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The Santa Summit (2023)
A Wintertime Hallmark Delight
This movie is a very special Hallmark creation. It centers on characters who are a little younger than the usual Hallmark ones - they are mid twenties to late 20's having a great time at a festival where everyone is dressed as Santa. For a change, each of the characters is distinct in their personality - much more fleshed out than the usual Hallmark movie. There is comedy, mystery, hi-jinks, dancing, music and great singing performances. They show Christmas activities that are more unusual and more interesting than what you see in most Hallmark movies. The supporting characters also have fun personalities, good secondary plot lines as well. I watched this a few times when it originally aired and now later, it still holds up and destined to be a Hallmark holiday classic -refreshing and unique - it captures the excitement of being a young adult in holiday times. I love this movie and the actors are all great in this.
Lonely Planet (2024)
Harlequin romance lite w/upscale actors
Laura Dern & Liam Hemsworth are both great actors and have been in many fine films & TV projects, so I'm mystified why they were motivated to be in this film. Other reviewers have pointed out some of the sillier plot holes: renowned author doesn't backup her computer with 2 years of work on her novel. She travels around the world just to sit in a quiet room to write. She's able to guess a guy's nickname from high school and is eager to drink & hang out with him socially alone, despite the fact that he's on the trip with his girlfriend. Ugh - too many more things about this plot that make this a poorly written film. Netflix seems intent to make a bunch of films which feature younger incredibly handsome men falling in love with women 20+ years older than them. I don't think older women are interested in these films and would probably enjoy seeing a much more believable romance between 2 actors of similar age, attractiveness and with onscreen chemistry. These films purport the fantasy that some young successful gorgeous men somehow cannot find women their own age to date and love. It's beyond ridiculous, even when the older actresses cast in these are bone thin, well preserved with some cosmetic surgery and much much better looking than average people many years ago when in their late 20's/early 30's. It's just not believable and there's no intense spark of romance that brings magic - the Morocco setting is the most magical thing in the movie and even that is slightly drab in spots. These type of films also seem to throw in some gratuitous nudity/semi nudity with the younger actors very early in the film overselling the "look how hot I can be" aspect ground into these films - it's always there and always feels overly forced with the over-sexualized eye candy (although I'm sure it boosts the sexy factor for the actors who want to get more roles where they can do nudity or have their bodies featured). I can't see the "draw" to Dern's character from Liam's. It all seems shallow and he's quick to wander to a convenient lonely older woman as soon as he feels his relationship faltering. How can anyone believe anything deep is happening over a few days other than some initial bonding, rebound attention and forbidden sex? Maybe she runs away near the end because she knows that's all there is? The ending is contrived and terrible - so unbelievable that she is professing that there WAS something real, but she thought about calling him a hundred times and never had the courage to do it. He never did either. After almost a year had gone by, are we supposed to believe the ending that they are going to all of the sudden attempt to have a relationship? This is a weakly written film. I am convinced that you're not going to find any film of depth that is produced by a streaming company for a streaming channel. They look good, but they don't come anywhere near the quality of what you see made for a theatrical release - in a movie theater. Maybe they are paying these actors a lot of money & that's why they're taking the jobs - or maybe they're not getting offered good scripts anymore, because this quality of film is beneath Hemsworth and Dern - that's a shame because I'd love to see them onscreen with some well-written material in the future.
Brilliant Minds (2024)
It's good!!!
I have not "attached myself" to watching a series in a long time, but this is an interesting show. It's not your everyday medical drama because it delves into the medical conditions that affect our brain, behavior and perception - among another deep neuropsychiatric subjects I hope they continue to explore this. The show has a very stark look (as most hospitals shows do), but the northeastern setting gives it some grit. I like that it's based on the writings of Oliver Sacks which gives the project credibility right up front. The cast is great and I like how they are starting to slowly develop the personalities of the supporting characters.
The Golden Bachelorette (2024)
Junk. Pure junk.
ABC once again, has brought another lame addition to its ongoing series of bachelor/bachelorette game shows. This show is so stupid - I actually lost IQ points trying to watch it. For some reason, watching older men go through this farce makes them seem even more undignified and pathetic than the younger bachelors on the other "Bachelorette" show. This one offers the same premise: a bunch of seemingly upstanding nice men vying for the attention and love of one woman. Nothing new here. It seems like just a new bunch of people wanting to be famous on network tv, except they are aged over 60/65 years old. Any of these men seem perfectly capable of dating and finding dates & partners in the real world. It's ridiculous (and sad) watching them act foolishly trying to woo this one woman who is altered w/plastic surgery, made up & costumed like an aging princess for the cameras -her choice. But the show never picks normal, non-surgically altered women for these shows, so there's no fantasy for regular senior women watching this fake pageant. ABC hits the trifecta of low class entertainment this week to add to "Family Feud" with the Golden Bachelorettes asking stupid questions and featuring criminal & felon Anna Delvey as a contestant on "Dancing With The Stars". There are no stars on ABC - just junk programming that's misogynistic, sexist and insulting to the public's intelligence.
Falling Together (2024)
Wanted to like it - but fails in many ways
I wanted to like this film so much as I love many Hallmark films, but it fails in so many ways. The story is as dull as the monochrome sets and wardrobe which render its setting, Pittsburgh as a lifeless place - which in real life - it is not - at all. Although the characters "talk" about all of the interesting places in Pittsburgh and the great Carnegie Mellon University, we never actually see these wonderful interesting places. The filmmakers paint a picture of Pittsburgh that pales in comparison to the vibrancy of the real Pittsburgh - what a disservice. Instead we are restricted to seeing the boring interiors/exteriors of the condo building, some lake, a park, another outdoor fair, a basement. I couldn't even stomach watching the second 1/2 as they created Allison's character as this unrealistically annoying person. Campbell's character is also not created to be believable at all & there is zero chemistry between them. If the film was meant to be a thoughtful story around Alzheimer's, it failed to even explore that in the first 1/2 of the film. The script is not very interesting and seems to place annoying supporting characters in the building & at the cafe just to try to give them something cute to say. Sorry to be so harsh, but this movie was one of the most unengaging Hallmark movies I've ever seen - unusual for the good actors involved as they've been great in better projects. You cannot make these low-budget projects because they look & feel cheap.
Dancing with the Stars (2005)
Because you have felons on your show
What is wrong with ABC? How could you possibly have Anna Delvey, a criminal and felon features on your show? Disgusting! You have Olympians, great actors, professional athletes who have worked their ENTIRE life to achieve what they have and merit a place on your show. You glorify criminals, stealing from others, defrauding others and other heinous people by putting Anna Delvey on your show. Are the executives at ABC on drugs? This casting seems so bizarre. There are thousands of hard working honest celebrities that you could have placed on the shoe but you have scraped the bottom of the barrel just because Anna is attractive. You disrespect Nedoriscik in the worst way! He is a gentleman and a good sport. Get some conscience and morality ABC!
Hit Man (2023)
Terrible movie despite the great Powell & Linklater
Disappointing movie, despite great performances by Powell, the guy who played the other undercover policeman and supporting cast, good cinematography. There were so many plot holes and unbelievable situations that made this a bad movie, despite best efforts from everyone involved. From plot elements and settings from movies like "Body Heat", "American Psycho" and "Twin Peaks", I guess there was foreshadowing that in the end, we would are going to discover that the 2 main characters are just your typical garden variety psychopaths/murderers. The things that happen in the movie are unbelievable. The way Powell's character Gary starts to act once we find out what Madison really is doing is unbelievable. The movie completely falls apart when we find out the truth and the story becomes completely ridiculous at that point. Along with the silly "The idea of You", this movie and others being churned out have beautiful stars with great acting talent and sexy love scenes, but the scripts are stupid, poorly written and derivative. Cringed hard for the pilot fantasy scene. Hoping Powell's next movie will have a good script. The Brooke Shield's rom com was horrid as well - one of many terrible movies out there. The film business is in real trouble.
Irish Wish (2024)
Lindsay's a great actress! Why this movie is so bad:
Lindsay Lohan is a very talented actress! I love her & don't understand why she chose this movie. Here are some of the things that didn't work in the movie and what she should consider when choosing her next project:
1. Horrible costume design - really hideous outdated wardrobe for all the women especially. Those bridesmaid dresses were ill-fitting and you could see all the undergarment lines, etc. - just unprofessional costuming.
2. The script was dull with unimaginative dialogue and plot lines that just did not work at all. There was no time & development to build up the relationships to make any of them believable.
3. The hairstyles were frumpy & outdated - from another era - especially Lindsay's never ending hair length that was styled like an elementary school-aged girl.
5. The makeup on her friends looks like it was painted on like a mask and they looked like their faces were pumped up with Botox, lip filler -etc. They looked very unauthentic as real women in their late 20's to early 30's. These Hallmark-type movies have to stop either hiring or encouraging women 30-40 years old to do this to their face. These women look freakish, unreal and look clownish as if playing caricatures of themselves.
6. Weird casting with the groom's mother looking a few decades younger than her husband and having her dressed in pearls, matronly clothes and her Irish accent didn't sound Irish. Please stop giving women actresses over 40 ugly hairstyles from the 1950's - it looks stupid & it's not representative of how women 40-60 REALLY look! When will these movies stop these dumb stereotypes in casting/makeup/casting/script, etc?
The scenes of Ireland were beautiful and music was nice, though way over the top dramatic for certain scenes. With Brad Krevoy & other veterans of these types of movies on board, the movie should have been much better.
Lindsay - you're great! Keep trying and keep looking for better scripts that are worth your talent!
Highway to Heaven: To Touch the Moon (1984)
This writing in this is what's missing in today's television
I cried all through this episode I recently watched, decades after it first aired. I just started watching "Highway To Heaven" recently as it's being aired on the Hallmark channel. I never got to watch all the episodes when they originally aired. This story was beautifully told and acted. It's so hard to write a story about the impending death of a child in a semi-realistic way. It had a point of view both from the mother and child that you don't see in today's writing. Absent of all the tech we have today, it concentrates on the simple joys of life that we once all had before tech. This episode made me really think about the value of time and the quality of the time we spend with loved ones. It made me more appreciative of the choice to forego a career for 20 years and devote the majority of that time to raising a family. I wish more series today were written this well and Michael Landon was a treasure - wish he had lived longer.
Cat Person (2023)
4 for acting and filmmaking, but a violent sensational mess
The roommate and cop had the most believably written roles and Elizabeth Banks produces another movie here with an unbelievable plot, excessive violence and plot twists meant to fool the viewer and trigger you. So many plot holes and hard to believe plot about a woman smart enough to attend a good college but too stupid to 1. Date some random guy who is obviously at least a decade older than her. 2. Date a guy without thoroughly vetting him on the internet, asking how old he is, where he works or anything about who he is, his family, etc. 3. No one calls the campus police (or the town police) when she goes missing. 4. Who goes inside a room/facility at night with a guy she barely knows when no one else on campus is there and the guy is not even a student? 5. The professor didn't seem even angry that the woman destroyed her research that she was working on many years - no repercussions or disciplinary action by the school for having someone on campus who wasn't a student, etc. - ridiculous 6. The woman could've just simply said to the guy that once he told her he was 13 years older than him, there was no future for any kind of relationship and that she wanted to discontinue dating. Then she should've talked to a therapist on campus and the campus police after getting the crazy texts from him after she told him to leave her alone 7. A dozen other things that would NEVER happen in real life that made the film unbelievable. Made me immediately think of having s talk with my college age student to make sure that thy understand stranger danger, dating basics because I assumed no 20 year old in this day and age of me too could be as stupid as the main character in this movie. Hard to believe this movie was hyped so much at Sundance.
Kickin' It Old Skool (2007)
Very Funny!
There are some real laugh-out-loud moments in this movie. First of all, the breakdancing scenes and dancing are fantastic and rival any "crew" dance movie out there. The movie is a great parody of the 80's and has very distinctly drawn and outrageous characters. Jamie is perfect as the boy in a man's body that never grew up and the situations of him trying to "figure it out" have a fresh twist that's different than all the other movies out there that tackle the same subject. Viveca Fox has a very short but funny cameo in this film. Michael Rosenbaum is perfect as the smug jerk who got the girl and the great career, but never really grew up and grew a heart. I love his "Inside of You" podcast and his episode with Jamie - that's how I discovered they made a movie together. It's nice to see a fun "old skool" comedy for a change.
Old Dads (2023)
Nice try, but...
I can see how the writers tried to show the absurdity of both the millennial culture as well as the parent culture in private schools, but the plot was just not worked out: when a movie attempts to roast people, the writing must be intelligent enough to parody the stupidity of culture and people - the writing was just not good enough to stand as a top-rated Netflix film. The behavior of the parents has to be somewhat believable - no parent defends her kid punching a pregnant woman in the stomach or having a tantrum and not apologizing to another kid for injuring him. The characters were not believable - especially the director of the preschool or the parents there. The whole scenario with the company, the video surveillance in the rental car & the employee's apartment, the guys losing their company because the lawyer wrote a bad contract - these plot lines were all very stupid as NONE of these things in the movie would ever happen in real life. It's also ridiculous that a preschool leader would manipulate or hold hostage a recommendation for a toddler student just because she doesn't get along with the child's dad (who has no filter talking to others and anger issues). The writers should have really researched these issues more and the movie would have been better. Why is Netflix recommending weak movies like this as one of their top 10 choices? American film making has really gone down in quality. This film could've been a lot stronger if they really worked on the whole company & preschool storylines.
Back in the Day (2014)
Better the second time around
I recently rewatched this film again after hearing an interview with Nick Swardson on Michael Rosenbaum's podcast. I really loved this film and enjoyed it more the 2nd time after hearing about how it was made. It's a really sweet story based on Mr. Rosenbaum and friends he grew up with. The performances are excellent - funny in an understated way and very natural - part of what makes them so funny. He has assembled a great group of actors. He never takes the story out of the realm of being believable. He's captured that slice of life recollection of what happens when you move away from your small town to pursue your career and dreams in a big city - how some people get left behind while you figure out what you're doing with your life and how there are some regret & it's not so easy and glamorous when things don't go according to plan. So many of us have the story of how we went through this. Thank you to Mr. Rosenbaum for making this film and telling his story in a funny, good-natured and insightful way. So many films today have gotten so cynical and violent. It's good to watch something uplifting written from the hear and made with a lot of heart.
Barbie (2023)
Not a great movie
The real world depicted in the movie is strangely devoid of normal people - everything looks fake and staged when Barbie goes to the real world. There are not enough extras in the real world scenes to make it look normal. I understand the filmmakers were attempting to make a statement about women's rights, etc., but it is done is such a heavy handed manner that it comes off as very forced. The costume & production design plus the glitzy choreographed numbers are not enough to make up for the missing substance of Barbie's need to figure out why her life feels wrong. The scene with the ghost felt like something stolen from the Matrix where Neo visits the oracle in the kitchen. This movie was overhyped & got us all to take the bait to see it & it made a billion $. I feel taken and bewildered that anyone enjoyed this - the movie felt very disturbing to me in a way I can't articulate.
Hustle (2022)
A Slam Dunk!
This movie hits all the right notes - great acting and great story about the slow burn of obstacles to be overcome to become an elite athlete. Beautiful cinematography both in the narrative and heart-stopping basketball sequences. A never-before-seen look at the intricacies of modern training methods for pro basketball players is both fascinating and awe inspiring. Adam Sandler amazes us again, underlying more layers to his talent as he goes deep this time into his character. Juancho Hergangimez is a revelation as the phenom player whose talent exceeds his maturity and impulse control. It's a story that emphasizes love and support are imperative to help people maximize their potential.
Notes from Dad (2013)
Loved this movie
I saw this movie on Pixl with the title, "Playing Father". What a nice surprise to find an older (2012/13) Hallmark movie that is so much higher quality than most of the made-for-tv films on today. I really enjoyed the movie and the music and level of playing was excellent. If Eddie Cibrian was not actually playing the trumpet, he did an excellent job faking it - he was so good, I couldn't tell either way. I used to play trumpet so I was impressed with him and the actor playing TJ, the young trumpet player. The woman cast as his mother was perfect - she looked like she could actually be his mom. The story was not cliche at all - schools are losing their budgets for music programs, so that plot line was relevant. Nice movie - I would watch it again.
The Patient (2022)
Should be a stage play
This tv show really should be a stage play, not a long drawn-out episodic show. Although it's a feast of acting opportunity for these wonderful actors, it's nothing more than a streamer's greedy attempt at producing emotionally manipulative content - addictive junk food disguised as high art. Viewers are drawn into watching by creating a sensationalist story with mind tricks to keep you watching. As soon as the guy's mom talks to Carell, the story loses all credibility. Do the details really matter of these people's lives when the draw of watching is the addicting "will he or won't he" game? With all the violence, war and mental illness in the real world, do we really need to see another show about sick people doing terrible things that neither uplifts, educates or distinguishes itself from similar movies/tv throughout history?