detroit

Besides introducing the 1967 riots in Detroit to a larger audience that may not be familiar with that part of history, the primary reason to see this movie is for the recreation of the Algiers Motel Incident. That actual recreation itself is quite something, and is done in an almost real-time manner that it's easy to feel the tension of the scenes. It gets pretty tense at certain moments that it was almost on the verge of being like a horror movie. Some might say it's like torture porn at particular points. 

I'm not going to get into the finer details of the incident because I'm not doing spoilers, but let's just say that I was on the edge of my seat during the incident. That Algiers Motel Incident is the centerpiece that people will be talking about, but unfortunately the content surrounding it is at best serviceable. I'm unsure why Director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal decided on the narrative structure they did, but the film as a whole is unbalanced. The reason I say that is although the incident itself is a strong visual dramatization that needs to be seen, the book ends that surround it just didn't work with me as much. The story started off at an acceptable level, but by the end of the movie, it felt like it goes on much longer than it needed to be. I however was admittedly captivated by the whole thing anyway. 

The cast is undeniable good in this. From Will Poulter, Algee Smith, Jacob Latimore, Hannah Murray, Ben O'Toole, Will Bouvier, John Boyega, to the rest of the huge ensemble cast. Kudos to their work in this. It's a powerful piece of cinema, but it's inherently flawed in the story telling aspects. 

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kidnap

There are multiple things about this movie that people are going to have issues with that might prevent them from enjoying it, especially considering the premise which involves a Mother's child getting kidnapped. The caveats are somewhat problematic, with her cellphone not being available to her, the curiously lacking police presence, the utter destruction caused by the pursuit, and the fact her red mini-van is able to last as long as it does. The plot is predictably simple and straightforward as well, so don't expect a story telling masterpiece. 

With the issues I mentioned in mind, I think the biggest thing about the movie that is really going to make or break it for people, are the decisions that Halle Berry's character Karla makes in her pursuit of the kidnappers. The movie viewers are going to have to decide whether they can either understand the decisions Karla makes, or complain that they would have done a different but better choice. I can see people arguing about certain scenes, but I think that's actually what makes the movie fun to watch. 

Truth be told, despite the glaring issues the movie has, I still had some fun with it. I thought it was an entertaining enough as a thrill ride of a movie, that was predominantly just Halle Berry chasing the kidnappers. Just seeing the different scenarios play out the way they did were enough to keep me hooked until the end. I was on the edge of the seat on some parts, and in some other parts I was cheering on the tenacity of Karla. Yes, there are still those moments when I wanted to just yell at the screen to give her advice on what she should do instead, but I didn't find it to be a frustrating experience like some might, as I actually found all that engaging. 

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girls trip

What is probably the best compliment that I think I could give this movie is that it seems to know exactly what it is trying to be. It's a comedy with some dramatic moments, about four women who are looking to misbehave a little on their reunion trip to New Orleans. The comedy isn't shockingly outrageous; although it's not exactly innocent either. The more dramatic scenes aren't trying to win a prestigious movie award, but it does show a good amount of heart. It's basically what you normally expect from a 1980's style comedy, but with some modern sensibilities. 

You should basically know what this movie's story progression is, and I don't think it's trying to hide that fact either. The plot turns are just as you expect things to go, with it's healthy dose of cliches and story tropes. The supporting characters aren't exactly that well rounded, and are there to basically progress the plot. I can't completely fault this movie for having many derivative qualities or under-developed supporting characters though, because it does those things in an acceptably enjoyable and entertaining manner. 

The reason it's easy to forgive this movie for it's flaws, is because of the main four female leads. They are really entertaining to watch in this, and you just want to see what they are going to do next. Some scenes involving absinthe were in particular quite entertaining to watch. While the group as a whole are there together to make us laugh, there seems to be a divide in the plot lines based on the characters. Regina Hall and Queen Latifah help serve the more dramatic moments of the movie, while Jada Pinkett Smith and Tiffany Hadish are there for the more broad side of comedy. 

Don't count "Girls Trip" out because it doesn't add anything really new to the genre. It's a solid comedy that is thankfully not completely focused on just being shocking. It's fun enough to entertaining a viewing, plus Tiffany Hadish herself is outstandingly enjoyable in this to the point where I can easily recommend this movie just for her role in this. 

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the dark tower

First and foremost, I have to fully disclose that I have not read a single word from The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. I understand that there is a rich mythology to the stories from the book, that contains a lot of fine details that was likely lost when it was turned into a 95 minutes film. With that said, the movie did benefit greatly from the strong world building that the novels have already established, and only made the adaptation better than it probably should have be.

As a non-book reader, I have to also point out that I wasn't lost or confused by the story, as it seemed that the screenwriters managed to condensed the intricately dense plot into an easily understandable bite-sized narrative. Unfortunately that also meant that it made the plot feel rather generic, derivative, and unremarkable; short of the world building that is. I'm sure the fans of the book will find that to be one of the more frustrating aspects about the big screen adaptation. What they should really be frustrated about is how heavy it is on exposition scenes and just the lack of wondrous joy there is in the final product of a movie. 

We're talking about a movie with a premise about alternate worlds, psychics, monsters from outside the universe, and a cowboy fighting the devil. How does a movie with that kind of description end up feeling like a generic retread of The Never Ending Story? It's not a horrible movie by any means, and there is some entertainment to be found; mainly from Idris Elba, and the smugness of McConaughey's Man In Black. However, by the end of the movie, I couldn't help but feel like there could potentially have been a much much better movie, just based on the fantastic world building that it teases. Missed opportunity, for sure. 

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atomic blonde

Set in November 1989, this Cold War spy thriller definitely has a pulpy feel to the story. It requires some suspension of disbelief when watching the events unfold, because while there's a noticeably realistic and grounded feel to the movie, there's also quite a bit of isolated detachment to the rest of the world. I suppose that is a common narrative trick when it comes to these hard boiled stories involving people working in the shadows as these spies tend to do. If you can accept that fact, then you're going to like "Atomic Blonde." 

First and foremost, Charlize Theron carries this movie effortlessly. That's a great thing, because watching her in the hand to hand action sequences is likely the biggest draw to seeing this film. Those action scenes really are quite something, and I do appreciate that they stuck with a fighting style that isn't too fantastical, and more towards the believable side of things. The painful side of things I might add. To top it off, there are several action sequences that were done in one shot that were mesmerizing to watch. Charlize being an action star and all, she is also great in the very serious spy role. With that said, the action scenes are what you'll remember her for here. 

Yes the action is great, but how is the story? It's good and interesting enough to grab your attention. It's not necessarily the most original though, as there is still a lot of the typical spy movie plot tropes here, from secret tricks, double crosses, to the usual gang of bad guys constantly out to kill the protagonists. If I was going to really criticize the movie, it's that the narrative style of telling the story that is used for this, kinda erases some of that tension with Charlize's character. Still the same, you're going to want to see it play out until the end. Plus James McAvoy's wildcard of a character will give you enough reasons to play the guessing game. 

As directed by David Leitch; adapting the graphic novel "The Coldest City" by Antony Johnston, "Atomic Blonde" actually follows a methodically paced story, that isn't afraid to slow things down when needed. It's not all balls to the wall action scene after action scene, which that fact might disappoint some people, but at least the content in between the punching and the shooting are well worth your time anyway. 

Oh, and the soundtrack that's filled with many songs from the '80s is also quite enjoyable. 

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valerian and the city of a thousand planets

When Willy Wonka sang "Pure Imagination," there was a verse that reads "There is no life I know, to compare with pure imagination." Based on the world that is presented here in "Valerian and The City Of A Thousand Planets," I feel like this movie represents that verse from the song. Just look at that title. It screams the fact that it has a lot of creative ideas that it wants to share with you. Put it this way, the opening of the movie; to the tune of David Bowie's "Space Oddity," has enough content to justify having it's own film based entirely on that five minutes sequence. That goes the same with many of the other sequences. 

