Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

POSITIVES…

  • The heroic theatrics of the Marvel movies meets the action fantasy stylings of Kung Fu and Wuxia films from Asia. That’s a combo you don’t want to miss. 

  • Recognizing the inspirations behind this movie, the first 8 minutes was presented with only Chinese dialogue with English closed captioning. Bold move for a general audience Marvel Cinematic Universe movie. 

  • Adds even more incredible world building to an already established but still growing MCU Universe. 

  • Simu Liu is Shang-Chi, and has a certain down-to-earth relatability that allows us to immediately connect with his character. 

  • Tony Leung as his Father Xu Wenwu is amazing, and is much more than just your average antagonist. 

  • The rest of the ensemble cast are also fantastic and contribute greatly to the movie. From Awkwafina, Meng'er Zhang, Fala Chen, Michelle Yeoh, Ben Kingsley, and more. 

  • For those who are going in this for the action sequences, you are in for a treat, as there were some awesome ones. From the bus fight, the Macau set piece, to the epic final act. 

  • Martial Arts / Action / Stunt choreography is pure excellence here. 

  • For those who enjoy the light-hearted comedic sensibilities of MCU movies, this one doesn’t disappoint, and has some entertaining jokes and gags. 

  • I particularly liked the fact that they acknowledge how people don’t know how to pronounce the name “Shang-Chi.” 

  • Excellent use of flashbacks, that work hand in hand with the overall narrative. 

  • Plot progression really ramps things up as the movie moves along, and really takes you places. 

  • Has some inspirational themes that are worth recognizing.  

  • Besides the Ten Rings themselves, there are some other cool special effects. From the living forest, water effects, to certain creatures. 

  • “Welcome to the circus.” 

  • "On a dark desert highway. Cool wind in my hair..."

NEGATIVES…

  • Still doesn’t quite avoid relying on certain plot cliches, tropes, and conveniences. It doesn’t matter if you try to acknowledge that fact by being all meta about it movie!  

  • Honestly, I wished there were actually more martial arts sequences. 

  • Speaking of which. I would have preferred more wide shots to those action beats. 

  • Certain dramatic moments might be considered lulls for those who wanted it to be non-stop exciting 

  • You’re going to have to take a leap of faith for some of the more unbelievable moments. 

  • Where were the guards?! Did they seriously just get rid of all the guards?!

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Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - watched it IN THEATERS

No Man Of God

POSITIVES…

  • Ted Bundy is an interesting subject matter to watch, and would be the reason to see this film.  

  • Elijah Wood is excellent as the generally reserved Special Agent Bill Hagmaier. 

  • Luke Kirby is electrifying as Ted Bundy, and it’s easy to be captivated by his performance. 

  • The chemistry between Wood and Kirby as this two man stage performance is the main highlight of this movie. 

  • A great character study of the two individuals, in that they are more than what they superficially appear to be. 

  • Good implementation of stock footage that adds context to the time period. 

  • Those confessional monologues are just fascinating to listen to. 

  • Insightful look into the minds of killers. Dark stuff. 

  • Final act has a lot of plot points, statements, questions, and themes that are very thought provoking. 

  • The answer to why he did it should stick with you.

NEGATIVES…

  • It’s mostly just two people having a conversation on screen, which may not be appealing to some. 

  • Not exactly the most visually exciting movie to watch.  

  • The methodically casual pacing might be too slow for some. 

  • Felt like it skipped a chapter or two, because the jump into the third act seemed abrupt. 

  • This dark subject matter is not for everybody.

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No Man Of God - watched it on VIDEO ON DEMAND

The Night House

POSITIVES…

  • Up for a slightly different but essentially is a haunted house story? Then check this out. 

  • Actually, one of the main reasons to watch this is for Rebecca Hall’s performance. Phenomenal work from her here, especially in handling the heavy emotions required from her character. 

  • Solid supporting cast as well, from Sarah Goldberg, Stacy Martin, Vondie Curtis-Hall, and Evan Jonigkeit. 

  • The methodical slow build up and reveals of the mystery and the supernatural elements really adds to the creepy tension. 

  • You can never underestimate the effectiveness of having scenes with a person using a flashlight in the dark to work on the suspense. 

  • Bumps in the night, sudden loud noises, and seeing odd shadows. This movie really wants to unnerve you with these scary situations. 

