tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18576670597788168072024-03-13T23:18:33.911-07:00Lolo Loves FilmsLolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04782777195648272520noreply@blogger.comBlogger2586125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857667059778816807.post-53774998952218451012020-11-17T20:44:00.002-08:002020-11-17T20:44:40.117-08:00Movie Review: "The Witches" (2020)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEtHe7EiTaki38BszMV3V9z-9J_SgNTJz1yc6uL260-ARMAtzMvjM6JeZNhMDiMZzsNldPCVrfNQk2kpCBVPRknIi5i_zi5qMXBDfjph9h20LQQdSgt_bWqelcUBep0ve-LYD25_jXy4o/s1500/witches-2020-movie-poster.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Movie poster for the HBO Max original film "The Witches," starring Anne Hathaway, Octavia Spencer, and Stanley Tucci" border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1012" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEtHe7EiTaki38BszMV3V9z-9J_SgNTJz1yc6uL260-ARMAtzMvjM6JeZNhMDiMZzsNldPCVrfNQk2kpCBVPRknIi5i_zi5qMXBDfjph9h20LQQdSgt_bWqelcUBep0ve-LYD25_jXy4o/w432-h640/witches-2020-movie-poster.jpg" title="Movie poster for the HBO Max original film "The Witches," starring Anne Hathaway, Octavia Spencer, and Stanley Tucci" width="432" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.impawards.com/2020/witches_xlg.html" target="_blank">Image Source</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><b>Movie</b>: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0805647/" target="_blank">"The Witches"</a><br /><b>Director</b>: Robert Zemeckis<br /><b>Year</b>: 2020<br /><b>Rating</b>: PG<br /><b>Running Time</b>: 1 hour, 46 minutes<p></p><p>Roald Dahl was a writer who made numerous fantastical children's tales with a slightly darker edge. He produced classic stories such as <i>Charlie and the Chocolate Factory</i>, <i>James and the Giant Peach</i>, <i>Fantastic Mr. Fox</i>, <i>The BFG</i>, and the book on which this film is based, his 1983 novel <i>The Witches.</i> The story was adapted once before by director Nicolas Roeg in 1990, and that incarnation featured Jim Henson's creepy practical visual effects. That version of the story was not beloved when it was released, but it has amassed a cult following over the decades. 30 years have passed since the release of that film, and since Hollywood struggles to do anything original, it was almost inevitable that we would see a remake come to life. This time around, Oscar-winning director Robert Zemeckis puts his spin on Roald Dahl's <i>The Witches</i> (2020)...and he does so by injecting it with his love for baby-boomer nostalgia. Seriously, should we be surprised at this point? After all, what's a Robert Zemeckis film without a couple of feel-good golden oldies on the soundtrack? Zemeckis combines elements from both the book and the 1990 movie but has relocated the setting from Norway and England to 1968 Chicago and Alabama in the good old US-of-A because apparently, Americans can only relate to Americans. Joining Zemeckis as co-writers are Kenya Barris (of <i>Black-ish</i> and <i>Girls Trip</i> fame) and Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBtA3p-Kp3q4CsvGzZkTasfNLxXkRqlq8R3dgCSzRYT7I-c5qksOsJR4sIIrkzVvGTKsSUyB0hofZROYwQND-JBs6ZC_5zjLclhyyT_Qm5zA8yyrJt42Vq-EknNwaEoRA-DjgXw2HAOtM/s2833/witches-2020-movie-still-1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Octavia Spencer and Jahzir Bruno star in the movie Roald Dahl's The Witches" border="0" data-original-height="1110" data-original-width="2833" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBtA3p-Kp3q4CsvGzZkTasfNLxXkRqlq8R3dgCSzRYT7I-c5qksOsJR4sIIrkzVvGTKsSUyB0hofZROYwQND-JBs6ZC_5zjLclhyyT_Qm5zA8yyrJt42Vq-EknNwaEoRA-DjgXw2HAOtM/w400-h156/witches-2020-movie-still-1.jpeg" title="Octavia Spencer and Jahzir Bruno star in the movie Roald Dahl's The Witches" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Octavia Spencer and Jahzir Bruno star in the movie Roald Dahl's <i>The Witches</i> (Image provided by Warner Bros.)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>We were excited about the prospect of a remake of <i>The Witches </i>(2020), especially considering the cast and crew involved here. We love Octavia Spencer and Stanley Tucci, and we've enjoyed Anne Hathaway's work more often than not. Guillermo del Toro is one of our favorite writers/directors. If you need someone to incorporate horror-centered elements into your script, del Toro is the guy for you. I have always enjoyed <i>Black-ish</i>, and <i>Girls Trip</i> was a hilarious surprise. Robert Zemeckis has always been on the cusp of cinematic innovation, and he has been singlehandedly responsible for some of the most iconic films of all time (the <i>Back to the Future</i> franchise, <i>Forrest Gump</i>, <i>Who Framed Roger Rabbit?</i>). We figured this trio would combine their expertise and bring something fresh and spooky to the world of Roald Dahl's <i>The Witches.</i> Unfortunately, that's not the case.<br /><br /><i>The Witches </i>(2020) centers on an unnamed orphan boy (Jahzir Bruno) and his Grandma (Octavia Spencer), who takes him in after his parents are killed. One of the differences right off the bat is that this version attempts to explore the grief the boy experiences when he loses his parents, though this is done in the most shallow way possible. Seriously, it's eye-rollingly saccharine. It may have been better to take the earlier approach of not addressing the grief stage at all. As we mentioned, the film now takes place in the post-Jim Crow South. Given this immense change in location and era, we figured Zemeckis and co. would use it as an opportunity to address the racial inequality of the Civil Rights-era South. After all, del Toro and Barris are not strangers to confronting racism head-on in their other works. Unfortunately, that's not the case. <i>The Witches </i>(2020) offers what amounts to a highly idealized version of late 60s-early 70s Alabama. The closest it comes to addressing this is the staff at the plantation-style hotel where the boy and Grandma visit, which is comprised almost entirely of people of color, while the majority of the guests are white. The bellboys are shocked to see Grandma and the boy show up as hotel guests, and nary a word of it is spoken after that. We shouldn't be surprised, considering Zemeckis has sort of built his career on altering history to make it "happier." It felt like a massively missed opportunity. The disconnect is too glaring to ignore, and it speaks to the greater issue at hand: the script doesn't know what it wants to be. It wants to be a reimagining, but about 85% of it is identical to previous versions of the story, and the changes that <i>are</i> made only add confusion and contrivances. Some elements of the narrative are left unexplained or only exist because they are needed as plot devices. One example is Grandma's mystery cough. In the 1990 version of the film, her cough is the reason she and her grandson go to the hotel in the first place, so she can take in the sea air to calm it. Another example is the Grand High Witch (Anne Hathaway) having one toe on each foot. The defining characteristic of a witch is that they have no toes, and the only reason the Grand High Witch has them in this version comes back around later in the story unnecessarily. And speaking of Grandma and the Grand High Witch, most of the acting falls between "good" and "passable." Anne Hathaway's wacky Slavic-esque accent is all over the place. Her version of the Grand High Witch is over-the-top, to say the least. Though it might all be intentional, it was hard to focus on the film once she showed up because she was so hammy. Octavia Spencer does a good job but doesn't have much to work with.</p><p>Robert Zemeckis has always been a director who uses exciting, new technology to help tell his stories. We had hoped Zemeckis might combine the latest CGI technology with practical effects for optimum creepiness, and as a nod to the original film, which used puppets and special effects from Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Wrong again. While there are some practical effects used here, Zemeckis leans heavily on the usage of CGI for most of the film, including the animals, the transformation scenes, and even for the arms, faces, and fingers of the witches. More often than not, the visual effects wind up looking cartoonish and painfully unrealistic.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMDq7-0aKCcu3DeQCWZlgq_e4H64oEFGkNXMSBnqlxCUJTNRkGNzNRQVwuzkhsXTFHonTkWR6weV8cDRH2RCFPQ0bSEMjB4rZtmK8t_37hKa1vecDgCJcYSkFBN4H0kjO_P4fZhG7Tjf8/s2048/witches-2020-movie-still-3.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Anne Hathaway stars as the Grand High Witch in "The Witches" (2020)" border="0" data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMDq7-0aKCcu3DeQCWZlgq_e4H64oEFGkNXMSBnqlxCUJTNRkGNzNRQVwuzkhsXTFHonTkWR6weV8cDRH2RCFPQ0bSEMjB4rZtmK8t_37hKa1vecDgCJcYSkFBN4H0kjO_P4fZhG7Tjf8/w400-h266/witches-2020-movie-still-3.jpeg" title="Anne Hathaway stars as the Grand High Witch in "The Witches" (2020)" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anne Hathaway stars as the Grand High Witch in <i>The Witches </i>(2020) (Image provided by Warner Bros.)</td></tr></tbody></table><div><i>The Witches </i>(2020) is not intolerable, but it's a glossy, more mellowed-out, more Hollywood version of Roald Dahl's story, which we're sure is wickeder than this incarnation. It wants to be a film everyone can identify with, but the script lacks the conviction to dive into the hard-hitting issue of racial inequality despite being set in the not-so-far-off-1960s. It wants to be a dark fantasy adventure, but its heavy reliance on CGI makes it look overly goofy and not at all frightening. It does the bare minimum to keep kids engaged, and we think parents will be bored out of their gourds watching it. As hard as she tries, Anne Hathaway <i>is not </i>Anjelica Huston, a key component of why the original film was as successful as it was. We think it'd be best to stick with the version from 1990, which is more relatable and still holds up today.<br /><div><br /><div><b>My Rating</b>: 4/10<br /><b>BigJ's Rating</b>: 4/10<br /><b>IMDB's Rating</b>: ~5.4/10<br /><b>RT Rating</b>: ~49%<br /><b>Do we recommend this movie</b>: No.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b>Please be sure to check out Lolo Loves Films all over the internet!</b></div><div><a href="https://www.facebook.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://letterboxd.com/lololovesfilms/" target="_blank">Letterboxd</a> | <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> | <a href="http://www.twitter.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Twitter</a></div></div></div></div></div>Lolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04782777195648272520noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857667059778816807.post-11432606797496015402020-11-15T13:58:00.001-08:002020-11-15T13:58:28.783-08:00Movie Review: "A Feral World" (2020)<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj73MFg-r7dmgr40VpSzDIGXU1Hv8tjTG8uG7rExJYBz-jE0_9hMmc3Vi-BTCOnvyI3j2gLhG21Kvb_RGvKfOCHUvAfZYngikxPeWQNdIR3snIHs3O34IfJZJXjnP_-Yf9S_qJbKKtT4Vw/s512/feral-world-2020-movie-poster.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Movie poster for the 2020 film "A Feral World"" border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="341" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj73MFg-r7dmgr40VpSzDIGXU1Hv8tjTG8uG7rExJYBz-jE0_9hMmc3Vi-BTCOnvyI3j2gLhG21Kvb_RGvKfOCHUvAfZYngikxPeWQNdIR3snIHs3O34IfJZJXjnP_-Yf9S_qJbKKtT4Vw/w426-h640/feral-world-2020-movie-poster.jpg" style="cursor: move;" title="Movie poster for the 2020 film "A Feral World"" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhiyIgXRaQhQMVNNEme-kWwGc73pc92qSlmC6uyPBwHVGrYalPQzQEgveNUYB4H4P2e7rZUCVSZkHpu4Xsib-qWcK1YBFGdbdS7u6ZBnbHGbsMaqFO79UeKckCXnzkEpJH9LV8stOF882NWLmBGaX0HNITcezIeC-F9agbR6y324zWNdU3VOJx-h9TK=" target="_blank">Image Source</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><b>Movie</b>: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9542116" target="_blank">"A Feral World"</a><br /><b>Director</b>: David Liban<br /><b>Year</b>: 2020<br /><b>Rating</b>: NR<br /><b>Running Time</b>: 1 hour, 44 minutes</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The "post-apocalypse" genre has been a favorite for big-budget studios and independent filmmakers for decades. Maybe it's because using abandoned, dilapidated buildings and limitless desert landscapes make for relatively inexpensive film shoots. Maybe it's because vast tundras devoid of people make excellent cinematic eye candy. Perhaps, it's a little of both. Over the past few years, we have seen numerous small-scale, human-centered stories told in post-apocalyptic settings, including "It Comes at Night" (2017), "The Road" (2009), and <a href="https://www.lololovesfilms.com/2018/06/movie-review-cargo-2018.html" target="_blank">"Cargo" (2018)</a>. "A Feral World" (2020) also attempts to do the same. The film is written and directed by David Liban, a film professor at CU Denver's College of Arts and Media, who clearly made the movie on a shoestring budget. It was shot over several years. We believe this had more to do with the previously mentioned budget restrictions rather than it being a conscious "Boyhood"-esque artistic choice, but who knows. Liban manages to weave the time delays into his story to his advantage, making it seem intentional as the child actors age in real-time. The story centers on a young boy named Sonny (Caleb Liban, the director's son), who has been orphaned during a global fallout. He soon pairs up with a woman named Emma (Danielle Prall), who has been searching for her daughter, who was abducted from their home during the dissolution of society. Together, they must help each other survive long enough to figure out where Emma's daughter may have been taken.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinP2tmSsDw57TStHVNl6q8k_OoguCUj55uYLEP_YiEe4jeJC85VRFes-iR81lp2ghOXa34ZIQ_fRQOJz2tO-QpDSTJyIe9WZCsAnslKM4r6xFOnRGEgHJ62eXsOBOIthYn9sCBc4P_ufQ/s1288/feral-world-2020-movie-still-1.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Caleb Liban and Danielle Prall in "A Feral World"" border="0" data-original-height="726" data-original-width="1288" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinP2tmSsDw57TStHVNl6q8k_OoguCUj55uYLEP_YiEe4jeJC85VRFes-iR81lp2ghOXa34ZIQ_fRQOJz2tO-QpDSTJyIe9WZCsAnslKM4r6xFOnRGEgHJ62eXsOBOIthYn9sCBc4P_ufQ/w400-h225/feral-world-2020-movie-still-1.png" title="Caleb Liban and Danielle Prall in "A Feral World"" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caleb Liban and Danielle Prall in "A Feral World." <a href="https://news.ucdenver.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Screen-Shot-2020-09-11-at-9.01.48-AM-1288x726.png" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>The apocalypse in "A Feral World" (2020) seems that it was caused by technology gone awry. Tiny, flesh-eating, building-destroying nano-bots appear on-screen as a swarm of insects that look as though they've been yanked straight out of a poorly CGI-ed "made for sci-fi channel movie" or some tech-savvy child's homemade YouTube video. We don't enjoy the prospect of hating on a movie for its graphics, especially when it was so clearly someone's passion project, but the CGI in this movie is <i>really bad</i>. Luckily, the goofy CGI is offset by some competent camerawork. As we mentioned above, it's not hard to make the right landscape look incredible, even when your movie is being made on the cheap. The narrative itself is a simple one as Sonny and Emma form a familial bond while they look for her abducted daughter. They walk, walk, walk, and they talk, talk, talk, and occasionally, they come across other desperate, sometimes violent people who are looking for a fight in this changed world. Eventually, Emma and Sonny come to a point where they may have to save her daughter from the person who snatched her, even if they might get hurt in the process. Unfortunately, we never felt the danger or passion or tension these situations should have held. If a mother is looking for her abducted daughter, we should feel the sadness, rage, and concern that she's feeling. We shouldn't feel bored. The script lacks nuance and emotion, and it feels derivative as a whole. It doesn't help that the characters themselves aren't written with a lot of depth. We're sorry to say it, but the acting in "A Feral World" (2020) comes off as bland and overly-scripted. We know that most of the individuals in this film are not professional actors, and the ones that are aren't very experienced, but for us, the stiffness brought the movie-watching experience down a peg or two.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRY5SUC_DOCHKlT1Wm-bKy_ndZWZOoJyx8wUuzLFmBo5MsSKQhS6n8OpRpPCgdtt2nBxy1iOOcvtcsz9H0U3lG5s-cNtM-QiGg_9U2voh1Eh1hkTP7CqCr8m3VfC7f8F-yYIApHXQo75Q/s1600/feral-world-2020-movie-still-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Drew Barrett plays Maddy in the movie "A Feral World."" border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="1600" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRY5SUC_DOCHKlT1Wm-bKy_ndZWZOoJyx8wUuzLFmBo5MsSKQhS6n8OpRpPCgdtt2nBxy1iOOcvtcsz9H0U3lG5s-cNtM-QiGg_9U2voh1Eh1hkTP7CqCr8m3VfC7f8F-yYIApHXQo75Q/w400-h199/feral-world-2020-movie-still-2.jpg" title="Drew Barrett plays Maddy in the movie "A Feral World."" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drew Barrett plays Maddy in "A Feral World." <a href="https://filmthreat.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/REVIEW-A-Feral-World-1.jpg" target="_blank">(Add caption)<br /></a></td></tr></tbody></table><p>We certainly appreciate the effort and the dedication put in by those involved in the making of <b>"A Feral World" (2020)</b>, but heart and drive will only get you so far. You still have to engage your audience, and sadly, we just weren't all that captivated by this story. There are a couple of interesting elements that could've worked out had they been explored more in-depth, but overall, the film is seriously lacking.</p><div><b>My Rating</b>: 3/10<br /><b>BigJ's Rating</b>: 3/10<br /><b>IMDB's Rating</b>: ~3.2/10<br /><b>RT Rating</b>: ---%<br /><b>Do we recommend this movie</b>: AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b>Please be sure to check out Lolo Loves Films all over the internet!</b></div><div><a href="https://www.facebook.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://letterboxd.com/lololovesfilms/" target="_blank">Letterboxd</a> | <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> | <a href="http://www.twitter.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Twitter</a></div></div></div>Lolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04782777195648272520noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857667059778816807.post-28397203910365007312020-11-03T10:50:00.000-08:002020-11-03T10:50:07.446-08:00Movie Review: "Assassins" (2020)<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf1UIo7vO8Sl11TxtMr2FcgaVb03loTCaaSjfTr3d87QpK_t2Tg3siXmM7DsZUz7NeoO-hWjZtmC12pdmV9pSTSGQmdwebzPMy6mJtpG__1bsx1B0Ls4MdYP02MuYJrdba9XzrSbuG-xo/s1500/assassins-2020-movie-poster.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Movie poster for the 2020 documentary "Assassins"" border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1025" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf1UIo7vO8Sl11TxtMr2FcgaVb03loTCaaSjfTr3d87QpK_t2Tg3siXmM7DsZUz7NeoO-hWjZtmC12pdmV9pSTSGQmdwebzPMy6mJtpG__1bsx1B0Ls4MdYP02MuYJrdba9XzrSbuG-xo/w438-h640/assassins-2020-movie-poster.jpg" title="Movie poster for the 2020 documentary "Assassins"" width="438" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.impawards.com/2020/posters/assassins_xlg.jpg" target="_blank">Image Source</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Movie</b>: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11394276" target="_blank">"Assassins"</a><br /><b>Director</b>: Ryan White<br /><b>Year</b>: 2020<br /><b>Rating</b>: NR<br /><b>Running Time</b>: 1 hour, 44 minutes<p></p><p></p><p></p>In February 2017, Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, was murdered in broad daylight in an airport in Malaysia. He was killed with a chemical nerve agent called VX, one of the deadliest nerve agents in the world. It instantly became international news, even more so when it was discovered that his killers were two young women in their 20s. BigJ and I didn't know much about this new story beyond these few facts. The women accused of the assassination were Siti Aisyah of Indonesia and Doan Thi Huong of Vietnam. They were caught on CCTV cameras at Kuala Lumpur International airport, rubbing a substance on Kim Jong-nam's face right before walking away from the scene.<br /><br />It seems like an open and shut case, right?<br /><br />Wrong.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitb4ESzglxTJKZMwpL0qrA6mkMW-aGNLhbj43-tLu7Ga4cGSOTTSSdKKpj-Cnw3beob4es7FZ_zLm8WoCMrM1SJ8s3bMOCDoKQtwFdpMhkj3je99pRPnu1KMP_tR5yLJ1AYyzlOV_r5gA/s1280/assassins-2020-movie-still-2.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Doan Thi Huong and Siti Aisyah mugshot photos from the 2020 movie "Assassins"" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitb4ESzglxTJKZMwpL0qrA6mkMW-aGNLhbj43-tLu7Ga4cGSOTTSSdKKpj-Cnw3beob4es7FZ_zLm8WoCMrM1SJ8s3bMOCDoKQtwFdpMhkj3je99pRPnu1KMP_tR5yLJ1AYyzlOV_r5gA/w400-h225/assassins-2020-movie-still-2.png" title="Doan Thi Huong and Siti Aisyah mugshot photos from the 2020 movie "Assassins"" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doan Thi Huong and Siti Aisyah mugshot photos from the 2020 movie "Assassins." <a href="https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1e2d0a0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/640x360+0+60/resize/1280x720!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsharing.wxyz.com%2Fsharescnn%2Fphoto%2F2017%2F03%2F01%2FKimJongNamSuspects_1488372171747_56101942_ver1.0_640_480.png" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Ryan White's documentary "Assassins" (2020) digs deeper into the story of the two women who purportedly assassinated the half-brother of one of the most notorious leaders of one of the most mysterious countries in the world. Siti Aisyah grew up impoverished in Indonesia and had to drop out of school at a young age to begin working. She eventually came to Malaysia with the hopes of finding a job to earn money for her family, though she wound up being employed as a sex worker. Doan took a different path to Malaysia as she had aspirations of becoming an actress. She even had a short and somewhat embarrassing stint on Malaysia's version of "American Idol." The ultimate question this documentary seeks to answer is how did these two women from different countries and different backgrounds who had never met each other both wind up carrying out the assassination of Kim Jong-nam on the same day at the same airport? Were they really just cold-blooded killers, or were they unwitting pawns duped into an accidental assassination by agenda-driven secret agents from North Korea? The latter choice sounds almost too wild to be true.<br /><br />Ryan White explores the overwhelming evidence showing that, despite its immense improbability, that is precisely what happened to Siti and Doan. These two random strangers were set up months in advance to take the fall for Kim Jong-nam's murder so that Kim Jong-un could not be implicated by the international community in the assassination. Perhaps the worst part of this ordeal is that the country of Malaysia was willing to let these women take the fall, all so it could maintain a strong political relationship with North Korea. It's downright despicable that the lives of these two women meant so little that two entire countries were prepared to let them go down for a crime they didn't commit all to service the cold, calculated manipulations of men craving to please their master.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOaMyab9OeF7sC-LxNgxIT9Hr4K2JMliXBd1RHJkWWiZGR44EV6qVlClLl_5A08aIgnk1OT7WjGe34xDTTCGVKDzJwedinSLgsB4ESHEXaGzwNSkeY653tTru91OYtkjXOQvFKLGhsu-E/s1200/assassins-2020-movie-still-1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="CCTV footage from the murder of Kim Jong-nam from the documentary film "Assassins"" border="0" data-original-height="707" data-original-width="1200" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOaMyab9OeF7sC-LxNgxIT9Hr4K2JMliXBd1RHJkWWiZGR44EV6qVlClLl_5A08aIgnk1OT7WjGe34xDTTCGVKDzJwedinSLgsB4ESHEXaGzwNSkeY653tTru91OYtkjXOQvFKLGhsu-E/w400-h236/assassins-2020-movie-still-1.jpg" title="CCTV footage from the murder of Kim Jong-nam from the documentary film "Assassins"" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CCTV footage from the murder of Kim Jong-nam from the documentary film "Assassins." <a href="https://media.pri.org/s3fs-public/styles/open_graph/public/story/images/cctv.jpg?itok=Qvpne-7y" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Since we had not followed this case beyond the initial news report, <b>"Assassins" (2020)</b> gripped us from start to finish. We sat in awe as attorneys and journalists poured over the evidence in the case and the politics surrounding it. It's a comprehensive documentary full of an abundance of background information, as well as unexpected twists and turns. Everything that happens feels like it was ripped right out of the screenplay of a spy movie, one that you might think was too unrealistic if you didn't know it was true. "Assassins" (2020) is absolutely worth watching, especially if you're not familiar with this international case. We found it to be as compelling as any fictional crime thriller. It's one of the best documentaries we've seen this year.</p><div><div><div><b>My Rating</b>: 8/10<br /><b>BigJ's Rating</b>: 8/10<br /><b>IMDB's Rating</b>: ~7.5/10<br /><b>RT Rating</b>: ~100%<br /><b>Do we recommend this movie</b>: Yes!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b>Please be sure to check out Lolo Loves Films all over the internet!</b></div><div><a href="https://www.facebook.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://letterboxd.com/lololovesfilms/" target="_blank">Letterboxd</a> | <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> | <a href="http://www.twitter.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Twitter</a></div></div></div></div></div>Lolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04782777195648272520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857667059778816807.post-91954867654471777302020-10-28T14:19:00.000-07:002020-10-28T14:19:16.937-07:00Movie Review: "Farewell Amor" (2020)<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv0F-SvRISji35rMe4hN0gzuAZLbP_Xyke45VmPRg3-E-xovYtN02K9GprMZma5Q2Bu6tN-9TPnDSesuN8PjxmON5VCqPAZ67wwfeNRTva9qLQ6YYCuDO4Ip3azGPknS_sRNkZSd7u87A/s1429/farewell-amor-2020-movie-poster.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Movie poster for Ekwa Msangi's 2020 film "Farewell Amor" (2020)" border="0" data-original-height="1429" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv0F-SvRISji35rMe4hN0gzuAZLbP_Xyke45VmPRg3-E-xovYtN02K9GprMZma5Q2Bu6tN-9TPnDSesuN8PjxmON5VCqPAZ67wwfeNRTva9qLQ6YYCuDO4Ip3azGPknS_sRNkZSd7u87A/w448-h640/farewell-amor-2020-movie-poster.jpg" title="Movie poster for Ekwa Msangi's 2020 film "Farewell Amor" (2020)" width="448" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d151748fee6a40001f7fe6f/1595539836147-BU1HC0XED4SNT60XQ8PS/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kAAvemEPApvM6mpuBz29qct7gQa3H78H3Y0txjaiv_0fDoOvxcdMmMKkDsyUqMSsMWxHk725yiiHCCLfrh8O1z4YTzHvnKhyp6Da-NYroOW3ZGjoBKy3azqku80C789l0ro8siOxa7KOjEXaZRk24Q6W4d0aJL9kxIp_Zcs0P60brCfMHqduSiwSg-BiuXl0ig/Farewell+Amor+Poster.jpg" target="_blank">Image Source</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b>Movie</b>: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11380884/" target="_blank">"Farewell Amor"</a><br /><b>Director</b>: Ekwa Msangi<br /><b>Year</b>: 2020<br /><b>Rating</b>: NR<br /><b>Running Time</b>: 1 hour, 35 minutes<p></p><p></p><p>Many immigrants from war-torn countries seek refuge in the United States. Frequently, one family member, usually the patriarch, will come to the U.S. to try and become financially stable and set up a home before the rest of the family joins them stateside. Writer/director Ekwa Msangi explores one such situation in her film "Farewell Amor" (2020). After the end of the civil war in Angola, Walter (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine) left Africa for America so he could build a new life for his family. Little did he know he would be separated from his wife Esther (Zainab Jah) and their daughter Sylvia (Jayme Lawson) for 17 years before they would join him, and 17 years might as well be a lifetime. Esther and Sylvia are now practically strangers to Walter. Can they work together to overcome the literal and figurative distance that time has put between them?<br /><br />At its core, "Farewell Amor" (2020) is about how Esther, Walter, and Sylvia have become drastically different people in the nearly two decades they have been apart. The story is told in three sections. Each portion focuses on a different member of the family. The first piece focuses on Walter, the second explores Sylvia's thoughts on coming to a new country to meet the father she doesn't know, and the final section focuses on Esther and the value shift she has gone through since Walter left Angola.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3thT_hmgP11GKr8oGDUxuViZkws-mpvmPrit95PwL7rzDztsFAVZbqss3Z2drmu6WtRdAZAGfeHCJ5-u8306J-H88DLhWQGSe2e2FQiylmkDm0-qWutGt8zyakRMRVe-QKJYs4pJUkF8/s1552/farewell-amor-2020-movie-still-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ntare Mwine and Zainab Jah star in the 2020 movie "Farewell Amor"" border="0" data-original-height="873" data-original-width="1552" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3thT_hmgP11GKr8oGDUxuViZkws-mpvmPrit95PwL7rzDztsFAVZbqss3Z2drmu6WtRdAZAGfeHCJ5-u8306J-H88DLhWQGSe2e2FQiylmkDm0-qWutGt8zyakRMRVe-QKJYs4pJUkF8/w400-h225/farewell-amor-2020-movie-still-2.jpg" title="Ntare Mwine and Zainab Jah star in the 2020 movie "Farewell Amor"" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/012/419/483/0da5728577089b72551bfe3701404591_original.jpg?ixlib=rb-2.1.0&crop=faces&w=1552&h=873&fit=crop&v=1463760328&auto=format&frame=1&q=92&s=97b9d20cd1c178e5651108e9a96fbec7" target="_blank">Image Source</a></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Living in America for 17 years is sure to change a person. Walter has moved on and had embraced much of the typical American lifestyle. He enjoys having a drink and dancing at clubs. Right up until his family arrived in America, he was even living with a nurse name Linda (Nana Mensah), whom he clearly loved dearly. For all intents and purposes, Walter had his own separate life without his family. Considering that Walter left Angola when Sylvia was just a baby, we think she has it the hardest of any of the characters in this story. Sylvia is a character in-limbo. She has been taken from everything she has ever known, only to be thrust into a new country to live with her father, who is a complete stranger to her. Her one passion and solace in life is dancing, though her ambitions to dance are thwarted by her mother at every turn. It is through dancing that Sylvia forges a new friendship with DJ (Marcus Scribner) and learns to connect to her father. Finally, the film shifts once more to focus on Esther, who spent her years engrossing herself in the church back at home and has become a religiously devout woman. Though it is never explicitly said, Esther's devoutness has become a point of contention between all three family members. She's critical about many things, including drinking and dancing, and she's even disapproving of Sylvia's friends from Angola. Esther also gives large sums of money to the church, money that could be used for getting necessities for the family, considering they live in a one-bedroom apartment in New York City. This clearly bothers Walter as he's barely saving enough as it is. Despite Walter's good intentions, Esther has been lost in the fray and must now make sense of the busy, different new world all around her.</p><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEU41G3Sn2SC0LKXwXMFDofu6as3yoae3LxS-JKrpWPWXQSHIttNXGWiwWgZ_P3g-TvRwk3y7k3C16wVCIKrWahb4FxYEI-OwCnqCBe5caFWNJIJ5W5JLYIAoJCGo1SumQp8TW1Y78-g8/s600/farewell-amor-2020-movie-still-3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Jayme Lawson and Ntare Mwine in a movie still for the film "Farewell Amor"" border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEU41G3Sn2SC0LKXwXMFDofu6as3yoae3LxS-JKrpWPWXQSHIttNXGWiwWgZ_P3g-TvRwk3y7k3C16wVCIKrWahb4FxYEI-OwCnqCBe5caFWNJIJ5W5JLYIAoJCGo1SumQp8TW1Y78-g8/w400-h225/farewell-amor-2020-movie-still-3.jpg" title="Jayme Lawson and Ntare Mwine in a movie still for the film "Farewell Amor"" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://cdn.flickeringmyth.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/farewell-amor.jpg" target="_blank">Image Source</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>My thoughts differ from BigJ's when it comes to <b>"Farewell Amor" (2020)</b>. I found it to be a compelling immigrant character study, as well as an intriguing look at what it means to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles to stick together as a family unit. It looks at the concept of American individualism versus maintaining a tight-knit community, as well as valuing doing what you love versus doing what is expected of you by your family. The acting is excellent from everyone involved, particularly Jayme Lawson, who gives a terrific first-time performance as Sylvia. BigJ felt that, because of its narrative structure, it lacked the spark he was looking for for it to be successful. He thought that, while there is definitely enough depth to make a feature film out of any one of the characters, by breaking it up, he only got a surface-level understanding of each of them rather than an in-depth understanding of one of them. We both agree that, because it is broken up into three smaller portions, we were left wanting a little more time to explore some of the aspects of Walter, Esther, and Sylvia's lives as individuals and as a cohesive unit. We do appreciate that the story explores the same time period from three different perspectives, but they didn't vary so much that this type of storytelling felt necessary. Still, this film left us excited to see what Ekwa Msangi will have to offer us in the future.<br /><div><br /><div><b>My Rating</b>: 7/10<br /><b>BigJ's Rating</b>: 5/10<br /><b>IMDB's Rating</b>: ~7.6/10<br /><b>RT Rating</b>: ~100%<br /><b>Do we recommend this movie</b>: Sure, why not?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b>Please be sure to check out Lolo Loves Films all over the internet!</b></div><div><a href="https://www.facebook.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://letterboxd.com/lololovesfilms/" target="_blank">Letterboxd</a> | <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> | <a href="http://www.twitter.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Twitter</a></div></div></div></div></div>Lolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04782777195648272520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857667059778816807.post-28908883253440236992020-10-25T14:38:00.000-07:002020-10-25T14:38:24.521-07:00Movie Review: "Shithouse" (2020)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih1Tn5UP2QUk_5BawpTZNMinO2AGprtJ4zCc5Sojz_sQHpR_iJIIMYCd8Xsgo9GzKoqwYCBmjBdSZRD-RMoiatJfCPKXIxgrxtJ4B8zlZVY-VEQxLze-j52vRULOrvJo_fjZklyDreF_M/s1280/shit-house-2020-movie-poster.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Movie poster for the IFC film "Shithouse" (2020), starring Cooper Raiff, Amy Landecker, Dylan Gelula, and Logan Miller" border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="864" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih1Tn5UP2QUk_5BawpTZNMinO2AGprtJ4zCc5Sojz_sQHpR_iJIIMYCd8Xsgo9GzKoqwYCBmjBdSZRD-RMoiatJfCPKXIxgrxtJ4B8zlZVY-VEQxLze-j52vRULOrvJo_fjZklyDreF_M/w432-h640/shit-house-2020-movie-poster.jpg" title="Movie poster for the IFC film "Shithouse" (2020), starring Cooper Raiff, Amy Landecker, Dylan Gelula, and Logan Miller" width="432" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/nightjarprod/content/uploads/sites/130/2020/09/01140323/shithouse-poster.jpg" target="_blank">Image Source</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div><div><b>Movie</b>: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11618536" target="_blank">"Shithouse"</a><br /><b>Director</b>: Cooper Raiff<br /><b>Year</b>: 2020<br /><b>Rating</b>: R<br /><b>Running Time</b>: 1 hour, 40 minutes</div><div><br /></div><div>"Shithouse" (2020) is the second film we saw as part of the 2020 San Diego International Film Festival with a misleading-ish title. It isn't quite what you'd expect it to be based on its name alone. The name "Shithouse" conjures up images of raucous party flicks, "Van Wilder" (2002), "PCU" (1994), or "Porky's" (1981) types of pictures loaded with drunk people trying to get laid. This particular film <i>does</i> involve drunk college students trying to get laid, but tonally, it's more in line with Richard Linklater's "Before Sunrise" (1995) with a sprinkling of "Everybody Wants Some!" (2016). Written by, directed by, and starring Cooper Raiff, "Shithouse" (2020) follows a young college freshman named Alex (Raiff) who is struggling to adapt to college dorm life. Alex has no friends, he and his roommate Sam (Logan Miller) don't get along, and he spends most of his free time either talking to his stuffed dog or calling his family back home. Hoping to break out of his shell and with a little urging from his plush pooch, Alex decides to go to a frat party at a place known as 'Shithouse.' The party doesn't go well at all. When Alex and Sam return to their dorm room, Sam craps his pants, forcing Alex to seek refuge from the smell in the common room. There, he strikes up a conversation with the dorm's RA, a sophomore named Maggie (Dylan Gelula). The two instantly hit it off and talk into the night, but when morning comes, Maggie suddenly changes her tune, and the chemistry they had a few short hours ago seems gone.</div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLsAktRF05lbC4koLAiP_sw22GsqUxV4r60MD1a311N1dHC9Pxe7JraUHC350eoNCpkdFzbgH-uhoqtUcXOHfFovXLGcsAujp2H3A-v9o1K17bpq1ShTRujkZhA0xFvsqYtpg6rXYvMLQ/s1501/shithouse-2020-movie-still-1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Cooper Raiff is homesick while attending college in the 2020 IFC Film "Shithouse" (2020)" border="0" data-original-height="811" data-original-width="1501" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLsAktRF05lbC4koLAiP_sw22GsqUxV4r60MD1a311N1dHC9Pxe7JraUHC350eoNCpkdFzbgH-uhoqtUcXOHfFovXLGcsAujp2H3A-v9o1K17bpq1ShTRujkZhA0xFvsqYtpg6rXYvMLQ/w400-h216/shithouse-2020-movie-still-1.jpg" title="Cooper Raiff is homesick while attending college in the 2020 IFC Film "Shithouse" (2020)" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alex (Cooper Raiff) is homesick while attending college in the 2020 IFC Film "Shithouse" (2020). <a href="https://depauliaonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Shithouse.jpg" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><div>The first half of "Shithouse" (2020) mostly consists of Alex and Maggie walking around campus as they carry on conversations about their lives, how they were raised, and their philosophies on college and what they hope to get out of it. Cooper Raiff and "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" star Dylan Gelula have terrific chemistry with one another, so it's not hard to get lost in their conversations. They share many humorous moments as Alex tries to escape his natural awkwardness, but there is also a lot of tenderness as they discuss past traumas and future ambitions. These intimate early conversations are the most compelling parts of the film.</div><div><br /></div><div>After their transcendent night together, Alex and Maggie wake up the next morning, and her attitude has inexplicably changed. She has an almost hostile tone towards him and apparently wants nothing to do with him. At this point, the audience might be just as confused as Alex as to her sudden switch. Alex might throw some seriously nasty farts in his sleep...who the hell knows? It's as good an explanation as any since we're sort of left guessing. We get not wanting to create a relationship from a one night stand. We can even understand that Maggie's attitude change might reflect how much room she has left to grow as a person with a lot of traumatic emotional baggage, but her "ghosting" Alex with no explanation didn't sit right with us. There's not even a simple "this isn't what I want" or "we had a nice night together, but this isn't going to work out," just a cold shoulder he's left to work out as he wallows in his aloneness once more. From that moment on, the events of the next day unfold more awkwardly than watching Alex have a full-on conversation with his stuffed animal. We start to see Maggie become increasingly crueler as Alex gets even more desperate, which isn't an impression you want for your two romantic leads. If this series of events play out in the name of realism, well, it's nothing we've ever experienced first-or-even-secondhand, but maybe things have changed in the 15 years we've been together. In that same amount of time, however, our society has also made leaps and bounds when it comes to calling out bad behavior and toxic situations. For a time, we found ourselves actively rooting against Maggie and Alex's partnership because of its underlying toxicity, especially after they have their big blow-out and say some impressively shitty things to one another. Their massive fight gave us serious <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bPbhCWtZmM&ab_channel=ThingsICantFindOtherwise" target="_blank">"you can actually pinpoint the second when his heart rips in half"</a> vibes.</div><div><br /></div><div>The narrative is also pretty uneven as it is almost entirely front-heavy, which makes for a sluggish second half despite the tension and bickering. The script rushes things at the end in search of a satisfying conclusion, which we thought was a little too convenient. It would have been nice to have had a few more minutes with the characters to catch up on whether or not they learned to be better people from the time they spent together. That being said, Dylan Gelula and Cooper Raiff both put on great performances.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicWaqMkCPBwrZc_5aOJWQU5yjX2ZWuVJkv_94Z1hLOMt5P0PkaFG2QAY23r8kxaU8_7-HZ3MhZSIelyHcQ1ZkJesQMb9gtL0vOdznzm7E3_9QAEf-_TpZzfxfIRIC7y98VXrK5ZshH_2o/s1920/shithouse-2020-movie-still-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Dylan Gelula and Cooper Raiff in the film "Shithouse" (2020)." border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicWaqMkCPBwrZc_5aOJWQU5yjX2ZWuVJkv_94Z1hLOMt5P0PkaFG2QAY23r8kxaU8_7-HZ3MhZSIelyHcQ1ZkJesQMb9gtL0vOdznzm7E3_9QAEf-_TpZzfxfIRIC7y98VXrK5ZshH_2o/w400-h225/shithouse-2020-movie-still-2.jpg" title="Dylan Gelula and Cooper Raiff in the film "Shithouse" (2020)." width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dylan Gelula and Cooper Raiff star in the film "Shithouse" (2020). <a href="https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/shithouse.jpg" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div>Regardless of how you feel about the title, <b>"Shithouse" (2020)</b> boasts quite a bit of charm early on despite some structural messiness. Anyone who has gone away to college or moved away from home will be able to relate to having feelings of homesickness while trying to find your place in a sea of strangers and new situations. One thing's for sure, we're going to be keeping an eye on Cooper Raiff and Dylan Gelula's careers because we see nothing but good things for them in the future.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>My Rating</b>: 6.5/10<br /><b>BigJ's Rating</b>: 6/10<br /><b>IMDB's Rating</b>: ~7.3/10<br /><b>RT Rating</b>: ~96%<br /><b>Do we recommend this movie</b>: Sure, why not?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b>Please be sure to check out Lolo Loves Films all over the internet!</b></div><div><a href="https://www.facebook.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://letterboxd.com/lololovesfilms/" target="_blank">Letterboxd</a> | <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> | <a href="http://www.twitter.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Twitter</a></div></div></div></div><p></p><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"></div></div></div>Lolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04782777195648272520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857667059778816807.post-88953451766180824892020-10-24T09:28:00.001-07:002020-10-24T09:28:35.875-07:00Movie Review: "Hubie Halloween" (2020)<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr8FXKkMb4PgNmUT7YLNqLd-SMLYP1eGYlNa7MXYH2QgsBirP4kaOkBU9F41YblkhNdNzMQ2v_l17__A5FBLSx7ZdnCIMOGFnbQudrd8oip8TDWj2y7DJaQV65KMPCWf5Pi-hCGqdInxo/s1500/hubie-halloween-2020-movie-poster.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Movie poster for the Netflix original film "Hubie Halloween" (2020), starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Julie Bowen, Steve Buscemi, Ray Liotta, and Maya Rudolph" border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1013" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr8FXKkMb4PgNmUT7YLNqLd-SMLYP1eGYlNa7MXYH2QgsBirP4kaOkBU9F41YblkhNdNzMQ2v_l17__A5FBLSx7ZdnCIMOGFnbQudrd8oip8TDWj2y7DJaQV65KMPCWf5Pi-hCGqdInxo/w432-h640/hubie-halloween-2020-movie-poster.jpg" title="Movie poster for the Netflix original film "Hubie Halloween" (2020), starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Julie Bowen, Steve Buscemi, Ray Liotta, and Maya Rudolph" width="432" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.impawards.com/tv/posters/hubie_halloween_xlg.jpg" target="_blank">Image Source</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Movie</b>: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10682266" target="_blank">"Hubie Halloween"</a><br /><b>Director</b>: Steven Brill<br /><b>Year</b>: 2020<br /><b>Rating</b>: PG-13<br /><b>Running Time</b>: 1 hour, 42 minutes<p></p><p>Well...no one can accuse Adam Sandler of being a bad friend.</p><p>Last year, the Sand Man appeared in <a href="https://www.lololovesfilms.com/2020/01/movie-review-uncut-gems-2019.html" target="_blank">"Uncut Gems" (2019)</a>, the critically acclaimed film by the Safdie Brothers, which showed that he could still be taken seriously as an actor and led to a host of awards buzz for him. During the lead-up to the Oscars, Sandler joked that if he didn't win an Academy Award, he would <a href="https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2020/01/adam-sandler-make-movie-so-bad-on-purpose-uncut-gems-oscar-snub" target="_blank">"fucking come back and do one again that is so bad on purpose just to make you all pay. That's how I get them."</a> Were his words merely empty threats, or was he frightfully serious? Sandler returns to his bread and butter of silly voices and fart jokes in his latest spooky spectacle, Netflix's "Hubie Halloween" (2020), directed by frequent collaborator Steven Brill.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiB-C65UXjJiYxDtQOVrYj-Ovzbq7dRWWY5vFqhT463e8sl3zgxlAOgBevkUWWfdtrIWKBOPzk0VpwfhwAEMZ6q6_GDQKNCFMwzG-JlqWW4-ZPxJ_36zuw3CqptbAGV2xlLkxqjYsCUPc/s2048/hubie-halloween-2020-movie-still-1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Adam Sandler dresses up as a ghost in Netflix's original film "Hubie Halloween."" border="0" data-original-height="1416" data-original-width="2048" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiB-C65UXjJiYxDtQOVrYj-Ovzbq7dRWWY5vFqhT463e8sl3zgxlAOgBevkUWWfdtrIWKBOPzk0VpwfhwAEMZ6q6_GDQKNCFMwzG-JlqWW4-ZPxJ_36zuw3CqptbAGV2xlLkxqjYsCUPc/w400-h276/hubie-halloween-2020-movie-still-1.jpg" title="Adam Sandler dresses up as a ghost in Netflix's original film "Hubie Halloween."" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adam Sandler dresses up as a ghost in the original Netflix film "Hubie Halloween." (Image provided by Netflix)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>For the first few minutes of "Hubie Halloween" (2020), we thought Adam Sandler might actually be fulfilling his promise to make the worst film of his career post-Oscars "snub." As the mustachioed busy-body Hubie Dubois (Sandler) bikes down the streets of Salem with a cartoonish voice and an oblivious disposition, local area children pelt him with eggs that he catches in his self-made-Swiss-Army-wonder-Thermos. He then shakes it up, drinks it, and promptly projectile vomits all over the road. It's a lot of cringe all at once and made for a bumpy start to this Halloween-themed comedy. As the movie goes along its runtime, we must admit, we found ourselves laughing on occasion at the ridiculousness of it all, but we think it would have been a whole lot funnier without Sandler's obnoxious, grating, tedious voice choice. The Swiss Army Thermos gag is a recurring joke that gets pretty old pretty quickly, but a couple of the choice gadgets did make us smile from time to time.<br /><br />Make sure you know going into this movie that the script gravitates towards references to Sandler's other works in place of actual substance. Lines are recycled ("O'Doyle rules!" was originally from "Billy Madison"), actors play similar parts (Julie Bowen has once again been cast as Sandler's love interest), and characters reprise their roles (Ben Stiller reprises his "Happy Gilmore" role as Orderly Hal, and Steve Buscemi played a werewolf in "Hotel Transylvania"). When in doubt, go for the nostalgia factor, right? Just as we've come to expect (given the last two and a half decades of precedent), Sandler and fellow screenplay writer Tim Herlihy have found another vessel to help keep all of his friend (Kevin James, Blake Clark, Shaquille O'Neal, Maya Rudolph, Tim Meadows, and active SNL players Kenan Thompson, Mikey Day, and Melissa Villaseñor) gainfully employed for another year. Like we said, he's a top-notch friend.<br /><br />We couldn't help but want more from "Hubie Halloween" (2020) because we're suckers for holiday-themed fare. This movie could be considered this generation's "Ernest Scared Stupid" (1991) or "Halloweentown" (1998). It's not something we would call "an uproariously hilarious annual necessity," but it's tolerable enough to view on Halloween afternoon with the older kids before the horror movies start playing. We say older kids because it might be awkward having to explain what a "Boner Doner" is to your younger children, as our good pal <a href="www.mixlr.com/mannyinlofi" target="_blank">MannyInLofi</a> would tell you personally.<div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI5SrnqFipIXEwv5LFw2XUQv9Vr2lMBjjXWtbl_5dmN2yNLbb_c4pLGr-YbFc1NYMAPMHgZaxzwHQVsyXKEjfaCqP01cvR25OUWLruBAoipHxY2ZObRr19mxADqnuQ2pFz6BBgrAFV_0I/s2048/hubie-halloween-2020-movie-still-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Julie Bowen and Adam Sandler star in the Netflix comedy "Hubie Halloween" (2020)." border="0" data-original-height="1368" data-original-width="2048" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI5SrnqFipIXEwv5LFw2XUQv9Vr2lMBjjXWtbl_5dmN2yNLbb_c4pLGr-YbFc1NYMAPMHgZaxzwHQVsyXKEjfaCqP01cvR25OUWLruBAoipHxY2ZObRr19mxADqnuQ2pFz6BBgrAFV_0I/w400-h268/hubie-halloween-2020-movie-still-2.jpg" title="Julie Bowen and Adam Sandler star in the Netflix comedy "Hubie Halloween" (2020)." width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julie Bowen and Adam Sandler star in the Netflix comedy movie "Hubie Halloween" (2020). (Image provided by Netflix)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Netflix's "Hubie Halloween" (2020)</b> is nowhere near as bad as we thought it would be, but that doesn't mean it's all that good. Still, it's a far sight better than most of Adam Sandler's other Netflix offerings. The best thing we can say about this movie is that we don't completely hate ourselves for having watched it, and that's a win where Sandler flicks are concerned. For people who are looking to turn their brains off for 102 minutes just to avoid the hellish nightmare that is 2020, Hubie Dubois, his cohorts, and their shenanigans might provide a much-needed escape this Halloween.<br /><div><br /><div><b>My Rating</b>: 4.5/10<br /><b>BigJ's Rating</b>: 4/10<br /><b>IMDB's Rating</b>: 5.2/10<br /><b>RT Rating</b>: 47%<br /><b>Do we recommend this movie</b>: No.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b>Please be sure to check out Lolo Loves Films all over the internet!</b></div><div><a href="https://www.facebook.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://letterboxd.com/lololovesfilms/" target="_blank">Letterboxd</a> | <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> | <a href="http://www.twitter.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Twitter</a></div></div></div></div></div>Lolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04782777195648272520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857667059778816807.post-88557444587830689192020-10-20T22:10:00.002-07:002020-10-21T10:59:59.730-07:00Movie Review: "Drunk Bus" (2020)<div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBiZY7zkybMRjmrD02jXAhyphenhypheno8fE8_6zYP_QkOWtkekDonQ4xGXhyphenhyphenwKeneDW7r4jLJV8D5BSEXR-jmrEvSxrLeGdG7z-HFK8y_aM-_O__lZz5iYPnPoxmXyyaDw-pwfAfUYIVXiXtatJM/s2048/drunk-bus-2020-movie-poster.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Movie poster for the indie comedy film "Drunk Bus" (2020), starring Charlie Tahan. Kaya Hayward, Will Forte, Zach Cherry, and Pineapple Tangaroa" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1463" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBiZY7zkybMRjmrD02jXAhyphenhypheno8fE8_6zYP_QkOWtkekDonQ4xGXhyphenhyphenwKeneDW7r4jLJV8D5BSEXR-jmrEvSxrLeGdG7z-HFK8y_aM-_O__lZz5iYPnPoxmXyyaDw-pwfAfUYIVXiXtatJM/w458-h640/drunk-bus-2020-movie-poster.jpg" title="Movie poster for the indie comedy film "Drunk Bus" (2020), starring Charlie Tahan. Kaya Hayward, Will Forte, Zach Cherry, and Pineapple Tangaroa" width="458" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNjBhMmMwMWMtZDU2MC00ZWZhLTg0MTktNzEwMTRiMDIwNjg3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNTE1MjE5OTg@._V1_.jpg" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><div><div><div><b>Movie</b>: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5134254" target="_blank">"Drunk Bus"</a><br /><b>Director</b>: John Carlucci and Brandon LaGanke<br /><b>Year</b>: 2020<br /><b>Rating</b>: NR<br /><b>Running Time</b>: 1 hour, 40 minutes</div></div><div><br /></div><div>The title "Drunk Bus" (2020) conjures up images of a film with raucous frat parties and eccentric characters doing zany things, a potential new-age "Animal House" (1978), "Old School" (2003), or "Revenge of the Nerds" (1987). This indie comedy is based on the experiences of writer Chris Molinaro and directors John Carlucci and Brandon LaGanke and is pretty far removed from the "wild college party" genre, though it does still have a few tricks up its sleeve. The main focus of the story is on a bus driver named Michael (Charlie Tahan), who rides "the loop" that transports drunk college kids from bars back to Ohio's Kent Institute of Technology campus day in and day out. Michael has been out of his long-term relationship for nine months but still pines for his ex-girlfriend. He has given up most of his future aspirations and is stuck living a repetitive, mundane life. That all changes when he meets Pineapple (Pineapple Tangaroa), a large, tatted-up, punk rock Samoan that the bus company has hired to be Michael's bodyguard after he was assaulted by a drunk frat guy. Pineapple teaches Michael to adopt a more "devil may care" attitude and to stop stressing himself out so much over shit that doesn't matter. Pineapple is occasionally a bad influence on Michael since his advice often leads straight to trouble and toxic behaviors, all in the name of being more carefree and more independent.</div></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIRIOrpQp-bvOYt-KwcsdO15xRE_qHPSDTnv5JgN_F90sDuU2j_Ez_lTfq0wJRXOoWc2BuutjGQ1Ix3J_FaLgaVeZ2spMoNPaiknFxfuCDL5Ru2sllHd3Jz36yV4826CiGvHZmnqD0qu0/s960/drunk-bus-2020-movie-still-1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Charlie Tahan and Pineapple Tangaroa star in the upcoming 2020 comedy film "Drunk Bus."" border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="960" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIRIOrpQp-bvOYt-KwcsdO15xRE_qHPSDTnv5JgN_F90sDuU2j_Ez_lTfq0wJRXOoWc2BuutjGQ1Ix3J_FaLgaVeZ2spMoNPaiknFxfuCDL5Ru2sllHd3Jz36yV4826CiGvHZmnqD0qu0/w400-h209/drunk-bus-2020-movie-still-1.jpg" title="Charlie Tahan and Pineapple Tangaroa star in the upcoming 2020 comedy film "Drunk Bus."" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charlie Tahan and Pineapple Tangaroa star in the upcoming 2020 comedy film "Drunk Bus." <a href="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e332c3e4b0eea3c34fad20/1579271049846-ZDTZB2SDWTDIQMJEZPDG/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kDCJCqhsG2e4XUM_zGkqSI97gQa3H78H3Y0txjaiv_0fDoOvxcdMmMKkDsyUqMSsMWxHk725yiiHCCLfrh8O1z4YTzHvnKhyp6Da-NYroOW3ZGjoBKy3azqku80C789l0lCYWGxfdB_uf1_ERfebHZ6CDm8l3QHc8IkLnh2bcv4bOW5v-KAt7XFreMFv1KuhZQ/press_5+copy.jpg?format=2500w" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div>From minute one, we found ourselves interested in Michael's journey during "Drunk Bus" (2020), but once Pineapple entered the picture, we were really all aboard. It's Pineapple Tangaroa's charm and endearing nature that makes this movie as entertaining as it is. Tangaroa sure knows how to light up the screen. His look is intriguing, his laugh is infectious, and his chemistry with star Charlie Tahan makes this the perfect college non-road-trip-buddy-comedy. Tahan is excellent in his own right. Michael is an extremely relatable character. We all know what it's like to struggle with dull, repetitious days that bleed into one another, especially during this pandemic. Tahan does a great job portraying a guy who has been caught up in the monotony of life for so long that he has no choice <i>but</i> to try things Pineapple's way. After all, what's he got to lose (besides a coveted safety award and the chance at a promotion)? As Michael breaks out of his daily routine and starts forging his own path in life, some humorous happenings occur along the way, including some light theft, yards of yarn, fireworks, lots of DEVO, night terrors, and some artwork that will leave you in absolute stitches. Of course, many of Michael's actions would get him immediately fired (if not arrested), but sometimes, leaving a terrible job can be a blessing in disguise, so if you're going to go down anyway, why not go down in a blaze of glory? Finally, SNL veteran Will Forte plays a cameo role as Michael's boss Fred. Fred frequently chimes in over the bus radio to provide a host of silly shenanigans, as well as to give Michael a sobering glimpse into what his future might be like if he sticks with the company long-term. The performances are solid all around, and they make the film as successful as it is.<br /><br />Still, "Drunk Bus" (2020) is not without its flaws. It does come off a little formulaic from time to time, and it does fall into some of the typical indie movie tropes. Some of the screenplay's more dramatic elements feel conveniently timed and a little too inorganic, which is odd considering this film is "based on some true shit." This didn't detract from our overall viewing experience, but it was something we both noticed.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZtWNeeQt-jxf9Fo1bnYOtM741P6p3wBdDWO8LpgnEx5bxeqx4L3IhY2MZkOIo_Fq_gLp48dfGXXeZxI3L8BH9IbqQw4UNs-PcxA8zQvTcRIZUtcIAeV4UcVGiP047yEExiA9w3SsFo0/s2048/drunk-bus-2020-movie-still-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Michael (Charlie Tahan) aimlessly drives a college bus in a still for the film "Drunk Bus" (2020)." border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="2048" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZtWNeeQt-jxf9Fo1bnYOtM741P6p3wBdDWO8LpgnEx5bxeqx4L3IhY2MZkOIo_Fq_gLp48dfGXXeZxI3L8BH9IbqQw4UNs-PcxA8zQvTcRIZUtcIAeV4UcVGiP047yEExiA9w3SsFo0/w400-h223/drunk-bus-2020-movie-still-2.jpg" title="Michael (Charlie Tahan) aimlessly drives a college bus in a still for the film "Drunk Bus" (2020)." width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michael (Charlie Tahan) aimlessly drives a college bus in "Drunk Bus" (2020). <a href="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e332c3e4b0eea3c34fad20/1579271049846-ZDTZB2SDWTDIQMJEZPDG/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kDCJCqhsG2e4XUM_zGkqSI97gQa3H78H3Y0txjaiv_0fDoOvxcdMmMKkDsyUqMSsMWxHk725yiiHCCLfrh8O1z4YTzHvnKhyp6Da-NYroOW3ZGjoBKy3azqku80C789l0lCYWGxfdB_uf1_ERfebHZ6CDm8l3QHc8IkLnh2bcv4bOW5v-KAt7XFreMFv1KuhZQ/press_5+copy.jpg?format=2500w" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><div><b>"Drunk Bus" (2020)</b> is a fun slice-of-life/coming-of-age indie comedy with some enjoyable performances, some spectacular chemistry, and one of the weirdest looking paintings we've ever seen. Just don't think too hard about its familiarity and occasional plot conveniences and hop on for the ride.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><b>My Rating</b>: 7.5/10</div><div><b>BigJ's Rating</b>: 7/10<br /><b>IMDB's Rating</b>: ---/10<br /><b>RT Rating</b>: ~100%<br /><b>Do we recommend this movie</b>: Yes!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b>Please be sure to check out Lolo Loves Films all over the internet!</b></div><div><a href="https://www.facebook.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://letterboxd.com/lololovesfilms/" target="_blank">Letterboxd</a> | <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> | <a href="http://www.twitter.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Twitter</a></div></div></div></div></div>Lolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04782777195648272520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857667059778816807.post-46325757959052677852020-10-19T22:02:00.001-07:002020-10-19T22:02:11.839-07:00Movie Review: "Eat Wheaties!" (2020)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbpU4-Oqo50KT_ld3P2B9m60fn2Fq1_-hXkIPuvV5TkbZdZXxUBIpcptv_fETfOu0Me8KOUWH4R4wYm0TsqBR5lm0Jy9ZQT75FYRlHtY2bJKmlOCi3Bag9Dm9ygAwmbLv0cyHyU3_2uZU/s1920/eat-wheaties-2020-movie-still-1.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Movie still for the comedy film "Eat Wheaties!" (2020), starring Tony Hale, Elisha Cuthbert, Robbie Amell, Paul Walter Hauser, Alan Tudyk, Sarah Chalke, and Lamorne Morris" border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbpU4-Oqo50KT_ld3P2B9m60fn2Fq1_-hXkIPuvV5TkbZdZXxUBIpcptv_fETfOu0Me8KOUWH4R4wYm0TsqBR5lm0Jy9ZQT75FYRlHtY2bJKmlOCi3Bag9Dm9ygAwmbLv0cyHyU3_2uZU/w400-h225/eat-wheaties-2020-movie-still-1.png" title="Movie still for the comedy film "Eat Wheaties!" (2020), starring Tony Hale, Elisha Cuthbert, Robbie Amell, Paul Walter Hauser, Alan Tudyk, Sarah Chalke, and Lamorne Morris" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://media.globaltv.com/videostatic/vms/0xtbzy9bsh-vxt16uciil/ETC070720EatWheatiesClip.png" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Movie</b>: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10584340/" target="_blank">"Eat Wheaties!"</a><br /><b>Director</b>: Scott Abramovitch<br /><b>Year</b>: 2020<br /><b>Rating</b>: NR<br /><b>Running Time</b>: 1 hour, 30 minutes<div><br /></div><div>There will be times in life when you're going about your day, and you run into someone from your past, like a high school acquaintance or an old college pal. Most of us briefly acknowledge the other person and do the half-friendly half-morbidly-embarrassed nod/sup-head-lift/semi-wave because we fear the awkward "catch-up-conversation" that inevitably follows. In the age of social media, former friends and acquaintances find each other on sites like Facebook, requesting friendships that are mostly limited to a "like" here and a "happy birthday" comment there. Sid Straw (Tony Hale), the lead character in writer/director Scott Abramovitch's "Eat Wheaties!" (2020), is in a league of gauche all his own. Sid goes out of his way to seek out life's awkward conversations, whether he does so knowingly or not. In fact, his whole life (and pretty much every interaction he has) is an embarrassing conversation. When Sid finds an old college buddy on Facebook, he's ready to share his life story with her, even when said college buddy just so happens to be a celebrity, someone like, say, Heather Locklear...no, no, someone more relevant: Elizabeth Banks. He sends her a quick friend request, then goes on to have several very personal, very one-sided, very public conversations with her Facebook wall. Since Sid is an older guy who is a bit out of touch, he isn't aware that all these posts are visible by everyone who comes across her page, and his "letters" to Elizabeth eventually send his life spiraling out of control.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigNMFRLNc24NCXV6Z8bf-Eoyn2I7ldrGrpAj2kt58PNVCbj0bI9Z81aKkWf9HsIe_oXSboxUYHsM4yYlRsQhfpbfRJ6mUprI5HgZemDCqVhQixDmMvdAOdhcXPxvHirYJe4xfxVWfGYfo/s1280/eat-wheaties-2020-movie-still-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Elisha Cuthbert and David Walton have dinner with Tony Hale in a movie still for the film "Eat Wheaties!"" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigNMFRLNc24NCXV6Z8bf-Eoyn2I7ldrGrpAj2kt58PNVCbj0bI9Z81aKkWf9HsIe_oXSboxUYHsM4yYlRsQhfpbfRJ6mUprI5HgZemDCqVhQixDmMvdAOdhcXPxvHirYJe4xfxVWfGYfo/w400-h225/eat-wheaties-2020-movie-still-2.jpg" title="Elisha Cuthbert and David Walton have dinner with Tony Hale in a movie still for the film "Eat Wheaties!"" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://video.newsserve.net/v/20201008/1312003477-Eat-Wheaties!-Movie-Clip-Awkward-Family-Dinner_hires.jpg" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><div>"Eat Wheaties!" (2020) is based on author Michael Kun's book "The Locklear Letters," which we wanted to seek out immediately after the film ended. We can't imagine how much more cringe-worthy content is packed in the book because the movie is chock full of it. Sid is a very oblivious person who tries a little too hard at everything he does. His slightly bizarre, aggressively friendly, borderline desperate nature and lack of personal and social filters are very off-putting to most of the people he interacts with, and we as the audience sense the uncomfortable feelings the recipients of his conversations experience. The secondhand embarrassment sets in early and often, and we repeatedly found ourselves slapping our faces and burying our heads in our hands while watching Sid carry on a chat with a coworker, extended family member, or romantic prospect. Come on now, none of us are perfect. We've all said, "you too!" after the ticket taker at a movie theater told you to "enjoy your movie." We've all sent a stupid tweet, or a silly text, or a dumb Tinder message...but how would you feel if your words went viral? Scott Abramovitch does a stellar job putting the audience in Sid's shoes as his online posts end up having real-life consequences. As the film moves along its runtime, it becomes apparent that the screenplay is not solely about its facepalms. There's a lot of sweetness, heart, and soul here, too, and by the movie's end, we felt satisfied with the pile-on-to-sincerity ratio.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhthS1fRU9NX0vJi8uIueIYzKz5hB2Bau-BnqeB_wCHrI79cboU2-HQmH15PUc9fgXj7DEQxtEs8_ZrJpvhE63Ut46U8cR5VWE5Q7wohZJN1Grktg948aOB7T5yu2WgbDdTuF2JHGJK7Tg/s1160/eat-wheaties-2020-movie-still-3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Tony Hale and Paul Walter Hauser star in the 2020 movie "Eat Wheaties!"" border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="1160" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhthS1fRU9NX0vJi8uIueIYzKz5hB2Bau-BnqeB_wCHrI79cboU2-HQmH15PUc9fgXj7DEQxtEs8_ZrJpvhE63Ut46U8cR5VWE5Q7wohZJN1Grktg948aOB7T5yu2WgbDdTuF2JHGJK7Tg/w400-h165/eat-wheaties-2020-movie-still-3.jpg" title="Tony Hale and Paul Walter Hauser star in the 2020 movie "Eat Wheaties!"" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i1.wp.com/midwestfilmjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/EatWheaties.jpg?resize=1160%2C480&ssl=1" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div>We laughed a lot during <b>"Eat Wheaties!" (2020)</b>, even when we wanted to bang our heads against the wall while yelling, "Dude! What were you thinking?!" every time Sid did just about anything. Tony Hale was the perfect choice to fill this role as he has had a storied career playing uncomfortable, slightly abrasive characters like Gary Walsh from "Veep" and Buster Bluth from "Arrested Development." The film also boasts a terrific supporting cast, including Alan Tudyk, Sarah Chalke, Elisha Cuthbert, Danielle Brooks, Lamorne Morris, Robbie Amell, and one of our favorite newcomers, Paul Walter Hauser, who has been phenomenal in every movie we've seen him in. The only real "criticism" we can think of is that this feature is a bit formulaic and fairly predictable (and no, we haven't read the book). It might not be genre-defying, but it has enough charm, laughs, and excellent performances to make it worth the price of admission.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>My Rating</b>: 8/10<br /><b>BigJ's Rating</b>: 7/10<br /><b>IMDB's Rating</b>: ---/10<br /><b>RT Rating</b>: ---%<br /><b>Do we recommend this movie</b>: Yes!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b>Please be sure to check out Lolo Loves Films all over the internet!</b></div><div><a href="https://www.facebook.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://letterboxd.com/lololovesfilms/" target="_blank">Letterboxd</a> | <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> | <a href="http://www.twitter.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Twitter</a></div></div></div></div></div>Lolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04782777195648272520noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857667059778816807.post-81925989569862894972020-10-17T22:22:00.003-07:002020-10-17T22:22:59.433-07:00Movie Review: "Escape from Extinction" (2020)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilYrFLDl7ikg0Ph2iTG6urhbuD3mImT-5fk9PU9D89P0JqA5vYjInhFaHTY-9sPIqMJXVxcCVUe2CIKNYwZRa-tt4mvA4LIgLZyurJGLNWCioq8-NLfMOsW1ZotwI-a5Qc6w9JZPIwfVk/s1500/escape-from-extinction-2020-movie-poster.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Movie poster for the nature documentary "Escape from Extinction" (2020), narrated by Helen Mirren" border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1023" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilYrFLDl7ikg0Ph2iTG6urhbuD3mImT-5fk9PU9D89P0JqA5vYjInhFaHTY-9sPIqMJXVxcCVUe2CIKNYwZRa-tt4mvA4LIgLZyurJGLNWCioq8-NLfMOsW1ZotwI-a5Qc6w9JZPIwfVk/w436-h640/escape-from-extinction-2020-movie-poster.jpg" title="Movie poster for the nature documentary "Escape from Extinction" (2020), narrated by Helen Mirren" width="436" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://images.fandango.com/ImageRenderer/0/0/redesign/static/img/default_poster.png/0/images/masterrepository/Fandango/223486/EscapeFromExtinction2020.jpg" target="_blank">Image Source</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Movie</b>: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11354154" target="_blank">"Escape from Extinction"</a><br /><b>Director</b>: Matthew R. Brady<br /><b>Year</b>: 2020<br /><b>Rating</b>: R<br /><b>Running Time</b>: 1 hour, 29 minutes</p><p>American Humane's documentary "Escape from Extinction" (2020) could be considered the anti-"Blackfish" (2013), the CNN-produced documentary that provided a scathing indictment of keeping whales in captivity. "Blackfish" (2013) attempted to link the violent behavior of one Orca as evidence of a whale's desire to be in the ocean rather than in an aquarium. It made claims that Orcas never attack humans in the wild, though <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LXeDSAUefo" target="_blank">recent footage of killer whales attacking boats in Spain</a> calls this into question. It also argued against breeding programs, as well as the very existence of parks like Sea World. Like all things in life, there are two sides to every coin, and all documentaries come with some form of inherent bias. "Escape from Extinction" (2020) explores the importance of zoos and aquariums and the work they do to conserve endangered species throughout the globe. It serves to educate the public on the actual work these parks do behind closed doors and away from the public eye as they attempt to bring species back from the brink of extinction.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjREhgeRox_Ur3tE-27Fr5FEJ1icSme4qZDuQF1kfzXtza6g5Rfp5_3imoosVHvZRy2-I3qeXk7l6QRDMLz1_DMyQdC_ZYPS-rhZy5zcR8Oi-4EHne0lk8nlDRcwe-TChYw27k01vL5_w/s1000/escape-from-extinction-2020-movie-still-1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="An African elephant with large white tusks in the movie "Escape from Extinction"" border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjREhgeRox_Ur3tE-27Fr5FEJ1icSme4qZDuQF1kfzXtza6g5Rfp5_3imoosVHvZRy2-I3qeXk7l6QRDMLz1_DMyQdC_ZYPS-rhZy5zcR8Oi-4EHne0lk8nlDRcwe-TChYw27k01vL5_w/w400-h200/escape-from-extinction-2020-movie-still-1.jpg" title="An African elephant with large white tusks in the movie "Escape from Extinction"" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.austinchronicle.com/binary/c922/escape-from-extinction.jpg" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div>There's no doubt "Escape from Extinction" (2020) is pushing its own agenda. However, it does offer a strong argument in favor of the existence of zoos and aquariums as long as they are accredited like the San Diego Zoo, Sea World, and the Birch Aquarium, not 'for-profit' roadside zoos like the one seen on Netflix's "Tiger King." Documentaries like "Blackfish" (2013) rely on emotion and more anecdotal evidence, but "Escape from Extinction (2020) is much more facts-and-data-driven. It feels like its primary purpose is to reason with the audience and to explain what zoos and aquariums actually do. Director Matthew R. Brady wants to stress that these places are not animal prisons that recklessly put exotic creatures on display for the amusement of the masses, but are places of research and education that strive to give people information about and passion for wildlife and conservation.</div><div><br /></div><div>As we mentioned, this entire project feels like a direct response to the animal rights activists who have continually called for global boycotts of zoos and aquariums until the immediate release of all animals into the wild. "Escape from Extinction" (2020) lets viewers know that releasing animals into the wild could very likely be a death sentence for creatures who have spent years in the care of humans. It'd be like taking a family dog (one that has spent its entire life in human care), letting it go, and making it fend for itself in the wilderness. The primary account cited against releasing animals into the wild is the story of Keiko from the film "Free Willy" (1993), who was released from captivity in 2002 but was never able to survive without human help despite millions of dollars invested and years of integration training. Up until his death in December 2003, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/sep/08/theobserver2" target="_blank">Keiko sought out human interaction</a>, and he was never able to integrate with other Orcas because humans were all he had ever known. He was supposed to be a success story, but spending $20,000,000 to keep one whale alive for publicity is anything but a victory. While well-intentioned, saying "free all the animals" frequently means "let's send these animals off to die." Writers Alex Blumberg and Peter Meadows really pound in just how many species would now be extinct if it weren't for the efforts of zoos and aquariums. Animals like the grey wolves of Yellowstone, the American bison, the black-footed ferret, and many others would be gone forever if not for the conservation done by these parks.</div><div><br /></div><div>The other aspect of "Escape from Extinction" (2020) involves showing how we got where we are in terms of the sheer number of endangered and extinct species on our planet. These beings aren't becoming extinct because nature is taking its course. They are being destroyed by poaching, deforestation, urban sprawl, industrialization, and environmental pollution via oil and plastics. These are man-made problems, and if people are part of the problem, they also have to be part of the solution.