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Reviews
Enola Holmes (2020)
Wonderful
I'll be the first to admit I was skeptical of this movie given how good the RDJ Sherlock Holmes movies were, but this movie was shockingly amazing. Netflix hit a home run with this movie. A good combination of witty comedy, solving mysteries clues, and occasional action scenes. As for Millie, she was breathtaking in her role. I loved her in Stranger Things but found her performance a bit underwhelming in Godzilla (although it was in a secondary role). She looked totally into making this movie work, and it worked so well. It had you constantly on the edge of you seat, not knowing what shenanigans would come next. It was everything you'd expect from a movie in the Sherlock Holmes family, and Millie made Enola fit right in. Could not have been surprised more by how much I enjoyed this movie.
Last Christmas (2019)
Better than expected
This movie is not what you expect it to be. I feel like the trailer and leadup to the movie make it out to be another typical cheesy and predictable romantic comedy revolved around the holidays, but this movie is (for the most part) not that. This movie is so much more. It tells the story of Kate, a girl who used to be very ill and had a heart transplant. After her procedure, she never really felt like herself again. She went on a downward spiral, started drinking, eating bad, not exercising and having one night stands. This created a rift between her and parents (who are separated), and her sister, who is a lesbian but hides that from her parents because she fears being judged. It also ruins some of Kate's friendships as well. But in comes Tom, a sweet and selfless guy who Kate turns to during her difficult time. You can see them falling in love immediately, but it's so much more than that, they seem to connect in a somewhat spiritual level. Even though he's helping Kate in whatever way he can, you can see that Tom is hiding something, but you're not sure what. One day Kate goes to Tom's apartment looking for him, where she sees a realtor selling the place. She starts talking to the realtor about Tom, and the realtor becomes confused and tells her that the man that lived in that apartment died about a year ago. That's when the plot twist becomes clear. The reason why she can feel Tom and he seems so real to her is because the heart that she received for her transplant, was in fact his. He was hit by a bus and was dead immediately. Tom and Kate have one last moment together. He tells her that his heart was always going to be hers, in one way or another. Changed by the influence Tom had on her life, Kate starts to make positive changes in her life and rekindles the relationships that she had ruined in the past year.
All in all, the movie adds a fictional twist to help explain the story of a young woman struggling to find emotional and mental stability. Oh and Emilia Clarke was brilliant in portraying Kate, her performance is fantastic and you definitely feel and root for Kate in this movie.
Despite the fictional aspect the movie, which comes as a complete surprise, I still certainly enjoyed it, a lot more than I would have if it was another typical Christmas rom-com.
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)
Absolutely and utterly fantastic
This movie is just fabulous. Where to start?
You wouldn't think that a Canadian (McAdams) and an American (Ferrell) could pull off Icelanders well, but they did it to perfection. The story was both hilarious and moving, just an overall fun movie that has you smiling all the way through. The songs and its vocals are a spectacle as well. Some fantastic vocals put together by a plethora of artists who looked like they enjoyed every second of filming this movie. I think I've listened to the songs Double Trouble and Husavik a million times in the 24 hours since this movie came out!!!
Would highly recommend for all age categories except maybe not really young children because the movie does not directly show, but implies some very gruesome deaths (although they're hilarious) with a comedic take!.
Looks That Kill (2020)
Falls flat in all too many ways
Looks That Kill is essentially a somewhat different take on the very hotly debated subject of Euthanasia and Physician-assisted suicide.
The movie is about a boy named Max, who was born fatally attractive to everyone but his parents (anyone who sees his face instantly dies). Obviously the amount of people he has accidentally killed in his life is traumatizing to him, and he's on the verge of committing suicide, but in comes the one saving grace of this film (in my opinion of course), Julia Goldani Telles' character Alex. A seemingly free spirited girl who falls in love with Max and makes his happy again. She lies to him about the fact that she has a fatal heart condition, telling him that she is taking medicine for it and improving (when she's actually dying and does not have long to live).
