"Anomalisa" stars David Thewlis, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Tom Noonan. Released on December 30, 2015, the film is about an author who perceives everyone as identical until he meets a unique woman at the hotel.

The film is directed by Duke Johnson and Charlie Kaufman, who also directed Synecdoche, New York. It is based on the 2005 play of the same name by Kaufman. Animation can be used in different ways. It can be used as a source of entertainment to delight little kids and their families or as an art form to express the film's storytelling, characters, and themes. That's where this unique film comes into play. Rarely we've seen animated films that are aimed towards adults, like 'South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut' for example, but we haven't seen an animated film that's filled with human drama. This film is one of the nominees for Best Animated Feature at this year's Oscars, competing with other films like Boy & the World, When Marnie Was There, and, my personal favorite to win, Inside Out. But the question is, does it really stand a chance against them?

The film offers only three actors to voice the characters. One of the characters is Michael Stone (voiced by Thewlis), a self-help author who travels to Cincinnati, Ohio to promote his new book about costumer service. The problem with him is that he's socially awkward and he always distances himself away from everyone, including his wife and son. The reason is that they all look and sound identical. That is until he meets a young woman named Lisa (voiced by Jennifer Jason Leigh). At first, having one actor (Noonan) voice everyone in the movie besides Michael and Lisa does seem a bit…off-putting, especially for other female characters. But as the film goes on, I can fully understand why. I think it's a way of showing that Michael sees everyone as the same person. With Lisa, he sees her as a person who is different than everyone else. That's basically what I thought based on what I saw. The animation was absolutely incredible from start to finish. Like I said before, animation can be used to express the film's storytelling, characters, and its themes. It brilliantly captures the emotion and the reality of these characters. It's pretty rare to see an animated film that acts and feels like a live-action independent film.

Of course, it's not a perfect animated film. The story was pretty simple and quite short, like 90 minutes. The first act does seem to drag a little bit, but the rest of the film does seem to pick up a little bit afterwards.
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Overall, with its brilliantly crafted animation, great voice work, and its use of adult themes, "Anomalisa" is an animated gem that works as an art form and as a piece of independent cinema. I would love to see more animated films like this, but as of now, this will have to do. If you're a fan of indie films or a fan of animation in general, I would highly recommend it to you if it's playing at a theatre near you.

"The Lady in the Van" stars Maggie Smith, Alex Jennings, Roger Allam, and Jim Broadbent. Released in the United Kingdom on November 13, 2015, the film is based on a true story about the relationship between Alan Bennett and Miss Mary Shepherd, who lives in her van on Bennett's driveway for 15 years.

The film is directed by Nicholas Hytner, who also directed films such as The Crucible, Center Stage, and The History Boys. While it's not considered an Oscar contender, it did receive a Golden Globe nomination for Smith's performance as Shepherd. Since I'm going to be busy reviewing the new releases and watching the Oscars this weekend, I thought I would give this unique film a watch and, to no surprise, it was actually quite good.

Pros:
The performances were remarkable. Maggie Smith was wonderful as Miss Shepherd.

Some of the comedic moments were spot on without being forced.

The screenplay was witty and charming.

Solid direction.

Cons:
A couple of scenes felt a bit slow.
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Final thoughts: It does have its slow moments, but "The Lady in the Van" makes up for it with Smith's lovable performance and its charming, yet sometimes bizarre, storytelling. If you're looking for a film that doesn't involve any violence, superheroes, or demonic creatures that kill people, I would say give this one a shot.

"Spotlight" stars Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, and Stanley Tucci. Released on November 6, 2015, the film follows a team of newspaper investigators and their investigations towards several cases of child sex abuse by numerous Roman Catholic priests.

The film is directed by Tom McCarthy, who also directed films such as The Station Agent, Win Win, and The Cobbler. It is based on actual stories about The Boston Globe's 'Spotlight' team. I've been waiting to watch this film ever since I heard such great things about it. It even got six Oscar nominations including Best Picture and Best Director for McCarthy. Before this film, I have no idea that this type of situation has been happening for a long time, mostly because I haven't been watching the news on television. I would have seen it sooner, but I didn't feel like traveling more than 20 miles to a different theater. Now that I finally got a chance to see it for myself, does it live up to its hype?

The film has plenty of noticeable actors such as Keaton and Ruffalo, and they delivered some really strong performances. Keaton was marvelous as Walter Robinson and Ruffalo delivered one of his best performances in his career as Michael Rezendes. Rachel McAdams definitely deserved an Oscar nomination for her realistic portrayal as Sacha Pfeiffer, one of the members of the Spotlight team. She looks, feels, and acts like a professional interviewer with flawless results. The direction in the film was very well-handled as it never lost track of its concept. McCarthy knows about the situation that has been happening for years and the way he tells it through the eyes of The Boston Globe was spot on. Another big highlight of the film was its screenplay. Out of all of the films I've seen that are nominated for Best Original Screenplay, this film's screenplay tops the others by a mile. Not only was it compelling and insightful, but also descriptive. The majority of the film consists of a lot of discussions from the Spotlight team and some interviews of the victims who had been sexually abused when they were children. It may seem boring to those who aren't into journalism, but to me, it's interesting. Their stories of what happened translates descriptively and mentally into my brain, and it made me feel bad for them. The film does feel a bit slow in the beginning, but as the film goes on, it started to get more and more engaging.
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Overall, "Spotlight" not only offers a spectacular example of journalism, but also a rich and compelling story about the shocking discovery through the eyes of the Boston Globe. With its strong performances, great sense of direction, and its descriptive screenplay that contains realism and depth, this film is one heck of a page-turner despite a couple of slow moments in the first act. It's worth recommending to those who are into journalism and to those who are familiar with its real life concept.