Serenity (2019)

POSITIVES…

  • It has Matthew McConaughey. McConaughey is being all full blown McConaughey here, and that’s the kind of McConaughey you want to see. You even get to see him butt naked! Unless you consider that a negative.

  • The rest of the cast are good in this as well, but it was trashy fun seeing Anne Hathaway and Jason Clarke chew the scenery with their characters.

  • The first scene involves some intense fishing. Intense fishing, I tell you!

  • Speaking of scenery. This movie does have some beautiful looking shots.

  • At one point in the story, McConaughey’s character has a plot revelation that really changes things up, and makes the movie far more interesting than it deserves to be.

  • Kudos to the marketing department for trying their hardest to not spoil certain important aspects about the movie, because I really appreciated the ambitious surprise.

NEGATIVES…

  • There will definitely be people who wished the trailer spoiled the movie, because this “ambitious surprise” may completely kill the story for them.

  • I understand if somebody says that the movie’s plot is contrived, ridiculous, or just plain bonkers.

  • Your suspension of disbelief will absolutely get challenged here, and that will determine whether this movie is for you or not.

  • The Jeremy Strong character was annoying to me 75% of his screen time.

  • Some people will not like how the characters are written in this movie, and the dialogue that are given to them.

P.S….

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Glass

POSITIVES…

  • As the proper superhero movie entry to this trilogy that started with “Unbreakable,” I liked all the little winks that this film makes in respect to the genre.

  • The premise is overall sound, and I really liked most of the plot ideas that this has to offer. Shows some good ambitions and world building.

  • In regards to the story, there are definitely some plot developments during the second half that screams “This is definitely an M.Night Shyamalan movie!!!”

  • There were some truly stand-out scenes in the movie that usually involves James McAvoy’s character. Although, I thought the best moment in the movie actually involves a monologuing speech that Samuel L Jackson’s Mr. Glass makes towards the end of the movie.

  • Despite the excitement of seeing Bruce Willis and Samuel L Jackson reprising their characters from “Unbreakable,” James McAvoy absolutely steals the movie from them with his multiple personality performance. Incredible work by McAvoy here, that improves on what he did in “Split.”

  • Despite some personal expectations not being met, I can’t deny that the movie completely kept my attention, and made me really anticipate wanting to see how it all plays out in the end.

  • I appreciated the fact that by the end of this story, the movie absolutely justifies why it’s title is “Glass.”

  • One of the biggest compliments I can give this film is that it made me want to see more installment to this series of Shyamalan’s superhero universe of movies.

NEGATIVES…

  • This will just not meet people’s expectations, especially if they are expecting a similar superhero movie experience akin to the Marvel or DC entrees.

  • It feels like a superhero movie from the bygone era of the ‘80s or ‘90s, when the production budget just could not handle this kind of genre film.

  • There’s definitely not enough superhero action sequences in this one, to satisfy today’s movie going audience.

  • I’m sure people will accuse this movie for being frustratingly slow for a good chunk of it’s time.

  • Quite frankly, there also just wasn’t enough of David Dunn and Mr Glass in this movie.

  • Speaking of characters, this movie does not do any favors to the character of Casey Cooke, despite Anna Taylor-Joy doing her best to rise above the shoddy writing that she had to perform here.

  • Some of the plot developments and plot conveniences absolutely broke my suspension of disbelief, and ruined the overall experience a little bit.

P.S….

  • Some people might be wondering it, but yes, Spencer Treat Clark as Joseph Dunn and Charlayne Woodard as Elijah’s Mother are the same actors who played those roles in 2000’s “Unbreakable.”

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Replicas

POSITIVES…

  • Are you familiar with those low budget straight to video science fiction flicks that are more ambitious than the movie could actually handle, but manages to have some entertaining value anyway? This is one of those movies.

  • The main science-fiction premise is by far is the best thing about this movie, even when it goes bonkers during the final act.

  • I actually liked that the movie dedicates a huge chunk of it’s time to scenes about the process of making replicas. Those scenes produced some thought provoking ideas and situations, that Keanu Reeves; and Thomas Middleditch, has to make believable.

  • At a certain plot point, I found myself impressed that the movie actually tackles a very real world situation that other films would have just conveniently ignored or left as a plot hole.

  • Keanu Reeves “acting like Keanu Reeves” is a positive thing in the most entertainingly ironic way right?

NEGATIVES…

  • Keanu Reeves is expected to not be the most dynamic actor around, but what’s Alice Eve’s excuse for her poor performance here?

  • Going back to the final act… It is pretty bonkers, and goes from being a movie that have interesting ideas, into being the derivative standard fare that you expected this to be from the beginning.

