LamontRaymond

I thought it was a LOT funnier than the original Borat, mostly because of the daughter and the pandemic element. The movie starts a little slow, but it builds to an incredibly funny crescendo.

One of the all-time greats... Jeane Moreau is fantastic, as always - though I did love her in La Femme Nikita, maybe more

So TWISTED! Best seen in a cold theater, on a cold, dark night. Can't believe that was Alicia Silverstone. Great to see her again. The set-up is wild, and the execution is reminiscent of The Shining and other spine-tinglers. I can see this running on the late night circuit.

This movie is god-awful! As one of the critics said, there's nary a scare in the entire film. It's boring, nonsensical, a waste of 0s and 1s (I want to say a waste of celluloid, but hey, they're not using that any more.) I'm shocked that Universal would put this out.

It took me about 40 minutes to realize that this is not a Rated-R horror film. Who makes a PG-13 horror these days??? It's so tame. The acting is decent, but it's just undercooked in a serious way.

The Safdie Bros's movies are just like nothing else on the big screen. I loved Good Time, and I was anticipated this movie more than anything else this season. It delivers, with just minor drawbacks (which I can't go into - as they're plot spoilers). As someone who is obsessed with the NBA and the way that it interfaces with sports gambling, I'm, I guess you would say, the target audience. And Sandler is incredible, as I suspected he would be. Adel Dazeem is also really good in a smaller role. However, the big find in this film is Julia Fox as Howard's (Sandler's) girlfriend. She's the x-factor in this fun, fast-paced, and ultimately frenzied pic. If there were ever a reason to go see a film on the big screen - (screw all that comic book garbage) - this is it.

To be honest, I was highly skeptical about this film going in. I greatly enjoyed the Mister Rogers documentary from last year, and I didn't think that this one could hold a candle to the emotions generated by that movie. Boy was I wrong. you really do forget that Tom Hanks is not Mister Rogers within about 5 minutes after the opening titles. And the choice to make the movie about the Esquire writer is really genius. I thought Chris Cooper was inspired casting. The only downside to this movie was that it made me think about my life more than I wanted it to. Which can't be too much of a bad thing.

It's a good, solid film, but definitely not a must-see in my book. It's missing some "magic" for lack of a better word. Something to make these real-life events shine. I'll say that both Matt Damon and Tracey Letts do amazing jobs, and Bale is excellent as usual. Josh Lawrence plays the heel, as usual - though he was much better in "You Can Count on Me." I want to see much more of Catriona Balfe - she jumped off the screen.

The acting is solid all around (though Scarlet J may have been a bit out of the rest of their league), but I felt like I've seen this movie before. It feels like a Los-Angeles-i-fied Kramer vs. Kramer, but without the true stakes. There are a couple of excellent scenes in this film, but the rest of it is only so-so.

What a beautiful film. It's an absolute must-see for anyone with a heart. It would be an injustice if Antonio were not nominated for Best Actor.

There are plenty of interesting moments, cool imagery, and even some funny dialogue, but this film is just too dense, and, dare to say, too boring. It feels like watching Melville's Billy Budd or the like. The acting is excellent, but there's simply not much for them to work with. I should have realized that I would have this reaction because I loathed this director's The Witch. This is far superior to that movie, but it's not one that I'd EVER recommend.

I have no idea what the jurors at Venice were smoking when they picked Joker for their grand prize because this **** is a snore-fest, from beginning to end. There’s nothing exciting about it – there’s only a modicum of violence (if you want violence in a much better movie, go see the latest Rambo). And Phoenix doesn’t hold a candle to Heath Ledger’s Joker. I mean, in that movie, there’s a palpable sense of dread throughout. You could cut the tension with a knife. This one? It’s just there. Inert. Tedious. I checked my watch maybe 4 times, which is bad. Whoever has been calling this movie “dangerous”, or a movie of its time…. Please. I’d love to see a movie in which people so fed up over political talk all day and all night go out and cause mayhem. There’s nothing remotely like that here. And let me take a moment to call out DeNiro. He’s entirely mis-cast. What’s more, he totally mailed this performance in. Maybe he saved his best (or even “good”) stuff for The Irishman. The only really good performance in this film is by the actress from Atlanta. Actually, Paperboy from Atlanta is also very good in a tiny role. I was pumped up to see this – what a letdown. Now let’s bring on the quality – The Lighthouse, Parasite, and Marriage Story.

The story is just ok, of course, but the performances of Renee Zellweger and the always amazing Jessie Buckly push this one over the top. I mean, Renee is pretty spectacular. Who would have thought that Bridget Jones could have eventually done this?

