Harmony Korine’s weird but masterful film..Beach Bum!

A rebellious stoner named Moondog lives life by his own rules. This movie is a huge reminder of why Harmony Korine is such a brilliant director, first off this is easily one of Matthew McConaughey’s best roles in a film. He plays the character so spectacularly well to the point where you actually start questioning what you are looking at, a matter of fact the acting from everyone in general was fantastic heck even Snoop Dogg was really great which let me tell you is something you just don’t see everyday. This movie also does something that got me into film in the first place which is taking a look at people’s life experiences and it’s not only because the movie does that it’s because the movie does it well. The humor in this movie is just perfect, not once did I feel a joke didn’t fit the movie at all. The jokes all made sense this is definitely the most I’ve laughed from a movie in a very long time, the cinematography is absolutely stunning! It’s done by Benoit Debie the same person who did the cinematography for Spring Breakers (which by the way I highly recommend.) I saw an article the other day saying “Benoit Debie is the master of color” and I absolutely agree with that, because it really does show here just like it did in Spring Breakers. The movie also had me caring for the characters throughout the film, I actually did shed a tear (mostly because of how beautiful this film is.) this is one of those movies where it’s just a one of a kind experience, it’s absolutely stunning how well crafted this movie is. I realize that this is not going to be for everyone, however If you do like these types of films or a big fan of Harmony Korine like me then you will absolutely love this movie. This is hands down of the best films of 2019 so far and is definitely something I would call masterful!

10/10 A+

A solid directional debut!

A woman named Kit receives a mysterious invitation that would fulfill her childhood dreams. Yeah sorry this one didn’t do it for me, I will admit that it is a very solid directional debut for Brie Larson but I feel like it’s nothing more than that. Brie Larson gives a very solid performance as well as Samuel L. Jackson! The writing does have some pretty solid moments that did actually make me feel something for the characters, but then other moments I just really did not care for. I definitely get what the movie was trying to do, but I’m not exactly sure if the movie did that in it’s full potential. Something I almost forgot to mention is that is beautifully filmed, the movie is definitely fun for what it was. I definitely don’t like this one nowhere near as much as a lot of other people, but I do recommend checking it out and see what you think.

6/10 C+

A surprisingly weird time!

Braid (2019) : Two wanted women decide to rob their wealthy psychotic friend who lives in the fantasy world they created as children; to take the money they have to take part in a deadly perverse game of make believe. So a little fun fact before we begin a couple days ago the official instagram page of this movie actually contacted me and said I should watch it! Which I was planning to anyway! I just thought that was worth pointing out consider that a shout-out I guess @braid.themovie . Anyway the movie itself is pretty great, it’s definitely not going to be for everyone but you are in for a treat if it is your thing. The acting was generally pretty good and the writing was pretty solid as well, sure there were a few outlandish moments but they didn’t really bother me that much. I definitely thought the idea of the movie was done pretty well, especially combined with the filming it led to some great results! I will say the twist or the ending I wasn’t the biggest fan of, I do feel they could have ended it a lot better and it did feel a little underwhelming compared to the rest of the film. But everything else I have to say was some very solid stuff, overall Braid is a movie that I recommend if it sounds like your thing! February is usually a month where a lot of horror movies go to die but this one manages to be a solid film!

7/10 B

A interesting premise gone wrong..

