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peachesnmulder
Reviews
Man Down (2015)
Shia LaBeouf's best performance
I can't believe some people are rating this movie poorly. Shia played this role like he lived it. The intensity, even his breathing, and the vulnerability he had to do this role is just mind-blowing. I think he's a complicated and complex person and he just owns this role.
I've experienced in the military and in law enforcement. I can tell you that the biggest flaw that I saw was when he gets shot. I can give the director a break because it does bring intensity where it needs but that's the biggest issue for me in this film. That's why the nine stars.
Kate, Mara and Gary Oldham were excellent. Tentative and guarded characters against Shia's role made him just that much more intense.
I will definitely be watching it again.
Beast (2022)
Trust me, you WANT me to spoil it cuz you won't want to see it
This movie is so bad that I started taking notes in my phone for this review and I rarely post reviews. But this film was beyond a snooze fest. It was downright stupid. And here's why:
1. If "are you ok?" was a drinking game, you'd die of alcohol poisoning long before the credits. Are you okay/Is dad okay/ Is Uncle Martin okay.... I wonder if the writers had an "are you okay" quota because they hit it.
2. So many unnecessary lines, especially from the daughters. Just talking talking talking endlessly. I wonder again if the writers had a line quota because, again, they hit it.
3. "Be careful". Well, duh! There's a freaking lion killing humans out there! Another phrase quota.
4. Lions can smell blood from long distances. There are many times where the lion could have found the people just by the smell of blood but it somehow misses the bloodied human under that tree, 12 inches away.
5. Speaking of blood, Nate(Idris Elba) should have been COVERED in blood after the fight with the lion. Like literally head to toe. That lion took swipes and bites and should have cleaned his veins and arteries right out. Yet, he lives....and has two tiny cuts on his face. Yes, he had other injuries but his face should have been a lot less pretty. And don't get me started on how the blood on the gauze made no sense. People don't bleed like that.
6. Nate is a doctor and yet when his oldest daughter gets a deep gash in her side he doesn't put pressure on it. You're a damn doctor! Instead he talks to her. While standing next to the open driver's door. Of a jeep that has no roof and half doors. Right after a battle with the lion. That didn't die. In the dark. Where the lion can come find you again.
7. And yet somehow they continue to assume that the lion is gone. So they hang out in an abandoned school house with no roof and damaged walls and doors. Easy prey for the lion to find.
8. The use of the radio is comical. Again, more lines, unnecessary lines, over the radio, when they are supposed to be quiet. Remember?? There's a scary lion out there that wants to kill you.
9. And through all this mess, NO ONE watches where the lion goes after each attack. Not one. They have many encounters but heaven forbid someone checks to see which direction it went.
Overall, this movie only got 1 star for me because Idris did his best to hold that cess pool of a movie together.
This has been my ted talk lol.
Nitram (2021)
Spectacular telling of a devastating true story
This was a spectacular film detailing the psyche and instability of a man struggling with mental illness. It is uncomfortable to watch at times and it should be.
The documentaries I have watched on this incident were not as in depth into his life leading up to it. The movie tells a tale from an unbiased view, telling it not from the man's mind but from over his shoulder. Caleb Landry Jones plays the title role in such a way that you see the character's flawed thinking but also with a hint of innocence and naivete. When an actor plays a role and we forget that they are acting, the awards come calling. Caleb Landry Jones did just that. It would not surprise me if he gets an Oscar nod.
The Empty Man (2020)
Very well done!
Sometimes you take a chance on a movie where you might recognize a few actors and hope the story is good. This is one of those great finds. The beginning so perfectly sets up the movie, giving a little here and there then kicking off a great mindbender. Sure there are a few tiny plot holes but the premise, plot and ending makes you forget them. What a great movie!
Stillwater (2021)
Plot hole
I was very disappointed when the movie ended and we never found out what happened to Akim. Who moved him? Did the cops have him? Where did he end up? Is he dead? I'd like to say I enjoyed the movie but it's such a big question about where/who/when etc about the guy.
The Block Island Sound (2020)
Good story, Excellence analogy/explanation at the end
The story is textbook and the acting is moderately good. But the ending....I'm surprised we haven't seen more movies with this ending and with this eye-opening chastisement. Worth the watch to get the gut punch in the end.
Into the Night (2020)
For fans of Lost
This show is very reminiscent of Lost. It's got the individual character stories per episode and many mysteries and backgrounds to unfold. It even ends with, you guessed it , a hatch and bunker.....and a hell of a question mark to reel you in and make you scream with frustration when the credits roll.
It has English subtitles but it also has English voice over for each character. Half the time I was reading the subtitles and half the time I was just listening. There's always some factual given take with stories like this but I am hooked. I hope they don't wait another year or two to bring out the second season or the show get cancelled. I hope more English-speaking people will give the show a shot because it is fantastic.
The Bad Batch (2016)
45 mins of waiting for something to happen
I couldn't take more than 45 minutes out of my life to watch this snooze fest. I had to turn it off. I'd rather watch paint dry. The 2 stars are for Jason Momoa.
Into the Forest (2015)
SPOILERS Great movie minus one too-realistic scene
The movie starts and follows through with a steady pace and semi-predictable storyline. I appreciate what Ellen Page was going for with a touching and honest relationship between the sisters.
My only criticism of the movie was the overly-realistic rape scene. It is the one scene from the movie that will stick with me...and not for the right reasons. It is a violent and brutal scene that has no consistency with the other parts of the movie. Yes, Ellen Page really butchered a pig but no other scene comes close to it. It would be like if Juno was raped by Jason Bateman's character in Juno. It's just my opinion.
Bird Box (2018)
Excellent movie...until the end.
Kept me interested the whole way through until the very end. I literally said "that's it?" out loud.
They could have developed more about the creatures and why the mentally ill weren't affected like the seemingly sane people were. How Tom was able to fight off the sickness for a few moments was sweet but cliche.
The creatures reminded me too much of the first sightings of the smoke monster from Lost.