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A Bad Moms Christmas (2017)
A Bad Moms Christmas (2017)
2017 | Comedy
Christmas is the happiest time of the year. At least it’s supposed to be, Moms are expected to work tirelessly throughout the Christmas season to ensure that the holiday is absolute perfection for their families. The gifts are to be wrapped with precision, decorations hanging from every available bough, food that could be lifted from the pages of Bon Appétit magazine, all done without breaking a sweat. Tis the season for family and frolic, yet our Bad Moms are stressed beyond their imagination this holiday season. Why? Because their mothers have arrived.

This Christmas, Amy (Mila Kunis), Kiki (Kristen Bell) and Carla (Kathryn Hahn) are enter the holiday season feeling the pressure of Christmas present. With all that need to be done, they agree that this is the Christmas where they make the rules. Amy decides that they are going to have a low key holiday. However, that goes against the everything Ruth (Christine Baranski), Amy’s mom believes and expects as she arrives in a tornado of holiday perfection, trailed by her blissfully oblivious husband Hank (Peter Gallagher). Ruth is a perfectionist, a task master extraordinaire who expects no less from her child. Amy, tired of trying to get her mother’s approval, decides to change the traditions.

 Kiki’s Mom Sandy (Cheryl Hines) is the clinging, overbearing type who’s behavior could be classified as stalker; if she were not Kiki’s mom. Sandy’s need to be close to her daughter crosses the comfort zone in so many ways. Kiki decides to see Dr. Karl (Wanda Sykes), the family therapist, who explains the maternal process of insanity in hilariously truthful detail.

Isis (Susan Sarandon) shows up at Carla’s house unexpectedly. She seems to only show up at Carla’s door when she has run out of money. She is on the other side of the maternal spectrum, the hands off type. Carla has had to fend for herself for years and expects her mother to take off without a moment’s notice.

I enjoyed the first Bad Moms, but I was hesitant to watch the sequel because there was a chance that it would not be as good as the first. I quite surprised by how much I enjoyed the movie. It made me snort laugh more than once. This is the perfect movie for a Girls Night Out. Grab your BFFs and head to the theater to take a break this holiday season!
  
A Cure For Wellness (2017)
A Cure For Wellness (2017)
2017 | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
What if you were told that you could be cured from any and every ailment, all while relaxing in the picturesque Swiss Alps. Would you go? A Cure For Wellness is a psychological thriller directed by Gore Verbinsky whom in the past brought us Disney’s Pirates of The Caribbean. I’m not sure going with a psychological thriller was the best choice for him.

   After a young power-hungry stockbroker receives an odd letter from the CEO during a major merger he becomes blackmailed into going and retrieving him. Pembroke (Harry Groener) has taken up permanent residence in a mysterious gothic styled rehabilitation center in a remote part of the Swiss Alps. Pembroke has no intentions of leaving the hospital so Lockhart has plenty of time to explore. As soon as he arrives though, he notices that there is something strange going on. Patients are eating decadent and costly meals and flying kites as if they were on vacation rather than in treatment. Little does he know, he will be at the center of it all after an accident turns him into a patient rather than a visitor.

   I feel as though this was less of a thriller and more of a flop. I wasn’t able to connect to Lockhart and frankly at times his character was rather annoying. This made it difficult to sympathize with what might be happening to him. Lockhart reminded me of Leonardo DiCaprio in Scorsese’s Shutter Island. Though Scorsese’s film was way more entertaining and thrilling than this. The film was extremely long (2.5 hours) and when you thought it was going to end another curve ball would be thrown. Though the film was less than entertaining, the actors portrayed their parts well. The scenery and landscapes along with the colors of the filters used did give the film that bit of eeriness the story needed. Some scenes were creepy and others involving animals were disturbing and could’ve been left out in my opinion. I left the theater scratching my head with the old “what the heck did I just watch” thought. This film was just not for me and seemed more like Verbinski bit off more than he could chew. The audience also seemed to be disappointed with it as well.
  
    iStopMotion for iPad

    iStopMotion for iPad

    Photo & Video and Education

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    *** Winner Macworld Best of Show 2013 *** *** Winner Macworld Best of Show 2012 and Mac Observer...

