Hate Crime (2019) | Movie Review |

Hate crimes have been on the rise in today’s world. Sexual orientation hate crimes are the third most frequent hate crime in the United States, according to the FBI.  Director Steven Esteb and writer Jonah Tapper’s latest drama looks at the effects that a hate crime has on the victim, the perpetrator and their families. Hate Crime takes place after a young gay man is murdered and the challenges two sets of parents face thanks to the consequences of repression and toxic masculinity. The film stars John Schneider, Laura Cayouette, Amy Redford, Jordan Salloum, and Kevin Bernhardt.

Serious Subject Matter

Hate Crime is a well intentioned film because it covers a serious subject matter that has been on the rise for three consecutive years. Whenever films offer social commentary by having  something to say about toxic masculinity, it’s interesting to interpret the director’s message. Hate Crime tackles sexual repression and how closeted homosexual men are dangerous because they cannot accept who they truly are.

Raymond Brown (Jordan Salloum), a closeted gay man,  is sentenced to execution after murdering his boyfriend Kevin (Chasen Joseph Schneider), and on the night of his execution he tries to make amends with Kevin’s family.

Hate Crime/TriCoast Entertainment

In theory, the film has a great premise that should allow for moments of drama to clash with real world ideas as some sort of insight. There are moments where the film does this well, like when Tom Brown (Kevin Barnhardt), Raymond’s father, has to come to terms with himself after realizing he has raised a gay son and a murderer. Many parents have a hard time adjusting when finding out their child is homosexual and the film does a good job at capturing the strain this puts on the relationship between Raymond’s parents.

Hate Crime/TriCoast Entertainment/

Raymond’s mother, Ginny Brown (Amy Redford), is taking the situation hard, but she hasn’t had thoughts of suicide like her husband. Her mothering nature is present and the film does a good job at portraying that side of her. The Browns are distraught because of their son’s actions, but the victim’s family are having a harder time.

Hate Crime/TriCoast Entertainment/

John (John Schneider) and Marie Demarco (Laura Cayouette) are still grieving for the death of their son Kevin. Before Raymond is executed, he makes amends with John and tells him that he loved his son. This is what finally gives John some closure.

Beyond That

If you’re into slow movies then Hate Crime might be the right movie for you, but the snail’s pace of the film makes it hard to sit through. In the first 50 minutes of the film nothing happens. Hate Crime opens with Raymond killing Kevin; the next 50 minutes are characters  who are just talking without any memorable dialogue. On top of that the movie lacks personality and it feels stiff. John Schneider and Laura Cayouette had solid chemistry whenever they were on-screen together, but everyone else felt dead inside.

Hate Crime/TriCoast Entertainment

Visually, the shot compositions are as bland as the script. The cinematography feels almost amateurish. There was a punch thrown early on and the sound effect’s dubbing is off which couldn’t be more distracting to watch.

Final Thoughts

Hate Crime is a forgettable film. The film’s execution isn’t on par with the gravity of the issue the film tries to tackle. Nothing of note happens for most of the movie and some of the acting is melodramatic to the point where it felt like there was a lack of direction. John Schneider and Laura Cayouette were a great pairing and did their part to bring some legitimacy to the script.  Kevin Bernhardt and Amy Redford just didn’t do it for me. The pair lacked the chemistry of their counterparts, which made most of their scenes come off as trying too hard. Writing wise, the dialogue could’ve been stronger and the storytelling elements could’ve been sequenced differently to at least attempt to make the film feel fresh. Based on such a serious subject, Hate Crime untimely fails due to its botched execution.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Hate Crime was released onto digital platforms (Amazon, InDemand, DIRECTV, FlixFling, FANDANGO, Hoopla, Vimeo on Demand, Vudu, AT&T, and Sling/Dish) on September 24, 2019. 

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I Used to be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story (2019) | Movie Review |

Like anything, fandom can be a good thing when used in moderation. Derived from the word fanatic, humans can be fans of something without ever crossing the line into an obsession. As a culture, when it comes to the newest boy band, the act of being a Stan or fangirling can disrupt personal relationships, work life and other aspects of living a healthy lifestyle. Director Jessica Leski’s latest film, I Used to be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story delves into the lives of  four women across three generations and the ramifications their fangirling has had on their lives over the course of three years.

The Lives of Four Fangirls

The documentary follows four women from three generations over a span of three years as they detail the ups and downs of being fangirls of different boy bands. The women have different ethnic backgrounds and Leski does a good job at documenting how it influences relationships with their friends and family.

The youngest fangirl of the four is 16 year-old Elif from New York. When we’re introduced to Elif, she’s a high schooler from Long Island who is obsessed with One Direction, The band is her life and sh was in a viral video crying over the band.  Elif thinks that no one can be as perfect as One D and she’s had dreams of playing tag with the band. Her parents are from Turkey and they do not understand their daughters’ obsession with the band and want her to focus more on school; however to Elif, One Direction is life.

When it comes to 1990s nostalgia, the Backstreet Boys fangirl is 25 year-old Sadia of San Francisco. Sadia started out as a fan of the Spice Girls, then transitioned to the Backstreet Boys as a preteen. During the infancy of the internet, her fandom of the group made her create a popular newsletter for other Backstreet Boys fans. The Backstreet Pride newsletter allowed fans to stay up to date on the happening of the boyband and prepared Sadia for her future career as a writer. Who knew a teenage crush on Nick Carter would spark a career.

Traveling across the pond to the land Down Under is where the last two fangirls reside. Dara, 33, is an enthusiast for the British boy band Take That. The blonde haired woman’s life goal is to be on stage with Gary Barlow, who is her favorite member of the band. The veteran of the documentary is 64 year-old Susan, who is a fangirl of the first boy band the Beatles. Susan also lives in Australia and was infatuated with Paul McCartney to the point that she would practice his signature. Susan’s fandom has not escaped her because she’s collected photos, frame autographs and newspapers for over forty years.

What Truly Makes A Boy Band?

Understanding the basics of a boy band is key in Leski’s documentary. Some argue of The Beatles count as the original boy band, but Dara has her own “Boy Band theory” that is educational and informative. Basically, a boy band is usually aged between 17 – 21 with 3 – 5 members. Their songs are themed around sex (implied in a PG way), love, fun. heartbreaking and longing for a good time.

Distinct personalities are also key. Dara explains that the personalities that makeup a successful boy band are mysterious, cute, an older brother (sensible), the sexy one,  and forgotten one. One member usually plays an instrument at radio shows. Coloring and styling are also important because boy bands have to match. The band’s lifespan is an average of five years and they usually do not take themselves too seriously. To keep their boyish appearance they usually do no have beards, but at times facial hair like stubble is okay.

Three Years Later

The documentary follows its subjects over the course of three years and there is a lot of change the fangirls go through over that time. Elif has grown the most, figuratively and literally. The youngest of the fangirls has graduated high school and is on her way to college, but her fandom in One Direction has wandered off. She makes music now and says that she loves jazz music. Her parents do not see her vision and do not support her on her musical endeavors, but the one time Directioner is determined to prove them wrong.

Sadia, who has closeted her Backstreet Boys fandom during her formative years, has decided to let it be known that she’s a fangirl. She reads fanfiction about the group and the her newsletter that once had over 2,000 subscribers. Her parents are more supportive of her fandom than Elif’s were. Like Elif, her parents are also immigrants, they’re from India, so the documentary delves into the effects of being a brown girl who stans an American boyband. Over the years, Sadia goes to conventions and shows where the band performs and she even got to take a picture with Nick Carter. Sadia has a breakthrough while attending a Backstreet Boys cruise and notices how all the other women are acting and realizes that this isn’t healthy.

Of the fangirls who were followed, Dara is the one who has came to terms with a lot of things in her life. Her mother didn’t take her to a Take That show in the Outback when she was a kid and she resented her for it. Later. her mom took her to her first show and she forgave her. Dara is the only fangirl in the documentary that wanted to be a member of the boy band that she obsesses over. As a lesbian, Dara wanted to be Gary Barlow.  Her blonde hair is styled in a similar manner as the band member. Like Barlow, Dara wanted the fame and all the girls screaming at her in admiration. Now that her sexuality is outed, she’s outed her fandom and she’s a lot happier for it. She has a customized license plate on her Mini Cooper so the world knows who she’s riding with.

As the elder stateswoman of the fangirls, Susan found a way to move on from the Beatles. She’s still a fan, but she came to grips that her and John Lennon were not meant to be together. Her introspection as the one who’s been through what the other girls are going through is insightful. Susan states that there was some resentment when she was younger when the Beatles would date other women, but as she got older she realized that’s what the game was. She is the only subject in the documentary that has children of her own. She isn’t with their father anymore but she says the Beatles stuck with her through all the ups and downs in her life.

Final Thoughts

I Used to be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story is an informative documentary on how being a fan of something can weigh on someone’s life. Jessica Leski’s documentary does an excellent job at covering multiple angles of fangirls from various paths of lives and backgrounds. This allows for an insightful viewing experience that makes the audience think about what the fangirls we see screaming on television might be going through. How thin is the line between fandom and obsession? The women followed in this documentary all have one thing in common, their families didn’t “get it” or understand it which effected their relationships. These fangirls came to realizations of their fandom which in a way helped them obtain a sense of normalcy.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

 

I Used to be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story was released onto digital platforms (Amazon, iTunes, DirecTV, AT&T, FlixFing, InDemand, Vudu, FANDANGO, Sling/Dish) on September 17, 2019. 

Like. Share. Discuss: @PeliculasCosas

 

Spoiler Free: It Chapter Two (2019) | Movie Review |

What happens in Derry stays in Derry until eerie things start popping off 27 years later. It Chapter Two is the sequel to the 2017 hit supernatural horror It, which is based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. Director Andy Muschietti returns, but this time the Losers Clubs are adults who return to Derry to take out the mystical being known as Pennywise once and for all. Spoiler FREE review after the trailer.

A Score and Seven Years Later

Set 27 years after the events of the first film, Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) has risen from hibernation to torment the citizens of Derry, Maine once again. After mysterious events happen in his small town, Derry lifer Mike Hanlon (Isaiah Mustafa) gets his old club together to take on Pennywise. Now adults in their mid-40s, Bill Denbrough (James McAvoy), Beverly Marsh (Jessica Chastain), Richie Tozier (Bill Hader), Eddie Kaspbrak (James Ransone), Ben Hanscom (Jay Ryan), and Stanley Uris (Andy Bean) have all moved on past the events that would’ve scared a normal child for life.

IMDB/It Chapter Two

The adult versions of the kids from the first film were perfectly cast in the sequel.  Pictured above and below are the Losers Club as adults and children, respectively. Jaeden Martell, Finn Wolfhard, Jack Dylan Grazer, Sophia Lillis, Jeremy Ray Taylor Chosen Jacobs, and Wyatt Oleff reprise their roles from the first film. The film utilizes flashbacks and the younger actors had to be digitally deaged to match their looks from the first film; this is sometimes noticeable in the film.

IMDB/It Chapter One

It was good to see James McAvoy and Jessica Chastain in the same film again but this time their talent wasn’t being wasted. At times McAvoy’s Scottish accent would slip out and it makes you wonder when did Bill Denbrough start speaking with an accent. McAvoy did a tremendous job at continuing the stutter that Martell displayed, especially during high stress situations. For her part, Chastain brought her A-game as Beverly Marsh. When asked who she wanted to play the adult version of her character, Sophia Lillis named Chastain who did not disappoint. There is a scene shown in the trailer where Marsh is at her childhood home and there’s a mischievous elderly lady and it’s one of the best scenes in the film.

Isaiah Mustafa, who is best known for being the Old Spice Guy, had the most surprising performance as Mike Hanlon. The childhood version of Mike Hanlon (Chosen Jacobs) may have had the roughest childhood compared to the others in the Losers Club and since he never left Derry, he’s the only one who did not forget about what happened, so he has to find various ways to cope with his past.

As far as looks go, Eddie Kaspbrak probably looks the closest to his childhood counterpart. Jack Dylan Grazer and James Ransone might be related, that’s how good the casting is. On another note, Jack Dylan Grazer might be the only child actor this year to star in two movies and have two completely different adults portray the adult version of him.

IMDB/It Chapter Two

When the Losers Club comes back together after over a quarter century of being apart, it feels like old friends are having a good time. There’s an eerily shot scene at a Chinese restaurant where the squad meets up and  you can tell the effects team had fun creating it.

You’ll Float Too

The opening scene in this movie is graphic and apparently comes straight out of the book. In a way, this scene sets the tone of the film and lets the audience know they’re going to watch graphic content for the next 2 hours and 49 minutes. Throughout the film the special effects are amazing to watch, but they’re not as impactful as they were in the first film. The effects team isn’t at fault for this, the onus is on the films writing. Where the first It floats, thanks to its superb writing and character development, its sequel sinks.

IMDB/It Chapter Two

The biggest problem with this film is that bigger doesn’t mean better. The film is nearly 30 minutes longer than the first movie, but it never feels like its time extension is justified. There was robust and extremely detailed set pieces, that included a funhouse at carnival, but the story structure was as tame as riding a ferris wheel.

IMDB/It Chapter Two

The storytelling in a long film is extremely important, especially if the characters are going to split up on their own personal journey, then it’s important that you write a story for each character that doesn’t feel like a copy and paste of the other characters. It Chapter Two doesn’t do enough to differentiate between the events in its second act, which at times makes it a disappointment when compared to It Chapter One.

IMDB/It Chapter Two

Unfortunately, Chapter Two does fall victim to trying to out horror itself by crowbarring in too many jump cuts and jump scares, which lose their effectiveness as the movie progresses. The movie never settles on what it’s trying to do, so it feels unorganized and the pacing isn’t consistent. Even if it’s based on a 1400 page book, the film does not do enough to make its runtime justified.

The Bills Paid Their Dues

Bill Hader and Bill Skarsgård are by far the two standouts of Chapter Two. Skarsgård picks up right where he left off from the previous movie. A menacing character such as Pennywise, has to express a lot of emotions via facial expression. Skarsgård has an expressive face and can convey various emotions just by his eyes. He’s given more time to display his antics in this movie than part one.

IMDB/It Chapter Two

What makes Pennywise such an engaging character is that he knows when to be unassuming to lure his prey and when to flip the script and become the killer clown that he truly is. As a supernatural being, he has had some gruesome transformations throughout the film. As a clown, he has many hilarious moments in the movie. The only character who is funnier than ol’ Pennywise is Richie Tozier.

IMDB/It Chapter Two

The wise-cracking Richie Toliver was a highlight in It. Finn Wolfhard of Stranger Things fame portrayed the teenage version of the character. He was the smartmouth of the group and his character has developed a lot in the nearly three decades after the events of the first film. As an adult, Richie Toliver is played by comedic actor Bill Hader. His performance was a breakthrough amongst the now adult Losers Club members.

IMDB/It Chapter Two

Hader’s comedic timing shines through the darkness and he knows when to insert jokes at the right times. Personality wise, Hader was the closest to his child actor from Chapter One. Richie’s relationship with Eddie rivals other comedic duos such as Cheech and Chong or Beavis and Butthead. The back and forths between the pair picked right back up where they left off in the first film.

IMDB/It Chapter Two

It’s not all jokes though. When Hader needed to bring the drama, he knocked it out of the park. Cannot rule out the possibility of Hader getting a nomination for Best Supporting Actor during the awards season.

Final Thoughts

With a runtime that is too long, It Chapter Two does have some solid performances and completes the best duology of one of Stephen King’s most well-known novels. If New Line Cinema and Warner Brothers were smart then they would make a prequel with Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise. The dancing clown has been around for hundreds of years and there is an opportunity to watch him terrorize the citizens of Derry from centuries ago. As a supernatural horror, Chapter Two has some memorable set pieces and creative effects, but could’ve used some better writing in its screenplay. Director Andy Muschietti knows his way behind the camera, but overall this one didn’t live up to his predecessor. There are great performances by its lead actress and actors, that will make you wish the writing matched their performances. This story started with Georgie being pulled into the sewer after chasing a boat, and ended with a story that capsizes in comparison to its beginnings.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

It Chapter Two was released in theaters September 6, 2019. 

Like. Share. Discuss: @PeliculasCosas

The Farewell (2019) | Movie Review |

The difference between eastern and western culture is larger than the distance between the United States and China. No matter their differences, wanting the best for your family is a universal language that all cultures can understand. Based on an actual lie, writer and director Lulu Wang’s latest film, The Farewell brings both cultures together in one of the best drama-comedies of the year. Awkwafina stars as a struggling New York artist who travels back to China to see her ailing grandmother, but her grandmother isn’t aware that she is sick. Spoilers after the trailer.

A Story Worth Telling

Loosely based on writer and director Lulu Wang’s life experiences, The Farewell is a film that examines the way that we think about being the bearer of bad news. Billi Wang (Awkwafina) is an inspiring Chinese-American writer who has a close relationship with her grandmother Nai Nai (Zhao Shuzhen), and finds out from her parents, Haiyan (Tzi Ma) and Jian (Diana Lin) that her grandmother has terminal lung cancer. In Chinese culture when someone has a terminal illness you do not tell them because the stress and worrying will kill them before the illness does.

The immigrant family comes to terms with the cultural differences between America and China as they know that in America it wouldn’t be as easy, ethical or legal to hide the illness from Nai Nai. The Wangs fly back to China under the guise of a wedding for Billi’s cousin Hao Hao (Chen Han). Billi’s parents do not want her to come to China because she’ll be the one family member that ends up telling Nai Nai that she has terminal lung cancer.

IMDB/The Farewell

It’s interesting to see the lengths the family will go through to not tell Nai Nai that she’s sick. They faked a whole wedding just for the family to gather in one place. The dynamic between the family members who’ve moved to America and the ones that have stayed in Japan or China creates a combustible element as they argue about the differences of opinion on the issue. The side of the family that lives in China is pro not telling her, per tradition and the American side of the family are pro telling her.

The film isn’t bleak at all. There are genuinely hilarious moments as the family interacts with each other. Nai Nai is a witty character for her advanced age. The family members all have their roles within the film but they never feel like tropes or character types. Knowing that Nai Nai did the same thing when her husband was sick, makes you realize that this is her culture and we do not have the right to judge.

A Breakout Hit

As far as direction goes, this is one of the best shot films of the year. The whole film is composed of well made shots that if you were to pause the film you could spot all types of details in the background. Throughout the film, the colors blue, green and pink are present, which could add to a hidden subtext in the film. Knowing the psychology of color does leave things open for interpretation but blue is the color of peace, green is the color of growth, and pink is the color of unconditional love. This may mean that Nai Nai is at peace as her family grows and loves her unconditionally.

Stories like these do not get told often on the big screen, which is why it’s refreshing to see a story told this way. While making the film, Lulu was told by American and Chinese producers that she needed a white lead for the film to be financed; however a film about an Asian family DOES NOT need any whitewashing to be successful which The Farewell proves.

Rotten Tomatoes/The Farewell

After being called out for using a “blaccent” in 2018’s hit Crazy Rich Asians, Awkwafina has a breakout performance in The Farewell. She doesn’t use a blaccent in the film and comes off as genuine, sincere and just being herself. Her relationship with Nai Nai felt authentic and she played the part of someone trying to balance clashing cultures well. This continues the streak of comedic actors elevating their performances when it comes to acting in a drama.

Final Thoughts

Lulu Wang’s second feature film is a beautifully shot, well written story and I’m looking forward to the next project that she is working on. With awards season approaching, expect The Farewell among the Best Picture nominees and Best Director. The film is only 98 minutes long, but there isn’t a moment that feels as if it’s spinning its wheels. Awkwafina’s performance should lead to her having more leading roles in the near future and it shows that she can be more than a goofy side character. The big takeaway from the film is that we shouldn’t judge other customs and cultures because they’re doing what’s best for their family members. The ending of the film shows the real Nai Nai and she’s alive six years after the events of the film take place, and that’s a true happy ending.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

The Farewell was released in theaters nationwide on July 12, 2019. 

Like. Share. Discuss: @PeliculasCosas

Luce (2019) | Movie Review |

“The truth has many faces,” is the tagline for director Julius Onah’s latest drama, Luce. The psychological thriller follows a gifted student named Luce who has the weight of the world on his shoulders as he tries to live up to everyone’s expectations of him. The film stars Kelvin Harrison Jr., Octavia Spencer, Naomi Watts and Tim Roth. Spoilers after the trailer.

Four Sides of a Story

Right after the opening credits, this film doesn’t waste any time establishing its main characters and creating an uncomfortable tone that’ll be found throughout its runtime. Luce Edgar (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) was adopted at 7 years-old from war-torn Eritrea by  Amy (Naomi Watts) and Peter Edgar (Tim Roth).

Luce has rehabilitated from all the anger and violence that he witnessed while living in Eritrea and now he’s an outstanding high school student, well-liked by everyone and the valedictorian of his class. He attends a majority white school and the film does a fantastic job at developing his character without it being exposition dump.

Tokenism is an underlying message early on in the film because Luce is presented as “one of the good ones.” It was not until after Luce’s parents met his teacher, Ms. Harriet Wilson, that the word tokenism was mentioned in the film. She’s worried about Luce because of a paper that he wrote which had underlying themes of domestic terrorism; however the paper, as assigned, was written in the voice of Frantz Fanon.

Luce/Neon

Being a black woman in a white space she wants what’s best for Luce because she recognizes his potential and wants him to succeed, which is something that is relatable for black educators in America. Depending on how you feel about the situation, Ms. Wilson violates Luce’s privacy, or ensures school safety by searching Luce’s locker and alerting his parents of the contents behind his back. This is pulled off well-enough that the viewer has to decide whose side they are on from the onset.

Onah’s direction and storytelling goes to the next level when examining the relationship between Amy and Peter Edgar, and how adopting Luce has changed their lives. There aren’t many movies that reach the big screen that tackle the issues face when black children are adopted by white parents and attend white spaces in modern day America. Watching how Peter and Amy view their son versus what each wanted out of a child being opposite was intriguing to watch.

Luce/Neon

Peter loves his son but if he had to do it all over again he would’ve wanted it to be easier or raised his own biological child. Whereas Amy loves Luce to death, and would not change anything because she’s worked so hard to get him to where he is. At first she seemed as if she was going the route of stereotypical movie mom, who is too naive to do what is best for her child, which usually ends in her demise, but refreshingly, Onah did not write her character that way.

What makes these characters work is that you can understand where each one is coming from and their views on the situation. Peter and Amy may have had a disagreement about what they thought they were getting into after adopting Luce but at the end of the day they loved him as if he were their own flesh and blood. When Ms. Wilson tries to drive a wedge between the family, the Edgars remain a unit and do not let her tactics phase them. This is also helped by the fact that Luce is charming and manipulative enough where it is tough to second guess his motives.

Luce/Neon

Harrison’s performance as Luce was among the best performances of the year. The character is written so well that it’s hard for the audience to know if he is every bit of danger that Ms. Wilson says he is or does he live up to the expectations of his peers and family. You can see the nuances of the inner struggle throughout Harrison’s performance and the film’s third act is where things come to a satisfying close.

Final Thoughts

Luce is a psychological thriller that delivers on its “truth has many faces,” tagline in an uncomfortable, yet thought provoking way. It’s a powerful film that makes its viewers question whose side they agree with. It’s a film that makes viewers understand how societal pressures affect decision making from various vantage points that aren’t often represented in film. The fact that the screenplay for Luce was developed during President Obama’s presidency and is still topical nearly four years later is nothing to scoff at. Onah effortlessly weaves a study into how race, class and identity affect us without making the film feel preachy.

Luce/Neon

Performance wise, Luce is filled with superb performances throughout thanks to its veteran cast, including Octavia Spencer, Tim Roth and Naomi Harris, while Kelvin Harrison Jr. has a breakout performance as the titular character. During awards season, his performance should come up when it’s time to announce the nominees for Best Actor.  Luce is an insightful and engaging look into an often overlooked part of America, but if it’s playing near you then I highly recommend checking this one out.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Luce was released in theaters August 2, 2019. 

Like. Share. Discuss: @PeliculasCosas

Does Popeyes’ chicken sandwich live up to the hype? Better than Chick-Fil-A? | Food Review |

It was all good a couple of weeks ago, but that all changed on August 12, 2019. That’s the day Popeyes’ Louisiana Kitchen released their now viral chicken sandwich at restaurants nationwide. Over the past two weeks the internet has been buzzing and debating if Popeyes wears the crown as the true King of the Chicken Sandwich. During its first 11 days, the buzz created an advertising value worth $23.25 million

$23.25 million: Equivalent ad value in media mentions for “Popeye’s Chicken Sandwich” in first 11 days from Digital, Newsprint, Radio, TV and Social, according to @apexmarketing. pic.twitter.com/cXhfrtDnqY

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) August 22, 2019

At the end of the day, this is just a chicken sandwich, but the demand is so high that Popeyes’ employees are falling into grease and people are fighting service workers at the drive-thru window.  Popeyes’ newest concoction is causing an epidemic that might as well be the new Bird Flu. Each and every day we are getting closer to making  The Boondocks a reality.I tried Popeyes’ Spicy and Crispy chicken sandwiches to see if the hype was true and how they measure up to the competition.

Crispy vs. Spicy

Patrons have the choice of Crispy or Spicy when biting into one of Popeyes’ chicken sandwiches. There isn’t much difference between the two sandwiches outside of the sauces they are topped with, as Popeyes’ website describes them as:

Buttermilk battered chicken fillet, crisp barrel-cured pickles, your choice of spicy Cajun spread or mayo, on a buttery toasted brioche bun.

Another thing of note, both sandwiches are packed in an aluminum foil pouch, which keeps them warm and toasty before your first bite.

Popeyes’ chicken sandwiches come in an aluminum package for maximum warmth.

For each first bite, I tried the sandwiches as they came without any type of modifications. Time to take a  look at what Louisiana’s most well-known kitchen has cooked up for us.

A Little Crunch Goes a Long Way

First up is Popeyes’ Crispy chicken sandwich and if you’re a mayonnaise lover then this is the sandwich for you. Personally, this has far too much mayo for me, but this is a hearty chicken sandwich. The chicken breast is so plump that it hangs off the brioche buns. The pickles are bound to fall off just like the mayo that’s dripping off of the sides.

 

With the first bite, I tried the sandwich as is, and the results are mixed. The best part of the sandwich is the buttermilk breading that Popeyes’ uses. The chicken is as crispy as its namesake and the breading has Popeyes’ trademark flavor, but their chicken fillet tastes better on a sandwich than their regular legs and wings.

The pickles do not have a distinct flavor compared to their competitors. They taste like somebody just cut up some cucumbers and put a couple drops of vinegar on them and just called it a day. They taste closer to “barrel-placebo” than “barrel-cured”.

Had to hook it up after the first bite by trying it with Popeyes’ Sweet Heat and Blackened Ranch sauces. This is where things picked up because each added more flavor and paired better with the chicken than Popeyes’ mayonnaise did. Overall, the Crispy chicken sandwich was enjoyable but I don’t think I would eat this one again.

Time to Spice Things Up

Disclaimer: I love spicy food.

Unlike most fast food restaurants, Popeyes’ Spicy chicken sandwich only differs from its Crispy counterpart because of the cajun spread that’s used to make it spicy. Most fast food restaurants use a chicken breast that’s seasoned in various spices to create a spicy flavor. Since Popeyes already uses spices for its chicken if you’re someone (like me) that does not think their chicken has a kick to it, then you better hope that their cajun spread does. This is what it looks like out of the wrapper:

Again the chicken is hearty. The pickles poke out the bun and you can see the glow from the orange cajun spread. You can see the spices used to create the zesty cajun spread and the spread does have a welcoming flavor, but it needs more heat.

Look at the saaawwwwsse

For all the foodies out there, if you have to choose between the two sandwiches then Spicy is the one that tastes unique and not something that you can get from anywhere. Again, the pickles could’ve been better or tasted more pickle-y, but I highly recommend the Spicy chicken sandwich.

Pickles needs some work

I do wish that the breading had more of a spice to it because that’s the biggest thing that is holding this sandwich back. Like the Crispy sandwich above, the Spicy pairs better with other sauces that Popeyes’ offers. If you like heat then ask for a pack of Sweet Heat dipping sauce and you will not be disappointed.

Better Than Chick-Fil-A?

When it comes to this chicken sandwich debate, some say that it’s hard to eat at Chick-Fil-A because of their homophobic ties; while others say Popeyes’ ill-fated ad campaigns have been questionable and obnoxious at times.  The biggest positive from the  nationwide rollout is that social media has given Popeyes free advertising. It’s to the point where people have been saying that Chick-Fil-A is so shook, that they might have to open on Sundays to compete. This was highlighted by the fact that Chick-Fil-A was going through it on Twitter and Popeyes had to check up on them:

… y’all good? https://t.co/lPaTFXfnyP

— Popeyes Chicken (@PopeyesChicken) August 19, 2019

Others had their verdict on which chain had the superior chicken sandwich in a well thought out breakdown:

Personally, the edge goes to Chick-Fil-A. The Home of the Original Chicken Sandwich has a spicer chicken sandwich, better pickles and a better bun than Popeyes. Popeyes has infiltrated the market with a top 3 chicken sandwich but there is room for growth (add pepper jack cheese to the menu).  Is Popeyes’ new sandwich delicious? Yes, especially their spicy version. The breading at Popeyes is what makes their sandwich for me, and with a few modifications, Louisiana’s Famous Kitchen might be able to become the king.   But at the end of the day, Popeyes created a chicken sandwich that was perfectly made for Sundays.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Popeyes’ Chicken Sandwich is currently available in stores nationwide.

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Between the Darkness (Come, Said the Night) (2019) | Movie Review |

In the light, we can see the physical but sometimes the mythical and the spiritual appear from the darkness. Sometimes, it’s just our minds playing tricks on us, which causes us to double take and see things that aren’t really there. Add puberty and hormones to this mix and you get an interesting take on a coming-of-age tale. Writer and director Andres Rovira’s directorial feature debut Between the Darkness (Comes, Said the Night) deals with a teenage girl as she tries to vanquish a monster in the woods that has been haunting her. The coming-of-age horror thriller stars Nicole Moorea Sherman, Lew Temple, Danielle Harris, Tate Birchmore and Daniela Leon. Spoiler-free review after trailer.

A Natural View

For a small budget independent film, Between the Darkness has great cinematography and direction. Director Andres Rovira knows how to create interesting shots that leave a memorable impression on the audience.

His use  of wide shots and knowing when to peel back adds to the film’s horror aspect. Between the Darkness does focus more on its drama via the thriller aspects. The use of darker colors throughout is where things become more interesting.

Between the Darkness (Come, Said the Night)/DarkCoast

It’s easy to see why the film makes the most out of its budget, which is why the filmmaker and crew should be applauded. Pictured above is a shot where everything is paced to add a chilling effect.

The framing and spacing that Rovira uses adds rich detail to the film, in a way that adds to what’s happening narratively.  The shot below where Sprout Grady (Nicole Moorea Sherman) is in focus in the foreground and her father Roy (Lew Temple) is blurred in the background is a visual technique to foreshadow events later on in the film.

Between the Darkness (Come, Said the Night)/DarkCoast

Little things like that are subtle yet noticeable enough for any cinephile to pick up on. Rovira definitely knows his way behind the camera so it will be interesting to see future movies that he directs.

Lost in the Woods

Where the film excels visually, it takes a step back in other departments. Pacing wise, the movie moves too slow for its own good.  When things happen that’ll catch your attention there isn’t much happening in between that keeps you interested. If the film’s dialogue and story didn’t feel like a generic horror formula then it could’ve added a new layer to the movie.

Narratively, teenager Sprout Grady (Nicole Moorea Sherman) and her brother Percy (Tate Birchmore) live with their father Roy (Lew Temple) in a secluded area, so they’re not indoctrinated by society. Sprout has been seeing a Gorgon (Christine Andelfinger) in the woods, but no one believes her.

Between the Darkness (Come, Said the Night)/DarkCoast

The set-up is interesting enough, but the film never does much with it to create its own identity. Everything happens by the numbers and the film never takes a risk with its premise. There are a couple of scenes that make you realize how sick in the head Roy is and Lew Temple’s performance perfectly fits his character. Roy is a single father raising two kids and the film explores how he wants to distance himself from his past to the point that it interferes with his children’s upbringing.

Final Thoughts

Between the Darkness is a vibrant film to watch visually and narratively, it has its moments of intrigue. If you’re looking to watch a coming-of-age horror that has some interesting shots, then give this one a viewing on your favorite streaming service. Lew Temple and Nicole Morea Sherman do a solid job at holding down their leading roles to create a dysfunctional dynamic between their characters. Andres Rovira’s directorial debut has scenes that do shine as the light from between the darkness.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Between The Darkness (Come, Said the Night) is currently available on streaming and VOD services.

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Burger King’s new Impossible Whopper packs a taste that is not quite beyond the bounds of possibility | Food Review

The Home of the Whopper has finally rolled out its Impossible Whopper nationwide, after getting rave reviews since testing it out at select stores in the midwest. The plant-based burger is a collaboration between the fast food whopper goliath Burger King and the California-based Impossible Foods Inc.

With the tagline “100% Whopper, 0% Beef,” the Impossible Whopper is a plant-based option that says it offers the same flame-grilled taste as its traditional meat-based counterpart. Topped with ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, pickles, onions, tomatoes and a patty that is made out of plants, the Impossible Whopper looks like a Whopper in appearance, but how does it compare in taste? Let’s find out!

Have It Your Some Way

Pictured above is how the Impossible Whopper looks, according to Burger King’s press release. As we all know, the food industry doesn’t abide by the old adage of ‘what you see is what you get,’ usually, it’s the complete opposite and the Impossible Whopper is no different.

I ordered this healthier vegetarian burger  version of the Whopper with ketchup, mustard, pickle, onion, cheese and tomato but unfortunately, BK forgot to include the red love-apple, yet the wrapper was marked correctly🤔:

Impossible Whopper wrapper is marked correctly, but it is missing the tomato

Under this green and white St. Patrick’s Earth Day design wrapper, we are treated to the main event:

 

Is it impossible not to make this burger look like it was thrown together? Probably. But you are not here to review the appearance of this burger, you want to know how it taste! Reader, ask and you shall receive.

Burger King’s Burger Jester

First bite into the Impossible Whopper and something has gone awry. The flavorful juiciness of its beef counterpart is not as prominent in the plant-based option.  To put it bluntly, the Impossible Whopper tastes dry. Burger King’s thick buns do not help offset it either.

The Impossible Whopper greatly benefits from the the King’s flame grill broiler. The aroma is still as present as its meat-based counterpart, but that’s not enough to carry the burger or help it live up to its tagline. Technically, the Impossible Whopper is  100% Whopper and 0% Beef but that’s not a good thing, it should be 0% Flavor.

Trying a piece of the patty by itself did not improve the results of this taste test. The Impossible patty tasted like someone combined oatmeal and soy to create this strange texture that puts on a front just to look like a burger. Even tried to spice it up by dipping the rest of my burger in Burger King’s buffalo sauce, which helped tremendously to cover up the flat taste of the patty.

Last Thoughts

With the threat of climate change looming, the plant-based meat industry has risen exponentially in popularity as humans become more mindful of what we are eating.  To say that I am disappointed by the Impossible Whopper is an understatement. I’ve been looking forward to trying an Impossible Burger for a couple of months. Due to lack of availability, I had to turn to other options for a plant-based burger.

My first plant-based burger was a Beyond burger and the difference between that and this is night and day. As someone who is not a vegan, I decided to try a plant-based burger for its novelty, and with the Beyond burger, I enjoyed it so much that I tried to cook one at home.

The above wasn’t a monologue, I said all of that because if I had tried the Impossible Whopper first, then I’m not sure I would ever try another plant-based burger again, or at least for a while. Impossible means that something is beyond the bounds of possibility and that describes the ethos of this burger. When compared to BK’s signature sandwich, the vegan-friendly option tasting remotely similar is an improbable whopper.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

The Impossible Whopper was released at Burger King nationwide for a limited time.

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The Art of Self-Defense (2019) | Movie Review |

Originally, Martial Arts was a form of self-defense and attack that humans have been practicing  for centuries over the course of history. As a form of self-defense, martial arts predate guns by hundreds of years. The Art of Self-Defense, a film written and directed by Riley Stearns is a dark comedy that is a period piece that examines toxic masculinity in a thought proving way. The Bleecker Street distributed film stars Jesse Eisenberg, Alessandro Nivola and Imogen Poots and is set sometime during the 1990s. After a lonely accountant is randomly attacked on the streets, he enlists in a karate class to learn how to defend himself. Spoilers after the trailer

Awkward

As a dark-comedy, The Art of Self-Defense is one of the funniest films of the year. The whole film is delivered in a deadpan yet over exaggerated way. The film wastes no time letting the audience know that Casey Davies (Jesse Eisenberg) is an awkward outcast who lacks intestinal fortitude. The man can’t even go to a cafe without people heckling him and treating him as a joke. When he’s at work, his co-workers do not respect him in the slightest and they talk down to him right in front of him without any regard.

Jesse Eisenberg is known for taking on these socially awkward roles and making the most out of them. He’s walking home one night and a motorcycle gang randomly attacks him and they nearly beat him to death. The beating is graphic, yet it is presented in a comical way that it never feels uncomfortable to watch.

After recovering from his injuries, the awkward man in his 30s is shaken up but wants to find ways to defend himself so he goes to the store to purchase a gun. The film makes light of the situation at the gun shop and Davies’ awkwardness adds to the humor. The clerk at the gun shop drops a few jewels about the effects that owning a gun can have on you and others. Stats about how households with guns increase the child mortality rate, suicides and revenge crimes. He even tells Casey that he’ll have to wait  for his paperwork to process before he can own a gun. These little details are small but help make The Art of Self-Defense an educational film too.

Combative Confidence

Before he was beaten an inch of his life, Casey’s assailants asked if he had a gun to make sure he was easy pickings. Since the assault, Casey’s low confidence has hit rock bottom so he ends up joining a karate class taught by Sensei (Alessandro Nivola). On a side note, Alessandro Nivola looks like Ryan Reynolds.

After shadowing the class for a one week free trial, Casey decides to sign up for the class and Sensei becomes the de facto big brother to him. Casey is overjoyed with the inclusion and friends he’s made which is great for his character arc. He’s still awkward and weird but the karate class has given him a renewed sense of confidence. Sensei teaches him to be more masculine and tells him to upgrade his music tastes from Adult Contemporary to Hard Rock.

IMDB/The Art of Self-Defense

Sensei is a caricature of toxic masculinity.  While instructing his class he has a knack for belittling his students and his only female student Anna (Imogen Poots) is ostracized compared to her male counterparts. He’s also a moron. The Grandmaster is the man who taught Sensei karate and Sensei believes that the Grandmaster killed the other Grandmasters in a fight to the death by pushing his index finger through their school. This technique is so sacred that not even Sensei learned how to do it and Grandmaster has a rainbow belt since he defeated the others.

IMDB/The Art of Self-Defense

The problem with the karate element of the film is that it makes the film’s twist very predictable. Sensei’s class are the ones that jumped Casey. This was made even more obvious by the fact that when Casey was jumped the perpetrators were using martial arts tactics. The film tries to explore the thriller

IMDB/The Art of Self-Defense

Anna has the smallest role in the film as her character is the biggest victim of Sensei’s masculinity. Sure Casey gets beat down, his dog killed and his trust violated by Sensei but by the end of the film he gets his revenge whereas Anna does not. Anna has been working at the dojo and is far more qualified than her male counterparts but she does not have the option of leaving due to Sensei’s strong arm regime. Since the karate class moonlights as a motorcycle gang, Anna is too valuable, so she’s regulated to being an over qualified instructor and getting dress in a storage closet. Her character’s arc is to show the audience how toxic masculinity affects women, and Riley Stearns’ writing makes that message clear.

Final Thoughts

The Art of Self-Defense delivers for those that are fans of dark-comedy and deadpan humor. Director and writer Riley Stearns knows how to craft a film that has a serious message without sacrificing the tone of the film. Every joke has a payoff, especially the one with the Grandmaster. The thriller element the film toyed with could’ve been better but it wasn’t a huge hindrance. Jesse Eisenberg was perfectly cast for this role and the only other person in the world who could have given him a run for his money is Michael Cera. Eisenberg’s performance is the type of performance that makes something as topical as toxic masculinity something that we can laugh at yet digest the big picture. If you’re looking to watch something funny then don’t be triggered, instead observe The Art of Self-Defense.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

The Art of Self-Defense was released in theaters July 12, 2019.

Like. Share. Discuss: @PeliculasCosas

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood | Movie Review |

Director Quentin Tarantino’s highly-anticipated 9th film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, is a fairy tale tribute to the final moments of Hollywood’s golden age. The writer-director’s 9th film is set in an alternate timeline and is his take on the events that would lead up to the Manson murders. On a 90 million dollar budget, Tarantino was able to ensemble a cast that includes Leonardo Dicaprio Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Emile Hirsch, Margaret Qualley, Timothy Olyphant, Dakota Fanning, Kurt Russell, Bruce Dern, Al Pacino and more. Spoilers after the trailer.

A Classy Reimagining

Back in 2017, the news first broke that Quentin Tarantino was going to write and direct a movie based on the Manson family murders and reader, I’m not going to lie this movie isn’t what I expected. Set in 1969, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood follows an aging television actor Rick Dalton (Brad Pitt) and his stuntman Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) as Dalton tries to make the transition from television to a successful film actor.

IMDB/Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

The relationship between Dalton and Booth is the most enjoyable part of the film. Rick Dalton is the former star of the hit show Bounty Law and now that his star is fading the only person who is there for him is Cliff Booth. Since Dalton isn’t acquiring roles like he used to, Booth isn’t getting much work as a stuntman in Hollywood and is regulated to doing odd jobs for Rick.

Dalton is typecast in Hollywood as the rugged badass, ironically, that is who Cliff Booth really is. In Hollywood circles, the powers that be do not want to work with Booth because they all believe he killed his wife after a domestic dispute. Thanks to his connections with Rick he gets added on to the stunt crew but that does not last long thanks to his altercation with legendary martial artist Bruce Lee (Mike Moh). Lee and Booth had a light sparring session to see who could knock the other one down to the ground 2 out of 3 falls style.

IMDB/Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

The inclusion of the scene will definitely split viewers because the way that Bruce Lee – the only character of color with a major role – is treated but it helps put Booth’s tough guy persona over for the viewer. Tarantino’s knack for writing keen dialogue also adds to the memorability of Booth and Lee’s confrontation.

Tarantino’s approach to Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) is a complete 180 from Bruce Lee. She’s not given much dialogue in the film as the film chooses to mostly focus on a day of her life where she goes to the movies to watch herself in The Wrecking Crew.

IMDB/Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Instead of re-enacting the scenes with Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate, Tarantino decided to play the original footage with the real-life Sharon Tate on the big screen. On one hand this lets the audience remember her as a person instead of in the context of the tragic events that took her life. On the other hand, Margot does look like Sharon Tate but when you show footage of the real Sharon Tate it takes you out of the film.

Small Roles, Big Show

With such a large ensemble cast that’s filled with veteran actors and Oscar winners from start to finish, there were a few performances from actors who weren’t as experienced that maximized their screen time to create something memorable. Other real-life characters portrayed by accomplished actors include Red (Dakota Fanning) who has a sinister stare; George Spahn (Bruce Dern) is a blind cranky old man; and  Dalton’s agent Hollywood producer Marvin Scwhartz (Al Pacino).

IMDB/Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Pussycat (Margaret Qualley) was a character who was created specifically for this film. She’s a member of the Manson Family and Qualley does a good job at portraying the characters mysteriousness. Having Pussycat hitch a ride with Tate was a nice red-herring by Tarantino. Qualley shares most of her screentime with Brad Pitt and she holds her own with the veteran actor as the pair flowed off each other very well.

Qualley wasn’t the only actress to have made the most out of her appearance in the film, 10 year-old child actor Julia Butters was spectacular as Trudi Fraser. Trudi is another original character for the film and she’s Rick Dalton’s co-star on the set of Lancer. She holds her own with DiCaprio and there is a tense scene between the two while filming Lancer.

Sony/Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

If it wasn’t for the final confrontation during the film’s third act, Julia Butters would’ve had my top pick for breakout performance but I have to give that to Mikey Madison’s portrayal of Sadie. Madison has about 5 minutes of screentime and maybe 4 lines of dialogue that doesn’t include her screaming but she has one of my favorite scenes in the film. After their altercation with Rick Dalton, Katie (Madisen Beaty), Tex (Austin Butler) and Sadie decided to kill him instead of Sharon Tate. The way that Madison portrays Sadie as this delusional egocentric psychic is how I imagine the real life Susan “Sadie” Atkins was.

Final Thoughts

Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood is another welcoming addition to legendary director Quentin Tarantino’s filmography. As a director this film is Tarantino at his best. There are interesting and beautiful shot compositions throughout the film. However, as a writer there is a sense of wishing there was more things happening in the film. As a narrative thread, the relationship between Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth is what carries the movie through its 2 hour and 45 minute runtime. Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio have amazing performances that should get both of them some nominations come Oscar season. Nine films down and it will be interesting to see what Quentin has in store for Hollywood and the world whenever he releases film number 10.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was released in theaters July 26, 2019.

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Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) | Movie Review |

Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man has swung back into theaters with the highly anticipated sequel to 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. The twenty-third entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe sees Jon Watts return as director and he’s accompanied by returning stars Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Marisa Tomei, and Jon Favreau. As the last entry of Phase 3 of the MCU, Spider-Man: Far From Home follows up on the events of Avengers: Endgame and sees New York City’s favorite hero take on a world-ending threat while vacationing in Europe. Spoilers after the trailer.

Mysterious Multiverse

Don’t let the trailers fool you, Quentin Beck/Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) is Peter Parker/Spider-Man’s (Tom Holland) foe in this film. Beck claims that he’s from another universe and Thano’s Snap aka The Blip tore a hole into the universe and he’s come here to protect Earth from the Elementals, a group of villains that have the power of various elements such as earth, wind, water and fire. Once Mysterio arrives on the scene, he tells Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smuthers) that they do not want any parts of the Elementals.

IMDB/Spider-Man: Far From Home

Gyllenhaal’s performance as Quentin Beck/Mysterio is one of the best performances as far as villains go in the MCU. In the first half of the film, Beck is living up to his villainous alias by keeping his character’s true motives a mystery. Gyllenhaal was perfectly cast because once the film decides to reveal Mysterio’s secret plan, his demeanor does a complete 180 to fit within the confines of the story. Beck went from a loyal, heroic, cool uncle-like figure to Peter Parker to an unhinged, sycophant madman who wants to be the next Tony Stark.

IMDB/Spider-Man: Far From Home

The ethos of the Mysterio character shines throughout the film. From Beck’s background to Mysterio’s costume including his signature fishbowl helmet, Mysterio looks like he stepped straight out of a comic book. The intricate details include the fog in his helmet, the eyes on the pins of his cape and the mastery of his illusions which combine into making this film a spectacle to watch on the big screen.

Spider-Man: Far From Home proves its ambitiousness when Spider-Man takes on Mysterio and the Man of Mystery gets the best of the wall-crawler. The visual highlight of the entire film is when Mysterio creates an illusion that not even Spider-Man’s Spider Sense aka Peter Tingle can detect. During this scene Mysterio changes the environment, Spider-Man’s suit and manipulates everything around him.

IMDB/Spider-Man: Far From Home

Quentin Beck was just a mere mortal but Far From Home does a fantastic job at making him feel like a foe to Spider-Man. Mysterio’s mastery of illusions is up there with the God of Mischief and the Master of the Mystic Arts which makes him more impressive. By the film’s conclusion you’re not even sure if he really is dead.

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

Uncle Ben is nowhere to be found in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (so far), but his mission statement — “with great power comes great responsibility” — is ever so prevalent throughout this film. Following the events of Avengers: Engame, Peter Parker just wants to enjoy his summer vacation in Europe and not deal with the responsibilities of being Spider-Man.

IMDB/Spider-Man: Far From Home

The ethos of the Spider-Man character and what makes him relatable is that he just wants to be a normal kid but he has the world thrust upon him.

IMDB/Spider-Man: Far From Home

Final Thoughts

Like its predecessor, Spider-Man: Far From Home’s mid-credit and post-credit scenes end in a cliffhanger that sets up many possibilities for the Wall-Crawler’s future within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Far From Home is a fun, comedic sequel that does not disappoint, and as far as solo franchises in the MCU, Spider-Man has the best one and two so far, most MCU solo films have disappointed in their first or second entry. Director Jon Watts and returning screenwriters Erik Sommers and Chris McKenna did a fantastic job at capturing the high school charm that made this version of Spidey enduring in Homecoming without it ever becoming a parody of itself.

Promoting Mysterio as a hero from another universe was a unique twist and creating the idea of there being a multiverse in the MCU was a clever selling point for the trailers. Not going the route of the multiverse was a smart move by Marvel Studios because that would have weakened the impact of the deaths in Endgame. Having Mysterio turn out to be the villain is on par with his comic counterpart, and his death is still open enough for Gyllenhaal to return in a Sinister Six film (we can dream!).

Spider-Man: Far From Home was a perfect way to end Phase Three of the MCU while setting up Phase Four. At this time we do not even know what the next film in the MCU will be but our Spidey Senses are tingling for another appearance of the Web-Slinger in 2020.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Spider-Man: Far From Home was released in theaters July 2, 2019.

Like. Share. Discuss: @PeliculasCosas

Dark Phoenix (2019) | Movie Review |

After the complete final destruction of the world – the apocalypse – the longest-running comic-book movie franchise attempts to rise from the ashes in its finale, Dark Phoenix. The direct sequel to 2016’s X-Men: Apocalypse, the film deals with the X-Men as they come face to face with the Phoenix force. The 12th installment of the X-Men franchise sees the directorial debut of longtime X-Men writer Simon Kinberg with an ensemble cast that includes: , Sophie Turner, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender. Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan. Alexandra Shipp, Jessica Chastain and Evan Peters. Spoilers after the trailer.

So Dark and So Grey

If time is a construct then the X-Men franchise idea of a timeline is a cinematic demolition. X-Men: Days of Future Past was supposed to fix the timeline, it wasn’t a perfect fix by any means, yet every film after has done its best to ruin continuity. In Apocalypse, a film that takes place roughly a decade before Dark Phoenix, Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) uses the power of the Phoenix force to defeat Apocalypse and if the franchise ended on this note then things would be fine.

Dark Phoenix/IMDB

Unfortunately, Simon Kinberg, the writer of Apocalypse and writer-director of this film, didn’t take that into consideration when creating this movie. Jean Grey goes into space with the rest of the X-Men to rescue astronauts on a failed mission. Unbeknownst to them, there’s a solar flare that turns out to be the Phoenix force. Jean Grey absorbs the Phoenix force and that’s how she gets her powers.

While the X-Men are in space, the scene stealer and most interesting character is Quicksilver (Evan Peters), who has some of the best scenes in the entire franchise. He and Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee) do the heavy lifting when it comes to rescuing the astronauts as they combine their powers to teleport and save each one. Check out the clip below:

After the space scene there isn’t much to look forward to throughout the movie because this franchise hasn’t given the audience a reason to care about these characters. Jean finds out that Professor X (James McAvoy) has tampered with her mind to hide the face that she is responsible for the death of her mother. Once Jean finds out she doesn’t trust the X-Men and goes to find her father.

Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) and the rest of the X-Men set out to find Jean but thanks to the Phoenix force, Jean is too powerful for them to stop. Mystique tries to comfort Jean but Jean can’t control the power of the Phoenix and ends up killing Mystique.

Dark Phoenix/IMDB

Sophie Turner is doing her best to carry this material, but Jennifer Lawrence shouldn’t have even showed up in this movie because she CLEARLY didn’t want to be there. Saying that the best thing this movie did was kill off  the dreadful Mystique early on is an understatement. Lawrence wasn’t the only person who did not care about Mystique, the effects team also did not put in any effort in her costume. Just look at this:

Dark Phoenix/IMDB

Lawrence half delivered all of her lines and was emotionless in every scene that she was in. Her death scene was comical which makes you wonder if she was going to act like that then why show up?

The rest of the X-Men, even if they didn’t want to be there, didn’t phone it in as much as J-Law. Their characters severely lacked any type of character development but they made the most out of what they were given. There’s a romance between Mystique and Beast/Hank McCoy (Nicholas Hoult) that comes out of nowhere and doesn’t feel authentic in the slightest.

Dark Phoenix/IMDB

Cyclops/Scott Summers (Tye Sheridan) is Jean’s lover but this relationship hasn’t been built up in this or previous movies so it’s impossible to care when things go haywire. They even make Cyclops drop an F-bomb in the least threatening way.

Quicksilver gets nerfed early on because, I guess, he’s too powerful, which writes the most interesting X-Men out of the film early on. Nightcrawler and Storm (Alexandra Shipp) are two mutants that were introduced in X-Men: Apocalypse that would’ve benefited the movie if they had more screen time. Nightcrawler’s teleportation powers are put to good use and spread throughout the film.

The Villains

What is an X-Men film without Magneto (Michael Fassbender)? After finding out about the death of Mystique by the hands of Jean, Magnet goes all out to avenge the one that he loved.  All of Magneto’s best moments in this film involve trains. He levitates a subway from underground and has the best fight scene in the entire film during the third act.

Dark Phoenix/IMDB

During the film’s big fight sequence, Magneto attempts to save the X-Men from the threat of a common enemy as the big set piece takes place on a train. This part of the film feels completely different than the action pieces during the first two acts. It turns out that the production crew had to change the planned fight sequence due to Marvel Studios’ other female superhero.

Dark Phoenix/IMDB

Lastly, an actress of the caliber of Jessica Chastain was a complete waste and not given anything to do. This may be due to the fact her character is a shapeshifter which is similar to the Kree that appear in Captain Marvel……but man, it was brutal to watch her meander through this film.

Final Thoughts

The longest-running superhero film franchise went out with a slow and painful death. A franchise that was mishandled by producers who seemed to care more about profits than creating an enjoyable film. Dark Phoenix isn’t a terrible movie, instead it is a very bland one. Sophie Turner does her best as Jean Grey but unfortunately the audience never gets a chance to know her. If these films would’ve taken their time and planted the seeds to build her up then this movie would’ve been far more enjoyable. Ironically, this film and franchise needed some new life, some new blood, some new mutants, instead the Phoenix Force allowed the series to die a dark death in the vacuum of space.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Dark Phoenix was released in theaters May 24, 2019.

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Woodstock or Bust (2019) | Movie Review |

The counterculture movement of the 1960s was one of the most pivotal movements in United States history. During the summer of 1969, Woodstock — one of the largest music festivals in American history with more than 400,000 people in attendance — was born. The festival’s popularity has withstood the test of time, and there were failed attempts to recreate it 50 years later. In time for the festival’s 50th anniversary, co-writer Leslie Bloom’s directorial debut,  the award winning film Woodstock or Bust is available on select streaming services. Starring Willow Shields and Meg DeLacy, the 1960s period drama follows two teenage songwriters from the west coast as they venture out east to debut their original music at the Woodstock Music Festival.  Light spoilers after the trailer.

Leading Ladies

Best friends and singer songwriters Lorain (Willow Shields) and Meryl (Meg DeLacy) are two talented teenage Oregonians with ambitious dreams of making it big one day with their music. Most people who have set out to do something without support from their loved ones can understand the main characters’ motivations. Their family has doubts about them making it as musicians which causes the pair to not get full support from them. Just like the counterculture movement the film is set in, the pair rebel from their parental authority.

