Avengers: Infinity War

Plot:

The Avengers must come together again, this time to try and stop Thanos (Josh Brolin) before he gets all of the Infinity Stones and wipes out half the universe. 

I had planned on writing a full review of this movie but I can’t bring myself to do it. For one, it’s better to go into this knowing as little as possible. While my reviews are generally spoiler free it would be very hard to talk about Infinity War without giving anything away. I refuse to be one of those assholes. And secondly, I’m still numb and trying to process what I just saw. 

All I’ll say is- Ten years of movies have all lead up to this. And boy it didn’t disappoint. Thank you Russo brothers for creating this amazing movie that was everything I hoped it would be and more. Easily the best movie I’ve seen this year. I doubt anything is going to top this one. 

Do I recommend it? FUCK YEAH I DO! Just make sure to bring a box of tissues and, if you’re of age, a bottle of your favorite alcohol. 

My Rating: 10/10

Tyler Perry’s Acrimony

Plot:

Melinda (Taraji P. Henson) becomes enraged when it appears that her husband Robert (Lyriq Bent) has betrayed her. 

I was planning on doing my typical review where I list pros and cons and give my rating. But this is Tyler Perry we’re talking about here.  It’s not your typical movie. Plus it’s better going into this knowing as little as possible. 

I’ll start out by saying that everything you’ve probably heard about Acrimony was right. It’s complete shit but the kind that’s so bad it’s hysterical. Seriously, I haven’t had this much fun watching a movie in a long time. 

I’m not knocking Tyler Perry at all. He seems like a really nice guy and I respect him as a businessman. But he’s lost his fucking mind (a long time ago actually). Not that that’s a bad thing. Quite the opposite. I want him to keep making more movies like this. These “dramas” are funnier than his movies that are suppose to be comedies. 

Taraji P. Henson sure can play crazy well. Such an amazing actress. Way too good for a movie like this but I’m glad she was in it. 

Apparently the movie was shot in only 8 days. I believe it because it looks cheap and rushed. Although technically it’s more competently shot than most Tyler Perry movies I’ve seen. 

The last part of the movie is where things really go off the deep end. Something you have to see in order to believe it. It’s worth the price of admission alone. 

Get a bunch of friends together, have a few drinks, and watch this movie. You’ll have a good time I promise. 

My Rating: 5/10

Isle of Dogs

Plot:

After all dogs are exiled to a place called Trash Island, one 12 year old boy goes in search of his dog Spots. 

Pros:

•I tend to avoid most movies about dogs since I usually end up an emotional mess every time. But when I heard it was directed by Wes Anderson and was getting good word of mouth I knew I had to see it. I’m so glad I did. This was one of the most well made, charming movies I’ve seen in awhile. 

•Beautiful looking movie. I’ve always been a huge fan of stop motion animation. The amount of time and effort that went into every little detail is incredible. 

•An all star cast of actors (many of whom are frequent Wes Anderson collaborators) did a great job with providing voices for the characters. I especially enjoyed Bryan Cranston. 

•Well written, heartfelt, and surprisingly funny story. 

•Something both adults and kids can enjoy. Older kids though since it is PG-13 and there are several disturbing moments throughout. 

•Wonderful and respectful tribute to Japanese culture. 

Cons:

•Some people aren’t going to like the fact that only one character aside from the dogs speak English. The rest speak entirely in Japanese with no subtitles. It took some getting use to but after awhile I was fine with it. 

•I don’t consider this a spoiler since it’s brought up in the trailer but was anyone else disturbed by the fact that the American exchange student character, whom I believe they say is in high school, has a crush on a 12 year old boy? 

My Rating: 9/10

Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story

Plot:

Documentary about the life and career of actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr. 

Pros:

•Going into this movie I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had vaguely heard of Hedy Lamarr before but didn’t know that much about her other than that she was an actress. I’m glad I saw this because it was very interesting and insightful. It gave you a sense of who she really was. 

