Rankings and Lists - Page 11 of 16 - Reel Opinion by Eric Zimmerman

“Cinderella” (2021) Is Not a Fairytale

See the Official Trailer + Posters for "Cinderella" starring Camila Cabello & Billy Porter | BellaNaija

“Cinderella” is the second live-action Cinderella movie we’ve gotten in just six years and stars Camila Cabello in the lead role. It was written & directed by Kay Cannon, the writer of “Pitch Perfect,” and is, according to Amazon Prime, “a modern movie musical with a bold take on the classic fairytale.”

“Bold” was the key word in that description. This film threw everything that makes a children’s film a children’s film out the window and instead chose to make a 2-hour-long YouTube music video full of political messaging. The most important statement I can make in my review is this: 2021’s “Cinderella” is not a fairytale, and it’s definitely not for children.

No child will like this movie, and instead will most likely be bored by it. It’s far too long and lacks the sense of wonderment & joy a film like this must have. I have three key points explaining why this isn’t at all fairytale movie:

The film feels like it takes place in present day.
Every song is either forgettable or unoriginal.
The film revolves around modern-day political/social issues that children probably won’t understand and definitely should not be exposed to at a young age.

Point #1 – The film is completely unable to immerse the audience in the past for several reasons, namely the dialogue and set design. The dialects of nearly all this film’s characters contain present-day slang, much of which is far too crude for a PG-rated children’s movie. “Cinderella” contains phrases such as “side chick,” “frickin’,” & “yas queen,” and contains crude lines such as “most men are hos.” As for the set design, the production staff was clearly too lazy or incompetent to select props, costumes, and sets from one specific time period. In a single shot you can see people wearing clothes from both the 20th century and the 15th century. Without creating a clear setting, the audience simply won’t be as immersed as they could be.

Point #2 – As I previously stated, this film contains unoriginal songs. By unoriginal, I literally mean popular songs created outside of the film by different artists. The filmmakers were so lazy that they actually grabbed pre-existing songs instead of writing more new ones. Almost every music sequence unapologetically steals songs such as Material Girl, Am I Wrong, & Whatta Man. As for this film’s original songs, there are only three of them. This film has around fifteen songs in it (which is far too many in the first place), and only three of them are original. Plus, the songs that are original are terrible; autotune is turned up all the way to the point that your ears will ring.

Writer-Director Kay Cannon on Camila Cabello and 'Cinderella' - Variety

Point #3 – I’m of the opinion that real-world political/social issues should be kept out of movies (no matter if they’re left-leaning or right-leaning). The point of cinema is escapism; to be transported to a world and get invested in the characters & their journeys. Inserting political issues destroys the immersion and therefore prevents the film from even being true cinema. “Cinderella” is almost entirely focused on its political and social agendas (I won’t delve into specific details because this blog never gets political). The actual fairytale of Cinderella takes a backseat to political messages children shouldn’t be exposed to at a young age just so the filmmakers could show how “righteous” and “informed” they are. A movie should be made to entertain audiences, not to preach a filmmaker’s political beliefs.

2021’s “Cinderella” will leave you feeling miserable. This film makes the viewer wonder whether or not he/she is even watching a kid’s movie and what it’s target audience even was to begin with. This film is completely unoriginal and wastes any speck of potential it has by focusing almost exclusively on messaging. This is not an enjoyable film by any means, and it reflects some of modern Hollywood’s worst tendencies/habits.

Grade: F

On a side note, despite how abysmal “Cinderella” is, “The Little Things,” is still 2021’s worst movie by far. Here is my review of that catastrophe.

All Quentin Tarantino Movies Ranked

Best Quentin Tarantino Movies Ranked for Filmmakers

Quentin Tarantino has one of the most impressive filmographies of any director and he’s one of my all-time favorites. Here’s my ranking of his films from worst to best:

9. Death Proof – Tarantino has publicly admitted that this is his worst film, and for good reason. “Death Proof” features fun dialogue and a few interesting characters, but all other Tarantino movies have those aspects as well (and a lot more of them). Tarantino tried to make a fun grindhouse film, but the style he went for and the strange story just didn’t make for an engaging movie. The first half is far too artsy, as Tarantino decided to put an off-putting grimy filter on it which constantly had green lines flashing on the screen. Although the second half is certainly better, it ends in a car chase which went on for an overly-long twenty minutes, making the action sequence boring and tiring. I also think this movie would’ve been better as a short film, as it would allow Tarantino to make his dream grindhouse production without the excessive runtime. This is a somewhat decent film overall, but for a director who is known for consistently making great movies, it’s a failure.

