Holiday Movie Review Roundup!

Boys and girls. I'm not going to lie. A lot of movies came out in the last couple of weeks and I saw a lot of them. Well not all of them but enough for it to be too much to write individual reviews for each movie. So instead of doing my traditional Thursday review, I decided to do a round up for the movies that came out recently. I hope you enjoy.

Manchester by the Sea: This one came out a couple of weeks ago but to be honest I didn't feel like writing a full review for this one and for good reasons. This movie is sad. And by sad I mean really really very fucking sad and depressing. This is not one to go see if you want something merry. Instead, what we have here is a very good movie that hits you right where you don't want to be hit. I don't think it's as great as people are making it out to be but nevertheless it is pretty good and Casey Afleck's performance is amazing. That man should win an award for his performance in this one. Final Score: 8.4

Assassins Creed: For anyone confused, this is the Assassins Creed movie starring Michael Fassbender and Jeremy Irons and not the video game series. Yes, this is the second video game movie of the year and while Warcraft was a great adaptation of a game, this is not. The writing is dull. The acting is boring. And the whole movie just looks amateur (from a directing perspective at least). To sum up the movie in one sentence: this is a fan film with a bigger budget but still just as cheesy. Final Score: 5.8

Passengers: The amount of marketing this movie had was astronomical. I feel like I've been seeing trailers for J-Law's new movie for like 12 years at this point. The movie about two people stranded on a space ship is good at times but boring at others, however the most disappointing part of is how it settles for some very obvious tropes and cliches that I was hoping it would avoid. Faults aside, it's a good movie and unlike Manchester will probably leave you feeling a bit better afterwards (spoiler...I guess). Final Score: 7

Why Him: This is an above average comedy and slightly better than Office Christmas Party (which I reviewed a little bit ago). Bryan Cranston and James Franco work well together and Zoey Duetch and Keegan-Michael Key round out a solid cast. It was a funny film but I left the theater wishing it was better. Still, probably the best comedy of the past couple months. Final Score: 6.8

Jackie: Another one that came out slightly before Xmas but close enough for me to put on this list. Jackie is getting a fair amount of buzz from critics who are applauding Natalie Portman's performance of Jackie Kennedy. I however am not one of those critics. I thought Portman's acting was a bit too ham-y and that she just felt weird throughout the movie. Additionally, I thought this film made the former First Lady seem very petty and was not the portrayal that she deserved. With all that being said, it is a nice look into the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination and how Jackie handled the entire situation. Maybe not an Oscar deserving film but a decent film nonetheless. Final Score: 7.4

Well there you go folks. Now keep in mind that this is only a sampling of the Christmas 2K16 lineup. Other movies that I didn't get around to/did't want to see include Sing, the movie about singing animals, Fences, the new Denzel Washington and Viola Davis film, and La La Land.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas or holiday season and have a Happy New Years!

And remember, for more reviews of movies (and video games), be sure to check out Fridge Logic!