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I, Daniel Blake (2016)
I, Daniel Blake is a fantastic film that flows well with some truly solid performances.
For more than 50 years, Ken Loach (KES) has been making films that cause us to think about our current political and social climates, no matter what race your are or where you come from, because a lot of us suffer from the same overall issues, whether it be medically, financially, or a corrupt government. Loach has never been shy to show any of these topics in his films over the years as well as in real life interviews. If you've ever attended a screening a film festival or movie where Loach is the director behind the movie, you will immediately know what you're in for, which is usually a story of someone being beat by the system, despite all of the honest and good things they do. His film I, Daniel Blake is no different, which isn't a bad thing.
It's won a ton of awards and even won the Palme d'Or award at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. The movie follows a fifty-something man named Daniel Blake who is a skilled carpenter, but is out of work due to having a heart attack. After his recovery, his doctors say he is not ready to go back to work yet, but the job assessment people say otherwise. This puts Daniel in a bad situation as employers won't hire him, because his doctors say he's unfit, but others have checked him as cleared, which leads to Daniel not getting a job and zero government assistance due to a clerical error.
As he tries to fix this situation, Loach shows us the frustrating and sometimes funny series of events in trying to fix a bureaucratic mishap by being put on hold for hours on end or someone who is up there in years, trying to work a computer. After the few laughs, it really hits home as the underlying message is that we now live in a time where people are not cared for or listened to, but rather treated as cattle with no purpose. It's a system designed to leave behind the less than fortunate, but honest people. Along the way though, Daniel meets a nice woman named Katie, who has moved from here home with her kids, but is not in a good situation financially or even job-wise.
Still, she does what it takes to feed her kids, even if it means she starves for days on end or has to take on other forms of employment that might be illegal. It's here that we see that despite the rough situations that both Daniel and Katie are in, they are still good human beings and help each other out when they can, because the system certainly won't. As with most Loach films, things aren't exactly happy and good feelings. What he does well here is show very realistic characters in very subtle ways with their actions and dialogue.
I, Daniel Blake is a fantastic film that flows well with some truly solid performances. It not only shows certain aspects of everyday life perfectly, but also makes them relevant an connects us to one another. There are moments where things can be a bit preachy and could wander into cliche territory, but it doesn't kill the film, due to the simplistic nature and heart warming characters that are on screen. No matter how much social or political is thrown out here, the film is still a great work of art.
Drag Me to Hell (2009)
This is how you do a horror movie right.
Back in 2009, the brilliant filmmaker Sam Raimi journeyed back to his horror roots and made a fun-as-hell horror-comedy film called 'Drag Me To Hell'. For those of you who don't remember who Sam Raimi is, movies like 'Evil Dead II', 'Army of Darkness', 'The Spider-Man Trilogy', and 'Darkman' are some of his accomplishments. Raimi and his brother and frequent collaborator Ivan Raimi had an idea for a horror film called 'The Curse', but when Raimi booked the 'Spider-Man' gig, that film was put on hold for the next decade. After 'Spider-Man 3' was released, Sam and Ivan went quickly back to their idea to work on a low budget horror film again, which turned into 'Drag Me To Hell'.
If you've seen the British horror film 'Night of the Demon', you'd see some good similarities between the two, but Sam wanted to make a movie about a pleasant and very nice individual who makes one bad decision out of their very own greed, which comes back to haunt them in a the most horrific way. 'Drag Me To Hell' centers on a young woman named Christine (Alison Lohman), who is a sweet and well-mannered loan officer at a bank. She's kind, funny, and has a good boyfriend she loves (Justin Long). Her boss at the bank is always riding her to make the "hard decisions" in order to keep bank profits up and not allow people who need help with extensions or past payments. Christine doesn't agree with this sentiment, but when an elderly gypsy woman comes in and kindly asks for an extension on her house, Christine does not allow it in order to impress her boss and gain a small promotion.
The old gypsy woman, played perfectly by Lorna Raver, curses Christine to hell for eternity. The rules are that Christine is now in possession of a button from the gypsy woman and must pass the button along to someone else within three days or she will be devoured by demons in a fiery hell below forever. Of course, none of this seems believable, but when strange and terrifying things start happening, Christine must try to make things right. The film is rated PG-13, which for a horror movie on Sam Raimi's watch, isn't the way to go, but Raimi wanted to do something different and rely on a psychological horror rather than a ton of gore.
Needless to say, Raimi succeeded here on all levels. His ability to show shadows behind doors or evil footsteps lurking is highly suspenseful and works in each scene here. The more potent scares are in your face and downright terrifying, which might leave you nervously laughing at any moment. With the horror genre, Raimi perfectly inputs his comedic genius that rallies behind that of 'The Three Stooges' and some other off-beat dark humor, which is such a delightful and delicious mix of dialogue and gore. The performances are all solid, but the person who stands out is by far Lorna Raver as the old gypsy woman.
Raver is a stage actress who is sweet and kind, but in this film, she is ugly, ruthless, and scary-as-hell. It's a great transformation and Raver just jumps into the deep end with her character and never swims back to the edge. At it's core, 'Drag Me To Hell' is a tale of morals and ethics, where you might be a sweet and kind person, but even one slip up and come back to bite you. It's a damn fine message and premise that will make you laugh and hide under the covers with the lights one. This is how you do a horror movie right.
Geostorm (2017)
if you're a fan of these ridiculous films, then 'Geostorm' is for you, the same way 'Sharknado' would be.
Natural disaster films will always have a special place in my heart. Most of the time, they are over-the-top, ridiculous, and never make a lick of sense. Still, there is something entertaining in watching giant cities fall due to an alien invasion, a giant lizard, or is with the case of 'Geostorm', extreme weather. No matter what the premise, these films usually have the same intentions and plot structure, which usually involves one hero guy to save the day, millions of casualties, hilarious one-liners, and enough insane plot tangents that would cause you to have a headache.
If you're going into these types of movies, you'll have to go in with a certain expectation, or you will definitely not enjoy it. You have to suspend all belief in science, realism, and plausible actions. If you do this, you're gonna have a good time with what's on screen. 'Geostorm' is no different in this realm of movie genres. Behind the wheel on this vehicle is Dean Devlin, who is no stranger to natural disaster films. Devlin has written and or produced 'Independence Day', 1998's 'Godzilla', and 'Eight Legged Freaks' to name a few.
'Geostorm' marks Devlin's directorial debut and he pulls no stops, but fails short of anything worth while, despite the over-the-top catastrophe that takes place. 'Geostorm' cost $120 million to make, but only made $33 million in theaters. It did far better overseas, which made back it's money and then some, but has yet to find a big audience to to the incoherence of it all. In the near future, there have been major weather events that have caused significant damages and killed a lot of people. The world has come together and developed a satellite system that prevents the storms from happening by firing missiles into the storm.
The brains behind this operation is Gerard Butler, which should tell you everything about this movie. For some reason, Gerard Butler is difficult to work with and is fired from this job where his younger brother Jim Sturgess replaces him. For the next few years, the satellite system works perfectly, until it doesn't and major cities fall and many people die by way of car sized hail, fire tornadoes, and even an ice storm in the desert that instantly freezes people to death. Turns out, there is a mystery person behind this who has injected a virus into the satellite system to cause these problems. It's now only up to Gerard Butler to travel to space and even kidnap the president of the United States, played by Andy Garcia to fix this problem. Mix in some henchmen, far-fetched theories, and Ed Harris, and you have a natural disaster picture that is highly entertaining and equally hilarious.
None of it makes sense at all. You'd think that Dean Devlin would have known through years of experience to make solid and well-rounded characters or even frame a bit of action well, but that's not the case. The visual effects aren't that good and the action beats of extreme weather and cities falling never really put you in the action. In fact, all of this you've seen before in past Marvel films or other disaster flicks. All this being said, if you're a fan of these ridiculous films, then 'Geostorm' is for you, the same way 'Sharknado' would be.
Cook Off! (2007)
No appetite for this slop!
There might be a few hundred reality shows based on cooking competitions. Some involve chefs, while others involve children trying to cook five star meals. It's all terrible. More than 10 years ago, a woman named Cathryn Michon made a film in the style of a Christopher Guest Mockumentary (Best in Show), called 'Cook Off!', which showed us some whacky characters in a cooking competition. Again, this film was made more than 10 years ago and has been sitting on a shelf for the right time. Turns out, it was never the right time and for some reason, we have this horrible movie in front of us.
The poster and cover art of 'Cook Off!' would have you believe that Melissa McCarthy stars in the film as she is front and center on every piece of promotional material. That's not the case though as she might have around 10 minutes of actual screen time in the whole film. This annoys me to great end when companies do this. One of the problems I think we have here with 'Cook Off!' is that Cathryn Michon took on the roles of directing, producing, editing, writing, and starring in the film. She hasn't done much at all and I don't think she handled any of these aspects well at all. It's a shell of a film that takes all of its cues from Christopher Guest, but never pulls off any of the dry humor, wit, or charm that any of his films have. Michon took on too much and it became a lazy script. She even had Wendi McLendon-Covey (Reno-911) help write the script here and there and star in the movie too, but nothing helped.
