Juliet, Naked

Plot:

Annie (Rose Byrne) enters into an unlikely romance with faded singer/songwriter Tucker Crowe (Ethan Hawke), whom her boyfriend Duncan (Chris O’Dowd) is obsessed with. 

Pros:

•Good romantic comedies are hard to come by these days. They’re usually poorly acted and way too cheesy in my opinion. I’m happy to say that wasn’t the case with Juliet, Naked. I was pleasantly surprised by how good this movie was. Very well made and sweet. 

•Ethan Hawke and Rose Byrne both gave great performances. You could definitely see the chemistry there. 

•The characters were actually well developed and sympathetic. 

•Loved the music. 

•Definitely worth seeing in theaters. 

Cons:

•Nothing major really. My only complaint would be it gets off to a slow start. Luckily things pick up a lot once Ethan Hawke enters the picture. 

My Rating: 8.5/10

The Nun

Plot:

A priest (Demián Bicher) with a haunted past and a young nun (Taissa Farmiga) on the verge of her final vows are sent to investigate the death of a nun in Romania. 

Pros:

•The one thing that stands out to me is that this is a really looking movie. It really sets the tone and looks creepy. I continue to be impressed with how much Blumhouse is able to do with such low budgets. 

•Demián Bicher and Taissa Farmiga are both really good in this. While the material really isn’t that strong, they certainly make the most of it. 

•This may not to be worth seeing in theaters necessarily, but it’s perfect for a late night watch with a group of friends if you happen to see it on tv/Netflix. 

Cons:

•Stupid and predictable jump scares abound! And the one good jump scare it had they already spoiled in the trailer. 

•While there are some scary moments, there’s also long stretches (or it seems long anyway) where it actually feels dull. 

My Rating: 6.5/10

Eighth Grade

Plot:

A teenage girl named Kayla (Elsie Fischer) tries to survive her final week of eighth grade before moving on to high school. 

Pros:

•A24 you’ve done it again! I continue to be impressed with most of the movies they put out. 

•Very honest and realistic portrayal of what it’s like to be that age. Like I’m sure most of you, middle school was not a great time for me. You couldn’t pay me to go though that again. This movie nails the awkwardness, bad acne, the fact that kids that age can be such assholes, and so much more. There’s something’s here that I think everyone can relate to. 

•Strong performance by Elsie Fischer. She’ll definitely be one to watch in the future. 

•I loved the way they portrayed Kayla’s relationship with her dad (played brilliantly by Josh Hamilton). There’s a conversation they have at the end that’s so heartfelt and sweet that it had me tearing up. 

•Finally a movie where the teenage characters are played by actual teenagers and not people in their late 20s trying to pass as teenagers. 

Cons:

•Nothing that I can think of. I absolutely adored this movie. It’s one of my favorites this year. 

My Rating: 10/10

Fahrenheit 11/9

Plot:

Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore examines the current state of American politics. 

Pros:

•I may not always agree with his approach, but Michael Moore is a talented filmmaker. While this wasn’t in my opinion his best work, it was certainly interesting and worth watching. 

•If you go into this expecting a two hour roasting of Trump you might be a little disappointed. This movie is more about the people and situations that paved the way for this monster to get elected. 

•For me the movies strongest moments were when he focused on the Flint water crisis. I wish he had made a movie just about that. Very powerful. 

•He took shots at both political parties. 

Cons:

•A lot of information presented here wasn’t anything I hadn’t heard before. 

•Dragged a lot at times. It probably didn’t help that I made the mistake of drinking a lot of water during it and by the end I was ready to pee my pants. Still, they could’ve easily trimmed off a few minutes here and there. 

My Rating: 7/10

Puzzle

Plot:

Agnes (Kelly Macdonald), a suburban wife and mother that’s taken for granted, discovers a passion for jigsaw puzzles. 

Pros:

•Kelly Macdonald gives a good performance. 

•The supporting cast wasn’t quite as one dimensional as I thought they might be. Particularly David Denman, who plays Agnes’ husband Louis. Yes he takes his wife for granted and he can be a bit of an ass at times, but he’s a hard working family man and you can tell he does genuinely love her. 

•Irrfan Khan does the best with what little screen time he has. 

•The premise has been done many times before (and better) but it’s worth a watch on tv or Netflix. 

Cons:

•At first I felt sympathy for Agnes but as the movie went on she became more and more selfish. Even cruel. 

•There were some scenes (mainly in the beginning) that were so poorly lit I had a hard time making out what was happening. 

•The ending to me was unsatisfying. 

My Rating: 6/10