Morning Reel

It's a Wonderful Life" is wonderful for many reasons - the production design, the well written script adapted from "A Christmas Carol", the acting and ensemble cast you get, plus more from the premise itself of making the best of life, especially when you know you got it good. Enjoy. #morningreel #itsawonderfullife #frankcapra

True love! In this LSD review, I talk about why I think "The Philadelphia Story" is a great film, almost the perfect film to be more descriptive. The cast filled with beautiful and talented actors and how they certainly bring the script alive on its toes especially with endless one-liners. This film caught my attention as to how it reflects the times and parodies high societies, monocles y todo. E...

This Peanuts classic shows us kids and adults what Thanksgiving is about in a cute, comedic and wholesome way. A simple plot didn't go a long way but I enjoyed Snoopy making food for his friends and all comes from the bottom of his heart. A film to enjoy and possibly re-create, you'll get hooked and make you want to take on the world. #morningreel #acharliebrownthanksgiving

"To the Wonder" written & directed by Terrence Malick is a love letter to love and it's brutal. It's not a graphic film but the passion that the actors put into the film is no where near numb. An explosion at being free and feeling free in a space where you have to convince the audience, "this is who I am and it makes sense to me". I loved the film for it's cinematography, the use of voice overs i...

My wife briefly joins on this episode for the review of "Equals" which I thought is a good hearted film that did is best to use romance and fuse it with minimalist science fiction themes such as dystopian societies where emotions are taboo. I really love the cinematography, talk about how the visuals from the robotic nature of the camera can help tell a story and the actors in the film did a great...

"Clerks III" concludes the "Clerks" trilogy that Kevin Smith has created. This film is probably the most emotional of the three. Not the most powerful, it almost feels like mockumentary of sorts but Smith did a good job choosing which scenes are worthy enough to "re-enact" but in Randal's vision. And I like it a lot. The dialog is sharp and Elias is great practicing Satanism and dressing up what h...

We're back with "Clerks II", the raunchier, more in-depth sequel to Kevin Smith's "Clerks II". I dig this sequel more than the first, it has more dialog that works with the overall story of the film. I talk the strengths of how the characters push the narrative of life/work/friendship/ As they get older, the circles are much smaller and tighter and you start to appreciate life more. I also point o...

"Clerks" is Kevin Smith's debut in cinema and what an explosive film it is. After this film, the rest was history for this talented man. I talk about how the film reminds me of Jean-Luc Godard in terms how it's organized visually speaking. It's in black & white set in local New Jersey, the screen is filled with interesting dialog especially how blunt they are when it comes to being real about what...

John Carpenter's "Halloween" is a great attempt at American Horror Slasher cinema. The man who is known for writing, scoring, and directing; takes us to suburbia where in Halloween, no teenager is safe and Michael Myers doesn't care who gets sliced. I praise the film for doing its best to produce an iconic female lead led by Jamie Lee Curtis. I also talk about the cinematography and its effect of...

"Häxan" is probably one of most spookiest/horror films of the day and that time is 1922. Imagine watching this film at that time? That's what I briefly explore in this episode. It's a documentary-style film that informs us witchcraft since Middle Ages until modern times at that time. I dig it because of how they depict information. The production design did a great job bringing devil to life and d...

"The Blair Witch Project" is an example of an indie masterpiece and at the same time being a horror film. The decision to make the film feel realistic led partially to the power of the film, the acting is incredible that it makes you feel like you're amongst the trio of characters. I also discuss how things just gets worse in matters of sequences.

A GRINDHOUSE FEATURE - "Hocus Pocus" and "Hocus Pocus 2" both great for kids and adults to watch. I talk about how the films puts representation on women in leading roles, the complexity of the characters especially Bette Midler's. I also talk about how well the themes were written in their own right. #morningreel #hocuspocus #hocuspocus2

"Titane" is a a modern body borror film masterpiece. Julia Ducournau took the genre and added a fresh edge to the female lead especially this lead beautifully acted by Agathe Rousselle. Ducournau put a lot of attention to detail in all apsects of filmmaking which I felt led to winning the Palme d'Or earlier this year and I briefly talk about that. Acting, cinematography, unique way of driving the...

