Category Archives: Live Action Movies

Thunderbolts Review

Posted on by
Reply


A lot of people called this film the return of Marvel and I can absolutely understand that after watching this film. Thunderbolts is a lot of fun with a solid blend of humor and action. It also knew better than to have the heroes even be close to a match against a villain that they could never defeat. Ther was a lot of care that went into this one and it ends up being a strong film across the board.

The movie starts with Yelena completing another mission but feeling like her life is rather hollow right now. She asks her boss De Fontaine for something a little more heroic than all of these secret missions. De Fontaine agrees but first Yelena needs to complete one last mission. This will be her most dangerous mission yet as she runs into a former Captain America, the dangerous Taskmaster, the frightening Ghost, and Bob. Can Yelena survive this mission and find the purpose that she has been searching for?

One of the big themes of the film is that everyone here is dealing with some issues. Well, you could say that Taskmaster may be the big exception to this. She seems content enough with her mission and goes in guns blazing. Taskmaster looks a lot more impressive than you may have expected and the fact that she was able to keep up with Ghost 1 on 1 is impressive. Taskmaster grows more dangerous as the fight goes on since she can copy your moves. It was nice to see her here and in general the opening confrontation with all of the characters was a blast. I always like seeing these initial skirmishes as the characters size each other up before banding together.

Still, I’d say the theme is consistent outside of Taskmaster. Ultimately it’s going to be hard to really find a purpose for yourself if you’re a hitman. It’s not like being a hero will necessarily solve that issue but as Alexei points out, it does feel really good to have everyone cheering you on. Each of the characters have it rough and while Yelena is confident that she would win a battle of trauma dumping, I may have to give the edge to Ghost there. It depends how you interpret her backstory but it sounded to me like she cannot even keep herself stable anymore without the body suit. That seems like it would be constantly stressful and I’d always be worried about getting into any fights.

Now, it is fair to say that this film is a bit light on action compared to some other titles. There is a climax but it’s more of a subdued one with some action in the background. It’s more about banding together and finding out how to defeat the darkness without violence. So the film’s taking a subversive approach there. It ends up working and we still get a good fill of action from the first half but this would not have worked if the writing was not up to snuff. This is a perfect example of how good writing will elevate every part of the film.

The special effects are also solid as you’d expect. The film looks good so you should be absorbed pretty well. We are also back to the classic 2 post credit scenes setup. You’ve got the comedic one and then the serious one. They’re both pretty solid but the second one will probably land a lot harder if you’re a big fan of the characters represented by the stinger. I’ve never been the most impressed with these guys, but hey it’ll still be fun to see them.

Yelena is the main character of this film and gets a lot of development throughout. One of the main reasons why she is so likable is how she is actively trying to do the right thing from the start. When Bob first shows up, Yelena is the only one who really tries to defend him and make the guy feel secure. She points out that he is a civilian and stops Walker from attacking the guy on several occasions. She feels like Bob is out of his element here and as the film goes on, Yelena can understand that the guy has been through a lot.

It’s not to say that the rest of the characters were completely unfeeling, but Yelena is the only one who was really looking out for others beyond herself. Yelena has also been holding in a ton of darkness and isn’t letting it loose on the others. She does her best to push it all down and keep moving on. She has the right attributes to be a hero and is just really fun to follow. I’d also say that her sense of humor just tends to work and she has all of the funniest moments in the film.

Then we have Bucky who has a smaller role than the others but is trying to adjust to his new life as being part of the government. It’s all a bit much for him but the guy is trying. Bucky certainly feels more at home once he’s actually helping the others in combat. Ultimately it’s not like he is much stronger than the others though so he doesn’t make a big difference in the final battle. He’s a solid enough character though. The guy has a hard time connecting to his emotions which makes for a funny plot in itself.

Then we have Alexei who has absolutely no problem being emotional. He is always incredibly proud of Yelena with whatever she is doing. I always like to see that kind of support. He has her back no matter what and is good at removing the tension in a room. As a super soldier it would be nice to see him showing off that strength more but I suppose there weren’t many opportunities for that here. He adds onto the dynamic pretty well so I was glad that he’s around.

After that is Ghost who is around a lot but we don’t delve into her psyche as much. I suppose you can understand enough about her from the bits and pieces spread throughout the film. In general I would say Thunderbolts did a great job of not just spoon feeding you mountains of exposition the whole time. You’re able to just figure things out for yourself as it goes on. Ghost’s abilities are easily the most impressive which is why ever villain in the film has a homemade sound cannon. It’s her one weakness but it just shows up everywhere. In context it makes sense though since everyone knows about that weakness.

Walker is the biggest jerk of the group but that’s part of what makes him endearing. It’s easy to see why the guy is really upset at everyone. He had to deal with Falcon and Bucky gaslighting him throughout his first days as Captain America until he was fired. Then he murdered a terrorist and everyone started talking about innocents. Walker is just sick and tired of everyone being incredibly dense and it unfortunately spilled over into his home life.

It’s hard to believe that he was ever Captain America since he is really quick to go for the kill here and is provoked incredibly easy. By the end of the film he has finally started to calm down. I would consider him to be the biggest loose cannon on the team though and that’s saying something. Walker has skills and may be the best all around fighter on the group. He could probably beat all of the other members as long as he stays cool but the others all know how to get under his skin.

I’d say he’s a great example of how everyone adds something to the table. Yes, on the surface they are all the same kind of fighter who can shoot and throw punches but they can all do this at different levels. Then we have Bob who spends a lot of the time being really nervous and everything. That’s really what Bob is known for even in the comics until he finally matured. So it makes sense but I can see why he gets on all of the characters’ nerves.

Bob means well though and is always trying to help out. It would be nice if he was more in control of himself instead of being manipulated so easily though. The guy has a lot of inner demons to wrestle with and had a sad backstory. So it’s easier said than done but I look forward to seeing when this guy is more confident. He needs to be able to just master his abilities and be able to go toe to toe with anybody. The film uses his name as a fun joke and I’d say it works really well. Bob is just a fun name to say. I was also glad that he wasn’t oblivious and could tell that Walker was using his name as an insult for a while there.

Then we have De Fontaine who is a better villain than I was expecting. For a political type villain like her, the most important thing is making her actually be a clever person. If she was panicking and messing up all of her plans then that would be lame. Instead she is actually able to outmaneuver the characters throughout. She had a great scene in the old Avengers tower where she is the one pouring the drinks and making wisecracks instead of Ironman. She was in control throughout and her last scene ends up being her best one. You always want to see a character with incredible confidence like this.

