Reviews

There is absolutely no substance here, and I don't understand how so many of you can find the beauty in all of this. I felt like I was literally watching a moving painting, and that is not enjoyable. There was hardly any dialogue, any sense of emotion, or even a reason to care in this overlong, pretentious piece of crap. Even the action was dull and goofy.

Again, The Assassin has no merit whatsoever, and I am tired of people defending films that look beautiful or have great cinematography. If I have to look past the poor storytelling and seek out some greater meaning in the images displayed on the screen in order to give the film merit, then screw that. I will not buy into these pretentious artsy individuals who think that because a shot looked nice, that the film is a four out of five.

This is not film. This is pretentious garbage that did nothing to help me learn about the time period or characters within it.

PS: Who wants to stare at people walk. Better yet, who wants to stare at people stare at others?? Hell, not me.

The first time I saw Cold War, I fell asleep halfway through it at AFI Fest 2018. That was my fourth film of the day, and I was extremely tired. I felt very bad, so I was very eager for when the film would be released to the public so that I could give it another try. Today is that day.

Well, after seeing it for a second time (and unfortunately being two to three minutes late), I actually think there was more than tiredness that caused me to fall asleep in the first screening. I truly think that Cold War is the epitome of what style over substance is. This film has such a bad plot, uninteresting characters, and a story that flashed through more than a decade in eighty-five minutes. Cold War tries to disguise its faults with spectacular black and white cinematography, a stunning vocal score, and a pretentious choice of a historical time period, but I was not fooled for one bit.

The plot was so thin that I could not even begin to describe how ridiculously simple, yet annoying it was:

"Man who is a musical director finds a female singer with incredible talent. He leads her to fame. One day they eye-flirt at a party. They bang pretty intensely. Then, one year goes by without talking to each other. They meet one day on the sidewalk. They both declare they have significant others. But, because of their erratic attraction for each other, they have intercourse again. And then they bang again and again. Then they go on tour. She gets more famous. Then, five years go by. After not speaking to each other, they meet each other yet again. They both declare they are married to other people. But because of their lustful nature, they BANG yet again. And again. Then they decide to drop their husband/wife and become a couple. They start to fight. Then they bang to make up. Then she gets mad at him. Then she slaps him. Then seven years go by. They bang. Then, they get married. The end."

In other words, the plot of this film revolves around two people whose love affair can be simplified as "hey baby, let's get it on." There is hardly any dialogue between them that is romantically sincere. It is all just sexual or boring exposition. I felt nothing for these two people. And I really didn't care.

For all you love it to death, good for you. But I prefer films with better developed characters at the expense of extremely pretentious cinematography. How about the Before Trilogy that isn't beautifully shot by any means, but the characters are excellently portrayed.

All in all, I wish this film was better than the camera thinks it is.

After watching Ben is Back, I needed to find a film that could soothe my aching heart. I scrolled through the list of films that were playing at the particular AMC in Monterey Park, and I noticed several South Korean films that were playing. I ended up finding out that this theater plays a lot of Asian cinema here, so I plan to be back. Anyways, I saw the film Swing Kids was playing, and based on the description, I knew it would be the opposite of heartbreaking, right?

Wrong, but not in a bad way, because this film brings the audience a whirlwind of emotions that I was not prepared to feel. Swing Kids is a film that takes place during the middle of the Korean War in the Geoje Prison Camp in South Korea. As the South Koreans and the American soldiers kept the North Korean communists as prisoners of war, there was down time that would be used for recreation. Well, an African American United States soldier decides to start a tap dancing group, and both North and South Koreans (communists and anti-communists) join. As tensions are prevalent immensely at first, all three groups learn to love each other as family, and they ultimately realize that ideology is the only thing that ever separated them.

I thought the script of this film was absolutely incredible. The commentary on the ridiculousness of ideology really made me think about all of the times in history that human beings have rejected other human beings solely because of their culture, religion, political ideology, or race. This film shows us that we need to stop putting labels on each other to differentiate us, but we should all just put on those tap dance shoes and start dancing.

Swing Kids had a lovely mixture of comedy, sadness, drama, and genuine horror as well. The film may have been a little too oversaturated with comedy in the first half because of how radical a shift the second half of the film takes, but I think it was purposeful due to how quickly motivations change in real war scenarios.

It disappoints me that this film is hardly getting any recognition, because I thought it was incredible. Jared Grimes, Hye-soo Park (from Age of Youth), and Kyung-soo Do were amazing here. Their dancing skills and heartfelt dialogue really sold me in their performances.

Absolutely lovely film that all of you should check out.

I spent a long time trying to find a theater that would play this film, and I am so glad I travelled miles just to be able to see this.

Now, when I first saw this trailer a month ago, it was literally a fifteen second trailer of Ben's mother running into the arms of Ben, and then the trailer ended. I was kind of confused, and as the rest of the audience laughed, I couldn't help but give in to it, because the trailer was just kind of bad. I kept hearing about the film, and I finally found out the film was about drug abuse. As I kept scrolling through Letterboxd and IMDB, I found fairly average reviews. Still, I decided to take a chance and go see this film, because I love Lucas Hedges to death.

