Jigsaw Review

Jigsaw was a massive surprise and a ton of fun despite this being my introduction to the series. This movie is about a series of murders all bearing the mark of the Jigsaw killer. Law enforcement officers find themselves chasing the ghost of a killer who's been dead for over 10 years. They find themselves in a race against the clock to solve the mystery and save the victims of Jigsaw’s game before it is too late. This is my first ever Saw movie and it was nothing like I expected.  This movie is actually an extremely compelling mystery and a really fun thriller.  All the performances are perfectly serviceable for this type of movie although no one stands out. Despite there being no standout performance; I still was invested in the characters. For fans of this series, the traps are fun and unique, but not overly complicated.  At 91 minutes this movie starts immediately and moves at a fast pace rarely ever slowing down. While there is some corny dialogue and acting but it never bothered me enough to ruin my immersion. Overall, Jigsaw was a really fun movie despite occasional issues. I would recommend Jigsaw to horror fans or fans of this series.

8/10

Thank You For Your Service Review

Thank You For Your Service is one of the most difficult movies to watch. However, it is also a fantastic movie everyone should see. This movie is about the true story of a group of U.S. Soldiers from Iraq returning home and their struggles to return to everyday life. Miles Teller gives his best performance yet as the lead. He is required to consistently display multiple emotions and does it flawlessly.  Haley Bennet also does a fantastic job as Teller’s wife. She and Teller have excellent chemistry.  Newcomer Beulah Koale gives a star-making performance doing as great a job as Teller. Even Amy Schumer does a good job in a small dramatic role. However seeing her in this type of role was super distracting and took me out of the movie. This movie is emotionally devastating to watch at times and definitely a tearjerker. Other than one side plot that never went anywhere; I really had no issues with this movie. Overall, Thank You For Your Service is a near perfect movie and one you should see.

9.5/10

Only the Brave Review

Only the Brave was a good movie with great moments regardless of the misleading marketing. This movie is the true story of an elite group of firefighters, known as the Granite Mountain Hotshots, and the struggles they faced. Josh Brolin is the lead character and while he is giving a good performance; I never got as attached to his character as I wished. James Badgedale and Taylor Kitsch are fantastic in their smaller roles. Jennifer Connelly is great albeit under used. The real star is Miles Teller. He had the hardest role to play and he pulled it off perfectly. At 2 hours 14 minutes this movie moves far too slow and could've easily been shorter. The best part of this movie is the last 20 minutes and they are almost good enough to justify the cost of admission. Overall, Only the Brave has some fantastic moments, but moved too slow to keep me consistently invested despite great performances.

6.5/10

Same Kind of Different As Me Review

Same Kind of Different As Me is a very mixed bag of a movie. This movie is about the true story of art dealer Ron Hall who must befriend a dangerous homeless man in order to save his marriage. Renee Zellweger plays Hall's wife and while she does have a few good moments, I found her acting fairly weak.  Greg Kinnear fairs much better as the lead. While I didn't think he was great, he does give a good performance overall. Djimon Hounsou gives the best performance of anyone as the homeless man. The first half of this movie is just straight up boring; it took until the 45 minute mark for the movie to even start.  Also, this movie constantly gives conflicting information about the time period it is set in and it became very confusing. However, while this movie does have moments of genuine emotion, there are plenty of forced moments that had me rolling my eyes. Overall, Same Kind of Different As Me while it does have its moments, I cannot recommend to everyone.

4.5/10

Geostorm Review

Geostorm was a surprise as it was much better than expected. This movie is about a network of satellites designed to control the global climate. A series of weather disasters leads to an investigation into the satellite system.  It's a race against the clock to uncover the real threat before a worldwide Geostorm wipes out everything and everyone. To my surprise, I found the story to be very interesting. Gerard Butler gives a great performance as Jake Lawson. Jim Sturgess also gave a good performance as Max Lawson Butler's brother. The remainder of the cast gave a compelling performance.  Director Dean Devlin makes his debut and does a great job handling the drama and the action. The special effects are also fantastic, especially during the space sections. I didn't really have any issues with this movie other than it became tonally inconsistent at times. Overall, Geostorm was a massive surprise and just a really fun movie.

8/10

Boo 2! A Madea Halloween Review

Boo 2! A Madea Halloween has its moments but they don't come frequently enough.  This movie is about Madea, Bam, and Hattie venturing to a haunted campground.  The group must run for their lives when monsters, goblins, and the boogeyman are unleashed. This is my first ever Madea film and I do see the potential here. This movie can be quite funny at times when focusing on Madea and her friends. However, they are a side-plot to the main college Halloween party plot. Every time we cut away from Madea and her friends the laughter stops dead. Tyler Perry does a good job as the title character but doesn't have near enough screen time. The best part of this movie is Uncle Joe also played by Perry. He got all the biggest laughs from me. Tyler Perry also directs and wrote this movie.  While this movie is competently directed, its writing needed to be much stronger. Overall, Boo 2!  A Madea Halloween was funny at times, but didn't have near enough laughs to justify a watch.

4.5/10

The Snowman Review

The Snowman was a massive disappointment and marketed incorrectly.  This movie is about Detective Harry Hole who investigates the disappearance and eventual murder of a woman whose scarf is wrapped around an ominous-looking snowman.  First off, this is not the film the trailers advertised at all.  It is a much-publicized fact that they did not get to shoot 15-20% of the script. This shows throughout as chunks of this movie are clearly missing. The editing is confusing and downright awful.  Director Tomas Alfredson does do a good job with what’s here, but it should have been planned better so he had an entire movie.  Rebecca Ferguson’s performance is good despite being given very little to do.  J.K. Simmons as always is good, but his character has no purpose in the plot whatsoever.  Despite all this, I did not despise this movie for one reason, Michael Fassbender.  He once again proves why he is a fantastic actor by carrying this entire movie on his shoulders.  Without him, this movie would not work at all.  Overall, The Snowman is a massive disappointment saved only by a fantastic performance from Fassbender.  

6/10

Professor Marston and the Wonder Women Review

Professor Marston and the Wonder Women was a great surprise and is a fantastic movie.  This movie is the story of psychologist William Marston, the polyamorous relationship between his wife and one of his students, the creation of the Wonder Woman comic and the controversy it generated.  Luke Evans gives the best performance I've ever seen from him.  Rebecca Hall is also fantastic as Evans’ wife.  She possibly has the hardest role to play in the whole movie and she nails it perfectly.  Newcomer Bella Heathcote is also fantastic as Evans’ student. As the movie goes on, her role becomes more intricate.  Director and Writer Angella Robinson makes quite a splash in her film debut. This movie is expertly written and directed from start to finish.  One standout aspect of this movie was the editing; the way certain scenes would cut back and forth was captivating.  I heavily recommend this movie with one warning.  The origin of Wonder Woman is not family friendly; it involved lesbian relationships along with many other sexual situations.  Overall, I loved Professor Marston and the Wonder Women and it is one of my favorite movies this year. 

9.5/10

The Mountain Between Us Review

The Mountain Between Us is a bad movie that just got worse as the movie progressed.  This movie is about two strangers stranded by a plane crash who must forge a connection to survive the extreme elements of a remote snow-covered mountain.  Idris Elba and Kate Winslet try their best here and they do have good chemistry at first but it does not last very long.  The script here is total garbage filled with clichés and zero tension.  I cared more about the dog stranded with them than any human character in this movie.  The one standout aspect of this movie is the fantastic cinematography; it is truly stunning to see at times.  While the first half was bad, it was the second half that took a downward spiral.  At 1 hour and 52 minutes, the movie moved at an extremely slow pace that dragged on forever.  Overall The Mountain Between Us is a bad movie with very few redeeming qualities despite competent performances from its cast.

3/10

Happy Death Day Review

Happy Death Day is one of the most fun theater experiences I have ever had.  Seeing this movie in a packed theater opening night was a great experience and I would highly recommend trying to see this with a crowd.  This movie is about a college student who relives the day of her murder until she discovers her killer's identity.  First off, the opening 15 minutes of this movie while necessary to the story are really bad.  However, after our lead is killed the first time this movie picks up immensely.  Jessica Rothe gives a star-making performance here and is a huge part of why this movie works as well as it does.  While it might not be as predictable for everyone I guessed the killer very quickly, however it did not affect my enjoyment of the film.  The best way I can describe this movie is it’s a horror comedy.  There were as many moments that had me on edge and made me jump as there were moments that made me die laughing.  Overall Happy Death Day was so much better than I expected from the trailer and is a super fun albeit flawed theater experience.

7.5/10

The Foreigner Review

The Foreigner is a strange mix of two movies.  This movie is a Pierce Brosnan political thriller and a Jackie Chan revenge movie.  While both movies are enjoyable, mixed together it does not always work.  Jackie Chan is fantastic in this movie showing everyone that he can seriously act along with great action scenes.  Pierce Brosnan is great as well although he is doing a strange accent that takes some getting used to.  This movie is about a humble businessman (Chan) with a buried past seeks justice when his daughter is killed in an act of terrorism. A cat-and-mouse conflict ensues with a government official (Brosnan), whose past may hold clues to the killers' identities.  Martin Campbell (Casino Royale) does a good job directing here and does a great job directing the action scenes.  Thankfully there were no quick cuts or shaky cam so I was able to see everything going on during the fight sequences.  At 1 hour 54 minutes the movie is paced fairly well but is too long at times and could probably be shorter by around 10 minutes.  Overall if you are looking for a fun action thriller or are a Jackie Chan fan I would recommend this movie. 

6.5/10

Blade Runner 2049 Review

Blade Runner 2049 is a worthy sequel to the first film, however, I do not think it is the masterpiece everyone is claiming.  Director Denis Villeneuve does a perfect job recreating the world from the original film and directs this movie beautifully.  However, there are quite a few scenes that are dragged out much longer than necessary.  I cannot speak to the plot of this movie as it is impossible to describe without spoilers.  Ryan Goslling is great as Agent K and he brought multiple layers to his role.  Harrison Ford is still great reprising his role as Deckard from the original film.  While his role is not huge he is always a welcome presence.  Ana De Armas steals the entire movie for me.  I could not take my eyes off the screen anytime she was on screen.  Sylvia Hoeks is a good villain but I wish there was more to her character.  However, I hated Jared Letto in this movie, while he is only in two scenes I was taken out of the movie every time he was on screen.  The real standout here is Cinematographer Rodger Deakins who should finally win an Oscar for this film as its one of the most beautiful looking movies I have seen all year.  However, it is crucial that your theater projects the movie correctly.   I have seen this movie three times now and the first two times it was projected wrong making it impossible to see during some sequences and it really killed my enjoyment of movie first two times.  At 2 hours and 43 minutes the movie moves at a surprisingly fast pace, however, some scenes go on for way too long and hurt the pacing of the film.  Overall Blade Runner 2049 is a great movie and a great sequel but it is crucial that you see this movie projected correctly, otherwise you will not be able to enjoy it.

9/10

Battle of the Sexes Review

Battle of the Sexes is a well-made, compelling film telling the true story of the 1973 tennis match between World number one Billie Jean King and ex-champ and serial hustler Bobby Riggs.  Emma Stone is mostly great here and Steve Carell gives his best performance, stealing the entire film.  Sara Silverman who I’m not normally a fan of I found really entertaining here.  However, Andrea Riseborough whose work I’ve enjoyed in the past is straight up awful in this movie.  She plays the lover of Stone’s character and their relationship 100% falls flat.  I understand their relationship is a critical part of Stone’s story but it was so poorly written and acted during those scenes it kept taking me out of the movie.  The best aspect of this movie is by far the set and costume design.  It accurately displayed the 70’s more than any movie I’ve seen in a long time.  Another positive is this movie was much funnier than I ever would’ve expected with several moments that had me laughing quite hard.  Overall Battle of the Sexes is a really good movie that could’ve been great but is held back due to the poorly written relationship between Stone and Riseborough’s characters.