Finally there is Mel and I have to say that I initially though she was Kate, the new Hawkeye. Until they mentioned her name, she just looked similar and I assumed it was just the time passing that made her seem older. She works well as the secretary though. I like how studious she is and Mel is constantly learning more and more how to use the right terms to describe all of Fontaine’s illegal activities. Mel has some doubts on what she is doing but ultimately gets on board and learns how to be a good foot soldier.

To address the elephant in the room though, this Thunderbolts team is probably going to need to add at least one big hitter to their team so they don’t get destroyed by every possible opponent. Right now assuming Bob can’t be in control of himself, they wouldn’t be able to get past almost any of the Phase 1 villains. Abomination, Destroyer, and Loki would crush them. I think they could end up beating the Iron Monger at least but yeah we need some power ups. The army was giving them a pretty good run for their money in the opening act. It’s not like power is something a team needs to have of course but if the Thunderbolts want to go by a new name at the end of the film…they’re going to need some additions.

Overall, Thunderbolts is a great title. This is one that could hold its own with the older Marvel films. I’d definitely recommend checking it out. It can be a little darker than some of the other Marvel titles but a lot of the darkness is off screen and implied rather than shown. So it doesn’t come across as being too extreme but if you are looking for a more light hearted adventure then that’s the one time I’d say to go for another one. Otherwise I really recommend this to all action fans. It will also be my new go to example on how you do a film about a bunch of villains. I feel like most titles (Suicide Squad) mess this up completely while this is a great example of how you can make them likable without softening them up. Yes, I consider these characters to all be villains who are now going to be in the light going forward. We’ll see if the praise of the masses will be enough to keep them on the right side.

Overall 8/10

The Great Outdoors Review

Posted on by
Reply


It’s time for a retro comedy adventure. Sometimes it can be fun to check out a comedy title that doesn’t really any hook going for it. This one’s just about the characters hanging out and the plot is fairly barebones so that way the film can go in any direction. Unfortunately it’s just not as funny as the film would have needed to be for this to have been a successful approach. Ultimately you’ll just be shaking your head here.

The movie starts with Chet and his family arriving at their log cabin. They are ready to have a peaceful vacation here and Chet aims to connect more with his older son. They haven’t had a lot of bonding time lately but his plans go awry when is brother in law Roman shows up with his family. Roman was explicitly not invited but he’s never one to let that stop him. He spends all of his time making fun of Chet and showing off how much more money his family has. Can Chet still have a good time or are his chances cooked?

Well this is a comedy so the film wouldn’t work if Chet had any backbone but it would have been nice if he told Roman off a lot sooner. It takes him the entire movie to finally be able to confront Roman about this and even then he is quick to fall for the next traps. Chet’s just not very smart and on the whole his family is far too passive. His wife knew that giving any money at the end was going to be a problem but didn’t speak up either. In a situation like this you need the whole family to stick together and take a stand. When that doesn’t happen then they’re all just going to be ending up miserable.

Chet’s the main character of the film and gets the most focus as he is constantly put on the spot by the other characters. Things just never seem to work out for him and he constantly gets embarrassed. I didn’t blame him for wanting to leave early on because it defeats the purpose of a vacation when you’re not having fun. He had also been hoping to bond with his son and that wasn’t going very well because his son was busy on a romance subplot.

That romance plot doesn’t go very well either because it’s just way too rushed. He basically ends up liking a girl who has had a ton of boyfriends before and they never worked out. She even brings up the fact that he’ll be gone in a few days anyway but he’s still determined to have some fun. Despite that….he ends up not arriving to their date in time while watching his father win a big eating contest. Somehow she still forgives him for that which also makes no sense. So this is a romance plot that gets a massive thumbs down all the way.

Meanwhile Roman could have made for a decent antagonist but he ends up feeling more whiny than anything. When he’s not taking shots at Chet, he’s usually complaining about the lodge and everything around it. He’s used to bigger adventures and his wife makes sure to rub this in as well. Chet’s wife sometimes counters with her own sarcastic remarks but tends to do them under her breath and so they don’t land with the same kind of power that they should.

They also have two daughters which the film uses as a running gag to show how scary they are. I didn’t think that was a particularly effective gag but like I said, the film just isn’t that funny. At one point the characters are all panicking because a bat entered the house. You figure that they will just need to capture the bat and release it outside but instead they all completely panic and end up murdering it. That was just a very odd way to end that gag because you’re expecting a much happier ending. They also end up shooting the bear that shows up. These moments feel more sad than funny because you’re rooting for the animals to win. There’s even a subplot with Racoons as they terrorize the heroes but it doesn’t really go anywhere and just feels like wasted potential.

This is one of those films where it is just easy to jump on every point and really nag it to death. There are a lot of things that you can overlook when a film is super funny because then the character flaws are written into the jokes. Since this film isn’t so funny, you end up really focusing on the characters and they just get worse and worse. Roman’s debut appearance is filming Chet and his wife trying to have an intimate moment and refusing to stop recording once they notice him. Like that’s just a really rough start.

In theory the main plot here is about connecting with the son and yet that doesn’t get almost any attention. So in the end their bonding feels really rushed because all it takes is for Chet to talk about a story from his past. It’s not as meaningful as it could have been. It’s great that they are closer now but it feels like the whole plot didn’t really need to exist. A stronger climax to the film could have also helped but by having Chet fall for the trap, it was just a bad look.

Overall, This is one of those films that I would call relatively harmless. It’s not like it’s very violent or had a lot of language in it. There’s nothing that would really make me tell someone to avoid the film. That said, there are also no real good reasons to watch the movie. As a comedy your top priority is to be funny and this film is just not up to that challenge. Furthermore, there are plenty of alternative options when it comes to comedy titles. There should be more of a hook to really draw you in. I wouldn’t mind staying in a log cabin but it’s not like it really appeals to me. This film certainly wouldn’t sway me on that and I’d sooner just stay at home.

Overall 3/10

Captain America: Brave New World Review

Posted on by
Reply


It’s time for the 4th Captain America film. Of course Steve Rogers is dead so in this case it’s about his successor Sam Wilson who has let go of his old Falcon persona. This is a good film but definitely one that drags out quite a bit near the middle and that’s not good because this isn’t a particularly long film in the first place. The film has a running joke which I think is even a bit meta about how Sam should have taken the super soldier serum and honestly…he should have. It would have helped quite a bit.

