Reviews

"Schoolgirls" (or Las Ninas as I found it) is a very well done coming of age story set during the 1990s against a backdrop of a very traditional Catholic school.

What stood out the most to me here was the absolutely wonderful performance by young Andrea Fandos as the main character, Celia. She did a great job playing the initially naive young schoolgirl who starts to question everything once she meets new student Brisa, also played wonderfully by young Zoe Aranao.

The movie does a great job showing Celia's confusion about her overly strict school setting and budding adolescence, while also being equally frustrated and sad in regards to her relationship with her widowed single mother.

Another strong point of the movie is the honesty with which it treats the nature of Celia growing up. I have to admit that I had no idea that it took place in the 90's until the third time I had watched it, so now that I know that, I have to give it more credit since I grew up in the mid to late 90's myself. The movie showed Celia's adolescence without being overly rough or graphic, but also hammered home how rough things were for her at the time.

What I would've like to have seen was some more resolution between the young characters prior to the end. There were several scenes that showcased their (at times uneasy) friendships and connections, and while I was satisfied with the presented ending, it would've been nice to see something nice like Brisa and Cris visiting Celia at home and them hanging out before the end credits rolled.

All in all, though, "Schoolgirls" seemed to me like the Spanish 2020 version of 1995's "Now and Then", though here there was much less profanity and comedic overtones. Definitely worth a re-watch or three.

I actually really enjoyed "Halloween Ends". I thought the slight time jump really benefited the series timeline, and I thought that highlighting Laurie and Allison Strode's mental and emotional improvements in the beginning made the movie better.

However, as pretty much everyone had pointed out, one thing that did detract from how good the overall movie could've potentially be was the Corey Cunningham subplot. I agree that it did take away a lot of the "Laurie/Michael" conflict that we all were used to seeing by this point, and that takes a few points away for me.

All in all, though, the final showdown was worth the bogging down and the wait. This one is definitely worth a few re-watches and reexamination.

"Very Good Girls" is a charming, honest, but woefully misunderstood film that tells the story of Dakota Fanning's Lilly and Elizabeth Olsen's Gerry as a pair of best friends in New York City who initially agonize over the fact that neither of them has lost their virginity. But when they both eventually fall in love with David Avery (Boyd Holbrook), their longtime friendship gets a major run for its money.

What I took away from this film is that people should never confine their thinking to some sort of overidealistic rosy picture of life.

Lilly, the more bookish of the pair, has been so busy with her academics and summer job as an NYC boat tour guide that she very seldom worried, or even wondered, about her love and/or sex life while also dealing with a sudden rift in her family stemming from her parents' separation.

On the other hand, the much more outgoing Gerry lives in an environment with two outspoken hippie parents who encourage freedom, and with it, a more open discussion of love and sexuality. I enjoyed the two girls' dynamic, despite the fact that they're very obviously polar opposites.

Other reviews skewered this film, saying that the talents of the cast were wasted on a bland story. However, I think the storyline wasn't bland or boring at all, just muddled by the somewhat forced love triangle scenario. As good as the film was, the triangle (in my opinion) weighed things down a bit as opposed to driving the narrative.

All in all, "Very Good Girls" is a cute yet misunderstood movie that one must watch with an open mind. Olsen and Fanning's performances were great, and appearances from well-known actors such as Demi Moore, Richard Dreyfuss, and Ellen Barkin (among others) make it that much more interesting.

"Summer '03" is a very funny and very honest movie starring the very lovely and talented Joey King as Jamie. This movie's titular year and setting were very nostalgic for me in particular, as I was in my teens and starting high school back in 2003. Therefore, I found this very relatable, which added to my overall enjoyment.

One of this movie's strong points was its honest depictions of various things. Its demonstration of the fact that, while Jamie was very smart and caring, she still left some space open in her life to openly explore and partake in her sexuality is a very real and honest thing that teenagers do (and let's face it, have done for years), and I applaud the writers and filmmaker for including these elements in the story.

