2018 Movie Releases - Luis' Reviews/Thoughts

I am a huge fan of The Conjuring franchise. The first Conjuring film is one of my favorite films in general, the second Conjuring was a fantastic and frightening horror sequel, and Annabelle:Creation was a solidly crafted horror film. The only film I would say is bad would be the first Annabelle, until now. The best way I could describe The Nun, would be "confused", extremely and painfully confused. This just felt like a new director just sticking to a formula and confusedly navigating a narrative, if there even is one. These people go in, get terrified by the demon endlessly, they resolve it, and get out.

There's no story here, it's like watching the nun playing pranks on these people for an hour and a half, and none of it made sense. The scares didn't do anything, neither did the story. The film was entertaining at some points, and I did really like the atmosphere/set design. It was a little too foggy and gloomy at times to the point where it felt too artificial, but still, decent. The characters weren't bad either, I was able to attach myself to a couple of them, but they just didn't do anything with them either. Overall, The Nun might be a terrifying demon, but the film seems terrified of its own shadow. The film is extremely confused, it tries to do absolutely nothing interesting, and it ends up coming across as an empty vessel. A couple of redeeming qualities aren't enough for a recommendation.

SCORE - 35/100

A charming romantic-comedy with extremely likable characters. This film brings forward a common narrative in which someone in a relationship steps out to meet their partner's family, it comes with all the shenanigans and hilarity you would expect. The thing that makes this particular one very charming is, as stated, the characters. We get to meet this couple and we get a very rounded look at their relationship before the inciding incident, and they are both very easy to get behind. It is more romantic than it is comedy, but when the comedy hits, it's usually very smartly written and hilarious; there's a particular side-character that stole the sequences she was in. The film was nicely paced, it was very engaging, often heartwarming, and just very fun to watch, I can see this being a re-watch soon. My only flaw was a shift in pacing in the last act, everything was moving along perfectly, and then the resolution just kinda happened very quickly, and I was dissatisfied. Overall, extremely enjoyable film that is very effective in delivering in its respective genre.

SCORE - 85/100

A film that tries to balance comedy with drama, and I would say it mostly gets there. This won't go down as a quintessential 2018 film, but it's a very good one at that. I think something that one can find in this mysterious plot that is inexpertly woven, is charm and entertainment. Anna Kendrick's character is suddenly now best friends with Lively's character, who lives a luxurious life-style and is very secretive. Lively's character goes missing and it is up to Anna Kendrick to pull some strings and figure out what exactly happened to her.

It's definitely not the next Gone Girl, but the film realizes what it's strengths are and uses them to it's advantage, it's a very confident flick. The film is just so entertaining, there is never a dull moment and the characters and melodrama are so infectious. The chemistry between both female leads was very fun to see play out in the big screen, and there are a couple of big laughs sprinkled here and there. I wasn't as invested in the mystery itself as I was having fun seeing the characters solving it, and I was just as pleased. Like I said, you won't find a very intricate and mind-blowing unwoven plot that is going to shake you up, but it's a very easy film to enjoy and I would definitely recommend it on the cast alone.

SCORE - 77/100

This was a film i was a bit skeptical about. I hated the movie thoroughly, it was a cesspool of so many emotions and i found both characters to be really greedy. Lol i just hated the movie but it goes a long way to show us that we should not force ourselves to stay in the lives of people that do not want to be with us.

46. Hell Fest

I'm a big fan of slasher films, I feel like it's the only genre that can consistently feel fun regardless of how good or nonsensical the script is. There's something appealing about the general concept of a shape offing characters one by one while they scatter and hide etc. I was very much looking forward to this as the slasher genre has been very silent as of late, and I thought this was merely average. It is definitely not a boring movie, which is already a huge plus, it also has a very good sense of pace and the progression was never a problem. The characters were mostly solid, to me they were more memorable than a lot of the other cardboard slasher characters waiting to be killed, and while this film is no stranger to that formula, it managed to keep the characters likable.

