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Tucker and Dale vs Evil (2010)
Just not particularly funny...
While I do know that this is technically a satire of the horror genre, it's just not the funny kind of satire...
You might think "hm, that was clever" a couple of times during the film, but except for calling out 30+ year old tropes and references from the same time period, the movie doesn't have much to offer.
Most of the scenes are very predictable, and of the group I watched it with no one laughed once.
The whole stereotype twist is original, but get's tired after about the 2nd joke.
I'd still always pick Cabin in the Woods instead, from one of the most underrated directors of our time!
Ex Machina (2014)
Peak SciFi
Slow but meticulous, this movie is one of those beautiful cinema experiences where you know you are watching art unfolding, while still being entertained. Although it's not the lightest movie out there and might be a bit tough for some, it's dripping with beauty and welcomes rewatches.
Sicario (2015)
Close to Perfect
While the cinematographic beauty or the great score are nothing we haven't learned to expect from Villeneuve, what really stands out here is the incredibly well made and tense action sequences.
Villeneuve takes a story that could easily have been borrowed from a cheap action flick and makes a cinematic masterpiece out of it, a meticulously paced tense slow burner, showing us the face of the drug war more up close and personal than the photography would have you expect.
Booksmart (2019)
Good job for Wilde
Although the material is not perfect, this is a great coming of age movie. I wish it came out back when I was in high school, as I love the whole idea of nerds letting loose and a movie finally not portraying the popular kids as idiots, which was far closer to my high school experience.
It's fun and funny, not really a laugh a minute but some very good lines and deliveries in there. Although it's unfair to compare it to Superbad since it deals with far deeper questions and topics, the humor does seem to be kind of similar.
Admittedly, some of the acting was definitely sub par, but the whole story was anchored well by two strong central performances of young talents to look out for, surrounded with some very good character actors.
To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You (2020)
Too much yet somehow not enough
As a twentysomething film buff, I am definitely not the target audience for this franchise, yet the first movie actually managed to grab my attention and get me invested with a solid story and a relatively fresh plot device.
Unfortunately most of that is lost in the sequel, as the plot seems very disjointed at times and characters seemingly just pop in and out of scenes without much logic or thought behind it. The direction isn't as tight this time around and the photography seems geared towards gorgeous screenshots to show as Netflix previews.
New characters are very one-dimensional (the "new" love interest) and can anyone tell me why we even need to check in on characters from the first movie who have literally no relevance to the plot (e.g. the videocall with the sister character)?
The flashbacks and unfinished plotlines (like the father's love interest) do make more sense once you realise this is only the 2nd movie in a trilogy, but as a standalone movie this one is definitely a clunker.
Especially annoying this time around is the soundtrack that is obviously geared towards selling tweens soundtrack's, given that it adds nothing to the experience and actually takes you out of the movie whenever it comes on.
That being said, I like some of the lessons this movie tries to teach tweens and the movie did manage to make me feel for some of the characters, so I wouldn't say it was a complete waste of time, even if it did take me a couple of tries to finish.
Diecisiete (2019)
Just Perfect
This movie really took me by surprise. From the moment it starts it takes a hold of you and doesn't let you go until the very emotional ending, at which point this reviewer realised he was watching his favourite movie of the year so far (and it's almost November!).
The way it is filmed and edited is great, proving once again how much more advanced spanish cinema is than anything else on the continent, and that it can more than hold its own against large international studios.
The photography is beautiful, really capturing the beauty of small town and rural northern Spain, and showing us the very real world this characters inhabit.
The script is amazing, having you laughing out loud in one moment only to have you biting your lip not to cry in the very next. It's really entertaining and is only supplemented by superb acting from everyone who appears on screen, making you forget you're watching a movie at all. Both of the leads are outstanding and should definitely be at least considered for Goya's this year.
It's a really poignant coming of age story with a focus on the central brotherly relationship and family in general, so do yourself a favour and watch it already.
Another recommendation is to watch the original Spanish dub to really feel the way characters interact with each other and how natural they are, which might be lost in the english dub.
