Film 1520 - Geostorm

Intro: Not that I was too exited about watching this movie, yet still I was intrigued by its disaster movie vibes.

Film 1520: "Geostorm" (2017), Dean Devlin
Watched: my laptop
Language: English
Watched with: Fre
Briefly: not a really good movie, even though it tries hard to be entertaining and worth watching. It lacks on creativity and delivers a lower than average product that isn't good enough and it is surely forgettable. If you love disaster movies, "The Day After Tomorrow", "2012" or even "Armageddon" are better choices than "Geostorm". And, to be honest, Gerard Butler is not a good actor.
Cast: Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish, Alexandra Maria Lara, Daniel Wu, Eugenio Derbez, Amr Waked, Adepero Oduye, Robert Sheehan, Richard Schiff, Ed Harris, Andy Garcia, Mare Winningham.
Box Office: $221.6 million
Worth watching?: disaster movies should be fun and thrilling, enjoyable enough to let you go beyond the usually poor plot or character writing. None of this happens here. So save yourself some time and look somewhere else.
Awards: /
Key word: Space station.
Did you like it? Buy it HERE!

Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi

Film 1519 - Arrival

Intro: The first time that I saw it I thought that this movie was interesting and compelling, that's why I decided to watch it again.

Film 1519: "Arrival" (2016), Denis Villeneuve
Watched: my laptop
Language: English
Watched with: Fre
Briefly: what I appreciate about this story is the similarity between the plot and the alien's communication: everything goes in circle. And even if you don't understand all from the beginning, you have plenty of time to figure it out what's really happening. And when you do it, you're just blown away;
Amy Adams is just amazing as always. She's a great actress and a wonderful interpreter, it doesn't matter if she's playing a princess, a nun or a linguist professor. You follow her through the movie and trust everything she does because she's perfect in what she's doing;
"Arrival" starts as every other sci-fi film that involves aliens and spaceships as they land on Earth overnight and people cannot understand what's happening; the difference, though, is in what happens next: no fights or violence straight away, just the need to understand what's happening by communicating with the extraterrestrials. That's what I loved the most about the movie and what helped me get over the sometimes too slow pacing of the story. This and the amazing Amy Adams, of course. And Denis Villeneuve directorial style is always beautifully poignant.
Film 1310 - Arrival
Film 1519 - Arrival
Cast: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg, Tzi Ma, Mark O'Brien.
Box Office: $203.4 million
Worth watching?: Interesting and challenging, "Arrival" isn't the typical alien-involved sci-fi picture, instead it follows its own path down to an ending which is not granted at all. Not exactly rhythm friendly but surely intense and beautifully acted, directed and scored, it's an elegant story about knowing ourselves and the strangers from out of space. Not to mention the ones that inhabit the Earth...
Awards: 8 Oscars nominations (Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay among others) and 1 win for Best Achievement in Sound Editing; 2 Golden Globes nomination (Best Drama Actress and Original Score); 9 BAFTAs nominations and 1 win for Best Sound.
Key word: Private number.
Did you like it? Buy it HERE!

Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi

Film 1518 - Lilo & Stitch

Intro: One of my favourite animated feature films ever!

Film 1518: "Lilo & Stitch" (2002), Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders
Watched: my laptop
Language: English
Watched with: Fre
Briefly: this movie is great and I remember I was so caught up by the story when I first watched it, which it really surprised me. "Lilo & Stitch" is funny and entertaining, sweet and kind to a new, enjoyable level. Lilo's character is built up so perfectly, she's a real human being role model, always open to second chances and new possibilities in life. I really do love her;
smart and well written, this isn't just a family movie, but also an enriching story that reminds us that differences are everywhere in life, yet still they shouldn't really matter: you can be a crazy weird invincible alien mad at everyone and still find your place in life thanks to new friends and an open mind. We should embrace our differences and not being scared by them.
Film 1118 - Lilo & Stitch
Film 1518 - Lilo & Stitch
Cast: Daveigh Chase, Chris Sanders, Tia Carrere, David Ogden Stiers, Kevin McDonald, Ving Rhames, Zoe Caldwell, Jason Scott Lee, Kevin Michael Richardson.
Box Office: $273.1 million
Worth watching?: Terribly sweet and - honestly - unexpectedly funny, "Lilo & Stitch" is a must see not only for every Walt Disney Pictures fan, but for everyone who's looking for a nice movie experience and a perfect cartoon choice. Trust me!
Awards: Nominated at the Oscars for Best Animated Feature.
Key word: Experiment 626.
Did you like it? Buy it HERE!

Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi

Film 1516 - Wonder

Intro: I was curious to see this movie, an unexpected huge box office hit that I didn't know anything about until it hit the theatres.

Film 1516: "Wonder" (2017), Stephen Chbosky
Watched: my laptop
Language: English
Watched with: Fre
Briefly: a nice movie with an heartwarming story, "Wonder" works well thanks to its cast. Jacob Tremblay is a talented young actor (he's Brie Larson kid in "Room") able to lead this project on his own shoulders; Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson are an unexpectedly well matched married couple on the screen and, of course, they know how to act;
apart from the acting point of view, this picture is filled with feel-good vibes and good intentions, even though you can tell from the start where the plot is gonna lead you. You know that the poor kid with the facial deformity (Treacher Collins syndrome) will struggle at school, as you already know that at the end he will find he's way through the pain. He'll be always different, but he'll manage to make friends and survive his first school year. So, as I was saying, "Wonder" tells you a great story, even an empowering one, but fails to deliver something new to watch.
Cast: Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, Jacob Tremblay, Mandy Patinkin, Daveed Diggs, Izabela Vidovic.
Box Office: $305.9 milion
Worth watching?: The perfect choice if you're looking for a decent movie with a feel-good vibes heart. It is based on the 2012 novel of the same name by R. J. Palacio.
Awards: Nominated for 1 Academy Award (Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling) and 1 BAFTA Award (Best Make Up/Hair).
Key word: Friendship.
Did you like it? Buy it HERE!

Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi

Film 1514 - The Killing of a Sacred Deer

Intro: I was intrigued by the the incomprehensible plot and the tense trailer, not to mention the good reviews and the best screenplay win at the Cannes Film Festival last year. That's why I was so keen to see the latest Lanthimos directorial effort.

Film 1514: "The Killing of a Sacred Deer" (2017), Yorgos Lanthimos
Watched: my laptop
Language: English
Watched with: Fre
Briefly: tense, but particularly slow, "The Killing of a Sacred Deer" aims to be a thriller with horror vibes even though it just manages to exacerbate the viewers with its deviant plot. In my opinion it's more boring than scaring;
Farrell and Kidman are beautiful actors and they carry the story as far as they can, the problem is that nothing really happens here until the end and it's frustrating that you have to wait for the very last minutes to get the plot moving forward. Probably it was one of Lanthimos goals to induce these kind of emotions in the viewers, yet still you really need to be committed to the cause to actually enjoying it;
"The Killing of a Sacred Deer" has a really powerful finale that partially redeems its previous 90minutes of nothing happening while you wait for the good stuff to come, but I don't think it's enough to appreciate a 2 hour-long movie that leads nowhere for the most of its running time. I think "The Lobster" has a powerful message underneath that is missing here. And you can definitely feel it.
Cast: Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Barry Keoghan, Raffey Cassidy, Sunny Suljic, Alicia Silverstone, Bill Camp.
Box Office: $6.1 milion
Worth watching?: Yorgos Lanthimos fans will find it interesting and probably entertaining, but for those who don't know the previous Greek director works it's probably better if they start with "The Lobster" first: "The Killing of a Sacred Deer" is even slower and less fun.
Awards: Best Screenplay at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival (tied with Lynne Ramsay for You Were Never Really Here).
Key word: Alcoholism.
Did you like it? Buy it HERE!

Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi