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Reviews
Leo (2023)
Genuinely funny and sincere
For once a movie about 5 graders isn't a black and white story about the popular kid vs the nerd. At the center is an old lizard, not grumpy and sad, but sweet and funny. His side-kick is a turtle (aptly named Squirtle) and they've been in the same 5-grade classroom since the 1940s.
Leo has a rude awakening when one of the fathers explains their child that iguanas live 75 years. Leo thinks he only has one year left and decides to start talking to the children, give them advice and listen to their deepest thoughts. He's really good at this job. So good, that this 5-grade class reaches the top of their game. But, some complications are on the way.
The movie is genuinely funny. We all laughed , kids and adults. It is not an easy black and white moralistic story, but depicts actual situations that kids may experience IRL. Leo gives advice the way your grandpa would, caring, authentic and useful. Also, as opposed to every Disney movie, nobody dies.
Refreshing and worth your time!
The Witcher: The Art of the Illusion (2023)
Insulting to viewers
I do not understand what happened this season. Did they fire all writers and let production assistants write the script in between their normal jobs? No offense to the assistants by the way, I'm trying to illustrate how haphazardly the concept of this episode, which may potentially have been interesting, was executed. I actually checked twice to make sure I hadn't by accident rewinded the episode. Showing an event twice only works if you really show it from two completely different perspectives. That was not done here, it were the same conversations, with one or two sentence added to the end. Confusing and you've now wasted my time with a plot that could have been told in 5 minutes. The whole season has characters acting completely out-of-caracter, bad lighting, a lack of witchers & monsters, but the writing and direction in this episode was an absolute low point for me. I won't be coming back for another season. I'm sorry Liam Hemsworth, but if this doesn't step up real soon, The Witcher will be dead upon your arrival.
Daisy Jones & The Six (2023)
Loved it!
For all the people who lived through the 70s here and feel 'this is not authentic so now I'm giving a zero stars review' please return to your checkers board in the old folks home. This is a GOOD show. Compelling music, amazing chemistry between the actors and can someone please put Camilla Morrone in every on-screen production from now on? For all the attention on Daisy (and Riley Keough's magnetic performance), Camilla is the heart of this show and her performance is stellar.
Sam Claflin's character Billy Dunne is the one you love to hate. He's the front man in all aspects, tall, handsome and charismatic, but he has some work to do in the emotional department. For a few episodes, the show feels like a train wreck in slow motion, you can't stop watching.
If only one remark, I'd love to have seen some background on the other band mates. I never got to know them, where they are from. In many shots, they are almost still background figures which is a pity considering how well-cast they are. But choices need to be made.
Do not let negative reviews deter you, watch a few episodes before you make up your mind. Before you know it, you'll find yourself humming along with the songs. The 8 stars is truly deserved.
Pamela, a Love Story (2023)
Finally we get to see the Woman
Please watch this. Finally we get to see the woman behind the image.
Firstly, she's a sweetheart. Thoughtful, with a wicked dark sense of humor, completely aware of her own flaws. She's also deeply hurt how she was played and portrayed due to that awful sex tape affair that well, still is impacting her live today, through no fault of her own. There was no #metoo yet, she got mauled by the machinery yet came out on the other end to tell the tale.
I love how she's a woman of today, taking responsibility of the mess but at the same time working what she's got to the fullest. Her search of true love is endearing, her embracing aging refreshing (I'd love to see Jlo shoot a doc without make up). The very loving relationship with her sons shows you who she really is.
I'd also like to remark how unbelievably beautiful and photogenic she was. I think as a society we could not look past that, we kind of did not allow her ever to really be anything else then something of a silicon doll, which, in view how she wrapped the audience around her finger in the musical Chicago, is a total waste.
In any case, as a fellow Canadian I was happy to see that she's okay. Happy, still searching for love, but happy.
White Noise (2022)
Don't watch this please. Waste of time.
If I could give this movie a minus 10, I'd do it, that's how bad it is. Firstly, the blatant pro-Hitler storyline is shocking. Where you would expect some kind of course correction in the movie, it actually becomes worse moving forward. It's not funny, it's ridiculous that this was made. I can't believe Adam Driver decided to work on this project.
Apart from that, the movie makes no sense. It's 3 stories in one and none really lead anywhere. It ends with a choreographed dance in a supermarket, done obviously because since this is how you would have to end a bad movie where you have gone from Hitler to a potential life-threatening event, to adultery and attempted murder all mixed up in one sad wobbly mess. It left me utterly depressed.
I hope the movie maker is proud of himself that he managed to get (the equally useless) book this movie was based on translated to the big screen, but for me, the book could have stayed in the 'take home for free' rack of your local library, until it ended up on a landfill where it belongs. Don't watch this. Pretty please.
Harry & Meghan (2022)
Beautiful live story against sad backdrop.
I don't understand the negative reviews here. If you like a good love story, here's one. If you want to know what really went on behind the scenes of the Royal house, watch this too. Everything Harry says about how their family offices work, makes total sense. It's a business. A nasty business.
What these two people had to go through, how they were consciously destroyed, is shameful.
Yes, Harry is very well-educated, born with a golden spoon in his mouth. Of course, he was a spoiled prince, this was all he knew. He also never had a normal moment in his life until he did a tour in Afghanistan. Not exactly what I'd call normal, but he felt free there. If that doesn't tell you how cooped up that royal life is, I don't know what does.
Hold your judgement, watch with an open mind. They are showing their love for each other, their lives, what is important to them and what they work for. These are two people who walked through fire together. Sure, there is worse than your life being pulled apart before the eyes of the whole world, but I would not trade with them. They truly show the other side of the relentless gossip, if you just want to listen.
Gossip magazines harm the people portrayed inside. It's not innocent. People in the line light have a right for privacy, it's also just a job.
That said, there is some sense of reality missing in this doc. They generously show us their house, their garden, their life, but with very little sense of how rich and blessed they are. Their backyard is larger than my block! Their work for the underprivileged doesn't offset this feeling completely. However, Harry was born into wealth, he doesn't know better. Do we really need to hold that against him? Something he had no say in? It doesn't make what happened to them any less bad. It just makes them luckier in life than most.
My conclusion? This is worth the watch for the look inside palace workings And I truly believe every word Harry says here is true, just look at the past. I found him very well-spoken and smart and Meghan softer and more genuine here (one or two humble brags still present)
To Harry & Meghan, I wish you all the best. Thank you for sharing this candid documentary. Stand by each other, enjoy your beautiful family and home in the US. You've earned it. I hope you can be the change you want to see in the world. With love, from Canada.
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (2022)
I wanted to like this
I went with my kids (6 & 10) and normally I'm pretty patient with kids movies but here the whole movie lacked focus and I started sighing pretty early on.
The plot direction wasn't clear, storylines were not painted properly or rushed through. Are we talking about the boy's insecurities when moving to the Big Apple from the burbs? Nope, that was solved in literally 3 mins. Okay, the mother then? She seemed to have a career crisis, but apparently that story line was forgotten to explore after the set up. She did one cooking session with Lyle and became sunshine and rainbows. The father's issues were maybe the main story (which never became clear, except that he was sort of depressed it seemed)? Nope, neither. He was also cured in ten seconds. Finally the scriptwriters decided that it's Lyle who's issues we're solving, but even though the cast is really trying, it just didn't win my heart. My 6-year old got bored and started climbing over the chairs in the cinema, my 10-year-old fell asleep (hand on my heart, first time ever in the cinema). I also felt that Javier Bardem, even if he threw his whole heart in it and I love ALL his movies, was a miscast for this one. Not the right type, it felt he had to come from really really far. I'm sorry, I think the cast really tried but overall this is just not a good movie.
