The Jungle Book (2016)

Directed by Jon Favreau
Written by Justin Marks
1 hour, 45 minutes
Rated PG

Cast
Neel Sethi as Mowgli
Ben Kingsley as Bagheera
Bill Murray as Baloo
Idris Elba as Shere Khan
Lupita N’yongo as Raksha
Scarlett Johansson as Kaa
Giancarlo Esposito as Akela
Christopher Walken as King Louie
Garry Shandling as Ikki

Actor-director Jon Favreau’s triumphant interpretation of Rudyard Kipling’s classic story collection is a benchmark film in his career. He’s most famous for directing Elf, the first two Iron Man films, and 2014’s beloved independent hit Chef, but here Favreau shows he’s deft at making ambitious family fare. The film borrows many aspects from the 1967 animated classic, but it’s no remake. The sense of whimsy from the Disney cartoon is replaced with a more straightforward action slant.

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Hello, My Name is Doris (2016)

Directed by Michael Showalter
Written by Michael Showalter and Laura Terruso
1 hour, 35 minutes
Rated R

Cast
Sally Field as Doris Miller
Max Greenfield as John Fremont
Tyne Daly as Roz
Beth Behrs as Brooklyn
Stephen Root as Todd
Wendi McLendon-Covey as Cynthia
Elizabeth Reaser as Dr. Edwards
Isabella Acres as Vivian
Natasha Lyonne as Sally
Kumail Nanjiani as Nasir

It would be easy to refer to Hello, My Name is Doris as a career-capper for star Sally Field. After all, she’s been a working actress for more than 50 years. She endeared herself to audiences in 1960s television comedies Gidget and The Flying Nun. In 1976, she commanded more attention with a dramatic turn in the miniseries Sybil, which earned her an Emmy. Three years later she won her first of two Best Actress Oscars for Norma Rae. She worked steadily throughout the 1980s and 1990s (who doesn’t know her from Mrs. Doubtfire and Forrest Gump?), but her last big screen leading role was 1996’s violent revenge drama Eye for an Eye. In recent years, she had a five-year stint on ABC’s Brothers & Sisters (another Emmy), and she played Aunt May in the two most recent Spider-Man movies.

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Carol (2015)

Directed by Todd Haynes
Written by Phyllis Nagy
1 hour, 58 minutes
Rated R

Cast
Cate Blanchett as Carol Aird
Rooney Mara as Therese Belivet
Kyle Chandler as Harge Aird
Sarah Paulson as Abby Gerhard
Jake Lacy as Richard
Cory Michael Smith as Tommy

Patricia Highsmith’s The Price of Salt was published way back in 1952, under a pseudonym, no doubt because of the book’s subject matter. More than 60 years later, Highsmith’s novel has been adapted for the big screen, and there is a certain temptation to read the source material. But there is an advantage to not having read the book. Before the film’s release I jokingly referred to the movie as “Lipstick Mountain,” given the would-be parallels to 2005’s Brokeback Mountain. Forbidden romance, deep and repressed desires, society’s reactions, etc. Brokeback was released 10 years, primed for awards season. The parallels are an interesting coincidence. But Price was a novel, whereas Brokeback was a small story written by Annie Proulx.

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Creed (2015)

Directed by Ryan Coogler
Written by Ryan Coogler, Aaron Covington
2 hours, 12 minutes
Rated PG-13

Cast
Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Johnson
Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa
Tessa Thompson as Bianca
Phylicia Rashad as Mary Anne Creed
Anthony Bellow as “Pretty” Ricky Conlan
Graham McTavish as Tommy Holiday

Writer-director Ryan Coogler is now two-for-two: he wrote and directed 2013’s powerful Fruitvale Station, which also starred Michael B. Jordan. Now, Coogler has resurrected the Rocky saga, layering this chapter with reverent wisdom that illuminates the iconic 39-year-old champion. A series of sequels may have dimmed the memory that 1976’s Rocky was indeed a dark and gritty underdog film. Star Sylvester Stallone fought to get the film made, and he fought even harder to get himself cast in the title role. Rocky resonated with critics and audiences alike, and the film won the Best Picture Academy Award, besting classics like Taxi Driver (darker and grittier, and far more violent); Network (cynical and prophetic); and ironically, the masterful political thriller All the President’s Men. The irony was America was still responding to the post-Watergate events, and the stage was set for what we now see as bullying for those with opposing political views. America needed an inspirational story to root for. Rocky provided that outlet. History has a habit of repeating itself with Creed. Inspirational. Yes. Maudlin and sappy? Hardly – let’s remember Rocky didn’t win a boxing title under the end of Rocky II.

