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taywarren29
Reviews
Junction (2024)
Is this what it feels like?....rock bottom?
Ooooof that line had me in tears.
I had the thought to watch this movie after listening to Sophia Bush's podcast "Work In Progress" which I actually wasn't aware existed until they started recently putting it under the Drama Queens podcast. Bryan Greenberg played one of my favorite characters in the show this podcast is about and when they brought him on that podcast I loved hearing them all talk about their experiences on set. I had huge respect for him
This newer podcast was all about Junction and Bryan seemed so passsionate about making the film I just had to watch it. Did you know it was filmed in 17 days?? Truly amazing!!
I love how all the characters tied together in the end.
Avatar: The Last Airbender (2024)
5 and a bonus star for Waterzilla Aang
Overall: 6/10
Visuals/CGI: 4/5
Costumes: 4/5
Acting: 2/5
Dialog: 2/5
Bending: 5/5 for fire but 3/5 for the other three
Storyline: 4/5
Music: 10/10
Okay that's just a summation of how I feel but here's the details:
The visuals were stunning. However, with an obvious amount of CGI used, at times the green screen environment didn't match the lighting on the characters which made it feel more like a theatre performance.
As did the acting, which was...well, kind of awful. I'm assuming this is the kids' first acting job, so it's understandable that it'd be a little off, but I feel like they sacrificed quality acting for on-point lookalikes of the cartoon characters.
Unfortunately, because they couldn't match 1:1 every episode of the cartoon, they had to mash a bunch of episodes together. I feel at most times they did this in a tasteful manner, but there were some changes that I didn't appreciate.
Honorable mention to the music. I was curious to see if they'd keep it the same, they did, and ramped it up a knotch and that pleased me very much because I'm all about mood music!
Costume department: 10/10 for accuracy but why is EVERYTHING so fake and bulky? I feel like Katara's costume was part of her downfall in this show. The acting wasn't great to begin with and now her body language is super poor because she can barely move her body in this straight jacket of a costume she has to wear. Cartoon Katara's clothes complimented her bending movements and FLOWED LIKE WATER with her.
Let's talk about the bending. The fire bending was outstanding. The rest: why is it all in slow motion?? I don't get it. I appreciate that it was done accurately though compared to the awful movie we shall not speak of.
Things I hated:
1) Yue - the only character that looked absolutely nothing like the cartoon. Wrong color hair, wrong color skin, wrong color eyes, and wtf was with that wig?? Zero effort in making that look realistic. And how did she know Sokka was her "dream guy" when she literally just met him?
2) Han - him being a jerk in the tv cartoon was good for tv, they should have kept it
3) Pakku - why did we not connect him with Khana??? Also good for tv and a very valuable part of the cartoon
4) Zhaou - why are we giving this short king so much screen time? He had a handful of scenes in the cartoon and one of which wasn't even in this version.
5) ZERO chemistry between our main 3 characters. Absolutely none. Made it super awkward.
6) Momo didn't need to die, they could have used that screen time to make the love story between Sokka and Yue and Han make sense.
7) AANG DOESNT WATER BEND. Cartoon season 1 is literally called WATER because it's the season where he LEARNS TO WATER BEND. But he literally doesn't water bend the entire season. What the F?
8) Why did Aang go to Rokus island alone? Not cool.
9) Why is Bummi such a jerk?
10) The fact that I'm supposed to accept Katara and Aang will be together and in love somehow at some point. Like what? They don't even talk to each other much. Where's the relationship building scenes?? There are none for almost any of the important relationships in the show. They could have peppered in a few more episodes of JUST relationship building.
Things I loved:
1) So much more accurate and visually better than the movie we don't talk about.
2) The music GAH so good.
3) The comic book references (mother of faces) and also just any little tidbits of references from the cartoon.
4) The way they mashed everything together in Omashu. It was tasteful and made sense.
5) That they showed scenes we didn't get to see from the cartoon like Azula being emotionally abused by Ozai, Sozin killing the Airbenders, and Ozai in the library with the observatory at the end just to name a few.
6) My cabbages.
7) The accuracy of the characters, costumes, and environments, visually only. The actors were not the right pick for the personalities of the characters (except maybe Sokka) and the clothing was dysfunctional.
8) Waterzilla Aang was pretty epic.
9) Any of the fire bending fight scenes.
