Category: REVIEWS

Following the lives of four sisters, Amy (Florence Pugh), Jo (Saoirse Ronan), Beth (Eliza Scanlen) and Meg (Emma Watson), as they come of age in America in the aftermath of the Civil War. Though all very different from each other, the March sisters stand by each other through difficult and changing times.

When Greta Gerwig released the masterful coming-of-age film Lady Bird back in 2017, it blew away both critics and audiences alike with its true sense of heart, emotion, and relatability. That film for me was absolutely one of the best films of that year, and the fact that it was Gerwig’s directorial debut made it all the more impressive. How she went from an incredible actress to an incredible filmmaker is truly inspiring and after my first viewing of that film, I was so excited to see what else the young talent would create in her bright future.

Fast forward two years and we have Gerwig’s second film as director: Little Women; a 2019 reimagining of the Louisa May Alcott story of the same name from 1868. Throughout the years, there have been numerous film adaptations of this tale, with many of them also receiving much praise and all of them have been held in remarkably high regard too. Now, what I am about to say might seem immensely crazy, but it is the completely honest truth. I have never read Alcott’s Little Women, nor have I watched any of the older films of the same name. Yes, you heard that right. It most certainly does seem really hard to believe, as the story is one that is taught in schools all around the world and is widely considered to be one of the most popular books in literature, yet I somehow have still to this day not read it.

Perhaps more hard to believe is the fact that I have never seen any of the other films that have come before this one. To be honest with you, I don’t have any idea as to why I have not seen them either, but after today, that may have to change, because Greta Gerwig’s 2019 adaptation of Little Women is going to go down as a future classic.

This year, I have seen around ninety five to one hundred new release films in theatres, and this is in my top five favorite films of the year, which is funny as it will also be the last film I see in a theatre this year. What a way to end this year and even this decade.

Gerwig injects such a level of heart, whimsy, and emotion in this hugely wholesome masterpiece that uplifted my spirits throughout. This is a movie that I can almost guarantee will put a smile on your face at least a few times throughout. Me? I had a smile on my face nearly every second. Every frame of this film has something of interest going on and every moment that Gerwig has is used well. There is no baggage here. Little Women starts with a bang and it ends with a bang and in between is a story that I genuinely cared about, mainly because of the incredibly impressive script which Gerwig also wrote, most particularly the characters.

Saoirse Ronan, who previously starred as the titular Lady Bird, portrays Josephine “Jo” March here, a woman who loves to write and lives her life with her sisters and mother. She is somebody that is deeply passionate about her writing and it is genuinely everything to her, besides her sisters. Her character was not only my favorite of the bunch, but she was the most relatable character for me by far. In fact, I was actually surprised by how much I related to her character especially during key character moments later on. Her character is one that, as you learn more about, the more you root for her and Ronan delivers an absolutely remarkable performance here, perhaps the best of her career.

If anybody knows me, they know that Florence Pugh is my all-time favorite actress. Even though she is a new talent and one that I have discovered fairly recently, I am one hundred percent comfortable with saying that, and I truly believe that she is the most skilled actress of this generation. Her performance in this year’s Midsommar was one that took me by complete surprise. A performance so devastatingly real and powerful that it shook me to my core, and I just knew that there was something special about Pugh.

Yet again, Pugh delivers an extremely powerful performance, this time as Amy March. Her character is one that is honestly really easy to hate as she does things that are a bit infuriating at first. There is one moment fairly early on in this movie that made me dislike her character during that scene, but then a few moments later, I found myself feeling sorry for Amy. She is a character that, while not without her faults, has an undeniable charm to her and she is somebody that has a ton of depth. I am praying that Pugh gets an Academy Award nomination at the upcoming ceremony for either Midsommar or this film because she honestly deserves it. I would hate to see such strong talent go unrecognized, which is what I fear will happen, but I am hoping that I will be proven wrong.

If you have seen any of the trailers for Little Women, you would probably agree that this is a gorgeously shot film, in fact, it is one of the most stunning films of the whole year. Yorick Le Saux served as the director of photography here, and it is one of his best efforts yet. If you thought that the shots in the trailer were impressive, then you truly haven’t seen anything yet. Trust me. There were a few frames in particular here that left me in utter awe.