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    *** Video Talkie and Chat among iPhones, iPads , iTouches without Internet or Cell Data Plan *** ...

Uncut Gems (2019)
Uncut Gems (2019)
2019 | Comedy, Crime, Drama
The fact that the Safdie's landed Christmas is still absolutely wild to me. There were so many people in our theater that looked like they just DIDN'T belong there.

First things first, I'd like to get my negatives out of the way really quickly. My issue with this film, and why I view it as lesser than Good Time is one simple reason, and that is heart. I felt every moment of Good Time pulsating through my bones and truly felt for the ride that Connie went through. I saw the pain and remorse and emotion in his eyes grow with every passing moment. In Uncut Gems, I don't get the same gravitas and power of the emotion that is provided in Good Time. I never truly saw any remorse in Howard, nor that he really cared about anything else but himself, so when the emotional beats come when we are supposed to feel bad for him, I have a rather hard time doing that. He's not necessarily an unlikable guy, he just doesn't have that anti-hero vibe that Connie supplied. That is the main facet that significantly detracted from my appreciation for this film.

That being said, everything else is stellar. The grittiness of the cinematography works so well with the world we are being immersed in, with even the long shots being very unsteady and dirty looking in the way that the characters are framed. As everyone else is saying, Sandler puts on a magnificent performance (although if he gets nominated and Robert Pattinson didn't for Good Time, I'll be pretty frustrated) that reminds the public of why he demands the level of respect her does. However, the standout here for me is Julia Fox, who makes this film funnier than it has any right to be. She really carries herself in a way that I felt like I had met her before, or at least someone exactly like her. Going off of that, the humor really really works, so much so that I could argue that this is a black comedy instead of the crime thriller it is listed as. Everything from the situational comedy to the witty lines of dialogue just hits you in the chest.

Overall, a wonderful film that I hope will push the Safdie's into the mainstream like Hereditary did to Aster.
  
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
2022 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
I've taken a few days since seeing Multiverse of Madness to try and digest it as a whole, and decide how I felt about it. It's certainly wild, and leaves a hefty impression. My initial reservations stem from a couple of elements. Firstly, due to the nature of the multiverse, there are some big set pieces and character moments that feel a bit inconsequential. I hope that future projects might reveist these moments and the subsequent fallout from them, but I've got a sneaky feeling that might not happen. Secondly, there's a massive plot point that drives the entire movie that feels a little unearned, even if the execution packs a hell of a punch.
Overall though, I feel that these are minor detriments to what is a spectacular, and comic-book-as-fuck MCU entry, an entry that carries a unique signature, thanks in no small part to its director. It's no secret that I'm a big ol' Sam Raimi fan, and the entirety of MoM feels like a film straight from his mind. Sure, it has the standard Marvel Studios template, but his style shines through with little effort. There are definitely some moments that feel like a gateway horror flick, and even a bit of splatter that you might not expect from an MCU movie. There's even a few Evil Dead references chucked in for good measure.
It terms of wider connections, there's a lot goinh on here. The narrative does a lot to establish Dr Strange as a major player going forward, and introduces a great deep cut from the comics in America Chavez, another character that would fit right in with a Young Avenger film that is surely not too far off. It's also the first theater release to really feel impacted by the Disney+ shows, essentially acting as not just a sequel to Doctor Strange and No Way Home, but to WandaVision as well. On that note, Elizabeth Olsen all but steals the show here, and it's quite glorious. Elsewhere, the multiverse ensures that there are some crazy set pieces, and some fun cameos that will surely have fans talking and speculating for quite some time.
If nothing else, MoM is an incredibly fun Sam Raimi film, and a solid entry into the wider MCU, and I'm happy with that result.
  
