Bohemian Rhapsody


An OK biopic of Freddie Mercury and Queen in general. Some scenes are draggy and can be omitted and in my opinion Freddie's sexuality should be explored more in the movie.


Remi Malek delivers an exceptional talent as Freddie Mercury. He truly can be in character in all the movies he acted.

TLDR - My rating: 7.5 / 10


Thank You

Let's get something straight right now.

I am NOT a Bradley Cooper (I categorise him as THAT guy from The Hangover) fan. And I am really NOT a fan of Lady Gaga.

There is just something about this movie... that works.

From the first performance by Jackson Maine (played by Bradley Cooper) to the last performance by Ally (portrayed by Lady Gaga), the movie.... envelopes you.

I don't know if auto tune played a BIG role in the sound track, and to me, the music sounds... real.

I firmly believe that a good movie, is usually a product of a director, directing a movie he/she wants to watch (Steven Spielberg's Jaw, E.T., Jurassic Park, George Lucas's Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Wachowski sisters' The Matrix etc).... Who would have thunk, Bradley Cooper is into Chick Flicks....

This being Bradley's first foray into movie direction, is mindblowing!!!

There is an earnestness/honesty about it.

Which brings me back to the point the music, which plays such a big part of the movie. It feels.... so (and I cannot emphasize this enough) real. Lady Gaga, strips everything back, revealing what is usually under her suit of armour (all that makeup and costumes), and her music is so much the better for it.

All actors brought it.

And the ending....

How can someone who is so loving (brave) and giving, also be so.... weak... A true oxymoron indeed.

This is one of my top tens for the year.

I humbly submit to you, my review for A Star Is Born (2018)!

My Two Sen.

P.S. I did notice there are at least two major cuts in the movie. And have to add, they did not impede the story in any way.

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Nov 15 2018, 01:33 PM

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)

Oh gosh, I did a movie marathon today, and am kinds exhausted, and I still want to complete this review.

SO if my spelling is out, or I don't make sense in general, go gentle on me....

This movie is one of Warner's big gun for the year, and it is...

I am getting ahead of myself.

Watching Part 1 & 2 of this is a little weird.

Why?

With the Harry Potters, I had read the book before I watched the movies, so I knew the story.

Where as with these movies, I really wasn't sure what to expect.

So did I go in with High Expectations?

You bet your bottom dollar.

Jude Law, Johnny Depp and surprisingly, a very sedated Ezra Miller??!?

So Newt's (Eddie Redmayne) adventure, continues.

The main gang from the first movie rerturns.

Some HUGE plot holes from the first movie are being patched here.

Leta Lestrange (Zoë Kravitz) is in this. In some way, this movie "is" about her.

Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) and Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) is explained. Also surprising the reason why Dumbledore did not go after Grindelwald much earlier on.

Nagini get a back story here.

Even Fawkes (I think) makes an appearance.

So what do I think of the movie?

A little bit of a mess.

In patching the plot holes of the first movie, this movie dug new ones for itself?

Why?

Because some of the ideas introduced here, contradicts the Harry Potter movies....

So, did my "perfection complex" stopped me from enjoying this movie?

Maybe it did.

My Two Sen....

P.S. Just found out there are going to be 5 of these (movies) What The *beep*

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Nov 15 2018, 05:14 PM

They purposely did that , so we have to watch the sequel 3,4,5 to understand all the plot holes . Hahaha

This post has been edited by cooldude17: Nov 15 2018, 03:31 PM

Maybe... still, it is frustrating

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Nov 15 2018, 03:06 PM

The girl in the spider web - how not to make a sequel.
Didn't bother to continue watching after sitting an hour into the movie. It just blasphemy with the moronic storyline and only so much assault I can take on the little intelligence left in my brain. The greatest sin is they have some pretty good actors in it but relegate to stereotypical role that wasted all their talents. It's so out of their depth.

Thank you

Haha true

Heard all the outburst in twitter because of the missing 20 minutes



This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Nov 18 2018, 03:12 PM

20 minutes.... Pass...

Fantastic Beast : Crimes of Grindalwald Review

Cam (November 16, 2018)
Director- Daniel Goldhaber
Writer- Isa Mazzei
Stars - Madeline Brewer(The Handmaid's Tale), Patch Darragh,
Melora Walters, Devin Druid.

Alice(Madeline Brewer) is a sex worker.
She makes her living doing camgirl show by the online
name “Lola.” In front of the camera, she is an actress.
Behind it, a writer, set designer and a director.

She teases her fans with brief flashes of nudity.
trying to crack the top 50 ranking of Free Girls. Live,
the website she broadcasts on. The ranking allows her
to live lavishly like renting a house on her own and
to pay for almost $5000 furniture.
She also keeps her life strictly compartmentalized.

Of course, she is afraid that her mom and friends will
discover her night job.
Only her little brother Jordan knows in her personal life.
And we later take note of the pride her mom has in her
for doing well!

When something bad finally does happen, she did not sees it coming.
She thinks it’s a prank or a technical error.
Soon it becomes clear that somebody has stolen her cam girl persona.
She’s been replaced on her show with an exact replica of herself
and using it to the top of the rankings.

Good performance from Madeline Brewer.
And with Alice"s plight, we're left with the ability to make theories.
What would you do if someone stole your social media accounts
and started saying and doing things that you would never say or do?