This is also a picture that has a beautiful and euphoric score from the legendary Alexandre Desplat. This is not a score that is loud and in your face, but carefully quiet and moving whenever it needs to be. During certain emotional beats in the story, the score works in a way that manages to pull at your heartstrings in an effective way, thanks to Desplat. He is a composer that is incredibly skilled and this score is no exception.

Something that I have been seeing a ton of people talk about on the internet is the editing here, by Nick Houy. Throughout this entire film, we jump between time periods. One scene we watch may be taking place a few years in the past, and then the very next one could be taking place in the present. Some people found this a little bit confusing and hard to follow, but it actually did not bother me at all. To be truthful, I thought Houy’s editing was impressive, strong, and incredibly unique. 

Little Women is a movie that I only saw one day ago, yet I desperately want to go out and see it again, because it is just that good. I liked this even more than Lady Bird to be honest, and even though this is a film that is almost two and a half hours in length, I get a strong feeling that this is one that I will be revisiting again and again for years to come.

Little Women is a modern day masterpiece that further cements Greta Gerwig as a skilled filmmaker. It has euphoric music, excellent cinematography, and powerhouse performances from Saoirse Ronan and Florence Pugh.

Yves Saint Laurent: The Last Collections. By Fergus Henderson.

After twelve years of imprisonment, Olivier Meyrou’s uncompromising documentary on legendary fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent’s final collection is released. Meyrou was prevented from releasing it by Saint Laurent’s partner Pierre Bergé, and within minutes one completely understands why.

It is a totally unsentimental view on Saint Laurent, who in 1999 at the time of filming was in profound decline. Bergé commissioned Meyrou’s film knowing full well that poor Saint Laurent’s physical and mental health was deteriorating, and yet perhaps seeing it portrayed so lucidly was still too much.

Of course, this is not to say that Meyrou has simply recorded things as they are and presented the situation objectively. He has fashioned a harsh, sparse documentary, deliberately focusing on Saint Laurent’s frailty. From the opening close up on his hand as he begins to sketch something before his inspiration swiftly wains, through his apparent shock at his own reflection, Saint Laurent is painted as a man floating through his own creation, watched closely by staff-turned-carers.

There is no myth making in this doc, no particular interest in the process of creating the collection, certainly no curiosity in Saint Laurent’s creative role, which has been ceded to staff and to Bergé. Indeed after the shock of how little Saint Laurent even really factors into this documentary has worn off, Bergé becomes the primary focus of Meyrou’s pitiless camera. Initially he doesn’t come across well whatsoever. He is rude, hostile, condescending. In one surreal scene he is taken up in a crane to view the obelisk at the bottom of the Champs-Élysées, which he promptly criticises for its poor placement. Elsewhere he scowls from doorways behind Saint Laurent’s back, silently conducting affairs. The doc at times seems like a hit job on him.

For the documentary’s first half we are presented with an infinitely pitiable view of things, several scenes soundtracked by unnerving, dark music running counter to the mundane proceedings. Meyrou is making sure here (in a very uncharitable way) that we get the message that everyone involved seems unwilling to process the disastrous state of Saint Laurent’s health, allowing him to bumble through the end of his legacy (and life) so that they can push the damn thing to the finishing line. He seems shocked by the loss of dignity within the situation at large.

And yet, towards the end, the documentary reveals itself to be concerned with the ambiguous role of the carer, the role that Bergé has taken on. Dignity and kindness is at last located. If at first Bergé seems bitter at Saint Laurent, it is understandable that, having essentially assumed Saint Laurent’s role in the company, he might resent such a heavy burden.

In one poignant moment Bergé disputes Saint Laurent’s claim of having found peace. Bergé instead calls him a sleepwalker. His job is not to wake him. The carer cannot fool themselves as others can. 

What we see in this film is fundamentally a loving act: one man, Yves Saint Laurent, desiring to disappear, and another man, Bergé, helping him do so. That this is happening in the middle of a hurricane makes it all the more powerful. 

The Rise Of Skywalker: Another Look. The surviving Resistance faces the First Order once more as Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega) and Poe Dameron’s (Oscar Isaac) journey continues. With the power and knowledge of generations behind them, the final battle commences.

