Hell or High Water (2016)

It’s rare for such a well received movie to slip through the cracks time and time again when trying to fill in the gaps of your movie watching resume. But with Hollywood releasing over 700 titles a year, not all movies are as accessible as others. 

On that note, Netflix has come through with a great list of movies to kick off the 2019 year! One of which is Hell or High Water, Taylor Sheridan’s story of two brothers who must resort to robbing banks in order to keep their property. And while that is captivating enough to watch, the real brilliance of the film is realized by Jeff Bridge’s detective work and country charm as he tries to anticipate the brother’s next heist. Another positive takeaway is the excellent cast. Every actor is given the chance to show their chops and there isn’t a weak link in the chain.

The most impressive aspect of this film is how contained, yet layered it is. There aren’t a dozen characters to keep track of and the world isn’t ending, but for these characters, the stakes have never been higher. The movie does a great job of presenting a moral dilemma that dictates the rest of the movie. And although I know Chris Pine’s solution is wrong in the law’s eyes, he does it for the right reasons. Few movies try to rationalize the “bad guy’s” motivations, but Hell or High Water earns points here because it isn’t afraid to give us both (good and bad) perspectives throughout. Overall, this is an A+ big recommend from me. Until next time, Happy Watching!

Tusk (2014)

After cringing my way through this film, I can assuredly tell you this is not the movie you’re looking for. Whether it be for horror or suspense, Tusk has both of those elements, but the content is so disturbing that finishing the movie feels like a chore more than a relief. 
I am an emerging Kevin Smith fan. I enjoy his writing and his characters, but regrettably have only seen a small portion of his work. I know he wrote and directed Tusk, so I wanted to give it a shot. Compelling dialogue and interesting characters aside, this movie turns dark fast and it doesn’t wait for you to catch up. I believe Kevin Smith made the freaky nightmarish movie he wanted, but after one viewing,  I don’t think I’ll ever want to return to it. You’ve been warned… 

tl;dr it’s like The Human Centipede, but with walruses.

Justice League 2017

In many ways, I’m here to set the record straight. As of right now, Justice League sits at just under 40% on the Tomatometer for critics. On the other hand, about 85% of audiences enjoyed this movie and I have to side with them on this one. This was by no means a bad movie. It’s far from perfect and the story jumps around A LOT, but I have to commend DC on Justice League. By the time Avengers came out, 3/4 of the heroes had solo movies (Thor, Iron Man, Captain America) and only had to worry about introducing the Hulk. This was absolutely to the benefit of Marvel, because instead of introducing characters, they could focus on story and the villain. With Justice League however, we’ve only seen Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, which is only half of the League at this point. That leaves Aquaman, Cyborg and the Flash, which are by no means small characters in the DC universe. These characters deserved better back stories, and at the very least, they deserved their own solo movies before DC threw them together. I understand that Hollywood isn’t always pretty and DC needed to fast track this in order to compete with Marvel. I understand all of that, but the story suffers for it.
If you can get past the fact that the movie rushes to introduce the remaining heroes, there are some well choreographed scenes that deserve praise. The dialogue and emotional scenes fall pretty flat, but boy do some of the action scenes make up for them! There are also some humorous moments in this movie that give me hope for DC’s future. I like gritty super heroes as much as the next person, but I like to laugh too! And there are just enough laughs in Justice League to keep that balance. The main villain deserves a mention and is a force to be reckoned with, but unfortunately, he’s so one-note that it’s hard to care about anything he does.
With all that said, I did enjoy this movie. Better than 40% at least. I would put it at 70%, maybe a low B if you want a letter grade. DC did a great job, considering what they had to work with. I can’t wait to see what’s next for these heroes and their story. Happy Watching!

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

It seems as though super hero movies have become their own genre this past decade, and I’m okay with that. It doesn’t mean they’ll all be box office hits or even that enjoyable to watch, but more often than not, they are a good time. However, not all comic book movies are created equal, it depends on personal preference. For instance, I enjoy most of Marvel’s comic book movies, but DC has fallen flat for me more than once. I have several theories as to why that is, but I’ll bring up the glaringly obvious reason: Humor. 
Marvel has never shied away from puns and one liners, it is expected at this point. Thor: Ragnarok is no exception. In fact, I would consider this Marvel’s funniest movie to date. Yes, even funnier than Guardians of the Galaxy. At the very least, they’re at the same level, which is saying a lot. 
This movie had me smiling and laughing throughout and that’s enough reason for me to wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone I know. Solid A! Happy Watching.

“The revolution has begun!”

 

Zodiac 2007

This mysterious drama is unlike any detective story I’ve ever seen, but it is undoubtedly compelling. When a serial killer taunts officers and leaves investigators stumped, a determined young cartoonist is left to pick up the pieces. Not because it’s his job, but because he’s the best person for the job. It may seem far fetched, but Jake Gyllenhaal plays the underdog protagonist, and learning about the Zodiac killer from his perspective is truly a spectacle. By the 2nd half of the film I was completely on board with this passionate cartoonist playing detective. 

There is a lot to chew on in this 2.5 hour movie, but I find the scenes from the Zodiac victim’s perspective to be truly haunting. Made only more haunting by the fact it’s based on true events! Stay safe out there people! Happy Watching.

Arrival 2016

This mystery, sci-fi movie literally blew me away! I was on the edge of my seat for about 75% of the time. Typical alien movies are basically monster movies, but Arrival flips the norm and delivers a much different perspective. Instead of an action thriller, it’s more suspenseful, but it builds up beautifully. The alien lifeforms are intelligent, but our protagonists are also intelligent. Amy Adams’ performance was fantastic and all of her interactions with the aliens are phenomenal. This movie plays with time in a way I’ve never seen before and I loved it! Can’t recommend this movie enough!

mother! 2017

Most of my reviews so far have been from movies I’ve seen several times. If not several times, I’ve at least been able to enjoy them from the comfort of my own living room. For new releases, I find that it’s helpful to come home from the theater and either talk about the film at length or write a short phrase or synopsis to better remember it. I’m glad, however, that I did not do that with this movie. I watched “mother!” several days ago, and if I wrote a review that same night, it would be completely different than the one I’m about to write now. See, my first reaction to this movie was that I hated it. Not “didn’t like it that much” or “wasn’t for me”, but I seriously did not enjoy it at all. Halfway through the movie I was ready to walk out, that’s how unbelievably stressful this movie was. Not only stressful, but confusing too. This movie has no plot, and Javier Bardem’s character is catalyzing everything, but his motivations are unclear/nonexistent. Since then, I’ve learned that this movie is a metaphor for the book of Genesis in the Bible.  I honestly love this concept, but I wish the movie itself made this a bit clearer. There are subtle hints (very subtle), but the few lines of dialogue are too broad to draw any sort of conclusion. Jennifer Lawrence plays mother nature, so spoiler alert, it doesn’t turn out well for her. Understanding what the film is based on makes me like it more, but I think a film should stand on it’s own, without requiring internet research.

After taking a step back and a deep breath, it’s hard to deny the talent behind the camera. Darren Aronofsky does a brilliant job showing us every little detail about the house, the only setting in the entire movie. And although I was very stressed toward the end, the effects and the scenes were visually stunning. I still can’t point to any one scene and say “That was good, I liked that.” Which is kind of an issue for me, but maybe that says less about the movie, and more about the Bible. Either way, good or bad, I cannot stop thinking about this movie. I don’t think any review can prepare you for the madness, but this movie is worth watching for the after discussion alone. Happy Watching!