mancinibrown

Here Today starts with Charlie Burnz (Crystal) meeting Emma Payge (Haddish) at a lunch. The lunch was set up as a charity auction, as Burnz writes comedy for famous movies, plays and TV shows. Over the course of the movie we watch their relationship grow from strangers to very close friends. Burnz is hiding a secret from everybody that he is able to let Payge in on.

The first half of the movie feels very improvisational and suffers for it. I'm not generally a fan of Tiffany Haddish, I find her overly loud and obnoxious. That is exactly how the first half of the movie plays out and I was regretting having it on. There seems to be zero chemistry between the actors and they're going through the script.

Fortunately, the second half starts to redeem the movie as the main story starts coming through, and the drama starts playing out. Haddish dials it down more than I knew she could and is actually very convincing in the role. It helps draw the viewer into the movie.

The secondary actors of this movie are all over the place. The people Charlie works with at an SNL style show all carry their roles off with aplomb. Being with them at the show, the movie works. Unfortunately the two actors playing Burnz kids are not as good. The daughter specifically was cringey.

The music also grew grating by the end of the movie. Every time you could hear it, it just didn't work with the movie.

At almost 2 hrs, I'm not sure it's fully worth the time it asks of you.

The Man in the Hat is the story of.... I'm not quite sure. We open on the Man having a lovely outdoor dinner where he watches 5 people toss something into the river. He is then chased by these people across the country side. He also has strange encounters with people along the way.

From what I could tell, this was trying to be an homage to old silent movies. The actors don't speak (with the exception of a scene or two), and facial expressions are greatly exaggerated to convey thoughts. Some of these scenes are truly funny. Others not so much.

I don't want to be overly hard on this movie as there is something there. I just know it wasn't for me.

Every Breath You Take stars Casey Affleck as Dr. Clark, a psychiatrist who has a breakthrough with a patient, Daphne. Shortly into the movie Daphne commits suicide and her brother James (Sam Claflin) shows up with signs of grief. At the same time Dr. Clark's wife, Grace, is dealing with a failing marriage due to the tragic passing of their son. Their daughter, Lucy, has been expelled from boarding school and is dealing with teenage angst.

All this is meant to set up a tight thriller, but it all goes off the rails as soon as Claflin shows up. I don't know if it's the fault of the actor or the director, but he is far over the top here. I've seen him in other movies, and been impressed, but this performance is very poor. It allows for no nuance in a pivotal character in the story. Guessing where his character is going isn't very hard.

At the same time a bunch of moronic character decisions are made. As an example, about halfway through the movie Grace sleeps with James, which she immediately regrets. Yet, even after talking it over with her husband and making up for it, she still gets into James car in the very next scene, something nobody in their right mind would do. Overall the writing is some of the worst I've seen with some very talented actors.

In the end this is one to avoid, which is a shame due to the talented cast.

This is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. The acting is brutal, especially of the main character. The pacing is brutal and it could have been chopped down by half an hour. The camerawork is offputting. Just avoid it at all costs.

Let's get this out of the way first. By any traditional definition of a good movie, it isn't that. The story is ridiculous, the acting is weak and wooden. The production values are clearly low budget and not great.

That said, it's all by design. When you write a movie about a girl sucked into an SNES (90s) video game you can give the story some leeway as it's supposed to be ridiculous. Is Scott Adkins acting more one dimensional than usual? Yes, yes it is. By design. He's supposed to be a one dimensional video game lead of the 90s. Is John Hannah's bad guy ridiculous? Yes, and that perfectly fits the role.

The movie had me laughing out loud in a way I haven't in a while. Some of the references hit home perfectly. However, not everything is perfect. When you write camp sometimes it doesn't hit and this movie suffers from that. But if you think that you might enjoy the movie, give it a shot and you may be pleasantly surprised.

The Vanished is a thriller starring Thomas Jane and Anne Heche as parents of a girl that goes missing at an RV park. Viewers are left to guess where she is and who took her. Was it the young couple next door? The creepy kid working at the RV park? How about the manager of the park who seems to have no sociability? Maybe she just wandered off?

