House Of Gucci is a campy, chaotic and wildly fun ride from beginning to end!

When Patrizia Reggiani, an outsider from humble beginnings, marries into the Gucci family, her unbridled ambition begins to unravel the family legacy and triggers a reckless spiral of betrayal, decadence, revenge — and ultimately murder.

House Of Gucci is definitely not what I expected and I mean that in the best way possible, Ridley Scott does something completely different and makes this a truly outrageous and campy ride. The performances are truly some of the best of the year, Lady Gaga easily steals the show and shows that her future as an actress is really bright, she’s continuously shown how much of a fantastic actress she is and this is no exception. Lady Gaga’s performance is another transformative performance from this year, she completely nails the part of Patrizia Reggiani in every single way possible! Adam Driver and Al Pacino both give fantastic performances, like Lady Gaga they truly become who they are playing as. Then there’s Jared Leto who I couldn’t help but laugh at whenever he was on screen, not everyone is going to like his performance and that’s very understandable, but it reaches this campy level that you just can’t help but enjoy it. Ridley Scott once again does a fantastic job of recreating the time period the events of the film took place, combine that with the documentary style cinematography that brings a very strange sense of rawness to this film and you have a quite beautiful film. Despite the film being almost 3 hours long the film goes by pretty quickly, mostly due to the performances being filled to the brim of energy and passion to them. House Of Gucci on the surface looks like a traditional film based on a true crime…however that’s not the case at all, what makes House Of Gucci noteworthy is the camp factor to it, it’s a film that juggles quite a lot at the same time. Luckily Ridley Scott manages to create a ton of camp, hilarious and serious moments all at the same time. Overall House Of Gucci is another brilliant film from Ridley Scott it’s a weird hybrid of The Godfather and The Great Gatsby but absolutely works in every single way possible. Be sure to check this one out!

House Of Gucci releases November 24th in theaters!

10/10 A+

King Richard is an inspiring film about making your vision a reality!

Armed with a clear vision and a brazen, 78-page plan, Richard Williams is determined to write his two daughters, Venus and Serena, into history. Training on tennis courts in Compton, Calif., Richard shapes the girls’ unyielding commitment and keen intuition. Together, the Williams family defies seemingly insurmountable odds and the prevailing expectations laid before them.

King Richard is a biopic of Serena Williams and Venus Williams father Richard Williams, it shows how determined Richard was to make his vision a reality wanting Serena and Venus to succeed. Will Smith does a fantastic job as Richard Williams, he captures his soul and his mannerisms as well. It’s easily the best performance Will Smith has done in quite awhile it really brings the type of performance that I and so many other people have wanted to see from in quite some time. Will Smith not only captures Richard’s mannerisms but he also captures how much Richard wanted his vision to come true, how much he really wanted to reach that goal. The rest of the cast were quite fantastic Jon Bernthal, Demi Singleton, Saniyya Sidney and Aunjanue Ellis all do a really strong job in their roles! The writing is much better than expected, there are some incredibly powerful moments (such as the kitchen scene) that really drag you into the mind of Richard Williams. It makes you understand how much it means to him, which makes the build up for the end all the more powerful. Overall King Richard can feel like a formulaic biopic at times however those moments aren’t enough to stop it from being a really interesting film that goes beyond from being just a biopic film. It’s a film that showcases how someone was determined to make their vision a reality and would never give up until it did come true!!

King Richard is in theaters and on HBO Max!

8/10 B+

A House On The Bayou is a confusing mess.

Hoping for an idyllic getaway, a couple and their daughter visit a remote mansion in rural Louisiana. When suspiciously friendly neighbours show up uninvited, the weekend soon takes a sinister turn as dark secrets test the family’s fragile bond.

So far the Blumhouse and EPIX film collaborations have been dreadful, The Deep House (which was the first one) I reviewed a few weeks ago. I was really hoping A House On The Bayou would be a step up, which it is but is still a complete mess of a movie. Like The Deep House this movie has a very interesting premise that I will say at first was pretty effective, but towards the middle through the end the movie lost track. The best way to describe what happens is someone writing an essay that the average person can understand and then in the middle of the said essay someone puts a bunch of nonsense and makes it so hard to understand. That’s what A House On The Bayou feels like, the writing is terrible, the acting is laughably bad at times to the point where it’s quite hilarious. Overall there really isn’t much else left to say here, it’s a terrible horror movie that is very forgettable.

A House On The Bayou is available on EPIX!