Woodstock or Bust/TriCoast Entertainment

The pair took it upon themselves to leave the comfort of Oregon to head out east to the Woodstock festival in New York. The dynamic duo created a lot of memorable moments during their road trip that further developed their friendship. The film does a phenomenal job at balancing the differences between Meryl and Lorain and giving their characters some sort of depth. Of the pair, Meryl is the most-talented and popular yet reserved, whereas Lorain is the funny, outgoing and assertive one.

Woodstock or Bust/TriCoast Entertainment

Woodstock or Bust serves as a vehicle for its leading ladies to showcase their talents. Meg DeLacy was perfectly cast as Meryl. The role allowed DeLacy, a rising singer-songwriter in her own right, to show off her vocal talents and angelic voice throughout the film.

DeLacy has a strong performance and knows how to balance out the nuances of her character, which makes the film fun to watch. However, the scenes that require her to sing to is where she shines the brightest and it helps the audience buy into the fact that Meryl is more talented of the two musicians. There are impressive musical numbers in the film that are worth checking out.

Woodstock or Bust/TriCoast Entertainment

Conversely, Willow Shields illuminates off the screen as Lorain and makes the most out of her comedic timing. Shields has by far the best performance in the film and her character goes through a wide range of emotions. Whether she’s happy, angry, afraid, or sad, every single emotion comes off as authentic. There is one scene in particular where  she’s under distress and her performance is at its most powerful.

Groovy and Wild Travels

Being that the film is about the adventures Meryl and Lorain during their road trip across the country, the pair get into a lot of squabbles on their way to Woodstock. During the film’s first act, before their departure from Oregon, the film seems like it’s going in a generic formulaic direction. Surprisingly, once the pair are on the road things become a lot more interesting.

During the film’s second act is where social commentary of the 1960s and present day comes into fruition. As the pair travels east, there is a tonal shift that goes along with it. This is a good thing because the film goes from feeling formulaic to “Wow, did not see that coming,” which writers Judi Blaze and Leslie Bloom deserve credit for.

The hitchhikers and various people who Lorain and Meryl meet during their trip and the events that follow will leave you puzzled at their decision making. However, being that this is a period piece, it is easy to chalk up their decisions to the free-spirited movement of that time. If the film was set in the modern-day, their interaction with Nick (Teddy Van Ee) would be the most questionable, especially following the events that happened right before they met him.

Woodstock or Bust/TriCoast Entertainment

Final Thoughts

Add Woodstock or Bust to the list of hilarious female lead duos directed by women in 2019.  Leslie Bloom’s directorial feature length debut is a fun and powerful ride like the ’65 Mustang the main character’s drive. Visually, the costumes and set pieces feel like they were transported straight from 50 years ago. The leading actresses brought out the best of each other in this periodic drama. Social commentary is what adds a lot of weight to the script and separates the film from being your typical drama. There are some questionable decisions that the main characters make, but for the most part everything is understandable or has a reason. We may not have an actual Woodstock Music Festival in 2019 but if you can bring Woodstock or Bust home to you today on your favorite streaming service.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Woodstock or Bust was released on DirecTV, inDemand, Amazon, iTunes, Vimeo on Demand, Vudu, FANDANGO, Hoopla, AT&T, FlixFling, Google Play, Sling/Dish on August 13, 2019.

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Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) | Movie Review |

In the land of the monsters – where only one can reign supreme – Godzilla is the undisputed king. Godzilla: King of the Monsters is the sequel to 2014’s Godzilla and sees the titular Titan battle his archenemy King Ghidorah for the title of apex predator. Directed by Michael Dougherty. the film stars Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Thomas Middleditch, and Bradley Whitford, with Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, and David Strathairn  reprising their previous roles. Spoilers after the trailer.

 

Humans Are The Virus

Godzilla: King of the Monsters was either the most meta film of 2019 or one of the most disappointing ones. The plot centers around a group of eco-terrorists led by Alan Jonah (Charles Dance), who wants to rid the Earth of humans by unleashing Monster Zero/King Ghidorah and other monstrous Titans because humans have been destroying the planet. Jonah thinks by letting the Titans reek havoc and destroy humanity, then the radiation provided by them will return the Earth to its natural order. Jonah even goes as far as saying that humans are a virus and that’s why this film has to be meta because the human characters are the viruses of this film.

IMDB/Godzilla: King of the Monsters

A movie about giant monsters causing destruction shouldn’t have been this boring and a movie with this cast shouldn’t have been this lackluster. The dialogue throughout the film feels like it came straight out of the 1980s and not in that ‘it’s charming and nostalgic’ type of way. Nearly all of the humans in this movie are scientists but yet cannot escape Darwinism.

Dr. Rick Stanton (Bradley Whitford) makes jokes throughout the film as the resident comic relief, but they’re not funny. Whitford’s character was modeled after Rick Sanchez of Rick & Morty fame and he’s no Rick Sanchez. Stanton would make offhand remarks and imply he’s a heavy drinker, which are characteristics that are synonymous with Sanchez, yet somehow the charm wasn’t there and the jokes were flat. Bradley Whitford is too talented of an actor and just like most of the actors in this film, they can only deliver the dialogue that’s given to them. The entire time it felt like someone had watched Rick & Morty a couple of times and didn’t understand what made Rick a compelling character.

Dr. Rick Stanton wasn’t the only character that suffers from misguided attempts at humor. Dr. Sam Coleman (Thomas Middleditch) and chief warrant officer Jackson Barnes (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) are expected to serve as the film’s comedic tandem as they banter about the events going on in the film. After watching Middleditch in Replicas there wasn’t much to be expected from his performance, but as for Jackson Jr., this film was a letdown following his performance in Long Shot. Like Whitford above, Jackson is another actor that didn’t have much to do in this film, yet the movie spends a lot of time with him and the other humans that aren’t given anything compelling to work with.

IMDB/Godzilla: King of the Monsters

When the Titans are attacking the world, the film recycles the same military personnel which wouldn’t be a problem but the same officers are doing the same task at nauseum.  Whether it’s preventing the awakening of King Ghidorah in Antarctica, saving humans from catastrophes in Mexico or saving the world in Boston, while fighting in the sky in between, it’s the same soldiers that are everywhere that aren’t tactical at all. They’re led by Colonel Diane Foster (Aisha Hands), who is believable as a colonel because of her demeanor and persona.

IMDB/Godzilla: King of the Monsters

In a science-fiction monster film the idea of being tactical could easily go overlooked but as with many problems with Godzilla: King of the Monsters, it is something the film constantly brings attention to.  There’s a scene where the scientists explain to fellow scientist Dr. Ishirō Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) that the heat and radiation under the ocean from Godzilla will kill him in seconds –  somehow – he removes his helmet and touches the monster and dies when the nuclear device explodes.

Dr. Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins) is the luckiest scientist in the film because she dies early on. She gets painfully crushed to death, which has to be a metaphor for how crushingly painful it is to watch a talent like Sally Hawkins being misused in the film. Dr. Leng Chin (Zhang Ziyi) is just here to give the exposition and backstory of the Titans to the audience and that’s about it. She’s the one that tells us the names of the Titans and their significance and what they are. The sad part is none of this is done in a clever way, she’s just talking and the camera will pan to the images and scrolls of the ancient dragons that turn out to be the Titans.

IMDB/Godzilla: King of the Monsters

The Russell family feud that is the central plot of the film doesn’t improve the movie. Dr. Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler) and Dr. Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga) are heartbroken because their son Andrew died during Godzilla’s 2014 rampage in San Francisco. Since then, Emma and her daughter Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown) have been estranged from Mark and Emma has gone off the deep end. This is another film where one parent is grief stricken and results in the most foolish of plans because they cannot healthily process their grief.

Mark developed a device called “the ORCA” that manipulates frequencies to control the Titans, which ends up getting into the hands of Alan Jonah thanks to Emma. Emma and Jonah’s master plan is to free the Titans to allow them to kill humanity. The most memorable thing that Madison Russell does in the film is that her parents find her hiding in a bathtub in the most cringeworthy way. Emma and Mark argue while searching for Madison and chief warrant officer Jackson Barnes tells them “if you were my parents I would run away from home too,” he repeats the line and that’s when they rescue Madison at her house in the bathtub.  By the end of the film you are hoping that the Titans complete their task because spending more time with these humans would be more tortuous than living on an earth with a depleted ozone layer.

The Titans Were the Antidote

What saves this movie from being a complete mess is Godzilla and the other Titans.  The longest ongoing movie franchise in history proves why this franchise has been around for over six decades and why the titular character is the king. The cinematography of their fights and the designs of these characters are nothing to laugh at. Just look at the photo below as Godzilla uses his signature atomic heat beam:

IMDB/Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Every time the monsters would appear on the film to fight each other, that’s when the film was at its best. The use of colors created some of the best cinematography that you’re ever going to see in a monster film.

IMDB/Godzilla: King of the Monsters

This is another film where the visual effects teams save it from being a complete disaster like the carnage that the monsters are causing. If the movie wasn’t trying to force a plot by the humans and just let the monsters take the driver’s seat then this film would’ve been so much more enjoyable.

IMDB/Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Just look at the images. During the film when the action is happening it’s easy to get caught up with what is going on with these monsters yet these humans just get in the way. King Ghidorah is a frightening sight to see:

IMDB/Godzilla: King of the Monsters

The teeth to the roar and everything in between while watching the movie you know King Ghidorah is here to fight and he ain’t scared of no Godzilla. What makes things so frustrating is that the monsters do a good job at giving an idea of the story elements to the point that we did not need the humans to explain what was going on. A good example is the relationship between Mothra and Godzilla. Once Mothra hatches from her cocoon in search of Godzilla, instead of letting the film explain what we are watching, the characters have to tell us and it is less impactful.

IMDB/Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Another beautiful shot above. To say these Titans carried the film is an understatement because all the memorable things happen because of their involvement.

Final Thoughts

In Godzilla: The King of the Monsters, the humans are the virus and the Titans are the antidote, and the film takes its plot figuratively and literally. A movie with a great cast of actors and a hefty budget but overall it is disappointing. There isn’t a relatable character in the whole film, the plot doesn’t make sense and logic gets thrown out the window even right after it’s stated out loud. It feels like someone was just going through the motions when they wrote this movie and didn’t revise their drafts.

The monsters are the most enjoyable part of this movie. If you want to see some giant kaiju create chaos and rampage a city and laugh at some humans then this is your movie. If you’re looking for a smart, well thought out action movie then this is not it. There is a post-credit scene that sets up the Godzilla vs Kong sequel so if you want to stay through the credits then give it a watch. This is one that can be watched on the small screen but to get the full effect of the monsters then go to a theater and watch it unfortunately you will not be able to fast forward through the parts with the humans there.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Godzilla: King of the Monsters was released in theaters on May 31, 2019

Like. Share. Discuss: @PeliculasCosas

Ma (2019) | Movie Review |

The Obsessive Mother-Like Figure trope in horror films has finally received a version of the character that is seasoned in Blumhouse’s 2019 psychological-thriller Ma. Directed by Tate Taylor and starring veteran actress Octavia Spencer, Ma follows a group of teenagers who befriend a lonely middle-aged woman who allows them to party in her basement, only for startling and crazy things to happen. Ma came about because Octavia Spencer was tired of not being offered a lead role and director Tate Taylor, who worked with Spencer on The Help, said he wanted to create something that was “f****d up and MAAAAN, did they DELIVER!

Kids, drugs are bad, MMMKAY!

This movie will relate to people who grew up in a small town the most. Maggie Thompson (Diana Silvers) and her mother Erica Thompson (Juliette Lewis) have moved to Erica’s hometown in Ohio after Maggie’s father cheated on her mother. Being the new girl at her high school, Maggie befriends a group of friends that just like to party and get drunk. If you’ve ever been to a gas station then you’ve more than likely experienced some random underage teen asking if you will buy cigarettes or alcohol for them. Maggie and her friends are that kid.

IMDB/Ma

The problem is they asked the wrong person. Kids, this is why you shouldn’t talk to strangers. They ask what turns out to be a lonely sociopathic middle-aged veterinary technician named Sue Ann (Octavia Spencer). At first glance Sue Ann seems normal but she is far from that. She became obsessed with Maggie and her group of friends right off the bat. She invites them to come to her house and drink in her basement. One of the teens gave her the nickname Ma and her place became the go-to spot for the kids to drink, party and cut loose. The only rule that Ma has is for the kids to keep the party in the basement and not venture upstairs, y’know, respect her house.

IMDB/Ma

Of course in this type of movie someone has to go not follow the rules and go upstairs. Maggie and Haley (McKaley Miller) have to be the ones that go and investigate but when they hear strange noises coming from another they get creeped out and don’t want to go back to Ma’s. Haley even goes far enough to tell the rest of her classmates not to go back there and they put the kibosh on future party attempts.

Yet, for some reason, the script calls for the kids to go back to Ma’s for the most absurd reasons, even after finding out that Ma was stealing from them and noticing that she was off her rocker. The great thing about this movie is that the script is B-level but the direction and acting elevates past the things that are holding it back. To the film’s defense there is a reason why these kids would make such a foolish decision.

During the film’s third act, when the horror aspect picks up, Diane Silvers shines as the Final Girl trope. Even Ma comments on her doey eyes which are perfect for expressing the fear that is racing through her mind as she’s tied up to a dog collar watching her friends being tormented.

IMDB/Ma

Another thing about this movie that made it enjoyable was that the parents of these teenagers cared about their child. Erica is a passive-aggressive mother for the first two acts of the film and it’s completely understandable because she and her daughter have just moved and they’re going through some things. Once Erica finds out about Ma, giving her daughter drinks and a place to party, she does some parenting and tells Maggie to stay away from Ma and confronts Ma to stay away from her daughter. Maggie being the rebellious teen that she ends up going back to Ma’s house anyway but once  Erica finds out she curses up a storm. This small scene establishes a lot because there are too manyfilms in the horror genre that make the parents complete idiots.

IMDB/Ma

Don’t Let Me Drink Alone

What makes Ma stand out in comparison to the unseasoned version of the psychotic mother-like stalker thriller is Octavia Spencer’s acting and the film is not taking itself too seriously. When one of the teens gets too mouthy with Ma she pulls a gun out on them and things become tense for the character and those watching the film, yet Ma laughs this off and quips with “Do you think I’m Madea or something,” which releases the tension. Sue Ann keeps that thaaang on her.

IMDB/Ma

Ma is definitely campy and there are moments that don’t make sense or are just presented too conveniently for the plot, especially when the film delivers Sue Ann’s backstory. Sue Ann never left the town the film was set in and when she was in high school the students played a cruel prank – and this prank was VERY MESSED UP – on her. Turns out the main group of teenagers that we’ve seen throughout the film are the children of the kids that picked on Sue Ann in high school. Before this is revealed in the film you can tell that things are headed this way.

Even knowing that twist was coming, it didn’t hurt the film because of the strength of Spencer’s performance. She’s everything you would want in a horror villain, creepy, mysterious, quick-witted and terrifying. She killed one character with her car and it got a laugh out of me. By knowing when to and when not to take itself seriously, Ma is a film that audiences who see movies with a group of friends would love.

IMDB/Ma

Spencer said she took the role because she was tired of not being offered lead roles in films and if the movie doesn’t offer her those opportunities then nothing will. This was her LeBron James moment and the script was the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals and although horror’s rarely get Oscar nominations, I hope she gets one for this.

Having a smaller budget worked in this film’s favor too. Instead of going out of the way and trying to create something scary, the minimalist approach with the mask pictured below did the job fine, and other studios should take notes.

 

 

IMDB/Ma

Final Thoughts

One thing that should be stated about Ma and the people behind the scenes, is that 2019 has been such a marvelous year for black women in horror and Blumhouse has produced two wonderful films with strong black leads. When Octavia Spencer was pitched this role, she asked if she was going to die first and it turns out she was the last death in the film. Progress.

This film isn’t a perfect film and with a stronger script or a couple of revisions then it would get a higher rating but I was never bored and the pacing always kept me interested in what was going to happen next. In a messed up way, it was refreshing to finally see the shoe on the other foot when it comes to a stalker terrorizing their victims.

The undertones of seeing a black lady who was picked on by her peers in a predominately white town enact some type of revenge is something you do not see every day on the big screen. The film addresses race in a comedic way by having Ma paint the only other black person in the film, white:

IMDB/Ma

If you’re looking for something fresh and original then give Ma a chance while it is still playing in theaters. Remember, don’t talk to strangers and don’t let her drink alone.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Ma was released in theaters on May 31, 2019

Like. Share. Discuss: @PeliculasCosas

Aladdin (2019) |Movie Review|

From a media conglomerate that keeps making remakes that no one asked for, comes a cash grab reimagining of a classic tale about a boy, his genie and love. Directed by Guy Ritchie, Aladdin stars Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott and Marwan Kenzari and is a live-action remake of the 1992 animated film of the same name.

A Tale of a Genie and Three Wishes

Aladdin

The most important character in this film is the titular character, because if Aladdin isn’t right then you gotta throw the whole film away. Luckily for Walt Disney Pictures and this remake, they did a tremendous job at casting their main character. Mena Massoud had a big magic carpet to fill and his take on Aladdin was one of the strongest performances in the film, second to his Genie (Will Smith).

IMDB/Aladdin

IMDB/Aladdin

Massoud’s singing is fine, the “A Whole New World” bit sounds better in the original movie but the visuals are great in this version.

Princess Jasmine

Scott’s portrayal of  Princess Jasmine is fine. Princess Jasmine and Aladdin had some chemistry at times but it felt like Guy Ritchie didn’t give them an adequate amount of direction because it felt like they were going through the motions. The Sultan (Navid Negahban) and Princess Jasmine have a realistic (as can be) father-daughter relationship.

Naomi Scott is a talented actress and singer and the role of Princess Jasmine allowed her to showcase some of her talent. She can sing and hold notes, but her big song moment comes when she performs “Speechless,” a perfect song for what her character’s storyline, but it feels terribly misplaced in the film.  It comes right off the heels of another song which makes it seem like it was just crowbarred into the film.

IMDB/Aladdin

Naomi Scott’s casting as Princess Jasmine did not come without criticism, with some accusing Disney of colorism. Agrabah is a fictional place but it is a fair argument that a film set in the Middle East had most of the darker skinned actors portraying extras/minor roles or evil characters. Disney wants to create more diverse films, but it does seem like they do not want to go out of their way to cast darker skinned actors if they don’t have to. Whenever the eventual Mulan live-action remake comes to theaters, maybe Disney will have learned from Aladdin.

IMDB/Aladdin

One change from the original animated movie is this film introduces us to a loyal handmaiden to the princess, Dalia (Nasim Pedrad), who is Genie’s love interest in the film. Pedrad has a lot of charisma in the scenes that she is in and she has comedic chops. Despite the age difference her and Genie were a good match and had great chemistry with each other.

Genie

Going into this movie, the question that everyone was wondering was how Will Smith will live up to Robin Williams’ portrayal as the Genie. To set the stage, the year is 2019 and we have an iconic character from the 90s portrayed by an iconic actor from the 90s and it was far better than I expected. Will Smith practically plays Blue Will Smith and he brings credibility to the film.

IMDB/Aladdin

For much of the film he acts as Aladdin’s wingman, but it works and nothing ever feels forced. Think Hitch but instead of Kevin James, there’s dance numbers and a young Middle Eastern man chasing after a princess. Will Smith’s singing does need work, in the year of our lord two thousand and nineteen, we have autotune but I guess the sound crew thought Smith didn’t need it – Reader, they were wrong.  But where this – *squints* – 180 million dollar production misses the mark is the CGI when the Genie appears. Look at these pictures:

IMDB/Aladdin

IMDB/Aladdin

IMDB/Aladdin

IMDB/Aladdin

There are times where Genie’s blue body doesn’t even match his head. For a 180 million dollar production, you would think someone at Disney would’ve done a better job. Disney has some of the best animators in the world so this disheveled looking Genie should’ve never happened. For all the hate that the Dumbo remake gets, at least they took time to make Dumbo look nice. Maybe Genie suffered from rushed reshoots that limited post-production, but if there is a prequel film then I hope they take their time to get it right.

IMDB/Aladdin

Jafar

The most disappointing character in this live-action remake is Jafar (Marwan Kenzari). I know it’s 2019 and certain things from 1992 wouldn’t appeal to today’s audience, but if you’re going to have a different take on the character at least give it some sort of personality besides “generic evil bad guy #1.”

IMDB/Aladdin

Kenzari has an expressive face but outside of that the movie doesn’t do much with Jafar and since he plays such a huge part in the film his scenes are – for a lack of better words – boring. I don’t think Kenzari deserves all the blame for Jafar’s mishaps because the character feels underwritten as a whole for a live-action film.

IMDB/Aladdin

Jafar’s talking and wisecracking scarlet macaw Iago doesn’t talk much in this film. He spends most of the movie just making one-off comments and this takes a layer away from Jafar’s character in the process. The film tries to give Jafar a backstory to make the audience understand why he’s such a great villain, but it isn’t slightly compelling.

IMDB/Aladdin

The film ends with a way to set up a possible Return of the Jafar-esque sequel, but that’s something that should stay on the drawing board for now. It’s criminal that one of the most iconic Disney villains has had his personality stripped away and replaced with no sense of unique character traits. The protagonist is only as good as the antagonist that they have to overcome and Jafar sinks Aladdin’s magic carpet.

The MVP

For a film such as Aladdin, the template was created in 1992, so for any future remake all the cast and crew has to do is not mess it up. There isn’t much going on in this remake to set it apart from the previous version, but the design teams and their artistry give this film life. Game of Thrones production designer Gemma Jackson was tasked with production design while Michael Wilkinson handled the costume design.

IMDB/Aladdin

The costumes have a Bollywood type of feel with their bright colors and intricate garb that gives the background characters some personality. Just watching it on the big screen it’s hard not to be drawn in by the people of Agrabah. Just look at the image below:

IMDB/Aladdin

And to watch all of this in motion is the true meaning of visual art. When the Genie performs the “Prince Ali” number, Will Smith can’t sing that well but as you’re watching all the set pieces, extras and colorful costumes, they distract from Smith’s singing voice to create an enjoyable scene.

Final Thoughts

After watching the trailers for this film I went into this one with low expectations, surprisingly, it was better than I expected. The biggest complaint that I had with this remake is that when I walked out of the theater I couldn’t help but think that this movie didn’t have to be made. There was never a moment in the film that really felt fresh or better than the original animated version of Aladdin. Based on the trailers, Will Smith’s Genie looked questionable at best, but after watching the entire film he’s the best part of it. Never judge a blue CGI man by his cover, I guess? He brings a sense of culture (by acting like Will Smith) to the role of the Genie that some may not enjoy but for me it worked. He and Aladdin have great chemistry, but whenever they’re not on screen the movie suffers at times.

The production of the film is phenomenal, there was a lot of time put into the costumes and set pieces and I would not be shocked if there was an Oscar nomination to be had in the future. The sequencing of some of the musical numbers was frustrating, especially the song Jasmine sings in the third act because it’s completely out of place. Jafar is also disappointing. With that said, Aladdin is a serviceable remake of a timeless classic and I would not be opposed to a Maleficent-style prequel for Will Smith’s Genie. If the House of Mouse is going all in on these cash grabs, then at least with this one the titular character plays a major part in the film unlike their other remake.  A whole generation of kids will grow up watching this version of Aladdin which could’ve been better yet also much, much worse.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Aladdin was released in theaters May 24, 2019.

Like. Share. Discuss: @PeliculasCosas

Booksmart (2019) | Movie Review |

Sometimes high school students get so caught up in their studies and preparing for their future that they do not take the time to live in the moment and enjoy the final days of their youth. Booksmart follows two bookworms as they try to party and cut loose during their last day of classes a few days before graduation. The film is Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut with leading ladies Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein. Spoilers after the trailer.

Familiar Story

The film’s plot has been done countless times before in other movies. Two strait-laced pretentious high school students that are the outcast of their class attempt to do something radical so they can fit in with their classmates. Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) are best friends who have never done anything fun because they’ve been focusing on getting into good colleges; however, it turns out that their classmates who have been partying and having fun have also got into those same colleges.

Olivia Wilde’s direction shines early on in the film. The scene when Molly finds out that her negligent peers are going to elite schools such as Yale and Stanford, the camera does a close shot on Molly’s face while allowing the world around her to keep moving. This lets the audience capture the panic on her face and is symbolic of how Molly has always been focused without realizing the world around her has kept moving. Once Molly tells her classmates that they don’t care about school, Anabelle/Triple A (Molly Gordon) lets it be known that they don’t only care about school. A nice bit of dialogue that explains the mentality of Molly and Amy versus everyone else in the class. The scene functions as social commentary that no matter what you do – someone can put in half the amount of work you do and end up in the same spot.

IMDB/Booksmart

What makes Booksmart different from similar films such as Superbad, Ladybird, mid90s and other post-2000 coming-of-age films is its unpredictability and the dynamics of the friendship between Molly and Amy. Molly is the alpha of the two, yet Amy is the one who’s more normal and doesn’t pick fights with all of their classmates. Amy being a lesbian adds a fresh twist when things don’t work out between her and her crush Ryan (Victoria Ruesga).

Wilde’s direction shines again once Amy discovers Ryan making out with Molly’s crush Nick (Mason Gooding), which causes an argument between Molly and Amy. Visually, the pair are arguing and yelling at each other but the audience doesn’t hear what they’re saying, instead the film uses its score to its advantage by adding an extra depth of emotion.

IMDB/Booksmart

The humor throughout the film is vulgar, raunchy and unpredictable. There is a lot going on that once you think the film is going in one direction it does a complete 180 and surprises you which is why the film feels so fresh. By the time the movie is over you want to spend more time with the characters which is always a good feeling.

A Class of Characters

Booksmart is a film filled with fun and well-written characters that make it memorable from start to finish. Since Molly and Amy act like they’re better than everyone else at their school, it’s hard to feel bad for them when all the other kids leave them out of the parties that are happening this weekend. George (Noah Galvin) and Alan (Austin Crute) are a dysfunctional couple who host a murder-mystery party that, unpredictably, transitions into a claymation scene. The claymation scene is a result of Molly and Amy eating drugged strawberries, as the pair are tripping out George, Alan and the other party guests who are puzzled by what’s going on.

IMDB/Booksmart

The students aren’t the only ones who shine in Booksmart. The movie comments on how educators need a second a job, with Principal Brown (Jason Sudeikis) also moonlighting as a Lyft driver. Amy and Molly are taken by surprise when they’re picked up by their principal while using Lyft. There’s an awkward moment that involves a bluetooth speaker and pornography!

Later on while searching for the location of Nick’s party, they try to hold Pat the Pizza Guy (Mike O’Brien) as a hostage until he tells them where he delivered the pizzas. This is a hilarious scene because Amy and Molly have no idea what they’re doing and Pat patronizes them. He even pulls a gun on them before making them get out of his car.

The most awkward adult to student relationship between teacher and students is between the appropriately named Ms. Fine (Jessica Williams) and her class. Ms. Fine is the young and hip teacher that her class adores because she’s cool. She gives Amy and Molly a ride to Nick’s party and she ends up partying with her graduating students. She is a surrogate big sister to Molly and Amy after giving them advice and telling them that she used to be like them in high school and did a complete 180 while in college. Oh, and she hooks up with one of her students, Theo (Eduardo Franco), who is older than most of his classmates.

IMDB/Booksmart

After being heartbroken, things ended on a good note for Amy as she kissed her first girl, Hope (Diana Silvers). Hope is the cruel girl who keeps to herself but when she talks people take notice. Silvers was perfectly cast because she had the right demeanor of quiet, confident and commanding.

The actress who stole the show throughout the film was Billie Lourd and her portrayal as Gigi. Every time Gigi appeared on-screen she was random and eccentric but never annoying. Gigi is the richest girl at the school and her classmates joke that she and her boyfriend Jared (Skyler Gisondo) are the one percent.

IMDB/Booksmart

Lourd does an outstanding job with this character and what she is given. She may have 10 minutes, if that much, of screen time and she made every second count. Her character was mysterious but never felt vague and she could’ve been in it more to be honest.

Final Thoughts

Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut is one of the best comedies that has hit the big screen so far in 2019. Booksmart is an unpredictable, raunchy comedy that has been boosted thanks to its wide range of characters. It may not have the box office success that Annapurna Pictures would like it to have, but there are going to be a lot of actors and actresses from this film that will breakout like the stars of Superbad over a decade ago. Kaitlyn Devers and Beanie Feldstein shine in their lead roles.

IMDB/Booksmart

Kaitlyn Dever and Billie Lourd especially shine the brightest in this one. This film was written and directed by women and the actresses brought their A-game to it. If this one is currently playing near you then I’d definitely recommend giving this one a viewing. If you’re interested in getting a sense of the movie before going to the theater then I have good news! Annapurna Pictures has released the first 6 minutes of the film on their Youtube:

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Booksmart was released in theaters May 24, 2019.

Like. Share. Discuss: @PeliculasCosas

Brightburn (2019) |Movie Review|

What if Superman crash landed on Earth and used his powers for evil? Director David Yarovesky’s newest film Brightburn, attempts to answer that question. The superhero-horror is written by Brian and Mark Gunn and stars Elizabeth Banks, David Denman and Jackson A. Dunn. The film follows a young alien boy who realizes he has powers and begins to terrorize the citizens of Brightburn, Kansas. Spoilers after the trailer.

It’s A Bird, It’s A Plane, It’s A Disturbed Kid

Tori (Elizabeth Banks) and Kyle Breyer (David Denman) are a couple that want to have a child but they are experiencing infertility issues, unexpectedly, their whole life changes when a spaceship containing an alien boy crashes on their farm. The Breyers adopted the boy, named him Brandon (Jackson A. Dunn), and raised him as their own. Fast forward twelve years and Brandon is going through this weird phase of puberty where he hears voices in his head and discovers that he has super strength.

 

IMDB/Brightburn

 

While cutting the grass, Brandon discovers he has superpowers once he tries to crank the lawnmower and throws it hundreds of feet away. This was a smooth way to show the change in his body and show the audience he has super strength. He puts his hand on the spinning lawnmower blade and jams it. This establishes the moment that he realizes he’s different from humans. Brandon was sleepwalking later that night after the voices in his head drew him to the barn, which is where his family had hidden his spaceship. His mother takes notice and catches him trying to open a trapdoor and wakes him up. Later in the film, when Brandon violently kills the chickens in the barn, his mother, who at this point KNOWS SOMETHING IS UP WITH HER CHILD, is comically naive and thinks that wolves broke into a locked barn and slaughtered those chickens. More on this later.

Rotten Tomatoes/Brightburn

Another positive that Brightburn has is its leading actor Jackson A. Dunn, who made a decent debut in his first leading role in a feature film. A big part of this movie relies on him pulling off the weird/strange kid vibe and he successfully does that.

There are times where the horror aspects of the film are effective. The scene where Brandon becomes his alter-ego Brightburn and murders Erica (Becky Wahlstrom) at her diner does a lot with a little. There is a piece of glass that is stuck in Erica’s eye and as she’s panicking and slowly pulls it out, it creates the most tense scene in the film.

Kryptonite

The superhero aspect of the film is where the movie falls apart. This film functions as an origin story for Brightburn and there are moments where Brandon states that he wants to be good but the movie never shows us an example of him conflicting with the morality of the harm he caused. The movie doesn’t even explain why Brandon starts misbehaving in the first place, instead he becomes evil because the script says so and it’s very jarring. Jackson A. Dunn’s character never felt fully developed and during the 90 minute runtime there was so much going plot wise by the end of the film you do not care about any of the characters because they end up being forgettable.

When it comes to the costume for Brandon’s murderous Brightburn alter-ego, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, James Gunn stated:

“Trying to create a really truly iconic horror movie character in the same way that Freddy Krueger is, or in the same way that Leatherface is, or in the same way that Jason is. Trying to create something with that same sort of feel that is instantly scary [and] plays with the superhero-ness of it all but at the same time is most definitely rooted in horror.”

IMDB/Brightburn

The costume pictured above is the final result and for me this costume looked goofy, like something you would expect in a parody or a superhero-comedy. The idea is that a kid would create a costume like that but even children are more imaginative than this. There’s a scene in the film where a character says that it looks creepy but if this movie took place in the real world Brightburn would be ROASTED. For Gunn to mention Krueger and Leatherface in the same sentence as that is an insult to those iconic characters. The movie establishes that Brandon is intelligent, demented and has a twisted mind and his costume would’ve been a great way to show that, instead we get a kid who looks like he put his head in a crocheted sock with laces on it. Sigh.

IMDB/Brightburn

Outside of the film’s terrible costume design, the writing is this film’s ultimate kryptonite. In Superman lore the most hokey thing is that the people (mostly reporters) who know of Superman and Clark Kent cannot tell the two apart even though all he does is comb his  hair and take off his glasses. Brightburn doubles down on that type of idiocy with its most frustrating character, Tori Breyer.  A recurring trope of a supernatural kid horror film is that one of the parents can never believe that their baby could do such a heinous act – usually the child ends up killing the other parent and OF COURSE that happens in this film too – Brightburn wears that trope to the ground.

Tori has adopted an alien child that CRUSHED the hand of another student at school and lacks remorse about it; she’s seen him be drawn to the alien spaceship in her barn where her chickens are slaughtered and she thinks that it’s a wolf; and her husband as raised legitimate concerns about their son’s behavior after Brandon chewed up a fork like his mouth was made of a garbage disposal. Through all those things listed she still did not want to believe that her alien son was a monster. It was nauseating to watch her in denial when all the evidence was there and with better writing then – maybe – the audience could understand the disbelief that she had. Her character was introduced as someone that was having fertility issues and somehow by the time you walked out of the theater you realized that Darwinism was working because not everyone should be a parent.

Final Thoughts

With superhero content being a trend that everyone is attempting to cash in on these days, Brightburn ends up being as disappointing as the (latest) films that the main character is loosely based on. Hopefully, one day there’s a superhero-horror film that delivers on the idea that this film attempts to execute. The Gunns have a lofty idea, but this movie turns out to be disappointing and boring at times. The horror works at times, the glass in the eye scene is tough to watch for those that are squeamish. The film doesn’t delve into the superhero aspect enough outside of Brightburn having Superman’s powers, everything else is halfway thought out. The character development is non-existent and the film doesn’t offer any depth to Brandon Breyer or why he’s evil outside of him going through puberty. Clocking in at 90 minutes, the plot is rushed, which is why it’s hard to feel any sort of emotion for Tori Breyer once Brightburn finally kills her. In 2019 alone, there have been plenty of horror films released with parents in denial, and films where the mother of a supernatural boy who didn’t make her denial of her son’s evil deeds feel as tiring. The gorey moments are fun to watch, but overall, this one wasn’t worth the price of admission. The film ends with news reports of Brightburn causing havoc on the rest of the planet to possibly set up a sequel. On top of that the song that starts with the ending credits is ‘Bad Guy’ by Billie Eilish, which couldn’t even be more on the nose.When James Gunn’s brother Brian and cousin Mark came together with the bright idea of creating a superhero-horror, the final results crashed and burned like the pod that Brandon Breyers arrived in.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Brightburn was released in theaters May 24, 2019.

Like. Share. Discuss: @PeliculasCosas

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019) | Movie Review|

In Latin, si vis pacem, para bellum – if you want peace, prepare for war –  and in the third  installment of the John Wick series, the titular character stays ready for whatever. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum finds the titular assassin on the run after a $14 million dollar bounty is placed on his head following the events of John Wick: Chapter 2. Chad Stahelski returns as director in this neo-noir action thriller with Keanu Reeves, Lance Riddick, Ian McShane and Laurence Fishburne reprising their roles. They’re joined by Halle Berry, Asia Kate Dillon, Anjelica Huston, Mark Dacascos and Saïd Taghmaoui. Spoilers after the trailer. 

Johnny B^D^$$

Following the events of John Wick: Chapter 2, the film begins with John Wick (Keanu Reeves) on the run as an “excommunicado” on the run after killing Santino on the grounds at the safe haven of the Continental Hotel. At the time of writing this review, I haven’t seen the first two films but the film does a good job at explaining what’s going on for the people who are new to it. 

IMDB/John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum

For fans of action, this movie delivers within the first 10 minutes. Have you ever seen a man kill another man with a book? The first fight scene is a brawl in a library between John Wick and Ernest (Boban Marjanovic) and it is brutal. Ernest is a mountain of  a man and he towers over Wick yet he’s checked out of life by Wick with a book. The way this scene is filmed with wide shots gives the action a sense of atmosphere.

Boban Marjanovic in John Wick 3! 👊💥pic.twitter.com/VTp7JTQIHZ

— Sports ReUp (@SportsReUp) May 18, 2019

Boban Marjanovic is an NBA player and the 7’3″ center had a solid feature film debut. His role was pretty much a cameo but the direction did a good job at using him to be intimidating. When paired with Keanu Reeves, the Yugoslavian-born player towers over him and the film does a good job selling the idea that Reeves could win in a fight.

Ride Until I Can’t No More

Have you ever wondered what it would look like to see a man on a horse kill multiple men on motorcycles? There’s a violent action scene where Wick disposes of multiple assassins on a horse and it’s visually appealing to watch. The problem with this scene is that as nice and cool as it was filmed, logically it doesn’t make much sense because you’d think the assassins would shoot his horse.

IMDB/John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum

But this isn’t a movie where one has to think about logic because the fight scenes are what makes this movie. Director Chad Stahelski is a former stuntman who has an eye for capturing action in the most imaginative of ways. When paired with cinematographer Dan Laustsen, the duo created a film that always felt fresh during its action sequences. As Wick progresses through the film, each battle he uses a different weapon and a different fighting style which showcases how innovative an assassin that Wick is.

The only issue is that whenever he’s hurt in the film, it’s forgotten about in the next scene. John Wick gets hit by a car and gets up and walks it off. If one of the minions’ stab  or cut him, he’s fine and doesn’t even flinch. There are moments in the movie where Wick is so invincible that if John Wick was an Avenger he’d kill Thanos because nothing could hurt him. This becomes somewhat frustrating to watch because the stakes are drastically decreased since it never feels like our hero is in danger.

IMDB/John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum

Things go from fun and action pack to comical and goofy when John Wick fights Zero (Mark Dacascos), the main antagonist of the film, in the middle of an unnoticed public. Wick literally kills a man in front of everyone and no one seems to be bothered. For most of the film, the assassins have executed most of their killings discreetly but during this scene all of that goes out the window.

Who Let The Dogs Out?

Outside of the action scenes, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum excels with its world building.  John meets Sofia (Halle Berry), a friend and manager of the Casablanca Continental. Sofia is the proud owner of two German Shepherds that are the living embodiment of fur missiles. Sofia and her dogs assisted Wick in his quest to find the Elder (Saïd Taghmaoui) but they ran into some trouble along the way.  After gaining knowledge of the Elder’s place from Berrada (Jerome Flynn), he asks for one of Sofia’s dogs in return, however, she does not abide which causes him to shoot her dog. A reference to a previous movie. Berrada isn’t a good shot and shoots the dog in its bulletproof vest and this causes the film’s best action scene to take place.

IMDB/John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum

The wide shots were used at their best during the scene as Sofia’s dogs bit down on the opposition. She’s directing traffic and they go where they’re told. They’re jumping over things, attacking other assassins with accuracy, and left me thinking that they need a spin-off involving Sofia and her dogs. Halle Berry’s character had around 15 to 20 minutes of screentime but for me, she stole the show.

Every fight scene in this movie felt like John was completing a level in a game, so after he and Sofia cleaned house, John tells her he’s going to finish looking for the Elder. The Elder lives in the desert, Sofia and John have only a squig out of a single bottle of water left until Sofia drinks it and spits it back into the bottle. Earlier, the film hinted that something in the past went down between these two and this was a nice way to follow up on that implication in the context of the film. This is also a great way to humanize Sofia and make you want to know more about her character.

IMDB/John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum

The world building doesn’t stop with Sofia, this film introduces the Adjudicator for the High Table (Asia Kate Dillon) and they’re truly terrifying.  They spend much of the film confronting and punishing everyone who has assisted the now excommunicated Wick. The Adjudicator is the one that recruits Zero to assassinate Wick, they violently make The Director (Anjelica Huston) and the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) pay for going against the rule of the High Table. Winston (Ian McShane) doesn’t want to give up his ownership of the Continental Hotel and this sets up the final fight scene of the film.

 

IMDB/John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum

Asia Kate Dillon was perfectly cast for their role as the Adjudicator because they’re menacing and take command on-screen when confronting the allies of Wick. Dillon’s cold demeanor makes their character feel as if nothing is personal and they’re just doing their job, which adds a layer to the role of the Adjudicator. If there is a fourth film, I hope they return to the role.

Fishburne plays up the craziness of the homeless Bowery King. He’s wonky, deranged and tells the Adjudicator that he’s too big for the High Table to stop his reign. When the film ends, the setup of his character in a possible sequel will be interesting to see what is next for him.

Final Thoughts

Filled with well choreographed action sequences and an impressive cast of stars, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum is an enjoyable neo-noir action thriller. Keanu Reeves is the perfect embodiment of his character and the world-building elevates the franchise for exciting future stories to tell, especially with Sofia and her dogs. The biggest complaint is that John Wick never sells his injuries and it makes his character seem invincible, which drastically lowers the stakes throughout the film. Hopefully, in the eventual fourth film, this is something that Stahelski will address to create a more compelling film. John Wick 3 lives up to Parabellum subtitle, because the titular character keeps the piece, which is why he’s prepared for war.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum was released in theaters  May 17, 2019

Family (2019) |Movie Review|

The feeling of being an outcast is something most people can relate to. Most families have a black sheep – that one family member who is different from everyone else – yet a sense of normalcy is something everyone wants to capture. Director-writer Laura Steinel’s directorial debut, Family, is a comedy that thoughtfully examines the idea of being a black sheep while exploring one of the least represented American subcultures in film. The plot follows a career-driven Kate Stone (Taylor Schilling) as she has to babysit her 13 year old  awkward niece Maddie Stone (Bryn Vale). Family also stars Brian Tyree Henry, Allison Tolman, Fabrizio Guido, Kate McKinnon, Matt Walsh, Jessie Ennis, Eric Edelstein and Peter Horton. Spoilers after the trailer.

A Similar Pairing

Maddie Stone is the weird kid at her school, she’s bullied by the other girls, her parents shelter her and she’s going through the typical teenage angst of trying to figure herself out, whereas her aunt Kate Stone is loathed by her co-workers, she’s career oriented to the point that she doesn’t talk to her family, and she’s completely full of herself. When Maddie’s parents have to leave town for an emergency they ask if Kate can watch over here while they’re away. This sets up a week of hijinks where the pair try creating  a bond with each other.

IMDB/Family

Kate has a high ranking position at her job and in every scene that takes place at her workplace she’s belittling. all of her co-workers, even her boss isn’t safe. There’s a funny scene in the beginning where Kate is talking about why pregnancy means you’re ruining  your career during a baby shower for one of her coworkers.  This allows the audience to get an idea of her character while weaving it into the story of the film without filling the movie with exposition. To say that Kate lacks social awareness is an understatement to say the least; she gives out terrible advice to her understudy Erin (Jessie Ennis), when it comes to moving up in the company.  Ironically, Kate doesn’t listen to anyone else’s advice. Maddie’s parents give Kate a list of foods that Maddie has reactions to and should not eat but self-absorbed Kate doesn’t care about that. She even asks Maddie’s parents if she’ll die if she eats them and they tell her no, so she bypasses their concerns. This led to Maddie eating chicken parmesan for five nights straight and she ends up having a reaction from eating too much of it.

The relationship between Maddie and Kate is like, if the parenting of Big Daddy met the awkwardness of Eight Grade with the coming of age of Lady Bird and if someone threw the subculture of Juggalo into that mix. This creates a movie that feels familiar yet unique, which director-writer Laura Steinel should be applauded for. Once the layers are peeled back, Maddie and Kate are more alike than they appear. Both are outcasts, but one chooses to be whereas the other is forced. Kate can relate to Maddie because when Kate was her age she was weird and awkward, which is something they bonded over.

Whoop Whoop

The theme of outcasts uniting continues once Maddie meets a gas station cashier named Dennis aka Baby Joker (Fabrizio Guido). He introduces her to the Juggalo lifestyle which is something that Kate thinks is weird and warns Maddie to stay away from. This was Guido’s first performance and this was a perfect role for him because he has the mannerisms of a Juggalo.

Face paint, taquitos, a stranger in the backyard… there's a lot happening. @TaySchilling stars in FAMILY, now playing! #JoinTheFamily pic.twitter.com/ZUMeiYhzKW

— Family (@familythemov) May 1, 2019

In an interview with Uproxx, Laura Steinel stated that this film took her three years to make and she went to The Gathering of the Juggalos, the official musical festival for Juggalos, to capture footage which adds to the film’s authenticity. The scenes at The Gathering were shot tight and Steinel wore a blonde wig to stand in for Schilling and they did a good job at filming this because it’s not noticeable in the film. The founders of Juggalos’ Insane Clown Posse even made a cameo appearance in the film, which makes this a Juggalo approved film.

It's about that time! @icp stars in FAMILY, now in theaters! #JoinTheFamily pic.twitter.com/1a2ETsqAlV

— Family (@familythemov) May 6, 2019

Also the face paint was well done:

The Film Arcade/Family

A Tale of Two Side Characters

Sensei Pete (Brian Tyree Henry) is Maddie’s karate sensei and he serves as the moral compass of the film. Maddie’s parents are forcing her to take a dance class, which is something she has no interest in, so she’s been sneaking into Pete’s karate class and learning a few moves.

The Film Arcade/Family

Brian Tyree Henry has these little nuances in his acting that make a minor role something to pay attention to. He reprimanded Kate for being irresponsible while she was babysitting Maddie. You can tell that Sensei Pete cares about his students and wants what is best for her. When Maddie gets in trouble at school, Sensei Pete is her contact for emergencies which lets us know what she thinks of him.

On the other hand, Kate McKinnon would’ve benefited by dialing it down a lot and playing her character instead of playing Kate McKinnon. Jill (Kate McKinnon) is Maddie’s neighbor and she is pretty much the housing authority of the neighborhood and constantly tells Kate to put the garage door down, so none of the neighborhood kids get crushed to death by it. It’s not a weird request, maybe, somewhat, overdramatic but it’s used as a joke in the film. The payoff is funny, but McKinnon adlibs and oversells it to the point where it comes off as too cartoonish. In the film, McKinnon is funny, but at times she would overdo her shtick. If Steinel could’ve reeled her  in a bit with more direction than her performance would’ve been more enjoyable.

IMDB/Family

Final Thoughts

It is not everyday that we get to see a Juggalo approved film hit the big screen, which helps make Family something different. Taylor Schilling proves she’s not just Orange is the New Black, and this film allowed her to show off her comedic chops. Bryn Vale held her own when paired with Schilling and both of them made their characters believable. Add the role of Sensei Pete to Brian Tyree Henry’s impressive range of playing different character types and in time he’ll have an Oscar added to his name. Laura Steinel’s directorial debut is worth going to see on the big screen if you’re looking to see something unique. If this one is playing near you, join the family or get left out.

Fin

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Family was released in theaters on March 22, 2019.

POKÉMON: Detective Pikachu (2019)|Movie Review|

In a world where animated classics are being remade into live-action spectacles for what seems to be at a monthly pace, a staple of the 1990s makes its live-action cinematic debut. POKÉMON: Detective Pikachu is based on the video game of the same name and stars Justice Smith and Ryan Reynolds as the titular character.

First Thing First

The visual effects team that worked on this film deserves an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects because they miraculously pulled this off without making the Pokémon look awkward, sloppy or out of place. The majority of the film takes place in Ryme City, a city where humans and Pokémon live in harmony amongst each other. The way the effects team were able to make Ryme City feel like an actual city was astonishing. There’s a scene where the screen is occupied to its fullest capacity and establishes that someone took their time and deliberately made every Pokémon count.

IMDB/Pokémon: Detective Pikachu

Even when Pokémon are in the frame by themselves, the details are robust and they feel like actual creatures instead of pocket monsters. When the script calls for them to emit some sort of emotion, the facial expressions and eye movement convey the message effortlessly. The Psyduck below is the face of confusion and Bulbasaur has the eyes of someone who knows what’s going on. In the context of the film, the little things make it more impactful when it happens.

IMDB/Pokémon: Detective Pikachu

IMDB/Pokémon: Detective Pikachu

Mixed Reaction

Outside of the visual effects, the other thing that POKÉMON: Detective Pikachu has going for it, is the chemistry between its two leads, Ryan Reynolds and Justice Smith. Reynolds is at his wisecracking tactics as if he had just walked off the set of Deadpool and Smith counteracts that by acting as the straight man, which is a formula for a few hearty laughs. The film starts out in a serious tone, but as soon as Reynolds’ Pikachu comes into frame, that’s when the humor makes its entrance and never exits. Being that this is a PG film some of the jokes don’t land but overall, the pairing work perfectly off of each other.

IMDB/POKÉMON: Detective Pikachu

Kathryn Newton, Bill Nighy, and Ken Watanabe make up the notable cast members who have solid roles in the film. The problem is the writing in the film doesn’t give them much to do. Lucy Stevens (Kathryn Newton) is a reporter and early on in the film before Pikachu is introduced, she has some sort of motive and character for her. Once she and Tim Goodman (Justice Smith) start working together, she just becomes a sidekick for him and Pikachu. The film also becomes predictable as soon as Howard Clifford (Bill Nighy) is introduced. Clifford looks like he’s up to something nefarious so by the time the third act happens things are not surprising at all. The last act felt like it just took place for the film to hit beats but since the visual effects were so well done, it was still a fun watch.

IMDB/Pokémon: Detective Pikachu

Another area of improvement is the amount of exposition the flashback scenes used. Every single time there was a flashback hologram scene it was just used as a way for the film to tell the audience what was going on. The flashbacks might as well have been narration because that’s how they functioned within the film’s storytelling. There are around four scenes of “holographic security footage” that provide answers to the mysteries the main characters are trying to solve which make it feel like a cop out of the film’s mysterious aspect that it set up in the beginning.

Final Thoughts

Pokémon: Detective Pikachu is a kids movie, which is why it’s predictable plot hurts and helps the film simultaneously. For children the plot is something easy for them to understand but for adults it’s something we’ve seen time and time again. As far as a movie that’s based on a video game, Detective Pikachu is probably the best one I’ve seen in a long time. The world-building is phenomenal and the movie is amusing from start to finish. Compared to a lot of properties that become films for cash grab nostalgic reasons, Detective Pikachu delivers and never feels as if the crew behind the scenes did not have a passion for this project. Warner Brothers and the other studios involved allowed director Rob Letterman to stay at the helm and direct his vision as it worked to the benefit of both parties. With rumors circulating that a live-action film based on Pokemon Red and Blue is currently under development, I’m looking forward to the future for the franchise based on pocket monsters.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

The Public was released in theaters April 5, 2019.

Like. Share. Discuss on Twitter @PeliculasCosas

Sonic the Hedgehog (2019) |Trailer Thoughts|

A couple of weeks ago, we were treated (to use that word very loosely) to the first official trailer for Paramount Pictures’ upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog film. Based on the Sega video game franchise of the same name, the film is directed by Jeff Fowler and written by Patrick Casey, Josh Miller, and Oren Uziel, from a story by Van Robichaux and Evan Susser. Sonic the Hedgehog will star Ben Schwartz as the voice of the titular character and Jim Carrey as Sonic’s nemesis Doctor Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik. They’ll be joined by James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Natasha Rothwell, Neal McDonough and Adam Pally.  The plot of the film centers around a sheriff helping Sonic escape from the government that is led by Robotnik. Check out the trailer below and look at the like and dislike ratio while you’re at it.

The reason why I’m just now writing about this trailer is because I wanted to wait after I saw and reviewed Detective Pikachu which is another film based on a video game. Based off of the trailer, this Sonic film looks like it has set video game movies back at least 30 years. This still from the trailer appears to be the moment that Sonic looked in the mirror and saw what “the producers of The Fast and The Furious” created:

 

Paramount Pictures/Sonic The Hedgehog

Even Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson had to ask the question:

This poorly designed Sonic has a textbook look of confusion. His eyes are questioning everything it has ever seen, the Blue Blur has become a blur to himself as he’s processing an image that has bestowed upon the mirror. His jaw-dropping and wide open mouth are signs of disbelief that Paramount will try to cash grab a video gaming icon in this manner. If you’re going to try and cash grab nostalgia, at least make it adorable and not creepy. No shame. No shame at all. Once Sonic’s brain processed the image, the primal scream of realizing what Sonic is seeing was captured here:

Paramount Pictures/Sonic The Hedgehog

AND WE ALL FEEL YOU SONIC!!! You deserve better than whatever this sick joke is. Luckily, director Jeff Fowler has listened to the backlash the film received after the release of the trailer Tweeted this:

Thank you for the support. And the criticism. The message is loud and clear… you aren't happy with the design & you want changes. It's going to happen. Everyone at Paramount & Sega are fully committed to making this character the BEST he can be… #sonicmovie #gottafixfast 🔧✌️

— Jeff Fowler (@fowltown) May 2, 2019

Hopefully, there will be enough time for the visual effects team to give Sonic a redesign that doesn’t look rushed or sloppy. On another note, the Sonic theme is a staple of video game culture and  choosing Coolio’s hit-single “Gangsta’s Paradise” as the soundtrack to the trailer was another terrible choice. If you’re not going to choose a song from Sonic at the very least, make it fit the tone of the film, if they had to use that song then make an 8-bit version.

Paramount Pictures/Sonic The Hedgehog

As for the villain, Jim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnik acts like he just walked off the set of ***insert the title of  one of Jim Carrey’s 1990s comedies here*** and I do not mean that in a good way. He’s too campy in this trailer and doesn’t capture the essence of Eggman. Nothing about this trailer made it feel like it was made by someone that likes Sonic as a property, instead everything from start to finish looks mishandled. Assuming that the before and after photos of Robotnik are going to make the final cut of the film, it’s easy to assume that this movie will be an origin story for the character because he ends up with his bald head and trademark mustache.

Paramount Pictures/Sonic The Hedgehog

Based on that still, they somewhat have Eggman’s look down which, I guess, is a good sign. If Fowler’s visual effects team can create a Sonic that doesn’t look like an abomination, then the movie may end up being tolerable. Maybe the trailer was just a marketing stunt to get people talking about the film to create a buzz. All I know is that the Sega Dreamcast didn’t die for its flagship character to be handled on the big screen this way.

Fin.

Sonic The Hedgehog is scheduled to be released in theaters on November 8, 2019.

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Long Shot (2019) |Movie Review|

Romantic comedies where the male lead is outkicking the coverage are a staple in Hollywood cinema and Seth Rogen’s latest rom-com title could be seen as a cheeky reference to that. Long Shot follows a journalist who reconnects with his former babysitter, who is now the United States Secretary of State. The film stars Seth Rogen, Charlize Theron, O’Shea Jackson Jr.,  June Diane Raphael, Bob Odenkirk, Andy Serkis, Alexander Skarsgård, and Ravi Patel.  Spoilers after the trailer.

The Comedy

From where the film starts to where it ends is a long shot within itself. Long Shot opens up with  a Fred Flarsky (Seth Rogen), a journalist who is infiltrating a white supremacist camp to expose them for an upcoming story. Unfortunately for Flarsky, he’s outed while getting a Swastika tattoo and the white supremacists are about to attack him, luckily he escapes by jumping out of a window. Meanwhile, the former hit-show television actor who played the president on TV turned elected official, President Chambers (Bob Odenkirk), has decided to forgo running for re-election, instead he wants to become a movie star. He even made a proclamation that only two actors, Woody Harrelson and George Clooney, have successfully made the transition from television to film. With the news that President Chambers is not running for re-election, United States Secretary of State Charlotte Fields (Charlize Theron) has the opportunity to become the first female president in the history of the United States.

 

IMDB/Long Shot

The paper that Flarsky writes for has been bought out by right-wing media mogul Parker Wembley (Adam Sirkis), who I barely recognized, which causes Flarsky to quit his job because his morals would not allow him to work for someone like Wembley. An unemployed Flarsky goes to a Boys II Men performance with his best friend Lance (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) and this is where he begins his reconnection with Charlotte Fields. In this raunchy comedy, it turns out that Charlotte was Flarsky’s babysitter and he got an erection in front of her and it was the most embarrassing moment of his life.

While gathering data for the upcoming election, public opinion polls show that the public doesn’t think Charlotte Fields has shown that she has a sense of humor, which is why she hires Flarsky as a speechwriter because his writings have personality and color to them. The film does a great job at setting up the dichotomy between the ever so serious Fields and the pessimistically comedic Flarsky. Fields’ campaign team does not want Flarsky on the team because he’s a slob and his public image will eviscerate her election chances.

IMDB/Long Shot

The on-screen comedic chemistry between Seth Rogen and Charlize Theron is perfect. Rogen’s brand of humor is the ying to Theron’s yang. Theron’s character is someone who is committed to her job with a demanding schedule and when you add Rogen’s brash yet self-absorbed character, it allows the pair to have funny moments. Fields and Flarsky have a molly infused night out in Paris, unbeknownst to them, there is a hostage situation which requires the Press Secretary to negotiate. Fields, a first time molly user, is thrown into a highly stressful situation as she has to negotiate the life of a hostage, but the film doesn’t make it feel melodramatic and takes a humorous approach.

Side Characters

The main characters aren’t the only well-written characters in this film, the side characters also shine too. O’Shea Jackson Jr. is a scene stealer in this one. Sure, his character is a “black best friend” trope, but he does a terrific job with what he is given. The bits with Lance and Flarsky naturally feel like two best friends hanging out. They never come off as forced or trying to be funny for the sake of comedy. There’s a bit where Lance reveals that he’s a  Christian black Republican, and Flarsky assumed that Lance only wore a cross because it was  a “cultural thing.” Because of this, Lance calls out Flarsky for being racist which the liberal Flarsky condemns himself for being an accidental racist.

IMDB/Long Shot

On the other side of things, Charlotte Fields’ campaign staff is just as amusing. Maggie Millikin (June Diane Raphael) is one of Fields’ key staffers and she has it out for Flarsky. Throughout the film, she does her best to convince Charlotte that bringing Flarsky on board was a terrible decision. Whenever Millikin and Flarsky interact, tension and animosity play up for comedic effect, but their passive-aggressive dislike is real. June Diane Raphael’s casting was perfect for this type of role as she emits a condescending vibe without it ever feeling forced.

IMDB/Long Shot

The Romance

When it comes to the romantic portion of this romantic comedy, this is where the film seems to struggle. As great as the comedic chemistry between Rogen and Theron is, their romantic chemistry leaves much to be desired. Long Shot does its best to convince us that Fields and Flarsky are in a romantic relationship, but the only time it seems like they’re in love is because the script says so. The whole cat and mouse game feels forced and a jarring contrast to their comedic pairing. As a comedy, Theron and Rogen bounce off each other effortlessly, but every time the script reminds us that this is a romance, it’s hard not to roll your eyes because it’s so absurd.

IMDB/Long Shot

Again, the film’s setup is that Fields was Flarsky’s babysitter nearly 20 years ago, he had a crush on her and now they rekindled and fell in love. Unfortunately, throughout the whole film the romance never feels like they feel in love, instead it’s just a late 30s year-old man that has a  juvenile-like crush on an early 40s year-old woman. Everything that Flarsky loves about Fields happened over two decades ago, which is what he brings up throughout the film as if Fields hasn’t changed her ideas or motives in that timeframe.

Final Thoughts

Like many of Seth Rogen’s comedic films, Long Shot is raunchy and vulgar yet funny and has charming moments. The casting helps elevate it through its, cringeworthy at times, romantic plotline. The main characters and many of the side characters have plenty of moments where they shine as actual people. There are moments that parody real life events and news networks. If you’re going to see this as a date movie there is an action scene for the fellas, so it’s not a long shot to say that this move had something for everybody. It is a shame that this film is going under the radar since it premiered a week after what may be the highest grossing film of all-time, but charge it to the game.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Long Shot was released in theaters May 3, 2019.

Review: Amazon’s Latest Original Series, ‘The Boys’ Brings Sardonicism To The Superhero Genre With A Tolerable Pilot | Small Screen |

WARNING: This post contains spoilers for the pilot episode of the upcoming Amazon series The Boys

All aboard the hype train that is the superhero genre and its coronation of becoming a staple in American pop culture. From movies, traditional television shows, video games, comic books to web series, superhero content has transcended media in a single bound at the speed of a locomotive and doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Comics were once called funny books and now studios are laughing all the way to the bank, at the time of writing this article, a film based on superheros is the fastest film ever to gross over $2 billion dollars. With this financial success, the most valuable company in the world has launched a new, darker take on the genre with The Boys, a show that is based on the Garth Ennis comic book series of the same name, on their Prime Video streaming service.

In The Boys, the ‘supes’ are not goody two-shoes or noble, instead they embrace their darker side, and are corrupted by fame, their ego, engage in reckless behaviors and let their powers go to their head. Behind the scenes the dark-comedy is in good hands as it was developed by Preacher duo Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, and Supernatural creator Eric Kripke. The cast includes Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Elisabeth Shue, Erin Moriarty, Antony Starr, Jessie Usher, Dominique McElligott and Jess Salgueiro. Spoilers after the trailer.

What A World

Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, the pilot episode mostly focuses on world building and informing the audience on what type of characters our heroes are. Vought is an defense contractor that owns The Seven (a la Justice League) and hundreds of other heroes and teams. Vought contracts out heroes to various cities, towns, and organizations to help maintain peace and protect citizens all across America. The Seven are the “best” of the heroes that Vought contracts and they’re a complete parody of the Justice League. The Seven are lead by Homelander (Antony Starr), who is a parody of Superman. Other members include an Aquaman parody known as The Deep (Chace Crawford), a Flash parody named A-Train (Jessie Usher), a Wonder Woman parody named Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott), Black Noir (Alex Hassell) an Invisible Man type hero, and Starlight/Anne January (Erin Moriarty) the newest member of the crew.

Becoming a superhero was her dream. Being one is a f**king nightmare. pic.twitter.com/Z4NccIfyyX

— The Boys (@TheBoysTV) May 2, 2019

The first 10 minutes of the series hits you in the face with what to expect for the rest of the series. Queen Maeve stops an armed robbery in progress in the most traditional superhero wey, even with a superhero pose, yet the show is self-aware of the collateral damage the heroes cause. Once we are introduced to “Wee” Hughie Campbell (Jack Quaid) the show fully embraces it’s sardonic, grimey, adult, and dark nature in the most unexpected way. Hughie and his girlfriend Rachel (Jess Salgueiro) are a young couple filled with optimism and discussing their dreams, planning out their futures with each other until things become tragic. Rachel is talking as there is a tight shot of Hughie’s face as he’s listening to every word she says until blood just splatters across his cheeks and we don’t hear Rachel talking anymore. Trachtenberg and the effects team did a fantastic job at capturing that captured grief in a comedic way.

A-Train, who runs at speeds that are comparable to Flash, ran through Rachel and this is the catalyst of the conflict between Hughie and our heros. Hughie is offered $45,000 by Vought to sign non-disclosure agreement, an offer his dad (Simon Pegg) tells him to take, but a sadden Hughie feels that Rachel’s life is worth more than that, plus A-Train didn’t even sound like he had a single ounce of sorrow when he apologized for the incident.

The show hammers home that these superheros do not care about anyone but themselves and being a “hero” is just a job to them. No moral code of conduct, no big speeches about great power and responsibility, just a bunch of overpowered employees who acts as worst as any human would. The B-plot focuses on Starlight’s initiation into The Seven. Starlight is from Des Moines, Iowa, she was in hero pageants, and grew up idolizing The Seven, and when she finally gets chosen to join this is her and her mother’s dream come true. In this dark and twisted universe, things aren’t as bright as the seem for Starlight when she has a #MeToo moment with The Deep, a hero that was her favorite ever since she was a child. How the series manages to explore and follow up this moment in future episodes is either going to make or break this series. When it happens in the pilot it’s used as a comedic moment so the resolution for Starlight’s character in a future episode has to have weight to it for this plot point to be worth it.

Made In A Lab

The most promising moments of the first episode of the upcoming Amazon Prime Video series happen when Hughie and Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) interact with each other. Hughie is a self-described Simon and Garfunkel type of guy, one that doesn’t like confrontation or violence and Butcher is the complete opposite of that. Butcher knows about what happened to Rachel and poses as an FBI agent to gain Hughie’s trust, so he can help Hughie scheme up a plan to enact revenge on A-Train and all the insanely egotistical heros at Vought. Which leads up to a violent yet predictable fight scene by the end of the episode.

The pairing of Urban and Quaid were the funniest part of this episode. The oddball pairing have good chemistry and their humor bounces off each other. Urban plays the role of the unpredictable wildman effortlessly and Quaid’s portrayal of the lack of self-esteem nerdy compliments him perfectly. Another dynamic performance comes with Erin Moriarity’s portrayal of Starlight. Moriarity knows how to balance her character’s naivety,apprehensive while showing signs of being fierce in possible future episodes.

Final Thoughts

Overall, The Boys brings sardonicism to the superhero genre with its tolerable pilot. The show has moments that are genuinely laugh out loud funny, yet it manages to get in it’s own way and stumbles at moments. It brings the graphicness and crude humor in a similar way as Kick-Ass and Watchmen and at times feels like something that should’ve came out during the time when those two were on the big screen.

The Seven/IMDB

As a pilot episode, it does a serviceable job at building the world for future episodes which is all anyone can ask for. One thing that The Boys has going for it are the minds behind the scenes, the love for superheroes in popular culture and another comic book based series to compliment the critically acclaimed, The Tick. When The Boys drops on Prime Video in July, it’ll be worth checking out, but hopefully, the rest of the series is closer to the highpoints of its pilot episode.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

The Boys is scheduled to premiere on Amazon Prime Video on July 26, 2019.

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Avengers: Endgame (2019) |Movie Review|

ATTENTION: First, this review is GOING TO CONTAIN SPOILERS!!!  If you have not seen Avengers: Endgame yet then you can check out this SPOILER FREE REACTION here.

With the release of the full Spiderman: Far From Home trailer, Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo, aka The Russo Brothers, have announced an end to the spoiler ban today. In honor of the ban being lifted, here is my full spoilerific review.

Disassembled

This section is for the people who went into Avengers: Endgame without seeing the previous twenty-one entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). If you’re someone who has only seen Avengers: Infinity War or is unfamiliar with the way these characters have developed over the past decade, and view Endgame as a standalone, then it probably hits you differently when it comes to your expectations. As a standalone film then I would rate this movie as a FUEGO because the first two acts of this film require you to understand what has transpired in previous films to understand the grasp of the situation. The rest of this review is for the people that have been there since Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) built his first suit in the middle of a cave

Act I: The Fallout

The first hour of Avengers: Endgame picks up right where we left off after the events of Avengers: Infinity War, half of life in the universe has ceased to exist, thanks to The Snap heard around the world by Thanos (Josh Brolin). The first twenty minutes of this film are captivating for various reasons. If you were expecting this film to start off with a bunch of explosions and superheroes doing all the superhero things then lo siento, you’re going to be upset about the start of this film. For a comic book film, Endgame is a masterpiece when it comes to humanizing these characters.

The film opens with Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) teaching his daughter the ways of archery, and then his family turns into dust. Hawkeye is wearing an ankle monitor because of the fallout from the events of  Captain America: Civil War.  Details like that are what can make or break a film because it shows that the filmmakers took their time and cared about continuity. Oh and Linda Cardellini stopped ghosting and returned as Hawkeye’s wife.

Fast forward twenty-one days, after getting a beatdown by Thanos on Titan, Tony Stark and Nebula (Karen Gillan) are playing a game of paper football. This scene conveyed a lot of development for Nebula because her personality has been humorless and sadistic, which Tony calls her the latter, throughout her appearances in the MCU. Just showing them playing paper football to pass the time as they’re drifting out in space was a great way to humanize both of their characters and create some sort of relationship between two people who are practically strangers. Tony’s heartfelt message to Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) would’ve been far more impactful if the film’s trailers didn’t have him in future scenes. At least that would’ve given off the impression that he died on the ship, but Robert Downey Jr. sells it well, so you’re caught up in the moment and convinced he won’t make it. Seriously, doesn’t this look like a man that’s about to die?

When he and Nebula are saved by Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) and return to Earth, the film becomes more dramatic. Tony and Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) finally reunite for the first time since the events of Civil War and the emotions are running wild at the Avengers headquarters. Thanos won in Infinity War and every single one of the living heroes in the room, individually, felt like they were the reason that he succeeded with his plan. The temperature in the room is somber, sad, bleek, depressing and the ego of Stark causes more friction between him and Rogers. Their superhero alias aren’t just names, they’re personality traits. Iron Man is a man who is extremely strong willed with his ego and his beliefs versus Captain America, the man that will do whatever he can in the name of freedom even if it isn’t always in the best interest of the universe. The pair squabble and there is a reference to a conversation from Age of Ultron, where Captain America says, “They’ll lose together too,” yet this loss has cost the team and the universe everything. Tony’s arc from the first Iron Man is that he wanted to put the safety of the Earth and its people before anything else, – whatever it takes – by any means necessary. Seeing Earth in this state and going through what he went through during his clash with Thanos on Titan has broken Tony Stark.

The one character that is taking things the hardest is Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and he is, arguably, the one that has lost the most. When Stark arrived at Avengers headquarters he even had to ask what was wrong with Thor. Pictured above, Thor has the look of someone who is poised, angry, focused, and ready to unleash a fury unbeknownst to anyone in the room. The ever so arrogant Captain Marvel wants to bring the fight to Thanos, she even tells the group they didn’t have her in their previous battles. The film has some self-awareness when a character wonders where Captain Marvel has been this whole time and she states that other planets in the galaxy don’t have Avengers. Whenever the eventual Captain Marvel II comes out, hopefully we get an  in-depth look into what Carol Danvers has been doing over the past 20 years.

For the people who come for action, Endgame rewards you around the fifteen minute mark. Personally, I enjoyed the slow burn because if the film rushed into the action it would have undermined everything that happened in Infinity War. The emotional journey of creating everything as bleak as possible early on is what makes the third act remarkably rewarding.

When Thanos used the Infinity Gauntlet, he did what he said he was going to do: sit down and watch the sunset. This was his destiny. He has a planet to himself, he’s gardening, retired his armor and used it as a scarecrow, until Carol and the gang ambush him and eventually kill him. After the Mad Titan tells them that he destroyed the stones, Thor unleashes all of that pent up anger and  “goes for the head” the same way Thanos told him that he should’ve done in Infinity War. That action works two-fold because it gives the audience a reason to laugh and fits the narrative of the film. The first act of this movie does a good job at intertwining humor with its dramatic tone without it ever feeling misplaced.

Five Years Later

Fast forward five years and no one has come back to life since Thanos destroyed the stones, half of life is still gone, all hope has been lost and our Avengers are back to coping as best as they can. The always optimistic Captain America is hosting counseling meetings for the survivors of The Snappening in a similar fashion to Falcon (Anthony Mackie) working with veterans at the VA. During this scene the Russo brothers, in the most bottom of the barrell way humanly possible, introduced the first gay character in the MCU, and one of them even used that character as an opportunity to make a cameo.

While Captain America is helping others, and finding different methods to cope with the events that have transpired so far, Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) is out there looking like an ACTUAL WIDOW. Of all the characters we’ve seen so far since the five year time jump she is looking the most disheveled. Her red roots have grown out and she looks like she’s doing her best Rogue impression. I’m not sure if that was on purpose, but it is fitting that one of the world’s best assassins, who has been known to go rogue, ends up looking like Rogue. The scene of her eating a peanut butter sandwich just adds to the stress that Black Widow has to be feeling, she went from shwarama to peanut butter sandwiches – no jelly.  Just look at her:

Again, the film knows when to mix in the humor to lighten things up without overdoing it. Thanks to a mouse, which had to be a play on Disney’s flagship character, Ant-Man/Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is saved from the Quantum Realm. Ant-Man’s reunion with his daughter five years later is one of the most heartfelt scenes in the film – if you’ve seen the other Ant-Man films then you’ll know why. When he goes to Avengers headquarters and reunites with Rogers and Romanoff, the three of them bounce off of each other well. The chemistry between Evans, Rudd and Johanson picks up right where it left off in Civil War.

To counter Roger’s selfishness and Romanoff’s sadness, Tony Stark has moved out to the countryside, raising his daughter with Pepper Potts. Just seeing Stark living in a log cabin is such – sorry for the pun – a stark contrast to how the futurist has been living throughout the rest of the films in the MCU. This is Stark’s second chance to have a family and live out his life. When Stark was trapped in that cave in Iron Man, Yinsen told him “don’t waste your life” which is why he tells Rogers and Romanoff that his main concern is his wife and his daughter. Stark has finally found happiness and he is going to do whatever it takes to keep it and this begins the transition to the film’s second act.

Act II: Time Heist

The second act is where the film’s tone and moods start to shift into a more plucky and optimistic role as our heroes come up with a plan to save the universe. Rogers, Lang and Romanoff eventually got Stark’s help to devise a plan to commit a time heist and travel back to the past to fight Thanos. Romanoff recruits Barton, who is in Japan acting as a vigilante named Ronin, and he’s killing criminals as a coping mechanism for The Snap that killed his family.

After getting the green beat out of him during Infinity War, Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) has become one being, known as Professor Hulk. Hulk went from being ostracized from Earth to being a loveable figure where kids come up to take pictures. Instead of saying cheese, Hulk says, “green,” it’s again another way the film effortlessly blends into comedy without disrupting its flow.

Oh but the plot thickens https://t.co/QOE5HjBP5s

— Travis Wateska (@travis_wateska) May 2, 2019

Unlike Banner, the past five years have not been kind to Thor. He is far from the angry demeanor he had early on in the film. Now the God of Lightning looks like The Big Lebowski’s stunt double and this is one of the best things that Endgame pulled off. It makes sense that Thor is taking things even harder than he was earlier in this film. He killed Thanos with Stormbreaker but everyone is still dead. He feels like the ultimate failure. Asgard experienced Ragnarok, his parents, step-brother, and half of the people that he was supposed to look over are all dead.

The tragedy of Thor, perfectly coincides with his depression, PTSD and weight gain. When Thor reunites with Rocket and Hulk after creating bonds with both characters in Ragnarok and Infinity War, respectively, the drastic shift of his personality is just as seismic as his weight gain. The way that Hemsworth and the Russo brothers pulled this off is one of the film’s greatest feats. Hemsworth is just as hilarious as he was in Thor: Ragnarok, but the humor is laced in the grief that he has experienced in Infinity War.

Forget What You Know About Time Travel

Time travel in films can be tricky and can create problems the size of a Chitauri worm if the film breaks its own rules. Endgame addresses its audience by using a conversation with its heroes to establish the rules of time travel.  The characters tell us to forget everything you know about time travel and the film ends up creating a time heist that uses alternate-realities and universes versus the traditional paradox method.

Captain America goes back to 2012 and fights himself; he also goes back to 1970s and captures a glimpse of Agent Peggy Carter; Thor goes to 2012 gets to see his mother and wields Mjolnir once again; Nebula gets to confront the atrocity of her 2014 self; Iron Man has one last conversation with his father in the 1970s and Black Widow makes the ultimate sacrifice for the Soul stone in 2014.

Seeing the Ancient One assist the Avengers in 2012 was a welcomed, small touch but it makes you wonder why she did not do more if she was there for the attack on New York. The 2012 version of Loki (Tom Hiddleston) manages to escape custody, which opens up ideas for a future show/movie. The second act for this movie is vital because it was a way to fleege out the Marvel Cinematic Uni- MULTIVERSE. Another reason why Endgame is such a vital film and changes everything about the MCU and what we’ve seen so far.

Act III: AVENGERS . . . . ASSEMBLE

The third act is where Endgame excels more than any other comic book film in the history cinema. Tensions have risen as 2014 Thanos ambushes the Avengers at their own headquarters. It is symbolic of how Iron Man and company ambushed Thanos on his home planet, Titan.  Seeing Thor, Iron Man and Captain America do their best at trying to defeat the Mad Titan leads up to one of the best moments in comic book film history. Captain America wields Mjolnir for the first time in the MCU and this scene is shot in a jaw dropping way. Rogers is in center frame as the powers of Thor course through his body and he attack Thanos with the hammer.

Unfortunately, the Mad Titan wasn’t easily defeated and this builds up to the emotional checkpoint of the film. Captain America, a man who can do this all day, has his back against the wall, it is just him and Thanos until he hears Falcon say “Cap, I’m on your left” which is another call back from Winter Soldier. When the rest of the heroes returned from the dead and did their hero pose on the battlefield, that’s when things got real. Captain America finally said the words that fans have been waiting for…. “Avengers.. Assemble”

A moment that felt overwhelmingly rewarding when I saw this movie the first time. This is a feat that a decade ago seemed impossible and for this movie franchise to build up to this moment in time could not have been executed any better. Marvel Studios was able to project the imagination of every kid that plays with toys onto the silver screen. When the dust started to settle and the action sequences began to reach its conclusion, the man that kicked off the MCU was the one that ended up snapping to defeat Thanos. At the start of the film and at the end of the battle, Thanos stated that he was inevitable, and after snapping, Stark told Thanos, “I am Iron Man” which is a call back to the end of the first film in the MCU. This was the best way to kill the Iron Man character. Having Stark’s last words being a quip was a marvelous choice by the film’s editors and they deserve a huge raisethe film’s editors and they deserve a gigantic raise.

The Endgame

A masterclass in character development will be something that many will overlook about Endgame. Like the reactor he created in his first film, Tony’s character arc is one of a kind yet it might be the best character arc of any character over the course of multiple films. This 3 hour and two minute film wasn’t just about Tony, other characters have some type of closure to their character arc as well. Thor, Captain America, Hulk, Black Widow, War Machine (Don Cheadle), Nebula, Hawkeye and Rocket (Bradley Cooper) all have moments that further develop their character or complete their arc from previous films. The build-up from 21 other films is what makes Endgame such an enjoyable film and I cannot wait to see  what’s next for these heros in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Avengers: Endgame was released in theaters April 26, 2019

Spoiler Free – Avengers: Endgame (2019) Reaction in 300 Words Or Less.

The Avengers assembled for the emotional and long-awaited sequel to 2018’s Infinity War.  After 21 other films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which turned 11 years old this year, we’ve reached the season finale, so to speak, Avengers: Endgame was a phenomenal way to cap off this epic journey.

Reaction

After watching every second of this three hour and two minute film – with no bathroom break 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 – I left the theater floored from what I just saw. The character development, the call backs, the heartbreak, the laughs, every emotion you can think of was captured in this movie. The Russo Brothers even found a way to integrate things from a show outside of the MCU into this film. I walked out of the theater thinking – with no hyperbole – that there is no way any comic book movie is going to be able to top what I just watched. The first 10 minutes of this film were everything that you could ask for after the events of Infinity War. The character arc for a certain character has to be the best character arc of any character over the course of multiple films. The call backs from other MCU movies weren’t just in the film to pad up it’s run time, instead they made sense with the film’s narrative. Just like those call backs, the comedy never felt forced because everything the characters had to say fits with their characterization from other films. Narratively, the conclusion of multiple storylines were wrapped up and Endgame found a way to address the questions the viewer may be asking when it comes to key plot points. The appropriately titled film felt like the endgame of a genre and the MCU assembled the cream of the crop.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Avengers: Endgame was released in theaters April 26, 2019.

The Curse of La Llorona (2019) |Movie Review|

Mexican folklore gets the big screen treatment with the The Curse of La Llorona – an entry into The Conjuring Universe – about the ghost of a woman who drowned her children and haunts future victims who can hear her tears. In this feature length version of the tale of “The Weeping Woman,” Michael Chaves makes his directorial debut with a story written by Tobias Iaconis and Mikki Daughtry. The Curse of La Llorona stars Linda Cardellini, Raymond Cruz, Patricia Velásquez, Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen, Roman Christou and Marisol Ramirez. Spoilers after the trailer.

We Are Weeping With You

When it was announced that New Line Cinema’s “The Children”  had been re-titled to The Curse of La Llorona, things looked ever so promising for this adaptation of Mexican folklore. Later on, when Linda Cardellini was announced as the lead in the film, fans and people who grew up with the tale of Latin folklore were highly upset, and they had every right to be. Hollywood has a history of whitewashing culture in the media for profit that goes back further than the sidewalk of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The film is set during 1973 Los Angeles and follows a social worker named Ann Tate-Garcia (Linda Cardellini) as she investigates the disappearance of the two children of  Patricia Alvarez (Patricia Velásquez). The more she investigates, the more bizarre things become for her and her family. Tate-Garcia is raising two children of her own; Chris Garcia (Roman Christou) and Samantha Garcia (Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen), on top of that, she’s the widow of a slain police officer. Before La Llorona (Marisol Ramirez) enters the picture, the Tate-Garcia family has already had its own share of misfortunes, but once the family is haunted by her things become comical.

The Garcia family seeing the ghost of La Llorona

Both children of Patricia Alvarez were discovered drowned which causes Patricia to put a curse on Ann-Tate Garcia because if it wasn’t for her meddling her kids would still be alive. Alvarez stated that she prayed that La Llorona would come and take Tate-Garcia’s kids, which is why throughout the film the Tate-Garcia’s are being haunted by the ghost. Visually, the movie has some cool shots like the umbrellas shot below where the little girl sees La Llorona through her umbrella.

So, to say this movie didn’t have some type of effort, it would be completely disingenuous. There was a complete overuse of jump scares in an effort to make the film scary but it’s hard to be scared when you cannot take the movie seriously. The makeup on La Llorona was ghouly, so at least she looked the part but that was the only thing consistent about her character. Whatever powers she had seemed to play a part in the film for whenever it was convenient. In one scene she’s telekinetic, and next she is comically dragging people around, and there was one scene where she possessed one of the children but a scene later it was as if that never happened.

La Llorona in the shadows

When Tobias Iaconis and Mikki Daughtry were writing this movie it was as if they were 1) not familiar with the folklore this was based on; 2) did not know how to write a horror movie; or 3) had to force things to fit into The Conjuring Universe; or maybe it’s a combination of the three. Personally, I could not stop laughing during this movie and there is a point where it jumps the shark and throws out all disbelief when Samantha Garcia has to go outside to get her doll. Whew! Whoever decided to write that scene they way they did deserves a Razzie! For some reason Patricia Alvarez, the same lady who prayed for La Llorona to curse the Garcia family, arrives at the Garcia’s home and shoots Rafael Olvera (Raymond Cruz) – and not even five minutes later ends up helping Tate-Garcia – for no reason. Seriously, Iaconis and Daughtry have to get a Razzie for writing this film.

Cardellini is the best thing this movie has going for it. She and Raymond Cruz had a fun chemistry in the scenes that they shared together. It’s a shame that the script was incredibly weak because if this were a better movie than their pairing wouldn’t of felt like a waste.  There is a meta reference to Scooby-Doo which is a film that Cardellini starred in the early aughts. The two child actors were fine, they didn’t ruin the film so that’s a positive. Michael Chaves did an okay job at directing, he kept the camera moving and had an intriguing way of making angles work in his favor. Chaves has directed music videos for Billie Eilish in the past so he knows how to shoot things in a way that makes them look creepy.

Final Thoughts

La Llorona wasn’t the only one with the curse because the Conjuring Universe is cursed outside of James Wan’s Conjuring films. This movie might have been the easiest softball for a movie that there ever was. This is yet another film where the source material was right there to create something terrifying from the view of the kids. There wasn’t a moment that I wasn’t entertained so the movie got that right, even if I laughed for unintentional reasons. A film about Mexican folklore should have either been set in Mexico or celebrated the fact that it was based on Mexican folklore. When people talk about representation in film and seeing stories that have already been told hundreds of times this is what they mean by that. The Curse of La Llorona could’ve been a truly horrifying adaptation of something that hasn’t been done in mainstream cinema, but instead it’s just a side story in what’s currently the worst cinematic universe.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

The Curse of La Llorona was released in theaters April 19, 2019.

The Public (2019) |Movie Review|

Homelessness, race, mental illness, government responsibility and social advocacy are just a few things that director and writer Emilio Estevez is trying to address in his newest film, The Public. Estevez stars in the film alongside an ensemble cast that includes Michael K. Williams, Christian Slater, Alec Baldwin, Taylor Schilling, Jena Malone, Jeffrey Wright, Gabrielle Union, Jacob Vargas and Che “Rhymefest” Smith. During the coldest winter in Cincinnati, The Public explores what happens when the homeless occupy a library for shelter. Spoilers after the trailer.

Ambitious and Thoughtful

The Public is an ambitious and thoughtful film and Estevez does his best to address a lot of social issues. Stuart Goodson (Emilio Estevez) works at a library in downtown Cincinnati, and on the coldest day of the year, a group of homeless men, led by Jackson (Michael K. Williams), attempt to occupy the library for shelter. Jackson and the other homeless do not want to cause any harm or trouble – they just want to stay somewhere warm – but the city’s government would rather have them freeze on the streets. The majority of the homeless men are people of color, and combine that with prosecutor Josh Davis (Christian Slater) running for re-election and Detective Bill Ramstead (Alec Baldwin) and it creates a hostile environment where tensions are high. The reality of the situation is that governments attempt to criminalize the homeless, yet just like in the film, most of the homeless are veterans that are forgotten about upon their return home.

Stuart Goodson and Jackson negotiating with the police.

Not everyone had as much thought in their characters. The women in this film were either written poorly or complete dunces. Angela (Taylor Schilling) is just in the film to serve as Stuart Goodson’s love interest. Reporter Rebecca Parks (Gabrielle Union) is an egotistical reporter who cares about views more than the truth of a story. Her character is used as a way to criticize media portrayals as a whole.  The woman who is the most annoying character in the film is Myra (Jena Malone), Stuart Goodson’s Woke-Hipster-Social-Justice-Warrior co-worker, but the problem is that she’s only about those causes online. The film opens up with her acting as if she’s about the struggle and the cause, but when things go down and the books are returned late, she’s the first person that wants to leave the library. Myra is all bark and no bite yet throughout the film, she continues to bark the loudest.

Myra and Stuart Goodson talking in the library.

From a technical standpoint, the directing isn’t anything to go home about, the film is shot competently but the editing is what gives the film a sense of style. The ensemble cast helped elevate the script with their performances. There are moments that are cheesy and feel like they came out of the 1990s but the actors and actresses help ease the cheese. The comedic bits do happen at the right time to ease some of the drama. The scoring for The Public was filled with bops that would make anyone get kicked out of a library. Rapper and actor Che “Rhymefest” Smith provided some of his tunes and instrumentals to serve as the score and that helped give the film an edge sonically.

Be Subtle

After watching this film, the only question there was to ask was, if Emilio Estevez had ever heard of the word subtle because this film left all its subtleness outside on the cold streets of Cincinnati. First, our protagonist is named Stuart Goodson – good son – which sure whatever, but one of the antagonists is named Bill Ramstead – bet you can’t guess which character wants to ram their way into the library  – and those names are hard to take seriously in a movie that tries to tackle a number of serious tactics. Estevez may have chosen to go this route to add to the melodrama of the film but he didn’t have to. The names aren’t the only things that aren’t subtle, there are a lot of on the nose moments scattered throughout the film that come off as preachy. The thing that counteracts this is that the movie is set in a library and in an intellectual sense, libraries would be – second to a church – the place you expect people to come off as know-it-alls and preachy.

Stuart Goodson and a group of homeless men

The film also couldn’t escape the  White Savior cinematic trope by the end of the film. By the end of the film, we find out that Goodson was once homeless which also adds to the movie being too on the nose. As stated earlier in this review the idea to occupy the library was Jackson’s and the other homeless men but by the end of the film, somehow, the hero of the movie is Goodson. Estevez wrote the film, so it is understandable that he would make his character the hero of the film, but he should’ve taken a different route to do so.

Final Thoughts

Original ideas in film are hard to come by these days, but The Public does its best when trying to cover the relationship between the homeless and public libraries – a topic that is rarely discussed in cinema. Emilio Estevez definitely had an ambitious idea when he was creating this film but the execution does leave more to be desired. There are powerful scenes in this movie and with a little more subtleness and sharper writing The Public could’ve been one of the best pictures of the year. However, this film does serve its purpose and if you’re someone who is into social advocacy then I would recommend this one for you.  Like a book at  a public library, The Public is just waiting to be checked out.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

The Public was released in theaters April 5, 2019.

The Mustang (2019) |Movie Review|

Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre takes the reins with her feature film directorial debut, The Mustang. The Focus Features’ drama stars Matthias Schoenaerts as an incarcerated convict in Nevada, and his journey while participating in a rehabilitation program centered around training wild horses. The film also stars Jason Mitchell, Gideon Adlon, Connie Britton and Bruce Dern. Spoilers after the trailer.

Saddle Up For An Emotional Ride

Following the theme of her 2014 short film, director Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre created another interesting look into the world of prison rehabilitation through animal therapy. De Clermont-Tonnerre spent five years researching for this film by going to multiple prisons before preparing her script and that hard work pays off because The Mustang has a genuine feel to it.

Roman Coleman (Matthias Schoenaerts) and his horse Marquis.

Roman Coleman (Matthias Schoenaerts) has been incarcerated in a Nevada prison for 12 years after committing a violent crime and is given the chance at rehabilitation through Nevada’s Wild Horse Inmate Training Program and The Mustang effectively displays his growth as a character. When we’re introduced to Coleman, we aren’t sure why he’s locked up, but he’s an angry man, he’s been in and out of solitary confinement, he’s refused multiple opportunities to reintegrate back into society, and he’s filled with tension to the point where it seems like he’s about to swing on his psychologist (Connie Barton). Coleman’s doing outdoor maintenance and comes across a caged wild mustang that’s acting unruly and aggressively bashing onto the sides of his cage. Curious Coleman is drawn to the mustang, so rancher Myles (Bruce Dern) gives him an opportunity to join the rehabilitation program.

The wild mustang and Coleman are both angry animals that have been forced to live in cages to be tamed because they’ve been deemed to be too angry for society as a whole. Coleman is a man who has done whatever he can to not reintegrate into society, but once he joins the program, not only does he befriend the mustang, but he also befriends other inmates with his closest friendship being with head horse-trainer Henry (Jason Mitchell). The film creates a fun teacher-mentor relationship between the pair as Coleman learns how to control the horse and better himself. To add to the film’s authenticity, de Clermont-Tonnerre decided to cast actual prisoners who participated in the program and had been released during the filming of the movie.

Ronald Coleman and Henry (Jason Mitchell)

 

Outside of the rehabilitation, The Mustang focuses on Coleman’s strained relationship with his daughter Martha (Gideon Adlon)  The theme of being free is an ongoing throughout the film and when Martha is introduced in the film, the only reason she’s come to the prison is to have her father sign emancipation papers. This angers Coleman but it’s in her best interest because he can’t take care of her since he’s in prison. Later on, this leads to an emotional moment in the film when the audience finds out why Coleman is incarcerated. Coleman and Martha’s mother got into an argument one night when he smashed her skull into the kitchen sink and caused severe brain damage while a young Martha saw the whole thing.  This adds some much needed background to the relationship between the two and helps the audience understand why Coleman doesn’t want to be reintegrated back into society.

Ronald Coleman having an emotional conversation with his daughter Martha (Gideon Adlon) during visitation.

Equestrian Cinema

The passion that Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre put into this project extends to the production aspects behind the scenes. Not only did she direct The Mustang but she was also a writer on the project. For a redemption story, this film has typical prison film cliches like stabbings, drug use and an interesting take on a yard fight that you will not see coming. With an interesting choice of shots, de Clermont-Tonnerre knows how to make her film look interesting enough and keep things moving. There are a few moments where the film does slow down, but overall, it’s a fluid experience.

Matthias Schoenaerts brought his A-game with his portrayal of Ronald Coleman. Schoenaerts has this demeanor and plays the role ambiguous enough that you can never get a clear read on his motives and that adds an additional layer of interest onto the film. It will be interesting to see if he gets any nominations when award season gets here. Jason Mitchell brings the personality into the film that creates a solid balance with Coleman’s stoicness and seriousness. If the film would’ve expanded on the relationship between the two then it would’ve conveyed Coleman’s human side more effectively.

Final Thoughts

The Mustang is an emotional ride that shows what rehabilitation can do for prisoners. In a positive way, the film serves as a Public Service Announcement for Wild Horse and Burro programs found in select US prisons. Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre finds a unique way to present a prison film on the big screen while making the public aware of what life is like for those that are locked up. There’s a powerful scene where violent offenders discuss how long it took them to react to whatever caused them to be incarcerated and in most cases it was just a matter of seconds. Just seconds – seconds – until their lives and their victims’ lives were forever impacted. For a film about a man and his horse, de Clermont-Tonnerre was the perfect person to tell this story and Schoenaerts was the right person to portray the lead. If The Mustang is currently playing at a theater near you, then give this one a viewing.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

The Mustang was released in theaters March 29, 2019.

Hellboy (2019) |Movie Review|

Rising from the depths of hell comes a reboot that the devil himself wouldn’t want to watch. Based on the Dark Horse Comic of the same name, Hellboy is a reboot of a film franchise from the early 2000s that no one asked for. Instead of having Guillermo del Toro and Ron Perlman return to continue the franchise for a third installment, the studio and executives decided to go in a darker direction for the character with an R-rating and excessive gore. This version of Hellboy stars David Harbour as the titular character, Milla Jovovich, Ian McShane, Sasha Lane, and Daniel Dae Kim. Neil Marshall replaces Guillermo del Toro in the director’s chair for this outing. Spoilers after the trailer.

THE  ANGhElLIC

Not everything about this film was terrible. The biggest praise goes to the makeup and costume design team for the designs of the characters that capture the fantasy aspects of the film. Hellboy (David Labour) looks like a character that stepped right out of a comic book. From the red flesh to the sawed off horns, his design is ass accurate of an adaptation you’re going to get.The star of the film wasn’t the only one with a cool design. Sometimes the CGI was spotty, but when it came to the side characters the creativity was there.  You can tell the design team put a lot of thought and imagination into  bringing these characters to the silver screen.

What The Hell

There isn’t much to compliment this movie on but David Harbour, Milla Jovovich and  Daniel Dae Kim all had good performances, and they did their best to elevate the script but there are many times where the movie makes you ask – what the hell am I watching?

First of all, this movie suffers from trying to stuff too much into a 2 hour film to the point that characters spend most of the movie just telling the audience what is happening. There are a few characters that are just plugged into the film just to give exposition and die, it’s comical at points. The relationship between Hellboy and his adoptive father Trevor Bruttenholm (Ian McShane) feels forced and the jokes are more eye-roll than funny. The chemistry between McShane and Harbour is as existent as Hellboy is the actual universe that we live in. The biggest problem with this is that their relationship is what plays a big factor into the film’s climax scene and when everything happens the payoff isn’t there.

Even with the bad CGI, the terrible jokes, and the sloppy plot, the most insulting thing about Hellboy (2019) is the complete misuse of its R-rating. Some studio executives were (probably) sitting in their offices when they saw the wads and wads of cash that an R-rated comic book movie can make; said “Look pal, let’s do this but take away everything that made it a success” and here we are. The – and I use this word loosely – jokes and the humor in this film try to be edgy but come off as lame as if this movie is cosplaying a superhero film. With the R-rating comes an opportunity to make the action and violence more graphic, but Hellboy doesn’t even do that. Instead we get a film that uses the most fake looking CGI blood in a non-ironic way and again, makes you ask, “What the hell am I watching?”  It would be one thing if Hellboy functioned as a parody of the genre it was in, but the film takes itself seriously and when it tries to show its humor the jokes aren’t funny. The scoring is jarring and some of the choices for songs distract and do not match up with the tone of the scene. If someone told you that this movie was made in 2002 and was released today then there would not be a reason to not believe them.

Final Thoughts

It’s fitting that an alleged work environment from hell created a film that felt like it rose from the pit of hell in Hellboy. The issues that happened behind the scenes made their way onto the screen and was perhaps the biggest waste of 50 million dollars in 2019. Director Neil Marshall did not have the opportunity to have the last say to the final cut of the film, and by what reports suggest the film had too many cooks in the Hell’s kitchen. There were rewrites on There were a couple fun action scenes but the plot went everywhere (the on-set rewrites didn’t help) and our hero went to all corners of the earth with it. Wait for this one to come on the small screen if you must watch it. Fun fact: I stayed for the post-credit scenes too and if this movie thinks it’s going to get the sequel that it tried to set up then it’s going to be a cold day in hell before that happens.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Hellboy was released in theaters April 12, 2019.

Shazam (2019) |Movie Review|

Some heroes are zapped and modified – SHAZAM –  that may have been a reach, but this was a Christmas movie that I didn’t know we needed. Originally named Captain Marvel, Shazam has had a long history in Americana culture, he was the first live-action superhero movie, but 1941 was a long time ago and his popularity has dwindled in the nearly 80 years since. Shazam stars Zachary Levine, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer and Mark Strong, and the David F. Sandberg directed film is based on the DC hero of the same name. The film is the seventh installment of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU)  and follows Billy Batson (Asher Angel),  a foster teen who is granted the power to reach his fullest potential known as Shazam (Zachary Levi). Spoilers after the trailer.

 

Magic Is Down To A Science

Going into this film, I did not know much about Shazam outside of him being the original Captain Marvel, but as far as his character and history, like its Marvel counterpart, this film serves as a proper cinematic introduction to him. The various trailers for this movie did a great job at selling its humor and creating an interesting world, which is something that the DCEU has been struggling with in most of their films, so far.

Freedy Freeman and Billy Batson

I can without any hesitation say that Shazam is by far the best film in the DCEU so far. What makes this movie fun to watch is the chemistry between Shazam and Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer) and Freddy Freeman and Billy Batson (Asher Angel). Both of these pairings are important to the plot of the film and if they do not work well then the film won’t work well. Opposites attract, Freddy Freeman is a nerd and a smart-ass and his personality compliments Billy Batson’s serious and headstrong attitude throughout the film.

Billy Batson as Shazam and Freddy Freeman

Batson is summoned to the Rock of Eternity, where the ancient wizard (Djimon Hounsou) bestows his power on the young Billy Batson, and that’s when the film’s comedic aspect elevates. Billy Batson transforms into the best possible version of himself, a champion named Shazam (Zachary Levi) – an acronym of the Gods that his powers come from: the Wisdom of Solomon, Strength of Hercules, Stamina of Atlas, Powers of Zeus, Courage of Achilles, and the Speed of Mercury – and Billy has to turn to his nerdy friend Freddy on what to do with these new powers. This makes Freddy his de facto sidekick and hijinks ensue.

Shazam and Freddy Freeman at the store

Since Billy appears as an adult when he summons the powers of Shazam, he and Freddy take advantage of this and buy beer, go to the strip club, and excuse themselves from school, y’know typical juvenile things. Another fun thing about this movie is that it’s aware of superhero film tropes and adds its own stroke of lightning to them. When the pair go to a store that is being robbed they make light of the situation and use it as a way to test Shazam’s power. There’s a mugging scene that is used to add to the laughs and the light-hearted nature of the film. By saying “Shazam” Batson transforms and there is an abundance of jokes about what Batson should call himself. Zachary Levine does a phenomenal job at capturing the mindset and attitude of a teenager and he comes off as an extension of Asher Angel’s Billy Batson.

 

Questionable Motives

A superhero film is only as good as its villain, and the big bad guy in Shazam is Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong), a successful physicist who was summoned by the ancient wizard to be the next Shazam, but was not chosen, so he spent the rest of his life searching for the Rock of Eternity to confront the wizard. Shazam introduces us to Dr. Sivana when he was a kid and he’s being extremely annoying to his brother and father while they’re on a snowy road to somewhere and that’s when the ancient wizard summons him. The wizard gives him a test to see if his heart is pure and Dr. Sivana fails because he cannot resist the powers of dark magic and he gets transported back to the backseat of his father’s car. He continues to be annoying and causes a car wreck that leaves his father paralyzed.

Dr. Silvana 

All of this happens to give the audience backstory to why Dr. Sivana ends up killing his father and brother approximately 30 years in the future after gaining power from the Eyes of Sins, an evil version of Shazam’s powers. It’s an underwhelming backstory for this character because Dr. Sivana was a scrawny, frail looking kid, turned into a successful adult, his family had everything, he was the one that caused most of his problems that he had, yet his big gripe is that the wizard told him he wasn’t special, and you should never tell a kid that he’s not special. This bares repeating, Dr. Sivana caused the car wreck that left his father paralyzed, the same father he later killed in the film.

Dri Silvana and Shazam

Outside of his complete lack of accountability, Dr. Silvana’s dark and serious nature is a solid choice of antithesis for Shazam’s kid-like personality.  There’s a fun mall chase scene between the two that provides some good site gags and laughs. The writers use his confrontations with Shazam to call out a few other tropes in superhero films. For a PG-13 film there is a death in this movie caused by Silvana that is really dark for the tone of the film, no complaints about that. As always, Mark Strong makes the most out of any role he is given and I don’t think a lesser actor would be able to pull off this character. Strong has a deadpan way of delivering his lines that is intimidating yet funny, which is why his role fits cohesively.

A Family Affair

A major theme in this film is the idea of what is a family? Billy Batson lives with five other foster kids, Thaddeus Sivana has an estranged relationship with his family, and the Ancient Wizard is the last living protector of the Rock of Eternity since his siblings have died. Billy’s siblings and foster parents are all character tropes for the most part. Unlike most tropes in film, Shazam makes it work for the most part, with only one sibling getting left out of the film. This is the kindest foster family that’s ever hit the silver screen, they all support each other, the parents are always putting the kids interest first and it makes wonder why Billy keeps running away from them. There is a heartbreaking scene when Billy reunites with his mom and things don’t go as planned.

Shazam: A Family Affair

The one foster kid that doesn’t get much screen time might as well be a background character. If there wasn’t a fun twist at the end of the movie then I think he would’ve been. His character just spends most of the movie lifting weights and there is a moment where he implies that he’s gay. The actors and actresses that portrayed the kids did a marvelous job and I hope they return in a sequel. This family came across like one big loving family, ala the Brady Bunch, and when that big twist happens that’s when Shazam solidifies itself as a Christmas movie.

Final Thoughts

By no means is it a perfect film but Shazam gets more things correct than it gets wrong. It’s ironic that the comic that was sued by DC Comics for copying Superman (holy ending scene Batman) has created a far more enjoyable theatrical experience than the Man of Steel has in three decades. This one is definitely worth viewing in theaters. Shazam is a fun film and a huge transition from most of the DCEU. Just like the lightning bolt on the hero’s chest, this film shines bright. It was an electric jumpstart to a cinematic universe that was on life support.  The cast and crew were obviously passionate about this movie and as a viewer you can always tell when the people behind the scenes care about what they are creating, and it just goes to show how adding zeal attains magnificentness – SHAZAM!

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Shazam was released in theaters April 5, 2019.

Pet Sematary (2019) |Movie Review|

“Sometimes dead is better” – could be the most literal tagline for a film in the history of cinema. Pet Sematary is the second adaptation of the 1983 novel of the same name by Stephen King, after the 1989 film. Directed by Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer, the film stars Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, Jeté Laurence and John Lithgow in a supernatural horror about a family that discovers a graveyard behind their home and bizarre things begin to happen.  Spoilers after the trailer.

It’s Alive

Beneath its foundation, there are a few things that Pet Sematary does well in its attempt to create a captivating thriller. The film’s biggest strength is in its ambience. The movie has an airy feel that compliments the suspenseful moments. Effective use of angles and wide shots gives the movie an airy vibe, combined with its scoring, Pet Sematary has moments where it’s actually thrilling. Like the image above, the film has a constant dreary look to it which is a visual tool for the feeling of death that haunts the film. The Creed family has a new home that is located on an ancient burial Indian ground and the filmmaking style adds to its narrative.

The star of the film is this cat that’s pictured above. Named after Winston Churchill, Church is the Creed’s family pet that dies and is resurrected with a sinister personality. Louis Creed (Jason Clarke), the patriarch of the Creed family, buries Church which causes Church’s resurrection as an evil demon crazed cat. Church attacks the family and is clawing at everything within sight. The ferocious feline is the second cat to breakout this year.

The bond between the family members feels authentic. A major theme is the idea of how to handle death and early on Ellie Creed (Jeté Laurence) and her parents have an impromptu conversation about life and death. This is one of the few moments in the film that actually feels heartfelt and natural.

But Better Off Dead

The writing in this movie is questionable at best. For this movie to be based on a best-selling novel and to be this underwhelming is a shame. 2017’s It might be the best adaptation of a Stephen King novel within the past decade and Pet Sematary drops the ball.  The worst part about this movie is that the characters are severely underdeveloped. The film is only 101 minutes long but there are a lot of slow moments where nothing is happening to advance the story. There is an interesting backstory about Rachel Creed (Amy Seimetz) that just gets thrown to the side.  The movie decides to halfway attempt to explain her motivations throughout the film.

Jason Clarke’s face in the photo above is a mood when watching this film. The writers made his character make the most idiotic, stereotypical horror movie cliche decision and it’s annoying to watch. Horror movies are at their best when they’re self-aware or the characters aren’t stupid but Pet Sematary is a film that leads to more facepalms than scares. Jeff Buhler is a screenwriter for this film, and similar to an early release this year that was written by him, this movie is uneven from the cradle to its rise out of the grave.

Final Thoughts

As iconic of author that Stephen King is, his work deserves better adaptations than this, and for a rated-R film, Pet Sematary should’ve pushed the edge a little more. There are moments where the filmmakers decide to take risks and not recreate its source material, but that’s far and few between. The acting was fine but nothing stood out. John Lithgow did his best Herschel from The Walking Dead impression, if we’re being honest. The child actors could’ve been better as well. Jason Clarke and Amy Seimetz characters made the most idiotic decisions, especially Jason Clarke’s  Louis Creed. I would recommend watching this one on a streaming service at home because sometimes dead is better and Paramount could’ve left it in the grave.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Pet Sematary was released in theaters April 5, 2019.

Concert Review: No Deal. No Label. Just Durham. – Tobe Nwigwe Sold Out Bull City On Back-to-Back Nights

Tobe from the SWAT Tour (The Extension) – 4.3.19 (Bull City)

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Just Bull City with No Label. #HipHop #TobeFromTheSwatTour #WomenProduce #Durham #bullcity #livemusic #GetTwistedSundays #Ouu #peliculasandcosas

A post shared by Películas and Cosas (@peliculasandcosas) on Apr 7, 2019 at 12:09pm PDT

Location: Durham, NC
Venue: MOTORCO Music Hall
Label: Independent
Performers: Tobe Nwigwe (with Fat + Lanell “Nell” Grant) (featuring David Michael Wyatt, Luke Whitney, JJ and DJ Big Reeks [Waxaholics])

After putting on an energetic show in Atlanta back in November of 2018, I had the opportunity to catch the Tobe From The Swat Tour ’19 in my home state at Motorco Music Hall in Durham, North Carolina. Forty-three days before the show began, the Houstonian emcee announced that Bull City had sold out via Public Service Announcement on his Instagram page:

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🗣PSA🗣 DURHAM NORTH CAROLINA IS SOLD OUT!!!!! 43 DAYS BEFORE THE SHOW!!! WHAT CITY IS NEXT?!!! #LINKINBIO #SOLDOUT #DONTWAIT

A post shared by Tobe Nwigwe (@tobenwigwe) on Feb 19, 2019 at 7:14pm PST

Tickets sold out so quickly that people were panicking and looking for resale options to see the performance. Luckily, since the venue  holds approximately 450 people, for his birthday gift to the fans, Tobe decided to host a second show in Bull City, in turn, making Durham the only city on the tour with two shows.

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🗣🗣PSA🗣🗣 SINCE THE 1ST SHOW SOLD OUT 40 DAYS IN ADVANCE!!! WE’VE ADDED ANOTHER SHOW FOR BULL CITY!! MY BIRTHDAY GIFT TO YOU!! LINK IN BIO!!! DON’T WAIT OR YOU’LL MISS OUT AGAIN!! #tobefromtheswattour #OUU

A post shared by Tobe Nwigwe (@tobenwigwe) on Mar 8, 2019 at 10:35am PST

JJ and DJ Big Reeks Kick Things Off

The show opened up with host/comedian JJ and DJ Big Reeks getting the crowd excited for the night’s performance. Big Reeks and JJ played various songs from Outkast to Jay-Z and honored the recently slain rapper Nipsey Hussle. The pair did a great job at keeping the energy in the room before Tobe came out.

Women Produce

After missing out on the 2018 tour due to giving birth to her son, the woman behind the beats, Lanell “Nell” Grant made her return to the stage and she showed out.  Part of Tobe’s set included a mix of  ‘Chill’ from The Original EP with Outkast’s 2003 hit ‘Caroline’ and it needs a proper MP3 release:

Nell also provided backed up vocals and performed her verse on ‘Caged Birds’ which is the first song from The Originals series that she has actually rapped on with Tobe.

Nell’s talent doesn’t stop at just rapping and producing, but she also does the backup vocals when Tobe performs ‘Reality’. Nell is a Jack-of-All Trades and that’s a crucial ingredient when it comes to performing a successful show.

Nell wasn’t the only woman to hold it down on Wednesday night. Tobe’s wife, Fat, who ironically is pregnant, came out to perform her verse on ‘100K’. Just like at the Atlanta show last year, when Fat came out, the crowd erupted.

These two ladies are just as an important part to Tobe’s vision as he is and that’s what makes this whole movement something that everyone wants to be apart of. When they talk about it being a family, it’s not hyperbole, they are really about that life and it shows in the radiance of their music.

A Proposal

That positive vibe was rampant throughout the show, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the couple that got engaged during Tobe’s set. As someone who’s been to hundreds of shows, this was the first time I had ever seen a proposal onstage and congratulations to that couple.

Young Tob Why You Rappin’ So Hard

“Look, holy flow, every bar, fresh up out the tabernacle,” is the opening line to ‘Tabernacle’ and before Tobe could finish the line the whole crowd was saying it with him. The cool thing about this show is that the instruments were a lot livier than the show I went to in the fall of 2018. This was also the second show of a back-to-back but the venue was filled with energy from the stage to rear exit door.

The good vibes continued out throughout the night.  Tobe brought the ‘Heat Rock’ with him too:

David Michael Wyatt and Tobe performed “Hydration”, an unreleased sequel to the 2018’s “Wavy.” Tobe even joked that naming the track ‘Wavy 2’ would’ve been wack. The song has a nice medley and it allows Wyatt to show off his vocals as well:

The show closed with “I’m Dope” which is a track Tobe and Co. made in tribute to Erykah Badu and Dave Chappelle after they said he was dope. The song is an accumulation of the rapper’s career so far and a lesson about life in general, keep doing what you’re doing and someone out there will think you’re dope at something.

Fin.

