Grant Minnick's Movie Reviews

“Hey look!  It’s the NRA!” - Phil Phillips The Happytime Murders is a raunchy puppet comedy starring Melissa McCarthy and directed by Brian Henson.  In a world where puppets and humans coexist, a string of puppet murders starts, and two detectives, one a human, the other a puppet, have to team up to solve the case.  This film isn’t great, but I actually did have a really good time with it. The world building is quite good, and the puppet design is incredible. There were some really funny parts in the film, but there were also some jokes that didn’t quite land.  It was very cliché at times, and there was a forced romance at the end. There were also some times where it tried to be serious, and I didn’t like that very much. The idea of dirty-talking puppets is nothing new, but as long as you know what you’re getting into, you should have a good time with The Happytime Murders just like I did. Rating: R Grade: B

“You’re tearing me apart, Lisa!” - Johnny This film is absolute garbage.  I loved how absolutely, unbelievably horrible it was. It was hysterical from every aspect possible because everything about this film is horrible.  Scenes were reused, none of the dialogue made sense, the acting was terrible, the script is just embarrassing, and the directing is some of the worst I’ve ever seen.  Tommy Wiseau had some serious guts to make this film. The man is an icon. This is honestly one of the most awful films I’ve seen in my whole life. This is truly the best worst movie, and if I were grading it on how hilariously bad it is, it’d get an A+. Rating: R Grade: F

“Here’s to the ones who dream, foolish as they may seem.” - Mia Dolan One of my favorite musicals of all time , this romantic film had me singing along and tapping my feet the entire way through.  The storyline, acting, music, choreography, and cinematography are all excellent. Emma Stone’s performance of “Audition/The Fools Who Dream” made me cry. I loved the fantastical elements too. This movie really hit me emotionally. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone have such fantastic chemistry here, and their singing and dancing ability is fantastic too. I loved the costume design, and the sets were also great. This movie really romanticizes L.A. night life, and I honestly loved that. This is one of those films that I wish I could experience all over again for the first time. Rating: PG-13 A+

“Once you meet someone, you never really forget them.” - Zeniba This film is truly beautiful.  The art pops off the screen with every frame.  The characters are very unique, and really interesting.  There is no such thing as a boring character here, and the same goes for visuals.  There are really some truly beautiful moments in this film. I really can’t think of many flaws in this film.   The storyline is incredible, there is some pretty music, the visuals are terrific, and Hayao Miyazaki directs this film with panache.  This is widely regarded as Studio Ghibli’s best film, and it’s tough to disagree with that statement. My only issue with this film is sort of a nitpick, and that was that it was just a tad predictable.  Overall, this film is a masterpiece. Rating: PG Grade: A

“Meg versus man isn’t a fight, it’s a slaughter.” - Jonas Taylor The Meg is directed by Jon Turteltaub, and stars Jason Statham, Li Bingbing and Rainn Wilson.  This film is about a giant prehistoric shark known as a megalodon that terrorizes people in the water and causes many problems for our main characters.   Let me start by saying that this film is not great.  There are many problems with it, which I’ll get to in a second.  But it is not a bad movie either. I really enjoyed this film. It was very stupid at times, but that’s one of the things that I liked about it.  It was cheesy and campy, and it knew that about itself, and embraced it. Statham and Wilson both were good for the roles that they played. The music wasn’t bad either. However, as I said before, there are problems with it.  It was a little overlong, and there was some pretty bad acting present as well.  Some of the dialogue was really stupid, and not in a good way. There wa...

“Of course I’m dangerous.  I’m police. I can do terrible things to people with impunity.” - Detective Rustin “Rust” Cohle True Detective is an original HBO anthology crime series whose first season stars Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey as two detectives investigating a disturbing occult related murder case.   Let me start by saying that this is officially my favorite t.v. show of all time.  All 8 episodes are absolutely phenomenal. One thing I love about this series is its character development.  This show has such a knack for character it’s crazy. This show especially has a knack for creating characters who are particularly unsavory at best.   The dialogue is as sharp as a knife, and the story is gripping. This show has so many threads throughout that tie it together in such a neat way. Episode 5 is probably the singular best episode of television I have seen as of this date.  And don’t even get me started on the music. It’s absolute...

“Look into my eyes so you know what it’s like to live a life not knowing what a normal life’s like.”  - Marcus This overlooked gem left me speechless.  The best feel good romance drama I’ve seen since Silver Linings Playbook, Short Term 12 tells the story of Grace (Brie Larson) and Mason, (John Gallagher Jr.) two lovers who work as supervisors in a group home for troubled teens. When a new girl named Jayden comes to the facility, an interesting turn of events transpires.  I loved this film, and as soon as it was over, I did something I have never done before with a film: I watched it again immediately. The acting in this film is phenomenal, the cinematography is very good, the story is very inventive, the music is very cool, and the script and the dialogue was on point. This is truly an immaculate film. Rating: R Grade: A+

“Never been tagged.  Just sayin’.” - Jerry Pierce This film is surprisingly refreshing.  I went into Tag not expecting much, but it turned out to be a fresh, fun blast.  The actors were all very good, (man, Jeremy Renner is a good comedic actor,) and the story was very enjoyable.  Did it get over the top at times? Yes, it definitely did. However, it was never horrible. There were some things we’ve seen before, yes, but overall, this was a breath of fresh air that the comedy genre needed.  This is a fresh, perfectly enjoyable film that I honestly had a very fun time watching. Rating: R Grade: A-

“It turns out Death is an elderly white woman.” - Howard Inlet This film had a very cool soundtrack, and the visuals were done nicely. However, the sub-plots were very disappointing.  They could have been done much better. And the main plot was so stupid I couldn’t believe they thought it was a good idea.   And I also had trouble telling if the film was a comedy, or a drama at times. The jokes were very poorly placed, and while I like Edward Norton, his performance was extremely lackluster.  However, in his defense, with the role he was provided, there was only so much he could do to try to fix it. So, for the role he was given, I think he did the best he possibly could. This is just a very bad film. Rating: PG-13 Grade: D

“There’s a rumbly in my tumbly.” - Winnie The Pooh This incredibly inventive film tells the story of a grown up Christopher Robin (Ewan McGregor) who is too invested in his work, and has forgotten how to play, and spend time with his family.  He then gets a very unexpected visit from his childhood friend Winnie The Pooh. This film is wonderfully directed by Marc Forster (The Kite Runner, and Finding Neverland) and the cinematography is very good. There is a massive variety of beautiful shots in the film, and the drab, serious color palette is strangely fitting.  The music is also noteworthy. I also really enjoyed the animation, and the way they brought back beloved characters that so many people remember fondly. Now for issues, there are some pacing problems; some scenes go by much too fast, and other scenes go on for a little too long. Overall though, this film is perfectly enjoyable, and has a nice message. Rating: PG Grade: B+

“Hold on, you gave her wings?” - Scott Lang a.k.a. Ant-Man This film is one of those classic enjoyable Marvel movies that makes for a good old-fashioned popcorn flick.   It takes place simultaneously with The Avengers: Infinity War, and tells the story of Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) who is now under house arrest.  Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) is concerned about his wife, whom he believes to be alive after she was presumed to have died in the quantum realm. This film is very enjoyable, and very fun. I liked the music a lot, and the CGI effects were actually quite good.  Some of the characters were not very fleshed out, and I did not care for the villain, Ghost, very much either. But overall, Ant-Man And The Wasp is a fun popcorn movie that you can go out and have a perfectly good time with. Rating: PG-13 Grade: B+