Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare
Cinematic Sommelier
6.3
Amazing cast. Amazing premise. Amazing producers. Terrible execution. Predictable from start to finish, sloppy storytelling throughout. Clunky character development. And a level of violence that was not only hard to stomach at times, but often completely unnecessary to the plot. So much wasted potential… a very middle of the road, at best, film that should have knocked it out of the park. A lot of other options at the cinema this week/weekend.
9.1
I’ll start by saying that it was incredibly difficult not speeding on the drive home after this two and a half hour thrill ride! An absolute work of cinematic art… a beautifully crafted film. The ultimate mix of adrenaline, brotherhood, and heart… I never expected I’d been misty-eyed following a movie about cars, but here we are. I thought it’d be good, but damn. Strap in, and you’re off to the races!
8.7
Fully went into this expecting a b-movie on par with “Pearl Harbor.” What I got was a masterclass in directing, perfection in the cinematography department, and a truly moving story. Pretty much everything you could want out of a war film. The battle scenes were graphic, grand-scale, and captured the perfect balance of chaos and focus. The cast couldn’t have been more perfect if they tried. And the montage of “where they went after the events of the film” didn’t leave a dry eye in the house. Very well done, and well worth the longer than usual runtime.
9.1
A masterpiece on-par with the original “Shining,” in my opinion. Long, but worth every second of spell-binding storytelling. A seamless continuation of the events following the infamous winter at the Overlook Hotel. A perfect blend of new and nostalgia content, with a powerful crescendo… bellissima! I am all-in on the recent Stephen King renaissance of late. The quality of these novels, and new technology being expertly implemented… Bravo! Stephen King really is a master of his craft with the source material. No one tackles the human condition with the perfect blend horror and humor is why he’s the best. It’s what this film does so well, and King is famous for… the best characters in horror. Blew past my high expectations with ease! Definitely a must-see.
7.6
Did they try to shoe-horn in an extreme “girl power” message, destroying its effectiveness by being on the nose? Yes. Did they delve into politics of border security in a movie about time travelling robots? Also yes. That being said, if you can turn your brain off and watch the robots go boom, you’ll love what turns out to be one of the best action films to come out in a few months. The Terminator franchise still ends in my mind at Terminator 2. But nice try for the 4th time, Paramount…
Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare 