The Grudge and Mike's Top Ten Films of 2019

My View: The Grudge (2019) R   A house is cursed by a ghost hell-bent on getting vengeance by dooming anyone who enters will die a violent death. The first The Grudge (2004) was a surprise hit, mostly riding on the coattails of Buffy’s Sarah Michelle Gellar. After two lesser successful sequels, they have decided to reboot the series with this film. While the original movie wasn’t a slam dunk, it did have its scary moments and was worth the watch. I can’t say the same thing about this film. The film does a very clumsy tie-in to the first film and then proceeds to jump back in forth between three or is it four stories (I was too bored to keep track). The film has a bunch of jump out of the dark scares that don’t ever work, and the movie never builds any suspense. I now have a grudge against the writer/director of this film for making sit through ninety-three minutes of boring  My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again   The Grudge Website

Indiefest: Cunningham (2019)  PG   Documentary on Merce Cunningham and the history of his iconic dance company. A fascinating film about a cutting-edge choreographer/dancer who created a ground-breaking company that pushed the boundaries of music and dance. When asked if he wrote and performed ‘avant-garde’ pieces, he replied, ‘I don’t describe it, I just do it.’ The film beautifully recreates some Cunningham’s most well-known pieces, often in usual settings such as a forest or the top of a high-rise. There are also behind-the-scenes glimpses of Cunningham at work with his dancers, plus archival footage of the company performing on live television. Cunningham isn’t a film for everyone, but for lovers of theater and dance, it is a must-see.    My Rating: Full Price    Cunningham Website

Forgotten Film: Whale Rider (2002)  PG-13   On the east coast of New Zealand, the Whangara people believe that they were founded by an ancestor, Paikea, who, when his canoe capsized, he rode to shore on the back of a whale. This New Zealand tribe believes that the first-born sons are the only heirs that can become the chief. Pai (Keisha Castle-Hughes) believes that it is her destiny to become chief, against the wishes and beliefs of her grandfather, Koro (Rawin Paratene), she fights against a thousand years of tradition to fulfill her place in history. A stirring film of courage, with the unbelievable setting of New Zealand, along with Castle-Hughes giving us a magical and uplifting performance as the determined Pai, make this a film you will want to watch.   My Rating: Full Price    Whale Rider Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of The Grudge: Special MUFX Show Runner

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You: Just Mercy  (2019) PG-13   A young Harvard grad lawyer (Michael B. Jordan) could have the pick of any job in the country, but he picks Alabama to set up a law firm specializing in advocating for death row inmates he feels to have been wrongly condemned. He meets and defends Walter McMillan (Jamie Foxx), a man convicted of a notorious murder of an 18-year-old-girl. As I stated before, I will see any film starring Michael B. Jordan.    Just Mercy Website

Mike’s Top Ten Films of 2019

1).  1917   (film comes out Jan. 10th)

2).  Parasite   Parasite Review

3).  Marriage Story  Marriage Story Review

4).  The Peanut Butter Falcon   The Peanut Butter Falcon Review

5).  The Irishman    The Irishman Review

6).  Little Women    Little Women Review

7).  Avengers: End Game   Avengers: End Game Review

8).  Knives Out    Knives Out Review

9).  Apollo 11    Apollo 11 Review

10). The Little Biggest Farm    The Biggest Little Farm Review

Honorable Mention: Honeyland, Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood, Pain and Glory, Uncut Gems, Toy Story 4, I Lost My Body, Booksmart, Ford vs Ferrari, Us, Diego Maradona, The Amazing Jonathan, Jojo Rabbit, One Child Nation, Maiden, Late Night, Dolemite Is My Name

Until Next Time!

