Movie Reviews

By Tom Pacak 2018 was an oddball year for me. I fractured my hip running, swam a lot, did a cross-country road trip with one of my best friends, and most importantly; I started this blog. “Last Week At The Movies” is probably my biggest accomplishment in 2018 not because I won anything, but I got to enhance my knowledge of cinema and what makes a great movie. I saw a lot of stellar movies over the year, which made writing about them a lot easier. I reviewed over 58 films, which isn’t bad considering my very busy schedule with school and swimming. Here are the top ten movies I saw over this year: 1.       Roma :        Director Alfonso Cuarón puts passion in every frame in this poetic story about a family growing up in Mexico City during the 1970s. “Roma” is the movie of the year because it’s the only film that feels right being number one. I’ve tried every film on this list and Roma is the only one that works. The film follows Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio), a housemaid

By Tom Pacak “We tried our fucking best” those words kick off the start to Adam McKay’s “Vice,” a brilliant critique of former Vice President Dick Cheney (Christian Bale) through his years in Congress to his Vice Presidency. I’m positive a lot of the stuff that goes on in “Vice” is not historically accurate but at least McKay is open about it. That’s one of the reasons why I’m giving this film a good rating. A lot of people have sacrificed historical accuracy in favor of making a historical figure look bad. It can work as long as the source of material is interesting. And I’ll tell you, McKay makes me very intriguing.  It’s also worth noting that director Adam McKay identifies as a liberal. This should be a surprise to nobody since he’s expressed in numerous interviews his disdain for Trump and the Bush Administration. What should surprise you the most is that he’d prefer Trump over Bush and Cheney any day of the week. Most liberals I know tell me that they’d prefer the

By Tom Pacak Many critics have praised “Roma” as the best movie of 2018. I can see where they’re coming from; it’s beautifully directed, acted, it's personal, and amazing to look at (Alfonso Cuarón did cinematography). The film has already been declared the favorite by every other critic’s organization and it took home the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. It’s not only a home run for cinema but also Netflix, the big streaming giant that had the guts to put this film out there. It was an ambitious move by Netflix and I hope it pays off for them come Oscar Sunday.   The film follows a middle-class family in Mexico City around the early 1970s. The title refers to the Colonia Roma district of Mexico City where Cuarón grew up. “Roma” opens up with a close-up shot of soapy water running down the drain.   In that reflection, there is a plane flying in the sky and the bright shiny stone.   Water is supposed to reflect life and how smooth it flows and the plane is s