Eighth Grade (2018)
Real Life Cringe
As someone working with children this age on a weekly basis (and having been one not so long ago), I have to admit that this really hit close to home. Bo Burnham successfully portrays the awkwardness, fear, heartbreak, joy and confusion of being a tween in today's hyperconnected society, with all its beauty and pathos.
While not the most gripping movie in terms of pace, the vignettes feel real and show us a coming of age story that might seem all to familiar but isn't told often enough as to help us understand young people going through it.
The writing and directing is more than adequate for an indie flick, and shows us once again Bo Burnham's immense talent. While he might have a promising career in cinema ahead of him, here's to hoping he doesn't leave his performing career as he is definitely a unique voice that would be missed.
What it lacks in Burnham's signature style of comedy it makes up for with a heartbreakingly beautiful central performance, with Elsie Fisher inhabiting her role in a way that made it seem like she wrote the part herself.
Watch it if you were ever young and awkward or if you have a heart.
Ad Astra (2019)
2001 if 2001 had a plot
It's refreshing to see a science fiction movie that doesn't need to be slow, boring and plotless in order to seem more philosophical. The plot actually progresses at a brisk pace with many tense moments, while still slowing down at times to take in certain situations or information we hear, as well as to allow as to consider the underlying emotions experienced. It is thus definitely not a mindless adventure as it explores deep topics of family and abandonment in a very real and accessible way.
The visual effects are stunning, showing us a world that is at time gorgeous and at times disgusting, just like a human civilization in space would probably look like.
While the script might not be the best ever, Pitt pulls it off with his charisma and immense presence with one of his career best performances.
Another strong point is the world building, as civilization here seems just like you would imagine it to be, a logical extension of the world we live in, with very familiar issues.
The biggest criticism I see is regarding the science of it. As someone who generally doesn't loss much sleep thinking about radio waves and how one would send a message to the far side of Neptune, I don't see this as a problem, especially considering the things we accepted in previous epic sci-fi outings, so I don't see this as a problem. However if you think this might be an issue for you, spare us and your group of friends and just don't see it.
Happy Death Day 2 U (2019)
Surprisingly Good Sequel
After the original turned out to be such a surprisingly entertaining and fun (if not the most original) movie, providing a great cast and a (more or less) believable story, it shouldn't be surprising that a sequel came out. One could be forgiven for being ready to write this one off before watching it, as horror sequels rarely turn out to be any good.
This one, however, manages to be both similar enough to the original to make the fans happy while also providing a good continuation and actually growing the story further without completely undermining the original's ending. This one might require a bit more suspension of disbelief (as if seeing a girl relive her death over and over was not enough) but for fans of tims travel and similar sci-fi gimmicks this one should hit just the spot.
Capitalism: A Love Story (2009)
Entertaining but Feels Overly Indulgent
The movie is a classic Michael Moore movie, showing us contemporary American problems in an entertaining and quintessentially Michael Moore kind of way. It's a documentary for people who don't like documentaries and although it has some of Moore's classic charm, it's not as captivating as some of his older movies.
Another problem is that it's not as ground-breaking as Bowling for Columbine or Sicko, as even us foreigners are already aware of the problems the US is facing. It also seems difficult to imagine any conservative putting aside Moore's antics and sitting through this, which begs the question who is the movie made for. Moore's antics this time around seem more and more pointless, as covering wall street with crime scene tape seems not only pointless but wasteful.
All in all an entertaining movie, although one that is too much Michael Moore even for Michael Moore.
John Wick (2014)
Great Action, Less so the Plot
Amazing action sequences make this a must-watch for any fan of stylish and fast paced action flicks. The great photography is paired with stylish camera work, that really shows the director has immense experience and love for the craft. Keanu Reeves shines as well, with a role that might finally typecast him.
The biggest downside is the plot, or the lack thereof, and the weak dialogue and character motivation really take you out of the proceedings of the otherwise tight 101 minute flick.
