New York sportswriter Mack devises successful hookup techniques with friend Adam and their crew, but when she unexpectedly falls head over heels for one of her targets, they all must learn what it takes to go from simply scoring to playing for keeps.
Players is directed by Trish Sie director of Step Up: All In (2014), Pitch Perfect 3 (2017), The Sleepover (2020) and Sitting In Bars With Cake (2023).
Players is a typical Netflix romantic comedy affair meaning there is very little to comment on. The only couple of highlights here are Gina Rodriguez who gives a much better performance than this movie deserves. I also do like the friend dynamics of the friend group in the movie, when the movie is focused on the friends discussing their plans or them just cheering on for one another it’s actually not that bad. Even if we don’t learn a whole lot about Mack’s (played by Gina Rodriguez) friends you still buy their friendship and the group as a whole are charming.
It’s a shame the movie trades that in for incredibly dull romantic comedy cliches, Tom Ellis’s character Nick is not interesting at the slightest and is unfortunately a major focus of the movie. Ellis does a fine enough job but his character ultimately becomes another forgettable asshole character who Mack learns isn’t such a nice guy. If you watch at least 20 minutes of Players you know exactly what’s going to end up happening.
Overall Players has parts of it that could have actually been quite great if they were expanded upon. Instead this is nothing more than streaming movie fodder that will get forgotten about after Valentine’s Day.
Obsessed with reshooting the ending of his film, director Kim must deal with the censorship authorities, actor complaints and producers who can’t understand the new ending.
Cobweb is directed by Kim Jee-woon director of The Good, The Bad, The Weird (2008), I Saw The Devil (2010), A Tale Of Two Sisters (2003) and several others.
I’m a huge fan of Kim Jee-Woon’s work, with I Saw The Devil (2010) being one of my favorite films of all time I was very excited to finally sit down and watch Cobweb. While the film is not going to completely work for everyone, it absolutely worked for me and what mainly makes the film work is the amount of passion of it all. Both in Jee-Woon’s direction and the main character Kim Ki-yeol’s passion to finish his film Cobweb the way he wants and make it a masterpiece.
The performances are all fantastic In Cobweb especially Song Kang-ho’s performance as the earlier mentioned Kim Ki-yeol a director who wishes to complete his film the way he wants. What we have here is a very skillfully crafted and quite comedic meta commentary on film and directors wanting to create their vision. The film absolutely nails this down quite well and really delivers some quite memorable moments throughout, the film goes off the rails with its comedy quite often which only compliments the film’s themes quite well.
The clever use of sequences alternating is impressive and masterful work from Kee Jee-woon. The scenes in color depict events that happen while the crew is filming under time constraints as well as censorship, the actors are visibly reluctant and at times are even called in at the last minute. The sequences in black and white are of the studio shooting scenes, it’s a spectacular balance between the two that really paint a powerful picture. Kim Ki-yeol goes so mad he starts boarding up the doors so his actors can’t leave or not have any distractions that get in the way of him making his masterpiece. It’s played in this soap opera and comedic way that makes the film work due to the writing and the performances.
Overall Cobweb is an incredibly fun ride from beginning to end, as I said it may not work for everyone but if it sounds like your thing i recommend giving it a go.
A teen living with her strong-willed mother must take her brother to a specialized facility. She strikes up an unlikely friendship with an eccentric activist at protests surrounding a landmark medical case.
Suncoast is directed by Laura Chinn which is her directorial debut. The film is a semi-autobiographical her brother Max was diagnosed with brain cancer when Chinn was a teenager six years after being cared for by Chinn and her family. Max entered hospice care in 2005 at Suncoast a facility in Florida.
Suncoast is a film about grieving and loss, while that might not be a new concept Laura Chinn clearly knows how to put it into film as she has experienced it. The performances for starters really bring out the film’s themes, Nico Park absolutely hits it out of the park with her performance as Doris. Throughout the film we follow Doris in a familiar yet still very fascinating coming of age story like way, we see her go to school, try and make friends, interact with others and have conversations with Laura Linney and Woody Harrelson mostly. Nico Park truly brings such a natural performance that really does feel like a teenager having conflicting feelings about what is currently going on, trying to keep everything inside before just letting it all out in the end. It’s such a touching performance that really captured the heart of this film.
Laura Liney as Kristine is another huge part that holds this film together, her performance as Doris’s mother truly captures a very destroyed and grieving mother who knows her son could die at any moment. Much like Nico Park’s performance there’s this natural element to Liney’s performance that makes it all the more powerful and meaningful, the mother and daughter bond is very raw and comes across as incredibly natural. There’s several moments where the script from Laura Chinn allows Laura Liney to completely go all out and deliver some of the best acting from a film so far this year.
Woody Harrelson’s performance as Paul a protester who meets Doris and builds a friendship with her is touching. While we aren’t given the most development of Paul (expanding upon the protests would have been quite interesting) what makes Paul work as a character is mainly Harrelson’s performance and how likable he is as a character. His interactions with Doris are sweet and actually have some genuinely funny moments that don’t take away from the film’s sadder moments.
The film itself is beautifully written and directed by Laura Chinn, while the movie does have a few hiccups in the road such as not going a bit further with some parts of the film (the protests mostly). That doesn’t take away how natural the film feels and the amount of heart it delivers, there’s so many touching moments that capture the issues of being a teenager. Powerful moments of wanting to grieve are present throughout, it’s heartbreaking story that absolutely captures the audience’s attention and while not being anything new is absolutely touching in every single way possible.
New student Cady Heron gets welcomed into the top of the social food chain by an elite group of popular girls called the Plastics, ruled by the conniving queen bee Regina George. However, when Cady makes the major misstep of falling for Regina’s ex-boyfriend, she soon finds herself caught in their crosshairs.
Mean Girls (2024) is directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. which is both of their directorial debut. The movie is based on the Broadway musical of the same name which is based on Mark Waters’s Mean Girls (2004).
It should go without saying that Mean Girls (2004) has built a massive following over the years, it’s a hilarious movie that still holds up today and is a prime example of high school film done right. I can’t comment on the quality of the Broadway show since I haven’t seen it, but it’s worth mentioning I know some people who liked it and others who did not. Despite the trailers not being very good for Mean Girls (2024) the movie itself is actually not bad, it definitely is heavily flawed which we will get into why. But I was decently surprised of how it turned out
For starters, I’m sure this has been repeated countless times in other reviews but it needs to be said how excellent Reneé Rapp really is as Regina George. Almost immediately when she enters the movie she completely captures what made Rachel McAdams’s portrayal so great, she puts in this natural feel that is striking, genuinely funny and has beautiful as well as exciting screen presence. Rapp captured this more modern Regina George while also having the spirit of the original, it’s truly great to see and definitely think Rapp’s performance is one of the highlights of the movie.
Auli’l Cravalho as Janis is quite great as well, while the script doesn’t change her character that much Cravalho is able to make it work with her acting which is quite great. Tim Meadows and Tina Fey reprise their roles from the original, both of which are quite great, they do the same sort of thing they did in the original movie but it’s nice to see them back.
The musical element of the movie is pretty great especially combined with the choreography and each of the songs matching the tone of each of the scenes, granted I don’t think any of the songs hit it out of the park. But they are fun to watch and are quite entertaining in their own right. Once again Reneé Rapp truly shines here.
Honestly the major problem here is the movie heavily relies on the original, it reuses a lot of the same scenes, same dialogue and even same jokes. While it is nice to see some of those iconic scenes and moments again, it does feel a bit cheap like the movie is holding back from doing something different. It’s a bit frustrating because that really does not give you a whole lot to comment on, sure there are a few moments where the movie does make certain scenes it’s own by putting it’s own twist on it. But it’s not enough to really say that the movie is much different from the original.
Despite that however I do think Mean Girls (2024) is decently fun, I’m sure this will go on to be somewhat of a cult hit especially by younger audiences. It’s a great time that I do think could have been better.
An aspiring art intern is invited on a last-minute work trip to London, where she meets a handsome stranger.
Upgraded is directed by Carlson Young who previously directed The Blazing World (2021).
I’m one of maybe like thirty people who saw The Blazing World (2021) and ended up really liking it so I was excited to see what Carlson Young would do next and I’m glad to see her explore a different genre. While yes when you really get down to it Upgraded is a weaker The Devil Wears Prada there’s a level of charm here that actually works quite well in the movie’s favor.
Camila Mendes gives a solid performance that actually shows a lot of her talent, I’m glad to see she’s given another script that actually gives her a lot to work with. It helps that Mendes’s character Ana is genuinely fun to watch, Mendes’s chemistry with Archie Renaux is also quite great and the two work quite well together. Marisa Tomei just seems like she’s having a blast in her performance which is genuinely funny whether it was unintentional or not.
