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Netflix vs. the World (2019)
Very Informative
Great documentary that looks into the rise of Netflix and Fall of Blockbuster.
Red Dragon (2002)
Red Dragon Review
Red Dragon takes place before Silence of the Lambs, and I must say, this movie surprised me. There are moments in this movie that remind of Silence of the Lambs. Will Graham (Edward Norton) is reminiscent of Clarice Starling being the "middle man". Anthony Hopkins is back in his role as Hannibal Lecter. And our main antagonist, "The Tooth Fairy" is played by Ralph Fiennes similar to "Buffalo Bill". Together these three make up the plot, Will Graham needs Hannibal's intellectual help to stop the "Tooth Fairy" from murdering families. The balance between these three characters at times is great up until Francis Dolarhyde, "The Tooth Fairy" finds a love interest. Reba McClane (Emily Watson), a blind girl who falls for him, not for his looks but for what is inside. This whole subplot goes way too in depth and is hard to take seriously. The more the story goes into the relationship the less we connect Graham, Lecter and Dolarhyde. Furthermore, this creates a longer run time (2hr 4min) which could have been easily avoided if you take out the whole relationship subplot. The movie does recovery with a good third act, which ties all loose ends up and references Silence of the Lambs in the process. Red Dragon is a far better movie than Hannibal and is worth the watch for any Silence of the Lambs fans.
Hannibal (2001)
Reason #1 to not make a sequel to a masterpiece.
The more you watch Hannibal, the more you question its existence. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) is now living in freedom after his escape in Silence of the Lambs. He lives in Italy and is a curator at a museum, sounds thrilling right? The same protagonist arises from its predecessor, Clarice Starling. Except for one change, Julianne Moore is playing her and not Jodie Foster. Her job throughout this film is really unclear and it doesn't help that Julianne Moore and Jodie Foster look nothing alike. Between the change of actress, messy plot and awful makeup on Gary Oldman's character, this movie seems to never find its stride. It was purely put out for the purpose of making money, not following any advice from its predecessor in the process. What made Silence of the Lambs great was the relationship Clarice had with Hannibal, helping her stop Buffalo Bill. We get none of that in this movie, all dull characters with no purpose. Part of the characters not having any significance is because of whoever cast this movie deserves a Razzie award. The film peaks in it's "dinner scene" but is ruined by Ray Liotta being in the movie, why is Ray Liotta in Hannibal? The world may never know. The only actor who puts on an above average performance is Anthony Hopkins, but nothing near his Oscar winning performance in the previous film. That is the only reason in watching this movie, curiosity. Curiosity in if Hannibal has any reminiscence of Silence of the Lambs.
Predator (1987)
Predator Review
The film Predator gives us a action film that some are still trying to recreate today. Reminiscent of films like Alien and Rambo, McTiernan takes the best qualities from those films and uses them to his benefit. The performance he gets out of Schwarzenegger is one that is unforgettable, classic one liner after another. The action sequences are fun and keep the intense pacing of the film going. The supporting actors have great personalities but can be viewed as a little cliche. The dialogue presented can be cheesy at times, but avoidable because everything else going on keeps you distracted."The Predator" himself is a very interesting looking creature and is still passable to this day. The visual effects seem a little outdated at times, but still get the "invisibility" point across. Throughout the movie the musical score from Alan Silvestri can be heard at the most dramatic of times.
Predator is a fun action movie that has a very high re-watch value. I wouldn't be surprised if there are more sequels to come. Directors will continue to fail in making what the original Predator is. I would recommend this to anyone wanting a good summer action/sci-fi flick.
King Kong (2005)
King Kong Review
Peter Jackson's 2005 King Kong stands the test of time. With a 3 hour long run time, the audience gets almost everything they would want out of a "Kong" movie. Where the majority of my criticisms come from are all prior to when they land on the "Skull Island", so lets start there. We meet our main characters in the first act, Naomi Watts and Jack Black. We find out that Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) is an aspiring actress, trying to make it big time. On the other hand we have Carl Denham (Jack Black) a crazy director that will do anything to get his movie made. Naturally they find each other and decide to embark on the mission to get a movie made. While the set up is fine, the story lacks any believable dialogue. The movie continues to suffer from this throughout the rest of the run time but is specifically bad in the first act. Once we get through the introductions of the characters , the movie really takes off. It is no wonder that this film won the Oscar for best Visual Effects in 2005, because once we get to the island you can see them in full form. The creatures on this island all look gorgeous, including Kong. And because of the great effects and action scenes, this is the peak of the movie. Characters don't need to rely on the sub par dialogue anymore. The action on hand keeps your eyes glued to the screen. From this point on, the movie is a blast to watch. The actors give great performances, the action scenes are fun and the score from James Newton Howard carries the film.
If you love getting lost in a fun monster movie, watch King Kong. It is reminiscent of it's 1933 original, but still takes risks. I enjoyed myself through a majority of this film.
Dazed and Confused (1993)
A fun night
Dazed and Confused is a must watch coming of age movie. While it displays events that common audiences love on the screen, it lacks the small things that result in it not being anything great. In the first act of this film, we learn pretty quickly that there isn't much of a plot. But there is one simple task at hand, and that is for a group of high school students to have a memorable first day of summer. This simple plot results in there being lots of cheesy dialogue, cliched moments and even a predictable soundtrack. That being said, you are still able immerse yourself in this film. The relatability of this one day event keeps your eyes glued to the screen. Linklater is able to direct this movie as truthful as one could, bringing back nostalgic memories of our first time out on the town. The performances put on by the actors are all pretty serviceable, except for two. Pink (Jason London) shows us what the high school life is like, balancing between school, parties and football. And on the other hand Matthew McConaughey reminds us all why he was brought into the acting scene.
Besides the obvious flaws this movie was set up to have and some audio syncing that could have easily been prevented, I managed to still enjoy myself. If you were once a high school student, I can see yourself doing the same.
The Hateful Eight (2015)
Tarantino Strikes Again
Quentin Tarantino, the man that has yet to make a bad film strikes yet again. The Hateful Eight is arguably up there with some of his best work. The reasoning that this film is up with his best is because he finally used an original score. The problem I have had with some of Tarantino's previous films is the soundtrack that is provided has acted as a, "Best Hits" put on shuffle. But no, this time around Tarantino hits on all categories. The performances that he gets out of his actors, especially Samuel L. Jackson reminds us what cinema is all about. Getting lost in the world that is provided. For not one second did I think to myself, "Man, Kurt Russell is killing it!". This never appeared in my mind because the costume design, makeup and script gave all these actors a new identity. Because of this, I was lost for the entirety of the 3 hour film. Not to mention, shooting this on 70mm was a nice touch and gave the film some beautiful wide shots. The issues that I have with this film are little but bother me because if you erase them, you could have a potential masterpiece. For one, a song that is not apart of the original score is played towards the beginning of the film and because of how 21st century it felt I was taken out of the setting. Along with that, towards the end of the movie where Samuel L. Jackson gets shot I was a little disturbed. Not by the blood, but by the heavy usage of slow motion. He used the same slow motion in Django Unchained and it bothered me there too. If he changed these details I would have been even happier leaving this film.
Besides the little knit-picks, Tarantino shocked me yet again with another brilliant film. I would recommend this film to only few people because of the long run time and "R" rating that it is. Sit back and enjoy yourself if you are a movie geek like me.
Jurassic World (2015)
The 4th Highest-Grossing Film Ever
Jurassic World, the sequel we all wanted? My response to this question would be no. This movie does remind us of one thing for sure though, Spielberg knew how to not rely on CGI, and still have an entertaining story and well-rounded characters. That is the biggest issue that I have with this movie. Jurassic World's director, Colin Trevorrow thrives in one of those categories and lacks in the others. Our lead actors Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) are perfectly fine, but it seems that there is something holding them back. Maybe it is the four writers this movie had? Or maybe it is the constant product placement that is used. This problem continues throughout the movie with some of the supporting actors as well. We get a bland underdeveloped teen (Zach) that is focused on his phone and girls, and his little brother (Gray) who is fine but predictable. At times, the movie had me entertained though. I think there is something about dinosaurs that amazes us all, considering this is the 4th installment of a "Jurassic Park" movie. Audiences want to see these huge creatures tear people up, and I am with those people. The CGI is nice, and we get to see new dinosaurs like the Mosasaurus who refreshing and is good for marketing the movie. I can respect the fun that this movie is, but is hard to take seriously when you can see through the whole marketing gimmick that this movie is. I guess the gimmick worked though, $1.6 billion dollars later.
If you want a brainless movie that doesn't provide much thought process, go for Jurassic World. I would just recommend re-watching it's predecessor, "Jurassic Park" to remind yourself the genius of Spielberg and not Trevorrow.