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Reviews
The Little Things (2021)
5/10 since the beginning was great and the ending a flop!
So, I started watching and had to stop about halfway b/c I didn't realize my partner wanted to watch it too. I had so much anticipation to finish it! The first half was great- nice slow burn that felt like it was going to add up to something. Spoiler alert: It didn't.
The movie is called The Little Things, and even Denzel's character points out that it's the little things that matter most when doing detective work. So, I paid attention to the girls last meal, as suggested by Denzel- roast beef, and then we see Jared Leto's character pick up roast beef and give it to some hookers on the street. Very suspicious. We also see a different car from Jared Leto's green one, an old 70's type Lincoln car that almost attacked that blonde chick in the beginning of the film at that cafe in the middle of nowhere, and the girl that went missing while jogging; the same car or similar followed her before she went missing. I also swear I thought I saw that same car when Jared Leto visited the strip club the first time. Then we also hear that Jared's character admitted to a murder 8 years ago with full details but he wasn't even around when it happened. So, I thought he was working for someone else, and that possibly the "other guy" let him desecrate the bodies after they were dead as thank you in helping him- like feeding them roast beef before, or whatever else needed to get done- maybe even put him self out there as a decoy by "confessing" to distract them from the real killer. If it had ended that way, I would have felt satisfied.
But, that's not how it ended at all! Rami Malek's character accidentally kills Jared with a shovel out in the desert where the joggers body is "supposed" to be -not a little thing. And we find out that Denzel's character previously accidentally shot a possible victim while searching a crime scene, and his coworkers helped him cover it up- definitely not a little thing. And then, Denzel sends Remi's character a replica of the red beret that belonged to the jogger to help him believe they actually had the right guy (jared leto) all along so he could let go and live his life.
I don't know, maybe I'm so used to cookie cutter crime dramas that made this one feel short without a conclusive "you got him" ending, or maybe I'm not smart enough to get this film, but the whole point was lost on me and felt like the movie didn't add up to much.
I will say this, Jared Leto KNOCKED his character out of the park! So much so, I hope he doesn't have any skeletons in his closet. He was that good!!! And Denzel and Remi were good too. The movie was just so/so once you got to the ending, however.
The Garden: Commune or Cult (2023)
Commune or cult.... or a new spin on a reality show?
If this were marketed honestly, I would have a better rating. It's supposedly a documentary that is meant to explore whether a particular group is a cult or not, when it's really just a different take on survivor. Each contestant has 10 days to see if they get voted in to live on the established commune or not. Of course if you have an isolated group of people, you're going to have cult like lord of the flies tendencies... but is it a true and genuine situation? No. It's 100% Hollywood and made for entertainment. I'm on episode 3 and, what gives it away for me is that they have this incredibly overweight guy that supposedly has 4 kids at home (so he has no business leaving them in the first place) that wants to go on this experience to learn how to provide for his family should an apocalypse happen, and one of his first reasons to go is to sort of treat it like a fat camp experience to get in better shape. I already read he gets voted off bc he can't keep up, and in episode 3, hilariously one of the other members offers him dandelion oil and moon charged water for healing.... um, kindly, this guy needs to eat better, spend more time in the gym or at least walk daily, and see a chiropractor, and possibly a surgeon to heal his back. Overall, this "show" is stupid. It's just a controlled "cult like" experience televised for entertainment. I'll finish the episodes bc I can't stand not finishing what I start, but I won't waste my time on a "season 2."
The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping (2024)
Very organized documentary
This documentary was so well done! It was very organized, informative, and it kept me engaged the entire time; I didn't feel like it had unnecessary fluff to make it longer. I liked how she included her classmates and others from other places to help corroborate what actually went on. Not that I didn't believe them, but to the parents that are still brainwashed into thinking they made the right choice sending them there, it's hard to look past so many different people saying the same things about the abuse they endured. I also appreciate her touching on the parent perspective, because I do believe they were also manipulated into believing they made the right choice, and having experienced so much pain being there, I know it was hard to acknowledge that the parents too made a mistake. I can't wrap my head around the fact the people in control of this school are still around to operate...and now that they've expanded to mentally handicapped adults (I can only imagine the horrors there for an even more vulnerable population), and foster kids using government money- you'd think the government would be concerned with fraud, but as long as someone in power is getting their cut, I guess not. The only thing missing that I was really hoping for was a follow up to the lady she interviewed in the diner... I really wanted to hear what she had to say about the gay kids. I 100% recommend this documentary!
Mean Girls (2024)
This movie was SO FETCH!
