The Little Things (2021) Movie Review


Kern County Deputy Sheriff Joe Deacon is sent to Los Angeles for what should have been a quick evidence-gathering assignment. Instead, he becomes embroiled in the search for a serial killer who is terrorizing the city.


The Little Things is the first film of the Warner Bros and HBO Max 2021 movie deal….and this was just horrible. The Little Things actually had it’s first draft written in 1993 by John Hancock Steven Spielberg passed on the film, Clint Eastwood, Warren Beatty and get this Danny DeVito (yes you read that correctly) were other directors who were going to direct it by Hancock decided to do it himself. Are we sure Hancock just didn’t go with the first draft because this really feels like a first draft. Before I get to that I’ll start with what I liked, Denzel Washington was decent. I don’t think it was one of his best performances but he definitely tried with what he had to work with, the atmosphere is somewhat there. There are moments where the atmosphere works but those are very far and few in between, which is a huge shame. That’s pretty much it for what I liked, as I said before the film feels like a first draft. A lot of the writing feels very amateurish which is quite embarrassing, Jared Leto is horrendous like I can’t believe some people actually looked at his performance and said “you know what that performance needs?? A Golden globe and a SAG award nomination!” Jared Leto’s role in The Little Things is a walking talking cliche that does absolutely nothing new. Speaking of which The Little Things is basically Se7en if it were a terrible movie, I could go on about how much this movie ripped off Se7en but we would be here all day. The movie doesn’t even do a good job of hiding it either, it truly wants to be Se7en the problem is the movie completely forgets what made Se7en an incredible film. Se7en had interesting characters, incredible suspense, some really great twists, very well written dialogue and was disturbing at times as well. The Little Things has none of that, it feels like any other low budget crime thriller except at least with those they know they are stupid (some of them) Overall The Little Things offers nothing new to the genre and is a forgettable mess of a film, give this one a skip.

2/10 F

Earwig And The Witch and Bliss (2021) Movie Reviews!


It follows an orphan girl, Earwig, who is adopted by a witch and comes home to a spooky house filled with mystery and magic.

I know there was a lot of criticism about Earwig and the Witch when the trailer first came out online, seeing that was 3D animated rather than Studio Ghibli’s traditional drawn animation was very surprising and felt out of the blue. Plus the movie itself did not look anywhere near as good as the other films, despite this I wanted to give it a try and see that maybe it could be decent….it wasn’t. The main issue here is hardly anything ever happens, the writing just does not have a whole lot of material. It’s the type of movie where someone clearly had a somewhat interesting idea but then decided to water it down quite a bit. It feels like a movie that needed more time to be worked on, the animation is not that great either. While it’s not as bad as some people said it was it’s definitely not inspiring at all. With a lot of Studio Ghibli’s films you feel magic in the film, through the characters and animation….you just don’t get that here at all, it feels like someone who spent like 15 minutes of watching a Studio Ghibli film idea of what a Studio Ghibli film is like. I completely understand they were trying to go for something different with this movie, but it heavily backfired pretty badly and it’s a shame too. There’s a few scenes here and there that work, I do find some of the film charming as well, but it’s really not enough to save this movie from being a disappointment. It’s a movie with absolutely no substance.

3/10 D-


A mind-bending love story following Greg who, after recently being divorced and then fired, meets the mysterious Isabel, a woman living on the streets and convinced that the polluted, broken world around them is a computer simulation.


I’m going to be completely honest here….I’m not exactly sure what Bliss was supposed to be. What I do know is this was a dreadful start for Amazon Prime Video’s original movies for this year. It’s absolutely no wonder this had nonexistent advertising, the only reason why I found out about this movie is because I occasionally check the “list of Amazon Prime Video Original Movies” Wikipedia page and saw it listed. Anyway the movie itself is dreadful, a lot of the movie feels like a bunch of different ideas from other movies blended into one gigantic mess. Owen Wilson feels completely out of place here, I’m all for Owen Wilson trying different things (heck I actually really liked No Escape) but this just does not work at all. Salma Hayek definitely tries her best but it’s just not enough to save this movie, this is most definitely one of her weaker roles. The script feels very empty with no direction and very little idea of what it wants to truly be, there isn’t any passion or anything showing that anyone cared about this movie at all. The best compliment I can give it is maybe some of the filming is okay but even then it’s not that great. Most of all Bliss just felt like release date fodder, my guess was this movie was just laying around somewhere and they had to release it eventually. Overall really not much else to be said here, it’s a terrible movie that I recommend skipping.

1/10 F

The Night (2021) Movie Review


An Iranian couple living in the US become trapped inside a hotel when insidious events force them to face the secrets that have come between them, in a night that never ends.


The Night is a movie I wanted to love really badly but unfortunately completely falls flat during the second act. The Night starts off pretty great, it establishes a great atmosphere that is pretty haunting and gets under your skin with a couple moments that are genuinely creepy. Some of the acting is also pretty solid as well which I really appreciated, however that all ends during the middle of the second act. The twist really did not work for me at all, it comes right out of nowhere and really does not fit the movie all that well. It completely changes the tone of the movie which is a huge shame because this movie did have was quite great, the writing is fine enough but left a lot more to be desired. It’s unfortunate how The Night turned out because this is the type of horror movies I usually really appreciate and that I’m a huge fan of. It’s by no means a bad movie just one that could have been a lot better.

