The Beach Bum Review

The Beach Bum was an excruciating experience despite a dedicated lead performance. This movie is about Moondog, a rebellious stoner and author, who lives large. Matthew McConaughey gives a great performance. I absolutely hated his character, who was always drunk and high but he played it perfectly. Snoop Dog is playing himself, but he had a couple of funny lines. Isla Fisher is wasted and given nothing to do. Jonah Hill is fine in a small supporting role but his character is pointless. Stefania LaVie Owen gives a good performance and they set up the possibility for an interesting character but nothing ever comes of it. Martin Lawrence is by far the best part of this movie. His role is small, but it brought me the only real laugh in the whole movie. Harmony Korine’s directing is competent but unspectacular. The movie looks good visually but he misses numerous opportunities for fun drug trip sequences. The script for this movie is absolutely atrocious. There is no real story or character development for anyone. This movie is classified as a comedy, but I only laughed once and chuckled a couple of times. At 95 minutes the movie dragged on for so long I could not wait for it to end. Overall The Beach Bum is a movie that I cannot recommend to anyone despite its great lead performance.
3/10

Shazam Review

Shazam is a hilarious and charming edition to the growing DCU. This movie is about Billy Batson, a boy bouncing around foster homes, who is given the ability to become an adult superhero when he says a magic word. Zachary Levi gives an incredible performance. He plays a kid stuck in an adult's body perfectly. He also impresses in the action scenes. Asher Angel gives a fantastic performance. Even when his character is a jerk, you cannot help but sympathize with him. He nails all the emotional scenes he is given and almost brought a tear to my eye. Jack Dylan Grazer gives a really good performance. By the second act I was fully on board with his character, but he took me a bit to warm up to. His dynamic with Levi is the core of the film and all their interactions are highlights. Mark Strong gives a great performance. He balances the line between scary and campy perfectly coming across as intimidating, but also funny. Djimon Hounsou gives a decent performance in a small supporting role. Grace Fulton and Faithe Herman are great as some of Billy’s foster friends. Ian Chen and Jovan Armamd both give good performances but not given a lot to do. David F. Sandberg did a fantastic job directing. The action sequences are well shot and a ton of fun to watch. He brings a style that makes everything look like a live action comic book. The script is great with well developed characters, numerous laugh out loud moments and a fair amount of heart. The main characters interactions are always fun to watch. Even the villain was pretty well developed. At 132 minutes the movie feels long, but it never drags. The first act is a bit slow as there is a lot of setup, but once the second act starts the movie only gets better from there. Overall Shazam has some minor issues but is a ton of fun that I highly recommend.
8.5/10

Dumbo (2019) Review

Dumbo is a charming and enjoyable remake of the 1940s animated film, but is not without its flaws. This movie is about a young circus elephant whose huge ears enable him to fly. When the circus partners with a famous business tycoon, Dumbo and his friends begin to uncover dark secrets. Colin Farrell gives a fantastic performance. It takes a little time to really get behind the character, but he plays the emotional complexity of the role perfectly. Danny DeVito is a ton of fun as the owner of the circus. He plays the part well, but the role does not allow for many dramatic scenes. Michael Keaton gives a great performance. He is very over the top, but the fact he is clearly having a blast sells the craziness. However, he is using a very weird accent that takes some getting used to and it is distracting until you do.  Eva Green gives an excellent performance. She has a good dynamic with Farrell and she makes you believe Dumbo is really there. Nico Parker and Finley Hobbins give good performances as the kids who train Dumbo. However, some of their delivery comes across as very wooden and occasionally unintentionally funny. Tim Burton does a great job directing. This is a very visually unique movie and the scenes of Dumbo flying were pure magic. The script is good but has a very slow start. While not without its moments, the first act of this movie was not good. However as soon as Dumbo flies, this movie begins to soar. The second and third acts of this movie successfully reinvent the story for 2019 and are truly something special. The visual effects are incredible and the movie has an almost dreamlike look. Dumbo himself is absolutely adorable and stunningly realized. I never thought for a single second that he was not there. At 112 minutes the pacing is a mixed bag. The weak first act drags on, but the strong second and third acts fly by. Overall, Dumbo was a really good update to the original animated film but due to a weak start did not quite reach greatness.
7.5/10

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