Us Review

Us is another great unique horror thriller from Jordan Peele. This movie is about a family whose lives turn to chaos when their doppelgängers begin to terrorize them. Lupita Nyong’o gives a fantastic performance. She is able to play both characters so different, but equally brilliant. Winston Duke gives a great performance. He is able to come across as menacing but also brings numerous moments of humor throughout. Shahadi Wright Joseph gives a really good performance. She plays scared very well, but she is even better at being scary. Evan Alex gives a good performance. While he is not given a lot to do, he has some great standout moments. Elisabeth Moss and Tim Heidecker give fine performances in their small supporting roles. Jordan Peele did a fantastic job directing. He masterfully directs scenes of suspense always knowing exactly what to focus on. Peele’s script is great, but not perfect. The characters are likable and the way he leaves a bread crumb trail of clues through the film to the ending is brilliant. There are also numerous moments of hilarious comedic relief. However, for such a unique movie it is weirdly predictable at times and has some annoying plot holes. The cinematography is really good. The way some scenes are shot is beautiful and can still send chills down your spine. I adore the soundtrack and the score for this movie. Every music choice is perfect, whether it is for a laugh or to creep you out, it all works. The editing is also great with some edits in the third act that were so perfectly placed. At 116 minutes the movie is never boring, but you do feel the length. The first act, while necessary to the story is quite slow at times as the movie takes its time. The second act is quite good as things pick up. However, I love the third act so much. The last 25 minutes of this movie are perfect. Overall, Us is a great and unique horror thriller despite its plot holes and a slow but necessary first act.
8/10

Captive State Review

Captive State was a bad movie that was also a massive waste of potential. This movie is about the Earth that has been occupied by aliens for a decade as we follow different characters’ lives from all sides. Ashton Sanders gives a good performance. He does his best with what he's given and is enjoyable to watch. Johnathan Majors gives a great performance, but the movie never gives him enough time to really shine. John Goodman gives an okay performance but it seems like he is phoning it in. Vera Farmiga’s role is so small and pointless it is practically a cameo. Rupert Wyatt’s direction is all over the place. There are a couple of scenes that are genuinely tense and enjoyable, but they are few and far between. The script is bad overall despite a few clever moments. Characters randomly disappear for long periods of time without reason and most of the story reveals are either obvious or do not make sense. The visual effects range from fine to laughably bad. At 110 minutes the movie drags on and inexcusably dull for a movie with this premise. There were sequences I enjoyed but for the majority of this movie, I was just bored. Overall, Captive State was a huge miss despite it's few redeeming qualities.

4/10

Five Feet Apart Review

Five Feet Apart is a really good romance film with great performances. This movie is about Stella, a cystic fibrosis patient who spends her life living a routine in a hospital until she meets Will, a charming boy with the same illness. Haley Lu Richardson gives a fantastic performance. She makes you care about her character immediately and nails every emotional beat. Cole Sprouse gives a great performance. His character is more layered than it initially seems and has incredible chemistry with Richardson. Moises Arias gives a really good performance. It took me a bit to warm up to his character, but I ended up genuinely caring about him in the end. Kimberly Herbert Gregory gives a strong performance in her supporting role. She provides a couple of key moments of comedic relief but also nails her emotional scenes. Justin Baldoni did a good, albeit, unspectacular job directing. The script is great but does succumb to some annoying clichés in its third act. The romance is believable and despite being emotional I never found it overly manipulative. At 116 minutes this is a slower paced movie but it is never boring. It takes its time letting our characters meet and fall in love naturally. Overall, Five Feet Apart is a good romance film with fantastic acting despite its flaws.
7.5/10

Wonder Park Review

Wonder Park is a fun, innocent, animated film for kids that still manages to be heartfelt. This movie is about a young girl, June, whose amusement park from her imagination comes to life. Brianna Denski gives a good voice performance. She did a good job with a few key emotional moments. Ken Hudson Campbell, Kenan Thompson, John Oliver, and Ken Jeong all give fine voice performances but did not have any standout moments. Mila Kunis gives an okay voice performance, but I could not hear her voice and it took me out of the movie. Norbert Leo Butz gives an average voice performance but he still gets a couple of moments. Jennifer Garner gives a great voice performance in a small supporting role. She was the emotional core of the movie and was well developed. Matthew Broderick is fun, but a  pointless addition in practically a cameo role. This movie has no director attached due to behind the scenes controversy. The direction itself is fine, though the action scenes are not much more than visual noise for older audiences. The script could have used some work in the humor department, but nails the emotional core of the story. Also, there is a message that is good for all ages to hear. The animation is beautiful and easily the best aspect of the movie. There are multiple shots that are truly stunning to look at and the movie has its own unique visual style. At 85 minutes this is a very short movie that really does not stop moving. While some scenes may be boring for adults, kids should stay entertained throughout. Overall, Wonder Park is an average kids film with a strong emotional element and a good message for all ages.
6/10

Captain Marvel Review

Captain Marvel is yet another great addition to the growing MCU. This movie is about Vers, a Kree warrior, who finds herself caught in an intergalactic war with Earth in the middle of everything. Brie Larson gives a great performance. She does a fantastic job in all the action scenes. Her personality is very sarcastic, but likable, and I cannot wait to see where they take the character. Sam Jackson gives an incredible performance reprising his role as Nick Fury. He plays a younger version of the character thanks to de-aging technology and he sells being twenty years younger flawlessly. Ben Mendelson gives a great performance playing the leader of shapeshifting aliens. He can be very intimidating and his comedic timing is flawless. Jude Law gives a really good performance. He is always a fun presence to watch and makes some duller scenes fun. Annette Benning is delightful in a small supporting role. She is having so much fun and you feel her energy. Lashana Lynch gives a fine performance in her supporting role. She has great chemistry with Larson, but her character does not have an arc to it. Clark Gregg is great in his very small, but fun, role reprising one of the MCU's most famous characters. Lee Pace's return is cool, but pointless and does nothing for the story. One of the best parts of this movie is a Cat named Goose, every single scene with him is hilarious. Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck did a great job directing with fluid and entertaining action sequences. However, the direction lacks any unique visual flair to make it memorable. The script is fantastic with great character development for our leads and plenty of funny moments. There are also plenty of little hints and details that are quite exciting as to what they could lead to. The visual effects are mostly fantastic especially the de-aging. However, there are a few moments in the third act where the effects look unfinished. The soundtrack of recognizable, but not super famous 90s songs are really fun and kicks in at just the right moments. At 124 minutes the movie really flies by though there are a few moments at the end of the second act that goes on a bit too long. Overall, Captain Marvel was yet another fun and exciting Marvel film with great characters.
Make sure to stay for the credits all the way through
8.5/10

Greta Review

Greta was a fun stalker thriller but was overall too predictable to reach greatness. This movie is about a young woman whom befriends a lonely widow that begins to stalk her and is harboring a dark agenda. Chloe Grace Moretz gives a fantastic performance. She brings a unique sense of likability and vulnerability that is hard to achieve. Isabelle Huppert gives a really good performance though I am still unsure if some of her campiness was intentional or not. Maika Monroe gives a great performance as Moretz's best friend. She gets a few standout moments that are among the film's best. Neil Jordan did an excellent job directing. He knows how to milk maximum tension out of certain scenes and he made me feel uncomfortable a few times. The script is a mixed bag. The first 2/3 are fairly predictable and Moretz's character makes some stupid decisions that are hard to overlook. However, the third act was creepy and disturbing with some genuine surprises that I loved. At 98 minutes the pacing is quite good, but could have lost ten minutes in its second act to really tighten everything so you do not get a chance to relax. Overall, Greta was a fun thriller with some great performances and a strong third act.
6.5/10

A Madea Family Funeral Review

A Madea Family Funeral started off quite funny, but wore out its welcome very quickly. This movie is about Madea and her friends traveling to the backwoods of Georgia and find themselves planning a funeral that might unveil some dark family secrets. Tyler Perry gives a good performance. He deserves a lot of credit for how well he is able to play multiple different characters. Cassi Davis and Patrice Lovely can be quite funny, but their humor got old quickly. Ciera Payton, KJ Smith, and Aeriel Miranda all give fine performances in their small supporting roles. Jen Harper gives a great performance with one emotional scene that, while out of place, was awards worthy. Courtney Burrell and Rome Flynn's performances are overly dramatic to the point of unintentional hilarity. Tyler Perry did a passable job directing, but it feels more like a stage play than a movie. Perry's script starts off quite strong, for the first 40 minutes I was laughing hard and I was laughing often. Sadly after those first 40 minutes, the laughs vanished and I was left with just the rare chuckle. At 110 minutes the pacing was fast those first 40 minutes when I was laughing, but once the laughter stopped the movie began to drag a lot. Overall, A Madea Family Funeral was not without its moments. Despite a funny first act, this is still a bad movie.
4/10

