April 2018 Movie Reviews
I’m late this month as I kept forgetting to spell check and grammar check this thing. Been busy getting the movie done, so there’s the good news. Anyway, here’s your movie reviews. Enjoy it as I’ve barely watched anything for the upcoming May movie reviews.
Sing Street– One of the best movies I’ve ever seen. I’ve got to go back and watch it again to see if holds up just as well in the second viewing. It literally made me laugh and cry. So underrated despite its accolades. I love the way John Carney directs. The same guy who made Once, and he’ll always be remembered by that movie despite making even better movies. It’s a musical that hides that it’s a musical because of the connotation those movies get. This movie is fast, fun, and all the music all has a point to it. Not just thrown in. He’s become one of my favorite directors.
Begin Again– I had to look John Carney’s other work and this movie delivered as well. Both movies I find myself YouTubing the songs over and over because they’re that good. I know Carney didn’t like Keira Knightley as the lead but I didn’t see any problem with her. I even liked the Adam Levine song, even though I hate his music. Another great, fast, fun movie. Both can be sentimental and deep without over-dramatizing themselves or taking themselves too seriously. Love the way he does romance as well. The scene with sharing music while walking down the street and his point on how music makes monotonous things take on a deeper meaning was so eloquent, without sounding eloquent… if that makes sense.
The Commitments– I watched this because some have compared this to Sing Street. I understand the similarities but I did not like this movie much at all. I swore I’d stop forcing myself to sit through movies, but I did it anyway. I was able to get through it easier once I figured out I could skip past a lot of the music sections. Besides that, the plot seemed dumb to me. How were they ever supposed to make it, they’re a fucking cover band! And why did all the girls want to fuck that old guy? Even more grating if you don’t want to hear soul music, especially a bunch of Irish people singing it. One thing I did like about it was getting to see what early 90’s Dublin looked like.
Moonrise Kingdom– It was okay. Cutesie, quirky comedy if you’re into that kind of thing. Those laughs that you laugh in your head and maybe show a smirk, or you laugh loudly to show you get the joke and you’re smart to the humor. The setting and coloring were cool, but the story and characters didn’t do anything for me.
The Adventures of Tintin– I remember this being a fun cartoon that had a little bit of a more adult quality to it when I was too old to still be watching Nickelodeon. Which made me a little disappointed as this movie seemed like a young adult movie made for children. I know, those last sentences confused me as well. It was like a little kids version of Indiana Jones, even though Indiana Jones is for kids. Does that make more sense? It was okay, moved at a decent pace. Weird animation and all the enemies have Stormtrooper like aim, and TinTin is a male, Mary Sue. Unless you count being a ginger a character flaw.
Downsizing– I really like some of Alexander Paynes’ Movies and even try to imitate some of its realism into my own projects. This movie was okay, many hate it. It took a crazy turn and seems to try to be 3 different movies within a 2-hour time span. Did not expect it to go where it went. Don’t know whether to applaud the ambition or judge it as a confused movie.
Infinity War– I actually really liked a Marvel movie for once. They finally nailed a villain and made him 3 dimensional, not just evil to be evil. Stalin, Hitler, Hussein all thought they were doing the right thing in their mind. Same with Thanos. Love the Children of Thanos/Black Order. They looked just like the comics, didn’t try to normalize the fuck out of them. They actually got a lot of heat kicking the heroes ass like villains should. Good fight scenes and great ending as well. Yes, there was forced humor but any more than the typical Disney project. Enough good things to deal with that the bad jokes. Wish Thanos would’ve worn his armor and helmet though.
Heat– I’ve been hearing about this movie forever and finally saw it. It was good, long but good. Somewhat overhyped since I’ve been hearing about it for 2 decades, but was still a good movie. Finally got to see Pacino and DeNiro act opposite each other. If you want to see the difference that experience and talented actors make. Watch the original version that Michael Mann made of this as a TV movie called L.A. Takedown in 89. Speaking of L.A…
L.A. Confidential– I’ve seen it once before but this is a movie that needs to be at least seen twice. Like Heat, it’s a star-studded cast as well. I had forgotten most of this movie except for the major twists. Even though it was supposed to take time a long time ago, it never really felt that way because… I don’t know, it’s in color?
Results– I’m also a personal trainer in Austin, so this was required viewing. I feel pretty similar to the Guy Pierce character, as I feel like I’m trying to be a professional in an occupation a teenager can do. And you can easily get caught up in unprofessional sexual relationships. Something about being a trainer makes you a magnet for women, but never the ideal circumstances for it. Bujalski has grown a lot as a filmmaker because I hated his first few movies. But he needed to go through his experimental phase. I did the same thing. The beginning title sequence thing didn’t make sense and felt unnecessary. And the movie about lost me when Kat makes a very unprofessional mistake, as I just can’t believe she would do that, especially not with that person. But overall I thought it was a good movie.
Disagree? Agree? Don’t care?