Dir. Ryan Coogler (2018)
Rated PG-13 Black Panther, man. This was one of the first Marvel movies that I have ever seen. (LEAVE ME ALONE.... also stay tuned for more Marvel movie reviews from a very uninvolved noob when it comes to the superhero realm of film.) So, yeah, this movie was awesome. It's the number one movie in the WORLD right now, so Marvel and the creators really must have done something right. I think I know what that is: a DIVERSE film! The majority of the cast of this film are people of color, and it's great. It's also SUCH a beautiful movie, from the costumes and acting to the detail that went into Wakanda and all the other tribes' cities. The story behind this was so fascinating (am I running out of adjectives yet?), but probably everyone else other than me had heard of the Black Panther's story before the movie came out. Or maybe they didn't? I really don't know. I feel intimidated writing this review because I feel like I have stepped into a world that I know nothing about and I don't want to mess anything up. So basically, this story is about a hidden kingdom called Wakanda in Africa. No one knows about it except the people who live there and are from there, and they stay hidden through a protective shield-like thing that is made of Vibranium, which is like a really precious metal (I think) that is worth more than any other metal/stone in other countries. They use it for EVERYTHING man. Their technology is so advanced, they can heal sick people by just putting them in this weird health station that fixes everything. That was cool. So, on Wakanda, the king is called the Black Panther, and he is given special powers that make him superhuman. The Black Panther, King T'Chaka, has just died, and his son T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) is next in line for the throne. This movie follows him as well as his ex-girlfriend and warrior Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o), the head of the warriors of Wakanda, Okoye (Danai Gurira), his engineer sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright), as they fight Claw (Andy Serkis), the villain after Wakanda's vibranium to make millions. While fighting Claw, they run into another conflict: Eric Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), a man who claims to be from Wakanda and wants to overthrow T'Challa and be the King. As the movie escalates, T'Challa is faced with more challenges, and his role as Black Panther is questioned. This movie was FILLED with twists. The biggest one involves Killmonger, who overthrows Wakanda almost entirely. SPOILERS! He basically exposes the entire kingdom and king T'Challa as a fraud, saying that his father killed Eric's dad (they were brothers), making T'Challa and Eric cousins. He challenges T'Challa to battle, and after killing him, is crowned King of Wakanda. He is given the powers of the Black Panther, and things really go downhill from there. T'Challa's family is outcasted, and Killmonger is basically a totalitarian leader who wants to fight and kill all of Wakanda's enemies using their precious vibranium. The kingdom is split, some are supporting Killmonger, including Okoye (who is faithful to serve anyone who is on the throne), and W'Kabi (Daniel Kaluuya), the leader of a tribe within Wakanda. All hope seems virtually lost until T'Challa's family and Nakia find help from the Jabari, a tribe who once questioned T'Challa's leadership as king as well. The leader of the tribe ends up helping the family and leading them to T'Challa, who is still alive (!) but in a coma. Vibranium is used to bring him back to life. When knowledge reaches that T'Challa is not dead, this launches a civil war in Wakanda. I guess it's obvious how it ends, because I don't think Marvel movies really throw you for a loop when it comes to the plot. It ends well; T'Challa defeats Killmonger and all is happy again. He ends up with Nakia, and peace is restored in Wakanda. If it had ended another way, I honestly probably would have been mad. The movie makes you love these characters, so if T'Challa was actually dead, I'm sure this wouldn't have been as well loved. For a minute there, I really did think he was going to stay dead, and that really put a damper on it. But fear not: the good guy wins! This entire movie just feels like a celebration when you're watching it. It makes minorities like people of color and women the heroes, and it could not be a better superhero movie to show to kids. It's great that this movie is so well received, because it carries such a powerful and important message behind the superhero facade. Ever since the beginning of these movies, kids watch these superheroes and become inspired. When they're little, that's basically all they want to be when they grow up. It's amazing that finally ALL little kids, no matter their race, can watch a superhero movie and think that one day that could be them (not literally, but you know what I mean.) There's still a lot of work to be done to diversify movies in all genres, and Black Panther set the bar so high. I hope the bar gets higher and higher. Regardless if you're a Marvel fan or not, this movie is one that everyone of all ages should watch.
