Luis' Movie Log for 2018 (excluding new releases)

Since you’ve been rewatching a lot of Pixar movies, which score is your favorite? Personally I love the jazziness of Ratatouille which just edges out The Incredibles fantastic score.

Ooooh, Ratatouille is a good one. I think I will go with The Incredibles, it's insane! I particularly love the 100 Mile Dash score.

Some of my favorties: Married Life from Up, Nemo's Egg from Finding Nemo. Bundle of Joy from Inside Out, Define Dancing from Wall-E , Souped Up from Ratatouille, Dory's Theme from Finding Dory

Hi there Luis. If you get fatigued reviewing films, you should surely take a break- this should be fun for you, and it's summer vacation besides. And- if you want a break from the general lightheartedness and life affirming lessons of Pixar, you'll surely have that experience reviewing Clockwork. Haven't seen it in , ages but it's quite indelible. Interested in your review of it.

Btw if I m not being too nosy, you piqued my curiosity when you said that Remy speaks to you as an artist. May I ask what kind of artist you are, and if that will be your field of study? Or perhaps you meant it in a general sense? I think we 're all sort of artistic here, given our interest in film.

I agree with this and would add The Glory Days from The Incredibles.

Thanks for stopping by again! Yeah, when I made the list I was very confident I would need a break or two in between depending on how many other films I watch. I took a week break, and I'm almost caught up now, thank you! And yes, Clockwork Orange is definitely a film that left its print on me. It'll definitely be an interesting one to discuss.

My comment about Remy was targeted towards general artists out there, (singers, writers, directors, artists, etcc..) His experience is relatable and inspiring. I'm essentially a screenwriter but I really want to breakthrough in the directing world.

Kubrick is obviously one of the most celebrated directors of all time, I do consider The Shining one of my favorite films, and I'm very excited to watch A Space Odessy, but honestly, this one just felt like style over substance, and I had a barely positive experience watching it. It's undoubtedly one of the most influential and shocking films of all time, and it was absolutely worth the watch for film history sake. But that's all it was, shocking and rule-bending, the images simply didn't carry much beyond that.

The characters are all insufferable, and characterization is the most important thing in a film for me. I'll give the film props because they are extremely memorable, and crafting memorable characters is very hard, but I was at least hoping this would be a good character study, and I really didn't think so. Our protagonist was a terrible person in the first half, and brainwashed in the second, I really didn't feel any sort of connection to him, and that's my main problem. Visually, it's definitely fantastic, and the aesthetic is very artistic. It also brings forward great themes about morality, character, and redemption. Overall a good movie, and one that I will, without question, remember forever, but I really can't say it's a film I would want to have in my Blu-ray collection.

Aaaaaahhh.....a writer. Of course, you write so well. Have you started any screenplays yet? Would they be in the category of Pixar type animated films, which you so enjoy? Am I peppering you with too many nosy questions, lol; no need for you to answer at this point either.

If you become a director, I hope (and trust) you don't outgrow your natural gracious manners and your respectful, appreciative way of dealing with people. I can tell, even online , this is a gift of yours that would be valued in an industry of too oft rampant raging egos. You know, I've always sort of pictured you as becoming a professor of film at some point. I can see you a decade hence, patches on your elbows, explaining to a class of eager faces how you first came to review Life is Beautiful, saying" well I was encouraged to watch this film by a person named..well........ah.....lenslady" lmao.

Joking aside I can picture you teaching in the future.

At any rate, I truly valued and concurred with your review of Clovkwork Orange. It was a film I will never forget ( I believe I only saw it once, years ago) AND one I never want to see again. I suppose it's message is well delivered, along with its 'artistic aesthetic' as you say, but it also suffers from 'insufferable characters' . I felt, as an audience member, I was suffering from the brutality of imagery, and the irredeemable players. Giving it a 60 was apt, if not generous. I much prefer a film that redeems the apparently irredeemable- such as The Apostle, don't know if that's on your list.


And yet, Clockwork WAS a film that an educated film viewer should see- once was enough for me, tho.

Nice chatting with you, as always, and 'see' you soon on mofo, whenever you next review a film - but DO enjoy your vacation.

Lol thank you so much! Yeah, I actually finished my first 90-page screenplay in 2012 when I was 12 years old. I remember I even had to sign a contract as it was going to get produced and everything. Unfortunately like most screenplays that get "picked up", nothing happened in the end. But at least it gave me a representation of how hard pursuing a creative life is and it was good for perspective. By now, I do have a many screenplays, shorts and features, many of which I would love do something with, and many of which I've lent out for others to produce. (Even if 75% of them don't even go through with it, but oh well... The industry I guess.

