#quarantinereviews

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“Phone Booth” (2002). Masterfully edited and paced, keeps your attention for the entire runtime, which isn’t even 90 minutes so I guess that shouldn’t be that hard. It could’ve been a little longer honestly. The tension keeps building and building until it finally reaches a satisfactory climax and let’s the audience breathe. I think Colin Farrell is one of the best actors working today, it’s nice to go back and see when he was first getting into his stride, but the genius is still visible. Kiefer Sutherland is perfect casting for The Caller, calm and collected, but menacing at the same time. This hits all the beats you want a good thriller to hit. 7.6/10. #QuarantineReviews #PhoneBooth #ColinFarrell https://www.instagram.com/p/B_lbVDvgGsj/?igshid=1ndsh29erwi3k

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“Cast Away” (2000). Recently I’ve been catching up on a lot of Tom Hanks Classics that I’ve missed out on over the years and I have to say, this is one of my new favorites. Incredible powerhouse performance from Hanks. Why is he so good in literally everything? Robert Zemeckis is an amazing director, you have to be to pull of this kind of movie. (He made “Back to the Future” so it’s not like we didn’t know) I assumed that Hanks would get off the island by the end, but I wasn’t expecting there to be such a long and emotional epilogue, that was my favorite part of the movie. Sorry if I spoiled it for you, but it’s a 20 year old movie. I know Wilson has become the butt of many jokes over the years, but he was a real one! 8.9/10. #CastAway #TomHanks #RobertZemeckis #MovieReview #QuarantineReviews https://www.instagram.com/p/CC0bwqTg-n2/?igshid=fpjcphn51hwt

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“Rashomon” (1950). I have been familiar with the name, Akira Kurosawa, for years now. I know he’s considered one of the most influential filmmakers of all time, inspiring some of my personal heroes, like George Lucas and Martin Scorsese, he probably influenced every great director from their generation. I started hearing Kurosawa’s name as a kid watching the “making of” documentaries about Star Wars, George was a big fan of Japanese films and based the Jedi off of the samurai from them. So after 22 years on this Earth I decided to finally dive into Kurosawa’s legendary filmography. The only reason I decided to start with this film is because it was late and this was the shortest one I had access to. But it turned out to be a great choice! Fantastic film! The cinematography is absolutely beautiful! The story is told with brilliant use of flashbacks, cutting back and forth to different characters recounting their perspectives of a crime that was recently committed. Toshirô Modine gives an amazing performance, I know he and Kurosawa collaborated on many films and I can’t wait to see what else they have in store for me. There’s great action too and it all serves a purpose, I thought the final fight went on a little too long though. Amazing film, 70 years after its release it holds up insanely well. I think I’m going to jump into “Seven Samurai” next! 8.8/10. #Rashomon #AkiraKurosawa #MovieReview #QuarantineReviews https://www.instagram.com/p/CB5JrauAFK9/?igshid=bm64qnsp7hc1

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“The Peanuts Movie” (2015). I’ve been wanting to watch this since it came out, I don’t know why it took me 5 years. If I remember correctly it came out the same weekend as “Creed” and I saw that instead, definitely no regrets there. I didn’t love this movie as much as I had hoped, but it’s still really good. I think hardcore Peanuts fans and young kids will probably get the most out of it. I’m a casual Peanuts fan, I grew up watching all of the holiday specials, but “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is the only one I can say I absolutely loved. I could care less about that “Great” pumpkin. Snoopy is my favorite character, I’m sure most people say that, everyone loves the dog. But maybe not, maybe some of you psychos like Lucy. So, the Snoopy and Woodstock scenes were my favorite. I would actually really like to see a silent film in this style just about Snoopy and Woodstock, I guess technically it wouldn’t be silent because they would make their weird noises, but there would be no English whatsoever. That’s my dream for the Peanuts franchise. I loved the animation, it’s a beautiful film visually and you can tell everyone involved has the utmost respect for this property and wants to do right by it and put so much love into this movie. I just thought the story was a little too simple, but I’ll give it a pass because technically it is intended for children. It’s a cute movie overall. 7.5/10. #ThePeanuts #ThePeanutsMovie #MovieReview #CharlesSchulz #QuarantineReviews #Snoopy
https://www.instagram.com/p/CB2L1bXAUEZ/?igshid=sl7dc2yd3aik

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“Good Morning, Vietnam” (1987). One of the best films about the Vietnam War I’ve ever seen, even though it doesn’t focus on much of the war itself. It’s one of those films that balances comedy and drama perfectly. Brilliant performance by the late great Robin Williams, earning him his first of four Oscar nominations. I’m glad he finally won one, but he probably should have won for this, but I haven’t seen the other nominees from that year yet so I might disagree with that statement later. The point is, he’s amazing and the film is worth watching for his performance alone. 8.6/10. #GoodMorningVietnam #RobinWilliams #MovieReview #QuarantineReviews https://www.instagram.com/p/CBzJbZTAlrk/?igshid=1834t9crpsxuj

