Morning Reel

"Paddington 2" is the most positive reviewed film in the history of cinema and it came out in 2017, beating "Citizen Kane" directed by Orson Welles. Imagine that? Anyways, I love this film. I didn't mention it in the review but this a "perfect" family film. It has everything - comedy, action, moments of wonder & curiosity, drama, but most of all, this film has heart and that heart is the character himself - Paddington. The cast in the film great, even to the villains. Hugh Grant was great in this film, you can tell he was having a blast playing a villain and made it so self-centered, it's great. He's a character you can fall behind because he goes all the way as who he is and what he wants. I was impressed to take in the fact that it's a live action film with a CGI bear and honestly, I didn't even notice. I mean, you can tell it's fake but they way they animated Paddington and what they have them do, took a lot of consideration. I was too convinced and hooked on the bear, the sweet and courageous bear named Padddington that can turn a criminal into a friend. Imagine having a buddy like that in your life? E-Zone, fuck Baby Yoda. Paddington is the guy you want on your side. He's the "voice of reason" and all that's thanks to his Aunt Lucy, which is the basis of the whole plot itself. It's hard for sequels to out-do the first film, but this surpasses it (respectfully) at a level that pulls the heartstrings. The film only goes higher as the stakes get tough for the bear to clear his name. When times get tough, stay strong and follow through with the faith you got but also take matters your hands.

Four out of four tokes.

"As Tears Go By" is the debut of filmmaker Wong Kar-wai. It's his love letter to the film "Mean Streets". He shares a tragedy where love is lost, both of the romantic and of the brotherly. I was amazed to see a style of filmmaking and it came out in 1988. It's very stylistic and isn't afraid to push narrative boundaries. My favorite scene of the film is honestly, the ending. I wont say why but it's an effective ending that you don't really get to see in cinema nowadays. It's a film that drama, romance, crime, some comedy, and even existentialism. It's a film about a gangster who tries throughout the whole film, to look out for his best friend, and honestly, his only friend, especially in the world they're in. His friend is always messing up and he has to figure out a way to chamge, or else...
It's great film in it's style of filmmaking and a story that's engaging and doesn't spoon feed you

#astearsgoby

Terrence Malick gives us "The New World", a visual epic of the story of America, but in a romance between John Smith and Pocahontas. It's a really good film depicting the settlement of Jamestown in what is know as Virgina at the time. We see how it goes down, how love can be new and destructive to someone and how it navigates they way order and growth goes. I enjoy this film for its simple but poetic plot. We just don't see Native Americans fighting for theirs against the Jamestown people, we see how actions and decision are laid about. We see how emotions unheard of are formed and how it really shapes people into how we know them by. Malick, you can see that he really put himself in this film by the shots we see. We see how things came to be and it goes across to what I'm typing at this moment. And this film came out over 20 years ago. It's still fresh and very consistent to his work.

Four out of four tokes.

Hayao Miyazaki's "Ponyo" is a colorful sight of a film to see with a beautiful way to tell a story of how the test of friendship can LITERALLY disbalance the earth. What a way to tell a film without having a bad guy, it's all about something for the good of all kinds, not just man. Miyazaki likes to put the awareness and importance of maintaining the sustainability of our earth, our environment. I like the slight agresssive attack towads that thematic and how it overall ties to the film. it's a character of it's own, if you ask me. What's there to say, the film is enjoyable. It's a story you can definitely invest your energy in because it does take you for a ride. To see the sequence of Ponyo catching up to the BAD ASS tiny car, is really a testament to the art of anime filmmaking. Thank you, Hayao Miyazaki for giving us "Ponyo".

Four out of Four tokes.

#ponyo #hayaomiyazaki

Lars von Trier is a controversial filmmaker with his work and as a person himself. Due to his depression that, he creates films with dark characters with, sometimes, dark storylines. But his films are great. Some are beautifully shot with referneces to classical art. This film "Melancholia" is one of those. It's about the last days of the world due to a planet that is literally going to crash into Earth and the main character welcomes with open arms. It's more dramatic than how it sounds but it's there and it's in full effect. The film is great for its cinematography, how Earth plays a role as a planet that is dying by the frame and we get to see characters go through it. We see characters that represent illnesses such as depression and anxiety. The film highlights and sometimes makes it very visually poetic.I love the fact that Trier made a film like this and it's not overdramatic. Overall, it's a dark and straight-in-your-face type of filmmaking that anybody can appreciate.

Four out of four tokes.

Éric Rohmer ends his famous "Tales of the Four Seasons" with "Autumn Tale". It's a French romance comedy about a woman who operates a vineyard, thinks about the idea of dating again and it focuses on the middle age folks, which is a bit different from the other season films. Magali's friends decide to take matters into their own hands and get matches for her. At this wedding party, it all goes down and it's an iconic scene itself. I love the film for it's rich and engaging screenplay and the actors who make these characters very real, especially when they conversate which is a huge strength that Rohmer. This film gives us insight to people who are older and wiser. We see a perspective that's almost too foreign for us especially if we dont match the same age. I can wacth this film all day and so should you.

I give it four out of four tokes.

#ericrohmer #filmreview #autumntale

David Lynch's "Inland EMpire" is a crazy psychological thriller that I had the pleasure of watching. I three hour film shot on a sony digital camcorder and it makes perfect sense as to why he choose to shoot a film like this. A film that barely has a script but as holoow as it many seem, it film goes into alternate realities where we question our own reality. It's a film about a "woman in toruble" that takes on a film set. Laura Dern's character is an actress who's gonna star in a film that's known to have a death that occurs which stopped it in the place. But not for this crew. They decide to do it anyway and stuff happens. It's like a huge portal that leads to all portals and it makes sense in some way. I admire the work Lynch put especially Laura Dern. She deserved an Academy Award for this film.

Three and a half out of four tokes.

#davidlynch #inlandempire #filmreview

The Coen Brothers are incredible filmmakers. They are known for their screenwriting and direction. From wacky comedies to serious dramas, they always go for the heart and it gets us to wonder about life and the meaning of it. "A Serious Man" is a 2009 comedy drama that's dark about Larry who is about to get divorced and doesn't know why but we see why. But not only that, he has other struggles that really break this man down but not completely because of his faith in Judasim. The only thing that he ponders about is the meaning of life and bad things happen to him. It spirals to an existential journey in a small Minnesota town. I dig this film in how the cinematography amps up the struggles that these characters go through and as well as the screenwriting. The dialog is superb and pushes the story forward. We are meant to see this man and yell at him on the screen because the answers to his problems are sort of in front of him and he eventually figures it out. Not a film for a peson for action but if you're in some type of crisis, this one is for you. The characters are great and written very well and they bounce off each other and they sure deserve it.

Four out of four tokes

#coenbrothers #aseriousman

"Todo Sobre Mi Madre" is one of Pedro Almovodvar's great films especially of the 90s. It's a complex drama surrounding a mother dealing with her only son's death and actually doing something about it. She goes into a spiral of events that eventually answers deeper questions of her past lives. It's almost that thing where you can't lead into the future unless you can let go of the past. A great film because it's full of laughs and legitimate drama. Thw riting is excellent because gets sucked in and the cast that highlights it makes you wonder why they haven't been on the big screen. You can see greatness even from the small, local stage.

Four out of four tokes.

#allaboutmymother #pedroalmodovar #filmreview

"Lamb" or natively "Dýrið", is a crazy folk horror film and there is a twist and a couple of turns. The director did a pretty good job showing us the effectiveness without spoon feeding like American horror films. it's a about a couple who discover a lamb that has features of a human. You have to see it to not only believe it, but to see how it plays out. The ending is unexpected. The way the characters play out the story seems plain but there's a lot of dark pain in it and it slowly unfolds. It's a not a simple and the cinematography backs that up. It may be beautiful in Iceland, but what surrounds it is the scary part. Fogs, mountains and unpaved roads represents the film. It's vast and you can easily get lost with little hope. I dug the screenplay of this film. It's precise as to how the characters operate and slowly develop. We care about them, trying to live a simple farm life but circumstances were not in their favor. Please watch this film, it's available on Prime Video FOR FREE, you will not be disappointed.

Three and a half out of four tokes.

#lamb #lambfilm #noomirapace