# 5
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
This is the latest attempt by Hollywood to bring the beloved Tom Clancy character to the screen. The first try had Alec Baldwin in the critically acclaimed The Hunt for Red October. Baldwin was good but Sir Sean Connery stole the show and was actually nominated for a British Academy Award for best actor. That movie resulted in what amounted to a one shot instead of a franchise but a few years later Jack Ryan was back. This time they cast my favorite rebel/smuggler/archaeologist/treasure hunter/fugitive, Harrison Ford and he did not disappoint! Ben Afflick had a turn in 2002 and pretty much bombed, so I was excited to hear the new Captain Kirk was cast for a Jack Ryan reboot. Unfortunately Shadow Recruit was not much better than The Sum of All Fears. The plot was another "end of the world terrorist attack" and I never got any real sense of danger from the bad guys. They didn't spend much time on developing the characters here which left them feeling flat despite having some great actors like Pine and Costner together. Over all I believe this Jack Ryan will be left behind in the shadows.
# 4
Lone Survivor
The title already answers the question of how many survive in this movie. Of course since Mark Wahlberg is in it there is a ton of action leading up to everyone dying. The story is based on a Navy Seal reconnaissance mission during the war in Afghanistan and the book written by the...Lone Survivor himself. It's hard to watch when the Seals are picked off one by one, but luckily the battle sequence lasts almost the whole movie. In the last five minutes of the movie the survivor is hidden from the Taliban by an Afghan villager and kept safe until the Americans can rescue him. Since most of the movie was taken up with the battle scene we never got to see the relationship between Luttrell and the villager even though that relationship was an important part of Luttrell surviving. It just felt like the real story was pushed to the back of the film to make way for all the gun fighting. I really enjoy stories of our soldiers serving our country and the amazing things they go through but I think we were left out of the best part of this one.
# 3
Captain Phillips
This is an exception because Captain Phillips was released back in October of 2013 and I just got around to watching it. I remember when this incident happened and I was surprised to learn that pirates still actually exist. It floors me to think that just a few guys in basically a row boat can steal a huge commercial trawler, but as Captain Phillips can tell you, it's certainly possible. The story of the Maersk Alabama is thrilling and Tom Hanks was up to the task of portraying the titular character. Unexpectedly Barkad Abdi put in the best performance of the movie. Abdi played the pirate under pressure from his warlord to make a huge catch, and boy did he go for it. The rescue of the captain was a great ending, and I gained new respect for Navy Seal snipers after learning they were able to take out all 3 pirates simultaneously. Bad to the bone.
# 2
Nebraska
Who doesn't like modern movies shot in black and white about semi-delusional old farts? Bueller...Bueller? Ok, so maybe not that many people but honestly you should give Nebraska a chance. This old guy, Woody Grant, keeps escaping his house trying to walk from Montana to Nebraska because he thinks a piece of clearing house mail is literally awarding him a million dollars. Will Forte plays his son that tries to persuade him it's not true by actually taking him there and along the way they come together as a family. I found this a moving film and dead-pan hilarious with some great performances by Dern, Forte, and Bob Odenkirk who plays Saul Goodman on Breaking Bad. If you can get past the first few minutes you'll be pleasantly surprised.
# 1
Frozen
As it happens Disney has been trying to adapt the Snow Queen since the 1940's but found it very difficult due to the more complex plot of the fairy tale. Frozen successfully changes the Snow Queen to a likable character and gives us a very relatable story to follow. Anna and Elsa are daughters to the King of Arendelle. Elsa is the oldest and was somehow endowed with a power over ice. I would have liked some kind of explanation for the powers, maybe she's really Storm from X-Men, but the movie flows and works without it. The music is great and the Kristen Bell gets to show off her singing talent but Idina Menzel is the Icing on the cake performing "Let it Go" as Elsa. Of course Menzel is in her element here, she did originate the part of Elphaba in the Broadway hit Wicked. Definitely another classic for Disney.
