Here are a bunch of short reviews for movies I saw over Christmas Break (with one movie I saw over Thanksgiving break but forgot to review at that time). Click here to read the last Mini Movie Reviews. Let's go.
Velvet Buzzsaw
Release Date: February 1
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Zawe Ashton, Toni Collette, Natalia Dyer, Daveed Diggs, & John Malkovich
Score: 2/10 (Terrible)
I don't like to throw this term around when describing movies, but Velvet Buzzsaw is pretentious. It's a satire of the art community while also trying to be a horror film. It's not clever or insightful in any way. If anything, the movie gets really annoying really fast. I didn't like any of the characters and all the performances were so incredibly over the top to the point of being cartoons. But what ends up killing the movie is the script. The writing is terrible, the dialogue is all obnoxious, and the movie as a whole is very boring. The kills in particular are really stupid. I never thought I would see characters get killed by a giant metal orb with arm holes or a tattoo on the back of someone's neck, but here we are. This movie contains such niche social commentary about how art critics are pompous assholes. But, the message is executed in such a ham-fisted, poorly conceived fashion. And let's not ignore the fact that for the most part, it looks like a Lifetime movie. I guess if there were any positives I found, the score was pretty decent, and some of the performances were so campy they were pretty entertaining (Jake Gyllenhaal in particular). Everything else was lame. This movie was a waste of time.
I Lost My Body
Release Date: November 29
Starring: Hakim Faris & Victorie Du Bois
Score: 7/10 (Good)
I went into this movie knowing absolutely nothing, and I left satisfied. I Lost My Body is a lovely little French animated film of a hand going on a cross country adventure to find its body, paired with a nice, intimate love story. The animation is beautiful, with vibrant colors popping out of the screen. The characters are likable, and the story is told very well. It has interesting things to say about loss and hope, and those themes are executed beautifully through the two stories the film presents. There are a lot of layers here and I think you can get something different out of it with each watch. My only real complaint has to do with the frame rate. As much as I love the animation and the character designs, the frame rate is pretty choppy to the point where it goes down to single digits in certain scenes. That might be intentional, I'm not familiar with French animation, but it did get distracting at points. I would have also liked to have seen some more character development with the female lead. There is a lot of time spent with the male lead as he fawns over this woman, but we don't really get to know her all that well. That being said, I Lost My Body is delightful. It's sweet, sad, creative, and moving all at the same time. This is my favorite animated film of the year from what I've seen. If you like animation but are getting tired of the silliness of a lot of theatrical animated films, then check this one out. I Lost My Body is unique in all the best ways.
Jojo Rabbit
Release Date: October 18
Starring: Roman Griffin Davis, Thomasin McKenzie, Taika Waititi, Rebel Wilson, Stephen Merchant, Alfie Allen, Sam Rockwell, & Scarlett Johansson
Score: 8/10 (Great)
How is a World War II comedy/satire one of the most charming movies of the year? That is the magic of Taika Waititi, who directed, wrote, and played Hitler in this delightful film. It's very silly, yet it's so incredibly clever. This film takes World War II and puts it through the lens of a ten year old boy, resulting in such a lighthearted, goofy sense of humor. This movie made me laugh harder and more consistently than most of the films I saw in 2019. And this makes the dramatic scenes hit even harder. There are some genuinely tragic things that happen in this film, and they're executed in such a beautiful sincerity. This is all executed by a clever script and fantastic performances all around. As for negatives, there is a portion of the second act that drags a bit, and the film does play it rather safe with the satirical aspects. There are also some scenes that desperately try to copy Wes Anderson's style, and while the scenes weren't bad, they were pretty distracting. Other than that, Jojo Rabbit was great. This film had humor and heart, with fantastic writing, performances, and directing. If you're expecting something dark and cynical with harsh satire, then you might be disappointed. However, what you can expect is something fun and goofy that's not afraid to punch you in the gut with some well executed drama. This film was definitely underrated by critics. I loved it.
