2020
2020
2018
FILM REVIEW SCORING GUIDE Making a film is a challenging and demanding process, and I will watch anything to support a fellow filmmaker. But just because I watched it doesn’t mean it was good or could have used more work. DRINK Every film reviewed will be given a drink recommendation (for those over 21) of what adult beverage to consume with the film. These will try to be witty, but will always have a tie in to the film. SCORE: On a scale from 1 to 10, rarely will a film be a 10 or 1. 1 - Camera was on (and maybe the sound equipement) but beyond that not much else was done. 2 - You figured out basic editing, but not much else. 3 - Watchable, but barely, and somehow got funded. 4 - Getting better, but still has a long way to go. 5 - Technically or story competent film, but not both. 6 - Understands filmmaking, but needs lots of refinement. 7 - A good film that has a few Major issues. 8 - A good film with many minor issues. 9 - Nearly perfect film, only a few minor issues. 10 - A perfect film, only comes once every few years. THEATER/STREAM/FORGET: THEATER: Movie is worth giving your money to and/or would not have nearly the impact on a small screen. STREAM: Two categories; TV or PHONE. Streaming to TV means it was good, and should be watched, but not good enough for a theater viewing. PHONE is worth watching, but not paying full attention to. FORGET: This movie is not worth watching, unless you have nothing else to do or want an example of bad film.
2020
The Empty Man / The Kid Detective / TENET / Shortcut / Honest Thief / Cut Throat City / Beneath Us / The New Mutants / The Personal History of David Copperfield / Unhinged / The Invisible Man / Sonic the hedgehog / The Lodge / 1917 / The Rhythm Section / Gretel and Hansel / Uncut Gems / The Turning / The Gentlemen / Underwater / Bad Boys for Life
Posted: 29-OCT-2020
I couldn’t tell you why this movie was as long as it was, really 45 to 50 minutes of it could have been cut to make a more streamlined film. Why nothing was wrong with it, it didn’t really do anything besides maybe set up a possible film franchise.
The mix of supernatural and realistic cult was interesting and I wished the movie focused more on that than the protagonist. The second half of the film did this, and was a much better film than the first half.
Lastly, there is a bit of drinking in this film, and in one scene they were clearly drinking apple juice (or something similar) because the “whiskey” was foaming and bubbly, something that whiskey doesn’t do. It was a minor thing, but ruined what was supposed to be a pretty emotional scene for me.
Score: 6/10
Drink: Somehow Foamy Whiskey
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
Posted: 28-OCT-2020
This movie was an interesting mix of “Don’t Breathe“ and “Brick”, taking what felt like major plot points from each without really understanding why. Visually it had some interesting shots, but nothing to write home about. The comedy parts were decent, but again not outstanding. The acting was again good, but not outstanding. I guess what I am trying to say is it did everything right, but nothing amazing.
Pacing was a bit of an issue, where the beginning and end were really well done, but the middle was just so slow.
Now that I am done bashing the film, I did overall find myself liking it, and it is one of the better films to come out during the “re-opening” of theaters during the pandemic. SO… of the films in theater, go see this one and support the theaters. If you are reading this in a few years or (hopefully) after things have settled into the new normal, it is a decent watch, but I wouldn’t go out of the way for it.
Score: 7/10
Drink: Old Timey Grape Soda
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (TV)
Posted: 27-OCT-2020
I was expecting more from Nolan, this film felt like a 15 minute college project stretched over 2 hours. The idea of the film was really cool, but the execution was lacking. The action pieces were okay, with the big plane crash feeling somehow more fake than CGI even though it was real. I think this may be the compression from IMAX to Dolby Cinema screen ( I saw this in a Dolby Cinema Screen), which gave everything a fake plasticky feel, and made motion just feel off. I find that anything filmed on IMAX looks great on IMAX, but looks pretty bad when converted to any other format.
Now on the main problem - the sound. It was painful to watch. People literally walked out of the movie after 15 minutes, complaining of the noise. I personally thought it was something wrong with the theater as the movie started. I know Nolan wants people to see this in the best theater possible, but to protect your ears, it may be better to watch it in the worst theater or put in ear plugs (yeah it was that bad).
So for a movie that was supposed to save theaters, this really didn’t accomplish its mission, but instead showed that sometimes checks and balances need to be in place, even on great directors.
Lastly, this was just a Christopher Nolan film, and wasn’t co-written with his brother Jonathan Nolan. This lack of co-writing is probably what hurt this film, as Nolan’s best work is when he and his brother work together.
Score: 6/10
Drink: Ginger Ale
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (TV)
Posted: 26-OCT-2020
This movie really didn’t know what it wanted to be, and because of that, failed at being anything. The actors were trying their hardest, but the script they were given didn’t help.
Visually nothing was wrong with the first half of this film, but seemed to almost get lazy at the end. Speaking of the end, it was awful, and it seemed like the kids barely had to try to survive and defeat the monster.
Watch this if you are a massive horror fan, otherwise, skip it.
Score: 5/10
Drink: Cheap booze found in a tunnel
Theater/Stream/Forget: Forget
Posted: 22-OCT-2020
Liam Neeson really has found a niche’ market for himself after “Taken”, and it is sad to see such a great actor reduced to playing the same role over and over again. This film, while not much of one, was a predictable and boring watch, that had me checking how much time was left way more often than action film had the right to.
Speaking of action, that may be the one saving grace of this film, the gun fights and small hand-to-hand sections were decent, but nothing to write home about. It was kind of cool to see the people have to reload and not have unlimited bullets, but that little highlight is not enough to save a movie.
Visually, while there was nothing wrong, there was nothing special either, with almost no interesting or creative camera work in the entire movie.
So… as this film comes out during the pandemic, I would say skip it, but as it is one of the few films in theaters right now, go see it. Not to support this film, but to support the movie theaters.
Score: 5/10
Drink: Cheap Champagne straight from the bottle
Theater/Stream/Forget: Forget
Posted: 31-AUG-2020
This was a great little film, portraying the issues of those left behind by the government in New Orleans. While it was a lower budget film, it had a great cast that really sold their parts. The plot, while a bit overdone, was a nice mix of drama and robbery movie.
The only real issue I had were the bad guys were just bad guys, they didn’t have anything that redeemed them, making for a bit of a one sided movie.
Score: 7/10
Drink: Jack Daniels straight from the bottle
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (TV)
Posted: 31-AUG-2020
I saw this right before the lockdown went into place, and I forgot to write a review. This was a decent low budget film with half the cast being believable and the two “evil” characters that were a very odd couple. Worth a watch on an airplane, and as a good example of how to utilize one location, but otherwise skippable.
Score: 4/10
Drink: Spiked Sun Tea
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
Posted: 31-AUG-2020
This movie should have stayed as “in-production” and been forgotten. It was slow, boring, and the best parts were the 5 seconds of flashbacks to LOGAN. A complete rewrite of this script was needed, though the cast was filled with good actors and actresses, they were under-utilized and forced to deliver awful dialogue.
