Author: Caillou Pettis

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood: The BRWC Review.

Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood visits 1969 Los Angeles, where everything is changing, as television star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) make their way around an industry they hardly recognize anymore. The ninth film from the writer-director features a large ensemble cast and multiple storylines in a tribute to the final moments of Hollywood’s golden age.

Whenever a new film by Tarantino is released or is even just in the works, my interest is immediately peaked. While I do not love every single one of his pictures, I have always admired the fact that he is a filmmaker that takes so many risks with every film that he makes. His movies are so unconvential and it is surprising to even see movies like his being made today.

Out of all of his works, my favorite of his has to be either Django Unchained or Pulp Fiction – two masterpieces in cinema with extraordinarily exciting storylines and crazy fun action sequences mixed in throughout. His latest, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, immediately struck me as a different film under his belt the instant the trailer was released. It seemed significantly slower paced and a more character focused narrative, which is something to appreciate as well.

Gratefully, Hollywood is one of Tarantino’s greatest efforts he has put forth to date. While this is not as long as his other pictures such as The Hateful Eight, it is most certainly a long ride, with its running time clocking in at one hundred and sixty one minutes. A running time this long would put quite a bit of general audience members to sleep, but if you appreciate the art of filmmaking, this will not bother you, as it did not bother me. In fact, I felt like the film could have been even longer and I would not have cared because at the end of the day, every single frame present is unique and exciting.

For some, this movie will seem absolutely pointless and many will claim that nothing really happened until the third act. For me, the opposite is the case. Although at first, it may seem like not a whole lot is really going on storywise for a while, after a bit, you will begin to notice that the film is at heart a story about two men making films together that are finally realizing that their careers are going downhill and spend the last few years of their careers trying to make their keep.

One of the reasons why everything works so well here is because of the performances all across the board, but namely from Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt. The two are well known for being terrific actors, and they truly get their chance to prove this here and they most certainly show it. DiCaprio is absolutely hilarious in the film when he needs to be and he is also sympathetic whenever his character needs to be. The same can be said about Pitt’s Cliff Booth. Their chemistry onscreen is some of the best of the entire year, and it genuinely felt like these two characters have been friends their whole lives.

It is additionally an emmaculately shot picture, with the director of photography being Robert Richardson, who previously worked with Tarantino on Kill Bill Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Inglorious Basterds, Django Unchained, and the aforementioned Hateful Eight. Every single still frame of Richardson’s work here looks truly mesmerizing.

Hollywood is set in the year 1969 and so naturally, you would hope that the city of Los Angeles would look historically accurate and it gratefully does. Billboards/advertisements, vehicles, architecture, and even food and drinks are historically accurate and the crew that ensured that everything looked right deserves immense praise. There was one sequence here in which it actually felt like I was watching a film that was released in the 1960s.

When it comes down to it all, there is only one major issue with Tarantino’s latest cinematic outing – Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate. Her performance here is miraculous, but what is unfortunate however, is the fact that the film barely utilizes her at all. Robbie was at one point in time my favorite actress of all time, and so I was naturally excited to see how she would portray this character.

Unfortunately, there is approximately five or so scenes with her in the film as a whole, and even the scenes that she is involved in, barely include dialogue, with some being completely silent. In the long run, it was completely pointless to include Tate in this film and to get Robbie to portray her. What is just as confusing is the fact that she is credited third on the official poster, right next to DiCaprio and Pitt, when there where other actors that were used significantly more than Tate.

Overall though, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is yet another home run for Quentin Tarantino due to its incredible performances, gorgeous cinematography, and its exciting story.

Simba (voice of JD McCrary and Donald Glover) idolizes his father, King Mufasa (voice of James Earl Jones), and takes to heart his own royal destiny on the plains of Africa. But not everyone in the kingdom celebrates the new cub’s arrival. Scar (voice of Chiwetel Ejiofor), Mufasa’s brother — and former heir to the throne — has plans of his own. The battle for Pride Rock is soon ravaged with betrayal, tragedy and drama, ultimately resulting in Simba’s exile. Now, with help from a curious pair of newfound friends, Simba must figure out how to grow up and take back what is rightfully his.

