Caro the Movie Critic

I've been reviewing movies on Instagram lately as I wanted to test out the waters of that platform but I have been neglecting my blog because I wanted to experiment the reviews on Instagram. (By the way: my Instagram username for movie reviews is: @cine_caro). However, if you want to see the reasons why I gave these star ratings. You can search for my IG profile. 2018 4 STARS Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse **** Roma (NETFLIX) **** The Favourite **** Can You Ever Forgive Me? **** The Rider **** A Star Is Born **** BlacKkKlansman **** Eighth Grade **** Leave No Trace **** Won't You Be My Neighbor? **** Hereditary **** A Quiet Place **** Black Panther **** 3.5 STARS If Beale Street Could Talk ***1/2 Green Book ***1/2 Instant Family ***1/2 Shoplifters ***1/2 The Hate U Give ***1/2 First Man ***1/2 To All The Boys I've Loved Before (NETFLIX) ***1/2 Searching ***1/2 Blindspotting ***1/2 Mission: Impossible - Fallout ***1/2 Three Identical Stran

Do you believe in Santa Claus? Well, do you? One can answer with a succinct, confident reply. But, when one comes to increasing age and maturity, reality surround a person's conscience to negate their childhood beliefs. However, in the case of the children characters, sometimes life can bite you hard when you are creating some familial memories as a tragedy can occur in the household. But, sometimes the Christmas spirit can re-kindle your feelings and emotions to get back in the swing of things with other people and yourself. It does share that lesson in this holiday film that is full of corniness and some bad acting, but when Kurt Russell is in the spotlight, the movie becomes a treat. In Lowell, Mass., the Pierce family has been festive with their Christmas traditions but unfortunately, the paternal figure of the household, Doug (Oliver Hudson), a firefighter, died in the line of duty. The mother, Claire (Kimberly Williams-Paisley), struggles to hold the family together, as

The 2015 flick, Creed , was a hit and a comeback for the franchise as Ryan Coogler, its director, took over the franchise to make a different and fresh movie from a familiar-looking script that resembles the first Rocky movie, which was one of my few quibbles of that movie. But, now, building on that success, the franchise keeps on rolling with the punches with interesting stories. Obviously, everybody is expecting a bout between sons of Creed and Ivan Drago, the villain from Rocky IV . The movie does not pull the exact same great punches as the first film but it definitely it is an entertaining feat between two competitors who also have their personal struggles in their rear view mirror. In Kiev, Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), has basically been shunned from the world after both events of the death of Apollo Creed and his defeat against Rocky Balboa in Rocky IV . But, he has another opportunity as he helps train his son, Viktor (Florian Munteanu), for multiple matches. Due to his s

I think Wreck-It Ralph is an underrated Disney flick that does not get talked about as one of the superior Disney films of this decade. I think it is a better movie than Frozen . (Yeah, I'll stand by it.) But, despite being a film that is set in the world of arcade games, it had a surprisingly emotional deft storyline revolving around Ralph that made us empathize with him. He did not want to be a villain in his own game, he wanted to be a likable guy that people wanted to hang out with. He was basically a labeled villain that people avoid.  But, now after its success, Disney wants to build on that brand and it does very well as the narrative lacks a little drive and organization but it is a well-done film with a highly energetic spirit behind its story and characters.  Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope Von Schweetz (John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman) have been best friends for the last six years. Ralph has enjoyed predictability whereas Vanellope is bored of her life in Sugar Rush

Steve McQueen is one of those directors in the last decade who takes his time deciding on a project that he yearns for in terms of creativity and passion in his storytelling. Shame is a masterpiece that I will rarely see that should have garnered Michael Fassbender a nomination for Best Actor, but the content turned people off. Hunger  was a remarkable solid story about the 1981 Irish Hunger strike. And, 12 Years a Slave , which was my selection of The Best Movie of 2013 and the Best Picture Oscar winner of that year, took Solomon Northup's autobiography to life with a disturbing atmosphere surrounding his journey. Now, he has chosen this story about a group of four widows taking on a heist. Because of what is going in this society today, it makes sense and also McQueen wanted to go for that blockbuster feel. The movie had the potential to become another great film by Steve McQueen and even though there are pockets of great intensity and action and a couple of strong performance

The Millennium Trilogy is one of the more compelling trio of books in this era, especially in the #MeToo era. The books contain disturbing material that are beyond comprehension, but why are readers are so fascinated by the books and also the Swedish movies and the David Fincher re-make of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ? The reason is because readers and viewers are so fascinated by its main character, Lisbeth Salander, as she is intelligent and fierce. Even though she was struggling with a dark past, she overcomes those demons. I very much liked both versions of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo , but I was disappointed to learn that David Fincher, Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig were not coming back. But, I crossed my fingers because they have director Fede Alvarez, hot off of Don't Breathe , and Claire Foy who is having a career year with First Man  and Unsane, one of the underrated films of 2018. Unfortunately, the star power is trapped in a predictable plot reminiscent of a Ja

