1 Night in San Diego

POSITIVES…

  • If you’re looking for one of those “one crazy night, buddy comedy,” kind of movies, then here’s another one for you.

  • It may have a familiar premise, but It has its charms. Heck, it has a whole plot point about the San Diego Comic-Con, so that’s a plus right there.

  • The pop culture references, social media commentary, and opinions about relationships, were entertaining.

  • Jenna Ushkowitz and Laura Ashley Samuels successfully threw themselves into their roles as Hannah and Brooklyn. Totally buy their friendship, as represented here.

  • Alexandra Daddario was really fun when she showed up.

  • The whole sequence about a particular stage musical was just the funniest thing in this movie.

  • I loved seeing the familiar sights of San Diego.

NEGATIVES…

  • There’s a whole vapidness and toxicity going on with the lead characters that can be quite annoying.

  • Very much filled with your expected plot tropes and cliches.

  • Comedy is hit or miss, and it can be argued that it’s mostly miss.

  • Uninspired jokes about Southern California…

  • Honestly, I went into this movie because it had the plot point about the San Diego Comic-Con, and I was kinda disappointed with what they did with that.

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1 Night in San Diego - watch it on VIDEO ON DEMAND

Kajillionaire

POSITIVES…

  • What an eccentric film, but in the most fascinating, captivating, interesting, and humorous ways. Writer / Director Miranda July really likes to go places here.

  • Evan Rachel Wood and Gina Rodriguez are amazing in their roles. Both give off an exciting energy to the movie in very different methods.

  • Richard Jenkins and Debra Winger are also expectedly fantastic.

  • That whole set piece in Michael Twaine's home was done in a nicely weird way. It’s a huge turning point to the story.

  • “This is a full service deal” plot sequences.

  • Gotta love that whole stealth ducking avoiding visual gag.

  • I appreciated how this movie doesn't romanticize being thieves and con-artists.

  • Thematically says a lot. Thought provoking.

NEGATIVES…

  • Could possibly be too unusual and unconventional of a story for some people.

  • There are moments of just utter ridiculousness.

  • I know it's quirky and symbolic and all, but that whole thing with the bubbles leaking seemed a little too much.

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Kajillionaire - watch it on VIDEO ON DEMAND

The Life Ahead

POSITIVES…

  • It’s got my attention for having a curious enough premise, with an unlikely protagonist.

  • Kudos to Ibrahima Gueye for giving us a lot of range playing the character of Momo, who is that unlikely lead for this story.

  • Sophia Loren is still great at commanding the screen as Madame Rosa.

  • The connections that Momo makes with several of the supporting cast is what makes this film interesting to watch. Especially the one he makes with Madame Rosa.

  • While the plot progression is exactly unexpected, I appreciated the direction it went.

  • As a drama with fascinating topics meshed into this one story, there were scenes that were quite touching and emotional.

  • That Lioness.

NEGATIVES…

  • The premise isn't exactly going to grab everybody's attention.

  • Not exactly a fast moving film.

  • Some predictable plot turns that some might not find excusable.

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The Life Ahead - watch it on NETFLIX

On The Rocks

POSITIVES…

  • Surprisingly pleasant plot premise that kept my attention throughout.

  • Rashida Jones is excellent, and is the emotional core of this, that it’s so easy to get invested with her story.

  • As expected, Bill Murray is amazing, and gives this movie a huge boost of energy whenever he is on screen.

  • The chemistry and plot relationship between the two leads is fantastic, and is the main reason to see this film.

  • There’s a whole section of the movie involving an Alfa Romeo that is easily one of the big highlights.

  • I was quite satisfied with how this story concluded.

  • Thematically has an interesting and fascinating look on philandering and marriage.

  • It may be cliche to say this, but the setting of New York is like it’s own character in this film.

NEGATIVES…

  • Moves at a deliberately casual pace, which might not be exciting enough for some people.

  • Has a tendency to meander at times.

