The House

Movie Name: The House
Year of Release: 2017

Director: Andrew Jay Cohen

Stars: Will Ferrell, Amy Poehler, Jason Mantzoukas, Ryan Simpkins, Nick Kroll, Allison Tolman, Rob Huebel, Rory Scovel, Cedric Yarbrough, Kyle Kinane, Michaela Watkins, Gillian Vigman, Lennon Parham, Jessie Ennis
Genre: Comedy

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 4
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Synopsis:

"The House" is Andrew Jay Cohen's film debut, following his work as a writer on "Neighbors". The film follows the story of suburban couple, Scott and Kate Johansen, whose daughter is about to go to college. Due to the intrusive cost, of tuition and housing, the couple is relying on a habitual neighborhood scholarship, which will help offset the costs. However due to the initiative of building a monumental pool and entertainment center to the subdivision, the scholarship isn't granted. The couple, alongside a down-on-his-luck friend, Frank, decide to start an illegal gambling operation out of Frank's house in order to save enough money for Alex to go to college. What starts as a small endeavor, quickly spirals out of control, with rival gangs, and a newfound criminal mentality emerging within Scott and Kate.
Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler have firmly established themselves at this point as comedic giants, on both the big and smaller screens. This film tries to harness their immense chemistry and talents under the umbrella of a suburban couple that slowly gets corrupted by the gambling and criminal dark side that is sometimes associated with it. The film however never really commits to this dark premise, and refrains itself from going truly to the uglier side of this premise. All is still wrapped under the safe and normative blanket of suburbia, which takes away some of the potential funnier elements this story could hold. Though very restrained and neutered, it's still a film with enough moments that allows for Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler to find comedy in quite a few scenes. The film also peppers enough supporting comedic performances, to keep it watchable, even if the film is ultimately instantly forgettable.

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Movie Name: Solo: A Star Wars Story
Year of Release: 2018

Director: Ron Howard

Stars: Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Paul Bettany, Thandie Newton, Donald Glover, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Linda Hunt, Jon Favreau, Joonas Suotamo, Jon Favreau, Ian Kenny
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
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Synopsis:

The "Star Wars" universe continues its expansion, after the previous installment directed by Rian Johnson. This time around, the saga continues with one of it's side stories, more specifically one focused on the charismatic Han Solo. The film introduces us to a young Han, back when he was just known by his first name, working for an underground network of thieves, who alongside the beautiful Qi'ra, is trying desperately to get out of the planet where they have been held since they were children. Just as they're about to escape, Han goes through the security check, while Qi'ra is left behind. Han decides to join the imperial forces, in the hopes of becoming an expert pilot, but the next time we see him, he is in the middle of a battle as a foot soldier. While on that battle he meets Beckett, Val and Rio, who are professional scammers, and who are embarking on a dangerous mission of retrieving some valuable form of combustible material. Han associates himself with them, meeting in the process the resilient Chewbacca, with whom he quickly establishes a solid friendship. This group, minus some sad casualties, soon meet one of the bosses, and Han is in the process reunited with Qi'ra. All of them are tasked with another impossible mission, that will test their perseverance and ingenuity.
"Solo: A Star Wars Story" has suffered its fair share of issues while being shot and developed. The original directors were replaced with Ron Howard, who basically joined the venture to conclude the entire shooting schedule. The film, independently of all this side noise, is very much ingrained within the pathos that the series has generated thus far, with the right combination of humor, romance and adventure. The film doesn't add anything profoundly substantial to the iconic characters created by George Lucas, but it manages to be an entertaining film, even if most characters are primarily sketches defined in very broad strokes, and not so much dimensional and heartfelt renditions of those iconic heroes. Nonetheless the film holds the attention, and it's sufficiently gritty visually to stand on its own feet, without being as clean cut as the main films of this saga. It's quite possibly one of the more interesting films directed by Ron Howard as of late, and it gives Woody Harrelson an opportunity to again play the lovable anti-hero, while Paul Bettany oozes menace fairly easily. An entertaining film worth watching.

Lights Out

Movie Name: Lights Out
Year of Release: 2016

Director: David F. Sandberg

Stars: Teresa Palmer, Maria Bello, Billy Burke, Gabriel Bateman, Alexander DiPersia, Alicia Vela-Bailey, Andi Osho, Rolando Boyce
Genre: Drama

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
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Synopsis:

Swedish director David F. Sandberg made a name for himself with a series of short features, before making his feature length directorial debut with "Lights Out". The film follows the story of Rebecca, a young woman with some intimacy and trust issues, who suddenly has to deal with family issues. These family issues are reminiscent of troubles she had in the past, and are now haunting her younger half brother. These issues stem from an entity that co-exists with their mother, a woman who has passed away by the name of Diana, and who had a serious problem and aversion to light. Rebecca tries to help her brother, but the more she gets involved with the situation, the more Diana's presence is felt on her life, and everywhere in their house. It's up to her, to try to save her mother and brother before that malevolent creature destroys all their lives.
"Lights Out" is an interesting and auspicious film for the young director. Though the film does fall to tropes and traps typical of horror films, it still unfolds with enough intelligence to keep the viewers interested in the events that occur. The director smartly avoids showcasing the menace/entity, always relying on the game of light and darkness, to create suspense and dread by suggestion, and not by relying on gore or flashy effects. It's an interesting approach that is closer in style with what James Wan has been doing with both "Insidious" and "The Conjuring" series, which explains why Sandberg went on to direct the sequel to "Annabelle", one of the offshoots of "The Conjuring" series. Even if the film doesn't bring anything terribly new to the proceedings, it's still sufficiently well done to hold the attention of the viewer. Worth watching.

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

Movie Name: Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

Year of Release: 2002

Director: George Lucas

Stars: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Christopher Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, Frank Oz, Ian McDiarmid, Pernilla August, Temuera Morrison, Jimmy Smits, Jack Thompson, Rose Byrne

Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
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Synopsis:

Following the disappointing "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace", director George Lucas returned with a sequel to that feature. The film picks up a few years later, again following the story of Anakin Skywalker, who is now a grown Jedi apprentice, under the tutelage of Obi Wan Kenobi. Both their path crosses with Padmé, who is now a senator in the Republic, but whose life is being threatened. The dark power of the force is trying to overthrown the republic, and install a dictatorship across the galaxy. Obi Wan Kenobi in his investigations on the murder attempt on Padmé, unveils the creation of a secret army of clones, that has been built for the Jedi. As Padmé and Anakin grow closer, so does the menace brought on by the dark powers of the force, and the army that they have successfully built, handled by the secretive Chancellor and his second in command, Count Dooku.
"Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones" is a continuation of the saga shepherded by George Lucas, that attempts to add some gravitas to the previous chapter that resulted in a mediocre result. "Attack of the Clones" attempts at adding a bit more political context to the procedures, however the film is stilted in both fronts, the political and romantic, with only Ewan McGregor and his Obi Wan Kenobi actually adding some humor and depth to what is an otherwise shallow endeavor. Where George Lucas has succeeded with the more recent films, is in the luscious visual style that is built around these thin stories. The visual effects are stunning, as is the cinematography from David Tattersall (who sadly has not had much of a great career since then). This is a film that cannibalizes on an iconic saga and characters, but that sadly adds not much value to it. It's watchable, but it's far from memorable.

Deadpool 2

Movie Name: Deadpool 2
Year of Release: 2018

Director: David Leitch

Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Morena Baccarin, Zazie Beetz, Brianna Hildebrand, T.J. Miller, Julian Dennison, Terry Crews, Rob Delaney, Eddie Marsan, Shioli Kutsuna, Karan Soni, Bill Skarsgard, Jack Kesy, Lewis Tan
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
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Synopsis:

Following his two first well received directorial endeavors, David Leitch has tackled his first comic book property, with the subversive and rule breaking "Deadpool 2". If the first film attempted to defy conventions, breaking the fourth wall and being very self aware, this film takes those aspects of the original and expands it tremendously. Deadpool/Wade Wilson, since the events of the first film, has become a hero taking out some rather unsavory people. However when one of his assignments goes unfinished, the repercussions of that event pop up at his doorstep, killing his loved one, and prompting some dramatic decisions on his part. His friends from the X-Men come to the rescue, and as he gets involved in their tasks, they become aware of an orphanage for mutant kids, with one young kid in particular, Russell, being an outspoken voice for some rather unsavory things going on at the institution. When both Russell and Deadpool end up in a prison, they are confronted with a traveler from the future, a mutant named Cable, who has come to destroy Russell, since in the future he has become a tremendous destructive force.
David Leitch is a director who knows how to stage action scenes - he has the training in terms of stuntwork pedigree, but he's primarily a director who understands the economy of scenes, married with character development, which allows for the characters in his features to be more than just paper thin constructions. Where "Deadpool 2" goes substantially further than the first feature, lies precisely in the fact that this time around, there are other characters expanding this universe, peppering the story with further elements, which gives the story just enough juice to keep going. It is very much a B-movie with a good budget, but it knows it, and wears it proudly on its sleeve. Ryan Reynolds plays the character perfectly, and knows this universe fantastically well, shooting his observations, jokes and one-liners like a machine gun repertoire. The humor is non stop, and it makes for a good balance with the more violent aspects of the story. It's a film that is rough around the edges, with some characters and aspects better defined than others, but it's fresh, with humor and heart, and tremendously self aware, which is more than what can be said for a lot of these comic books that just keep being released constantly. Worth a watch.