The concept is a great one, it is sloppily executed in major spots and it sadly takes away from the experience, especially because a lot of these script issues could've been very easy to fix during re-writes. The movie can get laughably far-fetched with the turn of events, and the way things work; particularly how terribly mismanaged this place is, it's pretty embarrassing. The characters, while yes likable, have an IQ lower than the kill count. There's a point when they are being pursued by the killer, they turn to look at the entrance of a creepy attraction, and one of them screams "this looks like an exit!" and they proceed towards their potential demise. Most issues are very frustrating as they are conceptually so easy to take care of, but even then, the film is entertaining, somewhat fun, and the kills are very good.

SCORE - 55/100

I've been terrible at updating my reviews, doing A Star is Born and Venom tomorrow, already saw both.

This one is practically the start-point of the Oscar season films, and you'll have a hard time finding a stronger stepping stone to the slate of hard-hitting dramas. This is Bradley Cooper's directorial debut, he's become very popular in the acting game as he has proven himself a notable artist, now he takes his passion for the arts to showcase on two new levels: directing, and vocal performance, does he deliver? Oh does he ever, this film about an acclaimed and extremely successful country singer who falls for a bar performer with huge passion and little luck is immaculate. What follows is two hours of intimacy, art, soaring music to contrast a colossally emotional tale, and an elevated love story that might just feel timeless.

Bradley Cooper delivers on all fronts, his acting is magnificent, he puts on his character like an article of clothing and just completely becomes him. His singing is beyond serviceable, it is not hard to buy that this character has been through it all in the music industry. His directing, particularly for a first-timer is pretty great, he knows exactly how to execute the different beats that make up the story. Lady Gaga, there's no other way to describe her, she's completely jaw-dropping, she's the true embodiment of a superstar, a revelation. She brings so much passion, fire, innocence and intensity to her character, it would be foolish to dismiss her artistry, because she has it all. The soundtrack is great. The film does a commendable job at balancing the singing career fiasco with the love story fiasco, and it turn, it delivers thought-provoking themes on both: the downfall of one's passion for art to produce commercial art and the effects of the latter on a strong relationship.

My only flaw is really that the film was noticeably a little too long, it's a tricky thing to dissect because it is Cooper's directorial debut, and he was just too married to every single shot. I look at specific moments and I think: "yeah, twenty minutes could've been easily shaven off". I'll retract from giving this a perfect score considering that problem, but I smell many repeat viewings for this film. Guys, watch this, it's inspiring filmmaking about artistry, love and passion, executed with the right amount of heart and tragedy. Beautiful.

SCORE - 94/100

Sony has taken a risk in the mere attempt of creating a film centered around the classic Spider-Man villain, Venom. The film centers around a newscaster named Eddie Brock who after discovering an injurious agenda going down at a research and experiment base, ends up becoming the host of an alien life form. There were so many red flags as the production concluded and the roll-out started to form: the production was rushed, the film was hidden from the critics until the last possible minute, the marketing started to become more and more underwhelming, and the reviews were not good. Even then, I still liked the movie quite a bit.

I think the main takeaway from a movie like Venom, is the bombastic fun of it all, it's not here to sweep at the Oscars, it understands that its fundamental job is to entertain, and entertain me it did. Venom is a very cool and engaging character and so is Brock, pair them together and the chemistry between both stood out pretty well, there are a few very nice exchanges between them. The VFX work on Venom was fantastic, the action sequences were fun and vibrant enough, and the script wasn't good, wasn't particularly bad either, it just was. Now after a very nice streak going on for Comic Book films, this does fall very short compared to the couple of fantastic entries earlier in the year. The tone is messy, the film often feels confused in it's own direction, and the script never takes any leaps to deliver on something beyond interesting. It's a fun movie, and a very solid one in my opinion, although I can't argue towards the criticisms that have been plaguing the film.

SCORE - 70/100

Damien Chazelle has been one of the most captivating directors in recent years. His debut film, Whiplash is one of my favorite films of recent years, and his follow-up, La La Land is straight up one of my favorite films of all time. He is three for three now with this new captivating and informative ride, First Man. The most resonant aspect about this particular outing is the combination of scientific and informative storytelling, and a very centered human story. This film moves back and forth between Armstrong's literal struggle with the complexities of NASA's inner workings and space tests and his struggles with his family life and failed attempt to live the American dream.

