The Nightingale

Jennifer Kent's debut The Babadook, left me underwhelmed. Her follow up i didn't have much interest in but it being on Hulu sparked an interest. This is a beautiful film but one of the most boring films i have seen in some time. There are moments of greatness in the art house style but it doesn't go all in. Instead it feels like she wanted to make a film for Oscar Bait. It is well made, well executed but didn't do it for me.

2020 Most Anticipated Films

1. The French Dispatch-Wes Anderson, all you need to know

2.Last Night in Soho-Edgar Wright, enough said

3. Bill & Ted Face the Music-Been waiting my whole life for this!

4. Halloween Kills-C'mon

5. Tenet-This looks like the film i wanted from Christopher Nolan post Dark Knight Rises

6. Godzilla v Kong-The last two have been kaju filled dreams, so  i am stoked.

7. Ghostbusters Afterlife-Finally a third Ghostbusters

8. A Quiet Place 2- Unneeded sequel but if it is as good as the first i am down.

9. Death on the Nile-Sequel to Murder on the Orient Express

10. Dune-I love the David Lynch film, but it is a mess. Imagine what can be done with Dennis Villeneuve on board. 

11. Wonder Woman 1984-Hoping it sticks to being more stand alone.

12. Invisible Man-Leigh Whannell impressed with Upgrade so i am all in for this.

13. Without Remorse-From the director of Sicaro: Day of the Saldado

14. Free Guy-The video game premise alone is original enough for me.

15. No Time to Die-Main reason i am stoked for this is Rami Malek

16. Downhill-From the directors of the under appreciated The Way Way Back

17, The Lovebirds-Michael Showalter knocked it out with the Big Sick, hoping this is half as good.

18. The Purge 5-Original director(and director of Anarchy) is back.

19. Artemis Fowl-After Murder on the Orient Express i am all for another Kenneth Branagh film.

20. Trial of the Chicago 7-Perfect topic for Aaron Sorkin

21. Promising Young Woman-Basically a slasher disguised as a vigilante film. #Killtherapists

22. The Woman in the Window-Hopefully a return to form for Joe Wright, looks promising.

23. Black Widow-Unnecessary film but trailer looks awesome. Should have been pre Endgame

24. Venom 2-First one got too much hate.

25. Antlers-Haven't really loved most of Scott Coopers films but the trailer for this has me intrigued.

Lost in Space Season 2

Season 2 of Lost in Space improves on everything  from the first season. The episodes still feel cluttered and characters get in situations for no other reason than to have a cliff hanging moment, and not even an end of episode cliff hanger. Characters will be safe, then go make a rescue, find out they can't do what they set out to do and get rescued by someone else. It makes no sense but it looks cool and it is entertaining. The characters are better developed this year, the action is better a are the effects. The final episode with the kill bots all battling it out was the best thing this series has done. It was greatness that should be used in theatrical films.

Charlie's Angels

So i watched reruns of Charlie's Angels as a kid, i liked em, i liked most of the old shows. Chips, A Team, Dukes of Hazards, etc. When the film came out i saw it, it wasn't very good but i had a big enough of a crush on Drew Barrymore to see the sequel. She was even hotter but the film was still sub par. Elizabeth Banks....a girl that i have always found hot and funny, in film, yet annoying in real life. She always rubbed me wrong, seeming like the "cool girl" that claimed to know what it was like to be bullied. That is neither here nor there but it went in to her mission statement of us vs them. See while her first film, Pitch Perfect 2, did nothing for me, i wasn't a fan of the first but i saw it on HBO and figured why not, but now she thinks that her film failed because of men not wanting to see women in film. Well i guess Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel both failed eh? Nope they made money, why because there was an audience. There was no audience for Charlie's Angels, no one asked for it. Fans of the series prefer the series, fans of the 00's movies admit to it being just hot babes, and that is all this was, only with a dumber plot, worse acting and and less skill in directing. If the trailer looked good maybe people would have gone, but no one cared before, no one cares now, no one will care in the future. Continue to make shitty films, go on, and not good shitty films, or fun shitty films, continue to make shit films. Thank you, fuck you bye. But no...the film isn't that bad, i mean it is but it isn't the worst thing ever.

Bombshell

Jay Roach has made one of the more important films this year yet one i feel will lose power within  couple of years for flying under the radar. Great acting from all three leads, a tight script and Roach proving once again he is more than a comedy director.  Take your Black Christmas and shove it, this is the real female empowerment anti assault film of the winter.

