Rinzy Reviews ‘Frozen 2’ (2019)

Release Date: November 22

Starring: Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Evan Rachel Wood, Josh Gad, et al.

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After six years, we finally return to the enchanted land of Arendelle, where Anna, Olaf, Kristoff, Sven and Elsa are off to their next adventure. This time, it’s the sins from their parents’ past they try to outrun.

In a move to further expand its own mythology, this sequel sometimes bore resemblance to that of Avatar: The Last Airbender (remember the elements?)

Elsa starts hearing a mysterious siren out of the blues, so she and the her band of merry adventurers go into the unknown forest to uncover unpleasant truths about her family and Arendelle. Their adventure, once again, reinforces themes about sisterhood, love, teamwork and acceptance.

Frozen 2 is a considerably weaker sequel. For starters, none of its songs come close to the high-bar set by the monster-hit that was ‘Let It Go’. Also, there’s the noticeable absence of a worthy villain; what we get are giant rocks without any personality or backstory and another with a semblance of a backstory, but is already dead.

Although it took this long for Disney to commission a sequel, it’s hard to not think of this movie as a cash grab.

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Rinzy’s Rating: 3/5

Knives Out: Whodunnit?

Release Date: November 29, 2019

Starring: Ana de Armas, Christopher Plummer, Chris Evans, Craig Daniel, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Katherine Langford, Michael Shannon, et al.

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When prominent crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) dies just after his 85th birthday, it’s up to the indefatigable Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) to figure out who did it?

Who doesn’t like a good crime-detective-mystery movie?

I know I do. And I enjoyed watching this one very much.

Director Rian Johnson puts together a stellar ensemble of highly talented actors to bring this story to life. Watching Knives Out, it’s clear he’s one of the many disciples of profilic crime novelist, Agatha Christie, as her blueprint can be seen all over. But even with that familiarity, there’s still enough of Johnson to make Knives Out feel distinct and thoroughly enjoyable.

Knives Out is a murder mystery story alright, but in some ways it’s also a grass to grace story, and in another, a coming of age one.

Harlan Thrombey’s true fate is revealed early, so the bulk of the movie is about watching Daniel Craig in a southern accent trying to figure out which of Thrombey’s large, highly-dependent family members could have murdered him.

You want to know who did it, too, right?

Go see Knives Out today!

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PS: I think Chris fuck’n Evans should play more villainous roles.

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Rinzy’s Rating: 3.5/5

Directed by: Rian Johnson

Rinzy Reviews ‘Dracula’ (2020)

Network: BBC – Netflix

Release Date – January 1, 2 & 3

Starring: Claes Bang, Dolly Wells, et al

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A better title for this miniseries should’ve been ‘The Charismatic Evolution of Count Dracula’ because, a transformation story is what we get in Dracula.

Since his first introduction to the public in Bram Stoker’s 1897 eponymous novel, Count Dracula has enjoyed an ever-increasing popularity with the masses. When report had it that the BBC and Netflix were teaming up to resurrect him once more, the news was very well received because there’s always going to be a new Dracula movie.

Does it live up to expectation?

For a three-part miniseries, things went to shit real fast on Dracula. Each episode runs for about 90 minutes, so that’s basically three movies for the price of one. The episodes boasts of commendable set pieces, intense plotting and some unforgettable dialogues like the one below, courtesy of the world’s most awesome nun (Sister Agatha):

Like many women my age I am trapped in a loveless marriage, maintaining appearances for the sake of a roof over my head

As the story progressed, the miniseries reinvented itself while still telling a central story about the titular, charismatic villain. The nature of this progression allowed the show morph through various amazing locations — a castle, a ship and a graveyard, amongst others — which helped elevate it even at times when the story quality waned.

Claes Bang’s performance as Count Dracula is terrific. He’s menacing, yet charming enough to draw unsuspecting victims in for his next kill. Dolly Wells, too, puts up a good one as Sister Agatha, the nun with trust issues pertaining God-stuff. Weird, right?

Verdict

The latest peak into the life and times of Count Dracula starts strong but quickly leaves much to be desired. Is that to say it’s terrible? NO!

