A Quiet Place

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Directed by: John Krasinski
Written by: John Krasinski · Bryan Woods · Scott Beck
Gross Revenue: $154 mil

    Let's hear it for (Jim) I mean John Krasinski! This was a tense nail-biter that honestly took me by surprise and knocked me off my feet.  Let me say first that I am not that fond of the coveted horror genre. I can do without the gore and the sheer predictability of it all.  However, this movie was more so not about the monsters themselves but about the family and their ability to stay alive which I love. 

     If it was all about the ugly creatures I surely wouldn't have been so impressed. Which yes, I was as well as so many others astonished by this exceptional story and the execution of it. John has done an amazing job with this fantastic soundscape for the eyes. It takes a massive amount of skill to capture a film such as this.  From the body language to the facial expressions to the intensity of the environment. It all had me vibrating with anxiety. It is rare that I find myself yelling in my head at the characters in a thriller such as this, but I was. 

     It was one of those "skin of your teeth" movies and I enjoyed every bit of it. I found myself wanting to talk for them all and to just scream in terror for them!

Ready Player One

⭐⭐⭐⭐



Directed By: Steven Spielberg
Written by:  Ernest Cline · Zak Penn
Gross revenue: $393 mil

    

"This is hardest movie I've done since Saving 

               Private Ryan"

                                               - Steven Spielberg

       I admire Spielberg's honesty, watching the movie I can understand his resolve.Ready Player One is absolutely breathtaking in terms of visuals and detail. Never to have read the book, I can't do the whole book vs. movie thing, though even if I did I wouldn't have done that. People who do the book and adaption run-over full of trigger remarks are always misguided in my opinion. Expecting a film adaption to showcase every bit of a book is like squeezing a rock and expecting water to be expelled from it. Anyway, the adventure of it all, the fantasy of it all, and  the fact that I wished the whole thing were real is what pulled me in and didn't let go until the credits. I am not really a fan of Young Adult tales, be it film or literary I just find it most of the time, bland and uneventful. However, I am very much into video games and most indeed pop culture! However, Following an  18 year old orphan around while he searched for clues in a virtual game, set in 2045 with the "love interest" was not my idea of a good time. Then I thought to myself  "it is a Spielberg film" in a nut shell he sold me on taking a chance to see it. OOOHHH boy am I so relieved that I took that chance, because I was in another realm of bliss with this one.


       Talk about non stop fun and adventure, which I do most certainly love in a film. I feel if this had moved slower it wouldn't have worked so well. There have been complaints with the pacing but I don't have a problem with it. I've learned that when it comes to animation a slower pacing is not a good thing. At least not for me. I will not say there weren't a few bits I could have done without "love interests" in some films make me grind my teeth and this is one of them. Not only was it annoying and shallow, but his love was expressed prematurely and in the most unstimulating way possible. I just felt like it whole heartily didn't belong. I also felt the antagonist wasn't too much of a threat, but that can be looked over by how awesome everything else is. There has also been a bit of shade thrown at RPO due to its use of references. Some have went so far as to say it's just riding on the cat tails of the films they're mentioning. Uhm, how is that possible? AND WHERE?!  If anything I see homages and a massive amount of admiration, I see nothing to the affect of mimicking anyone's films. Honestly the moments they are speaking of were great, I mean the DeLorean alone was a must watch moment. I thought it was the dopest tribute to BTTF I've ever seen.

       Some would say this isn't the best Spielberg had to offer but I beg to differ, aside from what you all choose to say what coulda, shoulda, woulda been done. I say, see what he DID do, I mean this man was an innovator and will be a legend for eons. Though this movie was tough for him, he put all he had into it and you could tell, he spent 3 hours 3 times a week with ILM crafting this beautiful movie for us all. This was no easy feat and it still came out amazing and full of life just as all of his films do. You can tell in certain films that passion and hard work were the reason for the remarkable feature you're witnessing. I for one am happy I went with my gut and watched this movie, it an unbelievable world that I will visit over and over again.

Den of Thieves

⭐⭐

Directed by: Christian Gudegast

Written by:  Christian Gudegast Paul Scheuring

Gross Revenue : $34.4 mil

mis·lead·ing

giving the wrong idea or impression:

I WAS IN FACT  MISLEAD!! When I went into Den of Thieves I was expecting an action packed "cops and robbers"  type of situation. I mean, that is what the trailer LEAD me to believe as it did everyone, now I'm no stickler for action, its like my 6th favorite genre I think. However, when you show me something like this, which is what I have a soft spot for.....you know heist films. I expect just that! Not some half baked idea that sluggishly got off the ground. The trailer had me under the impression this would be a gun fighting non stop race against time type of movie and IT WAS NOT! One thing I hate most is when they edit trailers in a way  that totally contradicts the entire film.

