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allisongildner
Reviews
Elemental (2023)
Enjoyable For All Ages
As an adult who grew up loving everything Pixar, I've been disappointed by many of their recent films. I waited to watch Elemental because I just didn't expect much from it, but I was pleasantly surprised by this classic story of forbidden romance. My kids (5 and 3 years old) absolutely loved it.
I don't have anything new to say about the beautiful animation, masterful soundtrack, and compelling characters. Every other review has touched on those elements, so I won't be redundant. It's a well-made movie.
I was a bit turned off by blatant immigration storyline and racial stereotypes. To be clear, I thought it was respectful of those important topics, but it wasn't subtle and it was somewhat distracting from the rest of the story.
The rating gets bumped up due to how much my kids enjoyed it. They have been wanting to listen to the soundtrack nonstop, they're asking interesting questions about the movie, and they were able to stay engaged with the entire story. Pixar is geared toward children, and they finally appealed to their target audience with Elemental.
Delirium (2018)
I wish I could give 0 stars
Nothing about this movie is believable. Whoever wrote this knows nothing about mental health treatment, probation, or house arrest. The characters are flat. The plot is predictable and boring. I kept waiting for some intelligent, shocking twist to somehow tie this mess together. Nope. It's just a mess.
The movie did succeed in executing a few jump scares and it made me chuckle a couple of times at the main character's awkwardness. I can't think of anything else positive to say about it.
When the movie ended my husband said "I'm so dissatisfied" and that about sums this up. I don't know why the actors agreed to do this; they're better than this. Leo DiCaprio clearly needs to stick to acting.
Glass (2019)
The Critics Are Wrong
I'm not a big movie buff and I don't usually write reviews. I only want to briefly comment here to reiterate what everyone else is saying: The critics are wrong.
This is a unique film which follows the surprise sequel to Unbreakable- arguably the best M. Night Shyamalan film to date. The sequel, Split, was an entertaining take on a psychological thriller; however, Glass takes it to a whole new level.
Glass is a psychological/superhero/horror flick unlike any other movie I've seen. Shyamalan perfectly ties in necessary components from the first two films in order to drive Glass to its surprising conclusion.
You should stop reading reviews immediately and go see it for yourself. If you haven't seen Unbreakable or Split, you need to watch them first or you will not enjoy all that Glass has to offer.
Life (2017)
Enjoyable for what it is
I thought it was enjoyable for what it is: a sci-fi horror flick. I've read the negative reviews and I understand the criticisms. Yes, it's unrealistic and the character development is poor. However, it's still a fun scare.
If you're going to a sci-fi murderous alien movie to criticize it for being unbelievable, you might be going for the wrong reasons. The movie's purpose was to scare it's audience, which I think it effectively achieved through a combination of suspense, jump scares, and genuine horror. I really wanted to love this movie because I enjoy the genre and I am a fan of Jake Gyllenhaal's acting. I went into it expecting to love the movie, but of course I was a bit disappointed by the aforementioned criticisms. If you can allow yourself to set aside the critical analysis and sit back and enjoy a scary story, then you can have fun watching Life.
Split (2016)
Rivals Unbreakable as Shyamalans best
This film is superb. I am stunned by the poor reviews on here. I've never written an IMDb review before but am doing so now mostly as a protest to those who are not giving this movie the credit it deserves. I'm a Psychotherapist, so I think I have a little credibility to speak to the psychological component of the plot. Yes, DID is controversial (I personally don't believe in it) but the movie's portrayal absolutely fits with some accounts of the disorder. The information shared is right in accordance with true-to-life *supposed* cases of it. Of course, this is entertainment and not a case study, so Shyamalan certainly took some liberties with how he chose to depict DID. I will not say anymore about the story because I think the less you know going into it, the better. But I will say my husband and I both loved it. It was intense and terrifying. The plot is interesting, the story is well executed, and the cinematography superb. The acting is what made the movie. Without an excellent actor it would be unwatchable, but of course he did a flawless job. A solid 10/10.