First of all, my God it’s been a long time.  My ideal plan was to write at least once a month.  That hasn’t been working out so well due to a plethora of other priorities in line.  In any case, life is life and we all must continue to write on.  And, for the sake of writing on, let’s touch base on something you all may already know that is near and dear to my heart – films.

It’s unfortunate that due to lack of free time I don’t watch as much film as I once did.  I no longer have the will to watch anything and everything, and my ability to the be attentive and study each film has become rusted and dull in the toolbox.  The result – my taste in film has greatly evolved and I’ve become highly selective and picky with what I choose to watch.  There’s several layers of security for a movie to be able to pass and get to my eyes, ears, and feels, and the the biggest one is (still) the director’s chair, and who’s name is on it.

While the Zemeckis, Chan-wooks, Nolans, Tarantinos, and Smiths of the world will always hold high spots on my shelf, there’s been a more recent and modern wave of film directors that possess my golden ticket.  If their name is on a poster then I’ve got to see what they’re putting together.  And the first name on this short list is Adam McKay.

McKay has the spotlight for this year’s Christmas Day opening for his latest film, Vice, starring the excruciatingly intense Christian Bale, who will be playing former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney.  Vice also reunites McKay and Bale, who’ve previously teamed up in The Big Short (2015) which happens to be a top 5 film of mine.  McKay has an obvious skill for comedy (Anchorman and Step Brothers), but his style for storytelling, pacing, and timing is what wins a ticket.  If it wasn’t for Avengers: Infinity War, McKay’s take on Cheney would have topped my 2018 list for my most anticipated film.  Speaking of Avengers –

The Russo brothers also hold two of my golden tickets.  The currently unknown title of Avengers 4 will likely be 2019’s biggest draw, closing the book on the first decade of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films that will (likely?) allow the fans to say goodbye to the original cast.  The MCU is not only a once in a lifetime experience in film – it’s the first of its kind in cinematic history.  While other studios struggle to replicate their intertwined universe, the Russos continue to evolve the MCU with their knack to flesh out painfully compelling antagonists, which eventually pushes the protagonist(s) to make the most difficult decisions.  Appealing villains combined with the fallibility of heroes tend to make the best cinema.  This has been apparent dating back to their initial entry – Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) – where many fans regard this as MCU’s greatest film.  Sadly, Avengers 4 could be their swan song from the MCU, but it may not get any bigger come May 2019.

If the answer ‘Studios that struggle to create their own superhero cinematic universe’ showed up Jeopardy, ‘Who is Warner Bros?’ would be smart reply.  In fact, bet the farm because you’ll be right – Warner has failed DC Comics and its extended universe as hard as I’ve failed at taking Anne Hathaway out on a date, which is every single day for the last 12 or so years since I saw Ella Enchanted.

They have one successful entry in Patty Jenkins’s Wonder Woman (fight me if you think there’s more than one right now).  And, speaking of betting farms,  I’m betting that James Wan’s Aquaman releasing in a few weeks will be not only a fun film, but a great film.

James Wan has a golden ticket, and no it’s not because of Furious 7, albeit a few creative action set pieces and one of the most heartfelt tributes at the end.  I have a love/hate relationship with paranormal horror films – I hate watching them, but if I do, I end up falling in love with its (sometimes true) mysteries and the efforts on how to both tell and shoot that story.  Wan’s The Conjuring was as much of a masterpiece as it was terrifying.  Combine his keen sense for suspense with filming action, Aquaman could completely alter the landscape and finally give DC something to look forward to and build upon.

Other notable directors with golden tickets include Lee Unkrich (Coco) Jordan Peele (Get Out), Paul Feig (Spy), aaaand whomever directed Bumblebee.  Looks like they finally decided to make a real Transformers movie.