marymaebennett

I’m willing to say the majority of you haven’t heard of this movie. It completely flopped in the US, I’m pretty sure it was only here for one week, but then made boatloads overseas. Just goes to show you how important foreign box office is… I never in my life had any intention of seeing the third installment of the Xander Cage franchise, nor did I even know it was a franchise. However, they kept talking about just how awful it was on ScreenJunkies and I was sold. There are so many awful moments I could pull for this review but I don’t want to spoil anything; therefore, I will just say in the opening scene, Vin Diesel, using Spanish I had just learned from my third day on Duolingo Spanish, skies in the jungle and then skateboards so fast that there is a fire trail. The dialogue is just as poorly constructed. The actors are mostly monotone (esp. Toni Collette who apparently had an Oscar nomination once?). Mix that in with the weirdest editing where you know there shouldn’t be a cut in the scene when it goes to other sequences and low budget effects, you’re in for a good time. I saw an interview where Vin Diesel said he made this movie to be fun and that’s exactly what it is! I am totally watching the other ones now! #noshame P.S. If you want a movie that is intelligent and not offensive to literally anyone and everyone, this may not be the movie for you.

Ahahahha is my pet peeve when they make foreign films into English which is apparently happening with this film.... It has a basic premise, the characters are on a train during a zombie infection, but man does it pack a punch. Because zombie movies can be vastly different, I'd say even though it does not have the same themes as Night of the Living Dead, they're both on the more serious side and deal with political issues. So, if you like the one, you'll probably like the other. To give you an idea of some of the themes addressed: * Survival * Patience * Trust * Faith * Hope * Safety * Togetherness * Family Roles * Fear If that interests you and you're okay being a little shaken up afterwards, this is definitely a film for you.

This movie is just so sweet! I've seen a lot of reviews comparing this movie to John Hughes but the difference is this movie is not angsty; It's pure sugar. And I don't mean it in a bad way, feel good movies are the best! I was really worried this would be a really preachy after-school special type movie but the trailers convinced me and I am happy to report it focuses more on entertaining that nailing a point down. I can also say I think anyone can watch this movie and enjoy it because there are universal jokes in this. Of course, it had some faults like all coming of age movies do (cough cough nobody in the movie is a teen cough cough) but I really don't fault it for that. .The genre is the genre. And I still highly recommend this movie but I had some beef with some of the reactions. Some things that shouldn't be forgiven were quickly forgiven and some things that were forgivable, weren't, and I was just watching like whaaaa??? If you've seen the movie, I have some thoughts. But yeah, this movie is making history because it may not be the first movie of its kind, I have no idea, but it is the first one a lot have access to. And, I think it's a great, fun, movie that I'd be happy to rewatch anytime because, like I said, it's sweet at its very core. It's not a hard watch and for that reason and the historic element, I'm pretty sure this will go down at least as a cult classic? P.S. I Wanna Dance With Somebody has been stuck in my head ever since seeing this movie.

Wooh! It has been a while since I've written a review because I feel like the SAT has been eating up my time. It still is which is why I'm writing this while I'm tired and it's late at night and I certainly am not going to be checking my grammar. This movie is great! I think it's going to be a cult classic. My family does not. But, they still think it was highly enjoyable! I think there's something really appealing about the overused game night gone wrong stereotype (if you're looking for more search Edgar Allen Poe Party on youtube, should be the first thing that comes up, great stuff). The cast was phenomenal and there was not one weak link. Every time I think I can pick a favorite character or favorite scene, I have to change my mind because there are just that many good scenes. Seriously though, I'm trying not to give spoilers but I just want to talk about all the great moments. Billy Magnussen better go places with this and Into the Woods. (Don't pretend Agony was not hilarious) I only single him out because out of the main main comedians, he was the only one without real recognition. I've been hyped for this since the trailer which I thought was hilarious. The rest of my family thought it looked terrible. I thought it not only lived up to the hype but had a lot more jokes than what you saw in the trailer. I loved it. My parents thought it was funny. The audience was having a great time. The humor wasn't crude. With this and Jumanji, we may finally be seeing a renaissance in comedy that exists outside of the superhero realm. Please go see this, I think you'll have a great time.

