Saturday, December 31, 2016

Handsome J's "Top10" Films of 2016

2016 was filled with plenty of great films and also a few stinkers. All in all, 82 movies were reviewed while in theaters here at Masterpiece Theatre by yours truly. I hope you enjoyed watching the films and reading the reviews as much as I enjoyed writing about them after watching them. There's plenty of great films in 2017 to be excited about and now let's finish 2016 with a look back on some of the films that made a lasting impression in 2016.

In no particular order, my top 10 films of 2016...

  • Midnight Special (reviewed in April)
  • Jungle Book (reviewed in May)
  • Captain America Civil War (reviewed in May)
  • Sing Street (reviewed in May)
  • The Nice Guys (reviewed in May)
  • Florence Foster Jenkins (reviewed in September)
  • Kubo and the Two Strings (reviewed in October)
  • The Accountant (reviewed in November)
  • Arrival (reviewed in November)
  • Edge of Seventeen (Reviewed in December)

My Personal Favorite Film of the year.
-Doctor Strange (reviewed in November and seen in theaters 5 times)



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Why Him? - Box Office Review

When marketing gives you a concept of a film, or automobile or even delicious taco’s and all that was advertised turns out to be true… well that’s a good day. The marketing for this next movie was as true and honest as could be. What you see is what you got. So let’s dive in and take a look at “Why Him?” in this box office review…


The overall tone of the film is light hearted and humorous. It’s jokes are raunchy, rude and inappropriate. The characters each represent a specific personality and are over emphasized for comedic purposes. This movie required so little brain power that I loved it. After the emotionally charged, character driven oscar worthy films I’ve already reviewed, here comes a comedy that permits you to shut your mind off and laugh. It’s a good time and it pulls no punches.


The main plot is boy meets girl and falls in love and attempts to win over her family in his own unique, albeit peculiar, way. Laird Mayhew (James Franco) is the most honest individual in the film, both emotionally and verbally. By the end of the film Ned Fleming (Bryan Cranston) realizes that Franco’s character isn’t pretending. He legitimately doesn’t have the capacity for lies. The surprise highlight for me was Gustav (Keegan-Michael Key). He plays the property manager/best friend/martial arts expert. His forced German accent was noticeably terrible but he owned the awfulness too well and made it comical. Hearing him shout “Shiza” periodically throughout the film was a small treat. There’s also a well placed joke about “bukake” that pays off well in the second act of the film. It’s tiny little comedic moments like this peppered throughout the film that made this an enjoyable time spent at the movies.


There’s also a few surprise cameo’s in this film that I won’t spoil here because they add to the moment and are also completely ludicrous. Each character in this film represents a specific personality and every actor plays that stereotype to the fullest. Even the voice over work for “Justine” the house AI was done well. This is a silly, inappropriate and entertaining comedy for the holiday season.



Why Him?” is in theaters now! I won’t recommend you rush out and see this before it leaves the theater but I will encourage you to put it on your Redbox or VOD list. It’s a fun film that will provide plenty of laughs if you enjoy crude humor, which I do. The story doesn’t ask for much and you won’t walk away from this film in deep thought but you’ll be smiling by the finale and you may even find yourself quoting the film going forward. No clowning.


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Friday, December 30, 2016

Fences - Box Office Review

Sometimes the transition from stage to screen isn’t always the right choice. What works in live theater is not necessarily going to translate onto the big screen. Movies put emphasis on the most minuscule details where some of those details can be missed when you’re seated 20 rows back in a theater. So let’s dive in a take a look at “Fences” in this box office review…


The movie begins with dialogue that made me immediately curious if this was a play adapted to film. Having some experience in theater, I listened to the rhythms and patterns of speech and just felt that live performance theater energy. As the movie continued and the story kept to only a few locations I grew more and more certain I was watching an adaption and I was not wrong. The Google machine confirmed my suspicions with only a few clicks of a few buttons. This film adapted from stage to screen and directed by Denzel Washington is fantastic. I was not aware that this was already a play that has been acted out in theaters all over since 1983. I was completely clueless to this fact when I sat in my seat about to watching this story of a black man raising his family in Pittsburg circa the 1950’s. All I knew walking into this movie was Denzel Washington and Viola Davis were the leads and I loved the trailer. Beyond that, I had no clue what an emotional and true to life story I would be seeing.


