During the final throes of the last Carlist war, a little girl is rescued from an orphanage by a mysterious woman who lives deep inside the forest.
All The Moons is a very different take on the vampire genre, it takes a lot of fantasy elements as well as some vampire elements we are use to and blends them into one beautiful piece. The horror elements are not very present here as the movie focuses on character moments and a deep dive into the main character and her experiences, there’s a lot of emotional moments that really caught me off guard as well. The acting and writing truly make this film worth the watch, there’s a lot of emotion put into the roles which adds so much to the characters. The filming is beautifully done and completely matches the atmosphere the film is going for, All The Moons is definitely something to check out if you are seeking for a very different vampire film.
A young couple’s relationship clashes with the harsh realities of the California Gold Rush of 1850. Angel, facing demons that seem unsurmountable, meets Michael, a farmer who wants her for his wife. As Angel experiences love for the first time, feelings of unworthiness cause her to run from the new life she doesn’t think she deserves. When Michael sets out to find her, Angel discovers that she has the power to choose the life she wants.
So it looks Pure Flix Entertainment rebranded into Pinnacle Peak Pictures, had I know this before hand I would have probably skipped this movie altogether but too late now. Redeeming Love is a terrible movie that’s truly baffling especially the way it handles heavy subjects that include rape, pedophillia, suicide, hanging, murder, abuse and so on. There’s obviously nothing wrong about a movie tackling these topics what’s important is to make sure you know what your talking about and being a Pure Flix film (I don’t care I’m calling them Pure Flix for this review) they show they have no idea what they are talking about. Redeeming Love basically says “Jesus is the solution” which is incredibly insensitive and downright mocking. What’s worse is the movie is basically a collection of terrible things after another with no discussion about any of them. This goes on throughout the 134 minute running time, which leaves you with a horrible taste in your mouth. The acting and writing are both horrendous and the movie itself is a giant waste of time, nothing redeeming about this complete disaster at all.
As a young woman painstakingly prepares a romantic homecoming for her girlfriend, their apartment begins to feel more like a tomb when strange voices, shadows and hallucinations reveal a truth she’s been unwilling to face.
Alone With You is an interesting little movie that is very flawed but has a lot to like about it. Emily Bennett gives a decent performance and it’s always nice to see Barbara Crampton as well, the atmosphere combined with the setting definitely adds to the movie giving it a creep feeling at times. I do wish the writing was a bit better and did a little more with it’s premise, especially during the last half of the movie where I do feel like it loses a bit of steam. But the movie does wrap up nice enough to warrant a watch.
Alone With You is available on all VOD Platforms!
6/10 C+
Suburbanites are locked in for their own protection by their household robots while an android revolt rages outside.
I was hoping Bigbug was going to be Netflix’s first good original film of the year, sadly that’s not the case. Bigbug feels like so much yet so little, there’s some nice color palettes used here and some decent humor here and there. But good lord was this tough to sit through, mostly due to the acting and writing not blending well together at all. A lot of it is just not funny at all either, the sci-fi elements work fine enough here but don’t nowhere near as effective as they could have been. There was definitely effort put into it, the film is definitely well made and as I said the color palettes used are very interesting and actually do add to the film. It’s just a huge shame this came from Jean-Pierre Jeunet, overall Bigbug is a very forgettable movie with not much going for it unfortunately.
After her grandfather’s death, 20-year-old Alma decides to go back to her childhood home — a little island in the heart of a majestic forest. While there, she rescues two helpless cubs: a wolf and a lion. They forge an inseparable bond, but their world soon collapses when a forest ranger discovers the animals and takes them away. The two cubs must now embark on a treacherous journey across the wilderness to reunite with each other and Alma.
So I didn’t realize this until just writing this review but The Wolf And The Lion is directed by Gilles de Maistre who also directed Mia And The White Lion which quite honestly explains so much. While this movie is a tad bit better than Mia And The White Lion, that is really not saying much at all. The worst part about this movie is that it has a ton of plot holes which is something you would not expect from a movie like this, combine that with the pacing plus a lot of terrible dialogue and you get yourself a very messy movie. The best parts of the movie are the Lion and the Wolf, the other characters are just not interesting or have anything going for them. The last half of the movie is especially confused about what it wants to say and what it wants to be, the movie compares forced circus performance with scientific research. There’s family drama in it that ultimately doesn’t lead up to anything interesting, then the movie eventually ends. Overall The Wolf And The Lion is terrible it’s fine if you want to see cute animals but then again you are better off looking at cute animal videos rather than sit through this.
The Wolf And The Lions is available on all VOD Platforms.
When 12-year-old Rob Horton discovers a caged tiger in the woods near his home, his imagination runs wild as his life begins to change in the most unexpected ways. With help from a wise but mysterious maid and the stubborn new girl at school, Rob navigates through childhood memories, heartache and wondrous adventures.