Grade: C+

8. Jackie Brown – This is Tarantino’s only film based on a book, which is why it feels strange to me. The book itself is called Rum Punch and it was written by Elmore Leonard, a writer Tarantino has called a major influence. The Tarantino staples such as great dialogue, complex characters, and exciting twists are all there, but the film also features a plot that doesn’t quite match Tarantino’s style. The film is essentially a heist movie in which Jackie Brown tricks everyone, and while that sometimes works, it feels like Tarantino didn’t focus on the plot as much as the story needed him to. Plot-heavy stories are not Tarantino’s style; his films are normally character-based with almost no focus on complicated narratives. There were a lot of scenes with characters just sitting and talking, and while those were my favorite scenes in the film (due to Tarantino’s great dialogue), they felt very out of place within the context of the story. With that stated, I would still call this a very good film due to its dialogue, characters, and outstanding performances by Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, and Robert Forester.

Grade: B+

7. The Hateful Eight – This film is essentially a remake of “Reservoir Dogs” that’s set in a cabin in the Wild West, but it was still a lot of fun for the most part. All the characters were fleshed out and thoroughly entertaining, especially Walton Goggins’ character who had a decent character arc. The film’s twists & turns were extremely Tarantino-esque and satisfying. The problem with this film is its nearly three-hour-long runtime. It should’ve been about 40 minutes shorter. The first 45 minutes are essentially just four characters sitting in a carriage talking about the Civil War, and although the dialogue is interesting, this section of the film couldn’t hold my attention throughout all of its 45 minutes. The film definitely picks up speed once the characters enter the cabin, but even the cabin segment could have been trimmed. If Tarantino just shortened the runtime, “The Hateful Eight” would be higher on this list.

Grade: B+

6. Reservoir Dogs – Tarantino’s first film has a compelling, unique premise and his usual violence & exciting dialogue. You can read my full thoughts on this film here.

Grade: A-

5. Django Unchained – This is a great modern western filled with interesting characters, thrilling action, and Tarantino’s signature dialogue. Watching Django’s journey from being a slave to an expert bounty hunter is extremely satisfying, especially when he finally gets his revenge. The acting, especially from Christoph Waltz and Samuel L. Jackson, was amazing. I think Samuel L. Jackson’s performance in this film is actually his best. He transformed into a completely different person, which is especially hard to do considering how iconic and well known he is. To many people this is one of Tarantino’s best films, but I have a few issues with it. Firstly, the movie barely ever shows Django training to become a better bounty hunter; as soon as he held a gun, he was immediately an expert for no apparent reason. Also, the film hit a natural conclusion and decided to continue for another twenty minutes, making the climax less engaging.

Grade: A-

4. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Tarantino’s love letter to old Hollywood was immersive and surprisingly emotional. Brad Pitt’s Cliff Booth is probably my second-favorite Tarantino character, as he’s effortlessly likeable, charismatic, and hilarious. Setting the film in 1969 was a brilliant move since that was truly the year of transition between classic Hollywood to the more edgy & creative Hollywood of the 1970’s. Some people found this film to be boring because it’s sort of a “hangout” movie in which not much happens, but I loved that aspect of the film. The characters and dialogue were plenty engaging for me. While the film could’ve been 5-10 minutes shorter, I always enjoy traveling back in time to this world Tarantino crafted.

Grade: A

3. Kill Bill (Volumes 1 & 2) – This is probably Tarantino’s most surprising movie for me, as I had no idea he was such a brilliant director of action before watching the film. The action sequence in the restaurant in which the Bride fights O-Ren Ishii’s henchmen is one of the best fight scenes in cinema history. The choreography in this movie is complex and brilliantly executed by Tarantino. The Bride herself is one of my favorite Tarantino characters, and her journey for revenge is extremely satisfying. I think the first half (Volume 1) is phenomenal, but the second half (Volume 2) is definitely weaker, mainly because it should have been fifteen minutes shorter.

Grade: A

2. Inglourious Basterds – This film has Tarantino’s most riveting dialogue, greatest tension, as well as his best character, Col. Hans Landa. Not only is he Tarantino’s greatest character, not only is he one of cinema’s greatest villains, but he’s one of cinema’s greatest characters period. Christoph Waltz gave one of the best performances of all time as Landa. He was charismatic, unpredictable, and frightening all at the same time. The rest of the characters were entertaining as well, especially Shoshana and Lt. Aldo Raine. The opening scene of this film in Lapedite’s farmhouse is my second favorite movie scene of all time (my all-time favorite being the restaurant scene in “The Godfather”), and the 25-minute-long bar scene full of Tarantino’s perfect dialogue was equally intense and enthralling. The reason this film isn’t higher on my list is simply because the next movie is just as good and is more significant to pop culture.

