Suspect Goes Back To The Movies - 2020

I'm going to try and make a conscious effort to GO to the movies more this year. It would mean late night shows, but it would also mean getting to see more movies than I have been able to since my first son's birth.

In 2019 I watched just shy of 140 movies that I reviewed, I most likely watched more but fell behind in reviewing them. My friends and I are continuing our movie chats, which of course will be documented here as well.

Looking forward to enjoy the theatre again.

2020 Watch List

January


January 4th - Dark City -

January 5th - Tree of Life -

January 6th - Wedding Crashers -

January 7th - The Breakfast Club -

January 8th - Quills -

January 16th - The Lighthouse -

January 19th - The Guilty -

January 22nd - Clueless -

January 23rd - What Did Jack Do? -

January 25th - Missing Link -

January 28th - The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part -

January 30th - Men in Black: International -

February

February 1st - Uncut Gems -

February 3rd - Perfect Blue -

February 4th - Your Name -

February 5th - JoJo Rabbit -

February 10th - Lady & The Tramp -

February 11th - Moonstruck -

February 12th - Hellboy (2019) -

February 16th - MA -

February 21st - Hobbs and Shaw -

February 23rd - Honey Boy -

February 28th - The Invisible Man -

March

March 9th - Being There -

March 10th - Pretty Baby -

March 12th - Child's Play -

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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

Most of the movies I've seen in theaters aren't the same at home.

Do you mean it's a much different viewing experience or that the actual movies are different?

With a bigger screen and louder movie, it's more exciting. Plus, first time views always have special things anout them if the movies are good.

It's almost as if Robert Eggers was possessed by David Lynch and they crafted The Lighthouse on some LSD. To say that the film is a little weird would be an understatement. The Lighthouse cracks with enough "WTF" moments, along with old-sea style dialogue that the casual movie-goer would walk out in ten minutes...as my wife did when she left me alone in the basement to finish the film.

Where does on begin in describing the movie? The best I can tell is that it involves two Lighthouse Keepers being stranded on a remote island after a terrible storm ravages through. They slowly realize their relief team isn't coming and they go mad while waiting for them, each thinking the other man is up to no good.

Throughout the film there is an ominous fog horn that feels never ending. Eggers wants to annoy you, not enough to have you leave the film, but enough to have you uneasy. For me, it helped transport me to that damn Lighthouse. The look, feel and sound of this movie is masterful. It will be timeless. When directors are concerned with the latest technology and cutting edge special effects, this black and white, 1.19:1 aspect ratio, two man "stage play" will outlast them all. I don't know if any other movie in the last few years has been able to transport me as much as this has.

In addition to that are the two performances, the material seems to be an actor's dream. Robert Pattinson has gotten a bad reputation because of the Twilight movies, but the work he's been in post Twilight has been truly amazing stuff. He wanted to do this movie because he wanted a chance to do something weird. Mission accomplished. I suggest people check out his performance in Good Times as well. In the film, you never know who to trust, what to believe and the unreliable narrator motif employed here adds just the right amount of tension. The film is bonkers and hilarious at the oddest times. One scene has Dafoe pleading with Pattinson about liking his cooking. It's comical, until he goes into a monologue driven tirade of a hex and it turns sour in seconds.

This is a film about watching two men go mad. Don't expect a lot of story, plot or showy camerawork, or even answers to what the hell is going on out there. It helps to know a bit of Greek Mythology going in so you can see the references and subtext. The Lighthouse is unique, it's different and it's a strange ride from start to finish. One that will have many people theorizing different things, I know I've been working on mine.

"Does the person know you called us?"

An impressive debut feature, showcasing one character in one location yet having more tense and edge of your seat scenes than most thrillers today. The Guilty sits us with Asger, a police officer who has been demoted to desk work for an unexplained incident. He receives a phone call from a woman in distress, masking her call to make her kidnapper believe she is calling her child.

The Guilty succeeds for numerous reasons, but I'd place two specifics reasons on its shoulders; Jakob Cedergren, the lead here who simply reacts to dialogue in his ear and the voice actors of the callers on the other end. If either of those two elements didn't work, The Guilty could have easily been a forgettable thriller in the vein of Halle Berry's The Call. Luckily that is not the case as Cedergren delivers a tense performance for a man sitting in a chair for most of the film.