Hopefully this movie is wiped from canon and is replaced with a movie this series deserves.
Score: 4/10
Drink: Super Strong Vodka
Theater/Stream/Forget: Forget
Posted: 31-AUG-2020
Unless you are a huge Charles Dickens fan, this star studded film is one mess of a skippable movie. The passing is all over the place, the line delivery was near unintelligible, and most scenes felt like the cast showed up that day, learned some lines and blocking and filmed it all in one take, not caring how it turned out.
The set pieces were nice, and visually it did an okay job, though many of the scenes did feel like they were taping a play, not a movie. I mostly just found it boring, which is sad because it is a great story, but what was dragged out over two hours probably could have been done in 45 minutes or less.
Check this movie out if you are stuck on an airplane and have watched everything else, otherwise skip it.
Score: 5/10
Drink: Port Wine hidden in a globe
Theater/Stream/Forget: Forget
Posted: 31-AUG-2020
While this movie was a fun return to theaters, I would have bombed if it wasn’t the only thing playing. Russell Crowe does make for an excellent “bad guy”, but so much of this movie came down to people just being stupid.
The “fight” scenes did a great job of making you feel every hit and impact, though most characters shrugged off the damage in the next scene.
This is a good “escape” movie, but really it is a B-movie with a higher end cast and huge budget for wrecking cars.
Score: 7/10
Drink: Gas station liquor kept in your car
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (TV)
Posted: 4-MAR-2020
This film, while pretty boring in the beginning of the film, pulled everything together in a somewhat predictable but entertaining way. It had good jump scares, a great use of sound to create fear and a good cast that sold their roles. Elisabeth Moss was great, and the amount of emotional range she had to use was very impressive. It was good to see that Storm Reid is getting film roles after the (not her fault, she was doing the best she could with the film) dumpster fire that was “A wrinkle in time”.
The special effects were impressive and the amount of long takes with “invisible” interaction made you scratch your head on how they did it. This is especially impressive for a plate breaking scene where the character is picking up plates and breaking them over someone who isn’t there. The area that the graphics failed was the every opening credits with digital waves. They just didn’t look right and were very distracting.
Plot wise this film wasn’t much to write home about, but it was simple enough that you bought into it. The biggest plot-whole was the hiding spot in the house that the women used to hide items from her husband. It was very obvious and considering how much he knew about her, he would have known about the hiding spot.
The thing that made me scratch my head and took me out of the movie was the food that the bad guy served to his pregnant ex-wife. He, being obsessed and a control freak, was giving her sushi and undercooked meats, something that isn’t good for the baby. Also the food, that they never actually ended up eating, kept moving around the plate.
I did overall like this film, it needed another pass through the writing room, but it was entertaining.
Score: 7/10
Drink: High end champagne while standing by a ladder
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (TV)
Posted: 25-FEB-2020
I will admit I never really played Sonic, so I have no attachment to the character or the storylines from the games. The overall feel of this movie was finding your true value and friendship film from the 90’s, and while it worked for this movie, wasn’t anything exciting. It was well put together, had pretty good graphics, and the plot flowed well; which is better than a lot of films being released as of late. The movie did suffer from a weak voicing by Ben Schwartz as Sonic, as he just didn’t work for the role, being a 30+ year old man playing a child. Tika Sumpter and James Marsden played well off each other, and were fun to watch.
Jim Carey went and dug deep into the Ace Ventura acting box and brought out an interesting, if not a bit annoying, Dr. Robotnik. His mustache was the most annoying thing, and draws your eyes to it instead of the rest of the scene.<
This movie is worth watching if you have young kids, were a Sonic fan, or are stuck on an airplane and have nothing else to watch. And while it will most likely get a sequel, it really didn’t earn it, just happened to open on a slow weekend allowing it to take first place.
I can’t help but want this film to be remade as a rated-R horror film, (much like “The Boys” did for super hero team up movies or “Brightburn” for superman) which would have been more interesting to watch. One can dream.
Score: 6/10
Drink: Unlabeled beer during a bar fight
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
Posted: 24-FEB-2020
I left the theater with very mixed feelings on this film. I loved the idea of it, but the filming style and execution bothered me. I went in wanting to love it, and while I left with my emotions high, I wanted so much more from it. Way too many super tight close ups and a boring color grade really took me out of the film. The main problem for me was the unbelievability of the plot. The situation that the father allowed to happen was so far fetched that it was almost as if he wanted horrible things to happen to his children. If you like slow burn, religious cult movies, watch this but it is not for everyone and it is painfully slow at times.
SPOILERS!!
As I said above, the father was what ruined this film. He put his children in a place with someone they blamed for the death of their mother, while giving that person access to firearms. The women he was dating/going to marry was the only survivor of a cult, and on meds to keep her from going crazy. The pills disappear a few days into the movie, because ***MAJOR SPOILER*** the kids planned to drive her crazy and hide everything in the house to make her think she was in Purgatory. The Dad didn’t seem to know she was on the drugs, but he never seemed to ask about her mental state either. This was compounded by him giving her sole access to the handgun in the house, of which she expertly knew how to use. Between the multi-day blizzard and not being able to reach his fiancé for multiple days, most Dad’s would drive out to check on them, not just wait till it was way too late. He really should have had his children taken from him for being one of the least aware and intelligent fathers in film history.
I enjoyed the cult aspect of the movie, and that the women did want/tried to be part of the family, until the children took her pills and drove her to madness. The kids do make you question if you can or should trust children, along with highlighting the evil that a child is capable of. The evil and anger is highlighted but somehow they still make you feel sorry for the children. The music, while very minimal, worked for the movie, but may not be liked by many people. The movie did ruin the plot by giving too many things away too early in the movie, and could have been a lot deeper if it had revealed later in the film the kids involvement.
The following items were odd, but didn’t really affect the plot. The kids shared a room in the giant cabin, even when the attic was empty, which worked for the movie but was very odd. There was an early scene where they are celebrating Thanksgiving and the meal and decorations were just strange. This probably comes from a non-US director making up traditions for an American Family. The giant plastic hanging cooked turkeys were off putting and awkward, and made you focus on them rather than the story. Lastly the houses were very European, even though this was taking place in the United States.
The last bit that really bothered me was the cabin was in the middle of nowhere, and was rarely used but somehow had a room full of watered and living plants. I don’t know how they were alive, being the house was not heated until the family arrived and it seemed like they only went up there once or twice a year.
I hope someone remakes this movie, fixing the problems; delivering a film that is as good as the base idea this one failed to live up to.
Score: 5/10
Drink: Hot coco with sleeping pills
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
Posted: 21-FEB-2020
While this movie makes you feel and question how you would react in a situation. Beyond that, it was a feature length film that got a big star to be in it, but really should have a been a 15 minute short film, not dragged out feature film.
