The Quintessentialist

  2022 Halloween Playlist Well, it's that time of year again! It's time for the Halloween Playlist! I'm happy to continue this tradition. So, like each year, I build on the list from the previous years. Maybe you'll find something to add to your Halloween playlist this year too!  

Coda Movie Review This Deserved Best Picture So, I just got back from seeing Coda, and it was amazing! This was the second attempt to see this film as the first time, someone booked the entire theater for a private screening. I'm going to take from a summary from IMDB to summarize the plot: " As a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) Ruby is the only hearing person in her deaf family. When the family's fishing business is threatened, Ruby finds herself torn between pursuing her passion at Berklee College of Music and her fear of abandoning her parents." The acting was  phenomenal, the  cinematography was beautiful, and the story was human. The way this film is crafted is nothing short but excellent. I will not that not everything is 100% accurate, but for narrative reasons, I understand the choices they made. The actors have amazing chemistry together. Everything feels natural between them and they all bring their characters to life. No per...

The Batman Movie Review A Solid Noir Film I went and saw The Batman the other day with one of my buddies and I must say, we really enjoyed it. Granted I don't think this movie is for everyone. The Batman follows Batman (Robert Pattinson) during his second year of crime fighting. When the mayor of Gotham is killed by The Riddler (Paul Dano), it is up to Batman with the help of James Gordon (Jeffery Wright), and Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz) to stop him. From a visual point of view, The Batman is gorgeous. Every frame is a painting. The acting is solid, the plot is solid. The musical score is outstanding. I personally loved the film, but there are some things in it that could off-set some Batman fans. I typically get into the acting first, but like you've probably already heard many reviewers say before, the city is a character in this film. Gotham feels real, grounded, and certainly not a place you'd want to visit. Corruption and crime run rampant at every level of society. The ...

Cyrano Movie Review Friend Zone The Movie I went and saw the movie Cyrano last night with one of my friends, and it wasn't exactly what I expected it to be. Cyrano follows a love triangle between the Poet and Capitan, Cyrano (Peter Dinklage), a woman named, Roxanne (Haley Bennett), and a new soldier, Christian (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). Cyrano writes letters for Christian addressed to Roxanne signed by Christian while loving Roxanne himself. The film Cyrano was more comedic in the first two-thirds of the film than I think they intended it to be. I would have rated this movie a three out of five, but the final third of this film went into full drama and just nailed it. While watching the film I was trying to figure out which time period Cyrano took place, but I found out after watching the film, the creators made it into historical fiction. They make no claim for this film to be historically accurate as far as I can tell, so I won't judge them on that. The actors each did fine. Pete...

Uncharted Movie Review Not As Good As The Games I went and saw the movie Uncharted a while ago, and it was as I expected it to be. If you are a fan of the games, well... prepare for disappointment. Uncharted follows Nathan Drake (Tom Holland), a low level thief as he is recruited by Victor Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg) to go on a treasure hunt. As someone who has played some of the games, but not all, I have to say that the Uncharted film is what I thought it would be. A mishmash of all four games but not committing to any of them. The acting is a bit stale, and the plot is predictable. The camera work was fine, but the music was underused. Tom Holland should not have been Nathan Drake. He lacks the charisma, the attitude, and the charm. He may have passed for a teenage Nathan Drake, but he should have only been in a few scenes. I'm not the biggest fan of Tom Holland either long time readers may know. Now, onto Mark Wahlberg as Victor Sullivan. Mark Wahlberg is way too young to be playi...

Jackass Forever Movie Review A New Installment I just got out of seeing Jackass Forever, and it was decent enough. To be honest this is going to be a short review. Usually, I would go into a synopsis, but not for this film. It's Jackass. They do stunts. Slapstick with the pain. The movie is good, but it's pretty average for the series. I don't think it's the best, nor do I think it's the worst. There were a few gut busters while watching this comedy. But some of the stunts didn't have that creative spin Jackass is known for.  If you're a fan of the series, I would recommend checking it out. If want to want to see Jackass Forever, but are able to hold off for a bit, just wait for it to come on tv. final score: 3/5  

 Happy 5 Years! Can you guys believe it? It's been four years since I started the blog. The blog has been doing pretty well. It gets around 500 views a month give or take. I wanted to thank you all for coming along on this movie journey with me, and here's to another year of reviews!

