Studio 666

POSITIVES

  • If the idea of the rock band The Foo Fighters playing themselves, in a haunted house type story, done in a dark comedic manner, is something fun you'd like to see, then go watch this movie! 

  • A huge part of what makes this movie enjoyable is it’s sense of humor of not taking itself too seriously, having some fun banter, cheesy moments, and just happily embracing the silliness of it all. At the same time it has a serious direction of having some solid horror sensibilities with some legitimately scary imagery and bloody gore. 

  • So much kudos to Dave Grohl for really throwing himself into this version of Dave Grohl that he is playing. He is fantastic! Gotta appreciate the self-deprecating sensibilities that the band has in this. 

  • Part of the fun of watching this movie are the pop culture references, the meta-ness, cameos, and easter eggs. 

  • That killer epic super heavy song that the Foo Fighters are working on here sounds so good. 

NEGATIVES

  • Nandi Bushell might be too young to be watching the graphic visuals and language found in this. Not to mention those who generally mind those Rated R things. 

  • Okay, we know. They are not professional actors, and it shows. 

  • Yes, the movie also shows some limits to not being as visually cinematic as it could be, especially when paired with the fact that it’s all set in one location like a bottle episode. 

  • Plot-wise there are just unbelievable moments that you are just going to have to forgive. 

  • Unfortunately “Love Dies Young” doesn’t really live up to that killer epic super heavy song that Foo Fighters were working on in the movie. 

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Studio 666 - watched it IN THEATERS

Fistful of Vengeance

POSITIVES

  • Fans of Wu Assassins will appreciate the continuation of that story with this movie. 

  • Iko Uwais, Lewis Tan, and Lawrence Kao, are still cool as our protagonists. 

  • That mix of supernatural elements with martial arts action is a solid idea for a premise. 

  • The big action thriller set piece set in that one building was exciting enough. 

  • Bangkok, Thailand is a nice choice for location. 

NEGATIVES

  • Have to say that if you haven’t watched Wu Assassins, then you might be a little lost.

  • Felt like it was just going through a check list of familiar plot tropes, cliches, and wish-fulfillment. 

  • Certain characters and plot developments just felt rushed. 

  • Action sequences felt uninspired or were just average. 

  • Coincidental lack of bystanders or background people during the big set pieces kinda distracted me too much. 

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Fistful of Vengeance - watched it on NETFLIX

The Tinder Swindler

POSITIVES

  • To anybody who meets strangers online, you should probably watch this fascinating cautionary tale. 

  • Interesting narrative that should hook you until the end. It only gets even more gripping as more and more details are revealed. 

  • Satisfying third act. Satisfying. 

  • Interviews felt very personable and just sucks you into their stories. 

  • Loved the use and integration of media and apps into the visual direction. Plus a lot of good B-footage used.  

NEGATIVES

  • Knowing what you know about this documentary, it might just make you super frustrated. Oh you're going to roll your eyes a couple of times. 

  • Considering the narrative there can be a bit of confusion with some of the details or lack of.  

  • There are a couple of people that I wished the documentary would have been able to get some statements from. 

  • Don't know about you, but seeing the lavish lifestyle displayed on screen makes me disgusted. 

  • It's still an ongoing story, so the final conclusion in the documentary may not be as satisfying. 

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The Tinder Swindler - watched it on NETFLIX

Texas Chainsaw Massacre

POSITIVES

  • If you're looking for some bloody gory violence with the return of Leatherface, congratulations! 

  • Has some solid suspenseful moments here and there for you scary horror movie fans. 

  • There's that one social media joke that I chuckled at. 

  • Some of the commentaries mentioned are at least thought provoking. 

  • It's not a super long movie. 

NEGATIVES

  • It'll probably be better if this derivative movie was even shorter. 

  • Overall a disappointing attempt of yet another "requel" to the 1974 original. 

  • What's more frustrating in a slasher movie than seeing people do the most stupid things possible that gets them killed. 

  • It's hard to care if the characters die or not, if the movie doesn't make much of an effort to make me care for the characters. 

  • It threw in all the popular triggering social issues into this movie just to be embarrassingly provocative just for the sake of it. 

