the ago-meter

In all seriousness though… This blog is a fun read for movie-lovers. Either if you want non-spoiler reviews on the latest films or if you just want to take a cinematic trip down nostalgia lane. Each movie is rated on a 1 - 10 scale known as “The Ago-Meter”.

My ultimate goal is to save you money, by helping you determine which movies are “worth it” to see on the big screen and which ones can wait to stream at home and to guide you on where to stream good movies so you can binge one streaming platform at a time instead of spending hundreds of dollars a year for multiple subscriptions year-round.

Movie reviews and articles that you will not agree with at all - Agostino Zoida

This blog is free but donations are appreciated.

Donate

I cannot believe that I actually liked FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS. Correction, I cannot believe that I actually really liked FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS

I actually love... Okay, woah, hold on... Let's not go that far. I wouldn't use the word "love" but I am extremely surprised at how much I enjoyed this movie, considering that I had very low expectations for it and I kind of didn't even really want to see it.

Why didn't I want to see it?

Well, let’s face it, The FANTASTIC FOUR films don't exactly have the best track record. I did not read the comic books when I was a kid but I did watch the cartoon and I really liked the four main characters and the SILVER SURFER character, which this new movie FIRST STEPS has and we will get to that character in a bit but, the past F4 movies have not exactly translated well, to the big screen.

Also, the trailer for FIRST STEPS came across as too animated for me, which can be cool if executed well and I believe that is was, however, while watching the trailer, it struck me as boring and childish and I had absolutely no desire to see it. I thought that it looked like it could have been a series on Disney+, rather than a movie.

I also did not want to see this after I learned that PEDRO PASCAL was casted as MR. FANTASTIC. It's not that I dislike PEDRO, it's just that I have had a little too much of him as of late. He seems to be in almost every movie and constantly in the "celebrity" media and memes and it felt as if they were trying to push him on us a little too much and I was not particularly impressed with his work in past films. I don't mind that the industry wants diversity, as long as the actor is good, I don't care what ethnicity they are and I think it's great to have more Latino representation in films, especially a superhero movie. As long as it is done well but in efforts to be "Diverse", it seems that the industry only casts the same people over and over again and PASCAL is slowly becoming their token-Latino. I especially did not enjoy him in GLADIATOR II, which I did really enjoy but I felt that his performance, specifically, was phoned-in. By that time, I was sick of PEDRO. It seemed like everywhere you look, there he was and so, when he appeared as the lead in the new FANTASTIC FOUR film, I sort of rolled my eyes at it. "Ugh, him again?"

Now, after seeing the movie, I can confidently say, that I can not think of anyone better that could have played our stretchy scientist friend. Finally, PASCAL has been casted appropriately. I feel that the entire ensemble was casted appropriately. Let's break em' down...

SUE STORM (Terrible name.) AKA, THE INVISIBLE WOMAN (That's more like it.) was played by VANESSA KIRBY who did a fine job and I do feel that she was the right choice. She brought emotion at the right times and yet she also expressed a strong domineer that made me believe that she was fighting for her child like any mother would. My one complaint about KIRBY, during the last big fight scene, during a close up (on KIRBY), in slow motion that actually exposes some poor acting skills that took me out of the scene and the only thing I could see was a green-screen generated background and a close-up on KIRBY where you catch her acting but, that's the only time in the movie that I caught it and it's still better than I could do. Probably.

BEN GRIMM. AKA, THE THING was played by EBON MOSS-BACHRACH. Well, actually EBON played BEN GRIMM and only voiced THE THING. We know MOSS-BACHRACH from the hit series THE BEAR which I find to be unwatchable. I have tried to watch it multiple times and I can not get into it. I am simply not interested in the way the story is told and I do not care about the characters, especially EBON's character but in this, FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS he was fine, when we saw him. But mostly, we just hear him and the voice does match the look of THE THING very well. Personally, I thought that they could have made THE THING a little bigger but overall, his character was lovable and I am not sure if we can credit that to the voice of EBON. I actually questioned if it was his voice during the moments when he is THE THING as it does not sound like him at all. The voice does not even match the voice of BEN GRIMM, during his limited screen-time. Overall, I liked THE THING and I think in future films we will see more of EBON. (O.S.)

SHALLA-BAL, who is, THE SILVER SURFVER. Was played by JULIA GARNER. Yes, THE SILVER SURFER is a woman. Now, when I was a kid, I remember THE SILVER SURFER being a man but I also remember a female SILVER SURFER. No, this is not a Mandela Effect. There actually was both a male and a female version, in the comic books. In an alternate universe there is a character that is called SHALLA-BAL that's alias is the chrome surfer and it was a woman. So, clearly, that is the universe that this film was aspiring towards and I loved it.

Much like EBON MOSS-BACHRACH, JULIA GARNER gets very little screen-time and so I can not give much feed back on GARNER playing SHALLA-BAL but I can tell you that THE SILVER SURFER, CGI generated and all... was really cool. It looked cool and the character was cool and the story build up behind her character was very well done. I really enjoyed the scenes with THE SILVER SURFER, especially the scenes between her and...

JOHNNY STORM (Cool name.) AKA, THE HUMAN TORCH (Kind of a dorky superhero name.) who was played by JOSEPH QUINN. I saved him for last as I think he was my favorite character in this 2025 reboot. QUINN's career is white hot right now. I remember him in the latest season of STRANGER THINGS and I didn't know how I felt about him at first, as he was not an original cast member but he won our hearts by the end of that season. Since then he has been "On Fire" (get it?)

Right after STRANGER THINGS, he fire-balled right into the lead in the prequel of the successful franchise, A QUIET PLACE “DAY ONE” and he also makes an appearance in THE GLADIATOR II as one of the twin-brother emperors and he is quite good in that as well.

But most of all, QUINN blew me away in FANTASTIC FOUR as I was completely shocked that he was my favorite character because I expected to like him the least out of everyone who was casted.

Again, judging a movie by it's trailer, it looked like they were making him out to look kind of “douchy” which I don't know how you can be “douch-ier” than CHRIS EVANS. I also thought, from watching the trailers, that they were going to make JOHNNY STORM a homosexual. Not that there's anything wrong with being a homosexual but that character is not supposed to be and with the film industry constantly forcing narratives into every major movie, it was another eye-rolling moment for me. After watching the movie, I can admit that this version of JOHNNY STORM, AKA, THE HUMAN TOURCH was pretty bad-(double peach emoji). The performance was fun, emotional and... I loved his outfits throughout the movie. (Now who’s a homosexual?) I think that this is the best cinematic version of STORM that we have ever had.

I guess that the trailer for this movie really turned me off. I thought that it looked worse than the SUPERMAN (2025) trailers. I had very little expectations for SPERMAN (and I was right) but I was at least excited to check it out and I was willing to watch it and yet, I was not interested at all in watching FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS. I mean like, I had zero interest. The only reason that I decided to watch it, in the theatres was...

1. I really wanted to go to the movies and there was nothing else to watch.

2. My wife wanted to go to the movies and she also enjoys superhero flicks and we had already seen SUPERMAN and there was nothing else to watch.

3.. I was starting to hear good things about it.

And so, I went in with low expectations, just as I did for SUPERMAN but the difference is, that FIRST STEPS actually ended up being good. It is not only a better Superhero movie than JAMES GUNN"s SUPERMAN (2025) but it is simply a superior film over SUPERMAN and was executed much better. Even the robot, H.E.R.B.I.E. had more heart and emotion than KRYPTO, SUPERMAN’s dog. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, JAMES GUNN is a bad filmmaker/director. And if you agree, Bb sure to scroll down a bit and check out my review on SUPERMAN (2025) as it will tickle your hatred-bone towards GUNN and/or SUPERMAN (2025)

I will be watching F4 again and yes, I will be adding it into my MOVIE STASH.

You can still watch FANTSATIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS in theatres but probably not for much longer so, you might want to HERBIE, I mean hurry. This will inevitably end up on DISNEY+ but I do recommend watching this on the big screen and the best part is, that is is under 2-hours and it feels like it’s under 2-hours.

There are 2 post-credit scenes so stay in your seats.

The Ago-Meter on FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS is a 7.6

- Agostino Zoida

fantastic four: first steps

By: Agostino Zoida

08/29/2025

Congratulations to comic book fans that finally got their Superman movie. Now that we've got that out of our system, can we go back to making good films?

Warning! A controversial take on SUPERMAN (2025) coming up...

Too much was going on in this movie when actually, nothing really happens at all. The storyline was a bit messy. Don't get me wrong, I am not mad about the run-time but it felt like they tried to cram too much into a 2 hour movie, like organizing your closet but instead of finding a neat and organized place for everything, you just throw it all in and hope that the door stays shut.

Superman, the victim? This Superman is actually the weakest cinematic portrayal of Superman we have ever seen. Superman was shown as hurt more than he was shown as heroic. He had to rest and be healed by the sun several times throughout the film, making him appear weak. There was no real difference between the power of Superman and the powers of the other superhero’s in this film. Nothing to differentiate him from your ordinary, everyday superhero.

Say what you want about ZACK SNYDER... You may not like his films or what he did with the DC universe but SNYDER is defiantly a good director. He knows how to tell a story and establish a character just by certain shots and action sequences.

For example, in BATMAN V. SUPERMAN, when the bat-mobile crashes into Superman and just bounces right off of him. Or, the shot of Superman pulling an entire ship through the artic by it's anchor. This shot has nothing to do with the plot of the movie but just a vision by a great director that knows how to establish the strength of a character without using words.

Some may argue that JAMES GUNN is also a good director and I would have to disagree. Without visual effects and without Super-Man-Splaining the story and character arcs, there's no great filmmaking from GUNN. There's no creative shots, there's just panning. Camera-panning does not make you a good director, it actually just makes it unwatchable in Imax which is unfortunate for a movie that should have been enjoyed in Imax, without experiencing motion sickness.

The only real vision that JAMES GUNN applied to this movie is simply that of a comic book nerd, which he is and to which this film is catered.

I'm tired of comic book fans trying to explain to me why this is a good movie and all they can say is that it is just like the comic books. Well, that does not make it a good movie, it just makes it accurate to one of the stories in a Superman comic book that you happened to enjoy. There are many different storylines and different versions of comic books as a result of the original story being a huge success and in an opportunity to keep milking the cash-cow, just like the studios and filmmakers, they made several different versions of the story, in multiple universes and if you happened to like this version and the movie rang true and accurate to the comic book story and timeline, then that is great for you and I am happy for you. But it does not make this a good movie that everyone can enjoy.

I find it hard to believe that someone who is not a comic book fan can walk into this movie and love it. Although, I have noticed that a lot of female viewers, who are not comic book enthusiasts, my wife included, really loved this movie. I wonder why that is?

So, let's talk about him next... DAVID CORENSWET; did a fine job and certainly looked the part... For a Gen-Z version of SUPERMAN. Watching him in what was supposed to be a dramatic scene with LOIS LANE interviewing him, felt like watching a young couple on a college campus have an argument and even though both raise good points, you just want them to go away as both are annoying. In the trailer, this scene seemed like it was going to be an intense dramatic scene but it actually felt very cringe. See, I use words like "Cringe", I'm not that old.

I also have a minor complaint in regards to the lack of CLARK KENT in this movie. There was not one cool shot of a lovable and humble journalist, ripping open his dress-shirt and tie to reveal the iconic "S" on his suit. Relax comic book geeks, I know it's not an "S" and that it is a symbol from Krypton meaning "Hope", so keep your tights on.

There was not enough of getting to know the man under the red cape which I felt hurt the real chemistry between him and LOIS and the chemistry between CLARK and his "Farm Parents".

Not to keep comparing this to SNYDER's version, but I will... The chemistry between CLARK and his "SMALLVILLE" parents played by KEVIN COSTNER and DIANE LANE had more heart. In this, (2025) SUPERMAN, they just made his parents seem like dumb farmer-hicks that don't know how to use a cell phone which I know is just GUNN and the writers going for a cheap laugh but why is it okay to mock the elderly for not knowing how to use current technology but it's not okay for me to crack jokes at the expense of today's youth, without them getting "triggered"?

SNYDER v. GUNN... Yeah, let's stay on that topic.

I would like to talk about the character LEX LUTHOR. Now, I know that if I tell you that I think that JESSE EISENBERG was a better LEX than NICHOLAS HOULT, that I will lose all credibility and you would probably stop reading this article, if you haven't already. So, I won't say that. But, hear me out... EISENBERG's version was a little creepier as where HOULT's version of LEX was lacking that certain evil. EISENBERG struck me as evil. And the emotion of someone who was psychotic in a very creepy way was better expressed from JESSE EISENBERG and I feel that creepy is cinematically more entertaining which is why EISENBERG's portrayal of LUTHOR is my preference but with that being said, I would like to share some praise to NICK HOULT, who up until now, I have not seen an outstanding performance and it felt as if Hollywood was trying to place him anywhere and everywhere as a leading man and just could not find the right home for him. Don't get me wrong, he's likeable and fun to see in movies and has had decent performances in films like, CLINT EASTWOOD's JUROR #2 and RENFIELD but these roles were not really letting him show us who he really is and what he can do as an artist and even though I am not a fan of this movie, I am happy that we finally got to see the range of HOULT, in terms of acting performance. Please, let's properly cast him in the future and not hold him back, let this man cook.

Another reason that I prefer SNYDER’s SUPERMAN movie(s) is that there was no political agendas but this JAMES GUNN’s SUPERMAN is loaded with it. This is a propaganda piece and if you could not spot that, then it worked. They got you.

We can't end this review/article/hate-speech/blog (I'm not even sure what this is anymore) without talking about the dog.

Now, if you know anything about me, you would know that I am a sucker for dogs. I actually cry at the movie MY DOG SKIP but didn't shed a tear for THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST and I'm a Catholic.

Even though I did not have high expectations for this movie, I knew that I at least would give some biscuit-points for the fact that there is a dog in it. Until, I met KRYPTO. I can appreciate that JAMES GUNN's inspiration behind developing what KRYPTO would look like, came from his own dog. Yes, I've seen the clips of GUNN's dog chasing him around his house, biting at his heels just like KRYPTO does to SUPERMAN in the movie and it's very adorable. But, somehow they managed to make the dog not lovable. Do you know how difficult it is to have a dog character in a movie and it not tug on your heart-strings? Well, somehow GUNN managed to do it.

The dog had almost no personality. The only personality that it did have was just sort of "spazzy" which did not translate to lovable. KRYPTO made SCOOBY-DOO look seem a scholar. There was no chemistry with the dog and any of the characters. Least of all SUPERMAN. There is an explanation for that but still, you have a dog in a movie that had no emotion. Maybe if they had developed more of a CLARK KENT character, the man could have bonded with the dog better than the alien did. Not to mention that the visual effects, particularly of the dog, were pretty bad with it looking realistic at times, cartoon-ish at other times and often changing sizes. In some scenes KRYPTO looks like the size of a chihuahua and other times he's MARMADUKE; taking up the entire Imax screen. The dog aspect was very disappointing and I don't know how a Disney movie can give no emotion to a dog character. Oh, wait, this is not a Disney movie, I guess I got confused because of the usual immaturity of JAMES GUNN films.

I do not recommend watching this in the theatre although many of my friends (who might not be my friends anymore, after reding this) and my wife have seen this multiple times in the theatre and if you do want to watch it on the big screen, I will warn you that Imax is not worth it and if you are prone to motion sickness; Imax is a really bad idea. Even my wife, who loved the movie, chose not to see it in Imax on her second viewing and she was able to enjoy herself without feeling dizzy as she did in her first screening, which was in Imax.

I know that I am often accused of having very "different" or "hard" opinions on movies but if you do not consider yourself a comic book fanatic but you do enjoy super hero movies, I do warn that you might want to wait for this to be streaming at home as it is not meant for just anyone to enjoy. I imagine that this will be streaming on HBO within just a few short months. I doubt that this will remain in theatres for much longer in anticipation of getting an Oscar nomination. Unless THE ACADEMY created a new category called "Worst Use of A Dog".

The Ago-Meter is a 2 on SUPERMAN (2025)

- Agostino Zoida

Superman (2025)

By: Agostino Zoida

08/05/2025

friendship

By: Agostino Zoida

06/07/2025

What on God's Green Earth is everyone talking about!?

I finally got around to watching FRIENDSHIP and I can not figure out why everyone is acting like it is God's comedy-gift to the entire movie-watching universe. This film is one-hour and forty minutes and realistically, only about 30 minutes of it is funny. And for some odd, unexplainable reason, I find myself wanting to watch it again.

It's no secret that the film industry has been lacking in the comedy department. Lately, it seems that all comedies are just Netflix originals and let's face it, Netflix wouldn't know funny even if they were at a live Standup Special taping. Oh, wait...

This is the first comedy that we have gotten on the big screen in a long while and the masses are acting as if this is on par with instant comedy classics like, SUPERBAD or THE HANGOVER (part one) and while it is no where near as good as those, it is the best we have right and so, for now, it is all we have to quench the comedy-thirsty film industry. Therefore, it is being received as "Brilliant"? "Hilarious"? "An instant classic"?

