Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare
Cinematic Sommelier
7.2
I’m still a bigger “Selena + Chef” fan, but this was a close second. All the typical Paris shenanigans, with a carousel of celebrity friends learning to cook. It’s gaudy to the max. If you’re not concerned with actually learning any culinary expertise, this is your show. If you want actual recipes and depth, head over to HBO Max for Selena’s rendition.
9.2
This is the movie of the year, as far as I’m concerned.
You think I’ve lost my mind, I know… Well, I’m completely lucid and in love with this movie. I expected a fun hour and a half of laughing along with unmasked Deadpool. You know what? I got a profound story about purpose in life, adventure, artificial intelligence, ethics, and a fantastic action film. All with just the right amount of ridiculousness, cameos, and appearances by Disney intellectual property. It adds to the story with finesse, instead of beating you over the head with sensory overload like “Ready Player One.”
Perfect cast, all in the ideal roles, with an excellent story. Told through rich cinematography that feels much more lifelike than the videogame most of the story takes place in. The grounding of the story is a love story, and it being the last one you expect left me blown away and singing the praises of this film I had to wait over a year for. Much more worth the wait than “New Mutants.”
Honestly, this thing fires on all cylinders and will leave you moved and inspired. Bravo!
8.4
This is one of those monumental films that suffers from its own success. Similar to “Psycho,” “Halloween,” or “JAWS,” it kicks off a revolution of a genre and reimagines the craft of cinema, but then is copied so much that it eventually becomes a watered-down version of itself. I saw so many action tropes in this film and was reminded of the late 90’s action boom and the grandness of epics such as the Dark Knight trilogy, “Titanic,” and “Pearl Harbor.”
This film separates itself because the cast is so overflowing with talent than it does the micro exceptionally well. The intimate, deeply personal scenes, such as the scene in the coffee shop between Pacino and De Niro, are just as awe-inspiring as the grand scale action scenes. The heists and shootouts are some of the best tension-filled directing I’ve seen in quite some time. Shout-out to the Amazon Val Kilmer biopic “Val,” for leading me to this gem!
6.9
Hey! It’s the guy from “Hung” on HBO! In a movie about as worthy of a parental warning as “Hung.”
I love Cameron Diaz, so this was going to be a winner in my book. The classic “someone with a guarded heart meets their kryptonite” love story with a fun road trip movie mixed in for good measure. The film did get a little in the weeds when it tried to be a musical a couple of times but got back on track to check all of the classic rom-com boxes by the time the credits rolled. The title is spot-on. This film is all frosting and will satisfy your sweet tooth.
The whole thing emits a strong sense of disarming charm. It’s a wonderful, “turn your brain off and watch the unlikely couple fall in love” film.
“Parasite,” but with guns.
Instead of the class war only affecting a household, strap in and get ready to spend the next hour and a half trying not to spill your popcorn as you rush to turn away from a story that turns extremely violent exceptionally quickly. As the country collapses, we follow this family and their… employees… into the madness and the darkness. We watch the growing pains of a nation in transition as one governing party is overthrown and a new one violently installed through forceāthe struggle between new money and old money. A countries government is in turmoil, under the thumb of a much larger, more sinister old guard that wields the true power. The ending was not at all what I expected when shit began to hit the fan about 20 minutes in. I’m not sure anyone’s a winner in this one.
All things considered, a solid political thriller with well directed action and drama.
Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare 