Reviews

If you liked Castaway, you'll probably like this. In this post-apocalyptic story, "Wilson" the volleyball is now a robot. The difference is the robot speaks when Wilson couldn't. I did find the robot's voice to be grating and annoying, so that's a mark against it. Tom Hanks is great as usual. Alright overall.

Huh. So Taylor Sheridan (who I've loved in the past: Yellowstone and Wind River) writes a script that's B movie quality and casts an Oscar winner in the lead role, and we're supposed to all pretend that it's good when it's actually not? I'm sort of scratching my head at this one. There are some decent action sequences even though they're the kind action scenes that you make fun of with your fellow watchers while watching (which can be a fun form of moviewatching honestly). Angelina Jolie is very miscast as she looks quite frail and also a bit glamorous for me to believe she's a tough salt-of-the-earth smoke jumper.

This started so strong. Love that it was set in the 1980's. The sets, the costumes, the music, the feel. It was nice to see some of the actors from the original Haunting of series (which I liked). But it really started to drag in the middle of it, and then it got so boring and so nonsensical that I forced myself to finish it as background watching. I think a 5 is probably generous, but since I didn't watch the last few episodes with 100% attention, it feels unfair for me to dock it lower.

I felt like the first Chapter was like Stranger Things w/some gross stuff but nothing really scary in it. The sequel did a better job with the actual suspense/scares. It definitely felt darker but the cutting between adults and kids didn't always feel seamless to me in terms of continuous emotions. All in all, the new IT franchise has disappointed me a bit but it's still better than most horror films out there.

Dark but in the way that's still enjoyable. A really solid mystery with interesting character dynamics and great performances. Moody and creepy.

I wasn't totally sure about this for the first 20-30 minutes. Some of the actions of the parents felt a bit implausible and a few key reveal scenes happened off screen (I HATE it when exciting stuff happens off-screen, such a waste). But then as the story got deeper in and things went from bad to worse, it got very interesting. Takes a bit to get going, but once it does, you will be hooked. Original thriller.

Oh, dang... this movie is really heavy and sad at times. Based on a true story, a father denies deliberately setting his house on fire and killing his three young children. I don't believe in the death penalty (largely because MANY innocent people are convicted of murder), and this movie spends a lot of time on death row... at times, it's grim. But there's also hope in the movie and a stellar, layered performance from Laura Dern. Worth a watch if you can handle the subject matter.

This docu-series is devastating at times, thrilling at other times. It feels almost like you're watching a movie where the Big Bad Whatever is doing dastardly things behind the scenes, endangering people's lives, cutting corners that never should be cut, and you're waiting for the hero or heroine to sound the alarms and save the day... except in this case, the Big Bad was NASA and the hero and heroine(ish) characters are ignored, and real lives are lost.

Cute, fun, movie about being who you truly are. It didn't blow my socks off, but it had some good messages about being independent and brave. Some cliché moments but also some heartfelt ones. And Bette Midler is always fun to see.

Just.... Strange. Kind of a weird train wreck to watch. Elisabeth Moss is a great actress and delivers as usual, but it's a little hard to get on board with the story, because you want the "good" characters to stand up for themselves and the "bad" characters are just pretty mean. Upon further recent (this is supposed to be based on the Haunting of Hill House author Shirley Jackson), there is no evidence that the real Shirley Jackson was so evil. This movie version of Shirley tears people down for sport. It leaves a bad taste in my life when famous figures are skewered in movies that promote themselves as biopics or "based on the life of" or "inspired by a true story." Skip this movie and read a Shirley Jackson novel instead!

This is a slow-moving, cerebral movie that in the second half moves with more urgency and intrigue. If not anchored by such a strong performance by Amy Adams, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it as much as I did. Though at times I found it slow, I never wanted to turn it off, because the central question of the movie - WHY ARE THE ALIENS HERE? - is compelling enough that you have to stick it out to find out the answer.

This was good! VERY GOOD. Finally, a film that's not a comic book. A film about complex characters that still hits all the high notes that you want in a movie - moments of humor, moments of emotional depth, and an exciting final third act as you root for your heroes to win the big race that the entire movie has been building up to! More movies like this, please.

This movie is very funny - sometimes darkly so, sometimes strangely so - but it also seriously makes you think about how approaching or considering one's mortality could cause a person to reconsider their idea of what living really is.