The Tiger Rising is based on a 116 page book by Kate DiCamillo (same author who wrote Because Of Winn-Dixie) it shows and not in a good way. The movie tries to stretch as much as possible before falling apart, there’s some touching moments that are sweet. But the acting and writing are just not strong enough to make you feel for any of the characters, there could have been a very clever metaphor here about the Tiger being locked in the cage for Rob (played by Christian Convery) being locked inside his house. However the narration flat out tells the audience and it’s executed in a way where there was a lot more to be desired, the moral of the movie does not match what the rest of it was trying to say, the ending turns the movie into something completely different and not in a good way. It does a very poor job of trying make the plot something other than coming off as melodrama, it’s a shame because there could have been some deep diving into some of the characters and how the tiger connects to it all. The Tiger Rising is something kids will most certainly not sit through and it’s too surface level for adults. Give this one a skip.
The Tiger Rising is available on all VOD Platforms.
Pop superstar Kat Valdez is about to get married before an audience of her loyal fans. However, seconds before the ceremony, she learns about her fiance’s cheating ways and has a meltdown on stage. In a moment of inspired insanity, Kat locks eyes with a total stranger in the crowd and marries him on the spot. As forces conspire to separate the unlikely newlyweds, they must soon decide if two people from such different worlds can find true love together.
Marry Me was very nice surprise, it’s a romantic comedy that is genuinely really sweet and is actually quite funny as well! The chemistry between Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson absolutely works here, there’s something that just feels really heartwarming and really raw about it. The acting is really solid here as well, Wilson and Lopez give really sweet performances that make you care about their characters, the writing has some genuinely great humor that worked well here. While yes Marry Me isn’t really anything new it’s a very nice return to form for the genre, plus I don’t really mind a film not doing anything new as long as it’s well made, well acted, well written and so on. Which that is what Marry Me is, a genuinely well made movie that really does a fantastic job of being a romantic comedy. Marry Me heavily reminds me of the romantic comedies back from the early 2000s in a very good way, between the characters, the soundtrack (which is fantastic) and the writing it feels like a trip down memory lane. Overall Marry Me is the biggest surprise so far of 2022, if you are a fan of romantic comedies or just looking for something to watch on Valentine’s Day give this one a shot!
While on vacation on the Nile, Hercule Poirot must investigate the murder of a young heiress.
Death On The Nile wasn’t something I was particularly excited to watch, I liked Murder On The Orient Express fine enough but it wasn’t something that I would ever come back to. The exact same can be said with Death On The Nile, the movie opens with a very goofy backstory that I just couldn’t help but laugh at after that however is when the movie takes a good while to get going. I’ve heard the first murder doesn’t happen until like 100 pages in the book which explains why it takes awhile to get going. However the issue isn’t really the fact the first murder doesn’t happen until awhile the major issue is that the first half of the movie is just not that interesting, there’s definitely a few decent moments that come from some of the cast particularly Kenneth Branagh, Annette Bening, Emma MacKay (especially her she absolutely slays it), Letitia Wright, Sophie Okonedo and Tom Batemen. Everyone else rangers from being terrible (Gal Gadot) or nothing special at all (Armie Hammer). After the movie finally gets going it’s quite entertaining and does a really decent job of making the viewer follow the mystery, it definitely is on the predictable side even if you haven’t read the book, but that really doesn’t take away from the acting bits, some very engaging writing and some overall very strong direction. The atmosphere is also pretty strong as well, it captures the type of feel you want from a murder mystery. The visuals are a bit distracting and do not fit the movie at all, they try to go for this glossy type look which works well in other films but definitely not here. Despite Emma MacKay not getting much to do, she absolutely steals the show here, every single time she’s on screen she captures the spirit of her character and goes all out in her performance. It’s nice to see Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot again he did an excellent job in Orient Express and he does an excellent job here, especially when he shares the screen with Tom Bateman who plays Bouc. The two just work together really well and bring some genuinely funny scenes and one touching scene in particular. Overall Death On The Nile is very flawed but entertaining murder mystery, it’s not going to break any new ground and I definitely don’t see myself ever coming back to it. However it is a very decent watch and could have easily been a whole lot worse. If you liked Murder On The Orient Express chances are you will like Death On The Nile!
Catwoman’s attempt to steal a priceless jewel puts her squarely in the cross-hairs of a powerful consortium of villains, Interpol and Batwoman.
Catwoman Hunted is pretty solid, the animation is actually quite well done and the characters are pretty fun! The plot really doesn’t have a whole lot going for it, but the movie makes it up with some solid action and the talent involved. Stephanie Beatriz, Lauren Cohan and Elizabeth Gillies all do really strong job in their roles, Black Mask is a really solid villain as well! I do wish the movie expanded upon some of it’s characters and gave them a lot more character development. But for what Catwoman Hunted is the movie is pretty decent and is definitely worth a watch!
Catwoman Hunted is available on all VOD Platforms.
6/10 C+
Raquel has a longtime crush on her hot neighbor, Ares, whom she secretly watches but has never spoken to. Can she make Ares fall in love with her?
Through My Window is another reminder of why you don’t turn Wattpad stories into films, the only reason why I even bothered with this movie was because of curiosity. I didn’t think this could be anywhere near as bad as some people were making it out to be….I was wrong, Through My Window has some of the worst writing so far this year, it sounds exactly like a high school student’s fanfiction that they would be embarrassed if it got out. I truly have no idea what they were thinking here, the acting is horrendous it’s unbelievable that someone actually said “yes that’s perfect!” There’s absolutely no chemistry between the main characters, no strength in the performances absolutely nothing. The pacing is the straw that breaks the camel’s back, it’s atrociously slow making this 1 hour and 56 minute movie feel like 3 hours. I really have nothing else to say here, Through My Window is bottom of the barrel as you can get.
Through My Window is available on Netflix.
Disgrace To Cinema F
After Sarah, a real-life vampire, gets audited by the IRS but finds herself falling for her IRS agent, the hopelessly romantic James, forcing Sarah to confront the idea of falling in love with a mortal man.
Bite Me is if you took the romantic comedy genre and added vampires into it, there’s definitely some good bits such as the cast who definitely looked like they were having so much fun. Outside of the premise itself it doesn’t really do anything brand new, there’s some ideas thrown around in the movie that don’t get fully realized or developed unfortunately. But for what the movie is it’s actually pretty fun at times and there was some genuine love put into it. Plus there were some jokes that I thought were decently done!
Bite Me is available on all VOD Platforms.
5/10 C
Two writers thrown together on a book tour in Mexico.
’ll admit Book Of Love doesn’t have the usual type of humor you would expect from a Buzzfeed Studios movie. However that doesn’t make it a good movie, the major problem with this movie is that it’s very uninteresting and does nothing to drag audiences into it. Sam Claflin is fine enough but he really does not have a whole lot to work with as the script feels like another romantic comedy that’s very cliched. With that said Book Of Love isn’t horrendous, I’ve seen far worse romantic comedies this just happens to be one that is nothing special at all.
Margaret’s life is in order. She is capable, disciplined, and successful. Everything is under control. That is, until David returns, carrying with him the horrors of Margaret’s past.
And now we have my favorite film of Sundance 2022 Resurrection! The film will most certainly not be for everyone, as it is a disturbing film that takes it’s time to develop the plot. However this film absolutely worked for me, Rebecca Hall’s performance is both incredible and haunting, her performance here truly adds to the film’s atmosphere and truly brings a bizarre energy as well. There’s one particular scene where Rebecca Hall has a 10 minute monologue all done in one take that is absolutely haunting yet beautiful at the same time, it shows how insanely committed she is as an actress. The atmosphere of the film is disturbing and very tense especially combined with the cinematography that feels like it’s from another world, I’m not sure how I would describe it but that’s the best way to put it. It’s such a haunting and focused feel that really captures the film’s bizarre nature, all of this builds up to the final act which completely loses it in the best way possible. It goes from being disturbing and bizarre to being completely horrifying as well as being even more disturbing. It’s truly fantastic to see the film go through many transformations throughout the running time, Resurrection heavily reminds me of something that David Cronenberg would make, it uses some elements of Cronenberg but makes them it’s own. Resurrection is a film that must absolutely be seen when going in knowing as little as possible. It’s such a disturbing yet fascinating experience I did not want to end!
Resurrection currently has no release date but will be released by IFC Films and Shudder later this year!
A man who works as a bar mitzvah party host strikes up a unique friendship with a young woman and her teenage daughter.
There is something truly special about Cha Cha Real Smooth, it’s a film that is absolutely relatable in every single way possible and truly captures what it’s like at that point of your life. The performances here are absolutely phenomenal Cooper Raiff who also directed and wrote this film, does such a fantastic job of bringing so many different types of emotions to the film. Heartbreak, laughter, happiness it’s truly beautiful and leads to so many moments where you can’t help but smile. Dakota Johnson gives one of the best performances of her career, she continues to show that she is an incredible actress that truly delivers. She gives such a genuine performance that feels incredibly grounded, she brings so much emotion to the role plus the amount of quiet scenes for her character development adds so much. Newcomer Vanessa Burghardt who plays Lola an autistic daughter of Domino (Dakota Johnson) Burghardt is actually autistic making her performance more grounded, she does such a fantastic job here as well. Which I feel like is the main theme Cha Cha Real Smooth “grounded” everything about this film is like watching someone’s day, it keeps things as grounded as possible and there’s just a sense of beauty to it. It’s a film that truly captures everyday life, these characters feel like actual people you would meet or hangout with it’s truly a fascinating film that definitely made me cry a bit. Cha Cha Real Smooth is a film that I absolutely can not wait to watch again, be sure to put this one on your radar!
Cha Cha Real Smooth currently has no release date but will be released on Apple TV+ later this year!
Jerome Reviews... 