It is amazing that the Harry Potter universe is continuing on after the success of the movies and also with children still continuing to read books. When I was there in a set of Diagon Alley at Universal Studios at Orlando, people were gathering in different areas like it was a hangout near a university. And, I was impressed by the details going into the set of Diagon Alley that I felt like I was a wizard for a moment in that fantastical universe. The franchise is certainly a phenomenon. But, studios are hungry for squeezing some more money out of the franchise as the first Fantastic Beasts was fine. The sequel is visually magical but not narratively as there is so much exposition and plot underneath the characters and its story that the whole film becomes disjointed and a bit confusing. It is like going into a magical SAT exam after a teacher just gave you the book with solely the material and no practice exams with it. Notorious dark wizard Gilbert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) has

"You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch..." I am a fan of Dr. Seuss' classic book as it surrounds this green curmudgeon that fits in the category of grumpiness alongside Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Along a couple of other of Dr. Seuss books, How The Grinch Stole Christmas  was repeatedly read by me during my childhood. I am hoping that children are not so drawn into the movies that they completely ignore the book. Because ever since the classic short TV film, there was a movie made by Ron Howard and starring Jim Carrey that felt boring and languid. Although, I did adore Carrey's performance but it's everything about him that made the film overlong and deserted. But, there are some fans of the film so everybody is entitled to their opinion on that movie. So, we have another Grinch film for another batch of generations who want to re-live the story again. And, the bottom line is that it is not a total dud but thanks to the vibrant h

It is sad to see a writer's work go astray as time passes on as people would want to read on different and potentially more aspiring writers who voices their own diverse opinions. Opinions are difficult and dangerous to offer because people will be defensive and attack the individual who voiced that opinion. There is a difference between voicing an opinion and being a smug person who think his or her opinions are presented as fact and will not like you. Regardless of any opinion, the person is a human being who have emotions in them and writers do not get paid a high salary compared to other people in other professions unless the company sees some potential and a great target market for the book or their content. So, a writer could get away with some content but forgery? Well. It is unworthy to re-vitalize one's career forging but it is great material thanks to wonderful performances, a fantastic screenplay and very solid direction from Marielle Heller. A writer and author

Ok, zombies are a popular type of monster in the sphere of horror films that directors start to pay more attention as to what the people want than being involved to solely a fairly uninteresting story like Resident Evil . There are not many great zombie films but directors strive to do something different with them than focusing on another zombie outbreak story like 28 Days Later, World War Z or the overlong TV show, The Walking Dead . So, why not combine a World War II with a horror genre? It's been done with alternating with a WWII story with Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds . What director Julian Avery achieves here is a balance of gory zombie dread and a grungy war atmosphere that settles into a blend of suspense and fun. On the eve of D-Day, a paratrooper squad is sent to Germany to destroy a radio tower in a church but their plane is shot down before they reach the target, sparing five survivors: Corporal Ford and soldiers Boyce, Tibbet, Chase and Dawson (Wya

The 1990s was an upbringing of solely fun and joy in a child's life. I was a younger child so my time of having fun was staring in the late 90s but it seemed that you can do anything with a new activity with a new clique of friends that enjoy your company. Plus, with the increase of hip-hop and rap music, it became a more hip time since the 60s in which you do not have to be shy to express your true colors. It seemed that people were breaking the mold of expressing their personality. Even going in, I was interested to see how actor Jonah Hill would do as a director. (The first time I noticed him was in Superbad and his cameo in The 40-Year-Old Virgin .) His directorial debut serves a plate of nostalgia that is delightful and worthwhile. Stevie (Sunny Suljic) is a teenager who lives in Los Angeles with his single mother, Dabney (Katherine Waterston) and his fitness-crazed brother, Ian (Lucas Hedges). He sees a group of skateboarders and wants to join them outside of a skate sho

I was quite excited for this movie for two primary reasons: 1) it is a remake of Dario Argento's real solid film from the 1970s so I was excited to see another version of this film and 2) I believe in momentum as director Luca Guadagnino made Call Me By Your Name  last year which was one of the bright highlights of 2017. Also, supernatural horror is one of the more interesting sub-genres as it connects both the mysterious tones and the skeptical characters that would get you hooked into the story and be frightened by the revelations that are either told or moments that startle you. But, honestly, I have seen something more frightening than the great Hereditary  this year: a slow, self-indulgent, exhausting contemporary horror music video that felt more punishing than invigorating. Susie Bannion (Dakota Johnson), an American, has been accepted into the Markos Dance Academy in West Berlin. There is a looming presence of guilt and suspicion in the academy when dancing student, Pa