Score: 5/10
Drink: Over priced ski resort beers
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
Posted: 21-FEB-2020
Extremely well acted film, one that made you believe in the characters. Laura Dern is always great, and I love her in anything she is in. A very good one time watch, and a good example of a character driven film making, but not for everyone.
Score: 8/10
Drink: Wine and brandy
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (TV)
Posted: 21-FEB-2020
I had high hopes for this, and while better than suicide squad, this movie just lacked the spark to make it great. The acting was good, but it felt like it ripped a lot off of “Dead Pool”, in all areas including acting, story, editing and delivery. This sadly would have been a better movie if it focused much less on Harley Quinn and flushed out the other women’s stories, as all of them were more interesting. This movie came out too late and didn’t deliver the quality level of writing and story that was needed to save it.
DC, I don’t know why you make so many poorly done comic book movies, you can do better and you have a great lineup of characters that you keep ruining.
Score: 6/10
Drink: Fluorescent drinks from a corner restaurant
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
Posted: 21-FEB-2020
A fun pop-corn movie, but that is about it. It is a great “airplane” movie if you don’t know what else to watch while stuck on a flight. Not a bad film, but nothing really special either.
Score: 6/10
Drink: Mixed drinks with fruit and dirty water
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
Posted: 19-FEB-2020
A fun pop-corn movie, but that is about it. It is a great “airplane” movie if you don’t know what else to watch while stuck on a flight. Not a bad film, but nothing really special either.
Score: 9/10
Drink: Secret whiskey flask you shouldn’t have
Theater/Stream/Forget: Theater
Posted: 19-FEB-2020
I wanted to like this film, and the trailer was amazing, but it just didn’t live up to the expectations. The story was ok, the action was somehow pretty boring and while they really wanted you to care about the lead, you just didn’t. There were some really impressive one-shot takes, and good locations, but overall this movie needed a few more rounds through the writer’s room to make it what it should have been. This movie really should have come out in 2003 or 2004, and played off of those times emotions, but it is a bit late now.
Score: 6/10
Drink: Fancy Red Wine
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
Posted: 19-FEB-2020
While this movie had amazing individual shots and visuals throughout, as a overall movie it just failed to engage. Like many of the post-Oscar season movies this one needed more pre-production work to really come together. It felt like the producers were trying to rush it because they got the girl from “IT” and they wanted to capitalize on her fame. This movie was a short film idea that was stretched out to a feature and really didn’t need to be.
Score: 6/10
Drink: Creepy drinks in small fancy wine glasses
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
Posted: 27-JAN-2020
While I didn’t really enjoy this film, and found the acting and editing to be kind of annoying, I appreciate it for what it was. Seeing Adam Sandler in this type of role was interesting, but you really start to hate his character by the end. This film is going to be awards gold, but just wasn’t for me.
Score: 7/10
Drink: Mixed drinks and red wine
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (TV)
Posted: 27-JAN-2020
A really cool idea that was poorly executed. The movie stopped when most would be at their half-way point and really really needed to be flushed out more. From a technical standpoint it was well filmed and took advantage of the great locations. I do feel this film was like “we got Finn Wolfhard, we don’t really need to do anything else, people will see this” and because of that they didn’t take the proper time to write a better story.
Score: 4/10
Drink: Anything to help you forget this film
Theater/Stream/Forget: Forget
Posted: 27-JAN-2020
This was a very fun gangster action film, and a pleasure to watch. The characters were fun and fleshed out, if a bit over the top, and the story was very twisty, but a somewhat stock twisty. Well worth seeing, and very much so if you like films like “Snatch” and “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels”.
Score: 8/10
Drink: High end scotch and tea
Theater/Stream/Forget: Theater
Posted: 27-JAN-2020
An ok movie with a good visual effects budget. Kirsten Stewart has one of her best performances of her life, just wish it was in a better movie. The plot is pretty basic, and the monsters are very inconsistent on their threat level. The cast really bought into their roles, which was fun, but it wasn’t enough to save this film.
Score: 6/10
Drink: Secret home brew
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
Posted: 27-JAN-2020
While not an award winning film, it was a fun watch, and had tons of great call backs to the first two. If you are a “Bad Boys” fan or a Will Smith fan, go see this. Otherwise wait until it comes out on a streaming service.
Score: 7/10
Drink: Heineken Beer
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (TV)
Bombshell / CATS / Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker / Jumanji: The next Level / Richard Jewell / Black Christmas / A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood / The Good Liar / Dark Waters / Bridges / Knives out / Charlies Angels / Ford V Ferrari / Harriet / Honey Boy / Midway / Terminator: Dark Fate / The Lighthouse / Jojo Rabbitt / Countdown / Black and Blue / Parasite / Zombieland: Double Tap / The last few weeks... / IT Chapter Two (2019) / Ready or Not (2019) / Blinded by the Light (2019) / Where'd you go Bernadette? (2019) / Good Boys (2019) / Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark (2019) / The Kitchen (2019) / Hobbs and Shaw (2019) / The Art of Self-Defense (2019) / Stuber (2019) / Crawl (2019) / Annabelle comes home (2019) / Spiderman: Far from Home (2019) / Yesterday (2019) / Late Night (2019 / Anna (2019) / Child's Play (2019) / 5B (2019) / The Dead Don't Die (2019) / Shaft (2019) / Aladdin (2019) / Rocketman (2019) / BrightBurn (2019) / Dark Phoenix (2019) / Godzilla (2019) / John Wick 3: Parabellum (2019) / Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019) / MA (2019) / The Biggest Little Farm (2019) / BookSmart (2019) / Hotel Mumbai (2019) / The Hustle (2019) / Tolkien (2019) / Avengers: Endgame (2019) / Shazam! (2019) / The Long Shot (2019) / The Intruder (2019) / The Curse of La Llorona (2019) / Captain Marvel (2019) / Alita: Battle Angel (2019) / Stockholm (2019) / Teen Spirit (2019) / The Mustang (2019) / Hellboy (2019) / Mary Poppins Returns (2019) / The Prodigy (2019) / Pet Cemetery (2019) / The Best of Enemies (2019) / The Beach Bum (2019) / The Kid Who Would Be King (2019) / Glass (2019) / Us (2019) / Captive State (2019) / Five Feet Apart (2019) / Happy Death Day 2U (2019) / Bumblebee (2018) / Welcome to Marwen (2019) / Escape Room (2019) / Mortal Engines! (2019) / Instant Family (2019) / Hunter/Killer(2019) / The Upside (2019) / Mid90's (2019) / Halloween (2019) Replicas (2019)
2019
Posted: 29-DEC-2019
So this movie confirmed two film related things for me. One: Kate McKinnon is awesome in any role she takes, and two: some actors/actresses should stay actors and actresses and not direct.
This is an outstanding telling of historical events, with amazing acting and performances. The filming style was very documentary, which was good at some points and kind of annoying at others. The pacing was also a bit off at points, but nothing to bad, and the movie knew to keep its self under two hours.
