Morning Reel

"Todo Sobre Mi Madre" is one of Pedro Almovodvar's great films especially of the 90s. It's a complex drama surrounding a mother dealing with her only son's death and actually doing something about it. She goes into a spiral of events that eventually answers deeper questions of her past lives. It's almost that thing where you can't lead into the future unless you can let go of the past. A great fil...

"Lamb" or natively " Dýrið ", is a crazy folk horror film and there is a twist and a couple of turns. The director did a pretty good job showing us the effectiveness without spoon feeding like American horror films. it's a about a couple who discover a lamb that has features of a human. You have to see it to not only believe it, but to see how it plays out. The ending is unexpected. The way the ch...

Xavier Guerrero is my guest for this episode reviewing the film "A Summer's Tale" of "A Tale of Smmer"--however you want to pronounce it--is a comedy film by Éric Rohmer. He is a beast in comedy, witty and impactful philosophical writing and direction that seems breathless to the eyes. In this film in particular, it's about a dude who comes with no dilemmas ending into evading a huge one that deal...

"Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire", a fun film with a lame plot where somehow we had to revolve it around an existential crisis from a teenager that I feel doesn't work. I don't mind the film getting to the roots of demons and how it ties into ghosts. That part still barely makes sense but it's better than Phoebe trying to figure herself out. I felt cheated, like it forced us to try to be "woke". I don...

"Lost In Translation" is an iconic film written & directed by Sofia Coppola. It's one of the first films in her career that is very visual with a simple but profound plot where two travelers from America are missing something. One just graduated from college, married and with no clue with what to with life. The other was a famous actor and now does commercials, married but unhappy. He has litt...

We all know Zack Snyder and what he's known for. He's definitelty a celebrated filmmaker. Has made numerous superhero films in the DC Comics universe and the iconic "300". But before all that, he re-made "Dawn of the Dead". Now, I didn't compare the two. You really can't, thery're their own films. It's fun to see Tom Savini be a part of the 2004 version. Now, I'm not a big fan of Snyder and "Dawn...

Janeen Damian once again directs Lindsey Lohan in the film "Irish Wish", a rom com about an editor who is in love with her boss who is the author of books that get published. Guess what, a fairy godmother of sorts grants Lohan's character's wish to get married with this guy. Then, it's a journey of love dispelling the notion of true love especially when she starts hanging out with this photographe...

Jonathan Glazer is a trailblazer of a filmmaker. "The Zone of Interest" is another win for him and filmmaking in general. He was able to use sound to highlight the horrors of the holocaust. He chose to not show any kind of violance whatsoever and the sound makes up for. It's a simple story of a family of Nazis who live in a beautiful home RIGHT NEXT TO the Auschwitz concentration camp ran by Rudol...

"Priscilla" shows a very mature and talented Sofia Coppola exploring the exodus of Elvis and Priscilla Presley's life as romantic partners. The caasting is pretty good. We definitely see how Priscilla grows up on screen played by the same actress. It's a dramatized version of their romance with a straightforward story and plot. It's pretty intimate, gets up close at one point where we see eyeballs...

Kevin Smith wrote, directed, and edited "Zack Miri Make a Porno" which is an ambitious film about people who get together and make something especially when you gotta make quick money. But life is about more than money and that's where this film stands out and it especially stands out from Kevin Smith's filmography. The man proves he is more than just a "sequel" director. The characters in this fi...

Jonathan Demme is a master filmmaker and he shows us his storytelling prowess with "The Silence of the Lambs". The film is not only great because of its premise and engaging plot but the power of the close up. That close up is a very powerful use of cinematography and by keeping us at that close up for the majority of the film, you cant help but continue to watch. I can understand why people would...

"A Ghost Story" is a film all about time as it states in its poster. And it is. It's a strong film written & directed by David Lowery who casted Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara about two people who love each other and they eventually lose each other. It's more really more about the journey than it is about the couple itself and how the film works, it's meditational piece of art. Now there are co...

