Best Picture of the Year: Joker, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Ford v Ferrari
Best Fantasy of the Year, Avengers, Infinity War/Endgame
Best Action Film of the Year, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Spider Man Far From Home, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Avengers Infinity War/Endgame
Best Mock Doc of the year, Rocket Man, the Elton John story
Best Drama of the Year, Joker, Dark Waters
Best Horror of the Year: Joker
Best Comedy of the Year: Dora and the Lost City of Gold
Best TV Adaptation of the Year, Starship Chimera, the Destiny Device, Downton Abbey
Best In House Fan Film, Starship Chimera, The Destiny Device
Worst Picture of the Year: Cats, Last Christmas, Rambo Last Blood, X Men Dark Phoenix, Dumbo, Terminator Dark Fate, Men in Black International
Saturday, December 28, 2019
Monday, December 16, 2019
Slow Year for Awards Contenders at Kal Kat reviews 2019
Back in 2009 when this went online, it was a simpler time, with less blockbuster candor, but now in the age of Marvel and DC movies, there are really few outside contenders anymore.
Last year seemed pretty dismal for movies, with Oscar going for five films nobody saw, even when rereleased, and weren't even on bargain bins come Black Friday this year. Green Book was there, but with a layer of dust on it. That was it. And it was only 8 bucks. I did not even get tempted to buty that poor excuse for a movie. How dare it claim that whitey told a black dude how Jazz worked, (which was similar to La La Land). Yeah sure, A Star is born was essentially a version of La La Land, but at least Lady GaGa can actually sing. Stone is not known for her singing.
The nominees for the 2019 Clara Awards are bold.
Out of the gate last February and March, Shazaam and Captain Marvel, which were both excellent despite net trolling. But note the names are interchangeable as comic book characters that copied each other years ago. Now DC and Marvel literally could have crossed over, but didn't. You see, originally Shazaam was Captain Marvel, but then they changed the name long ago to Shazaam, so then they made up another Marvel. The average person need not know the back story. DC owned the character, but upstart Marvel wanted to have their own, so a battle of names came out some time ago. They got over it.
Best Picture, Captain Marvel films
Fantasy
April stuck to Avengers Endgame, the longest Marvel movie ever, winning for being the epic finale to the first through third timeline.
Best Picture
Fantasy
But in the same month, Disney also completely lost it doing a Dumbo remake in live action and making it Burton's snark at Disney itself. How meta.
Worst Picture
Adaptation of a Previous Work
Then on into the summer, comedy like The Long Shot had but one or two funny jokes, hearkening back to When Harry met Sally, but with a more blunt snark.
Detective Pikachu was cute, but not at all a Pokemon origin movie. Guess one had to stick to the classic films.
Godzilla King of the Monsters relied too much on human characters acting illogical while monsters went about crushing things, but it was okay for monster fights.
The Disney farted out another live action movie, with a blue Wil Smith that was just cringe worthy.
Worst Picture
Worst Actor: Wil Smith
Adaptation of a Previous Work'
Rocketman came out, heavily changed because of Bohemian Rhapsody, to not include Live Aid at the end, and others also played it safe also.
Best Picture
Drama or Documentary
Secret Life of Pets 2 really didn't need to happen, save for it ripping off Toy Story, and the plot of an old Christian cartoon series for the farm scenes.
Worst Picture
Animation
Dark Phoenix tried to mirror the 1990s cartoon series, and succeeded in about the first third, but blew it in the last act, because Captain Marvel's ending was very similar, so they reshot it on a boring train chase. Didn't help that the leads didn't want to be in it, and it showed.
Worst Picture
Fantasy
Men in Black International got a lot of troll hate, but for different reasons than it really deserved a ribbing. The problem was that the leads had no chemistry when they weren't in a Marvel film together, but were in someone else's film.
Worst Picture
Fantasy
Comedy
Toy Story 4, another Disney Pixar movie, attempted to reboot the story with a different outcome that ultimately disappointed fans. It was merely okay, and that's just not okay. I thought a lot of it did work, but more as a TV movie sequel than a reboot.
Spider Man Far from Home was very good, not excellent, but very good, and mostly this was because of the leads and the chemistry, and the villain who had a twist you did see coming, but didn't mind.
Somewhere in there I did see the live action Lion King, and it was not good. It made the cats look like cats, not lions. It had a lot of issues.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was Tarantino's love letter to the horrible Manson murders, as if that was a thing that needed to happen, still starring Pitt and DeCaprio having more bromance chemistry than Brokeback Mountain was awesome. Those two need to get a room. Ha.
Best Picture
Drama
Thriller or Horror
Actor: Brad Pitt, Leo DeCaprio
Dora and the Lost City of Gold had the girl from the scifi movies in it, playing to type as a teenage Dora from Dora the Explorer of the preschool Nick shows. Actually this thing worked surprisingly well. The characters were just fun.
Best Picture
Comedy
Adaptation of a Previous Work
It, Chapter 2 didn't quite have the appeal of the first act, because really adult versions of the kids, and the flashbacks, were just a little off, but it was fine.
In October, Downton Abbey proved to be delightful and sweet, an old time mystery and festive occasion and a nice nod to the show.
Best Picture
Adaptation of a Previous Work
Rambo, Last Blood was what a remake of Cobra should have been, and it was not Rambo, but it did have gory kills.
Worst Picture
Worst Actor: Sylvester Stallone
Horror or Thriller
The dark and twisted Joker was a nod to Taxi Driver and King of Comedy, the Joker, was perhaps the most uncomfortable and best drama of the year thus far, because it didn't really do those other films so much as improve on them, and make it so the irony was fairly obvious.
Best Picture
Best Actor: Juakeem Phoenix
Horror or Thriller
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot should get a look because nobody saw it, and yet it was good, and also Oscar loves giving films that nobody saw the awards.
Best Picture
Comedy
Terminator Dark Fate was lackluster and did away with all sense and continuity, in a twist at first I liked, as it was really all they could do, but later upon reflection they didn't need to do.
Worst Picture
Worst Actress, Linda Hamilton
Now into November and December, not much came out to give a look.
Frozen 2 tried so hard to recapture the original that their main song played a total of 4 times, but none of the lyrics stuck, unlike the Let it Go song from the first, which only played once in the first film. It made a good TV movie. It should not have been in theaters.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood was a love letter to Mr Rogers the PBS kids show pastor from the 1980s, but set in the 90s. The story was uncanny and Hanks was great, even if it at times was much more serious than the show.
Best Picture
Best Actor, Tom Hanks
Drama
Ford vs Ferrari was a racing film about Pitt playing Carroll Shelby, and was pretty darn good.
Best Picture
Action
Last Christmas was only noted for the song you can't get out of your head, and the awful twist from a mile off.
Worst Picture
Deep Water was an excellent drama film about the DuPont chemical spill of the late 1990s, surely Oscar bait.
Best Picture
Drama
Actor, Mark Ruffalo
Honorable in house to YouTube mention.
Starship Chimera: The Destiny Device, released September 8, 2019, has gone on to be a sleeper hit on YouTube, without profit. They can't make a profit. They are working on the game and future stories. For the film it required well over 6 years of filming, but it took 13 years to make.
Best Picture
Fantasy, In House Production as part of On Location
Actors
Adam Browne
Jon Yeager
Best cameo, Brian Storey
The annual Clara Movie Awards will be posted Christmas Eve and the results will be posted New Year's Day, 2020.
Last year seemed pretty dismal for movies, with Oscar going for five films nobody saw, even when rereleased, and weren't even on bargain bins come Black Friday this year. Green Book was there, but with a layer of dust on it. That was it. And it was only 8 bucks. I did not even get tempted to buty that poor excuse for a movie. How dare it claim that whitey told a black dude how Jazz worked, (which was similar to La La Land). Yeah sure, A Star is born was essentially a version of La La Land, but at least Lady GaGa can actually sing. Stone is not known for her singing.
The nominees for the 2019 Clara Awards are bold.
Out of the gate last February and March, Shazaam and Captain Marvel, which were both excellent despite net trolling. But note the names are interchangeable as comic book characters that copied each other years ago. Now DC and Marvel literally could have crossed over, but didn't. You see, originally Shazaam was Captain Marvel, but then they changed the name long ago to Shazaam, so then they made up another Marvel. The average person need not know the back story. DC owned the character, but upstart Marvel wanted to have their own, so a battle of names came out some time ago. They got over it.
Best Picture, Captain Marvel films
Fantasy
April stuck to Avengers Endgame, the longest Marvel movie ever, winning for being the epic finale to the first through third timeline.
Best Picture
Fantasy
But in the same month, Disney also completely lost it doing a Dumbo remake in live action and making it Burton's snark at Disney itself. How meta.
Worst Picture
Adaptation of a Previous Work
Then on into the summer, comedy like The Long Shot had but one or two funny jokes, hearkening back to When Harry met Sally, but with a more blunt snark.
Detective Pikachu was cute, but not at all a Pokemon origin movie. Guess one had to stick to the classic films.
Godzilla King of the Monsters relied too much on human characters acting illogical while monsters went about crushing things, but it was okay for monster fights.
The Disney farted out another live action movie, with a blue Wil Smith that was just cringe worthy.
Worst Picture
Worst Actor: Wil Smith
Adaptation of a Previous Work'
Rocketman came out, heavily changed because of Bohemian Rhapsody, to not include Live Aid at the end, and others also played it safe also.
Best Picture
Drama or Documentary
Secret Life of Pets 2 really didn't need to happen, save for it ripping off Toy Story, and the plot of an old Christian cartoon series for the farm scenes.
Worst Picture
Animation
Dark Phoenix tried to mirror the 1990s cartoon series, and succeeded in about the first third, but blew it in the last act, because Captain Marvel's ending was very similar, so they reshot it on a boring train chase. Didn't help that the leads didn't want to be in it, and it showed.
Worst Picture
Fantasy
Men in Black International got a lot of troll hate, but for different reasons than it really deserved a ribbing. The problem was that the leads had no chemistry when they weren't in a Marvel film together, but were in someone else's film.
Worst Picture
Fantasy
Comedy
Toy Story 4, another Disney Pixar movie, attempted to reboot the story with a different outcome that ultimately disappointed fans. It was merely okay, and that's just not okay. I thought a lot of it did work, but more as a TV movie sequel than a reboot.
Spider Man Far from Home was very good, not excellent, but very good, and mostly this was because of the leads and the chemistry, and the villain who had a twist you did see coming, but didn't mind.
Somewhere in there I did see the live action Lion King, and it was not good. It made the cats look like cats, not lions. It had a lot of issues.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was Tarantino's love letter to the horrible Manson murders, as if that was a thing that needed to happen, still starring Pitt and DeCaprio having more bromance chemistry than Brokeback Mountain was awesome. Those two need to get a room. Ha.
Best Picture
Drama
Thriller or Horror
Actor: Brad Pitt, Leo DeCaprio
Dora and the Lost City of Gold had the girl from the scifi movies in it, playing to type as a teenage Dora from Dora the Explorer of the preschool Nick shows. Actually this thing worked surprisingly well. The characters were just fun.
Best Picture
Comedy
Adaptation of a Previous Work
It, Chapter 2 didn't quite have the appeal of the first act, because really adult versions of the kids, and the flashbacks, were just a little off, but it was fine.
In October, Downton Abbey proved to be delightful and sweet, an old time mystery and festive occasion and a nice nod to the show.
Best Picture
Adaptation of a Previous Work
Rambo, Last Blood was what a remake of Cobra should have been, and it was not Rambo, but it did have gory kills.
Worst Picture
Worst Actor: Sylvester Stallone
Horror or Thriller
The dark and twisted Joker was a nod to Taxi Driver and King of Comedy, the Joker, was perhaps the most uncomfortable and best drama of the year thus far, because it didn't really do those other films so much as improve on them, and make it so the irony was fairly obvious.
Best Picture
Best Actor: Juakeem Phoenix
Horror or Thriller
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot should get a look because nobody saw it, and yet it was good, and also Oscar loves giving films that nobody saw the awards.
Best Picture
Comedy
Terminator Dark Fate was lackluster and did away with all sense and continuity, in a twist at first I liked, as it was really all they could do, but later upon reflection they didn't need to do.
Worst Picture
Worst Actress, Linda Hamilton
Now into November and December, not much came out to give a look.
Frozen 2 tried so hard to recapture the original that their main song played a total of 4 times, but none of the lyrics stuck, unlike the Let it Go song from the first, which only played once in the first film. It made a good TV movie. It should not have been in theaters.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood was a love letter to Mr Rogers the PBS kids show pastor from the 1980s, but set in the 90s. The story was uncanny and Hanks was great, even if it at times was much more serious than the show.
Best Picture
Best Actor, Tom Hanks
Drama
Ford vs Ferrari was a racing film about Pitt playing Carroll Shelby, and was pretty darn good.
Best Picture
Action
Last Christmas was only noted for the song you can't get out of your head, and the awful twist from a mile off.
Worst Picture
Deep Water was an excellent drama film about the DuPont chemical spill of the late 1990s, surely Oscar bait.
Best Picture
Drama
Actor, Mark Ruffalo
Honorable in house to YouTube mention.
Starship Chimera: The Destiny Device, released September 8, 2019, has gone on to be a sleeper hit on YouTube, without profit. They can't make a profit. They are working on the game and future stories. For the film it required well over 6 years of filming, but it took 13 years to make.
Best Picture
Fantasy, In House Production as part of On Location
Actors
Adam Browne
Jon Yeager
Best cameo, Brian Storey
The annual Clara Movie Awards will be posted Christmas Eve and the results will be posted New Year's Day, 2020.
Sunday, December 8, 2019
Some Movies Till December Reviews
"Frozen II" PG
Sequel to mega hit Disney film Frozen from some years ago, caught up with Elsa, Anna, Sven and the cast, but was missing something in the telling. It seemed there was a little too much Olaf the clown like snowman and not enough of the two other stories, the search for the parents, and the wedding engagement tomfoolery. It would have made a fine TV movie for the Disney plus channel, but not a sequel to such a groundbreaking original.
"A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" PG 13
Tom Hanks was uncanny as iconic everyman Fred Rogers from PBS back in the legendary days of 70s through 90s children's television. Mr. Rogers was a staple of any X Gen kid's day growing up. His moral lessons didn't talk down to or pander to children, and his simple moral allegories worked, even though he was a counselor, but because he was also a pastor. The religious side was never a strike against it, but added to the stories. Now, as for the film adaptation, the director went for a single episode plot concerning a fictionalized magazine reporter who learned the value of family in 1990s America, even if his family was damaged goods. Oscar bat for sure. Best Actor. Best Picture.
"Ford Vs Ferrari" PG 13
It didn't need to be PG 13. Anyway, a race movie about Pitt and Bale as a former racer and his best bud driver going to Le Mans could have worked as a movie, and seemed to be pretty good. The dialog between most of the corporate people at Ford, who planned to beat rival Ferrari in a special car race, was kind of slow, but when Pitt showed up it got better, as he played legendary Carrol Shelby. They didn't show enough of the opposition, so they had forced the two pit crews to be in similar spots in the film, even though they would not have bee, so there could be some tension. Also some of the double crosses probably were Hollywood. Still it was okay.
"Last Christmas" PG 13
A rather obvious and blatant twist brought a Christmas movie about a girl who had a heart transplant who met a charismatic man that knows her a little too well. She also happened to be a cheeky selfish shop clerk, who learned the meaning of Christmas, well some of it. Although the initial review this seemed a little better than it was, on second though, not really. Also it should be PG. Nothing remotely bad happens.
"Deep Water" R
The DuPont case movie was told in this long law flick about a man who is asked by his Grandmother to investigate her friend's farm cows being poisoned, only to lead to his uncovering the greatest man made chemical spill disaster in recent history. It is surely Oscar bait and deserves to nab some Oscars, including Best Picture, because it's a dreary drama. It's very good, so sure, but earns it's rating, for intense images of damaged environment, animals and people.
Sequel to mega hit Disney film Frozen from some years ago, caught up with Elsa, Anna, Sven and the cast, but was missing something in the telling. It seemed there was a little too much Olaf the clown like snowman and not enough of the two other stories, the search for the parents, and the wedding engagement tomfoolery. It would have made a fine TV movie for the Disney plus channel, but not a sequel to such a groundbreaking original.
"A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" PG 13
Tom Hanks was uncanny as iconic everyman Fred Rogers from PBS back in the legendary days of 70s through 90s children's television. Mr. Rogers was a staple of any X Gen kid's day growing up. His moral lessons didn't talk down to or pander to children, and his simple moral allegories worked, even though he was a counselor, but because he was also a pastor. The religious side was never a strike against it, but added to the stories. Now, as for the film adaptation, the director went for a single episode plot concerning a fictionalized magazine reporter who learned the value of family in 1990s America, even if his family was damaged goods. Oscar bat for sure. Best Actor. Best Picture.