The Favourite (2018)
Lanthimos' Best
A movie as stylish as any of the director's features, the film is not for everyone, although it definitely ranks as the best movie by the director. With great and creative photography and framing, that somehow feels both period accurate and completely contemporary at the same time. The story is entertaining and trots along at a brisk pace, with very little filler. The acting is great as expected, much more humanistic and relaistic as opposed to the typical detached deliveries that make some of Lanthimos' films so hermetic. With strong performances from both the main cast and the side characters, it's definitely a big recommendation for any gilm lover.
The biggest disappointment is that ultimately it seems to have less to say than it thinks it has, so even as the end credits roll, you're left thinking what, if anything, did you actually get out of watching it?
Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019)
Teen Movie with a Twist
The movie is a breath of fresh air, a fun romp through Europe with your favourite friendly neighborhood spider-man. Well written and acted, this movie again threads the line between a typical Marvel movie and a Highschool teen comedy, this time feeling especially fresh after the high stakes epic that Endgame was.
Gyllenhaal also shines as Misterio, finally giving the great villain a worthy (if not completely accurate) screen adaptation, and although the story is a bit convoluted, it certainly doesn't defy it's own internal logic.
The ending is especially great, leaving the viewer genuinely excited for the next installment in the Spider-Man saga. Here's to many more Tom Holland outings!
Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood (2019)
Worst Tarantino Yet
As a huge QT fan that shares his love of cinema and is inspired by his life story, a movie with some of the most famous actors working in Hollywood today about a topic QT feels passionately about seemed like an instant classic waiting to happen. Unfortunately though, we are left sorely disappointed, having witnessed the weakest QT outing yet.
While no one can question the production quality or the research that went into this, and while he surely does show his adoration for the period, QT seems to forget that movies should have a plot, which he only seems to remember the last 15 minutes of the film.
How many times must we see a montage of a character driving a car with great 60s music playing in the background? Or better yet, can we still have those but also have some plot sprinkled in between? And remember that rising tension that ends in ultraviolence that Tarantino is so famous for? Well we get neither here, or rather we get both, but in separate scenes, making the tension seem unnecessary and the ultraviolence undeserved.
And while the characters seem like they could have been very interesting if fleshed out, do we need to have all of these characters in the movie even if none of them seem to contribute to the (admittedly nonexistent) plot in any way?
And I don't mind changing history at all, but then do we need to have all the participants of the actual event in the movie if we don't have the actual event? Do we really need to spend 20 minutes with an airhead version of Sharon Tate just so that QT can trick us by changing how the story goes?
Somehow this felt both like watching an indie director struggle to stretch a short film script into a feature length movie and like a collection of QTs vignettes to a time he cares for, and not at all like the Tarantino we came to know and love.
Vice (2018)
Great Insight Into the Morally Corrupt Conservative Mindset
While the movie boasts one of the best performances of the year, with Bale disappearing into Cheney's character in a way Rami Malek could only dream of last year, the movie is by no means perfect. McKay reprises his unconventional editing techniques that made The Big Short feel so fresh, but unfortunately he overdoes it here, with too many jump cuts, transitions, graphics and voiceovers. This makes the movie feel irritatingly flashy sometimes, resembling an ad more than a film. However, this does make the movie feel much fresher than most oscar contenders this year, and it might be especially attractive for fans of Lord of War or Thank you for Smoking.
While some 10 minutes could have easily been left on the cutting room floor, the movie never feels overlong and manages to keep the pace brisk, helped largely by a good script and some colorful performances.
Great as an introduction to Dick Cheney, and for those who complain it's to liberally biased: it might be time to read up on the chain of horrible decisions that this gang of republicans made the world suffer through.
Green Book (2018)
Predictable
While the movie offers two great performances from actors undeniably in their prime, it still manages to adhere to every Oscar bait drama trope in the book.
That said, the movie admittedly is very enjoyable and well edited, but any experienced viewer should be able to accurately predict the complete plotline as soon as the first 10 minutes are over. So although this still is recommended viewing, I'd rather rewatch "The Intouchables".
P.s.
Undoubtedly not the best movie of the year and further proof that the Oscars just award mediocre dramas.
