Hector Gonzalez, Author at Minorities Report

21 Nov

tick, tick…BOOM! Review | A Well-Crafted Musical Punch

Hector Gonzalez0 CommentsReviewsAndrew Garfield, Lin-Manual Miranda, ticktick...BOOM!

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s feature directorial debut, tick, tick… BOOM!, is quite an impressive hit. Although, filmmaking-wise, Miranda has a ways to grow when it comes to handling the film’s structure, the songs, and performances, specifically Andrew Garfield and Robin de Jesús, are snazzy and touching enough to deliver some well-crafted musical punch. I am not the biggest fan of the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning auteur Lin-Manuel Miranda. I didn’t like Hamilton, Vivo, and In the Heights at all, and the only works he’s involved in that I have enjoyed so far are Moana and Mary Poppins Returns, which I defend…

19 Nov

C’mon C’mon | Review

Hector Gonzalez0 CommentsReviewsJoaquin Phoenix

Mike Mill’s latest feature, C’mon C’mon, is a beautiful piece about the human condition amidst a time of much-needed connection. It’s a film that delivers one emotional gut-punch after the other with a usual touching script by Mills and a dynamic trio of performances by Joaquin Phoenix, Gaby Hoffmann, and newcomer Woody Norman. There are few writers like Mike Wills in this day and age. The way he captures lost or damaged humans and their need for empathy is impeccable. 20th Century Women (2016) is his most recognizable work, but what he did in Beginners (2010) was astonishing, as he…

19 Nov

Clifford The Big Red Dog Review | Charming, Pure and Fun

Hector Gonzalez0 CommentsReviewsClifford, Paramount Pictures, Paramount+

Although it isn’t close to being perfect, the visual effects are fine, and some of the slapsticks run a bit dry by the end, Clifford The Big Red Dog does what it says on the poster: it’s a charming, pure, and fun film for kids to watch and it brings a nostalgic feeling for those who grew up with the cartoon pup, like me. Darby Camp stars in CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG from Paramount Pictures. Photo Credit: Courtesy Paramount Pictures. Middle schooler Emily Elizabeth Howard (Darby Camp) meets animal rescuer Bridwell (John Cleese), who has a traveling tent of…

12 Nov

Red Notice Review | A Profitable Flop for Netflix

Hector Gonzalez0 CommentsReviewsDwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot, Rawson Marshall Thurber, Red Notice, Ryan Reynolds

Rawson Marshall Thurber was chosen to helm “Netflix’s biggest film yet,” aka the big spectacle franchise starter, Red Notice, however, it has nothing to offer. It’s a lifeless hollow drag that suffers from every facet imaginable, including a trio of panache-less Hollywood stars, and a feeble narrative. Is this what blockbuster cinema has succumbed to? Red Notice. Cr. Netflix © 2021 What is a “red notice”? The highest-level warrant used to capture some of the world’s most wanted criminals, crooks, and assassins. Interpol sends out a red notice for two of the most notorious art thieves, Nolan Booth (Ryan Reynolds)…

10 Nov

Antlers Review | Gruesome but Lackluster

Hector Gonzalez0 CommentsReviewsAntlers, Guillermo del Toro, Jeremy T. Thomas, Keri Russell, Scott Cooper

After multiple long delays, the much-anticipated Antlers finally arrives with some bloody and gruesome scenes, which are the film’s highlights. Still, it tries to tackle too many topics simultaneously, hurting its ending and structure in the process significantly. Jeremy T. Thomas and Keri Russell in the film ANTLERS. Photo by Kimberley French. © 2021 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved After the father and little brother of young Lucas Weaver (Jeremy T Thomas) go missing in a small-town in Oregon, Julia Meadows (Keri Russell) and her brother Paul (Jesse Plemons), the local sheriff, discover the young boy is holding onto…

08 Nov

The Souvenir Pt. 2 | A Stellar Follow-up

Hector Gonzalez0 CommentsReviewsHonor Swinton Byrne, Joanna Hogg, Richard Ayoade, The Souvenir Part 2, Tilda Swinton

Joanna Hogg’s semi-autobiographical The Souvenir Part II is a stellar follow-up to its 2019 predecessor. An elegant and detailed exploration in growth after a vexatiously traumatic event with a first-class performance by Honor Swinton Byrne and a wittier, brighter heart, as vulnerable as the former. There are few filmmakers in today’s age like Joanna Hogg. She makes her pictures tactile and graceful with such a distinctive and acute style that leaves several wistful markings on the viewer. They deal with the physical and psychological collisions of the upper/middle class with fragility, sterility, and some beautiful static wide shots. From Unrelated…

05 Nov

Spencer | Review

Hector Gonzalez0 CommentsEnglish ReviewsFilm Fest 919, Kristen Stewart, Pablo Lorrain, Spencer

Spencer is a sublime, lavish, and grand oeuvre from Pablo Larraín that can be treated as a ghost story like his previous venture of a lost soul, Jackie, as it switches from a dreamlike illusion to a complete nightmare for Diana Spencer, who Kristen Stewart beautifully embodies as she delivers her best performance to date. After years of suffering, the time has finally come. The marriage of Princess Diana (Kristen Stewart) and Prince Charles (Jack Farthing) has been growing increasingly cold. There are rumors of affairs and divorce all around, yet peace is ordained for the Christmas festivities at the…

28 Oct

The French Dispatch Review

Hector Gonzalez0 CommentsReviewsAlexandre Desplat, The French Dispatch, Wes Anderson

Although there are moments where it does feel a little bloated and overripe, Wes Anderson’s ode to French cinema and journalism, The French Dispatch, is hot off the presses and ready to be fancied; a unique, plenteous, and hilarious ritzy gazette that only he and Desplat could’ve contrived. We all know by now that Wes Anderson has one of the quirkiest yet stylistic touches in cinema today, to the point where a few seconds go by and you already know you are watching one of his pictures. Of course, it is an acquired taste, and I can see why people…

24 Oct

Halloween Kills Review | Ridiculous, futile, and mind-numbingly dull sequel

Hector Gonzalez0 CommentsReviewsDavid Gordon Green, Halloween, Jamie Lee Curtis

In 2018, David Gordon Green genuinely impressed audiences and revived the Halloween franchise, but the same man who rose it from the ashes of one laughably lousy sequel after the other has killed it in an instant. Unfortunately, Halloween Kills goes back to make the same mistakes, ending up as a ridiculous, futile, and mind-numbingly dull sequel. Set minutes after the 2018 film, the unstoppable killer, Michael Myers, has escaped from Laurie Strode’s (Jamie Lee Curtis) burning house and continues his Halloween night massacre. Laurie is severely injured and is taken to the hospital, but she fights the pain to…

13 Oct

What Do We See When We Look at the Sky? Review | NYFF 2021

Hector Gonzalez0 CommentsNYFF 2021, ReviewsFilm Review, New York Film Festival, NYFF

What Do We See When We Look at the Sky? is an ode to love at first sight; the moment you close your eyes and open them back again, the film takes over you. It’s a sensory experience with magical realism that’s both, in a sense, familiar and unique. This is a story about two strangers: footballer Giorgi and pharmacist Lisa. They had three random encounters within minutes of each other because they forgot their paths. Viewing it as a lucky concurrence, they decide to meet the next day at the local cafe. However, their meeting might not occur as…