Morning Reel

Christopher Nolan is back and he's back with "Oppenheimer", and adapted biographical film abut J. Robert Oppenheimer, the "father" of the atomic. It's wild film both visual and audio. It's a film made to be experienced in the theater and the screenplay itself is just as good. I like how the film tackles with the psychological effects and politics scientists go through with such a notion that we have not only developed a weapon of mass destruction but we have unlocked the capabilities of more and a country like the United States will use it and probably abuse it. It tackles grief, trustworthiness, and loyalty and the great cast of characters this film has shows it in their own way. What a paradox of a film and the people in the film show forth. I will see this film again. This film demands your attention, assumes that you can follow the dialog and how the events go back and forth only to fit the puzzle and what a puzzle it was to make an atomic bomb, especially out of the eyes of the normal everyday. Imagine being the man not only behind Manhattan Project but to possess all the knowledge and where it can lead. It's a very scary thing and the film does just that. Nolan did a great job showing the dangerous power of man and how we don't how to possess it with clarity and reason.

Four out of four tokes.

#oppenheimer #christophernolan #oppenheimerreview

Kenneth Lonergan wrote and directed "Manchester by the Sea" A great film that earned Best Original Screenplay and Best Male Lead Actor and the film deserves. It's a film that heavily deals with guilt and grief due to a tragic loss of family. As heavy the emotions are in the this film, Lonergan was able to write some comedy in the film, almost making into a black comedy. We need some type of release from our troubles even though they wont fix anything. Life always goes on but it's important how you go about it. I love how the film tackles with life and it goes into different avenues about it. I enjoyed watching this film so much due to the actors that carry the dialog, especially Patrick Chandler, the character almost steals the film. The casting is great. You wold think Casey Affleck and Lucas Hedges would be an odd combo to carry each other but they proved to win us over even though I never had a problem about that to begin with. My favorite shot of the film is a scene toward the first act where you see the boat with the characters on it and obviously the camera is on a mobile surface shooting the boat in a full shot. As boring as it can be, it shows what this film is going to be about. It's going to be about family and how we can support each in tough times. Don't give up on your people.

Four out of four tokes.

"Tár" is a film driven by paranoia from the titular character. I liked the theme about being the talk of the town to almost a half-recognized talent. And all of it is due to allegations to where we see this character scramble for some type of security. In her world, there isn't any. People in her field of work and expertise all play a role where they all back stab each other. I dug "Tár" for it's unique screenplay of a pretentious Lydia Tar trying to make delusional sense of what's crumbling around in her life. I also like how the sound design play a large in the mood of the scenes as they slowly creep up on us for a suspenseful experience because as we watch the film unveil itself we wonder exactly where these events are taking. It's almost feels like we're watching a windowed life of characters that some of us will never experience when it comes to classical music and its experience that it gives to those who ask for it. I discuss how well the characters play into each other's lives.

I give this film four out of four tokes.

Miranda July is known to weird out, to stretch what we call normalcy. I feel like she is David Lynch's daughter. She'd be the comedy version of him. Anyways, Mildred Fernandez and I reviewed "Kajillionaire" about Old Dolio who never had a chance in life. I mean, her name says it all. All she wants is someone to meet her beyond what is just equal. We want to feel special. July created a film where it's screaming that without having to hear it. We see the events that unfold where a human progresses dramatically as the film goes on. This film is about being accepted, the importance of nuture and most importantly, always keep your ears on the ground because it be the closest ones out to get you. We dug the film for it's screenplay, the scenes that express the challenges the caharacters have to deal with as the film goes on, it solely pushes the story, and we also like how the film addresses traumas that are passed down and they shape people. I personally give this film

Four tokes out of Four

Mildred Fernandez
http://instagram.com/tender_claws

E-Zone asked me the other day is we can review this film. Of course we can and we did. Eva Longoria in directorial debut, released "Flamin' Hot", the story of how Richard Montañez made the hot cheetos that eveybody in the world knows about and loves. In her debut, she a made a good film about ambition, following goals and proving yourself. The things that me and E-Zone is generational trauma. I wanna give praise to Longoria, I think she captured it very well and I hope she makes films with that type of theme, folks in our generation need to see this and be aware about it. Even though the film is cheesy, and believe me it is, it still managed to keep me engaged and gave me something to think about. I didn't like how the third went when it came to saving the factory. I feel there was too much development for that. Lonogoria did a good job trusting her vision with cool shots combined with a great soundtrack as well. Watch this film!

E-Zone - 4.5 out of 5
Ray - 3.5 out of four tokes

E-Zone
http://instagram.com/flavorssbyezone

#flaminhot #flaminhotmovie #evalongoria

A24 put out a great film with a great cast that rightfully earned "Best Picture" at the Oscars n 2017. "Moonlight" is a coming-of-age film written & directed by Barry Jenkins. It's a gay film about identity that centers around Chiron, who grew up in a very dysfunctional household with his single mother who's struggling with her own addiction. The only nuture Chiron has is through a drug dealer and his girlfriend Teresa who would be his parents in another reality. The film centers primarliy on Chiron's upbringing as he goes thorugh his life struggling with his idenity being a gay person esecially in this day and age. He never had a chance in his childhood. This film dealt with masculinity, displaying characters who put up external shields to hide their past scarred lives, you can see characters who are "lost for words". I love the film due to how Jenkins chooses the right line of dialog in every scene. Sometimes, you don't need a heavy conversation with two characters on screen, sometimes the less words, the better and it works. I like the use of light in the film making us feel what we're looking at it is reality. No fancy tricks, how the sun sets in the city of Miami, how the lights at night in Atlanta, glow with colors that naturally enhances the vibes the characters give off. The cast, primarily the main charcaters, are dangerous. These actors are f**king good. So good. You feel affected as to how the characters interact with each other, sometimes it's tough to watch; it's almost too real. Definitely a great film to watch that puts retalable life in a dignified way that's rare to see nowadays.

Four out of four tokes.

#moonlight #barrjenkins #filmreview

"Coraline" is full of spunk but not for your average child, it's too edgy for it. It's a stop motion film that goes for a quasi-horror spooky film that's centered with the idea of unification as a family and the struggle of identity. It's a film that is filled colors, moods and themes established due to cinematography. Let's not forget the production design because the artists who made this film deserve the mention. I talk about a couple fo these things and how some key parts of the screenplay itself did not work for me but didn't stop me to enjoy the film as a whole. It's great for anyone to watch, it's still as original and captivating just like when it came out.

I give it three and a half out of four tokes.

#coraline #stopmotion #filmreview

Michael Haneke wrote and directed "The Piano Teacher" with precision and brutal honesty. It's about a woman who is living through being a total lie. She takes life to other people and sadly to herself but there are reasons for it. It's a film about control. Do we have the control? How easy is it for one to slip? I loved the film for the complexity of the characters that carry this film through the tensions. The writing is great and Haneke is also great and character displaying the shots he chose as well. I also talk about how deep the character Erika is gloriously acted by Isabelle Huppert. She is the GOAT and she shows it in this film. It can't get better than that.
Four out of four tokes.

#thepianoteacher #michaelhaneke #filmreview

in 1975, arthouse queen Chantal Akerman wrote & directed "Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles", a film about a widower turned into a prostitute to make ends-meet. That's it. That's the plot but there's so much that goes into this 201 minute minimalistic film that you'd never thought you'd encounter. 201 minutes, yes 201 minutes. The whole Avengers series is much longer than that and sucks as a whole with little depth into it besides saving the world. Jeanne saved herself in some weird way in this film. Sight & Sound publication named this film the "Greatest Film of All Time" in their decade film poll that was announced in 2022. Is it? I personally and critically feel it's not but I can consider it a great film, almost the PERFECT FILM that encompasses the aspects of filmmaking such as acting, cinematography, sound, the use of (or lack of) dialog and obviously screen direction because the main character almost literally drives the film and its story. It is a challenge to see this film but the dedication one puts into seeing this film is providing the uptmost admiration to the director and crew who were able to put a unique piece of cinema that can never be replicated or re-made especially current cinema. It really is an interesting that exposes, the slice of life, seeing how people change even in three days. But this film does a great job that keeps you invested not just in the film itself but the character period, she's doing all the work and even that itself has effects to how the film goes the way it goes.

Overall, four out of four tokes.

#jeannedielman #chantalakerman

Billy Wilder's "Some Like It Hot" is the perfect comedy film and it came out in 1959 that stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon. This trio can make life together and how many lives have they uplift and brought laughter to our faces. I love this comedy film. It teaches about life even if you have to dress up as a chick to do so. I praise the film for its elements such as writing, acting (especially Tony Curtis plays THREE characters). The supporting roles are great and all this acting helps push the story. The one-liners! This film has one-liner after one-liner and they all hit home. I also praise the film for it's balance of comedy, slapstick, romance and crime. It's crazy how they can put suspense and you never know it hits you. I assure you, if you watch this film, you will laugh your ass off. Roll a couple of j's and round up some cocktails, you'll be in for a treat.

Four out of Four tokes.

#somelikeithot #billywilder #comedy