No Hard Feelings | Review by: Benjamin Garrett

Billed as a super raunchy, R-rated comedy, No Hard Feelings isn’t nearly as raunchy or funny as it could’ve been. However, despite falling short of its comedic potential, the movie delivers some great laugh out loud moments, and a handful of surprisingly sweet ones too.

Jennifer Lawrence clearly understood the assignment, delivering a performance that is equal parts sexual, vulgar and vulnerable. Being such an established and high profile actress, there are some places she’s willing to go with her performance (especially physically) that really shocked and impressed me. Andrew Barth Feldman plays awkwardly against her crass personality, making for an unlikely, but kind of cute duo.

Although they work well together on screen, the progression of their relationship is not all that convincing. Their developing feelings and changes of heart mostly feel forced in service of the predictable direction the plot is heading. Sure, the situational conflicts provide laughs in the moment, but don’t always fit organically into the progression of their relationship. We’ve seen variations of this story countless times before, and this version brings nothing new or surprising to the table.

Good R-rated comedies are somewhat of a rarity these days. No Hard Feelings doesn’t take full advantage of its raunchy potential, but a strong J-Law performance paired with solid laughs and a little bit of heart are enough for me to recommend watching.

3/5

Review by: Benjamin Garrett

#movie #review #comedy #raunchy #jenniferlawrence #toronto #film

The Mandalorian Season 3 Review

Listen, I love Star Wars. I will always love Star Wars. The original and prequel trilogies were a big part of my childhood, and helped shape my love of cinema. While The Mandalorian isn’t among my favourites in the franchise, I thought it had a promising first season and a significantly stronger season two. Season three had so much potential, but a frustrating lack of focus held it back from greatness. This show’s always had a bit of an identity crisis, but it’s never been as clear as it is here. Does it want to be a procedural-style adventure of the week, or tell an epic, multi-season spanning arc? Season one leaned toward the former, while Season two found a satisfying balance of both. Season three tries to find that balance, but the overarching story it wants to tell is bigger than the few episodes allotted to do so. There are only 8 chapters, some barely over 30 min. That’s a fair...

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Four close friends and renowned filmmakers in 1959’s Yugoslavia are out to make a feature film of the war. They have a unique perspective and are able to discuss the war as decorated war veterans. Lovro, Nenad, Stevan and Ivan use film to express themselves and criticize society but that doesn’t sit well with the Yugoslavian Communist Party. As The Party steps in to control the film for propagandistic reasons, the four filmmakers fear it may be to gain insight on their sexual orientation. Emir Hadžihafizbegović is entrusted by the head of the Communist Party to oversee the films production but is also told by the party to sabotage the film by any means necessary. Emir as well as our four filmmakers are all exceptional in this film. The dynamic between these five actors is a wave of emotions as Emir hides his true intentions and the filmmakers hide their sexual orientation from the world. The film is in a gorgeous black and white and boasts absolutely stunning cinematography from ...

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