Morning Reel

"Anatomy of a Fall" is a gripping courtroom dramam directed by Justine Triet. The film is literal in it's title. We are looking at a fall that resulted death to the husband/father of a family that secretly failing. We don't know if the fall was ruled out to be suicide or murder. The mother/wife is the only prime suspect and the family is thrown to the ringer. It's crazy how a courtroom is a place where the skeletons come out of the closet. One of my favorite characters is the dog in this film. The actor is named Messi and Messi acts his ass off and you'll know it when you see it. I talk about the film's screenplay, it's written very well because we out of those pages we see how creative the director was to give out this information for us to see. When we think we'll see full scenes of the married couple having a really aggressive argument, think again. All characters play their roles right and effectively. I talk about how flashbacks are used in this film Triet made it that work very well. We don't know much about the characters until we are witnessed through multimedia and not the characters themselves. Normally, this would be a problem in storytelling but the characters later shed their own layers to these surprises of sorts. The full fledged character is the son, as blind as he is, he wins people's hearts. Smart, understanding, and isn't afraid to show himself. The film won at the Cannes film festival and earned a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film and it shows. We see a film where the elements of filmmaking are present but the characters drive the story. Even the dead man himself has light to shed. Leave stones unturned because eventually they will turn and it'll blow your mind. I wasn't feeling this film at first, with exception of the first act (which is a great first act), but when we the first courtroom scene, it brought me back and made me sit along with all the other people who were watching trial.

Three and a half out of four tokes.

#anatomyofafall #morningreel

"Juice" is a good film. It could have been greater if Tupac's character "Bishop" wasn't written to be so James Cagney and it's funny that the film ended in the fashion of "White Heat" but it's because of that film Tupac decided to go deep into the psyche of a man with practically nothing to lose at a young age growing up in early '90s New York. Harlem to be more exact. The film is about senior high schoolers trying to figure themselves out and it's root is basically the time and location they're living in. It's tough in the streets and if you want to make it, you might have to consider extreme measures. The film is not all violence, we are shown a window of Hip Hop which plays a deep role in the film. It's a character, it highlights a side of New York. You not only hear it, you see it in the fashion that is shown (great production design) & the music where society decides to vibe, and you also feel it as to how Bishop, Raheem, and Steel try to feign it as much as they can. But we all know, it shows us how music can be not only a way out, but it also has the power to fufill artistic purpose. I didn't mentioned this in the review, but Ernest Dickerson knows how to make a film and an effective one with his choice of shots that he knows it adds the right amount of tension and aloofness. Overall, what I saw is still ingredients for an iconic film such as "Juice".

Three out of four tokes.

#juicemovie #tupac #hiphop

This is a film Roger Ebert would have loved. He loved Martin Scorsese and this film, "Killers of the Flower Moon" is just another notch on the belt. This is a western epic that deals with history in the United States. What I loved about the film is the screenplay itself. It was written so well. You have all kinds of situations that are happening at the same time and it intensifies throughout the whole film and not only does it affect the main characters, it affects society around them which would ultimately have a dominio effect all the way to the White House. I'm not kidding. My wife Fabi joins me on this epsiode because she has always wanted to see the film ever since the trailer we saw at the "Oppenheimer" screening. She's a history buff and the trailer got her hooked. This film at three hours and 26 minutes, it keeps us very engaged with a dramatic screenplay where it's really hard to stay behind these characters especially with the motives that they have which is primarily greed and it can turn your world upside down. It shows us a world where two are pretending to be nice. There's so much hate and animosity, it's great how normal the film is portraying it. We all know it's not right and goes deep as to how messed up this film gets. The cinematography is great, Scorsese once again knows choose his shots well especially going to into western territory and Thelma Schoonmaker is an editing queen who knows how to keep a scene on its toes. We didn't really stay in one shot obviously but she cuts from one certain angle to another that really navigates the story to graciously move forward. This film is a force to be reckon with, definitely awards are awaiting for Scorsese and crew. Everyone plays their roles so good, it's like a satisfying jigsaw puzzle once it's completed. It's easy for me to say that not one role is wasted, not one actor underplayed their role. To see DeNiro and DiCaprio act alongside and against each other is honestly something of a "once in a lifetime" sight and you'll exactly what I mean when youd see it. Even when it goes over the top, it's still a sight to see. I think this is one of the few three hour plus films of recent that can really be consistently entertaining and it's just how the story is told and how the stakes and schemes get higher. It can only go so high until in comes crashing down and man, it crashes down very hard and unforgiving.

Four out of four.

