Blindspotting Review (2018)

Blindspotting

  One word. Whoa.
  I left this theater absolutely speechless, my heart in my stomach, my mind spinning. Blindpsotting hit me like a hammer to the chest and came as a total surprise in every way.
  Blindspotting is the story of a man living in Oakland and trying to make it through the last three days of his probation. It's a simple story, but it tackles massive issues such as police brutality, gentrification, white privilege, incarceration and implicit bias. How it managed to do all of this affectively with such a short run time and with such nuance, is an insane mystery to me.
 The way Blindspotting blends the heavy, serious themes and storyline with laugh-out-loud, buddy-comedy is unlike any film I've ever seen. This is of course credited to both Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal who acted and wrote the film, and were nothing short of spectacular in their delivery.
  There is no reason the tone of the film should make sense, but it does. And just when you wrap your brain around that, they add spoken-word rap into the mix like an urban musical.
  Blindspotting places you in the shoes of another and makes you feel what they feel. This film builds a case for empathy in a way that is so pitch-perfect and timely that you would never believe it was written 10 years ago.
  As you can see, I thoroughly enjoyed this film. In fact, it is currently competing with Hereditary for the number 1 favorite spot of this year. If you haven't seen it yet, go! Add it to the top of your list. Blindspotting is a compelling masterpiece, and it reminded me why I love cinema and how important it is to have diverse representation. 10 out of 10 stars (A Must See)

Mission: Impossible - Fallout Review (2018)

Mission: Imposible - Fallout

  Tom Cruise is back at it again with another fun, action-filled, blockbuster hit. My question is, are you a fan of those? 

  When reviewing movies, I am aware that there are films that exist simply for the sake of entertainment. I watch those movies and enjoy those movies for what they are, and there is no better example of this than the Mission: Impossible franchise. 

  In the same strain as John Wick, or any of the Marvel movies, these films are all spectacle. Insanely wild stunts, thrilling suspense, more twists than liquorice. What more can you ask for or expect?
  Fallout delivers on all of these things, bringing the charm and charisma of Tom Cruise that keeps us coming back again and again. It's not deep, it's not that clever, but it's cinematic and sometimes, that's good enough for me.
  This is a fantastic looking film that works on pretty much every level, accept being about 20 minutes too long.
  If you're a fan of these films, go see it. If not, I completely get that too. For what it is, I will give Fallout a 7 out of 10 stars (Very Good) 

Leave No Trace Review (2018)

Leave No Trace

  Leave No Trace is the story of a veteran (Ben Foster) and his daughter (Thomasin McKenzie). They are a regular family in every sense except one. They choose to be homeless.
  This was a really unique story about the bond between father and daughter and about how choices we make, even with the best of intent, can unintentionally hurt the people we love most.
  At a slow pace, Leave No Trace develops its characters and allows the audience to grow fond of them. It's a character study that isn't afraid to show weakness in a way that isn't judgmental.
  Leave No Trace tackles big topics in a quiet and subtle way, asking challenging questions about how our vets are treated and what we can better do to help them.
  Ben Foster and Thomasin McKenzie were absolutely brilliant, giving haunting, soulful performances and gaining our empathy.
   This is a film you are going to have to be patient with. It's not action-filled, it's not loud, it's not going to spoon-feed you its themes. In terms of re-watch-ability, this probably won't be on your list as it's not the most entertaining film of the year, but Leave No Trace is as solid as they come, both technically and story-wise, with an affecting pay off that is worth your time. 7 out of 10 stars (Very Good)

Sorry To Bother You (2018)

Sorry To Bother You

  If you've ever wanted to know what an acid trip feels like, just watch this movie.
  Sorry To Bother You is a film by first-time filmmaker, Boots Riley, about a telemarketer named Cassisus who is trying to make it in Oakland. As Cassisus works his way up the ladder at the company, he realizes that this job isn't as innocent as it seems and that in order to get where he needs to be, he must essentially sell his soul.
  It's been an odd few years for film as art house is becoming more popular and surrealism is becoming more commercialized with films such as Get Out or Mother!. Films like these are polarizing because they are so weird and so out there, that people will either love them and love figuring them out, or they will hate them and consider them pretentious trash. Usually I'm pretty good at figuring where I stand after watching films, but there have been exceptions. Swiss Army Man was one of them, A Ghost Story was another, and Sorry To Bother You has made the list.
  What's so odd about these films is that you can't exactly figure out why certain things work and why certain things don't. Everything is so absurd and self-aware of its own absurdity. I found Sorry To Bother You to be quite a mixed bag in a lot of ways.
  It's strengths were in it's humor and the likeability of its lead character played by Lakeith Stanfield. The satire was sharp and had this "Key and Peele on steroids" type vibe to it. It was bold, and unapologetic in it's approach to making it's points and elaborating on it's themes through comedy.
  I also loved how you never really know where the film is going or where the characters are going to end up. You're just thrown onto this wild, meta, and entertaining ride.
  I was with the film for the first two acts, although the second did seem to lose direction for a minute and drag. However, it was the third act that through me for a loop and left me wondering what on earth I was watching. The plot twist will either make or break it for the audience and for me it kind of broke it. I understand what it was trying to do, and I respect it, but it also cheapened the rest of the film in my opinion.
  Sorry To Bother You deals with really big ideas, but it never tells you what to think or explains them. Some people will like this, others will find it frustrating. For me, I was really glad I watched it because it was such a unique experience, but not exactly sure I would want to experience it again. 6 out of 10 stars (Worth Ticket Price)  

Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot Review (2018)

Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot

  Don't Worry He Won't Get Far On Foot is the true story of a quadriplegic, comic-writer that must go through the 12 steps program to break his addiction to alcohol.
  I went in not knowing anything about this story other than the fact that Joaquin Phoenix was playing the main character.
  Surprise, surprise, he did amazing. Phoenix always manages to create sympathetic characters out of people that should by every stretch of the imagination be unlikeable. He is just so good at what he does and he always brings it 100% to every film he's in, and Don't Worry isn't an exception. That said, he is probably the only reason this film has any whatch-ability because otherwise, I wasn't too impressed.
  Now, Don't Worry wasn't a bad film, but it did have a lot of problems. The biggest being the pacing and the non-linear way of telling the story.
  There were times where the film jumps to the past, then jumps to the future, and then cuts to a flashback, and ultimately the timeline just felt confusing, serving no purpose whatsoever to the story. This bizarre editing choice only stilted the effect the story could have had with a more conventional outline, and it took me out of the film.
  There were also times where they tried for humor, and in almost every case for me it fell flat. This could totally be a personal preference more than an objective critique of the film though, considering the character has a quirky sense of humor that not everybody gets. For me what was awkward about the delivery was the jarring insert of comics in the form of a cartoon with Phoenix's voice narrating them. The tone was odd, and simply didn't work for me.
  In the end, this film wants to be more poignant and inspiring than it is, but Phoenix's strong performance keeps it's head above water and makes it worth at least one viewing. 5 out of 10 stars (Rent It)

Eighth Grade Review (2018)

Eighth Grade

  Directed by youtuber and comedian Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade is the story of a young girl (Played by Elsie Fisher) in her last year of (You guessed it) Eighth Grade.
  I'm just gonna get straight to it and say that I absolutely ADORED this film. Bo Burnham did something here that I can't say I've seen before on screen, and that is capture the way teenagers actually behave. If I had to pick one word to describe this film, it would be authentic. From the acne covered teens, to the fact that the actors were all actually in eighth grade, to the way they talked and stumbled around, it was all so true.
  Eighth Grade takes a look at what life is like for the modern teen and how technology has influenced the way they grow up.
  It's hilarious and cringey in the same way The Office is, capitalizing on how unaware kids are of themselves at this age and how awkward it is to grow into yourself. I loved how they didn't feel the need to dramatize elements of the story for entertainment's sake. They kept the stakes familiar and small, yet found a way to make them still cinematic through the use of humor and relateability.
  Elsie Fisher gave a perfect, heartfelt, vulnerable performance alongside a talented cast, and I can't wait to see her in future films.
  Eighth Grade is one of the best films of the year and absolutely (A Must See). 10 out of 10 stars.

Sicario: Day of the Soldado Review (2018)

Sicario: Day of the Soldado

  To be honest, I wasn't a huge fan of the first Sicario movie after my first viewing. That said, after watching several analysis videos and really thinking on it, I realized that it was an excellent film with lots of layers and a lot to say. Dennis Villeneuve has a way of telling stories that is unlike a lot of director's working today. He takes his time, each shot having meaning, and he is intentional with his dialogue/cinematography.
  When I saw the trailer for Sicario: Day of Soldado, I wasn't sure how to feel. Mainly because it was directed by a different person, Stefano Sollima, and also because the first film didn't seem to need further storytelling. Either way, here we are. Round 2.
  Sicario: Day of the Soldado was a mixed bag for me. Mainly because it was a lot more entertaining than the first film if we're talking pure commercial draw, but it seemed to have a lot less to say. In fact, it wasn't clear to me what the film was saying at all.
  The action was good, the simple, gritty story is engaging and lean, but it felt soulless.
  There were times where it felt like this film wanted to be Logan. We have this relationship between Benicio Del Toro's character and this young girl (who isn't a very good actress), and they want us to care about them, but I just didn't. The girl annoyed me, and her bad acting took me out of the film every time she was on screen.
  Day of the Soldado isn't a bad film, but it's not a particularly impressive one either. If you're looking for a popcorn flick that has more edge than Avengers, than go give this one a viewing. If you're looking for the thought-provoking, dynamic thriller that the first was, you won't find it here. 6 out of 10 stars (Worth Ticket Price)

The Incredibles 2 Review (2018)

The Incredibles 2

  It's been 14 years since the first film, and my excitement for Incredibles 2 was like no other. As a kid, I watched the first film hundreds of times, so when I sat in that theater for this one and when that classic Pixar studio image appeared, I literally had the chills.
  Before I get into the review, I want to mention quickly that the short, Bao, was one of my favorite Pixar shorts to date. It was absolutely hilarious, beautifully animated, and moving at the same time.
  Okay, now that that's out there. Back to The Incredibles 2. Was it good? *inhale* YES. It was fantastic.
  When you go into the sequel of a movie that was soooo nostalgic to you as a child, it hardly ever lives up to the hype. Not here though. Pixar brought everything they had, making this equally as entertaining, hilarious, and fun as the first. Just like the first film, The Incredibles strengths is in it's character development and the character's interactions with each other. The stakes are grand yes, but the way it effects the characters personally is what makes us care. The way they have to deal with the conflicts of the outside world while at the same time dealing with how the outside world is creating conflicts within their own home.
  I was really impressed by the villain of the film. They were scary, the threat felt real, and their motivations made sense.
  While to me, The Incredibles has a more "Mission Impossible" type feel than a superhero film, I would say if we are to categorize it by the superhero genre, it was the best to come out this year. 10 out of 10 stars. (A Must See)