If Beale Street Could Talk Movie Review

If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

Rent If Beale Street Could Talk on Amazon Video // Buy the book
Written by: Barry Jenkins (written for the screen by), James Baldwin (based on the book by)
Directed by: Barry Jenkins
Starring: KiKi Layne, Stephan James, Colman Domingo, Teyonah Parris, Michael Beach, Dave Franco, Diego Luna, Pedro Pascal, Ed Skrein, Brian Tyree Henry, Regina King
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
A woman in Harlem embraces her pregnancy while she and her family struggle to prove her fiancé innocent of a crime.

Verdict
This is an impressive movie. Everything works together to create an intimate and emotional movie. You feel what this movie is saying, you empathize with the characters. The directing and performances are amazing as characters are brought to life. The movie explores discrimination and abuse of power through a couple in love. It's incredibly well crafted, exemplifying what a movie can not just say, but do.
Watch it.

Review
The whole movie is imbued with a lot of emotion, this has the same feel as Moonlight (read my review) which Barry Jenkins also did. This is a well made movie. From the start the composition of each shot is really good. The movie looks great.

This jumps around in time, contrasting Tish and Fonny before and after his wrongful arrest. That helps make the point, but even without the non-linear format this is a relatively small plot that has a big impact. The format helps to emphasize the points being made.

This is a couple in love, and Jenkins does such a great job of bringing that to life through imagery and performances. This couple is the backbone of the movie, but racism and discrimination pull them apart. Set in the 1970's, the couple is in a tight spot after Fonny's arrest. Both families are upset, and in their first interaction early in the movie it's clear they don't like each other. That seems is visceral.

There is plenty of family drama, but the way these emotions are crafted is impressive. Great performances and directing grab you. Conversations are truly engaging, and not many movies manage that.

The movie is a journey, exploring the cost of a police officer's false allegations on one family. It affects every single member of the family. It's not just Fonny who is arrested, or Tish his wife. Fonny and Tish's entire life is thrown off track. While the cop who lied and abused his power is free to continue doing exactly that.
While it's easy to write this off and say the '70s were like that, these types of incidents aren't just relegated to the past. Discrimination exists and persists, but what this movie focuses on is the cost and how wide that impact is. This is an experience.

Movies I Watched in March

So far this year I've already watched four new-to-me movies from the 1970s! Surprising since last year I didn't watch any, not even the few favorites I have from that decade! I'm not saying it's ever going to be one of my favorite decades but I'm glad to have discovered some new films (they have all had actors I know from the Golden Age of Hollywood so... yeah).

1. The Power of the Press (1928 - Silent) - Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
2. King of Jazz (1930) - Paul Whiteman, John Boles, Bing Crosby
3. Supernatural (1933) - Carole Lombard & Randolph Scott
4. After Tonight (1933) - Constance Bennett & Gilbert Roland
5. Dancing Lady (1933) - Joan Crawford & Clark Gable, Franchot Tone, Three Stooges, Fred Astaire, Nelson Eddy, Eve Arden
6. *The Richest Girl in the World (1934) - Miriam Hopkins & Joel McCrea, Fay Wray
7. Fashions of 1934 (1934) - William Powell & Bette Davis, Frank McHugh
8. The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) - Ronald Colman & Madeleine Carroll, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Reginald Owen, David Niven, Raymond Massey, Mary Astor
9. No Place to Go (1939) - Dennis Morgan & Gloria Dickson
10. Susan and God (1940) - Joan Crawford & Fredric March, Ruth Hussey, Rita Hayworth, John Carroll
11. Higher and Higher (1943) - Michele Morgan & Jack Haley, Frank Sinatra, Barbara Hale, Mary Wickes, Victor Borge
12. Hungry Hill (1947) - Margaret Lockwood, Jean Simmons, Dan O’Hurlihy 
13. The Naked City (1948) - Barry FitzGerald, Don Taylor
14. Jour de Fete (1949 - French) - Jacques Tati
15. The Tattooed Stranger (1950) - Walter Kinsella, John Miles, Patricia Barry
16. Sudden Fear (1952) - Joan Crawford & Jack Palance, Gloria Graham
17. Blueprint for Murder (1953) - Joseph Cotten & Jean Peters, Gary Merrill
18. *Valley of the Kings (1954) - Robert Taylor & Eleanor Parker
19. *The Bellboy (1960) - Jerry Lewis, Milton Berle 
20. The Rising of the Moon (1957) - Tyrone Power (narrator)
21. The Alphabet Murders (1965) - Tony Randall, Anita Ekberg
22. The Bears and I (1974) - Patrick Wayne, Robert Pine
23. California Suite (1978) - Alan Alda & Jane Fonda, Maggie Smith & Michael Caine, Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, Walter Matthau

Mary Wickes had some great outfits in Higher and Higher (1943). Check out the sparkly crescent shaped fasteners in that last screenshot!