A Christmas Carol

I love a Christmas Carol, seen many versions both on film and on stage, when i saw FX would air the BBC version i was stoked. What we got was a well acted, beautifully shot, and dark spin on the holiday classic. It could have used a bit of trimming, perhaps being a film instead of a mini series but overall it was a solid take.

A Hidden Life

A Hidden Life cements my theory of no longer giving director shots regardless of having AMC A List. Terrence Malick is a powerful director but holy fuck he might just be the most boring filmmaker of all time. He gets good performances through berating his stars but lately, and especially here it feels synthetic. This film might be his most pretentious to date, and all of his are. 2020 i start a new thing, i begin to cut directors, and shows, and promotions. I don't need to waste time with boring tripe.

The Mandalorian

Well, this show knocked out two of my gripes. 1) That not everything needs to be a series. That still is true, but the Star Wars universe is so vast that a series makes sense. Especially with Rise of Skywalker ending the saga....for now, a series can keep SW alive. 2) Disney Plus, yeah i'm still not sold but for everyone on the fence, it is worth it for the Mandalorian alone. We seen mandalorians, droids, bounty hunters, storm troopers, the post fall of the Empire, and the cutest creation this side of Alexa Bliss. The show has an underlining theme especially the first three and final two episodes. The middle three were awesome planet of the week episodes. The show has great western nods, and is one of the more cinematic shows not on HBO or called Mr. Robot. Being episodic helps out too, makes episodes not blur together. I can't wait to resubscribe to Disney Plus to watch season 2.

Little Women

Greta Gerwig's follow up to Lady Bird cements her in two categories. Category the one, she will make oscar bait every time, category the second, she will atleast inject quirk into the films. I love the cast here, the cast is fantastic, they add more layers to this film then ever seen before in the realm of adaptations of this material. While charming, the plot still does nothing for me, the main reason i saw this is because of Greta directing.

Uncut Gems

Two years ago i saw Good Time, and i knew i would have to watch the older Safdie Brother films, but doing so became a chore. Perhaps Good Time was a one and done of greatness, or perhaps it was the start of their auteur phase. If you ask most critics Uncut Gems is even better, but to me, while it is a solid film with neon drenched lighting and great acting, it is ultimately kind of dull. I was bored with this, and i hated every character except for Julia. Perhaps that is more for her being hot, but she did make me want to see her succeed in getting some money. The last act is quite tense and easily the best part of the film but by that point i hated everyone and just wanted the film to end. For me, Good Time is the only film of theirs worth a damn. This here is well crafted cinema but not enough for me to become a mark for the Brothers Safdie.

Mr. Robot

Certain shows debut and automatically feel like game changers. I remember that feeling with Lost, Breaking Bad, and Stranger Things, where after the pilot i was just wowed. Mr. Robot is a show that i want to say i watched the pilot back to back when it started. This might be the most masterfully crafted series of all time. The show has it all, powerful acting, a strong score, an amazing soundtrack, snappy dialogue and some of the most gripping storytelling i've ever seen. Sam Esmail is a gift, he has written and directed almost every episode and each one looks fantastic, some of the best tracking shots and title sequences in any medium. This is a series i was scared of going in to season 2, i thought the critical acclaim would make it cater to critics more than the fan base, but it went the opposite direction, then season 3 went even more bonkers. The fourth and final season started off as shocking as possible but the first episode of two of the season felt tame, that all changed. This is possibly the best season yet, sure as fuck is the most tense, and last weeks episode was just insane. Tonight's....holy hell, what  a ride. It's been over for almost a half hour and my heart is still racing. It was surreal and a total mind fuck, so many sharp twists and turns, so many layers. It was scary at times how much of a masterclass this episode was. If this was a bit more main stream i could see this episode being divisive but i think the audience expects this type of shit from this series. Even a show like Lost had a divided finale for it's insane final episode, so i am sure some might hate this, but i loved every second of it. Was it the finale i wanted? No, but that is why i loved it, fuck fan service and just create greatness. This was two of the finest hours of television, one of the best episodes of any series, possibly my second favorite series finale of all time. There were so many emotions felt in this episode, bewilderment, confusion, cringe, joy, fear, pressure, bittersweetness, happiness, closure, all wrapped around saying what the fuck while checking your pulse. Alot of loose ends and missing bits from season 1 are answered and the future of the characters is left up to interpretation. Check your connections and knowledge at the door, everything you thought you knew has changed. Thank you, Sam. Goodbye, friend. #FuckSociety 

