Tuesday, 1 November 2016

November 2016 - Rotten Tomatoes, Arrival, The Accountant, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them


Hi Everyone,

As I sit down to write this blog page, I've just heard that the Amy Adams sci-fi film Arrival is at 100% on the Rotten Tomatoes website, and is being described as “...ambitious, accomplished filmmaking that deserves an audience” on www.rogerebert.com.

Obviously, that's a brilliant score on Rotten Tomatoes. It's early days and (in the weeks to come) that number could slip a little. But this bodes well for Arrival (which opens on 10th November in the UK). I'm happy to report that Doctor Strange (which I have seen twice already) is at a very healthy 90% on Rotten Tomatoes at present.

Thinking about Rotten Tomatoes (or RT) ratings, perhaps it might be interesting to select a few recent titles and see how they're doing on the site. Could be fun. As you're probably aware, their percentages basically represent the proportion of critics out there that have given a film “the thumbs up” rather than a thumbs down. A film is regarded as “Fresh” - i.e. good - if it manages to reach 60%. But, with a score of 59% or under, a film is deemed to be “Rotten”. At 75% (or more) a title is regarded highly – and is given the epithet “Certified Fresh”.

Here's a look at the several dozen major films released in September and October in the UK, and their RT scores (as of lunchtime on 29th October 2016 - when I compiled the list). As you will see, the movies have received a very differing range of receptions, as follows:-

American Honey = 81%

Anthropoid = 66%

Ben-Hur = 26%

Blair Witch = 36%

Bridget Jones's Baby = 77%

Blood Father = 89%

Brotherhood = 67%

Café Society = 69%

Captain Fantastic = 82%

Deepwater Horizon = 83%

Doctor Strange = 93%

Don't Breathe = 87%

Free State of Jones = 47%

Hell or High Water = 98%

Hunt for the Wilderpeople = 98%

I, Daniel Blake = 92%

Inferno = 20%

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back = 38%

Keeping Up with the Joneses = 21%

Kubo and the Two Strings = 97%

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children = 65%

Morgan = 39%

Ouija: Origin of Evil = 81%

Queen of Katwe = 93%

Sausage Party = 83%

Storks = 64%

Swiss Army Man = 67%

The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years = 95%

The Girl on the Train = 44%

The Infiltrator = 69%

The Magnificent Seven = 63%

The Girl with All the Gifts = 83%

Trolls = 84%

War on Everyone = 65%

I don't agree with every rating listed above, but these do give a good general idea of how a film is being perceived. In a way, it's a blunt instrument – as 100% doesn't mean a movie is a “ten out of ten” film. It just means all the critics polled gave it a thumbs up. And, worryingly, too low an RT score is, these days, putting a lot of people off seeing a movie – even me! But this shouldn't be the case. If you want to go and see a particular film – you should just do it. Don't let anyone put you off! lol.

There are some really interesting movies out this month; from the haunting Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender drama The Light Between Oceans to the Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard war drama Allied. But perhaps the biggest highlights of the month are the thoughtful sci-fi movie Arrival (mentioned above), the Ben Affleck action crime-thriller The Accountant, and (of course) J. K. Rowling's Fantastic Beasts and where to find Them. It's great to have some really interesting and entertaining movies on the horizon.

Arrival © 2016 Paramount Pictures and Entertainment One. All Rights Reserved.



The Accountant © 2016 Warner Bros. Ent. Inc. and Ratpac-Dune Ent. LLC. Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. All Rights Reserved.



Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them © 2016 Warner Bros Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. Photo by Jaap Buitendijk.


Here's a comprehensive run down of the November 2016 new releases:-

For a playlist of the November 2016 major movie trailers click here:- 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYUdbbOZ_YU&list=PLsYqS17xRd6caihR3LgzJXjYfVSH9BKTK


Note: It seems there are previews of Sully: Miracle on the Hudson in selected cinemas on 17th November 2016.

The major films are Allied, Almost Christmas, American Pastoral, Arrival, A Street Cat Named Bob, A United Kingdom, Bad Santa 2, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Indignation, Mum's List, Nocturnal Animals, Paterson, The Accountant, The Edge of Seventeen, and The Light Between Oceans.

Limited or “key cities” releases include Chaar Sahibzaade: Rise of Banda Singh Bahadur, Chocolat, Creepy, Dennis Viollet: A United Man, Francofonia, Girl's Lost, I Olga Hepnarova, Kahaani 2, Magnus, My Feral Heart, Revolution: New Art for a New World, Panic, Rock On 2, The Darkest Universe, The Incident, The Innocents, The Music of Strangers, The New Man, The Search for Simon, The Wailing, The White Knights, United States of Love, and We Are the Flesh.

Other limited releases which have been given their own little spot in the magazine are 100 Streets, Dog Eat Dog, Gimme Danger, Richard Linklater: Dream is Destiny, Rupture, Your Name (aka Kimi no Na wa), and You've Been Trumped Too.

In addition to the above are two classic movies being showcased theatrically, and these are Napoleon (1927), and In the Heat of the Night (1967).

Also not included in the magazine are this month's “Event Cinema” special screenings and the like. This, however, is what's happening in November 2016:-

  • 3rd November 2016 Exhibition on Screen: The Curious World Of Hieronymous Bosch – Seventh Art Distribution
  • 4th November 2016 – Bright Stream – The Bolshoi Ballet 2016 – Picturehouse Entertainment
  • 11th November 2016 – Les Contes D'Hoffmann – Royal Opera, London 2016/17 – Royal Opera House
  • 16th November 2016 Alan Bennett's Diaries Live – Picturehouse Entertainment
  • 18th November 2016 – Andre Rieu's Christmas Concert 2016 - CinemaLive
  • 18th November 2016 – Cinderella – Australian Ballet 2016, Fairytale Series - CinemaLive
  • 27th November 2016 – Tristan und Isolde – Teatro Dell'Opera Live 2016 (Opera) - Soda Pictures
  • 28th November 2016 – I am Bolt – Usain Bolt Documentary Live - Picturehouse Entertainment


Here is the link to my latest newsletter (which is a download of a little under 26MB):-



Well if you've getting into the Halloween spirit and watching horror movies this week, or going to the pictures to see other kinds of movies – I hope you have a great time. Happy viewing!


Here are trailers for most of the above mentioned films:-

Allied



Almost Christmas



American Pastoral



Arrival



A Street Cat Named Bob



A United Kingdom



Bad Santa 2



Chaar Sahibzaade: Rise of Banda Singh Bahadur



Chocolat



Creepy



Dennis Viollet: A United Man



Dog Eat Dog



Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them



Francofonia



Gimme Danger



Girls Lost



Indignation



I, Olga Hepnarova



In the Heat of the Night



Kahaani 2



Magnus



My Feral Heart



Napoleon



Nocturnal Animals



Panic



Paterson



Revolution: New Art for a New World



Richard Linklater: Dream is Destiny



Rock On 2



Rupture



The Accountant



The Darkest Universe



The Edge of Seventeen



The Incident



The Innocents



The Light Between Oceans



The Music of Strangers



The New Man



The Search for Simon



The Wailing



The White Knights



United States of Love



We Are the Flesh



Your Name (aka Kimi no Na wa)



You've Been Trumpted Too


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