•One of the things I found very interesting was that not only was Hedy a beautiful actress but she was actually a brilliant inventor as well. One of her patents served as the basis for many things we use today- WiFi, gps, Bluetooth, etc. 

•Great interviews with her family and friends as well as several people in the film industry who admired her. 

•If you’re into documentaries and or are a Hedy Lamarr fan I’d definitely suggest checking this out. While I wouldn’t call it perfect or anything, I’d say it’s worth your time. 

Cons:

•Drags just a bit in the middle. 

My Rating: 8/10

The Death of Stalin

Plot:

Follows Joseph Stalin’s (Adrian McLoughlin) final days and the chaos that ensued after his death. 

Pros:

•I give the director a lot of credit for trying to pull something like this off. It’s certainly very interesting if you’re into this particular area of history. For me I wouldn’t call it a great movie but it was still pretty good. 

•The cast was strong, especially Steve Buscemi who carried a lot of this movie. Rupert Friend and Jason Isaacs were great in supporting roles. Would’ve liked to have seen more of them. 

•The last 30 minutes... WOW!!! I won’t spoil it for you guys but man does shit get real. Terrifying and intriguing. If the rest of the movie had been like that I would’ve given this a much higher rating. 

•Well shot.

Cons:

•I’ll be honest, the first hour or so was a bit of a chore to get through. The tone was all over the place. And in spots I had to fight the  urge to fall asleep. 

•The music score wasn’t bad but there were times that it was way too overpowering. 

My Rating: 7/10

The Party

Plot:

Janet (Kristen Scott Thomas) gets a promotion and decides to throw a party. But once the guests arrive, it becomes clear that all hell is about to break loose. 

Pros:

•This movie was certainly never dull. It was very odd and dysfunctional. I mean that in a good way. 

•Surprisingly funny but not in your typical laugh out loud type of way. It’s that very British humor which some people won’t enjoy but I personally liked it. 

•Stellar cast. I especially enjoyed Patricia Clarkson and Cillian Murphy. The story itself is not that strong but these actors are so amazing they’re able to make it work.

Cons:

•Super short. It was only about 70 minutes long. Wish they had taken more time to develop the characters and story. They had an interesting idea going here. 

•The movie was shot in black and white. I enjoy a good black and white movie and I’m fine with modern movies doing this if it serves a purpose. But as for this movie it served no purpose. 

•A few moments of very questionable camerawork including Dutch angles which I can’t stand. 

•Overall I liked this movie but it’s not something I suggest seeing in theaters. However if you come across it on Netflix it wouldn’t be a complete waste of time. 

My Rating: 7/10

A Quiet Place

Plot:

A family is forced to live their life in silence as they hide from creatures that hunt by sound. 

Pros:

•WOW!!! When I first saw the trailer for this movie a while back I expected it to be good. But I had no idea it would be THIS good. This was easily one of the best movies I’ve seen so far this year. Bravo to John Krasinski (who  not only acted in but directed as well, along side his real life wife Emily Blunt) and all involved for creating something unique, terrifying and surprisingly heartfelt. 

•The acting was superb. Almost the entire movie has no spoken dialogue, communicating instead with sign language and facial expressions. It’s not easy to pull all that off but they did. 

•Beautiful locations. Parts of this movie were filmed not too far from where I live so that’s always cool to see. 

•To me the best horror movies are ones like this where they don’t rely on lots of gore (there’s some blood but nothing that I would consider too graphic). 

•If this movie is any indication, John Krasinski has a great career ahead of him as a director. I can’t wait to see what he does next. 

•I walked out of theater in awe at what I just watched. Rarely does a movie do that. Pretty safe to say that A Quiet Place will most likely end up on my top ten list at the end of the year. 

Cons:

•Honestly I can think of any aside from maybe one or two nitpicks that are so minor they’re not even worth mention nor does it affect my rating. Everyone please go out and support this movie. You won’t regret it. 

My Rating: 10/10