Caro the Movie Critic

I have had phases in life when approaching the end of high school as I start to worry about what I would do in the future. Yeah, every high schooler from freshman to senior year has the problem. What do you want to major in? What school do you want to go to? What kind of friends are you going to make? Why do you want go to school away from your family? How will you turn out in college? There are so many questions pressuring one person, boy or girl, that you cannot stand the people in your familial or friendly circles, sometimes. But, underneath all that pressure of getting into college, your family and friends are your support as the story revolves around the last year of high school. This is a simplistic character study in a coming-of-age movie that has a succinct storyline and great performances to carry the whole package forward. Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson (Saoirse Ronan) and her mother, Marion (Laurie Metcalf) are returning back to Sacramento after some tours of...

It is hard for an outsider or newcomer to come into a public and private school and blend into a new environment and it happens to about every child in each chapter of the school system: lower, middle or high school. But, I was not ever a person who had a facial deformity and I feel bad to those who are bullied by other normal-looking people for no reason. I mean, what is their issue? Are the bullies jealous? No. Is it to improve their ego? I hope not because if so, then they should be ashamed of themselves. But, this movie, adapted from a book, takes on a journey within that person's life and also lives around him that develops their characters as to who they are and why which is sort of a different approach. I thought this movie was going to be corny and emotionally manipulative. But, no, this movie earns the emotions because of its strong lead performances. Auggie (Jacob Tremblay) has had 27 surgeries to help him see, breathe and make him be somewhat "normal". Des...

I'm not going to repeat myself with the history of Pixar because everybody knows that they are the top animation studio, if not one of the best studios, ever. Mostly, the animators and the storytellers know how to craft a story real well in their sublime animation. But, we do not get many stories surrounding the Day of the Dead when in Mexican culture, families honor and remember their dead ancestors. It is not familiar to many people outside of the Mexican culture but a similar movie, The Book of Life , had a similar upbringing and it turned out to be a solid movie even though it did not too many emotional beats. I had solid expectations going into this movie and wanted it to be a good animated movie in a weak year of animated movies, however, I did not expect Coco to be this good. To get to the point, it is easily the best animated movie of the year. Once upon a time in Mexico, a woman named Imelda (voiced by Alanna Ubach) fell in love with a talented musician but he left hi...

I do not personally address my past stories or my life on the blog but this is a relevant subject because of this movie. Florida is like a second home to me because I have been there at least ten times ever since I was a very young kid going to every park in Disney World to even reaching that Southern Most point of Florida which is a long drive. Wow! Anyway, almost every one of those trips were fun and memorable but I cannot place my experiences with the stories going around in this movie because like the movie, The Descendants , even if you are spending on a vacation in paradise or relaxation, the residents are still working people. As the adults are struggling to make ends meet, we observe the children's journey throughout Florida underneath a blazing sun that you slowly grow to appreciate the characters and also empathize for the characters after the movie is over. It is a very good movie. Moonee (Brooklynn Prince), a 6-year old girl, is living with her reckless mother, Hal...

The first Daddy's Home was surprisingly a financial success as I thought it was not as bad as many people thought. I thought it was a solid cable watch because it had enough laughs for that sort of mixed recommendation. I was not craving for a sequel for this movie because again, comedy sequels have a very bad record, however, the only difference is that it is not too late since the first movie came out a few years ago. But, this sequel is a reminder as to why we do not need a sequel to a hit comedy because this is a pretty much forgettable comedy, especially a holiday comedy...which I hade a guilty pleasure for. This did not work for me. Brad and Dusty (Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg) have become friends after the events of the first film and they set up a co-dad system where their two children, Megan and Dylan, spending time at each father's home. Dusty has re-married to writer Karen (Victoria's Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio) and he is step-dad to Adrianna, Karen...

Well, here it is. The movie that DC fans have all been waiting for since their youth when they were reading the comics. Warner Bros. and DC Films knew that this movie was in the slate after financial successes of Man of Steel , Wonder Woman and Batman v. Superman . However, the quality of the films still lack in exception to Wonder Woman  and in my opinion, Man of Steel  because I felt they built up so much that they did not focus on the main material and focused on other components of the movie. Now, to be honest, I have been liking what I have been seeing from the marketing of this movie and it may be a more laid-back movie compared to the rest of the movies in the DCEU. However, I was still worried because it was in the hands of director Zack Snyder, but the movie was not as bad as the movie focused on the league's chemistry. But, unfortunately, the movie is boggled down to a cliched villain trying to destroy the world and the movie, as a whole, is not as fun. After a ...

I have to be honest: I had to look up Frances McDormand's work because again, I do not quite remember what movies she was in besides Fargo  and Madeline  (underrated children's movie: watch that). However, after looking at her filmography, she has one of the most impressive filmographies: Blood Simple , Raising Arizona , Darkman , Short Cuts , Primal Fear , Lone Star ,  Almost Famous , Something's Gotta Give , North Country , Moonrise Kingdom , etc. And, about every performance, she never ceases to amaze me and she is an actress that is under the radar in maybe becoming one of the best actresses for years or decades. Now, I have been hearing buzz about this movie in terms of maybe becoming an Oscar favorite. The hype is real because I see nominations across the board from this savage, dark comedy about a woman who wants to sacrifice her life by finding her daughter's killer even after seven months. This is a great movie. A single, divorced mother named Mildred Haye...

It is another remake from another movie in the '70s that put that story on the map of the top stories from the murder-mystery genre. Murder mysteries are a very interesting genre that depends on graphic depictions of crimes or a cerebral plot that will get you to think. I have to be quite honest that I was not as excited because of its marketing that focused more on the background music than what appetite we are going to get from this final result. This is a well-produced, well-cast movie that seems to lull in the middle act that focuses so much on Poirot and his mustache, that it becomes boring after a solid first act and the last 20 minutes ended well. But, when the train comes to a halt, the tension comes to a halt. In the 1930s, after famed Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) solves a mystery in Jerusalem, he is looking forward to his upcoming holiday and taking a break from detective work. He gets on a boat from Istanbul where he makes the acquaintance of G...

I have sort of a love-hate relationship with these Thor movies because it is certainly not the strongest bunch of movies compared to Iron Man  and Captain America . The first movie was a thrilling origin story for the character and also catapulted Chris Hemsworth's stardom and also Tom Hiddleston's stardom. It was really those two actors and its special effects that sold the movie. The second movie was forgettable along with its plot, villain and some of the humor. This movie is entirely different from those two movies and in the hands of director Taika Waititi, the movie delivers on a jolt of 80s throwback visuals and fun humor that felt more natural than the sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy . The level of high-octane energy matches with the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, making it one of the most fun movies of the MCU franchise. The movie starts two years after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron with Thor (Chris Hemsworth), failed in his quest to find the missi...

The first Bad Moms  movie was a surprise both critically and commercially as the movie was both relatable and comedic as we get a sort of realistic look of how mothers handle themselves in certain, stressful situations, with domesticated and career work. However, it did have some hilarious comedic moments, some that were a bit too raunchy, but enough to garner enough interest for maybe a sequel. But, we got one real quick, actually, the following year because the studios think they can garner more interest from audiences, mostly, female audiences. So, how did it turn out? Well, there are less laughs than the original movie and the whole movie felt so sloshed with redundancy that maybe, along with the matriarchal characters, maybe the crew was drunk, thinking they had a good movie. It felt more of the same except it is on a holiday. The movie begins with Amy (Mila Kunis), now with Jessie (Jay Hernandez) from the first movie, and has his daughter, Lori (Ariana Greenblatt) spendi...