7.5/10

The Lego Ninjago Movie Review

The Lego Ninjago Movie is a total blast from start to finish. Maybe it was because I had lower expectations but I liked this as much as the other two Lego movies. From the minute this movie started I was howling with laughter. I couldn't believe how much I was laughing at this movie. While after 40ish minutes the laughter does slow down there's still plenty of big laughs to be had in second half of film. I thought this movie was perfectly paced. It was 90 minutes and I felt like I had been sitting there for 30 minutes.  All the voice acting was great and all the cast did a great job giving personality to their characters. Some of the standouts are Jackie Chan who was clearly having a blast with this role and Justin Theroux as the main antagonist of the movie. He stole the movie for me and was glad he was on screen for 85% of this movies running time. Just like the other Lego movies this movie is beautifully animated with its unique style. The story here while simple was also surprisingly compelling and had a really touching father-son relationship I was invested in. Other than the movie does occasionally go too long without a huge laugh, I really didn't have any issue with this movie. While other people might be getting tired of Lego movies if they're all going to be this great, keep them coming.

8.5/10

mother! Review

Um, What Did I Just Watch? Let me start off with this I recommend this movie to absolutely no one. This is a movie very few people will understand or enjoy. mother! is probably the weirdest movie I've ever seen in cinema. Darren Aronofsky (Noah) directs this movie perfectly and there's no denying this movie is beautiful to look at. However, he also wrote the script and that's where the issue lies with this movie. This movie does not have much of a story or if it does I completely missed it. This is a 2-hour Biblical metaphor with environmentalist messages thrown in as well. Also, this movie has one of the most messed up and insane third acts I've ever seen in cinematic history. It's been three days since I've seen this movie and I'm still trying to figure out some of the imagery in this movie. Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem are both fantastic in this movie. Lawrence especially carries a lot of this movie by herself. All the other performances are great as well with tons of actors I didn't know were in this movie. While I certainly didn't love mother! I love movies that are willing to be weird and take risks and this movie certainly delivered that. For that reason alone I'm glad this movie exists even though it's not a movie I can recommend to anyone.  

6.5/10

Flatliners (2017) Review

Ok, everyone take my opinion with a massive grain of salt here as I seem to be the only person that likes this movie. Flatliners (2017) is a remake of the 1990 film of the same name. That movie while shockingly good is very dated and ripe for an update. However, this movie has been critically panned across the board with an almost unheard of 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. Honestly, I don't get it though; Flatliners (2017) had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.  Director Niels Arden Oplev superbly builds tension in every scene.  The script from writer Ben Ripley (Source Code) was extremely compelling, had well placed comedic relief and made me care about every single character.  All the cast here brings something interesting to their characters. Ellen Page is great as the lead and is easily the most compelling character of the group. Diego Luna (Rogue One) continues to impress me as an actor, delivering the most grounded performance of the film.  Nina Dorbrev's character seemed very one note at first but as the plot progresses her character became more compelling by the minute. James Norton and Kiersey Clemons round out the main cast with great performances but easily the most underdeveloped characters of the group. Kiefer Sutherland who was the lead in the original Flatliners movie does have a very small role in this movie but don't be fooled it's purely a fan service cameo. He's playing an entirely new character. Despite the marketing might make you believe this isn't a straight-up horror movie. But don't worry this movie builds very well from a drama to suspense to straight up horror in its third act.  My main flaw with this movie is there are clearly a few scenes that were left on the cutting room floor which makes for a few very awkward edits. But overall I had a total blast with Flatliners and if you are already interested in this movie it's definitely worth your time.

8.5/10