You have already seen the plot to this movie play out many times before. This one does little to stand out against anything else in the genre, but it isn’t the worst way you can spend two hours. Kevin James is refreshing in a role that doesn’t revolve around him being fat. It is nice to see a movie that isn’t another Paul Blart rip off because he has proven that he has the range to do anything else. I hope this means that James will begin his transition into more serious roles. He definitely has the talent for it.
The movie focuses on the story of the disgraced Saints coach Sean Payton. It deals with the aftermath of his headhunting scandal as Payton deals with his suspension by coaching his son’s football team. It is a solid redemption movie, one where he learns what is truly important in his life.
This movie is fine. The acting is solid and the story is fine, but it isn’t anything award winning. If you like this genre of movie, this is a solid choice. If you are forced to sit through this movie, you won’t hate the time you spend on it. Go watch it on Netflix.
This movie is fine. The cast is charming and funny enough to make this movie work, but it isn’t anything transcending and I doubt this movie’s lasting power. This will not be your favorite comedy. That said, the acting is fine, the jokes are funny enough, and the story is decent. There are worse ways to spend two hours.
The movie focuses on a girl’s goal to achieve her dream life in high school. She wants to be popular, cheer captain, have the hottest boyfriend, and live in the nicest house. Her goals are complicated when an accident puts her in a coma for 20 years. Now, she must attempt to achieve all her goals as a 38 year old with the mind of an 18 year old. Will she achieve everything she always wanted, or will modern life ruin any of her chances? Think of this as the Kickin’ it Old skool reboot no one asked for.
This movie is very much a Rebel Wilson movie as it leans heavily into her style of comedy. If you are not a fan of her characters or her style of comedy, you will not find this movie funny. I wasn’t impressed with the work, but I didn’t hate watching it. I don’t see myself ever rewatching this film because a lot of the jokes won’t land the second time around. The second act of this movie slows almost to a halt as it becomes increasingly preachy about priorities, expectations, and growing up. There is a moment where this movie stops to monologue about the themes and message of the movie as if it weren’t already blatantly obvious. This movie makes a lot of lazy obvious jokes about the current generation that you have seen done better elsewhere.
There are worse comedies out there, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch this one either. You can find this on this movie on Netflix.
Burning Kentucky is a very unremarkable movie about loss and grief that you haven’t heard of for good reason. It isn’t a bad movie, but it leaves no tangible impression. I struggle to remember what this movie is about and I just watched it. You can find it free on YouTube, but you are better off watching anything else.
The movie focuses on a family dealing with the loss of the matriarch of the family. Some of the members drown their grief with drugs and alcohol, while others begin to move past it. Throughout the movie, you get insight into the death through different perspectives, each revealing a dark secret. It would be well done if the story was interesting and the acting was better, but it’s not.
The acting is mediocre at best, but most people can’t stick to an accent. The story isn’t interesting. I liked that it would focus on people dealing with grief, but the whole movie feels like it is hitting certain emotional beats to create interest. There are some cool shots in this movie, but it isn’t worth the trouble. It isn’t the worst thing I’ve seen on YouTube, but I definitely won’t remember it.
I wanted to like Spiderhead, but unfortunately, this movie is an utter disappointment. Chris Hemsworth is a fantastic villain, but unfortunately, his efforts are wasted on a film with a severe identity crisis. This movie struggles as it tries to decide whether it wants to be horror, action thriller, or dark comedy. The result is something that feels like three different movies awkwardly stitched together and posted as a cheap way to generate views. There are about 30 minutes of salvageable film, but the disappointment is too overwhelming to merit a recommendation.
Spiderhead is a prison facility run by a shady pharmaceutical company. They use the facility to test highly experimental drugs on its inmates. All the inmates are here by choice, but as the side effects begin to get severe, it becomes harder to justify volunteering. The movie focuses on a protagonist with a dark past that you uncover as the tests continue. Will he continue to subject himself to the experiments, or will his questions prompt a release from the program? Or worse?
The movie starts as another prison game narrative. The movie does a great job of setting up how isolated the facility is. It also provides the audience with a taste of the type of tests involved. What sets this movie apart is the very charismatic Chris Hemsworth who uses his charisma to manipulate the prisoners into always cooperating with the testing. It is fun to see Steve (Chris Hemsworth) turn every conversation in his favor. The problem is that none of the other actors add this same level of energy and it hurts the film. When the movie shifts its focus from Hemsworth to the true protagonist, the movie loses its momentum, and I, in turn, lost my interest. The movie becomes this lazy, cartoonish The Warriors ripoff no one asks for full of ex-Machina and poorly delivered drama. I don’t like this movie because of how badly I was let down by the ending.