Like 'Best in Show', this 'Cook Off!' film follows a group of off-beat individuals who enter a cooking contest to win a cash prize. We meet each of these individuals and their families first and see just how strange they are. The cooking competition gets underway and instead of having these entrants cook something delicious, they all cook their "best or favorite" meals, which are all flat out disgusting. One dish is even called "That Time of the Month Crab Puffs". This is what we're dealing with here.
The humor isn't subtle or witty. It's just annoying and unfunny. I could go into each contestant here, but I won't, because they are all the worst stereotypical characters you could write with no real direction. Even though the film is 98 minutes long, you still feel like 45 minutes needs to be cut out. It's that bad, which is unfortunate, because there are so many great comedic actors here, but given the script, nobody could do anything to make it better. Stay clear of this one for sure, as you won't have an appetite for anything after watching this.
Victor Crowley (2017)
'Victory Crowley' might be the most fun you'll have watching a horror movie this year.
You've heard the names Freddy Krueger, Jason Vorhees, and Michael Myers before, and you know what they're capable of. In addition to those names, you should get to know Victor Crowley, who has earned a spot right next to these horror icons with his own film franchise called 'Hatchet'. Director Adam Green (Frozen, Hatchet, Holliston) comes back to the director's chair for the 4th installment in the 'Hatchet' franchise called 'Victor Crowley'. Green, being a passionate fan of the horror genre himself, has taken his favorite elements from all of our favorite horror movies from the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, and injected them into his films in the best ways.
The overall story plot to these films is nothing new in that a group of people usually find themselves in the cajun part of the country where a supernatural monster kills his victims one by one. It's how Green writes his characters and story, which gives these films a fresh and original outlook for the horror genre, not to mention they are a ton of fun with a treasure trove of dark comedy bits. 'Victory Crowley' is no different either.
Set a decade after the events of the third film, we focus on Andrew Yong (Parry Shen, who's been in every 'Hatchet' film), as his new book about the Victory Crowley murders is making the rounds on the talk shows and numerous book signings that have some hilarious and odd requests. His manager Kathleen (Felissa Rose from 'Sleepaway Camp'), is trying to secure the most money for him and herself as she can, which is why she enlists a film crew to make a a short film on the Victor Crowley murders where they originally took place. Yong is reluctant to go, but ends up right where he doesn't want to be again with more soon-to-be victims.
Crowley shows up in his beefed up stature and overalls and starts to brutally kill everyone in his path. What Green does very well is stage his death scenes with some amazing and gooey practical effects. Brains fall out, limbs are severed and perhaps the best scene in a film of recent memory comes to play here with a severed arm, a mobile phone, and a crotch. It's one of those movie moments where you yell out in joy. With all of the gooey bits being thrown around, Green also keeps the silly comedy flowing as well with his unique dialogue and character actions.
Kane Hodder, who is no stranger to playing iconic movie monsters, dons the Victory Crowley makeup and just owns every scene he's in with the intense body language. 'Victory Crowley' might be the most fun you'll have watching a horror movie this year, as it brings back all of the nostalgic elements you fell in love with growing up in horror.
Class of 1999 (1990)
'Class of 1999' is the nostalgic, violent 80's action movie you still want!
Filmmaker Mark L. Lester has sure made a name for himself in cinema world, mostly being movies from the 1980s. He gave us some of the most homoerotic action films from that time, including 'Commando' and 'Showdown in Little Tokyo' to name a few. 'Class of 1999' is no different either and is a sibling sequel to his film a few years beforehand in 'Class of 1984'. With '1984', you had a new teacher come to a violent high-school where most of the kids are in gangs and try to make a difference. Things get out of hand for sure.
When we cut to 'Class of 1999', the same kind of setup is provided, but this time the gangs of kids are forced to deal with new teachers that are actually robots hellbent on not just teaching lessons, but taking lives too. You can see the similarities between 'Robocop', 'Westworld', 'Terminator', with a little 'Fury Road' throughout the film as a recent student named Cody (Bradley Gregg from 'Stand By Me'), who has just gotten out of jail and wants to change his ways, enters the high school with the new teachers who are in fact robots that look human.
These robots, played by Patrick Kilpatrick, John P. Ryan, and Pam Grier don't mess around and are not above beating students bloody, killing them, and in some of the more homoerotic scenes - spanking them hundreds of times in front of people. Don't get me wrong, these high-schoolers need discipline, but to what ends? The students must band together and fight these robot teachers, while trying not to kill each other. The nostalgic 80's wardrobe, one-liners, practical effects, and feel all comes to light in this one movie. It's a trip down memory lane and is still quite fun to watch, even if the whole story and premise is over-the-top and ridiculous.