And I must say, for anyone who thinks this film is average or even worse, trash, I think you are incredibly wrong. Ben is Back is an incredible showcasing the struggles of drug abuse, even with long-term rehabilitation and therapy. This film reminded me of a dramatized version of the television show Intervention, which I loved as well. Now, along with showing Ben's temptation to going back into his drug habits, the film also showcases his relationship with his mother, played by Julia Roberts, who delivers an incredibly heartbreaking performance.

Now, let's talk about acting. I have followed Lucas Hedges for a number of films. From Manchester by the Sea, Lady Bird, Mid-90s, Boy Erased, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, I think Hedges has delivered his best performance in this film. It may not be the best performance in 2018, but I think it is the most human portrayal of a recovering addict, and Hedges completely nails it. Julia Roberts portrays Ben's mother, and she represents a loving, yet strong-willed and persistent mother who will do everything in her power to ensure her son does not get in the same habits again. Roberts is incredibly brilliant in her performance, and it reminds me of somebody in my family who has to deal with a recovering drug addict. Although I have never partook in drugs or been exposed to it, Ben is Back transcribed me into this horrific world of drug abuse, and I feel for all of these characters, from the son who just wants to stop making mistakes and the mother who just wants to see her son live another day.

The plot of this film is fairly simple at first glance, but as the film progresses, there are tons of layers that will uncover over time. The story is basically about Ben, after spending a couple of months in rehabilitation, deciding to fulfill his mother's wishes of coming home for Christmas Day. It comes as a big surprise to the family. However, his one day back home leads to an incredible amount of trauma, in regards to family dynamics, old drug abuse habits, old friendships, and reliving horrific memories. It was so traumatizing to watch all of this unfold, but I think it was all entirely realistic.

All in all, Ben is Back floored me and I ultimately think it is a masterpiece in cinema, as it totally unveils the harsh reality of drug abuse, and the struggle that many recovering addicts face today. This film broke me, and I left the theater sobbing uncontrollably. This is what cinema is all about, people. This is hands down, my favorite film of 2018.

Cheers to all of those who struggle with the aftermaths of drug abuse, or any other form of trauma.

PS: For all you ignorant and insensitive filmgoers who were laughing obnoxiously at every scene in this film, I sincerely regret your existence. You are the epitome of all of that is worthless in this already cruel world.

The last time that I have seen anything related to the Transformers franchise was probably back in 2007, when the original film came out. Now, from what I have heard from the ridiculous amount of sequels, is that Michael Bay includes lots of racial stereotypes, overt sexualization of women, and way too much action with hardly a plot.

I cannot really speak for the sequels of the original film (or even the original film for that matter), but I can assure you that Bumblebee is unlike how people have been describing what Michael Bay has done. Bumblebee is a highly entertaining look at a prequel involving the character bumblebee who seeks haven on earth from the decepticons, and he develops a deep friendship with a teenage girl along the way.

Now, this film is highly entertaining, the 80s setting is effectively used (especially in regard to the music), and the CGI is surprisingly effective. However, despite all of this, I wasn't the biggest fan of the human characters. Many of them were fairly cringe, especially all of Charlie's family (in particular the brother), who had horrible lines and even worse delivery. I also found the love interest (who was depicted as more of a friend) to be really expendable and annoying. Charlie, played by Hailee Steinfeld, to be just average. I also think Bumblebee could have been utilized a little bit more.

All in all, Bumblebee is not really my cup of tea and I won't really remember it after this review (The Iron Giant is better), but if I ever want to take a look at some incredible action sequences here, I know where to go.

"You strangled the life out of a fellow human being who could live and love as you never could, and never will again"

I legitimately think James Stewart's monologue in the finale of the film happens to be one of the greatest speeches ever. His words about morality and the human superiority complex is stunning.

The tension here, all thanks to the "continuous" long take, is unbearable at times because of how the film takes place at the crime scene, where the actual murder was committed. The tension is finally relieved in the climax of the film, and it is incredibly satisfying. So, so wonderfully done.

Minor complaints: A tad dated in some places; Phillip is kind of annoying at times, and I almost question why Brandon would even include him in his murder scheme, but that is probably because they are lovers.

If I am being honest, I am massively disappointed in this film, and I think my rating is being extremely generous. While I think Rami Malek delivers one of the most heartfelt and transformative performances I have ever seen, I feel like the script and entire plot was rushed, making the entire flow of the film kind of awful. As a previous reviewer stated, "Rami Malek was too good for this." I do not deny or regret that Malek be nominated for any Best Actor award, but having Bohemian Rhapsody as a whole win for Best Film is absurd. How can this film possibly win Best Film at the Golden Globes over A Star is Born and If Beale Street Could Talk? Are you kidding me? Like I said, the acting from Malek is exceptional, but the film as a whole is painfully average.

Now, I did not have the best knowledge of Queen as I went into the film, but I could tell from the get-go that the film was rushed. In a matter of only a couple of minutes, Freddie Mercury went from working at an airport, to meeting band members at a pub, to forming Queen, to literally one year later. What in the actual hell? I would actually argue the first half of the film was actually bad in many instances for trying to include so many things at one, which made the story so muddled and feel so quick, which is not a good thing at all. There were way too many things trying to be included at once, which made the flow and pace of the film to feel horrendous.

Thankfully, the film slows down in the second half, but that first half left a really bad taste in my mouth. I think the film really shines with every single performance, especially the We Will Rock You scene and the Live Aid concert. All of the musical performances in the film were absolutely excellent, and I will never forget any of it. I was pumped up and I was truly feeling it. But in between all of the performances, whether in the first half of the film or the latter, was a bunch of plot points that I did not really care too much for, and I was sometimes even kind of bored. My favorite plot points included the record deal with Ray Foster (played my Mike Myers), the formation of several songs (including "Bohemian Rhapsody"), and the emotion surrounding Mercury's diagnosis of AIDS. However, the plot point I had a hard time liking was Mercury's relationship with his wife because it was hardly even developed, that when any emotion was attempted, I had a hard time caring, despite how phenomenal the performances were.

Again, every musical performance here was excellent, the Live Aid performance was phenomenal, and Rami Malek transformed into Freddie Mercury, but the plot was so muddled, that it heavily distracted me. Regardless, I have learned a ton about Queen and am currently listening to every album they recorded, and plan to do so with every artist who performed at the Live Aid Concert in 1985. So I guess I can thank the film for that.

I also forgot to mention how horrendous the CGI audience looked at the Live Aid concert. I was cringing when the focus was not on Queen. It was The Scorpion King level bad in regards of CGI.

If anybody knows me really well, they would tell you that I am not afraid of giving my honest opinion, even if I am in the depths of the minority with my statements. I mean, my reviews of The Dark Knight and Infinity War are prime examples of opinions that are so off the beaten path, that people probably wouldn't even care to hear what I had to say.

Well, here I am bringing you another review that is not of the norm, with my opinion of The Lure, a film that I find to be pointless, annoying, exploitative without purpose, and extremely pretentious. Here, we have a film about two sirens who venture into Poland to try to leave their carnivorous mermaid life behind and become human. These ridiculously hideous mermaids decide to hit it off at the nightclub by becoming strippers that also do dance/musical numbers. Oh, and also, the film involves some stupid love triangle that is really difficult to follow at times, and it absolutely makes no sense. Come to think of it, nothing makes sense here at all.

I think what this film wanted to be was A Girl Who Walks Home Alone at Night, which is superior to this film in every single way. While that film tries to present the female struggle for acceptance in the Middle East by presenting a vampire who feeds off of distasteful and horrible men, The Lure presents these overtly sexualized mermaids who seem to screw around a lot, make horrible decisions, and have no focus, which leads me to believe there was no commentary here at all.

Now, instead of me writing massive paragraphs about why I think this film his horrendous, let me provide a list off bullet points that will explain why I hated this film:

1.) These sirens looked derpy as hell. Now, that word is so 2011, but I am not even kidding. Like, these women looked a little slow, and if a siren is supposed to be an overtly sexualized mermaid who seduce men, shouldn't they look a little more attractive? Seductive and dark, yet really alluring and attractive. Think of the vampire from A Girl Who Walks Home Alone at Night. She was perfect. The women in The Lure looked really awful, and I hard time believing they were seducing anybody when they were creepy as hell.

2.) Regardless if this is some fantasy setting are not, how in the hell do people accept the fact that these women are mermaids. "Oh look, here are some mermaids we picked up in the ocean, let's bring them to the club, strip naked, and have guys stare at their elongated mermaid fins, and have them get all turned on. " Because that is all perfectly normal.

3.) Also, when surgery is going on for one of the mermaids, I am glad the doctor is pretty knowledgeable about how to go about mermaid/lower half of the body replacement surgery.

4.) Who in the hell are all of these side characters? Stop introducing them and never bringing them back again.

5.) I have seen in countless places that this is some type of love triangle gone wrong. Uh, first off. I wasn't even aware that there was a thing going on between the blonde mermaid and "Evan Peters," so what the heck? There was no chemistry between them, let alone even any development. Nothing was there at all, and that is what annoyed me the most. Yet somehow, the brunette mermaid was also involved in this love triangle, and I couldn't even understand how she was.

6.) The effects are awful, and despite how much I read people's glorification of all of it in this film, I couldn't help but cringe at most of it. The mermaid tales look bad and the whenever a death scene happens, I couldn't help but burst out laughing.

7.) I couldn't tell if this was horror or comedy. Because I was either laughing because of how stupid something was in the film or because of how dumb a decision a character made was.

