The Official Review Thread of 2019

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anonymous1980
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

Post by anonymous1980 »

READY OR NOT
Cast: Samara Weaving, Adam Brody, Mark O'Brien, Andie McDowell, Henry Czerny, Nicky Guadagni, Kristian Bruun, Melanie Scrofano, Elyse Levesque, John Ralston.
Dirs: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett.

A young woman marries into a rich family who as it turns out has a weird ritual of playing games with people who marry into the family that turn deadly. I actually had a great time in this. It's not exactly a groundbreaking film but it is a pretty solid black comedy-horror film which thrills about as much as it goes for the ghoulish laughs. Samara Weaving proves she's more than just a Cara Delevigne-Margot Robbie lookalike and delivers what could be a star-making performance and she is supported by a fun supporting cast including Andie McDowell (glad to see her again). It doesn't make me stand up and cheer but you're gonna have a good time in this especially if you love this sort of thing.

Oscar Prospects: None.

Grade: B
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

Post by anonymous1980 »

ONCE UPON A TIME IN...HOLLYWOOD
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Al Pacino, Emile Hirsch, Margaret Qualley, Timothy Olyphant, Dakota Fanning, Austin Butler, Mike Moh, Bruce Dern, Julia Butters, Damian Lewis, Luke Perry, Kurt Russell.
Dir: Quentin Tarantino.

A movie and TV cowboy at the twilight of his career along with his stunt double struggle in the changing Hollywood landscape as Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate move in next door and the Manson family are prowling around the area. This is the latest in writer-director Quentin Tarantino's alternate history films. This film is a love letter to late 1960's Hollywood along with its popular culture. The film is dripping with cinephilia in almost every other shot. Both Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt deliver one of their career-best performances (Leo especially). QT films aren't usually known for their sweetness but there are a couple genuinely sweet moments in this which I found surprising. The meandering nature of the narrative may test some people's patience but Tarantino pays it off in spades. It may not be my favorite Tarantino film but I think this is one of those that might rise in the future.

Oscar Prospects: Picture, Director, Actor (DiCaprio), Supporting Actor (Pitt), Screenplay, Production Design, Costume Design, Sound Mixing and Sound Editing are possible.

Grade: A-
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

Post by anonymous1980 »

DORA AND THE LOST CITY OF GOLD
Cast: Isabela Moner, Eugenio Derbez, Eva Longoria, Michael Pena, Adrianna Barazza, Temuera Morrison, Jeff Wahlberg, Nicholas Coombe, Madeline Madden, Q'orianka Kilcher, voices of Danny Trejo, Benicio Del Toro.
Dir: James Bobin.

This is the live-action film version of the popular Nickelodeon has Dora already a teenager in high school and finds herself on an adventure to find a lost Incan civilization. I checked this film out despite the fact that I didn't grow up with the show (I'm too old for it). But director James Bobin and co-writer Nicholas Stoller have done good work in the past so they could make it entertaining. It was pretty entertaining. I was familiar enough with the show to know the characters and the format. I laughed at the jokes about Dora breaking the fourth wall in the beginning of the movie (wished they did it more often). As I said, it's pretty entertaining and far from a painful sit. But nothing to get excited about.

Oscar Prospects: None.

Grade: B-
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

Post by anonymous1980 »

PARASITE
Cast: Song Kang-ho, Jang Hye-jin, Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Jung Ji-so, Jung Hyun-joon, Lee Jung-eun, Park Myung-hoon.
Dir: Bong Joon-ho

A family of con artists struggling to make ends meet cross paths with an upper-class well-to-do family then slowly but surely ingratiates themselves into their lives by getting them to employ all of them. That's about all you need to know. Part of the joy of watching this film is watching how everything plays out with its twists and turns and it slowly but surely reveals what it's really all about. This being a Bong Joon-ho film, it goes from being a very funny and demented black comedy to a thriller to a comedy again without missing a beat even in its dark denouement. It even manages to end with a layer of poignancy. This is simply masterful filmmaking, first-class storytelling all around. I was laughing, I was at the edge of my seat and I probably mouthed the words "Oh, my God!" more than a few times. It is the best film I've seen this year so far. I don't throw the masterpiece a lot....but this may be Bong Joon-ho's masterpiece.

Oscar Prospects: This should FINALLY South Korea a Best International Feature Film nomination. I think it can even make it to Picture, Director and Screenplay!

Grade: A
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

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I've been playing catch-up with regular releases this week and decided to take the plunge on a few films that I was on the fence about seeing but given none were superhero films, sequels or remakes (even though they were all influenced by other films) why not....

Booksmart

I had a couple of friends who had seen it and hated it plus I had seen the trailer once at the cinema at that really put me off but the on-line love for the film got me very curious. And it turned out to be a fairly agreeable experience but oddly I didn't find a single moment funny or even anything in the film that raised a smile on my face but it was enjoyable to a degree even if I've sort of been down this path many times before. The leading actresses were both really good as were most of the supporting actors (though poor Will Forte & Lisa Kudrow have little to do). I can see why some people love the film and why others hate it and I acknowledge that I am not the demographic for this film but it was a reasonably pleasurable 90 odd minutes.

Midsommar (spoilers)

I loathed Ari Aster's first film Hereditary but given the acclaim for it was sort of willing to give his second film a viewing and paying only $1 seemed a fair price. The first image I'd ever seen of the film was the poster and I knew straight away that this was going to be a rip-off of The Wicker Man (1973) and seeing the trailer a couple of weeks ago at the cinema only confirmed that. It also dawned on me when watching the film as it played out that one of the reasons it fails is that it is so long and gave me plenty of time to ponder just who silly the whole thing is and I did get a sense of fun seeing the whole silly predictable thing play out. Horror films really need to be kept as short as possible so one doesn't have time to pick them about.

The poor actors have zip to work with despite the running time and Jack Reynor's dye job was very distracting. I'll probably end up giving Ari Aster the three strikes and your out if his next film disagrees with me.
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

Post by anonymous1980 »

SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK
Cast: Zoe Colletti, Michael Garza, Gabriel Rush, Austin Zajur, Natalie Ganzhorn, Austin Abrams, Dean Norris, Gil Bellows, Lorraine Toussaint, Javier Botet.
Dir: André Øvredal

This is an adaptation of a young adult/children's horror series that feels a bit like Goosebumps but pushes the boundaries more. A group of teenagers stumble upon a haunted house and found a book of dark, scary tales written by an insane woman who passed long ago....and she's still writing them. Produced and co-written by Guillermo Del Toro, this film has his signature visuals and is quite cinephile-friendly. Also in that vein, it also feels a bit old-fashioned in its lack of jump scares and explicit gore. And that's a good thing. This is simply a fun, scary ride. I enjoyed it. It's a classier brand of B-horror flick thanks to Guillermo del Toro's touch.

Oscar Prospects: Makeup is possible.

Grade: B.
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

Post by Precious Doll »

anonymous1980 wrote:CRAWL
Hell, this probably might be the best killer crocodile/alligator movie ever made (someone recommend a better one), granted that's probably not a high bar.
Grade: B
I didn't like Crawl, technically proficient but never really engaging though its good to see it make a nice profit so that the talented Alexandra Aja can get financing for better material.

The high mark for crocodile/alligator films is most definitely Alligator (1980) directed by the underrated Lewis Teague. Was given a DVD release in the early 00's - a blu ray release is oddly still in the waiting. It was a deserved sleeper hit back its in day and found a second life on VHS. For this type of genre film its immensely entertaining. I should give it a spin as I haven't seen it since its first release.

Also worth a watch is Rogue (2007) directed by Greg McLean of Wolf Creek fame. A lean effective Jaws like rip-off starring a pre-Hollywood Sam Worthington. On the other hand Dark Age (1987) directed by the late Arch Nicholson sat on the shelf for decades due to legal issues and and its main claim to fame is that it much loved by Quentin Tarantino. Its very mediocre and really only a curiosity due to the lengthy legal issues. Without that and Taraninto's stamp of approval it would be otherwise forgotten today.
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

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CRAWL
Cast: Kaya Scoledario, Barry Pepper.
Dir: Alexandre Aja.

After trying to check on her estranged father during a hurricane, a young woman finds herself, along with her father, trapped in a life or death situation as flood waters rise and so do a nest of aggressive alligators. Apparently the studios did not screen this for critics when it came out due to low confidence but they had nothing to worry about. This may not be Jaws but it is a super entertaining creature feature mixed with a disaster movie. It's strictly a B-movie gore fest and but it delivers on its promise. Hell, this probably might be the best killer crocodile/alligator movie ever made (someone recommend a better one), granted that's probably not a high bar. It's a good watch.

Oscar Prospects: None but Sound Editing isn't out of the question.

Grade: B
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

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FAST & FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS & SHAW
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Idris Elba, Vanessa Kirby, Eiza Gonzalez, Cliff Curtis, Helen Mirren, Eddie Marsan, Ryan Reynolds.
Dir: David Leitch.

The Fast & Furious spin-off featuring the characters Hobbs and Shaw has them teaming up to try and get a super-virus before the bad guys do...or something. This being an off-shoot of the Fast and the Furious franchise, the plot often takes a back seat to the silly action and dumb fun to be had watching outrageous action sequences, cool stunts and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Jason Statham take turns shitting on each other. It is often fun but this one is just way too long. I feel like it should've ended 30 minutes earlier but it just kept on going. Vanessa Kirby is terrific though. She should get her own franchise (perhaps teaming up with Helen Mirren?)