You're actually not far off as far as the whole teaching thing goes. I'm working on a Plan B in case my directing dream doesn't work out (which, realistically, it won't) and teaching film is one that I would definitely look into, I'm also very attracted so psychology. I want to have something before I move out to L.A and go bonkers so that I don't feel too bad once I do lol. i actually also love to sing, and I've always wanted to perform, so let's see if I can do something on the side with that. What about you, by the way? What did you study? How is it going? Why do you love film so much and do you plan on doing anything with that? Nice chatting with you as always.

Whew, OK so i'm getting back on track thank God, that Pixar marathon really exhausted me lol. But in turn I discovered my favorite Spielberg film. There's no way of getting around this, Saving Private Ryan is a masterpiece through and through, I adored this film and I can almost guarantee it will become one of my favorites upon second watch. I've said for the longest times that war films are the hardest to direct and edit; giving someone the task of forming coherence out of chaos and explosions is almost unfair, but Spielberg pulls this off so gracefully.

The opening Omaha Beach scene is unquestionably the most hard-hitting and emotionally scarring war scene I've ever seen put on film. Many people who have been in war have come forward to say that this particular sequence is the closest thing they've seen to the real horrors in the battlefields, and I couldn't catch my breath at all. The character work is fantastic, we delve deep enough into these soldier's psyche to give weight to these extraordinary war sequences. The film also took several extra miles to really hit me right in the gut, and it molded everything into a beautiful theme of honor and remembrance. The film is nearly three hours long but it flew by for me, every sequence was so engaging and impossible to ignore, whether it involves two soldiers interacting in a snarky exchange, or an established character being blown up into pieces, Spielberg kept me in the edge of my seat. I never feel comfortable giving a film a perfect score on my first watch, but you know what, screw it, there's not a single frame that fractures the flow of this beautifully crafted narrative.

73. Entre Nos (2009)

Another solid, solid film in the Foreign Language HoF challenge. In this one, we get to see the hardships of a single mother falling into poverty, intensified by the fact that these characters are in a foreign country. The film is almost as effective as a film like this could be, I got on board right away with the family, and I obviously rooted for their success. The acting is exemplary in most accounts, and this really does feel like front row seat to someone's hardships, it felt very grounded in the sense that I actually felt like I was watching a real person's life deteriorate before my eyes. At 80 minutes, the film could've definitely used a bit more material in the third act, I felt that there could've been a less abrupt transition from two points, a stronger ending could've really propel this film towards greatness, but nevertheless a very solid film.

SCORE - 78/100

A Clockwork Orange is a movie that one day you could suddenly love. Try it again in 5 years

Definitely planning to! I definitely understand everything it went for and Kubrick is a genius, it's just that I didn't have an "enjoyable" experience. Ya feel?

74. The Descent (2005)

This was a very effective thriller. It does a surprising job at establishing the characters and their personalities, once the horror wheels began spinning, it was very easy to pin point who the characters were amid so much chaos. The highest point of praise for me in this film was how claustrophobic it felt, watching these characters squeeze themselves through extremely confined spaces for prolonged amounts of times really made me hyperventilate. There is some really creepy imagery here, especially in the first half and a few very effective scares that felt very earned. The ending did fall short for me, and incomplete when it came to the character decisions to be honest, but I would not hesitate to recommend this to anyone, whether they are a fan of the genre or not.

Did you watch some alternative version, because the ending of "Descent" is one of the best in all of movies.

mmmm.... not sure, I'm pretty sure it's the correct one. I like that that it took that extra step to convey that us, as evolved human species are more evil than the creatures just trying to eat to survive. Maybe I need to watch the ending again, maybe I was overwhelmed with the amount of visual trickery going on.

One of the gems of 2013 that I finally got to watch. What an amazingly directed film this is, all the components that are essential for a film like this to work, are so well executed; talk about the acting, the shot-construction, the color palette, the dialogue, etc. It's very easy to see why this was labeled as "one of the hardest films to watch", as it does depict the physical brutality and extreme mental destabilization that these people went through. The performances from every major character floored me. This film did a tremendous job at telling a universal story and weaving such circumstances into a deeply personal one; it's not just a great cultural study, but an exemplary character study as well.

SCORE - 88/100

Ahh... Just tried to write you and the cyber gremlin snagged and ate it! Let me try again, and I ll belatedly answer some of your last post, as much as I can for now.

I am more impressed than I could say you wrote a 90 page(!) screenplay at 12!!!. I don't think most 12 year olds could write 90 pages about anything at all- even if was a Kardashian bragging about their wardrobe. And having it picked up, even if it's not used,....yet... is also a sign of budding and blooming talent.

So.......onward.

Glad you have a Plan B . Even the most successful actors, directors etc wind up teaching at some point in their life, and usually enjoy doing so. Good plan.

Why I love movies? Well let me start by saying I love MANY types of art- Art for one, lol and literature and especially music, I sing too btw and it.'s never too soon for you to get up on stage. I will say a few things about loving Art in general, and movies in particular. I think some of us are, and I mean this without ANY arrogance, just artists to the bone. I don't know why. And what makes the difference between the clown at the local kareoki bar who sings an off key Freebird at full volume ( or even worse, all 9000 verses of American Pie) - and a soul like Beethoven, who wrote his most magnificent symphonies when he was deaf - I do not know. But I think we are wired a little differently from the average person, and whether it's regarded as a blessing or curse - it's as much a part of your make-up as your height and eye color. Well that's jmho on loving the arts and being an artist.

But there's more. Movies are a different experience from other arts.

I believe Yoda expressed it so well in his 'interview' - hope I'm quoting him correctly- in pointing out movies are made both for the artists amongst us, and also embraced by a mass audience. So it's more of a shared cultural experience than many forms of Art, and an integral part of modern life.

And- final thoughts; , tho it may not apply to your younger generation as much, but for us older folk - no ages, here but ......those of us born on the other side if the century..... movies were a night out and in particular- movies were date night! Movies were all tied into a first holding hands, a first hug, a first kiss, a first (sometimes) fighting off the octopus in the next seat lol and really, if you were lucky - and I was- a first love, Can't really say that about a book or a PBS special.

So there is a subliminal undercurrent to our regard of film -of being young and going out to the movies, with friends and romantic partners- that gives depth to the already kinetic, energizing experience of watching a movie in the theatre.

Perhaps I've said more than I should have here, but the thing I' m getting at is that movies became very much a part of how one lives.

And even now, if you stream a video with company around - or even when you watch alone- there is a vibrant energy to a well crafted movie no tv show or painting on the wall can match.

I probably don't watch as many movies btw as sone of the mofos here, but I can assure you; I relish and cherish the ones I do watch.

And for the ones I don't, mofo has given me perfect place to vent and carp and complain to my heart's content.

Late now, so I'll sign off til next time

'Abadee, abadee, abadee '( is this even the correct spelling for stuttering?)
'That 's all folks'.

Another solid film. This one takes a very interesting and different approach to your typical reunion romance film, and I really appreciated the originality of the plot, it's one that you could definitely squeeze a lot of juice from. The acting is very strong from both of our leads, they absolutely sold every single scene they were in together, this is especially impressive when you consider the wide variety of emotional range depicted in their rocky relationship.I also admired how the narrative built towards a very blurry resolution that was very hard to predict, and you never really know the truth behind the devastating points. There are some great sequences and some very solid dialogue exchanges. Definitely a solid film, I don't know how memorable it will be compared to the rest of the films I've seen so far, but I respected the craftsmanship

SCORE - 78/100

Thank you so much. Not trying to sound modest, but I really hate tooting my own horn, I do though feel some sense of accomplishment like you said, so thank you so much.

Yes, teaching does kind of appeal to me. Either elementary, cause children are adorable, or high school, because I could actually teach film to people who care. But never middle school, I don't think I can handle those. Wanting to do any of the creative arts for a living (writing, directing, modeling, singing, painting, etc..) is very scary indeed, and a second plan is a reality I'm going to have to deal with.

May I say I do love your description on why you love film, and the deep appreciation of the arts in general. You describe it like it's second nature to you, I can tell you have a deep passion for it as well. Not too sound too technical but I also thought it was very well written lol.

I really connected to your cultural connections with film, and it's true. No matter of race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, culture, or any defining characteristics, the theater experience is mutual. We watch a horror film, we scream together, then we laugh together, it's fantastic.

I really didn't like this one to be honest. I thought it was fairly well directed when it came to the shot construction and building suspense, and very well-acted as well. However, the story and progression was just too bland for me. I was longing to connect or be intrigued by something in this film and I really couldn't. Characters are the most important thing to me in a film and pretty much all of them were insufferable, even the girl that Benny murdered, who I wanted to feel pity for was pretty much unlikable as well. Given the former, I really couldn't get into the film, this is one of the few films were I just kept on looking at the runtime to see when it would end. Not a horrible film by any means, and I can see how many people like it, but there was not enough for me.

SCORE - 40/100