rjones1325

Given its title, you would expect this to be a sports movie with a dog in it. That would be inaccurate. The title is a huge metaphor for the unforeseen circumstances that life might throw at you and all you can do is ask yourself if you’re prepared for it or not. It’s philosophical, which is the prominent dialect of the central lead’s mindset. When you’re introduced to Enzo as a pup, you’re a bit thrown off by Kevin Costner’s narration for obvious reasons. In case you didn’t notice, Costner doesn’t objectively have the appealing voice for narrating a dog as cute as Enzo. But the longer you get to know Enzo and his personality, the more you warm up to Costner’s narration as his lines of dialogue — along with his delivery — help construct a personality for the dog. Part of what makes this film stand out amongst its peers is Enzo himself. Unlike the main characters in those W. Bruce Cameron movies, Enzo’s personality is more than a simplistic loyalty trait. Costner’s gruff yet wholesome narration benefits this adorable and surprisingly insightful dog to connect with his audience through his personality. https://www.rendyreviews.com/movies/the-art-of-racing-in-the-rain-review

No disrespect to the living figure, whose true story most likely is as incredible as it sounds, but Brian Banks is one of the most derivative and cliched dramas released this year. I don’t want to go on another tirade about White filmmakers telling Black stories, but when you’ve got the director of Patch Adams, Bruce Almighty, and Evan Almighty at the helm of a biopic drama, along with the screenwriter of Akeelah and the Bee -- who hasn’t written a movie since Akeelah and the Bee until now -- then you get exactly what you bargained for: a mediocre drama with simplistic dialogue, generic plotting, and scenes so obnoxiously confident that they’re saying something meaningful. Meanwhile, they can’t even tell a cohesive story. https://www.rendyreviews.com/movies//brian-banks-review

Lulu Wang’s The Farewell is an incredible mature outlook on family tradition that is thought-provoking, relative, and most of all personal, which are the best attributes that makes a filmmaker an amazing storyteller while providing a star-turning performance by Awkwafina.

Over the past several years, actress Isabela Moner has been showing her range as a performer. While she has typically been boxed into supporting roles, her portrayal of Dora is the performance where she gets to shine, as Moner proves she is one of the most talented young actresses working today. This is her movie through and through and she nails it expertly. https://www.rendyreviews.com/movies//dora-and-the-lost-city-of-gold-review

We’re at the ninth entry of the Furious series so… first thing’s first: you better leave your brain at the door. If you’re not a fan of this franchise at all for whatever reason, this is not for you. It carries the same exact spirit and themes as the main entries. If you weren’t on board by Fast Five or even Fast and Furious 6, then I don’t know what to tell ya. From the disposable nonsensical narratives to creating their own laws of physics, you can’t help but criticize a Fast and the Furious movie. But... it’s Fast and Furious. They’ve gotten away with those flaws for so long that they’ve become identifiers for the franchise. They’re essential charms for all of their movies, including H&S, making for some of the most memorable action scenes in film history, no matter how ridiculous they are. https://www.rendyreviews.com/movies//fast-amp-furious-presents-hobbs-amp-shaw-review

THE DEAD DON'T DIE REVIEW HERE

MEN IN BLACK INTERNATIONAL REVIEW HERE

FULL REVIEW HERE!

Hey everyone! I'm at SXSW I saw it. I loved it. HERE'S MY REVIEW!

I might be a Jessica Rothe stan Now!

Hey! I'm back from Sundance. Will be posting some reviews of films I've seen from the festival over the course of the coming weeks. Here's one of them.

At long last, after much anticipation, we have “Venom”, the movie nobody except Sony wanted. Since they don’t have their precious spider to milk for cash anymore, they have to substitute it with something else… Something that is spider-related but not quite. Oh wait, SYMBIOTE! It’s like Marvel raided Sony’s dungeon and saved Spider-Man and some of his villains and left them with the film rights to their third-tier characters. Venom was somehow left behind with the bunch AND NOW WE HAVE THIS MOVIE! That Sony Universe was going to happen one way or another. Here's My Review of VENOM: http://www.rendyreviews.com/movies//venom-review

This romantic drama features some of the worst dialogue I’ve witnessed this year. None of these characters interact like real people. They speak in one of two functions: short responses or long tangents that go nowhere as they aim for humor but come across as shock value, or in order to start smart and complex discussions that come across as pretentious. Dan Fogelman thinks he’s Aaron Sorkin with his dialogue when he’s really more of an Akiva Goldsman. FULL REVIEW: http://www.rendyreviews.com/movies/life-itself-review

From director Shane Black, the guy who starred in the original “Predator” while he started screenwriting (and long before he went into directing), is the first guy who attempts to rejuvenate a franchise that never had a chance to establish its own identity by delivering... a comedy?? FULL REVIEW: http://www.rendyreviews.com/movies/the-predator-review

Excluding the first “Annabelle”, there has been a formulaic pattern with these “Conjuring” movies, and for the most part it works. This formula is blatantly present in “The Nun”. The most beneficial aspects of these movies that keep the franchise afloat are the use of practical effects, well-written and/or likable characters, and most of all the framework. Those were the reasons why the first movie worked and all of those elements are mimicked here in a way that still feels refreshing and new. FULL REVIEW HERE: http://www.rendyreviews.com/movies//the-nun-review

Sometimes when you hear about a movie entering development hell, you see the end product reflect the issues. In “The Happytime Murders”, it’s the writing. So, funny story: when the project was picked up by STX, the initial script by Todd Berger was revised by three uncredited people to meet with the studio’s demands to make it more of a raunchy, R-rated comedy than a crime/mystery involving puppets. AND IT SHOWS! The film is heavily marketed as a raunchy comedy, but for the most part it’s a crime noir that turns into a buddy cop film. When the film is stripped of the comedy, it’s a good crime/mystery story, but since the comedy is present and crass, it drags the narrative down. FULL REVIEW: https://www.rendyreviews.com/movies//the-happytime-murders-review