I loved seeing what was going on behind-the-scenes of the space race and the film was very entertaining in that aspect. Ryan Gosling's performance as Armstrong wasn't particularly vivacious, there was a lot of life drawn out from him and it can be a problem for many to find a connection with this character, but it worked very well for me because all that weight on his shoulders from many different sources are conveyed so well that I automatically felt sympathy for him. There are some extremely well shot sequences of tension particularly surrounding the shuttle tests and things of that sort, I was on edge in many of those key moments. The movie is perfectly paced, it was never too slow or too fast, that juxtaposition between Armstrong's professional life bleeding into his personal one was so well-realized, Chazelle just earns the viewers complete attention. And finally, the cinematography and production design was nothing short of immaculate, that moon landing scene will be one of the best things you'll ever see on screen in 2018.

SCORE - 88/100

If you find yourself worn out by the abundance of the big profile movies, the loud blockbusters, and the sameness of particular dominant genres and crave a distinct palette cleanser, Bad Times at the El Royale might be the film for you. Helmed by Cabin at the Woods director, this film knows how to turn plot devices on their head. The film fixates on seven strangers who sign into a hotel, conflict arises when we discover that each guest has a colossal secret to keep, and tension builds when those secrets are threatened to come into the light. The first thing that stood out to be from the get-go, was the immaculate cinematography. Every single shot was beautiful, elegant, vibrant, yet very peculiar, the deep reds blend in so well with the radiant blues and everything in between, it was like watching painting move.

The execution of such an arresting plot was a treat as well, the film found a way to keep every minute of its runtime engaging, and the plot is anything but linear. Goddard definitely has a skill for keeping things intriguing and shifting the chess board multiple times, for the life of me, I could not guess were the narrative was going to go next, which character would die, or how the film would end. Character development was great for the most part, we do get to spend a reasonable amount of time with every character and we get a clear grasp of what their goal is and how they ended up at the hotel. Overall beautiful looking film: engaging, thrilling, interesting, tense, and perfectly paced. Whether you wind up enjoying this or not, it is guaranteed that you won't have an experience like this in the theater in 2018.

SCORE - 85/100

I think this review might have done the trick to make me go see El Royale

Well I'm so glad my review did that for you! Let me know what you think once you watch it!

This film does the interesting thing of completely ignoring every single Halloween sequel and claiming to be the true follow-up to the 1978 original. I am personally a huge fan of the Halloween series, the first film is one of my favorites of all time, there's a couple of other films that I appreciate, but I enjoy the slasher shenanigans that every film offers. After forty years since the events of John Carpenter's original film, Michael Myers escapes an institution. Laurie Strode, the original victim, goes on a quest to hunt him as the ruthless killer hangs dangerously in the small town of Haddonfield. This film does not disappoint on the slasher front, it's fun, it's often intense, sometimes scary, and mostly interesting to watch. This new Halloween sells a lot of its glory by tying its formula to the original film and having many callbacks that directly reference the 1978 flick. The Halloween fan in me was very happy to see a lot of these specific key moments that hit close to home, even if a couple of them did feel a bit on-the-nose.

The characters were mostly hit than miss, we have the real characters with real arcs on one side, and we have cardboard cut-outs that exist to get killed on the other. Part of me did want better characters, but the central family was good enough for me to overlook the weak writing. This film is framed beautifully, there is one specific tracking shot that features Michael going house to house and finding victims that really pleased me. The third act was very well done, there are extensive moments of tension that work so well and once the chord breaks all hell breaks lose to an explosive finish. John Carpenter's original score with the new modern undertones was also fantastic. Overall, the new Halloween movie is a great slasher film with serviceable characters, great sequences of tension, a genuinely scary Michael Myers, and a fantastic female lead.