  • There’s a whole “rich privilege” vibe with Bill Murray’s character, that may seem fun to watch at first, but shortly kinda annoyed me eventually.

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On The Rocks - watch it on APPLE TV+

The Opening Act

POSITIVES…

  • Really liked the premise of this movie. It’s been done before, but it’s a topic worth revisiting, especially if it’s a solid story. It is.

  • Considering that this is about stand-up comics, you are right to expect some funny jokes, and you will find that in this movie.

  • Speaking of stand-up comics, this has a whole lot of awesome cameo from tons of comedians. Take a shot when you spot one.

  • Jimmy O. Yang carries this movie splendidly. I was all-in with his character’s journey.

  • Alex Moffat and Cedric the Entertainer both were excellent in their supporting roles.

  • That opening montage sequence was well done, mixing in that comedy, and a sad opening that you might find in a Pixar movie. Loved the range of emotions this story has.

  • You know where the third act is going, and you’re not going to care, because you will appreciate the movie’s conclusion.

  • If the theme and goal for this film is to show us that stand-up comics are human too, and need your love as well, then it thoroughly succeeds.

  • If the theme and goal for this film is to show us that you probably should not pursue a career as a stand-up comic, then it also thoroughly succeeds.

NEGATIVES…

  • There are jokes that will just not land. Subjective. Sure. Unfunny is unfunny though.

  • That second act. Ouch. I hope you can put up with all that cringe.

  • Debby Ryan’s character felt like she exists just to be a plot convenience, and didn’t really do too much for the movie.

  • A couple of expected plot cliches here and there.

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The Opening Act - watch it on VIDEO ON DEMAND

Nobody sleeps in the woods tonight

POSITIVES…

  • Appreciated this Polish Horror movies' attempts of being self-aware that it itself is a horror movie.

  • I love the fact that in the spirit of old horror thrillers when help isn't just a phone call or internet away, they actually put it in the plot to get rid of phones and technology.

  • Cast of actors do a good job playing their expected roles in your typical horror flick.

  • Liked the geeky pop culture references.

  • Has some excellent practical visual tricks for special effects.

  • Solid death scenes, and bloody gore.

  • If you're in the mood for a comfortably familiar “monster in the woods” premise of a movie, then why not check this out.

NEGATIVES…

  • It can be argued that this Polish movie pays homage to monster flicks, or you can just say that it's cliche and filled with familiar plot tropes.

  • Not a shock, but some stupid things happen.

  • The pacing could probably move faster than it does.

  • Some of the characters are just so underwritten.

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Nobody Sleeps In The Woods Tonight - watch it on NETFLIX

Jingle Jangle : A Christmas Journey

POSITIVES…

  • As far as Christmas Musicals go, this was entertaining enough for what it’s going for.

  • The premise is comfortably familiar to watch through.

  • Thematically, the message of this story is perfectly inspirational.

  • Stand-out stars of this movie are the absolutely delightful Madalen Mills as “Journey,” and the always talented Forest Whitaker as “Jeronicus Jangle.”

  • The rest of the cast is great too, from Lisa Davina Phillip, Anika Noni Rose, Kieron L. Dyer, Keegan-Michael Key, Ricky Martin, and Phylicia Rashad.

  • I’ve got to say, the final act was absolutely wonderful, and hits the landing in such a satisfying way. That final 30 minutes elevates this into a much better movie that made me like it a lot more than I thought I would.

  • The set and costume design was really good.

  • Being that this is a musical, there are some fantastic songs in this. From “Miles and Miles,” “Square Root of Possible,” “Over and Over,” to “Make it Work.”

NEGATIVES…

  • Plot-wise, expect the usual expected cliches, tropes, and necessary moments to suspend your disbelief.

  • It can be a little too precious, cheesy at times, and overly-whimsical, like it’s trying much too hard to entertain.

  • Turns out, with the character of Don Juan Diego, there is such a thing as being too animated. Ugh. Show some restraint animators.