Black Christmas

Holy fuck, Black Christmas is a mess. I was one that defended the trailer, i ignored the reviews, but holy hell. I love that this film has a message but holy shit this films message is beat over your head. It is a message that needs it but this isn't the type of film, it loses all fun when all you think about is rape. That is the films main flaw, it is just isn't good enough to have a message.the acting, the script, the plot, the kills, nothing works. I love Imogen Poots but this film is not Green Room, that is a film with a message. This doesn't suck cause it is Pg13, this doesn't suck because it points the finger at men, it sucks because it doesn't know how to tell a story.

Code 8

Code 8 is an interesting film, it was an interesting short that easily could have been expanded on. Think a society where supers are registered, but thematically it is more in common with Kin. Kin is a much better film in my opinion. This is a quick watch but it feels empty, there are ideas but nothing comes full circle. Honestly this is one film where i feel it would have been better as a series, but it was all crowd funded, so they worked with the budget they had, and i have to respect that.

Togo

I hadn't heard much of Togo until the other day. I saw an interview with Willem DaFoe and it sounded interesting, and the trailer looked decent. With the few weeks i still have Disney Plus i might aswell try out their films and this was a damn good film. Based on the true story of a Dog Sled team transporting medicine it has a lot of heart. With Dafoe you know you'll get good acting but for me the best part were the visuals. This is one gorgeous film, almost sad it wasn't theatrical.

Smoke & Mirrors

I think Shudder has found their niche with horror docs. Smoke & Mirrors about Tom Savini aded new light to Savini's career. It is honest too, people admit he's a dick, he's even shown as a dick at times but under all of that we see a man with a family that supported him and a dream he chased.

The Rise of Skywalker

4 years ago i said no film would match Force Awakens ever again. That is true, the anticipation of a new Star Wars would never be the same since Disney churns em out. The Rise Of Skywalker nearly had that anticipation, the anticipation of closure. Sure you can say we had that in 1983, and we did, but this is Disney, so they had to get their fingers on it, and this isn't really the end, but it had more of a closure buzz for me than Avengers Endgame did. Endgame just felt like a conveyor belt film, but Rise of Skywalker felt like so much more. This was everything i wanted in a Star Wars film. The set designs was gorgeous as was the wardrobe, plus most of the film looked like a painting. The plot fixes what was done in the Last Jedi, now i dig Last Jedi, but it is flawed. How that is the one critics love and this is the one critics trash is beyond me. That film made characters regress, but here to progress to how they should be. Rey is becoming a Jedi, Poe is still brash but in a respectful way unlike Last Jedi, FInn is the winner though, he isn't a pussy like he went back to being in Lest Jedi but instead a strong leader. The droids get good time as do bit players in the Resistance. Kylo's arc is perfect, i could see some saying it became repetitive but to me it was needed for where he goes. Hell we could have used more scenes, push this to 3 hours, it wouldn't have hurt as the pacing was light speed fast, Now there is a certain Force Ghost and thank fuck we get a proper send off that is true to the character. I wont say the name, but c'mon put 2 & 2 together, it is Star Wars a ghost is bound to come up. The battles were top notch, the score was beautiful, this film was poetic. If you hate this film, ask yourself why. Did you already hate the new trilogy, then you were bound to with your get off my lawn mentality. Did you hate it cause you loved the Last Jedi, well fuck off, this here is a fun and fast film, it is a Star Wars film, through & through. Good & evil, light and dark, this is a film that should be celebrated. If you hate then go watch the Mandalorian, in fact i finally want this universe to end in film and just focus on TV. I usually hate the forced TV angle these days but this universe can be expanded upon without the characters we know. Let this be the swan song, i mean i'll still totally see a new film, but this is legit a perfect ending to the greatest franchise of all time.

Bliss

The Mind's Eye and Almost Human were two of the better under the radar horror films that the horror news sites jizzed over. Bliss might be the directors best film yet. A sexy, dark & surreal horror film that is both a great double bill with Daniel Isn't Real and a way better remake of Rabid than the Soskas could ever imagine.

