Quick Reviews: Father Of The Bride (2022), Press Play and Love & Gelato.

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.

Love & Gelato is available on Netflix!

Disgrace To Cinema F

The Black Phone is an effective film mixed dark elements.

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!!

The Black Phone releases on Friday!

9/10 A

Mad God is an acid trip from hell and it’s brilliant.

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!

Mad God is available on Shudder!

10/10 A+

Jerry & Marge Go Large is a solid feel good movie based on a interesting true story.

Jerry Selbee discovers a mathematical loophole in the Massachusetts lottery, and with the help of his wife, Marge, he wins millions of dollars.


While on the surface Jerry & Marge go large is just another feel good movie and doesn’t do anything brand new. There’s a huge amount of charm to it that really makes it work, plus the true story the film is based on makes for a great film. I’ll quickly summarize, the true story is based on Jason Fagone’s 2018 HuffPost article of the same name. Jerry Selbee who recently retired in 2003 settled down with his wife, when one day he found a leaflet for a state lottery at some convenience shop, being someone who had a mathematician degree Selbee noticed a huge flaw in the system and exploited the loophole which was perfectly legal. This is how the couple quickly started winning, they mainly did this to help their local community which was Evart Michigan. The movie itself does a fantastic job of telling this story, Bryan Cranston and Annette Bening both do a fantastic job and give very human and raw performances that are really heartwarming. Especially when you combine it with the writing that has some genuinely funny humor that matches the tone the movie is going for, it has this old soul to it which really drives the home the movie’s point of an old couple wanting help everyone In their community. It’s the type of feeling you get when you visit your grandparents they always look out for you or want to help in anyway they can, that’s how this movie feels it’s a truly interesting approach. As I said before the movie itself isn’t going to do anything new, but this is a case where I don’t think it really needs to. The film establishes it’s goal right from the beginning and accomplishes it really well! Overall Jerry & Marge Go Large is a very heartwarming story that I highly recommend checking out.

Jerry & Marge Go Large is available on Paramount+

7/10 B

Spiderhead has a lot of ideas but falls short.

Two inmates form a connection while grappling with their pasts in a state-of-the-art penitentiary run by a brilliant visionary who experiments on his subjects with mind-altering drugs.

Spiderhead is Joseph Kosinski’s second movie this year (first being Top Gun Maverick) and while this movie is far more creative than a lot of Netflix Sci-Fi/Thriller original movies, it still misses the mark. The best part about it is the performances by far, Chris Hemsworth, Miles Teller and more do a really solid job of having fun with the script they were given. Plus I do think the world building was surprisingly not bad especially for a Netflix original of this type of genre, the main issue is mainly the writing that doesn’t give the creative ideas Room to breathe and instead turns it into a bit of a mess. Especially when the third act rolls around where it completely falls apart, I’m sure there’s several people who will find a lot of fun to be had with this one. Spiderhead has a lot of ideas and is very ambitious but doesn’t use said ideas in the best possible way.

Spiderhead is available on Netflix!

5/10 C

Quick Review: Mid-Century (2022)

A couple rent a vacation home haunted by the spirits of the architect who built it and his two wives, as well as their deranged, living son.

So I had no idea what to expect from Mid-Century all I knew was that it had a surprising amount of talent in it Stephen Lang, Vanessa Williams and a few others are in it. Unfortunately that’s the only good part about it, this movie pretty much felt like if the LifeTime channel decided one day they wanted to attempt at a thriller/mystery movie. It has the same terrible acting, the same messy writing and a lot of moments that are just absolutely horrendous. The ideas the movie presents are interesting they are just executed in such a lazy and uninspired way where the movie runs out of energy before it can even begin, I really don’t know what else to say. Mid-Century could have been an interesting little movie but completely forgets how to use creative ideas.

Mid-Century is available on all VOD Platforms.

2/10 F

Paid In Blood has the right elements but is ruined by sluggish pacing.

When a powerful crime ring begins construction on the largest casino in all of Asia, the gang is challenged by a young, vicious gangster from Seoul who is more than eager to kill his way to the top to gain power.

There’s movies that feel way too long and then there’s movies that feel like an eternity, Paid In Blood takes way too long to get going fortunately it does have a few things backing it up. For starters the acting is not too bad especially when combined with the atmosphere, that definitely could have been a bit more thrilling but is fine for what it is. There’s a few action scenes that are solid enough with some decent kills as well that are actually brutal, it’s the pacing that ultimately hurts this movie from becoming anything more. There’s moments where it’s put at a complete sudden stop due to just how slow the movie really, overall this could have easily been worse but it’s not something to ever go back to.

Paid In Blood is available on HI-YAH! and will be released on all VOD Platforms July 26th.

5/10 C

IP Man: The Awakening is a forgettable action movie

While visiting Hong Kong, a young Master Ip intervenes in a kidnapping attempt, unintentionally igniting a turf war with a ruthless human trafficking ring. In retaliation, the gang kidnaps one of Ip Man’s close friends, leaving him with no choice but to challenge the group’s notoriously brutal boxing champion head-on.

So what I can gather from doing a bit of looking around is that IP Man: The Awakening isn’t part of the IP Man film series by Wilson Yip. Instead this movie feels more of a cash in on the name itself, outside of that there really is not a whole lot to talk about here. The acting is fine enough, there’s a few okay action scenes that are unfortunately held back due to the editing being a complete mess. The characters act way too cartoony for their own good which I guess brings in some “it’s so bad it’s hilarious” moments, but that really isn’t enough to save this movie from being incredibly forgettable.

IP Man: The Awakening releases tomorrow on Blu-Ray.

3/10 D-

Lightyear is a decent enough adventure that could have went further.

Legendary space ranger Buzz Lightyear embarks on an intergalactic adventure alongside ambitious recruits Izzy, Mo, Darby, and his robot companion, Sox.

Lightyear is Pixar’s newest film which the whole idea of the movie is it is about who the toy Buzz Lightyear from the Toy Story films is based on. An idea that sadly doesn’t get fully utilized, but let’s go over the positives first. First off the animation is stunning, it compliments the whole space theme really well and is the very definition of having a sci-fi feel. The voice acting all around was really strong as well, particularly Keke Palmer, Chris Evans, Uzo Aduba and Peter Sohn. Speaking of which Sox the cat is hands down the best animal sidekick in recent memory, usually I’m not a fan of the usual modern Disney sidekick who’s just there for selling toys and making unfunny jokes. But Sox was a genuinely fun character who had a lot of charm and feels a lot more than a dollar sign, the first half of Lightyear felt a lot like what you would expect from Pixar…the first 30 minutes to be exact. There’s some genuinely touching scenes with a lot of emotions mixed in that really paint an interesting story about blaming yourself and trying to do everything you can to fix a situation. The major problem with Lightyear is what follows after that, the movie quickly becomes a very generic sci-fi story filled to the brim with cliches. A huge part of this is what they decided to do with Zurg, which was a very puzzling choice that really did not add much to the movie. There are some decent bits here and there in the second half, but it’s not enough to put this movie back to where it was in the first half. It’s a lot of sci-fi elements that don’t blend together very well. Overall Lightyear is definitely not a bad film (far from it) it just could have taken it’s ideas from the first half of the movie and pushed them even further.

Lightyear is now in theaters.

7/10 B

My Fake Boyfriend is a Buzzfeed article if it were a movie.

Andrew has a major problem: he can’t stay away from the toxic boyfriend who just dumped him. His meddling friends decide to help him by creating Cristiano, a perfect fake boyfriend on social media.

My Fake Boyfriend is yet another movie produced by Buzzfeed Studios where the whole idea is to see how they can shove as many “relatable” and unfunny moments as possible, the cast at least tries their best with what they are given. But it’s nowhere near enough due to the writing being a complete and total dumpster fire, a lot of the jokes here strangely feel very dated and is the equivalent of a Buzzfeed article. As far as the plot goes there is honestly not a whole to say here, it uses an absurd idea that at first sounds really interesting and makes you wonder what they are actually going to do with it. Instead it ends up being very formulaic like a lot of romantic comedies and never does anything notable with it’s premise, it also doesn’t help that the writing feels like none of the writers have actually talked to an actual person. Which is to be expected from Buzzfeed since that’s the main criticism a lot of people use and rightfully so, finally it’s great that there is diversity but this is the type of movie where it comes off as studios wanting to sell a product rather than genuinely wanting to put diversity in their film. When you compare Fire Island a film that came out earlier this month which had gay representation to My Fake Boyfriend, the difference sticks out like a sore thumb. You have Fire Island a film that is really strong, feels like it was made with passion and not as a product while the other one is My Fake Boyfriend.

My Fake Boyfriend is available on Amazon Prime Video.

1/10 F