​Rating: 87/100
 
Nope is the first movie I have seen in theaters this summer and it wasn’t easy. The first time I tried to see the film I walked into a pitch-black theater, some of the members of the audience were complaining about there not being any trailers, then boom! The movie just popped up and began playing, many people including myself didn’t even realize the movie started, thinking it was the first trailer. About halfway through the movie all hell broke loose when the movie stopped abruptly. 30 minutes later it started back up again but it was further ahead in the movie. The theater finally decided to refund our tickets and I got new tickets for the next showing the following day.
 
After a rough start the second viewing of Nope ran smoothly and allowed me to notice some things from the first half that I hadn’t during the first viewing. The movie follows OJ, and Emerald Haywood played by Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer. They are siblings and related to the horse jockey that was in the first ever film to see if horses weren’t ever not touching the ground. The Haywood family have become staples in Hollywood provided everything horse related. After unexplained events happening around their property, their father Otis, played by Keith David dies. To make some money OJ begins selling horses to their neighbor who runs an adventure park, this is Jupe played by Steven Yeun. Child actor gone wrong when a monkey on the set of his show went off the rails killing everyone besides him.
 
The act by the monkey of letting Jupe live resonates with him, as he wants to make a spectacle out of anything and especially out of the UFO that flies around his and the Haywood’s property. On the other hand, the Haywoods want to be the first to capture a UFO on camera, like how their great grandfather was the first to be on camera. Jordan Peele does an amazing job again with his third film, as he takes on a new type of horror we’ve never seen. The way he composed his shots by leaving the sky above visible had me scanning the stars to see if any of them weren’t. This film truly had me on the edge of my seat and once again put humans in perspective. Showing how we can sometimes be greedy and try to take advantage of others to gain fame and fortune. Even if that means risking everything…

Rating: 80/100
 
​Being at the right place at the right time can help get you hired, but it could also help get you fired. That is the life of an NBA scout traveling the world looking for talent, it is also the life of Stanley played by Adam Sandler in Hustle. This film is filled with NBA players and celebrities, including the co-star Bo Cruz, played by Juancho Hernangómez. Some other names include Anthony Edwards who plays Bo’s rival Kermit… I know, it’s a super intimidating name. Boban Marjanovic has a role as a 22-year-old, Julius Erving or Dr. J plays himself, Mo Wangner has an appearance, and NBA Champion, and NBA on TNT host Kenny Smith plays Stanley’s best friend. 
 
The cast is full of these NBA players listed above and many more who aren’t mentioned, their talent is seen on the court and on the big screen as the acting in this film is great! Sandler once again does an amazing job at proving he is more than a goofy comedic actor but one that should be taken seriously after being snubbed for “Uncut Gems”. Like his character Sandler puts it all on the line in this one when he is fired from his dream job shortly after a promotion and forced to groom Cruz on his own after finding him in the streets of Madrid.
 
A modern day Rocky if he took up basketball instead of boxing, Stanley, and Bo travel to Philadelphia to train for the NBA combine and reinforce Bo’s image. From intense training montages to the drama and business behind the current NBA, this movie has everything. Whether you follow basketball or you’re just a lover of movies this is for you, telling a rag to riches story about hard work and persistence. Hustle is a well-directed movie by Jeremiah Zagar, where he demonstrates his love for basketball as well as his storytelling in this inspirational film. Zagar shows the modern NBA not only through the cutthroat business but by actually showing present players and coaches, this is a film all fans can relate too and whether you’re a new fan or old you need to see Hustle!

Rating: 95/100

Life is all about big moments, and the milestones that happen on your journey. But what makes you who you are is the little moments in-between those big moments and milestones. This movie shows the 12-year journey of a boy named Mason, played by Ellar Coltrane and the journey that he is led on by the people around him. Especially his mom played by Patricia Arquette, his dad played by Ethan Hawke, and his sister Samantha played by Lorelei Linklater, also the daughter of the director. Directed by Richard Linklater, he wanted to show the journey of boyhood but didn't know how to without showing the different stages and ages of it.

​This 12-year journey with the same cast may bring you back to your own childhood and the little moments you forgot about with your family and friends. Mason and his sister spend most of their time with their mother, Olivia. As a single mom she tries her best to make ends meet and doesn't always make the best decisions, but that’s part of life. Together they grow and learn how to live with each other. 

Linklater used the same 35mm film throughout the movie, providing a seamless transition from jumps in time. Along with that, you notice the subtle differences in height, hair length, clothing, and technology to throughout the film to decipher time. I love that there is no need for any sort of time stamp in this film because it takes place in the present. Isn't that also what we're all trying to do? Live in the present? This movie is focused on the moments that make us who we are, the little moments like going to a baseball game with your dad or your first big move to a new house. Not only is this film about boyhood but it is really about childhood.

Rating: 88/100

Death! Sex! Blood! Backstabbing! Explosions! and Nom Nom? This redo Suicide Squad was directed by James Gunn who is well known for making two other awesome super-hero movies in Guardians of the Galaxy and GOTG Vol. 2. This time Gunn gets more creative control by the film being R rated, which perfectly fits how DC comics roll. The Suicide Squad is a near perfect superhero movie except it doesn't have any! It features Harley Quinn played by Margo Robbie, Bloodsport by Idris Elba, Peacemaker by John Cena, and King Shark as Sylvester Stallone? Yes.

The movie follows the same format as the first Suicide Squad where the US government takes villains out of jail to help save the world. But this time it doesn't have Jared Leto as the Joker... All jokes aside this film had great music choice which seems to be a common theme with James Gunn films, and it has a great storyline full of ups and downs. From the very get go he introduces us to the situation and little background is needed to catch up. 

The movie introduces one problem after the other for the main characters and it's a constant rollercoaster which makes for a fun watching experience. I felt that each character in the Suicide Squad was fully fleshed out and we didn't get any half-assed characters. Even King Shark whose main line in the film is "Nom Nom" had a great arc. Gunn does a fantastic job of integrating flashbacks to further develop the characters and using clever bickering between the Squad to unearth some more details. I really enjoyed this movie and I guarantee it is better than the first Suicide Squad from 2016.

Rating: 81/100

How dangerous can journalism be? Well, this movie reveals the risks that journalists truly take as Johnny Barrett played by Peter Breck ventures into an insane asylum as a patient to solve a murder. To be a journalist is to go out there and find your story, to take risks and venture to dangerous places to tell the truth. Journalists die every year trying to report the truth and take big risks. Johnny is no different as he is determined to win a Pulitzer Prize by solving a mysterious murder in this asylum.

Johnny begins his journey to the asylum with the help of his newspaper editor and a psychiatrist who help prepare him for how to act and what questions may be asked. They come up with a story that his wife Cathy played by Constance Towers, is his sister who Johnny has harassed and assaulted for years. Cathy hates this idea and doesn't want to go along with it but is convinced because of her love for Johnny and wanting him to achieve his goal of a Pulitzer Prize. Cathy goes to the police and reports her brother Johnny, who is taken in for testing. At the test Johnny confesses his love for his sister and talks about his sister as one talks about their wife. When Johnny sees his chance, he attacks the man interviewing him and is taken in.

Once in the asylum Johnny begins his plan of figuring out who murdered Sloane by asking around nonchalantly. He tries to act crazy like everyone else and once he is on their good side, he asks them about the murder. At night Johnny dreams of Cathy dancing how she does at work, in these dreams she talks and teases him, making him irritable. Johnny tries to keep it together but as he learns more about each patient and hears their stories, he begins to go crazy himself.

Cathy visits Johnny during his visiting hours and he begins to act unrecognizable to her. When she tries to kiss him, he freaks out thinking that she's his sister, when she complains to his editor, he tells her that Johnny is close to cracking the case. With each of the three men Johnny interviews he gets closer to figuring out who killed Sloane. The Cowboy tells him he saw it while hiding under a table with two other men, one of which is Trent played by Hari Rhodes. A Black Man who thinks he's White and in the KKK, he tells him that the murderer was wearing white staff pants. This leads Johnny to the ex-scientist who helped work on the H-Bomb, who now has the mentality of a six-year-old. Johnny tries to find the murder before he loses all his marbles and completely forgets who he is.

This film was written, directed, and produced by Samuel Fuller, where he explores the psychiatric system and the effects it has on patients. I believe the best part of the film is the narration and inner monologue that Johnny has with himself throughout. Slowly you start to see his thoughts slip and he begins to lose track of his mission, I think the acting by Peter Breck was great. This film resembles what Nellie Bly a journalist accomplished in 1887 when she faked mental illness to be admitted to a lunatic asylum. There she reported on the terrible conditions and what the patients went through. She was able to publish her investigation in Ten Days in a Mad-House, which launched a grand jury investigation into the Department of Public Charities and Corrections.

Rating: 97/100

​​"Baise la Police" is what Saïd writes on the back of a police force car and is the value that drives the French youth. This is the story of Vinz played by Vincent Cassel, Saïd played by Saïd Taghmaoui, and Hubert played by Hubert Koundé and their struggle against the discriminative French police. When a friend of theirs Abdel is shot by police, riots break out in the projects of Paris leading to destruction, fire, injuries and a police officer losing his gun. 

The group always seems to make it by in the projects, Hubert is a local drug dealer and boxer, Saïd deals on the side, and Vinz is a wannabe gangster. After a night of rioting and fighting the police Vinz runs into a cow on the loose and finds the officers missing weapon. This gives Vinz new confidence vs. the police and anyone who crosses his path, including his friends.

Throughout the film the group runs into standoffs with the police around every corner, so they learn to adapt to the police. Everyone does, except Vinz who lives in the past and won't get over his grudge vs the police. Learning to adapt is very well put when the boys are in a bathroom arguing about Vinzs gun and an old man comes out of a stall telling them about a story when he was on a train being shipped to a work camp and had to shit. 

All is going great until they are stopped by local police for a "random" pat down. Hubert and Saïd are taken into custody and Vinz gets away by out running them. Hubert and Saïd are beaten and tortured by veteran police trying to get answers out of them and also trying to teach a rookie cop how it’s done. The rookie cop watches in agony and disbelief at the way the police are treating these young men, showing there is still good out there. Vinz finds some new gangster friends who show him how it’s done when they shoot and kill a nightclub bouncer for not letting them in. This shakes his core values, and he runs off to meet up with Hubert and Saïd. They run into some dangerous Skinheads and Vinz is finally able to use his gun for good. The Skinheads run off while the guys hold and beat one at gun point, but does Vinz have what it takes to be the gangster he says he is?

Directed by Mathieu Kassovitz who is also known for Amélie (2001) pulls out all the stops in this cinematography masterpiece. Kassovitz shows expert levels of continuity and camera work with his experimental ways of using the camera. He uses dolly and zoom shots to trick the audience and rearrange their POV, while also telling a story is a work of art. I also love how he ties up all of his loose ends in the film and my favorite being the cow that Vinz talks about. This movie brought art back to film by making the silver screen its canvas, a truly wonderful film with great story telling and a great message.