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Hamilton

30 Dec, 2019

Talk about ending your year on a bang. Is this one of the most hyped musicals I have ever heard about? Yes! Does it deserve it – more than it is hyped! From songs, to staging, to the talent, to the performances – it was beyond anything I had seen. The fact that it is based so heavily in rap, means that the amount of words, data, ideas – and the exactness of the execution. Left me thinking about things that will remain with me for a long while.

The Red Shoes - A Mathew Borne Ballet

29 Dec, 2019

Was it gorgeous? Yes! Were the dancers incredible? Absolutely! Was there drama? Humor? Sensuality? In spades! Did I care for it? Meh. Watching it was delightful. Going into it without any notion of the plot or characters, I found it as baffling as watching a foreign opera without context. It is hard for it to stand alone.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

25 Dec, 2019

Since 1979, seeing this movie was inevitable. I have seen every Star Wars movie in the theater with my sister. (Except the 2 and 3 – the prequels were unforgivable and we shall never speak of them again!) This was a fan service ending to the whole adventure, with plenty of nods, winks, and lens flairs. Every time you find yourself asking, why is this going on? Why don't they just park closer? How would that even work? – Just Stop! Don't let reason get in the away for a spectacle for spectacle's sake.

Halston

14 Dec, 2019

This documentary told a story of singular man and moment in time; but with a tragedy that seems all too common. Halston was a self-marketing and creative genius who knew how to sell his visions, but also a naive and sensitive human being who was crushed by the gears of commerce which reduced his uniqueness to a commodity to be traded.

White Christmas (2019)

10 Dec, 2019

Incredibles dances. Implausible story. Irrepressible songs. And one impossibly small waist...I am looking at you Vera-Ellen. Caught a movie screening of this classic on the big screen with my friends. It is impossible not to laugh at the corniness of it all, and fall head over heels for it at the same time.

Frozen II

04 Dec, 2019

Meh. After seeing Frozen, which is a near religious experience for little girls, I couldn't warm up to this one. You didn't leave the show with a song that just refused to let you go. The most dramatic scenes ended up feeling flat and visually underwhelming. The plot was slow then the last 1/4 felt incredibly rushed. It never made the same emotional connection of the original. I wonder if this movie was stand-alone, if I would be as critical, but it failed to live up to its legacy.

Knives Out

28 Nov, 2019

This is a whodunnit that does not disappoint. Within the first 30 minutes, you think the movie is over – and that is when they twist the knife. (Puns!) The cast is fantastic. The acting is subtle and over-the-top. The plot is ridiculous. I really enjoyed this film.

Alita: Battle Angel

16 Nov, 2019

If this movie were a wine, the tasting notes would be one word: DON'T! This movie is a disaster from start to finish. It is a terrible adaption of the original material. It is CGI-creepy. It is acting, awful.Do yourself a favor and watch the NetflixFireplace for 2hrs instead.

Cloud Atlas

16 Nov, 2019

An obvious Wachowskis effort; grand, gorgeous, ambitious, confused, and messy. There is something glorious about watching an ensemble cast playing an ensemble cast in themselves. So you get the "meta"-ness of it all. But the story left me unmoved.

Where Did You Guy Bernadette

16 Nov, 2019

Watched this on the plane and loved it. It is a modern Auntie Mame, completely unbelievable but still "truthy." I greatly enjoyed Kristen Wiig as a dramatic support. I would happily suggest this movie to others.

Judy

04 Oct, 2019

It was eerie. It was unreal. It was a frontal assault on getting an academy award. I am not a Renee fan, bust she sold me in this movie. It focuses on the later half of Judy, painting a sympathetic and humane portrait of the star. It is well worth the watch.

Dark Phoenix

29 Sep, 2019

I get it. The last time we did this arc, X-Men 3: The Last Stand didn't kill the franchise dead enough. We needed too make something truly rotten and unsurvivable. Job well done.

Ad Astra

18 Sep, 2019

Oh look, Brad Pitt does his own version Gravity. This movie makes no sense on so many levels. Then their is a Benjamin Buttons single tear – oh look, acting.

Downton Abbey

15 Sep, 2019

It was exactly the movie you would expect. 2 tailors, 8 dress makers, 1 home economist (whatever that is). There also must have been at least 3 orchestras, 24 tiaras. and happy endings for everyone. It was a feel good fan service that gave DA fans the ending that GoT never got.

Hellboy (2019)

13 Sep, 2019

I watched it free on a plane, and that was still overpriced. It fails on so many level, which is disappointing, because it shouldn't be that hard to make a solid B title.

Iron Sky: The Coming Race

11 Sep, 2019

Why? Why did they do this. The first movie was a low budget, low brow fluke. It was better than it deserved to be and more fun than a movie about nazis should be. This attempt to catch lightening again falls flat. Other than making another questionable entry for my Udo Kier Royal Film Festival; this should be avoided.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

02 Sep, 2019

I am not a die hard Tarantino fan – in fact I think I am one of the few people that don't care for most of his movies. He seems to control his excesses, which are my major gripe with him in this film. Leo and Brad do an amazing 70's buddy homage. As a longtime LA resident, it was a love story to a place and time. The whole thing was a really great trip to an LA that could have been.

The Dead Don't Die

14 Jul, 2019

It was everything you expected from Jim Jarmusch getting the band back together again. He manages to find a sort of urban american wilderness and decay in a small rustbelt town. The ensemble cast is well mixed and hilarious to see some of the interactions. The whole thing teeters between absurd, mundane, and terrifying.

Toy Story 4

07 Jul, 2019

Friends were made, literally. And in an homage to The Little Mermaid, voices were stolen with mixed results.

Spider-Man: Far from Home

06 Jul, 2019

The second installation of Spider-Man, and the umpteenth Marvel movie is a fun teen romp.

Yesterday

05 Jul, 2019

Not a great movie, but certainly warm and enjoyable.

Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse

15 Jun, 2019

Sony's long overdue redemption of what they have done to Spider-Man. With some sly references to their previous bombs, all has been forgiven. This is the slick, modern Spider-Man that we all deserved. It was a lot better than I expected. I think this one will hold up.

Rocketman

31 May, 2019

Surprisingly effectives, and unashamedly whitewashed – this officially blessed bioptic of Elton John tells the story as only he would have it. Like Bohemian Rhapsody, this takes you to an imaginary place of inside the legend's own mind – as he tells you about himself. It is fun, glitzy, emotional – like one giant show tune.

John Wick 3: Parabellum

19 May, 2019

I get it. Keanue Reeves is immortal. He's gonna make another sequel.

Everyone Is Talking About Jamie

17 May, 2019

Catchy songs and fun dance numbers rush you through and unevenly paced story. Plot twist and redemptions happen in the wink of an eye while jaw dropping power ballads ("He's My Boy") take their time and are spectacle in their own right. Over all, it is a celebration of inner joy and the people who dare to believe they deserve it.

Avengers: End Game

11 May, 2019

A maddening plot that would (and did) confuse a whovian – old characters are sent off and new ones are reappointed. It was fun and frenetic to watch old characters reappear. It was ham fisted in it's care bear movements – as any good comic should be. It was a satisfying conclusion to what has been an uneven, but fantastic 11 year ride.

Shazam

12 Apr, 2019

Uh, why not? I mean, I wasn't being picky about super hero movies. This was a feel good cheese puff. You left happy but I couldn't remember much about it a week later.

Colette

31 Mar, 2019

Everyone should know about and see this movie. It is rare to see something so honest, affirming, and wonderful. Beautifully acted, written, shot, costumed – everything. The movie transported you to a time, and took you through a girl's journey to become herself. It is filled with all the obvious coming of age, girl from the country, rocky love troupes. But like any good story, it is good because already know where people will end up, we know the sign posts along the way – but we don't know how they will walk the road. This movie was made for walking.

Captain Marvel

16 Mar, 2019

In the Marvel tradition, a total crowd pleaser based on the near perfection of comic book formulas. The 90's LA was a glorious nostalgia trip. The actors were solid. And speaking of 90's nostalgia, young Samuel Jackson!

The Favorite

17 Feb, 2019

Billing itself as a dark comedy, it doesn't offer many laughing moments. It is an unblinking look into the human soul and our ability to remove it as necessary. It starts as mean girls in a bodice ripper, but as you past the politics and cringe worthy behavior; you get to the substance. You watch the truly powerful heap abuse on each other, down the pecking order for entertainment, but come to see it is as survival. The chicken who doesn't peck, get's pecked.

Green Book

02 Feb, 2019

Wow, nothing but a wow! The movie touched on inhuman behavior from very human people. It showed how people could have pride and integrity at all stations, and how the same people lived with shame and humility. It created a very real world populated by multifaceted, real people – based on real people and events.

It was painful and cathartic to watch, showing how far we can and haven't come. But also showing a real friendship that shows how much we are capable of.

Mary Queen of Scots

12 Jan, 2019

It was impossible not to love the imagery, the costumes, the settings. It was impossible to like the two queens. The movie positioned them as two implacable forces that were slowly colliding even as they didn't want to. The historical rewrite being that both were women in a man's world, and thus felt a bond to each other. Mary would no bow. Elizabeth could not risk Mary's claim to the throne. The pacing was off, glacial for about the first two thirds, it kicks into high gear as it realizes its running out of time. As it bumps along the majestic Scottish views, the wheels come off somewhere in the journey. It is well worth watching for strong acting and amazing images – but plot wise, it is a thin bodice ripper filled with silly twists of the imagination.

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