Richard Jewell

Like many Clint Eastwood films based on real life tales, Richard Jewel is a fine film but one that doesn't feel like it needed to be made. Even the best, such as American Sniper don't really feel needed, only reason i saw it twice was because a friend had it on and i wound up watching the entire thing. It is a powerful film but even the powerful films can feel odd, like why was this made? In American SNipers case it was to shed new light, for Richard Jewel, it basically is bringing an old topic back to life, a topic i only vaguely remember. To me 96 was a great year for the olympics, the Basketball dream team was my summer of that year, well that and the NWO and the rise of Steve Austin and Mandkind. Speaking of which 96 is also the year of Kurt Angle in the Olympics.  Do i remember Richard Jewel? Not so much, will i remember this film? Probably not.

Jumanji: The Next Level

Jumanji The Next Level is a fucking blast, honestly it is my favorite of the trilogy. It is the funnest of the bunch and has some of the funniest performances. In this one the avatars are more meaningful. Bravestone & Mouse repair friendships. The Professor helps overcome body images, and even Spencer's new avatar makes him realize that the body of the Rock doesn't win hearts, but the mind & heart within is what wins hearts.

Marriage Story

Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story might be his most depressing film. It starts off hopeful showing husband and wife both talking about what they love about each other. From their it gets rough, we see how lawyers can make a civil situation turn nasty and how the benefit of a child gets strung along. Terrific acting, heartfelt moments that pull the heart strings and Noah's most mature outing.

6 Underground

6 Underground is easily the most entertaining Michael Bay film. It is still a cluster of a plot  but it is fast paced, funny & bloody. So fucking bloody, like eyes gouged out, decapitations, head shots, all the fucking time. The opening scene is one of the better car chases in recent memory. I'm not a Bay guy, but this might be my favorite of his.

Rabid

Rabid, the visceral film from the imaginative David Cronenberg  was remade as Rabid, a boring film with forced gore from two hacks like the Soska Sisters. Everyone worships the sisters but honestly outside of Dead Hooker nothing much else has impressed me, American Marry was okay, but their WWE films were pretty bad, but they don't compare to this. This is haute garbage.

The Head Hunter

The Head Hunter on Shudder is a film that i only heard about in the past month. Various sites raved about it and on Rotten Tomatoes it has a 100%......out of 12 reviews. I hope it gets more reviews in case someone takes RT to heart and thinks this will be some masterpiece. It has some sweet looking and brutal moments but overall i was quite bored by this. Shudder isn't all that great when it comes to film.

Dark Waters

Dark Waters is yet again another powerful film from Todd Haynes. In fact this may very well be his most powerful to date. Wonderstruck is still my favorite of his but Mark Ruffalo delivers such an amazing performance and it helps that there is alot of him in this character.

South Park

South Park season 23 like most recent seasons is a mixed bag. The over lining arc  of the first 6 episodes was funny but went on too long. The transgender episode was funny but full of controversy, turd burglars was pure SP through & through, lack of topical issues and just pure gross out humor. The cable company vs Streaming services is probably my second favorite of the bunch, i'll get to my favorite in a second. The finale, Christmas Special was a fun coke filled romp....but my favorite, no it wasn't Season Finale, the 6th episode but Halloween Special. Go figure an episode about zombies would be my number 1.

Last Christmas

Paul Feig is an odd director for me. I love what he helped out with on TV, Freaks & Geeks and the Office. His films are a mixed bag however. I Am David is quite boring, Unaccompanied Minors is pretty bad,  Bridesmaids while funny, isn't really rewatchable. The Heat has some moments but it too isn't that rewatchable,Spy falls into that category as well but i never tried a second time. Ghostbusters i honestly enjoy the most of the batch well until A Simple Favor, neither of which have i tried to rewatch but i feel a Simple Favor might be the winner. Last Christmas is a sappy as film, with tired RomCom tropes that just happens to have a decent twist ending, a twist ending that in itself is also full of sap. If you want a christmas flick with romance just go watch Love Actually.

Trick

I'm a pretty big Patrick Lussier fan, as well as Todd Farmer, it might stem from them both being cool guys whom i've chatted with alot years ago. Their my Bloody Valentine is better than the original, and i hoped Trick would have been of the same. Alas this is a great plot, a Halloween annual killer, but it falls short. If it had maybe been a little script doctored it might have been an excellent screenplay. I was never bored by this but it ultimately is not what i wanted out of a Halloween themed horror film.