The movie starts off with Sam and his sidekick Joaquin taking down a bunch of terrorists and securing a package that had been stolen. He is thanked by the president elect Ross. After a timeskip, Ross has become the president and he is attempting to seal a treaty with Japan over the use of Adamantium. It is a material that may even be stronger than Vibranium and would have a whole lot of uses. Ross is trying to move on from his dark past and be the best president that he can be, but it won’t be easy. A figure from his past has appeared and is attempting to sabotage all relations with Japan. Can Ross put an end to this?

It was nice to see Ross return because I always thought he was a pretty fun character. Definitely on the gruff side and he had a tendency to do things that weren’t exactly legal but he was always fighting for his country. Now as the president Ross brings that same level of grit to the job. As the film goes on he starts to look a little shakier though. After we get through all the twists and such, I can say that he definitely made one too many mistakes here. It was still fun to root for him, but he really sabotaged himself completely.

When you make a mistake you have to deal with it. Ross decided to just ignore it and naturally that comes back to bite. So he does really good in all of the present actions but that was enough to really hurt him. Meanwhile you can also say something similar for the main villain here. This mysterious villain has a grand master plan and could have easily completed it if not for his ego. This guy really wants everyone to know that he is the one behind this plot and so naturally that leads to him being captured.

It just feels a bit absurd that a so called super genius could not find a better way to do the plan without being captured in the process. Maybe he plans to escape and that’s another plan but that’s way too risky. The villain never ended up being very impressive for me and I also thought that they really messed up his design compared to what it was in the comics. That look was 100X better than this one which is really going for more of an intentionally ugly design.

As for Sam, he does a good job as Captain America here. He certainly looks better than in the Winter Soldier miniseries where it almost felt like you were meant to root against him. Sam tries to do his best to help the country out while not becoming some yes man to a guy as dubious as General Ross. Sam’s also dealing with a lot because his old friend Isaiah goes crazy for some reason and Sam needs to figure out a way to prove his innocence.

Throughout this adventure, characters are quick to doubt him as well. The villains make fun of him, Ross compares him negatively to Steve, etc. I do think it would be good for Sam to finally get past the self confidence issues though so hopefully after this he won’t be wavering anymore. It is just tough to see that he is still just a human with tech though. It works for someone like Iron-Man who is surrounded by nanotech and that’s always been his thing. Being Captain America without the actual super strength? That’s a lot tougher.

It also does limit what the film can do in terms of fight scenes. The final battle relies on an enormous amount of plot armor and nerfing the opponent so that Sam can have a chance. It’s really hard to pull off that kind of a fight without making one party look worse than they should. As for how you solve that, well you have to give Sam some serious powers. Otherwise even fighting humans can be tough for him. He was getting absolutely clobbered by one villain near the beginning of the film. Sam is only able to win with a lucky shot near the end but effectively lost that battle. Then he has a really close shave against a guy with a gun. Yeah that guy is the head of Serpent and is skilled but is technically still just a guy.

If you’re having close shaves with all kinds of normal fighters like this then you’re not really going to be able to go toe to toe with super powered villains. Joaquin made for a good sidekick and while he is much weaker since he is a human with worse tech, he does good against the side opponents. He’s not really ready for the bigtime but the film isn’t trying to put him in those situations so it works out.

We’re introduced to a new character named Ruth here who is a former Black Widow. As a result she is fairly strong and can fight well despite her short stature. Her inclusion felt a bit random compared to the rest of the characters but it’s always good to have another fighter at the ready. This film was really trying for a more grounded approach which is why you have so many street level fighters running around here. It’s also why the climax feels especially out of left field because the power levels have such a huge jump. It’s not like it’s a spoiler to say who it is since the film was advertising him a lot but I’ll still abstain there.

So we’ve got a lot of action scenes and everything. Why isn’t the film higher? Well, the writing and action are good as always and I enjoy the general tone of the film. It just moves a bit too slowly and takes some of the war stuff more seriously than is needed. For example we get a fairly long dog fight of Sam trying to chase some jets and based on the speed we saw from him early on this should be easy. Instead the chase overstays its welcome by quite a lot and just doesn’t really get that interesting.

Towards the middle a lot of time is spent on the mystery of why people are going insane. The problem is that as the viewer you know who it is early on and Sam/Ruth find out the method for the hypnosis right away. So then the real mystery is tracking down the assailant but it wasn’t a great journey to get there. None of it is bad but I feel like there really isn’t much in the way of replay value here. You’re glad you saw the film and it kept your attention but that’s about it. I dare say the film is essentially filler in terms of future developments and even the final post credits scene is rather halfhearted. It is just so vague that it is essentially meaningless. I would have gone for something a bit more hype like actually showing a guest star.

Overall, Brave New World didn’t exactly shatter the sky in terms of hype but it is a good film. I enjoyed it and the MCU always does have a fun style of banter and action scenes. The choreography is good and I dare say that was never in doubt. It’s just a fun movie all the way but ends up being a bit more forgettable and the film also has a hard time trying to balance the fun and serious moments. I dare say it should have just leaned more on the fun and being a comic book movie. We’re pretty deep in the MCU so by this point it should be able to get as fantastic as possible. I’d also say that keeping a certain guest star around for the climax would have been a really good idea because otherwise it just felt a bit pointless. We’re getting closer and closer to Doomsday so I look forward to seeing how the next films go.

Overall 6/10

Rooster Cogburn Review

Posted on by
Reply


Rooster Cogburn is one of those titles where you would have no idea what the film is about. It’s such a general name but hardcore fans of True Grit will know that this is a western right away. This title plays it very safe and ends up being a decent western title. You’ll either appreciate the subtlety it is going for or you’ll end up finding it to be a bit boring. There’s not going to be much in between. For me I thought it did a pretty good job. It’s not terribly exciting but keeps your attention well enough and also avoids some of the classic western issues.

The movie starts off with Roster taking down some more thugs but he is called into court. Unfortunately the town has decided to move in a more nonsensical direction and does not want to see Rooster murdering criminals anymore. Rooster is stripped of his badge and forced into retirement which has him feeling rather bitter. Naturally the judge and the town quickly realize that they are doomed without Rooster as a group of bandits steal some powerful nitro. The town is forced to call Rooster back in for one more adventure. Is Rooster too old to deal with these guys?

Right away you can see how absurd the town is though. The fact that they were so quick to fire Rooster was crazy. Now Rooster is no saint. The guy gets drunk way too often and has slowed down a step but it would have been nice if the town could have found some real examples to call him out on. The self defense shooting we saw at the beginning of the film was completely justified. If Rooster didn’t shoot then he would have been dead. That’s just how it worked back in the wild west and the town looks naïve to think otherwise.