The characters are every bit of the blue collar worker and family. These characters might be black but their struggle of trying to make their own way, keep family together, human mistakes, alcoholism, is all so human that it’s relatable to most any viewer. There are key points of conversation that identify the race relations of America in the 1950’s and the concepts of racial intolerance from a generation that grew up in the early 1900’s of America matched against a generation that is witness to Jackie Robinson playing professional baseball and black students being offered college scholarships based on academics and athleticism. This movie examines life from several angles and then digs deeper into each point of view to help explain to us the audience the motivation behind each action, spoken thought and expression. This movie examines life in a few characters and takes its time doing so.



Fences” is in theaters now! If this film isn’t nominated for any number of oscars this year I will be surprised. Denzel Washington and Viola Davis are magic on screen together and apart. I was completely drawn into their performances and felt each emotion with understanding because of how well written and acted this movie is. The ancillary characters are even treasures. Each one adding to the persona of the two leads, giving us one more vantage point into the window of these characters story. This is a dramatic character study and I couldn’t believe how much I enjoyed it. If you love dramatic oscar films, definitely see this on the big screen. If you just like the leads, it’s ok to catch this on Redox or VOD. You won’t lose anything because it’s all story and the story can be enjoyed anywhere.


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Act 192: Scared and Horny

Masked Blogster and Handsome J start off the show as the rest of the crew trickles in. They discuss comic books, Christmas presents, the next 50 Shades and how a Deadpool film isn't being released to combat its terribleness.

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Thursday, December 29, 2016

Passengers - Box Office Review

Occasionally, there comes a film that is not at all what the trailers described. It’s not often that you watch a trailer and then see the movie and leave the theater thinking, “The trailers sure did mislead me.” There’s moments in trailers that don’t make the final cut of the film, sure. That happens all the time. A film that goes a completely different route than what the trailers were marketing however is something else entirely. So let’s dive in and take a look at “Passengers” and what it’s actually about in this box office review…


The trailer leads us to believe that both Jim Preston (Chris Pratt) and Aurora Lane (Jennifer Lawrence) were woken up suddenly for reasons to be explained later in the film. Nope. A big fat resounding nope. This is not what the movie is at all. Pratt’s character is woken up because the ship traveling to another planet is struck by too many asteroids for the defenses to withstand and one breaks through causing almost irreparable damage to the ship, thus waking up Pratt. He spends roughly a year by himself enjoying all the ship has to offer to someone with his level of access but eventually goes mental from isolation (ala Cast Away; however, instead of Wilson we are treated to “Arthur” a robotic bartender, played by Michael Sheen). After reconsidering suicide Pratt discovers Aurora (Lawrence) and manually hacks her sleeping pod so she is forced to wake up 88 to 90 years early thus giving her a life sentence on the ship, never to make it to the planet. This is pretty much the plot. The film carries on from here but this gives you the basic concept.


The performances or Pratt, Lawrence and Sheen are exactly what we’d expect. They were fantastic. We see the Pratt/Lawrence story of blossoming love and friendship. We see the divide when Lawrence finds out the truth about why she was woken up. We see the reckoning. It’s all there and it’s written wonderfully. Pratt is perceived to be a self centered loner who is eventually confronted with a challenge that forces him to act valiantly to prove his love for Aurora and to show he’s willing to sacrifice it all for everyone aboard the ship. This contrasts with who his character has been the majority of the film. Lawrence is confronted with her own wish to end his life after she discovers that he has sentenced her to a life aboard the ship and all her goals and aspirations will not come to fruition. She is given the opportunity to fulfill her earlier wish and this puts her character into conflict. It’s brilliant. All in all, the moral of this story could be, “Be careful what you wish for.” It could also be, “While love causes us to act mad, it’s love that knows that our actions are just because all is fair in love and war.” The heart never lies. It might confuse and confound us but it never lies and that is part of this story.