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU9Ct97OV2OseHlOGR9KZc7ihmugsOhEC3qAGAE5rXicQ-TLUxoKveoz-r5Rh5PFAIrUCaNxOP56VwM1iEfCoqMnKHiK9iEQzS-1mlf-hg7wQg28_xJKqqvjk_2OvYmxALcUMuOuK1PW0/s1920/escape-from-extinction-2020-movie-still-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Sea World employees give medical care to a manatee in a movie still for the 2020 documentary "Escape from Extinction."" border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU9Ct97OV2OseHlOGR9KZc7ihmugsOhEC3qAGAE5rXicQ-TLUxoKveoz-r5Rh5PFAIrUCaNxOP56VwM1iEfCoqMnKHiK9iEQzS-1mlf-hg7wQg28_xJKqqvjk_2OvYmxALcUMuOuK1PW0/w400-h225/escape-from-extinction-2020-movie-still-2.jpg" title="Sea World employees give medical care to a manatee in a movie still for the 2020 documentary "Escape from Extinction."" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sea World employees give medical care to a manatee in a movie still for the 2020 documentary "Escape from Extinction." <a href="https://s1.dmcdn.net/v/ST93E1VOMPS49v5nk/x1080" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b>"Escape from Extinction" (2020)</b> is a competently made film that features an excellent voiceover by Dame Helen Mirren. This isn't a documentary like "The Cove" (2009) that will leave you sobbing and/or in shock, but it might make you think (or rethink) about accredited zoos and aquariums. While<i> </i>it is certainly biased, it makes a compelling argument that's difficult to counter. As much as we agree with the subject matter, after a while, the information does start to feel a bit redundant. We understand early on that zoos are a vital cog in the enormous machine of animal conservation, so we felt like the runtime could have easily been cut by 10-15 minutes without losing its impactful point. Without zoos and aquariums, much of the funding for global conservation efforts wouldn't be there, and many of the experts who go into the field to help animals wouldn't exist without the training and interactions they have had with the wildlife at these places. We wish the movie had offered a few more solutions beyond "support the organizations in which we're heavily involved," but the message is crucial nonetheless.<br /><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="auto"><div dir="auto"><div dir="auto"><br /></div></div></div></div><b>My Rating</b>: 6.5/10<br /><b>BigJ's Rating</b>: 7/10<br /><b>IMDB's Rating</b>: ---/10<br /><b>RT Rating</b>: ---%<br /><b>Do we recommend this movie</b>: Sure, why not?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b>Please be sure to check out Lolo Loves Films all over the internet!</b></div><div><a href="https://www.facebook.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://letterboxd.com/lololovesfilms/" target="_blank">Letterboxd</a> | <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> | <a href="http://www.twitter.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Twitter</a></div></div></div>Lolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04782777195648272520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857667059778816807.post-8752122115468052622020-10-16T11:27:00.000-07:002020-10-16T11:27:14.327-07:00Movie Review: "before/during/after" (2020)<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjARABMPrGpULG9rY3pPS1qno2A_4p-a1GnHED8Nrci3uNA3AiaB4-Zc9Ty3oYsu0gGFfUlHUsp8RvULDtkdRWTI1xAXxKnLLOS3JrerQCBN0q7BlV7zbe_620az1FeiVw9B8MW2oBtN8c/s1000/before-during-after-2020-movie-poster.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Movie poster for the 2020 film "before/during/after," starring Finnerty Steeves, Jeremy Davidson, Richard Masur, Marin Hinkle, Miriam Shor, Kate Burton, and Deirdre O'Connell" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjARABMPrGpULG9rY3pPS1qno2A_4p-a1GnHED8Nrci3uNA3AiaB4-Zc9Ty3oYsu0gGFfUlHUsp8RvULDtkdRWTI1xAXxKnLLOS3JrerQCBN0q7BlV7zbe_620az1FeiVw9B8MW2oBtN8c/w512-h640/before-during-after-2020-movie-poster.jpg" title="Movie poster for the 2020 film "before/during/after," starring Finnerty Steeves, Jeremy Davidson, Richard Masur, Marin Hinkle, Miriam Shor, Kate Burton, and Deirdre O'Connell" width="512" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://intheirownleaguehome.files.wordpress.com/2020/07/before-poster.jpg?w=800" target="_blank">Image Source</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Movie</b>: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6393674/" target="_blank">"before/during/after"</a><br /><b>Director</b>: Stephen Kunken and Jack Lewars<br /><b>Year</b>: 2020<br /><b>Rating</b>: NR<br /><b>Running Time</b>: 1 hour, 35 minutes<p></p><p>We all have our own ways of dealing with the difficult circumstances life throws at us. Many people turn to professional help from counselors, psychologists, and psychiatrists to discover different coping techniques, from simply reflecting on the good times you've had in life, up to and including role-playing your way through your problems. When you're an actor, however, you get a unique opportunity to really take 'role-playing through your problems' to the next level. "before/during/after" (2020) feels like writer/producer/star Finnerty Steeves's therapy through her art. Without even knowing the details of her personal life, we could tell right away that this project hit close to home for her. A quick Google search will tell you this film is very much a reflection of how her real-life 15-year marriage came to an end. In an interview with <a href="https://w42st.com/post/anatomy-of-a-new-york-break-up-before-during-after-finnerty-steeves/">W42ST.com</a>, Steeves discusses what went wrong in her actual relationship, much of which is shown on-screen, verbatim, in "before/during/after" (2020). Though this movie is directed by Stephen Kunken and Jack Lewars, we have a hunch they didn't take much artistic license beyond the initial script because it feels like they let it remain mostly (if not entirely) Steeves' story.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAgyp1s5wY6bzl76l8hixNN84WwBJIwY44ML5-kP0G0jLL1qoCkasQypTvzls0gFvNWergp_U1vrks7rFhE717IO18RFMbtAOUyfL0dNYHzo2eoW-VnmmsTwyYvblrQjOpmyr4d4_fbO4/s1200/before-during-after-2020-movie-still-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo: Finnerty Steeves and Jeremy Davidson look at greeting cards in the 2020 indie movie "before/during/after."" border="0" data-original-height="472" data-original-width="1200" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAgyp1s5wY6bzl76l8hixNN84WwBJIwY44ML5-kP0G0jLL1qoCkasQypTvzls0gFvNWergp_U1vrks7rFhE717IO18RFMbtAOUyfL0dNYHzo2eoW-VnmmsTwyYvblrQjOpmyr4d4_fbO4/w400-h158/before-during-after-2020-movie-still-2.jpg" title="Photo: Finnerty Steeves and Jeremy Davidson look at greeting cards in the 2020 indie movie "before/during/after."" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Photo: Finnerty Steeves and Jeremy Davidson look at greeting cards in the 2020 indie movie "before/during/after." (Image provided by the San Diego International Film Festival)</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">"before/during/after" (2020) is billed as a dramedy, though it leans into the drama more than the comedy. It's not the kind of movie that's full of the grandiose, over-the-top blowouts full of screaming and namecalling, you know, the one we've become accustomed to seeing in "soured relationship" movies (looking at you, <a href="https://www.lololovesfilms.com/2019/12/movie-review-marriage-story-2019.html" target="_blank">"Marriage Story"</a>). It's more of a "stoic reflection" type of drama as we watch actress Jennie (Finnerty Steeves) and her husband David (Jeremy Davidson) try to salvage what's left of their broken kinship. There are a couple of big, gut-punching emotional scenes, but where this film thrives is in its quietly pointed moments of absolute devastation as Jennie and David desperately try to save what has been shattered by infidelity, unaddressed needs, and a long-term lack of communication. While they reminisce about their happiest memories together, discuss "the other woman," and attend a revolving door of counseling sessions that would be enough to make the strongest couples fold, they come to the realization that they have always wanted very different things and had very different expectations for their marriage.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's not all doom and gloom, though. There are several hilarious scenes in "before/during/after" (2020). But, even with the wacky couples therapists, a raunchy night out for Jennie and her girlfriends, and a trip to a pleasure palace for a vibrator "for her friend's bachelorette party," the story never feel phony or unrealistic. It's not a complex narrative full of crazy twists and turns. There are no grand romantic gestures or artificial Hollywood resolutions. It's merely a raw, relatable slice of one woman's life as she comes to terms with ending the relationship she's been in for nearly half of her existence. Finnerty Steeves acts the pants off of her part, but now that we know it's based on her real-life relationship, we're not surprised she nailed it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On a technical note, we will admit the first portion of the film does aimlessly wander here and there. This is likely because the first few acts are told through a series of flashbacks as we watch Jennie relive the memories of her relationship during an audition for a part that's <i>a little on the nose</i>. Some viewers won't like that it's occasionally choppy, and while it didn't bother us too much, it did slow down the pacing just a skosh.</div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgJK_0bncfHvqiUN3yDts3hjK54ftUUJ_fhwVgCZT7WhUoO5Fn2KDumYVulhfiIGIRfFJUsY1NjikDbgIXju2LifoVHCYoxAlkAIKHYRuD-azf8AirxSQwJNlD2CDKVPBYxqrJb6vdB7s/s1338/before-during-after-2020-movie-still-3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo: Jeremy Davidson, Finnerty Steeves, and Richard Masur star in "before/during/after" (2020)" border="0" data-original-height="561" data-original-width="1338" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgJK_0bncfHvqiUN3yDts3hjK54ftUUJ_fhwVgCZT7WhUoO5Fn2KDumYVulhfiIGIRfFJUsY1NjikDbgIXju2LifoVHCYoxAlkAIKHYRuD-azf8AirxSQwJNlD2CDKVPBYxqrJb6vdB7s/w400-h168/before-during-after-2020-movie-still-3.jpg" title="Photo: Jeremy Davidson, Finnerty Steeves, and Richard Masur star in "before/during/after" (2020)" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Photo: Jeremy Davidson, Finnerty Steeves, and Richard Masur star in "before/during/after" (2020). (Image provided by the San Diego International Film Festival)</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b>"before/during/after" (2020)</b> might not be the best film to watch if you're in a bad place in your marriage, but it's definitely worth checking out. We both liked this movie and thought it was engaging, though I liked it a bit more than BigJ did. He felt like it was missing an emotional spark. On the other hand, I was either consistently laughing or silently crying throughout its runtime.<br /><br /><b>My Rating</b>: 7/10<br /><b>BigJ's Rating</b>: 6/10<br /><b>IMDB's Rating</b>: ~9.4/10<br /><b>RT Rating</b>: ---%<br /><b>Do we recommend this movie</b>: Sure, why not?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b>Please be sure to check out Lolo Loves Films all over the internet!</b></div><div><a href="https://www.facebook.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://letterboxd.com/lololovesfilms/" target="_blank">Letterboxd</a> | <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> | <a href="http://www.twitter.com/lololovesfilms" target="_blank">Twitter</a></div></div></div>Lolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04782777195648272520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857667059778816807.post-82353490682587754682020-03-18T15:51:00.001-07:002020-03-18T16:27:04.121-07:00Movie Review: "Spenser Confidential" (2020)<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_v5MEsGTy9y1It73ppsWjSk8yh_cOc_2ixsq98t0wWL1j815efGO6JP8Haicthe-KhR7nZ_y5yQOuvEVdiATAoAwT69OMsPxyJ1P6-NnAZz56PrF-p22pdCqIJBB_WoVfeHmZptIPdsc/s1600/spenser-confidential-2020-netflix-movie-poster.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo: movie poster for the Netflix original film "Spenser Confidential" (2020), starring Mark Wahlberg, Winston Duke, and Alan Arkin" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="675" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_v5MEsGTy9y1It73ppsWjSk8yh_cOc_2ixsq98t0wWL1j815efGO6JP8Haicthe-KhR7nZ_y5yQOuvEVdiATAoAwT69OMsPxyJ1P6-NnAZz56PrF-p22pdCqIJBB_WoVfeHmZptIPdsc/s640/spenser-confidential-2020-netflix-movie-poster.jpg" title="Photo: movie poster for the Netflix original film "Spenser Confidential" (2020), starring Mark Wahlberg, Winston Duke, and Alan Arkin" width="432" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTdkOTEwYjMtNDA1YS00YzVlLTg0NWUtMmQzNDZhYWUxZmIyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTkxNjUyNQ@@._V1_SY1000_CR0,0,675,1000_AL_.jpg" target="_blank">Image Source</a></td></tr>
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<b>Movie</b>: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8629748/" target="_blank">"Spenser Confidential"</a></div>
<b>Director</b>: Peter Berg<br />
<b>Year</b>: 2020<br />
<b>Rating</b>: R<br />
<b>Running Time</b>: 1 hour, 52 minutes<br />
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At least one thing is guaranteed in this crazy world of ours: Mark Wahlberg will <i>always</i> have a thriving career as a leading man so long as Peter Berg is directing movies. Many of the earlier collaborations between Berg and Wahlberg include films based on true stories, like <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2x7bJae" target="_blank">Deepwater Horizon</a>, <a href="https://amzn.to/2U34M33" target="_blank">Lone Survivor</a>, and <a href="https://amzn.to/391YDsa" target="_blank">Patriots Day</a>.</i> We liked all of these titles despite them being a bit gung-ho and jingoistic, titles that were made to motivate audiences to collectively chant USA! USA!, but they are entertaining nonetheless. Lately, Berg and Wahlberg have been making fictional action flicks with the same undertones, but with much less success. Their latest collaboration is the Netflix original "Spenser Confidential" (2020), which we had no idea was based on a book series (shout-out to my grandma who used to read them and told us about this!). Wahlberg plays Spenser, which may sound like the name of a CPA or a software programmer, but really, he's just your typical tough guy Boston cop, ya know, the type of character he usually plays. Spenser has a strict moral code. He goes to prison for trying to weed out corruption from within the Boston police department after confronting his captain, which led to a rather public beatdown. The same day Spenser gets out of prison after serving five years, his crooked captain, Boylan (Michael Gaston), winds up dead in a bus yard. When the Boston P.D. tries to pin the crime on a cop that Spenser knows to be an honest, hardworking, straight-laced man, Spenser takes it upon himself to solve the murder and get to the bottom of this corruption in the B.P.D. He enlists the help of his old friend and trainer Henry (Alan Arkin) and his aspiring MMA fighter roommate Hawk (Winston Duke) to assist with the investigation.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXW6k89BLREZgQhUhgJSQqD-2UWWqUVizwUa50sS8T_9kMuNyZEoMD9ZR_9e_xWccTeTKBNHsLLlx5LQjKMWVcwtSqxJcmnoDnNiKAQPousWS32BTDhlYn4Ugb9DDGk-Jgq09mvGZkHzQ/s1600/spenser-confidential-2020-netflix-movie-still-4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo: In Netflix's original film "Spenser Confidential (2020), Spenser (Mark Wahlberg) and Hawk (Winston Duke) meet up with journalist Wayne Cosgrove (Marc Maron) to look at the evidence about Wonderland." border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXW6k89BLREZgQhUhgJSQqD-2UWWqUVizwUa50sS8T_9kMuNyZEoMD9ZR_9e_xWccTeTKBNHsLLlx5LQjKMWVcwtSqxJcmnoDnNiKAQPousWS32BTDhlYn4Ugb9DDGk-Jgq09mvGZkHzQ/s400/spenser-confidential-2020-netflix-movie-still-4.jpg" title="Photo: In Netflix's original film "Spenser Confidential (2020), Spenser (Mark Wahlberg) and Hawk (Winston Duke) meet up with journalist Wayne Cosgrove (Marc Maron) to look at the evidence about Wonderland." width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: In Netflix's<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> original film "Spenser Confidential (2020), Spenser (Mark Wahlberg) and Hawk (Winston Duke</span>) meet up with journalist <span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Wayne Cosgrove (Marc Maron) to look at the evidence about Wonderland.</span></td></tr>
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"Spencer Confidential" (2020) desperately wants to be a primo action buddy comedy, but the action is both generic and lacking, and the comedy is mediocre at best. We weren't wowed by anything that happens action-wise, and the comedy is the same deadpan sarcasm we've seen Mark Wahlberg do for the last decade. There are a couple of solid jokes that got us laughing, but overall, the script is full of wisecracks where "old man yells at cloud" after getting out of prison because he doesn't understand non-dairy alternatives or "the cloud." The only moments of humor that really work come from Alan Arkin and Winston Duke, and maybe one zinger from a brief appearance by Post Malone. Iliza Shlesinger also stars as Spenser's on-again-off-again girlfriend Cissy, who plays up the bombastic Boston stereotype for 110 minutes. It's a shtick that's meant to be funny (and might be accurate according to Bostonians), but we thought it was supremely annoying.<br />
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Where "Spenser Confidential" (2020) truly disappoints is in its writing. Berg and writers Sean O'Keefe and Brian Helgeland fail to develop a meaningful connection and chemistry between Hawk and Spenser, the backbone of the film. In fact, it is so sloppily put together that Hawk has no real motives or purpose. That's our biggest complaint about this project: Winston Duke deserved so much better than the limited screentime he has here. Also, Spenser and Hawk's investigation is meant to be a mystery, but we know who the bad guy is as soon as they come into frame. C'mon, at least <i>try</i> to make it a bit less obvious. It's a throwback to the 80s where most cops in cinema were corrupt, and those who aren't corrupt have their hands tied by regulations and rules, which makes them inept. The only people who can do anything about the crimes afoot are renegades who have to bend or break the rules to get the job done. It's <i>so</i> cliche, and it might have been fine if the movie had done anything remotely distinctive, compelling, or outrageously entertaining to set itself apart from the hundreds of others titles just like it. It doesn't. Instead, it winds up being a rather boring, play-it-safe Netflix film with virtually no originality.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLpT2u-kVfuzacvynEt1YWhyphenhyphenzVNujOJ17isSBUclE8EnBp4EPL0Aur0CCz5KaED9Mdtx8U9nLbyS8qe44qaSE1TE_EzdhI6JjnBnwL9y98PJdHFDTBcOTfuk_EFSGvET5U5Lpk-xjF3G4/s1600/spenser-confidential-2020-netflix-movie-still-1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo: Mark Wahlberg and Post Malone star in Netflix's "Spenser Confidential."" border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLpT2u-kVfuzacvynEt1YWhyphenhyphenzVNujOJ17isSBUclE8EnBp4EPL0Aur0CCz5KaED9Mdtx8U9nLbyS8qe44qaSE1TE_EzdhI6JjnBnwL9y98PJdHFDTBcOTfuk_EFSGvET5U5Lpk-xjF3G4/s400/spenser-confidential-2020-netflix-movie-still-1.jpg" title="Photo: Mark Wahlberg and Post Malone star in Netflix's "Spenser Confidential."" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Mark Wahlberg and Post Malone star in Netflix's "Spenser Confidential." (Image provided by Netflix)</td></tr>
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<b>Netflix's "Spenser Confidential" (2020) </b>aspires to be a gritty action drama, but it's too poorly constructed and pulls too many shenanigans to be taken seriously. It also wants to be a buddy cop comedy, but its lazy writing and lack of a strong connection between Hawk and Spencer will almost assuredly make audiences not care about what happens to them. The best thing we can say about "Spenser Confidential" (2020) is that it's an entirely watchable, not completely miserable way to kill two hours if you are bored at home with nothing to do....which makes it pandemic perfect!<br />
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<b>My Rating</b>: 4/10<br />
<b>BigJ's Rating</b>: 5/10<br />
<b>IMDB's Rating</b>: 6.2/10<br />
<b>RT Rating</b>: 41%<br />
<b>Do we recommend this movie</b>: Meh.<br />
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Lolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04782777195648272520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857667059778816807.post-92129739273599483442020-03-09T18:25:00.000-07:002020-03-09T18:25:31.221-07:00Movie Review: "Pain and Glory" (2019)<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin0Z2XHDMANjk3ETaAU5MI2HByUTU8xpjsLOmT1xsUWjT1UZenVjBnF_A6bQPbNsd1uPr5DBEG0Mzmqm9x4Swi6aM6NT_HH5hufyqoIk3uM5WG0u25k7oPgJIZiL30R0eWJhH4H7r0tZM/s1600/pain-and-glory-2019-movie-poster.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo: movie poster for Pedro Almodóvar's 2019 film "Pain and Glory," starring Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="707" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin0Z2XHDMANjk3ETaAU5MI2HByUTU8xpjsLOmT1xsUWjT1UZenVjBnF_A6bQPbNsd1uPr5DBEG0Mzmqm9x4Swi6aM6NT_HH5hufyqoIk3uM5WG0u25k7oPgJIZiL30R0eWJhH4H7r0tZM/s640/pain-and-glory-2019-movie-poster.jpg" title="Photo: movie poster for Pedro Almodóvar's 2019 film "Pain and Glory," starring Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz" width="452" /></a></td></tr>
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<b>Movie</b>: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8291806" target="_blank">"Pain and Glory"</a></div>
<b>Director</b>: Pedro Almodóvar<br />
<b>Year</b>: 2019<br />
<b>Rating</b>: R<br />
<b>Running Time</b>: 1 hour, 53 minutes<br />
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Tinseltown writers and directors frequently churn out semi-autobiographical projects. Hollywood loves fictitious characters in fictional stories inspired by factual events that are sprung from the lives of filmmakers. Some examples are Cameron Crowe's "Almost Famous," John Boorman's "Hope and Glory," Alfonso Cuarón's "Roma," and Noah Baumbach's "The Squid and the Whale" and <a href="https://www.lololovesfilms.com/2019/12/movie-review-marriage-story-2019.html" target="_blank">"Marriage Story."</a> "Pain and Glory" can now be added to that list as Pedro Almodóvar's stab at a semi-autobiographical work. The story revolves around a director named Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas) who, as you may have guessed, is a stand-in for Almodóvar himself. Salvador no está bien. His career has been in a slump. He has many health problems that leave him living with a great deal of pain, and he also suffers from depression. When one of Salvador's films, <i>Sabor</i>, is selected to be remastered and re-released at a festival, he is forced to face his past and make amends to the people with whom he had a falling out. Salvador also reflects back on his childhood and the significant moments that led him to where he presently is in his life. He begins experimenting with hard drugs as he debates allowing his very personal semi-autobiographical script titled <i>Addiction</i> to be performed for the first time. It's all very, <i>very</i> meta.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1seKBSaRPSSe8iHL7UOlkXEnQsJjss8kpTk9ctFL5-t2KyJyHnZFpn6OotwFojTfWL5yNrfzbB8NNgJmODcp5I3uU_gsughhA37ZiOkk5mvs_2vLl10Kzr22262sTr1Fh75n3h3xg2ak/s1600/pain-and-glory-2019-movie-1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo: Asier Flores, Penélope Cruz, and Raúl Arévalo play the Mallo family star in the movie "Pain and Glory."" border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1seKBSaRPSSe8iHL7UOlkXEnQsJjss8kpTk9ctFL5-t2KyJyHnZFpn6OotwFojTfWL5yNrfzbB8NNgJmODcp5I3uU_gsughhA37ZiOkk5mvs_2vLl10Kzr22262sTr1Fh75n3h3xg2ak/s400/pain-and-glory-2019-movie-1.jpg" title="Photo: Asier Flores, Penélope Cruz, and Raúl Arévalo play the Mallo family star in the movie "Pain and Glory."" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Photo: Asier Flores, Penélope Cruz, and Raúl Arévalo play the Mallo family star in the movie "Pain and Glory." <a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZjMzMGQzNGEtNDBjOC00NjQ0LWEzOTQtNGM2YjNhZDRjYTQwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTA0MjU0Ng@@._V1_.jpg" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a></span></td></tr>
