cjonesas Reviews

Murder by Death (1976)

[5.2] 00:00 am

[5/10 · 8 May 2024]

A mostly uninteresting comedy crime mystery with just big ounces of good acting, setting, mansion and costume design, with imbroglio humor and lots of understatement parodies. It is not extraordinarily entertaining cause it's weak in its core, its flow suffers all because of the poor logic and shaky plots and the ending is just nonsense mixed with horrible finishing vibes, all departing the mansion and that's it!

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 5.5
• Production value/impact: 6
• Development: 7
• Realism: 4.5
• Entertainment: 4
• Acting: 7
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 7.5
• VFX: 7
• Music/score/sound: 6.5
• Depth: 4.5
• Logic: 1.5
• Flow: 4
• Comedy/crime/mystery: 5.5
• Ending: 3.

True Lies (2023)

[4.9] True tickles

[5/10 · 8 May 2024]

Some productions are true mumbo jumbo, this one is so entertainingly bad that it is not even mumbo jumbo lies, it's just sets of pictures with not-believable, discredited storyline plots that flow and pass before your eyes.

It's like watching an action adventure "comedy" series while somebody is tickling you for 40 minutes per episode. It is hilariously bad, but it is nevertheless hilariously zero-IQ entertaining.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 4.5
• Production value/impact: 5.5
• Development: 6.5
• Realism: 4.5
• Entertainment: 3
• Acting: 5.5
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 7.5
• VFX: 7.5
• Music/score/sound: 6
• Depth: 4
• Logic: 1
• Flow: 4
• Action/adventure/comedy: 5.5
• Ending: 3.5.

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

[6.6] "Dogs eat dogs"

[7/10 · 7 May 2024]

Semi-interesting early Quentin Tarantino movie, more well-acted than anything else with decent development, but with far less crime drama thrill than I expected.

Its low-budget shows up in alternate fashions, is a little disjointed, the visual effects not bright, especially the "blood" color and overall its narrative and acting is more satisfying than other parts.

Mr. Blond better have lived, Mr. Orange couldn't have survived that long, let alone killing him and the trio stand-off and shoot-out in the end brought minimal satisfaction as did the last "unfinished" frame with Mr. White.

Well-done, though could have benefited with a longer runtime, around 25 minutes more.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 6.5
• Production value/impact: 6.5
• Development: 7
• Realism: 7
• Entertainment: 7
• Acting: 7.5
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 7
• VFX: 6.5
• Music/score/sound: 7
• Depth: 6.5
• Logic: 4.5
• Flow: 6.5
• Crime/thriller/drama: 7.5
• Ending: 5.

Mean Girls (2024)

[4.8] What was better, smoother, stronger?

[5/10 · 7 May 2024]

A musical mumbo jumbo that is not even half-comedy, only super teenagers will like this mess of a production. Everybody tried hard to be believable, cute, funny, nice, ugly and more or less to deliver, but they tried too hard. All of them.

It's hard to watch it at normal speed, some will even skip the musical parts, some will discard the un-funny parts, but a thing that all may agree is that the 2004 OG was better, smoother, stronger.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 4.5
• Production value/impact: 5.5
• Development: 6.5
• Realism: 6.5
• Entertainment: 2.5
• Acting: 5.5
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 7.5
• VFX: 7.5
• Music/score/sound: 5.5
• Depth: 3
• Logic: 2
• Flow: 4
• Comedy/musical: 4
• Ending: 3.5.

Repulsion (1965)

[5.4] What nosy neighbors!

[5/10 · 6 May 2024]

A not so bright movie and production by the big director, with just great weird acting by the main strange actress. It is not a horror per se, has some faulty logic throughout, is more of a sad drama than anything else, not even gripping and throat-clenching in a horrorful way.

I expected more of it and if it had a stronger ending, it would have been more satisfying, really.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 5
• Production value/impact: 5.5
• Development: 7
• Realism: 7
• Entertainment: 2
• Acting: 7.5
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 6.5
• VFX: 6
• Music/score/sound: 6.5
• Depth: 4.5
• Logic: 3.5
• Flow: 5
• Horror/thriller/drama: 5.5
• Ending: 4.

Scrambled (I) (2023)

[6.6] Sweet hope

[7/10 · 6 May 2024]

A marvelous, touching, emotional and funny movie with great acting by the writer, director and talented actress who embodied her character believably, touchingly and smoothly.

