DanielNeil1237 Reviews

Tenet (2020)

Amazingly intelligent movie that will be even more incredible on a second watch

[8/10 · 2 September 2020]

Where do I even begin to describe this movie with out giving away spoilers. This movies is for people who love his other movies like Inception and Interstellar that will get you think heavily and require many viewings to understand it fully. Also more viewings will help you notice the little hints through out the movie. The acting is amazing with Washington and Pattinson both being incredible with great chemistry. Pattinson will make a great Batman after this. Action in the movie is of course incredible with time being used extremely cleverly during these fight scenes. My only issues with the film are with the characters you do not know much about any of them and some of the music is so loud it can be hard to hear conversations.This is a film that you do not want miss at the theater. The visuals and action scenes are worth seeing on the biggest screen possible. Go see it!

The Invisible Man (I) (2020)

Leigh Whannel continues to amaze with finally a modern Universal monster film done right.

[8/10 · 4 March 2020]

When this film was first announced I wasn't really looking forward to it at all because I was still getting the bad taste of The Mummy 2017 out of my mouth. However, once it was announced that Leigh Whannel was set to write and direct. I knew it was in good hands.

I have been a fan of Leigh Whannel since his work on the Insidious franchise and his amazing but extremely underrated film Upgrade. This film is great with amazing acting from Elziebeth Moss who is being haunted by her boyfriend of a previous abusive relationship who is now somehow invisible. The film is always building up the tension and due to the fact that he is invisible, they do camera angles where it's as if he is always watching her even though he might not be there at all. Having a budget of only 9 million dollars the effects are great and it's extremely impressive with all the scars they get out of it. In the directing department, Whannel is fantastic by creating a creepy atmosphere and leaving you with not a single moment to breathe. As for flaws, the only real one I have with the film is that the tone of the last half is extremely different from the first half of the film. Well, the second half is still just as good the first half there tones are extremely different. So it can at times feel like two different films though both halves are still great and extremely entertaining. Overall The Invisible Man is a great horror film being one the best ones I have seen in years its everything you would want in an Invisible Man movie. If this is now what the new films based on Universal's classic monster will be like then I can't wait.

Jojo Rabbit (2019)

Extremely hilarious and emotionally heartfelt

[8/10 · 9 November 2019]

Jo Jo Rabbit is extremely funny and very emotionally heartfelt. The directing is amazing by Taika Waititi who also plays a hilarious yet very overtop Hitler. The story is also really sweet has a really good message on top of all the dark humor. All of the acting is great especially with all of the kids and of course Scarlet Johansen as the mother. Like I already stated the humor is really good dose a good job lightening up the mood especially towards the end of the movie when it gets really intense. Even the set design is good doing a great job making it look and feel like Nazi Germany during world war two. As for the one flaw I do have with the movie it is that the film could have used maybe one more emotional punch and maybe a little more closure to the story towards the end though the film still is very emotional at times. Overall JO JO Rabbit is a great film with great humor and with a story that will emotionally pull on your heartstrings especially for JO Jo's relationship with his mother and the Jewish girl they are hiding.

The Addams Family (2019)

Very average animated film with a few good moments

[4/10 · 20 October 2019]

The Addams family 2019 is a very run of the mill animated film that ends up feeling very average. Being a major fan of The Addams Family from the original films from the 90s I was really disappointed with the film. Our story follows the entire Addams family years after they have moved into their mansion being hidden there for years after being chased away by angry civilians. Now since to a new house flip tv show, they are discovered with the show host wanting to destroy their house to make it fit in with the neighborhood. On top of that Pugsly Addams is having to prepare to do a famous sword pattern that is a tradition to prove he is truly an Addams. In front of the entire Addams family and all their relatives. This subplot with Pugsly is one of many there is even another one about Wednesday Addams trying to fit in at school becoming an issue with the film having too many subplots. The main message of the film is one we have heard 100 times with accepting people in your town who are different because we are all unique in our own ways. This is a good message for kids but the message is shoved in way too much, and they don't reinvent the presentation of the message in any way, or try anything new to make it more interesting. I thought the film never fully did the characters justice especially the family relationship aspect. It had a few great performances that being Chole Grace Moretz as Wednesday Addams and Charlize Theron as Morticia Addams. Some of the imagery can be pretty cool with the house, using the character designs from the original comic strip and some scenes have good humor. Major issues with the film are in the story being extremely basic and not taking many risks. With like I mentioned earlier way too many subplots that can be extremely uninteresting. Overall The Addams family ends up being just okay with a few good moments sprinkled throughout but having an extremely basic story and not going all the way with the family's classic humor, dark style.

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)

Great and really entertaining but one of his weaker films

[8/10 · 6 September 2019]

Amazing movie with once again great writing and directing from Quentin Tarantino and great acting. Brad Pitt a stunt double Cliff Booth easily steals the show delivering the most laughs. The same thing goes for Leonardo DiCaprio being also great as washed-out Hollywood actor Rick Dalton who is slowly losing his place in Hollywood. All of the actings is great with other good performances from Al Pacino and Dakota Fanning.

It's 1969 during the late stages of Rick Dalton's acting career who acted in an old canceled tv western Bounty Law with his stunt double Cliff Booth. During this time Rick Dalton is starting to feel worried he is no longer a relevant actor in Hollywood. We follow him on his journey with his stunt double Cliff Booth to try to become relevant again. The film also very loosely takes place during the Manson family murders and we see a few of his cult followers roaming around Los Angles with them living on an old ranch.