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Pedro Almodóvar really wanted to put his stamp on the "tortured artist" moniker, and we think he was rather successful at his attempt. In "Pain and Glory," he examines his first experience with homosexual attraction, his greatest lost love, and his struggles with aging and pain, forgetting and forgiveness, and addiction and inspiration through the character Salvador Mallo. Antonio Banderas does a masterful job breathing life into the distressed genius that is Salvador Mallo. His performance is nuanced, subtle, complex, and powerful. We think it's a career-best performance for Banderas. It's no wonder he received a best actor nomination at this year's Oscars! If only Joaquin Phoenix hadn't been so good. Another excellent performance comes from Asier Etxeandia as a struggling, drug-addicted actor named Alberto Crespo, who has had a long-standing feud with Mallo for decades after he was caught using drugs while filming <i>Sabor</i>. Etxeandia and Banderas have a magnificent rapport and chemistry with one another. They share some of the film's best, most entertaining scenes and moments as they reconnect and "chase the dragon" (do heroin) while discussing the past, present, and future of their careers and lives. We're not familiar with Etxeandia apart from this project, but we are going to seek him out in the future because he is just fantastic here. Leonardo Sbaraglia also gives a stellar (albeit brief) performance as Federico, Salvador's long lost love who shows up seeking connection and closure. Their compassionate reunion is short and bittersweet. It's enough to make anyone who has ever been in love wince with both happiness and pain as they close the book on their relationship. Another aspect of "Pain and Glory" that we loved is its use of unique visual and auditory elements to aid in its storytelling. José Luis Alcaine's stunning cinematography perfectly captures Mallo's/Almodóvar's childhood growing up and living in a cave in a tiny Spanish village. This is juxtaposed with his more prosperous life as an iconic director in Barcelona. Finally, Alberto Iglesias's score feels deliberately broken up into three distinct parts as Mallo flashes back to his past, lives distinctly in his present, and ponders about what is left to come in his pain-riddled life.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhjEn3jZZS-zpJmB9wbEvUEgNb0ws5OSXr87w7c2mcc8FeFUssertKxRfqGTJBouE-4fSuUEDL3_HL5qfOPieGDGSidMKsv_mP4lS4PAbrZd6fOk4FgOfl98Qe4lmw8iMk9SUkCxYBDys/s1600/pain-and-glory-2019-movie-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo: In the semi-autobiographical, Academy Award-nominated film "Pain and Glory," Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas) reunites with his long lost love, Federico Delgado (Leonardo Sbaraglia)." border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhjEn3jZZS-zpJmB9wbEvUEgNb0ws5OSXr87w7c2mcc8FeFUssertKxRfqGTJBouE-4fSuUEDL3_HL5qfOPieGDGSidMKsv_mP4lS4PAbrZd6fOk4FgOfl98Qe4lmw8iMk9SUkCxYBDys/s400/pain-and-glory-2019-movie-2.jpg" title="Photo: In the semi-autobiographical, Academy Award-nominated film "Pain and Glory," Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas) reunites with his long lost love, Federico Delgado (Leonardo Sbaraglia)." width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: In the semi-autobiographical, <span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Academy Award-nominated </span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">film "Pain and Glory," Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas) reunites with his long lost love, Federico Delgado (Leonardo Sbaraglia). </span><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNjgyNjgzNTktYjI3Zi00MTJhLWE2OGUtYjk2NTQzNmYyYmE5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNTc5OTMwOTQ@._V1_.jpg" style="font-size: 12.8px;" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a></td></tr>
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It's clear to us that <b>"Pain and Glory"</b> is a deeply intimate project/self-portrait for Pedro Almodóvar. It feels like it's his way of working through his personal demons and past regrets. His passion comes through in each and every frame. That being said, it does feel a bit long and, much like Almodóvar's life, unfinished (which is clearly on purpose since he's obviously still alive). As the film's credits abruptly began rolling, it felt like we had been watching it for a long time. On the other hand, we felt like we wanted to see more because Almodóvar has such a commanding way of telling his stories that we yearned for a conclusion from the narrative threads that were left dangling in uncertainty. Still, "Pain and Glory" is a superbly-crafted, touching feature anchored by several splendid performances and a couple of intensely personal, intimate moments we won't soon forget.</div>
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<b>My Rating</b>: 8/10<br />
<b>BigJ's Rating</b>: 7/10<br />
<b>IMDB's Rating</b>: 7.6/10<br />
<b>RT Rating</b>: 97%<br />
<b>Do we recommend this movie</b>: Yes!<br />
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Lolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04782777195648272520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857667059778816807.post-60848332145847794692020-02-20T23:43:00.004-08:002020-02-20T23:43:55.724-08:00Movie Review: "Bad Boys for Life" (2020)<div>
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<b>Movie</b>: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1502397" target="_blank">"Bad Boys for Life"</a></div>
<b>Director</b>: Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah<br />
<b>Year</b>: 2020<br />
<b>Rating</b>: R<br />
<b>Running Time</b>: 2 hours, 4 minutes<br />
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Twenty-five years ago alllllllll the way back in 1995, director Michael Bay introduced the world to Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett in his dumb-but-slightly-fun-but-also-too-self-serious action flick "Bad Boys." Eight years later, in 2003, he followed it up with the much-longer-but-much-more-enjoyable-and-self-aware "Bad Boys II." 17 years have passed, and we have now finally gotten the third film in the franchise without Michael Bay in the director's chair. Maybe that's just what the series needed. "Bad Boys for Life" is directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. "Bulletproof" Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) becomes the target of assassination when Isabel Aretas (Kate del Castillo), the wife of a deceased drug kingpin, escapes from prison in an extremely violent manner. She tasks her son, Armando (Jacob Scipio), to restart the family business and to kill Mike and everyone else who had a hand in destroying it years ago. While Mike wants to uncover who is behind this assassination plot, his longtime partner, Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence), is ready to hang up his badge and retire once and for all, especially now that he is a grandfather. While Marcus is on the bench, Mike gets teamed up with a young tactical team known as ASOC headed by his ex, Rita (Paola Nuñez), who, much to Mike's chagrin, is leading the investigation.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU0l2n4qxL7UD-v1EA3Dcc0URz2lI8b_MDhpLJXTxBrEbzJeIyWR3Jz88-acz8ij8f9pSWiBjVd1UjUOArJoLjRepbHgbl0DIb3dhVkSi2Xrwgh0BR9H1G1j2R0qME4N8VIjyyVxQ5z8o/s1600/bad-boys-for-life-2020-movie-1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo: Martin Lawrence and Will Smith star in the 2020 film "Bad Boys for Life"" border="0" data-original-height="918" data-original-width="1484" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU0l2n4qxL7UD-v1EA3Dcc0URz2lI8b_MDhpLJXTxBrEbzJeIyWR3Jz88-acz8ij8f9pSWiBjVd1UjUOArJoLjRepbHgbl0DIb3dhVkSi2Xrwgh0BR9H1G1j2R0qME4N8VIjyyVxQ5z8o/s400/bad-boys-for-life-2020-movie-1.jpg" title="Photo: Martin Lawrence and Will Smith star in the 2020 film "Bad Boys for Life"" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Photo: Martin Lawrence and Will Smith star in the 2020 film "Bad Boys for Life." <a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZDFkY2NhN2MtNmZkOC00YThjLTlhMDEtZjQ2OGQyMjFkOTU0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjczOTE0MzM@._V1_.jpg" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a></span></td></tr>
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We have nothing against Michael Bay as a director. In fact, we have genuinely enjoyed some of his movies. Though we were never huge fans of the original "Bad Boys" film, we did think "Bad Boys II" was a decent watch. Sometimes, all you need is a new perspective to help make things click, and "Bad Boys for Life" absolutely clicks.<br />
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Will Smith remains his charming, suave, gun-and-gung-ho self and still looks like he's having a blast playing Mike Lowrey, even after all these years. Martin Lawrence has seemingly pushed through his personal troubles and has rediscovered his groove, bringing back the same brand of humor that made him such a hot commodity in the 90s. Smith and Lawrence reignite their dynamic chemistry in the first scene of this movie, and their hilarious banter and heartfelt brotherhood never let up once throughout the film.<br />
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Smith and Lawrence were never the problems with this series. The issues always stemmed from the lack of coherent, cohesive narratives. Under Michael Bay's tutelage, we feel like the audience was forced to suspend their disbelief one too many times. Adil and Bilall manage to bring that much-needed, much more consistent component to the franchise while still maintaining all of the explosions, car chases, and action we have come to expect from a Bay-helmed production. This is not to say the story here is perfect because it's not. It has its fair share of contrivances and cliched moments that might make your head spin (think: third act reveal, oy vey), but in all honesty, we were so entertained with what we were watching that we were able to forgive its flaws and enjoy it for the shockingly fun ride it was.<br />
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Another aspect of "Bad Boys for Life" that we like is the addition of the young ASOC team that counteracts the aging Lowrey (a man desperate to cling to his youth) and Burnett, who is at his full-on Danny Glover "I'm getting too old for this shit" "Lethal Weapon" phase. Charles Melton's character Rafe has a terrific playful rivalry with Mike that includes a lot of jokes about Mike's age, which frequently results in retorts about Rafe's mother (naturally!). Paola Nuñez's character Rita also has some great romantic tension with Smith's Lowrey. The two of them used to be in a relationship, and with Rita running the show, Mike's wants and desires for justice have to take a backseat to protocol and routine. Old standby Joe Pantoliano also returns as the Pepto Bismol-chugging, anxiety-riddled Captain Howard, and his routine with Lawrence and Smith hasn't lost its charm, either. Series newcomers Kate del Castillo and Jacob Scipio make for some vicious, wicked villains who seemingly have no remorse and want only to exact revenge on Mike for the wrongs he committed years ago.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUzlJLNL3E7b9ZnHq61cCccquCzYsIcG2Z3b9ocPvRPzEH5zgOiN9yf0To6U-oij6X4vcimTkLq9VXw7wwfiWZ7vzW72Kq9z8PxxaU8KfoUS7tGCsfCRgUNeYuezfkQrzLpHnzqWey4TU/s1600/bad-boys-for-life-2020-movie-4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo: Jacob Scipio and Kate del Castillo star as Isabel and Armando Aretas in "Bad Boys for Life," one of the best movies of 2020" border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUzlJLNL3E7b9ZnHq61cCccquCzYsIcG2Z3b9ocPvRPzEH5zgOiN9yf0To6U-oij6X4vcimTkLq9VXw7wwfiWZ7vzW72Kq9z8PxxaU8KfoUS7tGCsfCRgUNeYuezfkQrzLpHnzqWey4TU/s400/bad-boys-for-life-2020-movie-4.jpg" title="Photo: Jacob Scipio and Kate del Castillo star as Isabel and Armando Aretas in "Bad Boys for Life," one of the best movies of 2020" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Jacob Scipio and Kate del Castillo star as Isabel and Armando Aretas in "Bad Boys for Life" (2020). <a href="https://cdn3.whatculture.com/images/2020/01/cf5f6427dc56cbf6-600x338.jpg" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a></td></tr>
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<b>"Bad Boys for Life"</b> is our favorite movie in the "Bad Boys" series. We never in a million years thought we would say this, but if there should be a fourth installment in the "Bad Boys" franchise, we'll be there opening day with bells on. This is a total blast from start to finish.</div>
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<b>My Rating</b>: 7/10<br />
<b>BigJ's Rating</b>: 7/10<br />
<b>IMDB's Rating</b>: 7.2/10<br />
<b>RT Rating</b>: 76%<br />
<b>Do we recommend this movie</b>: Sure, why not?<br />
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Lolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04782777195648272520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857667059778816807.post-65421300435930989222020-02-19T19:58:00.002-08:002020-02-19T19:58:33.273-08:00TOP 10 WORST MOVIES OF 2019<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinsbvxmn688VJObraxZOV15JJGrDxP_uUZazRU1KvW-o5QNINxCe1eKeKAisdcxHcSmbNGKalJcTFZE2QoTK9RPyUx2qtL5AKhehPfN_PLwDrICbg4HIbTQhNSoAywnN8Tmn_YbyT1r1Y/s1600/top-10-worst-movies-of-2019-collage.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Photo: collage of lololovesfilms's picks for the top 10 worst movies of 2019" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinsbvxmn688VJObraxZOV15JJGrDxP_uUZazRU1KvW-o5QNINxCe1eKeKAisdcxHcSmbNGKalJcTFZE2QoTK9RPyUx2qtL5AKhehPfN_PLwDrICbg4HIbTQhNSoAywnN8Tmn_YbyT1r1Y/s400/top-10-worst-movies-of-2019-collage.jpg" title="Photo: collage of lololovesfilms's picks for the top 10 worst movies of 2019" width="400"></a></div>
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We fully recognize that not every movie we see is going to be great, but some films are <i>so bad</i> that it bears repeating so other people don't have to suffer through them like we did.</div>
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Without further ado, here's our list of the<b> TOP 10 WORST MOVIES OF 2019</b>! Do you agree with this list? What were your least favorite films of 2019? Let us know, we'd love to compare!<br>
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<a href="https://www.lololovesfilms.com/2020/02/top-10-worst-movies-of-2019.html#more">Read more »</a>Lolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04782777195648272520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857667059778816807.post-59613186281640467712020-02-18T14:44:00.001-08:002020-02-18T14:44:29.669-08:00Movie Review: "The Gentlemen" (2020)<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAxafTVIDQXM9si9q_i-sWY1B9w51xI9Ajw1MwfJAOGWqFuKbonIi3syUxit5XZPGSkvnGtCEJl6b1dGTEVIKZWP-j5nBw1Atju_CEfABkKZtjCGkdXuxVf8YC_izXlnQttRYc8jGCPOo/s1600/gentlemen-2020-movie-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Movie poster for "The Gentlemen," starring Charlie Hunnam, Matthew McConaughey, Colin Farrell, Henry Golding, Michelle Dockery, and Hugh Grant" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="675" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAxafTVIDQXM9si9q_i-sWY1B9w51xI9Ajw1MwfJAOGWqFuKbonIi3syUxit5XZPGSkvnGtCEJl6b1dGTEVIKZWP-j5nBw1Atju_CEfABkKZtjCGkdXuxVf8YC_izXlnQttRYc8jGCPOo/s640/gentlemen-2020-movie-poster.jpg" title="Movie poster for "The Gentlemen," starring Charlie Hunnam, Matthew McConaughey, Colin Farrell, Henry Golding, Michelle Dockery, and Hugh Grant" width="432" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTlkMmVmYjktYTc2NC00ZGZjLWEyOWUtMjc2MDMwMjQwOTA5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNTI4MzE4MDU@._V1_SY1000_SX675_AL_.jpg" target="_blank">Image Source</a></td></tr>
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<b>Movie</b>: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8367814" target="_blank">"The Gentlemen"</a></div>
<b>Director</b>: Guy Ritchie<br />
<b>Year</b>: 2020<br />
<b>Rating</b>: R<br />
<b>Running Time</b>: 1 hour, 53 minutes<br />
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Director Guy Ritchie has specialized in British gangster flicks since the beginning of his career. Even when he <i>isn't</i> supposed to be making a British gangster flick, <i>he's still making a British gangster flick</i>, but with characters like King Arthur or Sherlock Holmes inserted into them. With his latest film "The Gentlemen" (2020), Ritchie returns to his roots and make a film that is in the same vein as his breakthrough features "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" (1998) and "Snatch" (2000). The story revolves around an American-born British marijuana kingpin named Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey). Mickey is looking to break away from the drug game and wants to sell his business. His potential buyer is a man named Matthew (Jeremy Strong) who, despite being a criminal every bit as wicked as Mickey, has a much cleaner public persona, something Mickey lacks. Another person looking to take over Mickey's business is a gangster nicknamed Dry Eye (Henry Golding), who is tired of being a soldier in his own organization and is attempting a more hostile takeover. Dry Eye might not be acting on his own and might be taking orders from someone else, and private investigator Fletcher (Hugh Grant) believes he knows exactly who that is. Fletcher is willing to give that information to Mickey's right-hand man, Ray (Charlie Hunnam), for the right price.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7l4HHbqQ2g0t9kXQhOG2x6hkKVnJ4R57RcBXhLW2tMj_0W5mXXbmbgy13-g5NVnimf-Iu27wg5CebgP7vyJcWUtDHrtu1Xvis8Fz0_QaJz2sGGfuL7_xhr3xVHz6zKs4MeLAO-WnRELc/s1600/gentlemen-2020-movie-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo: Matthew McConaughey and Michelle Dockery star as Mickey and Rosalind Pearson in Guy Ritchie's 2020 film "The Gentlemen."" border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7l4HHbqQ2g0t9kXQhOG2x6hkKVnJ4R57RcBXhLW2tMj_0W5mXXbmbgy13-g5NVnimf-Iu27wg5CebgP7vyJcWUtDHrtu1Xvis8Fz0_QaJz2sGGfuL7_xhr3xVHz6zKs4MeLAO-WnRELc/s400/gentlemen-2020-movie-1.jpg" title="Photo: Matthew McConaughey and Michelle Dockery star as Mickey and Rosalind Pearson in Guy Ritchie's 2020 film "The Gentlemen."" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Matthew McConaughey and Michelle Dockery star as Mickey and Rosalind Pearson in Guy Ritchie's 2020 film "The Gentlemen." <a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTg2NzM4ZjEtNWM0Ny00NzEwLTkzM2YtMTJkOTk4MDczZmY2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyOTE1MTQ5MTU@._V1_.jpg" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a></td></tr>
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"The Gentlemen" is everything you'd hope for and want a peak Guy Ritchie film to be. It is sleek, sharp, stylish, and loaded with unique characters cursing up a storm. This is a showcase of Ritchie at his best. He doesn't hold back and almost dares the audience to be offended by what is said and what he puts on screen. The movie opens with a bang and pulls us into the story from that point on. The narrative takes the audience down roads with lots of twists and turns, slowly peeling back the layers of the story like an onion until all is ultimately revealed. We will say that we did see some of the twists coming, but that doesn't mean the ride to get to the end was any less fun, raunchy, and bloody.<br />
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This movie wouldn't be as fun as it is without some great performances from the main actors playing each of their colorful characters. Our favorite performance came from Hugh Grant, the smarmy private investigator who gets hired to dig up dirt on Mickey by a tabloid newspaper, only to turn around and try and sell everything he has uncovered back to Mickey himself. Grant's character Fletcher feels like the R-rated version of one of his "Paddington 2" alter egos, and we loved every minute of his grandiose performance. Another standout for us was Colin Farrell as Coach, a literal fighting trainer to a group of young men who find themselves in heaps of trouble with Mickey. Coach eventually strikes a deal with Mickey to get his boys out of a jam, and what he's required to do to pay off this debt...well...it's a horrible riot. The over-the-top nature of Farrell and Grant's characters brings the most laughter and entertainment to the film, but we found all of the performances to be excellent.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV1QhmyHx3Vok2d5vjNHjA-28bQXBHmY8rjvb5GugPfR6729iuIHHnWbXoOyP9oUTm6YUT08QF8eLEae38sEuEZV3VMXMTxy9uoLDAxPcmeiJ7ur7w2EeVNwQr1N33AIqlDTmulWhs5i8/s1600/gentlemen-2020-movie-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo: Coach (Colin Farrell) and Ray (Charlie Hunnam) hear noises and look in the back of a car trunk in the movie "The Gentlemen" (2020). " border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1499" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV1QhmyHx3Vok2d5vjNHjA-28bQXBHmY8rjvb5GugPfR6729iuIHHnWbXoOyP9oUTm6YUT08QF8eLEae38sEuEZV3VMXMTxy9uoLDAxPcmeiJ7ur7w2EeVNwQr1N33AIqlDTmulWhs5i8/s400/gentlemen-2020-movie-2.jpg" title="Photo: Coach (Colin Farrell) and Ray (Charlie Hunnam) hear noises and look in the back of a car trunk in the movie "The Gentlemen" (2020). " width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Coach (Colin Farrell) and Ray (Charlie Hunnam) hear noises and look in the back of a car trunk in the movie "The Gentlemen" (2020). <a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BOTcxYzcxZTctZmYxMi00ODVlLTllNzAtM2VhMTZlNzY5YjQwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTkxNjUyNQ@@._V1_SY1000_CR0,0,1499,1000_AL_.jpg" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a></td></tr>
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If you are in the mood for a sleek-looking, crime-riddled, fast-talking, wacky-but-fun British gangster flick, <b>"The Gentlemen" (2020)</b> is definitely worth checking out. Keep in mind, though, this movie is not for the easily offended.<br />
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<b>My Rating</b>: 8/10<br />
<b>BigJ's Rating</b>: 8/10<br />
<b>IMDB's Rating</b>: 8.1/10<br />
<b>RT Rating</b>: 73%<br />
<b>Do we recommend this movie</b>: Yes!<br />
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Lolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04782777195648272520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857667059778816807.post-70417936985615300462020-02-12T23:04:00.001-08:002020-02-12T23:08:49.938-08:00Movie Review: "Angst" (1983)<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifvxrpyeZ0Fy-RqBcLVwZBqcuY82jl7GXP9m2CY4449iMLIuurq2YuhqbMDJFfDhQ35VMQy-a2w6my_eogQKT2zfdZ4IEzPYZmbu-BFgNkwtSbEwhA0feaZghlnv8rneBospQB0QqmU40/s1600/angst-1983-movie-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Movie poster for Gerald Kargl's 1983 film "Angst"" border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifvxrpyeZ0Fy-RqBcLVwZBqcuY82jl7GXP9m2CY4449iMLIuurq2YuhqbMDJFfDhQ35VMQy-a2w6my_eogQKT2zfdZ4IEzPYZmbu-BFgNkwtSbEwhA0feaZghlnv8rneBospQB0QqmU40/s640/angst-1983-movie-poster.jpg" title="Movie poster for Gerald Kargl's 1983 film "Angst"" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
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<b>Movie</b>: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165623" target="_blank">"Angst"</a></div>
<b>Director</b>: Gerald Kargl<br />
<b>Year</b>: 1983<br />
<b>Rating</b>: NR<br />
<b>Running Time</b>: 1 hour, 27 minutes<br />
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Austrian director Gerald Kargl explores the mind of a psychopathic, sadistic killer in his one and only film "Angst" (1983). We guess if you're only going to make one movie, it's a good idea to make it as controversial as possible so it will live in infamy as a cult classic (special thanks to Gaspar Noé, who named it a favorite of his). This film is partially based on the exploits of Austrian mass murderer Werner Kniesek, who killed a family of three while on parole. Most of the talking in the film comes in the form of a voice-over monologue as the killer (Erwin Leder) explains what he thinks and how he feels as he is committing his crimes. This voice-over is meant to be an interview conducted with a psychiatrist who is determining if the murderer is mentally competent to stand trial. Much of the dialogue that is said is taken from actual quotes from the confessions of killers like the previously mentioned Kniesek, as well as notorious serial killer Peter Kurten, known as 'The Vampire of Dusseldorf.'<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBAfm8eKZ5DeT6-rUw4K8lprWf8KLpHO3-cki6vM4q7o-i3g_fUfdrOci6nefd1cg_8mC4gpEG-XbIX9y4xymGrQ7rsGy26f7gQklUSEJcmHjxsJRGWGA8ZbqycLdibp70QigSSiTOdOw/s1600/angst-1983-movie-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo: Erwin Leder stars as K., the Psychopath in the 1983 dramatic horror movie "Angst."" border="0" data-original-height="738" data-original-width="1280" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBAfm8eKZ5DeT6-rUw4K8lprWf8KLpHO3-cki6vM4q7o-i3g_fUfdrOci6nefd1cg_8mC4gpEG-XbIX9y4xymGrQ7rsGy26f7gQklUSEJcmHjxsJRGWGA8ZbqycLdibp70QigSSiTOdOw/s400/angst-1983-movie-2.jpg" title="Photo: Erwin Leder stars as K., the Psychopath in the 1983 dramatic horror movie "Angst."" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Erwin Leder stars as K., the Psychopath in the 1983 dramatic horror movie "Angst."<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> </span><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZTczNDdiZTYtODIyYS00ZGM4LTllNzAtNzk3MzhjNTljNTY3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyOTc5MDI5NjE@._V1_.jpg" style="font-size: 12.8px;" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a></td></tr>
