In Theatres

[Noor_Razzak]

BlacKkKlansman - I really love Spike Lee's movies, even though there are a few here and there that miss the mark, generally I've been entertained by Lee's output over the years even though it's been years since I've seen or liked one of this films (Miracle at St. Anna was underrated and decent and Inside Man was excellent but these films where 8 and 12 years ago). The previews for BlacKkKlansman looked great and the film had a generally decent reception at this year's Cannes Film Festival (winning the Grand Prize of the Jury and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury - Special Mention, as well as earning a Palme d'Or nomination). Despite all the critical love and awards I found the film to be just ok. It wasn't mindblowing, it wasn't groundbreaking, it had the usual Spike Lee level of rhetoric and I felt the film ran too long especially certain scenes seem to drag on. However, the story, and its characters where entertaining, it's incredible that this was based on a true story. There are flashes of brilliance and both leads John David Washington and Adam Driver have great chemistry. It's worth a look but it's not one of Spike's best work. 6/10.

[Noor_Razzak]

Under the Silver Lake - David Robert Mitchell the director of "It Follows" returns with his third feature, an L.A. noir homage that has hints of David Lynch influence, 50's style orchestral scoring, oddball characters, plenty of paranoia, twists, all set in the suburbs of Los Angeles in the late summer. I really enjoyed the tone of the film, Andrew Garfield delivers a terrific performance as our hero, the film takes audiences on a tangental journey through the privileged underground, weird cults, weirder parties, escort services, a mystery surrounding the death of a billionaire and code breaking. It's strange, occasionally enjoyable, a little over long and ended on an ultimately unsatisfying conclusion and despite having to ask yourself - "what did I just watch?" it was an enjoyable film mostly due to Garfield's playful performance. 7/10.

[Ain_Uussaar]

Halloween (2018) - Not bad, but ... some unneeded slow parts and characters 7/10

[Davy_Lee]

Ralph Breaks the Internet - 7.5/10

Eee-boy! It's been 23 years since the last Disney-animated film I saw in a movie theater!

[Davy_Lee]

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - 7/10

Another case of a misleading title as Grindelwald isn't the plot focus. Too many characters and subplots that may confuse a non-Potterhead like me. A more befitting title is "Fantastic Beasts: In Search of Credence Barebone". Now that I've seen one, I might want to see the upcoming 3 installments.

[Davy_Lee]

Mortal Engines – 7/10

Visually stunning and quite entertaining post apocalyptic teen action adventure. The fierce battle in the third act could be considered as an homage to the Battle of Yavin

[Davy_Lee]

Aquaman (3D) - 7.5/10

I wasn't interested in seeing Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, Justice League, and Wonder Woman at the cinema and never plan on getting the BDs. Not a die-hard fan of DC superheroes but Aquaman will be in my collection

[Noor_Razzak]

I wasn't interested in seeing Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, Justice League, and Wonder Woman at the cinema ...

Well you're not missing much in regards to Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Justice League but Wonder Woman is actually worth a watch, it's the best of the DC films in my opinion, although I haven't seen Aquaman yet...

[Davy_Lee]

I'm getting bored with these DC and Marvel adaptations. Even my Marvel BDs I bought years ago are still sealed: Thor (and The Dark World), Captain America (trilogy), Iron Man (trilogy), and Avengers: Age of Ultron (which I'll complete with Infinity War and Endgame).

When Disney acquired Marvel Entertainment, I began to lose interest. Guardians of the Galaxy? Ant-man? Doctor Strange? Black Panther? Captain Marvel? No, thanks.

Believe it or not, the last superhero movie I watched on BD was The Avengers (2012) and Aquaman was the first on a big screen after 20 years!

[Noor_Razzak]

Aquaman - Having heard positive things I decided to check it out, I'v only really liked Wonder Woman when it comes to the DC movies so I came into this with still low expectations. I'm glad I kept them low, I though the film was just ok... I felt it ran too long, there action was kind of boring and tedious, the score was all over the place and felt like the filmmakers couldn't settle on a single style, I didn't like shoehorning Black Manta into the mix, they could have kept him as the main villain for the sequel and set up his character a lot better instead he was a sub-plot that doesn't pay off. Some fun stuff here but not enough to engage me, plus after several years of watching his output I've decided I just don't like Jason Momoa... something about him seems fake. 5/10.

[Noor_Razzak]

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, wow I can't believe I waited this long to see this, what an awesome film. It was engaging, funny, action-packed, and well worth your time. Easily one of the very best animated films I've seen and can't wait to watch it again. 10/10.

[Davy_Lee]

How to Train Your Dragon - The Hidden World - 7/10

Didn't see the first two as I'm not a fan of computer-animated films and this is the first Dreamworks Animation I've seen. The cutest scene is when Toothless sees Light Fury and tries flirting with her

[Davy_Lee]

Glass - 6/10

Three eccentric men who believe they possess super human capabilities are sent to a mental institution for rehabilitation. Unbeknownst to the head psychiatrist, two of them plan to break out to reveal their unique existence to the world...

I haven't seen Unbreakable and Split, and wouldn't like to. Before seeing it I read a review that says Glass can be viewed as a standalone film. Having seen it I can say that as a standalone, Glass won't give the audience a convincing impression as it would when watched as a trilogy as you won't really care about the characters' inner turmoil despite the glimpses of flashbacks.

An uneven and mildly satisfying psychological thriller.

James McAvoy, Bruce Willis, and Samuel L. Jackson star. M. Night Shyamalan directs.

[Davy_Lee]

The Mule - 7.5/10

Clint Eastwood's latest film portrays him as Earl Stone, an elderly divorced man and terrible father, broke and not on good terms with his family, a Korean War veteran who works as a cross-country courier for a Mexican drug cartel. With the high pay he regularly receives from his accidental profession, he starts to make amends for his past mistakes to his estranged wife and daughter, and be a philanthropist to his veteran friends. Meanwhile, the DEA, whose efforts to take down the cartel threaten Earl’s new livelihood, are closing in.

I haven't seen any of Eastwood's films at a movie theater since Absolute Power. So it's been 22 years! When watching the trailer, I thought The Mule was a crime thriller, but it really is more of a family drama than what the trailer makes it out to be.

Recommended viewing, especially for fans of the legendary actor.

Bradley Cooper, Lawrence Fishburne, and Andy Garcia co-star. Clint Eastwood (he's pushing 90!) produces and directs.

[Davy_Lee]

Alita: Battle Angel - 7/10

Adapted from a Japanese manga, Alita: Battle Angel tells the quest of Alita (Rosa Salazar), a reassembled battle cyborg discovered from a junkyard, for her true identity amid a violent dystopian society controlled by Nova, a mysterious powerful scientist (Edward Norton) dwelling in a prosperous sky city of Zalem.

I saw it only in 2D. If anyone's interested, I'd recommend seeing it in 3D or even 4D for the perfect visual effects, dazzling - but violent - fights and action sequences. The plot, interestingly, has several layers: Alita's quest for her true identity, her romantic relationship with a teenage boy, and her fight for survival, but the ending, as usual, leaves for a sequel.

Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, and Mahershala Ali (Green Book) also co-star. Robert Rodriguez directs.

Recommended to those who like live-action manga.

[Ain_Uussaar]

Alita: Battle Angel - 7/10

Adapted from a Japanese manga, Alita: Battle Angel tells the quest of Alita (Rosa Salazar), a reassembled battle cyborg discovered from a junkyard, for her true identity amid a violent dystopian society controlled by Nova, a mysterious powerful scientist (Edward Norton) dwelling in a prosperous sky city of Zalem.

I saw it only in 2D. If anyone's interested, I'd recommend seeing it in 3D or even 4D for the perfect visual effects, dazzling - but violent - fights and action sequences. The plot, interestingly, has several layers: Alita's quest for her true identity, her romantic relationship with a teenage boy, and her fight for survival, but the ending, as usual, leaves for a sequel.

Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, and Mahershala Ali (Green Book) also co-star. Robert Rodriguez directs.

Recommended to those who like live-action manga.

Planing to go see it on 19th. Haven't been to movie theater since October.

[Noor_Razzak]

Alita: Battle Angel - The first couple of trailers that dropped for this film did not leave me impressed or excited to see this, it was the over-sized eyes, the uncanny valley-esque animation, it looked like a mess. Thankfully the internet felt the same way and the visual effects artists at Weta fixed it... the eyes are still big, just not as big as in the first trailer. The animation looks much more complete and natural, I suppose sometimes it's not good to judge the final product from its trailer, but on that same token perhaps the studio should not have released marketing with scenes that didn't look complete. The end result was not as much of a mess as expected, it's still not a great movie, but it's fun. The action was well rendered, I had some pacing issues and Keean Johnson who played Hugo was just plain awful, easily the most stilted performance. I felt like there was some missed opportunity here but in the end it was serviceable. 6/10.

[Davy_Lee]

Cold Pursuit - 7/10

After his innocent son is killed by a gang of drug dealers, a mild-mannered snowplow driver (Liam Neeson) goes on an avenging spree in search of the sadistic criminals which inadvertently sparks a turf war between rival gangs.

A revenge thriller with a dark comedic tone. Recommended.

[Davy_Lee]

The Prodigy - 6.5/10

A young married couple has a first-born son who is actually not as adorable as he seems to be.

The main plot is clearly inspired by that of The Omen (1976), one scene near the end that reminds me of the horror classic is the confrontation between the mother and son. Partly recommended.

[Davy_Lee]

Captain Marvel (IMAX 2D) - 7/10

The sole reason that made me decide to see it was after knowing this would be a lead-in to Avengers: Endgame. The best parts of this film are:

[Reveal] Spoiler:

1. The scene when Fury changes the name for The Protector Initiative while we hear The Infinity War theme faintly plays.
2. The mid-credits scene when the remaining Avengers are monitoring Fury's pager in a a room and suddenly Captain Marvel arrives and asks "Where's Fury?"

Is seeing it in IMAX worth it? There aren't any spectacular scenes that give you the "wow" effect, so no.