Rooster was right to be sore at how he was quickly fired like this. He showed no remorse and that’s a good thing because he didn’t make any mistakes there. The rest of the deputies are so scared that none of them even want to accompany Rooster so he goes off on a 1 vs 9 kind of fight. That’s basically unwinnable to be honest.

It turns out that he won’t be completely alone though as he runs into Goodnight and a kid named Wolf. They are the last survivors after the same group of thugs stopped by their house and murdered everyone. Goodnight is certainly no big fan of violence but is no damsel and ends up joining the adventure with her gun. Wolf is a bit too young to be super helpful but is still around to cause distractions as needed.

It’s a real team effort and from here we get a lot of banter with Goodnight and Rooster. The writing is pretty solid in general and their dynamic ends up working well. Goodnight is definitely right that Rooster lets himself go too much with all the drinking and tries to help him be more introspective. I don’t think it really works as I feel like Rooster really doesn’t listen to anybody but at least he warmed up to having her around.

Goodnight has a lot of brave scenes like when she stands up to the thugs as well as saving Rooster from one shot. She’s definitely a solid heroine through and through. Wolf is okay but tends to forget how young he is and tries helping a little too much. That may not sound like a negative but sometimes you really do need to take your own power level into account or you just end up getting into a whole lot of trouble.

The villains are more on the forgettable side. There is a whole lot of infighting which helps the odds for Rooster. One of the main villains is a turncoat who used to work with the sheriff. He is an expert at explosives and helps in using the nitro. He’s clearly a cut above the rest of the lackeys but at the same time is still afraid of the main villain. The main villain really has a strong chokehold on his whole group and is always threatening or murdering them. He really never stops.

There is a decent amount of action here as we get several fight scenes. They’re all handled well but it feels like the villains have a whole lot of plot armor at times. Rooster and his crew get the drop on them initially but don’t end up picking off a single one. Yes, Rooster’s first shot was a warning one since he is trying to take them in alive but after that he should have been landing direct hits. These guys are all dangerous murderers after all and Rooster has always ignored the town’s orders before. It felt like too many shots were just being missed.

I suppose that’s a factor in all westerns though. This one just felt like it stood out a whole lot though. Still we got a solid climax here and the whole film is handled well. The writing was the most important part of course and the pacing was also good. The film’s main appeal is probably for when you want to show someone a western without it being too gritty. Despite being a sequel to “True Grit” there is absolutely nothing gritty about this adventure.

Overall, This is a very safe film that doesn’t really make any mistakes. The fights are good and I liked the dynamic between the two leads. The movie could have probably given the traitor more to do which would have led up to another solid fight. I enjoyed the villain cutaways with all of the dysfunction over there but it didn’t ultimately lead to a whole lot. This film isn’t super long or anything but there was enough runtime to add on another subplot. It just doesn’t have much of a hook so the movie is good but you won’t be thinking about it much afterwards. I guess it’s the definition of a good popcorn action film.

Overall 6/10

Back to Bataan

Posted on by
Reply


Back to Bataan is a pretty intense film that’s based on events during WWII that I wasn’t particularly familiar with. So it’s always interesting to learn some new facts like this. Of course the film does take its share of liberties and apparently isn’t going for the 100% accuracy route but it’s not like I can really tell which parts are real or not. As long as you enjoy war films then you should like this one.

The film starts off with the U.S. losing a lot of their morale in their fight against the Japanese over Batann. This is because a lady named Dalisay has been spewing Japanese propaganda over the airways and she was the girlfriend of Andres, one of the U.S. soldiers. It’s disheartening to see that she would turn on them even if it is likely under threat of death. Joseph is trying to keep the forces together but it’s not easy. Then he is told to leave the company for a while in order to execute a top secret mission. He will be working with the Filipino resistance to stop the Japanese from the inside. Can he pull such a thing off?

Obviously the resistance is always going to be on the back foot from the start. They have courage and a whole lot of heart but the government side is always going to have the advantage in ammunition, firepower, and numbers. The only way to win will be a lot of run and gun tactics which is difficult. Still, Joseph is not going to give up and gradually he starts to win over more and more people to their cause. The film is really about this uphill battle and not giving up until the very end.

On the Japanese side we see how they cycle through a bunch of different tactics. First they go with trying to overwhelm the locals through intimidation and wanton murder everywhere. When that doesn’t go so well then they try appeasement by pretending that they will actually let them live peacefully. This illusion doesn’t last very long before they break character and just start murdering again.

There is definitely something to be said for having homefield advantage. Even when the Filipinos were completely outnumbered they were able to find different trails to launch counter attacks and regroup. It’s not the kind of situation you ever want to find yourself in but at least there can be a little solace in knowing that there are some ways to fight back.

Joseph was a solid main character. He was good at getting the most out of his soldiers. In some cases that meant feeding their egos, playing dumb, or taking an aggressive approach. He did whatever he needed to in order to come out on top and that was crucial. I don’t think it will come as a surprise to say that he was the best character here.

Andres steps up as the film goes on but admittedly he wasn’t looking good at the beginning. I don’t think he should have been as shook up as he was upon hearing Dalisay’s voice. Honestly at least it means that she is still alive and I wouldn’t be holding anything against her. It goes without saying that she is not saying these negative things of her own freewill. At one point Andres mentions that she has to know how damaging her words are…and yeah of course she does. Dalisay is trying to stay alive and he should understand that.

There are certain things you should never do even when under the threat of death. Murdering a comrade, leading soldiers into a trap, etc. Talking negatively on the airways though? Ehhhhhh I just don’t see that as being as much of a problem. Obviously it’s a bad thing but would it be worth dying over? Personally I’d be glad that she has found a way to extend her life even if only by a little bit.

Dalisay was courageous on her side and took quite a number of risks. She did whatever she could in order to help on the side but she just didn’t have many opportunities. This film was really about everyone making these kinds of sacrifices. Even a little kid was helping the heroes a lot even when the risks were high. The heroes bump into a school where the teacher helps by dressing wounds and such. In a war everyone has to do their part. There is no time for bickering or deciding to sit it out. You either fight or end up dying.

In a way this war also has a time limit. The resistance needs to last long enough for the U.S. navy to get there. Once they do, then they can bomb the Japanese out of there. Of course there will still be a lot of collateral damage and it won’t be clean but at least the resistance isn’t totally on their own. Now that would have been even more grim.

Overall, World War II was an absolutely grim event and so this film doesn’t have the happiest tone either. The soldiers do their best to find some levity where they can but for the most part they all have to stay focused at all times. Focusing on the Battle of Bataan was a smart move since it doesn’t get nearly as much screentime as other parts of the war. I definitely feel like I got to learn something while watching it and so I would recommend this one to folks. Of course if you are not a big fan of war films or prefer something a bit happier then you’ll want to skip this one. It’s ultimately building towards a happy conclusion but it is a rough journey to get there.

Can’t Buy Me Love Review

Posted on by
Reply


Can’t Buy Me Love is one of those romance films where you’re waiting for some kind of twist ending to save it. For example maybe something that prevents the main duo from getting together and the film decides to be a bit subversive about it all. Unfortunately that didn’t happen and this ends up being one of those films that will just have you shaking your head the whole time. There isn’t much to salvage about this one.

The film starts by introducing us to Ronald who is your typical nerd character. He’s extremely introverted and has not been able to get popular at school. He secretly wants to be like the cool guys and go to all the parties/get a girlfriend. One day he sees that his next door neighbor Cindy is in a jam because she ruined her mother’s expensive dress. It will cost $1,000 to buy a new one which is a lot of money for that time period. Ronald offers to buy it for her on the condition that she pretends to be his girlfriend for a month. Cindy is under duress right now because she’s really worried about what her mother will say, so she reluctantly agrees. This will now be the toughest month of her life.

So right away there are a bunch of problems with this premise. Yeah I get how you can get a lot of comedic situations out of this. It’s a classic type of plot that has been done many times before but this situation was not a good move. The fact that Cindy was super pressured into doing this was crazy. It’s much better done in a film like Summer Wars where one character said yes to be nice and there was no blackmail happening.

Now it does set Ronald up as an antagonist right away. He’s willing to go quite far in order to move ahead and the film will even surprise you with how degenerate the guy is. Ronald is the kind of guy who lets the power get to his head immediately. The movie also shows how he doesn’t even see Cindy as real girlfriend material because when she starts to fall for him, he doesn’t even acknowledge it. Yeah maybe he’s a bit oblivious but pair that with all of the future scenes and it makes sense.

He just wants to live a life without morals where he can have relations with whoever he wants. This is not true boyfriend material in the slightest. Ronald also betrays his friends. Not even in a subtle way like eating at a different table, but completely ignoring them, messing up his best friend’s house, etc. The betrayal is quite extreme and then he gets with quite a number of girls before the film’s over. Ronald just goes all the way in each instance and doesn’t know how to have any restraint. The ability to do anything doesn’t mean that you suddenly go and take advantage of every opportunity.

If anything the new status just exposed his true personality. So this guy was a real bad apple for sure and the ending is not deserved. He should have just been totally isolated as a repercussion for what he did. That would have evened out pretty well if you ask me.

Then you have Cindy who isn’t exactly the best character either. I do want to confirm straightaway that she is many times better than Ronald though. Cindy has a lot of status within the school as the top cheerleader and never let it go to her head. She’s just a bit spoiled like when she took her mom’s dress when she was explicitly told not to do that. So Cindy really set herself up for a lot of trouble here. There’s no reason why she should have agreed to Ronald’s demands though because she actually has a long distance boyfriend.

Now that boyfriend doesn’t seem like a great guy but you still can’t be pretending to cheat on him in front of the whole school. That’s a quick way to destroy the reputation of all parties involved. Additionally she is just way too forgiving. This is partially because of how the film had to end out but it was a real shame to see her just absorb all the abuse Ronald threw her way. He did not hold back at all in trying to make her look bad and was quick to cut her down.

He’s the kind of guy who will take anything you share in confidence and blow it up in your face. So if you have any self respect then you’re not even going to be friends with someone after that. Definitely one of the worst romances I’ve seen in a while. This also takes away from the comedic potential of the film. Officially this is meant to be part comedy and you can see all of the jokes that are slipped in but it tends to be a little too mean spirited to actually have fun with.

It’s almost spiteful with how it all plays out. This is like a power fantasy for an introverted person but written from someone who thinks that popularity is inherently bad. Ronald also comes across as being whiny here because it’s not like he was completely alone. He had quite a few friends and they would even play games together at night. They were real friends and then he had a good reputation in the neighborhood like how Cindy’s mom thought he was a responsible young man. He traded that all in and I’d say that speaks volumes about him.

There’s so much more you could say about the romance in general but you get the idea. For a romance to work you need both characters to be solid but as the title went on everyone just looked bad. The worst part is that Cindy made a good faith effort from the start with helping Ronald learn how to dress for success. Then she came up with a good cover story and everything but Ronald was quick to just take everything too far. I suppose he didn’t have great family influences. His parents let his younger brother constantly bully him but of course that whole subplot was also embarrassing for the main character. Surely he can handle some banter with a little kid right?

Overall, This is not a film that I would recommend. It gets way too dramatic and mean spirited the whole time. Definitely a film that will not go down as one of the better ones and I can see why it has been forgotten to time. The film needed major work in order to even be decent. You definitely have to start by fixing the general premise of the film so it starts off a bit lighter and then you shouldn’t make Ronald a total jerk. There are so many ways to make the film fun and you can keep him oblivious without making him a total antagonist. Then you can actually focus more on the comedy. Like there was one funny joke where Ronald’s friends try to enter the party but immediately sit back down when they’re called out. Of course it was hard to be sympathetic to them either since they were girl crazy as well. That’s got to be one of the worst stereotypes. They should be focused on games or something. If they really want to get out there, then they should be going to the gym or something. I gotta just try and focus on the comedy….

Overall 3/10

My Dinner with Andre Review

Posted on by
Reply


It’s time for a very dialogue heavy film. Just about the whole movie is about a single conversation so it doesn’t really get much more dialogue heavy than that right? Well it’s a pretty interesting concept but you really need the conversation to play out more like a debate in order to be interesting. Sure, there are plenty of podcasts where the hosts agree and it’s still interesting but then the topic needs to be on point. A debate is the easiest way to go about things and unfortunately the film completely fumbled the premise.

The movie starts off with Wally heading over to the restaurant where he will be meeting with Andre. The two of them used to be close friends but drifted apart over time to the point where Wally is really not looking forward to this dinner. His fears appear to be founded as the two characters are not on the same page. Although Andre clearly seems to think that they are closer than they actually are. Andre talks about his adventures in travelling across the world and how bleak the future is. Wally doesn’t agree with some of these thoughts but how can he gets his views across? Wally isn’t the most outgoing sort of guy after all.

I think Wally’s timidity is the biggest problem here. In a good back and forth you need to have two characters who are really ready to duke it out. It doesn’t have to mean that there is any bad blood here, you just have to have some passion behind your ideas. That’s how it goes on just about any debate on First Take or if you watch any of the Youtube debaters. Most of them tend to get rather toxic but then off camera they are all hanging out.

I would have had this film be a really fiery debate between the two of them, only to have them shake hands and walk home after that. Show that they can separate the debate from their friendship. Instead Wally basically gets obliterated for the entire 2 hours. Towards the end he finally starts trying to counter Andre but gets way too nervous and is shut down in each of his attempts. This was a one sided massacre from Andre’s side and the guy really didn’t hold back.

The debate is mainly about fulfillment in life and what it takes to have a happy one. Andre for example has lived his life in an adventurous way. He travels across the planet and has had all kinds of crazy experiences. Whether you believe him or not if up to you but it has shaped his views on humanity. Nearly dying helped him see how people have just stopped trying. They don’t have drive anymore and just flow through life without a purpose. He thinks that people need to live in some level of discomfort in order to stay creative and keep on going. If they don’t then they will inevitably grow to be very weak and will not have any future hopes and dreams.

Wally leads a rather mundane life with his 9-5 and has been struggling to get a break lately. Yet, he does think there is some satisfaction to be had in this kind of life. He tries to say that maybe visiting the local drug store is the same as going to Mount Everest and while the guy is grasping at straws, I was glad to see him giving some good ideas. Unfortunately he just never ends up being all that convincing. Perhaps because in a way Wally seems to be trying to convince himself of this at the same time while Andre clearly has a whole lot of conviction in his own beliefs. It’s always going to be hard to challenge someone when you aren’t exactly sure of what you are debating.

The worst part is that I technically agree with Wally’s ideals more than Andre’s. You should be able to enjoy the modern conveniences of life and it definitely doesn’t take away from you. Andre seems to think that you have to closely inspect every part of your life each day in order to make sure that you’re still happy when that’s really going overboard. This just hurts Wally even more though because it feels like he is losing a debate when he has the winning position.

It’s like when I watch a debate where the flat earther is destroying the round earth debater. Obviously the world is round so that means the second guy has the massive advantage so to lose that debate anyway is crazy. I saw another debate recently with a big conspiracy theorist fighting someone took the mainstream perspective on what happened with the Charlie Kirk assassination and the conspiracy theorist actually won. I always feel like you lose extra points when you are defeated in a debate where you have a massive advantage right from the start.

Now a one sided beatdown can be a lot of fun but you still need there to be some resistance. So Wally is the biggest reason as to why the film wasn’t very good. Additionally I would also say that the topic just wasn’t that interesting. An existential debate like this can still be decent under the right circumstances but it ended up being more boring than anything. I was really expecting a lot more out of this one. I suppose it does show how creating a film around a long conversation like this can be harder than expected though.

At least the venue was a fancy restaurant so I get to dunk on those again. My theory that “the cheaper a food item is, the better it will taste” continues to bear fruit. Now there are going to be limits to this but this restaurant for example probably had absolutely crazy prices and the portions were small. The soup looked as clear as possible without any real flavors. Yeah that’s always going to be a big problem when you think about it. I did think that the waiters made for decent supporting characters as they got more and more annoyed with how long the two characters were taking to leave the venue.

Overall, This is the kind of film that is being very straightforward with its premise. The film is about a long conversation between a guy who lives an adventurous life and one who has settled down to lead a more ordinary one. They get to talk about their perspectives and the current state of humanity. If the conversation sounds interesting and you don’t mind one guy getting 90% of the dialogue, then it could be a winner for you. If that isn’t your cup of tea or you were hoping for something more contentious then you should skip this one. At the end of the day the biggest limitation here is that the film can just be rather boring for most of the run.

Overall 3/10

Drop Review

Posted on by
Reply


Now this was a tricky film for me to think about. I wasn’t even fully decided on how much I liked it when the movie ended. On one hand, it does handle the thriller aspects pretty well with a lot of suspense and everything. On the other hand the film’s entire plot revolves around everyone being slow on the uptake. It’s even worse when one guy is clearly tech savvy and then you have the fact that the film can be extremely cringe. It’s intentional….but cringe is cringe after all. So lets unpack this one.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Violet who had a traumatic experience with her ex-husband. Violet was able to piece her life back together after those events and is now a therapist who helps others with their problems. She has done her best to be the best single mom possible for her kid and now she is ready to get back out there and rebound with a new person. Violet simply doesn’t want to be single forever and she will be meeting up for the first time with someone that she met on an app. His name is Henry and they will be meeting as a super expensive, fancy restaurant for the first meetup. She gets there early and everything seems fine….until she starts getting some dangerous messages through wireless drops. This mysterious individual claims to have her son hostage and she must now follow all of his orders. How can she gets out of this situation?

Okay so lets address the elephant in the room. Violet should have immediately tuned the feature off. It’s not like air dropping is something that goes through no matter what. Just turn it off immediately! It takes a while before the messages mention that he has her kid so the whole film would have had to play out very differently. The film also goes out of its way to show that Henry knows how the air drops work. He explains it to Violet and even has apps on his phone that measure distance and everything. So he should have just told her how to turn it off. It’s a bit hard to get past this point since it is the crucial sticking point for the entire film. You’ll just be shaking your head the whole time. It’s not the kind of thing that would really hurt the film’s score for me but is a bit of a strike against the writing.

Well once we get past that, it does make for a decent mystery gimmick as Violet needs to find out who is sending the messages. That might sound pointless since it doesn’t change the hostage situation but I guess you could say it’s so that she can find some blindspots to contact the police. Unfortunately the villain has hacked all of the cameras so he can basically see her from everywhere. I will say that even here the film stretches some disbelief. Not so much in the hacking as we’ll say that the villain is just that powerful but that nobody talked about how he was constantly texting. There is a plot reason why this feels pretty unlikely and you would have heard something.

Thrillers tend to have a lot of disbelief attached to them but this one just felt particularly egregious. Now you have to remember that this is all happening during Violet’s first date. So that’s where the second hand cringe comes in as she keeps looking away to scan the perimeter, is super distracted, etc. Henry comes across as ultra patient with how long he hangs in there because I think most people would have given up early on. It would just be too much after a bit and nobody wants to be second fiddle in their own date. The person giving her the orders intentionally does it in a way to make her look as bad as possible.

She is still able to keep Henry interested with various tricks but that shouldn’t have been enough. Now, we do get some info on Henry about how good he is with tech and his background involves the government so he should be able to notice that something is wrong. I was actually expecting it the whole time but instead he seems to take it at face value that Violet is just kinda crazy. Surely the whole air drops thing should have been a good tipoff. Henry seems like a nice guy so I’m not going to go too hard on him but I just expected more there.

