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Reviews
The Calling (2022)
Avi is such an interesting character
I started watching this recently because I love mysteries and crime drama shows. This looks new because there's only one season, so idk if they're going to bring it back or what but I wanted to say that so far I'm really intrigued. It isn't slow burn like some crime dramas are, this has a faster pacing. I really like the Avi character. He's very interesting. It's important to me that the lead actor is somewhat different than the average cookie cutter detective and Avi is so that. He's very religious and holds his faith close when he's on the job. The way he speaks to suspects and victims or victims family members is very unique and gentle but also smart. He's an expert at getting people to just spill the truth. His partner I'm not such a fan of, she's kind of obnoxious but she may grow on me, I've changed my mind about characters before, but I will come back and update my review after I've finished but I really like it so far.
One sex scene was a bit much cos I was watching with my mother but hopefully they won't continue with that. The plot is interesting enough. A teenage boy is missing and his neighbor was his tutor and his home life sucks. Also he was being tricked at school by a girl. Lots of reasons to runaway but his father says he could never survive on his own. Does his father really know him? Does the neighbor know something? Is he even alive? I don't know, but I'm continuing watching because I want to know. Good show.
Road House (2024)
This was really good.
I gave this 8 stars. I watched it with my family and firstly I think it's a good family movie. Yes it has some violence and cuss words but mostly it is clean and it's got a good message at the end. Jake G did a really good job. I thought it was a respectful rendition of Roadhouse and not at all disrespectful to the original or Patrick Swayze. Connor Mcgregor is hilarious in it. I think he did great. Very charismatic as an actor with a comedic flair. The additional cast were good and the scenery was cool. Loved the whole Florida Keys angle. That made it better for me because I'm from there, but yeah this is a good fun movie like back in the day like Smokey and the Bandit or Any Which Way But Loose with Clint Eastwood. Honestly I was happy to see Jake in a movie like this because he usually plays intense characters in heavy films but this is lighthearted and fun. Give it a chance. It's very entertaining which is what movies are for.
Deep Fear (2023)
Decent shark movie
I didn't hate this. At first I thought I might though. Just FYI for any future directors reading this: Us shark movie watchers don't care about seeing the breasts and bottoms of the lead actress, we just want to see sharks eat people. Now the lead actress is very beautiful no doubt, but you get what I'm saying. There was some beautiful scenery with location shots and I thought the refugee angle was realistic. There's one scene with the shark and you will know it when you see it and it is why I rated it a 5. That one scene alone was worth 5 stars. The ending was okay, had a hopeful spin. All in all it moved fast and shark film aficionados should enjoy it.
Saltburn (2023)
The Haves and the Havenots
I heard everyone talking about this so I just finished watching it so I'm going to just free form write my thoughts about it and that's it. Visually this movie is great. It really had some stunning scenes. Rosamund Pike is awesome. I knew when I heard she was is it, I said she had to be the rich mother. She's so believable in her role. The whole family of Felix's is weird, but the weirdest one is still Oliver played by Barry Keoghan. It reminded me of Talented Mr Ripley, but also New Best Friend with Mia Kirshner.
If you ever saw that, it's very similar only with young women. Oliver really wanted Felix's life not Felix, that was the motivation and that is believable, not that he would do all this out of some obsession for Felix. One of the main reasons, the only reason really I didn't give this an 8 or 9 are the 3 gross scenes. The one with Vanetia, the one with Farleigh and the one on the grave. All those were disgusting and I don't think necessary, but I've noticed that movies are pushing perversion more and more and it's not good. When I was growing up, all the movies about young people I watched and none of them had sick crap like this in them. They could have done less or inferred things and the movie would be something I would recommend and rewatch even. This is the kind of movie my mother would like but I can't recommend it to her because she would hate those scenes. So I'm just putting my opinion out there incase future filmakers read reviews. It is not necessary to write sick stuff and make your actors do all kinds of nastiness to sell films. It reminded me of how Tom Holland had to take a vacation after that show had him make out with a man and he's not gay. I sometimes think these filmmakers are sexual deviants and do this just to get the actors to do what they want. Hate to think it but like I said, none of that was necessary. Also did anyone notice the giant Baphomet statue in the maze or whatever that was? A black devil goat holding a pig. Now why would a rich family have that? Just why? I can understand why people get ideas that Hollywood is throwing satanic symbolism in our faces. I know the Catton's were supposed to be eccentric but that is over the top. And again it seems they're relying too much on shock value. None of this is necessary when your script is good and you have the talent.
