Black Panther Review

Black Panther is a great movie and another fantastic addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  This movie is about T'Challa who must rise to the throne of Wakanda after his father was murdered.  He must also deal with a vengeful outsider and an old enemy who has returned.  Chadwick Boseman gives a fantastic performance as T'Challa.  He perfectly plays every aspect of the character.  Lupita Nyong'o gives a  really good performance as a spy and T'Challa's love interest.  However, she is severely underused.  Danai Gurira gives a great performance as Okoye, the head of T'Challa's Royal Guard.  She has some truly incredible moments during the action scenes.  Daniel Kaluuya gives a good performance as W'Kabi one of T'Challa's friends and advisors.  However, after seeing him in Get Out last year he was distracting and out of place at times. Winston Duke is hilarious in a small role as M'Baku, the head of a rival tribe.  Forest Whitaker gave an okay performance, but I kept getting flashbacks to his character in Rogue One. Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger is a great villain, but he does not really play a huge role until the second half. Andy Serkis returns as Klaue after a small role in Age of Ultron. He is clearly having a ton of fun playing the villain and the movie gets a boost of energy anytime he is on screen. Also returning is Martian Freeman's character from Civil War. Much like Andy Serkis, he brings a fantastic and fun presence anytime he's on screen. However Letitia Wright as Shuri, T'Challa's sister, steals this entire movie. She has tons of great lines and her relationship with her brother, T'Challa felt real. Ryan Coogler does a great job directing this movie, especially the 2nd act which felt like a James Bond Film.  He also did a fantastic job co-writing the movie with Joe Robert Cole. All the characters have real motivations and the humor felt mostly natural. As for the humor it is really funny with a few standout hilarious moments. The music by Ludwig Goransson was very good and was a good mix of traditional African and modern music.  Special mention to Rachel Morrison's cinematography and the visual effects. Wakanda was truly stunning to look at at times. The costume design by Ruth Carter is also notable. Much like the music, it was a good mix of traditional African outfits and modern ones.  The editing for the most part was really good, although an opening action sequence was a bit too choppy and darkly lit.  As for the action sequences, while I could have used a few more, what we got is quite good. The standout is a big chase sequence at the end of the second act. It was a ton of fun and easily my favorite part of the movie. The finale, while entertaining, did not feel as epic as the movie thought it was. At 134 minutes the pacing moves fairly fast although slows down a bit too long at the end of the second act. Overall, Black Panther is a great movie that despite some flaws I would recommend to any fans of the genre. 

8.5/10

Early Man Review

Early Man is a mediocre movie and a disappointment from Aardman Animations.  This movie is about a caveman, named Dug, who along with his tribe must unite against Lord Nooth and the Bronze Age to save their home. Tom Hiddleston is by far the best part of this movie. He does a great job playing Lord Nooth and his character is frequently hilarious.  Eddie Redmayne did a good job voicing the character of Dug, although he does not have much to work with.  Maisie Williams is better as the voice of Goona. Her character has the biggest character arc in the movie. Timothy Spall is great voicing the head of the tribe. However, he is severely underused. As for the rest of the voice cast including Nick Park, Mark Williams and Rob Brydon, they all do decent voice work but no one stands out. Nick Park does an okay job directing, but this is easily his worst movie in years. The screenplay by Mark Burton and James Higginson is not without its moments. There are two running jokes throughout the movie that made me laugh every time. However, so much of this humor relies on the knowledge of British Futbol that I did not understand half of the jokes. This movie is animated in claymation and while some scenes were incredible to look at, others were ugly and way too creepy for this kind of movie. At an incredibly short 89 minutes this movie still feels too long. Overall, Early Man was a mediocre movie that I can only recommend to hardcore fans of claymation. 

5.5/10

Peter Rabbit Review

Peter Rabbit was a hilarious, charming update to the classic story. This movie is about Peter Rabbit and his friends who enjoy their days stealing from Mr. McGregor's vegetable garden. However, once one of McGregor's relatives moves in chaos ensues. James Corden does a fantastic job voicing the title character. Margot Robbie, Elizabeth Debicki, and Daisy Ridley all give great performances as Peter's sisters. Rose Byrne gave a charming performance as Bea, a woman who looks after Peter and his family. Domhnall Gleeson steals the movie as Mr. McGregor's relative. He really throws himself into this role and does a fantastic job with all the physical comedy. Director Will Gluck did a great job directing this movie, especially any slapstick comedy sequence. The screenplay by Rob Lieber was perfect and frequently played against expectations. The visual effects work in this movie was incredible. There was never a point that I thought about the fact that I wasn't watching real animals. As for flaws, towards the 3rd act, the pacing does drag slightly. Overall, I had a blast with Peter Rabbit and I highly recommend it for all ages.