3/10 D-

The French Dispatch is another strong addition to Wes Anderson’s career!

A love letter to journalists set in an outpost of an American newspaper in a fictional 20th-century French city that brings to life a collection of stories published in “The French Dispatch.”

The French Dispatch is Wes Andreson’s newest film and it’s a very strong addition to his line of work, it’s anthology film so I’ll talk a little bit about each segment and then give my overall feelings towards the movie! First up is The Cycling Reporter which is the shortest out of the bunch, Owen Wilson does a pretty solid job here. He’s hilarious and brings a lot of clever humor to the segment, it’s pretty much Wilson saying what’s changed what hasn’t of each place he discusses. It’s straight to the point with some nice humor thrown in very solid. Next is The Concrete Masterpiece which after thinking about the entire film I’m definitely leaning towards this one being the strongest, for starters the acting is very strong Adrien Brody, Benicio Del Toro and Léa Seydoux all give very good performances. The humor is quite great with a lot of clever writing that really pulls you into the segment, Tilda Swinton giving commentary and presenting the segment itself as art lecture when describing the art gallery which was made by Benicio Del Toro’s character Moses Rosenthaler is really clever and results in some pretty hilarious moments. The next segment is Revisions to a Manifesto which is about a student protest that breaks out into the streets of Ennui. Frances McDormand and Timothée Chalamet both do an incredible job here, this segment is a little more serious than the others but it still has some humor that does work really well. The segment itself has great pacing and overall a very strong script that really invests you into the story! Lastly there’s The Private Dinning Room of the Police Commissioner, which Jeffery Wright absolutely shines here even if I felt that this segment was on the weaker side. It has a rough start getting off the ground, but by the middle of the segment it starts to get really interesting! What I do like however is how the film wraps up all the segments and the film itself, it’s actually very touching and talks about journalism and the ideas of it! Overall The French Dispatch is a very strong film with fantastic acting and clever writing! Give this one a go!

The French Dispatch is currently in theaters!

9/10 A

The Electrical Life Of Louis Wain is a beautiful biopic filled with cats!

Louis Wain was many things during his incredible life: artist, inventor, entrepreneur and caretaker. After adopting a stray kitten, he went on to paint the extraordinary images of cats that made him world famous.

The Electrical Life Of Louis Wain is another example of showing how Benedict Cumberbatch is one of the best actors working today, he does such a fantastic job of capturing the spirit of Louis Wain in so many different ways. For starters Cumberbatch does a great job of matching Wain’s mannerisms, it’s quite impressive to see and I’m really glad Cumberbatch was chosen for the role. The acting all around is quite fantastic, Claire Foy does a very solid job (even if she isn’t in most of the film), the filming combined with the score is quite beautiful. There’s certain scenes where the film itself does feel like a painting with a lot of bright colors that pop out really nicely, the film itself is also really wholesome at times and you just can’t help but smile. There’s also a lot of heartbreaking moments that I actually did cry during, which is to be expected when making a film about Louis Wain. The truth is Louis Wain did not have the best life like some other artists did and the film does a fantastic job of showing that perfectly. The cats are also present and yes are as cute as you would expect, it is very interesting to see how a simple drawings or paintings could turn into someone’s career and make a ton of people feel a tremendous amount of joy inside. Overall The Electrical Life Of Louis Wain is a beautiful film that I highly recommend!

The Electrical Life Of Louis Wain is available on Amazon Prime Video!

9/10 A

All Too Well shows Taylor Swift should strongly consider a directing career!

Normally I don’t review short films but I think I’ll slowly start exploring that option, so All Too Well is directed by Taylor Swift and it’s an extended version of her song of the same name. Which I have to say after watching this one Taylor Swift needs to strongly consider a directing career specifically a coming age film or a dark romance film. Although All Too Well doesn’t have too much dialogue when it does it’s quite incredible, it captures a huge sense of realism and power that is captured within the song and what’s being shown. Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brian (who gives his best performance in a very long time) are both fantastic and do a really great job of showing tons of emotions. Not much else to say here, very powerful stuff give this one a watch!

All Too Well is available on YouTube!

9/10 A

Beans is a impactful coming of age film!

Based on true events, Tracey Deer’s debut feature chronicles the 78-day standoff between two Mohawk communities and government forces in 1990 in Quebec.

Beans is most definitely a hard hitting film, it takes the coming of age genre and does something different with it…being set in the Oka crisis of 1990. Which builds the characters quite well and really establishes each of the characters thoughts. The film itself is semi-autobiographical meaning it’s showing historical events that the director Tracy Deer herself lived through as a child. Deer does a fantastic job of showing the viewer what she experienced, how her friends and family felt and acted through it and so much more. The film really hits you like a truck as it goes on, it starts out pretty normally but quickly evolves into a very sad but personal experience that I’m seriously glad Tracy Deer told, the writing feels incredibly raw and only adds to the film and how personal it really feels. Definitely go into Beans knowing as little as possible!

Beans is available on all VOD Platforms!

9/10 A

Home Sweet Home Alone is a unnecessary sequel/soft remake to the original.

A married couple tries to steal back a valuable heirloom from a troublesome kid.

I really have to give Home Sweet Home Alone some credit, it somehow managed to have some of the worst writing I’ve seen all year, so what’s this movie’s deal? Well apparently it’s a sequel/sort of soft remake (I say soft remake because there is one character from the past that does make a cameo appearance) outside of Home Alone and parts of Home Alone 2 I never cared for the series at all. But this was just a pathetic attempt to cash in on a popular name, a lot of the jokes already feel dated as a good handful of them are memes. I’ve said this before in the past but putting memes in your movie is something you should absolutely not do, not only does it make the movie in question feel outdated but it shows a lack of creativity. The acting here was horrendous, there wasn’t one performance where I feel there was any attempt of trying to be good, especially when combined with the writing that I’m shocked someone looked over and said “this is acceptable send it out!” Overall I just don’t have any more words to say, Home Sweet Home Alone is as bad as you think it’s going to be, it’s another prime example of a very pointless sequel/remake of a series that should be left alone at this point.

Home Sweet Home Alone is available on Disney+

Disgrace To Cinema F

Kristen Stewart becomes Princess Diana in “Spencer” a dreamlike and nightmarish mesmerizing piece!

The marriage between Princess Diana and Prince Charles has long since grown cold. Though rumors of affairs and a divorce abound, peace is ordained for the Christmas festivities at the queen’s estate. There’s eating and drinking, shooting and hunting. Diana knows the game, but this year, things will be profoundly different.

Spencer might seem like a biographical film on the surface but when you watch the film it truly is a one of a kind experience, Kristen Stewart has evolved so much as an actress, she’s certainly come a long way since Twilight and has always been one of my favorite actresses. Her portrayal of Princess Diana is her best performances and is quite honestly one of the best performances I’ve seen in a film and that’s no exaggeration. She captures every single detail about Princess Diana especially the looks and mannerisms, which add much more power to her role. The writing is absolutely flawless, it goes beyond being a biographical film. The writing becomes hypnotic to the ears, with a dreamlike to state to it while also feeling incredibly raw. Speaking of which you can not convince me that Spencer isn’t part horror, one of the major points of Spencer was to show how Isolated Diana felt from the royal family. Spencer does this in a very nightmarish but fascinating way that gets pretty psychological. The filming combined with the location also feels like a dream mixed with a nightmare, there’s this sense of loneliness you get from Kristen Stewart’s portrayal of Princess Diana. You really understand why she felt isolated and why she wanted out of the royal family, Pablo Larraín’s direction is absolutely fantastic. He brings much fascinating elements to the film such as dreams, sense of loneliness, nightmares and rawness that hits you like a truck. Spencer is a powerful film that’s effective from beginning to end, Kristen Stewart truly deserves Best Actress at the Oscars because this is the type of role you just don’t see anymore. Make sure to watch Spencer because this is truly something special!

Spencer is currently in theaters!

10/10 A+

Clifford The Big Red Dog is a harmless and fun movie for kids!

A young girl’s love for a tiny puppy named Clifford makes the dog grow to an enormous size.

Not a whole lot to say but Clifford The Big Red Dog honestly surprised me, from the trailers this looked like another terrible movie where they take a classic cartoon character and turn them into CG. However unlike a lot of the other movies this one manages to be surprisingly entertaining at times. There are a handful of moments where the writing feels like it’s still living in the early 2000s, however there are some genuine charming moments between Darby Camp, Jack Whitehall and Clifford. The acting is actually not too bad, Darby Camp does a pretty decent job with what she’s given. I feel like this movie is a rare instance with a lot of these family movies where the side characters are actually funny, I actually wanted to see more of them so at least the movie has that going for it. Overall Clifford The Big Red Dog is a very traditional family movie, it ends exactly how you think it’s going to but is a ton of fun for kids!

Clifford The Big Red Dog is now available on Paramount+

6/10 C+