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Texas Chainsaw Massacre - watched it on NETFLIX

Uncharted

POSITIVES

  • If you're looking for a treasure hunting action-adventure, that has good pacing, and a compelling enough narrative, then this is a perfectly solid movie to check out. It knows what it is, it's limits, and does a fine enough job being entertaining in doing what it’s doing. 

  • Tom Holland is charming as heck playing Nathan Drake, and I really enjoyed seeing him do all those parkour moves on screen. Sophia Ali as Chloe Frazer is also a fun character to watch here. Plus Tati Gabrielle makes a fine antagonist as Braddock. 

  • This movie has several good set pieces, from the heisting, the chasing, the clue finding, to that big action sequence during the third act. 

  • I overall liked the lighthearted tone and humor of this movie, and those smart ass lines. 

  • Fans of the video game franchise that this is based on will have fun with the easter eggs and references. 

NEGATIVES

  • Doesn't exactly add anything remarkably fresh to the table in the treasure hunting want-to-be-Indiana-Jones genre of movies. You would think there are some inspired and ambitious themes and ideas here, but there really isn't. 

  • Still falls for the same mistakes most movies in this genre make. We in the movie watching audience actually want the chance to play along with the clues to finding the treasure. Characters in the movie solving the puzzles simply because the plot demands it are just not as engaging as they should be. 

  • Are a lot of the things that happen in this movie a bit unbelievable or too convenient? Yes. 

  • Mark Wahlberg continues to just play the usual derivative character that he plays, complete with the seemingly forced banter and nonchalant attitude because he thinks that's supposed to be ssoooo entertaining to watch. 

  • The deaths and murdering of people here all seems a little too casual. Especially when the most remorse you'll get from our protagonist is a “sorry.” 

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Uncharted - watched it IN THEATERS

Death on the Nile

POSITIVES

  • If you're a fan of Murder on the Orient Express, then you probably will want to check this out to see what mystery Hercule Poirot has to solve now. That's the only reason you really need to see this. 

  • Actually there’s another reason. Kenneth Branagh as Poirot is the best thing in this movie. Although I do like Tom Bateman reprising his role as Bouc as well. The rest of the cast are generally solid in their roles. 

  • You can tell a lot of money was thrown towards the production of this film, because it is visually very grand and extravagant to look at. 

  • I liked that one of the themes and commentaries made in this story fits perfectly with why this ended up being released during Valentine’s Day weekend. 

  • There’s a lot going on in this film, and I think some movie goers will enjoy the denseness and intricacies of the characters and the mystery. 

NEGATIVES

  • This is a traditional murder mystery complete with those plot tropes, narrative conveniences, and familiar archetypes. It just doesn’t have the more enjoyably fun modern takes of the genre. It is what it is. 

  • You just might get impatient and frustrated with this movie, because it takes its sweet long time before it gets to the crux of the mystery. You know, the thing you actually signed up for. 

  • It’s hard to be completely invested with the mystery when I don’t particularly like so many of these characters that are involved in it. 

  • The movie ridiculously lays out all the clues and expositions in such an obvious way that it can get kinda obnoxious. Yes, we get it! Those are the suspects! Quit having the camera continually highlight them like we have to constantly see the line-up. 

  • I seriously feel like this is definitely one of those stories that should just be retold as a limited TV series, instead of trying to cram so much into a two hours time frame. 

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Death On The Nile - watched it IN THEATERS

The Sky is Everywhere

POSITIVES

  • Fascinating look into grief through the lens of a confused and awkward teenage musical prodigy. The narrative goes places with a lighter tone than you would expect from a movie that's focused on so much sadness. 

  • Grace Kaufman is absolutely earnestly fantastic as the grief-stricken lead Lennie Walker. Jacques Colimon as Joe Fontaine is just so cool and awesome. Solid supporting cast which includes Pico Alexander, Cherry Jones, Havana Rose Liu, Ji-young Yoo, Jason Segel, and more. 

  • Stylized visuals, bright colors, and graphical tricks, to give you all that constant eye candy. 

  • Love the musical interludes that go into fantastical imaginative segments like the "Air on a G String" by Johann Sebastian Bach sequence. 

  • Really happy with how the final act plays out, plus the overall message of the story. Rewards you for seeing through the movie. 

NEGATIVES

  • Probably way too quirky and precious, mixed with that teenage angst and melodrama. Not for everybody. 