The film gives us a more explosive climax than I was expecting. It’s always nice to get some action in there even if it feels like the deck was too stacked in the villain’s favor. There was no realistic way for him to lose. Special props to Violet’s sister for hanging in there and doing her best as a babysitter. Nobody expects to have to fight for your life in that job but she pulled through and did what was needed. While the last scene in the film is for laughs and shouldn’t be taken too seriously….I did think that she deserved a bit more recognition. The joke just didn’t land tbh since Violet should be thanking her a whole lot. You’ll understand the context when you watch the film.

I really enjoyed the backgrounds and locale for the film. The restaurant looked really nice even if the food/drinks would probably not be so great. The annoying waiter would also hurt the experience there. That was one area where the film was trying way too hard to be funny. I think the humor there was the fact that he wasn’t funny so it was like a 4 layered joke but it just didn’t work. After a point it just loops around to not being funny again. At least the date being awkward makes sense in context but the waiter did not need to be here at all.

Also this may be a bit harsh but I didn’t think the backstory for Violet was necessary or even that it made a lot of sense. The villain uses it against her later on by saying that she has murdered people before and all that but when we see the context it is the biggest stretch ever. I know survivor bias is a real concept but usually that’s not mixed in with self defense. In a case like this I don’t see why Violet would have any real fears or trauma. Or more specifically, I can see it being a trauma in terms of not wanting to be near guns or being afraid to start dating again but not in any relation to taking a life. I would have rewritten it a bit to make her actually shoot the gun in which case I think it would have been a much stronger parallel. It would also establish that she is willing to take a life in order to protect her son and so to the viewer, maybe she would take more and more lives to continue keeping him safe. It’s still different since that was self defense and not murder but the way the film used this plot was a bit odd.

So in the end what are we looking at here? Is this still a good film or do all of these factors add up to make it a bad one? I was pretty indecisive throughout it all but by the end the answer became clear. This one is a good movie and so it makes it into the green. It’s not a film that I would likely rewatch on my own but I wouldn’t be opposed to it if someone else picked the movie. I also wouldn’t caution people away from watching it and may even recommend it to a fan of thrillers. I’d say the premise is better than the execution but it still got enough things right.

I also liked how the final boss started monologuing before going out. For a minute there I didn’t think we were going to have enough time for the ole speech. Even then we got another awkward conversation as Violet started trauma dumping and the villain clearly couldn’t care less but didn’t seem to know what to do in the moment except to keep eating his dessert.

Overall, Drop is a pretty memorable film and I think that is a strong point. I don’t regret seeing it or anything like that. Thrillers like this can be fun to think about what you would do in this situation. Once the orders begin coming in, it is really hard to get the upper hand again. You know that the villain isn’t bluffing after all but if you keep helping out there is still no guarantee that he will keep his word. For that reason I always think the best thing to do is to ignore the orders but obviously that is much easier said than done.

Overall 6/10

The Marvels Review

Posted on by
Reply


The Marvels is one of those films that faded away pretty quickly but I did always enjoy the concept of what it was going for. It was a crossover for the main character of the movie Captain Marvel with the main character of the show Ms. Marvel along with one of the supporting characters of Wandavision. You can only really pull off that many crossovers when you’ve already got an expanded cast. That said, the power levels are very different among the 3 and for once that would be a bit of an issue. You would need to set up a threat weak enough for Monica and Kamala to fight which would mean nerfing Carol a bunch. And….that’s exactly what happened but on the whole I would say this was still a pretty good movie.

The title starts off quickly with the Kree getting their hands on the cosmic band. They are now led by Dar who seeks revenge on Carol for essentially causing a war which ruined her people. Her solution is to wipe everyone out to really stick it to Carol rather than prioritizing a fix for her people. Usually this would be an easy threat for Carol to stop considering how she was easily overwhelming Thanos. Unfortunately her powers have begun to go out of control so every time she uses them, she switches places with Kamala or Monica. Not a great way to stay focused during a fight.

The power swapping leads to some cool teamwork combos and is also a funny gag. So it was used for some positive things throughout the movie but I do have to be honest about how annoying it could be as well. I really wanted to see Carol just crushing her opponents instead of constantly being thrown out of the fight. She could have ended this movie in seconds otherwise. Honestly even with this gimmick she should have done better in the fights. In particular during the climax when she is fighting against Dar. Suddenly she just wasn’t looking as strong as normal and this continues until the very ending when she gets to ram Dar into deep space. It’s clear that working with a character this powerful was not easy for the film.

Carol has come a long way since her trainee days and it’s nice to see her taking charge throughout the movie. Kamala and Monica are new to the whole saving the world thing and so Carol is the one who really has to take charge and lead them. I’ say she did a good job of it too. Then we have Monica whose grudge with Carol feels a bit petty. Grudge may be the wrong word for it since part of the awkwardness is just Monica not really knowing how to talk to her. Still, the stakes are a bit too high for all of that right now.

I also think she should have been training with her powers a whole lot prior to the film’s events. She seemed to still be getting used to her abilities but enough time has passed from Wandavision where she should have a handle on them. Same for Kamala. During the opening fights she seems to be having a hard time and then by the end she is using the constructs like a pro. Part of Kamala’s entire character is that she really likes heroics and looks up to Captain Marvel as her hero. Surely that’s a lot of incentive to have been training all this time. I guess everyone was off their game though, even Nick Fury was having some trouble with random goons.

It might come down to the film just having more of a cheery tone than some of the other titles. This one feels more like a quick TV special than a full on movie. That’s not really a bad thing as it makes for a comfy watch. Part of why I enjoyed the film is it feels like an episode of superhero television, just in live action. Sometime you can pick up and watch for some fun without getting invested into a real end of the world plot. Maybe I wouldn’t feel as excited if I saw this one in theaters since it’s pretty short but the quality was there.

Also, power level issues aside, I thought Kamala made for a good character. I liked her enthusiasm and she was a great contrast to the other characters who were definitely not going to be as cheery. After all being a superhero should be really fun. It isn’t always sunshine and flowers of course but having powers seems like it would be super fun. So it was nice to have one character just enjoying the journey.

Now one other issue about the film being so happy is that it does have to gloss over some of the more serious details of the film. For example Carol forces the other heroes to leave a planet while tons of innocents were still there. Kamala wanted to save them but is overruled and the body count was rather massive. Usually you’d expect a full argument about this and a lot of back and forth but Kamala continues to idolize Carol and doesn’t dwell on it too much. I thought that was a little too easy. It’s a really serious decision and there should have been some pushback.

