the tale

First off, kudos to Jennifer Fox for being courageous enough to tell this story about her own experience being sexually molested as a child, but in a fictionalized version of it. Now, right there and then from that first sentence (plus that trailer), you can probably already tell if this is a movie that you yourself want to watch. If you're still unsure if this is for you, let me go ahead and warn you that while it isn't explicitly graphic visually, this movie does not cut away from the actual act put on young Jenny Fox. You're not going to see anything in detail, but you're uncomfortably going to be witness to more than you'd prefer to see and hear. 

Considering the tough subject matter, I have to admit that I was surprised at how this story was not told in a straight forward manner. I was expecting a typical memoir of what happened, but what Jennifer Fox gave us is a much more introspective and very compelling narrative that plays on one of the main themes of this story. Memory. Our memories of our past defines our present life, but our present memories of what happened in the past may not necessarily define it accurately. There are other important themes to tackle here, but it might be better to find out yourself. 

The movie did start off a bit slow and mundane in some regards, but once it got it's proper footing in showing us that the narrative isn't as typical as we thought it would be, that's when it just hooks you into this tale, beyond just the sensitive subject matter. I loved how it showed us the different perspectives of what may or may not have happened, the time jumps between present and past, plus moments where the present day Jenny actually has conversations with young Jenny from the past. Fantastic work by Laura Dern and Isabelle Nelisse, whose roles couldn't have been easy to portray here, what with all the specific nuances to their characters. 

If you weren't already scared enough of the fact that sexual abuse happens more often than we prefer, "The Tale" should give you some additional perspectives on the topic. It's an incredible piece of emotional film-making that should remind you that this isn't a subject matter to be ignorant about. 

Grade : B+ 

P.S. sorry, but I couldn't use my standard loveditenjoyeditlikedit... rating system for this, because how could I possibly say "I enjoyed" a movie about sexual abuse. 

You can watch "The Tale" on HBO  

beast

You may want to watch this movie just for Jessie Buckley alone. Her character of Moll is quite the fascinating person here. Those who have felt neglected or under-appreciated by their family or friends are going to probably relate with her very much, or at least sympathize with her. The roller coaster ride of a journey that she goes through in this movie are filled with many moments where you just hope she is making the correct decisions. Maybe those are decisions you yourself would have made, or maybe not. 

A lot of the drama and tension in the premise does revolve primarily around Moll, but it also owes a lot to the character of Pascal Renouf; played excellently by Johnny Flynn. Moll meets this bad boy of a character, and some huge life changing turn of events happens to her from then on. In the backdrop of that relationship and her own life anxieties, there is also a serial killer on the loose, which only makes things even more complicated. The movie follows these three major elements, Moll herself, her relationship with Pascal, and the presence of this serial killer in their town. 

Written and Directed by Michael Pearce, he has a confident way of telling this story. From the seemingly innocent beginnings that's filled with a sense of caution, the rebellious romance that you're going to want to root for, to the final acts of the movie where you just hope there's a happy ending. There will be a point in this movie that you will definitely want to see how it all plays out until the very last frame of this film. Michael Pearce's direction and Jesse Buckely's Moll are simply going to capture your attention until the end credits roll. 

It's not completely easy to describe "Beast" simply as a drama. Some might call it a psychological thriller, or even a murder mystery. Not to mention the romantic angle to the whole thing, although it's not a "Beauty & The Beast" kind of story; just in case that title makes you think that. I thought the movie has solid pacing, but I can imagine some people getting restless as the plot moves along. The movie also wouldn't work on you if you find yourself not caring for the main character, so that's important. However, I think you will care about Moll, and she will make this movie worth seeing. 

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batman ninja

Positives 
- The art style is pretty cool
- tons of Anime tropes that Anime fans will enjoy

Negatives 
- tons of Anime tropes that Anime fans should be tired of
- animation fluctuates from really good, to lazily made video game style movements
- at certain points the animation becomes a simple slide show... 
- it's overly ridiculous that it doesn't reflect the serious tone of the movie
- plot conveniences to the max! 
- lazy writing all around
- stupid things happen constantly

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solo : a star wars story

If you're looking for a Star Wars movie that isn't going to be heavy on your mind and soul, then you may have found that story here. I'm not saying that it's dumb and that you should leave your brain at the door kind of movie, but let's just say that it isn't going to challenge your perception of the franchise like a certain other Star Wars film. Now before you say that I didn't like the movie, you're wrong. 

As the origin story for Han Solo, this movie did a good job checking off the boxes on certain huge character plot background stories that we've been hearing about him for ages. Some might argue that's all the movie did that was interesting, but that's not entirely true. It's not entirely wrong either. The fact of the matter is that if this story was not made in the Star Wars universe, and didn't have characters we already loved, it's flaws would be more obvious. However it is part of the Star Wars franchise, so flaws be damned, this turned out to be an entertaining film. 

