Summer 2018 is coming to a close and there were some really good flicks that came out in the past several months. However, these movies might not get recognition during award season.
Now, that could always change with the Academy’s supposed Popular Film category that’s right around the corner. But still, I like giving my own form of awards to the movies of summer.
A new adaptation of the book “Little Women” has swapped Emma Stone for Emma Watson.
According to Empire Magazine, Stone, an Oscar winner for her work in “La La Land,” had to leave the project because of scheduling issues. As a result, the film has attached Emma Watson to take her place in the same role.
Continue reading “Monday Movie Report: Emma Watson joins star-studded ‘Little Women’ cast”
Legendary filmmaker Spike Lee has returned to the directors chair, this time to helm a crime/cop drama that’s actually based on a true story.
Taking place in the 1970s, “BlacKkKlansman” follows Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), a recent addition to a police department in Colorado. As a rookie in the department, Ron initially works in the records division. However, he eventually convinces the chief to get a chance in undercover detective work.
After a short time in the new division, Ron ends up taking a chance by phone to call a local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. In doing so, Ron is able to keep track of the local Klan’s strategies and if they’re seeking to do anything violent. To make the investigation even more effective, Ron works with Flip (Adam Driver), a fellow detective who takes Ron’s place during in-person meetings with the Klan.
Continue reading “REVIEW: While flawed, ‘BlacKkKlansman’ is an engaging take on a wild true story”
The concept of “The Happy Time Murders” was introduced around 2008 and over the next decade, the movie idea wandered in development hell. With its release this weekend, maybe it should’ve stayed there.
“The Happytime Murders” takes place in a world where puppets exist and live among humans. The film focuses on Phil, a puppet who after leaving the Los Angeles Police Department, became a private detective. In his latest investigation, he comes across a larger case than he expected.
Phil (Bill Barretta) soon learns that there are murders taking place, with the victims being cast members of a popular TV show. Even more significant is that Phil was very close with some of the cast. As he starts investigating, he’s forced to work with his former police partner, Connie Edwards (Melissa McCarthy).
Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Happytime Murders’ is a contender for worst of 2018”
Subjects such as wealth, power and differences in the social hierarchy based on income are all packaged and put before audiences in this summer romcom.
As the name implies, the film centers around very affluent Asian individuals. However, the main protagonist Rachel (Constance Wu), isn’t one of them. Rachel is an economics professor living in New York City and is in a relationship with Nick Young (Henry Golding). The two are a happy couple, yet when Nick invites Rachel to his best friend’s wedding, she finds out that he’s been hiding something.
It turns out that Nick’s family is extremely wealthy and holds great influence in Singapore. Upon arriving in Singapore, Rachel experiences some of the perks of her boyfriend’s wealth, but at the same time, their relationship becomes strained. This is mainly because Rachel isn’t remotely close to being a rich person, and some of the individuals close to Nick look down on her for it.
Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ is a charming, insightful romcom”
Collaborations between Director Peter Berg and actor Mark Wahlberg have been OK. But this latest one… Oof.
In their new team-up, Mark Wahlberg plays James Silva, the head of a special operations unit under the leadership of the CIA. The story picks up with the team at United States embassy in a country that is never specified throughout this feature. The audience soon learns that the unit is there because there is an informant named Li Noor who has a computer drive with the location of nuclear weapon materials.
That informant, played by Iko Uwais, wants something in return, though: asylum in the United States. As a result, the team take the informant on a 22 mile trip to an airfield to get him out of the country and reveal where the materials may be. However, Noor is a target in the country, making the journey dangerous for the CIA team.
Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Mile 22’ is an awful action picture to end the summer”
The movie company A24 has acquired rights to release the film “Gloria Bell” in the United States.
According to Variety, the company’s deal comes just before its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Variety reports that the movie is one of the more high-profile pictures set to debut at the fest.
Continue reading “Monday Movie Report: A24 picks up Julianne Moore movie before Toronto film fest”
You hated “Alien Vs Predator.”
You tolerated “Freddy vs Jason.”
You were disappointed by “Batman v Superman.”
So, how will you handle Jason Statham vs a giant shark?
Even though the only social media platforms I had in grade school was MSN Messenger and MySpace, I was still able to relate to much of what was going on in this feature. I think that will be the same for many people who watch this picture.
As one might guess, the movie is about the eighth grade. More specifically, it’s about Kayla (Elsie Fisher), a young girl going through the final days of her eighth grade year. She has her own Youtube channel where she gives out advice and often acts confident in front of the camera. However, in reality Kayla is much more of a shy and awkward person who appears to be an introvert.
As the days go by, Kayla experiences what most middle-schoolers go through, from school drills to dealing with other students. Through those experiences, the audience gets to know quite a bit about what the character is living through, both emotionally and mentally.
Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Eighth Grade’ is a top tier coming-of-age film”
“The Spy Who Dumped Me” is a movie that seemed fine, for a while. Then it kept going, and kept going.
Before getting into what didn’t work, though, a recap of the story. “The Spy Who Dumped Me” starts off with the main character Audrey (Mila Kunis) celebrating her birthday with her best friend Morgan (Kate McKinnon). However, the celebration is soured by the fact that Morgan’s boyfriend Drew just ended their relationship.
Because of her phone conversations with Drew, though, Audrey soon finds out that her ex-boyfriend is actually a spy working on a significantly important mission. As a result of her discovery, Audrey and Morgan are forced to go on the run, as they’ve become tied into the espionage world.
Continue reading “REVIEW: Weak second half, poor chemistry drag down ‘Spy Who Dumped Me’”
Matthew Liedke on Film 