The Code Is Zeek

This was a big week as far as laying out my favorite films of 2016 . I put together five different lists to go through this whole process, which was a lot fun, but also a lot of hard work. Please enjoy all they I put down in that regard. Additionally, Paterson opens in limited release this week, along with A Monster Calls , so dig into those reviews. There are also some new home releases and a couple of great podcasts to check out. And that will do it for Weekly Recaps of 2016, so be sure to stop by again in the new year. Enjoy! In Theaters Now: Top Ten Films of 2016 -  http://whysoblu.com/aarons- terrific-top-ten-films-2016/ Worst Films of 2016 -  http://www.thecodeiszeek. com/2016/12/2016-year-end- recap-biggest.html Top 20-11 Films of the Year -  http://www.thecodeiszeek. com/2016/12/2016-year-end- recap-top-20-through-11.html Top 30-21 Films of the Year -  http://www.thecodeiszeek. com/2016/12/2016-year-end- recap-top-30-through-21.htm...

On December 30th, I will be publishing my Top Ten Films of 2016 list over at Why So Blu? . I will post it here at a later date as well. Leading up to the Top Ten, though, I will be posting a number of lists reflecting my thoughts on the many films from this year. The following post features a variety of films I wanted to give a shout out to. Whether they are some of the documentaries I caught up with, some of the big blockbusters I was entertained by, or some of the smaller or foreign-language films I really enjoyed but couldn't fit into my top ten, let alone my top thirty, I wanted to provide a list that gave them all some more notice. So here a list of random shout outs for the films of 2016 (with links to the reviews for each when available).

On December 30th, I will be publishing my Top Ten Films of 2016 list over at Why So Blu? . I will post it here at a later date as well. Leading up to the Top Ten, though, I will be posting a number of lists reflecting my thoughts on the many films from this year. The following post features my Top 20 through 11 favorites. As usual, I am always pleased with how these runner-up lists essentially look like a great top ten list of their own. Thought these picks may not have been in my Top Ten, I still really appreciated what they had to offer. So here is the second batch of my favorites from 2016 (with links to the reviews for each when available).

This week’s Out Now with Aaron and Abe finds the group scattered but strong. Aaron and Abe are joined by ComingSoon’s Silas Lesnick to talk Passengers and many of the other holiday releases and awards contenders currently out in theaters. The guys go over a lot of films, including some holiday favorites and more. Among topics covered, we jump right into an extended Out Now Quickies™ ( 4:05 ), Trailer Talk for Alien: Covenant ( 39:47 ), the main review ( 47:15 ), and Out Now Feedback ( 1:15:28 ). We then wrap things up ( 1:20:32 ) and have some bloopers ( 1:33:31 ), following this week’s close out song.  So now, if you’ve got an hour or so to kill… You can also find links to the episode at AudioBoom .  Subscribe via iTunes HERE

On December 30th, I will be publishing my Top Ten Films of 2016 list over at Why So Blu? . I will post it here at a later date as well. Leading up to the Top Ten, though, I will be posting a number of lists reflecting my thoughts on the many films from this year. The following post features my biggest disappointments of the year, along with what I found to be the worst films of 2016. Disappointments may not necessarily be bad films, but I certainly expected more from them. The worst films selected here are only in reference to what I managed to see (sorry Norm of the North ), but I did get the least amount of satisfaction from them. With that in mind, here we go with disappointments and the worst of 2016 (with links to the reviews for each when available).

On December 30th, I will be publishing my Top Ten Films of 2016  list over at Why So Blu? . I will post it here at a later date as well. Leading up to the Top Ten, though, I will be posting a number of lists reflecting my thoughts on the many films from this year. The following post features my Top 30 through 21 favorites. As usual, I am always pleased with how these runner-up lists essentially look like a great top ten list of their own. Thought these picks may not have been in my Top Ten, I still really appreciated what they had to offer. So here is the first batch of my favorites from 2016 (with links to the reviews for each when available).

Apparently, Fox felt audiences who wanted their Christmas gift early or a creepy first night of Hannukah gift wouldn't mind it being the first trailer for Alien: Covenant . Despite my thought of their current strategy to release one photo a day until the film's release would be more worthwhile, here we have what appears to be the scariest Ridley Scott film since A Good Year .