Least Favorite Film: Hungry Hill was very tiresome. I watched it for Jean Simmons but she was only in a little bit of the first half. Margaret Lockwood couldn't save the story either. Also No Place to Go. I wouldn't have finished it if I wasn't trying to watch all of Dennis Morgan's films but he was barely in it. The old man was good but I'm picky about child actors, especially when the story is centered on them. The Tattooed Stranger was a too slow, especially after watching The Naked City, which was also a police procedural film but with a much better tempo.

I desperately want this hat ♥ Susan and God (1940).

Favorite Film: Lots of great movies this month! I was so happy that TCM FINALLY showed Fashions of 1934 with William Powell. I've only been waiting like 5 YEARS! It did not disappoint. Bette Davis was kind of wasted in her role but Powell was in top form as always :) Also really enjoyed Dancing Lady and The Prisoner of Zenda.

The Change-Up (2011)

I added The Change-Up on my watchlist a long time ago because of Jason Bateman but never cared to watch it because I knew it'd be some idiotic comedy. There are those days though when I feel like watching these movies, like today. 

The story follows two friends —Dave (Jason Bateman) who is a hard-working lawyer married with the beautiful Jamie (Leslie Mann) and father of three, and Mitch (Ryan Reynolds), a single, reckless and unemployed stoner who never concludes anything. One night, after getting drunk, they urinate in a park's fountain and at the same time they wish they had each other's lives. The next morning, they wake up and discover that they have switched bodies. 

It certainly isn't the most original premise as there's plenty of body switch movies out there whose execution is why less juvenile than The Change-Up's. That being said, the plot as predictable and clichéd as it gets —I mean, that epiphany you could see it coming a mile away— isn't terrible as watching Dave and Mitch switch bodies and try to adapt to the other's life is enjoyable, entertaining almost. 

As for the characters, they are tremendously superficial as well as the typical characters played by these actors as Jason Bateman plays the serious and kind of awkward workaholic, with a family this time around, he always plays, and Ryan Reynolds plays the idiotic, carefree, irresponsible ladies' man he plays most of the time. However, Dave and Mitch switching bodies means Bateman and Reynolds switching roles and, despite the fact that cheap laughs are all they get, it's quite refreshing to see them play atypical roles. Leslie Mann is a bit of a show-stealer though as she manages to give her shallow, non-existent character a little depth. Olivia Wilde is here only for eye-candy purposes. And Alan Arkin is terribly underused as Mitch's father. 

Universal Pictures

Despite the enjoyable plot and the actors, The Change-Up still is a mediocre film, nothing more than an idiotic bro movie for the most part —at some point, it gives up its bro tone to become an overly sentimental mess—, with plenty of gross moments, vulgarity and gratuitous nudity. Sure, it's entertaining and fun-ish but at the same time it's offensive and most of the jokes fall flat.

This Means War (2012)

As you know, I'm not a fan romantic comedies but I like Reese Witherspoon, I have a crush on Chris Pine since I was twelve and Tom Hardy, well, he's hot, so, after putting it off literally for years, I finally gave This Means War a chance. 

The story follows two CIA agents who are also best friends, Tuck (Tom Hardy) and FDR (Chris Pine), as they hit the dating scene after being benched because an international criminal, Karl Heinrich (Til Schweiger) is after them. While the first tries online dating, the latter goes for the old "picking up a lonely woman at video store" approach, and they both meet Lauren (Reese Witherspoon), a product-testing executive with no luck in love. When the two friends find out they are dating the same woman, they begin to compete with one another to win her.

The storyline alone should be enough to keep people away from this but if you are weak like me and watch anything, any sort of crap for actors you like, then you'll find yourself barely entertained by This Means War's predictable and unexciting plot filled with holes, clichés, non-clever twists and a subplot involving a German terrorist —because Germans still are the bad guys, no matter if the story is not set during WWII— that is completely wasted and adds absolutely nothing to the whole thing.

The writers didn't put a lot of thought into the characters either so all the film has to offer is shallow, clichéd characters who, if it wasn't for the actors playing them, wouldn't even be that likeable. Not to mention the number of dumb things the three main characters, especially Tuck and FDR, do throughout the film considering that they are supposed to be smart, brilliant people. It's like watching a group of retarded morons.

20th Century Fox

As I said above though, the cast does a fairly good job. Chris Pine is charming as usual as the ladies' man, and Tom Hardy also shines charisma as the desperate, divorced single father. Reese Witherspoon, on the other hand, gives a pretty flat performance as the woman craving for love and eventually getting the attention of two hot men. Chelsea Handler provides good support as Lauren's constantly horny best friend. Yes, that's all the characterization these people have.

Unfortunately, the cast is pretty much the only good thing about This Means War as the dialogue is pretty awful, the banter feels forced, the jokes are predictable and fall flat most of the time, and the action scenes lack suspense and excitement —there are fights, chases and explosions, but it's all so bland, uninspired.

The Little Hours (2017)

I added The Little Hours on my watchlist ages ago because of the cast, specifically Aubrey Plaza and Dave Franco, but because of the characters, which are mostly nuns, I kept putting it off. I would have checked it earlier though if I had bothered reading the storyline. 

The film is based on the first tale of the third day of Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron —which I'm yet to read—, and mainly follows three nuns, Sister Fernanda (Aubrey Plaza), Sister Ginevra (Kate Micucci), and Sister Alessandra (Alison Brie), who lives at a convent in the countryside. When a young, handsome servant (Dave Franco) fleeing from his master (Nick Offerman) takes refuge in the convent, the sexually-repressed nuns find ways to escape from their tedious lives. 

If a plot is what you are looking for then you should probably stay away from The Little Hours as it really lacks in that department and rather than a story it feels like watching a series of more or less connected Saturday Night Live sketches. That said, the story is still interesting enough to hold your attention and be enjoyable. 

The characters aren't very thought through either as they are pretty much walking stereotypes with very little characterization and no development at all, and some of them are nothing but plot devices —that's not very accurate though since you need a plot for that. This being said, each character has his/her own dose of crazy, especially Aubrey Plaza's, and for this reason they make quite memorable characters. 

As for the acting, there may not be award-worthy performances here but the cast does a pretty good job as most of them nail their characters and give humorous performances, the standouts being Aubrey Plaza and Kate Micucci, the first really delivering that contemporary dialogues and attitudes. 

Gunpowder & Sky

All of that being said, The Little Hours is still far from being a great, or good film. The problem is not the unnecessary nudity and vulgarity —it's not like you can't expect it from a movie like this—, but the fact that Dave Franco is criminally underused, the pacing is too slow and as a result, the film feels dragged in several places, a lot of the jokes fall flat, and if feels like director Jeff Baena always went with the first take so of course many scenes aren't as good as they could have been. 

WRITTEN REVIEW: Do It Yourself

By CORY CARR

Being an American, I often take Hollywood for granite. Sure, many major Hollywood productions are bloated cash-grabs that often pander to the lowest common denominator. I mean, they made a God damned Emoji Movie! But what is often forgotten about Hollywood is how it has inspires billions of movie goers. Not just with gut-busting comedies, mind bending practical special effects, and gripping tales of love and loss that have stuck with us for generations. But how it has inspired people, from all over the world, to take that leap of faith and set out to MAKE movies. Because when you don’t have all of Hollywood’s resources backing your vision, I guess you’ll just have to do it yourself.

CONTINUE READING

Occupation Movie Review

Occupation (2017)

Rent Occupation on Amazon Video
Written by: Luke Sparke, Felix Williamson (additional dialogue)
Directed by: Luke Sparke
Starring: Dan Ewing, Temuera Morrison, Stephany Jacobsen
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
A small group of Australians have to band together after an alien attack. As they struggle to survive, they realize they must stay one step ahead of their attackers, and work together for a chance to strike back.

Verdict
It's bland. The characters are nothing more than tropes and the story relies on even more tropes to progress. There's nothing to see here.
Skip it.

Review
An opening monologue demanding an alien war and talking about an alien threat is from a Ronald Reagn speech to the UN. The narration seemed crazy with what seemed like a political figure. It's even crazier my guess was correct. It's a high point of the movie that has a loose connection to the actual movie.

We're introduced to the character with a lot of foreshadowing, characters assuring each other nothing could happen in this town. It's a small town and each of the main characters is linked somehow.

Alien come out guns blazing.

I like how the group was formed. They're trying to escape and happen on a family in an RV who urges everyone to join them.

A big issue is that I never had a sense of scale. Are the aliens taking over the planet or just Australia? Why doesn't anyone turn on a radio to figure out what's going on? No one even calls for help, they just hide out.

The group is on the run from aliens, hitting the floor whenever they see light. A teenage girl manages to overpower an alien. The aliens seemed tough, up until that point.

One of the group removes the alien helmet and sees that it has some heat tracking optics, but the image is so blurry it's no wonder the aliens are such bad shots. The character also states being in the woods makes them invisible. I wasn't able to sort out how since the image in the helmet doesn't reinforce that and the aliens are able to find them just fine.

This group manages to fight back. They are a wrecking crew. That's when the aliens call in a dude with a cape. When you see someone with a cape you know they're important.

At one point the group captures an alien and the way it's portrayed we feel some sympathy with the alien, but the movie never explores that topic. It could be an interesting moral question, but this movie throws a lot out there without doing anything with it. We have all these characters that are nothing more than tropes with the hope we'll connect to at least one of them despite no reason to do so.

I was really hoping the big twist would be that Earth food is a delicacy and that was the reason for the invasion. Nothing that fun happens.
A homeless man and a teenage girl develop a relationship which was never less than strange, mainly due to the perceived age difference. It's a weird dynamic.

This movie likes crosscutting between scenes. It makes you think these scenes are more important or are related to the central them of the plot, but it's just nonsense. It's meant to pile on but there's no meaning to it. That just doesn't work.

The military comes in to save the day which removed any sense of danger or tension. That also marked the demise of any hope I had for character development. The military is planning an assault and at this point I checked out mentally.

At one point the movie quotes Terminator, "Come with me if you want to live." Since the movie brought it up, it's admissible. Terminator developed the characters of Reese and Sarah. It didn't just tell us she's a waitress, it showed us a day in her life. It's the same for Reese. We're told he's a soldier and tactfully see it. We also see his motivation for a suicide mission. His actions are logical. Occupation does nothing like that all to its detriment.

Next (2007)

Next is another of those movies that have been on my watchlist since the dawn of times because of Julianne Moore but kept putting off because it's a Nicolas Cage flick, and I have to be in the right mood and mentally prepared to deal with the insanity of them. 

This one follows Cris Johnson (Nicolas Cage), a small-time magician who can see a few minutes into the future. There's an exception though as he once had a vision of a beautiful woman (Jessica Biel) walking into a diner at 8 and he makes it his mission to be there and meet her. In the meantime, a terrorist group threatens to detonate a nuclear device in Los Angeles so the FBI, led by Agent Callie Ferris (Julianne Moore), tries to capture Cris and convince him to help them prevent the attack. 

Just in case you were afraid there was not enough going on, there's also a subplot about the terrorist group wanting to capture Cris because the FBI wants to capture him and therefore he gotta be some secret weapon of the Feds'. It makes sense, right? Well, no, it doesn't. The plot is just a ridiculous mess, with holes the size of moon craters, unsurprising twists and a romance because, you know, it's Hollywood. That said, Next tends to keep you entertained. 

And it sure does have a lot to do with Nicolas Cage being the lead. While his character is awful, a one-dimensional creepy dude, Cage gives yet another of his unintentionally funny performances —or maybe it's intentional, who knows, this is the guy who bought an octopus to improve his acting, after all—, a blend of unconvincing, weird and often out of place expressions, melodrama and cheesiness. And the way this guy delivers his lines, absolutely hilarious.

Paramount Pictures 

Unfortunately, the rest of the cast is not as fun as Cage to watch. Julianne Moore looks completely disinterested, bored out of her mind with her characters, a role that should have been played by a way less talented actress. Jessica Biel is utterly unconvincing as the love interest and the chemistry she has with Cage is so cheesy/soap opera stuff, but I guess nobody cares about that since she's in here only for the eye candy. And Thomas Kretschmann plays a Russian terrorist who speaks with a French accent. So there's that.

In terms of action, Next is a disaster. The action sequences just don't make any sense whatsoever, and when they do make little sense, there's usually some pretty bad and cheesy special effects to ruin them.

Thursday Movie Picks: Television Edition: Non-English Language TV Series

It seems like yesterday when the theme for Wandering Through the Shelves' Thursday Movie Picks was non-English TV series and yet it was a year ago. Anyways, last year I went with three Italian shows. This year I'm still going with random series from Europe that I used to watch when I was a kid/younger.

Notruf Hafenkante (2007- )

It's set in Hamburg, Germany, and follows the members of a police department and a team of doctors of a nearby hospital. I really liked this one but then they stopped showing it. And when they started it again I didn't care anymore. 

Sous le soleil (1996-2008)

It follows the lives and romances of three women living in Saint-Tropez, on the French Riviera. I don't remember much about this other than watching it with my mother. 

Un paso adelante (2002-2005)

It follows the professors and the students of a prestigious art school in Spain. I loved this one, like really, really loved it. It's probably the first show where I cared about the characters, loved some and hated others. I'm still waiting for that reunion movie. 

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019)

Saying that I was reluctant about The Lego Movie is a bit of an understatement as I thought it'd be a dumb kids flick but I gave it a chance anyway and I loved it. So of course I gave The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part a chance. 

Set immediately after the events of the original film, the story follows Emmet Brickowski (voiced by Chris Pratt) and his friends as they face a new threat, Lego Duplo invaders from outer space. When Lucy (voiced by Elizabeth Banks) and others are captured by General Sweet Mayhem (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz), Emmet attempts to rescue them while also trying to stop the Armamageddon.

The film is off to a really good start as the story is engaging and quite interesting to follow; unfortunately, about 30 minutes in, the plot starts to crumble with massive plot holes, a lot of cheesiness, discontinuity and nonsense, and a twist that could catch by surprise only someone who missed the beginning of the film.

There's something worse than a poor plot, poor characters and, unfortunately, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part has plenty of those. Not only development is nowhere to be found and the majority of the new characters aren't really that good, but the writers even managed to ruin some of the old characters. There are some nice additions though, like the dinosaurs. I loved those. But the rest, especially the whole Lego Duplo thing is so childish.

As for the jokes, they are fine but they are not nearly as good as they were in the first film. The problem is that many are recycled from the original film, others are either lame, childish or out of place, and the majority is pop culture references kids will never get —I mean, how many kids will get the Bruce Willis cameo? It's really hard to believe this was written by the same people who wrote The Lego Movie.

Warner Bros. Pictures

That said, the film is not a complete waste of time as it's overall enjoyable —although I lost my interest in the second part—, the voice cast still manages to do a good job despite the poor script, the animation looks fantastic, and some of the songs are not that bad. Not the "Catchy Song" though, that one is a pain for the ears. There's really nothing catchy about that song. It's just annoying.

PODCAST 352: Rosemary's Baby, Look What Happened to Rosemary's Baby & The Omen

This week the Horror Crew create a "Shit Oreo" when discussing Devil children. Rhiannon kicks things off with Rosemary's Baby. Cory follows that up with a look at the made for television sequel, Look What Happened to Rosemary's Baby. Forest rounds things out with another classic, The Omen.

CONTINUE READING

One Day (2011)

Nine years ago I bought David Nicholls's One Day only to stop reading it after a hundred pages because I didn't like it. Years later, when I learnt that it had been adapted into a movie starring Anne Hathaway, I decided to watch the movie instead to know how the story ended. And I did not like it. Earlier this month I gave the book another chance and I liked it enough to consider giving the film another shot. Unfortunately, unlike the book, the second time was not a charm. 

The story follows the lives of Emma Morley (Anne Hathaway) and Dexter Mayhew (Jim Sturgess), starting with an almost one-night stand on their graduation night, on July 15, 1988. They decide to stay in touch but, over the course of eighteen years, they grow apart as they choose different paths and we are shown what they are up to on the same day, July 15, every year. 

Despite the fact that it's relatively faithful to the source material —there are so many pointless changes though, like Emma and Dexter not having sex on graduation night, and Dexter teaching in Paris instead of Rome—, Lone Scherfig's One Day is a lacklustre adaptation as the plot is never compelling; on the contrary, it's rather dull and often feels dragged, and the year-skipping is handled so terribly, it feels as if a drunk, maybe Dexter himself, made the film.

No matter how uninteresting and unengaging the story ended up being on screen, the worst aspect of the screenplay easily is the characters.  The persona of Emma Morley has been simplified so much that she comes off as some annoying, bitchy damsel (in distress) waiting for Prince Charming instead of the smart, independent, successful woman she is in the novel, and her witty sense of humour is nowhere to be found. As for Dexter, he is just a wasted, selfish alcoholic with no depth whatsoever. Where's the dreamy, charming man from the book? The one Emma falls in love with? The one the reader/the audience falls in love with? In addition, the thoughts of the characters are completely left out. I get that it was not that easy to translate them on screen, but how are we supposed to care about them and be emotionally invested if we don't know anything about them? I'm not a fan of voice-overs but in this case, it could have helped. The supporting characters are so flat, shallow and bland, they are not even worth mentioning. 

Focus Features

With such a poor script and probably even poorer direction, there's nothing the actors can do to elevate the film. The problem is that they don't even try. Anne Hathaway gives yet another boring performance and her Yorkshire accent is atrocious, Jim Sturgess gives such a cheesy performance, and the chemistry between them is just off. As for the supporting cast, One Day does a wonderful job at wasting such a talented actress as Patricia Clarkson. 

Despite all the flaw, One Day isn't a complete waste of time. While it certainly isn't the most absorbing and involving stories on screen, some parts of the story are quite interesting, the cinematography is quite beautiful, the scenery is gorgeous and the soundtrack, although some song choices are beyond cheesy, is pretty good. 

Netflix NEWS 03.26.2019

Netflix NEWS

Updates on Netflix original content releasing this week and the announcements from last week. You can always read more about what's coming out this week and in the future on our Upcoming page.
Netflix Originals Releasing This Week

Nate Bargatze: The Tennessee Kid (March 26)

Netflix Comedy Special

Nate Bargatze is an American comedian and actor from Old Hickory, Tennessee. He's known for his special on Comedy Central Presents, has appeared multiple times on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Watch the trailer

Ainori Love Wagon: Asian Journey Season 2 (March 28) - Excludes Japan

Netflix Exclusive Japanese Language Reality Series

This is a reboot of a show that originally ran from 1999-2009. It's a reality matchmaking show that has participants exploring the cultures of other countries as they tour around a bus called the "Love Wagon".

15 August (March 29)

Netflix Distributed Indian Movie

Veteran Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit turns producer for this lighthearted snapshot of life in the chawls of Mumbai.

Bayoneta (March 29)

Netflix Distributed Mexican Movie

A retired Mexican boxer living alone in Finland gets a shot to redeem himself in the ring, forcing him to confront his painful past in the process.

On My Block Season 2 (March 29)

Netflix Original Series

A coming-of-age comedy about bright and street-savvy friends braving their way through the triumph, defeats, and the newness of high-school in the inner city.
Reported on October 2, 2018 Jessica Maria Garcia would be a series regular for season 2.
Season 2 Announcement 
Cold Opening Clip
Watch the trailer

Osmosis Seagson 1 (March 29)

Netflix Original French Language Series - 8 episodes

Set in Paris, technology can decode true love. By digging into a user's brain, the new dating app OSMOSIS can find your soulmate with 100% accuracy. What's the cost when technology can access your deepest secrets? This is Netflix's second original French series.
Announcement 
Details
Watch the trailer

Santa Clarita Diet Season 3 (March 29)

Netflix Original Series

Married real estate agents Sheila and Joel Hammond's lives take a dark turn when Sheila experiences a dramatic change. She dies and develops a taste for human flesh.
Sharlita Grant will havea  recurring role.
Season 3 Date Announcement video
Watch the Season 3 trailer

The Highwaymen (March 29)

Netflix Original Movie

Woody Harrelson and Kevin Costner are two former Texas Rangers who hunt down Depression Era outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. John Lee Hancock directs. Costner would play Frank Hamer and Harrelson would play Manny Gault.
Confirmed on February 12.
Premieres March 29 
Watch the trailer

The Legend of Cocaine Island (March 29)
Netflix Distributed Documentary
A small-business owner and family man comes across the legend of a hidden stash of cocaine worth $2 million hidden in the Caribbean. Having been hit hard during the Great Recession, he plans to retrieve the buried loot, using the talents of a band of colorful misfits, but without prior drug-running experience, disorder (and laughter) ensue.

