the darkest minds

Positives... 
- Amandla Stenberg. She is essentially the reason to see this. Give her more movies. 
- The pairing of the four primary young characters, played by Amandla Stendberg, Harris Dickinson, Skylan Brooks, and Miya Cech, are all entertaining to watch. The scenes of their camaraderie and chemistry, are the best parts of this movie. 
- Fans of movies based on Young Adult novels, should find a lot to like about this. 

Negatives... 
- It's still a movie based on a Young Adult novel, and shares the trappings, flaws, and tropes, that's very common in these kinds of genre films. 
- The story derivatives and predictability can be disappointing, and dampers any sort of excitement you might have for this. 
- Plot conveniences and plot holes, also ruin what should otherwise be a relatively innocuous movie. 
- There were some inane plot developments that I found completely eye-rolling worthy. 
- Did Miya Cech; the only Asian character in the main cast, even get to say anything? If she was suppose to be mute, then the movie failed to inform me of that. 

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eighth grade

If writer / director Bo Burnham's goal was to put pure insecurity and awkwardness on screen, then he succeeded. If actress Elsie Fisher's goal was to perfectly embody insecurity and awkwardness on screen, then she succeeded too! Unless you were one of the popular kids or was very much socially secure during your time in eighth grade, then the things that happened in this movie must have felt very relatable. Well of course not all of them, but you know what I mean. It also gave you the reminder that you really wouldn't want to go back to that time of your childhood. 

Bar none, the main reason to see this film is for Elsie Fisher's performance as Kayla. She is phenomenal in the role. It's almost like she isn't even acting, and her portrayal felt so naturally believable. From her facial reactions, to the way she talks or responds to people, and just how her character handles some awkward scenarios, are all just top notch. She has to be that good, because just about every scene in this film revolves around her, and it's like we're just a fly in the wall observing everything that happens to her. 

Before I forget to give him credit, Josh Hamilton is absolutely awesome as Kayla's Dad Mark. Considering my age, I really really liked Mark's role in this film. I really sympathized with him a lot in this movie, and really appreciated the things he said in this, as well as how he acts around Kayla. While I would want to comfort Elsie with a nice hug, I absolutely want to give Mark a fist bump or a high five for being a good Dad to her. The scenes between Kayla and her Dad for me are my most favorite parts of this film. 

The narrative of this story is essentially a slice-of-life kind of thing, that spans a one week period. It's not completely a coming-of-age story, but it definitely has that element here. It tries to give us many elements of what it's like to be in that age group, all to serve the purpose of giving us some social commentary about growing up. Some good thematic lessons to be had here for sure. My only gripe there is that it can be a little cliche or derivative in some cases. Yes, it can be argued that it can't be helped, but then there are also some plot turns and characters that seem more patronizing than naturally believable. Opinions may vary there of course. 

It might be presumptuous of me to say, but I think kids and parents should watch "Eighth Grade" as a mandatory requirement. This is a good look at teenage life, and a potential informative insight to that age group. Bo Burnham deserves some recognition for making this movie, because I genuinely think there are valuable things to learn here. Plus it's a good movie too! 

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three identical strangers

Positives... 
- Those of you familiar with this true story should appreciate this documentary of it. 
- Those of you unfamiliar with this true story should avoid spoilers as much as possible, because it's a doozy of a documentary. Don't watch the trailer! 
- I like the mix between the unobtrusive reenactments and the actual archival footage. 
- How the filmmakers handled the narrative is fantastic and keeps a good pace throughout. 
- Did I mention this true story is quite a tale, and very much worthy of your time watching it. 

Negatives... 
- The way this story and documentary ends may leave some people unsatisfied. 
- Sometimes it repeats archival footage more times than I would prefer. 

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extinction

Positives... 
- The set-up of this story is interesting enough. 
- Michael Pena not playing a comedic role is... different. 
- Premise of the whole movie should encourage some good discussions about what it's about. 
- It gets really good at the 60 minute mark. 

Negatives... 
- You have to endure waiting through 60 minutes before this movie justifies your time spent watching it. 
- The kid characters continually do stupid and frustrating things. 
- Michael Pena's character is essentially the only one you'll really care about. 
- Should have been a more exciting movie than what we got. 
- It's not really that visually interesting... until you get to the 88 minute mark...  
- That last 30 minutes, deserves a much better first 60 minutes. What a waste. 

