2018 Movie Releases - Luis' Reviews/Thoughts

This was a very interesting experiment, and it is definitely effective in its craft. Just to get the best thing out of the way, Claire Foy was absolutely brilliant in her role, her acting was pretty perfect in all aspects of her character; and it is a character that finds herself in many emotional extremes throughout the film. If the 2019 Oscars were tomorrow, I would absolutely want to see her get a nomination.

The directing was very solid as well, and Soderbergh takes some very interesting approaches to his craft on this one. The film being shot in an IPhone was a definitely a decent choice for making the story film more personal, or maybe even claustrophobic. I would be lying, however, if I said it wasn't painfully obvious, sometimes it took me right out of the film; sometimes it felt like I was watching a student short film found on Youtube expanded on the big screen. Even then, the movie did a fantastic job at meeting its promised intensity, and there where some moments were I was kicking underneath my seat and felt like yelling at the screen; that's how you make a horror film. Claire Foy's character was also expertly built as a character who anybody would root for, she has a dominant, yet broken quality to her that I really liked. The ending was a bit of a mixed bag, but overall, I thought this was a very effective horror film.

This is a very cool movie, if there was a word to describe it, it would definitely be "cool". The concept is undeniably fantastic, and seeing such a complex world play out on the big screen was a feast. The visuals are some of the best I've seen in film, and it has such an original aesthetic. This being a Spielberg film, you know the action sequences play out fantastically on screen, they are fast-paced, electrifying, and sometimes even jaw-dropping to see.

The film is already well-known for its heavy 80s pop culture references, and it was definitely awesome; seeing the Iron Giant, Freddy Krueger, King Kong and a bunch of other icons sharing the screen for glorious cameos was awesome to see. There's this whole section of the film dedicated to The Shining and it was amazing, definitely the best part of the picture hands down. All of this being said, I still think the character work could've been better. All we really know about our protagonist is that his life is unfortunate, and that he loves video games; in the dystopian setting, this description could literally fit every other person in the film. As the narrative progressed, I kind of just saw him as a kid, instead of "the kid". The third act, which is literally like 40 minutes long, can become tiring at times, and can even fracture the momentum. Despite it's couple of flaws, I really did have a great experience watching this with my friends and geeking out at all the pop culture references.

SCORE - 77/100

Glad to see that you enjoyed Ready Player One. I'll be seeing it tomorrow.

Thanks for tuning in my man! Looking forward to your review!

This was fantastic! I was so happy walking out of the movie theater having experienced a horror film handled with so much care, and so much passion. I just want to comment real quick how these past couple of years have been fantastic to be a horror fan, particularly for mainstream horror films. I could look at any individual component in this film, and draw something masterful from it.

Just the concept alone is an extremely arresting one, and a proper one for a thrill ride. The story, the scares, the world, everything is established solely through visuals, sounds, repetition, it was very smart at realizing the world and playing by its own rules. By the same rule, this film had many sequences were the tension was amped up to such an extreme that I really couldn't catch my breath. There is one sequence in particular involving Emily Blunt that really kept me gripped and had me extremely on edge, and it was like a 7 minute sequence mind you. Speaking of Emily Blunt, the performances from each and every single actor was exemplary: The kids? So great. John Krasinsk? Incredible. Emily Blunt? Holy S*it just give her the Oscar already. The film also did an commendable job at matching the connection between the family with the colossal terror. There are so many sweet moments, so many dramatic moments, and so many moments between both extremes, I genuinely cared for every person on screen. Overall, Incredibly well directed, incredibly well acted, terrifying, with edge of your seat thrills and heartwarming emotion. Fantastic.

SCORE - 94/100

This was a good time. I'm not entirely sure how memorable it will be in the long run, but I went in, I smiled, I laughed, and I left. The comedy is pretty effective, I'm not going to sit here and say that it's the smartest script in the world, but it really works in the plot's context. I also really liked the characters, both, the set of kids, and the set of adults, they all entertained me on screen, and seeing their chemistry play out was a great. There are a couple of on-the-nose lines and sequences that made me cringe, but overall I thought this was very effective comedy. There were a couple of moments were I genuinely laughed out loud.

Wes Anderson is definitely one of the most interesting directors working today, and he made it his mission to deliver a unique experience with this film, and he exceeded. Everything from the style, the animation, the structure, the construction, the way the narrative is told, and the cultural aspects is fresh, and very pleasing to see.

Isle of Dogs has a very original premise, and Anderson did an excellent job at executing the premise to interesting, fun, and affecting places. The character development around both, the dogs and the humans is great, I connected with the heroes, I despised the villains, and everybody's role fell in their rightful place. The core of the film is found in the relationship of a little boy and his lost dog, and if you are, by any extent, a dog person, it will probably resonate with you. The film is also great at developing its political devices, and it's a film that explores its government to sinister extents, which definitely took me by surprise. The only problem I had was the resolution, the writing in the end felt lazy. It felt like Anderson just rushed to resolve the story in the easiest way possible, and in the end the lose ends in the movie just resolved way too conveniently, and then some. Overall great, if you love the art of filmmaking, this should be right up your alley,

If you can enjoy a nice action film with charm, then this should be right up your alley. Technically, with the kind of screenplay this film has, it's not very good, but hell was I entertained. I tought the connection between The Rock's character and the animal was well done, I didn't have any problems connecting with them. The action sequences are well-shot, well choreographed, and pretty exciting. The only thing that truly pissed me off and annoyed the hell out of me were the villains, they were just terrible, not because they are evil, but because they are so annoying and confusing. I don't know what else to say about this film, I was extremely entertained, I didn't have the urge to check the clock once. Objectively, I would say the movie is very middle of the road, but to me, the experience is what counts at the end of the day, and I had a very pleasant time. I'm going surprisingly high for this one.

I was honestly floored with this film, I wasn't expecting it to be this good. While I am a Marvel fan, and I normally enjoy their films, I was starting to get a little bit tired of the overused Marvel formula, and how predictable their films started to become, Thor: Ragnarok and Black Panther did enough to separate themselves from all that, but Avengers: Infinity War completely shatters every expectation any film-goer would have, whether you're a major fanboy who lives for Marvel, or just a casual theater attender.

The storytelling here is ballsy, it's unexpected, it's intense, it's near-impossible to predict, and honestly I loved the ending. I don't want to even allude to anything that happens at the end, but I still want to reverberate how much I appreciated an ending like that. I still have to watch it again, but for now, I will say that it's one of the most brilliant and shocking endings I've ever seen. Marvel has the advantage of having so many characters established in one franchise, but lately, I was starting to feel like they weren't using that colossal advantage to take their story anywhere new or fresh, after the first Avengers it all felt too conventional, this film redeems that and goes beyond what I expected. Thanos is a fantastic villain, not only was he incredibly menacing, but he was fleshed out, humanized, given purpose and stakes, another thing Marvel struggles with fixed in this film. The action sequences are fantastic, the weight is felt throughout the film, the interactions are so entertaining to see, I could not be happier with this experience. Overall, this is a film which feels exclusive to its own uniqueness. Visually stunning, gradually exciting, emotionally gripping, and exemplary at crafting a story that is designed to shock and surprise to extreme extents.

This is not really a film that I'm going to remember a couple of weeks from now, but I had fun at the theater watching it. Amy Shumer was pretty funny in her role and also very charming, she carries what would otherwise be a bland film. The comedy was good for the most part, it's funny when it hits, and when it misses it really isn't painful to watch either. The plot is pretty dumb, but the film realizes it nicely and engraves the silliness of it in its own DNA. I don't know what else to say, if you've already seen all the great movies out right now, maybe give this a go, you may like it.

SCORE - 63/100

As far as comedies go, you could do a lot worse. There's a certain inconsistency with Melissa McCarthy films, most of the time deriving from the talent behind the camera, because McCarthy herself is a star. This doesn't quite reach the upper echelon of her best efforts like Spy or The Heat, but it's never painful to watch either. And the sole reason why this film is any good is definitely because of McCarthy herself, the enthusiasm and charm she brings to all of her roles is unmatched, it's very hard to find an actress so naturally charming, which is kind of a shame when you consider how many lackluster scripts she's been getting, she really deserves more. The film is cute, the plot is not revolutionary in any way, and the comedy can be inconsistent, but it is entertaining as hell and worthwhile. The script is kind of amateurish, but the film works.

SCORE - 65/100

I loved this one so much! Ryan Reynolds continues to excel as Deadpool; he captures the essence of the character so well; we hear the concept that actors in Hollywood are very interchangeable and it's honestly true a lot of the times. In this case, I really can't see any other working actor playing Deadpool other than Reynolds. Deadpool 2 definitely solidifies the idea of what a good sequel does, it is filled with the usual Shenanigans that you would expect from a Deadpool film, at the same time, it does make the effort to step out of its comfort zone and surprise with new themes and ideas.

