The Cube

     The Cube directed by Vincenzo Natali and written by Andre Bijelic and Vincenzo Natali and Graeme Manson is a Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi movie. It is about a group of people who wake up in a cube and must come together to figure a way out.

     The two bad parts about this movie is the acting and then some of the dialogue. The acting isn't the best for example Maurice Dean Wint and how he opens his eyes as much as possible when is he mad or trying to be intimidating, that being said some times the acting is so bad it is funny. The dialogue in this movie is not the best. It does bring up some serious questions to think about. Like if it is ok to leave one of the people behind because he is disabled. The problem with this is the character who says this is unlikable which takes away from what she is saying.

     Everything else is great, the concept of this story is very interesting. The cinematography is great and the fact they shot it in just one room is inspiring. There is a great scene in here that builds so much tension I moved to the edge of my seat. I do wish the ending was better, they left us with so little. My final thoughts are this movie is fun, with a great concept and a must for horror, Sci-Fi fans.

3/5

Ingrid Goes West

     Ingrid goes west directed by Matt Spicer and written by David Branson Smith and Matt Spicer is a comedy drama. It is about Ingrid (Aubrey Plaza) who is an awkward anti social person. After seeing Taylor;s (Elizabeth Olsen) Instagram, Ingrid knows they would be perfect best friends and goes to California to see her.

     I don't think this movie was funny enough to be a comedy. We have a lot of scenes about how awkward Ingrid is, and I think that is supposed to be where most of our comedy comes from, but I didn't get any of that. I also don't think this movie had enough emotion to be a good drama. Ingrid is  awkward and does stupid things. Cause of this when the ending came I didn't really care what happened to her.

     The best parts of this movie are the two main actresses. Aubrey does a great job as an awkward person who has no social skill at all, and Elizabeth does great as the social media obsessed person who gets everything she wants. I think both of them did great in this movie. There are also bad characters Dan Pinto (O'Shea Jackson Jr.) this character did not offer much to the plot. He has some purpose like he is the reason Ingrid has a car, but besides that he is a side character that is always there for Ingrid so when the movie ends she still has someone. To me that doesn't make sense though she treated him like crap, and acted so crazy yet he still keeps doing all these things for her.

     The movie has two great actresses, but a rather boring story, that doesn't keep you that interested. If you find people who have no social skill funny then this movie will probably work for you, as for me it was mostly boring with some good parts here and there.

2.5/5

The Wrestler

     The Wrestler directed by Darren Aronofsky and written by Robert D. Siegel is a drama. It stars Mickey Rourke as Randy "The Ram" Robinson. The movie is 20 years after Randy's prime time. He still wrestles, but after a life changing event. Randy has to make a decision about what is most important to him.

     The Wrestler seems like a movie that shouldn't be good, we follow around a washed up wrestler and see him live his lonely life. It works so well though, the story makes you feel for Randy. You feel sad for him but you also respect him. All of his decisions are logical, and that helps so much with connecting with the character. Rourke does an amazing job in this movie. He really carries the movie and has great chemistry with Marisa Tomei, who acts as his guide.

     The cinematography in this movie is outstanding and unique. It is shot exactly like a wrestling match would be. We have a lot of shots where we follow Rourke around from behind with him directly in the center of the screen. It makes us feel like we are walking to the ring with him. The wrestling scenes are also greatly shot, it feels like a real wrestling match.

     This movie does have a little of an ambiguous ending, there are two ways it can end and the movie does lean more towards one but there is no answer. I love the life question the movie makes you ponder. I don't think the relationship with the daughter worked to well. Rourke still did great in those scenes but I wasn't feeling any emotion. Some people may not like the movie because they can't connect with a washed up wrestler, I  don't see that as a problem though. My final thoughts is that this movie is fantastic with just a couple of small flaws.

4.5/5

12 Strong

     12 Strong directed by Nicolai Fuglsig and written by Ted Tally, Peter Craig is an action movie. It is about Captain Mitch Nelson(Chris Hemsworth) who after the events of 9/11 feels a sense of patriotism and gathers his team to do a mission in Afghanistan. The mission they have to do is get General Dostum (Navid Negahban) to the Taliban stronghold. They don't have the resources the Taliban have so they ride horses into battle.