The reason for his demotion is explained later on in the film, but we get a sense that something isn't right with him from the start. He's very judgmental of people calling in for help. The first two calls he receives, one is of a man scared he is overdosing, the other was a man robbed from a prostitute. In both instances, our "protagonist" brushes these calls off and claims it's their own fault for getting in those situations. It's not until he receives the eerie phone call from the woman does he react in a helpful manner, even then most of the decisions he makes are questionable. He even disregards a phone call from an injured person afterwards because he wants to stay on the case of the kidnapped woman. We don't have to like this man, we just have to be on his side in this situation and hope he's good enough at his job that he can have this woman survive. Things get complicated when he takes measures into his own hands and tries to solve the situation without the help of the local police.

The Guilty might be a Danish film, but the subject matter pertaining to police and abuse of power is extremely relevant to western culture now. It also dives into how people perceive the world around them. The Guilty takes a few clever twists when our "protagonist" inserts himself into the crime. He simply cannot sit by and let others do their jobs, he has to solve it himself. This could potentially cause more harm than good and we just have to sit there and listen on the phone to any possible outcome. So the viewer feels helpless as we listen and yell lat him for making inappropriate decisions. Without seeing the event, only listening, we are all ears and you can hear a pin drop. We never leave the room, but we get a detailed picture of what is happening out there due to those terrific voice performances.

I for one, could never do this job. I can't even fathom being on the other end of the line if someone is dying, or giving the wrong advice and the result is a death. That is a job that you take home with you.

I've owned this movie for several years and just finally watched this now. Why did it take so long? It looked right up my alley, the reviews were extremely positive and it won multiple Oscars. After watching it, I want to kick myself for not watching it earlier.

Del Toro gives us a depressing fairy tale, one that makes me question whether or not the events that took place were simply in the little girl's head or if they really happened. Either way, the film surprised me with the ending despite having the opening images be what they were. I guess I forgot about it and was wrapped up in the story telling.

Impressive make-up and creature design, as usual when dealing with a Del Toro film. He let's his creative juice flow all over this production. It helps that he didn't have Hollywood breathing down his neck to change the dark themes or fantasy elements about a pale, eyeless, sagging skin creature who eats children. That scenario is nightmare fuel.

I was surprised by how little time we spend in the fantasy world. The majority of the film takes place in Spain during the war. I was also surprised by how much time was dedicated to characters outside of Ofelia. The rebel uprising and spy network helped engage me further into the story and genuinely had me caring about multiple characters. Captain Vidal is an excellent villain, portrayed with just the right amount of wickedness to hate him.

Pan's Labyrinth is an excellent film, but I'm sure everyone is already aware of it as I'm late to the party.

Great review on Pan's Labyrinth. It's been many years since I've seen it, but I need to rewatch it as I don't remember a lot of the elements you touch on.

Clueless is an odd film, it changes directions multiple times. At one point it's a movie about Cher trying to get two teachers together so she can change her grades, then it becomes a "She's All That" type movie about turning an loner into a popular girl to find some love, then it moves on to become about how she is falling in love with her former step brother. There is a lot going on and the film zig zags in many different directions, but the core focus of the character Cher is prominent enough to be a through line that it doesn't lose that overall feel it's going for. Yes, it's an updated satirical take on Emma, but it does seem to lack some story driven focus. That aside, Clueless is a "classic" film for certain girls of a certain age, but I certainly appreciated it.

It takes aim at the Beverly Hills stereotype and nails it. The cast gels perfectly together; it's interesting to see a 19 year old Alicia Silverstone and an 18 year old Brittany Murphy play high school kids. It's rare to see Hollywood cast teenagers as teenagers, case in point is Stacey Dash who was an unbelievable 28 during this movie. She continued to play the same character in the TV show the following year which ran for 3 seasons.

The film isn't afraid to make fun of itself. It's lighthearted and we get to enjoy the trivial tribulations of Cher (except for the gun point robbery and sexual assault of course). I enjoyed my time when I was plunked down in her world, saw things through her eyes and forgot about the problems of the world. Clueless is light and fluffy fun that you can manage to revisit and notice how fashion seems to come full circle.

