Friday, January 27, 2017

Split

Plot- 
Three girls (Anya-Taylor Joy, Haley Lu Richardson, and Jessica Sula) are kidnapped by Kevin (James McAvoy)- a man with 23 personalities. They must work together and try to figure out which one of the personalities will help them escape. 

Pros:
•After really enjoying M. Night Shyamalan's last movie The Visit, he earned another chance with me. And now I can officially say he's back in my good graces. PLEASE Shyamalan, don't fuck this up again. Stick to what you know- low budget horror/thrillers. You're really good at it. 
•James McAvoy... wow!!! He was incredible. Not too many actors can pull off what he did here. I really enjoyed seeing him play all these different personalities. My favorite was definitely Hedwig. 
•Anya-Taylor Joy was impressive as well (the last thing I saw her in was The Witch which she was good in too). She has a lot of potential as an actress. It'll be interesting to see what she does next. 
•The way they were able to do a lot with such a low budget. 
•I really want to say more but I don't think I can without giving away some major spoilers. I highly recommend this especially if you're a fan of Shyamalan's earlier work. He's back! Hopefully for good. 

Cons:
•The only thing stopping me from liking this movie more is the ending. Not the twist or anything, I was fine with that. What I mean is that it just kept dragging on and on. Just when I thought they were wrapping things up, something else would happen. Made me roll my eyes a few times and say to myself, "God damn it just end already. Enough!" I really hate when movies do this. 

My Rating: 8/10

Friday, January 20, 2017

Hidden Figures

Plot-
Based on the true on the true story of a group of African American woman, including Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughn (Octavia Spencer), and Mary Jackson (Janelle MonĂ e), who worked at NASA providing mathematical data in order to launch their first successful space missions. 

Pros:
•I'm so happy they're finally telling this story. Very uplifting and empowering. Hopefully they continue to make more movies like this. 
•Strong performances, especially Taraji P. Henson. 
•Another person I thought was really good was Mahershala Ali (who I hope gets nominated for Moonlight, a brilliant movie you should all see if you haven't already). It's a small role but he and Taraji P. Henson were really sweet together. 
•I absolutely loved the soundtrack!! Hans Zimmer was amazing as always and I was especially impressed with Pharrell Williams who also composed a lot of the music. It's original songs but sounds just like something that would've come out in the 60s. 

Cons:
•I wish they hadn't glossed over a lot of the racial issues going on at that time. I understand they wanted it to be a feel good movie. I appreciate that. Lord knows we need those right now. I just would've like to have seen them delve into this more. 

My Rating: 9/10

Sunday, January 15, 2017

Krisha

Plot-
A woman named Krisha (Krisha Fairchild) returns home for Thanksgiving after being away for several years. Events from the past threaten to ruin what should be a happy reunion. 

Pros:
•If you're ever feeling like your family is fucked up and dysfunctional, just watch this movie. I guarantee that you'll feel better about them within minutes. 
•This is the directorial debut of Trey Edward Shults. Considering this and the fact that the whole movie was shot in only 9 days, I thought he did a decent job. While I didn't think the movie was great, he certainly has potential. If he makes another movie I'll definitely check it out. 
•Strong performance by Krisha Fairchild. I've known plenty of people like her character (an alcoholic and/addicted to prescription drugs) and I can tell you she really nails it. 
•It's less than an hour and a half long and moves at a good pace. 

Cons:
•The odd choice in musical score. At times it was like something out of a horror film. A little too overpowering as well.  I get what he was trying to do but still. 
•The way some scenes were filmed using super close ups of someone's face. Never been a big fan of this. 
•Aside from Krisha and Trey, I found myself not caring about the characters. 
•Not the time of movie I would suggest seeing in theaters. More of a watch it on Netflix if you're curious type of thing. 

My Rating: 6.5/10

Friday, January 13, 2017

Patriots Day


Plot-
Based on the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing and its aftermath. Sergeant Tommy Saunders (Mark Wahlberg) joins the manhunt to find the two brothers responsible for this horrific  attack. 