For transparency sake, I saw the English dub. I consider myself as someone who can sift through the good and bad anime for the average Joe and this is great! With a quick pace, endearing characters, cute cats, beautiful animation, and high stakes, what's not to love? The exposition is so endearing where the humor isn't laugh out loud funny but makes you have a huge grin on your face. The protagonist also very much reminds me of a younger me... but maybe more charming. The cats are what did make me laugh because they're so authentic to how cats act that any cat lover can enjoy this movie. I have to admit when the main character meets a loud and energetic squirrel in lederhosen, I was a bit worried about what I was about to watch; however, they carefully did not overdue the comic relief. The movie is extremely cinematic and beautiful, definitely worthy of going out to the theatre to see! I also thought they delicately incorporated high stakes in the magic world with the fact that she herself was not a witch and powers could run out at any time. The one thing I think that can be hard for some people is occasionally the Ghibli films can be slow (this is not Ghibli but sort of is...yahta yahta yahta) and I think this is the most fast paced one out of the ones I've seen and dives straight into the story! I would recommend it 100%!

I have been furious since last night that this is not getting ANY Oscar attention. It was a heartwarming biopic. I don't see why it has all the poor reviews because it "sticks to the biopic formula"; since when has the Oscar's cared about that? I think my rating reflects this, had it gotten more acclaim, I'd doubt I'd give it a 9. I also will say it seems like people didn't like how "chipper" it was but I really didn't see it that way. This movie pulls out all the stops in the beginning to bring us back to old hollywood which is something I'm a fan of but could scare some people off though the initial Hepburnesque feeling comes to a halt when the polio strikes and the more serious performance of Foy commences. I sometimes thought the orchestral pieces were a bit too busy for my taste but were always effective in achieving the emotion they were trying to convey. The sound of the respirator also was used extremely well in a way that sneaks up on you. In terms of acting I think Foy and Garfield had fine performances. Again, I'm upset at how it's not even being considered for an Oscar nomination because I feel like this should be a movie that gets into categories such as best actor/actress and not necessarily win but AT LEAST be nominated. The real star in terms of showcasing acting ability in my mind was without a doubt Chapman who able to convey so much emotion in the very little amount of scenes he was in. Even if this was getting Oscar buzz, he wouldn't be getting a supporting actor nominee, but he gets a best supporting actor in my book. A very small note I wasn't even going to comment on but then I read another review that had the same thought as me, this movie starts in the fifties and ends in the eighties and their wardrobes NEVER change. If it didn't have the years I would've still thought they were in the imperial age by the end of the film. I would not recommend it for everyone because if you're not into Oscar-bait, you will be bored but I had had a busy day and wanted to decompress and this movie was absolutely perfect for that.

I wanted to start off this review with one of the many hilarious quotes but I also don't want to spoil the jokes. When the trailer for this movie dropped, I had no idea who Tonya Harding was, I soon got **** into the rabbit hole that is Tonya Harding. I always say I like sports biopics because it's none of the boring parts of sports and I actually care about the people, this is not your every day sports biopic. This is a Tonya Harding sports biopic. This has all of the crazy and insane parts of her story but also makes it real. None of the character's are evil just because they're evil. They all have backstories and motives that drive them to do their future actions. The movie found the perfect balance between the dark comedy of it all and the sincerity of the characters. They all may be antiheroes but it works and they tell a complete story with completely developed characters. It also has some of the greatest performances of the year by just about all the actors most notably Robbie and Janney but Stan and Hauser excel as well. In terms of Oscar buzz, I'm calling that Janney will win Supporting Actress, Robbie will have a solid chance winning Lead Actress but it's a tough category, I think it deserves Best Screenplay but may not make it, and it may get a Best Picture nomination but would not win in the category.

Disclaimer: DNF @ 50 minute mark. Curiosity killed this cat! I think this has one of the coolest posters and trailers of any 2017 movie or maybe even any movie. I was really excited when this came out but I couldn't go opening week and the following week it was gone. The critics hated it, I would've still gone because I loved the trailer and poster, but I couldn't of. The one thing an Indie needs is happy critics. I realized, however, that it was free on amazon, so it seemed only fair I give it a watch. The critics I heard from all said it was trippy garbage and I was curious. But, it is NOT trippy garbage, it is legitimately nothing. There is no plot. There's not even hallucinations. It was made for tumblr. I swear that there were points where they paused just so someone could make it a gif set and they could get free advertising. Every single scene is like that. All these slow but aesthetic looking stills are paired with whispering dialogue. That's right, whispering. Everyone talks in lowered voices and barely says anything. I could not keep up with who was who because I was sooo bored and they weren't accenting and words, there were no words to hold onto. My mom came in while I was watching and genuinely asked if I was awake which perfectly describes my feelings towards this movie.

Last year for NYE, I watched Arrival and this NYE I watched The Shape of Water. Both movies are about trying to communicate with monsters. Weird coincidence. The first movie I watched in theatres this year was Hidden Figures, the last movie I watched was, of course, The Shape of Water. Both movies are about trying to make further scientific discoveries than Russia. Weird coincidence. So, why did it take me this long to write a review? I don't know. I don't know how I feel about this movie. It was very unique in premise but it felt very paint by numbers in structure. It was like they read a book on the rules of screenwriting and decided they needed to incorporate every rule. The color wheel was a bit on the nose. The Hitchcock rule was definitely implemented. The allusions were there. I'm sure there were more but it's been a while since I've seen it. I did like the movie and the rules were effective but I just wonder for a movie all about not playing it safe, why did they play it so safe?

Disclaimer: Haven't fully decided what I'm rating it but somewhere in the middle. I think it was a huge mistake making this is a Christmas release. This is a movie girls see with their gals whether they are 12 or 22. It's immediately harder to get in touch with your own "pitches" when everyone is on holiday. I was lucky that my friend was in town but for every other movie, I saw it in a large group and saw this one with just one very good friend of mine. The reason seeing it with a group was even more critical is this movie's core theme really is sisterhood. I don't know if it executed was that well executed but it was there. You know what you're getting with these movies. If you liked the other two, you'll like this. It's probably the least like the other movies in that it changes plot in the middle but it always has the same tone. There are awkward jokes, jokes based on stereotypes, and then the funny jokes. I think the second one is the funniest but the third is the least offensive.

So, back when my sister and I first heard Hugh Jackman was starring in a movie, we were ecstatic. When we realized there was no trailer for a soon to be released movie, we were a bit worried. When we were less than enthralled with the trailer, it was disheartening. When the critics to some degree panned it, I was hopeless but I still wanted to see it incase I was an outlier. I don't think I was. I think there were many problems with this movie but I took it for what it was with low expectations. I think the huge issue in this movie was definitely placement. From the opening you go from the traditional 20th Century Fox logo which already is old school, to the screaming Oh's and stadium, back to a black and white style 20th Century Fox, to Hugh Jackman. It doesn't work. The Jenny Lind plot felt out of the blue. There were so many times when my family and I would jolt back because out of nowhere they would BURST into song. There was also the issue of the style of the music. It did not fit the tone of the movie and made it felt very cheap. There was also a really weird message/ theme where in almost every other scene a character would call out Barnum, and the response was always something along the lines of "okay, yes, but look at this accidental result that benefitted others." None of the good that comes out of Barnum is because Barnum was intending to be good. It would've been a better story if they either said he was doing it out of the good of his heart, made him the villain of the story, or what I think would be best, chose a different protagonist. This movie isn't perfect but there were good parts, Michelle Williams was so phenomenal in the role that could've gone south if an actor without that much talent played Charity. The actors in general were all a plus and I felt like they all belonged in the world. I think the thing about this movie is that it is easy, it's not that great, but if you're looking for an easy to swallow family flick, voila.

Yes. Yes! YES!!! Is this what sports people feel like when a touchdown is made? Last Christmas, I gave Love, Actually a chance but the second I watched it was all kinds of offensive. This year, I watched The Holiday, and I found a new favorite movie! Wow, did not mean to make that sound like "Last Christmas" the song. The point is, I had all the hopes up for Love, Actually but it was all kinds of mean. Around the same time, I watched 12 Dates of Christmas, hoping for the corney, and got something super boring. Was the Christmas Rom Com destined to be unenjoyable? Nope, this one hits the right notes! But, to be fair, it doesn't even really center around the holidays. The jokes are super blunt but super funny. I had to mark it down though because Jude Law was a terrible father, every scene with the kids was tedious, and the old **** it really necessary? Not to mention, poor Jack Black is just not a love interest. They could not make it work. I think it would take a miracle worker. But, I don't really care because it was a funny ride which is really all that counts in a rom com.

This is one of those movies where in the future this movie will only be known from a select few. It will be the one that unjustly got away. It will be a movie that I cry from the rooftops, "See it! It doesn't matter who you are! You will never ever see anything like this! It deserves so much more!" And here's the huge marketing issue with this movie, if you hear the premise, 12 hand painted oil paintings per second telling a story, you're intrigued. If you hear of the premise, you're in. It delivers. The issue is that most people have not heard of this movie. I don't blame studios, this movie has to be costing a fortune and if you put another fortune into a marketing campaign, that's even more money to potentially lose but I am an optimist and think this could've been a blockbuster. I think it deserves at least the animated feature Oscar. There. I said it. Here you have this beautiful score, beautiful images, and amazing story. It's all kinds of crafts at their finest. The mystery was always there, I was familiar with Van Gogh having a very interesting but sorrowful life but I did not remember most of the story, therefore I was on the edge of my seat with this one. Also, the images and homages to his paintings tie in so well, nothing is forced, it's masterful. I was as captivated as the protagonist. I don't think there will be anything quite like this ever again.

I go back and forth between a 93% to a 97% but I'm feeling generous! If you know how Rotten Tomatoes works, then I think it completely makes sense that it has that 100% because it's a very likable film with a lot of heart. I went with my mother, father, and one of my sisters and we all really enjoyed it which is certainly not always the case. I think that both the characterization and the acting were superb in making real characters. Nobody felt like a plot device and or straightforward. I can't even tell you who I think the best actor was because I truly think they all did a great job at capturing emotions in a realistic and captivating manner. The humor was not all that inventive, and most of the jokes have been done on sitcoms, but I laughed out loud. There are moments I will find something hilarious and I'll either try to make myself laugh or stay silent. That was not the case in Lady Bird. I was genuinely laughing and the rest of the audience was too. I think tonally, it's like The Way, Way Back but I admit I only saw a chunk of that movie on an airplane. So, if I'm totally off, I apologize. But, I found it to be a very realistic coming of age movie with very very real desires and actions of Lady Bird. I admit, this being marketed as Oscar Bait was what got me in the theatres but I do wonder if that is the way they should've gone with this movie because if more teens were exposed to this movie, I think they would love it. Then again, I genuinely think anyone would at least like this movie. Does it have Oscar potential? I think as of now it definitely deserves at least a screen play nomination if not the award but I think it might be too plain for a best picture. Even though I think the acting is spectacular, I'm not sure there were any roles that were unique enough to get the nomination.

Eh. This would be a perfect definition of "eh." I don't have much to say about it except that it screamed of being a try hard. Every scene was supposed to be super emotional but all of it felt forced The profanity in the dialogue felt forced. The ever present idea that everyone's life is messed up that was constantly smacked in your face felt forced. Every single part of the romance felt forced. I can't tell if the screenwriters or the director have no sense of romance or maybe it's both. I don't care or have strong feelings about this movie. I guess the only other thing to say about it is that the use of the slideshow made me very confused on how much time was supposed to be passed down between chapters. My gut reaction was to give it a five, I thought about bringing it down to a four, but I don't care enough.

