Reviews

Rating: 9.5/10 Watched on May 25th, 2024 (first watch) Format: Home TV

Truly one of the best apocalyptic stories ever filled with great action sequences and amazing cinematography to capture all of that. This film has one of the best color palettes I ever seen in any film. The editing of this film is what makes this long 2 hour runtime fury road action journey engaging as it feels like it is fast paced to match with the vibes of the fury road rage as if we are in this journey with the characters.

Despite having multiple characters, somehow the story was able to make them all interesting by either using their backstories or making them participate in the film's most important events. Charlize Theron as Furious and Nicholas Hoult as Nux truly stole the spotlight. Perhaps Tom Hardy's acting as Max was the only one that I was expecting a little bit more from and didn't feel anything towards his character throughout the whole film.

Really interesting choice of designs for costumes, make-up, hairstyle and production. George Miller truly used the perfect tools and inspirations to create this world in the way he intended it to be and the result can never be better.

Rating: 8/10 REwatched on May 4th, 2024 Format: regular theatre

Seeing this in theaters again brought back so many memories of when I first went to the theatre to watch it when I was 5 years old....and it proved how iconic and cool this trilogy really is.

Despite how messy the storyline is, we can all agree that this film will forever remain a classic and that it was a great conclusion to Raimi's and Tobey's Spider-Man Trilogy. This trilogy became the perfect representation of how beautiful the 2000s were and what cinema and blockbuster really was all about during that period of time.

Spider-Man 3 introduced 3 different villains and focused entirely on themes like friendships, relationships, heroism, and sacrificing. With all the chaos that was happening and the film trying to be so many things at the same time, it didn't disappoint in terms of presenting the ups and downs of the relationship between Parker and MJ, as well as the the friendship between Harry and Parker as it was building on the events of the previous 2 films in such a deep matter. Moreover, this part gave us the beautiful looking dark suite for the first time and presented Venom in the scariest and most serious way (comparing to Tom Hardy's comedic and UNserious Venom). Not to forget the plot-twisting and emotional backstory of Sandman that the film could've (and should've) touched on a little bit more in terms of his daughter and family, especially that it was left to be open ending.

Christopher Young shines in this Part of the trilogy as a composer, in which he gave us the famous theme music of the Black suited 'Bully Maguire' Spider Man and was able to deliver the dark side of the character whenever the venom takes over. Moreover, the music that's playing in the background of each fight sequences sounded really different and unique in this part comparing to the previous two films. Not to forget the amazing work of Danny Elfman that inspired Christopher Young in this part as he built upon the work of Elfamn.

Lastly, let's be honest and admit that this film has better CGI than half of MCU's current projects...and this film was released in 2007 by the way...

Rating is 9.5/10 Watched on May 1st 2024 (First watch) Format: regular theatre

Watching this for the first time IN theaters, will forever be the best cinema experiences I have ever had. I will forever be in a state of shock of what this film was capable of creating and presenting especially that it was made in the 1960s. A film that is so ahead if its time and touches on many topics that our world suffers from nowadays, like Artificial Intelligence. If this film is still impressive nowadays, then Imagine how impressive it was in the 1968??!

2001: A Space Odyssey builds its story using a very slow pace to deliver all the different themes and emotions that it's trying to present that might leave many people to be bored because it has less dialogues and relies more on the visuals, so it might seem like this film does not have a story.

The film is simply a combination of sci-fi and horror using a simple red dot and a struggling protagonist. The film creatively uses the color red, combined with a single dot and the scary deep voice of Douglas Rain to present the villein of this film that messes up the whole mission which is HAL 9000, the Artificial Intelligence device. This scary design simply provokes a sense of fear, fright, and pessimistic for both mankind's future (that we are in right now with AI being everywhere) and to the protagonists of the film.

Almost every single shot in this film is visually stunning and has an astonishing color palette design. Like, the constant use of the color red to indicate danger, the color white to represent peace and calmness that the otter space provides, and the color black that captures the vagueness of outer space. And of course this beauty that the cinematography captures, wouldn't have been possible without the production design that was made with much details to reflect on the futuristic world that the story is set in. The red chairs that are placed in a white space in the Hilton Space Lobby that was shown in the beginning of the film just shows how everything blends in smoothly to create something that is visually stunning. All of this is captured through different angles and camera lenses like the 'fisheye lenses' that capture the point of the view of the evil red Artificial Intelligence dot as if we are the AI device that is stalking the two astronauts.

The very loud sound effects that adds on to the elements of the film and tries to provoke a sense of different meanings like the loud and consist heavy breathing of the protagonist that gives a sense of nervousness and uncomfortable. Or the different sudden loud noises that pop-up through out the film that just makes the watching experience more realistic as if we are in the protagonist's shoes.

Perhaps the acting is the only thing that I truly didn't feel like it had a big impact on the film, as at times it felt like any other actor could've done what Keir Dullea did. Perhaps that's because they barely had any dialogues to begin with, therefore there was no time for their acting skills to shine. But, Keir Dullea was still able to portray the loneliness, confusion, and scariness of the protagonist who's lonely in otter space and is stuck with an evil AI device.

Rating: 7/10 Watched on April 25th, 2024 (first watch) Format: IMAX theatre.

The film really does take its time to set up the story in a slow way that is very engaging and nerve-racking at times. By the end of the film, you'll feel like it fulfilled every aspect and nothing is there to be added anymore. However, the film loses its balance a little bit in terms of the events of the story towards the last act.

Zendaya's performance might be one of her best performances so far in my opinion. Although the story does not fully revolve around her and her screen-time was not the most as it was spread equally towards other characters as well, but her presence is the most dominant. She really played a character that the fans aren't used to seeing her play, so it's something new and different.

The film does a lot of tricks and details to make the story and events engaging that if it was told in the different usually way, this movie would've been 10x boring. And here comes the role of a great scriptwriter who has a creative director to guide the film.