Anyway, ultimately I enjoyed it despite my criticism, Barry Keoghan is a great actor, a natural. Last scene was a nice touch. Watching him emote all the different emotions throughout, he's really going to go far in his career. . Just a warning though: don't watch with your parents or kids or neighbors or any extended family.
The Ritual Killer (2023)
My crime drama obsession brought me here.
I swear, sometimes I think that my need to watch every crime drama thriller known to man is not such a good thing when I hit on movies like this one. Out of the gate I was struck with the atrocious acting by one of the college kids in Morgan Freeman's character's class, but continued on, mostly for Morgan Freeman and Cole Hauser. I noticed another bad actor, the Asian lady cop in Italy. I almost thought she was dubbed it was so bad. Then the chief of police is terrible. He mumbles so I could barely even understand what he was saying half the time.
There's one little kid in the beginning that is murdered and he's really good with his part, but I really didn't want to see that or continue on when I found out the killer was murdering children.
Anyway, I finished it because it moved fast and I just had to know where this was all going and if you think I can answer that for you, think again. Yes the ending had a twist I didn't see coming, the part about Cole Hauser's wife and daughter. But then that last scene was like what???? It's too bad because I believe with better background actors and maybe a better budget, this could have been good. Hauser's cop is like a Dirty Harry. He does not give a F. He's going to kill the bad guys and he's gonna get away with it. Would have been more fun had the subject matter not involved the murder of children. Also the whole Italy part seemed unnecessary. Someone said that it was like a long episode of Criminal Minds. Not true, Criminal Minds would never have a black guy as the killer. Only white men unsubs with maybe, maybe a couple white women thrown in to make it look not so absurd. That's Criminal Minds. This was not that. The African witch doctor killer was scary as hell and like I said, had this story not been left with so many plot holes, I would have enjoyed it enough to recommend but I just cannot with what it is.
Still Missing Morgan (2023)
I should have researched before watching this.
It's on me for not looking this case up and going in blindly to my feelings of frustration at how this doc series is done. Clearly they have not found Morgan and that is highly frustrating and unacceptable in my opinion. It's like her mom said, we as a society just can't accept that people (usually men) just up and abduct children and they are never seen again and it's a mystery. I can't imagine what her and other parents have to go through who have this happen. The one case of little Jacob had me bawling my eyes out. They do find the perp, he confesses and only gets 20 years??? Just 20? He murdered and SA'd a child! I was furious watching this. The justice system is really flawed and I don't think anymore that we are lucky to have it because it needs a whole overhaul imo. They let pedos out so fast and that's when they end up graduating to murder and you give them a measly 20 yrs. Outrageous. I will always be pro death penalty because how you can kill a child, it's just the most evil of evil things. Do not watch if you are the sensitive type or empathic unless you skip the part where they tell how Jacob died. Prayers to his mother, I felt so bad for her. RIP Jacob.
Anyway, I rated this rather high for the hopes that Morgan is not forgotten and eventually found. Prayers to her family. They deserve answers.
