WhiskeyStories

The Prodigy gave me some of the most hilarious unintentionally comical moments of the year thus far, and I kinda love it for that. Probably wouldn't really recommend it, though. Like, there are some genuinely fun out-there ideas here, which thankfully it embraces, I'm just not sure how self-aware the film is about its dumbness.

Happy. Thank You. More. Please. If you loved Toho's Showa era kaiju movies, I really don't see why you wouldn't at least enjoy this sequel/love letter. It's a genuine blast! The many beautiful nods to the franchise (the good kind of fan service) will surely warm your heart and the wonderful score might even cause a nuclear meltdown in there. While the pure sensory overload of the last 20 minutes could border on assault to some and be considered too much, I don't really get the haaarsh criticism. I might be as bold to call the critics out and ask: Do you even like these kinds of movies? This franchise? What exactly were you expecting? Edwards' 2014 Godzilla - a very well made disaster film - cracked open the rusty gates of Hollywood's monster madness. Then Vogt-Roberts got to put his foot in with his stylish take on Kong, and now Dougherty finally kicked them down with King of the Monsters. Hopefully Wingard will be pushing at open doors with Godzilla vs. Kong come next year. Fingers crossed...

Kölsch and Widmyer trade in the zany charm of Lambert's original, for a much more restrained, logical and narratively satisfying take on Stephen King's classic tale. Thankfully all the tweaks and turns feel natural. I just wish they were even bolder, and would have gone even further into those mysterious Maine woods. Still, I really really want to watch Pet Sematary (2019) again come October/November, in the comforts of my own home preferrably (I feel like it's that kind of movie). As far as modern remakes go, I'd say it joins the ranks of The Hills Have Eyes (2006) and The Last House on the Left (2009). Btw, the taglines are sadly as uninspired as they get: "Sometimes dead is better" (IMDb), or simply just odd: "Wait why did they spell it wrong?" (Letterboxd). I would have been pleased as Punch with "Back AGAIN by popular(?) demand", or something more distinct to make it its own. P.s.: speaking of Pet Sematary II (said no one...ever), there are a few references to Lambert's bonkers sequel. So that's fun!

The Dawn Wall makes a nice double bill with Free Solo. Although the latter is a fascinating portrait of an exceptional madman, while this one is a much more wholesome tale of two lovable trailblazers. The Dawn Wall's presentation falls on the more traditional side, but it's paced quite well and is overall rather informative, especially if you're completely new to rock climbing. Not that it needs to be compared to Free Solo even more (even though that one's basically a sequel to this), but even if you've shivered your timbers through Honnold's climb already, there's plenty of palm sweaty moments here with Caldwell and Jorgeson. Don't you worry, this story of perseverance and comradery is worth the watch.

I'm genuinely glad so many people adore this film and that it had such a huge effect on them. Personally it didn't affect me much, but I'm happy it exists and the 3rd chapter, I did like a lot. Nevertheless, If I had to sum up my honest thoughts on It's Such a Beautiful Day, it would be as follows: A philosophy grad's "quirky" ponderings on life, death, deterioration, existential dread, memory, mental health, hereditary disorders and cancer* (brain tumor) etc etc, very neatly structured into a nice relatable "meaning-of-life" narrative with sort of annoying breathy narration and wonderful animation.

Lance Henriksen wasn't kidding, this one is "a real turkey", but I think I loved it. The first 40 minutes were a real headache to me. Then, between Glenn Ford being viciously attacked by a hawk and a motorcyclist stunt guy basically dying on screen, my brain just done broke. I started to enjoy the film immensely and was laughing all the way to the loony bin. The Visitor isn't as nonsensical as I'm making it out to be, though. It has a pretty simple plot, but it is just too frustrating to make sense of it all when the presentation is so bloody bonkers. Even though initially it caused me migraines, once the acid (that is essentially The Visitor) kicked in, I was hooked and had a weird yet wonderful trip.

Mandy utilizes the power of cinema to its fullest extent. I felt transported into another world the moment I heard that King Crimson song. It's made with immense talent, style and passion and I can't ask anything more from a film. To me Mandy is flawless.

If you were drawn in by the beautiful poster and/or read the promising premise and contemplated on watching this movie, I'd discourage you from doing so. What Keeps You Alive is yet another film this year with a pretty cool idea that fails to deliver. The cinematography is pretty nice and there are some neat tracking shots, so clearly there's talent behind the camera (though there were way too many Psycho callbacks). In front of it? Not so much. The acting ranges from sorta decent to straight up baaad. I can't say that it's a bad movie, but the whole thing has this "student film" vibe to it that I just can't stand. It's perfectly watchable, I'd just recommend spending your time on something else.

