kid 90

POSITIVES…

  • For a lot of people, the primary reason to see this documentary is for all those archival footage that Soleil Moon Frye took, and they do not disappoint. Especially if you were a kid in the 1980s and 1990s. 

  • It’s like a cross between just watching home videos, to seeing a narrative about a young person experiencing growing up. 

  • We’ve seen a lot of tales about kid celebrities' lives, but this still has a perspective that is worth exploring. 

  • Appreciated how personal and open Soleil Moon Frye was in this.

  • Commentaries by Brian Austin, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, David Arquette, and so many others were great additions to this. 

  • The whole “punky boobster” thing. A lot of girls can probably relate with that. 

  • This documentary does get really serious and tragic at certain sections. Important subject matters to think about.  

  • Is Soleil Moon Frye the original youtube video blogger before youtube was even born?

NEGATIVES…

  • Obviously the old video footage isn’t of the highest quality. Get over it. 

  • Could have used more timestamps to when these footages were taking place. 

  • Some could just dismiss this as yet another privileged child star story. 

  • Seeing young celebrities being wild with drugs and alcohol is just so typical and doesn’t really add anything new to the narrative. 

  • Would have liked to have seen this film go even more in depth of certain topics featured in it. 

  • Wished it was longer actually.

loveditenjoyedit LIKED IT itsokayitsmehitsterrible

kid 90 - watched it on HULU

Cherry

POSITIVES…

  • Compelling character study of the self-destruction of a disenfranchised person. 

  • Tom Holland is fantastic in this as our lead character. 

  • Ciara Bravo is captivating as Emily. 

  • Provocative story that takes you places with it’s varied plot narratives. 

  • Liked the 4th wall breaking and monologues. 

  • Visually stylish and knows how to grab you. 

  • The whole Army basic training section of the story is quite entertaining to watch. 

  • Appreciated this critical commentary about our veterans of war. 

  • When you feel like pulling out of the movie, the relationship between our two lead couple will encourage you to see this through. 

  • Take this heartbreaking story as a cautionary tale. Please.

  • Enjoyed how this movie had fun with character names, business names, name calling, etc…

NEGATIVES…

  • Plot progression and story can be seen as a bit cliché. 

  • Seems a little pretentious at times. 

  • It can be a little challenging to care that much for the lead characters. 

  • Cynical nature of the story is not for everyone. 

  • All that vulgarity can be a little much. 

  • It's a 140 mins movie that could very well have just been a TV limited series.

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Cherry - watched it on APPLE TV+

Boss Level

POSITIVES…

  • Those looking for a bang-boom-pow action flick done in the time-loop genre should definitely check this out.  

  • First 8 minutes. Highly choreographed action sequence, a light-hearted montage, with cartoonish ultra violence? It's a great introduction to how entertaining this movie can be. 

  • Best use of Frank Grillo as an action star? Yes. I think it is. He is awesome here as our protagonist Roy Pulver.

  • Fantastic ensemble cast of supporting actors. Will Sasso, Selina Lo, Sheaun McKinny, Ken Jeong, Naomi Watts, and many more. 

  • I appreciated the overall self aware tone to this, of it seemingly knowing what kind of movie it is, and just has fun with it. 

  • The voice over monologue works perfectly for this narrative. 

  • As expected, watching Roy finally figure out what's going on, and proceeds with a game plan, is enjoyable to watch, and gives you that drive to see through this movie. 

  • Fun pop culture references. 

  • There are some solid well written lines in this that you'll want to quote. 

  • "I am Guan Yin. And Guan Yin has done this."

NEGATIVES…

  • Yes, I know, it's yet another time-loop movie. So if you're tired of that, well I guess this might not be for you. 

  • Kinda wished it was balls to the walls action, but there are slow parts that drag that momentum down a bit. 

  • Plot conveniences? Sure.

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Boss Level - watched it on HULU

Raya and the Last Dragon

POSITIVES…

  • A premise that mixes quest adventuring, martial arts action choreography, and magical mythologies? Yes please.  

  • The Southeast Asian inspired world building and the imaginative creativity, are all absolutely fantastic. 

  • Enjoyed seeing the different locations that offered a good variety of visuals. 

  • Love the character design of Raya. Looking forward to seeing the cosplay of her. 

  • Speaking of which, Kelly Marie Tran as Raya is excellent in her role. 

  • Awkwafina as Sisu is a delight, and adds humor to the movie. 

