circumstance, could be considered palatable. That's kind of the whole movie. Disgraceful people do things that make their situations worse. As they continue to dig their own graves deeper, they keep hoping for their big break to rescue them. It's incredibly effective as by the end, I couldn't wait to see how the story concluded. I don't think I like this as much as Good Time, but Uncut Gems might just be the mainstream push for the Safdie brothers to be more recognized. 7.5/10
Probably the most inappropriate Christmas movie you could go see with the family
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Whenever there was a wide shot of actors in a room, I could not buy into the fact that these were cat height people. So in a way, I was unoffended by Cats in general. Now, would I recommend someone one spend the 2 hours to watch people that kinda look like cats dance around to music that isn’t very good? No. But I do have to say I wasn’t bored, just that I almost fell asleep. The almost cozy atmosphere and uninteresting plot provides a wonderful atmosphere to rest your eyes a bit. You probably shouldn’t see this film, ever. But, if you ever need to fall asleep when it comes to streaming, then it might just do the trick. 2/10
No one has the time to look into the allusions and symbolism for a play made for the 60s
The quaint and hominess that this movie exudes harkens back to a time of a different sensibility. Halfway through the runtime, you can tell it feels like a classic. Even though the original story came out in 1868, the film brings its message into the 21st century. Without devolving into preaching or propaganda, Little Women is able to balance its fantasy with stark realism. It even injects humor in a way to help release tension while not robbing the plot of its intensity. Little Woman utterly surprised me. The attention to detail, the proficiency in its craft, it all screams of a seasoned director. I think Greta Gerwig's knack for emotional literacy and her ability to craft scenes that let the audience experience the complexity of real relationships is unparalleled. While everyone is perfectly cast and there is praise to go around, I cannot stress enough how integral Gerwig was to making it all work. As director and screenwriter, this seems to be a unique vision that could have only come from her. I highly recommend the heartbreaking, funny, touching, and beautiful Little Women. 9/10
Greta Gerwig is officially one of my favorite directors
The Rise of Skywalker is offensive because it was boring; it's terrible because the plot doesn't make sense. You don't need to bring up the rest of the series to prove this is a bad movie as it dies on its own merits. For the first third, I was having flashbacks to 6 Underground and how the continuous cutting and nonstop pace made it hard to settle in for the over two-hour runtime. The Rise of Skywalker is in a hurry to get itself over and done with as its breakneck pace never slowed down. Characters are continually jumping to their next objective as so much grown has to be covered. While trying to erase everything that The Last Jedi stood for and having its own story, The Rise of Skywalker doesn't take the time to get everything right. It's sloppy, rushed, and offensive. In the place of substance, it relies on blatant uses of nostalgia in a weaponized form. Continually using music from the original trilogy to try and cover up everything wrong with the movie. I would go, "I remember liking this song, and it meaning something." It continually mines past films as a cheap party trick, and when it finally gets to its own story, all hell breaks loose. The villain in this turd on fire is ridiculous. The way all of the antagonists are setup is a tragedy. The leaps in logic for Rey and her abilities in the force are unfounded. What ends up happening to certain characters is complete bullshit. Pretending like this is ok, that it would be fine to accept what has happened as normal, would be a mistake. It surprised me that I wasn't angry while watching this movie. I usually can get irritated if a film gets on my nerves, but that didn't happen here. I think JJ Abrams's greatest accomplishment is that the presentation is good enough, so the only emotion I had was boredom. I was utterly bored, and none of the humor worked for me. Some will say that this is a hilarious movie, but if the stakes in your film don't matter and I don't care what's happening, then I can't laugh when forced humor is thrown at me. I genuinely laughed on three separate occasions, which is very low for the sheer volume of jokes that is put in every scene. The actors tried to do a good job with the material that they were given. I think they were collateral damage in the decisions that were being made. They, along with fans, were wronged so they should not be blamed. Just because their characters suck, doesn't mean its their fault. Please do not harass them online for the failure that is this movie. I can't believe I'm about to say this. Rise of Skywalker is the worst movie in the Star Wars franchise. While there are tons of technical and presentation problems in the prequels, there were still aspects to them that breathed life into the franchise. The Rise of Skywalker is devoid of any magic; it doesn't feel like the same thing. I can't think of one scene that you could watch on YouTube, and all of the music is ripped out of the old movies. This is bottom barrel stuff, and I couldn't watch it again. Star Wars is dead as a movie-going experience, and while I might have to see the eventual follow-up to review, I won't take pleasure in doing it. 2/10