Indiana jones and the dial of destiny (2023)
Indiana jones and the dial of destiny (2023)
2023 | Action, Adventure
7
7.8 (9 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Needed A Spark
Have you ever gone to a live stage play/musical on a Friday or Saturday evening and you can just feel the crackle of excitement and energy in the air and the performers on stage seem to catch that surge of energy and their performances are turned up a notch because of it?

And then, you return to that same theater - for the same show - for a Wednesday matinee and things are just flat. Same show, same performers, same entertainment, but that “spark” just isn’t there?

Such is the case of INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY - the Wednesday Matinee performance of an Indiana Jones adventures.

This James Mangold (FORD v FERRARI) Directed Indiana Jones adventure hits all the right notes - chase scenes, fights on a moving train, treasure hunt/quest for an ancient artifact, Indy getting into (and out of) trouble, etc…but Dial of Destiny never quite elevated itself above the norm.

80 year old Harrison Ford (and some stunt doubles and a boatload of de-aging software) is back, of course, as Indiana Jones and it is like pulling on an old, tattered sweatshirt - very comfortable and comforting. He is aided (in a cameo) by John Rhys-Davies’ Sallah (good to see him in an Indy movie again) and by rock solid additions of Antonio Banderas (ZORRO) and good ol’ Toby Jones (INFAMOUS) as colleagues and fellow adventurers as well as an above-average turn by Phoebe Waller-Bridge (TV’s FLEABAG).

These folks fight Nazis (naturally) and a bad guy played by Mads Mikkelsen (ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY) in an adventure that was “just fine” but “nothing special”, all set to a score by 90 year old John Williams(!). Oh, and don’t forget the welcome appearance of Karen Allen as Marion Ravenswood in what was one of the highlight scenes of the film.

Unfortunately, Mangold never elevates these characters, the chases, the escapes, the call backs to earlier Indiana Jones films above a pleasant warmth of memory, recalling all the good times/grand adventures that Indy has taken the audience on throughout the years. This film needed someone/some THING to help elevate it above the norm.

It needed Steven Spielberg to Direct.

Letter Grade: B

7 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
  
The Lady In The Van (2015)
The Lady In The Van (2015)
2015 | Drama
8
6.5 (4 Ratings)
Movie Rating
In the last two decades America has seen an almost literal ‘invasion’ of British film and television programming. Like the British ‘music invasion’ some 60 years ago we just can’t seem to get enough of it. Today’s film for your consideration is the 2015 British dramatic comedy ‘The Lady In The Van’. Based upon the 1999 West End play of the same name written by Alan Bennett and starring famed British actress Maggie Smith, who also portrayed the lead in the original stage production at Queens Theater in London and again in a 2009 BBC 4 radio adaption, ‘The Lady In The Van’ follows the true story of Maggie Shepherd. An elderly lady who lived in a rundown van in Bennett’s driveway for 15 years.

Directed by Nicholas Hytner, who also directed the stage play, the film stars legendary British actress Maggie Smith as Maggie Shepherd, Alex Jennings as Alan Bennett, Jim Broadbent as Underwood, Deborah Findlay as Pauline, Roger Allam as Rufus, Gwen Taylor as Mam, Cecillia Noble as Miss Brisco, Nicholas Burns as Giles Perry, Pandora Colin as Mrs Perry, and Frances de la Tour As Ursula Vaughan Williams.

‘The Lady In The Van’ follows the true story of playwright Alan Bennett’s strained and tested relationship with Miss Maggie Shepherd. An eccentric and frightened homeless woman whom he befriended in the 1970s shortly after he moved into London’s Camden neighborhood. Originally, Bennett invites Shepherd to park her aging Bedford van in his driveway so she can list it as an address in order to collect benefits and eventually move on. Instead, Shepherd ends up living in the van in Bennett’s driveway for 15 years. Just before her death in 1989, Alan learns that Maggie Shepherd is actually Margaret Fairchild. A gifted piano player who was a pupil of pianist Alfred Cortot and had a fondness for Chopin. So much so that when she tried to become a nun, she was kicked out of her religious order twice for wanting to play music. Bennett also learns that the reason Shepherd was homeless was that she was on the run for leaving the scene of a crime she didn’t commit after escaping an institution where she’d been committed by her own brother.

