The Outfit is an interesting twist on the gangster genre that I enjoyed thoroughly. While the run time is a little longer than my attention span can handle, I found little issue sitting through this movie. Mark Rylance gives a magnificent performance, and he deserves your attention. It is hard to write this review because I don’t want to spoil anything. The narrative’s effectiveness hinges on its mystery, and who am I to spoil that for you? Please take my word for it, you need to watch this movie.
The Outfit is about a cutter who owns a shop in Chicago whose primary clientele consists of a local Irish gang. The events focus on a very eventful night with a city on the verge of gang warfare. The entire movie takes place inside the shop, but the narrative is not confined within its walls. Instead, there will be bits of dialogue, subtle gestures, and even accents that add to its grandeur. The movie is mostly dialogue, but it is in the details where the weight of the narrative lies. My suggestion to you, pay attention to everything. It will be your job to piece together the narrative through its various clues as it builds up to a pretty satisfying ending.
I am afraid this is all I can say about this film without ruining the experience. I suggest you go into this movie as blind as possible because the experience relies heavily on piecing the story together. This is a great gangster movie and well worth your time, just make sure you have time for it. It is a long one. You can watch this movie on Peacock.
The Longshots is another sports movie. While it isn’t bad, if you’ve seen one sports movie, you’ve seen them all. Jasmine becomes the school’s first female quarterback and the team goes from the worst in the league to the best. If you have time to kill, or like sports movie, it isn’t a complete waste of time. Otherwise, there isn’t anything special or memorable about this movie. It follows the same story beats and hits all the mandatory emotional components. You won’t hate this movie, but you also won’t remember watching it.
What sets this movie apart from others in the genre is Ice Cube. Ice Cube is one of those few actors that plays the same character in every movie he plays. While his range is very limited by his ability, I appreciate that he helps tell the stories of an underrepresented people. While some of his movies have become culturally important, this is not one of them. At the end of the day, this is another sports movie, and it gets as cheesy as you can imagine.
You can watch this movie for free on YouTube. You can do a lot worse for free, trust me.
I have never been a fan of biopics, but I’ve been coming around lately. It is safe to assume that maybe it isn’t that I don’t like biopics, but rather that I have never seen any good ones. I believe that Miss Potter is one of the good ones.
Miss Potter is the dramatization of the life of children’s book author Beatrix Potter. This is an elegantly quirky retelling of the life of a very inspiring woman. It deals with love, loss, and challenging oppressive gender roles. It is well acted, beautifully directed, and very compelling. If you have time on your hands, you should at the very least consider watching this movie.
I don’t know how historically accurate this film is. I will instead treat this like any other narrative I come across. I thought the characters were perfect. Miss Potter is quirky, strong willed, and very imaginative. I admire the amount of effort she put forth to get her work published considering the challenges she faced due to her sex. It amazes me how much she was able to do in a time when women were under constant pressures to be submissive. It scares me that so many years later, these pressures still exist, even though they might have evolved a bit. It is infuriating to know that the rights and privileges of women are governed by the ego of a few fragile and greedy men. As a society, we must continue to fight and persevere as Miss Potter did. Society will never be perfect, but we can’t keep going backwards.
I loved severance. The only issue I have with the series is that it is over and I have to wait for the next season to find out what happens.
Severance plays with the idea of identity as it explores a future where people can separate their consciousness in two, one that lives a normal life, and one who only works. These two personalities will never interact. The idea being that a person can live life without the distractions of work and vice versa. Although the company of Lumen does everything in its power to make this idea seem utopian, there is something sinister afoot, and we as the audience slowly begin to uncover what that is.
Severanceis a quirky and dark mystery full of suspense and philosophy. It is fantastically acted, well written, and beautifully shot. I usually criticize shows for their pacing, but here the slow pacing works to add the suspense that will keep you at the edge of your seat. The sterile and chimerical work environment, the positively chipper attitudes of management, and the isolation truly create a well-made psychological horror. If you like movies like Get Out or The Stepford Wives, this is the show for you.
I love how it can create horror through Lumen’s seeming perfection. The constant almost robotic references to protocol, the small mandatory celebrations, the mystery of the work being done, and the consistent positivity from the employees give this show its dark undertones. Let me not forget that the casting is perfect. Every character is well performed and truly give this show its vibrance. Milchick is my absolute favorite villain. Tramell Tillman earns his praise as he plays the chipper helicopter supervisor that is always smiling. It is his toxic positivity that sells the shows psychological horror. Lumen is up to something, and it drives me crazy that I don’t know what it is.
Severance makes valid criticisms about work and individuality. It also explores topics of religion, freedom, and escapism. It addresses each topic effectively by creating an engaging narrative that gets weirder the longer you stick with. This show is weird in the best possible way. If you haven’t seen this show yet, you need to go watch it now. You can watch it on Apple TV. If you don’t have a subscription, it is worth the trail because you need this show in your life.
I had to think hard about whether or not I liked this movie. While it does have its moments, they are overshadowed by this movie’s lazy writing. Here After is one of the laziest romantic comedies I have ever seen.
