Current Mini Reviews (THE IDEA OF YOU, BACK TO BLACK, MOTHER OF THE BRIDE)

| Rachel's Reviews

Hey everyone! I hope you are doing well. I have some movies to catch you up on and they are all oddly romances (which you’d think that means I love them but I actually only recommend one so go figure.) Anyway, here’s some movie thoughts:

MOTHER OF THE BRIDE- NETFLIX

I was actually pretty intrigued when I saw the poster an trailer for Mother of the Bride. I knew there was  good chance it would be another middling rom-com from Netflix but the Father of the Bride franchise is so good I hoped this would be a fresh take on that formula. Unfortunately it ended up being generic at best and not part of the Father of the Bride franchise at all. So, it in the end was disappointing.

The cast in Mother of the Bride is great with Brooke Shields and Benjamin Bratt taking the leading roles. This is a second chance love story where the former beaus meet again when their children (Miranda Cosgrove and Sean Teale) decide to get married. This could be a nice setup for a rom-com full of family shenanigans but everything feels so played out and bland that it left me underwhelmed. The jokes aren’t funny and the chemistry isn’t there so it just doesn’t work.

5 out of 10

Frown Worthy

THE IDEA OF YOU- AMAZON PRIME

Next up we have another romantic comedy, The Idea of You, that is going to Amazon Prime although I was lucky enough to see it in the theater. This film stars Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine (who I adored in Red White and Royal Blue last year.)and while it not as good as RWARB, it is a solid entertaining little romantic comedy.

Hathaway stuns as Solene who makes an impression on the much younger boy band member Hayes Campbell at Coachella with her daughter and the two begin a sexy yet tender relationship. The chemistry is there despite the age difference and there’s lots of pretty people in pretty places falling in love, which is enough for me these days!

The only real problem with the movie is Hayes is written rather inconsistently. One minute he’s a has-been that a teen girl wants nothing to do with and the next he’s being paparazzi stalked at every turn. The movie couldn’t quite decide. I do, however, like the ending which pushes the characters to a real and meaningful relationship. It’s an enjoyable love story I wish more got to see in the theater like I did.

6 out of 10

Smile Worthy

BACK TO BLACK- IN THEATERS

Finally we have Back to Black. It’s the latest music biopic about musician Amy Winehouse, which is honestly extremely disappointing. I’m not above enjoying a predictable musician biopic but my main problem with this movie is it tells us so little about Winehouse as a musician. We learn almost nothing about her process or how she comes up with the melodies/lyrics. We don’t get a handle for why she even likes to sing or what she gains from the experience. It is all about her traumatic and tumultuous love affair with her husband Blake. I’m sure this relationship was very important to her but shouldn’t we learn something here about her music?

Marisa Abela gives it her all as Amy and Jack O’Connell is charming as Blake but nothing else stands out or feels beyond a TV movie level of quality (but lacking the fun and camp of a TV movie.) It’s unfortunately a tedious and predictable take on an iconic singer forgetting to actually tell her story. Unfortunately, i’s definitely one of the worst movies of the year.

3 out of 10

Frown Worthy

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‘IF’ Oddly Lacks Imagination and I Promise I’m a Nice Person (REVIEW)

| Rachel's Reviews

There are some movies that I admit I feel bad for disliking. They are such obvious passion projects and made with so much love that disliking them makes me feel like a bully stealing a little kids lunch rather than the film lover I am. Nevertheless, I have to be honest with my response and unfortunately I didn’t care for John Krasinski’s new original fable IF about the world of imaginary friends. I sincerely admire the swing of trying to tell an original family story and can tell it is made with love but the script needs serious work. It just doesn’t come together the way I’m sure they hoped for.

The main problem with IF is Krasinksi seems to have assumed that having magical creatures as characters would by necessity make the screenplay inherently magical but that isn’t the case. The movie really has very little charm or whimsy within the story. Most of the time spent with young Bea and the various creatures is running around New York checking up on various people. There’s no real foe for them to fight against or mission they are trying to accomplish. This screenplay screamed for some kind of ticking clock that they were fighting against that would give the story propulsion and meaning.

