Category: Movie Reviews

“Bottoms” Review

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General Information

Directed by – Emma Seligman

Written by – Emma Seligman and Rachel Sennott

Starring – Rachel Sennott (PJ), Ayo Edebiri (Josie), Ruby Cruz (Hazel), Havana Rose Liu (Isabel), Kaia Gerber (Brittany), Nicholas Galitzine (Jeff), Miles Fowler (Tim), and Marshawn Lynch (Mr. G)

Synopsis – To avoid getting in trouble while also trying to get with their crushes, best friends PJ and Josie start a fight club for girls at their school who are afraid of the rival school the football team is playing, leaving the duo with a newfound popularity the jocks are not happy with.

Where to Watch – In Theaters

Review

2023 seems to be not just the year for raunchy comedies, but raunchy comedies starring and about women.  We have lived through years of “Hangover”s and “Ted”s, but now is the time for women to be at the front of these ridiculous kinds of stories.  High school and young adult females deserve to have their crazy antics shown on the big screen and “Bottoms” is another great entry to end the summer with.

The main premise of this movie is that the best friend duo of PJ (Sennott) and Josie (Edebiri) want to sleep with their crushes before they head off to college.  All of the performances from the cast are outstanding as they are as crazy and deadpan that fits with the tone of the film.  Sennott and Edebiri have amazing chemistry as best friends that if you told me they have known each other their whole lives I would absolutely believe you.  Sometimes, friend characters do not vibe with each other as much as they should but that is not a problem with these two.  They bounce off of each other’s energy in the best way possible, leaving room for some of the funniest moments between friends I have seen in film all year.  They also bring that awkward-around-your-crush cringe-worthy moments that had me reflecting on how I was as a young adult trying to find love.  Without the two of them, this film would not be as funny and enjoyable as it is.

The rest of the cast is also bringing all of the energy a film like this needs.  The crushes of Isabel (Liu) and Brittany (Gerber) play on the stereotypical roles of popular girls by making them have those traditional aspects of the character but also making sure they get development throughout the film.  You get to know more about them as people while they also continue to play into the popular cheerleader role we have seen so many times before.  Speaking of stereotypical roles, we have two traditional football characters in Jeff (Galitzine) and Tim (Fowler).  Not only do they have this role of being the manly football players the entire school looks up to, they take it to the greatest extreme.  Their characters are laughable about how ridiculous they can be and Galitzine and Fowler are the only ones that could have pulled it off.  You expect them to be football players but they are just so much more and I love every second they are on screen.  Each of the club members bring their own chaotic energy to the mix that never ends until the credits roll.  The standout is the third-in-command Hazel (Cruz), who is so dedicated to the club and not in on the plot like PJ and Josie are.  Then we end with the club advisor Mr. G (Lynch), recruited to be that advisor who would never show up but ends up becoming the new proponent of feminism.  Lynch is another athlete-turned-actor and surprisingly brings so much to his character that I cannot wait to see what he is in next.  Each of these actors matches their characters perfectly and makes for great cast chemistry, something that can make or break a film like this.  And it is thanks to their performances that the film performs the way that it does and has instantly become a classic in the teen girl genre of movies.

The other strong point of the film that brought this from potential cringe to enjoyably laughable, where you can feel for the characters while also understanding that what they did was wrong and should not have been done.  The script, written by Seligman and Sennott, is able to deliver some of the most chaotic lines that could have been unfunny if done incorrectly, and while not everything worked for me and it did try a little too hard in places, the majority of it will have you laughing.  There is an ending that I was not expecting because of how absolutely ridiculous it is, but it works with the movie and how they are trying to approach the subject.  There is a moment in this film for everyone, especially if you love classic female-driven films from the late 90s/early 00s.

Overall, this film is a fun reminder of how powerful stories about women by women are and that girls are allowed to have fun as well.  Come for the names behind the film and stay for the amazing performances who bring an enjoyable script to life.   

“No Hard Feelings” Movie Review

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General Information:

Directed by — Gene Stupnitsky

Starring — Jennifer Lawrence (Maddie), Andrew Barth Feldman (Percy Becker), Matthew Broderick (Laird Becker), Laura Benanti (Allison Becker), Natalie Morales (Sarah), Scott MacArthur (Jim), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Gary)

Synopsis — Desperate for a car after hers gets towed, Maddie answers a Craigslist ad from helicopter parents asking for someone to “date” their shy son before he heads off to college, in hopes that it will get him out of his shell.

Where to Watch — In Theaters

Review:

I like to think that I am finally at the age where I can appreciate the raunchy comedy genre to the fullest extent.  It seems like Hollywood has not really put one out recently, so I was ecstatic to hear that Jennifer Lawrence was going to be producing and starring in one.  I fell in love with Lawrence as an actor during her reign of “The Hunger Games” franchise, but have stuck with her filmography ever since.  Based on a real Craigslist ad the director found and the greater amount of control parents seem to have on their kids nowadays, this was the perfect film for the modern young adult.  And it did the job pretty well if I do say so myself.

The best part about this film was the chemistry between Lawrence and Andrew Barth Feldman, who plays the shy high school senior that Lawrence’s character Maddie is paid to seduce.  Not only are they absolutely hilarious in their scenes together, but their characters also have so much heart between them.  You can see them grow to care for one another that when the inevitable third act blow up happens, your heart breaks for what the characters are going through.  Even though there is an age gap between Maddie and Percy, that does not mean that they cannot go through the same types of struggles.  The entire cast just seems like they are having the best time filming this movie and that comes through with each of their performances.

The story follows a very typical three act structure with the conflict coming towards the end of the film and things working out for everyone at the end.  So many moments had me laughing to the point of tears in my eyes, but other than that, I could easily predict what was going to happen.  That does not make it a bad movie, however, just a predictable one.  However, there was one heart-warming moment that took me for a bit of a surprise that happened between Maddie and her friends Sarah (Natalie Morales) and Jim (Scott MacArthur) who are expecting their first child but struggling financially.  Other than that scene, you probably know how this film will play out.

Lawrence and Feldman having charming chemistry in this pretty standard comedy film.  Come for the actors, stay for the hear.

Rated 3 out of 5

“The Flash” Movie Review

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General Information:

Directed by — Andy Muschietti

Starring — Ezra Miller (Barry Allen/The Flash), Sasha Calle (Kara Zor-El/Supergirl), Michael Shannon (General Zod), Ron Livingston (Henry Allen), Maribel Verdu (Nora Allen), and Michael Keaton (Bruce Wayne/Batman)

Synopsis — Based on the comic book storyline “Flashpoint”, Barry Allen realizes he can use his superspeed to travel back in time to save his parents, but he learns the consequences of what happens with you mess with time.

Where to Watch — In Theaters and VOD

Review:

Going into this movie, I was not necessarily a fan of the DCEU but I did not have anything against it.  I like superhero movies even though I got into them pretty late for “traditional” fans.  But my boyfriend is a DC comics and movies enjoyer, so I checked this out with him.  “Flashpoint” is one of his favorite storylines and he was excited to see it on the big screen.  This is a good movie to watch if you are a casual superhero fan or know next to nothing about the DECU like myself.

I am familiar with the present day iterations of the famous DC characters, but Barry Allen was the character I knew least about.  If you want to know more about how the Flash came to be, this is the perfect movie for that.  When you hear something is a part of a cinematic universe, it can be intimidating trying to catch up.  But as someone who was in this position, I think the high point of this movie is the fact that it is not only an origin story with heart, but that no matter how many movies you have or have not seen, you will not be lost with the story.  Nowadays, that can be hard to come by.

The story had its high moments, especially when  it came to Barry and the moments between his parents.  But other than that, it was your typical superhero flick.  It was a lot of fun to have the two Barrys of different universes banter with each other but they do not really branch too much past that.  The same goes for the acting.  Some were fun to watch, but you could also tell that some people did not really want to be there.  I am hoping that with James Gunn at the head, we keep Sasha Calle as Supergirl, as she was my favorite performance outside of the lead.  We were able to get a little bit of her backstory with this movie, but I want her character to be explored more.  Hopefully,  Gunn is on the same page as me.

With the typical story with some funny and heartfelt moments with uneven performances from the cast, this was an occasional enjoyable movie but littered with stereotypical superhero clichés that make it just a pretty average movie. 