Here After is about a romance between a ghost and a living woman. The movie deals with relationships, love, and the afterlife, but it does so ineffectively. It gets incredibly hard to watch with how hard it tries to be a sappy love story.
A lot of the narrative exists within pretentious conversations about life, death, and love. While there are some quirky and fun scenes, the whole movie doesn’t carry this energy. Instead, it becomes another generic and predictable love story. Its desperate attempts to be different sadly cannot hide the fact that this love story has been told better elsewhere.
Micheal and Honey Bee fall in love, but can’t be together. Obviously, this movie will build up a romantic journey just to have Honey Bee die at the end. They have to end up together forever somehow. What makes this movie incredibly lazy is that the only reason that the two can interact is that Honey Bee is also conveniently dying. It’s hard to believe that in New York City, these two can find each other by chance.
My biggest problem with this movie is the inconsistency of the rules for the afterlife. These rules seem to change to fit the narrative or are overlooked by its bad writing. The movie sets up that people cannot die alone. Instead, those who die alone must find a soul mate before they can cross over. Cross over to what? The movie doesn’t specify.
So what are the rules? A soul mate is strictly a romantic partner. What happens to asexual people? Narcissists? What happens if I die and I become best friends with someone? Can we cross over as bros? I love my wife. She is my soulmate. If I die before her, do I automatically pass over? What if she remarries? Do I get yanked out of the other side, forced to seek out a new soul mate?
When a person becomes a ghost, he is removed from all his distracting feelings. These change depending on what the story needs to be, but lust seems to be constant. A ghost whose mind isn’t clouded by a desire for sex is free to find his true love. There are lines of dialogue that contradict this, but no one’s paying that close attention. The ghosts still roam the Earth, but can’t touch or affect the physical world or living people. Unless of course, it is alcohol, glasses containing alcohol, books, and your true love. Like everything, this will change if the plot needs to move forward or there needs to be a cheap laugh.
I am clearly overanalyzing a movie that doesn’t deserve it. I can’t recommend this movie. It is pretentious, lazy, and inconsistent. Even if you like these kinds of movies, I don’t find this love story to be all that inspiring. Micheal has to be reprogrammed in order to find Honey Bee, what happens when he gets those feelings back? Anyways, you can find this movie on YouTube for free. Oh and if you are watching this for Christina Ricci, she is barely in the movie.
You can watch Apartment 1303 for free on YouTube, but I wouldn’t bother. The acting is terrible, the sound is bad, and the story isn’t interesting. The movie focuses on two sisters who move into apartment 1303 to get away from a drunk and abusive mother. They live in this apartment at different times, but both will experience the ominous presence of the ghosts that live there. It makes me wonder how this complex exists when half the residents are ghosts.
Apartment 1303 fails as a horror movie in every regard. The poor acting and lack of any emotion kill any suspense this poorly written movie could have had. Its garbage sound mixing means you hear every breath and rustling in the background, and it gets distracting. The soundtrack is played on a speaker one room over, and once from a pair of wireless headphones. The plot is full of holes and continuity errors. There are lines of dialogue that contradict themselves in the same breath. This movie is lazy, boring, and a huge waste of time.
I do, however, want to take a moment to overanalyze the plot a bit. Usually, in horror movies, a character will make frustratingly incompetent choices that lead to their demise, like staying in an apartment everyone says is haunted. In this movie, I don’t blame the characters for not leaving the apartment. Apartment 1303 is a one-bedroom high-rise apartment in downtown Detroit that is definitely nicer and bigger than the one I am currently living in. The rent was only $700 a month with a full kitchen, a large living room, a full-sized bathtub, and a balcony with a nice view of the lake. I could put aside my fear of ghosts for $700 of rent. The sisters were also escaping an abusive mother who was desperately clinging to her failed career as a singer. I would choose the ghost too, especially after hearing her music. This movie is dumb, but living in the haunted apartment is blameless.
Anyways, this movie is free on YouTube, but I wouldn’t bother.
Little Big Soldier is one of my favorite Jackie Chan movies. This pseudo-historical twist on an unlikely buddy comedy is a journey you really need to consider. It is a hilarious adventure with a powerful and relevant message. I have watched this movie in both the original Cantonese and its English dubbing. While the dubbing is solid, I prefer the original because there is a lot of emotion that is lost in translation. Not that I understand any Cantonese.
Little Big Soldier is about a farmer who doesn’t want to be a soldier. He uses his wit to survive a bloody battle where he was able to capture an enemy general by chance. He is determined to turn in the enemy general to his own empire so that he may never have to fight in another war. The two start off as enemies, but will reluctantly become friends along the way.
This movie is a reimagining of historical events, but it also aims to show how meaningless war is. While I can’t speak on its historical accuracy, the narrative is fantastic. The movie does a great job of showing the effects war has on some of the different groups of people in China. From the nomadic tribes to the wondering homeless trying to survive, everyone is affected by the decisions of a few greedy men. It is scary to think a single impulse or feud could uproot and destroy the lives of thousands of people. This movie makes some very powerful criticisms about war while at the same time being silly and entertaining.
