the only living boy in new york

The Only Living Boy In New York - Official US Trailer - Adrift in New York City, a recent college graduate seeks the guidance of an eccentric neighbor as his life is upended by his father's mistress in the sharp and witty coming-of-age story.

Maybe Woody Allen should have written and directed this movie. Not wanting to toss too much shade at the screenwriting by Allan Loeb, or the directing work by Marc Webb, but if they were trying to emulate the eccentricities and random neurotics of Woody Allen's writing and characters, then they kinda didn't hit that goal. They definitely tried to at least, and there were some good ideas found in this movie. Unfortunately, there are just too many things that I had issues with. 

On the problems with the writing, besides the air of pretentiousness and idealism in the premise, the story simply asks too much from the audience. It starts off with some promising set ups for a fun but dysfunctional drama, that's filled with colorful characters. By the end of the movie however, it all becomes a set of manipulative plot turns, that revolved around too many unbelievable character moments. Needless to say, there will be people who will roll their eyes at how the story resolves itself. 

Even with a strong cast, which includes Kate Beckinsale and Jeff Bridges, the characters are disappointingly either over-written or under-written. The most complicated character is Callum Turner as Thomas Webb, but he goes from charmingly emotional, to annoyingly full of himself. The whole movie revolves around him, and he just comes off as infuriating and annoying! I get that there's a coming-of-age aspect to his plot, but it just comes off as being too fake and overly romanticized. 

I was really hoping for "The Only Living Boy In New York" to be a good and compelling romantic drama; not unlike Marc Webb's "500 Days Of Summer," but it simply does not share the same kind of charm and appeal. 

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good time

SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/A24subscribe From directors Josh and Benny Safdie and starring Robert Pattinson. GOOD TIME - Now Playing. RELEASE DATE: August 11, 2017 DIRECTOR: Ben Safdie, Joshua Safdie CAST: Robert Pattinson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Barkhad Abdi ORIGINAL SCORE: Oneohtrix Point Never MUSIC: "The Pure And The Damned" by Oneohtrix Point Never ft.

Would you watch a 100 minutes film that follows some unlikable and despicable characters that you're not going to feel sympathy for? Would you watch a movie where a lot of mishaps and unfortunate mistakes happen to the lead characters, but they're not done in a funny way? No to both? Well then maybe "Good Time" isn't for you. Speaking of which, the movie title is kinda ironic, because the events that happen in this story is not what I would describe as a good time. 

As a crime thriller that takes place within a one day time frame, it does have a gripping and visceral quality to it. A lot of it has more to do with a "how are they going to get out of this mess" kind of thrill, so there's some merit to this. Of course, depending on how you feel about the characters and the situations they put themselves in, you're either going to find this movie exciting or frustrating. Many times, I found myself disgusted, disturbed, and disappointed, with several of the actions the characters did on screen. I was actively rooting for them to not get out of the mess they were in. All I had going to keep myself watching until the end of this story, is that I was genuinely compelled to find out how the story ends. 

Even though I felt like I was watching some morally objectionable things happening on screen, I got to give the Safdie Brothers credit for directing such an in-your-face and unpredictable experience, that kept me eyes glued to the screen. The moody tone, dark plot turns, hypnotizing sound track, and super tight camera angles, all work in unison to give us this unromantic look at how horrible things can happen to horrible people. The lead horrible person is Robert Pattinson, who does an incredible acting job as this sociopath; or "sociopathetic," who goes through this odyssey of misfortune and misbehavior. I just wanted to punch him in the face. 

It's true that this oft-kilter crime thriller can be described as a cinematic visionary work of art, but I just felt like I watched something too grimy and off-putting for my taste. I somehow think the story would be more entertaining if it was verbally told to me, because actually watching it was probably a little too overwhelming for my taste. 

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death note

Light's entrance into the dark world of Ryuk began with one name. Here is an exclusive first-look at a brand new clip from Death Note, now streaming on Netflix.