"Jaws" and among other early '70s films made what is called the "blockbuster" today. "Jaws" is an iconic film beautifully directed by Steven Spielberg. He went the Hitchcock/new wave route with his choice of cinematography and how the characters played each other in such a fun way. I talk about the screenplay, how detailed he is in certain sequences in the film and I also mention how important it...

"Jerry Maguire" is a fan favorite amongst folks who love the work of Cameron Crowe and Tom Cruise, respectively. Fortunately, I dig them both. To me, one of Cruise's best roles, if not the best because he fires on all cylinders portraying a sports agent whose put his life and career on the line. I talk about how great the characters are due to the writing of Crowe and they carry each other through...

One of my favorite sub-genres of filmmaking is the "coming of age" where young folks figure themselves out, whether it be a situation or time in their life. "The Spectacular Now" is a gem in this modern day romance/drama genre. The film does the sub-genre right, creating simple complexities that deal with family and key social groups, such as best friends and whatnot. I talk about the writing of t...

"Days of WIld Being" is Wong Kar-wai's debut film about missed connections of the romantic and parental. The absence of those who birthed us creates to be a certain, missing the peace that we can forever yearn for. I talk about how his choice of angles with music supports the narrative, pushing the mood these characters are going for. I also talk about the main character as to how deep and complex...

Nathan Fielder's "The Rehearsal" that's on HBO, is one of the most original reality television programs today where all the stops are off. In full Fielder mode, he goes on to helping people in his way but goes almost to God-like stages. One of the things being recreating locations all the way to smallest of details JUST to insure that his client can be successful to their confrontation. All the wh...

Olivier Assayas wrote and directed "Irma Vep" that portrays the state of French cinema at the time by placing the audience in the middle of making a film. A film about a film like how Assayas did is very invasive in an artful way. I briefly explain this method in this episode. I really enjoyed the film, it's nice to see people break down in normal situations, it's nice to see how people coexist de...

"Inception", to me, is Chistophher Nolan's masterpiece. The most understandable complex film in his body of work, this episode puts me back in 2010 when I saw the film the day it came out and how I addicted I was to it because of it's original storytelling, the use of its ensemble cast, and it all came from Nolan's writing. I also briefly explain how Nolan's chooses his scenes carefully that help...

Requested by Anthony Soto "Gravity" is the film Alfonso Cuaron finally got some serious recognition because of the numerous awards its earned back in 2013. I explain why by praising his writing, the team that made the sound design and the team who did the CGI for this film--which looks great. It's a sci-fi adventure led by mainly Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. It's a film of the triumph of the...

I know why Martin Scorsese casted Nic Cage to be in "Bringing Out the Dead", he knew that this man can unravel such as that and he knew he can. This film is a wild trip into the dangerous streets of New York but in that ugliness is beauty that changes your outlook on life. Paul Schrader wrote this excellent film and Scorsese brought it on screen. It's shiny and dirty, the ying and the yang but all...

The debut film of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. This is a solid film with a great screenplay and a great cast to knock it off the pageant floor. I dig the strengths these cast of characters do and aren't afraid to show their weakness which is interesting to see in any film.

"Lost Highway" is one David Lynch's quasi-pyschosexual neo-noir masterpiece where the screenplay leaves your head scratching but at the same time it gets you to watch more. I talk about the strengths of the film in how its visuals not only create a style but also pushes the story and the mood of it all just lingers. It's those films that you have to accept as you see it because it's so out of the...

"Child 44" tried it's best to centralize corruption and murder in early Soviet Union era but it's confusing plot and heavy burden on Russian accents rather than actual spoken dialog left me searching for more. The actors did their best on this film but it just wasn't enough.