Beard Blog Movie Review: Jigsaw (2017)

A new game begins.

A 10 year later sequel to the original Saw movies, Jigsaw reignites the series. A new game is being played, but who is running the show? Jigsaw (John Kramer) has been dead for 10 years, or has he?

jigsaw-movie
Billy the puppet

[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Jigsaw stays true to its roots and delivers the twists and turns we have come to love from this genre.[/perfectpullquote]

 

 

 

 

My favorite horror movie series Saw is back and I feel better about it than I did the last time a sequel was made. There were some points during the movie where I saw bad acting and plot holes, but the whole thing is saved by the end. Jigsaw is a throwback to the first set of movies and feels very familiar, in a good way. The story is told in two places, one takes place in ‘the game’, and the other is basically an episode of The Glades, complete with Matt Passmore.

Overall it’s a great restart to the series and I wouldn’t mind seeing this go forward, a little.

I didn’t see this movie in XD or IMAX, but I don’t think it would be worth the extra price.

Who should watch this movie? Fans of the original Saw movies, people who enjoy a good psycho-thriller movie, and someone looking expand their horror horizons beyond the supernatural hogwash being churned out every year.

Who shouldn’t watch this movie? People who can’t take a lot of blood and/or gore, viewers who didn’t like the original Saw movies, and horror fans looking for ‘jump out and scare you’ action.

 

Score

7.5 / 10 – Jigsaw stays true to its roots and delivers the twists and turns we have come to love from this genre.

 

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Spoilers

No spoilers this time since it will really ruin the movie.

Go see it for yourself!

Beard Blog Movie Review: American Made (2017)

The sky is never the limit

Tom Cruise plays a real life pilot in American Made who helps the CIA and Medellín drug cartel deliver goods across borders. Cruise decided to adopt an obviously fake Louisiana accent which goes a long way to making this movie somewhat annoying.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The fact that this is a true story is this films only saving grace.[/perfectpullquote]

cruise
Tom Cruise the pilot again

Barry Seal randomly gets recruited by the CIA and ends up living the lavish life with more cash than he knows what to do with. Throughout the whole movie, Seal gets in and out trouble almost too quickly. The whole film feels rushed just to get the end result which is you can see coming from a mile.

The true story factor kept this entertaining enough to finish. When the final scene cut and the credits rolled I was relieved to know that American Made was over.

Who should watch this movie? Fans of the Netflix series Narcos, Tom Cruise fans, and people that like movies about planes

Who shouldn’t watch this movie? Fans of popcorn movies, someone expecting another Top Gun, and the person wanting to be wowed by Cruise’s acting prowess.

Score

5.5 / 10 – The fact that this is a true story is this films only saving grace.

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Read on for spoilers

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Beard Blog Movie Review: Mother! (2017)

Seeing is believing

Wow… what a ride. Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem deliver two oscars-worthy performances in a new movie that could only have come from Darren Aronofsky’s mind. Riddled with symbolism, metaphors, and religious undertones, Mother! tries to be a lot more than it is. I appreciate Aronofsky trying to bring his thoughts and visions to light and while most of them worked, the movie will fall flat on most viewers.

Mother!

A married couple are spending their days in an old house when uninvited guests begin to show up and cause disturbances. One thing leads to another and their happy lives are destroyed. Read below for spoilers and what I thought this movie represents.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The story unfolds quickly through the climax and at the end you’re left with questions, confusion, and possibly tears.[/perfectpullquote]mother

The first 30 minutes of this movie have no score, soundtrack, or ambient noise. It’s just you and the characters on the screen. This can be annoying if you’re in a theater with other humans who breathe, eat, and are just naturally noisy. The lack of music allows you to immerse yourself in what is going on between the on-screen characters. Jennifer Lawrence has great poise and there is not a scene in this movie without her. Javier Bardem shows many different sides and it’s his best performance since No Country for Old Men. The story unfolds quickly through the climax and at the end you’re left with questions, confusion, and possibly tears.

Who should watch this movie? Fans of Aronofsky, fans of great acting, and people who can look past blatant attempts of symbolism of our current society.

Who shouldn’t watch this movie? People looking for a movie to just entertain them, people who struggle with violent images, and viewers that do not wish to think about the meaning of a scene or character.

Score

7.5 / 10 – Very moving acting on top of a weak premise.

See more of my move reviews here

*SPOILERS*

Read on for spoilers, stop here if you haven’t seen this movie

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