"Ford Vs Ferrari" PG 13
It didn't need to be PG 13. Anyway, a race movie about Pitt and Bale as a former racer and his best bud driver going to Le Mans could have worked as a movie, and seemed to be pretty good. The dialog between most of the corporate people at Ford, who planned to beat rival Ferrari in a special car race, was kind of slow, but when Pitt showed up it got better, as he played legendary Carrol Shelby. They didn't show enough of the opposition, so they had forced the two pit crews to be in similar spots in the film, even though they would not have bee, so there could be some tension. Also some of the double crosses probably were Hollywood. Still it was okay.
"Last Christmas" PG 13
A rather obvious and blatant twist brought a Christmas movie about a girl who had a heart transplant who met a charismatic man that knows her a little too well. She also happened to be a cheeky selfish shop clerk, who learned the meaning of Christmas, well some of it. Although the initial review this seemed a little better than it was, on second though, not really. Also it should be PG. Nothing remotely bad happens.
"Deep Water" R
The DuPont case movie was told in this long law flick about a man who is asked by his Grandmother to investigate her friend's farm cows being poisoned, only to lead to his uncovering the greatest man made chemical spill disaster in recent history. It is surely Oscar bait and deserves to nab some Oscars, including Best Picture, because it's a dreary drama. It's very good, so sure, but earns it's rating, for intense images of damaged environment, animals and people.
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Movie reviews Till November 6
"Jay and Silent Bob Reboot" R
The special screening of this movie was in the middle of October with a foreword by Kevin Smith and Jay Mewes. The film rebooted the Jay and Siltent Bob idea, but not the main characters, for a new generation. It made fun of the fact that the older ones were middle aged. Then it broke the fourth wall and irreverently made fun of the source material. Casting Jasy and Bonb, and many others, and Kevin's daughter as a lead, they take off for a road trip again. Then two wayward schoolgirls to California to stop a Bluntman and Chronic reboot from happening, with the old dudes tagging along. It was funny in parts, although not as clever as it pretends to be. It did recycle a lot.
"The Addams Family" PG
The next cartoon version of The Addams Family took the creepy kooky characters to a mountaintop asylum house where they were pushed toward after leaving their original place for New Jersey. The cast were regular names like Charleze Theron and Chloe Moretz. The new version had two subplots, one of them about Pugsley's rite of passage sword dance, and another about a crazy land developer, sort of a Hilary/Trump hybrid, who wanted the perfect community. It is kind of like Uglydolls without the holocaust references, sort of. The twist of the family using their ghoulish powers on some of the town was fun, and it was harmless enough and probably worth a video rental.
"Terminator Dark Fate" R
Judgment Day never took place, but someone the new Legion sent a new Terminator back into time to destroy a Mexican girl's life before she could become the next John Conner and lead a new resistance. Sarah Conner, returning Linda Hamilton, and the old T101, or another one. Arnold Schwarzenegger, returned for another go around, teamed up with a super soldier lady from 2042. (Had a special screening of this at San Jose Comic Con but couldn't discuss it until after it came out). Yeah, it does retcon a lot, and might have annoyed fans. It was another reboot. It was just okay. It might be best shown on a movie screen, but parts of it are muddied and lag behind. It's like it's been done.
The special screening of this movie was in the middle of October with a foreword by Kevin Smith and Jay Mewes. The film rebooted the Jay and Siltent Bob idea, but not the main characters, for a new generation. It made fun of the fact that the older ones were middle aged. Then it broke the fourth wall and irreverently made fun of the source material. Casting Jasy and Bonb, and many others, and Kevin's daughter as a lead, they take off for a road trip again. Then two wayward schoolgirls to California to stop a Bluntman and Chronic reboot from happening, with the old dudes tagging along. It was funny in parts, although not as clever as it pretends to be. It did recycle a lot.
"The Addams Family" PG
The next cartoon version of The Addams Family took the creepy kooky characters to a mountaintop asylum house where they were pushed toward after leaving their original place for New Jersey. The cast were regular names like Charleze Theron and Chloe Moretz. The new version had two subplots, one of them about Pugsley's rite of passage sword dance, and another about a crazy land developer, sort of a Hilary/Trump hybrid, who wanted the perfect community. It is kind of like Uglydolls without the holocaust references, sort of. The twist of the family using their ghoulish powers on some of the town was fun, and it was harmless enough and probably worth a video rental.
"Terminator Dark Fate" R
Judgment Day never took place, but someone the new Legion sent a new Terminator back into time to destroy a Mexican girl's life before she could become the next John Conner and lead a new resistance. Sarah Conner, returning Linda Hamilton, and the old T101, or another one. Arnold Schwarzenegger, returned for another go around, teamed up with a super soldier lady from 2042. (Had a special screening of this at San Jose Comic Con but couldn't discuss it until after it came out). Yeah, it does retcon a lot, and might have annoyed fans. It was another reboot. It was just okay. It might be best shown on a movie screen, but parts of it are muddied and lag behind. It's like it's been done.
Saturday, October 5, 2019
Movie Reviews Up To October 5
"Downton Abbey The Movie" PG
The classical British service and waitstaff series jumped to the screen in the film adaptation of the continuation of the ship, set in 1927. The main cast returns, save for some replacements, and they were to meet King George and the Queen, but antics occurred that made a mess of the proceedings. The film was actually a lot of fun, and had some Oscar worthy costumes and at least one performance was nearly Oscar worthy also, the lead headmistress.The fans of the show were not disappointed. It was a fine film.
"Rambo: Last Blood" R
In this sequel to the reboot Rambo (2008, which I did not see) the old man Rambo had adopted a family and raised a stepdaughter, who was old enough to go out on her own. Instead of listening to her adopted Dad though, she ran off to Mexico nearby and got kidnapped by a sex cartel, which sent Rambo on a revenge spree to get her back. The flick is as horrifying as the others, but came off in the end as a horror slasher film more so than a Rambo film. The first two thirds had a lot of talking. It was not all that good a movie.