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Dir. Dan Gilroy (2017)
Rated PG-13 Roman J. Israel (Denzel Washington) is a criminal defense attorney and an advocate for human rights. After his partner in his law practice goes into a coma after a heart attack, Israel is thrown for a loop in his life and work. This is when he meets George Pierce (Colin Farrell), a lawyer who is going to take over the practice until all the cases are closed, and then Israel's law office will be closed. Although Pierce offers Roman a job at his own law firm, Roman struggles with what he is going to do next. He desperately needs money, but his own moral conscience pushes him to look for other jobs instead of working at Pierce's law firm. He seeks a job at a local human rights organization, where the woman in charge of the business, Maya (Carmen Ejogo) cannot offer him a job. Israel's character, although incredibly. intelligent and somewhat of a savant when it comes to practicing law, is inept and awkward when talking to others. He says whatever he is thinking without a filter, which often gets him into disagreements. Without a job, he turns back to George Pierce and is hired there. He's not exactly popular and is the odd man out amongst everyone else there, but Pierce gives him work in spite of their reoccurring disagreements. As an activist, Israel often takes on cases where black men are accused of crimes in unfair circumstances that will almost certainly give them lengthy sentences. This is the case when Israel takes on a case to defend a young man charged with a felony because he was an accomplice to a crime where a store owner was murdered. He was not the man who actually shot and killed the clerk, but he discloses the information of the shooter's whereabouts to Israel in an attempt to lessen his own sentence. At the time, Israel didn't know that this would come back up later with an opportunity he would be unable to pass up. Israel found a flyer with the shooter's mugshot, offering a $100,000 reward to whoever turned him in. Though this was highly illegal, since it was a group of Armenian men looking for the shooter and not the cops, and Roman's conscience slipped. Tired of being poor and desperate for more money, he called in and revealed the location of the shooter to the men. Though it was wrong, this decision turned his life around. He took a vacation, bought suits, a new apartment, and paid for it all in cash and hid the money in a backpack in his stove. For a while, Israel's life has changed for the better. He's finally more accepted into his new firm, and has actual money to live off. One day while visiting a new client with Pierce, Israel's decision comes back to haunt him. The new client that they are visiting is the shooter himself, which throws Israel for a huge loop. For a minute, you think that the man doesn't know about Israel and who turns him in. I really thought he was safe for a hot second. Then, the man lets Israel know that he knows exactly who is is and that he'll be watching him. The rest of the movie pretty much goes as expected, Israel is paranoid and basically scrambling for his life, and the ending is not cheery one. Does anyone really know how much plot you should give away when writing a review? I sure as heck do not. Every time I write one of these I really just take a shot into the dark. Whatever. I feel like this was a VERY detailed analysis of the first 3/4s of this movie when that was unnecessary. Anyways, this movie had a mediocre plot with a great leading actor. That being said, I still enjoyed watching it. I think one gets so wrapped up in watching how good Denzel Washington is in this that they don't really pay attention to the boring plot. It's definitely been done before, and by halfway through you can totally tell what's going to happen. But you know what, I was okay with that. It was nice to watch a movie that wasn't laden with hidden metaphors and deep intellectual feeling and then being dubbed as 'art'. This was just an average Joe film, and Washington really killed it. After watching this, before the Oscars, I really wanted him to get the award for best actor. His acting was basically the only thing that made the movie have any kind of spark. Him and the soundtrack. For some reason, I really liked the music in this movie. Aside from that, there's nothing really special about it, and the ending kinda puts you down. You totally see it coming, though. I was so disappointed when Israel decided to give away the shooter's location for the money, because it was probably the only bad and dishonest thing that he had ever done in his life and you just knew that it was going to come back to haunt him forever. From then on, especially after the scene in the jail, you knew he was going to be killed or assaulted by some sort of hit man, even if you really didn't want it to happen. You even kind of sense it coming in the last scene that Israel is alive in. That black