Ratings Central - Movies

Let's get the easy stuff out of the way. As most of you that read my reviews already know, I am a die-hard Star Wars fan. I read the books, I watch the shows, read the comics, watch talk shows about Star Wars. You could say I'm into it a bit. Also, let's get this out of the way: I love (yes current tense) The Last Jedi. Ok, so now that I've already got you angry and yelling at me for my opinion, let's continue to make you mad. Last night I went to view Star Wars 9: Rise of Skywalker. I came out very...unsure of my feelings. I have never been privy to simultaneously some of the greatest Star Wars I have ever witnessed, and some of the absolute largest pile of garbage that might exist in any medium. Let's start with the positives. Finally, a "Skywalker Saga" film acknowledged, accepted and embraced many parts of the lore canon created in books, comics and games. Many, many times there was moments that I was giddy with the "Oh my god! I can&#

SPOILER WARNING!!!! SPOILER WARNING!!!! SPOILER WARNING!!!! I don't normally rate movies with heavy spoilers, especially when they have just released, but this one needs it. I love movies in general, and Toy Story movies are some of my very favourite animated films. I always felt the third film ended the series tieing it up with a fairly nice bow, so when I heard about part 4 coming out, I had my reservations immediately. Apparently, my initial reactions to hearing of the film were accurate. The first half of the movie, really, really felt like a Toy Story movie. The music, the humor, even the action had the same vibe as the original 3. The back half of the film....not so much. It was like a completely different movie at times. The movie, as was depicted by the trailers, was to be based around finding or saving the new toy added called Forky. The trailers made it seem like the new big bad toy was going to be a toy named Gabby Gabby, and for a small moment, she was. She

John Wick seems to be quickly becoming the next Rambo or Commando of this generation. Although not totally bulletproof like the aforementioned, it seems as though nothing can kill the John Wick train. I adored the first two movies; the first more than the second, but both were great in my opinion. The semi-unique story, lots of intricate action, a summer blockbuster for sure. John Wick 3 tries hard to continue this trend, but if this were darts, it would miss the board. For me, the John Wick movies were great because of the secret assassin society and the rules and regulations that went with that. The original two movies were about John avenging his dog of all things. Wick three missed all of these cues; maybe not totally, but certainly. People will argue, and be quick to defend this movie right away I'm sure. There are tons and tons of fight scenes. Very intricate, very elaborate, very predictable. These fight scenes tried to push the envelope of what the first two movies st

Let's start by saying I enjoy Elton John's music, but I'm far from a fanatic. I knew I would recognize some of the music in the film, and I was always interested in the life of the man Elton John, so I went in with expectations, but small ones. This movie delivered so well. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie as a whole. As I stated, I'm not a gigantic fan, so the film impressed me that as a casual fan, I was able to know most of the songs still, and still maintain the emotional responses that go with them. The lead actor/singer Taron Egerton is simply spectacular in this role. I came out of that movie believing he was Elton John, Obviously knowing otherwise. He sang the songs himself, which is also a rarity in these kinds of films. I easily found the intensity, creativity and value that he emphasized throughout all of the presented material moving. This movie was different from most of these kinds of biopics in that the filmmakers integrated real fantasy elements into t

I should start off by saying, yes, I like Godzilla movies. Even the old-school Japanese ones without subtitles or voice-overs. Godzilla movies always gave me the sense of the possibility of something larger than life is out there somewhere; maybe just sleeping. I thoroughly enjoyed the 2014 reboot of Godzilla on it's-own but was almost mesmerized as I learned about the monster-verse that was being created. The fans of Godzilla have always wanted a good, American made (No prejudice, I just speak English is all) Godzilla movie. I say "good" because there have been plenty of attempts on American soil, with little, to no good coming from them (Looking at you Godzilla 2000). This movie, however, is not lumped into those movies. This is a great monster movie. This movie has all the things that made me love the original Japanese versions of Godzilla with the added flair that only Hollywood can deliver. I felt for the humans, I felt for the monsters, I felt for the planet at

I have stated before that drama is simply not my favourite genre of movie. However, I do find myself watching more and more of these movies as I grow ever older in life. Beautiful Boy is a movie about drug addiction and how it affects a family, specifically in this case a father and son. Though I won't be rating this film as high as many other film-critics have, it was a good movie overall. Being a father myself, I was easily drawn into Steve Carell's (the father's) shoes as to how I might react if one of my children were quite literally throwing away their life. The family moments were very touching and I loved Steve's performance. I was curious to see how he would do in a serious film as I've really only seen him in comedies. He absolutely nailed the role. The film has some issues for me though. My first real problem was the way Timothée Chalamet's character Nick (the son) seemed to only have his addictions while he lived with his father. He moves in with

Halloween. Easily one of my favourite horror franchises. I've been a fan through all the twists and turns Michael Myers' backstory has taken throughout the decades. I love the Shape. I always have. I remember the first time I saw the original Halloween. The terror I felt, the almost awe I was in due to the soundtrack. The Shape truly scared me, especially when he broke through the closet door, proving that he'll do anything to get his victim. This new edition to the series is set 40 years after the first movie, basically saying the others don't exist. And, I'm ok with that. None of the movies after the first captured the magic of the original. They all have their strengths, but they also all have more weaknesses. From explaining Michael's family lineage to the cult of the Thorn, all the way to those dastardly remakes, I stayed true and kept watching. With the 2018 release basically retconning all the sequels and Blum House Productions being involved, I had hi