Looking Forward to Seeing at the Cinema: December 2016

Even though the nights are dark, it’s freezing cold, and my Christmas tree is up, I can’t quite believe this is the last ‘Looking Forward’ post of 2016! Where have you gone, year?! After a record number of cinema trips in November (I actually made it once a week) I’m preparing to inevitably fall off the wagon, probably because I’m nearly done Christmas shopping and am now poor.

Anyway, my choice for December was already decided 12 months ago, so before I gush about Rogue One I thought it might be fun to look back at what my choices from the rest of the year were!

January: The Big Short - I started off well and saw this at the cinema. Little did I know how much I would be blown away by Spotlight, though.

February: Deadpool - Yaaaaas! Best Valentine’s Day cinema trip ever.

March: Hail, Caesar! - I had 3 planned and cancelled cinema trips for this one. It just wasn’t meant to be…

April: Midnight Special - Such a good movie. Plus, mine and Jenna’s first cinema trip together of the year.

May: Warcraft - My wedding month! Needless to say, I had to wait for the DVD release of this one. Better than I expected, too!

June: The Nice Guys - This came out whilst I was on honeymoon and disappeared quicker than my wedding cake. A shame because I absolutely loved it when I finally got the chance. Still don’t know how nice my wedding cake was, though.

July: Finding Dory - How have I not seen this yet?! Still waiting a DVD release yet. Let’s hope Santa is listening!

August: Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping - We almost watched this on the only bad weather day on honeymoon in June. I had to wait for a UK release instead. Worth every day of the wait!

September: Swiss Army Man - The wait for this was torturous, but worth it in the end. Still the weirdest movie of 2016, if not ever.

October: The Girl on the Train - I never even got round to reviewing this one, because I still don’t know how to feel about it. Kind of wish I’d never read the book and gone in blind.

November: I was greedy last month and picked 4 movies, Nocturnal Animals, Arrival, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and Patterson.

Which brings us onto December. This is always a big month for me when it comes to cinema, because my family get together on the weekend before Christmas to see something big at the IMAX. It started with a special screening of The Polar Express back in 2008, and has been a tradition ever since. This year will be slightly different because of work patterns, so we’ll be seeing Rogue One on Boxing Day instead.

It feels odd to be honest, this has probably been my most anticipated movie of the entire year, but this time last year I’d never even seen the Star Wars movies and was making my way through them all so I’d know what was going on in The Force Awakens. Skip to the present day and my current handbag has a Stromtrooper helmet on!

I’m not going to find a trailer to post in here, because I’ve somehow managed to only see the first proper trailer. I’ve heard a lot of TV Spots have been made but I’d rather see as little as possible! At the moment I’m mostly looking forward to seeing Ben Mendelsohn’s character, Krennic. Did you see him rock up on stage at the European Star Wars convention earlier this year in full costume? Dude knows how to pull off a white cape! I just about stopped myself from buying his Pop! Figure at Birmingham’s Comic Con the other week.

What movie(s) are you looking forward to catching before the year is up? 

Review: Mississippi Grind (2015)

I feel like I dedicate far too much time defending Ryan Reynolds on this blog, and after being massively underwhelmed by Self/less earlier this year, I was planning on giving Mississippi Grind a miss, but the reviews I had read looked fairly positive, so I scolded myself for being judgmental and gave it a watch the other night.

Gerry (Ben Mendelsohn) loves to gamble but is currently down on his luck and in serious financial trouble. When he winds up meeting Curtis (Ryan Reynolds) a younger, and charismatic poker player, the two decide to set out on a road trip throughout the South to win back what they have lost, not only money.

I’m not a gambler myself, and my only knowledge of poker is that it’s something to do with the number 21. I don’t know if aces are highs or lows, and I don’t know what anyone means when they say ‘check’, but luckily no knowledge of the hobby is required to enjoy Mississippi Grind. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a movie quite like it, but if I had to compare it to anything, it definitely has some similarities to Sideways.

This was a really enjoyable movie to watch, and I was never sure how it was going to end for the two friends. Just when things start to look up for them, a disaster is waiting just around the corner, and when you think the situation can’t get any worse, it does, but then picks back up again. The final casino scene in particular was a real nail biter, and the suspense that gets built up was really effective.I found myself sat on the edge of my seat, wanting to shout ‘Well then?! What happened??’ Thankfully we aren’t left hanging for too long.

I haven’t seen much of Ben Mendelsohn’s work so far but he is definitely one to watch here. His character was so well played. He gives off such a perfect loner-type with a hint of darkness, and I was never sure whether to feel sorry for his character or whether I wanted to grab him and talk some sense into him. Ryan Reynolds was great too and got to play the character he plays so well, but Mendelsohn definitely steals the show here.

My only real reservation is that I’m not sure what is missing from making Mississippi Grind a great movie. It was such an entertaining watch, but it was missing the ‘wow’ factor, and I can’t put my finger on why.

That said though, this is definitely worth a watch.

Oh, and I have typed the word 'Mississippi' so much now I'm hesitating, and it doesn't look like a real word to me anymore. Help!