Penguin Bloom

POSITIVES…

  • As an emotional and uplifting drama, this one is nicely directed and told.

  • Naomi Watts successfully draws you into her character’s devastating journey as Sam Bloom.

  • Part of the compelling nature of this story, is that with Watts’ talent, you truly feel Sam’s struggles and her triumphs in an intimate way.

  • The magpie (or magpies?) who plays Penguin is incredible in this. I swear, I thought the bird really was acting on cue, and only made the relationship she had with the Bloom family all the more believable.

  • Supporting casts are fantastic in this. From Griffin Murray-Johnston, Andrew Lincoln, Rachel House, Jacki Weaver, and more.

  • Narrative and plot progression is nicely paced. This movie knows not to hit you over the head too much with it being overly tragic. Penguin the magpie does help there.

  • Loved the voice over monologues that Noah gets to say in this.

  • Heartbreaking moments landed really well.

  • The pictures of the real life Blooms that show up during the credits are just beautiful.

NEGATIVES…

  • While based on a true story, there are some familiar plot tropes that happen as if on cue.

  • Not exactly the most exciting or visually dynamic movie to watch.

  • Arguable too straight-forward and too low-key of a movie, that it might not stand out too much as that memorable of a watch.

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Penguin Bloom - watch it on NETFLIX

In & Of Itself

POSITIVES…

  • Although this is essentially just a stage show presented in a movie format, it's absolutely an amazing watch, and a wonderful experience. 

  • I liked how it incorporated multiple shows into this one film. 

  • The Rouletista story is a fantastic setup for the whole narrative. 

  • Mysterious anticipation throughout, and "the sailor's journal" is just one of many excellent elements of that buildup. 

  • Monologues and stories in this were so thought provoking and insightful. 

  • Several segments made me tear up, and at the same time I was bewildered by what I was witnessing. 

  • There are magic tricks shown in this film that are delightfully fun. In fact, there's a lot that's just magical about this film. 

  • Bless you Derek DelGaudio, because watching this felt really personal and emotional.

NEGATIVES…

  • Whether you consider this a documentary, a movie, a TV special, or a video recording that you are watching, this is still essentially a stage show shown on screen. 

  • Some will accuse this of pretentiousness.

  • There are some lulls in the narrative at times. 

  • It can be difficult to take the moments in this stage presentation that are supposed to feel spontaneous too seriously, because it's all just a rehearsed act right? However they were acted really well by Derek, so there's that.

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In & Of Itself - watch it on HULU

The White Tiger

POSITIVES…

  • An engaging story that takes you to some enjoyable fun or darkly cynical places with the plot.

  • This is not your typical romanticized rags to riches story that relies on the usual plot tropes, and it’s only greater because of that.

  • With the way this biographical story is bookended, you may know it’s inevitable conclusion, but the journey there is absolutely worth the watch.

  • Adarsh Gourav as our main protagonist Balram, is incredible in this! Absolutely captures the determination, joy, naivety, cunning, and anger, of his character. It’s really not hard to empathize with him here.

  • Supporting cast of Rajkummar Rao, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Vijay Maurya, and many others, help provides some challenging and complicated angles to the story.

  • The settings and locations feels as real as it should be, and enhances the experience of watching this story play out.

  • Tonally plays around with your emotions deliberately, as there are scenes between certain characters that feel hopeful, but then is able to wake you up to the harsh reality of how it really is with other scenes.

  • Running commentary about the social class warfare is very compelling and insightful.

  • Educational in the sense that it shows a side of India you don’t normally see in Western films, especially as it relates to the caste system there.

  • If there’s only one thing you should learn from this, it’s that you shouldn’t take the service industry for granted.

NEGATIVES…

  • As it goes with biographical tales, you’re going to have to put up with all the characters and story set ups during the first act, before it gets to the actual interesting meat of the story.

  • Depending on your expectations, you may not like how the movie ends.

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The White Tiger - watch it on NETFLIX

Don't Tell a Soul

POSITIVES…

  • The setup established in the first sequence is pretty compelling, and drives the rest of the movie from there. 