  • A good chunk of this movie is actually not really dedicated to the parts where the replicas don’t know they are replicas, and the entertainment value that goes along with that kind of a plot thread. I’m pretty sure that’s the selling point that people will be looking forward to after seeing the promotional trailers, and I’m sure they’ll be kinda disappointed when they realize that’s not as prominent as they would have wanted it to be.

  • Some stupid and unbelievable things happen. Suspend your disbelief if you can.

P.S….

  • Filmed in Puerto Rico, and the plot does acknowledge that the story is taking place on the island. I was a little distracted with that fact, especially considering the current real world situation with the place.

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A Dog's Way Home

POSITIVES…

  • Are you a Dog lover? This movie is made for you.

  • I’m legitimately saying this, but I’m very impressed with how the Dog actor who plays “Bella” absolutely carries the movie, and gives you enough justification for seeing this.

  • The best parts of the movie was the roughly 400 Miles journey of Bella trying to get herself home.

  • Bella’s adventures in the wild, encountering other animals, and humans, absolutely kept me invested in the well being of this dog.

  • There are some nice parallels, metaphors, and social commentary, of comparing rescue dogs to War Veterans. At least that’s the impression I got out of it.

  • Happy moments, Sad moments, Funny moments, this hits all the necessary marks for a movie such as this.

NEGATIVES…

  • Yes, it can easily be argued that the movie is derivative, manipulative, and unbelievable.

  • The subplot involving the cartoonishly evil Animal Control Officer was just obnoxious to watch.

  • I would say 85% of all the scenes involving humans were my least favorite parts of the movie.

  • CG cougars and other animals! Yeah, it can look pretty bad, or unintentionally humorous to see that on screen.

  • If you’ve seen the full promotional movie theater for this movie, then yes, it does indeed spoil the ending of the movie. Although I’m sure you predicted that particular plot point was going to happen anyway right?

P.S….

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On The Basis Of Sex

POSITIVES…

  • Amazing performance by Felicity Jones as Ruth Bader Ginsburg. There are some good nuanced acting here that deserves some recognition.

  • High five to some of the snarky remarks that Felicity Jones got to say here, which is in spirit with the true life RBG.

  • The supporting cast were also good in this, from Armie Hammer, Cailee Spaeny, and a scenery chewing Justin Theroux.

  • Plays off as a great companion piece to the documentary “RBG,” and gives us a nice human drama about how Ruth Bader Ginsburg is as a person, outside her already legendary reputation.

  • This is still a relatively straight forward movie, with what is essentially a David vs Goliath type premise. Doesn’t mean this movie isn’t capable of keeping your attention throughout, because it does. Who doesn’t like arguments about laws and cultural change?

  • As a biographical film, it wisely focuses the main story on one of Ginsburg’s first major cases, without the need to try and cram too much into one film. Consider this like a superhero origin story for “the Notorious RBG.”

NEGATIVES…

  • There are some time jumps that felt a bit abrupt, and come off as big gaps in the narrative.

  • Some might argue that the portrayal of how Women were treated back in that era was too heavy handed and over exaggerated.

P.S….

  • Or maybe Women really were just treated that way back in the day.

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Destroyer

POSITIVES…

  • Amazing performance by Nicole Kidman as Detective Erin Bell.

  • The general supporting cast are good in it as well.

  • There’s a bit of aging and de-aging makeup work here that I thought was nice to see.

  • Just like Nicole Kidman’s character in the movie, there’s a bit of unpredictability to the plot. Kidman and the plot are the film’s best traits. There are some good scenes that highlight this fact.

  • Movie can be pretty tense, and has a general air of apprehension throughout. With that said, it has a very deliberate pace to it, that doesn’t feel like it’s in a hurry at all.

  • The movie is very downbeat, and unpleasant in many ways. Not an upper at all, which I suppose works well with what they are going for with the film.

NEGATIVES…

  • The movie’s tone is maybe too downbeat. Some would say that it’s too much of a downer to watch.

  • Some might say that the movie drags a little bit, because of the tone and the pacing.

  • Too many unlikable characters?

  • Ending might be accused of being gimmicky.

P.S….

  • As somebody who lives in the Southern California region, it was kinda nice having a general idea on all the areas, and the distances travelled by Detective Erin Bell.

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Escape Room

POSITIVES…

  • It’s got a decent premise for a movie.

  • A couple of the escape rooms that the characters’ experienced in the movie did provide some fun suspense thriller moments.

  • Has some clever moments.

  • I particularly liked the whole upside down room sequence, in how it plays out and the visuals that went with it.

  • For some of the clues, I was actually able to solve them before the characters did, so that was a neat experience.

NEGATIVES…

  • The thing about a premise like this that involves puzzles, is that moviegoers could feel disattached to what’s going on, because they can’t always “play along” with the game they are watching.

