The Glorias

POSITIVES…

  • The life of Gloria Steinem and what she says is impressive, which helps keeps this film as engaging as it is.

  • Narrative plot device of having the different era Glorias interacting with each other in a bus is actually pretty neat.

  • Undeniably, there were some pieces of dialogue and speeches that were very powerful, and inspiring.

  • Specifically, there were some snappy lines and comebacks that were quite entertaining.

  • Excellent performances, by Julianne Moore and Alicia Vikander, as well as Lulu Wilson and Ryan Kiera Armstrong.

  • Great supporting cast, which includes Timothy Hutton, Lorraine Toussaint, Janelle Monáe, Bette Midler, to Kimberly Guerrero, plus more.

  • Seeing the historical footage is great.

NEGATIVES…

  • Stylistic flourishes to the narrative and fantasy bits can feel a bit unnecessary.

  • Not exactly a fast moving film.

  • Not exactly a short film.

  • There aren’t enough moments to let the characters breath and come to life more, because a huge chunk of this movie feels like it’s just a bunch of recreated highlight reels.

  • Needles to say, there will be those who just won’t like this movie for it’s subject matter.

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The Boys in the Band

POSITIVES…

  • This is a dialogue heavy movie, and thankfully the dialogue is great.

  • Despite the limits of the film mostly taking place in one location, and it being more about the conversations than anything else, it really manages to be engaging.

  • The ensemble cast is fantastic, with a very strong performance by Jim Parsons, Matt Bomer being the eye candy, and Zachary Quinto just flaunting his screen presence.

  • Musical interludes were nice.

  • “The Game”

  • Snarkiness and insults, it’s got some good jokes.

  • The themes and social commentaries are solid. Expected and obvious, but solid.

NEGATIVES…

  • Needless to say, not everybody is going to take a liking to this movie.

  • It’s still essentially a stage show translated into a movie, so it can only do so much visually in a cinematic fashion.

  • Some of the characters are kinda too annoying for my taste.

  • There are a plot or two that I just didn’t care much for.

  • Speaking of which, there’s a particular plot point that really came off as a bit unbelievable to me.

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Vampires vs the Bronx

POSITIVES…

  • It’s like one of those straight to home-video adventure genre movies for kids that will surprisingly entertain you.

  • Since Vampires are involved here, it’s awesome to see the movie just embrace the lore and genre, in some scenes.

  • With these kinds of stories where people at first don’t believe there are vampires in the Bronx, it’s also satisfying to see the moments when they are proven to be true.

  • Speaking of which, there were a couple of big reveals that were enjoyable to see play out.

  • Has its fair share of fun set pieces. Real estate manager, vampire nest, to the final battle.

  • The kid actors are great in this. Jaden Michael, Gerald Jones III, and Gregory Diaz IV, all have that chemistry and personalities to keep you invested in what happens to them.

  • Actors who played the vampires are excellent in playing your stock stereotypical bad guys in these kinds of films.

  • I liked the underlying social commentary to why there are Vampires in the Bronx.

  • “I’m Haitian, I was born for this.”

  • “Body of Christ.”

NEGATIVES…

  • It’s unsurprisingly formulaic, but don’t hold it against it too much.

  • Because it does rely on familiar cliches and plot tropes, it’s only really memorable to a point.

  • Can Method Man be a little too intense for a Priest?

  • There’s one particular moment that was so unbelievable, it was so disappointing to see how the movie suddenly got too lazy to advance the plot, that they thought it was okay to just let the characters pull that off?!

  • The conclusion was kinda cheezy?

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Babyteeth

POSITIVES…

  • Great dramatic story with comedic sensibilities.

  • Fascinating premise, that really made me want to see how it all plays out.

  • First act had these amazing scenes of situational comic energy, that really kept me on my toes.

  • Excellent cast here! Eliza Scanlan, Essie Davis, Ben Mendelsohn, and Toby Wallace. The interactions they have with each other are what makes the movie as entertaining as it is.

  • The dialogue and the conversations were great to listen to as well.

  • Thought the title breaks, plus those little bits of breaking the 4th wall were really nice.

  • Loved the soundtrack.

  • The first time Milla introduced Moses to her parents, gave me big smiles.

  • Different wigs!

  • That conclusion.

NEGATIVES…

  • With the first act being so strong, the rest of the movie unfortunately just couldn’t match it.

  • There’s a couple of plot cliches that I wished didn’t happen.

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Tuscaloosa

POSITIVES…

  • Another strong reminder that social cultural issues today, aren’t that much different than from the 1970s.

  • Whole plot revolving around a patient in a mental hospital, is one the more fascinating things about the movie.

  • Natalia Dyer brings a nice manic energy that really livens things up.

  • Visually, I liked how the camera frames and moves around in a way that brings us closer to the scenes.

NEGATIVES…

  • Movie has a lot to say, but because there are so many narratives going on, it overall felt a bit aimless, and all over the place.

  • I couldn’t decide, but this film is either not long enough to properly tell the whole tale, or not short enough to properly tell a concise story.

  • While the plot about racial issues is technically solid, the familiarity of it can feel a bit derivative.

  • Billy, just isn’t interesting enough to be the lead character of the movie.