Well, here we are. I never thought this day would come if I am going to be one hundred percent honest with you. This weekend, the final film in the decade-spanning Skywalker Saga has been released, titled The Rise of Skywalker, which promises to bring a definitive, satisfying, and thrilling end to this beloved series that started all the way back in 1977 with George Lucas’ Star Wars (later retitled to A New Hope).

For many children all around the globe, the Star Wars films are ones that they grew up with and have loved ever since their youth. Many people grew up popping in the VHS tapes of films like The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi and falling in love with this empowering saga about hope, family, love, and so, so much more. Whether it was the fan favorite characters like Luke Skywalker, the villainous Darth Vader, the Jedi master Yoda, or the bounty hunter Han Solo, the characters are ones that have become iconic in the decades to come.

These movies have offered so many classic moments in cinema, that if I were to sit here and make an effort to list off every single one of them, it would take me hours to do so. Perhaps the most famous one is the shocking twist in the aforementioned Empire Strikes Back, where it is revealed that the evil Sith lord Darth Vader is actually the father of none other than lead protagonist and hero Luke Skywalker.

The point I am trying to get at here is that Star Wars means something to seemingly every movie fan. There truly is something for everybody in these films, even if you are not the biggest fan of science fiction action epics like this. This may come as a gigantic surprise to all of you reading this, but my first exposure to this massive franchise was not during my youth. I did not start watching the adventures of Luke and company as a three or even five year old and fall in love with these characters my whole life. My first exposure to Star Wars in general was at the age of nine, when I first played the video game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. The first Star Wars film I watched, however, was the original 1977 one, but that was not until my pre-teens at least.

So, even though I did not grow up loving this franchise, I did eventually find my love for this series, but it just was not until much later in life than most people may expect, especially from a film lover like me. But, I do remember that the first time I watched these pictures, absolutely cherishing the themes that they carried, and having an absolute blast with all of these characters that I eventually become emotionally attached to. When the original trilogy came to an end, it was bittersweet for me.

It was actually really heartwarming to see Luke, Han, Leia, and the rest of the gang finally defeat the treacherous Empire and to see none other than Darth Vader himself be redeemed, but it was also kind of sad because some part of me thought that I may never get to go on another journey to a galaxy far, far away with these characters again. Sure, it was definitely nice to see the prequel trilogy explore some of the more lesser known areas of this expansive universe and give answers for how Anakin Skywalker ultimately became corrupt and turned to the Dark Side, but those films, while still entertaining, just did not quite have that spark that the original trilogy had for me.

But then, the sequel trilogy became a reality back in 2015 with the release of J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which beautifully set up a heavily intriguing story that introduced brand new characters such as Rey, Finn, and Poe, while also bringing back fan favorites such as Han, Luke, and Leia. For me, The Force Awakens was so much more than just “a retread of A New Hope“. I often hear that complaint, and simply do not feel that way at all. Sure, the two have similar themes and sometimes, some of the characters’ arcs are similar, but they feel distinctly different in my eyes. I remember seeing that film in theatres for the first time and falling in love with this franchise even more.

Then, in 2017, we had a follow-up to that film, titled The Last Jedi. Let’s just get this out of the way right now – that was, and still is to this day, the most controversial entry in the saga to date. So many people all around the world hate that film with a burning passion. Many disliked the choices that writer/director Rian Johnson did with that picture and thought that it had ruined the series. People did not like the portrayal of Luke Skywalker in that film, they did not like the Canto Bight sequences, and they also thought that it was a bit corny at times as well. Those are not all of the complaints it got, but that is the biggest ones I have seen over the years. I, however, cherish that film with all my heart. Not only is it a masterpiece, but for me, it is still to this day the second greatest Star Wars movie ever released.

So, here we are then. Two years since the release of The Last Jedi, four years since the release of The Force Awakens, and more than forty years since the release of A New Hope. We are at the end of the saga. A day I truly never thought would come. When you love a franchise this much, when it ultimately comes to an end, it can seem surreal.

