Change Your Image
sbrooke1980
Reviews
Urban Cowboy (1980)
Had it on Laser Disc when I was 6.
I was born in 1980 and watched this so much as a kid that even though I generally don't like country music and am not attracted to the Texas "Cowboy" persona, I will never not love this movie. I had it on VHS and my husband bought it on DVD for my 28th birthday, and now I own it digitally. I have tried to get my now-adult children to watch it with me to understand the greatness that is Urban Cowboy but they won't sit past the first few minutes. It is totally their loss.
The acting is great from the 4 main characters and the supporting cast is amazing as well. Regardless of your taste in music you will likely know and love most of the songs featured. It is not PC, and there is domestic violence that makes it hard to root for Bud, but there's no way you don't root for both Travolta and Winger. This is a hidden gem for those looking for a guilty pleasure you haven't seen and may not have given a chance. One of my all time favorites. Maybe for nostalgic reasons, but if you give it a chance you will probably love it, too.
House of the Dragon (2022)
Renews my hopes
I was skeptical as we all were after the final season of GoT, and even some of the castings I wasn't sure of. After the first two episodes I am blown away and excited again like Sunday nights back in mid season 5. I even like the opening using our familiar and beloved GoT theme, though I'm not totally sure yet what all we're being shown and look forward to how it develops over the next episodes.
As a fan of the books, I'm happy to see how the show runners are once again closely following G. R. R. M.'s story and again only changing or enhancing it in the best ways. Luckily this story has been told pretty much in its entirety so there's no danger of the writers flailing around blind as so obviously happened in the final 2 seasons of Thrones. I love that they're adding in throwbacks to the story we've already read/seen (like King Viserys telling Rhaenyra about the prophecy of the Night King & Army of the Dead in their mission to bring on The Long Night).
Every casting has proved fantastic for their character & they're each holding true to their source characters as well as truly fleshing them out in a way that builds investment in their stories. I particularly love the casting for Viserys, both Rhaenyras, both Alicents, the Sea Snake, Daemon, and Otto Hightower. I didn't think the end of the first episode was too graphic or at all off-putting and think it was told/filmed in a way that brought powerful emotion to the story so early on, which makes me excited to see what they'll do next. Knowing the story (but not wanting to spoil) I'll also say I'm pleased with the interactions between characters we know have a romantic future and think they tell and act it very well in consideration for any obvious age differences.
I read the ASOIAF series so many times I literally think I could retell it all by heart, word for word, and liked it more than Fire and Blood. I was slightly less excited for HotD because of this, especially after the rushed nonsensical ending of a series that was so beloved and impeccable (before it ran out of source material). After just these first two episodes I'm completely confident that House of the Dragon will be just as good as Thrones was when at the top of its game. I'm re-reading Fire & Blood with a renewed interest and feel like it is such a gift that in a couple years we could be watching not just this one, but also the Jon Snow spinoff, and Game of Thrones will be redeemed.
Update: I've now watched through episode 5. My mother and I have both read all the Westeros-based books, and I watch HotD when it airs Sunday night with my husband, then I download it and take it to my mom's to watch again on Wednesday nights because she lives in such a rural place she doesn't have internet access & adding hbo to her dishnetwork would be stupid since she'd only have access to the east & west live stream, and I pay for Hbo max.
House of the Dragon is so good I'm just as excited to watch episodes the second time around as I am the first. In fact, I've been able to help explain things I missed to my mother who only gets to see it once. The main thing I missed, however, I had to read an article about: apparently Alicent was "in love" with Criston Cole and Rhaenyra has known this since the tourney he first appeared in, so her learning Rhaenyra had slept with him was what made her feel so betrayed. They could have fleshed that out a little better in the show, because otherwise it seems Alicent is just kinda jealous that Rhaenyra is getting some action while she has to sleep with the older king (Paddy Considine is quite attractive but they make King Viserys seem at least a decade older than Paddy and they cover him with leprosy sores- on that note, why don't they tell us he has Leprosy?? That's another thing I had to read- I had thought it was greyscale. Both are quite contagious though so why doesn't he spread it?!")