If you want something to throw in the background, sure. Chris Hemsworth’s performance is fantastic. There are a lot of bits in this movie where nothing happens, making it not worth your full attention. You can find this movie on Netflix, but there are a lot of other media that do this same story better elsewhere.
This part will have spoilers, do not read if you care about spoilers. This is one of those movies where I wish the villain won. It would have been such a better story if at the end of the movie, after all the effort of trying to escape, the protagonist finds he is still a part of the test. Anything would have been better than how it ends.
I watched the Bill and Ted reboot and was disappointed. It didn’t have the same charm that the originals had, so I lost interest pretty quickly. After the reboot, I feared that maybe my memory of the original movies was skewed by my youthful ignorance. It is because of this fear that I have been avoiding rewatching this movie for a while now. Today I bit the bullet and I am pleasantly satisfied with how well Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure holds up. Some of the jokes do not hold up, but overall the story is solid and is still worth your time.
I love Bill and Ted as protagonists. A lot of this movie’s charm comes from how well they are played. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter have amazing chemistry and have helped create an incredibly iconic duo. What I like most is that they aren’t just silly dumb one-note characters. Although they are aloof by nature, they learn from the events of their adventure and grow because of it. Bill and Ted are not the same characters they started as despite them still being aloof.
This is a most excellent movie that you can watch for free on YouTube. You can also find the sequel on YouTube as well. Check them out if you have some time, and remember, party on dudes.
You Won’t Be Alone is a delightfully odd low-budget film about a witch who just wants to live a normal life. Nevena was turned into a witch as a baby. Her mother, fearing that the witch would take her, hides Nevena in a cave. Nevena will spend the first 16 years of her living in this cave in isolation. Eventually, the witch returns for Nevena and takes her out of the cave. Although Nevena appreciates her newfound freedom, she doesn’t want to be a witch. The witches in this movie have the power to take the form of a corpse. Nevena will make three transformations in this movie. We get to watch her learn about human nature from three different perspectives by living as a young woman, a young man, and a little girl. Will she be able to assimilate and have a normal life, or will the hatred toward witches be her demise?
This is a trigger warning! There is a bit of nudity and sex. The movie also deals with abuse, both emotional and physical. If any of these topics trigger you, do not watch this movie.
This movie does a fantastic job of creating an engaging narrative by piecing together different stories. I loved how each Nevena focuses on different aspects of human life based on the assumed perspective. For each version of Nevena, she finds different objects of importance that help her grow as a person. A lot of the narrative exists within her childlike observations. She grew up away from society, so she finds intrigue in everything. This innocent curiosity is a great driving force for the narrative. It is through Nevena’s innocence that we get a lot of important criticism about human nature.
The only complaint I have is that this movie is with the pacing. This movie is a slow burn, and it is going to be an issue for most people. This movie is also a bit unrefined because of its budget. It is not unwatchable, but it is difficult to ignore. There is some awkward camera work and a few of Nevena’s reactions get tedious. If you can get past these flaws, it is a solid movie. If you can get past the issues, this movie proves that you don’t need a hefty budget of name-brand actors to tell an interesting story.
This is an Armenian film with some awkwardly translated subtitles. Not unintelligible, but award at points. If you don’t mind the budget and pacing, this is a good way to spend two hours. This movie fills a certain niche, and it won’t be for everyone. This movie is also very quiet. Nevena never learned to speak, a lot of her communication is through gesticulation. The movie does a fantastic job at combining Nevena’s non-verbal communication with a contemplative internal monologue to create a powerful narrative. If you are interested, you can stream it on Peacock.
The plot of the original Overboard makes me uncomfortable because of the unethical misogyny. A man takes in a woman who has lost her memory and tricks her into being the perfect housewife. If you like cheesy 80’s comedies and you can overlook this flaw, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell have enough charisma and chemistry to make this movie salvageable. Otherwise, you can skip this and be fine.
Don’t get me wrong, I did not hate this movie, but there are bits that make me uncomfortable. I don’t agree with how they treated Goldie Hawn’s character at the start of her kidnapping. While it might be excusable because she was a nightmare at the start of the film, it was a bit excessive and mean. It is also problematic that a woman who has never worked a day in her life learns instinctually how to be the perfect mother and housewife over a period of a couple of days. If the acting in this movie wasn’t as good as it is, I wouldn’t have finished this movie. I don’t know how it compares to the remake, but I am glad they did the gender swap. This movie would not be successful with a modern audience.
If you like cheesy 80’s movies, this one is fine. This movie has a very specific audience, and if you aren’t in that group, I wouldn’t bother looking it up. That said, you can watch it for free on YouTube.
I’ve seen enough of these curse game movies to have low expectations of the genre. However, I was pleasantly surprised by Choose or Die. While it may not leave a lasting impression, it isn’t the worst way to spend two hours. I honestly believe it to be one of the better films in the genre.
Choose or Die is about a girl Thea who is really good at computers. As she is desperately trying to find ways to make some extra money, she stumbles onto a text-based RPG that promises a healthy payout. While the game seems innocent, it comes with some deadly consequences. Now she is trapped in the game of her life. Will she win it all, or die trying?
Choose or Die does enough to keep it from being another bad entry to the genre, but it is far from perfect. The acting is solid, and some games are creative, but the narrative is lacking. Thea is a solid protagonist. Usually, movies like this feature a bland misrepresented character that is inexplicably perfect when the plot needs her to be. Thea on the other hand is shown early on to be a capable computer engineer. It isn’t random or unbelievable when she plays the game competently or when she overcomes obstacles. She is also likable enough, although there is some bad writing that keeps her from being better.
The games Thea is forced to play are fun and creative for the most part. This movie does a decent job converting text-based RPG elements into a realistic and suspenseful challenge that Thea must overcome. Most importantly, these games are winnable. In some of the Saw movies or that dumb Escape Room movie, the games aren’t winnable. Instead of the suspenseful ride of watching someone trying to win their life, you get torture porn. While there is nothing wrong with that type of genre, it isn’t horror. You don’t see much torture in Choose or Die instead it becomes a very intense puzzle where the choices are difficult, but not impossible. Unfortunately, not all of the games are created equal. This will hurt this movie’s rewatchability.
My only complaint is with the writing. There are a few very cheesy moments that destroy the tension. Terrible one-liners, cheesy outcomes, and the pointless scenes with the drug dealer kind of slow the movie down and distract from the more creative bits. There is also a lot of buildup to a very disappointing ending that almost ruins the experience.
You can watch this movie on Netflix. While I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch it, it’s not bad if you have nothing else to do.
With the third season of Barry coming to a close, if you haven’t started watching this series, now is the perfect time to start. Season three is unfolding into the most insane and frustrating journey put on a reel, and I absolutely love every minute of it. For those of you who don’t know, Barry is a dark comedy about a hitman who no longer wants to kill people. Barry is one of the best in the business, but his life is unfulfilled. This all changes when a job has him stumble into the acting class that will change his life. He believes he’s found his true calling in acting despite not being very good at it. It is a fantastic journey of struggle, disappointment, depression, and acting.
This show makes an uncharismatic murderer lovable and that in itself should be enough reason for you to watch this show. This show is well shot, directed, acted, and written. It is full of characters you will hate because you are supposed to, those you will love because they ooze charisma and nail-biting tense moments that will have you ripping your hair out. I love the contrast between the acting scene and the dark underworld that Barry can’t ever shake. The harder Barry tries to have a normal life, the harder it becomes to keep his lives seperate. It is this duality that makes this show so special. All Barry wants in life is to have a purpose, but can he find purpose outside of murder? You will have to watch to find out.
Watch this show on HBO. Trust me, you won’t regret it.
Queen Latifah proves once again that she can be good in anything. This isn’t a very good movie, but I can’t deny that her performance gives this movie its life. I liked it when I watched it long ago, but watching it again came with the uncomfortable realization that Last Holiday has not aged well. It is a bit too cartoonish, and I can never be comfortable with the tokenism.
Last Holiday is about Georgia, a woman who lives a very restricted life because she is waiting for a perfect moment that might never come. She saves her money, clips coupons, only eats lean cuisines, and never makes any unnecessary waves in the world. This changes when she is given only three weeks to live. She spends those three weeks fulfilling everything in her book of possibilities.
As far as bucket lists movies go, this one will always have a special place in my heart. I am biased. I like the light-hearted tone mixed with some very valid criticism about life and greed. It does get a bit preachy at points, and some scenes are difficult to watch, but it isn’t unwatchable. While her performance is amazing, there are some actors that lack the ability. The plot is a bit on the wacky side and some of the bits aren’t as funny as they used to be. I loved the scenes where she talks to the French chef. It was in these moments that the movie wasn’t trying too hard to be funny and wacky, and although the performance wasn’t great, it was a real and authentic exchange. I wish the rest of the movie carried this tone, but then it wouldn’t be a comedy.
You can watch this movie on YouTube for free. My only suggestion is that you throw this up in the background while you work on other stuff. There are a few scenes you can skip. Last Holiday is average at best, but Queen Latifah is as fantastic as always.
