Star Wars The Phantom (1999) Review

Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space-drama movie composed and coordinated by George Lucas, delivered by Lucasfilm, circulated by twentieth Century Fox and stars Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Pernilla August, and Frank Oz. It is the main portion in the Star Wars prequel set of three and starts the "Skywalker adventure," however it was the fourth film to be delivered sequentially.

The Phantom Menace is set 32 years before the first film and follows Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his student Obi-Wan Kenobi as they ensure Queen Amidala in order to secure a serene end to an interplanetary exchange debate. Joined by Anakin Skywalker—a youthful slave with curiously solid regular forces of the Force—they at the same time battle with the secretive return of the Sith.

Lucas started creation of this film after he discovered that PC produced symbolism (CGI) had progressed to the level he needed for the prequel set of three's enhanced visualizations. Shooting began on June 26, 1997, at areas including Leavesden Film Studios and the Tunisian desert. The movie was Lucas' first executive exertion following a 22-year rest following Star Wars in 1977.

The Phantom Menace was delivered in theaters on May 19, 1999, just about 16 years after the debut of the past Star Wars film, Return of the Jedi. The film's debut was broadly secured by media and was enormously foreseen on account of the huge social after the Star Wars adventure had developed.

Notwithstanding the expectation, it got blended surveys; pundits lauded the visuals, activity successions, topics, John Williams' melodic score, and a portion of the exhibitions (eminently Neeson and McGregor), however scrutinized the screenplay, portrayal, and the individual exhibitions of Ahmed Best as Jar Binks and Lloyd as Anakin. It earned more than $924.3 million (identical to $1.42 billion of every 2019) overall during its underlying dramatic run, turning into the most noteworthy netting film of 1999, the second-most noteworthy earning film worldwide and in North America (behind Titanic), and the most noteworthy netting Star Wars film at that point.

A 3D reissue, which procured an extra $102.7 million in the cinema world and carried the film's general overall takings to over $1 billion, was delivered in February 2012. The film was trailed by two continuations: Attack of the Clones in 2002 and Revenge of the Sith in 2005.

Sextuplets (2019) Review

Sextuplets is a 2019 American comedy film directed by Michael Tiddes from a screenplay by Mike Glock, Rick Alvarez and Marlon Wayans.
It stars Marlon Wayans and Bresha Webb, and follows a man who sets out to find his long-lost siblings after discovering he is one of sextuplets his mother had. The film was digitally released on Netflix on August 16, 2019.
An expecting father-to-be seeks his birth mother and discovers he has five other siblings born from the same pregnancy.
He tries to track these different characters before his baby is born. He first meets with his brother Russell and the pair goes on a road trip to find their other siblings.
Dawn is a stripper serving time in a women's prison, Ethan is a hustler who dresses and talks like a ’70s pimp, while Jasper is marked for his red hair and lighter complexion. “Baby Pete” suffers from Polio.

Ouija (2014) Review

Ouija is a 2014 American supernatural horror film directed by Stiles White in his directorial debut, produced by Jason Blum, Michael Bay, Andrew Form, Bradley Fuller, and Bennett Schneir and written by Juliet Snowden and White, who previously together wrote The Possession.

It stars Olivia Cooke, Daren Kagasoff, Douglas Smith, and Bianca A. Santos as teenagers who have unleashed spirits from a Ouija board.

Ouija was released on October 24, 2014, by Universal Pictures.

The film was a commercial success, grossing $103.6 million worldwide over a $5 million budget, but was overwhelmingly criticized by critics, with many criticizing its inconsistent tone, characters and story, but praise for Shaye's performance.

A prequel, Ouija: Origin of Evil, was released in 2016, and was far better critically received.

Wounds (2019) Review

Wounds is a 2019 psychological horror film written and directed by Babak Anvari, in his English language debut, and starring Armie Hammer, Dakota Johnson, and Zazie Beetz. The film is based on the novella The Visible Filth by Nathan Ballingrud.

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2019, and was released in the United States on October 18, 2019, by Hulu and internationally on Netflix.

Will is a New Orleans-based bartender who works at a run-down cockroach-infested bar. One evening, Alicia, her boyfriend Jeffrey, a drunk Eric, and a group of college kids enter the bar. Eric gets into a fight with another guest, resulting in Eric being stabbed in the cheek with a broken bottle.

The kids leave the bar in a panic and Will discovers one of them has left their phone behind. Will returns to his house, which he shares with his student girlfriend Carrie. While inspecting the phone, he receives messages from someone called Garrett, who claims that he is scared and something from the "tunnel" is following him.

Hush (2017) Review

Hush is a 2016 American slasher film directed and edited by Mike Flanagan, starring Kate Siegel, who also co-wrote the film with Flanagan.

The film co-stars John Gallagher Jr., Michael Trucco, Samantha Sloyan, and Emilia "Emma" Graves. It was jointly produced by Trevor Macy through Intrepid Pictures and Jason Blum through Blumhouse Productions.

The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 12, 2016, and was released by Netflix on April 8, 2016.

The film has been remade twice, with Kolaiyuthir Kaalam and Khamoshi being released in 2019.

Maddie Young is a deaf woman and horror writer who lost her abilities to hear and speak after a bout of bacterial meningitis at age 13, only to lose both permanently after a botched corrective surgery. Hoping to advance her career as an author, she lives an isolated life in the woods with her cat.

Her friend Sarah visits her one evening to return a copy of her book. While discussing her writing, Maddie explains how she visualizes her stories, and considers numerous potential endings before deciding on one.

Later that night, a masked killer with a crossbow attacks Sarah and chases her to Maddie's house. A bloodied Sarah bangs on the door shouting for help; her cries go unheard because Maddie cannot hear her, and the man stabs Sarah to death.

Playing with Fire (2019) Review

Playing with Fire is a 2019 American family comedy film directed by Andy Fickman from a screenplay by Dan Ewen and Matt Lieberman based on a story by Ewen.

The film stars John Cena, John Leguizamo, Keegan-Michael Key, Brianna Hildebrand, Dennis Haysbert, and Judy Greer, and follows a group of smokejumpers who must watch over three children who have been separated from their parents following an accident.

The film was theatrically released by Paramount Pictures on November 8, 2019, in the United States.

It is the third Walden Media film from Nickelodeon Movies, after Charlotte's Web and Dora and the Lost City of Gold (the latter was also released in 2019).

Despite receiving generally negative reviews from critics, the film was a box office success, grossing $68 million worldwide with production budget of $29 million.

Ocean's 8 (2018) Review

Ocean's 8 (stylized onscreen as Ocean's Eight) is a 2018 American heist comedy film directed by Gary Ross and written by Ross and Olivia Milch.

The film is both a continuation and a spin-off from Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's trilogy and features an ensemble cast including Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Rihanna, and Helena Bonham Carter.

The film follows a group of women led by Debbie Ocean, the sister of Danny Ocean, who plan a sophisticated heist at the annual Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

After the release of Ocean's Thirteen in 2007, Soderbergh stated he had no intentions of making a fourth film, citing his desire to have the series "go out on top". However, an all-female spin-off was announced in October 2015, and much of the cast signed on by August 2016. Filming took place from October 2016 to March 2017 around Manhattan.

Ocean's 8 premiered at Alice Tully Hall on June 5, 2018, and was released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States on June 8, 2018, 11 years to the day after the release of Ocean's Thirteen. It grossed $297 million worldwide and received a lukewarm response from critics, who applauded the cast but found the film undemanding and less consistent than the films in Soderbergh's trilogy.

Cinderella (2015) Review

Cinderella is a 2015 romantic fantasy film directed by Kenneth Branagh, with a screenplay written by Chris Weitz, and co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures, Kinberg Genre, Allison Shearmur Productions, and Beagle Pug Films.

The film is based on the folk tale and is a live action adaptation of Walt Disney's 1950 animated film of the same name.

It features Lily James as Cinderella, and includes Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden, Stellan Skarsgård, Holliday Grainger, Derek Jacobi, and Helena Bonham Carter.

Development for a live-action reimagining of the original animated film began in May 2010, with producer Simon Kinberg attached to the project. In late January 2013, Branagh signed on to direct, with Weitz hired to revise a script from Aline Brosh McKenna.

In November 2012, casting began with Blanchett being the first to sign on; James was eventually cast in the titular role in April 2013. Principal photography began at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England on September 23, 2013, and ended on December 14.

Homefront (2013) Review

Homefront is a 2013 American action crime thriller film directed by Gary Fleder, written by Sylvester Stallone and released nationwide in theaters on November 27.

Based on the 2005 novel Homefront, the film stars Jason Statham, James Franco, Winona Ryder, and Kate Bosworth. Filming began on October 1, 2012 in New Orleans.

Two years after the raids of a gang's methamphetamine laboratory where his cover was blown, retired DEA Agent and U.S. war veteran, Phil Broker (Jason Statham) and his daughter Maddy (Izabela Vidovic) have moved to a small Louisiana town where Maddy's deceased mother grew up.

Maddy gets into a schoolyard fight with a bully named Teddy Klum (Austin Craig); when Broker comes to the school, Teddy's hostile father, Jimmy (Marcus Hester), picks a fight with him and loses. Teddy's mother, Cassie (Kate Bosworth), later asks her brother, a drug dealer named Gator Bodine (James Franco), to scare Broker.

Broker fights off a few of Gator's thugs at a gas station when they threaten him. While he and Maddy later go horse riding, Gator breaks into their house.

He deduces from old personnel files that Broker was the undercover cop responsible for the arrest of Danny T (Chuck Zito) in the raid two years earlier, which also resulted in the death of Danny T's son Joey. Hoping to get a wider distribution for the drugs he manufactures, Gator tips off Danny T, who sends members of his gang to kill Broker.

Brightburn (2019) Review

Brightburn is a 2019 American superhero horror film directed by David Yarovesky, written by Mark Gunn and Brian Gunn, and produced by James Gunn and Kenneth Huang. It stars Elizabeth Banks, David Denman, Jackson A. Dunn, Matt Jones and Meredith Hagner.

It follows Brandon Breyer, a young boy of extraterrestrial origin reared on Earth who realizes he has superpowers. Upon learning of them and being brainwashed by the ship he arrived in, Brandon rejects his humanity and turns to evil, opting to terrorize his hometown, including his parents.

The film was produced and financed by Screen Gems, Stage 6 Films, The H Collective and Troll Court Entertainment.

Brightburn was announced as Untitled James Gunn Horror Project in December 2017. Aside from Gunn producing the film, his cousin Mark and brother Brian Gunn wrote the screenplay. Principal photography began in March 2018 and wrapped in May of that same year. It adapts the concept of Superman for explicit horror.

Brightburn was released in the United States on May 24, 2019 by Sony Pictures Releasing. It received mixed reviews from critics, who felt that the film did not deliver on the full potential of its premise. The film earned $32 million against a budget of $6–12 million.

Moneyball (2011) Review

Moneyball is a 2011 American biographical sports comedy drama film directed by Bennett Miller and written by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. The film is based on Michael Lewis's 2003 nonfiction book of the same name, an account of the Oakland Athletics baseball team's 2002 season and their general manager Billy Beane's attempts to assemble a competitive team.

In the film, Beane (Brad Pitt) and assistant GM Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), faced with the franchise's limited budget for players, build a team of undervalued talent by taking a sophisticated sabermetric approach to scouting and analyzing players.

Columbia Pictures bought the rights to Lewis's book in 2004, hiring Stan Chervin to write the screenplay. David Frankel was initially set to direct with Steven Zaillian now writing the screenplay, but was soon replaced by Steven Soderbergh, who planned to make the film in a semi-documentary style featuring interviews from real athletes, and having the real players and coaches on the team portray themselves.

However, prior to its July 2009 filming start, the film was put in turnaround due to creative differences between Soderbergh and Sony over a last-minute script rewrite. Soderbergh exited, and Bennett Miller was hired to direct, with Pitt becoming a producer and Aaron Sorkin being hired to provide rewrites. Filming began in July 2010, taking place at various stadiums such as Dodger Stadium and Oakland Coliseum.

Moneyball premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival and was released on September 23, 2011, to box office success and critical acclaim, particularly for its acting and screenplay. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor for Pitt and Best Supporting Actor for Hill.

Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011) Review

Crazy, Stupid, Love is a 2011 American romantic comedy film directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, written by Dan Fogelman, and starring Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei, and Kevin Bacon. It follows a recently divorced man who seeks to rediscover his manhood and is taught how to pick up women at bars.

The film was released in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures on July 29, 2011, grossing over $142 million against its $50 million budget. Gosling was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance.

Cal Weaver is a middle-aged man who is told by his wife Emily that she has cheated on him with a co-worker, David Lindhagen, and wants a divorce.

After moving into his own apartment, son Robbie and daughter Molly staying at the house with Emily, Cal goes to a bar night after night, talking loudly about his divorce, until he attracts the attention of a young man named Jacob Palmer, a womanizer who beds different women each night, although a young woman named Hannah has recently rejected his advances.

Jacob takes pity on Cal and offers to teach him how to pick up women. Using Jacob's teachings, Cal seduces a woman named Kate at the bar. After the encounter, Cal manages to successfully seduce other women at the bar. He sees Emily again at their 13-year-old son Robbie's parent-teacher conference.