car stalking behind him and Pierce as they walked downtown was not that subtle. Even though Pierce tried to stop him at the last minute, you knew that someone was gonna die. So yeah, the ending was a bummer. And then you see Pierce, who has magically been transformed into a decent human after Israel's death, carrying his briefcase in his honor after his death. That part was nice I GUESS, but I feel like there have been dozens of movies like that. So: Denzel Washington is great in this! If you're a fan of his, then this is pretty good. It's not bad by any stretch, but our society has been almost just bombed by intellectual and deep, artsy movies lately and this movie is not that. Don't expect anything special, but there's a good chance you'll still really enjoy it. Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson (2007)
Rated R There Will Be Blood follows an oil miner named Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis). In 19th century America, Plainview mines for silver and gold. He has an adopted son, H.W., who is the child of a dead miner. Plainview goes all around the country looking for business with his son, appearing to be a friendly family man. One night, he is approached by a young man named Paul Sunday, who says that there is an oil deposit under his family's home in New Boston, California. After making a deal with Sunday, Plainview and his peers journey to California to set up a new oil mine. When he gets there, he is met with Eli, Paul's twin brother. (Paul Dano) Eli demands $10,000 from Plainview, which he says will go to the church. Upon arriving in Little Boston, it is evident to Plainview that they are a deeply religious town. There is immediate conflict upon Plainview's arrival, including his relationship with Eli which seems like it's going to be rocky, and things escalate when the rig is destroyed due to an explosion. Plainview's adopted son H.W. goes deaf, and now there's no source of income for Plainview. He totally neglects his son and sends him off to a school for the deaf, and then goes around town looking for more land to purchase to mine oil from. During this time, Plainview gets meaner and more and more of a horrible person. His horrible-ness comes to an all time high when he realizes that his brother had been lying to him during his stay with him, and he wasn't his brother after all. Plainview proceeds to kill him. This is discovered by one old man from whom Daniel wanted to purchase land to build a derrick on. He forces him to go to Church and become a faithful member, and promises then he will be forgiven and a member of Little Boston. Plainview is inducted into the church by Eli, and they seem to be on good terms for now. Years pass with Plainview still living in Little Boston, becoming an alcoholic and moving into an abandoned mansion. His life has declined rapidly. The end of the movie is filled with escalation of tension built during the movie, and you can tell by the title of the film what happens in the closing scene. SPOILERS This movie was DARK. You can kinda tell that from the title, but even then, I was still completely shook when the events unfolded and how it ended. You know what's going to happen, and by halfway through the movie, you know who the big conflict is going to be between, but you really have no idea who's blood it will be until the very last few minutes. Spoiler: it was Eli's. At the end, even though they both suck, I kind of wanted it to be Daniel because he is the WORST. He gets worse and worse as the film goes on. His relationship with H.W., his not real son, is the most prevalent relationship that showcases how terrible of a person Daniel is. There is a scene towards the end when H.W. visits Daniel in Little Boston years later, and though he is still deaf, he is now happily married. He wants to better his relationship with Daniel, who is essentially the only family he has. Daniel tells him that basically he is an embarrassment and a disappointment, and that he never wants to see him again. It is really heartbreaking. The big thing in this movie that I saw as a downside was the plot and the ending. It is so slow (not exactly boring), and by halfway through the movie you kinda know exactly what's going to happen. However, there are a ton of other technical aspects that make the movie really admirable. The movie isn't scary, but it's filled with a sort of staged suspense. This is mostly done through the soundtrack. For the entire film, there's a high pitched piano/violin noise that's used in horror movies (do you know what I am talking about??) that makes you feel like something is going to happen or jump out at you the entire time. In that way, the slowness of the plot kind of works to film's advantage. The cuts in this movie even add to the suspense. There are a ton of fades, making each scene seem really heavy. I watched this because I loved the way Phantom Thread was shot, and this one definitely held up to the expectation I had for Paul Thomas Anderson. Even though I didn't really love the plot of this movie, it was so well made. I don't know if I can have favorite directors yet, because I'm not ~cultured~ enough in the film world, but this made me really enjoy Anderson's work, so I'll probably continue watching his movies. The cinematography in this film is also incredible. Every still looks like it could be the cover, which is why the slide show was necessary for this review. Eve though I didn't love the story or the ending, there are so many other aspects of There Will Be Blood that made me really appreciate the film. Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson (2017)
