Call Me by Your Name is a slow-burning coming-of-age story with bold direction and stunning performances.  Luca Guadagnino (I Am Love) brings out the best of Armie Hammer (The Social Network) and Timothee Chalamet (Interstellar, Lady Bird), with this realistic and yet unique love story.  The first half of the film flies by with a clever script that plays Oliver and Elio off of each other perfectly.  These two intelligent characters are fun to watch when they are alone and together.  As they often try to outsmart each other, they notice their similarities.  There is a purity in their relationship that is hard to describe on paper, but Hammer and Chalamet create the relationship with gravitas.

Focusing on passion, the film also uses an interesting soundtrack to progress the storyline.  A blend of classical music and modern indie tunes composed by Sufjan Stevens tie character thoughts to the audience perspectives. The characters are deeply intellectual and the music brings us into their world at certain instances.  The soundtrack also gives us sweet and haunting melodies to portray the romance that unravels over time.

While I enjoyed this movie, I think that there is a drop-off point between the first and second half.  The first half has a fun script that kept me engaged with the characters during my first viewing of the film.  However, the second half slows down to focus more on the intimate relationship between Oliver and Elio.  We no longer get a good amount of the crisp and engaging commentary from Elio and Oliver, which is what really built their relationship.  There is one scene towards the end between Chalamet and Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man​) that is powerfully written, but aside from that there is a dramatic change in tone for the second half.  Yet, there is plenty to enjoy with these characters and I look forward to the Oscar nominations that the film will clinch.

The Bottom Line: Call Me by Your Name is a pure film filled with intimate detail and engaging characters.

Score: 9.3/10

Image credit: ​By Franz Richter (User:FRZ) - Own work (taken with Nikon D60 SLR), CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=56267295

Fresh from New York City, QTY brings listeners a fun indie rock album that is reminiscent of classic rock styles.  QTY is a good blend of old guitar sounds and underground indie rock melodies.  "Rodeo" drops us into the album with a heavy rock vibe with loud drums and classic guitar riffs.  It is quick to engage the listener into the soundscape.  "Dress/Undress" progresses the album with interesting vocals between Dan Lardner's low voice and Alex Niemetz's softer background harmonizations.  The vocal fluidity runs the song into an intense ending buildup.  After "Dress/Undress", the album lightens up for the third track.  "Michael" has a catchy chorus with a more traditional song form.

The fourth track is currently my favorite song because of how it breaks open halfway through the playback.  "Cold Nights" balances haunting lyrics with repetitive instrumentals.  It drills in the point with Lardner's vocal strains at the two minute mark.  We get to hear more of Lardner's higher vocal range in "Word for This".  There is nothing special about his somewhat worn-out voice, but it works really well with the band's genre.

The second half of the album is a smoother and more subdued.  "Notify Me" has easy-going guitar chords and consistent drum beats.  The guitar solos in the track would make for a fun live performance of the song.  One of the strengths of the album is the raw sound that would make for a good concert.  Towards the end of "Notify Me", QTY adds sweet string melodies to play off of the twangy guitar.  This leads the listener softly into the most subdued track on the album.  "Sad Poetic" is created with a sympathetic soundscape.  The lyrics claim, "No, I don't wanna sound like a sad poetic".  Yet the song has a sad tone to reflect the message.

Towards the end of the album, we finally get to hear Alex Niemetz's voice in the lead vocal role.  She is dreamy and has potential as a lead singer for more songs to come.  There is a country twang to "New Beginnings", helping to create the dreamy atmosphere for Niemetz's voice.  Just as the song fades out, we fade into the final track of the album.  "Salvation" is a solid ending song with a buildup to leave the listener in anticipation of more music to come from QTY.  As Niemetz and Lardner's debut album, QTY strikes a nice balance between classic rock and indie rock soundscapes.

Score: 7/10

Favorite Tracks: "Rodeo", "Michael", "Cold Nights", "Salvation"

Least Favorite Tracks: "Living Things"

Ah yes, the dawn of a new Star Wars movie has arrived.  This means that I have another chance to attempt to make it through the prequels in a potentially ultra-movie-marathon.  Well, I surprisingly made it through The Phantom Menace and surely will not be able to finish the prequels before I see The Last Jedi.  In my view, The Phantom Menace is the worst Star Wars film ever created.  However, I cannot speak about the holiday special since I have not seen it and it may or may not exist according to Harrison Ford.