I found this movie to be a prime example of the concept ‘Everyone Has A Story To Tell’. Whether the person wants to tell the story or not is a whole other idea entirely. The strange friendship between Bennett and Shepherd is certainly an unusual one to be sure. While Bennett’s neighbors would be happy to see they as they describe ‘the crazy old lady leave the neighborhood, Bennett seems to follow his writer’s instincts and also his humanity. Maggie Smith’s and Alex Jennings’s performances as the oddly paired friends go far in helping to comprehend what went on between the two. Shepherd and Bennett both excelled as artists in their own way. One as a writer one as a musician. Both kinds of artists tell stories thorough their respective crafts. In this case though, the writer (Bennett) had the ‘responsibility’ of telling Shepherd’s story after debating with himself more than once whether he had the right to do so and whether it was moral or not. On top of that, it took over a decade to find the answers Bennett was looking for. In the end, it seems Bennett did what writers do. They use what’s around them in their lives to write about. And perhaps, by doing so, he helped give Shepherd some sort of closure and perhaps peace as well just before her death.

I’m going to give this film 4 out of 5 stars. The movie clocks in at 104 minutes so it is a long movie but honestly, how can you say ‘no’ to a movie with Maggie Smith? Honestly, explain that one to me. She definitely ‘carries the film’ with her performance as Miss Mary Shepherd but the combination of her performance and that of Alex Jennings as the writer Alan Bennett that really make the film. I think another one of the reasons this film was good was because you had so many of the people that were involved in the original play that worked on the film itself. I personally find some British films, comedies in particular, to be a bit quirky sometimes. As funny as British humor is its sometimes difficult to grasp at first and there’s a bit of that in this film. Don’t let that discourage you though. If you can find an awesome art house movie theater, I’d certainly recommend going to catch it there. If you can’t, watch it online.

This is your friendly neighborhood freelance photographer and movie fanatic ‘The CameraMan’ and on behalf of my fellows at Skewed & Reviewed I’d like to say ‘Thanks For Reading’ and we’ll see you at the movies.
  
Justice League (2017)
Justice League (2017)
2017 | Action, Adventure
Fantastic Story (4 more)
Left you wanting more
The Mix of comedy and action
The Flash
Length of the movie
The intro (0 more)
A Super Hero Movie Everyone Can Enjoy
Well folks, it finally arrived. The Justice League was one of the best super hero movies I have seen. I did not go into the movie with high expectation. I just went in wanting to be entertained. I got and so much more. I walked out of the theater with a big smile on my face and nothing but good things to say.

I will get this over with first, but I did not care to much for how the movie opened with the kids interviewing Superman. It kind of felt off with the way the rest of the movie played out. After that moment it was just high flying from there.


The best part of this movie was the lack of origin story feel. They introduced the character in a way that made it feel they have been around forever. It didn't get into detail one where they came from and how they got there powers. They just gave us just enough to want to see more of them in another movie. What they showed us in this movie is that characters just needed to be placed in to the story and let go from there.


I would not call this a spoiler but Superman does come back from the dead. It was done perfectly. I think the weird thing though is that it was done in broad daylight and only 2 cops were around to see it. And Batman was out during the day too. Oh well.


The core story line of the movie, Steppenwolf getting the mother boxes told very well. Not to long and not to short. It I told us who the bad guy was, why he was doing it and how it was going to be accomplished. You can probably tell I like shorter movies. I know people are going to be a little upset with the lack of Darkseid, but I am sure it will make a big splash in a future movie.


Well I don't want to spoil the ending because I want you to go and see it, but it will make you wanting so much more. Also stay till the end of the credits, you will not be disappointed like you were at the end of the Wonder Women credits.


Well until next time, enjoy the show.