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itsokkatie
Anyway, I love movies, especially horror and action but I like it all! Just depends on my mood.
And boy am I moody...
;)
Ratings
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Reviews
A Family Affair (2024)
Oy vey.
Just like Amazon's 'The Idea of You', this film visits the age-gap romance of the older woman (who's 'normal') with the younger man (who's famous).
Here, in this iteration, the plot is split between the character Zara Ford and her aspirations to produce films and using her celebrity boss, Chris Cole, to get there and her single mother, author/writer Brooke Harwood, who discovers an exciting connection with her daughter's boss.
Romance movies are, at its core, simple tropes and relies on those standard cliches. That's what we love about romance movies. What elevates the basic romance is the chemistry and overall plot that at least tries to throw some 'thing' to make it less typical and a tad more elevated or has decent acting.
Sadly, A Family Affair fails on many fronts. My rating is purely for Kathy Bates as the MIL to Kidman's character, whose husband has been gone 10+ years before, and the daughter, Zara Ford, played by Joey King, who is the PA to an obnoxious, shallow and selfish self-proclaimed movie star.
The number one problem are our leads. The age-gap, a trope in and of itself, is no the problem. There is absolutely zero chemistry between Kidman (who plays Brook Harwood) and Efron (who plays Chris Cole). Not to mention that their very faces are terribly distracting--in that, they've both had so much work done, you can't help but notice it and not really get past it. If there had been decent chemistry between them, all that could be forgiven to a degree.
The second issue is the acting. It's...rather terrible. Especially by Kidman and Efron, the latter whose ability is more Hallmark B-level skills. The only saving grace was King and Bates, who made it even remotely watchable.
I think the plot angle of King's character is actually a fun idea and King executes it brilliantly. She carries the movie. However, the rest of the plot is pretty miserable and nothing to really swoon at.
Also, because this movie came out so soon after Anne Hathaway's similar movie, which also lacked chemistry between its leads, it takes the general winds out of this movie. Ultimately, this did have potential as the plot isn't bad. Who knew that Efron and Kidman would suck and actually hurt the movie vs make it better?
If anything, watch it for Joey King and Kathy Bates.
The Boys in the Boat (2023)
Solid but had potential to be truly great as the true story it's based on
The Boys in the Boat is based on the true story of the University of Washington's junior rowing team during the Great Depression.
This was film was adapted from the book of the same title and directed by George Clooney and stars Joel Edgerton as Al and Callum Turner as Joe, our main stars.
The film features our main character, Joe Rantz, and the rowing HC, Al Ulbrickson. This is the true story of the team's journey of ragtag and rough group of young men making it to the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
I love a wartime, inspiration underdog tale. Who wouldn't?! Overall, this movie is solid. Very solid. What I kept thinking was 'it could have been even better, even Oscar-worthy' if not for a few missteps in the film.
The most glaring and obvious element that Clooney failed to really capitalize on was the relationship between the crew and the team's relationship to their Coach. That should have been the focus. Instead, we get some middling romance between Joe and Joyce, which, frankly, wasn't needed. I don't know if that was a big feature in the book or if it was added to just add 'romance', but it took away from more important things that could have/should have been the real focus.
Another miss was really delving into Joe's character as he had the most screen time but you never really got to know him. I think that's because there was so little character development overall, for all the characters. Not to mention, very little dialogue and even less between any of the characters save a few tidbits between Joe and George (played artfully by Peter Guinness). To be honest, the dialogue was pretty poor, static, and not very dynamic. Sometimes you can learn about characters through how they speak and what they say and how they say it if you don't want to get into a whole backstory. But you don't get any of that. You don't get to know any of the characters beyond the surface. It's a bio-pic of sorts, a human interest story type of film...or maybe I wanted it to be that...but because we don't get the human side, the developed characters, the story becomes about the sport and whatever action can be taken from that.
I get that the 'action' element is important and the 'real' character is actually the sport of rowing and the boat, which came across, but when stories feature the sport over the human story, it become less poignant and the nuance is just zero at that point. The fact that it's during the Depression is almost an afterthought. You also have the background is the '36 Olympics in which Hitler and Nazi Germany is dominating the globe, which was also never fully utilized in an effective or in a remotely dramatic way when that could have provided some much needed and palpable drama.
There was some sprinkling of the politics around the sport and who gets the spot to the Olympics as well as some class depiction, which helped to really drive the point that the boys from Washington were poor and not as affluent as their counterparts that had Ivy money behind them, as well as the favoritism. That part should have been a bit more pronounced as that's where we the whole 'underdog' part of the tale. The odds were against them at every point and yet, they persevered and succeeded.
Had Clooney opted to made it about the people in the story with the background of rowing, Nazi Germany, the Depression, politics/class, I think this would have been out of the park. Like Angelina Jolie's directorial effort in Unbroken--actor directors lack vision and tend to go for the safe route vs really pushing the boundaries, especially creating memorable characters to root for.
In the end, this is still a solid product. Pacing, editing, production, score, etc...all good. Worthy of a watch or two, for sure. It's just unfortunate, the wasted potential of what this film could have been.
Vampire Academy (2022)
Kinda cringe
So, after Maxton Hall, I've been trying to find something to tie me over until the next season comes out...and found this.
Which I'm not sure a good or bad thing.
I am a fan of Richelle Mead's adult book series but have never read this YA one.
That said, I've half way in but so far, it's rather cringy. I figured by halfway, it would have gotten better but it's all about the same 'very meh' with bland, dull characters and it's all been a tad boring. The plot is hampered with way too many subplots going onand no real focal point. It's just all jammed with random things that sort of string across the overall arch of the series but it's just very threadbare.
It also starts off in a way that doesn't even introduce the viewers to this world so it's very confusing that you have no idea what the world is about/rules/structure or what is going on for the entire episode. Or the other episodes. You kinda learn a little but it's all very vague and jumbled.
This is more of a CW, teen/tween drama but sadly, it's not the kinda that can transcend beyond that. It's got some language and nudity (not a lot) so it pushes it into an odd genre and age group. The producers were trying to make it edgy and cool but doesn't really fit the target audience since everything else is so tame and lackluster.
There's also several forced relationships between characters that have no chemistry and it's a bit painful to watch. So is some of the acting. It's not terrible but it's not great. A few are good and help carry the dead weight of some of these less accomplished actors/actresses.
The set, costumes, production--basically all the technical aspects--are decent. That's about it and the music, hence, a rather good rating.
I don't plan on continuing. I can see why it lasted only 1 season, at 10 episodes only. There really was no way to move forward from what I saw.
For All Mankind (2019)
I don't get the hype...
Is the idea and concept interesting? Yes. Unique. Nope. Is the FX good, sure, but it's certainly not mind blowing.
My main problem with this show--and I only watched Season 1-is so much filler scenes in each episode. It's supposed to be 'character development' but a lot of it doesn't fuel the characters in any direction nor does it drive the plot. It's also hella slow. They really drag things out and for no real good reason.
This is not a space show as much as a show about the people going or getting ready to go into space. Which is fine, but I wanted more 'science' and 'space' stuff vs the soap opera drama that just repeats and meanders. I often got bored, wondering where a 15 minute scene of characters talking and it going nowhere and adding little value. I often FF through a loooong scene and literally missed nothing.
I also don't like most of the main characters, a few secondary ones are ok but not enough for me to continue. Do I love me some flawed characters that learn and grow over the course of the year? Yes, why yes I do, and while some characters do sorta of grow up, everyone acts so juvenile and high school.
I heard this gets better after S1 but quite honestly, I just don't have any interest. I can spent my time watching better TV vs this overhyped space soap opera-that's been done before and much better.
For an alternate history, they sure kept a lot of it the exact same. Like, why couldn't they have actually really turned things up other than the moon landing change and a few minor changes. Was it really that hard for the writers to get more creative? Apparently not. In that, it's lacks any imagination or thought.
I think people not really used to sci-fi have loved this because it's not really sci-fi. It's a drama. Again that's fine, but misleading for those of us that are actually sci-fi fans. Ultimately, I think the writing is weak, the pacing is slow and sluggish, the editing is poor, and directing could use some direction.
Glad most have enjoyed this like my dad, but for me...hard pass.
Strings (2015)
Had potential to be great.
Bravetown is a coming of age tale centering around Josh, a gifted DJ from NYC who's trying to find his own space in the world and not quit managing. He's angry about his life, his mother, no real connections, he acts out and does drugs to cope.
When one act goes too far, and he's pushed the limits of the justice system, a judge orders him to be remanded to his dead-beat dad who lives in a small midwestern town.
There, Josh tries to find his place again and does so by using his DJ skills to help the local dance team and maybe, make connections he's never been able to find.
Okay. Yeah...so like a lot of reviewers have already stated: the movie has everything as well as the kitchen sink--
1) Coming of age story
2) City boy dumped in a small town
3) War town
4) Dance-a-thosn
5) Teenage romance
6) Grief, pain, trauma, avoidance, etc
And much more!
When you have too many themes and subplots, you can't remotely address any of them very well. Or at all. A few were touched upon and then jerked away.
This movie had some surprising actors in it--Laura Dern, Tom Everett Scott, Josh Duhamel, and Maria Bello--but they were woefully underutilized but did elevate the story and helped out the overall movie.
The main premise is that Josh is closed off due to his mom resenting him being born and not appreciating all that she had to do/give up for him when his own father abandoned them. That was one theme that is the backbone to the film but NEVER gets explored or explained at all. Then we have that whole dance angle that took up 75% of the movie...which, ok, fine, but why did it have to take up so much of the film? The dance/music/DJ element wasn't really well incorporated into the overall plot even though it's the vehicle in which Josh learns to open up, be vulnerable, and talk about the really crappy things that have happened to him. It's just not handled very smoothly or fleshed out enough and came off very disjointed.
There are several scenes of Mary's mother that suffers from depression due to losing her eldest son to war and drowning in the past. That was supposed to be a message about something but it was almost like its own story line that never truly fully connected to the rest of the story, the character Mary, or anything at all.
It's just all these hints at all these random themes shoved into one, short movie. There is little resolution to anything of the open-ended everything. Was there 'some' character growth. Yes, but we don't really get to see how that growth progressed in a coherent way. It just happens, you see it, but there's no explanation. Everything is just kinda vaguely told to you.
What makes this movie more than a few stars is that the acting of the male lead. While his character's limited, the actor did what he could to give some depth but it would have been nice to know more about Josh, not just random scenes of him doing random things.
The touch and go introductions of grief and pain that the female lead, Mary, feels as well as Josh's mandated shrink, Alex, were the most poignant but again, loosely tied to the plot and the indirect effect it has on Josh.
Ultimately, it's a generic, Hallmark type movie that's meant to uplift you but because of all the staggering issues with the plot/script/directing, it's hard to really to come away with 'yeah, that was a tearjerker drama to remember', it's more like, 'what a mess, had potential, but seriously, what a mess!'
I don't regret it. I did like the performances of the most of the cast and when it succeeded, it did well enough. Because there were so many elements at play, could watching it again help me see through the clutter? Me thinks not.
Talk to Me (2022)
A win!
I am a BIG horror fan and there's usually more bad ones than good ones but I still like to try 'em out and see if there's a new idea or gimmick that's been re-invented or done better.
The plot is fairly straight forward, like all horror movies, so you're just waiting to see what's new or not. The twist here is it that a cursed hand is a direct line to the other side and guess what? That other side is scary AF.
I was pleasantly surprised that Talk to Me was pretty darn good! The premise is very fresh and unique with lots of scares and creepiness.
Like all horror movies, there's always tried and true tricks and obvious elements/cliches but that's actually part of the genre so you just know to expect it and if done well, adds to rather than detracts. The pacing is a bit slow in the beginning but there's an attempt to really get to know the main characters and establish a strong plot, especially regarding Mia and her pseudo second family, and it's done well enough.
Could some things have been better? Sure, but the end product was memorable and delivered most of my boxes. The acting and the overall execution makes up for anything lacking in my opinion. I hope there is a sequel. I could see this spawning a franchise!
FBI (2018)
Really gone down hill
I used to really enjoy this show. It used to have some solid characters and an attempt to build up their character but the last few seasons, the storylines, writing, and acting has become really awful and unbelievable.
All of these characters have become super annoying and so emotionally unstable, acting out, lying, disobeying orders, going rogue, doing the most ridiculous things that make no sense. I know it's supposed to make for 'good/exciting' TV or the make the characters 'believable' but it's just idiotic, bland, generic, and very boring.
The overacting by many of the cast is also very tedious to watch. The only characters I enjoy is Isobel/Elise/Ian/Kelly...basically the secondary characters...because she's the only one that remotely acts like how I'd think a real life FBI agents would act like. They get the extra stars.
I gave this up last year but decided to give this latest season a try but this is probably the worst, by far. The main cast has just become so predictable (i.e. Constantly fly off the handle in overly emotional and dramatic ways) and act totally stupid. I literally do not care if they all live or die.
The Bricklayer (2023)
Lackluster spy thriller
Okay, well, the premise is simple: burned CIA agent Steve Vail is recruited back to help clean up his last mission that everyone thought was done.
There is an actual plot, thanks to the book it's based upon, but it's more of indirect supplement than anything else.
The acting...for most of the secondary actors...is better than the leads. Clifton Collins and Tim Blake make this barely tolerable.
The main leads of Nina Dobrev and Aaron Eckhart, well, that's a whole issue in and of itself.
For one, what happened to Eckhart??? He used to be a great actor. Now he's doing B-movie action spy thrillers for Netflix? Very sad. Do I mind seeing a 50-something kick ass? Sure, but like so many of these spy thrillers, CIA Agents are going around literally causing mayhem and chaos everywhere (eye roll). Echkhart's character of Steve Vail is the standard macho-macho tough guy act and, don't worry, he doesn't break that mold.
Pairing him with Dobrev is...typical Hollywood cliché at its worst but not surprising. Dobrev's at Kate, an up and coming CIA analyst, had the most potential that sort went up and down with potential. She could be cool and tough and quippy then just so...wishy washy: aka, the crying, weepy female (cue another eye roll).
Overall, nothing surprising or interesting. Far fetched action sequences but again, quite normal for this type of movie. But because there was no attempt to really set it apart, it's easy to lose interest or totally forget you watched it by the next day. Again, I think the plot/backstory made it less action-action-action (to which there was way too much of but that's sort of the genre we're in with this movie) and added some substance but not enough.
This book series has only another book in it and I really hope Netflix doesn't make the poor decision to resurrection it for a sequel. I certainly won't be watching that train wreck.