Phantom Thread

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
Written by: Paul Thomas Andersom
Gross Revenue: $32.8 mil





      Please bare with me because I am still trying to digest what I just saw. I truly believe I should view it a second time before I review it but screw it, I'm gonna just go for it here. After seeing one stellar review after another for  Phantom Thread I decided what the hell Ill give it a shot. Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Thomas Anderson are my only reasons for even considering this film, I mean I'd never even seen the trailer. He engulfs himself in a role and doesn't come up for air until the final shot. I am ever so grateful for that, because his roles are always amazing and potent almost to a point the entire movie no longer matters, at least that's what happens to me when I see him on screen.

    Now, I hate to sound like another PTA groupie because I mean people worship the ground he walks on, I feel like a cornball being one of them but the man is a genius. Not only can he write a fantastic screenplay but his films are beautiful. Frame after frame is nothing short of perfect, but what else can you expect from the man who gave us There Will Be Blood? That movie put me in a state of lustful passion when I saw it and Phantom Thread was along the same lines. The shots held my attention, the dialogue was  intriguing, the score was beautiful and fit so unbelievably well. The thing is though, I wanted more, I know! I sound like a sniveling, snot nosed brat but I did. I feel like a horrible human being saying this, I truly do.The movie was intimate, very well made and in a way a character study, it had a lot less then what I desired to see between them both.

      The dynamic between Reynolds, Alma and Cyril is what kept me in it and is why my complaint is minuscule compared to the level of adoration I have for this film. My thoughts on Phantom Thread at about an hour and a half in began to change due to the amazing turn of events that not even I saw coming, and for me that took this movie to a whole other level. Call it a twist of sorts if you will, and everyone loves a good twisty end. This was a great love story that wasn't your cookie cutter, run of the mill romance, the people are flawed and everyone understands that from the very beginning. This wasn't a romance seen through "rose colored glasses"  it was real and uncomfortable at times. Mushy "too good to be true" romances make my stomach churn. Phantom Thread is what most real love stories look like, and that is another reason Paul Thomas Anderson is an astonishing filmmaker.

The Disaster Artist

🌟🌟🌟🌟


Directed by: James Franco
Written by: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber
Gross Revenue: $20.6 mil



       Critic Consensus:

Oh, hai Mark. The Disaster Artist is a surprisingly poignant and charming movie-about-a-movie that explores the creative process with unexpected delicacy.

    I simply cannot agree more, Rotten Tomatoes aren't always fair but they are known to be right on occasion.
The Disaster Artist is a one chance look at a very private Tommy Wisesau at a time where his dreams were both shattered and made real. It goes without saying, though some may beg to differ, you really should watch The Room to understand where The Disaster Artist is coming from. Sure, you can watch it alone without viewing The Room but I think you can't understand and get the full gravity of what Tommy was trying to do unless you see the actual film.

    I'm not going to sugar coat it or put a pretty ribbon on it, The Room was horrendous, it was bad. Like, nails on a chalkboard bad, I'd rather watch paint dry bad, though there was a silver lining....it was hilarious. Which is something you could tell just by watching it, it's definitely not what Tommy was trying to do.  I love The Disaster Artist for giving us an inside look, so to speak into  the mind behind the madness.  Wiseau is such a passionate soul,  the movie more times then not had me thinking of myself and my own dead and buried dreams. You can respect Tommy for his effort and the amount of heart he tried to put into his movie.

     Oh before I go, let me just say that ONLY James Franco can deliver in a film like this. Before even watching it I often said he was meant to play Tommy. That fact was solidified by his brilliant exectution both in front and behind the camera. The chemistry that he and his brother Dave have is the sweetest thing to watch. It was like he was speaking through Tommy with the endering things he was saying. I just admire them both a great deal and I'm so happy I'm living in a time such as this, when James Franco is at his best.