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You can watch it now on NETFLIX (or don't)  

teen titans go to the movies

#isawthatmovie 

Right from the opening scenes of "Teen Titans Go! To The Movies," there are many things about the movie that will be really obvious about it. It's completely in your face with how it's filled with a bunch of dumb things, and content that are just pure nonsense. It's super hyper kinetic that challenges your attention span, and has a lot of visual easter eggs too. Simply put, there are many things that happens in this animated movie that people will consider to be really stupid. Like idiotically stupid. Like "I can't believe how stupid this is" stupid. With all that said, I had an absolute blast watching this! 

As somebody who has never seen a full episode of the series this movie is based on, I am pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this. Yes, I am aware that I'm not exactly the age demographic that this is made for, but it seems that the movie itself doesn't really care either, because it has a lot of humor that older comic book fans like myself are definitely going to enjoy. In fact, I would go so far and say that it's comedy even calls back to '80s and '90s entertainment quite often; which is in fact the eras of my youth. There are even some pretty dark humor slipped into the comedy, that I found myself eyes wide open, mouth agape, at the fact that this kid's movie went there. 

Some people have said that it's like the "Deadpool" movies but for kids. Essentially, the self-aware, irreverent, meta humor is what primarily drives how entertaining this is for people who aren't in that young age bracket. It's even filled with many pop cultural references that I genuinely think are more targeted towards older kids or adults. Now the plot itself is admittedly pretty straight forward, and the general derivative themes of the story are kids friendly, which is all fine and all. However, it truly is the narrative that is just pure fun, as it isn't afraid to go into outrageous scenes of pure wackiness, all for the sake of some joke to entertain us. 

From enjoyable musical numbers that at one point had a tiger with a keytar, to the many inside jokes about superhero movies that includes both DC and Marvel films, to just the entertaining action set pieces that isn't afraid to mix in fart jokes or silly kiddie magic tricks, "Teen Titans Go! To The Movies" is an unbelievably refreshing entry into the comic book superhero movie genre. I honestly have that itch to want to go see it again. 

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mission impossible fallout

There's a general sentiment floating around that the Mission: Impossible films is the best action movie franchise of this generation, or any generation for that matter. The series has a lot of proof to back up that notion as well, and under the Direction and Writing by Christopher McQuarrie with "Mission: Impossible - Fallout," it's making a statement challenging others to just try and take that crown away from it. 

"M:I - Fallout" is simply put, one of the best action film's I've ever seen. I'm pretty sure that even at a run-time of 147 minutes, it felt like there were over 2 hours worth of action sequences crammed into this film. Scene after scene after scene, of stunts, car chases, foot chases, physical combat, gun fights, to thrilling heist scenes, and situations where the are running against the clock. Then add in all the spy vs spy scenarios, infiltration, betrayals, gadgets, impersonations, and just plain tricks, and we've got ourselves what might just be the perfect espionage action thriller. 

James Bond's got nothing on Ethan Hunt at this point. A lot of that has to do with Tom Cruise himself in the role, doing his own legitimately dangerous stunts, and earnestly looking like a real human showing an expression of fear or concern in his face, right before he leaps into a death defying act. Rebecca Ferguson plays the action star quite well herself as Ilsa Faust, and shout out to Henry Cavill in his role as CIA agent Walker. To complete the excellent ensemble cast here, are Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames, playing the respective roles of Benji and Luther the way you want them to. 

So far, I've said things that could easily have described the previous three Mission: Impossible films, and that's because I don't really want to spoil the plot of this installment, by talking about specific favorite scenes; which there are many. With that said, I admit that this is also a very straight forward story that verges on being a little derivative, and in some cases also has some convenient plot devices as well. While the main reason to watch this movie is for the action sequences, it's hard not to already be invested with the characters at this point, which helps keeps your attention until the end. I also have to admire how efficiently the plot is laid out to us, while being effortlessly crammed in between those action set pieces. 

With "Mission: Impossible - Fallout," it's easy to accept this as the final installment. I'm pretty sure it's not though, but it makes me wonder how the next movie in this franchise is going to possibly top what went on here. Until then, just be glad that this franchise exists, because it continues to be as awesome as you expect it to be. 

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unfriended dark web

Right from the get-go, there will be people who will have huge issues with "Unfriended: Dark Web." Similar to the previous installment, the whole movie is seen through the desktop of a laptop, with a combination of browsers, windows, chat-boxes, and videos, providing the narrative of this story. It's easy to dismiss this because of the "gimmick," and marginalize the people involved in this production; like the actors. While there are moments when I felt like they "cheated" with what happens on that laptop screen just to get the plot moving, I will legitimately say that they were overall successful in telling this story. 