The Fanatic
Release Date: August 30
Starring: John Travolta, Devon Sawa, & Ana Golja
Score: 1/10 (Disaster)
Don't let my score of this film scare you off. You should absolutely watch this film. The Fanatic is one of the greatest displays of "so bad it's good" comedy I've seen in a while. This film is hilarious, and most of it comes down to John Travolta's performance. He gives the most over the top performance I saw all year. It is clear he is portraying someone with a mental disability, but it is performed with no depth and no subtlety. He goes all out in every scene, and it is ridiculous. On top of that, the writing is garbage, with some incredibly stupid dialogue peppered throughout. There are some definite plot holes all culminating to an ending that makes absolutely no logical sense. Everything presented in this film is executed in the most over the top fashion, and it is glorious. The film certainly has a message on obsession and extreme fandom, but it is never fully explored. Instead, we get scenes where Moose (oh by the way, the main character's name is Moose) dances around his idol's house, finds his idol asleep, and then proceeds to take selfies with him, kissing him on the forehead, poking his nose and ear, and sniffing his finger. WHAT!?! This movie is so absurd and I loved every second of it. It's awful in every way. The writing sucks, the directing is mediocre at best, the characters are all either idiots or assholes, and the performances... well, besides John Travolta stealing every single scene of the film, were sub par at best. It's really Travolta who elevates this from a bad movie to a terribly amazing movie. Seriously, this things need to be seen to be believed. It's one of the best unintentional comedies I've ever seen, and it's right up there with Batman and Robin and Birdemic: Shock and Terror in that category. This film is free on Amazon Prime, so please, get some friends, get some alcohol, and have fun. This film is great in all the wrong ways.
Dolemite Is My Name
Release Date: October 25
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Keegan-Michael Key, Mike Epps, Craig Robinson, Tituss Burgess, Da'vine Joy Randolph, & Wesley Snipes
Score: 7/10 (Good)
This was a fun biopic. With a strong lead performance from Eddie Murphy, Dolemite Is My Name pulled no punches, offering some great character interactions full of language, raunch, and passion. Rudy Ray Moore's passion drives the film, and seeing him create his passion project was fascinating to watch. The tone is very lighthearted, and it helped make the story all the more entertaining. All the performances were great, and the 70s leaped off the screen at every given moment. As for negatives, this movie didn't start very strong. It took about twenty minutes or so for me to get invested. Once Moore starts doing stand up, the film becomes infinitely more interesting. The biggest problem with this film is that it relies too much on montages. I get that this film spans quite a large amount of time, but there are so many montages getting us through the story that the plot seems rushed. There is a good chunk of time where there is a pattern of a montage, Moore talking with somebody, another montage, another scene of Moore talking with somebody, and so on and so forth. I would have loved to have seen more of Moore's interactions with his friends, who seem sidelined for a good majority of the movie. The montages seemed to undercut a lot these character moments, as well as some of the more dramatic elements, which also seemed underdeveloped. But what makes the film work is Murphy's endearing and charming performance. This film was a lot of fun despite its faults. This film won't be for everyone, especially those who don't like raunchy humor, but check it out if you want a fun time. It's not the best film of the year, but it was still a blast.
Parasite
Release Date: November 8
Starring: Kang-ho Song, Sun-kyun Lee, Yeo-jeong Jo, Woo-sik Choi, So-dam Park, Jeong-eun Lee, & Hye-jin Jang
Score: 9/10 (Amazing)
This movie is genius. It has one of the most clever and original stories I've seen in a while. The writing is great, and the way it balances so many genres and tones is incredible. The characters are all very entertaining and well performed, and the dynamic between them all is so fascinating to watch. I love the class divide theme that runs throughout the course of the film. Instead of doing run of the mill political commentary, Parasite takes its message and makes something so incredibly unique out of it. Not only that, but the film is beautifully shot and beautifully directed, with some gorgeous colors popping off the screen and some of the most clever editing I've seen in a while. And the score is brilliantly executed as well. It matches the tones that the film takes on beautifully. The messaging can get a little heavy handed at times, but the film as a whole is fantastic. It's gorgeous and well performed, with some highly entertaining characters. But the story is where this film shines. It's wonderfully written and wonderfully paced, perfectly balancing the comedy and the drama. This is one of those must watch films of 2019. I can easily see film schools using Parasite as an example for how to make a movie right. Do not miss it.