Manbiki kazoku (2018)
Emotional ride
A very understated movie, with a story that leaves you thinking about it for a while even after the credits roll. This is due mainly to some great performances (although I do feel a bit of the lines and performances is lost in translation), with the child actors really standing out. The pacing is slow but deliberate, creeping along leaving you enough time to really take the story in. Other highlights are some nice and memorable set pieces and poignant photography.
The story ends up being a bit too complicated to follow while watching but seems worth the follow up. Could have been more compact but definitely worth a watch.
7.5
Ibiza (2018)
Forgettable Romp
The best thing you can say about this comedy is that the leads have great chemistry, and that Rob from GoT is very charming as a dj. A good thing you could say is that the soundtrack is great, very modern EDM music you usually only hear ironically in contemporary movies.
But if you expect anything else, you'll be disappointed. The plot is nonsensical and the side characters are too far removed from sanity to be anything other than caricatures.
Long Shot (2019)
Occasionally funny but forgettable and overlong
The movie is enjoyable although overlong (needed 2 rewatches to finish it) and extremely predictable, even for a romcom. The script is adequate, with some funny stuff but a lot of padding as well Rogen is in good form while Theron's comedic timing seems a bit off. The rest of the cast is adequate although nothing to write home about.
While being very different than the typical Rogen stoner comedy, there's nevertheless sex and drugs abound, which doesn't really gel with the rest of the topics.
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Disappointingly Average
As a big Marvel & huge MCU fan, I had rather big expectations going into this one, as it was to be a culmination of 10 years and 20 movies, all of which I watched and debated vigorously (and rather obnoxiously) with friends willing and less so. Infinity war got me hyped and I even sat through the obnoxious Captain Marvel, in the meantime watching at least 5 hours of YouTube videos with predictions, trailer easter eggs, theories, etc. Then I heard the amazing hype, everyone loved it and even non-fans praised it.
However, after finally sitting down to watch it, I am sad to say I was left disappointed.
Now don't get me wrong, it's a good movie. Fairly epic, adequately filmed, good action set-pieces & emotional moments, good acting, great script and an adequate story premise.
The only technical fault I have with it is the pacing, as this epic does drag quite often during the 3 hour runtime, and the opening 20minutes are especially annoyingly slow, with the odd choice of focusing on Hawkeye leaving me especially confused, as he is neither a character the audience cares for or is he very relevant in this movie.
The story is also a bit thin, the whole time travel logic isn't very well thought through and the fact that everyone just appears acter disappearing for 5 years is not just disappointing but also sounds like a certain kind of horror for the survivors...
But what I was missing most was emotion. It all feels rehashed, another typical superhero flick with a very predictable story and conclusion. Where infinity war's ending shocked, this leaves you feeling a resounding "meh". And for a movie dealing with half the population disappearing and with the send off of a few iconic characters, it's very worrying.
A Scanner Darkly (2006)
Disappointingly Unengaging
After waiting a lot of years to watch thia
However any expectations I had disappeared quickly.
The animation seems very cheap, it's like a cheap gimmick to make visual effects easier for the filmmaker. This wouldn't be a problem.if they went all in with the animation, but this animated filter was just off-putting.
Then the characters. Apart from being severly underdeveloped, they suffer greatly from a not-so-great script. I get that these people are supposed to be addicts, babbling and being incoherent, but I think this doesn't mean they need to be so uninteresting (just look at Fear and Loathing). The conversations were honestly tedious and difficult to get through, and when the story eventually got going about half way through and things started making sense- I just didn't care anymore.
I guess the story was interesting, based on a P.K. Dick novel, but I am sure it could have been written in a better way, with more coherence or at keast make the lack of coherence engaging.
So all in all a below average movie, first Linklater dud for me.
P.S. It's funny how people completely miss the point of this movie and label it as anti-drug l, when it is obviously a critique of the system and the policing of "addicts".
First Reformed (2017)
Understated
Anchored by an amazing performance by Ethan Hawke, this film is definitely worth a watch as it prompts thought and does stay with you.
The atmosphere is good and the filmmaking competently and purposely understated, making it an almost hypnotic experience.
