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Uncut Gems (2019)
One of the most suspended movies of all time
I gave this movie a 10/10. I normally wouldn't give a movie like this such a high rating because I would consider it more of a "cult" movie, and therefore not quite at the level of a movie which transcends cult and mainstream, like say, Oulp Fiction, which I believe does.
But after a couple of years having gone by since I've seen this movie, the shock and the anxiety that I felt when saw it is still with me when I think about the movie. For that reason, I have to consider this as a masterpiece of it's affected me that deeply.
Then o think about the acting and the cinematography and the editing and all of that, and I can't think of a bad thing about any of it.
The movie might not be as groundbreaking in form as a Pulp Fiction, however I think it strikes an absolute perfect chord of crime and suspense mixed with some dark comedy.
And the score, for one thing, in the end, actually did add a level of transcendence and almost psychedelic insight of which I can't recall seeing before.
This movie is t going to be for everyone, but for me it is one of the most suspenseful movies I've ever seen and it affected me emotionally probably more than any movie ever.
Reptile (2023)
Strong Atmosphere, Story Becomes Cliche
There was a lot to like about this movie. You definitely want to find out the mystery. I kept wanting to turn it off because it was late at night and come back to it, but I couldn't wait to find out what was going to be revealed so I kept watching. This is a great attribute of the movie.
The acting was mostly very good. Del Toro was very very solid.
Timberlake was good too.
Side characters were pretty good.
But the reason I give it six stars is because it drags out a lot of the scenes, a lot of waiting to find out what new information in their case is going to reveal, and when it finally is all revealed it's not so satisfying, making it a little frustrating to have sat through such a slow burn.
Overall was interesting and mysterious and moody in all the right ways but just did not finish very strong, and it's the kind of movie where the ending has to be great because it's a mystery until the end.
Hail, Caesar! (2016)
Underrated
I just watched this for the third time. I saw it the first time as soon as it was streaming after theaters. I thought it was ok but mostly fell flat.
The second time I saw it about four years later, I appreciated Josh Brolin's performance a lot more and felt the movie was funnier than I remembered.
Now a couple more years later and I feel blown away by how good this really is.
If you aren't waiting for "action" to happen, and just watch the funny characters and rude comments flying around, then hopefully you will see how almost every scene in this movie is funny and very clever.
How did I not truly appreciate Scarlett Johanson, who is playing a nice friendly mermaid in a water ballet movie, calling the bottom half of her costume the "fish ass"?
Cocaine Bear (2023)
Funny AND Scary
This was really good. I actually was expecting 99% laughs, but honestly I found myself a couple of times dropping my jaw in shock. A lot of the movie is legitimately frightening, the bear (of course) but also there is some serious drama going on throughout all the crazy and the situations these characters find themselves in are pretty realistic in terms of their goals and motivations and the stakes at play when the characters are in danger.
And, the aspect that makes this movie truly great, is that the whole thing was really a metaphor for the drugs and cultural issues surrounding drugs in the mid 80's. I thought the whole thing blended together really well, making an intelligent, scary, funny thriller, and also social commentary.
Babylon (2022)
Beautiful Movie
This film really took my breath away. It showed the whole artistic energy, tragedy and courage that was the people who were part of the early(ish) Los Angeles film industry, and with great music and set pieces it really felt like you are there experiencing all the allure and tragedies.
The costume design, set design, and acting are top notch. It also is very interesting as a historical fiction piece. It wasn't a deep dive history lesson like a documentary, but there were plenty of accurate timeline plot points involving famous mansion locations, film technology changes, drug culture, clothing styles, attitudes toward sex and race, the media. It's all pointed out while you are carried along with the music and the drama and the comedy. It's a wild ride with a lot of craziness, but a beautiful craziness.
The Northman (2022)
Watched it twice
I was excited to see this as I was a fan of Robert Egger's two previous movies.
I saw it in the theater and while I liked it, I was a bit underwhelmed and felt the story dragged on too much. I was overall positive but very tepidly positive.
But then a few months later I watched it at home and my appreciation grew tremendously. This time around it seemed much more concise and the pacing made more sense. The parts of the film that originally were exciting seemed even more so this time.
I think a lot of the expectations for this movie just don't match up with what is given. While still not a perfect movie, I think it offers a lot of depth and horrifying action scenes, and hopefully others have similar experiences as me if they give it another go.
Candyman: Shadow Puppets (2020)
Don't Get the Low Reviews
The movie was pretty good. Scary. Good pacing and acting. Doesn't deserve the hate. Don't be fooled by that. It really is a pretty good movie and was exciting to watch.
No Sudden Move (2021)
Fish Eye Was Fun
I see a lot of hate for the fisheye lens. It's true that it was so wide that the corners of the image were dark, but you know what, who cares? The film takes place circa 1930's anyways so it matches. And it was not very distracting, maybe once or twice it was, but it made for a really engrossing POV and I don't see how it detracted from the movie.
Acting was great. Set design was great. The story got a little confusing at some points but it didn't ruin the flow. A few plot twists, pretty good dialogue, great music. I was engaged 90% of the time and very very engaged at least half the time. This is an entertaining movie and worth watching.
Pootie Tang (2001)
funny, satirical, great editing, what more do you want?
I just watched this in 2021. I heard about it maybe 5 years ago. Why did I wait? Hilarious and awesome filmmaking.
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Not terrible but pretty forgettable
I think the 1 and 2 star reviews are a bit harsh. I was expecting this movie to be worse, and found myself pleasantly surprised, especially in the first half, that it was at least engaging. But I watched it less than 24 hours ago and I already forgot most of what transpired.
The Last Jedi got a lot of flack for going in crazy story directions but I found that to be that movies greatest asset. It was surprising, and the scenes in that movie, three years later, are still in my head. Luke's attitude in that movie didn't make sense and I was disappointed in that, but otherwise it was a great and exciting movie.
This movie is just serviceable. Some funny moments, like c-3po temporarily losing his memory, but thete was A LOT of cheesy dialogue, particularly from Po. Oscar Isaac is a good actor but he didn't look like one in this, probably because his dialogue was so stupid and childish. Action sequences were decent but not as good as the previous film, which was epic. And the force powers in this movie were overboard.somehow Leah flying through space in the previous film was more believable than Rey pulling a ship out of the sky. And Palpatine coming back from the dead was dumb. So who was the emperor in the original movies? (Ep 4-6). I'm not a super fan and I don't know all the details of the universe but I still had these questions.
Ocean's Eight (2018)
As bad as you think it will be
I've never been less interested in Cate Blanchett in a movie. And it's not her fault. The movie is just crap
Split (2016)
Average
I was really excited about this one and was, for the most part, let down. I cannot say completely let down, because as I sit here writing this about six hours after I saw the movie, I do have some of the images from it in my mind, and while they seem dull, are actually sort of creeping me out and staying with me. But still, unfortunately I have to say this was just average. It was simply too slow, repetitive, and honestly pretty boring for about 70% of the movie. If you have seen The Happening, it's pretty much like that, and honestly The Happening might be better than this. It probably is. But if you remember those sort of awkward stares between Marky Mark and co. imagine 10 times that, and you get the awkward stares of this movie. It's just one awkward stare after another, and the dialogue which starts out interesting and telling of mental illness gets very repetitive and anticlimactic. I enjoyed some of the twisty nature toward the end, but I was having a hard time staying gripped for much of the movie. It was like I was forcing myself to be gripped. Jumped in my seat once, and that was fun. Had a kind of rich proposition placed on me at the end. So....not all bad, but I feel like after two hours I should have been more thrilled.
Star Trek (2009)
Not In The Same Spirit Of Star Trek
I'm not a trekkie by any means. I have only seen two Star Trek movies in my life. When I was young, I watched the one where they go to San Francisco (back in time) to save the whales. I watched this a few times. I also watched Star Trek First Contact a few times. I liked both of those movies because the struggles of the characters felt authentic. It felt like space combined with the dramas we face in real life, but put into a science fiction, almost super natural light.
This Star Trek merely wants you to go weeeee, uppppp, downnnnn. It's like a ride. Don't we have enough of this? Honestly, are people really impressed by twenty minute action/explosion scenes?
There were some tense and good moments, especially with Spock, but overall, really not that interesting, and I'm sorry to say I don't have very high hopes for Star Wars because J.J. Abrams seems more concerned with gloss and sheen than true style and spirit
Nightcrawler (2014)
A for cinematography A for acting. D for everything else
That pretty much sums it up. It looked good and Jake was really good in it. But the order of operations was all messed up. I really don't know how people were terrified or creep-ed out by this movie? As others have said, it has a good concept, but the ending should have been the beginning of the movie, because that is the only moment it gets interesting. It was so boring for at least an hour I had a hard time staying awake. The same scene just seemed to keep repeating itself without going anywhere. This might have been a good short film, maybe 15 minutes long. I'm not joking.
People seem to be saying that this was some sort of huge statement on the media, and I can hardly understand that either. Is it a surprise that the news outlets will put in gory material? There was no explanation as to why Renne Russo's character was so adamant about putting explicit footage on television while her boss had reservations about it, other than they needed more ratings. Sooooo.....? They need more ratings? That's the big scandal? And somehow the guy who is apparently a sociopath is willing to get the grisly footage for her? I don't really understand what that proves? That sociopaths can have a lucrative career in covering news stories?
Meek's Cutoff (2010)
Good Quiet and leaves you Hanging like the Sopranos
This movie is slow and forces you to dwell on what you are watching, in a similar way that Terrence Malick movies do. Like in The New World. Robert Altman said once in an interview that he would like to make a movie, or see movies made, where there is no plot or structure or expectation other than there is a beginning to the vision and then an end, by necessity of film itself. I thought of this while I was watching the film, and it helped me enjoy it more. Because if you are waiting for extreme conflict to come or more action, it just won't, and you will be rightly disappointed. I was entertained watching this, but really it is not an entertaining movie in the sense that it picks you up and shows you something magic. Instead, it forces you to look at the bare, boring, interesting creatures which are human beings walking across the earth in a certain time and place, in a hard situation. If you can appreciate this as you might appreciate watching herds of zebras be chased by lions, then you will enjoy it. The ending is a bitch, but I don't dislike it as it makes me make an educated guess.