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3 1/2 Stars

Cocaine Bear (2023)

Not since Snakes on a Plane has a movie’s premise been so wrapped in it’s title more so than Cocaine Bear.

As someone who has never used cocaine (and never plans to), all of my “experiences” with cocaine (or other drugs for that matter) have been through media (though, if I am to believe old rumors, some in my high school graduating class may know something about these endeavors).

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3 1/2 Stars

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

It is feasible to believe that no other MCU film to date has had a bigger emotional mountain to climb than Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

The first film was such a mammoth success (financially, critically, and even Oscar wise) that a sequel was inevitable from the get go. Then, of course, tragedy struck when the world lost Chadwick Boseman in August of 2020, leaving the sequel in serious jeopardy. Also add in the fact that this would be the final film in Phase 4 of the MCU, and you can see why this film had a lot to accomplish. 

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3 1/2 Stars

The Woman King (2022)

57.

That is the number you should know going into seeing The Woman King, for that is the age of it’s star Viola Davis.

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3 1/2 Stars

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

Like many a millennial, I grew associating filmmaker Sam Raimi with the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man Trilogy. While known to be a potent force in the arena of cinematic horror, I sadly have only seen one Sam Raimi horror film as of this writing, The Evil Dead (although one could make the argument Spider-Man 3 was actually a horror in other ways).

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3 1/2 Stars

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022)

Before we saw The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (one of the best movie titles in recent memory), my friend Peter asked an interesting question.

“Who would win in a fight: Nicholas Cage or Chuck Norris?”

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3 1/2 Stars

Scream (2022)

Being that I saw the original Scream around the ripe age of 11 or so (it was all the hype in fourth grade), it took me some time to understand the “meta” aspect of the film.

Eventually (after seeing Scream 2, the only sequel I would see until now), I would get the references in the original as I would have seen most of the movies the characters have talked about. Thankfully, one does not need to see any of the other sequels to understand the newest Scream film (technically, “Scream 5”).

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3 1/2 Stars

West Side Story (2021)

Note: If you have not seen the original film, I forbid you to read any further until you have seen it. It is on HULU. Get a free trial. Do whatever you have to. I will wait.

Seriously, go see it.

Okay, you are back. Now for the review.

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3 1/2 Stars

House of Gucci (2021)

It is a bit poetic that House of Gucci was released on Thanksgiving Weekend.

Like a big meal, House of Gucci will look appealing to many who may end up being surprised at the taste. It has parts that will be an acquired taste, while others will find it takes some time to digest.

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3 1/2 Stars Movies

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

As the second film of the MCU’s Phase 4, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings also holds the distinction of being the first true origin story film of the MCU since 2019’s Captain Marvel.

Of course, one could argue that Black Widow was also an origin story, but we have seen Natasha since 2010’s Iron Man 2. Shang-Chi is a character we had no interaction with until now. Like a good amount of the films in the series, it showcases a character that only true comic book fans know something about (I can still remember when non fanboys like myself needed the movies to introduce the likes of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Thanos, Black Panther, and even Iron Man.)

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3 1/2 Stars

Cruella (2021)

It wasn’t the hair. It wasn’t the look. It wasn’t even the fact that dogs may get killed.

Around the age of five, what got me scared right off the bat of Cruella De Vil was simply that she seemed to always be yelling. Even when she was not upset (which was rare), she was at a high volume.