The other huge issue that might be brought up, is that this movie is not "fun" in the same vein as a lot of mainstream audience friendly horror scary movies can be. Those movies tend to have those "enjoyable" jump scares that will get people laughing embarrassingly, or give people entertaining reasons to root for either the protagonists or even the antagonists. You're not going to get that here. At best you'll be quietly rooting for the protagonists to survive the experience, because you should be genuinely concerned with what's happening to them. I don't think there's even a chance you're going to root for the antagonists, because they've done absolutely deplorable things like human trafficking, and violence against women; and the movie doesn't even need to be gratuitous to make you scared of what they can do. 

Some people will say that this feels "too real" to be entertaining, but that's part of what makes this a genuinely effective horror movie. Some people will say that this is too nihilistic and too depressing, but that is also what makes this a genuinely effective horror movie. Some people will say that this is unbelievable and that this couldn't possibly happen this way, and while there is definitely some exaggeration going on here, this horror movie is giving us a genuinely frightening scenario that could potentially happen to you.

It goes without saying, that this movie isn't for everybody. It may be more disturbing and creepy than what you expect a fun night out at the movies to be. it doesn't even go super far showing gore or death scenes, but it makes it really easy for you to use your own imagination to fill in the gaps, and will likely make you say "that's really messed up." Avoid illicit websites that could compromise your security, cover your webcam that might give people access to spy on you, and definitely don't pick up tech gadgets that don't belong to you. If there's a theme or lesson to be had here with "Unfriended: Dark Web," it's all that. 

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the equalizer 2

Positives... 
- Can't deny this, but it's always entertaining seeing Denzel Washington be this badass that kicks so much ass. 
- Denzel's portrayal of his character Robert McCall is great, and is the kind of action movie hero that is worth rooting for. 
- The action sequence involving a car was fun to watch, as well as this scene involving a bookcase. 
- It's not afraid to take it's time, and isn't an action-fest extravaganza. 

Negavites... 
- It takes it's time way too much, and I'd rather have an action-fest extravaganza. 
- Kinda meanders around a little too much for my taste. 
- The antagonist is technically interesting on paper, but they aren't really that interesting on screen. 
- Movie ended up generally generic and forgettable

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leave no trace

"Leave No Trace" opens up with scenes of a Father and Daughter in a forest. Sleeping in a tent. Cooking mushrooms they found there. Making fire. They're camping right? Of course if you've seen the trailer or have read up on it, then you know that's not exactly the case. These extended generally quaint scenes sets the tone and pacing for the rest of the film. A bit meditative. A bit contemplative. A bit like a slice of life. It's definitely not a movie that moves fast, but there are still some small bits of excitement in rare moments. 

Based on the novel "My Abandonment" by Peter Rock, this movie asks you to think and consider what you are seeing take place in this story. This is the idea of non-conforming Americans, living life like the old "primitive" days, without over-reaching rules, and without the comforts plus conveniences of modern times. As it goes, that way of life can't completely escape the grasp of our current civilization. The situation gets complicated when it catches up to our main protagonists. Of course that only leads to the movie presenting us with even more things to consider and think about. 

Ben Foster continues to prove to us as to why he is one of the best actors we have today. As Will, Ben Foster gives us Father who really loves his Daughter, but is stubbornly set in his mind to how they should live their lives. Agree or disagree with his decisions in this movie, but this story doesn't make it easy on you to properly judge him for his actions. 

Thomasin McKenzie as the Daughter of Will; "Tom," is the break out role to watch here. Tom is absolutely the main character we are suppose to feel the most connected with, because a lot of the events are seen through her perspective. As a Daughter who really loves her Father, and as a young lady who has to experience both sides of their situation, we get to see her put in difficult positions of how she should live her life. McKenzie is amazing in the role, and performs some powerful scenes in this movie, as well as have great chemistry with Ben Foster. 

While the subject matter of "Leave No Trace" is fascinating to me, it's honestly not for everybody's taste. Director Debra Granik does a fantastic job telling us this story, but it does require a bit of patience and understanding to watch through the whole thing. I encourage everybody to check it out, but if you feel like it's not for you, then I acknowledge you not conforming with my recommendation. 

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skyscraper

Positives 
- It's a decently made generally familiar action thriller
- There's some legitimately good thriller moments
- Dwayne Johnson is good as always, plus so is Neve Campbell

Negatives 
- It's like "The Towering Inferno" meets "Die Hard," except it's not as good as either one of those two
- Several plot conveniences were really killing my suspension of disbelief
- Under-developed supporting characters makes me care less about having them on screen
- There's this one plot development that occurs at the end of this movie that is so ridiculous and unbelievably stupid, that it makes me want to hate on the whole thing. I'm shaking my head just thinking about it. 

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