There is no reason to see the movie if you are not a die hard fan, don't waste your time
making it look good is hard. Bay is the undisputed king of action; whether that's cars flipping over, explosions, or shootouts, he knows how to make them look good. I can even throw a bone to the actors as all of them seemed to play their parts well. While Ryan Reynolds is probably the main draw for most, he doesn't give the best performance. Honestly, none of the actors did anything to capture your attention, though that isn't their fault. The movie is stuck in the highest gear for its entire two-hour runtime; there isn't a moment for the characters to settle down. Read the comments made by actress Melanie Laurent about how Bay shoots on set, and you'll understand why this is. It honestly comes down to their ability to get their characters across in a short amount of time, which they do, and it's just enough to get to the next action scene. The rest of the movie is just constant cutting and motion, which can get nauseating. The first 20 minutes were unintelligible, as I had no clue where the characters were supposed to be when cutting to a different shot. This was a constant problem as characters teleport to new positions or major events happen offscreen. The fault lies squarely on two shoulders, the screenplay, and Bay himself. It doesn't help that there are constant flashbacks that the audience has no reference for and doesn't explain what is happening in the present. The best example comes right at the beginning of the movie, starting in present-day and going back six months for the first flashback. We spend approximately five minutes in this time period before jumping further back to four years into the past. With the amount of time switching, I'm surprised this isn't Back to the Future. Some might say the action scenes lift this dumpster fire from the hell hole from which it came into a place of watchability. I can guarantee you that if you know someone who enjoys this movie, you should probably never take their recommendations seriously from now on. You would have to be neurotic to be able to sit through the absolute mess that could only have been made for Netflix. On the bright side, I guess the streaming service really is the only place where creatives get full control over their projects. 2/10
This hurt to watch
by absurd dialogue. In second place again is Gillan as she continues to be the rock that is the foundation for the story. Since the cast expanded for the sequel, it would be remiss not to acknowledge Aquafina, who, at the ending of the movie, does the best acting. Everything else just doesn't work. The story is worse this time around, which completely boggles my mind. There is too much filler, which usually comes from scenes designed to make the audience laugh without any actual substance. It can all be traced back to the plot's inability to have motives for its characters' actions. This lack of direction that slows everything down brings the pacing to a crawl. Instead of being a tight fun movie, Jumanji: The Next Level ends up being a frustrating experience that is nowhere near as enjoyable. I know that for some viewers, the changes made to characters and pacing won't be a problem for them. But I would implore them to ask if the sequel really is as good as the first. It honestly felt like I was on an amusement park ride as I was whisked to different locations with little prompting. Though there are some funny moments and there is fun to be had, it just doesn't come close. It's not like Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was an impeccable movie that knew what to do, but it was better than this. I was very excited about this film; I thought that I was going to get more of everything I saw from the first, and in a way, I did. Since the ending hints at a third Jumanji movie, I would like to advise for that not happen. They should have focused on this installment being fun instead of trying to make a Jumanji franchise. 3.5/10
It's time to stop
It's obvious what Queen & Slim is supposed to be about; it tries to present a plausible scenario and champion a sentiment held by many in society. This in itself would have been great, but the story tries to tackle too many different topics; the film suffers from being bloated and unfocused. The result is that none of the issues get the time they need to be fleshed out. This disappointment piles on top of the editing problems that the movie has. Many scenes could have been removed, and nothing would have changed. Hard cuts required the audience to accept drastically different tones in an instant, a situation that happened many times. All of the scenes that did work, or evoked an emotional response, were used in the trailer. There were just a lot of choices made in the actual movie that distracted from the merit that was there. While the plot and editing were not very good, the acting breathed life into the film and kept it bearable. The performances by the leads added depth to dialogue that could fall flat and brought the characters' emotions to life. I would not recommend you go out and see this movie, but it wasn't absolutely horrible. 5/10
I was waiting for the Bee Gees and it never came |
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