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"Angst" (1983) is very frantic and grossly voyeuristic, anchored by an equally crazy, unsettling performance from Erwin Leder as the unnamed killer "K." We hear his inner thoughts and the meticulous planning of the murders only for nothing to work out as he imagined. K drips gobs of sweat, eats in a repellant manner, and we feel anxiety and general revulsion watching him go about his horrid business. The camera follows K around and is frequently fixed on him so he stays steady while the background frenetically shakes and moves behind him, putting us closer to the killer than we ever want to be. It almost makes us feel like we're taking part in his horrific crimes. The murders themselves are meant to look as realistic and as gritty as possible and are all the more disturbing as K fails to perform them as he imagined and is often forced to improvise poorly. K also receives some sort of sexual gratification from hurting and torturing others, making him particularly vile. This part of the film might be a hard line for some people, though Kargl does do a good job making K as disgusting as humanly possible and never absolves him of the awful things he does.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhie2oP7_YSdHEk4vuAv6lMxQsbzc3_xBp9TEmAGD1In-NP2fN3Swb6ePtTKwvj71R_unKSEKKsJYtzIoKtzyF_SiP0PlS1yyW8moWuqCqBO_JOgQjwMDyfQMTsbK2GlgQsYcmomrvccNs/s1600/angst-1983-movie-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo: Edith Rosset's character Mother clings to her last breath in "Angst" (1983), a cult classic directed by Gerard Kargl." border="0" data-original-height="738" data-original-width="1280" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhie2oP7_YSdHEk4vuAv6lMxQsbzc3_xBp9TEmAGD1In-NP2fN3Swb6ePtTKwvj71R_unKSEKKsJYtzIoKtzyF_SiP0PlS1yyW8moWuqCqBO_JOgQjwMDyfQMTsbK2GlgQsYcmomrvccNs/s400/angst-1983-movie-1.jpg" title="Photo: Edith Rosset's character Mother clings to her last breath in "Angst" (1983), a cult classic directed by Gerard Kargl." width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Edith Rosset's character Mother clings to her last breath in "Angst" (1983), a cult classic directed by Gerard Kargl. <a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMzYyZTdjNDYtMWMwNi00MzJkLTg3NTktZjhmYmJhZDE0NWU3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyOTc5MDI5NjE@._V1_.jpg" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a></td></tr>
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<b>"Angst" (1983)</b> isn't a movie we would call an enjoyable experience, and it sure isn't fun to watch, but it does manage to give a compellingly gross, repelling-but-artful look into the psyche of a killer. If Kargl set out to make one of the most unsettling dramatic murder thrillers, he kind of nailed it.<br />
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<b>My Rating</b>: 6.5/10<br />
<b>BigJ's Rating</b>: 7/10<br />
<b>IMDB's Rating</b>: 7.4/10<br />
<b>RT Rating</b>: 100%<br />
<b>Do we recommend this movie</b>: Sure, why not?<br />
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Lolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04782777195648272520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857667059778816807.post-59250289498411174562020-02-11T21:11:00.001-08:002020-02-11T21:11:10.387-08:00Movie Review: "A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon" (2019)<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC0B7i-4y1YjXUJ_jsjEa5cdacgxM5me4TZP3-EkVWw00GrXX4yFQtiQlfWIVS3HI_R8C4Y9lnrF5flSe9rWzzYX2roTFEFQzVFRDCSlY8f9AhoP-jN-WGy13Fu_OXf3uf07NrYdkJmQs/s1600/shaun-sheep-movie-farmageddon-2019-movie-poster.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo: movie poster for Netflix's 2019 animated film A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="675" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC0B7i-4y1YjXUJ_jsjEa5cdacgxM5me4TZP3-EkVWw00GrXX4yFQtiQlfWIVS3HI_R8C4Y9lnrF5flSe9rWzzYX2roTFEFQzVFRDCSlY8f9AhoP-jN-WGy13Fu_OXf3uf07NrYdkJmQs/s640/shaun-sheep-movie-farmageddon-2019-movie-poster.jpg" title="Photo: movie poster for Netflix's 2019 animated film A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon" width="432" /></a></td></tr>
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<b>Movie</b>: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6193408" target="_blank">"A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon"</a></div>
<b>Director</b>: Will Becher and Richard Phelan<br />
<b>Year</b>: 2019<br />
<b>Rating</b>: G<br />
<b>Running Time</b>: 1 hour, 26 minutes<br />
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If we're looking for a high-quality stop-motion animated feature to watch, two studios come to mind. The first studio is Laika, who are known for their more mature, darkly-themed family entertainment like <a href="https://amzn.to/2SApm8Y" target="_blank">"Kubo and the Two Strings"</a> and <a href="https://amzn.to/2UKs3aT" target="_blank">"ParaNorman."</a> The other is Aardman Animations, a studio that offers lighter films targeted toward younger audiences like "Wallace and Gromit" and "Chicken Run" (though these films can, of course, still be enjoyed by adults). Aardman's latest stop-motion flick comes from first-time feature film directors Will Becher and Richard Phelan, who offer up a new story for a familiar character with Netflix's "A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon" (2020). When a spaceship lands on earth, the adorable, very hungry, very lost alien inside the ship shows up at Mossy Bottom Farms. When Shaun and his sheep pals discover the cute little critter, they befriend it, and Shaun takes it upon himself to help guide the alien back to its ship. The other sheep are tasked with keeping the rule-oriented Bitzer the dog distracted so Shaun and his new friend can leave the farm. Bitzer isn't the only thing Shaun and his new extraterrestrial buddy have to worry about. It turns out, a secret government agency is also looking for the lost alien, and they plan on capturing it before it has a chance to leave earth.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWjfOZmZGqG7FXV5GybyzHf_ZRC0K385kRjNIFWRYsQ9c05_TcASFHEtuO9Seaj0qGT3XmiaKaSYqheT3BR4U82ct8HAsdY40txjzb-c_MXpUO7fOMJqJO_T_ZTobo1djwkX_uYtCRB9A/s1600/shaun-sheep-farmageddon-2019-movie-1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Bitzer the dog scolds Shaun the Sheep for playing frisbee in a photo for the Netflix movie "Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon" (2020)." border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWjfOZmZGqG7FXV5GybyzHf_ZRC0K385kRjNIFWRYsQ9c05_TcASFHEtuO9Seaj0qGT3XmiaKaSYqheT3BR4U82ct8HAsdY40txjzb-c_MXpUO7fOMJqJO_T_ZTobo1djwkX_uYtCRB9A/s400/shaun-sheep-farmageddon-2019-movie-1.jpg" title="Bitzer the dog scolds Shaun the Sheep for playing frisbee in a photo for the Netflix movie "Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon" (2020)." width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Bitzer the dog scolds Shaun the Sheep for playing frisbee in a photo for the Netflix movie "Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon" (2020). (Photo provided by Netflix)</span></td></tr>
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We have to admit, we were a little disappointed by Aardman's last film <a href="https://amzn.to/2SBfID7" target="_blank">"Early Man."</a> We did, however, enjoy the previous <a href="https://amzn.to/39t3xPo" target="_blank">"Shaun the Sheep Movie,"</a> even though we aren't frequent viewers of the series. People who aren't familiar with Shaun the Sheep should know going in that his movies contain little to no dialogue. To us, that's part of their charm! Most of the characters speak in noises, grunts, and quizzical moans. The only being who comes anywhere close to speaking is the newly introduced blue-and-purple-dog-like-alien-creature Lu-La, who uses the phrase "zoom zoom!" to help describe its ship. Even though the characters aren't explicitly speaking, we get what they mean, and we can understand them because of their body language and facial expressions.<br />
<br />
"Farmageddon" is a pleasant, engaging, silly, charming, visually-told narrative that we had a blast watching. We instantly fell in love with Lu-La and all of her food-chomping antics. She and Shaun get up to some wild, out-of-this-world (literally!) shenanigans in this installment. It's clear that this movie draws a lot of inspiration from "E.T.," and the filmmakers don't try to hide it. They throw in many references to Steven Spielberg's works throughout the story, including nods to at least "Jaws" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." These little touches will help the adults in the crowd stay interested in between bouts of slapstick, pizza jokes, and UFO amusement park gags. As a whole, the story is pretty familiar. We've seen sci-fi exploration/"getting a child home to their parents" scenarios play out in animated films for decades, but that doesn't make this tale any less fun to watch. It's full of bright, vibrant, beautifully animated settings, characters, and frames that come together seamlessly. We hold stop-motion animators in such high regard. The sheer amount of work put into each and every detail is remarkable. The final product is aesthetically pleasing, heartwarming, and compassionate.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUn7wVJVxloXi-C1ZNMTEBX5zlDC2GKnhEuxpfv81bmF8gJoqyycTwDTFzW351Ti2pRII5DNyfTfsptsfb1jU2sOHMaZhB81vGSfemkTb_ssUsdgoqV5mQIfvAngixMmqlyK4ZiOLbOiA/s1600/shaun-sheep-farmageddon-2019-movie-4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="In "A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon," Shaun the Sheep and an alien named Lu-La enter zero gravity in a spaceship full of pizzas" border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUn7wVJVxloXi-C1ZNMTEBX5zlDC2GKnhEuxpfv81bmF8gJoqyycTwDTFzW351Ti2pRII5DNyfTfsptsfb1jU2sOHMaZhB81vGSfemkTb_ssUsdgoqV5mQIfvAngixMmqlyK4ZiOLbOiA/s400/shaun-sheep-farmageddon-2019-movie-4.jpg" title="In "A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon," Shaun the Sheep and an alien named Lu-La enter zero gravity in a spaceship full of pizzas" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In "A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon," Shaun the Sheep and an alien named Lu-La enter zero gravity in a spaceship full of pizzas. (Photo provided by Netflix)</td></tr>
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While the story might be simple and the jokes might be a bit predictable, we think the stunning animation, the funny jokes, and the solid message about friendship and empathy towards others makes <b>Netflix's "A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon" (2020)</b> worth checking out via the streaming giant on February 14th, 2020. It put huge smiles on our faces, and we had oodles of fun watching it.<br />
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<b>My Rating</b>: 7.5/10<br />
<b>BigJ's Rating</b>: 7/10<br />
<b>IMDB's Rating</b>: 7.0/10<br />
<b>RT Rating</b>: 98%<br />
<b>Do we recommend this movie</b>: Yes!<br />
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Lolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04782777195648272520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857667059778816807.post-89971771073259633492020-02-09T17:20:00.001-08:002020-02-09T20:52:42.327-08:002020 OSCAR WINNERS! (LIVE UPDATES)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_1yX1bq6CmagqCmiSRoQKJNSTN1miYE6iikOd_qA65jTEVQquCD1CUOknoufKvPMjM6N-McFwVc7JHxiMrDvEYBILC9Q1znxeL9DxmCOLrVKFcJPrLBfNgAGSrOyAmNs37mNL9_YdwFU/s1600/2020-Oscars-Results-lololovesfilms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_1yX1bq6CmagqCmiSRoQKJNSTN1miYE6iikOd_qA65jTEVQquCD1CUOknoufKvPMjM6N-McFwVc7JHxiMrDvEYBILC9Q1znxeL9DxmCOLrVKFcJPrLBfNgAGSrOyAmNs37mNL9_YdwFU/s400/2020-Oscars-Results-lololovesfilms.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Here are the winners of the 92nd Academy Awards! (UPDATING LIVE!)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPR9C1ufLJWMDd1zfGlmgNFzPdmIbUHkDIrz-ic67sNGna6Rz6-qziQSVNJs4KlE33f-vQl0aZMHfY2vsro2cew4KNMuCxEIALm1MasNdX4ZdbuppKBvmJjbDuKxQR5_b691eZMIhdaq0/s1600/best-picture-2020-oscars.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Photo: Movie posters for Best Picture nominees Ford V Ferrari, The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, Joker, Little Women, Marriage Story, 1917, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Parasite" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPR9C1ufLJWMDd1zfGlmgNFzPdmIbUHkDIrz-ic67sNGna6Rz6-qziQSVNJs4KlE33f-vQl0aZMHfY2vsro2cew4KNMuCxEIALm1MasNdX4ZdbuppKBvmJjbDuKxQR5_b691eZMIhdaq0/s400/best-picture-2020-oscars.jpg" title="Photo: Movie posters for Best Picture nominees Ford V Ferrari, The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, Joker, Little Women, Marriage Story, 1917, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Parasite" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><u>*BEST PICTURE*</u></b><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li>“Ford V. Ferrari”</li>
<li>“The Irishman”</li>
<li>“Jojo Rabbit”</li>
<li>“Joker”</li>
<li>“Little Women”</li>
<li>“Marriage Story”</li>
<li>“1917”</li>
<li>“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”</li>
<li>“Parasite”</li>
</ul>
</div>
<b><br /></b><b><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">WINNER: "PARASITE"!!!!!!!!!!!</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYdzGwKVmyrdR_nbQ8XTPIRnvLXjY_K63ao5i0hs6OZhnk6fJT7n6oJhPxWaA2odzk3HvuAPHEKi_dZam0xFcckZnpzHsGB1t7zo3WtTDqQ64O5mQRfIdlhQOsBMlVJaQHkC-tM9njmj8/s1600/best-actor-2020-oscars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Photo: 2020 Academy Awards Oscars Best Actor nominees Antonio Banderas, Leonardo DiCaprio, Adam Driver, Joaquin Phoenix, and Jonathan Pryce" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYdzGwKVmyrdR_nbQ8XTPIRnvLXjY_K63ao5i0hs6OZhnk6fJT7n6oJhPxWaA2odzk3HvuAPHEKi_dZam0xFcckZnpzHsGB1t7zo3WtTDqQ64O5mQRfIdlhQOsBMlVJaQHkC-tM9njmj8/s400/best-actor-2020-oscars.jpg" title="Photo: 2020 Academy Awards Oscars Best Actor nominees Antonio Banderas, Leonardo DiCaprio, Adam Driver, Joaquin Phoenix, and Jonathan Pryce" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><u>*BEST ACTOR*</u></b><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li>Antonio Banderas, “Pain and Glory”</li>
<li>Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”</li>
<li>Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”</li>
<li>Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”</li>
<li>Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”</li>
</ul>
</div>
<b><br /></b><b><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">WINNER: JOAQUIN PHOENIX, "JOKER"</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpYC8dPR6jeWTwSiqszoSOHrSziHOJTXNMnmN1iCtfvNp2bdNTQeHj13UWXtRBcm7MfmVcOV4jOL-q-n7PP-SUTH83UOQY6xmNqW0SScKEFAN7WyWboaNjAAYeBkluTdJ0HyWKxM6lW_0/s1600/best-actress-2020-oscars.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Photo: 2020 Academy Awards Oscars Best Actress nominees Cynthia Erivo, Scarlett Johansson, Saoirse Ronan, Renee Zellweger, and Charlize Theron" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpYC8dPR6jeWTwSiqszoSOHrSziHOJTXNMnmN1iCtfvNp2bdNTQeHj13UWXtRBcm7MfmVcOV4jOL-q-n7PP-SUTH83UOQY6xmNqW0SScKEFAN7WyWboaNjAAYeBkluTdJ0HyWKxM6lW_0/s400/best-actress-2020-oscars.jpg" title="Photo: 2020 Academy Awards Oscars Best Actress nominees Cynthia Erivo, Scarlett Johansson, Saoirse Ronan, Renee Zellweger, and Charlize Theron" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><u>*BEST ACTRESS*</u></b><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li>Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet”</li>
<li>Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”</li>
<li>Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women”</li>
<li>Charlize Theron, “Bombshell”</li>
<li>Renée Zellweger, “Judy”</li>
</ul>
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<b><br /></b><b><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">WINNER: RENEE ZELLWEGER, "JUDY"</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4rUCETyrgXJsHG_D1lbLVX_qUb3mL4yGbeHCCkJjmSBfIbaNxesnN3xSaQRUas_0oMOhHSCBoyMf_WiwT1LY0jiQ1JUW0hj9Nju75awVtgsFeNq_luQJA3smJC42o4BcGn77AQRhEMkQ/s1600/supporting-actor-2020-oscars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Photo: Brad Pitt, Joe Pesci, Al Pacino, Tom Hanks, and Anthony Hopkins Academy Award predictions for Best Supporting Actor" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4rUCETyrgXJsHG_D1lbLVX_qUb3mL4yGbeHCCkJjmSBfIbaNxesnN3xSaQRUas_0oMOhHSCBoyMf_WiwT1LY0jiQ1JUW0hj9Nju75awVtgsFeNq_luQJA3smJC42o4BcGn77AQRhEMkQ/s400/supporting-actor-2020-oscars.jpg" title="Photo: Brad Pitt, Joe Pesci, Al Pacino, Tom Hanks, and Anthony Hopkins Academy Award predictions for Best Supporting Actor" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><u>*BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR*</u></b><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li>Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”</li>
<li>Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”</li>
<li>Al Pacino, “The Irishman”</li>
<li>Joe Pesci, “The Irishman”</li>
<li>Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”</li>
</ul>
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<b><br /></b><b><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">WINNER: BRAD PITT, "ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD"</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqHfX8vmiEMPOka8GwN4K-AlJvElV7_lpLafIGxqm9FZErZmNILy9VZXln6lPbcQZcGgiCDx5XNYPFtw3kbMqifbMsGT87a0Cl96bbovjeNfFEYxNbgaS5BTJhtiG7N0NaIg6fi2cXJ4g/s1600/supporting-actress-2020-oscars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Photo: Margot Robbie, Laura Dern, Florence Pugh, Scarlett Johansson and Kathy Bates fight to win Best Supporting Actress on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2020 at the Oscars" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqHfX8vmiEMPOka8GwN4K-AlJvElV7_lpLafIGxqm9FZErZmNILy9VZXln6lPbcQZcGgiCDx5XNYPFtw3kbMqifbMsGT87a0Cl96bbovjeNfFEYxNbgaS5BTJhtiG7N0NaIg6fi2cXJ4g/s400/supporting-actress-2020-oscars.jpg" title="Photo: Margot Robbie, Laura Dern, Florence Pugh, Scarlett Johansson and Kathy Bates fight to win Best Supporting Actress on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2020 at the Oscars" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><u>*BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS*</u></b><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li>Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”</li>
<li>Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”</li>
<li>Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”</li>
<li>Florence Pugh, “Little Women”</li>
<li>Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”</li>
</ul>
</div>
<b><br /></b><b><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">WINNER: LAURA DERN, "MARRIAGE STORY"</span></b><br />
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<b><u>*BEST DIRECTOR*</u></b><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li>Bong Joon-ho, “Parasite”</li>
<li>Sam Mendes, “1917”</li>
<li>Todd Phillips, “Joker”</li>
<li>Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”</li>
<li>Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”</li>
</ul>
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<b><br /></b><b><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">WINNER: BONG JOON-HO!!!</span></b><br />
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<b><u>*BEST ANIMATED FEATURE*</u></b><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li>“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World”</li>
<li>“I Lost My Body”</li>
<li>“Klaus”</li>
<li>“Missing Link”</li>
<li>“Toy Story 4”</li>
</ul>
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<b><br /></b><b><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">WINNER: "TOY STORY 4"</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5xcXPSjgPDkGLKsJzdZAPFHU0wHvAu89YwuQzKgt3OyJOP0lgRy6fwjhpHuDDjsaJbmk0IC9BHsodHcNcNhxEnkswUdirIlaHAEkgdyl6FRXdOow2F40fauRtrCorUMisQkzEGtWRe5Q/s1600/animated-short-film-oscars-2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Hair Love, Kitbull, Dcera (Daughter), Memorable, and Sister animated short films Oscars 2020" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5xcXPSjgPDkGLKsJzdZAPFHU0wHvAu89YwuQzKgt3OyJOP0lgRy6fwjhpHuDDjsaJbmk0IC9BHsodHcNcNhxEnkswUdirIlaHAEkgdyl6FRXdOow2F40fauRtrCorUMisQkzEGtWRe5Q/s400/animated-short-film-oscars-2020.jpg" title="Hair Love, Kitbull, Dcera (Daughter), Memorable, and Sister animated short films Oscars 2020" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><u>*BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM*</u></b><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li>“Dcera (Daughter)”</li>
<li>“Hair Love”</li>
<li>“Kitbull”</li>
<li>“Memorable”</li>
<li>“Sister”</li>
</ul>
</div>
<b><br /></b><b><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">WINNER: "HAIR LOVE"</span></b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #515151; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">=============================</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdxoIr29a-yVkHDNiwJJPhOA2RIOfDh-K8OuYYTKjsFHDh0ZlY3uKi24TCDI1qYT9y6G5VkTPWF9jIUEYAWEnSt_NWxn8XeKxp4YDXXkTKLQ3GZTSd-D-nYx0u75PbjdwD8UlBLOql8j0/s1600/adapted-screenplay-2020-oscars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Jojo Rabbit, Joker, The Irishman, Little Women, and The Two Popes Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar Nominees" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdxoIr29a-yVkHDNiwJJPhOA2RIOfDh-K8OuYYTKjsFHDh0ZlY3uKi24TCDI1qYT9y6G5VkTPWF9jIUEYAWEnSt_NWxn8XeKxp4YDXXkTKLQ3GZTSd-D-nYx0u75PbjdwD8UlBLOql8j0/s400/adapted-screenplay-2020-oscars.jpg" title="Jojo Rabbit, Joker, The Irishman, Little Women, and The Two Popes Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar Nominees" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><u>*ADAPTED SCREENPLAY*</u></b><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li>“The Irishman,” Steven Zaillian</li>
<li>“Jojo Rabbit,” Taika Waititi</li>
<li>“Joker,” Todd Phillips and Scott Silver</li>
<li>“Little Women,” Greta Gerwig</li>
<li>“The Two Popes,” Anthony McCarten</li>
</ul>
</div>
<b><br /></b><b><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">WINNER: "JOJO RABBIT"</span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #515151; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">=============================</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhChbKDF3A6yv6_T7j64aEG4HYsMQH8unuxyTzbiWfIG6YYMjNwR7VGpIVvlQUbTLEW16u2le1lMwVQxg_ckIwJPFJ62QaurQ9U5rmiDL6V0l0a_hyOj25l1GrD2XlxUVBrA_vzBARLqhI/s1600/original-screenplay-2020-oscars.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Photo: movie posters for Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay nominees" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhChbKDF3A6yv6_T7j64aEG4HYsMQH8unuxyTzbiWfIG6YYMjNwR7VGpIVvlQUbTLEW16u2le1lMwVQxg_ckIwJPFJ62QaurQ9U5rmiDL6V0l0a_hyOj25l1GrD2XlxUVBrA_vzBARLqhI/s400/original-screenplay-2020-oscars.jpg" title="Photo: movie posters for Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay nominees" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><u>*ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY*</u></b><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li>“Knives Out,” Rian Johnson</li>
<li>“Marriage Story,” Noah Baumbach</li>
<li>“1917,” Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns</li>
<li>“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Quentin Tarantino</li>
<li>“Parasite,” Bong Joon-ho and Han Jin Won</li>
</ul>
</div>
<b><br /></b><b><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">WINNER: "PARASITE"</span></b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #515151; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">=============================</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz1ZbX-xZ1bOTj8CjpJO37TPrXe-KidGJ06xbmtpd4GVR-Qm9ei5lLe95-f8exAyQUCgpDEkKXtf_pVLEP93bFHFSW0REeRJ5Zqo2_qYyxbIPIPJyifropzJxwhAXLwTZtopiAvfuDj1M/s1600/best-cinematography-2020-oscars.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Best Cinematography nominees movie posters for 1917, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, The Lighthouse, The Irishman, and Joker" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz1ZbX-xZ1bOTj8CjpJO37TPrXe-KidGJ06xbmtpd4GVR-Qm9ei5lLe95-f8exAyQUCgpDEkKXtf_pVLEP93bFHFSW0REeRJ5Zqo2_qYyxbIPIPJyifropzJxwhAXLwTZtopiAvfuDj1M/s400/best-cinematography-2020-oscars.jpg" title="Best Cinematography nominees movie posters for 1917, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, The Lighthouse, The Irishman, and Joker" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><u>*CINEMATOGRAPHY*</u></b><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li>“The Irishman,” Rodrigo Prieto</li>
<li>“Joker,” Lawrence Sher</li>
<li>“The Lighthouse,” Jarin Blaschke</li>
<li>“1917,” Roger Deakins</li>
<li>“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Robert Richardson</li>
</ul>
</div>
<b><br /></b><b><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">WINNER: "1917," ROGER DEAKINS</span></b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #515151; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">=============================</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghbG-ckyL6Rj9nticyNnnCZxh6D3G9m-3TqCMh0EYNumKdxceLjc0CvnSSy8N5bw8MXVDtjhVWAOSVa1n4hyphenhyphenp10G6ONvq8n0zfAjx3yYW2ht20Df8eGvIwbsMmmHWpDKVcKlGnmy9IdDc/s1600/best-documentary-feature-2020-oscars.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="American Factory, Honeyland, For Sama, The Cave, and The Edge of Democracy Oscars movie posters" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghbG-ckyL6Rj9nticyNnnCZxh6D3G9m-3TqCMh0EYNumKdxceLjc0CvnSSy8N5bw8MXVDtjhVWAOSVa1n4hyphenhyphenp10G6ONvq8n0zfAjx3yYW2ht20Df8eGvIwbsMmmHWpDKVcKlGnmy9IdDc/s400/best-documentary-feature-2020-oscars.jpg" title="American Factory, Honeyland, For Sama, The Cave, and The Edge of Democracy Oscars movie posters" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><u>*BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE*</u></b><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li>“American Factory,” Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert and Jeff Reichert</li>