Rated R Phantom Thread is about the story of Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis), a clothing designer in the 1950s. He meets a waitress named Alma, with whom he immediately becomes obsessed with and she becomes his muse. Woodcock is work obsessed, and has an oddly close relationship with his sister, Cyril (Lesley Manville). Alma begins to fall in love with Woodcock romantically, and desperately looks for signs that Woodcock feels the same way and favors her above all of his other women employees. For the first half of the movie, it is clear that Woodcock is not interested in romance, because he is always too consumed with designing clothes. He only really becomes loving and warm towards Alma when he is sick. Throughout the movie, this relationship gets deeper and deeper, and ultimately, more twisted. WOW, this movie was not what I expected it to be at all. I don't know what I was expecting when I went it, because I have seen the trailer dozens of times, but the trailer gives away nothing about the movie. It possibly might be one of the vaguest trailers ever. That aside, everyone was getting fed up with this movie before it even came out because it took forever. Everyone had seen the trailer and seen its nominations, but it was no where in sight in theaters. Did it even actually exist? So when it FINALLY came out in theaters, I was excited to see it, but had no idea what to expect. Being Daniel Day-Lewis's reportedly last movie, I thought it would be an in depth intellectual examination that would show off his ability to be an impersonation actor. It was kind of like that, I guess, but not in any way that I thought it would be. This movie kind of tricks you for the first half, because you don't know what is to come of Woodcock's relationship with Alma. It seems evident that it will probably end in heartbreak on Alma's side, since she has been warned countless times by Cyril that he can never really love anyone more than he loves his work. She tries relentlessly anyways, which is completely unsuccessful. *SPOILERS* One night, Alma asks everyone to leave the house so she can make a dinner for just the two of them. This ends terribly, with Woodcock throwing a complete tantrum that his schedule has been tampered with. Alma becomes so angry and upset, because she is in love. She knows the only time that Woodcock will be loving towards her is when he is sick, so she devises a horrible plan. One day, while gardening, she sees a bunch of poisonous mushrooms. She grinds them up, and one morning, she puts them into Woodcock's tea. He becomes really sick, and refuses the help of even doctors. He only wants Alma. After weeks, she helps him get better again. At this point, Woodcock doesn't know that she poisoned him. As the movie progresses, and Woodcock and Alma get married, their relationship gets worse again. He is only interested in his work, their honeymoon is a disaster, and he refuses to go out with her on New Years. This all progresses, and Alma gets fed up again, leading to - you guessed it! - more mushrooms. This leads to one of the creepiest scenes in the whole movie. Long story short, Woodcock knows he's being poisoned, but he's cool with it. He likes Alma nursing him back to health, so he lets her give him the mushrooms. And this is how they live their lives together. The end. There's so many creepy and disturbing parts of this movie, but I'm going to leave them out. But yeah, I really didn't see the movie taking this dark of a turn. I didn't know much about Paul Thomas Anderson at the time when I watched this, but after seeing the ending to There Will Be Blood, I kinda get it. That was dark, but this is downright creepy. I still don't really know how to feel about it. The entire movie kind of leads up to it in a way, but you have no idea what it's really leading up to. For the first half, I wouldn't call it a creepy movie. But it is slow paced and filled with some sort of anticipation, like the movie is getting you ready for something. You don't really know what that is until more than halfway through. As slow paced and one-dimensional as the beginning half of the movie was, you kind of expected something more to happen. If not, this would have just been a really boring movie. I just didn't expect THAT to happen. I don't know if I like this movie or not, and I usually love dark endings and twists. If you know anything about Paul Thomas Anderson or his previous films (which I did not), this movie will probably be less of a shock to you. That was not the case for me. Still, reading this review spoiled the movie for you if you haven't seen it, but if you're a fan of dark and twisted, this would be right up your alley. Dir. Sean Baker (2017)