Also while charming as ever Ryan Reynolds is given no real story for his character but to be present and to hug Bea when she’s feeling sad. His character should have had something to do because she already had her Dad played by Krasinski (the best scenes are with him and Bea played by Cailey Fleming) and a Grandma character played by Fiona Shaw. A movie only needs so many characters to give hugs and comforting words of wisdom. Also the ending reveal for Reynolds character feels hard to believe.

The design of the imaginary friends are cute and the voice acting is all excellent but I couldn’t help but think about Lyle Lyle Crocodile from 2022 which has a similar story but was much better executed.  Both movies are about a pre-teen going through a tough time that inherits a magical creature and they have adventures. The difference is Lyle had a goal of singing on Broadway and there were songs and things for the characters to do. I am sure that movie benefited from being based on a children’s book so the story had been massaged and vetted over the years before coming to the big screen.

Lyle is also a movie made with young kids in mind. IF, on the other hand, feels like it was made for adults waxing nostalgic about being a kid. For a cast with some of the funniest minds working today it’s remarkably jokeless and serious. Adults may connect with its message and themes but I don’t see kids taking much from it outside of momentary enjoyment of cute creatures. It’s not silly or fun for kids. In the end, it just doesn’t work.

4 out of 10

Frown Worthy

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‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ or 300 Years and That’s the Story They Picked…(Review)

| Rachel's Reviews

I know people think critics are at our computers relishing every chance we get to tear into popular films. We are like the evil mad scientists of the arts world. Alas I must be a weirdo because I much prefer championing films, especially small underdogs, rather than tearing them down.

That said. I will always be honest. No matter how beloved a film or franchise may be I will tell my readers what I actually think- good or bad. Unfortunately today is on the negative side. I saw Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes which is a sequel to previous trilogy in the series. For the record, I enjoyed the Andy Serkis led trilogy especially Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (it has one of my all time favorite movie scenes when Gary Oldman’s character is able to turn on his ipad and see photos of his kids. Devastating.) The last in the trilogy, War for the Planet of the Apes, was a little overwrought and heavy-handed but the characters were compelling enough for me to stay invested.

Such was not the case with the new Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. I cannot overstate how uninterested I was in the story for this one. It’s not really that it was slow (which it is) but the nice bird monkey fighting with the fascist monkey was the opposite of compelling. I obviously won’t spoil anything but suffice it to say they did not make me care about what was happening with this old human electrical plant or the rants of the fascist monkey. It was so boring.

The other problem is (aside from a cameo) Andy Serkis isn’t in this film and you can tell. He is a master at creating emotion and a full performance in motion capture. These actors portraying the apes aren’t nearly so gifted. It’s similar to the problems of  2019’s The Lion King with animals coming off as flat, bland and emotion-free as possible. Unfortunately the human characters are even worse with Freya Allan being completely bland in the lead role of Mae. It would be one thing if she is supposed to be a feral type human creature but she’s vocal and has a personality- just not much of one.

I seem to be in the minority on Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, and far be it for me to deny people the joys of watching animals fight over a power plant. However, I certainly didn’t get it. Honestly I’d prefer the Tim Burton version of this story. At least that is bad in more interesting ways (and it’s bad.) I couldn’t wait for it to be over.

3 out of 10

Frown Worthy

 

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Blind Spot 99: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

| Rachel's Reviews

I can’t believe next month will mark my 100th entry in this Blind Spot series! What a fun journey this has been! And it’s been made recently even cooler by my friend Manda joining me to talk about the movies each month on my podcast. I really value her friendship and love talking to her about these films.

This month we have the Western classic from director Sergio Leone entitled The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Whether Eli Wallach as Tuco is ugly may be up for debate but I think you could easily call all 3 “The Bad.” Referring to anyone as “The Good” in this movie is a bit of a stretch. That’s for sure!