You can get your tickets for the Tobe From The SWAT Tour (The Extension) here. 

Dumbo (2019) |Movie Review|

“Let’s get ready for Duuuuummbbbo,” is an actual line said by the legendary boxing announcer Michael Buffer and reader, I, was not ready for Dumbo. Directed by Tim Burton, Dumbo is a live-action adaptation of the 1941 animated classic and the first Disney remake to be released in 2019. The film stars Colin Farrell, Nico Parker, Finley Hobbins, Eva Green, Danny Devito, and Michael Keaton.

The Elephant In The Room

First thing first, we’ve got to address the elephant in the room, and it’s not Dumbo,  it’s Disney for getting rid of the racist crows that were in the 1941 movie. For an adaptation made for a 21st century audience, there were other changes that were made, which included a more realistic approach and a film without anthropomorphic animals. The original cartoon had Dumbo befriend  an anthropomorphic mouse named Timothy Q. Mouse which parodied the stereotypical relationship of animosity between elephants and mice.

Less Animals and More People

With all that being said, this live-action adaptation of a movie about a flying elephant tries to be as realistic as possible and relies on the humans to carry the film. The problem with these characters  is that they are dead on arrival. The dialogue is just used to push the story forward and everything about these characters is forgettable.

Pictured from left to right: Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell), Milly Farrier (Nico Parker), Joe Farrier (Finley Hobbins) and Dumbo (center).

When Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) returns to the Medici Bros. Circus after World War I, he is tasked with taking care of Jumbo Jr., nicknamed Dumbo, a newborn elephant with giant ears. Holt lost his right arm in WWI and his two children, Milly Farrier (Nico Parker) and Joe Farrier (Finley Hobbins), are apprehensive when reuniting with him for the first time. Their mother has passed away, their father has lost an arm, and they’re raising a deformed elephant which is all the elements for a touching story about a family coming together through adversity. The movie never does that.  Dumbo and Holt Farrier had a deformity and there was never a scene where the pair had a heartfelt moment. The closest we get to these characters bonding is Holt telling Dumbo to fly in the most truly uninspired way possible. This moment happens near the end of the film and after spending the whole film with these characters, there wasn’t a reason to care.

Dumbo is sitting in a net with Collette Merchant (Eva Green)

Acting wise, Colin Farrell does a fine job but the script is what buries his performance in the movie. I really wanted to care about these characters but the film never gave a reason to. The two child actors have a big role in the film and Tim Burton fails to get the most out of them. Nico Parker’s delivery was stiff throughout the film and Finley Hobbins wasn’t given much of anything to do but cheer for Dumbo. The lack of direction doesn’t stop at the kids, Eva Green who plays Collette Merchant, suffers the same fate. Merchant was just there to deliver the exposition and to eventually become Holt Farrier’s love interest by the end of the film. Her personality and motivations have barely developed throughout the film and she only ends up siding with Dumbo because her boss does not believe in a safe work environment.

Max Medici (Danny Devito) watches in astonishment as Dumbo performs his routine for the first time.

The only human character that captures the essence of the film is Max Medici played by Danny Devito. Max Medici is the owner of a small troop circus called Medici Bros. Circus, no explanation for what happened to the other Medici brothers, and he’s the owner of Dumbo and his mom. When Medici sees the large ears on Dumbo he is distraught because the baby elephant is deformed and a freak show. He makes an offhand comment about how he already has enough freaks because he runs the circus. Devito’s role is that eventually he grows to love Dumbo by the end of the film. In Devito’s scenes he delivers a sense of magic that is acquiescent to Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka.

V.A. Vandevere (Michael Keaton) discusses business with Max Medici (Danny Devito)

Danny Devito isn’t the only actor to reunite with Tim Burton in this film, Batman returns as Michael Keaton portrays the exploitive entrepreneur, V.A. Vandevere. Vandevere is the owner of Dreamland, an amusement park, and he buys Medici Bros. Circus just so he can exploit Dumbo for financial gain. He runs Dreamland like a nightmare and abuses his animals, employees and so when gets his comeuppance at the end of the film, it’s a satisfying ending. Vandevere’s cruelty knows no end and there is a scene that effectively shows this when he makes his trapeze artist Colette Merchant perform without a safety net.

Performance wise, I am not sure what Michael Keaton thought he was trying to accomplish. Throughout the film, Keaton lays the craziness on thick and talks with multiple accents throughout the film. In one scene he’s southern American, the next scene he’s British and then he’s Australian, and it was jarring, not sure what he was thinking but he came off as goofy. He tries to be quirky but instead he makes his character feel forced and awkward. The executives at Disney may have been looking for this type of wonky Johnny Depp type of portrayal, but this was definitely not Jack Sparrow and it ended up hindering the film to the point that it takes you out of the movie.

Jumbo Sized Ears For A Jumbo Sized Star

Dumbo is enjoying a well-earned bath.

Enough about these humans, what about the the flying elephant, the film’s titular character? This film focuses too much on the humans and not enough on Dumbo. Dumbo takes a backseat to Michael Keaton being goofy and stiff child actors. The fact that this movie is nearly double the length of the 1941 cartoon yet there isn’t any meaningful development in his character  and it’s a shame. The scenes between Dumbo and his mom are the most emotional moments in the film. Dumbo NEEDS MORE Dumbo.

Dumbo wrapped up with his mom

The animation of Dumbo is stunning and his big blue eyes convey various expressions throughout the film. He doesn’t speak but he can understand everything that the humans tell him. The most realistic aspect of this film is when Dumbo is put into peculiar situations and you can actually see the fear on his face. If only he felt as important as his name suggest that he is on the film’s title card. The animation team did a phenomenal job at making him look like a star.

Elephants of a feather fly together

When the elephant with jumbo-sized ears finally realizes that he can fly without the use of a feather, it doesn’t feel special in the context of the film. The animation of Dumbo is superb and his reaction, especially his eyes, has this sense of  amazement. However, when the Farriers tell him that he can fly without it during a tense moment in the film,  their delivery falls flat. This creates a scene with an emotional elephant with a family of humans in a circus tent surrounded in an inferno in a dire situation but the humans do not seem to care that they may die. Like Milly Farrier’s delivery…. There. Was. No. Emotion.

Behind the Circus Tent

This is Dreamland

Outside of the titular character and his animation, the visual aspects of this film were all-around stunning. There were times where the green screen was obvious but those were few and far between.  The set pieces and the CGI for Dreamland were vibrant and full of life. Tim Burton uses a filter throughout the film that gives it a dusk feeling that remincises an era that’s fittingly long gone.

Dreamland is The Most Magical Place on Earth

It’s early in 2019 but Dumbo has some of the best costume designs so far this year. The crew behind the scenes put in work from the makeup to the set pieces, everything has a  grandiose quality to it. The visuals are the soul in a film that felt like it was made without a heart. It’s easy to see that there was a lot of thought and imagination when creating this magical world for Dumbo and hopefully, in time, this film will get its recognition for that.

Dreamland

There are homages to the 1941 classic, including a creative recreation of the “Pink Elephants on Parade” scene. In 2019, Disney is not going to allow an elephant to get drunk on the big screen and the film did a solid job at getting around this while maintaining the psychadelic effect.

There’s a great homage to the Pink Elephants on Parade scene.

Final Thoughts

Seventy-eight years in the making and we finally received the highly anticipated and long-awaited live-action remake of Dumbo and the flying elephant deserved better than this cash grab of a film. The original Dumbo was the second Disney film to turn a profit and was culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant enough to be registered in the United States National Film Registry in 2017 by the Library of Congress. Dumbo is supposed to tell the story of how one overcomes self-doubt and overcomes the adversity and ridicule from others. This version has the ingredients to tell that story but doesn’t even try to. Each human character has a flaw or deformity that matches Dumbo’s physical deformity with his jumbo sized ears, yet Tim Burton’s film never capitalizes off of that to create any type of emotional attachment with the characters. Disney tried to reinvent their classic by creating new characters and making a movie about a flying elephant realistic, that’s a jumbo task to execute.

What makes things worse is that this movie should’ve been at least 30 minutes shorter. The script doesn’t have much depth to it so it wears itself thin amongst its runtime. The animation, costume design and production are extraordinary and beautiful to watch  but since the film doesn’t pack a punch it makes the end result forgettable. Hopefully, the next two Disney remakes to be released in 2019 will live up to their original classics. If not, 2019 is going to be longer than Dumbo’s trunk. Check this one out when it comes to a VOD or a rental service.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Dumbo was released in theaters March 29, 2019.

Us (2019)|Movie Review|

Following up on the 2016 hit, Get Out, director and writer Jordan Peele does not suffer from a sophomore slump with his latest horrifying, psychological thriller, Us. Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions and Blumhouse have teamed up with Universal Pictures to deliver another entry into the doppelgänger subgenre of horror. Us stars Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseph, and Evan Alex as an African-American family who has been confronted by a group of doppelgängers known as the Tethers.

Technically, It Doesn’t Peele Anything Back

After Get Out and Us, it’s safe to say that director and writer Jordan Peele is the new face of horror for the 2010s and beyond. Peele has a knack for building suspense in his films and does a perfect job of framing each scene in unique ways. He uses small details for foreshadowing and in turn it adds to the film’s narrative. There’s a scene early on where the Wilson family is walking on the beach and Peele uses a bird’s-eye shot to focus on the family’s shadows as they walk by. This is a sly way of introducing the idea of the doppelgänger that is shadowing the family. When the big reveal happens later on in the film, the image below may possibly have a different meaning.Peele knows how to effortlessly blend horror with comedy to balance out the suspense and the thrill. The scene where the Tethers are introduced is a good example of how he fuses comic relief while something terrifying is happening, while not allowing it to distract from the tone of the film.  In the clip below, Gabe Wilson (Winston Duke) confronts the family of Tethers, who is outside of his family’s beach house, and Peele’s writing shows that this is a suspenseful moment, yet there is plenty of humor in Wilson’s dialogue that fits the composition of the scene.

While there is a lot to praise about the film’s writing, there are some storytelling elements that the film could’ve done a better job with. The opening 5 minutes before the opening credits should have been woven throughout the film’s narrative or left on the cutting room floor. The issue with this part of the movie is that it takes the surprise from the big reveal that happens during the third act. As a screenwriter, since Peele kept that part of the film, then the narrative of the film should’ve changed since the audience already knows the motivation of Red/Adelaide Wilson (Lupita Nyong’o). If he changes the film’s narrative then he doesn’t have to cram an explanation as to why Red is doing what she’s doing and the film won’t have as many loose ends at the end of the film.

Speaking of the confrontation between Red and Adelaide, Michael Abels returns with a perfect score. Abels provided the score for Jordan Peele’s critically acclaimed directorial debut, Get Out, and he brought his A-game to Us. The composition of the sounds that  he uses creates a suspenseful environment that sonically adds an additional layer of depth to the film. During the big climax the film uses the version of “I Got 5 On It” that was in the trailer and it works perfectly. Luniz would be proud.

Adelaide From A Wonderland

Performance wise, the cast of Us deliver performances that will be etched in history when it comes to actors acting in dual roles. The Tethers are sinister versions of the main characters and everyone, from the adults to the kids, knows how to convey the proper emotion from their characters without it looking cringeworthy. Lupita’s performances as Adelaide and Red will be talked about for years and should see her get an Oscar nomination. In an interview with Variety, Lupita stated that Peele shot her scenes as Red and Adelaide on different days, and that she would stay in character when the cameras were off. This type of commitment to her character manifests itself throughout the scenes when both characters are paired in the same scene. Lupita also has an expressive face, so she does not have to say a single word because her expressions do the talking for her.Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke weren’t the only members of the Wilson family that brought out the best in their characters, it was a family affair because their spawns children were just as formidable. Zora Wilson/Umbrae (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and Jason Wilson/Pluto (Evan Alex) are half the size and twice as gruesome as their parents. Pluto and Umbrae are relentless, there are points in the film where Umbrae attacks people that aren’t even related to her human counterpart. Meanwhile, Pluto is a demon child who wants to watch the world burn through Hell, fire and brimstone. Evan Alex’s performance is what sells the events at the end of the film because he has to portray complete fear as Jason and that can be hard to do for such a young actor.

Down The Rabbit Hole (Spoilers Below) 

Us would not be a horror from the mind of Jordan Peele if it wasn’t filled with any sort of symbolism or easter eggs that convey a deeper meaning. Back in 2018, Peele tweeted out a rorschach poster that explains the film’s duality. In the film, Jeremiah 11:11–“Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them.'” — which is similar to an expression by another Rorschach.

pic.twitter.com/6j43s9YC8e

— Jordan Peele (@JordanPeele) May 9, 2018

The duality of the number 11 is more than likely why that verse was chosen in the film.  One creature that is shown throughout the film are rabbits. There are rabbits before the opening credits, there are stuffed rabbits, rabbits in the underground tunnel. The fact that there is a tunnel underground where the Tethers live is what makes the rabbit hole theme so prevalent. Scissors are the weapon of choice and Peele has stated that scissors represent the idea of being bound together (the Tether and the human) yet a scissors function is to tear things apart (the Tethers kill the humans). Also, scissors look like rabbit ears, which adds another element to them being chosen as the weapon in the film.

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Zora, a track runner, is pictured with a rabbit on her shirt as she spends the first act of the film outrunning her tether. If this was folklore then the hare would defeat the tortoise in this race. The image above also shows Adelaide Wilson in a white shirt. Everyone knows that the color white is used to represent purity yet by the time the film finishes that shirt is stained crimson from all of the blood.  By the end of the film, Adelaide is Red, both figuratively and literally. The big revelation at the end of the film is that the Adelaide that we’ve been watching this whole time is really a tether and the tethered is actually the real Adelaide. Adelaide is the only character who has a tethered that is named after a color, and Peele does an inconspicuous job at showing the transition within the film’s larger story.Jason is the character in the film that was used for the most nods and easter eggs to other horror movies. He is a character that is always pictured in a mask as if he was a certain slasher that comes out to play every Friday the 13th. During the film, Jason is also the only human that is able to make his tether mimic his actions. The film never really explains why, nor why it only works some of the time. The only thing that I can think of is because he and his tether are both a human-tether hybrid, which means they share half of a soul since Red stated that the tether were like humans but without the soul. This may also be the reason why at the beach (picture #1) the shadows of Jason and Zora (tether-human hybrids) are pictured at the same peak as Adelaide (full tether) yet their father’s (full human) is substantially larger.Jason is also wearing a Jaws shirt which is a nod to the Steven Spielberg classic. Jaws exploit the fear of the deep blue sea whereas Us shows the fear of ourselves. Like the shark that attacked in Jaws, the Tethered in Us also came out from beyond the deep, except these horrifying creatures crawled up from unused tunnels.

Final Thoughts

Although not a perfect movie and not as great as Jordan Peele’s previous film, Us, overall, is a stellar outing for the sophomore director. The acting was flawless all around and Lupita Nyong’o has the best performance of any actor so far in 2019. Winston Duke shines in every scene that he’s in, Evan Alex and Shahadi Wright Joseph were some of the best child actors in a horror movie since the cast of 2017’s It. Peele’s work behind the camera is just as good as ever and he knows how to capture the suspenseful moments. The writing could’ve been better and more consistent. One second the tethers seemed to have some sense of enhanced speed or strength and other times they seemed like normal humans. Overall, 2019 has been a rough year in film so far, but Peele delivered a proper follow-up to his 2017 hit. If you haven’t seen this one on the big screen then check it out when you get a chance.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Us was released in theaters on March 22, 2019.

Captain Marvel (2019) |Movie Review|

International Women’s Day 2019 coincided with the release of Marvel Studios’ newest film, Captain Marvel.  The twenty-first entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the first one with a female led hero, introduces us to Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel, the most powerful hero in the MCU, so far.  Directed by Anna Bolden and Ryan Fleck, the film stars Oscar-winning actress Brie Larson as the titular character in her MCU debut.  Samuel L. Jackson, Clark Gregg, Lee Pace and Djimon Hounsou reprise their roles as Nick Fury, Phil Coulson, Ronan the Accuser, and Korath, respectively.

Lay It On Thick

Recently, nostalgia has, ironically, become the newest trend in comic book films. If you’re a millennial who loves nostalgia, then Captain Marvel is a wet dream. Set in 1995, the film is filled with 90s references from its scoring to all of the out of business brick and mortar stores that make a cameo. In the trailer, Captain Marvel crashes into a Blockbuster which is used to effectively set the time period of the film, and this is shortly followed by RadioShack returning from the dead. Somehow, Circuit City missed the cut when it came to retail resurrections. With RadioShack and Blockbuster the film finds a way to incorporate them into the story, so they don’t feel like they’re just thrown in, unlike the scene where Captain Marvel goes full Terminator 2.

Subtleness be damned. Reader, did I mention that this film was released on International Women’s Day? Did you know that Captain Marvel was a woman? This film ensures that you do not forget that a woman is kicking ass in this movie. ‘Just A Girl’ by No Doubt is playing during a major fight scene and it’s jarring because the song does not fit the mood of the scene. Since Captain Marvel is a film where our heroine cannot remember details of her past life, the movie uses this trope as a way to show that most of her memories are of her being put down for being a woman. Even in the Terminator 2 scene referenced above, the biker tells her that she needs to smile. This brings me to my biggest issue with Captain Marvel.

Write To Show, Not To Tell

Being that film is a visual medium, what your audience is seeing is just as or if not more important than what they’re hearing. The visual gags from Captain Marvel work well because they’re woven into the story of the film. The technology of the 1990s are not just sight gags, they’re used to show how inferior life on Earth is compared to the alien life on other planets. When the leader of the Skrulls, a shape-shifting alien race, Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), arrives on Earth, he calls our life primitive. We’re using pagers, dial-up internet (shout out to AOL), AltaVista, Floppy Disk, CD-Roms and his enemy, Captain Marvel, is out here with a universal translator.

Between the screenplay and the story, this film is credited with having five writers and the inconsistency is all over the place. It seems that they all had different ideas about the characters when writing the film. Talos starts out as a serious threat to Vers (Carol Danvers) and her Kree, a race of noble warrior heroes, during the film’s opening scene but once he arrives on Earth that seriousness gets thrown out the window. Not sure if it was the G-force through Earth’s atmosphere, but Talos turns into a comedy character. Credit to Mendelsohn’s performance because he does get to show off his range as an actor. Talos, the other Skrulls, and Carol Danvers have been on Earth for approximately 22 hours and all of them are doing goofy earthling things that you would see in a 90s sitcom.

Danvers’ Fury

When it comes to the MCU, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury is severely underrated for what he brings to these films. He brings that seamless chemistry that he has with the rest of the Avengers to his role in Captain Marvel. Whenever Jackson and Larson are paired together on-screen is when this film is at its best. The pair are charming, funny, and make it feel as if a real bond was created by the end of the film. We find out the reasons behind Fury’s motivations in the previous 20 films in the MCU. Things like how he lost his eye, the reasoning behind the name of the Avengers Initiative (was kind of forced), why he doesn’t trust bureaucracy, and background information were all answered in this film. The EFX department did an incredible job at deaging Jackson and he actually looks 25 years younger.

On the other hand,  lead actress Brie Larson, did not sell me on the movie from the trailers and by the end of the film I was still disappointed. When she was paired with Jackson she was funny and charming but whenever she was  solo, paired with Jude Law or other characters, Larson comes off uninspired. Part of this is her dialogue because she’s not given much to work with and part of it is her acting because she’s not bringing much to the table. She was questioned by the Supreme Intelligence (Anne Benning) during the film’s opening 15 minutes and  Larson just seemed dead inside when delivering her lines. It’ll be interesting to see how she interacts with the rest of the MCU when Endgame hits theaters in April.

Final Thoughts

I would be remiss if I did not mention that the opening credits in this film is perhaps my favorite of any movie in the MCU and the Stan Lee cameo is awesome as well. The special effects, especially for the aliens, in this film are among the best in sci-fi and shows how ahead of the curve that Marvel Studios are when it comes to their competition. The makeup of Ben Mendelsohn’s Talos and the other Skrulls is phenomenally done and doesn’t look like something off of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  Speaking of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., there was a cringe line where Samuel L. Jackson referenced the title of the show.

Clocking in at 124 minutes, the film covers a lot of ground when introducing her to the MCU, but at the same time the movie feels like a filler film until End Game‘s release in April. As far as origin films go in the MCU, Captain Marvel pushes the needle in the wrong direction and tries to replicate the success of 2018’s sleeper hit but ends up being lackluster like MCU films from over a decade ago. Captain Marvel doesn’t have an angle that makes it an engaging movie and that’s what ends up making it forgettable. Outside of her being the first woman in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there’s nothing about this film that stands out. Black Panther is afrofuturism; The Winter Soldier is a political-thriller; Guardians of the Galaxy is a space-exploration comedy; Dr. Strange is a science-fantasy; yet Captain Marvel’s theme is just, she’s a woman and that really sells the character short. Since she has amnesia the ingredients were there for this to be a mystery-comedy superhero film, but unfortunately the film doesn’t even take advantage of its strengths. There’s already been a strong female-led character that wears red, gold and blue and her film managed to make a statement while being entertaining. When Captain Marvel gets a sequel, I hope it lives up to her name and is a marvel to watch.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Captain Marvel was released in theaters March 8, 2019.

Greta (2019) |Movie Review|

So far, 2019 has not been a good year for Hungarian characters in film and director Neil Jordan’s Greta attempts to buck the trend. The psychological-thriller stars Chloe Grace  Moretz as Frances McCullen and Isabelle Huppert as the film’s titular character, Greta Hideg.

 

Plotful Problems

Normally, these types of psycho-thrillers heavily rely on the subjects being in a romantic relationship before things get crazy, so maybe co-writer and director Neil Jordan will bring something fresh to the film

Going into this one I wasn’t sure what to expect. Based on the trailers, the premise of an older lady obsessed with — a stranger as a surrogate daughter — sounded different from the usual roles in these types of films. Normally, these types of psycho-thrillers heavily rely on the subjects being in a romantic relationship before things get crazy, so maybe co-writer and director Neil Jordan will bring something fresh to the film. Reader, he did not. Throughout the film there are too many moments that have already been done before that it kills any suspense the film tries to build. The characters are shallow and do not act like any rational human beings.

The film is set up with Frances McCullen (Chloe Grace Moretz) on a train ride home where she finds a purse left by a stranger. Frances returns the purse to its rightful owner, Greta (Isabelle Huppert), an older French lady who lives by herself, and the two quickly become friends. Frances’ mother passed away and Greta says that her daughter has left for France so she’s been lonely ever since. Frances is new to New York City and returns home to her apartment with her rich roommate and former high school classmate Erica Penn (Maika Monroe). The relationship between Frances and Erica is used in stressing the point that Frances is new to the city.  When Frances is returning home, the film sets up that Greta is a stalker. Greta is using social media to find out more information about Frances, she finds her Facebook and goes through her pictures, and this is where the movie starts transitioning to full Fatal Attraction.

The crazy things that Greta does to torment Frances in this film are LOLworthy because they’re portrayed in such an absurd way. Frances works as a waitress and Greta comes to her place of employment standing outside staring at her restaurant during her entire shift. When Frances tells the police they say they can’t do anything because Greta is on private property, which sure, we can let that slide even if it sounds ridiculous. Later that week, Greta returns as a patreon of the restaurant and Frances tells her manager that Greta has been stalking her, but her manager does not give a single f*ck. He tells Frances to “handle it” and not to make a scene. What? Yeah, and it gets worse. Greta pops up at the restaurant as a customer and she requests Frances as a waitress. Again, Frances’ terrible manager forces her to serve Greta instead of using a different waitress. Greta insults her, makes a huge scene (which is what the manager didn’t want), yells at Frances about needing Greta as a mother, and eventually ends up being strapped down to a stretcher out of the restaurant.

Somehow all of that takes place and Greta is free to roam the streets, lololololok? She ends up kidnapping Frances, and somehow she breaks into Frances’ apartment, poisons her coffee and takes her back to her house. All of this during a broad day in New York City. The only two people that end up looking for, the now missing, Frances is her father (Colm Feore) and her roommate Erica. Frances ended up being missing for a few weeks and there were only two people that contacted her over that time period, sure. This movie even has a whole scene where her father hires a detective to investigate and Greta ends up killing the detective, so many cliches. Frances even has her moment where she almost escapes but doesn’t because she’s movie-stupid and makes the dumbest decisions for someone who was kidnapped and nearly murdered. The big climax is when Erica returns a purse to Greta and saves Frances. It’s supposed to be that moment in the movie where you’re supposed to clap and feel good but it falls flat.

Filmmaking and Acting

Overall, the script of this movie is what hinders this movie but the acting is what helps balance it out. It’s a shame that the script was this bad because the direction and the acting are both well-polished. Isabelle Huppert was the perfect choice as the film’s titular character. She portrays Greta as someone who is unpredictable, evil and terrifying. Sure, there’s plenty of head scratching things that Greta does throughout the film, but Huppert’s portrayal is reminiscent of Heath Ledger as the Joker. She brings the right blend of comedy to this twisted, delusional and sinister character. Right behind her is Hit-Girl herself, Chloe Grace Moretz. Even though her character was portrayed as a naive dunce throughout the whole film, Moretz does her best with the material she’s given.

From a directing aspect, Neil Jordan shot a competent film. He didn’t rely on jump scares and used the characters to create the suspense in the film. There’s a scene where Greta stalks Erica and Jordan knew when to use close shots to keep things tight and not revealing Greta’s location too soon. There’s also a well-shot scene where Frances is poisoned and the film departs from its realistic aspect and goes down the effects route. Doing this gave the viewer the experience of being on a hallucinogen like Frances was. Also, when Frances escapes from Greta’s house, Frances locks Greta in a chest and wedges an Eiffel Tower in the latch of the chest so Greta is stuck there. This was a somewhat clever way to end the film because France was where Greta’s daughter vacated, it’s also a play on Frances name, and it symbolized Greta being the one stuck in France, so to speak.

Last Thoughts

The script for Greta was not worthy of a cinematic run and I think a film like this would’ve been better suited to a Netflix release. The acting by the two lead actresses brought life to a script that was filled with cliches and that deserves a salute. However, this movie has been done better over the last 20 years and Greta failed at bringing something new to the table.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Greta is in theaters March 1, 2019.

Oscars 2019: Ranking The Best Picture Nominees And Other Academy Awards Winning Predictions

Tonight on ABC, the Academy of Motion Pictures of Arts and Sciences presents the 91st Academy Awards, more commonly referred to as the Oscars. The award ceremony will honor the best films of 2018. Due to some controversies, this is the first ceremony to be conducted without a host since 1989.  There were a lot of movies that were slept on in 2018 that deserved a nomination. Like every year, there are a few head scratchers going into tonight’s awards. Here are some predictions and rankings from Películas & Cosas.

Ranking Nominees for Best Picture

Here’s your definitive power ranking for the Academy Awards Best Picture nominees. Personally, only one of the films made it on my list of Best of 2018 when I wrote my Year in Review. After creating this list, I realized that my 1, 2, 7 and 8 were a lock, yet my 3 and 4 could be interchangeable, same as my 5 and 6. The same rating scale applies from Best to Worst: Fresh Horchata, Fuego, Bueno, a si a si, Basura, All Mames Wey.

Now onto the power rankings.

8. Vice

Director: Adam McKay
Genre: Biographical Comedy-Drama
Trailer: Vice
Rating: así así

Full Review here. |Vice has a spectacular performance from its lead actor in Christian Bale, with that said, outside of his performance this film was pretty forgettable. Adam McKay knows how to create a well-shot film, but the writing in this one needed some touching up to make it more memorable. As far as movies that were based on a true story or biopics released in 2018, Vice is the caboose in a long line of films that were funnier, shot better, had a better story and better execution. Vice is a film, like the voting machines in Florida from the controversial election that made Cheney the veep, that once you recount it, it results in a blurred finish and an underwhelming conclusion.

7. A Star Is Born

Director: Bradley Cooper
Genre: Musical Romantic-Drama
Trailer: A Star Is Born
Rating: así así

Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut is up for eight nominations at this year’s Academy Awards. A Star Is Born is the third remake of a 1937 film of the same name. This is also Lady Gaga’s feature film debut in a lead role and how she got nominated for Best Supporting Actress is beyond me. Cooper’s direction is fine for a debut and he’s multi-talented with his singing and acting. There are emotional scenes that are heartbreaking that some say are tearjerkers. Sam Elliott’s performance is probably the best of any supporting character in the film. I also understand why he is a nominee for Best Supporting Actor. But the problem with this movie is that it suffers from being too long. There are times where the stakes aren’t as high and nothing is happening when things aren’t emotional. Lady Gaga’s acting was horrendous when paired next to Cooper. Early on in the film it’s obvious she was the wrong person cast in this role and it doesn’t get much better as the film progresses. She shines in all of the scenes where she has to sing which makes sense because she’s a singer. Unfortunately, since this movie focuses more on romance and drama, those singing scenes are stretched out far and in between. This is the big difference between her and Cooper. Cooper is an actor who tries to sing and is passable at carrying a note, whereas Gaga is a singer trying to act, she’s off key, and falls flat. The song Shallows has a nomination which I would not be surprised if they won an Oscar for it.

6. The Favourite

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Genre: Historical Period Dark Comedy Drama
Trailer: The Favourite
Rating: Bueno

As someone that’s not really a huge fan of period pieces in film, I was optimistic about The Favourite because I enjoyed Yorgos Lanthimos previous film A Killing of a Sacred Deer. This movie wasn’t perfect but I did not walk out of the theater disappointed like the previous two entries on this list. The acting in this movie is phenomenal. The three leading ladies, Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz, are nominated for Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress and they’re all well-deserving of their nominations.  Yorgos Lanthimos has been nominated for Best Director. Critically, this film is one of the highest rated films on the list and I understand why, but for me, this film could’ve been a lot better. The direction, acting, production design and costume design were all phenomenal but this movie suffers from being too long and needing a tighter script. If Yargos decided to cut out about 30 minutes, then this would’ve been a much more enjoyable experience. The pacing is slow and it’s filled with a lot of free space and not much happening. The comedy aspect could’ve been expanded upon because there are scenes that are legitimately funny, but they are spread out between a bunch of posh people just talking about the life of someone being posh.  The character development is top notch and watching how Emma Stone’s character progressed throughout the film was a fantastic case study. Colman’s Queen Anne is well-developed too, but overall, The Favourite needed someone to come in and tighten up the script.

5. Roma

Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Genre: Semi-Autobiographical Drama
Trailer: Roma
Rating: Bueno

Full Review here.| Roma is the most beautifully shot film of 2018 and that’s the main reason why I have it ahead of The Favourite. However, like the sixth film in this ranking it also suffers from a pacing problem and is at times too slow, to the point it’s story becomes boring. Where Roma is most effective is in its direction by Alfonso Cuarón. Visually, the film is a true work of art. Every scene is shot gracefully. There’s long takes that makes you appreciate the background and engrosses you into the scene. The film’s black and white aspect gives off a feeling of watching someone’s memories from a distant past.  Dialogue wise, Cuarón’s writing isn’t on par with his cinematography. Outside of a couple of lines there isn’t much that really stuck with me once the film had ended.  If there were more emotional gut punches throughout the film then the element of drama would’ve justified it’s run time.

4. Green Book

Director: Peter Farrelly
Genre: Biographical Comedy-Drama
Trailer: Green Book
Rating: Bueno

Full Review here.| Green Book is “Oscar bait,” and a flawed film when it comes to discussing race in America. It’s definitely one of those movies that makes White People feel comfortable when it comes to America’s history with race. With that said, out of the  Best Picture nominees, it’s better than the previous entries on this list because it doesn’t overstay it’s welcome. The pacing is great, the acting, especially by Mahershala Ali, is awesome and there are some hearty laughs packed into this roadtrip racial drama-comedy.  The pairing of Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen is perfect, and it’s up there with some of the best pairings of the year. I would like to see a future movie that is from the viewpoint of Ali’s character, since Doc Shirley’s family is upset with how he was depicted in the film.

3. Blackklansman

Director: Spike Lee
Genre: Biographical Crime Comedy-Drama
Trailer: BlacKKKlansman
Rating: Bueno

Spike Lee’s possible ad-campaign for the NYPD, Blackkklansman is a fine film. It has the same issues as the film above except instead of race, it tries to make the police the heroes, and possibly sacrifice the things that make it a “true story” to do so. As a film the editing is kind of sloppy which is why I’m surprised it has a Best Editing nomination. John David Washington has a stellar debut in the lead role in a feature film. He brings the charisma needed for a character that has to balance the duality of a black cop and undercover Klansman (kind of). Adam Driver portrays a great supporting character as well. The Best Director nomination is a head scratcher as well. There’s a car chase scene in this  film that feels straight out of a B-movie. There are also times, like Green Book, the film tries to be manipulative with your emotions. Overall, Blackkklansman is an enjoyable film but there’s nothing about it that REALLY stands out. Guess it’s because Spike Lee’s name is attached to it.

2. Bohemian Rhapsody

Director: Bryan Singer
Genre: Biographical Drama
Trailer: Bohemian Rhapsody
Rating: Fuego

Full Review here.| This is the one that has #FilmTwitter BIG MAD. But I enjoyed this film a lot. If Bale doesn’t win Best Actor then Malek is a shoe-in because his performance as Freddie Mercury was captivating. He doesn’t disappoint when bringing the flamboyance of Freddie to the big screen. Mercury’s personality screams rock star in four octaves, and Malek brings the charisma of the late rock star during his performance. When Mercury goes solo, Malek’s performance brings out the sense of lostness that Freddie was going through. There are moments where aspects of the story are conveniently placed and come across as Hollywood cliches, specifically at the beginning of the film and in the lead up to the Live Aid performance during the last act, so finding out they weren’t historically accurate wasn’t too surprising. What Bohemian Rhapsody gets right is that it knows its subject, and it makes you care about the main characters, which makes for a more enjoyable theatrical experience

1. Black Panther

Director: Ryan Coogler
Genre: Superhero
Trailer: Black Panther
Rating: Fuego

Wakanda Forever! No other film released in the year two thousand eighteen was as impactful as Black Panther was. Ryan Coogler directed  the first entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a predominantly black cast. There are tons of reasons outside of the actual film why this movie is marvelous which I will save for another post. The costumes and set designs in Black Panther are amongst the best of the year. Michael B. Jordan’s portrayal of Killmonger, and his last line of dialogue, will be etched in Americana history for years to come. Not to be outdone, Chadwick Boseman, Daniel Kaluuya, Danai Gurira and Lupita Nyong’o also brought their A game to the 18th film in the MCU.  Coogler pays homage to the Bay Area by using his hometown of Oakland to reimagine Killmonger by swapping out his traditional New York origins for California origin. The last fight scene is the main reason why this film isn’t ranked higher on this list. Not sure if they used most of their budget for the rest of the film and had to rush through the last fight scene because it looked like it was lifted out of a video game. Outside of that, Black Panther is a movie that’s worth seeing based off of its impact alone. This is my prediction for Best Picture winner.

Rest of the Award Winning Predictions and Nominees

Best Director

• Spike Lee – BlacKkKlansman
• Paweł Pawlikowski – Cold War
• Yorgos Lanthimos – The Favourite
• Alfonso Cuarón – Roma
• Adam McKay – Vice

Best Actor

• Christian Bale – Vice as Dick Cheney
• Bradley Cooper – A Star Is Born as Jackson “Jack” Maine
• Willem Dafoe – At Eternity’s Gate as Vincent van Gogh
• Rami Malek – Bohemian Rhapsody as Freddie Mercury
• Viggo Mortensen – Green Book as Frank “Tony Lip” Vallelonga

Best Actress

• Yalitza Aparicio – Roma as Cleodegaria “Cleo” Gutiérrez
• Glenn Close – The Wife as Joan Castleman
• Olivia Colman – The Favourite as Anne, Queen of Great Britain
• Lady Gaga – A Star Is Born as Ally Maine
• Melissa McCarthy – Can You Ever Forgive Me? as Lee Israel

Best Supporting Actor

• Mahershala Ali – Green Book as Don Shirley
• Adam Driver – BlacKkKlansman as Philip “Flip” Zimmerman
• Sam Elliott – A Star Is Born as Bobby Maine
• Richard E. Grant – Can You Ever Forgive Me? as Jack Hock
• Sam Rockwell – Vice as George W. Bush

Best Supporting Actress

• Amy Adams – Vice as Lynne Cheney
• Marina de Tavira – Roma as Sofía
• Regina King – If Beale Street Could Talk as Sharon Rivers
• Emma Stone – The Favourite as Abigail Masham
• Rachel Weisz – The Favourite as Sarah Churchill

Best Original Screenplay

• The Favourite – Written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara
• First Reformed – Written by Paul Schrader
• Green Book – Written by Nick Vallelonga & Brian Currie & Peter Farrelly
• Roma – Written by Alfonso Cuarón
• Vice – Written by Adam McKay

Best Adapted Screenplay

• The Ballad of Buster Scruggs – Screenplay by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen; based on the short stories All Gold Canyon by Jack London, The Gal Who Got Rattled by Stewart Edward White, and short stories by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
• BlacKkKlansman – Screenplay by Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee; based on the book by Ron Stallworth
• Can You Ever Forgive Me? – Screenplay by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty; based on the book by Lee Israel
• If Beale Street Could Talk – Screenplay by Barry Jenkins; based on the book by James Baldwin
• A Star Is Born – Screenplay by Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper & Will Fetters; based on the 1954 screenplay by Moss Hart and the 1976 screenplay by Joan Didion, John Gregory Dunne & Frank Pierson; based on a story by Robert Carson & William A. Wellman

Best Animated Feature Film

• Incredibles 2 – Brad Bird, John Walker and Nicole Paradis Grindle
• Isle of Dogs – Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson
• Mirai – Mamoru Hosoda and Yūichirō Saitō
• Ralph Breaks the Internet – Rich Moore, Phil Johnston and Clark Spencer
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

Best Foreign Language Film

• Capernaum (Lebanon) in Arabic – Directed by Nadine Labaki
• Cold War (Poland) in Polish and French – Directed by Paweł Pawlikowski
• Never Look Away (Germany) in German – Directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
• Roma (Mexico) in Spanish and Mixtec – Directed by Alfonso Cuarón✔ (safe pick)
• Shoplifters (Japan) in Japanese – Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda

Best Documentary – Feature

• Free Solo – Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Evan Hayes and Shannon Dill
• Hale County This Morning, This Evening – RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes and Su Kim
• Minding the Gap – Bing Liu and Diane Quon
• Of Fathers and Sons – Talal Derki, Ansgar Frerich, Eva Kemme and Tobias N. Siebert
• RBG – Betsy West and Julie Cohen

Best Documentary – Short Subject

• Black Sheep – Ed Perkins and Jonathan Chinn
• End Game – Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman
• Lifeboat – Skye Fitzgerald and Bryn Mooser
• A Night at the Garden – Marshall Curry
• Period. End of Sentence. – Rayka Zehtabchi and Melissa Berton

Best Live Action Short Film

• Detainment – Vincent Lambe and Darren Mahon
• Fauve – Jérémy Comte and Maria Gracia Turgeon
• Marguerite – Marianne Farley and Marie-Hélène Panisset
• Mother – Rodrigo Sorogoyen and María del Puy Alvarado
• Skin – Guy Nattiv and Jaime Ray Newman

Best Animated Short Film

• Animal Behaviour – Alison Snowden and David Fine
• Bao – Domee Shi and Becky Neiman-Cobb
• Late Afternoon – Louise Bagnall and Nuria González Blanco
• One Small Step – Andrew Chesworth and Bobby Pontillas
• Weekends – Trevor Jimenez

Best Original Score

• Black Panther – Ludwig Göransson
• BlacKkKlansman – Terence Blanchard
• If Beale Street Could Talk – Nicholas Britell
• Isle of Dogs – Alexandre Desplat
• Mary Poppins Returns – Marc Shaiman

Best Original Song

• “All the Stars” from Black Panther – Music by Mark Spears, Kendrick Lamar Duckworth and Anthony Tiffith; Lyrics by Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, Anthony Tiffith and Solána Rowe
• “I’ll Fight” from RBG – Music and Lyrics by Diane Warren
• “The Place Where Lost Things Go” from Mary Poppins Returns – Music by Marc Shaiman; Lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman
• “Shallow” from A Star Is Born – Music and Lyrics by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt
• “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings” from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs – Music and Lyrics by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch

Best Sound Editing

• Black Panther – Benjamin A. Burtt and Steve Boeddeker
• Bohemian Rhapsody – John Warhurst and Nina Hartstone
• First Man – Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan
• A Quiet Place – Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
• Roma – Sergio Díaz and Skip Lievsay

Best Sound Mixing

• Black Panther – Steve Boeddeker, Brandon Proctor and Peter J. Devlin
• Bohemian Rhapsody – Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin and John Casali
• First Man – Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, Ai-Ling Lee and Mary H. Ellis
• Roma – Skip Lievsay, Craig Henighan and José Antonio Garcia
• A Star Is Born – Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic, Jason Ruder and Steve A. Morrow

Best Production Design

• Black Panther – Production Design: Hannah Beachler; Set Decoration: Jay Hart
• The Favourite – Production Design: Fiona Crombie; Set Decoration: Alice Felton
• First Man – Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Kathy Lucas
• Mary Poppins Returns – Production Design: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
• Roma – Production Design: Eugenio Caballero; Set Decoration: Bárbara Enríquez

Best Cinematography

• Cold War – Łukasz Żal
• The Favourite – Robbie Ryan
• Never Look Away – Caleb Deschanel
• Roma – Alfonso Cuarón
• A Star Is Born – Matthew Libatique

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

• Border – Göran Lundström and Pamela Goldammer
• Mary Queen of Scots – Jenny Shircore, Marc Pilcher and Jessica Brooks
• Vice – Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia Dehaney

Best Costume Design

• The Ballad of Buster Scruggs – Mary Zophres
• Black Panther – Ruth E. Carter
• The Favourite – Sandy Powell
• Mary Poppins Returns – Sandy Powell
• Mary Queen of Scots – Alexandra Byrne

Best Film Editing

• BlacKkKlansman – Barry Alexander Brown
• Bohemian Rhapsody – John Ottman
• The Favourite – Yorgos Mavropsaridis
• Green Book – Patrick J. Don Vito
• Vice – Hank Corwin

Best Visual Effects

• Avengers: Infinity War – Dan DeLeeuw, Kelly Port, Russell Earl and Dan Sudick
• Christopher Robin – Christopher Lawrence, Michael Eames, Theo Jones and Chris Corbould
• First Man – Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles and J. D. Schwalm
• Ready Player One – Roger Guyett, Grady Cofer, Matthew E. Butler and David Shirk
• Solo: A Star Wars Story – Rob Bredow, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan and Dominic Tuohy

Fin.

Alita: Battle Angel (2019) |Movie Review|

Alita: Battle Angel answers the question that everyone has asked: “What would happen if the creator of Avatar teamed up with the creator of Spy Kids to create a live-action (with CGI) version of a Japanese manga. Reader, the results are as chaotic as they sound.

Behind the Scenes

Based on Yukito Kishiro’s manga series Gunnm, directed by Robert Rodriguez, and written by James Cameron, Alita: Battle Angel is a cyberpunk action film that in the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Nineteen, finally made its way into the theaters after being stuck in development hell since 2003. The 20th Century Fox produced film has a cast of quality actors including 2019 Oscar nominee Mahershala Ali, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Jackie Earle Haley, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., newcomer Keean Johnson and Rosa Salazar as the titular character. With a budget of 200 million dollars, the film has a lot going on, good and bad, during its 122 minute run time.

The Appeal

What Alita: Battle Angel gets right is its visuals and Cameron’s ability to world build.  The film centers around  Alita, a cyborg who loses her memory and tries to learn who she is and where she came from. The only thing that looks kind of weird about Alita is that her eyes are larger than every other character in the film. With that said, her look is on-point with her previous incarnations.

For a PG-13 this movie is violent and the action scenes are well-made. Being that the characters are mostly cyborgs, the film was able to take its liberties and create graphic scenes. The cyborgs bleed blue, which was most likely done so the film didn’t get an R rating. While the action scenes are fun and nice to look at, the film feels like it is trying to pack as much action into the film, story be damned. Robert Rodriguez’s camera work captures the action by utilizing slow-motion and knowing which angles give a sense of depth to the threat that Alita is facing. Here’s a clip of her fighting Grewishka (Jackie Earle Haley).

Rosa Salazar’s performance as Alita is delightful. She’s expressive  in her face and tone which in turn brings out the personality in the titular character. Christoph Waltz is pretty much just Christoph Waltz (which isn’t a bad thing) in his role as Dr. Dyson Ido. Ido is the doctor that finds Alita’s head in a junkyard and connects her to a body. He’s also a father figure for her and somehow acts as a moral compass. Jennifer Connelly pops up a couple of times as Dr. Chiren, she’s Dr. Ido’s ex-wife and she works for Vector (Mahershala Ali) the film’s main antagonist. Connelly didn’t add much to the film, but she and her character just felt like they were just there to be there. Jorge Lendeborg Jr. portrays the troubled teenager Tanji and it’s a complete 180 from his character in Bumblebee. Tanji has an attitude, teenage angst, and does not like cyborgs which puts him at odds with Alita.  Zapan (Ed Skrein) is a cyborg bounty hunter that develops and vendetta against Alita. Zapan and Alita have chemistry whenever they’re on-screen with each other and I wish that Zapan had a larger role in the film.

The Flaws

They did not give Mahershala Ali anything to do as Vector. Vector rigs the combat sport Motorball, but he’s being mind-controlled by Nova (Edward Norton). Ali’s performance doesn’t have any kind of nuance and he spends most of his time on-screen just being a generic villain. Ali felt underutilized for his talents, yet Keean Johnson felt overexposed for his. Johnson portrays Hugo, Alita’s love interest, and the role felt too big for him. Johnson has a lot of screen time and his character has an internal conflict, but he Johnson doesn’t have the range to pull off the emotions needed to make the character compelling. This is most apparent when he’s on-screen with Alita. As mentioned previously, Salazar is an expressive actress, just her voicework for Alita gave the character a dynamic feeling, but when adjacent to Keean Johnson’s Hugo it’s like they’re in two different films.

Sadly, the battle the Alita: Battle Angel  could not overcome was James Cameron adapting a manga into a coherent film.  Alita was scheduled to be released on December 21, 2018 but pushed its release date to February 2018 due to the competition of films that were supposed to be released in December. In an ironic twist, the 122 minute film tries to set up a franchise, yet packs a trilogy into a single movie that causes the plot to feel rushed just like one of its original release date competitors. The biggest problem with packing so much into the film is that the plot becomes messy, the story becomes boring and there’s no reason to be emotionally invested into the characters. This is why when certain characters meet their fate, it ends up being an eye roll moment. Apparently, James Cameron really wants this to be a trilogy, which is why this film is packed to the brim with things to expand on in future films.

Final Thoughts

Americans adapting manga into live-action films have been the iceberg that hit the Titanic (James Cameron reference) and Alta: Battle Angel falls in a long line of disappointing adaptations (Ghost in the Shell anyone?). The animation should be applauded because the world in the film is elaborate to the point that even background characters are meticulously detailed. Rosa Salazar was the perfect choice for the lead character and she brought out a sense of personality in a cyborg. If James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez decide to move forward for a sequel, I hope Cameron focuses on developing the characters the same way that the visual effects were. I’m not 100% sure if I would recommend this one on the big screen because outside of its visual aspects and the action scenes there’s not much going on that’s worth paying a full price ticket for. If you’ve got a big screen TV and a sound system then definitely wait for this one to come available on a VOD service.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Alita: Battle Angel was released in theaters February 14, 2019.

Fighting With My Family (2019)|Movie Review|

“This is my house” is the catchphrase that introduced Paige to the WWE Universe. Fighting With My Family is the biopic that introduced her to the rest of the world.  Produced by legendary WWE Superstar, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, the sports-comedy biopic follows the life of Saraya “Paige” Bevis and her journey from a wrestling family to winning the WWE Divas Championship in 2014.  The film is directed and written by The Office co-creator Stephen Merchant, and stars Florence Pugh, Jack Lowden, Vince Vaughn, Nick Frost, Lena Headey, and Dwayne Johnson.

Going into this one I wasn’t sure of what to expect. As someone who doesn’t really care for The Office but has watched wrasslin’ (wrestling) over the years, I wasn’t sure if Stephen Merchant would be able to pull this one off. Luckily, the Englishman came through with a solid job at telling a true story in a humorous way. The direction is smooth and early on there’s a lot of camera movement that intertwines with the film’s theme.

Saraya “Paige” Bevis (Florence Pugh) was raised in a wrestling family. Her parents, Patrick “Rowdy Ricky Knight” Bevis (Nick Frost) and Julia “Sweet Saraya” Bevis (Lena Headey) were wrestlers and they were living the gimmick so to speak. I mean Paige’s actual first name is Saraya, the same name as her mother’s ring name. Paige’s brothers are also wrestlers, Zak “Zodiac” Bevis and her half-brother Roy Knight (James Burrows). The relationship that Paige has with her family members is what makes Fighting With My Family one of the best wrestling movies to hit the big screen in a while.  Paige is the only member of her family to make it to the grandest stage of them all in the WWE, and watching how members of her family dealt with that created a compelling film.

The Bevis family is filled with interesting details that make you interested in their roles in the film. Ricky Bevis is the patriarch of the family. Along with his wife, they founded the World Association Wrestling promotion after his stint in jail. There’s a powerful line in the film where Ricky states that most people find God in jail but he found wrestling. The dedication to the sport didn’t stop there. His eldest son is Roy Knight and after spending time in jail he also wrestled and later formed a tag team with Zak. The dynamic between Zak and Paige is where the movie’s storytelling is at its best. Zak is a couple of years older than Paige and his dream was to become a WWE Superstar; unfortunately when he and his sister have a tryout, WWE scout Hutch Morgan (Vince Vaughn) chooses Paige, and Zak is left to stay behind in Greenwich, Norfolk.

The writing and the acting in the film is superb. Florence Pugh does a stellar job as Paige. She brings the charm, the wit, and the attitude that Paige is known for throughout her short WWE career. Nick Frost and Lena Headey were hilarious as Paige’s parents. Early on we recognised that Paige’s mom was somewhat of a wildcard. Paige even had to ask if her mom had tried heroin, cocaine and crack combined after she made a facetious statement. Dwayne Johnson plays himself and he’s hilarious. If you were a fan of The Rock growing up then I would recommend checking this film out because he Layeth the Smackethdown every scene he is in. Vince Vaughn, who I haven’t seen in anything in years, was fine as Hutch Morgan. He pretty much played Vince Vaughn. Thea “Zelina Vega” Trinidad did her best AJ Lee impression when Paige beat her for the Divas championship. They recreated the match and it nearly made a perfect duplicate, sans the ring gear on both women.

For wrestling fans, there’s a lot of Easter eggs this film has in it that I enjoyed. When Paige and her brother met The Rock they told him that they were fans of his back when he had hair. Jeri-Lyn is the name of one of the girls in NXT that is somewhat of a rival to Paige. During a scene in NXT where one of the competitors keeps botching her moves, Paige gives her a receipt. Vince Vaughn’s Hutch Morgan is known as a journeyman, who is more commonly known in wrestling jargon as a jabroni or a jobber. The Rock calls him Sextape. Paige asked why did he call Hutch Morgan Sextape? The Rock replies because Hutch can make anyone famous. For those that do not know, Paige was hacked a couple of years ago and her sextape was leaked, so that reference could’ve been left on the cutting room floor. Outside of Zelina Vega, other WWE Superstars that make a cameo include The Miz, Sheamus and The Big Show. Tessa Blanchard did some of the in-ring stunts for Florence Pugh. There’s a bootleg Pete Dunne featured at Paige and her brother’s tryout.

.@TheRock I’ll be expecting royalties then 🤔 pic.twitter.com/vNN6nHBRSL

— Pete Dunne (@PeteDunneYxB) November 14, 2018

Fighting With My Family is one of the best movies about pro-wrestling that has hit the big screen in a decade. It’s a shame that Paige had to retire at such a young age because she’s charismatic and was a star. By the time she was 20 she accomplished more than most, and now at the age of 26 she already has a film based upon her life which is even more impressive. Salute to Dwayne Johnson for producing this film and getting it told on the big screen. The cast was perfect and elevated the story to create an engaging experience. Like the subject of the film, Florence Pugh is young and after her performance in this film she might be in contention next award season. Fighting With My Family is a good film overall and if you’re looking to watch a fun family comedy this weekend then check this one out.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Fighting with My Family was released in theaters February 14, 2019.

 

 

 

Bonus: Below is the 2012 documentary that inspired the film.

Happy Death Day 2U (2019) |Movie Review|

February 14th is a day known for love, romance and a giant baby piercing people in their hearts. Cupid isn’t shooting arrows, but instead this Valentine’s Day, Blumhouse and Universal have teamed up to produce Happy Death Day 2U, a sequel to the 2017 commercially successful dark comedy-horror, Happy Death Day. Christopher Landon returns as the director and sole writer with characters created by Scott Lobdell, and the film sees the return of actors Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Ruby Modine, Rachel Matthews, and Phi Vu.

When I first saw the trailer for this film, I was somewhat worried because the first one ended in a way that a sequel would seem hard to execute. Luckily, Christopher London had a vision that worked out as a soft-reboot and genre change for the franchise. For those that have not seen the first Happy Death Day, it’s a fun PG-13 horror-comedy that I would recommend checking out before seeing this sequel.

Yes, the first one is like Groundhogs Day meets slasher meets murder mystery but more focused on the comedy than the horror. Second one is more like all of that meets Back to the Future 👌🏾

— Movies and Other Things (@PeliculasCosas) February 13, 2019

After the events of the first film, Tree Geldman (Jessica Rothe) finds herself stuck in the time loop on her birthday. One of the biggest questions after the first film was why Tree was in a time loop in the first place. Happy Death Day 2U does a decent job trying to explain it but I think it could’ve done a better job at incorporating events from the first film in its explanation. Outside of that, there are tons of callbacks from the first film. Some work and some were not as impressive, and there are some scenes that may have been cut, lifted and pasted from the first movie as well. Similar to the first film, the sequel starts off as a slasher and then after the first death, it gets far away from it.

The acting in the film and its characters are its biggest strengths. Jessica Rothe is criminally underrated and her performance as Tree Geldman is just as good as it was in the first film. In a film that is completely unrealistic Tree brings a sense of realism that a normal person would have if they were stuck in a time loop that they once broke. Her relationship with Carter (Israel Broussard) has a nice wrinkle to it, which gives the film a sense of freshness. Carter is still a character who works as the film’s moral compass when Tree reverts to her old ways. Even the returning side characters played bigger roles in the overall story of the film. Danielle (Rachelle Matthews) was impressionable in the first film and in this one she adds another layer to her relationship with Tree. If there’s a third film then I am looking forward to seeing where her character goes. Lori (Ruby Modine) plays a different role than the previous film, which also creates a more rounded character. New characters like Dre (Sarah Yarkin) and Samar (Suraj Sharma) were a welcome addition but they could’ve been used more effectively. They’re both comedy characters and when they’re paired with Danielle there’s a hijink scene that could’ve been left on the cutting room floor.