The main reason why this was fun to watch was because Alden Ehrenreich was successful in filling in the shoes of Harrison Ford's Han Solo. Alden is charming as heck in the role, and you would be hard pressed to root against him. Then add the great chemistry he has with the always enjoyable Chewbacca, and you can't go wrong with the pair. Not only that, but the rest of the supporting cast are good in this. Woody Harrelson. Emilia Clarke. Donald Glover. Phoebe Waller-Bridge. All playing characters you want to keep watching on screen. L3-3T in particular is quite the scene stealer. 

I already implied that the story is relatively straight forward, and nothing that will blow up genre films. It simply jumps from plot to plot, action set pieces to action set pieces, and location to another location. To me it felt like I watched 3 or 4 TV episodes, stitched together into one 135 minutes film, and each of those episodes are ninety-percent action scenes. Like I said, it's just not a complicated story, because you are mostly just watching action set pieces. That's fun right? 

It's important to just accept that "Solo : A Star Wars Story" isn't suppose to be this epic look at events that are taking place parallel to other huge events taking place in a galactic space war. If I was to give this movie a label to what it is, then I would say that it's closer to heist films than anything else. If you like heist films, then go see this movie. 

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fahrenheit 451 (2018)

Positives 
- the premise is solid and provocative enough to be incredibly compelling
- some inspired updates to the world building over what was already in the Bradbury classic
- you can't go wrong with Michael Shannon

Negatives 
- a fantastic premise does not automatically make a good movie
- world building is a mixed bag of some amazing things drowned by conveniently lazy writing
- dialogue is hackneyed, and tries to be so profound to the point of being on the nose cliches and heavy handed
- most of the characters are uninteresting one dimensional caricatures
- the movie is kinda stupid and boring multiple times over
- a lot of eye rolling moments abound

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WATCHED IT ON HBO  

deadpool 2

Simply put, if you were a fan of the first Deadpool movie, then there is no reason why you wouldn't want to watch the sequel. It delivers many aspects that you liked from the first movie, plus more. It still has that irreverent self-aware humor, it increased the production budget for more visual effects and locations, introduced a couple of new characters that you will love, gets more ambitious with the plot, tons of cool action sequences, and there's even more Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool. 

Let me repeat that last statement from the previous paragraph. "There's even more Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool." I know it's kind of an inside joke that Deadpool doesn't want to share the spotlight with anybody else, but wow was he not kidding. Deadpool almost single handily carries this sequel by hogging almost all of the screen time befitting of the fact his name is the title of this movie. Everyone else are really relegated to supporting characters status. You want more insight and character arcs for the other characters besides Deadpool? Too bad. It's not their movie. So a lot of Deadpool can be seen as a good thing, but depending on what else you want from this sequel, that may be slightly bad too; like if you wanted more of that supporting cast. 

If there are any other characters that remotely comes close to taking some of that spotlight off Deadpool, it's Cable and Domino. Josh Brolin is perfect for the role of Cable, and plays that angry disgruntled relentless violent character excellently. Just don't expect too much more than that. Zazie Beetz is amazing as Domino, and practically steals the movie with every moment she is on screen, as this super confident cool as a cucumber kickass badass of a woman. More of her! More of her! Colossus is also back in this movie, and he's as likable as he was in the previous film. We love you and your moral values Colossus! 

The unconventional crazy story telling, outrageous sense of humor, and how unafraid it is of showing violence in what is technically a comic book super hero movie, is a large part of the charm that is the world of Deadpool. There are definitely several scenes that focus on specific jokes that you will find super entertaining, and that's the high bar of this movie's sense of humor. The low bar are when the jokes don't completely stick the landing, and I will admit that there seems to be more of that in this sequel. Don't get me wrong, it's funny often enough, but the movie didn't feel as consistently funny like the first one felt like it did. 

Despite me pointing out that this isn't as perfect as it could have been; and I also question some of the plot developments, "Deadpool 2" is still an absolutely fun and enjoyable time at the movies. It may be silly and stupid at times, or unnecessarily too serious at other times, but you should find it to be very entertaining nonetheless. 

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anon

Positives 
- Andrew Niccol always has interesting Science Fiction ideas worth looking into. 
- The social commentary this movie brings up is absolutely worth talking about. 
- Visually engaging, playing with different aspect ratios, first person perspectives. 
- Several cool set pieces, especially the ones involving augmented reality. 

Negatives 
- Kinda dry and slow moving, that there will be people that will likely get bored with it. 
- The general mystery isn't really that interesting. 
- Main characters played by Clive Owen and Amanda Seyfried are trapped with cliche filled personalities. 
- Predictable plot turns and familiar plot tropes only further diminishes any interest to the movie. 
- Simply annoyed with the direction the movie took with Amanda Seyfried's characters. What a waste. 

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Already Available On Netflix  

breaking in

There are familiar themes in this home invasion movie that can be summed up in a few quotes; that were straight from the trailer no less.
"I will do anything to protect my kids."
"I'm just a Mom. You haven't a clue what I'm capable of." 
"You broke into the wrong house." 
That pretty much tells you what to expect from this movie right?

