Followers is a movie not worth following

Four very different students move into a house with all the usual social, financial and sexual anxieties that come with this exciting experience. They soon realize they are sharing their flat with a vengeful ghost from the 1990s called Dawn. Dawn wins them millions of followers on social media. The big-money sponsorship deals soon follow and greed becomes more powerful than fear. But the media attention awakens an old evil far more deadly than any ghost and the students must face the horrific consequences of their actions.

Social Media based horror/thriller films is a sub genre that I enjoy quite a lot, however there comes a time where some of these movies have very little to offer and recycle ideas from previous movies. That’s unfortunately what Followers does.

Followers can be boiled down to “man is obsessed with earning followers so he does whatever he can to get a following” this was done far better in Spree (2021) and Deadstream (2022), I’ll give the movie credit for some decent shots every once and awhile but everything else here is just horrible.

The acting combined with the writing is dull and has very little going on, it’s obvious this movie wanted to be some sort of social satire that makes fun of millennials and the whole idea of social media popularity. Mainly due to the characters being written as celebrity cliches and ignorant, which I guess the movie does that fine enough. The problem is during the second half when it tries to take itself serious and be a full on horror movie.

None of the horror elements work at all..The jumpscares are very tiring, there’s no atmosphere and tension plus the movie throws in a few twists that make very little sense at all.

if you want social media based horror movie that has very similar ideas and is executed far better I recommend Spree (2020) or Deadstream (2021).

Followers is available on all VOD platforms.

2/10 F

Prom Pact is a surprisingly charming high school movie.

It is the height of prom season, but high school senior Mandy Yang has her sights set on a singular goal: attending Harvard. When she finds out she has been deferred, she is determined to do whatever she can to get herself off the waitlist, even if that means asking the one person who represents everything she abhors, all-star jock Graham Lansing, whose father is a powerful senator and Harvard alum.

Every once and awhile you get a Disney+ Original movie that doesn’t completely feel like Disney Channel original movie in disguise, Prom Pact definitely surprised me for this particular reason, it definitely seemed like it was going to be yet another high school movie with Disney paint over it.

While yes Prom Pact does have the usual elements that a lot of high school movies have, there is something here that a lot of these movies often miss…charm, there was clearly a lot of love put into the movie especially with the cast. Peyton Elizabeth Lee and Milo Manheim are both fantastic and give genuinely charming performances that the viewer can easily connect with, even some of the side characters are great Margaret Cho does a pretty good job with some decent comedic timing.

The story itself as I said before is very much in line with a lot of other high school movies, but luckily it is entertaining the whole way through. If you have seen one high school movie you probably know what to expect, but as I said before the charm is what makes this one standout. The message of the movie is great and the execution on sharing that message is pretty well done, the writing has it’s hiccups but for the most part they really kept some of the interactions as natural as possible.

Overall Prom Pact is by far one of the better Disney+ originals and is even something I would recommend checking out.

Prom Pact is available on Disney+

7/10 B

Murder Mystery 2 is a small step up from it’s predecessor.

Now private detectives launching their own agency, Nick and Audrey Spitz land at the centre of an international investigation when a friend is abducted.

Murder Mystery 2 is a sequel to Murder Mystery which came out in 2019, a movie which I wasn’t a huge fan of. While I found the chemistry between Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston to be charming and it had some comedic moments, outside of that it was a very bland Netflix comedy. Murder Mystery 2 I actually found to be a step up from the first movie but that doesn’t really mean much when the movie itself suffers similar problems that the first one faced.

Once again the chemistry between Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston is really great, they definitely get a lot more room to tell more jokes and they definitely take advantage of that well. While not all of the jokes land there’s a decent amount of them that actually work well, the acting was decent enough and there were a few action scenes that combined comedy and action actually pretty well.

The main issue comes from the mystery itself, unfortunately it’s not very engaging and ultimately doesn’t make a whole lot of sense when you think about it for more than a minute. A lot of the side characters are just there to serve as suspects and have no real character to them at all, Murder Mystery 2 is also one of those sequels where it’s very similar to it’s predecessor in almost every single way and does very little to change the formula.

Murder Mystery 2 is available on Netflix.

5/10 C

God’s Time is fast paced and oozing with style.

Two best friends race against time to stop the woman they’re both in love with from committing murder.

God’s Time has been compared to Good Time directed by the Safdie Brothers and it’s very easy to see why, it uses very similar styles, editing and such to really drive the narrative home. But God’s Time takes those elements and makes them it’s own.

As said before the film has so much style to it, it’s quick and sharp plus has this chaotic energy to it that really brings the viewer into the whole experience. The plot might seem straightforward at first but it quickly evolves into madness and is quite effective at doing so, the performances combined with the direction are a lot of fun and really get the viewer energized as well.