Passengers” is in theaters now! I definitely recommend a big screen viewing. The story is good. The acting is great. The visuals are fantastic. This is a science fiction film but it relies heavily on story and character development move than obvious special effects. Obviously, the ship, outer space and more are special effects. These are all rather subtle and believable for the story in that it’s about people, connection and sacrifice and not space battles, laser guns and aliens terrorizing the crew. I recommend the matinee ticket price but it’s also a good movie for a date. I recommend you see it on the big screen.



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Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Collateral Beauty - Box Office Review

Films that manage to not only strike at your heart, but also your mind, your fears, desires and pull emotion from your own personal experience are cinematic magic. For a movie to run this gambit is precisely the reason that cinema is an art form because a good story invokes in all of us true moments. We might mask our feelings from the world but art will force us to internally face what we shelter from others. Oscar season is now in session. So let’s take a look at “Collateral Beauty” in this box office review…


Will Smith is back. I’m not sure why he took so many years off to bring this level of performance but it was worth it. His portrayal of a charismatic, intelligent leader and father gone away was brilliant. We are only treated to a small portion of his “before” persona but I feel that the charisma Smith carries normally alleviated my desire to see more of what I’m already familiar with. This was an examination of a broken, troubled, suffering father, husband and friend. If you have ever dealt with depression you might identify with his reluctance to do anything but stay within his apartment. You might understand his lack of desire to socialize or even eat. If you have ever lost someone close to your heart you might relate to the anger, the gnawing question of “Why” and the sadness that is hidden and shown in his eyes. From social recluse to a man who finally comes to terms with the fact he needs support and finds a group of individuals who suffer as he suffers, we get so much more than I anticipated from Smith when I walked into the theater. His performance was heart breaking but necessary and the cast of characters that performed alongside him each added a different level or complexity to an already difficult story.


The plot of this film was surprisingly as troubling as the character Smith plays. We see his friends and colleagues establishing a case against him to show he is unfit to lead the company and that his ownership should be relinquished for the good of the employees and bottom line. His friends go so far as to hire actors to portray his 3 career staples for success, time, love and death. Three small theater actors portray time, love and death while a private investigator records the interactions he has only to remove those actors from the film before it’s submitted to the board. The entire point of his friends actions is to make him look insane. This is so very sad.


There is redemption in this story. The three actors who are hired to portray time, love and death are each working with Smith’s 3 friends. The writing of this story brilliantly pins each “theme” to one of his friends who is struggling with that exact item in their personal life. Whether it’s trying to love a daughter who hates you or fighting off death because you’re ill or trying to find the time to create a family. Each character is faced with their personal dilemma while also trying to sabotage their friend. It’s poetic and wonderful.



Collateral Beauty” is in theaters now! If you want a film that will make you feel many emotions, this is a film to see in a theater for the shared communal experience. When I saw this movie there wasn’t a dry eye in the theater and that included my own. I simply adore this film for what it created both on screen and internally for everyone who saw it with me. The ending makes you question if all of what you saw is real and it will leave with a feeling as warm as the smile Smith’s character has in the final scene. This is definitely worth the ticket price for a big screen viewing.