The Killing (2011)
My favorite show ever
I don't have words for how much I love this show. It's crazy to me this was cancelled twice, it's hard to believe. This is an excellent crime drama set in Seattle. There's detective Sarah Linden and Detective Stephen Holder who couldn't be more opposite when you first meet them. I truly didn't like either of them in the beginning. I thought I wasn't going to be able to watch the whole series due to Linden's cold unemotional behavior and then Holder comes in with his blaccent and slang talk and I was like oh no please, but by the 3rd season, when I tell you I loved these two like they were family, I'm not even joking. By the 3rd season Linden is unhinged. She goes from unemotional to all over the place emotional and I love every minute of it. Holder goes from annoying to totally likable and you can see their chemistry is so good. I could watch Linden and Holder solve crimes for the rest of my life.
The first two seasons Holder and Linden are trying to catch a killer of a young teenage girl who Linden finds dead in the trunk of a car. Theres political stuff going on. Billy Campbell plays a do gooder politician who's running to be mayor and has secrets. There's other politicians and their "people" running around, plus the parents of the victim are shown a lot and the fallout from losing their girl. It's very gripping and you will get sucked into caring what happens to these people and who killed Rosy.
The 3rd season has Peter Saarsguard in it and he's fantastic. Just the acting alone from everyone but him specifically is captivating on screen and man, the ending is like a gut punch. Season 3 is really great imo. Season 4 finds the two detectives come across a whole family slain in their home and their teenage son still left alive. Did he do it? You'll have to watch. Season 4 is also great and the ending had me crying. I am forever a fan of this show and will watch it again. I will also watch everything that Joel Kinnamen and Mireille Enos is in from now on as they won me as fans for life with this show. I was fortunate to binge watch this when it was raining for 2 weeks straight where I live and it really added to the experience I think. The constant rain and clouds are definitely part of the experience so best to watch at least in a dim litted room for additional ambiance.
The Good Neighbor (2022)
This was pretty good.
I have to admit, I only watched it for Jonathan Rhys Meyers and is it just me or did he steal this movie from every other actor. I just could not muster up a care in the world for the David character or the sister of the victim or their budding romance. Honestly I wanted to know what happened in poor Robert's(Meyers) life that made him so desperate to have a friend that he's willing to go to such lengths for. And that guy David wasn't even worth it. What a boring, ungrateful sod. I am a longtime JRM fan, but I did try and get into the story, but only seemed to get excited when Meyers was on screen. He really has charisma for days. He really makes you feel genuinely bad for him even though he's crazy. But is he? Or is he just a lonely person trying to keep what he feels is his only friend? An interesting movie. Maybe not the most original, but the scenery is gorgeous and I was entertained. The ending was kind of shocking.
Defending Jacob (2020)
Enjoyed this series very much.
I decided to rate this a 9 despite the ending kind of puttering out and not giving me clear answers. Reason being, is I am hoping for a season 2, but even if there is no season 2 and I have to accept the last episode I still stand by this series being excellent. I was glued to this show. The acting is top notch. Especially from Michelle Dockery and the boy, Jacob played by Jaeden Martell. Some scenes that Laurie, the mother went through were gut wrenching and the actress's facial expressions showed all the pain she was going through.
I'm really going to look for projects with Michelle Dockery now, that's how impressed I was with her acting. Betty Gabriel and Cherry Jones were also excellent. Like I said, the acting here from everyone is good. Everyone brought their A-game.
The director was also very good. The decisions to do certain closeups with the musical score really helped you feel the emotion the characters were going through. J. K. Simmons nailed the father/grandfather character. I have never seen him play a bad guy like this, but he gave such a human performance, you really have some compassion for him trying to hold on to his only family left alive because he has literally no one in prison. Humans are layered and this show really reminds you of this with a number of characters. I don't want to spoil anything by sharing too much, I just want to say that if you watch this for the acting, the story and the journey this family goes through, you will probably like it. If you go in with wanting every question answered, you will be unhappy with the final episode but I think we can all agree that up until that, it is a very good, well acted, well directed courtroom drama about family secrets and the emotions that come with having to face the reality that the little bubble you've created is not safe from the truth.