Grade: A+

1. Pulp Fiction – This film broke all the rules of screenwriting: the narrative was out of order, the stories revolved around random events, none of the characters were protagonists, and most of the dialogue had almost nothing to do with the actual story. Yet all of Tarantino’s unconventional methods worked beautifully. This film fits into so many genres and balances all of them flawlessly, whether it’s a comedy, thriller, crime-drama, or action movie. “Pulp Fiction” is one of those very few films which actually changed cinema history. It’s a chaotic, wonderful, and extremely fun film that remains entertaining throughout its entire 2 1/2 hour runtime.

Grade: A+

“He’s All That” is Hilariously Terrible

I loved “He’s All That.”

One might say it’s an abomination and total disaster, and while that’s 100% accurate, “He’s All That” is terrific as an (unintentional) study of everything wrong with modern Hollywood. This is an outstanding “so bad it’s good“ movie.

“He’s All That” is a remake of the 1999 film “She’s All That.” This film stars Addison Rae (yes, the Tik Tok influencer) as a social media influencer & popular girl at Cali High School in California. One day she accepts a challenge to turn a social outcast named Cameron Kweller (played by Taylor Buchanan) into her school’s prom king. Kourtney Kardashian is also in this film for some reason. If you weren’t already ecstatic and eager to watch this film after reading that phenomenal premise, you will be once you see this horrific, horrific trailer:

What I loved most about this cinematic achievement was that it was practically an advertisement for Addison Rae and the Tik Tok platform itself. This film reminds me of a (far worse) web series called “Attaway General,” (A.K.A. Tik Tok Hospital) which has real-life Tik Tok influencers in the lead roles playing hospital volunteers. The first way “He’s All That” and Tik Tok Hospital are similar is that this entire film looks like a YouTube video made by 65-year-olds who don’t know how to use a cell phone, but just found a script written by a 13-year-old and decided to make it into a motion picture. The color saturation is turned all the way up and all the shots look like they were designed by a terrible music video director.

Secondly, the writing quality is almost identical to that of “Attaway General.” The film tries to present itself as self-aware and pretends to acknowledge how ridiculous it is that the main character is played by someone who makes a living off of dancing in front of an iPhone. There are several scenes in which a character will point out how strange it is that Addison Rae’s character will just take a selfie during any activity/event/disaster, but none of them work. This is not only because a Tik Tok star was given top billing, but also because the film has a message of “see — not all social media influencers are fake,” which is executed incredibly poorly. The film even ends in an unironic Tik Tok dance battle!

The third way “He’s All That” is similar to “Attaway General” is the nightmarish acting. My theory for why this is (besides embarrassingly bad direction) was that all the actors were doing their best to match the performance Addison Rae was giving so that her acting didn’t seem as atrocious as it really was (because that would damage what will soon be an illustrious acting career). This will come as no surprise, but Addison Rae is not an actress. She is constantly having far too much fun on screen; she takes absolutely none of the acting seriously, and instead just wants to enjoy being on a film set.

Although the story of “He’s All That” is incredibly generic and soulless, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of watching this film. Simply knowing that Netflix spent millions and millions of dollars on an Addison Rae vehicle that’s also a remake gives me insurmountable joy, especially after seeing how incompetently the film was made. I strongly recommend this film, especially to cynics who just want to laugh at a hilariously terrible movie.

Quick Catch-ups: Pig, Reminiscence, & Sweet Girl

I don’t always get the chance to review a movie as soon as it comes out, so here are some brief reviews for three movies released earlier in 2021: “Pig,” “Reminiscence,” and “Sweet Girl.” One of which is great, one of which is mediocre, and one of which is an abomination.

Quick Review #1: “Pig”

Nicolas Cage Seeks Swine in First Trailer for Pig

“Pig” was written & directed by Michael Sarnoski and stars Nicolas Cage as Rob, a truffle hunter and former chef who lives with his truffle pig in the Oregon wilderness. After his pig gets stolen he, alongside his buyer Amir, go on a journey to find the pig.

