Sunday, December 24, 2017

Movies 365: January 2018

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January 2018 Movie List
1. I Declare War (2013)
2. It Follows (2015)
3. Groundhog Day (1993)
4. Mad Max (1979)
5. Okja (2017)
6. After the Dark (2014)
7. Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)
8. The 39 Steps (1935)
9. Graceland (2013)
10. Machete (2010)
11. Point Break (1991)/Joy (2015)
12. Paddington 2 (2018)
13. Best In Show (2000)
14. Cinderella Man (2005)
15. The Big Heat (1953)
16. The Debut (2000)
17. Mary Poppins (1964)
18. Toy Story (1995)
19. Toy Story 2 (1999)
20. Toy Story 3 (2010)
21. Under the Skin (2014)
22. Jude (1996)
23. New Jack City (1991)
24. The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
25. A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
26. Risky Business (1983)
27. Gran Torino (2009)
28. Up (2009)
29. The Rocketeer (1991)
30. Ghostbusters (1984)
31. Revenge of the Nerds (1984)

Average Rotten Tomatoes Score: 85.9%
Movie I'm Most Excited to Watch: Revenge of the Nerds

Movies 365: The Intro

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"Wait a minute, you mean to tell me you haven't seen The Usual Suspects? What about Wargames? No? Are you serious right now? Ok, but you've seen Bull Durham, though, right? What? How can you call yourself a movie critic and you haven't seen the classics?"

To anyone that knows of my blog, my love for movies or both, I feel like I have this conversation at least once a week with someone new. No, I have not seen a lot of movies that I probably should have seen if I'm going to call myself a true critic. Yes, you would be surprised by the things that I still need to see all the way through from beginning to end.

Enter 2018: Phillip McSween's Year of 365 Days of Movies. No, that's not a typo. Yes, you read that right. One movie every single day in 2018. On some days, I'm even crazy enough to double feature it up.

Pretty daunting, I know. Why am I doing this, you ask? A few reasons:

1. I love movies. I have decided in 2018 that I want to focus more on the things that I love doing ie watching movies and writing. This will hold me to a standard.

2. I don't know anyone close to me that has attempted something like this. I like trying new things that not many people are known for. I'm sure full-time critics would laugh at me as they probably watch 4-5 movies a day. Guess what? I don't do this for a living. I have a full-time job too so this would definitely be an accomplishment of sorts.

3. It gives me something fun and unique to look forward to every single day.

4. As I mentioned earlier, I want to check off a bunch of movies that I "need" to see in my lifetime. This will be a good start.

5. I also want to go back and re-review movies that I feel I scored way too high in the past. What the hell was I thinking when I gave Spider-Man 3 a 96 anyway?

6. My ultimate goal is to become a Rotten Tomatoes critic. In order to do that, I have to have a certain number of unique visitors to my site per month. I think a stunt like this just might do the trick, or at least be a step in the right direction.

I have reached out to to my Facebook family for suggestions as well as asked around to people I know. I would love to hear your feedback on what movies I NEED to see in 2018. The schedule still has some availability but it's filling up quickly! Also, if you want to be involved with the experience by watching one of the movies either with me or on the same day and we discuss it, I would love that too! It would be nice to have some guest features and share the spotlight.

So I'm doing this. No turning back. It's happening. I'm looking forward to Instagramming the whole experience and blogging it here. Join me! It's going to be a blast.

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

The Foreigner (2017) Movie Review

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If you're expecting me to say something nice about The Foreigner, please do us both a favor and click out of this review right now. On paper, it appears to be right up Jackie Chan's alley. After his daughter is killed in a terrorist attack, Quan (Jackie) is trying to hunt down the men that did it. He is willing to stop at nothing to get his revenge.

The formulaic aspect of the film ruins the entire experience. Here's the rundown: Jackie walks into Pierce Brosnan's office demanding names (Who did this????). When Brosnan is not forthcoming with the names, Jackie storms off usually doing something crazy in his departure. Brosnan sends men to take Jackie down. Jackie beats the crap out of them. When the men return, Brosnan asks, "How the hell did you get your ass kicked by this old man?"

Rinse and repeat.

I'm serious, it's so ridiculous at times it becomes almost comical. You would think with this straight-arrow formula, the film would be easy to follow, but there are a lot of moving parts and I mean A LOT. I found myself saying, "Say what now?" too many times to count. I don't know, maybe it was more of a lack of interest than confusion on my part. Blade Runner 2049 had a number of things going on throughout and it's one of the best films I've seen all year.

The Foreigner is one of those films where you think of all the other things you could be doing instead of watching it. Folding clothes. Grocery shopping. Picking boogers. Screaming at your dog to get out of the trash. I mean, ANYTHING else. Could a few solid action sequences have saved the film? Probably. Did it?

Nope.

I honestly don't know how this passed the smell test on Rotten Tomatoes. In the words of the wonderful Jay Sherman: It stinks. I give it a 42.

