Slam! Movie Reviews [Y6 Edition]

[SLAM!]

SLAM! REVIEWS: SEPTEMBER ISSUE SPOTLIGHT

 

Spoiler

BASEBALL BOY: THE BASE THIEF
 

dir. Simon J. Smith

 

(This is a serious spotlight. That needs to be stated because of the way I joked about Rhino Riders.)

 

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this film. I do know it's what amounts to filler, and I do know it's not as complex, both narratively and visually, as many of the other animated films are. But there was a childlike, imaginative sensibility to the way the story played out that really jived with me. It had this innocent, Peanuts- esque feel to the story that I really appreciated.

 

Others may say it's so bad it's good, but I'm willing to suggest that it invites audiences to laugh alongside its blatantly self-aware, saccharine comicality. All of the voice actors are giving acceptable performances here; I don't believe anyone is simply trying to cash in a check--rather, I believe the actors are acting with the noble purpose of entertaining children.

 

It's definitely not a perfect sequel by any means, but I humbly encourage Hunt Productions to continue this series of films, no matter what my colleagues may say. This small little series has the capacity to be truly beloved by the populace.

 

[SLAM!]

September Reviews and Scores

 

Turbulence

It's a rather blatant action film that isn't really all that interesting. Alisha Boe advances her career forward. 5.5/10

 

Live2ream

It's a fascinating project, but its artistic gimmicks fail to compensate for an uninteresting story. 7/10

 

All-Nighter

Creatively bereft, this proposed genre mashup fails to provide an enthralling time at the movies. 3.25/10

 

The Last Policeman

While the film can be quite dour in parts, Cary Fukunaga takes a notably measured approach in crafting this utterly fascinating literary mystery thriller. Ansel Elgort, David Harbour, and Kaitlyn Dever are the standouts in an already standout ensemble. 9/10

 

Baseball Boy: The Base Thief

It's definitely not a perfect sequel by any means, but I humbly encourage Hunt Productions to continue this series of films, no matter what my colleagues may say. This small little series has the capacity to be truly beloved by the populace. 8/10

 

The Horn

A great action film; Liam Neeson's best film since Crusader. The only flaw is an unexplainable vibe of delighting in the deaths of the characters rather than pausing to examine the losses. 8.25/10

[Ethan Hunt]

11 minutes ago, SLAM! said:

SLAM! REVIEWS: SEPTEMBER ISSUE SPOTLIGHT

 

  Reveal hidden contents

BASEBALL BOY: THE BASE THIEF
 

dir. Simon J. Smith

 

(This is a serious spotlight. That needs to be stated because of the way I joked about Rhino Riders.)

 

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this film. I do know it's what amounts to filler, and I do know it's not as complex, both narratively and visually, as many of the other animated films are. But there was a childlike, imaginative sensibility to the way the story played out that really jived with me. It had this innocent, Peanuts- esque feel to the story that I really appreciated.

 

Others may say it's so bad it's good, but I'm willing to suggest that it invites audiences to laugh alongside its blatantly self-aware, saccharine comicality. All of the voice actors are giving acceptable performances here; I don't believe anyone is simply trying to cash in a check--rather, I believe the actors are acting with the noble purpose of entertaining children.

 

It's definitely not a perfect sequel by any means, but I humbly encourage Hunt Productions to continue this series of films, no matter what my colleagues may say. This small little series has the capacity to be truly beloved by the populace.

 

💓💓💓

 

Baseball Boy Will Return 

[SLAM!]

Well, in terms of what I have left to read, I have five October films, five November films, and five December films. Tomorrow is a busy day for me so I might not have October ready for tomorrow, but my overarching goal is for me to be ready to post my Top 25 by the end of the week. It is coincidentally the week of my fall break where I get two days off from school, so I should have time to finish it up. After my Top 25 is posted, that's when I'll begin posting more predictions at a leisurely pace.

[SLAM!]

SLAM! REVIEWS: OCTOBER ISSUE SPOTLIGHT
 

Spoiler

*DOUBLE FEATURE*
(FOR A HALLOWEEN/SPOOKTOBER ISSUE)

Spoiler

SHIVERIN' GULCH

 

dir. Carlos Lopez Estrada

 

Safe to say, between this, The Thin, the Phat, and the Felon, and Hired Guns, it feels like Y6 is seeing quite a resurgence in fascinating westerns. Safe to say, Shiverin' Gulch stands out from the pack with the fantastical element it possesses and the heart it wears on its sleeve. I'm not entirely convinced that director Carlos Lopez Estrada is an exact fit for this project, and I'm not entirely convinced that the casting choices are spot-on either, but for what it's worth, this is an extremely solid blockbuster that's fun for the whole family.

