Morning Reel

"I Love You, Man" is a great bromance film. It's a rom-com made for everyone when usually it's aimed for women. We all know how Hollywood works. Is it hard to say "I Love You" to a good friend, expecially if he's a best man for your wedding? XG is my featued guest today as we dissect this hilarious film that does a good job being relatable to relationships and those who aren't in one. it's good to see dymanics in different types of relationships - romantic, platonic, family, and they all relate to each other. It sort of plays like queer film but overall it's very masculine. We talk about our favorite moments, discovering that it's one of XG's top films. Who would have thought, right? It's written very well due to the fact that although you can tell how it ends, but we see creative ways how one event leads to another and the characters hold it down. Everyone is unique and as unique as we are, we tend to find people we match with. It's hard to choose who your best man would be, especially if you have close friends who tell it like it is. The premise is great, a dude who actually doesn't have his group of friends ends up actually making a friend for life.

XG
http://fullytoxic.com

M. Night Shyamalan loves mystery and science fiction. He definitely is a filmmaker who loves to mix those genres together and push boundaries. He's known for twists and turns. Sometimes, he likes to put that twist almost at the end of the film. He really likes you to sit through it. It worked in this film called "Old". Not that much of a complex film as far as plot and even premise but it's enough. He has a varied cast that tries to solve the mystery but trying to stick together at the same time. I enojyed watching this film just because I was intrigued by the plot and I wanted to see where it can go from its premise. I dig the cast, it's diverse and the characters are smart in their own sense. I do like the personalities of these characters, it reprsents us as a society where our own fallacies that we yet to discover can be our death note. I dig the cinematography, Shyamalan wants us to support these characters and certain shots and staged framing does the trick. But it's not enough to save the film. It's not a bad film. It's good but it's forced at times. Like, we really stick around with these characters a lot and it's not up until the third act, we actually see a great change of events. Writing is hard especially when you have a fair amount characters sharing the screen within each other.

Three out of four tokes.

William Friedkin is an underrated filmmaker and he took "The Exorcist" and gave the film its own spiritual cleanse on screen. He made a film that's iconic and will stand the test of time. It's very in-depth, the characters show great sense of purpose and their purpose pushes the film. The film's tone goes all over the place. It can be dark, uplifting, and even humorous. The devil can play tricks on you and it doesn't care and will laugh at you. The film shows you to not mess with people or things that just feels like it ain't right. It also shows the faith you have not on a creator greater than you but PEOPLE. You can have faith on people. The mom never gave up on her daughter.

Four our of four tokes.

Regina King debuted "One Night In Miami..." in various film festivals and have received nothing from praise, adapting a play into a visual experience of four legends all in one screen and in the same area. It's very impressive. I dig the film for its message of unity, equal rights, and staying true to yourself because fame can get you and turn you into the opposite of you. I did wish the film had a bit more as far as pushing th story forward but with four men, it's tough to for everyone to have equal dialog. That itself is difficult but that alone is something Regina King welcomed. She welcomed the challenge of exercising the voices of four men after witnessing a friend become champion of boxing but to become more than that. I get it, Regina. I get it. Nonetheless, watch this film. It's entertaining and poignant.

Three and half tokes out of four.

David Cronenberg is a great filmmaker, a legend in sci-fi film community but he also makes these dark, undertone thrillers where little action goes in the film but the one big violent scene is suppose to make it up for it all. In some cases, it works. In this film, it didn't work too much for me. It is a sold crime/gangster film. I love the fact how Anna who is played by Naomi Watts goes into the rabbit hole of Russian crime life all to make sure the baby she delivered is safe and with some type of GOOD family. Great motivation, great premise. It falls short in the third act of the film. I honestly felt it was weak. The screenplay overall is solid, it's written well everyone to understand what's going on. I just wished some scenes were birthed instead being known as a footnote in the overall film. I like cinematography, I like how the actors really became these characters, especially Vincent Cassel. He's the french GOAT and as always, he puts it all in this film. I like how the events in the film slowly unravel. I'd watch it again to appreciate Cronenberg's style and it's a style I can definitely get behind.

Three out of four tokes.

