Black Widow

Pros:

•Strong opening scene that hits you right in the feels (it did for me anyway). The whole first act is pretty solid for the most part. 

•Florence Pugh was easily my favorite character in this. She gives an incredible performance and continues to be one of my favorite actresses right now. 

•David Harbour was great as well

•The best scenes to me weren’t the action ones, but the quieter “family” moments. Especially between Natasha and Yelena. 

•A surprising amount of humor. I laughed quite a few times throughout this. 

•While it’s one of the weaker Marvel films, I don’t think it’s nearly as bad as some people are saying. I definitely recommend seeing it in theaters if you can. 

•The end credits scene, all I’ll say is….. Ooooooo damn! 😳 Can’t wait to see where they go with this. 

Cons:

•Once again a weak and useless villain in a Marvel movie. Really guys? I thought we were past this. 

•Kind of like Wonder Woman, it falls apart in the last act (maybe not quite as bad though). A cgi, explosive mess. Literally there were moments I couldn’t tell what was happening. 

•Taskmaster… what the hell was that? And gee, I didn’t see that twist coming 🙄

My Rating: 7/10

Fast 9

I know I’ve been taking a break from writing (a well deserved break after finally finishing the first draft of my novel) but I did promise I’d review this movie. However, this doesn’t mean I’ll be back to doing weekly reviews just yet. But if a big movie like this one comes out of course I’ll give you all my thoughts. I hope everyone understands. 

This review is SPOILER FREE

Pros:

•I’m not going to lie, the opening scene hit me in the feels. 

•They do a lot of flashbacks in this one and for the most part I enjoyed them. 

•This may be the dumbest one yet… and I had a blast watching it. Obviously you can’t take these movies seriously. I found myself laughing out loud several times at the craziness, getting several glares from a guy sitting a few rows ahead of me. 

•Stunts/action was done well

•Looks really good on an IMAX screen 

•I actually liked Tyrese in this movie. Normally his character annoys the fuck out of me. 

•I know it’s alluded to in the trailer and other people have already spoiled it, but I won’t do that here. There’s a moment in here that had me so excited and something I’ve wanted to see in this franchise for a long time. When it finally happened it brought a huge smile to my face and once again had me laughing. 

Cons:

•Does something that I absolutely hate and is one of my biggest pet peeves about sequels/franchises- introducing a sibling/child/relative out of nowhere. Someone that was never even mentioned in any of the previous movies. Any time a movie does this I automatically take off points from my rating. 

•John Cena was terrible in this. Not surprising though. And speaking of his character…. This series has had many things happen that just defy logic. But the biggest one yet may be trying to convince us that he and Vin Diesel are brothers. 

•The explanation for how Han survived was pretty meh. 

My Rating: 7/10  

A Quiet Place Part 2

Pros:

•I was skeptical when I first heard they were making this sequel. The first movie was one of my favorites the year it came out and I thought it didn’t need to go any further. Any doubts I had were gone after the opening scene of part 2. It completely sucks you in and I have to say I really enjoyed it. 

•Here they do a good job on expanding this universe. 

•Great writing and direction by John Krasinski 

•The stand out by far was Millicent Simmonds. She’s given a lot more time to shine and she’s outstanding. What a talented young actress. She’s got quite a future ahead of her. 

•If you liked the first movie you’ll definitely like this. It’s definitely one of the best movies I’ve seen this year. 

Cons:

•The runtime was too short. I was so engrossed in what I was watching that when the movie abruptly ended and the credits rolled I was like, “Wtf? Noooooo! Keep going!”

•There were a few really stupid decisions some of the characters made that had me shaking my head. 

•Djimon Hounsou was pretty much wasted here. Hell I don’t think his character even had a name. 

My Rating: 8.5/10

Those Who Wish Me Dead

Pros:

•I only became aware of this movie recently but knew I had to see it when I found out it was written and directed by Taylor Sheridan. He’s the one who wrote Sicario, Hell or High Water, and Wind River (he directed this too). Sheridan is an amazingly talented person and if you haven’t seen any of the movies I just mentioned I strongly urge you to do so. 

•It was nice seeing Angelina Jolie in a movie again. It’s certainly been awhile. While it was a little hard for me to buy her as a firefighter she played the part well. 

•Strong supporting cast 

•As with Sheridan’s other work there’s some really beautiful locations and cinematography. 

•There’s lots of thrilling, intense scenes that had me on the edge of my seat. 

Cons:

•There’s some awful dialogue in the beginning that had me cringing so bad I had to look away from the screen. Luckily it got much better after that but still. 