 

The story told by the film is told succinctly; it's a complete story through and through, even with the notion of a potential sequel. I'm really happy about that, even if the story has a fairly straightforward vibe. If I'm being honest, the story isn't really something that grabs me; it isn't a story that feels fresh. The tone is also fairly wishy-washy in parts, and, at times, I wasn't sure what the film was really going for.

 

The cast all gave good performances and really elevated the film. The film does a great job displaying its plot twists; the viewer never sees the plot twists coming, which is a good thing. And the plot twists don't seem out of left field, either.

 

All in all, I'm not rushing to write home about Shiverin' Gulch, but I'm still happy it got made, and I can't wait what the studio is able to achieve if they choose to make the teased sequel.

 

Spoiler

VOICEMAIL

 

dir. Jee-Woon Kim

 

While the film's premise has lost some of its initial scare factor since Takashi Miike's original version came out in theaters in 2003, I still believe that, with Voicemail, Red Crescent has pulled off a master-class of tension, while simultaneously managing to commentate on the topic of domestic abuse. It's absolutely fascinating to see a horror film that is much more fascinated by thrilling the audience rather than repulsing them with gore (sans one particular death, which is important to signify the potential brutality of the villainous entity).

 

Jee-Woon Kim executes the story brilliant, rarely giving the audience time to breathe. Morena Baccarin gives a powerhouse performance, while Joseph Gordon-Levitt also does a good job with a character that could easily be seen as unremarkable in the hands of a sub-par performer.

 

All in all, I found the film to be similar in tone to the anime Death Note. There's a darkness to it, yes, but there's a calculated darkness to it. There is more beneath this horror film's surface than meets the eye.

 

 

[SLAM!]

October Reviews and Scores

 

Shiverin' Gulch

I'm not entirely convinced that director Carlos Lopez Estrada is an exact fit for this project, and I'm not entirely convinced that the casting choices are spot-on either, but for what it's worth, this is an extremely solid blockbuster that's fun for the whole family. 8.25/10

 

Day of the Tentacle

The value of the story is lost in translation between the two mediums. The script has traces of wit, but the film cannot capitalize on the wit. Audiences are left without context for many inside jokes. 4/10

 

The Trapped Keeper

Alison Brie and Jesse Eisenberg deserve to be nominated for Oscars, but the film itself is bogged down by pacing issues (in my opinion). The film struggles to find a powerful ending and sort of plateaus. But I will reiterate: Alison Brie and Jesse Eisenberg deserve to be nominated for Oscars. 7.25/10

 

Thirsty

A film that attempts to mimic its adolescent protagonists by meandering in an artful way; I do not care for such meandering, no matter how much director Olivia Wilde is trying to make something of it. The performances are excellent, but this board is cluttered with too many darts, unfortunately. 7/10

 

Voicemail

While the film's premise has lost some of its initial scare factor since Takashi Miike's original version came out in theaters in 2003, I still believe that, with Voicemail, Red Crescent has pulled off a master-class of tension, while simultaneously managing to commentate on the topic of domestic abuse. 9.25/10

[Ezen Baklattan]

Tbh you have to blame real life for the lack of a big ending. The decision to kind of let it simmer out after the courtroom third act was definitely an intentional one.

[Blankments]

Im confused by both your main criticisms for Gulch; they’re both in the spotlight review and the regular one, but if you just say the director and casting choices don’t make sense without explaining how, I’m at a loss on how to try to fix things for future installments or genuinely understand your criticism.

 

thank you for the review though, outside of those two aspects, I appreciate you going in-depth on it!

[SLAM!]

1 hour ago, Blankments said:

Im confused by both your main criticisms for Gulch; they’re both in the spotlight review and the regular one, but if you just say the director and casting choices don’t make sense without explaining how, I’m at a loss on how to try to fix things for future installments or genuinely understand your criticism.

 

thank you for the review though, outside of those two aspects, I appreciate you going in-depth on it!

