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SCENE IT ALL BEFORE

Dope Sick Girl

6/30/2017

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The Big Sick Reviewed

There's a saying in screenwriting: just because it actually happened doesn't mean you can write about it. Sometimes the truth is so unbelievable it can take the audience out of a project as they look at the screen and say to themselves 'Really?' I am usually on board with this theory. However, when I see a movie like The Big Sick I'm willing to forgive any messy truths that might be included in the story because what we see is a very sweet and endearing project. 

The Big Sick is a mostly autobiographical story about Kumail Nanjiani and his girlfriend at the time Emily (Zoe Kazan). Kumail is from Pakistan and driving for Uber while trying to be a successful stand-up comic. During one of his shows, he gets heckled by Emily, which provides a nice meet-cute and a little cute meeting, if you know what I mean (they have sex). And while Kumail likes Emily, he knows his parents expect him to marry a Pakistani woman. This leads to a big blow-out fight where they break-up and she tells him not to call her again and he doesn't – until she winds up in the hospital.

At times it felt weird to laugh at the movie, especially when the situation is life or death. When you are laughing at the story's uncomfortable moments you may find yourself looking around to see if anyone is giving you the side eye. Kumail's writing and jokes are funny enough that sometimes you forget where you are.  
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After this I am hopeful we will see a lot more of Kumail Nanjiani
Kumail gives a great performance in the lead role. His real-life personality comes across on screen and it's easy to see why he is likable. If you’ve never heard his stand up or heard him tell a joke,  I suggest you do so because he's one of my favorite comedians working right now. 
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Holly Hunter and Ray Romano are also fantastic as Emily's parents. They have a fairly large amount of screen time and serve as the surrogate for Emily as she is stuck in the hospital. Romano goes beyond his awkward sitcom dad role and is able to add some depth thanks to the background his character is given. Holly Hunter gives what may be my favorite performance in the movie as Emily's strong-willed mother. Her relationship with her daughter felt intimate, even in small moments like the touching of a face. It all felt genuine. 

The Big Sick feels a little bit like the Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen movie 50/50. But that was a good movie too and it was great to see something like that again. And while there are similar beats, it never feels like a direct copy because – well – it really happened. Perhaps that's not a good enough reason to forgive any of the story's minor missteps, such as how plot points at time feel too convenient. The honesty portrayed makes it hard not to root for everyone in one of the best romantic-dramedies I've seen in some time. A-
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Baby Break It Down

6/22/2017

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Baby Driver Reviewed

If there's one thing Edgar Wright likes doing with his movies, it's exploring a genre. It's almost as if he thinks that once he delivers his take on the genre he can never go back, so he jams everything that he wants to say about it into one story. That may explain why there is so much going on in this one heist little movie.

Baby Driver is about a getaway driver named Baby (Ansel Elgrot) whose skill on the road is dependent on the song he is listening to. Baby works for Doc (Kevin Spacey) who uses a different crew for every heist he pulls, except for Baby, who he considers the best. Baby tries to escape his life of crime but gets roped into pulling one final job with a dangerous crew.

The cast Edgar Wright assembles is fantastic. Jamie Foxx and Kevin Spacey are always fun to watch on screen, and Ansel Elgrot has just as much screen presence as he did in The Fault in Our Stars while showing off quite a different range. He shows that he is an up-and-coming actor to watch. The only character who didn't work for me was Jon Hamm as Buddy, and it wasn't even the character so much as the performance. Buddy had so much going on that I'm not sure if Jon Hamm, who I usually love, could fit it all in. Or maybe I hated that his beard was blocking that gorgeous face; it's tough to say. 

Baby Driver plays as a stimulant to the eyes, which makes it fun to watch. The special effects, use of color, and even the actors with their performances are all visually appealing. Edgar Wright takes great pride in every frame he shoots. The car chases he crafts are just as interesting as anything in recent memory, and Wright didn’t need to use a tank, submarine, or an aircraft carrier.
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As much as this is a heist movie it is also a love story and the chemistry between Lily James and Ansel Elgort is great
But even sans-tank this movie can get quite cheesy. In fact, it's almost defined by its cheese, especially in an early scene where Baby is going to get coffee, and during a laundromat sequence with Baby and his love interest, Debora. Personally, I eat it up, but if these scenes have you rolling your eyes this movie may prove to be frustrating.

The movie’s biggest problem, though, is its narrative. The plot is not clear on what it wants to be, so Wright tries squeezing in everything he can think of. The movie takes moments from Gone in 60 Seconds, The Fast and the Furious, Bonnie and Clyde, borrows ideas from Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, along with the tried and true ‘one last job’ cliché, and tries to string it all together into one story. Maybe Wright is hoping most people won’t notice you are watching three different movies as long as he throws enough cool stuff to look at.  

Obviously, the soundtrack to this movie is great. Every track fits perfectly into the scene, with gunshots matching the songs’ down beats. A wide range of artists are featured, from Queen to Danger Mouse to Young MC to Simon and Garfunkel. To be honest, they may have put more work into crafting the perfect soundtrack than any aspect of the movie, especially as hearing and deafness figure in as (yet another) part of the plot.

If you enjoy what Edgar Wright has done with his previous genre movies like Shaun of The Dead, The World’s End, or Scott Pilgrim vs the World, then you’ll probably like what he's doing in Baby Driver. It almost feels like a cult classic in the making, as if the movie is made for the niche audience of people who like fast cars and cool stunts. I just hope there’s an audience that enjoy those types of movies. B+
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Top 5 Movies To Look Forward To For The Second Half Of 2017

6/8/2017

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At the beginning of the year I came up withfive movies to look forward to for the first half of the year, and I would say four out of the five movies turned out to be good (stupid Baywatch). So here are five for the second half of the year; there are a lot of other interesting choices, too, but you have to cut the list somewhere.

 Spider-Man: Homecoming (July 7
 
Okay, perhaps you are sick of Spider-Man movies. That's fair. Andrew Garfield did no favors to the franchise. But did you see Civil War? Arguably the best part of a great movie was the young Tom Holland as the new Spider-Man. It's nice to see a young guy playing the teenage version of Peter Parker. Marvel has been the most successful studio in Hollywood and this has all the makings of an upbeat, funny Marvel movie. And that doesn't even take into consideration the fact that Michael Keaton, who has been amazing lately, is playing The Vulture, a villain we should have seen three movies ago. We probably don't need a sixth Spider-Man movie over the past two decades, but this one feels right.

Dunkirk (July 21)
Say what you will about Interstellar. Tell me you didn't like Inception. Christopher Nolan is still one of my favorite directors out there and I would follow him into whatever hellscape Dunkirk is. This is a World War II story and takes place in England. I don't know much about the real-life events off which this story is based; I do know that a bunch of great British actors are in the movie, including Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh, and the dreamiest One Directioner of them all: Harry Styles. The movie is filmed entirely on IMAX cameras, and Christopher Nolan is the king of big-time IMAX movie-making. The best part about the story is that because it's based on true events, there shouldn't be any unnecessary twists. This has all the makings to be one of my favorite movies of the year.

Baby Driver (August 11)
I actually don't know too much about Baby Driver beyond the fact that Edgar Wright is directing. I also know that every critic that has seen it has liked it, which is why the movie currently sits at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. Edgar Wright has a great track record for making both funny and action-packed movies. And with a cast like Jamie Foxx, Jon Hamm, and Kevin Spacey, I think this movie will be a lot of fun to watch.

Ferdinand (December 15)
I was going to put the new Pixar movie Coco on this list due in part to the fact that it's a new Pixar movie and it's being directed by the same people who directed Toy Story 3. I know full well I will probably wind up bawling my eyes out while watching the movie. However, that's not the animated movie I'm most excited for. I'm excited to see Ferdinand. Based on the childhood book of the same name, it's about a bull who just wants to pick flowers. This is a heartwarming story that every parent should read to their kids. I love that John Cena is playing the bull; I believe he could be one of the next great comedic/action actors out there. If that wasn't enough, the movie's trailer is set to Ed Sheeran's “Castle on the Hill.” So now whenever I hear that song on the radio (which is a lot) I think of this movie, which probably says something about how excited I am. But the fact that it is coming out the same day as the next movie on this list makes me worried that the studio is burying Ferdinand.

Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (December 15)
I wasn't a huge fan of the Rogue One, but apparently, I was the only one. I did, however, love Episode VII and will watch it anytime it comes on Starz. If this series follows the trajectory of the original that should mean this eighth installment will be both better and darker than part one in the trilogy. While I do wish J.J. Abrams was returning to direct this movie, I love the director they have in Rain Johnson. He's the same guy who did Brick and Looper. Just take my money now and add it to what I assume will be another billion dollar movie for the Star Wars franchise.
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Wonderful Woman

6/1/2017

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Wonder Woman Reviewed 

I cannot tell you how happy I am that Wonder Woman is a good movie. I was dreading going to another ‘gritty’ DC movie, but as I sat there I had a flashback to the original Superman, and not in a cheesy 70s kind of way. Wonder Woman fights for good, and that idea is reflected on screen. Somehow Superman — who is supposed to stand for truth, justice, and the American way — lost the plot with his own dark and gritty reboot. This semi-throwback idea is a welcome change from where the DC universe has been going and works because it feels earnest. And in the world we live in today that kind of virtuous character is a much-needed respite. 

It's a nice bonus that Wonder Woman has a female visionary at the lead, and Patty Jenkins is a talented storyteller, the same person who gave us the Academy Award-winning movie Monster. She crafts a movie that doesn't rely solely on explosions and CGI to succeed and that's the key.
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The plot is a basic origin story, to find out how Wonder Woman came to be. The movie is set during World War I and starts with Diana (Gal Gadot) on Themyscira, where we get a decent amount of backstory to the Amazons. As Diana grows up she becomes a warrior and one day she finds allied officer Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) and agrees to help him in an effort to end the war to end all wars.

What’s great about this movie is it’s not all doom and gloom like previous DC movies; there are plenty of funny moments before we get to the front line, especially with the fish out of water angle as Diana tries to adapt to the world of man. The banter between Gal Gadot as the straight man, or the straight woman as it were, playing against Chris Pine is the heart of the movie overall — but their chemistry excels during the movie’s lighter moments.
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Gal Gadot is charismatic, and has amazing presence. If you were to tell me she was royal born I would totally believe you. This is a star making role for the talented actress.
One of the few knocks on this movie is the use of CGI. The action scenes are good as long as they don't rely solely on green screens. This is especially true for the lasso of truth; when it’s not glowing it looks fine, but anytime the lasso is used in an action sequence it looks silly.  

The end is also just a little bit cheesy. I mean it’s no 'let's stop this fight because I realized both of our mothers were named Martha' bad, but it’s still not great. It just doesn't match the tone of the rest if the movie. Obviously, it's a superhero movie, so we have to have the final fight with the big bad guy, but do we? This movie is better than that cliché.

In a world full of superhero movies, Wonder Woman is at the top of the pile and becomes a new standard for what the audience should expect. Every DC director out there needs to take a note from Patty Jenkins, because this is how it's done. The use of CGI, explosions, and special effects are the weakest parts of the movie, the movie succeeds based on the relationships the characters have with one another and our relationship with our hero. Patty Jenkins just turned on the pressure for the Justice League movie coming out later his year. Can the boys step up? A-/B+
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