It has important messages, never gets you bored, never let you down and surely is not for everybody.

I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Recommended to women who struggle emotionally in life.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 6.5
• Production value/impact: 6.5
• Development: 7.5
• Realism: 6.5
• Entertainment: 7
• Acting: 7.5
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 7
• VFX: 7
• Music/score/sound: 6.5
• Depth: 6.5
• Logic: 4
• Flow: 7
• Comedy: 7
• Ending: 6.

The End We Start From (2023)

[4.3] Rain, mud and humidity

[4/10 · 5 May 2024]

A horrible, semi-horrific, semi-gripping, very insipid journey of a woman and a baby through rain, devastation and hardship. It truly has nothing to offer thrillingly and dramatically in the spawn of 100 minutes and is one of the more boring-synonym productions of the last 10 years at least.

Still bewildered, what I've watched wasn't a movie, but a sort of spiritual journey. It's like a sort of soft exorcism in the rain, mud and complete humidity.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 3
• Production value/impact: 5
• Development: 6
• Realism: 6.5
• Entertainment: 1
• Acting: 5.5
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 7
• VFX: 7.5
• Music/score/sound: 6
• Depth: 5
• Logic: 3
• Flow: 1
• Drama/thriller: 3
• Ending: 1.5.

Abigail (2024)

[6.2] Kidnappers are like stranded swimmers in an open ocean

[6/10 · 5 May 2024]

A mild horror thriller movie that starts off good, promising with reasonable amounts of thrilling anticipation, but derails pretty quickly as soon as the "big" reveal is shown and figured out, all despite the near superb acting by Abigail character, the young, smart, charismatic and talented Alisha Weir.

The production is entertainingly generic and all the kidnappers, but one, deserved a blood-sucking fate, potentially leaving Abigail "hurt" and "injured" with plenty of room for a sequel as she grows up and goes to college with newly turned baby vampires.

Seriously, I expected more from it, more gut-wrenching real horror with a more robust ending that as it is, feels pretty weak.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 6
• Production value/impact: 6
• Development: 7
• Realism: 7
• Entertainment: 6.5
• Acting: 7
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 8
• VFX: 8
• Music/score/sound: 6.5
• Depth: 6
• Logic: 3.5
• Flow: 6.5
• Horror/thriller/drama: 6.5
• Ending: 2.5.

Something in the Water (2024)

Unless you fly or are invincible, metric tons of salty and fresh H2O are bad for you

[5/10 · 4 May 2024]

A sad, incomplete, generic, gripping and semi-entertaining shark-the-hated-species production with LGB-woke themes that is not made horrificly bad.

It is not awful, as always has very strong illogical points and "needed" to be done best as a 6-part series with different people and very different outcomes as the number of victims.

As long as they stick to the old formula with increasing low budgets, they won't be successful.

The acting and the emotions were quite good for such a movie, nothing to complain about, the sharks looked like bull sharks which are very aggressive and opportunistic, even in the middle of the ocean and the result of course not bright. None of them would have survived, especially Meg and the duo that trailed her with turbo fins and tails.

In shark movies, I'm never satisfied, never root for any shark and wonder what if orcas came to the rescue. Never saw that in any entertainment and would very much like to watch a thriller with the trio humans-sharks-orcas with completely unpredictable outcomes.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 4
• Production value/impact: 5.5
• Development: 6
• Realism: 6.5
• Entertainment: 6
• Acting: 6
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 7
• VFX: 6.5
• Music/score/sound: 4.5
• Depth: 4
• Logic: 1.5
• Flow: 4.5
• Thriller/drama: 4.5
• Ending: 4.

Civil War (2024)

[6.2] All it brings is chaos

[6/10 · 3 May 2024]

A dystopian-mode movie that I expected so much more of in view of its ratings; but, as it turns out, it is just gritty with all the violence that unrest, insurrection and civil war generate and is just brutally well-made with hints of bright acting, mind-shaking plots and as expected dismal logic.

Don't count on it, don't view it as something that might happen in a distant / alternate future. Just watch it as a form of production and feel the depicted horrors through their camera lenses.

Alex Garland has a visionary message, but all it brings is chaos.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 5.5
• Production value/impact: 6.5
• Development: 7
• Realism: 8
• Entertainment: 6
• Acting: 7
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 7.5
• VFX: 8
• Music/score/sound: 6.5
• Depth: 6.5
• Logic: 2
• Flow: 6
• Action/adventure/thriller/drama: 6.5
• Ending: 3.5.

Red Right Hand (2024)

[5.5] Severe and violent

[5/10 · 3 May 2024]

A violent movie, the sort of which needn't to be done nowadays, but are nevertheless funded, filmed and produced. The acting is on-point, violently and emotionally so, the story and plots mostly revengeful and hollow, though well-filmed and paced and the ending could have bore more realism, be lengthier and a little less happy-viby with a 5-8 years-later showing and depiction of Savannah.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 4.5
• Production value/impact: 4.5
• Development: 6.5
• Realism: 7
• Entertainment: 6
• Acting: 6
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 6.5
• VFX: 7.5
• Music/score/sound: 6
• Depth: 4.5
• Logic: 2
• Flow: 6
• Action/drama/thriller: 6
• Ending: 4.5.

Masquerade (II) (2021)

[4.8] Everybody's responsible

[5/10 · 2 May 2024]

An average and interesting movie at the same time where everything is mishmash. It could have been so much more, but with a screenplay plots so confused that even the writers didn't quite figure out where it was going and headed, it couldn't generate satisfaction.

The last 15 minutes was their last thrown arrow that disappeared into the surrounding woods.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 4.5
• Production value/impact: 4.5
• Development: 6.5
• Realism: 5
• Entertainment: 4.5
• Acting: 5.5
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 6.5
• VFX: 6.5
• Music/score/sound: 6
• Depth: 4.5
• Logic: 2
• Flow: 5
• Horror/mystery/thriller: 4
• Ending: 3.

The 5th Wave (2016)

[5.8] The waves of wasted potentials

[6/10 · 2 May 2024]

An incomplete movie, gracing us with semi-apocalyptic scenes and the quest of a sister for her younger brother. That's basically what the movie is and above-average. If they didn't reach out for a sequel and nothing of that sort was planned and green-lit, then maybe a mini-series would have been more suitable; but I suspect that from the get-go they wanted to make it as it is.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 5.5
• Production value/impact: 6.5
• Development: 7
• Realism: 6
• Entertainment: 6
• Acting: 6
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 7.5
• VFX: 8
• Music/score/sound: 6.5
• Depth: 6
• Logic: 2.5
• Flow: 5.5
• Action/adventure/sci-fi/thriller: 6
• Ending: 3.

The Painter (I) (2024)

The mother and daughter are miscast

[5/10 · 2 May 2024]

A semi-nonsense, semi interesting and uninteresting thriller drama movie at the same time. Everything is average, under-developed or straight ludicrous, but it's nevertheless half-entertaining.

Would have been more interesting to have it as a series with proper development, more on-point acting, less horrible logic and more use of his super-hearing in an eye-catching way.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 4
• Production value/impact: 6
• Development: 6.5
• Realism: 4.5
• Entertainment: 5
• Acting: 6
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 6.5
• VFX: 7
• Music/score/sound: 6
• Depth: 4
• Logic: 1
• Flow: 5.5
• Thriller/drama: 4.5
• Ending: 3.

Which Brings Me to You (2023)

[5.3] Lucy Hale needs to be more sensual and less PLL

[5/10 · 2 May 2024]

A bland romance movie that though semi-interesting, is not impactful as a romantic "comedy". Their romantic stories and the developments that ensue are the most interesting parts, though by themselves they don't advance the script much forward.

It lacks thrilling realism in a sensual way, their experiences are just there to fill up as screenplay fillers and if it was engrossed with a more detailed ending, going together to his daughter's birthday party and being there for at least 5 minutes, it would have gathered another ratings point.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 5
• Production value/impact: 4.5
• Development: 7
• Realism: 6
• Entertainment: 5.5
• Acting: 6.5
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 6.5
• VFX: 5.5
• Music/score/sound: 5
• Depth: 4.5
• Logic: 3
• Flow: 6
• Romance: 5
• Ending: 4.5.

Black Widow (1987)

[6.5] The sticky investigator, the naive full-of-herself widow

[6/10 · 28 April 2024]

A semi well-made, gorgeously 80s, average crime drama mystery movie that feels drawn out and disjointed, saved only partially by the good acting, some minimal plot twists and a somewhat above-average ending.

The best acting between the two women, in my opinion, goes to Theresa Russel who was able to pull off the complexity and subtleties of her character, while the undercover one was your typical "journalist-investigator" with an 80s hairdo, nothing really special and worth of impression as of her acting.

Nevertheless recommended for the 80s vibe and unique style of pictures, photography and filming.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 6
• Production value/impact: 7
• Development: 7
• Realism: 7
• Entertainment: 6.5
• Acting: 7.5
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 8
• VFX: 7
• Music/score/sound: 7.5
• Depth: 6
• Logic: 4.5
• Flow: 4.5
• Crime/drama/mystery: 5.5
• Ending: 6.5.

Angst (I) (1983)

[7.1] You munch on sausages and girls are hypnotized!

[7/10 · 28 April 2024]

A very well-done raw movie, superbly and awfully made at the same time for 1983. It has convincing everything, besides maybe the hurried and packed up ending in a bad staring way.

What makes it unique is the total control of the director over the scenes, the astonishing acting by the deranged lead, the raw, detailed, pumped-out murders that immerses you wholly in and a cute little dog that though smart, didn't make any distinction and difference between his masters and a total stranger as long as his odor tingles his cutey brain and is being fed on top of that. Sometimes, I saw fear in the dog's eyes and that speaks lengths on the "sausage-lover" wolfy outfit and soul.

Not a movie for the squeamish and an achievement for the 80s.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 6
• Production value/impact: 7
• Development: 8.5
• Realism: 8.5
• Entertainment: 7
• Acting: 8
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 7.5
• VFX: 9
• Music/score/sound: 7.5
• Depth: 6.5
• Logic: 2.5
• Flow: 7.5
• Drama/horror/thriller: 7.5
• Ending: 6.5.

Strictly Confidential (2024)

[5.6] Threat under the sun

[6/10 · 27 April 2024]

Thanks to young actors and actresses and Elizabeth Hurley who looks better each year passing on, that's a gorgeously filmed movie with an acceptable pace, crescendo cheesy twists & turns, beautiful natural photography and a Rebecca that I liked very much.

For a directorial debut it's not bad, has promising vibes and a sequel would be definitely welcome, or better turn it into a 6-part series.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 4
• Production value/impact: 4.5
• Development: 7.5
• Realism: 6.5
• Entertainment: 5.5
• Acting: 7
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 8
• VFX: 8
• Music/score/sound: 6.5
• Depth: 4.5
• Logic: 2.5
• Flow: 6.5
• Crime/drama/thriller/mystery: 4
• Ending: 4.

Knox Goes Away (2023)

[7.5+] When you only have weeks left

[8/10 · 27 April 2024]

A superb dramatic movie, more a drama than a thriller. One of the best acting by the talented, flexible and universal actor that Michael Keaton is.

The movie is raw, emotional and very well-made, having awesome vibe and flow on its own script terms. Nothing is clogged, drawn out and dragged. Sure, the logic is not on par, but it has a better one than most productions.

Knox's fast-evolving issues, on a weekly basis, felt real and were very saddening on medical terms and viewpoints, while we were offered graceful and thrilling dramatic developments up to the end.

A special note to James Marsden believable acting and the detectives, especially Detective Emily Ikari who really gave embodiment to her tasked duty.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 6.5
• Production value/impact: 7.5
• Development: 8
• Realism: 7.5
• Entertainment: 8
• Acting: 8
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 7
• VFX: 8
• Music/score/sound: 8
• Depth: 7
• Logic: 6
• Flow: 8
• Thriller: 7
• Ending: 8.

The Cursed (2021)

[7.4] Bleak and piercing

[7/10 · 26 April 2024]

A very well-made production and movie that bears quality, pace, acting, all-around horror and mystery. Sean Ellis is a very talented writer and director and what he came off with (almost) singlehandedly as a writer and director to 'The Cursed' is nothing short of amazing.

The VFX department did a superb job handling the visuals and effects, contrary to many movies and series that look like actors wearing nonsense costumes and outfits. In this one, I came to believe in hybrid monsters and extensions!

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 7.5
• Production value/impact: 8
• Development: 8.5
• Realism: 8
• Entertainment: 7
• Acting: 7.5
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 8.5
• VFX: 9
• Music/score/sound: 7.5
• Depth: 6.5
• Logic: 3.5
• Flow: 7.5
• Fantasy/horror/mystery: 7.5
• Ending: 7.

