Movies Graded

Director: Bo Burnham Stars: Elsie Fisher, Josh Hamilton, Emily Robinson Runtime: 93 minutes Synopsis:  The story of Kayla's disastrous last few days in elementary school. Performances: 9/10 Why? A tour de force performance from up and coming star Elsie Fisher. She gave life to a fascinating character that was so genuine and real that she made me forget that I was watching a character and not a real child. Josh Hamilton was also incredibly good as her goofy father trying his best to build a connection with her. The rest of the cast was unfortunately not on the level of the two leads, but didn't have much to do anyway.  Screenplay: 7/10 Why? I can totally see "Eighth Grade" becoming a classic in the coming-of-age genre. The directorial debut of only 28-years-old Bo Burnham perfectly captures the toxicity of modern elementary schools as well as the importance of social media in today's world. The character of Kayla is exceptionally layered and ...

Director: Anthony C. Ferrante Stars: Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, Cassandra Scerbo Runtime: 86 minutes Synopsis:  Fin and the gang must go back in time to stop the first sharknado in order to save humanity. Performances: 7/10 Why? Because they're purposely terrible. Every single actor knew exactly the type of movie they were in, and didn't hold back on the ridiculous deliveries and over the top acting. There were also a couple of casting surprises that I won't spoil I thought were perfect.   Screenplay: 6/10 Why? The Sharknado franchise is one I've been a fan of since the very beginning. It's probably the best self-aware "so bad it's good" series ever done. And I'm so glad they ended it with a bang. The sixth entry's concept is more ridiculous than ever and involves the group going back in time to fight off sharknados in different periods in time. If that sounds awesome to you, you'll probably enjoy it. If you're wonde...

Director: Aneesh Chaganty Stars: John Cho, Debra Messing, Joseph Lee Runtime: 102 minutes Synopsis:  After his daughter goes missing, David breaks into her laptop to find clues and figure out what happened. Performances: 8/10 Why? John Cho like you've never seen him before. He was incredibly good in the lead role and I truly bought his character's concern and determination. It's without a doubt one of the best performances in his career and one that will stick with you for a long time. Debra Messing was also surprisingly good as the detective in charge of the case. She's not exactly known for being in films like this one, and her character is not as layered as John Cho's, but she delivered a solid performance that I hope will open new doors in her already rich career. Screenplay: 8/10 Why? I was on the edge on my seat the whole time. The film, similarly to "Unfriended", was entirely told through a computer screen, and uses this aspect...

Director: Nadine Labaki Stars: Zain Al Rafeea, Yordanos Shifera, Boluwatife Treasure Bankole Runtime: 120 minutes Synopsis:  The story of Zain, a child whose misery resulted in a controversial trial. Performances: 8/10 Why? An absolute tour de force performance from non-professional actor Zain Al Rafeea, who succeeded in capturing the complexity of his character and translate it to the big screen. This achievement is also Nadine Labaki's success as I feel that her direction helped the young actor a lot nail what is a very mature performance. The rest of the cast was also great, despite a few hiccups here and there. Screenplay: 9/10 Why? Brave. Audacious. Real. All of these adjectives and more could be used to describe the story Labaki told us in "Capernaum". It's an incredibly powerful film that will make you look at people from a very different perspective. The dialogue was great and effective, which is something that's not easy to pull off...

Director: Hang-jun Zhang Stars: Ha-Neul Kang, Mu-Yeol Kim, Seong-kun Mun   Runtime: 108 minutes Synopsis:  Weird things start to happen when Jin-Seok moves into a new house with his parents and brother. Performances: 4/10 Why? I always find it hard to judge performances in films coming from countries and cultures of which I'm not really familiar with. Having previously seen other Korean movies, I can say with confidence that the way they interact with each other there differs from the way people interact with each other in say the United States or Europe. Having said that, I just couldn't relate to the actors in this particular film, which is a thing I haven't experienced much with movies coming from South Korea. For me, they felt the whole times like written characters instead of genuine people, unfortunately making it hard to take them seriously. Screenplay: 3/10 Why? Some of the best psychological thrillers I have ever seen are Korean. Movies like ...

