Birds of Prey - Movie Review

Birds of Prey is the newest film in the DCEU and the follow up to 2016's Suicide Squad.  It was released on February 7th, 2020, and I saw the film on opening night, but didn't review it then.  Now that I bought the blu-ray recently, I can review the film while it's fresh in my mind. The film tells the story of Harley Quinn, as we join her through a journey as she breaks up with the Joker, has tons of violent criminals after her because she no longer has Joker's protection, and she must protect a kid from the bad guy, Black Mask, who is after the kid because she stole a precious diamond.  This film was polorizing, although overall much better received than Suicide Squad. What do I think of this film?  This film is both a solid action movie and a solid comedy. This film has some of the best action sequences I have seen in the DC films so far! The police station raid and the final act are beautiful pieces of action filmmaking and I loved every minute of them. There are tons of great moments of comedy. Margot Robbie commits to the role of Harley Quinn, she lives and breathes the character! Ewan McGregor as Black Mask is also fucking amazing! He is so wonderfully over the top and funny, he was so much fun to watch! Another standout is Mary Elizabeth-Winstead as Huntress, she was badass, funny and incredibly sexy too.  Honestly a threeway with Margot Robbie and Mary Elizabeth-Winstead would be the time of my life! The film was also extremely fast paced, there was never a single dull moment here, and there were also a couple of moments of some pretty sweet R-rated violence! I do have a couple of issues though. If you want a full on Birds of Prey movie, you'll be very disappointed, because the titular team don't team up until the final act, this is very much a Harley Quinn movie. Also I couldn't help but notice that this movie REALLY felt like Deadpool in terms of storytelling. The first half of the movie jumps back and forth between past and present just like Deadpool did, that's more of a nitpick, but I just couldn't help but notice it. Overall, Birds of Prey is a terrific action comedy that fans of DC and comic book movies should check out! It's immensely fun, hilarious, action packed, the acting is great, it's just a great time!

Grade:  A-

Run time:  109 min

MPAA:  R (for strong violence and language throughout, and some sexual and drug material)

Studio:  Warner Bros. Pictures 

BAD MOVIES: Cats

My original plan was to do an entry in this segment on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen for the next review, but I just watched Cats for the first time.  This movie was released on December 20th, 2019, it was panned by critics and audiences alike and it bombed at the box office, grossing $75.4 million on a $95 million budget.  Cats was a movie that I initially vowed that I would never see, but because I decided to do this segment on this blog, I just said fuck it, and seeked out a Blu-ray copy and sat down in my dark room and watched it.  What can I say about Cats?  Cats is a very uncomfortable, awkward movie.  If a movie where people literally act like cats sounds like a movie that would entertain you, well then watch Cats.  If you think a movie where Rebel Wilson lays down, spreads her legs open and starts scratching her upper legs near her crotch sounds delightful to you, watch Cats.  This movie has some of the worst CGI work I have ever seen in a major professional film, it's so poorly done that at times you can actually see the actor's faces move off of the CGI cat bodies.  The song and dance sequences go on forever, they never end!  I wouldn't care if the songs were good, but they aren't.  The songs are extremely repetitive, some of them are ungodly annoying.  There is one song near the end where they repeat the chorous at least 18 times.  Another song before the end credits where that one old lady cat just sings very slowly, and just when you think the song is over, she starts singing even more, it just DRAGS ON!  Speaking of dragging on, this entire film dragged on!  It felt so much longer than it actually was.  This was easily the most anger inducing film I have seen in a very long time, since Fantastic Four (2015) and Collateral Beauty, and I never thought I would ever say this, but this is worse than those.  This is now the worst film of the 2010s, definitely the worst film of 2019.  Cats does not deserve to be called a movie, it is an attack on the very concept of entertainment.  I hated this film, it is one of the top 5 worst films I have ever seen in my life.

Grade:  F

Run time:  110 min

MPAA:  PG (for peril, some thematic elements and rude humor)

Studio:  Universal Pictures

BAD MOVIES: The Cat in the Hat

Alright, here we are, the first entry in my new BAD MOVIES segment, the first review for this segment is a film from 2003, starring Mike Myers, known as The Cat in the Hat.  Based on the book from 1957 by Dr. Seuss, the film tells the story of two misbehaved children who meet a giant talking cat who wears a big red and white hat as he teaches the two kids how to have fun.  Where to begin with this one.  This is one of my favorite bad movies, I love it for all of its weirdness, stupidity and very bizarre choices made in its storytelling.  There are obvious sexual innuendos, hilarious racial stereotypes, out of nowhere musical numbers, hilariously stupid scenes, the Cat in the Hat literally talks about making a murder look like a bloody accident, this movie is all sorts of crazy!  Mike Myers is brilliant as the Cat in the Hat, he brings us an Academy Award worthy performance like no other, with beautiful looking Cat in the Hat makeup that is definitely in no way scary in the slightest.  Alec Baldwin gives an equally terrific performance as the mother's evil boyfriend who wants to sent the boy to military school.  This movie is also extremely hyperactive, so if that sort of thing bothers you, definitely don't watch this.  Also if you're a Dr. Seuss purist, this movie will REALLY piss you off, because this movie is nothing at all like the book.  I will admit that the production value is great, this movie was directed by Bo Welch, who was the production designer for Tim Burton.  Overall, The Cat in the Hat is a terrible movie and adaptation, but it's badness is part this film's charm.  If you like movies that are so bad they're good, this is wonderful pick.

