Movies Graded

Director: Alfred Hitchcock Stars: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles Runtime:   109  minutes Synopsis:  A Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run, and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother. Verdict: Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" is not only the director's best-known work, but it's also a landmark in the history of the Horror genre and Cinema as a whole. Just like Kubrick's "A Space Odyssey", it's a film that wasn't received with the most positive feedback at the time of its release and grew in popularity and admiration with time. Being impossible to properly talk about it without touching on some spoiler-heavy moments, I suggest clicking away if you still haven't seen this masterpiece and come back when you do because yes, it's as good as you heard it was. It's so good in fact that I don't know how to begin praising it, so I'll proce...

Director: Ahmad Ghossein Stars: Flavia Bechara, Issam Bou Khaled, Adel Chahine Runtime: 93   minutes Synopsis:  Lebanon, July 2006. War is raging between Hezbollah and Israel. During a 24h ceasefire, Marwan heads out in search of his father who refused to leave his Southern village and leaves his wife Rana preparing alone their immigration to Canada. Marwan finds no traces of his father and the ceasefire is quickly broken, forcing him to take shelter in Najib's house, his father's friend. Marwan finds himself trapped under the rain of bombs with Najib and a group of elders, friends of his father. Tension rises inside and outside of the house. Suddenly, a group of Israeli soldiers enters the first floor. The next three days see the situation spiral out of control. Verdict: I was only 11 years old when the 2006 Lebanon War (or July War) took place. I still vividly remember climbing to the roof of the building in which I used to live in and witness Israeli fighters drop bombs on ...

Creator: Scott Frank, Allan Scott Stars: Anya Taylor-Joy, Bill Camp, Marielle Heller Synopsis:  Nine-year-old orphan Beth Harmon is quiet, sullen, and by all appearances unremarkable. That is until she plays her first game of chess. Her senses grow sharper, her thinking clearer, and for the first time in her life, she feels herself fully in control. By the age of sixteen, she's competing for the U.S. Open championship. But as Beth hones her skills on the professional circuit, the stakes get higher, her isolation grows more frightening, and the thought of escape becomes all the more tempting. Based on the book by Walter Tevis. Verdict: I'll be honest: when the trailer of the latest Netflix limited series debuted, I wasn't sold on it at all. It looked like your typical overdramatized period piece, executed using a safe narrative structure. Even though I'm never against watching anything chess-related, I was sure that I was going to pass on this one. That is until the favo...

Director: Wes Craven Stars: Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette Runtime:  111 minutes Synopsis:  A year after the murder of her mother, a teenage girl is terrorized by a new killer, who targets the girl and her friends by using horror films as part of a deadly game. Performances: 6/10 Screenplay: 4/10 Editing: 6/10 Cinematography: 6/10 Score/Soundtrack:  7/10 Entertainment Factor:  6/10 Verdict: It was a Sunday evening. I had the time to squeeze in one last movie to end what was a very cinematically rich weekend. I was in the mood for a horror movie, preferably one I've seen in the past and want to revisit. Wes Craven's "Scream" pops up and, with all the news of a sequel being currently shot, I decided to put it on. Before this rewatch, I had seen "Scream" only once, a very long time ago. Being the cultural event that it is, I vaguely remembered the premise and some scenes here and there, but overall forgot what the experience of watching it felt lik...

Director: Raja Gosnell Stars: Mattew Lillard, Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar Runtime:  86 minutes Synopsis:  After an acrimonious break up, the Mystery Inc. gang are individually brought to an island resort to investigate strange going on. Verdict:  The live-action adaptation of Scooby-Doo is simultaneously the best and worst thing to exist. Worst because it is objectively a bad movie that was justifiably trashed by critics upon its release. And best because it knows it, and uses it to its advantage in the best possible way. Written by James Gunn and directed by Raja Gosnell, the film is essentially a parody of "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" in which the perfectly-cast gang travel to an island resort to come to the bottom of sinister things going on there that may or may not be initiated by an underground cult. The self-aware approach to the story, which somehow got away with a PG rating, is, to me, the only correct way to make a live-action adaptation ...

Director: Claire Denis Stars: Denis Lavant, Michel Subor, Grégoire Colin Runtime: 92 minutes Synopsis:  This film focuses on an ex-Foreign Legion officer as he recalls his once glorious life, leading troops in Djibouti. Performances:  9/10 Screenplay:  7/10 Editing:  7/10 Cinematography:  8/10 Score/Soundtrack:  9/10 Enjoyment Factor:  7/10 Verdict: Slow, minimalistic, cold, and yet so efficient. Sitting through Claire Denis' "Beau Travail" may come across as a tedious chore for many people as it contains very little dialogue and no real narrative, but to all you patient souls out there interested in watching a magnificently crafted character study structured similarly to a personal diary, you'll find the watch to be rewarding. The film focuses on Galoup, an ex-officer who, from his house in Marseilles, remembers his days in Djibouti where he was in charge of a small group of soldiers. Portrayed by a phenomenal Denis Lavant, the protagonist is a comple...

Director: Glen Keane, John Kahrs Stars: Cathy Ang, Robert G. Chiu, Phillipa Soo Runtime:   95  minutes Synopsis:   In this animated musical, a girl builds a rocket ship and blasts off, hoping to meet a mythical moon goddess. Verdict: The latest Netflix animated feature was a disappointment. Directed by Glen Keane, a pioneer in Disney's animation studios, and starring an all Asian cast which includes names such as Sandra Oh, Ken Jeong, John Cho, or even Phillipa Soo, "Over the Moon" follows Fei Fei, a young teenager who, after being struck by a great tragedy, builds a rocket to get to the moon in the hope to meet Chang'e, a mythical goddess she believes will help her overcome her problems. The biggest issue I had with the movie is its try-hard approach to follow the same formula that made so many Disney films successful during its renaissance era. There are no princesses per se, but you do get the traditional cute sidekick pet, comic relief, catchy songs, or recurrent ...