kimberlydevinebrink Reviews

No Hard Feelings (2023)

Unexpected and surprisingly real

[9/10 · 11 November 2023]

This movie is actually something exceptional masquerading as something typical. It's not a raunchy comedy. It's an open-ended romance. The exceptional part is the subtlety with which the characters grow and change, how well-suited they are to lift each other, and how, even as the film beats us over the head with blatant hint after blatant hint, most people will never see a future between the two characters.

This movie takes the ephemeral nature of love and gives it form, real form... but it's hidden by all the other pieces of the characters lives, as happens in reality. It's like the film is this incredibly sophisticated art film hidden in a raunchy comedy... and if you think I'm reading into it too far, listen to the Bob Seger song at the end: "I've made my mind up girl It's meant to be Someday lady you'll accomp'ny me Someday lady you'll accomp'ny me It's written down somewhere It's got to be You're high above me Flying wild and free Oh but someday lady you'll accomp'ny me"

ReMastered: The Miami Showband Massacre (2019 TV Movie)

This documentary explores the complexity of the troubles through investigating one tragedy.

[8/10 · 10 December 2022]

The Miami Showband was a popular band in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. One night, while traveling back into the Irish Republic, they were targeted and stopped by the UVF (Protestant paramilitary volunteers) while crossing the border. When the stop went bad, the band members were shot and left for dead.

This documentary follows the investigation into this tragedy and the original dark plan of the UVF. It discusses the involvement of the British government with the UVF, and it shines a spotlight on the tactics used against the Irish separatists.

This is a great movie if you're curious about the troubles or want to educate yourself against potential government overreach.

Nope (2022)

Unsettling and kind of brilliant.

[9/10 · 25 November 2022]

I understand why this movie received some negative reviews, because I could've fallen into the same trap. It doesn't deserve them.

Nope is sophisticated, intense and affecting, but it requires its audience to commit. The movie's best features come from how the movie works with the brain to create terror. It's reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock's best psychological horror movies in how the pacing, unanswered questions, and hinted horrors leave the viewer unsettled even before anything "scary" happens on screen.

The characters were flawed and grasping, but their desperation just added to the underlying horror and feeling of panic. Even the "friendly" character has this horrifying back story that unfolds in pieces through the current story, like a person tripping while running. The staggered steps that you hope aren't leading where you know they are leading, the horror of watching the inevitable play out and realizing it is worse than expected, that is how this back story chops up the current story, leaving the viewer bothered by the smile on the friendly character's face.

All in all, if you commit and let yourself be patient as the story unfolds, you will be rewarded.

Let the World See (2022– )

A deep look into the destructive weakness of racial hatred in opposition to the empowering strength of Mamie Till-Mobley

[10/10 · 17 November 2022]

Like many people of Generation X, the battered face of Emmett Till is how I understood the true power of the white supremacy and segregation in the southern US states. I remember seeing the pictures of him and thinking, "how could the human body be made to look like that? How did they change the very shape of his head???" I was a child, probably close in age to Emmett when he was murdered, but those pictures taught me about how hate dehumanizes. Hate took away Emmett's humanity, allowed his attackers to justify his beating and left him looking like something that could never have been human. It took away the humanity of the men who attacked him and the woman who ordered it. The pictures of this young boy from Chicago taught me everything I needed to know about the evil people are capable of creating... but what was the rest of the story?

This documentary puts those pictures in perspective. It creates a timeline that is so very close to today. When you see interviews with Mamie Till-Mobley from 2002, and you realize Emmett would have only been about 60 years old in 2002 if he had lived. His murder was well within the modern age.

'Let the World See' shows the bravery of a woman who will not let what happened to her son happen to another person. It shows a community and family who stood by her side. You will be left able to understand the legacy Emmett shared from his time living on this earth and the legacy of his death. Throughout this main storyline, viewers are also introduced to the Black exodus to Chicago, and the communities shared between populations still in the south and those in the city.

On the other side, 'Let the World See' shines a surprisingly gentle light on the racial hate that ran strongly throughout the south. Realistically, if you are having trouble understanding institutional racism or the racism found in white supremacy, you may find this documentary takes leaps regarding race that you may not like. Personally, I thought the discussions of racism were largely personal experience or well-documented instances, so anybody against racism should be able to get something from this series.

In three episodes this documentary tells the story of what brought Emmett Till to that store in Mississippi, the defiance and dignity of the people who brought his suffering to the public awareness, and the incredible repercussions of this bravery. Worth the watch 100%

Infinite (2021)

Such a waste of potential

[3/10 · 26 June 2021]

This movie had so much potential... Strong cast, great effects... and yet, somehow, it's beyond bad. Beyond really bad. The complete waste of money and potential is truly as irritating as the lapses in the film.

Much of the film is encumbered by nebulous flashbacks of the same exact scenes. The acting will switch from good to flat/unbelievable in a single scene, and it becomes obvious the actors were stifled by inexperienced direction. Imagine my shock when I realized the director wasn't inexperienced... I cannot imagine what happened to make this film what it is.

The entire movie gives the sense of watching a power point by someone who just figured out how to do the effects, and we all have seen the swooping fonts I am descring, but hasn't yet learned how to organize the information he's trying to convey.