So the last few weeks of movie-going have certainly had their ups and big time downs! Make sure you are following me on my youtube channel because some films I review there and some here (just some content speaks more to writing an essay and others to a video LOL). Also make sure you are following me at smilingldsgirl on Stardust and Letterboxd to have these mini reviews sooner.

I did a full review for Sorry to Bother You so I won’t include that here but there are still 11 films I have seen since my last update. There were some highs and some definite lows!

Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again

The first Mamma Mia is a bit of a guilty pleasure. It’s not a good movie but it’s effervescent vacation porn with some catchy songs sung terribly. In the sequel, we get catchy effervescent vacation porn but sung well so I’m on board! I really liked the entire cast and thought Lily James was great as a young Meryl. The movie didn’t judge her character but just presented her life and gave us happy energetic songs. That’s all I needed. A little more Meryl would have been nice but that’s the only problem I had with it. I have been listening to the soundtrack all summer!

Smile Worthy

Three Identical Strangers

I’m not normally someone who decries spoilers (in fact, I find that super annoying) but in the case of Three Identical Strangers try to go in spoiler free. The twist blew me away! This is an incredibly engaging film. It starts out funny and light and then becomes something much darker. I was moved and amazed. If it wasn’t a documentary you wouldn’t believe it could be true.

Smile Worthy

Teen Titans Go! To the Movies

I have never seen an episode of Teen Titans Go but have heard nothing but how terrible the show is and how it is an affront to the original Teen Titans. I also was not impressed with the trailers, so you can imagine my surprise when I walked away having had a great time! I laughed harder at Teen Titans Go! To the Movies than I have at any other film this year except for Game Night. It was a hilarious satire on superhero movies and tropes.

I also enjoyed the 2D animation with its comic book aesthetic and the voice cast from the original show were great. Nicholas Cage also gets some good laughs at Superman. I just really enjoyed it!

Smile Worthy

Mission Impossible: Fallout

While not as well written as some of the best of this franchise, Mission Impossible: Fallout is a great action film. The action set pieces are above reproach and they happen so much and so quickly that I never had time to think about the story or be bored while watching.

The cast is all great including Tom Cruise who is evidently willing to do anything to get a compelling action scene. I still think Ghost Protocol is the best of the franchise because of its story but this is darn good. I wish the women had been used a little bit better but that’s a small nitpick.

Smile Worthy

The Spy Who Dumped Me

The Spy Who Dumped Me is a frustrating film of unmet potential. Kate McKinnon and Mila Kunis have good chemistry and the action is shot well but its tonal shifts were jarring making the movie unpleasant and long. It had some silly moments but then mixed with brutal violence, nudity and other harsh content it was off-putting. The tone was just all over the place and it felt like McKinnon was the only one trying to make things work but even that got old after a while.

Frown Worthy

Breaking In

I’m not the biggest horror/thriller fan but I do love Gabrielle Union so I thought I would give Breaking In a shot. Unfortunately it ended up being a pretty mediocre film. It’s not terrible and there are some entertaining moments but as a whole it didn’t work. I liked the kid actors and Gabrielle Union is great as usual but it’s all extremely by the numbers and generic. They also obviously decided to make this PG-13 at the last-minute so there are tons of ‘freakin’ where obviously the f word was intended which is distracting.

Frown Worthy

Christopher Robin

It’s no secret I haven’t been a big fan of these Disney live action remakes, but I was actually excited for Christopher Robin. My hope was it would feel fresh and sweet like the great Pete’s Dragon remake. Unfortunately I was disappointed. The entire premise didn’t work for me with Christopher forgetting his promise to Pooh and becoming the tired evil man of business. This left the 100 Acre Woods as kind of gloomy and sad with the characters waiting for Christopher to return.

Christopher is supposed to be a terrible parent but in reality he is working to save his entire team their jobs. He’s the hero! They should have had his daughter Madeline find Pooh. That would have made way more sense since she is being sent to boarding school. Her interacting with the friends of the 100 Acre Woods might actually been magical. Here it is just a weak version of Hook and Paddington without either’s whimsy and charm (especially compared to Paddington). The only things I liked were the overall aesthetic, a scene at a train station where Pooh gets a balloon and a bonus credit song by Richard Sherman! Other than that this movie was an Eeyore!

Check out the podcast my friend Conrado and I did about the live action remakes and Christopher Robin

Frown Worthy

Crazy Rich Asians

Everyone knows I love a good romance but the cinemas have been alarmingly short of them in recent years. (If you like romances check out my podcast on Hallmark films Hallmarkies Podcast). Before seeing Crazy Rich Asians I read the book by Kevin Kwan and for the most part the film does a good job adapting the novel. It stars Constance Wu and the super hot Henry Golding as a couple who are dating in America but things get rocky when he takes her to meet his ‘crazy rich’ family in Singapore.

For what it is trying to be Crazy Rich Asians is just about perfectly executed. It’s funny, romantic, sweet and big hearted. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The cast is great including Awkwafina who stole all her scenes. Michelle Yeow plays a convincing villain because her point of view makes sense. It might be a cold view but it comes from her life experience so it is reasonable. Overall it’s a movie that has it all!

Smile Worthy

Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I know the title is a mouthful but I loved the book so was very disappointed to hear this was not going to go to theaters but only to Netflix. Sometimes that can be a sign of a poor film but not in this case. I really loved it! Lily James is wonderful as Juliet an author who starts conversing with a man from Guernsey and learning the story about his secret book club. This society or club helped them get through some tough tiems during the German occupation.

The entire cast is wonderful including a very dreamy Michael Huisman and Penelope Wilton who is always great in everything. Matthew Goode has a wonderful supporting role as Juliet’s publisher friend Sidney. It’s beautifully filmed by Mike Newell and will make you want to go to the Channel Islands. They do a good job mixing the light and fluffy with sincere and moving moments. I loved it! I wish we could at least get a fathom event to see it on the big screen for one night only. Come on Netflix!

Smile Worthy

Dog Days

I’m normally not a big fan of these ensemble films like I hated Mother’s Day and New Years Eve. However, Dog Days proved to be a pleasant surprise. While it will be too cheesy for some, I found it really sweet and heartfelt. Pretty much every storyline worked for me.

My favorites were an elderly man and teenager trying to find his dog and a family with a newly adopted little girl bonding over a dog. I also liked a romance between 2 news anchors that grows because of their mutual love of dogs. It was sweet, funny and I teeared up a few times. Dog Days is a charmer!

Smile Worthy

Duck Duck Goose

And now for the movie that made me want to die. I had a feeling Duck Duck Goose would be a bad movie but as someone who loved Son of Bigfoot last year I always go into films with an open mind. Unfortunately Duck Duck Goose proved to be even worse than I could have imagined. It is right up there with Norm of the North for one of the worst animated films I have ever seen.

I hated the animation. I hated the characters. I hated the humor. I hated the weird attempts to appeal to a Chinese market. I hated the unearned sentimentality. I hated how mean spirited it was and just overall unpleasant I hated the villain cat. I am someone who liked The Nut Job 2 so I don’t just dismiss films like this but it was atrocious in every respect. Do not show it to your kids! There are plenty of other things to watch on Netflix.

Frown Worthy

Let me know what you think of these films if you have seen any of them in comments section. Thanks!