  • Jack Dylan Grazer is a good lead character as Joey. He is essentially the audience surrogate, and you only hope he does what you would do in his situation

  • Rainn Wilson is excellent in his role as Mr Hamby, and definitely grabs your attention, especially considering the predicament he is in. 

  • Mena Suvari is also pretty solid here in a supporting role. 

  • Plot moves in some unexpected turns to keep your attention. 

  • Speaking of plot turns, the final act does have a rather satisfying twisted development, that's worth watching the whole movie for. 

  • "Desperate men do desperate things."

NEGATIVES…

  • As interesting as the story can be, it's ultimately a rather odd premise that becomes more incredulous as it goes. 

  • Fionn Whitehead's character of Matt is just too hateable. Over the top hateable. 

  • There might just be too many stupid things in this movie, that will frustrate some people. 

  • Introduced some fascinating themes to the story, but doesn't quite take full advantage of fleshing them out. 

  • Cellphones! Seriously?!

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Don’t Tell a Soul - watch it on VIDEO ON DEMAND

Promising Young Woman

POSITIVES…

  • This dark; so very dark, premise and plot really just grabs you by the balls, immediately right from the opening sequence. 

  • Plot momentum and pacing just keeps moving, keeping me captivated by what’s going to happen next.

  • Carey Mulligan is amazing in a tour de force performance as Cassie. 

  • Bo Burnham is charming as heck as Ryan. 

  • Supporting cast is excellent. Clancy Brown, Jennifer Coolidge, Laverne Cox, Alison Brie, Chris Lowell, Max Greenfield, Alfred Molina, and so many more.

  • Scenes involving Cassie and her "victims." Just wow. 

  • That final act. Also, wow.

  • Thematically and unrelentingly in your face with the commentaries this story is making. 

  • Provocative, in a modern day revenge-fantasy exploitation flick kinda way. 

  • Song choices are fantastically inspired.

NEGATIVES…

  • Plot can be a bit incredulous at times. 

  • There are a couple of cliche tropes and conveniences that I wished was not in this movie. 

  • Can be accused of being biased, one sided, or just too heavy handed.

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Promising Young Woman - watch it on VIDEO ON DEMAND

News of the World

POSITIVES…

  • The straightforward premise, the narrative, and the plot progression should keep this drama compelling enough to grab your attention. 

  • Tom Hanks is as expected great in his role as Captain Kidd. The humanity and empathy he always adds to his roles is always a strength of his.

  • Helena Zengel is fantastic as Johanna. The way she shows confidence in her role, relying mostly on conveying emotions through her acting, as she is playing a predominantly silent character, is pretty impressive.

  • The whole set piece involving Michael Angelo Covino as Almay was exciting. 

  • There's another set piece involving Thomas Francis Murphy as Mr Farley that was incredible to see play out, especially considering the news media of our era. 

  • It's always fascinating to compare how things were back then, to our modern times of today. 

  • Speaking of fascinating, there are multiple scenes about the politics from that era, and noticing that some things never change. 

  • The themes of this story benefits everybody.

NEGATIVES…

  • Not exactly a fast moving movie. 

  • The politics in this story might be considered too on the nose, and too one-sided a point of view for some people. 

  • How fast can Tom Hanks learn the Kiowa language?

  • Sadness alert : a horse gets into an accident and dies

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News of the World - watch it on VIDEO ON DEMAND

Outside the Wire

POSITIVES…

  • Premise for this war movie isn't anything new, but if it's what you were looking for, then here it is. 

  • Anthony Mackie is expectedly good at playing the strong action star with that bit of sense of humor. 

  • Damson Idris is solid playing a character who is kinda a pain in the ass, but as the audience. surrogate he will eventually learn a valuable lesson.

  • Action sequences involving Mackie are entertaining to watch. 

  • It's always nice to see a solid supporting cast, like Michael Kelly, Emily Beecham, Enzo Cilenti, Pilou Asbæk, and Kristina Tonteri-Young.  

  • Themes and lessons aren't exactly new, but they are still worth repeating. 

