My life has been pretty hectic lately. I just started a new job as a high school English teacher, teaching three blocks of Freshman English and two blocks of Essay Writing, rendering my "free time" very limited - including the time to write full-length movie reviews! I've seen so many movies since my last batch of reviews in August(!), but I haven't found the time to properly sit and write them. But instead of letting that backlog of theatrical experiences fester, I wanted to get my opinion out there on all the movies I've seen over the past months in one giant post!
So this won't be as in-depth as some of my other blogs, but I don't want to let this passion of mine wither and die just because I finally have a "real" job! Also, keep an eye out this October, I have a special, epic Halloween-themed blog post planned!
Thank you for reading and enjoy,
Peter Waters
Dir. Spike Lee
Controversial, visionary director Spike Lee's best film in years, BlacKkKlansman tells the true story of a black cop in the 1970s who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan... by pretending to be a white man over the phone. It's a little didactic with its politics, but this is a surprisingly funny, yet harrowing movie with many parallels to today's sad resurgence of "White Nationalism."
FINAL VERDICT:
SEE IT!
CRAZY RICH ASIANS
Dir. Jon M. Chu
I'm all for diversity and cultural representation in movies, and I'm glad Crazy Rich Asians hit it big at the box office for a rom com... but guys, this was an unfunny, cringe-worthy movie that is not elevated beyond the eye-rolling fantasy presented on The Bachelor just because there are Asians in the cast!
FINAL VERDICT:
SKIP IT
FAHRENHEIT 11/9
Dir. Michael Moore
Michael Moore may be less of a true documentarian than an entertainer with a message, but I've always loved his use of cinema to actually attempt to make America great! Fahrenheit 11/9, his doc examining the factors that lead to the election of Donald Trump, feels like one of his least focused films, but still does a solid, relatively entertaining job asking the question: "How the f*** did this happen?"
FINAL VERDICT:
WAIT FOR NETFLIX
HAPPYTIME MURDERS
Dir. Brian Henson
The Happytime Murders was one of my most anticipated movies of the year. However, watching this movie is the equivalent of being served a shit sandwich. Puppets doing unimaginatively raunchy adult things is not as funny as Brian Henson apparently thinks it is. It's too bad this wasn't the noir-ish Roger Rabbit-with-puppets movie I thought it'd be!
FINAL VERDICT:
SKIP IT
THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS
Dir. Eli Roth
Eli Roth - known for hyperviolent horror movies like Cabin Fever and Hostel - made a Spielbergian adventure movie for kids? And it's not that bad! The House with a Clock in its Walls works at its best when Roth brings on the scares in unique, gore-less ways, but fails on the comedy end of things. All in all, not a bad spooky one for young audiences.
FINAL VERDICT:
WAIT FOR NETFLIX
THE MEG
Dir. Jon Turteltaub
Jason Statham battles a large prehistoric shark - that concept alone should be enough to make for a fun creature feature but The Meg isn't campy enough for its own good. Exceedingly dull in an overcrowded "shark movie" genre, this is simply worth forgetting about. (Also: how in the hell is this based on a book??)
FINAL VERDICT:
SKIP IT
MILE 22
Dir. Peter Berg
Peter Berg directed Mark Wahlberg in two of my favorite "action" movies lately, Lone Survivor and Patriots Day - but apparently they work best when making movies about true stories. Mile 22 is a confusing generic mess, but it does have a handful of cool action beats.
FINAL VERDICT:
WAIT FOR NETFLIX
SEARCHING
Dir. Aneesh Chaganty
Searching is a thriller involving a father and his missing daughter told entirely through a computer screen. It is riveting, unique, totally Hitchcockian, and I loved it. One of my favorite movies this year!
FINAL VERDICT:
SEE IT!
THE SPY WHO DUMPED ME
Dir. Susanna Fogel
Two best friends go on a spy adventure. Surprisingly violent at times (I didn't realize this was R-rated going in), with Kate McKinnon and Mila Kunis making for a hilarious pair, The Spy Who Dumped Me is a fun little spy comedy with enough over-the-top action and comedy to keep you entertained.
FINAL VERDICT:
SEE IT!
Dir. Jon M. Chu
I'm all for diversity and cultural representation in movies, and I'm glad Crazy Rich Asians hit it big at the box office for a rom com... but guys, this was an unfunny, cringe-worthy movie that is not elevated beyond the eye-rolling fantasy presented on The Bachelor just because there are Asians in the cast!
FINAL VERDICT:
SKIP IT
Dir. Michael Moore
Michael Moore may be less of a true documentarian than an entertainer with a message, but I've always loved his use of cinema to actually attempt to make America great! Fahrenheit 11/9, his doc examining the factors that lead to the election of Donald Trump, feels like one of his least focused films, but still does a solid, relatively entertaining job asking the question: "How the f*** did this happen?"
FINAL VERDICT:
WAIT FOR NETFLIX
Dir. Brian Henson
The Happytime Murders was one of my most anticipated movies of the year. However, watching this movie is the equivalent of being served a shit sandwich. Puppets doing unimaginatively raunchy adult things is not as funny as Brian Henson apparently thinks it is. It's too bad this wasn't the noir-ish Roger Rabbit-with-puppets movie I thought it'd be!
FINAL VERDICT:
SKIP IT
THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS
Dir. Eli Roth
Eli Roth - known for hyperviolent horror movies like Cabin Fever and Hostel - made a Spielbergian adventure movie for kids? And it's not that bad! The House with a Clock in its Walls works at its best when Roth brings on the scares in unique, gore-less ways, but fails on the comedy end of things. All in all, not a bad spooky one for young audiences.
FINAL VERDICT:
WAIT FOR NETFLIX
THE MEG
Dir. Jon Turteltaub
Jason Statham battles a large prehistoric shark - that concept alone should be enough to make for a fun creature feature but The Meg isn't campy enough for its own good. Exceedingly dull in an overcrowded "shark movie" genre, this is simply worth forgetting about. (Also: how in the hell is this based on a book??)
FINAL VERDICT:
SKIP IT
Dir. Peter Berg
Peter Berg directed Mark Wahlberg in two of my favorite "action" movies lately, Lone Survivor and Patriots Day - but apparently they work best when making movies about true stories. Mile 22 is a confusing generic mess, but it does have a handful of cool action beats.
FINAL VERDICT:
WAIT FOR NETFLIX
Dir. Aneesh Chaganty
Searching is a thriller involving a father and his missing daughter told entirely through a computer screen. It is riveting, unique, totally Hitchcockian, and I loved it. One of my favorite movies this year!
FINAL VERDICT:
SEE IT!
Dir. Susanna Fogel
Two best friends go on a spy adventure. Surprisingly violent at times (I didn't realize this was R-rated going in), with Kate McKinnon and Mila Kunis making for a hilarious pair, The Spy Who Dumped Me is a fun little spy comedy with enough over-the-top action and comedy to keep you entertained.
FINAL VERDICT:
SEE IT!
No comments:
Post a Comment