The Devil All the Time

Written by Antonio and paulo Campos

Based on the book written by Donald Ray Pollock.

Directed by Antonio Campos

The Devil All the Time follows the interconnected stories of several poor souls between Ohio and West Virginia. These impoverished hollers are full of demented sinners and their unshakable faith in the Holy Ghost. Religion and it’s ability to twist reality and manipulate the faithful is explored in ways that literally made my stomach churn. My review will not be going into gruesome detail about this twisted crime drama, but I will say that if you are sensitive to violence, sexual abuse, spiritual manipulation, or graphic images, this probably isn’t the movie for you.

This movie is heavy. It’s over two hours of f*cked up people doing f*cked up things. But, it’s really well done. From the costumes, to the gospel music, to the set design, the choices made by director Antonio Campos create a world where evil can flourish. The characters grabbed ahold of my heartstrings and they never let go until the credits rolled. What stood out the most were the powerful performances by Robert Pattinson, Bill Skarsgard, Riley Keough, Jason Clarke, Sebastian Stan, Haley Bennett, and literally every single actor in this film. But, in a sea of compelling performances, Tom Holland still manages to steal the show. His character is the heartbeat of a story that was written to break your heart. He balances a damaged tenderness with a raw rage in a nuanced performance that feels authentic from beginning to end. This movie is long, slow, and dark. But, it’s an emotional experience that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to shake. The Devil All the Time is now streaming on @netflix.

Review written by Zianna Weston

Knives Out

Written and Directed by Rian Johnson

Rating: 🔥 That’s hot

Something foul is afoot in this murder mystery for the ages. On the morning after his 85th birthday, acclaimed murder mystery author Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is found dead in his study. Was it really a suicide? Or did one of the members of his quirky family have a reason to see the old man off? Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) was summoned by an anonymous request and he sets off the solve the classic whodunit.

What ensues can only be described as good old-fashioned fun. Through a series of twists and turns, this well-written script will leave you clamoring to figure out who the murderer is from start to finish. Every member of the Thrombey family (Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, and Riki Lindhome) and Thrombey’s staff (Edi Patterson and Ana de Armas) is armed with a motive. This film starts out pretty slowly and takes a little while to build momentum. But once the train gets rolling the story really takes off. The other critique I have for this film is Daniel Craig’s abominable southern accent. Not quite sure why that character choice was made, but in the slow first act I found the phony accent to be quite distracting. By the end of the film you hardly notice it, but I didn’t feel like the accent served any purpose even in its least distracting moments. If you can get past the bad accent and slow first act, Knives Out is sure to deliver laughs and mysterious intrigue.

Review written by Zianna Weston 

Motherless Brooklyn

Written and directed by Edward norton

based on the book by jonathan lethem

rating: ⭐️ Better than a psl

Lionel Essrog is a private investigator with Tourette’s Syndrome. When his long-time friend and boss, Frank Minna, gets killed in a job-gone-wrong Essrogg becomes determined to find out who killed Frank.

This noir style film throws it back to a golden era of film. The eerie shadows, pensive voiceovers, and meandering plot twists made this film delightfully fun to watch. The cinematography felt vintage and fresh at the same time. The backdrop of gritty Brooklyn provided the perfect setting for a mystery. The best part of this film was the performances from the stacked cast. Edward Norton, Alec Baldwin, Willem Dafoe, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Bruce Willis, Leslie Mann, and Bobby Cannavale all had natural onscreen chemistry with each other and with Brooklyn. As New York City often does, and specifically the Brooklyn borough, the setting plays a huge role in this film. Brooklyn is basically a living, breathing character emoting sorrow, growth, and uncertainty. She relates to and interacts differently with each character in a way that is indicative of the many differences between each character. This beautiful relationship between cast and setting helps to tell the story.

This film has received some negative reviews for its length (2 hours and 24 minutes) and it’s slow, meandering style. While I can see why some people may have grown bored during this movie that is not how I felt in the slightest. I was captivated by the characters and the plot from beginning to end. The slow pace felt intentional, and each scene kept the storyline moving forward. I absolutely loved this film and I recommend it as a must-watch for 2019.

Review written by Zianna Weston

It Chapter Two

Written by Gary Dauberman, Based on the novel by Stephen King

Directed by Andy Muschietti

Rating: 🙅🏼‍♀️ thank u, next

There’s a psycho clown and people are trying to kill him *insert nostalgic flashback*. 

Full disclosure, I never saw the first It movie so watching the sequel may have been a bold choice. If you watched the first one and you enjoyed the sequel, please defend your choice in the comments section of the Instagram review! But, I hated this movie. It was wayyyy too long, it wasn’t scary at all, and it was repetitive as hell. The best and scariest parts of the movie had all been shown extensively in the trailer so you already knew exactly what was going to happen. Had they trimmed the movie by about 30 minutes I may have enjoyed it. But they didn’t.

Review by Zianna Weston