[SilverEars]

Bumblebee - 8.7/10

I held off whatching this one since I cannot stand another Transformers movie, the Micheal Bay kind. I feel like I'm wastin my time with them.

I expected Bumblebee to be in the same lines as the usual Transformer movies (hence why I held off on this one even with reviews being positive), but it took my by surprise. I was actually pleasantly surprised how well executed it was. Story boarding was great with lots of well thought out moments in the movie. Casting couldn't have been better as Hailee Steinfeld was well fit for her staring role. She is a terrific acttress, and the chemistry between Bumblebee and her was a perfect match.

The movie is easy to follow, and children friendly. There's nothing that goes over your head as the story is presented very coherently to follow with ease.

The movie had the feel of a 80's movie, and that's was part of the charm about it. It has a similar feel to ET. Character development was very good, and how they represented Charlie as the Smith fan was unique, and gave her some character. Bumblebee's animation was well executed in expressing his emotions. The directer (Travis Knight) is an animator as he directed Kubo, which was a stop-motion animation, so no wonder Bumblebee was well animated.

The story is written by Christina Hodson, and she did a good job with the story. The movie is directed not by Bay, but Travis Knight. I'm not familiar with either one of them, but will be watching out for their other works.

The character development and screenplays are good, but the downside the plot, it's a bit cliche (yup, still a Transformers movie).

Highly recommended. The movie has soul and also entertaining, which all movies should be.

 

[SilverEars]

Incredibles 2 - 9/10

I enjoyed this one as well. Incredibles are my favorite Pixar franchise. I just find the movies to be really entertaining to whatch. Charcter development and animations are great, and there's really no dull moments in the movie. Pixar animation really doesn't get better than this. Brad Bird really knows how to entertain with animation. You can tell he has a keen sense when it comes to animation.

 

[tdockweiler]

If Beale Street Could Talk - 10/10

Best American film i've seen in maybe a year.
Somehow I actually hated this at first and at 15 minutes in I wanted to turn it off.
At the start it felt kind of pretentious and heavy handed. Kind of like a soap opera too.
The tone of the movie seems to change dramatically for me when Alonso's friend visits after leaving jail.
I'm not sure why I liked that scene so much. After that it just keeps getting better and better.

After watching this it's hard to believe "The Green Book" won best picture instead of this.

 

[DamageInc77]

Vice - 6/10

 

[SilverEars]

BlacKkKlansman - 7.7/10

I heard about this movie from a podcast dedicated to it. It's interesting how low of a production value it was (relative to the crappy blockbusters out there), but came out as an interesting movie. Story is pretty interesting and the movie has you engaged in finding out more what is to come.

This is a movie worth watching if anybody is searching around for something interesting to watch (as there are plenty of crappy content out there). Gripes I have is that it's just a movie based on true event type of thing (like The Post), once you watch it, it's not really rewhatcheable for entertainment value. Another thing is the acting. I don't know if it's just a style, but acting seemed stiff or a bit on the robotic side. Also, the charcters seemed like a black person's fantasy in the way supported the main character, and I really have doubts that really reflected the reality of the environment of a first black cop of a police department back in those days. Just seemed a bit too idealized that you'd not expect from reality. Good cinematography.

Don't get too hyped for this one. I know I was (the podcast really hyped it up), and came out not meeting the level I was hyped for. Just take it as a movie based on true events with some Hollywood flavor mixed with it.

 

[SilverEars]

First Man - 6.5/10

Dull and boring. I expected more out of this. I liked the cinematography, but the execution will put you to sleep. Apollo 13 was so much better.

 

[SilverEars]

Creed II - 7.6/10

I found the first one pretty decent so give this one a try. Not bad, and pretty much along the same lines as the first. I still prefer Rocky over Creed though, but I think Creed could have been worse taking something from the Rocky movies. So, worth checking out if you're a fan of Rocky flicks. Both Creed I and II surpassed my expectations as a big Rocky fan (as you can't beat the original).

Creed I - 8.2/10

 

[wuwhere]

Bumblebee (2018) - 7.99

 

[Laurenesi]

Polar 6,5/10

The whole movie I had the feeling I was looking at a weak copy of a Tarantino movie. Polar has similar bloody scenes, but it lacks the same amount humor and the golden soundtracks.

 

[tdockweiler]

The Mule - 8/10

Wish I had seen this at the theater. Would have been worth the $12!
I think it's also worth buying on blu-ray. I rented it but I want to see it again.
This is actually part comedy too.

Cold War - 1/10

Possibly the world's most boring movie. Hard to believe this was nominated for so many awards.
I normally am never bored with many movies, but this even beats "Flowers of Shanghai" and "Ulysses's Gaze".
If I saw this at the theater I would have walked out .
I've only done that twice in my life. One of them was "Godzilla" (1998 version).

BTW I must be the only human in the world who finds "La La Land" extremely boring. Hated every minute of it!

Bumblebee - 4/10

Sorry, but I thought this was horrible. What is with so many movies going for the retro thing these days.
Someone also needs to pay for John Cena to get acting lessons.
BTW anyone else notice his CGI spit? Pretty weird.

It's as if the script writer just borrowed from every single 80's SCI-FI movie out there.
I was reminded of so many different films. I don't mind usually.
Parts reminded me of "ET" and "Midnight Special".

 

[blackdragon87]

8.5/10

 

[kid vic]

War Dogs- 8/10

Fun but very predictable. Standard popcorn film

 

[castleofargh]

Bumblebee - 4/10

Sorry, but I thought this was horrible. What is with so many movies going for the retro thing these days.
Someone also needs to pay for John Cena to get acting lessons.
BTW anyone else notice his CGI spit? Pretty weird.

It's as if the script writer just borrowed from every single 80's SCI-FI movie out there.
I was reminded of so many different films. I don't mind usually.
Parts reminded me of "ET" and "Midnight Special".

well it's transformer, I can imagine the guys making the storyboard: "well living metal stuff that can transform into anything they look at for 5 seconds, it makes no sense so we don't have to bother making a believable story around it". I can't understand how someone involved in the scenario of those movies can ever be hired again for similar jobs, that really blows my mind.
Cena wishing he was invisible in this movie is the least of my issues, although I agree, he didn't exactly shine with this "performance".
I also kept wondering what laws of physics are supposed to apply(as with the entire franchise). the same wonder material sometimes can cut an autobot in half, sometimes will be pierced by random human guns. sometimes a missile will kill a decepticon, but a very similar missile only makes a dumpster fall on the side when the kid is in it. I'm assuming that dumpster was made by the same company that built indina Jones' fridge in the infamous nuke scene.
hard to explain everything wrong without spoiling so I'll stop here. it's the usual, sort of entertaining if you unplug your brain while watching so I guess I'd go: -2 for intellectual cinephiles , and maybe 4 or 5 as relatively brainless but not too boring entertainment.

 

[tdockweiler]

Places in the Heart -10/10

This movie reminds me of those days back when I was younger and even more addicted to watching movies.
I'd search through my huge movie review books to seek out all those old hidden gems. I was probably 16 or 17.
I kept hearing about this Akira Kurosawa guy and ended up watching his films and anything with a high score.
Some of the old "Great Movies" by Roger Ebert helped too. I always tried to watch some of the films he gave a 3 1/2 out of 4 too.

Anyway, this is one of those old 80's films that really seems to fly under the radar. I always try to find movies this good, but it's rare.
Like some of those recent french movies I watched (Jacques Tati films), this is one of the better American films i've seen in the last 5 years.

It's about a woman during the depression who loses her husband and has to try to still raise her kids and keep her farm going.
If they don't come up with enough money to pay for the farm they will lose it.

Perfect cast too. Sally Field, John Malkovich, Danny Glover and Ed Harris.
This one was nominated for Best Picture and I believe Sally Field got a best actress award. If so, she deserved it.
Danny Glover was good in this too.

Despite happening during the depression, a lot of this movie reminded me of my time growing up in a small city.
Back then we didn't need video games, cell phones and television to keep us entertained. It's weird saying this since I was only born in 1980!
I grew up with 20 acres of woods and a pond to fish and swim in. It seems we always spent most of our free time outside when we were kids.

I was reading up on this movie online and a lot of this was based on the memories of Robert Benton's life growing up (he's the director).

 

[tdockweiler]

The Emigrants (1971, Jan Troell) - 10/10

A must see. Hard to believe that I went so long without watching this.
I'm sure not many Americans have heard of this or have seen it.
It was nominated for best foreign language film at the Oscars.
I read that later it was also nominated for Best Picture, Actress, Director AND Screenplay.

I actually watched this mainly because I loved the director's other film "Everlasting Moments".

Anyway, this one is over 3 hours and about a poor Swedish family in the 1850's that emigrate to the USA.
This is actually based on two books in a series. There is even a sequel based on the next two books!

I plan on buying the books. I also found that Criterion released the two movies on blu-ray in a set.
The Amazon rental seems to have really poor quality along with bad subtitles.

PS I've had a lot of luck with find good movies lately!
Yet another film here that's one of the best i've seen in years.