“I did not hit her, I did naaaaaht…Oh hai, Mark!” is just one of the phrases you’ll be repeating after seeing the hilarious film THE DISASTER ARTIST. This film is freaking hilarious and I was laughing literally the entire time (ask Kimberly Finke). If you’ve seen any of the trailers and are like, “what the fuck is James Franco doing/who is he playing?,” what he did performance wise in this film was masterful. I know a lot of critics have already mentioned this but Tim Burton’s film Ed Wood, is a masterpiece of a film about the making of one of the greatest bad movies ever made. Well, so is The Disaster  Artist, that shows the making of a great terrible film called, The Room. If you are having a quadruple feature, and need two more movies to compliment Ed Wood and Plan 9 From Outer Space, definitely add The Room and The Disaster Artist to your mini marathon.

The Disaster Artist if you didn’t know based on the trailers is a true life story of two men’s ambitions to make it in Hollywood. James Franco plays Tommy Wiseau, an aspiring actor and director who never reveals his true origins, how old he is, or where he gets all his wealth from.  Tommy meets Greg Sestero, (played by Franco’s brother Dave, also excellent here) another inspiring actor,  who become fast friends but whom neither are that talented to make it big when Greg accidentally gives Tommy a “great idea.” They should just make their own movie. So Tommy writes, directs, and finances to shoot “The Room.” And the two begin on an incredible journey that proves that if you really want something that seems impossible, and even if the end product is not want you envisioned, it might not be that impossible to get it, you just got to have an insane and unrealistic amount of enthusiasm.

I should put out a disclaimer that I have not seen The Room. But I now I really really want to. You don’t have to see The Room to get this. It gives you the gist of what it was about and even shows shot by shot comparisons of some of the scenes James Franco (that’s right, he is a director here too) recreated for this movie. And you don’t have to see The Room to laugh, you’ll laugh whether you have or not, but maybe seeing The Room beforehand will get you to appreciate The Disaster Artist just a little bit more. It’s not just about making that terrible movie, it’s about a friendship between two men that stands the test of time and tribulations. And with that, along with the realistic way they re create was it was like making of the movie, the masterful acting from all parties, makes this film I completely recommend seeing as soon as you can.

The only reason that I will still be controversial among some critics and not put this in my Top 15 of this year is because I really wanted more! This movie left me wanting that much more, and I felt that if I got 20 more minutes from this 95 minute run time, I could’ve gotten it, and the film could’ve been a masterpiece. I wanted to see more of the making of the movie and felt like a lot of the book that this film is based on, was left out at the cutting room floor. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I wanted more James Franco. He is incredible in this. He washes any resemblance of the Franco you know and love/hate and completely becomes Tommy Wiseau. I wanted more zaniness and even more ridiculous things that Tommy Wiseau did during the making of this film (and I know there is a lot more, I read up on it before seeing the movie).

I just felt like 95 minutes was too short. The movie has a great pace, and is very quick, but I felt like a movie of this caliber, trying to show not only the making of this film and is considered the cult classic great bad film that it is today and also the friendship between two very different men, it should’ve been longer and more fleshed out. I felt it the entire time during the movie. I was constantly thinking, “this part wasn’t long enough,” “they could’ve done more here,” “why didn’t they explore this,” and at times it was a little distracting how much fast paced it was. The script could’ve used more pages.

But James Franco is a very good director here. Especially considering he gave a fantastic performance out of himself in the process and everyone else involved. He didn’t really show anything that would show he has a unique style visually or structurally, but this film is a perfect launch pad to try and figure that out on his try. Out of any nominations I would support James Franco for best actor and maybe even a best picture nomination. It is a really good film. By the way, Zac Efron and Josh Hutcherson have hilarious camoes in this. I don’t know if I’ve ever laughed as hard as I have for Efron.

The thing that I liked most about the film was the hidden message of the story about our dreams in life. These two managed to go out there, with hardly any experience, and make an actual film. Yes, that film might be terrible, and considering the greatest bad movie ever made, but with these two, it proved that bad press is still excellent fucking press. These two are now famous just based off their effort and their one bad film. But is it bad to them anymore? Probably not. They went out there and did it, and the message to everyone else is that you can too. I mean come on, if they make a really good hilarious and sometimes heartfelt Hollywood movie about the making of your terrible film, isn’t that success?