Now, before you write this off as a piece of derivative work that you can live without, I should mention that this is an entertainment movie to watch nonetheless. The simplicity of the premise, being a Mom doing whatever she can to save her kids from these strangers that broke into the home, is exciting enough. It's the whole cat and mouse game, plus the whole "who has the upper hand now" fun. That's essentially what you are watching this movie for. 

The reliably capable action thriller direction by James McTeigue is what keeps the momentum going throughout the movie, and the believability of Gabriel Union's character Shaun is what also makes this all work. There are many moments where you will either positively acknowledge how clever Shaun is, or roll your eyes at some of the plot conveniences that happen. The antagonists are also either written well enough to give them interesting personalities, or the writing overplays the personalities to caricature levels of cliches. I thankfully didn't find the kids annoying, so there's that. 

With "Breaking In," you know exactly what you are getting from watching this movie, or whether this is something you want to see, and that's very much appreciated. It's so straightforward in what it is, that there really isn't anything else I should say about it that isn't already obvious. The movie is serviceable entertainment, and that's that. 

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psychokinesis

Hey look, it's a South Korean superhero movie! Just from that sentence alone, I'm sure there's immediately a preconceived notion of what to expect from it. Is the CGI used for this movie even good? That's hit or miss, but it's more hit than miss. Is this yet another superhero origin story that we have to put up with? It is a superhero origin story, but it has it's unique elements to the tale that it doesn't feel like a chore to watch. Is this another one of those "save the city" or "save the world" kind of things? Actually, No. 

I'm not saying that this is the most original superhero story around, because it does have some familiar plot tropes here and there. There will be people who might compare this to the movies "Hancock" or "Chronicle," and I would argue that I found this far more enjoyable than those two films. Seok-hyeon should be the new superhero that the common people should be rooting for. He's like you, with every day problems, inherently flawed, but the difference is that he somehow gained a super power ability. There's a relatability to him that I appreciated, and probably even more so to those who are Fathers. 

Despite the superhero nature of the premise, the real story that grounds this movie is the relationship between Roo-mi and her estrangement to her father Seok-hyeon. That is the heart of the film here. That super power element does add a nice flavor to this tried and true story about a loser Dad who finally wants to make things right with the daughter he left behind in life though. That situation is amost always complicated in real life, and this story doesn't shy away from those complications either; although once again that superpower thing does help. 

Director and Writer Sang-ho Yeon has given this movie a lot of personality, not only with the premise, but arguably more importantly with it's characters. Speaking of characters, I thought Yu-mi Jung's character in particular was a true highlight to enjoy watching on screen. Besides the fun characters like hers to watch in this film, there are also some sharp social commentary, well designed action set pieces, several memorable scenes, fascinating cultural relevance, amusing self-awareness, a quirky sense of humor, and a good emotional core with a lot of heart, that put all together made "Psychokinesis" feel like a breath of fresh air in an already very familiar movie genre. 

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Watch it on Netflix already!  

tully

I feel like I need to preface this non-spoilers review with the reminder that I am not female, nor do I have a child of my own. I say that because this movie seems like it can only be truly appreciated by them, so I apologize if there are aspects of this story that I simply can't relate with.

If I was to just guess, the movie's intentions are to make you want to really appreciate everything your Mother had to go through to take care of you when you were a child. There are even whole montage sequences during the first parts of the movie, showing the daily grind of what a Mother has to endure in having to take care of a newborn. All that comes off to me as an almost cautionary warning for someone like me about parenthood. It's hard not to feel sympathy for what a Parent has to go through in raising children, but I also get that the movie is focusing on the more challenging aspects, and that it isn't always like that. 

From scenes that show the work that has to be done when being a parent, it also seems that the movie's intentions is to also appreciate the fact that Parents are still humans, with their own wants and desires. That's where the actual premise of the story seems to really be about, and is told through the two main characters played by Charlize Theron and Mackenzie Davis, Marlo and Tully respectively. 

As expected, Charlize Theron is amazing in this movie as a 40 year old Mom who seems like she's drowning in life as an exhausted Parent looking for some reprieve. Then contrast that with the 26 year old "Night Nurse," played wonderfully by Mackenzie Davis, full of hope, wisdom, wonder, and energy. While there's an obvious difference between the two due to their ages and experiences, there are also many similarities that connects them together.

The friendship that is sparked between Marlo and Tully is the main crux of this story, which leads to the main themes of the movie that people will probably want to talk about. There will also be those that will probably take issues with some of those themes. Saying what some of those themes are is essentially entering spoilers territory, but I will say that despite my preface at the beginning of this review; some of those themes can be relatable by Men and those who aren't Parents as well. Of course, your own perspective of the movie might not agree with that assessment. 

Directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody, "Tully" is definitely far more than just a realistic portrayal of what Motherhood looks like, and becomes a film that will challenge you with some uncomfortable truths. From the very first scene, until the very last frame, this movie absolutely took hold of my attention, and has subject matters that are bound to resonate in my head for years to come. 

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