Well kids, I have news for you... This is no classic. We've seen this story before. You can watch another dark comedy about male friendship; a male-stalker-friend called, THE CABLE GUY (1996), starring JIM CARREY and MATTHEW BRODERICK in very similar roles portrayed by TIM ROBINSON and PAUL RUDD. And, believe it or not, the beloved cult-classic (THE CABLE GUY) didn't start out as a classic at all. BEN STILLER's directorial debut ended up being JIM CARREY’s first box office flop due to the audience not ready to receive such dark humor. But now, it has a cult following. Paving the way for dark comedies, like FRIENDSHIP which is not as funny, edgy or as creepy (in a good way).

FRIENDSHIP is not a complete rip-off because at least THE CABLE GUY knew what direction it was going while CRAIG WATERMAN had a hard time deciding what type of character he was; either an awkward guy who has a difficult time bonding with regular dudes, which we've seen in a thousand movies, sitcoms and sketch shows. Or, was he a sociopath, obsessed stalker? It seemed that he could not commit to one or the other and without giving away spoilers, I will say that his character had inconsistencies.

So far, (if you're still reading this) it probably seems I am leaving a poor review but I actually did like the movie, I just feel like it is not as good as everyone is saying it is. Actually, I am going to make a prediction...
I predict that FRIENDSHIP will receive some nominations come this (2026) award season. Not for acting though, that's for sure.

Robinson can be funny at times and without him, the script would not have been as funny at all but the whole movie felt like one long blooper reel. Watching Robinson act out ridiculous and sometimes humorous outbursts while catching him break character and laugh at himself in several scenes where he was supposed to be serious.

And, Paul Rudd was the same in this as he is in all of his movies...
A scoop of vanilla ice cream without the cone.

But I could see this possibly getting a Best Picture nomination and even more probable, a Best original Screenplay nomination. Although, in my opinion, this was not original at all.

The only award that I feel this deserves to win is most overrated movie of the year. Not because it isn't good but because it isn't as great as everyone is making it out to be.

I will not be adding FRIENDSHIP into "THE MOVIE STASH" but I will be watching it again. I just won’t pay for it twice. If you missed it in the theatre, you can now rent it at home for an average of $4.99 across the streaming platforms, which I feel is worth that price to check it out for yourself. I’m sure that you will be able to stream this for free somewhere eventually, possibly Amazon Prime but I have a feeling that this will remain behind a paywall until award season.

The Ago-Meter is a 6

-Agostino Zoida

Karate kid: legends

By: Agostino Zoida

05/31/2025

I have no idea why this movie needed to exist. However, I sure am glad that it does.

That is not to say that it is "legendary" by any means. I had some problems with the way that the story unfolded and the missed opportunity of some character arch's and closure.
The ending felt a little too simple and easy which leads me to assume that the writers were a bit too lazy but that is just a giant assumption. Maybe they're not lazy... Maybe they genuinely felt like it was a good ending? One thing is for sure, I can confidently say that they were not creative enough with that ending.

I do, however, feel that it had a happy ending and that the post-credits scene is definitely worth "the dough" but I wish that I had been apart of a focus group of some sort, where the filmmakers screen the movie and take some feedback from the public. You know, us... The people, the fans who will be spending our hard earned Miyagi-Dough to go see it. Because I have a suggestion for an alternate ending that would have had more heart and offer better closure to the main characters. But, I won't tell you what my suggestion is as I do not want to load up this article with spoilers (but you are welcomed to DM me on IG: @agostinozoida ) and it's too late anyway. KARATE KID: LEGENDS is done and released. So, just go see it and enjoy it for what it is...

And "what is it?", you ask? It's a wholesome, family friendly karate movie that everyone can enjoy... And I did enjoy it. It had good fighting scenes and the quick camera movement did a good job of making the martial arts feel real and suspenseful and pretty bad-(insert peach emoji here)
It had emotion and it had laughs. I found JACKIE CHAN to be one of the funniest characters and it was great seeing him back on the big screen and it was even better seeing him teamed up with RALPH MACCHIO as DANIEL LARUSSO.

While this film does have multiple plots, (and just when you think you know what the story is; the plot changes again) the plots are at least easy to follow and all of them were entertaining. It's like being in a relationship with someone who has multiple personalities but at least all of their personalities are nice. I was thankful for the right amount of fan-service added in for us KARATE KID franchise nerds, without taking away from the new story. Or, should I say stories?

I really like the main character; LI who was played by BEN WANG WHOM. I thought that he was perfectly casted. He was instantly loveable and I found myself routing for him from the very beginning.
JOSHUA JACKSON also played a very lovable character, VICTOR. A pizza parlor owner and former boxer. Oh... And father to the main love interest. (I told you there was a lot going on.) Either way, it was great seeing JACKSON in this even though his character was a bit corny, in a good dad-jokey kinda' way. I do feel that he was perfectly casted as well. His daughter, MIA played by SADIE STANLEY, who was ironically in a show called "CRUEL SUMMER", she did a good job too and was surprisingly not annoying as most American-Teen characters can be.

I will say that the main villains were pretty generic and as much as I would like to elaborate, I cannot, without going into some of the same spoilers that I was trying to avoid earlier.
This article is not meant to only point out the flaws of this movie, that is not my intention as I did enjoy it and I do encourage you to see it.

It was fun. It was entertaining. And... most of all... It was short!
I appreciate how it did not feel too long. We need to get back to 90 minute movies, especially if it is of comedy or action/adventure genre. I understand why sometimes drama's need to be longer and some of my favorite movies are between 2 and a half and 3 hours long, which just feels appropriate and epic for some reason. But... a simple, fun comedy/karate-movie does not need to be more than 2-hours. While I am not sure why this latest chapter in the KARATE KID franchise was titled "LEGENDS" I do know why it is legendary to me... Because the filmmakers heard us. They kept it under 2-hours and they did not shove any political narratives down our throats. They heard us and they listened and for that, in my heart, they will forever be... LEGENDS

If you missed this one at on the big screen, you can now stream it at home for $9.99 which is pretty high for renting but it’s still cheaper than the movie theatre. You can also watch all of the original KARATE KID movies (except for the one with HILARY SWANK) on Netflix and you can even binge the full COBRA KAI series on Netflix. It is too early to say, but most likely, this movie, KARATE KID: LEGENDS will end up on Netflix as well.

The Ago-Meter is a 6.9

There is an after credits scene that is worth the wait.

-Agostino Zoida

The mummy (1999)

By: Agostino Zoida

05/19/2025

I recently revisited this action-adventure gem. Can you believe that it's been 26 years since the release of THE MUMMY?

Released on May 7th, 1999. I was 11 years old and I have never really been into the horror/monster-movie genre so, naturally, I had never seen the original (1932) black and white “THE MUMMY” by Universal Pictures. Universal’s 3rd “Monster Movie” proceeded by the success of DRACULA and FRANKENSTEIN which both were released in 1931. Even now, I have only seen clips. But, in 1999, I was super excited for this release and I can not even remember why.

Maybe it was because I had a great time watching BRENDAN FRASER as GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE (1997) in the theatres with my dad. That is probably the first time that FRASER popped up on my 11-year-old radar. I was too young at the time, to be able enjoy him in more “adult” movies, and I use the word “adult” very loosely, like, ENCINO MAN & AIRHEADS.

During the late 90's, the drive-in movie era was fading out and actually going to an indoor movie theatre was starting to make a huge come back and it solved a big problem for large families, which was "what movie should we go see?". While the drive-in did serve a purpose in privacy, bringing your own snacks, and that large families could save a buck or two by sneaking in extra kids who were laying low in the back of the station wagon or in my case, the minivan.

A family of 6 could all go see a movie for a fraction of the cost, as long we kept our heads down.
The two youngest kids would fall asleep during the movie anyway so, why pay for them? But the problem with the drive-in, was choosing a movie that everyone could agree on. I am one of four children and we were all of different age groups and I am the youngest and the only boy so, with three older sisters, as you can imagine, I was often outnumbered. But in 1997-98, the indoor movie theatre was back in a big way. We know now that the film industry realized that they can make more money by charging each individual person an admission and by selling more of their own concession items but I didn't mind. It’s not like I paid for anything back then and, I could finally go see the movies that I wanted to see. "A la carte movies" if you will. A family could split up. "Honey, you take the girls to see that movie and us guys will go see this movie".

I started to get into action-adventure, comedies or just pure bloody-violence as I got to go to a lot of "guy movies" with my dad. I got to experience a lot of movies with my dad back then, just the two of us in a theatre. And, as time went on and my sisters got older and interested in their own lives, I never grew out of going to the movies.
I wanted to experience every movie on the big screen and even still, to this day, I cherish my movie-going experiences. Even if the movie is bad, I still have a great time going to the movies with my wife, friends, alone and on some occasions, with my parents. It's my favorite thing to do.