Little Women
Release Date: December 25
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, Timothee Chalamet, & Meryl Streep
Score: 7/10 (Good)
I have never read the book, so I went into this film blind. While this kind of story is not necessarily in my wheelhouse, I found myself consistently delighted and charmed by Little Women. The performances are all fantastic, and the relationship between the sisters is very entertaining to watch. There is a lot of well-intentioned comedy and drama here, and it all works quite well. The directing is great, the cinematography is gorgeous, and the costumes are all fantastic. I also like the way the story was told, although the non-linearity can get confusing at times. Even though I could visually tell when the time frames were, there were moments when the shifts got confusing. This may not be the kind of genre I find myself going towards, but I thoroughly enjoyed Little Women. It was funny, emotional, well performed, well shot, and charming all the way through. I may prefer Greta Gerwig's previous film, Lady Bird, over this, but this is a very solid sophomore effort. If you're a fan of the book, I think you'll like this adaptation quite a bit. If you haven't, you should still check it out. You might be surprised.
Marriage Story
Release Date: December 6
Starring: Adam Driver & Scarlett Johansson
Score: 9/10 (Amazing)
This movie was hard for me to watch, and I never had to go through a situation like this growing up. That is how impactful, devastating, and real Marriage Story is. It's one of the best acted, well written films I've ever seen. Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson are absolutely phenomenal, and the intense emotional battle they go through in this film is riveting. This film does a great job balancing the lighter moments with the truly heartbreaking reality of a situation like this. This movie is also well shot with great editing, directing, and musical score. My only nitpick is that there are a couple spots where the film drags a bit, but that's it. This movie is excellent. This is a great movie to look at for those that want to see some amazing acting. If you're someone that has had to deal with divorce, then I would be warned before you watch it. This film is fantastic, but it gets hard to watch at times. But still, this film is beautiful from front to back. It's so sad yet so lovely. It is definitely one of the best movies of 2019.
Uncut Gems
Release Date: December 25
Starring: Adam Sandler
Score: 7/10 (Good)
I have mixed feelings about this movie. On the one hand, this is a great thriller. It's intense and very gritty, with a fantastic performance from Adam Sandler and a very distinct style in terms of directing. However, this movie almost gave me a panic attack. It is one of the most tense, uncomfortable, disorienting, headache-inducing films I've ever seen, and it's definitely the most of all those categories of 2019. It is claustrophobic and incredibly hysterical (in the mental sense, not the humor sense), with extreme close-ups, a pulsing synthetic musical score, characters constantly shouting over each other, and many MANY f-bombs. It's all so chaotic, but I have to admit, this film pulls of that chaos incredibly well. Once the film ended, I need a few minutes to gather myself because of how tense the ride was. So because of that, I appreciate this film and what it did. However, I can never subject myself to this film again. It gave me a headache, and I'm not entirely sure if it's the kind of headache that I wanted. It was effective, but it was so much that it turned downright unpleasant. I will say that the climax is pretty awesome. It's easily the most intense part of the film, but the payoff is very gratifying. I guess if there is a legitimate criticism, I'd say that the film definitely seems to be overcompensating at points. There is this New York energy to the film, and the way it is pulled off felt rather stereotypical; almost like it was trying to act cooler than it was. In that sense, this film is a little cartoony. Despite that, this was good. Okay, this is a great movie. I didn't really like it, though. Or... maybe I did. I'm still not sure. I will say that I respect this film a lot, but this is a "one and done" situation.
Knives Out
Release Date: November 27
Starring: Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Lakeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, & Christopher Plummer
Score: 8/10 (Great)
I can't believe I forgot to review this film when it came out. Knives Out is one of the most clever films I saw in 2019. It's subversion of the murder mystery is very well thought out, with multiple twists and turns to keep the viewers guessing. The characters were all highly entertaining, particularly Daniel Craig, whose southern accent was surprising yet incredibly fun to hear. All of the performances are fantastic, the directing is great, and the production and costume design are immaculate. This film looks amazing, parodying the Agatha Christie stories with its visuals as much as its story. And the story is genius. The writing is smart, witty, and never feels like it's talking down to the viewers. This is just one delightfully fun film. As far as nitpicks go, there's a segment in the second act that started to drag for me. There's one extended driving scene that felt like needless padding, though it did result in a funny gag. I also think some of the side family members are a little underdeveloped. The movie doesn't do quite enough to get those characters to be as entertaining as others. But still, Knives Out was a blast. If you like murder mysteries, you will love this. If you like mysteries in general, you will still love this. If you are dissapointed in Rian Johnson because he ruined Star Wars for you, you will love this. This is just one of those crowd pleasing films that can charm anybody's day.
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