"Joker" R
Juakeem Phoenix (Walk the Line) played the Joker, the main villain of the Batman series, in this origin story set in 1981. The story was kind of a sideways universe where Joker had a laughing sickness and other issues, and had desired to be a comedian, like in The King of Comedy, but also a vigilante, like in Taxi Driver. The story made allusions to Scorsese. Phoenix made the flick his own and made the character a best actor nod for sure, and hid film, best thriller horror story so far this year. Many critics didn't care for the pacing or it being so similar to King of Comedy, but it's kind of a spoof in this opinion, so it works. It was dark and sardonic and not for children. It had many themes and images that were dark and twisted.
The classical British service and waitstaff series jumped to the screen in the film adaptation of the continuation of the ship, set in 1927. The main cast returns, save for some replacements, and they were to meet King George and the Queen, but antics occurred that made a mess of the proceedings. The film was actually a lot of fun, and had some Oscar worthy costumes and at least one performance was nearly Oscar worthy also, the lead headmistress.The fans of the show were not disappointed. It was a fine film.
"Rambo: Last Blood" R
In this sequel to the reboot Rambo (2008, which I did not see) the old man Rambo had adopted a family and raised a stepdaughter, who was old enough to go out on her own. Instead of listening to her adopted Dad though, she ran off to Mexico nearby and got kidnapped by a sex cartel, which sent Rambo on a revenge spree to get her back. The flick is as horrifying as the others, but came off in the end as a horror slasher film more so than a Rambo film. The first two thirds had a lot of talking. It was not all that good a movie.
"Joker" R
Juakeem Phoenix (Walk the Line) played the Joker, the main villain of the Batman series, in this origin story set in 1981. The story was kind of a sideways universe where Joker had a laughing sickness and other issues, and had desired to be a comedian, like in The King of Comedy, but also a vigilante, like in Taxi Driver. The story made allusions to Scorsese. Phoenix made the flick his own and made the character a best actor nod for sure, and hid film, best thriller horror story so far this year. Many critics didn't care for the pacing or it being so similar to King of Comedy, but it's kind of a spoof in this opinion, so it works. It was dark and sardonic and not for children. It had many themes and images that were dark and twisted.
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Movie Reviews up to September 2019
"Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" R
Quentin Tarantino's love letter to the old Hollywood dreams of the 60s is a buddy movie where a has been cowboy actor and his stuntman best bud had a run in with the Manson family, changing the course of actual history. The film was a bit tighter than his earlier jaunts, and as linear as Reservoir Dogs, and Jackie Brown, two of his earliest. Not sure how much replay value it will have once you know where he's going with it. Clearly he had a thing for the late Sharon Tate, and for feet.
"Dora and the Lost City of Gold" PG
An up and coming teen star impressed the audience with really playing Dora the Explorer in live action, as this nutty Nick toon turned teen film jumped around from the jungle to the high school, and back again, chasing after a host treasure trove in an Incan legendary city. This is what the Indiana Jones 4 should have been about, a nod to Hidden Temple and also to High School Musical. If anyone could convince you it was legit, and somewhat funny, it's the cast, in this charming and unexpectedly good romp. Guess they figured the test audience was no longer preschool age. Still it was funny they went there and had her be so batty and possibly implied she is imagining talking maps and things.
"Stephen King's It Chapter 2" R
Ever connected to the film 2 years ago, and a 1980s book that had a controversial middle act, but not for the horror scenes, It Chapter 2 works for having some decent hammy acting, and is not afraid to be at times balls out strange. Flashbacks to the kids in haunted Derry, Maine, where they look a bit too old, are a recap of similar scares, but the adults played off the flashbacks well, and are pretty convincing as their older alter egos. Then some confusion happened with a few of them looking similar with glasses on, and acting too much like each other, but let it slide. It was fine. It wasn't great, but neither was the ending of the book. The miniseries was actually better in parts. This one is more of an update with creative jump scares. Thankfully they never refer to the creepy kid pact where all the boys and the girl are intimate, ahem, from the book.
Quentin Tarantino's love letter to the old Hollywood dreams of the 60s is a buddy movie where a has been cowboy actor and his stuntman best bud had a run in with the Manson family, changing the course of actual history. The film was a bit tighter than his earlier jaunts, and as linear as Reservoir Dogs, and Jackie Brown, two of his earliest. Not sure how much replay value it will have once you know where he's going with it. Clearly he had a thing for the late Sharon Tate, and for feet.
"Dora and the Lost City of Gold" PG
An up and coming teen star impressed the audience with really playing Dora the Explorer in live action, as this nutty Nick toon turned teen film jumped around from the jungle to the high school, and back again, chasing after a host treasure trove in an Incan legendary city. This is what the Indiana Jones 4 should have been about, a nod to Hidden Temple and also to High School Musical. If anyone could convince you it was legit, and somewhat funny, it's the cast, in this charming and unexpectedly good romp. Guess they figured the test audience was no longer preschool age. Still it was funny they went there and had her be so batty and possibly implied she is imagining talking maps and things.
"Stephen King's It Chapter 2" R
Ever connected to the film 2 years ago, and a 1980s book that had a controversial middle act, but not for the horror scenes, It Chapter 2 works for having some decent hammy acting, and is not afraid to be at times balls out strange. Flashbacks to the kids in haunted Derry, Maine, where they look a bit too old, are a recap of similar scares, but the adults played off the flashbacks well, and are pretty convincing as their older alter egos. Then some confusion happened with a few of them looking similar with glasses on, and acting too much like each other, but let it slide. It was fine. It wasn't great, but neither was the ending of the book. The miniseries was actually better in parts. This one is more of an update with creative jump scares. Thankfully they never refer to the creepy kid pact where all the boys and the girl are intimate, ahem, from the book.