 Top 5 Best Films Of 2021 Not What I Thought It Would Be It's that time of the year! Time to go over the Top 5 Best Films Of 2021! The Films on this list are not exactly what I expected, but I go by the rules. And speaking of rules... Here are the rules:  the movie must have been in theaters this year or it must have premiered this year, and it must have scored at minimum 4/5 and I only allow myself three 5/5 movies per year.  With that said, let's get into the list! 5. House Of Gucci Not exactly what I thought would make the list at number 5, but I found myself enjoying this drama. It's not a prefect film, but its entertaining enough and was just a solid  film. 4/5 4. Ghostbusters Afterlife I had hope going into this film that it would be good, and it lived up to my expectations. It doesn't seem like we get many kids films like this anymore, and it felt like a breath of fresh air. 4/5 3. The King's Man What a fi...

 Top 5 Worst Films Of 2021 And Here We Go Okay, okay, I know I didn't review as many films as I should have this year. A lot of stuff changed in my personal life, and the reviews got put on the back burner. I'll just be basing the list off of the movies that I did review. So, just know that numbers five and four on this list probably wouldn't have been here if I did more reviews this past year. I'll try to do better next year. This years rules will be the same as last years. Just a reminder, here are the rules:  the rules are the movie had to either been in theaters this year, or premiered this year, and the movie must have scored below a 3/5.  I'm going to make the list basically in order of scoring so the "scored below a 3/5" rule is going to tossed out this year but the "been in theaters or premiered this year" rule will still be in active. With that said, here are the Top 5 Worst Movies Of 2021! 5. Godzilla VS Kong I kinda expected more out o...

  The King's Man Movie Review A Solid Addition To The Franchise I just got out of seeing The King's Man with a friend, and I must say that this was a wonderful addition to the franchise but not in the way you would think. The King's Man follows the Oxford family at the outset of WWI and as events unfold, the inception of The Kingsman Agency commences. This film surprised me. It's a bit different in tone from the other films, but in a good way. The comedy, while present, is toned down for a more dramatic take. The King's Man is not as action packed as the previous installments, but when it is present, the flair still holds. I found the cinematography to be somewhat standard, but there are a few creative shots thrown in for good measure.  The actors played their part well. Everyone enveloped the personalities they portrayed. Rasputin isn't in the film as much as the trailers would have you believe but his scenes are well done. The Oxford family and associates are ...

House Of Gucci Movie Review A Good Drama First off, I know I'm behind on some reviews, but I want to get a couple more out before the end of the year lists. A while ago, I saw House Of Gucci. I found it to be a solid drama. House Of Gucci follows the Italian Fashion Family, Gucci and their downfall as a family all because of one person. This film is based on a true story. I don't know how accurate it is to the true events, I'm judging this review only on the merits of the film itself. House of Gucci has a great cast of actors. The cinematography is sharp. And the pacing is solid.  Adam Driver is my favorite performance in House Of Gucci. Lady Gaga also did a solid job, and I know there was a little more focus on her character, but I think Adam Driver gave a stronger performance. Jared Leto was good. He wasn't great, but he was good. Al Pacino wasn't as strong as he could have been. He felt half invested in the film except for perhaps one particular scene. The suppor...

Ghostbusters Afterlife Movie Review Not Perfect, But Still A Good Time I just got out the theater with one of my friends, and saw Ghostbusters Afterlife. I have to say I had a few worries about this film, but on the whole, I found myself enjoying it. Ghostbusters Afterlife follows the family of one of the original ghostbusters as they uncover what he was trying to do when he left the original group. First off, I want to say we are getting such great child actors right now. The acting was pretty darn entertaining for most of the film. The score was solid. The cinematography was good. The jokes had a rocky start, but got better as the film went along. Ghostbusters Afterlife honors the originals while adding its own elements. Though what they decided to do with the antagonist was a bit cliche. Mckenna Grace plays Phoebe, the protagonist of Ghostbusters Afterlife, and she steals the film. I think this is yet another one on her belt, and it shows she will have a solid career ahead of her. I...

Dune Movie Review A Slow, But Grand Epic I was able to see Dune over the weekend and I must say that it is a perhaps the first true Epic of a Film that I've seen this year. However, that doesn't mean it's not without it's faults. I'm going to use the description from IMDB for this review, " A mythic and emotionally charged hero's journey, 'Dune' tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence-a commodity capable of unlocking humanity's greatest potential-only those who can conquer their fear will survive." The cinematography is top notch in Dune. The acting is pretty solid as well. The score is a soaring. The pace, is a bit on the slower...

No Time To Die Movie Review Major Spoilers Ahead, Do Not Watch I just got out of seeing No Time To Die, the new James Bond film and the final Daniel Craig portrayal of the character. This film is trash. I'm not going to structure this review like other reviews. I just need to post a short rant. FINAL SPOILER WARNING!!! Alright, now that I got that out of the way, they kill James Bond. This is a sin against cinema. The movie was ok until it got towards the ending, but the ending just ruined it. This is just something that you don't do.  The cinematography is good. That was probably the best part of the film. I just can't get over the fact that they had the gall to kill him. As far as I'm concerned, the Craig films ended with Skyfall. final score: 0.5/5   

  2021 Halloween Playlist Well, it's that time of year again! It's time for the Halloween Playlist! I'm happy to continue this tradition. So, like each year, I build on the list from the previous years. Maybe you'll find something to add to your Halloween playlist this year too!

  Block-Heads Movie Review A Must See Comedy The other week I got to go to a special greening of the Laurel and Hardy film, Block-Heads with a friend of mine. It was played on 35mm film, and it was a roaring good time.  Block-Heads follows two WWI vets as one of them just realized the war is over 20 years late. The two friends reconnect. Alright, my synopsis is a bit simplistic, but it works. I feel as though if I gave any more details I'd be treading into spoiler territory. The chemistry between Laurel and Hardy is amazing. The comedy had me laughing and smiling the entire time. On the more technical side of things, this was a solid film with the camera work, music, and directing. It's hard to put into words explaining the joy I got from watching one of the great comedic duos on 35mm film the way it was meant to be shown. These two play off of each other so freaking well, they capture your attention from beginning to end.  Each and every joke hit! Block-Heads is a comedy...

The Suicide Squad Movie Review A Fun Time I went out and saw The Suicide Squad with one of my friends last Saturday, and I gotta say, I had a pretty fun time. I'm going to use the IMDb synopsis for this one, " Supervillains Harley Quinn, Bloodsport, Peacemaker and a collection of nutty cons at Belle Reve prison join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X as they are dropped off at the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese." The Suicide Squad was 100% turn your brain off and enjoy type of film. It's not great, but it's good enough to put everything on pause and have some fun. The cat works well together, the action is well paced, and the cinematography along with the editing is eye-catching. This cast really plays off of each other perfectly. I would love to see them work together again. There were no "bad" performances, though I wish some characters got more screen time than others. Their chemistry had a natural flow to it. The action scenes...

Black Widow Movie Review Do Not Watch I went and saw the new Marvel film the other day, Black Widow with some friends of mine. This movie sucks. For the synopsis I'm just going to copy the IMDB : " Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger."  Black  Widow is boring. The actors have no chemistry, it's the wrong genre, and by golly the ending is stupid. I mean, how can you screw up this bad? You must be trying. The best part of Black Widow is the opening, then it goes downhill from there. You get the typical Marvel comedy in this film, but there's one joke that is solid cringe. It's done by Natasha's sister, and it should have been cut from the script.  I almost cannot describe the amo...

The Conjuring The Devil Made Me Do It Movie Review Good, But Not Great I went and saw The Conjuring The Devil Made Me Do It the other day with one of my friends, and it was a good movie. Not a great movie, but good. The Conjuring The Devil Made Me Do It continues The Conjuring Universe in this new installment where Ed and Lorraine Warren ( Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga ) face off against a new demon, but perhaps something more. The Conjuring The Devil Made Me Do It is based off the real trial ofArne Cheyenne Johnson. I'm not reviewing the accuracy of the film to the true events, I'm judging the film by itself. With that said, Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga both did a fantastic job once again. I was a little disappointed that James Wan didn't direct this film, but Michael Chaves  did an alright job. The camera work was pretty solid. The music was good. The color scheme was fitting for the film. It was pretty well done on a technical side. However, there were maybe one o...

Army Of The Dead Movie Review A Fun Action Film Zach Snyder's new action film, Army Of The Dead is a fun time with some good lines that you should see with friends. Army Of The Dead follows a group of people sneaking into Las Vegas days before it's set to be nuked as the city has been overrun by zombies. The team's goal is to pull off a multimillion dollar heist and get out before the bomb is dropped.  If you like zombie films, Army Of The Dead is one I would recommend watching. The action is fun, there are some good lines, and the film has some solid CGI. I really think Zack had a blast directing this. But there are a few complaints to be made too. But first I want to highlight some of the good points. The zombies are really cool and the fight scenes are well crafted to the point there is never a dull moment. I'm impressed by how fluid and natural the fight scenes are. And oh the explosions, a couple times I could have sworn Michael Bay did some consulting (in a good w...