God's Own Country

Movie Name: God's Own Country
Year of Release: 2017

Director: Francis Lee

Stars: Josh O'Connor, Alec Secareanu, Gemma Jones, Ian Hart
Genre: Drama

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 8
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Synopsis:

"God's Own Country" made it's auspicious debut at the Sundance Film Festival of 2017, and collected more accolades and good reviews when it was featured at the Berlin Film Festival of the same year. The film follows the story of Johnny, a young British man who lives on a farm with his disabled father and grandmother. Johnny is a man of few words, and tries to help his father and grandmother as much as he can, by taking on the projects that need to be tackled on the farm, namely with all the animals and upkeep of the fences, among many others. Johnny is also, somewhat secretly, engaging in some gay trysts with young men he meets at the bars (after he's sufficiently tipsy). His father manages to hire a young and quiet Romanian man by the name of Gheorghe, to come in and help out with the sheep. While handling the animals and far away from everyone, the two young men become romantically involved, even if Johnny has gradually to open up and eventually grow up to come to terms with himself and how is life is evolving.
"God's Own Country" is the directorial debut of Francis Lee, who has made a name for himself primarily as an actor (he can be seen in Mike Leigh's "Topsy Turvy" for instance). "God's Own Country" is his feature directorial debut, and shows a point of view that marries a heartfelt depiction of characters and situations, with a poetic realism of capturing the environment in which these characters exist. He manages to create with this film an intimate story about someone growing up emotionally, opening up, accepting responsibilities for his choices, and living his life plainly aware of them. It's a film that works so well due to the frankness of what it depicts, how it depicts it, without being artificial or contrived at any point. It's also impeccably acted, with Josh O'Connor, Alec Secareanu, Gemma Jones and Ian Hart, all creating indelible performances (and characters). A great debut worth watching.

Spirited Away

Movie Name: Spirited Away

Year of Release: 2001

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Stars: Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Jason Marsden, Susan Egan, David Ogden Stiers, Lauren Holly, Michael Chiklis, John Ratzenberger, Tara Strong, Mona Marshall, Bob Bergen

Genre: Animation, Adventure

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 10
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Synopsis:

Following the beautiful and successful "Princess Mononoke", genial director Hayao Miyazaki returned with yet another masterpiece, this time around earning a well earned Academy Award for best animated feature with "Spirited Away". The film follows the story of Chihiro, who is moving with her parents to a small Japanese town by the countryside. On the day of the move, her father decides to take a shortcut, upon which they come about an area that looks like an abandoned amusement park. While exploring they discover a restaurant filled with delicious treats, something their parents immediately take to. Fearing they're doing something wrong, Chihiro retreads and warns them to leave. Taking a leave to explore a bit, she is horrified to discover her parents have been replaced by pigs in that restaurant. Chihiro desperately looks for her family, but suddenly realizes she can't go back to the car since there's now a whole lake where there was only a huge grass field. She comes to realize she has passed into a different realm where different magical creatures and entities exist, and where she must learn new habits so she can rescue her parents.
As is part of his trademark, Hayao Miyazaki populates this story with a hero who is inadequate in this different universe, and where she must come to terms with new challenges. His central heroes always have to overcome herculean external challenges, but above all, learn self reliance, and trust themselves to truly vanquish all the obstacles they find. "Spirited Away"  may be one of his most interesting films, since it combines his views of the spiritual world, with a young girl learning to be responsible for her choices and her family's well being. It's a film that is aesthetically stunning, with a poetry to it, from the amazing relationships that it portrays, to it's melancholy, all wrapped in this fantastic blanket of an amazing journey. A truly fantastic film always worth watching.

The Reaping

Movie Name: The Reaping

Year of Release: 2007

Director: Stephen Hopkins

Stars: Hilary Swank, David Morrissey, Idris Elba, AnnaSophia Robb, Stephen Rea, William Ragsdale, John McConnell, David Jensen, Samuel Garland, Andrea Frankle, Stuart Greer

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 2
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Synopsis:

Stephen Hopkins made a name for himself as a director when he started in the 80s as one of the director for the "Nightmare on Elm Street" series, rapidly graduating for bigger projects such as "Predator 2" and "Blown Away". "The Reaping" comes from the penmanship of brothers Carey and Chad Hayes, both of whom have achieved recent success as the writers of the "Conjuring" series of films for director James Wan. "The Reaping" follows the story of Katherine, a former ordained minister, and current University lecturer and investigator, who goes around the world debunking miracles. She's called into a small town in the south of the US, when the river surrounding that city turns red, and all the fish show up dead. When Katherine and her colleague Ben show up at that small town, they are happily greeted by everyone, particularly by Doug and the city officials. As the strange occurrences pile up, Katherine is informed that all of that is created by a young girl by the name of Loren, who supposedly has demonic powers. As Katherine and Ben probe deeper, they come to realize that not all is what it seems.
"The Reaping" has an interesting premise: a fallen from belief central hero, who goes around debunking miracles. What could have been a really interesting premise however gets cheapened in the worst sense very quickly. Whereas James Wan has managed to create with both the "Insidious" and "Conjuring" franchises, horror staples based on imagination and suggestion, with scarcely much in terms of gratuitous shock or gore, Stephen Hopkins goes in a complete opposite direction. This film reads as if someone looked at the script, and debated: how can we make everything scarier, louder and more intense (and garish). The solution to that question, can be found in the film with the typical camera angles and shots, the spooky lake, the dark cemetery - it's a cliche ridden of what gothic styling should be. It's a sad waste of talent, since the film has a great cast, and a terrific production team, but the overall experience comes across as a bad tv film made for the CW. It's a pass, with only the young AnnaSophia Robb creating an interesting presence.

Spider-Man

Movie Name: Spider-Man

Year of Release: 2002

Director: Sam Raimi

Stars: Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Rosemary Harris, Cliff Robertson, Bill Dunn, J.K. Simmons, Joe Manganiello

Genre: Action, Adventure

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
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Synopsis:

Director Sam Raimi followed his string of interesting films of the late 90s early millennium, namely "A Simple Plan" and "The Gift" with his second adventure into comic book adaptations, with the highly iconic "Spider-Man". The film follows the story of high school student Peter Parker, who is a smart, caring young man, who's the target of bullies in his class. During a class outing Peter gets bitten by a genetically enhanced spider, which gives him some extraordinary abilities, namely super strength, the ability to climb walls and shooting super potent spider webs. In parallel the father of his best friend, Norman Osborn, suffers an accident which causes him to start developing a side to his personality that is deranged and menacing, taking the guise of the dangerous Green Goblin. These two entities come at odds in New York City.
Sam Raimi is an inventive director, who has always primed for adding a kinetic movement and style to his films. As his career has evolved, he has definitely refined his approach to the material he tackles, but with "Spider-Man" he managed to infuse his sensibility with the comic book material (following his interesting experience with "Darkman" in 1990). The film is successful by not taking itself seriously, but also by creating a dynamic between the central characters that while familiar is also exciting. A lot of the success of the film lies on the talented cast Sam Raimi assembled, particularly Tobey Maguire and Willem Dafoe, both creating memorable interpretations of their iconic characters. The cinematography from Don Burgess is impeccable as is the score from Danny Elfman. An entertaining film worth watching!

The Rules of Attraction

Movie Name: The Rules of Attraction

Year of Release: 2002

Director: Roger Avary

Stars: James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, Ian Somerhalder, Jessica Biel, Kip Pardue, Kate Bosworth, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Clifton Collins Jr., Faye Dunaway, Swoosie Kurtz, Jay Baruchel, Eric Stoltz, Fred Savage, Paul Williams

Genre: Drama, Romance

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
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Synopsis:

Following his Oscar winning turn as one of the writers of Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction", Roger Avary tackled an adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' book "The Rules of Attraction". The story focuses on three main characters in college, around whom a series of supporting characters exist in a multitude of occurrences and situations. One of those characters is Sean Bateman, a lothario who is also involved in drug dealing. Another central character is Lauren Hynde, who has fallen in love with Victor, whom she thinks reciprocates those feelings, but whom she quickly realizes is self involved and not minimally interested in her. The final central character is Paul Denton, a gay young man experimenting and getting to know more about himself and where he sees his life going. The lives of these characters cross in unexpected ways, in a college life that is more focused on debauchery and alienation.
Roger Avary smartly weaves an interesting view of Bret Easton Ellis' universe, with multiple snapshots into the lives of the beautiful, young and rich in college, looking for meaning and heartfelt connections in all the wrong places. It's a film that marries an interesting stylistic approach, with an incisive writing that makes the film watchable and riveting, particularly as the universe of the characters grows exponentially, showcasing more of their periphery familial relationships (as can be witnessed by the delicious cameos of Faye Dunaway and Swoosie Kurtz). The score from tomandandy is great, as are the performances from Shannyn Sossamon and Ian Somerhalder, while James Van Der Beek, is sadly miscast. An interesting film from an interesting director.