Babylon

POSITIVES

  • As a tribute to the silent movie era of stars and the sudden transition to the “talkies,” as well as a tribute to the magic of movies, this one does it in a very outrageously in-your-face kinda way. Will definitely catch your attention. 

  • The narrative and plot progression is quite something else, which is one of the main draws in watching this film. This one takes you to so many different places, following multiple different characters, with a lot of eye-catching visuals, drama and comedy galore, which all combine gives you a perspective that is equally of wonder and disgust. 

  • Gotta give it to Writer-Director Damien Chazelle, he knows how to make engaging scenes and set pieces! That wild party! Silent era filmmaking at Wallach Studio and Kinoscope Studios! Scene 17! The snake fight! Descent to hell! There is some memorable stuff here. 

  • Margot Robbie earns all the accolades for her electrifying performance as Nellie LaRoy. That's as obvious as it gets. As for the rest... Diego Calva, Brad Pitt, Li Jun Li, Jovan Adepo, Jean Smart, and so many more in this huge cast, were all good and solid as well… but Robbie is on another level. 

  • Does this movie have something to say? You bet it does! It's got things to say, and there’s a lot for you to chew on with what happens in this film. 

NEGATIVES

  • You’ve seen this story before. You have an idea where the plot is going to go. 

  • This is Damien Chazelle at his most indulgent. He does things in this movie with wanton abandon and takes things up to eleven that it can all just get pretty exhausting. 

  • Outrageously obnoxious at times with the decadence and other excesses displayed on scene. 

  • At some point there’s a flip of the switch with the characters, which unfortunately deprives us from seeing some missing character development that seems important to show us in the context of the narrative. 

  • It’s over three hours long, and it feels like it. Doesn’t help that I wasn’t that big a fan of the third act; which I guess is a whole hour's worth. Oh, and there are still slow parts in it too. 

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Babylon  -  watched it IN THEATERS

I Wanna Dance With Somebody

POSITIVES

  • If you need a good reminder of why Whitney Houston is easily one of the greatest singers of all time, then let this movie remind you of that. She is someone everyone should know about. If this film helps introduce her to new fans, then that should be appreciated. 

  • The songs. This movie covers a good amount of her greatest hits and for the most part they let it play out. I love the fact they let the songs play out with the recreations to go along with them, like the process of picking and creating the songs and all that. Definitely my favorite parts of the movie. 

  • Part of the dramatic and fascinating aspects about watching this movie are for the character interactions and the dynamics between them. There was drama, and it was engaging to see how that all played out in this film. 

  • Naomi Ackie takes on the role with conviction and should be recognized for that. Stanley Tucci, Nafessa Williams, Ashton Sanders, and Clarke Peters, were also quite excellent in their roles. 

  • As it goes with these musical biopics, it’s equally inspirational and a cautionary tale. 

NEGATIVES

  • People will argue that it doesn’t quite capture everything that needs to be said about Whitney Houston. 

  • Just when you thought it wasn’t going to fall under the trappings of a typical derivative biopic, it does. 

  • A negative byproduct of a typical biopic, you’re going to end up going “wait, who is that person?” or “what happened to that plot line? It just fell off the narrative of the movie.” 

  • It can’t be helped I suppose but Naomi Ackie is just doing a lip synched performance. Big time cinematic film, and we’re watching a lip synched performance. She sings the songs, or she doesn’t sing the songs. It’s a lose-lose situation.

  • Makes you miss Whitney Houston even more. 

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I Wanna Dance with Somebody  -  watched it IN THEATERS

Puss In Boots: The Last Wish

POSITIVES

  • Changing up the simple story of Puss In Boots into something akin to a cartoon character facing his own mortality is a creative decision I can get behind. 

  • The animation style is visually appealing and just has this electric energy to it. 

  • Plot and pacing just keeps moving. This animated film just doesn’t let up with its need to excite and entertain you, by going from one scene to another. Enjoyable ride of a movie. 

  • Antonio Banderas as Puss In Boots is amazing as expected, but also add in Salma Hayek, Harvey Guillen, Florence Pugh, John Mulaney, Wagner Moura, Ray Winstone, Olivia Colman, and Samson Kayo, and you've got here an amazing ensemble cast. 

  • Yes the premise is a bit adult with it unashamedly dealing with death, but I did appreciate it a lot, as well as the other more family thematic messages that go along with it. 

NEGATIVES

  • Due to the subject matter, language, violence, and a scary antagonist, this movie might arguably be targeted much more towards adults than kids. Parents be warned. 

  • Not exactly the most original story, so expect some familiar plot tropes, clichés, and conveniences. 

  • Expect some cheap and stupid jokes here and there. 

  • Maybe there’s too many characters that take away from more moments with the lead character. 

  • Unfortunately can’t escape the fact that this is still part of a larger cinematic universe. 

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Puss in Boots: The Last Wish  -  watched it IN THEATERS

The Whale

POSITIVES

  • Provocative in plot and characters, this one is an uncomfortable emotional journey that will take you places. 

  • The plot reveals and progression keeps the story engaging. From what appears to be a simple premise at first, it can all get quite complicated as it goes in an interesting way. 

  • Without a doubt, the characters and the performances are what will truly hook you into this movie. Brendan Fraser is absolutely incredible in his role as Charlie, and takes us into many different emotional states of mind. Not to be completely outshined, Sadie Sink, Hong Chau, Ty Simpkins, and Samantha Morton all give us fantastic performances as well. 

  • It’s fascinating to see how Director Darren Aronofsky keep the camera and edits moving and shifting to keep your attention, especially since it’s all set in one location. 

  • A huge part of what makes this a phenomenal movie is the thematic underlying message of the story. Powerful stuff for sure. 

NEGATIVES

  • Derivative plot tropes? Sure. 

  • Emotionally manipulative at times? Kinda.  

  • Offensive in some regards? Probably. 

  • Unearned resolutions? Maybe. 

  • Does it look like it’s just a stage play shot for the big screen and not really that cinematic? Yeah. 

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The Whale  -  watched it IN THEATERS

Soft & Quiet

POSITIVES

  • What an incendiary and thought provoking premise that's very reflective of our times with its social and political commentaries. 

  • Intriguing, tense, thrilling, chilling, and disturbing. This film is all that. You’re going to be invested to see how it all concludes.  

  • While the no cuts narrative can feel like a gimmick, it really does immerse you into the story seeing it all play out in real time. 

  • Kudos to the cast, they really brought their characters to life. 

  • The third act really was pure horror, because it didn't feel like make believe. It is something you can easily imagine happening in real life. 

NEGATIVES

  • This is marketed as “the most terrifying film of the year,” but if people think they are in for some typical scary horror stuff, this might not be what they are looking for. 

  • Subject matter is absolutely not going to be appealing to everybody. 

  • Sometimes it feels like the movie is just going through a checklist of racist thoughts, symbols, and catchphrases. 

  • I hope you're okay with the shaky camera. The things you put up with to get that continuous long take. 

  • Because of the narrative style, there are moments when it seems like they are just stretching for time, or introduce arguably unbelievable plot conveniences just to keep things moving. 

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Soft & Quiet  -  watched it on VIDEO ON DEMAND

The Big 4

POSITIVES

  • It’s an appealing premise for an action movie, that’s almost like an Indonesian A-Team. Not really, but kinda yeah.  

  • You go into this for the action set pieces and there are in fact some really fun ones to check out here. The big one during the last act is entertaining as can be. 

  • It’s got an enjoyable sense of humor, some slapstick comedy, and even a bit of self awareness about what kind of movie this is.  

  • The fun ensemble cast is what truly makes this movie work. The chemistry between the leads are really good, which includes Putri Marino, Abimana Aryasatya, Arie Kriting, Lutesha, Kristo Immanuel. Then add in Marthino Lio and Michelle Tahalea too to make it a blast. 

  • #Family. The movie has got heart. Plus I want to see more of this team. 

NEGATIVES

  • It's derivative as expected. 

  • The over the top glorified bloody violence seemed unnecessary. 

  • It has slow talky-talky scenes, so no it's unfortunately not a completely action packed movie. 

  • Plot conveniences, plot tropes, and just your typical stupid mistakes, kinda brings the quality of the movie down a peg.  

  • Stupid scenes which may seem charmingly offbeat, may just come off as dumb. 

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The Big Four  -  watched it on NETFLIX

Meet Cute

POSITIVES

  • If you think the world is just taking turns for the worst, you're feeling alone in it, your mental health can't take it anymore, and you're having an existential crisis, well this is a time loop / time travel movie that might be just for you. 

  • The offbeat nature, the clever directions, the choice of locations, the wacky logic, the dramatic turns, and the endearing chemistry between the two leads, really makes this movie much bigger than its simplistic nature. 

  • This movie is about those plot reveals, and creative changes, that liven up the premise, but there is the half-way point development that really lit a fire into it all. If that doesn’t grab your attention until the very end… 

  • Playing things loud and over the top, Kaley Cuoco is absolutely electric in her performance. Subdued and reserved, Pete Davidson is the perfect counterpoint to balance out the couple. 

  • That final conclusion and final message of this story is as poignant as it should be. Makes it completely worth checking this film out. 

NEGATIVES 

  • It's not really a romantic comedy, even if it appears to be. So you might be disappointed with that fact. 

  • Probably takes longer than it has to before it really gets going. 

  • The pacing and tone can be a little all over the place. 

  • Arguably repetitive to the point you might want to just give up watching. 

  • You’re going to ruin your experience watching this if you try to apply too much logic into the premise. 

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Meet Cute - watched it on PEACOCK

Avatar: The Way of Water

POSITIVES

  • Better and does more than the first Avatar movie, complete with the inclusion of its phenomenally stunning CGI world that is Pandora. Those underwater scenes are just breathtaking to watch, and at one point it felt like a half hour slice of life documentary about this water way of life. 

  • Similar to the previous installment, a huge part of this movie is the wonder of discovery seeing this world. The world building of the environment, the people, the culture, the creatures, the sci-fi elements, the technology, are all quite fascinating to see come to life. Then plop in entertaining action sequences on top of all that? This is a crowd pleaser, and it’s fantastic! 