Captive State (2019) : Set in a Chicago neighborhood nearly a decade after an occupation by an extra-terrestrial force, Captive State explores the lives on both sides of the conflict the collaborators and dissidents. What have we done to deserve something as bad as Captive State? The premise sounded interesting enough, unfortunately the movie kept getting delayed way too many times so it comes to no surprise that the movie was one of the worst Sci-Fi movies out there. The director is from the guy who directed Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes which is a pretty great movie, but this oh god….so on to the movie itself first off if you hate movies that have piss poor development in every single factor, well this movie is going to be your enemy. First off the character development is some of the worst and most pathetic excuse of development I’ve seen in a very long time, the characters aren’t interesting, have no motivations, have no distinct personalities and yet the movie tries desperately for you to feel for them. You might as well feel some type of chemistry with grass and a white wall because good god these characters are poorly written. The writing is piss poor, how anyone as talented as John Goodman could look at the script and say that he wants to be part of this is just mind boggling. The political bull crap this movie tries to insert is just ridiculous, the movie supposedly tackles terriosim and freedom fighting. Which is perfectly fine a movie can tackle that, however it HAS to be done correctly or else you come off as that one guy who rants about politics when in reality he has no idea what the hell he is talking about. This movie is that guy, it tackles it in such a lazy and uninspired way that it’s just north listening to. The editing is such a mess it’s not even funny, it feels so choppy and so disorganized it makes you wonder if someone even bothered to check it before they sent this out. If there’s one big statement to sum up this movie it’s “everyone involved in this movie didn’t give a crap.” The movie has no unique sense of character, nothing memorable at all, everything feels like it’s at the lowest common denominator. Overall watching this movie is just a huge painful experience it really shows how lazy someone can actually be when making a film, I highly recommend to stay away from this movie…hands down the worst movie I’ve seen so far this year and that is saying a lot…

Disgrace To Cinema F

I blinked what happened?

Serenity (2019) : A fishing boat captain juggles facing his mysterious past and finding himself ensnared in a reality where nothing is what it seems. I really have no idea how to start this review off….oh wait yes I do how does a director like Steven Knight go from something as captivating as Locke to something as terrible as Serenity? While there has been worse movies so far this year (Replicas and Norm Of The North 2) this movie is still a huge mess. I was actually looking forward to this one, the trailer was pretty decent and seemed pretty promising, but that didn’t happen here….the acting was terrible Matthew McConaughey can’t even save the movie while he does have a few moments that are okay at best the rest of his performance I just couldn’t take seriously. Anne Hathaway was completely disposable her role could have gone to anyone and still would not had made a difference, the writing….oh my god where do I begin?? The writing started fine enough but quickly sunk as the movie went on, the editing is atrocious and really awkward. There were moments where I genuinely had no idea what was going on because of how messy the editing was and let me tell you that is NOT a good sign! Lastly there’s the twist which I can confirm is wacky and out of place as many people say it is. I won’t spoil anything but the twist comes right out of nowhere, there was development or any build up at all. I will say the idea of the twist is pretty interesting it was just executed so poorly and so laughably bad that you just couldn’t take anything this movie said seriously. Which is probably what I think saved this movie from getting a much lower rating for me, a lot of people can argue that it’s one of those so bad it’s funny movies. Which I definitely agree, at least the movie isn’t taking itself as seriously (for the most part) as Replicas or Norm Of The North 2. But that doesn’t mean Serenity is a good movie because it’s not, overall unless you want to laugh your ass off at pure stupidity I recommend staying away from this one…

3/10 D-

Us gives chills

Us (2019) : A family’s serenity turns to chaos when a group of doppelgängers begins to terrorize them. Before we get into the actual review, this review will have NO SPOILERS because this is a movie that must be seen without anything given a way. So I do apologize if I’m very vague with some aspects I’m just trying to make sure everyone can enjoy this movie to the fullest. Now without further a due let’s get on with the review…Us has been one of those movies where I was excited about ever since it was announced, I was a huge fan of Get Out it was one of my absolute favorites of 2017, so now we have Us. Which my god Jordan Peele why were you hiding your talent for so long? I think what makes me respect Us mostly is a couple things, the first thing is Peele made sure to do his homework and make his cast watch certain films before working on this film. Some include Martyrs (2008), Funny Games, The Birds, It Follows, The Shining and a few others. Which you can definitely tell when watching this movie but he does it in his own unique way, the acting is one of the many things that makes this movie. Especially from Lupita Nyong’o she seriously stole the show, from her facial gestures, to her being able to pull off that creepy as hell voice. Speaking of which the voice is absolutely creepy, I was left with my mouth wide open when I first heard it. Part of me was thinking “what the hell is actually going on right now” but in a really good way, the movie really does explore of how much insanity a movie can have but at the same time make sense in the end. The cinematography is also really special, it displays some of the best I’ve seen so far this year and really captures the atmosphere this movie is going for. Speaking of which the atmosphere in this movie is just perfect in every way, a lot of people have a problem with some of the more humorous moments however I really didn’t see a problem with them at all. They were very well balanced and actually were genuinely funny, plus there really wasn’t that many to begin with. The movie also does have you leaving with a lot of questions which I feel is great in this case, it leaves it up to the audience to ultimately decide what the hell they just witnessed and try and figure it all out. The movie also does have a ton of twists that really did surprise me and were really well done as well, overall Jordan Peele once again proves that he can take the horror genre in a completely different path, it’s something that is really well appreciated. I seriously can not wait to see what he has in store next, this is also a movie I can definitely see becoming a 2010s classic!

10/10 A+

Climax is insane but beautiful.

Climax (2019) : French dancers gather in a remote, empty school building to rehearse on a wintry night. The all-night celebration morphs into a hallucinatory nightmare when they learn their sangria is laced with LSD. Climax might just be one of if not the best horror movie of the decade for a ton of reasons, Gasper Noe who has always been one of my favorite directors directed the very disturbing Irreversible, the mind blowing masterpiece which is Enter The Void, the very interesting I Stand Alone and a few others. Climax is definitely something that really has not been done for and definitely one hell of an experience, first off the cinematography is absolutely stunning it’s one of the best looking movies I’ve seen in awhile and it’s really captivating and at the same time it’s actually quite disturbing especially during certain screens. The acting feels realistic to the point where it’s actually frighting (this movie seriously gets disturbing during the last 30-50 minutes) plus the acting felt very natural and didn’t feel manufactured. The writing also felt very natural, something this movie did I feel some people are going to play off as “stupid” however it’s far from that it actually gives some really solid character development, the characters talk about sex, drugs and other stuff like that but it feels natural and very believable which really gives the film more power for the build up. Speaking of the build up the end result is truly disturbing, the movie goes from being weird as hell like if you took twenty different types of drugs to one of the most disturbing and messed up films in a long time, just imagine Suspiria from hell and you get this movie. I won’t spoil anything that happens but I will try and explain on why it’s disturbing, it’s mostly due to how powerful the build up is and how the movie isn’t over exaggerating anything. Which is often the problem with a lot of movies that try to be disturbing they forget the build up, this movie really hits you hard and really shows no mercy. Sure it may not seem like the most disturbing thing but once you analyze what’s going on and how the characters are acting you start to feel very disturbed, now one thing I want to make clear is this is not going to be for everyone. I’m sure this is going to divide audiences however that should not stop anybody from watching this because this film is truly one of the best of the decade. This movie really gives a fantastic experience that a lot of movies fail to do, overall Climax is one of the best films of the decade! I highly recommend giving this one a shot it’s one of those horror movies that is truly a horror movie. Gasper Noe proves that he can still make his movies truly disturbing and at the same time tell a very interesting story to go along with it! I will definitely be watching this one many more times in the future and I can’t wait to see what Gasper Noe does next!!

10/10 A+

Another Disney Remake..

Dumbo (2019) : A young elephant, whose oversized ears enable him to fly, helps save a struggling circus, but when the circus plans a new venture, Dumbo and his friends discover dark secrets beneath its shiny veneer. Tim Burton is seriously not as good as he used to be, which is a huge shame because this is a director I use to absolutely love. Unfortunately Dumbo just shows he’s not really recovering, Dumbo is one of those Disney live action remakes I thought could easily go either way and for the most part it went down the wrong path. While I do find Dumbo himself cute, the filming is really great and there are a few okay performances Danny DeVito is mostly the one who brings life into this movie, while Colin Farrell is pretty okay he’s done so much better. The writing in this movie felt very basic, there were a few okay moments but for the most part the movie felt very underwhelming and very basic, it felt like they tried to play way to safe to the point where they didn’t realize they were going down the below average route. The movie also really does not have a lot of personality, while yes the whole circus thing does lead to some beautiful shots. That’s about it of what sets it apart from the other live action Disney movies. Burton’s direction in this movie is just not there this time around, it feels very flat and just not what Burton is capable of. Overall there is really not a lot to say about Dumbo, was I expecting it to be as good as the original? Absolutely not but I do wish this movie didn’t feel so lazy and actually tried to do something more. The movie isn’t terrible, but it’s definitely not a movie I would ever watch again or that I would recommend.

5/10 C