In Theatres

[Matthew_B_Harrah]

Venom: Let There Be Carnage
** out of a possible 5 stars

It's alright, but lacks anything new. As is the typical case with most of your Marvel films these days. Visual effects are so-so, in-other-words doesn't push beyond basic-no wow factor. The main theme of the story is relationships, as all the characters are dealing with love or partner issues. For our main duo it's the "odd couple", but this is PG-13. So, we'll already know how this-these stories end. I'll give credit on the fact that they attempted to steer the story towards more character development, i.e. less action, not that I'm against it. It just shows some thought went into development or Sony/Marvel, were being cheap, yet again, or Daznay (owner of Marvel Studios) doesn't want outside projects (excluding Spider-Tween) to outshine their own schlock. To-sum-it-up, nothing new or worth of using the spoiler option here, many missed opportunities that would make one think that the use of "carnage" in the title is false advertisement. Lack of true violence, blood, and or gore these days is truly troubling. If our wee-ones don't see the sights. of the real. world how will they adapt? It's like showing a retard fall off the roof with no consequences thereafter is more damaging than showing some blood and severed flesh. But I'll digress for now, as most have read this before, and shall continue to pretend not to care. So say it, we the true patriotic connoisseurs of cinema!

[Matthew_B_Harrah]

Halloween Kills
** out of a possible 5 stars

I'll keep it short. If you liked "Halloween" (2018), then you may like this. If you didn't, wait for it air on TV/streaming. Nothing really new here. It at least earns its R-rating... barely. Like most horror films since the late 90's, this is what most would consider a "diet-slasher". Most notably in the nonexistence tits and ass. I mean really, how hard is it to have at least one scene where say a couple makes-out or even just a victim(s) undress before they're given what's coming to them. Luckily this doesn't fall into usual disaster that most horror films get themselves into these days. I.E.; taking its self way-way-way too serious with overly "badass-stylish-direction". It will of course for a bit, but loosens-up. To sum-it-up; this story is really about what happens when a Lynch mob naturally takes things into their own hands or Michael Myers vs. Mob Mentality.

[Matthew_B_Harrah]

Dune
**1/2 out of a possible 5 stars

A little better than expected, but not by much. My recommendation is stick with David Lynch's or the Sci-Fi Channel's miniseries (director's cut). Though most would argue against Lynch's, but this is being said as for viewing desire and not a comparison of book vs. film. Which in that case none are qualified as everyone has their own imaginative processes. Hence, why most people always claim the book of said film are superior. But, to get back to the film. Acting is adequate, as is the special effects. Though does lack any definition that one could consider "cinematic". It would work better as a made-for-TV or streaming series, in which than it would have earned top marks. Sets come off as sterile, minimalist at best. Pacing starts off good at first, but found it hard not to look at my watch for second half. Though one of the fun things while watching is of course spotting all the similarities to other works. Frank Herbert's "Dune" has been an inspiration to a great many other stories, such as "Star Wars" (most notably the prequels), and derives from earlier books such as T. E. Lawrence's "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" ("Lawrence of Arabia"). Though this moment most be taken to point out that our introduction the 'Baron Harkonnen' and indeed most of his screen time is clearly nothing more than a Marlon Brando rip-off of 'Colonel Walter E. Kurtz' of "Apocalypse Now". Part of me wants to like that and the other despises it. However, without turning this into a rant, I'll leave thou with a link to a fun site found long ago with interesting comparisons.

http://www.moongadget.com/origins/dune.html

[Noor_Razzak]

007: No Time To Die - Not a bad way to end Daniel Craig's tenure as Bond, I was highly anticipating this delayed release and was for the most part entertained. This features some of the best acting in the series, some nice action set pieces too, but the middle did drag on a bit. 7/10.

[Noor_Razzak]

Dune - Caught an IMAX screening this afternoon, and whoa... I am speechless. 10/10 can't wait for part 2!

[Noor_Razzak]

Ghostbusters Afterlife - 6/10, this was entertaining but some story and what seemed like fairly obvious plotting issues evident in the first two acts were annoying, the final act was the most fun. Could have been better but the end was a tear jerker.

[Matthew_B_Harrah]

House of Gucci
**3/4 out of a possible 5 stars

A so-so film, if not fair. Despite the entertainment world once again deciding to shoot its self in the foot with censorship. Plenty of opportunities for T&A. We get another false "R" film, which barley meets (if we had such a rating) PG-15. However, beside that, the pacing is even. Not slow, but nowhere fast, just center if you will. Your standard three act structure plays as follow; act 1; a story of lovers, act 2; power struggles, and act 3; revenge (give or take). The second is where we start getting some momentum, ultimately we go back to standards by the third act. The soundtrack's pretty fun for the most part, lots of great classics, two or three which are new to me, and plan to look-up later-on. The way to probably sum this up would be; a decent film for the most part, but do to censorship it kind of comes off like a TV series squeezed into a two and half hours movie.

[Matthew_B_Harrah]

Spider-Man: No Way Home
***1/2 out of a possible 5 stars

Once you get passed the Dis-nein-esque nonsense/characters, it's actually a pretty decent film. Note; that ever since Spidey joined the Avengers, Dez-nay has had some say in the Sony films to better align with their on-life-support-verse. However, this comes more close to a cinematic feel than the usual claptrap-superhero "movies" that come out these days. Pacing was good, but not great, but otherwise fair. There's not much more I could say without possibly ruining one's. experience. So in conclusion; get ready for some past acquaintances with improved CGI. You got love how stupid humans are/look when it comes to mobs recording the same thing. I mean really, how much of a loser must one be, but it always gives me a chuckle when I see it on screen or in the living. To view the privileged lessers of this world and their antics.

[Davy_Lee]

Spider-man: No Way Home – 7/10
The King’s Man – 7.5/10

First time going to the movie theater for a double bill after nearly a two-year break since March 2020!

[Noor_Razzak]

Spider-Man: No Way Home - finally managed to catch a screening in the afternoon the other day, managed to mostly steer clear of spoilers. Fantastic film, enjoyed the hell out of it and Tom Holland's performance was incredible. This was my favorite Spidey film they've done, I can't wait to watch it again, 9/10.

[Noor_Razzak]

The Batman - caught a quiet screening this afternoon, what an amazing film. Loved every second of it and the near 3 hour runtime went by pretty quickly as the film was engaging from start to finish. I loved the overall look and tone, Pattinson was great, everyone was great to be honest, the costume was amazing and I loved the practical touches it had. The action was well done and the Batmobile reveal was incredible. 9/10 would definitely see it again and again.

[Matthew_B_Harrah]

Sonic the Hedgehog 2
My rating: ***

Nothing really new here, other than some additional characters. If you like the first the film, you should be able to enjoy this one as well. My only real two complaints would be soundtrack choices and the whole wedding subplot made for mostly humor purposes. Best jokes are Tails' translator, as childish as they may be.

[Davy_Lee]

Top Gun: Maverick - 8.5/10
I'm neither a fan of the original nor a fan of Tom Cruise, but I must give the sequel a big round of applause. The cinematography, music and editing are great. It's a 130-minute movie but there's hardly a dull moment.

Kudos to Joseph Kosinski for successfully directing a sequel worth-watching. This is the third film of his I've seen and all three didn't disappoint.

See it on the biggest screen (if possible with Atmos) that you can find in your city. Don't miss it!

[Noor_Razzak]

Top Gun: Maverick - 8.5/10
I'm neither a fan of the original nor a fan of Tom Cruise, but I must give the sequel a big round of applause. The cinematography, music and editing are great. It's a 130-minute movie but there's hardly a dull moment.

Yes! Terrific entertainment, I'm a fan of the first film (it's a guilty pleasure of mine) and was eagerly anticipating this movie. I saw it today in IMAX and had a hell of a ride from start to finish. 9/10.

[Matthew_B_Harrah]

Jurassic World Dominion (RealD 3D)
My Rating: **1/2 out of a possible 5

The 3D:
Commercial-mediocre, with at best a handful of in-your-face, if any, moments. So, in other words, all you’re getting is depth. Which is shame. As I’ve always said; the reason why 3D doesn’t do well in the United States, is because we want stuff flying off the screen, shooting past us, and so-on. Plus, if it were me, I’d put in exclusive scenes that would look like crap in 2D, but phenomenal in 3D. On another note; in the past one had to sit-straight in order for the 3D to truly work. I found this not to be the case this time around. So, perhaps some needed advances have finally arrived. The glass also seem to sort of act as HDR-like. Every now and then, I would pull them down and see that the color was mute or bland.

The Film:
As this is the third in-line for a reboot trilogy, clichés from the previous trilogy are the norm, and to be expected. Right-down to the Newman (Wayne Knight) death scene. The sad thing of these studios insistent on having almost everything in threes. It will come off much like “Star Wars 9”, minus the plot-holes, and not as heavy on Mary-Sue/Wokeism. In other words; it will feel different from its two predecessors and should’ve been made into… shall we say two movies, but I guess we can say; you get more bang for your buck, and call it day. The most enjoyable thing about the film, besides the dinosaurs. Is that they made without a doubt “Apple”, the antagonist. The CEO, circle-building, everything. Jeff Goldblum, is amazing as always in these day. Sadly, underused, but has his moments. (Warning; I’m a Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum, fan. So, there may be, in some way, if not exact, biasism at play here. You’ll have to make that judgment for thyself.) I’ll give a little props for whomever it was that didn’t turn this film into a pointless action movie and tried to put in some drama or story build-up. So, kids will probably be a little bored for the first part of the film. Unless, your into locust-dinosaurs. Otherwise adequate fun for those who enjoy the franchise.

[Matthew_B_Harrah]

Elvis
My Rating: *** out of a possible 5

Disclaimer:
While I am somewhat familiar with Elvis’ history and music. I’m in no way as knowledgeable as his many fans. So, in other words; this will be an unbiased review-if you can call it that. Based on the film its self.

The Film:
It was more entertaining than expected. Playing mostly Elvis’ best well know hits. Though that’s to be expected. As well as other music of the times, or least I believe so. In fact; the only real complaint with the film-is about a handful or so times when they for whatever f-upped reason, decided to put these hideous rap/hip-hop background music. Mostly in some the colored town scenes. If they wanted to take people out of the movie-we’ll they succeeded. I wasn’t the only one in the theater criticizing those murders our ears. But, anyway lets get back to the goods. Pacing it decent, with the first three-quarters being the tops. The last quarter mostly focuses upon Elvis’ Las Vegas years. Of course naturally, besides the Elvis music, what keeps the story fun is when Elvis rebels. Plus, I couldn’t help but chuckle at Tom Hank’s trying to handle Elvis. Especially, the whole Christmas Special thing.

On an off-key note:
No, I will not apologize for wearing an AC/DC shirt to an Elvis film.

[Noor_Razzak]

Nope - recently recovered from Covid so had to go out and see a movie on the big screen, Jordan Peel is three for three, what an awesome film, simple story but told effectively with so much suspense and tension. 9/10.

[Noor_Razzak]

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - Overall it was a little long and could have used some trimming, I loved the direction they took with Namor, the action set pieces were exciting when they occurred, and it was a nice memorial to Chadwick Boseman. Iron Heart was a totally wasted character and her overall design I did not care for, It wasn't as good as the first but still a thrilling cinema going experience 7/10

[Noor_Razzak]

Mister Organ - if you're familiar with David Farrier then you'll know what you're in for, the journalist and filmmaker behind the shocking documentary Tickled and the Netflix series Dark Tourist returns with another incredible and outrageous new documentary that starts out about a series of articles he wrote about a parking scam that evolves into a game of cat and mouse with a mysterious stranger whose crazy past has left a wake of scared and damaged people in his wake. 10/10.

[Noor_Razzak]

The Whale - I love Aronosfky's work, his vision is incomparable and The Whale is an absolute masterpiece one room drama that features the absolute best performance of the year from Brendan Fraser. The complexity of his relationship with his caretaker, his daughter, his ex-wife, and a religious door knocker is what makes the film so engaging. Viewers will feel as trapped in the apartment as Fraser's obese character and made even more confining with a full frame 1.33:1 ratio. The film's ending also packed a punch that was equivalent to being hit by a brick wall. Fantastic film. 10/10