There is an overwhelming majority of people who claim that Attack of the Clones is the worst film of the franchise, but for many reasons I disagree.  Attack of the Clones at least gives us better CGI effects than the first film does.  Everything in The Phantom Menace seems extremely fake and poorly made.  George Lucas (Raiders of the Lost Ark) got a bit carried away with the effects and it detracted from the already half-hearted storytelling.  Honestly, puppet Yoda could've carried this movie much better than the CGI Yoda did.

Unfortunately, the storyline also carries no weight in the franchise.  The whole reason for the prequel trilogy was to set up Darth Vader, but Jake Lloyd (Jingle All the Way) is a poor choice for young Anakin.  We are also introduced to other characters who carry no weight in the franchise, ranging from Qui-Gon Jinn to Jar Jar Binks.  I'm assuming that everyone reading this review is familiar with the flaws of Jar Jar, so I won't go into a long rant about Lucas's terrible writing/casting decision for this one.  However, Liam Neeson (Schindler's List, The A-Team) is wasted in the role of Qui-Gon and that is unacceptable.  Lucas brings in big actors and tears them apart with his poor storyline for the prequels.

The Bottom Line:  After the original trilogy, George Lucas lost his touch with the Star Wars franchise. 

Score: 3.5/10

The Age of Shadows is a simple cat-and-mouse chase film with a lot of details that become confusing at times.  As a whole, the film is very enjoyable and extremely well-shot.  From acclaimed Korean director, Jee-woon Kim (The Good the Bad the Weird), comes this thrilling and constantly progressing story involving cops, a resistance group, and untrustworthy spies.  These three elements make for an intriguing story full of twists and turns.  At a runtime of two hours and twenty minutes, the film never gets muddled down or boring.  The directing and shot choices keep every scene fresh and vibrant, forcing our eyes to never look away from the screen.

While the shots are clear and concise, there are certain pacing choices that could have been better executed.  At times, the setting jumps from one place to another in an instant.  Because of the constant setting changes, I found myself lost on occasion and was left trying to figure out what happened between the filming locations.  There is one scene that occurs at a nunnery, but it is hard to figure out who is at the nunnery at the time and how they leave the nunnery.  The transitions are fluid, but not detailed enough to explain what is occurring between scenes.  

The main plotline was easy to follow, with corruption and two-faced protagonists leading the charge.  Yet, there are a few subplots that are harder to comprehend and might require a second screening of the film to completely understand.  Yoo Gong (Train to Busan), Kang-ho Song (The Host, Snowpiercer), and Byung-hun Lee (A Bittersweet Life​) are all brilliant in their respective roles.  It is often hard to figure out their characters's allegiances, but that is a huge part of the storyline.  Often times Korean films include overly cheesy characters, creating comic relief for the story.  Yet, I usually find that these characters detract from the seriousness of the genre.  Luckily, there are no such characters in this award-level film.

The Bottom Line: The Age of Shadows is an enjoyable Korean cat-and-mouse chase story, filled with untrustable characters and exciting camera shots.

Score: 9.4/10

Image credit: ​By wasabcon - http://wasabcon.tistory.com/621, CC BY 2.0 kr, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31364107

For Swifties that really enjoyed 1989, this album is an almost completely different sound for one of the biggest musicians in the world.  Some Swifties might hate it, but most will probably love it.  Throughout the album, Swift reflects on her past and how it made her who she is today.  There is still the charming acoustic side of her, but there is also something much darker brewing on this disc.  Starting off, "...Ready For It?" is a bold statement with a large production of sound.  This is the new sound that Swifties will have to grow accustomed to over the course of the 55 minute runtime.  After the first track, we get a clear glimpse into Swift's past with a song featuring Ed Sheeran.  As the only song featuring other artists, "End Game" is an interesting addition to the album.  Personally, I think that it might've been better as a bonus track.  

Following "End Game", Swift dives back into the sci-fi soundscapes with heavy synthesizers and beat drops.  "I Did Something Bad" is dark and heavy, with sounds reminiscent of gunshots.  The fourth track on the album seems to directly reflect upon the third track.  After admitting that she did something bad, she asks for listeners not to blame her.  "Don't Blame Me"  brings us back to her older music through its lyrics.  It's a slower song with a lot of build-up, showing off her vocals and high range.  Unfortunately, the build-up leads to a duller song.  "Delicate" would have probably fit in well on 1989, but it's a bit of a bore on Reputation.  

