Quarantine Film Reviews 3: 5/23-6/7
The Wolf of Wall Street Rating: 9/10
I really enjoyed the Wolf of Wall Street, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and directed Martin Scorsese, especially the direction and the writing. At parts it did feel a little bit slow, but the movie is also three hours long, and though I love Di Caprio and his work, I don’t think it’s one of his best (out of the ones I’ve seen). I also, on a personal note, just don’t really like when female bodies are on screen for long periods of time (even if it matters to the plot or the movies rated R). Mainly because I find it super objectifying to women and I came to watch a movie, not a porno. On the other hand, this movie allowed for the audience to live vicariously through the main character and real life scammer, Jordan Belfort. This, in return, made the movie highly entertaining as the actions of Belfort are beyond morally wrong and no sane person would do them. I also enjoyed Matthew McConaughey’s and Jonah Hill’s performances, both funny and gravitating. Overall, a good movie but don’t watch it with your family.
Little Women (2019) Rating: 8.5/10
Adapted from a book with characters I love and adore, Little Women, starring Saorise Ronan and directed by Greta Gerwig, is a fun and emotional film. I’m a bit biased because I really like the book and the characters (especially Jo and Beth), but I found the script to be compelling in terms of emotionally reaching the audience. I’m really enjoying Gerwig’s directing abilities because it feels genuine and natural and I’m excited to see what projects she does next (I will have to say though that I did find her direction in Lady Bird is better than Little Women). I also would like to note that one of the first things I noticed that I liked while watching the movie was the soundtrack, it pushed the story along effortlessly and captured the tension or emotions in a scene. If you love the book, I can be sure that you’ll enjoy this movie adaptation of it.
The Florida Project Rating: 8.7/10
One of the most untalked about A24 films, The Florida Project, starring Bria Vinaite and Brooklynn Prince and directed by Sean Baker, is well-acted and well-written. Prince’s role as Moonee is brilliant, especially because she was only seven years old at the time of filming. I am very excited to see what she and the other child actors in the film do next with their careers (Prince is expected to play the Ruby in the movie adaptation of the book The One and Only Ivan (which is one of my favorite books from my childhood)). I also enjoyed Vinaite’s role as Halley, who is Moonee’s irresponsible mother. The unique and interesting plot, characters, and setting make the movie engaging and captivating. There are a couple of slow parts in the film, which is why I had to take points off, but other than that it’s on Netflix at the moment and is well worth the watch.
Onward Rating: 7/10
The newest Disney/Pixar movie, Onward, starring Tom Holland and Chris Pratt and directed by Dan Scanlon, was a cute family-friendly film, but does not match up to Pixar’s previous standard of movies. At first I thought this was inspired by the Smurfs, then I thought “man this is taking a bit too long with the exposition” (even though I was only five minutes in), next I thought that the foundational plot is a tad bit too predictable for my liking, and finally in the resolution I came close to crying-so this movie was a whirlwind of thoughts and opinions. The thing about this movie is that it wasn’t bad, in fact I find it to be a whole lot better than the last couple of animated movies that have come out in the past year or two, but when compared to other Pixar movies such as the Toy Story series (I disinclude Toy Story 4 because it felt too artificially made), Finding Nemo, and the Incredibles which are notably classics in animation for my generation it does not live up to those standards (however it is not a bad as the Good Dinosaur). This feeling towards the movie is very clearly displayed in the difference between budget and box office at a staggering almost 100 million dollar difference (Note: This movie also had the worst timing for its release, which I have to blame Disney for not pushing it back and make it an at home release, similar to the one that the world saw with the new Trolls movie). I will give props to Holland and Pratt for their voice acting because going into the movie I was nervous that I was only going to hear Spiderman and star lord or Andy, but they managed to suspend my disbelief that those characters were not a different character (an example if my explanation is not clear: everytime I watch a movie with Danielle Radcliffe I can only ever see Harry Potter trying to act). I think this movie might be viewed as a good from a child's perspective, but for a teenager or adult wanting to enjoy a Disney movie, just rewatch the Little Mermaid or the Lion King.
Me and Earl and The Dying Girl Rating: 7.5/10
The movie Me and Earl and The Dying Girl, starring Thomas Mann and directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, made me feel very content and pleased when it was finished (regardless of the ending it had). It wasn’t an outstanding movie, but it wasn’t a movie that fell flat in any which way. Two things that really stood out to me was the dialogue and the cinematography. The dialogue felt very natural for the most part, especially for an adapted screenplay (which I have found while watching adapted films and trying to do myself with my favorite book is quite a challenge). I found the cinematography to be interesting because of the way it played off of the avant-garde genre of film-which is the type of films that Greg (Thomas Mann) and Earl (RJ Cyler) make and enjoy watching. I believe, and I hope, that the reason why the film has random shots and angles in the middle of scenes is for it to feel like Greg and Earl are the ones that are making the film, since Greg’s narration and telling of the story while writing his essay is what drives the plot. If you’re a coming of age fanatic like myself, I would definitely add this movie to the list of films to watch.