Run Sweetheart Run (2020)
Mess of a movie, props to the cast for trying
Breaking the 4th wall unsuccessfully since it looks like a mistake, 'surprise' moments of the bag guy showing up that are wholly predictable and completely unrealistic, ppl who are supposed to be on her side but are 'in' on it that is given away after 5 seconds removing all tension, I mean give your audience some credit. Stop spelling everything out. I want to give the Ella Balinska and Pillar Asbeak some credit, they are really trying. The female protagonist is not allowed to act smartly, she's in panic mode the whole movie. She gets trapped somewhere, door knob rattles and instead of looking for another way out or a weapon, she's made to come out through the same door looking like a deer in headlights. Where is the tension and build up in that? I was not scared even one second. It's not the acting that's the problem by way, I need to say that. The cast is really trying. It's bad direction. It feels like a film school movie, though students may do better with way less budget.
The Peripheral (2022)
TOTALLY DIGGING THIS!!
Omg! I REALLY hope they can keep this level up because I'm glued to the screen. Can't wait for the next episode. The story: Sci Fi series, ppl operate in very elaborated Artificial Reality (sims) to play games together, finish assignments and/ or make money standing in for wealthy not so gifted players. The main protagonists are a brother and sister from a rural town, low on the dough and their mother is sick, requiring a very expensive medication. She's even more gifted than him, though he gets hired for the lucrative jobs since he's a man and his sister is not (even in the future there's a wage gap it seems). She often plays for him instead, her skills are not from this world. One day, he receives a new type of AR helmet with accompanied assignment. He sends in his sister in his place, using his Avatar. The mess starts from there. If I need to give you a better description: i's a mix between the special unit from Black Hawk Down, the fake realities from the Matrix without the leather jackets and shades, some Ozark for flavor (the poor people trying to survive feel) and Kingsmen (you'll see why). You're wondering how they tied this together? Try it Absolutely worth the watch.
Luckiest Girl Alive (2022)
Difficult subject matter treated beautifully
Considering that 1 in 6 women have been sexually assaulted in the US, this movie was long overdue. The ease at which the boys groom her, thinking nothing of gang raping this girl the day after except that she needs to get morning after pills, feels so real. Mila Kunis was excellent in this movie, but Chiara Aurélia deserves our absolute admiration here.
Apart from sexual assault, the movie also discusses the run up, event of and long trauma following a school shooting. Two very tough & painful subjects, treated matter-of-factly, never tear jerking and yet still clearly conveying the horror of both. I watched this movie yesterday and I haven't stopped thinking about it since. Well done cast & crew.
The Gray Man (2022)
Compelling Bourne revisited
I don't know what's up with the bad reviews for this movie. It's an action movie for Pete sakes, it has a great cast, excellent action scenes, it moves across Europe so the scenery is entertaining. I mean, really for a lazy Sunday it's really good.
I did not like the interaction between Suzanne and Captain America though. She's supposed to be the moral compass of the movie, but we really don't care, do we? Chris Evans does his usual slickness. Nothing wrong, nothing really interesting either. Decent bad guy, he could care a bit more, that would help.
I liked the Ryan Gosling - Billy Bob Thornton combo, well-played. Interesting back story, may have been worked at a bit more. This movie is worth your time. Watch it to relax, and you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Halftime (2022)
RESPECT. That's all this woman deserves
No, she's not the best singer, yet she sings at a presidential inauguration. Have you ever achieved that? She's not the best actress, yet her films grossed billions of dollars. Hustlers was not a fantastic movie, but she was great in it. And she's not the best dancer maybe, but during Jlo and Shakira's actual halftime show, my family and friends and I were dancing on the sofa. I can't do it, can you? She's doing something right, she works her behind off and she's in the right time and right place. I suggest you watch this with an open mind. She's not holding back. Several times she says I just have to work harder, be better. I admire her attitude and she deserves our respect.
Reacher (2022)
Perfect after a long day
Good cast & entertainment enough in this show. Great after a long day, kids in bed and you can sit down and watch something that will make you forget without exhausting you with complicated plots. Some dry humor thrown in, hunky muscle man. Hit me with the next season, I'll watch it.
