Movies Graded

Director: Melina Matsoukas Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith, Bokeem Woodbine Runtime:  132 minutes Synopsis:   A couple's first date takes an unexpected turn when a police officer pulls them over. Performances: 7/10 Screenplay: 4/10 Editing: 4/10 Cinematography: 6/10 Score/Soundtrack:  6/10 Verdict: Disappointing. After a solid start that sets the ground for a very heavy narrative tackling ongoing social issues, the film deviates into something not nearly as interesting or relevant. It becomes a Bonny & Clyde sort of road trip, a bonding journey between two characters that never leaves its comfort zone. It was long, taking way too many unnecessary detours that made the over 2-hour long drag much more than it needed to. I couldn't get behind many of the characters' decisions despite some pretty good performances, nor the convenience and cheesiness of some of the events, all of which further lessened the experience to me. Overall, I f...

Director: Denis Villeneuve Stars: Ryan Gosling, Ana de Armas, Harrison Ford Runtime:  164 minutes Synopsis:  Young Blade Runner "K"'s (Ryan Gosling's) discovery of a long-buried secret leads him to track down former Blade Runner Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), who's been missing for thirty years. Performances: 10/10 Screenplay: 10/10 Editing: 9/10 Cinematography: 10/10 Score/Soundtrack:  10/10 Verdict: "Blade Runner 2049" is much more than just a science-fiction flick or sequel to a movie regarded as ahead of its time. It's a landmark in filmmaking, a masterpiece that will be talked about and analyzed for decades to come. It's by far Villeneuve's most impressive work to date, a film no other director could've pulled off in the same way that he did. Not Scott, not Nolan, and not Spielberg would've been able to replicate (wink wink) the genius behind what was unfortunately considered a box office disappointment...

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos Stars: Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Barry Keoghan Runtime:  121 minutes Synopsis:  Steven, a charismatic surgeon, is forced to make an unthinkable sacrifice after his life starts to fall apart when the behavior of a teenage boy he has taken under his wing turns sinister. Performances: 10/10 Screenplay: 10/10 Editing: 9/10 Cinematography: 9/10 Score/Soundtrack:  9/10 Verdict: Based on Euripides' Greek tragedy "Iphigenia at Aulis", "The Killing of a Sacred Deer" is unlike any movie I've ever experienced. It's disturbing yet funny, unnerving yet intriguing. The balance between dark humor and psychological horror is one perfected by Yorgos Lanthimos, whose vision on justice and responsibility will send shivers down your spine. From the very first interaction, it's made clear that the characters and dialogue are all over-the-top caricatures of what they are meant to represent, but that never took away...

Director: Riley Stearns Stars: Jesse Einsenberg, Alessandro Nivola, Imogen Poots Runtime:  104 minutes Synopsis:   After being attacked on the street, a young man enlists at a local dojo, led by a charismatic and mysterious sensei, in an effort to learn how to defend himself from future threats. Performances: 8/10 Screenplay: 4/10 Editing: 6/10 Cinematography: 5/10 Score/Soundtrack:  4/10 Verdict: Riley Stearns' "The Art of Self-Defense" has been on my radar for quite a while now. The trailer seemed interesting and the reception it received was mostly encouraging. And while I definitely wouldn't call it a forgettable movie, I thought it was both promising and disappointing simultaneously. I was hooked as soon as we were introduced to Jesse Eisenberg's Casey, a typical loser-type outcast who on a quiet evening is robbed and left in a critical condition. After a few days of recovery, he decides to take Karate classes in order to be better ...

Director: Lorcan Finnegan Stars: Imogen Poots, Jesse Eisenberg, Jonathan Aris Runtime:  97 minutes Synopsis:   A young couple looking for the perfect home find themselves trapped in a mysterious labyrinth-like neighborhood of identical houses. Performances: 8/10 Screenplay: 7/10 Editing: 6/10 Cinematography: 7/10 Score/Soundtrack:  7/10 Verdict: "Vivarium" is a literal nightmare of a movie. It's a horror film without the scares. One that relies instead on emphasizing the terrors of aspects found in our everyday lives to make the watch an uncomfortable one. Imogen Poots and Jesse Eisenberg play a couple who found themselves trapped in a suburban neighborhood where all the houses look the same. In order to get out of this puzzle, they are tasked to raise a child they find in a box at the doorstep of their new house. Sounds kinda weird, right? Well, you haven't seen anything yet because weird doesn't even begin to describe what the film is...

Director: Ken Loach Stars:  Kris Hitchen, Debbie Honeywood, Rhys Stone Runtime:  101 minutes Synopsis:  Hoping that self-employment through gig economy can solve their financial woes, a hard-up UK delivery driver and his wife struggling to raise a family end up trapped in the vicious circle of this modern-day form of labor exploitation. Performances: 8/10 Screenplay: 7/10 Editing: 8/10 Cinematography: 7/10 Verdict: Well God damn, I was not ready for that. I didn't know much about "Sorry We Missed You" going into it. I hadn't seen a trailer, read a synopsis, or even looked up who the director was. I wouldn't even have known of its existence if it wasn't for a random tweet calling it one of the best movies of 2019 that I stumbled upon a few days ago. And I hope that this post, much like this tweet did to me, pushes you to seek it out, because it's absolutely worthy of your time. The family drama is quite paradoxical in its nature. ...

Director: Patrick Brice Stars: Mark Duplass, Desiree Akhavan, Karan Soni Runtime:  78 minutes Synopsis:  A video artist looking for work drives to a remote house in the forest to meet a man claiming to be a serial killer. But after agreeing to spend the day with him, she soon realizes that she made a deadly mistake. Performances: 7/10 Editing: 6/10 Entertainment Factor:  5/10 Verdict: The sequel to the 2014 sensation starring the always excellent Mark Duplass as a creepy serial killer did something that very few other movies managed to achieved, and that is score a perfect 100% on the TomatoMeter (although with only 23 reviews to its name). Now do I think that it's deserving of that honor? No, not really. But as a someone who had loads of fun with the first "Creep", I'd definitely consider this one to be a worthy sequel. While I wasn't as charmed by the narrative and atmosphere as I was with its predecessor, the movie still managed to squ...

Director: Patrick Brice Stars: Patrick Brice, Mark Duplass Runtime:  77 minutes Synopsis:  A young videographer answers an online ad for a one-day job in a remote town to record the last messages of a dying man. When he notices the man's odd behavior, he starts to question his intentions. Performances: 7/10 Screenplay: 4/10 Editing: 6/10 Entertainment Factor:  7/10 Verdict:  The equation is simple: A small budget leads to small risk exposure, which with the right marketing team, can generate high profits at the box office. That winning formula was perfected by Blumhouse, and despite the studio not always producing quality content, they very rarely fail to at least break even and most of the time make at least two or three times their budget back. "Creep" is a prime example of what Blumhouse is all about. It's quite literally a two man show, with it being co-written (well, mostly improvised) by Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice, who also p...

Director: Hayao Miyazaki Stars: Minami Takayama, Rei Sakuma, Keiko Toda Runtime:  103 minutes Synopsis:  A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service. Animation: 9/10 Performances: 8/10 Screenplay: 7/10 Editing: 8/10 Score/Soundtrack:  10/10 Verdict: I haven't watched a Studio Ghibli film for the first time in a while, and boy can I confirm that it's as magical as I remember it to be. "Kiki's Delivery Service", like its two predecessors, was directed by the legendary Hayao Miyazaki, and follows a young witch who, at age 13, must leave her parents to lead an independent life in a foreign city. The movie takes place in a fictional European country on the Mediterranean during the 1950s (rendered beautiful due to the fact that Miyazaki made the decision to forget that the two World Wars ever happened), and sees Kiki along w...

Director: Darren Aronofsky Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris Runtime:  121 minutes Synopsis:   A couple's relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence. Performances: 9/10 Screenplay: 9/10 Special Effects: 4/10 Editing: 8/10 Cinematography: 7/10 Verdict: When asked what the most divisive movie of the decade is, most people will respond with either "The Last Jedi" (yup, I'm being serious) or "Mother!". The film, which was nominated for 3 Razzies, scored a more than decent Metascore of 75%, but also received the worst possible rating of F on CinemaScore, which evaluates how mainstream audiences responded to it. I personally adore the film's concept, which serves as one huge allegory on religion and the way it has affected humanity and the planet as a whole. A lot of people called it pretentious, but the truth is that I can't think of any other way to t...