8.) I love how the bickering between the sisters is resolved so quickly. Like so quickly, that it changed in a matter of seconds.

9.) Character reactions are so unrealistic. "Oh no, my thumb got bit off, let me start crying like a baby."

10.) The songs in this film sound actually kind of great on their own, but within the context of this film, it comes off as very pretentious and annoying. The way these characters sing and how dark the filmmakers try to present it honestly makes it look so confusing and out of place at times.

11.) Showing these women naked gets a little old after a while.

12.) The film is the definition of style over substance. And when I say style over substance, I could hardly even acknowledge there was any style here in the first place.

Alright folks, feel free to curse me out for not enjoying a pretentious piece of crap.

I think it is safe to say that If Beale Street Could Talk was my most anticipated film of 2018, given how masterful the trailer was. I was so excited. The trailer made me sob tears of sadness, but also of joy, and I could not wait for the film. Well, I saw the film today, and despite how excellent the film was, I was slightly disappointed. And when I say disappointed, I do not mean the film was bad by any means. But aw man, I was really expecting a flipping masterpiece.

Now, here are the positives. If Beale Street Could Talk is the most aesthetically pleasing film I have ever seen. From the vibrant colors (especially the shades of yellow) to the 360 degree camera movement to the beautiful close ups of every man and woman's face, I could not help but be in awe of the cinematography and editing in this film. It is extraordinary. This is hands down the most beautiful film I have ever seen. It was absolutely superb.

I also thought this was the best acted film of probably the past several years, if I am being honest. Newcomer KiKi Layne delivers such an extraordinary performance, from her subtle facial movements to her beautiful inflections in her voice to her mannerisms. I loved her performance so much. I also thought Stephan James had the most charming and romantic dialogue, but his delivery made it even more consistent and real. The chemistry between the two blew Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper's interactions from A Star is Born out of the water. I also do not want to neglect all of the supporting cast, especially from Colman Domingo and Regina King.

The music broke my heart. It is constructed so eloquently, and as I listen to "Agape" by Nicholas Britell, I want to start sobbing. It is that well-done. The score has this sense of mysterious intrigue, yet euphoric hypnotism that also has a hint of sadness and uncertainty that draws you in so perfectly. It is my favorite score of the decade, if I am being honest. It is that well-composed.

Now, I can go on and on about the merits of this film, because there are tons. But I do have some problems, and it breaks my heart that there is even anything "wrong" with this movie. Now, I was under the impression that this film would be about the love story between two African Americans during the 1970s, that would be tested amidst a false accusation and an unexpected pregnancy. Now, while I was up for all of that, I feel like the film becomes a tad bit unfocused. While the first half of the film deals with the love story so passionately, the second half takes time away from our two leads and gives time to supporting characters that are not as important to me. I understand that the false accusation had to be delved into a bit, but the film got a little too involved with that, and it made me kind of disappointed that the love story was being neglected for the sake of explaining more of something I didn't care as much about. I just feel like Barry Jenkins gave everything his all with about eighty percent of the film, but he wasn't as into some of the legal/false accusation stuff, and felt the need to include it for whatever reason. That is just me though. I also think a minor performance from a character was kind of awful. It was a very small, yet critical part of the film, and given how superb everyone else was, this one woman's acting stuck out like a sore thumb.Along with that, a friend of Fonny shows up, and although he delivers a fantastic performance, I think the scene involving him was unimportant and did not really tie with the rest of the film all that much.

I also think the film was not just unfocused, but a little tonally inconsistent too. One second, the film has you in tears, but without even giving time for the audience to breathe, a narration happens with pumped up jazz and Harlem Renaissance music that feels a little too soon. There are moments of sadness, tears, despair, but also hope, feelings that I thought were displayed perfectly here. However, some comedy was included along with some genuine moments of suspense, but I don't think they really fit. What I am really trying to say is that all of these individual elements are phenomenal on their own, but they do not mesh well together at certain parts here, which makes the film drag in some places, which I really hate saying, because I loved so much of the film.

Anyways, I want to see this film over and over again, regardless of my complaints. It is a such a fantastic and unique love story that is in the backdrop of some horrible times within the United States. Perhaps, the problems I have will be forgiven in the future. Only time will tell. Regardless of what happens, the film's score will always have a special place in my ears.

The Room is one of the most joyful experiences you can have as a filmgoer. My university hosted a screening of this to mark the beginning of Finals Week for the Fall 2018 semester, and wow, was this one of the best "theater" experiences I have ever had in my life. It was loud, full of screams, gags at all off the sex scenes, and tons of amazing laughter. I was literally crying in some parts at how funny both the film and the audience was.

I would highly recommend watching The Room by yourself or with a couple of friends for the first time, and then watch the film with a large audience. The audience's participation with this film made this one of the most enjoyable experiences I have ever had. It was so incredibly fun.