Monday, December 11, 2017

Coco (2017) Movie Review


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The Book of Life was one of my favorite films of 2014. When I first saw the trailer for Coco, it was hard not for me to draw comparisons. A celebration of the Day of the Dead. Mariachi. Centered around music. Coco brings its own flavor, however, a unique experience all its own. In fact, if it weren't for the god-awful twenty-five-minute Frozen short right before (since removed due to numerous complaints), this would have been close to a perfect moviegoing experience.

Little Miguel loves music. He has to sneak away to watch old recordings of his favorite musician Ernesto de la Cruz because the rest of his family thinks music is a curse. Following a mysterious chain of events (don't want to ruin it for you), Miguel finds himself in the Land of the Dead and must somehow find a way to get home before its too late.

The colors. Oh man, the colors. Vibrant, popping off the screen. It screams life even during the scenes in the Land of the Dead. This is one film I wish I would have seen in IMAX. The colors add an amazing pop, from the spirit animals to the city landscapes at night, making this one of the most beautiful animated films I have seen.

The colors alone are just a small touch to the overall creativity and originality behind Coco. The Land of the Dead is loaded with sights to behold, some you might miss if you blink. The attention to detail is spectacular from the cool bridge that guides the dead to the Land of the Living to the colorful spirit animals. I've seen a lot of movies and I haven't seen anything like this. 

Not only are the visuals amazing, but the music holds its own as well, driving the entire story in an entertaining and powerful way. There are a lot of touching moments that revolve around the soundtrack. There will be musical numbers that make you laugh while others leave you with more of a somber feel. Maybe I cried a little. Maybe I didn't. You'll never know for sure. One thing I can say is this movie was about as touching as any I have seen this year.

Disney/Pixar is known for leaving you with a great message and Coco is no exception. Miguel was willing to follow his dreams at all costs, even if it cost him his life. How many of us can say the same? Another phenomenal job by Pixar. I give the film a 96.

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Speed Review: Logan Lucky (2017)

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If you are looking for a movie that checks all the boxes, Logan Lucky is the one. I LOVE finding gems like these. Sleepers. Sure you can see movies like Logan and War For the Planet of the Apes coming from a mile away. You expect them to be great It's films like Logan Lucky, however, that keep the movie calendar refreshing.

Just fired from his job and trying to make enough money to take care of his daughter, Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum) devises a plan to rob the Coca-Cola 600 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Tatum is awesome in his role, but has a great deal of help from a star-studded the cast the likes of Daniel Craig, Adam Driver, and Katie Holmes. With too many hilarious moments to count and an overly lovable protagonist who you can't help but root for, Logan Lucky is one of the year's best.

In 2007, I saw a movie called Stardust that surprised the heck out of me by how good it was. I mean, the film just came out of nowhere but I couldn't have been happier that I saw it. Logan Lucky gives me the exact same vibe. I give it a very solid 97.

Passengers (2016) Movie Review

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Passengers works for me largely in part due to the great chemistry between Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence. Their relationship is believable, real. Exactly what I would expect from two people stuck in a space paradise together. I try to avoid words like "sizzle" and "spice" when describing onscreen pairings, but it's 7:30pm on a Tuesday night and I have folded clothes to put away. So....Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence absolutely sizzle onscreen together! Free from the inhibitions of watching eyes the duo adds real spice to the film's flavor. Yep, that just happened. No regrets. Yolo.

I was surprised by how solid the film was from beginning to end. The mark of a great movie for me is consistency throughout, the same measure I use to judge a good key lime pie. Passengers kept me engaged for its entirety without managing to overstay its welcome. It's funny in parts while being touching in others. Overall the pace works.

The special effects were also impressive. The inside of the ship where most of the story takes place is a carnival of sights. Its futuristic yet a familiar touch of home at the same time. The recesses of space were captured in brilliant fashion. As main character Jim Preston (Pratt) goes exploring the expanse, you start to realize just how small and lonely he must feel in comparison.

When Preston awakens on a craft headed for another planet, he realizes the ship pulled him from hibernation too soon. It isn't long before he is joined by Aurora Lane (Lawrence) who has to help him figure out why the ship woke them up early before things go terribly wrong.

The only thing holding this film back from being great as opposed to "just ok" is implausibility. There are quite a few things that happen, both from a scientific standpoint and plot advancement standpoint, that may leave you scratching your head a bit. This film falls victim at times of trying to take shortcuts. However, if you can suspend your disbelief for just long enough and turn a blind eye, you won't be disappointed.

Some films are reviewed badly because they're...well...bad. Other films fall victim to what I call Pile-On: A few critics from the "In Crowd" don't like it so everyone else is supposed to hate it as well (see The Hitman's Bodyguard). I think Passengers suffer from the latter. See it. It won't change your life, but a great way to spend two hours nonetheless. I give it a 73.