Directors: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert Release Date: March 11, 2022 Wow. Wow. Wow. I’m not exaggerating. This is my favorite movie I’ve ever seen. Everything Everywhere All at Once has so many layers and makes a simple idea complex. The whole motif is bad relationships and how it can create an inner battle with oneself and other relationships. It sounds like it would be a serious movie, but it’s actually filled with these one liners that will definitely make you laugh. Kudos to the cinematographer and the editors. These cuts are so flawless, especially jumping from multiple universes at a time. Match cut after match cut. I want to shout out the acting, too. Michelle Yeoh and Stephanie Hsu did a phenomenal job. Both of them did so much more than acting. The relationship they portrayed on the screen made it feel so real. By the end of the film, everybody was crying. Everything Everywhere All at Once is perfect. It’s beautiful, emotional, funny, deep, and more. This will 100% be a nominated film for the 2022 Academy Awards.
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Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green Release Date: November 19, 2021 I watched this movie on the plane when I was going to Jordan. Will Smith won an Oscar for best actor in this movie, so I really focused on his performance. I think his acting was phenomenal. I feel like the most difficult roles is when you have to act like somebody else. You have to understand and know their mannerisms and accents. I don’t typically enjoy sports movies, but I appreciate how they focused on Richard’s motivation for his daughters. I felt like it was the perfect balance of the Williams’ upbringing and tennis playing. Robert Elswit, cinematographer, used some really crucial techniques to feel the stress of living in Compton and dropping everything to move to Florida. For example, after Brandie and Richard fought in the kitchen, Richard walked out. However, the camera stays in the kitchen. I thought that was really powerful since he comes back later. I really liked this movie. Director: Kyle Newacheck Release Date: June 14, 2019 I watched Murder Mystery for a compare/contrast essay assigned in my English class. I found this movie entertaining. I enjoyed the car chase at the end of the movie. I like watching Adam Sandler, but I don’t LOVE watching him. I find his movies repetitive, and they typically have the same/familiar jokes. I’m not saying that Adam Sandler is bad; I just think I could never binge watch 5 of his movies without being slightly bored. There were some smash cuts scattered throughout the film. They were used to show a little surprise. There was a twist at the end of the film, which reminded me of Agatha Christie’s twists (sneak peak of essay topic). If I were to rate this film it would be a 6.5/10. I don’t think there was anything special about it, but it’s a fast watch if you want to kill an hour and a half. Director: Milos Forman Release Date: September 19, 1984 Amadeus is possibly in my top five movies. I honestly had low expectations because it was filmed a long time ago, and I thought it would be boring. I was completely wrong. The mise en scene was absolutely phenomenal. The extravagant sets and costumes were intricate and well-thought out. They really showed a glimpse of what 18th century rich Viennese composers would look like. For example, there was a small scene of Mozart trying on three different types of wigs. There were classic film techniques used throughout this film. From scene to scene, he used fast cuts. I think he used these to make it seem less theatrical. My favorite part of this film was the opera scenes. I’m not a big fan of opera; however, my eyes were glued onto the screen. Amadeus is three hours long, but it doesn’t feel like that. It doesn’t feel slow and there wasn’t a moment when I was bored. I would recommend this movie to everybody. Mitchells vs. The Machines was so fun to watch. It’s so up to date on pop culture, which is so cool. As a kid, I think I would’ve thought this movie was hilarious. Imagine being seven years old and a screaming monkey pops up on the screen. The animation is peculiar, but in a good way. The characters look like they descended from owls, but I kind of vibe with it. When I finish any movie, I look up the cast. I was surprised when Olivia Colman was Pal!! I just did not expect it. I liked this movie, but the only con is that the jokes are definitely going to be dated. The best type of movies are timeless. Director: Jonas Poher Rasmussen Release Date: December 3, 2021 Flee was a heart-wrenching watch. The animation is very well done, but I think it would be better if we got to see it in live action vs. cartoon. It gets the job done by making people empathize easier, but I think we would have more raw emotion if it was done in live action. I could not imagine fleeing my home right now after losing my dad. I got emotional watching this movie because I felt an overwhelming feeling of uneasiness. It also dives on the subject of how refugees are treated. The Russian police treated them inhumanely by stealing their money and asking for papers each time they would step on the street. A scene that made me extremely emotional was the girl in the van. I felt so bad for her, especially when the police were saying all those disgusting things. It makes me think of all the refugees that have experienced hardships. Although this movie is mostly depressing, the ending was uplifting by showing how his siblings accepted him being gay. Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal Release Date: December 17, 2021 I don’t really know how to describe The Lost Daughter because it is so remarkably average. I don’t think it’s a terrible movie, but I also do not think it’s the best movie ever. This movie didn’t really have a plot; it was a bunch of flashbacks. Someone might argue that the plot could be Nina’s child going missing, getting found, and Leda stealing her doll. However, the prime focus is Leda’s trip bringing back memories of being a young mother. I appreciate how this film highlights the difficulties of motherhood. Olivia Colman did a great job playing her role as Leda, but I do not know if it’s Oscar worthy. I personally liked Jessie Buckley’s (young Leda) performance better. It was more dynamic with all of the different scenes and array of emotion. The Lost Daughter should definitely be given a chance because I see potential in why it might be good. I’ll try to watch it again. Director: Todd Phillips Release Date: August 19, 2016 I first watched this movie in the summer with my friend, and I honestly loved it. War Dogs is based on a real story (I don’t know how accurate the film is). I feel like many movies have scenes that are super unnecessary. However, this movie flows and each scene needs to be seen by audiences. From David and Efraim’s heated arguments to family problems, this movie makes me sit on the edge of my seat. I could consider this one of my comfort movies just because the pace isn’t difficult to keep up with and it’s not super action packed (it’s a good medium). I like how Phillips made the idea of greed get bigger and bigger throughout the movie by using scenes where both characters are living the high life (metaphorically and literally) before it all comes crashing down. One of my favorite parts of War Dogs is the one liners; they are the perfect chuckle during a serious movie. For example, one of my favorite lines is “God bless Dick Cheney’s America.” I read something online that it was a shame this movie did not come out during the Bush administration. If it did, I think it would make it 10x funnier. Cruella was a pretty solid movie. It’s not my favorite Disney live action movie, but I definitely see why people think it's in the top five. I like Disney’s take on Cruella’s sweet and evil side, it was different. I loved the fashion throughout this movie. My favorite part was when Cruella sabotaged one of the Baroness’ shows on a dump truck, and her dress was flowing out in the street. I think this is a top contender regarding costume and makeup for the Oscars. All those outfits probably took years to make, and I would love to be one of the actors wearing them. The CGI was really impressive. Fun fact: the real dogs were only in half of the scenes, the other half was CGI. I thought that was pretty cool. Nicolas Karakatsanis is the cinematographer of the movie; after a little research, he shot I, Tonya, too. After finding this information out, I could see some of his film techniques he used in I, Tonya in Cruella. For example, Karakatsanis likes to use hand held cameras to show that the character is out of control (parts of the Cruella concert scene and Tonya during competition with her broken laces). Overall, I liked this movie a lot. Director: Lin-Manuel Miranda Release Date: November 19, 2021 I would not consider myself a person who enjoys musicals. Now, I appreciate the hard work and talent put into these shows; however, I do not find myself excited to go to a musical. Going into tick, tick… BOOM!, I did not have very high expectations. I thought I was going to be bored out of my mind. I was shocked that I thought it was pleasant. I have a new respect for the effort it takes to make musicals because I have never seen it from the perspective of a musical writer. I am impressed with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s take in this musical film as it truly reflects Jonathan Larson’s endurance and stress. I feel like if Jonathan Larson were to be alive, he would have loved watching this appreciation film. The music enhanced the story line, and if you took all of that out, it would not be an enjoyable movie to watch. With all that said, the only thing I disliked was that some of the musical productions felt like I was watching a music video (not all of them though). Those parts didn’t feel natural as it just disrupted the actual plot and vibe to the movie. I feel like a proper rating of tick, tick… BOOM! would be 6/10. |
Jasmin AsadWatchin' films and writin' reviews is the purpose of this blog. Archives
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