Another under utilized character is Ryan (Phi Vu), based on the trailer, it seems like he would’ve had a bigger role in the film. Before Tree’s first death, the film focuses on Ryan and it makes the movie feel fresh and not derivative of the first Happy Death Day. As Ryan gets pushed into the background, the more messy the film becomes. There’s a complete genre shift as the movie progresses which is what I loved about this film, yet at the same time, when it harps back to the first film it’s very hit or miss. Scott Lobdell, creator of the characters in the first film, helped write the first movie and the sequel is missing his touch. Christopher Landon did a fine job at making this movie mean something. The emotional scenes with Tree are phenomenal and they hit a nerve for a sequel to a horror-comedy. Jessica Rothe really deserves an Oscar nomination and that’s how great she’s been in these films.  Where Happy Death Day 2U flounders is when it completely ditches the horror-mystery elements and goes full sci-fi, romance and comedy because of the jerk in the tonal shift.

The technical aspects are not on par with the first film when it comes to editing. The first film was edited by Gregory Plotkin and this one was edited by Ben Baudhuin. Baudhuin’s attention to detail was a major step down when it came to the reaction shots and it was noticeable throughout the film. Even with these flaws, this was a serviceable sequel to the first film. I admire how they took chances that a lot of sequels wouldn’t think of taking. Some of those chances paid off and others did not, but with the characters created within this universe and now multi-verse I think going forward Happy Death Day will be the cornerstone franchise for Blumhouse. A third film has not been greenlit as of writing this review, but Tree and her friends deserve one more outing on the big screen. Jessica Rothe keeps churning out performances like this, then it won’t be long before the world takes notice. After the events of this film (mid-credit scene) I would not be surprised if Danielle (Rachel Matthews) gets a spin-off Netflix (re: streaming service) series. Happy Death Day 2U is an ambitious sequel that does some things right, a few things wrong, but overall, it made a time loop worth seeing again.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Happy Death Day 2U is in theaters February 13, 2019.

The Prodigy (2019) |Movie Review|

**Spoiler FREE Review**

What’s wrong with Miles? The latest release from Orion Pictures, The Prodigy, tries to answer that question. The supernatural horror-thriller is director Nicholas McCarthy’s third theatrical release, with his previous two outings also being horror films. The Prodigy follows Miles (Jackson Robert Scott), a disturbed young boy who has the intellect of a genius, and his family, as they investigate what’s causing his wicked behavior.

From a technical aspect there’s a lot to love about The Prodigy. The acting, direction and score is what makes this film better than what it should be. Jackson Robert Scott’s performance was just as good, if not better, than when he was yelling at Bill that “you’ll float too” in his last horror venture. Scott does a fantastic job of balancing the nuances of playing a character that has somewhat of a split personality in this possession film. There are scenes where he delivers the dialogue with enough confidence that it doesn’t make you second guess what you’re hearing. Jackson Scott Reed pulls off the right amount of creepiness needed that creates the perturb and eerie that a character like Miles needs to work in a film such as this one. Miles’ mother, Sarah, is portrayed by Taylor Schilling (Orange is the New Black) and Schilling does an okay job herself with the material she is given. She plays a mother who truly cares about the well-being of her son and it often times feels authentic. Yet, there are a few scenes where Miles will say things to her and his father John (Peter Mooney), that make you wonder why the parents just give in to his demands so easily, instead of, ya know, parenting.

The direction of Nicholas McCarthy and the score provided by Joseph Bishara is what gives The Prodigy some sense of originality. There are a lot of these possession films that aren’t directed as well and McCarthy deserves recognition for that. He knows when to focus on a characters face to up the tension and suspense in a scene. And he doesn’t overly rely on jump scares. If you’ve followed this blog then you know jump scares when not used effectively can ruin the enjoyment of a film.  There was a jump scare that really stood out, and it got an audible noise out of me in the theater because it came out of nowhere. McCarthy stated in an interview with Entertainment Weekly back in October that there was a scene that had to be re-edited due to the audience screaming so much. Bishara’s score adds to the film’s sinister aspect. Bishara has been a staple in composing sounds for horror films including Insidious and The Conjuring franchises. The Prodigy may have a budget of only 6 million dollars but he brought his A-game during the scoring process.

As much as I enjoyed the technical aspects of the film the biggest flaw and where The Prodigy falls flat is in its script. In that same Entertainment Weekly interview, McCarthy stated that when he read the script, this movie was something he had to make. The problem with the script is that the movie is far too predictable. There wasn’t much of a sense of surprise during the film because all the familiar horror tropes were heir apparent. While watching the movie if there’s something that you think is going to happen the movie never tries to swerve or be original and create something that hasn’t been seen in a dozen other horror films. Overall, I enjoyed it enough that when I walked out of the theater I wasn’t mad at what I witnessed. It was a competent movie that just needed to take more risk to be something that truly stood out. If you’re out with your friends and looking for a fun “scary” movie to watch this weekend then I would recommend giving this one a viewing.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

The Prodigy is in theaters February 8, 2018.

Canal Street (2019) |Movie Review|

In today’s world people are quick to judge before knowing all of the facts. “Guilty until proven innocent,” is the tagline for director Rhyan Lamarr’s newest film, Canal Street. Canal Street, like Beale Street, figuratively speaking, is a road in life where people upon opposite paths happen to come across each other. Canal Street stars Bryshere Y. Gray, Mekhi Phifer, Kevin Quinn, Juani Feliz, Mykelti Williamson and a plethora of radio personalities playing themselves. Set in his native Chicago, Lamar and his team wrote the script for the film in 2005 and the film still rings true 14 years later. The film follows Kholi Styles (Bryshere Y. Gray) as he tries to prove his innocence in the death of Brian Sudermill (Kevin Quinn).

The Good

Lamarr’s storytelling shines throughout the tension of the racial-drama that takes place in the film.  While the film is self-aware of itself at points, there’s even a funny exchange of dialogue where a character comments on how Brian Sudermill looks like Zac Efron.  The weaving of the radio talk show hosts as they commentate on Kholi Styles’ ongoing trial feels authentic. Just like in real life, we get to see various opinions by media figures on whether Kholi Styles is guilty of the murder of Brian Sudermill. The talking heads include: Charlamagne Tha God, and Angela Yee of The Breakfast Club, Yandy Smith, Rickey Smiley, Headkrack, Chicago’s very own Mancow and Kendra G, and more.  As details of the trial come out, the commentary adds to the tension as those figures from different backgrounds give us their thoughts, it truly captures the diverse views of American society.

For an independent film that was shot over 16 days, the veteran actors bring some legitimacy to the small budget film. Mykelti Williamson shines as Jackie Styles, the father and lawyer of Kholi Styles. On the other side of the aisle is Mekhi Phifer as Prosecutor A.J. Canton, and his character adds another layer to the drama. A.J. Canton is a black man from the south side of Chicago, like Kholi Styles, but as a prosecutor, Canton’s job is to get a conviction in this case and he pulls out all of the stops. Canton bends the rules during the case and disregards ethics because all he cares about is winning. Canton’s brother, Ronald Morgon, played by Michael Beach and he does not agree with his brother’s tactics as a lawyer. One of the most authentic scenes in the film is when Canton returns to his brother’s barbershop on the south side of Chicago and the patrons have a real barbershop conversation with him about the case. Canton lets them know that he’s just doing his job, and that he won’t be the first black prosecutor to prosecute a black teen and he won’t be the last. Ronald lets his brother know that he’s not an honorable man like Harold Washington, the first African-American to be elected as mayor of Chicago. The film interweaves footage of Washington while Ronald is recounting the positive influence that he had as a pioneer of the city.

The Bad

Some of the film’s production does not feel worthy enough to be featured on the big screen. There are times where the lack of a budget hinders the movie and makes it look like something that you would stream on Netflix or watch on television. There are filmmaking choices that don’t fit the tone of the movie when it comes to capturing a particular character’s reaction during a tragic scene. There are casting choices where minor characters look a little too old to be high schoolers. Those are minor things that you’re able to look past because the biggest problem is that the movie pauses its storytelling to preach to the audience. Sometimes Canal Street is able to weave its preachy message into the story elements, but most of the time, there are scenes where characters might as well be looking directly into the camera and reading a sermon to us and this becomes nauseating by the time the movie ends.

The mystery-thriller elements of the film are underwhelming, to say the least. The narrative of the film is to figure out who killed Brian Sudermill, and before the big reveal happens, Canal Street doesn’t do a good job at keeping the audience on their toes. Around the halfway point, the film telegraphs who the killer is, so you’re just watching it and hoping the movie hurries up and follows up on it. Instead, the film trips over itself and by the time the true killer is revealed and the events happen that lead up to it, the movie feels like one long episode of Law and Order. There’s not much suspense and when the tension rises in the film it’s predictable, so you’re not left with much to keep you entertained.

Overall

Canal Street deserves its praise for its concept because there are ideas in the film that work well. It flawlessly pulls off an accurate representation of the way people are guilty in the court of public opinion before the court of law. For a 15 year old script, the film’s social commentary is just as relevant today as it ever was, and that says a lot about the way we view “change” over the years in our society. Outside of the film being preachy and shoving the Gospel down our throat in every other scene, the film is run-of-the-mill when compared to some of its 2018 counterparts. Canal Street has elements that are found in Blindspotting, Blackkklansman, and If Beale Street Could Talk, which are all films that do a fantastic job at exploring the plight of being a black male, yet this one has an underwhelming execution. There are moments where this movie hits the right notes. Performances by lead actor Bryshere Y. Gray,  Mykelti Williamson, Mekhi Phifer, and Michael Beach are heartfelt. Juani Feliz does a great job as a love interest. Somewhere in Canal Street lies a good film and I think that the writer and director, Rhyan Lamarr, can create a more compelling drama than this. There’s definitely talent there, and the Chicago native shows it at times, but overall Canal Street flounders and the film reaches what seems like a dead end by its conclusion.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Canal Street was released in theaters January 18th, 2019.

Dragon Ball Super: Broly |Movie Review|

The Dragon Ball franchise has made its theatrical return with Dragon Ball Super: Broly. Created by Akira Toriyama, the Japanese anime is the highest grossing film in the franchise and one of the highest grossing animes in history. The film sees the return of Goku, the main character of the series, and the first canonical inclusion of Broly, the Legendary Super Saiyan.

Growing up I watched Dragon Ball Z all the time during the Toonami block on Cartoon Network. (Sidenote: The Funimation dub is better than the Ocean dub, sans the opening theme and Vegeta saying Over 90000!) Going into this film, the last Dragon Ball content I watched was the feature release of Resurrection F and Battle of Gods, yet I hadn’t seen any episodes of Dragon Ball: Super, so I was not sure what to expect going into this one. For those that do not know, the main villain in this film is Broly, a Legendary Super Saiyan who was the main antagonist in a trilogy of films that are not canon in the Dragon Ball franchise. With all that said going into this film, I was confused because I did not know Broly was not canon.

The storytelling aspect of the film is accessible, to say the least. The film does a stellar job at introducing you to the characters and their motivations in a way that makes it easy for those that are unfamiliar with the franchise to understand what’s going on. But at the same time there are moments when this film’s plot sacrifices and retcons important moments in Dragon Ball’s lore. The first half of the film focuses on the background of the three Saiyans; the prince to the throne Vegeta, the low-class warrior Goku, and the exiled and powerful Broly. There’s a whole anime titled Dragon Ball that follows the story of Goku and in it, Goku is sent to Earth to destroy it, but in this film, he’s sent to Earth as a means of surviving Planet Vegeta’s destruction. Over time it’s hard to keep up with continuity, especially for a franchise that’s over three decades old, so this is something that I can give the movie a pass for.

The character piece in the film is an interesting one because the villain is misunderstood. Broly is a powerful fighter who doesn’t understand his own strength, his father raised him as vicious fighter while keeping a shock collar around Broly’s neck as if he was an animal. When he gets to Earth, Frieza kills his father to ignite more rage out of Broly which makes him more powerful. Once Broly becomes the Legendary Super Saiyan he cannot control his power nor his anger and this makes him a harder foe to fight for Vegeta and Goku. This is what makes Broly’s story a tragedy and a victim of circumstance. Broly never asked to be this way and he cannot control his power yet he’s a pawn for Frieza who wants to seek his revenge on Goku. When Goku and Vegeta fuse to create the powerful warrior Gogeta, they overpower Broly and are about to obliterate him, luckily a minor character cares for the Legendary Super Saiyan and wishes him back to the planet he was raised on.

Overall, Dragon Ball Super: Broly is a fun ride and expands the story of one of the greatest animes in history. Personally, some of the previous Broly films were more enjoyable such as Broly – Second Coming and Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan because those films felt more natural. I enjoyed this film but at the same time it felt like a few things were forced in to make Broly fit that sacrifices Dragon Ball’s canon. If you’re a fan of anime I think you’re going to love this film. The voice acting is great, the animation is fun, there’s times where there are jarring transitions from 2D to 3D, but it’s a well crafted film overall. I am interested in seeing what’s next for the Z fighters and what Toriyama has in store for the future.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Dragon Ball Super: Broly was released in select theaters on January 16, 2019.

Review: ‘Trigger Warning With Killer Mike’ Is One Of The Best Docuseries On Netflix |Small Screen|

Trigger Warning: Some may find the content in this review offensive.

DO YOU BANK BLACK!?

Michael Render, aka Killer Mike, has always been known as a black-banking enthusiast. The Grammy-award winning rapper has sparked up conversations about black economic equality throughout the years. There have been a number of events that have happened within the last few years that sparked the idea for a show like the Netflix Original docuseries, Trigger Warning With Killer Mike. One of his most memorable moments, which may have sparked the idea of a pilot episode of Trigger Warning, goes all the way back to June of 2017.  That’s when late-night host and “comedian” Bill Maher tried to be edgy and fell flat on his face when he told a joke that did not go over too well. The Trigger Warning host took to Twitter to defend Maher:

black have BIGGER things than NIGGER to concern our selves with: Black Banks, Gentrification, Economics & Trade Education. Love, My Nigga. https://t.co/nTtvRkXKkF

— Killer Mike (@KillerMike) June 3, 2017

After catching some flack from fans who did not agree with Mike’s stance on the Bill Maher situation the “But… Do YOU bank black?” meme was born. The Atlanta-based emcee continued to  clap back at anyone who dared to enter his mentions by questioning their allegiance to supporting black enterprises:

For all my Niggas/Niggers that wanna get me in check b4 u tweet me do u: bank black, buy black, support a black biz often. If not STFU faker

— Killer Mike (@KillerMike) June 3, 2017

I wud and yes I'm cool with Bill. Don't mean I agree with all he says but that joke ain't offend me. Sorry bro. Again tho do u bank black? https://t.co/XqSgfRpPKm

— Killer Mike (@KillerMike) June 3, 2017

All them "at my head niggas" still ain't tweeted their black bank ATM cards tho #OneUnited is online too. No excuses https://t.co/ewkHoi5m9o

— Killer Mike (@KillerMike) June 3, 2017

No pass just ain't got time to care. I have Junteenth coming and I wanna get 100 mil moves to black banks! U bank black yet? https://t.co/vapoBzrdjx

— Killer Mike (@KillerMike) June 3, 2017

I agree. Now why u ain't post your black bank or biz yet? #PumpFaking huh? https://t.co/YxpCjNDF5F

— Killer Mike (@KillerMike) June 3, 2017

Where your Black biz, bank, or school card my Negus. U ain't got that u just using a movie whites help pay for to try and Shame a nigga ✊🏾 https://t.co/T9Er6vgCSg

— Killer Mike (@KillerMike) June 3, 2017

Fast forward to March 2018 and the Run the Jewels emcee sparked headlines when the NRA “misused” his interview following the March for Our Lives demonstration after the Parkland school shooting. Now that Killer Mike has his own show, he uses his platform to get his message out, the way that he sees fit. With the Netflix docuseries Trigger Warning, each episode is a social experiment that challenges conventional thinking. There are only 6 episodes of the first season, clocking in at around 25 minutes each, and there’s a lot going on that makes it one of the most interesting series currently airing on Netflix.

Episodic Breakdown

Episode 1

The pilot episode, ‘Living Black,’ does a phenomenal job at having a concept that reels you into the show from the start. The show’s director Vikram Gandhi and Killer Mike, have come up with an idea where Killer Mike will live totally black for 3 days. Totally black means that every single thing that he uses, eats, and consumes will be from a black-owned company. There’s an infographic that points out the number of days that a dollar stays in the economic ecosystem for different races. The graphic states that a dollar can stay in the Asian community for 28 days, the White community for 23 days, the Jewish community for 21 days, and only 6 hours in the African-American community before it’s released out. The issue that plagues the show is that when there are infographics, more times than not, there’s not a source mentioned to go with it. After searching on Google for this particular study I found mention of it here.  Killer Mike tells Vikram Gandhi that he thinks there’s something Black for everything. Gandhi tells him that if he stayed in Atlanta then it might be possible, but since the Run the Jewels show is in Athens then it’s going to be a challenge. Shareef Abdul Malik, the founder of We Buy Black, hooks Killer Mike up with various black made products.  The Figgers phone is the one that I found the most interesting because its inventor Freddie Figgers has a biography that is perfect for a feature film that would make Elon Musk jealous.

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⚠️LINK IN BIO⚠️ New Review on the #Netflix series #triggerwarningwithkillermike! One of the best docuseries that is currently on Netflix. | #linkinbio #runthejewels #RTJ #blueflamelounge #HipHop #documentaryphotography #bankblack #webuyblack #supportblackbusiness #figgers #triggerwarning #peliculasandcosas

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Killer Mike is so dedicated to the cause that he can’t even get a lapdance from an Asian stripper at Blue Flame. Since black people do not make cars, he has to rely on Harmon Brothers Charter Service to take him from Atlanta to Athens. He cannot even open his can of beans because he doesn’t have a black-made can opener. All of these things take place in Atlanta, but when he reaches Athens things get worse. There’s no black-owned hotel, so he has to sleep on a bench. The multi-platinum rapper is sleeping outside on a bench due to what he terms “White Economy Withdrawal,” which is what makes this particular episode interesting. When he finally meets up with fellow Run the Jewels emcee, El-P, they cannot Uber anywhere, smoke weed, and when they find a black-owned restaurant Killer Mike cannot eat there due to the meat not being raised by black farmers. There’s a scene where we get to learn the history of the Hot Corner in downtown Athens and Mack Wilson, the owner of Wilson’s Styling Shop. tells Killer Mike about the history of Hot Corner. There used to be 66 black businesses in Hot Corner and the money went around one time in the Black community and 2 or 3 times in the White community. There’s even a mention of the green book.

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❌LINK IN BIO❌⬇️ ➡️ #GreenBook is a new drama-comedy that is well executed and enjoyable even if it was created for the #Oscars. . . . . . | @greenbookmovie #greenbookmovie #mahershalaali #donshirly #viggomortensen #universalpictures #blog #filmreview #moviereviews #civilrights #peliculasandcosas

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Episode 2

The second episode is ambitious as Killer Mike tries to fix education in America. The title of the episode is ‘Fuck School’ and it’s a double entendre because the emcee tries to create educational-porn. Before the pornography angle begins, Killer Mike meets up with a group of 1st graders. There’s an eye-opening statement by a student who says that another student at the school once told him “you’re not like everybody else your skin looks like poop,” which Killer Mike does a good job at reassuring the kid that being Black is something to be proud of. Things pick up when Mike asks the students what their aspirations are when they grow up. The students have ambitions of being presidents, scientists, and Killer Mike tells them to put their hands down because that’s what the world is going to say to them as they get older. Mike’s approach is for the kids to learn trades instead of dreaming big because they, more than likely, will not become their dream jobs. He partners up with Toby the handyman and shows the students applicable trades like plumbing and how to change a lightbulb. Mike takes things a step further as he tries to explain to the Principal that her students should be learning trades. The thing about Killer Mike’s point is that he’s not completely wrong, America is in need of more people who are skilled in trade. He even makes a point that schools teach kids to obey like prisons, schools are built like prisons, but the Principal is not having it, and she tells Mike to try his academic ventures with adults.

The ATLien finds a group of unemployed adults on the streets of Atlanta and creates his own small sample group to test out his educational ventures. After asking the adults what their dream jobs are and getting responses that include musicians, producers, actresses, and remodeling houses, Killer Mike is again the bearer of bad news. Just as he told the kids earlier, adults should focus on realistic jobs such as knowing trades. After taking a placement test, it’s clear that none of the unemployed adults possessed any knowledge or skills in the arts of  trades. Toby, the handyman from earlier, stated that he learned all of his schools on YouTube during a time when he was unemployed but the other adults find that learning on YouTube is boring. The show interjects with a study that shows most adults spend their time on pornography sites, and this is the catalyst for Killer Mike to incorporate pornography into his educational videos. After finding adult actors that encompass the full spectrum of porn, he presents the group with a video that teaches them all various trades. Killer Mike has had success, as all of their scores tremendously improved when they retake the placement test. Mike decided to present his work to the founder of Omni Tech in hopes to “educate the masses with tits and asses.”

Episode 3

The third episode is one of my favorite episodes of the series. It is titled ‘White Gang Privilege’ and deals with all the advantages that gangs like Hells Angels have when it comes to trademarking themselves as a legit business even though they’re just as controversial as the Bloods and Crips. Killer Mike gathers a few members of the Crips street fraternity and uses their knowledge of entrepreneurship to start a business. The members include Yayo. Murdo, AC and Newny and the idea they come up with is a cola. Being that the show is based in Atlanta, a cola would be in direct competition with Coca-Cola and the group decided to name their cola, Crip-A-Cola.

Sure, the name of the soda sounds absurd, but this episode gets the humanity of the gang members across effortlessly. After failing to secure an 100K business loan, due to not having tax returns, the crew decides to do what any entrepreneur would do, and cook their cola n the kitchen. With help from a graphic designer they design a unique logo and have former Coca-Cola executive, Sean Martin, evaluate Crip-a-Cola and he praises the packaging on its uniqueness. According to Trigger Warning, soda is responsible for more deaths in the United States than gang violence, so for Crip-a-Cola to be healthier than Coca-Cola is a move in the right direction, but at the end of the day soda is unhealthy, which is a point Mike makes in the show.

The climax of the episode is when the Crips try to flood the market, or distribute to stores in Atlanta, and none of the stores wanting to carry their product  due to it being labeled as from the Crips. It’s to a point where if the product was from the Hells Angels than they would be fine with it unlike the Crips. This ideology is also present in a focus group for Crip-a-Cola. Killer Mike and the Crips are watching a focus group, filled with mostly white people, who are given a blind taste test. Everyone in the group stated they liked cola, when the moderator lets them try Crip-a-Cola, they all liked the taste until the product was revealed. The temperature in the room changes and every one has outlandish takes that would make Colin Cowherd sound sane. One guy even says that if people drink Crip-a-Cola they’ll be shot down. Most of the members of the focus group have a negative connotation with the word crip and state that would never buy the product. During the focus group scene we are introduced to Mario Avani. Killer Mike calls Mario Avani, who is Puerto Rican, a racist because Mario has a way of defending things like Andrew Jackson having Native Americans scalp.  Yayo and the other Crips explain to Mario that the Crips are similar to other fraternities but Mario finds a way to rebuttal that as well. More on Mario later. To circumvent the issues of Bloods killing people who are drinking Crip-a-Cola, Killer Mike reaches out to the Bloods and they create Blood Pop which I assume is the same ingredients as Crip-a-Cola.

Episode 4

Killer Mike tries to destroy the myth of White Jesus in the Black community in Trigger Warning‘s fourth episode titled ‘New Jesus’ and it’s filled with out-of-the-box thinking. Killer Mike wants to create his own religion and shift black people away from the constraints of Christianity. He tries to recruit Atlanta-based megachurch pastor Creflo Dollar, but Creflo does not agree with Mike that church is bad for black people.

Sleepy|Netflix

Since the megachurch pastor isn’t any help, Killer Mike has enlisted the help of author Patrick Goines. Goines helps Mike with creating the Book of Sleep, which is the official text for Killer Mike’s Church of Sleep. Some religions have the teachings of Moses, Jesus, Thor, or Muhammad, but the Church of Sleep uses the teachings of Killer Mike’s homie, Sleepy. Sleepy gets his name from the fact that he always looks asleep (he does). Unfortunately, for a show that’s promoted countless numbers of black owned businesses, Killer Mike cannot find a publisher for his Book of Sleep. After having a meeting with Vikki Hankins, the founder of  VMH Media and Publishing, she turns down the Book of Sleep, so Killer Mike, Patrick Goines, and Sleepy begin a grassroots campaign to get the people involved with the Church of Sleep.

As a social experiment, this episode is at its best when we get to hear from the people in the congregation. There’s an informative scene at Killer Mike’s SWAG barbershop where most of the patrons express that they do not sleep well at night for various reasons. “More slaves were whipped for oversleeping than any other fault,” is a quote by Frederick Douglass, and Trigger Warning delves into the issue through the spectrum of present day America. Sleepy’s motto is “fuck hope, do dope” and the Church of Sleep holds all their services at the Blue Flame strip club in Atlanta. When members of the congregation give their own testimonials on what the Church of Sleep means to them, pardon the pun, a true awakening.

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🙏🏾LINK IN BIO🙏🏾 It's #Sunday and the #ChurchOfSleepy is in session. 🔊 [ON] and listen to the #Testimonials. Check out the review for #triggerwarningwithkillermike while you're at it #linkinbio.| #Netflix #runthejewels #RTJ #Atlanta #blueflamelounge #killermike #triggerwarning #church #bookofsleep #blackbusiness #blacklivesmatter #review #blog #peliculasandcosas

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Episode 5

Trigger Warning With Killer Mike goes full Making the Band with its penultimate episode. The episode is titled “Outside of the Box” and Killer Mike performs at a senior living facility. Most of the seniors are white and they’re not fans of Rap/Hip-Hop. These seniors have some of the most ignorant and racist takes. There’s a clip from the show’s trailer of Killer Mike  explaining why this lady’s “fact” that most robbers are black is completely false.

After rapping over the sounds of a barbershop quartet at the nursing home, and watching seniors, literally, roll their way towards the exit during his performance, Killer Mike switches up his approach. The big takeaway from his time at the nursing home is that seniors do not like rap music because they feel excluded from it. The Run The Jewels emcee uses this experience, like the educational-pornography from episode 2, and attempts to create something that will appeal to everyone. The episodes tone changes into an episode of an old MTV hit-show, Making the Band, as Killer Mike tries to form The Bubble Bursters, a supergroup filled with musicians from various backgrounds. T-Pain even serves as a celebrity judge and the recording process is handled at the legendary Stankonia Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.

Salute to Killer Mike for finding such a diverse group of artists to make up the Bubble Bursters supergroup. There’s even the return of Mario Avani from the third episode of Trigger Warning. Mario goes by the stage name M Je T’aime and they rework his song “Box Me In,” rename it “Don’t Box Us In,” and the drama ensues. The Bubble Bursters include a Juggalo, a black cowboy that thinks Jesus is clear, a MAGA-loving racist, an albino Black Lives Matters supporter, Mario and others, and to say the group had their differences is an understatement. The group had a chance to open up for Run The Jewels and RTJ fans had looks of bewilderment about what they had just witnessed when their set was over. The awkwardness and the drama behind the scenes during the group’s formation made this episode one of the funniest ones in the series. I couldn’t find a video of their actual performance or their song but here’s a link to the original version of “Box Me In” from M Je T’aime’s SoundCloud:

Episode 6

The season finale, ‘Kill Your Masters’ serves as an accumulation of events that have taken place in episodes 1-5. Kill Your Masters is a motto that Killer Mike lives by, and it means to liberate yourself and not let anyone control you. In this episode of Trigger Warning, Killer Mike wants to follow in the footsteps of Fela Kuti and create his own country, New Africa. Fela Kuti created the Kalakuta Republic during the 1970s, which was his compound that housed his family, band members and recording studios in Nigeria, and  it had a free health clinic. Kuti declared the compound to be independent from the Nigerian government and in 1977, thousands of armed soldiers — not only— burned the compound to the ground, but threw Kuti’s mother out of a second floor window, where she would later die from complications.

Knowing all of this, the Atlanta-based rapper puts his idea in motion and buys some land to create New Africa. Citizens of New Africa include people who have previously appeared in episodes of Trigger Warning. We got to see familiar faces that included the Crips, the Bloods, Toby the Handyman, Mario Avani, other members of the Bubble Bursters supergroup, adults from the educational-pornography class, Patrick Goins and more. Everyone’s skill that was mentioned in their previous episode is used to help get New Africa off the ground. Unlike America, New Africa proudly celebrates women on their money. Patrick Goins helps by drafting up the Declaration of Independence for the new country. The Book of Sleep is used to swear the citizens in as they give their Pledge of Allegiance. The only person to take issue with this is Mario, who says he doesn’t believe in pledges. Just like all of Mario’s previous appearances on the show, he’s pompous and he annoyed everyone at the compound. He upsets everyone in New Africa when he performs an anthem that he wrote for the new country.

The New Africans were upset with Killer Mike’s rule, they had a free election and they decided who among them should run against him for the title of leader. Cita, Suave and Mike are the candidates and decide to hold an election to see who should be the new leader of New Africa. Luckily, we get to see what the New Africans think of every candidate after they cast their ballots. Again, the show does a great job at presenting these people as people instead of just personalities, if that makes sense. The ballots are tallied and Cita is the winner and she’s ecstatic. Secretly, it turns out that Mike rigged the election, so that Cita won, because he did not feel like running a country. Killer Mike is really for the people.

Final Thoughts

Trigger Warning With Killer Mike is a show that I think more people should watch because it’s quality infotainment. Salute to Netflix for picking this show up and giving Mike the freedom to bring his ideas to fruition. If there is a season two, I hope Killer Mike can continue creating innovative content without sacrificing social commentary. Again, my biggest criticism of the show is that it needs to provide a source for every statement it provides as fact. The show fluidly blends entertainment and education, and it’s from the perspective of a black man, which is something that we do not get to see much of in traditional media. Just like Killer Mike’s tweets above, from the start, the show is in your face and makes it known that African-American culture IS American culture which is something that one of the Two Americas seems to forget. Anyone that’s listened to Run the Jewels should give the show a chance, and those that have not listened to Killer Mike or RTJ, but own Netflix, should stream Trigger Warning as soon as possible.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Trigger Warning With Killer Mike is currently streaming on Netflix.

Shoplifters (2018) |Movie Review|

What really makes a family? Type the word into Google and this is the result:Director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s newest film, Shoplifters, takes these definitions and explores them in a realistic, heartbreaking and insightful way. Hirokazu Kore-eda also serves as the writer and editor of the family crime drama that stars Lily Franky, Sakura Ando, Kairi Jō, Mayu Matsuoka, Miyu Sasaki, and the late Kirin Kiki. The Japanese film follows an impoverished family of shoplifters, who take in an abandoned child, as they try to scrape by living in Tokyo. Spoilers after the trailer.

Hirokazu Kore-eda’s direction and storytelling is effective because everything in the film has meaning. Most of the framing of the shots in Shoplifters are tight with not a lot of negative space. For a film about people who aren’t living a positive life, this makes sense symbolically. The way that Hirokazu Kore-eda uses tight shots emphasizes the subjects of the film and not the world around them. This ties in with the film’s theme of the family focusing on themselves no matter what the outside world has to think of their situation. The writing and storytelling take this a step further.  The pacing of the first two acts was slow, but the third-act payoff made up for it. After spending the first two acts getting to know the members of the family, the third act is a gut punch once we learn who they truly are and how they came to be. Taking the time to methodically breakdown each member of the Shibata clan’s background creates a compelling way to understand their motivations.

The film delves into the bleak lives of Osamu Shibata (Lily Frank), a day laborer and the male head of a household that includes his wife Nobuyo Shibata (Sakura Ando), a young boy named Shota Shibata (Kairi Jō), a teenage girl Aki Shibata (Mayu Matsuoka), and an elderly grandmother Hatsue Shibata (Kirin Kiki). One night after shoplifting from a local store the Shibatas took in an abandoned little girl named Yuri (Miyu Sasaki). Yuri has been beaten and abused by her biological parents, so the Shibatas decide to keep her, even though they don’t have much to give her outside of love and a caring family. The physical abuse that Yuri has received from her family isn’t ever shown on-screen, but the movie gets psychological trauma across effectively.

There’s a powerful scene where the Shibatas go to the mall and Nobuyo gives Yuri a yellow dress to try-on and the terrified reaction that Yuri gives her is chilling. Yuri quietly asks Nobuyo, “will you hit me later,” when presented with the dress and she replies with a heartfelt “No,” and later on, when Yuri is finally returned to her family, her biological mom is wearing a yellow dress and being verbally abusive. This highlights the theme of the film that it’s better to choose your own family. The relationship that Yuri and Nobuyo develop is more of a healthy mother-daughter bond. The only Shibatas that actually have any sense of familial bond, based on the second definition above, are Hatsue and Aki.  Hatsue is the second-wife of Aki’s grandfather and Hatsue’s been receiving money from Aki’s father who is the child of Hatsue’s ex-husband’s second marriage. Once we see Aki’s father cut Hatsue a check that’s when Shoplifters shows us that Hatsue doesn’t really love Aki, instead she loves the money that she receives from Aki’s family.

During the beginning of the film Osamu breaks his leg at his day job which allows him to benefit from workers’ compensation. Since he’s being paid workers comp he continues shoplifting as a second means of income to help the family stay afloat and together. Osamu has taught Shota how to shoplift and live life as a small-time crook. Since the family has taken Yuri in does Osamu change his ways? Reader, he does not. Osamau has taught Yuri and Shota the ideology of a shoplifter, “items in a store do not belong to anyone,” and kids who are not intelligent enough to learn from home attend school. At a young age of around 12 years-old, Shota has embraced the lifestyle that Osamu has taught him. He and Yuri have a system of hand signals they use to assure the coast is clear when committing their crimes. This all changes after stealing from a store that the Shibatas have shoplift from frequently, the store owner catches Shota, gives him and Yuri a toy, and tells Shota not to let the girl live the life of a thief. This is the catalyst for Shota changing his views on the life of a shoplifter.

Hirokazu Kore-eda’s writing exemplifies that he took his time to create these characters because they have depth and a complete story arc. Towards the end of the film, Shota gets cornered after stealing oranges from the market and tries to escape by jumping off a bridge, breaking his own leg in the process. Shota told Osamu that he got caught on purpose, which is what ends up tearing the family apart. During the entire film Shota cannot call Osamu “dad” and it’s a theme the film plays with throughout its duration. Osamu isn’t Shota’s biological dad, like Yuri, Shota was abandoned and like an item in a store, Osamu stole him after breaking into the car he was sleeping in.

At the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, the Japanese film won the Palme d’Or, considered one of the most prestigious awards in the film industry, and has made the shortlist of nominations for Best Foreign Film at the 2019 Academy Awards. With the film’s success, Magnolia Pictures picked up the film’s distribution rights for its theatrical run in North America. Shoplifters lived up to all the accolades and acclaim it has received so far. This is my personal favorite foreign film from 2018 and it should give the Golden Globes winner some competition this upcoming Oscars season. Lead actor Lily Frank did a phenomenal job bringing out the emotions that a film like this needs. Kore-eda’s approach to realism in the film adds another texture to the viewing experience. The clan of shoplifters only have each other, they may not be blood relatives, but they are a family.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Shoplifters is currently in select theaters and is scheduled for digital download on February 12, 2019.

Glass (2019) |Movie Review|

**Spoiler Free Review**

The Eastrail 177 trilogy has finally reached its last stop with Glass, M. Night Shyamalan’s newest film. Glass serves as the sequel to the highly successful, critically acclaimed psychological horror-thriller Split, and the superhero-thriller Unbreakable. It’s been 19 years since the theatrical release of Unbreakable, yet M. Night was able to have familiar faces reprise their roles, which is huge for those continuity sticklers. Returns from the 2000 film include Elijah Price/Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson), David Dunn (David Dunn/The Overseer), Joseph Dunn (Spencer Treat Clark) and Elijah’s mother Mrs. Price (Charlayne Woodard). They’re joined by Split characters Kevin Wendell Crumb/The Horde (James McAvoy) and Casey Cooke (Anya Taylor-Joy) with the introduction of a new character Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson).

I had my own personal Shyamalanathon before watching Glass as a refresher. If you haven’t seen the previous two films in this trilogy then see them beforehand. There’s a few things about Shyamalan’s style that caught my eye in Glass. As a filmmaker, Shyamalan’s techniques at creating thrilling moments are on full display in this film. He still has those same Hitchcockian elements to his style when it comes to panning the camera and creating the right shot for the perfect reaction. He’s Hitchcock behind the camera and in front of it when it comes to making his cameos. As a writer some of his dialogue is riveting, especially delivered by the actors in this cast. The first half of the film is where the dialogue and the storytelling are at their best. Samuel L. Jackson puts a masterclass on how facial expressions can convey an impactful message without uttering a single word. James McAvoy’s performances with multiple personalities is just as good as it was in Split. He brings humor yet when he transforms into The Horde, he’s just as menacing.

Bruce Willis didn’t really bring anything to the film for me. During the opening action sequence at the beginning of the film he wasn’t intense and he was nowhere near the level of James McAvoy. For most of the film I wasn’t 100% convinced that Bruce Willis wanted to be there. Anya Taylor-Joy picks up where she left off in Split with another compelling performance by the scream queen. Sarah Paulson had a good performance, but for some reason when M. Night wrote the dialogue for Dr. Ellie Staples he just decided for it to be bland. She might as well be a narrator because she’s just explaining what we are seeing instead of the film showing us. It gets to a point in the film where it makes you question if Shyamalan wrote this film back in 2000 and just didn’t decide to update it for 2019 before filming it. The scenes after the climax and the very last scene of the film further exacerbates this point.

Quick rant about the biggest issue with The Overseer (what a name). The human body is made up of around 60% water and the Earth is made up of 71% of water, so having water being David Dunn’s kryptonite has always seemed kind of goofy. For Mr. Glass it makes sense that he would have “brittle bone syndrome” because he’s a genius. Being a Lex Luthor type character and having a weak body seems like an even trade-off. Kevin Crumble has 24 different personalities that are always battling for the light so for flashes of light triggering a reaction also makes sense. Unbreakable explains that Dunn nearly drowned as a child so he’s not as strong once he’s submerged in water. 19 years later, it’s still a strange weakness to have on planet Earth.

This film is the weakest in the trilogy. There’s a lot of flaws in logic that are apparent throughout the movie. Most of the cast gives quality performances throughout the film. Shyamalan’s direction is up there with some of the best films in his filmography. The writing is where, for lack of better words, the glass shatters. It’s a shame because I really enjoyed Split and I thought Unbreakable was pretty good. In many ways Glass’s biggest twist is that the films (and their titles!) that make up the Eastrail 177 trilogy serves as a metaphor for director M. Night Shyamalan’s career. Unbreakable, a reference to a time when M. Night was at his peak; when Split was released he was going through a rough patch and audiences were divisive on whether or not he still had it; and to top it all off, Glass is a film that, depending on your view, either feels half-empty or half-full once it reaches its conclusion.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Glass is in theaters January 18th, 2019.

Review: The first season of Netflix’s ‘You’ is addicting, messy, controversial, problematic and fun.|Small Screen|

This past weekend one of my friends (shoutout to Esméralda) asked me if I had ever seen You on Netflix. I had not…but after learning of the premise of the show I was intrigued to give it a viewing to see what the hype was about. Usually, a well-directed and well-acted thriller is worth the watch. Based on Caroline Kepnes’s novel of the same name, You is a psychological-thriller (dark comedy?) that follows bookstore manager (read: creeper) Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) after he falls in love with Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail) and becomes obsessed with her.

The first season of the show originally aired on Lifetime during the fall of 2018, but Netflix picked it up for season 2, and made season one available for streaming one day after Christmas. Ever since America’s No. 1 streaming service made the show available, it has taken on a second life on social media. The show’s structure is what makes Netflix the perfect home because it’s written in a way that makes binge-watching the most effective way to watch it. It is easy to digest and the first season is only 10 episodes long, and each episode is around 45 minutes long, which only took about 2 days to binge.  Spoilers after the trailer.

A Solid Start

The pilot uses an interesting color palette to set the tone for the show. The opening scene is set in Mooney’s bookstore in New York, and it’s filled with a lot of different shades of brown, and both of the two main characters are wearing brown. Bookstore manager Joe Goldberg is doing his best Dexter Morgan impression and starts narrating about a woman who has walked into the store and he’s analyzing everything about her. He sparks up a conversation with her, finds out her name is Guinevere Beck, and then he proceeds to be obsessed with her. After their initial conversation any sense of realism that You had walked out the door with Beck as soon as she left the bookstore.

Guinevere Beck and Joe Goldberg talking at Mooneys.|Netflix

Creeper Joe goes home, does his Googles on Beck, narrates all the details that he discovers about her, and uses an image from one of her profiles to find out where she lives. Stalker Joe goes to her home, which is on a main street, and spies on her through her curtainless and blinds-less windows. The show is self-aware enough to mention that not having blinds or curtains is a major privacy concern, but I guess we can chalk that up to being a Two Americas thing.  As he continues monologuing about being a white knight, Stalker Joe stalks Beck all day and all night, watches her and her boyfriend Benji hook up, and continues to perv on her until the coast is clear for him to enter her home. While he’s snooping through her home she returns earlier than expected, and there’s a moment where he hides in the shower as the show tries to build up the suspense of him getting caught.

Beck is an aspiring writer and she’s performing her poetry later that night. Joe stalks her while she’s at the bar. She performs and nobody likes her poetry. The blonde 20s something leaves the bar drunk, and the goofiest moment of the first episode happens when Drunk Beck falls on the train tracks like a damsel in distress and Joe saves her. This assured me that this show is also supposed to be a dark comedy. Can’t make this up folks. They take a taxi back to Beck’s place and Joe manages to take her phone from her, so he can spy on all aspects of her life with ease, and once they arrive they are greeted by Beck’s boyfriend Benji Ashby (Lou Taylor Pucci) to Joe’s chagrin.

Beck doing the damsel in distress trope.| Netflix

At Mooney’s bookstore there’s a basement that contains this huge glass sound proof box that Mr. Mooney (Mark Blum) used when he wanted to have quiet time while reading. There’s a couple of flashbacks throughout the series that shows Mr. Mooney acting as a father figure to Joe and he would lock Joe in the box to discipline him. Creeper Joe lures Benji to the basement because he views him as an obstacle in his pursuit of Beck. Benji tells Joe that Joe isn’t a killer and Beck isn’t worth it, but Obsessive Joe is too obsessed to listen and ends up killing Benji.

Benji in a Box| Netflix

The initial comparison of Joe Goldberg to Dexter Morgan from Dexter isn’t fair to the complexity of a character like Dexter. Joe is not nearly as complex or cerebral. He’s messy, and for any rational person watching this show it’s nearly impossible to root for him, even if none of the other characters are likeable. You tries it’s hardest to give Joe some sense of normalcy. He has a little kid as a neighbor named Paco (Luca Padovan) that likes to read books but his step-father Ron (Daniel Cosgrove) does not like it when Paco talks to Joe. Ron is the Doakes of this show and he thinks that Joe is a weirdo (which he isn’t wrong). Ron works as a parole-officer and when he gets home he beats Paco’s mother Claudia (Victoria Cartagena) and Paco. Their apartment building has thin walls and Joe can hear the whoopings. The pilot episode does a solid job of setting up events for the rest of the series.

Joe talks to Paco| Netflix

The Rest and the Mess

The pilot episode wasn’t mind-blowing, but it was interesting enough for me to check out the rest of the show. There are at least two episodes that could’ve been fused into one to make the show move more fluidly. A few episodes have noticeable editing gaffes. A character will be talking to another character, and as the camera switches back and forth for reactions the character’s positions are completely misplaced. Granted, this is episodic television, so it comes with the territory.

At times logic escapes You. When Joe kills Benji he stores his body in the trunk of his car. The body has been decomposing in Joe’s little glass box of death for a couple of days and there’s fluid slowly oozing out of it. Yet when Beck’s friend Peach (Shay Mitchell) is sick and needs to go to the hospital, Joe lets her and Beck ride in the backseat of the whip and Peach can smell odors coming from the body. Beck never mentions it and tries to act as if she does not smell anything. The counterpoint is there are moments throughout You that the show does a phenomenal job at escalating the stakes and raising the “Ohhhh 💩  He’s About to Get Caught” Factor. One scene in particular is when Stalker Joe follows his now girlfriend Beck and Peach take a staycation to Peach’s family estate that is an hour away from New York. Stalker Joe stalks but he’s already got hands laid upon him by Ron so he is suffering from a concussion. He keeps seeing and talking to what appears to be a ghost of his ex-girlfriend Candace Stone (Ambyr Childers). He hits a deer while driving at night and gets pulled over as soon as he wakes up the next morning. Good thing he’s a sociopath with a bit of privilege so he’s able to talk Officer Nico (Michael Maize) out of giving him a ticket. I’m saying, Joe looks suspicious as hell that I can’t even chalk him getting away to it just being a TV show because some cops just can’t see obvious signs.

Local cop almost does his job.| Netflix

Once Joe arrives at the estate his worries that Peach wants to be more than friends with his girlfriend Beck is confirmed. The fact that everyone on this show has money, yet won’t invest in a security system nor lock their doors is plot device too convenient. Concussed Creeper Joe is in the estate the whole weekend without anyone noticing. He manages to pee in a jar and leaves it sitting on a dresser. Peach and Beck end up arguing which results to Peach staying at the estate solo because Beck is tired of her shit. Once Peach catches Joe at the estate she thinks Joe is her stalker. The two get into a scuffle and Peach turns into cobbler when Joe shoots and kills her.

Peach keeps that thang on her| Netflix

Shay Mitchell’s performance as Peach is the strongest female performance on the show. Her character is hateable yet she’s one of the few characters that seems like an actual human being, a rich stuck-up snobby one but an actual person nonetheless. Of the five people we see Joe kill, she’s the only one that puts up a fight on-screen. Peach has her issues when it comes to her feelings for Beck, but like Ron she realizes that there’s something wrong with Joe and his Mr. Perfect facade. She’s far from an angel because she ruins her friends lives, she’s manipulative and just as dangerous without physicality unlike other characters on the show. I’ve never watched Pretty Little Liars, which is what Shay Mitchell is known for, but from what I’ve heard her character on that show is pretty much the same character on You. With that said she was a perfect choice for the role of Peach.

Guinevere Beck & Joe Goldberg: A Tragedy

Beck discovers Joe’s “trophies” | Netflix

Gotcha, Beck!| Netflix

“You… you are him. You are the bad thing that you should’ve killed… You are not special, you are broken. I could never love YOU.” – Guinevere Beck

During the last two episodes of You, Beck finds all of Joe’s trophies (photo 1), so he does what any obsessive controlling stalker would do, and locks her up against her will (photo 2). She tries to escape so he kills her. Before we get to that point, the show does not present Beck as an angel. She and Joe breakup because there’s no trust in their relationship unbeknownst to her that her boyfriend is a stalker. There’s  an episode where she gets to narrate for half the episode and the show would’ve been better off if she narrated the full episode or not at all. Joe suspects that Beck’s cheating on him with her therapist, Dr. Nicky (John Stamos), which we later found out she did indeed. Three months later Joe moves on and is happy with his new girlfriend, Karen Minty (Natalie Paul), but homeBecker homewrecker Beck manages to cause Joe and Karen to breakup.

For most of the series Elizabeth Lail’s acting is serviceable. She has her moments where she is interesting, but a lot of the times her acting seems flat. Compared to other actresses on You like Natalie Paul and Shay Mitchell, Lail doesn’t seem as seasoned. Her best work in the series comes during the last episode when she monologues to Joe after locking him in the glassbox.  The way that Lail says, “You… you are him. You are the bad thing that you should’ve killed… You are not special, you are broken. I could never love YOU,” with conviction and disgust, was by far her best acting during the series.

The character of Beck’s life is a complete mess at the beginning of the show. She went from her poetry being booed, to not having any prose for her MASTERS IN FINE ARTS, to writing about the death of her father, who isn’t really dead to peaking as an author once Joe murders Peach because she is able to write her best work about Peach’s death. What makes Beck a complex part of You isn’t necessarily her. She’s gassed up from the start because Joe is narrating about how beautiful she is and all these good qualities about her that the audience doesn’t see. She is extremely naive and shallow when it comes to all the obvious red flags. She lies to him, she cheats on him, she doesn’t even take her masters program seriously. You spotlights all of these flaws to amplify the obsessiveness that Joe has for her. He even tells her there’s not line that he will not cross for her. Yet there are people who view Joe as some sort of hero and think that Beck does not deserve that kind of attention from Joe. Check out the tweet below:

Actor @PennBadgley of the hit show You is taking great pains to remind fans that his character is not supposed to be someone you root for, or would like to meet. https://t.co/5fNx3fXJMl

— Twitter Moments (@TwitterMoments) January 10, 2019

People that actually like Joe Goldberg or do not think he’s the villain of You are opps. These are the type of problematic people you’ve got to look out for. Beck’s monologue during the last episode does a spectacular job at pointing out that her wrongs are nowhere near his. He spends the whole show stalking her, manipulating her, calls out Peach for stalking Becks while he is stalking Beck, and he murders two people in her life so he can be with her. None of Beck’s mishaps come close to those of Joe. The man is a psychopath and killing Ron for Paco still doesn’t justify his behavior. During Season One of You there isn’t any kind of gray area that can convince you that Joe Goldberg is some sort of anti-hero like Dexter Morgan, The Punisher or Walter White. His behavior from the show’s pilot is grimey, and by the end of the season it just gets worse.

From an actor standpoint Penn Badgley’s performance as Joe Goldberg is compelling. I did not watch Gossip Girl so I am not familiar with his work but he does a marvelous job on You. He has the crazy-stalker look that you see on the news on an article starting with the headline of “Florida Man…” Salute to him for reminding people that his character is not to be liked.

Final Thoughts

Usually, when it comes to content that is originally presented on Netflix it’s only good for memes or it’s immensely overhyped, but You delivers on a pretty fun experience. If you’re thinking about watching the show then it’s better if you view it as a satirical psychological-thriller-dark comedy. There’s social commentary scattered throughout the series. There’s commentary on the Me Too movement, the show raises awareness for viewers to think twice because of stalkers, and the conversation on the show has people telling on themselves. For a show that originally aired on Lifetime this was better than I expected. It’s not too Lifetime-y and most of the acting is good. The last 3 minutes of the finale was probably my least favorite part of the series. The big twist at the end felt like it was shoehorned in just to setup a second season. Season 2 is supposed to be based on Caroline Kepnes novel Hidden Bodies so it’s going to be interesting to see how that turns out.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) |Trailer Thoughts|

Coming off the heels of the highly praised Into the Spider-Verse, spider-senses are tingling as the highly anticipated (teaser!) trailer for Spider-Man: Far From Home has finally been released. The sequel to 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming sees our wall-crawling superhero leave the friendly neighborhoods of New York to take on foes during his vacation in Europe. Several major actors have returned to this Sony Pictures-Marvel Studios collaboration, including Tom Holland, Marisa Tomei and Jacob Batalon with the introduction of Jake Gyllenhall in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

There’s a lot to like about this trailer. I’m glad that they didn’t reverse course on Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) knowing that her nephew is Spider-Man. After watching the end credit scene during Homecoming I didn’t think they would follow through with it. To open up the trailer with her knowing that he’s Spider-Man adds a whole new element to their relationship. The comedy aspect doesn’t feel forced and seems to naturally work here, unlike another 2019 MCU release, when Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) returns and there’s this awkward moment between him and Peter’s hot aunt. The results of Endgame seems to have an affect on the world at large because Tony Stark is nowhere to be seen. Since Peter’s surrogate uncle, Tony Stark, (probably) won’t be making an appearance we are treated to former S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Maria Hill (Colbie Smulders). Peter just wants to go on vacation with his classmates and wants to leave that Spider-Man stuff in New York, BUT NAH BRUH crime doesn’t work that way, so Fury pretty much reminds Peter Parker that old saying, y’know the one, “with great power comes great responsibility,” without actually saying it. The only concern that I have is when Fury tranquilizes Ned (Jacob Batalon), it makes you wonder why doesn’t Peter’s spider-senses alert him that Fury is in the room?

Quentin Beck aka Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) makes his feature film debut and appearance wise they get the look right. THEY EVEN GOT THE FISHBOWL HELMET! Gyllenhaal is a good actor and it’s going to be interesting to see what they do with the character. Fury recruits Mysterio to help Spider-Man take on the Elementals. Mysterio is usually a villain, so if I had to guess, he’s probably going to end up betraying Spider-Man at some point in the film. The Elementals are extraterrestrial humanoids who have power over natural elements, but the MCU may not stick to their comic book background. Since Spider-Man has villains such as Hydro-Man, Molten-Man and Sandman who do similar things then they’ll more than likely tie in as the Elementals.  Here are a few stills from the trailer of the Mysterio and the Elementals:

Some other observations, there’s a shot of Peter’s suitcase and the initials BFP are engraved in it, could that be a Benjamin Parker reference?

Michelle “MJ” Jones (Zendaya) is back with her quips, which were hilarious in Homecoming. The score of this trailer is perfect and the Spider-Man theme fits perfectly. Spider-Man has a black stealth suit, which I’m assuming Fury gives to him since it does not look like Peter packed his suit, but we will see. It also looks like he’s wearing a black and red suit similar to a Miles Morales color scheme. Overall, this trailer looks like another hit for the Spectacular SONYman Spider-Man, and Independence Day 2019 cannot get here soon enough.

Fin.

Spider-Man: Far From Home is scheduled to be released July 5th, 2019.

 

 

 

Replicas (2018) |Movie Review|

Replicas is a fitting title for a film that pretends to be authentic. The science-fiction thriller stars Keanu Reeves as Will Foster, a research neuroscientist whose family is killed in a car accident, and he plays the role of God by cloning them to give them a second chance at life.  Spoilers after the trailer.

Replicas starts out true to its title, as a copy of most sci-fi movies that deal with the ethics of cloning and the greater good for society as a whole. Will Foster (Keanu Reeves) works as a neuroscience researcher at the Bionyne Corporation, a biomedical company, and he’s trying to develop a way to merge man and machine to expand the life of someone who is mortally wounded. The first attempt is subject 345,  and the “donor” is an injured military sergeant. Foster merges the donor’s conscience with an android to unify the mind of a man with the body of the machine. Once the donor gains consciousness there’s a body horror moment because he looks at his hands and freaks out they’re robotic, which leads him trying to harm himself before Foster pulls the plug to shut him down.

When Foster gets home he tells Mona Foster (Alice Eve), his wife, about the success he had with 345, and since she’s a nurse she disapproves. She thinks it’s unethical for Bionyne to save a person’s life, but shut them down as if they were only machines. Keanu delivers a line trying to compare his biomedical job to the first heart transplant patient living  for 18 days before dying because his body rejected the organ. Keanu Reeve says all this in an unconvincing way, and it’s hard to take him seriously as a neuroscientist. What’s worse than Keanu’s delivery is the performance by Alice Eve before she’s cloned. Her performance is flat, and by the way she’s portraying her character you would think the film had opened with her being a clone.

The Fosters have three children, and the children are just here to give the audience a way to sympathize with Keanu. He’s driving his wife and the kids on a rainy night, his wife warns him to slowdown (IN THE MOST EMOTIONLESS TONE), two seconds later he swerves, crashes on the roadside and is the sole survivor of the aftermath. Fittingly, he calls The Verizon Wireless Guy, his coworker Ed (Thomas Middleditch) to bring equipment such as cloning pods from Bionyne, so Keanu Reeves can save his family. Just like Alice Eve, Thomas Middleditch doesn’t add much to his delivery either. He tells Keanu, “we can’t do this,” and he doesn’t even deliver that line seriously. The biggest dilemma is that there are only 3 pods so Will has to make the toughest decision as a parent, and figure out who to not make a replica of. Logically, you would think he would bring back his three kids, ya know, since they’re his kids, and let his wife parish. But for a movie that shouts so many scientific words there is no logic here. He writes each of their four names on pieces of paper, folds them up, puts them in a bowl and tells Mr. Number 2 in Customer Service by JD Power Ed to pick one. This was followed by a nice shot of Keanu crying at the table, distraught over his decision, the camera pans up his arm to his and finally focuses on the name of his baby daughter Zoe.