•Even though I did like this movie quite a bit and I recommend you see it, it was definitely Sheridan’s weakest work to date. That being said even a weak movie of his is still a million times better than most of the stuff out there. 

•The villains here were pretty forgettable, despite being played by two actors I normally like. 

•For those who are wondering about Tyler Perry’s role in this- all it is was a cameo. He had maybe two minutes of screen time tops. Honestly they could’ve cut his scene and it would’ve had no impact on the movie whatsoever. 

•The ending felt a bit rushed. 

My Rating: 7.5/10

Wrath of Man

I wasn’t even aware that this movie existed until last week when I saw a trailer for it before Godzilla vs Kong. To be honest I wasn’t all that impressed. From the trailer it looked like just your stereotypical revenge movie. But with not that many options right now and the fact that I like Jason Statham I decided to give it a chance. I’m so glad I did because while in some ways this does follow many of those same tropes, rarely is it done this well. I was throughly entertained every minute of this movie. 

Everything fit together so well. The way things are slowly revealed throughout the story to the action/heist scenes which had my eyes glued to the screen the entire time. Even the actors worked well together and looked like they were having a blast filming this. Yes, you’ve seen Jason Statham play this type of role a million times. But he does it so damn well. 

If you’re into good old fashioned crime thrillers I definitely think you’ll love this. Guy Ritchie did an amazing job. These types of movies I feel are where he’s at his best. 

The only real complaint I have, and it’s very minor, is I started to feel the length a bit towards the end. 

There’s so much more I want to say but I don’t want to spoil this for anyone. I highly recommended it. Don’t let the trailer fool you- this is a damn good movie. I can’t believe I’m about to say this but it’s probably my favorite movie of the year so far. I may even buy a copy when it comes out on blu ray. That’s how much I enjoyed it. 

My Rating: 9/10

Godzilla vs. Kong

Yes, I’m well aware that I could've stay home and watched this on HBO Max. But this was one of those movies that I felt should be seen on the big screen. I’ve been looking forward to it since it was first announced and now that theaters are finally opened up around here I figured why not. So what’s my verdict? It was exactly what I expected and so much more! 

Pros:

•The action scenes were completely bad ass and had me on the edge of my seat. 

•Special effects were very well done, especially when it came to Kong 

•even though the human characters weren’t exactly three dimensional, I actually gave a shit about most of them. Unlike the characters in Mortal Kombat 2021. 

•Moved at a really good pace. I believe the movie was a little under two hours long and the time just flew by. 

•Definitely worth paying to see it in theaters. 

Cons:

•I feel like they did a better job developing the Team Kong side of things vs. the Team Godzilla side. 

•I can’t say too much without spoiling things but, even though I like him as an actor, I hated what they did with Demián Bichir’s character. 

•Kyle Chandler was completely useless. 

My Rating: 8.5/10

Mortal Kombat (2021)

Pros:

•I’m glad they decided to go all out and not shy away from the blood and gore. 

•The fight scenes were of course the best part of the movie. My eyes were completely glued to the screen each time one came up. Bad ass and very well choreographed. 

•Considering this is Simon McQuoid’s directorial debut I think he did a pretty decent job. You can tell he’s a fan and at least tried to make a somewhat coherent story out of this. Is it perfect? Far from it. But I appreciate the effort. 

•Fans of the game will definitely have a good time. 

•Most of the visuals looked decent. 

•Not sure how well it’s doing financially but I hope it makes enough to warrant a sequel. They set some cool stuff up at the end. 

Cons:

•I know this is not one of those movies you go to for great acting but good lord some of them in here  (with the exception of maybe two people)  were so terrible it was embarrassing. 

•Not something you really need to see in theaters. I do recommend it but watch it on HBO Max or stream it through other means. 

•Some very bizarre editing in certain parts. 

My Rating: 6.5/10

The Personal History of David Copperfield

Pros:

•The main things that stick out to me are the cinematography and costumes. It’s certainly a gorgeous movie to look at. They also do some creative things visually while telling the story which I thought was interesting. 

•All of the actors looked like they were having a lot of fun filming this. The highlights in my opinion were Peter Capaldi and Hugh Laurie. 

•I’m not as crazy about Dev Patel like some people are but I thought he was charming in the title role. 

Cons:

•The story itself was kind of... meh. Not bad by any means but I’ll most likely forget about it in a few days. Wouldn’t really recommend you see it in theaters. 

•The tone was all over the place. One minute it’s serious and the next it feels like a satire. It’s the same issue I had with the director’s last movie, The Death of Stalin (which despite this flaw is a far superior movie and one that I revisit often). 

•If you’re looking for a good period piece there are so many better ones than this. Emma (2020) for example. 

