I remember watching this in theaters when it first came out. I also remember the disappointment I felt after watching it. It’s been a while since then, and I thought that time and the fact that it is free would dull the disappointment, but it hasn’t. I am still as disappointed as I was before, but somehow it stings more.
This movie is a shameless rehashing of the Karate kids franchise, but you are better off watching all the originals. This is beat for beat the first Karate kid, although it does borrow elements from its sequels. The acting is awkward, the story is dumb, and it lacks the charm of the originals. I don’t believe Jaden Smith has the acting ability that his father wishes he had, and as a result, we’ve gotten a series of bad movies that aren’t worth your time. Maybe he’s a better musician, but I don’t see any awards in his future.
I am glad the Karate Kid Franchise got its proper reboot with Kobra Kai. If you haven’t seen that show, I highly recommend it. There is a bit of high school drama that you can skip over, but overall it is a nice continuation of the saga.
You can find this movie on YouTube for free, but I wouldn’t bother.
I expected The Night House to be another badly made and generic demon possession movie. Instead, I got a creatively disorienting narrative about a woman trying to piece together and understand the sinister events that slowly unravel around her. Beth is left to pick up the pieces of her life after her husband’s sudden suicide. Unfortunately, these pieces begin to unravel the dark secrets that her husband left behind. Is Beth’s husband as innocent as she remembered, or has the grief left her chasing shadows that aren’t there?
This is a fun movie that is very much worth your time. The acting is great, the visuals are amazing, and the story is entertaining without being convoluted. I love the direction and risks this movie takes in creating a truly disorienting experience. The use of shadows, mirrors and CGI all help create an endless maze of confusion as you are left to piece together a mystery with fragments of clues. The clues given are often incomplete or misinterpreted, further adding to the confusion and mystery. The deeper Beth gets into her investigation, the more confusing narrative gets. The horror of this movie doesn’t rely on cheap jump scares, but rather on the disorienting experience the aftermath of the suicide brings. Not knowing what is going on helps emulate the same fear and confusion Beth goes through. It is an experience that is masterfully done through the blending of reality, dreams, and delusions. Watch this movie for the interesting visuals and the fantastic performance.
Go watch this movie on HBO if you like disorienting psychological horror. It might not give you nightmares, but you will have a lot of fun with it.
There is an audience for this animated series, it just doesn’t include me. There is nothing technically bad with Fairfax, it was just too obnoxious for my tastes. The animation is fine, the voice acting is solid, the attention to detail is fantastic, and there is a good soundtrack buried throughout the series. But this show was created with a specific audience in mind and it is not for everyone.
The show follows Dale, a kid from Oregon who moves to the trendy city of Fairfax California. While everyone is obsessed with chasing clout through popularity and fashion, Dale only wants to make friends and go hiking. Dale makes friends with a group of characters who try to teach him how to fit in. While he does have a lot to learn about the new culture he has been dropped into, he also has a lot to learn.
Fairfax makes a lot of important social commentary about the culture obsessed with clout chasing. The show is supposed to be obnoxious as it satirizes the ridiculous never-ending cycle of being trendy. Every episode is a tedious adventure about chasing the lasted fad only to end in the disappointment that there is a new trend to chase. The whole series is about a society stuck in this endless and stressful race of seeking attention. It is well done, for the most part, I just wish it was wrapped in a different package.
I will say that I respect the attention to detail put into this show. If you were around for the Hypebeast era, you will catch and appreciate a lot of the references. Slang, posters, and music, amongst the constant barrage of pop culture references, encapsulate a whole generation of culture. I just didn’t like the characters or the tone of the series. If you can get past both of these jarring details, you might have a better time with this show.
The show isn’t bad. It has its moments, and it makes some very cool observations, but it isn’t for me. This show was made with a specific audience in mind. Those on the outside of this group won’t find this show entertaining. That said, you can check it out on Amazon if you have a Prime Membership.
I will say it, Chris Pratt doesn’t play a good soldier. I gave him a pass for Tomorrow’s War because no one could make that movie work, but with a slightly better story, he still falls short. He plays the exact same character in this, and I fear that Pratt might be a one-note actor.
This show relies heavily on misdirection, tension, and urgency but there is none to be found. This is equal parts the fault of not having a strong enough lead as well as the poor directing and writing. The series follows Reese, a navy seal who is investigating a giant conspiracy that has taken the lives of his team and his family. Throughout, the show will present inconsistencies in what Reese perceives to try to disorient the audience’s perception of the narrative. Is there truly some secret plot against Reese and his men, or is it all a delusion brought on by an existing brain tumor?
While this might not be the worst military/spy thriller out there, there are certainly better options. The biggest issue with this show is its pacing. There also needed to be a force or pressure pushing Reese through the plot. Compitant villains with the chance to catch Reese. Instead, I waited for Pratt to make it to the next cheesy one-liner. It doesn’t help that the story stops for shameless product placement or to replay that same memories. It all feels like filler and adds little to the narrative.
The tension and suspense suffer from the series’ poor pacing. Why should I worry about Reese’s race against cancer or the government if he is sitting for dinner? He might be more mortal than the traditional action hero, but Reese still has the godlike ability to get out of every situation. The stiff action sequences are therefore a bore because the outcome will always favor Reese. There are moments where he is slowed down by the wear and tear of combat, but it never truly feels like Reese is in trouble. I have said it before, even if the hero wins, there needs to be tension and urgency to make the movie exciting.
This show desperately attempts to set itself apart through its constant failed attempts at misdirection. I knew who the final bad guy was the first time he appeared on screen, and I waited impatiently for his disappointing reveal. The series tries to trick the audience into believing that the conspiracy might be Reese’s delusion. This idea is interesting and it could have worked with a stronger lead. I have nothing against Pratt, but he doesn’t have the range needed for this series.
If you are going to watch this show, throw it up when you don’t want to pay attention. There is enough filler in this series here where you don’t need to be completely attentive. If you like spy thrillers, there are better ones, but this might scratch an itch. Otherwise, don’t bother. It’s okay for what it is, but it’s not really worth its run time. You can watch it on Amazon with a Prime membership, but I suggest you skip the boring bits.
The Black Phone is a welcome addition to the horror genre, one that leaves me hopeful for the future of scary movies. If you are thinking of watching this movie, just buy the tickets already. This movie is worth the theater experience. This terrifyingly suspenseful thriller will have you the most stressed you have ever been in a movie as you experience the cold isolated realm carefully crafted by the Grabber.
The sleepy town of Boulder Colorado has been hit with a series of kidnappings. The town is in a panic as they fear for the safety of their young boys. The movie focuses on Fin, the Grabber’s latest victim, who has the supernatural ability to speak with the dead through an old phone. Will Fin be the one to get away, or will he be just another victim?
This is a fantastic movie with amazing actors, a great story, and well-crafted horror. There are no cheap jump scares, farfetched storylines, or torture porn here. Instead, you have a tense and stressful situation effectively created through the isolation of the room and the maddening performance of Ethan Hawk. He is creepy, he is odd, and he is frightening. Hawk is a brilliant villain whose performance alone is worth the ticket price. But this movie is not possible without the equally brilliant child actors who help fuel a lot of the tension and suspense of this movie. You couple all of this with the movie’s terrifyingly stunning visuals and editing, and you get one of the creepiest movies I have seen in a while. The Black Phone is horror done correctly.
You need to watch this movie, and it needs to be in theaters.
Bang Bang Baby sits as a unique mob story that I believe is worth your time. It is full of dreams, quirky characters, and action. While the English dubbing is solid, I would recommend watching it in the original Italian as you will lose a bit of the intended cadence and emotion in the dubbing. While the show can be a little cheesy in parts, the message and social commentary are serious and important.
The show follows a young Alice who spends her life as the invisible shy girl living a dull life. Her world is shaken when she finds out that her father, who she believed dead, is part of a very important mob family. Her father convinces her to help him out of trouble, throwing her into the mob life. The more she attempts to go back to her normal life, the harder it becomes for her to leave the mob world. Will she be able to save her father and get the normal life she’s always wanted, or will the call of the underworld be too persuasive to resist?
This is such a unique story full of color, wacky antics, and interesting characters. The acting is fine, the cinematography is fantastic, and the story is uniquely engaging. This isn’t your typical mob story with a focus on hardened stoic criminals, but rather a story that focuses on the underrepresented groups whose stories are never told or are always misrepresented. These would be the story of the women, the homosexuals, and the undesirables. The plot is a combination of different narratives about people who don’t fit into the traditional roles set up by the ruling mob culture.
While there is an overarching mob element, the focus is on the outliers who are trying to find a place in a world that doesn’t want them. It is fantastic. You get a strong and capable female protagonist whose story doesn’t get preachy about girl power. You get LGBQ characters who aren’t caricatures or stereotypes and play an important role in the narrative. Most importantly, the show deals with breaking out of the traditions and expectations to find an identity that isn’t dictated by tradition or misogyny. You throw all this along with one of the best soundtracks in all of television, and you have a fun and unique show that I believe is worth your time.
I will say that there are parts of this show that slow down a bit, but it never gets unwatchable. You can watch this show on Amazon if you have a Prime Membership.
Amazon is stepping up its content game and seriously giving other streaming platforms a meaningful challenge. If you have Amazon Prime membership, you need to watch The Lake. This wholesome dramatic comedy is fantastically binge-worthy.