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Rinzy’s Rating: 3/5

The 2020 Golden Globes Nominations And Winners

A new set of golden globe winners have emerged with the conclusion of the 2020 ceremony. Here they are:

1. Best Motion Picture, Drama

1917 (winner)

The Irishman

Joker

Marriage Story

The Two Popes

2. Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

Dolemite Is My Name

Jojo Rabbit

Knives Out

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (winner)

Rocket Man

3.Best Director, Motion Picture

Bong Joon Ho — Parasite

Sam Mendes — 1917 (winner)

Todd Phillips — Joker

Martin Scorsese — The Irishman

Quentin Tarantino — Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood

4. Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama

Cynthia Erivo — Harriet

Scarlett Johansson — Marriage Story

Saoirse Ronan — Little Women

Charlize Theron — Bombshell

Renée Zellweger — Judy (winner)

5. Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

Ana de Armas — Knives Out

Awkwafina — The Farewell (winner)

Cate Blanchett — Where’d You Go, Bernadette

Beanie Feldstein — Booksmart

Emma Thompson — Late Night

6. Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

Kathy Bates — Richard Jewell

Annette Bening — The Report

Laura Dern — Marriage Story (winner)

Jennifer Lopez — Hustlers

Margot Robbie — Bombshell

7. Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama

Christian Bale — Ford v Ferrari

Antonio Banderas — Pain and Glory

Adam Driver — Marriage Story

Joaquin Phoenix — Joker (winner)

Jonathan Pryce — The Two Popes

8. Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

Daniel Craig — Knives Out

Roman Griffin Davis — Jojo Rabbit

Leonardo DiCaprio — Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood

Taron Egerton — Rocketman (winner)

Eddie Murphy — Dolemite Is My Name

9. Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

Tom Hanks — A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Anthony Hopkins — The Two Popes

Al Pacino — The Irishman

Joe Pesci — The Irishman

Brad Pitt — Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood (winner)

10. Best Screenplay, Motion Picture

Noah Baumbach — Marriage Story

Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won — Parasite

Anthony McCarten — The Two Popes

Quentin Tarantino — Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (winner)

Steven Zaillian — The Irishman

11. Best Original Score, Motion Picture

Alexandre Desplat — Little Women

Hildur Gudnadottir — Joker (winner)

Randy Newman — Marriage Story

Thomas Newman — 1917

Daniel Pemberton — Motherless Brooklyn

12. Best Original Song, Motion Picture

“Beautiful Ghosts” — Cats

“I’m Gonna Love Me Again” — Rocketman (winner)

“Into the Unknown” — Frozen 2

“Spirit” — The Lion King

“Stand Up” — Harriet

13. Best Motion Picture, Animated

Frozen 2

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

The Lion King

Missing Link (winner)

Toy Story 4

14. Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language

The Farewell

Les Misérables

Pain and Glory

Parasite (winner)

Portrait of a Lady on Fire

15. Best Television Series, Drama

Big Little Lies

The Crown

Killing Eve

The Morning Show

Succession (winner)

16. Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy

Barry

Fleabag (winner)

The Kominsky Method

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

The Politician

17. Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Catch-22

Chernobyl (winner)

Fosse/Verdon

The Loudest Voice

Unbelievable

18. Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Drama

Jennifer Aniston — The Morning Show

Olivia Colman — The Crown (winner)

Jodie Comer — Killing Eve

Nicole Kidman — Big Little Lies

Reese Witherspoon — The Morning Show

19. Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy

Christina Applegate — Dead to Me

Rachel Brosnahan — The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Kirsten Dunst — On Becoming a God in Central Florida

Natasha Lyonne — Russian Doll

Phoebe Waller-Bridge — Fleabag (winner)

20. Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television.

