The Great Gatsby (2013) Review

The Great Gatsby is a 2013 romantic drama film based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel of the same name.

The film was co-written and directed by Baz Luhrmann and stars Leonardo DiCaprio as the eponymous Jay Gatsby, with Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, Elizabeth Debicki and Jack Thompson.

Jay-Z served as executive producer. Production began in 2011 and took place in Australia, with a $105 million net production budget.

The film follows the life and times of millionaire Jay Gatsby (DiCaprio) and his neighbor Nick Carraway (Maguire), who recounts his encounter with Gatsby at the height of the Roaring Twenties on Long Island.

The film was highly polarizing among critics; it received alternating praise and criticism for its acting performances, soundtrack, visual style, and direction.

Audiences responded more positively and Fitzgerald's granddaughter praised the film, stating "Scott would have been proud." As of 2017, it is Luhrmann's highest-grossing film, grossing over $353 million worldwide.

At the 86th Academy Awards, the film won in both of its nominated categories: Best Production Design and Best Costume Design.

Superman Returns (2006) Review

Superman Returns is a 2006 American hero movie coordinated by Bryan Singer and composed by Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris from a story by Singer, Dougherty and Harris dependent on the DC Comics character Superman.

It is the 6th and last portion in the first Superman film arrangement and fills in as a reverence continuation of Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980), while disregarding the functions of Superman III (1983), Supergirl (1984), and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987). The film stars Brandon Routh as Clark Kent/Superman, Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane, Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, with James Marsden, Frank Langella, and Parker Posey.

The film recounts the tale of the title character getting back to Earth following a five-year nonattendance. He finds that his affection interest Lois Lane has proceeded onward with her life, and that his most outstanding adversary Lex Luthor is plotting a plan to slaughter Superman and reshape North America.

After a progression of ineffective undertakings to revive Superman on screen following the basic and budgetary disappointment of The Quest for Peace, Warner Bros. Pictures recruited Bryan Singer to coordinate and create Superman Returns in July 2004. Most of head photography occurred at Fox Studios Australia, Sydney, while the special visualizations groupings were made by various studios, including Sony Pictures Imageworks, Rhythm and Hues, Framestore, Rising Sun Pictures, and The Orphanage; recording started in March 2005 and finished in November.

Upon discharge, the film got commonly sure surveys from pundits, who praised its enhanced visualizations, story, melodic score, and the exhibitions of Routh and Spacey. Nonetheless, it got analysis zeroing in on its runtime and absence of activity groupings. Notwithstanding its basic gathering, Warner Bros. was frustrated with the overall film industry return of the film, dropping a continuation anticipated 2009 subsequently. The Superman movie arrangement was totally rebooted in 2013 with Man of Steel, coordinated by Zack Snyder, featuring Henry Cavill as Superman, and dispatching the DC Extended Universe. Routh later repeated his function as Superman in the 2019 Arrowverse hybrid "Emergency on Infinite Earths".

Stuber (2019) Review

Stuber is a 2019 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Michael Dowse and written by Tripper Clancy. Its plot follows a mild-mannered Uber driver named Stu (Kumail Nanjiani) who picks up a passenger (Dave Bautista) who turns out to be a cop hot on the trail of a brutal killer.
Iko Uwais, Natalie Morales, Betty Gilpin, Jimmy Tatro, Mira Sorvino, and Karen Gillan also star.
The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 13, 2019 and was theatrically released in the United States on July 12, 2019. Stuber was produced and released by 20th Century Fox.
The film received mixed reviews from critics, who criticized it for not taking full advantage of its potential but praised Nanjiani and Bautista's chemistry.

Carrie (2013) Review

Carrie is a 2013 American supernatural horror drama film directed by Kimberly Peirce. It is the third film adaptation (the others were in 1976 and 2002) of Stephen King's 1974 novel of the same name and the fourth film in the Carrie franchise.

The film was produced by Kevin Misher, with a screenplay by Lawrence D. Cohen and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. The film stars Chloë Grace Moretz as the titular character Carrie White, alongside Julianne Moore as Margaret White. The cast also features Judy Greer, Portia Doubleday, Gabriella Wilde, Ansel Elgort and Alex Russell.

The film is a modern re-imagining of King's novel about a shy girl outcast by her peers and sheltered by her deeply religious mother, who uses her telekinetic powers with devastating effect after being a victim of a cruel prank at her senior prom.

The film held its world premiere at the Arclight Hollywood in Los Angeles on October 7, 2013 and was released in the United States by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Screen Gems on October 18, 2013.

The film received mixed reviews, with critics calling it "unnecessary", criticizing the lack of originality and scares, though they praised the modern updates and cast. It grossed $84 million worldwide at the box office.

The Favourite (2018) Review

The Favourite is a 2018 period black comedy film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, and written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara. It is a co-production of studios based in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United States.

Set in early 18th century Great Britain, the film's plot examines the relationship between two cousins, Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough (Rachel Weisz) and Abigail Masham (Emma Stone), who are vying to be Court favourite of Queen Anne (Olivia Colman).

Principal photography lasted from March to May 2017, taking place at Hatfield House in Hertfordshire and at Hampton Court Palace.

The Favourite premiered on 30 August 2018 at the 75th Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Prize and the Volpi Cup for Best Actress for Colman. It was theatrically released in the United States on 23 November 2018 by Fox Searchlight Pictures, and in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 1 January 2019.

The film became a box office success, grossing $95 million worldwide on a $15 million budget.

Godzilla King of the Monsters (2019) Review

Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a 2019 monster film directed by Michael Dougherty and co-written by Dougherty with Zach Shields. A sequel to Godzilla (2014), it is the 35th film in the Godzilla franchise, the third film in Legendary's MonsterVerse, and the third Godzilla film to be completely produced by a Hollywood studio. It is dedicated to executive producer Yoshimitsu Banno and original Godzilla suit performer Haruo Nakajima, who both died in 2017.

The film stars Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Bradley Whitford, Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, Thomas Middleditch, Aisha Hinds, O'Shea Jackson Jr., David Strathairn, Ken Watanabe, and Zhang Ziyi. In the film, humans must rely on Godzilla and Mothra to defeat King Ghidorah, who has awakened other Titans to destroy the world.

The sequel was green-lit during the opening weekend of Godzilla, with Gareth Edwards expected to return to direct a trilogy. In May 2016, Edwards left the project. In October 2016, Dougherty and Shields were hired to rewrite the script. In January 2017, Dougherty was announced as the director. Principal photography began in June 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia, and wrapped in September 2017.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters was theatrically released on May 31, 2019 to mixed reviews with praise for the visual effects, action sequences, cinematography, and musical score while criticism was aimed at the pacing, tone, plot, and characters. The film was a box office disappointment, grossing $386 million worldwide against a production budget between $170–200 million and marketing costs between $100–150 million. A sequel, Godzilla vs. Kong, is scheduled to be released on May 21, 2021.

The Judge (2014) Review

The Judge is a 2014 American legal drama film directed by David Dobkin. The film stars Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga, Vincent D'Onofrio, Jeremy Strong, Dax Shepard and Billy Bob Thornton.

The film was released in the United States on October 10, 2014. It received mixed reviews but critics praised the performances of Duvall and Downey as well as Thomas Newman's score while criticizing the formulaic nature of its script and the lack of development for its supporting characters.

Duvall received multiple award nominations for his performance as Judge Joseph Palmer, including the Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award and Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor. Thomas Newman also received a Satellite Award nomination for Best Original Score.