#killersoftheflowermoon #martinscorsese #killersoftheflowermoonreview

"Jingle All the Way" is a fun and sometimes wacky film about consumerism and how to keep up with your word. My faovrite Christmas film because it shows toys, toys, and more toys. Especially the Turbo Man doll that's the "It Doll" of the year. Imagine having to buy a toy on Christmas Eve? THE toy that every kid wants. Good luck, buddy. And good luck with this film because it is cheesy for the most part especially trying to manipulate us feeling so bad that Arnold's character has to succumb to the guilt of of not being able to show up at his kid gaining a puple belt. How can we make it up? By buying the hottest toy of the season and will be forgiven. I wish there was more about not caring too much about what to receive. Then again, you're dealing with kids. Sinbad, a force to be wreckon with still to this day. I wish they did more justice to his character but he did as much as he could to dispell ffrom a typical "disgruntled employee". Arnold needed Sinbad, they need opposing forces going for the same thing, they both teach other things and did their best to teach us.

Three out of four tokes.

#jinglealltheway #christmas #arnoldschwarzenegger

"Black Christmas" is one the earliest slasher films of the horror game and who would have thought it would come straight from Toronto, Canada? Well it did and it is iconic in its style and the dabbling of the plot where we don't know who the killer is. Who is causing all this harm? it's crazy beacuse even law enforcement can't even figure it out, obvious plot defect but the screenwriter makes up for it in the scenes where the man from the phone company is trying to ind the tapped line to figure out the killer. And we do and it's way to give us that suspenseful revelation is great. WHAT DO WE DO NOW? Great way to begin the third act and wonder if he's gonna get caught and if Jess is going to be the last murder? or is the chief of police going to the next victim. We don't know and we have this subplot where Jess' boyfriend who is obviously beyond disgruntled about not having a child and being chosen for a higher rank in the conservatory, anything can happen. The ending is great and is worth watching the whole film to just witness that part. This film is not crappy even for its genre, there are holes but it is fun to watch and very memorable.

Two and a half out of four tokes.

#blackchristmas #slasherfilm

Judd Apatow's "Knocked Up" is a national treasure of a romantic comedy film that is still as relevant as ever due to the fact of Apatow's knack of wiriting witty dialogue and had a dream team of a cast that knew their roles to the tee and weren't afraid to improvise in the process. I'm grateful for E-Zone and XG who are co-hosts of the We Don't Smoke the Same Podcast, joined me to go a on a deep dive of this film, discussing relationships and how relatable it is to us and both men & women in general. As raunchy as this film is, it's sweet and has a message where being honest with yourself goes a long way especially the decisions we make. Sometimes coasting through life isn't the way to go. In this case, hooking up with a random person and deciding to not only keep the child but to raise as a couple is a win. It's very traditional and as Apatow challeneged himself with the subtext of time, he was able to write scenes that explored relationship and family dynamics and wasn't afraid to push through. The film has countless one-liners embedded in memorable scenes that fills into many pockets of the plot. Good story with a easily digestable plot. Sometimes, it's not what it's about, but HOW it's about. Although it's primarily a male point of view, it goes hand-in-hand with what women go through when it comes to pregnancies and being a woman period. Not a serious comedy film but it's sweet, almost wholesome, and it does it's best to be honest with the audience and that's something I can always get behind on.

Three and a half out of four tokes.

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#knockedup #juddapatow

Greta Gerwig is a woman who stars and directs film where the characters are dealing with an existential crisis, or rather, dealing with their identities and questioning life and our pupose in it. "Barbie" is the film that was meant for her to direct and what a way to put that life concept on a doll that has influenced modern culture and it continues to. This is one best films of the year that can probably win multiple awards including "Best Picture". I strongly believe it will definitely win "Best Screenplay" but comparing it to "Oppenheimer", I think "Oppenheimer" has a better chance winning "Best Picture". Overall, I dig "Barbie" for many reasons such as Gerwig's stage direction, the cinematography, and the production design that automatically hooks you in and displays an obvous fake world that slowly unwinds and further warps as the characters literally touch reality. It's unavoidable, the subject of thinking about death and how we certain mediums to communicate with not only our ownselves but the physical people we're trying to reach. Its great that Gerwig was able co-write a screenplay such as this BUT i really don't like the use of the crossing over different universes where one doesn't affect the other. It's a bit hard for me to grasp how Barbie can actually become a real person because afterall how the first act plays out, we are subliminally watching a grown woman playing with Barbie but it's more visually cinematic. I dig the cast in the film especially Will Ferrell's character, the president of Barbie, and Ryan Gosling playing Ken who he has a crisis of identity that plays to the notion that EVERYONE goes through s**t and for all the people who are condemning the ffilm to be sexist towards men, y'all are f***ing trippin'. What film did you see? What makes the film is the dialogue, where the ideas and concepts are deeply shared such as our pupose in life and who were should be, and it does stay with the audience even after the film, it's very relatable but it doesn't really tame the plot. I kind of wish it could have been more about the mom and her connection to her daughter rather than catering it to primarily to Barbie even though she is the title character. Sometimes it's more powerful to have that support the reason why she even exists in the first place.

