Reviews

Everything Everywhere All at Once is the multiverse movie to end all multiverse movies. Following Evelyn Wang, a Chinese immigrant who is swept up in an insane adventure, where she alone can save the world by exploring other universes connecting with the lives she could have led. This film is hilarious, overstimulating, unique, stylistic, existential, life-affirming and deeply impactful, with every filmmaking aspect operating at a consistent masterclass level. Probably one of the most spectacularly fun theater experiences I've ever had. You can feel every piece of cinema which inspired this film, just as well as you can feel all of the future filmmakers who will be inspired by it, and we're likely to see its influence on the cinematic craft for decades to come. For the massive scope of the film, Everything Everywhere never forgets the human element which drives the film, a deeply profound and infinitely relatable story about the paths we take, and the importance of the things which matter in our lives over that which could have mattered. It's transcending. You will laugh, you'll probably cry. Most of my theater was doing both. If you're ever going to take a recommendation of mine, make it this. My sympathies for anyone who doesn't get to see this in a theater.

$125 million, dozens of rewrites and reshoots, tons of star power, and it hits the ground like wet cheese.

I live in Parkland, FL. My community was directly affected by the worst school shooting since columbine which happened just up the road from me. That being said, I love dark, edgy and provocative films that push boundaries, test morality, etc. I think a thriller set during a school shooting can totally be a fantastic and nail biting experience if done well. But this is garbage. Any and all politics and/or beliefs aside, it's just a genuinely awful movie. From nobody outside the cafeteria hearing a van plummet through a wall with gunfire, to absolutely atrocious writing and dialogue, to the dull and obnoxious shooters, to an hour long police response time, I just couldn't take a single moment seriously. Not a single redeemable aspect. The worst film I'm going to see all year and it's only January.

I have a genuine theory that every character in this film is a robot replicating a human being but not quite well enough. Something about these characters, the way they acted, spoke and the things they chose to do all just sat wrong with me and didn't feel human.

Cam (2018) follows a camgirl who awakes one day to discover she's been replaced on her show with an exact replica of herself. This horror film introduces a haunting and highly intriguing scenario. Although the mystery itself is captivating, the conclusion is underwhelming as the film avoids any delivery of answers. The direction and cinematography were surprisingly fantastic, with the aesthetic of the cam rooms making for some beautiful shots and sets. I also really enjoyed the social commentary on how online sex workers are viewed and how they're forced to lead dual lives due to the stigma associated with the profession. Some better writing and a more solid third act could really change this film from good to great.

The Other Side of the Wind (2018) is the Orson Welles time capsule of a film finally released 40 years after filming. Even at the time, Welles' odd parodying mockumentary on his own comeback was extremely meta, his subsequent death before release and indefinite development amplifies how self-referential it is, only adding to the experience itself. These scenes sometimes loosely congregated and already complicated enough, are even more so when Welles' intentions are taken into consideration. The two films within a film adds a purposeful disorganization, seeing this fictional directors film, and seeing the fictional documentary shot of that director's final day. The on screen director's desired comeback with flash and fringe only seem to perfectly parallel Welles' comeback with this avant-garde concept. Interestingly enough, Welles is creating both of these at once, using this fictional director's edgy return as his own. (Maybe)Unintentionally, neither of them truly get their desired resurgence. An ending almost too perfect to a vision continually paradoxical. Edited posthumously, is this the product Welles intented? Did he ever intend one at all?

Aside from a couple minor issues I had with this film, I loved it. It just felt incredibly real. I didn't feel like I was watching actors. I felt like I was watching the lives of these kids unfold, and that those lives would just continue unfolding even when the camera wasn't rolling.

This show does a lot of things right, with great cinematography and very crisp visuals full of popping colors and dark hues. But oh man, the continuity errors and extreme reliance on bad CG. Computer generated blood already looks bad compared to practical. But when you have horrible continuity errors where big puddles and splatters of blood are disappearing, re-appearing, and completely changing shape between shots, it looks terrible. There's so many continuity errors that I have no idea how they could have possibly gotten by. All of the practical effects look fantastic, so I don't know why they chose to do this cartoonish looking CG instead, that scarecrow monster looked like it came straight out of Luigis Mansion.

I've been needing a good insane action movie fix for a while now, and this was definitely it. Once this movie ramps up, it never comes back down. Nonstop incredible action all the way through. This film is amazing at using its surroundings to its advantage. A fight scene in a butchers room? Every cleaver, slab of meat, meat hook, and bone becomes a weapon. Fight next to a pool table? Pool balls and pool sticks used in the most brutal way possible. The fight choreography is phenomenal and I was almost convinced they were just beating the piss out of the actors. This movie is such a brutal and fun time, a great movie to watch with a room full of energetic friends.

This film seems to be a hit or a miss for a lot of people on here, I can totally understand why someone wouldn't be a fan of it. If you're into odd bleak thrillers filled with dread, you'll probably be on the positive side for this one. I think what sets most people off is the run time, there is a phenomenal hour and a half thriller in here, but I think it's still perfectly great regardless of the runtime. And god damn that cinematography is incredible.

I'm an enormous fan of Jeremy Saulnier. He's solidified himself as one of my favorite directors due to how absolutely solid his last two films were, they're among my favorite films of all time. If you enjoy Jeremy's directing, you'll definitely enjoy this film as well. Jeremy's strengths are at their strongest here. Unrelenting, Unexpected and unforgiving violence. Breathtaking cinematography. Nerve wracking suspense, and his ability to completely subvert expectations are all extremely present and shining. Him and Macon Blair's "less is more" writing works great with the dark and dreadful atmosphere surrounding the film. I wholeheartedly disagree that the film was slow in any way. Although the pacing is occasionally inconsistent, I was never once bored and constantly within Saulnier's grip through each and every scene. Personally, my only real issue is that "less is more" seems to be a tactic also applied to the story itself, creating more questions than answers and leading to a conclusion that wasn't quite as satisfying as it probably needed to be. Hold The Dark is a gorgeous, original and highly ambitious thriller, with tension ridden scenes that are sure to thrill and chill.

MANDY is INCREDIBLE. A spectacle of indie horror, a perfect combination of beautiful cinematography and uncompromising brutality. Nicolas Cage gives the performance of a lifetime, he is absolutely stellar and wildly entertaining. His over the top acting and pure insanity is exactly what this film needed and he is undoubtedly perfect for this role. Watching him tear through a religious cult of cosmic evil is just captivating. Tremendously stylistic, almost every shot is meticulously crafted, stunningly color graded and is consistently a gorgeous sight which only adds to the horrific imagery. I love the way the film slowly descends from a grounded forest lakeside reality into the depths of a treacherous and demonic fantasy. All of this accompanied by a phenomenal score, one I can only describe as dreadful in the most complimentary way possible. Mandy is infinitely entertaining, and limitless in satisfaction, with the third act being absolutely volcanic and drenched in insanity.

EIGHTH GRADE (2018) is a great and realistic portrayal of late middle school life from the perspective of someone who feels at the bottom of the food chain. My favorite part about Eighth Grade by far is the writing. For the most part, it doesn't feel like a film written by some adult trying to mimic how middle schoolers think and act. Most of the characters think, act and talk how most modern teens of that age do, with occasional slight exaggeration for comedic purposes. Eighth Grade does a phenomenal job at capturing the strange and uncomfortable hardships and anxieties of young teens, and although occasionally making you cringe, it's a cringe that feels oddly familiar.

Three Identical Strangers is a documentary covering the unlikely reunion of three identical triplets separated at birth who all meet eachother for the first time at the age of 21. Then following their experiences together and unfolding the dark mystery as to why they were separated in the first place. The first half of this film is 10/10 phenomenal. Absolutely stunning, captivating, uplifting, and amazing. I was glued to the screen watching these impossible events unfold. The second half however begins to drag a little, they cover the darkness and mystery behind their separation, and although very interesting, it could have been executed much better as the film definitely loses some steam while covering this. This is definitely one of the most interesting documentaries ever made regardless of its flaws, and I absolutely recommend it.

Lean On Pete (2018) is a phenomenal adventure/drama directed by Andrew Haigh. This film is infinitely more than it looks at first glance. Each character is well written and has purpose, feeling as if they existed in this universe before and after entering the screen. Very well paced, and following its own rules, I was captivated watching this fantastic story unfold within this rich and beautiful world in which they created.

Psychological thrillers centered around artificial intelligence are some of my favorite movies, the genre has so much potential to explore artificial minds, as well as terrify with their capabilities. In order to do so, they require very fleshed out and smart writing, when comparing the writing of this film, especially the writing of the A.I. to that of films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Her, and Ex machina, the writing falls very short. It has a very difficult time fleshing out the protagonists relationship with the A.I., leading to many scenes that feel undeserved and forced. They wanted emotional scenes, but they didn't earn them. This on top of very mediocre performances, and character decisions that don't seem near as reasonable as some other choices they could have made. There were also a few things that weren't logical from any standpoint, but I'm willing to suspend that disbelief. I very much enjoyed the set itself, it did a good job selling itself as a futuristic film, and also made for some very pretty cinematography, using different colored lights and displays to illuminate some shots and scenes. Altogether, I liked the concept, disliked the execution.

The script is about us saving cool dinosaurs, but the real question is: can cool dinosaurs save us from this terrible script? (they can't)

Hearts Beat Loud is such a cute movie all around. There was almost nothing I disliked about it. Nick Offerman is so great in a dramatic role, and his on-screen daughter is just as good. There haven't been many feel good movies lately, and this one rocks.

At its best, Hereditary is amazing, some scenes and sequences are beautifully crafted; no, seriously, the way this movie presents itself is perfect and I doubt (but hope) we're going to see another movie this year with as good of presentation. The camera work during some scenes is great, some shots linger on a characters reaction to an event, rather than the event itself, or instead of turning the camera towards a focal point, they instead follow the characters head as they turn towards it, almost teasing you and it works so so so well. I also LOVED the framing and the way they worked certain figures into the shadows, most dumb horror movies slam a black silhouette dead center, but this is so subtle sometimes that I wonder if there were a few that I missed entirely, and the ones that I did catch were very chilling. All of the acting (except Wolff) was exceptional, both Millie Shapiro and Toni Collette really shine and make this movie what it is, their performances could not have been better and I never once questioned them. This film is unique in so many ways and most of the time really manages to stay away from the dumb tropes from other movies in its genre... most of the time. At its worst, Hereditary has some pretty dumb moments, a few of them, and although typically not immersion breaking, they do drag it down slightly and make me wish they had done something (or anything) differently, a few of those moments falling directly into the cliche scenes it was trying to avoid, and felt like a Paranormal Activity movie. I also feel the movie ruined what could have been a 10/10 ending. Had the final 3 minutes of the film not contained a single spoken word, it would have been outstanding. I'm so upset that they took the route of completely over explaining what was happening and it definitely broke all of the immersion that had pulled me in. In conclusion, Hereditary is a riveting and spiraling film that is definitely the very best in its sub-genre.

I loved Beast. Slow at times, but never boring. A compelling story which keeps you guessing where it's heading, as well as being untrusting of certain characters. The characters have lots of layers and the development is great, even when a character makes a dumb decision, you understand how and why they did it because it aligns with their personality and past choices; not to mention all of the characters were acted extremely well, making them all the more believable.

Revenge is the directorial debut of french director Coralie Fargeat, but don't let that fool you, this film is solid as hell. Although the concept has been done many times before (I Spit On Your Grave), this film actually executes the concept much better than any of the films you can draw similarities to. Revenge is a gorgeous movie, the cinematography is perfect, the long takes, the scenery, the color palette, all craft a film that is visually stunning. This movie is brutal, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that this is one of the bloodiest movies I've seen in the past few years. I can't even imagine how many hundreds of gallons of blood was used in production. The cat and mouse game happening all movie slowly has its tables turned, culminating in a very long, suspenseful, and bloody final scene which had my eyes locked to the screen. I loved Revenge, and so will you if you're willing to suspend some disbelief.

I really could have been good, but the writing is absolutely atrocious and makes for ZERO rewatching, so many things make no sense from a logical standpoint, and are only done for the sake of being mysterious, sacrificing decent writing to do so.

The Endless is a sci-fi/horror independent film from the guys who made "The Resolution" and "Spring". This is a film I had been excited to see for a while, and my god it did not disappoint. The Endless is about two brothers who escaped a "UFO death cult" 10 years prior to the start of the movie, and follows them when they decide to revisit the cult, slowly realizing that there may be more truth to what these fanatics worship than they originally thought. The writing is amazing, the best I have seen in quite a while. Constantly teasing you and pulling you along through this mysterious and captivating story. My eyes were glued to the screen the entire time, I was intrigued and fascinated, in constant awe and fear of what it could all be leading up to. The whole movie was just absolutely riveting. There aren't even any specifically suspenseful scenes, the entire film is just suspense and mystery throughout. The characters are all very interesting and for how many characters there are, they do a great job quickly developing who they are and making you remember them. This film is extremely creative and original; the concept that the whole movie leads up to is terrifying. The cinematography and directing are all great and only further immersed me. My only wish is that it had a higher budget, some things had to be shown off screen and some effects didn't look too great, but they did a lot with what they had, especially for how ambitious this film was. I would have loved to have seen what some of this could have looked like if they had just a bit more $ to throw at it. That being said, there were also some great effects, especially towards the finale, you can tell that was where most of it went. There were also some great and creepy effects just pulled off by some masterful editing, and those shots were some of the coolest. In conclusion, The Endless is amazing and absolutely mind bending, a perfect little sci-fi/horror indie film that will have you and your friends discussing it long after it ends.

A film like this could have been lots of fun if it was self aware and made the effort, but it takes itself too seriously, presenting itself as dumb rather than cute. Good at times, but mostly not so much. Definitely one of the weaker thrillers this year.

Was very excited for Tully and it didn't disappoint. It's a real, interesting, and fun movie for how depressing the undertone truly is. A great story about the difficulties of motherhood, filled with interesting characters, played by great actors, and the story never really gets ahead of itself. Definitely one of the best of 2018 so far.