Fantasy Island (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

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Fantasy Island (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

Directed by: Jeff Wadlow

Written by: Jeff Wadlow, Chris Roach, Jillian Jacobs

Starring: Michael Peña, Maggie Q, Lucy Hale, Austin Stowell, Portia Doubleday, Jimmy O. Yang, Ryan Hansen, Michael Rooker

Runtime: 110 min

Synopsis: In Blumhouse's new spin on Fantasy Island, the enigmatic Mr. Roarke (Michael Peña) makes the secret dreams of his lucky guests come true at a luxurious but remote tropical resort. But when the fantasies turn into nightmares, the guests have to solve the island's mystery in order to escape with their lives.

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Birds of Prey (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

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Birds of Prey (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

Directed by: Cathy Yan

Written by: Christina Hodson

Starring: Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez, Chris Messina, Ella Jay Basco, Ali Wong, Ewan McGregor

Runtime: 109 min

Synopsis: You ever hear the one about the cop, the songbird, the psycho and the mafia princess? Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is a twisted tale told by Harley (Margot Robbie) herself, as only Harley can tell it. When Gotham's most nefariously narcissistic villain, Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor), and his zealous right-hand, Zsasz (Chris Messina), put a target on a young girl named Cass (Ella Jay Basco), the city is turned upside down looking for her. Harley, Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and Renee Montoya's (Rosie Perez) paths collide, and the unlikely foursome have no choice but to team up to take Roman down.

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The Rhythm Section (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

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The Rhythm Section (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

Directed by: Reed Morano

Written by: Mark Burnell

Starring: Blake Lively, Jude Law, Sterling K. Brown

Runtime: 109 min

Synopsis: Blake Lively stars as Stephanie Patrick, an ordinary woman on a path of self-destruction after her family is tragically killed in a plane crash. When Stephanie discovers that the crash was not an accident, she enters a dark, complex world to seek revenge on those responsible and find her own redemption.

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The Turning (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

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The Turning (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

Directed by: Floria Sigismondi

Written by: Chad Hayes, Carey Hayes

Starring: Mackenzie Davis, Finn Wolfhard, Brooklynn Prince, Joely Richardson

Runtime: 94 min

Synopsis: For more than 100 years, a deeply haunting tale has been passed down to terrify audiences. The Turning takes us to a mysterious estate in the Maine countryside, where newly appointed nanny Kate (Mackenzie Davis) is charged with the care of two disturbed orphans, Flora (Brooklynn Prince) and Miles (Finn Wolfhard). Quickly though, she discovers that both the children and the house are harboring dark secrets and things may not be as they appear.

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Dolittle (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

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Dolittle (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

Directed by: Stephen Gaghan

Written by: Stephen Gaghan, Dan Gregor, Doug Mand

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen, Emma Thompson, Rami Malek, John Cena, Kumail Nanjiani, Octavia Spencer, Tom Holland, Craig Robinson, Ralph Fiennes, Selena Gomez, Marion Cotillard

Runtime: 106 min

Synopsis: After losing his wife seven years earlier, the eccentric Dr. John Dolittle (Robert Downey Jr.), famed doctor and veterinarian of Queen Victoria's England, hermits himself away behind the high walls of Dolittle Manor with only his menagerie of exotic animals for company. But when the young queen falls gravely ill, a reluctant Dolittle is forced to set sail on an epic adventure to a mythical island in search of a cure, regaining his wit and courage as he crosses old adversaries and discovers wondrous creatures.

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Bad Boys for Life (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

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Bad Boys for Life (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

Directed by: Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah

Written by: Chris Bremner, Peter Craig, Joe Carnahan

Starring: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Charles Melton, Paola Nunez, Kate Del Castillo, Nicky Jam, Joe Pantoliano

Runtime: 124 min

Synopsis: The once inseparable duo of Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) and Michael "Mike" Lowrey (Will Smith) is coming apart: an aging Burnett has become a police inspector while Lowrey, suffering a midlife crisis, is assigned to head up AMMO, a "young guns" group of millennial cops with whom he has nothing in common. Both of them reunite once again when a fierce cartel mob boss, whose brother they defeated years earlier, makes a retaliation effort on Mike just as both he and Marcus are about to officially retire.

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Underwater (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

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Underwater (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

Directed by: William Eubank

Written by: Brian Duffield, Adam Cozad

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Vincent Cassel, Jessica Henwick, John Gallagher Jr., Mamoudou Athie, T.J. Miller

Runtime: 95 min

Synopsis: A crew of underwater researchers must scramble to safety after an earthquake devastates their subterranean laboratory.

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The Grudge (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

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The Grudge (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review

Directed by: Nicolas Pesce

Written by: Nicolas Pesce

Starring: Andrea Riseborough, Demián Bichir, John Cho, Betty Gilpin, Lin Shaye, Jacki Weaver

Runtime: 94 min

Synopsis: After a young mother murders her family in her own house, a detective attempts to investigate the mysterious case, only to discover that the house is cursed by a vengeful ghost. Now targeted by the demonic spirits, the detective must do anything to protect herself and her family from harm.

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Yearly Catch Up - 2019 Edition

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Yearly Catch Up - 2019 Edition

Throughout the year, I wasn’t able to watch all of the movies I initially intended to (I had to cut down my watchlist to less than 100). Either due to work, personal reasons, or simply because the theaters didn’t provide decent sessions (it’s very difficult to watch the original version of an animated flick), I had to skip some films I was really looking forward to. Besides that, there are a few movies coming out on these last two weeks of 2019 that I won’t have time to write a full review, so I’ll just insert them here as well. Go through all of them because there are a few Top10 contenders and A+ scores in here.

With that said, this article contains spoiler-free mini-reviews of The Two Popes, Honey Boy, The Report, The Nightingale, Ford v Ferrari (aka Le Mans ‘66), and The Irishman (more can/will come).

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Little Women (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

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Little Women (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

Directed by: Greta Gerwig

Written by: Greta Gerwig

Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, Timothée Chalamet, Tracy Letts, Bob Odenkirk, James Norton, Louis Garrel, Chris Cooper, Meryl Streep

Runtime: 135 min

Synopsis: Writer-director Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) has crafted a Little Women that draws on both the classic novel and the writings of Louisa May Alcott and unfolds as the author's alter ego, Jo March (Saoirse Ronan), reflects back and forth on her fictional life. In Gerwig's take, the beloved story of the March sisters - four young women each determined to live life on her own terms - is both timeless and timely.

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