“Welcome to Marwen” was slightly misleading in its trailer. I did not find much memorable moments in the film. If there was any scene from this film that grasped my attention the most, it was probably when Steve Carell shouts, “We need more ammo!” “Welcome to Marwen” is not a terrible film, it is just stale in multiple portions of the movie. The opening jumps into detail without giving its audience a proper premise, viewers are introduced to multiple fictional characters without knowing their background, and on top of that the film feels like it goes off topic quite a bit. I found this movie to be like “Toy Story” (1995) meets “Back to the Future” (1985). That is because a majority of the film consists of talking toy characters and its in the past future back in time (in the mind of Carell’s character).

The film is a true story about Mark Hogancamp (Carell), a man who is brutally beaten by five men and ends up suffering from brain damage. Due to this he becomes an artist with telling stories. To put his memories in order, he creates a world called “Marwen.” That world consists of a made-up World War II setting. In the film, he eventually has to go to court to testify against his attackers.

Now this film was all over the place. The film focuses so much Hogancamp’s world and not so much on him. From the trailers, I felt there would be lots more in depth storytelling or background fragments to help us better understand Hogancamp. There is really not much of that though, it is basically just the world of “Marwen” in so many moments of the movie, and Hogancamp is barely in the picture. I felt I probably saw the main character at the max four times in the film. Now I know Carell has been on a role this year with many great films ranging from “Beautiful Boy” and “Vice” this year, but this is honestly not one of his best films. His performance is terrific, but the filmmaking and story lacks entirely.

For director Robert Zemeckis, this film is probably one that has tanked badly for him. The film had a budget of $40 million and it debuted only 2.4 million. This is unfortunately a big failure for a holiday film. However, I think that is also because nothing can compete with Aquaman or Mary Poppins Returns. I guess no one really cares for a film about a fictional world this year.

I found “Welcome to Marwen” to be a film that should just be straight to streaming. I did not hate it, I was just completely lost. Even when I walked out of the auditorium, I was left with many unanswered questions about certain elements of the movie.

For Barry Jenkins, I thought “Moonlight” (2016) was brilliant. “If Beale Street Could Talk” is also brilliant. However, in that context it is more so amazing with its breathtaking cinematography, its vast movement of different camera angles, and its acting. I felt it was very similar to “Moonlight” based on its plot, its conflict, and the focus being the two main characters are African-American facing issues in regards to their race.

The film focuses on Tish Rivers and Alonzo “Fonny” Hunt (Kiki Layne and Stephan James). A couple that is on their way to having their first child, however Hunt is guilty of a crime that is false. Therefore, Rivers and her family struggles to prove his innocence. It becomes a visual and emotional journey of politics, love, distrust, and stress. As viewers watch the movie they see the emotions in both the eyes of the main characters of what they are feeling. Cinemtographer, James Laxon (also was the cinematographer who did the lighting and such for “Moonlight”), has a variety of moments in the film where he gears on emotional faces to which enhances the drama of “If Beale Street Could Talk.”

With this movies technical elements, I loved the vast imagery of New York City. The colors were faded in a sense that strengthens the time period of the people. The time period being the 1950s, the wealthy and the poor, and the different types of businesses that existed. The film also incorporates competition among different minorities and such.

When I walked out of the auditorium after “If Beale Street Could Talk” I left with mixed emotions. Not negative or positive, but I came to realize an aspect of life. That everyone in life deserves to be treated equally. No matter what race, religion, or gender. The conflict of the film is not fair for Rivers and Hunt, the issue though is they do not have enough witnesses or authority on their side to prove Hunt is innocent. That is all because of their skin color. I felt like I was watching “Moonlight” but with different people and a different time frame. “Moonlight” geared on a boy that was African-American growing up with transitional issues in his different stages of life. “If Beale Street Could Talk” follows people struggling because of their race. Both gear on issues in regards to the main characters struggling because of being African-American. Jenkins is definitely good at making his viewers have feelings towards his films when they come to abrupt scenarios.

Therefore, “If Beale Street Could Talk” is a must watch. It will leave viewers in tears, but also captivate them by its scenery and its music. I will give this movie three and a half stars.

For a film that Scarlett Johansson wanted to play the lead in back in 2006, but decided to drop, “Mary Queen of Scots” ended up being a project of a mess for the last twelve years. I foud “Mary Queen of Scots'” to be like I was watching the old series on Showtime, “The Tudors” (2007-2010). Not because, of the premise being similar to that TV show, but because the story seemed like it was lacking. If I were to go with some movie math, here is how I would describe the film: take “The Other Boleyn Girl” (2008) mixed with a little bit of “The Lover” (1992), and add some of “Brooklyn” (Which also had Saoirse Ronan and was brilliant) and end up being confused about what the focus is. Is it either battle for love or revenge. That is why I felt “Mary Queen of Scots” was somewhat difficult to follow.

The plot of the film is Mary Stuart (Ronan) wants to try to put an end to her cousin Elizabeth I (played by Margot Robbie) who is the Queen of England. However, this puts Stuart in a tough situation. She begins to realize that the queen has much more power and authority than she had thought. The film starts to become a poorly done cat and mouse game in terms of marriage and independence. I found that there was a decent amount of dialogue to somewhat help understand what was going on in the movie, but not enough factors were brought into the background to understand the historic value of the film. I found the script focused more on moments of jealousy, revenge, and power over helping viewers see what the historic conflicts are.

Generally, I do all I can to not be very negative about movies, so I am going to give “Mary Queen of Scots” some credit. Ronan and Robbie were both stellar. I loved Ronan in last years Lady Bird (2017), and Robbie in “I, Tonya” (2017). Both have the voices to play the roles of these historic figures. Also, I was fond of the cinematography because the views and sights were just breathtaking. The costumes had value in the film. I felt like there were moments where the costumes played suspense in the movie. That is because the clothing back then was quite complex to deal with and in those moments of complexity due to that, it created suspense.

One of the writers, Beau Willimon, did the writing for Netflix’s “House of Cards” (2013) and George Clooney’s, “The Ides of March (2011). I find given he has done writing in terms of politics, that is why revenge and such in terms of having power played a big role in “Mary Queen of Scots.”

Now, this is not a horrible movie, or a great movie, it is just slightly mediocre. I find now when it comes to historic films and TV shows (where now we have had plenty), lots of people nowadays care more about the action and dramatic situations over the actual historic backgrounds of what actually happened back then .Therefore, I will say two and a half stars for this movie.