I do hope people see this film, as it has great lessons on doing what is right and not believing because you have power you can do what you want. But sadly, I don’t think the people that actually need to watch this are going to.
Score: 8/10
Drink: White Wine
Theater/Stream/Forget: Theater
Posted: 27-DEC-2019
How this got made, and how the director tricked so many talented people into making it is a wonder unto itself. With little plot, poorly done graphics, awful audio mixing, and truly poor editing, there is no reason this movie should have been made, let alone shown to the public.
Score: 3/10
Drink: Spiked milk
Theater/Stream/Forget: Forget
Posted: 27-DEC-2019
Well… it was a Star Wars movie, but one that was trying to put out the dumpster fire of the film before it, while dealing with the death of one of its leads. The result was a rushed boring story that didn’t need to be told. It took very few risks, and the ones it did take were taken back in the next scenes. The action scenes weren’t impressive, and the end space battle felt like it was made by a kid in his basement with the paste and clone tool. If you want decent space battles go back and watch the prequel trilogy or Rogue one. The light saber fights were basically 2 kids swinging sticks at each other, and were painful to watch.
Why they felt they needed to introduce so many new characters this late in the series, who have very little purpose or story is beyond me. This is compounded by a lack of finishing the stories from the last two movies, and just strong-arming some characters; sorry Rose maybe one day your will get your story told.
On a positive note, this one did have some of the best acting by the leads. With that being said, it lacked any emotion or caring throughout the film, making for a pretty dull 2 hours of movie. Hopefully Disney can fix their Star Wars movies, but until then there is the Mandalorian to watch (and a ton of fan films that are as good or better than the “Rise of Skywalker”)
Score: 5/10
Drink: Space liquor
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
Posted: 27-DEC-2019
It was great to see a follow-on movie that got the entire cast back, and then integrated a new set of people so well. While following many of the same beats and themes from the previous movie, this one kept things interesting if not a bit predictable. The thing this movie feared to do was to let someone actually run out of lives in the game, which would have been interesting to see how everyone handled it.
The two stand out actors were Danny Diveto, was basically playing Frank Reynolds but without the swearing and drugs; and the other being Awkwafina. She is impressive in everything she has done, and really commits to her roles. Glad to see she is getting jobs in main stream movies.
A solid follow-on movie, that sets up for another movie, while nicely wrapping up the plot from this one, in an almost back to the future feeling way.
Score: 8/10
Drink: Beer in dirty stein
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (TV)
Posted: 16-DEC-2019
Clint Eastwood always makes engaging movies, and while not as good as “Changeling” or “Gran Torino”, this one doesn’t disappoint. The movie does a decent job of making Jewell seem odd enough that you are questioning everything during the first half of the movie, and then feeling bad for him for the rest of it. The main technical issue was that the Cinematographer was a mouth focuser vs an eye focuser, which is a major pet peeve of mine.
The stand out role was Nadya, played by Nina Arianda, really sold her role and added a nice touch of comedy, while setting a strong morale ground for everyone else.
Score: 8/10
Drink: Almost red colored mixed whiskey drink
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (TV)
Posted: 16-DEC-2019
This movie really needed a better fight choreographer. I know this wasn’t a major focal-point of the movie, but it was so bad at points that all logic and flow in the scenes were lost. With that gripe out of the way, this film is better than the IMDB score is giving it. It is a very strong pro-feminism movie, made for a specific audience, but also trying to send a message that women should be believed if that come forward with an allegation. Lastly, if this movie has taught me anything, leave early for winter break and I won’t be murdered.
If you like horror and Christmas films go see this, otherwise there are better films in both categories.
Score: 6/10
Drink: College beer from a frat party
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
Posted: 13-DEC-2019
So pretty much any movie with Tom Hanks in it is going to be good, and this one was for the parts he was in. This somewhat disjointed movie felt like it was a script about a guy and his dad, but then to be marketable the Mr. Rogers sub-plot was tacked on. Susan Kelechi Watson was great in her role and honestly more of her side of things would have been good for the movie.
Mostly this movie suffered from being slow, kind of boring, and besides Mr. Rogers being added in, a way over told story with no plot twists or surprises. If you have seen the trailer, you basically got all the good parts of this movie, and will save yourself a lot of time.
Go see “Won’t you be my neighbor?” instead, it was a great film and is actually what you wanted to see going into this movie.
Score: 6/10
Drink: Whiskey with your dad
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
Posted: 13-DEC-2019
While an expertly acted movie, the amount of telegraphing and revealing plot points early ruined this movie. Helen Mirren’s character was meant to be the mark the whole movie, but for the opening credits you knew she was also up to something. Visually decent, but no risks were taken with this movie, and it even made fun of much better movies in a sad attempt to pander to the elderly.
The bones of a good movie where there, but the editing and pace destroyed those bones and left a very bored audience behind.
Score: 6/10
Drink: Generic white wine
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
Posted: 11-DEC-2019
There is some truth in that an ignorant person is a happy person. This movie really opens the eyes of the viewer to the greed and craziness that a company will do for a product. While a slow film, it engaged the audience, especially every time a person drank water. I have also never gone home and looked through my cooking equipment as much as I did after this film to see if I was being poisoned.
The very end of the movie hits home hard and lets you know that you and everyone you know is affected by this film’s issue.
Score: 8/10
Drink: Mai-Tai
Theater/Stream/Forget: Theater
Posted: 9-DEC-2019
If you want a some-what interesting cop chase movie, with “Black Panther” being a super cop, go see this. Chadwick Boseman did feel throughout this movie as he was just on assignment from Wakanda to be cop and help the city of New York. It has a good cast, cool shots and locations, but had the most visually interesting fight scene at the very beginning. The ending was good, but not really needed.
Score: 7/10
Drink: Over priced club drinks
Theater/Stream/Forget: Theater
Posted: 9-DEC-2019
Good comeback from Rian Johnson, but not as good as his earlier film “Brick”. It was also about 20-to-30 minutes to long, and just shoves information down the audience’s throat at the end. It felt like a modern version of “Clue” with an all-star cast, which is not a bad thing, as I loved the old “Clue” movie as a kid. Not much if any re-watchability with this film.
Score: 7/10
Drink: Scotch from the family bar
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (TV)
Posted: 9-DEC-2019
This movie had a great cast, and a ton of potential, it just needed a stronger story and better action scenes. Kristen Stewart was the stand out star, getting a role that really worked for her. As I said earlier, the plot was the problem, being predictable and kind of boring. A better plot would have been a female “Bossley’ (which was cool that it was a rank not a name) was leading her team and competing with Patrick Stewart’s company of male agents and doing a much better job. I was really hoping it was going to be a better movie, but may if they get a sequel it will be.