  • With its focus on the Sully family, the plot gives us a more emotional connection with the story. Fantastic motion capture cast over all, which includes Britain Dalton, Jamie Flatters, Bailey Bass, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, Stephen Lang, Zoe Saldaña, Sam Worthington, plus a big kudos to Sigourney Weaver for pulling off playing a teenage girl in this. I have to also give a shout out to the Tulkun named Payakan, which is a CG character that I couldn’t get enough of, and loved that particular plot involving him. 

  • For a movie that is over 3 hours long, it actually did not feel long to me. The plot and immersion was engaging enough that I wouldn’t have minded another hour. I know I’m really looking forward to Avatar 3 now, much more than I was prior to seeing this sequel. 

  • Thematically covers some familiar but still interesting ground of commentaries that really drives the narrative forward. It’s hard to ignore what this movie is about as it wears its heart on its sleeve, and that’s actually part of the appeal. 

NEGATIVES

  • Familiar themes and commentaries that are technically derivative? Yeah, if you’re tired of that be warned, because it’s pretty up front and obvious about them. It’s also arguably thematically contradictory at times, plus it does “have its cake and eats it too” going for it.

  • Speaking of familiar, there are some obvious plot tropes all over this story. This does not break new grounds in story telling or anything like that if that’s what you were hoping. There are even plot conveniences and gaps in story telling just to drive the narrative forward. At a couple of points I was going “Why didn’t they just…,” “What happened to…,” “Did they really have to…,” “Well that’s a stupid decision,” or “of course the Sullys are the special ones, why wouldn’t they be?” While on the subject of story telling… The story and immersion didn’t really get going until at least 45 minutes into the movie, which is a huge first chunk that felt like a muted experience to me, and was a hurdle I had to get over. 

  • For those who are huge fans of Neytiri, I’m afraid to say that you won’t see her as much as you might expect you would. 

  • CG animals were harmed during the making of this film. There’s a whole sequence of just that which felt exploitative. Not to mention all the people who are visibly shown getting killed right there on the screen for little kids to watch. 

  • I did watch this in the High Frame Rate 48 FPS experience. While I really loved seeing it in HFR, not everybody will. If you don’t like HFR, then you may want to see it in a traditional 24 FPS screening. 

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Avatar: The Way of Water  -  watched it IN THEATERS

Terrifier 2

POSITIVES

  • If you want to see more slasher film mayhem and disturbingly insane violence as found from the first Terrifier movie, then you're going to get a kick out of this installment. It's just evil. 

  • Knowing what you’re getting into with this movie, I’m pretty sure the kill scenes are what you are curious about. This delivers absolutely. Some are viciously quick, but then there are the more elaborate ones that really take things in demented places. That Allie bedroom scene is easily one that stands out the most. Writer Director Damien Leone is a creative guy that's for sure, if you know what I mean. 

  • Practical effects used for the bloody disgusting brutal gory moments are just incredible to see in action. If you like that sort of thing of course. 

  • Art The Clown is definitely one of the best Horror movie characters in cinema today, and David Howard Thornton is phenomenal in the role. Huge shout out as well to Lauren LaVera who immediately proves what a scream queen she is with her role as Sienna. 

  • Beyond just the death and mutilation, there is actually an interesting plot and mythological story that builds on the world of this movie. Looking forward to seeing where the story goes with Terrifier 3. 

NEGATIVES

  • Needless to say, this is absolutely not for everybody. Not for the faint of heart at all. 

  • In those torture scenes, when they are brutally mutilated, how aren't they dead just from the shock? Felt a bit cruel and mean-spirited, and maybe a little too outrageous. 

  • Some rather indulgent sequences that felt unnecessary. 

  • It honestly takes its time before it gets to the terrifying parts of the story. 

  • 137 minutes seems a little too long for a slasher film.

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Terrifier 2 -  watched it on VIDEO ON DEMAND

Emily The Criminal

POSITIVES

  • Thought provoking subject matters and an interesting look into a crime that I’m sure has caused many people problems in real life. 

  • Engaging plot progression that is a rabbit hole of situations that go from bad to worse. You're going to be invested to see how it all plays out by the end. 

  • The criminal methods and procedures explained and demonstrated in this movie are fascinating to watch. Arguably the most interesting thing about this movie. 

  • Aubrey Plaza is fantastic in the role of Emily, and she perfectly gives us a nuanced performance filled with frustration, anger, and determination. She makes this movie better because of what she gave to the role. 

  • Has several provocative ideas and commentaries. Cautionary tale? Sure. But it’s also an indictment against this capitalistic society. 

NEGATIVES

  • If you’re not in the mood for a downer of a movie, you probably don't need to see this. 

  • You’ll probably have an idea where the story is going to go. You've seen this kind of movie before. Not exactly an unpredictable premise. 

  • Didn’t really care for the second act, and the unnecessary sub plot that came with it. 

  • Not exactly the most visually stylish cinematic experience. 

  • It could be argued that Audrey Plaza's portrayal of Emily is too nuanced to the point where it seems to be a one note performance. 

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Emily the Criminal  -  watched it on NETFLIX