Bright

⭐⭐⭐
Directed by: David Ayer
Written by: Max Landis


This was by far the most anticipated movie on Netflix for me since, well.....ever. At no other time have I said "hay, oh man I wanna see that Netflix movie, I cant wait." that is until now. I wont sit here and flat out lie and say Will Smith isn't what initially sold me on it because at first it was. However, as I started mulling over the plot I began to get more and more excited. After the first initial watch Iiked it, then after the second, I loved it!! The whole idea of Orcs, Elves and magic is such a soft spot for me, there is no way I could not fall in love with it. Then for extra magnificent measure they set it in modern day which I love way more than a period piece set in the dark ages. It adds to it's realism and edge, it seems like something not qute so unbelievable and I think it worked beautifully.

       The only, and I mean only weak link which isn't even consistent is the dialogue. It was a little pestering but as I said that wasn't even consistent, at times the dialogue was pretty good. Max Landis did alright, however I don't know where he got the idea this script would be his "Star Wars".I have no quarrels with the story it self and I'm very anxious to see how it all unfolds, seeming as Bright  is being pinned a Netflix franchise. People have been chatting about the whole wand thing, "well why could the cop hold it and the other guy blew up?" Well, if most were actually paying attention which I hope they were, when Montehugh was being interrogated he explained when someone touches the wand with their BARE hand they explode. He said nothing about if it's gloved or covered by fabric of some sort. I have no issues with the story, why on earth would they give everything away in the first film? Why would they provide all the answers? They need a vehicle for the upcoming films and I'm okay with that.

    David Ayer is THE man, I loved Suicide Squad and I love his style!! How can you not feel his movies with the amount of realism and grit he adds to them? How can you hate on the man who wrote and directed Training Day??  I will watch this over and over again, that's how much I liked it.  You cannot go wrong with orcs, guns and magic!!

Thor: Ragnarok

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟


Directed by: Taika Waititi
Written by: Christopher Yotes, Craig Kyle, Eric Pearson
Gross Revenue: $835 mil



Jaw dropped and wig snatched folks!! Taika Waititi just resuscitated this lifeless, dead to the world frannchise and brought it back to life. Words are escaping me at the moment, Ragnarok was so good it's stolen my passion for expression...I'm all choked up on pure joy. I typically wait for the dust to settle to view a big Budget CBM. Don't ask me why, it's just how I tick. Now, as I was saying ....or trying to say, THIS IS WHAT A CBM SHOULD FEEL AND LOOK LIKE.  This is how you set the bar, this is why Marvel is far superior to the "other guys". From beginning to end it served up all the goods, from Directing, witty fun dialouge, flawless and I mean flawless visuals that make me wanna kiss everyone on the CGI team! It was all so beautiful, I'm talking a rose dipped in 24 kt gold and sprinkled with diamonds beautiful.

If you like the melancholic, dark, abrasive, slow cinematic experience then please, stay far way from Ragnarok, because you'd be getting none of that. Tears literally were welling in my eyes, I was so very pleased with this Thor and yet so very saddened. I feel, man handled, short changed, frickin robbed!!! This is the Thor we should have been gifted with long ago! Nope, what'd we get?A boring, bloated, lengthy origin film, and crawling half dead dumpster fire called Dark World. Why, oh why, give me the best Thor I've ever witnessed in the last solo installment?? Cold wold, cold, cold world.

There were so many good elements in this movie. Mmm Thor, Hulk holding a legitimate conversation, Jeff Goldblum as himself, the witty banter, Thor with no hammer, Thor with no hair and korg....I severely wanted more of him!! Oh, and let's not forget that sexy little fight bit in the last act! I think thaaaatsss about it......oh right LOKI, he's flipped flopped more than a pair of nike slides worn by Usain Bolt. However, I'm willing to get over it as long as I get to keep seeing his beautiful face!

I just am so very pleased with this movie, there isn't a word big enough that describes my feelings at the moment.  I'm not someone who lives and breathes for the next superheo movie, but marvel sure knows how to make a girl sweat. I'm so anxious to see infinity war now, my bones are vibrating!! If this is the kind of delivery they've committed to I'm so in for the next 20 movies they've got in the slow cooker.

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!!!