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“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2” (2012). Definitely better than Part 1, still doesn’t come close to the touching the magic of the first film though. I think if I had watched all of these in the height of their popularity my mind might have been blown, but I was just mildly amused. I’m sure this was a very satisfying conclusion to fans back then though. Both parts definitely could have been one movie, after seeing this one, Part 1 feels even more unnecessary. Even though this one clocks in at almost 2 hours long (this is the shortest one, I feel like it should be the opposite) it feels rushed and nothing substantial happens until the final act. I don’t know who decided that child should be CGI for half of the movie, but that was a terrible choice. We’re introduced to a bunch of new characters that we’re apparently supposed to care about because we’re constantly told they’re “friends”. Rami Malek plays one of them who’s not only a vampire, but The Avatar too apparently. Michael Sheen was delightful again. The final battle was pretty cool, I already knew the twist though, if I didn’t it probably would have been more effective. Maybe even shocking. The tagline is “The Epic Finale That Will Live Forever”, “epic” seems like a strong word. It’s a satisfying conclusion, but not as spectacular as I had hoped. This is the only film to have an opening credits sequence which was jarring, especially since they had another one at the end that featured every actor in the entire saga, even ones who weren’t in this film. They really thought this was the “Avengers: Endgame” of 2012 huh? 7.3/10. And none of these titles make any sense, what is this Dawn that is supposedly Breaking? I don’t understand. #Twilight #BreakingDawn #TheTwilightSaga #breakingdawnpart2 #MovieReview #QuarantineReviews #TeamEdward #TeamAlice https://www.instagram.com/p/CBwIj1xgtDf/?igshid=znybq6jiv6hd

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“The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” (2010). The tent scene is not nearly as steamy as I remember so I don’t know why I never finished the movie, I actually really enjoyed the end, the fight was pretty badass. I definitely enjoyed the story in this one more than the previous installment, but I think “New Moon” is a better made film overall. I’m glad we finally seem to be progressing to an eventful conclusion. Hopefully. Even though each film gets larger in terms of spectacle, the story always seems rather small for the most part and at times that can get a little boring. I liked that we got more backstory for various characters, especially Rosalie. I didn’t like her in the first two, but I’ve come around. She had a tragic past that turned into a “Kill Bill” type of tale, I wasn’t expecting that. I’m also glad we don’t have to deal with that Victoria chick anymore, that was starting to get old. It was slightly better in this one because Bryce Dallas Howard played her (I don’t know why they recast her, but she was a good choice). The whole Victoria thing added extra drama I didn’t really care about though. I’m ready to see what the creepy little Dakota Fanning Vampire is up to because it can’t good. Her eyes are freaking me out! I like these wolves too, Jacob is a jerk, but I like when he wolfs out. And Bella punching him in the face was hilarious. 7.1/10. Why is is it called “Eclipse” though?! I was expecting a lunar eclipse to be crucial to the plot. #Twilight #Eclipse #TheTwilightSaga #MovieReview #QuarantineReviews #TeamEdward #TeamAlice
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBrqEqVAF5j/?igshid=1l618dd0v2ygp

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“The Twilight Saga: New Moon” (2009). Definitely not as much of a banger as the first, I find it’s lack of Edward disturbing. The beginning and end were great, but a lot of the middle was very lackluster to me. I don’t find the character of Jacob very interesting, I get that he’s a wolf boy now, but he can put on a shirt every once and a while. The entire second act was pretty much the same as the first movie, just more wolfy. Don’t get me wrong, the wolves are cool, but we saw Bella have an awkward relationship with a monster boy in the last movie. It was a very melodramatic film, that cliffhanger ending was a little ridiculous. The third act saved this movie for me, I thought the secret vampire organization was intriguing. I liked the introduction of Michael Sheen’s character, he had a very minimal role, but he was delightful! Chris Weitz did a pretty good job directing. That title card at the beginning was beautiful, very cinematic imagery. Reminded me of the different bat symbols Christopher Nolan put at the beginning of every film in The Dark Knight trilogy if I do say so myself. Again, not nearly as good as the first, but I haven’t thought either installment was horrible yet, so I don’t know why this franchise gets so much hate. 7.3/10. #Twilight #NewMoon #TheTwilightSagaNewMoon #MovieReview #TeamEdward #TeamAlice #QuarantineReviews https://www.instagram.com/p/CBofhLmAfJk/?igshid=1plp251p62pwl