Ever since the release of Favreau’s 2016 reimagining of The Jungle Book, which garnered mass critical and commercial acclaim, the giant that is Disney has been churning out quite a few live action remakes of their old beloved classics. Some of these include Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, and most recently Aladdin, which is still playing in quite a few theatres surprisingly.

Although there are a ton of people that genuinely despise these newer motion pictures, I have gotten quite a bit of enjoyment out of them actually. There has never been a live action Disney remake that I did not like – up until I saw the new 2019 version of The Lion King.

Disney has been around for decades and is extremely well known for creating some of, if not the, best animated movies for families and children of all ages. One of the many reasons why they are so beloved by millions is because of their expertise at storytelling. It seems like practically every one of their pictures is chalked full of terrific emotion, hilarious and relatable characters, and an exhilarating story that will entertain everybody.

Above all though, 1994’s The Lion King, directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff is considered by many to be the best film that Disney has ever put out. Other stories such as Aladdin and The Jungle Book are stories that I could definitely see how they could be improved with a modern take on the story, but not so much with The Lion King.

The biggest reason as to why Favreau’s latest fails to impress on virtually every level is due to the fact that it is a shot for shot remake of the original. By putting the two side to side, you would see that there is barely a difference in the way both films are presented. When it comes to a remake, there should always be a different and unique vision being presented onscreen that differentiates it from its counterpart, but this film just does not do that.

Do not get me wrong, the visual effects in this movie are genuinely breathtaking and the computer generated imagery present is some of the best I have ever seen. Everything looks photorealistic and it is mind boggling to think about how long it must have taken the creative team to make this film look the way it does. What is unfortunate though, is that a lot of the time, Lion King can feel soulless. The animated original had such a unique visual flair and feel to it all that was not replicated here.

Lions and other animals sing and talk here, as well as show emotions, but it can be genuinely difficult to tell what emotions they are going through at times. Sometimes, something incredibly depressing can occur and the camera cuts to a shot of one of the lion characters, and it can be hard to tell what they are thinking at that moment.

The music involved is definitely something to be praised, though. All of the songs sound beautiful and combined make for one amazing soundtrack that not only Disney fans, but fans of music will want to listen to again and again.

At the end of the day, The Lion King is not a harmful film in any way shape or form. What is sad however, is that this picture did not need to exist. The 1994 original already exists and is considered to be a classic by many, so why bother doing it again? You’re better off staying at home and popping in your Blu-ray of that instead.

Although The Lion King boasts incredible visuals and has beautiful musical numbers, it is a film that ultimately feels soulless and is much weaker than the original.

When a massive hurricane hits her Florida town, young Haley Keller (Kaya Scodelario) ignores the evacuation orders to search for her missing father, Dave (Barry Pepper). After finding him gravely injured in their family home, the two of them become trapped by the rapidly encroaching floodwaters. With the storm strengthening, Haley and Dave discover an even greater threat than the rising water level — a relentless attack from a pack of gigantic alligators.

In terms of flicks that focus on a natural creature as its primary antagonist, Jaws is by far the greatest for millions of people and also the most influential when it comes to the subgenre. Over the years, there have been countless attempts at encapsulating the success that Steven Spielberg’s aforementioned 1975 masterpiece was able to obtain, but to no luck.

Sure, since then there have certainly been some movies that managed to entertain audiences with just enough thrill and entertainment value in the same vein as Jaws, which just may be enough. Crawl is most definitely one of those films. It has a similar sort of vibe, but is ultimately just a highly amusing and supremely entertaining popcorn film. But that can sometimes be okay.

One of the reasons why Crawl works so well is because of its lead actress Scodelario. She has been churning out great performances for years now, and the first time I personally took notice of her was in the 2013 young adult adaptation The Maze Runner, where she played Teresa. She is an actress that is remarkably good at showing a ton of emotion and makes it look easy. Even though I thought she did a great job in her Maze Runner role, her performance here as Haley Keller is by far her best. There are several sequences where she has to scream and cry and she makes it seem so real.

Her father in the film Dave is portrayed by Pepper who additionally gives a good performance here and is one of the best efforts from him in quite a long time. He has absolutely come a long way since his Battlefield Earth days and it shows.

Most moviegoers are going to want to go to the theatre to see this picture for one reason and one reason alone – the alligators – and they are gratefully incredibly menacing and they do pose a big threat for our lead characters. The film constantly gives us new reasons to fear them as the running time progresses and it worked really well. There is tons of blood involved in Crawl as well which made for some impressively gruesome scenes. Anybody with a weak heart should probably stay away.

Speaking of the running time, that was one of the worries I had going into the theatre. It clocks in at a mere eighty seven minutes, not even breaking an hour and thirty minutes in length. When movies are that short, they can often feel bland and sometimes seems like they did not use the concept to its full potential. Surprisingly, Crawl‘s length was just right. Any longer and it would have outstayed its welcome, and any shorter, it would have felt like not enough had happened on screen.

There are some extremely goofy scenes however, and they can at times come across a bit too cheesy. The film takes place in one house throughout, and it is quite silly how this house has holes all throughout it, making it able for the flood that the characters are stuck in to fill up the house. Also, the dialogue can be a bit jarring towards the third act. One line in particular was actually a bit cringe-worthy.

But at the end of the day, this movie did do its job and it did it surprisingly well. Cinema goers that want to experience some good old fashioned creature thriller with a bucket of popcorn will have a ton of fun and I did too.

Crawl can be a bit of a goofy ride, but it luckily manages to stay fun and entertaining due to its great creature elements and a great performance from Kaya Scodelario.

Midsommar: The BRWC Review. Ari Aster is a filmmaker that should be celebrated for decades to come, especially because he is someone who is not afraid to take risks when it comes to crafting his art. Instead of following the traditional filmmaking techniques that many other filmmakers use, Aster uses his own methods in an effort to create something wholly unique, original, and fresh.

With his directorial debut feature Hereditary, he proved that he could tell a beautifully dark and haunting story about grief and family relationships, and one that felt disturbingly real and grounded.

Hereditary was a film that completely took me by surprise and left a lasting impression on me that I will have for the rest of my life. Every single aspect of that picture I adore, and it is quite simply my favorite film of all time. So to say that I was excited about Aster’s follow-up would be a colossal understatement.

In Midsommar, we follow Dani Ardor (Florence Pugh) and Christian Hughes (Jack Reynor) as a couple who are going through serious relationship issues. Dani recently went through a horrific family tragedy and has since been on edge.

In an effort to try to get away from their worries and to rekindle their love for one another, the two embark on a trip to Sweden for the midsummer celebration, an event that only happens every ninety years. When they get there however, they begin to realize that this trip was not such a good idea.

By far the biggest snub at this year’s Academy Awards show was Toni Collette not being nominated for her mesmerizing performance as Annie Graham in the aforementioned Hereditary. Everything about that role was so haunting and emotionally powerful that it was quite a shock when the Australian actress’ name was nowhere to be found on the Best Actress nominee list. We can only hope that the same thing will not occur with Florence Pugh.

This is without a doubt the best performance she has given to date, and it is additionally one of the best performances I have seen in years. From the opening frames of Midsommar, we see that Dani is emotionally distraught and does not have anybody to express her feelings to, as her boyfriend Christian has been incredibly distant toward her and barely spends time with her anymore. For a large portion of the running time, Pugh has to act with nothing more than her facial expressions, and she does so almost effortlessly. There are some sequences here involving her character that I am never going to forget because they were just so riveting and terrifying.

Speaking of Dani’s boyfriend Christian, Jack Reynor is also remarkable as the character. Ever since watching him as Brendan Lawlor in the feel-good indie sleeper Sing Street, I have always wanted Reynor to get a truly big role where he would be fully able to showcase his acting talents, and Midsommar is definitely that film. Much like Pugh, he has to deliver tons of emotion with facial expressions and he is great at it.

When it comes to the cinematography, it is some of the most beautiful I have ever seen in horror cinema. Shot by director of photography Pawel Pogorzelski, who previously shot Aster’s directorial debut, every frame of this film has something interesting to look at. Whether it is gorgeous, lush treetops or mountains, or something more sinister such as fire, every shot is meticulously crafted. After a while, it almost feels as if you are being hypnotized because of how breathtaking everything looks. This is the closest you will ever get to being put in a dreamlike state with cinema.

Since this is a horror film, you would expect there to be a ton of creepy and effective scares, and there gratefully are plenty of those to be found here. However, do not go into Midsommar expecting it to be a traditional horror movie with a plethora of jumpscares or sudden loud noises every few seconds, because if you do, you will be immensely disappointed. Much like Hereditary, this film does not have even one jumpscare or sudden loud noise in sight. Instead, all of the scares are things that quite simply make you feel uneasy and sick to your stomach. Certain images that are shown here are downright horrifying, and will make even some of the most hardened horror lovers feel disturbed.

A big reason as to why these scenes of pure dread work so well is due to the insanely entrancing score by The Haxan Cloak. The first time we hear his score, it gives off an impression of dread and hopelessness that carries throughout the remainder of the film and is one of the best horror scores I have heard in years. 

By far, one of my favorite elements to Midsommar is how almost everybody will more than likely have their own interpretation of what the ending means. The final few frames of this film are so bizarre and insane and will leave viewers in awe of what they just watched. In fact, writer/director Ari Aster and Florence Pugh both have different opinions on what the ending means. There are going to be dozens of fan theories circulating around the internet, not just about the ending, but the entire film and I honestly cannot wait to hear what other people’s opinions are.

Just like Ari Aster’s previous effort, Midsommar is a beautifully haunting and deliciously evil tale about grief and relationships, and will go down as one of the all-time best horror films.

Musician Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) wants to make it big in the music industry and become the next big sensation with the help of his lifelong manager Ellie Appleton (Lily James) but it ultimately goes nowhere, much to the disappointment of both. However, one day after an accident, while performing the hit song “Yesterday” by English band The Beatles, Malik is shocked to learn that neither Ellie nor the rest of the world knows who they are. Now, Jack will do whatever it takes to show the world their songs and to introduce their music to the world for the first time.

When it comes to the performances in this movie, they are all exceptional, but the most notable is from Patel who portrays lead protagonist Jack Malik. He has to do quite a lot of acting with just facial expressions and expressing deep emotions and he does so really well. It is also quite nice to hear his singing voice while performing hit songs such as “Let It Be” and “Hey Jude”. His vocals are actually incredibly strong and he was a fantastic choice for this character.

Lily James is additionally exceptional here, and her chemistry with Patel is electric. The two genuinely feel as if they have been friends in real life for many years and I absolutely bought them as these characters here. Throughout the film, we see Jack constantly struggling to get even a few fans from his music, but Ellie has been there ever since the beginning and was his first true fan, even if she is his manager at the end of the day. Their relationship was quite charming and fun to watch unfold.

It is also a greatly humorous movie as well, with a lot of the jokes landing and managed to make me genuinely laugh at times. That being said, there are a few times where the comedy did not land and came across rather bizarre, but for the most part it worked well and provided some smiles.

Since this is a picture about a man who discovers that the entire world has no idea who The Beatles are, one would certainly expect to see a deep dive into how different the world would be had this massively inspirational band had never existed. Unfortunately, this is the biggest issue with Yesterday – it just did not delve that deep into its gleefully intriguing premise. Yes, there are some scenes in which we do see individuals unbeknownst as to who the band is, but they never really do much with it.

In fact, it is established fairly early on in this movie that Coldplay exists as well as Ed Sheeran, who is actually quite good here, but honestly, Coldplay or Sheeran may not even be around had it not been for The Beatles. So many things are established as being around or not being around and it creates for some glaring plot holes that, at times, can be a bit too big to ignore.

Some of the editing is also jarring at times. During certain moments, we will see characters travelling somewhere, with text and music accompanied on screen telling us where this new scene is taking place, and the music dies out rather quickly and it felt off.

It also suffers from some pacing issues, most notably in the first act. It took quite a long time before the interesting premise actually began, and for a little while, it seemed bizarre that the actual plot of the film had not kicked in yet.

Yesterday boasts great performances all across the board and is exceptionally comedic, but falls flat due to its underexplored premise.