  • You know what’s scary? That very awkward conversation at a night out drinking at the bar scene. 

  • That scene about Hunter’s grade. I’m sure many teachers have always wanted to do that.

  • The final act had some visually impressive set pieces. 

  • There are some solid jump scares here, that makes this one of those “peak through your fingers” kinda scary movies. 

  • Some thought provoking ideas and themes that are brought up in this story.

NEGATIVES…

  • In certain ways, this does utilize some tried and true familiar plot tropes and cliches when it comes to scary movies. 

  • I guess it’s unavoidable, but there are scenes when you will want to yell at the character “Why the hell would you do that?!” 

  • Prepare to also exclaim “Wait, what happened there?! That doesn’t make sense!”

  • With all that said. I question some of the logic this movie has, which strains my suspension of disbelief. 

  • How come when movies show old footage, people don’t know how to properly focus, they try to zoom in and out more often than they should, and they just can’t keep the camera steady to save their lives?

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The Night House - watched in IN THEATERS

Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop

POSITIVES…

  • Nice anime film that perfectly captures the feel of the summer season. 

  • A whimsical, charming, and heartwarming slice of life story. 

  • Good ensemble cast of characters with diverse personalities, with good leads by Sakura and Smile.  

  • Remember when hanging out in a lively shopping mall was enough for entertainment? This movie really reminds you of what that feels like. 

  • Contrast between the headphones and the mask. Nice. 

  • Liked how Haiku and vinyl records are an integral part of the plot. 

  • It integrates social media into the story in a good organic way. 

  • Final scene plays out like you hoped it would. 

  • Pastel colored animation style is fantastic to look at. 

  • Excellent use of the split screen in this. 

  • "Without your phone, you'll die." 

  • "Everywhere is the same anyway, as long as I have my phone."

NEGATIVES…

  • The lack of shadows and shades in the line artwork might not be for everybody. 

  • Not what one would exactly call a thrilling film. 

  • Movie might feel too inconsequential with meandering imagery. 

  • Might be too sentimental even. 

  • There is some questionable logic in certain plot developments. 

  • Oh look, it's another teen movie with a social influencer as one of the characters.

likeditenjoyedit LIKED IT itsokayitsmehitsterrible

Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop - watched it on NETFLIX

Vacation Friends

POSITIVES…

  • Have you ever gone on a trip, ended up having a fun good time with strangers you've just met there, and somehow became friends? This movie is for you. 

  • Comedic plot turns of events that keep you entertained and on your toes, because outrageous things have to happen in this kind of movie. 

  • This is the kind of film that manages to make a humorous running joke about cocaine! 

  • Fake outs. Sometimes you just don't know if it's actually happening or not. I really liked that about this.  

  • There were also some pretty creatively shot set pieces in this movie, and one of them involves a bird pooping. 

  • That week of fun in Mexico montage is just another example of this movie being constantly wanting to make us laugh in an efficient way. 

  • The fox hunt. "So What'cha Want." I love how wacky this can get. 

  • Lil Rey Howery is excellent as Marcus, the straight man to John Cena’s crazy character Ron. 

  • Yvonne Orji is good as Emily, the even straighter woman to Meredith Hagner’s out there of a character Kyla. 

  • Add in Robert Wisdom as the disapproving Father Harold, and you’ve got a comedy cocktail of characters to liven things up. 

  • Carlos Santos as Maurillo is only around during the first ten minutes, but he actually kicks off the type of humor you should be expecting from this, and the lines he had in this I thought were pretty damn funny. 

  • You’ve seen the themes of this movie before, but they are still worthy messages.

NEGATIVES…

  • You’ve seen this type of comedy before, the odd couple pairing, so it’s not exactly an original fresh thing. 

  • Ron & Kyla might be considered a little too over the top as characters for some people, and you’re going to need to like them to like this.  

  • It's hard not to have a general idea on how the whole thing is going to end. 

  • After 30 minutes, it might feel like you've had more than enough of this, and the rest of the movie honestly doesn’t completely live up to that energetic first act. 

  • Plot conveniences and familiar tropes here and there. 

  • The final act gets a little cringe worthy at times.

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Vacation Friends - watched it on HULU

He's All That

POSITIVES…

  • It’s the gender reversed remake version of 1999’s “She’s All That.” If that’s something familiar that you wouldn’t mind seeing… 

  • The integration of social media obsessed teens adds a new dimension to the story I suppose. 

  • Addison Rae is good here as Padgett Sawyer. You’re familiar with what her character arc is for this kind of teenage romantic comedy, so there’s a little bit of investment to see how she fares. 

  • Tanner Buchanan is solid as Cameron Kweller, and his entertaining one-liner comebacks is easily one of the best things about this movie. 

  • Speaking of lines of dialogue that I had fun hearing… I got to hand it to Peyton Meyer as Jordan Van Draanen, because his lines of dialogue are hilariously stupid. 

  • "Why'd you just take off your shirt?" "I don't know. That's for me to know and for you to find out." 

  • Matthew Lillard gets to have fun in this too! 

  • "I know this is live streaming, but if you put your phones down, it's actually happening right here in front of you." 

  • The rest of the cast gets to shine too here and there, from Annie Jacob, Isabella Crovetti, Myra Molloy, Madison Pettis, and of course Rachael Leigh Cook. 

  • "High school's a bunch of scared people pretending to be something they're not." 

  • Despite the derivativeness of it all, I do appreciate that it still has thematic messages that are absolutely worth learning. 

  • “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None The Richer shout out!

NEGATIVES…

  • Simply put. It’s just not as good as the original, but we weren’t really expecting it to, right? Nothing surprising here. 

  • It’s a very familiar premise. A more sanitized ideal one at that. Doesn’t break the mold. 

  • Don’t know why they kept this story beat for the remake, but this still mocks hipster artsy kids in an exaggerated unnecessary way. 

  • There’s a lot of cringe worthy moments in this movie. 

  • You call that a dance battle? Come on now! 

  • Prepare to think of the phrase “they must be a sponsor.” 

  • Why does it look like Kourtney Kardashian is reading off a cue card? 

  • The chemistry between the two leads is just not very strong. Which is an important aspect of the story, so…

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He’s All That - watched it on NETFLIX

Candyman

POSITIVES…

  • Forget "Farewell to the Flesh" and "Day of the Dead," as this is the true sequel to the 1992 original, and it’s a fantastic follow-up too. 

  • Reflections and mirrors are used so effectively in this film, evoking just that right amount of creepiness to add to the tension and scares. 

  • Enjoyed seeing the opening studio logos presented in their mirror images. 

  • The kills are done remarkably well, with a great balance of showing just enough without being too in-your-face about the violence. 

  • Speaking of which. That bloody sequence in the art gallery, that shot zooming out from that apartment, and that scene in the girl’s restroom. Very nicely done. 

  • Couple of plot reveals that really increase the scope of this story. 

  • Gotta love the meta-ness of that one scene with that one single line of “nope.” 

  • I really liked those shadow puppets. 

  • Excellent work by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. His character journey really took him places. 

  • Supporting cast is good as well. From Teyonah Parris, Michael Hargrove, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Colman Domingo, and Vanessa Estelle Williams. 

  • This is a great reminder of the themes and meaning behind the name “candyman.” 

  • Interesting commentary about gentrification is also focused here. 

  • Has a very evocative “during the end credits” sequence. 

  • Kudos to this movie for not carelessly abusing jump scares.

NEGATIVES…

  • Some plot conveniences and cliches here and there. 

  • How do you just ignore what’s going on with your hand?! Seriously! That threw me out of the movie, every time that issue is just pushed aside. 

  • If you didn’t already know what the main theme of the movie is, the final scene is not going to be subtle about what that is. Hope you don’t get triggered. 

  • There’s one particular moment, with one particular CG effect, that simply could have looked better. 

  • Trypophobia warning.

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Candyman (2021) - watched it IN THEATERS

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf

POSITIVES…

  • For those itching to visit the world of the Witcher, this anime movie one will give you a little bit of that fix. 

  • The world building is still one of the more interesting aspects of this franchise. 

  • Shows us the process of how a Witcher is created, so fans should like that. 

  • Despite the short 80 minutes runtime, I felt like the narrative was very efficient in getting us quickly attached to the characters. 

  • Main protagonist Vesemir's brash cockiness is entertaining to watch. 

  • Relationship between Vesemir and Illyana is the main highlight of this story. 

