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Café Society (2016)
A quirky 1930's showbiz dramedy think La La Land but in the 30's and not a musical.
Cafe Society is the first film with Woody Allen associated with it I've seen unless you count Antz and he is fantastic with the offbeat comedy and drama. It follows a young man named Bobby (Jessie Eisenberg) as he moves to Hollywood to get a job from his uncle (Steve Carell) who is a Hollywood producer and falls in love with Veronica "Vonnie" (Kristen Stewart) as he slowly gets more connections and rises to more importance. The film is funny and upbeat with an excellent 30's jazz filed soundtrack, great performances, and hilarious bits thrown in amongst a slightly boring and predictable but well directed and acted period piece comedy about showbiz. 8.5/10
The Lovely Bones (2009)
Would be great if Rated R and focused more on the suspenseful thriller rather than the fantasy.
The Lovely Bones is based on a novel of the same name which I haven't read about a girl in the 1970's (Saoirse Ronan) who gets killed by a seemingly harmless man (Stanley Tucci) after trying to escape him and goes to a purgatory- like world meeting a mysterious heaven girl and watching her family (Mark Whalberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, and Rose McIver) mourn her and trying to find a way to kill her killer. This film was directed by Peter Jackson director of both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies and he is excellent with the wonder and terror of the death world scenes and the suspenseful scenes with Stanley Tucci. The acting is also great Tucci is terrifying, Ronan is believable, Sarandan is funny, and Whalberg and Weisz do great with the drama. Overall it's a long and drawn out fantasy, drama, thriller with great performances, suspense, and family drama but on the flip side it has long periods of boredom, cheesy Christian imagery (and I'm a Christian), and it can get down right weird and morbid for a PG-13 movie. 6.5/10 focus on the suspense and drama, make it R Rated (which it comes close to being with Tucci's character), and cut down on the scenes with the mysterious heaven girl.
The Fundamentals of Caring (2016)
Hilarious and heartwarming and never leans to heavily to either side.
Ben Benjamin (Paul Rudd) plays a caretaker of Trevor (Craig Roberts) a teenager with Duschene Muscular Dystrophy (he can't move anything besides his hands and head) as they go on a road trip to see the world's largest pit, despite single mother Elsa's (Jennifer Ehle) warnings, picking up a quirky cast of characters including a rebellious girl who ran away from home named Dot (Selena Gomez) and Peaches (Megan Ferguson), a pregnant woman who's car broke down. The brilliantly comedic and dramatic banter between Rudd and Roberts is amazing and the supporting cast does a great job especially, and surprisingly, Selena Gomez. It's probably the best buddy road trip comedy since Dumb and Dumber though not as stupid and more realistic. 9.5/10 watch it on Netflix now.
Lady Bird (2017)
A story of family set in a Catholic school after a bombing.
I can't give Lady Bird a 10. The acting and script is excellent and I love the setting. The Catholic school is quirky and fun and the year 2002-2003 is a great year for the conversations they have about 9/11 and the war. But the film sometimes feels artificial and don't make me explain why I feel that way. It's also dream-like and fast moving when I feel it could have slowed down and gotten a less quirky tone. Overall the best parts are when the daughter and mom are talking and the scenes of Lady Bird hanging out with her theater friends it's breathtaking how well those scenes are portrayed. 9/10 has some slow moments that could have been trimmed and some short moments that could have been lengthened.
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
A weird and beautiful master work of art.
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) is a cluster of film genres that blend together so seamlessly in this tale of a retired superhero actor who writes, directs, and stars in a play to show the world that he isn't just that one guy in that kid movie as he deals with his substance abusing daughter, his ex wife, a brilliant but offensive method actor, his cast, and his own voice in his head telling him to f the world and make Birdman 4. It's a film that's so real in its stars performances but so dream-like in its cinematography and directing being edited to look like there was no edits in a beautiful "one-shot" filming style. The performances are literal perfection, the style has a lot of substance, and the ending is an ambiguous delight. 10/10
About Alex (2014)
A millennial "The Breakfast Club"
About Alex (2014) is about an estranged group of college friends that get together years after school when one of them attempts suicide and fails. It has a great ensemble cast of people that I've seen but weren't sure if they were great. Gladly every actor and actress was fantastic Aubrey Plaza (whom I love) is great, Maggie Grace, Jason Ritter, Nate Parker, and (my favorite) Max Greenfield among others. I love the characters and the banter along with the history of them that slowly unfolds through the drama and romance. About Alex is an amazing dramedy. Check it out on Netflix 9.5/10.
Ingrid Goes West (2017)
Not fun like I was hoping for but a good film nonetheless.
Though not much of a comedy, which I thought it would be, Ingrid Goes West is an interesting look into today's online society and one's mental illness of obsession and loneliness as she stalks a young hipster girl in L.A. It's not perfect and can be a bit slow and boring at times but it has a good story and characters and a great cast with a perfect portrayal by Aubrey Plaza of Parks and Recreation playing a crazy person that you can sympathise with. Not groundbreaking but still a great drama with some creepy and funny elements dropped in. 8/10
The Breakfast Club (1985)
The Best Film Ever Made
I love "The Breakfast Club" in fact, it's my favorite film of all time. It's simple on the outside but complex the further you go into it just like the characters. It's about 5 teens of 5 stereotypes Criminal, Jock, Nerd, Princess, and Basket-case, who are stuck in detention for a full 8 hours on a Saturday being watched over by an asshole of a principal and a janitor who knows them a little too well. So, why is it good? It sets up a simple story with simple characters who have hidden motives and character traits that unravel in an extremely enjoyable 95 minutes full of heart, and humor that isn't too long or too short. The acting from everyone is every bit as hilarious as it is heartbreaking while we learn about their character and backstory of abuse and crappy home lives outside of their school persona's. John Hughes' directing and writing is as quirky, awkward, dramatic, hormonal, angry, funny, and depressing as high school itself making you cheer for these characters whether they be playing their type or expressing their true selves with a moral of don't judge a book by it's cover. 10\10.
Game Night (2018)
A great dark comedy #don'texcludeGary
This is a great comedy thriller with a surprisingly unique style for a comedy making transitions where buildings, cars, and other objects look like game pieces. I loved Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, and Lamorne Morris and also thought Kylie Bunbury was decent. But the two funniest characters were a cop who is extremely awkward named Gary played by Jesse Plemons and the idiotic but kind best friend Ryan played by Billy Magnussen. Please watch this if you want a fun and hilarious R Rated comedy thriller with a great cast and a fun visual style. 9/10 because of some slow moments.
A Quiet Place (2018)
Intense and suspenseful creature feature.
Though there were two false jump scares (A raccoon popping out and hand coming out) this was an intense and suspenseful film with a creepy monster and expertly created sound design to make a monster movie that actually made my body tense. It also had a great family drama hidden in the scares. The short but intense runtime with a complex family drama and sci-fi/horror story plays with its gimmick perfectly and is extremely well acted, directed, and shot. Can't wait to see John Kracinski (?) direct more and the deaf girl who is actually deaf Millicent Simmons (I think it's Simmons) act more. 10/10 besides the two false jump scares it's perfect so I can look past that to give it a perfect score.
Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
A very enjoyable but forgettable time.
This film is expertly directed by star Kenneth Branagh who also plays the lead detective with a great quirky but cool style. With excellent shooting by a cinematographer who's name I don't know, so great job Jeff the Cinematographer. The rest of the cast can be great like Penelope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Leslie Odom Jr., and surprisingly Josh Gad who showed he wasn't just the guy from Pixels or Frozen. The rest of the cast however Michelle Pfeiffer, Johnny Depp, Judi Dench, Daisy Ridley, etc. were just mediocre. Overall it was well made and really entertaining but some of the performances were lackluster and the film had some pacing issues.
7.5/10
The Voices (2014)
More dark and creepy than I expected but I loved it anyway.
The Voices is an expertly crafted film with a powerhouse performance by Ryan Reynolds and a great balance between good and evil, depression and happiness, and comedy and thriller. I love when he takes the pills for the first time and sees things the way they really are even though he and the audience only saw the ideal picture keeping the gore to a minimum until we see what other people see. And how the happy moments for the character actually seem happy and the depressing moments are just sad. Please watch this film for a morbidly funny, creative, and well acted time. But note that it's not for the people who can't take extreme depression and violence in their movies. 10/10