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Doctor Who: The Return of Doctor Mysterio Review


Doctor Who: The Return of Doctor Mysterio Review

Director: Edward Bazalgette

Writers:  Steven Moffat

Starring: Peter Capaldi, Matt Lucas, Justin Chatwin, Charity Wakefield

After a full year, the Doctor is finally back!... and I’m going to get my negative thoughts out of the way first, because well there aren’t many and I want to say it now before I go fan girl on finally having new Who. First off, this did not feel like a Christmas special at all. As a matter of fact, except for when young Grant confused him for Santa Clause in the beginning, most of this episode kind of felt like a filler episode that could have been put in during any season.  Also, the Doctor needs a companion and this special proved that. Yes, for the purpose and timing of the episode, I understand why the Doctor does not have one, but still the point stands. That being said, it was still fun to watch. Perhaps the long wait between now and “The Husbands of River Song” is what made this episode feel so off. Maybe its because River Song is one of my favorites and I’m still not ready to let go (yes its been a year, I know, I’m clearly handling it just as well as the Doctor). That being said I was still overly excited and watching it a couple times.


This special evolved around a young boy named Grant who developed superhero abilities after accidentally swallowing a ruby that was given to him by the Doctor. The overly obvious correlation between Grant and Superman makes the episode fun for any comic book fan, including the moment when the Doctor thinks he made a brilliant discovery about how Superman and Clark Kent are the same person. Honestly it was a cheep pop, but it made me giggle so it worked, kudos Moffat.  Still all of the comic book references made for some pretty entertaining moments in the episode. In a less subtle way than normal, we do get to see the Doctor take responsibility for his actions in this episode, as he does checks in on Grant over the years, which is nice considering Grant having these super powers is kinda the Doctors fault. But, super powers aside, this is a love story and it is a lot like we saw with Craig and Sophie from season 5.  

This was a pretty solid way to kick off Moffat’s final year of working with the show. He got to tie up the story of River Song and now he has a whole season to establish how the doctor will deal and grow after the loss of River. Also a new companion is coming, which makes me really excited for the new season to start! After all the Doctor should never travel alone. I am happy that, even though the Doctor did not have a new full time companion for this special, he did have a friend. Nardole is back! Matt Lucas will be a great addition for comedy in the show, but when needed, he can deliver those serious lines just as well.



Overall, I did enjoy the show. It was nice to see that the Doctor still has to deal with the loss of River Song, also it’s nice that he doesn’t have to do it alone with Nardole there.  Moffat always seems to have one or two lines in each of his episodes that perfectly illustrate how life is, in this special my favorite line was “Things end. That’s all. Everything ends… and it’s always sad. But everything begins again too, and that’s always happy. Be happy.” That it right there, be happy.

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Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - Box Office Review

This is the 8th film in the Star Wars Franchise. In typical Star Wars fashion, this film was made out of order of the rest of the series. First, we received episode 4 in 1977 (A New Hope) followed by episode 5 in 1980 (Empire Strikes Back) and then Episode 6 in 1983 (Return of the Jedi). Then, in 1999 we got episode 1 (Phantom Menace), episode 2 in 2002 (Attack of the Clones) and concluding with episode 3 in 2005 (Revenge of the Sith). Now we jump to current time and we get Episode 7 in 2015 (The Force Awakens) and finally in 2016 we get a film that falls between Revenge of the Sith in 2005 and A New Hope in 1977. So let’s dive in a take a look at “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” in this box office review.



I’m sure you’re wondering why I was used so many dates for the introduction. We’ll get to that, don’t worry. Right now we’ll look at some of the characters and why they worked or did not work in my opinion. First let’s look at the 2 main characters, Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) and Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn). These two characters both worked as good and bad leads. I felt that I got more from Mendelsohn’s performance as I believed every bit of why his demise was destined to occur. His character had significant weakness in that he just wanted to be part of the Emperors inner circle but he lacked the spine to do what was necessary to get there, from a Sith point of view. Jyn Erso felt a bit two dimensional as we get to see her back story and motivation but her overall delivery left something to be desired for me personally. I enjoyed her character but I believe she could’ve given more if pushed to give more.