Sofia Coppola, daughter of Francis Ford Coppola, started her directing film career with "The Virgin Suicides". She created a good film about teen sisters growing up in a very strict and religious household. Their parents are weird and it's their fault the girls died. Now, I don't discuss that but the main focus of the film centers on a family gets through death of their own. I love how Coppola did her best of showing five sisters going though grief but centers on about two to three of 'em. I do like the visuals of this film because if you're adapting from book, you gotta make it justice. Coppola knows how make a story impactful through visual instead of just dialog. Narration does help and it's mandatory for a film like this especially if it's adapted. She had a great cast who all did their parts with little they had to do, it's just as impactful. I talk about how she displays teen adolescence from both boys and girls, she gives us a certain perspective of reality through raw love and the screenplay is the key to that.

Three and a half tokes out of four.

The Coen Brothers are master of filmmaking. They can make a crime film funny but at the same time they don't hide the bleakness of what can happen when a insecure/beta car salesman purposely sets up to have his wife kidnapped for ransom. What can't go wrong, right? "Fargo" puts us in a cold world where not only is there crime but life also awaits. I love the cast of this film, they made the screenplay into their own. I love the fact that visuals in the film help push the story forward as well giving us moments of intesity. it's very hard to pull of when you have focus on crime solving and also comedy within the space. Life, as bleak as it can be, as crazy as you can get, you can get by with some laughter. It's important to laugh. It's also important to be true to yourself, try not to overdo things. As simple as this film is, the message is very powerful. It's bittersweet how it's pulled off especially in the third act of the film. The Coen Brothers love telling stories and somehow they were able to tell short stories that are able to add to an overall crime film. I want to add how visuals in this film give a good perspective of life because they didn't need to add landscape shots to describe locations but they did. It's needed for the viewer to see what world they're in. They know how to raid a hotel and show us a guilty, grown man cry as he's being arrested. As funny as that sounds, it's actually very disturbing.

Four out of four tokes.

Alejandro González Iñárritu created a beautiful film called "Biutiful" but as beautiful as it is, it's dark, sad and relentless. We follow a man who's involved in the counterfit business as well as guiding lost/broken spirits into the next life as a medium. The two professions do not coincide. Uxabl, the main character, found out that he has prostate and he doesn't have much time. What to do? The film centers on the family dynamic between his immediate family and his relatives. The film also relies heavily on spirituality and how we should always try to be on top of our affairs. I dig the film for it's great acting by Javier Bardem as well as the cast that supports and pushes his character. So much symoblism in this film as well and the cinematography backs it up to a T. I also loved the writing, how the events play out according the three-act structure, it's definitely a masterclass in filmmaking. The film did a very job at relaying the message of making of the best of what you have and try to turn things around no matter what cost.

Four out of four tokes.

A24 finally released a normal film called "Past Lives" about the re-connection and absolution of two people who, at one point, were in love with each other although time and distance were not in their favor. it's hard to tell where relationships can go especially if one is willing to go the extra mile. These people hadn't seen each other for years, almost a decade and one of them is looking for a chance that we all know is too late. But it's not about chance for that type of opportunity, it's about closure and it's importance. We all need closure whether things work out or not. I loved that this film revolves around that. It's not that simple of a film either, but I dig how slow it goes especially when there are scenes of just scenery with light jazz. It definitely gives the story a vibe and an opportunity for us to get into touch with what can happen next. Celine Song, for her first directed film, made a great film about reconciliation and it's very dignifying filled with characters who only want to understand each other. A film such as this comes once in a blue moon. It does it right even though it's border-line cheesy but the writing is great. My favorite shot would have to be towards the ending of the third act where Nora and Hae sung have exchange this long look as if time stopped but sound-wise everything is still there. You can cut that tension with a knife. And that's why I gotta give it:

Four out of four tokes.

Christopher Nolan's 2014 "Interstellar" is the perfect film and I consider it the best film of last decade. The perfect film where all aspects of filmmaking blend very well together to deliver a great film. It has a great story, a lot of information thrown at you where you shouldn't except yourself to know, you just trust the people on screen and HOPE they save humanity and by saving humanity you save Earth. The film touches on that, time travel and crossing boundaries that greater what we expect and that's what the film is about. We humans are maverick and if we want to sustain our home, we're going to figure it out one way or another.

Four out of four tokes.