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Lost Girls and Love Hotels

POSITIVES…

  • Can’t say it doesn’t absolutely live up to the title about Lost Girls (or in the movie’s case, focusing on the singular aspect of that) and Love Hotels (you’ll see the inside of one several times).

  • Sadness. Bad decisions. Tragedy. Tonally and emotionally, this dramatic story should put you in a certain state of mind of either sympathy or empathy or disappointment.

  • Alexandra Daddario successfully gives us a nuanced role to her character of Margaret. She might just make you fascinated enough to follow her down the dark rabbit hole of her lonely life.

  • Excellent supporting cast, from Takehiro Hira, Misuzu Kanno, to Carice van Houten.

  • Passages and dialogue of introspection and philosophy were interesting highlights.

  • There’s this conversation about the C word that was pretty amusing.

  • Japanophile’s will find several things to like about this movie.

NEGATIVES…

  • Could be too depressing and sad of a subject matter for some people.

  • Has a deliberate slow burn of a pace that people may not like. Some will just straight out call it boring.

  • Not exactly an unpredictable story. Has its obvious derivativeness and cliches.

  • Those just looking for some romanticized erotic naughtiness will probably be disappointed.

  • Not necessarily what I would call an entertaining movie.

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Secret Society Of Second Born Royals

POSITIVES…

  • Cute premise for a superhero team movie aimed at kids.

  • Peyton Elizabeth Lee totally owns her role in this.

  • Danger room obstacle course sequence was entertaining.

  • Scenes where people use powers is always fun to watch.

  • "The Pressure"

NEGATIVES…

  • It’s target audience are clearly kids, so it might not be appealing to everyone.

  • Speaking of kids, teenagers can be annoying. The main characters are teenagers…

  • Generally has your typical cliches, and predictable plot tropes.

  • Wished the movie could have been more exciting and interesting than it actually was.

  • Exposition. Exposition. Exposition.

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Antebellum

POSITIVES…

  • Effectively shows you the horrors of slavery back in the American Confederate South.

  • The Story is compelling enough, and is definitely making a strong statement.

  • Bleakness and terror. That’s what this goes for, and I say they succeeded at that.

  • Fantastic work by Janelle Monae, who really anchors this movie.

  • Creepy moments. Surprising moments. Tense moments. Intriguing moments. There are sequences in this that will absolutely grab your attention.

  • That scene with Robert Aramayo and Kiersey Clemons.

  • The third act, plus that visually arresting ending. Worth it.

NEGATIVES…

  • This is not what one would call an “entertaining” movie. Even in the context of it being a horror movie.

  • The depictions of slavery here may be a little too unrelenting, kinda exploitative, especially when you’re not in the mind set for this kind of experience.

  • You might get impatient and frustrated, just waiting and waiting for that moment the movie really kicks into gear. You’ll be waiting a while.

  • Some will argue that it’s tone deaf and hits you over the head a little too much.

  • Thinks it’s ambitiously deep in it’s premise and plot, but it doesn’t really feel like it.

  • There were some misguided attempts of jump scares and fake outs.

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Enola Holmes

POSITIVES…

  • Millie Bobby Brown is absolutely charming as the most awesome Enola Holmes. The actress and the character is what makes this movie a delight to watch.

  • Gotta love the fourth wall breaking moments where she talks directly to us.

  • Really had fun with the lighthearted humor and the running gags that occur throughout the movie.

  • There are actual fight scenes in this, and they are quite entertaining.

  • Speaking of scenes, the set piece in the train, the flashback clips, to the action sequence by the docks, plus more, were all excellent.

  • Supporting cast holds their own quite well with Millie Bobby Brown. From Louis Partridge, Sam Claflin, Helena Bonham Carter, Fiona Shaw, Frances de la Tour, to Burn Gorman, and especially Henry Cavill as Sherlock Holmes.

  • The connection between Enola and Sherlock is definitely one of the more engaging aspects of this story.

  • Being that this is a Holmes tale, how is the mystery itself? For one thing, there are two mysteries to see play out. Fortunately, they are both good and interesting enough to see through the whole movie. Have fun trying to solve the mysteries before the characters do.

  • Thematically, the women empowerment messaging is just perfectly appropriate for the character of Enola Holmes.

  • Just the escapism of entering this world where Sherlock Holmes exists is automatically a big giant plus. I would love to see more installments!

NEGATIVES…

  • Some will get bothered by the revisionist history.

  • Some will get bothered by the obvious feminist themes.

  • Some will get bothered by it not being a more grand and epic adventure.

  • Some will get bothered by it not having enough Sherlock, in this Holmes movie.

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The Owners

POSITIVES…

  • Fits right in with all the other movies about a home invasion robbery going very very wrong.

  • If you’re into vulgarity, violence, and blood, this will have something for you.

  • Some of the plot turns and reveals really caught my attention.

  • There were some good suspenseful, creepy, and tense moments.

  • That whole set piece in the basement was quite the sequence.

  • Maisie Williams, Sylvester McCoy, and Rita Tushingham, were awesome in this.

NEGATIVES…

  • The premise and content isn’t exactly going to appeal to everyone.

  • Out of this small ensemble cast, three of the characters were so damn annoying to put up with.

  • Takes way too long of a time before it actually gets remotely interesting.

  • Also, takes way too long for it to end.

P.S….

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