I watched Nightcrawler. I personally can't understand why it was so highly rated. I get the message they were going for. My problem is that it was completely lacking in any kind of subtlety.

It kind of strayed into several different genres without fitting comfortably into any one.

I'd give it maybe a 6 out of 10 at best.

LOL at how Jake Gyllenhaal and Rene Russo never had a kissing scene despite her being a (contrived) love interest for him.

Then I looked it up on Wikipedia and read that Russo's husband was the director.

And I was wondering why she had crawled out of the woodwork again all of a sudden!

She looked fine though.

THE RHYTHM SECTION

I was looking forward to this film going in to it as it looked like a great action, revenge thriller with Blake Lively stretching her acting chops even further. And while Lively gives her second best performance I've ever seen (behind 2018's A SIMPLE FAVOR), the story was interesting and had promise, but the execution is what killed it. The film starts out slow and I'm willing to ride with it as long as it picks up in the second half. Sadly, this does not. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a boring film, but again, a lot of promise and just a letdown after viewing it. For a woman seeking revenge, there aren't a lot of kills and not very much action either, which is especially surprising seeing as how both Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G, Wilson were both producers on this as well. Disappointed! 5.5/10

GRETEL & HANSEL

A wonderful live-action, retelling of the Grimms fairy tale. I find it interesting that they transposed the names in the title, giving Gretel top billing and I can understand why after viewing it. As much as Hansel is a vital part, this is Gretel's story. Beautiful scenery along with a nice, tight story really made this a pleasurable viewing experience. Natural light is used somewhat throughtout, however, in other scenes, the use of colors is very reminiscent of the original SUSPIRIA. Likewise, the use of nature and with this being a fairy tale, it also reminded me somewhat of THE WITCH in it's storytelling. Alice Krige stands out the most as the Witch (or Holda as she's called here) and young Sophia Lillis continues to impress at her young age with another great performance after going 2 rounds with Derry's menacing clown. Finally, I thought using the 1.55:1 aspect ratio was a bold but brave move; one in which I applaud and enjoyed. It works in 2 ways: the first being a symbol of the closeness between the 2 siblings, as they have no one else to rely upon other than each other after being thrown out by their mother. The second shows the confinement the children (and audience for that matter) have in relation to the Witch, where there is no hiding underneath her roof. Looking forward to seeing this again! 7/10

THE ASPHALT JUNGLE (1950)

Doc Riedenschneider (Sam Jaffe), master criminal just released from prison, blows into a Midwestern city with a plan for a big diamond heist. He connects with Emmerich (Louis Calhearn), crooked lawyer and doublecrosser, who'll fence the goods, and Cobby (Marc Lawrence), sniveling bookie who'll put up working capital. He also recruits a small gang to pull off the heist, including Dix Handley (Sterling Hayden, just about my favorite actor of this period), who'll supply strong-arm. The heist goes off almost perfectly, until a series of unforeseen mishaps takes everything down. This is one of John Huston's masterpieces, with a tight, film-noir-worthy script, superbly filmed with lots of deep focus, no music, and full of interesting characters and situations, played beautifully by a great cast. Marilyn Monroe has a bit part as Emmerich's dumb-blond mistress, and she's absolutely mesmerizing. A great movie.

I agree..watch it whenever it appears on TCM..

BIRDS OF PREY: AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN

This movie was a lot of fun! I enjoyed the all-female (non man-hating) cast. Robbie's second turn as Harley Quinn is even better than her debut as the movie is centered around her and she's really able to shine and stretch out this character. You feel Robbie was born to play this character and you can tell she's having so much fun with the dialogue, her energy, and bringing this character to life. At first I wasn't sure how I felt about Ewan McGregor as Black Mask as I didn't know anything about the character heading in to this. Originally, I wasn't buying his take on the character (felt he was a little too lighthearted and not menacing enough). However, after pondering on it for a day or so, it's starting to grow on me. DC is on a roll and has another winner on their hands. 7/10

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

I’ll give the studio this much, they listened to the audience when the first trailer dropped and changed the appearance of Sonic due to the fan backlash. They should have had more screenings of this with test audiences because this was a train wreck of a film. Rated PG so as to appease to a wider market and trying to establish a franchise, but the script writers seemed on a mission to make this a one and done. Bad jokes (even with a theater full of children and parents, no one was hardly laughing), pointless scenes that at times did little to nothing to further the storyline (for example, a creepy Jim Carrey dance sequence), and of course, a rip off of the Quicksilver slo-mo scene from X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST and X-MEN: APOCALYPSE. Not to mention shameless product placement of a certain Italian restaurant chain. Avoid this film at all times! 4/10

FANTASY ISLAND

Lucy Hale’s second collaboration with Blumhouse is about as much of a stinker as 2018’s TRUTH OR DARE. Based on the TV show of the same name, this movie is about a group of 5 people who win a contest and are taken to said island to live out a fantasy. The only rules are each person is allowed only one fantasy and they have to see it through until the end, no matter what. Very early on each contestant is living out his/her fantasy and the story becomes very messy very quickly, trying to juggle 4 storylines at once (4 fantasies instead of 5 as a pair of brothers share 1 fantasy together). As such, plot holes quickly begin to develop, storylines about the island as well as characters introduced are never fully explained, leaving the viewing asking more questions than answers given. Not to mention the dreaded PG-13 rating, which you know will water down any language or violence, both of which this films suffers from a lack of as well. Blumhouse is usually hit-or-miss and this film is most certainly in the latter. 3/10

Saw it last night , I’d go a bit higher, I liked it ....6.5

Saw it today, did not think I was going to dig it since I’m more of a WW2 movie fan but this was really great and could not believe how realistic it was done.
Also enjoyed knowing how some of it was shot since you had posted that clip.

I can stand with that 8 as well.

I'm more of a World War II fan myself but 1917 is an experience in the cinema. Much like GRAVITY was (or at least, that's my opinion anyway). Looking forward to seeing it again!

"Im more a fan of WW2"...Myself included 12....but I will check this out ..it's on our firestick when u "jailbreak"??..my wife can conjure it up in our guest bedroom #2..just saw a movie w/ Viola Davis called "MA"...fuckin' horrific.

hoodlum, let us know what you think when you see it. And yes, I saw MA in the theaters last year and it was pretty awful!

O.K....Hood..

THE LODGE

I was excited going into this film as I had previously seen and heard good things about it. I’m not quite sure we saw the same movie. THE LODGE has elements of THE SHINING and HEREDITARY but tried too hard to be smart. A lot of themes are touched upon such as family, isolation, nature, childhood trauma. However, religion is the biggest one and it’s at first done in a subtle way but by the end of the film, it becomes heavy handed. It’s unfortunate because the film had some potential. A slow burn so I was willing to give it some time to cash in but by around the halfway to three quarters point of the film, it got snowed in in my eyes. 4.5/10

THE INVISIBLE MAN

A modern take on the 1933 horror film of the same name as well as a social commentary on the horrors of domestic abuse. The story really worked in that regard as this is definitely a psychological horror film rather than you’re typical slasher. Elisabeth Moss gives a wide range performance as Cecilia, a young woman who escapes from her abuser but who is able to “cheat death” to continue harassing and abusing her. However, as the story plays out, it becomes repetitive: Cecilia says her abuser is not dead but is still terrorizing her and since no one can see her, they victim blame her and make her feel as if she’s losing her mind until she finally outsmarts him and proves to everyone she’s not insane. Again, a good modern take on the story that probably could have been cut down some and doesn’t finish particularly strong. 5.5/10

Wow, you saw this already, Just opened today.
Was thinking this would score higher..... will see sooner than later since the wife is interested and I will take her or see if it streams this week.

I saw it Thursday night (most films I see as that's when they preview and I usually don't have much else going on Thursday nights). Haven't been on as much recently, hence yesterday was my first opportunity to post my review.

Great, will try to see it tomorrow.

There were lots of dramas, thrillers and action movies featuring a fictional American president in the 90s. The American President, Primary Colors, The Pelican Brief, Air Force One, In the Line of Fire, among others, not to mention TV series like The West Wing.

I watched the forgotten movie, Absolute Power, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood the other night.

It was plodding stuff with a weak payoff.

I would not recommend.

Great review i12, just saw this yesterday. We came away feeling the same.
It was OK, your 6.5 is generous.

I would like to mention again we really appreciate and enjoy your reviews and LOVE how you type the movie titles in all CAPS which makes it so easy to locate after we finally catch up and see the flick. My wife and I discuss the movie after and of course always share your review and discuss that as well.

Thank you and keep em commin.

DP & the Mrs.

Thanks DP & the Mrs. Always appreciate the feedback and glad to assist as well. No good release came out last week but this week I’m seeing BLOODSHOT, A QUIET PLACE II the week after, followed by MULAN the week after that.

Watched the original A QUIET PLACE this weekend to get ready for the sequel. Hadn’t seen it since the theaters in 2018 and I forgot how great of a movie it was! I recommend it if you haven’t seen it. Also rewatched DON’T BREATH yesterday. Hadn’t seen that since the theaters either (2016) and I thought it’s a good movie. Good, but it great and a little overhyped in my opinion.

Quiz Show

Excellently directed by Robert Redford and superbly acted by John Turturro and Ralph Fiennes. Evocative of the 1960s and never loses its stranglehold on the viewer.

BLOODSHOT

A fun and action packed ride about a recently deceased soldier (played by Vin Diesel) and how’s he brought back to life to seek revenge on the man who killed his wife. This is a story of revenge, manipulation, as well as morality when it comes to free will and choice. Diesel does a fine job as Bloodshot. He’s believable and more than capable of pulling off the physicality this role requires. I knew next to nothing about the character, so even those unfamiliar with the comic book can still enjoy it. Hopefully the coronavirus doesn’t keep audiences away this weekend as I’d be down for a sequel as well as other Valiant comic book properties to be adapted for the big screen. 6/10

A Most Violent Year

Was a slog to get through. Oscar Isaac would make a good John Gotti.

The Prestige

Enjoyed this. Great performances by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale and constantly enthralling with lots of twists and turns.

A MOST VIOLENT YEAR I found it enjoyable but felt it tried too hard. Had a lot of buzz when it first came out and I don’t understand why? Not a bad film but nothing very memorable either.

Outside of the Batman trilogy, THE PRESTIGE may be my favorite Nolan movie along with MEMENTO. Great movie with Bale and Jackman going toe-to-toe with each other!

Bram Stoker's Dracula

Pros
Excellent cinematography, set design, makeup and special effects; aesthetically pleasing. Memorable performance by Gary Oldman. Good ending.

Cons
Boring for the entire middle of the movie, lacking momentum and getting bogged down with unnecessary scene after unnecessary scene. Keanu Reeves' performance is atrocious.

I really want to like this more because of the aesthetics, Gary Oldman and The Simpsons pastiche of it, but it's ultimately very hard to stay invested in it.

Chop 30 minutes off it, replace Keanu Reeves with someone who can act, and cut out the waffle, and this could've been a satisfactory movie with a rewarding ending.

I still suggest watching the classic intro on YouTube, but that's it.

The latest Jumanji, but I watch anything with The Rock !

Understatement of the year. Ryder not much better.

THE HUNT

I'm not a fan of censorship at all, so I don't agree with the film being pushed back and almost banned. However, I will say I was surprised it was pushed back at all. Being that this film is anti-right wing politics, it mostly gets a pass from the media and other outlets. In saying that, this film portrays itself as a comedy but is nothing more than a veiled attempt to attack anyone who is a conservative, Republican, or Trump supporter. It uses the same logic as someone who offends another with their words and then in an effort to justify it, without apologizing, simply saying, "I was joking." Same premise here. The movie tries to and fails to satire both sides of the aisle but as can be seen from the premise, characters, and violence against those "deplorables" (the film's own description of said characters), it's quite clear who the intended audience of this film is. Not to mention every one of the deplorables is showcased as ignorant, uneducated, redneck, trailer trash, gun-toting, nut jobs. I mean, Heaven forbid an educated personal could actually have a conscience and be a conservative/Trump supporter. Further liberal agendas are pushed and peppered throughout such as white guilt, anti-gun, global warming, and atheism. The only character who is being hunted and can say her ABC's correctly is a white woman, so you know how "woke" this film is (Brie Larson would be proud by the way). The final fight between said character and Hillary Swank is a poor man's Jackass scene. Overall, this film is anything but a comedy and does nothing more than to continue dividing us as a country. I can only imagine the backlash this film would have received had it been about a group of rich, white, men hunting liberal minorities. The media would be running with it, saying how dangerous and off the rails it is and to follow suit, major movie theaters (such as AMC, Regal, and Cinemark) would even fail to run it due to the "controversy" surrounding it and it would be relegated to VOD, where it would die a quite death. Unfortunately, the same didn't happen here. 2/10