Fish and Cherries Productions

You know, when Muppets Most Wanted made that joke about Toy Story 4, I rolled my eyes because I thought that could never happen. Well, it happened. Let’s see how it turned out.

Toy Story 4

Saving Mr. Banks is a very moving piece that nearly brought me to tears. I have no doubt that several aspects of the story are romanticized as is expected of Disney’s films that are based on true stories, but that did not stop it from hitting a lot of the right notes. The cast is brilliant, especially Emma Thompson as P.L. Travers and Tom Hanks as Walt Disney, but I personally give credit to Jason Schwartzman and B.J. Novak as the Sherman brothers, which is a fun little cameo for anyone who knows enough Disney history. Whether the film is Oscar-worthy or not is up for debate, but any film that tugs at your heartstrings this much is definitely worth a recommendation.

After watching Cloud Atlas, I have come to two conclusions. The first is that this movie is incredible and the Wachowski’s best film to date. The second is that somehow, someway, this movie has changed me. The movie itself is a beautiful tale about how one drop in the ocean can create waves that can reach places that the drop could never have dreamed of and will probably never see. It may be an old lesson, but it’s one that will always ring true. The way that everything connects is absolutely astounding, which is amplified by the multiple-role casting across six different stories that are kept perfectly balanced. I can say without a doubt that I will be seeing this movie again and that it has earned a place as one of my all-time favorite movies.

Captain Phillips is a true nail-biter which also happens to be intelligently written. It is hard to believe that anyone could go through what the good captain went through and keep it together so well, but if anyone can make such an outlandish true story seem believable, it’s Tom Hanks. Special mention go to Barkhad Abdi, who plays the front man of the Somalian pirates, for playing a truly engrossing and nuanced villain. But the biggest accomplishment of the film is that it goes to show that everything can go absolutely according to plan and something could still go wrong, as showcased in the pirate’s invasion of the ship. I really don’t know what else to say about it. It’s just really good.