Movies Graded

Director: Charles Martin Smith Stars: Bryce Dallas Howard, Ashley Judd, Jonah Hauer-King Runtime: 96 minutes Synopsis:  Bella, a dog taken away from her owner, goes on a journey to go back home.  Performances: 3/10 Screenplay: 2/10 Special Effects: 2/10 Costumes/Makeup: 5/10 Editing: 3/10 Cinematography: 5/10 Score/Soundtrack:  2/10 Verdict: Based on a novel written by W. Bruce Cameron (who also happened to write the book "A Dog's Purpose" was based on), Charles Martin Smith's latest attempt at a movie disappointed me from two different perspectives. As a movie enthusiast, I couldn't find one redeemable quality to a film so generic, stretched, badly written, and horribly acted that it feels and looks as if it was completed in a week's time. The at times comical soundtrack even made me seriously question the film's desired tone, which at moments felt like it belonged in the so-bad-its-good category. But let's face it, most ...

Director: Gustav Moller Stars: Jakob Cedergren, Jessica Dinnage, Omar Shargawi Runtime: 85 minutes Synopsis:  A police officer's evening is shaken by a kidnapped woman's phone call. Performances: 7/10 Screenplay: 6/10 Costumes/Makeup: 6/10 Editing: 7/10 Cinematography: 5/10 Verdict: Taking place entirely in a single room, it's safe to say that "The Guilty", a Danish thriller that follows a police officer whose evening takes a dark turn when he finds himself on the other end of a distress call made by a kidnapped woman, relies almost fully on a tension-filled atmosphere to work. And while a lot of decisions made by director Gustav Moller, which include for instance an interesting use of lighting or a fitting lack of score, did contribute to the enhancement of said tension, I still found myself not completely invested in the events taking place. Between predictable twists, at times unconvincing acting, and an absence of claustrophobic ele...

Director: Jenner Furst, Julia Willoughby Nason Runtime: 96 minutes Synopsis: A documentary that focuses on the disaster that was the Fyre Festival as well as the man behind it all. Verdict: A great companion piece to Netflix' documentary around the same subject , "Fyre Fraud" serves more as a study of Billy McFarland's character rather than the festival itself. And while it's definitely interesting and shocking, mostly since it featured interviews with Billy himself, it didn't grab me as much as the one I watched first on Netflix. McFarland's negligence and passion, as well as his entrepreneur and con artist skills, underlined by interviews with many of his victims and exposure of lies he's been telling for years, were definitely the highlight of "Fyre Fraud", which sadly doesn't do a great job at presenting the obstacles faced during the preparation of what was sold to become a music festival as big as Coachella or Woodsto...

Director: Josie Rourke Stars: Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie, Jack Lowden Runtime: 124 minutes Synopsis:  The true story of the rivalry between Mary Stuart and her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I. Performances: 7/10 Screenplay: 4/10 Costumes/Makeup: 9/10 Editing: 6/10 Cinematography: 8/10 Score/Soundtrack:  7/10 Verdict: Two queens, one historical rivalry. "Mary Queen of Scots", a dramatic retelling of the conflict between Mary Stuart and her cousin Queen Elizabeth I, offered an interesting look at first-time director Josie Rourke's style, despite suffering from a script that didn't entirely grab me or even interest me. Throughout the two hours runtime of the film, I was constantly awed by the breathtaking Scottish scenery as well as its cinematography, which benefited from a vivid color palette enhanced by terrific makeup and costume design, earning the movie a well-deserved Oscar nomination in both fields. The score, composed by the excellent Max R...

Director: Steven Knight Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Diane Lane Runtime: 106 minutes Synopsis:  A fisherman's past comes back to haunt him, making him question a lot of things along the way. Performances: 4/10 Screenplay: 2/10 Costumes/Makeup: 6/10 Editing: 4/10 Cinematography: 3/10 Score/Soundtrack:  2/10 Verdict: After his successful directorial debut with "Locke" back in 2013, as well as his well-known writing skills which earned him an Oscar nomination in 2002 for "Dirty Pretty Things", I was eager to check out Steven Knight's newest project where he assumes both roles once again. And boy was I let down. "Serenity" reminded me a lot of "Collateral Beauty", a movie released in 2016 that takes an interesting concept and butchers it with its bad execution and conflicting tone. Knight's film, which stars some of Hollywood's biggest names such as Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Diane Lan...

Director: Joel Edgerton Stars: Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, Joel Edgerton Runtime: 115 minutes Synopsis:  Based on the true story of Gerrard Conley, a young gay man forced to attend conversion therapy. Performances: 7/10 Screenplay: 6/10 Costumes/Makeup: 6/10 Editing: 6/10 Cinematography: 7/10 Score/Soundtrack:  7/10 Verdict: Similarly themed to "The Miseducation of Cameron Post", Joel Edgerton's second outing as a director failed to grab me as much as its counterpart... for the most part. "Boy Erased", which stars Lucas Hedges in the lead, as well as Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, and Joel Edgerton in supporting roles, opens strongly by showing the audience the horrors that go on in gay conversion camps. It tackles magnificently themes such as acceptance and identity, and highlights them through mostly great performances. The film is also a well-shot one, and benefits from an appropriately flavorless color palette. It fails, howev...

Director: Adam McKay Stars: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Steve Carell Runtime: 132 minutes Synopsis:  A look at the life of previous US Vice President, Dick Cheney. Performances: 9/10 Screenplay: 7/10 Costumes/Makeup: 10/10 Editing: 8/10 Cinematography: 6/10 Score/Soundtrack:  8/10 Verdict: Nominated for no less than 8 Oscars, "Vice", directed by Adam McKay, is one of the most uniquely put together biopics I've seen in a long time. And while I can see why some people wouldn't get entirely on board with the way it presents the story, I found myself entertained for its entire runtime.  Instead of opting for a dull, boring, and safe narrative, McKay, helped by a terrific performance by an unrecognizable Christian Bale as well as an equally impressive supporting cast, took risks that ultimately paid off. He was able, through crazy editing and comedic inputs only he can pull off, to give life to a movie that otherwise would've probably been gener...