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“Twilight” (2008). I’ve seen this before, but not since it’s 2009 DVD release. I never finished the TWILIGHT SAGA, I got up to the last third of “Eclipse” and I think Bella and Edward hooked up in a tent or something and my young Catholic boy mind was like, “NOPE! Enough of this smut!” And not that I cared that much but I’m pretty sure I was Team Jacob back then, which only shows how much of a moron I was in the 5th and 6th grade. I’m definitely Team Edward all the way now, he’s basically a superhero, he should be on the Avengers or Justice League or something. I’m very positive he could outrun the Flash and beat the Hulk in a round of fisticuffs. In reality, I’m more Team Alice, I don’t think that was a thing, but it should've been. It is now. The way she throws out a pitch in baseball makes me feel things. That baseball scene is one of the coolest things ever put on film by the way, don't @ me! I’m surprised by how much I enjoyed this. Eleven years after its initial release, Twilight still bangs! I’m also surprised by how much it made me laugh, though I suspect sometimes that was unintentional. I really liked the look and feel of the film. Director, Catherine Hardwicke, really did a great job establishing this universe. It’s a shame she didn’t get to direct the other installments. Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson are two of my favorite actors working today, it’s fun to go back and see where they got their start. The people who still don’t take them seriously because of these movies are imbeciles, they weren’t even bad in this movie and they’ve only gotten better since. The fact that we’re getting a Robert Pattinson Batman movie late next year is one of the only things getting me out of bed in the morning. I bought the entire saga on Blu-ray, I’m ready to finally dive in and give them their due. But I’m afraid it might be all downhill from here.  8.5/10. (I watched the Extended Version, don’t know how much of a difference that makes) #Twilight #TwilightSaga #MovieReview #TeamEdward #TeamAlice #QuarantineReviews https://www.instagram.com/p/CBoDfvlA_kP/?igshid=128ben2uyil4b

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“Loving” (2016). I don’t remember ever hearing about this story until this film came out 4 years ago. I know everyone was talking about it a week ago because it was the anniversary of the case, I just don’t recall ever learning about it in school. I think this is a story everyone should learn about that’s why I’m surprised I didn’t, especially since I live in Virginia where it takes place. I was forced to learn about Jamestown and other things that happened here 200-400 years ago in multiple grade levels, don’t recall learning about this and if I did, it wasn’t taught well enough. I guess I’m not actually that surprised, disappointed but not surprised as the kids say. It was only 53 years ago, they’re still too ashamed that this was ever a law that had to be changed in the first place to add it to the curriculum. Enough about what the Virginia public school system does or doesn’t teach kids for now. I think Jeff Nichols does a wonderful job telling this story, really highlighting the quieter emotional moments this couple shares. Everything from a technological filmmaking standpoint was beautiful in my opinion. Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton are great in the lead roles. Amazing chemistry. My only big problem was Nick Kroll. He wasn’t bad, but he’s introduced as a kind of quirky character and I don’t think his performance fits with the overall serious tone of the film. Still pretty great though. 8.3/10. #Loving #LovingMovie #MovieReview #QuarantineReviews https://www.instagram.com/p/CBmxfpgALeV/?igshid=hekjamut8jl2

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“Malcolm X” (1993). This is an outstanding biopic, the 3 hour and 20 minute runtime flies by. I applaud Spike Lee for making it that long too, I feel like you really get to know and understand who Malcolm X was. I’ve heard Spike speak about this film before saying it needed to be 3 hours because that’s how long all of the Epics he grew up watching were and to him this was an Epic story. The studio told him he needed to make a 2 hour cut, so he called a bunch of his famous friends and they gave him money so he could make his vision of what the film should be. I love when an artist sticks to their guns! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Denzel Washington is one of the greatest actors to have ever graced the Earth, and this is one of his best performances! At some point you forget you’re watching Denzel because that IS Malcolm X. It’s a brilliant film all around. I especially love how the ending was filmed. Everything about the final act was amazing and even though I knew how this story ended, it was still shocking to watch. I also love the use of music in this film, especially the scene when “A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke played. It might be because I’ve been listening to that song a lot lately, it’s strange when you watch/listen to something and it starts popping up randomly all over the place in your life. Anyway, great song featured in a great movie! 8.9/10. #MalcolmX #SpikeLee #DenzelWashington #QuarantineReviews https://www.instagram.com/p/CBSYHKIAh3P/?igshid=12hb4oyylsa7v