The comedy and timing is spot on, I laughed till it hurt at certain times, and the fourth wall breaking was, as expected, very clever. If you didn't like the first Deadpool, I doubt this will win you over, but it's so compelling at the particular atmosphere it tries to capture. The storytelling lives in its own little world, and this kind of experience is one that you can really only get with a Deadpool film. The characterization is strong as well, we get to explore more of Deadpool's psyche, and learn the kind of circumstances that would service as a new challenge to his comfort level. There are a couple of moments were Deadpool 2 does suffer a little bit from "bigger means better". There are a handful of amplified callbacks to the first film, and while they were very effective in comedy, it was obvious that they were callbacks. Overall impressive in both comedy and action. It has great characters, it's explosive and it's clever. As far as pure entertainment goes, you’ll have a hard time finding anything better than this.

23. The Kissing Booth

I really wasn't expecting to see this one, I went to a friend's house and we watched it. This young adult romance didn't have much of an impact on me whatsoever, it's not a movie I'll really remember. It's a little melodramatic for my taste, but it was entertaining and I liked the characters. So... yeah. I'm sill going to go a bit on the positive side for the score as I did not have a bad time whatsoever.

SCORE - 60/100

Despite mostly negative reviews from both critics and audiences, It thought this was a rather good slasher. What can I say? I was pretty much hooked throughout its entirety, the characters are above your usual slasher assemble, and the terror sequences are well directed. Were the film faults the most for me, which really prevents this from getting a very good score, is the writing.

The plot is admittedly very, very thin, a family is traveling, stops on a trailer park to rest, there are a group of murderers, they pursue them, and now we have out horror film, the film didn't really take any real narrative steps and the characters made very, very illogical decisions in the beginning of the film. For example, in the first act, two members of the family find the mutilated bodies of a couple in one of the trailers, once they freak out and inform their parents, they decide to split up? Two will call the police, and the other two will go check out the bodies, instead of, oh, I don't know, getting in their functioning car and speeding the hell out of there? Acting was pretty solid, a bit inconsistent, but solid nonetheless, and as a prolonged slasher chase scene, it did a pretty solid job.

SCORE - 63/100

I actually thought this was great! Not a quintessential Star Wars film by any stretch of the imagination, but a very solid one nonetheless. The writing doesn't really leave space to develop the Solo character further than what we already know of him, but it's a nice side story and Alden Ehrenreich does embody the character quite well. Emilia Clarke, who is my celebrity crush, was stunning in this film, and she plays a great character. The action sequences, which are, essentially, what films like this are made for, were great. There are some thrilling moments that I loved with some great visual wonders to match. If there's any negative, it's that this film feels kinda inconsequential to the franchise, it doesn't really capture the magic or provoke the excitement that a Star Wars film normally does, it's just another entertaining summer flick many will forget. But yes, I had a great time watching this.

Wow! If there's any film that I've watched this year that requires a great deal of afterthought, it's this one. This is, without a doubt, one of the great horror films in recent years. The essential thing that makes this particular film a great one, is the craftsmanship. Whether the plot development and twists appeal to you or not, one can't help but appreciate just how well told the story is; there are many callbacks, foreshadows, and connections that just elevate this film above many others.

Cinematography and lighting was impeccable for the most part, and the greatest asset was the amazing skill in the visual department, there are many expertly constructed, drawn out, long shots that get creepier the longer you stare at them, squint your eyes and look around whenever a shot appears to be longer than it should be, you may be able to find a few things. Catapulting off the shot praise, there is some very creepy imagery in here, and some very shocking moments, the film's constant direction shifting paired with the flamboyancy of the "WTF moments" really kept the mystery of the film interesting. If you pay enough attention, you can actually piece things together the way I did, there are many "throwaway lines" that actually hint at the overall picture here, and I loved that the film spaced these hints out so effectively. As far as arthouse horror films go, this is the way to go.

SCORE - 92/100

I am jealous

Lol!, of what?

It was bad enough that I'm still waiting for The Strangers and A Quiet Place to come out on dvd, but now I'm dying to see Hereditary.

Really hope you write a review when you see it, would love to read your thoughts. It's definitely a very interesting film and I know it will spark different reactions.