This month’s Out Now with Aaron and Abe commentary is letting you know the party’s over. Coming in on the heels of Rogue One ’s release and a year after the Episode 1 commentary, it is now time to talk Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones . Aaron is joined by Scott Mendelson , Brandon Peters and David Yeh to go through the much maligned prequel film and talk all about what it gets right and what just doesn’t work. Tune in to enjoy plenty of neat info about the film, plenty of fun in regards to discussing it and much more. This is a long one, but a really entertaining on, so enjoy. Important Note:   This commentary may feature both juvenile uses of language and jokes that may be considered un-PC.  We of course are just trying to have a fun time… So now, if you’ve got an hour to kill…

There are quite a few movies opening up as we dive into the holidays. This Christmas you can see the terrible Assassin's Creed. During Hanukkah you can watch Passengers . All the other days you have Patriot's Day, Hidden Figures, Silence and A Monster Calls in limited release. Oh and Denzel's Fences goes into wide release. That's a lot of movies to catch up on. Meanwhile at home, you have a few new releases. There are also some news stories and a great podcast to check out. Enjoy! In Theaters Now: Assassin's Creed -  http://whysoblu.com/ assassins-creed-takes-leap- faith-video-game-movie- despair-movie-review/ (Another awful video game movie) Passengers -  http://whysoblu.com/passenge rs-movie-review/ (Has it's problems, but I dug it.) Patriot's Day -  http://whysoblu.com/ patriots-day-skillfully- portrays-successful-manhunt- movie-review/ (Well done look at a tragedy) Hidden Figures -  http://whysoblu.com/hidden-f igures-m...

This week’s Out Now with Aaron and Abe finds the group on a secret mission. Aaron is re-joined by Abe for this episode focused on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story , with plenty of support from guests Adam Gentry and /Film's Bradford Oman . The guys get into the details of the movie, along with plenty of other thoughts.  Among topics covered, we have a fun round of Know Everybody (5:00), some Out Now Quickies™ (8:56), Trailer Talk for The F8te of the Furious and Dunkirk (15:21), the main review (28:34), Out Now Feedback (1:25:12), and Games (1:40:19). We then wrap things up (1:48:52) and have some bloopers (1:57:30), following this week’s close out song. You can also find links to the episode at AudioBoom .  Subscribe via iTunes HERE

Oh, so Dane DeHaan is going to some asylum in the Alps? I'm all for something like this. Gore Verbinski is the kind of director who has managed to take on big and small films and invest himself into them in a way that generally works. A Cure for Wellness  may be riffing on a few previously seen ideas (what movie isn't these days), but it looks like creepy fun.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story   is the major release of the week and I have plenty of other new movie reviews to go along with it. That said, this new   Star Wars  film was a blast. Similar things can be said about   La La Land , which expands to a few more theaters.   Fences  is now in limited release as well.   Collateral Beauty  is getting unfairly bashed by other critics, even if it is a bit silly. There are also plenty of new home releases I have covered here and some notable new trailers. All of that and a great podcast episode to check out. Enjoy as if you are with the force and the force is with you. In Theaters Now: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story -  http://whysoblu.com/rogue- one-movie-review/ (As fun as a new Star Wars movie should be) Collateral Beauty -  http://whysoblu.com/vague- dramatic-expression- collateral-beauty-movie- review/ (An original story with a great cast that's a little ridiculous) Fences...

Another gem of a present during movie trailer season is here. Christopher Nolan is back with a new film this Summer. Dunkirk  tells the story of how the Allied forces, during WWII, made a massive retreat after being defeated and cornered by the German army. It was a choose to live and fight another day, rather than stay and be completely defeated. It may not seem as obviously triumphant as other war stories, but the eventual results speak for themselves.

This week’s Out Now with Aaron and Abe finds the gang singing and dancing their joy for one of the year’s bests. Aaron is joined by Ana Bosch , Alex Billington and Michael Lee to discuss the highly acclaimed musical La La Land . This episode spends time talking all about the latest from Damien Chazelle, along with much more. Among topics covered, we have a fun round of Know Everybody ( 4:18 ), some Out Now Quickies™ ( 12:20 ), Trailer Talk for Spider-Man: Homecoming, Transformers: The Last Knight and War For The Planet Of The Apes ( 23:26 ), the main review ( 47:32 ), Out Now Feedback ( 1:26:59 ), and Games ( 1:38:40 ). We then wrap things up ( 1:47:07 ) and have some bloopers ( 1:54:36 ), following this week’s close out song.  So now, if you’ve got an hour or so to kill… You can also find links to the episode at AudioBoom .  Subscribe via iTunes HERE

Here's one of the trailers I've been looking forward to. Credit to the Fast & Furious franchise, as while they've continued to be ridiculous, they certain have my attention for reasons that extend to both the winning ensemble cast and creative ways to come up with new titles. This time around we have The Fate of the Furiou s , because I assume Vin Diese l is a huge fan of puns. Anyway, enjoy the trailer for what I will, going forward, only refer to as The F8te of the Furious .

Trailer season continues! But why cookie Rocket? Well it's because we have less than a week before Rogue One, but enough about that, Apes return! I'm excited about War for The Planet of the Apes  because aside from getting rid of having "of the" twice in one title, there is little reason to doubt the film's potential. After having plenty of faith in the reboot Rise of the Planet of the Apes and seeing even further greatness in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes , Fox has done well by their Apes franchise to give me plenty of reasons to be optimistic.

Office Christmas Party is the new wide release this week, but there is also the expansion of Miss Sloane and Nocturnal Animals . Suffice it to say, there are plenty of films out right now and many that are truly worthwhile. In addition to the reviews for those, by the way, we are getting tons of new trailers and I have written about many of them. There are also some new home releases and a really great podcast episode to check out. Enjoy! In Theaters Now: Office Christmas Party -  http://whysoblu.com/office- christmas-party-movie-review/ (Funny cast succeeds at making a funny movie) La La Land -  http://whysoblu.com/la-la-land-movie-review/ (Terrific) Miss Sloane -  http://whysoblu.com/afi- fest-2016-miss-sloane-movie- review/ (Expands wide and works well enough) Nocturnal Animals -  http://whysoblu.com/ nocturnal-animals-show- stylish-teeth-movie-review/ (Dark, gritty and a bit hollow) Here's The Archive Of Every Review Througho...

Trailer season continues with another big reveal: the first look at Spider-Man: Homecoming . This upcoming solo Spider-Man adventure is in the tricky position of being both a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Sony's latest attempt to reboot the character. Luckily these strange times have already got off to a good start thanks to Tom Holland 's well-received introduction in Captain America: Civil War . Given what is seen in this trailer, it basically means audiences can hope to get more of what they liked.

So here we are. It will be about 10 years following the first film's release by the time Transformers: The Last Knight  arrives in theaters and if one thing holds up, it's that these films have been remarkably consistent. With Michael Bay continuing to be at the helm of this robotic ship, these films have done little to evolve, regardless of various cast changes, technological developments and basic understanding of how to apply Bay's signature style. Is that a bad thing? Well just ask yourself that on opening day when you choose to go or not go.

This bonus episode of Out Now with Aaron and Abe was a fun one to put together. With Abe out of the country and no new major wide releases worth getting into, Aaron has brought back the lovely Ana Bosch to get into a fun and insightful one-on-one conversation about Jackie . The two discuss all aspects of the film, including performances and the filmmaking talent involved. There is room for some other chatter as well, but this is mainly a conversation about the awards contender starring Natalie Portman. So now, if you’ve got an hour or so to kill… You can also find links to the episode at AudioBoom .  Subscribe via iTunes HERE

Not counting the moderately successful, but critically panned Dracula Untold , we now have our first trailer for The Mummy . This is the kick-off film to Universal's "We Pay A Whole Bunch of Money To A-List Stars So They'll Be In Our Monster Movies" franchise. First up is Tom Cruise as Nick Morton, some kind of guy who gets involved in the unearthing of a mummy tomb, which turns out pretty bad for all involved.

Here comes the fun! Following a sneak peak at the film, audiences finally have a look at the real teaser trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2  and it looks like everything that could be wanted. While writer/director James Gunn has done plenty to hide what to expect from the plot, this trailer does enough to re-familiarize everyone with the kind of fun to expect from this group. Most notably for me though, is just how amazing and clean the imagery looks.

This week has one limited release, Jackie , a throwaway horror film, The Incarnate and plenty of excuses for people to catch up on the various acclaimed films they have missed so far ( Moana, Moonlight, Manchester By the Sea , etc.). That said, a few new worthwhile home releases and some news posts that I wrote up. There's also a couple of great podcast episodes to check out, so enjoy it all! In Theaters Now: Jackie -  http://whysoblu.com/jackie- movie-review/ (Portman is great in a haunting and introspective film) A Monster Calls -  http://whysoblu.com/monster- calls-movie-review/ (One to look out for) Manchester By The Sea -  http://whysoblu.com/ hometown-drama-manchester-sea- movie-review/ (Great film, spreads wider soon) Moana -  http://whysoblu.com/afi-fest -2016-moana-movie-review/ (Disney has another hit) Here's The Archive Of Every Review Throughout The Year(s) -  http://www.thecodeiszeek.com /p/review-archive.html ...