Category Archives: Love It

Movies I absolutely loved. Love, of course, is a subjective term. For me, loving a film means being wholly drawn into it or being intrigued into watching the film again. If I left a movie with my mouth agape or nodding my head contently, chances are “Love It.” is my short-form review.

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Long Reviews (>400 Words), Love It

Furious 7 (2015) Movie Review

Let me start by explaining what I wanted to do with this review, and then I will explain what is actually happening. I have seen Furious 7 twice without seeing any of the other Fast & Furious films. What I planned to do for this retrospective, which is in preparation for the new movie The Fate of the Furious, was to go back and watch every Fast & Furious film and review them.

Instead, I watched the first two and then decided to watch this again. Drunk on micro-brew beer and Mexican food. Because that is clearly the most reasonable state to watch a Fast & Furious film in. The only thing closer to right would be for me to be drinking strictly Corona.

As a result, I am reviewing Furious 7 without a whole lot of knowledge of the franchise. And I am also watching it drunk, so, you know, f*** it.

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Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) is the brother of Owen Shaw (Luke Evans). And he is out for revenge. Why? Because cars…and stuff. He’s Jason Statham; you really don’t need to be asking many questions. Get off my back. He’s the villain, that’s all you need to know.

Brian (Paul Walker) is now a family man, married to Jordana Brewster’s Mia with a kid. Relegated to a mini van, he feels Continue reading Furious 7 (2015) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Long Reviews (>400 Words), Love It

Fast Five (2011) Movie Review

Fast Five, the fittingly-titled fifth film in the Fast & Furious franchise, begins where its predecessor left off: a high stakes, improbable break out of Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) by his best friend Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) and sister Mia (Jordana Brewster).

Following this successful bus flipping, Brian and Mia go into hiding, proving that they are now full-blown, no remorse criminals.

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There is a noticeable shift in quality between Continue reading Fast Five (2011) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Long Reviews (>400 Words), Love It, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Infinity Baby (2017) Movie Review

A seeming momma’s boy with blunt high standards and commitment issues (Kieran Culkin), two dopey lackeys with differing levels of alcohol intake (Kevin Corrigan and Martin Starr), and a take-no-prisoners, fast-talking white collar type (Nick Offerman). In short, a bunch of cold, insensitive pricks.

Thus is the cast of characters initially established in Infinity Baby. They all work at different rungs of the ladder for the eponymous company, whose aim is to get rid of thousands of babies who never age. A botched stem cell experiment, compliments of Mitsubishi.

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The film fully acknowledges the laundry list of flaws that this infinity baby premise presents. In fact, it Continue reading Infinity Baby (2017) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Horror, Long Reviews (>400 Words), Love It, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Aliens (1986) Movie Review

In anticipation of the release of Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant, CineFiles is looking back on the Alien franchise as a whole. Today, we look at James Cameron’s sequel film Aliens, a film that takes the formula of the 1979 original film and spins it in a new direction.

 

57 years after the events of Ridley Scott’s Alien, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) wakes up from stasis. The only survivor of the Nostromo incident, Ripley accompanies a crew of military to LV-426, the planet where the Nostromo first encountered the eponymous creature.

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Like the 1979 original, Aliens begins with characterization by way of politics. The heads of the mission, both military and civilian, sit at a different table at the mess hall while the army grunts act amateurish nearby. The characters adhere more to Continue reading Aliens (1986) Movie Review →

A Movies, All Movie Reviews, Horror, Long Reviews (>400 Words), Love It

Alien (1979) Movie Review

In preparation for the May 19 release of Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant, CineFiles is taking a retrospective look at all of the Alien films. To begin, we look at the 1979 original, Alien. The film is largely heralded as a classic, and for good reason. Let’s get into it.

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Ridley Scott’s Alien is, perhaps, the perfect horror movie. The best? Now that is up for debate. But it is inarguably Continue reading Alien (1979) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Long Reviews (>400 Words), Love It

Logan (2017) Movie Review

The first thing one will notice about Logan, after a prologue/advert that you will not see coming, is that this is not Bryan Singer’s X-Men. Logan is the ninth film in the X-Men franchise and the third standalone Wolverine film. And it is a grizzled, grisly action tragedy. Not what one would expect from this comic book franchise.

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An opening action sequence promises brutality not seen in comic book cinema to date, and it Continue reading Logan (2017) Movie Review →

2017 Academy Awards, All Movie Reviews, Documentary, Love It, Short Films

The White Helmets (2016) Short Film Review

In Aleppo, Syria, air strikes are a daily occurrence. The city relies on a volunteer group called the White Helmets who act as first responders on the ground after these attacks.

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The Netflix original documentary short film The White Helmets follows members of this organization. Through a mix of Continue reading The White Helmets (2016) Short Film Review →

2017 Academy Awards, All Movie Reviews, Love It, Short Films

Extremis (2016) Short Film Review

Extremis, a documentary short film from Netflix, is the story of a hospital ICU. As much as the film paces and moves like a medical drama, it is distinctly and heart-wrenchingly real.

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The film opens on a patient, breathing tube affixed, trying desperately just to communicate. The patient can’t write, nor make discernible letters in the air, and can barely point at letters on a sheet of paper. All the while the doctor is trying Continue reading Extremis (2016) Short Film Review →

A Movies, All Movie Reviews, Documentary, Love It

I Am Not Your Negro (2017) Movie Review

In archive footage, we see at the beginning of I Am Not Your Negro an interview with the subject of the documentary: writer James Baldwin. The interviewer, when addressing with Baldwin the plight of the black man in American during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, he says “Is it at once getting better and still hopeless?” To which Baldwin responds, quite simply, that there is no hope to it.

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I Am Not Your Negro is a literary chronicle set to motion through photographs, film clips, and sweeping landscape shots. The raw power of Baldwin’s words is something Continue reading I Am Not Your Negro (2017) Movie Review →