Director: Robin Campillo Stars: Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Arnaud Valois, Adèle Haenel Runtime: 143 minutes Synopsis: Members of the ACT UP group use extreme measures to pressure the government to take the AIDS epidemic more seriously in 1990s Paris. Performances: 8/10 Screenplay: 7/10 Special Effects: N.A.   Costumes/Makeup: 7/10 Editing: 5/10 Cinematography: 6/10 Score/Soundtrack:  8/10  Verdict:  Powerful and bold, "120 battements par minute", or "BPM", does not hold back on anything to send its message. Most of the performances were great, despite the fact that the characters they portrayed weren't particularly engaging. However, what I enjoyed most about the film were the discussions these characters were having that truly felt genuine and interesting. The movie is almost two and a half hours long and it could've been much shorter. There were a lot of scenes that went on for way too long, killing the momentum of the movie, a romance...

Director: Franklin J. Schaffner Stars: George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Stephen Young Runtime: 172 minutes Synopsis:  An exploration of General George S. Patton's role in the Second World War. Performances: 10/10 Why? I didn't see George C. Scott. The Oscar-winning actor (who famously declined the famous award) completely disappeared in his role as the menacing, at times scary title character. It's a performance that still holds up to this day, and one that will be remembered as one of the greatest ever for a very, very long time.  Screenplay: 9/10 Why? Behind a great performance, there's always a great script. Before he directed "The Godfather" and "Apocalypse Now", Francis Ford Coppola won his very first Oscar (along with Edmund H. North) for writing this masterpiece. More than just a biopic, the movie also serves as an amazing character study of a man obsessed with his image. A man that was born to fight. A man convinced that h...

Director: David Kerr Stars: Rowan Atkinson, Olga Kurylenko, Ben Miller Runtime: 88 minutes Synopsis:  When the identity of every secret agent is revealed following a cyber attack, Johnny English is forced to come out of retirement to find the culprit and save the United Kingdom. Performances: 7/10 Why? There's only one person in the world who can turn some of the most juvenile jokes into funny ones with his mannerisms and comedic timing, and that person is Rowan Atkinson. If you enjoy his work in general, you'll probably like him in this movie as well. The rest of the cast did a good job embracing the ridiculousness of their characters but didn't truly shine in my opinion.  Screenplay: 3/10 Why? A plot we've seen a million times. Jokes that relied on Atkinson's comedic skills to land (and even he couldn't save all of them). Over the top and forgettable new characters. The third installment in the "Johnny English" franchise frankl...

Director: Christian Petzold Stars: Nina Hoss, Ronald Zehrfeld, Nina Kuzendorf Runtime: 98 minutes Synopsis:  After undergoing facial reconstruction surgery due to injuries received in a concentration camp, a woman decides to look for her husband in post-WW2 Berlin. Performances: 8/10 Why? Every performance was special in its own way. But the actress that truly blew my mind with her range of emotions shown was Nina Hoss without which I'm sure the film wouldn't have worked in the slightest.  Screenplay: 8/10 Why? A beautiful and original concept handled with care, "Phoenix" is not your typical cheesy romantic flick. It beautifully examines how love can also have a blinding dark side that will affect the people involved as well as their entourage. All that was made easier by the way the characters were fleshed out, which despite not being perfect, I found to be pretty interesting and easy to relate to. Costumes/Makeup: 4/10 Why? My main issu...

Director: Austin Vesely Stars: Zazie Beetz, Hannibal Buress, Joe Keery Runtime: 83 minutes Synopsis:  A movie about a murder, a pizza place, ghosts, witches, and werewolves. Performances: 6/10 Why? For what the movie was trying to be, the actors did a pretty okay job. They didn't take themselves nor the material too seriously. A couple of characters were maybe too over the top, but that's nothing compared to the issues I had with the rest of the movie. Screenplay: 2/10 Why? What the hell was that, A24? I've been a big fan of the studio's projects for a while now, and I don't think I ever genuinely disliked one of their movies ever before. "Slice" has the unfortunate honor of being the first. I've got nothing against self-aware movies with ridiculous plots who don't take themselves too seriously. In fact, most of the time I quite enjoy them. But what makes them so enjoyable and charming is how natural and organic the end produ...