Director: Denis Villeneuve Stars: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis Runtime:  153 minutes Synopsis:  When Keller Dover's daughter and her friend go missing, he takes matters into his own hands as the police pursue multiple leads and the pressure mounts. Performances: 10/10 Screenplay: 9/10 Editing: 9/10 Cinematography: 9/10 Score/Soundtrack:  9/10 Verdict: Before they gave us "Sicario", Villeneuve, Deakins, and   Jóhannsson worked together to gift us arguably the Canadian director's best project to date, or at least my personal favorite. "Prisoners" marks Villeneuve's debut in the big leagues , where he has gone to become a household name in next to no time. The movie opens on Thanksgiving dinner, where the Dover and Birch families are sharing laughs together at the latter's house. That is until they notice that their daughters, who went out without  any supervision, disappeared without a trace. Then ensues a ...

Director: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee Stars: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad Runtime:  103 minutes Synopsis:   Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven leave Arendelle to travel to an ancient, autumn-bound forest of an enchanted land. They set out to find the origin of Elsa's powers in order to save their kingdom. Animation: 10/10 Screenplay: 4/10 Editing: 6/10 Score/Soundtrack:  7/10 Verdict: I'll be honest, I was actually looking forward to the sequel of the 2013 hit that took the world by storm. Not necessarily because I'm a fan of the movie, which I think is fine without being spectacular, but rather because of how beautiful the trailers looked. However, and since I'd rather be locked in a cage for a week than have to sit in a theater filled with energetic children high on sugar for 2 hours, I decided to wait for its digital release to check it out. As a 24-year-old man who isn't the biggest fan of the Disney formula, I clearly am not par...

10: I'm Thinking of Ending Things 9: Hamilton Quo Vadis, Aida? 8: Ammonite Black Bear Dissident, The Judas and the Black Messiah Lovers Rock Mank Nest, The Never Rarely Sometimes Always Nomadland She Dies Tomorrow We Are Who We Are Wolfwalkers 7: Dear Comrades Feels Good Man His House Mangrove Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Minari Nadia, Butterfly Night of the Kings On the Rocks Queen's Gambit, The Relic Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb Shithouse Shiva Baby Soul Totally Under Control Wolf of Snow Hollow, The Woman Who Ran, The 6: A Whisker Away Bad Trip Birds of Prey Borat Subsequent Moviefilm Cuties Da 5 Bloods Eddy, The Enola Holmes Father, The Hillbilly Elegy Hubbie Halloween Kajillionaire Normal People (TV) One Night in Miami Onward Pieces of a Woman Possessor Social Dilemma, The Time Way Back, The Wonder Woman 1984 Zola 5: A Quiet Place Part II Another Round Becky Bill & Ted Face the Music Charlatan Devil All the Time, The Emma. Freaky Greenland Half of It, The Haun...

Director: Autumn de Wilde Stars: Anya Taylor-Joy, Mia Goth, Bill Nighy Runtime:  124 minutes Synopsis:  In 1800s England, a well-meaning but selfish young woman meddles in the love lives of her friends. Performances: 7/10 Screenplay: 5/10 Editing: 5/10 Cinematography: 8/10 Score/Soundtrack:  6/10 Verdict: "Emma" is not the first adaptation of the famous Jane Austen novel, but it is my personal introduction to it. I've never read the book, nor watched any movies based on it, of which 1995's "Clueless" is possibly the most known out of all of them. It also is one of the three movies made available by Universal on streaming services due to the closure of theaters around the world as a precaution taken to battle the Coronavirus pandemic (with the other two being "The Hunt" and "The Invisible Man"). This adaptation's most impressive feature was by far its aesthetic. The production design, costume design, color p...

Director: Craig Zobel Stars:  Betty Gilpin, Hilary Swank, Ike Barinholtz Runtime:  90 minutes Synopsis:  Twelve strangers wake up in a clearing. They don't know where they are, or how they got there. They don't know they've been chosen - for a very specific purpose - The Hunt. Performances: 6/10 Screenplay: 3/10 Editing: 5/10 Cinematography: 5/10 Score/Soundtrack:  4/10 Entertainment Factor:  4/10 Verdict: Supposed to come out last September, "The Hunt" saw its release pushed back due to a controversy regarding its plot, despite the fact that nobody had seen it. That decision was absolutely ridiculous and nonsensical to me, which is proven by the fact that it was released recently in theaters without anyone even batting an eye. The movie was made available yesterday to the public worldwide through streaming services due to the Coronavirus outbreak in order to help people cope with the whole social distancing thing. The aim ...

Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne Stars:  Idir Ben Addi, Olivier Bonnaud, Myriem Akheddiou  Runtime:  90 minutes Synopsis:  A Belgian teenager hatches a plot to kill his teacher after embracing an extremist interpretation of the Quran. Performances: 8/10 Screenplay: 7/10 Editing: 7/10 Cinematography: 7/10 Verdict: Directed by the legendary Dardenne brothers, "Le Jeune Ahmed", which translates to "Young Ahmed", tells the tale of a young boy whose mind was corrupted by religious extremists, pulling him further from his family and surroundings and closer to an inevitable point of no return. Nominated for the prestigious Palme d'Or, the movie acts as a devastating character study that explores the dangers of such mind games. You can't help but both hate and feel sorry for the main character of Ahmed, exceptionally portrayed by newcomer Idir Ben Addi. The pain he causes to his mother and teacher alike is heartbreaking to wit...

Director: Denis Villeneuve Stars:   Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette Runtime:  131 minutes Synopsis:  Twins journey to the Middle East to discover their family history and fulfill their mother's last wishes. Performances: 8/10 Screenplay: 7/10 Editing: 8/10 Cinematography: 8/10 Score/Soundtrack:  8/10 Verdict: "Incendies" is Denis Villeneuve's last foreign language film before he became a Hollywood regular. Released in 2010, it went on to grab a much deserved nomination at the Oscars in the Best Foreign Language category in which it competed against juggernauts such as Yorgos Lanthimos' "Dogtooth" and    Alejandro G. Iñárritu's "Biutiful" but ultimately lost to Denmark's entry: "In a Better World". Adapted from a play by the same name, the film alternates between two timelines. In the first, we follow a young Nawal Marwan as she struggles to exist in a fictional Middle Eastern...

Director: Martin Scorsese Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie Runtime:  180 minutes Synopsis:  Based on the true story of  Jordan Belfort , from his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government. Performances: 10/10 Screenplay: 8/10 Editing: 9/10 Cinematography: 8/10 Score/Soundtrack:  9/10 Verdict: (+) Leonardo DiCaprio's performance as Jordan Belfort has been labeled the best of his career by many. And I tend to agree with that statement. Every other supporting actor or actress also deliver fantastic performances, with Jonah Hill and Margot Robbie being two of the standouts. (+) What makes this biography such a distinctive one is how energetic and wild its tone is. This choice was obviously made to match Jordan's personality and addiction to drugs, alcohol and most of all, money. (+) The editing is for the most part exemplary. You barely feel the r...

Director:  Isao Takahata Stars:  Miki Imai ,  Toshirô Yanagiba ,  Yoko Honna Runtime:  118 minutes Synopsis:  A twenty-seven-year-old office worker travels to the countryside while reminiscing about her childhood in Tokyo. Animation: 9/10 Performances: 8/10 Screenplay: 8/10 Editing: 8/10 Score/Soundtrack:  7/10 Verdict: "Only Yesterday" is only one of two Studio Ghibli production to get a perfect 100% on the Tomatometer (although many others came awfully close). It's also only the second movie of theirs that wasn't directed by the renowned Hayao Miyazaki. Isao Takahata, of "Grave of the Fireflies" fame, stepped in instead which makes sense considering the mature approach of some of the film's themes. Taeko Okajima is in her late 20s, rocking a job in her home city of Tokyo, when she starts being pressured of her status of still being single at that age (...right?). It's during that time that she decides to take a short tri...

Director: Liz Garbus Stars:  Thomasin McKenzie, Amy Ryan, Gabriel Byrne  Runtime:  minutes Synopsis:  When Mari Gilbert's daughter disappears, police inaction drives her own investigation into the gated Long Island community where Shannan was last seen. Her search brings attention to over a dozen murdered sex workers. Performances: 6/10 Screenplay: 4/10 Editing: 4/10 Cinematography: 6/10 Score/Soundtrack:  5/10 Verdict: (+) Kind of an interesting story, which is based on real events. (+) Even though I wasn't too on board with the way their characters were written, the performances were all pretty decent. (-) There's next to no character development, which as a result made it very difficult for me to sympathize with any of the characters' situations. (-) The narrative can be a little messy at times, especially in the first act. You jump from confrontation to confrontation, location to location, scene to scene, and none of ...