     This movie is nothing special, it hits every beat a typical army movie has and does nothing new. Michael Pena's character is the worst one in this movie. In the beginning he is mad at Chris Hemsworth for leaving the team, instead of having his character become more fond of Chris throughout the movie, the next time we see them they are perfectly fine. Michael and Chris share this awkward scene at the end where I guess they bond but it just seems like something they decided to shoot last minute. Michael Pena is also the comic relief in this movie, his jokes land less then half the time, but his character seems out of place with the serious tone they were trying to achieve. They weren't able to build any tension. 

     It is hard to say the climax of this was implausible because I do not know the real life story, but at least with the movie. The climax is so poorly shot it takes you out of this supposed to be epic moment because it is so implausible. Besides the character and the story the movie is competently made, with some decent acting, and decent looking shots. Nothing stands out and in the end if you have see one army movie you have seen this one.

2/5

Bad Milo!

     Bad Milo! directed by Jacob Vaughan and written by Benjamin Hayes and Jacob Vaughan is a horror comedy. It is about Duncan (Ken Marino) who is an accountant. He has had bowel problems his whole life. When it starts getting terrible his wife Sarah (Gillian Jacobs) takes him to Highsmith (Peter Stormare) who is a therapist.

     This movie has awful dialogue. The story is cliche, it is the story of a person who isn't ready to be a father who now has to parent something and realizes they will be good at it. The acting isn't that bad, there has been far worse acting in horror comedies. Peter Stormare is one of the best parts of the movie, I only chuckled when he was on screen. Patrick Warburton is awkward in this movie, his character is unfunny and every scene with him seems to last five seconds too long.

     The best part of this movie is Milo, not so much the character, but the look of him. The way he moves is great, but besides him and Peter there is nothing good. If you like poop jokes this movie is for you, if not I would stay away.

1.5/5

To the Bone

     To the Bone written and directed by Marti Noxon is a drama about Ellen (Lily Collins) who is anorexic. She is brought to Dr. Beckham (Keanu Reeves) who is an expert at helping people with this problem. She is brought to a house that has other people with this problem, and here she tries to overcome her battle with anorexia. 

     The story is not the best, but it is insightful. It talks about a big problem that not a lot of people know to much about. It also helps you get in the mind sight of someone who has this problem so we can better understand them. The story falls apart in the final act, I thought it lost way of what it was trying to show us. The ending may not be satisfying to some, because their is a little ambiguity. A minor problem is with the character Kendra (Lindsey McDowell). In this house of anorexic people we have one overweight girl. This does show us that their are more problems then just anorexia and that Dr. Beckham does help people with different problems. My problems with this character is we see nothing about her, even a couple lines of dialogue about how she is supposed to get healthier or how the doctors are trying to help her would be nice. Instead we just see her eat from a jar of peanut butter during each meal.

     Lily Collins does great in this movie, you do start to feel for her character. You want her to get better, you start to understand her struggle. Everyone else does good especially Keanu Reeves, his character is very important to this role. There is also beautiful cinematography in this movie, such as the scene in the rain room. In conclusion this isn't the most riveting story but it does talk about an important topic that most people should know about.

3/5

The Meyerowitz Story (New and Selected)

     The Meyerowitz Story directed and written by Noah Baumbach is a comedy drama. It is about the connection between the Meyerowitz family. Harold Meyerowitz (Dustin Hoffman), the dad, is an artist and brings his family together.

     All of the acting in this movie is great. Adam Sandler hasn't been this good in a while. Dustin Hoffman does really great as well, along with Ben Stiller. The story is simple but at the same time a lot still happens in it. The dialogue is fast especially in the first thirty minutes. While watching this so many people are talking without a break, I felt like I missed a lot what they were saying. That being said though if you watch the movie you know the dad just rambles on so it is okay to not pick up everything he is saying.

     I did feel bored during a couple scenes of this money. I think it was longer than it had to be. I feel it was to long because I didn't care about the characters like I wanted to. While I enjoyed the family's connecting and what happened to them, in the end I didn't have the emotional impact that I should have. In the end I don't think I wasted my time watching this movie, and for it being free on Netflix, it is quite a decent movie to check out.

