Friday, September 29, 2017

Battle of the Sexes

Plot:
Based on the true story of the 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) and Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell). 

Pros:
•Emma Stone & Steve Carell were absolutely amazing. I hope they make more movies together in the future. I know it’s still a little early, but depending on how things go I could see Emma Stone getting another Oscar nomination. 
•Such a fascinating story that, while I had heard about it and knew the outcome, I didn’t know too many details. It seems like they stayed true to what really happened. 
•Such a strong, positive message. Especially for women. 
•Really nailed down the look of the time period. 
•I am not a tennis fan at all. But damn if I wasn’t glued to the edge of my seat during that last match. Kudos to the directors. 

Cons:
•While I thought the movie was very good, it didn’t really pick up for me until it actually got to the Billy Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs match and the events leading up to it. 
•A few very brief Hollywood moments typical in a movie like this. 

My Rating: 8.5/10

Sunday, September 24, 2017

Polina

Plot:
A young woman named Polina (Anastasia Shevtsova) has studied classic ballet for many years and ends up being accepted into the prestigious Bolchoi. Once there, however, she turns to modern dancing. 

Pros:
•If you’re a fan of dancing wether it be ballet or more modern dancing, I think you’ll really like this movie. There’s so many beautiful dance sequences. Whoever did the choreography did an amazing job. 
•Wonderful performance by Anastasia Shevtsova, especially considering this is her first role. I look forward to seeing more of her in the future. 
•I liked the message it was giving. Usually with these types of movies all of the main character’s dreams magically come true. Here it shows that sometimes, despite how hard you work, things don’t turn out the way you want them to. 

Cons:
•Very abrupt editing in a couple of scenes. Also, there were a few moments where the director used some weird angles to get a shot. 
•Some of the minor characters were a little too one dimensional. 

My Rating: 7.5/10 

Friday, September 22, 2017

Kingsman: The Golden Circle

Plot:
After their headquarters are destroyed, the Kingsman must come together with their American allies the Statesman to defeat a common enemy. 

Pros:
•There were a few fun action scenes (even if they were just a rehash of what they did in the first movie)
•It’s always great seeing Colin Firth again. 
•I liked Mark Strong and Pedro Pascal in this. 
•Good soundtrack

Cons:
•I was a huge fan of the first movie. The Golden Circle wasn’t terrible (compared to a lot of shit I’ve seen this year).... but I was kind of disappointed. This lacked the charm and heart of the original. Yes the original was over the top but somehow they made it work. This one was just stupid at times. Like Fast and the Furious level stupid. 
•Unnecessary cameo
•The way some of the action scenes were shot made me so nauseous I had to look away from the screen a few times. I don’t remember having that happen when I watched the original. 
 •TOO DAMN LONG!! I have no problem with long movies but there’s no way this needed to be two and a half hours. It felt like it was never going to end. 
•For those going into this expecting to see a lot of Channing Tatum, you’re going to be disappointed. 

My Rating: 6.5/10

Sunday, September 17, 2017

Viceroy's House

Plot:
Different sides clash as Lord Mountbatten (Hugh Bonneville), the final Viceroy of India, is tasked with overseeing the transition of the country into independence. 

Pros:
•A beautiful looking movie. Filmed on location in India. 
•Director Gurinder Chadha you can tell had good intentions. 
•Strong performances. I was especially impressed with Gillian Anderson, who plays Lord Mountbatten's wife Edwina. 

Cons:
•I really don't know that much about this particular event in history, but I can tell that they glossed over A LOT of things. 
•They added a love story which, while not terrible, wasn't necessary at all. 

My Rating: 7/10

Last Men in Aleppo

Plot:
Documentary about Khalid, Subhi, and Mahmoud, the founding members of The White Helmets- a group in Syria who have stayed on in the war torn area to help the citizens. 

Pros:
•This was an incredibly difficult movie to watch. But I feel like it's something everyone needs to see. What a powerful piece of film making by all three of the directors who worked on it. I can easily see this getting an Oscar nomination. 
• Going into this movie I obviously had heard of the White Helmets and what they do. But to hear about it and to actually see it are to totally different things. The movie really goes in depth about what these brave men go through on a daily basis. They choose to stay and help knowing that they will most likely be killed at some point. It brought me to tears several times. Especially when the men are interacting with their families. 
•Doesn't shy away from showing just how brutal and heartbreaking things are over there. You see the country getting bombed on a daily basis, a lot of the times more than once. You see the men pulling dead or severely injured children from the rubble. 