Thomas Middleditch and Keanu Reeves start figuring out ways to clone the rest of the family and begin the replicating process. Once they start cooking up Will Foster’s new family inside the Bionyne pods, Ed warns Will that he’s going to need a generator, if the pods lose power the cloning process won’t work, and his replicas will die (just like the real ones). We move forward in time and the garage is filled with car batteries that will suffice as a generator. Ed lets Will know that the process will take 17 days before the clones will be ready, too soon they may be deformed, and any longer they’ll age rapidly. While his family is being served up in their pods, Keanu goes around the home, removing any semblance of Zoe. He’s crying to convey the emotions that this is hard for him to erase his baby girl, even though he had the chance to save her life…

5 days into the cloning process this is where Replicas becomes unintentionally(?) goofy. The film tries to convey that people are worried because the rest of Will Foster’s family hasn’t been to school, work, answer calls, emails, chats or text. One of his kids’ teachers even visits their home to checkup on her favorite student, which leads to an awkward moment between her and Reeves. Will Foster decides to get all the mobile devices out of the rest of his family and pretend they’re alive. He calls his wife’s job and emails the school his kids attend in an attempt to cover his tracks. A police officer knocks on his door in an attempt to build suspense, framed as a wellness check, asking if Mr. Foster had his car battery because everyone else in the neighborhood had theirs stolen. He tells the officer that he did not, they laugh and say, “he must of been the lucky ONE (NEO IS THAT YOU?!?)!”

Will Foster does science things and says a bunch of scientific words to the point that you can tell Keanu isn’t even trying to be convincing anymore. On day seventeen, the replicas are ready to emerge from their pods. During the time they were in the pods Will Foster loaded all their memories like they were an Android smartphone downloading from Google Drive. He deleted all their memories of Zoe. He sedated his cloned family, and in 72 hours they wake up and he’s ecstatic because he gets to see their faces again. The day they wake up the colors in the film go from dark to bright, white, lots of light and heavenly. This color change matches the sense of bliss that Foster has.

Alice Eve’s zombie-like performance fits better when she awakens as the clone. When Keanu tells her she’s a clone her reaction might as well have been “oh.” because there’s no emotion or sense of caring there. There is a scene where the family is looking at trees, her son picks one out, and she disapproves because the tree is fake. When she and the rest of the family start vaguely remembering Zoe, there’s actually a real feeling of betrayal. Somehow there’s a tracking device in Fosters family (subjects 346, 347, 348), so BioNyne tracks them down and Jones (John Ortiz), the boss of Will Foster, wants all the replicas dead. This leads to a car chase and an obvious betrayal from Ed (Verizon Guy #2). Which is followed by the film’s predictable, yet messy finish as Keanu Reeves saves the day and outsmarts Jones and the goons at Bionyne.

This review serves as a recap because there’s a lot of issues in this film. Entertainment Studios picked a perfect time to release Replicas, because it’s your run-of-the-mill January release. Thomas Middleditch and Alice Eve had comical performances, and it didn’t help that the script was a mess. Keanu Reeves is phenomenal in action movies, but not even Neo could save this film. The movie tries to take itself too seriously, but the plot isn’t even engaging, and to call this a thriller is an insult to thrillers. There’s nothing exciting about the direction, and the plot has been done more effectively in other science-fiction films. There was a glimmer of hope that this would at least be enjoyable after seeing the trailer, but Replicas couldn’t even replicate any kind of enjoyable qualities like other films in January 2019.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[a si a si]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) |Movie Review|

After releasing 2016’s Moonlight, director Barry Jenkins has returned with his latest film, If Beale Street Could Talk, which is based on James Baldwin’s 1974 novel of the same name. The runner-up for the Toronto International Film Festival’s People Choice Award, the Annapurna Pictures distributed film stars Kiki Layne and Stephan James, and is a story about how the power of love conquers all, no matter how hard things can get. The story centers around Clementine “Tish” Rivers (Kiki Layne), a young African-American woman who, with the support of her family, attempts to clear the name of her boyfriend Alonzo “Fonny” Hunt (Stephan James) who has been falsely accused of rape before the birth of their child. This is going to be a longer review, so let’s take this journey down Beale Street. Spoilers after the trailer.

Disclaimer: I haven’t read James Baldwin’s novel If Beale Street Could Talk….. yet.

If Beale Street Could Talk starts off strong. The first 30 minutes of the movie, for me, were magnetizing, and among the best of any film that was released in the year of two thousand and eighteen. Here’s a breakdown of the things that made it an impactful and memorable way to begin a film. Tish narrates in the beginning about her relationship with Fonny, and sets up the movie by letting the audience know he’s currently locked up for a rape that he did not commit. She visits Fonny in jail to tell him that she’s pregnant and that she’s going to get him out of jail so he can see the birth of his child. Tish has a powerful line in which she narrates, “I hope that nobody has to look at anybody they love through glass,” as the camera pans to her talking to Fonny through the phone in the jail visitation room. Fonny is surprised but excited to hear the news considering his current situation, and Tish lets him know she wanted to tell him before telling anyone else. The director chooses to use close-ups, which rely on the actors to stare into the camera and use facial expressions to convey different moods. It’s a romantic scene and it establishes the love these two have with each other within the first 10 minutes of the film.

Things become more interesting when we are introduced to their families and how they react upon hearing the news of Tish’s pregnancy. Sharon Rivers (Reginia King) is Tish’s mother and she’s the first person to hear the news. The way Barry Jenkins chose to shoot the scene was a crafty misdirection. Tish is sitting on a light orange couch with green curtains in the background, and she’s wearing a green blouse with a gold skirt and is the sole focus of the shot, as she’s timidly telling her mother that she’s pregnant. Meanwhile, her mother is dressed in a dark blue shirt with orange pants on the other side of the room, but she’s in the shadows and this gives off a vibe that she’s evil, wicked or is going to be angry that her daughter has been impregnated by a man who is currently incarcerated. Surprisingly, Sharon Rivers is happy and excited to hear the news that she’s going to have a grandchild.
During dinner the pair tell Tish’s father and sister the good news, and the family celebrates. The color scheme of gold, orange and green from earlier is still prominent in every shot and gives the scene a unique look. Tish’s sister Ernestine Rivers (Teyonnah Parris) is wearing green and orange, and her father, Joseph Rivers (Colman Domingo) is wearing a muddy green with gray to perfect the patina. When Tish hugs her father, his side of the room is brighter and it gives the impression that brighter days are ahead for this family.

After the two embrace, Joseph wants to break the good news to his coworker, who happens to be Fonny’s father, so the family invites the Hunt family over to dinner and for me, this is where the movie peaks. The Hunts, for a better word,  are bougie, uppity, saditty… well the women of the family are. When Frank Hunt (Michael Beach) finds out that he’s about to have a grandchild he’s ready to celebrate, he even tells Joseph Rivers that they’re going to go out and get drunk tonight. On the other hand, Mrs. Hunt (Aunjanue Ellis) is not impressed. She blames Tish for her son being incarcerated. She thinks Tish isn’t good enough for Fonny and she always knew that Tish was trouble. Mrs. Hunt is a Christian woman and she brings all types of scorn and judgment onto Trish for having a child out of wedlock. The scorn from her daughters, Adrienne Hunt (Ebony Obsidian) and Sheila Hunt (Dominique Thorne), is just as strong. This conflict sets up an amazing scene of dialogue between the two wicked sisters and Tish’s sister Ernestine. Ernestine tells Adrienne and Sheila that she wants to rip the Adam’s Apple out of their throats. Mrs. Hunt takes offense and tells the Rivers family they’re going to hell for bringing this bastard child into the world, as Barry Jenkins focuses the camera on her face, out of nowhere Frank slaps the taste out of her mouth. I do not condone this behavior, yet the way this is filmed it lets the audience know the stakes are high and it gives you a deep dive into the relationship of the two families, and how they’re the complete opposite of Fonny and Tish. After the slap, Sharon Rivers tells Mrs. Hunt that that’s her grandchild she’s talking about and both of the families are going to do their best to raise the child. 30 minutes into the film and there’s effective storytelling, engaging dialogue and a plethora of spectacular shots.

Unfortunately over the next 87 minutes the film flattens out. A large reason for this is Kiki Layne’s inexperience when delivering the material she’s given. She plays the leading lady but she comes off as flat for most of the movie. It’s her first major role in a motion picture and it really shows, because she’s not giving her character any kind of emotion. There are times where she does a serviceable job, but for most of the film her performance isn’t up to par with the rest of the cast. In contrast, her co-star Stephan James does a phenomenal job with the time that he’s given on-screen. There’s an effective moment in the film where Fonny is planning a future with Tish, and he shows her how they’re going to decorate and model their future apartment together. It’s romantic, innocent and displays that the two have hope before the drastic event changes the course of their relationship. When he’s confronted at a grocery store by Officer Bell (Ed Skrein) the film builds up the tension again in an effective, yet gut-wrenching way. Even when patrons at the store stick up for Fonny, it shows how much love the rest of the city has for him.

Outside of the two main characters, the smaller characters do a superb job of bringing emotion to the big screen. Outside the first 30 minutes we did not spend much time with the rest of the Rivers and Hunt families. I do wish that we had, because of how productive the film’s opening act was.  Around the second act there’s a scene between Frank Hunt and Joseph Rivers, where the two fathers are at a bar discussing how they’re going to come up with ways to make money to ensure that Fonny is free when their grandson, Fonny’s son, is born. With the small amount of screen time that Regina King has, she shines through as Sharon Rivers. There’s a noteworthy scene between her and Fonny’s accuser Victoria Rogers (Emily Rios), where Sharon confronts her, but Victoria is too traumatized from being raped that she  doesn’t care if Fonny is innocent or not, she just wants a black man to pay for this. Victoria tells Sharon that Officer Bell told her to pick out Fonny in a lineup just so he could get his revenge from the grocery store incident.

One show stealing scene came from Brian Tyree Henry as Daniel Carty. Henry is in the film for at most 15 minutes, if that long, but his character adds to the weight of an already heavy story. Daniel Carty is a recent parolee and a close friend of Fonny. Before Fonny is locked up for a crime that he didn’t commit, Daniel tells Fonny what life was like in the slammer. If you’re familiar with Henry’s work on Atlanta then you’ll know he’s one of the best actors when it comes to giving his characters nuances. While Daniel Carty is recollecting his memories from being in jail, you can see the fear in his eyes as those memories are haunting him. Barry Jenkins uses close-ups and tight shots to maximize the effectiveness of storytelling.

Jf Beale Street Can Talk is a film where the parts did not make a great whole. There are powerful moments to like that are scattered throughout the film. However, as a whole the movie felt uneven. Barry Jenkins uses close-ups and tight shots, but they do not always pay off, and when they don’t it brings down the film. The veterans actors in the film brought their A-game and gave the movie some interesting personality worth seeing. Regina King, Stephan James, Brian Tyree Henry, Michael Beach, Aunjanue Ellis, Colman Domingo and Emily Rios all deserve recognition for what they brought to this film. If you saw Moonlight and enjoyed it then I would recommend checking this one out, for me, If Beale Street Could Talk was more enjoyable of the two. It’s a different spin on romance where the couple breaks up because of reasons out of their control, which is refreshing. James Baldwin’s novel was written over four decades ago, and its themes still relate today. If this was playing at a theater near you, then give it a viewing, my biggest issue is that the film didn’t finish as strong as it started. Some moments of the movie felt like a brisk jog down Beale Street, yet other moments felt like a slow walk instead of one smooth constant power walk.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[a si a si]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

If Beale Street Could Talk was released in theaters on December 14, 2018.

 

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Bumblebee (2018) |Movie Review|

The prequel to the Transformers franchise is a transformation worth seeing. Bumblebee is the sixth film in the franchise for the Robots in Disguise, and serves as a prequel to 2007’s Transformers. Based on the Hasbro Transformers toyline, Bumblebee is the first in the series without Michael Bay serving as director. This time, the Paramount Pictures distributed film has Travis Knight in the director’s chair with a screenplay provided by Christina Hodson, and stars Hailee Steinfield, John Cena and Jorge Lendeborg Jr. The film centers around Charlie Watson (Hailee Steinfield), a teenage girl who finds and befriends the titular Autobot. Spoilers after the trailer.

The Transformers franchise finally got it right with Bumblebee, it’s the freshest film since the very first one from 2007, and arguably the best in the franchise. Taking place in 1987, Bumblebee packs on the nostalgia from the get-go, there’s Mr. T’s cereal, and if you were to take a shot for every shot of nostalgia then you would have to get your liver pumped. This is Travis Knight’s first outing as the director of a live action film, all his previous films were animated, and he uses his previous experience to illustrate a vivid world. The biggest issue the previous five films have (outside of cohesiveness) is that it’s hard to tell who’s who when the Autobots are fighting the Decepticons. Knight fixes that problem when they are fighting on Cybertron it looks like they brought the cartoon to life. Optimus Prime makes a cameo,and he doesn’t look like a talking-walking meshed piece of robotic metal like most of the Michael Bay movies. The two main villains are the Decepticons Shatter (Angela Bassett) and Dropkick (Justin Theroux), Their colors are vibrant and it’s paired perfectly with Bassett and Theroux’s performances, because both seemed like they were having fun in this one. Bumblebee’s animation throughout the film was filled with personality and his facial expressions add a whole dimension to his character.

Bumblebee in 2007

Bumblebee 2018

The yellow Autobot had an E.T. like charm to him. Speaking of E.T., the Spielberg film had to be an inspiration for screenwriter Christina Hodson because this film felt like that mixed with The Iron Giant. To her credit this is a big reason the movie has such an 80s feel. When the film opens Bumblebee is a badass, but as the story between him and his human friend Charley Watson (Hailee Steinfield) progress, the emotional investment between the characters grows. Bumblebee transforms its titular character from a scout soldier to a pet, back into a combat machine, and for the most part it makes a fun film. There’s times where Bee is a little too goofy to take serious and it makes you scratch your head. The scene that fits the profile of that is when Bumblebee almost demolishes Charlie’s house. The movie makes up for that with its heartfelt moments when the loner Charlie explains why she feels like an outcast and has been rebelling ever since her padre passed away. When the popular girls from her school makes fun of her dead dad, it’s a major eye roll in the movie, because these characters really do not serve a point in the film outside of making the audience dislike them. Charlie and Bumblebee have a comedy scene where they get revenge and those popular girls are never seen again.

WWE wrassler turned actor John Cena plays the bad guy in Bumblebee. He is agent Jack Burns, a former U.S. Army Ranger who becomes an agent for Sector 7, an organization that wants to capture all the robots in disguise. When Burns has an encounter with Bumblebee at the beginning of the film it leaves him with a scare on his face. At first, this was a red flag because the movie does a closeup on it, and it’s like, are we really ’bout to have a villain with a scare down the side of his face to emphasize that he’s evil during the whole film? Luckily, the film did not go that route. Cena has some funny lines, and he’s the only one to call out Dropkick and Shatter for possibly being evil because they introduced themselves as Decepticons. This was an impressive way for the film to know that it doesn’t take itself too seriously, like other movies in the superhero genre do.  Jorge Lendeborg Jr. portrays Memo, he is an outcast and a nerd, but he has a huge crush on Charlie. The film tries to convince us that he’s shy and self-conscious by juxtaposing him with a popular guy that goes to his school, yet it’s not very effective because the only thing noticeably different about Memo is that he has an afro. His relationship with Charlie does seem organic, and they even make funny joke at the end about the events that happen.

Bumblebee is the nectar of the Transformers franchise. The characters had personality and there were action scenes that meant something instead of a bunch of explosions exploding just to explode (Michael Bay would love that sentence). In only 114 minutes, Travis Knight made the most out of it, and it’s a shame that this movie isn’t doing numbers like some of the previous films. That may be because of Transformers fatigue and Paramount Pictures may have over saturated the market in such a short time. This film was the second strong performance for lead actress Hailee Steinfield in December of 2018. If you’re looking for something with nostalgia, robotic humanoid cars fighting, or a feel good story then this one I would recommend seeing on the big screen.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[a si a si]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Bumblebee was released in theaters on December 21, 2018.

 

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Escape Room (2019) |Movie Review|

Escape the room and survive is the synopsis for Sony’s newest psychological thriller, Escape Room. Directed by Adam Robitel, Escape Room, follows six strangers as they try to work their way through  multiple deadly escape rooms, and that requires them to work together as a team to survive. The PG-13 film was previously titled The Maze because each escape room worked as a maze to get through. Light spoilers after the trailer.

Before watching this movie I had no idea that escape rooms were an actual thing that people go to. For a PG-13 film, Escape Room makes the most out of the rooms to give the film a personality since they’re not able to be gory as movies like Saw. There are five different escape rooms and each one has its own original look.  The designs of the various escape rooms in the film were intricate, and you can tell the production crew took their time to create them. The best room in the entire film was the one that’s designed to be an upside down pool hall and bar. It’s one of the most creative set pieces in the film. There’s a lot of depth in this room, and the set designers paid a lot of detail to the small things like the posters on the wall. With only a 9 million dollar budget, the sets do not feel like they were rushed, which was a positive.

The 8 Ball Pool Room in Escape Room.

The characters in the film are enjoyable, but there’s no one that really stood out for me. They were mostly just tropes, but in a movie like this, it worked because the rooms and traps were the stars of the film. Zoey (Taylor Russell) is the main character and she’s introverted and the most intelligent when it comes to the rest of the crew. Ben (Logan Miller) is the loser of the bunch. He works at a grocery store and doesn’t have anything in his life going for him. Amanda (Deborah Ann Woll) is a former military servicewoman and her character is to be the badass of the group. Mike (Tyler Labine) is the oldest member of the six strangers, and he’s been on hard times, yet he’s also used as comic relief for most of the film. Jason (Jay Ellis) is a jerk trope, he’s an overachiever who butts heads with the rest of the group because he’s full of himself. Danny (Nik Dodani) is a naive nerd, he’s been in escape rooms in the past, so he has experience, but none of his previous experiences were in escape rooms that tried to kill him. As usual in these types of films, there’s a convoluted reason why they were all brought together.There’s some humorous lines exchanged early on in the film during the first room. Jason and Danny had the best banter amongst each other. Even when the ways that some of the characters died were creative, I wish it would’ve given me more in that aspect.

The biggest issue is that the film could not escape its ending in time. Escape Room is only 109 minutes long, so the length of the movie wasn’t a problem, but where they decided to end it… let’s just say the last 10 minutes did not need to happen. There’s 3 times within the last 10 minutes this movie would’ve ended, and by the third time, it’s tiresome because the movie drops the ball. I assume someone at Sony felt like Escape Plan had to set-up a sequel, so we can explore a world where the movie is set in deeper depth. The first possible ending would’ve been lazy, but it would make sense based on the events of the rest of the film; after that the second ending had “WE MUST HAVE A SEQUEL,” written all over it, eye roll but sure, make your money; however, what they do for the third and final time, makes you leave the theater asking what kind of nonsense is this? Outside of that ending, and some LOL-funny script writing moments, this movie was cool for a January release. I would recommend this to anyone who did not like the grotesqueness of the Saw films or any pre-teens. There are movies like Cube that do the puzzle-maze-room setting more effectively. Fittingly, a film titled Escape Room didn’t know, before its eventual conclusion, that it had plenty of room to escape.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Escape Room was released in theaters January 4, 2019.

 

Vice (2018) |Movie Review|

The start of the aughts began with the Y2K scare, and by the end of 2000, the results were in for the most controversial at the time election in American history, and by January of 2001, Richard Bruce Cheney was sworn in and became the most powerful Vice President in the history of the United States. After two terms and an additional 9 years, we get a look into the life of the man who was second-in-command in the new biopic Vice.  The film’s title may be a pun on the word vice, defined as immoral and wicked behavior, which is something Cheney has been accused of since he’s left office. Adam McKay serves as the director and writer of the comedy-drama that stars Christian Bale as Dick Cheney. Spoilers after the trailer.

Dick Cheney vs. Christian Bale in Vice. (Source: Telegraph UK)

Christian Bale’s dedication to his craft is unparalleled, and in Vice his transformation into Dick Cheney is one of his best transformations of his career. To prepare for the role and to look more like Cheney’s doppelganger, not only did Bale gain weight, but he also did exercises solely focusing on his neck to get the perfect diameter for the role, so his head didn’t look too small for the rest of his body. Commitment! His hard work paid off because visually he has the look of Dick Cheney down. Check out the photo for the right to compare. The comparisons do not stop at the visual aspect, but Bale’s performance is spot on in accuracy. The way that Christian Bale naturally speaks, it looks like he’s talking out the side of his mouth, and coincidentally, Dick Cheney also speaks this way, which makes Bale the perfect person to portray him. Bale mastered Cheney’s cadences and speech patterns to create one of the most immaculate performances of 2018.

Christian Bale’s castmates bring serviceable performances as well. Amy Adams portrays Lynne Cheney, Steve Carell is Donald Rumsfeld, and Sam Rockwell is George W. Bush. Of those three, Rockwell’s Bush steals the show. He has Bush’s mannerisms, speeches, accents, and it’s one of the best Bush impressions that I’ve ever seen. Rockwell pulls off that sense of cluelessness that Bush gave off when he was president over a decade ago.  There’s a funny scene where Bush asks Cheney to be his running mate, and the look of disgust on Cheney’s face is priceless. That look of disgust didn’t stop with Dick Cheney, his wife Lynne thought of George W. Bush as a goof and the black sheep of his family.

Amy Adams has a decorous performance as the former Second Lady of the United States. At first, Lynne Cheney was not happy with her husband’s decision to run with Bush, she even called being VP a “nothing position,” because the VP didn’t have much power until her husband was in office. To make matters worse, at the time, Cheney would be running with someone she did not respect that much. Lynne feels slighted throughout the film because she’s a woman and doesn’t get opportunities like her male counterparts, which is something she teaches her daughters about. “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” she even calls out her husband’s mentor Donald Rumsfeld.

Carrell’s Donald Rumsfeld is passable. He has a few funny jokes that play up to the fact that he was the youngest and, later, the second-oldest person, to be Secretary of Defense. During Rumsfeld’s first run as Secretary of Defense he was a mentor to a young Dick Cheney, and this is where Cheney realized that he wanted to be wherever the person with power was. Vice does a salvable job of showing us that side of Dick Cheney. Once Cheney becomes the Vice President he reaches out to his old friend and gets Rumsfeld the job as Secretary of Defense. Carrell’s performance magnifies Rumsfeld being old and out of touch to an almost comedic level. The tone switches back to somber ones once Cheney tells Rumsfeld he’s going to have to resign because he’s not equipped with being the Secretary of Defense for the modern age.

The film has narration provided by Jesse Plemons, and  throughout the film his quips are interwoven perfectly with certain plot points in the movie. The little plot twist that McKay uses to explain who Plemons’s character is, and why  he’s the one telling the story, was clever. The story of the film is structured in a mostly linear manner, the way his narration is set up at the beginning of the film, it leaves you thinking that maybe Cheney has a kid out-of-wedlock that we don’t know about, but instead, later on McKay uses that as a MacGuffin and successfully executes the misdirection.

McKay’s style of filmmaking works more effectively when Vice relies on its comedy instead of drama. The dramatic elements of the film, like Cheney’s numerous heart attacks, didn’t have much weight or a gut punch to them. Cheney is presented in a way where the audience does not have many reasons to sympathize with him, which may be because of McKay’s political bias. A lot of Conservative viewers are mad because the film has a political slant to it, which didn’t bother me. The biggest issue I had with Vice was its writing for most of the film. The movie seems uneven at times because when humor juxtaposes drama in this movie it comes off as messy. Most of the characters are caricatures of themselves, so when something drastic like September 11th happens, the stakes do not feel as high as the movie tries to make them. If McKay focuses on the two best characters, Cheney and Bush, then Vice would’ve been more enjoyable. Rockwell and Bale were magnificent, and the way the film was written those two characters would’ve been incredible in a buddy comedy. As a buddy comedy, McKay would’ve been able to use drama to buildup towards a climax and gave Vice a proper climax. Instead, McKay wrote most of the characters as caricatures, and then he would dial back and try to make them as a normal person, yet during a post-credit scene, Cheney has a monologue that he might as well be a Batman villain.

Overall, Vice has a spectacular performance from its lead actor in Christian Bale, and on that front I would recommend checking it out because he will be nominated for this upcoming awards season for Best Actor. I’m not sure if he’s going to win because outside of his performance this film was pretty forgettable. Adam McKay knows how to create a well-shot film, but the writing in this one needed some touching up to make it more memorable. Also, Madea (Tyler Perry) plays Colin Powell and he didn’t bring anything to that character. As far as movies that were based on a true story or biopics released in 2018, Vice is the caboose in a long line of films that were funnier, shot better, had a better story and better execution. Vice is a film, like the voting machines in Florida from the controversial election that made Cheney the veep that once you recount it, it results into a blurred finish and an underwhelming conclusion.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[así así]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

 

 

Top 10: Best Films of 2018 |Year in Review|

It’s that time of year where everyone is creating lists and recapping 2018. Yesterday, we counted down our Top 10 Most Underappreciated Films of 2018, and as we look forward to 2019, let us end 2018 on a high note and countdown the best films of the year. Haven’t had a chance to review all of them for the site, so I’ll include a short write-up for the ones that don’t have a full review (SPOILER FREE). The same rating scale applies from Best to Worst: Fresh Horchata, Fuego, Bueno, a si a si, Basura, All Mames Wey.

Honorable Mention: Paddington 2

Director: Paul King
Genre: Live-Action Animated Comedy
Trailer: Paddington 2
Rating: Fuego

Released in 2017 for those across the pond, Paddington 2, didn’t make its way into theaters in the United States until January 12, 2018, which is why I had to mention it on my Best of 2018 list. The Paul King directed film, based on the Paddington Bear, is not only sharply animated, but it’s one of the most charming films of the year. Paddington 2 manages to do something that most sequels cannot do, and that’s to be better than the first film. For a children’s film there’s a lot of cliché things happening with its story elements, but the execution is flawless, and the film’s creativity and imagination are used to maximize its effectiveness. There’s something for everyone, there’s drama, slapstick humor, it’s adorable and it stays true to the roots of the books. Hugh Grant portrays the antagonist Paddington 2 and he has one of the best performances of his career. Check this one out if you’re a fan of the Paddington Bear, animated films, or if  you’re having a bad day and want to watch something that will make you feel wonderful.

Let’s begin the countdown. . . .

 

10. Hereditary

Director: Ari Aster
Genre: Supernatural Horror
Trailer: Hereditary
Rating: Fuego

This is the only movie that had me wondering WTF did I just watch upon walking out of the theater. After releasing the 2011 viral short film, The Strange Thing About the Johnson, director Ari Aster doubles down in pushing the limits on what is acceptable in his first feature film, and the results are unbelievable. Hereditary is one of the freshest entries the supernatural horror genre has seen in a long time. One of the most memorable, yet gruesome, shots of the year comes from an incident that happens to a character that you wouldn’t think it would happen to. Aster’s work behind the camera leads to some of the best suspense and reaction shots of the year. He effectively uses close shots and zooms to add to the sense of horror the characters are seeing. Hereditary knows where to place jump scares, use its pacing to add to the suspense, and overall, its filmmaking and the writing is what makes such an acclaimed standout. There’s a fantastic performance by Toni Collette’s that is one of the best performances for an actress in a horror film in quite a while. Horror fans will be sure to give this one a viewing.

9. Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

Director: Morgan Neville
Genre: Documentary
Trailer: Won’t You Be My Neighbor
Rating: Fuego

The first documentary on this list, Won’t You Be My Neighbor, covers the life of Fred Rogers, the famed host of the children’s television series Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, his impact on his crew members and American society at large. Won’t You Be My Neighbor does a phenomenal job of educating the audience on its subject by giving us such an in-depth look at Fred Rogers the man. The movie blends interviews with friends and family of Mr. Rogers with footage from his hit show, which ran for 33 years, to craft a compelling story. There’s a myth that Fred Rogers was a Navy Seal and he killed over “fifty men,” overseas that the movie quickly debunks. The documentary  even shows us some of the hard decisions Fred Rogers had to make back when society was a lot more close-minded than it is now. There’s a powerful scene from footage of a Senate hearing where Mr. Rogers used his words to, perhaps, change the world as we know it now by saving public media, and not allowing PBS to meet its demise for budget cuts. The success of Won’t You Be My Neighbor has led to a 2019 movie titled, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, starring Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers, that I am looking forward to.

8. Black Panther

Director: Ryan Coogler
Genre: Superhero
Trailer: Black Panther
Rating: Fuego

Wakanda Forever! No other film released in the year two thousand eighteen was as impactful as Black Panther was. Ryan Coogler directed  the first entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a predominantly black cast. There are tons of reasons outside of the actual film why this movie is marvelous which I will save for another post. The costumes and set designs in Black Panther are amongst the best of the year. Michael B. Jordan’s portrayal of Killmonger, and his last line of dialogue, will be etched in Americana history for years to come. Not to be outdone, Chadwick Boseman, Daniel Kaluuya, Danai Gurira and Lupita Nyong’o also brought their A game to the 18th film in the MCU.  Coogler pays homage to the Bay Area by using his hometown of Oakland to reimagine Killmonger by swapping out his traditional New York origins for California origin. The last fight scene is the main reason why this film isn’t ranked higher on this list. Not sure if they used most of their budget for the rest of the film and had to rush through the last fight scene because it looked like it was lifted out of a video game. Outside of that, Black Panther is a movie that’s worth seeing based off of its impact alone.

7. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Directors: Bob Persichetti. Peter Ramsey. Rodney Rothman
Genre: Computer Animated Superhero
Trailer: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Rating: Fuego

Full review here. | From the studio that has made some questionable decisions when it comes to the wall-crawler’s lore, comes Spider-Man’s first animated feature film. Sony’s newest film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse follows the Brooklyn teenager Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) as he takes the mantle of Spider-Man in his universe. For an animated movie, Into the Spider-Verse, created an authentic representation of Brooklyn. There’s constant movement, people walking across the street, subways are always moving, background characters are diverse, and the city truly feels like it never sleeps. All of that creates the perfect origin story for those who are not familiar with this version of Spider-Man. There’s Spider-Men from different universes and they have different animation styles depending on which universe they’re from. Being able to blend in the different animation styles amongst each other while keeping the feeling of a comic book is why this film was so fun to watch. This film untagles webs of the past and works as a perfect origin story that swings forward for the future.

6. Searching

Director: Aneesh Chaganty
Genre: Thriller
Trailer: Searching
Rating: Fuego

The smartest and most creative thriller of the year goes to Searching. The feature film is the directorial debut of Aneesh Chaganty, and he makes the most out of the film’s one million dollar budget. The film is almost entirely set from the vantage points of  computer screens, smartphone screens, tablet screens, and any other screen you can think of. Searching stars John Cho as a father who is trying to find his daughter that has disappeared, but he realizes that he doesn’t actually know his daughter. Setting the entire movie from the viewpoint of different screens helps set Searching apart from other missing thrillers. The clever concept gives the film a fresh feel. The way Chaganty uses the space on the desktop screen to function as a form of storytelling throughout the movie is impressive. The Bay Area director even stuck to his roots by using the Bay Area as the setting of the film. John Cho had a stellar performance as a frantic father who was in distress after his whole world came crashing down. Some may not like the twist at the end, but it doesn’t ruin the fun ride as we search for the conclusion with our main character.

5. Halloween (2018)

Director: David Gordon Green
Genre: Slasher
Trailer: Halloween (2018)
Rating: Fuego

Full review here. |40 years later, we finally have a Halloween film that carries the spirit of the original. Halloween is gory, meta, vengeful and an important movie for the horror genre. The film works as a  direct sequel to the 1978 film of the same name, and on top of that this version ignores the multiple sequels that have taken place within the last 40 years. True Scream Queen Jamie Lee Curtis returns in her iconic role  as Laurie Strode, and she does not disappoint. Her performance in Halloween should generate her some buzz this upcoming awards season. The sound mixing in this movie is as clean as ever, and John Carpenter returned to create one of the most eeriest scores of 2018. There’s a post-credit scene where you should wait after the credits. The original 1978 Halloween is a landmark in American cinema, birthed a decade full of slasher films that created other iconic characters, and hopefully, this retcon sequel to a franchise that is quadragenarian, will be just as influential.

4. Avengers: Infinity War

Director: The Russo Brothers (Anthony & Joe)
Genre: Superhero
Trailer: Avengers: infinity War
Rating: Fuego

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has another entry on this list with Avengers: Infinity War, the 19th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. What makes this movie impressive is that there are characters we’ve got to know for a decade in their own respective franchises, and the movie does a phenomenal job at bringing these different personalities together. After 18 MCU films, including the  previous two Avengers films, it has to be difficult to raise the stakes, yet somehow Marvel and the Russo brothers find a way. The antagonist, Thanos, even has a personality, and Josh Brolin’s performance of the character was his personal best performance out of the 3 movies he starred in this year. There’s action, drama, comedy and just like The Purple Titan says during a monologue, there’s a balance that makes Avengers: Infinity War one of the best theater experiences of 2018. Some may try to downplay this movie as “spandex cinema,” yet, even if it is, the MCU is leagues ahead of other cinematic universes who cannot even do their source material justice. Cheeky! Give this a viewing before the endgame in April.

3. Three Identical Strangers

Director: Tim Wardle
Genre: Documentary
Trailer: Three Identical Strangers
Rating: Fresh Horchata

Another documentary takes the third spot on my list of Best Films of 2018. Three Identical Strangers had too many jaw dropping moments to count, and I left the theater thinking WTF in a completely different way then when I saw Hereditary. The film tells the story of a set of triplets that were separated during their infancy,  and tries to explain the age-old debate between Nature vs. Nurture. The film does have some questionable moments, especially, when it comes to director Tim Wardle’s ways of relaying information to the subjects of the film, and how he establishes the narrative of the conclusion. The good people at Eavesdopping at the Movies have a great, highly entertaining episode of their podcast (contains spoilers) that I recommend everyone checking out, because they point out some fair criticisms of the documentary. What makes Three Identical Strangers work so well for me, is the shocking elements to the story, the layers of twist that make it so compelling, and the real life effects that the triplets of the film went through, and how they could’ve been anyone of us. There are people living out there just living their life, and they may have a twin and not even have the slightest clue. Just like Won’t You Be My Neighbor this documentary is also getting the Hollywood treatment with a feature film in the works. Definitely give this one a viewing if you haven’t.

2. Blindspotting

Director: Carlos López Estrada
Genre: Comedy-Drama [Dramedy]
Trailer: Blindspotting
Rating: Fresh Horchata

Blindspotting is Carlos López Estrada’s feature-length film directorial debut, and was written by two of the film’s stars, Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal. Casal and Diggs, both from the Bay Area, had worked on the script over a period of nine years because they felt the Bay Area’s depiction in film was missing something. Just like the other Bay Area films that have made this list, Blindspotting brings all the colors, vibrancy and Hyphy-ness that one would expect from the Bay. Estrada’s experience in shooting music videos is on full display, and it gives the film its own sense of rhythm and style that creates a fashionable film. Diggs and Casal’s chemistry throughout the movie feels authentic, and there’s not a scene in this movie that feels forced. The humor is on point, and there’s a particular story being told by a side character about an event that is hilarious. Even with comedy, Blindspotting isn’t blind when it comes to commenting on race, gentrification and issues in American society. The drama is just as profound and impactful as its humor. There’s a powerful scene that explores a certain term of endearment/racial slur, and the white-black dynamic between the friendship of Diggs and Casal’s characters. This is a movie that will forever be topical and I wish everyone could see it. ALSO, the soundtrack bangs, check out “Blindspotting: The Miles EP,” and “Blindspotting: The Collin EP,” on your favorite streaming service.

 

Finally, the Best Film of 2018 is. . . . .

 

1. Sorry to Bother

Director: Boots Riley
Genre: Science Fiction Dark Comedy
Trailer: Sorry to Bother You
Rating: Fresh Horchata

The Best Film of 2018 is  Sorry to Bother You. The movie is written by and the feature-length directorial debut of Bay Area emcee Boots Riley. Riley stated that he finished writing the screenplay for the film back in 2012 and released an album of the same name with his band The Coup. Sorry to Bother You is set in Oakland, California,  but in an alternate universe, and just like the other Bay Area films that managed to make this list, stylistically, it brings all the color, rhythm and flavor that one would expect from a film in Oakland. The movie examines capitalism, false consciousness and code-switching, in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. Lakeith Stanfield and Tessa Thompson are cast perfectly as the film’s leads, Cassius Green and Detroit, respectively. Both of these actors have an awkward (in a good way) presence that works perfectly in the universe that Riley has created. There’s a twist in the film that is wildly unexpected, and it leaves you guessing where the movie is going,  Armie  Hammer plays a Steve Bezos-like character, and he’s amusing. The scenes where our main characters have to code-switch are hilarious and impressively synced. The fact that Riley wrote the script nearly 6 ….*SIX* years ago, and it has been nearly 6 months since the film’s release, and Sorry to Bother Your still hits right on the nose of American society and Capitalism is mind-boggling. For me, Sorry to Bother You was the front-runner for the most creative and unique cinematic experience that I’ve had all year, and that’s why it’s my choice for Best Film in 2018.

 

Thanks for checking out my list of the Best Films of 2018. If you haven’t, catch up on the Most Underappreciated Movies of 2018 here, and  keep an eye open for The Most Anticipated Films of 2019 coming soon. Follow the blog on Twitter and LetterBoxd @PeliculasCosas and on Instagram @PeliculasAndCosas. Have a Happy New Year and we’ll catch you next time!

Fin.

The Top 10 Most Underappreciated Films of 2018 |Year in Review|

As the year is coming to an end, I wanted to close out the year with a few movies that went under the radar this year.  These movies may have not made everyone’s year-end list, and some people may have not seen or heard of them, so I wanted to compile a list for anyone looking to watch something different. A few of these films did not make their budget back at the box office, and some didn’t get fair critical recognition due to their limited theatrical releases. Haven’t had a chance to review all of them for the site, so I’ll include a short write-up for the ones that don’t have a full review. Same rating scale applies from Best to Worst: Fresh Horchata, Fuego, Bueno, a si a si, Basura, All Mames Wey.

Honorable Mention: The Oath

Director: Ike Barinholtz
Genre: Dark Comedy
Trailer: The Oath
Rating:  a si a si

Fake news, alternative facts, government mandates, lying leaders, isn’t just America in 2018, but it’s also a country that is ever so divided in a dystopian future in The Oath. Starring, written and directed by Ike Barinholtz (MADtv, Blockers) the film is a dark comedy that explores the drama when a family with opposing political views has to live under one roof during the week of Thanksgiving. Tiffany Haddish was actually directed in this film and it’s her best performance of 2018. The Oath has its flaws, but, overall, it’s a fun comedy to watch with your friends and family.

And now to the countdown…

 

10. Unsane

Director: Steven Soderburgh
Genre: Psychological-Horror
Trailer: Unsane
Rating: Bueno

Unsane is notable because the entire film was shot using an iPhone 7 Plus. This decision allows the movie to be more creative in its storytelling. Claire Foy does an incredible job as Sawyer, a young lady who thinks her stalker is trapped in the mental hospital with her, and the filmmaking is effective enough where you question if she’s insane or not. For fans of psychological-horror I would strongly recommend checking this one out.

9. Thoroughbreds

Director: Cory Finley
Genre: Dark Comedy Thriller
Trailer: Thoroughbreds
Rating: Fuego

Thoroughbreds was written and directed by Cory Finley, and stars Olivia Cooke, the late Anton Yelchin, and scream queen Anya Taylor-Joy. Cooke does a spectacular job at portraying the emotionless Amanda, and Taylor-Joy’s performance as the naive Lily makes this one of the most entertaining films of 2018. The film finds the right balance between humor and thrilling as the two girls figure out a plot to murder Cooke’s father. Yelchin’s character as a drug dealer is far cry from his role on the hit tv show Glee, and unfortunately, he passed away before we had a chance to see his true range. This underrated film did not get a lot of promotion upon its release back in March, and its a true diamond in the rough that more people would enjoy if they knew about it.

 8. American Animals

Director: Bart Layton
Genre: Crime Drama
Trailer: American Animals
Rating: Fuego

This crime drama is based on a true story of a library heist gone awry and, was one of the funniest movies of the year. Starring Evan Peters, Barry Keoghan, Jared Abrahamson and Blake Jenner, American Animals, follows four college students as they devise a plan to steal a highly collectible rare book from their college library. This a perfect film for anyone who is thinking about the societal pressures that life in America brings when it comes to finding success amongst your peers, The way the narrative is told is from the actual students, who the film is based on, as they tell the story from what they remember happening leading up to the day of the heist. It’s creative and the cast gels together perfectly and Layton’s direction accounts for some unique shots throughout the film.

7. Upgrade

Director: Leigh Whannell
Genre: Cyberpunk Action Body Horror
Trailer: Upgrade
Rating: Fuego

Directed by Leigh Whannell, one half of the duo that created the Saw franchise, Upgrade is a joyride filled with action and some hints of horror. This film is everything that Venom should-be, to the point that Upgrade star Logan Marshall-Green even looks like Tom Hardy. There’s a plethora of dark humor scattered throughout the movie and the action scenes are vicious, yet they’ll leave you with the stankface, after the gruesome demise of a few of the antagonists. There’s a cool twist in the movie that I do not want to spoil, so favorite this review and watch it.

6. A Simple Favor

Director: Paul Fieg
Genre: Dark Comedy Mystery Thriller
Trailer: A Simple Favor
Rating: Fuego

Based on the 2017 novel of the same name, A Simple Favor, stars Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively and is directed by Paul Fieg. Kendrick plays a mommy vlogger who tries to solve the mystery of the disappearance of her best friend, played by Lively. This movie was hilarious, filled with twist, and has subtle clues that you have to pay close attention to, to solve the mystery at the end. The chemistry of  Kendrick and Lively  is up there with some of the best pairings of 2018. Like the movie title says, do yourself  A Simple Favor, and check this one out.

5. All About Nina

Director: Eva Vives
Genre: Drama-Comedy [Dramedy]
Trailer: All About Nina
Rating: Fuego

Full review here. |Eva Vives’s directorial debut All About Nina has a lot to say and is an important movie in today’s climate. Vives started writing the script around 3 years ago, and the film is a semi-biographical account of her life. All About Nina has emotional appeal, and in today’s #MeToo climate, it helps us understand that you never know what someone is going through, no matter how strong they seem when they’re on stage. Mary Elizabeth Winstead has another excellent performance as Nina Gelds. If you’re looking for something unique, funny yet sad, then get your act together and give it a viewing.

4. Bad Times at the El Royale

Director: Drew Goddard
Genre: Neo-Noir Thriller
Trailer: Bad Times at the El Royale
Rating: Fuego

Full review here. |Bad Times at the El Royale was a lot of things, humorous, serious, well-acted, well-directed and visually sharp as getting glass stuck in your head. The director and cast brought their A-game to a film that was written and directed by Drew Goddard, and starring Jeff Bridges, John Hamm, Cynthia Erivo, Chris Hemsworth, Dakota Johnson and Cailee Spaeny, with newcomer Lewis Pullman. Produced by 20th Century Fox, who let Goddard take risks and be creative if he and the cast took a pay cut,.The performances are beyond stellar and Goddard does such a great job getting the most out of every single performance. If you’re a fan of any of the actors, actresses or director/writer Drew Goddard’s previous work, then I would recommend giving this one a viewing.

3. Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Director: Marielle Heller
Genre: Biographical Drama-Comedy [Dramedy]
Trailer: Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Rating: Fuego

Full Review here. |The biopic Can You Ever Forgive Me? starring Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant is based on the Lee Israel memoir of the same name.  Marrielle Heller’s direction brings out the best of McCarthy. McCarthy and Grant’s chemistry with each other is addicting to watch. Their back and forth banter feels organic, and whenever they’re on screen with each other it’s amusing, charming and never feels forced. Grant has more of a dry humor, and McCarthy’s usual shtick is nowhere to be seen, and it greatly benefits the film. A biopic about an author turned literary letter-forger doesn’t sound as glamorous as the life of a rockstar, or as breathtaking as the life of the first man on the moon, but Heller, McCarthy and Grant turned it into one of this year’s most interesting stories to forge its way onto the silver screen.

2. mid90s

Director: Jonah Hill
Genre: Coming-Of-Age Comedy-Drama [Dramedy]
Trailer: mid90s
Rating: Fuego

Full review here. |The A24 produced throwback film is the directorial debut, written by Jonah Hill. The film is a coming-of-age drama with a number of fresh faces. Casting includes actors such as Sunny Suljic, Lucas Hedges, Katherine Waterston, and skateboarders Na-Kel Smith, Ryder McLaughlin, Olan Prenatt, and Gio Galicia. Outside of the retro setting and the 90s clothing, the film’s 4:3 aspect ratio was a perfect choice that adds to the nostalgic viewing experience. Watching the film, its aesthetic made me yearn for the days of VHS before everything was HD or 4K and perfectly fitted to the screen. Something so small adds to the film’s authenticity. The soundtrack of the film was composed of 1990s music and the score fits the tone perfectly. Hill uses a lot of close shots and reaction shots to get a wide range of emotions from the characters’ faces. One of the smartest things Jonah did when making this film was casting skaters whose personalities would translate well to the screen versus casting actors and teaching them how to skate. All the skaters come off as faithful and honest without feeling Hollywood or overproduced. For all the 90s kids, looking for a throwback to simpler times, then mid90s is a movie made for you.

 

 

Folks, we have finally reached the end of this list and the most underappreciated film of 2018 is. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

 

 

1. Bodied

Director: Joseph Kahn
Genre: Battle Rap Comedy-Drama [Dramedy]
Trailer: Bodied
Ratting: Fuego

Full review here.| First, this movie deserves more than to be forgotten on YouTube Premium or whatever YouTube is calling their streaming service (if they still have one) by the time you’re reading this. A thesis on the poetic function of the ‘n-word’ in battle rap is the catalyst for Bodied, a satirical drama-comedy into the world of battle rap. The technical aspects of the movie are some of the best of the year. Director Joseph Kahn’s visual direction makes this film fun to watch because everything is shot slick and in a creative way that comes from his background in music video direction. From close-ups on characters facing transitions and different angles, Kahn’s visual direction gives the film a true art experience. The actors who are battling do their best to make their battles feel authentic. The battle rappers who are acting get to showcase some of their personalities that aren’t normally seen in their battles. The film examines the way we view the context of Freedom of Speech using battle rap in an intriguing way. If I had to breakdown the films acts for battleheads, this film is a 2-1, but for the average fan this might be a 3-0…body. If you want to watch Bodied it is currently available for stream on YouTube Premium.

Thanks for checking out my list of the Most Underappreciated Movies of 2018. Stay tuned for my list of the Top 10 Films of 2018 and The Most Anticipated Films of 2019. Follow the blog on Twitter and LetterBoxd @PeliculasCosas and on Instagram @PeliculasAndCosas. Have a Happy New Year and we’ll catch you next time!

Fin.

Aquaman (2018) |Movie Review|

To “Unite the Seven,” we have to take a deep-dive into the sixth installment in the DC Extended Universe. The James Wan directed film about the aquatic-human known as Arthur Curry to some and as the titular hero, Aquaman, to everyone else. Jason Momoa stars as Aquaman and the movie serves as an origin story, a Justice League sequel and a soft reboot of the DCEU because it separates itself from the Snyder era of films. The film deals with Curry’s journey from being a hero to the obstacle of transitioning from heir to King of Atlantis. Like the trenches of the deep-sea, this review will start with the best aspects of Aquaman and I’ll dive deeper into the things that cause this film to sink to the ocean floor. Spoilers after the trailer.

The best thing about Aquaman is that the production crew took their time when designing the sets, costumes and the visual effects. Atlantis is vibrant, full of color, and the movie explains this in a smart way by saying that underwater the Atlanteans’ have night vision, which allows everything to light up on the ocean floor. The costumes for Aquaman, Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), and Ocean Master (Patrick Wilston) were well done and contributed to the film looking like a cartoon come to life. Check out some of the images below.

James Wan’s direction behind the camera should not go unnoticed. If you’re familiar with the Saw series then you’ll notice some of the interesting long takes Wan uses to keep the action moving. There’s a fun take around the second act where Mera (Amber Heard)  is fighting a few henchmen and Aquaman is fighting Black Manta in Italy, and Wan uses this long take to show two fights without using a single cut. It’s arguably the best fight scene in the film. Earlier on, there’s a smaller scene where Atlanna (Nicole Kidman) fights off a group of henchman and Wan uses this same filming technique which was fun to watch.

Aquaman’s leading actor, Jason Mamoa, seemed to be the only one on-set to know that this was a superhero movie. He seemed like the only person who was having fun during the duration of the 2 hours and 23 minutes of the movie. His character’s “bro” demeanor  was a continuation of his portrayal in 2017’s Justice League and Aquaman needed more of that to give it some personality. Mamoa’s character had a lot of quips when the quips were needed and those were some of the genuine laughs the film offers. His relationship with Amber Heard’s Mera does not feel authentic at all and the pair comes off as forced.

When we deal with the characters in Atlantis, everything is too serious, which makes the film feel dull. When Patrick Wilson’s character sets his sights on uniting the seven seas of the ocean and one of his goons tells him that he will be “ordained as Ocean Master,” the dialogue and delivery are unintentionally hilarious. Later, Wilson says that “I am the Ocean Master,” and that would’ve been a PERFECT time for Aquaman to ad some type of quip for humor purposes.  Willem Dafoe is wasted as Nuidis Vulko. Knowing that Dafoe is an incredible actor, the role could have been given to anyone, as a mentor to Aquaman and the results would’ve been the same. Even the surfaces characters are laughable. When we’re introduced to Black Manta he’s telling Aquaman, he’s scoured the seven seas and that’s why their paths have crossed, while sounding like Captain Hook. Manta gets treated as a small character in this film and it’s a shame because, as mentioned above, the costume design team did such a marvelous job designing him.

There’s too much going on in this movie to the point that Aquaman never settles into a cohesive tone. The scenes that Arthur Curry spends with his father early on in the movie are fun. The writing laid the King Arthur semblance extra, extra, exxxxtraaaa thiccc. At that point I was waiting for a character named Merlon to come out of hiding. I’m not even sure how Atlantis could be that deep in the ocean but have characters that come off as dry. The scenes that happen above the surface try to have their charm, but outside of the action scenes they’re not that fun either. The Titanic, or the biggest wreck of the film, is the fight scene after Aquaman makes his journey to receive King Atlan’s mighty trident. There’s CGI everywhere, and the screen is cluttered to the point where you don’t know who’s good and who’s bad. There’s crustaceans fighting crustaceans, some are good, some are bad, some that have dialogue and we’re supposed to care about them… but we spend NO TIME with them during the rest of the film, so when they meet their demise, it’s like oh oooookay.

The DCEU has been struggling to keep up with their Marvel counterpart when it comes to making a quality superhero film. With Aquaman, it was better than Sony’s attempt at a live action superhero, but that bar was lower than the Mariana Trench. There are a few wrinkles that DC needs to iron out before making a sequel to this film. Aquaman may have benefited if it was released in January of this year or in the summer of 2017, because Thor: Ragnorak  and Black Panther are everything this film tries to be. Those films did a phenomenal job at world building and the characters matched the tone the films were set in. The positive is that with Aquaman the DCEU might be heading into the right direction. I am not 100% confident in saying that, but based on the trailer for the upcoming Shazaam, I think if future films continue on focusing on having some sort of balance and personality then they’ll be a more enjoyable experience.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[a si a si]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Aquaman was released in theaters December 21, 2018.

Bird Box (2018) |Movie Review|

On the longest day of the year, December 21, 2018, Netflix released their newest post-apocalyptic thriller, Bird Box, starring Sandra Bullock. The film is based on a 2014 novel of the same name written by Jason Malerman. The screenplay was written by the frequent horror screenwriter Eric Heisserer (Final Destination 5, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Arrival) and directed by Susanne Bier. SPOILERS after the trailer.

Malorie (Sandra Bullock) begins the film by giving us exposition, and within the first 90 seconds of the film, it sounded like someone decided to make A Quiet Place but for the blind. She’s speaking to two kids named Boy and Girl on how to survive this post-apocalyptic world by not looking at anything and just listening to her commands. The shot that Bier chooses a close shot of Sandra Bullock’s face, as it slowly zooms out, highlights the importance of her dialogue, and adds to the desperation of the world that the film takes place in. Bullock’s facial expression adds to the hopelessness and prepares us for what is about to take place.Malorie and the kids are blindfolded, and Bier interjects a blindfold on the camera to give the viewer a first person look at the loss of sight. This also plays on the film’s title because it’s like we are trapped in a bird box with the door closed.

The narrative of the movie is cut in a dynamic way, and there’s flashbacks of what happened 5 years ago that are combined with the present day, so we get an origin story that lets us know why everyone has to be blindfolded and how Malorie has reached this point. Before the event takes place, Malorie is a pregnant artist who shuns the outside world by painting inside her studio all day. She seems strung out and her home is a mess, and the film implies that she is battling some type of depression. When her sister Jessica (Sarah Paulson) comes over she informs Malorie about an event that has people overseas killing themselves.

Later the pair head to the hospital, so that Malorie can get her routine pregnancy checkup, and as they leave that’s when the event has reached the United States. There’s a rando at the hospital smashing her head against the window trying to kill herself. Outside there’s chaos, cars driving on the wrong side of the road, and people panicking all over. Jessica and Malorie are trying to drive to a safe location, but unfortunately, Jessica stares at the entity and it makes her want to commit suicide, so she wrecks the car. This leads to a nicely filmed crash scene. She doesn’t die in the crash, so she gets out of the car and walks in front of a dump truck to meet her demise. Meanwhile, Malorie was rescued and taken into shelter with a few other survivors.

All of that happened within the first 15 minutes of Bird Box, and sadly, the remaining 1 hour and 40ish minutes were hard to get through. However, there were a few solid performances that should be highlighted. Sandra Bullock’s take on Malorie was one of the film’s high points. When she’s telling Boy and Girl what to do during their voyage to the end of the river she’s confident, she opens up to them, and her character grows exponentially by the end of the film. Trevante Rhodes plays Tom, and he’s the male lead in the film that sparks up a romantic relationship with Malorie. Once Tom sacrifices himself to save Malorie and the two kids that’s used as a catalyst to help Malorie change.  Douglas is portrayed by John Malkovich, and his trope is to be the asshole of the group. He’s cruel, doesn’t want to open up their safe house to anyone, and he only cares about survival. He goes with his gut instinct, which leads to him being correct at every turn, but… since he’s an asshole the group doesn’t listen to him. There’s a fun scene where a pregnant woman lets some rando end, and Douglas tells the group not to kill the rando, but instead they show compassion by letting him end and he ends up getting most of the group exposed to the entity and killed. Lil Rel Howery portrays Charlie and acts like Lil Rel in every movie that Lil Rel is in. There’s not much to most of the characters to make you actually care about them when they die, which in turn is why most of the film is a chore to watch.

An eye-opening scene from Bird Box (Netflix).