After five tracks, we finally get to the track that made the world crazy.  When "Look What You Made Me Do" came out, there was a lot of mixed emotion going around.  This was a completely new sound for Taylor Swift fans to enjoy or hate.  I'll admit that I originally hated everything about this song except the pre-chorus.  Somehow, that hate has grown into enjoyment.  I find it hard to take the song too seriously, but it is still a fun song to move around to.  The pre-chorus leads to a weak chorus, but the rest of the song is heavy and intense.  There are five songwriters credited for this song, including one of my favorites.  Jack Antonoff's influence probably added a lot of layering to this song, making it a big stadium hit.

The second half of the album strays away from the darker tones in the first half.  "Gorgeous" creates a dreamy soundscape with tropical instrumentals.  There is an interesting video online about the making of "Gorgeous" that I would recommend watching.  It really shows off some of the struggles that songwriters go through during the writing process.  After "Gorgeous", we get a song that is reminiscent of an old Bleachers release.  "Getaway Car" has a lot of similarities to "Rollercoaster" from Strange Desire.  Sure it's not a copy of the song, but you can definitely hear the Antonoff influence whenever Swift says the word "shotgun".

The rest of the album is more pop-oriented and less experimental than the first half of the record.  "Dancing With Our Hands Tied" brings us another heavily layered pop song that is in constant motion.  We get funky rhythms with "Dress" and then we go straight into the last three tracks of the album.  

The last three tracks on the album are some of my favorites.  "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things" is a total dance track, using heavenly strings and stadium drum tracks.  The track is all-out fun for the listener, balancing a heavy message with head-bobbing instrumentals.  This leads the listener straight into the catchiest tune on the whole album.  "Call It What You Want" displays the superb writing and collaborative skills of Swift and Antonoff.  Solid writing and clever rhymes make the penultimate track on the album the best track.

Finally to soothe our minds and ears, Swift leaves us with a calmer piano ballad.  "New Year's Day" is emotional and retrospective.  This is the old sound that Swifties might miss, but finally get to hear again at the end of the album.  Overall, Reputation is another solid outing for Taylor Swift.  Although it is vastly different from her previous discography, the experimentation adds a new backbone to the familiar writing style of the full-hearted artist.

Score: 8/10

Favorite Tracks: "Look What You Made Me Do", "Getaway Car", "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things", "Call It What You Want", "New Year's Day"

Least Favorite Tracks: "End Game", "Delicate"

Image credit: ​By Agneslawkwanyi - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47885553

Songs of Experience is a deeper look into U2's past albums.  It feels like a culmination of all of their previous works from Boy to The Joshua Tree to Songs of Innocence.  The first two songs reintroduce us to the band that has captured the hearts of millions.  "Love is All We Have Left" is a brilliant introduction to the album with swelling instrumentals, leading into the rock style that many fans thought U2 left behind in their recent discography.  

On Songs of Innocence, U2 took a pop route over a traditional rock route.  Personally, I liked Songs of Innocence even though it differed greatly from the band's past.  Luckily, U2 holds onto a bit of the pop genre with "You're The Best Thing About Me" and "Get Out Of Your Own Way".  The tunes are catchy and work as lead singles for the album's release.  Lately, it seems as though U2 has tried to blend in with modern music through experimentation.  These two singles are perfect for modern times and guide us stealthily into the more traditional rock song, "American Soul".  The Edge shows off his twang once more with this hit.

The rhythm is clearly still with the band as well.  The acoustic Latin-esque song, "Summer Of Love" is a relaxing and yet chilling song for listeners to bridge the songs together.  This track would make for a great interlude during a show.  Fittingly, "Summer Of Love" leads us into one of the most familiar songs for hardcore U2 fans to reminisce upon.  "Red Flag Day" gives us a lot of Bono's vocal range, with all the hard hitting high notes.  Unfortunately, the follow-up song is not great, but every album is bound to have a weak song here and there.

In May, I had the opportunity to see U2 live in Seattle on The Joshua Tree Tour 2017.  This was my first opportunity to see the band live and it was a blast.  I bought a general admission ticket, realizing later that hardcore U2 fans line up days before the concert to get a decent standing spot.  I lined up at 9AM the morning of the concert and was able to get a third row spot.  After they played the songs off of The Joshua Tree, the band gave us many more songs to enjoy.  One of the songs that we got to enjoy was a preview of "The Little Things That Give You Away".  The band did a great job, and I enjoyed the song live more than I do on the record.  However, I do like the completed version with the buildup and payoff that comes towards the end of the song.  This is definitely one of the highlights of the whole album.

"The Little Things That Give You Away" leads the audience into a darker and sadder portion of the album.  Dreamy guitars drift us into "Landlady", which is full of stories that may or may not relate to the band members.  I would like to learn the history behind the writing for this track.  The flow of this song is subtly catchy as it drags you into the next track.  To me, the next song ("The Blackout") is just another average U2 song.

