Hey everyone! I have 3 quick reviews for you 2 that are on Netflix (what would we do without streaming services in this time of quarantine?).  I would love to hear what you have been streaming and if there is anything I should be checking out. Make sure you are following me on my channel Rachel’s Reviews, which I have been putting more work into lately and at the Hallmarkies Podcast which has a lot of fascinating interviews and episodes recapping romcoms and stuff like the excellent recent Baby-Sitters Club series.

I also have a patreon account I haven’t mentioned much on this page. For as low as $2 a month you can get all kinds of perks including live watch-alongs with behind the scenes talent and chances to special request podcasts and Family Movie Night videos.  If you love what I do here and would like to give back I would really appreciate it. Check out the site here.

Anyway, on to the review:

Extraction-

In many ways Extraction is the polar opposite of what I cover on the Hallmarkies Podcast. This is wall-to-wall action that is incredibly violent with a very thin story to keep the narrative going. That said, just as in Hallmark films, Extraction knows what it is trying to be and isn’t really grasping for Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar anytime soon. This is for folks who like Rambo movies with a lot of carnage delivered by likable actors, which Hemsworth is.

Some have complained it is a white savior narrative and I guess I can see that but I thought the Indian/Bangladesh characters were pretty kick butt as well as Hemsworth but who knows? I also heard complaints about the color grading but that didn’t bother me at all.

The action scenes in Extraction are tremendous with one particularly impressive 12 minute long-take sequence that stands out. And even though the violence becomes numbing after a time it was entertaining on that spectacle level. If you are expecting a nuanced discussion of war move on. This is dopey well-done action and that was enough to keep me entertained; although it could have easily been 20 minutes shorter and been better for it. Still enough for a mild recommendation if it seems like your kind of film.

5.5 out of 10

Smile Worthy

Desperados

Next up is a movie I think I’m supposed to like on Netflix called Desperados. It’s a road trip movie with 3 single women who go to Mexico to try and save one of their relationships to a hunky Robbie Amell.  Unfortunately those 3 women are a chore to spend 105 minutes with.

I’m not kidding I hated every single minute of this supposed romantic comedy. I hated all the jokes. I hated the shrill obnoxious women. I hated how what is supposed to be empowering is actually demeaning. This movie even made me hate dolphins. It was brutal to get through and all I can think to say is Anna Camp fire your agent. After this and your cringy appearance in The Lovebirds you have had a terrible Summer 2020 even outside of quarantine! How many actors can say that?

1 out of 10

Frown Worthy

Relic-

Finally is my favorite film of the 3 and one of my favorite films of 2020 and to my surprise it is a horror film called Relic. I normally don’t like being scared but am better when it is a supernatural scare or there is a little bit of comedy to lighten the mood. Movies like Get Out and A Quiet Place really work for me! Relic is that kind of scary movie. No murderers or exorcists just a haunted house and a creepy old lady the occupants do not understand.

What makes Relic special is like Get Out, it adds a metaphor to the scares which makes everything more powerful. In this case Emily Mortimer and Bella Heathcote come to help when their Mom/Grandma played by Robyn Nevin turns up missing. What they don’t understand is she has become possessed by a spirit in the house and it is making her body decay like the wax candles she is constantly carving around the house.

Anyone who has dealt with a family member going through dementia can relate to what these people are going through (obviously to an extreme). When someone you love forgets who you are it can seem like they are a new person, almost possessed of a different spirit. Their personalities can change and the whole experience is very unsettling. Obviously that doesn’t stop us from loving our family members but it is very difficult. Relic captures that real life fear extremely well and I really enjoyed it. It’s also unpredictable with good acting and atmosphere for a small horror film. It reminded me a little bit of a cross between The Others and Get Out.

8.5 out of 10

Smile Worthy