Jason Bourne 2016

The most dangerous former operative of the CIA is drawn out of hiding to uncover hidden truths about his past.

Matt Damon, Tommy Lee Jones, Alicia Vikander 

I have always been a fan of the Bourne series and this film goes in line with the others with the trademark fast cut fight scenes and action centered story. 

Star Trek Beyond

I helped direct this film both on set and from my bedroom, like the two before it and I absolutely love getting contacted to be a part of blockbuster feature films.It's truly beautiful to see how even the silliest ideas can be savored into something amazing.

Toy Story

A cowboy doll is profoundly threatened and jealous when a new spaceman figure supplants him as top toy in a boy's room.

Director:

 John Lasseter

Stars:

 Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles

This is a movie that helped shape my life, the chance to have a big part in something so groundbreaking really made me see the grind of creating the cutting edge animation Walt Disney Pictures is so famous for. Coupling this with NASA and PIXAR level engineering often sourced from corners of the globe completely ignored makes for something truly spectacular.Toy Story wasn't without it's problems, much like any business arguments over finance and responsibility and work plague the world but also serve to remind us that it can all be good fun to create something together even with a big group of people who like to work alone.

Ratatouille

A rat who can cook makes an unusual alliance with a young kitchen worker at a famous restaurant.

Sometimes I am so focused on looking at every little effect and beautiful thing going on in the movie I forget all about the story. I often see films of this scale before others and that at first seems really unfair but there are also millions of people who could read my reviews if I put them on my website but I refuse to clutter it except on rare occasions. I really care a lot for keeping the perfection Disney is famous for going whatever film studio I am working for. I started so many and abandoned them so they are not really mine. I was only trying to do what I do best which is form positive and competitive companies. Sometimes they are large scale tech companies with brilliant salaries other times they are small cafes where the cash in the till is pretty much backing someones life.

Zootopia

In a city of anthropomorphic animals, a rookie bunny cop and a cynical con artist fox must work together to uncover a conspiracy.

Some are saying it's all about racism which it is. I'd be lying to say I want to write about that. It's a topic often avoided in some vague effort to let the issue which lives on go away. Turns out Disney just made the biggest joke ever about Racism maybe a generation will take something away from it. I know I learnt plenty of lessons from the Disney classics all of which are easily ignored in the heat of the moment when someone, anyone does something stupid.

The Jungle Book (2016)

After a threat from the tiger Shere Khan forces him to flee the jungle, a man-cub named Mowgli embarks on a journey of self discovery with the help of panther, Bagheera, and free spirited bear, Baloo.

Director:

 Jon Favreau

Stars:

 Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley

As a artist making a living of VFX sometimes I am impressed by the sheer beauty the large teams can create. The process is so complex it goes well beyond money. I still try to understand the company and shareholder process but someone once taught me about empirical ownership so the owner is the one who buys the DVD. Modern distribution methods are almost just another last ditch effort to save an industry built on art or art built on an industry. I have always tried to see them co-exist like asking someone to dance for you may be viewed as wrong but sometimes dancing is what they love.

Gravity (2013)

A medical engineer and an astronaut work together to survive after an accident leaves them adrift in space.

Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris 

Designed carefully to strike fear into the heart of aspiring astronauts while simultaneously 
inspiring them to take bigger risks in life and ask for help to achieve their dreams.

Sing Street

A boy growing up in Dublin during the 1980s escapes his strained family life by starting a band to impress the mysterious girl he likes.


 Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Aidan Gillen, Maria Doyle Kennedy

Very good film that highlights the gritty reality of the depression in Ireland with barely a mention of potatoes. The story is made to look like a few kids could make an award winning level music video but the amount of talent that is hidden from the audiences view has been so prominent in my life for years.

Mr. Right

A girl falls for the "perfect" guy, who happens to have a very fatal flaw: he's a hitman on the run from the crime cartels who employ him.

 Anna Kendrick, Sam Rockwell, Tim Roth

I really enjoyed this movie, I thought the cold killer no remorse mixed with the pleasant kindness of the two leads really made for an interesting view into how humans feel.

Photo by Steve Dietl

Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)

Two decades after the first Independence Day invasion, Earth is faced with a new extra-Solar threat. But will mankind's new space defenses be enough?

 Liam Hemsworth, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman

I wasn't setting my expectations super high going to see this movie, but I really enjoyed the film. A real American symbol of fighting for humanities freedom.

Criminal

In a last-ditch effort to stop a diabolical plot, a dead CIA operative's memories, secrets, and skills are implanted into a death-row inmate in hopes that he will complete the operative's mission.

Kevin Costner, Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot |