Set at an institute devoted to culinary and alimentary performance, a collective finds itself embroiled in power struggles, artistic vendettas and gastrointestinal disorders.
Peter Strickland has made yet another very strange movie and I think I liked it quite a bit, Flux Gourmet features a lot of absurdism and isn’t shy about it at all. From the characters, atmosphere and the writing it’s one very strange experience, the acting from the cast is quite great Gwendoline Christie in particular gives a pretty unique performance that captures the movie’s spirit, Asa Butterfield actually gives one of the best performances of his career. The writing has a very comedic yet bizarre nature to it that’s really fascinating to listen to and watch play out, there’s definitely a lot of slow burn elements that are most certainly not going to be for everyone, especially given just how bizarre this movie ends up getting. However it’s still a very interesting watch that I do recommend.
After his pregnant wife is killed by militants, an eccentric pacifist enlists to fight as a sniper in Donbass, Ukraine, vowing vengeance for both his wife and his comrades.
Sniper The White Raven might not be the best war movie out there, but when it comes to capturing realism it’s quite great. The color of the film is this ash gray color to it that feel really powerful, making some of the single shots quite haunting yet beautiful to look at the same time. The film is based on a true story which the movie does a pretty decent job of telling it, at times it does drag on a bit clocking in at almost 2 hours. The writing has some very strong moments that capture the realism of war, there are moments when the movie falls a little short but it isn’t enough to stop this movie from being a decent showing!
Sniper The White Raven releases on Friday in theaters and on all VOD Platforms.
A New York City screw-up named Teddy who is mistaken for the “Man from Toronto” when the two wind up in the same Airbnb. Antics ensue.
Patrick Hughes is at it again with another terrible action comedy movie, The Man From Toronto faced several delays, was stuck in release date limbo for a brief moment before it was ultimately sold to Netflix (originally from Sony Pictures). It’s not surprising to see why it was sold and quickly discarded, the only positive about this mess is Woody Harrelson who tries his best with the complete mess of a script he is given. Kevin Hart once again plays the exact same type of role he’s been doing for awhile and like the previous times it’s still not funny, the movie is the very definition of an action comedy that just exists. If you have seen any action comedy movie before you already seen this movie, heck Netflix has a few of them that are pretty similar to this one. The writing is a complete and total mess with several unfunny jokes and predictable moments that are facepalm worthy. The VFX are complete garbage as well especially when combined with the atrocious editing that almost feels like someone has never edited a piece of media before, which would be fine if this was some very low budget movie but no this is a $75 million dollar film released by Netflix. There is absolutely no excuse for this level of bad editing and VFX, overall The Man From Toronto is a very bad and forgettable action comedy that should most definitely be avoided.
A stripper and a religious protester are trapped together in a peep show booth and must come together to survive the apocalypse.
Revealer just kind of exists granted there are some positives, such as the music that actually gets the viewer invested. The performances aren’t too bad for what they are, Caito Aase and Shaina Schrooten had very little to work with due to the script being so limited so you honestly can’t blame them here. There’s some nice visuals here and there that are entertaining but that’s about where it ends, the rest of the movie is very repetitive and the characters are really one dimensional. The movie tries to cram in a half baked message towards the end but it doesn’t work, mainly because it comes out of nowhere and the movie never gave any real time to develop it.
After emigrating from Nigeria to Greece, the Antetokounmpos struggle to care for their five children. The brothers play basketball with a local team and discover their great abilities on the court.
There really isn’t a whole lot to Rise, it’s a very decent sports drama film that really doesn’t do anything new. It has a very TV movie like feel to it but luckily that doesn’t take away from the acting which is genuinely pretty decent. Rise does a decent job at telling of NBA’s Giannis Antetokounmpo who is played by Uche Agada, Agada does a solid job in the role and brings a lot of powerful moments to it which is always welcome. Writing wise there are some strong moments but at times the script puts the movie at a complete halt that does hurt the movie in the long run, if you are a fan of sports drama movies you will most likely like this one. Just don’t go in expecting anything groundbreaking.
Rise is available on Disney+
6/10 C+
After an embarrassing incident at school, Trevor, a charming 13-year-old, must summon the courage to forge his own path on a turbulent journey of self-discovery to uncover what it means to be a queer teenager.
Not much to say here Trevor The Musical is another one of those stage adaption films. It’s based on the 1994 short film Trevor, about a young boy who is a huge fan of Diana Ross and has a crush on his schoolmate Pinky Faraday. For what Trevor The Musical is it’s not bad at all, there’s some decent acting here plus Holden Hagelberger and the rest of the cast are very lovable. The major flaw that does hold this one back is mostly some of the songs, the Diana Ross songs are done quite well it’s the other songs that aren’t done very well. Hagelberger is a fun actor and dancer but his singing voice is not always great, in the more emotional moments it’s a bit better luckily. I definitely think this movie is going to appeal to kids and teens a lot more which is definitely not a bad thing, as the movie is harmless and has an overall solid message.
The film explores the life and music of Elvis Presley (Austin Butler), seen through the prism of his complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks). The story delves into the complex dynamic between Presley and Parker spanning over 20 years, from Presley’s rise to fame to his unprecedented stardom, against the backdrop of the evolving cultural landscape and loss of innocence in America. Central to that journey is one of the most significant and influential people in Elvis’s life, Priscilla Presley (Olivia DeJonge).
Baz Luhrman definitely does his thing with Elvis and it really works here, for starters let’s start with elephant in the room Austin Butler as Elvis was an incredible casting decision that led to incredible results. From the way he talked, moved and sung Butler completely transforms into Elvis to the point where it almost felt like you were watching Elvis. Butler does this at the age of 30 taking on such a huge role of being a highly regarded singer and masterfully perfecting the role is truly fantastic, the amount of styles Baz Luhrman includes is pretty insane but a very nice welcome as well, he does tend to do this with most of his films and while I do understand the argument how it can be annoying or sometimes breaks the movie. In this case it was very necessary when you make a film about Elvis you should definitely try to make something interesting and capture the spirit of his legacy. That’s what Luhrman did here, from the performances and dancing he really paints an interesting picture. There’s a lot of fast editing that makes a scene where it focuses on Elvis’s sex appeal really standout mostly due to how insane it really is, there’s plenty of more scenes like that as well! The supporting cast such as Kodi Smit-McPhee, Kelvin Harrison Jr and Helen Thomson were also pretty solid! There’s only two major flaws with the film the first one being the 2 hour and 39 minute running time, while I do get it was trying to tell as much about Elvis as possible, there is some stuff in here that was admittedly extra fluff that didn’t need to be included. But at the very least the movie does keep things entertaining and the running time does go by relatively quickly. The second flaw being mostly Tom Hanks, I’m not entirely sure if Tom Parker being used as the narrative device was very successful (Hank’s accent is very very strange). Luhrman makes sure to lay it on you of how scummy of a person Parker was and he’s pretty successful at doing that, overall Elvis is a really solid film that definitely strays far away from the usual biopic film, mostly due to just how transformative Austin Butler’s performance is and Baz Luhrman’s stylistic choices!
After a couple move into a remote farmhouse with their infant son, the woman’s struggles with postpartum psychosis begin to intensify.
Abandoned is a very by the numbers haunted house movie that happens to include Emma Roberts, who is easily the best part about it and really gives it her all with such a limited script. Otherwise the rest of the movie plays out exactly how you expect it to, there’s also a screaming baby who gets annoying very quickly and it never stops at all. There’s some attempt of trying to tackle mental health but it’s way too surface level to even matter, the jumpscares are also way too predictable plus the set up for said jumpscares are very uninspired. Emma Robert’s character is unfortunately not very well fleshed out, she’s your very standard horror protagonist that you won’t remember by the end of the movie. Overall there just isn’t a whole to Abandoned to be worthwhile it might be okay for someone who’s just getting into horror films and wants to start out with something small, but then again there’s far better options to choose from.
A father must come to grips with his daughter’s upcoming wedding and handle multiple relationships within his sprawling Cuban American family.
Father Of The Bride (2022) is the third film adaption of the novel of the same name, the other two being a 1950 film and a 1991 film. I’m not going to pretend I’m a super fan of either of the movies, for what they are they are solid comedy/romantic films that do a pretty decent job of entertaining the viewer. This version falls short mostly due to it overstaying it’s welcome, is a 1 hour and 58 minute movie that has horrendous pacing. It begins to feel like a chore to sit through unfortunately mostly due to not a whole lot happening, the performances are at least decent enough Chloe Fineman being the standout who’s genuinely hilarious in her delivery. Everything else just fine I guess, the writing really doesn’t do much to engage the viewer, the direction doesn’t really do anything offensive but nothing investing. It’s the type of movie where you would only watch unless there was absolutely nothing else.
Father Of The Bride is available on HBO Max.
5/10 C
Laura and Harrison have the picture-perfect romance built on the foundation of a shared love of music. After a deadly accident, Laura gets the chance to save the love of her life when she discovers that their mixtape can transport her back in time.
There’s a good idea somewhere in Press Play, it’s just sadly not fully realized. The acting is not too bad here the leads Lewis Pullman and Clara Rugaard-Larsen are both solid and Danny Glover in a supporting role isn’t too bad either. The main problem with this movie is it really doesn’t have anything going for it, everything is kept at a bare minimum level and introduces the concept of the movie but never goes further with it. Or at least doesn’t do anything noteworthy with it. It just ends up being a very safe romantic drama that surprisingly struggles with it’s more emotional moments, which is mainly due to the movie not knowing how to make the characters react to said moments. At the very least it didn’t over stay it’s welcome.
Press Play is available on all VOD platforms.
4/10 D+
Lina, a high school graduate, would rather spend her summer preparing for college than fly to Rome to fulfill her mother’s last wish. Once she decides to go, she finds herself immersed in new experiences.
I’m going to be real quick with this one because to be completely honest here…I’m not exactly sure what the whole purpose of this was. From what I could gather this movie is nothing like the book and in fact doesn’t even follow it well at all, but okay that doesn’t automatically mean it’s bad right? Well In this case it does, from the acting to the writing and the pacing it’s a complete and total mess on every single level. It’s a very lifeless movie that is the very definition of release date fodder, it’s just there so Netflix can say they released something. If you have seen any of Netflix’s terrible romantic comedies before then you have already seen this one.
Finney Shaw is a shy but clever 13-year-old boy who’s being held in a soundproof basement by a sadistic, masked killer. When a disconnected phone on the wall starts to ring, he soon discovers that he can hear the voices of the murderer’s previous victims — and they are dead set on making sure that what happened to them doesn’t happen to Finney.
In 2012 Sinister one of the most popular horror films of the 2012 was released, Scott Derrickson did a fantastic job with the movie. What followed wasn’t exactly great both Deliver Us From Evil and Doctor Strange were a huge step down from Sinister. Luckily The Black Phone completely turns things around and even arguably tops Sinister. The performances here are very strong, Ethan Hawke gives a terrifying performance that really captures the atmosphere of a deranged person. Mason Thames and Madeline McGraw are both fantastic well, who have a very believable brother and sister relationship. In fact it’s one of the better type of relationships I’ve seen in awhile, which is mainly due to the script that while is simple it is still quite effective. The jumpscares are actually well done as well, what makes these ones so successful is build up. Often times some movies completely forget about the build up to a jumpscare and use them like there’s no tomorrow, Derrickson makes sure to creativity build each on up so they can get under the viewer’s skin. The writing also invests the viewer quite well which in the end builds everything together, what really makes the film is the atmosphere it’s a bit surprisingly disturbing for a film that was released from a pretty mainstream studio (Blumhouse) the atmosphere adds to that by giving the characters a more human approach and not filled with cliches. Overall The Black Phone is a really strong horror film that I recommend!!
A figure known as “The Assasin” as descends from the heavens into a nightmarish pit full of monsters, titans and cruelty.
Mad God is Phill Tippett’s passion project that he’s wanted to make for years, Tippett has done a ton of visual effects work for countless recognizable films such as A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, The Robocop movies, Jurassic Park, Starship Troopers, Indiana Jones and The Temple Of Doom, the Twilight movies (New Moon and above) and much more. The wait for his film was absolutely worth it, Mad God an almost narrativeless film that has the motions of the characters, actions and visuals do all the talking. The best way to describe Mad God is that it’s a beautifully crafted nightmare that also feels like an acid trip from hell, it’s a very gnarly film that has beautiful animation that is used in such a unique way. If I had to guess of a theme or a narrative this film is going for it’s how civilizations can easily crumble, inventions made by the civilians are used against them by their god. There’s also this huge picture which depicts what a living hell would actually look like in the worst ways possible. The stop-motion animation combined with it’s themes and atmosphere truly make this a one of a kind experience, it’s a terrifying one that quickly gets under your skin but is all the more worth it. Go into this one knowing as little as possible!
Jerome Reviews... 