Keep it Short

Hereditary is a film about a family that begins to unfold once their Grandma passes away. The family begins to unravel cryptic and creepy mysteries about their ancestry, and must try to outrun the sinister fate they have inherited.

Hereditary is one of those movies that leaves you feeling pretty awful. It’s a great movie, it just leaves a bad feeling due to what you just witnessed. This film is shot very well, acted fantastically, and does a great job with imagery and foreshadowing. The movie feels dreadful throughout, and then really speeds up the pace in the last half-hour or so.

Like I said previously, the acting in this movie was just perfect. All of the characters felt like real people and this made many of the scenes even more unnerving than they already were. The environment of the movie felt dark and eerie and really added another level of suspense. The ending was definitely unexpected, but it works for me. I could see it either making or breaking the movie for some, but overall the movie was still great.

Hereditary delivers with great horror, suspense, and a thrilling and engaging plot. There’s lots of misdirection throughout the movie, and this just keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. I would definitely recommend seeing this at least once. I’m going to have to watch it again just to be able to process the entire film.

8.8/10

Written by: Manny Talancon

Infinity war is the culmination of a decade of buildup. It’s the final chapter in a ten year story that Marvel put together. Lots of buildup can mean lots of disaster as well, especially with so many characters. Somehow, the Russo brothers pulled it off and made an INCREDIBLE film that lived up to the hype. This movie shouldn’t even work, but it does work. It is something that had never been seen before in cinema.

One of the best elements to this film is the villain: Thanos. You can’t have a good super hero movie without a well executed villain. Marvel was known to have a “villain issue” but Thanos was an amazing character. This movie features Thanos as the main character with the avengers sprinkled in. We see why he has his beliefs and we even feel empathy for him at times. He is written and acted so well.

As for the rest of the characters, we are able to bounce around to multiple teams of our favorite heros and it never feels like it’s too much. Each character has a special moment and nobody feels wasted. It’s an incredible feat. From the first time we see Thanos, to Thor entering Wakanda, to the snap, this movie never lets up. It’s fast paced and there is no wasted time. Again, this shouldn’t work in a standard film, but because there was so much buildup, this movie is able to accomplish this.

Overall, this movie is my personal favorite marvel movie to this day. It has emotion, action, it’s visually appealing, the sound quality is great, and it has actual consequences. It’s everything I wanted out of an avengers film and then some. My jaw dropped at the end and I don’t think I will ever experience that feeling again. If you somehow haven’t seen this movie yet (why are you even reading this??), then do yourself a favor and check it out. It’s a damn near perfect comic book movie.

9.7/10

Written by: Manny Talancon

Boyhood follows a boy named Mason and shows the pitfalls and joys of growing up. The movie was filmed over 12 years, showing us the entire cast grow up and change as they get older. This helps the movie feel so real and so relatable for many of the milestones they show.

This film is absolutely brilliant and is one of my favorite films of all time. It’s so relatable, so down to earth, and so realistic. There’s times where you forget that you’re even watching a movie because it just feels so real. It helps that the characters felt just like normal people and that there was no crazy plot to follow. We just watch someone grow up in life and see what they experience from their own point of view. It’s beautiful.

This film gives a great perspective on life and makes you want to cherish all of the little moments that you may take for granted. The music is brilliant and helps give indications on what year the movie is taking place in at the time. Politics are also used to give indications of time, but the music is done really well and is what stood out to me.

Boyhood gives a real sense of nostalgia to me and this movie holds a special place in my heart. It’s so unique in how it was made and the payoff is amazing. This movie absolutely floored me and it’s incredible how it didn’t need to add in a story to do that. It was just a lot of memories that we all have growing up. Definitely check it out if you haven’t. This movie is a top five favorite for me personally.

9.9/10

Review by: Manny Talancon

Onward is Disney’s latest Pixar film about two brothers on their journey to see their dad for one last time. This movie was absolutely fantastic. The first 2/3 or so of the movie honestly didn’t feel much like a Pixar film (still very much enjoyable) but man – that third act hit HARD.

For many, this will probably be a middle of the pack Pixar film, but for others this will be in their top five simply because of the message of this movie, especially if you have bc siblings. The two brothers in this film are so good. They aren’t stereotypical characters with stereotypical problems. They’re unique and the film shows that off very well.

I am trying to think of things that I disliked about this movie, but I honestly cannot think of anything. The storyline was unique and didn’t feel like something that’s been done already. Some might say that the world-building was lacking, but I wouldn’t agree with that as this seemed to be more focused on two brothers rather than the world they live in.

Overall, this showed once again that’s Pixar’s biggest strength is their original storytelling. This film, along with Coco, left me with the most to think about after it ended. I cried during the ending and then cried again. If you somehow haven’t seen it, check it out on Disney + ASAP.

8.9/10

Written by: Manny Talancon

365 Days is a film about a a Sicilian Mafia leader who gives a woman 365 days to fall in love with him. It’s based on the novel of the same name from 2011. This movie draws a lot of comparisons to Fifty Shades of Grey, and for good reason. Both are honestly bad movies, but that’s not why people come to watch them. Again, this is not a good movie – like at all. However, this movie has a purpose and it serves it well. It’s a glorified porno that is directed towards women.