First off I should point out that I've never read or seen the original source materials for "Death Note;" the manga, the anime series, and the Japanese live-action movies. I'm going into this American interpretation without much "baggage" in how it handled the adaptation. Just based on this movie however, I've got to say that the concept and premise of this story is genuinely interesting. The story progression and the characters involved are actually fascinating. The ideas presented here are good, and there are some cool moments. With that said, the movie is all over the place, and the script is not that good. 

It seems that one of the major problems this movie has is that it feels like it's rushing through things. It seems like it's just going from plot point to plot point, without letting things grow and breath in a natural way. If you weren't paying attention to the plot, it's likely that you might find this convoluted and confusing. Even if you were paying attention to the plot, you might still find it convoluted and confusing. The characters themselves have some poor dialogue, that's mostly just used for exposition. You will probably still understand why the characters act and do certain things in the movie just based on it's familiar plot tropes, but the movie itself doesn't earn it's own rationality for it's own characters developments. 

I want to just write-off this movie as a poorly written misguided mess, and how the Direction by Adam Wingard is just putting finding ways to put insanity and madness on screen. Oddly enough though, it's the insanity and madness of it all that might be the saving grace of this production. Once you accept the craziness, it becomes easier to swallow the chaos thrown at you on screen. You just have to ignore the illogical flaws, plot problems, and an overdose of over the top ridiculousness though. Despite the fact that it's so unbelievably unhinged, oft-kilter, and derivative, you might still end up having fun with the whole thing anyway. I did say "might." 

At least the movie deserves some credit for having Willem Dafoe be the voice of the Ryuk character, as he is good in it; for what there is for him to do. Margaret Qualley and Lakeith Stanfield also seems to be having fun with their characters at least, and I feel like it does carry through on screen in a madcap way. Nat Wolff unfortunately doesn't seem to know what he wants Light Turner to be as a character, and he's the main protagonist. 

Needless to say, this movie is not going to please everybody. There are already premeditated reasons why certain groups of people are going to hate this adaptation, and the movie doesn't give them too many valid reasons to change their minds. For everybody else, this film is just another one of those that had potential to be much better than what it actually ended up becoming. 

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birth of the dragon

Bruce Lee fought Wong Jack Man in the most controversial fight of all time. Watch the all-new trailer for Birth of the Dragon, inspired by a true event, in theaters August 25th. Set against the backdrop of 1960s San Francisco, BIRTH OF THE DRAGON is a modern take on the classic movies that Bruce Lee was known for.

It seems that Director George Nolfi had to do a bit of juggling with the narrative to this movie, because it appears that there are three main protagonists here. There's Wong Jack Man, who is a Shaolin Kung Fu Master looking for penance. There's Bruce Lee, the brash but skillful Wing Chun expert with ambitions of stardom. Then there's Steve McKee, the martial arts student who finds himself as an intermediary between the two. Yu Xia as Wong Jack Man is great in the role, Philip Ng is impressively fantastic as Bruce Lee, but unfortunately Billy Magnussen really does come off as just the "token" white American in this story. 

As a film, this one seems to be an homage to the 1970-1980s B-Movie American made classics of martial arts flicks, that tried to capitalize on the growing popularity of Kung Fu in the West. The plot involving Steve McKee and a woman trapped under a debt to a Chinese Mob certainly fits the bill as a typical story trope found in those Kung Fu flicks. That's the least interesting thing about this movie of course, because this is after all a fictionalized story that is inspired by the true but controversial 1964 fight between Wong Jack Man and Bruce Lee. I suppose this could also be an homage to those "Bruceploitation" movies that showed up after his death. 

That whole derivative story involving the McKee character which acts as the through-line that triggers the fight between the two martial arts legends, is to put it mildly, unfortunate. However, if you don't mind Mckee's hokey and uninspired story line being in this movie, you should be able to appreciate the plot involving Wong Jack Man and Bruce Lee anyway. Truly, the reason to see this movie are for those two legends. The fight scenes were also pretty good, and very entertaining to watch. I also liked a lot of the creative slow-mo sequences within the action; especially the point of view shots. 

It's easy to dismiss this movie as a blasphemous depiction of Bruce Lee's history, but I really think Philip Ng deserves a lot of praise for this, as well as Yu Xia. I also have to say that I appreciated the fact that just about every role in this movie is played by an Asian, with the token white boy character of McKee being the only exception. So as much as I can complain about certain things about this movie, it does still feed into that simple entertainment value as a fun enough Kung Fu flick to check out. 

