Beast

5/10

Following his wife's death, Dr. Nate Samuels (played by Idris Elba) takes his daughters to visit his friend Martin Battles (Sharlto Copley) at the Mopani Reserve in South Africa, where his wife came from. There they encounter a rogue lion who's killing every human being he finds.

Sadly, the dialogue/human-only scenes in this just aren't that strong. Elba and Copely deliver lackluster performances, especially Elba in the weakest role I've ever seen him do. The two younger actresses actually do better than the established actors, but unfortunately in the first third they've just got very cliched kinda bratty girl dialogue to work with. The movie isn't helped any by the cliched father-trying-to-reconnect-with-his-daughters storyline.

The actual lion/action parts aren't too shabby. They don't break the mold or anything (with the exception of the last fight scene which is surprisingly good). But there are some solid moments and uses of the lion and environment.

Close-ups of the lion don't work that great as it's not composed of the most convincing CGI. This movie has some interesting camera work. There aren't a lot of close- or far-shots; the camera mostly follows behind the characters, evoking a feel of sharing the character's experience. Not saying the camera work is excellent, but it was a choice, and I give the director credit for going with it. Scenery and sets aren't shabby, again not groundbreaking but not shabby.

So yeah, this isn't a particularly good movie, but it's not awful either. Not worth paying money to see, but if you like mindless action films, particularly killer animal, this is the sort of time-waster that'll do it.

Only Murders in the Building- Season 2

8.5/10

NOTE: (There are no spoilers for this season, but this review does touch on the setup from the finale of the last season.)

In this sophomore season, the murder podcast trio have to clear their names of murder.

Once the original main mystery of a show is concluded, there is always the risk of subsequent seasons not being able to recapture the magic. I'm happy to say, this isn't the case with this one. The show remains as funny as ever. The character work and arcs here for the three main cast members remain strong. (Oliver Putnam's subplot is especially compelling.) This season also does a great job of building upon supporting characters from last season; cat-loving neighbor Howard (played by Michael Cyril Creighton) continues to be funny.

If I'd say there were any downsides to this, the three main lingering plot questions from last season remain unanswered. Whereas the mystery last season felt unraveled naturally, it did feel like all the plot points were shoehorned into the end in this one. Though, I also felt more satisfied with this finale. Like I said, season 2 does a great job of utilizing existing characters, but there a few sudden missing supporting characters disappearances that may be jarring, particularly the neighbor who wanted Tim Kono's apartment. She was present throughout last season whenever you had group scenes in the apartment building, so it's weird to see the character suddenly absent.

Cast is still great. Martin Short remains the funniest with his constant comic energy. Also, I wouldn't be surprised that Jayne Houdeshell as former HOA board head Bunny Folger gets an Emmy nomination. Last season, she was just the grump who served as a sort of semi-adversary for Putnam, but here the character gets an episode that gets to show more of her and Houdeshell NAILS IT. 

Highly recommend, another smart and funny season.

Westworld- Season 4

7.5/10

Taking place several years after the events of season 3, a group of Hosts make a play against humanity.

The first episode had me a little worried. There was the fact that you're not shown the immediate fallout of season 3 and the story wasn't completely enticing. However, once things get rolling, it gets really interesting. This is probably the darkest season and a LOT happens. I'm going to avoid any details for fear of spoiling, but this is a really interesting season. I was kept guessing what would happen next. Again, the look of the show, cast, and music are all great. 

Though I liked it, this season could be stronger. Some of the more interesting supporting characters from last season like Caleb's criminal compatriots and the main villain they spent so much time with and left open to return are completely gone. Plus, there's the show's tendency to squander characters. Expect to be frustrated here.  

Though this is was a very interesting season, I admit that this is also the most straightforward of all the seasons. This feels the less like the writers are throwing you around, but the feel of wonder you got from the look of Westworld and the sense of mystery in 1 and 2 and the look of the future world in season 3 is gone here. Also, the finale is very controversial (season 4 is taking the show's tendency of trying to hard to be clever to the umpth degree.) I honestly am not quite sure how I feel about it. It's a power move, I'll give you that.

Recommended. I know I listed a lot of negatives, but that's because I can't get into what works. I found this to be the second strongest season. This just felt more focused and captivating than the last two one.

Dragonball Super: Super Hero

8/10

In this the second DBS film (with screenplay by original DB creator Akira Toriyama), The Red Ribbon Army (from the original Dragon Ball) has rebuilt itself, created new, powerful allies, and are seeking vengeance against Goku and his allies, with Piccolo being the first they set their eyes upon.

If you're walking into this expecting another film like the previous installment the action and lore-heavy DBS: Broly, DON'T. This is more like the first of the DBZ comeback films Battle of the Gods. You get two-thirds of old-school, original DB-style comedy with an impressive battle in the final act. If you love DB for the action, but aren't big on DB's humor, this may not be for you. I, however, had a good time. I thought this was pretty funny and liked the goofy, light-hearted comedy and the unique tone Toriyama brings.

Not to say the fight scenes are anything to scoff at. I wouldn't say they are as good as Broly, some of the best action I've ever seen in animation, but they're not that far off either. The fights are all really impressive, grand, and really well animated. This is the first DB title to use 3D-cell shaded (21/2-D) models, and I thought it worked pretty well. Speaking of the show's appearance in general, I love the look of of the backgrounds and buildings in this. Everything looks really good. 

Be forewarned that the movie sidelines lead Goku and Vegeta, the best fighters in the series. To be honest, I'm not hating the decision. It's a fun shift from the norm to focus on some of the supporting characters. Piccolo really does carry the film. He's basically the serious, competent guy who has to deal with everyone else's eccentricities. 

I also like the new villains in this, they're all pretty entertaining, particularly eccentric and morally complex scientist Dr. Hedo. The two main androids in this Gamma 1 and 2 are admittedly just a reuse of the old trope of the cocky guy/takes-things-seriously guy duo, but they're still decent characters. 

Recommended. I'd say this is my third favorite DBZ movie (below Broly and Battle of the Gods). It may be a step down from the last film, but if you like it when DB is just trying to have fun, I think you'll like this.

Bodies, Bodies, Bodies

 7/10

In this dark comedy/thriller, Sophie (played by The Hate You Give's Amandla Stenberg) takes her new girlfriend Bee (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm's Maria Bakalova) to hang her with her friends at her best friend David's parents' huge, lavish house. Soon, things go horribly wrong, emotions start running, and everyone starts becoming suspicious of each other. 

The first act does start out a bit slow and partially weak. Don't get me wrong, there are some good lines and the movie does a good job with Bee of encompassing the awkwardness of being somewhere where you don't know anyone, but it runs a little too long with the whole millenials being kinda toxic/ridiculous. schtick. I think too many lines are given to some characters than needed.

But when things get dark, that's when it starts getting good. The movie does a great job of making you guess what happens next, including one particularly tense scene in particular. (I particularly like how this ends.) This is also when the making-fun-of-millennials humor really pays off. The movie takes a lot of shots at the shallowness of the social media generation.

At first, I didn't like the cinematography in this. It had a sort of art-house quality. I was like, "I get it this is an A24 film. Not all their films have to look like this!" However, I think I understand why they went that way. The style definitely allows color to work. After the second act, a lot of this is shot in the dark, and the cinematographer/lighting person really managed to make light and color work in contrast to the blackness. Seriously, my congratulations to the lighting department; they did an excellent job. Also, I love the house or sets for this film. It is an impressive place.  

Acting's good across the board. (Cast includes Lee Pace and SNL's Peter David.)

Recommended. It's not a perfect film, parts could've been tightened and the spoiled kid dialogue can get a bit basic, but it is an interesting film that does hold your attention in the end.

Nope

 

8.5

In Jordan Peele's Nope, brother and sister OJ (played by Get Out's Daniel Kaaluya) and Emerald Haywood (Keke Palmer) try to get clear footage of a UFO hanging around their family ranch.

This was a really unique, well made film. There is a lot you don't see in the trailer. It gets pretty interesting. It has Peele trying to send a message, but adds enough humor and action that the movie doesn't alienate the casual viewer. (Though don't get me wrong, the movie is kinda pretentious.)

Peele does an excellent job with visuals. This movie has three of the most unsettling/scary images I've ever seen. And let me make this clear that due to having been desensitized by seeing a ton of horror films and neurological stuff going on I rarely ever scare. Haven't been frightened by a film for a decade. The fact that there are three moments that generally got to me is saying something. On the non-scary side of the visuals, I really liked the look of Jupiter's Claim, the small western-themed amusement park located near the ranch. Looks like a place you'd like to visit.

Great cast in this. Kaaluya does a great job bringing to life OJ, a guy who knows the business of training horses like few others but is socially awkward (may be on the spectrum). However, Keke as Emerald, the opposite of her brother, great with people but irresponsible, steals the movie. She brings such energy to the role. Having seen her in a few other things, I'm happy she's finally landed such a high profile role. Honestly, I'm surprised it hadn't happened sooner. She's generally good in whatever she does. Also, props should be given to The OA's Angel Torres, who's fun as a guy without much going who joins the UFO hunting crew and is a source of humor and kinda the voice of common sense, and Michael Wincott (the villain from The Crow) as an eccentric cinematographer/director? (couldn't figure exactly what his job was.) Also if you're a fan of Keith David and heard he was in this one, his appearances are very brief. Such a waste of such a distinctive voice.

As much as I thought this was an impressive film, I couldn't go with a full 9 or 10/10. Usually I have very specific cons for a film. But, here it's hard to pinpoint why I couldn't give this a 90/100%. (Unlike a lot of people talking about this movie, I have no major complaints about the subplot.) Maybe it's the fact that there are a couple moments where Peele insists a little too hard on trying to be clever or the audience having to put things together themselves. Maybe it's the general vibe of the storytelling (Peele's films can feel like a very distinct and different world like those of Tarantino and Shyamalan.) Or maybe, it's that Peele was a little crueler in points than necessary. Yeah, it's a horror film and they're usually about horrible things happening to people, but sometimes, like in Nightmare on Elm Street 5 and Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, a horror movie's writers may be more interested in twisting the knife on a character than actually being scary. There are a couple small parts where I felt Peele did that a little.

Naturally, I can't recommend this to people who scare easily as this is nightmare fuel. I CAN recommend this to everyone else. This really is something that'll leave an impression.

Where the Crawdads Sing

 

6.5/10

In this adaptation of the book of the same name by Delia Owens, young woman Kya Clark (played by Daisy Edgar-Jones), who's spent her whole life living in the marsh, stands on trial accused of the murder of her ex-lover Chase Andrews (The King's Man's Harris Dickinson). I try to get the most out of my subscription to AMC's A-List. There wasn't anything that I was really anticipating this weekend. This movie and Mrs. Harris goes to Paris were my two options. Ultimately, I went with this on account of the murder trial interesting me. (No offense to Mrs. Harris. Older woman decides to live and be bold for once in her life; sounds like a good time for many.) I kinda liked Where the Crawdads Sing (more on the kinda later).

The story is solid. Manages to be a romantic melodrama that feels mostly grounded and never like it gets too soapy or tropey. There is one part involving leaves that feels corny, but since it happened only once I'll allow it. I bet many a romance fan would have no problem with that bit.

Though this movie is more about Kya's story than it is about the mystery of what happened to Chase, I thought the it did a surprisingly good job of keeping you guessing about what happened and/or who did it.

The movie's competently directed. The wilderness scenery is truly majestic and the best part of this; my hat off to the location scout. Editing in this can be a little choppy at points.

Pretty good cast all-around in this. Edgar-Jones does a solid job as the lead. David Straitharn plays Kya's lawyer, and yeah it's your basic "Atticus Finch-esque lawyer who supports the protagonist when no one else will" trope, but he's definitely the sort of actor you want for that role. (Kind of wished he had more scenes.) The MVP here though is definitely Taylor John Smith as one of Kya's love interests. He completely sells the tender-hearted, protective paramour role here.

Now you're probably wondering why I only kinda like this despite the mostly positive stuff I said above. The movie's too gosh darn long. It didn't need to be two hours and five minutes. The middle in particular felt stretched. I found myself losing attention at several points. I left the theater to go to the bathroom. Usually I try to hold it, or feel annoyed I missed a scene when I can't, but I really didn't mind at all here. The thing is that no scenes needed to be cut, they just needed to slim them down. Pacing does pick up by the third act for what it's worth.  

I have no intent to watch this again, but I had a good time. Yeah, I was bored at points but this film can get interesting as well. In all fairness, I'm a guy and I think this written more for the female demographic. I can see a lot of romance fans getting a lot more out of this than me.