Tip Sheet from here on out, as was stated last month. Dakota Arsenault, our newly appointed Music Editor, has kindly trusted me with this friendly article, and I hope to keep the enthusiasm and fun of his previous entries alive. We’re now in the month of February, when this year’s Academy Awards will take place. That means that we have missed any qualified Oscar films in theaters and may have to look a bit further to find some possible gems this month. Not to worry, however, as some great films will be released on DVD/Blu Ray in order to still compete for votes just before the big day.
Since this is a slower month, I will include a few theatrical releases that are technically from 2015 but will be arriving to Canadian cinemas this year (including an Oscar nominated film). There shouldn’t be too many overlaps throughout the year, so this won’t happen often. What I intend on making a common element to these tip sheets, however, is a Criterion Release of the Month. I will be selecting a release, no matter how old or new, that has been given the regal Criterion treatment. I know many of you out there collect these films just as much as I do, so I figured this could come in handy!
Hopefully this goes well! And away we go!
New Theatrical Releases:
Hail, Caesar!
Release Date: February 5th
Directed By: Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men, Fargo, The Big Lebowski)
Starring: Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Ralph Fiennes, Channing Tatum, Tilda Swinton, Scarlett Johansson, Jonah Hill, and many others.
IMDb Summary: “A Hollywood Fixer in the 1950s works to keep the studio’s stars in line.”
Why I Am So Excited: While the Coen brothers haven’t always been perfect (*cough* lady killers *cough*), they’ve been pretty damn close. They have mastered thrilling films and they have reinvented comedies. Here, we get a bit of both worlds. The trailer with Clooney’s line flubbing alone had me in stitches. The concept seems twisted in a Burn After Reading kind of way, the cast is marvelously grande and the life of the 50’s seems to leap off the screen. Also, need I remind you that this is a Coen Brothers film?
Watch the trailer HERE
Deadpool
Release Date: February 12th
Directed By: Tim Miller (Full Length Directorial Debut)
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Gina Carano, T.J. Miller, and most likely Stan Lee at some point.
IMDb Summary: “A former Special Forces operative turned mercenary is subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopting the alter ego Deadpool.”
Why I Am Excited: While the February release date is dubious (many films released in the first three months of the year tend to be too bad for either Oscar season or summer blockbuster season), this could be the film many have waited for. Deadpool is known for breaking the fourth wall, never dying and not caring at all. Deadpool’s mouthless fate was nearly sealed in the awful Wolverine film (why didn’t the Merc with a Mouth have a mouth again?), but this time, things could hopefully be good. May Deadpool himself strike me down this very second if this ends up being bad, as I swear if it isn’t good I will seri
Watch The NSFW Red Band Trailer HERE
Embrace of the Serpent
Release Date: February 19th
Directed By: Ciro Guerra (The Wind Journeys)
Starring: Nilbio Torres, Jan Bijvoet, Antonio Bolivar
IMDb Summary: The story of the relationship between Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman and last survivor of his people, and two scientists who work together over the course of 40 years to search the Amazon for a sacred healing plant.
Why I Am So Excited: This is a nominee for the Best Foreign Language Film award at the Oscars. While I have seen a chunk of the other sterling nominees (Son of Saul, Mustang), you can almost never go wrong with whatever film gets nominated in this category. Embrace of the Serpent is Columbia’s entry, and while it was released back in 2015, we can enjoy it just before the big night. With an interesting premise and accolades to back it up, what have you got to lose?
Watch the Trailer HERE
The Witch
Release Date: February 19th
Directed By: Robert Eggers (Full Length Directorial Debut)
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie
IMDb Summary: A family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession.
Why I Am So Excited: This film has been making its rounds in 2015’s festival circuits (with a Best Director win at Sundance for Eggers to boot). There has been somewhat of a revival of the horror film genre in recent years, with some greater small-budget films paving the scene for the field (The Babadook as an example). The Witch (thankfully having nothing to do with that Vin Diesel film) seems horrifying, genuinely eerie and powerful. It’s the kind of film that does more with less, and that is the sign of a possibly great horror film.
