Recommended (Movies)

Some of the best-seen movies we have ever watched and mentioned to friends, family, and strangers as films that need to be seen.

Elle – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

Overview/ Review (with Spoilers) If you thought Gone Girl was twisted, oh you haven’t seen nothing yet. Trigger Warning(s): Rape (Multiple Scenes) | Domestic Abuse (Verbal and Physical) Noted Actor(s) Michèle (Isabelle Huppert) | Richard (Charles Berling)

Done In – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

Done In truly is the type of film you want to see carefully expanded. For with it only being 7 minutes of film, and one minute of credits, it truly doesn’t feel like enough.

Veronica Mars: The Movie – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

Overview Every fan of a cult hit wishes for their favorite show to get the proper send-off, and Veronica Mars: The Movie doesn’t just give Veronica one more case, but presents an argument for why it should be renewed like Family Guy was. Review (with Spoilers) In September it will be a decade since Veronica Mars…

The Little Prince – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

Overview Sometimes it is easy to underestimate the impact or potential stories animated films could have, especially when they seem to be made for children, but The Little Prince rivals, if not surpasses, any and all animated media you might be used to.

Philomena – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

Overview After 50 years of struggling with a broken heart, a mother goes to find the boy snatched from her. Review (with Spoilers) With this and Nebraska, I will have seen every Oscar nominee for Best performance in a lead or supporting role and, to me, the lead actress category is between Amy Adams and…

HAL (Haru) – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

Overview A robot assists in the grieving process, helping someone cope with the tragic death of a significant other. Review (with Spoilers) I found out about HAL randomly, watched the first few minutes, saw the cool art style, saw robots, and figured it should be worth reviewing. Now, after watching the OVA, I feel drained…

Kill Your Darlings – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

Overview Love awakens a writer, while his love interest seeks to destroy and push away, everything he has. Review (with Spoilers) I should probably note, right off the bat, you mention any of the names in the film besides Allen Ginsberg and I will say “who?” And I note this because it seems very much…

He Named Me Malala – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

Overview He Named Me Malala strangely isn’t just about the young lady who turned an act of defiance into a movement. It is also about her family and, most of all, the man who named her, inspires her, and seems to be the one she draws her strength from.

The Man in 3B – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

With one man moving into an apartment building, the weight of the web of everyone’s shared secrets lies, and relationships begins to bend and potentially break. To the point, eventually, it seems that man has become a weight some can’t bear to bear.

Fences – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

Fences seems barely changed from its theatrical production. The only difference maybe a set instead of a stage, and maybe one or two extra roles, which certainly don’t act like filler.

Five Star – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

Overview If the trajectory, and quality, of the urban dramas from the 90s continued into the 00s, and then into the 10s, Five Star would be one of the many classics showing that the complexity of the hood goes beyond gang violence and can include the topic of masculinity, love, and what a person’s absence…

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

Overview Within The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness is an insight into all that made Studio Ghibli what it is today. Be it the philosophy and work habits of Hayao Miyazaki, the production process of the studio, or the film giving props to integral members of the studio who not only helped give birth to…

The Best Man Holiday – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

Overview The Best Man Holiday delivers a dramedy which reminds you why the 90s/ early 00s was a renaissance for Black films. Review (with Spoilers) I have probably watched the first movie, The Best Man, at least 5 to 6 times since it came out. It was funny, presented new angles for Black actors, and…

Middle of Nowhere – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

Overview Middle of Nowhere has both the appeal of the 90s Black cinema classics, mixed with the vibe which has made Black web series so popular, and truly it makes you have hope for Black cinema’s future if Ava Duvernay and co. are involved. Review (with Spoilers) – Below

Her – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

Overview A look into the world’s future in which computers are more than programmed assistants to humans, but capable companions, lovers, and friends. Review (with Spoilers) I have to admit I was originally on the fence when it came to the movie since the concept, while not done too often, just seems odd. A man…

Blackbird (2015) – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

Overview The saying “Laugh to keep from crying” has been used for generations to explain how people get through what they get through but, as one character says, eventually you run out of punchlines. Something Blackbird displays for it brings the rare focus on non-white LGBT teens who struggle, become triumphant, but don’t necessarily make…

Belle – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

Overview A young bi-racial girl, born illegitimate, is given the privilege of aristocratic life. But while this gift comes with a lot of perks, being an outsider with brown skin keeps her from experiencing her privilege to the fullest extent. Review (with Spoilers) Let me begin by saying there are a multitude of reasons to…

Indignation – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

Logan Lerman makes the case for himself that as much as he could be just another Hollywood heartthrob, he actually has the acting chops to perhaps follow in the footsteps of Leonardo DiCaprio with time. For alongside Sarah Gadon, who also has a bit of a breakout performance, they present two odd characters who fall…

Chappie – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

Overview Chappie is the type of film you’d expect out of Marvel, yet with no human superhero, more diversity, a bit more vulgarity, and much more violence. Review (with Spoilers) – Below

The Heat – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

To be frank, I wasn’t initially keen on seeing this movie since I’m not a big action movie fan. But, with AMC having this trailer in damn near every movie and with me being a fan of Sandra Bullock’s movies, and someone who respects the physical comedy and the way Melissa McCarthy seems to embody…

Zootopia – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

Behind the cute animals dressed in clothes in their version of New York is a story about perseverance, prejudice, fear-mongering, and social commentary about the way our human world is.

Gone Girl – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

Overview A mystery which truly leaves you unable to fully grasp what is going on, what may happen next, and who truly is manipulating who. Trigger Warning(s): Violence Against Women Review (with Spoilers) – Below

Dallas Buyers Club – Overview/ Review (with Spoiler)

Overview Though AIDS for most is a death sentence, it also can be that jolt which changes people’s lives. Trigger Warning(s): Vocal Bigotry Review (with Spoilers) I’ve been meaning to see this film for a few weeks and the first time I tried to it was sold out. Something that hasn’t happened to me in…

The Family – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

If you know Robert De Niro is playing a mobster, then why would you not see the movie? Add on Dianna Agron, who seemingly is the only one to really break away from Glee successfully, and then Michelle Pfeiffer, Tommy Lee Jones and a mob story which doesn’t take itself too seriously, and really what…

The Grand Budapest Hotel – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

Overview A story, within a story, within a story, of a young man’s eccentric father figure who taught him everything he knows. Review (with Spoilers) Let it be noted I have only seen Darjeeling Limited and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou when it comes to Wes Anderson’s movies and each one contains this weird…

God Help The Girl – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

Overview As the summer of 2014 comes to an end, one last coming of age story is released to top the season off. Review (with Spoilers) After Plush, I must admit the idea of Emily Browning playing the role of a musician wasn’t a horrible idea. Especially since Skins alumni Hannah Murrah and Olly Alexander…

Floyd Norman: An Animated Life – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

Overview Representation matters and as Viola Davis said, though more geared toward women of color, the only thing which separates people of color, or in this case Black people, from everyone else is opportunity. But in Floyd’s case what separates him from everyone else wasn’t just opportunity but hard work. Which, into his 80s, is…