Jon Hsieh

I've watched every Ridley Scott film since Alien 1979. Hes brilliant. This film didn't feel or look like his work at ALL. ZERO. The pace, cinematography, script and production design were all off. It was almost as if they forced him to take credit. The amount of one liners and rushed dialogue was surprising given Scott is more known for character establishment and building. The camera work felt made-for-tv given its soap opera look and not being cinematic. The script saw lots of similarities to part 1 which was a let down. The musical score was not compelling in any scene (dramatic music for an obvious reveal...ok we knew that! Cue the chorus!) despite having a talented composer. Its just unbelievable to see top notch talent producing second grade work. I still dont buy it lol. Disregarding the above and forgetting gladiator 1...the film was ok. Nothing memorable. A pass to time on a boring weekday. I wont be surprised if this was a set up to a tv spin off. Oh well def not a rewatch. Wait for stream on this one.

Nepotism leads to another mediocre Night movie. This film was made and designed specifically to give Nights daughter maximum exposure. Her acting skills are clearly subpar. Ignoring the fact this was nepotism at its finest. The writing/story seemed rush, robotic and almost cliche. Usually Nights films bring decent production value but this one felt really indie. Possibly self funded? Cough nepotism. As for the twist, Night is just running out of ideas and creativity. He made one huge box office hit that probably inflated his ego. Now everything he thinks of is some special plot. Hats off to him tho, capitalizing on his name. Yolo lol. I dont mind putting your kids in movies to strengthen their careers. But at least make sure theyre good. Definitely dont pay to watch this. Stream free or if your nightly backgammon got cancelled lol This is the last time ill ever watch a Night movie thats for sure haha.

2.3 ⭐ Director/writer Michael Sarnoski and John Krasinksi's film kicks off as we all would imagine a prequel would go. High action and suspense. That quickly dissipates as the story chooses to follow, yet again, a couple of individuals evading blind aliens. As you could imagine, its just part 1 but instead of heart pumping moments (giving birth while trying to stay quiet), the director chose an emotional route which I found odd given the last 2 films. Ignoring the artsy metaphorical attempt, I didnt like the idea we were watching another version of part 1. There wasnt really any answers given in what a prequel was meant to be in the first place. I unfortunately paid for this and i wouldnt suggest anyone do so. Stream worthy at best.

Wanted to give this film a go given it was A24, produced by Emma Stone and the crazy media hype. Its obvious the film is very indy. Heavy dialogue, slow pace, simple sets...etc etc. What got me reaching for the remote to shut this off was the pace. Incredibly slow. Each scene was bland and didnt really establish anything with substance to support the story. Dialogue was equivalent to watching paint dry. Characters were uninteresting and lacked chemistry. The only aspect of this film I give credit to is the DoP. Color grading and shots were on point. Moral of the story, dont EVER believe the hype. Now i gotta figure out how i can get my precious minutes back from watching this.

2 ⭐ When this film was written you could tell the approach they were going for...incite as much emotion/connection to the audience. It wasn't subtle and it showed...a bit too much. Its a delicate area only a few directors can do elegantly. Jennifer Lopez' character was just hard to bear/watch. The story was decent, writing could have been better. Production quality felt as if they had a decent amount of budget but was lead by a inexperienced B team filled with cheap sets and poor VFX. Overall at least it was free. Wouldnt be going out of my way to watch someone that steals content from others to boost their own careers anyway. Yea shes a fraud...but i was also bored. All in all...if you have ABSOLUTELY nothing to watch...guess this will fill it in.

What a waste of an great idea. This film is absolutely not what you thought it was gonna be. Surprisingly Garland chose to wrap the story around 4 journalist in a "war" rather than what we all wanted to see...civil war. This film is incredibly slow and slightly picks up towards the end. The casting was decent but youd think, at the very least, the action would be top notch especially for a film called civil war. When you have people literally sleeping in a war movie...just stop making films. Could have been 100x better. Garland probably didnt spend too much time on this at all. Cant wait until other great directors pick this up. Someone please call @RIDLEYSCOTT asap.

4.5⭐ Every movie Denis Villeneuve directs is just captivating. His direction allows his team to create and capture such incredible moments. This whole film was well thought from casting, color grading, production sets, cinematography, sound l...down all the way to costume designs. I thought it be pretty slow like Dune 1 but the whole 2 hours and 45 mins i was left intrigued and wanting to know more. Hats off to Denis as he also cowrote the screenplay with John Spaihts As an avid film student thats watched over 2000 films, this is surely a rewatch and one youll see grabbing the podiums next year. Thanks for a great sunday night!

How to copy and paste and STILL fail. 2 ⭐ David Ayer peaked in Training Day and spiraled downwards from that point. Absolutely shameful from David Ayer and a who i dont care to search of a writer. A complete garbage film with their twist of unoriginality coupled with a weak story filled with copy n paste and cheesy actors they found on Skid Row. Disregarding the fact they couldn't come up with anything on their own. This film is riddled with bad scenes to corny lines that should have been on the chopping block or on B roll. But that shows you exactly what this production was about. Smoking weed, finding a script near the bottom of the pile, getting some semi big names and praying they make money. Hell, even the cameras they used were questionable. This film was hard to watch and if you;re new to the movie scene (your very first movie) this might slip and be alright. Itll set the bar for every other movie to be great.

How to look in a mirror without looking in a mirror... It seems Director Gary Gray has lost his touch with recent flops like Fast 8, MiB 3 and now Lift. A Hartbeat production (Kevin Hart), Lift is a film that reflects an overnight production with zero thought and Hollywood narcissism at its finest. Im just sitting here imagining the writing process with Kevin Hart right next to him boosting his ego with ridiculous lines. I guess that's what happens when its your production company and you just wanna pat yourself on the back because no one else is gonna do it. Almost made me think he was trying to audition for a black James Bond haha. (Stay in your lane) haha Setting aside the obvious self gloating...the film was short on the comedy side, production felt cheesy, acting was decent but script/storyline was nothing worth remembering. Pretty much the same result as Harts last years film with Mark Wahlberg, Me Time. I wouldnt recommend this to anyone. A half done project aimed to prey on audiences using big names. A cash grab with no cinematic achievements.

3.0 ⭐ Absolutely stunning work from director Gareth Edwards and cinematographer Oren Soffer. From color grades, shots and VFX...all top notch. A visual spectacle. Although Gareth Edwards pulls through visually, he fails miserably on the storyline. The amount of times my party sat there and looked at each other saying "wait, what? Why?" was too much to count. Things didnt add up and begs the audience to question many things. As if Edwards was just trying to get to an ending rather than build the story. Creating that tension or closeness between ai and humans was lacking. John Washington's mono tone, emotionless acting contributed to that disconnect. The exact "read off the script" acting we saw in Tenet. How he got this role is mind blowing and nepotism at its finest. His performance was only saved by child actor Madeleine Voyles, who was great. Few other questionable casting decisions, you'll see if you choose to not wait for the stream (the soccer mom playing a ruthless captain) All in all, this film was entertaining at the very least. Could have been awesome as i love how rogue one was done and im not a star wars fanatic. Worth the ticket? Eh yea not bad but definitely not a rewatch. Oh and ill never watch anything with John Washington again lol.