Its starts with guns and ends with guns. But the middle is filled with lengthy character development and scenes that serve no purposes. Like the prom date, what exactly was that for? The divorce? It was personal but Gerard's character seemed unaffected by it, it didn't have any psychological ramifications. In my opinion, this film had no business being 2hr and 13 minutes. A good 3 scenes could have been easily thrown out. This entire story could have been done in 90 minutes. There was entirely too much of nothing going on for a good chunk of it. I enjoy the story, the premise is exactly the kind of thing I'd watch. However the execution was riddled with flaws and the directing even made the movie seem more boring then it could have been.

As far as performances go? Well Gerard Butler for me, was the only saving grace and he even seemed a bit off center in this role. Assuming you'd get a decent performance from  50 cent or  O'shea is like assuming you can squeeze water from a rock. I've seen 50 shine more in his show "Power" then in any movie he's ever done. As far as O'shea is concerned, well I'd rather watch his dad, Ice Cube in "Are We There Yet?" (which for me is the worst movie he's ever done) three times in a row rather then watch him ever. 

It was my fault for jumping to conclusions and thinking Den of Thieves was going to be the high grossing year opener. Word of mouth is powerful and chatter surrounding it was nothing short of disappointing, It dragged over the 7 day finish line with a $20 mil in the bank, which would surprise me if the month of January wasn't a nightmare for all releases. Let me just say that for fun, for entertainment and for a "okay" heist movie this would be a good choice, more so if you were really bored and stuck in the house with nothing else to watch yeah.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (Official Trailer)

I love this franchise, but when I heard another was being pushed out I was wondering, what else could be done? Seems universal has surprised me again! Next year is going to be amazing for cinema!!!

 I've never been so emotionally connected to fictionalized beings before. This trailer brought on such an amount of "awwwww" it was alarming. The Dino's I once loathed, I now feel unbelievably bad for. I have a feeling I may cry when I see it! However, here it is the much anticipated Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom!

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (teaser trailer)

Behold!! The ninth wonder of the world!! Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom teaser now available!!! I love the fact that the last has not changed!!

Avengers: infinity War (official trailer)

   


      This is what the good life looks like!! From the start I was drawn in, this made me so anxious to see the movie.  Truth be told I'm not a snob, I am not particular about CGI. True, I'd like it to look better then something  "made for TV" but other than that I'm no stickler in that regard. I see nothing wrong with how it looks, it gave me chills, the whole bit. I literally got misty eyed. Only a few films have me so emotionally invested. Guardias though??? at the end was so beautiful!!! May 4th cannot come fast enough!!!

Avengers: Infinity War Trailer 11.29.17

Infinity War trailer will premier tomorrow on GoodMorning America!! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! We as MCU fans have waited a long while for this!! Excuse me while I get a little emotionally involved with the trailer!!!

(Official Trailer) Pacific Rim 2 Uprising

I loved the first Pacific Rim I've seen it about 7 times and it never gets old. This sequel is something I wasn't all too happy about seeming as there was no Guillermo at the helm or Charlie Hunnam on screen but now seeing the trailer I can honestly say I am thrilled. Lets not take away the fact that John Boyega who I am coming to enjoy more and more is headlining this new Jaeger crew. Along side him is Scott Eastwood, who is proving hes more than just a pretty face. The cast isn't too shabby especially since they kept charlie Day, who is always a treat to watch...for me at least.  

I am such a sucker for these kinds of movies I mean transformers and CBM'S are the stuff dreams are made of. I know its not art and it's no "best picture" nomination, but it is escapism in its rawest form and that's what brought me to film in the first place. A little reminder, there is no Guillermo in on this so it wont have his finesse or style. Its directed by Steven S. DeKnight,  if it doesn't ring any bells that's because he's virtually unknown. He's directed episodes for Smallville, Angel and Buffy the vampire slayer,  I know most of those are making some of you cringe with fear. However,  I watched each and every one of those shows from the pilot to the series finale and they are not that bad. He also did some work on Starz's Spartecus which I've never seen.  

I'm a little nervous on the execution, seeming as they have a FIVE MAN WRITTING TEAM...yes you heard that right. Five, and you know what they say about too many cooks in the kitchen. Anyway, without further interruption with my constant blabbering, here is the very awesome and well scored Pacific Rim Uprising trailer...ENJOY!