8.5/10

12 Strong Review

12 Strong is a good movie about an incredible true story. This movie is about the first special forces team sent to Afghanistan after 9/11 to combat the Taliban. Chris Hemsworth gives a fantastic performance as our lead. Michael Pena, Michael Shannon, and Trevante Rhodes all give good performances as Hemsworth's squad mates. Navid Negahban also gives a great performance as the Iraqi General, who was our ally. First-time Director Nicolai Fuglsig did a decent job. He does a good job directing the action sequences, but they are very standard. The script by Ted Tally and Peter Craig is serviceable. The cinematography by Rasmus Videbaek looks good, but does not have a unique style. Overall 12 Strong is a good war movie with great performances for fans of the genre.

7.5/10

Maze Runner: The Death Cure Review

Maze Runner: The Death Cure is a great ending to the trilogy. This movie is about Thomas and his friends who must break into WCKD to save their friends. I absolutely loved this movie from start to finish. This movie opens with a thrilling high stakes action sequence and never lets up. Director Wes Ball should be on every studio's wishlist. He can get more out of 60 million dollars than any director I've seen. The visual effects in this movie are truly stunning at times. However, the movie is filled with practical effects as well. This gives the action sequence a heightened sense of realism. The world building in this movie is also terrific. The world feels lived in by people that have been there for a long time. Dylan O'Brien, tragically, was severely injured early in shooting causing massive delay. Thankfully he made a full recovery and is in top form here. He gives a fantastic performance and does an incredible job with the action sequences as well. Thomas Brodie-Sangster gives an incredible performance. His friendship with Dylan O'Brien's character is easily the best part of the film. Kaya Scodelario gives a really good performance. Her character's arc has become more interesting as the trilogy went on. Aidan Gillen and Patricia Clarkson remain great villains for this series. Rounding out the huge cast are Rose Salazar, Giancarlo Esposito and Walton Goggins who are all fantastic in smaller roles. At 142 minutes this movie is extremely fast paced and never slows down. Overall, Maze Runner: The Death Cure is a thrilling emotional end to the trilogy.

9/10

The Shape of Water Review

The Shape of Water is one of the strangest movies I have seen in a long time. This movie is about a mute janitor who falls in love with an amphibious man being held in a lab during the Cold War. Sally Hawkins is really good in this movie as the mute janitor. She brings a lot to her character despite never speaking. Richard Jenkins, Octavia Spencer, and Michael Stuhlbarg all give great performances in smaller roles. However, this movie belongs to Michael Shannon. He gives an incredible performance in this movie and steals every scene he's in. Director Guillermo Del Toro deserves all the praise he is getting for this movie. This is a beautifully directed movie with incredible cinematography and set design. The effects work on the fish man, played by Doug Jones, are stunning as well. As for flaws, though this movie is way too weird even for me at times. Also, the pacing is all over the place. At 122 minutes sometimes it moved super fast and other times super slow. This made the movie feel much longer than it is. While I did enjoy The Shape of Water, overall I would only recommend it to people who know what they are getting into.

7/10

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Review

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a fantastic movie and worthy of all the awards it is earning. This movie is about a mother who challenges the police to solve her daughter's murder by putting up billboards to taunt them. This movie is incredible from start to finish. Frances McDormand gives an amazingly emotional performance as a mother just trying to cope with the loss of her daughter. Woody Harrelson also gives a fantastic performance as the police chief who's struggling with some personal issues of his own. Peter Dinklage and Caleb Jones also give great performances in smaller side roles However, this movie belongs to Sam Rockwell's rookie racist Police Officer He steals every single scene he's in. For such a serious premise this movie is shockingly hilarious. There is almost nonstop humor throughout the entire film. Director and Writer Martin McDonagh deserve massive credit for balancing the humor and serious moments perfectly. At 115 minutes the movie moves along at a good pace never going too slow or too fast. As for flaws, I am personally not a huge fan of the abrupt ending.  Overall Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a fantastic movie that's much more worth your time than other awards films.

9/10