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Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration (2022)
Good Overall
This tribute was entertaining. To sum it up:
Rita Moreno did great as the narrator. Martin Short didn't really live up to the role of Luimiere and Shania I had higher hopes for.
H. E. R as Belle and Josh Groban as Beast did well, although the tribute played most of these two characters in the portions where they showed the original motion picture.
That said, Joshua Henry made for an excellent Gaston and I was LIVING for Rizwan Manji as Le Fou. Seriously, Rizwan stole the role of Le Fou. He made it his own, but you could tell he certainly studied the part before performing it! I have re-watched the "Gaston" melody several times and cracked up every time at Rizwan's performance. It was pure comedy and I preferred this performance over the original animated one! Another interesting point about the "Gaston" song, is Disney certainly played into the relationship that everyone rumored for years was going on between Gaston and Le Fou. For those who don't know, or may have never heard/paid attention, it was rumored for years that Le Fou may have had a thing for Gaston, especially with the way they always portrayed their respective parts in the original animation.
Though there were area's that were lackluster, I'm still rating this performance a solid 8 due to the work that Disney put into it. Some people have made the comment that it looked thrown together, but I do not see that at all. To make this work, there were many moving parts.
Give it a watch, maybe you'll enjoy it too! Just keep Le Fou in mind when watching ;-)
Grimcutty (2022)
Not a 10, but Good
The acting is great, at least from my view point. There are some annoying portions of the movie due to it revolving mostly around high school children and younger, but there are a good deal of adults sprinkled in.
This is way better than the overall 4.4 rating. The plot of the movie uses a horror concept that I've never seen before. Unfortunately the viewer can easily figure out what's happening fairly early on, but the "answer", so to speak, is not an easy one. Grimcutty only comes for children under certain conditions.
My only issue is the audience does not get a clear explanation of how Grimcutty himself came to be. There are some hints, and even though the original location of where Grimcutty first appears is discovered - again there is no clear cut explanation of how he originated.
I'd be interested to see a prequal of how Grimcutty originates.
Give it a watch, pay attention, don't expect anything over the top and maybe, just maybe, it'll be a good one for you too.
Chucky (2021)
Predictable Bliss!
Normally I'm not a fan of predictability, but this series (Chucky) does a wonderful job at keeping things original, giving plenty of back story, and tying all the original Childs Play franchise films together in a nice little bow (save the modernized 2019 version)!
They bring back the original Chucky (Brad Dourif) and Andy (Alex Vincent) from the 1988 film, and include Jennifer Tilly from the later films. The acting with the main cast of teens, Zachary Arthur (Jake), Bjorgvin Arnarson (Devon), Alyvia Alyn Lind (Lexy), and Teo Briones (Junior), I personally think they are brilliant. Obviously, they are novice actors compared to some of the more seasoned counterparts in the series, but they did an amazing job overall.
This series takes us back to the OG slasher Chucky, except this time he makes people his victims by a combination of force and manipulation. Craftier than ever, Chucky knows exactly what to say, and if you listen closely, he's much more intelligent than one might think.
Overall, this is a solid 8 in my book. Some of the acting is forced, some natural, lots of predictability BUT if you think about it, so was the original Childs Play film. I believe true fans of Chucky will love this series as it heavily explores backstory into Chucky's life to show us what brought him into the limelight as a notorious serial killer and incorporates several references to previous movies in the franchise...again save the 2019 film.
The Resort (2021)
Where's the horror!?
35 minutes in, with 41 minutes remaining and NO horror. At about the 31 minute mark the very first "suspenseful" thing happens and it's marginal at best.
I'd say skip to the good stuff, but since it hasn't caught my attention thus far I've quit watching.
So far it's 35 minutes of:
- Getting to know the characters. All college age kids.
- Intro to the island via a video they found on the You
- Helicopter ride to the island, with a slight nod to Jurassic Park (it takes place in Hawaii).
- Hike a trail
- Skinny dip in the waterfall pool
- See something and mistake it for a person
- Act electrocuted on a the side of a tower (complete rip from Jurassic Park)
The only slight redeeming factor is the beauty of the island...that's - about - it. I never like to rate anything a 1, but this deserves it.