My Rating: 6/10

Tenet (IMAX)

My first review in over seven months. Wow! So much has changed since then. The world has gone to hell as you all know but some good has come out of this. When my work closed down for over two months, and I needed something to occupy my time and keep my sane, I actually started writing again! I’ve been wanting to write this story for over two years and it feels so good to get it out of my head and onto paper. Currently writing chapter 21 of what will probably be around a 30 chapter novel. Will definitely share it with you all when I’m finished. 

Between working on my novel and the fact that the studios aren’t really releasing much for the rest of the year, I probably won’t be doing reviews on a weekly basis but I’ll try to post some as often as I can. 

Anyway, onto the review. I’m very happy that it gets to be the latest Christopher Nolan movie 😊 

Pros:

•It’s a fascinating story but definitely one that I’m going to need to watch a few more times in order to process it all. Who knows, maybe it’ll make my rating go up. 

•It was nice to see John David Washington in a movie again. While I enjoyed his performance in BlacKkKlansman more, I still thought he was good here. I also really liked Robert Pattinson in this as well. 

•Amazing fight/action choreography. 

•Of course it was a gorgeous looking movie, especially on an IMAX screen. 

•Probably one of Nolan’s weaker movies in my opinion. Still, even one of his movies that isn’t the best is still a million times better than most of the movies that are released. That being said, I would recommend it. 

Cons:

•The sound mixing would sometimes be so overwhelming/loud that I could barely make out the dialogue. 

•I didn’t care much for Kenneth Branagh (whom I’m normally a fan of) in this. There were times where he was fine but other times he was a little too over the top. 

•As much as I love Nolan, he still doesn’t know how to write good female characters. 

•Started to feel the length a bit towards the end. 

My Rating: 7.5/10

Emma

Pros:

•Gorgeous cinematography and costumes.

•I’m a sucker for a good period piece. And the fact that it’s Jane Austen makes it even better. 

•Anya Taylor-Joy was perfectly cast as the title character. She’s a very talented young actress and I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve seen her in so far. 

•It’s always a delight whenever I see Bill Nighy in a movie. 

Cons:

•It got off to a bit of a slow start and I wasn’t feeling it at first. Luckily things picked up in the second half. 

My Rating: 8/10 

This will probably be my last review for a little while. I’ve been meaning to take a break to focus on other things. Mainly my other writing including several stories I’ve had floating in my head for a long time. And with this horrible coronavirus sadly affecting everything, who knows when we’ll get more new releases. 

The Way Back

I didn’t even know about this movie until just recently. But when I heard this was directed by Gavin O’Connor (who also directed Warrior, one of my favorite movies ever) I knew I had to see it. He’s definitely your go to guy if you’re looking to make a sports movie. I’m happy to say that once again he did not disappoint. The Way Back was absolutely amazing. 

What I really love the most about Gavin’s movies is that you don’t have to be a sports fan in order to enjoy them. Honestly this movie wasn’t as much about basketball as the trailer lead me to believe. It’s a big part of it yes, but it’s more than that. It’s a really well done drama about a man named Jack Cunningham (Ben Affleck, who gives one of his best performances in my opinion), a former high school basketball star who has gone through some really tragic things in his life and is battling severe alcoholism. And that’s putting it mildly. 

You can tell how personal this movie is for Ben Affleck given his own struggles with addiction. He really put everything into this and gave a raw, brutality realistic performance. I would love to see him get some recognition come award season but given that it’s super early in the year who knows. 

There were some rough spots with the dialog but that really my only complaint. I highly recommend everyone check it out. 

My Rating: 9/10

The Invisible Man

I’ll be honest, I really wasn’t planning on seeing this at all. I had seen the trailer for it several times before a lot of movies the last couple of months and it just looked stupid. But after the decent reviews it’s been getting I figured I’d give it a chance. I’m so glad I did. This is one of those cases where you shouldn’t judge a movie by its trailer. The Invisible Man was actually really good. 

Hats off to director Leigh Whannell (who also directed Upgrade, a movie everyone keeps telling me to watch and I’m definitely going to make it a point to now) for creating  this really well made psychological thriller that doesn’t rely on big special effects, jump scares or tons of action. I mean there was definitely more action towards the end but it wasn’t overkill. Instead he uses the cinematography, score, etc. to really set the tone. It’s also a slow burn which I know some people won’t like but I was totally fine with. 

Elisabeth Moss once again gives another brilliant performance. She was very believable as an abuse victim. I know it’s very early but this is one of my favorite performances of the year so far. 

