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Reviews
The Holdovers (2023)
Unexpected delight
The live show I was planning to see tonight was cancelled unexpectedly but I decided since I was out, I'd go to a movie. I wasn't planning on seeing a Christmas movie. I just remembered seeing a preview earlier this year of a Paul Giamatti movie and thinking it looked interesting. I had completely forgotten it was about the people left behind on campus during the Christmas break. I went in the theater thinking how tired I was of the trend of super violent Christmas movies or bubble gum stupid comedies trying to be the next Die Hard or Elf. I certainly was not prepared to get exactly what I was looking for in a Christmas movie.
I kinda feel like it's the perfect holiday movie for people like me. I love the holidays but there are certainly moments where I feel like I'm on the outside looking in - sometimes by choice, sometimes by happenstance. Not to sound cliche, but I laughed, I cried, I left feeling lighter. What more can you ask for from a film?
Very smart, quiet picture. And I enjoyed it very much indeed. Exactly what I didn't realize I needed this holiday season.
The Phantom (1996)
Guilty pleasure- love to watch
I know this is super cheese-tastic and I'm in the minority, but I love it. It never fails to make me smile.
Billy Zane as the titular hero is everything I pictured when I read the comic as a kid. I was always fascinated by the hero who had a horse, a wolf, and a secret cave hideout and pretended to be immortal. He got by on his wits and skills. A wealthy man dedicated to fighting crime secretly. Probably why I fell for Batman when he showed up in the theaters in the 80's.
Its a shame the movie flopped in theaters. Would have been a treat to see the whole trilogy. IMHO, could have been the Indy of the 90's. Just something didn't quite click with people who aren't me.
OutDaughtered (2016)
Great Dad, Control Freak Mom
The girls are adorable. Love Adam & Uncle Dale. Everyone needs an Uncle Dale. And Adam is so calm. He's an amazing dad - especially to six girls. His focus is always his wife and family. He goes out of his way regularly to make sure his wife feels special. And he appreciates what makes each daughter different and encourages them to grow.
(Though I do find it annoying everyone points out all the time that Riley is the "bad" kid. Y'all about to create a really bad kid through self fulfilling prophecy. She's a great kid who just needs more mental stimulation.)
On the other hand, Danielle is more irritating every season. She complains no one helps but every time anyone tries to help she complains they did the job and she's going to have to redo it to make sure it's right. When Adam tries to pack for a trip she condescendingly asks if he knows they need five of every outfit. Like he hasn't watched her dress their five daughters in identical outfits for six years or that he didn't know they had five of them. Then she sighs like he's made everything more difficult by trying to help. Her complaining becomes incessant. If you started a drinking game for every time she was passive aggressive "funny" in an interview, you'd be drunk after two episodes.
She causes her own stress by her perfectionism. Everything is about her all the time. She threw a fit when Adam found a job where he would have to be gone two days a month but would make enough money to support the family, her shopping addiction, get insurance and work from home. Does she not understand how rare a job that good is? Then she opens a business where she's going to be gone a week three times a year. But that's ok. However, she complains that Adam had fun with the kids while she was gone. She demands he help with the business, like she helped when he was overwhelmed at his job, the complains he has to bring the kids when she doesn't want him to get a babysitter. She complains she's at work too much when she decided to start a business. She complains she misses all the fun things. Like she doesn't want anyone to have fun while she's not around. She conveniently forgets the big fit she threw when Adam changed his job because he wanted to spend more time with the kids. She complains that he isn't being both a househusband and helping her to her job. He needs to do more, even though she's the one who keeps adding unnecessary events that consume a lot of time and energy. She likes to create situations where she can complain.
She spent six months completing she wanted to be back in the "old" house but then flipped on a dime and decided she wanted to stay in the new one and got irritated Adam wasn't immediately on board because he was thinking of the finances. She dithers and gripes about decisions Adam wants to make and never lets it go if he chooses something before she's finished agonizing, but if she makes a decision, oh well. His problem if he doesn't like it.
She's so focused on being the cool, fun Mom. It's something she says at least twice every episode. And the handstand thing - maybe if you did them more than once a year on vacations you'd be able to do them instead of complaining your body is betraying you. Same goes for the seasonal episode where she complains about her birthday being overlooked and then there's a whole episode devoted to making sure her birthday is special.
Every time there's an interview you just know she's going to be whining about something petty in her amazing life. I think it all boils down to you see multiple scenes where Adam apologizes because he's been in the wrong or just ruffled her feathers. The one time she says in an interview she owes him an apology, she changes her mind because something he said evened it out in her mind.
Who knows - maybe she pissed of a producer and she's just been getting a bad edit every season, each year progressively worse. Or maybe they're running out of scenes where she isn't complaining about nothing.