Three and a half out of four tokes.

#barbiereview #barbiefilm

Steven Spielberg's "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" is a modern day masterpiece that will always stand the test of time due to it's subject of humans vs A.I. and can we play God amongst them. The film couldn't paint a better picture and it's told in two hours plus. I was pleased and thankful to have Rock Samson on this episode because he shares the same love I have for this film. But whether we love it or not, it's a great film. Shot and told very well by Spielberg's team including his actors. It's a challenge to pretend to play a "mecha" petending to be human, or at least, mimicking humanity. This film was released in mid-2001 and it pretty much told us what the future will for sure be like to the point where it shifts society where A.I. and humans co-exist and it's not great. Honestly, it can't be. We are a dominant spieces and we're not gonna let OUR creations run amock and try to take over us but ironically it's us humans who are going to take each other out. Just look back on our history. Rock and I go deep in this film in it's story structure, the use cinematography and VFX, the VFX alone is really good EVEN FOR IT'S TIME (2001) that still wipes out half the over-budgeted Marvel films which we discuss; we further share thoughts of the themes and philosophical concepts that go even beyond the film and it's important for us to really absorb and hold on to. Now, as much I dig this film, I do have some things that don't ring very well such as how certain event JUST happen with little narration. Ben Kingsley goes a long way with his narration but some parts I feel shouldn't take the film where it goes. Then again, it's sci-fi, I just have to believe what I'm seeing. What we see in this film, we shouldn't take for granted and Spielberg sure didn't. This film really is a work of art and I challenge other films to take it like he did. A film about searching for our own piece piece, our heavy dose of humanity to be loved. Love can definitely put you in a certain gear to act.

Four out of four tokes.

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"Princess Mononoke" is Hayao Miyazaki's masterpiece. It's an adventure film that's filled with vibrant colors and deep morals and they're all tied to how we humans treat our environment and it doesn't look good. It's tough to make a feel look beautiful even in it's darkest pastures and still have an effective story about our roles in this Earth. I dig the film for it's cinematography, the use of CGI and hand-drawn animation. It's kind of hard to think that it is hand-drawn. There are some scenes that make you wonder how they did the scene period without much a fuss but I'm sure there were. The characters are great and can easily like, even the antagonist characters. You can actually get behind these character's motivations, no matter how bright or dark. There is a sense to it, either you go with the light or the dark. We can understand why we would hate our own spieces because it seems we do more destroying than giving and growing. Yes, we grow as a society, but at what cost? That's the whole thing about the film. It's fun to look at, you see more than just drama but there is slight romance that Studio Ghibli don't choose to overdue but overall we do see compassion out of this film. Miyazaki Loves humans enough to draw about and point out our crap. Genius.

Four out of four tokes.

#princessmononoke #hayaomiyazaki #studioghibli

What? A double featured review? Yes. I ended watching two "Orphan" films. I didn't there was a prequel in this very limited film series. I saw the first one. Then I found out about the second one. And by watching it, I might as well double them up. These two films are very similar to each other. The plots are different but they are alike. One is not better than the other although I actually enjoyed the prequel - "Orphan: First Kill" due to the cheesiness of it. "Orphan" has good cinematography, the sound design does play tricks on people as horror films like to do. Vera Farmiga is good in this film, I only wish the plot was a bit better especially how it deals with Esther's character having daddy issues. Why daddy issues? No mommy issues? I don't like how they had to sexualize her character, I feel it they could have gone to different direction about it. I'm sure they could have made her third dimensional without having to do that. I didn't like how Esther is a complete bad ass. As if nothing can touch her. I do like the payoff in the third act where she is actually untouchable. I do hate the twist, though. I won't say what it is but I did stick for the ride. "Orphan: First Kill" has no twists. Well, it kind of does and I love how they wrote Julia Stiles' character. She's merciless, smart and has a motive that matches Esther. For the first time, Esther wasn't getting her way that easy. I didn't like plot too much, I felt like it's flat. We all know about Esther, certain characters know about her, what can we do? I do like how the story plays out where the tables turn and Esther has to take some type of emotional torture in which gives her the direction to completely break the rules.

These two films overall have blood, there's brutal kills and somehow there is a heart in the film. More in the first than the second, the second was more of a filler film. They tried to find a way to seek more of Esther's story. There could have been a bit more. I wish there wasn't of that "daddy issue" trope for her in the second film. I can see why they would do it. But I still question it overall. I wish both parental characters can be pushed for Esther's issues of family.

Overall, both films are two and a half tokes.