Mr. Scorsese. Directed by Rebecca Miller
Documenting the life and work of Martin Scorsese is no simple task, yet Rebecca Miller does it with remarkable ease with insightful interviews and restored footage and photography. While the series is a standard, by the books, biographical docuseries, it is hard not to be swept up in this documentary as it explores the great Martin Scorsese. If I had any complaints about the docuseries, Mr. Scorsese, it would be that it was too short. Five, 1-hour-long episodes simply isn’t enough time to explore the work of this artist, and the series knows it. With some rushed pacing and some glaring omissions, the series doesn’t feel like a complete look at the filmmaking pioneer. But with this stated, Mr. Scorsese’s is still an insightful and fascinating look at one of the greatest filmmakers of our time.
My Rating: A-
All episodes streaming on Apple TV
Keeper. Directed by Osgood Perkins
Keeper is the latest trip from Osgood Perkins that left me with mixed feelings. On one hand, Perkins continues to push himself as a filmmaker, developing new terrifying horrors with strong direction and an eerie atmosphere. Even if you are not a fan of this film, there is no denying that this haunting house horror is well made. But on the other hand, Keeper’s script is messy. It has the foundations of a great haunted house horror where the spirits of the past haunt the current residence to get justice for their deaths. But in execution, it fumbles the bag with an anti-climactic finale. It has its moments, primarily because of Perkins’ direction and a great performance from Tatiana Maslany, but overall I am left underwhelmed, yet intrigued.
My Rating: B-
Now available on VOD.
A Minecraft Movie. Directed by Jared Hess
If there is anything that I must give A Minecraft Movie credit for, is that it has a vision, it sticks to that vision and all of the major stars fully commit to the vision. But just because it has a vision doesn’t mean it is good though. Especially when that vision is pure brainrot. I understand that this movie is for children and I am not its target audience. But what I fail to understand is why is brainrot humor and having people losing their minds over chicken jockey the pinnacle of children’s movies. Children deserve good films, not ones whose entire purpose is meant to be a meme on the internet. I can’t believe I heard terms such as “unalive” and “general chungus” in this movie. While I respect the movie for sticking to its vision, it’s a vision that is leading to our decreasing intelligence and lowering attention spans.
My Rating: D
Now available on HBOMax
KPop Demon Hunters. Directed by Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang
I am a couple of months late to the party but I have finally gotten around to watching KPop Demon Hunters. And all that I have to say is that it’s fine and entertaining, but nothing spectacular and it will become your 8-year-olds favorite movie for the next several months. Its narrative is a run of the mill story about self-acceptance and mental health as it follows the tropes of that narrative nearly beat per beat. From a story perspective, it’s nothing really special. But what does elevate KPop Demon Hunters, is its animation and its songs. The animation finds a perfect combination of 3D Hollywood Animation with Anime, making for a visually striking movie. And the songs, though I am not a fan of KPop, are bopping. While narratively I think the movie is a bit bland, there is no denying that this film has style.
My Rating: B
Now Streaming on Netflix
Elio. Directed by Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
For a film that I had very little expectations in, I came out pleasantly surprised by Elio. While it is not the best that Pixar has offered, it has enough charm to make you care. With strikingly beautiful animation, outside of the bean-mouth character design, and a heartwarming story about friendship and acceptance with a dash of Spielberg charm, the film is a nice warm hug. While it loses some steam in its second act and the dialogue is incredibly childish, it is hard not to be charmed by Elio.
My Rating: B
Now Streaming on Disney+
Leave a Reply