Ready Or Not

POSITIVES…

  • The movie makes good use of an excellent premise for a plot.

  • While the story is generally straightforward, there are several good thrilling scenes to see here, and yes they involve some gruesome deaths.

  • Speaking of gruesome deaths. Some are done in a humorous manner, some of them are just brutal, and some of them are wonderfully bloody. Good stuff either way for fans of these kinds of stuff.

  • Plot reveals and twists and surprises. This movie makes good use of all that.

  • There are also some good subtle (or not so subtle) social commentary and thematic ideas that are absolutely worth discussing.

  • As a dark comedy, I did get some good laughs. If not big laughs, I did at least find a lot of the humor to be quite entertaining.

  • While the look of the movie seemed visually generic, there are some good shots and cinematography here and there. Especially of Samara Weaving as her character Grace. Her and her wedding dress goes through a lot here, and there’s a bit of fun watching what becomes of her look from the start of the movie till the end.

  • Speaking of Samara Weaving, she is spectacular in this! From the facial reactions she is able to show us, to her retorts, and her physicality for this movie. All top notch! She is the perfect protagonist to follow here.

  • The supporting cast are great as well though, and part of what makes them work are their very distinctly different personalities. It’s also funny to see them bungle their way through the movie.

  • The final act and the end of the movie is also a nice payoff to everything that came before it.

NEGATIVES…

  • It’s tragically unambitious in execution?

  • Despite some notions of grander themes and commentaries, at its core it’s really just a simple murderous game of hide and seek.

  • It’s not exactly a flashy high budgeted production, so there’s an almost generic straight-to-home-video feel to the movie.

  • Some will argue that the character of Grace is much too capable for us to actually feel that needed tension and danger.

P.S….

  • A lot of people are saying that Samara Weaving looks like Margot Robbie, but honestly I think she looks more like Emma Stone.

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Good Boys

POSITIVES…

  • As adults it’s always funny to see naughty kids get into trouble, and this has that in spades.

  • Not only do they get in trouble, but destruction, bodily harm, and law-breaking are all involved. All in the eyes of youthful innocence….. or stupidity.

  • Seeing kids uncomfortably deal with adult matters and get confused by it is also another great avenue for comedy that this movie happily taps into.

  • Kids being ignorant about something, and then act like they know all about it. More hilarity!

  • The pacing in balancing the story and the jokes is nicely done.

  • The creativity in the scenes that move the plot along are quite enjoyable. I would point out some scenes, but no spoilers!

  • The sight gags that this movie shows us. Funny stuff.

  • That montage sequence during the final minutes of the movie. Awesome!

  • The young lead actors, Jacob Tremblay, Keith L Williams, and Brady Noon, are all fantastic. Kudos to them for being game in doing the things they do for this movie, and saying the things they had to say.

  • Shout out to Molly Gordon and Midori Francis for being such an incredible part of the overall story. The movie is only better because of their characters.

  • Add this to the long list of movies about social pressures in school, but I like how this handles that.

  • People have described it as a live-action “South Park,” and I would agree with them.

NEGATIVES…

  • With the amount of hijinks that happen in the movie, there’s a certain amount of unbelievability that has to be tolerated. Suspend your disbelief.

  • Let’s be honest. The reason the jokes in this movie work for adults, is because a lot of it is due to the fact that we are laughing at the kids for trying to act like they are older than they actually are. The innocence of thinking you know everything at a young age, is something we adults can laugh at. Would kids think the movie is funny though?

P.S….

LOVED IT enjoyeditlikedititsokayitsmehitsterrible

47 Meters Down Uncaged

POSITIVES…

  • The location of being in the caves of an abandoned city is a setting you don’t normally see in a shark movie. Got to give it credit for that.

  • I have to admire the fact that the movie was able to keep its momentum of continually increasing the danger level that the characters keep facing as the plot moves along.

  • Jump scares are effective enough.

  • Actresses do a fine job of acting scared or tough, as needed. The movie sells that part well.

  • The use of slow-mo in certain scenes were visually great to see.

  • That last 10 minutes was so gonzo unbelievably crazy! Most entertaining part of the movie.

  • There is also a silent exchange between two characters during the final minutes that was absolutely worth it, that I wanted to just clap in approval.

NEGATIVES…

  • It’s not exactly the freshest plot of a movie.

  • The movie takes its sweet time before it actually got me entertained. I was getting impatient during half of it.

