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Reviews
No Sleep 'Til Christmas (2018)
Situation Should Have Been Handled Better, But...
So, when you read the synopsis for this movie, you should expect there to be some sort of stakes, right? It's a movie.
Let me start by saying that this is a ridiculous movie that definitely was NOT a Christmas movie. It felt like Christmas music was added in as an afterthought, because the writers forgot it was supposed to be Christmassy.
Into the ridiculousness.... so, the plot is silly as hell. With that said, if you take the story at face value, it feels like something that is hard to judge fully. I've never, personally, had such significant issues with sleeping. I am not sure if the sleeping disorders depicted in the movie are realistic, but in the movie, it did seem like a desperate situation.
It could have been handled better for sure. She should have just been honest with her partner from the get go. The secrecy was absolutely the worst part, but at the same time, could you imagine trying to have that conversation with your fianceé? And again, I'm going based on the reality of the movie, where we watched a montage of her trying various medications, getting sleep studies and other medical interventions.. she actually tried to fix the situation legitimately..
I see a lot of comments blaming the girl, but uh... the dude knew what he was doing, sleeping next to a woman who was getting married. When she asked for his help in trying to prove the legitimacy of their predicament to her fianceé, he initially tried to bail. Why is nobody commenting on that? Why is everyone jumping on the girl exclusively? This is a good example of societal misogyny, and something to take into consideration when forming opinions.
She tried to do things legitimately and she failed, hence the conflict of the movie. She was going to go through with the wedding and stay dedicated, but whatever the hell issue she had with sleeping was what ultimately made her decision. She literally fell asleep on the altar at her wedding- I don't think this was intentional. I don't think she wanted to hurt her fianceé, I think she actually wanted to make it work.
If she were having doubts, she should have brought them up with her partner ahead of time, sure. That's how relationships work. I felt so bad that he was humiliated in front of the entire wedding party. I feel like that was done for dramatic effect, it is a movie. With that said, I don't think she should have forced the relationship because the fianceé is a "great guy." That is how a lot of relationships are doomed- recognizing you have a great partner, and feeling too guilty to acknowledge the fact that being a great partner does not always generate compatibility. That is a very real, very human thing that a lot of people do experience.
My criticism for this movie, besidea the forced Christmas, was that it wasn't handled well, making the end scene feel far less redeemable. It is sh!tty that they ended things on the altar, but that doesn't mean that she would have been a terrible person for ending the relationship at all. It should have been handled privately, and before the wedding .. but again, where is the drama in that?
Red Woods (2021)
All I'm Saying....
Is that if a group of five strangers barged my home with a video camera and a gun, I'd grab my gun, and be ready to shoot.
Idk, after that scene, it got hard to root for these people. I get where they were coming from for sure, but if you look at it from the two guys' perspective, that'd be absolutely terrifying, especially when you're living off the grid to avoid stuff like that.
Serial pyro/killer guy was an interesting concept, but making it a revenge story made it less scary and more sad. I suppose there isn't anything wrong with that, but it also made that plot point more predictable, and kinda..... lackluster.
Char Man (2019)
No, I'm Not Part Of The Crew
I actually liked this a lot.
Human beings scare the shit out of me more than anything else. Even if this was just some kids in a mask, we never really find out what it was all about, and that gave me a lot of anxiety. What if the whole town was in on it? What if they decided to just screw with the people in the Airbnb?
I, personally, did think the ending was pretty.... unsatisfying, if only because it wasn't really set up to be a possession flick. But the rest of the movie gave me a lot of anxiety. Idk, maybe people just aren't as afraid of other people as I am.