Score: 6/10
Drink: Drinks from a fancy ice sculpture bar
Theater/Stream/Forget: Forget
Posted: 9-DEC-2019
A good sports movie isn’t about the sport, but the people, and this film does that. The acting was great, story was fleshed out, and on top of that the racing was good. It could have used a bit more sound design, and did lack the visual and audio impact of “RUSH”. On a minor note, Noah Jube, who just came off of a fantastic role in “Honey Boy” is a great actor when he uses his American accent, but somehow isn’t when using his natural English one.
Score: 8/10
Drink: Beer in a cheap cooler
Theater/Stream/Forget: Theater
Posted: 9-DEC-2019
A great story that should have been given a bigger budget. American schools always mention Harriet but never really tell her story, and this film does a great job finally showing what she accomplished. Go see this movie, her story needs to be told.
Score: 8/10
Drink: Wine in a fancy small glass
Theater/Stream/Forget: Theater
Posted: 9-DEC-2019
Shia LeBeouf did fantastic work with this semi-auto biography. The acting was on point and brutal from all 3 of the leads. The only real complaint I had was the focus puller was not very good at their job, with many shots out of focus.
Score: 9/10
Drink: Cheap beer and cigarettes
Theater/Stream/Forget: Theater
Posted: 14-NOV-2019
Remaking a classic film, especially one that has such a strong tie to history is a very risky thing to do. This film, with a few minor issues, did a great job doing so. By focusing on a few people in the overall war it makes the audience care more, while still showing the horrors of war. This was also really drove home by the use of young actors to show that 18 year olds were going through these horrific times. The scene in the hospital after the Pearl Harbor attack really cemented the human cost to the war.
The only real issue I had with the film was some of VFX shots needed a bit more work, having an overly fluid look to things. Also the movie “Pearl Harbor” did a better job of showing the impacts and falling bombs, along with the visuals/feeling of explosions, kind of having a low budget war film feel to it, similar to “Red Tails”. The sound design was also a bit lacking, with the theater feeling empty much of the time. Lastly, from a military customs standpoint, the officers club would not have a bunch of enlisted people dancing in it, they had their own club for that.
It was cool to see it with a bunch of veterans and to hear all the conversations afterwards. Worth a watch, and it will definitely be shown in every high school history class for years to come.
Score: 8/10
Drink: Whiskey in a flask you shouldn’t have
Theater/Stream/Forget: Theater
Posted: 14-NOV-2019
I don’t know why this movie felt it had to shit all over Terminator 2, then go and tell the same story nearly beat for beat. The visuals were good, action was ok, but the characters were pretty flat. It is like the movie forgot what a bad-ass Linda Hamilton is and took away the depth that made her the action icon she was.
If this film is on tv for free it is worth a watch, but it doesn’t add anything to the Terminator universe.
Score: 6/10
Drink: Beer with a lime
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
Posted: 4-NOV-2019
Why would William Defoe would take this role? His acting was great (along with Robert Patterson) but the rest of this film was just an Oscar grab that bored the entire theater. This felt like a college graduates first film stretched from 10 minutes to almost 2 hours with no extra content added. The 4:3 aspect ratio was distracting, but the black and white was a good choice. From a technical standpoint, the editing and filming were good, but the audio was lacking with hard to hear dialogue. I don’t mean hard to understand, but actually hard to hear. It is sad to see a director go from “the Witch” to this film, hopefully they get another one.
Score: 4/10
Drink: Bottle of booze dug up from hiding
Theater/Stream/Forget: Forget
Posted: 4-NOV-2019
Taika Waititi created an amazing heart felt film, with character (though much of the style was stolen from Wes Anderson) and multi-dimensional characters that you believed and cared for. While JoJo was the lead and did a fantastic job, especially as a first time actor, Scarlett Johansson really stole the screen and gave one of the best performances of her life. Sam Rockwell’s character’s arc was especially interesting and well played out.
Great story of growth and understanding, and using a setting of great evil really showed the humanity of those that resisted during those times.
Of a funny note, in the credits there are “child stunt performers”, which raised the question are they stunt performers for children or children that are stunt performers?
Please go see this film, it is well worth your time.
Score: 9/10
Drink: War time wine
Theater/Stream/Forget: Theater
Posted: 28-OCT-2019
Following a pretty standard horror film plot layout, that for some reason couldn’t think of anything but a nurse for the lead female. The idea behind the app and the actual execution in the movie weren’t bad, but mostly boring. It had a few decent jump scares but most were very very predictable.
This movie really felt like you were watching a movie, that had some really good shots, but others that really lacked. The demon in this was actually one of the better visually done ones, not enough to save the film, but was one of the good points. There were also some bigger name actors as background characters, which would have been nice to seem be the leads.
I say watch it if you’ve seen every other horror film and need something on Halloween, but otherwise not worth the time.
Score: 5/10
Drink: Everybody’s drink in red solo cup
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
I was pretty entertained by this cop drama/action film, even if it followed nearly ever cliché of the genre. The use of race to propel the story and try to get people to see people as people was well done, and the opener really set the stage for the movie. Naomie Harris was excellent in her role, really making you feel for her, I just wish they didn’t have her be the “rookie” like so many films and video games do. Her role would have been more compelling if she was a long term cop known for not always taking the cop’s side.
Tyrese Gibson escaped the Fast and the Furious for a bit and got to do some real acting, and did a damn good job at it. I really hope he takes on more serious roles in the future.
The audience was loving this film, and it seemed the movie was evening editing to allow for clapping and cheering at points.
My main complaint for this film was it felt like an outsider was writing it. And after I looked up the writer, he is a middle age white guy, writing a story about a young black women. A writer who lived more of this kind of story would have done better with it. Second complaint would be the SWAT/SRT scenes where pretty oddly filmed and executed. It felt like they didn’t even ask the cops for training on how to make it look real. Last problem was the lighting, this was the most grainy underlit film I have seen come to a theater in a long time. And it was made worse with some scenes being well lit and not-grainy in one angle and then horribly grainy in the other angle, jumping back and forth. Lastly, the purple color grade was a bit strong and distracting.
With all that said, go see this film, it is worth the watch.
Score: 7/10
Drink: Cheap beer from the local shop
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (TV)
I really enjoyed this dark and twisted Korean film. I must admit I have a soft spot for Korean Horror/Thriller movies after living in Seoul for 2 years. This movie did an awesome job of using a few but contrasting locations, along with putting you in the emotional state of the main family. Visually the movie was stunning, but very grounded. For the first time in a long time in the theaters, I didn’t find myself checking my watch, but rather wanting the film to keep going, and to be longer than its 2hr 20min run time.
Besides some incidences of “there is no way a human could survive those injures” this movie was amazing and makes you want to go home and evaluate everyone you know and check your entire house.
If this is playing in your area, or if you can rent/buy it, do so and enjoy this film.
Score: 9/10
Drink: Soju
Theater/Stream/Forget: Theater
While not as good as the first film, this does have some laughs and decent new characters who held their own. What this movie did lack was better zombie kills. They tried to make a big deal about “zombie kill of the year”, but at best their kills felt like “kill of the hour” They also introduced items into the plot via narration that didn’t go anywhere, such as the stealth zombie.