Grade:  F (quality wise)

             A+ (for being so bad it's 

                    good)

MPAA:  PG (for mild crude humor and some double-entendres)

Run time:  81 min

Studio:  Universal Pictures

Saw II - Movie Review

Continuing on with the Saw reviews, we go on to the first sequel to Saw, known as Saw II.  Saw II came out in 2005, a year after the first one, and this one is about a detective and his team who must rescue 8 people who are trapped in an abandoned house partaking in a sadistic game.  Saw II is definitely a stereotypical sequel, it amps up the violence (very much so), it adds more to the lore, and it's not as good as the first, although it's still a damn good sequel.  Saw II gives a solid story, very simplistic but very interesting nonetheless.  I love how this film fleshes out the character of John Kramer (aka The Jigsaw Killer), it's really what makes this movie's story so good.  The acting in this film while not great, is better here than in the first film.  This film is also extremely fast paced, never a dull moment here.  The violence is definitely the star this time around.  There is plenty of gore, it's brutal, there one sequence that is quite disturbing actually (the needle pit).  If you're a gorehound like me, you'll find a lot to enjoy.  As for issues, there is a lot less atmosphere here than there was in the first film, there is some, but just not nearly as much.  The story, while strong, is not quite as engaging as the first film.  Saw II is a good sequel, not as good as the first one but still good.  It's amped up violence and gore make it tons of fun, it's well directed and the story is very good, just weaker than the first.

Grade:  B+

Run time:  95 min

MPAA:  R (for grisly violence and gore, terror, language and drug content)

Studio:  Lionsgate, Twisted Pictures

Sonic the Hedgehog - Movie Review

As I go along with a slew of reviews, this is the first of the 2020 films that I haven't reviewed yet but saw.  Sonic the Hedgehog came out on Valentine's Day of this year, it starred James Marsden, Jim Carrey and Ben Schwartz, and tells the story of a fast blue hedgehog named Sonic, who teams up with the sheriff of a small town to stop an evil genius from capturing him and doing experiments to gain his power.  I'm not going to explain the history of this film because it's been done to death already, I am just here to give my quick and to the point opinion of this movie.  I really enjoyed this film.  It was fast paced, really funny, charming and has a surprising amount of heart to it.  This is an extremely enjoyable family film.  Ben Schwartz is fantastic as Sonic, he perfectly captures the energy and humor of the character as seen in some of the games and especially the cartoons of the past.  James Marsden works well for his role in the film, and by far, the best part of this movie is Jim Carrey!  He absolutely steals every single scene he is in, his physical comedy is always on point, and his charisma here is the best I have seen in a very long time!  The animation in this film is very well done, I love the details given to Sonic, all the individual quills and hairs are well defined.  The action sequences are also tons of fun.  They do rip off the Quicksilver sequences from the X-Men films twice here, but I can look past that considering the main character so it does feel appropriate.  As for issues, the story is very generic and so is the message, there is a very unnecessary fart joke about half way through the movie, and there is a scene near the end of the movie that is probably the most blatant and hilarious use of product placement since Transformers: Age of Extinction.  Overall, Sonic the Hedgehog is fantastic as a fun family action comedy, the humor is mostly great, the best being from Jim Carrey, it has fun, memorable characters, the action scenes are a blast and the film is definitely a delightful watch.  

Grade:  B+

Run time:  100 minutes

MPAA:  PG (for action, some violence, rude humor and brief mild language)