THE SHAPE OF WATER might be the most gorgeous film of 2017 (other than Blade Runner 2049 and I haven’t seen Last Jedi yet). Certainly, not might, this ranks as one of writer/director Guillermo Del Toro’s best films alongside Hellboy II, Blade, Pan’s Labryinth and Mimic. It has a solid structure, there doesn’t seem to be a scene wasted, it’s well acted and it’s very entertaining…so why can’t I put it on my Top 15 Film List of 2017 like so many other critics are doing? Because while the story has a very solid structure, it is unfortunately way too predictable to be taken as a wholly original film. It is still a great film, and I am recommending it to see it in a theater to experience the wonderful cinematography on the biggest screen that you can, but the story, including the journey, was an ingredient that was vital to the masterpiece of this dish, and they didn’t put enough in.

Maybe my expectations were too high after all the praise this film was getting, calling it “one of the best of the year.” I agree it is Oscar worthy in every sense of the form. Especially it should win cinematography if Blade Runner doesn’t and I think Sally Hawkins is likely to win Best Actress (and rightly so, she is freaking incredible in this, her best performance to date). Just something for the story for me was off. Beat by beat, plot progression by plot progression, I was guessing everything that was going to happen at every turn. Sitting in almost an empty theater at 10 p.m., I was saying out loud scenes to myself (but quietly, wasn’t near a soul) that were going to happen 10 to 15 minutes down the line, and I was correct. There wasn’t a moment where something absolutely shocked me into what was going on. The only minor thing that was unpredictable was a subplot with Russians that revealed its hand a little too early and had a conclusion I guessed since moment one.

Not to say the movie isn’t boring at all. It’s not, its quite entertaining, and people are sure to love this exquisitely shot love story. The character arcs all go full circle. Other than Sally Hawkins, Richard Jenkins, Michael Shannon, and Octavia Spencer are all incredible here and if any of them got Oscar nominations as well they are well deserved. I shall be crushed though if this gets nominated for Best Original Screenplay, because it is so riddled with some cliches and predictability it would take amnesia to not notice them. I’m only trying to explain myself why I am not putting this on my top list so people aren’t shocked beyond belief. They might be shocked that I am not putting Disaster Artist in my top 15 either even though I thought it was incredible,  but I have reasons for that as well.

Now let’s get to the creature, played by Doug Jones. I was surprised how much of a practical effect the creature was, other than the eyes. I thought it would be a CG creation a la Beast from this year’s Beauty and The Beast, but boy was I wrong. This thing is real, looks real, feels real, so the chemistry because him and Sally Hawkin’s mute character is believable, inspiring, yet heartbreaking when it needed to be. In fact, this creature and the two’s chemistry  make whatever Belle and the Beast had in this year’s earlier adaptation seem like it was done on a computer with a tech on autopilot.

The end is a little anti climatic as well, but effective. And on the whole I still think it is a pretty great film. It’s beautiful and a true work of art: visually. If Guillermo Del Toro, on his next film, could take that art, and turn it into something not just visually appetizing, but bring us a dessert of a truly sweetly written and unpredictable word, by God what a masterpiece that would be. And I was starting to give up hope on Del Toro, after the painstakingly numbing experience of Crimson Peak, and the good but not fantastic Pacific Rim. But this is a giant step in the right direction across the street of cinematic heaven. Just a few more steps Del Toro, you’ve made it there several times before being sent back to the drawing board, you’ll make it again.

Well, I think Netflix may have just officially entered the Academy Awards race with MUDBOUND. This movie is incredible. Punches you in the stomach multiple times for one hell of an emotional wallop. It is also one of the best films on race and class relations I’ve seen in the past decade, along with Detroit earlier this year. The film is a 2 hour and 15 minute slow burn yet it is still extremely entertaining (the fact that I couldn’t take my eyes away from it sitting on my couch at home says something) and it gives its audience a well-earned and incredible final act. This movie is required viewing I think by any movie lover. And you really don’t have any excuse not to see it. You can sit on your lazy ass and watch it at home. Don’t have Netflix? Borrow it from a friend weirdo.