Der Fall Jens Söring - Tödliche Leidenschaft (2023)
I was glued to this!
All I can say without ruining or spoiling it is I was riveted. This story is so bananas it's hard to even believe but it's true, it happened. I remember seeing their faces on the tv when I was young but I don't remember what exactly what went down and if you don't know, I would advise you go in not knowing. It's better that way. Because at one point my jaw was on the floor. Basically it's the story of two high IQ rich kids with enormous egos who fall in love and develop a shared delusion based on literature works like Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. They then plan to murder the girl's parents so she could be "free." -insert rolled eyes emoji- You can binge watch this in a night and it's highly worth it.
28 Weeks Later (2007)
I love this movie.
I've seen this movie a bunch of times. Just watched it again the other night for spooky season. It's pretty much a perfect zombie film.
We start out where London has been decimated by the rage virus which turns people into raving mad, blood thirsty zombies which immediately get turned the moment they get bit. No waiting around feeling bad like Night of the Living Dead(still a classic tho) but these zombies run fast, they turn fast and run fast. They've brought the American army in to help which consists of master chief Idris Elba and expert sniper Jeremy Renner. Also the head doctor, beautiful Rose Byrne of Insidious fame.
The story basically follows a family who's been attacked and effected by this rage virus. I won't spoil it but the two kids were out of town when the virus hit so they come in to the new District One which is a place they have quarantined and made safe to hold uninfected people till they rebuild London back up. But of coarse, things go awry.
This stars two of my favorite male actors in Idris Elba and Jeremy Renner so maybe I'm a little biased in loving this one so much, but nah this is a really good movie. It's gory, it's action packed, tension filled and heart warming at times. Like I said, I've watched it more than once so it's gotta be pretty good cos I have excellent taste.
Deliver Us from Evil (2014)
Great crime drama horror!
I was sick in the hospital for most of 2014 when this came out and didn't remember seeing it or ever hearing about it after. It's now available on Netflix and if you like crime movies or horror or both like me, you must check this one out.
This starts with Eric Bana as a cop from the Bronx who's dealing with what he thinks is just a run of the mill bad week of crime in the city only to then start having weird things happen to him like he hears voices and children laughing in his ears when no one else can. He starts seeing things too. His partner is Joel McHale and he's so good as your typical tough Irish New York cop. Anyway he can't see or hear the things Eric Bana is experiencing. Meanwhile, Edgar Ramirez is going through trying to stay away from drugs and women because he's a priest and he's seen some things okay. When these two finally get together they become the dynamic duo that is going to cleanse New York of this evil curse. It's so good. Ramirez is fantastic as the priest. If he's not religious in real life, I'd never believe it because he reads the scripture like he's bringing us to church. I was like amen'ing after his prayers. Bana is really good too. He really had good chemistry with Olivia Munn and I feel like they were a real family. The little girl who plays the daughter is very good.
When I tell you that The Doors being played and referenced in this made my heart warm, I am not lying. I was not expecting that at all and I felt it added to the film so kudos to the screenwriter and the director, whichever, for that. Afterwards I went and listened to Riders on the Storm and that really is one of the greatest songs ever written. The intro alone is genius.
Anyway, go watch this movie!
Cruella (2021)
Fun movie!
I finally got to see this because they showed it on FX and so I had to sit through 1000 commercials but I still enjoyed it. Emma Stone is great as Cruella. I wished it showed more of her devious Cruella side and less of her mousy Estella side but it's whatever, mostly it was good and her three friends, the two thieves and the fashion guy were really funny. The soundtrack is great and the fashions were really cool. Loved the dogs too.
Off topic, but has anyone has ever noticed Emma Stone really looks like Bijou Phillips? She reminded me of her in this especially but I've noticed it in print work too. Anyway, good family movie imo, a must watch if you're a fashion student, fashion lover or been abandoned by your birth mother.