Aladdin

My View:  Aladdin  (2019)  PG  A street urchin named Aladdin (Mena Massoud) and an evil, power-hungry Gran Vizier (Marwan Kenzari) vie for an all-powerful genie (Will Smith) who resides inside a magic lamp. Both men are also vying for the hand of Jasmine (Naomi Scott). I had hope that this film would be good but it’s just ok. I had a big problem with the dance sequences as director Guy Ritchie decided to do some unnecessary camera tricks as he speeds up the action and then freezes it, which made the dancing almost unwatchable. I did not like Will Smith’s performance as the Genie which seems so generic. I wanted more from Smith’s Genie but his performance felt restrained and use autotune as much as you can, Smith just can’t sing. The movie felt longer than the 2 hours plus and it begs to ask the question, why does Disney think we want remakes of classic films in their library?   My Rating: Bargain Matinee    Aladdin Website

Indiefest:  The Biggest Little Farm (2018)  PG   A Documentary cameraman and his food blogger wife, decide to leave the city and become farmers of a failed 200-acre farm. This is one of the best documentaries that I have seen in the past ten years. A funny and moving film about the struggles of a husband and wife who try to rebuild a farm. While the overall tone of the film is upbeat, the Chester’s do go through some struggles, some of which threaten their farm. The film takes place over seven years and the transformation of the farm is remarkable. If you want to be inspired by a film, then this one is for you.  My Rating:  I Would Pay to See it Again    The Biggest Little Farm Website

Indiefest:  Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blache  (2018)  The story of modern filmmaker Pamela B. Green’s attempt to find out about the life and films of a pioneer French filmmaker, Alice Guy-Blache, who made over 1,000 films in twenty years but it forgotten today. A marvelous film about an incredible woman whose pioneer work in cinema we have forgotten until this film. Part detective film as Green travels the world to uncover the life and work of Alice. This is the perfect film for a cinema lover in you.   My Rating:  Full Price   Be Natural Website

My View: Brightburn (2019)  R  Like a certain superhero, what if a child from another world crash-landed on Earth but instead of becoming a hero, he evolves something more sinister? A family snuggles with the fact that slowly, but surely it is very evident that their boy is very different than the rest of the population. This more of a horror story than an organ story. The violence is bloody and gruesome, at times the gore overpowers the storyline. The storyline takes forever to get going, and when it does, it is incredibly predictable. We just don’t care about any of these characters, especially the boy who becomes the anti-hero. The film ends with a place for a sequel, but I can’t imagine this doing any sort of box office to warrant that.    My Rating: Cable   Brightburn Website

My View: Booksmart  (2019)  R  Two high school overachievers (Kaitlyn Dever, Beanie Feldstein) have always placed academics over anything else. They decide they have missed the fun of being a high-school student and decide to cram four years of fun into one night. Dever and Feldstein have incredible chemistry on the screen and their timing, finishing each other’s sentences. The dialogue reminded me a little of the Gilmore Girls, where the two leads just keep it up with non-stop dialogue. The film is sidesplitting funny and what I really like, it’s an original storyline, unique in this day and age of the remake. If you want a fun time at the cinema with some winning characters, go see this film.   My Rating:  Full Price    Booksmart Website

Forgotten Film:  The Out of Towners  (1970)  G  George and Gwen Kellerman (Jack Lemmon, Sandy Dennis)  travel to New York so that George can interview for his dream job. Unfortunately just about anything that can go wrong, does. This is such a fun film to watch as we see George and Gwen get their butt kicked by NYC. Nothing goes right for the couple from Ohio but they keep going, with George determined to make it to his interview on time.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee    The Out of Towners Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of Aladdin:  Splinter Unit Director

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  Rocketman  (2019)  R  Described as a musical fantasy, this is the story of Elton John’s (Taron Egerton) breakthrough years as one of the greats of pop music. I can’t wait to see this film.     Rocketman Website

Until Next Time!