MUDBOUND tells several stories but at the heart of all of it is two families, one white and one black, both living in the same region in the south. The husband of the white family has a younger brother off fighting in the sky in World War II, and the black family has a son that is fighting on the ground in tanks in World War II. Once the boys come home, the white soldier coming back with extreme PTSD, they strike up a unlikely friendship, much to the chagrin of the racist town folks and the racist father of the white soldier. The white husband also had a wife that may or may not have feelings for the younger brother as well. And the black soldier holds a secret from the war, something that would not be tolerated at all in the town that they live in.

This movie has perfect plot progression/storytelling/etc. You think the movie is about the husband and wife white family, then the movie switches on you and you think it is about the black family, and then it switches again and it is the relationship between the white younger brother and the black son, and then it switches again to the town and white father dealing with that relationship, all while being consistent and solid with tone and structure. It’s perfectly plotted and the transitions are masterful. The best part of the movie are obviously the conversations and friendship between the white younger brother and the black son, talking about their war experiences, and the shit they are having to go through when they come back from war. It’s very heartfelt, and comes to a conclusion you might not see coming.

It deals with race, class, bigotry, and family with a strong iron fist, not sugar coating anything for the sake of the audience. At the center of all the conflicts and hatred is a good message that doesn’t try and tack you on the head a thousand times with a hammer to try and get its point across. The acting here is also amazing, but if I had to pinpoint anyone, it would be Garrett Hedlund as the white younger brother soldier. This is his most shining role to date and I would be disappointed if he didn’t get a best supporting nomination out of this. Everyone else is fantastic here too, including Jason Clarke, Carey Mulligan, Jason Mitchell, and even Jonathan Banks, but Hedlund shines every scene he is in. You feel his PTSD, his love for his friend, his heartache. Every time he is on screen is an experience.

The end of the film is what truly got me. Didn’t see what was coming and it hit me in the…how do people say it nowadays…the feels? It’s a fantastic ending, culminated in a near perfect picture that will definitely be re watched in the future. That is what I liked about this film. It isn’t too unwatchable and doesn’t play with your emotions with over the top torture and bloodshed that films like Detroit and 12 Years A Slave do. While it still doesn’t sugarcoat anything, it is a film that transcends  that uneasiness with a scene like that and structurally puts it into the film where you aren’t wincing and can’t wait for the scene to be over (even though there is one part like that, it actually doesn’t show too much, which I appreciated).

Conclusion: It’s simple, if you have Netflix or can get access to it, Mudbound is required viewing. It is one of the years best films and has to be seen to be believed how near perfect it is. The test for me with watching a film at home is if I’m distracted with other things on the internet or something else happening around the house. I just held my kid, he slept the entire time, and the 2 hours and 15 minutes completely blew by me. It is a experience that has to be seen to be believed, and one of the most important films of 2017. Steam it now damn it!

THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI is not only one of the year’s best films, it deserves all the Oscar buzz and attention it is getting. It is an incredibly original film that makes you think, feel, and completely enthralling to watch. This feature film is Martin McDonough’s third (his other two are the incredible In Bruges, and the pretty good Seven Psychopaths) and he is still on a role. He takes his time writing and directing another film, and it is a tactic that a lot of filmmakers should follow (Tarantino does and we all knows how great his films are too). This is a movie that any film buff is required to see, as it is that rare form of art that gives so many messages across while doing it in a very unique way. I loved this film, and can’t wait to watch it again.

This movie has been marketed to hell, so if you haven’t seen a trailer you probably don’t go to the movies all that often. It is about a woman, played to perfection by the incredible Frances McDormand, who puts up three billboards that ask the local police why they haven’t done more to locate the perpetrator of her daughter’s rape and murder seven months prior. The billboards mainly out the town’s local sheriff, played by Woody Harrelson, who should have won an Academy Award by now, and the police department he works for. The town itself and everyone’s lives go into a tailspin after she puts up these billboards, with people dealing with racism, sexism, inner turmoil, and redemption. And I loved the films ending, as it doesn’t go the Hollywood route, and is the perfect amount of ambigiousness that motion pictures need more of nowadays.