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“I Am Not Your Negro” (2016). I can’t say I’m too familiar with James Baldwin’s work, but after seeing this I truly respect him as an artist/activist and would like to dive into some of it. While this is definitely a relevant and informative documentary, I didn’t connect with all of the creative decisions (visually speaking). They had a few old clips of Baldwin speaking which I liked, but for the most part it wasn’t as captivating for me personally as I had hoped. It’s primarily Samuel L. Jackson reading an unfinished manuscript by Baldwin. Jackson does a great job, he tones down his voice from the usual Sam Jackson were all familiar with ever so slightly so he sounds more like James Baldwin. In the way he speaks at least. There’s obviously a lot to take away from a movie like this, but being the movie lover that I am, I like learning about the history of Hollywood and even movies that never got made. In 1968 James Baldwin was writing a movie about his late friend, Malcolm X, and wanted his other friend, Billy Dee Williams, to play him. I would have liked to see that movie, I don’t know how it would compare to the Spike Lee/Denzel Washington one, but I would have liked to see it. 7.6/10. #IAmNotYourNegro #JamesBaldwin #QuarantineReviews https://www.instagram.com/p/CBM9ss4Anz2/?igshid=1lddfgftf7dcy

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“Selma” (2014). I didn’t know as much about this topic as I thought I did, so this film was educational to say the least. I really liked the different perspectives it showed, like even though MLK and his followers succeeded and President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, Johnson was still being a dick about it. I often see Ava DuVernay referred to as a “Visionary Director” and after watching this I would agree with that title. The movie doesn’t pull any punches, Ava directs brutality of these very well. The marches were some next level stuff. There’s this one scene where Oprah slaps a cop and the moment is followed by what might be my favorite shot in the entire movie. There’s also a scene that involves a gunshot that I don’t think I have the words to describe how it made me feel, but I’ll try anyway. Dramatic gunshots are obviously filmed different than action gunshots (I think) and something about the way it was filmed mixed with the lighting and the atmosphere of the scene made it that much more Powerful and Affective. I’m going to close this out by saying David Oyelowo delivered an ASTOUNDING performance and deserved an Oscar nomination. 8.2/10. #Selma #QuarantineReviews https://www.instagram.com/p/CBKgaemAc06/?igshid=gf8j0p2kqtzo

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“The Hate U Give” (2018). I remember when this came out it was being marketed as a Young Adult movie and I didn’t see it because I didn’t think the message could possibly be as profound as it should be in that type of movie. That was an ignorant way of thinking on my part and I was wrong. It’s a great movie and gets a lot deeper than I thought it would. It’s probably one of the best portrayals of the social issues our country is facing today put on film. Amandla Stenberg is a great actress and does most of the emotional heavy lifting in the film. I also loved the performances by Russell Hornsby and Regina Hall who played her parents in the movie. There was this storyline with Anthony Mackie that I thought was unnecessary for most of the movie, there was just already so much going on I didn’t know why they added extra drama. I was proven wrong again though, that pays off in a big way towards the end of the film. George Tillman Jr. did a great job directing, you can always tell when a story is really personal to the director and that feels like the case here. He also directed a revenge movie starring The Rock called, “Faster”, I don’t think the reviews were very positive, but I liked it! You should check out both movies, but check this one out first. 8.4/10. #TheHateUGive #QuarantineReviews https://www.instagram.com/p/CBFJpo-A-zB/?igshid=ph3e0zpzypjq

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I’m extremely late to the party on this one, it’s a fantastic series. I love the WATCHMEN movie, I know it ends different than the book and this series treats the book ending as canon. I’ve actually never read the book, but I will be rectifying that soon. I do know it’s like one of the most political graphic novels of all time though, so the complaints that the show ruined it because it’s “too woke” are completely asinine. This series is like a “Twilight Zone”/“Black Mirror” version of the reality we’re living in at this very moment. I remember when the first episode aired, everyone was talking about it opening with the Tulsa Massacre and why most people hadn’t heard of it. I agree, why I wasn’t taught about that, but had to learn about Jamestown in 4 separate grades is beyond me. That sequence was very well done as was the majority of the show. I loved the way this series was edited, they had a lot of quick cuts back to things that happened in previous episodes, normally that would annoy me, but here it proved extremely affective. I also loved the use of music, the needle drops more so than the score, the score was fine but felt out of place at times. Amazing cast. Regina King rules! Louis Gossett Jr., Jeremy Irons, and Jean Smart we’re also standouts for me. I appreciate that they only did one season. Damon Lindelof walked into HBO like, “We’re going to tell an alternate history story that covers racism and police brutality with a dash of super heroics! 9 episodes and we’re out!” And for the most part they succeeded. The story dragged a bit in the middle for me, but the black & white episode was absolutely brilliant. I also don’t know if Robert Redford would make as bad a President as the show suggests, but what do I know? 8.8/10. #Watchmen #WhoWatchesTheWatchmen #QuarantineReviews https://www.instagram.com/p/CBAKbsGgc-W/?igshid=11wajv0gnxbq0