No Hard Feelings (2023)
I don't usually laugh at these kind of movies.
In fact, I despise comedies. I almost never find them funny. Especially the kind like this where it can't decide whether it wants to be funny or serious.
But because I adore Jennifer Lawrence, I had to give this one a go. And I have no regrets. This movie had me spewing my drink everywhere. There's even a few good one liners that had me laughing and I'm not kidding when I say I don't usually laugh at these movies. Lol
It's a little predictable just because there's already several movies with this same plot line, but I think the awkward chemistry between the two main characters really makes this. And it was very surprising to see Jennifer Lawrence in such a strange role. She really is a great actress.
The 100 (2014)
Yes, ending a series properly is hard.
And I guess this is based on a book? But like, this should have ended at the end of season 6 and they should have done the cutscene from the last 5 mins of the season finale at the end of that season because the final season of this show is SO hard to follow and makes no sense.
Let's be honest though, nothing about this show makes sense. However, it's still really captivating and I love the characters. The acting is outstanding.
I don't like the way they killed off Bellamy because I believe even if he believed transcendence he still would have stuck with his friends and not tried to convince them to believe it as well.
Leave the World Behind (2023)
Infinitely climbing to nothing
Or, the finale of Friends I guess.
Because literally, there is no climax to this movie.
I'm questioning how this was executive produced by the Obama's. Are they trying to tell us something? Kind of ominous.
The acting was meh. There were a few too many camera angles that had me crinking my neck. There are a few scenes where it almost gets exciting and then it just doesn't.
This film is the movie equivalent to giving someone blue balls and left me utterly unsatisfied, but not wanting more. If that makes sense.
But the important part is that the little girl got to watch the finale of friends that she was waiting for all weekend. So. Yeah that's basically what this is about.
The Killer (2023)
Planes, trains, and automobiles
Fair warning to anyone that wants to watch this because the trailer was ACTION PACKED, there is one action scene in this film and it doesn't come until about 3/4 of the way through. I'm fairly certain actually that most of the trailer was taken from deleted scenes.
Ninety percent of this film is about a man (an assassin) traveling. He travels by foot, driving, taxi, train, plane, you name it. He also regularly acquires fake passports and identifications. And there's a scene that is shown 4 times of him giving his passport to the concierge at the airport. Super consistent, I have to say, but an absolute drag.
Also, the man is extremely thorough in his post-murder clean up throughout the film until the very last person he kills where he leaves the body in the middle of the city, directly next to a restaurant he just ate at a table with said body, after drinking from a glass at said table.
Adding to that, my husband and I both had no clue who anybody was the entire time. It was extremely unclear what really happened. We know he was paid to assassinate someone, misses, and hits a sex worker. Whomever it was that hired him decides to take it out on his girlfriend? (Could be his daughter, wife, sister, niece, maid?? We have no clue because there's zero indication of their relationship). She lives but is injured. He's upset about it (I think? He didn't show any emotion during the entire film, so). And then he just keeps going after people but never says who is who or how he finds out who to go to next. I guess the last guy was the one who ordered the initial hit, and he decides not to kill him for some reason, just all the other randos in the film.
Hard pass on this one.
Orange Is the New Black (2013)
It was soooo good until it wasn't.
Okay it wasn't ever BAD really, but the first three seasons REALLY grabbed my attention. I was SO excited to see what happened next but once the entire fourth season (I think) was literally just the riot and every real life minute that passed was the same timeframe in the show, I got very verrrry bored.
I did love that there was a lot of eye opening political issues shown in the show. I'm assuming immigration isn't too far off from what happens in the show and this wasn't something I was aware of, being a privlaged white woman.
I disliked the way the story ended for most of the main characters. I felt there was way to many plots just left open and it was greatly unsatisfying.
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013)
Pleasantly Surprised
I read this book a hundred times when I was a kid. My library never carried the rest of the series and I wasn't able to purchase it. I was always so curious to know what happens next.
Seeing this film on Netflix jogged this memory for me. Something I had totally forgotten about. Usually, when a film is made from a book, it's not as good as the book. Especially this kind of story. But I genuinely felt as if this movie exceeded expectations, even though I don't really remember much of the book.
I felt on the edge of my seat the entire time and it was fun to remember little tidbits from this story I was so enamored with in high school.
Missing (2023)
Cool idea executed very well!