Director: Panos Cosmatos Stars: Nicolas Cage, Andrea Riseborough, Linus Roache Runtime: 121 minutes Synopsis:  A man goes on a revenge mission when his wife is murdered by a religious cult. Performances: 6/10 Why? Nicolas Cage's best performance in a while. But still a Nicolas Cage performance.  Screenplay: 3/10 Why? "Mandy" is very much a style over substance project. So much that the entire plot could be resumed in a single sentence. I understand that director Panos Cosmatos' goals were of experimental nature, but I wish he spent more time on developing an engaging and interesting story to go with it. Costumes/Makeup: 8/10 Why? The blood and gore looked awesome, even though I was expecting more of it.  Editing: 6/10 Why? While the way the movie was cut was interesting from an artistic and stylistic point of view, its pacing suffered immensely, especially during its first half. "Mandy" could've and should've been much...

Director: David Yates Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint Runtime: 130 minutes Synopsis:  The final chapter in the "Harry Potter" franchise. Performances: 8/10 Screenplay: 9/10 Special Effects: 9/10 Costumes/Makeup: 9/10 Editing: 7/10 Cinematography: 8/10 Score/Soundtrack:  10/10 Verdict:  ( SPOILERS AHEAD! ) What a finale. The second part of the final chapter in the Harry Potter franchise is my favorite entry for a reason. Similarly to this year's "Infinity War", it's much more than just a movie, it's an event. An event 10 years in the making. An event that forgot every single rule of good storytelling, and instead focused on giving the best conclusion possible to its fans. And boy did it succeed beautifully. I've watched this movie more than 10 times now and could watch it 100 more times without getting bored for a second. The film picks up where its predecessor left us and doesn't dial down on the action ...

Director: Luca Guadagnino Stars: Tilda Swinton, Matthias Schoenaerts, Ralph Fiennes Runtime: 125 minutes Synopsis:  A couple's vacation on a small island in Italy is disrupted when the woman's ex-boyfriend and his daughter come to visit. Performances: 9/10 Why? Not one single bad performance. Matthias Schoenaerts and Dakota Johnson are both excellent in their respective roles. Tilda Swinton and Ralph Fiennes both gave Oscar-worthy performances in my opinion. Screenplay: 8/10 Why? Based on a book called "La Piscine" by Alain Page, "A Bigger Splash" acts more as a character study than an actual story. It focuses on four fascinating characters with very different personalities and beautifully gives them life to the point where I forgot that I was watching a movie at times. Add to that engaging dialogue and incredible chemistry and you get one of the best adaptations recently release, and that is despite an ending that feels a bit out of pla...

Director: Paul Feig Stars: Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Henry Golding Runtime: 117 minutes Synopsis:  A blogger tries to uncover the truth behind her best friend's sudden and mysterious disappearance. Performances: 5/10 Why? While I consider myself a fan of both Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively's acting chops, I found their performances in this particular film to be over the top and almost caricatural, making their respective characters hard to take seriously. The supporting cast, including the child actors, wasn't much better at giving their characters life on screen.  Screenplay: 4/10 Why? Did you ever wonder how "Gone Girl" would've turned out had it been directed by the man who made the new "Ghostbusters" or "Bridesmaids"? No? Me neither. The plot is extremely similar to David Fincher's project to the point where it became predictable and tensionless. I also did not care for the cliché characters and found th...