Just as the album starts off strong, it closes even stronger.  Bono's straight-edge preaching brings us into "Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way".  The chorus is grand and I love the piano instrumentals throughout the track.  Eventually, the cymbals crash and a full choir of voices join in with Bono.  This is the modern U2 that some fans might hate, but I admit I enjoy it.  After the full sound from "Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way", Bono closes out the album with a reminder from the past U2 release.  "13 (There Is A Light)" is a clear reference to "Song For Someone" off of Songs of Innocence.  The track is isolated at first and leaves out the full chorus.  It takes a while for the track to really pick up, but it is a nice way to end the album and give us hope for more U2 releases.

Score: 7.5/10

Favorite Tracks: "Lights of Home", "You're The Best Thing About Me", "Get Out Of Your Own Way", "Get Out Of Your Own Way", "The Little Things That Give You Away", "Landlady", "Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way"

Least Favorite Tracks: "American Soul", "The Showman (Little More Better)"

Image credit: ​By The original uploader was Wikipedia brown at English Wikipedia - Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons. Source: Zachary Gillman [1] (Image accessed, January 2010, at: [2]), CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2565984

When the Marvel team developed their cinematic universe, a lot of thought went into the order of the films and different phases for the storylines.  Five different solo hero films came out leading up to the release of Marvel's The Avengers.  Iron Man kicked off the cinematic universe with a fantastic storyline, setting up success for the future films.  The films following Iron Man were not all critically acclaimed, but the audience at least got to know each character before the mega team-up film that came out in 2012.  Unfortunately, the DC universe has only led us into a disorganized world of heroes that we hardly know anything about.

Before Justice League, the audience only got to connect with Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.  That leaves out three crucial characters on the team.  Certain steps had to be executed in Justice League to introduce The Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg.  However, the runtime is too short to flesh out each of these new characters.  Sure we have comic books that we can read, but this universe hardly even relates to the comic books because of the liberties that the filmmakers have taken.

Another problem with the new film and its characters is that the only good DC film to be released for this universe was Wonder Woman.  Man of Steel showed us the potential that Superman has in the franchise, but the character was bogged down with a poor storyline.  I still believe that Henry Cavill (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) and Ben Affleck (Argo, Good Will Hunting, Gone Girl, The Town) have potential in their superhero roles, but viewers have not been given a good movie to display their potential yet.  We can only hope that the franchise can pull itself together from here.

One of the standout newcomers has to be Ezra Miller (The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them).  Yet, it still feels as though Marvel beat DC to this character.  Miller's portrayal of The Flash is reminiscent to Tom Holland's Spider-Man.  He is goofy and brings light to the dark situations that Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) has dragged the heroes into.  Ray Fisher (Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice) is also an interesting addition as Cyborg.  Personally, I do not know much about Cyborg (aside from my experience with Teen Titans), but I am intrigued to learn more about the character's origins and background. 

As a standalone film, Justice League is what I expected it to be after seeing the trailers and filmmakers involved.  It is slightly better that Batman v. Superman, a lot better than Suicide Squad, and a whole lot worse than Wonder Woman.  The storyline is dull, formulaic, and bogged down with CGI effects.  Anyone who has seen a recent DC film knows what to expect from the franchise at this point.  The heroes are interesting, but never fully explored.  One of my biggest problems with this film was the bad guy.  Steppenwolf was a pretty lame character to choose for the first real team-up film.  Hopefully the next DC team-up will give us something that makes the franchise worth it.

The Bottom Line:  Marvel still holds the upper-hand in the current superhero cinematic landscape, and Justice League shows us all of the reasons why.

Score: 5/10

Image credit: ​By Iphonedon890 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48706570

Your Name is one of the most beautiful movies I have seen in quite some time.  The story is touching, the visuals are awe-inspiring, and the music is catchy as heck.  Upon a first viewing, I understand the main idea without being able to fully place all of the details.  Your Name is a film that takes multiple viewings to comprehend the complexity of the storyline.  Without going into too much detail, the timeline is hard to follow right off the bat, but I am sure that there are very few flaws (if any) in this film.  There is a lot going on all at once, but the main storyline leaves room for discussion after viewing.  Every good film should leave room for discussion after the story is resolved, and Your Name leaves plenty of ideas hanging around in our minds.

Makoto Shinkai's (5 Centimeters Per Second) direction brings us beautiful visuals to guide us along the story's journey.  Every line drawn is thoughtful and concise.  The precision of animation in this film is reminiscent of Miyazaki's (Spirited Away) works.  In fact, Shinkai might be the next Miyazaki.  As someone who knows almost nothing about animation, it is still clear to me that the team behind this film spent long hours in its creation.  While there are plenty of Pixar and Disney films with good animation, nothing that I have seen from American studios can compare to this form.

I would go completely amiss without discussing the soundtrack for this film as well.  RADWIMPS's indie rock soundtrack brings the viewer back to their childhood with a punk edge added in.  Often times, the beauty of the film is complimented by the soundtrack's sweetness.  Some of the lyrics do not translate well into the subtitles, but I'll be damned if the sounds are not a perfect match to the visuals.  I have been waiting a long time to view this film after it's release because I missed it in theaters.  While I waited, I had to check out the soundtrack that all of my friends have been raving about.  At the very least, listen to the soundtrack as it pulls you into a foreign world, full of jaw-dropping inspiration and beauty.  For starters check out the song, "Sparkle".

The Bottom Line:  Shinkai's animated masterpiece will be cherished for a long time because of it's beauty and complexity.

Score: 10/10 (This is my first 10/10 since Swiss Army Man)

This film is truly special and unique to Martin McDonagh's (In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths) well-crafted genre.  McDonagh's films are hard to compare with others because they come with a full serving of drama and a good amount of comedic sides.  While it might be hard to digest everything going on upon a single screening of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, there is plenty left for our cinematic tastebuds to indulge in this film many more times.

It takes really smart writing to create such deeply dumb and interesting characters.  The trio of McDormand (Fargo, Almost Famous), Harrelson (No Country for Old Men, Zombieland), and Rockwell (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Green Mile) brings acting perfection with some of the most underrated actors of our time.  After Fargo, it seems as though McDormand had been forgotten for a while.  Yet, her portrayal of Mildred is spot-on with the dark tone of McDonagh's direction.  After the death of her daughter, Mildred has a hardened heart and is looking for her own definition of justice.  One of her targets is the police chief of the town, played by Woody Harrelson.  Harrelson brings the only respectable character to life with twists and turns that will surprise first-time McDonagh-ers.

While Harrelson and McDormand are great in their roles, my favorite part of the movie would have to be Officer Dixon (played by Sam Rockwell).  Rockwell is fantastic in his role as the dumb and conflicted officer.  His character is relevant to modern news stories, and is a portrait of many issues with America's police force.  Without going into too much detail, I will say that there are a lot of interesting aspects on this character's journey.

Of course, it wouldn't be a McDonagh movie without a thin balance between darkness and comedy.  While the script-writing is not quite as solid as In Bruges, it is damn-near close.  One-liners often dominate the film, creating an uncomfortable awkwardness in the theater.  Personally, I love when directors drag audiences into an uncomfortable tone.  Good filmmaking does not have to be happy and joyous, as long as the audience is able to ponder what they are watching and the message being sent through the medium.  

The Bottom Line:  So far, this is my favorite film of 2017 because of the solid screenwriting and intriguing tone portrayed by every single character.

Score: 9.8/10

Image credit: ​By Dixiekin - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49330101

I went into Happy Death Day with some low expectations, even though the reviews have been mostly positive for the film.  Happy Death Day mixes one of my least favorite genres of film with a formulaic storyline that I have always struggled to enjoy.  As a horror film director, Christopher Landon (Disturbia) uses a whole lot of jump scares to try and get the audience out of their seats.  Yet, almost all of the jumpscares are easily predictable and often not scary at all. 

Another issue I have with this film is that I've always struggled to enjoy the use of a constantly repeating storyline, which is one of the main premises of Happy Death Day.  Once you've seen the plot recur three or four times, it starts to drag the film down more and more.  A runtime of one hour and thirty-six minutes feel more like a two hour film because of the repetitive filmmaking.  Furthermore, this convention has been done a lot in film, from Groundhog Day to Edge of Tomorrow.  I'm not sure if it has been used for horror before this film, but it still seems like it's been overused.

Happy Death Day also tries to entertain audiences with a comedic script, but the jokes fall flat with immaturity.  Nothing is too clever, but rather plays on sexual innuendos and valley girl-esque speeches.  As the lead actress, Jessica Rothe (La La Land​) is good enough to handle the eye-rolls and head nods necessary for the role.  There is no real emotion in any of the characters with a completely surface-level development for some of them.  They act their own parts, but there really isn't anything worthy of a rewatch.  

The Bottom Line: Happy Death Day plays well for younger audiences that don't require much depth for a late night feature.

Score: 4/10