The Christmas Chronicles (2018)
Not A Hallmark Movie
To start, Kurt Russell makes an amazing Santa. He's a little rough around the edges Santa, but doesn't quite understand how to make things happen socially (you'll see what I mean if you watch the movie).
The movie combines humor with some heartwarming scenes, and to be honest it gets a little corny and over the top at some points, but if you follow the movie you get it.
This does not fall into your the "Hallmark Movie" category because it involves things that one would never find in those types of movies. Plus it keeps the "shmoopiness" if you will, to a minimum. Throw a little action into the mix and it's a great blend of attributes that make a great Christmas movie. This may be added to my classic collection of Christmas movies that I watch each year.
Why not a 10? Some of the scenes were a little too corny and over the top for my personal taste, and in some brief areas the movie did lose a little of my interest. Otherwise a solid 8 in my book!
Red Riding Hood (2011)
Um...
This was pretty bad overall. Here is a bullet point list in no particular order:
1. Acting: Terrible! There seemed to be no actual connection/chemistry between any of the characters. Trying to think of a single actor that did even remotely decent in this movie - I cant.
2. To many "suspects": The movie focused heavily on the eyes of people to give the illusion that that particular person was the enemy and was trying WAY to hard to give other false impressions throughout (if you watch it's easy to pick up on). It's one thing to keep people guessing with plot twists, but this tactic seemed like a cheap trick that was overly used.
3. Little (or big) details: Normally when it's snowing, or there is snow on the ground through the entire movie that means it's cold right? You wouldn't know it was cold because no one, and I mean no one is dressed for the cold ever! The movie didn't even go out of it's way to make peoples breathe be seen. This might not be a big deal for some, but if you're going for cold, at least make everyone act and look the part.
4. Nod's to the original story: I literally almost turned the movie off at a couple of points because the cameo's of originality were completely cheesy and off.
Here come the two positives but not redeeming enough qualities to be above a 4.
5. Village: The setting was decent actually. Set in what I would guess is the 1800's? Not sure. The village was deep in the woods and was decorated fairly well. It looks like most of the budget went into the village and not much else.
6. Plot twist: I wasn't paying much attention because the movie wasn't catching it but the plot twist of WHO was actually the werewolf genuinely caught me off guard a bit. From that point there is a bit more that goes into the plot that I certainly didn't think would materialize. Pity, because if the rest of the movie had been good leading up to that then it would have been totally worth it.
The Silence (2019)
Wood chipper for the Win!
The acting was good, Stanley Tucci was great as always, other actors as well. The acting was on par, and was probably the saving grace of the entire movie.
As far as plot, it was ok...that's about as much as can be said for that. It just seemed like it lacked and needed more substance. Be prepared for lots of unanswered questions but honestly that's seemingly common of movies these days.
It seems that humanity couldn't get a grasp on how to kill/control these things, but Stanley Tucci (don't know his character name, those weren't mentioned much) figured it all out: A wood chipper! Sound attracts these things. Stanley fired up a wood chipper as a distraction once, and these things flew right into it and got frappe'd! Release that information to authorities, fire up every wood chipper in North America and bam the population would diminish greatly if not disappear. Alas though, no one thought to incorporate this into the movie. Instead humans figured out a "weakness" and just relocated to the "refuge". Turns out, these things can adapt, which leaves an open door for a sequel, but we all know how those usually go.
I basically put this movie on as background noise, it grabbed my attention a few times and was suspenseful enough to keep me semi entertained which makes it a solid 6 in my book.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Comparing this to the original...
Is a mistake! Do not go into this movie thinking that it will be anything like the original.
For starters the original isn't really a movie - at only 26 minutes long it's a short film/story at best. Of course the original is great, don't get me wrong, but this version is not meant to completely capture the original in it's entirety.
Jim Carey is over the top as usual, but plays the role very well. He's comedic evil, and pays an excellent tribute to the song "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch".
The overall message for both Who's & The Grinch tells what Christmas is supposed to be all about. In the original film, Who's were wholesome people, but that movie was made back in a time before Christmas became as heavily commercialized as it was in 2000. This movie gives nod to a commercialized Christmas with a Black Friday feel. It then turns this notion around for both the Who's and the Grinch himself.