  • There was a lot of fluff back-story that I frankly didn’t care about, or needed in this movie. Although one of those back-stories do pay off well at the end (see positives…).

  • As it goes, the characters do not always use the best judgement. That might annoy you.

  • Heck, the characters themselves might just annoy you.

  • People might find factual inaccuracies with the movie, so do suspend your disbelief as much as you can.

  • Some people might actually be disappointed at the fact that this has nothing to do with the previous “47 Meters Down” movie.

P.S….

  • As far as modern shark movies goes, I still recommend checking out “The Shallows.”

loveditenjoyeditlikedit IT’S OKAY itsmehitsterrible

Blinded By The Light

POSITIVES…

  • A delightful film that honors and reflects the spirit of Bruce Springsteen’s songs. The songs featured in the movie makes for a great movie soundtrack too. Try not to sing a long.

  • I liked the effects in making Springsteen’s lyrics come alive visually in the movie.

  • The story may feel like your standard coming-of-age style, but it amazingly has a lot more to say in terms of thematic topics.

  • All the topics covered makes for a much more interesting movie to watch than I originally expected. Despite being set in the 1980s, people of today can very much many things to relate with.

  • Viveik Karla as our protagonist Javed is a on point with his character. It’s very easy to feel for the guy.

  • Kulvinder Ghir as Javed’s Father Malik is also amazing in his role. He is arguably going to trigger even more emotions from you.

  • The rest of the supporting cast from Nell Wiliams, Aaron Phagura, Meera Ganatra, Nikita Mehta, are all fantastic as well.

  • This movie has a lot of scenes and set pieces that are going to just grab at you memorably, despite the simplicity of the visual narrative.

  • Some of those scenes involves singing and moving about like it’s a dream sequence, but they were quite joyfully charming to see play out.

  • One of the big last scenes in the movie in particular really moved me.

  • Knowing that the story is based on actual people and events, helps you swallow some of the more exaggerated plot elements.

NEGATIVES…

  • Knowing that the story is based on actual people and events, makes you criticize some of the plot elements that seem too exaggerated.

  • It also doesn’t help that there were several story devices that come off as plot tropes that feel cliche or too familiar.

  • At times the story can feel a little manipulative.

  • Although the movie clearly wants to take it’s time to tell it’s story, I couldn’t help but feel a little impatient at times in wanting things to move faster.

  • For some cases, the movie moved faster than I wanted it too.

  • It felt like I was just watching a compressed season of a TV series, than a properly paced movie.

P.S….

lovedit ENJOYED IT likedititsokayitsmehitsterrible

The Kitchen

POSITIVES…

  • Solid premise for a movie. Those who like stories about the mob and gangsters should find something to like here.

  • It’s got a stellar cast of leading actors, from Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish, and Elisabeth Moss. The supporting cast from Domhnall Gleeson, Bill Camp, Margo Martindale, to several others were all good too, but bar none, McCarthy, Haddish, and Moss, carry this movie.

  • The main draw is seeing what directions and character growth the three leading female characters go through from the beginning of the movie, all the way until the end.

  • Another strength of this movie are the several solid scenes of tense dialogue between some of the characters. Gunplay is nice and all, but it’s the conversations that should stick with you.

  • There are some things that happen in this movie that legitimately and pleasantly surprised me.

  • It’s a very feminist movie, and some of you will definitely like the bias.

NEGATIVES…

  • It’s a very feminist movie, and some of you will definitely not like the bias.

  • As well meaning as the movie tries to be, the whole thing has a rather bland feel throughout.

  • If it isn’t moving too slow for my taste, it’s moving too fast.

  • Some would say that it just isn’t exciting enough of a movie to watch through.

  • Several of the plot turns come off a little too cliche or predictable.

  • The conclusion felt generally unsatisfying to me.

P.S….

loveditenjoyeditlikedit IT’S OKAY itsmehitsterrible

Dora and the Lost City of Gold

POSITIVES…

  • As somebody who has never seen a single episode of the Dora The Explorer cartoon, and have only been exposed to the memes and parodies, I managed to have a lot of fun watching this movie.

  • I’m sure kids; now probably older, who have seen the animated series, will probably get a kick out of seeing all the easter eggs and references, but those who don’t shouldn’t have anything to worry about.

  • One of the main reasons as to why I was entertained by this adaptation, was because it wasn’t afraid to directly call back to its origins, while still remember that it’s suppose to stay right on the edge of being a more grounded and realistic live-action film as well. One could say that this is in fact a live-action cartoon, that follows both laws of reality and rules of make believe.

  • Dora doing the more cartoony stuff like 4th Wall Breaks, singing songs, and interactions with an animated monkey, contrasted to her dealing with high school social pressures, introspections, and things in the jungle that could actually kill her, are what I found to be quite charming about this movie.

  • The self-aware sense of humor, mixed in with the adventure aspects of the plot, helped drive this pass the finish line of being a worthwhile movie to watch. It’s like a more lighthearted version of Indiana Jones, but for younger people. It’s even got the entertaining “jungle puzzle” elements that you’d like to see in a story like this. In terms of humor and plot points, this movie is capable of pleasantly surprising you.

  • What really really helps makes this movie work the way it does however is Isabela Moner as Dora. I have absolute admiration at the fact that she was able to completely throw herself into this role. A character that is essentially this relentlessly positive and energetic live-action cartoon, that still has to look and act believable in a real world setting. Moner flawlessly pulls it off.

  • As a young actress who had major roles in the “Transformers: The Last Knight” action movie, a dark thriller like “Sicario: Day Of The Soldado,” to a family drama like “Instant Family,” Isabela Moner has quite the range for a young actress, and she brings that talent into “Dora and the Lost City of Gold.” Without a doubt, she is the reason to see the movie.

NEGATIVES…

  • I suppose if you can’t buy the more fantastical cartoony aspects, then this movie just won’t work for you.

  • I also suppose that if you can’t get into the more youthful, silly, low hanging fruit humor, nonsensical aspects that are clearly targeted for kids; being that this is technically a kid’s movie, then this just won’t work for you.

  • What also doesn’t work, are most of the jokes that the adult characters make in this movie. A lot of them just fall flat. Some are cringe-worthy.

  • Speaking of adult characters, Eugenio Derbez looks like he is trying too hard with his role.

  • Then there’s the usual things you would find with these kinds of movies… Story cliches, uninspired tropes, plot conveniences, etc… Hopefully it doesn’t break your suspension of disbelief too much.

P.S….

lovedit ENJOYED IT likedititsokayitsmehitsterrible

Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark

POSITIVES…

  • There were some nightmarishly creepy imagery that were shown, that I could just imagine will be haunting some 10 Year old kid that’s watching this movie.

  • Has a really good sense of building up that suspension right before that jump scare hits. Some good freights, combined with disturbing imagery? Yes!

  • There were some scares that I was happily surprised went as far as they did in the execution.

  • Some clever scares in this movie. You’ll end up picking and ranking your favorite scary story. My most favorite scary set piece involves a color…

  • The premise is legitimately compelling, and it was easy to get invested in it once the story gets moving (in the scares department).

  • I appreciated the fact that there were some plot developments that moved in a logically natural manner, as I hate it when they find excuses just to waste time from progressing the story.

  • Standout performance by Zoe Colletti as Stella. Convincingly takes the leading character role like a seasoned scream queen.

  • I suppose I appreciate that this scary film is like a solid introductory horror movie for 8 - 12 Year olds. They may as well start with this, before they get into the really traumatic horror films out there.

NEGATIVES…

  • It’s a horror movie that’s targeted more for the 8 - 12 Year old crowd.

  • I wasn’t a big fan of the opening acts, with the character introductions, and the set up for the premise. Made me impatient for the scares already.

  • No shade to the young actors, but the characters Chuck, Auggie, and Tommy, were just not entertaining to me. Well, Chuck had some good lines, I’ll give him that.

  • There were some STUPID STUPID things that happened. Whether it be a character doing an idiotic thing, or some silly plot convenience just to move the story along.

  • Depending on how you take it, the conclusion to the movie may or may not be to your liking.

P.S….

lovedit ENJOYED IT likedititsokayitsmehitsterrible

the Farewell

POSITIVES…

  • From an Asian-American perspective, this film has a very fascinating and thought-provoking dramatic premise.

  • Amazing ensemble cast of actors here, with stand-out performances by Shuzhen Zhao as Nai Nai, Awkwafina as Billi, Tzi Ma as Haiyan, and Diana Lin as Jian.

  • With the character of Billi, it helps that she was the character surrogate of this story, because Awkwafina was really good at conveying the emotions that we should be feeling when watching this movie.

  • I gotta give another shout out to Shuzhen Zhao as Nai Nai, who does a great job playing that “says whatever she wants to say” Grandma, that you might easily find to be very adorable and affectionate.

  • Considering the strong premise, this film gets away with telling a rather straightforward simple story, that doesn’t have too much excitement.

  • Underneath the simple story however, lies complicated thematic themes that are mostly just hinted at through certain dialogue, subtle visuals, or specific scenes. The social cultural commentaries aren’t just what Billi says here, it’s all throughout the movie.

  • Some of the more powerful moments of the movie are certain conversations that are made by certain characters, and some of them are simple scenes that look innocuous enough.

  • It manage to have me bawling like a baby by the end of the movie. Oh, and there’s that final shot that we see right before the credits too!

NEGATIVES…

  • Some might criticize this movie for being told through the perspective of an Asian-American, and not a purely Chinese point of view.

  • The USA vs China parts might rub people the wrong way.

  • It can drag a bit at some parts of the film. A little bit more editing perhaps?

P.S….

LOVED IT enjoyeditlikedititsokayitsmehitsterrible

Hobbs & Shaw

POSITIVES…

  • Right from the get go, the opening act scenes were just awesome, and got me in the perfect mood to enjoy the rest of this movie.

  • Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs is great. Charming, impressively strong, and loveable.

  • Jason Statham as Deckard Shaw is also great. Grumpy, skillful, and a blast to watch.

  • Idris Elba as Brixton is great as well. Black Superman indeed. Bonus shout out to the bike he uses, which is the coolest tech gadget thing in this movie.

  • Let’s not forget Vanessa Kirby, who is such a badass as Hattie.

  • One of the main reasons that justifies watching this movie, is the oil & water relationship of Hobbs & Shaw. Seeing them banter, argue, insult, and generally make fun of each other is just pure entertainment.

  • The action set pieces are also another reason to justify watching this movie. Some of those action scenes are fantastic to see play out.

  • There are a few celebrity cameos that show up, that were a very nice surprise to see have roles in this movie.

  • You go into this movie wanting a simple but highly entertaining action adventure escape, with characters you enjoy seeing on screen, and that’s exactly what you get.

  • This movie is at it’s best when it doesn’t take itself too seriously, and that’s just about the majority of it all.

NEGATIVES…

  • As fun as it can be, it’s still admittedly a derivative movie, without too many surprises with the plot.

  • Arguably longer than it needs to be. At one point in the movie, there’s a strong sense that it should have already went for the ending, but no wait, there’s another whole act that it still has to do…

  • There’s also this embarrassing contrived cliche of a plot trope during the last act of the film, just for the sake of setting up this big action set piece.

  • The few more emotional and dramatic scenes kinda feels out of place, halts the movie’s momentum, and just do not land as well as it thinks it should. Par for course with these Fast & Furious movies.

  • In general, I hope you have a strong sense of suspension of disbelief when watching this.

P.S….

lovedit ENJOYED IT likedititsokayitsmehitsterrible

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

POSITIVES…

  • Amazing huge cast of actors here. If you only need one reason to see this movie, watch it for the acting.

  • Leonardo DiCaprio is amazing as the leading male actor past his prime, and brings a whole level of human vulnerability and intensity to the role.

  • Brad Pitt is probably playing one of his most badass roles. Charming as heck, and the things he does in this movie are so darn entertaining to watch.

  • Margaret Qualley is the surprise scene stealer here, and her character is quite unforgettable.

  • Shout out to Julia Butters as the amazing young actress who has the scenes with DiCaprio. Practically goes toe to toe in acting talent with Leo.

  • People are going to appreciate how this movie creates the look and feel of late 1960s Hollywood.

  • People are going to really appreciate that huge set piece at the end of the movie. One of the best scenes in the movie.

  • This movie is filled with so many great scenes, you’ll be hard pressed to pick one single favorite.

NEGATIVES…

  • Could have used more editing to make it feel tighter.

  • Oftentimes feels like it meanders too much or seems aimless.

  • As good as Margot Robbie is in the role of Sharon Tate, what her character does in the movie seemed very superficial.

  • Big fans of Bruce Lee are probably not going to like what happens to him in this film.

P.S….

lovedit ENJOYED IT likedititsokayitsmehitsterrible