All My Puny Sorrows means well but falls short.

The story of two sisters: one, a writer, wrestles with the other’s decision to end her own life, and in the process makes profound discoveries about her herself.

All My Puny Sorrows definitely means well with it’s theme tackling suicide and showing the viewer’s pain, Alison Pill and Sarah Gadon are fantastic in their roles and do delivery some emotional moments that are effective. However the main problem is the writing that feels way too over written and for some reason tries to play off as a dark comedy, which doesn’t fit at all with what came before in the movie. The direction also could have used much more of an emotional touch, shockingly a lot of that is very absent in the movie outside of a handful of moments which are by far the best. All My Puny Sorrows could have been something really interesting and could have had started some meaningful conversations but a lot of it is on the forgettable side or is very surface level at best.

All My Puny Sorrows is available on all VOD Platforms.

5/10 C

Quick Reviews: Human Factors and Breath (2022)

Nina and Jan go to their holiday home to get rid of their mutual tensions; their peaceful holiday is interrupted by a burglary, which brings the couple closer together, but gradually their trust in each other disappears.

There’s definitely some interesting themes going on in Human Factors that if expanded upon could have resulted into a very solid movie. But as it stands Human Factors has some decent acting and actually has a thrilling atmosphere, but has a ton of pacing issues that completely drag the movie for a little too long. The story definitely has it’s moments to shine such as the beginning where it actually starts off pretty strongly, but slowly runs out of steam as it goes on. Definitely not anything bad but not something I would recommend.

Human Factors releases tomorrow in theaters and all VOD platforms May 24th!

Lara Winslet is an expert geologist in volcanology. She is together with her team of work on a volcano to conduct surveys. At the end of a working day, Lara decides to stay a little longer to finish an exam and she remains so alone. Returning, she has an accident, falling inside a hole in the ground and remains blocked inside there, where no one can see nor hear her. This experience will lead her to take an examination of her whole life and to think of her daughter.

This is yet another below average survival thriller, there’s definitely some interesting story elements going on such as Rachel Daigh’s character Lara Winslet. But by the end of the movie it falls a bit too short due to the writing not being as strong as it could have.

Breath is available on all VOD Platforms.

5/10 C

Most Anticipated Films Of May 2022!

April was another incredibly strong month for film, in fact so far this year has already had tons of great films. And it seems like May will keep that up quite well! Before we get to my most anticipated films of the month here’s some films I’ve already seen but I highly recommend checking out!

Inbetween Girl – May 3rd (VOD Platforms)

On The Count Of Three – May 13th (Theaters and VOD Platforms)

Pleasure – May 13th (Theaters)

Hatchling – May 17th (VOD Platforms)

Emergency – May 20th (Theaters) and May 27th (Amazon Prime Video)

Now let’s get into the list!

15. The Twin – May 6th (Shudder)

14. The Sadness – May 12th (Shudder)

13. All My Puny Sorrows – May 3rd (VOD Platforms)

12. Hold Your Fire – May 20th (VOD Platforms)

11. Downtown Abbey: A New Era – May 20th (Theaters)

10. The Bob’s Burgers Movie – May 27th (Theaters)

9. Happening – May 6th (Theaters)

8. Belle – May 3rd (VOD Platforms)

7. Montana Story – May 13th (Theaters)

6. The Innocents – May 13th (VOD Platforms)

5. Top Gun Maverick – May 27th (Theaters)

4. Doctor Strange: In The Multiverse Of Madness – May 6th (Theaters)

3. Lux Aterna – May 6th and May 13th (Theaters)

2. Petite Maman – May 6th (Theaters)

1. Men – May 20th (Theaters)

Crush is a breath of fresh air in the Teen romantic comedy genre!

An aspiring young artist joins her high school track team and later discovers what real love feels like when she finds herself falling for an unexpected teammate.

I’ve shared my frustration before about how a lot of these high school movies/Teen romantic comedies are more or less the exact same thing and as a genre it’s extremely difficult to make decent one. Crush I thought would follow the same path as the rest but luckily that’s not the case here, does it have familiar tropes that are present from the genre? Absolutely but they at least build to something fun and actually tell a decent story as well, the acting is far better than it usually is in these types of movies Rowan Blanchard and Auli’i Cravalho are both really great here and have great chemistry between one another as well, the direction from Sammi Cohen is quite well done and actually tries to make the story a bit more grounded and although a lot of it still jumps the shark quite a lot. It’s still refreshing to see someone attempt to try and bring a different approach to a genre that’s been the exact same thing for quite awhile. Some of the weaker parts you probably have already guessed, there’s this mystery of who “King Pun” is (an artist who goes around spray painting the campus) it’s very obvious as soon as all the characters are introduced who it is and the pacing at times feels a bit dragged out. However that doesn’t stop Crush being very entertaining and a genuinely charming little movie, it might not break any new ground but for those who want a genuinely solid high school movie/Teen romantic comedy I recommend checking this one out!

Crush is available on Hulu!

7/10 B

7 Days is a simple yet investing movie!

Set up on a prearranged date by their old-fashioned Indian parents, Ravi and Rita seemingly have nothing in common. The unthinkable happens, and the two of them are forced to shelter in place during the COVID-19 lockdown.

7 Days is one of the rare instances where the plot revolving around COVID-19 actually works quite well, which is mainly due to the characters actually getting development and getting to know one another. Karan Soni and Geraldine Viswanathan are both fantastic in the leading roles and truly have fantastic chemistry with one another, there’s a lot of humor here that really works well even if it sometimes doesn’t always land it still ends up being very charming. The movie also does a pretty solid job of balancing comedic moments and very serious moments that both Ravi (Soni) and Rita (Viswanathan) face, the 3rd act I do feel is a bit way too on the nose and has a handful of much weaker scenes compared to what came before. However the ending is very touching and wraps up the movie quite nicely, 7 Days is a very straightforward movie that has a well told story, some strong acting and tons of touching moments. If more COVID-19 related movies can be like this one I wouldn’t mind them as much.

7 Days is available on all VOD Platforms.

7/10 B

The Survivor is a powerful story told through great direction!

After being sent to Auschwitz, Haft is forced to participate in a gladiatorial boxing spectacle along with his fellow prisoners.

The Survivor tells the story of Harry Haft, a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp where he boxed several inmates to survive. Ben Foster’s portrayal of Haft is just absolute brilliant, he brings a very powerful and raw type of performance to the table and also does a great job of capturing the emotional depiction of a survivor of Auschwitz. You also see a lot of the side effects of how it can effect someone, the flashback scenes to when Haft was a prisoner are genuinely disturbing and are a real gut punch as well. The writing is really strong here combined with the performances that keep this movie as grounded as possible, Barry Levinson does a solid job in the director’s chair but at times it does feel like he tries to do too much at once. The running time is an issue mostly due to poor pacing that does put the movie at a halt especially during the middle portion. The transition between present day and the flashback scenes are sort of messy at times some of which seem to change at complete random. Having that said The Survivor has a lot of emotional moments, really strong acting and a powerful story that it tells very well, so it is definitely something I highly recommend checking out!

The Survivor is available on HBO Max!

7/10 B

Bubble has beautiful animation but not enough world building or character growth.

Gravity-defying bubbles rain down, cutting off Tokyo from the rest of the world. The city skyline becomes a playground for young people competing in parkour team battles. Hibiki plummets into the sea but is saved by a girl with mysterious powers.

It’s kind of baffling to see how a film like Bubble could have such an interesting idea yet fall short pretty hard. The animation is stunning and adds a lot of detail to the world the movie takes place in and there’s some genuinely touching moments here that work. What hurts this movie is the writing and characters, there’s a shockingly little amount of character development even with the main characters as well. A lot of the characters are restricted to cliche anime type personalities, meaning they have no chance to grow as characters or offer any interesting development. The writing does have a few decent moments but for the most part it leaves a lot more to be desired, there’s not enough world building, we get a few scenes that talk about the world and that’s really about it. The animation does a lot of the work but even that can’t fully describe the world, It’s such a shame because I do think Bubble could have been a decent little movie had the writing and characters been a lot stronger.

Bubble is available on Netflix.

5/10 C

365 Days: This Day is bad.

Laura and Massimo are back and stronger than ever. However, Massimo’s family ties and a mysterious man bidding for Laura’s heart complicate the lovers’ lives.

I’m not going to harp on this for too long as there really isn’t a whole lot to say here, but the idea of 365 Days getting a sequel and it actually being released baffles me. The first movie was already one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen so how worse can it get? Well I’m not sure because 365 Days: This Day is horrendous for completely different reasons, for starters the movie isn’t really a movie. It’s just a bunch of poorly done sex scenes that have nothing to them with a handful of songs, it’s shot and edited like a very badly done music video. Some of the songs are fine enough but they don’t add anything to the story or compliment anything well, the acting is horrendous just as much as it was in the first movie. The same can be said for the writing, it’s written like someone’s poorly done fanfiction and gives the characters absolutely no room for development. Any cliched fanfiction character personality you can think of is present here, as far as story goes I couldn’t tell you what happens. As I said a majority of it is terrible sex scenes with music, at the last 20 or so minutes the movie remembers there’s supposedly a plot and tries to bring a thrilling type atmosphere. Which is as bad as you would expect, overall 365 Days: This Day is easily the worst movie so far this year and I’ll be shocked if something ends up beating it.

365 Days: This Day is available on Netflix.

Disgrace To Cinema F

Quick Review: In A New York Minute (2022)

A group of three women discover that the solution to their problems lies in a pregnancy test. One woman struggles with an eating disorder, another moonlights as an escort, and another must choose between a passionate affair and a loveless marriage.

While it might not be anything new, In A New York Minute balances the romantic scenes with the dramatic ones quite well. There’s definitely room for improvement such as the writing not being quite as strong as it could have been, however that doesn’t stop it from giving some quite strong moments between the characters. Especially some of the dialogue combined with the filming complementing each other quite well!

In A New York Minute releases May 3rd on all VOD Platforms.

6/10 C+

The Bad Guys is an electrifying and energetic ride!

Several reformed yet misunderstood criminal animals attempt to become good, with some disastrous results along the way.

I’ve said this numerous times before but I think it needs to be repeated, I like to give every film a chance to impress, surprise or disappoint. It’s a huge part of why I absolutely love watching and reviewing films, The Bad Guys is an example of a fantastic surprise. First off the voice cast are really strong from Sam Rockwell to Zazie Beetz to Marc Maron plus Craig Robinson and Anthony Ramos everyone has their time to shine and take full advantage of it. The chemistry between all of them is really great as well it really adds to the film and gives it such a fun atmosphere, the jokes are actually quite great as well. Sure some don’t land but It surprised me how well written a lot of the jokes actually were, the film itself is not only a really strong animated film but it’s also a really good crime/heist film as well. It uses a lot of elements you see in the genre but still feels fresh at the same time, the animation is absolutely stunning there’s so much detail and personality in the animation with every scene. The characters have so much expressions, it’s fast paced, the editing energetic and the animation is very electrifying. The characters are absolutely well done, not every character gets a huge amount of development however what remains consistent is that each of them are very fun. They have their own personalities and the voice work makes them that much stronger. Overall Dreamworks hit it out of the park, The Bad Guys is hands down Dreamworks’s best film in awhile and it’s something you should absolutely check out!!

The Bad Guys is available in theaters!

9/10 A