Now back to the comparisons to fifty shades of grey, both show an unhealthy and dysfunctional sexual dynamic between the two main characters. I personally believe that this was Fifty Shades was going for, as the two main characters here at least had sexual chemistry. The sex scenes in this film definitely push the boundary for what is allowed on a Netflix film. The plot is not great, but again, this movie is not trying to be a good movie.

Overall, if you’re looking for a fantasy novel brought to life with lots of sex scenes and good looking characters, then this might be for you. It is perfect for what it wants to be. It’s available on Netflix for anyone that would like to give it a watch.

4.0/10

Written by: Manny Talancon

Booksmart is a film about two academic superstars ( Amy and Molly) who realize that they may have worked too hard in high school and had absolutely no fun. They are determined to cram four years of fun into their last night of high school.

This is such a great coming of age comedy film. All of the characters in this movie are portrayed with some sort of empathy and nobody feels like a stereotypical bully. It makes this film feel kind? I think that’s the word I’m looking for. Each character is three – dimensional and doesn’t feel boring or wasted.

The comedy in this movie is brilliant. A lot of people are calling it the Superbad of the next generation and I can definitely see it. The two lead actresses do an amazing job. One of them is even the sister of Jonah Hill, which knowing that now, I can definitely see it in the similar mannerisms that they share in their acting.

Overall, I throughly enjoyed this film. It was positive and funny. There was emotion and humor throughout, which is super important in a good comedy for me. The characters are all fantastic and the plot is paced perfectly. Definitely go out and watch if you haven’t yet.

8.4/10

Written by: Manny Talancon

Good Boys is a film about a group of three friends as they learn about what it takes to be teenagers. These boys get themselves into a hilarious situation and we watch as they try to fix what they did in order to help raise their social status at school. This was the funniest movie of 2019 for me. I was worried that too many of the jokes were shown in the trailer and that the film would suffer from that, however that is not the case. Good Boys is jam packed with really good jokes throughout the entirety of the film and most of them absolutely land. This reminds me a lot of Superbad, but instead of getting ready for college these boys are just entering middle school.

This is a coming of age film with a different angle than a lot of others. These boys use a lot of dirty jokes, but have no idea what they even mean. All of the child actors pull this off very well and not one time did I feel like any one of them was an actor. Their relationships together seemed natural and organic, which helped bring a lot of heart to this movie. The pacing is surprisingly really good and all of the side characters are great additions as well.

Overall, I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who wants a good laugh and is not easily offended. This movie sustains quality laughs throughout and even has really sweet moments in the end. The emotional scenes add a lot to make this movie relatable. This is a guaranteed good time and I cannot say enough positive things about it.

8.0/10

Written by: Manny Talancon

Scoob! is based on the Scooby-Doo franchise with a bit of a modern twist. I’m going to keep this one very short. This movie is BAD. I grew up loving the franchise. This is not Scooby-Doo. This is a weird super hero movie that happens to share the Scooby characters.

It’s clear that this movie exists to setup another shared universe style of movies. If you enjoy some of the other Hanna Barbera properties, then you might enjoy seeing some of the characters in a movie. Otherwise, good luck. This movie just doesn’t feel like Scooby-Doo at all. Voice actors are fine but not spectacular. Animation looks weird to me, which might have lowered my enjoyment as well.

Overall, this movie is so bad and boring. If you want to watch a good Scooby movie, just go watch Zombie island or Witch’s Ghost. I don’t think Scooby would watch this for a Scooby snack.

3.9/10

Written by: Manny Talancon

Marriage Story is a film about a stage director and his wife as they battle through a difficult divorce. Both lead actors (Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson) provide amazing performances here. This film is insanely realistic and it shows just how grueling the entire process of getting a divorce is.

Marriage Story does a fantastic job at showing how both characters have the right to feel the way that they do. It doesn’t glorify one over the other. You feel awful for both characters and completely understand their reasoning for what they do. There is one scene in particular where so much emotion is poured out and you can feel just how much pain was being held in.

The score is also great as it gives a sense of playful and deeply heartfelt sounds, while also providing another emotional layer that makes some scenes even more heartbreaking. There are a lot of small nuances to the film that are filled with emotion.

Overall, Marriage Story is such an amazing film that I think most will enjoy. It’s well – acted and it’s easy to see that a lot of time and effort was put in to ensure each and every small detail had a purpose. It’s available on Netflix, so most people should have access to it. I promise that you will not regret it.

8.5/10

Written by: Manny Talancon

Uncut Gems is a film about a man named Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) who is a jeweler and a big time gambler. He is a man who doesn’t know when to stop while he’s ahead. From the moment we are introduced to Howard, we see just how hectic his life is and how tight of a rope he is walking on. At times you will feel bad for Howard, and other times you will absolutely hate him.

In my opinion this is Sandler’s strongest performance in his career. He proves once again that he is much more than just a goofy actor. He makes you feel exactly how he does – stressed. Between his acting, the quick cuts, and the nonstop lifestyle of Howard, this is one of the most stressful movies I’ve ever watched. So many scenes will keep you anxious and on edge.

The supporting cast here is also amazing. Kevin Garnett seems like a seasoned actor, which was a pleasant surprise. I hope he continues his acting career. I just had to give him props for his performance here because it was so good.

Overall, this film is a perfect example on how to build tension throughout a film. I definitely recommend this and am looking forward to watching it for a second time.

8.8/10

Written by: Manny Talancon