Last year I reviewed A Fistful of Dollars for blind spot and found it to be a stronger entry from Leone than this one. First of all it is a lot shorter so that makes it more palatable and it has a lot more memorable lines than this one. My favorite line from this one is “when you have to shoot, shoot. Don’t talk”

Still you have to admire the craft that is on display in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. The incredible long tracking shots and brutal violence have obviously been very influential on many modern directors and were masterfully done by Leone. Also the iconic score by Ennio Morricone is one of the most famous in film history.

The ending with Blondie shooting Tuco off the noose is also very memorable. “You’re a dirty SOB” and he is so it all works!

If you love Westerns than you will enjoy any movie from Leone including The Good The Bad and The Ugly. I’m glad I checked it off my blind spot list and I suppose I will have to watch A Few Dollars More next year (I realize I got the order totally messed up! Oh well.)

If you enjoy my writing please support me on patreon and you will get some great perks along the way!  I cannot do it all on my own. Please take a look at the patreon here.

Current Mini Reviews (Challengers, Hard Miles, My Divorce Party)

| Rachel's Reviews

It’s always nice in months like April when releases slow down a bit and us critics can catch up on some smaller films and indies that we might miss in the busyness of the summer season. Today I have 3  recent films to report on and will let you know how they succeed in telling their unique stories.

Challengers

Challengers is the new film from Luca Guadagnino and it’s one of those movies that’s hard for me to write about because I think it is just ok. I liked it as a sports movie and competitive rivalry narrative than I did as an erotic thriller. In fact, it was not the spicy movie the trailers had led me to expect. Most of the sensuality in the film stays squarely on a pg13 level with the R rated elements coming from a locker-room scene and language more than the sensuality. Of course, this is fine but I just felt the trailers had led me to expect an escapist romance and that’s not really what you get.

That said the 3 actors Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist have terrific chemistry and the competitive side of it is compelling- how each member of their friendship group tries to one up each other and it’s hard to determine who is in control over the course of the movie.

The movie would be much better if it was trimmed down from 131 minutes to 90 minutes. It screams of a tighter edit as many scenes are repetitive and we start to care less about the characters. The score is memorable by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, however, it can be overwhelming at times. I don’t know anything about tennis but the games all looked convincing to me and I was drawn into the matches. It’s just the tit-for-tat of the romance that could have been more exciting. It’s probably one you could wait and rent if it sounds interesting to you.

6 out of 10

Smile Worthy

Hard Miles

Hard Miles is another athlete movie coming out this week which is worth checking out. I’m a sucker for an inspirational true sports story and there is a nice one at the core of this film. I wish it was a little sweeter and cuddlier but that’s not the kind of movie they were trying to make.

Matthew Modine plays Greg Townsend a social worker at a juvenile detention center who decides to take some of his teens on a bike ride from Denver to the Grand Canyon. This helps them believe in themselves and come together as a group.

The adult cast is very strong in Hard Miles with Modine capturing a flawed but determined leader. Sean Astin and Cynthia Kaye McWilliams are fine supporting players. By the end we want these boys to succeed and make something of their lives and its gratifying to see them climb every mountain on those bikes.

The only downside to the movie is that it feels too long and in particular takes forever for the cycling to start. Some of the acting from the boys wasn’t on the level of the older actors. However, it’s definitely worth seeing for the performances and gritty true story.

7 out of 10

Smile Worthy

My Divorce Party

The last few years we’ve gotten a number of films about female friendship and for the most part I’ve enjoyed them. Last year I particularly enjoyed Joy Ride which I found surprisingly sweet along with the raunchy humor. Even this year we already have the disappointing Drive-Away Dolls which was all about female friendship.

The latest entry is My Divorce Party which is written and directed by Heidi Weitzer and stars Desiree Staples in the lead role. Staples plays Xan a woman who is sick of her marriage and decides she wants to burn all her assets in a divorce party with her friends so that her ex-husband will not have access to it. Her friends gather with her over the weekend for the Divorce Party and talk her off the ledge, convincing her there is life after divorce.