<li>“The Cave,” Feras Fayyad, Kirstine Barfod and Sigrid Dyekjær</li>
<li>“The Edge Of Democracy,” Petra Costa, Joanna Natasegara, Shane Boris and Tiago Pavan</li>
<li>“For Sama,” Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts</li>
<li>“Honeyland,” Ljubo Stefanov, Tamara Kotevska and Atanas Georgiev</li>
</ul>
</div>
<b><br /></b><b><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">WINNER: "AMERICAN FACTORY"</span></b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #515151; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">=============================</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBuy0q_MxaI5qdlpW1h3pUI-AvnKNd4n_fFhZk9o2IvzUOYRiCiUQqaEwQt5C1jFKqf_mgWGtOFctRV91NhGck58gU_1X10h_8hQ0kZBIVX8Lho1ZF5z8T5mHgXi08i3JtkC-xNaKARic/s1600/best-documentary-short-film-2020-oscars.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Best Documentary short subject nominees include In the Absence, Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl), Life Overtakes Me, St. Louis Superman, and Walk Run Cha Cha" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBuy0q_MxaI5qdlpW1h3pUI-AvnKNd4n_fFhZk9o2IvzUOYRiCiUQqaEwQt5C1jFKqf_mgWGtOFctRV91NhGck58gU_1X10h_8hQ0kZBIVX8Lho1ZF5z8T5mHgXi08i3JtkC-xNaKARic/s400/best-documentary-short-film-2020-oscars.jpg" title="Best Documentary short subject nominees include In the Absence, Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl), Life Overtakes Me, St. Louis Superman, and Walk Run Cha Cha" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><u>*BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT*</u></b><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li>“In the Absence,” Yi Seung-Jun and Gary Byung-Seok Kam</li>
<li>“Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl),” Carol Dysinger and Elena Andreicheva</li>
<li>“Life Overtakes Me,” John Haptas and Kristine Samuelson</li>
<li>“St. Louis Superman,” Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan</li>
<li>“Walk Run Cha Cha,” Laura Nix and Colette Sandstedt</li>
</ul>
</div>
<b><br /></b><b><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">WINNER: "LEARNING TO SKATEBOARD IN A WARZONE (IF YOU'RE A GIRL)"</span></b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #515151; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">=============================</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSokkQ79NMU3fBl7XLrkdS3RvGidjN-IHX1XQlN9oQFHrXnaIPQYBkZfffDwUav22AdbrSoJRZByQKt1GWjRY47MIjONRy8pG_AF7E3Cq47UdfaOZVCQ5OBPiWv_Va3d84vGg833hnKt4/s1600/live-action-short-film-oscars-2020.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Photo: the nominees for Best Live Action Short Film at the 92nd Academy Awards 2020" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSokkQ79NMU3fBl7XLrkdS3RvGidjN-IHX1XQlN9oQFHrXnaIPQYBkZfffDwUav22AdbrSoJRZByQKt1GWjRY47MIjONRy8pG_AF7E3Cq47UdfaOZVCQ5OBPiWv_Va3d84vGg833hnKt4/s400/live-action-short-film-oscars-2020.jpg" title="Photo: the nominees for Best Live Action Short Film at the 92nd Academy Awards 2020" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><u>*BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT*</u></b><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li>“Brotherhood,” Meryam Joobeur and Maria Gracia Turgeon</li>
<li>“Nefta Football Club,” Yves Piat and Damien Megherbi</li>
<li>“The Neighbors' Window,” Marshall Curry</li>
<li>“Saria,” Bryan Buckley and Matt Lefebvre</li>
<li>“A Sister,” Delphine Girard</li>
</ul>
</div>
<b><br /></b>
<b><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">WINNER: "THE NEIGHBORS' WINDOW"</span></b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #515151; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">=============================</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-SqmP7jUz2Jci2FrfvpO7CuhoYCCfTlSNo3ZHtoUMorU5qY0XTZndYbvD2XGZ6khyphenhyphenuzB5k1_ki7ORUW_6qa26Re5t2cD9OWvPKXG5jZkP0CG69Hm_Iiw_WqdG9QoEnJXx0hvnL0LfELU/s1600/international-feature-film-oscars-2020.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Best International Feature Film Academy Awards nominees, including Corpus Christi, Honeyland, Les Miserables, Pain and Glory, Parasite" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-SqmP7jUz2Jci2FrfvpO7CuhoYCCfTlSNo3ZHtoUMorU5qY0XTZndYbvD2XGZ6khyphenhyphenuzB5k1_ki7ORUW_6qa26Re5t2cD9OWvPKXG5jZkP0CG69Hm_Iiw_WqdG9QoEnJXx0hvnL0LfELU/s400/international-feature-film-oscars-2020.jpg" title="Best International Feature Film Academy Awards nominees, including Corpus Christi, Honeyland, Les Miserables, Pain and Glory, Parasite" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><u>*BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM*</u></b><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li>“Corpus Christi” (Poland)</li>
<li>“Honeyland” (North Macedonia)</li>
<li>“Les Miserables” (France)</li>
<li>“Pain and Glory” (Spain)</li>
<li>“Parasite” (South Korea)</li>
</ul>
</div>
<b><br /></b><b><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">WINNER: "PARASITE"</span></b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #515151; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">=============================</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7HdVMxbLhNhuIaWWc8Jz9uyVJOEfZ94pbOaY5LbtRi5FFsKZ41OSXjP4-aJsi9ZoGuM9MOXLUVQMFO7W-QWfutGX-mXAWt9FXUAgjjsQmx59XAmTyVw3AFQ50vs_7DBla-N2He7Q9GOk/s1600/film-editing-2020-oscars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Photo: nominees for Best Film Editing category at the 2020 Oscars, including Parasite, Joker, Ford V Ferrari, The Irishman, and Jojo Rabbit" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7HdVMxbLhNhuIaWWc8Jz9uyVJOEfZ94pbOaY5LbtRi5FFsKZ41OSXjP4-aJsi9ZoGuM9MOXLUVQMFO7W-QWfutGX-mXAWt9FXUAgjjsQmx59XAmTyVw3AFQ50vs_7DBla-N2He7Q9GOk/s400/film-editing-2020-oscars.jpg" title="Photo: nominees for Best Film Editing category at the 2020 Oscars, including Parasite, Joker, Ford V Ferrari, The Irishman, and Jojo Rabbit" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><u>*FILM EDITING*</u></b><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li>“Ford V Ferrari,” Michael McCusker and Andrew Buckland</li>
<li>“The Irishman,” Thelma Schoonmaker</li>
<li>“Jojo Rabbit,” Tom Eagles</li>
<li>“Joker,” Jeff Groth</li>
<li>“Parasite,” Yang Jinmo</li>
</ul>
</div>
<b><br /></b><b><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">WINNER: "FORD V FERRARI"</span></b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #515151; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">=============================</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXS8Sc7MlD1yXr3_GdGOpU0Rj-4TWNn20hBYJljdcs7RUg9E80qnfv0sml3hG5TJimGxNFUclbSdjsijXfdK0DdjmSnwHzCpZFnT-fGuV6hUd5DYIAZCF94bvK8Uklh30qJoVZenCwTg0/s1600/sound-editing-2020-oscars.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Best Sound Editing Academy Awards nominees Oscars 2020" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXS8Sc7MlD1yXr3_GdGOpU0Rj-4TWNn20hBYJljdcs7RUg9E80qnfv0sml3hG5TJimGxNFUclbSdjsijXfdK0DdjmSnwHzCpZFnT-fGuV6hUd5DYIAZCF94bvK8Uklh30qJoVZenCwTg0/s400/sound-editing-2020-oscars.jpg" title="Best Sound Editing Academy Awards nominees Oscars 2020" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><u>*SOUND EDITING*</u></b><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li>“Ford V Ferrari”</li>
<li>“Joker”</li>
<li>“1917”</li>
<li>“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”</li>
<li>“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”</li>
</ul>
</div>
<b><br /></b><b><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">WINNER: "FORD V FERRARI"</span></b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #515151; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">=============================</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyxmG7ZnUWXuvM1NQkze6QDZpbQNPB4pu2N7kyREu-BKkADfS043AO4_7uqkWVjqTUApMzGbfuiA3yIyxLAiZp9I9j1BuAuIvBO7i5-vomDpNM_jDulqv99NgqzIm0XOJ0Fha2uAr1mDA/s1600/sound-mixing-2020-oscars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Best Sound Mixing Academy Awards nominees Oscars 2020" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyxmG7ZnUWXuvM1NQkze6QDZpbQNPB4pu2N7kyREu-BKkADfS043AO4_7uqkWVjqTUApMzGbfuiA3yIyxLAiZp9I9j1BuAuIvBO7i5-vomDpNM_jDulqv99NgqzIm0XOJ0Fha2uAr1mDA/s400/sound-mixing-2020-oscars.jpg" title="Best Sound Mixing Academy Awards nominees Oscars 2020" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><u>*SOUND MIXING*</u></b><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li>“Ad Astra”</li>
<li>“Ford V Ferrari”</li>
<li>“Joker”</li>
<li>“1917”</li>
<li>“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”</li>
</ul>
</div>
<b><br /></b><b><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">WINNER: "1917"</span></b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #515151; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">=============================</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-6inf47KHn_up1KSVh-_Tt6lWVzJP1jHrEBfpzPz9ftCITN-Agr3R8Ra3ukB9Dl1ZM7S8sQswk8e2F90xuevkwkOV7GHG2AJvM68BdXSB1llaaWib4R1M0lNuvfO99TX5pu7_7St5s5g/s1600/production-design-2020-oscars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Best Production Design Academy Awards nominees" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-6inf47KHn_up1KSVh-_Tt6lWVzJP1jHrEBfpzPz9ftCITN-Agr3R8Ra3ukB9Dl1ZM7S8sQswk8e2F90xuevkwkOV7GHG2AJvM68BdXSB1llaaWib4R1M0lNuvfO99TX5pu7_7St5s5g/s400/production-design-2020-oscars.jpg" title="Best Production Design Academy Awards nominees" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><u>*PRODUCTION DESIGN*</u></b><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li>“The Irishman,” Bob Shaw; Regina Graves</li>
<li>“Jojo Rabbit,” Ra Vincent; Nora Sopková</li>
<li>“1917,” Dennis Gassner; Lee Sandales</li>
<li>“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Barbara Ling; Nancy Haigh</li>
<li>“Parasite,” Lee Ha Jun; Cho Won Woo</li>
</ul>
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<b><br /></b><b><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">WINNER: "ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD"</span></b><br />
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<b><u>*BEST ORIGINAL SCORE*</u></b><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li>“Joker,” Hildur Guðnadóttir</li>
<li>“Little Women,” Alexandre Desplat</li>
<li>“Marriage Story,” Randy Newman</li>
<li>“1917,” Thomas Newman</li>
<li>“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” John Williams</li>
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<b><br /></b><b><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">WINNER: "JOKER," </span></b><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><b>Hildur Guðnadóttir</b></span><br />
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<b><u>*BEST ORIGINAL SONG*</u></b><br />
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<ul>
<li>“I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away” from “Toy Story 4” by Randy Newman</li>
<li>“(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again” from “Rocketman” by Elton John, Bernie Taupin</li>
<li>“I'm Standing With You” from “Breakthrough” by Diane Warren</li>
<li>“Into the Unknown” from “Frozen II” by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez</li>
<li>“Stand Up” from “Harriet” by Joshuah Brian Campbell and Cynthia Erivo</li>
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<b><br /></b><b><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">WINNER: "(I'M GONNA) LOVE ME AGAIN" BY ELTON JOHN AND BERNIE TAUPIN</span></b><br />
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<b><u>*MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING*</u></b></div>
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<ul>
<li>“Bombshell”</li>
<li>“Joker”</li>
<li>“Judy”</li>
<li>“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”</li>
<li>“1917”</li>
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<b><br /></b><b><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">WINNER: "BOMBSHELL"</span></b><br />
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<b><u>*COSTUME DESIGN*</u></b><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li>“The Irishman,” Sandy Powell and Christopher Peterson</li>
<li>“Jojo Rabbit,” Mayes C. Rubeo</li>
<li>“Joker,” Mark Bridges</li>
<li>“Little Women,” Jacqueline Durran</li>
<li>“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Arianne Phillips</li>
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<b><br /></b><b><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">WINNER: "LITTLE WOMEN"</span></b><br />
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<b><u>*VISUAL EFFECTS*</u></b></div>
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<ul>
<li>“Avengers: Endgame”</li>
<li>“The Irishman”</li>
<li>“The Lion King”</li>
<li>“1917”</li>
<li>“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”</li>
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<b><br /></b><b><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">WINNER: "1917"</span></b></div>
Lolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04782777195648272520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857667059778816807.post-40375702130552966942020-02-08T21:11:00.002-08:002020-02-08T21:11:59.572-08:002020 OSCARS PREDICTIONS!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Lolo Loves Films 2020 Oscars Predictions</td></tr>
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The Academy Awards take place LIVE on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2020! Yay! We're here to give you our predictions for the 92nd Oscars! WE ARE SO EXCITED! This is our Super Bowl!!<br>
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Below is a list of who we think SHOULD and WILL win each category at this year's awards ceremony. Do you agree with our predictions? Let us know who you think will be winning the top prize this year!<br>
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<a href="https://www.lololovesfilms.com/2020/02/2020-oscars-predictions.html#more">Read more »</a>Lolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04782777195648272520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857667059778816807.post-50591093562832921592020-02-06T20:52:00.001-08:002020-02-06T21:03:16.450-08:00Movie Review: "The Turning" (2020)<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfEXc5FBfmoVrXHC5Wa4yp2hQ6tqMonNUMjtM_7MVKXmeFP7n_JxUOWz7-4TqVJUaYgmdJTiYelSXpiAM-bsULu7qkuINsjzDnOWor6N1atpCvXnUDjVmSlMFYEJxh5Thz6oxKIBFp_Sg/s1600/turning-2020-movie-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Movie poster for the 2020 film The Turning" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="631" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfEXc5FBfmoVrXHC5Wa4yp2hQ6tqMonNUMjtM_7MVKXmeFP7n_JxUOWz7-4TqVJUaYgmdJTiYelSXpiAM-bsULu7qkuINsjzDnOWor6N1atpCvXnUDjVmSlMFYEJxh5Thz6oxKIBFp_Sg/s640/turning-2020-movie-poster.jpg" title="Movie poster for the 2020 film The Turning" width="402" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BY2ZiMzVkNzktZjlmMy00MWE1LWJkMjgtZTFiMWYyYTU3M2FjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_SY1000_CR0,0,631,1000_AL_.jpg" target="_blank">Image Source</a></td></tr>
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<b>Movie</b>: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7510346" target="_blank">"The Turning"</a></div>
<b>Director</b>: Floria Sigismondi<br />
<b>Year</b>: 2020<br />
<b>Rating</b>: PG-13<br />
<b>Running Time</b>: 1 hour, 34 minutes<br />
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Waaaay back in 1898, author Henry James wrote the horror novella "The Turn of the Screw." Over the next 120 years, it would be adapted numerous times into stage plays and films. First and most notably was the 1961 adaptation by director Jack Clayton called "The Innocents." Five more works based on James's novella would be released over the years in 1972, 1985, 1992, 1999, and 2006, and that isn't even counting made-for-TV adaptations. Now, in 2020, "The Conjuring" writers Chad and Carey Hayes offer yet another version of the story with "The Turning," helmed by director Floria Sigismondi. The story centers on Kate Mandell (Mackenzie Davis), a teacher who takes a job as a governess to Flora Fairchild (Brooklynn Prince) after her previous tutor disappears. Kate gets more than she bargained for when Flora's older brother, Miles (Finn Wolfhard), returns home unexpectedly from boarding school. His return coincides with some unusual phenomenon, which makes Kate believe the Fairchild estate might be haunted.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY6VPdDtwEokqCqrP3xDi1YlLX_Hnl8HVIBmoOV7zNXsE1uA7OKLN08CSDkYf9-EIvrER7_j3Ndwlheygg1WZYD1WiP1qgoObJK2vP8fSO0tUP6qrKm541CuESUvjdj8gputg4lwwipSc/s1600/turning-2020-movie-still-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo: Finn Wolfhard, Brooklynn Prince, and Mackenzie Davis star in the 2020 horror film "The Turning."" border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY6VPdDtwEokqCqrP3xDi1YlLX_Hnl8HVIBmoOV7zNXsE1uA7OKLN08CSDkYf9-EIvrER7_j3Ndwlheygg1WZYD1WiP1qgoObJK2vP8fSO0tUP6qrKm541CuESUvjdj8gputg4lwwipSc/s400/turning-2020-movie-still-3.jpg" title="Photo: Finn Wolfhard, Brooklynn Prince, and Mackenzie Davis star in the 2020 horror film "The Turning."" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Photo: Finn Wolfhard, Brooklynn Prince, and Mackenzie Davis star in the 2020 horror film "The Turning." <a href="https://media1.popsugar-assets.com/files/thumbor/6wp2B5kwDMmGivVp0E70keTFZUI/fit-in/2048xorig/filters:format_auto-!!-:strip_icc-!!-/2019/10/23/800/n/41541398/tmp_Y6hUhu_be7fba42be3d5047_8T86_D012_00360R.jpg" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a></span></td></tr>
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Maybe "The Turning" (2020) was doomed to begin with. The film first went into development back in 2016 as a passion project for none other than Steven Spielberg, though it had a different title, a separate director, and another cast at that time. Due to some rewrites Spielberg didn't agree with, he eventually pulled the plug, only for it to be restarted with a new director, a fresh cast, and the original script sand rewrites, resulting in "The Turning" (2020). It finished shooting in early 2018 and sat on the shelf until today. We now see why this was the case because it's an absolute mess. This project had all of the elements necessary to be a sleek, modern horror mystery. It has a talented cast, great writers, and an experienced director, but somehow, it doesn't come together <u><i>at all</i></u>. Director Floria Sigismondi tries her best to create an eerie atmosphere at a gigantic, isolated New England gothic estate. She attempts to build tension and develop an unsettling aura but fails entirely because instead of being a slow-burning mystery, it winds up being a boring snoozefest without any substance. It also relies on cliche, ineffective, ill-timed jump scares for its primary source of horror. The most infuriating thing about "The Turning" (2020) is that the "boo! gotcha!" moments in the script come from dream sequences, which we think is the ultimate horror movie cop-out. Using one, maybe two dreams might have been okay to plant a seed of doubt about specific characters. However, Sigismondi thought it would be a good idea to use dreams every 10-15 minutes for its whole runtime! Anything scary or supernatural that happens happens in la-la land/nightmare alley/an imagined sequence that never actually takes place. Sigismondi clearly wants the audience to question Kate's sanity, but there are many other visual cues and sections of dialogue uttered by other characters that contradict this hypothesis. This leaves gaping, glaring plot holes in place of an actual cohesive story. In spite of the best efforts of its talented cast, the narrative doesn't come together and left us wanting to go off into our own little dream-world where we could forget we had to sit through this insipid drudgery.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCS4M_Jp7YADpQDcCtKzg7l44m7Ff7fRksqJVYqqdIV41RzQzejW5AYS5-kKKLtuyHi7aETBb7jm-lobxazMCzWPfpS5guCZlMkDuuSIliT-Jlb7oXUPc_F1u8j-x9iqklnXr1V0XXkSg/s1600/turning-2020-movie-still-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo: In the movie "The Turning," Barbara Marten shakes Mackenzie Davis's face and warns her about the Fairchild estate." border="0" data-original-height="551" data-original-width="768" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCS4M_Jp7YADpQDcCtKzg7l44m7Ff7fRksqJVYqqdIV41RzQzejW5AYS5-kKKLtuyHi7aETBb7jm-lobxazMCzWPfpS5guCZlMkDuuSIliT-Jlb7oXUPc_F1u8j-x9iqklnXr1V0XXkSg/s400/turning-2020-movie-still-2.jpg" title="Photo: In the movie "The Turning," Barbara Marten shakes Mackenzie Davis's face and warns her about the Fairchild estate." width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: In the movie "The Turning," Barbara Marten shakes Mackenzie Davis's face and warns her about the Fairchild estate. <a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNzM5ZDFjZmYtN2Q2Ny00YjhhLTk2YzEtMWI1NWY1YzI5OGM2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODc4MzQyMTI@._V1_.jpg" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a></td></tr>
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<b>"The Turning" (2020)</b> may have escaped with a slightly higher score if it weren't for the ending, which feels like everyone behind the scenes was waving a big middle finger in our faces instead of actually writing a proper conclusion. We can get behind an ambiguous ending under the right circumstances. In the proper hands, an open-ended finale can leave audiences discussing and debating details for years to come (see: "Annihilation," "Inception," hell, some people even think "Taxi Driver" is left open to interpretation). When done poorly, however, as is the case here, we left the entirely-empty-except-for-us theater showing yelling "fuck you!" at the screen. Any points this would have gotten immediately melted away when the filmmakers decided it was better to let us paint our own adventure instead of, you know, completing their goddamn movie on their own. It's not confusing, it's just literally NOT FINISHED. If you want to see a prime example of how not to end a film ambiguously, look no further than "The Turning" (2020).<br />
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<b>My Rating</b>: 1/10<br />
<b>BigJ's Rating</b>: 1/10<br />
<b>IMDB's Rating</b>: 3.7/10<br />
<b>RT Rating</b>: 13%<br />
<b>Do we recommend this movie</b>: AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!<br />
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Lolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04782777195648272520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857667059778816807.post-8840856309117328652020-02-04T10:26:00.001-08:002020-02-12T22:56:31.216-08:00Movie Review: "Throne of Blood" (1957)<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD7lxCL313tExcbme21HvKQ5hloS6LQ1uEFQ54GIAAiGxat26wghrMhYcTcO_R99IF8ao92tUimimg-gYfTwSpFY_RDZ6Is4jP8xFfMYY2GAB_a65cWhH9nJubkXPLAktgwGpNHX8Bglo/s1600/throne-of-blood-1957-movie-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Movie poster for Akira Kurosawa's 1957 film "Throne of Blood" (Kumonosu-jô)" border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="550" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD7lxCL313tExcbme21HvKQ5hloS6LQ1uEFQ54GIAAiGxat26wghrMhYcTcO_R99IF8ao92tUimimg-gYfTwSpFY_RDZ6Is4jP8xFfMYY2GAB_a65cWhH9nJubkXPLAktgwGpNHX8Bglo/s640/throne-of-blood-1957-movie-poster.jpg" title="Movie poster for Akira Kurosawa's 1957 film "Throne of Blood" (Kumonosu-jô)" width="440" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNGYxZjA2M2ItYTRmNS00NzRmLWJkYzgtYTdiNGFlZDI5ZjNmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNDE5MTU2MDE@._V1_.jpg" target="_blank">Image Source</a></td></tr>
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<b>Movie</b>: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050613/" target="_blank">"Throne of Blood"</a></div>
<b>Director</b>: Akira Kurosawa<br />
<b>Year</b>: 1957<br />
<b>Rating</b>: NR<br />
<b>Running Time</b>: 1 hour, 50 minutes<br />
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Acclaimed director Akira Kurosawa offers up his adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" with "Throne of Blood" (1957). Much like its source material, "Throne of Blood" (1957) explores the destructive nature of the pursuit of power for the sake of power. It shows how the desire to hold on to one's position of authority and all the comforts it provides makes a person paranoid and leads them to commit atrocious acts of violence against their enemies and even their friends. Taketoki Washizu (Toshirô Mifune) begins the story as a kindhearted man and a fierce warrior who is loyal to his Lordship. When he and his friend Miki (Akira Kubo) get lost in the forest one day, they run into a spirit (Chieko Naniwa), who predicts that Washizu will become lord of the North Castle and will eventually usurp his master to become Lord of the Forest Castle. Furthermore, the spirit claims that Miki will be promoted to defender of the First Fort and that one day, his son will replace Washizu as Lord of the Forest Castle. It is this prophecy that turns Washizu from a once-just person into a power-hungry monster...well, that, and the fact that his wife Lady Asaji (Isuzu Yamada) is always planting seeds of doubt in his mind.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkVckFPyD7tk1LuQIXf5wQBiDhvt1f_dEI8L6PDbrn9vrgkDGWPlJBElJY3xi0MqVH0k5YJB5tgVWVRugN88aIPBLVuyd9Tk2tDKNM06gRoZMrXlH69EYVQ1VWLrSTZbbEwms5lWtllMc/s1600/throne-of-blood-1957-movie-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Movie still from "Throne of Blood" featuring the Old Ghost Woman, played by Chieko Naniwa." border="0" data-original-height="704" data-original-width="960" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkVckFPyD7tk1LuQIXf5wQBiDhvt1f_dEI8L6PDbrn9vrgkDGWPlJBElJY3xi0MqVH0k5YJB5tgVWVRugN88aIPBLVuyd9Tk2tDKNM06gRoZMrXlH69EYVQ1VWLrSTZbbEwms5lWtllMc/s400/throne-of-blood-1957-movie-3.jpg" title="Movie still from "Throne of Blood" featuring the Old Ghost Woman, played by Chieko Naniwa." width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Movie still from "Throne of Blood" featuring the Old Ghost Woman, played by Chieko Naniwa. <a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMmY3MmZlNDctYzc5ZS00OTFkLTg2ZjQtYWFiNTU2MTdkMzkzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNDE5MTU2MDE@._V1_.jpg" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a></td></tr>