Watch the Trailer HERE
New On Blu-Ray:
Bridge of Spies
Release Date: February 2nd
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%
Directed By: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Alan Alda, Amy Ryan
IMDb Summary: During the Cold War, an American lawyer is recruited to defend an arrested Soviet spy in court, and then help the CIA facilitate an exchange of the spy for the Soviet captured American U2 spy plane pilot, Francis Gary Powers.
Why This Is Worth Getting: You usually know where you stand with a Spielberg film, and Bridge of Spies is no different. However, it is a thrilling film that injects as much suspense into the mold to counteract with the Spielberg-ian charm. Perhaps this is due to the Coen Brothers/Mark Charman script that is full of wit. Hanks is solid as usual, and we also get a superb performance by Rylance (mostly known for his stage work). Bridge of Spies has a few Oscar nominations (including Best Picture, and Best Supporting Actor for Rylance), so there’s that small factor as well.
Watch the Trailer HERE
Steve Jobs
Release Date: February 16th
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 85%
Directed By: Danny Boyle
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Jeff Daniels, Seth Rogan
IMDb Summary: Steve Jobs takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution, to paint a portrait of the man at its epicenter. The story unfolds backstage at three iconic product launches, ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac.
Why This Is Worth Getting: Jobs was Pippin: An effort to keep up while missing the point. Steve Jobs is the iPhone: A film that has some naysayers yet has successfully sold itself to the world. This is the kind of film that represented the late Apple controversial figure the best. With electrifying direction by Boyle, a superstar script by Aaron Sorkin and gargantuan performances by the whole cast (especially Fassbender, Winslet and Daniels), Steve Jobs is a sensational, claustrophobic dialogue-thriller. Can you handle the pressure minutes before the three biggest presentations of Jobs’ life?
Revisit My Review HERE
Watch The Trailer HERE
Spotlight
Release Date: February 23rd
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%
Directed By: Tom McCarthy
Starring: Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, Brian d’Arcy James, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci
IMDb Summary: The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.
Why This Is Worth Getting: I listed Anomalisa as my top film of 2015 (and many will disagree, as I’ve been informed already). My second favorite film of the year, which ended up topping most other lists, is Spotlight. This little film of a small team at the Boston Globe has won the main prize at almost every awards show and is a big runner for the top award at the Oscars this year. The cast is the best of the year, the intensity all comes from the story and not any false melodrama, and it’s as moving as it is smart. See the film many critics called the greatest of 2015 ASAP.
Watch The Trailer HERE
The Good Dinosaur
Release Date: February 23rd
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 76%
Directed By: Peter Sohn
Starring: Raymond Ochoa, Sam Elliott, Frances McDormand, Steve Zahn, Anna Paquin, Jeffrey Wright
IMDb Summary: In a world where dinosaurs and humans live side-by-side, an Apatosaurus named Arlo makes an unlikely human friend.
Why This Is Worth Getting: While this isn’t Pixar’s biggest film of the year (Inside Out! is an absolute triumph), The Good Dinosaur is a visual treat. The story is simply plotted and miniscule in literary ambitions, but it is animated gorgeously. Go into this one with more heart than mind, and you will have quite a ride.
Watch The Trailer HERE
Criterion Release of the Month:
The Graduate
Release Date: February 23rd
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%
Directed By: Mike Nichols
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross
IMDb Summary: A disillusioned college graduate finds himself torn between his older lover and her daughter.
Why This Is Worth Getting: With a variety of cool features (interviews with the late Nichols, Hoffman and more), commentaries by Nicholas, Steven Soderbergh and more, and even an academic essay by critic Frank Rich, this classic romantic drama will have new life with the signature Criterion treatment. You’re trying to seduce us, aren’t you, Criterion?
Watch The Trailer HERE