Anyway this is getting long. The minor frustrations and misunderstandings are not near enough to make me drop any stars. This show is FANTASTIC. The actors are PHENOMENAL. We watch the LotR prequal as well and the two shouldn't be compared. I prefer HotD because it seems more for adults. The fantasy element is much less obvious compared to the drama/thriller/political aspects. This show is not getting an easy ride just because it's connected to GoT. I would be just as ecstatic about this show if GoT didn't exist. However, just as with Thrones, if you're not a book reader, you will need to watch the first few episodes to become invested in the characters and really give the story a chance.
I am sorry to see Alcock & Carry leaving after episode 5 due to the 10 year time jump, but I love Emma D'arcy and Olivia Cooke and already know they'll be great in the older roles. There's no doubt this will be the catalyst of a fantastic career for Alcock and Carey, as well as any other younger or lesser known actors. They're all well cast and all impeccable in their roles.
Period.
They/Them (2022)
About as bad as expected
Once I saw the IMDB rating on Peacock. I still watched it and it had its moments. I still love Anna Chlumsky, Kevin Bacon and Carrie Preston. The one musical segment was cute but totally misplaced and in the wrong movie. I was surprised at the "reveal" but I am probably in the minority. Spoiler coming-I knew it would be a former "student" but didn't know it was Molly the nurse. The acting was fine. The young actors were all good. Poor Mark Ashworth was done so wrong in this role, just like the scene about what they were going to do to the poor dog. Even knowing it was fiction I still physically cringed. But mostly it just wasn't horror enough. The people that died totally deserved it (aside from the real Molly the nurse, I assume). You were hoping the killer would show up and decimate these terrible people. It was meh. I've seen worse. Those that say they haven't aren't being honest with themselves but 4 stars is the absolute most, one each for Chlumsky, Bacon, Preston and the rest of the cast.
Queer as Folk (2000)
20 years after I first discovered the US QAF
And upon rewatch I am reminded why my husband and I loved it so much back when we had just discovered it after the beginning of the third season. We went back and started from Season 1 and by Sunday night when S3 Ep 2 was airing we were caught up. Unless you are a pearl clutching homophobe you will absolutely love this. Each character is fully developed in just a few episodes and you can't help but love and invest yourself in each of them. The sex scenes can go a bit long and I admit I sometimes will fast forward when that happens but even the sex scenes are beautifully done and sexy and the way these people act, their talent, even when totally naked is not lost on me. They're all incredible actors. And their lives and stories are full of relatable experiences regardless of orientation. This show and its actors are amazing and you will love it. You just have to give it a small chance and let go of any preconceptions. Queer as Folk is it.
Servant (2019)
Top tier work in every way
If Servant were a restaurant it would be that 5 star place with the waiting list you'll never get on & food that is exquisite in every way but not near enough of it (with Yellowjackets being your favorite restaurant you never want to leave with affordable but amazing food, excellent atmosphere and music and you know you'll patronize it until it's ripped from your life due to unfair circumstances, and fantastically so-bad-it's-good reality tv being McDonalds). Servant would be the restaurant where Sean is the head chef. It's so visually stunning and the acting from all 4 main characters (as well as the supporting actors) is so on point, it almost feels like it's too good for the likes of me. I wish the episodes were longer. The directors and screenwriters have really brought their "A" games to every element from props to music to creating the atmosphere of mystery, surrealism and over-indulgence. I truly think all four main actors deserve all the awards for what they do here; Lauren Ambrose and Rupert Grint are so compelling I literally cannot remove my eyes from the screen every time they're on. Ambrose was born for this role and I hope she gets the recognition she deserves. Her facial expressions and acting chops in general, such as her just full embodiment of yuppyism at its best (or worst?), are really a treat to behold. Wow.
Wrong Turn (2021)
Better than expected!
