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tricia-snyder
Reviews
After Yang (2021)
Painful!!
And I like plodding, artsy flicks. But, as much as I wanted to, I could never become invested in any of the characters.
Thank goodness it was free but that should've been my first warning despite the higher score.
Outer Range (2022)
Please make a second season!!!
I loved this show so much I binge watched it over 3 evenings, and I don't generally watch series. The story is far too complicated to leave it where it's left after Season One. Other than that, I don't get the criticisms but I will say it's a thinking person's "Yellowstone meets Stranger Things". Loved Josh Brolin's and Imogen Poots' characters and their dynamic. It gets a little gonzo at times but I found that to be part of it's charm.
Don't take any reviews as gospel and try it for yourself. If you have super-weird tastes like me, you will love it.
Morbius (2022)
Doesn't deserve the low ratings
Shame on the supposed movie snobs" for poo pooing this movie with cinematic-reviewer gibberish to make themselves sound like critics. This is a superhero movie, not Macbeth, and as such, it's a helluva fun ride!
Gorgeous visuals, enough character development to make me care and, let's face it, Jared Leto looking better than a body has a right to. Oh, and another crush of mine, Jared Harris, plays his part magnificently as always.
Watch it and form your own opinion. For me, it was exactly what I expected and a hell of a fun ride.
The Mandela Effect (2019)
Better Than Its Reviews
Stumbled on to this last night and was very pleasantly surprised. It's one of those indy SciFi flicks that delivers ideas that leave you thinking long after you've forgotten the B-grade acting and production. (Movies like Listening, Coherence and the fantastic Primer come to mind.)
If you are a science (especially if you like quantum physics) or movie nerd that likes a good think, I highly recommend it.
Ad Astra (2019)
This Is NOT a Space Adventure
This is NOT a space adventure movie. It is a human drama about letting go of the demons that haunt us, thinly wrapped in some spectacular space visuals. I'm OK with that because I knew it going in. I feel sorry for anyone who went seeking a space adventure.
What I loved: Brad Pitt's eyes and facial expressions as the co-star. Everything about Ruth Negga and every scene she was in. The gorgeous planetary shots.
What I hated: Kip Thorne was clearly not the science advisor on this movie as he was on Interstellar. The movie suffers from just some plain old bad science. First and foremost is that an antimatter/matter explosion does not grow in intensity as time goes on. Antimatter and matter annihilate each other, until only one is left. That's why our whole universe is made up of matter and not antimatter. If it were strangelets, that would be a different story.
I also immensely disliked Tommy Lee Jones' character. The lack of scenes with both Ruth Negga and Liv Tyler bugged me, too. Lastly, how did that second in command even make it into astronaut training? He had the balls of a neutered kitten.
All in all, I like the movie. Will it ever be in my Top 20? Probably not. But, I think if you go into it knowing what to expect, you'll like it a lot more. I'll buy it because it will make a fabulous movie to unwind to with its soft score and gorgeous visuals. I may, however, just fall asleep to it because of that. (Like I often do with Arrival) Which, as an insomniac, honestly, makes me like it more.
X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)
Alternate Universe
Please tell me this actually takes place in an alternate universe that you don't let the moviegoers in on. Please? Otherwise, this is the worst movie in a beloved franchise, that not only disregards but flat disrespects the storyline, and everyone involved in it should never be let on a soundstage again. I'm sorry some of my favorite actors got drug into this God-awful waste of time and money.
The Accountant (2016)
Ben Affleck's Best Movie
I almost missed this movie entirely because it starred Ben Affleck. I don't dislike the man. I simply have never enjoyed his movies. (And I can't stand his particular rendition of Batman.). However, I'm so lucky my husband talked in to watching this with him. No spoilers because you need to watch it yourself. But, I promise you this movie will make you laugh, cry, cringe and even.cheer Affleck's character on. And as for Affleck? I have such a new-found respect for his acting abilities. Truly a great and underrated movie.
Nightflyers (2018)
Find out for yourself.
Think Solaris meets Event Horizon meets The Shining. I don't understand the critical hate for this show. I love it. To be sure, it's a thinking person's SciFi show. You can't tune out, you'll miss important nuances, and you aren't spoon fed. Even better. I always thought SciFi should be a thinking person's genre. Light Sabre fights are cool and all, but long, drawn out philosophical discussions with friends they do no make.
Best of all, there is a very groovy 80's SciFi feel (owing to the source novella) but with all the modern day trappings I love.
The Better Angels (2014)
If you watch this movie for no other reason.....
****Warning - May contain spoilers****
Then watch it for what Tom Lincoln says to young Abe toward the very end of the film. It is worth the entire rental. There is not much I can add, since so many people have beautifully reviewed this movie. But, I will say that few movies have taught me the value of stopping to really invest the time in my son's emotional and mental well-being in the far future as much as this movie. It is a lesson that is, perhaps, born out of the simpler and harsher way of life. But it is a lesson that parents of Millennials desperately need to cherish. It is a stark but beautiful movie. Very well done. The cinematography is stunningly gorgeous. Every word of dialogue is so purposeful that even the silence has meaning. It is not a movie to be watched for a history lesson on Abraham Lincoln. It is to be watched for a lesson on life.