Reviews
It Ends with Us (2024)
Perfectly engrossing
I did not read the book so I believe it cleared me of any expectations. As other reviewers have complained about a lack of tension I was glad for the lack thereof. It would have made it a run of the mill domestic violence film. Instead it crept along and concentrated on the characters slowly evolving.
And I too did not feel a connection with Lily but I did not miss it until I came across other reviewers. I believe the way that Lively played it and the way it was directed left the viewer free to watch it go forward and not get entangled with either side. And again, let it unfold as a character study and not get centered around the domestic violence. It brought out the people which traditionally gets lost in a story about the violence. Notice that there aren't too many violent scenes that bring the violence to a head. I believe it was on purpose to keep the focus on individuality and help you to step back.
It also fits with the ending of Ryle agreeing with Lily and Lily not caving in.
Beautifully done.
The Roast of Tom Brady (2024)
Loved it
I felt like I was part of the locker room. Loved the players jokes but thought the comedians were just inside their own heads and running lines in a show or at the improv.
Not a big fan of Kevin Hart or Jeff Ross so I didn't quite appreciate their stint. Hart just seemed to reference the black vs white too often that gave it an undertone privy to only him.
I had seen Drew Bledsoe and Julian Edelman discussing the roast on Edelman's pod cast where they praised Nikki Glaser as did others in here so I was expecting great things. While I thought her jokes were more or less solid I kind of cringed at her delivery like she was already laughing at her own jokes and paused right before the punchline giving away the lead in.
The funniest one for me was Belichick. As others have said at the roast it was brave of him to show up. Thought other funnies were Bledsoe and Manning. And Brady with tongue in cheek delivery patting himself on the back for being the greatest. I kept wanting it to be longer.
Sleeping Dogs (2024)
Russell Crowe is always convincing
I enjoy his acting. He brings a mediocre film to life. Like that the mystery was tangled around the alzheimer's, medication, possible break through research and murder.
When you see the smashed picture in the beginning of the film, it is easy to overlook as a clue. But the twist is very convincing that Crowe's character needs to keep his mind engaged in order to keep the disease at bay. But if you know anything about the disease, its the short term memory that goes not the earlier ones.
As far as his partner covering up for him it becomes clear but the care taker's role makes more sense if the partner tells the caretaker to kill him and not BAINES/WESTLAKE. She becomes just a red herring in the plot unless you consider that she is trying to cover up her book.
Lot of loose ends in here. Like why didn't Baines/Westlake just kill Roy and not his partner. Unless you think the motive is that the partner knew the truth and at that point Roy hadn't figured it out yet there was no need to kill Roy. Too many other holes but still a good watch.
The Dynasty (2024)
Take all the past 20 years of sports talking heads, write a book, then make a movie
Absolute crap. Nothing new revealed here. No insight about any of the scandals but more importantly nothing about how the defense held it together when offense was still finding their way under Brady.
No one will ever know why Belichick kept Butler out of the Eagles Superbowl.
If you are going to make a dynasty docuseries, dig deep and come up with some spotlight material that no one has ever heard before. Taking the easy way out is lazy journalism but I get it, it sells.
Or analyze why the cheating scandals had an affect on the dynasty. Or analyze why their zone defense always snuffed out the opponent or how Brady reading defenses could always get is mark. Lazy, lazy film making.
Argylle (2024)
yuck
How far has Bryce Dallas Howard fallen. If its supposed to be tongue in cheek its about half a continent off the mark. Even her brief camera shots in the middle of the fight scenes look like a cat caught in using the litter box.
Great cast line up and so hopeful about the write up but couldn't get through the first 30 minutes of it. Predictable and mundane.
I have been waiting for Howard to match her script and performance from the help but continue waiting.
I take this film as a fun way to make some money for the actors while wanted the cast they would otherwise not get to...
Don't bother. Save it.
What Happens Later (2023)
Love both these actors
That said, I would watch anything with them in it. Starts slow and didn't think much of it but it blossoms later and turns into a work of art. The cross talk in the beginning of the film was expertly directed and acted.
You have to forgive the fact that the airport is nearly empty where ever they are sitting even though all the flights have been cancelled. And also as they enter the cafe that it is void of employees and they have the run of the bar. Other technicalities and focus on the longing between the former lovers and its great.
Especially love that the ending doesn't follow the norm about the romcom and Meg's character shakes her head when he attempts to say "Maybe' but she accepts his calling card giving the viewer hopes that they might just.
Love a movie that is character and script driven rather than blow ups and CGI.
81st Golden Globe Awards (2024)
what is all the backlash about for Jo Koy??????????
I for one found Koy as delightful as any host can be in an otherwise BORING BORING self actualization esoteric awards show. I especially don't get why anyone thought he should apologize for the joke about Taylor Swift. Being a huge pro football fanatic I cringe everytime the camera shows her at the Chiefs games. Its pro football not the music industry. And Koy was right about showing her face more times during football broadcasts than on the golden globe awards show. Good for you Jo Koy!!!!!!
If there is any criticism to be doled out for this horrid show it is the writers that give the lines to the presenters. Talk about cringe worthy!!! If they just have the presenters read the nominees and hand out the awards the winners would have more time to grovel on their well deserved center stage.
A world that is in love with Taylor Swift as if she did something great by hooking up with Travis Kelce.
Anatomie d'une chute (2023)
Script, performances and cliff hanger kept me interested
The script was as tight as the best I have ever seen. ALL OF THE performances were top notch and it keeps you guessing until the end.
A few criticisms: the courtroom dialogue made me think that the French system allows a lot more leeway in testimonies with hearsay and drawing conclusions based on speculation. There is flimsy evidence that brings the wife to be indicted based on speculation from experts on both sides that there could have been a blow to the head prior to the fall of the husband to his death. Along the line of the testimonies, the accused is allowed to respond to accusations and attack other testimonies and witnesses. But it was still compelling if I allow that is not the American justice system.
The script brings in some red herrings to throw you off the scent but comes back to the main scene.
One scene I thought was more real to life than anything I HAVE ever seen in a movie was the fight between the husband and wife. Each shouting their own truths at each other and going off track and never resolving the ultimate conflict.
At the end the writer keeps you guessing to draw your own conclusions. I kept thinking that either the son or the wife/mother would say something to wrap it up. But when the dog jumps on the bed I had my answer. I love this kind of movie that relies on a smart script, excellent performances and people to make a movie and not rely CGI or blow ups to a dead minded audience's attention.
Don't Worry Darling (2022)
Stanley Kubrik meets the stepford wives
What a waste. Love Olivia Wilde in anything directorial or otherwise. She did a great job with that but the script falls all over itself with unnecessary side stepping into the choreographed dancing to try and convey a picture of control over the closed community.
The script could have done a much better job with the tension between Pugh's character and Pine's to add some absorption into an otherwise 'yawn' of a film. Pugh and Pine did not deliver for this and they usually choose much better movies/scripts.
When I saw that the cast included Harry Styles I yawned some more but he surprised me. Not that he is a great actor but then again I wasn't expecting much.
It tried is all I can say.
The Dinner (2017)
Disjointed
Great cast, great acting even the younger actors, superb storyline but the script got way out of hand.
Too much soliloquy by Coogan's character trying to portray him as unbalanced. We got it the first time. Too many flash backs at the ATM where the homeless woman gets burned to death when we get it in the first scene of the ATM booth. I can see why the author of the book did not endorse the movie. Too many pointless interruptions by the publicist at dinner which looked to be nothing more than a time filler.
This movie can be a script writing course on how to ruin a great movie. I did not quite agree with the author that the movie concentrated on a moral theme but rather everyone working their own angle and trying to pass it off as the good for the teenagers or our family well being when they were saving themselves.
Too bad it would have garnered a nomination for a couple of actors in the film otherwise.
Heart of Stone (2023)
james bond wannabe
Does anyone have an original idea for a movie script????? No wonder the youth of today are the lowest rated in term of intelligence watching crap like this. Yet, this is what sells because of the little minds of those that it attracts. I get how the attraction is to get lost in the story but geez a second grader could write this and know what the outcome is in the first three minutes. I would like to get lost and shut out the world in a movie....but really!!!! I lasted about 3 minutes into this and then gave up. And I don't get the attraction of Gal Gadot. Without special effects can she even act?
Virgin River (2019)
Martin Henderson where have you been hiding??
Henderson is the only reason I watch this soapy crap. The writing is awful. The plot twists are predictable. Most of the acting is sub par except for Henderson and Matheson.
I remember O'toole on Smallville and she could have phoned in her performance and she could do this as well in this series. Matheson is always top notch from his first major role in Animal House to this one today and he is 75 yrs old. He looks great
I just wish they would have cast a lead actress that would match Henderson/Jack's intensity to up the chemistry between the two. Beckenridge just doesn't cut it for me. No screen presence.
What bar owner can take off in the middle of the day to chauffeur around the nurse to create scenes of them together where Mel has a chance to wow Jack/audiences with her competence as a nurse practitioner. Or create more drama between Charmaine and Jack to make the viewer think that she will win over Jack??? And get rid of Hope's character as well as the actress that portrays her. Its insulting and annoying.
But the soundtrack to this series is the best--new and old songs!
Maybe I Do (2023)
I like it
What a line up of stars. That is the main factor for my rating. I liked the dialogue. One can see the dwindling of a once loving marriage gone wrong. How people can just drift apart.
How the young man contemplating marriage doesn't want it to turn into his parents. While the young woman is still starry eyed about long term love not knowing what is behind the scenes of her own parents.
Sarandon is lovely as a cruella de ville character. I kept rooting for them not to get married but this is a hollywood movie and to keep movie goers happy they have to get married. Too bad, I would have rated it higher of they didn't.
80 for Brady (2023)
Not a good one
If I didn't know that these actresses were accomplished in their own right, I wouldn't want to see another movie they were in. Besides the fact that the script was lame, the actresses delivered their lines with no feeling or intensity.
Hate to say this but I think that Brady was the best actor in this film. They missed an opportunity to match the build up of the actual event of the Super Bowl and the impossible comeback that happened. Too bad, it had such potential to be a great script.
Hope to see Moreno, Fonda, Fields and Tomlin in better scripts and direction. Very very predictable. Too bad.
The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
I knew it but watched it anyways
With a great cast I had hope although I had it pegged from the beginning that this wouldn't be my cup of tea. And it wasn't. I wanted to get pulled in by the characters but wasn't and didn't really care what happened to them or how it ended.
I can't think of anything in real life that is so off kilter and how stupid both their characters are. From one that is crushed when his life long friend tells him to leave him alone to the other character who starts chopping off his fingers every time the crushed one talks to him. I mean who does this. I guess I was looking for some connection to reality but both lead characters are insane.
That said, I give high marks to Colin and Brendan for their portrayal. Takes a dark mind to write this script and call it a movie; but then there is a lot of 'stuff' out there parading as a movie.
Apollo 11 (2019)
Remember
When Columbia and Eagle were joined together for the flight home there were excellent shots of the two modules being reconnected. Who was filming that if there was nothing else up there besides these two machines? There didn't seem to be anything new that I haven't seen before in other docs or movies. I see the praise that other reviewers have given this director. \\
Also this dialogue between Houston and the astronauts makes it seem almost instantaneous when there is actually a lag in communications.
It certainly captures the feel of America and the world at the time. One more again and again.
Ticket to Paradise (2022)
Oh my god clooney and roberts have sunk to a new low
The only good thing to say about this film is the scenery,
The script is beyond predictable and there is no chemistry between the young lead actress and actor or even roberts and clooney. Have they both run out of good scripts to choose from?
But they both have aged well. There are very funny out takes during the credits at the end.
This is an example of the script: after a drunken night of course robert and clooney end up in bed together. Both swear nothing has happened. There comes a knock on the door and its roberts' boyfriend. They are in roberts' room. So they have clooney's character answer the door while roberts comes out of the other door trying to fool the boyfriend but then they have to switch all the clothes. Why didn't they just send clooney's character back to his own room and have roberts' character answer the door.
Dumb dumb.
The Last Whistle (2019)
Entertaining enough but.......
I read all the reviews here and agree with practically all of them, from the poorly rated to the highest rated. All I kept thinking throughout the film once the audience learns about the heart condition, is why is this kid allowed to play football at all? No school would sign that acceptance and take the insurance risk.
Also at the end of the movie when the superintendent reveals the vote that there were three votes for the coach and four with the super, does that mean he's back in? Usually the board consists of 5-7 individuals but that part wasn't clear to me. Or maybe that is when I didn't care anymore.
Lead actor held my interest so I kept watching for him, The mock courtroom was a joke.
Amen.
Bullet Train (2022)
Yuck
This is the type of movie that is good for grade schoolers with no brains. It is so obvious and loose that there is nothing to the script. If you enjoy beat-em-up that is fake and wild theories that are paper thin then this is your movie. I mean, they stop in the middle of a brawl to answer the phone??? Really??? Maybe some one's kind of humor but totally eluded me.
A thought crossed my mind that if young people watch this they would get inspired to be a hell raiser with no apparent focus. I can't even comment on the acting because one does not need to act to be in this movie. An insifferable over two hour movie that the time could be better spent doing breathing exercises.
The Greatest Beer Run Ever (2022)
What a pleasant surprise
I have had my fill of Vietnam War and World War II movies so I usually just skip over them. But I can't pass up Efron, Crowe and Murray in one without all the CGI and car chases and the bain of the blockbusters today.
Just a good script with great character acting and a wonderful portrayal of the government betrayal behind this was.
Since its based on the book of the same name written by the main character, Chickie, (Efron) the viewer sees where he goes from whole heartedly believing the government is doing the right thing to the truth of it all. While he is in Nam he sees the underbelly of the beast and all the lies that the public has been told.
I was really drawn into the characters and at times wondered if he was going to make it back. Efron does a great job as well as Murray being understated here as a departure from his usual up from and center roles. Crowe has a small part but makes his presence felt.
Chickie gets caught in the middle of the front lines, an attack on Saigon by our own government, sees the CIA throw a goon out of a helicopter and then they chase him because he saw it all and you can see how he is deflated. I found the second to last scene especially moving when he is on the military flight home with all the caskets draped with the American flag. Powerful.
Where the Crawdads Sing (2022)
Kept me watching
I had seen this book advertised on some of my book apps but never had the interest to read it. You can tell how the movie would have had to condense the story line to keep it within viewing length. But now I wished I had listened/read the book; it would have promised to be much more engrossing.
I noticed a few comments in here addressing her outfits and how they always looked new and cleaned and pressed. I also was bothered by this fact--how could the movie makers overlook that. Also, I have a hard time believing that she survived all those years on selling mussels until the publication of her books. Literary license.
But overall a pretty good script and wonderful performances by the entire cast. The fact about the bus rides to the hotel and back when the murder was to have taken place made me believe of her innocence. But when the movie didn't end here, I knew she did it.
But give me this type of movie with a story line and character studies performed where the acting is the draw and I will take this type of movie over CGI types and chase scenes and blow ups that require little acting.
But overall it kept me enthralled to follow her story and root for her. Might be a bit cliched that we root for the underdog.
Slow Burn (2005)
just a mess
Love Ray Liotta (R. I. P) and will watch anything he is in as well as Taye Diggs and LL Cool, but the script or maybe the editing got lost in itself.
Liotta is a DA running for Mayor. His girlfriend, an assistant DA, comes in to the police station and reports that she just shot someone who she briefly met and was stalking her and raped her so she killed him. Then enter LL Cool who tells a different story where the girlfriend was living with the victim.
Then come the many plot twists that don't make any sense to the story line. Such as a cocktail party where they are all present and the victim is suddenly called in to someone's office and given $50,000 to kill Liotta;s character. They call him Rupert which is not his name and he is too scared to tell them he is not Rupert. The girlfriend tells him that she pointed him out as Rupert telling him that she wanted to give him some money so he could get away. His character is useless to the plot twist. Could have left him out altogether.
Then you see the victim and the girlfriend making love and in walk the thugs of the crimelord who gave him the money and supposedly since Liotta's character wasn't killed, they kill the victim.
The story line is supposedly spun around some illegal real estate deals. Meanwhile, Liotta has been trying to nab a king pin who he has never seen but supposedly has been doing the usual illegal activities somehow tied up in the real estate and other activities named Danny.
So Liotta doesn't know who to believe as far as shooting the victim and
is trying to figure out who Danny really is. As inept as they are they can't figure out who LLCool J's character really is. REALLY? They have a name and they have him in the police station and no system has both a picture and a name???/ Really??
Then we are introduced to Taye Diggs' character who is in jail. Liotta's character questions him about the girlfriend and shows him LL Cool J in the interrogation room and Diggs's character identifies LL Cool J's character as the elusive Danny.
Then the girlfriend is finally brought out into the hallway of the police station and she sees Diggs's character and screams something like "Danny they have it.........' leading Liotta to believe that Diggs is Danny. Diggs starts to run making everyone think he is in fact Danny and Liotta shoots him dead.
Liotta goes back to LLCool J's character and asks him who he really is and LL pulls out an FBI badge. Never clear why Diggs' character ran other than he thinks the DA will believe the girlfriend that he is in fact Danny.
So LL Cool's character unravels the story how the girlfriend was really Danny's girlfriend and she helped Danny with all the illegal activities, but toooooooo late she already left and is on the run.
Then you see LL Cool J's character having a conversation with the real Danny who turns out to have posed as a journalist trying to get a story from Liotta's character. During this conversation the viewer is lead to believe that Danny had the FBI in his pocket until the next scene where you see Danny being handcuffed and taken away.
There is also another subplot where there is something supposedly going to happen at 5AM. Too much detail around this subplot to go into here, but it turns out there is a gas leak and Liotta's character thinks its the gas leak in the city that was discovered and runs back to the site only to run into the gas man who says its all been taken care of and the gas man gets into his truck and places his clip board on the dash and the name on the clipboard is Rupert. Then two blocks away an explosion happens but the tenants have been evacuated. This was a 'gimme' from the king pin to serve as a distraction.
I shortened a lot of the story to just gloss the main events but still a mess.
The story ends with Liotta's character looking totally duped and decides to give up the DA office along with the run for Mayor.
My One and Only (2009)
Adorable Film
Don't know how I missed this film when it first came out. Thoroughly enjoyed it though and one of those films that I wanted not to end. The story line kept me engaged at every scene and looking for the next surprise around the corner.
Surprises like when Anne (Zellweger) finds her husband's mistress in his bed she calmly starts packing and even helps the mistress get dressed appraising the dress on her and telling her its not a good color for because it makes her look like a hoar then she innocently steps back and looks at her and says but you are one. Not your typical reaction and these quips throughout the movie kept me tuned in.
Haven't seen Logan Lerman before in anything but I will go looking for him now. He nailed his character from the almost cocky teenager to the sensitive young teen when his father turns down his appeal to come back home to the yet still vulnerable adolescent who doesn't want to go on the road again with his mom but longs for her to come back and beg him to come as she drives away.
Loved all the other little gems like when Anne is sitting at the bar waiting for what she thinks is her exclusive date only to see him walk in with a woman half her age. So she starts flirting with someone who has been eyeing her all night only to be arrested for solicitation because he is the hotel detective. Not to mention she then thinks she finds the next perfect husband and is a week away from marriage only to come across his wife and the family attorney who informs her that the man is mentally ill.
The script was so tight there weren't any wasted scenes where I could say they didn't belong. Even the ending wasn't a typical 'all ends where you expect' but fit the tone of the whole quirky movie. Not to mention the period piece in the 1950's being cast perfectly.
Enjoy if anyone catches this little special 13 years later.
Officer Down (2013)
Just OK but some major flaws
Story follows a rogue detective who goes out on his own to pay back the man he thinks rescued him when he was shot. The story line is very good and the dialogue is quite tight, but I don't buy Dorf in the title role. He just fell short for me. I believe he is surrounded by some extremely good actors which bring it home for him.
The story is told in flashbacks and is confusing at times because you cannot distinguish between the here and now and the past from the way it was edited. They could have done a better job with that.
But it takes enough twists and turns once you realize which dimension the story is in. So as not to spoil it, there is a scene both at the beginning of the film and the end with the captain played by James Woods that did not work the way it was intended.
Otherwise a good film about police work that you don't see very often. Others in here complained about the ending; but I think it was the best way to bring home a 'hollywood' ending which I don't necessarily agree with. It could have ended where Dorf's character takes the deal offered to him and screw the good ol' boy ending which would have fit the story line better.
A Year in Mooring (2011)
Well Done
Loved this film and all the actors' performances. Josh Lucas has always been a favorite and his understated deliverance really brings it home.
He seemingly lost his family and buys a broken down boat mirroring his broken spirit. Oddly enough the name of the boat is Herperus which means the spirit of night giving way to the light of the dawn. Though we see him go through anguish and drinking himself into oblivion he does it so we don't feel sorry for him but observe his journey seeing where it will end.
In the end he finishes fixing up the boat and befriending the two locals who stay at the marina where his boat is and does not even take it for a spin but sells it.
Something magical about this film without being overdone or drawn out into boredom.