felixseesmovies

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Encanto (2021)

Synopsis: The black sheep of a magical family works to unravel the growing mysteries surrounding their home.

Rating: Among my all-time favorites (5 out of 5 stars)

Review: Unwrapping Encanto was a pleasure: from movie musical to “murder” mystery to meditation on intergenerational trauma, Encanto moves at a breakneck pace to artfully tell the story of one incredible family’s bumpy road to healing.

Chosen “Accolades”/Trivia:

Most Heartbreaking Place-Setting Reveal: you know the one (no spoilers here)

Best Case for Having In-Universe Depictions of Characters: the luminescent door designs of the magical Madrigal family members. (Who else wanted to try making their own right after?)

Best Use of Revisiting the Past with a Different Perspective: Abuela’s silent scream as a young woman

Why Does This Really Read as a Stage Musical?: the plot advances in the songs (written by the experienced Lin-Manuel Miranda), instead of pausing for emotional interlude. Also, choreographer Jamal Sims was involved in development from start to finish, contributing to the intricate stage-like movement in the musical’s numbers

Links:

Trailer (minimal spoiler–version in my opinion)

Rotten Tomatoes (91% positive critic reviews)

#Overviews #Encanto #5 Stars #Seen in 2021 #Felix Sees Movies

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Come As You Are (2019)

Synopsis: Three disabled virgins set out for a place where they can change one of those things.

Rating: Among my recent favourites. (4.5 out of 5 stars)

Review: Confident direction and a talented cast let Come as You Are go from laugh-out-loud funny to genuinely moving in moments. Beautiful visuals (e.g. cinematography, costume design) and an understated score round out the movie, making it a complete testament to the fact that as long as there are interesting people, there are good freaking stories.

Addendum: This reviewer just learned that this movie missed a huge opportunity to cast actors who have the disabilities that the disabled main characters do. The above review and the movie itself should be considered with this context in mind.

Links:

Trailer

Rotten Tomatoes (95% positive critic reviews)

#Come As You Are #4.5 Stars #Overviews #Seen in 2021

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God’s Own Country (2017)

Synopsis: A disillusioned young farmer finds out he has a lot to learn from the migrant worker hired to help him.

Rating: Liked it a lot. (3.5 out of 5 stars)

Review: Against a beautiful, muted rural backdrop, God's Own Country shines a spotlight on how jarring it can be to find something you really want from life, only to face losing it and maybe not having the strength to fight for it back.

Chosen Accolades:

Most visual storytelling done by a piece of clothing since Brokeback Mountain: Gheorghe's sweater.

Most intimate hand touch: in a hospital cafeteria.

Missing ending we all deserved: (SPOILER) a scene of happy, mundane domesticity, where Johnny's mom is eating Gheorghe's goat cheese or something.

Number of graphic lamb-skinning scenes: one (too many).

Links:

Rotten Tomatoes: 99%

#God's Own Country #3.5 Stars #Overviews #Seen in 2018

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Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)

Synopsis: Four teenagers, trapped together in a video game, have to navigate both their new avatars and each other to have a chance of getting out.

Rating: Among my recent favourites. (4.5 out of 5)

Review: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is surprisingly sweet and funny, deftly executing the body-switch-leading-to-personal-growth concept thanks to heads-up writing and committed acting from all eight leads. It also illustrates how simple but clear video-game mechanics can provide fun plot/character opportunities for a movie. 

Chosen Accolades:

Best Character Nominee: Bethany Walker (played aptly by Madison Iseman but out of the water by Jack Black) is emotionally intelligent and ultimately consistently uplifting of others.

Best Combination Bad Flirting/Fight Scene Award: writers/choreographers/Peter Frampton (for the song)/Karen Gillan (for everything else).

Oddly Satisfyingly Unhomophobic Moment: Shelly revives Seaplane via mouth-to-mouth and it's played completely straight and ultimately touching (neither pun intended).

Satisfying Ending: (SPOILER) The distinct but equally satisfying emotional connections among the core five characters at the end showcases that love can take many forms.

Links:

Rotten Tomatoes: 76%

#Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle #4.5 Stars #Overviews #Seen in 2018

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New Post Format Incoming!

[felixseesmovies]

Overview: Magic Mike (2012)

A stripper takes a young'un under his professional wing.

Didn't particularly like or dislike it.

Director Steven Soderbergh has a talent for creating moments of cinematic clarity, where what he wants to show is what the audience gets. But it's not enough to help Magic Mike overcome its, for their bulges and gyrations, flat male characters.

Trailer | Rotten Tomatoes (80%) | Posters | Bechdel: Yes | Russo: No

#Magic Mike #Steven Soderbergh #Reid Carolin #Cody Horn #Channing Tatum #Alex Pettyfer #Overviews #2012 #2.5 Stars #Bechdel Yes #Russo No

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Overview: The Wolverine (2013)

Angry loner Wolverine goes to Japan, where he's still angry, but less lonely.

Liked it.

The Wolverine's plot is never quite not ridiculous, but main trio Hugh Jackman, Rila Fukushima and Tao Okamoto have good chemistry and succeed in making the movie fun to watch.

Trailer | Rotten Tomatoes (69%) | Posters | Bechdel: Yes | Russo: No

#The Wolverine #James Mangold #Mark Bomback #Scott Frank #Hugh Jackman #Overviews #3 Stars #Bechdel Yes #Russo No #2013

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Overview: The Referee (2013)

When it comes to sports, it’s not just the competitors who play.