The set up is nice, and the payoff isn't half bad, unfortunately the story is stuck with a bad script, horrible acting, novice directing and more. Jane and Heche are overacting in almost every scene, and this just isn't that kind of movie. Watching them argue with each other as they are trying to deal with the disappearance is more laugh worthy than thrilling. The script makes some odd decisions with how its characters should handle certain situations.

Which is all unfortunate, because when all the pieces are taken separately there is a lot there to like. The basic set up is good and thrilling, but the movie doesn't do justice to its premise.

Zombillenium is a European animated movie based on a series of graphic novels. Being unfamiliar with the comics, I can't compare them. In the movie, a health inspector dies while inspecting the titular amusement park, at the hands of the park manager. He is then turned into a zombie, joining the cast or monster employees at the park: vampires, zombies, werewolves, etc.

He leaves behind a daughter who is convinced he's not truly dead. Why? I'm not sure. A kid's imagination? It wasn't made clear. This daughter is set to reunite with the dad. At the same time a worker's revolt is happening at the park, as well as rebranding efforts, as they are struggling to draw customers.

This all feels like it really goes nowhere, and does nothing to draw in the viewer. As an adult it was dull, and the kids didn't seem interested in the movie either. The dialogue isn't humourous, nor is it realistic and dramatic. It's just kind of there. The acting is similarly subpar. Not terrible, but not quite hitting ok standards.

The one positive to be said is the animation style. While not the same as Spiderman: Into the Spider-verse it instantly stands out as something different, though even that wears off.

At only 80 minutes, it is mercifully short, but feels like it's 2+ hours.

The Last Full Measure details the lengths taken and dedication given to bestow a posthumous Medal of Honor on William H Pitsenbarger. A true story revolving around a Vietnam war veteran, the sacrifice he made, and the lives of those he saved should make for compelling drama. In fact, while watching the movie, the viewer can tell there is something there. Unfortunately, the writing feels all too much like a colour by numbers script with fake highs and feel good moments that aren't truly earned.

This is a shame, as the cast assembled, with familiar actors such as Sebastian Stan, Ed Harris, Christopher Plummer, Samuel L. Jackson and more are more than up to the task. One can clearly feel them elevating the script to a better place. Plummer and Jackson are especially noteworthy in their performance.

However, in the end, this is let down by a script that is slavish to hit all the right beats, and to manipulate the emotions of the viewer. Which is unfortunate, as even without other background information, Pitsenbarger clearly deserves better.

Sister Aimee is, at the very least, based on a real person from the 1920s who was one of the biggest preachers of her time. How true the rest of the story is, is likely very little. But that doesn't mean it's not entertaining.

We pick up with Sister Aimee as she is becoming disillusioned in her job and she runs away with a man, Kenny. The story follows her on the run, as she's trying to keep people from realizing she has left, having rather people believe she evaporated up into heaven. Aimee and Kenny join up with a guide named Rose who assists them.

This movie's tone is one that is a notch below serious. It gives a sly nod to the viewer at points and has them laughing and smiling along with Aimee. It won't be one to wow people, but not half bad either.

Side note; Not sure why, but there seems to be some confusion about what type of movie this is. It's certainly not a cannibal movie.

So, I don't want to bash this movie too much. The story behind it of Alec Ybarra being 13 when he wrote/directed/produced/acted in it is very impressive. However, that doesn't mean it should be pumped up.

The acting is beyond horrendous, as is the dialogue. It's the type of stuff you laugh at, not with. The escalation of situations is absolutely crazy, as are the words coming out of people's mouths. It's not believable at all.

The story in the movie is clearly personal to Alec, and maybe he just needed somebody to take a second look at it. But as is, do not waste your time.

I didn't have very high expectations for Sgt. Stubby going into the movie. I've been let down too much by non-Pixar/Laika animated movies recently, as they always seem like they're trying too hard to get a cheap laugh. Sgt. Stubby doesn't go that road at all. There are no real hijinks to speak of. There is humour, but it fits the story and world. The story told is touching and legitimately emotional.