The story jumps through different timelines A LOT and in fast pace, but surprisingly there was something about it that made this transition smooth and engaging. In addition, to showcase the themes that the film focusses on like obsession, greed and perfection it plays the music score on such a loud volume to the point that at most times it was louder than the speech, which made it seem at hard to listen and understand. The camera movements were amazingly done in a way that was so quick to showcase the fast pace that the tennis game is all about. One shot specifically captured the point of view of the tennis ball and was hit by the tennis racket multiple times making the camera to jump back and forth through the court with a very loud music playing in the background to increase the nervousness into who will get the last winning point of the match. Another shot captured the reaction of each character in one big space without cutting, but rather moving the camera around the whole one area in a way that made it seem consistent and one long take, but it wasn't.

However, through the third act the story lost itself. The events seemed a bit boring and were moving in a slower pace so not much was happening. They felt like filler scenes just to get to the final scene and end the story.

Rating: 7.5/10 Watched on April 16th, 2024 (first watch) format: IMAX theatre

Civil War is a nerve racking and deep film that takes us on a very interesting journey as we experience a civil war in the US through the lenses of a press team. The film uses multiple interesting methods that will make it very engaging and one of the most interesting original movie scripts of 2024.

The beautiful cinematography that captures the dystopian world that the events are happening in, is mixed with some great still shoots. Specifically that at most times and during important sequences, it literally shifts through the camera lenses of one of the journalists as if we are holding the camera and capturing these photos. It is one detail that makes this film feel real and genuine. However, to me personally the film felt like it is 'more cinematography than storytelling' type of film. Meaning that the story itself needed more content, not sequences, but content. In terms of sequences, it fulfilled everything. For example, the protagonist Lee (played amazingly by Kristen Dunst) really felt like more could've been added to her character, specifically her past. Although the film is great at building sympathy towards Lee, then imagine if the film touched on a specific dramatic event that happened in her past? Or something about herself personally that makes her THE protagonist of this story?. This is the fist time in a while that Dunst puts on a performance in that level as it isn't something unusual based on her past performances, so Civil War is the comeback needed. Cailee Spaeny as Jessie proves herself again after Priscilla (2023) of why she is one of the few current young actresses that needs to be seen more.

The film is really bold for presenting such heavy sequences that were very much hard to watch because of how messy and bloody they were. Not to mention the multiple sequences throughout the journey of this story that had everyone on their edge of their seat, literally. They are so many and they were so detailed, scary and has big impact on the watching experience of the whole film. I really respect when a director choses to blend in a soundtrack that is far different from the genre of its film. In this case, most of the action and dystopian sequences had old songs being played in the background that just made it unique as 'exaggerating' in filmmaking can't be done by any director, which makes Alex garland filmography unique.

Rating 9.5/10 REwatch on April 10th, 2024 (2nd watch) Format: regular theatre

The Shining sets it itself in the top of the psychological horror genre as a piece of art that never gets old and a film that has to be used when studying filmmaking. That wouldn't be possible without Stanley Kubrick's magical vision and directing that takes it to a whole new level.

The film uses so many elements as powerful tools to deliver the psychological horror aspect to any watcher. The breathtaking production design that is very detailed yet an important element since most of the film is held in one place. That is mixed with the use of the red color to indicate blood, and 'REDRUM'. Not to forget the custom design that became a vital part of each character and represented them well In their unique way like Jack Torrance's (played by Jack Nicholson) dark red jacket or his green tie in the interview scene at the beginning of the film that looks so similar to the maze outside of the hotel.

Stanley Kubrick's directing and use of camera angles mixed with the sound like the loud or low music score at the perfect moments, or the sound of background noises like loud tv shows, news segments, radio station, and cartoon shows, presented such a genuine vibe/set to the environment and mood that's going inside the hotel and each characters' head that is simply close to being chaotic and psychopathic.

Danny Lloyd as the young Danny kid simply shines and it always surprises me whenever I watch a kid in a movie that steals the show with their acting skills. Jack Nicholson's oscars-worthy performance sets the perfect chaotic personalty of Jack Torrance.

Perhaps at times and specifically throughout half of the film, it feels a bit slow, and boring but it for sure picks itself up again with interesting and horrific tragical events leading to the big and unforgettable ending that is filled with memorable movie lines.

Rating: 8/10 Watched on March 27th 2024 (first watch) Format: Home TV

An amazing portray of Egypt's 1950s and specifically the Cairo train Station.

The film touches on many topics like poverty, jealousy, simplicity, and revenge.

Hind Rustum shines as the pretty girl who sells drinks in a train station and plays the women that everyone looks at because of her beauty. On the other hand, Youssef Chahine (who's also the director of the film) as the poor Qinawi who sells newspapers and hopes for a better life with the women he's into, was an unfortunate acting choice. He's very dull and most importantly does not represent poverty, revenge, and jealousy that Qinawi suffers from accurately. Moreover, his character needed more in depth view and perhaps more dialogues but in my opinion that still wouldn't have saved or changed anything as someome else should've played the role of Qinawi.

The film's short runtime was a great choice because the story itself doesn't require any longer runtime as it would've resulted in many boring sequences. The film's second half really picks up and focuses more on the sensitive topics as it makes the story very interesting and leads to an ending that fits with every character.

Rating: 9.5/10 Watched on Feb 25th, 2024 @ Fan First Premiere event Format: (Digital) IMAX

It's safe to say that Dune Part 2 is basically an expansion of Part One. More characters are added, the story is now more complex and 10x interesting with much going on, and the world of Dune is bigger.

However, with lots of negativities in my opinion, the positivities are much stronger to not ruin the experience nor lower the rating.

Director Denis Villeneuve proves himself again in Part Two that he is the perfect director to direct the Dune project. In addition, all the crew that helped in delivering this project truly did an accurate and amazing job to deliver this world the way it is supposed to be delivered.