Immaculate (2024)

[6.3] "Miracolo"

[6/10 · 25 April 2024]

A mild horror movie that could have been and bore so much more. Everything is creepy good until the "astonishing" reveal and from there on takes moderate pace up until the cliff where most viewers will fall speedily into, including myself.

Sister Cecilia (played by a maturing Sydney Sweeney) did an awesome job with her "acting", facial expressions, quick breathing, panicking, crying, pushing and last but not least delivering.

Wish we saw the big, chubby "baby".

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 6
• Production value/impact: 6.5
• Development: 7
• Realism: 7
• Entertainment: 6
• Acting: 7
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 7.5
• VFX: 8
• Music/score/sound: 6.5
• Depth: 6.5
• Logic: 2
• Flow: 6.5
• Horror/mystery: 6.5
• Ending: 5.

Night Shift (I) (2023)

[5.5] Gwen, Gwen, Gwen

[5/10 · 25 April 2024]

Beware, only fans of Phoebe Tonkin will come to this movie. Mostly. Not a bad movie per se, but a slightly above-average one where the pillar is of course Gwen and second to her, Alice. I would have liked her to merge up with Gwen, making a bright tandem in managing and running the new colorful and rosy establishment.

If anything is problematic or seemingly weak, that goes back to the C. Brothers, cause as far as the actors and Yogi are concerned, they delivered.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 5
• Production value/impact: 4
• Development: 6
• Realism: 4.5
• Entertainment: 6
• Acting: 6.5
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 6.5
• VFX: 8
• Music/score/sound: 6.5
• Depth: 5
• Logic: 2.5
• Flow: 6
• Horror/thriller: 4.5
• Ending: 6.

Fear the Night (2023)

Left tiny parts of herself

[5/10 · 24 April 2024]

A simple movie that could have been made as a 3-5 parts series, watching my favorite Maggie Q with her straight face, sub-zero sensibility and (even) till now lots of 'Nikita' vibes still in her bloodstream.

I wish all the girls were Maggie Q clones and alike and the ratings would have jumped over 6, near 7. In any production you see her, you can be sure that she leaves a tiny part of herself in that production.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 4
• Production value/impact: 3.5
• Development: 6
• Realism: 5
• Entertainment: 6
• Acting: 5.5
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 6
• VFX: 6.5
• Music/score/sound: 5.5
• Depth: 4
• Logic: 2.5
• Flow: 7
• Action/horror/thriller: 4.5
• Ending: 3.5.

Stowaway (I) (2021)

[6.4] What if Zoe was cosmically irradiated, got powers and survived!

[6/10 · 23 April 2024]

An illogically good movie with above-average entertainment and flow. The acting is good, most situations are credible, the stowaway is not, his living is not, his cowardice in not ending his life is not and as a result one precious life was stolen and lost.

'Stoaway' is truly above-average and doesn't deserve all that hate. Actually, Joe Penna and Ryan Morrison did a pretty good job with that budget, as well as the good dedicated cast.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 6
• Production value/impact: 6
• Development: 6.5
• Realism: 6
• Entertainment: 6.5
• Acting: 7
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 7
• VFX: 7.5
• Music/score/sound: 7
• Depth: 7
• Logic: 2.5
• Flow: 6.5
• Adventure/sci-fi/thriller: 6.5
• Ending: 7.

Dune: Part Two (2024)

[6.8] Sands and rays next door

[7/10 · 23 April 2024]

A marvelous yet inconceivable part II mumbo jumbo where the runtime painfully and sometimes semi-thrillingly passes by. From what I've seen in the first installment and this one combined, it needed at least three parts to conveniently and logically narrates the story.

In fact, in my opinion, this one is even weaker than the 2021 one. If "parchemined" skins, CGI blue-magenta eyes, Beast Rabban artificially, inconceivably and pompously falling to his death and the ever-happily-yelling Paul Atreides pulling off knives and daggers like they are nothing, not bleeding out, not collapsing like he's invincible and on top of that speaking normally like nothing happened, then this movie is for you.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 6.5
• Production value/impact: 8
• Development: 7.5
• Realism: 7.5
• Entertainment: 6
• Acting: 7.5
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 8.5
• VFX: 9
• Music/score/sound: 7.5
• Depth: 7
• Logic: 2
• Flow: 6.5
• Action/adventure/drama: 6.5
• Ending: 5.5.