Next we have a new band of resistance hero’s. Four characters, a Captain, his droid, a blind force sensitive warrior monk and his back up who carries a massive gun. Out of these four, it was Captain Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) who stole the entire film for me. We first meet him on a planet trying to locate a fellow resistance fighter who needs transport and has updates on the new potential deadly weapon the Empire is working on. It’s in this scene we see how far Cassian is willing to go for the rebellion and I was immediately invested in his character. I couldn’t believe he shot the guy he came to save because survival called for it. From there we learn how long his character has been fighting the empire and why this is more than just a war, it’s life for him. I know several people loved K2S0 but shortly into the film I realized that this new droid was a robotic replica of “Dr. Sheldon Cooper” from the hit TV show “Big Bang Theory.” This didn’t lessen my enjoyment of his character but I couldn’t invest myself into this character because Sheldon shouldn’t be in Star Wars. Also, Chirrup Imwe played by martial arts expert Donnie Yen fell flat for me. His character felt like a super spiritual “Daredevil” from Marvel comics/Netflix. The film even has one scene that could’ve been stolen from the Netflix show Daredevil where Yen is using his hyper sensitive hearing to visual the battle that is about to ensue. I enjoyed his character also but like K2S0 I saw a similarity to another popular character and I couldn’t invest.


Ok, so the story is as what one would expect being that it takes place immediately before “A New Hope.” The rebels steal the plans for the death star but this film is based on “the how” of that achievement. I saw this film twice to better understand the story. My first viewing I walked out of the theater terribly confused to what story I just watched. In my mind, the story would introduce new characters in Act 1, the plans would be stolen in Act 2, Darth Vader would be on the hunt for the plans and the rebels in Act 3. Nope. I was completely wrong. So the first time I saw it I was waiting the entire film for Darth Vader to be Darth Vader, like he was in the final 10 minutes of the film. So I walked back into the theater a few nights later with a friend who hadn’t seen it and I watched it a second time, except I knew what the story would entail, thus allowing me to focus more on the story and not why Darth Vader wasn’t being Darth Vader.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and the ending is more poetic than if Darth Vader was to meet my unexplainable expectation. We see Krennic die from the very death machine he was in charge of building. This was poetry in motion. I actually loved it after my second viewing. I still wanted more Darth Vader but the last 10 minutes gave us a pretty good showing and helped build on Vader’s importance and power in the Empire. Now going back and re-watching “A New Hope” it’s clear that the power line goes as follows, the Emperor, Tarkin/Vader. Similarly to how “Force Awakens” has Snoke, Hux/Renn which we can argue at length over who stole from who. Yes, A New Hope came first but it isn’t until Rogue One that the power triangle is established between Jedi Master/ Imperial Officer/Jedi… or is it? The third act of this film also has one of the best looking battle scenes I’ve watched this year on the big screen. The war that breaks out on that beautiful island paradise planet was spectacular. Sure the film starts off a little slow but it gains momentum quickly enough and ends with a battle royal that is unmatched on screen this year. I loved the third act of this film so much.


Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” is in theaters now! I definitely recommend you get out and see this film. The attention to detail that this film captures is unprecedented. The time line I laid out as the introduction shows that this film is the precursor to a film made in 1977 and the costume design, space ship design, characters and even weapons share continuity. I was blown away. This film was made 39 years after the very first film and it finishes looking exactly like the 1977 movie. The attention to detail alone demands you see this on the big screen. Aside from that, this is a truly entertaining film and it looks incredible on the big screen. Plus, it’s Star Wars people! Go see this film on the big screen and may the force be with you.


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Friday, December 23, 2016

Act 191: Finger Lickin' Christmas

Masked Blogster struggles with getting older and talks of choosing a doctor for impending prostate exams. The hosts also discuss Christmas traditions and try to convince Handsome J that Jessica Jones is a good Netflix series.

To listen, click here. To download, right click and "Save As..."

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Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Comic Book Review: Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #5 - DC Comics

"Sinestro's Law Part 5: Joining Forces"

Written by Robert Venditti
Art by Ethan Van Sciver
Colors by Jason Wright

Hal Jordan has been healed by Soarnik, Guy Gardner is captured and being tortured and John Stewart and the rest of the Green Lantern Corps are on the search for the Yellow Lanterns on War World.