I am so glad this site allows for everyday people to review the movies, because there is NO WAY this movie is truly rated 6/10 with all of the negative real people reviews. This movie is a 2-3/10 at best! 1. I HATE musicals. I'm ready for the High School Musical/Glee/Pitch Perfect phase to get phased out! BUT, I can't fault this movie too much, because I was the one that made the mistake of not paying attention to the fact it was a musical (thanks to streaming with not a lot of exposure to commercials, lol) It was still a stupid presentation of this movie, though. 2. I give it 2 stars because some of the scenes were artful and well done. For example, the scene where Cady freaks out when Regina kisses Aaron. 3 The girl who played Karen... her part could have been left out in the same way this movie should not have been re-made. Amanda Seyfried nailed it, and this girl stared to hard, and I just wanted to punch her face. Even Cady was stupid, just not as obnoxiously off base as the girl that played Karen. Could be the directing, though. 4. Overall, this movie sucked. It was a huge disgrace to the original! They should have taken the story and evolved it, not copied it in campy stupid musical form! I 100% regret that I gave money to support this horrible film.
Licorice Pizza (2021)
Proves that Hollywood is all about who you know
I genuinely do not understand how this movie got nominated or even won any awards. It was so stupid! The plot goes absolutely nowhere, and given the age difference between the two main characters and how it's kind of set up as a sort-of love story, is gross. And, I like Haim as a band, but it felt just as gross for Paul Thomas Anderson to go out of his way to write a part for Alana Haim... what was his true motive in doing that, I wonder? I feel bad for Maya Rudolph. And if that wasn't bad enough, let's just give Cooper Hoffman a chance! After all, PTA was close to his father (RIP Philip Seymour Hoffman, you were actually a good actor)... after having this all written out, I guess I understand how this movie got nominated or won any awards.. It'd win too if it were someone I knew that wrote it or starred in it and I had something to do with the votes. Otherwise, don't waste your time. A Hallmark movie (BARF) would be better...
Christmas at the Ranch (2021)
Low budget cheese fest
I loved it was a christmas movie about lesbians, and the cowgirl helped this movie out a lot, but it's 100% cheesy, and the movie could have been made better if they put just a little bit more effort. Plus, it drove me nuts they decided to call the grandmother "me-maw". I know people that call their grandmother that, but it just sounded so stupid in this movie. Was that done on purpose? And what rancher drives anything but a truck? A Mitsubishi SUV, really? Maybe it's because I'm from Texas, but SURELY SOMEONE in the film crew drove a Chevy or a Ford F150! I know it's low budget, but there were so many opportunities to make this film more believable had they just put 10% more effort into it. Instead it gave me an opportunity to mock a movie for an hour... just my girlfriend's luck!
Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence (2023)
Too long and drawn out
The story is interesting, and I like there is a documentary about it, but it's way too long. I have 40 minutes left of the second episode, and I'm upset to know their is THIRD episode that I'm going to have to watch. I'm not sure if they pulled 3 episodes out to help make the victims feel validated or what, but this could have been an hour and a half one and done deal, and I don't think they would have missed any major elements of the story. I've had to stop and come back to this several times because of how slow and drawn out the story is, which to me doesn't help the overall story. I'll probably learn more and enjoy my time reading about this situation more than watching this documentary.
A Friend of the Family (2022)
Frown Lines
It is a good thing Colin Hanks and Anna Paquin have great access to botox because if they didn't have forehead frown lines before this show, they certainly will have them now. The show wasn't horrible, but I felt like I was watching The Handmaids Tale with all the intense focus shots on these characters facial expressions, and that's also including McKenna Grace, who basically rode the wave of apprehensive/shy/sweet no-teeth smile expression the whole time (if that even makes sense). There acting just didn't blow me away, minus Jake Lacey and Hendrix Yancey who I thought was better as Jan. I don't know how the show could have been done differently, but I definitely got tired of focusing on their faces after the first episode or two. However, despite that, the show wasn't bad, and looking back, I don't feel it dragged on too too long, but man I still have so many questions for the real story- no judgment on the family, just questions!
This Means War (2012)
Terrible
I thought this was a terrible movie. The wrong guy definitely won (the jerk) AND I don't see why you have to have 10 lines minimum for a submission either. I'm pretty sure a one line comment is enough to accurately describe a stupid movie: "This means war" is a prime example of a stupid movie. The fact that they have to warn people about filling in their comments with fluff should tell you something... hasn't IMDb heard of the K.I.S.S principle. If not, they should do some research. The world is a much better place when people keep things simple. Here, if my one line HIGHLY ACCURATE review of the movie isn't enough, I'll add slightly more to fill in the RIDICULOUS ten lines minimum. Girl meets boy- boy is a gentleman. Girl meets another boy. This boy is a jerk. Both boys know each other, but girl doesn't know that. Girl finds out both boys know each other, and instead of doing the logical thing-walking away b/c BOTH are liars, and instead of picking the lesser of two evils (since the movie is based on having to chose), she chooses the jerk. Hopefully this is enough of a description of a movie that could be summed up in one word: TERRIBLE!