Billie was put up for adoption as a baby. Now, 16 years later, she is sent to spend a summer with her gay dad who she has never met before. All seems bleak at the lake, as the pair struggle to move past the awkwardness that resulted from the absence. It doesn’t help that coming to the lake has reignited an old family feud between Justin, Billie’s birth father, and Maisy, Justin’s stepsister. The series is full of shenanigans as the stepsiblings fight over the old lake house, but there is also some meaningful narratives about identity, family, and relationships that cannot be overlooked. It is a little on the sappy side in parts, but it is a cute and fun story throughout.
This show is well written and its fantastic cast do this show justice. The show is full of unique and interesting characters that build the world of this small lake community effectively. There are a lot of narratives that come together and I appreciate the little details that flesh out a story that goes beyond Justin and Billie’s relationship. It also goes without saying that Julia Stiles is a fantastic villain. I love that she is the driving force for a lot of the narrative and she is my favorite character.
The Lake is an Amazon original that should be on your list. It is a cute little comedy that will make you laugh, but it knows when to make serious commentary about society. Go check it out now!
Exit Strategy was a difficult sit because of how hard it tries to be quirky and funny. The problem with this movie is that the actors aren’t charismatic enough to make the movie work. The poor script and mediocre acting lead to some very flat performances and a film that is never funny. To make matters worse, the sound in this movie is horrible. I can forgive bad writing and acting but never bad sound.
The movie is about a man who finds himself trapped in a relationship he doesn’t want to be in. The girlfriend is comically insane and the harder he tries to leave, the stronger the hold she has over him becomes. The movie tries to focus on the absurdity of the situation, and a lot of the comedy is intended to come from the wacky antics its quirky characters get into, but none of the characters are quirky enough to pull it off.
This movie was a struggle as I waited for credits that took too long to roll. The jokes never land, the situations are never funny, and the story is terrible. I felt as trapped as the protagonist is supposed to feel watching a movie that got progressively worse with time. I will say that the editing was interesting. Scenes will repeat or skip and the movie would recall previous dialogue in sound bites. It gave the movie the feel like it was a nightmare, too bad this wasn’t a better movie.
You can find it free on YouTube, but it isn’t worth your time.
I have mentioned this before, but I am not a huge fan of the MCU. That said, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a clear exception. I was not ready for the brutally compelling story I received. This is possibly the coolest live-action superhero movie I have ever seen. I hope Disney takes notes and keeps creating movies with the same energy.
The movie follows Doctor Strange as he encounters a young girl, America, who has the power to travel through the multiverse. It is up to Doctor Strange to keep her safe as the Scarlet Witch is after her power. Will Doctor Strange save the multiverse from catastrophe? You will have to watch to find out.
This is a great movie and one that I wholeheartedly recommend. The acting is fantastic, the wizard battles are amazing, and the story is solid. Scarlet Witch is a phenomenal villain, and Elizabeth Olsen does her part and more to bring such a great character to life. The Scarlet Witch is now my favorite villain because she has clear motives and deals with viable inner demons. She is a very competent and powerful witch, and this movie does a great job showing this through its many creative and fun battles. Her character arc is amazing and I can’t commend Elizabeth Olsen or the filmmakers enough. My only complaint is that there weren’t enough magic battles. To be fair though, if I had my way, this movie would be all wizard battles.
The story is great. It has a solid progression, great action, and it builds to a satisfying final battle. I would suggest reading up on the MCU Scarlet Witch. There are references to Wandavision and her involvement with the infinity stones that don’t make sense unless you’ve kept up with the series. I haven’t kept up with the MCU, and I don’t feel like it is necessary to keep up with it, but it will add meaning to a few scenes. You can stream it now on Disney Plus. If you haven’t seen this movie, you should.
If you want to see a classic and thrilling heist movie, you can find Heat free on YouTube. This heist movie focuses on a cat and mouse chase as a cop and a crook battle it out in the mean streets of Los Angeles. You have a fantastic cast telling an amazing story, what more can you ask for? Do not be intimidated by the almost three hours run time, this movie is worth every minute.
The acting in this movie is amazing with action to match. What I love about this movie is how good it is at telling the story. It pieces together different narratives in a way that never slows the pacing of the movie. I love how it is able to tell a story with small scenes or moments. You have a cop dealing with his crumbling marriage as his obsession with his job interferes with his life. You have the story of a young girl working with her abandonment issues. You have the crook who is addicted to the game, and the movie becomes more of the chase than the score. These stories blend together and build up to a final satisfying confrontation. It is brilliant, and if you haven’t seen this movie, you should do so now! You can find it free on YouTube.