Another very real element was Jamie's struggle to find balance among her family dysfunction, religious interest, and her love/sex life. Balance is a hard thing to achieve for anybody of any age or background, so the demonstration of this struggle in a movie like this made it even more enjoyable in my opinion.

All in all, "Summer '03" is definitely worth a watch, and Joey King's lead portrayal is excellent.

This Disney Channel movie definitely deserves respect for the inclusion of cultural references, diversity, and friendship. It also should be praised for turning stereotypes around and making things original.

For example, the popular girl character is actually best friends with the main protagonist, Rhea, and her best friends. I think, in any other movie, she would've most likely been the mean, selfish bully antagonist. This was a nice twist to that formula.

Additionally, I enjoyed how the movie touched on responsibility and how important it is to balance responsibilities and manage them adequately. That relates well to the stresses that young kids and teens have to go through, especially in these uncertain times.

The acting here was another strong point. I particularly enjoyed the performances by Avantika as Rhea and Anna Cathcart as Molly. The performances of the actors and actress who played Rhea's family members also were very enjoyable.

On a final note here, "Spin" deserves major bonus points for including small parts for young people with disabilities. As someone who has lived with a physical handicap my entire life, I realize that issues regarding handicaps, disabilities and other challenges aren't always touched upon in media. Yes, the scenes with the differently-abled kids were brief here, but I'll bet being included in this movie meant the world to those kids. "Spin" definitely deserves recognition for all these good qualities.

This remake of the 1970's drive-in classic adds a lot of cool modern twists and, therefore, is much more than just another cheesy, studio-manufactured remake that there were a lot of in the early 2000's. There's some great character development and performances, particular by leading lady Addison Timlin, "The Blair Witch Project" star Joshua Leonard as the initially sympathetic deputy, and Anthony Anderson as the determined Texas Ranger.

It was interesting seeing the more comedically known Anderson play the role of Lone Wolf Morales. His take on that part was a nice twist on the gruff and straightforward role from the original. I also think having horror and sci-fi mainstay Veronica Cartwright play the grandmother was a nice touch.

The takes on the kills in this version are just as inventive as I'm sure they seemed to those who saw the original in the 1970's. I like how the filmmakers did a good job expanding on the story and premise of the original as well. All in all, it's definitely worth an hour and a half of your time.

"The Russian Bride" may seem like some sort of generic Lifetime-style thriller/horror movie from the outside looking in. However, this movie contains a lot of strong performances from not only the three main leads, but the smaller supporting characters as well. Firstly, Corbin Bernsen does a stellar job as the coldly sociopathic Karl. Secondly, the performances by Oksana Orlan as mother Nina and young actress/model Kristina Pimenova as daughter Dasha are very well done, and the chemistry between the two of them makes their performances very believable. The role of Dasha made for a great start to young Ms. Pimenova's acting career, and I hope she continues acting whenever possible. Despite not being on screen nearly as much in this, in my opinion, she proved to me that she has the necessary talent and depth.

Adding to all this is the good writing, which allowed for just enough character development for the smaller supporting characters (especially the emotionally abused mute servant Hagen) for their performances to be passably believable as well.

My only regret is that I which Karl's backstory could've been explored a little bit more. Despite this, TRB is a really thrilling movie that is definitely worth watching.

"The Wicked" is set up pretty much like your average run-of-the-mill monster or ghost movie. A bunch of kids go in the woods trying to prove the validity of some legend, the legend turns out to be true, blah-blah-blah. However, the movie does have some funny moments and good performances, thanks mainly to Devon Werkheiser, who plays the magic-obsessed younger brother, and young Caitlin Carmichael. In my opinion, like with most of her performances, young Ms. Carmichael steals the show here yet again, even if her role here is somewhat reduced, and so what if she mostly just acts scared and cries most of the time? My main point here is that this movie is one of those spooky movies that does a lot with what little its given, so like my title above says, you've got to give this credit where it's due

What drew me to this movie, first and foremost, was the cast. I've been a huge fan of actress Annalise Basso, who played Piper, for several years now. I'm also a fan of Ariela Barber, who played Olivia, who I had seen in a movie that she had done when she was much younger. It was nice to see her in something as a young adult with more mature material to work with. As much as I liked the premise of a close-quarters character study set in a very limited setting, how the movie actually played out (at least to me) was equal parts underwhelming and confusing. Scenes of tension and/or peril would start only to cut to more slow and mundane scenes out of the blue, sometimes right in the middle of the previous scene. It probably would've also been better of they had fleshed out the start and the aftermath of the earthquake a little better. One positive that I will give to this movie is that it looked to me like a mixture of The Shining and Suspiria, what with its deliberately haunting music and frazzled tempo.