This post has been edited by lleihuan: Nov 18 2018, 02:38 PM

Fantastic Beasts 2. This was a total slog and borefest. The first I thought was decent, this one is legitimately awful. You could say the action sequence at the start set the tone - as an action setpiece it was messy and confusing to look at. The rest of the movie followed suit in terms of its vapid, overwrought, perlexing plotting. By the end I wasn't sure what the point of the story was, but I knew enough that it was all bad.

Overlord. Now this was quite a treat...to an extent. B-movie polised to A-class sheen. Simple characters that are simply told, but effective nonetheless. Great action. Always entertaining. My biggest gripe is that it didn't get icky enough in the third act.

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs - Six very Coen-centric stories.
This is a much better experience than watching Hail Caesar. Six wildly different western stories that crafted with the Coen brothers brand of humour, irony and unpleasantness. It's not quirky humour all the way as some part of it pretty depressing. Once you've seen the very last story then the light bulb ignites in your head of what holding these disjointed tales on a whole. The scripting, word play and acting right on the money.

This post has been edited by 6so: Nov 27 2018, 08:28 AM

Robin Hood (2018)

From Kingsman to Robin of Hood?

No one knows if Robin Hood existed.

Was he real? A Myth? One thing is for sure, a lot time, he is described as legendary.

Earliest record of him is during the 13/14th century? (Please bare in mind, The Hood was used to describe, thieves, back then.)

Usually, portrait to have lived during the reign of Richard the Lionheart (12th Century)

Now, here is where the movie is actually good, the beginning, and how Robin of Loxley is "drafted" to fight in a "Holy" Crusade (please don't ask me which, there were so many of them).

There is a modern sensibility to the production of this movie.

Even the "armory" that Robin and his "band of brothers" wore during the crusade, are both medieval and modern (camouflage armour??)

Even the "warfare" seems modern, although fought with bows and arrows.

Now as for the cast, Taron Egerton (Robin of Loxley), Jamie Foxx (Little John), Ben Mendelsohn (Sheriff of Nottingham), Eve Hewson (Marian), Jamie Dornan (Will Scarlet), Tim Minchin (Friar Tuck), Paul Anderson (Guy of Gisbourne) and the delicious, F. Murray Abraham (Cardinal).

They did good. Very engaging and the Cardinal stole every single scene he was in. Another worthy mention, is Paul Anderson, who did his role well too.

The middle part was the return of Loxley back to England, and he is re-introduce back to Nottingham.

My My, how things... had changed.

The third as could have been more well executed, but as a romantic adventure movie, it does it's job.

So, In short, script is good, third act could have been better. Cast good. The production has a "modern-medieval" feel to it (Gosh I have got to stop watching HGTV...)

One other thing I like about this movie is that the trailler DID NOT show all the good bits, so, there was alot to enjoy (the horse carriage chase!!!)

My Two Sen

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Nov 20 2018, 11:45 PM

haha dang your review are so opposite from what I see with stuckmann and jahns

Yes, critics are thrashing it. I enjoyed it. To each their own

Widows - a close call.

I did like a lot of the things that got right in the movie but some plot conveniences got in the way from being the full package of the "do no wrong" movie.

First thing that I appreciate the most is the setting and character lifted out of a page from "The Wire" playbook. The in transition gangster to politician that doesn't insult your intelligence. A broken corrupted city that provide the backdrop for the heist. Every character has an interesting angle to explore throughout the whole movie.

It's easy to nitpick what didn't panned out but you can't discount the terrific performances on showcase here. Viola Davis is the 600 pounds gorilla anchoring the whole movie but Elizabeth Debicki stole the show for me. You are drawn in to her sorry state of life and rooting for the part she plays in the heist. Then you have David Kaluuya as the single most imposing antagonist you likely to see in this year's cinema. What he did in the bowling alley just gave me the shiver in the spine.

Whether the twist was earned or the gears and cogs doesn't align properly, it still far ahead of any crime caper you can catch this year. It's not the next "Heat" but still impressive.

On the lookout for a "cuci mata" scene with Elizabeth Debicki. After all the director did made Shame with Michael Fassbender... so you get the idea.

I recently watched a Hollywood movie titled as, " John-The Slayer of Giant". The movie is a treat to watch as it contain the uniqueness and diversity at the same time. The movie is based on a novel and I loved the story of the movie. Must watch the scary giants!

2.0

sequel to Enthiran (2010), featuring Rajinikanth

I quite enjoyed the film, the film plot also taking a page out of total reliance on cellphone, corruption, and environment, Rajinikanth is the Bollywood of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Watch out for after credit scene. The film also lack of some sudden all people dance scene, review in Bollywood is not good, not sure why, and under use of Amy Jackson

It is quite long runtime, just you thought the filmed ended, then is another climatic clash

Shadow - Who's the doppelganger?

Deep down I was hoping this is a throwback to House of Flying Daggers or Hero but it plays closer to Curse of the Golden Flower. So it's a little bit of Alexandre Dumas's Man in Iron Mask and a whole lot of palace politicking between a king and his top general. So you have this elaborate scheme playing out to seize and defend power. This could be OK but in the age of Game of Thrones/Tudor/House of Cards where ruthless chess game being brought on to screen, it's a tad underwhelming. The action scenes didn't exactly vowed and in no form or shape to be memorable. It's a middling type of movie that didn't excel but neither incompetent.