Mike's Movie Tips

There were a lot of great movies this year.  I didn't have to change any ratings to get ten qualifiers (3.5 or 4) like I have in the past.  Probably because I was scrambling this past month to see every contender I could, although there were a few that I missed, like "The Farewell" (I own it, but I haven't seen it yet).  Still, there were some great movies that spanned a wide variety of genres.  It gives me hope that there are people who don't go for the easy buck and just make yet another copy of an MCU movie or slap an old name on a generic script for a few extra bucks.  There are lots of talented individuals who are making rich and involving cinema.  Movies that remind me why I fell in love with the movies in the first place. Some of these movies I was expecting would turn up on this list.  Others surprised me at how much I enjoyed them.  It just goes to show that you never know what to expect as a film critic. 10.  Dark Waters .  This is not a perfect movi

I actually like making this list.  If for no other reason than to get revenge on the posers, hacks and wannabes who stole so much time and money from me.  I can make the money back, but the time?  No.  I sacrificed part of my life to give them a chance, and they repaid me with such crap.  So, no, I don't think it's petty to make this list every year. A special mention has to go to " The Irishman ," Martin Scorcese's latest movie.  It's not a bad movie by any means and didn't come anywhere near this list.  But with so much talent and promise, it was hard not to feel let down after finishing its mammoth 3.5 hour running time. A common theme with this list that I've noticed is not an over-reliance on soulless franchises (the MCU does not make an appearance on this list) and sequels/reboots.  It's that there were a lot of movies that had no idea what they wanted to be or tried too hard.  What does that say about the film industry?  No idea, except

3.5/4 Starring: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Carrie Fisher, Ian McDiarmid Rated PG-13 for Sci-Fi Violence and Action When it was announced that George Lucas sold LucasFilm to Disney, my heart sank.  Not just because Disney was now the owner of another media franchise (in addition to Marvel), but because they had such a poor track record of late with its mega productions.  Anyone remember " John Carter " or " The Lone Ranger "?  My point exactly.  I only breathed a sigh of relief when it was announced that Kathleen Kennedy had been tapped to lead it.  Kennedy was the assistant of Steven Spielberg starting in the early 80s but quickly worked her way up to produce a number of his films, including "E.T." and " Jurassic Park ."  That she selected J.J. Abrams, who successfully rebooted the " Star Trek " franchise and made " Super 8 ", the wonderful homage to Spielberg's early works, to direct the fi

0.5/4 Starring: Francesca Hayward, Idris Elba, Taylor Swift, Judi Dench, Jennifer Hudson, James Corden, Ian McKellan, Rebel Wilson Rated PG for Some Rude and Suggestive Humor The buzz surrounding the big budget adaptation of "Cats" is decidedly negative.  The film has tanked at the box office, the iMDb rating sits at 2.6/10 as of this review, and the trailer has been getting bad word of mouth ever since it was released.  There are also complaints of creepy special effects and inappropriately sexualized characters.  You'd think it was the second coming of "Gigli" or "Battlefield Earth."  It can't really be that bad, can it? No.  It's worse. This is a movie where asking what went wrong would be a waste of everyone's time.  A better question would be what went right.  The answer?  Almost nothing.  This is a movie that is so awful that it leaves the audience in stupified silence.  Watching it is akin to watching a car crash between a

3/4 Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, Danny DeVito, Danny Glover, Awkwafina, Alex Wolff, Morgan Turner, Madison Iseman, Ser'Darius Blain Rated PG-13 for Adventure Action, Suggestive Content and Some Language " Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle " blindsided me when it came out 2 years ago.  It was a clever send-up of four movie star personas and a wicked satire of 90's era adventure games.  I recall laughing often and laughing hard.  The film was a massive hit and a sequel was virtually guaranteed.  This new installment isn't as funny or surprising as the one that preceded it, but it's still a good time at the movies. Spencer (Wolff), Martha (Turner), Bethany (Iseman) and Fridge (Blain) have all returned from their first semester of college.  For the most part, they are happy to see each other, but things are frosty between Spencer and Martha, as their attempt to hold together a long distance relationship proved di

3/4 Starring: Dani Kind, Finlay Wojtak-Hissong, Romeo Carere, Naledi Majola, Steve Lund, Maria Nash, Celina Martin, Kiroshan Naidoo Rated R for Horror Violence and Gore There's something creepy about those animatronic mannequins you see at theme parks and Chuck E Cheese.  They have those happy faces and sing those corny songs, but their movements are creaky, jittery and repetitive.  Their eyes are locked into one dead expression.  So while kids may love them, everyone else is unsettled.  Especially when they are turned off. Since 1968, the Banana Splits have been a mainstay of children's programming.  One of their biggest fans is a little kid named Harley (Wojtak-Hissong), and for his birthday, his mother Beth (Kind) has gotten tickets for a live show.  Her older son Austin (Carere) is okay with the idea, but her second husband Mitch (Lund) is less enthused.  Also tagging along is Harley's schoolmate Zoe (Nash).  Unbeknownst to them, there is drama going on behind t

1.5/4 Starring: Luke Grimes, Robert Taylor, Frank Grillo, James Badge Dale, Margeruite Moreau, Brady Smith, David Cade, Scott Peat Not Rated (probable R for Strong Violence and Language) When did movies stop being fun?   When I watch an R rated action movie, I frequently find myself asking that question.  For the most part, the characters are bitter, grim and bent on homicidal revenge or whatnot.  I remember movies like " Face/Off " and " The Rock ," which are just as violent but about a hundred times more entertaining.  Those movies had the joy of filmmaking imbued in their very DNA.  These days, it's all about who is more grim. Of course, that makes sense, seeing as "Into the Ashes" is a revenge story.  Considering what happens to Nick Brenner (Grimes), it makes sense for him to want to make his tormentors pay in blood.  It's just that it's hard to care about a guy who doesn't talk much, never smiles, or shows any semblance of a p

3.5/4 Starring: Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Azhy Robertson, Laura Dern, Alan Alda, Ray Liotta Rated R for Language Throughout and Sexual References All you need is love. So spoke John Lennon.  Ah, if only that were true.  Maybe the divorce rate wouldn't stand at about fifty percent.  Love, or lack thereof, isn't the problem for the two lead characters in this movie.  That's probably why their split is so painful for them. When "Marriage Story" begins, the union of Charlie (Driver) and Nicole (Johannson) is already over.  Nicole is more certain about it than he is, even though she has trouble articulating why she gave up trying to save it.  Charlie is still stuck in surreal mode.  Initially, they try to keep things as simple as possible and avoid bringing lawyers into the equation.  After all, they don't have much money or possessions and neither wishes to make trouble for the other.  Of course, reality sets in and things get ugly very quickly. 

4/4 Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr., Taylor Russell, Sterling K. Brown, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Lucas Hedges, Alexa Demie Rated R for Language Throughout, Drug and Alcohol Use, Some Sexual Content and Brief Violence-All Involving Teens There are two things I picked up from "Waves," the near brilliant new film from writer/director Trey Edward Shults.  One is that even if you have all the opportunities and access you could want, things can still spiral out of control.  The other is that no matter how good or bad life gets, life still goes on. "Waves" details the story of an upper class African American family living in Miami, concentrating on their two children.  Tyler (Harrison Jr) is a star athlete, has a promising future, a loving girlfriend, and so on.  He's the guy that every dad wants his son to be.  His sister Emily (Russel) is close to her brother and their parents but unsure of herself or her future.  Ronald (Brown) is their father, who is tough but

4/4 Starring: Woo-sik Choi, Kang-ho Song, So-dam Park, Jeong-eun Lee, Yeo-jeong Jo, Sun-kyun Lee Rated R for Language, Some Violence and Sexual Content "Parasite" is a masterpiece.  There, I said it.  It's a twisted, strange and bizarre, but it's still a masterpiece.  If there is a movie that tops it in the last few days of 2019, I will be very surprised.  It's that good. This is one of those movies where the less you know, the more fun you'll have.  So I'll be vague.  The film follows the Kim family: Ki-taek (Song) the patriarch, his wife Chung-sook (Jang), and their children Ki-woo (Choi) and Ki-jung (Park).  Financially, they are struggling, having to result to folding pizza boxes to make money.  One night, Ki-woo's friend Min (Seo-joon Park) comes by bearing a gift of a lucky rock and a proposition.  He is the English tutor to the daughter of a wealthy couple, but he is going abroad, and suggests that Ki-woo take his place. That's all

