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Reviews
Sweet Girl (2021)
Turn off your brain and just go with it.
If you're looking for an award winner go elsewhere, but if you're up for a fun ride full of lots of chuckling and eye-rolling than this is a pretty good way to spend 110 minutes. First off, Jason and Isabella make a surprising-good, true-to-life father and daughter. The supporting cast are good enough, but luckily don't play a huge role because they mostly do lack some acting chops. Jason, in particular, shows a lot of acting reach from his Aquaman days. Isabella is one to watch going forward, also. The cinematography and direction are very effective but I think my favorite part of this movie is the scoring. Super-effective and full of tension.
As mention, this is a story that makes zero sense, is completely unrealistic, has a bunch of characters can could never actually exist, but frankly I didn't care even for a single moment. Sometimes it's OK to disengage all logic and sense of artestry, find a comfortable place to sit, and enjoy a quick escape.
Hanna (2019)
A rare series that's better than the movie.
It doesn't happen often, but this series gets a 9 from me while the 2011 movie gets an 8. And that's saying something since I'm a huge fan of Saoirse Ronan, who played Hanna in the film version. Esme Creed-Miles is very effective in the role of the highly-skilled yet "fish-out-of-water" Hanna, and the supporting cast are also quite convincing. Perhaps an obvious fact (given that there's much more time available) but I feel that this series fleshes out the various characters more than was possible in the movie, which allowed me to become more invested in them. My only complaint is minor, but the production team clearly spent less money by filming a lot of scenes at night, so I'd suggest watching in a dark room if you want to understand what's going on during those moments. Keep an eye out for future roles played by Esme as I predict she's got quite a career ahead of her. I was also captivated by Rhianne Barreto, who very believably plays Hanna's one true friend. The direction, scoring, location scenery, and cinematography (albeit a bit dark at times) are impressive. Highly-recommended binging material.
Wonder Woman (2017)
Easily the best DC movie
Good pacing, excellent characterizations, intriguing casting, and impressive cinematography make this far-and-away the best DC Universe movie thus far. Gal Gadot makes a great Wonder Woman. Her innocence, charm, and agility work perfectly as the "fish-out-of-water" yet incredibly self-sufficient Diana Prince. Gal exudes the skilled and determined, yet ignorant-of-our-damaged-human-ways hero that Wonder Woman possessed in the comics. Chris Pine fills the role of the quirky, baffled, enamored Steve Trevor very well. The supporting characters are enjoyable but seem to serve little ultimate purpose. I did have a slight problem with David Thewlis being cast as Ares not just because I kept seeing "Professor Lupin", but mostly since he seems too old and fragile to play "the big bad guy". Was that a spoiler? I suppose I'll post this as such. Overall this is an enjoyable super hero movie and, as stated, the best one DC has released. IMO, "Aquaman" comes in a distant second place.
Midnight Sun (2018)
Impress job, Bella.
I had no idea Bella Thorne could be such a convincing actor. This emotion-filled movie is pretty standard fare regarding the story, which focuses on Katie Price (Thorne) resisting to indulge in a relationship due to her rare and dangerous disease, but the performances of Bella and Patrick Schwarzenegger (Arnold's son) lift this to a higher level than most. Rob Riggle is also quite convincing as Katie's father. The scenes where he's struggling to stay strong for his daughter while being torn apart internally were devestating for this dad to watch. Yes, I choked up a few times. Excellent score and musical choices also helped make this an emotional roller coaster ride. Compared to the dozens of other similar movies this one stands out and is recommended watching, but have tissues handy.
The Fault in Our Stars (2014)
A sadly-overlooked gem.
Excellent star power on display here. Shailene absolutely steals every scene she's in, and Ansel is perfect as her friend/boyfriend/lover. Great casting choices for the other characters too, especially Laura Dern as Shailene's loving mom. Add the haunting score, breathtaking cinematography, powerful editing and direction and you've got a very moving and emotional film. It's hard to believe Shailene was only 22 when this movie was filmed. She is an enormously-gifted young actor who has the abily to "face act", which is how I describe someone who can relay volumes of emotions without using any words. Overall, a sad but powerful love story.
Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey (2018)
Wow! Keep an eye on Katie Douglas' career!
Horribly hard to watch in so many ways (almost everybody except Lisa McVey is an absolute a$$hole), but so empowering also. If this movie is even close to accurate compared to the real story then Lisa is a true hero. All of the actors are talented and the characters are intriguing, but by FAR the standout is Katie Douglas who plays Lisa. I'd never heard of her before watching this, but I'm now a huge fan. She was only 19 or 20 when she played this role but already had the rare skill of what I call "silent acting", the ability to relay emotion with nothing but facial expressions, eye movements, body language, and meaningful silence. She's a phenomenal actor. The other standouts are David James Elliott, who plays Sergeant Larry Pinkerton (one of the few good guys), and Rossif Sutherland (Donald's son) as the terrifyingly-disturbed and violent rapist/killer. Impressive cinematography, lighting, scoring, and overall direction add to the power of this movie. If you can make it through the first half of pure evil, you should be as impressed as I with Katie Douglas' portrayal of a truly remarkable young woman.
Rampage (2018)
Absurd. Ridiculous. CAN'T STOP WATCHING!
OK, how do I say this? This movie has horrible acting, an absurd story, sub-par direction, ridiculous CGI, it's predictable in every way (except deciding whether it's a comedy or a gory drama) and yet... I'm still watching. For the third time. Why?? I'm slightly ashamed of myself. BUT if you're in the mood for something to watch that's just FOR FUN, and you're not expecting anything groundbreaking or award-winning then you found it. Dwayne is typical Dwayne. Honestly his fellow actors are so bad that they make him look good. Hard to do. But, as if my streaming source has somehow pumped fun drugs into my home, this flick is fun and watchable. Sometimes it's OK to just have a good time.
Violent Night (2022)
Strange but satisfying
This movie is the weirdest combination of Die Hard, Home Alone, and John Wick. Maybe even throw in a pinch of The Santa Clause and a few drops of Final Destination, The Kingsman, and Deadpool. If you're a fan of any or all of the above this is fun and silly, albeit bloody, escape into ridiculous, action-packed fantasy. Fair warning: give it at least 30 minutes before giving up on the action-packed parts. It does take a while to get going. But be prepared to laugh, cringe, and roll your eyes a lot. Certainly nothing award-winning, but that's not what this one was made for. Oh, and did I mention blood? Lots and lots of blood. Enjoy!
Among the Shadows (2019)
Nice cinematography and... Well, nothing else.
Pretty, creative, and eerie cinematography (ironically from the director himself), but that's literally the only positive part of this mess. I'm sure they saved a ton of money by shooting at night, and yes the subject matter requires darkness, but it gets old real quick. Horrible acting, jarringly-bad green screen work, and a slow, plodding pace make this almost unwatchable. There's a fine balance between horror movies that are actually scary and those that slip into comedy due to their absurd plot, effects, scripting, and direction. If this movie was categorized as a comedy it would probably have higher ratings. But it does have nice cinematography. LOL.
How It Ends (2021)
Don't let the negative reviews dissuade you.
What a strange, quirky, yet creative and lovely little film. Made during the Covid lockdowns, director/writer/actor Zoe Lister-Jones took advantage of completely empty streets and neighborhoods to create this odd, charming, and comedic end-of-the-world tale. There are zero car chases, explosions, murders, CGI or other blockbuster tropes, so it flew way under the radar, made very little money, and you've probably never even heard of it, but I found this to be a clever, well-crafted and intriguing production. Fascinating cinematography (largely due to the lack of human population in 2020 and 2021), good writing (rated R for language), acting (lots of cameos), and pacing make this an obvious love letter to Los Angeles during the bleak, unsettling pandemic event. The social-distancing rules of the time are blatant in many scenes, in fact. The character of Liza (Zoe) (along with her "YS" (younger self), who is somehow seen and interacted with by others) - played by a very impressive Cailee Spaeny - walks the deserted streets of the Hollywood hills contemplating life, meaning, redemption and one's legacy on the final day of human existence as a meteor rapidly approaches (seen in the sky in several scenes). Fair warning: the IMDb ratings are low for some reason, but as I said there is none of the usual crowd-pleasing nonsense, so this is geared toward a more patient, insightful and contemplative audience who enjoys innovative writing and acting above flash. I hope you enjoy your 82 minutes as much as I did.
The Ranch (2016)
Canned laughter? Seriously?
Absolutely unwatchable due to the ridiculous laughtrack. We tried really hard to see why this series got relatively high reviews (and because we're huge fans of Sam Elliott), but the absurd use of 60s/70s style canned studio laughter is so jarringly bad and annoying we couldn't make it through two episodes. Whoever thought using a laughtrack was a good idea should be taken out back and flogged. How Sam, who historically tends to steal every scene he's in, got talked into signing up for this garbage is anyone's guess. This had potential, but it's a shame it was ruined by the cartoonish choice to assume the audience is too stupid to know when something is worth laughing about.
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
Amazing CGI, but not much else.
Just slogged through three hours of "lookie what I can do" from Jim Cameron. Amazing special effects, best 3-D ever, but I couldn't care less about a single character and the entire "story" (yes, quotes because there barely was one) seemed like a 3-hour Save The Whales campaign. I remember being blown away by the first Avatar movie, but only because it was so immersive and incredible from an effects perspective. We watched it again when it came out on DVD and felt so let down. Without the big screen, big surround sound and 3-D it was just a so-so story with so-so acting. Same today except that now the special effects are so over-the-top that THEY are the stars (and the focus) of this movie. If you love all the new stuff they can do with CGI you may love this, but for me it needed a lot more weight on the story, acting, and characterizations side of the balancing act. If it's just showing off all the cool things you can do it's not a movie, it's just show-and-tell. It also didn't help that no one seems to know how to behave in theaters anymore. Turn off your screens (completely!), stop talking, don't bring toddlers to PG-13 movies, and don't go to the movies if you're hacking up body parts. Silence and respect for your fellow humans have truly become lost art forms. 😢