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Ford v Ferrari (2019)
Shift into high gear & race to see this one now!
"There's a point at 7000 RPM where everything fades. The machine becomes weightless. It disappears. All that's left, a body moving through space and time. At 7000 RPM, that's where you meet it. That's where it waits for you."
Incredible movie! 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 I've always loved car racing & this film that tells about the events in the 3 years leading up to & the actual 1966 24 hours of Le Mans race that showcases the rivalry between Ford & Ferrari totally brings home the trophy. Well written, acted, directed, edited, etc. it's the whole damn package. What heart & soul Christian Bale pours into the role of sports car racing engineer & driver, Ken Miles, with Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby (automotive designer & race car driver) coming in with a very close second. Great supporting cast with Jon Bernthal as the famous Lee Iacocca, Josh Lucas as Leo Beebe, Ray McKinnon as Phil Remington, Caitriona Balfe as Mollie Miles, & Tracy Letts as Henry Ford II. Not once in its 2 & a half hour run time did I get bored.
The score by Marco Beltrami & Buck Sanders drove the movie just right & even has a track called "7000 RPM".
Well done & major kudos all around. I predict some Oscar noms for this..
The Lighthouse (2019)
The Lighthouse shines in a big way.....
"Yer fond of me lobster, ain't ye? I seen it, yer fond of me lobster! Say it! SAY IT! Say it!" Thomas Wake to Ephraim Winslow
Now that was a true art film experience, & one of the best I've ever seen. The director went with an aspect ratio of 1.19:1 instead of 2.39:1 that we usually see & used a gorgeous & surreal B&W palette of visuals that were downright hallucinogenic at times. Add to that the powerful ocean waves writhing & crashing around the lighthouse "rock" & I was transported back to a very different era with no modern comforts. I could almost feel the harsh unpredictable weather & the weight of the gritty filthy hard work that had to be done by newbie lighthouse keeper Ephraim Winslow (Rob Pattinson) taking his orders from old timer, Thomas Wake, (Willem Dafoe). We find out in the first 10 minutes that Ephraim signed on for this job not knowing what he was in for. The pair put in outstanding performances together that at times made me cringe, laugh out loud, shudder, & feel creeped out. There isn't much of a plot, what we mainly get is watching these 2 very different men descend into an alcohol fueled hellish madness while stuck on the rock over several weeks. The score by Mark Korven (The Witch), was spot on perfect alongside the foghorns, crashing waves, & high winds creating an eerie, chilling, & otherworldly feeling. This is so unique & different as a psychological horror fantasy film, it's definitely not your standard horror film.
I've said this before, & I'll say it again, I love the strange & weird & this definitely fit the bill.
"What! What! What! What! What! What! What! What!" Wake & Winslow to each other... (That was one of my favorite scenes)
Joker (2019)
Joaquin Phoenix for the win!
"I used to think my life was a tragedy, but now I realize..... it's a comedy"
WOW. Now that's what I call an agent of chaos. Best actor goes to Joaquin Phoenix for his incredible intense mind blowing performance as Arthur Fleck, AKA Joker. This is the origin story to beat all origin stories. I was thoroughly entranced for 2 hours watching his painful transition from a beaten down sad sack to the famous insane maniacal narcissist we all know & love. I will have to see this on the big screen again soon, it was a brilliantly laid out psychological character study that gave me a lot to think about when it comes to the DC world of the caped crusader's nemesis I've always known. This story has a major shift to how I've perceived the crazed, hapless, clownfaced criminal, since I first saw him portrayed by Jack Nicholson in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman, & of course, fairly different than the outstanding portrayal by Heath in TDK. Arthur just keeps having one bad day after another, so I felt sorry for him in this story as I never had before.
The score by Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir that was heavily powered by her dramatic cello was a perfect match to show how this story unfolds, & the classic Sinatra songs, "Send in the Clowns" & "That's Life" along with "Jimmy Durante's "Smile" were a natural choice for the soundtrack as well as several old rock songs like Cream's "White Room", The Guess Who's "Laughing", The Doors "People Are Strange", Pink Floyd's "Brain Damage", & The Bee Gees "I Started A Joke" (just to name a few) went so well with the character development.
If you're expecting a comic book super villain story similar to the previous versions of Joker on the big screen, you might be disappointed. However, go see this with an open mind & watch the goddamn genius that is Joaquin play Joker as he's never been played before & maybe you'll love it like I did.
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018)
The Nutcracker has it all & then some!
Loved it, every second of it. It's just sad to me to see so many poor reviews from critics. I would think they would have eaten this up. It's a truly scrumptious, beautifully made film & veritable feast for the eyes.
I've loved the Nutcracker story since I was a little girl & have seen the full ballet a few times as well as most every version made for TV & on film over several decades. This version is absolutely spectacular & the best as far as I'm concerned.
Keira Knightley & Helen Mirren were fantastic as Sugar Plum & Mother Ginger. Mackenzie Foy did a wonderful job as Clara, I've never seen her before & am looking forward to seeing her in her future endeavors. Jayden Fowora-Knight was impressive in his first real role as the "Nutcracker" named Phillip. I hope he gets the chance for more & better roles.
Lasse Hallström did a great job directing along with Joe Johnston.
The reimagined storyline by Ashleigh Powell is definitely different than any I've seen before & I really liked it.
& finally, James Newton Howard took the phenomenal score written for the Russian ballet, "The Nutcracker" by Tchaikovsky, & wove it into a beautiful score for this movie.
I say see it on the big screen if you can, it's just absolutely gorgeous & downright magical. I don't believe it'll be appreciated as much by small children, though, but older children should & definitely old kids like me.
Peppermint (2018)
Badassery at its finest, Jennifer Garner is back!!!
This right here is the Jennifer Garner I love! I know the fanboys didn't care for her Elektra, but I loved her, & I loved her as Sydney Bristow in Alias way back during its original 5 season run. I do like her in other genres like 13 Going on 30, Dallas Buyers Club, Juno, & The Kingdom, but IMO she needs to do more action thrillers, she has that rare ability to show so much badassery without feeling contrived. She was almost like a female Punisher in this, she even portrayed her character as good as Keanu portrayed John Wick. I know a lot of guys will not agree with me at all about that as I've seen a lot of low ratings & most of the critics were not impressed, so maybe you just gotta be a mom to relate to her character of Riley North & feel her pain & angst, & wanting justice so badly she will go through sheer hell to make it happen.
I would love to see a series developed from her character for future stories, I don't think a franchise or sequels would ever happen, but if this little film can make enough at the box office, it should be considered as a 10 episode season for Netflix or Amazon Prime following her character as she continues on her path of saving the helpless from the villains of the big city. With the right writer, it would make a really good series.
Ready Player One (2018)
Ready Player, GO!!!
The extravagant framework created by Spielberg gave me chills, thrills, laughs, tears, & so much nostalgia I almost drowned in it. You should immerse yourself in this glorious visual treat on the biggest screen available, the way it was meant to be experienced. The CGI FX are on such a grand scale, they are palpable. I truly wish I could have surrounded myself in it wearing the VR headgear they use in the story. This is completely & totally a film made for me, as I've always said I would live inside a movie or television, if it was possible. I even caught all the obvious Easter Eggs, & a lot of the more easily missable ones, although I never played a few of the games shown in it, I still recognized the ones I did see. I know there are many I missed though as they sometimes whizz by at lightning speed.
It was a thoroughly engaging, & very fun trip watching all the pop culture woven into this thrill ride of a story that reminded me a bit of Charlie & the Chocolate Factory with a villain thrown in to wreak havoc with our hero, Wade Watts AKA Parzival & his merry band of OASIS dwelling geeks. I loved the soundtrack which was on pointe, & major kudos for the characters' avatar designs. Well done! I'll definitely be seeing this multiple times during its theatrical run & it'll be a must own for me.
Goodbye Christopher Robin (2017)
Don't Say Goodbye... Say Hello to a poignant story well worth a watch or two...
I could call this a movie to end all movies, making a play on the old phrase coined by H. G. Wells about WWI, the "War to End All Wars". What a genius piece of work this film is, I loved it even though I felt like an emotional wreck at the end. I grew up adoring Disney's adaptation of Winnie the Pooh & only several years ago did I learn that A. A. Milne's only child was the inspiration for his beloved children's books. However, this film carries enough trauma, sadness, & loss in it to last a lifetime. Instead of being a sweet story as I assumed, it was heartbreaking to watch the 6 to 8 year old real life Christopher Robin (called Billy Moon by his family) deal with things even the strongest adults wouldn't be able to handle. His proper British & very privileged parents not only didn't know how to show their love, but thrust him into the crazed world of publicity with the adoration of fans worldwide wreaking havoc with his childhood & ultimately causing him to abhor that which made them rich and famous.
I am sorry now that I didn't see this in a theater during its short runtime as the cinematography was breathtaking showing us the richness of the world that the Milnes lived in during the first half of the 20th century. The directing, writing, editing, sound, & acting were all top notch. Firstly, Domhnall Gleeson is a talent to behold. I never see him as any other character I have seen him portray previously over many years, like I do with some actors. He has the supreme ability to become any character & embody that persona perfectly, like a chameleon. In this case, he shows us the sad tragic figure of the famous author that was never shown in public. Margot Robbie portrayed his wife & Billy Moon's mum exactly the way I imagine she was. Kelly McDonald who I feel is under appreciated by critics portrays Billy Moon's nanny, Olive, (called Nou by Billy), with a simple but strong love for the boy that makes us feel he should have been her son. Alex Lawther did well as the 18+ year old Christopher Robin in the few scenes he had showing a nice range of emotions, & appears to have a nice career ahead of him in acting. & last but definitely not least, Will Tilston played the younger version of Christopher Robin so well, he had me in tears quickly & easily whenever he was sad, upset, or even angry, then smiling when he was happy or excited. That's an actor right there. Hopefully we will see him again soon.
One more thing I would like to add is the beautiful score by Carter Burwell was outstanding with its emotional tracks setting up each scene & driving the movie along at the right pace.
A Quiet Place (2018)
Quiet Terror, what more could you want???
I don't believe I've ever felt so much emotion with terror while watching a horror thriller in my life unless I count Jaws. I still can't go into the water at the beach to this day after seeing that incredible film way back in 1975.
Now back to this brilliant film that showcases the directing talent of John Krasinsky who also shares a co-writing credit & stars in it along with his wife in real life, Emily Blunt, who plays his character's wife in the movie. It's a swift punch to the gut from the get go & from then on, I was submerged into a post apocalyptic nightmare on a farm, (& of course, the woods), that literally scared the daylights out of me for the rest of the movie. The high tension woven throughout the story was so extremely intense, I actually covered my eyes & ears at times, even with it being a relatively quiet film. Just goes to show that you don't have to use a deafening soundtrack to make a successful scary movie..
Justice League (2017)
Justice League brings it home!!!
Don't fret about Rotten Tomatoes grossly bad scoring system or believe the bad reviews from the critics that panned it. They have done a grave InJustice (yes, I meant to write that) to this film. It's fun, funny where it should be, has lots of great action & battle scenes, & gives us 3 great new additions to the league, The Flash, Aquaman, & Cyborg. Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, & Ray Fisher are fantastic as the newcomers to the team. I loved it, it's way better than Batman V Superman, & I can't wait to see it again tomorrow. I know I'll be seeing it multiple times at the theater as well as buying the Blu Ray when it's released. My biggest complaint is the Runtime is too short at 110 minutes, with 10 minutes of credits. I think the movie would be better had they left in about 15 to 20 minutes of obviously deleted scenes. It also has 2 excellent end credit scenes, the 2nd one is at the very end, so make sure & stay for that one.
Gifted (2017)
Gifted is a REAL gift!
I loved every second of this truly "gifted" indie film. Mckenna Grace is going to be a star! She's a delight to watch in her brilliant performance as the 7 year old math prodigy, Mary Adler. Chris Evans, Octavia Spencer, & Jenny Slate give excellent performances as well in this highly emotional, well written & directed story. Oh yeah, I can't leave out her phenomenal pet cat, Fred, he's a real keeper! It's so far one of my favorite films of 2017.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)
PotC: Dead Men Tell No Tales was a great time!
Nothing wrong with this latest film in the PotC franchise. Johnny will always be a delight to watch as Captain Jack Sparrow, it will never get old in my opinion. & Brenton Thwaites is a thoroughly engaging up & coming actor, & not to leave out Kaya Scodelario who put in a fine performance as his genius love interest. Of course we got to see Geoffrey Rush again as the insane scurvy dog, Captain Barbossa. & this time around we got the eerie & creepily fun performance of the big bad Javier Bardem. & last, but not least, we get some fine cameos from a few characters that I really appreciated.
The Mummy (2017)
I really liked The Mummy!
Saw this with a friend on a nice free pass from Fandango & Best Buy. I thoroughly enjoyed it & would have paid to see it. I don't get the hate & the critics ripping it to shreds. It was fun, funny, action packed, & had some definite freaky, scary moments. No bad acting or storyline in my opinion, & Russell Crowe would have made it worth seeing just for his part alone! But aside from his character, I really thought Tom was really good in this & surprisingly very funny many times. I hope we do get to see more from the planned "Dark Universe" series from Universal.
Rough Night (2017)
Too bad, this could have been VERY funny, but just wasn't...
Was sadly very disappointed, I thought for sure this would be hilarious with Kate McKinnon & ScarJo, & let's not forget Ty Burrell, he always cracks me up. Sadly that did not happen with this movie. I only laughed maybe a handful of times through the whole movie, & more-so in the last 1/3 of the movie. The first 2/3 of the film was almost unbearable. The character of Alice made me want to hit her many times, there was nothing funny about her, she was a pathetic, needy, jealous control freak. Kate was the best she could be with the crappy script, & I can't say Scarlett or Zoë did anything wrong with their parts either. It just didn't deliver as a (good) dark comedy.
Jackie & Ryan (2014)
Loved this sweet film on Netflix.
How sad this sweet little film by Ami Canaan Mann was ignored by the public. It's on Netflix & I finally got to see it & really liked it. Ben & Katie were excellent together & I was pleasantly surprised by Ben's singing. The only thing I didn't like was I felt it was too short & a little more about their back stories could have been in it, plus the ending was too abrupt for my taste. But that's in editing & not the fault of the actors. If you like music & drama, you will really appreciate this film.
Wonder Woman (2017)
Wonder Woman is an absolute WONDER!
Wonder Woman is one of the best comic book superhero movies ever & I've seen them all over the past few decades. Gal Gadot showed her brilliant ability to be fierce, strong, & tough & at the same time, sweet, lovable, & kind. Chris Pine was excellent as her first & only love interest, Steve Trevor. One of the things that surprised me most was how thoroughly awesome & bad-ass Robin Wright was as Antiope. The rest of the cast were perfect for their roles & last but not least, Patty Jenkins proved without a doubt what a superb director she is. I can't wait to see what she will bring to the table next! I loved it so much that I know I will be seeing Wonder Woman multiple times at the theater during its hopefully very long run! Easy 10 out of 10!
The Ugly Truth (2009)
The Ugly Truth is FAR FROM UGLY!
I got to see this tonight as a sneak preview with a bunch of friends & we absolutely LOVED this movie! It's about time we get a great Rom Com without the characters having to tiptoe around talk about sex. I didn't mind the R rating one bit since it was one of the funniest movies I have seen all year. Gerry Butler & Katherine Heigl were a scream together! She is way funnier than I ever thought she would be. I thought she did an excellent job portraying the mildly anal retentive Abby who had an unrealistic idea of what her perfect man should be. It was great seeing Gerry be comedic finally after all the dramatic & action roles he has done. He needs to do more of these type movies, he really has a great sense of timing & his expressions really say it all. I will be seeing this again a few more times at the theater.
My Boy Jack (2007)
My Boy Jack should have been released in theaters
I wanted very badly to see this movie after hearing about it being released on TV in the UK last year. I am a big fan of Kipling's works as well as a fan of Daniel Radcliffe & was very impressed with the acting of David Haig, Kim Cattrall, & Dan Radcliffe. However, this was one of the most heartbreaking stories I have ever watched. I have not seen hardly any movies depicting WWI, I have mostly seen war movies about Viet Nam, Iraq, & a few of WWII. Watching how the battle of Loos in France was depicted in the movie just tore me apart. I also watched the interviews with the main actors in the DVD extras & understand more what David Haig was trying to show. How horrible & senseless war is & no amount of propaganda can change that. I highly recommend this movie to any that can take seeing the tragedy of war, it is an excellent film.
300 (2006)
300 Rocks!
Although I really liked Sin City, I wasn't sure if they would be able to pull off making a good movie from Frank Miller's graphic novel about the 300 Spartans which was based on history. I was pleasantly surprised at how much of it was historically accurate, although some dramatic license was taken to make it more exciting to watch. Like the love story with his Queen & her situation with trying to convince the counsel to send more troops to aid the King in battle. As well as the gigantic, grossly adorned Xerxes & the 20 foot tall elephants & other deformed monstrosities. However, since it was supposed to be the tale of the battle told by Dilios to the rest of the Spartans & Greek armies to inspire them to fight off the Persian army later on, it does make sense that he would have embellished & exaggerated the things he witnessed. This was an excellent movie, very well made, wonderfully entertaining & I hope everyone goes to see it & give it a chance. I have already seen it 3 times on the IMAX screen, which I highly recommend for the sound as well as the imagery & will probably see it again that way several more times.