A movie like this depends so much on the cast and this one is strong with the likes of Rumer Willis and Laith Ashley.  It’s also filmed with energy and color that makes it pleasing to watch. Obviously a film like this is on a small budget but I had a good time with it. Not every joke lands but enough do that it works as a comedy. Most importantly the friends group felt real and authentic. There is a particularly funny gag about an eagle statue I won’t spoil but trust me- it works.

My Divorce Party would be a great movie to watch with your girlfriends and reminisce about the good and bad times that you’ve been through together. It’s worth checking out.

7 out of 10

Smile worthy

(I interviewed Desire and Heidi for Hallmarkies Podcast and it was super fun. Look for it coming out next week here)

So there you have it. 3 new movies to check out. Let me know what you think if you get to see any of them.

If you enjoy my writing please support me on patreon and you will get some great perks along the way!  I cannot do it all on my own. Please take a look at the patreon here.

Current Mini Reviews (UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE, SPY X FAMILY CODE, MUSICA)

| Rachel's Reviews

This time of year is always an interesting time for movieogers. It’s a bit too early for summer blockbusters (even though that’s getting earlier and earlier each year) and past the point for Oscar season. Instead it ends up a mishmash of genres and ideas and sometimes some of them end up being some of my favorite movies of the year. Today I have 3 movies to talk about and it ended up being 3 films I enjoyed.

Spy x Family Code: White

It’s always a tricky thing going into an anime film without having seen the series the movie is based on. However, some of the franchises are more stand-alone than others. Spy x Family Code: White is one of the more accessible entries (My Hero Academia is the gold standard in that department.) It’s a lot of energy for nearly 2 hours but overall I found it to be pretty cute.

It’s basically about a fake family that are living undercover executing a mission called Operation Strix. Through various contrivances they end up on the run from military antagonists who are upset when the little girl Anya eats an important piece of microfilm.

I highly doubt Spy x Family will win over anti-anime skeptics because it is big and loud and doesn’t take much of a second to breathe. That said it’s also funny and especially the last act the action is visceral and exciting. I enjoyed it but I can see that it won’t be for everyone. I could have done without all the toilet humor. That’s something you usually don’t see in anime but I suppose they were trying to entertain the little kids.

If you are looking for chases, races and some energetic animation you’ll have a good time with Spy x Family Code: White.

6 out of 10

Smile Worthy


The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

I must admit I am not the biggest fan of director Guy Ritchie. Often his stylistic choices get in the way of decent stories and entertaining performances. I particularly haven’t liked his period piece work in films like his Sherlock Holmes movies and his King Arthur movie. No thanks. It is for these reasons I was skeptical going into The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. It’s a period piece in WWII and I anticipated Ritchie’s annoying use of shaky cam and slow motion to make a good story hard to watch.

Well, to my surprise the director held back on those signature touches I don’t care for and actually produced an entertaining and engaging film. While one should not look to this film for historical accuracy it was a good, campy fun time at the cinema.

Loosely based on a true story of an underground operation organized by Winston Churchill that had the mission to stop the supply boats for the German U-boats, which were stopping American ships from getting to Europe to assist England with the war.

I really enjoyed the crew Ritchie assembles for this operation with huge charisma from the likes of Henry Golding, Henry Cavill, Alan Ritchson and Alex Pettyfer. Elza Gonzalez is fine as the femme fatale used to tempt the German officers but her scenes at times stopped the fun action which was the highlight of the film.

There isn’t much attempt to be realistic with our band of merry men wiping out Germans like they were playing at target practice but if that doesn’t bother you it’s an entertaining action romp. I liked it way more than I expected.

7.5 out of 10

Smile Worthy

Musica

And now for the new release you probably haven’t heard of but should absolutely watch it’s called Musica. If this isn’t in my top 10 of the year than we have had an amazing year of film. I absolutely loved this creative, whimsical, romantic look into a creative’s mind and heart.

Written, directed and starring Rudy Mancuso he takes you into his experience with synesthesia which is a neurological condition where you are highly aware of your senses. In the case of Rudy everything around him is a rhythm or a music. I am sure this is a highly cinematic version of this condition but it makes for some enchanting scenes of the world coming alive around Rudy through music.

