Movies, Film, and Chili

  The Wasp  is a thriller based on the play of the same name. The trailer would have you think that a wife hires her childhood friend to murder her husband. Directed by Guillem Morales , the film is pretty, well shot, and directed. I never had seen any of his other movies but his choice to keep most of the movie in the living room of the wife was an interesting choice. Morgan Lloyd Malcolm wrote the film as well as a few episodes of Obsession . The dialogue started off kinda bad but then turned around before the halfway point. Naomie Harris was given a lot to work with when it comes to dialogue. She really just was given full reign to just act and show off. It does feel like this is an actor's dream role for showing the world that she can act. It's not an Oscar-worthy performance, but it did leave an impact. This is one step towards an Oscar though. The beautiful Natalie Dormer  should really be in more movies. She's so charismatic and interesting to watch. Plus all of he...

  The Crow  is a reboot of the 1994 film of the same name and based on the comic The Crow by Caliber Comics. Directed by Rupert Sanders,  the same person who brought you the Ghost in the Shell  and Foundation  adaptations. He also did the Kristen Stewart - Snow White and the Huntsman.  This falls in line with those other films in terms of direction but editing-wise there is a bit of a pacing issue that shouldn't exist for a director with his record.   Bill Skarsgård  plays the main character Eric  who is in love with FKA twigs's character Shelly . Their love is mostly believable although twigs acting starts off rocky but gets better as the film goes on. I would have re-shot most of the beginning scenes since she clearly improved as the shoots went on. Type-cast supervillain Danny Huston  plays, surprise-surprise the villain. He's cold and has a face you want to punch. He'll keep getting work since he does such a good job in this role. I...

  Alien: Romulus  is the seventh film in the Alien franchise if you exclude the two Alien versus Predator films. It also takes place between Alien and Aliens. Writer/Director Fede Alvarez has brought two horror franchises back from the grave:  Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Evil Dead . The latter was the better film but both failed to revitalize the franchise. This one feels the most like it was for the fans. He still makes it for a modern audience, but it doesn't feel like it's forcing a message on you. I didn't know Cailee Spaeny was going to be the main character of the film as much like the original Alien  the main character isn't obvious from the trailer. She does a good job but lacks the x-factor to be a bad-ass heroine. She can act but her face screams bambi. You might remember her from last year's Priscilla,  or this year's  Civil War. Based on appearance, the trailer, and her credits, I thought the main character was going to be Isabela Merced . She ...

  Cuckoo  is about a teenager who has to survive a family retreat to Germany where stuff just isn't what it looks like. Writer/director Tilman Singer  does a great job of out-of-the-gate writing as this is his second film. There are some issues but they're really few and far between. The main problem with the film wasn't even his fault. All of the scary scenes were in the trailer. It's a problem with many horror films nowadays. Singer  also makes a few directorial problems with when to focus the camera on the main character. Speaking of the main character, Hunter Schafer  carries the film and sells the final girl but also the root-worthy heroine. I know she's not known for this but she has a video game that's coming out by the legendary Hideo Kojima  that after seeing this film has really made me believe in her acting ability. Legion  himself, Dan Stevens  plays the main villain. While not the monster, he plays the conduit that adds tension and my...

  Trap is a thriller involving a serial killer who is trapped by the FBI inside a concert he bought tickets to attend with his daughter. M. Night Shyamalan  is a hit-or-miss director. His most recent film, Knock at the Cabin  wasn't nearly as good as this was, and hasn't had a film this good since 2017's Split . I would rate this higher than Split but not by much. I was expecting more of a twist but I was still heavily engaged. It seems he's trying to separate himself from the "twist" typecast. This is a perfect film for Josh Hartnett  to remind people that not only can he act but he can carry a film. The last time I saw a lead Hartnett film was back in 2007 with 30 Days of Night, but he'll always be known for playing Zeke Tyler  in The Faculty. This is easily his best performance and it excites me to see his upcoming movie The Long Home  directed and starring  James Franco. The film is gripping and keeps you wondering. Only a few things are just extra...

  The Beast Within  is a werewolf movie set in an isolated English forest and the fortified home the family lives in. Writer/director  Alexander J. Farrell really hasn't done much before this film and as far as I know, it's his first feature film to hit theaters. I'll get straight to the point, this should be his last. The writing was totally absent, barely anything happened. The film has so many filler moments with people just looking at each other. Events happen that just don't make sense. The poster and trailer makes you think you'll be seeing a lot of Kit Harington . He's in it for sure but the film mostly follows Caoilnn Spingall 's character. You'll know Harington as Jon Snow from Game of Thrones. Somehow his acting has gotten worse, but the writing was also at fault. The film is so boring and I just wanted it to be over even though it's only 90-something minutes. It's horrible on all levels and the worst film of the year. Result: F

  Deadpool & Wolverine is the third part of Deadpool's trilogy from Fox, this time from Disney. The film is directed by Shawn Levy.  After seeing how well Levy directed Free Guy and The Adam Project, I'm guessing writer/actor Ryan Raynolds  greenlit him to take control of the end of his trilogy. There are some pacing issues and the film tells more than it shows. The latter is a Disney issue probably because even Deadpool says Disney doesn't want him doing cocaine.  Ryan Raynolds , much like Hugh Jackman, has the issue where no one else could fill the roles of playing his character, and since Deadpool has a bunch of makeup on he could be playing this character for a long long time. In a world where comic book movies are on the downfall, Deadpool stands out because of quality comedy. Just when he got out Marvel must have given him a truckload of money. Hugh Jackman  is a likable person both behind the camera and in front of it. His potential fall is nearly as ...