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ingrid goes west

Directed by MATT SPICER Written by MATT SPICER & DAVID BRANSON SMITH Starring AUBREY PLAZA, ELIZABETH OLSEN, WYATT RUSSELL, BILLY MAGNUSSEN and O'SHEA JACKSON JR. www.neonrated.com

If you are the kind of person who are always posting on Instagram, then this is the movie for you. If you are the kind of person who are always looking at other people's posts on Instagram, then this is the movie for you. If you are the kind of person who are tired of people who are always on Instagram, then this is the movie for you. If you are the kind of person who preach to people that Instagram is bad for them, then this is the movie for you. I'm surprised that this movie isn't just called "Instagram: the movie." Actually, maybe I should have wrote that as... "I'm #surprised that this movie isn't just called #InstagramTheMovie. #truth 

Part social commentary, part black comedy, part psychological character study, this movie goes from being a story that you want to laugh at, to a story that you want to laugh with, to a story that you really shouldn't be laughing at. Let's just say that I wouldn't be surprised if somebody was to call this a horror movie. It gets kinda dark, despite many moments of levity and stupidity. The premise of somebody who becomes obsessed with somebody she follows on Instagram, isn't necessarily the description of a light hearted comedy. Either way, it's quite the fascinating story, told through a rabbit hole of madness and sadness. 

At the forefront of this mentally unstable tale, is Aubrey Plaza as Ingrid Thorburn. This is a tour de force performance by her, and despite the craziness that is her character Ingrid, Plaza is able to give us some reasons to sympathize with her. She makes you want to root for her, even though you probably shouldn't. Elizabeth Olsen as Taylor Sloane is the object of Ingrid's obsession, and is perfect as the other perspective on the Instagram angle of the story. With these two leads, it's easy to say that the whole point of the movie is just to see what Ingrid does in reaction to what Taylor says and do. From spur of the moment trips to Joshua Tree, lying about who they are, to trying to be a VIP at a party, it's almost like watching a train wreck. 

"Ingrid Goes West" is definitely not for everybody, because like I previously said, it gets kinda dark. Uncomfortably dark. However, the story definitely has some merit to see it. From Aubrey Plaza's great work here, as well as it being a cautionary tale on what you shouldn't do with your life. 

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logan lucky

Official Site: http://www.LoganLuckyMovie.com LIKE us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LoganLuckyMovie FOLLOW us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/LoganLuckyMovie FOLLOW us on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/LoganLuckyMovie -- See how the other half steals. Watch the official trailer for Steven Soderbergh's LOGAN LUCKY, in theaters this August.

Can Steven Soderbergh just do heist movies? He makes entertaining heist movies. With "Logan Lucky," he pulled off giving us a different kind of heist movie, with a different set of characters and a different type of location, that are normally not associated with this genre. It's a pretty refreshing cast and setting to experience a story like this. Although I sometimes wonder if he chose this region of the USA as a form of parody or affection. I'd like to think it's the latter, just based on where the story goes. 

What I appreciated about this heist movie is that it actually takes it's time. There are a lot of seemingly small scenes with the characters, talking about innocuous subject matters. Once you get to the actual heist, the movie doesn't try and rush things there either, and allows us to experience it in a somewhat real-time way that adds to the excitement. There will likely be some people that might get impatient with the pacing, and with some scenes that seem to be created just to add character development. If you accept and allow the story to just breathe, you might feel even more invested with the film. 

The cast is good in this, with Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, and Daniel Craig, leading the charge. Tatum and Driver play their roles in an almost deadpan manner, that it does create some probably unintentional but welcome form of comedy. Craig on the other hand seems to be all in with the energy that his character is able to put on screen, and that creates some intentional bits of comedy. Lead or supporting characters, they are able to bring the right amount of entertainment to this movie. 

If I was to have a problem, it's that the conclusion of the story will potentially make or break a person's opinion about the overall movie. Some will argue that it goes on too long, and some will argue that it goes on too long. Oh wait, that's the same thing... The movie goes on too long, plus the narrative choices made at the final act is also a bit questionable for me. All in all, despite some issues I have, I really found "Logan Lucky" to be quite entertaining. 

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wind river

Now Playing In Select Theaters ---- WIND RIVER is a chilling thriller that follows a rookie FBI agent (Elizabeth Olsen) who teams up with a local game tracker with deep community ties and a haunted past (Jeremy Renner) to investigate the murder of a local girl on a remote Native American Reservation in the hopes of solving her mysterious death.

Starting off with the death of a young Native American woman, "Wind River" sets the movie up as a gritty crime thriller. Saying "thriller" however can be a bit misleading in some way, because this movie isn't exactly like a thrill ride a minute. If anything else, this is really more like a modern western, with it's deliberately careful pacing, a procedural quest to find those responsible for the crime, located in the vast isolated fringe setting of an Indian Reservation in Wyoming, starring a lead character who has to help solve the case while still overcoming a personal tragedy. Cold snow instead of dry dirt, and a hunter instead of a cowboy. Yeah, it's pretty much a western. 

Writer-Director Taylor Sheridan has a knack for giving us interesting premises with his films; coming off from "Hell Or High Water" and "Sicario." In this one, the team up of a composed seasoned Hunter, with a young but passionate FBI agent, to play the whodunit game is quite enjoyable to watch. Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen are excellent in this, and do a great job with their back and forth interactions, as the experienced local and the fish out of water outsider, respectively. It was easy to admire Renner's character as this epitome of a very capable man, but Olsen's character was also good to have as a direct contrast. 

In between the procedural aspects, the actual action sequences, and some humor as well, are scenes filled with compelling introspection and lamentation. The different kinds of characters, the Wyoming setting, and the authority figures, all have something important to add to the movie's narrative, which only makes the story feel even more alive and interesting. With the plot turns and reveals, you're going to want to see this through the end. While it does have a fantastic script, with some great set pieces (like a particular stand-off), there are still some moments in the movie that didn't ring true to me and keeps "Wind River" from being just perfect. While not flawless, this movie is still very much a must-see. 

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the hitman's bodyguard

The Hitman's Bodyguard - In theaters August 18. Get tickets now: http://lions.gt/hbtickets. Starring Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, and Salma Hayek, Elodie Yung, Joaquim De Almeida, Kirsty Mitchell, with Richard E. Grant. #HitmansBodyguard http://www.TheHitmansBodyguard.movie https://www.facebook.com/HitmansBodyguard https://twitter.com/HitmanBodyguard https://www.instagram.com/HitmansBodyguard The world's top protection agent [Ryan Reynolds] is called upon to guard the life of his mortal enemy, one of the world's most notorious hitmen [Samuel L.

There's really only one reason to see this movie, and that's for Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L Jackson. The best bodyguard around has to protect the best hitman, which means that this is your classic oil meets water kind of team ups. As a buddy movie, it's entertaining enough. It's not the best of it's type, but it's also not horrible either. It's just average? Maybe slightly above average? Very oh so slightly? 

You should know what you are getting into when you see this movie. The plot progression is pretty standard. The narrative between the two main leads is pretty standard. The derivative plot cliches are pretty standard. The action sequences are pretty standard. The jokes are pretty standard. The story in general is pretty standard. As you can tell, I thought that it was a pretty standard movie. With that said, it's actually pretty enjoyable when it's at it's best, and just uninspired indifference at it's worst. 

Reynolds and Jackson work well together here. Watching them banter with each other is pretty fun, and that is the best aspect of the movie. A lot of nonsensical things happen in this film, but the two leads make it work anyway, because they were entertaining enough to carry the whole thing. Salma Hayek is also fun to watch, as the very cantankerous wife of the hitman, but unfortunately Elodie Yung is underutilized here. 

If you can forgive the very uninspired nature of the whole production, this movie should be entertaining enough to watch. I wouldn't necessarily recommend going all out of the way to see it, but "The Hitman's Bodyguard" does have moments in the movie that rewards you for giving it a chance. Just on the strength of the two leads, I really wouldn't mind seeing a sequel that continues their story. Maybe I should also leave things as is... 

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brigsby bear

BRIGSBY BEAR Adventures is a children's TV show produced for an audience of one, James (Kyle Mooney). When the show abruptly ends, James' life changes forever and he sets out to finish the story himself.

Prior to watching the whole movie, the only thing I've seen regarding Brigsby Bear is the teaser trailer. Thankfully that's all the marketing I saw, because it might be best to go into this movie knowing as little as possible, as it will only help add to the weirdness that is this film (feel free to watch the "Evil Arielle Ending" clip from the TV show though). This is a fish-out-of-water tale, with quirky comedic elements, plus a moral story about friendship and family, that is mixed in with the world of Brigsby Bear. Basically, we definitely have an odd movie here. 

Without giving away the premise of this film, who is this made for? This is for anybody that is part of a fandom. This is for those who want to celebrate their fandom with other fans. This is for people who haven't fallen out of love for that TV show they used to watch all the time when they were just little kids. This is for inspired individuals who want to create something in honor of their fandom. This is for everyone that would love to make a movie with their friends and family. 

Part of the charm of this film is the low budget quality feel to it. There's a certain simplicity to everything, that at the same time makes it all a little bit clever as well. Scenes of innocent awkwardness and embarrassment adds to the comedic elements of the movie. While the scenes that contrast the harshness of reality with the attempts of trying to achieve your dreams, gives us a bit of commentary about balancing our idealistic and realistic goals in life.

Some people might argue that the story can be a bit too precious at times, and feels a bit too eager to wear it's heart on it's sleeves. Beyond the quirkiness and the oddness, one could also argue that the story is also not that unique, and have some derivative plot points. With a good cast, an entertaining premise, and a heartwarming core theme, I think most of the negative aspects of this movie can be easily ignored. It's Brigsby Bear, and that should be all the reason you need to check this out. 

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the glass castle

The Glass Castle - In theaters August 11. Get tickets now: http://lions.gt/glasscastletickets. Starring Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson, Naomi Watts, Max Greenfield, Sarah Snook, and Robin Bartlett. Based on the best-selling memoir by Jeannette Walls. #TheGlassCastle http://www.TheGlassCastle.movie https://www.facebook.com/GlassCastleFilm https://www.twitter.com/GlassCastleFilm https://www.instagram.com/GlassCastleFilm Chronicling the adventures of an eccentric, resilient and tight-knit family, THE GLASS CASTLE is a remarkable story of unconditional love.

Based on the true life memoirs of Jeanette Walls, this movie covers a lot of ground. Dysfunctional family drama. Coming of age tale. Discussion about parenthood. Dreamers vs Realists. Money. The premise covers multiple decades, but the one thematic arc that will make or break this film for people is likely the one about parenthood. By the end of the narrative, it will ask you to feel a certain way about the parents in this story. The problem there, is that you may not completely agree with their messaging. It's definitely perfect for a lengthy discussion, but it may just be the primary reason somebody may or may not like this movie. 

While the movie has many scenes depicting happy moments that should make you smile, there's still a lot of darkness to what happens to the characters. I suppose that's the crux of this drama, and the most compelling aspect of the tale. You see this family go through a life journey, the good and the bad times. They face a lot of challenges in this movie, from dealing with how to get away from paying the hospital bill, to how long they can stay in a home before they get kicked out, how to teach a child how to swim, or how to make a meal out of butter and sugar.  

I myself was invested in what happened to these characters, and some of those heartbreaking moments were truly heartbreaking. One could argue that some of those scenes can be seen as derivative plot cliches, but I thought they were handled well enough to give me that emotional reaction. What I thought helped a lot with my attachment to the characters is the great cast. Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson, and Naomi Watts, were all as good as expected, but I want to in particular give kudos to Ella Anderson and Chandler Head for their fantastic performances as Young and Youngest Jeanette, respectively. 

There is quite a bit of idealism and sentimentality in this movie that will rub people the wrong way. I'm not even sure how good of an adaptation it is to the book, but I'm sure that will also rub people the wrong way. I think there's a case to say that this isn't as strong of a drama as it should be, but I thought it was good enough to get my full attention despite some flaws. 

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