Film, I am your watcher.
Hey everyone! Here's my newest weekly catch up, where we look at all of the films I've watched this week. The episode of The Drive Back this week had two films that we had to watch, and the rest were watched on my own time (for better or for worse). Only six this week, as I did not have as much free time this week, and two major releases in theaters also got my attention. You can find the reviews for those, No Time to Die and Lamb, on my blog.
Let's start with the films we watched for the show.
Push (2009) REVIEWED ON PODCAST
SCORE: 34/100
Directed By: Paul McGuigan
Starring: Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, Camilla Belle
Synopsis: Two young Americans with special abilities must race to find a girl in Hong Kong before a shadowy government organization called Division does.
Quick Review: Push has some inventive visuals and interesting ideas, but those are lost under a convoluted story, bad cinematography, and questionable performances and directing.
If you'd like to watch it, it's available to rent only.
Pulp Fiction (1994) REVIEWED ON PODCAST
SCORE: 91/100
Directed By: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson
Synopsis: The lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
Quick Review: Pulp Fiction’s masterfully written vignettes, characters, and dialogue are only let down by a length that’s a little too indulgent, and an order to the story that’s confusing on first watch.
If you'd like to watch it, it's available to rent only.
Luca (2021)
SCORE: 74/100
Directed By: Enrico Casarosa
Starring: Jacob Tremblay, Jack Dylan Grazer, Emma Berman
Synopsis: On the Italian Riviera, an unlikely but strong friendship grows between a human being and two sea monsters disguised as humans.
Quick Review: Luca is a fun, family-friendly adventure that highlights friendship through difference. However, my only real critique is that it's a bit too formulaic by sticking to familiar story beats. The friends grow close, go their own ways, then get back together again. The typical plot structure we see in every family film is replicated here, but does get a little life breathed into it by the beautiful location and the inclusion of sea monsters. My other critique is that the film's look doesn't immediately scream Pixar to me, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it does take a little bit to get used to. I also didn't feel that having a villain was necessary, and I would've rather the film focused on the story of accepting differences being the true battle. While my critiques may seem wordy or numerous, the film still has incredible animation, a fantastic relationship between its three main characters, and a feel-good atmosphere that's hard to ignore.
If you'd like to watch it, it's available on Disney+.
Deathstroke: Knights and Dragons (2020)
SCORE: 57/100
Directed By: Sung Jin Ahn
Starring: Michael Chiklis, Sasha Alexander, Chris Jai Alex
Synopsis: Assassin Slade Wilson leads two lives: a relentless killer known as Deathstroke and a family man. Can he atone for the sins of the past-or will his family pay the ultimate price?
Quick Review: I've seen quite a few animated movies from both DC and Marvel in my time. While Marvel tends to rule the theatrical space, DC has always dominated when it came to animated home releases. One of the many releases in question is Deathstroke: Knights and Dragons, which does little to make itself rise above mediocre. The animation here looks good at times, and not so good the rest of the time, particularly when people or items are in motion. The story is interesting, injecting a bit more family drama into the DC world, but the film really doesn't take advantage of the DC mythos beyond its titular character. However, since I am not as familiar with DC as I am with Marvel, the characters like Jackal and Lady Shiva, as well as the villainous organization H.I.V.E. may be larger players than I knew. It's short runtime of an hour and twenty minutes makes it more palatable, however I don't think I'd recommend this to someone who isn't a comic or DC fan.
If you'd like to watch it, it's available on HBO Max.
Desperado (1995)
SCORE: 60/100
Directed By: Robert Rodriguez
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Joaquim de Almieda
Synopsis: Former musician and gunslinger El Mariachi arrives at a small Mexican border town after being away for a long time. His past quickly catches up with him and he soon gets entangled with the local drug kingpin Bucho and his gang.
Quick Review: Desperado is a fun action movie. That's really about it. Antonio Banderas is a lot of fun here, as is Salma Hayek. It's got some fun action sequences, particularly the one in the bar with Cheech Marin. Of all the films I've seen from Robert Rodriguez, which really only includes the Spy Kids films, Sin City, and Machete, it's my second favorite after Sin City. While it provides a cool hero to follow, I just don't feel its very memorable. There is a film that comes before this called El Mariachi, and a sequel called Once Upon a Time in Mexico, so it looks like I have a few to watch after this. I'm sorry I don't have more to say here, but it's just a fun yet unremarkable action film.
If you'd like to watch it, it's available on Netflix.
Young Frankenstein (1974)
SCORE: 88/100
Directed By: Mel Brooks
Starring: Gene Wilder, Teri Garr, Marty Feldman
Synopsis: An American grandson of the infamous scientist, struggling to prove that his grandfather was not as insane as people believe, is invited to Transylvania, where he discovers the process that reanimates a dead body.
Quick Review: Young Frankenstein was a film that I was raised on. My parents love this movie, and I always loved watching it with them and laughing along. Now, as an adult that can actually understand the things that are happening, I enjoy this film now more than ever. It's writing is spectacular, and the absurd little moments make it the classic that it is. Gene Wilder is fantastic as always, as is the entire cast. Everyone is firing on all cylinders here. What's peculiar is that this is the only Mel Brooks film, that I know of, that doesn't feature him in the movie. Usually Mel is in everything he makes, so it's missed here. I would've loved to see what sort of role he would've portrayed. The movie does begin to show a bit of its age, anything almost 50 years later will, but it doesn't hinder the movie in any way. It's more so down to the various credits choices, editing, and so on. Still though, as we get closer to Halloween, a parody of the classic Frankenstein story is so much fun, and definitely worth a watch!
If you'd like to watch it, it's available on Prime Video.
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