You can watch this movie in Cantonese for free on YouTube. You can watch the English dubbing on Peacock with a subscription.
Julia is a very wholesome show that you should be binging right now! If you are a fan of Ted Lasso, you will adore Julia. I am not a huge fan of biopics, but this definitely has changed my opinion. It is well cast, wonderfully written, and beautifully shot. You should not waste another minute with me, but instead, be watching this show.
Julia is the retelling of the rise of Julia Child’s career. It is quirky, fun, and inspiring. I never grew up with her cooking show, but this show made me feel guilty that I didn’t. The energy and wholesomeness that these actors put into their performances are intoxicating. If you are not smiling by the end of an episode, there is something wrong with you. My only warning for you is: do not watch this show while hungry. Every episode had me craving a bite of whatever Julia was making or eating.
I can’t speak on the show’s historical accuracy, but the story is truly inspiring. If you do not love Julia for her warm and bubbly personality, you will love her for her perseverance. Julia is constantly being overlooked because of her gender, and it is inspiring to see her push through and make her dreams come true.
You need to watch this show. You can watch it on HBO. The last episode airs on May 5th,2022. If you don’t have a subscription, get one then. It is well worth the binge.
I didn’t know Lifetime made horror movies, but here we have the oddest ghost story you probably shouldn’t watch. I had to take multiple breaks to get through this movie, and it wasn’t worth it. The acting is very stiff and awkward. This kills all suspense; horror movies rely heavily on good suspenseful buildup. At least there aren’t any cheap jump scares. If there are jump scares, they are so poorly done that I didn’t notice. This is a very incompetent movie. The story is full of holes, and it never knows what it wants to be. Is this a movie about murder? A haunting? Spousal abuse? It is dumber than you could imagine.
The inherited is about a newly-wed couple who move into a mansion that the husband inherits. There is something sinister in the house, and it is Tom, the husband. The ghost of Tom’s ex-wife still roams the house, but the worst thing she does is try to open locked doors. Tom, on the other hand, is short-tempered and aggressive. There are a lot of red flags in this relationship, and it is not because the house is haunted. There is a scene in this movie where he is on the verge of hitting Eve because she was voicing that she felt unsafe in the house. I was more worried that Eve was stuck in an abusive relationship than anything the ghost could have done.
This movie never figures out what it wants to be. It sets up an ominous town with creepy citizens like in Get Out, but they don’t do anything. After investigating Tom’s past, it is implied that he might have murdered his ex-wife, but he didn’t. There is a ghost in the house, but she doesn’t do anything sinester either. It takes an hour for this movie to remember it is horror and by then, there are only 20 minutes left.
Eve is a dumb character. With possible murder on the table, Eve still doesn’t leave a clearly abusive husband. She gets poisoned, and she still decides to stay and work things out.Then there is ghost who roams the halls. You find out that its the ghost of the ex-wife. This is possibly the most helpful ghost in cinema since Casper. This ghost talks to Eve when she is lonely and even helps with the housework. It is no wonder that in the end, after Tom is murdered, Eve decides to co-parent a child with the ghost. Eve wins this movie. She gets a huge train money inheritance, a nice mansion, and a family. What more can a girl ask for?
This movie is bonkers, but not in a fun way. It moves too slowly and the acting is terrible. It is free on YouTube, but I would honestly skip it.
Picard is my introduction to Star Trek. I’ve seen the movies, but I wasn’t a fan of the movies. As someone who is unfamiliar with the show, this was a great place to start. While it is a little preachy at points, it did make me start watching some of the older shows. If you are a long-time fan, you might be disappointed by the series, but at least it is better than the movies.
I will say that the first season is the only one that is worth watching. The acting is fantastic, the action is fun, and the story is engaging enough. It isn’t perfect, it makes a lot of weird choices, and the ending is disappointing, but it got me interested in the series.
One issue that might arise is with the references made to the original show. I felt a bit alienated when they would introduce an old crew member or reference certain events, but it wasn’t bad enough that I couldn’t understand the story. They exist as nods to the fans of the show and add little to the plot. My biggest issue is how much it addresses social justice issues. While appreciated, these moments get tedious and overbearing. I love Patrick Stewart, but he doesn’t need a speech every time he is on screen. There are moments in this show where Picard is more white guilt personified than the great captain the show wants him to be. The first season isn’t perfect, but it is good enough for casuals.
However, do not waste your time on the second season. I have personally created my own ending to the first season to cope with the disappointment that comes with watching the second season. The second season discards everything that makes Star Trek unique and fun and turns into a generic social justice action thriller no one asked for. While I do appreciate the sentiment, the messaging should be a lot more subtle. I didn’t like how the crew kept getting thrown from social issue to social issue as if they were collecting hashtags in their desperate attempt to stay woke and relevant. It isn’t fun, it isn’t interesting, please skip it.
You can watch this show on Paramount+. Watch it if you are interested in sci-fi but don’t know where to start. This is science fiction for casuals. If you are in the mood for sci-fi that requires little investment, Picard is a good place to start. The only problem is, you might not want to stop.
