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Beatriz at Dinner (2017), R, ★★

We are living in sensitive times in our country because of all the political and cultural issues that are surrounding our society. However, I have to admit because I have observed in both a personal level and also a societal level that people have become more involved into discussing politics as to how our society has been affected because of the presidential election. It seems that it gets awkward as we enter the realm of that world because 1) we do not know what is going on in the White House and 2) we are not professional politicians; we are the people that will be experimented as to how laws will be imprinted onto our country and also how it would affect people in races, sexual orientation, income individually and in families. I have heard buzz about this movie when it arrived in Sundance and it had fairly good reviews but I entered with an open mind. This is a satirical dark comedy that is sort of a punch to my face as to look how satirical and dumbfounded we are. It has a grea...

Megan Leavey (2017), PG-13, ★★★

Dog movies have not been too great the past few years (e.g. A Dog's Purpose and Max ). I mean, they completely abandon the spirit of how a dog would change a human's life by setting up the storyline as a front for an adventure. Nobody would want to watch a dog die and reincarnated repeatedly or a gun story that is rehashed from an Oliver Stone film that inappropriately belonged in a children's movie. However, you can take a true story and form how dogs work in the Army and then incorporate the story into a "girl and her dog" story that makes sense. This is a straight-forward true story that combines the dangers of war and PTSD and somehow circles back into a sweet tale that is inspiring and crowd-pleasing. Megan Leavey (Kate Mara) is a trouble-making teenager living in upstate New York. Her best friend's death prompts her to enlist in the Marines and abandon her life and difficult mother (Edie Falco). After barely passing her basic training, she is assign...

The Book of Henry (2017), PG-13, ★1/2

I am chuckling while writing this review because based on the trailer, it looked intriguing and inventive. It is because the movie had the potential to be fresh and wildly debatable as to how to stop a father from being more abusive to his daughter. And, boy, what an experience this movie was because this movie will definitely divide audiences. People will stand on the ambitiousness and fresh take as to how a kid and a mother will help a girl to have a better life. Others will ask, "What the hell was that?" I give points for the gritty ambition and solid narrative in the first half but then the second half nearly turns this overall product into nearly one of the most fresh but absurd movies in a long time. An 11-year-old boy named Henry Carpenter (Jaeden Lieberher) and his younger brother, Peter (Jacob Tremblay) are living with his single mother, Susan (Naomi Watts). She is working as a waitress as she is working on writing children's novels. Henry is very keen as he...

The Best and Worst Movies of 2017...So Far

How can I describe 2017 as a whole so far? Well, if you would've asked me before June: I would've said a bit disappointing. But, now, I'd say this is a surprising year because there are some movies that exceeded my expectations such as movies like Life or even Power Rangers . But, also, there some decent sequels out there and the genre to beat is: the superhero genre where there is one great movie, one very good origin movie and a solid sequel. Plus, the best movies so far that I have jotted down are pretty varied but four of the five movies share one aspect that is certain to entertain audiences: action. However, you cannot forget the trash that has been in the bin for a while from the beginning of 2017 to now. I have to say that usually in the past few years that there is a clear choice for the worst movie in the midway point but there are three movies in the running that deserve the crown. So, I'd say my #1 is not etched in stone right now but it is a battle. So...

Baby Driver (2017), R, ★★★1/2

People think of celebrated directors such as Christopher Nolan, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, The Coen Brothers, etc. But one name that is not mentioned that is under the radar is Edgar Wright: he made the successful Cornetto trilogy: Shaun of the Dead (my favorite of the trilogy), Hot Fuzz  and The World's End . And, then he made a criminally underrated movie called Scott Pilgrim vs. the World  mixing video-game action and romance that is wildly creative. But, also, he helped write the screenplays for The Adventures of Tintin and Ant-Man . Now, glancing at his filmography, Wright has not made a bad movie. And with this new project that was one of my most anticipated movies of the year, this movie has met the hype as another bright spot of 2017. June, so far, has been a pretty solid month and a redeeming month after a disappointing May. The movie starts out with a heist just commencing as Baby (Ansel Elgort), a talented getaway driver that has perm...

Transformers: The Last Knight (2017), PG-13, ★

*sighs* Another Transformers movie. I'm not going to waste too much energy writing this review because this incoherent franchise has gone beyond comprehension. All I can say is that this movie is a tad better than the fourth movie and it still sucked. Forgive me for not making this review coherent because this movie definitely lacks coherence. So, the movie opens in England in the Dark Ages in which King Arthur and his knights are in the middle of an epic battle, losing men left and right. Arthur awaits his last hope, Merlin (Stanley Tucci) to help them. But, most knights dismiss him as a drunk. Nevertheless, Merlin finds a Cybertronian Knight and asks for help in the fight. The Knight presents Merlin with a powerful staff which allows him to control Dragonstorm. Merlin brings the enemies down with that staff. In the present day, Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen) is seen floating in space while frozen. The Transformers have been deemed illegal on Earth as most of the Au...

5 Favorite Daniel Day-Lewis Performances

I usually do this when a beloved actor/actress that I have admired has passed on. But, in a shocking twist of events, a spokesperson has said that Daniel Day-Lewis is going to be retiring from acting following his movie called Phantom Thread coming out on Christmas Day this year. He is collaborating with director Paul Thomas Anderson in this 1950s fashion era film, which sounds a bit odd but we'll see because they have worked on There Will Be Blood , which was undoubtedly one of the best movies of the 2000s. It is unfortunate because he is one of the best actors of our generation. But, given how private he is and how dedicated to his craft in picking the best projects between 2-5 years, I understand his decision. He deserves to maintain his privacy and to be happy with his wife and three children. So, in recognizing his work, I want to look at 5 of my favorite performances in his resume amongst his great performances. My Left Foot This is the first performance that garne...