As for The Room, it is an incredibly funny film that tries to depict a love triangle, but fails in every single way. The film tries to be emotional, but you can't help but laugh at everything. The lines of dialogue are overtly against females, as Tommy Wiseau delegates women as mere sex objects who want to just use men for their own personal gain. Regardless, the script doesn't make him sound like a douchebag because you can hardly decipher what he is saying anyways. There is an overabundance of sex scenes, with the same scene being used again and again. There are random subplots involving a college student named Denny, who wants to have a threesome with his father figure, Johnny, and mother figure, Lisa. There are photos of spoons in the background. There is a love of football found throughout the film, etc.

All in all, The Room is just a lot of random. And about 90 percent of it, is just absolutely hilarious. There is a small 10 percent of the film in the middle that was kind of boring, but the rest is amazing.

Please watch this film. And as some of you may know, my ratings for my films are like sixty percent based off of enjoyment, and forty percent of quality. I sincerely enjoyed this film to the max, so hence the three stars, or six out of ten.

Given the incredibly insane backstory, I need to hope onto The Disaster Artist train as soon as possible.

Bo Burnham crafted the best film of 2018, without any doubt at all, because Eighth Grade is the most relatable experience I have ever watched in my entire life. Despite this taking place in the final week of a student's eighth grade year, this film plays homage to every embarrassing moment that every single person has experienced, whether it be in preschool or in college. This film masters the feelings of sadness, introversion, being the outcast, and everything in between.

Elsie Fisher delivered perhaps the greatest performance in 2018, and I am sure she didn't even really have to act all that much. She nailed what it feels like to be the social outcast in school, and I related to it oh so much. This film reminded me of all of the torture that I suffered throughout K-12, but it also encourages me of the hope that there is to come. Perhaps I should create a time capsule in hope that the future will bring something a bit better.

All in all, Eighth Grade is my new favorite film, and the fact that I rented it on iTunes for 99 cents, made me even more happy. Thank you Bo Burnham and Elsie Fisher for reliving those horrible memories, and giving me the encouragement that I wasn't the only one going through all those embarrassing times.

Her made me question the authenticity of love, whether it be newfound butterflies through texts on a phone screen, through actual dialogue between two lovers, or through sincere and passionate sex. Is any of it real, or is it all just fake and insincere? This film really explores the concept of love in every way, and I thought it did a wonderful job.

Joaquin Phoenix steals the show here. He did an outstanding job portraying a man who lost the love of his life, and is searching for love in all of the wrong places. It is a sincere tale about the search for love and perhaps even the meaning of life.

I loved this film to death, from its score, themes, acting, color, and its accurate portrayal of the future. The closest film I could compare this to would be Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which is something I desperate need to watch again.

Above all, Her is something that needs to be rewatched a million times over, from when you gain a new relationship, lose a precious one, go on a fantastic date, get rejected, are depressed, or are even happy. This is a film to watch with every feeling you experience.

Will be rewatching this very soon!

Call me irrelevant, stupid, or a generic movie snob who is afraid of horror (I am not), but this film was stupid as hell. This film is just gore, gut, and blood exploitation to the max, and I just did not care for any of it. If it's not Ash torture porn, it is annoying demonic women screaming to no end. If it's not demonic women, its trees raping more women. If it's not rape, it is horrendous practical and special effects that made my eyes literally bleed.

I honestly dislike every single one of these films, and despite there being funny moments, the overall product is annoying and disgusting. Yes, I could sit through it and not be grossed out, but it is flat out annoying. It's like I purchased a ticket to the slaughterhouse. How enjoyable is that?

To be fair, I enjoyed Ash vs Evil Dead far more than the films. Sue me.

Bandersnatch is a flawed experience all throughout, particularly because the concept of a video-game ("make your own choice") movie was executed horribly. The film gives us options throughout the runtime, but whenever a decision did not fulfill what the movie wanted me to do, I was forced to go back and pick a different option. I also hated, and I mean hated, how some of the options that I picked ended up leading to a horrible dream sequence, which made the previous scenes irrelevant. It annoyed me to end. Like, why does every decision that I make really have no consequence or no purpose? Ugh, it was irritating.

Despite Netflix is paving the way for decision-based films in the future, I don't think this was a great execution. It was actually quite awful in some parts, and it really irritated me as a viewer. The acting was still pretty good in some places, but mediocre in others. The visuals were nice. I loved the music. I especially loved how Netflix broke the fourth wall in a sense and I enjoyed the acid trip scene the most. However, the worst parts of the film included random jump scenes of a gorilla that looked like the Grinch. Why?

Anyways, hopefully the next Black Mirror installment will be superior to this, because Bandersnatch was definitely the worst one yet.

I thought The Disaster Artist was stellar in every way. Although I have not read the titular book that the film was based off on, I actually am very well-versed in the making of The Room. The film that this was based off of is actually one of my favorite so-bad-its-good comedies of all times, and The Disaster Artist gave me an entirely new perspective of it all.