The VFX in this film is absolutely amazing and not noticeable expect for very few scenes that is obvious about the use of green screens but this will not ruin the experience at all. Also, the cinematography that captures Arrakis (where most of the film is held in) absolutely supports the VFX in capturing some great shots that most of them are long wide shots to capture the beautiful desert. Moreover, most of the times the characters are positioned to be in the middle of the long wide shot to capture the size of the character comparing to the world around them mostly to show off their vulnerability or their strong abilities depending in the character.

The film is so much inspired by the middle eastern culture in terms of the language, clothings, production design, movements, and all the beliefs that most of the characters follow.

Hans Zimmer's music is perfectly composed and really loved how in most of the fight sequences, there is no music to be played in the background making the whole attention pointed towards the fight movements which increases the nervousness and tense vibe.

Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya are absolutely amazing. Paul Atreides (played by Timothée Chalamet) have reached his peak and prime level. By the end of this film, he is no longer the young Paul Atreides, he is the most powerful man in Arrakis and no one can top him nor control him. He is written with so much care that will make you recall the version that we saw in Part One and how his long journey that we experienced with him wasn't that easy. And this might be one of the greatest character studies/character development stories in cinema history, and Timothée Chalamet had a huge part in achieving that. By the end of Part Two, you will realize that Chalamet is indeed the perfect actor to portray Paul Atreides due to Chalamet's deep portraying during the different stages that his character goes through in this film and mostly moments of anger and strength on other characters. However, the real surprise is Rebecca Ferguson as her character really went through many changes in this film in which it was really shown due to Rebecca's acting. She was absolutely able to deliver the terrifying and powerful characteristics of her character Jessica. The second biggest surprise is Austin Butler as Fyed-Rautha as both his make-up design and acting was able to bring this character to screen the way it is suppose to be in the book.

For the negativities:

-With the same mistake that is in Dune Part One, Part Two (and the whole Dune saga) highly needs to be 'Rated R' to allow some gore, bloody, and disgusting violence scenes to be present in the film, and part Two has the perfect chance due to the amount of fight sequences specifically with Austin Butler's character, Feyd-Rautha that had epic fight sequences that were shot in Black & White and I think it's obvious the reason behind shooting them in Black & White.

-Unfortunately the seriousness in this film has been lowered significantly. Especially with Javier Bardem's character Stilgar that cracks most of the jokes. What happened to Stolgar that walked in on Oscar Isaac's Duke Leto Atredius in Part One with much confident and seriousness refusing to give anything about his people?

Also, Dave Batista's character Glossu Rabban is so weak in this film and we barely saw him defending himself or even being powerful which is something that does not fit with Batista's physical appearance nor the character's characteristics or the 'brutal' House Harkonnen that he represents.

-(NOT A SPOILER AS IT WAS ANNOUNCED BY DIRECTOR DENIS VILLENEUVE) Lastly, in case you didn't know, during the London premiere of Dune Part Two, actress Anya Taylor-Joy appeared at the red carpet and it was announced that the actress will be having a small surprise appearance role in the film. Can I understand why this was announced and why wasn't it kept as a surprise like it was this whole time????? Since when do actors and actresses that have a surprise role in a film appear at the red carpet premiere? This makes her appearance at the carpet very much useless and it truly ruined the surprise that was kept hidden perfectly the past few years.

Rating: 7/10 Format @ home

Ok honestly...I really don't see anything unique or special in this series. Like ye alright it is unique to be able to create this whole world, events, characters, and story just from a 'road rage' incident. A point goes for it being an 'original' story. But, so many events during the show were expected and most of them are not convincing in terms of making sense and being 'realistic'.

The acting from both Ali Wong and Steven Yeun is very much convincing. However, it's not the greatest like everyone described it or how it won that much of awards.

Finally, the editing was simply terrible and embarrassing. There is no way that I am the only one that noticed how in most of the scenes, the speech does not match with the lips movements pf the characters. It's obvious that they were saying something else bur rather they recorded their voices and just decided to add them over without caring how the final scene will look like.

A well written film that touches on many aspects fairly and balance it well. Monk (Played by Jeffrey Wright) is a writer and novelist who gets himself into many challenges after 'mockingly' writing a novel that in his opinion does not fit the criteria of what a novel that represents the African American cultural should be.

In addition of the novel, he suffers mentally and physically with some family issues and revisits some of his family's secretes and past.

The film discusses guilt, loneliness, regret, self control, love, hate, disgust and many more all through mainly Jeffrey Wright's character in which he gives one of the best performances of his career. As well as the supporting actors that gave the film it's topics and helped in delivering them.

The ending (last 2 minutes) is quiet disappointing and should've taken another direction. It was weird and did not fit with what we have been watching for the past 1h 58m. However, this did not ruin the whole experience of the film.

Finally, the jazz themed music score that reflects on our protagonist and African American culture was truly the perfect choice for this film and did fit the story and events very well.

Rating: 7/10 Format: iPad @ home

An adapted screenplay that is beautifully directed by the right director. The film really portrays Priscilla's own point of view from the beginning of meeting Elvis to the collapse of the relationship. However, it is 1h 52m of repeated events.

I'm gonna admit it, I'm NOT FULLY convinced of Jacob Elordi as a talented actor. Most of the characters he plays in most of his films and shows are mostly cute and good looking big guys, nothing different each time. Euphoria (2019 - 2025), The Kissing Booth trilogy, and Saltburn (2023). However, his portraying of Elvis in this film is somewhat 'surprisingly' convincing to me. I would say about 60% convincing. But, I felt like having another actor would perhaps made it better for me especially towards the last 52 minutes of the film that is an absolute chaos in my opinion.

Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla proved herself as a talented you g actress that must be given more roles and will definitely steal the show like she did in this film. She gave us that jealous, young girl who is in love with the most famous Rock and Roll singer in history.

The film unfortunately takes a turn and loses its balance after the firs hour. It feels rushed and the build on that was happening in the first hour was finished terribly. Fast paced dialogues and events that resulted in actors getting out the worst of them due to the weak script and dialogues.

I don't have much comments on Sofia Coppola's directing as it was as great as expected. Great representation of the different timelines that we jump to throughout the whole film from production and custom designs and the music score too. At most times we hear romantic songs from the 1960s and 1970s. But, when Priscilla goes through major changes in her relationship with Elvis, the music score shifts to being a modern music score (as if it's very similar to a snythwave) that gives that feeling of being trap and that this relationship will end terribly.

Rating: 5/10 Format: Regular Theatre

A script that doesn't have any story to hold it tight together. It's a very interesting story that discusses many aspects like family, brotherhood, fatherhood, and leadership. But, perhaps this was its core problem, that it was trying to be so many things at the same time. At times i didn't know where the story was heading which made the story jump from discussing topics like fatherhood to an adventure with two brothers who had beef in their past. The film is unfortunately a typical superhero film in terms of expecting what's coming next from events, and sequences.

On top of that and with all the chaos, the film re-discusses the villain's story which revolves around his revenge but it was so weak comparing to how it was in the first film. I didn't feel his presence nor i felt his evilness. He was suppose to be much stronger here but i barely felt him. The film also brings back old characters that just all of a sudden showed up in some sequences to save the day and be the superhero of the act which felt so weird because they came out of nowhere.

The film's CGI is okay at most times. It's defiantly not as good as the first one but it is for sure better than most of the MCU's latest projects this year like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023). The cinematography unfortunately got downgraded which is something that I was anticipated for especially after seeing the first part. But I felt like there was no room for that because of how messy the sequences and story was especially that we were jumping between the past and present a lot and from one place to another.

Not to mention, the whole last sequence of the film was so good in terms of the action sequences and grabbing the audience's attention. Really got me hooked and interested and wished if the rest was like that.

Rating: 9.5/10 First watch was in 2009 in IMAX 3D

A classic that is ahead of its time and has visual effects better than most films made nowadays in the 2020s with high budgets and you cannot argue about that.

-A story about a beautiful world, land, and people of Pandora told in a runtime of 3 hours that are full of events and interesting characters. More importantly, a story about stealing, and trying to take control to gain...power and high position.

-A story about indigenous people and indigenous land -A love story and a connection between two different creatures that come together.

Interesting and creative design of blue creatures that are Avatars, as well as the world of Pandora from the landscapes, and just everything

Totally agree with those who say that the film is boring. It does have its flaws for sure where the story declines strongly. But, doesn't mean that it fails completely as a whole Sci-Fi motion picture.

Zoe Saldana shines in the film from her facial expressions, body language & movements, and voice specifically during emotional sequences and scenes where she has to express anger and grief.

3 main characters with each having a story that will touch your heart directly. Told through a once in a lifetime acting performance from Paul Giamatti who portrays the perfect role of the hated history teacher, Dominic Sessa, who is just a young boy trying to have a Christmas break like every other young boy, and Da'Vine Joy Randolph, a grieving woman who misses her family.

As the story progresses, we experience a beautiful two weeks that the 3 main characters are stuck on together. The story develops and we start to know more about their personal lives, their experiences, and who they really are as individuals.

I can't put into words how enjoyable, comedic, and heart warming these 3 weeks were, told in a runtime of 2 hours 13 mins. The customs, make up & hairstyle, interior & exterior design, soundtrack, and the cinematography that made the film look like it was shot using an old camera. These elements were all able to portray the vintage vibe of 1970.

Watched on Dec. 5th, 2023 Format: home TV Rating: 6.5/10

No doubt that both Moore and Portman portrayed their role perfectly, specifically Natalie Portman. She portrayed the role of a woman who will portray the role of a sex offender in a new movie project. Her copying Moore's character and movements specially during some of the long and one take monologues that allowed her to shine and show off.

Charles Melton as Joe, was perhaps the worst portraying of a young man being stuck in a relationship and who carries on a burden of a childhood trauma. No expressions, no acting skills. Whenever he was on screen, I felt like I wanted to turn off the TV.

The film really sets off the perfect mode of feeling uneasy right from the beginning. Using the music that is very loud at times and the sound of the loud piano. As well as, the camera movements like the slow zooming both in and out on both objects and faces.

Todd Haynes really shines in setting us in the perfect mode that the film should have. His directing and choices of camera placements were all on point. Very well done effort put on.

Thus it being a very weird journey as we were inside this story and the understanding of the complex character that Garcia is and the relationship between her and Joe, I found myself asking at the end of the film, "ok so what was this all about?". A slow uneasy journey that is boring and kept me waiting for something 'intreating' to grab my attention, and it did not at all. Matter a fact, it lowered my excitement that I started the film with. The film is really really missing some events. Perhaps this is what the writer wants, to just let the story be about the journey of being with those characters without adding anything. But, wasn't that really slow and empty?.

Watched for the first time on December 2nd 2023 Format: IMAX My rating is 8.5/10

Synopsis: Post war Japan is at its lowest point when a new crisis emerges in the form of a giant monster, baptized in the horrific power of the atomic bomb. (Source: IMDb)

When was the last time that we witnessed a 'monster film' that didn't have a cheap script with a target of just making lots of money?

Minus one proves that it's not entirely a film about a monster, rather it's a film about humanity, Inner self, grief, and family. The film was able to create a story about Godzilla but from a different perspective by combining both drama and action together. Brining a character that struggles with himself, his past, his grief, and his PTSD. As well as adding side characters that will bring a more dramatic experience to his life and to audience members.

Moreover, the film really surprised me by using Japan's tragedy after the WWII, and building the film's plot around it. Bringing room to some great political topics that connects and affects the film's story and events.