A distant second is watching movies in the comfort of my home where the beers and snacks don't break the bank and the showtimes are always convened with my schedule. Although, I do love watching new movies in the theatre but sometimes, with these new releases, it's not worth it to spend expensive admissions, $17 beers and $12 popcorn and let's face it, some of these new releases only deserve to be watched at home, for free. That's why these reviews are meant to help the consumer. Movie reviewers and critics are here to help you decide on which movies are a must-see in-theatres and which ones can you wait to rent. Some are not even worth the $5.99 to rent and you should just wait for it to become streaming for free or, on one of the platforms to which you are already subscribed.

We're here to help you save some green.
But movie scores and reviews are tricky and at times objectifying to the artists. The critics are not always right. The key is to try to find a movie critic, blogger or even a podcaster that you tend to identify with their tastes. Kind of like the "Staff Picks" at an old video store.

Now we have sites like ROTTEN TOMATOES that objectify the filmmakers with a scoring system ranging from 1 to 100 percent and sadly, this has become the standard for rating movies. A new release's promo’s will now advertise about a 90 percentile score right in the trailer which means absolutely nothing. And now the audience will quickly check the “RT” score before deciding on a movie but what a lot of people probably do not realize is that there are two different scores on "RT". One score, the one that is shown to you on your GOOGLE search as well as the one that is advertised in promo-clips is the critic's score and let's be honest, the critics are often wrong. They are biased, political, disconnected and in some cases, probably bribed.

But, ROTTEN TOMATOES has a another score that is based on the audience's score. I do not 100% (pun intended) trust the audience’s score either. The average consumer has never been so out of touch with what is considered to be good entertainment than they are right now, in my opinion but, between the two, I tend to trust the masses more than the critics. I actually like to monitor both scores and I have found that my score is usually somewhere in-between.

The system is a marketing ploy and flawed. Anything under 60% is considered a “Rotten Tomato” and anything above 60% is considered a “Certified Fresh” tomato and movie studios will boast, without actually telling you their score, that their movie is “Certified Fresh” but that could be in the sixty one percentile and it’s only referring to the critic’s score. The audience score is not even included in that. You have to check both scores and make your own assessment.

For example, if the critics score is very high and the audience score is very low, to me, that usually means that the movie probably pushes a political agenda that the current mainstream media approves of and/or is a little too artsy without focusing on entertainment value. But, if the critics score is low and the audience is high, that usually tells me that the movie is probably a little too focused on entertainment and not enough on story and it is probably some mindless, cheesy yet fun movie where you don’t have to think too much. Which we definitely need sometimes but maybe it’s lacking art completely. But, if both the critics and audience scores are high, it’s probably very good and if both are low, then it is probably very bad. Usually. And if the scores are different but still close, maybe the difference of only twenty-ish percent, you can assume that the real score is probably somewhere in the middle. These calculations seem to help me determine which movies I should run to the theatre to see.

But, my favorite thing to do when I am watching a movie at home is; I love to go back and rewatch some of my all time favorites. Those movies that you can watch over and over again and I had a blast taking a trip down this Nostalgia sandy road, rewatching THE MUMMY (1999)

It's crazy to watch these knowing what we know now about BRENDAN FRASER. It's even crazier to see how he has aged/evolved and the types of films that he does now. I was always a fan of his and I still am an admirer of his work. While some of his latest films don't have that same rewatch-ability factor, I still respect him as an artist and enjoy his current work and I can't wait to see even more of him in some up and coming projects.

After rewatching THE MUMMY (1999), I think that I realized that I prefer RICK O’CONNEL just a little bit more than DR. INDIANA JONES. I know that statement will catch me a lot of heat ("heat" sounds a lot like "hate", you pick which word you'd like to use.) and don't get me wrong, I love-me-some INDY but pound for pound, I think that THE MUMMY and THE MUMMY RETURNS are more entertaining movies than RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK or THE LAST CRUSADE. It's strange to compare the two franchises but if I had to choose one action-adventure, between the two, I choose THE MUMMY. Maybe it's a generational thing but FRASER is my desert-action hero.

The entire cast is unforgettable. RACHEL WEISZ as EVELYN is mesmerizing in both part one and two (THE MUMMY RETURNS). There is no role too small in these films. From CAPTAIN WINSTON HAVLOC to little BENNY. From ODED FEHR as ARDETH to JOHNATHAN (EVELYN's brother.)

The writing and originality of this script is certainly something that is lacking in today's current film situation.
Original gags and interesting characters like we have never seen before. Specifically thinking about the scene when BENNY first comes into contact with "THE CREATURE" and starts to go through the rolodex of different religious emblems that he keeps on his necklace, just in case, until he finds the one that saves him (The Star of David).
I can't remember seeing a gag like that before or since. It was funny, original and a great way to build both the character and the story.

Also, this movie has something that current movies lack which is...
Villains that are so good that you love them just as much as you love the hero. Like, PATRICIA VELASQUEZ as the forbidden love interest, ANCK-SU-NAMUN. And how could I not mention ARNOLD VOSLOO as IMHOTEP AKA "THE CREATURE". His performance as "The Mummy" was so perfect that I can't believe it didn't ruin his career. If ever I were to come face to face with this actor (VOSLOO) I would run away, screaming "IMHOTEP is real!" But the truth is that VOSLOO is such an incredible actor that I forgot all about THE MUMMY character while watching him as COLONEL COETZEE in the 2006 film, BLOOD DIAMOND with LEONARDO DICAPRIO. Another great film that I recommend that you watch.

Unfortunately BLOOD DIAMOND is not on any streaming platforms but you can rent it for about $2.99, across most platforms. Or, if you’re like me, maybe hit some used DVD/CD stores and some garage sales. Sometimes you can find older, used movies like that for about a buck. And that is one that you would want to watch again.

As is THE MUMMY, which is also not available on any of the major streaming services and is about $3.99 to rent or… Go treasure hunting at vintage stores and bargain bins. Just be careful not to open any cursed chests.

With all my praise of this film, I still have to give it a 7.9 on The Ago-Meter. You might expect my score to be a bit higher and truth be told, I probably should score this an 8 on The Ago-Meter but if you know me by now, you know how “stingy” I can be with my scores and thinking about the fact that in the history of The Ago-Meter there has only been one movie that I have ever given a 10 and so few that have been given a 9 and so, I can not put THE MUMMY in the same company as them and to be fair, this movie only hit me so hard during this rewatch because it had been so many years since I got to go back and revisit it,

It was refreshing to be reminded of how great we used to have it. But this is not an every-year watch for me. In this case, abstinence makes the heart grow fonder. Just ask IMHOTEP and ANCK-SU-NAMUN.

-Agostino Zoida

conclave

By: Agostino Zoida

11/30/2024

A very intriguing and beautifully shot film, until…

CONCLAVE, (con-clay-ev) which I just found out that I have been pronouncing incorrectly this whole time. I thought it was pronounced, “con-clav-a” which sounds way more Italian to me. Very embarrassing as someone who was raised Italian-Catholic but since I have been of age to actually understand the Vatican’s process of choosing a Pope, we have only had 2 Popes. So, you don’t really hear the term “Conclave” too often until this movie came along and earned itself multiple Oscar nominations.

Besides teaching me the correct pronunciation, this film also does a fantastic job of taking us through the experience of he Vatican-democracy process. It is beautifully shot and very interesting.
The concept of this film did not sound like something that would entertain me and it certainly is not the first movie about a Conclave or a new Pope but this adaptation of the novel by author ROBERT HARRIS was definitely a successful adapted screenplay that felt original and brought interesting characters to life and I was pleasantly surprised at how entertained I was with this particular story. Until…

The real problem with this film and what seems to be a trend of most nominated films, is that they do not know how to end a movie these days. It seems that filmmakers tend to put all of their focus on the beginning and the middle and then when it is time for a 3rd act, they don’t really know how to close the door on the monster that they have created. And people who pretend like they are sophisticated, “phonies”, pretend like it’s art. It is art but it’s unfinished art. A good artist can get deep and artsy and different but still know how to give closure to their story.

I never read the novel by HARRIS but I imagine that is what happens at the end of this story, or maybe not. Maybe, this is just Hollywood propaganda but it was a very stupid ending. Eye-roll worthy and personally, I felt that it was down right laughable. They took this beautiful, interesting story and then hit you with a left-turn that is so stupid, that it’s actually comical. Not because I am offended by the subject matter but because it had nothing to do with the story that you have been telling us this whole time. I cannot say that it is lazy writing and they just didn’t know how to end it because after experiencing this screenplay adaption, I cannot say the writers were lazy but maybe they were trying to surprise you so much that they actually surprised you too much. Like, really? This is what this has been about this whole time? It got a laugh out of me.

However, this film deserved the recognition that it received during award season. Just to focus on The Academy alone; The Oscar nominations were, Best Picture (Well deserved, I thought.). Best Original Score (I agree; The music was powerful). Best Adapted Screenplay, for which it actually won. (I feel like that was deserved as well but I never read the novel). Best Costume Design (deserved, I guess, although it’s nothing we have not seen in any other films about a Pope or Bishop). Best Film Editing (although, I wish they edited out the ending) and of course, let’s not forget about the acting. Best Actor (RALPH FIENNES) nominee which I felt was deserved. I mean, I completely forgot that he was VOLDEMORT. Maybe RALPH should have won, although, ADRIAN BRODY definitely earned his win with his performance in THE BRUTALIST, another film that decided to take a left-turn for no reason and didn’t know how to end. Now that I think about it, I wish FIENNES would have won instead of BRODY. At least then we would have gotten a shorter acceptance speech.

The entire cast of CONCLAVE did an amazing job. Brilliant performances that will transport you right to the Vatican and you won’t actually be bored.
Some other award categories that this film should have been at least nominated for but was not were Best Cinematography and Best Director. But you know how that goes. If there is anything more propagandize than modern films it is the current state of The Academy.

To bring this film to a summary or, “bring this conclave to a synopsis” … I recommend giving it a watch. I doubt it will, but don’t let my warnings of a stupid ending discourage you from enjoying the first hour and forty-five minutes of one of the better (2024) nominated pictures.

You can stream CONCLAVE, right now, on Amazon Prime.

The Ago-Meter is defiantly above a 7 but not hitting 8. I would say… A 7.6

-Agostino Zoida

the accountant 2

By: Agostino Zoida

05/01/2025

Let's get down to biased...
I guess you can say that I am a bit biased when it comes to The AFFLECK’s. Yes... Affleck’s... "I know you heard me say both of them". (A quote from SAMUEL L. JACKSON, in the movie NAGOTIATOR)
As a advocate lover of the city of Boston, especially Boston sports, how can you not love anything The AFFLECK brothers do, or MATT DAMON for that matter.
I mean, c'mon; Dunkin Donuts commercials with TOM BRADY? I'd rather watch BEN in a commercial than most films of late. And don't even get me started on WAHLBERG (No, not both of them).

I also love seeing BEN in the director's chair and I wish we had more of it. We need some more good movies that are filmed in New England by this great director. But, it's just entertaining to watch him on the big screen and THE ACCOUNTANT and THE ACCOUNTANT 2 are no exception.

I'm also a big fan of JON BERNTHAL, who also rarely lets us down with his iconic rolls and performances in films like, THE WOLF OF WALLSTREET, THE PUNISHER (Series) and FURY. I particularly enjoyed his guest/co-staring rolls in SNITCH, BABY DRIVER, FORD v FERRARI, GRUDGE MATCH, A SMALL ENGINE REPAIR and of course, THE ACCOUNTANT (Part 1).

He shines in THE ACCOUNTANT 2, which is not something that is easy to do next to a leading man like Affleck but BERNTHAL holds his own and in fact, the two are great together. I liked their chemistry, they make a very entertaining duo and believe it or not, this movie is actually very funny, thanks to the solid acting and repour between these two Hollywood savages.

Okay, the biased is over. It's time to get down to the real review of this long-awaited sequel. I throw the term "long-awaited" around very generously because I don't know if anyone was actually waiting for a sequel but when we go one... Sure! Why not?

I really enjoyed the first film, about a autistic-genius-accountant. It's a very unique and lovable character and it was executed well. Including BRAXTON (played by Bernthal) that was an instant-likable character even though he's hardly in the original film. They both are fun to rout for and it was a good idea to bring the two back for what might almost be considered a buddy-buddy action-comedy, but definitely a good action flick.

But! Here's the problem with part 2...
The plot is very, very thin. Sure, the part about stopping human trafficking which leads to a great 3rd-act shoot-out is a plot that I can get behind but the initial plot that sets the story in motion is a little weak. You almost don't even mind because, hey, any excuse to get AFFLECK and BERNTHAL side-by-side for some “peach-emoji” - kicking and corky laughs but the plot could use some beefing up and I will admit that the plot gets mildly confusing which I wonder if it's just me? It's not easy to confuse me with a plot but I am hard of hearing and I think that I could have missed some dialogue that explains better and since I watched it in the theatre, I was not able to have my subtitles on and I think that I need to give it a rewatch when it becomes streaming to see what I missed but honestly, I don't think that I missed too much. I feel like the plot is almost thrown together a little lazy-like and one might even say, a bit silly.

Particularly... (SPOILER ALERT) When one of the main human trafficking victims, who started out as a heavy-set Latina and somehow magically turned into a very fit Korean woman that is a trained assassin.
This get's somewhat explained; that an accident some how made her personality change and that she had reconstruction facial surgery but c'mon, who were these surgeons? The same surgeons that made NICK CAGE look like JOHN TRAVOLTA in 1997? (If you know, you know).

As much as it pains me to shoot jabs at “Benny-Boy”, I have to point out that his character in this sequel does not match the personality that he carried in the first film. In 2016, CHRISTIAN WOLFF , AKA THE ACCOUNTANT was an assassin who happens to also be a mathematical genius, due to his "condition", which is subtle at times and makes him come across as shy and awkward. In 2025, CHRIS WOLFF is acting; for lack of a better word(s), Extra-Autistic. I know that the character is autistic but he was not "That Autistic" in the first film and it felt a little forced, to the point where it sounded like AFFLECK had some sort of an accent.

Overall, THE ACCOUNTANT 2 is a good movie, a fun watch with laughs. It had heart and good action. And... some missed opportunities for jokes and writing character connections.

You can watch both THE ACCOUNTANT and THE ACCOUNTANT 2, streaming on Amazon Prime.

On my show, The Movie Stash, we score films on a scale of 1 to 10 and I normally have an unpopular opinion on my movie-scores and they tend to not make any sense, earning my scoring meter the nick-name of "The Ago-Meter" and so do with that what you will but... The Ago-Meter is at a 7.7

-Agostino Zoida

A perfect example of what is wrong with movies today. Although, I have to admit that I am slowly becoming a fan of SOPHIE THATCHER as she really impressed me in HERETIC and she is the only good thing about COMPANION. Sure, DENNIS QUAID and MEG RYAN’s son, AKA JACK QUAID is "okay" but I have yet to see him in anything that really blew-me-away.

I feel a little vanilla about him and I did not particularly enjoy him in SCREAM 5 and he's not really pulling us into the (theater) seats... Yet.
I do plan on watching NOVOCAINE but he gives me "Let's wait for this to be streaming at home" vibes and let's face it, he's not our favorite character in THE BOYS either.

But, enough about the actors in this film, even though I could pick on all of the actors in this but to be fair, they simply, did their job. They were fine. No one really stood out except for IRIS (SOPHIE THATCHER)
It was just a cast of everyday, dime-a-dozen actors playing characters that we've seen in a hundred modern-day movies.
It seems that most writers are just writing the same character over and over again and there is only like, three different characters to choose from and that is the only types of personalities that we get in films anymore.

That's what is wrong with movies today.
We want... No. We NEED to see very unique characters and at the same time, very relatable. Most of the characters in modern movies are not even likable and are actually very annoying.

A great character is someone that is so unique and relatable and likable that you love seeing them on screen, even if they are playing the villain; they somehow make us love them. I don't want to watch a movie (which is supposed to entertain me) and just see a character that I could meet at any corner Starbucks.
I want to see a character that is unlike anyone I have ever met in my life and yet contains the qualities and emotions and feelings that I can relate to; had I gone through their situation. I realize that this is very difficult to do and it's much easier said than done but... we used to do have it in our movies, for decades and we are not ever going to even get close to getting back to that as long as we just keep settling for these same characters, over and over again, in our movies.

What's that? A British actor casted as a Russian mob character with very cheesy dialogue about being a vodka drinker? And wait... The Russian mob guy is rich and invites a bunch of his girlfriend's American-youth friends to his mansion and he ends up being weird? Oh, and that girlfriend is your typical snobby, slutty gold-digger type? And wait... don't forget the sassy gay character, who is always somewhat mean and snarky to their friends.
Yup, this film had all of that. So, they took an interesting and somewhat unique plot and ruined it with this modern-common and dare I say... lazy writing. Shame on the writers and filmmakers. And to the cast, you did your best.

