Lady Bird Review (2017)

Lady Bird

  And the winner of Best Actress goes to. . . . . . .  Saorise Ronan! Seriously, I absolutely love the heck out of this girl. She never ceases to amaze me. From Atonement to Brooklyn to The Grand Budapest Hotel to Lady Bird; Ronan has shown massive range and skill, proving to be one of the most talented actresses working today.
  Lady Bird is the story of a young Catholic girl who lives in Sacramento but wants to go to college in New York. While the plot seems simple, and it is, Lady Bird feels like so much more.
  This is a film that understands what it is to be a teenager, and it explores that transition to adulthood in a way that is both touching and charming.
   The beating heart of the film is the relationship between Christine and her mother. This could have easily fallen prey to the cliches of young adult fiction, but Lady Bird instead transcends the genre and offers us complex dynamics that never once feel fraudulent. Both Christine and her mother are flawed, and in this film, they are both sometimes the bad guy. There are times where we as an audience might even dislike Christine, only to realize that the things we dislike in her, are things we often see in ourselves.
  Lady Bird is a film with a genuine voice, a sharp wit, and a lot to offer. It also has a really great soundtrack. 9 out of 10 stars (I'd Buy It On Blu-ray)

Mudbound Review (2017)

Mudbound 

  Following the likes of Amazon, Netflix is continuing to put more and more original content out there, blessing us with the movie I'm about to review.
  Mudbound is the story of two military men returning from World War 2; one of them being black and the other white. The story revolves around the ways they interact with the world after the war and how race plays a factor in it all.
  Mudbound felt much more like a novel than a film in its execution. It is a story told from multiple perspectives, a story in which every character is totally flawed and yet also redeemable in some way. Aside from how well written these characters are, they are also extremely well acted. Carey Mulligan, Rob Morgan, Jason Mitchell, Jason Clarke, Garrett Hedlund, and Mary J Blige all give such fantastic, nuanced performances, making these characters as authentic as possible.
  Mudbound has a way of slowly pulling you in, and it isn't until the climax that you realize how much you are invested in these people's lives and the weight in which it emotionally affects you. This is a layered drama that tackles hard subjects in a remarkably heartbreaking, dark, and profound way. Will you want to watch it over and over again? Probably not, but it's quality filmmaking that will definitely be a dark horse in the Oscar race this year. 9 out of 10 stars (I'd Buy It On Blu-Ray)

Justice League Review (2017)

Justice League

  The awkward moment when you expect a movie to be trash and it turns out to be even worse trash than you imagined... Introducing Justice League.
  Now I have mentioned too many times to count that I'm not a huge fan of this cinematic universe of the superhero genre. I think it's an easy way for studios to make a buck off the excitement and nostalgia of overhyped fans of films that even when entertaining are only long trailers for another film that is derivative of the first. The only difference between Marvel and DC is that we actually care enough about the Marvel characters to watch them do the same things over and over again. The solo movies were decent, they gave us enough character development and arch to keep us interested, and over a period of time, they added more layers to what we now know as the Marvel Universe. With DC, they decided they wanted the same thing, but didn't want to take the time to actually make decent solo movies. SO, they rushed Batman, Superman, Suicide Squad, etc, all of which were absolute trash. Now with Justice League, we get to see all of our least favorite superheroes together on screen fight a super lame, cartoony, CGI villain that's going to (you guessed it) destroy the entire planet with a boatload of more bad CGI. The worst part about this train wreck of a film is that it's not even mildly entertaining. None of the motivations make sense, the action is boring, the one-liners are forced, the acting is vanilla, the characters are one-dimensional. I could go on and on, but you get the point. Zach Snyder has made yet another chaotic CGI suckfest with more characters we could care less about in a world we could care less about.
  Another thing that bothered me was Jason Momoa. Seriously though, I'm not even sure why he was in this film, he did literally nothing. Ezra Miller, the only decent thing in here and the only reason I was even slightly interested in seeing this film, tried to work with what he had, but even his comedic timing couldn't save this garbage from utter ruin. Don't even get me started on Superman and Henry Cavill's wooden performance, or the fact that they used CGI to remove his mustache. Kill me now. Justice League earns a 1 out of 10 stars from me. (Trash)

Only The Brave Review (2017)

Only The Brave

  Before I say anything about this film, I want to give a shout out to cinematographer Claudio Miranda. *Slow clap* Gorgeous. Absolutely Gorgeous.
  Moving on! Only the Brave is based on the true story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots and the bravery they (and firefighters like them) exhibit in their work.
  Only The Brave doesn't focus so much on the action of these men fighting fires, but the effect that fighting fires had on their personal lives. Normally this would be a positive thing, as I am a sucker for character driven stories. Unfortunately though, while the film was well acted, our main character's are simply not that interesting. In fact, all of our major conflicts revolve around problems that never seem to resolve, even when the characters grow. Because of this, I didn't really feel connected to the characters, and so when the climax hit, it wasn't as affecting. This is a film that you watch once, enjoy enough to not be angry that you spent 15 dollars, and then forget about the next day. For this reason, Only The Brave gets a 6 out of 10 star rating from me. (Worth Ticket Price) 

Thank You For Your Service Review (2017)

Thank You For Your Service

  Starring Miles Teller, Beulah Koale, and Haley Bennett, Thank You For Your Service takes a look into the lives of veteran soldiers returning from Iraq. What's unique about this film, is that it doesn't really go into the actual war. Instead it dives into the PTSD caused from it, and the systems that prevent soldiers like these from getting the care they need.
  Thank You For Your Service is a very sobering film with fantastic performances all around, but lacks in the realm of execution. Don't get me wrong, I didn't dislike this film, I think it was very well intentioned, but at the same time there were moments that did feel quite contrived/overfamiliar in their emotion. That said, when this film does hit, it hits pretty hard, mainly due to the excellent, passionate performances from the cast.
  This is a tricky movie to critique due to the reverence and earnestness of its subject matter, but if I'm to be completely honest, it's not a film I'd probably watch again.
  In the end, I think Thank You For Your Services needed to be made, and is definitely watchable, but it didn't quite live up to the potential memorability it could have had.  6 out of 10 (Worth Ticket Price)

Thor: Ragnarok Review (2017)

Thor: Ragnarock

  I've mentioned before that I've had superhero fatigue for a while now and wasn't actually planning to see this movie. Fortunately, I needed a way to buy time while I waited out rush hour traffic after work and tickets at the Regency theater just so happened to be 6 bucks. So here we are! This is my second time walking into a Thor movie with low expectations and being pleasantly surprised. What I think makes Thor so different from other Marvels films is it's self-awarnessness. It knows that it's cheese and so it doesn't try and be anything else. In Thor Ragnarok, they really let Chris Hemsworth's natural charm influence his character, which was extremely entertaining and made him even more likable.
  I loved the different characters; specifically Jeff Goldbloom, Tessa Thompson, and Taika Waititi. They truly lit up the screen with their presence and raised the bar in the comedy department.
  Aside from it at times being all over the place, Thor: Ragnarock is overall a vibrant ball of fun from start to finish. Does it offer much outside of fun? Not really, but if you're looking for anything outside of fun, you should probably leave the Marvel universe entirely. I give Thor: Ragnarock a 9 out of 10 (I'd Buy It On Blu-Ray)

The Killing of a Sacred Deer Review (2017)

The Killing of a Sacred Deer 

 Yorgos Lanthimos is one of those directors that isn't afraid to push limits and make the audience uncomfortable. In fact, it seems like nothing pleases him more than making us cringe. After impressing critics everywhere with the originality of The Lobster last year, Lanthimos has hit another one out of the ballpark.
  I went into this film completely blind and I'm so glad that I did. From the very opening shot (one of the most beautiful opening shots I've ever seen) I knew I was going to absolutely love this film. Every shot by the extremely talented cinematographer Thimios Bakatakis, is slightly off, giving this sense of uneasiness in each frame.
  The Killing of a Sacred Deer draws from Greek mythology and modernizes it. To give you guys a vague synopsis: a curse is put on a family and the only way it can be stopped is if Steven Murphy (Collin Ferrell) makes an impossible decision.
  This film examines our morality and our ideas of justice, diving into the heart of man in a way that is deeply affecting, complex, and original. Another thing I really liked about the film was the dialogue. Lanthimos has this way of deconstructing dialogue in his scripts and showing us how strange our everyday small talk is when delivered in his trademark deadpan style.
  There is so much symbolism, metaphors, and religious undertones here to analyze over multiple viewings, and that is why I have to say that the Killing of a Sacred Deer is one of my favorites of 2017! Apart from the brilliant storytelling and visuals, this film also has some truly fantastic performances. Barry Keoghan (who you might remember from Dunkirk) was absolutely astonishing here, owning the physicality of his character with a maturity beyond his years. All that said, this is definitely not a movie for everyone. It's graphic, sadistic, and in no way marketed toward a commercial audience at all. However, if you are looking for something unique and 100% committed to the unconventional nature of its premise, give this artsy horror film a watch. 10 out of 10 (A Must See)