Director: David Fincher Stars: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Carrie Coon Runtime:  149 minutes Synopsis:  With his wife's disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, a man sees the spotlight turned on him when it's suspected that he may not be innocent. Performances: 10/10 Screenplay: 9/10 Editing: 9/10 Cinematography: 8/10 Score/Soundtrack:  9/10 Verdict: 2014 in my opinion was a banger year for movies. With releases such as "Birdman", "Whiplash", "Interstellar", "The Grand Budapest Hotel", "Nightcrawler" or "Boyhood", it may even be the best of the 2010s. The standard to be called one of the best of that year is very high, but you can always count on David Fincher to smash these standards, because "Gone Girl" is absolutely an instant classic. I've seen this movie three times already, and enjoyed it each time more than the previous time, which says a lot ab...

Director: Ziad Doueiri Stars: Rami Doueiri, Naamar Sahli, Mohamad Chamas Runtime:  105 minutes Synopsis:   In April, 1975, civil war breaks out; Beirut is partitioned along a Moslem-Christian line. Tarek is in high school, making Super 8 movies with his friend, Omar. At first the war is a lark: school has closed, the violence is fascinating, getting from West to East is a game. His mother wants to leave; his father refuses. Tarek spends time with May, a Christian, orphaned and living in his building. By accident, Tarek goes to an infamous brothel in the war-torn Olive Quarter, meeting its legendary madam, Oum Walid. He then takes Omar and May there using her underwear as a white flag for safe passage. Family tensions rise. As he comes of age, the war moves inexorably from adventure to tragedy. Performances: 2/5 Screenplay: 2/5 Costumes/Makeup: 4/5 Editing: 3/5 Cinematography: 4/5 Score/Soundtrack:  3/5 Verdict: I really liked Ziad Doueiri's Osca...

Director: Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya Stars: Alain Saadeh, Fouad Yammine, Wissam Fares Runtime:  107 minutes Synopsis:   Intending to smuggle drugs across the borders, a small-time Lebanese drug-dealer slyly manipulates public opinion with the help of an underrated filmmaker. Performances: 5/10 Screenplay: 6/10 Costumes/Makeup: 8/10 Editing: 6/10 Cinematography: 5/10 Score/Soundtrack:  7/10 Verdict: "Very Big Shot", or "Film Ktir Kbir", is a Lebanese crime drama I wasn't able to catch in theaters back in 2015 and couldn't find anywhere since for some reason, Blurays and DVDs are not sold in any stores. Anyway, now that it's available to stream on Netlfix in the MENA region, I had no reason not to finally watch it anymore. The list of Lebanese productions I'd recommend is a short one, but Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya's directorial debut is now featured in it. It's obviously no masterpiece or anything near that, but for a movie of a ...

Director: Nadine Labaki Stars:  Claude Baz Moussawbaa, Nadine Labaki, Yvonne Maalouf  Runtime:  110 minutes Synopsis:  A group of Lebanese women try to ease religious tensions between Christians and Muslims in their village. Performances: 5/10 Screenplay: 4/10 Editing: 6/10 Cinematography: 7/10 Score/Soundtrack:  6/10 Verdict:  Nadine Labaki's "Capernaum" was deemed a masterpiece by many people, me included, and rightfully made its way to the Academy Awards, where I strongly believe that it had a chance of winning the award for Best Foreign Language film if "Roma" didn't compete against it. While this is the movie that made her name known to the entire world, she has been famous in Lebanon for a while now, and many still consider "Where Do We Go Now" to be her best work yet. And since it is available on Netflix, I finally decided to give it a shot. And yes, there's definitely a lot to appreciate about it. The cinemat...

Director:  Alejandro G. Iñárritu Stars:  Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Will Poulter  Runtime:  156 minutes Synopsis:  A frontiersman on a fur trading expedition in the 1820s fights for survival after being mauled by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team. Performances: 10/10 Screenplay: 8/10 Editing: 8/10 Cinematography: 9/10 Score/Soundtrack:  8/10 Verdict:  Alejandro G. Iñárritu is a perfectionist and a master at what he does. "The Revenant", which he remarkably managed to release only a year after "Birdman", is further proof that he's one of the most exciting directors working right now. Doomed to only be remembered as the movie that won Leo his first Oscar for his role as Hugh Glass, a real historical figure whose story is one that deserves to be experienced on the largest screen possible, "The Revenant" is much, much more than just an acting tour de force by not only DiCaprio, but also To...