Joseph T. Foyst

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Arrival is nothing short of exceptional. Beautifully directed by Denis Villeneuve, it has a fresh and unique perspective on an oft-used film theme: extraterrestrials invading/arriving on Earth. Unlike the Independence Day movies, or the Alien franchise, or even M. Night Shyamalan's Signs, Arrival does not have malevolent, grotesque creatures rampaging the planet, eating people and burning cities. In fact, there is no action whatsoever. The contact with the aliens is more artistic, and intellectual. The only reason there is any interaction between aliens and humans is because the humans initiated contact first, not the other (more usual) way around, where the aliens suddenly attack unsuspecting humans. Arrival is very thoughtful provoking, and left me thinking about it for a few days. There are some deep psychological aspects and twists that make for an atypical "alien" film, yet highly enjoyable, if you enjoy slow-paced, dialogue driven films with a meaning deeper than just what's going on. Arrival is one of Villeneuve's finest works, possibly second only to Dune.

This movie is nothing short of a work of art. Of all the Scorsese films I've seen, Shutter Island is, in my opinion, possibly his greatest work. The depth and psychology of this film is intensely moving and left me thinking about it for days. A truly well made movie requires multiple viewings to fully grasp, and Shutter Island certainly requires, and demands more than one viewing. It's almost impossible to put into words how moving this film is. I've never seen a movie that has such an ability to affect the mind and soul in so personal and deep a way. However Scorsese's 2016 masterpiece, Silence is just as emotionally touching and beautifully unsettling as Shutter Island, and I'm not sure I could say which is better. While it is a dark and somewhat depressing story, the emphasis and value it places on relationships and love is just as intense and beautiful, and I guarantee if you watch this movie with someone you love, you'll come away holding hands or with your arm around them. I would highly recommend this film to anyone over 15 or 16, or at least mature enough to handle to impact of this incredibly well acted and executed work of art.

I am a huge fan of Martin Scorsese and I love many of his films. A lot of his movies are rated R and contain graphic and disturbing content, but it always seemed in moderation and never crossed the line. 'Wolf' crosses more than one line and I'm somewhat disappointed in Scorsese for producing such an unnecessary and disgusting film. I understand that he's trying to point out the corruption of Wall Street and the people who run it, but the level of drug use and nudity is beyond believable and most of it adds nothing to the advancement of the story. The first couple scenes of drugs and sex were enough to convey the message, there was no reason to keep showing it a hundred more times throughout the movie. If Scorsese would've toned those things down and also cut the language down to about half or less it would've been a very enjoyable movie, since the story itself of Jordan Belfort's transition from a clean businessman to a drug addict criminal is very interesting and is a good example that no one is safe from the temptations of power and greed, no matter how honest and good of a person they are. However it simply left me feeling dirty and sick to my stomach. One star because despite how vile 'Wolf' is, it's still extremely well made and acted. Leonardo was probably at his best, even though there was absolutely nothing good about the role he played, and this movie slightly lowered my opinion of him. There were so many ways to make this a much tamer film, not necessarily even family friendly, but enough that people don't come away wanting to vomit. Definitely not a movie I'd recommend to anyone.

(Minor spoilers ahead) Resistance is actually some of the best Star Wars of the last few years. While it certainly isn't The Clone Wars or The Mandalorian, it doesn't try to be like the other shows and is completely original and unique. I especially like it's fresh new perspective of the galaxy from the point of view of everyday people, and not necessarily the Jedi or the Force. I am a huge fan of SW and love everything about it, but I didn't watch Resistance at first because I was already somewhat disappointed in the recent films and I also didn't care for Rebels, so I was expecting it to be another cringy watered down show with flat characters and overly predictable plots. But I was pleasantly surprised with how good it really is and with how well it's directed. All the characters are likeable and they develop very well as the show progresses. It's a little slow paced early on, but it gets much better by the first quarter of season one. It does have some similarities to Rebels, but Resistance is much better. Kaz is definitely much more likable and well-rounded than Ezra. Kaz is genuinely funny and always wants to be helpful and do the right thing while Ezra is just annoying and hateful for no reason. While I loved every character, Yeager and Captain Doza were two of my favorite characters, and I would've loved to have had them see more action and develop more of their backstories in future seasons, if the show hadn't been cancelled. Flix and Orka, the two acquisitions guys were hilarious to watch and added to the charm of the show. While it's obviously geared more towards younger audiences, it's still very enjoyable to watch for adults too. I also didn't care for the anime style at first, but it eventually grew on me and I like it now and it's one of the cool aspects that makes Resistance so uniquely it's own and unforgettable. I'm not an especially emotional person with most movies, but I did find my self smiling as I watched the last episode of Resistance. It's such a delightful and refreshing show and it's some of my favorite SW now. My only complaint is that they cancelled it after the second season. I would've loved for it to continue, but maybe it's best that it ended while it was still really good before Disney ruined it.