Everything about the logistics of navigating technology was relatable in this movie. The story was very engaging and kept me at the edge of my seat. I unfortunately was able to guess right away that the dad was involved. They picked an actor that just looks like he fits a sinister role so the first showing of him my brain went "oh he's not dead, he's definitely the bad guy"
HOWEVER, it was still very fun to watch and it was cool to see the use of all of the software we all use. Apple, Google, Instagram, YouTube. You name it, it was involved in this movie.
Very exciting and very VERY well done especially compared to the last film I watched in a similar perspective "Spree". That movie sucked ass. This one was great!
Suits (2011)
Great algorithm
This show fits a formula, or maybe an algorithm. An AI could probably write the ideas for the show, but there's definitely experienced writers in the room.
There's always a new case in every episode and/or a larger case that's being worked on over many episodes. Someone is always stabbing someone else in the back. Everyone lies (hello, lawyers). Everyone is unbelievably attractive, except for our comic relief who is my favorite character Lewis Litt.
Love Meghan Markle. Hate her character. Rachel is such a stuffy, uptight, narrow minded person and our leading character mister Mike Ross had way more chemistry with his best friends girlfriend in my humble opinion.
I'm only 4 seasons in, but, I love this show haha.
The Bear (2022)
I just love this damn show
This is one of very few shows that will make you feel like you are just as much a character in it as the rest of them. I love the overlapping dialogue and the yelling and each character is just so full of personality and they all have their own back stories (season 2 splits each episode into a backstory for each character).
It's exciting, intriguing, and you feel hopeful the entire time. You're actually pulling for The Bear to be successful. In season 2, there were so many moments where I was waiting for something really bad to happen. Things were going too well for everybody, but I'm satisfied to say this is a show that aims to please. I have no idea how they are keeping me hooked without some awful drama happening haha but it's working so it gets a big rating from me!
Pride & Prejudice (2005)
I don't get the hype.
I have had so many friends recommend this film and book to me. I began reading the book before watching this film and it was such a drag I couldn't get halfway through it.
Nothing happens in this film/story except for this: a young woman believes a man she met has ill intentions and then later discovers she was wrong all along and they fall in love and get married. Despite their only having been in the same room together a handful of times. I guess this is a period piece so things like that can happen, BUT
What else? I got NOTHING else from this film except for that. I learned nothing. I felt nothing. And no offense but Mr. Darcy probably should have been played by someone that matches the attractiveness of Keira Knightley. In the book they made him sound like Orlando Bloom handsome. And I'm not saying the guy that played him is ugly but he's not at the same level as Keira.
The Wonder (2022)
Oh so that's what this is about
I have to sadly admit that I had to read the reviews after the movie to understand what this was about. And that might sound silly, but because it's one of those slow burn films, I kept trying to find a deeper meaning that really just wasn't there because it's actually just so simple.
This movie is literally about what it's about. It's about stories versus facts. And there's this really cool thing they do in the opening scene where they show you the set for the movie, but the rest of the film takes you deep into 1800s Ireland. And then in the end it pulls you right back out again.
So you get to decide whether it was a story or if it was true. And relate it to your own life in a way. Personally, I was raised sans religion. I didn't even realize how seriously people believed in a god until I moved to the south. And at first I kind of thought it was a joke. Being invited to peoples churches and being told some really awful opinions about certain groups of people "because the Bible said so"...only made me feel even more grateful I wasn't brought up this way.
Movies like this solidify these thoughts for me. Although, I have learned to have compassion for people who need a faith to live their lives. It's nothing to be shameful of, unless you're deliberately starving your child. Then you kind of deserve the fictitious burny place!
Vivarium (2019)
Nightmare Fuel
But not in the best way? Like I would absolutely be terrified and probably unalive myself if I ever had to be in a situation like this, so I give it 4 stars for that. I did really feel super isolated watching this which I'm assuming that's how they want you to feel.
However, I'm having a really hard time finding the deeper meaning if it is even supposed to have one. And if it isn't supposed to have one then I really just hated this movie completely.
There's very little dialogue and the dialogue that is there isn't very good. It goes the unexpected route but not in a good way. It had so much potential really. There was SO MANY parts that just dragged and periods of time where there was zero story progression. The same thing is happening during the entire film and it doesn't even have a twist at the end or anything. I just don't get the point of it at all.
