Just Mercy

‘Just Mercy’ is a 2020 film following the true story of Bryan Stevenson (Michael B Jordan), a young black lawyer from Harvard who just passed the Bar. Stevenson moves to a small rural town to open up a practice to take on clients who haven’t had or can not afford legal representation. He takes on the case of Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx) a black man who has been wrongfully convicted and condemned to death row. ‘Just Mercy’ features a great cast with Michael B Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Brie Larson, Tim Blake Nelson (‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ ‘The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.’) Rafe Spall (‘Life of Pi.’ ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’), and O’Shea Jackson Jr. (‘Straight Outta Compton’).

There are only a handful of powerful movies each year, and even fewer ones remembered. ‘Just Mercy’ is one of these movies. ‘Just Mercy’ is not only the best movie of the year, but one of the best movies I’ve seen. It is gut wrenching for start to stop as Stevenson proves over and over without a fraction of a doubt McMillian is innocent, but it doesn’t matter. McMillian is a black man in a rural town and they’re convinced they have their killer, and are prepared to bury him over it. I could go into more detail , but I don’t want to spoil anything. I’m giving ‘Just Mercy’ my highest rating yet, as it is much deserved. A 10/10

1917

‘1917’ is a war drama about two young British soldiers during WW1 who are given an impossible mission: deliver a message, by dawn, deep in enemy territory that will stop 1,600 men, and one of the soldiers’ brothers, from walking straight into a deadly ambush. ‘1917’ stars George Mackay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Mark Strong, and Benedict Cumberbatch. It’s won and been nominated for several awards, including ten nominations at the Academy awards, and ten at the Oscars.

The realism and cinematography of this film are incredible, the attention to detail is breath taking. War is brutal, unrelenting, and most of all war is real. ‘1917’ really drives these home. The other thing taken away from this movie, the Germans would not stop at any cost, even if it meant harm to themselves. They are like a bunch of wasps whose nest has been disturbed. This is an incredible film and will go down as a war movie classic. This is a must see movie, I give it a 9/10.

Doolittle

Everyone knows the story of Doolittle, a doctor who treats and talks to animals making him the best vet around. The 2020 remake stars Robert Downey Jr, and features a huge celebrity cast which includes Antonio Banderas, Emma Thompson, Rami Malek, John Cena, Kumail Nanjiani, Octavia Spencer, Tom Holland, Craig Robinson, and Selena Gomez. This is about as big as it gets when it comes to a celebrity voice cast. This alone I would say it’s worth seeing. I read a lot of mixed reviews before seeing ‘Doolittle’, a lot bashing the film because of Robert Downey Jr’s fake Scottish accent in the film. Others called it a bunch of cgi fluff and a waste of time and money. So I went in with the bar set pretty low.

Dr. Doolittle has become a recluse with his family of animals after his wife Lilly died at seas. When the queen is poisoned and the only cure is from a fruit that may not exist. Dr Doolittle is convinced to take a voyage with his rag tag family of animals to search for the fruit.

‘Doolittle’ does a fantastic job with its casting. Each animal has a different affliction. Yoshi the polar bear (John Cena) is always cold, Chee the gorilla (Rami Malek) is always scared and carries around a security blanket, Kevin the squirrel (Craig Robinson) is paranoid, plus many others. The parts are played perfectly, and because of this it’s a nonstop laugh fest. The colors and picture quality are outstanding, it reminds me a lot of ‘Avatar’, which by the way I never heard anyone call cgi fluff and a waste of money.

Bottom line it’s a lighthearted family comedy, one you don’t have to do a lot of thinking when you watch it. You just go along for the ride with Dr. Doolittle and his animal family on their adventure, and laugh non stop along the way. This film doesn’t get enough credit for how good it is. It really is a good film and a must see, even with Robert Downey Jr’s fake accent. If a fake accent is your biggest reason to not like a movie, then the movie isn’t that bad. I give ‘Doolittle’ a 9/10.

The Grudge (2020)

The original Grudge movie is a 2003 Japanese horror film that was remade in the U.S. staring Sarah Michelle Gellar in 2004. I never watched any of the original Grudge movies, which is surprising considering horror is one of my favorite genres, but it didn’t really look good to me. So do we need another remake of ‘The Grudge’? Probably not, all the reviews I’ve seen suggest not. 4.1/10 on IMD, 17% on Rotten Tomatoes, and 22% on Fandango, but the cast lured me in to see this one. ‘The Grudge’ has a pretty decent cast starring Andrea Riseborough (Oblivion), Lin Shaye (Insidious), John Cho (Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle), and Betty Gilpin (GLOW, Stuber).

The plot boiled down is simple, a house is cursed by a vengeful ghost that curses those who enter it with a violent death. The story line is really good, it keeps you on the edge of your seat and glued to the screen. It relies heavily on on gore and jump scares for the scare factor, although the jump scares are slow and easily predictable. Also it is pretty gory but it’s not scary because of it. So i wouldn’t call this movie scary more of a mystery/ suspense. I can see why it has low ratings, the story is very good and keeps you intrigued, but it is jumbled and jumps around a lot. The first murders take place in 2004 and it is now 2006 in the story, so it constantly jumps between 2004, 2005, and 2006 without any real timeline. It leaves a tangled yarn of a mess, but once you get it all untangled it’s pretty good. The acting is also solid, Andrea Riseborough does a great job as the leading role of the detective. Due to the good acting, great story line, but being jumbled up. I give it a 6/10. Now if it followed more of a straight line in the story it would have been a great movie, and probably an 8. It is worth the watch though, and is a good kickoff for horror in 2020.

The Lobster (2015)

‘The Lobster’ is a very unique, odd ball movie that has been nominated and won several awards. It’s easy enough to find to watch since Netflix streams it. ‘The Lobster’ takes place in a society where if you don’t find your partner you’re turned into an animal of your choosing. You check into a hotel and have 45 days to find your love, if you don’t you’re turned into the animal. You can only match up with someone who has something in common with yourself, for instance if you get nose bleeds you have to find someone else who gets nose bleeds as well, if you have a limp you have to find someone who also has a limp. You cannot match up with someone you do not have something in common with, which makes it rather difficult. The other option is you can live as an outcast in the woods as a single person, there is a tribe of singles who live by their own code. No flirting, sex, or anything intimate with any of the other singles. If you break the rules, punishment will be enforced. The singles have to always keep a lookout and stay on the move, as the guests from the hotel hunt them with tranquilizers. If you do find your mate at the hotel you go through a trial together, if you last, you are allowed to join society/ the city where other couples live, singles are not allowed in society.

Interesting concept right? It has a pretty decent cast which includes Colin Farrell (Seven psychopaths, Fantastic Beasts), John C Reily (Step Brothers, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story), and Jessica Barden (The End of the F***ing World). I love John C Reily, he’s one of my favorite actors. He always seems to pop up in almost every movie as a minor roll, and his major rolls he is always hilarious. I’m a fan of Jessica Barden because of ‘The End of the F***ing world’ she nails the roll of Alyssa.

So the question is, is ‘The Lobster’ good? A simple answer, no. I had high hopes for this film, I really liked the concept, but I feel as if the ball was dropped. The acting is very robotic through out the entire movie, with no emotion what so ever. Which I know it’s done on purpose, but it makes it very boring. The story seems to just drag on and on, and every two minutes a violin plays bum bum, bum bum. It tries to be too artsy for my liking. I give ‘The Lobster’ a 3/10.

Jumanji: The Next Level

‘Jumanji: The Next Level’is the sequel to ‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.’ The next level brings back the same cast and adds heavy hitters Danny Glover and Danny DeVito, both of which are national treasures, anything with these two is going to be good.

The Next Level takes place in 2019, three years after their first adventure in Jumangi. Martha, Fridge, Spencer, and Bethany are on winter break and back home. All of them lead improved lives while Spencer feels left out, and feel the best time of his life was in Jumangi as Doctor Bravestone. When Spencer doesn’t show up to their get together, his friends get worried and go looking for him. Once they realize Spencer returned to Jumangi, they must go back into the game to save him. This time though Spencer’s grandpa (Danny DeVito), and long time business partner (Danny Glover) get sucked into the game as well. Danny DeVito becomes Doctor Bravestone (The Rock), and Danny Glover becomes Mouse Finbar (Kevin Hart).

Welcome to the Jungle was a lot better than I thought it would be, it’s a great movie. Typically sequels aren’t as good, but in this case The Next Level is the better of the two. Watching The Rock and Kevin Hart play two confused old guys in an action/adventure video game is hilarious. Both nail it on the head, especially Kevin Hart acting as Danny Glover. I could watch those two pretend to be old men all day and still laugh every time. The Next Level wraps up hinting at a Jumanji three, which The Rock confirmed the other day on social media, so keep an eye out for that. ‘Jumanji: The Next Level’ is a great family comedy full of nonstop adventure, and even with some touching moments sprinkled in. It’s the perfect movie to round out 2019, and because of that I am going to have to give it an 8.5/10.