Gladly'd give ↑ that a loook, middle of the 1990s, fun time for movies too

And men of a certain age. As some of you may know, I adore this film and have it on my 100. I liked the TV series too, but the film is wonderful.

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

I thought they did a decent job recasting Cher for the show.

I think Netflix and Lynch are going to pair up in the near future and I am all for it. Why else would they give a platform to such a weird, short nonsensical film like What Did Jack Do? It has to be a precursor to future projects, right?!?!?!

In this bizarre black and white 17 minute short Lynch film, he plays a homicide detective interrogating a monkey suspected of murder. The money's mouth has had a human mouth super imposed over it. It's not "flawless" and clearly/intentionally noticeable. Think of Conan's gag where he interviews a still image of Schwarzenegger on his late night show. Anyways, this is all part of Lynch's twisted humour.

Bottom line is, you either laugh with it, or turn it off in confusion. Some people will ask what is the point, others will demand for more Lynch content. The man hasn't had a directorial feature hit theatres in a long time. The last big splash had to have been Mulholland Dr because the 3 hour Inland Empire did nothing for no one. Since then he's had dozens upon dozens of short films and then the Twin Peaks revival. Lynch needs to make more movies and if Netflix is the way, so be it. Although with his disdain for people watching films on phones, it could just be a fever dream.

Expect more weird things to come our way from him, this is a short and "simple" film with one person talking to a monkey.

I watched for a few minutes, then jumped around. I wasn't even weird enough to be funny, it was just banal weird. Just non-sequitur responses back and forth most of the time.

Brave man, trying to review it, though.

Thanks, ive been seeing this on Netflix wondering what the hell it is. Will be checking it out.

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There was a time that I was convinced that I was going to marry Alicia Silverstone.

I think it was right up until 'Excess baggage'

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"I don't want to be a product of my environment, I want my environment to be a product of me" (Frank Costello)

I don't know if it was poor marketing or my own ignorance towards this film, but not only did I have zero interest in it, I had no idea it was an adventure movie. I was more under the impression it would be about our lead character transporting the "Missing Link" back to New York for proof of his existence and that would be it. The film pivots from that story into a wonderful and fully realized adventure film that crosses the globe, showcasing the true talents behind the stop motion animation at Laika.

There has always been something about a Laika film that felt missing to me. I should love all their films a lot more than I do. The amount of attention to detail, love and dedication they put into these movies is astounding. Just check out some of their behind the scenes stuff to see how they put these movies together. Their talent has grown over the years and Missing Link really showcases that, specifically with the environments we find ourselves in. We are globe trotting in this story and the imagery they present to us is truly beautiful stuff. Their previous film Kubo & The Two Strings had some striking imagery as well and the fluidity of the animation here is almost flawless.

Like their other efforts, the film has a few laughs but most certainly could have used a lot more. Galifianakis brings an innocent child like charm to the role of Link and Jackman does well as the adventurous Sir Lionel Frost. The former infuses the story with some comedy, but I only found myself chuckling here or there and not really laughing. Olyphant's Stenk is a decent antagonist hired by the underwhelming bigger villain; Stephen Fry's Lord Piggot-Dunceby. His motivations are very basic and screen time limited to the point that I kept forgetting he was in the film. A more involved villain could have really elevated this piece. Stenk fills that role for the most part, but he feels like a puppet for most of the film. (ha...)

Laika always brings something unique and creative to the table, I wish them nothing but more success and hopefully one of these projects I can really fall head over heels for, but for now I'll just settle for liking a lot.

The unique absurdity of the original Lego Movie won over many people. Paired with the eye-popping Lego style animation, it was genuinely one of the best animated films of the last decade. It has since gone on to have 2 spin-offs and this sequel, although the Ninja entry and this one seem to have audiences turning away. Are we already tired of the Lego movies? The ingredients are all there for a successful continuation here, but the result is less than thrilling. I can't pinpoint my issues exactly, but something is missing from this sequel.

It's been 5 years since the invasion of the 'beings' from the Sis-Tar system and our Lego heroes live in a Mad Max style apocalypse. Wild Style and a few others are captured and it is once again up to Emmet to become a hero and save the day.