Sgt. Stubby is based on the true story of a dog who served in the American military in WW1. How true some of it is, is up for debate, but the bones are there. Using any story like this in a movie aimed at families is always a risk. but the production team pulled it off. Somehow they managed to be respectful to the story, the atrocity of war, and some of the only in WW1 moments (use of deadly gas) while still appropriate for a younger age.

The CGI isn't Pixar/DreamWorks/etc. level, but it's not bad either. It does what it needs to do. It would have been interesting to see if more could have been done with more money, but c'est la vie.

An Acceptable Loss wants to be an important, timely movie talking about the horrors of war. What it ends up being is a boring and illogical mess of a movie. The story gets lost in subplots, bad acting and terrible pacing.

Libby (Sumpter) was a former high ranking member of a white house staff who was the face of a decision that killed many innocent people. She was also involved in falsifying evidence to justify it. Now she's been welcomed as a guest professor at a university, but may not be safe there.

There is a clear stalker story that gets unbelievably turned on his head. All the students and staff at the college are terrible actors (the less said about the roommate the better). The story of the white house staff is the stuff of much better conspiracy stories.

This says nothing of the crazy past/present pacing. 5 minutes in the now, just to 10 seconds of the past, jump back, link it to the white house days. It's just nuts. Not hard to follow, but just very busy.

In the end this movie comes nowhere near being what it wants to be. It should be avoided.

Savage Youth is apparently based on a true story, though I didn't look into the background. We're introduced to three teenagers, who are trying to make it as rappers. Otherwise they seem to have nothing in life. They hang out with two girls, and a serious relationship forms. The relationship ends, and jealousy ensues.

That basically is the story of the movie, but I couldn't wait for it to end. The relationship of the characters was incredibly shallow and unbelievable. How they went from friends to madly in love to broken up didn't seem to have any actions causing it. Then watching her form a new friendship and the consequences of that were irrational as well.

Please don't waste your time with this.

Calm at Sea takes place in a French occupation camp in 1941. The movie opens with the prisoners in the camp holding a race, while the men and women (who are separated) are flirting between the wires. No sense of danger seems imminent. Simultaneously outside, in Nantes, 3 members of the communist party take it upon themselves to shoot and kill a Nazi officer. This leads to the Nazi occupiers (and French collaborators) to reciprocally kill50 hostages for the act.

That more or less sums up the entire movie, and nothing happens to surprise one way or another. There are scenes of the French and Germans trying to avoid the outcome, some trying harder than others. We see the hostages rounded up in the camps, knowing what's coming, but doing nothing about it. And we march inexorably towards the climax of the movie.

Not to say there isn't a story to be told here, but this wasn't it. It felt stilted, disjointed, and without any real power. It wants to show the strength and resolve of the men, but fails in that regard.

Her Smell follows Becky Something, lead singer of punk rock group Something She. An arena filling band, they are now working smaller venues, fighting off up and comers. Becky is living the rock n roll lifestyle to the extreme, hard drugs, and strange habits. Unable to keep it all together, we pick her up as the pieces are falling apart.

The first half of the movie deals entirely with the insanity of Becky as she is spiraling further and further out of control. The situations keep getting more and more extreme to where the viewer is left exhausted just watching it all. The second half skips ahead to her a year plus sober, and dealing with the reckoning.

Elizabeth Moss gives an unbelievable performance as Becky. Watching her sink further and further from reality is hard, as it should be. Watching her redemption in the second act is heartbreaking. Worrying about her through the end is nail biting.

Then there are all the people around her. The bandmates, manager, husband, child. All of these characters flesh out Becky's world and what she is putting just not herself, but what she's putting everyone else through.

The only reason this is not a 10 is the length of the movie. To say the movie drags wouldn't be accurate in my opinion, but it could have been edited more tightly. Cutting scenes down to bring the run time closer to the 100 minute mark would have helped the movie, and could have happened without hurting the integrity of the movie.

It also helps to have an interest in the subject matter. If you have no interest in music, and rock in general this may not be the movie for you. If you are into it, give this a shot.