Tuesday, July 9, 2019
Movie Reviews up to July 2019
The Long Shot R
Raunchy comedy about a woman running for President who had a slacker boyfriend, seems to be a Clinton parody but in reverse, and then scrambled via the use of narcotics. Rogan and Theron starred. It was just okay.
Detective Pikachu PG
A young man tried to find his missing Father while living in a bizarre cartoon town done live action, but then the talking Pickachu appeared and helped him to solve the mystery. It was good.
Godzilla King of the Monsters PG 13
The titan monsters arose all over the Earth, spurred on by the crazy scientist terrorist and his friend, and this awakened Godzilla to fight them. The characters are fairly banal, but the monster fights are great.
Aladdin 2019 G
Disney live action version of Aladdin starred Will Smith as Genie, who did an okay job, but he was no Robin Williams, and the rest of the cast was fairly miscast, but it wasn't a complete mess. It was merely unnecessary.
Rocketman R
Elton John biopic fantasy was not quite as good as critics claimed, and not as good as Bohemian Rhapsody from last year. It was merely very good.
Secret Life of Pets 2
Three plots about finding yourself don't quite come together in this slapdash sequel to the sucfcessful original, which was a rip off of Toy Story and Finding Nemo. Now it seeks to rip off the various direct to video Disney sequels.
Dark Phoenix X Men
Fox just can't retell the Dark Phoenix comic in one movie, as they proved in Last Stand some years ago, and now, in Dark Phoenix, a plodding mess where the bulk of characters don't want to be on screen. They are fighting some kind of mutating Jean Gray, almost like in the cartoon, but not quite, and then some shape-shifting aliens. Clearly the movie suffered from a massive third act rewrite.
Men in Black International PG 13
The Men in Black films and short lived cartoon got rebooted in this strange vehcile for two rising MCU stars, that for some reason were cast in this because of the other film. Problem is, they have no actual chemistry in this, and the villain is really obvious.
Toy Story 4
Woody an d the gang return for a pointless but cuter sequel berift of problems since several key people had to leave Pixar since it was being completed. The manic horror aspects make this one more of a fall flick, not a summer one, and it would have played better in October. Even so, it's not bad. I's very good, but it could have been better.
Spider Man Far from Home PG 13
Peter Parker goes to Europe with the school trip in this sequel to the previous MCU movies. It was done well and was one of the better films of the year so far.
Raunchy comedy about a woman running for President who had a slacker boyfriend, seems to be a Clinton parody but in reverse, and then scrambled via the use of narcotics. Rogan and Theron starred. It was just okay.
Detective Pikachu PG
A young man tried to find his missing Father while living in a bizarre cartoon town done live action, but then the talking Pickachu appeared and helped him to solve the mystery. It was good.
Godzilla King of the Monsters PG 13
The titan monsters arose all over the Earth, spurred on by the crazy scientist terrorist and his friend, and this awakened Godzilla to fight them. The characters are fairly banal, but the monster fights are great.
Aladdin 2019 G
Disney live action version of Aladdin starred Will Smith as Genie, who did an okay job, but he was no Robin Williams, and the rest of the cast was fairly miscast, but it wasn't a complete mess. It was merely unnecessary.
Rocketman R
Elton John biopic fantasy was not quite as good as critics claimed, and not as good as Bohemian Rhapsody from last year. It was merely very good.
Secret Life of Pets 2
Three plots about finding yourself don't quite come together in this slapdash sequel to the sucfcessful original, which was a rip off of Toy Story and Finding Nemo. Now it seeks to rip off the various direct to video Disney sequels.
Dark Phoenix X Men
Fox just can't retell the Dark Phoenix comic in one movie, as they proved in Last Stand some years ago, and now, in Dark Phoenix, a plodding mess where the bulk of characters don't want to be on screen. They are fighting some kind of mutating Jean Gray, almost like in the cartoon, but not quite, and then some shape-shifting aliens. Clearly the movie suffered from a massive third act rewrite.
Men in Black International PG 13
The Men in Black films and short lived cartoon got rebooted in this strange vehcile for two rising MCU stars, that for some reason were cast in this because of the other film. Problem is, they have no actual chemistry in this, and the villain is really obvious.
Toy Story 4
Woody an d the gang return for a pointless but cuter sequel berift of problems since several key people had to leave Pixar since it was being completed. The manic horror aspects make this one more of a fall flick, not a summer one, and it would have played better in October. Even so, it's not bad. I's very good, but it could have been better.
Spider Man Far from Home PG 13
Peter Parker goes to Europe with the school trip in this sequel to the previous MCU movies. It was done well and was one of the better films of the year so far.
Monday, April 29, 2019
Movie Reviews up to Late April 2019
"Captive State" R
This dreary science fiction movie is part District 9 and part Robocop and a little Underworld, as aliens have taken over future Chicago and it's a metaphor for disregarding the poor. John Goodman plays a grizzled cop who's ward is an angry black youth fighting the aliens via a resistance. It wasn't a bad movie. It just wasn't in theaters very long because the confusing alien stuff really isn't the movie. It's really about 'The Man' oppressing a city.
"Disney's Dumbo" PG
This is the Tum Burton remake where he spends half the film making fun of carnival barkers, and the next Disneyland itself, but long before the park, and set in 1919, with a baby elephant than can fly somehow using his big ears. The cartoon made more sense. Not sure the movie needed to be a thing. Hal the cast sleep walked through it. Guess if you're curious, rent it later, but it's not half as charming or equally messed up as the cartoon.