Holidays (2016)

‘Holidays’ is a horror anthology film comprised of eight different short horror films each covering a different holiday. The eight films are Valentine’s day, St. Patrick’s day, Easter, Mother’s day, Father’s day, Halloween, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve. I was all ready to give this film a bad review. The still for the movie is a creepy girl, sitting on a bench covered in blood. It looks like your typical, cheesy, over the top, gore fest, low budget horror. From the looks of it, it reminded me a lot of ‘Tales of Halloween,’ another anthology film comprised of ten films covering Halloween. ‘Tales of Halloween’ was cheesy, and just not a good film. I figured however, I would give ‘Holidays’ a chance.

There’s not really any big names associated with ‘Holidays’ other than Kevin Smith directing Halloween, his daughter Harley Quinn Smith staring in her dad’s film, and Seth Green staring in Christmas. That’s about it, so i wasn’t really expecting much on that front.

I’m surprised to say it, but ‘Holidays’ delivered. Each film was pretty good, the writing was good, as well as the acting. Some films were creepier than others, Mother’s Day, and Easter especially. It is honestly one of the creepier horror movies I have watched, and it had me saying wtf more than once. If you’re wanting a creepy horror movie that’s going to make your skin crawl, then check out ‘Holidays’. It’s a solid film as far as horror movies go. I’m going to give it a 7/10.

Get Santa

‘Get Santa’ is a British Christmas comedy from 2014 starring Jim Broadbent, Rafe Spall, Kit Connor, and Wawrick Davis. I stumbled across this one while scrolling through Netflix. Only reason why I chose it was because of Wawrick Davis, he’s a legend in his own right. He’s the Leprechaun in the horror movie series, and has also stared in the Harry Potters and Star Wars franchises. I’ll watch his work anytime I get the chance.

Almost all Christmas movies are the same when boiled down, ‘Elf’, ‘The Santa Clause’, ‘The Christmas Chronicles’, and ‘Get Santa’. Santa gets in a bind, his slay crashes, grown ups don’t believe, Santa winds up in jail, and a kid who believes must save Christmas before it’s too late. All are essentially the same plot, just a different take on it. ‘Get Santa’ holds its own with all them. Acting is good, the movie flows well, the characters are lovable, it’s a Christmas classic in my book. I’ve decided to also start rating the movies on a scale 1-10 to give the readers a better idea how it stacks up. With all being said, ‘Get Santa’ is a 7/10. If you haven’t seen it, it is definitely worth watching this holiday season.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

“Won’t you be my neighbor?” It’s impossible not to get this song stuck in your head, and leave the theater without having the warm fuzzy feeling of wanting to be a better person that Mr. Rogers is so famous for delivering. I already knew this would be a great movie going in. Tom Hanks hasn’t been in a bad role, and Mr. Rogers is an icon. So what’s not to like? I enjoyed the movie, but it was a lot different than what I thought.

Tom Hanks nails the role of Fred Rogers including his mannerisms. What surprised me about ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’ is Fred Rogers wasn’t the focal point but more of the secondary story. It focuses more on Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys), who is an investigative journalist who is assigned to do a story on Fred Rogers. Vogel is a cynic who is determined to find some dirt on Mr. Rogers, and will not stop until he does. Vogel wasn’t prepared for how remarkable, and selfless of man Fred Rogers truly is. Mr. Rogers helps Vogel look at his past and face his demons.

Bottom line, ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’ is different than what I expected, but it’s a great and powerful movie. Tom Hanks and Mathew Rhys really bring it home. It’s a must see.

The Knight Before Christmas

This is another Netflix original, no surprise here, they’ve been pumping out movies left and right. This is another Christmas Rom-com. If you haven’t seen it previewed it’s about a teacher who doesn’t believe in true love, and has given up on finding her knight in shining armor. She accidentally hits a man with her car. She believes he is suffering amnesia from the hit because he is convinced he is a knight from the 14th century. With no where for him to go, she takes him in, in the spirit of Christmas. Little does she know he is a knight from the 14th century who is here on a quest, and he happens to be her knight in shining armor that she’s been looking for all along.

Not a big name cast here, it stars Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical), Emmanuelle Chriqui ( You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, Snow Day), and Josh Whitehouse (Poldark). Honestly I didn’t really care to see this movie, the previews looked cheesy and looked very Hallmark-esque. Even first little bit seemed like a Hallmark movie, but as it went on the more I enjoyed it. The acting is good, it’s funny, and puts a warm feeling in your heart. Josh Whitehouse nails the role as a knight from the 14th century, where you almost start to believe it yourself. Out of the three Christmas movies I’ve reviewed so far, this one is my favorite.