by Kush Bansal | Dec 6, 2018 | Opinion & Reviews
Can you remember the first Christmas movie you ever watched? You may have watched the Charlie Brown specials or the Grinch, but the one movie everyone seems to remember is none other than A Christmas Story. While movies such as Elf are all classic movies to watch on Christmas Eve night, A Christmas Story was the first in its genre to present itself to the modern audience. Your grandparents may have listened to Frank Sinatra’s Christmas album, your parents might’ve watched It’s A Wonderful Life, but you indulged in that classic known as A Christmas Story. Its plot is so simple: taking place at around the 40s, this movie follows Ralphie, a young neighborhood boy who wants one thing for Christmas, a BB gun. But of course, Ralphie’s mom declines, saying that famous line: “You’ll shoot your eye out”. The entire runtime of 1 hour 34 minutes carries the plot of Ralphie’s wild adventures. From eating soap to getting someone’s tongue stuck to a pole, this movie is a classic. Bob Clark, who was an infamous director in the 80s, simply recognized and familiarized with the interests of kids, going as far as filming a montage of how kids got special offers in the mail, which you have to see the movie to understand 😉 . In the end, I’m going to give this movie an A+. Stay tuned for my next review for Polar Express, and of course, have a fantastic day!
by Kush Bansal | Dec 3, 2018 | Opinion & Reviews
The classic. Will Ferrel running around as an elf in New York City – what a genius plot! In 2003, this movie on Day 1 was a masterpiece. Elf is categorized as the “must” of the holiday season, along with How The Grinch Stole Christmas and A Christmas Story (review coming shortly). The movie starts when Santa comes to a house and Buddy (as a baby) climbs into Santa’s sack of toys. Now, this isn’t obvious until later on when it turns out to the other elves that Buddy is a human, being much taller than everyone else. As a result, he goes on a journey back to New York City to find his real parents.
Everyone should definitely watch this movie because it delivers humor, emotion, and some of the most iconic scenes in movie history. The direction of this movie is excellent because it allows for a healthy mix of character development, humor, and the overall spirit of Christmas. I believe this is Will Ferrel’s best movie because just from the performances you can see how much fun Ferrel had while filming, overall adding the extra longevity of Buddy. This is a fantastic movie and I highly, highly recommend you to check it out. I’m going to rate it an A+.
Stay tuned to more movie reviews this December, with the next one being A Christmas Story on Thursday. Thanks for reading and I hope you have a fantastic day.
by Kush Bansal | Oct 29, 2018 | Opinion & Reviews
Ah, the 60s. JFK, Martin Luther King, the rise of NASA, and Jazz, the 60s were the time that defined America. But also the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the space race showed America’s true colors. However, on July 16, 1969, USA won the Space Race. Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong floated from Earth to the Moon to be the first to approach the Moon and the first to walk on it. And while there are many conspiracy theories regarding the moon landing, keep them to yourself, as Damion Chazelle (Academy Award for Best Director) believed this truly uplifting story, and created his most unique tale yet.
Damion Chazelle (who also directed Whiplash and La La Land) wanted to create a story that revolves on Armstrong and Armstrong only. Apart from a few sequences in space, the entire story is set on Earth, showing the hardships that Armstrong went through and how, despite his stoic and irregular emotions, is someone who is hurting. Before we get to the performances, script, and directing, the best thing I can say about this movie is that the Space scenes looked and felt like they shot it in space (fun fact: the moon landing scenes were actually shot at a park at night, using the biggest light ever used in a Hollywood film). The close-ups and the constant camera movement physically made you sick but also on the edge of your seat for what happens next. And this all leads to the beautiful moon shot, as the camera pans around the landscape, showing the true sense of what space really feels like. Going to the performances the main stars are Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy (playing Armstrong’s wife). Both of them created a stoic, damaged, bleak but supporting relationship. As she worries for Armstrong, she also has to experience the impacts of the moon landing with her friends. And, without going into spoilers, there are some decisions this movie makes that are both respectable but may differ based on your perspective. This leads me to my main issue with this film, which is that the script cannot balance Armstrong’s life, the NASA subplot, and focus on creating an entertaining movie, as a good hour or so can be described as boring and very, very bland. This was disappointing because I expected more from the movie, coming from a praised director. However, is this a deal breaker? Absolutely not.
While I think this movie has many issues regarding its pacing and script, I definitely think this movie is a must-watch. I rate it a B+. It is rated PG-13 and you can watch it in theaters today. Thank you guys for reading and comment below on more movies you think I should review.
by Kush Bansal | Oct 24, 2018 | Opinion & Reviews
After 10 terrible movies and 40 years, we got it. The true sequel to Halloween 1978 (this movie ignores all the other movies). And what can I say, it was AWESOME! After 40 years, we see Nick Castle return as Michael Myers as well as Jamie Lee Curtis returns as Laurie Strode in this 1-hour 44-minute film. This movie is directed by David Gordon Green and takes place 40 years after the original where Michael Myers returns from prison to kill more people to get to his number 1 enemy, Laurie Strode. And while on this adventure there is action, comedy, and dram, plus a lot of gruesome deaths (more on that later). Let’s start off with the directing.
David Gordon Green uses a different way to pace this movie. The first 30 minutes of this movie is setting up the next hour, introducing the characters, the plot, and the environment. This is my main issue with this movie because it felt very slow, granted it was fun seeing returning older characters. Apart from this the rest of the movie was incredible. Right, when the first kill happens it is a non-stop ride. This was the best part of this movie in that the kills and action were authentic and masterfully done. From the suspense building to the final kill, it put me to the edge of my seat. The acting and comedy were also awesome as Jamie Lee Curtis does an excellent job at making me care about her character, not to mention the comedy being done at just the right parts. John Carpenter’s score (fun fact: John Carpenter directed the first Halloween movie) as well as the editing and homages to the original were also done well and added even more positives to this movie. From a script perspective, the writers were able to craft a story that was able to set up the next hour that showed Michael Myers in his true form, while also adding new subplots and character development that pays off later. I recommend you see this movie soon with more people or bring a friend along (shout out to Ryder) so that then you are able to enjoy the experience for anticipating the next kill even more.
Despite the slow beginning, this is the best horror movie of this year and I highly recommend you check this movie out soon. I’m going the rate this movie an A. It is rated R (caution: there is a brief scene of nudity that may be offensive and/or too inappropriate for some users) and is playing in theaters now. Thank you guys for reading and don’t forget to comment below on movies you want me to review and as always, have a great day.
