Edgar Wright’s distinct visual comedic style is truly what makes his movies great. As I am beginning to watch every Edgar Wright film, I have only watched Hot Fuzz and Scott Pilgrim. Even from those two movies, it’s clear that Edgar Wright truly has a firm grasp on how to visually convey comedy. A movie about zombies lends itself to that style extremely well. There are many moments in Shaun of the Dead that are very distinct from anything I’ve ever seen before, and that’s part of it’s charm. Seeing Simon Pegg and Nick Frost run around trying to make it to a bar while killing zombies (in a brilliant over the top way) takes the road trip genre to a new place. One thing that amazes me is his sense of pacing. Edgar Wright makes it so the comedy is quick, sharp, yet easy to understand. And the buildup works. While I can praise the comedy in this film, it seemed like Edgar Wright tried forcing a somewhat serious subplot in, which is in part a portion of the element of parody, but it didn’t come off as that. When the more serious portions came up, it seemed out of place and that the scene belonged in a different film. On that note, it should also be noted that sometimes, the acting doesn’t completely fit, which is partially because of the dialogue. There are two main types of comedy styles. One option is to represent comedy in the dialogue, but the other option is to use physical visual comedy. All too often, modern films only focus on the dialogue, while not caring about how the film looks. Edgar Wright realizes that visual comedy is extremely represented, yet, at times it feels like he missed opportunities for some funny dialogue. Overall, I truly enjoyed this one. It wasn’t anything too great, but it was certainly a fun time, and I’d definitely recommend it. 8.4/10

Do you like meat? Well, if you do, I’d advise against watching this movie. Okja is one of Bong Joon-Ho’s best films. Overall, while it does have its flaws, the strong story and message more than makes up for it. One thing that Bong Joon-Ho is clearly good at is building tension. Between Parasite and Okja, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time waiting to see what happened. And that suspense truly is a driving force in a lot of his work, in a good way. The suspense is all built off of the message in the story. That message of the cruelty of animals before they are slaughtered for profit is all heightened by the care we feel for the film’s protagonists. Okja itself is surprisingly well done, especially for a Netflix movie. This is an especially good thing, if Okja didn’t work, nothing in this film would. For the most part, the action was also incredibly solid, aside from a few beats that seemed out of place. The star power in this was shocking, Tilda Swinton and Jake Gyllenhaal were surprising to see to say the least. However, while the cast is strong, I didn’t feel that any of them gave particularly meaningful performances, a lot of them went just a little too far over the top, which is unfortunate considering how much the rest of the film is so meaningful. If you’re looking for an excuse to become a vegetarian, Bong Joon-Ho’s Okja is a great option. 8.3/10

As I’ve mentioned before, Christopher Nolan is a genius. However, as much as I love Inception, I can’t deny that The Prestige is somewhat of a flop. Now, no, this is far from the worst movie I’ve ever seen. Yet, amongst Nolan’s other films, this one just falls flat. I found that my main complaint was the same thing happening over and over again. The movie was just a constant loop of “magician makes revolutionary new trick, Magician tries it out and it works perfectly, other magician comes and sabotages it.” From beginning to end, all of this happened quite a few times. So, that’s the plot, but what about the characters? They’re dull, although the acting is great, and emotion is portrayed well, it’s very hard to tell them apart (Not based on looks, just the way they act). These are some relatively major complaints with the movie, but I would be stupid if I didn’t talk about the brilliant twist at the end and some of the wonderful visuals. I have also always been interested in Nicola Tesla stuff for some reason, so I really liked this. But still, I just had too many problems. Maybe it’s just my high expectation for Nolan, but this movie just didn’t really click for me 6.7/10

Oh, hi Mark. I remember watching the Disaster Artist for the first time. I was on an Iceland air flight and I saw my mom watching it, and in rebellion, I did too. And boy, that was a good choice. Not only is The Disaster Artist a great spoof of Tommy Wiseau’s career, it is also a touching story of how hard it really is to make it in Hollywood. Although I’ve never seen The Room itself, the impact of the cult classic is clear. James Franco’s passion for this project basically drove everything in the movie. Which brings up James Franco’s performance, which is great. Clearly, James Franco spent a lot of time with Tommy Wiseau, the side by side footage in the credits emphasizes this. But what’s important about his performance is seeing Wiseau offscreen when he isn’t acting, which honestly, isn’t that far off… But that’s not the point. What I’m trying to say is that Tommy Wiseau’s life is a lot more troubling than we like to think it is. And the way that this movie didn’t take the easy way out by making it a straight up comedy is impressive to say the least. As much as I will recommend and praise this movie, I will admit its flaws. There are a lot of scenes that seem to go on way too long. Not only scenes, but large chunks of the movie that could have been cut altogether seemingly going on for a while, which in a comedic sense, can never go well. It also seems like although James Franco’s brother is great in this, I don’t think he lives up to James Franco’s performance. In conclusion, The Disaster Artist is a lot of fun, and I’d definitely recommend it, especially if you’re interested in how films are made.

For a long time, Holy Grail was actually my favorite movie of all time. And although it isn’t my favorite any longer, I understand why it was. This movie is outrageously funny. There are so many moments in this that I quote every single day. If you haven’t watched it, I can’t see why. The Holy Grail is a classic, and it’s timeless. This review’s short, but that’s really because I don’t have much to say (and because I’m 5 movies behind on reviews), but also because of the huge part of my childhood this movie was. Overall, this movie gets a 8.9/10 from me.

Brilliant. That’s all I have to say. This is one of the funniest and best movies I have ever watched. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, Taika Waititi is a god, we must praise him. To think that I get to live in the universe where the guy who made this indie comedy about vampires is going to make the next Star Wars movie makes me so happy. This movie is a gift, it is so good. No matter what you like, there is something for you here. By parodying documentaries and vampires, Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement have made, in my opinion, one of the best comedies of this decade. Obviously, I have a bias. Taika Waititi is my favorite director, and I will love whatever he makes. But genuinely, even if you aren’t a huge fan of Taika Waititi, watch this one. It’s amazing. 9.4/10

Starting a Christopher Nolan movie watch through, I had never heard of Memento. Honestly, I’m not sure why. The movie takes a brilliant theme and expands on it in a way that keeps the audience on the edge of their seat the entire time. Using the “condition” of short term memory loss, we are able to put pieces together faster than the main character. Or, at least that’s how it would seem. In some ways, it’s a lot like groundhog day, except the main character is the only one oblivious to the day repeating. Seeing the characters around him abuse his short term memory loss, and learning who to trust, makes this movie well worth the time. In typical Nolan fashion, everything flows together wonderfully, and the action is placed moderately in a good way. I don’t have much to say about this one. It’s a really good film, however, the dialogue isn’t what it ought to be at times, and some of the imagery wasn’t great either. The characters were fine, but weren’t unique enough for me to remember their names or anything like that. Still, the fun comes from the interesting twists and questions it poses. Overall, 7.6/10

The Farewell discusses the theme of loss in a brilliant and creative way. In The Farewell, Akwafina’s grandmother is dealing with cancer, and is terminally ill. Rather than telling her, the family lies to her and says everything is ok. To avoid having the grandmother find out, Akwafina’s character is pushed out of the family circle, as her emotions get to her. This movie would not work without the brilliant acting. Akwafina gives a stellar performance, and so does everyone else. Having the story being based off of a real event is especially touching. Seeing this family be forced to act like everything is ok when, really, it isn’t is very emotional. The script is fantastic, and the shots are decent. I’d say that this movie is missing some key moments that should have happened, and feels rushed in a few areas. There are also a few story beats that I think should have been cut. That being said, The Farewell is a great movie, and I’m surprised it wasn’t nominated for any major awards at the Oscars this year. If you’re ok with subtitles, give it a watch. 8.7/10

Slumdog Millionaire offers so much to love. Truly, the method of storytelling is brilliant and creative, truly deserving of the Best Picture award it received. However, honestly, there isn’t a lot more to it. The movie follows a contestant on Who Wants to be a Millionaire. As he answers every question correct, we cut to the future, where he’s being interrogated for cheating, and then there is a flashback to the past to show how he knows each answer. Obviously this hasn’t been done in any other form of storytelling, and it works. It forces you to really care for the character, while also root for him. The way it is shot offers enough variety in setting and lenses that it allows the audience to clearly know when the events are taking place, which is helpful in a movie that jumps around time periods as much as this one. The acting is also spot on. However, I did feel that there was a lot that could have been cut. The movie is incredibly tense, and that’s one of its best qualities. But, there are quite a few scenes that break that tension. When it happens, it’s incredibly distracting, and quite annoying. Also, the dialogue can lack the ability to be intriguing during parts of it. Those nit-picky comments are nothing compared to the wonderful qualities of this movie. The entire point of a film is to tell a story, and that is where Slumdog Millionaire shines. So, overall, I’d say that it’s definitely worth watching, because this film is fantastic. 9.1/10

By only his second movie, it seems like Taika had found his style and the necessary writing elements to make an excellent compelling movie. Boy is all Taika asking a ‘what if’ question about his past. At a very young age, his father died. In Boy, Taika is looking at what may have happened if it was his mother instead. As are with most of Taika’s movies, the child actors are great, however, I did find that Boy’s performance did end up somewhat stiff at times. The movie itself was funny, with that gut punch of emotion that Taika’s so good at. The setting is fantastic, and it presents an accurate representation of what it may be like to have grown up in an indigenous village in the 80s. It is easy to see that this is one of Taika’s earlier films due to the lack of compelling dialogue. The characters are overall not quite as deep as they should be (in my opinion) and I think that was one of the largest flaws. There are some characters that are fleshed out, mostly Boy and the Dad. But, other than that, most of the characters are forgotten about and don’t get to go through their necessary arc. There are also a few characters that seem like they should have had a larger role, but, overall did not. Also, this one’s slightly nitpicky, but some of the shots didn’t seem to be quite right. That being said, I can’t say that I love this movie more. There are so many moments that are extremely memorable, and the movie is extremely fun. It’s always interesting going into a director’s roots, Boy is one of the best examples of this. 9.2/10