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Reviews
Barbie (2023)
Best movie ever!
This might just be the best movie I've ever seen. The more I think about it, the more I realize just how genius it is! I mean they really thought out every little detail!
My favorite part is that: if you love this movie, you get the movie. And if you hate the movie, you also get the movie. It truly is a movie for people who love it and hate it. It's for everyone.
I'd like to talk about the genius of this plot for a moment. We start off in a matriarchal society. However, it's a society created by little girls, so the Barbies are not violent towards the Kens. They just aren't obsessed with the Kens. The Kens are just in the background, this is representative of how children girls feel. Then, we go into the real world and we are introduced to a patriarchal society. But not just any patriarchal society. It's a society created by adults. So we see toxic masculinity and we see violent tendencies. Then, we go back to Barbieland and Ken brings all of his knowledge of the patriarchy with him. He creates a toxic meninist movement, which emphasizes the point that extremism is not the answer. We cannot overcorrect a mistake or it will cause more mistakes. The Kens start to become violent, even towards each other. This is a good representation of what women deal with in the real world. We can't even rely on each other sometimes. Women can be hateful towards each other as well. Finally, the movie comes to a close with Barbie taking a small step in the right direction. She says it doesn't have to be "Barbie and Ken", "it's Barbie and it's Ken". Now here's we're people start to get pissed. Barbie just got done saying that the Barbie's and Ken's need to start living as equals, but when when of the Kens asks to be on the Supreme Court the President Barbie says no that's too far, let's start with maybe a cabinet member or something.... Wow how could they... just kidding. You're SUPPOSED TO BE ANGRY about this! This is an accurate representation of the real world! The movie literally ends with the Barbie world being an exact replica of the real world, only with the gender roles reversed.
Another thing I'd like to point out is that even Ken says at the end that he didn't really like patriarchy anyway. He just wanted to ride horses. Again, this is because he is a doll in a world created by children. I think there's a lot to unpack here but my overall take was that the world is a better place from the POV of a child and adults are the ones who are ruining everything. Even Mattel is kind of shown as a "bad guy" in the movie, but even they say, they didn't make Barbie for her to become a sexualized standard. They made Barbie to allow girls to dream of more than just being a mother. With Barbie they can be anything they want to be. It wasn't until adults came along and taught us to sexualize Barbie, that we started to hold her to a different standard.
I think most people watch this movie and see the beauty and the genius of it. I think a few hateful people will watch this movie with their tainted glasses and their preconceived biases and they will get very close to understanding it. Every person I've see criticizing this movie, I'm like you're SO CLOSE to the point. You're basically running head first into it. That is the most frustrating and the most gratifying thing about this movie. It's a trap. You can't say hateful things about it, without PROVING THE POINT OF THE MOVIE!
Love Again (2023)
Was this supposed to be satire?
I enjoyed this movie. I laughed the entire time. The plot was stupid, the acting was over dramatic, the script was cringy, the shots and editing were bad. However, I went to the theater with my book club and we belted out the Celine Dion songs. I created one of my favorite core memories, during this movie. The only reason I would ever watch it again is if my sister, who also loves Celine Dion, watched it with me. Otherwise, I could go without this one. I might also recommend it to my grandma, who loves hallmark movies. However, I truly feel like hallmark channel puts out better quality than this. That's why I felt like this movie was a satire. It has to be. If this was a serious rom-com, I would rate it 2 stars.
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
Military sanctioned revenge plot?!
My star rating is for the visual effects, and visual effects alone. Considering we waited over a decade for this movie, the plot should be better.
The entire plot is garbage. Firstly, I've never seen NASA land on any planet in a blaze of fire, and immediately start bulldozing the place.
Secondly, the government would not sanction all that time and resources to go after one man, living peacefully with his family.
Thirdly, what is with the creepy cryo pregnancy!?!? And they cast Sigourney Weaver to play her own daughter! Her adult voice, coming out or a child's mouth sounds ridiculous. Not only that, but there's a huge plot hole with Kiri and her mystery birth/ magical powers. Unless they are building up plot for a third movie, they never fully explained where they were going with this plot line.
They clearly just wanted to make a movie about water, to show their visual effects. With the amount of time, budget, resources, etc. That went into this movie, you'd think the plot would be better.
Don't Worry Darling (2022)
The Truman Show meets The Stepford Wives
I would have rated 1 star, but I felt Florence and Chris deserved better. Their acting was amazing. This movie had so much potential, and it fell so flat. It's set in a 1950s, American, utopian society. So, it's really confusing to hear British accents from a couple of the main characters. Harry received a ton of criticism for using his English accent in the movie, come to find out, it was intentional? Odd seeing as how the role was originally written for American actor Shia LaBeouf.
Florence Pugh's acting carried the whole movie. I could watch that woman act all day. She truly was amazing.
This was one of my most anticipated movies of the year, which is probably why I'm so critical of it. I expected much better. They had the cast, they had a good concept, they even had decent directing and editing. Where the movie fell flat was the resolution. When the movie ended, the entire theater said a collective "that's it?"
*spoilers past this point*
Anybody else think to themselves "why didn't she go back to town and call for help?" When she saw the plane crash. I mean why did she think she was going to save arriving on foot and with no supplies? Also, how did she see a plane crashing, if they live in a simulation?
Their real life bodies must have smelled terrible and would have atrophied. Even if the husbands have them sponge baths and fed them nutrients through an IV, they couldn't possibly sustain that long term. How did the husbands explain it to their friends and families when they stopped coming around? You would think somebody would have called a welfare check on them.
When Franks wife stabs him, and she says "my turn", what was that about? Was she saying she's in charge of running the simulation now? Or she's with Alice and she wants to leave the simulation? Also, who's to say they don't find Alice in the real world and kill her anyway? Just because she got out, doesn't mean she's safe now. Was it just me, or did "American" Harry look like Evan Peters?
Soooo many plot holes...
The Woman King (2022)
Amazing!
I gave this movie a 9/10 because I felt the editing could have been better. Some of the scene transitions were choppy and the music would noticeably cut off.
The overall story was amazing. It is important to keep in mind, this is a fictionalized version of events. The movie leaves off at a successful period in time, but things don't stay that way. Such is life. The important thing is that this movie draws attention to the Agojie, who deserve representation. This movie will inspire people to delve deeper into the actual history of Dahomey.
I also really appreciate that this movie was not a love story between a man and a woman. I thought it was going to go that route for a second and I was going to be disappointed if it did. Not every movie needs a romance to be entertaining. I'm glad they didn't pursue that route.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Marvel disappoints me again
I don't know if I'll ever truly love a marvel movie again. I watched the extended cut version of this movie and it still didn't have enough of Toby McGuire and Andrew Garfield. The combining of the three spider men, was the most exciting part of this whole movie and it didn't happen until the last 30 minutes of the movie. The entire beginning of the movie was entirely too much set-up plot and the ending felt rushed.
Nothing frustrated me more than the ending. They decide to do the spell that they should have done from the very beginning! Are you kidding me! I watched almost 3 hours of movie, just for them to go with Plan A.
I absolutely loved the nostalgia of bringing back all the villains and spider men of the other movie franchises. I'm actually shocked they didn't have licensing issues with it.
Elvis (2022)
Without Austin, this movie would be awful
Austin Butler did an absolutely amazing job portraying Elvis Presley. There were times when I couldn't tell if they were using a real clip of Elvis or if it was still Austin. I didn't care too much for Tom Hanks performance, but I also think Tom Hanks is overrated.
I learned so much about the history and culture of both Elvis, and America in the 50s. It's an important part of American culture to note how hard black communities had to struggle. Every step of the way, white communities would fight against their culture. They hated Elvis because he was bleeding the black culture into the white community. I had no idea any of this had happened and it seems to be such a huge stepping stone for our culture today.
This movie also paints an important picture for addiction. Most people know how Elvis life ended, but did they know how he got to that point? He struggled his whole life just to end up doing Vegas shows every night. When he was in the hospital for exhaustion and his manager suggested a tour of 15 cities in 15 days, I actually shook my head in disbelief. I can't even imagine the toll that would take on a person. Addiction is a disease just like any other sickness. It starts off slow, but before you know it, it's out of control. This movie shows how quickly a life can be derailed. Even people with the best of intentions, can make one wrong move that sends their life into a spiral. This movie does a great job of portraying that.
The Invitation (2022)
Thriller or romance?
I would have rated this movie a 10 if they took out the thriller bits and added more romance. She totally would have chosen that life had they given her more time. The one fade to black scene was terribly disappointing. Maybe I read too much romance, but I thought this movie had great potential in the romance category.
In the thriller category it was a little lacking. Like a bad, adult version of Haunted Mansion. I'm also a little dissatisfied that they didn't explain more of the backstory. I wanted to know more of the history. Why did they need to bring together those four families exactly? At least Haunted Mansion explained why he needed his bride so badly.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
A great sequel!
Very entertains, even if it's a bit unrealistic. Tom Cruise would have died in the very first scene if this was real life. He's like a cat with nine lives in this movie, but hey that's what movies like this are for. Sequels can be tricky, because the new cast is almost never as good as the old cast. The younger characters were lovable enough to make it work. I almost wish there would have been more plot geared toward the dynamic of the younger cast. There was almost too much of Tom Cruise.
Where the Crawdads Sing (2022)
Exactly like the book
I've never seen a book to screen adaption done so well. I normally leave the theater with complaints when I watch something I've already read. However, I still feel like this movie was missing something. I can't put my finger on what it was, but I felt it could have been better. Maybe it was the fact that I had read the book and already knew how the story ended. Maybe the thrill of not knowing "who did it" is what kept me so entranced by the book. Maybe if I hadn't read the book first, I would have enjoyed the movie more.
Bullet Train (2022)
A movie the Lumière brothers would be proud of
This is one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. The plot was enjoyable and funny. However, the part I enjoyed most was the directing. The match cuts were chefs kiss. They lined up the scenes both visually and audibly! I was very impressed with the experience that this movie gave me. I'm not usually the biggest fan of text on screen (when each character is introduced, their name pops up on the screen), but in this case I felt that it matched the style of the movie. I highly recommend watching this one in theaters to get the full effect of the directing. I felt a nod to the story of the Lumière brothers "Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat". I almost jumped out of my seat, I thought the train would hit me!
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
What is marvel thinking
Marvel is thinking too big picture and they've stopped focusing on the smaller picture. Ever since they started really getting into connecting the entire marvel cinematic universe, the quality of their individual movies has gone down. It's disappointing because I know they can produce a good movie. They are looking at a complete puzzle and they've stopped focusing on the details of the puzzle pieces. You should be able to watch any marvel movie/ tv show on its own, and it should be enjoyable. But that's not the case anymore. You almost have to watch every single thing they release, and that's less entertaining and more like a full time job.
Thor is one of my favorite superheroes in their universe, but this movie was a flop. I was excited when they released the title and commercial because I thought it would be more 70s/80s themed. There was hardly any reference to that theme at all. The humor was geared towards children, yet some of the scenes boarded on too in appropriate for kids. The best part of the movie was the stupid goats and that's not saying much because they were annoying.
Mack & Rita (2022)
Who was this movie for?
I was excited for the premise of this movie. My expectations were the kind of humor you find in Grace and Franky, mixed with 13 going on 30.
I'm not sure who the target demographic was for this. The jokes exaggerated stereotypes of younger people that only an older person would find funny. However, the directing and camera work was too shaky for older people. Some of those scenes should have come with a motion trigger warning.
The premise of the movie was not really clear until you got to the very end and she talks about how she was never comfortable being herself. She said she felt like she had to hide who she was yet it never seemed like she was trying to fit in in the first place. She made it very clear she didn't enjoy doing what the other girls did. I also didn't realize her grandma was dead until the very last scene.
The last thing was how unrealistic it is to say this Mack is unique in wanting to live life like an old lady. So many millennials love reading, knitting, painting, journalling, etc. There was nothing different about Mack than any other millennial. She just needed to find friends who enjoyed doing the same things she does.
I could continue, but I'm not going to waste anymore time on this terrible movie.