  • Gemma Chan plays a good nemesis as Namaari. 

  • Ensemble cast is even more complete, with the solid work by Izaac Wang, Benedict Wong, Daniel Dae Kim, Sandra Oh, Alan Tudyk, and Thalia Tran as the scene stealing baby with her Ongis. 

  • One particular action chase sequence was fun to watch. 

  • That final act was simply wonderful. 

  • Thematically has some solid inspirational things to say.

NEGATIVES…

  • Some familiar Disney plot tropes. 

  • Plot conveniences? Sure. There’s some of that too. 

  • Honestly, the movie could be a little longer, as the narrative felt a little rush at times. 

  • Would have appreciated a few more scenes to let things breathe, and get more needed character development. 

  • I know this is an animated fantasy movie with a talking dragon, but there is one particular character that does push your buttons in suspending your disbelief.

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Raya and the Last Dragon - watched it on DISNEY+

Coming 2 America

POSITIVES…

  • For those actually super curious about what happens after "Coming To America," well here you go. 

  • If you like more of that “fish out of water” stories, here you go again.

  • The fun new ensemble cast additions are enjoyable to watch, with stand outs by Jermaine Fowler, Arsenio Hall, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan, Wesley Snipes, and more. 

  • I'm pleasantly reminded how entertaining Arsenio Hall is, and Shari Headley is most welcomed back as Lisa McDowell. 

  • That one scene with James Earl Jones and the big reveal. Arguably the best scene of the movie. 

  • Let's be honest. Besides the nostalgia factor, the only other reason to want to watch this movie is to see the different characters Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall get to play in this. 

  • Oh and cameos. People like them cameos right? 

  • Gett Off.

NEGATIVES…

  • Some predictable tropes and conveniences. 

  • Most of the humor mostly falls flat. Not all. Almost all. Most. 

  • Felt half-hearted with the social issues brought up. 

  • Heck, the script just felt lazy.

  • It seemed embarrassingly stuck in the late 1980s at times. 

  • The obvious product placements are probably more embarrassing. 

  • To quote a line from this very movie, "This is true about sequels, if something's good, why ruin it."

loveditenjoyedititsokay IT’S MEH itsterrible

Coming 2 America - watched it on PRIME VIDEO

Moxie

POSITIVES…

  • As a high school teen movie about feminism, sexism, and the patriarchy, this is a story you should definitely consider checking out. 

  • Excellent ensemble cast! Hadley Robinson, Lauren Tsai, Alycia Pascual-Pena, Sydney Park, Anjelika Washington, Nico Hiraga, Ike Barinholtz, Marcia Gay Harden, plus Amy Poehler, and so many more! 

  • The interactions and conversations between Vivian and her Mom Lisa are a definite highlight of this movie. 

  • Undeniably provocative. Several scenes memorably pushes your buttons on the social issues and commentaries that's presented. 

  • There are some monologues here that are worth listening to. 

  • Soundtrack is awesome. Shout out to The Linda Lindas!!!

  • While not necessarily an actual comedic film, there are still some solid jokes on here. 

  • "I need a shit-load of copies!"

  • White people playing Mahjong?!

NEGATIVES…

  • Some expected tropes associated with high school stories. 

  • Production felt like it was more a TV show than a cinematic film. 

  • Pacing could be more exciting. 

  • The third act. Not everybody is going to like that third act. 

  • Patronizing in some regards. 

  • Heavy handed?

loveditenjoyedit LIKED IT itsokayitsmehitsterrible

Moxie - watched it on NETFLIX

Tom and Jerry the Movie

POSITIVES…

  • Seeing the interactions between animated animals and the real world is well done. 

  • The traditional hi-jinks of Tom & Jerry lives up enough to what you expect from them. 

  • There's a Rube Goldberg gag, which was apropos. 

  • I particularly liked Spike and Toots! 

  • Animal tornado! Gotta have an animal tornado. 

  • Kudos to Chloë Grace Moretz and Michael Peña for trying their best to act with the animated animals. 

  • As embarrassingly dumb as it can get, it proves that it's heart is in the right place by the end of the movie. 

  • I'll always find the fact Tom plays the keyboard entertaining.

NEGATIVES…

  • Expect the usual derivative nonsense from this attempt of a kids movie. 

  • Human actors were trying way too hard. 

  • Comedy bits weren't trying hard enough.  

  • They casually brought up social issues for some reason, which was so unnecessary. 

  • Soundtrack somehow felt out of place for this. 