  • For a musical, it bothered me that for several of the songs, the lip synching with the dubbing seemed off.

  • Also need to criticize and say that a lot of the musical numbers could have been more ambitious and imaginative in it’s presentation. It was as if the production budget limited what could be possible for those huge ensemble scenes.

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Jingle Jangle : A Christmas Journey - watch it on NETFLIX

Possessor Uncut

POSITIVES…

  • The sci-fi premise is definitely interesting and fascinating.

  • Visually imaginative.

  • This definitely has something for those of you who like violence, blood, gore, and sex.

  • It's got a good cast, from Andrea Riseborough, Christopher Abbott, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Sean Bean, and more.

  • There's a montage sequence involving a mask that was appropriately freaky.

  • Although I had some doubt with how interested I was with the movie, about half way through it, I gotta say, I was absolutely hooked and wanted to see how it was going to end!

  • One plot point in particular had a bit of commentary about privacy and technology that I rather liked.

  • As dark as the premise is, the main theme of the movie is very thought provoking (see what I did there?)

NEGATIVES…

  • The narrative could move a little bit faster than it does.

  • Unnecessarily indulgences itself at times.

  • There were some questionable plot points that I thought was a bit ridiculous.

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Possessor Uncut - watch it on VIDEO ON DEMAND

Console Wars

POSITIVES…

  • Anybody who ever played video games, should find this documentary’s premise fascinating.

  • Just the retelling of this part of video game history is fantastic. Especially as somebody who “participated” in that Sega vs Nintendo console war.

  • There’s an energetic drive to this documentary’s narrative that just grabs your attention throughout.

  • The Sega of America team plus Tom Kalinske gave us some fascinating stories about how they joined forces to take on Nintendo.

  • Scenes of Tom Kalinske making his pitch proposal to Sega of Japan, the birth of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega’s marketing, etc... All of that. Epic.

  • Hayao Nakayama of Sega of Japan was also quite the character, as presented in this movie.

  • It does show us how the Nintendo Entertainment System became a success story, and that was great to see.

  • I loved the animated dramatizations that represented the stories told by the interviewees.

  • Seeing all those classic video games commercials, and historical video gaming related footage, was just absolutely awesome.

  • Conclusion of this documentary makes me really want to see a sequel to it. I love seeing all this video game industry backstory historical details put on screen like this.

NEGATIVES…

  • Some Nintendo fans might accuse this movie as being biased and favoring Sega a little more than they think it should have.

  • Actually I wished there were more content from the Nintendo side of the story, than what was shown.

  • There are several things that I wished was talked about in this documentary, but they did not even mention the marketing tagline “Genesis Does what NintenDon’t!” C’mon, how could they not mention one of the best marketing catch phrases from the Sega-Nintendo console wars?!

  • Oh, and sorry TurboGrafx-16, you had a one second appearance in the whole thing.

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Console Wars - watch it on CBS ALL ACCESS

ALL IN: The Fight For Democracy

POSITIVES…

  • A lesson about the right to vote, explained in an engaging and easily understandable narrative. Wonderful.

  • Stacey Abrams' Parent's words of wisdom.

  • The memorable personal stories told by Stacey.

  • Seeing the video footage of Abrams’ past is great to see. Makes her feel even more personable. A lot of the things she says in this movie are motivating and inspirational.

  • There are tons of great historical footage in this film, and it's still so powerful to see the ones about Bloody Sunday in Selma and the Voting Rights Act.

  • A good section of the film is dedicated to Abrams' gubernatorial run, and it's as emotional to watch as it needed to be.

  • Voter Suppression is an ugly and vile thing, and this documentary effectively tells us why that is via the historical facts presented.

NEGATIVES…

  • Considering a lot of the facts laid out in this film criticizes the Republican party often, it's easy for people to accuse this movie as biased and unfair.

  • I thought more time could have been spent with certain persons interviewed.

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All In : The Fight For Democracy - watch it on PRIME VIDEO