There can only be so many takes on the hootin' deranged deformed cannibalistic hillbillies that Hollywood seems to truly believe exist deep in the Appalachian Mountains. As someone who lives in very rural WV, but still close to the VA border, the only similarities between the villains of the OG Wrong Turn franchise and reality are the mountains and trees. But cinema isn't necessarily about realism and there's obviously a market for cannibal rednecks. Fortunately for the viewer of Wrong Turn 2021, this movie chose a different take on the people who might live deep in the hills. I found this to be a refreshing reimagining that kept me entertained until the end. The VA rednecks of the town are still just stereotypes (in reality the people in the bars here more resemble the college kids than the moonshine-swilling plaid-and-dirt-wearing actors in this movie) but it's a minor gripe. There are some gruesome scenes for those that enjoy that, but it's not the overwhelming focus of the violence (the people sentenced to "darkness" are in much worse shape than anyone sentenced to death). The actors here all do well and their invented language is pretty believable- I can't imagine it's too easy to create, teach or learn an entirely new language, even for a few scenes in a movie.
I'm almost torn about who the villains actually are in this movie. Obviously no one should be held against their will or put to death because your group took a "wrong turn" off the marked trail and into the territory of a community you didn't know exist...but I think many of us daydream about a place where classes don't exist and some go without while others never seem to have enough and the community is made up of all nationalities, races, religious beliefs and still each is viewed as a valuable family member. Maybe I'm just more of a WV hillbilly than I want to admit.
I was disappointed in the ending a bit. I wanted her to make them set her father free but want to stay with the Foundation and her husband, but it didn't really show us much of what she went through living there for 6 months so I guess the inference is that it was a much less inviting idealized atmosphere than the citizens of it believed- and some of them were just cold-blooded murderers/rapists/wastes of skin.
Generally, I liked it more than I thought I would and more than any of the Wrong Turn movies of the 90s/2000s (was that when they were made? The years grow together as I age).
Solid 6.5.
Event Horizon (1997)
Fantastic-great psychological horror
I first saw this in the fall of 1997 when I was still young enough to partake in LSD without feeling guilty. It terrified me and everyone I watched it with. We were glued to the screen. That scene when they descramble the video that goes with the horrific audio- the stuff nightmares are truly made of. I'm not even big on science fiction or space movies in particular (my husband ruined me by watching stuff like Battlefield Earth and attempting to convince me it was worthy of my time). I've since watched it without being under the influence of any chemicals, many times, and I can confirm it's still every bit as awesome. I think it may have been a little before its time and didn't get the credit it deserved. At all. "The ddddark...inssside meee", "Do you seeee?!" "Where we're going, we don't need eyes to see", So many scenes from this movie will stick with you forever. If you like good horror that gets in your head, definitely give Event Horizon a chance.
Jennifer's Body (2009)
Hugely underrated & misunderstood.
I didn't want to see this because it seems like it was marketed as a B "Sleepaway Camp" with T&A thrown in for the men and little substance. Megan Fox IS a stunner. At one point Jennifer says "I feel so scrumptious!" And I was thinking, "Well that's a spot-on description". But both Fox and Seyfried are so much more than their exterior and I decided to give it a chance because I find I generally love everything with Amanda Seyfried (and I like Kyle Gallner, too). This is a movie for adults about high school kids. It's hilarious and smart (and I usually hate things labeled "smart"), and the cheesy anthem you hear throughout is a heck of an earworm and surprisingly catchy considering the cliche lyrics (I think it is supposed to feel that way- like they wrote what they thought would sell without putting any thought into the lyrics). You'll find yourself thinking about so many parts of this movie long after it's over, especially the fantastic dialogue. It's not really a horror and not just a comedy, definitely more satire and tongue in cheek that doesn't take itself too seriously but still seriously entertaining. I hate blood & guts horrors, have always preferred psychological horror and even the graphic scenes here are great- just enough gore to get it across and the cgi is used sparingly and not at all distracting. This is a fun movie and one you'll find yourself recommending and wanting to watch again and even again. If you haven't given it a chance yet, it's definitely one of those movies you thought would be stupid but is actually pretty great.
Hereditary (2018)
Gorgeous, hard to watch, yet easy to rewatch
One of my favorites. This is the movie that really piqued my interest in A24 and Ari Aster, and I'm super thankful for that. I already loved Toni Collette and her acting in this movie is just...EXQUISITE. I'm writing this review on my 4th rewatch and every time it gets to the scene where Annie first speaks at the grief meeting I think to myself "How did she not win an Oscar for this role?" and even based on that scene alone. As someone who has lost someone close that I had a strained relationship with- my gosh, did she hit the realism out of the park. I bet she needed a few days to decompress after filming that scene.
