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...