Oscar Prospects: None.

Grade: C+
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

Post by Sabin »

The film industry isn't the only thing that's being infantilized. So is my movie-watching. Without getting too terribly much into it, I don't have a lot of time to watch movies and my choices are fairly limited to majority rules so I'm watching a lot of films I would happily pass on years prior. Take Shazam!: I still haven't seen half of the DCU films, the ones I have seen I either loathe or don't care for, and I just F-ing saw a Captain Marvel movie. I don't terribly need another.

But you don't have to be overly charitable to find positive things to say about Shazam! It knows exactly what it is and leans into its charms. It's Big with superpowers, right down to a scene that directly recalls it. The fate of the world isn't really at hand. I mean, it might be, but it certainly doesn't feel like it. The stakes in the film are rooted in family, brotherhood, and friendship, and the antagonist embodies the distortion of all these things. The major selling point of the film is the half hour where Zachary Levi and his foster brother hang out and try out his powers for a pleasantly plotless span of time. For a film that seems to be praised for being a modern superhero film, I enjoyed how old-fashioned some of its early scenes are. A few are clunky, but this is a film that seems to take a bit of pleasure in emotionally torturing a child in the opening scene. It's not very well directed, but there's a visible enthusiasm to it.


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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

Post by Franz Ferdinand »

anonymous1980 wrote:MIDSOMMAR
YESTERDAY
Cast: Himesh Patel, Lily James, Kate McKinnon, Ed Sheeran, Joel Fry, Robert Carlyle.
Dir: Danny Boyle.

(I have questions in my head like, "What would popular music sound like without the Beatles' influence? I mean, SURELY without the Beatles, it would sound a bit different. Who would be considered the most groundbreaking, popular influential band if the Beatles were never a thing?" The mind wonders.)
Also, in a vacuum, would the Beatles' music become as popular today as if it has been for the past half century? If some new artist came out with "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", would people really believe it to be genius? The movie presupposes that the Beatles are the end-all-be-all of all popular music and could exist and be popular in any era. It's a high concept movie, but ultimately it felt like pandering to the boomers.
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

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MIDSOMMAR
Cast: Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper, Will Poulter, Vilhelm Blomgren, Ellora Torchia, Archie Madekwe.
Dir: Ari Aster.

After her sister and parents die in an apparent murder-suicide, a grieving young woman goes with her boyfriend and his friends to Sweden to check out a Midsommar ritual celebration at a remote commune. Then things get weird and horrifying. As of this writing, it's been a few hours since I've seen it. I have to say I did not fall in love with this as instantly as I did with Ari Aster's other horror master work, Hereditary but, now, the more I think about it, the more I'm liking it. There is something truly unsettling about the way Ari Aster's brand of horror works. He doesn't do jump scares or even buckets of blood but there is an elegance to the way the story really crawls under your skin. Florence Pugh's performance is superb. The sun-drenched cinematography is terrific. It's one of the best films of the year.

Oscar Prospects: This is deserving of Production Design and Cinematography nominations. Pugh is a deserving Best Actress candidate but if Toni Collette can't make it....

Grade: B+

YESTERDAY
Cast: Himesh Patel, Lily James, Kate McKinnon, Ed Sheeran, Joel Fry, Robert Carlyle.
Dir: Danny Boyle.

A struggling musician gets hit by a bus during a blackout and wakes up in a world where the Beatles were never a thing. He starts playing their songs and becomes an instant superstar. This is a very interesting premise. There are a lot genuinely sweet and funny moments all throughout this film. The actors are quite likable. And of course, if you like the Beatles (I mean, who doesn't like the Beatles?), you will get a kick out of this. But the film never really explores its genuinely interesting premise, opting instead to take an easier, shallower route. (I have questions in my head like, "What would popular music sound like without the Beatles' influence? I mean, SURELY without the Beatles, it would sound a bit different. Who would be considered the most groundbreaking, popular influential band if the Beatles were never a thing?" The mind wonders.) That said, this should be pleasant enough watch for most people.

Oscar Prospects: None.

Grade: B-
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

Post by anonymous1980 »

THE LION KING
Cast: Donald Glover, James Earl Jones, Beyonce Knowles-Carter, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, John Kani, John Oliver, Alfre Woodard, Florence Kosumba, Keegan-Michael Key, Eric Andre, JD McCrary, Shahadi Wright Joseph (voices).
Dir: Jon Favreau.