Rated R The Florida Project is about a little girl named Moonee and her friends growing up below the poverty line in Orlando, or the projects of Florida. She lives with her mom, Halley, in a cheap motel called Dream Land on a strip in the city near Disneyland. This movie follows Moonee and the other kids that live near her on the motel strip and their life. There are a lot of hardships that happen in Moonee and her mom's life, but these go unnoticed by the child because of her innocence. As far as Moonee knows, she lives a great life with little discipline and plays all day, because living at a motel is all she has ever known. With the guidance of the motel manager, Bobby (William Dafoe), who acts more as a parent to Moonee than her mom does, she lives a carefree and happy life in the midst of the cycle of poverty. This movie was really touching but sad. It gives a raw and different outlook on poverty than any other movie I've seen, and I think this is because it is from a child's point of view. Moonee has lived in poverty all her life, and doesn't know any difference. She thinks doing to the back doors of restaurants to steal food and leaving selling perfume on the streets with her mom is normal. She doesn't pay any mind when they have to leave their motel room for one day every month and stay somewhere else so that they are not declaring residency there. She runs around with her friends Scooty and Jancey all day, asking for change from passersby to buy one ice cream cone to share between three of the children. Through the movie, the viewer watches Moonee do and witness heartbreaking things that you would never want your kid to go through, but it's not heartbreaking for her. Her mother, Halley, is present in Moonee's life and works hard to make sure that they have a roof over their head, no matter what that work may be. As the movie goes on, Halley gets worse and worse, and so does Moonee's safety, though this is unknown to her. She makes Moonee take long baths while she welcomes strange men into the home to make money for her and her daughter. It comes to the point where other parents in the motel don't allow their children to play with Moonee, because they are concerned with what Halley is doing. While all of this is happening, Moonee lives in a dream like world, playing and causing mischief all day. SPOILERS: as the movie progresses and Halley becomes a prostitute to provide for her daughter, child services are called. Bobby questions Moonee's safety in the motel, but Moonee doesn't suspect anything. When Bobby collects video footage of nine different men coming into Halley and Moonee's room on different days, as well as proof of Halley stealing from one of those men, the decision is made for Moonee to be taken away from her mother. This is a heartbreaking scene, especially because Moonee doesn't know what is going on at first. When she does, she runs away and finds her friend Jancey, and the movie ends with the two little girls running away from the motels and into Disneyland. The movie is interesting because Moonee and all her friends and cloaked in a layer of protection, that being their own innocence and optimism. She never really sees or understands what is going on with her mom or how poor they really are. The ending of the two girls escaping to Disneyland portrays just that: even when life has reached a breaking point, the children are protected from their harsh reality. This movie is unique in that it depicts poverty in a euphoric sense, but it doesn't hide anything from the viewer. As dreamy as the movie is, it tells the harsh and raw truth about living in the projects as well. Dir. Craig Gillespie (2017)
Rated R I, Tonya follows the true story of figure skater Tonya Harding and her rise to fame that was followed by her swift downfall. The controversy over Harding and Nancy Kerrigan dominated the news stands in 1994, and it's hard to find someone who doesn't know about the story. What is prominent in this film is the insight it offers on the story. Everyone who knew this story has a different opinion on it, and often times, they turn Harding into the villain. This movie tells a different story that could change the way most people think about Tonya Harding. This movie was hysterical, but the story behind it was kind of really sad. This movie is different than other Oscar nominations and the films that have been popular as of late because it's based off a true story, and there is nothing to really note besides the actors. By that I