  • If you find artsy kids annoying, then stay clear away from this movie. 

  • Hope you don't mind all the voice over monologuing, because it can sound pretentious at times. 

  • It's like the camera never stops moving and it can be a little much. 

  • AUGH they went there with that embarrassing cliche of a plot turn. You don't have to do that just to create a complicated conflict!  

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The Sky Is Everywhere - watched it on APPLE TV+

The In Between

POSITIVES

  • This is that great love story that you might have romanticized having when you were an idealistic teenager. Enjoy seeing that put on screen. 

  • Narrative mix of chronological flashbacks, the present, and the supernatural elements, all work really well together. 

  • There are several beautifully shot simple scenes of Tessa navigating through what life has tossed at her, along with some involving set pieces that will drive your interest in seeing the story through. 

  • Joey King and Kyle Allen are amazing here as Tessa and Skyler respectively. Wearing their heart and emotions on their sleeves, how could you not root for these two? Shout out to Celeste O'Connor, Kim Dickens, and John Ortiz, for being really good in their roles as well. 

  • Stellar soundtrack that features some good song choices. 

NEGATIVES

  • Not exactly a unique romantic drama. So expect some familiar tropes, cliches, and derivativeness to keep things from being too fresh of a movie experience. 

  • Might be a bit melodramatic a lot of the time? Might not be to your liking perhaps? 

  • The character of Skyler is just a little too perfect? I mean he’s not perfect-perfect, but damn is he really kinda perfect for that dream boyfriend to have. 

  • Third act might have taken things too far with the premise. I know supernatural elements are involved here, but let’s put some logic to certain plot decisions now can we? 

  • If you somehow don't like "Never tear us apart" by INXS… well, sorry? 

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The In Between - watched it on PARMOUNT+

I Want You Back

POSITIVES

  • Opening montage scene perfectly shows you the kind of silly entertainment that you're going to have while watching this movie.

  • Jenny Slate and Charlie Day. Very funny people on their own, but also their chemistry together is fantastic. Kudos as well to Manny Jacinto for being quite the scene stealer.  

  • If there’s one factor that you can rely on to keep you amused, it’s the funny lines and punchlines that this movie is filled with.  

  • Enjoyable set pieces, from the Little Shop of Horrors, to the after club get together, gives you those situational comedies that this movie’s premise can bring. 

  • There are some subplots and character back stories that I found genuinely endearing. 

NEGATIVES

  • Can’t be helped, there are some predictable and familiar elements.  

  • On occasion, the movie does slow down to a crawl when it has to show some emotional moments. 

  • A couple of the characters unfortunately felt a little underwritten. 

  • Probably goes on longer than it had to. 

  • Can movies stop using the old tired plot trope of the lead characters having a discussion while watching a movie in a theater, while there are other audience members present?!!! Just write them watching a movie at home or at their apartment or something! Pet peeve of mine. 

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I Want You Back - watched it on PRIME VIDEO

Marry Me

POSITIVES

  • While ridiculous for a romantic premise, it’s admittedly charming and cute enough in that it works anyway. 

  • A lot of what makes this movie work relied a lot on Jennifer Lopez’s strength in being very familiar with the character she plays and Owen Wilson being the simple nice guy. Supporting cast was solid as well, from Sarah Silverman, Chloe Coleman, John Bradley, and Michelle Buteau.

  • Plot progression should keep your attention, and it’s entertaining enough to want to see the story play out until the end. 

  • Some key set pieces were fun to see play out, like a lot of the scenes involving the school, plus the montages. There are some solid montages here. 

  • They actually played out a lot of the songs in full, and I really liked “After Love,” “On My Way,” and “Marry Me (ballad).” 

NEGATIVES

  • You’ve seen these kinds of stories before. Expect the usual tropes, cliches, and predictability. 

  • The reasoning behind the premise is quite a bit preposterous. Huge suspension of disbelief required. 

  • Speaking of which, there are some unbelievable moments here and there that you're gonna have to just somehow ignore. 

  • I wasn't feeling some of the song numbers. They just aren’t all hits. 

  • Although I appreciated the commentaries and lessons shared in the movie, it all felt relegated to sound bites or just general plot details rather than fully formed themes. 

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Marry Me - watched it on PEACOCK TV