031 – The Finest Hours (2016)

Think back to your favorite movie about the military. Unless that flick is 2006’s The Guardian (and it’s probably not because I don’t think The Guardian is anyone’s favorite anything) I’ll bet it has nothing to do with the United States Coast Guard. The Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marines – they all feature prominently in heroic tales of action and suspense, but the Coast Guard has had no such luck. Until now. Disney and director Craig Gillespie bring the public the movie they’ve been clamoring for in the form of The Finest Hours – and the good news for me is that it’s actually pretty well done.

359 – Into the Woods (2014)

It’s hard to say how many stage musicals get adapted to the screen on average each year, but 2014 seems to have produced more than usual. The last year has produced both Jersey Boys and Annie – a pair of pretty terrible movies, regardless of how appreciated or beloved the source material may be. The stage-to-screen transition is a difficult one to pull off where musicals are concerned, but that would never stop a studio from trying. Disney is the latest company to attempt such an undertaking, choosing Rob Marshall (Chicago) to usher Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into the Woods to the screen. 

333 – Horrible Bosses 2 (2014)

Why is it that comedy sequels so often re-tread the same ground as their predecessors? Dumb and Dumber To, The Hangover Part II, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. And sure, 22 Jump Street hangs a lantern on this idea by doing it so blatantly, but that doesn’t automatically excuse just how similar the two movies are. This phenomenon is called “comedy sequel-itis,” and with Horrible Bosses 2 it is safe to say that another one has bitten the dust.