mean that's the only thing that is supposed to appeal to the audience; there's no beautiful cinematography and no great soundtrack. That's not a criticism, the movie was made to be that way. It was supposed to appeal to people who knew the story. In this way, it was great. The acting in this movie was incredible. Margot Robbie (Harding) really shows of her skills in this film. She has been in tons of movies, but is always the pretty blonde whose attractiveness is her selling point. This movie was totally different. Seeing her play Tonya was amazing. She really took on the role and disappeared into it. Allison Janney was just as incredible, playing Tonya's mom (LaVona Harding). The relationship between Tonya and her mom showcased in the film is really heartbreaking and makes you sad for what Tonya's life was really like. That couldn't have been done if Janney and Robbie didn't do such a good job in their roles. The supporting characters also portrayed the real life characters to a tee. It was shocking to see the real people in their interviews during the credits of the movie, because the actors who played them not only looked identical to them, but spoke just like them as well. Sebastian Stan as Jeff Gilooly is worth noting, as well as Paul Walter Hauser as Shawn. I knew almost nothing about the Tonya Harding story before going into this movie, only that Harding has always been made out to be the villain. This movie changed my opinion, and it makes you feel sympathy for Harding. In this movie, it shows that Harding never had part in hiring someone to bash Kerrigan's knee in, it was all her abusive husband's idea. Everyone still thought she was guilty regardless, and she was accused in court. Her own mom even betrayed her. She was banned from figure skating and became a wrestler instead after she was stripped of the one thing she loved. This made me feel real sympathy for her, and gives a different side to the story that was never told in the news. Obviously, no one really knows the whole story and there are always two sides, but if the Harding story was ever of any interest to you, then this movie is worth a watch. Dir. Luca Guadagnino (2017)
Rated R Call Me By Your Name takes place in the summer of 1983, somewhere in northern Italy. It follows a 17 year old named Elio (Timothée Chalamet) and his family who live in a beautiful summer home in a small town in the country, and a 24 year old named Oliver (Armie Hammer), a student of Professor Perlman's (Elio's father). He stays with the Perlmans for 6 weeks, studying sculptures, culture and language with the professor. During this time, a relationship between Elio and Oliver blooms, and they fall in love in the 6 weeks that they have together. There are a lot of things to address in this movie. A lot of people will go into this movie with their own preconceived notions of what it will be like, which will make them think a certain way about the film even after they have seen it. While this isn't ideal, it's bound to happen for a large portion of people. I tried to go in as open minded as I possibly could. The first concern I feel that comes to people's minds about the relationship between Elio and Oliver is the age difference. In America, the age of consent is 18, and though Elio is only one year younger than this, it still raises some eyebrows when his romantic counterpart is 7 years older. It doesn't help that Hammer looks like he is in his early to mid 30s rather than his early 20s. One has to take into account that the culture in Italy, where this takes place, is much different. The age of consent is 14, MUCH younger than America's. Even when someone remembers this, though, it's still going to be mildly uncomfortable for an American because that is just not accepted or a norm in our culture. I have a feeling that an Italian would feel differently when watching this film. That age difference is addressed in the film, but it's incredibly subtle. Oliver is mainly the only one who struggles with this, since he is the adult. Since the film takes place from Elio's point of view, it's hard to see Oliver's side of things and his emotions towards the relationship in the beginning, especially since it is never conveyed with words. You have to really pay attention to the actions of the characters and facial expressions. Elio is obviously less uncomfortable with the age difference, since he is the one who yearns for the relationship and instigates it in a way. He definitely wants to be seen as an adult rather than a teenager. Almost the entire first half of the film is just tension and hesitation between the two characters, it being obvious that they feel something for one another and then those feelings being stripped back to just friendliness between a teenager and his father's student. The cycle of emotions lasts for a while before the two actually address anything. If you strip back all the layers of this movie, all it is is a love story. It's