Director: Jacques Tourneur Stars: Simone Simon, Tom Conway, Kent Smith Runtime: 73 minutes Synopsis:  Irena, a Serbian immigrant residing in the United States, lives with the belief that she will turn into a cat person if she gets intimate with her husband. Performances: 6/10 Why? Not bad, just a bit dated.  Screenplay: 7/10 Why? When the movie was released in 1942, it was first bashed by a lot of critics. Despite its criticism, it performed really well at the box office and as a result stayed in theaters longer than originally intended. This allowed critics to watch it a second time and, apparently, a lot of them went back and gave it a positive review. You may find the movie weird, slow, and sometimes hard to relate to like I did at first, but as soon as the credits start rolling (figuratively, obviously), the themes become more and more apparent and you start to understand Tourneur's vision. A lot of aspects, however, do feel dated and affected my over...

Director: Manuel Martin Cuenca Stars: Javier Gutierrez, Maria Leon, Adelfa Calvo Runtime: 112 minutes Synopsis:  A man's life takes a dark turn when he starts using his entourage's lives as inspiration for his novel. Performances: 6/10 Why? Nothing that will blow you away. Javier Gutierrez lacks the depth and charisma to carry a movie like this one, but wasn't terrible in the lead role either. The supporting cast didn't have much to do, but still delivered nicely. Screenplay: 5/10 Why? I have a love-hate relationship with the script of "The Motive". I thought that the humor didn't land at all, that the characters weren't very believable, and that it lacked subtlety and wit. On paper, all these issues describe a pretty poor script, but when you start thinking about the main character, a wannabe writer still trying to find his voice and struggling to find inspiration around him, the screenplay starts to make a lot more sense in you...

Director: James Wong Stars: Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith Runtime: 98 minutes Synopsis:  A group of friends try to cheat death after escaping it.  Performances: 3/10 Screenplay: 2/10 Special Effects: 5/10 Costumes/Makeup: 4/10 Editing: 4/10 Cinematography: 3/10 Score/Soundtrack:  3/10 Verdict:  Not known for its Oscar-worthy acting or beautiful looking cinematography, "Final Destination" still manages to take you on a fun ride better enjoyed with drunk friends. The people involved were perfectly aware of the ridiculousness of the plot, and embraced it instead of trying to work it out, a decision I admired and that resulted in hilarious scenes that involved creative deaths and dialogue that made me giggle. The film, however, does still have a lot of filler scenes where nothing happens that really killed its momentum. I can't say with a clear conscience that the first installment in the "Final Destination" franchise was a complete disa...

Director: Luca Guadagnino Stars: Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg Runtime:  132 minutes Performances: 10/10 Screenplay: 9/10 Special Effects: N.A Costumes/Makeup: 7/10 Editing: 7/10 Cinematography: 8/10 Score/Soundtrack:  8/10 Verdict:  "Call Me by Your Name" is the story of Elio, a seventeen-year-old boy still discovering his sexuality in a small village in Northern Italy. Almost every aspect of this movie is as perfect as it can possibly be. All the actors were phenomenal, with Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer delivering some of the most heartfelt performances I have seen in quite some time. The setting of the movie, which takes place entirely in a small village in Italy in 1983, is breathtaking, and director Luca Guadagnino takes full advantage of that. The dialogue and the story are both amazingly written and touching. The soundtrack complements really well the narrative and the setting, and feel really natural. The only ...

Director: Rawson Marshall Thurber Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Neve Campbell, Chin Han Runtime: 102 minutes Synopsis:  A security expert is determined to save his family from a burning skyscraper. Performances: 4/10 Why? I wouldn't label the performances bad, but rather unspecial. The actors didn't have a whole lot of emotions to show off, which, unfortunately, made their respective characters hard to relate to on a human level.  Screenplay: 2/10 Why? Even for what it tried to be, the film's screenplay was extremely weak and boring. It's filled with frail dialogue, exposition, convenience, and cheese, as well as uninteresting characters you'll forget as soon as the credits start rolling. The story was obviously inspired by 1988's "Die Hard", where a cop tries to save his wife from terrorists who have taken her hostage in the building she works in but ended up being just another cliché, forgettable action flick that lacked depth and ori...