There are definitely some visceral (in the "gut wrenching" sense) images and it's got some parts that are hard to watch, and yet I choose to do it again and again because the movie is so good. At first I wondered if his reaction after "the accident " was realistic-just going in and laying in bed leaving his mom to discover the gruesome scene on her way out in the morning, but the more I thought about it, I find that pretty realistic too. That would be the type of trauma where the only way to physically function would be to go on automatic pilot while emotionally catatonic, and that's exactly what he does. And then the way she screams for her "I just need to die!!!" Ouch! The amount of pain this family has to deal with...and it never gets any easier for them. All the actors here are fantastic. I adore Ann Dowd as well.
Sorry if I'm jumping around. I'm watching it again as I type. Highly recommend. Excellent movie for fans of psychological horror, as well as fans of occult horror.
Coming 2 America (2021)
Not great, not terrible, 6 stars for effort
I was SUPER excited to hear about this movie and wanted so bad to love it. I even got up at 3am to watch with my husband. I loved seeing all the characters brought back from main characters to smaller cameos like Paul Bates and Vanessa Bell. As a child of the 80s, Coming To America was one of my favorites and one of my first opportunities to revel in rated R debauchery with jokes that seemed written for my 11 year old mind as well as many that went right over my head until adult rewatches. I loved seeing Salt N Pepa & En Vogue here in the sequel and all the characters- young, old, new and returnees- are absolutely beautiful. Shari Headley has aged so beautifully I only wish I'd looked as good in my mid 20s as she does in her mid 50s and her acting as improved as well. Not to negate her acting in the original, Headley flourished the most in these 31 years in both appearance and ability. Eddie Murphy also barely aged at all and bringing back the My-T-Sharp group was a very positive use of screen time. I'm a fan of Leslie Jones & almost feel her storyline was a bit beneath her, but is nice to see her utilized in a movie of this scale. Jermaine Fowler is great here and brings the long lost son to life perfectly, but again, had less to work with than he was capable if regarding his storyline. The story was the main problem with Coming 2 America. I wondered how in the heck he could have a son he didn't know about and the story is just...dumb, for lack of a more accurate adjective. As much as I like Wesley Snipes, that whole storyline could have been dropped. How does he keep just dancing into a palace, THE palace, that's supposed to be protected by guards round the clock? How did he take the daughter hostage?? I hate to bring it up, but the way the son was conceived was poorly...conceived itself. If the genders were reversed and a man drugged and slept with a princess 30 years ago, somehow I doubt he'd be welcomed into the family with open arms and celebration. More likely he'd be arrested and jailed (and then set free on a ridiculously low bail if any at all, if we are being realistic, but our country's shady legal system is hardly the fault of the movie makers). They tried to make sexual assault funny, and it isn't and wasn't even in this context.
I thought the CGI was pretty good actually. Semmi in the club and them both at the apartment afterwards (despite what was occurring) LOOKED really pretty realistic. I had to convince my husband, who hasn't seen the original dozens of times as I have, that their apartment was different with no separate bedroom for Semmi or couch like the one Jones and Murphy "hung out" on, and this scene wasn't at all in the original in any small way.
It isn't that the movie "shouldn't have been made" or that it didn't need a sequel, or even that any negatives here tainted the original or its memory in the slightest. In fact it's a perfect contender for a sequel considering the ages and caliber of all the original main characters and those chosen for the first time in the sequel. It's just the way it was done, the storyline in general, was hugely lacking in any originality of its own and the best parts were throwbacks to the original movie. Maybe if this had been Rated R, though I understand why they needed to go PG-13 (I guess) because a lot of the new jokes just didn't go far enough like the first one did, and those that tried were not that funny, or missed the mark. It's worth the time to watch, but wasn't worth jumping up at 3am the day it was released to watch it. I actually turned it off a half hour before it ended and finished later out of near boredom, or if not boredom, more that it was totally predictable and I didn't feel like I even needed to see it play out as I knew exactly how it'd end and knew it wouldn't even be that entertaining.
Oh and Colin Jost's cameo was hilarious, and darn it if he's not just adorable, that kid. I can certainly see what Scarlett Johansen sees in him.