The film unfortunately lacks during a few scenes with bad CGI that looks bad and cheap and results in an ugly still frame. Moreover, I low-key found Godzilla's look to be...childish. It doesn't seem like he is a 'monster', rather a kids action figure.

Overall, an experience that must be watched on the biggest screen possible, especially that GREAT 'MONSTER FILMS' WITH A GOAL TO PLEASE THE AUDIENCE are very very RARE.

Watched for the first time on December 1st 2023 Format: Regular Theatre My rating is 7.5/10

Synopsis: A student at Oxford University finds himself drawn into the world of a charming and aristocratic classmate, who invites him to his eccentric family's sprawling estate for a summer never to be forgotten. (Source: IMDb) Saltburn is a great original story directed and written by Emerald Fennell that is a mix between gore, weird, funny, cold, and very very disgusting at times. The film takes audience members into a very long weird journey to 'Saltburn'.

When a film uses a 4:3 aspect ratio, it usually is a risky choice that must have an interesting result. Well, in this film, it truly was an on point choice. It really helped in delivering that feeling and experience of being trapped in this journey among the characters. As well as having to experience the weirdly situations that the characters fall into. The 4:3 aspect ration helped very well in tense scenes where there was stress and tightness among characters.

This links with the visually stunning cinematography that helped in delivering some amazing still shots and frames that may seem like they are paintings. Im fact this film is inspired by so many paintings. Finally, an intreating choice that was made was having dim lighting in almost every shit even if it was shot in daylight. One intreating indoor scene had the sun lighting hitting the red curtains in that room that turned the whole walls of the room and all the chvaracters' faces, red. Which foreshadowed so many things in that scene. The 4:3 aspect ratio, the cinematography & camera movements, the art inspiration, and the lighting choices were all elements that helped in portraying and capturing the final results of a visually stunning picture.

It was intreating to realize that in some scenes, and specifically those that include a tense moment, included no music score being played in the background. This created an even more tense feeling as the focus was entirely on the dialogue and the picture that is being portrayed. On the other hand, when there was music playing, in the background in tense scenes, it is noticeable that it was getting louder as the scene progresses.

As always, Barry Keoghan presents yet another weird character alongside an incredible acting performance. He presents the coldness his character has. However, Jacob Elordi presented something that unfortunately isn't new. Same 'naughty boy' character that we saw in Euphoria, in Kissing Booth and now in Saltburn. Archie Madekwe is the true surprise of the year. With his amazing performance in Gran Turismo (2023), he is now in yet another great performance that he nailed it. Not to mention the great yet short runtime performance of the parents played the great Richard Grant and Rosamund Pike.

A film that is so weird and not for everyone at all. Yet, its incredible filmmaking elements cannot be denied as stunning choices.

Despite the plot twists and the direction of where the story is heading to, it was easy to predict and to expect. This is something that made me personally not surprised whenever a 'shocking' event happened in the film. This is something that lowered my enjoyment of the story a bit and made just sitting and waiting for an event to happen rather than being surprised that it happened.

A 24 mins that will keep you on the edge of your seat as you get to experience a glimpse of the protagonist's perspective as he suffers just to get his wife...an anniversary present.

The film's introduction builds a connection between audience members and the characters of the short film just through one scene. With the help of the production design, our first look at the three characters that the story revolves around takes place at their house in a small bedroom where they share a cute family moment. As well as, cute husband and wife moment that tells us the relationship that the married couple have and the struggles they face. Thanks to this short introduction, an empathy is created in our hearts that carries on till the end of the struggling short trip that the protagonist makes.

Watched on: November 26th, 2023 My rating: 9/10.

Synopsis: When oil is discovered in the 1920s at a land that belongs to the native Osage people, they are slowly starting to get murdered one by one. Until the FBI steps in to investigate the case.

Directed by the great Martin Scorsese after 4 years since his last film The Irishmen (2019), he returns again as Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert Di Niro in lead roles as well as Lilly Gladstone. The film can simply be described as a 'disappointment' at least to me personally. That does not make it a bad film, it's still a great film filled with so many positive elements, but, its negative elements surpasses the positives ones.

This is DiCaprio's first leading role since his last one which was in Don't Look Up in 2021 as Dr. Randel Mindy. Before that, his leading role was in Tarantino's Once Upon A Time In Hollywood in 2019 as Rick Dalton. Anyone noticed anything 'unique' or 'different' in his role in Killers of the Flower Moon comparing to the last two characters he presented? Same acting skills, same craziness that the characters has, same actions, same facial expressions, and same characteristics. This simply lowers in DiCaprio's acting skills ability as well as his choices of the roles he wants to present. Note that Leo himself decided to switch roles as he stepped in to take the role of Jesse Plemons. So DiCaprio originally was suppose to play Jesse Plemons' role which is the FBI investigator. In my opinion, this is the biggest mistake and the weakest decision that DiCaprio has ever made. I would've loved to see DiCaprio in an unusual and different character comparing to his last two ones. More importantly, would've actually loved to see Jesse Plemons in a leading role. Plemons is highly talented and can easily carry a film by himself with his ability of bringing such heavy weight on the screen. Robert Di Niro is by far the biggest surprise as many expected him to introduce something usual. This man still got it all and something that helped a lot is that he is playing a character that reflects his actual age.

The film could easily be cut down to 2 hours. There is a whole hour and a half that added NOTHING to the story and had 0 support to the plot. The film contained so many scenes that felt repeated and overused.

The trailers of this film tricks you into thinking that this film has a great soundtrack. The film overused that one specific piece of track that gives a very suspense vibe to the scene yet it is the only thing being heard throughout the whole 3 hours and a half of the film which made my ears truly get sick of listening it throughout the whole film and throughout each scene and sequence.

The film could've (and SHOULD'VE) chosen to tell the story from the perspective of the Osage people. Or perhaps ANYONE else like the FBI detective agent and turning this into a suspense/crime/thriller film. A 3 hours and a half that truly presented nothing new, even thought I was patiently waiting for the climax to hit, until the film ended in the most cold and slow way ever.

My rating is 7.5/10 Format: regular IMAX theatre Watched on November 4th, 2023.

Special thanks to the Imaginative Film Festival in Toronto, Canada for inviting me to watch Fancy Dance!

Synopsis: Following her sister's disappearance, a Native American hustler kidnaps her niece from the child's white grandparents and sets out for the state powwow in hopes of keeping what is left of their family intact. (Source: IMDb) Director Erica Tremblay presents such a unique story that discusses native land, native language, and the native community all through the beautiful relationship between an aunt and her niece.

The film really starts off by slowly setting up the mood, tone, and vibe that it will follow throughout the whole film. It then reaches the middle of it which can be considered the weakest as it loses its balance in terms of hooking the audience to the story and the characters. However, the film gets itself together back again with the amazing final act that sets up the beautiful and emotional ending and the conclusion of the beautiful relationship between the aunt and her niece.

Director Erica Tremblay and cinematographer Carolina Costa truly choose a bunch of different elements that will help portray and deliver the most accurate feelings that each character is going through using visuals, directing techniques, and camera movements.

Two particular shots that grabbed my attention, one being an "inside the frame" shot of Jax (played by Lilly Gladstone) being in a phone call which captured her through a frame of a window. The shot added more nervousness into the scene by making it seem as a very narrow frame and the character is trapped in that small window frame.

Another shot is a tense scene where one character finds out something that is not suppose to be shared with her from another character in which a line is visually shown using a wall's corner where each character is standing on each side separating the two of them in half as if their relationship together is affected. It really reminded me how Bong Joon Ho used lines to separate the characters in Parasite (2019).

Lily Gladstone's acting and portraying of the character Jax is on point. The character has a cold heart with lots of worries, yet is a caring person and is an influencer specifically to her niece. It sets Lily Gladstone on the spotlight specifically on her most recent film Killers of The Flower Moon (2023) by Martin Scorsese.

Isabel Deroy-Olson introduces to the audience an innocent niece who's mother is missing as this is the actress' first feature film. This being her first feature film really tells a lot about her talent as her portraying of the different emotions and the optimistic daughter in hopes of her mother to be found. Those emotions really reached audience members throughout the whole this film.

Fancy Dance ends off with a great closing credits song with beautiful lyrics that reflects on all the lives that we lost in which the lyrics say: "Let's put our minds together and reflect on those who have passed, those who are up the sky, those who are now living peacefully."

Watched on Tuesday October 17th, 2023 Format: regular theatre @ Imaginative Film Festival Rating: 8/10.

Synopsis: Two detectives hunt a serial killer who follows the seven deadly sins as his method of killing causing mind games and horror to the two detectives.

Perhaps David Fincher's best work, Se7en is also considered one of the best murder/mystery films in this whole genre. The film sets the mood and tone of a murder/mystery film epically, causing audience members to pay full attention to the story.

You can tell that using each element carefully, the film tries to set the perfect vibe and tone to bring out the best mystery/horror film ever.

The lighting and production design of the film is very obvious to be very dark and dim at most times. Creating some sort of fear to audience members as they feel trapped in this city with the serial killer case just as the two detectives are.

In addition, the cinematography snd directing comes in to support all of this. By switching to hand held cameras at times where the camera is pointing towards one of the detectives to show instability and fear. To having the camera on a still tripod when the camera is pointing at the serial killer to show how cold and calm he is.

The film's introduction to the two detectives right at the beginning of the film, gives audience members a glimpse of who exactly they are and their type of personality in such a short scene. We don't need the whole film to know them, you can just look at that scene and you will know right away. This is so brilliant and it wouldn't be possible without Morgan Freeman as Detective Somerset or Bard Pitt as Detective Mills. Two actors who added too much effort to the story and vibes of the film specifically the dramatic side of it at the end of the film.

However, Gwyneth Paltrow as Tracy Mills (Detective Mills' wife), in my opinion added nothing special to the point that if she was replaced with another actress, it would've been totally fine. Her screen time was not that much which many might argue that maybe if she did have enough screen time, she would've shown her acting skills even more, I wouldn't think so. Most of her scenes were with either Brad Pitt or Morgan Freeman which in my opinion, is what saved her.

My rating is 9.5/10 REwatched on Sep. 21st 2023 Format: home TV.

Synopsis: Mariem's father who is a very famous script writer, dies unexpectedly leaving behind an uncompleted movie script titled "RIVO". This script opens the door to his daughter to finally discover the truth about the secretes that were hidden from her all those years.

The show's story is very much unique and different for an Egyptian show. It feels like a love message to the 90s and early 2000s, as well as to how young people's decisions can be stupid, but at the same time, when looking back at it as a whole, there so much beauty and memories in it.

Starring the famous Egyptian band Cairokee lead Amir Eid as Shadi who's character is very well written with much careful and detail since the main story somewhat revolves around him. From his character's first appearance in the first episode to his last in the final episode, his beautiful and tragic story touches the heart and looking back at it from where he started and what he wanted to become or accomplish is even more beautiful.

The show touches on the different struggles that each of the other members of the Rivo band are going through. From their love lives to their personal issues or family issues. Which is something that I thought is more than amazing to be added and not to be left out since this is a story about Rivo at the end as a whole band, and how they came out.

Rakeen Saad's performance as Mariam is very much convincing especially throughout her anger moments. The burden of reaching the finish line of this story and script can be seen through her and only Rakeen Saad is able to portray that.

The show is able to revisit the 90s and early 2000s very accurately thanks to both the production design, custom design, and Make-up & hairstyle. From making the actors who are in their 30s look young and seem like they are in their 20s, is very much convincing. As well as their change in looks whenever we jump in different timelines throughout the past and present. The production design gives that exact same vibe of how living in the 90s feels like. Paying attention to details is important. The posters in the back that are a call out to old movies and famous bands like Queen, Rolling Stones or The Beatles, to films like E. T. and The Godfather.

Finally, Cairokee's great contribution to the soundtrack and specifically Amir Eid's voice that brought a very emotional side to the story or events of the show. Songs like Ana Negm, Ala Bab El Sema, Tayer, or Law Kan that have a major connection in terms of the lyrics that describe each character's feelings.

The show lacks a lot through the editing element as at times, it feels like a certain shot is being cut earlier than it should be as it moves on to the next shot with a not so smooth transition. In addition, it is true that 10 episodes for season 2 are too much and some episodes felt too long which caused some of them to be boring not like season 1 that had shorter episode runtimes which made every episode important and not so dull. However, at most times, this beautiful story and events make those mistakes almost not recognizable and forgettable.

My rating is: 8/10 Watched: at home.

Synopsis: Jann Mardenborough is a gamer who enjoys playing Gran Turismo and with a passion for becoming a professional race driver one day. However, this simulator video game turns into reality.

Going into this film knowing ZERO information about the very interesting and successful back story of Jann Mardenborough is one of the main reasons that might make anyone enjoy the story even more. A very interesting film that made me miss going to an IMAX theatre - the format that this film should be watched in - to watch a film about "cars and racing". However, the film is filled with mistakes and missing elements that simply make it a "one-time watch" type of film.

Firstly, the star of this film is simply not Jann Mardenborough - who the WHOLE film is based on. It is actually Jack Salter who is played by David Harbour and that's simply because choosing Archie Madekee as Jan Mardenborough is simply not convincing to me. Unfortunately, the actor added nothing to the character nor made it special in any way.

On the other hand, David Harbour returns in yet another role that is very similar to his role in the tv show Stranger Things (2016 - ?) and shares many elements with his character Jim Hopper in the show in terms of having that fatherhood and caring aspect in his character to take care of a young person. I guess it was a good thing and a bad thing in this film at the same time. Bad thing because he simply didn't present anything NEW. I felt like I was seeing the exact same relationship between Jim Hooper and Eleven (played by Millie Bobby Brown) in this film that is between Jack Salter and Jann Mardenborough. Good thing because this is the ONLY good acting role and character in this whole film - thanks to David Harbour.

The film touched very briefly and missed on a very major topic that should've been discovered and discussed more which is the relationship that Jann Mardenborough has with his family specifically with his father who is played by Djimon Hounsou. Despite having a very brief dramatic scene and limited screen time, he is mo than convincing, and the few brief scenes that he appeared in especially the one towards the end is very much convincing and touched the heart.

Perhaps the film should've dedicated a little few sequences to Danny Moore's character and story about the different challenges and struggles he faced in terms of choosing a gamer to be the next best race driver from the video game simulator Gran Turismo, as turning this dream of gamers into reality is based on one of his marketing strategies to support Nissan which is shown in a very brief scene at the beginning of the film that is not enough. In addition, Orlando Bloom puts on a very great performance as Danny Moore which is a wasted card, unfortunately.

Having Emelia Hartford as the love and romance aspect in this film can simply be described as a "filler". Very unnecessary and not needed.

Perhaps the film's only card that could've truly benefited from is the cinematography which turned out to be a waste. The film relies heavily on the rule of thirds in the dialogue sequences which gets boring towards the end of the film for the ver use. Some of the shots should've been replaced with close-up shots, especially during tense sequences happening between two characters.

However, the film mixes real-life racing and video games as the scene sometimes jumps between both at the same time to make it feel like a video game race in a real-life race. Very creative choice especially since the film revolves around that idea.

Lastly, something that really surprised me that the film did not touch on is the backstory of how Jann Mardenborough truly fell in love with racing cars ad with the Gran Turismo video game, or how he gets his first video game console that made him get into this world. Perhaps a sequence that jumps back in the time when he was younger showing us that visually would've been better than just mentioning it briefly during a short scene.

My rating is: 6.5/10 Format: IMAX Theatre Watched on: August 8th, 2023 (Early Access)

Synopsis: Oppenheimer handles a huge project of the creation of the atomic bomb that leads to all kinds of consequences on his personal life and many others surrounding him. This leads him to be the father of the atomic bomb and "the destroyer of worlds" as he becomes one of the most important figures in history.

Directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Cillian Murphy as Robert Oppenheimer himself in a lead role for the first time in a Nolan film, after being in most of his films. Cillian Murphy looks nothing like the real Robert Oppenheimer physically. Yet, Murphy is able to portray the famous figure in a role that would lead him to win an academy award easily. From facial expressions to Cillian Murphy's wide eyes that are capable of speaking without him having to say a word and how they also can express guilt, regret, sadness, confusion, and all sorts of feelings that Oppenheimer went through while completing the complex project of the atomic bomb. As well as, the support of the make up and hair design department, audience members are able to capture Oppenheimer in three different stages of his life, young version, middle aged version, and an older version of the character. After his role in The TV Show Peaky Blinders (2013 - 2022) as Thomas Shelby, his popularity grew and everyone sees him as Shelby. However, after watching this film, audience members will easily forget that and a new image will be created in everyone's head as him being Robert J Oppenheimer.

Robert Downey Jr. As Lewis Strauss gives such a heavy and top tier acting role that his presence can be heavily felt on screen and in the events and the different stages that his character goes through. It is by far the second best acting role in the film after Cillian Murphy's, it is for Sure Oscar worthy for Best Supporting actor. Same thing will Cillian's image among fans, RDJ has the image of Tony Stark/ironMan in everyone's head. Everyone has gotten used to seeing him as that superhero who flies and shoots lasers from his hands. But, that image can e easily forgotten after watching this film. I am not denying every great thing he did for the role of Tony Stark/Iron Man as I am a huge fan of it. But, this film reminds everyone of who RDJ really is as the actor who is able to portray and put on some great acting skills and Oscar worthy performance like he used to before as Harry Lockhart in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), Charles Chaplin in Chaplin (1992), or Paul Avery in Zodiac (2007).

On the other hand, Matt Damon as Leslie Groves is the only role that added nothing to the table compared to everyone else's appearance. Even though he has a huge screen time and he plays an important role in the story, some other actors have less screen time than him and they did a better job. Like Rami Malek and Edward Teller.

Emily Blunt as Kitty Oppenheimer, Rami Malek as David Hill, and Alden Ehrenreich as Senate Aide throughout the whole film, do not have a scene that would put the spotlight on them and make them noticeable until we reach towards the end in which all of them will have their time, their moment, and their scene to shine which what made those scenes very special specifically because of their acting skills.

In addition, there are so many other actors that appeared in the film (some are a surprise) in which they all have some great scenes and great acting skills that will lead them to shine in their scene and I will refuse to mention them to avoid any spoilers and it would rather be better if you walk into this movie not knowing that they will make an appearance.

The film deals with sound effects in the most amazing way especially in moments of silence whenever the film focuses on Oppenheimer's point of view and what goes through his head in terms of fear, regret and confusion like heavy breathing, screams or countdowns.

On the other hand, the film's sound mixing is horrible to the point that it may holdback a viewer's experience and understanding of the events of the film due to the struggle of hearing the dialogue. It's either their voice can hardly be heard, or the music at most times is louder than the speech. This is not a first time for a Nolan film as films like Tenet (2020) and The Dark Knight (2012) have a very similar issue in terms of hearing the speech.

Not to mention that the Music score - that was louder than the speech at most times - is greatly composed by Ludwig Göransson who returns again with Nolan as he composed Tenet (2020) in which the similarities can be heard between both Tenet (2020) and Oppenheimer (2023). There is a specific tone and vibe that Ludwig Göransson used in both films to deliver the film in the way it should be. However, many have surprisingly compared Ludwig Göransson's work in Oppenheimer (2023) to Hans Zimmer's work in previous Nolan films like in Interstellar (2014) by specifically comparing Ludwig Göransson's music piece "Can You Hear the Music" in Oppenheimer to Hans' "S. T. A. Y" in Interstellar (2014). In my opinion, this is a totally unfair compression as Ludwig Göransson's work is nothing compared to Hans' work. That does not mean that Ludwig Göransson work is not that good but I just think that comparing what Hans Zimmer did lowers Hans' work quality as well as Ludwig Göransson's work.

When promoting the film, it is suggested that seeing it in IMAX 70MM is A MUST which hyped everything as expectations has risen that audience members will probably experience something similar to Interstellar when it comes to the visuals and the cinematography. Yet, most of the film is literally being shot indoors with no room for visually stunning shots to even be introduced and present because the film depends on dialogues in the first place.

But, does that mean that seeing in IMAX 70MM was NOT worth it? NO Does that mean that I DON'T recommend everyone to go see it in IMAX 70MM (the format it is suppose to be seen in)? NO Because, how often do film directors release films that are shot using IMAX cameras and are offered in IMAX 70MM (film IMAX and not digital IMAX)? It's probably once every 2-3 years. Therefore, I do highly recommend anyone to see it in IMAX 70MM FILM for the full experience and I promise it won't disappoint and the next time a film will be offered in IMAX 70MM will provably be in 2 or 3 years. But, I really was hoping and expecting an Interstellar or Avatar (2009), type of cinematography.

The story of Robert J Oppenheimer isn't as complicated as how it is being introduced in this film. But, isn't the way that Nolan introduced and made this whole biography film different, unique and more complicated than other biography films, is what truly makes Nolan a unique film director?

This is the first time that Nolan does a biography/based on a true story type of film and Im more than glad that HE did it, because I'm 100% positive that any other filmmaker would've turned it into an ordinary, usual and typical biography film without including any complications or mind blowing twists like Christopher Nolan.

My rating is 9.5/10 (MIGHT CHANGE ON 2ND VIEWING) Format watched in: FILM IMAX 70MM Watched on: July 26th, 2023.

Synopsis: When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces. (IMDb) Talk to Me is a very solid directory debut. However, the film loses it's balance as we progress in the events of the film specifically towards the last act that just loses it all in my opinion and fails to maintain the main story as it feels like the film gets too distracted by trying to be so many things at the same time.

The acting in this film maybe the strongest element in which it really has saved the film as a whole. Sophia Wilde as Mia is able to present the different struggles and stages her character goes through as well as the confusion she faces as her character progresses throughout the film.

Joe Bird as Riley maybe the star of the film. One particular scene made his picture and acting inside my head gets stuck and those who have seen the film will know which scene i am refereeing to. Miranda Otto as Sue (Mother of Riley and Jade) brought a great sense of humor to the film as she was the centre and the attention of the comedy aspect that the film relied on heavily. Her comments and charisma is very bold and cam be felt in the film.

The film started off in such a great way and with no introductions as it got into the story right away. Something that grabs audience members' attention. However, it felt like it lost all of that in the middle and specifically the second act and a bit of the begging of the third act. The story dropped everything that it was building in the beginning and to be more specific, in the first half and went on by something totally different afterwards but was able to bring it back all in the last scene. So what's the point of building all of that in the middle? Towards the middle (and after an important event in the story and before the ending) the film kept going on and on and showing stuff that were very unnecessarily or went on for way too long that made me wonder, how is this supporting the story?

As well as the sound mixing snd sound editing that was horrible and made it much harder at times to hear the speech clearly and understand what exactly is being said. However, the film had a few song choices that were very well as the soundtrack really matched the vibe the film has. The film's cinematography has a few shots that were well noticeable and well made that illustrates that dark vibe the film has but i wish if they were illustrated more rather than one or two still shots that are unforgettable.

My Rating is 7/10 Watched on July 24th, 2023 during a Special Early Screening Format: Regular theatre.