My mother's laugh is a coming of age story, dealing with a boy who has two divorced parents. His mother is seeing a doctor, and we find out she's diyng, setting him to lash out, but also open up,

Sadly, this movie could not have been more boring. Trying to stay awake through endless dialogue with nothing actually happening was a chore. None of the characters are relatable in the least, and what was only 90 minutes felt like 3 hours.

I Spit on Your Grave 3 is a direct follow up to the first movie, ignoring I Spit on Your Grave 2 entirely. It is much better off for it. Where the second movie was just the same plot, but with a worse story, worse effects and MUCH worse acting, this third movie goes in a different direction. Instead of dealing with the direct result of an assault, the main character is now dealing with the effects on her life re-integrating into society.

Jennifer Hills (Sarah Butler) has taken up a new name (Angela) and a new life, but is still haunted by the events of the first movie, when she suffered a violent assault and gang rape. She joins a survivors group, where she meets Marla, who has extreme views on how perpetrators should be treated. After Marla's death, Angela picks up where she left off, as an avenging angel.

This change of pace works well for the character and the franchise. The gore is toned down some, but is made up for with story. Not that anything is top notch caliber. but coming off the last movie in the series, it seems 10X better.

The Paper Store couldn't have been more boring if it tried. It's about a woman who writes college essays for students (hence The Paper Store, buying college papers), who gets bought by one student to write exclusively for it.

The first 20 minutes of the movie felt like an adult movie, with all the sex scenes taken out. The acting is on par with that. We see the couple meet, go back to his place, kiss, fade to black. This then repeats in a coffee shop, and again his place.

There is a storyline about her trying to get revenge on him, because he doesn't care enough, but the overall movie was so bad, and the delivery so atrocious, it was hard to care.

The one saving grace in the movie is Richard Kind, the professor giving the class she is writing the essays for. He brings some sort of credibility to the role, and rides the line of a professor who seems to care about his student, but really only cares about himself, quite well.

This movie devolves into a he said/she said but frankly I don't care either way.

Beautiful Boy is one of the hardest films I've ever tried to rate. There is no doubt that the acting of all involved is top notch. The emotions brought out in the movie are quite real, and you can't help but feel, not just for Nic (Chalamet) as the addict, but even more so for David (Carrell) his father. Steve Carrell's performance as a father who does everything he can, without enabling, his addict son is heart wrenching. When he reaches a point of no return, it leaves the viewer feeling empathy for him.

This is one of the most depressing movies in a long time. Every time you think a corner had been turned it just keeps getting worse and worse. What makes it so hard to rate is something is missing, and I'm not sure what exactly. The pace drags at times, and It just is missing something that should be there.

Ultimately, the performances did make me give it the benefit of the doubt. This isn't a movie for everyone, and should only be watched if in for something very serious and heavy

A Kid tells the story of Mathieu, a Frenchmen who grew up in Paris, the son of a single mother. One day he receives a phone call that the father he never knew has died in Montreal, and that the funeral will be in a couple days. He decides to travel to Montreal to discover the brothers he just learned he had.

Upon his arrival in Montreal, Mathieu is picked up by Pierre, a friend of the deceased, Jean. He asks why he wants to do all this, to impose on a family that just lost their father and husband. In the end Mathieu decides to be quiet on who he is when he meets the brothers.

The acting by the main actors does a good job of bringing you into the thinking of these characters. How one would react in such a situation is hard to say, but the interactions here are believable. All twists and turns in the plot also seem logical and help bring the viewer further and deeper into Mathieu's world and his discovery of his family on the other side of the Atlantic.

Little Pink House is based on the true story of Susette Kelo, who was threatened of eviction from her home by the city of New London, Connecticut. It follows her from purchasing her house, to being pressured to sell and finally through legal battles.

Miss Kelo is portrayed admirably by Catherine Keener who gives a gritty, raw performance. The situation tearing her apart can be felt. Similarly the majority of the rest of the cast are up to the task.

Unfortunately the script and directing feel very much like a TV movie. Some scenes are just over the top in whether they could happen or not. The woman portrayed as the villain in the film, head of the Development Corporation trying to take the land is given some ridiculous lines, and has no shades of grey to her.