What I love the most about The Disaster Artist is the fact that the viewer is presented with the story of Tommy Wiseau in a very sympathetic way that tries to emulate an unbiased view. As an audience, we get to see Tommy's bad side, along with his positive side, and I love that the filmmakers do not go ahead, and present him one-hundred percent of either side.

As for how James Franco did in his performance, although I was a little off-put for like five minutes, it grew on me, and I eventually loved his "acting" skills so much. The rest of the cast was stellar, and I particularly enjoyed Dave Franco's portrayal of Greg Sestero and Seth Rogen as the script supervisor.

All in all, The Disaster Artist is a very human film about a man who wanted to make a real Hollywood movie, and he did, despite all odds. It is hilarious, surprisingly heartfelt, and has one of the best scores of 2017.

From Dusk Till Dawn annoyed me in a variety of ways, particularly because the first half was so great and the latter totally destroyed the film. The first half felt like one of Tarantino's original stories, mixing many of the interactions found in Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. I honestly loved it. Quentin Tarantino and George Clooney did a stellar job with their performances all throughout, and I thought they melded together extremely well. Along with that, the music, screenplay, and dialogue all meshed together very wonderfully in the first half.

But, unfortunately, in one of the most disappointing decisions in the history of cinema, Robert Rodriguez decides to take part in the script once the plot takes place at the bar in Mexico. You know, the Titty Twisters? It was funny, to a certain extent. But then, vampires (who definitely look and act a lot like zombies) take over, and everything becomes goofy, ridiculous, and way over-the-top. Even if that was the point, it did not mesh well at all with the first half of the film at all, which many could argue would have made a great feature-length Tarantino feature. The vampires were so dumb and goofy, and although I laughed, I was cringing more than anything. I cringed at the fact that a perfect film was ultimately ruined. Why?

In what is one of the most overrated films of all time, Lady Bird is a simplistic coming-of-age story about a high school senior who wants to leave Sacramento and head to the east coast. This is my first rewatch of this film, after having a mediocre reaction to it when it first came out in 2017. However, after deciding watch it with the rest of my family (who were very eager to watch it), my opinions have changed. Of course, I still think the film is massively overrated, since it kind of steals from very coming-of-age film ever made. I mean, the fact that it is the highest rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes (even though that website is kind of inaccurate), kind of baffles me.

Regardless, Lady Bird is a very good coming-of-age drama that hits a lot of the beats that I have experienced in my own life. I come from a very small city whose only attraction is a movie theater (not even kidding), and I have always wanted to venture out to the Los Angeles film scene, kind of similar to what Christine is trying to do in this film. It is very relatable to me in that sense. I also love the title character's mother, who is very strict and hard on the surface, but I think she is very loving on the inside. I think the mother was a much better actor than Lady Bird was, and I was honestly disappointed that she didn't win Best Supporting Actress.

But my biggest complaint though is that I don't think Saoirse Ronan is the best actress in the world, like everyone says she is. She is good, maybe even pretty good, but she is not the godsend of female actors. I heavily dislike that she was nominated for Best Actress, because I could honestly pick any random white girl from my college, and stick them in the role of Lady Bird, and they could just as fine. Nothing was special about her performance, and that remains to be my biggest complaint.

Back to the film itself though, I thought the story was genuine and sweet. The relationship between Lady Bird and her mother was very tough to watch, but it was heartfelt and sincere. The college process was relatable. Timothée Chalamet and Lucas Hedges were handsome as hell in this film. The comedy was great. But I thought the movie was just really good, but nothing exceptional. I make that point because I this film is one of the most buzz-worthy films in recent memory, but I don't think it deserves it.

Regardless, Lady Bird is a film that we could all relate too, and everybody should give it a chance.

Honestly, the Evil Dead is just ridiculous. This is just blood, gore, and torture porn all combined to make horror overkill. I wasn't really a fan of any of it. The kills were just ridiculous, the tree rape scene was kind of funny, and the characters were all kind of stupid. All the movie was, were just a bunch of zombie girls screaming "JOIN US." It got old after a while. Then, people would die in an obscene matter, and I began to not care.

Evil Dead 2 is better. I really have nothing left to say about this. If you like blood and just blood, then perhaps this is the movie for you. I like blood, but I thought this was complete overkill.

The Florida Project is an extraordinary film about poor families living in a motel, on the outskirts of Walt Disney World in Florida, California. It was a powerful film about childhood innocence, as they all form a bond together, despite the tough and poor family life that they have back in their motel room. The children, despite how spoiled and bratty they may seem at first glance, are incredible, because they are just trying to be happy. The film takes place over a summer, and we see the kids interacting with each other amidst such a poor quality environment, and it is beautiful to see.

All of the actors in the film are pretty much first-timers, and they all did phenomenal. From the kids to the single-mothers, their acting was wonderful in every way. I thought Bria Vinaite especially did a wonderful job as playing the druggie/prostitute mother. Despite all of this, the best actor from this entire film (and the one that surprised me the most) was Willem Dafoe, who played the hotel's manager. He was so great because here, he was finally in a human role, where he was not some evil villain or some guy in Aquaman that rides on a seahorse. Dafoe's performance was incredible, and I will not forget it.