Aquaman's promotional material would have you believe that it's a big dumb dudebro superhero flick from 2003, but that's not entirely true. I was ready to write it off 5 minutes in, but then a freaking Sigur Rós song started playing to beautiful imagery and something just clicked. From then on forward Aquaman got more and more enjoyable. It has a charming and playful spirit of adventure, packed with relentless action, set-pieces and locations (enough to fill an entire Tv season) and James Wan's inventive direction is wonderfully off the charts. All the visuals and Amber Heard in her white desert rose outfit are simply S T U N N I N G! While the dialogue is atrocious and there's Pitbull's abominable Africa cover in the middle, I'm tempted to say that Aquaman has the potential to be this generation's The Mummy (1999).

Hosking's two for two so far in my book. No other film made me laugh harder this year than An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn. Greasy Strangler is a lot weirder and out-there, while this film is much more accessible. I was afraid that Hosking mixing his wonderfully oddball cast with bigger comedy people wouldn't work, but the two complemented each other quite satisfyingly. Well, except for Hirsch. He stood out like a sore thumb (which is weird, because I usually like him a lot in his movies). My other criticism would be that Luff Linn runs out of steam a little bit by the last act, but it makes up for it with its heartfelt finale.

It's less of an informative documentary and moreso just a touching portrait of the life and times of one Scotty Bowers.

A Prayer Before Dawn is a harrowing yet beautiful fierce tale of addiction. Neither the description nor the trailer do it justice. While the premise is rather simple and almost cliché, its execution is what's truly exceptional. Sauvaire succeeds at creating a personal film with a natural flow, which paired with the extremely authentic production results in one of the most immersive experiences of the year.

The themes Ghost Stories explores are quite intriguing, but I felt that their execution was kind of spotty. On a technical side it's a very well made film that has some real inventive scares and a nice chilling tone. Unfortunately the pacing drags so much that I had trouble enjoying it all. Would recommend it though.

Kinda hated it the first time around, but I decided to give it a second chance. Watched it again the very next day and wound up loving it. I realised that it's a much more clever film than I initially gave it credit for. Carpenter's score is fantastic, Jamie Lee shines, the gore is wonderful and the film's satirical edge parallels Scream 2 or the the original Scream even. The Boogeyman is back!

A bloody good time. Character development is a bit lacking in Apostle, but the directing is so full of visceral energy that its 2 hour running time flows by.

A gorgeous and unique, yet abstruse and overindulgant film. If you loooove experimental arthouse/psychedelic cinema and have the patience of Job, you'll adore it.

Q: If you had to choose only one, which movie would you watch for the rest of your life? A: Well, let me think. Probably one that has a little bit of everything. One that's endlessly entertaining and rewatchable... I know, something like Phantom of the Paradise.

All I can say at this point is that Kingsman is a typical Matthew Vaughn movie, I guess. All of his film's are the same: highly enjoyable, pretty corny and sorta forgettable. For me it's probably his second best film, right behind **** (haven't seen Layer Cake though).

This film grew on me a lot. At first I kinda hated it and felt like it was a dumb cash-grab, but after rewatching it I appreciated it a lot more. It's a much more self-aware and cynical sequel than I originally gave it credit for. I honestly think the first 20 minutes are great and the last 20 minutes are just pure dumb fun. Overall it's a very well made monster movie, with a dumb but enjoyable plot and kinda hollow, but fun characters. The main kid actor was kinda bad though.

The first 2/3rds of Tomorrowland is a Spilbergian delight, but in the last act the movie completely **** itself with a half-baked conclusion and hackneyed social commentary.

Back in the day I disliked Burton's Alice in Wonderland, but I have to admit I really enjoyed this sequel. It's still far from being a great or even a generally good film, but it is just a lot more fun. I felt like everything about the first film was slightly improved in this sequel. The plot is a lot more enjoyable, though not very deep, the CG is better, though many times it did look like actors performing on a sound stage, and the acting is a lot better. I felt like Johnny Depp was immensely more fun here and the addition of Sacha Baron Cohen was very welcome, also Helena Bonham Carter was still as enjoyable as ever with Mia Wasikowska bringing much more gusto to the character and sense of charm as well in Through the Looking Glass. It's a pretty solid fantasy/adventure movie for the family. Though it has its fair share of problems I kinda loved it.