"Marvel's Avengers: Endgame" PG 13
The bombastic follow up the Avengers Infinity War doesn't pull any punches, and immediately sets out to kick Thanos' butt, while then the heroes find out he already destroyed the magical infinity gems, or stones, and they have no way to go back and reverse the 'snap' that erased half of all senitent life. Six years later, Tony is married and has a kid, Banner is both Hulk and Smart Hulk, Hawkeye is Ronin, and Black Widow, Captain America, and only briefly, Captain Marvel, are all dreary, but then comes hope. Time travel. The Avengers figure they can travel back into time, steal the gems from history, and return to the future to beat Thanos before he can steal them. (Unlike the comic book versions, the Lady Death angle is not there). They manage to foul up three attempts, and must enlist the Ancient One to go back to a previous period and find the stones, ala Next Generation's Second Chances meets Yesterday's Enterprise meets Voyager, Endgame. Ah, Endgmae. And Back to the Future gets made fun of, only to kind of copy that too. Thing is, in the past, Thanos and Nebula trap their Nebula counterpart, and they find a way back to the future, where they start the war anew, and want to destroy it all, but the heroes have sent one of their back, and he sent for the Avengers, all of them, to snap their own glove with the stones, and assemble for a kick ass final battle! One of the best movies of the year so far.
This dreary science fiction movie is part District 9 and part Robocop and a little Underworld, as aliens have taken over future Chicago and it's a metaphor for disregarding the poor. John Goodman plays a grizzled cop who's ward is an angry black youth fighting the aliens via a resistance. It wasn't a bad movie. It just wasn't in theaters very long because the confusing alien stuff really isn't the movie. It's really about 'The Man' oppressing a city.
"Disney's Dumbo" PG
This is the Tum Burton remake where he spends half the film making fun of carnival barkers, and the next Disneyland itself, but long before the park, and set in 1919, with a baby elephant than can fly somehow using his big ears. The cartoon made more sense. Not sure the movie needed to be a thing. Hal the cast sleep walked through it. Guess if you're curious, rent it later, but it's not half as charming or equally messed up as the cartoon.
"Marvel's Avengers: Endgame" PG 13
The bombastic follow up the Avengers Infinity War doesn't pull any punches, and immediately sets out to kick Thanos' butt, while then the heroes find out he already destroyed the magical infinity gems, or stones, and they have no way to go back and reverse the 'snap' that erased half of all senitent life. Six years later, Tony is married and has a kid, Banner is both Hulk and Smart Hulk, Hawkeye is Ronin, and Black Widow, Captain America, and only briefly, Captain Marvel, are all dreary, but then comes hope. Time travel. The Avengers figure they can travel back into time, steal the gems from history, and return to the future to beat Thanos before he can steal them. (Unlike the comic book versions, the Lady Death angle is not there). They manage to foul up three attempts, and must enlist the Ancient One to go back to a previous period and find the stones, ala Next Generation's Second Chances meets Yesterday's Enterprise meets Voyager, Endgame. Ah, Endgmae. And Back to the Future gets made fun of, only to kind of copy that too. Thing is, in the past, Thanos and Nebula trap their Nebula counterpart, and they find a way back to the future, where they start the war anew, and want to destroy it all, but the heroes have sent one of their back, and he sent for the Avengers, all of them, to snap their own glove with the stones, and assemble for a kick ass final battle! One of the best movies of the year so far.
Thursday, March 28, 2019
February and March 2019 movies
"How to Train your Dragon: The Hidden World" PG
Third an ultimate story in the strange vikings and dragons series, post the cartoons, takes the hobbled hero and his dragon to a land at the edge of the sea where there are dragons, but an evil warlord, again plots to destroy them. Train 3 is less message story than 2, but more action oriented than it. The boy who would be king plot is tired, but somehow works in the context of the story. Fine for most ages. Tacked on ending is dependent on them making enough money to make another one. They likely will.
"Captain Marvel" PG 13
Back in 1995, Danvers becomes Captain Marvel in the MCU, causing the retcon that could save the Infinity Wars. A classic use of the old reset button, but here done with a buildup, and CGI de aging of main characters, the film delivers on most fronts. Coming in as a direct answer to the DCEU Wonder Woman film, it at times is slower, but in the ending is far superior to the WW film. It is up there with many of the other MCU movies, and feels fresh, even though some of it was repetitive of the formula. Enough was different, including the space cat that turns into an eating machine, that it was certainly worthy of entry into the universe.
"Shazam!" PG 13
The other Captain Marvel, Shazam, enters the DCEU fold with another hit, like Aquqman and Wonder Woman before it, going for the humor and sarcasm missing from the other films. A boy in foster care stumbles across super powers after meeting a wizard in the tunnels under the city, while a new villain arises looking for the same wizard, and the powers. (Spoiler free due to early screening). Excellent movie.
Third an ultimate story in the strange vikings and dragons series, post the cartoons, takes the hobbled hero and his dragon to a land at the edge of the sea where there are dragons, but an evil warlord, again plots to destroy them. Train 3 is less message story than 2, but more action oriented than it. The boy who would be king plot is tired, but somehow works in the context of the story. Fine for most ages. Tacked on ending is dependent on them making enough money to make another one. They likely will.
"Captain Marvel" PG 13
Back in 1995, Danvers becomes Captain Marvel in the MCU, causing the retcon that could save the Infinity Wars. A classic use of the old reset button, but here done with a buildup, and CGI de aging of main characters, the film delivers on most fronts. Coming in as a direct answer to the DCEU Wonder Woman film, it at times is slower, but in the ending is far superior to the WW film. It is up there with many of the other MCU movies, and feels fresh, even though some of it was repetitive of the formula. Enough was different, including the space cat that turns into an eating machine, that it was certainly worthy of entry into the universe.
"Shazam!" PG 13
The other Captain Marvel, Shazam, enters the DCEU fold with another hit, like Aquqman and Wonder Woman before it, going for the humor and sarcasm missing from the other films. A boy in foster care stumbles across super powers after meeting a wizard in the tunnels under the city, while a new villain arises looking for the same wizard, and the powers. (Spoiler free due to early screening). Excellent movie.
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
91st Oscars disappoints big time except for some stars
Rami Malik did win for Bohemian Rhapsody, but Lady GaGa was stiffed for her nom for the best actress role.
Supporting Actor went to Mahershela Ali for Green Book, a film that was in and out of theaters before I could even see it.
Actress went to Olivia Coleman for The Favourite, a movie that nobody saw, at all, in the area. We did see her nervous acceptance speech.
Supporting Actress went to Regina King for If Beale Street could Talk, also a movie that never aired here, in the bay area, of millions of people.
Animated film winner did go to Spider Man Into the Spider Verse.
Cinematography went to Roma, which did show up here, in January 2019, but we did not see it. It was gone in three weeks.
Costume design went to Black Panther. Well at least that's something.
Usually the winner of director leads to best picture. Alfanso Cauron won from Roma.
Never heard of Free Solo, which won for documentary.
Film editing went to Bohemian Rhapsody.
Roma won for foreign film.
Ridiculous. Vice won for make up, over the others. Make up? (Black Panther didn't get a nom). That movie? Not Black Panther for Killmonger? The fake Dick Cheney wins over that. Okay.
Black Panther won for musical score, and A Star is Brown won for song, at least. Shallow by GaGa, ironically.
Best picture went to Green Book, a film that played here, in San Jose area, for at most 2 months, and was not reviewed, over Black Panther and A Star us Bron, and note that Panther was in theaters for six months and made a billion and 300 million dollars. Gaga movie made 200 hundred million. What did best picture make? Green book, about 69 million! Really? What were they on?
And if anything, Roma should have won because director and picture usually go together, but I did not seem Roma. Oh, in case you're wondering, it made not applicable, as it will not tell me what the score is on the movie site. Going to guess from it being around for a few weeks that it made the qualifying 40 million.
BlackKKlansman made 40 million.
Production winner was Black Panther.
Bohemian Rhapsody got sound editing and mixing.
Visual Effects went to First Man, which did come out long enough to be noticed, but was not reviewed, over Black Panther? What? Note First Man only made 44 million domestically, tanking like a broken orbiter here, but made 104 million with foreign box office. With a budget of possibly 56 million, and advertising, it broke even, which is not good, so how is this movie on the list? Don't know.
Writing goes to BlackKKlansman and Green Book.
So hearkening back to the dismal mid 2000s, without a host even, Oscars chose to take the comfortable middle road, grab minor blockbusters to appeal to the oldsters, and went for one or two films that actually came out in October to throw off their fall or later rule, just a little.
They only gave some of it to Black Panther because well it made over a Billion.
They didn't want to obviously.
Although it is amazinfg Lady GaGa was nominated for anything, giving it to a person in a film nobody heard of, is typical of their earlier years, back in the 1990s. They even had a spat of that in the mid 2000s with movies people had never heard of.
They did not ask The Kal Katstar to host. But I was out of town.
I've hear BlackKKKlansman is good, so I might have to netflix it.
Green Book. Meh. Pass.
Supporting Actor went to Mahershela Ali for Green Book, a film that was in and out of theaters before I could even see it.
Actress went to Olivia Coleman for The Favourite, a movie that nobody saw, at all, in the area. We did see her nervous acceptance speech.
Supporting Actress went to Regina King for If Beale Street could Talk, also a movie that never aired here, in the bay area, of millions of people.
Animated film winner did go to Spider Man Into the Spider Verse.
Cinematography went to Roma, which did show up here, in January 2019, but we did not see it. It was gone in three weeks.
Costume design went to Black Panther. Well at least that's something.
Usually the winner of director leads to best picture. Alfanso Cauron won from Roma.
Never heard of Free Solo, which won for documentary.
Film editing went to Bohemian Rhapsody.
Roma won for foreign film.
Ridiculous. Vice won for make up, over the others. Make up? (Black Panther didn't get a nom). That movie? Not Black Panther for Killmonger? The fake Dick Cheney wins over that. Okay.
Black Panther won for musical score, and A Star is Brown won for song, at least. Shallow by GaGa, ironically.
Best picture went to Green Book, a film that played here, in San Jose area, for at most 2 months, and was not reviewed, over Black Panther and A Star us Bron, and note that Panther was in theaters for six months and made a billion and 300 million dollars. Gaga movie made 200 hundred million. What did best picture make? Green book, about 69 million! Really? What were they on?
And if anything, Roma should have won because director and picture usually go together, but I did not seem Roma. Oh, in case you're wondering, it made not applicable, as it will not tell me what the score is on the movie site. Going to guess from it being around for a few weeks that it made the qualifying 40 million.
BlackKKlansman made 40 million.
Production winner was Black Panther.
Bohemian Rhapsody got sound editing and mixing.
Visual Effects went to First Man, which did come out long enough to be noticed, but was not reviewed, over Black Panther? What? Note First Man only made 44 million domestically, tanking like a broken orbiter here, but made 104 million with foreign box office. With a budget of possibly 56 million, and advertising, it broke even, which is not good, so how is this movie on the list? Don't know.
Writing goes to BlackKKlansman and Green Book.
So hearkening back to the dismal mid 2000s, without a host even, Oscars chose to take the comfortable middle road, grab minor blockbusters to appeal to the oldsters, and went for one or two films that actually came out in October to throw off their fall or later rule, just a little.
They only gave some of it to Black Panther because well it made over a Billion.
They didn't want to obviously.
Although it is amazinfg Lady GaGa was nominated for anything, giving it to a person in a film nobody heard of, is typical of their earlier years, back in the 1990s. They even had a spat of that in the mid 2000s with movies people had never heard of.
They did not ask The Kal Katstar to host. But I was out of town.
I've hear BlackKKKlansman is good, so I might have to netflix it.
Green Book. Meh. Pass.
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