Overall if you enjoyed the first film you will like this one, but as you are watching it realize that it is a cash grab. A decent cash grab, but nonetheless a cash grab.
Score: 7/10
Drink: Whiskey at a themed bar
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
Over the last few weeks, I have not been writing due to a new job. Having still watched many films in that time, here are the scores and recommendations for the ones I have seen.
Score: 6/10
Drink: Brown liquor from the bottle
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
Score: 6/10
Drink: Mixed drinks from the home bar
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
Score: 6/10
Drink: Product placement beer
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
Score: 5/10
Drink: Whiskey, but cheap
Theater/Stream/Forget: Forget
Score: 6/10
Drink: Fun martini’s
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
Score: 8/10
Drink: Moonshine, lots of it
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (TV)
Score: 6/10
Drink: Hard alcohol that you take from your parents
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
Score: 7/10
Drink: Over priced strip club drinks
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (TV)
Score: 5/10
Drink: Fruity cocktail and a ice cream cone
Theater/Stream/Forget: Forget
Score: 5/10
Drink: Space wine
Theater/Stream/Forget: Forget
Score: 7/10
Drink: Cheap depressing beer
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (TV)
Score: 6/10
Drink: Beers after a kickball game
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
This movie doesn’t hold up against chapter 1.
The story was not as well told, the flashbacks were pretty poorly done, mostly due to bad CGI de-aging of the kids, and the acting felt phoned in by most of the cast. Speaking of de-ageing, this was really poorly done, with their faces just looking overly smooth and their voices all sped up to match their younger octaves. Warner Brothers, you are not Marvel when it comes to this skill. These movies should have been filmed at the same time to keep the tone consistent. The visuals and locations felt like sets, and had much more of a fake feel than the previous film. Speaking of visuals, Ben went from being an overweight blonde boy to a skinny black haired man. I didn’t know that losing weight could cause your hair to change colors.
The fear the children went through just didn’t translate to their adult selves. This was also hurt by the constant undercutting of any deep or crazy moments with jokes and bad music choices. IT did have some decent jump scares, but there was never any real tension. Stanley's death in the book, along with many of the plots, was much better explained and didn’t make suicide seem like a good thing to do.
Lastly, the film was much too long for its own good, making you question why it is still going and why they made two films instead of one, especially with most of true emotional scenes being done in flashbacks as kids.
Score: 6/10
Drink: Asian Beer and lots of shots
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
Score: 5/10
Drink: Beers in the back of truckTheater/Stream/Forget: Forget
Of quick note on the above films, the ones to watch are Joker, The Peanut Butter Falcon, and Hustlers. The others were either so boring they weren’t worth the time, or so predictable that after the first 5 minutes you knew the entire plot. "Ad Astra" and "Lucy in the Sky" were very well shot, but just boring films that just didn’t work.
While nothing was technically wrong with this film, it just didn’t grab me like many of the musical and band movies that have been coming out over the last year. The cast was great, and Javed (played by Viveik Kalra) was excellent in his role, and (on an odd note) had the world’s most infectious smile. With that being said, the pacing in the film was poor, it was too long for its own good, and was nowhere near the quality of its sister film “Bend it like Beckham”. It was also very very predictable and followed a super formulaic plot structure. I feel this movie would have done better to focus on Javed’s writing career, with the love of Springsteen’s music as the background plot would have lent to a strong film.
If you enjoy feel good movies or the music of Bruce Springsteen, then this is for you, otherwise it is a decent airplane film.
Score: 7/10
Drink: Red wine that you can’t drink
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
I really enjoyed this film, between the comedy, realistic horror and fun plot, it hit home for me. Between great casting and every character being fleshed out, you instantly understand and buy into them living in and reacting to the craziness that is the movie’s situation. I appreciated that the damage the people received during the film actually affected them and didn’t just magically go away in the next scene, something that so many films mess up. The only minor issues were a bit of a slow opener and some scenes needing to be brighter. The ending (not going to spoil it) was perfect, and didn’t have a post-credits scene, showing that the director understood the audience and when to stop.
This movie won’t win any mainstream awards, but it should be seen and appreciated for the fun film it is.
Score: 9/10
Drink: High end liquor while holding a gun
Theater/Stream/Forget: Theater
With an almost painfully slow beginning, this film pulls you in during the second half. The sets and locations did feel a bit too much like sets vis real locations. Lawrence Fishburne was really good in this, and his de-aging scene was amazingly well done. Cate Blanchett’s performance was heart-felt and real, and her ability to rapidly change emotions throughout a scene was very impressive. I do wish this film had more time to show Bernadette creating and lengthened the 3rd act of the film. While this movie was more about the struggle and needs of motherhood and artists, it was just lacking a showing that they could both be done.
Score: 6/10
Drink: Pink Penguin Martini’s
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
Because of “Super Bad” and “Book Smart” this movie doesn’t tell an original story. While it is funny with decent pacing, it is the same plot as “Super Bad” just with younger kids ( and 3 boys instead of 2). The kids all performed well in their roles, with a few minor exceptions (highlighted by poorly done ADR work). I don’t really know why Seth Rogan’s team felt they needed to re-tell this story, but I guess it was easy money. While you can get the entire plot from the trailer, they didn’t include all the main jokes, a rarity with trailers these days. The audience engaged with this film, with lots of laughter and shocks, being especially funny when people laughed but immediately tried to stop because of the nature of the thing they were laughing at. The editing in this film really enhanced it, creating a good narrative and story structure.
Worth watching for a good, but inappropriate laugh, but if you have seen the other films, you probably won’t enjoy this one as much. I also felt it held back a bit and could have gone much further with what the boys were doing.
Score: 7/10
Drink: 4 sips of warm beer
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (TV)
A decent young-adult horror film that doesn’t really bring anything new to the field. I like that it was set in the 60’s so there were no cell phones to “save” people. The thing that really stood out to me was the color grading of the film. It looked really good and the changing colors to convey the mood was great. The camera work was also interesting with some well done angles and lens uses. With that said, the acting was ok, the plot was predictable and it just wasn’t a very scary movie.
Score: 6/10
Drink: So how drunk without ever seeing it
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (TV)
I am not sure why this film is getting such a low rating on IMDB. It was not a great film, but it wasn’t that bad either. It suffered a bit from having to many movie stereotypes and some pacing issues. The acting was good, and the leads carried their roles well. I really liked Elisabeth Moss’s transformation, and it is great to see Melissa McCarthy doing serious roles. I do feel this movie should have taken more risks and used stronger accents for the different areas of New York.
Score: 6/10
Drink: Glenlivet and Wine
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (TV)
Fast and the Furious has really jumped the shark with this film with a silly plot, no real heart or soul, and action that you could sleep through. The entire movie felt forced and fake, with throw away characters and sets. Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham both seemed to realize how silly of a film they were in and treated it as such. Idris Elba, being such a great actor, had to work with such a poorly thought out and written character, he deserves better roles. This 2 hour 17 minute film really should have been a 30 minute short film to make it watchable. I have never checked my watch so many times in an action film, considering if I should just walk out.