Meanwhile Rudy is trying to figure out his job, his Brazilian culture and his relationship with a woman named Isabella played by Camilla Mendes (they met while filming and are currently dating which explains their endearing chemistry.)

Musica is hopeful, positive and a burst of creativity and at only 91 minutes it doesn’t outstay its welcome. I wish I had seen it at SXSW because it is not getting a theatrical release. Still, I hope you watch it on Amazon prime as it is a truly special experience. I am so excited because I am intervivewing Rudy on Wednesday. Keep an eye on Hallmarkies Podcast for that interview.

9 out of 10

Smile Worthy

So there you have it. What have you been watching? If you’ve seen any of these films let me know what you think. 

If you enjoy my writing please support me on patreon and you will get some great perks along the way!  I cannot do it all on my own. Please take a look at the patreon here.

Giant Movie Review Catch Up (CIVIL WAR, ONE LIFE,SOMEONE LIKE YOU ETC)

| Rachel's Reviews

Hey everyone! I hope you are all doing well. I haven’t updated in a bit because I’ve been sick and busy with taxes and other responsibilities. (Also one of these films I really struggled with my thoughts on it so have been procrastinating but I will do my best.)

First up I had a 4 movie day at the Megaplex on April 2nd so I was able to catch up on some of the movies I’d missed while at SXSW and when I was sick. I did a video review on these 4

In summary Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is an overstuffed mess, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is a boring entry in the disappointing franchise with very little Godzilla! Challengers is a good sports/competition movie but not as sexy as the trailers are making it seem. Felt a little repetitive after a while but I’m not a sports/tennis person. Lastly, Luca is an underrated delight and I loved getting to see it again on the big screen (I was fortunate to see it once before at Animation is Film Festival.)

Someone Like You

Someone Like You | Rotten Tomatoes
Someone Like You is one of those movies that I didn’t love but  I do think there is an audience for this type of film. It’s what a lot of people think Hallmark movies are like but they actually rarely are (not many dramas on Hallmark.) It’s more along the lines of a Nicholas Sparks type movie which I know can be very popular. My friend Terry and I just did a ranking episode of all the Sparks movies and that was a lot of fun. This looks nice, with beautiful people and it tries to tug at the heartstrings with lots of death and walks by the water.

The thing I didn’t like about Someone Like You is I think it is too long. It really should clock in at the 80-90 minute mark and it goes to nearly 2 hours. Also, the way they treat egg donation as on the same level as a fully birthed adoption was really strange to me. I guess that’s the way some Christians view it but they were acting like she had found her actual parents by finding out who donated the genetic material that her Mom carried and birthed into her. The way they kept talking about egg adoption was just very unfamiliar to me and not how I view the process and kept catching me off guard.

All that said, if you are Christian and like Sparksian type narratives (this is by fellow cheese-provider Karen Kingsbury) give it a try. You’ll probably like it.

6 out of 10

Smile Worthy

Civil War

The new film by Alex Garland, Civil War, is the one I have really struggled on what my feelings with it are. Even as I am writing I’m not entirely sure whether I will go smile or frown worthy on it. I will try to figure it out as I write.

What’s interesting is Garland has made 2 previous films I did not like. Annihilation was ponderous with too many ideas and Men was one of the most unpleasant and heavy-handed movies of recent memory. Going into Civil War I was expecting an annoying and preachy movie that would be more of what I haven’t enjoyed in his previous films.

To my surprise instead I got a rather safe film that has engaging scenes but left me kind of hollow and empty in the end. The weirdest part is in an election year having almost no metaphors to our current politics within the civil war at the head of this movie. It might as well be in the Hunger Games for how dissimilar it is to our current situation.

That said there are some tense scenes with the journalists that are covering this dystopian fake war. All the acting is good especially a bone-chilling scene with Jesse Plemons. I said in my out of theater response that Civil War felt like one of the Olympus Has Fallen movies but with an A24 skin over it and I stand by that.

While I think that is an interesting choice, I don’t know if it is one I can really recommend. If Garland does make another movie maybe next time he can come somewhere in between this and Men and have the perfect film? Good luck to him

5 out of 10

Frown Worthy

One Life


One Life is what I like to call a Sunday movie. It’s the kind of wholesome feel-good movie I could watch with my parents on a Sunday and they’d love. I really enjoyed it and was able to watch it on VOD if you can’t get out to the theater (I was sick.)

The film tells the story of Nicholas Winton who between 1938-1939 saved thousands of children out of  the now Czech Republic from the Nazis. Anthony Hopkins plays an older Winton who was reunited with the now adult children he saved in an episode of That’s Life! in 1988.

Johnny Flynn puts in another dynamic performance (underrated actor!) as the young Winton and Helena Bonham Carter is wonderful as his Mother.

Surprisingly I actually knew about this story because it was part of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas presentation they did with Sir David Suchet which I was grateful to be  able to attend.

It’s nice when Hollywood occasionally makes a movie about an ordinary but good person and that’s the case with One Life. It’s a little dry in spots but I still thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it.

8 out of 10

Smile Worthy

Housekeeping for Beginners

Housekeeping for Beginners is one of those movies that the title can be a bit confusing. I knew nothing about the plot going into it and assumed from the title it was going to be a sweet family story. There’s an air of whimsy to the title but it actually is a very sad gut-wrenching family story. It’s well done but lays on the trauma narrative pretty thickly.

The film is directed and written by Goran Stolevski and was Macedonia’s submission for the 2023 Oscars. It tells the story of a woman who’s girlfriend dies and leaves her with 2 children to raise. There’s a young man that also lives with them and another man who becomes her fake (and also gay) husband to help take care of the children.

There’s lots of drama going on with all these people and personalities but I was mostly engaged. If you are in the mood for a totally different tear jerker than Someone Like You than you might appreciate it. I thought it was just ok.

6 out of 10

Smile Worthy

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SXSW MOVIE LOG PART 2 (OR HOW I GOT SICK IN TEXAS)

| Rachel's Reviews

Any regular traveler will tell you that some trips feel cursed or at best don’t turn out the way we have planned. This was basically my experience with the second half of my SXSW trip and in fact I’ve been hesitant to write about it at all because I didn’t want to appear ungrateful or rude. I think I made the best of things and I’m beyond appreciative of my friends and their support but it was a frustrating experience.

The main problem started a couple of days into the visit when I noticed myself dragging and starting to have the basic symptoms of hay fever. It’s weird because I’ve been to Texas twice before, including last year for the festival, without many problems but allergies can be weirdly random like that. I did take a covid test to make sure I wasn’t contagious and it was negative.

My trip was a long one at 9 days and as each day commenced I got more sickly with eventually my eye puffing up and getting swollen and red. I could get some momentary relief from medicine but then I felt tired and groggy which is not ideal for attending a film festival. It was just a big bummer and I wish things could have turned out differently but that’s life.

Even a week later I am still purging my body from the effects of the outbreak I experienced. This is why I haven’t reviewed the new Godzilla or Ghostbusters movies. I can only do so much and people don’t like when someone is sniffling in the theater.

Anyway, I say all of this to give context to the last part of my SXSW reviews. I’m not going to upload them to rottentomatoes because I felt like garbage and was sleepy and not at my best for the viewing experience. While I still think I got an overall feeling for the movies it’s not fair to those that worked so hard to give them a weakened watch.

All that said here goes:

Animated Shorts

Animated shorts at festivals like SXSW are always a bit of a mixed bag. While I enjoy supporting the animators they are often too arthouse and strange for my taste.  These 10 were no exception. My favorite was probably Bug Diner and Sweetmeats but I wasn’t in love with any of them. At least they were better than most of the Academy nominated shorts this year (especially the winner!)

