Author: tsccupoftea
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Road to Perdition
Road to Perdition is new to Netflix and one of the most beautifully shot films of the last 20 years. It is a violent and stately gangster movie about revenge, violence, and fathers and sons. It is enthralling, yet somehow keeps the audience at arms length from the heart of the story. The film tells…
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Molly’s Game
Brand new to Netflix, is Molly’s Game. Aaron Sorkin infuses this story with his signature dialogue and fast pace. It is an involving and sometimes thrilling movie that gets bogged down in a flashy plot structure and too much extraneous detail. The film follows Molly Bloom, played by Jessica Chastain. Molly is a real woman…
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Ad Astra
Ad Astra is a beautifully shot film with a slow deliberate pace that asks a lot of its audience. It’s absolutely worth watching, but it’s definitely not for everyone. The film is set in the not too distant future. Roy McBride is a technician working on a giant antenna that extends from earth into space.…
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Terminator Dark Fate
Skip this one. It has a few moments of pure popcorn pleasure, but it’s not a good movie. It’s a pretty dismal example of why they should have stopped making Terminator movies in 1992. If you’ve seen one Terminator movie, you’ve seen them all… literally. Every Terminator movie has had the exact same plot as…
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Dark Phoenix
If you’re looking for something to watch on HBO, do not watch this movie. It is as bad as everyone has said it is. If you’re looking for a bad movie to enjoy as a bad movie, this is also not going to fit the bill. There isn’t much of anything here for anyone. For…
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Birds of Prey
Birds of Prey is bonkers movie that works in fits and starts. It has some wonderful highs that emerge from a muddled narrative. It has a kitchen sink approach to its story and subject. Throw everything in and see what works. The film follows Harley Quinn, a comic book villain who is the paramour of…
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Onward
Onward is the latest from Pixar, and it is a sucker punch to the tear ducts. It has an emotional punch that really works and really hits home, however there are times when those tears feel like a foregone conclusion, and the whole movies feels almost paint by numbers at times. The story concerns a…
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Uncut Gems
I hated this movie. I rarely hate movies. I find something redemptive in every movie I see, and this film is not without its merits, but I just found it unpleasant and nasty. This movie is like the drunk couple at the bar who get into a screaming match on the sidewalk. The film follows…
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Once Upon a Time In Hollywood
Quentin Tarantino’s latest directorial effort is really great for the most part. Tarantino abandons his usual bag of tricks for a serious and thought provoking dive into the past, then in the last 40 minutes he throws it out the window for a different movie entirely. The story concerns fictional actor Rick Dalton as he…
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Parasite (2019)
Parasite is an expertly crafted movie. It is made with such precision and such a clear vision that it would be impossible to deny its skill and quality. It shifts genres constantly and the shifts work and feel genuine. However the film left me pretty cold and disinterested. The film follows the impoverished Kim family…
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Jumanji: The Next Level
This sequel to a reboot is a little too long and a little overstuffed, but man is it fun. It is a very pleasant romp that is the perfect answer for a dreary day. Delightful performances and some genuinely exciting adventure set pieces make this one worth watching. The film picks up a couple years…
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The Farewell (2019)
The Farewell is a fantastic movie that feels real and authentic in every moment. It employs a steady hand behind the camera and some of the best performances of last year in front of the camera. It is a wonderful little movie that is deeply rewarding to the viewer. The Farewell follows Billi Wang a…
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Marriage Story
This is a great movie. It is heartbreaking, challenging, and sometimes hilarious. It tackles a very difficult subject beautifully with excellent filmmaking and some of the best performances of the year. Netflix and Noah Baumbach have made fantastic movie. The film opens with a pair of montages. In voice over Charlie Barber, played by Adam…
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1917
This movies thrusts the audience into the experience of soldiers during WWI. It tells a stripped down narrative with a “single take” technical style that rises above a mere gimmick to create a powerful war film. The story follows two young British soldiers Schofield and Blake (played well by George McKay and Dean Charles Chapman…
