Willie's View Movie Reviews

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood(2019) Rated R; Run Time:2 hours and 41 minutes Written and Directed by Quentin Tarantino Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is about a washed up actor named Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his best friend/Stunt Double, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) in 1969 Hollywood, who struggle to keep their careers afloat in a time when the industry was more focused on the next big star and always ready to throw dirt on fading, aging movie stars, like Rick Dalton. Once is an original film from legendary writer/director, Quentin Tarantino and features two excellent performances from DiCaprio and Pitt, both appearing together in a film for the first time. Their onscreen chemistry is the #1 reason to see this film. The story unfolds like reading a novel, an activity that is lost on people in these fast paced information  loaded Internet days we live in. It rewards the patient moviegoer who is willing to give th...

     I've never been a big fan of horror movies. Most horror movies have no heart or empathy in it's cinematic storytelling. When watching a movie, I want to feel or understand what the characters are experiencing or going through. I find it near impossible to have any empathy with horror movie characters in most horror movies period. That being said, I found director James Wan's THE CONJURING to be engaging and horrifying all at once. It's based on a true story about Ed and Lorraine Warren and a family that was terrorized by a demonic presence in their house.   I do have to say that I've seen this plot at least a dozen times before, presented in a cheesy, horribly acted and written fashion. THE CONJURING is not one of those films. It presents believable characters in unbelievable and horrific circumstances. James Wan delivers the story in a straight forward, no unnecessary gimmicks style. The performances by the cast including Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson,Ron Liv...

      MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE-FALLOUT marks the sixth film in the MI franchise. This film series seems to get better with every film. This very well could be the best in the series, but only time will tell for me.      Say what you will about Tom Cruise. You cannot argure the fact that Cruise can sell an action movie better than his action movie counterparts like Stallone and Schwartzenegger. FALLOUT is yet another example of Cruise gathering the most talented filmmakers he can find and entertain the socks off moviegoing audiences.   FALLOUT picks the plot threads from the previous two M:I films and tells another story of bad guys wanting to end the world with a nuclear threat. We've seen it all before. Yet, to my amazement, this film makes everything that's been done before seem like a freshly baked loaf of bread. The thrills and chills, twists and turns have never been this engaging or down right entertaining. Writer/Director Christopher McQuarrie is ...

    I never thought I would be writing a review for HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3 and I never thought I would be seeing it on it's preview night like I do for big blockbuster movies. Nevertheless, here I am to tell you that this third entry in the film series is the best of the bunch and one of this summer's nicer surprises.    HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3: SUMMER VACATION as Dracula (voiced by Adam Sandler) and his hotel staff/family/friends going on a cruise to the Bermuda Triangle courtesy of his daughter, Mavis (voiced by Selena Gomez). Once on the cruise ship, he meets and falls in love at first sight with the Captain of the cruise ship, Erika (voiced by Kathryn Kahn), but the potential romance is threatened by a secret that Erika is keeping hidden for personal reasons.    If you've seen the previous two HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA films then you pretty much know what to expect-lots of bathroom humor. However, this time, I found that the third time is the charm. Director Gen...

   ANT-MAN AND THE WASP picks up two years after the events in CAPTAIN AMERICA:CIVIL WAR, where our hero Scott Lang was greatly effected. Know right off the bat though, if you are expecting more earth shattering revelations like we got in AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, you will be disappointed.        That's not to say that this self contained story of Scott Lang, Hank Pym and his daughter, Hope Van Dyne is a waist of time because it's anything but. It's a two hour action comedy, that like the first one, is big on heart and fun. After the breakneck pace and heavy handedness of INFINITY WAR, it's nice to take a breather and have some fun with characters who, in a smaller sense(no pun intended) have alot to lose here, but the sense of earth ending urgency is toned down here for a less stressful and enjoyable adventure for the audience.        Paul Rudd returns as Scott Lang and gives his best and most comfortable performance to date. I'm also ...

   SICARIO: DAY OF THE SOLDADO is the sequel to the 2015 film that starred Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro. This second entry stars Del Toro and Brolin, reprising their roles from the first and takes their characters to deeper and darker places than explored in the first film. They weren't the focus of the first film. The focus on that film was Emily Blunt's Kate Mercer, who is nowhere to be found in this film. Her character represented the audience. Through her, we the audience entered into a dark and scary world that most of us have no idea exists. We were introduced to a world of dark characters who did bad things to further their causes, whether it be on the side of the good or bad. Through the eyes of Kate Mercer, we the audience took off the roses colored sunglasses to see a side of the world we choose to turn a blind eye to-evil.     In DAY OF THE SOLDADO, we are taken back into that dark and scary world created by one of the best screenwrite...

DR.STRANGELOVE is a film that I have avoided all of my moviegoing life until now, thanks to the 100 Movies Scratch-Off List. I always thought that STRANGELOVE was too smart of a film for me to watch and possibly like. For many years, I've read how highly regarded this film is in the film enthusiast world. They are right. STRANGELOVE is one of the greatest films I've never seen until now. Let me briefly describe this film in my dumbed down way instead of using the typical synopsis that is used for this film. STRANGELOVE is Stanley Kubrick's 1964 satirical look at the Cold War. The world is plunged into chaos when a United States General orders a nuclear attack on Russia. The story unfolds in three different areas. On a U.S. Military Base, an airplane(bomber plane) and the Pentagon with the President (played with a straight face by the brilliant Peter Sellers). What transpires over the 95-minute runtime begins as a political thriller laced with witty comedy. As the plot ...