the story of a young person experiencing their first love and the heartbreak that comes along with that, which is an age old story that's been told over and over again. I think that the movie does a beautiful job of portraying that experience. The ending really is heartbreaking, because watching from Elio's point of view, you can really see what he is experiencing as the young person who is losing his first love. One of the best messages in the film comes towards the end, told by Elio's father (Michael Stuhlbarg). Elio is heartbroken after Oliver has left for America, and Mr. Perlman delivers this monologue that seemed as if the entire movie was building up to it. He tells Elio to not numb himself and to feel his heartbreak and all the feelings that come with it. It's really moving, and WOW does Stuhlbarg do an amazing job delivering it. He's probably one of my favorite actors now. If you can't get past this movie for what it is, you can at least appreciate it for it's beauty. The cinematography and scenes in this movie are absolutely stunning. It will instantly make you want to go to Italy. Again, not everyone is going to love this movie, and not everyone is going to be able to get past their own constructs that they have built against it before seeing it. That's ok, but if you watch this movie for what it really is, it's a beautiful and heartbreaking love story. Dir. Paul King (2017)
Rated PG Paddington 2, the sequel to the Paddington movie series, follows Paddington in his second adventure in London. After traveling a long ways from the jungles of Peru and ending up in Paddington Station, he has been adopted by the Brown family and now lives a comfortable life in a neighborhood called Windsor Gardens. His Aunt Lucy's birthday is coming up, and he finds her the perfect gift in a local toy shop: a vintage pop-up book of London. Days later, the same book is found to be stolen from the store, and all signs point to Paddington being the culprit. He is taken to trial and sentenced to 10 years in jail, even though the Browns and Gruber, the store owner himself, know that he is innocent. This is because Phoenix Buchanan, a pretentious performer who lives across from the Browns, testifies against him. Buchanan (Hugh Grant) was the actual thief, believing that the vintage book was the key to success and becoming a famous performer. Paddington winds up in prison and soon makes many friends, including the notorious and terrifying chef Nuckles, who masters the marmalade sandwich with Paddington's help. Paddington and his new inmate friends soon plan a prison outbreak, so Paddington can go back to his beloved family and prove his innocence. This journey takes Paddington on a wild adventure that is equally as thrilling, charming, and heartwarming as the first movie in this series was. I don't mean to exaggerate, but the Paddington series may be some of the best animated films to date. I've never met someone who didn't love Paddington. Sequels walk a dangerous line when they follow an amazing movie, because if it flops, then it puts a damper on the whole series. Sometimes it's better to not come out with a sequel at all and just let an amazing movie be. (Mamma Mia 2 .. why?) But Paddington 2 was just as great as the original, if not a little better. I don't know what it is, but there's something about this movie series that makes it so likable for all ages. Maybe it's the bear? There's nothing special or different in the plot, it's just like movies for kids. There's a conflict when Paddington is arrested, but all ends well because *SPOILER* he gets reunited with his family, and Buchanan doesn't get the book and gets knocked out on a train somewhere. ALSO, Paddington finally is reunited with his Aunt Lucy. It was the cutest and most heartwarming thing ever. There's also a great scene where Paddington is stuck underwater and Mrs. Brown (Sally Hawkins) dives down to save him. Hawkins is then underwater once again, holding hands with an animal. Remind you of any scene? Having to do with shapes and water? Moving on.... the villains in Paddington are always great. First Nicole Kidman, and now Hugh Grant. I think it helps the movie tend to all ages, because those are two actors that everyone knows and loves, acting in a children's movie alongside a bear. It's a gem. Paddington 2 may be one of the only instances that I liked the sequel better than the original. If you loved Paddington, you'll really love this, and even if you haven't seen the first one, odds are you'll still love this movie. Dir. Steven Spielberg (2018)