Going into The Rise of Skywalker, the final entry in the series, once again directed by Abrams who previously helmed Force Awakens, my expectations were lowered considerably, which may come as a shock to some of you. The only reason why, is because of the immense amounts of hate this film got online before it was released to the public. I am not talking about the fan reception, but the critical reception. Critics actually really loved the first two films in the sequel trilogy, and both of them have more than 90% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. But Rise of Skywalker has a rotten score, making it the first film in the franchise since The Phantom Menace to have a negative score on the service.

People kept telling me that this movie was awful. A disgrace to the fans that adore this series. I heard that if you loved The Last Jedi, which I did, then I would really hate this movie. So I went in to the theatre with my expectations checked at the door. But, I have to say… The Rise of Skywalker floored me. From the bottom of my heart, I did not expect to leave this theatre with this much joy radiating from me. This is no bad film, not even close. In fact, it is one of the best Star Wars entries to date, and I actually enjoyed it even more than Force Awakens.

At this point, we come to expect breathtaking action set pieces for these films, yet even still, my jaw was on the floor watching all of these action sequences playing out in front of me. There are tons of fun moments here that will leave people massively thrilled throughout. If you did not like the fact that Last Jedi did not have a “true” lightsaber battle, then fear not, because Rise of Skywalker contains a long, brilliantly choreographed, intense lightsaber battle that left me white knuckled. One of the best in the saga.

Accompanying these mesmerizing action scenes, are state of the art, visually awe-inspiring visual effects that left me speechless. I honestly cannot comprehend how long it must have taken the team to even create the effects for even one scene, let alone an entire film. All of the visuals here are gorgeous, and look so convincing. Yes, of course we know that it is computer generated imagery, but that does not make it any less appealing when it is done with this much skill.

Dan Mindel, who previously served as the director of photography on the aforementioned Force Awakens, returns once more to shoot this picture, and he did a remarkable job yet again. Virtually every frame of The Rise of Skywalker is astoundingly beautiful, with a few shots in particular leaving a lasting impression on me. There are some frames here that I will never forget seeing for the first time.

John Williams has composed the score for every film in the Skywalker Saga to date, including Rise of Skywalker. This is the last time he will compose a score for a Star Wars film, and he went out with a bang here. He creates a euphoric score that will excite you, pull on your heartstrings, and make you joyous. Although a lot of this score is new material, something really great I thought Williams did this time around was use subtle cues from previous tracks he composed. A couple of times during the film we can hear the iconic Imperial March playing in the background, as well as many others that I did not expect to hear and delighted me.

Speaking of pulling on the heartstrings, this is an extremely emotional movie. It is gladly not overly emotional; it hits exactly when it needs to. There are a couple of moments in particular that left me in tears. Yes. I cried twice during The Rise of Skywalker and I did not expect to do that. I don’t know why to be honest, because I cried during Force Awakens and Last Jedi too. But there are two sequences here, that hit me hard.

But it is not a film that is overblown with sadness. Much like the others before it, this entry is filled with terrific humor that happily always lands and managed to put a humongous smile across my face. It was really nice to sit down in a theatre, and laugh, smile and have fun with a packed audience seeing Star Wars one final time.

One of my favorite things that the sequel trilogy offered us was Daisy Ridley as Rey. I am so incredibly glad that the filmmakers decided to hire her to portray a hero for a whole new generation starting with The Force Awakens, because Ridley is a revelation. I truthfully believe she is one of the strongest actresses working today, and one that I don’t think is getting enough roles. Here, she delivers yet another gripping performance as Rey, who gets explored in ways I did not expect. Although Rey is most certainly an interesting character, Ridley makes her more charming and entertaining to watch on screen. You can tell that she genuinely has a blast playing this character.

Also enthralling here is Adam Driver who reprises his role as Kylo Ren. Out of all the characters that go through an incredibly memorable journey here, its Ren whose story is the most exciting. Kylo goes places in this story that left me in complete and utter awe. His journey is one of the most touching, riveting, and fascinating of the entire Star Wars saga.