The film, originally titled White Tide: The Legend of Culebra, premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival.

Announcement 
Watch the trailer

Traitors Season 1 (March 29)

Netflix Distributed Series

As World War II ends, a young English woman agrees to help an enigmatic American agent root out Russian infiltration of the British government.

Netflix Trailers
Rilakkuma and Kaoru Season 1 trailer #2 - April 19
Stranger Things Season 3 trailer - July 4
Who Would You Take to a Deserted Island trailer - April 12
Huge in France Season 1 trailer - April 12
Kevin Hart: Irresponsible Comedy Special trailer - April 2
Unicorn Store trailer - April 5
Special Season 1 trailer - April 12

Netflix Previews & Videos

Our Planet - Salma Hayek
Triple Frontier - Adria Arjona's Workout
Levius Season 1 teaser - Winter 2019
Memories of the Alhambra - A Round of Jenga with Hyun-bin and Park Shin-hye
7Seeds teaser - 2019
Our Planet - Birds of Paradise
The OA Season 2 - Ian Alexander on Becoming Buck Vu
Losers - Surya Bonaly's Backflip
Neon Genesis Evangelion Date Announcement  - June 21
Kengan Ashura - Teaser - July 2019
The Order - Every Werewolf Transformation 
The Highwaymen - Bringing Them to Life 
On My Block Season 2 - The Cast Goes Full Diva

Netflix News & Announcements

The Queen’s Gambit Starring Anya Taylor-Joy from Scott Frank Announced

Battle Kitty Kids Interactive Series Announced 

Mindy Kaling Coming of Age Series Announced 

Brainchild - Kids Education Series 

The Knight Before Christmas - Vanessa Hudgens To Star & Executive Produce

Report: Netflix Releasing More Original than Acquired Titles 

Home for Christmas Norwegian Series Announced 

To All the Boys I've Loved Before - Anna Cathcart, Janel Parrish, John Corbett Return 

The Gift Turkish Series Announcement
Who Would You Take to a Deserted Island - Producer Interview
The Dirt - Comments from Cast & Crew
Selling Sunset Season 1 - Producer Interview 
The Politician - Premiere Date - September 27
The Politician - Judith Light, Bette Midler Join Cast
Chambers Season 1 - First Look 
Merry Happy Whatever - Casting News 

Hype List

Black Mirror Season 5 (2019)
The Witcher Season 1 (2020) 
Stranger Things Season 3 (2019 July 4)
The Umbrella Academy Season 2 (2020?)
Disenchanted Season 1 Part 2 (2019)
Altered Carbon Season 2 (2019, projected)
Dark Season 2 (June 2019, projected)
Bojack Horseman Season 6 (2019, projected)
Ratched Season 1 (2019)
Mindhunter Season 2 (2019, projected)

New & Leaving Netflix US Full List for April 2019

Netflix has a lot of new content for April, listed first is what I plan on checking out.
The full list of what's coming and leaving follows.

Our Planet (April 5)

Netflix Original Mini-series - 8 episodes

From the creators of Planet Earth, this series explores remote wilderness areas across the globe, from ice caps and the deep ocean to deserts and remote forests, narrated by Sir David Attenborough.


Black Summer Season 1 (April 11)

Netflix Original Series - 8 episodes

Starring Jamie King as a mother torn from her daughter who embarks upon a harrowing journey, stopping at nothing to find her. She must brave a hostile new world and make brutal decisions during the most deadly summer of a zombie apocalypse.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 1 Part 2 (April 5)

Netflix Original Series - 10 episodes

The series re-imagines the origin and adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch as a dark coming-of-age story that traffics in horror, the occult, and witchcraft. In the vein of Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist, this adaptation finds Sabrina wrestling to reconcile her dual nature of half-witch, half-mortal while standing against the evil forces that threaten her, her family, and the world humans inhabit. The one-hour drama is based on the comic Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

Huge in France Season 1 (April 12)

Netflix Original Series - 8 episodes

Co-created and executive produced by French comedian Gad Elmaleh, the series is inspired by Gad's own life and career, following him in a move from France to U.S. He's a huge comedian in France, but at a crossroads he leaves for Los Angeles to try and reconnect with his estranged, comedy hating, sixteen year old male model son.
Elmaleh already has one comedy special with Netflix and another one in the works.