Rated PG-13 The Post is about Washington Post journalists Katherine Graham (the first female publisher for a large American newspaper) and Ben Bradlee and their race against The New York Times to publish the Pentagon Papers. These papers included top secret information about the Vietnam War that Nixon and his agents had tried desperately to cover up. The government had been lying to the Americans about their ongoing success in the war, when really, they were losing and in a catastrophic state. When these papers got in the hands of Graham and Bradlee, they had a monumental decision to make. The New York Times also had these papers on hand, and since they came from the same source as Washington Post's, Graham and Bradlee were facing getting into real legal trouble by publishing them. Graham also had her reputation and role in the paper at stake, being the first woman to be in charge of a major publishing company with a lot of people already looking down on her. Publishing the papers would also expose the government in their wrongdoings, so they were risking the abolishment of the press companies as well. This film delivers messages of freedom of speech and press, gender inequality in the 60s, and the time in history when the role of the government in people's lives changed forever. There were great parts of this movie and not so great parts. It's mostly comprised of dialogue with some really great cinematography spliced in. The scenes of New York, DC and its surrounding areas were beautiful, but I don't think aesthetics were a main focus of Spielberg's while filming. Before watching this, I heard a lot of people say that the movie is boring, and I can see that argument. I was bored for the entire first half until the plot picked up. Once it did, you couldn't take your eyes off the screen, but it was kind of a bummer that I had to sit through the entire first half to wait for it to happen. It also helps if you were actually alive and remember when the Pentagon Papers and Watergate happened in history, so while my dad and stepmom knew exactly what was going on, I had some catching up to do. Even then, I thought it was good but not great. In my opinion, the not as good parts outweighed the good parts, but I think it really boils down to what you like in a movie. Some people love a lot of dialogue and some don't. A lot of other people thought this movie was brilliant and well deserving of its many nominations. I don't hate it, but it doesn't deserve this kind of praise. I also worry that Streep is going to lose her credit as the great versatile actress that she is if she keeps doing roles that she gets nominated for simply for appearing on a screen. (I'm thinking Florence Foster Jenkins and Big Little Lies season 2.) I'm not trying to shade Streep, because I think she is amazing in everything I've seen her in, I just don't want her to lose that. The acting was of course incredible, but it's also great to watch movies with actors that we haven't really seen before in lead roles, which this film doesn't achieve. Compared to all of the other acclaimed films that have come out as of late, The Post lacks in this regard. There are so many different opinions on this movie, though, that it is entirely possible that someone else's opinion is the exact opposite of mine. Dir. George Lucas (1977)
Rated PG I won't give a summary of this movie, because I'm pretty sure anyone that reads this knows at least vaguely what happens in Star Wars. I am the last person in my class to watch this by a LONG run, because I have never been into sci-fi-fi movies. Regarding Star Wars, I always just thought I would hate it (sorry to offend). I had a change of heart after everyone in my film class talked about it, and after the newest one got so much hype. So I figured I would watch them (or at least try to). The movies themselves are in such a weird order. So THIS one is this first movie made in the series, even though it's technically the fourth. I still don't really understand it but whatever. I really wanted to like this movie. I didn't really, but I thought it was kind of adorable. All the special effects are from the 70s, and while it was probably groundbreaking at the time, it looks like a stage production compared to the movies made in 2018. That being said, the characters were really cute and lovable even from the first movie, so I can see why this has such a huge fanbase. My personal favorite was R2D2. The plot itself was hard to follow (at least for me), and it took a lot of focus for me to watch the entire thing through without getting distracted. I really didn't think it was all that great. (I'm really sorry. I feel like I'm offending people even as I write this even though only like two people read this.) However, even though the first movie doesn't give that much of the story overall because there are so many movies, it was nice to watch this because now at least I know the basis of Star Wars and have a small introduction to the characters. I used to have no idea what Star Wars was actually about or what it entailed, so at least I'm not totally in the dark now. This isn't my kind of movie/series at all, but I'm not going to write them off yet. I'm going to try to watch the second one soon, so stay tuned. |
AuthorCasey Land Archives
January 2018
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