It feels so good to have been able to see such an incredible film serve as the final installment in one of the most beloved franchises in the world. Of course there are going to be people that see this movie and absolutely despise it, but that is to be expected. With any film, not everybody is going to be pleased, but there are people out there that will be. I was not only left pleased, but envigorated and emotional, as I witnessed a beautiful end to my all time favorite film series.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is an absolute revelation. Filled with gripping performances, awe-inspiring action and visuals, an emotional core, and beautiful technical elements, this is a beautiful way to end such a beloved saga.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation Is 30 – Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) is really into Christmas and promises to make it a good one until he turns everything completely around, causing a domino effect of disasters.

It is genuinely hard for me to believe that I have never published a review of National  Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation until today, because it is, in all honesty, my favorite Christmas-related film of all time. It is a tradition in my family to watch this film once every single year a few days before Christmas Day. Every year, it is such a treat to gather around together and have fun watching this non-stop laugh riot and celebrate my favorite holiday and the most wonderful time of the year.

In terms of rewatching movies, I don’t really do that as much as I used to. Back in the day, I used to rewatch dozens of movies I had already seen and loved. There was one time a few years ago, in which I watched Richard Linklater’s School of Rock every day for ten days in a row. I have no idea why I did that to be honest. That must’ve been a massive favorite of mine back in the day.

But regardless, Christmas Vacation is one of my most rewatched films of all time. If I were to take a shot in the dark, I would say that I have watched this movie about twenty or so times thus far. Since this is a film that is so close to my heart, those rewatches will keep coming every year. But let’s talk about why this film means so much to me.

Comedy films are great because they can put you in a genuinely great mood and uplift your spirits. They can make you forget about all of your real world troubles. Christmas is a holiday in which you can gather around with all of your friends and family and just celebrate life, laughter, and love. You can enjoy the comfort of one another, open presents, and just have an amazing time. Combing Christmas themes and comedy, makes for an occasionally great film. There are plenty of hilarious Christmas movies out there, but this is my favorite.

Why? Because this is slapstick to its most extreme. Every single comedic element in Christmas Vacation makes absolutely no sense. This is what I like to call an “absurd comedy”. A comedy that has so many crazy things that defy logic, yet are still so much fun to watch, maybe even more so than a regular comedy. For example, there is one scene in this movie that is absolutely ridiculous and straight up makes zero sense. It is the scene in which our beloved goofball protagonist Clark Griswold and his family go sledding. Knowing Clark, he does not use a regular sled, but instead, he uses a metal saucer as a sled. Going downhill, he suddenly shoots rapidly downwards and goes through traffic and ultimately ends up in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

Also the scene in which a giant icicle literally shoots through the window of Clark’s neighbors Todd (Nicholas Guest) and Margo Chester (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). Scenes like that are absolutely littered throughout Christmas Vacation, and if you think about the logic behind them for even a few seconds, it can be extremely silly. But, the reason why that is not a problem with this movie for me, is because John Hughes, the late writer/director of this film, knows what he is doing. He is fully aware that what he is doing is silly and off-the-charts ridiculous. None of these over-the-top sequences are meant to be taken seriously, but rather, we are supposed to be shaking our heads and laughing at the same time, which is exactly what I do every time I watch this movie.

In terms of a technical aspect, this is a really great movie as well. All of the cinematography is extremely well handled by director of photography Thomas E. Ackerman. Also, it has beautiful lighting, great editing and of course, the opening theme song, also titled “Christmas Vacation” and sung by Mavis Staples, is an incredibly memorable, fun, and charming way to kick off this zany, off the walls, hilarious Christmas classic.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is a non-stop laugh riot, with extremely memorable moments, beautiful cinematography, and a heartwarming story at its core.

Hawthorne College is quieting down for the holidays as students travel home to spend time with their families. But as Riley Stone (Imogen Poots) and her sorority sisters prepare to deck the halls with seasonal parties, a mysterious cloaked figure starts to leave a bloody trail throughout the campus. Refusing to become hapless victims, Riley and her friends decide to band together and fight back against the psychotic Christmas killer.

If anybody knows me, then they probably know that I am a big fan of horror movies. On top of that, I am a big fan of horror movies that are centered around the Christmas holiday, or are winter-related. One of my favorite films of 2015 was Michael Dougherty’s devilishly exciting Krampus. While it certainly had its fair share of issues, it was still a highly effective, atmospheric and fun horror flick.