Nicolas Cage gives possibly his best performance of his career as Rob. Cage is subtle and quiet but maintains such a strong screen presence which can’t be delivered by most actors. Alex Wolff’s performance as Amir was also terrific. He was extremely sympathetic and relatable in the role of an ultimately pathetic individual who builds independence and confidence in himself through interacting with Rob. There wasn’t a single scene in which at least one of the two actors was present, and that’s a positive. Both actors are worthy of Oscar nominations and gave the best performances of the year thus far.

Sarnoski screenplay was phenomenal as well. All the dialogue felt extremely realistic. Instead of having excessive profanity or cheesy Hollywood dialogue that many films suffer from, all the characters speak like real people and have conversations that we’ve all had in life. His direction was fantastic as well, especially considering that this is his directorial debut. The scenery and environments are gorgeous and he maintains the somber tone throughout the entire runtime.

The best aspect of this film, however, is that it uses its premise as a tool for character development and emotional storytelling rather than action set pieces or artsy, drawn-out scenes. This is an indie film made for general audiences; it never becomes pretentious, rather focusing on its themes of the importance of family and valuing yourself & your life goals. Although Rob is quite a rugged and distant person, his self-confidence and values affect those around him, specifically Amir.

My only complaint with the film is extremely minor, but I think it would have an even more emotional punch if it had an extra five minutes to explore the characters a little longer.

“Pig” is a great film that uses its premise to provide an emotional story which all people can relate to. It’s an example of what movies can do when made by competent filmmakers with a vision and why movies became so popular in the first place. We get very few films like this currently, and I adore “Pig” for that.

Grade: A

Quick Review #2: “Reminiscence”

Reminiscence's Lisa Joy and Charlie Jane Anders talk 'nightmare' of nostalgia - Polygon

“Reminiscence” was written & directed by Lisa Joy, the co-creator of HBO’s “Westworld.” It stars Hugh Jackman as Nick Bannister, a private investigator in a post-apocalyptic future who can navigate people’s memories through a reminiscence machine. Bannister uncovers a conspiracy as he investigates the disappearance of a mysterious woman named Mae (played by Rebecca Ferguson).

Lisa Joy created an incredibly compelling setting for the film, not only through the premise, but also through the worldbuilding. In this movie, the Earth underwent massive flooding which sank several countries, and cities like Miami are almost completely submerged under water. Due to the heat, the people of Miami became nocturnal (since night is colder than day).However, the problem with this film is that it wastes its setting’s massive potential by focusing on a boring romance/neo-noir story with underdeveloped characters. The film never takes the time to pause and let the audience absorb the world of “Reminiscence,” and instead concentrates on a generic, uninteresting love story with bland characters.

“Reminiscence” was in desperate need of more character development and/or action sequences, as it quickly became boring to watch Bannister talk about Mae to other people for 2 hours. There aren’t any elements to this film which stand out, making for an ultimately forgettable film.

“Reminiscence” has breathtaking visuals, a brilliant post-apocalyptic concept, and a powerhouse performance by Hugh Jackman, but it spends too much of its runtime on a boring mystery/love story that doesn’t properly showcase the world Lisa Joy created. This is the most “meh” film of 2021 thus far.

Grade: C+

Quick Review #3: “Sweet Girl”

Sweet Girl' Netflix Movie Soundtrack: Full Song Listing - What's on Netflix

This film is essentially the exact opposite of “Pig.” Rather than having an emotional story with likeable & memorable characters, “Sweet Girl” is a terribly titled, generic, and boring action film with very few redeeming qualities.

Starting positively, I thought Jason Momoa gave the best performance of his career. He actually acted in this film, which I’m not used to seeing from him. He elevated the material to a high degree and gave it his all.

Besides Momoa, I didn’t like anything about the movie.The direction of this film is just abysmal. “Sweet Girl” looks like a made-for-television movie and has little to no personality behind the camera. In addition, the action was impossible to follow due to the heavy usage of shaky cam, quick-cut-editing, and awkward camera placement. To add insult to injury, the daughter character was incredibly annoying for most of the film and almost always made her scenes worse.

The script for “Sweet Girl” is another horrible aspect. Firstly, it was never explained how Momoa or his daughter were able to fight off assassins (they had no training besides boxing a few times), which is a major problem for an action film. The movie also has FOUR time jumps in just the first twenty minutes, which made the plot overly difficult to follow during the first act. The film also tried to have a message about the corruption in Big Pharma, but since the movie was written by incompetent people, the message was executed in an unintentionally hilarious way. For example, the villainous Big Pharma company was literally called “BioPrime,” and they actually hired professional assassins to kill two people just because they made negative comments concerning the company.