  • Kudos to the voice cast, which includes Theo James, Mary McDonnell, Lara Pulver, Graham McTavish, and more. 

  • Animation and character designs are fantastic. 

  • Enjoyed watching the action choreography. 

  • This was unexpectedly more bloody, violent and gory than I thought it would be.

NEGATIVES…

  • This was unexpectedly more bloody, violent and gory than I thought it would be. 

  • Considering that a huge chunk of this 80 minutes movie is dedicated to the backstory of Vesemir, there isn’t actually a lot of content to really sink your teeth into. 

  • Speaking of the runtime, maybe this movie should have been longer than what we actually got. 

  • Certain plot conveniences that cheapen the story a bit. 

  • Purist fans of the Witcher might just have a lot of complaints about this adaptation.

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The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf - watched it on NETFLIX

Annette

POSITIVES…

  • In the mood for a bombastic art house musical that may just be unlike anything you've ever seen before? 

  • Adam Driver is not above doing ridiculous things in this film, and that's why he is an incredible actor. 

  • Marion Cotillard is just gracefully fantastic, and has a beautiful singing voice. 

  • Appreciated Simon Helberg’s contribution to this movie, from his “excuse me” line, to working across Adam Driver in that particular pool scene. 

  • There's that brief sex scene where he gotta stop performing cunnilingus to sing a line. 

  • The Ape of God's Las Vegas gig is mesmerizing to watch, I couldn't keep my eyes off Adam Driver's performance. 

  • That scene at the end that features Devyn McDowell. Wow. Simply amazing! 

  • Liked the locations that can be either naturalistic, surrealistic, and theatrical. 

  • During the credits scene. Yup. This movie would do something like that. 

  • It does have a theme and a message that can be profound in how it’s presented here. 

  • "Baby Annette is a baby after all." 

  • Hey, that's the Sparks Brothers!

NEGATIVES…

  • Not everybody will make it to the very end of this 140 mins film. Some may not make it past the first 15 minutes. 

  • While the story moves along relatively quickly, it still manages to feel like it’s just dragging. 

  • Might be too eccentric for some movie goers. 

  • Feels like a musical production that pretentious theater geeks would make. 

  • Am I too critical to say that the song numbers felt half baked? 

  • I'm sorry, but that stand-up routine in the first act is not a show I would enjoy in person, let alone here in this movie. 

  • I couldn't get used to the audience members being an active participant in this. 

  • The look of Baby Annette is definitely a choice made by this film. Don't freak out too much.

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Annette - watched it on PRIME VIDEO

Sweet Girl

POSITIVES…

  • On the run, doing whatever it takes to not get killed by some powerful and influential people. Sound like something you'd watch? 

  • Does feel like one of those mid-tier budget action movies that you would have found in the 1980s and '90s. 

  • Jason Mamoa plays the strong tough guy really really well, but still able to show some emotional vulnerabilities. 

  • Ditto with Isabela Merced playing a tough girl but with emotional vulnerabilities. 

  • The relationship, and dynamics, between Jason Mamoa and Isabela Merced is one of the best things about this movie. 

  • Liked the MMA inspired action beats. 

  • Seeing Dora the Explorer doing MMA is pretty sweet. 

  • That heartbreaking scene. Aquaman knows how to pull off those water works. 

  • The diner scene is a nice refreshing break of a scene to kick off the third act. 

  • I thought the third act offered some reveals that will likely stick with you. 

  • Besides the whole big bad pharmaceutical politics commentary, there's an underlying message about still trying to do the right thing, despite all the bad stuff that's happening.

NEGATIVES…

  • Why is the movie called "Sweet Girl" when the title is clearly inspired by the song "Sweet Child o’ Mine" by Guns N Roses?  Not to mention the fact that the reasoning behind the movie’s title is just dumb.

  • Quite a bit of heavy handed writing in this. 

  • Clunky dialogue. 

  • Those time jumps are almost into parody level. 

  • There’s a particular plot point that’s going to make or break this movie for you. 

  • Stupid coincidences, plot conveniences, and questionable logic. You’re going to need to suspend your disbelief here. 

  • In all honesty, this movie could just be a little bit more exciting. 

  • “Where's everybody else from the train?!” “Why didn't they stop the train?!” Prepare to yell at the screen for some unbelievable moments.

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Sweet Girl - watched it on NETFLIX