A snowstorm traps town residents together inside the local inn, where newly arrived forest ranger Finn and postal worker Cecily must try to keep the peace and uncover the truth behind a mysterious creature that has begun terrorizing the community.
So I had no idea that Werewolves Within was based off of a video game, heck I hadn’t even heard of the game until I did some googling. The film itself is quite great, Josh Ruben who directed “Scare Me” does a far better job directing this time than he did with “Scare Me” the movie is genuinely funny with a lot of very fun characters! You have a fun little mystery thrown into the mix which does change up a few things from the traditional werewolf movie, the acting is quite solid especially from Sam Richardson who gives quite a hilarious performance. The writing is filled with some really solid humor that actually moves the film along which is interesting, the atmosphere is friendly but at the same time it has a mystery feel to it. Combining both together gives some strong results that make this a modern horror comedy that stands out, if you are a huge werewolf movie fan you are going to absolutely love Werewolves Within it’s a very nice balance between being a lot of fun and being a genuinely great film that I am most definitely excited to see again!
Werewolves Within releases in theaters June 25th and on VOD Platforms July 2nd
After meeting on the dating app Meet Cute and having a one-night stand, two New York millennials draw up a “Best Friends With Benefits” contract to avoid the pitfalls of a relationship.
While Dating and New York does borrow elements from other films similar to it (When Harry Met Sally) the film still manages to be quite entertaining and at the same time interesting! It’s a millennial love story that’s very self aware which is what makes the film work mostly, the main strength of the movie is the cast Taylor Hill, Francesca Reale and Jaboukie Young-White are all fantastic in their roles each giving a raw performance that helps the movie feel more relatable! The film itself is beautifully shot taking advantage of New York and making it into something magical, speaking of which the film has a huge fairytale type atmosphere which the film does quite a good job with. Seeing a fairytale type movie take on modern romance (especially between millennials) is very interesting, it has a lot of beautiful moments that absolutely shine through! I highly recommend giving this one a look when it releases which I’m hoping is soon!!
Pete is cautiously excited about reuniting with his college crew for a birthday weekend. But, one by one, his friends slowly turn against him. Is he being punished, is he paranoid, or is he part of some sick joke?
All My Friends Hate Me is another very interesting one and one that relies on getting to the audience. It’s a movie that tackles paranoia the type where you start think your friends don’t like you maybe you thought this when you weren’t invited to some parties or an event. It’s also very anxiety driven during some scenes of the film especially towards the end, which they are quite effective the film also has this discussion about friendship it’s positives but also the negatives that do happen occur. The acting and writing are both solid with great performances and some very smart well written dialogue that gives each of the characters their own identity and makes them as raw as possible, making the movie feel more relatable for audiences rather than just being another unrealistic take on friendships. Overall All My Friends Hate Me is fantastic, this is a movie I’m definitely excited to watch again once it releases, I recommend putting this one on your radar.
In a desperate attempt to cure his midlife crisis, Martin has fled his family to live high up in the Norwegian mountains. Hunting and gathering like his ancestors did thousands of years ago.
Wild Men is an odd one, it has a very interesting premise that definitely works at times but that’s mainly due to Rasmus Bjerg who gives a really solid performance. There’s plenty of enjoyable moments throughout the movie that also has humor in it that works in the several situations that happen throughout the movie, my biggest problem however is as the movie goes on it sort of loses itself, what the movie builds up to ends up being quite disappointing. The movie really played way too safe towards the end which was very frustrating and ultimately hurt the movie, it’s still an enjoyable movie that definitely had effort put into it I just wish it was a lot more.
H, a cold and mysterious character working at a cash truck company responsible for moving hundreds of millions of dollars around Los Angeles each week.
Wrath Of Man is a very decent action thriller movie and nothing more, Jason Statham does a solid job in his role, it’s the type of role that at this point Statham is use to and he does just as good as he always has here. Guy Ritchie does a pretty good job with the directing sure this might not be as good as some of his other movies but at least with Wrath Of Man it has that Guy Ritchie spirit in it where’s movies like Aladdin and King Arthur did not. The main criticisms are the other characters who are just not that interesting and the movie tries a little too much to give the villains a backstory, when it quite honestly didn’t need to. The running time definitely did not need to be almost two hours long, luckily the action scenes do help this movie out by making the movie move at a good pace. Wrath Of Man is definitely not bad, it’s a very serviceable action movie that gets the job done and for the most part knows what it’s sent out to do. Just don’t expect anything completely groundbreaking.
Wrath Of Man is now in theaters and on VOD!
6/10 C+
The true story of Dream Alliance, an unlikely racehorse bred by small-town bartender Jan Vokes. With very little money and no experience, Jan convinces her neighbors to chip in their meager earnings to help raise Dream and compete with the racing elites. Their investment pays off as Dream rises through the ranks and becomes a beacon of hope for their struggling community.
Filmmakers definitely love horses don’t they? Dream Horse is the newest horse movie and there really isn’t a whole to be said here, it’s a true story of Dream Alliance which is a interesting enough story! Toni Collette does a pretty good job in her role and is easily the best part of the movie, I would say watch this one because of her performance, the filming is actually quite nice with some beautiful shots as well. What does ultimately stop Dream Horse from being anything other than a decent crowd pleaser and nothing more is it really doesn’t do anything new. It’s a very typical underdog (or underhorse in this case…I know I’m not funny) that follows a pattern like a lot of other underdog stories do. It’s a very charming little movie that also has some decent dialogue and a few meaningful moments but that’s all there really is to this movie. It’s a very decent watch if your looking for something to just put on but it’s really nothing more than that.
Dream Horse is now available on VOD!
6/10 C+
In 1984 a Russian research team goes below the surface to find out what secret the world’s deepest borehole is hiding. On their expedition, something unexpectedly gruesome awaits the researchers.
The Superdeep is basically Underwater and The Thing, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. What’s not good is how the movie executes it’s idea which is really lacking, I like the idea of it but between a ton of characters who really aren’t written well all, the pacing which really drags towards the end and a story that becomes incredibly predictable especially towards the end. The Superdeep is really nothing more of a movie that you would put on in the background for noise, sure it does have it’s fun moments but it isn’t quite enough to save this movie.
Told entirely through video calls and digital diaries, Naomi navigates a problematic roommate and a burgeoning romance all while locked down during the Coronavirus pandemic.
As Of Yet is yet another movie that has a very interesting premise but is a misfire, Taylor Garron I thought did a pretty good job in her role as well as everyone else and I do like how they touched upon the BLM protests, it gives the movie a sense of rawness to it since the protests did happen during the pandemic. However as the movie goes on it loses that rawness due to a lot of choices and very below average writing, it’s worth pointing out this was produced by The Duplass Brothers which also produced Language Lessons which was at SXSW. Language Lessons is the far superior film as it uses the COVID-19 premise in a much better way plus the writing is far far better. As Of Yet just sort of goes on until it ultimately ends, what kills this movie for me however is how unlikable each of the characters are. Each one of them either does something really crappy or says something crappy to the point where it completely takes you out of the movie. The only characters I found likable were Naomi’s parents part of me wishes the movie was about them and their experience from the pandemic. As Of Yet definitely has the ideas and there was clearly effort put into it but sadly it doesn’t all come together.
Thomas and Bea are now married and living with Peter and his rabbit family. Bored of life in the garden, Peter goes to the big city, where he meets shady characters and ends up creating chaos for the whole family.
Everything I said about the first Peter Rabbit can be applied with this one as well, Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway is pretty much the first movie only much more wacky. The voice acting is all decent and delivers what’s promised, the setting combined with some of the filming is actually great to look at. The movie does use every kids movie cliche in the book and the last half of the movie can be predicted very early into the movie, however that doesn’t stop it from being at least pretty fun, with some actually okay jokes here and there. I do feel the movie drags on a bit and the pacing is very uneven in some areas (mostly the middle that feels like it drags on for a bit too long) with that said it’s a very harmless movie for kids, I do wish I had a lot more to say which leads to my main problem with this movie….it’s more less the same thing as the first movie, I wasn’t expecting them to completely change it up but at times you do start to feel “oh I’ve seen this before in the first movie” but overall it doesn’t do anything offensively bad it’s a decent enough sequel that kids will most definitely love!
Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway Is now in theaters!
6/10 C+
Determined teen Din is longing to reconnect with his childhood best friend when he meets a wish-granting dragon who shows him the magic of possibilities.
Really not much to say about Wish Dragon. It’s a huge shame Netflix did a very poor job of marketing Wish Dragon because it is a very solid movie, yes it follows the same beats as Aladdin that I do think is the better film. However this is a case where the movie manages to still be really solid despite being a clone, the characters and the animation are quite great. The story itself is what you expect when you hear Aladdin clone it does have it’s meaningful moments that are actually quite effective, Wish Dragon does suffer from having a very oddly paced start that really doesn’t bring in the viewer. However that all changes when the movie gets going, the jokes are a hit or miss. Overall it’s a enjoyable movie that I don’t think I’m going to revisit anytime soon but I would give a recommendation.
Estella is a young and clever grifter who’s determined to make a name for herself in the fashion world. She soon meets a pair of thieves who appreciate her appetite for mischief, and together they build a life for themselves on the streets of London. However, when Estella befriends fashion legend Baroness von Hellman, she embraces her wicked side to become the raucous and revenge-bent Cruella.
Those of you who know me or have followed me for awhile now know I am not a fan of what Disney has been doing with these live action remakes/other movies like Maleficent. The last live action remake I remember actually really liking was The Jungle Book, everything else has really ranged from terrible to just passable (I really don’t count Christopher Robin I feel like that is entirely different movie on it’s own it’s a fantastic movie by the way) and seeing how not so good Maleficent was I had very little faith in Cruella….that was until more and more came out about it. Such as the director of I, Tonya and the writer of The Favourite being involved it then started to become very promising and I really have to say they pulled it off. First off let’s start with the cast because that’s one of Cruella’s strongest areas. Emma Stone does a fantastic job as Cruella when it was first announced she would be taking the role it sounded like a very odd choice but she really made it work. She does a fantastic job of bringing the character to life it’s quite fascinating, Emma Thompson does a really good job as The Baroness sure it might be sort of a generic role but she really makes it work, Joel Fry and Paul Walter Hauser I have to say were both fantastic they were genuinely funny and were really into their roles they played a very different take on Horace and Jasper which keeps things interesting and fresh! The costumes, production design and cinematography are all absolutely beautiful and definitely some of the strongest parts of the movie, it shows unlike a lot of the other live action disney movies Cruella actually has style to it and it’s own personality where as the other movies have a lot of the exact same style and have nothing to differentiate from one another. The writing does have it’s flaws such as having some incredibly stupid moments, however there are the campy moments that the movie fully embraces that I can’t help but love. It’s a ton of fun to see a movie embracing the campy feel in certain scenes combine that with Emma Stone’s energetic performance as Cruella and you have yourself a truly fun movie that is surprisingly really great! Cruella is something I highly recommend watching, I truly hope Disney keeps this up and from this point forward tries to give the future live action remakes or villain origin stories their own identity.
Cruella is now in Theaters and on Disney+ (premier access)
Follows a straight-laced high school student and her slacker best friend who, after a regrettable first sexual encounter, have 24 hours to hunt down a Plan B pill in America’s heartland.
Plan B is one of the biggest surprises so far this year, this is Natalie Morales’s second directed film (first being Language Lessons which I saw back at Sundance it just hasn’t gotten a wide release yet very good movie though!) and let’s just say that Morales is a director to definitely look out for because she does a fantastic job here! Plan B is sort of similar to Unpregnant but does things a little differently, it’s definitely more on the comedic side but at the same time balances the comedy and drama which I thought it did really really well. It also has a lot of Booksmart elements into it which again I thought the movie made it’s own, Kuhoo Verma and Victoria Moroles were both fantastic in their roles! Both have a beautiful chemistry and both gave surprisingly raw performances that you really get invested in, the movie gets more and more bizarre and quite hilarious as it goes on. Resulting in some very memorable moments that really deliver, as I said earlier Plan B is one of those movies that balances comedy and drama which was quite interesting, it does take some time to get going at the beginning but once it does it’s one hell of a fun ride from there! I highly recommend checking out Plan B, it’s definitely going to be one of the most underrated films of 2021!
An aging Manhattan socialite living on what’s barely left of her inheritance moves to a small apartment in Paris with her son and cat.
French Exit was definitely a different type of movie, the plot itself may sound basic but once you sit down and watch the movie it’s truly bizarre. Michelle Pfeiffer does such a fantastic job in her role (I can easily see why she got nominated by some awards shows) she truly delivers a humorous yet strong role, Lucas Hedges also does a really solid job as well he shows his talent and it’s quite effective! Everyone else does a pretty good job as well, it’s just a shame a lot of the other characters go very underused sure some of them get their one or two moments to shine but that’s really about it. The writing is quite clever which I really did not expect from this movie at all, it’s hilarious and so bizarre to the point where it becomes fascinating the direction is also really solid as well Azazel Jacobs who previously directed “The Lovers” (2017) makes the film raw at certain parts while throwing a curve ball and making events get very unordinary, it’s truly an interesting mix that ultimately leaves you with a “what the hell did I just watch” reaction. The score is also quite beautiful with a lot of piano based music that is very calming, a lot of the film is the characters having conversations with one another. Some conversations are definitely more interesting than others but even then the not as interesting conversations are still investing to watch! Overall I highly recommend checking this one out, it’s truly an experience worth witnessing, it definitely won’t be for everyone so keep that in mind!
Jerome Reviews... 