Avengers: Endgame

My View:  Avengers: End Game  (2019)  PG-13  After the disastrous results of Avengers: Infinity War (2018), where Thanos turned the world’s population to dust, the Avengers must assemble what is left of them and try to undo Thanos’ actions. This film exceeded my expectations. It is everything I wanted. First off, the film has a lot of humor in it, very similar to Thor: Ragnarok. They did an excellent job of not letting one of the three leaders of the group, Ironman, Capt. America and Black Widow, dominate the scenes, all are important to the story. Yes, the film is over three hours long but it didn’t feel that way. The film never lags and moves a great pace. Brie Larson does an incredible job with Captain Marvel, even more, amazing performance considering she shot this film before Captain Marvel. Yes, you are going to shed a few tears, and you are going to be thrilled with the final battle sequence between Thanos and the Avengers. Marvel did an amazing job with this film and the films leading up to this ending, setting pieces up in those other films that get resolved in this one. Go have a blast and see this brilliant film.    My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again    Avengers: Endgame Website

Indiefest:  Sunset  (2018) R  A young woman named Irisz (Jul Jakab) shows up at a famous hat shop in pre-WW I Budapest, wanting a job. She is hiding a secret that  may get people killed. After we saw the film, I asked another critic whom I really respect, do you have a clue what we just saw and he said ‘no’. All I can tell you is the plot, and the character motivation are incredibly unclear. I can tell you every time Irisz leaves the house something bad happens, but she keeps doing it. This film directed by Laszio Nemes, the Oscar-winning director of the intriguing  Son of Saul (2015), which I loved, so I was disappointed by this film. The film was shot from the point of view of Inisz, and I got incredibly tired of the camera following her from behind, so we see scene after scene of us looking at the back of her head and neck. The film is 2 hours and 22 minutes but it felt like a four-hour film at least.    My Rating: Cable     Sunset Trailer

   

Indiefest:  Wild Nights with Emily  (2018)  PG-13  The little known life of writer Emily Dickinson (Molly Shannon), in particular, the great love of her life, a woman named Susan (Susan Ziegler) her brother’s wife.  Much lighter in tone than the Cynthia Nixon starring film A Quiet Passion (2016) which took the traditional route that Dickinson was a recluse and was never in love. This film takes a very different view of Dickinson, both her life as a spinster and her love life. In this film, Dickinson has a sense of humor, is in love with her brother’s wife and that Dickinson wrote almost all of her poems for Susan. I am not a fan of poetry, and there is a lot of it in this film, so at times I was a little bored. If you are a fan of Dickinson, then this is a must see to see a different take on her life.     My Rating: Bargain Matinee     Wild Nights with Emily Facebook Page

Indiefest:  Family  (2018) R  Kate Stone (Taylor Schilling) is focused on her career. She really doesn’t get along with anyone and doesn’t care. Her life changes when she has to baby sit 12-year-old Maddie (Bryn Vale), her brother’s misfit daughter. I loved this sweet and funny film about two very strange people connecting as a family. Kate is only focused on her career, that is all she does. She gets to the office before anyone else and is the last one to go home. She sees weakness in everyone and is fully confident that she is the one that will always come out on top. When her brother’s mother in law is near death and must be put into hospice, he and his wife are desperate to find someone to take care of Maddie. After much browbeating, Kate reluctantly agrees to take Maddie for one night. When she goes to find Maddie at her ballet class, she sees Maddie, in a tutu next door doing karate. Schilling and Vale have great chemistry together on the screen,  and I really enjoyed Vale as the peculiar Maddy. I loved the running gag as Kate’s life starts getting more and more complicated, the break room coffee performs less and less. Go see this warm film about family, and where you can find it in unexpected places. Just a bit of a warning, the Insane Clown Posse is a big part of the film and so you hear a lot of cussing, both in song and spoken.   My Rating: Full Price    Family Info

Forgotten Film:  Saint Jack  (1979)  R  Jack Flowers  (Ben Gazzara) plays an American hustler in the 70s Singapore. He dreams of opening a brothel so he can make some money to make it back to the states. The film gets a little slow but Gazzara gives a performance of his lifetime.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Saint Jack Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of Avengers: Endgame:  Senior Fur Groomer

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:    The Biggest Little Farm   (2018)  PG   A Documentary cameraman and his food blogger wife, decide to leave the city and become farmers of a failed 200-acre farm. This documentary was shot over seven years and was one of most talked about films of the 2019 Atlanta Film Festival.        The Biggest Little Farm Website    

Until Next Time!