Fantasy Island

POSITIVES…

  • I thought the premise for this story is generally fun and clever for a movie.

  • Pacing moved at a good speed, which worked along well with the plot progression of the unfolding mysteries of the fantasies.

  • Kept me engaged to see how the movie wraps up the whole plot, and that fact in itself made me watching this worth my time.

  • The whole cast was good, and looked like they were enjoying themselves in their roles.

  • I found it amusing when this movie tries to tie itself to the original 1970s TV show.

NEGATIVES…

P.S….

loveditenjoyeditlikedit IT’S OKAY itsmehitsterrible

Downhill

POSITIVES…

  • The premise is legitimately interesting, and that’s probably because this is based on the 2014 film “Force Majeure.” It’s a story that couples might have strong opinions about, as there are several scenes in this movie that directly addresses people in relationships and asks “what would you do / say?”

  • The awkward cringe worthy moments. This movie lives on that. Those are also the more memorable stuff from this film.

  • Julia Louis-Dreyfus is excellent as Billie, who has to act like somebody that is barely holding in her anger a lot of the time.

  • Will Ferrell is also excellent as Pete, who plays stubbornness, ignorance, and sad, rather well.

  • Supporting casts of Miranda Otto, Zoe Chao, and Zack Woods, all add some added entertainment to the story.

NEGATIVES…

  • Can a story be too cringe inducing to enjoy? This movie kinda says…. yes to that?

  • It’s not as funny as you hope it probably should be. “Marriage Story;” which is a story about a divorce, has more comedy than this movie.

  • The kids; sorry kids, are legitimately annoying. I know they were supposed to be, but c’mon.

  • Something else that is also intended to be the way it is, is getting frustrated of putting up with what the characters are doing and saying. Can it be too frustrating to the point of not being entertaining? Yeah?

  • Worst aspect of this film is that it’s kinda boring a lot of the times.

P.S….

loveditenjoyeditlikedit IT’S OKAY itsmehitsterrible

All The Bright Places

POSITIVES…

  • This movie’s heart is in the right place, and it’s thematically got some important things to say.

  • The story plays out in delicate tones, that allows you to just gingerly take in the mostly leisurely scenes of simple wonders.

  • Those simple wonders that covers the “wandering” that our two main protagonists partake is one of the main strengths of this movie.

  • Speaking of which, Elle Fanning and Justice Smith are excellent as Violet Markey and Theodore Finch. They’ve got great chemistry together, and make a charming pair to keep you invested in where the story takes them.

  • Ellen Fanning still shows what an acting talent she is, and one of the more heartbreaking scenes was only made more powerful because of her.

  • Justice Smith is this ball of energy and intensity that perfectly fits his character of Finch, and knows how to own the many scenes he is in.

  • Oh, and the soundtrack is spectacular too.

NEGATIVES…

  • At one point in the movie, Finch says that it’s “just your average teenage melodrama.” The movie can definitely be accused of that.

  • I suppose it couldn’t help itself, but the movie is a little on the twee side. Pretentious at times.

  • It also has your familiar cliches and plot tropes, so expect some rather predictable directions.

  • Manic Pixie Dream Boy?

  • Admittedly I’m not exactly this movie’s target audience, but I thought the story was maybe just a bit too romanticized to the point that it might give off the wrong message to the young people. BUT I understand if you might not agree with me on this point of view.

P.S….

loveditenjoyedit LIKED IT itsokayitsmehitsterrible

You Can Watch It On NETFLIX

The Invisible Man

POSITIVES…

  • Got to hand it to Writer / Director Leigh Whannell, he knows how to do suspense and anticipation really well, and this movie is another good example of that.

  • When you find yourself anxiously scanning everything you can see in a scene; just because you *might* see something move when it shouldn’t, then the movie’s got you exactly where it wants your mindset to be. That’s part of what makes this movie fun to watch.

  • Solid camera work, editing, and directing, helps a lot in establishing the creepy and suspenseful tone this movie is going for. This movie has panning shots, and stationary scenes, that manages to get you on the edge of your seat.

  • The premise and story itself is pretty engaging. You’re going to want to see how it all plays out, even if you have the faintest idea of what might happen. It might seem predictable, but I bet you there will be things that will surprise you anyway.

  • I appreciate the themes this story is willing to tackle, as they are quite socially relevant to modern times.

  • While the script and the direction are all pretty solid, this movie works as well as it does because of Elisabeth Moss’ excellent performance as Cecelia Kass. She is a protagonist your are really going to get behind.

  • There is a particular action sequence involving Elisabeth Moss and The Invisible Man that was both wondrous and frightening to see.