  • It doesn’t help when there’s only 1 or 2 characters that are actually worth caring about.

  • It doesn’t help when most of them were annoying to watch.

  • Expect some plot conveniences to move things along in uninspiring ways.

  • The more you think about the premise of the whole story, the more it just falls apart. Kinda ruins the suspension of disbelief, and the overall enjoyment of it.

P.S….

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if beale street could talk

POSITIVES…
- First off, the visuals and look of this film is absolutely beautiful, with great cinematography. It’s impossible to accuse this movie for looking drab.
- Great acting work here by Kiki Layne, Regina King, Stephan James, Colman Domingo, and the rest of the ensemble cast.
- Alternating the narrative from a flashback to present time is a great way of telling this story.
- This is a movie that talks about the strength of love, family, and perseverance. It’s undeniably heartwarming and uplifting in all the right ways.
- This is also a movie that deals with prejudice, tragedy, and injustice. It really got me angry and dismayed, which are reasonable reactions to what’s happening on screen.
- There were some scenes that were simply amazing to see play out on screen, like the sequence involving a big announcement to the family. Just wow, it made me think “This Is A Damn Good Movie.”
- Some powerful moments also involved certain lines from certain characters, that really hit me with all sorts of feelings. Not afraid to say that some of those lines put a tear in my eye.
- Barry Jenkins directs this film with a seemingly lite, gentle, and delicate touch, that almost gives each framed scene a dreamlike picturesque air to them.

NEGATIVES…
- That dreamlike feeling of each scene might be perceived by some movie goers as dull, slow, boring, or just plain indulgent.
- Depending on your own personal reaction, you might feel unsatisfied with how the movie ends.

P.S….
- I guess congratulations to Ed Skrein, for perfectly playing what I’m considering the most hateable movie character that I’ve seen in 2018.

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bandersnatch

POSITIVES…
- Black Mirror does a “choose your own adventure” movie the only way Black Mirror would. You don’t need to have seen a Black Mirror episode to watch this.
- Loved how it managed to tell us a story that thematically works with the gimmick of the movie, which makes the gimmick actually not a gimmick.
- It can get so very meta and that’s pretty awesome.
- Experiencing a lot of the choices and results really enhances your enjoyment of the movie.
- Stefan; as played by Fionn Whitehead, makes for a pretty good sympathetic protagonist.
- Will Poulter is also good in this as the very cool and calm Colin Ritman.

NEGATIVES…
- You pretty much have to go through it more than once (or twice) to get the proper experience as intended.
- Your reaction to how much you enjoy this comes down to what choices you make and the time spent on this.
- The movie, as judged by itself, and without the interactive choices, is really just an amusing and passable story in the end.
- It’s not really a cinematic experience in the most technical level, and calling it a movie or a TV episode seems like a choice you’ll have to make.

P.S….
- Nohzdyve by Tuckersoft

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Watch it / Play it Now on Netflix

roma

POSITIVES…
- Arguably the single best directing work by Alfonso Cuaron.
- Amazing use of Black & White, that gives us a nice aged look, and allows us to focus on specific details on any given scene.
- Amazing use of the camera, from the panning shots, the long continuous tracking shots, to the stationary perspectives.
- Amazing use of extras in any given scene, that really enhances the world building, and also gives us all these easter eggs to look for.
- Amazing use of locations, that really gives us that lived-in feel, with many contrasts that successfully gives us an idea on what it’s like to live in the world of Roma.
- Amazing sound design, that gives us this intimate feeling of being surrounded by the movie we’re watching.
- Amazing nuanced performance by Yalitza Aparicio as our main protagonist Cleodegaria "Cleo" Gutiérrez, that should make you feel incredibly invested with what happens to her as the story moves along.
- Amazing unorthodox premise for a movie, that continuously jumps around from covering seemingly innocuous events to life-changing ordeals, but which only makes watching the movie feel very immersive and personal as if we are peeking into somebody’s memory. In turn, the experience covers the whole spectrum of emotions when watching this. As well as cover many social-political commentaries.

NEGATIVES…
- The narrative is simply not for everybody. You’re either in it for the experience as intended, or this is something you wouldn’t want to spend any time with at all.
- Some will find this extremely boring and slow moving.
- Due to the way Cleo is written and portrayed in the movie, you might feel disattached to her character, which will only make you feel even less interested with the movie.
- There are some baffling things that happens in this story, that might make you question what you’re watching.
- Dog poop. Beware of dog poop.

P.S….
- If you were given the option to translate a part of your life’s memories into a visual medium, I can imagine that it could turn out into something like this movie.

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Watch It Now On Netflix