The main flaws mostly comes in with characterization and the ending (kind of), the characters don’t get as much development as they needed. There’s just enough for the viewer to care for them, but the movie does hold back on development that could have been even better. The ending isn’t necessarily bad it’s more that it was a bit lacking, the movie just sort of ends after awhile and leaves you with a “wait that’s it?” moment.

That isn’t enough to stop God’s Time from being a solid film that has lot of creative ideas that for the most part are executed really well!

God’s Time is available on all VOD platforms.

8/10 B+

Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre is a mixed bag with decent action.

Elite spy Orson Fortune must track down and stop the sale of a deadly new weapons technology wielded by billionaire arms broker Greg Simmonds. Reluctantly teamed up with some of the world’s best operatives, Fortune and his crew recruit Hollywood’s biggest movie star, Danny Francesco, to help them on their globe-trotting mission to save the world.

Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre certainly does in fact exist that’s for sure, to cut the movie’s long history of just not coming out short. The movie was delayed a few times January 2022 and March 2022 to be exact, it was pulled due to featuring gangsters of Ukrainian nationality as the main antagonist. Which you could probably figure out was because of the war in Ukraine sparked global outrage, the film producers thought it would inappropriate so they pulled it.

As for the movie itself, what exactly is there to say? While the cast is actually pretty good particularly Aubrey Plaza, Cary Elwes (always great to see him) and Jason Statham. Plus I do think there’s some decently fun action scenes here, there’s ultimately very little this movie does better than a lot of other movies in the same exact same genre.

Guy Richie does put in his traditional elements he uses in his action films and they actually work here, some fast paced action, some decently put together moments that really engage the viewer and bring you close to the action. It’s all there and works pretty well, it’s just been done far better in other places heck some of Guy Richie’s own films have the exact same sort of elements and do them a lot better (The Man from U.N.C.L.E and The Gentlemen)

Having that said the movie is decently made and does have it’s fair share of fun moments that can be very fun, it’s definitely not one of Guy Richie’s absolute best but it’s not terrible either.

Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre is available in theaters.

5/10 C

80 for Brady is a charming movie with a fantastic cast!

Four best friends live life to the fullest when they embark on a wild trip to see their hero, Tom Brady, play in the 2017 Super Bowl.

80 for Brady was one of those movies I immediately wrote off as “this is going to be terrible” due to the trailer and just the whole concept alone, I did not think they were going to be able to execute the premise all that well.

But as I have said in the past in my reviews I like to be proven wrong and that’s the case here, for starters the main four Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, Sally Field and Lily Tomlin are all quite great. They combine their character’s personalities and make the movie incredibly charming, the Guy Fieri cameo is also pretty fun as well. I haven’t been a really huge fan of cameos as of late but I will give credit where credit is due the Fieri cameo was at least very fun.

The movie’s strongest parts come from the interactions the main four have with each other and the other characters, there’s a lot of genuinely charming scenes that you just can’t help but smile at and some scenes are actually pretty funny as well. I don’t think the movie really succeeds in the comedic department as a lot of the humor is very hit or miss, but I do think it most certainly makes it up with charm.

As far as execution on the idea the movie does it fine enough, the movie executes it the best it could have possibly could, sure there are some missed opportunities when it comes to humor. But as it stands 80 for Brady is a fun little comedy that has a very charming cast.

80 for Brady is available on all VOD platforms.

6/10 C+

Sweetheart is a charming coming of age story.

A socially awkward, environmentally conscious teenager named AJ is dragged to a coastal holiday park by her painfully ‘normal’ family, where she becomes unexpectedly captivated by a chlorine smelling, sun-loving lifeguard named Isla.

I really don’t have much to say about Sweetheart, it’s a very sweet little film (no pun intended) about trying to figure out who you are with some family dynamics.

The performances are all quite great and really move the film at a satisfying pace, the direction is solid enough to the point where it captures plenty of heartfelt moments. The family dynamics in the film are quite interesting and really give the film the extra push it needs.

Admittedly Sweetheart is very familiar in a lot of areas, if you have seen a lot of coming age films in the past you probably know what to expect. However I still can’t help but feel that the movie is still genuinely interesting. I’m not exactly sure why but I think it’s mainly due to the writing, which does actually feel like it captures how teenagers or everyday people talk.

Overall Sweetheart is a cute little movie that for the most part accomplished what it was sent out to do, it might not be one of the best coming of age stories. But it’s still a very satisfying little movie.

Sweetheart is available on all VOD platforms.

6/10 C+

Magic Mike’s Last Dance is a weak addition to the trilogy

Mike Lane takes to the stage once again when a business deal that went bust leaves him broke and bartending in Florida. Hoping for one last hurrah, Mike heads to London with a wealthy socialite who lures him with an offer he can’t refuse — and an agenda all her own. With everything on the line, he soon finds himself trying to whip a hot new roster of talented dancers into shape.