The movie may be more of a 5, but the abundance of easter eggs/throwbacks and sheer amount of actors that returned and the newbies as well, that obviously put in the effort to bring these characters to life despite a script that lacked the original's flair and laugh out loud hilarity ("What does dumb f. k mean?"), it definitely warrants a 6-6.5. And I eagerly await the 3rd.
Servant: Marino (2021)
Episodes End Too Soon
This review is really the whole series up until this episode of S2 (7). This show is seriously gorgeous. As a big fan of about half of Shyamalan's movies (The Sixth Sense, The Village, Signs, Split and to a smaller extent Unbreakable) Servant utilizes all of his best talents to the highest extent and is everything I look for in a mystery. The four main actors are truly the real stars. Lauren Ambrose is such a gem as Dorothy, I cannot imagine any other actress pulling her off, with all her intensity, crazy facial expressions, over the top almost mannequin-like fakeness (in a fantastic cinematic way of portraying yuppyieism)that's all just glorious to watch. I can't take my eyes off the screen whenever she's on. The same can really be said for them all. Grint is probably the most fun to watch with his hyper-realistic denial more than tinged with cynicism you just know hides deep pain and heartache. Tiger-Free is the perfect "Leanne" with her absolute innocence and now in the second season we see her feistiness and desire to make "it" all right again. Kebbel, like Grint, is an English actor portraying the somewhat selfish and hollow characteristics often attributed to the upper class, and Kebbel has really grown into Sean as the series goes on (which is even more substantial when you find out it wasn't filmed in linear time regarding what we are shown from Episode 1 on). Sean was easier not to like in Season 1 and it's almost as if he and Dorothy have switched personas from S1 to S2, whereas in the 1st season it was easier to feel pity for Dorothy and anger at Sean, it's now quite the opposite in Season 2. The feelings towards the characters are just more evidence at the caliber of the acting. Even the supporting characters are fantastic: Philip James Brannon as Roscoe (absolutely sells it in S2E2), Tony Revolori as Tobe the (possibly?) Leanne-smitten assistant cook is adorably clueless and adds a sprinkle of selfless kindness only a character like this can, and Jerrika Hinton as their New Age midwife/friend/more than a friend of Julian's is sparkling yet calming to behold as she grounds the entire cast in tranquility. There is this feeling that they're all (as characters) holding back and I find myself almost holding my breath waiting for them to ask questions they often inexplicably don't ask or dig deeper when trying to understand something but they just take what they're told at face value, and I realize this is necessary for the progression of the story, but it's not particularly realistic. That's really the only flaw- these people don't necessarily act the way you'd expect them to. But no one can say these are common circumstances, either.
Servant is beautifully shot, deliciously written and superbly acted. I just wish I'd waited til the whole second season was up to watch, because now I hate when each episode ends and have a hard time waiting a whole week for a half hour of explanation in the form of these absolutely " ambrosian" episodes. Meticulous. That's a word that keeps coming to mind. With only a half hour a week to tell the story, the (usually) cram in as much as possible without wasting a single word or expression. Even if the "clues" turn out to be red herrings, it's still an entertaining scavenger hunt to go on when trying to solve the mystery of what is really going on here.
Follow Me (2020)
Not bad at all.
I like to think I have decent taste in horror- I really liked Hereditary, Get Out was pretty good, I loved the first 3 Saw movies, The Ring (or Ringu, really was superior), The first Grudge, and I may be in the minority when I say I enjoyed Hostel (mostly). This will definitely make you think it's a lower budget Hostel take off in some parts. That said, it is NOT the 4-or-less star movie most are rating it. I even found the first act engaging enough to keep my attention. The lead was really very good, though I really only found him annoying in the first 10 minutes but after that I forgot I was supposed to consider him a one dimensional "influencer" vlogger etc-type. The real deal versions of these people are much more soul-sucking. You may find the gore was just right especially if you're like me and don't need much to appreciate horror & some movies just overdo the gore to make up for substance- this movie has enough substance they didn't need to. I won't spoil it. You may understand what's going on but it's worth the watch anyway. Seriously not near as bad as some are saying and kept my interest til the credits.