 

No problem! That gripe about the director and cast is a minor one; I've seen Blindspotting, and while that's a great film, I had troubling visualizing how the director's style would translate to the film; it's kind of hard to explain, but the director and cast didn't blend into the project for me; I'm really curious about a sequel, and I'm sure my view would be much better in the context of a sequel. Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal are great actors, but I had trouble visualizing them in the context of a western. I know I probably sound really pretentious, and I'm sorry about that... With the sequel, if you focus on making sure the characters have a natural place in the world, I probably won't have that problem... Again, I'm sorry if this is pretentious...

[SLAM!]

Well guys, I need to work off my car issues because, turns out, my car got totaled... I'm gonna try and spend as much of my fall break as I can at work, so I'm not sure when I'll be able to do November and December... I'm a bit ahead of the curve, though, so I suppose it'd be okay... But I'm just letting you know this, because my finishing-all-the-reviews my be later than expected. Thank you.

[Ezen Baklattan]

2 hours ago, Spaghetti said:

Tbh you have to blame real life for the lack of a big ending. The decision to kind of let it simmer out after the courtroom third act was definitely an intentional one.

To elaborate on this,

 

Basically the film kind of ends on a note of hollow victory. Frank is able to overcome her husband and get her separation, but her company is considerably gone from its hayday.

 

To that point, the final scene with her and Max represents a resigned acceptance of this fact, while navigating the more surreal place they currently have in the world and the road it took to got there.

 

As for the structure...yeah I can see it not working for everyone. It's kind of a surreal and weird biopic, that being one of its main elements.

 

 

 

[Ezen Baklattan]

2 minutes ago, SLAM! said:

Well guys, I need to work off my car issues because, turns out, my car got totaled... I'm gonna try and spend as much of my fall break as I can at work, so I'm not sure when I'll be able to do November and December... I'm a bit ahead of the curve, though, so I suppose it'd be okay... But I'm just letting you know this, because my finishing-all-the-reviews my be later than expected. Thank you.

Holy shit. 😥 I'm so sorry you're in this mess. definitely prioritize your car stuff over reading. 

[SLAM!]

SLAM! REVIEWS: NOVEMBER ISSUE SPOTLIGHT

 

Spoiler

PARADISE ISLAND
 

dir. Debra Granik

 

Previously, I had only seen the first five minutes of Leave No Trace. Tried watching it with my Amazon Fire-Stick, lost the internet connection, got frustrated and gave up trying to watch it. Thankfully, I decided to watch Wiinter's Bone a few weeks ago. That was a beautiful film--a real eye opener, if you will. If I hadn't of watched that film, I wouldn't have been able to experience Granik's directorial capability. After carefully considering Paradise Island with what I remember from Winter's Bone, I have to say, I definitely view the film and filmmaker to be a great fit for each other.

 

This film manages to achieve subtlety in a prominent way. It is a cacophony of restrained storytelling. Debra Granik has a lot of great directorial ideas that she employs in this film. Tessa Thompson and Chadwick Boseman both give standout performances, as does Lizzy Caplan in a role that manages to hide the character's hidden secrets. The music by Mica Levi is an essential aspect of the experience that elevates the film extremely high. The script deals with a wide array of human emotions--people of all kinds were affected by the rising sea levels.

 

I really have no criticisms to give for the film itself, I thought it was brilliant. I do have a slight issue with the bolded blurb at the end of the film, though. I'm not letting it affect my score in any way, because I understand it's a major bias I have; I looked up the Virginia town and saw on its WikiPedia page that the town will be submerged in 50 years; the blurb says that New York City will be submerged by 2100--81 years. I don't follow climate change issues as much as I should, and I could be misunderstanding things, but I found the end blurb to be... well... I don't know. Rising sea levels is an issue that demands an incendiary call to action, but... I don't know. But I'm not going to let that affect how I view the film as a whole. If I did that, I'd be saying that people can put films like Raging Bull and Do The Right Thing down a peg just because of their end-blurbs. That isn't right. That wouldn't be right.

 

All in all, I really, really loved this film. It paints humanity with the broadest brush possible and tells a necessary story in a brilliantly restrained way. I had no problems with it.