Working: What We Do All Day (2023)
Eye-opening and very real
This docu series is filmed to make you feel like you are actually present with the people in it. You don't just see the people's workspace, but also their home life and other struggles they may face. I loved that they focused on just a handful of companies and actually talked about the different wealth classes within those companies.
It's divided into 4 different wealth classes, starting from the lowest income to the highest.
Depending on where you personally are within these 4 classes, it's going to make you feel a certain way. To me, it felt very eye opening and a little more aware of what's going on in the world and how people spend their days.
I think everyone should watch this! Definitely worth it.
El hoyo (2019)
The Panna Cotta is the message, obviously.
Okay I'm not actually serious but I thought that would be a funny subject line.
Anyways, I think this film has A LOT of metaphorical and deeper meanings than just the literal idea of it. I think the levels represent hierarchy and the food represents wealth. It's an interesting way to see what happens when you take someone that's been at the bottom and put them at the top, and vise versa. Humans are naturally selfish. Or are they?
The little girl at the end I think *is* the message of the film (as they say in the film), but I think she represents love and compassion. Everyone wants to help a kid, but for some reason that doesn't always translate to adults in need. The woman that was a member of the administration represents the members of the government, the people that are just doing what they are told but have no idea what is actually going on. And I think the old man at the beginning represents society and media - the ones who tell you what they think you need to do but they're not always the best voice of reason.
It was very graphic, there were some parts I will definitely have nightmares about later lol. But very well done and the acting was really good.
Magic Mike's Last Dance (2023)
Thank God it's the last one 🤣
In true Magic Mike fashion, the dancing was great but the rest of the story left much to be desired.
I have several critiques of this film that I almost don't even want to share because I think the writers know that they put little effort into the story line. They know they're going to get views regardless because of the hot half naked dancers.
But I'll share anyways. The two lead actors had absolutely ZERO chemistry on screen. How do you *not* have chemistry with Channing?? He had more chemistry with the ballerina he dances with at the end (who has no dialogue) than he does with the female lead.
Secondly, the dialoque is horrendous. I don't even need to go further into that.
Thirdly, they had this super awkward and uncomfortable teenager narrating the movie as if it was some sort of romance-based dancing movie rather than literally a stripper movie. She's apparently writing a novel about dancing and she narrates that at super random times in the background and it's so unnecessary and completely changes the feel of the film which if you know what you came for, doesn't make sense at all. Almost felt like National Geographic haha!
Lastly, there was a point during the final performance where they dubbed over the actual music and put a different song in the background than what they were actually dancing to...so the dance looked really off tone and off beat and I just don't understand why they did that.
Worth adding: there's a dancing scene on a bus that I thought was going to be really cool, like the one from Step Up 2, the Streets. But it was just too short and ended really abruptly which was a huge bummer. Actually throughout the film there was SO MANY LULLS in the story where I was just waiting for the dancing again. That's what we came for but they instead provided extremely droning filler with an awful story line full of plot holes.
Replicas (2018)
Really good for "bad movie night"
My husband and I love it when we can find an absolutely terrible movie and just laugh our butts off the entire time.
This film literally got nothing right. The acting is terrible, the plot is terrible with soooo many holes, the acting is terrible, the dialog is terrible, the CGI is terrible, the story is terrible. I just don't even get why or how movies like this even get made. Like someone spent money making this?
The concept was really good an executed really poorly. Almost like the producers wanted to nab the idea before anyone else could do it but they didn't care about doing it right.
Only waste your time if you enjoy laughing at awful movies 🤣
Kaleidoscope (2023)
So cool!
I love this concept honestly and it was very entertaining. We started with yellow (6 weeks before heist). As another reviewer mentioned, you can't start with White or everything is obsolete. White was last for us and I think it's likely last for everyone.
There's a couple of super predictable twists going on. And there's also one episode that seems to have been written by a comedian because it was so funny - I think it was Pink (6 months after heist). If the whole show had been as funny as this episode I would have given it a 9.
I hate that they made one female lead super weak. The explosives specialist. She was a very unlikable character with absolutely zero development. Same with Stan the smuggler. Actually, now that I think of it, the only person who had any character development was Leo.
Super unrealistic as well because - I'm no expert but - i dont think anyone would run a heist of this caliber without having a good connection with their crew. There was so much tension and obvious problems with the crew before they started planning.