As for the technical aspects of the film, there was incredible amount of long takes here that were meaningful and purposeful, unlike Roma. The film was also surprisingly very colorful, filled with various shades of green and purple all throughout. It was beautiful, to say the least. The colors really played off of the idea that a poor community was hidden from the Walt Disney World crowd, because the vibrant colors overshadowed them.

The one massive complaint that I have about the film is the last thirty seconds of the film. Yes, the final thirty seconds. While the film could have easily cut to black, half a minute of movie kept on going, and at first watch, it was genuinely awful. The cinematography shifted from a camera to an iPhone quality image and the music become all erratic and loud. I understand the purpose in the context of the film, but it felt unnecessary. I will rewatch the film plenty of more times, and hopefully I can get accustomed to the ending, but I feel like it is something that will always be unnecessary to me. Again, I understand the point, but was it necessary? I don't think so. I just need more time to process those thirty seconds.

All in all, The Florida Project might be my favorite film of 2017.

Raw is a film that I saw twice in a theater when it first came out a couple of years ago. Those were some of the greatest film experiences I had in my life. After deciding to rewatch the film with my brother and my cousin, I actually didn't like it as much as before. The music and visuals are absolutely perfect, however. Despair, Hangover, & Ecstasy and Giddy Stratospheres will forever be ingrained in my music list. I will also never forget the amount of blood that encompasses the screen, after being so subtle and subdued. It was absolutely amazing. I also thought the story was fairly great too, along with the acting.

However, despite how terrifying this film is, it was goofy in some places. Justine's reasoning for eating is never fully explained, and her first human consumption was odd, but still intriguing. I feel like Justine became extremely horny for all kinds of meat, and she seemed to have no self-control, which bothered me in some ways, because if she could be a vegetarian for so long, where is the restraint? It didn't make sense and some scenes were slightly goofy, such as when she's in the fridge, trying to eat raw meat. Or when Justine and Alex are having that stand down while biting each other's arms? It was kind of funny.

With this all being an erotic coming-of-age story, however, it succeeds very well, but people still need to acknowledge some of the silliness in here. But overall, I felt a genuine amount of emotion. Pretty good film, overall.

PS: I am becoming a tough critic. And I got my cousin and brother doing movie reviews too.

I just saw The Last of Us: The Movie and I'm incredibly floored. This is the film I have been dying to see on the big screen and the one that I've been wanting to make for the longest time: a horror film that is not a creature feature, but one that shows the horror of the human condition and how people will act when put in situations like this.

This was a film directly inspired from The Last of Us and 28 Days Later in the sense that its feeling of dread, hopelessness, terrifying decision-making, and lowness of the human condition was perfectly displayed. As people who have hearts, we have the desire to love and help others, but the film shows us that during an apocalypse, any sense of morality is gone. There is no love or kindness. There is no sense of being a Good Samaritan. There is pure selfishness and feeling obligated to protect only yourself and your family. The sense of dread in this film was so phenomenal. The themes of guilt, isolation, and tension were so excellent.

I cannot even explain how much this film means to me. The acting was extraordinary, the characters were believable (the most realistic I have ever seen in a horror film), the music was emotional, and the story was harrowing and depressing. Above all, the film was scary. Not because there was a jump scare, a stupid monster, or an incessant amount of blood, but because the realism of how immoral and animalistic we can all become when we are pushed to the brink.

We all want to say that we are good people and have good morals, but the film flips everything we have ever believed and shows us that we all can and will become evil when given the situation. God, this film is such a masterpiece. And screw you people who think the title is not even representative of the film. It refers to the family that occupies their home, it represents the terrible nightmares that the son was having, it represents the disease lurking at every corner. It does not have to represent a stupid zombie or monster, people,

All in all, this film wants you to be smart and if you are able to do that, this may have had a deep emotional impact on you. This is truly the scariest and most terrifying film I have ever seen. And despite me never believing it were to ever happen, something has surpassed 28 Days Later and has now become my favorite film of all time: It Comes at Night.

Screw this movie's advertising by the way. Because of it, people are trashing on the film when it is actually the most real movie you will ever see. It made you think that this film would be one with a variety of jump scares and a stupid monster, but no, the movie is much deeper than that.

United 93 is a film that reminds me a lot of It's a Wonderful Life in a lot of ways (weirdly enough), because the final act of the film is better than the rest of the film. While over half of the film wants to have this really repetitive and slow back-and-forth between the different airlines, I was just waiting for the really heart-pumping and emotional scenes aboard Flight 93.

