Movies Graded

Director: Lorene Scafaria Stars: Constance Wu, Jennifer Lopez. Julia Stiles Runtime: 110 minutes Synopsis:   Inspired by the viral New York Magazine article, Hustlers follows a crew of savvy former strip club employees who band together to turn the tables on their Wall Street clients. Performances: 4/5 Screenplay: 3/5 Costumes/Makeup: 5/5 Editing: 3/5 Cinematography: 4/5 Score/Soundtrack:  4/5 Verdict: Lorene Scafaria's latest effort in the director's chair was quite the surprise. I wouldn't call "Hustlers" a masterpiece or anything close to it, but for a film that was on nobody's radar earlier this year, it delivered in a pretty effective way. The story, which is based on true events, follows a group of strip club dancers who team up together to con their clients at the start of the decade. Told through an interview with Constance Wu's character, my biggest takeaways from  it were Wu's versatile performance and Scafaria...

Director: Ari Aster Stars: Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, Vilhelm Blomgren Runtime:  147   minutes Synopsis:   A couple travels to Sweden to visit a rural hometown's fabled mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult. Performances: 5/5 Screenplay: 5/5 Special Effects: 3/5 Costumes/Makeup: 5/5 Editing: 4/5 Cinematography: 5/5 Score/Soundtrack:  4/5 Verdict: I am lost for words. I don't know where to even begin with that review. What I do know for sure though is that Ari Aster has now definitely proved himself to be a master at what he does. Following "Hereditary" with something like "Midsommar" is nothing short of a monumental achievement, especially considering the short time gap between the two releases. The film itself was my most anticipated of the year, but to my utter dismay, I had to skip its theatrical release as it w...

Director: Nisha Ganatra Stars: Emma Thompson, Mindy Kaling, John Lithgow Runtime:  102 minutes Synopsis:   A late night talk show host suspects that she may soon lose her long-running show. Performances: 3/5 Screenplay: 2/5 Editing: 3/5 Cinematography: 3/5 Score/Soundtrack:  2/5 Verdict: In "Late Night", Emma Thompson plays Katherine Newbury, a cold and apathetic talk show host in decline who hires a new writer, played by Mindy Kaling, in a final attempt to save her career. The film has a lot to say about diversity and representation in Hollywood, but unfortunately falls flat due to its predictable and extremely safe delivery. Written by Kaling herself, it follows a structure that never felt fresh in any way and in which the relationship between the two-dimensional characters and the growth they experience never feels organic in the slightest. The punchline of the jokes, much like the narrative, were pretty obvious and cliché. In the director's ...

Creator: Susannah Grant, Michael Chabon, Ayelet Waldman Stars: Kaitlyn Dever, Toni Collette, Merritt Wever Synopsis:   The true story of Marie, a teenager who was charged with lying about having been raped, and the two female detectives who followed a twisting path to arrive at the truth. Verdict: There is no doubt in my mind that "Unbelievable" tells an important story that needs to be seen by everybody. The Netflix miniseries, centered around the character of Marie, a young woman accused of lying about being sexually assaulted, as well as two detectives conducting an investigation to discover the truth behind it, tackles real life issues such as the broken justice system supposed to protect victims of rape or the psychological weight these assaults have on women. And while I do consider the show a must elevated by exceptional performances by Kaitlyn Dever, Toni Collette, and Merritt Wever, and certainly don't regret dedicating my time to watching it, ...

Director: Xavier Dolan Stars: Kit Harington, Natalie Portman, Jacob Tremblay Runtime:  123 minutes Synopsis:   A decade after the death of an American TV star, a young actor reminisces the written correspondence he shared with him, as well as the impact those letters had on both their lives. Performances: 4/5 Screenplay: 3/5 Editing: 3/5 Cinematography: 4/5 Score/Soundtrack:  2/5 Verdict: I have been fascinated by Xavier Dolan's directorial career ever since his critically acclaimed debut "I Killed My Mother", a semi-autobiographical movie which he wrote, directed, and starred in between the ages of 16 and 19 (!) Since then, he has a made a number of equally interesting films such as "Mommy" (which all of you should watch) or "It's Only the End of the World". "The Death and Life of John F. Donovan", however, was absolutely panned by critics, receiving an abysmal score of 28 on Metacritic (for comparison, "V...

Director: Scott Aukerman Stars: Zach Galifianakis, Rekha Shankar, Olivia Mekdara Runtime: 82 minutes Synopsis:   Zach Galifianakis and his oddball crew take a road trip to complete a series of high-profile celebrity interviews. Verdict: Just... Why? Why was this movie green-lit? Who thought that it would be a good idea to turn a beloved YouTube series of interview sketches into a film? I don't know how many times I've watched these sketches conducted by Zach Galifianakis online. I do find the awkward interactions between the host and his well-known guests to be hilarious, and they're also by far the best part of the movie as well. In fact, Galifianakis interviewing the likes of Matthew McConaughey, Keanu Reeves, Brie Larson, David Letterman, Paul Rudd, Awkwafina, Tessa Thompson, Peter Dinklage and a bunch of other celebrities was the only funny aspect of a movie that rather focuses strongly on telling a fictional behind the scenes story in which the crew...

Director: James Gray Stars: Brad Pitt, Liv Tyler, Ruth Negga Runtime: 122 minutes Synopsis:   Astronaut Roy McBride undertakes a mission across an unforgiving solar system to uncover the truth about his missing father and his doomed expedition that now, 30 years later, threatens the universe. Performances: 5/5 Screenplay: 3/5 Special Effects: 5/5 Costumes/Makeup: 5/5 Editing: 3/5 Cinematography: 4/5 Score/Soundtrack:  4/5 Verdict: These are fascinating times we live in. Times in which space exploration is being done through movies more than anything else (with films such as "Interstellar", "Gravity", "The Martian" or "High Life"). And James Gray's "Ad Astra" may be the one that presented that exploration in the most realistic of ways. The film's narrative shares a lot of similarities with "Apocalypse Now". In it, Brad Pitt proved for the second time this year that he's undoubtedly one o...