The third act does stumble a bit with a lot of the usual cliches that ultimately make the movie feel a lot longer than it really is and the huge lie of this movie can be a bit too much for some people to really buy. But the movie is a silly romantic comedy that isn’t trying to take itself too seriously, there’s a decent amount of fun moments that make the movie work.
Overall Upgraded isn’t really anything new to the genre but it’s a fun time that works just enough to recommend to fans of the genre. This is probably something I’m never going to go back to but I can’t say I did not have fun with this movie.
The thing Orion fears the most is the dark. When the embodiment of his worst fear pays a visit, Dark whisks Orion away on a roller-coaster ride around the world to prove there is nothing to be afraid of at night.
Orion And The Dark is directed by Sean Charmatz who previously directed a few Dreamworks animation shorts both of which are from the Trolls series (Trolls Holiday in Harmony and Tiny Diamond Goes Back To School)
When I first heard that Charlie Kaufman was going to be a writer for a Dreamworks and Netflix collaboration I was honestly expecting a very watered down film, however to my surprise Orion And The Dark works quite well and is genuinely a really fun film.
The voice acting is incredibly strong here across the board Jacob Tremblay gives a genuinely touching performance, Paul Walter Hauser does a really fantastic job of building the character of Dark and really making the viewer get invested into the character. Angela Bassett is also quite solid here even if she isn’t given the most to do, she still turns in a great performance as always.
The animation is quite beautiful, there’s a really creative mix of 2D and 3D animation tricks that are captivating and help build the world of the film, it also helps the movie move at a steady pace. The writing from Charlie Kaufman is very child friendly yet isn’t afraid to remind the viewer that the film is written by Kaufman, there’s some genuinely sweet messaging that is executed quite beautifully.
I definitely think the film fumbles the ball a bit towards the end that does away with a lot of the simplicity the rest of the movie was building, it sort of overcomplicates itself when it really did not need to. I do appreciate what the movie was trying to do with it’s final act as it was going for something a bit different, but it unfortunately doesn’t completely work and when compared to the rest of the movie it definitely sticks out like a sore thumb.
Having that said Orion And The Dark is a very sweet film that’s a quick and easy watch, it gets the job done for the most part and while not one of Dreamwork’s absolute best work. It’s miles better and far more investing than some other movies in their catalog.
Two romantic burnouts, Jane and Will, are immediately drawn to each other at a mutual friend’s wedding. After a disastrous hook up in the coatroom, they spend the next 24 hours trading candid confessions of messy histories and heartbreaks on the off chance that this fling could be the real thing.
Which Brings Me To You is directed by Peter Hutchings director of The Outcasts (2017), Then Came You (2018), Rhymes With Banana (2012) and The Hating Game (2021).
Really don’t have a whole lot to comment on, Which Brings Me To You is one of those “falling in love for a day” type of movies it’s very much like Before Sunrise (1995) granted it’s the not worst clone but it is a very unspectacular one.
Nat Wolff and Lucy Hale do a fine enough job here and actually have some decent chemistry between one another, there’s some genuinely cute moments that really do make you buy that the characters are into each other. But that’s where the movie really ends, the rest of the movie is very generic romantic comedy beats that tell a story we have seen countless times before as well as being done far better elsewhere.
The several stories the two share to each other aren’t very investing and ultimately lead up to a very predictable final act, having that said I wouldn’t say the movie is awful. There was definitely some level of attempt to make this work, as I said before Nat Wolff and Lucy Hale completely make this movie and even though the final act is on the very predictable side it is genuinely cute. I just wish the movie surrounding it was far better.
Which Brings Me To You is available on all VOD platforms.
A down-on-his-luck man struggles to find a better life for his family while fighting to free himself of debt. Captivated by the power and glory of the rising Messiah, he risks everything to carve his own path to a divine life, ultimately discovering that the redemptive power of belief may be his only way out.
The Book Of Clarence is directed by Jeymes Samuel who previously directed The Harder They Fall (2021).
The Book Of Clarance is the third movie I’ve seen this month that I appreciate more than I like or dislike it (the other two being Destroy All Neighbors and American Star) there is so much to like with this movie so it’s such a shame that it really does not come together in the end.