Anyways, at one point in the movie, Alex essentially guilts Max into using his "fatal attractiveness" as a way to put an old lady they care for at a nursing home, out of her misery since she is aging and close to death. Initially, Max is enraged by Alex's request, but predictably ends up doing it. Max (who still doesn't know Alex is dying) and Alex spend her last few healthy days in love, even attending a high school dance together, where Max once again accidentally kills a girl who sees his face. Alex falls ill at the dance and is rushed to the hospital, all the while Max is arrested and released with no explanation. Max finds out Alex is dying when she asks him if he could be the one who puts her out of her misery when the time comes. Once again, he initially is enraged by the request, distances himself from her, and predictably ends up changing his mind. Max shows her his face, and once again, predictably she doesn't immediately die. She ends up staring at him for the last few seconds of her life, before dying. Then comes Max's big epiphany. He realizes that the fact that his parents can look at his face without dying, plus Alex being able to for a few seconds, means that he needs to trust people more and MAYBE JUST MAYBE this is the cure for his "fatal attractiveness". He also talks about how he is becoming famous worldwide and more and more people are reaching out to him to use his "services" aka killing their loved ones who are on their death beds. What a load of ****. Look, if that's the "happy ending" spin that this movie tried to take, it's weak writing, but I get that it could have a deeper meaning. The part that completely irritates me is that this movie promotes the fact that Max has the ability to play God or play doctor (depending on how you feel about death and the afterlife). Even if he is asked to help kill these people on their death beds, why does this movie not explore the fact that a serious issue like Physician-Assisted Suicide has consequences to it and is a very touchy subject on situations qualify for its need. So many different factors come in to play that need to be considered before Physician-Assisted Suicide. This movie is essentially saying that Max, who is simply a teenage boy, can freely kill people if their families ask him to do it...AND HE'S OKAY WITH IT!!!
The whole subject of Physician-Assisted Suicide is a very touchy one, and this movie's take on it is way to nonchalant and not developed enough. I would have almost found it better if this movie would have had a comedic take to it, but it tries to be serious all the way through, and falls flat in doing so.
Spinning Out (2020)
Cringefest
The storyline is fine but the acting in this show is so cringey that I simply can't get past it. Netflix really screwed up with this one. It had potential but is absolutely ruined by the choice of actors and the dialogue.
I feel 3/10 is a generous score for this failure of a show.
Just Go with It (2011)
Predictable but still enjoyable
You can pretty much predict how the plot of the movie will unfold you watch it. Regardless, it's still an enjoyable movie given the chemistry that Anniston and Sandler have. Secondary characters like Decker and Madison give decent performances as well. The movie did however have three or four scenes that had my crying of laughter.
All in all this movie is predictable, but funny and enjoyable nonetheless.
Let It Snow (2019)
A feelgood movie but nothing spectacular
The movie is nothing spectacular. It's got lots of young famous actors who put forward decent performances. The storylines for each character is nothing new, nothing that hasn't been seem before in other rom coms or coming of age movies. The different plotlines are very predictable but you still find yourself rooting for the main characters. Overall a feelgood movie but don't go into it expecting something new that you haven't seen before.
I also wanted to give props to Kiernan Shipka and Isabela Moner. They're 2 beautiful young women who deliver the best performances in this movie and should have great careers ahead of them!
Joker (2019)
all I can say is "wow"
Joaquin Phoenix puts forward one of the best acting performances of our generation. I still watch the Dark Knight to this day for Heath Ledger's incredible performance. While it is certainly unfair to compare one's rendition to the other, I never thought I would see the Joker brought to life in as dynamic of a way as Ledger's Joker, but Phoenix certainly did so.
The movie is deeply disturbing and is an emotional roller-coaster. Without revealing spoilers, the movie is about a severely mentally ill man who is becoming more and more psychotic as society pushes him away and into madness.
The ending. I can't even put it into words. All I will say is this: when Phoenix goes full "Joker" at the end, I had goosebumps on my arms for minutes. When you watch the movie, you will know the exact moment I'm talking about.
For me, this was one of those movies that will be talked about for years to come.
Five Feet Apart (2019)
Wow, just wow!
11/10
I created an IMDB account just to write a review for this movie. Lots of movies have made me cry endlessly (a walk to remember, midnight sun, the choice)...but this movie just topped them all. I'm sitting on my couch an hour after watching the movie still with tears in my eyes while writing this review.
I wont spoil the movie but I would just like to give a HUGE congrats to Haley and Cole. Their chemistry in this movie is as good as I've ever seen, maybe in my entire life. I dont know if they did something to build that chemistry or of its because they're just naturally great actors, but just WOW. Their performances were so good I legit felt like I was them while viewing this movie.