Director: Albert Hughes Stars: Johannes Haukur Johannesson, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Morgan Freeman Runtime: 96 minutes Synopsis:  The story of a friendship between a young man and a wolf, set in prehistoric times. Performances: 6/10 Why? A bit over the top at times, the performances were still pretty solid overall. Too bad the material given to the actors wasn't up to their standards.  Screenplay: 3/10 Why? As a dog owner myself, the movie immediately lost me when the wolf (or dog) was introduced to the story. The animal's actions didn't fit at all with her wild profile, as it was pretty obvious that she was trained and domesticated. This issue ruined what essentially was the main focus of the film, and that is the relationship between Keda, the young man trying to return to his family, and the wolf. Other than that, the subtitled dialogue was cheesy, the story unoriginal and a bit cliché, and the ending so ridiculous that it made me laugh out loud in the t...

Director: Blake Harris, Chris Bouchard Stars: Poppy Drayton, William Moseley, Armando Gutierrez Runtime:  85 minutes Synopsis:  A young man and his niece stumble upon a mermaid while visiting a circus. Performances: 3/10 Why? Emotionless, awkward, and at times comical. There wasn't a single good, or even decent, performance in the entire movie. Not one actor looked interested or invested in their respective characters and it was embarrassing to watch.  Screenplay: 1/10 Why? "Why?" is the question I kept asking myself during a little less than 90 minutes. Why was this movie greenlit? Why did the whole thing feel like if it was written by a 5-year-old? Why was I doing this to myself? I can't think of one scene that did justice to the Hans Christian Andersen classic. The dialogue was atrocious, the characters unlikeable and two dimensional, the comedy awkward, and the narrative absolutely ridiculous. "The Little Mermaid" is probably...

Director: Morgan Neville Runtime:  94 minutes Synopsis: A look at the life of TV personality Fred Rogers.  Verdict:  Having never watched an episode of "Mister Roger's Neighborhood", I wasn't really sure what to expect from a documentary centered around that show, or if I was even part of its targetted audience. I got my answer as soon as the film started. Sure, Fred Rogers, a fascinating character famous for creating one of the most influential children programs ever, is the main focus of "Won't You Be My Neighbor?", but the message it tried to communicate to the audience is about much deeper subjects (a bit like Rogers' acclaimed show, come to think of it). The importance of role models, the use of TV programs as a way of delivering messages, and the significance of kindness and acceptance are only some of the themes tackled through this hour and a half documentary that will leave you with tears in your eyes, a smile on your face, and ...

Director: Marin Scorsese Stars: Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange Runtime:  128 minutes Synopsis:  When he is released from jail after serving a 14-year sentence, Max Cady, a psychopath/rapist begins to stalk the family of the lawyer who defended him. Performances: 8/10 Why? 4 main characters had the difficult task of carrying the movie on their shoulders. And they all did a pretty great job at it. De Niro was absolutely magnificent in the first two-thirds of the film, but I felt that his character became over the top in its last act. Nick Nolte was for me the most consistent of the bunch and gave a terrific performance as Sam, the lawyer Max is after. His role wasn't as eccentric as De Niro's but was much deeper, as he played a terrified man literally haunted by his past who's doing his best to face his demons in order to save his family. His wife, played by Jessica Lange, didn't have as much to do as De Niro and Nolte, but still found a way ...

Director: David Yates Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint Runtime: 146 minutes Synopsis:  Harry and his two best friends begin their quest of finding Lord Voldemort's horcruxes. (SPOILERS AHEAD) Performances:  8/10 Why? Not one bad performance to point out. Ever since Yates took over, Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint took their acting to a whole new level that fit their characters perfectly. The supporting also does a great a job even if they are not given a lot of screentime in this installment mostly centered on Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Screenplay:  8/10 Why? A lot of people consider the first part of the epic finale to be one of the most forgettable entries in the franchise. And I don't agree at all with this claim. Part one of "Deathly Hallows" perfectly set the table for its successor by showing us what the wizarding world has become now that Dumbledore's no longer. By killing off beloved characters like Hedwig, Moody...