Tag Archives: Uncut Gems

Drew’s Movie Reviews Turns 7! My Fave Five New Movies I Watched in Year 7

by

10

Hello, friends!

Drew’s Movie Reviews has turned seven! That right, yesterday was my blogiversary which means I have been blogging for a full seven years now. Where does the time go? To celebrate, over the last few days I have posted reviews of all the Vacation films, beginning from the 1983 original to the 2015 “reboot.” If you missed any of those reviews, here are the links to those posts:

Vacation
European Vacation
Christmas Vacation
Vegas Vacation
Vacation (2015)

Lastly, to close out my blogging year, here are my five favorite films I saw during my seventh year of blogging:

Good Boys movie poster5) Good Boys

When I first saw the trailer for Good Boys, the first thing I thought of was Superbad but with elementary school kids. And being a big fan of Superbad, I was instantly sold. This is a very crude film. When I say it’s like Superbad but with kids, I mean the sense of humor and language is exactly like Superbad so watching young kids curse like sailors might not be for everyone. However, that’s one of the reasons that this film was so funny to me. Mix that with their naivete and you have a mix for some outrageous and humorous moments. All of the young actors did great and I was laughing from start to finish.

Knives Out movie poster4) Knives Out

After Star Wars: The Last Jedi, I was weary of watching another Rian Johnson film. I’m so glad I gave Knives Out a chance because it was one of the most refreshing films to be released in 2019. This movie is filled with twists and turns. When you think it’s going to zig, it zags. From the time the mystery is introduced to the final scenes, Johnson keeps you guessing. Knives Out breaks the conventions of what you expect from a murder mystery film and that’s part of the enjoyment. On top of that, the cast is top notch. Everyone is great in their roles and it’s nearly impossible to pick a favorite. A second or even third watch is worth it just to better see how each of the pieces are laid out throughout the film and better appreciate how it’s all brought together at the end.

Uncut Gems movie poster3) Uncut Gems

Adam Sandler is often pegged as a comedic actor, so when I saw he was going to be in a more dramatic role, I wanted to check it out. At the center of Uncut Gems is Sandler’s Howard Ratner, a New York City jeweler with a gambling problem and an overall terrible person. Most movies give some sort of redeeming quality to their main character so the audience can root for them. Uncut Gems does not. From the get-go, Howard is set up as a protagonist that is nearly impossible to get behind. The entire movie I was expecting the worst to happen, and this is where my enjoyment of this film comes from. I found myself constantly on edge watching and waiting as Howard’s life goes from bad to worst and he continuously makes bad decisions. And the entire time Sandler is in top form, maybe the best he’s ever been. Uncut Gems is an unusual film but that’s part of its disturbing charm.

Ready or Not movie poster2) Ready or Not

I went to see Ready or Not in the theater on a whim. As it turns out, it was a good whim to follow. I would be lying if I didn’t say that part of the reason this film has ranked so high is from the surprise factor. Ready or Not did not receive much advertising or fanfare before its release so I knew little about it going in and I don’t blame you if you missed this one on its release. If you haven’t seen it yet, you’re missing out on a fantastic dark comedy horror. Despite a talented cast around her, Samara Weaving manages to carry the film as the latest member of the Le Domas family. I constantly found myself both sitting on the edge of my seat and laughing at this dark comedy. What an unusual and fascinating combination.

Eighth Grade movie poster1) Eighth Grade

Surprisingly, Eighth Grade was the only film not released in the last twelve months that made it on this list. I guess this last year was not good for me in terms of watching great movies at home. I chose this film for my first entry of the Ultimate 2010s Blogathon to serve as a snapshot of the decade. It was my first time watching it (hence why it’s on this list) and I was blown away. I thoroughly believe this is the best coming-of-age film I have seen. This movie is so raw and accurately captures the pressures of being a teen. Kudos to Elsie Fisher for giving such an outstanding performance that I did not expect from someone her age. For the second year in a row, a coming-of-age film has made my list of essential watches. Not too shabby.

Year seven is now officially closed! Thank you for all the support over the last year! I appreciate all of the comments, likes, and views. I wouldn’t keep blogging if it wasn’t for all of you. 😀 Thank you for being here with me on this journey and I can’t wait to see what the next year brings for Drew’s Movie Reviews.

Follow DMR on Facebook, Twitter, and Letterboxd to stay up to date with my cinematic adventure.

Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay positive. Stay weird.

Until next time, cheers!

Uncut Gems Review

by

7

Uncut Gems movie poterSynopsis
New York City jeweler Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) is always looking for the next big score and always pushing his luck to find it. When he comes across a “sure thing,” it puts him at odds with friends and enemies alike.

Review
It has been a long time since I have seen a new Adam Sandler movie. I’m talking like 2011’s Jack and Jill and 2008’s You Don’t Mess with the Zohan before that. I’ve even missed Pixels, which my aunt has assured me I would enjoy given the amount of video games I play. But Uncut Gems piqued my interest because it looked like a different kind of Sandler movie. Even by my own admission I haven’t seen many of his movies outside of his early popular hits to compare to, but his role in Uncut Gems is unlike I have ever seen from him and might just be his best performance.

Sandler is absolutely brilliant as Howard Ratner, a shifty jeweler in New York City. Sandler is mostly known as a comedic actor but his role as Howard shows that he can branch out to other types of roles if he puts his mind to it. Howard is not a good person and is involved in shady dealings. Sandler bring a schizophrenic element to the part and makes it seem natural. The further I got into the film, the less and less I believed the person on screen was Sandler and not some doppelganger. Compared to other roles in his filmography, he is unrecognizable. After watching him in this film, I would like to see Sandler take on more dramatic roles such as this.

As I said before, Howard is not a good person, you might even call him a downright awful person. Usually a main character of a film has some sort of redeeming quality so the audience can connect and root for them. Not Howard. This disconnect from the audience actually works towards another purpose. Since he is such a terrible individual, I continuously expected something terrible to happen to him. This is where I found the suspense of the film to come from. I was constantly wondering when something will go wrong for Howard. Once this thought took hold, I was glued to the screen, always expecting the worse to happen in every scene.

The cinematography was expertly used to elevate the tension as well. Tight angles and small, crowded spaces were often used to create a sense of claustrophobia, making the audience more uneasy being up close and personal with such despicable people. Kudos to the Safdie brothers and cinematographer Darius Khondji for creating an uncomfortable feeling using just the camera.

If I had one complaint about the film it would be that it is a bit too long. At 2 hours and 15 minutes, it does drag on a points. If one or two subplots would have been cut to shave the run time down by 20 or 30 minutes, I think this film would have found that sweet spot.

I thought Uncut Gems was GREAT 😀 Adam Sandler completely transforms himself in what is probably his most dramatic role to date. I found myself on edge expecting the worst to happen. While it was just a smidge too long, Uncut Gems is unrelenting and extremely raw, dragging you into Howard’s seedy world and never letting go.

Trailer

Cast & Crew
Benny Safdie – Director / Writer
Josh Safdie – Director / Writer
Ronald Bronstein – Writer
Daniel Lopatin – Composer

Adan Sandler – Howard Ratner
Julia Fox – Julia
Idina Menzel – Dinah Ratner
Lakeith Stanfield – Demany
Kevin Garnett – Himself
Eric Bogosian – Arno
Keith Williams Richards – Phil
Mike Francesa – Gary
Judd Hirsch – Gooey
Noa Fisher – Marcel Ratner
Jonathan Aranbayev – Eddie Ratner
Jacob Idielski – Beni Ratner

On Monday, the Ultimate 2010s Blogathon was announced! If you would like to participate, all the details can be found in this announcement post.