Arriving

Arriving April 1

• Across The Line
• All the President’s Men
• The Bone Collector
• Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
• Deliverance
• Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
• Evolution
• The Fifth Element
• Freddy vs. Jason
• Friday the 13th (2009)
• The Golden Compass
• I Am Legend
• Lakeview Terrace
• Monster House
• Obsessed
• Penelope
• Pineapple Express
• Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon Season 2
• P.S. I Love You
• The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
• The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
• Snatch
• Spy Kids
• Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D
• Ultraman Season 1 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL
• Valkyrie

Arriving April 2

• Kevin Hart: Irresponsible - NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Arriving April 3

• Suzzanna: Buried Alive - NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Arriving April 5

• Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 1 Part 2 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL
• In The Shadows
• Legacies Season 1
• Our Planet - NETFLIX ORIGINAL
• Persona Season 1 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL
• Quicksand [Störst av Allt] Season 1 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL  
• Roman Empire: Caligula: The Mad Emperor - NETFLIX ORIGINAL 
• Spirit Riding Free Season 8 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL
• Tijuana Season 1 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL 
• Unicorn Store - NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Arriving April 9

• Trolls: The Beat Goes On!: Season 6 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Arriving April 10

• New Girl Season 7
• You vs. Wild Interactive Series Season 1 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL  

Arriving April 11

• Black Summer Season 1 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Arriving April 12

• A Land Imagined
• Band Aid
• Huge in France Season 1 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL
• Mighty Little Bheem Season 1 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL
• The Perfect Date - NETFLIX ORIGINAL 
• The Silence - NETFLIX ORIGINAL 
• Special Season 1 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL
• Who Would You Take to a Deserted Island - NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Arriving April 15

• Luis Miguel The Series Season 1
• No Good Nick Season 1 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL
• The New Romantic

Arriving April 16

• Super Monsters Furever Friends - NETFLIX ORIGINAL 

Arriving April 17

• Homecoming: A Film By Beyoncé - NETFLIX ORIGINAL 

Arriving April 18

• My First First Love Season 1 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL 

Arriving April 19

• A Fortunate Man - NETFLIX ORIGINAL 
• Brené Brown: The Call to Courage - NETFLIX ORIGINAL 
• Cuckoo Season 5 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL 
• I, Daniel Blake
• Lunatics Season 1 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL
• Music Teacher - NETFLIX ORIGINAL
• Rilakkuma and Kaoru Season 1 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL
• Samantha! Season 2 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL
• Someone Great - NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Arriving April 20

• Grass is Greener - NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Arriving April 22

• Pinky Malinky Part 2 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL
• Selection Day - NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Arriving April 23

• I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson - NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Arriving April 24

• Bonding Season 1 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Arriving April 25

• The Hateful Eight: Extended Version
• The Ugly Truth

Arriving April 26

• Chambers Season 1 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL
• ReMastered Season 1 - E7 Devil at the Crossroads - NETFLIX ORIGINAL
• The Protector Season 2 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL
• She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Season 2 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL
• Street Food Season 1 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL
• The Sapphires
• Yankee - NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Arriving April 27

• American Honey

Arriving April 28

• Señora Acero: Season 5

Arriving April 29

• Burning
• The Imitation Game

Arriving April 30

• Anthony Jeselnik: Fire in the Maternity Ward - NETFLIX ORIGINAL
• Baki Season 2 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL
• Ingress: The Animation Season 1 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Leaving

Leaving April 1

• American Pie
• Billy Madison
• Blue Mountain State Season 1
• Blue Mountain State Season 2
• Blue Mountain State Season 3
• Casino Royale
• Diamonds Are Forever
• Die Another Day
• Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood
• Goldfinger
• Happy Feet
• Happy Gilmore
• Heat
• I Love You, Man
• L.A. Confidential
• Live and Let Die
• The Living Daylights
• Luther Series 1
• Luther Series 2
• Luther Series 3
• Luther Series 4
• The Man with the Golden Gun
• Octopussy
• Pokémon: XY Season 1
• Pokémon: XY Season 2
• Seven
• Sex and the City: The Movie
• The Spy Who Loved Me
• Wallander Series 1
• Wallander Series 2
• Wallander Series 3
• Wallander Series 4
• The World Is Not Enough
• You Only Live Twice

Leaving April 4

• Raw

Leaving April 7

• Star Wars: The Clone Wars
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 1
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 2
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 3
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 4
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 5
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Lost Missions

Leaving April 13

• Video Game High School Season 1
• Video Game High School Season 2
• Video Game High School Season 3

Leaving April 18

• Silver Linings Playbook

Peppermint (2018)

I'm not a fan of Jennifer Garner at all as I find her acting bland and unconvincing. I'm not the biggest fan of action flicks either but every time I went to the movies since December they kept showing the trailer for Peppermint. I knew it was going to be bad, but I checked it out anyway to see how bad. Very bad, as it turned out. 

The story follows Riley North (Jennifer Garner), a mother and wife working as a banker who is struggling to make ends meet. Her husband, Chris (Jeff Hephner), who owns a failing mechanic shop, gets into some shady business which results on drug lord Diego Garcia (Juan Pablo Raba) ordering his men to kill him. Riley's daughter, Carly (Cailey Fleming), also gets killed and five years after the judicial system failed her, Riley sets out for revenge.

Saying that Peppermint lacks originality would be offensive for movies lacking originality as this is essentially The Punisher with a female lead —both Castle and North's families were killed in a crossfire of a mob shootout and both survived, and both took place at a carnival; they both live in a van loaded with arms; they both become vigilantes to punish criminals; they both feel like they want to die when they finally get their revenge— only it's way, way more predictable —a dirty cop subplot, seriously?— and ridiculous —when the judge dismissed the case, I literally dropped my jaw because I could not believe how stupid that was. It was beyond clear that Garcia had paid every single person in that courtroom.

The main character is also nothing new as Riley is the typical hurt turning into a vigilante kind of person. She is indestructible, no matter how many times she's shot or stabbed, she's like Nikolai, she never dies. Not to mention the fact that Riley goes all Frank Castle with no military background at all. One day she a regular woman, then she goes off the grid and comes back five years later as a killing machine. I mean, don't we even deserve to know how and where she trained? The blandness and ridiculousness of the leading character pales in comparison with the supporting characters though as they all are paper-thin and stereotyped, from the villain to the dirty detective —and by "dirty" I don't mean Dirty Harry dirty.

STXfilms

As expected, the acting is awful, especially from Jennifer Garner who gives yet another of her atrocious performances as she is anything but convincing in the role of a female vigilante who takes down a whole drug gang while outsmarting the police.

The only good thing about Peppermint? The action. While most sequences are generic at best and pretty bland, there are some interesting and almost thrilling sequences here and there.

MONSTER MARCH MADNESS 2019: Round IV

THE FINAL FOUR! Now 4 of the biggest and baddest monsters from movie history have squared off and are ready fro battle. There can be only 1 winner, and YOU DECIDE! Round IV voting will be open; MARCH 25TH to MARCH 31TH.
VOTE HERE

CONTINUE READING

WRITTEN REVIEW: Possum

By CORY CARR

The British are often known for creating rather gloomy works of art – especially post war. No doubt a result of a recovering economy, a bombed out industrial landscape and overcast skies that go on for days.

But now, decades later, do those Brits still have what it takes to create everyday melancholy and dread? Yes. Yes they can.

CONTINUE READING

Vox Lux Movie Review

Vox Lux (2018)

Rent Vox Lux on Amazon Video
Written by: Brady Corbet
Directed by: Brady Corbet
Starring: Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Stacy Martin
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
An unusual set of circumstances brings unexpected success to a pop star.

Verdict
This is a fascinating portrait of stardom. We see Celeste before she's a star and skip ahead eighteen years. She's a very different person and you wonder how much of that is stardom. It's the kind of movie that makes you want to watch again for clues. This is a very different take on what being a celebrity is, and it's not flattering. It's not the typical movie which makes it so fascinating. Just a note, the opening of the movie is a school shooting and it's a rough watch.
Watch it.

Review
The introduction is heavy and harsh. It's graphic, violent, and difficult to watch.

Celeste was injured in the shooting and a song she writes about the experience catapults her into the national spotlight. She seems business savvy and detached. Is that detachment due to her experience that gave her a new perspective on life?

We then skip ahead eighteen years. Celeste is a full fledged star, much more dramatic and over the top now. She's very much a petulant child and I have to imagine that being a pop star, she got most everything she wanted along the way which changed her demeanor.

There's a weird juxtaposition with the actress that played young Celeste also playing her daughter.

Celeste is strung out or on something constantly. The implication is that's the cost of fame, or at least what it takes to cope. Celeste's sister is her manager, but Celeste hates her sister. She's not just mean but hateful. What happened to Celeste? The sister is the one raising Celeste's kid and also writes Celeste's songs. Celeste is an egomaniac, and it's such a stark difference from the kid we saw earlier.

The present day concert is marred by an act of violence where the attackers using Celeste's iconography. Is it a link or coincidence?

This portrays celebrity as a difficult path, full of destructive coping mechanisms. We see this celebrity pop performer behind the scenes, and that person is not the curated image the fans see. We're behind the facade and it's not pretty. We see Celeste barely able to stand as she walks to the stage, but she projects a very different image on the stage.
Portman does a great job. It's hard to imagine she played Jackie just two years ago.

This divide, the dichotomy between past and present that are both linked by violence makes this intriguing as we're left to come to our own conclusions.
The narration that's been throughout the movie is additive when so often narration is ill used. It adds a deal with the devil story towards the end that seemingly has to be fiction, but is a fantasy tale that fits what we've seen. If Celeste had made a deal with the devil, the result would definitely be the consequence. It's an allegory, Celeste got what she wanted, stardom, but it's ruined her. She's not even a likable person any more.

I love the mediation on the idea of fame, the revelation of what celebrity really means. So much of this movie is what the viewer ascribes to it. We get just a few bits and pieces. I really liked this movie, though reviews weren't great. That may stem from the fact that this isn't a typical movie. That's exactly what I like about it. It's a movie that pushes you to draw your own conclusions.