3/5

Misery

     Misery directed by Rob Reiner and written by William Goldman is a crime thriller. It is about Paul Sheldon (James Caan) he is a writer. He is on his way to his publicist in New York when he crashes his car during a snowstorm. He is rescued by Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), who takes him to her home to regain his health.

     Kathy Bates is fantastic in this movie, she did win an Oscar for her performance. She is perfect at transitioning from a sweet lady to a psychopath in a split second. There are times in this movie where you will look away because of how creepy she is, and the actions she does. James Caan also does an amazing job that not enough people talk about. He is great at getting us to feel his pain. Whether it is when he is in actual pain or when he is experiencing emotional pain. One aspect that makes this story great is that our main character is smart and doesn't make stupid decisions. The movie also gives the right amount of comic relief after tense scene, they give us a minute to breathe and get ready for the next part.

     The score is also great, it adds so much to tension to the movie. This movie is a perfect example of every element working together to make the same movie. Kathy Bates is already terrifying but her acting combined with a suspenseful score and close ups form the truly iconic villain. This is athriller classic and one of the best Steven King adaptations out there.

4.5/5

Vertigo

     Vertigo directed by Alfred Hitchcock and written by Alex Coppel and Samuel A. Taylor is a mystery drama. It is about ex-cop John Ferguson (James Stewart). He is asked by an old colleague to follow his wife Madeleine Elster (Kim Novak) who is acting strangely.

     One of the best parts of the movie is the score that compliments every scene. The story starts off in a interesting way. It puts a nice spin on the typical story of  a cop following someone. The last act of the movie is the other best part of this movie. The acting is great there is no weak link. There isn't a lot of expressive acting in this movie, it is mostly subtle acting. The subtle acting really helps add to the suspense of this movie.

     This movie is a classic in the mystery genre.The story does slow down a bit in the middle but besides that nothing is wrong. Every element of this movie is good or better. With a great ending and amazing mystery. This story also adds a great concept of love that you will think about even after the movie is over. This is a movie every fan of Hitchcock should see, and a movie every mystery fan should watch.

4/5

     

      

Brawl in Cell Block 99

     Brawl in Cell Block 99 Directed and Written by S. Craig Zahler is an action drama. Bradley Thomas (Vince Vaughn) loses his job and goes into a life of crime. He goes to jail and has to fight to keep his life from falling apart. 

     Brawl in Cell Block 99 has gorgeous cinematography. It has a lot of wide shots and the whole movie is very bright. It is unique I can't think of another movie that looked like this. The story is well written it gives us a lot of back story on Bradley Thomas and helps us feel for him. When we see what he does we know it is wrong but at the same time you understand why he is doing it and we don't hate him for his actions.

     Vince Vaughn is amazing, we have seen him do great before in some comedies but he is on a whole another level in this movie. He plays this ex-boxer who is one of those men who don't like to show emotions. What Vince Vaughn does so well at showing no emotions but still having these fits of rage. The action in here the best part. They use wide shots during their action scenes and do very little editing and that makes it look better than most actions movies. For horror fans or for those who saw Zahler's last film Bone Tomahawk this movie does have a lot of graphic violence that looks beautiful.

     This movie can be to violent for some, and the story may feel a little long at times. I was surprised with how long it took the movie to get to the jail scenes, but I felt it was worth the wait because we built a reason to like our main character. In conclusion this movie hits every beat perfectly and for fans of action or grind house movies this will serve as a very entertaining movie that you should definitely check out.

5/5

Best of 2017

   
     This is going to be my best of 2017 list. These are my opinions. I have not seen a lot of movies in 2017 and that may be the reason they are not on the list. These are not the objectively best movies of 2017 but the ones I enjoyed personally.

10.Brigsby Bear

9.John Wick: Chapter 2

8.Lady Bird

7.The Disaster Artist

6.Raw

5.Mother!

4.It Comes at Night

3.Brawl in Cell Block 99

2.Baby Driver

1.Blade Runner 2049