  • As a thriller, it’s entertaining to follow along with Cecelia trying to get to the bottom of what is happening to her, and the actions she takes to fight back.

NEGATIVES…

  • If you were looking for a full on horror movie, you will be disappointed.

  • It does have a few plot holes and character inconsistencies that I could nitpick about.

  • There were some unbelievable moments that took me out of the movie.

  • As a dog owner, there was an element in the story that made me want to SMH and do a facepalm. No the dog does not die (I’ll gladly spoil that part)

P.S….

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The Call Of The Wild

POSITIVES…

  • Besides this adaptation being mostly a family friendly affair, the story itself stands out as one that is equally entertaining, engaging, and emotional. I really liked this story.

  • Themes and lessons. Movie is full of them. All worth learning from.

  • It’s not above having a good sense of humor, to go along with the strong sense of adventure, and all that powerfully serious sense of drama.

  • There are a lot of memorable scenes found in this film, with some amazing sequences to marvel at.

  • For a movie where the lead is a dog, I should point out that the human characters were worth taking notice of as well. Kudos to Harrison Ford, Omar Sy, and Cara Gee,

  • While the CGI effects isn’t always perfect, the movie undeniably has incredibly beautiful visuals. Some scenes were just eye popping to watch.

  • Speaking of which, the fully realized CGI character that is Buck the half-Saint Bernard and half-Scottish shepherd dog that leads this movie is simply amazing. How could you not be completely invested with the well being of Buck and the journey he takes. He truly carries this movie.

  • Having CGI animal characters in this movie does give it the freedom to make them act and do things that wouldn’t be feasible with real trained animal actors. That alone makes me forgive how CGI looking Buck is.

NEGATIVES…

P.S….

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Buffaloed

POSITIVES…

  • A movie about warring debt collectors, and it’s actually entertaining. Who would have thought?

  • Purposefully a little all over the place and moves at a frenetic pace, but the plot just interested me quite enough that I really wanted to see how it all plays out.

  • I appreciated the charming chaos that is this movie’s narrative.

  • Truly the real reason why this movie’s worth watching is for Zoey Deutch as Peg Dahl. What a fearless over the top performance that completely grabs your attention and doesn’t let go.

  • Gotta give kudos to two other excellent performances by Jai Courtney as the very hateable slimeball “Wizz,” and Judy Greer for being as good as she can be playing the lovely Mother of Peg.

  • Also, I can only assume, but this film does give character to the city of Buffalo, it’s residents, and the obligatory references and jokes about the Buffalo Bills NFL Team.

NEGATIVES…

  • There’s a bit of suspension of disbelief that is required to buy into some of the contents presented in this story.

  • Logical flaws are present. Hopefully you can ignore them.

  • Despite the uniqueness of the premise and the unpredictable nature of the plot, there are still some cliches and derivativeness that kinda keeps it from being completely fresh.

  • The way this movie concludes is either good or bad, depending on how you accept the direction it went.

  • I hope you don’t mind the strong obnoxious accents?

P.S….

loveditenjoyedit LIKED IT itsokayitsmehitsterrible

You Can Watch BUFFALOED Now Online

Sonic The Hedgehog

POSITIVES…

  • As far as movies that are based on a video game that is primarily targeted to kids goes, this one actually isn’t bad at all.

  • Adults will find things to enjoy about this too, and even those adults who are old enough to have played Sonic The Hedgehog on the Sega Genesis should be generally happy with this.

  • The most important factor that made this movie worked is Sonic himself. From his entertaining personality, sympathetic back story, and the excellent voice acting by Ben Schwartz, this is a Sonic we all can get behind.

  • Sequences involving time practically standing still while Sonic does his antics super fast are all very enjoyable to watch.

  • Sonic’s chemistry with James Marsden’s small time cop Tom Wachowski worked! The two of them interacting with each other adds a lot to the entertainment value here.

  • Jim Carrey is in his manic loud obnoxious mode, and it is spectacular! Over the top fun here.

  • In general, this is a good natured movie, with a good sense of humor. There were some jokes that really worked with me. Some gags actually had me laughing out loud at times.

  • It should be noted that the final character design of Sonic in this movie is pretty cute and works rather well. Give the animators a raise for pulling this off.

NEGATIVES…

  • If you apply logic to most everything in this movie, it will ruin your enjoyment factor tremendously.

  • The story is overly simplistic and silly.

  • Plot holes? Yeah. There are a bunch of nonsense that you will have to ignore. So prepare to think in sentences that start with “why didn’t they just…” or some variation of that line of thinking.

  • If you don’t like manic loud obnoxious Jim Carrey, then this is not the movie for you.

  • Jokes don’t always land, and the more dramatic moments do not always ring true.

  • I hope you don’t mind, but there are tons of product placements. Tons.

  • Oh, and Sonic does the backpack kid floss dance. Twice! …

P.S….

loveditenjoyedit LIKED IT itsokayitsmehitsterrible

To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You

POSITIVES…

  • Still has that charm the previous installment had.

  • There are multiple unassuming sweet moments and scenes that really stood out among the rest.

  • The writing for the dialogue in several of the scenes are still pretty solid.

  • Lana Condor still owns the screen as Lara Jean and is easily the best element about this movie.

  • Let’s add Jordan Fisher as John Ambrose as the other best element about this movie. This guy is charming as heck!

  • The soundtrack is awesome.

NEGATIVES…

  • The plot progression is very predictable and can feel quite a bit generic.

  • Cliche plot turns can feel frustrating to put up with here.

  • Movie arguably plays things too safe, and falls flat in the lack of genuine excitement within chunks of the movie.

  • I expected more out of the relationship between Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky than what we actually saw in this.

P.S….

loveditenjoyedit LIKED IT itsokayitsmehitsterrible

You Can Watch It Now on Netflix

Birds Of Prey

POSITIVES…

  • The full title of the movie. “Birds of Prey : And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn.” Sure it’s a mouth full, but the playfulness of having such a title, is a good representation of what the movie is. It tries to handle more than it can chew, but the playful nature of it makes it more entertaining than it deserves to be.

  • Margot Robbie absolutely plays the role of Harley Quinn fantabulously in this. You can’t see her not being that character when watching the movie. The majority of the fun factor is the character, and Margot Robbie owned it.

  • Ewan McGregor hamming it up as Roman Sionis / Black Mask, is a delight to see.

  • The rest of the cast are solid as well in their roles, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Ella Jay Basco, Chris Messina, Rosie Perez, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. They all add to the enjoyment factor of this movie.

  • Some of the best jokes in this movie involves Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s character.

  • The silly, over-the-top, and colorful, mixed with the violence, sadistic, and nihilism, is quite the combo of tones and styles to experience with this movie.

  • I liked the set designs. Mix of realistic locations, to straight-out-of-comic-books places.

  • Big kudos to the people behind the choreography in the action set pieces. Easily the best things that justifies seeing this movie. They were very fun to watch.

  • The final act; heck most of the second half of the movie, was pretty enjoyable and fun to watch.

NEGATIVES…

  • Was the strong final act and overall entertaining second half, enough to save what was an awkwardly and frustratingly all-over-the-place first half of the movie?

  • The jumbled up narrative and 4th wall breaking felt a little too self-congratulatory to me, than actually serving a reason why the story is told the way it was told. Deadpool’s fun narratives this ain’t.

  • Premise felt too simple to be completely engaging. Plot moved too haphazardly for its own good.

  • Most of the jokes honestly falls flat. Deadpool’s comedy this ain’t.

  • Some of the nonsensical aspects that were supposed to be seen as fun quirks of the film, just come off as nonsense.

  • While the ensemble cast looked good together, the chemistry isn’t completely there. Deadpool 2’s motley crew this ain’t.

  • Some people might take offense at the blatant women vs men vibe in this film?

  • Did I mention that it seemed like this movie wanted to be “the Deadpool of the DC Universe movies” a little too much? There’s a certain desperation that can be seen at times.

P.S….

loveditenjoyedit LIKED IT itsokayitsmehitsterrible

Miss Americana

POSITIVES…

  • Gives fans a more intimate look at who singer / songwriter superstar Taylor Swift is.

  • Gives those who aren’t fans a much better understanding on why she has fans.

  • Successfully reminds us that while Taylor Swift is a rich celebrity, she is still human with human problems and vulnerabilities that we can all relate with. It may seem trite to say that, but it doesn’t make it any less true.

  • Chronicles several major events that happened in her career, framing them in more enlightening and personal angles.

  • There were some genuinely emotional moments that resonated really well.

  • Managed to make a moment that shows her posting something on instagram, one of the most impactful scenes in this film.

  • The introspections where she shares her thoughts to us were quite welcome, and effectively frames the different themes of this documentary.

  • There were scenes where she threw shade at certain people. I appreciated that this movie did not try to hide those facts, by covering up those statements. Some of the reactions online to those should be interesting to witness to, in the time following this film’s release.

  • I love scenes that involves the process of songwriting, and this has a good amount of that.

  • It made me more of a fan of Taylor Swift than I ever was.

NEGATIVES…

  • It’s not what one might call the most challenging documentary.

  • There are certain plot points in the story that I wished this documentary could have gone more in depth with.

  • At 85 minutes, it felt like it could have been longer, with more content.

P.S….

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You Can Watch It Now On Netflix