desmondlewissmith Reviews

Back on the Strip (2023)

Funny at times, difficult to watch at others...

[4/10 · 4 April 2024]

There are so many things that could have gone well with this movie, and I believe they had the cast to pull it off.

Young boy falls for girl, he loves magic. Moves to Las Vegas and starts stripping... Girl falls for jerk... Good foundation.

The bad.

Tiffany Haddish was a wreck, her humor is crass and ineffective, so she goes for shock with super inappropriate language that doesn't fit and is just uncomfortable.

Wesley Snipes character is effeminate. Not sure why, but it didn't bide well with me.

The rest of the show was OK, but those two pieces wrecked the movie and made it more so a "gotta get through this", rather than a "I don't want this to end" type movie.

Spence Moore did a great job and was entertaining. Bill Bellamy was awesome. J. B> Smoove was funny as ever. Faizon Love was as funny as he ever was.

Kevin Hart had a small part, super insignificant and not worth mentioning.

The Equalizer 3 (2023)

Denzel is still able to pull it off

[7/10 · 16 November 2023]

I went into this movie wondering if Denzel could still be strong in this role, I was soon reminded that when you're a great actor, the rest just falls into place. This movie was written very well.

I must add that while I don't know much about Andrea Scarduzio, I want to know more now. He did a great job in his role as Vincient. Dakota Fanning is never a disappointment, and she of course carried her weight very well in this movie as well. While I only call a couple actors out, the entire cast did a great job.

The story of course follows Robert McCall (two c's and two l's), who is about to retire and smell the roses, only the roses are being attacked by bad people. I won't go much further than to say that this somewhat predictable plot managed to keep me interested and even had a little surprise in the end.

The movie takes place in Italy, so we not only get a great movie, we get great scenery and environment. This movie was good enough that I watched it twice.

Fast X (2023)

I watched it because I'm already committed, but...

[4/10 · 11 June 2023]

I watched this movie knowing I was going to be a little dissapointed, I didn't realize that was an understatement. At some point, the stunts get a bit too unrealistic and the acting gets a little over-done.

In spite of what most think, I really believe this movie could have left a mark. At some point, you take off the incredible crazy stunts, or at least take them down a notch, you let your characters age, and you don't go 20 levels over the top.

The jury is out for me with Aimes (Alan Ritchson), he seems to somewhat carry his own, but I'm still seeing his character from "Blue Mountain State", and its hard to get past...

Even the fight scene with Roman and Tej was over-played, it could have been dark or less comedic, and it could have carried a little backstory.

So many things could have been better.

Example: Mamoa's character could have been played so much better, but at times it was overacted and effeminate; perhaps that was their intention, if so, so be it. Not my cup of "Mamoa".

They brought back so many cameos, but didn't provide any depth other than showing a face, and everyone is still perfect and trained as MMA fighters. Brie Larson was pretty much a superhero and never felt pain... as an actress, she doesn't annoy me, but I feel like when she plays a 110lb profighter superhero or strongest Marvel character in the galaxy, she tends to look a little cocky...

And tell me this, how is it the during the movie, people get from US other countries in a matter of seconds.... its like "Fast and Teleporting"

So after a semi-weak story, with sub par acting (which I'm used to), then you leave me on a cliff-hanger at the end of the story.

C'mon man!

A Journal for Jordan (2021)

I felt this movie lacked purpose...

[5/10 · 14 May 2023]

This was an interesting journey for me, i watched the trailer and the big names attracted me. The story itself is pretty interesting, but movie jumped around a lot, and a few times I wasn't able to tell what the timeline was.

The movie did enough to keep me interested, but I never really felt connected to the characters enough. From the onset, you realize the outcome, so there's no surprise there, which means more work should have been done telling the story to keep the movie interesting.

I don't regret watching the movie, but there wasn't much to really talk about after the movie was over. There's no bad guy, nobody to dislike and create a passion for success... just a story about a heroic man.... which I guess is still good enough.

Violent Night (2022)

Didn't see that coming....

[9/10 · 23 December 2022]

I thought the movie would be just OK, but I was surprised to actually be entertained the duration of the movie. David Harbour did a great job portraying Santa, and the rest of cast equally held their own.

The movie managed to bring in a lot of the Christmas movie type feel, with the magic of Christmas and rewarding those that believe in Santa.

I feel like all of the Characters played a very special role in creating the message and building the story. John Leguizamo is always awesome, he didn't disappoint. I especially liked Beverly D'Angela and her character. She was the narcissist Aunt that had a bit too much self value and value of money.

This movie could be something I watch yearly, it was for sure entertaining enough to watch again even this year.

If you're looking for something else to fill the time besides the typical Bruce Willis flick... This movie is it.

Emancipation (2022)

Not horrible, but I feel it missed the mark (spoilers inline)

[5/10 · 12 December 2022]

Emancipation trailers gave me an impression I'd have depth and a great story, instead I feel this story was lacking depth and felt like another movie about slavery. Will Smith is an incredible actor, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I still look at him and think of the slap. I try not to let it impact my view of his acting ability, but it does slightly.

Charmaine Bingwas role was shallow as well, I feel she could have had more depth than just the typical waiting wife with kids. Charmaine is beautiful and a great actor as well, I don't feel the role did her any justice.

The tracking: Ben Foster (Jim Fassel) tracked Will Smith (Peter). To what degree does the tracking end? In the great swamp, he tracks a runaway slave, both his partners get killed, then his dog is shot, but somehow he's still such a great tracker that he can find Peter in the vast swamp.

If you look at this movie for entertainment value, it fills a gap, I just have issue with accuracy and timing. Plus to be honest, I don't love spending my causal time watching another movie with black men being killed and condescended, especially in today's social climate.

I feel like the movie spent too much time "attempting" to be a blockbuster, but not giving a great story. And did we really need another slavery movie with the same message? This movie did not leave me with a lot of historical value, the story was VERY loosely based on an "whipped Peter", but not enough to teach. So why was it made?

The image of Peter is a famous photograph that was used by abolitionists to show the brutality of slavery, adding a story to the photograph could have gone better in many ways, but I feel this movie barely touched the possibilities and fell a little short.

I, Tonya (2017)

Uncomfortable but real

[8/10 · 20 July 2018]

I can still recall this story when it unfolded in real life, so I was delighted to see how they would capture that piece of time in a movie. I'll admit, I had a hard time looking past Margot Robble playing Tonya Harding. It's not that Tonya Harding wasn't attractive, it's that I lived in the era where we were trained to see her as "ugly" because of her actions. So watching one of the hottest stars in Hollywood play a less attractive villain was a major accomplishment. Margot Robbie pulled it off with a great performance.

The movie from start to finish kept me interested and it ran in some ways like a 1st person documentary. The movie covered a lot of the backstory on Tonya and did in fact show the human side to her greed and aggressiveness.

This was an awesome movie and I would encourage most to watch it. I'd advised googling Tonya Harding first a getting a little of the backstory, it adds to the spice.

Overboard (2018)

Mildly entertaining

[6/10 · 20 July 2018]

I think a lot of the reviews are pretty harsh. I'll admit, this movie was not a top end high rated movie, but it was still an entertaining movie with a predictable outcome. I didn't hate this movie. You typical story with an antagonist and a protagonist. You shift from hating the antagonist to loving the antagonist... blah blah blah.... if you go into this movie with an open mind, you can enjoy what it provides. Anna Farris does a great job of portraying her typical personality. I've always been a fan of Eugenio Derbez, and think he did equally well carrying his role. Eva Longoria played a small role, but did very well as a supporting actress. If I was asked to watch or pass, I'd say watch.

CHIPS (2017)

It was entertaining enough to keep me entertained

[6/10 · 20 June 2017]

I went into this movie with low expectations. I watched CHiPS when I was a kid and didn't think twice about watching a remake movie. I found the plot to be entertaining with a good enough story that I never lost interest. From the start, there was enough comedy and action to keep my eyes motivated to focus on this movie.

The acting was good, the story was good, the comedy was funny enough to laugh out loud during a few scenes. I would argue this movie was strong enough to say "it can hold it's audience captive".

Inside Out (I) (2015)

Movie can communicate on different tiers **may contain spoilers**

[8/10 · 13 June 2017]

I watched this moving not realizing what I was getting into. It explores the mind and emotions of a little girl and gives a great perspective into how the mind works. I found myself entertained and available the entire movie. The interesting part is that if you read about depression or anxiety, this movie has some similarities in how things are described.

I find it interesting how the different emotions communicated and think that its a great way to have a young person understand emotions. My son watched this movie at the age of 7 and used it as an example several times when attempting to explain his thoughts.

From start to finish, I think this movie did a great job of displaying how to controls ones emotions as well as how we all think differently.

The scene with the parents emotional icons showing was classic and a great example of differentiating how men and women think differently.

Alpha Dog (2006)

Surprised

[8/10 · 9 February 2007]

I went into this movie expecting nothing and left disturbed. The acting was actually good, even Mr Timberlake who I'm not particularly a big fan of.

You learn to love these kids, you learn to feel for these kids, you ever respect a few of them.

I'm a mans man, and the ending brought tears to my eyes, 15 years old begging for his life was too much for me to watch ever again, and I had no idea it was a true story.

This movie was deep on the level of "American History X" Hard core reality is not for the mild...