There's a lot that I admire about this movie, and it's mainly because of it's incredible world building; that is mostly thanks to the original comic book source material. Just the sheer outlandish visuals and crazy concepts that Director Luc Besson was able to put on screen is an achievement that needs to be lauded. From the different kinds of life forms from other planets like somebody who can change their image at will, the different technologies and weapons, to the different fantastic locations like a grand market unlike any you've ever seen. Combine all that with awesome set pieces from a caper plot, chase sequences, to feeding a king, and what we've got is a movie that simply have many memorable things to experience. 

This movie fills that slot in the imaginative science-fiction fantasy epic category, and I definitely want to see more of this. Despite all my praise for this film, it unfortunately has two major flaws in it. The first flaw would be the script, as it's serviceable at best with a dash of derivatives, and some dialogue that can be described as clunky or cringe-worthy. The second flaw would be the two main leads in Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne, who aren't charming enough to carry the movie, don't have strong chemistry together, and just come off as being miscast for the roles that already doesn't have much in terms of great character development. 

As great as the rest of the movie is, those two flaws are pretty significant. Maybe not significant enough to ruin the whole experience for me, but enough to keep it from being an instant sci-fi classic. It at least has the elements of being a future cult classic, so there's that. Negativity aside, there's a lot that I really enjoyed with this movie, and would love to see more of it. If anything else, it's convinced me to consider reading the original comic book source material to get my fix. 

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dunkirk

As written and directed by Christopher Nolan, this is actually a rather straightforward story about the events of Dunkirk during World War II. There's not that much dialogue in this one, and in many ways it's not really needed, as the visual set pieces do a great job in relaying what happens. With all that said, since this is written and directed by Christopher Nolan, this straightforward story is not that simple, and is expanded into three different groups of stories, involving three different sets of characters. The dialogue that does occur on occasion gives off enough expositions that is helps elaborate on character motivations, and only adds more context to accompany the amazing visual set pieces. 

If it isn't obvious by now, the visuals for this movie are incredible! The three stories covers the three different settings set in land, sea, and air. Not only are the visuals great, but the soundtrack is also amazing. The combination of the two really added to the intensity of this story, putting you on the edge of the seat throughout the majority of the film's run time, with the suspicion that something bad is about to happen in every scene. There's an amazing balance in the editing, the simplicity of the action sequences, and the music building up to something, that combined results in some wonderfully tense scenes. 

The large ensemble of characters that make up the story, each helps contribute to making us want to see this through until the end credits. The movie should successfully hook you into caring about what happens to these characters, even if it only lets you vaguely know just a little bit about their backstories on who they are. The little bit of information given to us should be enough though. 

This story about Dunkirk can be perceived to be relatively shallow, and it's an understandable conclusion since the whole movie is almost just a series of action set pieces. On a subtle level, there is actually a pretty meaningful theme and commentary about Dunkirk that is worth recognizing as well. 

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P.S. I saw this movie in one of those multi-story IMAX screens, and it was an amazing experience seeing it in that format. 

a ghost story

If you can't tell by the trailer that showcases a person in what looks like a cheap Halloween ghost costume, let me emphasize the fact that this is not for everybody's taste. From the boxed shaped aspect ratio, the huge lack of dialogue throughout the whole story, the unconventional premise, the melancholic tone, to the tedious scenes of mundanity, this movie will push a lot of people's patience. There's even this one scene where all we see is Rooney Mara eating a pie in real time that lasts for minutes. Literally minutes, with only two cuts during the whole scene, static camera shots, and with no dialogue.

Some people are going to get frustrated with this movie, that they might feel encouraged to yell at the screen questioning what the hell they are watching, be bored during it's very slow paced scenes to the point of falling asleep, or just leave the theater altogether. In fact in my screening, there were people who did indeed leave the theater within the first thirty minutes of the movie. I myself was compelled to walk out early. Despite all that I said just now, by the end of it all, I thought it was one of the most profoundly moving films I've ever seen released in 2017. Boldly powerful. Artistically experimental. Thought provoking. Beautifully Poetic. Wow, what a cinematic experience. 