  • It just felt like work trying to get through the unentertaining parts of this movie.  

  • The after credits scene wasn't even good enough to be something worth waiting for!

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Tom and Jerry the Movie - watched it on HBO MAX

Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry

POSITIVES…

  • If you're a fan of Billie Eilish, you have all the reasons in the world to want to see this. 

  • If you've never heard of musical artist Billie Eilish, this documentary does a fantastic job of showing you who she is, and her life as a teenage celebrity. Upsides and downsides and all. 

  • There’s a good chunk dedicated to her concerts, and it’s entertaining to pretty much be like a fly in the wall to her experience touring. Fans singing along and shin splints and all. 

  • This film covers a lot of the song making process, and there were multiple moments that were fascinating and interesting. Insightful and provocative ideas and all. 

  • Gotta appreciate this personal look into her life, who she is as a person, her family, and most importantly her opinions. The whole family are all opinionated people, with thoughts, ideas, and emotions, that are absolutely worth exploring. 

  • HUGE shout out to her brother Finneas O'Connell, and her parents Maggie Baird, Patrick O'Connell (and hello Pepper the dog!). They are a huge part of her life and her talent, and this film doesn’t shy away from that fact at all. "Our family is one big f***ing song." 

  • That whole thing with Justin Bieber. 

  • Coachella is a big segment in this documentary, and deservedly so. 

  • There’s a line you’ll often hear from her fans, “I Love you Billie!,” and there’s a reason you hear that constantly. 

  • Just a note to mention. This appropriately enough doesn't censor Billie much at all.

NEGATIVES…

  • Parents watching this with their young kids might balk at the lack of censorship. 

  • It's a 140 minutes documentary! There’s even a break designated as an intermission! I hope it keeps your attention. 

  • Actually, if it doesn't grab you in 20-30 minutes, you may as well stop watching. 

  • Narrative-wise it’s arguably too straight forward in chronicling several years of her life, before it starts actually embracing a theme to the movie. 

  • Felt undeniably indulgent in that it stays on scenes and songs far longer than it probably really has to.

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Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry - watched it on Apple TV+

Minari

POSITIVES…

  • Chasing the American Dream. What's not to relate? 

  • This story of this blue-collar family, their trials and tribulations, hits on so many emotional levels. 

  • It was really easy to get invested with the family, and it's all thanks to the talented acting by Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri, Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho, and Youn Yuh-jung.

  • Alan Kim as David and Youn Yuh-jung as Grandma are amazing as the scene stealers in this film. 

  • There are some dramatically devastating and heartbreaking scenes. 

  • It's not like this movie is just a big downer though, as there is some good levity in the narrative too. 

  • Fascinating seeing how the narrative handles the culture shocks and culture clashes. 

  • Offers life lessons that everybody could learn. 

  • Appreciated how the movie handled the interactions between this Asian Family and the predominantly white American people they encountered in Arkansas. 

  • "If the tornado hits, this house will fly away." 

  • Mountain Dew.

NEGATIVES…

  • It's not going to be the fastest moving or most exciting film for some people. 

  • Some plot conveniences.

  • Not for those who don't like reading subtitles.

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Minari - watched it on VIDEO ON DEMAND

Red Dot

POSITIVES…

  • A couple finds themselves in a thriller and a horrific situation. If that's a genre movie you're up for. Here you go! 

  • Nanna Blondell and Anastasios Soulis are solid as their characters Nadja and David respectively.

  • That scene with the call to the radio station at the beginning of the movie. It was cute, and quickly creates an investment into the relationship between Nadja and David that carries the rest of the story. 

  • Watching how Nadja and David deal with the terrifying predicament they find themselves in should keep you engaged with the film. 

  • There's a certain efficiency to the narrative of the plot that I liked. At the same time, it didn’t feel rushed, and had its own careful pacing. 

  • While there is some familiarity to the movie in some regards, it's not without some surprises either. 

  • Hey, if you're ever in a situation similar to Nadja and David, use their story as a cautionary tale. They sure give several examples for life lessons.

NEGATIVES…

  • Expect some familiar predictable plot devices normally associated with these kinds of stories. 

  • Not the most high octane thriller that you might have wanted from it. 

  • There are poor decisions that might frustrate you. 

  • The character of David might frustrate you. 

  • Heck, there are questionable plot turns that might frustrate you. 

  • doesthedogdie.com

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Red Dot - watched it on NETFLIX