Finally saw this film and, after all the hype, awards and endless praise I am pretty underwhelmed at this movie. Love Michelle Yeph but I couldn't understand what exactly her character was. The scenes bump around a lot (as they show in trailer) different universes etc but I felt that it was so jarring that it was almost a crutch for things that I like about it movies like plot and character development. Very one dimensional characters and a lot of fight scenes. Like John Wick level - which was impressive actually. Its basically a fantasy king fu film. But they don't do a gray job explaining stuff and frankly all the backs and forth and back and forth just gave me a headache. Some really cool effects but overall I thought it was just ok.
Reviews
13 Reviews
This Is Me... Now
(2024)
Love story for herself about herself
23 March 2024
Another Jlo doc/movie cringe fest. If Yaoundé had any doubts of whether or not JLo was a raging narcissist then look no further. Not sure why I watched other than morbid curiosity after reading about how bad it was. And yep! It's bad. This multi millionaire for over 3 decades is now trying a new angle... to make the audience feel sorry for her somehow?? Didn't get enough love as a child yards yards yadda. And that her mother is actually a narcissist. Welp. Clearly she has no problem throwing people under the bus if it serves her. She has always talked about how supportive and great her mother is but now it's suddenly "poor me". There is a scene where she "sings" about being broken and it is soooooooo bad. I had to turn it off at that point because it was borderline creepy. These celebs are so out of touch and self obsessed. I'm over it.
Barbie
(I) (2023)
Show don't tell
13 March 2024
Storytelling 101 is to show not tell and this movie not only tells, it preaches and lectures to the point where I kept spacing out like I was watching a boring hot pink Ted Talk. The movie starts out pretty well but as soon as the actual story kicks in it goes off the rails. I read reviews claiming this was a poignant and deep film but instead it feels shallow and trite. I don't disagree with what the movie is trying to say (I'm a woman) however I felt like it would have been much more profound if they showed it, rather than had speech after speech saying essentially the same thing. Margot and Ryan are spectacular at their roles and the soundtrack is great. Visually it's top notch. It should have been a kid's movie but they wanted to go into more than one lane. So IMO it's not a must see for kids or adults. The trouble with a lot of these films that wax on about the patriarchy, inequality and how hard life is are almost always written and produced by the elite 1 percenters. This film is no exception. Still I do appreciate the theme of how hard it truly is to be a woman. Just wish they could have done it in a more clever way - especially since this was the most hyped up film I've seen in years.
Priscilla
(2023)
Boring and mid
26 January 2024
The pros: it looks pretty. The DP did a fantastic job, as well as set dec and costumes department. The 2 main actors Cailee snd Jacob did a good job with what they were given. Which leads me to the cons.
What they were given was nothing. This movie was worse than Lifetime movies. The script didn't sound like real people taking. Everything was sooo on the nose that it hade me wonder what was actually based on any real truth. And what was exaggerated or just made up. After watching I still have no idea or insight into who Priscilla is or was, how she felt or any complexity with anything.. It was all just "I love him" "I miss him" "I'm mad." But why? Whyyyyyy? Any depth to anything or anyone is not in this film. It's like it was based on a flip book. I find it hard to believe that Priscilla was this boring of a person because nobody is. And then the movie just kind of ends. Like what?? I had to rewind to see if I missed something. Nope. It felt like with this movie and the other recent Elvis movie, that the Presley family (due to Lisa's insane overspending and bankruptcy) is looking to make a quick buck by trading in salacious scraps. Id rather watch one of Elvis's old movies than this movie of the week. Narrrrrr.
What they were given was nothing. This movie was worse than Lifetime movies. The script didn't sound like real people taking. Everything was sooo on the nose that it hade me wonder what was actually based on any real truth. And what was exaggerated or just made up. After watching I still have no idea or insight into who Priscilla is or was, how she felt or any complexity with anything.. It was all just "I love him" "I miss him" "I'm mad." But why? Whyyyyyy? Any depth to anything or anyone is not in this film. It's like it was based on a flip book. I find it hard to believe that Priscilla was this boring of a person because nobody is. And then the movie just kind of ends. Like what?? I had to rewind to see if I missed something. Nope. It felt like with this movie and the other recent Elvis movie, that the Presley family (due to Lisa's insane overspending and bankruptcy) is looking to make a quick buck by trading in salacious scraps. Id rather watch one of Elvis's old movies than this movie of the week. Narrrrrr.
Afternoon Delight
(2013)
Empty and cliche trying to be deep
10 January 2024
After watching this film it seemed pretty clear that the writer hates women, men and relationships. Every actor was out of their depth, as they are mostly comedians. The writing was so shallow with one dimensional characters that you feel no empathy for. Bored Los Angeles elites trying to find meaning in life *yawn*. Smoking pot, check. Getting drunk, check. Celebrating their abortions. Check. Boring and played out scenes to be honest. Katherine Hahn is a favorite and she deserves a lot better script to work with. I can understand having funny actors as a way to find the dark hunor in scenes but it just ended up as super cringe.
80th Golden Globe Awards
(2023 TV Special)
Awful writing and awful host
8 January 2024
Had to turn it off halfway as the writing was so cringe. So so soooooo bad I couldn't take it anymore. Like did these writers have ANY experience? And the host was also terrible. Even he mentioned how bad the writing f was. Which was actually super cringe as well as unprofessional. The dude couldn't deliver a joke and it was obvious. The cuts to the audience made it even worse as they all looked embarrassed or horrified as well. This was such a train wreck that even the pretty outfits and favorite celebrities couldn't keep me watching he side I knew it would come back to this awful host and awful writing. Surely there must be better options.
Saltburn
(2023)
An impression of a good movie
2 January 2024
Beautifully shot and well acted but lacked originality and good writing. A lot of scenes purely for shock value. Like a Euphoria/Midsommar rip off mixed with Talented Mr Ripley vibes. On the nose themes - rich people bad, poor people good. Rich people deserve bad things to happen to them. Rich people are shallow poor people are deep. Yawn yawn. Etc etc it's interesting that the writer/director hilariously comes from a very wealthy family so it's yet ANOTHER classic Hollywood elite pretending that she relates to the underprivileged. Almost like some weird apology guilt laden piece that lectures hypocritically at the viewer. Getting so bored at these propaganda pieces that aren't really about art but rather some covertly divisive narrative. And I say this as someone who actually grew up in poverty.
Love & Mercy
(2014)
Left out that his GF was 14 years okd
7 December 2023
What happened to him with his therapist was absolutely horrific. But they left out the part where he dated and was creepily obsessed with underage girls. The woman playing his girlfriend in the film was aged up, to an appropriate age, which is not how it was in real life. I also read that he was a terrible person to other people and liked to play weird kind games. So I can't really feel too bad for someone who was clearly disturbed and did gross things. And this movie sweeps the whole kiddie thing under the rug. I know that a lot of male rock stars did this back then but it ain't cool and if something is meant to be a biopic then they should be honest.
The Changeling
(2023– )
Read the book or watch the film instead
2 October 2023
Long and drawn out. The cinematography is very cool so I had high hopes but there's no momentum because they are trying to stretch this into a series so there's SO MUCH FILLER. Strangely despite this, if still manages to leave holes in the storytelling. The editing jumps too fast and the acting is mid. The trailer made it seem so good too. If only it managed to maintain interest in the same way. The horror/mystery takes a major backseat to everything else and I have no idea who these characters are or why I should care about them. The book and the film are better. Disappointed because I've been wanting to get into a new show. Skip this.
The Matrix Resurrections
(I) (2021)
There's a glitch in this matrix
30 December 2021
Yikes. Loved the first one. Not sure what this is. I turned it off after 30 or so minutes. So much shtick, weird jokes. Couldn't understand the blue haired girl bc of her mumbly English accent. Rewatch the first one instead.
A Teacher
(2020)
Major backpedaling
11 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
We've all seen this plot before. Usually it's a man lusting after the super young girl (AKA every movie ever.) Obviously this is a VERY inappropriate relationship but the way it's presented for most of the series seems to show the POV that these two actually care for each other. The relationship is initiated by the 18 year old student, whom some would argue is legally the age of consent etc; however, the student/teacher power dynamic is at play so it's always wrong. This film DOES romanticize their relationship (music, romantic settings, dialogue) and it's odd when both of the main characters look the same age. These two are portrayed as star-crossed lovers for most of the series and we see how this affair affects their lives afterwards. But the film can't seem to make up its mind on what it's trying to say. He becomes a legend in college, girls want to hook up with him because of his rep.... but he's not always ok with it. Meanwhile we see her life has turned to shambles and she feels remorse for what she did. Then BAM 10 minutes before the show ends, the former student runs into her 10 years later and blows up at her for ruining his life and storms off. And then it just ends! WTF?!? The series seemed to want to delve into a controversial topic, and instead of getting deeper into the why and how this thing happened, they got notes halfway through filming and had to regroup and make sure that they made a very clear statement that this is unacceptable behavior. And then it becomes a super on-the-nose finale. Like an after school special. It just needed a "The More You Know" rainbow.
Tenet
(2020)
A little less conversation a little more action
10 January 2021
So much talking in this! I'm a huge Christopher Nolan fan but this film is 80% chatter and exposition of characters describing what's happening, what happened or what's about to happen. Time travel is confusing so I understand why it needs to be explained a bit but ehhhhhh. Not that fun to watch an action movie that consists of people in expensive suits having conversations in corridors. If I wanted that I'd watch Downton Abbey. Also, the sound is HORRIBLE, especially for such a talk-heavy film. At one point I wondered if Nolan was editing the film and thought it wasn't confusing enough and then said "let's mess with the sound mix!" The characters are mumbling through masks or the sirens are too loud, the background noise is blasting... or if that's not happening the music choice is like nails on a chalkboard. So weird! No joke - I had to keep rewinding and putting the subtitles on because I couldn't make out what they were saying! Disappointing. But it's Nolan so I'll always watch his stuff.
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