Score: 5/10
Drink: A really full glass of unlabeled liquor
Theater/Stream/Forget: Forget
I went in expecting nothing from this film, and got an adult style Napoleon Dynamite that was a real crowd pleaser. Great cast, very funny in a dry dark way, and 100% buy in from the actors. The only negatives were the foreshadowing and red-herrings were way to blatant, along with a few pacing issues. This movie shows that independent movies on a budget can be great and are worth watching.
Score: 9/10
Drink: Cheap whiskey from the bottle
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (TV)
Much more of a solid movie than I was expecting. By having a super strong, basically unbeatable character become vulnerable, it fostered a believable sense of danger. The characters were fun, the action was on point, and the plot, while simple, was exactly what the movie needed. While this will never win any awards, it is a great summer action/comedy film.
Score: 8/10
Drink: Gulping down champagne
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (TV)
Plot armor to the extreme. Apparently after evolving for millions of years to become apex predators, alligators know when to just kill someone vs to let them suffer but survive. I have no idea how the Dad was moving, let alone alive, after the wounds he sustained. The main characters were decent, but the looting friends are who sold their roles. Great use of a few sets to create tension, and impressive amount of water and set destruction. Not that it matters for the movie, but this cements my in real life belief that natural disasters should be tornadoes and blizzards not flooding and hurricanes.
Score: 6/10
Drink: Bottle of off brand bourbon
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
While this is a technically sound film, it is by far the least scary of the Conjuring Universe films. The story was fairly weak, few jump scares and because you know all the main characters are still alive in the real world, you know they are never in any real danger on screen. The daughter was a great actress, along with the other young adult actors selling their roles. This film would have been better if the leads weren’t protected by invincible plot armor.
Score: 6/10
Drink: Cursed farmhouse wine
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
I am not sure how this film has done as well as it has. The first 30 minutes were very boring, and could have been cut from the movie. The green screen work was some of the worst in any Marvel film. The acting was good, but suffered from a lack of a decent story and plot. What made the last movie work so well was a villain that was at a level appropriate for Spiderman, not a world ending call the Avengers level. It is no longer interesting to watch a hero fight a large faceless army, we want bad guys that are driven and with real stories (think Thanos in Infinity wars vs Steppenwolf in Justice League).
Score: 6/10
Drink: Airplane wine that is taken away from you
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
Very odd transition cuts, but that was the only real problem in the film. The plot was decent, and the music while good, was a bit like being in a bar hearing someone play your favorite band’s songs. This movie did an appropriate job of subverting your expectations with a few side characters, while having strong, if not somewhat predictable, main characters. Lily James and Kate McKinnon were both fantastic in their roles, as different roles as they were. Also, to my surprise after is cameo in Game Of Thrones, Ed Sheron played himself in a way that wasn’t self glorifying or overly silly. If you enjoy The Beatles and British humor, go see this movie.
Score: 7/10
Drink: Cider and warm beer in a glass
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (TV)
Mindy Kaling and Emma Thompson work well together in this very predictable and formulaic movie. While the acting and characters are good, this film doesn’t go anywhere adventurous beyond having a woman of color, which in 2019 isn’t that edgy. It is a social justice movie, but goes about it like an early 90’s film. With that said, it is well put together and the plot flows well. Good but uncreative film.
Score: 7/10
Drink: Company provided beers and booze
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
A mix of “Red Sparrow” and “John Wick”, which sounds like a great combo, but just didn’t land. The action was amazing and the cast was great, but the story really lacked anything interesting or original. The film had two main issues; first, the film thought it was much more clever and interesting than it was. Second, the film’s multiple time jumps, showing a scene, then jumping backing 6 months to tell how it got there was way over used. This style worked in the “Boondock Saints” but was super annoying and lacked impact when used here. Audience members were literally groaning in disappointment after the first few times the timeline jumped. Overall, a good use of music to set the scene, great action, well acted but just not a movie worth spending 2 hours in a theater for.
Score: 6/10
Drink: Champagne
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
Chucky was one great example of why not to have an Internet of things. The movie was not scary but more of a thinker horror in the sense of these events could possibly happen in real life, especially with the rise of electronically controlled devices that could malfunctioning in a way harmful to humans. The characters were somewhat generic, specifically the boyfriend, who somehow was every stereotype in one simple package. Aubrey Plaza from “Parks and Rec” did ok in this film, though she should have gone further away from her type casted character. Andy the son, Gabriel Bateman, was ok, but looked nothing like his mother in this film. He is a good actor, and has done other horror films such as “Lights out”, but the direction and script of this film held him back (along with most of the cast.) The side friend characters, especially the young girl, we're awesome, and somehow more fleshed out and real that the main cast, except for the name “Pugg” which would fit in a British film but not an American one.
The supporting detective (Brian Tyree Henry) and his mother Doreen (Carlease Burke) were by far the most interesting characters, and the two you ended up caring for the most. (also Doreen,’s ability to switch gears and support Andy was a great moment in the film) They both didn’t get the screen time that they deserved.
Visually, the movie needed to raise its F-stop by one or two stops as it was overly dark and the depth of field was distracting rather than interesting. The lack of sets lowered the perceived quality of the film, making it feel like they didn’t have the money for more. Also the set dresser should be fired. Andy and his Mom just moved into their place, boxes still everywhere, but Andy’s room is decorated like he has lived there his entire life.
No company in their right mind would make a doll that looked like the one in the movie, it would have been good to change the doll to be more modern, and update the Chucky look more.
SPOILERS!!
The plot starts with a Vietnamese factory worker changing the code in a “Buddi” aka Chucky doll after he is told he is being fired. The question is, what factory gives its workers this level of control over their software? But while it wouldn’t happen at this level in real life, it very well could have at a higher level.
The plot beyond that is basic and follows the same path as so many horror films; kid has rough life, gets something good that isn’t, things start to get bad, no one believes the child, things get
really bad, big end battle/event, evil is defeated but not really. I hope they bring back the detective and Andy's mom in the next one (if there is one), as they really set the film up for a sequel.
This film took very few chances, and was never really scary and didn’t even have good jump scares. It was just sort of there going through the motions, not doing anything new or exciting, but repeating the steps so many have taken before.
Score: 6/10
Drink: Generic beer from your side-date’s fridge
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
A very touching film on the AIDS ward in San Francisco and what the nurses and staff went through to get it running and advancing care for the infected. While paced very slowly, it pulls at the heart strings well and the use of the footage filmed in the 70’s and 80’s really added to the film. Movie did a great job of show casing the hate that some people have for the gay community, and the opposite side of those that care and fight for the rights of others. The ending reveal about the surgeon was worth watching the entire movie.