As a big fan of space movies, especially of the 2001 ilk, I found this one highly entertaining. Brad Pitt is just perfect in the role, and even that curmudgeon Tommy Lee Jones is solid as his dad. The story is well-told, there's great action, and the message - the philosophy of the film is well developed and deftly delivered. Highly enjoyable - recommended.

It's certainly not a terrible movie, but it's just big and bloated. Tough to know what to take away from this film other than the eternal power of art and beauty. What I will say is this: the film's use of "Your Silent Face" by New Order was better than any other film or TV show in history. And that's one incredible song. Lastly, I don't think that they needed Nicole Kidman in that role - she's so austere - any number of actresses cold have done that. It dind't play to her strengths.

Sure, there are some fun moments in this film, and J-Lo is great, but there is absolutely NO substance to this film. There's no real crisis, there's not much at stake, and Constance Wu is utterly ill-equipped to carry the film as the lead. I loved her in Crazy Rich Asians, but she doesn't do much for his hollowed-out story. I hadn't realized that this was based on a newspaper article, but it makes perfect sense. It's light-weight. About a third of my theater left before it was over.

This movie got 3 winks from me. Yes, I fell asleep more than once, but it was fairly interesting while I was awake. However, it's completely predictable. And the plot convention (communicating with someone on a different timely) has been done so much more thoughtfully in other projects. The two leads are fantastic, though.

What starts out like a supernatural curiosity because a super interesting thriller with complex plotting. The terrific cast carries the day. Recommmended! (And great to see Amy Ryan back on the big screen.)

The maker of this film clearly is a fan of the Nightmare on Elm Street series, and that's too bad. The final third is absolutely interminable, and even when it's "over", it won't end! The adult parts are just not good enough. The only genuinely good parts are those that are most clear - brutally killing the most innocent. And the hate crimes are super shocking - but gratuitous.

So much better than the critics gave it credit for. The action is fantastic, the sound design is incredible (think gunshots from HEAT, and explosions from... can't think of a better series of explosion sounds), and Butler is fantastic. I absolutely recommend this. I had expected utter crap - was just looking forward to my theater food. I scored - the soft pretzel was amazing, the vanilla shake was on point, and the movie got a BIG round of applause from my theater. Go see it!

It's just embarrassingly inert. Somebody mailed this film in, and I was the one and only person in my theater watching it. Somebody (me) didn't get the message. Even beyond the special effects, it could have nailed the human drama MUCH more effectively had they employed (or just paid) a writer.

I know it's a cliche, but most of this movie's best moments are in the trailer. However, there are 4 or 5 key magical moments that are NOT in the trailer and which make the film worth seeing. It's a feel-gooder. All three of the main Tween actors are fantastic, but Keith L. Williams is the breakout star. I expect great things from him in the future. I also like the directors use of Uroboros in terms of music. (You'll see.)

I think that Metascore is about right on the money, though I'll give it my bump to 70. Loved the old dude from Revenge, and Weaving is really good - though I would have loved some more depth written into the part. How did she and the groom meet? What makes her tick? She's a bit too much of a tabla rasa for my liking. And I'll agree with most of the reviews in that it ends extremely effectively. A friend of mine said he thought it had the same feel of "You're Next," and I agreed going in. But it's not nearly as good as that horror masterpiece. But this film looks amazing, and it's so great seeing Andie McDowell back in the game. On the balance - recommended.

Sure, it may feel a little overly-serious or austere at times, but I greatly enjoyed it! Moss's performance, in particular is fantastic, as is her "boyfriend"'s. My whole theater - which was packed - seemed to love it as well. Not sure what happened to the critics here.

What a fantastic story! (A shame that the critics put it in the "mixed reviews" territory). Aldis Hodge is fantastic (love him on City on a Hill), and it's great to see Great Kinnear back on the big screen. About a third of the way through (no spoilers), I was really pissed that the person responsible for putting Brian behind bars wasn't getting enough blame in the story. It was truly an evil act that almost ruined Brian's life. And it was just that easy to do. But by the end of the film, once you've gotten to know Brian's mentor (played by Morgan Freeman), you begin to accept things, and you realize that "how you react to life" is all you can control. The movie received a warm round of applause in my theater - including from me - and it's something that most Americans should see. Hope to see that happen.

As a fan of such horror fare as Tales from the Crypt and Creepshow, I appreciate what they're doing with this film. The kid actors are fantastic - kudos to the casting team. I was hoping that the "horror" sequences would be a little scarier, but hey - I get the feeling (based on my audience) that this is one of those horror films meant to get younger audiences into the genre. Mission accomplished, from what I saw.

The acting is good - especially Tim Roth and Octavia Spencer - but the story falls apart in the end. It's one big tease. I'm getting tired of this kind of movie.... can't recommend it.

The movie is worth seeing for 3 things only: the great chemistry between the two leads (and the super-fun dialog they read); Vanessa Kirby, who is amazing in her part - have we seen her before? ; and 2 extremely funny cameos by actors who cannot be named lest I spoil the movie. Idris Elba is essentially wasted - he's robotic and boring. The action sequences are decent, but largely ridiculous. So if you're up for the leads, you won't have a bad time. Just don't expect a great story like the one in Fast 5.

One of the most insane movies I've ever seen. Starts out a little dry and oddly funny and goes WAY off the edge. Can't give up much, but certainly worth seeing.

I was hoping this film would deliver in a way that most of Tarantino’s other films did, and I was more than satisfied. I laughed VERY hard on many occasions in this movie, and there are plenty of thrills. Most importantly, Leo and Brad are just incredible in their roles. The direction and writing are pitch perfect, but it wouldn’t have been the same work without the simple brilliance of its lead actors. I also appreciate Quentin’s willingness to deviate from history when it makes sense. I should also make mention of the always excellent Margaret Qualley (from “The Leftovers”) – she has really good chemistry with Pitt, and she brings the two storylines together. In this era of **** comic book franchises, it’s so refreshing to get an original, unique film from a singular talent. When will Hollywood have the onions to take risks like this again? I won’t be holding my breath.

One of my all-time favorite action flicks, in the vein of Brian DePalma. Chow Yun-Fat is incredible, and the choreography is phenomenal. Props to John Woo for influencing so many American directors with this gem.

Ugh! This movie is criminally overrated. It's both over-written and under-written, I feel. I've never seen any of Mindy Kailing's work before, but I sense that she can be a good actress in a better vehicle than this one. It starts out in promising fashion, but it goes absolutely nowhere. The ending is TERRIBLE. Emma Thompson's story arc is entirely insufficient. You certainly don't like her any more than you did at the beginning. I'm sensing that in the industry bubble this worked much better than it did with regular movie-goers like me. Bringing politics into late-night really killed the appeal of these shows, and it seems like the creators of this film never got that message. People don't want to obsess about politics all day and they get it fed to them during their "entertainment" at night. Oh well.

Just a lovely picture, and one that the critics as a whole got wrong. I mean, how do they like Rocketman more than Yesterday? That movie is horrid, and this is amazing! It's a much better Beatles movie than Rocketman is an Elton John movie. That aside, it's a great love story - a love of music, and a love of that person on in your life who has been there for you, and you just connect with - someone you can't live without. Lily James is incredible in this film, and I've never seen him before, but Himesh Patel is fantastic. I'm sure some of the critics are not satisfied by the story's treatment of exactly how the 'incident" came about or what it means in some scientific respect. Applesauce! Just live with the mystery and let it be!

This is quite a thrill ride. It gets right into the action, and it's wall-to-wall WILD to the very end. Barry Pepper is really good as the dad, and Kaya Scodelario is incredible in the lead role. It's a genre flick, and if you're into this sort of thing, you'll dig the alligator quandary for about 80 minutes.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

It's a charming, fun film until the latter third rolls around and then they feel compelled to do the BORING action movie nonsense, when just about everyone in the theater tunes out - especially in a movie like this one in which holograms take the place of real people. Ugh. I will say that Holland and Zendaya are both amazing - their young chemistry is leagues better than anything done by Tobey or Andrew Garfield. And I'll say that the use of three songs - "Back in Black", "Vacation" (Go Go's), and "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" are perfectly placed. I also want to say that the Nick Fury sequences are fun, and the Aunt May stuff is awesome. So in the future, make MOST of the movie about human beings, and much less about the big, boring CGI fights.

Jessie Buckley is a force of nature. I loved her in FX's "Taboo" and in HBO's "Chernobyl". I had no idea she had this performance in her. She normally plays the calm and cool lady, but wow, she's a bundle of energy here, and she's just fantastic.

The critics entirely missed the boat on this movie. It's fun, it's thrilling, it's sexy, and it's never (for a second) boring. Of course, there are moments when you think, "what the hell??", but it's in a fun way. It seems like the critics - especially the guy from the LA Times - are loving this movie, but they're panning it because the director has been caught up in #MeToo issues. Those may be legitimately problematic issues, but they shouldn't affect how you think about the film which involved myriad actors, crew members, etc - none of whom had to do with alleged actions by the director. The critics should see the movie and judge it by the "four corners" of the work. If not, we'll have to back and re-score all of those Hitchcock films, etc, etc. Bottom line - this is a fun film - one of the most entertaining flicks of the summer. And if this is the most underrated film this season, Rocketman is the most overrated - probably for the same reason. Everyone (including me) loves Elton John, but that treatment is just flat out boring.

Critics are WAY too hard on this one. It has a fun procedural story (like you're watching a tv episode), and the acting is great across the board. when I say great, most of it's tongue-in-cheek, but everyone in my theater had a great time. Junior is solid, his lady-friend is great, and Junior's mom is awesome as usual.

In a rough summer for movies so far, this is an absolute breath of fresh air. I mean, how many different ways can you do a rom-com? Haven't we seen it all before? The answer is NO. This is stellar. Eskine is fantastic - never seen her before, and the Quaid kid is certainly good enough to make this work. Kudos to all involved!

Wow, this is MUCH better than I thought it would be. Why in the world did I see that crapfest Rocketman before this last weekend? It's fun, it's creative, the writing is interesting, and Octavia Spencer is a BLAST. Juliette Lewis is also amazing in this. Yes, it does get a little GROSS in the finest traditions of horror flicks and torture porn, but hey, you get what you pay for. I'd certainly recommend this!

As a fan of Elton John, I'm enormously disappointed by Rocketman. And it has nothing to do with Edgerton. He's the best part of the film - and Jamie Bell is really good, too. The film is just terribly boring. And if you're coming for the songs, you won't hear 'em! Just bits and pieces of "versions" of the songs you know and love, but nothing that grabs you by the throat like his songs do. And yes, it devolves into yet another addiction story that leaves us behind. The best and only "real" moment in the film is when he goes back to visit his father (and half-brothers) to give him a gift and is essentially rebuffed. That had real emotion and pain to it. The rest of the film is all gauze and wanna-be musical nonsense. If only this film had one tenth the feel and heart of the "Tiny Dancer" scene in Almost Famous, they would have had a passablly good movie here. But no. I'm shocked to be writing this. And I'm guessing that the professional critics giving it the the 50 range are just scared to call a spade a spade and throw down some red scores. Ugh. SO disappointed.

It's a really good movie, though totally different from any other "classic" teen movie - mostly due to the fact that almost nobody is mean to anyone else. There are no a-holes. The jocks and popular kids don't inflict physical and emotional pain on the sympathetic smart kids. All that being said, it does a great job exploring the main pair's friendship. And the casting of the supporting cast is right on.

It's certainly a beautifully-shot film, and I love that they don't "tell" you everything as the story progresses. You're seeing the results of actions instead of the actions themselves. The lead actors are excellent, but the fact that we're dealing with another addiction story knocks it down a peg for me. But it dovetails with the blindness of young love in an interesting way. Further, it captures the journey of a young, privileged artist in an honest way. The music in it is excellent. You don't know exactly when the film is set, but it feels like the early 80's?

I think some of these respected critics are drinking the Kool-Aid here. Sure, it's a fun action flick with the great fight choreography, but in the 70's?? Nah. Not even close to the first one, in my mind. The world building, the origin story, etc. - None of that is present here. And Asia Kate Dillon brings VERY little to the table. They never establish her has an evil or negative force that scares you.

Was tough to sit through. Though it was funnier than a lot of modern comedies I've seen in the last couple of years. Can't recommend it.

Just a brutally bad movie. I like a number of the actors, particularly her band-mates and Eric Stoltz, but jeez, it did not live up to the billing. What a waste of a couple of hours. Ugh!

Disclosure: I'm NOT a Marvel superfan, but I've seen all the movies, starting with Iron Man (actually, starting with Howard the Duck), and I was starting to get tired of these. However, this is a really good movie. A little bloated at 3 hours, yes, and it takes almost a full hour to really kick into gear, but they writers/director do an excellent job wrapping things up. Some truly touching moments, and some extremely funny moments. ("Hello Jeff Lebowsky!") I though Capt. Marvel was given a short shrift, but I suppose that makes sense given her late entry in the series in general. Clearly, we're not going to be seeing certain character(s) after this film, but I think it's deftly handled for maximum emotional payoff. In my theater, there were belly laughs, cheers, and ugly cries. Can't expect much more than that in a big budget flick, huh?

It's a good, solid, old-school horror movie, with just enough humor to keep it afloat. The biggest issue I have with it as that it wastes two amazing actors (the leads) who are relatively flat in this flick. But the daughter is amazing in "both states". Also, the cat? Incredible. Would eat the cat from Captain Marvel for lunch!

These days, if a comic book movie is not either super serious and well-acted (see: The Dark Knight), or VERY funny (see: Deadpool or the first Iron Man), I'm typically bored to death by them (see: Avengers, Civil War, etc, etc.). Shazam is just a hell of a lot of fun. It's funny, it's quick, and the actors are all incredibly sympathetic. The concept is simple but entirely effective. My sneak preview screening was met by roars of approval, big laughs, and applause at the end. If you're going to see it, by all means, stay for the credit sequence (with a bad-ass Ramones song underlying it). Clearly, the makers of this movie are comic book lovers.