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Akira Kurosawa's "Throne of Blood" (1957) is a visual near-masterpiece. Each and every visible second in this film adds to its moodiness, its intrigue, and its very successful storytelling. Kurosawa thrives when he plays with light and shadow, and here, he continues to make one hell of a spectacular scene after another. There are many different moments we could single out, but one in particular, when Lady Washizu walks into a dark closet to retrieve a canister of wine, is especially striking. The story is very compelling, albeit a bit slow-burning. We watched in anticipation to see if the spirit's prophecy would come true and shook our heads every single time Washizu gets manipulated into doing something that sealed his own demise. The ending is both intense and exciting. We were completely pulled into the story's climax, which kept us enthralled right down to the last arrow. The costumes are grand and incredibly intricate, and they look amazing when in the throes of the many battles that are fought. We absolutely loved the crescent moon on the helmet of the Great Lord of the Forest Castle. Kurosawa and his costume and set designers do a magnificent job of capturing the look of feudal Japan. The massive fortresses, the foggy forests, the towering temples, and the grand banquet halls look like they came out of a documentary rather than a feature film.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD1Fb8qc94CkapE9CM0p3buaVUEvtqq9XeeKvyCdqkYSkYCtzNPAF1Y0VeCp152G7jOxGrvoNmic8QMG1HBQw6XQUdfRKos0HuOLNqor3R0WO3LSBbbO7fKlIi03mAbdoKErc5W-fr3NU/s1600/throne-of-blood-1957-movie-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Toshirô Mifune and Akira Kubo charge into battle on horses in Akira Kurosawa's 1957 film "Throne of Blood."" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1439" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD1Fb8qc94CkapE9CM0p3buaVUEvtqq9XeeKvyCdqkYSkYCtzNPAF1Y0VeCp152G7jOxGrvoNmic8QMG1HBQw6XQUdfRKos0HuOLNqor3R0WO3LSBbbO7fKlIi03mAbdoKErc5W-fr3NU/s400/throne-of-blood-1957-movie-1.jpg" title="Toshirô Mifune and Akira Kubo charge into battle on horses in Akira Kurosawa's 1957 film "Throne of Blood."" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Toshirô Mifune and Akira Kubo charge into battle on horses in Akira Kurosawa's 1957 film "Throne of Blood." <a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTc3ODE4NDUyOF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMTE3Njk5Ng@@._V1_SY1000_CR0,0,1439,1000_AL_.jpg" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a></span></td></tr>
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We haven't seen many (if any) other versions of "Macbeth," but watching <b>"Throne of Blood" (1957)</b> makes us want to seek out other filmmakers' interpretation of the story to see if they managed to make them as compelling as Kurosawa's incarnation.<br />
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<b>My Rating</b>: 8/10<br />
<b>BigJ's Rating</b>: 8/10<br />
<b>IMDB's Rating</b>: 8.1/10<br />
<b>RT Rating</b>: 98%<br />
<b>Do we recommend this movie</b>: Yes!<br />
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Lolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04782777195648272520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857667059778816807.post-89348152169338495522020-02-02T20:56:00.003-08:002020-02-12T22:56:31.225-08:00Movie Review: "The Seventh Seal" (1957)<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoC6AgDNTojRmgLvywG8bsRFsezVZddX7L9zDNb097IXg9IlPXDrh15T0GQ0kXKmpvWALYtNb_1XITUwb4-rLLKYytK5CSISucnmvz-dYnSADBNeAWY0nWUH63lYXG2bycWbn5pkAY0qg/s1600/seventh-seal-1957-movie-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Movie poster for Ingmar Bergman's 1957 film "The Seventh Seal" (Det Sjunde inseglet)" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="666" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoC6AgDNTojRmgLvywG8bsRFsezVZddX7L9zDNb097IXg9IlPXDrh15T0GQ0kXKmpvWALYtNb_1XITUwb4-rLLKYytK5CSISucnmvz-dYnSADBNeAWY0nWUH63lYXG2bycWbn5pkAY0qg/s640/seventh-seal-1957-movie-poster.jpg" title="Movie poster for Ingmar Bergman's 1957 film "The Seventh Seal" (Det Sjunde inseglet)" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BM2I1ZWU4YjMtYzU0My00YmMzLWFmNTAtZDJhZGYwMmI3YWQ5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjU0OTQ0OTY@._V1_SY1000_CR0,0,666,1000_AL_.jpg" target="_blank">Image Source</a></td></tr>
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<b>Movie</b>: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050976" target="_blank">"The Seventh Seal"</a></div>
<b>Director</b>: Ingmar Bergman<br />
<b>Year</b>: 1957<br />
<b>Rating</b>: NR<br />
<b>Running Time</b>: 1 hour, 36 minutes<br />
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Ingmar Bergman is a name that is highly celebrated among cinephiles and film scholars. Despite being self-proclaimed "viewers of everything," Bergman's movies have always been a cinematic blind spot for us. So, we made our first effort in correcting that egregious error by watching his 1957 classic "The Seventh Seal." The film follows a knight named Antonius Block (Max von Sydow) who, upon returning from the Crusades, is approached by Death (Bengt Ekerot) himself and is told that his life is coming to an end. Block challenges Death to a game of chess, hoping it will buy him enough time to reflect on his beliefs and to do one purely good deed. This task may be difficult as the world he has returned to is being ravaged by the Black Plague and religious zealots who have capitalized on fear and suffering to spread their puritanical ideas of faith.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN-giCUDEuGsOYz9rNoMghtY48SK_AsAapnnaIpnsd3QB4iLEWHuU1W3hOX6rbau2mXQDomKWUSB4J4vGS3sbQmBUwU2z5iIiSR6JUXAuVxdgWzF_kMshWy5KYZ7IuVdVeRzrprKmyvfs/s1600/seventh-seal-1957-movie-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Bengt Ekerot and Max von Sydow play chess in Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal"" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1393" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN-giCUDEuGsOYz9rNoMghtY48SK_AsAapnnaIpnsd3QB4iLEWHuU1W3hOX6rbau2mXQDomKWUSB4J4vGS3sbQmBUwU2z5iIiSR6JUXAuVxdgWzF_kMshWy5KYZ7IuVdVeRzrprKmyvfs/s400/seventh-seal-1957-movie-1.jpg" title="Bengt Ekerot and Max von Sydow play chess in Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal"" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bengt Ekerot and Max von Sydow play chess in Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal." <a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNjQ1MjgwNDY1N15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMjY4MjE5Ng@@._V1_SY1000_CR0,0,1393,1000_AL_.jpg" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a></td></tr>
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After only one viewing of just one film, we can see right away why Ingmar Bergman is such a heralded director. "The Seventh Seal" is brilliantly written, excellently acted, and spectacularly crafted. It deals with weighty philosophical subject matters in a daunting-but-insightful manner. The dialogue between characters is completely engaging, even poetic at times. They discuss subjects like life, death, faith, and nihilism in a world dealing with the rapid spread of the Black Plague. Some believe it is the end times, others believe God is punishing people for their sins, and some remain blind to the suffering of others and exploit it for their own personal gain. The story is very moving, not in a way that will necessarily make you cry, but more moving on a spiritual level that will make examine our purpose and existence on this great, big, hurling ball of rock and water in the middle of space. It's simultaneously the kind of movie you never want to experience again and the kind you want to rewatch immediately. There is a lot to unpack and a lot to take in here, and we're sure we will have to watch it several times to see what we may have missed. It is also filled to the brim with striking, symbolic, stunning imagery that drew an emotional reaction from us instantly. Each and every shot is meticulously crafted for maximum thought provokingness.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7swKdHIdvohP0JJceqxmOCnAbj7xWXk_sTpylinO9J9WgHUQc1fRbI3odFiVD1Xy8j-bEcfL0S6alStlRLsfGMpyyFmrgIfjivl1Lgz0EOCg655ERe71fX46HRU8LLsKCBWltvHRoXLA/s1600/seventh-seal-1957-movie-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Dance of Death Danse Macabre at the end of "The Seventh Seal"" border="0" data-original-height="1133" data-original-width="1600" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7swKdHIdvohP0JJceqxmOCnAbj7xWXk_sTpylinO9J9WgHUQc1fRbI3odFiVD1Xy8j-bEcfL0S6alStlRLsfGMpyyFmrgIfjivl1Lgz0EOCg655ERe71fX46HRU8LLsKCBWltvHRoXLA/s400/seventh-seal-1957-movie-4.jpg" title="Dance of Death Danse Macabre at the end of "The Seventh Seal"" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Death leads his followers in the Dance of Death in "The Seventh Seal" (1957). <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/81/175581-050-1A5A4E20/scene-The-Seventh-Seal-Ingmar-Bergman.jpg" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a></span></td></tr>
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<b>"The Seventh Seal"</b> is quite a film! We cannot wait to watch Bergman's other movies and hope they are as memorable as this one.<br />
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<b>My Rating</b>: 9/10<br />
<b>BigJ's Rating</b>: 9/10<br />
<b>IMDB's Rating</b>: 8.2/10<br />
<b>RT Rating</b>: 93%<br />
<b>Do we recommend this movie</b>: ABSOLUTELY YES!!!<br />
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Lolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04782777195648272520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857667059778816807.post-74071064817416218732020-01-30T21:11:00.002-08:002020-01-30T21:11:48.884-08:00Movie Review: "Dolittle" (2020)<div>
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<b>Movie</b>: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6673612" target="_blank">"Dolittle"</a></div>
<b>Director</b>: Stephen Gaghan<br />
<b>Year</b>: 2019<br />
<b>Rating</b>: PG<br />
<b>Running Time</b>: 1 hour, 42 minutes<br />
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One hundred years ago, author Hugh Lofting introduced Doctor Dolittle to the world with his long titled book "The Story of Doctor Dolittle: Being the History of His Peculiar Life at Home and Astonishing Adventures in Foreign Parts," which would be followed by over a dozen other titles featuring the character. The story has been adapted into numerous films and animated features, the most notable of which is the 1967 musical starring Rex Harrison as the titular Dolittle, which was unbelievably nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. Next was the 1998 modern reimagining of the story featuring Eddie Murphy as the famed Doctor. Now, in the year 2020, Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr., takes over the role in a period piece family adventure film called "Dolittle," written in part and directed by Stephen Gaghan. Gaghan is an odd choice to direct this family-friendly film since he is best known for making heavy-hitting political dramas like "Traffic" and "Syriana." We've seen directors seamlessly transition into making kids movies before (George Miller, to name one), so never say never!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCmeu8UULoGDjNhswNJTBcPVjleaxcXg3il0SeKFNERI948IqPb_RGsbgbwRCkj80XhJKiALt1PkE3p96fEowUUIWIYw71ryGlfegJXxksvG00pAsyvUvjzY2k6c4VmBCEL7C71AXsCqA/s1600/dolittle-2020-movie-still-1.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Robert Downey Jr. questions his life choices after playing Dr. John Dolittle in Universal's "Dolittle" (2020)." border="0" data-original-height="872" data-original-width="1590" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCmeu8UULoGDjNhswNJTBcPVjleaxcXg3il0SeKFNERI948IqPb_RGsbgbwRCkj80XhJKiALt1PkE3p96fEowUUIWIYw71ryGlfegJXxksvG00pAsyvUvjzY2k6c4VmBCEL7C71AXsCqA/s400/dolittle-2020-movie-still-1.png" title="Robert Downey Jr. questions his life choices after playing Dr. John Dolittle in Universal's "Dolittle" (2020)." width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robert Downey Jr. questions his life choices after playing Dr. John Dolittle in Universal's "Dolittle" (2020). <a href="https://www.indiewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Screen-Shot-2019-10-13-at-10.20.49-AM.png" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a></td></tr>
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The story begins with an animated sequence introducing Doctor Dolittle to the audience, telling us stories of the great adventures he had with his wife, an explorer so brave and so great that we can't even remember her name. It turns out, Wife vanished and most likely died on an adventure where Dolittle was not with her (although no shipwrecked corpse is seen, so we don't believe it). Dolittle has since become a recluse, shutting himself off from the human world while his only companions are the animals he keeps on his nature reserve. One day, Dolittle is contacted by a girl named Lady Rose (Carmel Laniado), who tells him he has been summoned by Queen Victoria (Jessie Buckley), who has mysteriously fallen ill. If the Queen dies, the royal decree that protects Dolittle's home and the animals on it will die with her. Dolittle reluctantly agrees to examine the Queen and quickly determines she has ingested some sort of toxin. Dolittle must go on a quest to find an antidote, so he, his animal compatriots, and a little kid named Stubbins (Harry Collett), who accidentally shot a squirrel, go on an adventure to find the medicine to cure the Queen.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6pXIKcVxi_UK0-lDXnFO66z4GWQyZBa9Z_HKa49n87WYboneYwU9mue9KNdWIwQ-vmmHBrkgOp1VDwCcGFvyXcL82zQkM4BUxd1MnjRUdWjoUfMLP8_isHWrkKGME4Cjy9OXNSuyzw4U/s1600/dolittle-2020-movie-still-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Harry Collett and Robert Downey Jr. are on a boat in a movie still for "Dolittle."" border="0" data-original-height="857" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6pXIKcVxi_UK0-lDXnFO66z4GWQyZBa9Z_HKa49n87WYboneYwU9mue9KNdWIwQ-vmmHBrkgOp1VDwCcGFvyXcL82zQkM4BUxd1MnjRUdWjoUfMLP8_isHWrkKGME4Cjy9OXNSuyzw4U/s400/dolittle-2020-movie-still-2.jpg" title="Harry Collett and Robert Downey Jr. are on a boat in a movie still for "Dolittle."" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stubbins (Harry Collett) forces John Dolittle (Robert Downey Jr.) and his animals to take him with him on an adventure out to sea in the movie "Dolittle." <a href="https://hips.hearstapps.com/vidthumb/images/dolittle-2-1570984993.jpg" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a></td></tr>
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Full disclosure, we haven't liked a single adaptation of "Doctor Dolittle." We think that the 1967 film is one of the worst Best Picture nominees of all time, and we can't really remember much about Eddie Murphy's version of the story. That being said, we had high hopes for "Dolittle" (2020) considering the ridiculous amount of talented actors involved in this project. It is loaded with Oscar-nominated and Oscar-winning celebrities. Eight of the actors in this film have been nominated for Academy Awards, and five of them are winners. Stephen Gaghan is also an Oscar-winning screenwriter, though as we mentioned, it was for a very different type of film. Hollywood is ripe with successful, enjoyable family adventure flicks like "The Princess Bride," the "Harry Potter" movies, and even the underseen and underappreciated "The Kid Who Would Be King" from last year. We were hoping we could add "Dolittle" to that list, hoping that it might be something fantastical, fun, and full of wonder. Instead, what we get is a ridiculously stupid "comedy" complete with a pratfalling ostrich, an annoyingly vindictive squirrel, a duck with a running gag featuring various vegetables, and a constipated dragon that farts in Dolittle's face for no less than 25 seconds. The humor is targeted to the most juvenile members of the audience, and it didn't work for us at all. We have been known to enjoy a well-placed fart joke, and we figured that since Gaghan is an Oscar-winning scribe and all, surely he could come up with something more amusing than "I think Doctor Dolittle did a little doo-doo." BigJ managed to chuckle maybe once or twice, though admittedly, they were laughs of bewilderment rather than guffaws at actual jokes. It's not just the gags that are poorly written. The story is a jumbled mess full of contrived plot points and ill-fitting, goofy shenanigans that force the story along for 102 minutes rather than letting it flow naturally. You know what the target audience of "Dolittle" definitely won't understand? References to "Rush Hour" and "The Godfather"! That's poorly written script 101: if all else fails, add pop culture references! All of these problems come before you factor in Robert Downey Jr. Oh, Robert, Robert, Robert...what the hell are you doing?! Robert Downey Jr's. performance is baffling and bad and bafflingly bad. He's dreadfully miscast here. It's as if Robert Downey Jr. is playing Johnny Depp playing Jack Sparrow playing Doctor Dolittle. His accent, which he swears up and down is Welsh (we would have never guessed this in a million years) is distractingly bothersome. It honestly sounds like he's putting on a bad British accent and then layering it with an offensively stereotypical Indian accent. It's not charming, it's not funny, and it's certainly not effective.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhphMZO8OzI9DF8ZoyxxSe8_Ehzwq0nj3xJCyV2Sw6ggLQSW8fl8y7obY2L0vD7TOxsie9rGw0OEFiagxnA2pkmfsCYZJ6TB6DKXhj66kb6yJfGbiyB7UEpxTMcMpeQC9arcU4q7-l7oTM/s1600/dolittle-2020-movie-still-3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Tom Holland, John Cena, and Academy Award-winning actors Octavia Spencer, Rami Malek, and Emma Thompson voice a dog, a polar bear, a monkey, a gorilla, and a parrot in the 2020 film "Dolittle."" border="0" data-original-height="863" data-original-width="1600" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhphMZO8OzI9DF8ZoyxxSe8_Ehzwq0nj3xJCyV2Sw6ggLQSW8fl8y7obY2L0vD7TOxsie9rGw0OEFiagxnA2pkmfsCYZJ6TB6DKXhj66kb6yJfGbiyB7UEpxTMcMpeQC9arcU4q7-l7oTM/s400/dolittle-2020-movie-still-3.jpg" title="Tom Holland, John Cena, and Academy Award-winning actors Octavia Spencer, Rami Malek, and Emma Thompson voice a dog, a polar bear, a monkey, a gorilla, and a parrot in the 2020 film "Dolittle."" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom Holland, John Cena, and Academy Award-winning actors Octavia Spencer, Rami Malek, and Emma Thompson are in it for the paycheck by voicing various animals in the 2020 film "Dolittle." <a href="https://d.newsweek.com/en/full/1560290/dolittle-movie-cast.jpg" target="_blank">(Image Source)</a></td></tr>
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It's difficult to process how a movie with this much talent and a $175 million budget could be this wretched. It is genuinely upsetting to think about all of the projects that did not get funded by Universal because they decided that a third adaptation of Doctor Dolittle would be well received by audiences in the year 2020. It wasn't a good idea, and it has not been well received. <b>"Dolittle"</b> is an absolute chore to watch. Family films are supposed to be enjoyed by <i>the whole family</i>, not just the littlest kids in the room, which is part of the reason why it fails so hard. Admittedly, we're not this movie's target audience. Maybe kids, especially youngsters who like poopie-doo-doo jokes, will enjoy this. Still, we can't help but feel terrible for the poor parents who have to take their younglings to see this poorly acted, awfully put together garbage fire of a film. It's just another example of how a middling director like Stephen Gaghan gets a massive check and carte blanche to make whatever horrible and forced hell movie he wants while up-and-coming directors with new, diverse ideas and fresh takes are sidelined and have to pay for his poor choices. Universal had the chance to do better, and instead, they did "Dolittle."</div>
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<b>My Rating</b>: 1/10<br />
<b>BigJ's Rating</b>: 3/10<br />
<b>IMDB's Rating</b>: 5.6/10<br />
<b>RT Rating</b>: 16%<br />
<b>Do we recommend this movie</b>: AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!<br />
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Lolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04782777195648272520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857667059778816807.post-48742281102815188232020-01-27T22:40:00.001-08:002020-01-27T22:40:16.915-08:00Movie Review: "The Two Popes" (2019)<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuVrqVqV4dNWKDvxcwwxmXo2xkWapt3uggcgmJ_nIUjUILhf9oUQuy1Jt7GOnFP2XBEbawpdFYQY4HMMipmaMTjW03X8RVEOSuxydWlirbxCb3byj7-9BoFwBPyz-k9mmo19vdqmNHx1Y/s1600/netflix-two-popes-2019-movie-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Netflix presents the movie poster for "The Two Popes" (2019), starring Jonathan Pryce, Anthony Hopkins, and Juan Minujín" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="675" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuVrqVqV4dNWKDvxcwwxmXo2xkWapt3uggcgmJ_nIUjUILhf9oUQuy1Jt7GOnFP2XBEbawpdFYQY4HMMipmaMTjW03X8RVEOSuxydWlirbxCb3byj7-9BoFwBPyz-k9mmo19vdqmNHx1Y/s640/netflix-two-popes-2019-movie-poster.jpg" title="Netflix presents the movie poster for "The Two Popes" (2019), starring Jonathan Pryce, Anthony Hopkins, and Juan Minujín" width="432"></a></td></tr>
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<b>Movie</b>: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8404614" target="_blank">"The Two Popes"</a></div>
<b>Director</b>: Fernando Meirelles<br>
<b>Year</b>: 2019<br>
<b>Rating</b>: PG-13<br>
<b>Running Time</b>: 2 hours, 5 minutes<br>
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<i>The conservative Cardinal Ratzinger and the much more liberal Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio have a discussion about what's best for the Catholic church and what role they will have to play in its future.</i><br>
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</div></div></div></div><a href="https://www.lololovesfilms.com/2020/01/movie-review-two-popes-2019.html#more">Read more »</a>Lolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04782777195648272520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857667059778816807.post-75883078031667966222020-01-25T21:21:00.003-08:002020-01-25T21:21:27.440-08:00Movie Review: "Little Women" (2019)<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5qELD9peX7cz5oArxRIYFFp329qViLYGmkIcg-_Sfv4aafcE3n78LhyT6gIltAGNGF-Tz3LLJqhyphenhyphencXxy2hDFWBM8p7zucM0KBFSHhqh8Fo1hdXi18hH9pMKiwWQLspG9vj5PQpLpL7mE/s1600/little-women-2019-movie-poster.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Sony Pictures presents the movie poster for "Little Women" (2019), starring Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Laura Dern, Meryl Streep, Timothée Chalamet, and Eliza Scanlen" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="674" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5qELD9peX7cz5oArxRIYFFp329qViLYGmkIcg-_Sfv4aafcE3n78LhyT6gIltAGNGF-Tz3LLJqhyphenhyphencXxy2hDFWBM8p7zucM0KBFSHhqh8Fo1hdXi18hH9pMKiwWQLspG9vj5PQpLpL7mE/s640/little-women-2019-movie-poster.jpg" title="Sony Pictures presents the movie poster for "Little Women" (2019), starring Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Laura Dern, Meryl Streep, Timothée Chalamet, and Eliza Scanlen" width="430"></a></td></tr>
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<b>Movie</b>: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3281548" target="_blank">"Little Women"</a></div>
<b>Director</b>: Greta Gerwig<br>
<b>Year</b>: 2019<br>
<b>Rating</b>: PG<br>
<b>Running Time</b>: 2 hours, 15 minutes<br>
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<i>Writer Jo March tells the story of growing up with her three sisters in Civil War-era Massachusetts.</i><br>
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</div></div></div></div><a href="https://www.lololovesfilms.com/2020/01/movie-review-little-women-2019.html#more">Read more »</a>Lolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04782777195648272520noreply@blogger.com0