Movie Date - Takeaway

Rafer and Kristen wrap up 2015 with their favorite films of the year. Rafer's List Inside Out Clouds of Sils Maria The Revenant Mad Max: Fury Road Amy In the Heart of the Sea The Stanford Prison Experiment Anomalisa When Marnie Was There The Tribe Kristen's List Room Grandma Spy The D.U.F.F. Mad Max: Fury Road Straight Outta Compton The Martian I Am Big Bird: The Carroll Spinney Story Trainwreck Joy Happy New Year and much love to all the Movie Daters out there, from Rafer and Kristen! 

There are seven big releases this Christmas 2015, and Rafer and Kristen review (almost) all of them.  On the chopping block: "Concussion," "Joy," "The Revenant," "Daddy's Home," "The Hateful Eight," "Where to Invade Next," and "Point Break."  Happy holidays, Movie Daters!

In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristne review "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," "Sisters," and "Coat of Many Colors. "The Force Awakens" is the latest installment in the "Star Wars" universe, and brings back many of characters from the original trilogy, including Han Solo, Captain (formerly Princess) Leia, Chewbacca, and Luke Skywalker.  "Sisters" stars comedy greats Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as two forty-something sisters reckoning with their parents' decision to sell their childhood home. And "Coat of Many Colors" is based on Dolly Parton's own story (told in her song of the same name) of growing up poor, and being ridiculed for the coat of rags that her mother sewed for her to keep her warm. All that, plus trivia!

In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen review "In the Heart of the Sea" (Ron Howard's new film based on a real story of a whaling expedition gone awry), "The Big Short" (Adam McKay's dramedy about the housing market crash in the U.S.), and "Lady in the Van" (based on a real story of woman who lived in a van, and parked that van in a man's driveway for fifteen years). They also weigh in on this year's Golden Globe nominations, including the snubs and the surprises. And, as always, there's trivia! 

In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen review "Youth" (a meditation on aging and creativity, starring Michael Cain and Harvey Keitel), "Chiraq" (Spike Lee's retelling of "Lysistrata"), "The Letters" (a biopic centering on Mother Theresa), and "Krampus" (a Christmas comedy-horror flick, starring Toni Colette and Adam Scott). They also review Aziz Ansari's new Netflix original series, "Master of None," for this week's Sweatpants segment. All that, plus trivia!