Pros:
•Peter Berg has found his niche in movies based on real events. And his muse in Mark Wahlberg. I really liked Lone Survivor. Haven't seen Deep Water Herizon but now I'm definitely going to. Berg is forgiven for Battleship as far as I'm concerned. 
•Going into this movie I was so afraid it would be emotionally manipulative but it wasn't. I think it was very respectful to the city of Boston and all the victims. 
•The movie mainly focuses on the aftermath of the bombing and how everyone came together to find those two monsters. We all know what the outcome was but Berg does an amazing job keeping the tension going. Everything from the way the scenes were shot (one of the few uses of shaky cam that didn't make me want to throw up) to the score by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross kept me on the edge of my seat and my eyes glued to the screen. 
•Well acted, especially Mark Wahlberg. You can tell how much he cares about this subject and he acts his ass off. Very realistic in the sense of how someone would react when out in a situation like this. He's a good actor. 
• I thought it was really interesting how the mixed in real footage into the scenes they shot. It's done so flawlessly that for the most part you can't tell which is which. 

Cons:
•As much as I liked this movie, it's still too soon. This event only happened 3 years ago. I think they should've waited at least a few more years. 
•While for the most part it's accurate to what happened, there are some instances where they dramatized things. I'm fine with that since I know that'll happen anytime you turn a real event into a movie. My problem was with one scene in particular where I felt like they overdid it a bit. It was heading into Michael Bay territory for a split second. 
•Some of the actors attempts at a Boston accent were so bad it was distracting. 

My Rating: 8.5/10

Sunday, January 8, 2017

The Handmaiden

Plot-
Set in 1930s Korea, a young woman named Sook-He (Tae-ri Kim) is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress. But not all is as it seems. 

Pros:
•Wow. Where do I even start? Going into this movie I didn't know too much about it other than what I saw in the trailer and heard from friends who said it was good. I thought I had an idea of what this would be about but I soon realized how wrong I was. Not that that's a bad thing. Far from it. I found myself mesmerized by the whole thing. I just couldn't look away except for a few brief moments at the end. Normally I would elaborate further about the story but in this case I decided against it. It's better to go into it like I did. You have to see it for yourself. Just be warned, it's not for everyone. 
•It's a beautifully shot movie. Chan-wook Park is a very talented director. A little fucked up for sure but that's not always a bad thing. He also gets some amazing performances from his actors, especially the two female leads. 
•Gorgeous costumes and cinematography. 

Cons:
•It's hard to keep up with at times in terms of each character and their motivations. 
•Dragged a little in the last two parts. Certain scenes just went on too long. Could've used some tighter editing. 

My Rating: 9/10

Friday, January 6, 2017

Fences

Plot-
Based on the award winning play. Troy (Denzel Washington), a working class man, struggles to take care of his family in 1950s Pittsburgh and to come to terms with all that life has thrown at him. 

Pros:
•Going into this I already familiar with the play, although I was never fortune enough to actually see it. For those like me, good news- Denzel has brought the experience right into theaters. It feels just like the play. There really aren't too many sets aside from the house and the backyard. 
•A lot of the credit to August Wilson who wrote the original play, which is a powerful story that kept me interested the entire time. And to Denzel as well. I don't think think this film adaptation would've been the same had he not directed it. 
•Speaking of Denzel, he and Viola Davis are flawless in their roles. Not surprising because they performed these same roles on Broadway I think over 100 times. They totally deserve all the praise and recognition their getting this award season. Denzel was so intense in this that nobody in the theater I was in said a damn word throughout the whole movie. You could hear a pin drop it was so quiet. 
•A lot of attention to detail. It really looks and feels like the 50s. 
•Doesn't rely too heavily on a musical score the way a lot of these Oscar movies might. 
•Another actor that I absolutely loved in this was Mykelti Williamson, who plays Troy's brother Gabe. A war injury has left him mentally disabled. His performance was so heartbreaking and well done that it left me in tears. 
•It's over two hours but it sure didn't feel like it to me. I was so drawn into this story. My only regret is not being able to see this before I made my top 10 list. This would've made it for sure. 

Cons:
•Nothing that bothered me or worth taking a point off in my opinion, but some might not care for the very last minute of the film. Can't say much more without spoiling it. 

My Rating: 10/10