It's unfortunate that what is a moving story of the ability of the US government's ability to seize land is left in such mediocre hands. There was promise here, just unfulfilled.

El Pastor (The Shepherd) is a movie about a 55 year old man who has lived his whole life on one plot of land. He lives by himself, with no family to speak of, with his dog and his herd of sheep. Living a small life with few comforts of modern life (he has electricity, but no heating, TV, or phone) he is content in his lot in life, going into the local village when needed, and friendly with his neighbors.

All that is interrupted when a local construction company offers to buy his land and the plots around his for a major development. While everyone else is willing to sell, he refuses, and with his being the centre plot, the development is on hold, and nobody is getting paid. The previously friendly neighbours get pitted each other due to greed and other forces.

This is not a huge film, and it takes time before any real conflict happens. But it does a good job of taking its time to establish Anselmo (the shepherd), who he is and what drives him. Some may feel that it drags, but it feels real and not like a waste of time. The driving force behind Anselmo's not wanting to sell his land also is fully established, and allows the viewer to understand where he is coming from.

On the other side of the conflict, the motives for those who want to sell, and what they're willing to do doesn't feel unrealistic. While it may become severe, the lengths taken don't seem like they are totally crazy. This leads to an ending that is well deserved, tense and thrilling.

Aardman studio has had a good run, dating back to Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, and Chicken Run. That all comes to an abrupt thudding halt with Early Man.

The main concept of Early Man seems like it should be ripe for concepts of plots. Set as one tribe of Stone Age cavemen are being replaced with new Bronze Age humans, there should be a story here that could be told humourously. Nick Park and Aardman Studios decide to tell this story through football (soccer). In and of itself, this wouldn't be a problem, except that whole 90 minute movie is dedicated to the soccer theme. Early Man is gifted football from the heavens, Bronze Age man plays football to line the coffers of the local emissary of the queen, Stone age man must learn how to play football, etc, etc. It's basically a sports movie, but without any of the uplifting themes of sports movies.

The humour also falls flat most of the time. Some stuff early on gave some chuckles, but as the movie kept dragging along, small little jokes become eyerolling, instead of guffaws.

The positives here is the animation. As ever, the Claymation look is excellent, and obviously done with love.

In the end, however, Early Man is a rare miss from a studio that had done great work previously.

To understand where I'm coming from, I disliked the first movie. I thought the jokes weren't funny, I thought the whole thing was juvenile, the action was too over the top to be enjoyable, just an overall dislike.

Going into Deadpool 2, I had worries about enjoying it. The first 15 minutes of the movie didn't do anything to dispel that. The humour was the same, the action was the same, it just wasn't my thing.

However, after that a few scenes started popping up that were well done. The acting was slower, more heartfelt, had some weight behind the scenes. I started caring about the characters (some, not all. TJ Miller is still TJ Miller). The action started clicking for me. The jokes started hitting. And I realized that I was enjoying this movie much more than the first.

Part of that credit goes to the new characters. Josh Brolin's Cable is menacing, but you care for him. Domino is a fun new character, with her (non) superpower.

There are still scenes which were too like the first movie for me, and I'm docking point for that. But, if you like that movie, feel free to consider this score 2 points higher.

Nicolas Cage is constantly berated for his acting, sometimes fairly, sometimes unfairly. In this one, he's playing a normal guy, not wild and crazy. While this may seem disappointing to some, he carries it off just fine. The problem with this movie is 100% with the terrible script.

I have no idea what the writer was thinking. A woman tracks down her donated eggs and embeds herself in the IVF parents lives. Just the concept is so ridiculous, it's hard not to laugh. Then add in the performance of Nicky Whelan, and the lines everybody has to deliver and it's an absolute garbage movie.

The worst part, though, is it's not bad enough to enjoy. It takes itself seriously, so there aren't even campy laughs. While watching I was thinking back to another Whelan/Cage movie, Left Behind. That was an awful, awful movie, BUT it was so bad that it was easy to laugh at . This doesn't even have that saving grace.

Stay far far away from this one. Even if you are a Nic Cage fan.