How I Met Your Father (2022)
Please fix it, I really want to like this
First off, I was a huge fan of HIMYM. Hence, I really really wanted this to be good. Sadly, it's just not right now. So not that in some scenes it's painful to watch the actors try and make something of the script. The narrator (Kim Cattral who puts in very little effort here) tells us in the first 15 minutes that her husband (the father) is one of 3 men we've just met. There go the mystery out the window that made HIMYM so interesting (yellow umbrella, anyone?) Secondly, there's no clear who's who in the group of friends. I don't need cookie cutter, but this is all over the place. I felt bad for Suraj Sharma who had to play a ridiculously unfunny scene with a sex toy, suddenly channeling leather pants Ross of Friends, while he started out 2 episodes ago as the one who had it more or less made. Another thing that's way off the mark are the references. Main character Sophie turns 30, but her favorite movie is horror flick I Know What You Did Last Summer (she was 5 or 6 when that came out. There's no way she saw that). Her favorite video clip is Dirrty, which came out when she was 9. Her favorite song (Drops of Jupiter) again, came out when she was 9. She never favorited anything after her first 10 years of life? Hard to believe. Uber and Tinder etc also are discussed as something 'new', while for someone who's at the end of their 20s, this has been around their whole (dating) life. I have younger brothers and sisters, believe me, this is not a special thing. Swiping on Tinder is like reading the news online. The writers are most likely in their 40's, certainly not millennials. Big miss there, since it even feels dated for me, born just outside the millennial era.
All in all, I want to like this. I think the cast is really trying. But this needs a whole lot of pepper for it to start working.
After Life (2019)
Sincere, great cast, big topics without heaviness
I just really love this show. It's totally uneventful, just every day stuff. But, this great cast handles the big questions of life in a way that never feels too heavy, with dark humor that's just on the edge of insulting but isn't and yet it manages to bring something to my life. Really kudos to Ricky Gervais for managing that balance. It's moving and extremely funny. Totally worth your time.
Being the Ricardos (2021)
Nicole & Bardem are superb in this tribute. Watch it.
Ignore the negative reviews. This is not a biography to the letter. It's based on the life of Lucille Ball, fiction based on a true story. Not all the facts are exactly chronologically correct, nor all quotes the the letter, but who cares. Kidman absolutely kills it, she's boss in this movie. I wish she would be offered more roles to really shine. Great cast, great set dressing, great 70s atmosphere. The only reason I give 8 stars is because the flashbacks sometimes confuse the viewer, as in you don't known what is a flashback. There are no visual clues, just the story itself. This is a bit disorienting. For the rest, watch it and be amazed.
The Power of the Dog (2021)
Don't watch this
This is such a contrived, slow and uninteresting movie that in the end, when the final plot twist (and what a twist it is, ugh) is revealed, I was happy that it was over. I give 4 stars for Cumberbatch, the cinematography and the quite real feel of a rancher's life. There's very little story here, it's all suggestion. I was just bored. Please, don't waste your time.
Vivo (2021)
I really wanted this to be good.
This is unfortunately not a great movie, even though I really wanted to like it. We were excited to find it on Netflix. Watched with my kids (10 & 6). The younger one got bored (just like me), the older one started to sigh every time a song commenced. The lyrics are, I don't know a nicer word for it, uninteresting. Also repetitive. They don't push the story forward, there's no point to them even though the whole story revolves around music. If you compare this to a movie like Soul, which is also musically driven, it's the difference between watching the Yankees at work vs watching the Pirates. The shirts are clean, the audience is there, hotdogs and beer aplenty and they play in the same league but... not really. The girls scouts were written by some misogynist. On the upside, the graphics are beautiful and I really sympathized with the old man for the first ten minutes. Give it a shot for your kids, but to adults I would say don't clear out your schedule for this.
