Category: 3/4
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El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie [2019] ★★★
Alright, bitches, let’s get you up to speed with “Breaking Bad” so far: Walter White died in the series finale, leaving our boy Jesse Pinkman on the run from the police. “El Camino”, written once again by Vince Gilligan and starring Aaron Paul in a role he was born to play, picks up exactly where…
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Yesterday [2019] ★★★
I don’t know how I missed out on this gem of a movie upon its release, but now that I’ve seen it, I cannot but recommend it, especially if you’re a fan of The Beatles. “Yesterday”, written by Richard Curtis and directed with a keen eye for detail by Danny Boyle, is a film that…
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Hustlers [2019] ★★★
Believe the hype: Jennifer Lopez is sensational in “Hustlers”, playing the leader of a former strip club employees who got their revenge on their Wall Street clients following the crash of 2008. How and why? You’ll have to see for yourself. But I will say that I walked in to see this fact-based movie with…
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It Chapter Two [2019] ★★★
It’s not quite as focused or scary as the first movie, but there’s something truly irresistible about revisiting the small town of Derry, where Pennywise the clown terrorized seven children back in 1989 and gave audiences a run for their money. Now all grown up, our heroes have supposedly moved on, until a mysterious phone…
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The Lion King [2019] ★★★
Much like “Aladdin”, “The Lion King” was a big part of my childhood. Beyond the movie, I’ve played the games, collected figurines, and had pretty much every memorabilia you could think of in the 90’s. Nothing could ever replace that, but I’m always open to a new Disney film, even if it doesn’t add much…
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John Wick: Chapter 3-Parabellum [2019] ★★★
Unlike many action franchises, “John Wick” just keeps getting better and better. The first one reinvented Keanu Reeves as a major movie star. The sequel took things to the next level. Now chapter 3 delivers super-sized summer entertainment that ranks among the best action movies of the year (if not the best). If you haven’t…
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Godzilla II: King Of The Monsters [2019] ★★★
The sequel to the 2014 movie is tons of fun. If I sound surprised, then perhaps I am. I didn’t have any particular expectations this time around, having been burned before. What’s more, I wasn’t sure how all these different monsters would fit in one movie. But this film adds excitement and new energy to…
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Aladdin [2019] ★★★
I was 5 years old when my mom took me to see the animated version of “Aladdin” back in 1992. To this day, she still tells the story of how I sat through the whole movie mesmerized by pretty much everything. As the years went by, the movie gained a “classic” status (there was even…
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Pet Sematary [2019] ★★★
To say that this version of Stephen King’s “Pet Sematary” surpasses the 1989 original would be an understatement. The old one was a product of its time and never truly rose above the routine. The new one doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it’s well-made, perfectly cast, and it left me shattered. For that, credit director…
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Shazam! [2019] ★★★
In a DC universe already crammed with so many superheroes, “Shazam!” emerges as something fresh and unique. What’s more, Zachary Levi is fully up to the task (incidentally, he also starred in one of Marvel’s funniest films, “Thor: Ragnarok”). Armed with superpowers and a smart-ass attitude, Levi has a blast playing 14 year old Billy…
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Dumbo [2019] ★★★
Alright, let’s take care of the elephant in the room right away (I’m giggling all alone here but I swear no pun was intended): this live-action version of “Dumbo” was never going to replace the beloved 1941 classic. The old one means so much to me to let any version ruin it. And there’s no…
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Hotel Mumbai [2019] ★★★
Movies based on horrific real events tend to be hit and miss, but it didn’t take “Hotel Mumbai” more than 5 minutes to pull me in and keep me on the edge of my seat. Writer-director Anthony Maras isn’t content in telling things as they were. He wants us to be spectators to the horrors…
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Captain Marvel [2019] ★★★
By now, you probably know that “Captain Marvel” will play a major role in the upcoming “Avengers: Endgame”. So it’s only natural that Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers gets a standalone film at this stage in the Marvel cinematic universe. And you couldn’t ask for a better movie to make your mouth water before the highly…
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Alita: Battle Angel [2019] ★★★
Judging from the early reviews, you’d think that “Alita: Battle Angel” is bound to flop. But now that I’ve seen it, I can tell you that it has enough visual effects and production values for two movies, and I had a good time with it. For one, it’s hard not to admire producer James Cameron’s…
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The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part [2019] ★★★
I may be swimming against the current here, but I enjoyed “The LEGO Movie 2” more than its predecessor. The first one caught me off guard with its hectic action sequences. Here, I knew exactly what to expect, and I had a blast with it. It’s been five years since the events of the first…
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Dragon Ball Super: Broly [2019] ★★★
Something that I probably never mentioned on this blog is how much of a Dragon Ball Z fan I am. I still remember receiving Volume 13 on Christmas back in 1997 (why not start with Volume 1, mom?), and how immersive it all was. Naturally I ended up reading all the books over the years,…
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Boy Erased [2018] ★★★
At a time when most movies playing at your local multiplex offer nothing but escapism, it’s good to encounter one that has something to say about modern society, and a solid cast to bring it to life. In adapting Garrard Conley’s 2016 memoir, writer-director Joel Edgerton takes a thought-provoking look at gay conversion facilities, and its…
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Glass [2019] ★★★
It’s flawed, it doesn’t flow as smoothly as “Split”, and it might confuse the hell out of newcomers. Know that? I still had a blast watching “Glass”, the sequel to 2000’s “Unbreakable”, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis, and 2017’s “Split”, in which James McAvoy played a psychiatric patient who suffers from dissociative identity…
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How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World [2019] ★★★
I am not a big fan of the number 3, but when it comes to animated movies, I am willing to make an exception. Here’s a trilogy that remained consistent over the years, delivering one spectacular installment after the other. And “The Hidden World”, the first sequel in five years is no exception: it’s a…
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Roma [2018] ★★★
“Roma” doesn’t look or feel like any other movie I’ve seen in 2018, and not just because it was shot in black and white. It has a distinct atmosphere, and that’s obvious from the very first shot. Director Alfonso Cuarón transports us back to his childhood neighborhood in Mexico City. The year is 1970 and we’re…
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