SCORE - 80/100

I'm a fan of Queen's music, while I wouldn't consider myself a fan of the band itself as I don't think I've invested enough of my time learning about them. I don't know to what extent a more resonant fan would be serviced, but for me, I was charmed from beginning to end. My main takeaway from this one is all the behind-the-scenes galore on how many of the iconic songs and events led to be. I don't have knowledge on how accurate it all is, so there is some ignorance to be considered, but I enjoyed it so much. The concert footage re-creation was fantastic, they are shot to directly resemble original footage, and there's extra umph added to make the audience feel like they're actually in a Queen concert. Rami Malek pulled a commendable performance as Freddy Mercury, he had the right amount of charisma, talent, and arrogance. Overall, this should satisfy fans and casual listeners alike, I find myself somewhere in the middle and I found myself captivated by the music, the drama, and the life of it all, highly recommend.

SCORE- 80/100

Always look forward to your reviews, Luis. I plan on going to see Bohemian Rhapsody sometime next week. Seeing Mid90s tomorrow.

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My Letterboxd

I'm so upset I completely missed Mid90s, hopefully I can catch it sometimes soon. Heading over to read your Bohemian Rhapsody review, curious to see what you think about that.

Actually haven't seen Bohemian Rhapsody yet (as I'm sure you noticed). I was gonna see it with a friend but he had to cancel due to work...trying to still see it soon.

Also, definitely hit up Mid90s whenever you can even if it's on VOD. It's well worth it.

Looking to see it this week! Hopefully I will! I'll keep a lookout for your review of Bohemian Rhapsody as well.

The sequel to the 2016 spin-off franchise starter promises to expand on the story established in the first and take the franchise to new places. You will have a hard time finding a bigger Harry Potter fan than me, I own all the books, all the movies, and a good amount of merchandise, I breathe Harry Potter. And even then, I simply couldn't get excited for this, I just didn't feel the anticipation. Even with no anticipation, the film still felt underwhelming. It's main problem is how uneventful it feels, there is no clear plot, no clear storyline, no guidance on the characters, it just feels like a sequence of scenes. The film promises to deliver on mythology shenanigans and that classic Grindelwald story J.K Rowling has mentioned for so long, yet, it feels somewhat uninspired.

If there is a way I could label this film, I would point out that it mainly feels like a set-up ride; a film to transition from film one to film three, and in doing so, a cohesive narrative was lost in film two. Now, I wouldn't call this a bad film either, just underwhelming, "meh", average, uneventful. There are a few things that I liked in this. Essentially, some visuals are fantastic, there's not much going on on screen, but when there is, it's stunning. I still contend Eddie Redmayne's Newt character is charming, very likable and engaging as well as a select few of the other characters. The film never bored me, it was uneventful yes, but it still managed to keep my attention. And finally, there are a handful of great sequences to satisfy a Potter fan like me, and I enjoyed them.

A film that was advertised and acclaimed as "a 21st century Taxi Driver". I can definitely see the comparisons, as the film is very centered in one character, it serves well as an interpersonal study, and the gritty action definitely helped heighten the DNA of the film. I really liked the plot revolving around Phoenix's character, his perfectly normal and slightly unfortunate home life is established quite nicely and it provides as a good juxtaposition to the darker aspects found in his involvement in a very twisted world. The film revolves around a jaded enforcer, who after discovering the disappearance of a young teenage girl, must go on a rescue mission to attempt and save her - what he uncovers is a much more deranged and dangerous game than he first anticipated.

Joaquin Phoenix delivers a truly great role, his character is the right amount of brutal to fear, yet troubled to root for. I wouldn't say this is one of the best films of the year like a lot of people seem to think, I found the whole thing to be a bit on the simplistic side, and the story didn't have enough substance to grab my attention more, but I did find the execution appropriate and well-realized. It is well-paced, well-acted, and the action sequences have the right amount of grit and intensity to make for an edge-of-your-seat ride. Another thing I appreciated about this film is that it doesn't waste any time, it brings out the inciting incident, and follows a very linear story forward. Overall, I can see this being a favorite to a lot of MoFos, and while it's not something I will particularly think about beyond this point, it's an easy recommend for me.

SCORE - 70/100