While it is not the most fast paced movie and the lack of music might seem strange, the movie doesn't come of as boring, rather feeling more brooding.
The finale certainly leaves you thinking about what actually happened, the interpretation I like the mosy is certainly that he didn't use the vest but instead killed himself, ending his life with a fever vision of Mary and kissing her.
Although he didn't kill anyone, at least Mary is still alive and his death might spark some debates on the issues he so cares about.
And why do I think it's a hallucination? Well the fact that Mary gets into the house although the other pastor isn't able to enter since it's locked and the fact that Mary doesn't seem to get any blood on her during the kiss...
7.5
Colossal (2016)
Missing crucial character development
Although the premise seems interesting and the cast is both competent and lovable, this movie still ends up being a clunker.
Firstly the script; while there are funny moments (not really jokes), it seems to be missing a crucial 15 minutes where the male character develops from a loving guy to a psycho. Or, if we are to believe he was a psycho all along, we still lack a couple of scenes of foreshadowing.
Secondly, the premise. Although it seems interesting at first, it ends up being a crutch for the lazy writing to keep Hathaway in the town and is mostly thrown aside throughout the 2nd third of the movie instead of being utilised and explored more, ending as more of a gimmick than an actual premise. The same is done with 2 of the 5 speaking characters who seem to be thrown aside about halfway in, just disappearing except for a finale cameo.
Thirdly, the acting. While the leads are both very competent actors, they are both incapable of playing drunks. We are told they are drunks but never really see them act in a drunk way, except for the male being more rude but all the while looking as polished a s ever. This is even worse with Hathaway's character who is always as dolled up and charming as if going in for a job interview, although we are supposed to buy she just woke up from being blackout drunk.
And finally, the message. While the final.act seems to be about overcoming bullies and showing real strength, this doesn't seem to be the right movie to preach that message. Hathaway repeatedly bullies the male character and physically assaults him on multiple occasions while we are supposed to consider him the bad guy for replying verbally. Furthermore, he is only shown to be a perfect gentleman before this and definitely not worth the abuse he gets. Another similar situation is when after being slapped he still doesn't fire Hathaway but she then ends up feeling insulted when he asks her to do her job later on in the night.
All in all, a pretty uneven mess, and one of the worst movies of 2016.
Captain Marvel (2019)
Probably the weakest Marvel outing
At a time when the movie landscape is undoubtedly oversaturated with superhero flicks and even hardcore fams like myself are getting bored with the standard fare, studios should look to chsnge things up and make irreverent and innovative superhero movies.
This is definitely not what Marvel did here.
It's a typical origin story, full of tropes, with an unlikable character at the center (Brie Larson's bad attitude aside, she isn't given anything to work with here). Part of the unlikeability comes from the power of the character, who is too strong to ever be in danger during the movie, consequently throwing any tension out the window.
If you didn't see the "plot twist" coming, you must have missed a few Guardians of the galaxy movies. But even if you did, it just doesn't work, because the relationship between Larson's character and her crew members is never built up enough for us to care when things change.
Samuel L. Jackson is relegated to a comedy relief character without much depth, which is a shame since this could have been a good opportunity to learn more about the mysterious Nick Fury. The problem with the jokes is that they all try to emphasize Brie Larson's style of humor to make her seem less unlikeable, sacrificing their own comedic timing in the process.
All in all, a disappointing origin story, more Dark World than Ragnarok, so this reviewer hopes the studio decides to shake things up in phase 4.
The Highwaymen (2019)
Completely Uninspired
Although the premise of this movie seems intriguing; see the men who caught Bonnie&Clyde in action, it definitely does not deliver.
Firstly, it's slow. And I mean slow. There is little action throughout and it's not like there is great character work either, as the characters are simply Woody Harrelson and Kevin Costner playing themselves. It's partly due to the script which is just cringe worthy in some moments, trying desperately to sound period authentic to the point that it seems like a parody. And don't even get me started on the character of Kathy Bates. Another big problem with the pacing is that the plot is just so damn predictable, which makes it seem even slower.