I’m never getting around to seeing Fences or Lion, so here’s…

Dwelve Into These Twelve
of 2016

1) Tower

A real life tragic event gets Waking Lifed, and it’s not only scary and horrific, but hopeful AND inspiring!

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2) I Am Not Your Negro

What it’s like to be an African-American in America (when you’re white and have no clue what it’s like).  It raises all sorts of important questions that no one is really asking, or sadly, bothering to answer

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3) Patriots Day

An event I didn’t plan on reliving ended up making me feel proud to be an American… in a time I’m ashamed to be an American

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4) 20th Century Women

It’s like listening to The Talking Heads for the very first time – WOAH!

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5) The Founder

Sometimes it takes some awful in humans to make greatness, and greasiness for us all!

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6) The Light Between Oceans

Perhaps the year’s most overlooked movie that had ‘Oscar bait’ written all over it.  You no longer have to take the bait to something that no longer is baiting you, and it’s time for you to no longer overlook this film!

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7) Bleed For This

if Miles Teller bleeds – I will come!

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8) Embrace of the Serpent

I apparently never reviewed Serpent, but you need to Embrace this film – which puts the ‘lonely’ in ‘coLONELYialism’!

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9) Streit’s: Matzo and the American Dream

All things must pass – even the Lower East Side’s last remaining matzah factory, and with it, a part of Jewish culture and identity in America :( 

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10) Hell or High Water

Why choose when you can have BOTH hell AND high water!!!

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11) Sully

Dude is mad fly!

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12) Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made

These guys lived out their childhood dreams, in childhood, and finished them in their adulthood!  Fedora hats off forever to these dudes!!

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and now for the…

Honor Blackmanable Mentions

Elstree 1976 / Snowden / Rouge One / Love & Friendship / The Witch / Jackie / La La Land / Toni Erdmann / Jheronimus Bosch, Touched by the Devil / Doctor Strange / the first 2/3rds of Moonlight / Indignation / The Lobster / Me Before You / Bridget Jones’s Baby / My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2

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our annual anal movie awards – The Thighsmans – drops the Friday before the Oscars.  stay pooned!

until then, here’s the bestest films of yesterhere

2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
& 2002

Patriots Day
Made America Great Again
Official Site | Trailer & Mo
R | 133 min

In a time of great division, it takes a docudrama like Patriots Day to remind us how once united AND great America and Americans were

The 2013 Boston Marathon bombing was not all that long ago, but before you scream ‘too soon‘, it’s never soon enough to remember the bad that happened, and the good that came out of it and its aftermath.  I am patriotic, and love this country (and its fried chicken) so dang much, but I am not overly gung ho and showy about it.  But bad guys are easy to root against, and heroes are something we always need another of (sorry Tina).  And there are no better bad guys then bad men who went to harm innocent people, and there are no better good guys than the ones who protect and serve us, and try to keep us safe from the bad dudes.  After watching this film, I felt more proud and patriotic than I may ever have in my entire life (besides seeing the Beach Boys on July 4th in Washington DC)

Although I was sadden to learn that Mark Wahlberg‘s character in Patriots Day did not exist in the real world (and that they chose not to use Neil Diamond’s ‘America’ over the closing credits), everything else about the Peter Berg‘s incredible film felt so real, and of the moment. Berg and co (with brief but memorable turns by J. K. Simmons, John Goodman, Kevin Bacon, Themo Melikidze, Alex Wolff, Supergirl as the bomber’s wife, and my personal fav – Jimmy O Yang), did an excellent job of interweaving multiple stories to create a complete picture of the complex events, which I did not really intend to ever revisit… until I found myself sitting in the theater that I saw this in

What a frucking movie!!  You will leave the theater (or your couch, eventually), and want to scream – U S AND A! U S AND A!!  FCUK YOU BAD GUYS – WE ARE ALL BOSTON STRONG!!  WE ARE AMERICA AND WE ARE GOOD AND AWESOME AND YOU MAY TRY TO HURT US BUT WE WILL GET YOU AND TRIUMPH CAUSE WE ARE AMERICANS!!!  (but not in the bad post-9/11 going to Iraq for no reason kinda way)

We need more movies like Patriots Day – to remind us to never forget, and to remind us that it is possible that America and Americans can once again be united AND great (without the help of Donald Trump)… although hopefully without the catalyst being tragedy, which sadly shows us again and again that it is the worst in humanity that brings out our best!  If only we lived in a world where our best brought out our even besterer in humanity!!!!!!

Verdictgo: Breast In Show

Patriots Day ALL DAY – currently in select cities, and at a theater near jews AND white nationalists this Friday

and until next thyme the balcony is clothed…