Kaitlyn Dever — Unbelievable

Joey King — The Act

Helen Mirren — Catherine the Great

Merritt Wever — Unbelievable

Michelle Williams — Fosse/Verdon (winner)

21. Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Patricia Arquette — The Act (winner)

Helena Bonham Carter — The Crown

Toni Collette — Unbelievable

Meryl Streep — Big Little Lies

Emily Watson — Chernobyl

22. Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Drama

Brian Cox — Succession (winner)

Kit Harington — Game of Thrones

Rami Malek — Mr. Robot

Tobias Menzies — The Crown

Billy Porter — Pose

23. Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy

Michael Douglas — The Kominsky Method

Bill Hader — Barry

Ben Platt — The Politician

Paul Rudd — Living With Yourself

Ramy Youssef — Ramy (winner)

24. Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television

Christopher Abbott — Catch-22

Sacha Baron Cohen — The Spy

Russell Crowe — The Loudest Voice (winner)

Jared Harris — Chernobyl

Sam Rockwell — Fosse/Verdon

25. Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Alan Arkin — The Kominsky Method

Kieran Culkin — Succession

Andrew Scott — Fleabag

Stellan Skarsgard — Chernobyl (winner)

Henry Winkler — Barry

Rinzy Reviews ‘The Farewell’ (2019)

Release Date: January 25

Starring: Awkwafina, Shuzhen Zhao, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin, et al.

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“… The Chinese people have a saying. When people get cancer, they die. It’s not cancer that kills them, it’s the fear.”

This is how I welcome you guys into my thoughts about another movie where cancer plays the villain.

Based on an actual lie, ‘The Farewell‘ positions itself as the swan song of a woman who’s lived a good life and doesn’t know she’s going to die soon because her extra-loving family won’t tell her she’s been diagnosed with stage-4 lung cancer.

Family can sometimes be troublesome, but the joy and humor they bring to our lives can never be overemphasized; this makes them a delight to watch in movies and in real life. Nai Nai’s family does what they believe is best for her once they learn about her condition, they drop everything and head over to China to say their coded goodbyes, under the guise of a lavish wedding. Poor Hoa Hoa.

Awkwafina’s Billi is the conscience of this movie. Billi’s parents moved to America when she was six and, as such, has a very different outlook on how these things are done back home. This dynamic raises a lot of interesting dialogues about how America and China aren’t so different from each other.

Billie’s also Nai Nai’s favorite, which makes it very difficult for her to play along with the lie when she first finds out; but in time, she does learn to put her personal feelings aside for the greater good of the family, as indicated by these detached monologues from her uncle.

“In the East, a person’s life is part of a whole”

“… It’s our duty to carry this emotional burden for Nai Nai…”

Watching some of the nuances of Nai Nai’s family felt like watching a Nigerian family. The writing is grounded in reality and very relatable, irrespective of nationality. I like to think of the language of this movie as human; not Chinese or the occasional spoken English — human. That’s what makes it so refreshing.

The delicacy with which the writers and director portray grief and its effect on the family is commendable. There’s nothing lavish about the cinematography, but the wealth of truth in its shots and angles cannot be overemphasized.

Awkwafina as Billi gives a really beautiful performance, one to remember for ages.

Thankfully, that surprise credit makes up for some of the sadness endured during the course of this movie. This is one tragicomedy to be revered and respected for a long time.

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Rinzy’s Rating: 4/5

Directed by: Lulu Wang

Once Upon A Time: Tarantino’s Love Song To Hollywood

Release Date: July 25

Starring: Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCarprio, Margot Robbie, Dakota Fanning, et al.

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Once Upon a Time in Hollywood unlocks a new side of Quentin Tarantino; one not harkened to revenge or a thirst for vengeance. This is a side of the filmmaker that still very much details his mastery of the art, while still scoring a formidable love song for the industry that made him a household name in the first place; call it a fictional retelling of some of the truths of the late ’60s in Tinsel town.

It took so long for me to watch OUATIH because I feared it’d be a bore. I’m happy to announce my fears were unfounded. Although there’s no blood and substantial gore, Tarantino –through a mixture of real and reel— tells a series of standalone stories in one movie only to have them climax in one uniquely absurd way.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood isn’t plot driven, its characters are very real. The realest of any Tarantino movie. Simple people doing basic things, driven by their thoughts and emotions, whether good or bad.

OUATIH boasts of an ensemble cast and plays with the truth in a very artistic way, typical Tarantino style. I kinda like how the movie went, though; it is enjoyable, even if it doesn’t explode like most people would’ve been expecting it to.

PS: Brad Pitt looks pretty good for his age, I think it’s about time he tells us what his secret is, don you agree?

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Rinzy’s Rating: 3/5

Directed by: Quentin Tarantino

Rinzy Reviews ‘You’ Season 2

Release Date: December 26 (Netflix)

Starring: Penn Badgley, Victoria Pendretti, et al.