“Sweet Girl” is a boring and incompetently made movie with terrible action & a ridiculous plot that has a fantastic lead performance by Jason Momoa, even though the film was a waste of his talent.

Grade: D-

“Free Guy” Review

“Free Guy” was directed by Shawn Levy and was written by Zak Penn & Matt Lieberman. It stars Ryan Reynolds as Guy, a bank teller who discovers he’s actually an NPC inside an open world video game called Free City which will soon go offline. The film also stars Jodie Comer, Joe Keery, Lil’ Rel Howery, and Taika Waititi.

There’s a lot of praise surrounding this film for being an “original” concept. That’s not entirely true. Yes, “Free Guy” isn’t another blockbuster based on an IP (e.g. Marvel or Star Wars) and it does have a unique premise, but many of its aspects are still conventional. For example, we’ve seen movies in which a character meant to be one thing become something else, and we’ve seen movies that place the viewers inside the world of a video game (“Wreck-It Ralph” & “Ready Player One”). However, what is legitimately refreshing about “Free Guy” is that this film feels like it was made by actual filmmakers rather than by a computer program from a major studio. In other words, “Free Guy” is a real (blockbuster) movie.

Free Guy' Review: Ryan Reynolds Stars in Video Game Movie With Humor - Variety

“Free Guy” was elevated by Shawn Levy’s imaginative direction. Levy made sure that the audience always feels like they’re walking alongside Guy in the chaotic streets of Free City. The world is immersive and legitimately feels like a live-action video game due to the direction and fantastic CGI. Levy also did a great job of making the transition between the real world and the video game world smooth, which is often done poorly in other films similar to this. Almost all the action sequences in “Free Guy” were thrilling and well-filmed, my favorite being the end fight between Guy and a certain NPC character which fully utilized (and satirized) the massive amount of IP owned by Disney without feeling corporate.

Watch Ryan Reynolds Save the (Virtual) World in 'Free Guy' Trailer

The performances in the film were good across the board, especially Reynolds, who brought a lot of charisma and humor to the role. There were moments throughout the film where it was obvious that some of Guy’s dialogue was ad-libbed by Reynolds himself, but I was fine with that since almost all of those lines were funny (and edgy for a PG-13 rating), particularly in a great scene early in the film where Guy buys coffee.

The writing for “Free Guy” was much smarter than I expected it to be. The writers weren’t afraid to actually explore deep themes and character moments such as people finding out their entire lives are fake/programed. There was also a surprisingly clever, well written romance in the film that linked the real world and the video game world together.

Ryan Reynolds' 'Free Guy' Game To Take On Pandemic At Box Office – Deadline

A significant complaint I have with the film is that Guy is essentially just the Emmet character from “The Lego Movie,” since he’s got the same quirky, optimistic, and naive personality as Emmet. While I still found plenty of enjoyment and likeability in the Guy character, it was blatantly obvious at times that the writers just copy-and-pasted Lord & Miller’s work from the first Lego Movie. A smaller gripe I had with the film was its terrible use of YouTube and Twitch personalities. The film took real-life streamers from those platforms (e.g. Ninja, Pokimane, Jacksepticeye) and gave them cameos in this film where they would commentate over some of the events they (and the audience) saw, and all of these streamers gave terrible performances. Every single streamer cameo was incredibly cringe-inducing and unnecessary.

“Free Guy” is a fun summer blockbuster that’s surprisingly clever & well written, and it has a lot more emotion & passion inside of it than most modern blockbusters do. Although it takes too many elements from other movies, I strongly recommend this film.

Grade: B+

“The Suicide Squad” Review – Proudly Rated R

“The Suicide Squad” was written & directed by James Gunn and stars Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, David Dastmalchian, Daniela Melchior, Viola Davis, and Sylvester Stallone. It follows the (new) Suicide Squad as they go on a covert mission to the island Corto Maltese, where they bond, uncover secrets, and engage in extreme violence.

If you’re unfamiliar with DC’s antihero team, click here for a gist of who they are & what they do.

The Suicide Squad' review: Redemption for James Gunn and DC - Los Angeles Times

This film was a joy to watch from beginning to end. James Gunn was clearly the best choice to reboot the Suicide Squad franchise after the abomination that was the first/original film from 2016. As he did with Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy,” Gunn brought together a group of mostly obscure, ridiculous characters and made them relatable & compelling. Unlike Marvel, however, DC gave Gunn an R-rating which allowed him to make a bloody, raunchy, and vulgar movie that’s super entertaining. “The Suicide Squad” is clearly made from the mind of a visionary filmmaker with no studio restrictions.