Overall, the photo above sums up Bird Box in one picture. Bird Box is a film that tries to be ambitious and has a creative concept, but while watching it you have to force your eyes open to try to enjoy it. The deaths aren’t creative, and the non-linear sequence of the plot doesn’t add to the film. The first 15 minutes of the movie started out strong, but most of the characters are underdeveloped and there’s no reason to care if they survive or not by the end of the film. Bird Box lacks personality or anything to make you want to come back to it  and watch it again. Outside of a few performances and the direction there’s not much going on for this post-apocalyptic film, and it just feels like it’s just another movie. Netflix has released better films this year, there are even better generic films that were released this year,and lastly, there are better films that dealt with handicapping one’s senses to survive that were released in 2018.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[a si a si]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Bird Box is currently streaming on Netflix.

Green Book (2018) |Movie Review|

From the Farrelly brother that gave us the infamous anthology comedy Movie 43 comes Green Book, a drama-comedy that is getting serious Oscar buzz this awards season. The Peter Farrelly directed film gets its title from The Negro Motorist Green Book, a guidebook that African-Americans used to navigate throughout the country when finding restaurants and lodges that would accept them during the mid-20th century. The film stars Mahershala Ali, Viggo Mortensen and Linda Cardellini and is set during the fall and winter of 1962. The film is inspired by the true story of  the African-Jamaican classical and jazz pianist Don “Doc” Shirley and his Italian-American driver and bodyguard Tony Vallelonga aka Tony Lip. Spoilers after the trailer.

The trailer doesn’t do this film justice because it doesn’t pitch the things that make Green Book stand out. After watching the trailer I got the impression that this movie was just another cliché movie for Oscar season. After watching the movie it is formulaic but the way it’s executed is what made it such an enjoyable film to watch. The trailer doesn’t highlight the comedy aspect of the film that’s prominent throughout the movie. This film is more of a buddy road trip comedy with elements of drama. The pairing of Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen is perfect, and it’s up there with some of the best pairings of the year. Mortensen gained up to 50 pounds for his role as Tony Vallelonga and Mahershala performances as Don “Doc” Shirley should put him in the running for Best Actor once the Academy announces the nominees in January 22, 2019.

Set in 1962 the film examines race relations during that time in American history. The film wants you to know that this is a time where race was a big factor in our society. At the beginning of the film there’s a scene where two black plumbers are doing repairs at the Vallelonga household. When Tony’s wife, Delores Vallelonga (Linda Cardellini), gives them lemonade, Tony sees this and once she leaves the kitchen he trashes the glasses they drink out of.  After he throws those glasses away, the next scene shows him and his family praying at a dinner table. The juxtaposition of these scenes fits the narrative of the time period the move is set in because (the majority of) white people would look down at minorities, treat them as sub-human, but then pray to God and act like they were Holy like it was nothing. While cleaning up the table scraps, Delores’ notices that the two glasses were in the garbage can, so she takes them out and washes them while shaking her head and disapproving of her husband’s actions. This small little scene sets up Tony’s arc for the rest of the film.

Shortly after this, there’s a subtle example of foreshadowing when the agent calls Tony to tell him about the job offer as a driver for Doc Shirley. The agent speaks on a black phone and when Tony meets Doc, he is taken aback that Doc is black and he’s not an actual doctor. Doc is living the life of a king. His apartment is above Carnegie Hall, and in his living room he’s sitting on a throne like chair looking like he is royalty. Doc’s whole steez gave off Black Panther vibes. Doc speaks intelligently, and as soon as he appears on-screen he’s presented as being smarter and wealthier than the blue-collar Tony. During the time period this movie is set in, this is a rare occurrence and Tony is in disbelief that a black man lived like this. Tony takes the job of being Doc Shirley’s driver for 8 weeks after Doc talks to Tony’s wife to get her blessing that Tony can do it. This scene shows that Doc is a thoughtful and insightful man who plays a major part later in the film.

Doc Shirley is not only well-educated and sophisticated, but he is a world-class pianist. During his tour his contract demands that every venue must supply him a Steinway or he is not going to perform. This causes problems when the pair venture outside of the tri-state area. In Indiana, a worker at the venue has a trashed piano and tells Tony that “those coons can play whatever you put in from of them,” Tony rightfully takes offense and the worker ends up getting that Steinway. That’s just the beginning of the type of loyalty that Tony has for Doc. Doc returns the favor by using his way with words to help Tony write letters to his wife and kids. Expanding upon what makes this interesting is that Tony says he got the nickname “Tony Lip,” because he’s a great bullshitter, but when it comes to writing the woman he loves he cannot bullshit his way into an expressive letter.

When the pair arrive in Kentucky they stop at a Kentucky Fried Chicken and Doc tells Tony that he’s never eaten fried chicken in his life. The way Ali eats this piece of chicken in the back of the car, he does such an impressive job that you think he’s never eaten a chicken leg before. This scene leads to some insightful banter between the two. Tony thinks all black people eat chicken, grits, watermelon, and he mentions that when he was in the Army, the black cooks were incredible at cooking those things. Doc takes offense and lets him know that just because he’s black doesn’t mean he eats those things. This is a theme that is prevalent throughout the film. When they get into an argument later in the movie, Tony tells Doc that he’s blacker than him because he knows more about black culture, Doc takes offense and there’s a memorable scene in the rain. After watching Blindspotting earlier this year, it’s approach to the White Guy Thinks He’s Blacker Than The Black Guy trope was more memorable than this scene. Ali (Doc) and Mortensons’ (Tony) acting was phenomenal but the elements like the rain and the fact that Doc didn’t have to get out of the car made it too much like Oscar bait.

Overall, Green Book is a powerful film that is formulaic, but it’s execution is mostly flawless and the formula doesn’t hurt the film. I didn’t even know what a green book was so the film does have educational purposes. Doc Shirley has his flaws as a man, but the film presents him as a prideful and smart man who wanted to change what people thought of him by using his given abilities and gift of playing music. Tony swallowed his pride and opened his eyes to see that we are all the same no matter what our skin color is. This was definitely a “feel good” film, but Ali and Mortenson had marvelous performances and there were genuine laughs throughout the film. I did not expect it would be as funny as it was going into this film. This was one hell of a bounce back for the director Peter Farrelly, and I think the Academy will give it a few nominations. By the end of Green Book, Doc and Tony became the best of friends and remained as friends until their deaths in 2013.  Like they say, in 1962, if a black man and a white man could go to jail together then get out together, travel all the way to Birmingham, Alabama together and make it back to New York in time to celebrate Christmas together, then that’s a true friendship of a lifetime.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[a si a si]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Green Book was released in theaters November 16, 2018.

Roma (2018) |Movie Review|

Netflix’s latest movie to receive critical praise and generate buzz this upcoming award season is Roma. The film is a semi-autobiographical take on writer and director Alfonso Cuarón’s upbringing in Mexico City. The black and white film is set in the 1970s and stars Yalitza Aparicio as Cleo, the maid for an affluent family, in the Colonia Roma neighborhood of Mexico City.  Spoilers after the trailer.

Roma is a slice of life film but it’s a unique piece because the story centers around Cleo, a Mexican woman of indigenous origins. Cleo is a maid for Dr. Antonio, his wife Sofia and their four children. Aparicio’s performance of Cleo is commendable because she does as much as she can with what she’s given. Her facial expressions and body language fits perfectly with the melancholic tone showed throughout the film. Even the child actors had serviceable performances, they weren’t annoying and came off as organic. Sofia could have been written better for her role in the movie but I liked how Dr. Antonio was used during the film’s third act.

Where Roma is most effective is in its direction by Alfonso Cuarón. Visually the film is a true work of art. Every scene is shot gracefully. There’s long takes that makes you appreciate the background and engrosses you into the scene. The film’s black and white aspect gives off a feeling of watching someone’s memories from a distant past. The vintage setting is like when you go back and look at old Polaroid pictures in an old scrapbook. The framing and spacing used gives Roma unique sense of tenderness when used in conjunction with key plot moments. The black and white imagery also adds to the drama and gives credence to the gloomy and bleak aspects of Cleo’s life.

Cleo experiencing grief after a personal tragedy. ( Source: Roma)

Above is a still following a scene where Cleo goes through a personal tragedy. The way Cuarón positions the lighting on her face and the shadows around her expands upon her despair and expresses her sadness without using a single word. Moments like this when the film is using non-verbal communication is when it’s at it’s best.

A forest fire. (Source: Roma)

There’s a forest fire and it’s filmed perfectly. Even without using color the atmosphere is rich and vibrant. During the scene there’s a lot going on in the background while the forefront focuses on the chief as he’s singing a song while everyone around him is panicking to put the fire out. The way Cuarón chooses on what to focus on during a scene is what makes Roma interesting and while watching it you’ll pick up on things that are happening in the background.

Professor Zovek shows his martial arts students how to meditate. (Source: Roma)

As Professor Zovek (Latin Lover) shows his students how to meditate they laugh at him because he’s doing something that seems simple and ludicrous. He ask if they think he’s supposed to levitate or lift a plane. Once he starts his meditation the wind calmly blows and causes the sand to blow swiftly levitate behind him, like tumbleweed passing through an abandoned city, in the background and a plane flies over him as well.

A murder scene in a furniture store. (Source: Roma)

The scenes that depict murder in Roma are filmed in a way that deserves a keen eye. Just from the frame above there’s a lot going on. In the background there’s a murder and in the foreground there’s a gun. How Cuarón sets this scene up is masterful because when we find out who is holding that gun it explains why that’s the focus instead of the murder happening in the background. What makes thing even better and adds a new element to the story is the location that this scene is taking place in.

As elegant the visuals of Roma are, the film’s biggest struggle is in its writing and it’s pacing. The first two acts of the film move at a snail’s pace, which is a shame because everything is shot spectacularly, but as the plot progresses there’s not much happening to keep you interested. There’s a couple emotional moments sprinkled throughout the film but they’re so few and far between. The things that happen during the first 75 minutes do not have an impactful payoff as the movie approaches its end. Dialogue wise, Cuarón’s writing isn’t on par with his cinematography. Outside of a couple of lines there isn’t much that really stuck with me once the film had ended.  If there were more emotional gut punches throughout the film then the element of drama would’ve justified it’s run time. The metaphor of Cleo and Sofia going through traumatic experiences, but at different social levels and handling it differently was intriguing; however, their relationship was missing something to make it completely compelling.

Lastly, Roma’s strengths are in its imagery, which is why I would recommend it to any upcoming filmmaker who wants to learn how to create an alluring looking film. There’s an abundance of frames that you could just pause and it looks like a true work of art. Definitely some of the best cinematography of the year. For a slice of life film the plot wasn’t anything that hasn’t been done before or better in other movies. Due to Roma’s pacing, at 2 hours and 15 minutes, its runtime was hard to sit through because there wasn’t a lot of engaging moments in its story to justify such a long film. There could’ve been at least 20 minutes taken out to make it a tighter and cohesive experience. Alfonso Cuarón knows what he’s doing behind the camera as a director but as far as writing goes there’s better semi-autobiographical takes on a director’s life that were released in 2018. If you’re on Netflix and you want to watch a film for its qualities as art then I would recommend giving Roma a viewing.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[a si a si]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) |Movie Review|

After being turned into dust, your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man has made his theatrical return, but this Spidey is from a different universe. From the studio that has made some questionable decisions when it comes to the wall-crawler’s lore, comes Spider-Man’s first animated feature film. Sony’s newest film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse follows the Brooklyn teenager Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) as he takes the mantle of Spider-Man in his universe.

Counting Venom, Into the Spider-Verse is Sony’s eighth outing of the Spider-Man franchise, and this is arguably one of their best Spidey films. As a child of the 90’s one of my favorite episodes of Spider-Man: The Animated Series was when Peter Parker met the other Spider-Men from a different universe, and this movie delivers on that premise in a big way. The Spider-Verse consists of different Spider-People across multiple universes who come together to stop the Kingpin (Liev Schreiber) of Miles’ universe from destroying their individual universes. The film focuses on seven Spider-People and they’re animated based on the universe they come from. The Looney Tunes-esque Peter Porker/Spider-Ham, the anime-inspired Penni Parker/SP//dr, and the monochromatic noir styled Peter Parker/Spider-Man Noir never seem out-of-place when paired next to Miles or the other Spider-People (Gwen Stacy/Spider-Woman, Peter B. Parker/Spider Man). Being able to blend in the different animation styles amongst each other while keeping the feeling of a comic book is why this film was so fun to watch. Even the small details like the sound effects captions that are sprinkled in really felt like a comic book come to life.

For an animated movie, Into the Spider-Verse, created an authentic representation of Brooklyn. There’s constant movement, people walking across the street, subways are always moving, background characters are diverse, and the city truly feels like it never sleeps. A perfect origin story for those who are notfamiliar with this version of Spider-Man. Miles Morales is an Afro-Latino teen, and unlike most versions of Spidey he has both of his parents. His African-American father is Jefferson Davis (Brian Tyree Henry), a police officer who doesn’t like Spider-Man because Web-slinger’s heroics undermines the men and women that wear the blue. Rio Morales (Luna Velez) is his Puerto Rican mother, and her opinion on Spider-Man is a sharp contrast to her husband because she thinks he’s doing good for the city. The film does a fine job of incorporating both of their heritage into Miles. Miles wears Nikes, does graffiti, and acts just as anyone would act if they experienced a life-changing event that turned them into a superhero. The New York vibe is not only apparent visually, but sonically the soundtrack used to score the film never misses a beat. Miles’ uncle Aaron Davis (Mahershala Ali) aka the Prowler is a petty street criminal and a bad influence on Miles. When he’s introduced in the film the music changes to gritty New York hip-hop that fits him perfectly. Overall, the sound of the movie is New York and compared to other Spider-Man films this movie got that right. I’m not well-versed in the boroughs, but the other films that are set in Queens do not come off as authentic compared to the way Into the Spider-Verse does for Brooklyn.

Lorde and Miller produced this movie in a way that not only does it take place within the different multiverses presented within the film, yet other Spider-Man movies take place in alternate universes. Pulling this off isn’t an easy feat, but Lord and Miller made it happen. The post-credit scene in Venom showed a clip from this movie with a caption of “meanwhile in an alternate universe,” and during this film it referenced Sam Rami’s Spider-Man films of the early 2000s. There’s a running joke where the monochromatic Spider-Man Noir (Nicolas Cage) cannot see color since his universe doesn’t have color. Spider-Ham can do all the slapstick humor that a typical Looney Tunes cartoon can. All of these things are alongside SP//dr Penni Parker from the anime universe and everything is organic. If there is a sequel and they incorporate live action Tom Hardy as Venom or Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man, I think Lorde and Miller could pull it off with ease.

Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson) isn’t from Miles’ timeline is the Spider-Man that never got his life together. Whereas the original Spider-Man (Chris Pine) from Miles’ timeline is the antithesis of that. Seeing both of these characters in the same movie shows how easy it would be for Peter to make a mistake and his life does a complete 180. Comparing MCU Peter Parker to the ones in this film kind of shows where he would be if he didn’t have Tony Stark as a mentor to count on. Even the Stan Lee (RIP) cameo in this film has meaning to it. It’s not just your typical Stanmeo, and with his recent passing it adds emotional weight to it.

The way Into the Spider-Verse is structured so it sets up many possible sequels. The characters are written in a way where you want to learn more about the universes they come from. Since the MCU has Peter Parker under control for now, I think there are enough versions of Spidey that could focus on different iterations of the character. I’m here for a Nick Cage as Spider-Man Noir film or an anime SP//dr film. Even if the big screen isn’t an option there’s room for a tv/Web series involving these lesser-known characters. This film untagles webs of the past and works as a perfect origin story that swings forward for the future.

Fin.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[a si a si]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was released in theaters December 13, 2018.

Wendy’s Bacon Maple Chicken Sandwich doesn’t waffle out on a classic pairing |Food Review|

Wendy’s, the fast-food chain whose tweets stay true to its red-headed mascot because they have no-soul, better yet they’re true to their slogan because they’re always fresh and never frozen when it comes to beef, has introduced their newest sandwich just in time for the holiday season. Wendy’s newest sandwich is called the Bacon Maple Chicken Sandwich and here is a tweet of the sandwich below.

Getting those all-day breakfast flavors from the Bacon Maple Chicken Sandwich. pic.twitter.com/N19FJP7Wat

— Wendy's (@Wendys) December 10, 2018

First Look

Based on the tweet above the Bacon Maple Chicken Sandwich looks flavorful doesn’t it? Starting from the top that croissant bun is flakier than that friend that you can’t ever count on, the trio of Applewood smoked bacon is pokin’ out the circumference of the bun, and the motor oil maple syrup is drippin’ through the Swiss cheese onto the Homestyle chicken breast. I decided to go to my local Wendy’s to try out their newest concoction myself and let’s just say it didn’t look anything like the photo above.

As you can see, the visuals aren’t as appealing as the photoshoot in the tweet above. My croissant buns were not as flaky, and my three strips of Applewood bacon were not as hearty as Dave’s red-headed child made it seem. As a matter of fact, I had to do a double take to see if there was bacon in there because those three little piggies went missing, but after removing the top bun this is what my sandwich looked like.

Was it Sabroso Tho? 🤔

Enough about how the sandwich looks the people want to know how does it taste?

As you can tell by the melted cheese on the wrapper my Bacon Maple Chicken Sandwich was made to order. I went through the drive-thru and as soon as the bag was in my car the aroma from the maple syrup glaze stuck like sap to my nasal passage.

Sidenote, the Homestyle chicken breast is my least favorite of the chicken sandwiches that Wendy’s offers. In my opinion, the Spicy and the Grilled options are more flavorful – with that said the Bacon Maple Chicken Sandwich turns the regular Homestyle Chicken Sandwich on it’s head. The sweetness from the maple syrup glaze pairs well with the savory flavor of the Applewood bacon strips.

I’m not even a huge fan of Swiss cheese but it doesn’t detract from the overall taste of the sandwich. The croissant bun didn’t really have a distinct flavor to distinguish itself from a normal bun. I think if the bun was an actual croissant it would add more to the taste of the sandwich. This sandwich is something the chain should offer year round. The tweet referenced above might’ve had an incorrect visual representation of the Bacon Maple Chicken Sandwich, but it is true to its word when it comes to getting all-day breakfast flavor.

Fin.

Rating

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[a si a si]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

The Bacon Maple Chicken sandwich is currently at select Wendy’s locations for a limited time only.

Avengers: Endgame (2019) |Trailer Thoughts|

“WE’RE IN THE END GAME NOW.”

The words above were uttered by Doctor Strange after Thanos deebo’d the Time stone from him and all hope seemed lost. This past Friday, Marvel Studios’ finally released the long-awaited  and highly anticipated trailer for the next installment of the Avengers franchise, the secretly titled (even the trailer’s title and the description box do not spoil the film’s title), Avengers: Endgame.

This trailer is more powerful than the purple Infinity stone and does a spectacular job at selling the film, which most MCU films do. Starting out with a shot of Tony’s helmet that was nearly destroyed thanks to the duel with Thanos in the previous film. The fact that Iron Man was the first film in the MCU, he’s leaving a message for the love of his life Pepper Potts, and this trailer begins with him is significant because it displays the growth Tony Stark has made over the years throughout these movies. We’re looking at a guy who only cared about himself and making money, yet his story arc has progressed to the point of him being in love and thinking of someone else. The dark and gloomy palette that is used magnifies that all hope is lost for our MCU founding hero. Pairing that palette with Starks monologue about not having food and water for the past four days and the lack of oxygen the next morning is gut wrenching and makes you feel his despair.

The next shot of Thanos’ armor propped up like a scarecrow is taken from the comics. Some say it’s like Thanos hung up his jersey in the rafters like a Hall of Fame player would, which I agree with. Black Widow’s voice-over and the background music’s epic buildup really sets the scene that the fight is on. Clean-shaved Captain America has a tear rolling down his eye which compliments the mood this trailer establishes. Thor is dressed in normal clothing and he has a look on his face as if he’s just thinking about how we would not be in this situation if he had just aimed for the head.  Captain America recaps what everyone has lost during this whole ordeal, and after he says family, the family man of the Avengers, Hawkeye is shown looking like he’s been on a revenge tour after his family has, possibly, died during Thanos’ Snappining. Hawkeye’s transition into Ronin might be the best example of someone losing themselves in the film, especially since he was nowhere to be seen during Infinity War. Ending the trailer with Scott Lang and a pinch of humor is why Marvel’s ahead in the cinematic universe game. This trailer gives enough insight into the next film, yet I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a few misdirections that were edited in so nothing would be spoiled.

Overall with this trailer, Marvel did a marvelous job of (pun intended) selling this film. It never undermines the tone of the events from the previous film. Having all the original Avengers present was a nice, subtle touch because these four movies were built off their success. Endgame is most likely going to be the last hurrah for most of the founding Avengers, and it’s going to be one hell of an adventure to see where their arc takes them before it’s game over.

Fin.

Avengers: Endgame is currently scheduled to be in theaters April 26, 2019.

Bodied (2018) |Movie Review|

A thesis on the poetic function of the ‘n-word’ in battle rap is the catalyst for Bodied, a satirical drama-comedy into the world of battle rap. The film is produced by the former battle rapper Eminem’s Shady Films and distributed by YouTube Red Premium. The film is directed by the famed music video director Joseph Kahn, who also serves as one of the film’s writers, along with the former battle rapper Alex “Kid Twist” Larsen. The film is loosely based on Larsen’s life and stars Calum Worthy, Jackie Long, Rory Uphold, battle rappers Dumbfoundead and Dizaster, and plenty of cameos from real-life battle rappers that are too many to name.

Adam Merkin (Worthy) is a progressive college student who starts the film on the outside looking in, by researching battle rap and conducting an interview with star battle rapper Behn Grymm (Long) for his thesis. Merkin watches a few battles on the card but the card is cut short due to Megaton (Dizaster) punching his opponent. After the melee, Adam and his progressive girlfriend Maya (Uphold), who is clueless when it comes to battle rap culture, gets challenged to a battle by a white emcee named Billy Pistolz (Charron).

From the jump the movie does a good job of setting its tone with the aforementioned characters. Even as a satire the film is relatable because battle rap fans most likely have seen or met these character tropes in real life. Pistolz is your stereotypical white rapper, he’s dressed like Jamie Kennedy in Malibu’s Most Wanted. Maya is the typical progressive woman who tries too hard and comes off as insufferable. Megaton’s aggression is on par with Dizaster in real life. The film’s credits state that he wrote all of his own battle lines, which is why they sound like him. Worthy’s performance as Adam is quirky and awkward, which mimics Kid Twist’s real-life presence back when he used to battle.

The technical aspects of the movie are some of the best of the year. Kahn’s visual direction makes this film fun to watch because everything is shot slick and in a creative way that comes from his background in music video direction. From close-ups on characters facing transitions and different angles, Kahn’s visual direction gives the film a true art experience. The actors who are battling do their best to make their battles feel authentic. The battle rappers who are acting get to showcase some of their personalities that aren’t normally seen in their battles. 40 Magz (Hollow da Don) and Bluntz (Loaded Lux) are a hilarious comedy duo that I wouldn’t mind seeing in a spin-off film. The writing is strong throughout most of the film. Some of the foreshadowing is subtle, and there are a few meta references inside the movie. During Adam’s first battle with Prospek (Dumbfoundead), Prospek says Adam looks like he should do a Disney Channel promo, which is a reference to an actual promo done by Calum Worthy.  Adam and Maya are walking on campus and they mention communism after passing a black homeless man on a bench, and later in the film when they’re a white male on the bench, two other girls make comments about communism but with a completely different perspective.

Bodied expands on more than just the world of battle rap because of statements the film makes about norms, race and the context in which we view our Freedom of Speech,  are thought-provoking to say the least. The movie further explores societal norms in the film’s third act during a battle between the black female battler Devine Wright (Shoniqua Shandai) and a Korean-American male battler, Prospek. Instead of dissing each other, Prospek and Wright diss themselves with a killer verse from each. Prospek drops bars about Asians that are reminiscent of Dumbfoundead’s actual classic battle with Tantrum. Wright even mentions how her gap is wider than the income between whites and blacks. The whole reason for the self-dissing was to let everyone else know that the cliches their opponents spit would never be as good as the ones they used on themselves.

During the second act the film focuses on Behn Grymm, and that’s when it focuses on race the most. When he’s not battling, Behn Grymm is supporting his wife and his daughter, who has Cystic Fibrosis, as a game developer. He tells Adam as a black man he has to know how to code-switch to make it through life.  Grymm even tells Adam that he keeps his private life separate from his battle career and doesn’t use any personals in his battle. Once Grymm and Adam arrive at Grymm’s house, Grymm tells Adam to call him by his real name Osiris or Oz for short, because his wife doesn’t like it when people call him by his battle alias. This is interesting because it shows the duality that Behn Grymm has to exist as a person and that doesn’t even include his code-switching when he’s not around his wife or battling. This transitions to one of the movie’s standout scenes between Adam and Grymm’s wife Jas (Candice Renee) at the dinner table. Jas bodies Adam when she has to explain why she supports her husband in his endeavors even though battle rap has negative connotations to it. Renee’s delivery in this scene is captivating, and you can feel her soul in every line of dialogue as she has to blacksplain everything to Adam.

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The film examines the way we view the context of Freedom of Speech using battle rap in an intriguing way. After getting caught up in the culture of battle rap, Adam loses everything, he’s homeless and his ex-girlfriend puts him on blast by replaying all the offensives punches (lines) from his battle with Prospek in front of the rest of their class.  Adam’s lines were filled with misogyny, racism and homophobic comments that no one blinks an eye at in battle rap culture, but to people who aren’t hip it’s not a good look. This causes the whole campus to hate him and Adam even asks “how can you judge a person based on one clip from YouTube,” which is something as a society we do all the time. The campus demonstrates a peaceful protest, even saying ‘they won’t tolerate hate even if it rhymes,’ which seems like something that would happen in real life.

Lastly, Bodied is a fun, smart and stylish film with a few criticisms. The film plays its hand in its second act and you can see where the third act is going. The battle event in the third act is entertaining, but the crowd noise and reactions during the battle between Grymm and Adam felt off. Unlike the other battles in the film this one didn’t feel as natural or more Hollywood-esque. This isn’t a big complaint because all the bars were dope and the 2-on-2 battle between Adam & Behn Grymm versus 40 Magz & Bluntz was a welcoming surprise. At points throughout the movie some of the acting was spotty, but most of the performances were great at best and serviceable at worst. Again, the filmmaking helps maneuver around the criticism because it gets so many things right. Even small things, like how the score is used to add to the story of the film. The song “You Don’t Know Me” by TI, plays at the beginning of the film and again at the end of the second act, and it fits perfectly because Adam doesn’t know who he is anymore. Overall, through all three acts, for battleheads this film is a 2-1, but for the average fan this might be a 3-0…body.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[a si a si]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Bodied is currently available on YouTube Premium.

Captain Marvel (2019) |Trailer Thoughts|

Update: Check out the full review here.

After much anticipation, the second official trailer for Captain Marvel was released last night. The film will be the twenty-first entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the first to be set in the 1990s. This will also be MCU’s first movie with a female lead as Brie Larson flies into action as the film’s titular heroine.

 

The film’s aesthetic looks in line with the comics. There are vibrant colors throughout the trailer, and the film doesn’t look like it’s CGI overkill. Carol Danvers’s origins seem to be inline with the comic as well, just based off the clips given. Samuel L. Jackson makes his return as Nick Fury, and I think we’re going to finally learn how he lost his eye, could it be by that cat at the end of the trailer? The only thing I have reservations about is Brie Larson’s performance. Just based on both of the released trailers, something sounds off, and she comes off as boring, but hopefully that won’t be the case. Overall, I’m looking forward to Marvel’s  next space adventure/ retro film and how it furthers the plot for Avengers 4.

Fin.

Captain Marvel is scheduled to be released in theater March 8, 2019

Happy Death Day 2U (2019) |Trailer Thoughts|

February 14th is a day for love, romance and a giant baby piercing people in their hearts. Cupid isn’t shooting arrows, but instead on Valentine’s Day, Blumhouse and Universal are releasing the sequel to the 2017 time loop-slasher film Happy Death Day. After premiering the trailer earlier this year during Halloween (2018) we are finally treated to its official worldwide release below.

Just like the time loop the characters live in, the sequel brings back the director Christopher B. Landon, and the main characters Theresa “Tree” Gelbman (Jessica Rothe) and Carter Davis (Israel Broussard). The first Happy Death Day was a critical success and made over 120 million dollars on a 4 million dollar budget. Personally, it was one of my favorite movies of 2017 because it was entertaining, funny and a fresh take on the slasher film genre.

The trailer for the sequel looks promising. The idea that Tree’s killer from the first one dies in a time loop and it’s affecting her friends, so they have to team up to stop her/him adds an interesting detail to the plot. If the first film’s genre blend is described as “Groundhogs Day meets Scream,” then this sequel is akin to Avengers: Infinity War meets Source Code on Friday the 13th. Hopefully it’ll overcome the usual problems that sequels run into, but I think with such a fresh idea. It’ll end up being a ….. excuse the pun Happy Death Day!

Fin.

Happy Death Day 2U is in theaters February 14th, 2019.

Creed II |Movie Review|

A hard-hitting sequel that goes the distance is the best way to describe Creed II, the eighth entry in the Rocky series and the second of the Creed spin-off films. The sports-drama is directed by Steven Caple Jr. (The Land), screenplay by Sylvester Stallone and Juel Taylor from the story by Cheo Hodari Coker and Sascha Penn. The sequel’s cast brings back familiar characters from the Rocky universe, including the legendary boxer Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan), his wife Bianca (Tessa Thompson), Rocky IV antagonist Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) and the introduction of a new character Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu). At first the idea of a film based on Apollo Creed’s illegitimate son avenging his father’s death by fighting the son of the man who killed him didn’t sound too appealing because in Creed Adonis’ arc is him getting out of Apollo’s shadow. But what makes this intriguing is seeing how the film gets around that without undermining the first film. Spoilers after the trailer.

The Good

Creed II is filled with strong performances throughout the film that are almost on par with the first film. Stallone was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Creed, and he’s trying to make a case to win it this round. Stallone’s performance as an aging somber Rocky, who has lost everything, is just as good if not better than it was in the previous film. Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson have strong outings as well, but they’re not written as strongly as Stallone is. Lundgren gets more dialogue this time than he did in Rocky IV. Lastly, the newcomer Munteanu impresses in his debut motion picture role and is the breakout star of the film. Ryan Coogler was in the director’s chair for the first film, but in this movie Steven Caple Jr. picked up where he left off. The camera angles used in the fights give the viewer a firsthand look of every uppercut and jab. Slow-motion was used brilliantly, which typically fighting movies abuse, and it adds more impact to heavy hits. Caple’s direction made the slugfest brutal and bone crushing with each boxing scene and every spackle of blood or saliva that comes spraying at you.

If you haven’t seen Rocky IV then I would suggest watching it before seeing this movie because there are a lot of callbacks from that film. Ivan Drago, losing everything after his defeat to Rocky, is the best storytelling aspect of this movie. Ivan’s wife and Viktor’s mother, Ludmilla Vobet Drago (Brigitte Nielsen) divorced him and his country shunned him because of the embarrassment that came from the loss to Rocky. Ivan’s son Viktor doesn’t even know his mother, and he grew up having resentment for her. All of these things have led to a passionate hatred that’s built up over 30 years, and Ivan has trained his son into being a vicious boxer and everyone that’s stepped in the ring with him has felt their vengeance. Drago’s revenge aspect of the film should’ve been explored more because it’s more believable than Creed avenging his father’s who didn’t even know him death.

The Bad

To harp on that last point a little more this movie would’ve served better served as a Drago film. Their story arc is far more compelling, Creed doesn’t have much to do, and Rocky is treated as the main character. The origin story of Adonis Creed was that he’s the illegitimate son of Apollo and he didn’t know his father and in Creed he fights to get out of his father’s shadow and eventually succeeds. He didn’t even want to change his name to Creed in the previous film, but somehow in this film we’re supposed to believe that he has to take this fight because of what Ivan did over 30 years ago. In contrast, the Drago story makes a lot more sense because Viktor is fighting for his father and their family name because they’ve lost everything since Rocky won 30 years ago. The wrong revenge story is the focus of this one.

Creed is treated as a side character throughout most of the film. There’s a subplot about his baby being born with a condition, but it’s really just thrown in there, it’s not even used as a plot device. Speaking of his baby, the editing between Bianca’s pregnancy and giving birth is the lowest point of the filmmaking aspect. Bianca has a small baby bump and then we cut to Rocky contemplating whether or not to contact his son, and then somehow when it cuts back to Bianca at least 5 months have passed. After Creed has had a fallout with Rocky, that’s pretty much taken straight out of the last film he reunites with Balboa and then Bianca is giving birth. All of these things happen so fast that they might as well have created a montage for them. Ironically, like all of the Rocky films there are a few montages in this one.

Stallone’s portion of the screenwriting may be the reason that his scenes are the most engaging. There are scenes in the movie where he’s just the only character and you forget that this movie is supposed to be about Adonis Creed. The only thing Rocky has left is Creed since Adrian has passed away, he’s lost all his wealth, and he’s estranged from his son Robert Balboa Jr.. When he and Creed have a falling out early on, it makes Rocky an even bigger protagonist because Creed handles the situation immaturely. Logically, it makes sense that Rocky wouldn’t want Adonis to fight Viktor first, because there’s a MASSIVE size (and possible weight class) difference between the fighters, and second, ROCKY SAW IVAN KILL APOLLO IN THE RING 30 YEARS AGO UNDER SIMILAR CIRCUMSTANCES. When Adonis and Rocky argue over the facts, it’s Rocky who comes off sounding like the sane one.

Final Thoughts

If this is Stallone’s last bout as Rocky Balboa, then his 40 year run has gracefully come to a close. Personally, I think he’ll end up returning for the inevitable Creed III and, possibly, succumb to his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Adrian Balboa dies off-screen in Rocky Balboa, which was a creative way to give Rocky motivation to return to the ring, but for the franchise’s titular character it will be more memorable for him to die on-screen, especially after 40 years of investment in him. Also, Rocky is more than a character to some, a staple of Americana, after all this role placed Stallone in the Boxing Hall of Fame, and there’s even a real-life bronze statue that millions flock to until this very day.

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Droppin' the review for #Creed2 tomorrow. Stay tuned. Check the 🥊LINK IN THE BIO🥊 #rocky #rockybalboa #creed #drago #ifhedieshedies #michaelbjordan #sylvesterstallone #phillyphilly #moviereview #blog #peliculasandcosas

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Jordan’s chemistry with Stallone and Thompson still feels as organic as it did 3 years ago in the first film. There are moments of heartbreak, rehabilitation and triumph between the three, and they come off as real people at times. We get more Rocky than we do Creed, and this film feels more like Rocky VII than a true Creed sequel because of it. There are moments where our titular character doesn’t get much development because of a B-plot with his trainer. The Dragos story arc would’ve been more impactful if their characters were given more time in the film. Eight films deep and the Rocky universe is still at its best when making the fights realistic, even to the point where the lead actor thinks he can fight a former world champion boxer, and that’s what sets Rocky apart from most sports-dramas. Being a sequel is why the screenplay hinders the movie, because Creed’s motivation for this film doesn’t make much sense after watching his arc unfold in the first film. Overall, the film’s predecessor Creed was a flawless victory, a first-round knockout if you will, but unfortunately, Creed II doesn’t pack as heavy of a punch and ends up feeling more like a judge’s’ decision.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[a si a si]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Creed II was released in theaters November 21, 2018.

Widows |Movie Review|

Director Steve McQueen’s (12 Years a Slave) latest film Widows, based on the television series with the same name, is a heist film that’s filled with social commentary and compelling drama. Star studded is an understatement when referring to the ensemble cast that includes Viola Davis (How to Get Away with Murder), Elizabeth Debicki (The Cloverfield Paradox), Michelle Rodriguez (The Fate of the Furious), Cynthia Erivo (Bad Times at the Grand Royale), Liam Neeson (The Commuter), Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta), Daniel Kaluuya (Black Panther), Colin Farrell (Roman J. Israel, Esq.), Robert Duvall (In Dubious Battle), and Jon Bernthal (The Punisher). Set in Chicago, the movie’s title originates from a group of widows who come together to avenge the deaths of their husbands after a robbery gone wrong. Spoilers after the trailer.

The Good

As expected, the film’s strengths are its cast and its direction, especially the little things that Steve McQueen brought to the table. Early on in the film there’s a scene where there’s a conversation taking place during a car ride from a wealthy area of Chicago to a less fortunate area; and instead of focusing on the characters that are talking McQueen decides to focus on the outside of the vehicle so we can see the city in the background to put everything into perspective. McQueen uses various tight shots during the heist to help build up the suspense when there are close calls. Not having seen the original television series but based on its cast, I think McQueen and fellow screenwriter Gillian Flynn did a nice job at making this movie topical in today’s climate.

Being that it’s set in modern day Chicago the film brings the grit and dirtiness of Chicago politics to the big screen. Jack Mulligan (Colin Farrell) and Jamal Manning (Brian Tyree Henry) hold no punches during their campaigns for alderman. Jamal Manning’s brother Jatemme Manning (Daniel Kaluuya) is calculated, cold-blooded, brutal, sometimes to a cartoonish extent, and ruthless, which accounts for a few jaw-dropping scenes. Jack Mulligan’s father Tom Mulligan (Robert Duvall) is spiteful, racist and is an accurate portrayal of a career politician. Henry Rawlings (Liam Neeson) is a strategic leader who plans every job down to a T. Rawlings who doesn’t have much dialogue in the film, but when he appears he’s always 3 steps ahead of everyone else. Rawlings is the leader of a botched robbery that leaves him and his crew dead. When their getaway car explodes with the 2 million dollars they stole inside it, it makes for an interesting story to say the least.

The performances of the widows were the best part of the film. None of them knew their husbands were out here robbin’ folks. Viola Davis’s portrayal of Veronica Rawlings could see her get an Oscar nomination. Her performance brings out all 5 stages of grief when she learns of her husband’s demise. When the Manning brothers found out that their money was stolen during Henry’s heist, they threatened her to pay it back. Linda Perelli (Michelle Rodriguez) has two small children, and after the death of her husband in a botched robbery she has the most to lose if the heist goes wrong. More on this later. Alice Gunner (Elizabeth Debicki) had an abusive husband who pampered her, but when he dies she’s lost and doesn’t know where her next meal is going to come from. Debicki does well with what she’s given. The widows include Belle (Cynthia Erivo), Perelli’s babysitter, to their crew when they go for the big score later in the film.

The Bad

MAKE IT MAKE SENSE.

The YIKES of this film is the writing. The characters are very thin and the actors can only do as much as they can with what they are given, which is a shame because of the cast. McQueen and Flynn make a visually appealing film, but you gotta leave your brain at the door because there’s a lot of things that do not make any sense. I think the biggest issue is that this film is based on a tv series that went on for 2 seasons and they tried to compact it into a 2 hour movie so there’s not enough time to flush the characters out.

The Rawlings are the main couple in the film. When the robbery crew of husbands died early on in the film, it turns out that Henry faked his death and killed his crew so he could start a new life with the wife of one of his crew members. Drama, right? Jack Mulligan knew that Henry faked his death and later in the film Veronica finds out Henry faked his death. Henry and Jack have a friend at the morgue who they paid off so Henry can get away freely. Veronica finds out about her husband’s fake death when she puts her widows crew together and goes to the home of the only widow who did not join her crew, who also happens to be the widow that Henry got pregnant. At the end of the film, Veronica and her crew pull off their heist as she ends up killing Henry. There’s also a flashback when Henry and Veronica had a teenage son who was murdered by a police officer because the cop thought he was reaching for a weapon (TOPICAL!). The fact that later in the movie we find out that Henry is working with the people who killed his son doesn’t make much sense. The film shows soap opera levels of messy but with slightly better writing.

As we rewind it back, what doesn’t make sense about everything above is that the Manning brothers confront Veronica because her husband stole 2 million dollars from them and they want her to pay it back. Okay, cool, sure. Her husband leaves her plans for his next job, which turns out it’s to steal 5 million from Jack Mulligan and there’s blackmail photos to pair with it, and instead of giving those plans to the Mannings, she decides to assemble her crew to rob the Mulligans. Also, the 5 million dollars they are stealing is money that the Mulligans embezzled from their years of campaigning. Veronica tells her crew to trust each other and how the odds are against them because they are women, ya know, very topical cliches. Her crew needs a driver so that’s when they hire Belle, who might as well be a stranger on the street, no one in the crew knows and she’s only babysitted for Perelli for maybe two nights at most.

Michelle Rodriguez really got the short end of the stick on this one. Her character Linda Perelli has kids, and she makes a statement about how she doesn’t want her kids to know that she wouldn’t do anything if the Manning brothers came after her. It really didn’t have to be that way because she and the other widows could’ve easily told the Mannings what the job was and I’m confident that Jatemme would’ve loved to help. The Mannings hated the Mulligans, so logically it made sense to have them rob or blackmail them instead of the widows crew.

There’s a romantic subplot with Alice Gunner and David, a real estate developer that she met at a casino and enters a transactional relationship with. He’s a nice plot device because he tells the widows’ crew what building that their heist will take place in. His only other role is to tell Alice that she needs him and she doesn’t have any skills that can be used in the real world, ya know, a real confidence crusher. Alice’s only role is to tell people she’s not useless and they shouldn’t doubt her like her ex-husband did. Oh and her mom doubts her too. Not much development for the widow who is paired with a real estate developer, huh. Guess it be like that sometimes.

Final Thoughts

The acting and directing is superb. Watching the movie is good enough where you’ll get caught up in everything that is going on, which is a credit to the film. Viola Davis and Brian Tyree Henry had the best two performances in the film, and I would suggest checking it out for them. I’ve only seen Daniel Kaluuya in Get Out, but after watching this I think he makes a villain that can make a crowd hate him. The film has social commentary so you walk away with something to think about. I think the writing is what plagues this movie but it’s something I would recommend seeing as a rental or maybe paying for it at a matinee.

Fin

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[a si a si]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Concert Review: ¡Mayday! produces a vibe that is unmatched with their South of 5th Tour

¡Mayday! – South of 5th Tour 11.17.18 (ATL)

Location: Atlanta, GA

Venue: The Vinyl @ Center Stage

Label: Strange Music

Performers: ¡Mayday! (featuring 1Ton, D.U.Ivan and Phil Mauro)

On another frigid Atlanta night, ¡Mayday! produced an unmatched vibe when they brought their South of 5th tour to The Vinyl @ Center Stage. South of 5th is the band’s first Reggae album and their first album to debut #1 on any of the Billboard charts. The Miami-based genre-blending band consists of emcees Wrekonize, Bernz and the percussionist NonMS, and they are currently signed to Tech N9ne’s independent powerhouse Strange Music. They  brought opening acts from across the nation with them including Phil Mauro (Denver, CO.), D.U.Ivan (Miami, FL) and 1Ton of Potluck (Humboldt County, CA).

Opening Acts

Phil Mauro

 

The Denver-based emcee started the show with a set that had the crowd rockin’. His music is a blend of rock, pop and hip-hop, and it pairs well with the rest of his tourmates. He has collaborated with ¡Mayday! in the past on his Toxic Space EP. You can check out more of  Phil Mauro’s music here.

D.U.Ivan

D.U.Ivan, which stands for Don’t Underestimate Ivan, is a Miami-based emcee who has collaborated frequently with ¡Mayday! collaborators, Miami Beat Wave, and he brings a unique style of his own. D.U.Ivan produces most of his own music, and his set was filled with energy from the time he stepped onto the stage. Check the video below.

 

1Ton

The West Coast veteran emcee of Potluck fame was the last onstage before the headliners. The OG Stoner’s set brought a vibe close to traditional hip-hop. 1Ton kept it real with the crowd and had the quote of the night about him not coming to perform for the crowd, instead he came to party with the crowd. Even with all the partying and touring he mentioned how he’s a father first and rapper second and would not miss his daughters’ birthdays no matter where in the world his music takes him, real shit.

 

The Main Event

¡Mayday!

¡Mayday!, who are 6 albums deep into their Strange Music discography since joining the label in 2011, has created their own lane by making timeless genre-blending music. One of those albums is a collaboration with the underground legendary West Coast emcee MURS as ¡MURSday!, and the other 5 albums from the group are different from the last. The latest album South of 5th is their first venture into Reggae and during this tour they’ve adapted that sound to select songs in their back catalog while performing on stage.

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⚠️LINK IN BIO⚠️ Concert review for Mayday's #southof5th tour. Feat: @maydaymusic [@mrbernz @wrekonize @305noms], @duivan, @philmauromusic and @potluck1ton #SouthOf5thTour #newblessings #Mayday #StrangeMusic #reggae #hiphop #Miami #blog #concert #tour #peliculasandcosas

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NonMS’ started the show with a literal bang by playing different types of percussion before Bernz and Wrek joined him, and the trio started their set performing “Run Up” off their South of 5th album. They transitioned that into “Fuel to the Fire,” which has a Miami sound, and they made the transition effortlessly to “Badlands,” which is a song from their first album,  2012’s Take Me to Your Leader, but this time NonMs plays the bongo drums and the beat sounds more island infused than rock like the original version. Wrek’s rapid flow is still the same on the new beat, which makes this a fresh spin on a classic song by the group. They continued this trend for songs like “Believers,” “Shots Fired,” and “Stun Gun Stick Up,” which was an innovative way to incorporate old tracks with their new sound.

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🎶LINK IN BIO🎶 ¡Mayday! #SouthOf5thTour concert review #livemusic #rap #HipHop #regga #strangemusic #southof5th #blog #centerstage #thevinyl #atlanta #music #wrekonize #Mayday #music #reviews #peliculasandcosas

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Next, we found “Shelter,” until it was “Next to Go,” and these two songs perfectly transitioned live, just as well, as they do on their album. After performing a couple more songs from their back catalog, Wrekonze spit a freestyle straight off the dome for the fans in attendance. It was only fitting that a completely original freestyle was followed by “Forever New,” which led to “Unplug.” As the band took a moment to unplug, we were treated to an interlude of NonMS showing off his dance skills while Bernz and Wrek were drumming and DJing, respectively.

The group got back into their “Zones,” and went with the West Coast vibe and performed the second track off their 2014 MURSday LP.   Since their discography is deep they even had room for a couple of their solo tunes. Each emcee performed a track from their debut Strange Music solo albums with Wrek’s “Can’t Be Alone” which showcases his rapid flow and Bernz’ “It Don’t Go,” which shows his ability to create catchy tunes.

Things started to slow down after they performed “Roaches,”  Bernz did another solo track with “Smoke N Fuck,” and they decided to close things out with “Space Cadet” and “Antenna,” two tracks from 2015’s Future Vintage LP.  The fans in attendance started chanting “Mayday” wanting the band to return and their fans got what they wanted. First Bernz came out and performed his verse on “Shortcuts and Dead Ends,” the last cut from their 2013 album Believers. After Bernz finished the hook there was some dramatic build for Wrekonize to return and lay his verse on the track. The track is one of the group’s most personal, each emcee starts his verse with “where do I start,”they rap about the trials and tribulations they’ve been through in their careers, and their verses end with the same impactful line from both emcees, “when it’s all said and done we ain’t here that long, better get your feet wet!”

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🎶LINK IN BIO🎶 ¡Mayday! #SouthOf5thTour concert review #livemusic #rap #HipHop #regga #strangemusic #southof5th #blog #centerstage #thevinyl #atlanta #music #wrekonize #Mayday #music #reviews #peliculasandcosas

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Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[a si a si]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

South of 5th is in stores and online everywhere.

 

Can You Ever Forgive Me? |Movie Review|

“You pissed in a closet,” an actual quote from a film I just watched about the life of an author turned letter forger and it was… incredible. The biopic Can You Ever Forgive Me? starring Melissa McCarthy (The Happytime Murders) and Richard E. Grant (Logan) is based on the Lee Israel memoir of the same name. Fox Searchlight distributed the film directed by Marrielle Heller (The Diary of a Teenage Girl) and it’s only her second feature film with her last outing being nearly 3 years ago.

From the jump the movie details that Lee Israel (McCarthy) was not liked by a single person and her cat is her only friend in the world. The theme of the movie is that she brings an incredible amount of bad juju to herself. Not only is she mean-spirited, but Lee Israel, a once prominent writer of biographies, is living in squalor in a repulsive apartment. You can see the filth as soon as you step in the door, under her bed it’s nauseating, and before she starts committing her crimes the film establishes that we know what rock bottom looks like. Poverty isn’t even strong enough of a word to describe it.

She’s too poor to get medicine for her sick cat and desperate times make the most desperately desperate Lee. When she starts committing her crimes and obtains some money to catch up on rent and pays for her sick cat’s medical cost from the animal hospital, she’s still a miserable person. She treats her agent, who seems to be the only person that actually cares about her, like a piece of excrement that was found under Lee’s bed earlier in the film. She’s managed to befriend Jack Hock (Richard E. Grant) but their relationship sprouts from the fact that they’re both lonely, they have no other friends or family, and they decided to compete to see which one can be the most toxic.

McCarthy and Grant’s chemistry with each other is addicting to watch. Their back and forth banter feels organic, and whenever they’re on screen with each other it’s amusing, charming and never feels forced. Grant has more of a dry humor, and McCarthy’s usual shtick is nowhere to be seen, and it greatly benefits the film. Both should have Oscar nominations next year from dynamic performances. When things get serious and Israel is about to get caught because the feds are watching, the visual aspects of the film make everything feel more tense. Director Marielle Heller brings doom and gloom to our main characters just by the close shot and background setting of the bar they frequently visit located in New York. Israel and Hock had an argument because they were getting sloppy with their crimes and they were trying to reconcile at the bar. While they’re reconciling there’s bright lighting and it’s beaming in the room which is symbolic because it seems that things are going to get better for the pair (optimism!); however, right before doing their final job, the room has darkened and there’s shadows amongst their faces. The shadows build up the despair, soon after, the pair are arrested and there are subtle visual cues that are hinted at throughout the film.

Heller’s visual storytelling and direction should get her a nomination during Oscar season. The tension that is built up gives the film an authentic sense of suspense that is usually seen in a heist film. Watching this brought excitement for her work on the upcooming 2019 biopic on Mr. Rogers, starring Tom Hanks. McCarthy’s depth as an actress should not be understated, and I hope she does more dramas in the future because it was a welcome change for her career. A biopic about an author turned literary letter-forger doesn’t sound as glamorous as the life of a rockstar, or as breathtaking as the life of the first man on the moon, but Heller, McCarthy and Grant turned it into one of this year’s most interesting stories to forge its way onto the silver screen.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[a si a si]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Can You Ever Forgive Me is currently in theaters.

Concert Review: Tobe Nwigwe Brings The Heat Rock With First Sold Out Show In Atlanta

 

Tobe from the SWAT 11.15.18 (ATL)

Location: Atlanta, GA

Venue: The Loft @ Center Stage

Label: ETA Records (Independent)

Performers: Tobe Nwigwe (with Fat) (featuring DJ Big Reeks [Waxaholics], Tim Woods, and Luke Whitney.)

On a cold November night, Tobe Nwigwe brought the heat rock with his first sold-out show in Atlanta. The 650 capacity venue was not only sold out, but was filled with a diverse audience showing support for the rapper’s first tour as a headliner. The House-based artist did not come along, he brought a few collaborators with him to the Peach State, including his wife Fat, the singers David Michael Watts and Luke Whitney, rapper Tim Woods and DJ Big Reeks. There was one familiar face missing, and that was Tobe’s longtime producer Nell, who was not able to attend the tour due to her recent pregnancy. She was not forgotten because Tobe took the time out of the show, so the audience could send her a video of everyone saying “We miss you, Nell,” in unison… and the audience gave her a clever suggestion on a name for her future first-born.

Opening Acts

DJ Big Reeks

The show started off with DJ Big Reeks of the Waxaholics getting the crowd hyped up with a vibrant set of tunes that ranged from UGK, Jeezy, Dipset, Erykah Badu, to Igbo and Yoruba. The Waxaholics moniker comes from the fact that he prefers to use all vinyl when DJing instead of using laptops like most DJs today. You can catch Reeks weekly on All Real Radio for “Wax Wednesdays,” every Wednesday from 9pm to 11pm.

Tim Woods

The House-based artist had a 10 minute set but he made the most of it. His performance was lively and he showed that he takes his craft seriously with different rhyme schemes in each song in his set. Woods’ lyrics are dense enough that after the first listen, you’ll go back and find some hidden gems. “Caribou” was the last song she performed, and it’s a catchy tune that I only wish was longer.

For fans in attendance who were not familiar with his music, Woods did explain why his songs were short, which made perfect sense. Woods has an ongoing series called #MulchMondays where he’s released a new song accompanied by a music video, every Monday in 2018. You can keep up with the series by following @TheRealTimWoods on all Socials.

 

Luke Whitney (aka Lhitney)

Hailing from Beaumont, Texas, Lhtiney is an aspiring Pop artist, and he brought a different vibe before the main event. Luke brought out the guitar and the ladies loved him for it. One of his newest tracks he wrote about 2 months ago was a hit amongst those in attendance. The song is about a recent breakup and you can feel the emotions in every chord with each pluck of his guitar. Check out this talented singer here, and he had a dynamic performance that got the crowd hyped before the headliner hit the stage.

 

The Main Event

“Young Tobe, why you rappin’ so hard?”

Tobe Nwigwe + The Originals

The Southwest Alief, Texas, more commonly known as the SWAT, emcee started his set with”What It’s For,” the intro song, from his “From the SWAT” EP, which erupted the crowd to sing along to every word. The track’s beat switch sounded even more aggressive live that the footage doesn’t do it justice.

 

After a couple of tracks that got the crowd rowdy, the Screwston native slowed things down with a couple of songs dedicated to his wife, Fat. The pair have chemistry when it comes to making tracks together, as if they were Ike & Tina, but minus all the domestic violence.

 

After reality set in, we picked things back up with “100k,” a song Tobe created once he reached the milestone of 100,000 followers on social media. The song is produced by Nell and features Lhitney and Fat, but when Fat came back out to perform her verse on the song, The Loft nearly turned into the Rooftop Patio by the way the crowd exploded.

 

Before performing “Ewu,” a track about being the “GOAT,” Nwigwe brought out a special guest, his father. The inspiration from the track comes from his Nigerian heritage, as he has stated in the past, when he first became a rapper his parents were not impressed in disbelief because they were expecting a different career path for their son. Tobe said something in Igbo and he wanted his father to translate it which was a funny moment for the crowd. This had to be a big moment between the two since the Ewu had the chance to take his pops on this journey that he’s been working diligently on since ending his football career at the University of North Texas.

2018 has been a big year for Nwigwe, and this tour was a great way to cap things off. Being that this was his first tour there is some room to improve when it comes to making the show more fluid. There was a minor hiccup when Tobe was introduced that caused a slight delay and the audio had some feedback early on. Those are things that’ll get better with time, and there’s no doubt with Nwigwe’s work ethic that he and his team will iron out any flaws.

 

The dedication and persistent work of his team, from producing a new song paired with an accompanying music video weekly since he started his #GetTwistedSundays series nearly two years ago, has taken him from getting his hair twisted by Fat on his couch in the SWAT (So Far Gone Challenge) to his first headlining tour in LA, ATL, DC and NY. His freestyle on Sway gave him nationwide exposure, and when he reached 100k he went from EBT to BET and to top it all off he was recognized as being dope by the legends Dave Chappelle and Erykah Badu and soon the rest of the world will take notice.

 

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[a si a si]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Nobody’s Fool (2018) |Movie Review|

🛑 #StopMadea 🛑

They said go see it and write about it for your blog.... so I did.

Today, I experienced my first and most likely last Tyler Perry movie on the silver screen. Nobody’s Fool is the 22nd entry in Tyler Perry’s filmography and the 12th one without his cross-dressing alter-ego. Perry is the film’s writer, director and producer, and this is his first venture into R-rated comedy. The film’s cast consists of one of the most popular comedians of today Tiffany Haddish (The Oath), Tika Sumpter (The Haves and the Have Nots), Omari Hardwick (Power), Whoopi Goldberg (The View) and Amber Riley (Glee).

 

There’s a lot to say about this one, so here’s a breakdown…

The Good

On paper, the characters are presented with some sense of realism, at least early on in the first act. Danica (Sumpter) works for a marketing company and the movie makes it a point of telling the viewer that she is leagues smarter than her older sister Tanya (Haddish) who has been in and out of jail.  Their mother, Lola (Goldberg) does not want anything to do with Tanya after she has been released from jail and forces Tanya to stay with Danica. There’s even some code-switching when Danica is at meetings with other executives at her job.  Her best friend Kalli (Riley) is also a member of her team at work and they’re the only two black people on their marketing team (salute to black women!). Frank (Hardwick) owns a coffee shop that Danica frequents daily before work and gives her a rose and free cup every morning even though she is dating a man named Charles (Mehcad Brooks). Frank was also a convicted felon in his past who turned his life around and is now on the straight and narrow.

Production wise, the film is visually more appealing than Perry’s previous outing. Mr. Madea used the money he’s made in his career to buy quality cameras and it makes all the difference in the world. Haddish has a few funny scenes and jokes that establish her as the star of the film. Goldberg does the most with what she is given, and I wish she had more scenes in the film. There’s even a cameo by a big name comedian that I don’t want to spoil that started out funny but it went on for way too long. Hardwick and Sumpter like Goldberg do the most with what they are given.

The Bad

There’s a bucketload of problems in this movie, but none of them are as atrocious as the film’s writing because it plagues the movie from the storytelling to the dialogue. As I stated earlier, the film makes it a point to let us know that Danica is intelligent, but somehow she falls in love with Charlie online. Charlie is a man she has never met in person, nor video chatted with and every time they’re going to Skype he finds an excuse on why he cannot. She sees Frank every morning and denies his advances because she’s in love with Charlie, which is fine, and that’s understandable.

When Tanya gets out of jail she calls MTV and gets her sister on an episode of Catfish. We’re still in the first act, and this movie just turns into a 20 minute episode of Catfish with Nev and Max discovering that Charlie is not who Danica thinks he is. Haddish makes a joke about wanting to have babies with Nev and Max at least 10 times in that 20 minute span. They trace Charlie’s number back to a guy named Lawrence (played by a surprise cameo). The confrontation between Haddish and the cameo starts out funny, but it goes on for too long. She and the cameo just keep talking louder and louder to get their jokes over with the audience. The big punchline at the end of the scene could’ve come sooner and it would’ve had a bigger impact on the film. Danica is heartbroken and gives Frank a shot and falls in love with him.  This is where the movie could’ve ended and we all could’ve went home and this movie would have been mediocre…🗣BUT NAH WE CAN’T HAVE THAT.

Perry decides the movie needs more drama so the next scene is set 3 months later and the real Charlie appears to shake everything up. When Danica falls in love with Charlie, she shuns Frank aka the man she’s been in love with for 3 months now, it really doesn’t make any sense. Then Frank gets his heartbroken after he overhears Danica tell Charlie that Frank is noone to her. Then Perry turns the darkskin Charlie into a complete clown for some reason. In between all these scenes is just Tiffany Haddish being LOUD and YELLING all of her lines. Some are funny but again there’s a lot more misses than hits. If she was given better dialogue or if a few of her jokes throughout the movie were left on the cutting room floor then it would’ve helped the comedy aspect in the film.

This movie had the working title of “The List” which came from a list of qualities that Sumpter’s Danica was looking for in a potential lover. She didn’t want to date a man who had been arrested like Hardwick’s Frank.  Through the whole movie she treats Frank as if he is less than human and it only gets worse after she finds out he’s done 7 years in jail. Then when they finally start to make it work she ditches him for Charlie who, again, she had never met in person. Even at her marketing job she uses the kind words told to her by Frank for a slogan for a perfume brand her agency is working for. Throughout the movie she is shown to be a terrible person and does not get any kind of comeuppance because everything bad that happens to her is undercutted by something good. Even after being catfished her sister is the one that confronts the catfisher on her behalf. Frank looks like a chump because he keeps going back to her even after Tanya calls him out for it and tells him to stop being a pushover. Frank being a former felon  and a recovering addict, the movie presents him as a character for us to have sympathy for, but it’s hard to because he keeps going back to her which, I guess, that’s his form of a relapse.

Final Thoughts

This is Perry’s 19th (NINETEENTH!) directed movie, and the trailer gives off the impression of a somewhat competent Rom-Com so shout-out to the editors. Haddish’s brand of  comedy is better suited when the director actually gives her direction instead of just letting her roam freely for almost 2 hours (110 minutes!). The few scenes with Whoopi Goldberg are genuinely funny, but they probably total up to at most 10 minutes. Tika Sumpter’s character has no redeemable qualities, which in turn makes Omari Hardwick’s character look like a sucker. Amber Riley’s character is just used to give exposition, it’s awful, she might as well be the narrator.  Even the surprise cameo just felt like he was there to get a check. Sharper directing and tighter writing would shave off at least 20 minutes of this film and would’ve made it more enjoyable. Surprised Perry didn’t just shove Madea in the film… because why not? Lastly, if you’ve seen one Tyler Perry movie then you’ve seen them all; however, he is nobody’s fool because these movies always end up in the black.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[a si a si]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

Nobody’s Fool was released in theaters November 2, 2018.

Overlord |Movie Review|

This Veterans Day weekend we have Paramount Pictures’ newest outing Overlord. From the creator of Cloverfield, the J.J. Abrams production is directed by Julius Avery (Son of a Gun) with the story by Billy Ray (Secret in Their Eyes) and blends elements of the war and horror genre. The film stars Jovan Adepo (Fences), Wyatt Russell (Everybody Wants Some!!), Mathilde Ollivier (The Misfortunes of Fracois Jane), and Pilou Asbæk (Game of Thrones).  Warning! There are spoilers after the trailer.

 

Set on the eve of D-Day the film does a solid job of portraying action and the fear that war brings. Private Boyce (Adepo) is a paratrooper and man, he’s scared from the jump. His squad has some complications before they even jump out of the plane and you can see the fear written all over his face. He has only been in the military for 3 months and he feels like how a real person would be in his situation. Kudos to him because everyone else in his squad is just a caricature or a movie trope. Their sargent is loud and yells at everyone, there’s a private who just wants to go back home, one that belittles our main character and constantly tells him he isn’t a “real soldier,” and there’s one that is just there to not be like everyone else. The trope with the biggest role is Corporal Ford (Russell), he is the cool, calm, collected-badass that doesn’t let any shit phase him. The plane they’re in is (literally!) being shot down, and he could not give a single fuck. If you like tropes then this movie hits you with all the aforementioned ones within the first 8 minutes.

The sound-mixing and filming as the plane comes crashing down is impressive. There’s panic and mayhem going on, and Avery does a spectacular job of capturing it. Adepo conveys confusion when he gets separated from his squad. He links back up with Ford, who again isn’t phased by being shot down from 30,000 feet in the sky. Eventually, they found a couple members of their squad and ended up at the home of Chloe (Ollivier). Chloe is scavenging in the woods to bring back home when she meets the paratroopers. She’s pretty badass herself, knows how to handle herself and is far from being a damsel in distress.

When things start to settle and we get introduced to the Nazis who are portrayed as the scummiest people on the planet (which they are) like in any typical war movie. Nazi Captain Wafner (Asbæk) might as well be the pure embodiment of evil. Asbæk does a marvelous job coming across as monstrous and diabolical. When Wafner tries to rape Chloe, the paratroopers come out of hiding and tie him to the beams in the attic, then try to interrogate him so they can get intel to complete their mission. Nothing memorable happens during the interrogation, but after we are treated to another trope. They send a private that is just there to not be like everyone else up to the attic and, what do you know, Wafner gets the one up on him and ends up shooting him. Logically, it makes more sense for Ford to be the one to untie Wafner since he was the one interrogating him. But I’m going to come back to this because we have to talk about the horror.

Being that this movie is set during World War II there has to be a crazy evil Nazi scientist. I’m not even mad at this trope because the film actually used its budget well when it came to showing horrific experiments conducted by its leading evil Nazi scientist. Boyce goes to the Nazi laboratory and sees all kinds of atrocious, heinous and horrendous shit. The dark lighting used in the laboratory added to the evil aesthetic. There’s a lady who is talking but her head isn’t connected to her body.  Captured soldiers screaming in agony from being experimented with. He finds one of his fellow paratroopers strapped to a table with a pipe stuck into him as if he is being prep to be operated on. The Nazis created a drug that brought the dead back to life via a simple injection. Not only do they come back to life but it makes them stronger and faster than a normal man. Boyce and his squadmate witness the evil scientist use the concoction on a soldier; however, the soldier’s body can’t take his new power and he ends up spazzing out and dying. Upon their escape  they ended up taking a couple of syringes filled with the drug back to Chloe’s house.

Back to when Wafner shot Private “just there to not be like everyone else.” The private dies, but Boyce uses the Nazi’s drug to bring him back to life. Everything seems fine at first, but the private starts attacking everyone in the room. There are a couple of cool effects used to show he has power, but Boyce ends up killing him before he kills them. During the commotion, GUESS WHO MAKES HIS ESCAPE??? … if you guessed Wafner then you would be correct. Wafner ends up getting shot in his face for all his trouble. After witnessing the power of that Nazi super-soldier serum, Wafner returns to the lab and injects it on himself. Now he’s gone full Snap! (that works on two levels because they’re both German). Once he gets his enhanced abilities he becomes extremely cliche and this is where the movie starts to fall apart. The final act wasn’t memorable. The fight scene at the end was just a run of the mill, and the big showdown between Wafner and Ford was everything you expected.

Overall, this was a B-movie, per se, which there isn’t anything wrong with that because B-movies can be fun. Salute to Russell, Adepo, Asbæk and Ollivier held their own for what they were given. The cliches made Tropelord too predictable, but the acting makes up for some of the weaker story points and numerous plot devices. The action is well done when it comes to the war aspects, but the fault lies in its horror and its writing. Clocking in at 110 minutes the movie does a fine job at not feeling like it’s going on for too long. For me, this one wasn’t worth seeing on the big screen.  There’s talk of a sequel and if they learn from the first then I think it’ll be an enjoyable experience.

Fin.

 

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[a si a si]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

 

Overlord was released in theaters November 9, 2018.

POKÉMON: Detective Pikachu |Trailer Thoughts|

Today the trailer for the upcoming movie POKÉMON: Detective Pikachu was released. The movie is based on the game of the same title and is the first film based on the pocket monster franchise to get a theatrical run since 2001’s animated Pokemon 3: The Movie. Starring Justice Smith and Ryan Reynolds as the voice of Detective Pikachu, it is also the first live-action/CGI-hybrid film of the series.

 

Never thought I would see a live-action Pokemon movie, but here we are. I’m not sure how I feel about the trailer yet. Ryan Reynolds lends his voice as the yellow-electric mouse but I cannot not hear Deadpool. Visually, the opening shot looks like they put a lot of detail into the background. The Charmander that walks by 6 seconds into the trailer looks like it fits in the world that was built, so that is a good sign. Only a second later the Jigglypuff, Gangar, Psyduck looks like a parade float, mascot, and a muppet, respectively. With that being said, Psyduck looks the most natural in the movie. Furry Detective Pikachu is giving me Happytime Murders vibes because of his texture and his juxtaposition to a dark background with a real-life actor in the same scene. Reynolds and Smith’s interactions with each other seem authentic and natural enough to distract from how uncanny and bizarre the franchise’s mascot looks. The Bulbasaur, Charizard and Mr. Mime are shown by themselves looking normal, but at 2:16 when the Charizard is paired with the Pikachu, it looks goofy.  Overall, this trailer is like an alternating current because even with its positives and negatives (electricity joke!) it does a good enough job at selling me the intrigue of this film. The editors that put the trailer together deserve a pat on the back because audiences may be in for a surprise when they get peek-at-you next summer. Pokemon jokes gotta love them all.

Fin.

POKÉMON Detective Pikachu is currently scheduled to be released May 10, 2019.

Bohemian Rhapsody |Movie Review|

After being caught in development hell a landslide and finally escaping into reality, the long-awaited biopic of the British rock band Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody, has arrived in theaters. The film is a British-American joint venture with production companies such as 20th Century Fox (also distributor), GK Films, New Regency, Queen Films and it is directed by the controversial Bryan Singer. Executive producers include the original director Graham King and the band’s longtime manager, Jim “Miami” Beach, with a screenplay written by Anthony McCarten.  The film stars Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joe Mazzello and focuses on the band’s lineup of guitarist Brian May (Lee), drummer Roger Taylor (Hardy), bassist John Deacon (Mazzello) and the main focal point lead vocalist Freddie Mercury (Malek).

Full Disclosure: Going into the film the only knowledge I had of Queen was that Freddie Mercury died from AIDS, “We Are the Champions,” “We Will Rock You,” and that they were British, which isn’t much knowledge at all. I didn’t even know that Vanilla Ice did not but did sampled “Under Pressure” for “Ice Ice Baby,” so leaving the film was an informative experience for me. Lastly, as someone who didn’t know much about Queen going into the film, this review won’t hold historical inaccuracies against it.

With all that being said,  I have to comment on something that stuck out (literally!), Freddie Mercury had a big set of teeth and this film emphasizes that from the jump.  Below is a picture of the actual Freddie Mercury and one of Malek:

As a still image they look accurate, but early on in the film it looked like Malek had a hard time talking with the prosthetic used and he was fighting them from falling out. As the film progresses, he becomes more comfortable with them and they adequately settle in place.  The casting choices were precise throughout the film, from the love of Mercury’s life Mary Austin (Boynton) to the rest of the band, no one looked out of place.

 

Malek does a phenomenal job as Mercury and should be an Oscar contender for lead actor in February. He doesn’t disappoint when bringing the flamboyance of Freddie to the big screen. Mercury’s personality screams rock star in four octaves, and Malek brings the charisma of the late rock star during his performance. When Mercury goes solo, Malek’s performance brings out the sense of lostness that Freddie was going through.

There are moments where aspects of the story are conveniently placed and come across as Hollywood cliche, specifically at the beginning of the film and the lead up to the Live Aid performance during the last act, so finding out they weren’t historically accurate wasn’t too surprising. Clocking in at 2 hours and 13 minutes the movie moves at a smooth pace and it never feels like a slog to sit through. What Bohemian Rhapsody gets right is that it knows its subject, and it makes you care about the main characters, which makes for a more enjoyable theatrical experience compared to other biographical films that bite the dust.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[a si a si]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

 

Bohemian Rhapsody was released in theaters November 2, 2018.

mid90s |Movie Review|

As a child of the 90s, the nostalgic feeling of the trailer for mid90s resonated with me a lot. The A24 produced throwback film is the directorial debut, written by Jonah Hill. The film is a coming-of-age drama with a number of fresh faces. Casting includes actors such as Sunny Suljic (Killing of a Sacred Deer), Lucas Hedges (Lady Bird), Katherine Waterston (Fantastic Beast) and skateboarders Na-Kel Smith, Ryder McLaughlin, Olan Prenatt, and Gio Galicia.

Outside of the retro setting and the 90s clothing, the film’s 4:3 aspect ratio was a perfect choice that adds to the nostalgic viewing experience. Watching the film, its aesthetic made me yearn for the days of VHS before everything was HD or 4K and perfectly fitted to the screen. Something so small adds to the film’s authenticity. The soundtrack of the film was composed of 1990s music and the score fits the tone perfectly. Hill uses a lot of close shots and reaction shots to get a wide range of emotions from the characters’ faces.

Warning: Light Spoilers Below

Stevie (Suljic) is an undersized 13 year-old who doesn’t have any friends and is continuously bullied by his older brother Ian (Hedges). His single-mother (Waterston) is always busy with work and rarely gets the time to connect with her sons. Lonely Stevie finds a surrogate family after befriending a crew of skaters. Ray (Smith) is the leader of the crew and uses skateboarding as a way out of the hood. Fuckshit (Prenatt) is a loud-mouthed talented skater and Ray’s best friend. Fourth Grade (McLaughlin) is quiet, awkward and always videotaping his friends as they skate and do tricks. Reuben (Galicia) is the youngest in the crew before Stevie joins. Reuben initiates Stevie, the runt of the litter, by making him do all the tasks like fetch water for everyone else. Later in the film there is a status change between the two after Stevie attempts a trick and the crew nicknames him “Sunburn.”  Reuben tries to boss Sunburn around after, but to his chagrin the rest of the crew tells him to stfu, and they all have Sunburn’s back.  Also, Reuben is jealous because he has no nickname.

The origin of Fuckshit’s name is simple, when he sees something cool he says “fuck… shit” and like they say the rest is history. Prenatt’s devoted performance is an impactful debut for an actor. There’s a scene between him and a security guard (Jerrod Carmichael) and it’s hilarious. Their back and forth banter felt authentic and genuine. Fuckshit takes Sunburn under his wing and treats him like a little brother. There is even a scene where Fuckshit is about to fight Sunburn’s real brother Ian. Unlike Ray, who wants to leave the hood, Fuckshit is losing focus and making it hard for himself to leave. All Fuckshit wants to do is drink, party and have fun and he stops skating seriously.

Ray is the oldest in the crew and he is a talented skateboarder that could go pro one day. He takes Sunburn under his wing, but he’s a lot more logical and responsible than Fuckshit. Ray tells Sunburn the story of how his little brother died and how Fuckshit had to drag him out of the house to skate. This gives us the depth of his relationship with Fuckshit and how they always have each other back. He lets Sunburn know that Reuben has a messed up life at home. Reuben’s mom is always drinking and beating him and his sister, which is why Reuben is always out skating with the crew. Ray’s quote from the trailer: “A lot of times we think our lives are the worst, but I think if you look into anyone else’s closet you wouldn’t trade your shit for their shit,” is just a little nugget of the wisdom he gives off throughout the film. He even knows that Fourth Grade (McLaughlin) has it rough at home too since his dad is a drunk. Smith’s performance is also his debut on the big screen, and he knocks it out of the park. He comes off as relatable, and he never feels like he’s over-acting.  When Sunburn’s mom goes to the skate shop to ban her son from hanging out with the crew, Ray is the only one who addresses her as ma’am and tries to reason with her. When the film has its darkest moments, he’s the first one she acknowledges being there for her son.

One of the smartest things Jonah did when making this film was casting skaters whose personalities would translate well to the screen versus casting actors and teaching them how to skate. All the skaters come off as faithful and honest without feeling Hollywood or overproduced. Even Lucas Hedges did a serviceable job as a malicious bully. There is a cringe-worthy moment that is hard to watch between Estee (Alexa Demie) and Sunburn just because of their age differences. Jonah’s dialogue is full of humor and it gives each character life. When the film has to transition to drama and things get serious there are powerful moments especially towards the end of the film. In only 84 minutes I think the film could’ve been a little bit longer than the climax. Hill does such a superb job building it up, but he could’ve gotten a little more out of the resolution. Overall, the mid-90s, like they say what a time to be alive and mid90s was a live movie worth seeing.

Fin.

 

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[a si a si]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

 

mid90s is in theaters everywhere October 26th.

The Oath |Movie Review|

Fake news, alternative facts, government mandates, lying leaders, isn’t just America in 2018, but it’s also a country that is ever so divided in a dystopian future in The Oath.  Starring, written and directed by Ike Barinholtz (MADtv, Blockers) the film is a dark comedy that explores the drama when a family with opposing political views has to live under one roof during the week of Thanksgiving.

 

Like a Thanksgiving dinner, Barinholtz’s film gives us a lot to digest in this one. The film’s website’s synopsis:

A controversial White House policy turns family member against family member in THE OATH, a savagely funny dark comedy about surviving life and Thanksgiving in the age of political tribalism. When Chris (Ike Barinholtz), a high-strung 24-hour progressive news junkie, and his more levelheaded wife Kai (Tiffany Haddish) learn that citizens are being asked to sign a loyalty oath to the President, their reaction is disbelief, followed by idealistic refusal. But as the Thanksgiving deadline to sign approaches, the combination of sparring relatives, Chris’s own agitation and the unexpected arrival of two government agents (John Cho and Billy Magnussen) sends an already tense holiday dinner gathering completely off the rails. As timely as it is outrageous, THE OATH is a gleefully wicked reinvention of the traditional holiday comedy for our divisive political times.

This is Barinholtz’s directorial debut, so he has some room to grow as a filmmaker. Writing the leads as an interracial couple and not making any awkward or cliche jokes out of it was an admirable choice for him. The first act of the movie is the slowest part of the film and it takes  some time for it to find its footing. The pacing could’ve been better, and some of the humor between Barinholtz and Haddish isn’t funny early on. Both do a great job of their deliveries, but the dialogue isn’t great. Barinholtz brings his traits of being expressive, and Haddish brings her bluntness, which makes their characters dynamic. The movie has a weird filter over it, which I can only assume was to give it a classic feel. Stylistically, there are huge bold black block letters that appear on the screen to separate each day from the film that comes off out of place. The huge letters and whatever filter was used were not an ideal pairing and looked amateurish. The dialogue between Chris and Kia gets better around the second act, once the rest of the family joins them for the holiday. Their interactions with the rest of the family is what helps the film find itself.

Chris, who is extremely liberal and anti-Oath, bashes the rest of his family for signing the Oath. There’s a running joke between him and his brother Pat’s (Jon Barinholtz) new girlfriend Abbie (Meredith Hagner),  and it’s hilarious and never gets tiring. When the family goes out for dinner on the eve of the holiday, there’s an argument at a table in the distance, and seeing the way the background and minor characters are having conflict over the Oath makes the established universe easier to submerge into. The movie sets up a universe where people are tense and stressed out just patiently waiting for a reason to go-off on someone. Once the government agents Mason and Peter (Billy Magnussen and John Cho) arrive into the fold, that’s when things pick all the way up. Mason and Chris are at odds, and the banter between the two is the highlight of the film.

This holiday season, I would recommend watching this one with your family. This movie had someone that everyone could identify with and it also hits close to home. Films such as The Oath and The Purge are interesting films because they seem so far out of the realm of possibility, but like the drama at a family dinner in 2018 America they don’t seem that bizarre.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[a si a si]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

 

The Oath is currently in select theaters in the United States.

Halloween (2018) |Movie Review|

40 years later, we finally have a Halloween film that carries the spirit of the original .  At the helm is the leader in 21st century horror films, Blumhouse Productions, which has teamed up with Miramax to produce a slasher film that pays homage, yet has enough modern flair to keep things fresh. Familiar names like the executive producer and creator John Carpenter, and the ‘Original Scream Queen’  Jamie Lee Curtis make their long-awaited return to the franchise. The director and co-writer David Gordon Green teams up once again with a frequent collaborator and co-writer Danny McBride (Pineapple Express, Your Highness, Eastbound & Down) to bring freshness to a franchise that’s old enough to retire from the military. Curtis returns to her role as Laurie Strode to finally put an end to Michael Myers on this All Hallows’ Eve. Halloween is a direct sequel to the 1978 film of the same name, and on top of that this version ignores the multiple sequels that have taken place within the last 40 years.

Being that this is a direct sequel to the first film, the movie is self-aware and does a full dismissal of the other 9 (NINE NUEVE!!!!) films. One of the characters mentions how Laurie and Michael are siblings and another character says that’s something people made up. John Carpenter has been vocal in the past about how his biggest regret was making the two siblings, retconning that, gave the franchise a new spin. The greatest strength of the film is its self-awareness, which gives it a good balance of humor paired with its chilling horror.  There’s a scene with a child named Julian (Jibrail Nantambu) who says everything the audience is thinking about and it’s hilarious. Give that kid all the Oscars! John Carpenter created a score that worked perfectly throughout the film. The iconic theme is back, and the sinister sound of the keys adds a true haunting element. As a slasher flick, it does not overly rely on jump scares, and the filmmakers did a brilliant job with the framing of scenes. There are scenes of Michael standing in the background that bring more fear than a random jump scare could ever do. Death counts aren’t excessively high, but they are violent and gruesome. Even the deaths that take place off-screen are gruesome when we see the carnage bestowed upon Michael’s victims.  Let’s just say the movie earns its R rating (keep the kids at home).

With Michael being committed to a mental hospital for 40 years,  Laurie has been living with PTSD since the events of the first film and it has turned her into a full-blown psycho. She’s estranged from her family and paranoid, yet waiting for the day Michael gets out. Curtis’s performance is exceptional, and she brings a lot of depth to Laurie even when the dialogue isn’t there for her. Her facial expressions, body language and the glares she gives makes her a badass grandma. Laurie’s not running away from Michael, she’s done screaming, there is no trick or treat, this time it’s do or die. Laurie’s daughter and granddaughter have lived a mostly normal life, which adds conflict with their relationship with the matriarch of the Strode family. The Dr. Loomis-esque character of the film does an analysis on how Michael versus Laurie is predator versus prey, but since they both have had four decades to prepare for this night maybe the roles have reversed.

Overall, this movie is gory, meta, vengeful and an important movie for the horror genre. There’s a post-credit scene that you should wait after the credits. The original 1978 Halloween is a landmark in American cinema, birthed a decade full of slasher films with iconic characters and, hopefully, its retcon sequel, even as a quadragenarian, will be just as influential.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[a si a si]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

 

Halloween is in theaters in the United States of America on October 19, 2018.

All About Nina |Movie Review|

Eva Vives’s directorial debut All About Nina has a lot to say and is an important movie in today’s climate. Vives started writing the script around 3 years ago, and the film is a semi-biographical account of her life. The drama-comedy stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and 10 Cloverfield Lane) and Common (The Lion Guard, and The Chi) and premiered April 22, 2018 at the Tribeca Film Festival.

 

Vives’ story is told in such a savagely-blunt, truthful yet scintillating way.  There are genuine laughs scattered throughout the film, but the drama is a heavy hitter. Nina Geld (Winstead) is a struggling comedian, with commitment and honesty issues, who moves from New York to Los Angeles for her big break and gets a fresh start. In New York, Geld’s onstage persona is quite frank and straightforward, she’s fierce and gives off the vibe of being a strong independent woman. Her set has jokes about sex, periods, diarrhea and feminism. However, when she gets off stage she’s always drinking, and sleeping with a married man named Officer Joe (Chace Crawford). Nina narrates a hilarious story on how the two met (which is based on Vives’ true story!), and their relationship is something she benefits from, and he’s just a pawn that she can ghost and leave whenever she wants. There’s too much stress for her in the Concrete Jungle of NY so she packs up and moves to LA for the benefit of her mental health and career.

The warmth and sunshine of LA is refreshing and it feels like Nina has arrived in a whole new world. Her introduction to her new hippie lesbian roommate Lake (Kate Del Castillo) is a culture shock for her because Lake is stereotypical Californian and that clashes with Nina’s brash New York nature.  Del Castillo’s charm and charisma make Lake one of the funnier characters in the film. Lake does yoga and invites Nina to a Circle of Truth, and Nina is someone who is uncomfortable with admitting her truths, which causes a scene that gives her character more depth. After meeting Raef (Common) she tries to be honest with him, but after going out for a quick drink, he doesn’t seem to be honest with her. Nina tells Raef she has never seen a guy twice, which was a lie, and Raef tells her a small-lie about his relationship. Winstead and Common’s on-screen chemistry is lacking. Winstead makes the most of their scenes together, but Common comes across stiff throughout the film. There’s a couple of scenes where he gets emotional and delivers his lines with some personality, but they are few and far between.

Nina’s infatuation with Raef is a feeling that is brand new to her, and it’s overwhelming to the point that she has a panic attack. This scene explores how much she loves him and doesn’t want to mess it up. Everything in her personal life is starting to go her way, even career-wise, she is selected to have a chance to audition for a spot on Comedy Prime, the flagship comedy show in L.A.. Raef and Nina go out to celebrate the good news and she has a small breakdown and tries to pick a fight in the club with some girl that bumped into her. Not being used to the stress of all these good things happening to her is the source of the breakdown. She gets in an argument with Raef, returns home, and after confiding in Lake about her fears of messing all these blessings up, Lake tells her to woman the fuck up. An interesting choice of words because it shows where the cool-calm hippie became blunt with the outspoken feminist, a switch of personas so to speak.

The biggest conflict of the film comes when Nina is in her first show for Comedy Prime and Raef comes to watch her, even though. They had a huge argument previously. Nina was surprised that he was there for her after the fallout. Raef says he came because he loved her. The biggest twist is that Officer Joe has flown in from New York, left his wife and kids, just to see Nina. Raef is blindsided by this because Nina never told him about Joe. The clip in the trailer shows a fight between the two over Nina and Raef delivers a great piece of dialogue about the police.  At this point the film becomes an emotional roller coaster because next is the most powerful and gut-wrenching scene in the film. A distraught Nina abandons her usual stand-up routine to have a truthful talk with the audience and Raef, who’s sitting in the crowd. Nina explains why she treats men the way she has and why she’s so straightforward and not your typical woman. One man in her life caused mental and emotional damage to her that has left her scarred and scared to be honest and open which has damaged her relationship with all the other men in her life. Winstead’s performance while delivering this scene is well-acted, and Vives’s framing of the scene is perfect. Nina is wearing all black, the background curtains are black, the spotlight is shining on her as she tells her story, which makes all the focus on her. The dark colors in the scene symbolize the darkness that Nina is getting off her chest. The realism of the story is what makes it even more compelling and how Nina could be anyone you know in your own life.

Overall, All About Nina, was a fantastic start for Eva Vives’s film career in the director’s chair. Since the story was semi-biographical, it gave the film its emotional appeal, and in today’s #MeToo climate, it helps us understand that you never know what someone is going through, no matter how strong they seem when they’re on stage. Mary Elizabeth Winstead has another excellent performance as Nina Gelds. If you’re looking for something unique, funny yet sad, then get your act together and check it out at your local theater.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[a si a si]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

All About Nina is in theaters now.

 

 

First Man: Movie Review

Small steps before a giant leap, First Man, delves into the life of astronaut Neil Armstrong and his journey to the Apollo 11 moon landing.  Based on Armstrong’s biography, directed by Damien Chazelle (Whiplash and La La Land), starring Ryan Gosling (Armstrong) the film takes a realistic approach of Armstrong’s life from 1961 to 1969  while showing sides of the astronaut never before seen on the big screen.

Visually, the practical effects and CGI in the film are flawless and shot, like going to space without a spacesuit, in a breathtaking way. Throughout the film the backgrounds and set designs do not feel out of place for a movie set in the 1960s. The production crew set out to make the film as authentic as possible by  speaking with NASA engineers to have a better idea on how the various aircraft and pilots would react upon liftoff, orbit and return. As a viewer I felt like I was in the aircraft with them the whole time. Chazelle gives the viewer the experience of feeling the fear the pilots are facing. There’s scenes where when Neil and his crew are in danger that the viewing experience also gets tense with it. However, the editing does feel off at times and it makes it harder to understand what is going on in the film. Those issues are few and far between so it’s not a huge crutch. The biggest editing issue was the film’s pacing. The pacing of the story is abruptly slow during the second act of the film and it felt like watching a turtle crawling through quicksand. There’s moments in the second act where plot points happen and then the film takes a break and it feels like we’re just watching people at work or just stare back at the viewer… for minutes. Clocking in at 2 hours and 20 minutes, sharper editing when it came to the plot would have greatly benefited the film.

The actors do the most with the script they were given, especially, with the dialogue. The best example of this is Claire Foy’s performance as Janet Shearon (Armstrong’s first wife). Never knowing if her husband is going to return from a mission and if her young sons are going to grow up without their father, Foy is compelling throughout the film. You can feel the pain in her voice and it adds another layer to the movie’s realism. She is paired with lead Ryan Gosling, and his performance as Neil Armstrong may be an Oscar contender later this year. Gosling does an accurate portrayal of Armstrong who was known to be humble and stoic. Armstrong suffers a tragedy early on and every day he lived with the grief from it. You can count on one hand how many times Armstrong smiles and he seems to meticulously process everything he sees in the world around him. Not only does he carry the grief from his personal tragedy but also from his friends and colleagues who perished in failed aerospace missions. There was an abundance of death around him for a movie that only takes place in an 8 year period.

The only time the viewer gets a few laughs is when Buzz Aldrin appears (played by Corey Stoll). Aldrin is Armstrong’s 180 degree opposite, more blunt, outspoken and some times says the wrong thing at the wrong time. There’s an interesting piece of dialogue between the two right after the death of 2 other pilots, Aldrin explains how they most likely died at their funeral, and Armstrong practically tells him to shut up because it’s not the appropriate place.

A scene that has gotten a few complaints is a montage shown over the sounds of “Whitey’s on the Moon”, a poem originally written by Gil Scott-Heron, but the film uses a cover by Leon Bridges during the montage:

The cover’s inclusion has upset a few, but the poem shows that there were other problems on Earth that could have been addressed during the space missions. This was a real issue that occurred, for the film to even dare to express this, instead of glossing over it to romanticize America’s achievement, adds another layer to the film’s authenticity.  Some wanted more American propaganda and were disappointed that planting the American flag on the moon was omitted from the film. The moon landing wasn’t just an American accomplishment but it was also an accomplishment for humanity.  An abundance of discoveries were made because of NASA and space exploration. The cultural icon the film is based on didn’t say it was small step or giant leap for America; however, the first man on the moon did say it was, “one small step for man and a giant leap for mankind. ”

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[a si a si]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

 

 

First Man was released in theaters October 12, 2018.

Bad Times at the El Royale |Movie Review|

Bad Times at the El Royale was a lot of things, humorous, serious, well-acted, well-directed and visually sharp as getting glass stuck in your head; however, it was long as the border between California and Nevada at 2 hours and 20 minutes.  The director and cast brought their A-game to a film that was written and directed by Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods), and starring Jeff Bridges, John Hamm, Cynthia Erivo, Chris Hemsworth, Dakota Johnson and Cailee Spaeny, with newcomer Lewis Pullman.  Produced by 20th Century Fox, who let Goddard take risks and be creative if he and the cast took a pay cut, comes a new entry into the neo-noir thriller genre.

The risks and chances that Goddard took paid off into a well-crafted film. There are moments that will make you wince when certain characters interact. Billy Lee (Hemsworth) channels a Charles Manson-Jim Jones vibe as a cult leader with charisma. Sullivan (John Hamm) talks like Foghorn Leghorn early on in the film and doesn’t feel out of place. Darlene Sweet (Erivo) is a struggling singer, but her voice is so impressive  and soulful that it works perfectly as background music for parts of the film. Emily and Rose Summerspring (Johnson and Spaeny) are two sisters with the most mystic in the film. Father Flynn (Bridges) is a priest who seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The front desk clerk Miles (Pullman) is the man in charge that has to handle all these combustible personalities for a bad night at the El Royale.

The film is set at the mysterious El Royale hotel along the California-Nevada border, which has a different set of rules and prices depending on which state the room is located. These elements add to a good comedy scene early in the film and it gives the hotel some character.  Set in 1969 the hotel is past its glory days and is incredibly short staffed with Miles being the only employee onsite. Miles gives the guest an introduction to the hotel that establishes the world the movie is set in. This helps the pacing of the film for the first 30 minutes as everyone is checking in and getting acquainted with each other and their rooms.

Not only do these seven strangers have secrets, but the hotel has its own secrets too, and Goddard shows this in a clever yet entertaining way. The Summersprings relationship is so compelling that it even adds depth to the concierge Miles. The more the characters come together the more their secrets get exposed and things become even more tense. Modern neo-noir style and out-of-order storytelling keep you guessing at what Goddard has planned next in the movie.

The performances are beyond stellar and Goddard does such a great job getting the most out of every single performance. With that said, he gets the most out of Hemsworth, Erivo and Pullman because their performances are standouts. Hemsworth gets a break from being Thor, and he hits the ground running to show off his range.  Erivo’s Darlene Sweet is the star of the film, and she gets to show off her voice and it’s beautiful. Lastly, the breakout star is Lewis Pullman, who at the time of this writing doesn’t even have a Wikpedia page, makes the most of his Miles character. Pullman is dynamic in his performance of Miles, who is comedic, timid and badass at different points in the film.

The biggest flaw in the movie is that its third act goes on a little bit too long. There was a great moment to wrap up the movie, but the last 30 minutes or so could’ve been portrayed differently. Billy Lee’s story arch should’ve been a bigger piece of the film instead of so much being packed into the third act. The third act wasn’t enough for me to dislike the film because I had a lot of fun throughout the rest of the film that I was willing to forgive it. If you’re a fan of any of the actors, actresses or director/writer Drew Goddard’s previous work, then I would recommend giving this one a viewing.

Fin.

RATING

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[a si a si]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

 

Bad Times at the El Royale is in theaters October 12th.

Bodied: Trailer Thoughts

Update: Click here to check out my review.

It’s finally here, after much fanfare and rave reviews from the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival (winning the TIFF People’s Choice Award for Midnight Madness), the trailer for Bodied just dropped yesterday. The film has been seeking distribution since it’s premiere last year and found it thanks to YouTube. Directed by Joseph Kahn, written by Alex Larsen (Kid Twist*), who’s life the movie is loosely based upon, and starring Calum Worthy as Adam. The film examines battle rap and its culture as well as making a social statement on the Freedom of Speech. Watch the uncensored trailer below:

Produced by Eminem and if anyone is familiar with battle rap culture then you will recognize a lot of familiar faces throughout the trailer. The host of the fictional Killafornia battle league does a great job parodying the intro style of Lush-One, who has hosted a plethora of battles, for the now defunct GrindTime battle league, in a comical way. The Korean rapper Dumbfoundead* makes his long awaited big screen debut as one of Adam’s opponents but who knows, “any minute now they may let an Asian brother get a lead role”.  Other battlers include Hollow Da Don (Swear to God), Dizaster, Arsonal, Loaded Lux (Get this work!), Conceited, Poison Pen, and King of the Dot founder and host Organik. Long time MadTV cast member Debra Wilson and 1980s star Anthony Michael Hall will also appear in the film.

A film based on battle rap that’s written by a battler rapper with an ensemble cast of battle rap legends, on paper, Bodied is shaping up to be a box office success. If it does what 8 Mile did for battle rap culture over a decade ago then this film will help inspire the next generation of battle rap while making a social statement by examining our freedom of speech.

Bodied is in theaters November 2, 2018 and available on YouTube Premium November 28, 2018

 

*Links to a personal favorite battle or moment.

Hell Fest: Movie Review

Like they say, Autumn is here and it’s the season of fear, okay, maybe no one says that but it’s SCREAMIN’ SZN (season). This is the time of year where studios unleash their Horror flicks on a weekly basis until Oscar season begins.  Directed by Gregory Plotkin,  the editor that has edited such films as Game Night, Happy Death Day, and Get Out, brings us a new entry into the slasher film genre with Hell Fest.

 

WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW

First time I saw that trailer I thought this was going to be a Blumhouse production like the latter two films above, but this time we have Valhalla Entertainment (producers of The Walking Dead) going with a low budget horror to maximize their returns at the box office. More on this later.

Hell Fest is a throwback to a time when slasher films were simple, one night a group of friends are at an amusement park and there’s a killer on the loose, so who is going to survive and who will perish? An amusement park full of rides and haunted houses  should add for some creativity and fun on how the characters meet their demise in innovative ways. What makes a good slasher film is the antagonist whether it’s Jason Vorhees, Michael Myers, Freddy Kruger, Leatherface, or Ghostface they all made you leave the theater thinking they were badass and they all had a look that made them standout. The masked killers in The Strangers weren’t as cartoony as the aforementioned  characters which is fine… slashers do not have  to be cartoony to be good.

The antagonist in Hell Fest is simply named The Other and I can only assume he got his name because he doesn’t standout like all the other ones…even his mask is generic. The mask choice may have been on purpose because when he returns home at the end of the film he has a cabinet of  multiple mask (that look more creative!) and a photo of his victim from a previous haunt a year ago that begins the film. The “new mask, new me method” is a good way to set up any potential sequels.  The Other even has a slow walk and no talk approach to his killings, and it’s complimented with his own theme like a clone of Jason and Michael Myers. No machete for this stocky character, instead the weapon used by this cold-blooded killer was an icepick.  The trailer above shows the deadly weapon in use. The best death in the movie is when The Other plays a game of  Strongman and lifts up a heavy mallet and crushes the skull of one the characters the ultimate test of strength. The fun part about that death is that the victim is shown earlier not able to win any of the fair games at the park.

There’s a few good performances sprinkled throughout the film. Tony Todd’s appearance as a carnival barker was creepy and Bex Taylor-Klaus’ character felt mostly like a real authentic human being. Lead actress Amy Forsyth does as much as she can with the script she was given. She’s the character that sees the killer and no one believes her until they die. On a technical side of things there’s a some impressive shots but the movie really does not take advantage of it’s concept of being shot inside of an amusement park. If you’ve seen Game Night or any other films that Plotkin as edited in the past you’ll know he has a knack of editing scenes in an creative way but it’s missing throughout this film. There is a scene where a character gets stuck on a ride, which adds a nice little fear element and later there’s a little twist that goes with it that leads to a who is who moment.

The ending of the movie was a different take on your typical slasher movie. The Other enters into a home and there’s a little girl who is sleeping on the couch. It’s shot from behind his shoulder so we never see his face and it makes you think that she’s going to be his last victim for the night. The little girl awakens and ask The Other, “Daddy, what did you bring back for me?” and he proceeds to give her the stuffed toy prize he stole from his victim that he did a gruesome Gallagher impression with. The two embrace for a quick hug and then he walks into a room which has a cabinet with an assortment of mask and trophies from a previous Hell Fest. There’s about 5 other mask, a photo of the girl he killed from a previous Hell Fest; he places a photo from tonight’s events and tonight’s mask in the cabinet to the end the movie.

Showing his daughter at the end added to the implication that the killer could be anyone among us which was a theme throughout the film especially when things got hectic. This movie took that theme a little too serious because The Other doesn’t standout and he felt like just a normal guy. The movies biggest flaw is not utilizing it’s location, because if it did, this would have been an entertaining slasher film. Most of the deaths were just regular stabbings that could’ve taken place anywhere. There are tons of resources at a theme park including haunted houses and roller coaster rides but outside of a couple of scenes there weren’t many kills with thrills. The buildup to the stabbing in the trailer was fun because it uses the haunted house to its advantage. More scenes such as that would’ve been beneficial to the film. Six Flags set up a haunted house for their Halloween themed park and I hope it’s scarier than this film. Small budget movies can be fun, interesting, stylistically unique and somehow this movie did not accomplish any of those traits. A run time of only 89 minutes is the films saving grace since it isn’t too long. If there is another fest next season I hope it’s as entertaining for the viewers as it is for the parks attendees.  The movie poster’s tagline is accurate in a sense, because it doesn’t describe the Hell Fest park, instead this movie’s premise was fun going in but it felt like hell going out.

Fin.

Rating:

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[a si a si]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

VENOM |Movie Review|

“Rolling down the street like a turd in the wind,” may have been more than just a threat by Venom, the titular character in Sony’s first entry in their Sony Universe of Marvel Characters, or the SUMC. A universe that will contain over 900 characters who are mostly based on their interactions with your neighborhood-friendly Spider-Man.  For those that do not know, Venom’s an alien symbiote, whose origin is heavily tied to Spider-Man, so for Sony to produce a Venom origin movie without including the web-crawler, was a bold move. Will this movie leave your Spidey senses tingling for more, or is it a movie that even the film’s anti-hero would make a kamikaze into a dumpster fire? Let’s review.

WARNING: Spoilers Ahead

TRAILER:

Superhero movies are everywhere nowadays, so the tagline of  “the world has enough of heroes,” may catch the eye for someone that is looking for something different from the genre. Venom stars Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed and asks, and you shall receive because this is something different and that is for better or worse. Venom, an alien symbiote, arrives on Earth thanks to a failed space mission by Carlton Drake (Ahmed) and his Life Foundation.  The space shuttle crashes in Malaysia upon its return to Earth and left in the debris are four symbiotes, later to be named Riot, Venom and two who are unarmed. Riot escapes the crash site by jumping into various hosts while the other three are collected by the Life Foundation and transported to their offices in San Francisco.

Eddie Brock (Hardy) is a journalist/blogger who moved to San Francisco from New York after leaving his job at The Daily Globe, a New York-based newspaper. He is engaged to a lawyer named Anne Weying (Williams) whose law firm is working for Drake’s Life Foundation. Firstly, if opposites attract then these two have to be magnets because they’re not even close to being on the same playing field. Brock’s living in squalor in San Francisco while Weying is  living a few tax brackets above him.  He makes his money doing an Info Wars like Web show called “The Brock Report.” Hardy’s portrayal of Brock displays a lot of twitching and shaking, and that’s before the symbiote takes over and he doesn’t really have a lot of on-screen chemistry with Williams. Their characters seem like they’re in two different films, but more on this later.

Brock is looking for his next big story, and he has an upcoming interview with Drake, the head of the Life Foundation, which is being sued because they’ve been unethically using humans as guinea pigs.  Ahmed’s Drake seems to be inspired a lot by Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk because both have a strong need to solve all of Earth’s problems and send people to space. I guess that’s just what billionaires do because why not? One night, Brock reads a few confidential files on his fiancee computer about the ongoing lawsuit against the Life Foundation and finds some disturbing things and decides to use this intel during his interview with Drake.  During the interview,  Brock asks a couple of softball questions, then he brings up the things he read the night prior and Drake isn’t having and it cuts the interview short. Drake has BIG MONEY and connections, so he ends up getting Brock fired from his job. Weyings ends up getting fired from her job thanks to Brock’s snooping, and just like that these magnets stop attracting. She gives Brock his engagement ring back and they go their separate ways. Very serious stuff, folks.

Six months later, Riot’s in Malaysia transferring from extra to extra host to host trying to make his way stateside.  Drake is testing the three symbiotes he captured onto different “volunteers” and they’re dying because they’re just not a good match with these Ivan Ooze lookin’ gooz. A few screams of pain and agony from the volunteers and one of the scientists just feels like what she’s doing is terrible and she needs to find a way to stop the madness. Eddie Brock is still jobless, yet he still lives in his rundown apartment in San Francisco aka, one of the most expensive cities in the United States, gottta love movies. He tries to convince Weying to comeback, but she’s moved on with a doctor (Dr. Dan!), someone in her tax bracket, and Eddie leaves his local bodega. At the bodega he knows he’s being followed by someone and a scientist from the Life Foundation, and she tells him that he needs to expose the truth because Drake is killing these volunteers. Eddie mentions that he’s not a hero, ya know, he’s taking this breakup really hard, and she gives him her business card in case he has a change of mind.

You already know he changes his mind so he and  Ms. Science go to the Life Foundation and he gets his investigative journalism on and takes photos of these people volunteers being held captive, a few corpses, a dead symbiote and then he recognizes a homeless lady he saw earlier and he tries to save her. He frees her from the cell she’s in, but he catches a parasite. Well, it’s really a symbiote that leaves her mouth and crawls into his mouth, and this is where the movie starts to shift in tone. Alarms are going off and security guards are running to find out the problem. Brock manages to escape thanks from help from Venom, the symbiote that controls his motorskills. Brock really doesn’t have good manners since he’s letting his host do all the work. I guess that’s the New York in him.

Venom is talking to Brock, and Brock is wondering where the voices in his head are coming from, even though he just had Venom crawl into his mouth not even a scene ago but cools. There’s a scene where Brock is looking for food in his apartment because Venom gets to eat, and Brock ends up eating a chicken leg out of the trash can and then blows chunks into his toilet. He looks in the mirror and sees Venom and freaks out and passes out. He wakes up and Freddy Kruger Venom starts cracking jokes and is ready to eat. Brock needs to tell someone he trusts about  what he saw the previous night at the Life Foundation so he sets out for Weying.  Luckily for him and his new friend Venom she’s eating lunch with Dr. Dan! At the Suit & Tie upscale restaurant the movie becomes a comedy because Hardy is doing a lot of slapstick humor and Venom is talking to him. Brock, who talks out loud to Venom, himself is going table to table and taking the food off other people’s plates. He eats someone’s steak and Venom comments on how it’s “well done,” beause that’s a clever pun. Dr. Dan and Weying are asking if Eddie is okay and he says he is hot so he decides to jump in the lobster tank. He grabs a lobster and eats its head off and Venom laughs because the lobster was alive. Thankfully, this restaurant was so elegant that no one had their camera out and took pictures of this ungroomed man in the hoodie acting like he took a hit of something bad.

Dr. Dan and Weying convince Brock to get an MRI to see what is wrong with him and the noise from the machine is too loud for Venom. Venom tells Brock that fire and loud noises are his weaknesses. Back at the Life Foundation, Drake is pissed about Venom escaping so he confronted the scientist that brought Brock into the lab to ask her who was it that took the symbiote. She doesn’t want to say who it was at first, but  Drake tells her that if she doesn’t tell him then he can’t fix it and he can’t save humanity. Like a snitch, she tells Drake it was Brock. Drake says thank you and  locks Ms. Scientist in a room and unleashes the last living symbiote upon her. If this movie wasn’t rated PG-13 then her death would be on screen but instead we have to cut away to Brock’s rundown apartment.

Venom tells Brock not to answer the door, but instead of listening, he answers the door and there’s this generic squad of mercenaries that were sent there by Drake to collect the symbiote. Time for another action scene! Venom takes control of the situation, opens a can of whoop-ass and tells Brock that he should eat all the mercenaries head off, but Brock won’t allow it. Another squad came into the apartment, so they escaped. Venom does a lot of  things using his tentacles. A motorcycle chase ensues and nothing really spectacular happens. Venom makes some poorly timed jokes, and the effects do not seem up to par for 2018.  They finally escape from the mercenaries, and Venom tells Brock why he and the other symbiotes chose to get on the spaceship. The symbiotes chose to come to Earth because there’s a lot of possible host for them here, and since humans are a dying species due to climate change and other factors, Earth would be a great place for symbiotes to take over. While Venom says his goal is to get on a spaceship and go back to his home planet and bring the other millions of symbiotes back to Earth, Brock feels used and tells Venom that he can’t help him do that. Venom tells Brock, WE are going to do it because they are now one and they are Venom.

Dr. Dan calls Brock, lets him know about the results from the MRI and tells him it’s something that he’s never seen before and he should come back to the hospital. Brock had to make a quick stop at the publication he worked for to turn in the photos he took earlier at the Life Foundation. He ends up tripping an alarm and we get ANOTHER shoot ’em up scene but this time with SWAT officers. This scene is better than the previous one because the room is dark and smokey so it adds some horror elements to it. Venom is fighting in the shadows and he bites off a couple of heads but PG-13 so no blood. Weying happens to know Brock was going to be there so she sees Venom getting ready to chow down on a human and she screams and Brock turns back into himself. She took him to the hospital to see the MRI results.

Turns out Brock has an illness that is killing him, and Venom is telling Brock that he can fix him. Dr. Dan says the illness is nothing like what he’s ever seen, but if they do another MRI he can diagnosis the issue better. Venom tells Brock no to the MRI because that’s his weakness and they have a dialogue between each other. Weying starts with the MRI machine and the loud sonic noise makes Venom leave Brock’s body. They lock Venom in the room and Brock tells Venom that he’s done with their SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP. As Brock left, those mercenaries from earlier return, and capture him. Venom crawls through a fan and travels through the ductwork in the hospital in search of Brock not knowing he’s long gone.

Riot finally arrives in California at the Life Foundation with a little girl as his host. She transfers the  symbiote to Drake, and now Drake and Riot are one.  Mercenaries have brought Brock to the Life Foundation and Riot confronts Brock on the whereabouts of Venom. Brock tells them that he’s gone his separate ways so they decide he’s no use to them anymore. The mercenaries take Brock out into the woods to be executed, but in the shadows Venom’s tentacles are taking out the mercenaries one by one.  The woman who wears the symbiote kisses Brock, and of course, it’s Weying and the symbiote transfers back to Eddie. Brock and Venom have some unfinished business with Riot so much time for a fight scene.

During this fight scene it’s hard to tell the two symbiotes apart, and it’s a reminder of Michael Bay’s first Transformers film. They end up fighting on a rocket and upon exiting the atmosphere Venom gets the one up and causes the ship to blow up. He turns into a parachute to save Brock, but in the process gets burned up by the flames. The fight scene wasn’t anything special, a lot of rolling around, and then there’s the money shot where the suits expand that we see in the trailer.

Some time has passed and Brock is talking to Weying on her doorstep and she tells him not to tell Dr. Dan about their kiss. Venom, who is surprisingly still alive, tells Brock to tell Dr. Dan about the kiss and Brock tells Venom to shut-up but yet plays it off where Weying thinks he is talking to her. Brock leaves and walks down the street, then Stan Lee makes a cameo walking his dog and says something to Brock about “them” as if Stan knows that Eddie still has Venom.  Eddie tells Venom the difference between good and bad and what people he can and cannot eat. Venom tells Brock the reason why he didn’t want to leave Earth is because of Eddie (bromance). They stop at Eddie’s favorite bodega, which is being robbed by the same guy from earlier in the film, and that’s when Venom makes the infamous turd in the wind threat. Venom ends up eating the robber whole because there are not any body parts on the floor when he’s finished. The cashier/owner of the store does not look surprised after seeing an alien creature eat a grown man, but sure. Credits roll. The End.

CAMEOS, CAMEOS, CAMEOS!  The mid-credit scene is Eddie Brock, the infamous journalist doing an interview at a prison with a killer named Cleetus Kassady  who is played by Woody Harrelson. Harrelson does not appear in the rest of the film. Kassady tells Brock to step into the light so he can see him. Kassady says when he gets out of jail there will be CARNAGE! Hinting at the sequel is the most subtle of ways. Whoever decided to put Woody Harrelson in this bright red  Raggedy Anne doll wig, I am not sure what they were thinking. It just made Woody look really goofy. The post-credit scene was a 5 minute clip of  the upcoming Into the Spiderverse film, and it was better than the 1 hour and 52 minutes of Venom.

The initial reaction to this film was that it seemed like it came straight out of 2004 and I agree. The movie felt like it came from an era where studios just made superhero movies just to make superhero movies. The movie doesn’t have any heart or anything that makes you want to see more. The tagline was that the world has enough of superheroes, but Deadpool 2 was released earlier this year and does a far better job with the antihero role. It’s unbelievable that Woody Harrelson was cast as Carnage and he’s only used for a small cameo at the end of the film. Riz Ahmed is wasted in this film as well. Michelle Williams’s character came off as too serious during the whole movie, while Tom Hardy felt like he was playing it up for laughs. Being PG-13 doesn’t really help the film because Venom is supposed to be grotesque, after all he is eating people. It was ambitious and foolish for Sony to try and create a world based on Spider-Man characters without Spider-Man and after watching this movie I think it could’ve been achieved but this aint it.

Fin.

Rating

[Fresh Horchata]

[Fuego]

[Bueno]

[a si a si]

[Basura]

[All Mames Wey]

The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton