My Spy

POSITIVES…

  • If you’re looking for a decently family friendly film that has some action and comedy, then this might be what you’re looking for.

  • Dave Bautista may be typed cast in his roles, but he was really good in here as JJ.

  • The scene stealer in this movie however was Chloe Coleman as Sophie, who was amazing in this as the little kid.

  • Solid chemistry between Bautista and Coleman, and those two together is the main reason to seeing this movie.

  • The comedy; while pretty basic, were actually done pretty well.

  • I loved all the meta humor and self referential jokes.

  • It’s got heart; as expected. Has those feel good moments that should make you smile.

  • They actually used the Wilhelm scream more than once!

NEGATIVES…

  • You’ve seen this cliche before. Familiar tropes. Typical conveniences. Predictable narrative. Expected plot holes.

  • If you can’t suspend your disbelief with what happens in this movie, then this is not for you.

  • For a family film, I’m pretty sure I saw some decapitated heads fly by, and you do see people getting shot.

P.S….

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The Old Guard

POSITIVES…

  • The premise has a comfortable familiarity to it, but it doesn’t change the fact that this is one entertaining film.

  • Charlize Theron continues to be a badass, and this is no different. She is awesome!

  • The rest of the cast is fantastic as well, with KiKi Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari, and Luca Marinelli. The chemistry within the group is stellar.

  • I would say that although Charlize Theron’s “Andy” is the main character, having Kiki Layne’s “Nile” be the proper audience surrogate to this story is the way to go.

  • Sweet choreographed action sequences! They kick-ass!

  • There are some clever clever moments throughout that just put a huge smile to my face.

  • While the action is a huge highlight to this movie, the more dramatic, philosophical, and existential themes are the heart of this film.

  • Leaves you wanting more. We are getting more right? Right?!

NEGATIVES…

P.S….

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Palm Springs

POSITIVES…

  • First off, if you like romantic-comedies, and time-loop stories, then this is a movie for you!

  • Secondly, amazing lead duo. Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti are so good together here.

  • Thirdly, J.K. Simmons. The interactions between Samberg and Simmons are fantastic.

  • As a comedy, there are funny lines and situations that you should like.

  • Tons of dialogue between the characters that were great to listen to.

  • There are moments in this movie that are just a joy to watch, like a certain dance number, or a particular part that involves a fork in the wedding reception.

  • Considering the genre, there are montage sequences, and they too are a joy to watch.

  • Also considering the genre, I like the running jokes going through the movie. Pay attention.

  • Even when some of the more heavier themes squeezes into the comedy, they do not detract from how entertaining this movie is. This story has heart, I like that.

  • Oh, and enjoy compacting the sci-fi and philosophical aspects of the story. Just my cup of tea.

NEGATIVES…

  • You’ve seen this concept of a premise before, and it does come with the familiar plot tropes.

  • There are what I would say are legitimate plot holes that don’t get addressed.

P.S….

LOVED IT enjoyeditlikedititsokayitsmehitsterrible

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Superman: Red Son

POSITIVES…

  • One of the most interesting, fascinating, and provocative premise for a Superman movie.

  • Definitely an exciting story, in that there were several pleasant surprises along the way, be it the plot turns, and the alternative depictions of familiar characters.

  • I loved the themes of this movie that should definitely give you food for thought.

  • Animation and character designs are great.

  • Tons of good scenes, and the action sequences were fun to watch.

  • Moves at a nice steady quick pace, that efficiently fills in that one hour twenty-four minutes runtime.

NEGATIVES…

P.S….

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Hamilton

POSITIVES…

  • A testament to the fact that American History should occasionally be presented in such an energetic and creative way such as this.

  • This musical is a wonderfully brilliant telling of Alexander Hamilton’s story. Absolutely an engrossing narrative, and an excellent experience to see how they presented it on the stage.

  • Exciting scenes! Character dynamics! Plot twists! Intrigue! Drama! Tragedy! Real life truly can still provide the best dynamic stories.

  • The songs are amazing, as well as the scenes that go along with them. “My Shot,” “Satisfied,” “It’s Quiet Uptown,” plus so many more. So catchy, powerful, emotional, and educational.

  • Political debates in real life should occasionally be done as rap battles too.

  • Fantastic ensemble cast. Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., Renee Elise Goldsberry, Phillipa Soo, Daveed Diggs, Chris Jackson, and so many more. Standing ovation to this awesome ensemble!

  • Considering everything going on in the USA right now in 2020, Hamilton is incredibly relevant and prescient, that only helped connect me with the story even more than expected.

  • Casting the American revolutionaries with Persons Of Color is a genius decision. It speaks more to the familiar themes of people demanding to have a voice and fighting for equality, that clearly reflects our modern times.

  • Directed by Thomas Kail, this is a fantastic filmed and edited version of the broadway production, that offers some advantages that you won’t get from seeing this live in a theater.

  • That rotating stage is nicely used for this musical, and the movie takes advantage of showcasing that as well.

  • At the end of the two hours and forty minutes, I loved it so much that I wanted it even longer.

  • Oh, and let’s also not forget the fact that this is the most affordable way of watching the Hamilton musical.

NEGATIVES…

  • I suppose it can’t be avoided, but if you are someone who are not that into rap, R&B, or Hip-Hop music, then this may simply not be for you. You might also need to turn on closed-captioning to help understand what they are saying better.

  • The argument that this is better seen live in a theater is unavoidable, because even if this is presented in a movie format, it’s still essentially just the literal broadway production shot on film.

  • Dual roles; which is common in broadway, might get some people who aren’t used to seeing that in movies confused.

  • Jonathan Groff’s spit shown in 4K HDR…

P.S….

LOVED IT enjoyeditlikedititsokayitsmehitsterrible

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A Whisker Away

POSITIVES…

  • It’s a charming story, that is melancholic, and has its heart in the right place.

  • Fascinating premise and imaginative plot direction, that made me want to see how they get to the conclusion of the story.

  • I really appreciated one particular plot point / reveal, that I’m glad the movie included into the story. Emotionally hit me in a good way.

  • There were some visual gags that I thought were pretty fun to see. Walking on a certain bridge comes to mind.

  • Miyo “Muge” Sasaki; the main character, is ridiculously energetic and fearless, that I actually found her to be very entertaining to watch.

  • The cats in the movie. ‘nuff said.

  • Thematic-wise, there’s a lot that I liked about what this movie had to say.

NEGATIVES…

  • Thematic-wise, I hope kids understand to not repeat the more questionable decisions that the main character makes.

  • Speaking of which, there will be those who will find the main protagonist; “Mugen,” very annoying.

  • Some familiar plot tropes and cliches. How many of those plot conveniences and sudden plot turns can you put up with?

P.S….

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Artemis Fowl

POSITIVES…

  • There were some good world building and plot mechanics.

  • Lara McDonnell was great in this as Holly Short.

NEGATIVES…

  • This is as cookie cutter and typical as young adult fantasy stories goes. Familiar plot tropes, cliches, and plot conveniences.

  • The action set pieces had promise, but unfortunately they just came off as bland and uninspired.

  • There were several plot turns involving several characters that were just so unearned.

  • I couldn’t find myself to care for almost all the main protagonists. How could it not at least get me remotely interested in the main character that the movie is titled for?

  • Josh Gad, I acknowledge that you tried to make Mulch Diggums a fun character to watch, but nope, it didn’t work. He actually came off as annoying and obnoxious. Sorry.

  • It felt like a long movie to watch, and then I realized that it’s just 95 minutes…

  • Fans of the book series will find many things to complain about.

P.S….

loveditenjoyeditlikediititsokay IT’S MEH itsterrible

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Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga

POSITIVES…

  • Has a great cast from Will Ferrell, Rachel McAdams, and Dan Stevens, who all looked like they were having fun embracing the comedy of it all.

  • While it’s a familiar story of underdog singers trying to win a singing competition, it’s still likeable, fun enough to watch, and there were some solid scenes all around.

  • Some of the running gags I thought were hilarious.

  • The song numbers are pretty entertaining to watch, and are one of the main highlights to watching this comedy… like “Ja Ja Ding Dong.” Play “Ja Ja Ding Dong!!!”

  • Pierce Brosnan. ‘nuff said.

  • There’s a certain plot point that I wanted to play out a certain way, I didn’t think it would, but at the same time I figured it would go there, but was still pleasantly surprised that they went there after all.

  • This movie is just silly fun, and it’s heart is in the right place. It either put a smile on my face or made me laugh out loud.

  • Fans of Eurovision should check this out!

NEGATIVES…

  • The humor can be pretty basic, or too broad, and sometimes the comedy just falls flat.

  • It’s predictably predictable. Expect the usual plot turns and reveals from a movie like this.

  • Doesn’t always maintain its fun comedic tone for certain set pieces, and just kinda drags at times, plus it definitely didn’t need to be 2 hours long.

P.S….

loveditenjoyedit LIKED IT itsokayitsmehitsterrible

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Da 5 Bloods

POSITIVES…

  • Fantastic cast! From Clarke Peters, Isiah Whitlock Jr, Jonathan Majors, Norm Lewis, Melanie Thierry, Chadwick Boseman, Johnny Nguyen, Paul Walter Hauser, plus a fantastic performance by Delroy Lindo.

  • Produced some excellent scenes of exchanges involving history, politics, and camaraderie, that got my attention.

  • The story got me invested to see how it was all going to end. Certain plot turns liven things up.

  • Appreciated the many callbacks and sidebars to African American History, and all the other historical references too.

  • Has multiple themes in the story to digest, and felt appropriately provocative.

  • Excellent soundtrack.

NEGATIVES…

  • Narrative can be a bit all over the place.

  • There are some cliche plot points and a few coincidences that felt unnecessarily cheap.

  • It can tend to meander a little too much. Hope you don’t get bored or impatient.

  • How about a little bit more editing? It just doesn’t justify it’s 2 hrs 34 mins runtime.

P.S….

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All Day and a Night

POSITIVES…

  • Ashton Sanders has got that stoic, simmering rage, acting in spades.

  • His character of Jahkor has an interesting story, and I was invested to see how the film ends.

  • Highlights some cultural and socio-political aspects of living the inner-city life as a black man.

  • This film really gives us a taste on what everyday life is for Jahkor, in an almost slice-of-life kind of way.

  • It’s not often I get to see Jeffrey Wright play a gangster tough guy, so that was entertaining.

NEGATIVES…

  • It’s a familiar story you’ve seen before.

  • Kinda slow moving, and boring at times.

  • Meanders a little too much for my taste.

  • Not exactly a feel good movie.

P.S….

loveditenjoyeditlikedit IT’S OKAY itsmehitsterrible

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