Real Score: 8.5/10! What a fun way to quick off my break! I went with some friends to a night time showing and I think it's safe to say we all enjoyed the film. Scoring this movie was really hard for me because if we were to look at letter grades, it definitely would be somewhere in the B-range for me but where? An 80% seemed too low but something closer to 90% seemed too high. I think it would be hard to counter that the illuminating scenery was anything less than magnificent. I don't think a scene went by where I was not in awe of the pure beauty of the movie from the spirit guides to the bridge; I think the best word to describe it would be "enticing!" Even the opening which was not lit up was gorgeous and was reminiscent of Hercules or Beauty and the Beast. The music was also stellar and I felt hypnotized by the guitar. I had extremely high expectations because Lee Unkrich is credited as the sole director of TS3, which I think is a perfect film, but I don't exactly think Coco was. I feel like there was a lot less humor in this film as compared to most Disney or Pixar films and that the jokes just didn't hit quite as much as they could. It was also a bit predictable plot wise which being a family film is forgivable but doesn't add to the score? I will say I feel like my experience watching this film was very similar to my experience watching ET. I didn't think I was that connected until the end when the drama hit and I started choking up, and for clarification sake , I've never cried in a movie, so choking up is about as far as I get. Overall, this won't crack my top five movies of 2017 but I'm willing to say it will hit my top ten. I definitely think you should go see it but I don't think it is the best Pixar film we've ever had. * And then the little foot note that is Olaf's Frozen Adventure. I didn't like the Frozen short before Cinderella, and I think this was better but oof. There was exactly one joke, where Olaf is being a savage, that I just started balling out laughing and is probably the only time I purely laughed while I was at the movie. But, other than that, it was tedious. Yes, I'm probably being too harsh on it but the movie ticket said 7:45, OFA started at 8:00, and that's a 20 minute short of all these discombobulated D-rate songs. I love Frozen, I saw it seven times in theatres, but goodness, I think I'm done with Frozen. Of course, I'm sure temptation will win over when Frozen 2 comes out in 2019...

Disclaimer: I'm not going to say any plot in case someone wants to go in blind even though I think that's where all it's faults are. What. A. Mess. It was just as poorly written and disjointed as Suicide Squad but lacked the element of fun. You know those dresses at the Grammy's that are flashy cocktail dress that clearly were expensive but it just looks cheap and tacky? That was Justice League. Good Characters: Wonder Woman: Wonder Woman is the strongest superhero movie of the year and she definitely was a plus in the movie. That being said there were some things that I thought went against the character we met in her movie. UPDATE: I just watched a video on all of the creepy things Whedon added to the movie about Gal Gadot. I missed some of them. I saw some of them. My score was originally 3/10 but now being reminded of all the objectifying. I had to mark it further down. I am sorry for Wonder Woman and I do remember wondering why the Flash was laughing because I guess I missed that split second. Gross. Aquaman: I can not believe I liked Aquaman. I can not believe I am admitting to liking Aquaman. But, the Atlantis scenes were stunning and I genuinely thought his hair added an eye catching look. I will say I preferred but his tatooed self and his suede jacket self to his aquaman outfit which I thought was too snug and poor costuming compared to the gorgeous costumes the other Atlantis people wore. Bad Characters Batman: Have we seen too many Batman movies? Am I bored of it? I sure think Ben Affleck is and I'm sure he's trying to get out of his contract. He had chances and dialogue to make an impacting performance but I don't think he committed to the drama and high stakes. Cyborg: Ehh. Out of the bad characters, he's probably my favorite. I don't know. Sometimes the CGI worked and sometimes it didn't. We didn't have enough of him for me to care what happened to him. Steppenwolf: I'm sorry but his name is Steppenwolf. That just sounds stupid. The name "mother boxes" is stupid. Mothmen are not scary but stupid. Stupid. THE FLASH: I feel like this movie could've been way more cohesive without Miller's character. Yes, I am a fan of Gustin's protrayal and didn't think I would like Miller, but I was going to give him a chance. Instead, he seemed to young and inexperienced to be hanging with Wonder Woman and Batman. He had one funny joke but the rest of them were randomly out of place and very very forced.

You know I’m trying to think of adjectives to describe Wonderstruck that are not “wonderful” but it’s automatically what comes to mind via the title. I think the best word to describe this movie is the other W word of “whimsical.” It’s an absolutely gorgeous in the whimsical way it depicts reality. There are two stories going on at the same time. It has soared into three of my top favorite movies of 2017 and I’ve already made plans to view it **** first story is about a 10ish year old boy in the 70’s who has just gone deaf. He sets off away from his family to begin his journey, I forget when you learn what the journey is, so I don’t want to say in case it is a spoiler. It is told in with sound, an array of colors, and captions. The other story is told in black and white with no subtitles or audio. This is the story of a deaf girl in 1927 who heads to NYC because she is inspired by a photo of a film star. I think they are clipped together seamlessly. The orchestral pieces were beautiful to hear but also added so much emotion in a way I haven’t ever been so captivated by the music in a movie. It is complemented with music from the 70’s to further demonstrate the period. I th nk if Amazon wants to do an Oscar campaign, it can get the nomination but I don’t know if it would win because big budget movies like to go after these kind of awards. I really hope it gets the nomination because if it were up to me, it’d win. I have more to say but I’m worried they’d qualify as spoilers, so I beg of you, please watch this movie as you won’t regret it!

I had quite a bit of issues with Ragnarok. Most of my issues seem to be common consensus on the reviews I’ve seen but they all say it’s okay because the comedy was there which I disagree with. Even though there are many spoilery things I could address I will remain spoiler free, at least for now on MetaCritic. The issue, I think, is that this felt like a parody. I think it’s very on level with something like GOTG 2; in fact, I genuinely thought Jeff Goldblum was The Collector from GOTG. Okay, just did some research and the two characters are brothers but Goldblum cameoed in GOTG2? I don’t know. I give up. I also think the ball might have been dropped a wee bit in the costuming department for the females because whenever they were in these body suits, they walk a little bit funny which was quite distracting. There were some distracting soundtrack scenes as well. But, the biggest issue is I felt like the humor was severely lacking. The jokes just felt like something an elementary schooler would find funny. I do not think this is Waititi vision’s fault but that it was better suited for like a television special as opposed to a live action two hour twenty minute show. I am still very interested in his other works, I just feel like this was not the right spot for his comedy.

I am actually fairly surprised the metacritic score on this is so low; It screams award worthy! Both the story and the humour were subtle, clever, and witty. Jean Rocherforte's charming performance was an excellent balance to Hallyday's stoic character. You could immediately tell the screenwriter thought long and hard on each sentence to create superb symbolism. Also, the opening credits with the flashes of the train were both stunning and captivating. The ending is a little jarring, so I would not recommend it if you are looking for a fun and light film; but, the ending also was satisfactory in that it delivered a fitting conclusion. I only had two qualms with this film: 1) the tonality was too cold and had too many tints of blue that I felt it was a bit distracting and 2) it was advertised to me as a crime thriller which was fairly misleading as there is a lack of action in this film. I most definitely believe think it is worth anyone's time and am glad I was able to watch L'homme du train!

I think 2/3 is about right for this movie. What sells this movie is the acting! My list of people I geniuenly think are good actors is very small. I don't have a long list of bad actors per se but it takes a lot for me to see a performance in either light. Pulp Fiction added two to the list: Samuel L. Jackson and Amanda Plummer. Both of these actors knocked it out of the park and made themselves noticed. I thought I would give the movie 7/10 for the acting alone but then when I compiled my thoughts, I realized just how negative it gets. First off, the swearing dialogue, I can deal with foul language, but it did not flow. It got choppy and it was like Tarantino had a quota to meet, so he just kept sticking them in there. Uma Thurman's character was ridiculous as was that whole random scene in the restaurant. The ending is beautiful don't get me wrong but the nonlinear set up really did not make sense at certain points nor when I looked it up did I think the chronological ending needed to happen. The leather person thing also made no sense. This was just like the director had a bunch of ideas, put it in a blender and spit it out and yet it is supposedly a masterpiece? Again, the only thing saving this score was the two masterful performances. It's a shame Amanda Plummer doesn't really have anything else to her name.

What a wild and fun ride! Everyone who's been saying this movie was a hoot is absolutely right! It's clever and quite enjoyable! The characters played off each other. The comical style worked delightfully. There were so many memorable moments, such as the fence, Queen, and the vinyls. While profanity is used frequently, I feel like it's a generational film a tween, a teen, a college kid, and parent could all find something out of. I've personally only seen Scott Pilgrim and Baby Driver. This made me like Baby Driver less because everything that movie was trying to achieve was in this one! The only thing I didn't like was the ending felt really out of place and immediately took me out of the film. I'm so pumped that there are two more in the Cornetto Trilogy and I'll be checking out Spaced as well!

I think this movie was a bit overhyped. I was prepared to be scared **** but instead I was underwhelmed. Had I not thought this was going to be terrifying, I would've been scared. I thought the romance was completely forced and a wee bit inappropriate (yes, I know it's worse in the book) but I'm still excited for part two!

As an almost 17 year old, today was my first time seeing it and wow! Diane's style was a huge hit or huge miss but that's hardly a way to rate a film. Really powerful performance by John Mahoney. Great lighting! But most importantly, the characters acted like subtle teens but there was all the magic of a movie.