The film always sticks to its guns and goes all the way, never afraid to turn away to violence or even its cheesiness. This is what the early 80's thought the future was going to be like as far as education and students go, which needless to say, they had no faith in us. It also gives us a satire on how far should the government and private companies go in showing discipline at schools. 'Class of 1999' is sure as hell entertaining, even to this day, and has some fun cameos, including Stacy Keach and Malcolm McDowell. The practical effects of the robots and gory wounds all look excellent with no sign of CGI yet. I still love this film.
The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)
'The Cloverfield Paradox' fails to entertain!
Going into 'The Cloverfield Paradox', which should be renamed to 'The Cloverfield Potato', I was a huge fan of this movie universe and its mythology. With 2008's 'Cloverfield', I loved the use of handheld cameras and the found footage aspect to tell this crazy story of a giant creature wreaking havoc on everyone and everything in New York, despite the annoying characters. Some years later, we got a film set in the same universe with '10 Cloverfield Lane', which had us holed up with John Goodman and couple other great characters where something terrible was happening outside their underground bunker, just as something equally awful was happening underground. JJ Abrams had announced a third film some years ago that would take place in this 'Cloverfield' universe, but went thru many delays and a ton of titles, including 'The God Particle'.
In a genius move though, the first trailer for the film played during the Superbowl, which said it would debut right after the game on Netflix. A surprise indeed it was, but after viewing the film, disappointment set in with just how lazy and horrible everything was in a film franchise that had everything going for it. With an amazing cast from all over the world, including Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Chris O'Dowd, Zhang Ziyi, Roger Davies, Aksel Hennie, David Oyelowo, Daniel Brühl, Elizabeth Debicki,and John Ortiz, and a great movie universe to draw inspiration from - filmmaker Julius Onah and his writers failed miserably.
What 'The Cloverfield Paradox' does, is take a ton of other sci-fi films' plot lines and scenes and mixes them up into its own jumbled mess of mediocrity. If you were to name a few films 'The Cloverfield Paradox' takes its cues from, 'Event Horizon', 'Alien', and 'Interstellar' would come to mind, but there are countless others that come into play here, but the best parts of those films don't translate well here. Maybe, because it feels rushed, lazy, and unoriginal, not to mention that all of the characters have zero backstory, with the exception of one character, while everyone else is the one-note stereotypical space crew environment, including the comic relief, the doctor, the short temper, the boss, and the weirdo.
Set on a space station above Earth, this space crew is trying to harness and energy to help Earth out with the low energy levels in order to survive.When the space crew succeeds, it happens to transport them to another dimension with no Earth in sight. Strange noises, random people start yelling from within the walls, chests burst open, worms fly out, and more start to happen aboard the space station.
Meanwhile, on Earth, well see the first 'Cloverfield' movie, as two dimensions collide. The cast is perfectly capable of being the best they've ever been, but due to this script, nobody is given any one moment to shine other than one-liners. There are moments where the film seems to be going into dark and balls-to-the-wall territory, but it always stops short.In fact, if the film were togo all the way so to speak, it would have been a much better movie.
There is no relation to the other 'Cloverfield' films other than some half-assed sub plot and the final moment of the movie. None of it makes sense and feels like a marketing push over the biggest televised event of the year to surprise us with something we didn't really want. What comes across is something cheap and laughable.
Flower (2017)
You won't want to plant this 'Flower'!
Sometimes you get a film that seems so good on paper, but after you watch it, you can't help but be sorely disappointed in just about everything you've witnessed. 'Flower' is that kind of movie that had a lot of potential, but just couldn't get it together for anyone to really relate to, even though it tried to be realistic. The film was directed by Max Winkler who hasn't really done anything before this, and was written by three male writers, which is weird, because the main characters are female, which causes some strange dialogue for sure.
The story centers on a teenage girl named Erica (Zoey Deutch, the chick from 'Everybody Wants Some'), who is a fast talking, inappropriate young woman who loves to eat at the bowling alley, draw penises in her notebook, and give anyone blowjobs that crosses her path. She seems to love giving blowjobs, but she blackmails everyone she does it to for all the cash they have with the help of her two dumb friends who sneak up on her victims with their camera phones. Erica's mother (Kathryn Hahn) is trying to pick up the pieces of recent breakups and Erica's biological dad who is in jail for something "awesome", but she has new boyfriend now named Sherm who comes with a teenage son who is awkward to say the least.