3/4 Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Zack Gottsagen, Dakota Johnson, Thomas Ian Church, Bruce Dern Rated PG-13 for Thematic Content, Language Throughout, Some Violence and Smoking A movie like "The Peanut Butter Falcon" depends on the filmmakers's willingness to take extraordinary chances.  The tone and emotional temperature of the film must be right or it will fall flat on its face.  While it doesn't always work, it does more often than not. Zak (Gottsagen) is a man with Down Syndrome stuck living at a retirement home simply because he has no one to care for him.  That doesn't quell his thirst for life or desire to break free.  More importantly, it doesn't impede his obsession with taking pro-wrestling lessons from his hero, The Saltwater Redneck (Church).  To that end, he has his roommate pry open the bars to his room (Zak has a history of escape attempts) so he can pursue his dream.  Along the way, he meets Tyler (LaBeouf), a man with a dark past, who helps

3.5/4 Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Tim Robbins, Anne Hathaway, Bill Camp Rated PG-13 for Thematic Content, Some Disturbing Images, and Strong Language When the end credits for "Dark Waters" rolled, I was left disturbed and unsettled.  Not so much from the horrors of what Dupont did (it's the kind of thing we expect from negligent corporations, and, perhaps cognizant of this, Haynes doesn't linger on this material), but from the fact that they were so brazen that they knew about it, covered it up, and lied to everyone's face about it.  And they also used legal wrangling to keep using it.  That they could have used some of that time and money protecting themselves to come up with a safer substitute speaks to their arrogance and greed.  That's what I found truly shocking. Robert Bilott (Ruffalo) has just been made partner at a law firm specializing in corporate defense.  One of their clients is chemical manufacturer DuPont, which is why he finds it shocking th

3/4 Starring: Lola Kirke, Zoe Kravitz, John Cho, Greta Lee, Nelson Franklin, Reeve Carney Rated R for Pervasive Language, and a Violent Image It used to be a mark of shame for a film to be released direct-to-DVD.  Not anymore.  With the rise of digital film, movies can be made cheaper and can afford to take greater risks.  One called " The Endless " even made my Top 10 list last year.  "Gemini" isn't a great movie, or even an especially good one.  But it is what it is.  And on that note, I was entertained. Heather Anderson (Kravitz) is a hot young starlet living in Hollywood.  Her best friend is her assistant, Jill LeBeau (Kirke).  She's famous enough to get the attention of gossip rags and creepy fans, and can start or halt a movie's production based on her desire to star in a film.  But she has decided to pull out of a new movie, which has left some bad blood between her and the people she was working with.  After sending Jill to deliver the ba

2.5/4 Starring: Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, Al Pacino, Ray Romano, Stephen Graham Rated R for Pervasive Language and Strong Violence Robert DeNiro. Al Pacino. Martin Scorcese. I was sold right there.  With that level of talent, any studio executive worth his two cents would hand Marty a blank check and say "I'll sign."  No questions asked.  Two of cinema's biggest legends and one of the greatest filmmakers who ever went behind the camera collaborating on a single movie.  How could it go wrong?  Yet...it does. Let me assuage my conscience right away.  "The Irishman" is not a bad movie.  There is too much talent involved to make a movie that would even sniff someone's Bottom 10 list.  But it is disappointing.  The film is a confused mess where the characters and how they relate to each other are not sharply defined.  Scorcese is no stranger to epics, but maybe his vision exceeded his grasp.  Perhaps this story, as he conceived it, is simply unfilmm

3/4 Starring: Daniel Craig, Ana de Armas, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette, Christopher Plummer, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, Riki Lindhome, LaKeith Stanfield, Noah Segan Rated PG-13 for Thematic Elements including Brief Violence, Some Strong Language, Sexual References, and Drug Material Who doesn't love a good mystery? I know I do, but unfortunately anything that doesn't come from Marvel or DC isn't in vogue these days.  Or if someone decides to take a chance, it's a remake or based on a book (or, preferably, both).  Enter Rian Johnson, a talented filmmaker who thrives on venturing into the unknown and is unafraid of a challenge. The patriarch of the Thrombey family has died.  Before he shuffled off his mortal coil, Harlan Thrombey (Plummer) made a fortune writing mystery novels, which he turned into a publishing empire.  Everyone thinks that it was suicide, including the bumbling cops (Stanfield and Segan), a