The Nice Guys reminded me a bit too much of another film of Shane Black, one of my favourite movies: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. This bothered me quite a lot initially, but after watching it a couple of times I've come to appreciate the film more. It's far from KKBB'S excellence, but it still delivers. Many jokes didn't work for me and I found the story to be stretched too thin by the end, but Ryan Gosling is fantastic in it, so it's worth a watch for him alone. He brought one of the best comedic performances of the year and had wonderful chemistry with Crowe. I would definitely watch a sequel with these two in the future.

The first time seeing it in the theatre was a blast, one of the best cinematic experiences I had in 2016, I loved it. BUT, the more I thought about it and the more times I've seen it I liked it less and less. At first I defended it, but know I have to admit that it truly is a mess. There are some good ideas in the script, but the execution is just so muddy with some immensely questionable decisions in the script and in the filmmaking. As a whole I don't really like the film anymore (though the extended cut is a tiny bit better) but I still like parts of it: I love the music, Ben Afflec and Gal Gadot are pretty great and I honestly like the cinematography (even though admittedly it did not fit the film). As much as my opinions have changed about Batman V Superman it still gave me a fantastic experience in the cinemas so for that alone I am a little fond of it still.

Yoga Hosers has a stupid story executed kinda poorly, so I get why many people hate on it, but it has charm. I think the plot (though silly beyond belief) is fun, the two girls have great chemistry and Johnny Depp's Guy Lapointe actually worked for me this time. I genuinely enjoyed the first 2/3rds of Yoga Hosers, but the last act is just trash.

If you are in the mood for some cutesy escapism look no further than Sing Street. It's a very sweet movie with great songs and nods to the 80s musical scene, but it did go overboard with its fluffiness for my taste.

It's not a great film. The acting is a bit underwhelming and phoned in, the plot is not that well thought-out and there is no tangible drama or tension throughout the film with a quite predictable conclusion. The actors have no chemistry and Allied feels a bit more like a love letter to Casablanca and films of that era, than an original solid movie. Now that the objective criticism is out of the way, I had a very pleasant time watching this film in the cinemas. Robert Zemeckis still knows how to make a gorgeous and beautiful looking film. I found it entertaining enough in the theatre, but probably would only recommend it for a rental.

I loved the concept of telling a love story from two perspectives. The two films complement each outher rather well. That said "...: Her" is the one that manages to work as a quiet contemplative stand-alone picture. "...: Him" is much more straight-forward and quaint, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's worse. They're just different. I'd recommend watching "...: Her" first and then "...: Him". The characters seemed much more likable to me this way.

It's a highly enjoyable summer movie with a fun cast, nice sets, some great stunts and an authentic late 70s early 80s throwback setting as well. Unfortunately the immensely forced and cheesy sentimentality bogs down the whole film in clichés upon chlichés, scene after scene. While the stunts aren't always used as effectively as they could have been, at least you can see that the crew cared about their film in their authenticity. Lastly the fact that Action Point runs out of plot about halfway through doesn't really help its case either. That said, I still had a really good time with this movie and would recommend it if you're looking for some lighthearted summery entertainment. It's got Knoxville's heart, broken bones and popping eyeball all over it.

You Were Never Really Here is a fantastic drama/character study and a decent revenge/thriller. Some of the action scenes and kills leave you unsatisfied, the score reminded me of Drive a bit too much and I wasn't the biggest fan of the ending, but overall this film left me enamoured by Lynne Ramsay's beautiful and unique direction and Joaquin's wonderful acting.

Hereditary is the most shocking and upsetting horror film I've seen in years. It's not the scariest, but its eeriness made my skin crawl and some scenes even got a whole obnoxious gasp out of me. The simplest way to describe Hereditary would be that its an imperfect blend of The Babadook and The VVitch. That's where the film has a few major flaws. In its identity, as the horror aspect of Hereditary is truly disturbing the drama does drag on quite a bit (leading to pacing issues) and is at odds with the storytelling - causing an incohesive narrative (lastly the final gripe of mine was the uneven lighting). That said, Hereditary will go down as a classic in the horror genre with its jawdropping final act that truly channeled The Exorcist. The acting is absolutely brilliant all around (Collette is amazing as always, the one who surprised me the most was Alex Wolff, he was fantastic) and for his first feature Ari Aster did a phenomenal job.

A stunning documentary with impeccable editing celebrating the incredible life and work of the extraordinary person that is Jane Goodall.

I wasn't expecting to enjoy this movie as much as I did. Deadpool 2 has a pretty rocky start, the first 20 minutes were straight up hard to enjoy and made me worried for the rest of the film. After the first act the real plot kicks in and things get into a really good groove. This sequel is not as fresh or in a sense special as the original Deadpool was, but it made up for it in its wonderful action set-pieces and the addition of some pretty great new characters (Cable, Domino and Peter) with the glorious return of Colossus. So all in all I'd say that Deadpool 2 has the same good and bad qualities of its predecessor (fun as balls with humour that's equally hilarious as it is forced wrapped in a pretty conventional plot), but DP 2 has a more interesting story and overall I'd say it's more rewatchable. It's quality entertainment.

Competence is the name of the game and Marvel is winning. Infinity War is not the best film ever and the fanboy hype surrounding it is disproportionate and annoying: the script has some major plot holes, the narrative structure has some issues and some of the humour and sentimentality is forced and/or completely out of place, BUT I honestly can't believe how well the Russo brothers have pulled this movie off. The fact that Infinity War is a coherent film and not a complete clusterf#ck is worth a standing ovation alone, but on top of that the Marvel team managing to create a thoroughly entertaining and genuinely great blockbuster is a goddamn miracle. Infinity War successfully reinvigorated my excitement for future Marvel films, well at least for the next Avengers, so good on ya Kevin Feige.

It's dumb self-aware fun straight out of 1998. Overall Rampage is sorta forgettable and the CG is wonky here and there, but if you're into monster-mash movies or are looking for an enjoyable timewaster look no further than this cheesy goodness.

Why Him? is your typical disposable, but fun "christmas"/family movie. The only thing that makes it enjoyable is the actors. Bryan Cranston, great as always, James Franco plays himself, which is not necessarily a bad thing if you enjoy his persona (which I sometimes do), Zoey Deutch bringing her usual charm and adorable self and lastly I honestly enjoyed Keegan's character more than I expected. So I would not recommend Why Him? to many people, but for me it kinda worked and I could see myself watching it during the holidays.

By-the-numbers forgettable revenge flick (straight from 2006) with Eli Roth's usual overindulgent torture porn fetish and a charmless and tired Bruce Willis sleepwalking each scene. D'Onofrio gives an enjoyable performance, the gore is sorta fun in places and it's always nice to see Elisabeth Shue (even though she was kinda bad here), but there's nothing of merit in what Death Wish (2018) has to offer... move along.

Annihilation is a film of beautiful contradictions. It's the most boring and most fascinating film I've seen in 2018 so far. The first half is dry as all hell (kind of a chore to get through), but the second half truly makes up for it in its underlying themes, tension and creativity in f#cked-upness (the bear scene is absoluetly terrifying). The symbolisms are left to your own interpretation, yet some of the clues are extremely on the nose; the writing is sloppy, but genius at the same time etc. - the list goes on and on, but the most important aspect of it is that it leaves a really strong impression. This film will be remembered for years to come that's for sure. Annihilation is not perfect, but it is a damn good piece of hard sci-fi.

What the hell?!! Whats all this hype around this movie?! There's honestly nothing exceptionally praisworthy or special about it. The comedy is terribly unfunny, every joke is just a reference to some pop-culture **** (á la Seth MacFarlane) and the story is just as underwhelming. Game Night is one of your regular American mainstream Jason Bateman comedies (e.g.: Horrible Bosses, Office Christmas Party etc.), but for some reason both critics and the public are raving about it. /I honestly can't remember whan was the last time Jason Bateman gave a legit comedic performance in a film./ The only aspects of the film that stand out are its cinematography, which is inventive at times and Jesse Plemons who was actually pretty funny. Game Night is average at best.

The film has a solid first act, but everything goes downhill from there. The cast is decent, there are some highly enjoyable scenes and a bunch of interesting ideas in the script, but their execution is really all over the place... making The Cloverfield Paradox ultimately nothing more than a sorta enjoyable mess.

I hate to jump on the bandwagon of hate for this movie (or any film in general), but Personal Shopper just plainly felt like a hack job by Oliver Assayas. It's described that the script for the film came from a failed American production, which makes sense, because it felt like the director was trying to salvage the remnants of an original idea expanding it with additional material. The result is a cobbled together mess that's not really about anything. Other than it feeling phony, the production, acting and directing is solid, though I hated the editing, the constant fade-outs really got on my nerves. Personal Shopper is far from terrible, it's mildly engaging and I did not hate it, my biggest issue is that it is a sham that for some reason made it on to the Criterion collection.

An Immersive and fresh look at an age-old tale. Tanna is at its most basic "the story of" Romeo & Juliet. Though I have to say that I haven't seen that classic story done this way ever. Since the main cast consists of tribespeople the acting is not the main focus, but the fact that most people weren't professional actors gave a great sense of authenticity to Tanna. The directing is phenomenal, it felt completely real, more or less a documentary and I loved that about it.

The Shape of Water is an absolutely delightful and charming fairy tale with great contemporary messages. Everything about it is perfect (gorgeous cinematography, wonderful soundtrack and score, fantastic performances etc.) except for one completely subjective aspect: the love story. For me it did not really work. Once again, as he usually does, Guillermo got a little caught up in the fluff of romance. I think he was more concerned with the aesthetics and the idea of it than its believability. No matter how hard I tried to be open-minded about it and go along with its enchanting presentation, I just found it tonaly creepy and not fully fleshed out (also oddly exploitative from Elisa's character towards the creature). Unfortunately as the romance is a huge part of the film it soured the experience a bit, but nevertheless I still enjoyed and kinda loved this beautiful film.

Dull and surprisingly quite banal. Thinking about this film makes me quite angry, because it made my apprehensions true, that Tim Burton has completely lost his touch. He hasn't made a quality live-action film since Sweeny Todd, and that might even be stretching it. The source material is not that amazing, but Burton in his prime probably could have made it great. The only good that Miss Peregrine offers is very few sparks of true originality very far between and an enjoyable performance by Eva Green.

The Bourne films got progressively worse and worse, at least in my book. I love the first one and really enjoy the second, the third had some decent action scenes, but not much I haven't seen before in the previous movies, shot and edited in an extremely nausiating way. This film didn't bring anything new or interesting to the table, it's just an okay conventional action movie, not exactly deserving to be part of the franchise. It's very disposable.

Raw is surprisingly clever and exhilarating, a wonderfully twisted take on the classic coming of age story. It's disturbing and grotesque (as French horrors ought to be), but at times is at odds with balancing its sophisticated elegant style and trashy grisliness. Reminded me of Refn's The Neon Demon a bit, loved it almost as much as well.

Short and sweet, a bit too short in my opinion. At face value this film feels kind of unfinished, with a story that's not fully fleshed out and a bit too simple, too quaint. Frustratingly so. But as I analyzed (and researched) the films symbolysms I grew to love its underlying themes. The Devil's Candy clearly has its problems making it far from being perfect, but the fantastic acting, its overflowing stylishness and messages about passion, sacrifice and family really make it a stand-out horror feature. It's not love at first sight, but it's a uniquely poetic and effectively disturbing film.

The Florida Project, much like last year's American Honey, gives a look into the everyday life of a young girl living in a trashy neighborhood. Both films succeed at giving an honest portrayal of this lifestyle, but where American Honey manages to deliver some poignancy about adolescence and relationships, The Florida Project lacks a clear point or underlying message (other than it being an ode to childhood). Though Brooklynn Prince gives a charming performance, the real star of the film was Willem Dafoe for me, he is absolutely fantastic. The film has an alluring sense of playfulness and just for Dafoe's flawless performance alone is worth a watch.

Intense, brutally raw and tearjerking look into the broken life and psyche of not just the convicts, but everyday men. A **** experience for your mind and soul. One of the best documentaries I've ever seen.

Lady Bird gives an admirably honest look at adolescence, family, relationships and the importance of being yourself, while managing to stay surprisingly grounded and authentic. The acting overall is pretty great with some real stand-out performances by Laurie Matcalf and Saoirse Ronan. Unfortunately the story lacks the originality to transcend its genre, but as a coming of age movie Lady Bird is really good, probably the best of its kind since Juno. Even though I absolutely loved Greta Gerwig's writing and humor, overall I kinda felt like Lady Bird was just not really for me. Still I'd wholeheartedly recommend it.

James Franco is absolutely fantastic as Wiseau and the film has an endearing sense of sincerety, other than these two positive aspect I did not find the film to be that exceptional. Most of the scenes that were funny were the recreations and I found the "moving" emotional scenes to be sorta cute, but overly schmaltzy. I found The Disaster Artist to be kinda bland and more or less boring. It's extremely overhyped. I'd say that you'll probably enjoy it more if you haven't seen the original, but as far as a recommendation goes, go watch The Room instead.