Nobody is going to argue that this movie is very alienating to what is probably it's own detriment, but Writer-Director David Lowery is a brilliant visionary that sticks the landing to the themes presented in this film. It's hard to say why I ended up liking this movie as much as I did without spoiling key points, but it tackles on certain subject matters that really spoke to me in a deep level, about grief, legacy, futility, time, connections, history, and death. What looks like a pretentious gimmicky movie, truly did emotionally hit me in ways I did not initially expect from it. It's not a perfect film by any means, and I had my issues with it regarding particular plot points, but it really made up for it's flaws with the things I loved about it. 

While the movie is called "A Ghost Story," this is far from being your typical ghost story that's trying to be scary; although there is oddly enough one jump scare moment. On a technical level it is still a ghost story, but just told from a very unique perspective that will possibly make you reconsider your thoughts about ghosts. Lowery gave us something special here, that will likely haunt me for years to come. 

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wish upon

It seems trite for me to say this, but this movie wasn't that scary. The whole cautionary tale about being careful about what you wish for I suppose can be considered scary, but no where was I remotely close to being horrified, or motivated to close my eyes from some scary moment. They could at least have gone with gruesome death scenes to appease horror fans, but it looked like they were more worried about traumatizing elementary school kids. 

Despite my criticisms, I was generally interested with the story, and the whole concept it introduces. It has some good ideas with how it established the main supernatural threat of the movie, and the closest film I can think of to compare what this was going for, is the Final Destination franchise. The way the death scenes are set up, there is a good bit of intrigue and suspense on how somebody is going to meet their end. That's whats actually entertaining about watching the movie, although I would prefer it if they were more ambitious about it though. 

While the main characters themselves were likable enough in their own right, they still typically did stupid things to ruin the suspension of disbelief. In general there were ridiculous plot points that defied rationality, but at the same time I was kind of invested enough to see what was going to happen next. It's just disappointing that this actually does have some cool ideas that I want to see developed more, and I simply wish that it was a better movie than it actually turned out. 

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war for the planet of the apes

Can Andy Serkis get all the acting awards in the world for his job here as the ape named Caesar already? He truly is amazing in the role, and I feel like this movie features his best work yet in this franchise. There is a lot of complex emotions that Caesar is suppose to be able to show us in this film, and Serkis does great work showing all of it. Speaking of emotions, it should be even harder not to get emotionally involved with his character in this installment, which in itself is an achievement that needs to be lauded. 

Caesar himself may be one of the main highlights to watching this movie, and Woody Harrelson's character is as well, but if you've seen the past two movies, then the continuing story is the other main reason to seeing this. Between "Rise...," "Dawn...," or "War...," I would say "War Of The Planet Of The Apes" is arguably the most ambitious movie yet. Part of the reason why I say that is that although it says "War" on the title, I wouldn't really classify this as a war movie. There are battle sequences in this, but the majority of the movie isn't like that at all. That fact may disappoint some people, but what we ended up getting instead is something special. 

This is a beautifully directed movie by Matt Reeves, and emotionally artistic with the personal feeling tone, the deliberately careful pacing, as well as with how much it also felt like a silent film at times. There's a lot of dramatic weight to the story, and there's quite a bit of seriousness to the whole proceedings that only raises the emotional impact to certain scenes. Some of those certain scenes were definitely very powerful and moving, providing some of the best moments of the movie. It's not all dour though, as there are bits of comic relief involving Steve Zahn's ape character. 

While in many cases this movie can be called a masterpiece in film making, it's not without it's flaws though. Arguably minor flaws, like plot conveniences, or how the pacing might be too slow for some movie goers. I would say the positives really does outweigh the negatives in this case, and only cements the fact that this truly is one of the best trilogy of films around. 

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