I’ve already pinpointed Frances McDormand’s performance, but the other standout performance that is likely to also get a Oscar nomination is from the very underrated Sam Rockwell, who plays one of the police department’s racist cops. He is the most layered character in the film and his arc goes to places that not even the most qualified movie buff could predict. His performance and story will surprise you.

Although the trailer is comedic in tone, make no mistake, this is mainly a drama with moments of comedy (you don’t see all the comedy in the trailer thank God). And I love how the film really isn’t a who dun it as much as it is a character study of complicated people and why they do certain things. It is incredible. The films is about two hours and it flies by the seat of your pants, and you wish you could stay in these character’s lives just a little bit longer. Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell are certainly my top choices to win Academy Awards this year, and if Dunkirk doesn’t win Best Picture, I wouldn’t mind if this one instead.

I’ve told you all to go see Coco this weekend and I remain true to that. Families should go see Coco, and more families that are in adult age that love movies should go see Three Billboards, especially if you are really into awards season as this will be nominated for a shit ton of things. In Bruges is still my favorite film of Martin McDonough even though this is more of a reward darling than that one was, but Three Billboards is still solid as a rock and a masterpiece of its own. I love original tales, and this movie is the reason why I still haven’t given up on originality in Hollywood. A spectacular film.

THE MAN WHO INVENTED CHRISTMAS is a very noble effort in trying to do something with A Christmas Carol that isn’t straight up remaking it, but still kind of is, and the result is okay…but still kind of boring. The mad rush energy you see in the marketing of this film, if you’ve watched the trailer, doesn’t translate to the screen, instead it is kind of a slow burn with a few little dashes of energy that are unfortunately short lived.

Although it is a little bit interesting how Dicken’s real life woe’s translated to him writing A Christmas Carol so well. And the acting by Dan Stevens (who ladies still swoon over) is quite good. For me though, like any other adaptation of A Christmas Carol (except for Scrooge, Bill Murray makes it completely re-watchable), this is a one and done affair, never to watch it again, but it doesn’t mean it was truly terrible.

I don’t need to explain much of the plot of this film. Charles Dickens has had a couple of flops and needs money fast. It is mid October and he thinks he can come up with a story about Christmas in 6 weeks to print and distribute. Trying to sort through his woes of past and present, he uses real life experiences to create the classic A Christmas Carol. And that’s about it, you get a retelling of A Christmas Carol in the process just in case the entire story isn’t already seeped into your head.

Dan Stevens (the Beast in the new live action Beauty and the Beast) saves this film from being a complete and entire bore. He is invested in playing Dickens and it shows that he wanted the role and knew that he was good at it. The acting is good all around, including Christopher Plummer, who probably should’ve played Scrooge instead of Jim Carrey in Robert Zemekick’s retelling motion capture film we got about a decade ago.

The direction is good and the screenplay is tight, I was just bored. It was just boring to me I think because I know the story like the back of my hand, and it didn’t add anything to make me perk up and stay awake. I would only recommend this movie if you are a die hard A Christmas Carol enthusiast and can’t wait to read it each and every Christmas. I’ve read a little background work on Dickens and it seemed like they didn’t pull any of his real life woe’s out of their ass, which is commendable, but I’m just tired of all the adaptations, I’m getting to the point where I’m about to say ba-humbug.

At first what I thought was going to be a complete rip off of 2014’s The Book of Life, but instead of bullfighting it was replaced with musicians (spoiler alert: it’s not), DISNEY/PIXAR’S COCO surprised me. Not only is it easily the best animated film of 2017 (with some of the only other movies like Cars 3, Boss Baby, Lego Ninjago, was this really that hard of a category to win?) but it is also another Pixar masterpiece. I absolutely loved it and even had a lump in my throat at the end, which rarely happens to me anymore (yeah I know I mentioned it happened as well last week during Wonder, fuck you). It is the perfect family film that blends tradition, forgiveness, heritage, family, identity, and dreams into a story with heart that contains rich and vibrant animation. You can tell this movie was made with love and care, and it shows throughout the entire hour and 49 minutes.