  • Who doesn't like seeing robots in these kinds of movies.

NEGATIVES…

  • If you somehow can't figure out the themes and lessons of this movie, it makes sure to hit you over the head with them constantly. 

  • Expect the usual plot tropes and conveniences. 

  • Really could have been a shorter movie than it is. 

  • So many sequences really pushes the limits of your suspension of disbelief. 

  • The character of Harp is supposed to be our audience surrogate right? Butt can we put that to a vote?

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Outside the Wire - watch it on NETFLIX

One Night in Miami

POSITIVES…

  • Premise is undeniably about the beginnings of the Black Power movement of the 1960s, and how important it is even till today.

  • Excellent opening sequence introducing our four main characters, and perfectly set up the themes of the story.

  • Phenomenal cast of actors here! Kingsley Ben-Adir as Malcolm X, Leslie Odom Jr as Sam Cooke, Eli Goree as Cassius Clay, and Aldis Hodge as Jim Brown.

  • As great as the actors are, it’s the monologues, the stories, and the social commentaries given in those conversations, that are the true highlights of this film.

  • The story of Sam Cooke’s concert in Boston.

  • Speaking of which, those Sam Cooke songs. Fantastic!

  • This movie is definitely thought provoking. It may not even be unfamiliar topics, but it’ll absolutely force you to think about it some more.

NEGATIVES…

  • If you didn’t already know, a huge chunk of this movie is simply four men talking to each other in a hotel room. If you’re not down for watching that, then this may not be for you.

  • Admittedly it’s not necessarily an unfamiliar premise for a movie, that you haven’t seen before.

  • There’s bound to be people who won’t like this movie, simply based on the subject matter.

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One Night in Miami - watch it on PRIME VIDEO

Locked Down

POSITIVES…

  • Premise is generally fascinating, especially considering the setup of when it’s taking place. 

  • Also considering the setup, it does go down interesting places and ideas with the narrative.

  • Chiwetel Ejiofor and Anne Hathaway looked like they were appropriately playing up their characters, and are clearly enjoying themselves as Paxton and Linda respectively. 

  • The whole relationship and chemistry between Linda and Paxton is one of the main strengths of this movie. 

  • That Skype call with Ben Stiller, and the facetime conversations with Ben Kingsley, were entertaining! 

  • There is some fun humor here, like the running jokes, word play, even including the ones relating to COVID-19. 

  • Edgar Allan Poe. 

NEGATIVES…

  • I get that we're supposed to all be on lockdown as we're watching this, and presumably have all the time in the world to watch, but this movie is unnecessarily longer than it has to be. 

  • Meanders. Boring at times. Indulgences itself too much. 

  • There are some big monologues that just didn't land. Which is a shame. 

  • If you’ve seen the trailer, you are essentially watching this movie specifically for the third act, and honestly it wasn't quite worth it. 

  • Really suspend your disbelief. You're going to need to. 

  • The lack of a soundtrack for a good chunk of the movie didn't help. 

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Locked Down - watch it on HBO MAX

Batman: Soul of the Dragon

POSITIVES…

  • This animated movie being a mix of James Bond, Martial Arts, and yes Batman, is pretty awesome. 

  • Plot moves things along nicely, and it’s entertaining enough to want to see it through. 

  • It's got an excellent ensemble of characters, and their chemistry together is fun to watch. 

  • This may have Batman in the movie, but Shiva and O-Sensei were easily the standouts of the cast. 

  • Martial arts action choreography looked really good, and is actually the main reason to see this movie. 

  • The lesson about a rock that was nicely said.  

  • For a movie trying to avoid saying the word "shit," it sure isn't afraid to show lots of blood and decapitations. 

  • I’d like to emphasize that Shiva kicks so much ass.

NEGATIVES…

  • If you're expecting this to be a full-on Batman movie, then you will be disappointed. 

  • Animation style was too simple and generic looking for me 

  • Narrative can feel a little uneven at times. 

  • The way the movie ends…

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Batman: Soul of the Dragon - watch it on VIDEO ON DEMAND