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The second season of ‘You‘ starts cool and ends with a killer BANG! Typical You style.

It’s the same Joe, but with a new name, in a new town and with new tricks up his sleeves. You tries to reinvent itself without having to lose all of the things that made it such an awesome hit in the first place. Luckily, it pulled it off.

Last season ended with Joe’s ex, Candace, return to life with a personal vendetta against him. To escape, Joe runs to Los Angeles, a place he knows Candace knows he hates and promises to turn a new leaf. Expectedly, this doesn’t hold up as he soon finds his new YOU to pine over – Love Quinn. Joe finds himself thrust into the extra-eventful drama that is life with Love, her hippie brother, Forty, and the rest of her family and friends.

Love takes an interest in Joe and, although he tries to fight it off at first, he succumbs to his desires and a romance kicks-off between them. To further prove himself worthy of Love’s love, Joe befriends Forty, who’s trying hard not to be seen as the crazily rich drug-addict posing as a writer. Although their friendship starts flawed, it quickly morphs into something genuine before the climax of that explosive finale.

Joe (as Will) tries to stay true to his sobriety, even after his cover is exposed by Candace’s arrival in L.A., but it’s like no matter how hard he tries to cover up the universe always finds a way to bring the real him out.

In Love, Joe finds a perfect partner, someone fighting her own demons and is willingly accepts him for who he is, but with a surprising twist, an unplanned baby on the way, a new life and a new neighbor to obsess over, the real question is, how long will Joe’s victory last?

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Rinzy’s Rating: 3.5/5

Is ‘Marvel’s Runaways’ Season 3 A Bore To Watch?

Release Date: December 13 (Hulu)

Staring: Rhenzy Feliz, James Marsters, Brittany Ishibashi, et al.

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FYI, Marvel’s Runaways isn’t terrible, but it isn’t good enough to remember once you’re done watching. For me, that’s always been the biggest problem about the show; asides, of course, its cringe-worthy dialogues and painful expositions.

The titular Runaways –one of the last surviving shows from the old Marvel TV division– try to make sense of their continued war with the aliens still possessing their parents’ bodies. In 10 very long hours, the show wraps off two lingering storylines and still manages to find time for a crossover with an already cancelled sister show.

The third and final season of Marvel’s Runaways isn’t a bore; its only crime is trying to conclude a story no one really cared about.

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Rinzy’s Rating: 3/5

‘The Witcher’ Is Good, But It’s No ‘Game Of Thrones’

Release Date: December 20, 2019 (Netflix)

Starring: Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra, et al.

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The Witcher is a decent entry into the fold of fantasy TV but, is it the new Game of Thrones? Let’s find out.

Henry Cavill was most certainly a delight to watch as the brooding Witcher with a conscience, but it’s safe to say he isn’t really the star of this show, which was surprising, being that he plays the titular character. That honor arguably goes to Anya Chalotra‘s Yennefer, the true break-out star of this show, all thanks to its writing.

Although the show follows the old monster-of-the-week pattern, it still spent so much time fleshing Yennefer’s arc that, by the final episode, it felt like I really knew her, which is more than I can say for Geralt of Rivia.

The timeline of The Witcher might just be the biggest issue anyone has with this show. It takes some time before the events happening start to make sense and even more time before you correctly deduce same events are taking place in three different time periods. Once you get over this hurdle, the show really picks up and in flows the endless thread of entertainment; from Yennefer’s long-thirst for more power to solve a problem she created for herself to her fate cross-haired with The Witcher’s who, in turn, has his cross-haired with a princess who doesn’t know just how powerful she is, yet, to a dragon. Yes, a freaking dragon. The list is endless.

I do hope for its second season, The Witcher dives deeper into its mythology, we need to understand how stuff really works there. It also needs to fine tune its pacing.

Just how entertianing is The Witcher? That’s something only you can decide. For me, I give it a 3/5, which I think is fair.

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🎵 Toss a coin to your Witcher, o valley of plenty. 🎵

This song line might just be what Netflix The Witcher becomes most memorable for, in the future, rather than its amazing set pieces, actors commendable performance, and so often gratuitous nudity.

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Rinzy’s Rating: 3/5