It is time for my first review in a while (the past month has been crazy). I will be reviewing "Maleficent: Mistress of Evil", "Joker" and "Hustlers." Before I get started, I'd like to give a shoutout to the Free Gamer's Alliance YouTube channel. Their videos cover everything from walkthroughs, glitches, easter eggs, and various amusing video game related content, all of which is delivered with some colorful commentary while they have buckets of fun doing it. Here is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC03E6K3QHRMp7Vs0S6wHm6Q
It is time to begin with "Hustlers." Here is the trailer:
- The cast is absolutely phenomenal. Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu constantly steal the show and really deserve to be in the conversation for Oscar nominations.
- The soundtrack is absolutely incredible and really enhances the movie going experience.
- The pacing is fantastic. The movie never feels like it is dragging on longer than it should.
- This movie is about a very interesting true story that will keep you captivated all the way through.
- The characters are written in a way that makes it easy for the audience to relate even if they do some questionable things.
- There isn't anything I can really think of.
"Hustlers" is an incredibly interesting and engaging movie that gets audiences invested in the characters throughout. I highly recommend seeing this.
Let us move on to "Joker." Here is the trailer:
- Joaquin Phoenix gives an incredibly strong performance throughout. He really immersed himself in the role and gave it everything.
- The costume design for this movie is absolutely stunning.
- There is a twist in the movie which is quite interesting.
- The soundtrack is quite bizarre and it feels quite jarring at times.
- I felt like this movie was trying to say something about various topics including mental health and it only really scratches the surface and doesn't really succeed.
- There is a character introduced that is supposed to be an important part of the main character's life but that character doesn't really have anything to do nor is there any backstory to make this relationship make any sense whatsoever.
- Finally, the pacing is rather brutal. I found myself quite bored throughout for this reason.
"Joker" has some ideas and a potentially promising direction but the film ultimately doesn't really do anything with any of this potential. After all of the controversy around this movie, it is kind of disappointing for me that my reaction to the movie was a resounding "meh." I would probably recommend skipping this one.
Lastly, it is time to break down "Maleficent: Mistress of Evil." Here is the trailer:
- Angelina Jolie is incredible as Maleficent. This is the role she was meant to play and it is clear that she is enjoying it too. The rest of the cast, for the most part, worked out as well.
- For the most part, this movie is visually stunning. Everything on screen is a treat for the eyes.
- The soundtrack is really great and really adds to the atmosphere of the movie.
- There are some really exciting actions scenes, particularly in the last half of the movie.
- The pacing in the first part of the movie is quite slow and it can result in a bit of boredom.
- As Angelina Jolie is the best part of this movie, I found it odd that her character gets sidelined for quite a lot of the movie.
- The CGI on some of the forest creatures (particularly the 3 fairies) does not look good and can be quite jarring.
"Maleficent: Mistress of Evil" ends up being more entertaining than the original but it still falls short on it's potential. It is something that I would recommend seeing in theaters if you are a big fan of the character. Otherwise, you may want to wait to rent or stream it.
Thanks for reading everyone!! As usual feel free to leave a comment but please be advised that if you read any potential comments that spoilers may be present.