Magic Mike’s Last Dance is the third installment of the Magic Mike trilogy, the Magic Mike movies aren’t something I’m not that huge of a fan of. But I can still appreciate the work that was put into them and a lot of the filmmaking in general. The first two movies are solid movies with a lot of chemistry and charm that really work, so how does the third one stack up?

You would think with Steven Soderbergh returning as director (he directed the first) that this would repeat the quality of the first movie, unfortunately that’s not the case here. Magic Mike’s Last Dance starts out promising enough, with some really great charm and chemistry between Channing Tatum and Salma Hayek. Those first several minutes are by far some of the best moments of the movie.

After that however is when the movie starts to take a nosedive, while the choreography is fantastic and there’s some solid song choices here that do match the movie. It’s mostly the writing and chemistry that are completely missing, there are a lot of moments where it really did feel like the writers had no idea what to really do so they threw a bunch of ideas at a all to see what sticks. The chemistry between Tatum and Hayek just doesn’t work here, after the beginning the chemistry starts to fall apart and doesn’t reach the sort of chemistry that the other movies had (in terms of Tatum’s character with the other characters from the previous movies.)

There’s just a whole lot missing here that is very noticeable after the opening, the movie itself is well made and has a lot going on in terms of choreography and music. But lacks when it comes to storytelling and writing. I definitely don’t think Magic Mike’s Last Dance is a bad movie, it’s just a very noticeable drop in quality from the other two movies.

Magic Mike’s Last Dance is available on all VOD platforms.

5/10 C

Cocaine Bear is bizarre classic B movie entertainment.

After a 500-pound black bear consumes a significant amount of cocaine and embarks on a drug-fueled rampage, an eccentric gathering of cops, criminals, tourists, and teenagers assemble in a Georgia forest.

Where to even start with Cocaine Bear? In some ways the film is exactly what it says it is, an American black bear gets a hold of cocaine and goes on a rampage. Cocaine Bear is loosely based on a true story that happened in 1985.

To start with Cocaine Bear does a really great job of mixing genres together, it combines the horror comedy genre with the killer animal movie genre and does it quite well. There’s tons of hilarious moments and even some thrilling ones as well, the film also has that classic B movie type feel that really works in the film’s favor. It’s B movie entertainment that really has just about anything you could want.

The acting can definitely be a hit or miss at times, a lot of the characters are admittedly only there to be killed by the bear, which I do have to say the kills are a lot better than I expected. There’s some quite gory and gnarly kills that really add to the film’s B movie atmosphere, whether it was intentional or not it does feel like a bit of a callback to how gory some very low budget films from the 80s were.

As far as execution on the premise goes Elizabeth Banks did a really solid job here, she definitely found her footing after Charlie’s Angels (2019) and Pitch Perfect 2. She makes sure to make the film as bonkers as it possibly can and while the third act isn’t quite as strong as it could have been, it’s still a very satisfying way to pull off such a bizarre premise.

Overall there might not be a whole lot going on in the story and character department, but that doesn’t stop Cocaine Bear from being an incredibly wild ride from beginning to end. It’s a very solid film that I do recommend checking out!

Cocaine Bear is currently in theaters.

8/10 B+

Champions is a sports comedy that exists.

A former minor-league basketball coach receives a court order to manage a team of players with intellectual disabilities. Despite his doubts, he soon realizes that together they can go further than they ever imagined.

The Regal Mystery Movie was Champions and well it definitely does exist. Champions is actually a remake of a 2018 Spanish movie of the same name.

I’ll start by saying that I am very happy to see disabled actors on screen especially with a huge studios behind the movie (Gold Circle Entertainment as the production company, Focus Features for the United States distribution and Universal Pictures for the International distribution.) there were a few standouts such as Joshua Felder, James Day Keith and Kevin Iannucci who really gave such strong performances as well as touching ones as well. All the disabled actors did such a fantastic job and brought a huge amount of heart.

The rest of the movie unfortunately is very frustrating, while Woody Harrelson is great, Kaitlin Olson does well with the script she’s given and Ernie Hudson is a nice addition to the supporting cast. A lot of the movie boils down to yet another inspirational sports comedy, it has the exact same elements as you would expect and really doesn’t do anything different. It’s incredibly predictable and becomes a bit tiring very quickly.

Champions also did not need to be 2 hours and 4 minutes long, you could have easily cut at least 15-20 minutes of the movie and it would not have changed a single thing at all, perhaps the biggest frustration comes from the movie looking like it was actually going to talk about ableism but quickly moves on from it and doesn’t bother to touch the topic, there is a scene where Benny’s boss at a restaurant treats him like garbage because of who he is, It’s a shame that was glossed over within seconds.

Overall Champions does not have a whole lot to it, I’m sure there will be people who will enjoy it as a little inspirational sports comedy or even a feel good movie. But if you are looking for anything more you won’t get it here.

Champions releases in theaters March 10th

5/10 C