The main members of the Suicide Squad we follow are Harley Quinn, Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Ratcatcher II, Rick Flag, Polka-Dot Man, and King Shark. Each of these characters are given character arcs and/or interesting backstories. Bloodsport, Ratcatcher II, and Polka-Dot Man in particular were given the most emotional depth, so I liked their characters the most. King Shark was enjoyable too, simply because I can say that Sylvester Stallone voiced a hulking shark-man with a childlike personality.

The Suicide Squad movie review (2021) | Roger Ebert

In addition to great characters, “The Suicide Squad” had fantastic action setpieces. All action sequences were shot with long takes and dynamic camera movements. There were no shaky-cam or extreme close-ups in the film, which is something that should be applauded considering most modern action movies are horribly filmed. The movie’s great visuals were generally due to its use of color, practical effects, and creative cinematography. This is possibly James Gunn’s best directed film.

The pacing of the movie was nearly immaculate. It ran at a brisk pace which kept the plot moving forward without rushing through important details (unlike Star Wars Episode IX). This was partially due to the film’s exciting first fifteen minutes, which dropped the audience into the chaos immediately with little to no exposition and had major consequences for the rest of the film.

The Suicide Squad' Tries Hard to Break Bad | Vanity Fair

I just have three gripes with the film, the first concerning Harley Quinn. While Margot Robbie was once again great in the role and James Gunn treated the character with respect, the film made her a little overpowered. During action scenes she was way too experienced with things like guerilla warfare, guns, and even wielding a spear. The character is supposed to be an outstanding acrobat who is relatively good at combat, not John Wick. Plus, the film had a small subplot involving her which, while mostly good, felt a little tacked on. My second issue is that Bloodsport was essentially the same character as Deadshot from the 2016 film except done better. He had the same backstory, abilities, and father-daughter relationship. My third issue, without getting into spoilers, was that the villain at the end of the film had the opportunity to kill (or at least attack) the Suicide Squad, but instead decided to literally walk away from them, allowing them to fight him and defeat him.

James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” is an exciting R-rated blockbuster with plenty of action, humor, witty dialogue, and compelling characters. It’s one of 2021’s best films and some of James Gunn’s best work. Plus, it’s a good DC film! That’s hard to come by.

Grade: A-

My Ranking of the DC Extended Universe Movies

“The Green Knight” Review – A Cerebral Fantasy

“The Green Knight” was written & directed by David Lowery and stars Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton, Sean Harris, and Ralph Ineson. Based on the Arthurian poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, David Lowery’s newest film follows Gawain (Patel), the nephew of King Arthur, on his journey to face his death by the Green Knight (Ineson) to put honor on his legacy. While this may sound like the plot to a LOTR-esque action-adventure, it isn’t. “The Green Knight” is a mind-bending character study which explores the dangers of pride and impulsivity, all told in the backdrop of a fantasy.

People who are familiar with A24, the studio behind this film, will know to expect an artsy film, but the general public will mistakenly expect an action movie. A24 is possibly the most interesting studio to me because they always release cerebral, original films (which is sorely needed during the era of Marvel movies), but their films are hit-or-miss. Some are great, like “The Lighthouse,” “Ex Machina,” and “The Disaster Artist,” while others are terrible, like “Midsommar,” “Tusk,” and “The Bling Ring.” What I appreciate most about A24 films, however, is that they always get people conversing. All of their films, good or bad, bring up discussions among audiences, which is one of the best feats movies can accomplish. “The Green Knight” will bring up some of A24’s best discussions yet.

The ambiguity throughout Gawain’s entire journey is perfect, as it is used to explore and challenge his mentality through several events/setpieces. Each person Gawain encounters affects his character arc as he goes from being headstrong and entitled to humble and somber. While the ambiguity may make certain scenes in this film feel confusing, it also makes the film riveting and engaging.I personally love films that challenge the audience to determine what’s real and what isn’t, and “The Green Knight” more than succeeds at doing this, especially with its perfect and highly visual ending.

The Green Knight – Freilichtbühne Weißensee

David Lowery’s direction was impeccable; all the locations were gorgeous and creative without depending on heavy amounts of CGI. There were a multitude of times during the film when my jaw dropped from the visuals. The film also has an atmosphere where the world feels majestic yet filthy & lived-in, grabbing the viewer into Gawain’s journey.

The Green Knight Trailer Promises Return to Wonderful Weirdness of Arthurian Legend - Den of Geek

All the performances were great as well, especially Dev Patel and Ralph Ineson. Patel gave a subtle performance and displayed all of his emotions through his eyes rather than words, which fit the film’s strong emphasis on visual storytelling. Ineson’s voice as the Green Knight himself was booming and demanded power over the audience, making the character feel truly dominating.

The Green Knight Cast: Where You've Seen The Actors Before, Including Dev Patel - CINEMABLEND

My most significant critique of this film is that the segment in which Gawain is staying at a castle with Joel Edgerton’s character was too long and quite boring. About 8-10 minutes could easily have been cut out of it. Not only is this segment too long, but it also feels out of place compared to the rest of the movie since it relies more on lofty dialogue rather than visual storytelling. Joel Edgerton’s character was somewhat interesting, but I was checking my watch throughout the entire segment.

“The Green Knight” has breathtaking visuals, a compelling & complex protagonist, an intriguing ending, and a masterful use of ambiguity. Although it suffers from a boring ten-minute-long segment, it’s one of 2021’s best and most thought-provoking films.

Grade: A-

My Review of “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” the Opposite of “The Green Knight”

“When Harry Met Sally…” – Classic Film Reviews #14

Watch When Harry Met Sally | Prime Video

“When Harry Met Sally…” is a romantic-comedy released in 1989 and was directed by Rob Reiner & written by Nora Ephron. It stars Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan as two people who go from enemies to friends to a married couple over a period of several years.

Of all the movie genres, romantic-comedy is likely my least favorite, as rom-coms never get a single smile out of me and I find most of them generic. However, “When Harry Met Sally…” is not just another rom-com, and it’s easily my favorite.

A Flash Mob Reenacts “When Harry Met Sally” Fake Orgasm Scene | StyleCaster

Something important that this film nailed was the casting of the two main characters. Crystal and Ryan had plenty of chemistry and worked well together. They improved upon all of their already great dialogue and both gave charismatic, likeable performances. Much of their success must also have been due to Rob Reiner’s direction. Not that this film required as many directing skills as a movie like “The Princess Bride,” but I appreciate that a very capable filmmaker was behind the camera.

This film would be another generic, mediocre rom-com if it weren’t for Nora Ephron’s (mostly) incredible screenplay. The dialogue was almost as snappy as Aaron Sorkin’s and the conversations between characters were all significant to the overall story, no matter how small or how minor they may have seemed. The characters were all highly realistic and their arcs were believable & easy to follow.

When Harry Met Sally turns 25: How does it hold up? | The Star

Although I complemented this film for not being generic, it still has some of the issues I find in all other rom-coms; I believe it’s just the nature of the genre itself. Firstly, it never got more than a chuckle out of me. To be fair, there weren’t many jokes in the film, but a film in a genre that is meant to make you laugh should make you laugh. But my largest gripe is the last 20 minutes. Toward the end of the film, Harry and Sally get together. That’s all good and well, but then the nauseating cliché that all rom-coms suffer from happened: they wake up the next morning thinking they made a mistake. It’s forced, it makes no sense within the context of the film, and it just reminds me of the insufferable Ross & Rachel will-they-won’t-they dynamic from “Friends.” The film slowed to a halt just for that uninteresting plotpoint, and even though they eventually resolve their differences and get married at the end, my eyes still rolled into the back of my head.

“When Harry Met Sally…” is a very good rom-com with a great cast and a witty script that suffers from an irritating ending. I recommend this film to everyone, especially to people who dislike traditional rom-coms like I do.

Grade: B+

“Space Jam: A New Legacy” – A 2 Hour WB Ad

Warner Bros.’ “Space Jam: A New Legacy” is a new 2-hour-long Warner Bros. commercial written & directed by Warner Bros. executives. The film follows Basketball Man on a journey to discover all the Warner Bros. properties. Warner Bros.’ newest movie is available in theaters and on Warner Bros.’ streaming platform HBO Max, where you can watch Warner Bros. characters in Warner Bros. movies & Warner Bros. series from the great people at Warner Bros.