My only complaint is the twists I could see coming from a mile away. I wish it had given me a few more surprises. Other than that it’s a great movie that I highly recommend. Go see it. 

My Rating: 8.5/10

Bombshell

Pros:

•One of the things that really stood out to me was the writing. I was hooked  right from the beginning. While I thought I knew a lot about this story, there was also things I didn’t. It really sheds more light on an important issue. The dialog was very sharp as well. 

•Outstanding performances by Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, and Margot Robbie. 

•I can see why this movie won the Best Makeup Oscar. If I hadn’t known ahead of time I never would’ve guessed that was Charlize Theron as Megan Kelly. 

Cons:

•There really isn’t anything major I can think of. I highly recommend this movie to everyone. If I had any complaints I guess it would be that the ending felt a bit rushed. 

My Rating: 9/10

Birds of Prey

Pros:

•It was way better than Suicide Squad. Not that that’s saying much. 

•Margot Robbie was great as Harley Quinn. She looked like she was having a blast. 

•The fight scenes were well done for the most part. 

•There’s a lot of cool visuals. 

•I thought the four main characters worked really well together. 

•The soundtrack was badass. Will definitely add it to my Spotify list. 

•Would I rush out to see this? No. But it’s definitely worth checking out. Get some friends together and go see a matinee. You’ll have fun. 

Cons:

•Maybe it could be because I’m exhausted today, but the movie dragged a bit for me at the beginning. 

•A few of the characters could’ve been a little better developed. 

•As much as I like Ewan McGregor, I didn’t care for him as the main villain here. 

My Rating: 7/10 

Jojo Rabbit

Pros:

•I can see why Scarlett Johansson got a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her role in this. She was amazing. Definitely the heart of this movie. 

•I also liked the actress that played the young Jewish girl hiding in their home. I can’t think of the actress’s name at the moment but she played the daughter in Leave No Trace (which if you haven’t seen already I highly recommend). 

•The movie was, in my opinion, at its best during the serious moments. 

•It’s really nicely shot and directed. 

•Moved at a good pace. 

Cons:

•I’ll be honest, I really wasn’t feeling this movie at first. Mainly, the humor just wasn’t working for me. I don’t think I laughed once, just a few chuckles here and there. 

•As much as I like Taika Waititi as a director, his portrayal of Jojo’s imaginary friend version of Hitler got on my damn nerves. If it weren’t for this I’d be giving this movie a higher rating. 

My Rating: 7.5/10

Bad Boys For Life

The first two Bad Boys movies are probably some of the only Michael Bay movies I actually like. So I’ve been looking forward to this one ever since they first announced it years ago. And I’m happy to report that it didn’t disappoint. 

It was great seeing Will Smith and Martin Lawrence back together again. They still have really good chemistry and looked like they were having a blast filming this. 

I had so much fun watching this movie. Is it dumb as fuck? Absolutely! But there’s nothing wrong with a dumb action movie if done right. 

My only complaints are very minor. First, while most of the humor worked for me (I got several genuine laughs) some of the jokes fell flat. And second, the movie did drag a bit in the last act. Still, it’s nothing that should stop you from seeing the movie. Definitely give it a chance. 

My Rating: 8/10

1917

Pros:

•Where do I even begin? Wow!! I can definitely see why this has been so much attention this awards season. This was one of the best war movies I’ve seen in a long time. 

•I love the way it was filmed to make it appear the entire movie was one long shot. You really feel like you’re there with these two soldiers on their journey. 

•So much tension and it never lets up. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. Those nearly two hours just flew by. 

•Outstanding direction by Sam Mendez. 

•Amazing performances by the two main leads. 

•There’s some great cameos as well. Some you’ve already seen in the trailers and some were a surprise. 

•Beautiful cinematography and music score. 

Cons:

•I honestly can’t think of a single one. This was everything you could ever want in a war movie and so much more. I just wish I had seen it earlier. Definitely would’ve made my top 10 list. 

My Rating: 10/10 

My Top 10 Movies of 2019

For awhile I wasn’t sure I would have enough movies to fill my top 10. Luckily right around October things started to pick up, especially during the film festival I always go to. 

This year I decided to go back to my original format and list each movie from 10 to 1 and give some quick thoughts. Enjoy! 

DISCLAIMER: This is MY top 10 list and therefore MY opinion on the movies I consider to be the best. You might not agree with me on the movies I chose or the order I put them in and that’s fine. I just ask that you be respectful about it. 

•10.  Midsommar 

This may make some people’s worst of list and I can totally understand why. But for me, Midsommar was one of the most bizarre and fascinating things I saw in theaters this year. I’ll always give a movie extra credit for being unique. 