Score: 7/10
Drink: White wine in a fancy glass
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
I thought I was going to enjoy this film much more than I did. There is nothing overly wrong with it, just slow, with little pay off and feeling of someone trying to be Tarintino but with characters that know they are in a film. Visually well shot, and the black dust instead of blood for the zombies was a nice touch. On a side note it really bothered me that a city of less than 800 people had so many stores and was kept up so well. How were they getting enough customers to be paying for all this? End of side note. Worth watching if you like zombies films, but I feel this one will be mostly forgotten except for a few cult followers.
Score: 6/10
Drink: Chardonnay and coffee
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (TV)
Sadly, while this will never win an Oscar, it was a fun and entertaining film that understood what it wanted to be and achieved it. Good levels of comedy, throwbacks, and action all combined well in this film. It does become somewhat painfully slow in the middle, but redeems itself quickly and finishes strong. Great summer popcorn flick, and very worth watching if you liked the previous renditions of the franchise.
Score: 8/10
Drink: Hennessy in 70’s style brown glasses
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (TV)
Before starting this review, this was one of my films I was most looking forward to seeing, due to not really liking superman (mostly because Superman’s only real weakness is his own stupidness) and wanting to see more of the Villain's side of the superhero world. With that being said, this review’s final score is going to skew higher than it probably should.
The first 20 minutes of the film aren’t very good, falling into a many tropes and superhero cliches, especially the classic “what the teacher is talking about in class will define the plot.” This scene should have happened later in the movie, because it give away way to much of why BrightBurn is there. Also this classroom scene sends a real mixed message if you should be nice to the kid being picked on.
The visuals are well done, especially the blood and gore team’s work. They do overuse the off scene injury cut away, with a few odd camera and editing choices, but I would assume this was to avoid a higher rating due to a child doing the violence. The homage to Christopher Reeve’s Superman was nice, with the plot and visuals sort of matching up.
All of the cast pulls off their roles well, and it is cool to see David Denman and Elizabeth Banks together, they had great on screen chemistry. Jackson Dunn’s no-emotion responses to the horrific things happening around him (that he mostly caused) were great, and landed well. Deputy Aryes, played by Annie Humphrey was by far my favorite side character, something about her reactions and then trying to be a hero just resonated with a Fargo-esc vibe.
Not a spoiler, but the two most unrealistic parts of this movie were a farmer with what looked like 10+ acres of yard used a push mower. Second, their house was pretty run down and they seemed to be barely making it financially, but the Dad still had time to make sure the rims on his old truck color matched the body paint. Fix the rotting wood on your porch before painting your old truck!
BrightBurn’s powers we a pretty good mix of Superman’s and other more modern ones. I assume this is due to legal reasons, but it works well, and creates better tension in a modern world.
SPOILERS!!
This is one of those films that was ruined by the trailer. You pretty much know what is going to happen from it. This is a trend in movies that needs to stop, trailers should only create interest, not tell an entire story.
The family dynamics in this film actually work really well. The small town, with everyone knowing everyone, and a family trying to raise their adopted son created a good amount of tension. The biggest issue is the Mom being a bit to trusting of her alien child. Now every mom should love and fight for her child, but this goes a bit too far until the very end of the film. Dad on the other hand, straight up just doesn’t trust the kid after the first incident, and was right. What brings this down is him taking his son into the woods for a “hunting trip” and fails to kill him (bullets just bounce off.) While this scene sort of needed to happen, it was so heavily foreshadowed and seen coming from a thousand miles away, it didn’t play as well as it should have. Also the Dad has the “talk” with his son, and frankly just makes things so much worse.
Like Deadpool, this movie subverts what a superhero movie is, and after the first 20 minutes of the film, I really liked it. Worth watching, and while set up for a sequel, I really hope they just let this movie be a the good one-off film it is.
Score: 8/10
Drink: Just 2 or 3 beers...
Theater/Stream/Forget: Theater
I am normally not a fan of musicals, especially if the music doesn’t do anything to advance the plot. ROCKETMAN did a decent job of using the music to drive what was happening, but still felt a bit forced with the character singing instead of just creating and performing their music.
The visuals and tone of the movie were great, paired with decent pacing to keep the audience engaged. It does follow a pretty standard Scorsese style plot build and crash, but with musical overtones. One one can claim that this movie was shy about the drugs, alcohol and sex, as it shows them all in spades, but does so in justifiable way.
For fans of Elton John this is a great film, and for everyone else it is still pretty good. It has a few flaws, like audio leveling issues during the musical scenes, but overall a solid bio-pic.
SPOILERS!!
The drug rehab center being used a framing device was a decent way to keep bringing back the audience, but the shedding of the costume as Elton talks was the real “peeling of the onion” and great visual add to the story.
There is not much to spoil for this movie, it has a bunch of fantastical elements to it, and probably should be taken with a grain of salt plot-wise. The real lesson to be learned is to hug your kids and listen to them, in relation to how the movie claims his father treated him as a child.
Overall, I enjoyed the film, but could have done without the musical-style singing scenes, and stuck to more performances (along the lines of Bohemian Rhapsody)
Score: 7/10
Drink: Fancy Martinis and all the other drinks...
Theater/Stream/Forget: Theater
While not as good as the original, this Disney cash grab was mostly carried by Will Smith’s performance. The special effects were decent, but the movie had a feeling of watching a play that was being filmed. The biggest flaw was Jafar, played by Marwan Kenzari, did well in the role, he was much to young. Jafar should be older, which makes his wanting of Jasmine creepier and his position in the kingdom believable. Lastly, the end battle lacked any real emotion or sense of threat.
Score: 7/10
Drink: Tea and then some more tea
Theater/Stream/Forget: Stream (Phone)
FILM REVIEW SCORING GUIDE Making a film is a challenging and demanding process, and I will watch anything to support a fellow filmmaker. But just because I watched it doesn’t mean it was good or could have used more work. DRINK Every film reviewed will be given a drink recommendation (for those over 21) of what adult beverage to consume with the film. These will try to be witty, but will always have a tie in to the film. SCORE: On a scale from 1 to 10, rarely will a film be a 10 or 1. 1 - Camera was on (and maybe the sound equipement) but beyond that not much else was done. 2 - You figured out basic editing, but not much else. 3 - Watchable, but barely, and somehow got funded. 4 - Getting better, but still has a long way to go. 5 - Technically or story competent film, but not both. 6 - Understands filmmaking, but needs lots of refinement. 7 - A good film that has a few Major issues. 8 - A good film with many minor issues. 9 - Nearly perfect film, only a few minor issues. 10 - A perfect film, only comes once every few years. THEATER/STREAM/FORGET: THEATER: Movie is worth giving your money to and/or would not have nearly the impact on a small screen. STREAM: Two categories; TV or PHONE. Streaming to TV means it was good, and should be watched, but not good enough for a theater viewing. PHONE is worth watching, but not paying full attention to. FORGET: This movie is not worth watching, unless you have nothing else to do or want an example of bad film.