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Reviews
Buffaloed (2019)
A League Of Her Own
Zoey is in a league of her own! She approached the character with the right energy and I like how she became unattractive to suit Peggy-Far cry from the babe she is and usually plays in all her other films. Style of directing is good with nice cutting between scenes and cutaway shots. The cinematography and production design managed to capture the poverty stricken environment of the neighborhood with its tone and setting. Down set is that the movie doesn't peak as well as it could, because the script crashes after 45 mins or so; it becomes repetitive without knowing what genre it really wants to become-Factual Drama or comedy. The beginning is compelling and captivates then eventually the plot goes around in circles without any moral lesson from any of the characters especially Peggy. What is the message? There is also too much unnecessary profanity in place of decent dialogue. In all essence Zoey put in the work! She is a hard worker; devoted and hungry. You go baby girl-you killed it!
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
It Made Money!!!!
Well if a movie is shot on a budget of nearly $300 million and generates over $ 1 billion in ticket sales that overrules any argument we as disappointed fans may have over the creativity, timing and durability of the movie itself.
At the center of it all it's just a business, money talks all else takes the walk. As a disappointed fan that's all I have to say.
Rambo: Last Blood (2019)
Undeniably Gripping
Very dramatic and tackles themes of rejection as well as the human will to belong. Human trafficking is a world pandemic and any movie that undertakes that subject is a winner! Stallone sticks to Rambo culture for realism -he is flawed and he is as vulnerable as any human.
The films only let down is the sound score. It was poorly done and makes me miss the old Rambo movies. I found it rather off for an epic Rambo movie, it feels like was watching a series in most parts. Because of that I give it a seven.
Code of Thieves (2020)
Waste of Resources
When the movie begins it sets the tone for high expectations. The quality is top notch and the director of photography did his job well. The script is good and that's all there is to it. I'm never the one to give a movie a low rating but this dreadful.
The acting is terrible as in very, very bad!!!!-I don't know why the producers chose to shoot a film with those actors. They are not even amateurs; it's almost as if they were fooling around because they had money to waste.
The sound levels of the actors in the foreground closest to the camera were clearly audible and the sound of the actors in the background furthest away from the camera was faded out. What a terrible mess! An awful job at sound mixing. It's like a school project.
I could tolerate all these mishaps and insults but then the final draw came -at the end of the movie ,the fight scene between the female lead and the male supporting actor .Oh my God !Like really????I couldn't stomach this one. I don't even want to talk about the shootout.(avoid unless if you want to smash the TV)
Who agreed to go ahead and have this published? It's a disgrace to the film industry! Please No MORE.
What a nightmare.
The Trip to Greece (2020)
Exquisite
I enjoyed it and its beautifully shot.....The theme of friendship the producers played with worked well.Its the kind of film that makes you want to travel after watching it.Its not everyone's cup of tea-some will find it rather extremely boring and not get the humor.Watch if you are looking to relax not ease up from the worlds expectations.
Wolf Mother (2016)
Two Movies In One
From the beginning it's a sex comedy and then at the end it's a tragic heartbreaking human trafficking film. The producers didn't know which direction to take. Kevin Pinassi shines as Ben and Najarra Townsend is remarkable as Zelda. The movie's success is the astonishing performances of the two lead characters. The script is flawed by the misdirection of the film genre. I still don't know if it's a dark sex comedy or a psychological crime thriller. And why they chose to name the film 'Wolf Mother is another mishap'. The title sells the movie short and it's really not about Zelda -The Wolf Mother but Ben 'The Cop Killer'. Maybe perhaps' Cop Killer & Wolf Mother' would have worked!
The title of the film has to be a poetic one and that draws peoples curiosity to watching the movie.
I loved it though .It's intriguing and keeps on your toes the whole time. Also the dialogue is on point.
Asylum of Darkness (2013)
Asylum of Madness
A funny & evil low budget film with a biblical message.It would be scary if it was in the 70's- now in 2020 its very funny. I was laughing the whole time instead of being freaked out!
Oh wait for the credits that roll upwards going down..
The Hunt (2020)
FAILED ATTEMPT AT HUMAN HUNTING SPORT TYPE FILM
The Hunt is a premise/remake of The Most Dangerous Game in 1932 and
Surviving the Game later in1994.
It starts off really well & then it loses itself.It becomes predictable with an unrealistic hero which just ruins everything.The choreography is poor and fake . They needed more time! The script becomes predictable even Hilary Swank fails to rescue it. The humor was out of place as it confuses the movie & makes you not to take it serious.When it starts off its like a horror thriller then half way towards the ending it becomes an action comedy.
So where are we really?
The idea was there but then got messed up along the way.The story goes back & forth .When its just about to climax on the audience it descends backwards again with no direction.Almost as if the writers did not know what to do next.
The idea of 12 strangers waking up in a place not knowing where they are and find out that they are being hunted for sport is intriguing .One of them becoming a rogue warrior and killing the hunters off one by one deserves an explanation.
Yes she served in Afghanistan but how does it link to the theme of the script?
How come she survives & wins a fight against her rival who stabbed her four times and not to forget suffering a broken arm.Unrealistic!
Hilary Swank's character was supposed to win the fight.But then the ending would be flawed ; so then it goes back to the poor writing. These are all things that mess up this could of been great film.
The dialogue is cheesy.
*Watch it for mindless entertainment if not looking for anything serious.
Scorecard
Cinematography 7
Dialogue 4
Actors commitment to the role 4
Screenplay 5
Direction 5
Sound score 6
Casting 6
Film Title 7
Before I Fall (2017)
Nostalgic
Its the first film I saw with Zoey in the lead role. I fell in love with her eversince.Not because of her looks but simply because she was terrific.From then on I followed up on all her movies & have since become a big fan.This has been the best so far !
She fits perfectly with the tone of the film and its atmosphere.Unlike Groundhog Day Before I Fall leaves you with this nostalgic feeling of when you were young .Except that I am not young anymore and I am not in high school.So to be able to make a film that can leave that kind of impression on an adult who is way past their high school years is genius.
This is why many people feel bad with the ending.The movie unfolds in a way that you connect deeply with Samantha Kingston and later on when she is taken away -it leaves an impact on you because you feel it.That's the winning formula!
The characters are not even over the edge annoying.
It is not the usual high school teen film.It leaves us the audience thinking about the choices we make in our lives.The people we have treated bad, underestimated,looked down upon - how those actions affect our lives in the future. This is powerful!
The queen bee played by Halston Sage is not that evil exaggerated stereotype from Mean Girls or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She is an individual with skeletons of her own who rather chose to shift the blame on Juilet as a way of dealing with her baggage.Overall she is not that bad she is still lovable.
Samantha's character is written in a way that she doesn't suffocate the story line while the movie is about her. And lookout for Izzy Kingston played by Erica Tremblay who steals the show.She is adorable as Samantha's baby sister whom she is very mean to.The filmmakers were clever & used a trick that makes us want to keep seeing more of Samantha courtesy of Deutch even though she appears more than all the other characters.
You will still feel like you want to see more of her.
Jennifer Beals does well as Sammy's mom ,their bond doesn't feel forced.This is a sad fantasy romantic drama that has set the stage for Zoey Deutch.
Definitely a good watch.
Scorecard
Cinematography 8
Dialogue 6
Actors commitment to the role 7
Screenplay 8
Direction 7
Sound score 6
Casting 8
Film Title 9