*some spoilers ahead* While Chaos Walking had several weak points it was overall a great movie. Here are the things I liked about it: 1) The acting was fantastic. Daisy Ridley and Tom Holland were outstanding in their roles and kept the story engaging and entertaining from start to finish. Mads Mikkelsen was also stellar as the primary antagonist, though I personally think he's better in a protagonist role. Nonetheless he played his character very well. A five-star cast all around. 2) The visuals in the movie were some of the best I've seen in a film in a long time. The Noise was one of the most fascinating aspects of the movie and added to the humor and drama of the story. Viola's orange outfit was one of the most striking examples of beautiful contrast in the film and was such an integral theme that the color orange always comes to mind with Chaos Walking. Simple visuals can have a powerful impact on the way audiences perceive a movie, so excellent job to the makers. 3) Chaos Walking isn't just one genre of film. It's sci-fi, drama, thriller and western all at once. The multiple flavors of Chaos Walking add a lot to making it a well-rounded and very creative and unique film. A+ in this aspect. Things I didn't like about the movie: 1) There wasn't enough backstory development. Early on in the movie we learn that there are no women in Prentisstown and are led to believe that they were killed by the native species of the planet. Later in the movie we find out that they were actually killed by Mayor Prentiss. While this is an interesting turn (though not too surprising) no further details as to exactly why they were killed are provided, other than that the women didn't have The Noise. A couple more scenes to add to the backstory would've gone a long way to making the story more interesting and would've created more of a connection to characters like Todd's mom. 2) Several of the deaths seemed pointless. This is a problem many movies I've seen seem to have. When Ben and Cillian were killed it seemed abrupt and didn't do much to affect the story. Again, a failure to create audience connections with those characters led to an indifference to their deaths. I was also a little disappointed in the very anticlimactic endings of Mayor Prentiss and The Preacher, the two primary villains. I was expecting more of a dramatic showdown with these powerful guys, but they just seemed to suddenly disappear from the movie. However the tragic ending of Todd's dog was indeed an emotional scene and it was very easy to feel sympathy for Todd as he mourned for his companion. 3) The overall ending was slightly unsatisfying and left several questions unanswered. Now that the ship landed on the New World, are they going to wipe out the villages, like Prentiss said would happen? What is Todd going to do now that he has lost his family and can't possibly return to his home? Is The Noise going to create problems for the new colony where it ends up driving them mad and they kill the women, just like before and create an endless cycle for everyone who goes to that planet? The abrupt ending of the movie certainly hints at and leaves room for a sequel, though I'm not going to get my hopes up. However since Chaos Walking is based on a book series, then there very well could be more movies to follow (the somewhat unresolved "death" of Mayor Prentiss could also give credibility to a possible sequel. From my understanding he does return in the other books). Despite it's flaws, the good certainly outweighs the bad in this movie and I would definitely watch it again.

Not a fan at all. Despite the hype and praises it received, Dunkirk fell flat on its face in my opinion. I love Christopher Nolan's work, but this, along with Interstellar, is a complete dud. Besides the fact that it's historically inaccurate, it accomplishes nothing. There is very little character interaction or dialogue and several general inaccuracies, the main one being the father and son on the boat. How could they travel so far on the open sea and still have spotless outfits and almost immaculate hair? Also the buildings on the island were much too modern in design and should've been in ruins since the Germans had recently bombarded Dunkirk. Most of the scenes were just soldiers milling around on the shore. Maybe I don't understand film, but a production consisting mostly of different shots and angles of people walking around at different times of day and in different weather doesn't seem that interesting. Also Tom Hardy being in it and flying around with a seemingly endless supply of fuel in his plane was another head scratcher for me. I dislike Harry Styles to begin with, so seeing him didn't endear me to the story or characters more in any way at all. If you're looking for a good WWII movie, I'd just stick with Saving Private Ryan. Two stars just because it actually was well acted despite it's flaws.

This is by far Christopher Nolan's best film and one of my favorite movies ever. While it's pretty long and the story is complicated, it is beautifully directed and acted. The cast was five-star and Leonardo Dicaprio really stole the show (as usual). It took me a couple watches to fully understand it, but when I did, I really saw what a brilliant mind Nolan has. While most of the movie took place in dreams and not reality, it was still fascinating beyond belief and completely engrosses me every time I see it. I highly recommend Inception to everyone.

First of all I'm a fan of Christopher Nolan and love his work, but Interstellar was definitely not what I was expecting and I didn't care for it that much overall. It was confusing and made me question the point of it. I did enjoy the first 30-45 minutes of the story while Cooper was with his kids, but I lost interest when he went into space. While it was fascinating to see how Nolan imagined worm holes and distant planets, it felt empty and irrelevant. After spending the first two hours watching them journey to find a new home for humanity on the other side of the universe and then just to find out that the mission was doomed to begin with was a let down, to say the least. The fact that they ended up living outside Saturn (or more correctly, not that far from Earth) sort of defeated the whole point of traveling millions of light-years. Honestly it would've been a much more interesting movie if it had just been about a farmer living with his two kids in rural America.