Freaks

On paper Freaks is a great idea. A father and daughter hide in their hour from dangers outside. But the danger outside, humans. This is a well made, well acted film but i wish they expanded more on the plot. SOme of the subplots felt jumbled but they are sprinkled in here and there. It is worth a watch for something to waster a little over 90 minutes with. 

Noelle

Noelle makes Disney 1 to 1 with Disney Plus films. It was enjoyable enough but nothing i'd bring up like say Lady & THe Tramp. Neither will i watch again but this felt like a Freeform movie or even a better made Hallmark film. I love the cast, Hader is great as usual and Kendrick is as adorable as ever but the film just felt like a cheap cash grab for Disney on their launch.

Where'd You Go Bernadette

Where'd You Go Bernadette, more like Where'd You Go Richard Linklater? Everybody Wants Some felt like a Linklater film but Last Flag Flying and and this both felt like director for hire rojects, even though they were written by him. This film was well made but was quite dull, it was well acted but  i wasn't invested.

Silicon Valley The Final Season

The first 4 seasons of Silicon Valley were brilliant. Season 5 started off spotty but ended with some of the shows best episodes. The 6th & final season was quite underwhelming with the exception of the final two episodes. Tonight's finale was satisfying but the final scene felt anti climatic. Regardless this will go down as one of the best sitcoms of all time.

Honey Boy

Honey Boy, the Shia LaBeouf written film that is a bio pic without being a bio pic is a damn fine film. Shia wrote it while is therapy, the character based on him, Otis played be Lucas Hedges, even brings up writing a script while he himself is in rehab. In an odd sort of therapy Shia essentially plays his own father. As a child star he had fame and money....and his father as an employee, an abusive employee at that. There are some intentionally cringe moments here, and the film is light yet powerful. Also it starts off with the Transformers.

Midway

Roland Emmerich hasn't done much for me outside of Independence Day, but Midway looked pretty good. Visually it is stunning, the film has heart but no depth. Take away the visuals and the film is quite dull. The heart comes from the climax, it feels as though the characters have more development in the final scene than the rest of the film.

Portals

Great concept, terrible execution There are some surreal moments that have potential but fall flat. Most of the characters are uninteresting plus the gore looks cheap as fuck. If this had not been billed as an anthology film i might have passed. Bloody Disgusting is not the best stamp for distribution.

Match of November

Mens War Games: Takeover War Games

Womens War Games: Takeover War Games

Pete Dunne vs Killian Dain vs Damien Priest: Takeover War Games

Lio Rush vs Angel Garza: NXT TV Cruiserweight Title

Pete Dunne vs Damien Priest:  NXT TV

Adam Cole vs Daniel Bryan" NXT Title Smackdown

Rey Mysterio vs Drew McIntyre vs Randy Orton vs Ricochet

Undisputed Era vs OC: NXT TV

Finn Balor  vs Matt Riddle: Takeover War Games

Undisputed Era  vs Keith Lee & Dominic Dijakovic: Tag Titles NXT TV

Chris Jericho vs Cody: AEW Title: Full Gear

Myron Reed vs Teddy Hart: Middleweight title: Fusion

Stairway to Hell: Mancer Warner vs Jimmy Havoc vs Bestia 666: Superfight

Dominic Dijakovic vs Swerve: NXT TV

Tyler Bate Vs Kasius Ohno: NXT UK

Travis Banks vs Ligero : NXT UK

Will Ospreay vs Bushi: JR Heavyweight Title: Power Struggle

Shayna Baszler vs Dakota Kai: NXT TV

Kenta vs Ishii: Power Struggle

Angel Garza vs Tony Nese: NXT TV

Low ki vs Timothy Thatcher: Fusion

Teddy Hart vs Austin Aries: Middleweight title: Superfight

Tom Lawlor vs Timothy Thatcher: Superfight

Grizzled Young Veterans VS Mark Andrews & FLash Morgan Webster: NXT UK

Finn Balor vs Tomasso Ciampa

Room 104

Season 3 was easily the biggest mixed bag of the series. FOr every great episode there was one...mediocre episode. Some were too forced, some just were dull, others were surreal, but fuck a duck, if the episode about selling your soul wasn't the best of the season if not the entire run.