While the Krampus storyline is fairly well known, perhaps just as well known, is the 1974 Bob Clark-directed film Black Christmas. It’s an unsettling and relatively grounded approach to the Christmas horror genre, and it has unnerved audiences for decades. With an incredibly low budget of just $620,000, everything about the film felt authentic. Nothing about it felt like the Hollywood norm. It was creepy and extremely raw.

Throughout the years though, we have gotten a few remakes of this beloved scary story. In 2006, Glen Morgan helmed a retelling of the story, and it was met with overwhelming critical and fan backlash, for its plot and due to its violent nature. Plus, it raised eyebrows due to the release date being Christmas Day.

Now, we have a brand new 2019 reimagining of Black Christmas, this time directed by Sophia Takal. While it is respectably directed and it has a clear vision, it is still absolutely riddled with problems, and is nowhere near as excellent or stylish as the 1974 original.

One of the biggest issues with this picture is its rating. I mentioned earlier how the Morgan directed version of this tale was met with a ton of criticism for being too violent. The opposite is the case this time around. A PG-13 rating genuinely hurt this film. A lot of the kills and violence depicted here is so tame, to the point where you never really feel like you’re watching anything extremely intense.

In the original version, the violence felt realistic. It was bleak and brutal and it got under your skin. Even the Morgan remake had that going for it. But Takal’s film feels so bloodless, which was such a shame. It genuinely felt as if screenwriters Takal and April Wolfe were trying to make a fairly bloody and exciting film, but perhaps studio interference happened, where they wanted to get as many teenagers in the theatre possible. If this was rated R, it would have been a lot more entertaining to watch. It felt like they were really holding things back.

Sadly, Black Christmas also has a ton of frustrating tropes on display. We have the groan inducing character walking down a dark hallway when they shouldn’t trope. We have the running away from a masked killer but the victim trips trope. Finally, we have the trope where somebody sees something creepy appear behind them in a bathroom mirror. It is so annoying to see horror films in the year 2019 still do this. It has never been effective and it never will be. A large portion of this screenplay is like that.

Speaking of the screenplay, it is relatively slow and uneventful. It takes about thirty minutes in this ninety two minute movie for something even remotely creepy to happen. The first half hour of the film honestly kind of came across as some sort of romantic comedy with some dramatic elements sprinkled in. There are numerous scenes where teenagers party, listen to music, and drink coffee together. Watching these scenes, it became apparent that not a lot of fun was going to be had.

It is additionally chalked full of extremely cringe-worthy dialogue that made me wonder how it was even written in the first place. The vast majority of the dialogue not only came across as extremely unnatural, but unintentionally hilarious too.

Now, throughout the film, the screenwriters set up a mystery of sorts. We keep seeing this masked killer walking around at night and inside this sorority house killing innocent women. The problem is that the identity of the villain is kept under wraps for so long, and it shouldn’t have been, because it was blatantly obvious who it was. Whenever certain things are uncovered in the story, they do not shock and surprise, because you already saw it coming. The villain was incredibly predictable.

This is not an entirely awful film, though. One of the biggest praises I can give Black Christmas is the acting on display, particularly by Imogen Poots, who portrays lead character Riley Stone. Not only did she deliver an emotionally charged and riveting performance, but her character was the only one that I actually rooted for. I did not care about any of the other characters, despite the actors doing a good job in their roles.

Also, it does have some really great cinematography by Mark Schwartzbard. His camerawork here is incredibly intricate and well thought out. A ton of the shots throughout this film looked honestly beautiful, and the framing of certain shots were great.

But perhaps the best aspect of this film was its third act. Was it goofy and over the top? Absolutely. But it was honestly a lot of fun to watch and it was what I wished the entire movie was like. It was full of exciting slasher moments and was filmed with a sense of style. It’s really the only time we get to see anything fun happen.

As a whole though, this was a massively disappointing film. It has an immense amount of problems, mainly relating to its script and character department. It has some great cinematography and good acting plus a fun third act. But despite that, I can’t really say that I enjoyed this movie overall, because the negatives were so overwhelming that the movie as a whole greatly suffered.

Black Christmas ends up being a lump of coal with its poor screenplay and weak character development, even if it has some fun moments.