Take this movie for what it's meant to be - a campy, funny, happy, wholesome family movie with a good message. Anyone who analyzes this too much will not enjoy it, which can really be said for any movie.
Most of the ratings under 5 stars, with negative commentary, are really reaching for something to dislike here.
Evan Almighty (2007)
Deserves WAY higher than 5.4
I didn't read the reviews to this movie yet, but knowing imdb reviewers they were probably harsh as ever for no good reason.
Simply put: this movie is a comedy, at some points slap stick, with a great overall message. It's not supposed to be that serious although I could see how some might be moved by the message the movie sends. Some parts are cheesy, yes, but that's the point! There's even some action with decent CGI for a movie of this kind.
The acting is great overall and ALL cast members played their parts perfectly in my opinion.
Watch this movie while in a good happy mood and you'll love it. Or even watch it when you're down and it's bound to lighten your mental load.
I question anyone's ability to appreciate a good comedy if they cannot get down with this movie.
Hurricane Bianca: From Russia with Hate (2018)
Funnier than the original...
But less entertaining as a story plot. The quips and comedy were much stronger in this movie than the first. This is due to the fact that Bianca type comedy came out the entire time even though the wig and outfit weren't on.
Overall it's a 7 for me, but I liked the first better.
The Mist (2017)
Better than Mediocre...
This series lands right at a 7 for me.
Honestly, I liked it for the most part.
If you're able to make it through the first 3 episodes you'll most likely find the last 7 are a bit better.
The series follows 3 main groups - A small group that starts at the police station; a larger group at the church; and the largest group at the mall.
Eventually the first two groups wind up at the mall for different reasons of course.
Of all the groups, the sanest come out of the police station, craziest at the church, and the people in the mall were written to be mostly paranoid and stupid. Throw in a smattering of other survivors here and there and there's the cast.
Of all the actors I'm a bit partial to Dan Butler (aka Bulldog from Frazier) and Frances Conroy (from AHS). They both played their parts amazingly. There are some other strong actors as well. Personally I think almost every actor played their parts fairly well with the script they were given.
Enter the problems: predictable situations, too much back story, and lots of dumb decisions. There was some suspense but the "attack" scenes were hit or miss.
It's interesting how The Mist acts and how it kills it's victims. It's almost as if it kills people with their worst fears. In some cases it just torments but never kills. I didn't quite get the selective nature though.
I guess if the series had been able to continue there would be more answers. The story line slowly begins to unravel but I guess we'll never really know. Being left in limbo makes watching this feels almost pointless, but if you want to be left guessing, or fill in your own answers, then knock yourself out!
Jurassic Park (1993)
Amazing Movie!!
Jurassic Park is one of the best sci-fi movies out there. This movie is for both children and adults alike. The effects are amazing for the early 90's and even to this day.
The story line is amazing, the acting is top notch, and action is in full supply!
Imagine: a tropical storm, theme park falling apart, dinosaurs running loose, and a greedy fat man that is responsible for it all.
The movie pays omage to several types of dinosaurs but focuses mostly on the T-Rex and Raptors (which make for some tense moments!).
Actors in this movie make almost everything believable. From the reactions when first seeing the largest of plant eaters to the fear when being confronted by Raptors that are about to attack. The genuine caring for creatures such as a sick Triceratops. The list goes on and on.
Anyone who gives this movie a low rating either walked into it expecting too much or just doesn't have a thing for a genuinely good movie.
If you have not seen Jurassic Park it is a must see!!!
Hurricane Bianca (2016)
Witty Bianca at her best!
My review is a little biased because I've been seeing Bianca drag shows for almost 20 years.
The movie has some bad acting and the plot is pretty shallow, but this movie is made mainly for the comedic value. Bianca (once she appears) plays her usual self as a sharp tongued, doesn't give a crap, type of girl and let's everyone have it.
Watch for a couple of laughs at the very least.
Extinction (2018)
Not Great - Not Bad
Decent effects for a low budget film. Good story and nice little plot twist that will make you think. Watch with no expectations and an open mind and you'll most likely appreciate the movie as a whole.