Double Review: First Reformed & Won't You Be My Neighbor

Two movies I highly recommend have two ordained clergymen taking very different paths on finding the meaning of life and love.

Cinema Spotlight III - J.A. Bayona (Part 4): 'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom'

I actually enjoyed Colin Trevorrow's Jurassic World being the only solid sequel to the original Jurassic Park. It took the franchise in a new direction that was never explored with the previous sequels with John Hammond's vision of the park finally open to the public. It still maintain's that dinosaur wonder, the cautionary themes of genetic science and paying tribute to the original film. Now we have Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Trevorrow returns only as a screenwriter with J.A. Bayona this time directing.

J.A Bayona - Mother Child Trilogy

All credit goes to Youtuber Steven Thomas who made this remarkable tribute to J.A. Bayona.

Cinema Spotlight III - J.A. Bayona (Part 3): 'A Monster Calls'

This is the story of man who told two amazing stories. His next story would be a continuation of a war against the agents of the undead but fate had different plans. Circumstances lead to that story remian untold and to tell another continuation of extinct creatures now newly resurrected. But before he could tell that story he had to to tell his third story first.

Cinema Spotlight III - J.A. Bayona (Part 2): 'The Impossible'

On December 26, 2004 the South and Southeast Asian countries including Sumatran, Indonesia and Thailand were struck by a tsunami. Reported to be the worst Tsunami disaster of all time, over 225,000 people from locals to visiting tourists lost their lives as villages and towns were completely destroyed. This is the story of a family who survived.

Incredibles 2 is Incredible Enough

Brad Bird's super-powered family was another repertoire in Pixar's catalog in 2004. While superhero movies were common they weren't the blockbuster giants now seen today. That same year bestowed clunkers like The Punisher, Blade Trinity, and Catwoman. There was also Hellboy but was a mixed bag with viewers.  Next to The Incredibles, the only other superhero film that triumphed critically and financially that year was Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2. Being a nerdy bookworm in junior high I wondered when the next adventure of this incredible family would arrive. Fourteen years later, is Incredibles 2 worth the wait?

Cinema Spotlight III - J.A. Bayona (Part 1): 'The Orphanage'

My first impression of Horror movies was that it was a sick and demented genre obsessed with the horrendous and demonic; filled with nothing but bloody decapitations, gratuitous sex, and other disgusting imagery. It wouldn't be until I came across the works of Alfred Hitchcock, Scott Derrickson and J. A. Bayona, that I realized that there was more to the genre than gory scares. Nowhere is that true than in Juan Antonio Bayona's directorial debut El Orfanato.

Proyector de Cine III - José Antonio Bayona (Parte 1): El Orfanato

Mi primera impresión de las películas de terror fue un género enfermo y demente obsesionado con lo horrendo y demoníaco; lleno de nada más que sangrientas decapitaciones, sexo gratuito, y otras imágenes desagradables. No fue hasta que encontré las obras de Alfred Hitchcock, Scott Derrickson y J. A. Bayona que me di cuenta de que había más en el género que espantos sangrientos. En ninguna parte es eso cierto en Juan Antonio Bayona's primer pelicula El Orfanato.