I’ll be honest: I have not yet seen the first Borat film, released about 15 years ago, so I have no real background on the Borat character aside from what I’ve heard other people say about him — include Sacha Baron Cohen, the man who portrays him.
Review: When Harry Met Sally… (1989)
I had seen When Harry Met Sally at least a few times before rewatching it recently (actually, it was my first watch of 2021), when we stumbled across it on HBO and my brother said he’d never seen it before. That was reason enough to revisit the Rob Reiner-directed classic, which has called by many to be the best romantic comedy of all time.
Review: A League of Their Own (1992)
Honestly, A League of Their Own one of those movies I can watch over and over and never get sick of it. It never fails to entertain and to be worthy of 2+ hours’ worth of my time. For a film that was released nearly 30 years ago, it still holds up very well; it’s still funny, well-directed and acted, and deeply feminist.
Review: Paddington 2 (2017)
Fact: Paddington 2 is currently the highest-rated film on Rotten Tomatoes; it has not only achieved the rare perfect 100% score, but has achieved the highest number of positive reviews ever. Is it the best film ever made? No, but it’s impossible to dislike.
Review: Promising Young Woman (2020)
How do I review a film that I unabashedly adore, and one that receives a rare perfect score from yours truly? It’s my favorite film of 2020 so far — there’s still more to see, but I highly doubt anything will be able to top this. Promising Young Woman marked my first time at a theater in person in several months…I’d heard amazing reviews from critics lucky enough to get to see the film a year ago, at Sundance; some even praised it as the best film of the year, and even though I was excited to see it, I doubted it could possibly be that good.
Review: Soul (2020)
Soul has had to deal with multiple delays; first, it was meant to be released last summer, about six months after Pixar’s previous film, Onward. Then, it was pushed until late fall, and finally, it was decided to release it solely (sorry for the pun!) on Disney+.
Review: Paddington (2014)
I didn’t watch the Paddington films until recently, and in quick succession, as I was so taken with the first one that I had to see the second one (and am now eagerly anticipating a third film). Strangely, I reviewed Paddington 2 first, although it doesn’t really matter; it helps to have seen the first film before watching the 2nd, as the first introduces you to the character of Paddington and the Brown family, with whom he ends up living.
Review: Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
Maybe I’m in the minority here, but I actually enjoyed Wonder Woman 1984, and I feel like people are being way too harsh on the sequel to the hit that made Israeli actress Gal Gadot a star. Sure, it’s a bit convoluted and probably too long — I don’t mind longer movies if the runtime is warranted — but I thought that it was better than almost everyone has been saying.
Review: The Abyss (1989)
I wasn’t originally planning to watch James Cameron’s The Abyss when my brother and mother started watching it on Christmas Eve, but because it’s an Oscar winner (for Visual Effects) and features Ed Harris in the leading role, I couldn’t say no. For one, I’m trying to catch up on past Oscar winners (and nominees); also, Harris is continually watchable, even when the film isn’t all that good.
Review: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)
There was a lot of hype for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and not just because it features Oscar winner Viola Davis (and fellow Rhode Island-er) in the title role, as well as the fact that it’s another adaptation of an August Wilson play produced by Denzel Washington (who co-starred with Davis in Fences). Also, it co-stars the late Chadwick Boseman, who was said to have given an Oscar-worthy performance that would be his last performance ever.