Erica has no intention of being nice to this new kid who has moved in, but she changes her tune when she walks in on him trying to commit a ridiculous suicide attempt. From here, she learns that her future step brother has problems due to a former teacher who has molested him, which is the same person (Adam Scott), she has the hots for at the bowling alley. She tries to conceive a plan to blackmail this guy who has a different story of things. This is where the film turns into a ridiculous 'Very Bad Things' situation for no real reason at all and it just gets more disgusting from there. The problem here is that the writers and director failed to make Erica and her friends likable or redeeming in any way, shape or form.
Right form the get-go, you hate this girl and her friends. You'd think if this was a coming-of-age film, there would be some sort of redeeming quality or someone would learn a thing or two, but not here. Everyone is just so annoying, unfunny, and just awful people, with the exception of Sherm and Erica's mother. With this aspect, you can't expect to love or connect with the main protagonist at all. Even if this movie was in the remote bit realistic (it definitely isn't), it still would seem far-fetched and unlikable.
As for the performances themselves, I really like Zoey Deutch and she plays this part very well, but the character just gets in the way of being any sort of charming or witty. Adam Scott is fantastic in a role that's very subtly off in a bad way and he kills it in every frame. Hahn again is excellent too as the frazzled mother. 'Flower' should have been a great film, but due to the super unlikable characters and the film taking an over-the-top turn, there's just no redeeming part about it.
Gravity (2013)
If you see one movie for the rest of the year, make it 'Gravity'. It's the perfect film.
If 'Gravity' was the last movie I saw before I died, I would die happy. This is hands down, the best film of the year so far, and quite possibly the best film of the last several years. Alfonso Cuaron has come back with a vengeance after a seven year hiatus. Cauron directed 'Children of Men' and the third 'Harry Potter' film to name a couple. I know all of you have seen the trailer for this film, and let me just say, you're in the for the most thrilling ride of your life.
Not since Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey' has space been so beautifully photographed. 'Gravity' is not – I repeat, NOT a science fiction film. It's a survival story of man (George Clooney) and a woman (Sandra Bullock) trying to get back to Earth by any means necessary after a catastrophic accident happens just above Earth as they are fixing a new satellite. There are no aliens, futuristic space crafts, or fancy weapons. Just the regular NASA gear. This short highly intense 90 minute film will leave you on the edge of your seat, your mouth open, your eyes watery, and your mind blown with questions like "How did they do that?"
George Clooney plays a veteran astronaut named Matt Kowalksy who likes Hank Williams Jr. and telling wild stories to his past to Houston down below. He is the pilot of the rocket ship while scientist Ryan Stone (Bullock) is fixing a problem on the satellite. However, the Russians launched a missile at one of their own failing satellites, which has caused the debris to collide with other satellites and space stations that has caused a giant spread of debris traveling around Earth faster than a bullet, and it's headed right for Kowalsky and Stone.
Of course, the worst happens, and now the surviving two members of this mission are without a shuttle back to Earth and must get back to Earth somehow before their oxygen in their suits runs out. Through drifting through space without hooked on to anything, to colliding with other space stations, things are highly terrifying for the pair of astronauts.
The film centers mostly on Bullock as she has only had six months of astronaut training and has to figure out how to navigate ships, put out fires in space, and come to terms that she might not make it back home. There are a few very emotional moments with her, where we completely feel how scared she is. And Cuaron's camera never misses anything, let alone has more than 12 edits in the entire movie. Hell, the first 30 minutes of the film are all one continuous shot, and it will truly take your breath away.
Clooney is very charming in this role as he is in every role and does a flawless job, but Bullock really shines here as she shows every emotion we would all go through in a horrible situation like this one. I have no doubt that she will be nominated for an Oscar for this role, and if she wins, well she deserves it.
The effects are some of the best effects I've ever seen on screen. I honestly can't tell if they actually shot the film in space above Earth with real space crafts, or if there was any use of special effects. It's that good. Of course there are special effects, but you will never be able to tell. Every shot of the film, could be paused and framed, and put up in an art gallery. It's that beautiful.
And if you see this movie, which I highly suggest you do, see it in IMAX 3D. Yes, I said 3D. I am not a fan at all of 3D, but 'Gravity' has the best 3D effects and picture I have ever seen in a film thus far. If every film that said it was 3D, was this good, I would be a fan of 3D. Steven Price composed this monumental score for 'Gravity' that will truly terrify you and make your hairs stand on end. It's the perfect and unrelenting score for a film like this.
If you see one movie for the rest of the year, make it 'Gravity'. It's the perfect film.