MoviesMillers

House Of Gucci - Movie Review Critics Score - 7 of 10 General Audience Score - 7 of 10 There are some films that almost demand longer runtimes, the epic cinematic experiences like Gone With The Wind, Titanic or Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King come to mind. Among that group I’d include the 2000 Best Picture winner Gladiator from director Ridley Scott, my #4 favorite film of all time. But now Scott brings us his latest, House Of Gucci, a film that doesn’t quite make it into the realm of epic like some of the previously mentioned titles. The film is easy on the eyes, the hues of blue and gray combined with an all star cast makes up for quite a bit, even when the film is unnecessarily dragging it’s feet to get where it’s going. Cutting a good twenty to thirty minutes off the runtime, focusing on the family drama while building momentum toward the finale would’ve given us the film we all deserved. There’s no earthly reason this film should push past the two and a half hour mark, y...

Eternals - Movie Review Critics Score - 5 of 10 General Audience Score - 7 of 10 The name Chloe Zhao is one that movie lovers and cinephiles all over the world started hearing over the last few years, directing a great smaller film The Rider before getting acclaim within the industry for last years’ Nomadland, which won Best Picture. Now Chloe turns her directing attention to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, doubtless for an untold large sum of money. She’s brought us Eternals, one of the more obscure groups of Marvel comic book characters, but it’s clear Zhao is just not in her element working with massive budgeted superhero films and an already patented Disney formula. Besides the tired acting from an otherwise aesthetically pleasing cast, the screenplay really lets these actors down and it’s difficult to invest anything in any of their journeys. While superhero and action movie fans will probably get their money’s worth, at an over two and a half hour runtime, the film’s title says it...

My Top 10 Films Of 2021 #1 - The Power Of The Dog  Critics Score - 10 of 10 This was my favorite film experience of 2021 and it wasn’t really that close. The Power Of The Dog is a masterpiece of cinema from director Jane Campion, and it totally blew me away. I got home from work late and tired on Dec. 1st, December being the busiest month at my nine to five job. I started watching this film and within a half hour I was sucked into the world that Jane had created. Even though I was watching this film at home, by the time I was halfway through, I was standing up in front of the screen with the remote in my hand swaying back and forth trying to get a read on where it was all heading. I was anticipating somebody to bite the big one but the way it played out was not only a shocker but also the final shot sent this film to a perfect score in my book.  #2 - Riders Of Justice  Critics Score - 9 of 10 While many of the other films on my list I was partially expecting to be good mo...

Drive My Car - Movie Review Critics Score - 8 of 10 General Audience Score - 6 of 10 There are some people that treat their cars like trash cans, no judgement here, you can find more than one empty Starbucks plastic iced coffee container in mine. But then there are people that keep their cars immaculately clean, they wash and vacuum them out, change the oil before the recommended miles, rotate the tires and keep up with general maintenance. We meet one of the latter people in Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s new meditative film, Drive My Car. At just under three hours and in spoken Japanese, there’s a specific audience that will most likely be able to track with this film, it caters to cinephiles and critics. This film is incredibly layered, it’s difficult to get a read on everything that it’s doing the first time through. The screenplay is thoughtful and contemplative, the character relationships are dense, it’s the kind of film that almost demands a second viewing. Unfortunately for many audience...

Nightmare Alley - Movie Review Critics Score - 8 of 10 General Audience Score - 8 of 10 Back in December of 2017, a small oddity of a film came out that would go on to find an audience and gross almost $200 million worldwide, besides winning Best Picture and Director. The film was The Shape Of Water and the man that brought it to us was Guillermo del Toro. Four years and a pandemic later, we get his follow up film Nightmare Alley, a remake of a 1940’s film of the same name. Bradley Cooper leads an all start cast and while the film didn’t merit any acting love from the Academy Awards, these performances are all pretty fantastic. Guillermo del Toro has this character study and all it’s aspects completely under his thumb and executes the emotional beats with precision. The film drags at almost a two and a half hour runtime, but it’s so easy on the eyes, this movie is gorgeous, and the bit of excess time with these characters is spent with little regret. Most audiences will have a great ti...

Parallel Mothers - Movie Review Critics Score - 7 of 10 General Audience Score - 7 of 10 Pedro Almodóvar is a self-taught Spanish writer/director that’s been making movies since the 1970’s. He started making short films before writing and directing his first full length feature in 1980, and since then he’s won many awards from the Oscars and the British Academy of Film and TV Arts (BAFTA). While his films remain unknown to many general audiences, as he mainly films in the Spanish language, his films have wide appeal, including his latest work Parallel Mothers. Almodóvar shows great proficiency behind the camera, which you’d expect after such a long career, and his films enjoy a similar visual aesthetic style. But the emotional resonance many of his films are able to achieve higher levels of success with, just aren’t fully at work in Parallel Mothers. While the story is well crafted and engaging, Cruz and Smit are both excellent, but you can get a good feel for where things are headed e...

A Hero - Movie Review Critics Score - 8 of 10 General Audience Score - 7 of 10 For those of us from Western culture, the idea of having a man thrown in prison who owes another a large sum of money, seems a bit backwards. Why would you lock a man up and remove his ability to work and pay off his debts? Yet this is tragically something that is still commonplace in certain areas of the world, and it’s the foundation for the new film from Asghar Farhadi, A Hero. With that as the starting point, we twist and turn through the struggles of one man as he tries to gain his freedom in a system that’s got other plans in mind. Is he a good man? A con artist? Or something in between? The film raises some precarious questions and with Farhadi, the solution is never a simple one. It challenges the audience to weigh the evidence and decide for themselves, in a world where injustice is sometimes more prevalent than justice, we all need A Hero. But deciding who meets the criteria is all up to you. SYNOP...