You see, the problem is that we used to make movies in Hollywood that people in other parts of the country can enjoy and relate to but now, it seems that we make films in other parts of the country that only people in Hollywood can relate to. This is why the film industry in failing and instead of fixing the problem, they just want to cut budgets, causing more strikes and more out-of-work filmmakers. (cast and crew)
How about just making better movies? Us movie lovers will always go to the theatre, even at these prices and spend our hard earned money, because we love the cinema and we will watch the same movie, in the theatre multiple times if we liked it. So please, stop catering to those who are not "movie lovers" per say, as those people will only watch something when it's streaming at their convenience and us true movie-fans will always go to the theatre, so why not cater to us?

There are some cool scenes in this movie and it is definitely not bad enough to make you turn it off. It's just entertaining enough to make you want to finish it but some of that entertainment is just laughing at the silly dialogue. I do feel that this movie was meant to be funny and at moments, it is. But, there are comical moments that were not supposed to be funny. I just found myself laughing at how stupid some of the writing is. I can also pick on production and cinematography. While the movie starts out looking great and beautifully shot, they seem to struggle on the exterior/evening shots which felt amateurish at times.

Ultimately, the acting is okay, the plot is interesting but the execution failed.

You can watch COMPANION on HBO.

The Ago-Meter is at a 2.5

-Agostino Zoida

companion

By: Agostino Zoida

04/23/2025

This movie is getting way-too-overhyped but, whatever it takes to get people back to the theatre.
Yes, I do believe this film is getting overhyped but before I get into why, I would like to start by saying that I did enjoy this film and I am very happy that I watched it in theatres, IMAX actually, and it was a fun movie-going experience. I actually cannot remember the last time that I went to a movie theatre and actually enjoyed a new release this much.

In the past, I have not been a huge fan of Michael B. Jordan. I do think he is a talented actor and my dislike for him has been more based on him as a person rather than his performances. Although, I do feel that he can be cheesy and an over-actor from time to time but mostly I dislike his comments in interviews. He comes across as a bit arrogant and seems to pat himself on the back more than he should. Particularly, pertaining to the Rocky franchise. (Yes, I said Rocky... not Creed.) And I am not fond of some of his creative choices in the Creed films in which I did find him to be arrogant. I do not like that when SYLVESTER STALLONE was nominated, for Best Supporting Actor, for the 1st CREED, that MBJ was basically crying about how he was over looked, instead of being happy for his co-star who just so happens the be the reason that the CREED franchise even exists. (STALLONE won, by the way) And, as an adamant ROCKY fan, I boycotted the third CREED installment which was directed by MBJ, after the studio and MBJ decided, who basically pulled the rug out from under SLY, to continue the ROCKY/CREED franchise without STALLONE. That is when my dislike for JORDAN began.

However, he was great in this film (SINNERS) where he plays two different characters (twin-brothers) and as a person who is not "A Fan", you would think "The only thing worse than one MBJ is two MBJ's" but actually... He nailed it! Throughout most of the film, I actually forgot that it was the same actor as the two characters were both very different from each other. We have seen a lot of other actors attempt to play two different characters in the same movie. Such as, TOM HARDY LEGEND, ROBERT PATTINSON in Mickey 17 and ROBERT DE NIRO in ALTO KNIGHTS. You know? That fake mobster movie where you can tell that DE NIRO was terrible at portraying 2 different characters just by watching the trailer. Of all of these films, plus many others where the same actor plays 2 characters, I believe that MBJ's performance(s) was the best execution of this. The two characters' personalities were so different that there was absolutely no confusion telling them apart. And I can honestly say that the entire cast was phenomenal and mesmerizing.

I would now like to really expose this TARANTINO wannabe. If you're telling me that this movie was in someway inspired by DJANGO UNCHAINED, you're lying to me and/or yourself. If you have never seen DJANGO, I suggest that you go watch that or, you can watch any other TARANTINO film to get why I feel that this is a QT-Wannabe. I mean, a lot of films today are trying to copy the success from the past and style of some of the great filmmakers like, SCORSESE, SPIKE LEE, NOLAN and of course, TARANTINO. As someone who reads many scripts, both for entertainment and for work, I can tell you that everyone is trying to write their "QT-Wannabe" and SINNERS was just the best execution.
The slow build of story leading you into a very entertaining and bloody third act is TARANTINO all day. Except, it kind of falls short as TARANTINO’s slow-builds are more entertaining and better written dialogue and this film is borderline boring, until it isn't.

I am not trying to say that this is not a very good film. As I mentioned, this is one of the best films I have had the privilege of watching (in a theatre) in the past year or more. This film is better than anything that was nominated for Best Picture this year (2024). I would not be mad If SINNERS is nominated for best picture and based on what I have seen as possible Oscar contenders this year (2025), so far, I would not be mad if it won. I would not be upset at all if SINNERS received a Best Original Screenplay nomination and won. I would not even be upset if MBJ received a Best Actor nomination. Two in fact. Why not? Let’s just give it to him… A nomination to MBJ for Best Supporting as STACK and a Best Actor nomination for SMOKE, It’s never been done, I would like to see it happen. And while I can see MBJ winning the Best Actor award, I can not see him winning for Best Supporting Actor. A nomination? Yes. A win? No, I think that should go to MILES CATON who plays SAMMIE MOORE.

But what I am saying is that this is getting more praise than it deserves. If you're comparing to your generation or, modern movies of late, then yes, this is one of the best movies, if you're comparing to a wide range of miraculous films across many generations then this is simply just "Pretty Good".
As consumers, we need to raise our standard as we live in a generation of a dying film industry that lacks "movie magic" and is loaded with propaganda. SINNERS included.

The Vampire-Klan twist is a great concept and much appreciated for it's good plot and execution, good story, humor and great characters. I do give this film praise for not feeling too long even though it is 2 hours and 17 minutes (credits-scene included) and it only feels like it's about, a very fair... Two hours. And if you did not catch any propaganda in this film, then you are a victim and it worked on you.

If you really loved this film, I think that is wonderful and if you loved this, then I encourage you to broaden your cinema-horizon and watch many greats from the past so that you can set a good standard of what is worth your hard-earned money and what is not. Let's rebuild the film industry to what it once was and get people back to the theatre. And... more importantly, leaving the theatre feeling satisfied.

Go see it. Get back to the theatre and support good films and let's demand more good films and stop settling for mediocre. We need to let the studios know that we will not continue to pay for their mansions and yachts regardless of the mindless films they give us.

Sinners is now streaming on HBO but you can still fins some smaller theatres, in big cities that are still showing it on the silver screen.

Yes, there is an after credits scene which is a “must-not-miss.”

The Ago-Meter on SINNERS is a 7.9

-Agostino Zoida

sinners

By: Agostino Zoida

04/20/2025

I was genuinely excited for this movie. I love biopics, especially those of great musicians and I find it very entertaining to watch the filmmakers and actors recreate a story of a great artist and learn how they started and to shed light on their careers. Or, even to let us know something about the artist that we may not have already known.

I prefer a filmmakers interpretation more than most documentaries. I have found that modern day “docs” can be very hit or miss and I am sorry to say that Netflix documentaries are usually more miss than hit. First of all, Netflix makes documentaries too soon after the actual event. Some Netflix “docs” don’t even have an ending because even they don’t even know what happens yet. They all end with something like “The trial is set to take place in the spring of 2027”. Yeah, because this story happened a month ago! Stop pumping out Documentaries so quickly, Netflix!

Or, the events took place way too long ago, before anyone was walking around with a camera on their person, filming everything and so, because of lack of footage, there’s a lot of A.I. generated images of maps with very unoriginal KEN BURNS Effect-vibes and silhouettes with voiceovers. I prefer just a well made biopic, rather than a “doc” as a great director and filmmaker can take a lot of the public written knowledge about an artist or ever a serial killer and make it come to life on the screen, with great casting. I really enjoyed BAZ LUHRMANN’s ELVIS starring AUSTIN BUTLER. And, BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY starring RAMI MALEK as FREDDIE MERCURY, is another well made biopic.

I have a theory; that if you make a biopic about someone who is still alive, that it will not be a great film. You have to wait for them to be dead before you can make a biopic on someone. Which brings me to this movie, A COMPLETE UNKNOWN.

As I mentioned earlier, I was excited for this movie. It’s a biopic, it has great actors like, TIMOTHY CHALAMET & ED NORTON. I’m not the biggest BOB DYLAN fan but hey, I do love that “Like A Rolling Stone” song. The movie was released towards the end of the year, so you know it is going to be an Oscar nominee contender, it’s the holidays… Heck, I think I even watched this movie on Christmas Day. But, man, it was really not that great.

Great acting though. CHALAMET was obviously the perfect choice. ED NORTON was good too but the roll did not call for any great, standout performance and so, I do not agree with the Best Supporting nomination for NORTON. I do agree with CHALAMET getting a (Best Actor) nomination. He was different enough that you could say that it was unlike anything we have ever seen him play.