The reason you might think this is a complete rip off of The Book of Life at first is because both movies deal with the Mexican holiday of Dia De Muertos (Day of the Dead) and while that one was bullfighting, this one deals with musicians. The Book of Life was ultimately a ho-hum affair, not even using original music (they sang recent hit songs) and the story completely diverts from the one Coco tries to tell and The Book of Life didn’t really earn my emotions, I found it to be quite…boring. But thankfully, Coco is the exact opposite. Really great original music, not boring in the slightest, earned laughs and earned heart. It tells the story of Miguel, who was born into a family of shoemakers because Miguel’s great great grandfather left the family to pursue a music career (guitarist, song writer and singer) and never came back. Well, Miguel has that talent, and wants to show it to the world despite his family not wanting any of the members having anything to do with music because of the asshole great great grandfather.

Miguel wants to play at a talent show contest on Dia De Muertos, and after his grandmother finds out his secret and bashes his guitar, he finds and tries to “borrow” a famous other one in the masoleum of a late great famous musician named Ernesto De La Cruz. When he strums the guitar though, he is literally taken to the Land of the Dead. I don’t want to say too much more about the plot to ruin it, other than he has until sunrise to find some sort of way out of the Land of the Dead or become a permanent resident. The last thing I’ll say is that he meets some old dead family members and a drifter named Hector. Trust me, there is much more to the story and a big twist I didn’t see coming (although I should have) until my wife whispered her hypothesis really quickly to me in my ear about halfway through the movie.

What I ultimately liked about this film, I read up on the history a little bit before watching it, is that one of the films writers, Adrian Molina, was upgraded to co-director because he knew a lot about Mexican traditions, Dia De Muertos, and other cultural things, and even did more research while making the movie, trying to perfect everything and not have made up things flying out of his ass. It shows here. Everything about this film shows that it was handled with extreme care. I looked up some of the Mexican traditions, and the traditions of Dia De Muertos after seeing the movie, and everything is dead on accurate. I appreciate that level of detail. Also, this movie is completely made up of Mexican actors and actresses for the voice talent, bringing even more of an authenticity to the project (unlike The Book of Life, who had um…Channing Tatum do a voice).

Another winning part of this film is the animation. The animation is top notch, making Cars 3 look like it was designed by monkeys with Windows ’95 (or was John Lasseter too busy to make the animation stand out and using his time trying to get “friendly hugs from women”? Too soon?). Wonderful vibrant colors, and an excellent attention to detail make this one of the Pixar films where you could watch it a million times and always discover something new. This is the perfect Thanksgiving/holiday movie. I cannot recommend it enough. It’s a film for everyone, and not meant to be seen alone. Take your parents, grandparents, great grandparents, kids, friends, I guarantee they will all enjoy it. I myself cannot wait to watch it again.

Mini Review of the animated short before Coco: OLAF’S FROZEN ADVENTURE

If you are one of those people that thought Frozen was highly overrated, this short probably will not change your mind. It is a longer short, running at about 10-15 minutes, and has Olaf running his snowy ass around town trying to find traditions for Elsa and Anna to celebrate on Christmas. I myself loved Frozen, and loved this little short, where the songs again are quite memorable and didn’t seem just thrown together. Would’ve preferred an original Pixar short though, but I’ll take what I can get.

ROMAN J. ISRAEL ESQ. is more of a character study than it is an actual movie. The same could be said for Dan Gilroy’s previous directorial effort Nightcrawler, although Nightcrawler had much more of a plot than this movie does. Deznel Washington lights up the screen (let’s face it, like he always does, this is one of the greatest actors of any generation) with such a quirky and memorable character, I just wish it was in a more plot driven vehicle. Not to say the movie is bad, the character study had me fascinated the entire two hours, but when I look back at the movie, I realized that not much really happened.

If the trailers confused you on what this movie is about or how it plays out, you aren’t the only one. From the trailers you glean that this is a quirky, good, and smart lawyer that “breaks bad” and gets into a dangerous situation by taking a clients whereabouts of a fellow criminal, and getting the reward money to himself to make his life easier. Eh, not really. While that does kinda, sorta happen, there is much more going on to that situation, and that situation doesn’t really happen until a little more than halfway through the film, and the resolution is predictable, dull, and doesn’t have any intensity or other progression to warrant it being an actual plot point.

The movie is really about a lawyer that works with a small firm (really only a receptionist and one other lawyer). Roman is the lawyer behind the curtain so to speak, where he deals with the law, and gives everything he knows to the other lawyer, the one who makes actual court appearances to protect clients that have hired them. Well, that lawyer gets a heart attack and goes into a vegetative state, and Roman has to pick up the pieces. Not much long after, a relative of the heart attack lawyer dismantles the firm that hasn’t made a profit in years and he’s basically out on the street looking for money. Reluctant at first, because he is a good, nice, fair lawyer that hates the system because not many people see a trial, just take a plea bargain in fear of a greater punishment, eventually takes a job with a pupil (Colin Farrell) of the heart attack lawyer, who is a lawyer whose ethics Roman despises, because it is about the money, not the people. Afraid he is about to get fired at one point, he does take the clients info and gets the reward money, and he befriends a woman at a non profit organization that wasn’t too important to remember for me.

But all this is really background noise. It’s a character study of a man struggling with his identity, and when he strays a little bit from it, gets into some major trouble that lasts about 5 minutes of screen time. Denzel Washington is absolutely captivating in this movie though, and while the movie could’ve been much, much, much better, I would mind if Washington was again nominated for this film. His speech pattern and speeches are amazing to watch and after this movie I could completely watch Washington sit in a chair for 3 hours and talk about random shit and it would still be enthralling (see: Fences). Colin Farrell is actually much more in the film than the trailer shows and has a good little character arc himself. Carmen Ejogo, who has been in a shit ton of supporting roles over the years, has always been a good actress, but her character here just complains and cries to Roman about the system, and it does get a bit tiring.

If writer/director Dan Gilroy could’ve taken this character, and put it in a different movie, hell, maybe even a legal procedural, this could’ve been something really special. But the lack of a plot of the predictability of what the films tries to conjure up as a plot make this a movie that is ultimately forgettable other than Washington’s performance. It is ultimately a tad disappointing since Dan Gilroy’s last film, Nightcrawler with Jake Gyllenhaul, was so freaking good that I put it in my top ten list of 2014 films. But I can’t say the movie was that bad either, because I was neither bored or completely put off by it. And I would probably recommend it, just not in a theater, but in a courtroom with some of your peers in your living room.

Well, the Cubicle Escapee website is down so I would like to review LADY BIRD while it is still fresh in my mind. I will post reviews on here until website is back up and then re post them. Anyway, what intrigued me about Lady Bird was it’s 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. What intrigued me even further was the fact that Greta Gerwig wrote and directed it, and while this is her first time writing and directing a feature, she has co-written some together with Noah Baumbach such as Frances Ha and Mistress America. If you are familiar with my reviews I’m not too huge of a fan of Noah Baumbach films (I didn’t like the recent Netflix Meyerowitz Stories), and I didn’t like Frances Ha and Mistress America. So I’m probably guessing that Noah Baumbach is the main reason for those failures because I really liked Lady Bird and completely agree with all the praise it is getting.

It is a really weird and realistic film about a girl getting out of high school in Sacramento, that is always at odds with her mother, she calls herself Lady Bird because she doesn’t want to be recognized by her real name, and she is trying to apply to college far away to escape her doomed Sacramento life. Lady Bird is played to perfection by Saoirse Ronan, who you might know from when she was nominated rightfully so for the movie Brooklyn, but you may mainly know her as the little girl that fucked things up for James McAvoy and Keira Knightly in Atonement (she was nominated for that too). And she should be nominated for this. Saoirse Ronan plays Lady Bird as a rebellious, quirky, teenager that isn’t afraid to admit her own faults. She’s not the Hollywood rebellious teen either, as she doesn’t do over the top things to do so. Her rebelliousness is realistic and relatable.

Laurie Metcalf I think also deserves a nomination playing Lady Bird’s mother, as I’ve never seen her better in anything else. If she doesn’t win you over earlier in the film, she will in the final car airport scene. The acting all around is fantastic. Lucas Hedges (who was nominated for Manchester By The Sea) plays one of Lady Bird’s boyfriends that has his own demons in his closet and Tracy Letts plays her maybe too understanding father.

Greta Gerwig also comes into her own as a director, having a certain camera and visual style I was able to pick up on. Kind of like Wes Anderson, but without everything looking like a god damn symmetrical diorama school project (sorry but Anderson has over done that to death). Her films has nice contract colors and a visual palette that is very easy on the eyes. If she can stay away from her boyfriend Noah Baumbach and do things on her own, I think she could go places, as this film is a fantastic individual endeavor.

If you like quirky films, then you don’t want to miss this. I would say see it just for Saoirse Ronan, as everything she does is worth the price of admission alone (except for Atonement which other than her performance I thought was God awful). But it has good lessons of feminism, individuality, and relationships to booth. I love movies that feel real, that feel like they are situations any normal human being can get into. Films like that tap into the audience’s soul, making a more worthwhile film going experience. This is one of those.

When I get out of seeing a really great movie, like WONDER, and I noticed I was the only one in the theater (granted it was a 10 pm showing on weeknight), I start to feel really bad for it, especially when a certain superhero movie is going to kill it at the box office. And I had a more enjoyable time with this movie than I did during that other one I saw just a few hours earlier. It’s a movie meant to tug at your heartstrings, but unlike a lot of duds that tried to do that this past year, this one earns it your lump in your throat and the tears in your eyes. It has a great realistic anti-bullying message, the acting is top notch, and the story went places I didn’t expect it to go. If you are looking for a movie to see other than two superhero films that are out in the theater right now, please go to this and give it a chance. I’ll guarantee you’ll be happy crying by the end credits.

The film, at 1 hour and 50 minutes, swims by at a very brisk pace. The trailer makes it seems like the film is going to be entirely on Auggie Pullman’s point of view, a kid born with Treacher Collins syndrome which is a rare facial deformity, that at once was home schooled by his mother, played by Julia Roberts, is now thrust into middle school life. Having the whole movie being in Auggie’s point of view would have been very generic and the film might not have come together as well. About a third of the way in, the movie switches to several other points of views, such as Auggie’s sister Via, Via’s former best friend Miranda, his best friend Jack Will, and even the bully Julian. While I would’ve loved to see his parents having their own points of view (unfortunately Julia Roberts and especially Owen Wilson are relegated to background characters that only pop up once or twice), I fear that might’ve been too many. The inclusions of all these different points of view was perfect.

The situations feel realistic as well. We don’t get over dramatized actions of bullying that seem like they came straight from the minds of dull Hollywood screenwriters playing everything too over the top and by the book. The characters speak to each other like real people would and because of all this, it develops real audience emotional sympathy, which is hard to do nowadays. Plus, the film is extremely entertaining to the point where I knew that I wanted to watch it again, and soon. Julia Roberts is the best she’s been since August: Osage County, and even though he is barely in it, seeing Owen Wilson in something a little more serious was a nice surprise. All of the kid actors, including the bullies and friends and family members of Auggie were fantastic.

But it is Jacob Trembley playing Auggie that completely steals the show and our hearts. If you don’t know who Jacob Trembley is, he is that exceptional kid that did a hell of a job acting alongside Brie Larson in Room. He was also one of the only decent things about this year’s The Book of Henry as well. This is honestly his best performance thus far and will be a child actor to be reckoned with. Hopefully it transitions him into adulthood just as well. Right away, we sympathize with Auggie, and not just because his face is a tad deformed, but because he has a heart of gold, and just wants to be accepted by people other than his family members. Jacob Trembley brings charm and wit to the role, making Auggie a real person and not just a two dimension, “oh woe is me” type of character that a lot of these Hollywood heart string movies try to do to its audience.

But I loved this movie. Wonder is wonderful. I don’t care about the stupid pun. It’s a movie that made me have a lump in my throat, and I was completely invested from minute one all the way to the end credits. It is a nice PG rating, and honestly anyone can watch it. And should. I think this movie should be played at every school, every year, as a huge anti-bullying message as well as a just be kind in general type of moralistic journey for our younger generation. It’s not some sappy after school special, it’s a film that feels as real as the tears on your cheek. And that is rare in the cinematic world today.