Tony_Fresh_Reviews

REVIEW: The Little Things

This movie felt like I was on a stakeout waiting for something to happen. It was such a slow burn that the flame completely went out. It spends most of its runtime on inconsequential filler, and with a powerhouse cast of Denzel, Rami, and Leto, it takes a special kind of movie to be this boring.

But the cast held up their end of the bargain (mostly). This movie made me realize that Denzel's an old man now, but he's still got it. He had by far the most compelling character arc as a cop coming to grips with his past. As for Jared Leto, he brings in the creep factor. He had the kind of eyes that stared through you instead of at you.

Then there's Rami Malek who basically had the same expression on his face the entire movie. He brought zero depth to his character besides crying and yelling. His character was bland, his performance was forgettable, and he just sucked at being a detective. Good thing Denzel's still got it though.

The movie has its fair share of dark and disturbing themes, but it felt restrained. It felt like a long Criminal Minds episode. With all this star power, this movie never even came close to reaching its full potential. It was when all 3 of the boys were together did things begin to pick up, but this happened only once.

With the slow burn nature of its narrative, the ending NEEDED to land, but it didn't. I get what they were trying to do, make you feel like the detectives, obsessively defeated, but it was just so unsatisfying. Let's waste 2 hours of your time and not even solve the case. And I get it, this is what "real" police work looks like, but that doesn't mean it makes for a good movie.

Overall, everything in this movie was just average. The only thing that maybe elevates it enough for me to say it's fine is the cast (because Denzel's still got it).

Score: 5 out of 10 Overall: Average

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REVIEW: Animal House

Hilariously crude, wickedly charming, and politically incorrect, this comedy classic crosses about every line you can think of, but it's just so damn funny. This movie could never be made today without a horde of trigger-happy Karens storming Hollywood's gate.

"My advice to you is to start drinking heavily."

It's been over a decade since I've seen Animal House, but it remains a partying classic (even if it is offensive at every turn). Maybe because I'm older, maybe because I'm still in my partying prime (or at least I think so), or maybe it was my brief stint as a college frat boy (I'm not proud of it), this movie hits different for me.

Everyone in the cast were brilliant but watching the late (and great) John Belushi was so bittersweet. He steals just about every scene he was in and brings in all of the laugh-out-loud moments. He has so many great one-liners, it's hard to pick a favourite.

"Oh no! Seven years of college down the drain!"

"See if you can guess what I am now...(fills mouth with mashed potatoes only to spit it out at frat bullies)...I'm a zit! Get it?"

With a budget of only $3 million, this movie made $141 million... that's just insane! Low budget movies for the win!

There's so much to like and so much to laugh at, but if I had to put on my "movie critic" hat, everything to do with the dean and the opposing frat is about as generic as it gets. Dean wants misfit troublemaking frat house gone, so he works with the rich, boy scout frat house to make it so.

Regardless, this was a laugh-out-loud, insanely crazy, non-stop party, even if it treads familiar territory. But be warned, this will definitely offend some (probably many) people today, but it's just because they don't make movies like this anymore.

Score: 8 out of 10 Overall: Great

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REVIEW: One Night in Miami

Regina King does a solid job with her directorial debut, even if the pacing is all over the place. The first half hour is slow setting up each character and where they are with their life. But once all four icons are together, things finally pick up. For some reason, I got some Hangover vibes, four friends in a hotel room about to have an unforgettable night.

Since the majority of our time is spent in one location, the hotel, the movie can get stale at times. They do an alright job with the play to movie adaptation, but four men yelling at each other in a hotel room can get old quick. Most of the themes the movie tackles are deep and more relevant than ever. I don't know how much of this was fact (besides the real night in history), but it was compelling, nonetheless.

All the performances were fantastic, even if they sometimes felt like a bad impersonation. It's hard when we've seen these icons played better in other movies like Will Smith as Muhammad Ali or Denzel Washington as Malcolm X. Regardless, they all had chemistry together, brought their A-game, and got their moment in the spotlight. Everything was at its best when the four men were together in their heated debates.

Overall, this was an interesting what-if scenario to have these four icons together in one room. Despite its problems, this was an interesting one-time watch filled with strong performances and a rich script.

Score: 7 out of 10 Overall: Good

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