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Joker
This is pretty good remake of Taxi Driver. It’s less a movie in its own right and more a mashup of better films from the 70’s and 80’s. It is carried through by a fully immersive performance from Joaquin Phoenix. It has some moments of its own, and it is incredibly well shot. But it…
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Knives Out
This is one of the most enjoyable and entertaining movies of 2019. It is a twisty, turning tale of murder and intrigue that drips with delight. It is full to overflowing with great characters played by great actors and captured with beautiful photography. The story concerns a wealthy family gathered in the patriarch’s house after…
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The Irishman
An incredibly long yet infinitely rewarding film that has a lot of problems but a lot of rewards for anyone willing to give it a try. The film follows Frank Sheeran played by Robert De Niro as he rises from Union truck driver to mob enforcer to old man filled with regret. He’s a classic…
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Jojo Rabbit
An incredibly skillful movie that takes hard premise and filters it through the point of view of a boy trying to figure out who he is, Jojo Rabbit is a rollercoaster of emotions. The story is set in Nazi Germany during the later days of World War II. It follows a young boy who wants…
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Little Women (2019)
This is an adaptation full of life and vibrant energy that boasts some wonderful performances, impeccable, cinematography, and a few big flaws. It is however a joy to watch and should definitely be sought out by anyone even with those unfamiliar with the book or previous adaptations. The film is described as a coming of…
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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
This is an overstuffed and slightly convoluted entry in the Star Wars series that still manages to be an entertaining adventure with some good scenes, genuine laughs, and fun characters. The story follows Rey, Finn, and Poe as they try to track down a thing that will lead them to another thing that will lead…
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Die Hard
A classic action movie that is also just a good movie period, Die Hard has been refined in recent years as a Christmas movie. For anyone who hasn’t seen it, the story follows John McClane, a New York Corp who travels to LA to see his estranged wife at her office Christmas party. The building…
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Christmas Vacation
Did those who like a dose of cynicism with their holiday cheer, check out this absurd and hilarious Christmas comedy. The third in the National Lampoons Vacation series, this movie follows the Griswold family as patriarch Clark tried his hardest to give everyone the perfect “fun, old-fashioned family Christmas.” Of course insane hijinks ensue. Starting…
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Scrooge (1951)
With an impeccable lead performance from Alistair Sim and a few creative licenses with the source material, this 1941 adaptation of a Christmas Carol holds up and offers a lot to a modern viewer. The story is well worn. An old miser is visited by ghosts and changes his ways. However this adaptation adds a…
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Dr. Seuss’s The Grinch (2018)
A generic and forgettable adaptation of the classic Dr. Seuss story, The Grinch has a few cute and charming moments, but it’s ultimately a bland disappointment. Stepping into this film, I put all thoughts of previous adaptations out of my head. I didn’t compare or contrast this with other versions. I wanted to experience this…
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Klaus
This wonderful little animated film telling the story of Santa Claus plays on the heartstrings like YoYo Ma plays the cello. It is delightful, surprising, and heartwarming. A perfect holiday movie the family will love. The movie has a pretty simple and standard setup. A spoiled young rich guy named Jesper is sent by his…
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The Muppet Christmas Carol
Michael Caine gives a fantastic and resonant performance in spite of his felt costars in this goofy kids version of the classic story. This has to be stated from the outset. I’m not a fan of the muppets. They’ve just never worked for me. They’re too manic, too aggressive with their humor, and too reliant…
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Home alone
Kicking off a series of Christmas movie reviews is Home Alone from 1990. Everyone knows Home Alone. It is played almost constantly from Thanksgiving until Christmas. It was a the favorite Christmas movie of every kid in the 90’s. Its popularity with kids is easily understood. It’s a total child wish fulfillment. He gets the…
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Why did I do that?
Why did I just watch and review 31 horror movies? Why do I maintain this tradition every year? Why explore horror? Let’s take that last question first… horror is the strangest of all movie genres. What other genre is as varied and all encompassing as horror? Look at this month of movies, The Conjuring, a…
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Halloween (1978)
Frightening, startling, and great fun this is the perfect Halloween movie. This film has a vision of horror from a great director. It has scares and jolts. It has a slow burn. It has violence. It has ideas and psychological implications. It is a great movie to watch every Halloween night. Now this is the…
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The Conjuring
A supremely effective haunted house film that brings every every tool in the tool box out to scare the heck out of the viewer. The set up is nothing original. A cash strapped family buys a huge old house for cheap and discovers a malicious entity already resides there. Too broke to move, they call…
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The Haunting
This classic from 1963 is the epitome of the old fashioned ghost story. It’s purely minimalistic in it’s approach to the supernatural. It’s a film that knows that it’s most powerful special effects are the audiences imagination. The film follows Eleanor Lance as she joins a quartet as they explore the supposedly haunted Hill House.…
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The Final Girls
This film is fantastic. It is inventive, hilarious, and surprisingly heartfelt. It is ostensibly a horror comedy, but it is so much more. The story follows Max a teenager whose mother was an actress with one major film on her resume the 80’s slasher film Camp Bloodbath. Three years after her mother tragically died, Max…
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Dawn of the Dead (1978)
For someone who does not like zombie movies and in fact finds them kind stupid as monsters, this film did more than any other to change my mind. It is scary. It is funny. It is socially conscious. It is narratively surprising. This is the original Dawn of the Dead. This is not the 2004…
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The Fly (1986)
The remake of the 1950’s science fiction horror story is full of disgusting effects, great performances of some of the most horrific and horrifying images possible. It’s incredibly effective even 33 years later. The story follows a journalist named Veronica, played by Geena Davis, as she interviews a scientist named Seth Brundle, played by Jeff…
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Zombieland Double Tap
A thoroughly enjoyable romp through a zombie infested America. The movie is goofy, gory, and way better than it has any right to be. Ten years ago, a movie called Zombieland came out satirizing the zombie genre. The film was on the cutting edge of the zombie craze. This film picks up ten years later.…
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Annabelle Comes Home
This was an engaging and fun little movie with great creature design, a nice for period details and a sweet little story. It’s difficult to say where this movie falls in the timeline. It is the sequel to the prequel to the prequel to the Conjuring. It’s also kind of a sequel to the Conjuring,…
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Annabelle Creation
Wow. This movie is fantastic. It has its issues, but on sheer visceral scares this movie is a huge winner. This is the prequel to the prequel to The Conjuring. Which is a ridiculous statement, but this movie goes so far beyond what it was set up to be. It rises above its franchise roots…
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Annabelle
The prequel to The Conjuring isn’t particularly good, but it’s not altogether bad. It’s a fairly middle of the road exercise in franchise building There are worse movies to watch this Halloween season. For those who have not seen The Conjuring Annabelle is a doll that a demon uses to torment people in order to…
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The Innkeepers
An unbearably tense slow burn of a ghost story that masterfully manipulates sound design and story to create some of the scariest moments in any horror movie. The story follows two amateur ghost chasers working as clerks at a famously haunted New England inn. It’s the last weekend the inn will be open and the…
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Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
This movie is about as pure 80’s slasher sequel as can be. The only difference is that it’s kind of well made. In the late 70’s a film called Halloween was released. It had a tiny budget and was about a killer hunting babysitters on Halloween night. It was hugely popular and spawned a ton…
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The Witch
This is a film that is very well made, but without a story to tell. A lot of stuff happens, but the events never really materialize in a meaningful way. The film follows a family in the 1630’s who are forced out of a Puritan colony because of their religious beliefs. It’s implied that the…
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Event Horizon
A haunted spaceship movie that really isn’t very good despite a rabid cult following. It has some good ideas that get sidetracked by cgi spectacle that has not aged well. The film is about the ship Event Horizon which has can travel faster than light through the use of a dangerous new drive. The ship…
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Little Monsters
A pretty bad zombie movie recently released on Hulu that has some really nice moments, but is ultimately not very good. The story follows a slacker who loses his girlfriend. He moves in with his sister and her son. He takes the son on a field trip in order to hit on and hookup with…
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Candyman
A really unsettling and tense horror film with a lot more o. It’s mind than just blood and guts. This one is streaming on Netflix and definitely worth checking out. Released in 1992, this horror film follows a pair of graduate students researching urban legends. The one that intrigues them most is the story of…
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The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
A violent and intense adaptation of the classic story. This film is melodramatic and deliciously sinister. It’s a fun ride of a movie. This is the movie that launched Hammer horror. Hammer produced a particular brand of bloody and violent horror film shot in glorious technicolor. It all started here. The story deviates from the…
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Frankenstein (1931)
A stunning and genre defining film that has left an indelible impact on the pop culture. It deserves to be viewed this Halloween. While not the first film adaptation of Mary Shelley’s story (there was a silent film in 1915 from Edison studios that is available online. It’s creepy and worth checking out for the…
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The Uninvited (1944)
A perennial favorite. This chilling ghost story is full of haunting scenes, and a surprisingly great sense of humor. Just be sure to watch the classic from 1944 not the awful movie of the same name from 2009. The story follows a brother and sister as they walk along the English countryside and find an…
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Hush
An example of a great, inventive, and horrifying trapped in the secluded house with a menacing force trying to get in. The story follows a deaf woman who is spending time away in a house deep in the woods. One night a man in a mask shows up and starts to toy with her and…
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He’s Out There
A pretty middle of the road horror film that has a few chilling moments but never dives deeper than the surface of its premise. A woman brings her two young daughters to the family’s secluded lake house for the weekend. Dad stays behind for work. Once there, the women are tormented by a menacing force…
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Bram Stoker’s Dracula
This is a movie that dials it up to eleven on everything. It is a big beautiful mess. It is over the top and just about as wild as a movie can be. It is also completely fun and entertaining throughout. This film changes the traditional Dracula story by adding a centuries old love story…
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Ghost Stories
A gripping and unsettling collection of frightening stories that is dripping with atmosphere and unease. It doesn’t quite stick the landing, but the entire movie preceding the finale is worth seeing. The film follows a journalist who is investigating a series of supernatural stories. He is a skeptic and seeks to disprove each one in…
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Pet Sematary (2019)
A very dark and very creepy horror film that leans too heavily on subverting the source material and making things more bleak than necessary. It is preferable in reviews to address the film itself and not how it compares to previous iterations and source material. This film embraces the comparisons and whole segments of the…
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The Perfection
A brutal and somewhat manipulative thriller on Netflix is a solid and pretty shocking movie that is worth a watch for those with strong constitutions and an affinity for twists and turns. The film follows a former cello protege, Charlotte, who visits her old teacher as he selects the latest child prodigy to join his…
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Winchester
A ghost story more known for its bad reviews than for the movie itself. It isn’t as bad as it was purported to be, but it’s not a movie either. The Winchester mansion is fascinating. It is a real mansion built by Sarah Winchester over the course of almost 40 years. It encompasses 24,000 square…
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The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
The animated short film from Disney holds up and inspires more Halloween feelings than almost any other film. This is the first Halloween film that I saw and loved as a kid. It is an animated short film that perfectly captures fall and Halloween for me. It made me laugh. It brought me joy, and…
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In the Tall Grass
Latest Netflix film is a huge disappointment. It is well shot and has all the potential in the world, but it fails in pretty much every regard. The film has a simple and premise constructed by Stephen King and his son Joe Hill. A brother and sister on a cross country road trip stop by…
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Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
A nice blend of cheese and true fear inducing filmmaking combine to create an endearing and enjoyable halloween romp. Based on the series of books by the same name, this adaptation follows a group of teenagers in the late 60’s as the discover a book of stories that seem to be coming true around them.…
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Ready or Not
A bloody, tense, and darkly hilarious horror thriller that will delight anyone looking for an off kilter and tense horror comedy. The premise is a little tough to swallow. A wealthy family made their fortunes a hundred years ago by making a blood pact with the devil. Whenever a new person joins the family they…
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Horror of Dracula
Starting the month with a classic. This is a solid, surprising, and startling film that started a new wave of horror movies. In the 1931 Universal Studios inspired a wave of scary movies starting with Dracula and Frankenstein. These brilliant horror films created iconography that lasts to this day. However these films were hampered by…
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Happy Halloween
I hated horror films. I considered them garbage. They weren’t worth the time it took to press play. This opinion was backed up by two decades worth of schlocky slasher movies and cheap remakes. In film school a friend of mine forever changed this opinion. He watched a different horror film every day during the…
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The Lion King
A long overdue review for a movie that never should have happened. The Lion King is a modern and overlong retelling of a wonderful Disney film from the early 90’s that fails tremendously due to a misguided approach to the material, a tonal dissonance, and uninspired voice acting. The story is more or less the…
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This is Us: Season One
This Is Us is a stunning show that employs clever story structure and sincerity to elicit some of the most powerful emotions a show has ever rung from its audience. Director Alfred Hitchcock once said, “film is just life with the boring bits cut out.” This Is Us seems to take that axiom to heart.…
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Yesterday
A great premise, wonderful performances, and a surprising script combine for a wonderful night at the movies. The story follows Jack Malik. He’s a struggling musician whose songs are only appreciated by his trio of best friends including his manager and biggest supporter Ellie. After a freak accident jack wakes up and realizes he’s the…
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Men in Black International
The latest in the alien police series lacks the genuine inspiration of its predecessors, but through solid direction and the overwhelming charm of the cast the film is entertaining and definitely worth a viewing. The film has two main threads. It follows Molly played by a wonderful Tessa Thompson who witnesses the secret Men in…
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Rocketman
A music biopic that transcends the cliches and tropes of the genre to create a unique and fulfilling film viewing experience for the audience. Rocketman follows the life of Elton John, but it does so in a surreal and expressionistic manner that elevates the material and provides insights impossible in standard biopics. Most music biographies…
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Avengers Endgame
Oh boy, this is a movie and a half. This is the culmination of more than a decade of superhero movies, and it satisfies in almost every way. For the uninitiated, this film will be difficult. It does a nice job reestablishing characters and relationships, but it isn’t for the newbies. It deals with a…
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BlacKkKlansman
An unbelievable true story, some incredible filmmaking, and a sledgehammer of a political message combine to create one of the best films of the year. The film follows the story of Ron Stallworth, the first black police officer on the Colorado Springs police force. He works undercover and one day responds to an ad placed…
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A Star is Born
Great performances, some really wonderful directorial flourishes and a great soundtrack elevate the film, but aren’t able to make it soar. The story is a classic. A legendary star on the decline finds and elevates a young ingenue. Her star rises as his collapses. Their love holds them together through it all. The film is…
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Alita: Battle Angel
What a bad movie. Alita: Battle Angel follows the story of a doctor who treats cyborgs in a far off distant future. Scraps fall from a city in the sky. The last city left after the Fall. In the scrap pile he finds the parts of a cyborg girl. He takes the parts and gives…
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The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog
The Lodger is a 1927 silent film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and oh boy is it fantastic. The direction is inspired. The creativity on display is unparalleled. This is a silent film for people who don’t like silent films. The story follows a mysterious man who takes a room in a boarding house in the…
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Abducted in Plain Sight
A Netflix documentary with an unbelievable, horrifying, and fascinating story told very poorly. The film follows the true story of the kidnapping and brainwashing of Jan Broberg by Robert Berchtold in the 1970’s. The story of how this pedophile got initial access and continued access to this vulnerable young girl over the course of many…
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Mary Poppins Returns
Lead by a stellar performance from Emily Blunt, this warm hearted, optimistic, energetic sequel to Mary Poppins is very pleasant company even if it falls short of being truly great. A sequel to the classic 1964 film Mary Poppins, this film follows the children from the original all grown up with kids of their own.…
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Green Book
With two powerhouse performances, this film is a joyful emotional success that is a pleasure to watch again and again. It doesn’t preach nor dictate. It tells the story of these two men and their relationship and lets the emotions flow. The direction offers little beyond getting out of the lead actors’ way as they…
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Vice
The too often comedic and fitfully dramatic retelling of the life and times of Vice President Dick Cheney is an explosion of wonderful acting, misguided directing, and fascinating history. To begin, the acting is uniformly excellent. Lead by the incomparable Christian Bale, the ensemble is a who’s who of character actors devouring their roles. Bale…
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Join Me For a Cup
What could be better than talking about movies over a cup of tea? On this site, I will endeavor to share my take on moves. I invite you to pour yourself a cup and consider my opinions as you decide what movie to spend your time on. I’m launching this enterprise in connection with the…
Cup of Tea Reviews 