 

[Blankments]

23 hours ago, SLAM! said:

 

No problem! That gripe about the director and cast is a minor one; I've seen Blindspotting, and while that's a great film, I had troubling visualizing how the director's style would translate to the film; it's kind of hard to explain, but the director and cast didn't blend into the project for me; I'm really curious about a sequel, and I'm sure my view would be much better in the context of a sequel. Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal are great actors, but I had trouble visualizing them in the context of a western. I know I probably sound really pretentious, and I'm sorry about that... With the sequel, if you focus on making sure the characters have a natural place in the world, I probably won't have that problem... Again, I'm sorry if this is pretentious...

Well, at least Rafael Casal is dead so I won't need to focus on him.

 

Seriously though, thanks for the reply!

[SLAM!]

November Reviews & Scores

 

Off-Road

It doesn't really offer anything new, but it's a fun thrill-ride and, ultimately, a noble blockbuster effort. A great film for children. 7.5/10

 

Paradise Island

It paints humanity with the broadest brush possible and tells a necessary story in a brilliantly restrained way. 10/10

 

Spring Awakening

I'm sure this is a great musical, but I think, in adapting the musical, the charm of it was lost in translation. I found the film to be hollow and much too abrasive regarding its themes, as many musicals tend to be. The cast gives a valiant effort and Dexter Fletcher does the best he can, but I'm afraid the leaves are falling down from this film's tree. 5.5/10

 

Understand

In regards to knowing how to tell a story engaging, the filmmaker sure doesn't. 4/10

 

One Big Family

One of the better Tyler Perry films... But it doesn't have much to say. 5/10

 

XJ9: Rebirth

A masterclass in production design, visual effects, and action sequences, XJ9: Rebirth is greatly aided by a star-making performance from Natalie Dyer and a story that compliments the character's trademark spunk. That story can be childish and surface-level at times, however. 8.5/10

 

Duck Hunt

The story isn't a great supplier of great opportunities for exceptional animation, but what the film loses from sterile presentation and a miscasting of Kumail Nanjiani in the role of Snickers, the film gains from an emotionally poignant story. 7.5/10

Edited October 11, 2019 by SLAM!

[Rorschach]

On 10/7/2019 at 8:03 PM, SLAM! said:

Borrasca

Borrasca is an incredible film that walks the fine line between child-imagined make-believe horror with real-world horror, and its discussion of a serious societal issue makes it one of the most important, necessary films in CAYOM history. 9.75/10

I probably should've asked this a few days ago when this was posted, but what was it that prevented the film from being a full 10/10?

[SLAM!]

Decided to bump Duck Hunt from a 7/10 to a 7.5/10.

[Blankments]

... is it a good time for me to mention that Duck Hunt was really only written to give Nanjiani a major voice-over role? 

[SLAM!]

Just now, Rorschach said:

I probably should've asked this a few days ago when this was posted, but what was it that prevented the film from being a full 10/10?

 

Hmm... I had a few minor nitpicks. Andrea Risenborough's character was... convenient and open-ended. She straight up gives the boys a map that leads them to the *spoiler*. It's really cool to think about whether she knew or not, but there was something... off, to me, about how easily the boys got the information in that scene. Another nitpick I had was how slow, sometimes languid, the pace felt in the beginning. I felt myself wishing the story would prgoress a smidge faster than it did, even though I was hook, line, and sinker from the beginning. My final nitpick I have is a nitpick that's been mentioned before, and that's the nitpick of just how much of a sharp left turn the plot twist. It's a great plot twist, but... I got whiplash.

 

But, hey--It's still one of my absolute favorite films of the year. I really have a soft-spot for intelligent thrillers with a great social message.

[SLAM!]

6 minutes ago, Blankments said:

... is it a good time for me to mention that Duck Hunt was really only written to give Nanjiani a major voice-over role? 

 

😬

 

I'll elaborate on my thoughts: I like Kumail Nanjiani, I think he was excellent in The Big Sick and the SNL skits he was in. I think it's a great idea to give him a leading voice-over role, but I'm really not sure if the main Duck Hunt Dog was a right character for it; Nanjiani has a very awkward presence when he's doing stand-up--I guess that's kind of his shtick--but there's really nothing awkward or timid about a dog. The personality of the actor and the personality of the character's species, in my opinion, don't quite mesh together, and Kumail would have to strain and step out of his acting comfort-zone in order to nail the part. I hope the casting works better in others' minds than it does in mine.