Rated 2.5 out of 5

“The Little Mermaid (2023)” Review

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General Information:

Directed by – Rob Marshall

Where to Watch – Theaters

Starring – Halle Bailey (Ariel), Jonah Hauer-King (Eric), Daveed Diggs (Sebastian), Awkwafina (Scuttle), Jacob Trembplay (Flounder), Javier Bardem (King Triton), Melissa McCarthy (Ursula)

Synopsis – Ariel, the youngest mermaid daughter of King Triton, is fascinated by the world outside of her sea home, but her father forbids her from learning more about the humans.  After Prince Eric’s ship wrecks in a storm, Ariel bargains her voice to the evil sea witch, Ursula, in hopes of finding him and, more importantly, being a part of the human world.

Review:

In May, we were greeted with another installment of the Walt Disney Company trying to milk the millennials for all they are worth with nostalgia by creating another live-action remake of a beloved classic.  You could say it was this movie, “The Little Mermaid (1989)” that basically saved Disney Animation as the company was not in the best of spots during the 70s and 80s.  It jump started the Disney Renaissance, which has been one of the most loved grouping of Disney movies of all time. “The Little Mermaid” may not have been at the top of my watchlist as a child, but I would be lying if I said I have never done the classic “pushing yourself on the rock while the waves crash behind you” in the pool.  Even though I am not the biggest fan of Disney just repackaging the exact same movie but with real people, I am always a sucker for them so of course I was going to see this.

I was absolutely shocked with how much I loved this movie; I may even like it better than the original.  I have not seen the original in a little while, but this film brings that same magic and whimsy that makes Disney movies feel so amazing.  I think the biggest component of this was Halle Bailey’s performance.  She does not try to imitate Jodi Benson’s Ariel from the original – Bailey makes the character her own and she is charming anytime she is on screen.  When you make something new and different, even if it is based on previous source material, can make a movie go from copycat to unique.  Jonah Hauer-King as Eric also brings a fun charm to his character that I cannot recall the original Eric having.  Both of them have amazing chemistry on screen, making every scene they have together smile from ear to ear.  Even if you did not like the idea of remaking “The Little Mermaid”, you cannot deny how powerful they are together.  I also think I am a bigger fan of Javier Bardem as King Triton more than others.  Bardem just seemed like he wanted to give the character a little bit more of a darker and more strict king, which for certain scenes comes off completely different than what works for the film, but you can just tell he is here for a good time and taking roles that seem fun to him and I like that a lot about his performance.  All of the voice actors were fine in their roles, nothing too wild and crazy about what I thought of them.  I think Awkwafina was a lot better than I expected and made me laugh a lot throughout the film.  Melissa McCarthy is the only one I would really say falls flat when it comes to trying to recreate such an iconic character.  McCarthy tries to mimic what Pat Carroll did with the voice in the original and it just never lands.  Nothing against McCarthy as an actress, but this was not the role for her.  Or at least she should have tried to do something to add a new and exciting aspect of Ursula.

When it comes to music for the film, some of the lyrics of songs have been changed and arrangements are slightly altered, but I think they are all for the benefit of the actors.  Bailey’s voice is an absolute show stopped and the fact that this is her first movie role is such a surprise to me.  I have not heard her music beforehand so I was not familiar with her range or what she was strong at singing, but this film caters to what she can do in the best way possible.  “Part of Your World” is such a strong song and changed enough to make it original for Bailey that it can be appreciated as its own without trying to determine which “version” of the song is better.  Alan Menken and Howard Ashman,  the original creators of the music for the animated version, are still credited with the songs for this version, but Lin-Manuel Miranda was also consulted and he gave his input for updated lyrics and new songs.  And you can definitely tell which songs he helped with and created.  Some are fun, like the new song for Prince Eric, and others are The Scuttlebutt Song.  But overall, I like how they wanted to honor the two men that basically helped restart Walt Disney Animation while trying to put a current spin by one of the most well-known composers of the present day.  Even though I do not think that all of the changes made or songs added were needed, the new additions we did get helped to elevate what the actors could bring to the role.

The major downgrade of this film, that brought it down a little but not a whole lot, was the special effects.  After seeing “Avatar: The Way of Water” and what they could do with underwater CGI in that movie, you would think a movie that falls under the same company would be able to do the same thing just a few months later.  Anytime we were underwater, everything just felt off.  I was not a fan of the underwater scenes because everything just felt so fake in this movie that is being made for the sole purpose of being in live-action.  I know that they are not able to actually have real people perform everything underwater like that can on land, but I just wish they were able to use a little bit more of that Disney magic so I felt like I was underwater with the characters.