There was also no episode that explained how they were going to break in. Just the White episode where it shows it. And they literally don't talk during the entire heist until the end when they start giving up on each other. And Bob just randomly walks away while breaking into the last safe because he saw the feds were EXITING the building. Super random act from a guy who was really amped about getting the money...why would you go all that way and then leave?
And they kill off the only likable character in the end too for literally no reason.
And the whole point of the show was a daughter, abandoned by her criminal father in her childhood, teaching her father a lesson. And keeping the rich rich....yay?
The Handmaid's Tale (2017)
JUST finished S5 and I can't stop crying
Holy crap. I've been keeping up with this show since it's debut and I have to say that there has never been a show that I admire more. I've felt EVERY SINGLE deep emotion possible as a human being watching this show. Season 5 especially. The end of every episode left me literally verbally saying out loud "OH MY GOD WHAT!!?"
It's so poetic, Cinematic, and dangerously close to being a real possibility in America. I feel like I am IN Gilead when I watch this show.
Terrified, sad, excited, happy, bone-chilled, angry, furious, justified, validated, scared...again. This is just the list of emotions I go through when watching this show. EVERY single episode.
There are so many little Easter eggs and non-obvious implications going on in the background too, I especially noticed this in season 5. If you think a scene is slow and boring - think deeper....it has a hidden meaning that goes along with the story line. Like an unspoken part of the story.
Ugh. BRILLIANT. JUST BRILLIANT. And the acting omgggg don't even get me started. Not one bad actor in this show. Not one.
The Patient (2022)
Parenting & Judaism
I liked the way FX chose to stream this show. Short episodes are actually nice every once in a while rather than committing to a whole hour.
I forgot that the protagonist was Steve Carrell so often, which just says how amazing of an actor he is. The type of guy that is known for his comedies which is such a hard genre to break free from for a professional actor....but he did so well. He made a very convincing terrified captive therapist.
I loved the way they depicted Dr. Strauss's daydreams as if he was speaking with his own psychologist, or trapped in a gas chamber in striped pajamas, or the swat team coming through at any moment.
As someone who desperately craves that apology from dad, I was disappointed that he couldn't do it in person at the end, but the fact that made me feel something earns this a higher rating.
Purple Hearts (2022)
A movie about mircales?? I think?
For real the focus on this story should have been this woman's remarkable transformation from broke girl that can't even afford her diabetes medication (which tbh is b.s. And amazing that this film pointed that out cuz that is a REAL PROBLEM IN THE U. S.!) to an apparently extremely famous musician in a matter of...weeks? A couple months? Not sure even the timeline of this film.
Another mircale - guy gets blown up in Iraq and SHATTERS his legs in combat but can walk like days later. *mind blown*
Oh and I guess the point of the movie is they break the law and get married for the benefits that the U. S. gives you...for being married. Umm and as predictable as it can be - of course...they fall in love in the end despite their blatant incompatibility in the beginning.
It's filmed very well and I did like the female leads music so it gets half my available stars for that. But there is no way to have an attachment to either of the leaf characters so I just don't even feel any emotion towards it.
The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On (2022)
Ummm. No.
A good way to show our younger generations that toxicity is important in a relationship *facepalm*.
Not one of these kids is ready to be in a marriage. They are all so immature.
Nowhere on this show did it display what a healthy relationship looks like which is what these younger generations need to see!
A healthy relationship is possible for kids this age. It doesnt involve lies and deceit and lack of trust.
If you feel the need to give your partner an ultimatum you areewith the wrong partner. Period.
I dont know what else to say to make this review 150 characters long because it doesnt need more words than that lol.
The World According to Jeff Goldblum (2019)
I don't get the point of this.
I guess it's because I love documentaries/docu series' so when I watch something that's about a particular topic, I expect to learn something new. I didn't learn anything new in this series because he literally takes an EXTREMELY broad topic on each episode and covers the very basics of it - things that everyone already knows about that topic. Also the host seems to have some sort of speech impediment. I'm not complaining he has a disability but maybe the wrong guy for the job? It was filmed well other than that.
Archive 81 (2022)
Too Much Going On
One star for every episode i could stand to watch. Its almost like the writer couldn't decide what he wanted the show to even be about. There's all kinds of everything in this show. Aliens? Demons, ghosts, an otherworld, magic paint, epileptic demon posessions, catholic cults...
Just watch something else itll be less exhausting.