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Krampus (2015)

Directed by Michael Dougherty
Written by Todd Casey, Michael Dougherty, Zach Shields
1 hour, 38 minutes
Rated PG-13

Cast
Adam Scott as Tom
Toni Collette as Sarah
Emjay Anthony as Max
David Koechner as Howard
Allison Tolman as Linda
Conchata Ferrell as Aunt Dorothy
Krista Stadler as Omi
Stefani LaVie Owen as Beth

The period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is mixed bag of holiday films (Love, the Coopers), big-budget franchises (The Hunger Games), family films (The Peanuts Movie, The Good Dinosaur), and would-be Oscar contenders (Creed, Spotlight, Room). How refreshing for a film to come along that flips the traditional holiday fare on its nose and emerges as one of the most original films of the year. Indeed, it’s hard to believe the legend of Krampus has received sparse attention from major film studios (incidentally, an anthology called A Christmas Horror Story, starring William Shatner, was released earlier this fall, and Krampus figured prominently into one segment). So while the legend has seen some representation, Hollywood has not beat the premise to death. Yet.

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Ricki and the Flash (2015)

Directed by Jonathan Demme
Written by Diablo Cody
1 hour, 41 minutes
Rated PG-13

Cast
Meryl Streep as Linda Brummel / Ricki Rendazzo
Rick Springfield as Greg
Kevin Kline as Pete Brummel
Mamie Gummer as Julie
Audra McDonald as Maureen
Sebastian Stan as Joshua
Ben Platt as Daniel
Nick Westrate as Adam
Charlotte Rae as Oma

There is quite the pedigree associated with Ricki and the Flash. Writer Diablo Cody won an Oscar for writing the screenplay for 2007’s Juno, an entertaining (if overrated) comedy-drama about a teen facing an unexpected pregnancy. She also scripted 2011’s miserable Young Adult (admittedly, many critics loved this movie – I’m not one of them). Director Jonathan Demme won an Oscar for 1991’s brilliant The Silence of the Lambs. He directed Tom Hanks to a Best Actor Oscar for 1993’s solid (but unspectacular) Philadelphia. Demme worked with Oprah Winfrey on 1998’s outstanding (and unfairly poor-received) Beloved, and his 2008 drama Rachel Getting Married was one of the year’s best films, parallel to 1991’s Lambs in terms of Demme generating superb performances from his ensemble. Finally, the most respected working actor or actress alive – Meryl Streep, with 19 Oscar nominations and three wins under her belt – headlines the movie as the titular Ricki Rendazzo. [And yes, that Charlotte Rae plays Oma. You know, Mrs. Garrett from The Facts of Life!]

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Inside Out (2015)

Directed by Pete Docter
Written by Josh Cooley, Pete Docter, and Meg LeFauve
1 hour, 34 minutes
Rated PG

Cast
Amy Poehler as Joy
Phyllis Smith as Sadness
Bill Hader as Fear
Lewis Black as Anger
Mindy Kaling as Disgust
Kaitlyn Dias as Riley Anderson
Richard Kind as Bing Bong
Diane Lane as Riley’s mother
Kyle MacLachlan as Riley’s father

Pixar has done it again with a soaring, original, and poignant odyssey of the mind. Of course, the film is part comedy, part drama, and the ambitious storyline involves the interactive emotions within the mind of a little girl named Riley (voiced by Kaitlyn Davis). This 15th feature from the Disney/Pixar studio is a glorious return to form, and it’s the best offering from the studio since 2009’s Up. I will go out on a confident limb and note Inside Out is certainly one of the best films of the year, and it could be 2015’s Best Animated Feature. (Indeed, it’s a wonderful time to be an animated film, especially with the releases of Minions and The Peanuts Movie still upon us.)

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