Studio:  Paramount Pictures 

Saw - Movie Review

So because of the "coronavirus" pandemic bullshit, there's no new releases coming out, which is a bummer considering there were a bunch of movies coming out that I wanted to talk about.  So in the meantime, I want to take the next month or so to talk about movies I always wanted to talk about and review 2020 movies that I saw but never reviewed yet.  Since Spiral: From the Book of Saw is coming out in May, and is one of if not my most anticipated film of the year, I want to review every Saw film leading up to it.  So let's review the film that started it all.  Saw came out in 2004, directed by James Wan (who is known for The Conjuring 1 and 2, Insidious 1 & 2, Furious 7 and Aquaman) and is about 2 strangers who find themselves trapped in a filthy bathroom, discovering they are forced to partake in a deadly game perpetrated by a serial killer known as "The Jigsaw Killer".  Saw in my opinion is a modern classic, it is a wonderful psychological horror film that is extremely well directed and filled to the brim with atmosphere and the sense of dread.  This movie's dirty, grimy look adds to the tone of the film wonderfully.  As a directorial debut, this was a solid home run for James Wan.  The story is constantly engaging, I was never bored watching this film.  This film is also one of the best examples that I can give for using flashbacks for telling the story, it feels very organic and it also feels very integral to tell this film's story.  If you ever want to get into this franchise but can't handle extreme gore, this is the one to watch, it's nowhere near as graphic as its reputation.  Yes this film gets very bloody at times, but it doesn't get to the gratuitous levels of its sequels (especially Saw VI and Saw 3D) at all.  For example, the most iconic scene of the film where Cary Elwes cuts off his foot to free himself, you hardly see anything, it's mostly offscreen.  As much as I love this film and I consider it a classic and one of my all time favorite horror films, there are a couple of issues.  One of them is the acting.  A lot of the acting is terrible.  Especially from Cary Elwes and Leigh Whannell.  The last issue is a minor one, but I wish Danny Glover's character had a bit more development.  That's about it.  As a low budget indie flick that spawned one of my favorite horror franchises, Saw is amazing.  This film has a very special place in my heart as a horror junkie, it's perfectly paced, the story is fantastic, and it delivers atmosphere and tension in spades!  If you love horror, Saw is essential viewing.

Grade:  A

Run time:  103 min

MPAA:  R (for strong grisly violence and language)

Studio:  Lionsgate, Twisted Pictures

The Best Films of 2019

2019 has come to a close a few weeks ago and now I must do my best and worst lists.  2019 was a fantastic year for movies, it did pretty poorly but overall it was great!  Now before I get to my list I do have a few honorable mentions.

Honorable mentions:  Toy Story 4, Rambo: Last Blood, How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Shazam!, Happy Death Day 2U, Us, Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, Child's Play, It Chapter Two, Doctor Sleep, Spider-Man: Far From Home and Midsommar

Now that we got the honorable mentions out of the way, we shall now get to my list!

10.  John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum

John Wick: Chapter 3 was a non-stop action thrill ride!  It was brutal, violent, fast paced, and awesome!  Keanu Reeves has once again proven he is one of the best action stars working today, seriously, his stunt work is off the charts.  It's my favorite in the trilogy and hopefully Chapter 4 can live up to this.

9.  Alita: Battle Angel

This was a film I was massively worried about because of the constant changes in release dates.  However, when I saw the film, I was absolutely blown away.  Alita: Battle Angel was visually exhilerating, the action was fantastic, and I loved the characters.  I never thought Robert Rodriguez could pull off a big budget sci-fi action flick like this, but he did, and he deserves all the credit possible!

8.  Uncut Gems

Adam Sandler has done something that's nothing short of remarkable here!  This movie was incredible to say the least.  This movie is a 135 minute anxiety attack!  This movie never lets you have time to breathe, in the best way possible.  This movie was just filled to the brim with beautiful tension.  Adam Sandler also gives the absolute best performance of his entire career here.  Too bad he was snubbed at the Oscars.

7.  Rocketman

Rocketman was just delightful!  It had energy, it was full of passion, the music was wonderful, Taron Egerton's performance as Elton John was phenomenal!  That was another snub at the Oscars!  Fuck you academy!

6.  Crawl

To those who never watched this movie because they thought it looked bad, GIVE THIS FILM A CHANCE!  Crawl was fantastic!  This film was everything I wanted in a monster movie, gory, suspenseful and fun!  I couldn't get enough of this film!

5.  The Lighthouse

The Lighthouse was something special.  I thought it would end up being a pretentious artsy borefest, but instead it was a very engaging, very entertaining thriller with atmosphere and fantastic performances.  How the movie looks is brilliant, the aspect ratio made the movie feel extremely old fashioned and the black and white added to the atmosphere.

4.  Joker

Joker was not only a wonderful film with a haunting, beautifully told story, it was also a wonderful love letter to classic Martin Scorsese films Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy.  This movie was everything I could ever want from a Joker movie, and a nice change of pace from other comic book movies.  Also Joaquin Phoenix was phenomenal here, can't forget that.

3.  Ford v Ferrari 

This was one of the most fun films of the entire year!  The race sequences were amazing, the acting was great, and this was also one of the best paced films of the year too!  This 152 minute film felt like 80 minutes!  Check it out if you haven't.

2.  Avengers: Endgame 

I honestly am speechless how great of an ending this was.  This film was everything, exciting, entertaining, fun, hilarious, emotional, everything that makes a movie great!  The last hour of this film was nothing short of perfect.  As a fan of the MCU, this was exactly what I wanted and more.

1.  Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood 

Quentin Tarantino once again has proven why he is one of the greatest working filmmakers today.  This movie was perfection.  The dialogue, the comedy, the acting, all of that was amazing!  It's a wonderful loveletter to the 1960s and that era of Hollywood.  The final act of this movie was one of the best things I have seen all year!  All of that is why this is my favorite film of 2019!  I am very happy as well that Brad Pitt got nominated for best supporting actor, let's see if he wins! 

So there you go, my best of 2019 list.  Hope you enjoyed reading it.