This is the "live-action" remake of the 1994 Disney classic which I personally loved and continue to do so. I've seen the animated film numerous times and I've also seen the Broadway show. When I heard they were gonna do a "live-action" remake I thought, I sure hope they do something along the lines of the Broadway show: Take the material and transform it into something wonderful. While the film looks undeniably beautiful, the photo-realistic CGI animals are visually impressive. But beyond that, there's very little to recommend here. I agree with the critics that while the photo-realistic animals LOOK good, the expressiveness of the 2-D animation was lost. Two elements I did like were making Shenzi sort of the dangerous female leader of the hyenas and Billy Eichner as Timon who I find just as effective as Nathan Lane. But, yeah, stick to the original.

Oscar Prospects: Possible nods for Cinematography (courtesy of Caleb Deschanel), Visual Effects (probably a lock), Sound Mixing, Sound Editing and Original Song.

Grade: C+

EXTREMELY WICKED, SHOCKINGLY EVIL AND VILE
Cast: Zac Efron, Lily Collins, Kaya Scoledario, John Malkovich, Jim Parsons, Jeffrey Donovan, Angela Sarafyan, Dylan Baker, Brian Geraghty, Haley Joel Osment, Terry Kinney, James Hetfield, Grace Victoria Cox.
Dir: Joe Berlinger.

This is the story of Ted Bundy, largely from the point of view of the two women who loved him: one-time fiancee Elizabeth Kendall (whose book this film was based on) and Carole Ann Boone (who believed in his innocence and with whom he fathered a daughter). Despite the subject matter and the title, this is surprisingly practically gore and violence free. Instead, all that is left mostly to our imagination and we are introduced to Ted Bundy, the human being. Even though the film's goal was to tell us that anyone can be a killer, even a man as handsome and charming as Bundy, it kind of didn't come across that way. Up until the final act, it almost feels like the film is on Bundy's side, believing him to be innocent. Perhaps that wasn't the intention or it was and it was supposed to be disturbing but it didn't come across that way. Zac Efron though gives probably his career-best performance in this film. It's almost worth checking out just for that.

Oscar Prospects: Zac Efron would be a decent contender but I don't know if he'll last all the way to the end of the year.

Grade: B-
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

Post by Big Magilla »

Mister Tee wrote:I've been a bit confused by the very existence of Captain Marvel. The original comic book was before my time (it was lawsuit-ed out of existence for being too similar to Superman), but even I knew it was about a kid named Billy Batson who said "Shazam!" and turned into the titular super-hero. I expected this film to be a female version of same, and was surprised to find nothing like that on the screen. A multi-level Google search turned up the facts in the following ink:

https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/opini ... 058609002/
Nope. That information is not accurate.

There were two characters named Captain Marvel. The Billy Batson character who turned into Captain Marvel by uttering SHAZAM! was a Fawcett Comics character created in 1939. He was played by Tom Mix in the 1941 film, The Adventures of Captain Marvel, which was originally intended to be about Superman but DC Comics refused to allow the use of Superman. Fawcett had no such compunction. The lawsuit over the character following the success of the film was due to DC claiming copyright infringement due to the similarity of the character to Superman. Fawcett settled its lawsuit with DC Comics in 1953 and ceased publishing the still popular Billy Batson-Captain Marvel comics. In 1967, Marvel Comics created its own Captain Marvel character. In 1972, DC Comics licensed the Billy Batson-Captain Marvel character from Fawcett, purchasing it outright in 1987, the first of which was a guy. To avoid conflict with Marvel's ever-changing Captain Marvel character they changed Billy's superhero moniker to Shazam which was the word he uttered to turn into the superhero. It was an acronym of the names of the gods that granted him the power - (Solomon - Wisdom. Hercules - Strength. Atlas - Stamina. Zeus - Power. Achilles - Courage. Mercury - Speed).

Shazam!, which has a 91 rating on Rotten Tomatoes, is the better film. A lot of it is silly, but it's also very sweet with a heartfelt diverse family dynamic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_M ... DC_Comics)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fawcett_Comics

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_M ... el_Comics)
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

Post by Big Magilla »

Lily James was also Disney's live Cinderella which I just re-watched the other day and found to be better than I remembered it.

She's the second Mrs. DeWinter in the currently filming remake of Rebecca with Armie Hammer as Maxim, Kristin Scott Thomas as Mrs. Danvers. Sam Riley as Jack Favell, Keeley Hawes as Beatrice Lacy and Ann Dowd as Mrs. Van Hooper or in order, the roles played by Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier, Judith Anderson, George Sanders, Gladys Cooper and Florence Bates in the Hitchcock classic. It might be fun but I can already picture the critics sharpening their knives for this one.
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