The original “Space Jam,” did a good job of not pushing product placement down your throat in a way that was too obnoxious. Also, upon rewatch, I found that the filmmakers really did their best to make a fun family film despite the ridiculous premise. While the original is not great cinema and doesn’t hold up very well, it’s still a somewhat entertaining movie with a lot of fun Looney Tunes moments and Michael Jordan in his prime. In contrast, the sequel is ten times more corporate and ten times more obvious to the point of hilarity. That aspect alone almost makes “Space Jam: A New Legacy” worth a watch. At one point, the film goes as far to call Warner Bros. the studio behind “all the classics.”

Anyway, the “premise” of the “film” is that LeBron James and his son are transported into Warner Bros.’ “Serververse,” which is essentially a collection of all the different WB properties, and an excuse to advertise HBO Max. LeBron has to save his son by winning a basketball game, and he needs a team of WB characters to do it. A rational person would think that LeBron would immediately go for Superman, but instead, because he meets Bugs Bunny, he only acquires Looney Tunes characters despite his son’s life being in danger. The entire movie makes no sense.

Something strange about the film’s usage of the Serververse was that, by using nearly all of WB’s characters, a lot of adult characters/movies were referenced in this PG-rated children’s film. The Looney Tunes & Scooby Doo are in the same movie as Alex from “A Clockwork Orange” and Pennywise from “It.” Young children, this film’s target audience, are obviously not going to understand many of these references.

There are thousands upon thousands of things about “Space Jam: A New Legacy” that I can nitpick, but honestly, who’s surprised that this film is so bad?I can’t even grade it because it’s not a real movie. If you’re hanging out with friends and feel cynical, you can watch this film to make fun of all the corporatism inside of it, but otherwise, don’t see it.

“Planet of the Apes” – Classic Film Reviews #13

“Planet of the Apes” was released in 1968, directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and written by Michael Wilson and Rod Serling (of “The Twilight Zone”). It stars Charlton Heston as Taylor, an astronaut who wakes up nearly 2,000 years in the future after cryosleep (a sci-fi gimmick) and crash lands onto a planet in which apes rule over nomadic, unspeaking humans.

The aspect of this film I loved the most was that it actually had things to say, even though it’s a film about ape-people (on the surface). It wasn’t some cheesy, mindless sci-fi flick. The film had themes of race, religion, imprisonment, and the human race’s treatment of other species. It also makes the viewers think, raising questions such as: “Is it moral to lie to a whole society when the truth is more harmful than beneficial?,” “When does science and the desire to learn more go too far?,” and “Are humans a detriment to all other types of life on Earth?”

Planet of the Apes | film by Schaffner [1968] | Britannica

The pacing and structure of the film was great too. Each act is a different type of movie. The first act is astronauts trying to survive in a dangerous environment, the second act is a horror movie in which humans are imprisoned, and the third act is a political thriller & escape movie. This made for a truly unique story that otherwise could be generic, and it also made the film less predictable.

The society of the apes was fully realized as well, as the film efficiently sets up the mindset, culture, government, and beliefs of the apes. What was so interesting and complex about them was that they were raised to believe that their treatment of humans was for the greater good and the protection of their race.

Planet of the Apes 1960s Prejudices - DeepFocusFilmStudies

Charlton Heston — **CHARLTON HESTON ON THE SET OF “PLANET OF THE APES”**

An aspect of the movie which was mixed for me was the acting. Almost all of the performances were great, especially those of the actors playing the apes, who had the obstacle of wearing restrictive costumes. However, Charlton Heston’s performance was too over-the-top for the film’s tone, and, unfortunately, he had an unlikeable screen presence. Since the character of Taylor was purposely written to be cocky and conniving, it was Heston’s job as an actor to provide charisma and a charm to the role to make Taylor more likeable. That’s simply the standard job for actors in blockbusters. Robert Downey Jr. was fantastic as Tony Stark in 2008’s “Iron Man” because of his charisma. I wouldn’t say Heston took me out of the film, but I do think he held the movie back.

Something important to note about the film is that the costumes are quite dated. They don’t look embarrassing or completely unrealistic, but they do heavily restrict the movements of the actors’ mouths, causing there to be a lot of Spaghetti Western-level lip syncing. That said, the technology of the time period “Planet of the Apes” was made just wasn’t quite there yet, so I can’t blame the filmmakers for it. I’m sure the costumes looked terrific in 1968, but in 2021, they don’t hold up well.

Despite some of its dated costume design and Charlton Heston’s strange performance, “Planet of the Apes” still holds up as an exciting & philosophical sci-fi film with great action, direction, dialogue, characters, and worldbuilding.

Grade: A