"We Are The Champions." "Don't Stop Me Now." "Another One Bites the Dust." "We Will Rock You." "Somebody to Love." "I Want It All." And, of course, "Bohemian Rhapsody." Queen. You recognize the legendary band's songs from advertisements, movies and also your own playlists. I think I have it figured out why we are so accustomed to their songs. Most of those songs speak to people when it is the right time whether you are celebrating after a victory, wanting to dance or simply wanting to rock like this clip down below. What a memorable moment from Wayne's World , which is a very good movie. Bohemian Rhapsody is quite a difficult song to sing but the movie above achieved the impossible with singing the song as close to pitch-perfect as possible. But, many people were clamoring for a "Queen" film as people wanted to explore how they became a sensational band but also explore behind-the-scen

Do you believe in curses? Ghosts? Witches? Well, I don't. But, you can have fun believing in those potions of entertainment as it supplies a Halloween film for mostly the younger demographic. I confess that I did grow up on watching Hocus Pocus  on VHS and on cable because it came out around the right time as I watched this along with my sister. It is a fun experience watching the Halloween flick as a kid. Now, the movie was a financial failure back in 1993, but the movie has grown over time as a cult film, thanks to cable channels such as Freeform. So, it is the 25th anniversary of the film and thanks to some votes, I have decided to review the film and to venture an answer to whether or not the movie holds up. After watching the movie recently, I had fun with the comic inspiration from the three actresses but it see-saws back to an un-focused story with bland child characters who spurts out a few memorable lines but that is it. Nevertheless, it is a fun cable watch. On O

Drug addiction mixed up with depression can be as dark as the abyss in the ocean. It is deep and could potentially be impossible to overcome. Personally, I have never encountered anyone with this problem but I read and heard stories from the news and they are devastating and surreal simultaneously. It is haunting to know the details behind his sickness, but the vague lead-up to what lead to his sickness and fatal overdose is what is disturbing. People who have that sickness are blind to their problems and reject friends' and families' help because they think that they can handle their situation. You never know who your true friends once they know your problem and can say, "You can always talk to me." or "We are trying to help you." or "We're there for you." It is a blessing once you see that. After experiencing this heartbreaking yet solid movie, I felt like I wanted to help somebody overcome their demons and pay it forward to everyone else.

We are living in tough times. Tough, divisive times. And, I've noticed many films in which filmmakers have subjugated most of their opportunity to unfold a story that has been conveyed in many outlets this year. I know some may be tired of this topic about racial inequality or division between societies but unfortunately, this has been going on for quite a while. I know I am because I always complain and question why do we not get along with each other, why do we not stay friends despite status, race, color, sexual orientation, etc. Many say it is a cold, cruel world and unfortunately, it is true. I'm only just one person voicing concern for not just everybody in this world but for future generations. But, we are taking this one story at a time, regardless of where it comes from: people, books, news, movies, etc. There is another story in the coming-of-age genre where the movie successfully balances both emotions and a powerful narrative to provoke lingering thoughts in our

Ah, yes. Another iconic horror villain has come back into the fray. We had Pennywise coming back into our minds and now, we have the hair-raising Michael Myers. He is one of those villains that is at the pinnacle of the horror genre that created inspiration for other villains that did not work out well, including its sequels. I did not mind Halloween II . Director David Gordon Green and comedic actor/writer Danny McBride pitched the script to creator John Carpenter and he replied to say that they get the gist of a Halloween movie and its tone. So, we had a lot of terrible sequels after Halloween II , but besides the Michael Myers creation, all I cared about were the stories and the stories did not work. We come back with a movie, 40 years later after the movie came out and in this movie after the Haddonfield murders. The movie gets rid of its sequels and now has blessed us with a fun sequel with some imperfections. True-crime podcasters, Aaron Korey and Dana Haines (Jefferson Hall

I'm going to say right off the bat that I'm not an avid fan of horror films. The main reason is because the filmmakers and writers solely treat torture and gore as a source of entertainment without any relevance or context. It is just a creative decision to tempt the audience to emote, more on the cringeworthy side than in the awesome side. And, I got tired of filmmakers using gore as just a  manipulative element of tempting us to react to it to see how they create "blood" in that scene. It is a stunt and a cliche at the same time. And, I was starting to give up on them after a few horror movies in the late 2000s. However, there was a beginning of a potential resurgence in the beginning of this decade that I thought had given the horror genre a chance, more likely a psychological thriller but there is another movie that also has booted its potential of bringing the horror genre back from the grave, in my opinion. 2010: Black Swan Insidious Let Me In