XG joins me on this episode for the film "Leave the World Behind". He requested it so we did it. Funny because I was gonna review this film down the road. The film isn't bad, it's just a bit too long and there's not much of a plot to work with which is crazy because you can do so many things with this type of story. It's weird that I had a hard time connecting with these characters. Almost as if t...

Ava DuVernay directed "Selma" that deals with the marches of Selma in 1965 led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This actually happened that led to an official to pass signed by President Lyndon B Johnson. A dramatized film of course but it's straightforward, it's gets to the point and the performances from the talent really give this film the attention it deserves. We get to see a MLK Jr. very human,...

"Anatomy of a Fall" is a gripping courtroom dramam directed by Justine Triet. The film is literal in it's title. We are looking at a fall that resulted death to the husband/father of a family that secretly failing. We don't know if the fall was ruled out to be suicide or murder. The mother/wife is the only prime suspect and the family is thrown to the ringer. It's crazy how a courtroom is a place...

"Juice" is a good film. It could have been greater if Tupac's character "Bishop" wasn't written to be so James Cagney and it's funny that the film ended in the fashion of "White Heat" but it's because of that film Tupac decided to go deep into the psyche of a man with practically nothing to lose at a young age growing up in early '90s New York. Harlem to be more exact. The film is about senior hig...

This is a film Roger Ebert would have loved. He loved Martin Scorsese and this film, "Killers of the Flower Moon" is just another notch on the belt. This is a western epic that deals with history in the United States. What I loved about the film is the screenplay itself. It was written so well. You have all kinds of situations that are happening at the same time and it intensifies throughout the w...

"Jingle All the Way" is a fun and sometimes wacky film about consumerism and how to keep up with your word. My faovrite Christmas film because it shows toys, toys, and more toys. Especially the Turbo Man doll that's the "It Doll" of the year. Imagine having to buy a toy on Christmas Eve? THE toy that every kid wants. Good luck, buddy. And good luck with this film because it is cheesy for the most...

"Black Christmas" is one the earliest slasher films of the horror game and who would have thought it would come straight from Toronto, Canada? Well it did and it is iconic in its style and the dabbling of the plot where we don't know who the killer is. Who is causing all this harm? it's crazy beacuse even law enforcement can't even figure it out, obvious plot defect but the screenwriter makes up f...

Judd Apatow's "Knocked Up" is a national treasure of a romantic comedy film that is still as relevant as ever due to the fact of Apatow's knack of wiriting witty dialogue and had a dream team of a cast that knew their roles to the tee and weren't afraid to improvise in the process. I'm grateful for E-Zone and XG who are co-hosts of the We Don't Smoke the Same Podcast, joined me to go a on a deep d...

Greta Gerwig is a woman who stars and directs film where the characters are dealing with an existential crisis, or rather, dealing with their identities and questioning life and our pupose in it. "Barbie" is the film that was meant for her to direct and what a way to put that life concept on a doll that has influenced modern culture and it continues to. This is one best films of the year that can...

Steven Spielberg's "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" is a modern day masterpiece that will always stand the test of time due to it's subject of humans vs A.I. and can we play God amongst them. The film couldn't paint a better picture and it's told in two hours plus. I was pleased and thankful to have Rock Samson on this episode because he shares the same love I have for this film. But whether we love...

"Princess Mononoke" is Hayao Miyazaki's masterpiece. It's an adventure film that's filled with vibrant colors and deep morals and they're all tied to how we humans treat our environment and it doesn't look good. It's tough to make a feel look beautiful even in it's darkest pastures and still have an effective story about our roles in this Earth. I dig the film for it's cinematography, the use of C...

What? A double featured review? Yes. I ended watching two "Orphan" films. I didn't there was a prequel in this very limited film series. I saw the first one. Then I found out about the second one. And by watching it, I might as well double them up. These two films are very similar to each other. The plots are different but they are alike. One is not better than the other although I actually enjoye...

"Hereditary" is a great horror film that I tried my best to stay away from but a lot of people wanted me to talk about it. I'm glad that my mind was changed about seeing this film that deals with loss and the disfunction of family. It's not your typical horror film, all these characters have motives and brains that push the story forward and there's a lot of mystery as how these characters themsel...