The first film was self aware, this film is possibly too self aware? The jokes are the same, but lack the punch or flavour that made them funny originally. Too many puns and obvious one-liners that it becomes rather tedious early on. We get introduced to a new character; Rex and the joke is that he is voiced by Chris Pratt and along with being a galaxy defender and a cowboy, he has raptors. This is an obvious nod to the actor being in Guardians of the Galaxy, Magnificent Seven and Jurassic World, but then we have Emmet exclaim "I don't get it". It's all a little "too much" and instead of being clever it's eye-rolling.

The same elements as the first are employed here and we get sequences outside of the Lego world. These moments have heart, but don't reach the heights of the first. Maybe because it is expected this time? The film somewhat comes together towards the end when story elements are revealed, but I couldn't help but think it was a little bit too late as I was bored for most of the first half.

In an attempt to reinvigorate a dead franchise, we have Men in Black: International, a sequel / reboot that wants to look progressive, but feels dated. With MIB:I Will Smith is replaced by Tessa Thompson and Tommy Lee Jones is replaced by Chris Hemsworth. This time around there seems to be a mole inside the MIB and if anyone watches the trailer...or even decides to look at the cast...or sees this person when they first show up...you know exactly who it is.

MIB has no surprises, no laughs and no thrills. It feels like a hollow shell of what was once a promising series. The first film oozes with style, humour and world building. In each sequel we get less and less of what made the first film good, but hey we've got flashier special effects, right? Adding more weird looking aliens to a movie does not equal world building, it feels lazy. This entry tries so hard to separate itself from the pack that it doesn't really feel like a MIB movie and not in a good way. It doesn't take the series forward anywhere, it feels stalled.

I don't know why a guy like Hemsworth is having trouble finding something outside of his Thor character to connect with people. The guy has great comedic timing, good looks, is charismatic and a decent actor, but every project he picks, people reject. Thompson is trying way too hard to be "cool" and it comes off as cringe worthy. Her characters sees an alien when she is a child and she dedicates her life to finding these Men in Black. Once she joins, everything just seems to work in her "Mary Sue" favour. Towards the end Hemsworth says "We are the Men in Black...wait...The Men & Women in Black". Cue turning his head towards Thompson with a thumbs up. How very progressive of this film...

Kumail Nanjiani saves the film from being a total disaster. His off the cuff style humour is refreshing and injects some laughs and life into what is essentially a dead on arrival comedy. The entire film feels forced and uninspired. Now someone please use a damn Neuralyzer on me.

I watched Good Times on a whim and was on the edge of my seat with how tense it was, very reminiscent of After Hours. I finally got a chance to see their follow up, Uncut Gems and to say it's just as intense, is an understatement. Even saying the film is intense is a bit of a cliche as everyone and their mother has said the same thing, it's hard to describe the film any other way. There is a scene where a door is jammed and people can't unlock it...that scene is intense and it's intense for no reason. No one is in danger, no risks are involved, it's just a door that is jammed shut. Yet the Safdie brothers find a way to make it one of the more tense scenes in the film with how the music is scored, how the people are frantically running around and how everyone is simply yelling at each other. Uncut Gems is not for everyone, but it's rewarding for those who can sit through it.

Howard is a New York jeweler and he comes into possession of a rare uncut opal stone. In his eyes it's worth millions and he needs that money as he owes a lot to many people, people who violently want to collect faster than Howard can get his money.

Howard is the type of guy who even when he gets the money that is owed, he's willing to put it all on the line to get a little more. It's moments like these that has the audience yelling at their screens "Don't do that!!!" It's like a horror film when that one person yells don't go in there dummy, but instead of it being that one annoying girl, it's the entire collective audience. Everyone is on the same page except for Howard. He's in his own world, wanting to climb up higher and higher and he's willing to dig the hole he's in a little deeper if it means winning big. As a person, Howard shouldn't be likable, but Sandler brings his unusual charm and makes me pity the guy more than anything. Sandler can act and he's good here. He's admitted to making the type of movies he makes out of laziness, but every once in a while he'll come out to play and he plays well.

The film has audiences divided, it's anxiety inducing. Howard is a guy who manages to win and lose everything at the same time. The film will leave you exhausted by the end and that isn't a film for everyone, but it was a film for me.