Reviews Archives - Criticologos

“Missing” Movie Review by Rafy Mediavila (@Rmediavilla) #MissingMovie

17Jan

By Rafy MediavillaNo Comments

Reviews

“Missing” Movie Review by Rafy Mediavila (@Rmediavilla) #MissingMovie

"Missing" Movie Review by Rafy Mediavila (@Rmediavilla) #MissingMovie When her mother (Nia Long) disappears while on vacation in Colombia with her new boyfriend, June's (Storm Reid) search for answers is hindered by international red tape. Stuck thousands of miles away in Los Angeles, June creatively uses all the latest technology at her fingertips to try and find her before it's too late. But as she digs deeper, her digital sleuthing raises more questions than answers... and when June unravels secrets about her mom, she discovers that she never really knew her at all. I have many reasons why I was excited to come into the screening of “Missing”, the most obvious one being that is produced by the same people behind “Searching”, and as someone that absolutely fell in love with th...

“The Son” Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla) #TIFF22

16Jan

By Rafy MediavillaNo Comments

Reviews

“The Son” Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla) #TIFF22

"The Son" Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla) #TIFF22 A cautionary tale that follows a family as it struggles to reunite after falling apart. THE SON centers on Peter (Hugh Jackman), whose hectic life with his infant and new partner Beth (Vanessa Kirby) is upended when his ex-wife Kate (Laura Dern) appears at his door to discuss their son Nicholas (Zen McGrath), who is now a teenager. The young man has been missing school for months and is deeply troubled. Peter strives to take care of Nicholas as he would have wanted his own father (Anthony Hopkins) to have taken care of him while juggling his and Beth's new son, and at work an offer of a dream position in Washington. However, by reaching for the past to correct its mistakes, he loses sight of how to hold onto Nicholas ...

“Sick” Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla) #PeacockTV #SickMovie #TIFF22

10Jan

By Rafy MediavillaNo Comments

Reviews

“Sick” Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla) #PeacockTV #SickMovie #TIFF22

"Sick" Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla) #PeacockTV #SickMovie #TIFF22 The short synopsis read as follows - As the pandemic steadily brings the world to a halt, Parker and her best friend Miri decide to quarantine at the family lake house alone--or so they think. I must admit that when I saw that “Sick” made it to the official selection of the Toronto International Film Festival 2022 and knowing that Kevin Williamson the mastermind behind “I Know What You Did Last Summer” and “Scream” was backing this movie It became a no brainer that this was a movie that I needed to see. But truth be told my schedule for chef 22 was so impossible I ended up skipping a screening of this movie today my coverage at the Film Festival hoping that some studio would pick it up and hoping...

“The Pale Blue Eye” (Netflix) Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla). #ThePaleBlueEye

3Jan

By Rafy MediavillaNo Comments

Reviews

“The Pale Blue Eye” (Netflix) Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla). #ThePaleBlueEye

"The Pale Blue Eye" (Netflix) Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla). #ThePaleBlueEye West Point, 1830. In the early hours of a gray winter morning, a cadet is found dead. But after the body arrives at the morgue, tragedy becomes savagery when it's discovered that the young man's heart has been skillfully removed. Fearing irreparable damage to the fledgling military academy, its leaders turn to a local detective, Augustus Landor (Christian Bale), to solve the murder. Stymied by the cadets' code of silence, Landor enlists the help of one of their own to pursue the case, an eccentric cadet with a disdain for the rigors of the military and a penchant for poetry -- a young man named Edgar Allan Poe (Harry Melling). I have to admit that coming into hitting play on the Screene...

“The Whale” Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla) #TIFF22

19Dec

By Rafy MediavillaNo Comments

Reviews

“The Whale” Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla) #TIFF22

"The Whale" Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla) #TIFF22 A reclusive English teacher suffering from severe obesity attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption. I have to admit that The Whale was one of those movies that ultimately pushed me to apply to cover the Toronto International Film Festival 2022, I was ecstatic I was hyped I was seeing all the praise that he was getting from previous presentations from other festivals and obviously the praise that Brendan Fraser was getting from his performance. When the lineup was revealed, and I made my schedule, I know The Whale was that movie that was a top priority for me. Yet once again I come out of the theater, and I start enumerating everything that worked and didn't wo...

13Dec

By Rafy MediavillaNo Comments

Reviews

“Avatar: The Way of Water” Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla) #AvatarTheWayOfWater

"Avatar: The Way of Water" Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla) #AvatarTheWayOfWater Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, "Avatar: The Way of Water" begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure. I have to admit that I truly didn't have any hype coming into the theater before watching “Avatar: The Way of Water” and judging just by the trailers and the promos I wasn't really buying anything I felt all I was getting is basically a rehash version of the first one which also I wasn't really a fan of, To me 3D projection it's a gimmick, and while I have to admit that James Camero...

Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio” Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla) #PinocchioNetflix

21Nov

By Rafy MediavillaNo Comments

Reviews

Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio” Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla) #PinocchioNetflix

Guillermo del Toro's "Pinocchio" Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla) #PinocchioNetflix Academy Award®-winning director Guillermo del Toro and award-winning, stop-motion legend Mark Gustafson reimagine the classic Carlo Collodi tale of the fabled wooden boy with a whimsical tour de force that finds Pinocchio on an enchanted adventure that transcends worlds and reveals the life-giving power of love. I have to admit that I wasn't completely prepared or had any clue of what to expect from Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio. I was worried because Pinocchio is an old-time classic and knowing Guillermo del Toro’s filmography I wasn't completely sure how he would go about telling this story. yet once I finish watching the movie I was completely sold on the idea that this is one o...

“White Noise” Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla) #WhiteNoise

21Nov

By Rafy MediavillaNo Comments

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“White Noise” Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla) #WhiteNoise

"White Noise" Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla) #WhiteNoise At once hilarious and horrifying, lyrical and absurd, ordinary and apocalyptic, White Noise dramatizes a contemporary American family's attempts to deal with the mundane conflicts of everyday life while grappling with the universal mysteries of love, death, and the possibility of happiness in an uncertain world. It is no secret that I absolutely loved Noah Baumbach and Netflix's “Marriage Story”. In fact, I loved it so much that I went ahead and even bought the movie as my first-ever Criterion Collection purchase. White Noise can be best described as another type of marriage story but in a different period with a dark comedy tone and an existential crisis at the center of it all. Even though I absolutely...

“The Fabelman” Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla) #TIFF22

20Nov

By Rafy MediavillaNo Comments

Reviews

“The Fabelman” Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla) #TIFF22

"The Fabelman" Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla) #TIFF22 Young Sammy Fabelman falls in love with movies after his parents take him to see "The Greatest Show on Earth." Armed with a camera, Sammy starts to make his own films at home, much to the delight of his supportive mother. Honestly, The Fabelman, wasn’t a movie that was actually on my radar, as that's one movie that I had to watch during my coverage of the Toronto International Film Festival 2022. In fact, I believe the film was one of the last movies that I watch to end my coverage of the festival, and one of the reasons I wasn't really excited to watch the movie is because I felt this trailers and the promos already gave too much away and because I already knew what the buzz around it was and Steven Spiel...

“The Menu” – Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla) #TIFF22

14Nov

By Rafy MediavillaNo Comments

Reviews

“The Menu” – Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla) #TIFF22

"The Menu" - Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla) A couple travels to a coastal island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef has prepared a lavish menu, with some shocking surprises. With that synopsis out of the way let me start by telling you that the synopsis and the trailers truly don't give this movie justice. The promos and the trailer don't truly prepare you for what you're about to see. The Menu is both an experience sorry wise not only for the person that wrote it but also for the expectations When they sit down to watch it. The Menu was the second movie that I was truly excited to sit down and watch during my coverage of the Toronto International Film Festival 2022. Jokingly one of the main reasons I wanted to watch this movie was because of the pr...