Another thing the movie does right is the set design and nice cinematography by Robert Richardson. It actually feels and looks like 60s Los Angeles with old fashioned drive-in theaters and the music choices. On top of having cool movie and tv references of the 60s decade in the movie. Tarantino's writing is as always really good and creative in the use of foreshadowing. Showing us as the audience something like an object then having it come up again way later in the film. With a good purpose in the movie of subtlety showing us it. However, the story of the movie is overall a little weak at times. In the sense that not much happens in the movie during the second act its main characters sitting around talking which is both a strength and weakness of the film due to Tarantino's writing. Another issue is the character of Sharon Tate well being acted good by Margot Robbie she doesn't really do much in the film until the third act. If you would have left her character out of the movie it really wouldn't impact the film much at all. Overall Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is a great movie with amazing acting. This movie shows us that Tarantino is still is a brilliant writer and director still capable of making great memorable movies. Even if this is one of his weaker films storywise.

The Lion King (2019)

Corporate Disney cash grab with really impressive but emotionless CGI.

[4/10 · 6 September 2019]

There isn't really much to say about this movie either than it is pretty much a shot for shot remake of the original lion king but with all the emotion and intensity stripped away. It is also literally 90% percent line for line from the original animated masterpiece/The animation is amazing but because it's so realistic the lions are making the same faces during the entire film so you can't really tell how they feel and some the lions you can hardy tell apart. Same goes for the songs which are heavily shortened with a lot less energy and they even screw up can you feel the love tonight by having it in the day lol. The only good things here I would say is the cgi which is amazing but at the same time a very big issue with this movie and Seth Rogen is great as Pumba. Overall this movie is a massive soulless easy cash grab to show us that Disney doesn't have to do anything original anymore. They can give you the exact same thing but heavily lowered in quality, and it will still make a billion at the box office.

Annabelle Comes Home (2019)

Average yet somewhat fun horror film

[6/10 · 6 September 2019]

Annabelle comes home is a average one hour and 30 minute horror movie. With your usual jump scares and pretty much being there just to set up future Conjuring movies. The acting is of course great with Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga returning with the very little screen time they have. Even the teen babysitters are also likeable and do a good job with a funny boy friend character. Also some of the monsters can be cool like one is a werewolf but they don't tell you much about them, or their origins. So they can most likely make a whole movie on them in the future. There is a lot of humor also but this is a bit of an issue because it takes away a lot of the scariness from the movie mainly like I mentioned earlier with the boy friend character. Though the teenagers are are great one of them of course makes very idiotic decisions like usual with these types of movies. Overall the movie fails to live up to the amazing first two Conjuring movies and great Annabelle creation. By feeling very run of the mill and basic as if it was just there to set up more films though it does have a few good moments and creatures to make it turn off your brain summer fun.

It Chapter Two (2019)

Good follow up for the most part. With issues

[6/10 · 6 September 2019]

IT chapter two is pretty good for the most part and a great follow up to chapter one. All of the casting is amazing with a stand out from Bill Hader as Richie. Well, Jessica Chastain, James Macavoy and everyone else is also all great as the adult losers in the movie. Bill Skarsgard is once again great and entertaining as heck as Pennywise and all the returning young cast from the first one are good during the flashback sequences. Andres Musuchietti once again like with the first movie does a great job directing and the cinematography is also great with a unique look added to the film. Even the humor is really funny and some of Pennywise's forms are coolly taken directly from the book which I am a huge fan of the book. Issues with the film are with the some of the story choices they can feel very rushed, or sloppy with the pacing feeling off at times. The movie also is missing that unique heart the first movie had of the kids standing up against evil by themselves, it isn't really there anymore though the film has pieces of it. Also it isn't as scary as chapter one but instead a little more shocking and disturbing, or as well put together overall as the first one. The final act can feel really silly at times though being still very book accurate. Overall It Chapter two is a good conclusion to chapter one finishing off Kings book. It sadly isn't as great as the first but still very likable being very book accurate and with a great director, cast. If your a huge fan of the book like myself you really will enjoy it and its book accuracy. I can't wait for the directors cut to see what they left out on top of this nearly 3-hour movie.

Captain Marvel (2019)

A very average and run of mill entry in the with some good things in it.

[5/10 · 13 March 2019]

The movie is not terrible it has a few good scenes and things in that I really liked it, but it is overall a very forgettable and bland movie. Let's start with the positive aspects of the movie first. Samuel L Jackson is of course always fantastic in the movie even though the dialogue in the film isn't very funny and is sort of boring. You can tell he is trying his best to make the material work. Another positive aspect of the movie is Goose the cat where most of the movie's humor comes from. The final positive aspect of the movie is the effects in space they are not mind-blowing or anything we haven't seen before but it is still cool to watch things go boom! even if the action scenes are not very memorable and sort of boring. Now to the negative aspects of the movie Captain Marvel her self is not very heroic at all in the movie and it tries so hard to make you care when you really don't,Most of this comes from the dialogue and Brie Larson herself her performance feels very wooden like she is just going through the motions of the character without much energy. Another issue is that the film feels very bland without much style compared to other movies in the MCU.Like with those films those directors brought their own style to the movie here it feels like anyone could have directed it. The film itself doesn't have much character or style to it. Also, the villain was pretty good with Sam Mendelson,but I wish they would have done more with his shapeshifting abilities. Overall this just a-okay popcorn flick that the whole family can enjoy without much else,or anything new added to the Marvel formula.I also think the tribute to Stan Lee at the beginning was a nice touch.