The acting is by far the best part about the movie, LaKeith Stanfield while starting off a bit rough does eventually really capture his performance quite well, Omar Sy, Anna Diop and many others do a solid job as well. It’s just such a shame that Clarence/Thomas (played by LaKeith Stanfield) is the only fully fleshed out character, everyone else is either forgotten about or not given a whole lot to work with character development wise.
The biggest problem here is the movie tries to do so many things at once, it’s very clear that it wants to be a parody of biblical epics, the Bible or an even a satire. It constantly switches and really starts to stick out like a sore thumb halfway through the movie, there’s a couple jokes here and there that are decently funny. But unfortunately most of the movie is just not really funny, I can definitely see what they were going for with the humor but due to the writing and comedic timing it just does not land.
Having that said I do think the movie is well made, Jeymes Samuel absolutely does have vision especially when it comes to capturing some really good shots that compliment the story being told. The movie has a stylistic look to it that at the very least gives the movie its own personality.
Overall The Book Of Clarence isn’t a bad movie, but it’s one that could have been so much better. It’s frustrating because with better writing, a more clear goal on what it wants to do and better jokes I think this would have went on to be something of a cult hit.
Jaycen Jennings, a former NFL superstar, agrees to coach a youth football team to avoid serving time in prison.
The Underdoggs is directed by Charles Stone III director of Drumline (2002), Lila & Eve (2015), Step Sisters (2017), Uncle Drew (2018) and a few others.
I’m a bit surprised, The Underdoggs isn’t anywhere near as bad as I thought it was going to be. There is genuine heart put into this that does get lost throughout the movie due to issues I’ll get into in a moment. The concept of the movie comes from The Snoop Youth Football League which was founded by Snoop Dogg it still continues to this day, C.J. Stroud who is the quarterback for the Houston Texans played in The Snoop Youth Football League which is really neat.
Snoop Dogg is quite great here, a lot of his jokes do end up being just saying “mother fucker” over and over again, but he gives a genuinely solid performance and there were moments that got a few laughs out of me. Mike Epps is also not too bad here he gives some decent laughs but unfortunately doesn’t have a whole lot to work with as the movie goes on.
The main flaw here is while the movie does have heart, it’s basically if you took any of those sports movies like Mighty Ducks and made the kids say piss and fuck over and over again, it’s something we have seen so many times before only with extra cursing. Which is kind of the movie’s only joke cursing a bunch of times and hope the viewer laughs. Which ultimately hurts the heartfelt moments and sort of puts into this weird mix of this sports movie that wants to have this heartfelt message and be good for kids but also wants to curse as much as possible.
I will admit some of the back and forth between the adults and kids were genuinely hilarious and is arguably where the movie shined the most, as I said before The Underdoggs is not as bad as I was expecting but that doesn’t mean it’s a good movie. It’s very heavily flawed and repeats a lot of the same beats a lot of sports movies do (minus the swearing) but I do think this isn’t the worst way to spend 96 minutes. There’s some fun to be had here and I do think there is an audience for this one.
The Underdoggs is available on Amazon Prime Video.
A struggling rock musician finds himself in a living nightmare when he accidentally kills the neighbor from hell.
Destroy All Neighbors is directed by Josh Forbes who previously directed Contracted: Phase II (2015).
I honestly had no idea what to expect with Destroy All Neighbors and after watching I’m very stumped on if I liked it or not, but I think I appreciate the movie more than I like or dislike it. There’s absolutely no denying that the makeup which has this 80s throwback feel to it is phenomenal Alex Winter as Vlad is very unrecognizable and truly does a fantastic job, the practical effects are a lot of fun combine that with a ton of gore and it’s quite a wild ride.
The first bit of the movie is what slows it down a bit, a lot of it is the tradional main character suspects the neighbor of being evil type of plot, but with a not very interesting main character. Jonah Ray gives an okay performance (bad a times) but his character is very lacking in anything to really like about him. The second half of the movie is when things get insane, the movie goes from being a bit dull to something bizarre.
Which is the movie’s secret weapon..be as bizarre as possible and for the most part that works, however that does sacrifice a lot of the writing and acting which outside of Alex Winter is very okay at best. The movie tries to use a lot of humor and while there are a few chuckle worthy moments the movie is not nearly as funny as it makes itself out to be.
I definitely think Destroy All Neighbors is one of those movies where you are either going to love it or it does nothing for you.
Jerome Reviews... 