5 out of 10

Frown Worthy

The Greatest Hits

I really like the premise for this new film but it may have just been my fatigued condition at the time but it didn’t really draw me in like I was hoping. It stars Lucy Boynton as a young woman who can time travel through songs to different spots in her relationships especially with her ex who died in a tragic accident. At first she is trying to save her love but then things get more complicated when she meets a new beau in the present and then must decide whether going back is still wise.

The music is obviously a big draw to this film and it is fun to see David Corenswet in a few scenes as he is going to be the new Superman going forward. It just felt like they didn’t do enough interesting things with the premise and the characters kept having the same conversations over and over again. I wasn’t as engaged as I thought I would be but I plan on giving it a rewatch when it comes to hulu and seeing how I feel well rested. We will see

5.5 out of 10

Frown Worthy

Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story


Next up I got to see the first episode in a documentary series on hulu entitled Thank you, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story. This is your standard musician biodoc but I enjoyed it and it was fun to have the whole band there and then doing a Q&A. I’d definitely watch the remaining episodes which I think is a good test. I hope the other entries go more into other members of the band and not just Jon. Even so, I had a good time with this documentary.

6 out of 10

Smile Worthy

How Music Got Free


Back in the late 90s I got super into the whole Napster/music thing. At the time I didn’t view it as serious. It was no different than borrowing an album from my friend which I did all the time. However it obviously had insane repercussions. This documentary, How Music Got Free, goes through the impact on the industry with interviews from the people involved.  It’s all quite interesting and one people around my age should enjoy.

The only major problem with this documentary is the narration was really corny and hurt the overall flow for the film. It made it all have a cheesy and cheap feel to it. Still, it was interesting enough to recommend.

6 out of 10

Smile Worthy


The last one is called The In Between and this has some things going for it. I like that it was made by 2 siblings after their bother died and chronicles the life of various citizens in Eagle Pass, Texas. The problem was most of vignettes felt pointless and I kept wanting them to get back to the siblings and how they were dealing with their grief. That was the most interesting and poignant aspect. Not watching random people play soccer or run a parade. I get you need some of that to establish tone and atmosphere but the ratio was off.

5 out of 10

Frown Worthy

So there you have it. Those are the films I saw at SXSW Film Festival. Make sure you check out part 1 where I was less sick for those films. I hope you all are avoiding most of the allergies this season and having a wonderful spring!

Thanks to the Chandlers and Whitmans for having me and helping me when I wasn’t feeling great. Sure love you all

If you enjoy my writing please support me on patreon and you will get some great perks along the way! Especially for things like festival coverage I cannot do it all on my own. Please take a look at the patreon here.

BLIND SPOT 98: JOHN WICK (2014)

| Rachel's Reviews

Many people are shocked to find out I have never seen any of the John Wick movies. The first one came out in 2014 and as I’m not the biggest fan of strong violence and wasn’t a critic then I didn’t watch it. Then by the time I was reviewing films as a professional critic it was 2019 and the 3rd movie was coming out. It’s overwhelming to catch up on so many movies so I just never watched them. Now for this blind spot series I have seen the first movie from 2014.

I think the biggest asset you can take away from John Wick (2014) is the old adage to keep it simple stupid. Action movies these days have often gotten increasingly convoluted with AI, staring at screens and other mumbo-jumbo. This makes something like John Wick appealing. It’s a simple revenge story where a hitman is on a rampage after his wife is killed as well as their beloved puppy. We don’t get deep inside John or learn much about who he is or what he wants out of life. His motivations are simple, pure and easy to understand.

The one thing did surprise me, however, is how much of the movie takes place at night or in dimly lit night clubs. This is no doubt due to the small budget of 20-30 million as dark scenes camouflage a lot of flaws. For the most part this works with the overall aesthetic as John Wick is the hitman in black with a gun but it did negate some of the wow power of these scenes for me at least.


You could also feel the budget in the cheap stock footage they use for the transitions of New York City but all that doesn’t matter because John is a compelling character and has a simple yet satisfying arc. I mean they killed his beloved dog! Who can’t root for such a man?

7 out of 10

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