It was interesting to see the origin story and watching BOB’s creative methods was great but the movie is a bit too long and mostly dull. It’s 2 1/2 hours of folk music. But maybe that’s your thing. But at this point I think there’s more fans of TIMOTHY CHALAMET than there is of BOB DYLAN so, I would bet that a very small portion of patrons that went to see this in the theatre were actually lovers of Folk music and the majority just wanted to see a standout performance from a great actor that we have learned to trust and love.

The overall ending and basic plot, or at least the plot that lands at the 3rd act, was a bit disappointing and they were trying to go for this rebellious artist arc but they did not do a great job of expressing that the stakes were so high for him to play a certain sound of music or not. It just seemed like DYLAN was actually a diva and kind of not a nice person. BOB DYLAN did not invent the electric sound in rock and roll, he is simply being praised to sticking to his guns of it being the sound of the future and forced it onto his fans who happen to just be into folk. This did not come across, to me, as he is this badass, rebel that stuck it to the man. Like ELVIS who was literally arrested for dancing provocatively on stage. DYLAN was just being difficult and refused to do a show for his fans, of his roots; who paid to see folk music.

Not that I can’t respect an artist who wants to break out of the box that the public keeps them in and branch into the art that they feel is their true calling. As a standup comedian, I do get that and I do respect it. After all, “Like a Rolling Stone” is his best song and it is not folk. In terms of Rock songs, it’s not that strong of a song but in terms of folk or, BOB DYLAN’s music, it is the best. The movie, however, was not the best.

You can watch A COMPLETE UNKNOWN on Disney+

The Ago-Meter is a 4.9

-Agostino Zoida

A complete unknown

By: Agostino Zoida

03/26/2025

Oscar worthy?
Was this movie worthy of a Best Picture nomination, let alone the win?
My answer is... No. However, by today’s standards... Yes, it was.
I feel this was the most entertaining film of all the others that were nominated in the Best Picture category with CONCLAVE being a distant second but it’s too bad that CONCLAVE had a ridiculously stupid ending.

Overall I enjoyed this movie. The acting was pretty good, for the most part and it was entertaining with great dialogue. It is a dramatic film that was organically funny, without trying to hard, due to the well written dialogue. Of all the films in the best picture category, it’s the only one that had a start to finish story that kept you entertained, almost throughout the entire film.

It did not need to be as long as it was and it is slow-to-start. I mean, I like strippers and nudity in movies as much as the next guy but c’mon, we get it. She works in a strip club, we don’t need 45 minutes of it in the beginning before anything even happens.

As I said; the acting is pretty good from almost the entire cast. Nothing worthy of a nomination but what can I say? It was a poopy year for The Oscar’s. MIKEY MADISON was good but not an award winning performance. The star of the show ended up being Oscar nominee (Best Supporting Actor) YURA BORISOV. You know, the guy who looks like he could be VLADIMIR PUTINS’s son? He was intriguing to watch and the least annoying character in the story. Great job by him but we all knew The Academy was not going to let a Russian win.

It was a bit ridiculous that this year’s Academy Awards’ agenda ended up being a giant push to support the sex-worker industry and I did not feel that this movie was actually about that at all. I think that people, the Academy included, were a bit too literal on how they received this film. I believe that most films have more of a deeper meaning, or message than what is on the surface and this movie is no different. But the Oscars politics ended up just making it all about the sex-worker movement which I guess is similar to the movie industry after all. I am not saying that the sex-worker community should not be celebrated for the job they do. God bless them. I mean, I wouldn’t do it. But c’mon, they didn’t cure cancer which is how the academy, the actors and filmmakers treated it as they patted themselves on the back, as if they were doing God’s work by bringing awareness to sex-workers.

In comparison to Best Picture winners, this movie is not worthy but, awards aside, just as a movie on its own, it is good. Not very good but good.

You can watch ANORA on, you guessed it, DISNEY+

The Ago-Meter is a 6

- Agostino Zoida

anora

By: Agostino Zoida

03/24/2025

Dear, Mr. BONG JOON HO, please stay away from this genre. It’s not your thing.

All it takes is just one viewing of the film PARASITE to be convinced that BONG JOON HO is a great filmmaker and director and storyteller, which got made me excited for MICKEY 17. I try not to go into movies with big expectations anymore because I noticed that I enjoy a movie a lot more, when I have little to no expectations but I had faither in the filmmaker as I do in ROBERT PATTINSON as an actor but this is the first time, in a long time that I sat through an entire film in the theaters fighting the urge not walk out. It is that bad from start to finish; the movie is trash.

Bad and unoriginal story and even worse execution. The dialogue is to terrible that even ROBERT PATTINSON, whom I hold in high regard as an actor, looks amateurish due to the horrible dialogue.

MARK RUFFALO is unwatchable in this. I cringe every time he is on the screen. He’s trying to be funny and it just feels forced and the writing is simply not funny and neither is he. It was like watching a bad SNL sketch.

I can’t stress enough, how bad this movie is. I can say with confidence that this is the worst movie that I have seen in at least half a decade. The propaganda is so in your face that it makes you question if BONG got involved in the dark unknown groups that run Hollywood, or the word for that matter, or, was it just that Sci-Fi is not a genre that this great director could pull off.

Regardless of where you stand politically, I think that the propaganda in this movie is so forced. Can we all come together and agree to keep political views and agendas out of our movies which is supposed to be our escape?

If you would like to see for yourself, MICKEY 17 is streaming on HBO but I recommend that you do not waste your time
The Ago-Meter is -4. That’s right, it’s actually in the negative.

- Agostino Zoida

mickey 17

By: Agostino Zoida

03/24/2025

Remember when M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN knew how to make movies? I guess he forgot.

Let me start by saying that I am loving the JOSH HARTNETT come-back but besides OPPENHEIMER, since he's been back he has yet to do anything that I can say that I was glad that I watched it. I have not yet seen FIGHT OR FLIGHT. Sorry, I wan not about to run to the theatre to watch the cash-grab off of the coattails of the success of BULLETTRAIN and someone thought it would be a good idea to do the same thing but on a plane and give it an A.I. generated cheesy title. Even now, it’s been almost a year since it’s release and it is still only available to rent for $10.00 and I will be holding off until it is streaming somewhere for free, unless someone tells me that it is “worth it” but I guess that’s what I am here for…

But I do love JOSH HARTNETT and I am not sure where he has been but I'm glad that he’s back and I am liking this more mature and/or sadistic characters that he has been playing since his return. Even in this movie. It would have been cooler if this movie was secretly another chapter to the UNBREAKABLE/GLASS Franchise. HARTNETT would have been a great choice to revamp the Superhero/Villain mental hospital, even without BRUCE WILLIS. But, unfortunately, this was just a bad movie with a bad plot.

The plot, without giving away too much, is that the police are using a live-concert to trap and catch a serial killer.

But I learned one thing from watching this movie, that M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN has never actually been to a concert before.
First of all, most of the movie takes place during the concert which seems to take place in the early afternoon. Even after the concert is over and the third act (which does not take place in the concert) begins, it is still daylight outside. So, just a word of council to Mr. SHYAMALAN, Sir, concerts happen at night.

And here is another little tip... Concerts are loud!
Some of the scenes, with dialogue, I should add, happen during the concert and yet the actors are talking at a normal level instead of having to shout over the loud music. Also, intermissions at concerts tend to be in-between the opening acts, not multiple times during the headliners performance. I was super surprised that a seasoned successful director would overlook important details like that.

I mean, couldn't they have had consultant on set? Someone with live event experience? Oh, wait... They did. The actress SALEKA KNIGHT. that plays the performer is an actual artist with experience as a live musical performer. Couldn't she have acted as a consultant?
I understand that an actress that is casted in a big movie might not feel comfortable to tell a legendary director how to do their job. Unless, she had some personal relationship with him. Oh, wait... She does!

That's right, SALEKA KNIGHT is actually the daughter of the famous director (M. KNIGHT SHYAMALAN) and so the real "Trap" was the audience being trapped in a theatre to watch home-videos of the director's daughter to boost her music career instead of what it should have been highlighting... The return of HARTNETT.
I will say that he (HARTNETT) does do a great job as a sadistic serial killer with multiple personalities and this movie had the potential to be so good. Even in spite of it's thin plot.

TRAP is now streaming on on HBO and I wish that I knew that before renting it for $10.00, also a trap.

The Ago-Meter is 2 1/2

- Agostino Zoida

TRAP

By: Agostino Zoida

10/12/2024

Iv heard so much about this movie over the years and I finally got to watch it.

Most people will tell you that you have to watch “THE PROFESSIONAL” and even when watching the movie, its title card shows “THE PROFESSIONAL“ but I guess somewhere along the line people started calling it “LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL” which is now how it is listed across streaming platforms. I am not sure why the film’s official title was changed. Maybe they wanted it to be more “French” inclusive or for some other political agenda. Like the 5th installment of PIRATES of THE CARIBBEAN. Have you tried to stream the latest Pirates movie on Disney+ lately? The official title is PIRATES of THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES but if you watch the movie on Disney+, they have it listed as PIRATES of THE CARIBBEAN: SALAZAR’S REVENGE. Don’t ask me why but I think we can always assume that Disney is up to some political agenda. At first I thought that maybe they did not want the word “Dead” on their platform, because of their younger audience but they still have the sequel listed under it’s original title, PITARES of THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST.

Anyway… back to this movie, “THE PROFESSIONAL”…

I found this film very entertaining but slightly overhyped. I also found it predictable. The performances were all around amazing. Especially from a very young NATALIE PORTMAN and, GARY OLDMAN’s performance did not fall short of his reputation, as promised. Watching this, I picked up on some mannerisms by OLDMAN that I felt may have inspired HEATH LEDGER’s JOKER performance. Don’t believe me? Go back and watch this, or maybe you are watching this for your first time too, and then give THE DARK KNIGHT a rewatch and let me know if you pickup on any of those mannerisms that I I did.

If you’ve never seen this, it is actually worth a watch but keep in mind that it should not be heled on such high regard as everyone does but if you go into it without the overhype, I think you will enjoy and appreciate this film for what it is.

It was streaming on Netflix for a while but unfortunately, it has been taken down and as of right now, you can only rent or buy which I would say is worth doing. Or, you can stream it for free on the Pluto app, as long as you don’t mind all the ads which might make this under 2 hour movie, a 2 and a half hour movie.

The Ago-Meter is a 5.5 on this one.

- Agostino Zoida

Léon: The Professional

By: Agostino Zoida

04/09/2024

I finally got around to watching this highly praised, award winning musical. I had put it off for so many years as I am not a fan of musicals. Although, some of the songs/musical numbers in the 1st act did take me out of it a bit, but fir the most part, a lot of the songs and musical numbers were very entertaining and didn’t bother me too much. I think this might be the first musical I enjoyed. Along with the recent “WONKA” (2023) and “GREASE”, of course.

Besides the fact that this is a musical, overall I really liked this move. RYAN GOSLING was amazing as usual and EMMA STONE who can be hit or miss for me, was charming and the two had great chemistry together, that any lover of cinema can appreciate. If you have put this off, like I did, maybe because you think it is just another “chick-flick” or, if you too are not a fan of musicals, I would say that you can put those feelings aside for this one.

I will be adding this to my “MOVIE STASH” and I think a rewatch is in my near future. Despite the many sunny day exterior scenes, I think that this is a good movie to watch around the holidays. Afterall, it does take place in Los Angeles and us Angelinos are used to sun shine on Christmas or, for that matter, year-round.

Unfortunately, this movie is not currently streaming on any major platforms so you would have to rent it but it is streaming for free on Sling, if you happen to be a subscriber and don’t mind watching a movie with commercial interruptions, like I do. But I would recommend adding this to your collection, if you are still a DVD collector as I am. But, if you are not, I would say that it is worth purchasing to add to your digital library.

LA LA LAND slightly tips the scale on the Ago-Meter, “land”ing at a 6.9.

- Agostino Zoida

LA LA Land

By: Agostino Zoida

04/09/2024

It’s kind of Brilliant. Not being the biggest Horror fan (although I am branching into it.) I did find this to be a very original idea which is refreshing to see in the current world of poor remakes and unoriginality.

For those of you who don’t know (without giving away any spoilers) this movie takes place in one night, during a live taping of a late night variety show set in the 70’s and while filming a special Halloween episode of the program, they have on some possessed guests which is where things start to go wrong.
It’s a great, original idea and they did a great job recreating a 70's set that actually captured exactly what a cheesy late-night show from the 70's was often like but the problem is that you then have to sit through an entire episode of a 70’s late-night talk-show which at times gets boring. A full hour-long programing plus the behind the scenes and character building scenes which gave it that “One-Shot” feel which was kind of cool.

So, if you are looking for some originality, great performances and if you are a fan of the horror genre and want to watch something new that actually borrows from the past; I strong recommend this film. Surprisingly enough, you can stream LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL on Disney+

The Ago-Meter is at a 7, which is very high for me, considering it is a horror, with what seems an indy-vibe.

For the full video review check out The Movie Stash. You can listen to all episodes anywhere you get podcasts. You can watch The Movie Stash (Comedic Movie Review) series exclusively on the MyMoviePlus.com app and you can watch the shorter clips without spoilers on Instagram @the_moviestash

- Agostino Zoida

Late Night With the devil

By: Agostino Zoida

04/03/2024

Mildly entertaining and a good plot, just like the original but unlike the original, it was poorly executed. The acting is terrible from almost everyone but especially from Conor McGregor. How could you do such a bad job playing an Irish D*Bag fighter when you are an Irish D*Bag fighter in real life?? Acting obnoxious, walking around naked, driving Lamborghini’s… I mean… that’s literally who McGregor is. So why was the acting so bad? They even covered up his chest tattoo with another chest tattoo. He was already “that guy”, That's like casting Conor McGregor to play Conor McGregor but making him wear a mask of Conor McGregor. Everything feels fake in this movie from the scenery to the exterior shots of the bar. Even Post Malone’s belly-fat looked A.I. Generated.

My biggest complaint is that every fight scene in this movie was CGI. This is a fighting moving and all the fight scenes were A.I. generated. Very disappointing and very sad to see the future of the film industry with a heavy foot, pressed on the gas towards a cheesy and fake A.I. world that removed real action stars and makes the person with the most talent on set, the genius in front of the computer during post-production.

The original Roadhouse from the 80’s featured a real actor; Patrick Swayze, who actually studied martial arts and was able to make the fight scenes look real using choreography and good filmmaking. And he did it all while wearing tight jeans and cowboy boots.

The Ago-Meter for ROAD HOUSE (2024) is a 2 1/2 out of 10.

You can stream both Road House the 2024 remake as well as the original Road House from 1989 on Amazon Prime.

For the full video review check out The Movie Stash. You can listen to all episodes anywhere you get podcasts. You can watch The Movie Stash (Comedic Movie Review) series exclusively on the My Movies Plus app and you can watch the shorter clips without spoilers on Instagram @the_moviestash

- Agostino Zoida

road house (2024)

By: Agostino Zoida

04/03/2024

Some laughs but mostly bad writing. GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE was far superior to it's follow-up, FROZEN EMPIRE which is not as funny or entertaining and filled with just more Movie-propaganda.

Mckenna Grace did not steal the show in this one, as she did in AFTERLIFE. In fact, she was a bit annoying this time around. I think there is a small window where a child actor is endearing right before they get old enough to just sound like your average whiney teen.
And then, when they grow all the way up, we might be able to enjoy them as artists again... Sometimes.

I don't think that anyone is more shocked than I am that KUMAIL NANJIANI ended up being my favorite character in this. After watching the trailer, I was convinced that I would find his character too silly, which it was but in a good way, despite the terrible writing.

Believe it or not, for a Ghostbusters movie, I can also say that BILL MURRAY & DAN AYKROYD contributed to the annoyance of this film (in that order) but I am not shy about the fact that I am not a fan of MURRAY and would argue that he is not a good actor, and that I find him annoying and not funny. Change my mind.

The only Ghostbuster that I found entertaining, in this, was ERNIE HUDSON.

If you must, my advice is that you stream this at home, when it's free and that you do not pay for it. And, if you are a big GHOSTBUSTERS fan, I suggest you skip this all together and just enjoy the fact that the franchise got a great ending with AFTERLIFE.

Check out our video review of GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE You can watch the full episode exclusively on Movies+ or the quick (under 5 minute) episode on The Movie Stash Instagram. The Movie Stash is a movie review-talk/game show and podcast where you can listen anywhere you get podcasts or watch the full episodes exclusively on My Movies Plus but and if you prefer the quick-summarized video review, without spoilers.

You can watch GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE streaming right now on Netflix.

The Ago-Meter is at a 3.

- Agostino Zoida

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

By: Agostino Zoida

03/23/2024

the ago-meter

the ago-meter the ago-meter

fantastic four: first steps

Superman (2025)

friendship

Karate kid: legends

The mummy (1999)

conclave

the accountant 2

companion

sinners

A complete unknown

anora

mickey 17

TRAP

Léon: The Professional

LA LA Land

Late Night With the devil

road house (2024)

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

the ago-meter