This started out so strong. Based on a true story, I was so interested in how this Major League Baseball player who has to hide his from most people will navigate both his life as a spy during WWII as well as his personal life.... But it didn't go as deep as it could have. Maybe the casting of Paul Rudd was a little off too, but I think much of it is attributable to the script and directing. It felt like it stayed too surface level, and then when there were scenes of spy activity that could have been suspenseful, it was directed in a way to play for the joke or the levity of the scene.

If you're into WWII stories, historical biopics, etc. I think this is worth a watch, but I think it could have been better.

What is happening with "Blumhouse" movies? The Blumhouse label used to mean quality, original stories, especially in the horror genre. I am seeing Blumhouse on everything these days and so much of it is medicore, including this. The setting of the film SHOULD be so creepy - it's basically a cult. But it feels so light and breezy. Young teens might like it.

This started strong with a shocking event/crime that really rattled me. I loved the musical score and the eerie opening credits. It set the stage for a movie that tonally I knew was going to be different than your average movie fare. And then after the traumatic opening event, the movie gets underway, following the 14-year-old main character as she recovers and begins her musical career which takes off in part because of the tragedy she experienced. I was very captivated in the beginning, and I loved how the narration made it feel almost like you were watching a creepy fairy tale set in the real world.

But as the movie continued, it never really picked up momentum or pulled me in emotionally. By the time it got to the second half where Natalie Portman was playing the adult version of the girl, it felt like it was just a strange meandering story.

This is such a horrifying topic, so I expected it to pack more of a gut punch. However, the filmmaker really missed all of the important emotional, human moments. So it feels more like a montage/expose of the events that occurred that didn't delve deeply into what it must have FELT like.

Starts very, very strong. And then it begins to meander. I feel it would have been better if it'd been created with the intention to be a limited mini-series rather than a TV series, because then the writing team could have crafted a compelling beginning, middle, and end. As it is, without a season 2 renewal, it just sort of... ends.

Stranger Things meets The Burbs meets Disturbia. It's good 80s nostalgic fun. It's Rated R with a little bit of slasher violence and a lot of F bombs, so it seems like it's more for adults than kids, though I do think younger viewers would enjoy it as well. Great performances by a mostly young (teen) cast. I preferred the first ending to the second (and when you see it you'll know what I mean).

Definitely the third in a trilogy so be sure to see Unbreakable and Split before seeing this. A little slow at times, but there are some exciting scenes and McAvoy gives a very entertaining performance.

James Franco is great in this. At first, it almost feels like you're watching a Saturday Night Live skit as you watch his character - real life Tommy Wiseau - try to make it in Hollywood alongside his friend Greg (played by Franco's real life brother Dave). Tommy Wiseau isn't just weird. He's bizarre. So bizarre in fact that you question if he really acts like that. But look him up, and yes he does. And James Franco's commitment to the performance makes it work. It stops feeling a like an SNL skit and starts to feel like you've entered the Twilight Zone of Tommy's life. The main question I had in my head was Why did Greg (who seemed pretty normal) want to be friends with Tommy? Was it just the money? Watch it and draw your own conclusions.

The trailer really sold me on this movie. The story about a couple that moves into a secure, Stepford-Wives-ish building with CCTV looked suspenseful and weird. And it was, sort of. But it was also pretty slow as Christina Ricci's character wandered about, noticing weirdness here and there and during some investigating of her own as to what's REALLY happening in the building. It wasn't scary but it was kind of enjoyably creepy. I feel like it had a lot of potential, but it just didn't quite grab me. The ending felt a little silly but it did have some action to get me to perk up my seat a bit.

This wasn't bad but it didn't blow me away. It was a good enough thriller for me to keep it turned on so I could see the ending of it. You definitely need to pay attention when you watch this movie. Don't go messing with your phone or you'll miss key clues and moments that come back around later. I liked the lead female a lot. The bad guys were pretty good looking for being "rough bad guys" but I'm sure the women love that.

This movie is predictable as hell, but I didn't exactly watch Keeping up the Joneses to be surprised by brilliant twists and turns. One method of comedy is to blatantly set up things in order to pay them off in a silly way, and this did plenty of that. The performances in it by all four leads - Zach Galifanakas, Isla Fischer, Jon Hamm, and Gal Gadot - were fantastic. They were fully committed to the absurdity.

One thing I love about this movie is that it takes all of the standard action film moments and turns them on their head (often making those moments more realistic by poking fun at them). For example, when Ryan Gosling's character falls from the stairs onto a table during a big chase scene, he hits the table and rolls to the ground very hard and very awkwardly. This film starring Gosling and Russell Crowe is smart, silly, and meta.