Liked it a lot.

Whimsy and good editing carry The Referee to a satisfying conclusion. The film also offers a valid, though mild, critique of organized-sports establishments.

Trailer | Rotten Tomatoes (n/a) | Posters | Bechdel: No | Russo: No

#The Referee #Paolo Zucca #Barbara Alberti #Stefano Accorsi #Jacopo Cullin #Overviews #2013 #3.5 Stars #Bechdel No #Russo No #Good Trailers

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Overview: August: Osage County (2013)

A death brings a family back under the same roof.

Among my recent favourites.

Some casting choices shine brighter than others, but August: Osage County is still able to maintain a low-burning intensity that is satisfying throughout.

Trailer | Rotten Tomatoes | Posters | Bechdel: Yes | Russo: No

#August: Osage Country #John Wells #Tracy Letts #Meryl Streep #Julia Roberts #Julianne Nicholson #Overviews #2013 #4.5 Stars #Bechdel Yes #Russo No

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Overview: Small Town Gay Bar (2006)

A documentary on places rural LGBTQ Americans have made theirs.

Liked it a lot.

There is a bashfulness with which many of Small Town Gay Bar's subjects talk about their respective havens that, considering the dejection with which they describe other aspects of their daily experiences, is extremely compelling. That the film then gives so much space to its oppositional figures to speak with the ugly brashness they do, no matter how contextualized, feels strongly like a disservice.

Excerpt (no trailer available) | Rotten Tomatoes (100%) | Posters | Bechdel: Yes(?) | Russo: Yes

#Small Town Gay Bar #Malcolm Ingram #Jim Bishop #Terry Capps #Overviews #2006 #3.5 Stars #Bechdel Yes #Russo Yes

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Overview: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

Katniss Everdeen, who won her first Hunger Games, now deals with the aftermath: celebrity and scrutiny.

Loved it.

Plot-wise, a lot happens in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. But it’s all done with style, clarity and enthusiasm, which makes it all easy to absorb.

Trailer | Rotten Tomatoes (89%) | Posters | Bechdel: Yes | Russo: No

#The Hunger Games: Catching Fire #Francis Lawrence #Jennifer Lawrence #Josh Hutcherson #2013 #Overviews #4 Stars #Bechdel Yes #Russo No

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Overview: The Heat (2013)

An FBI agent and local cop reluctantly join forces.

Liked it a lot.

The Heat mostly doesn't feel as fresh as it should—its characters too one-note, its hijinks too tame. But it has the total commitment of its stars, with which it manages.

Trailer | Rotten Tomatoes (66%) | Posters | Bechdel: Yes | Russo: No

#The Heat #Paul Feig #Katie Dippold #Sandra Bullock #Melissa McCarthy #Overviews #2013 #3.5 Stars #Bechdel Yes #Russo No

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Overview: Take Shelter (2011)

A man prepares for a disaster he sees coming.

Liked it a lot.

Conceptually ambitious but modest its execution, Take Shelter is a justifiably unnerving story about the inherent illusion in preparedness.

Trailer | Rotten Tomatoes (92%) | Posters | Bechdel: Yes | Russo: No

#Take Shelter #Jeff Nichols #Michael Shannon #Jessica Chastain #2011 #Overviews #Bechdel Yes #Russo No #3.5 Stars

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Overview: Elephant (2003)

A high-school shooting happens.

Liked it a lot.

Haunting and consistently both conventional and surprising, Elephant forces us to confront our lofty expectations of characters we meet in fiction.

Trailer | Rotten Tomatoes (72%) | Posters | Bechdel: Yes | Russo: Yes

#Elephant #Gus Van Sant #Overviews #2003 #3.5 Stars #Bechdel Yes #Russo Yes

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Overview: Frozen (2013)

A princess hides the magical powers she was born with from her people, including her sister, with whom she used to be close.

Among my all-time favourites.

Polished to an impressive degree, Frozen offers concise, effective storytelling, an even, playful tone, commendable characters and a soundtrack worth revisiting.

Trailer | Rotten Tomatoes (89%) | Posters | Bechdel: Yes | Russo: Yes

#Frozen #Chris Buck #Jennifer Lee #Kristen Bell #Idina Menzel #Overviews #5 Stars #Bechdel Yes #Russo No #2013

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Overview: This Is the End (2013)

Six guys face an apocalyptic scenario. Alternatively: Apocalypse Now with James Franco.

Can't say I particularly liked or disliked it.

This Is the End starts off well, thanks to the charm of its actors-as-characters and the novelty of that concept. But once the movie decides to have an actual plot, its flat, indistinguishable characters become a lot less compelling.

Trailer | Rotten Tomatoes (83%) | Posters | Bechdel: No | Russo: No

#This Is the End #Evan Goldberg #Seth Rogan #Jay Baruchel #James Franco #2013 #Overviews #2.5 Stars #Bechdel No #Russo No

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Overview: Drinking Buddies (2013)

Two co-workers are best friends.

Loved it.

Drinking Buddies is thoughtful, consistent and uncomplicated. And while it offers valuable insight on the difference between friendship and romance, it’s really about how all good relationships depend on the same thing: the ability to let things go (some times more gracefully than others).

Trailer | Rotten Tomatoes (82%) | Posters | Bechdel: Yes | Russo: No

#Drinking Buddies #Joe Swanberg #Olivia Wilde #Jake Johnson #Anna Kendrick #Overviews #2013 #Bechdel Yes #Russo No #4 Stars