Carol was right in that moment that they couldn’t save everyone but with her powers she certainly could have saved many more. Kamala should have grilled her on that and it should have been a cause for tension for a while. A good example of this disillusionment would be what happened with Shazam and Superman in Justice League. Having a moment shatter the image of your hero is a big deal. So the film should have really stayed on that more.

Even the fact that a ton of the Kree died indirectly due to Carol’s actions from the first film should have been dwelled on more. Sure, Dar is mainly using that as an excuse but it’s an interesting plot point. I would argue that Carol had no way of knowing the effects she would cause and also didn’t have many options at the time since the supreme intelligence was evil. It’s like when you take down a dictator and now the innocents suffer due to the chaos at the top. It’s something you try to mitigate but doesn’t change the fact that the dictator had to be taken down.

As for Dar, she’s not a very compelling villain at all. She tends to get the shaft in this film with how fast it goes. Her motives are pretty basic and there isn’t much to her fighting style. So nothing really makes her standout. The film itself isn’t the most forgettable but most of the memorable parts will not include her. The prince from the musical kingdom probably ends up leaving more of an impact. She is powerful to be sure but that’s it. Dar essentially works as a living obstacle to the heroes.

The musical planet was a fun little subplot though. It’s an example of a joke that was done pretty well and did not overstay its welcome. If the scene had been 10 minutes longer then I’d probably be shaking my head but it was short enough to work. Then we had the scene of the cats eating everyone which was decent but in context I don’t think it works super well. The fact that everyone was running for their lives was a bit crazy. I think at least half of them would have in theory taken this in stride and running off would just burn a lot of time that the heroes didn’t have. Also with how the cats would randomly spit the objects out, I’m not sure how much I would trust the plan.

Overall, The Marvels was pretty good. It’s not really going to stand out because this feels like a fairly generic adventure. The heroes aren’t really taking the stakes too seriously and they’re so much stronger than the villains that we need a whole energy plot device to prevent them from ending the film too quickly. I don’t think a lack of ambition is a big enough reason to say that a film is bad though. Ultimately it was still fun which is the important part. There were no really bad scenes and the writing was good enough. I thought the banter worked pretty well and since the film was playing it super safe, it’s not like it was going to be making any big mistakes. The post credits scene is more interesting than exciting. I would have chosen almost any other guest star character from the team to make the scene a lot better but I’l still take it. This is seemingly a pretty important scene. So if you enjoy a classic superhero team up then you should check this movie out.

Overall 7/10

Moonstruck Review

Posted on by
Reply


Oh no it’s time for one of those messy romance films where everyone is cheating on each other. Obviously a romance is going to automatically be a bad one when there is cheating involved because that isn’t true love. Cheating immediately shows that there is a rebound and that neither character can be trusted. They have broken their word and honor by engaging in the act right from the start. Even if it’s meant to be a way to show how dramatic these adventures can be or to try for a jaded sense of realism, that’s not going to be enough to save this. It is absolutely possible to have a film that is good in spite of the characters being terrible but this was not that kind of film.

The movie starts off with Loretta finally getting proposed for marriage by her boyfriend. She has been waiting for this moment for a long time after her first marriage fell apart. This is really her chance in order to land a man before she has become too old. Johnny is excited as well but he has to go on a work trip for a while so he heads on out. Unfortunately this gives time for his brother Ronny to show up and this guy falls for Loretta right away. He is determined to get her and unfortunately her willpower may not be all that strong. Can she stay loyal to Johnny?

Well obviously she doesn’t and I wouldn’t even call that a spoiler because she doesn’t even last 5 minutes. Instead she tries to just say they should forget about it and her strategy is to hang out with Ronny but not let things get too serious. It’s a terrible plan right from the start to be honest and she was just being in denial. Once you’ve already crossed the line then there is no way back out. You just have to accept the fact that you’re a terrible person and retreat from all relationships. Johnny certainly didn’t deserve his and keeping it a secret would also be a terribly toxic way of handling things. Loretta was just a really terrible character all the way through. Ronny takes a ton of blame as well but I always put more on the person who is actually in a relationship.

Obviously Ronny broke the unspoken rules about not dating someone who is already dating a family member. He also shouldn’t be going after women who are taken and so there was no saving this character either. Just a poor character all the way through. The only correct option for him would have been to stay away from Loretta. Even if he truly fell head over heels in love with her, e was simply too late and just has to accept that.

Meanwhile Loretta’s father Cosmo is also a terrible character all the way as he decides to cheat on his wife the whole time. She handles this a little too calmly as well by just telling him to stop and things will be fine but he is taking all the blame here for being the one to start the cheating relationship. The guy wasn’t even sorry that he did it, just that he was caught.

Johnny is mostly innocent in all of this but then looks absolutely terrible in accepting the circumstances at the end of the film. A betrayal like this is not something that you just accept and cheer on. The whole ending is laughably bad and while I think that is part of the whole point of the ending, it still makes you shake your head. Johnny wimping out was ultimately for the best as he would have been in a terrible relationship but that’s only with knowledge from being outside the film. From in-universe it is just a bad look all around.

There really aren’t any good characters here. At least Loretta’s mother resisted the advances of one guy who tried to get with her but she was definitely playing with fire by eating with him in the first place. There is nothing wrong with having friends even once you’re married but you really need to be very smart about each interaction. You have to be able to read the other person and make sure that they aren’t going to try and make a move on you because at that point it would be too late to do anything about that. It’s easy to say you have too much willpower to do anything until it ends up happening. I wouldn’t trust any of the characters in this film at all.

In short there just weren’t any really strong elements to the film. Their conversations tended to be on the annoying side and are the kinds of dialogue that just ruin the reputation of romance itself. Characters settling because they are getting old, cheating just so that they can postpone death, etc. It’s basically a combination of all the worst tropes about romance and what some people think it is all about. I definitely tend to prefer the more idealistic version of romance with true love and each person never falling for a rebound. That’s how it is supposed to work after all and this film just wasn’t able to understand that. A relationship is about pure trust and pure love. If you’re settling or still checking out the market afterwards then it’s a bad romance definitionally.

Overall, Moonstruck is definitely one of those films that I would avoid. The romance is pretty terrible, we’re talking on the level of the Titanic here. Maybe even worse than that to be honest with how many pairings there were. There was just no saving any of these characters and the film is reasonably long. That time could have been used to make a good romance instead. I’m all for having a bunch of drama but it has to be the right kind. This one will definitely not go down as a solid title. At least the moon looked nice, it always stands out in the sky.

Overall 2/10