Aside from questionable CGI and some weird song choices, “The Little Mermaid (2023)” is still able to capture that Disney magic.  With unforgettable performances from the cast to the witty and charm of the original elevated to its own level, there is a reason that this remake should exist.

“Air” Movie Review

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Based on real life events, “Air” follows the story of Nike Basketball recruiter Sonny Vaccaro and his dream of saving the company by getting the hottest young rookie: Michael Jordan.

I am a sucker for sports movies based on real events; it is kind of like a guilty pleasure.  This movie had so much hype around it because it was another directorial piece from Ben Affleck starring him and his childhood besties Matt Damon.  I feel like a lot of people like to “dunk” on them (haha, get it?) whenever they team up together, but they are always a fun duo for me to watch.  And this movie is no different.

The one thing that stood out about this movie was the pacing.  The movie is almost two hours but it does not feel like that when you are engaged with it.  The quick storylines and the tight scenes really make it feel like you are in and out but still able to absorb a lot of what happened.  There was not a lot of fluff in between scenes; we went from one scene smoothly into the next one for the entirety of the movie.  For those who are just looking for the information on how the shoes of Air Jordan came to be and learn a little bit about Nike as a company, this is the movie for them.  It is not as interesting as “Moneyball”, which I can see this movie getting compared to a lot, but it definitely appeals to that type of crowd.  The pacing was what made this movie enjoyable, along with some witty dialog and a fun premise.  The screenplay is nothing to write home about — it is very standard for this kind of movie — but that along with the pacing work perfectly hand-in-hand with one another.

The performances of the movie are enjoyable as well.  Matt Damon as Sonny Vaccaro is the heart and driving force of the film and Damon puts his heart into it.  This may come off as a simple role for someone like Damon but he does not take it lightly and brings everything to this real life character.  Jason Bateman, Ben Affleck, Chris Tucker and Matthew Maher are all fun and bring energy to their respective roles at the different heads of the Nike Basketball division and also want you to feel something from them.  But the standout has to be Viola Davis as Michael Jordan’s mother Deloris Jordan.  She brings the intensity and motherly love that Michael Jordan himself always talked about in speeches.  You know that she cares about how her son is going to do in his professional career but also backs him 100% because she knows his worth.  She shows strong determination to get her son what she wants without seemingly like an overbearing or too overprotective parent.  There is believing in your son and then there’s knowing what your son is worth and Davis excellently  shows us that difference through her performance.

Looking back at Affleck’s directorial filmography, this is the only film of his that I have seen all the way through, so this was my first real experience with his work as a director.  I do not have much to say about how it stood out or did not stand out.  There were a few long one shots that I liked but nothing that really made him different than from what I was expecting to see from this type of film.  The major issue I had with it was that at the beginning there were a lot of shots of “remember the 80s” with how many ads were playing and how many random shots in a gas station store there were to  help bring that time period to the forefront.  There is not wrong with trying to set up your scene, especially as someone who did not live during this time period, but all the shots that just seemed to be there to have 80s nostalgia took me out of certain scenes and made it harder to get into the film at the beginning.  But I did really like how even though Damon was the main character of the movie, Affleck decided to focus more on the collaborative effort of the team at Nike rather than just the one person who was the “head” of it.  I also liked the idea of never showing Michael Jordan’s face.  It was an interesting creative choice to make sure that the image of Jordan is only Jordan himself.  Affleck knew that only Jordan could play Jordan and since he is now about 40 years older, it would not really work out.  But it was different and the story was more on the creation of the shoe and his mother making sure he was fairly compensated for the work, so I give credit to Affleck for leaving Jordan a little bit of a mystery.

Overall, this is a simple sports movie with good pacing but nothing new being added to this genre of film.  Check it out if you have Amazon Prime as it is an easy crowd-pleaser with laughs and heart for all.

“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret?” Movie Review

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Based on the critically acclaimed novel of the same name, “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” tells the story of 11-year-old Margaret (Abby Ryder Fortson) as her parents (Rachel McAdams and Benny Safdie) move out of New York City and into the suburbs of New Jersey.  Margaret is nervous to start a new school, make new friends (Elle Graham as Nancy, Amari Alexis Price as Janie and Katherine Mallen Kupferer as Gretchen) and worst of all, she is behind on all the stages of becoming a woman.  Her only source of comfort comes when she hangs out with her grandmother (Kathy Bates) but other family struggles plague the family that Margaret never knew.

