Lucas Nasu Nielsen

One Night in Miami... is filled with stellar performances and Regina King does a great job letting these actors shine. The first act of this film was really entertaining but unfortunately slows down as the film progresses. I don't mind films that are based off of plays, but I feel like the dialogue in this film just wasn't up to par with other theatrical films. I wish they had focused a bit more on the relationships between all of the characters and spent less time on Cassius's conversion to Muslim. The film is also very basic with its cinematography and visual storytelling, with most scenes relying on the basic hourglass scene structure. Overall, One Night in Miami... is an interesting films with breathtaking performances, but falls short in its plot points and cinematography.

Soul is a brilliantly animated and truly heartfelt film that is another great addition to Pixar's filmography. The film feels very mature and doesn't worry about entertaining it's target demographic of young children. Instead, it focuses on developing its story and creating its world filled with gripping, visual imagery, and intriguing philosophical themes. The film is entertaining throughout with a beautiful soundtrack and a refreshingly original concept. The only problem I have with this film is that I found the ending to be a little too cliché for my liking, and it felt a little rushed. Also some moments within the second act felt like they dragged on for a little too long. Overall, Soul, was a very enjoyable film to watch and is one of the best animated film to come out in the last few years.

Routed in Vanessa Kirby's emotionally raw performance and the film's focus on the importance of realism, Pieces of a Woman, is a heartfelt and brutal look at loss and grief. The opening 30 minutes of this film right up to the title card, is some of the best filmmaking of the year. It is a true achievement in directing, acting, and cinematography. It is gut wrenching and extremely difficult to watch but nonetheless it is truly impressive. Unfortunately the film slows down quite a bit afterwards and begins to feel a little bit disjointed. Holes begin to develop in the script and the film ends in a fairly unrealistic and disappointing way. Even though this may be the case, the film stays gripping through its excellent performances, Vanessa Kirby and Ellen Burstyn in particular. This film is not perfect by any means but I would still highly suggest watching it purely due to the brilliant opening 30 minutes and the fantastic performances.

It's fun and entertaining and it gets some good laughs, but overall, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, feels fairly basic and doesn't bring anything new to the table. Maria Bakalova gives a strong comedic performance and does a great job keeping up with Sacha Baron Cohen in all of their scenes together, but unfortunately this film just doesn't do enough to differentiate itself and ends up falling short of its predecessor.

On the Rocks is a fun and entertaining, slice of life film. Bill Murray and Rashida Jones radiate on screen and Sofia Coppola directs this film brilliantly. The film unfortunately struggles with being too predictable and has a fairly disappointing ending. It's a fun film to watch, and it passed the time, but it's overall fairly forgettable.

Tom Hanks does his best with the material provided but overall, News of the World is a long, drawn out, western, that follows a cookie-cutter story line that comes off as dull and childish. I had a difficult time getting through this film mainly due to the fact that I felt no emotional connection to any of the characters or the story. The film has some gorgeous shots and great production design, but other than that, this film falls short and ends up being just another simple and uninteresting western film.

Judd Apatow's newest film, The King of Staten Island, is a fantastically hilarious, film with a lot of heart. Due to his connection to the material, Pete Davidson pours his heart into this film. He shows his exceptional range between comedy and dramatic acting, and the film perfectly weaves the fine line between being a dark comedy and a flat out drama. This is one of Apatows best paced film as it continuously keeps up the stakes and always has a certain level of conflict in every scene. The film is very enjoyable and entertaining to watch and has a surprising amount of depth hidden within it.

Never Rarely Sometimes Always is a brutally honest and unbiased look at a teenage girl going through the process of getting an abortion. The film is shot beautifully in a very subtle, indie way, and Sidney Flanigan gives a truly heartbreaking performance. The film is definitely on the slower side and contains some scenes, especially with Théodore Pellerin, that feel too long and sometimes completely unnecessary, but overall this film is very well shot and written, filled with passion and heart, and I highly recommend it.

David Fincher is and always will be one of my favourite directors, but, Mank, just isn't it. On a technical standpoint this film is impressive, with grand production design, gorgeous costumes and Fincher's unique cinematography style. Unfortunately the film struggles with an uninteresting storyline and a lack of character development. The film ends up feeling like school work to watch. I wish the film had focused a bit more on the creation of, Citizen Kane, and less on some side characters that feel fairly unimportant to the progression of the story. Overall, Mank, is a cool film from a technical standpoint but struggles with an uninteresting story and characters.

Christopher Nolan comes at us again with another mind bending film that leaves us with more questions than answers. The action sequences in this film are some of the most creative and well shot scenes I've seen in a long time, filled with breathtaking visual effect and large scale production design, this film feels larger than life. Unfortunately this film struggles with trying to fit in too much information into one film, making the film feel less smart and more disoriented. It feels like a combination of Nolan's, Interstellar, and, Inception, with more flash and less depth. It's an entertaining film but when looked at closely it feels unorganized and ends up coming off as a bit too pretentious.