Author: Caillou Pettis

Members of the mysterious and spooky Addams family — Gomez (voice of Oscar Isaac), Morticia (voice of Charlize Theron), Pugsley (voice of Finn Wolfhard), Wednesday (voice of Chloë Grace Moretz), Uncle Fester (voice of Nick Kroll) and Grandmama (voice of Bette Midler) — are readily preparing for a visit from their even creepier relatives. But trouble soon arises when shady TV personality Margaux Needler (voice of Allison Janney) realizes that the Addams’ eerie hilltop mansion is standing in the way of her dream to sell all the houses in the neighborhood.

To say that The Addams Family are an interesting and highly comedical group of horror characters would be quite the understatement to say the least. They are essentially a band of horror characters that live together and get up to insanely zany antics, and since a ton of them are monsters, often do things much differently than people on Earth do things.

This is one of the reasons why I personally enjoyed the 1998 sitcom The New Addams Family – it treated them like sitcom characters, and that is what they practically are. Yes, they are definitely a dark group of people and it is a ton of fun to watch them do darkly humorous things for a couple hours.

Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan’s new film The Addams Family follows in a similar vein by taking the beloved family and making them much more humorous than some iterations have made them. Whereas the 1991 Barry Sonenfeld directed film aimed to make them a bit more dark, this film is not as interested in that, which some people are taking issue with. I can understand why if you are somebody who adores the darker side of The Addams Family, but I personally enjoy both takes on the family, and this movie offers us that.

When it comes to the voice cast present in this movie, it is incredible. There are a ton of recognizable voices such as Isaac, Theron, Kroll and even Snoop Dogg as Cousin Itt. Each and every one of them delivers a really great voice performance and they genuinely do embody their characters perfectly. Plus, when the time comes to deliver the comedic goods, they do so almost effortlessly.

It is also a blast to watch all of the mischief that the family gets up to while this movie progesses. Pugsley’s idea of fun is to run around the house firing explosives at his father, Wednesday’s idea of fun is to shoot crossbows, and Morticia occassionally enjoys eating a fancy meal up at their local cemetery. Watching all of this craziness unfold in front of us makes for quite the wild and entertaining treat.

However, there are quite a few issues with The Addams Family, with the biggest flaw being with the character of Margaux Needler, voiced by Allison Janney. This is, quite literally, the definition of a clichéd movie villain. Throughout the course of the film, the writers Matt Lieberman and Pamela Pettler, never flesh out Margaux to make her an understandable character. Her motives are completely unclear. For me, the best villains of all time are all villains who you can understand. You do not necessarily agree with their actions they are taking in order to achieve their goals, but you do understand what they want and why they are doing whatever they are doing. Margaux is a villain that just wants to thwart the Addams Family’s plans because they are different than her.

Although the message of the movie, that being that you should not treat people negatively just because they are different than you, is an amazing message for children to take home, it does not get introduced until much later on, and Margaux as a character just did not work.

Also, the humor, while really great for the most part, does not work one hundred percent of the time. There were some moments in which I was genuinely laughing and smiling from ear to ear, but there were also a lot of times in which I found the humor to be a complete miss. Sometimes, the humor is aimed towards adults and sometimes it is aimed at the youngest of children, including a fart joke.

Finally, some sequences just did not need to be in the movie at all, which made the movie drag during some parts. Gratefully, the majority of the film is always moving and fast paced, with a running time of only eighty seven minutes. It usually is a lot of fun to watch and will make for a fun watch for families.

Even though The Addams Family suffers with its villain and gets bogged down with pointless scenes, it makes up for it with great humor, funny characters, and a great moral.

Phil (Adam DeVine) has a major dependency issue – he’s addicted to his phone. He has no friends, he has a job writing pop culture ‘Top 10’ lists, and his love life is non-existent. But his Facebook status is about to change. When he is forced to upgrade his phone, the latest model comes with an unexpected feature… Jexi (voice of Rose Byrne) – an A.I. life coach, virtual assistant and cheerleader. With her help, Phil begins to get a real life. But as he becomes less dependent on his phone, Jexi’s artificial intelligence morphs into a tech nightmare determined to keep Phil all to herself, even if it means ruining his chances of finding success.

Let’s just get this right out of the way from the start – Jexi is without a doubt, the most absurdly titled film of 2019. Audiences that are completely unaware of this film and what it is about would have absolutely no idea what Jexi is and what it even means, and rightfully so.

Even though the title is ridiculously dumb, I was genuinely hoping that the movie as a whole would win me over. I wanted to go into the theatre and expierience a fun comedy flick, that, at the very least would manage to make me smile or laugh a couple times.

Unfortunately, Jon Lucas and Scott Moore’s Jexi is one of the worst films of the year so far. One thing is for sure – this is the worst comedy film of the year in addition. Virtually nothing about the film works, and while watching it, it can be quite frustrating to see where the film could have worked a little bit better if the script had been polished up. There are genuinely a few sequences that could have been humorous if there was a better script.

It is disappointing to see the script so weak, because the writers Lucas and Moore previously wrote the excellent The Hangover, which is one of my favorite comedies of the early 2000s. In my opinion, the two have not written a great movie since Hangover. All of the jokes in this film are painfully dull and often come off as extremely cringe-worthy. Even the marketing is weak, with many of the trailers and posters coming off as dull.

Adam DeVine portrays lead protagonist Phil in Jexi, and he can get quite annoying to watch after just a couple of scenes. The film lets you know early on just how irritating his character will end up being throughout. This is a shame because I genuinely think DeVine is a funny actor, and I really enjoyed him as Bumper in the Pitch Perfect franchise, and he seems like a down to earth guy.

There are a couple of times in which the movie tries to deliver a deep and thought provoking message throughout all of the jokes, but it never manages to land unfortunately. It all comes down to the script, and while trying to bring up a moral of the story, it just does not work because the movie constantly tries to be funny. There’s really no scene in which the film takes its message seriously.

Jexi is an annoying, frustratingly unfunny misfire, with one of the weakest scripts of the year, and a moral that gets lost along the way.

After escaping Jack Welker (Michael Bowen) and his gang, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) goes on the run from the police and tries to escape his own inner turmoil.

Let me just get this right out of the way from the top – Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad is my favorite television series of all time. It is one of those shows, that for me, managed to top itself with every single progressing episode. That is something I don’t think I have ever encountered in a television show besides Breaking Bad. I fell in love with all of the characters – Walter White, Jesse Pinkman, Mike Ehrmantraut, Hank Schrader, and more. Every episode, I was curious to see what they would get up to, and particularly, how White would try to avoid trouble.

That is exactly why I was extremely nervous about the existence of El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. “Felina” is one of my favorite episodes of any television show, and is considered by many others to be one of the greatest finales of all time. The way Gilligan concluded things, with Pinkman’s ultimate escape from Jack and White’s death in particular, being wrapped up beautifully. I really did not want a movie to come along and tell us all these details that we did not necessarily need to know.

But, now that a Breaking Bad movie exists, I went ahead and watched it. I am so happy to report that El Camino is absolutely masterful, and is a truly gripping, emotionally powerful, and brilliant epilogue to one of the most beloved characters: Jesse Pinkman.

The goal of El Camino is not to open up a door for other Breaking Bad movies or to bring back characters that we once knew and loved from that show, but rather, to give finality to Jesse’s storyline. Where did he go after he escaped from Jack? Who does he encounter along the way? Does he finally get a chance to start a new life? All of these questions are explored in a fantastic way.

Ever since the television series, I always thought that Aaron Paul did an amazing job portraying Jesse. He was a greatly complex character with a storyline that resonated with fans all over the world. But I truly did not expect him to be as good as he was in this picture. Everything about his performance here is incredibly raw, riveting, and vigorous. You can tell just by looking into his eyes that he has gone through a world of pain, not just from the events of the last few episodes of Breaking Bad, but his entire life. He is at a breaking point and he just wants a chance at a new life. A chance at freedom.

One of the greatest elements of El Camino is by far the writing by Gilligan. This movie cements him as one of the strongest dramatic writers of this generation, with nearly every moment on screen being filled with suspense and tension that most movies are unable to contain these days.

When it comes to issues with this movie, there are only really a couple that stand out in particular. The biggest one for me is by far, the fact that El Camino, despite how amazing it actually is, does not necessarily need to exist. Yes, it does provide answers for what happens to certain characters, and even shows us some extremely clever flashback sequences with other characters, but at the end of the day, we did not need this movie. I would have been perfectly fine if El Camino never came out, because I did not want the  film to come out to begin with. The reason why is because Breaking Bad‘s ending to practically perfect to me and I thought a follow-up was unnecessary, despite how good it ended up being.

The other flaw is that some characters that we know and love appear, and we do not get too much time to spend with them. You think that they may get a bit of involvement in the overall story, but they just never show them again. It would have been nice if all of the characters got something to do.

El Camino is an utterly mesmerizing epilogue to Breaking Bad and offers an extremely gripping story, terrific writing, and a riveting performance from Aaron Paul.

Joker Review: Forever alone in a crowd, failed comedian Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) seeks connection as he walks the streets of Gotham City. Arthur wears two masks — the one he paints for his day job as a clown, and the guise he projects in a futile attempt to feel like he’s part of the world around him. Isolated, bullied and disregarded by society, Fleck begins a slow descent into madness as he transforms into the criminal mastermind known as the Joker.

Ever since a Joker solo film was announced about two years ago, thousands of comic book movie fans were extremely upset at the thought of the film being a reality. People were just not interested in seeing a picture depict the origins of the iconic DC Comics character. A large portion as to why is because a ton of people want the Joker to forever remain a mysterious character; somebody whose origins are completely unknown, thus making him more unnerving and unsettling. A hugely violent man that we will never know what caused him to be that way.

However, I was highly curious as to see what a standalone origin story film would look like ever since the initial announcement. With a terrific actor in the leading role, great direction, a strong and compelling script, a Joker movie could be absolutely breathtaking and haunting. After it was announced Joaquin Phoenix would be portraying the titular character, I just had a feeling that we were in for something truly special. A performance of the Clown Prince of Crime unlike any we have ever seen to date.

Let’s get it right out of the way – Joker is one of the greatest comic book films of all time. It is a film that is unnerving, unsettling, and devilishly disturbing right from the opening frames. It is a movie that will make you feel grimy and dirty after watching it, and you will feel like you have to take a shower upon viewing it. Everything about Joker is wickedly riveting, highly frightening, and is quite easily, one of the most uncomfortable films I have ever seen.

You may think that a motion picture that makes you feel dirty and extremely uncomfortable while watching it is a bad thing, but for me, those are just a few of the reasons why I adored this film. So many comic book films, especially in this day and age, take the safe route and really don’t take many risks. It is completely understandable why. The filmmakers want to ensure that audiences will be thoroughly entertained throughout, and want them to leave with a big smile on their faces.

Joker is the story of a broken man that becomes scarily unhinged and his slow descent into madness is, simply, frightening. I am so glad we have a comic book movie that takes a bunch of risks and in my opinion, every risk they took paid off immensely.

One of the greatest elements at play here is the cinematography by Lawrence Sher. Every single shot present is absolutely brimming with details, a sense of unease, and terrifying. We get a ton of wide shots, close-up shots of Arthur and various other characters, and beautiful city scenery which adds up to one of the best looking movies of the whole entire year.

Much like the cinematography, the original score by Hildur Guðnadóttir is euphoric. This might actually be my favorite score used in a film since Colin Stetson’s haunting sounds for Ari Aster’s Hereditary in 2018. All of the sounds we hear throughout the running time gave me goosebumps, and left me feeling creeped out. When any piece of music is able to convey that strong of an emotion, you know it is great.

Joaquin Phoenix portrays Arthur Fleck / Joker in the film and he delivers what may be the greatest performance of the year so far. He is a tortured man and he sells every scene that he is in (which is a lot). Watching Arthur on screen is like watching a ticking time bomb. At every moment, you feel as if he could just snap at any given second, and it would not be far fetched for him to do so. It creates for some highly suspenseful sequences that left me exhilarated. This is the Joker that I have always wanted to see on screen. The Joker that feels like the most dangerous man in Gotham City.

Joker is a highly devastating, deeply disturbing, and devilishly twisted story of a tortured man that excels in every level, especially Joaquin Phoenix’s masterful performance.

Vietnam War veteran John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) tries to find some semblance of peace by raising horses on a ranch in Arizona. He’s also developed a special familial bond with a woman named Maria (Adriana Barraza) and her teenage granddaughter Gabrielle (Yvette Monreal). But when a vicious Mexican cartel kidnaps Gabrielle, Rambo crosses the border on a bloody and personal quest to rescue her and punish those responsible.

When it comes to the Rambo film franchise, I think it is safe to say that the majority of audiences want to see one thing and one thing alone – John Rambo going around and causing a ton of mayhem and killing a lot of people. Although I personally enjoyed First Blood, the film that started the whole series, I wanted there to be just a little bit more action. The story was semi-interesting but it really lacked a sense of grit that I believe should have been there.

The later sequels managed to amp up the violence and carnage but while doing so, they practically threw the story out of the window and the Rambo films just ended up being nothing more than violence. There should be a balance of both in every movie. Tell an interesting and compelling story while also having fun along the way. This is something that the beloved John Wick series does – in the initial entry, John’s wife and dog pass away and he wants to get revenge on those responsible, and the script told a revenge story in a unique and fresh way.

Unfortunately, Adrian Grunberg’s Rambo: Last Blood is a disappoiningly bland and generic revenge story that is incredibly predicatable and has nothing new to offer, making it not only a forgettable movie in the series, but one of the most pointless entries in a film franchise that I have seen in quite some time.

One of the only good things about this new installment is Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo. Even in the weak Rambo films, he has always managed to be a genuinely great actor in every movie in the series thus far and his character is always one that you want to see more of. Sadly, in Last Blood, we surprisingly do not spend a whole lot of time with him at all. A large portion of the story focuses on his niece Gabrielle and her story rather than having John Rambo in the picture. It would have been okay if Gabrielle’s story was interesting, but it just wasn’t. As aforementioned, nearly every story beat is almost laughably predictable and it is clear rather quickly what will end up happening later on.

The film clocks in at a total of only eighty minutes, and we spend approximately thirty minutes setting up what will happen to a certain character in order for John Rambo to finally come into the picture. The first act was a drag to get through and before I knew it, the end of the movie was approaching.

Additionally, the main villains in the movie are some of the most cliché villains I have seen in a movie in years. Instead of having an understandable motive, their reason to be evil is simply that – they just want to be evil. They constantly talk about how they want to torture and kill people and it just becomes laughable after a while.

All this being said, the last twenty minutes are what I wanted the entire picture to be. The last twenty minutes are genuinely amazing and I had a blast watching it. It is essentially John Rambo being the Jigsaw killer from the Saw franchise and it is chalked full of blood, guts and gore, and while usually gore in films can be rather pointless, here it made sense and made for some truly exciting sequences.

Rambo: Last Blood is disappointly bland and lifeless, with an incredibly predictable story, cliché villains, and its action scenes are few and far between.