If you are looking for a coming-of-age film that perfectly encapsulates what it means to be a pre-teen girl, this is the movie for you.  Even though the film takes place in the 1970s, the main themes of the film are timeless.  Young girls will always be worried about making friends and trying to fit in with them when they move to a completely different lifestyle and “Margaret” is able to show how just because the first people to reach out to you may seem nice does not always mean that they should be the ones you stick around with.  The struggles of going through puberty are also a timeless feature that girls will go through.  As someone who has gone through female puberty, even though I was not even born during this time period, I was still able to think back to the time I was experiencing these events for myself.  When you are able to create a film that can connect to all of its audience members who have gone through, or know someone who has gone through, female puberty and set it during a time that is not the present, that is the sign of a quality film.  These themes are timeless and your film should be able to live on past its time period.

The script lends itself to be a timeless classic.  One of the best parts about it is that it has dialogue that anyone is able to make easy connections to it.  The scenes between the friends reminded me so much of how my friends and I would talk to each other at their age about everything from boys to class to puberty.  It made me cringe at times, but the good kind where it reminded me of how embarrassing we all are at the middle school age.  When a film is able to make you have a physical reaction to it because of sheer embarrassment, then I consider that a good script.  At times, it did seem like certain scenes overstayed their welcome, but nothing too much to bring me out of the story completely.  There is a lot of heart in this story and they are not afraid to touch upon some heavy topics.  When friends lie to you or your family is not whole because of something that seems so trivial, it can be a lot on a young person especially when your hormones are changing so rapidly during puberty.  Anyone is able to relate to these feelings of confusion on why certain things have to happen and that is what makes this movie such a gem in the coming-of-age genre.

The performances are another highlight of this movie.  I am still not used to seeing McAdams in a mother role as she will always be the iconic Regina George to me, but everything about her character is relatable.  She is a mother who is trying to become the “perfect suburban mom” instead of what she was doing before in the city.  The way McAdams is able to portray this feeling that so many moms go through and probably have never noticed or said anything before was perfectly executed.  The children in the movie are some of the most enjoyable child actors I have seen in a long time.  It does not feel like any of them are actually acting; they are just being kids and that is a great sign for their futures in the field.  The standout is Fortson as the titular Margaret as she is able to bring all of the emotions and feelings I felt at her age to this role.  There is a lot of confusion when you are put in a new situation especially at this age and Fortson reminded me so much of myself at that age and I loved it.  Look out for her and the other wonderful young ladies in the future.

A quircky coming-of-age for all ages that may have had a few lull moments for myself but that one that has continued to stay in my mind over the past week.

“80 for Brady” is Exactly What You Expect it to Be

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80 for Brady is one of those movies that drew me in from the first trailer, as it looked like four fabulous actresses having fun in a crowd-pleasing film.  I did not expect to see people (mostly men) on Twitter complain how “older women should not have sexual thoughts as we are supposed to look up to them,” so I knew I had to be sat in the theater day one.  Were my expectations super high for this movie?  No, but I was pleasantly surprised with the result of certain aspects of the story.

Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, and Sally Field are all delights in their roles; I looked forward to seeing each of them on screen.  However, each of their characters are a little bit on-dimensional — we have the smart mathy one, the flirty one, etc.  With that, each character is also experiencing and representing a different aspect of getting older.  There are so many things that go into the journey of aging that we are afraid to talk about and I think this movie is at it’s strongest when it focuses on those aspects.  Topics discussed include not wanting to know if a disease has come back, losing your significant other, trying to find love and standing up for yourself to your partner.  Even though I am not within the age range of the leading ladies, each of these topics hit me hard emotionally and you can feel the impact of those messages through the performances.  This is when the film is at its strongest.

The film starts to fall apart when they try to incorporate the ladies attending the Super Bowl.  Now, I did not go into this film expecting it to be realistic, but it was the parts where they try to get into the game and everything that happens during the game just did not do it for me.  Tom Brady also needed a few more acting lessons but the rest of the players were entertaining enough.  There is not much to say past that, but all the elderly folks in my theater gasping at every moment during the game as if they did not know what was going to happen kept me very entertained.

This is the perfect movie to put on when they boys are watching football with a group of girlies and a glass of wine, which is why I am giving this a Luvdisc on my Pokémon Rating System.