This book is so much fun as there are multiple story lines that all connect.  Every page is full of interest as all of it is compelling.  Hal Jordan talking with Soranik and explaining the origin of his new ring made by himself through Hal's own will is fantastic.  Guy Gardner not giving in to torture shows he is one of the toughest(or is he really that hard headed?) individuals in the DC Universe.  John Stewart and Kilowog travelling with the rest of the Green Lanterns in an effort to take on the Yellow Lanterns is enough to leave you breathless by the end.  Robert Venditti is amazing at crafting stories and the "Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps" series proves that point.

Ethan Van Sciver is such an incredible artist and I'm glad he is working on this title.  I also like that DC is keeping a steady artist on the title so I get the same look to each book.  The details in the faces are wonderful, especially with Sinestro.  This, coupled with the colors from Jason Wright, make for one of the best looking comic series going.  The colors coming off the rings look absolutely remarkable.

What are your thoughts on Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps?  What other comic books would you like Maskerpiece Theatre to review?

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Sunday, December 18, 2016

The Edge of Seventeen - Box Office Review

Once in awhile a trailer for a movie drops and I’m left more curious than excited. I see the potential for the movie in the preview but I’m not certain if it will deliver. I see the cast and I trust their talent but I don’t know if the director will tell a story that’s utilizing their talents to the fullest ability on screen. This was the struggle I faced before walking into the theater. So let’s dive in and take a look at “The Edge of Seventeen” in this box office review…


I had no expectation for excellence walking into this movie. I was completely curious if the talented leads would be the highlight, would the story fall short, would it deliver? I had more questions than expectations for this movie. I knew that I could count on Hailee Steinfeld and Woody Harrelson. I had faith that Kyra Sedgwick and Haley Lu Richardson would deliver a performance that wasn’t a suck fest. I was not wrong on the acting talent. Every character in this movie felt like something special on screen. The believability, the charm, the bizarre, the creepy, the disgusting were all just little delights throughout this film. I truly enjoyed all the performances. The one character who really humanized the whole story arc for Hailee’s character “Nadine” was Hayden Szeto. He plays this socially awkward, artist/film maker, who has a school boy crush, or more, on Nadine. It’s absolutely painful to watch in a humorous way. He’s trying so hard to be nice while being himself and still being completely enamored for Nadine. He was the surprise take away for me in this movie.


The overall story is a coming of age tale for the main character Nadine. Hers is a story that is filled with loss, social ineptitude, repressed anger, compassion, love and hate. She’s complex but simple. She wants companionship but makes every effort to drive people away. She’s all the things and nothing at all as we watch her develop through the first two acts. It’s a series of events that help self realization kick in not just for her but her family, and closest friend. This movie would make John Hughes happy and if you understand that reference you will be happy watching this as well. 



“The Edge of Seventeen” is in theaters now! I can’t recommend this movie enough. I loved it. It was the surprise delight of the year for me, so far. When asked if I would see it again I replied, “It’s playing in 45 minutes if you’re serious about seeing this with me.” I loved this movie. It’s a wonderful character film about a youthful life and discovering the identity we cling to might actually be a detriment for our personal growth and development. In Nadine, perhaps we can all see how our defenses aren’t necessarily making other people lose out on a relationship, but instead, are preventing something, or better yet, someone special from entering our own lives. Go see this film!


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Website: abnormalentertainment.com/maskerpiecetheatre
Facebook: /MaskerpieceTheatre and Fan Page
Twitter: @MPTheatre2015 -Masked Blogster @MaskedBlogster -Mandy @moviefreakgirl -Handsome J @jbrunansky -Matt @MpTheatreMatt 
Instagram: maskerpiece_theatre 
Pinterest: /abnormalpodcast/maskerpiece-theatre/

Maskerpiece Theatre is sponsored by MoviePass. See unlimited movies at a theater near you for a low monthly rate.

You can also support our show on our Support Us page.