Flight 93 and the story of all those within in it have the most impact on me, and despite the fact that September 11, 2001 as a whole is important for this film, I wish less was spent focused on the dialogue about the other attacks and more about what went on within this plane. All of the people in charge of the airplane frequencies and who conversed about the planes was kind of boring to me, and I wish some of it was cut out,

As for everything involving Flight 93, it was perfect. The final twenty minutes of this film are some of the most emotional moments I have ever seen put to film. It was emotional, heart-breaking, and lifted my spirit , despite how depressing it was. I just wish over half of the film didn't get so consumed with really boring acronyms and airplane terms that the average person isn't aware of.

If I am being honest, I heavily dislike CGI, superheroes, and pretty much any mainstream films that are trying to be the blockbuster of the year. Well, Aquaman features really fake CGI, more annoying superheroes, and fails at being a blockbuster for me because I was bored, uninterested, and kind of disappointed half of the time.

Aquaman is such an uninteresting character who is given no character development. Every other character does not matter because I could not even remember their names, which heavily implies that the writing was just awful. The CGI took me out of the movie so much, that I felt no spectacle at all, but I felt like I was watching humans stand in front of a green screen. Nothing felt real, and it annoyed the hell out of me.

I wish I laughed more. I wish there was more cringe scenes, but honestly, this film was just really boring. I fell asleep tons of times and there is just nothing left for me to say. I mean, the enemies were horrendous, and I didn't care about one single thing that was going on. There was even this one bad guy (a pirate) that was given a montage scene with heroic music for what reason? It was so out of place and made no sense. He is supposed to be the evil person. The mother of Aquaman also annoyed me a lot. There is a decision that involves her in the film that could have happened so much sooner, and what ends up happening is so dumb, that I was really wanting to walk out.

All in all, not even a red-head showing off some cleavage could spark my attention in this bloated, boring, and really ugly looking CGI-filled atrocity.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was an excellent film in every way. From the realistic depiction of Miles Morales (a character that I have been virtually uninterested in up until now), the really unique visuals, the phenomenal action, the amazing soundtrack, and the other versions of Spider-Man, this was such a pleasant surprise.

I was a little thrown off with this film when I first saw the trailer because of the weird visuals, but I actually really loved how it looked. It was a comic book put to life, and that was well done.

The story was fantastic all the way through, and I love how the film played off the trope that origin stories are getting old and actually gives us a brand new, fresh narrative. When Kingpin shatters the dimensions, new incarnations of Spider-Man are thrown into New York with Miles, including Spider-Gwen, Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Pig, and an anime version. We even get introduced to a Peter Parker from another dimension that is a late-thirties, chubby and lazy superhero, who has pretty much given up on the whole thing. All of it is so intriguing and interesting.

The only thing I didn't like was Kingpin, because with me not knowing much about him, I found his character motivations here to be pretty lackluster to have him wanting to shatter all of these dimensions. Also, the final fight sequence didn't make sense logistically because the intertwining of the dimensions opened up a portal only within the skyscraper building, but not throughout the rest of New York? And only Kingpin and all of the Spider-Man versions were within the building, and nobody else? Where was everybody?

Regardless, this is definitely the best super hero film I have ever seen. It is so hip and so unique, and I loved it! With surprising amounts of emotion, fun dialogue, and an overall great story, I am looking forward to what Sony will do with future incarnations of Spider Man.

The one thing that I can say about Boyhood is that people love to hate this film. Well, from it being completely offensive, to un-relatable because of the white version of childhood, to being extremely boring to some, I could not help but disagree with those of you completely.

Boyhood is a film that has impacted me in a variety of ways because of its superb and complex take on the transition from not only boyhood to manhood, but from childhood to adulthood. Filmed over a span of twelve years, these actors did an incredible job in giving a realistic portrayal of a difficult family dynamic, from the single parents, to the abusive stepdads, to the sibling rivalries, to the passing fads, to the peer pressure, and so much more.

I love Boyhood because it is so relevant to my life. I am the boy in this film. I grew up very similarly to the way he did, and I think the latter half of the film (despite me being a senior in college) is where I am headed. As his potential new girlfriend tells him,

"You know how everyone's always saying, seize the moment? I don't know, I'm kinda thinking it's the other way around. You know, like, the moment seizes us."

I actually think that I am at a current point in my life where moments are literally starting to seize my life, and I have not been taking advantage of them until now. And because I am seizing these moments, my life feels much more special and genuine. I have a purpose and I might have the ability to be happy.

All in all, the second half of this film is not as great as the first half for me, because I have lived through and experienced everything in the first part. Ironically, I am experiencing that latter half a little late in my life, and perhaps that's why its ambiguity is not something I'm quite comfortable with, but its also something I have to accept and be happy with. I think if I were to rewatch this film in two years, my life will encapsulate all of this.

As for some complaints, Linklater does get a little insistent on those philosophical conversations in the latter half of the film. It is annoying, kind of off-putting, and slightly unrealistic. Also, I find the second husband that the mother has to be really underdeveloped and happens a lot more quickly than with the first one she had.

Anyways, Ethan Hawke is babe, and this movie is life, literally.