Cons:
•Nothing significant, but me personally I had a hard time with shaky cam they used in a few of the scenes. Made me a little nauseous. Still it's nothing that should stop you from seeing the movie. 

My Rating: 9.5/10

Friday, September 15, 2017

Mother!

Plot:
A couple's (Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem, referred to simply as Mother and Him in the movie) seemingly tranquil life is disrupted when uninvited guests arrive at their home. 

Pros:
•This is one of those movies where it's better if you go into it knowing as little as possible. So this will probably be a short review. That and the fact that I have no idea how to describe to you what I just saw. 
•I'll give Darren Aronofsky this much, his movies are never dull. It certainly is a original, well made, and well directed movie that you very rarely see in Hollywood these days. 
•Very thought provoking. 
•It was a great theater experience for me. All of us were walking out of the theater laughing awkwardly and saying, "What the fuck was that?"

Cons:
•Most people are absolutely going to hate this movie. Especially in the last maybe 25 minutes. 
•While I respect Aronofsky and wouldn't call this a bad movie, it's probably one of my least favorite of his. Black Swan was way better in my opinion. Black Swan was also fucked up, but I own a copy of it and rewatch it every so often. Mother! I most likely will never watch again unless it's with a large group of friends and we get totally drunk first. 

My Rating: 7/10

Sunday, September 10, 2017

Wind River

Plot:
Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner), a game tracker, teams up with FBI agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) to investigate the murder of a young Native American woman. 

Pros:
•As soon as I found out that Taylor Sheridan had written and directed this movie, I knew I had to see it. He had previously written the scripts for Sicario and Hell or High Water (my favorite movie of 2016). Both movies were so well written and filled with tension. And he's done it again with Wind River. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I'm looking forward to whatever he chooses to do next. 
•This is by far the best performance of Jeremy Renner's career. I enjoy seeing him as Hawkeye in the Marvel movies don't get me wrong, but here he really gets to show off his acting chops. 
•Elizabeth Olsen, Graham Greene, Gil Birmingham, and the rest of the supporting cast were really good as well. 
•The locations are a huge part of what makes this movie so great. You feel the isolation of these characters and how strong you have to be to survive around there. 
•Stunning cinematography. 
•If you loved Sicaro and Hell or High Water then you're going to love this one too. I can't recommend it enough. 

Cons:
•Was a little too predictable in terms of who the bad guy ends up being. Normally I would take a point off for something like this and I considered doing that here, but I just thought the movie was so well made overall and left such an impact on me that I'm willing to let it slide this time. 

My Rating: 10/10

Lost in Paris

Plot:
Fiona (Fiona Gordon) travels to Paris to help take care of her Aunt Martha (Emmanuelle Riva). Chaos ensues. 

Pros:
•Wonderful cast, especially Fiona Gordon. She's got great comedic timing and I'd love to see more of her work. 
•I wasn't expecting to laugh as much as I did. The humor in this is very over the top and normally I don't care for those types of movies but for some reason it worked here. 
•Very simple story but it's fun. 
•Nice music and locations. 

Cons:
•Some of the jokes went on just a little too long. 
•While I enjoyed the humor in this, it's definitely not something for everyone. 
•Not sure what point the director was trying to make. 
•Felt a little cheesy at times. 

My Rating: 7/10

Friday, September 8, 2017

IT (IMAX)

Plot:
In the small town of Derry, Maine a group of seven kids have horrifying encounters with IT- an evil clown who preys on their fears and appears every 27 years. 

Pros:
•It's been awhile since a movie has truly terrified me like this. I mean that in a good way of course. Kudos to the director. Everyone involved really. 
•Bill Skarsgård's take on Pennywise is in my opinion just as good as Tim Curry's in the original, just in a different way. Tim Curry was scary didn't not get me wrong, but he was also funny too from what I remember (it's been years since I watched the original 1990 miniseries). Skarsgård is truly terrifying. And not just in the way he looks. All those little ticks and movements he does really adds to it. 
•Reminded me a lot of those coming of age movies I use to watch all the time growing up. Got a very Spielberg vibe from it. The cast of kids they got were all really good in their roles. 
•Only has a budget of $35 million but the visuals look amazing. 

Cons:
•There was no need to have this in IMAX since it really doesn't add anything to the experience. While I highly recommend this movie, I'd say save your money and see it on a regular screen. 
•Some of the decisions the characters make are so stupid and you see it all the time in these types of movies. Granted they're done a little better than most of those but it's still a pet peeve of mine. 

My Rating: 9/10