Blended (2014)
Adam Sandler is at his best when he does romcoms
I turned this on just to have something playing in the background bug got sucked in. I get there are issues with the whole Africa thing. But the story is good. And the characters are believable- they go on a journey. Neither person is perfect and the kids aren't smarter than the adults. That's a change right there.
Adam Sandler does these very sweet, lovely moments in his movies that bring tears to my eyes - he's a man who loves being a husband and father and he makes me miss my Dad. That goofy Dad humor. That awesome Dad wisdom. The Dad can-do, we'll fix it attitude. And he makes you laugh. There are some good jokes in the movie. I really needed some Dad humor and love today. The song he sings with his kids in the credits - you can hear how much he loves being with his kids. Got me a little verklempt.
Honestly, my major issue with the film is the Africa stuff - it's going to keep some people from appreciating the movie. I really hope Drew & Adam have another one in them. They really have amazing chemistry.
Shotgun Wedding (2022)
First action/adventure rom-com? Not even close
Only commenting because they had an interview where they act like J-Lo invented the action/adventure rom-com.
"Romancing the Stone" ring any bells IMDB entertainment reporter person? Gah I hate when people who make their living in a field know nothing about it or think the result of us don't.
Jennifer Coolidge is the best part of this movie. As usual. Cheech comes in a close second. The two main characters have little chemistry and you have to wonder if these two overly plastic surgeried people are supposed to be in their 30's, 40's, or 50's (which they are).
The movie did have a couple good laughs. Good to waste a couple hours.
Fate: The Winx Saga (2021)
Spoiler alert review - sort of - also a rant on overdone tropes
OFFS. Another show that makes the awkward, chunky girl wear ill fitting, dowdy clothes - even to a ball - and who eventually decides she's gay. Tiresome trope. Really. It's the thoroughly overdone modern take on the UFF.
I was pretty interested until that non-amazing revelation. Hell, it would have been more amazing if they hadn't made her realize she was gay.
Here's the thing, and I know Hollywood hates to acknowledge this, but being fat doesn't mean you're a miserable, socially awkward, terrible dresser. All teens are. Not just the fat ones. But somehow in teen movies and shows, all the skinny teens get to be fabulous and the hefty girls are the UFFs - there to be a foil to the perfection of the lead. Can't have her figure out how to dress for her shape and get a backbone and ask the guy she's crushing on our... noooo. She's going to realize she's gay.
While we're on utterly overdone tropes, there's also the wise, righteous black person who is the moral compass of the group. It's ok Hollywood to write black people as something between saint and degenerate. You know, like they're real people.
I'm disgusted with the show. There are four more episodes and I'm just too irritated to finish. I was intrigued and thought they were going to do something interesting with the fat friend (hell, she's just a caricature of what a Hollywood writer thinks fat teenage girls are - I can't even remember her name). But just as there was glimmer of hope that UFF was going to come out her shell and into her own, nope. It was the announcement she's gay. So she can keep wearing baggy clothes and never comb her hair.
Deadbeat (2014)
Like two different shows
The tone of seasons 1&2 vs season 3 is striking in its difference. But if we're being honest, it started wobbling toward the end of season 2. However, if you're a fan of Taylor Levine, you'll be amused nonetheless. There are some solid laughs in season 3, but it takes a couple episodes to shift gears from the format you had been watching to the "new" show. On the whole, it feels like the show was supposed to end after 2 seasons but he was offered the chance to do a third and everyone else had moved onto other projects or had their story line ended. (This thing is insisting on a 600 word review. It's not my intention to beat a dead horse here.)
Death on the Nile (2022)
If you liked Branagh's MOTOE, you'll like this
Charming movie, well paced. A refreshing change from explosions and noise. I forget how good an actor KB can be until he does something like this. And Russell Brand was lovely. No winking at the camera. He played straight drama beautifully.
Free Guy (2021)
Left feeling cheerful - been a long time since that happened
Best movie I've seen in a while - it wasn't a remake, reboot, retread, sequel.
It was fun and funny and something you can take kids to. Does it have "adult" jokes? Yes. But so do all kids cartoons.
It was great to go to a movie where the theater was laughing out loud and you left with a smile.
I highly recommend going to catch this film - maybe we can get Hollywood to start making fresh, fun comedies again instead of remaking (and ruining) classics (do we really need Three Men and a Baby with Zac Ephron?)
Coming 2 America (2021)
Heartbreaking
Nothing unexpected happened. The jokes were projected and obvious. It was great seeing all the original performers but the absurdity of the original is missing and it just made me sad. There was so much potential and it was wasted.
The Goes Wrong Show: Ninety Degrees (2020)
I was crying with laughter
One of the funniest things I've ever watched - I hurt from laughing. Highly recommend.