Run the Race Review

Run the Race started off as a decent religious film with a lot of promise but did not stick the landing. This movie is about two brothers, who are both sports stars, that face escalating problems as their two opposing worldviews affect their relationship. Tanner Stine gives a good performance. His delivery is sometimes wooden, but he sold a few key emotional beats well. Evan Hofer gives a decent performance. He fails to convey much emotion but he has realistic chemistry with Stine. Their dynamic felt like real brothers. Kelsey Reinhardt gives an okay performance. She has good chemistry with Stine but some of her delivery is unintentionally hilarious. Kristoffer Polaha's performance was good when he only had to play a drunk, but when the script asked him to convey emotion he failed. Mykelti Williamson and Frances Fisher's performances are quite bad but their not in the film much. Chris Dowling's direction is fine, but he never did anything unique. The script is a gigantic mixed bag. The dialogue ranges from fine to cringy and unintentionally hilarious. However, I was willing to forgive a lot because it was being extremely professional and realistic about its religious elements. I was shocked by how fair they were being to all sides. Then they ruined it with the worst last 15 minutes I have seen in years. They killed the movie's fair portrayal of religion and it left me fuming at the way everything wrapped up. At 101 minutes I was honestly entertained through a majority of its runtime. The pacing was consistent and I was invested in the characters. Then the horrendous last 15 minutes happened and almost sunk the entire movie. Overall, Run the Race started out with potential, but its unbelievably awful ending makes this a bad film.
4.5/10

Fighting with My Family Review

Fighting with My Family is an odd mix of a movie that will not work for everyone, but I had a blast. This movie tells the true story of an aspiring wrestler named Paige as her and her brother audition to be in the WWE. Florence Pugh gives a great performance. She sells the physical elements while bringing a likable sense of vulnerability to her character. Jack Lowden gives a good performance and sells some key third act moments extremely well. His relationship with Paige feels like a real brother and sister. Lena Heady gives a decent performance as Paige's mom in a small supporting role. Nick Frost is hysterical in a small supporting role as Paige’s dad. Almost everything he says is hilarious. Vince Vaughn gives a fantastic performance. This is the best I have seen him in years and he even sells the dramatic scenes well. Dwayne Johnson is perfect in a very small supporting role. He only has a couple of scenes, but they are among the film's best. Stephen Merchant did a good job directing but there is nothing standout about it. Merchant’s script is an odd mix of dark humor and typical sports drama. It will not work for everyone but I enjoyed the unique mix. Every single joke had me laughing out loud. At 108 minutes the film moves at a decent pace though it could have been 15 minutes shorter to make things flow better. Overall, Fighting with My Family is a fun sports comedy, but due to its unique sense of humor will not work for everyone.
7.5/10

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Review

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is a perfect ending to the trilogy despite its flaws. This movie is about Hiccup and his friends whom must defend their home from an infamous dragon killer. Jay Baruchel continues to do a fantastic job voicing Hiccup. America Ferrera does a great job voicing Astrid. She plays off Baruchel perfectly. F. Murray Abraham does a fine job voicing the villain, but is not given a ton to do. Gerard Butler is incredible in a few flashback scenes. All the rest of the voice cast give great performances in their respective roles. Dean DeBlois did a fantastic job directing. The action sequences are coherent and thrilling and lets the slower moments take their time. The script is great, though could have been incredible, if they developed the villain a little more. The setup for a great villain is there, but they did not develop certain ideas enough. However, for fans of the series, the emotional payoff in this movie is perfect. The finale had me wiping tears long after I left the theater. The musical score as always for this series remains great and kicks in at just the right moments. At 104 minutes the pacing is good but slows down in the second act. However, it makes up for it with a pretty much perfect third act. Overall, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is not as good as the previous installment, but remains a great ending with a perfect finale to this trilogy.
8/10

Isn't It Romantic Review

Isn’t It Romantic is a fun throwback to old Rom-Coms while poking fun at its most famous tropes. This movie is about Natalie, who after suffering an injury, wakes up in her own personal romantic comedy. Rebel Wilson gives a good performance. Typically I am not a fan of hers, but she reigned in her typical craziness here. Adam Devine gives a fun performance in a supporting role. He continues to play off Wilson well thanks to their work on Pitch Perfect together. Liam Hemsworth gives a great performance. He is clearly having a ton of fun in the role and is always enjoyable to watch. Priyanka Chopra gives a fine performance in a small supporting role, but is given very little to do. Brandon Scott Jones gives a fantastic performance and his character was a massive shock. What starts off as a borderline offensive gay stereotype turned into one of the best written gay characters I have seen in a mainstream rom-com in a long time. Betty Gilpin gives a decent performance in a small supporting role. Todd Strauss-Schulson did a good job directing, this is a very colorful movie and he wisely plays on certain tropes at the exact right moment. The script has likable lead characters and enough funny moments to keep you invested. However, the movie is not laugh out loud hilarious and could have used a few more big laughs. At 88 minutes the movie thankfully does not overstay its welcome and moves along at a pretty consistent pace. Overall, Isn't It Romantic is a fun throwback to classic romantic comedies, but is not something you'll remember in a few weeks.
6/10