Over the Hedge (2006)
Deserves a better rating
Purposely didn't read anything before watching this movie with the family (kids 8 & 4) during the confinement. It's genuinely a very funny movie, but it's mostly an understated, ironic type of humor. There are no endless car chases (save one), no huge explosions, and yes, it doesn't paint the best picture of us humans. However, I can totally imagine how weird we must seem to forest creatures. We all laughed out loud several times watching this, my kids even rewinded a few pieces since they thought it was hysterical. Give this movie a chance, you won't regret it.
The Greatest Showman (2017)
Great cast, lovely songs, beautiful story. Critics, go sour puss somewhere else!
This movie really deserves much better reviews than it has received. So what if PT Barnum did not look like Hugh Jackman? So what if the real story doesn't exactly match this movie version? Wouldn't be the first time. It's a wonderful 1,5h of entertainment. Time flew by for me when I was watching it, and when it was over, I wanted to see it again. You'll leave the cinema happy, singing "This is the Greatest Show!" out loud on the street.
What more do you wish for from a holiday musical?
It's by the way highly ironic that critics killed this movie. Go see why for yourself. This movie deserves you ticket fee. You'll be glad you went.
Sense8 (2015)
Nice concept but pls add some depth to these characters
First off, I like the basic concept of this show, a telepathic ring of people. It's beautifully shot, big kudos for the efforts to shoot locally. Also the cast is great, well- cast, they make the best of the scripts handed to them. Now for the problems. It's a lot of the time cliché writing, gratuitous and lazy. An lesbian couple having it off with a close up on the used 'equipment', I can do without, really. A Latin movie star hiding his gayness with fake girlfriends, we've seen it on TV and in real life, no need to explain for two episodes. A cop with a disgruntled retired father, a daughter from Korea who's spoiled younger brother gets favored by the father, I mean please? Most self published books on Amazon have more depth than this. And why do the Islandic, German, Latino and Korean do not speak in their own languages? To me that means, if we compare this to a similar show such as Heroes (aired 2006), the creators of Sense8 are not taking its audience's intelligence nor matureness regarding the genre seriously. Cable viewers are used to fantasy languages, dragons, elaborate back stories that go back 1000 years, you name it. But the Wachowskis are afraid we'll change the channel if we hear some German. They are even so worried that we don't 'get' it, that they add a super vague character called Jonas, who sort of guides the 8, but in fact is only an annoying waste of screen time (no offense to the actor, he's doing what he can). Just let the 8 protagonists (and us) figure out for ourselves what's happening. That would also force the creators to focus on the plot, instead of getting sidetracked by irrelevant stuff.
I'm at ep. 6 of S1, and I really do hope it'll get better, hence I rate it 7. For now.
Wish I Was Here (2014)
Honest movie, worthy of your time
Never mind the sour critics or the stupid back and forth about how this movie was financed. Sit down, relax and enjoy this honest, funny and at times very moving film. There's some amazing performances from Mandy Patinkin and Kate Hudson, especially the latter surprised me. She should be given better scripts because she's an amazing actress. Josh Gad's scene with the young but so promising Joey King brought me to tears. All in all, a solid 8 for effort and effect. There's nothing wrong with a bit of sentiment, if it's real. Zack Braff, I really hope you won't hesitate to make more movies. We need directors like you for the people who are tired of formula movies and buff action heroes.
Remember Me (2010)
Depressing, too long, lacks focus
Boy, did I regret spending two hours of my life watching this movie. It's totally depressing and meanders aimlessly to the point I started yelling at the screen. It lacks character development except for the a*hole father, but we can't care for that because he's just an under appreciated Pierce Brosnan in a supporting role with a whole 10 min of screen time.
And then, at the end of this two hour slow torture, all of the sudden this is the back story of a 9/11 victim? We're we supposed to understand that from the first 5 secs during the flashback to 1991 where the two towers are visible? As if this story so far didn't make me already depressed enough, that ending was the unwelcome icing on the cake.
Save your time, life is short. Watch something happy instead. And as far as 9/11 goes, I can heartily recommend Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. In this movie the horrors of 9/11 and it's aftermath is captured so well, it sends Remember Me to a far dusty corner of the DVD rack. Where it should stay.