Rebecca Miller's 1995 film "Angela" is a very good movie that is equal parts emotionally haunting, environmentally spooky, and a certain kind of brutally honest all at the same time. This unique combination of elements, in my opinion, was one of the things that made this movie a very daring one, considering it was made by an American filmmaker.

The movie tells the story of the film's preteen namesake, Angela, and her younger sister, Ellie, as they try to navigate their childish world while in the midst of a unique and sometimes uneasy home situation. Their mother, May, is suffering from a mental illness (most likely some type of bipolar disorder) and though May and the girls have a caring and loving influence in their husband and father, Andrew, he spends most of his time working to keep everyone's heads above water. When May suffers a manic breakdown, causing Andrew to stand by his troubled wife's side, Angela and Ellie are left to their own devices. Angela and Ellie wander the area surrounding their home, spending most of the movie trying to make sense of her mother's illness and subsequent delusions believing that if they're able to do so, in Angela's words, "Mom will get happy again."

I realize that a lot of people saw unnecessary controversy in the somewhat brief scenes that showed the two young girls nude. I'm the first person to agree that we need to protect kids from pedophilia and exploitation, but as far as this movie goes, it's my honest belief that their nudity serves a real and, at the same time, artistic purpose for the plot and shouldn't be shamed or criticized. In one scene, the girls are shown partaking in a bizarre ritual of sorts while nude involving mud that Angela believes will protect them from the Devil, and in other brief flashbacks, the girls are shown in happier circumstances bathing and swimming with their mother, as I'm sure many real-life parents have done with their kids. If the scenes were blatantly simulating molestation or other abuse while they were nude, then I would see the point of people being put off by it. My point being, the young girls' nudity is perfectly acceptable to me here.

The standout performance of this movie, by far, comes from young Miranda Stuart Rhyne, who played Angela. She played her role with such dedication, with both cute childish charm and an eerie precociousness at the same time.

All in all, "Angela" is a very thought-provoking film that is definitely worth a watch, but only with an open mind.

The "Bates Motel" TV movie, obviously not to be confused with the later A&E series of the same name, is a very creative standalone side entry into the "Psycho" franchise. It was made three years before "Psycho IV: The Beginning", so some of the continuity and storyline details are a little different from the main movies that make up the franchise. This particular entry doesn't entirely seem to focus on Norman Bates as a murderer or--for lack of a better term--a psycho--but instead, kills him off and leaves the motel in the hands of a longtime friend and asylum roommate who struggles with issues of his own while trying to reopen the motel and honor Norman's memory. The friends and characters he meets along the way just add to the interesting backdrop and touches on themes like friendship, warmth, and redemption instead of murders and psychosis. My only real complaints are that the set design and props seemed a bit cheesy. Other than that, it's definitely worth a watch.

In my honest opinion, "Now and Then" should be in the same category as "Stand By Me" and "The Goonies" as far as children/pre-teen/teen coming of age movies. To some people, it is, but I have yet to see it on one of those big retrospective lists detailing these kind of films.

The performances by the young actresses, especially those of Gabby Hoffman, Christina Ricci, and Thora Birch, are the biggest standouts to me. Their roles are so relatable even today, which was big to me considering that this film took place during a time period way before I was even born.

Another great point was the frank discussions of sex, puberty and growing up. People were unafraid to discuss these types of things in movies and film back then. In my opinion, nowadays people are so scared to touch these types of subjects in movies for fear of offending people or floating the wrong ideas to kids.

One point in this that was lacking to me, however, were the performances by the adult actresses. Don't get me wrong, I have a great amount of respect for all these ladies, especially Demi Moore and Rita Wilson. I just feel that the storyline regarding them as adults could've been expanded on a lot more, even if it meant making the movie's running time a bit longer than the filmmakers intended.

All in all, despite my one grievance, "Now and Then" is an honest, funny, and sweet coming of age movie which will always be a classic in my mind.

This film is a very well done, well acted, and well written. It was great to see Will Patton and Samantha Mathis as the villainous antagonists, but the two huge standout performances to me were the young Luke Prael and Sterling Jerins. I recognized Sterling Jerins from the first two "Conjuring" films, but her role in those was much smaller in comparison to this film. It was nice to see her talents utilized in a bigger, more fleshed out role as the pretty but devious Christine. Luke was a great counterpart for her, even if his character's eccentricities weren't really explained more. I also would've like to see the oddly romantic friendship between the two of them expanded on. Despite these lacking points, "Boarding School" was a good horror/thriller movie and I hope it gets some sort of following in the future.

"Strange Days" is a unique science fiction and mystery film. Set in Los Angeles during the last two or so days prior to the new millennium, the cast is helmed by Ralph Fiennes as the charming, brave, but shady Lenny Nero. Lenny is a former LAPD officer who loses his job for mostly unknown reasons. He then becomes a black market hustler who sells people's recorded memories for profit. For the most part, these recorded memories are either violent or sexual in nature.

Angela Bassett does a great job complementing Fiennes' "Lenny" character in her role as Macy, Lenny's close friend who makes a more legitimate living as a limo driver and security specialist. Lenny and Macy soon become embroiled in a murder mystery involving corruption within both the LAPD and the music industry. This seemingly ever-deepening mystery also involves Lenny's other close friend, Tom Sizemore's character "Max". Max is a private eye who, despite seeming to be very well-intentioned, is just as shady as Lenny. Juliette Lewis rounds out the cast as "Faith", Lenny's troubled and devious rock singer ex-girlfriend.

Besides the awesome and well-acted performances, what made this movie stand out to me is just how on the nose some of the background references are in it. References to an economic collapse, increasing gas prices, and strained relations between the police and minorities make this a very odd foreshadowing of the actual real-life future.

In conclusion, great acting, a very deep and interesting storyline, and great cultural references make this a very highly recommended film.

In my opinion, Pulse is on an equal par with The Cat in The Hat (2003). Both films have really good cast members that have been tossed into a truly terrible plot formula. Not only is the film boringly confusing, but it's also incredibly predictable. The only decent thing about it is that Christina Milian looks beautiful in it. The acting talent of Jonathan Tucker is completely put to waste, and if Kristin Bell wants to have adecent acting career, she should choose to be in films that have muchmore depth and plot than this. I can't believe I wasted $20 to pay for my mom, my cousin, and I to see this! I should've stayed at home and played video games.

Okay, I will admit that the whole "posing as a British guy" thing didn't work for Michael Wincott's character at first, but other than that I give this film a 10/10!

First off, there's Morgan Freeman and Monica Potter. You wouldn't expect them to be the perfect pair, but they certainly are! They seem to work together well in this film as a detective and a Secret Service agent.

Second, there's the amazingly beautiful Mika Boorem, the actress who played Megan Rose. Being a devoted fan of hers, I'd have to say that this was one of her best roles ever! 10/10

Vampire In Brooklyn was, indeed, a good movie. Eddie Murphy's portrayals in dual roles of an African vampire and various others were very good. Angela Bassett gives it her best in this good yet underappreciated film as Rita, the smart, tough, yet conflicted policewoman heroine you get to root for. Kadeem Hardison's Julius the ghoul and John Witherspoon's hilarious Uncle Silas were some other great additions that made this movie fun to watch, even all these years later. With the late, great icon Wes Craven at the helm, you can't go wrong.

OK, so, I myself am not the world's biggest Melanie Griffith fan, but I really enjoyed this film. Her portrayal of Detective Emily Eden was excellent! Detective Emily Eden goes undercover in a New York City Jewish community to expose a Jewish boy's killer, and she does that very well!