•9. Les Miserables (2019)

No, this isn’t a modern retelling of the musical/novel. The only thing it has in common is it’s set in France and mentions Victor Hugo’s name once. I saw this at a film festival back in October and was totally blown away. Well made and sadly all too relevant story dealing with police brutality that is so tense it’ll have you on the edge of your seat the whole time. 

•8. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood 

What I really appreciated about this movie is that it’s not just a straight up Mr. Rogers  biopic. It did something different. Instead, it played out like a long episode of the beloved show and focused on the man who interviewed Mr. Rogers for an article and the impact this had on his life. Be sure to have tissues handy because this movie will hit you right in the feels. 

•7. Clemency

I haven’t felt this emotionally gutted watching a movie since 12 Years a Slave. Alfre Woodard gives a powerful (and in my opinion her best) performance as a prison warden whose job includes overseeing executions and the toll it takes on her. Wish this movie was getting more attention because it needs to be seen by everyone. 

•6. Sorry We Missed You

Very raw and honest British drama about a man named Ricky (Kris Hitchen) who is working for an Amazon like company and struggling to provide for his family. What I love about director Ken Loach (who also directed I, Daniel Blake, another great film) is he’s able to create very relatable characters that you actually care about. And he doesn’t shy away from important economic issues facing many people today. 

•5. Parasite

Brilliant Korean movie that has something for everyone- comedy, drama, thriller, and even some horror elements. It’s definitely one of those movies you should go into knowing as little as possible. Be sure to see it if you haven’t already done so. 

•4. Joker

Even if you take the Joker aspect out of it this is still a very well made character study about a man (Joaquin Phoenix, giving yet another award worthy performance) who keeps getting beaten down by life until he finally snaps. Would love to see director Todd Phillips do more movies like this instead of the raunchy comedies he’s known for. 

•3. Avengers: Endgame

For the longest time this was my number one movie of the year and I didn’t think anything would be able to top it. Still, this was one of the best theater experiences I’ve ever had. 10 years and many movies all built up to this and boy does it pay off. I still get chills watching the final battle scene. There will never be another movie like this. 

•2. The Last Black Man in San Francisco 

I saw this movie several months ago and I still find myself thinking about it a lot. Powerful, well acted, and well made story about a young man trying to find a sense of home in the changing city of San Francisco. A city that seems to have left him behind. 

•1. Marriage Story 

Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson give two of the best performances I’ve seen this year as a couple going through a divorce. One of the many things I love about this movie is that it doesn’t try to vilify one character over the other the way many

other movies of this type might. They each make very valid points and I found myself routing for both of them. Emotional and very intense with a surprising amount of humor. The more I thought about it the more I realized just how much I loved this movie. Of course I had to put this as number one. 

Honorable Mentions:

•The Farewell

•Downtown Abbey

•Ford v. Ferrari 

•Waves

•Knives Out

•Little Women

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

I literally just got out of the movie a few minutes ago and boy am I an emotional mess. Seriously. I’m not sure I can compose myself enough to write a full review so I’ll just give a couple of quick thoughts. Plus with a big movie like this I don’t want to accidentally spoil anything. 

Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver were absolutely amazing in this. Their story arc was, in my opinion, the best part and the strongest. 

It’s also visually stunning for the most part (minus those damn lense flares JJ Abrams loves to use. Thankfully they're kept to a minimum.). Definitely check this out in IMAX if you can. 

That being said, it’s not without it’s flaws. For one, it felt very rushed in spots and there were several things that would be revealed that had me saying, “Are you fucking serious? Really?!?!” I totally understand people not liking it. 

Do I recommend it though? Hell yeah I do! I know the fandom drives me crazy sometimes but I’m proud to be a Star Wars fan. 

Sorry guys.  I wish I could say more but I don’t want to ruin anything. 

My Rating: 8/10

Knives Out

Pros:

•This movie was a lot of fun. If you’re into good old fashioned murder mysteries you’ll definitely enjoy this. 

•Incredible cast. I especially enjoyed Ana De Armas and Daniel Craig’s (who looked like he was having a blast the whole time) performances. 

•Great writing and direction by Rian Johnson. I know people give him a lot of hell for The Last Jedi (which I enjoy a lot despite its flaws) but I still think he’s very talented. Would love to see him do more original things like this.

•Will this movie make my top 10? Maybe, maybe not. Still I highly recommend everyone go out and support it. You’ll have a good time. 

Cons:

•It did drag a bit towards the end. Don’t get me wrong, I was never bored. Not for one second. But it got to the point where I was saying to myself, “Okay, time to wrap things up.”

My Rating: 9/10