5/10 C

A Glitch In The Matrix (2021) Movie Review


Documentary filmmaker Rodney Ascher tackles this question “are we living in a simulation?” with testimony, philosophical evidence and scientific explanation in his for the answer.


I’m really glad I did not waste a time slot for this movie at Sundance because this was just terrible, I saw that it was coming out February 5th a week after Sundance so I saw little to no point of watching it at Sundance. The documentary is very underwhelming, the premise sounds interesting questioning if we live in a simulation. Unfortunately this documentary suffers from having no factual evidence and instead uses clips from YouTube videos or videos that have been debunked before online, clips from different movies and bizarre robot costume people (although that was pretty cool, I would imagine a lot of hard work was put into making those so props to that.) if the structure might have been better I could possibly see this working, but this really ends up being a poorly researched high school PowerPoint presentation. It’s also a mess, it just throws things at a wall hoping they stick with very little sticking. This might be interesting for some but for me you can find better conspiracy theories on Reddit.

3/10 D-

A Nightmare Wakes and Sky Sharks movie reviews (2021)


An adaptation of the novel “Frankenstein,” as told through the life of Mary Shelley. As she creates her masterpiece, she gives birth to a monster.


It’s a good thing I saw Violation at Sundance (fantastic film that I’ll review soon) or otherwise I would say Shudder is slipping in terms of quality when it comes to their original movies. Hunted was really great and a nice start to the year, Queen Of Black Magic was passable and had a lot to like. This movie however is just terrible, for starters it’s once again another movie that tells the story through the life of Mary Shelley. This would be interesting if it hadn’t been done to death numerous times, it would also be one thing if The Nightmare Wakes brought something new to the table….it unfortunately doesn’t. The acting is very below average, the writing is a complete mess and tries to do way too much at once. The pacing is horrendous and really doesn’t give a enough time for certain scenes to develop. The atmosphere just doesn’t work at all, especially with the script that’s used. It really comes off as a script that hadn’t been worked on or edited. Really not much else to say here except this may not be Shudder’s worst original film but this is definitely one of their laziest.

3/10 D-

A military task force is assembled to stop a group of genetically modified sharks.

Really not going to talk about this one for too long because the history of the film is more interesting than the film itself. For starters Sky Sharks has been delayed numerous times since the fall of 2017 and only just got released last Tuesday. I actually forgot this movie existed until a recent trailer came out saying “hey remember this movie? Well it’s finally releasing now!” If you have followed me for a long time you will know that I love to see almost any movie get a chance to be released so it’s great this finally got released….that doesn’t make it a good movie though. How do you mess up a wild concept that has tons of potential to be laughably bad as Nazi Sharks? By really not spending a whole lot of time with the Sharks, instead the movie tries to build a poorly put together story that let’s be honest here is not what the target audience came here for. When Sharks are on screen it’s quite hilarious due to how poor the special effects are, there’s gore as well which helps I guess. Acting and writing wise you get what you expected it’s horrendous it’s Syfy channel level of acting and writing. There’s really not much else to Sky Sharks, I definitely prefer Sharknado over this movie which is very unfortunate to say.

1/10 F

Sundance Reviews : Playing With Sharks and Eight For Silver (2021)

Pioneering scuba diver Valerie Taylor, who has dedicated her life to exposing the myth surrounding our fear of sharks.

Playing With Sharks is a very straightforward documentary that gets right to the point rather quickly, to explain how Sharks are not the actual death machines the media likes to portray them as. What makes this documentary is Valerie Taylor’s passion of Sharks as well as her being a very interesting person, my brother and I use to watch a lot of Animal Planet when we were kids and Valerie Taylor heavily reminded me of just that. She shows how much research she’s done over the years about Sharks, she even helped film Jaws!! The Taylors were tasked to film the great white sequences which is quite impressive, there is a bunch of information here that any shark enthusiast would love. Plus it educates people who don’t know too much about Sharks as well! Overall very solid documentary that I recommend checking out when it comes out!!

7/10 B


In rural 19th-century France, a mysterious, possibly supernatural menace threatens a small village. John McBride, a pathologist, comes to town to investigate the danger — and exorcise some of his own demons in the process.


Eight For Silver was one of my most anticipated films at the Sundance Film Festival, unfortunately Eight For Silver really did not work for me. As I said in my first reaction the first 20 minutes are the best part about this film. They were very haunting and gave this chilling atmosphere that really takes you into the film’s world. The film also has a very decent atmosphere combined with the setting it results in some great scenes that are effective. What ultimately brings Eight For Silver down is two major things, the movie is 20 minutes too long combined with the pacing very inconsistent with a 1 hour and 53 minute running time it feels way too long. My other problem is the final act, it shows the Werewolves way too much which I get it that’s what movies tend to do. However I feel in this case it makes the werewolves less and less scary the more they are shown, which ultimately turns Eight For Silver into a very below average gothic horror movie with werewolves included. The acting and writing are fine enough but really don’t bring anything special to the table, they leave a little more to be desired. I’m sure gothic horror movie fans will love for Eight For Silver especially if you don’t mind a little bit of Werewolves in your movie. But I really don’t recommend this one.

5/10 C

Sundance Review: First Date (2021)


After being conned into buying a shady ’65 Chrysler, Mike’s first date plans with girl-next-door Kelsey implode as he finds himself targeted by criminals, cops, and a crazy cat lady.


First Sundance Review will be First Date for two reasons…one it’s the most forgettable out of the 33 films I saw and two I really don’t have a whole lot to say. Anyway right from the beginning the budgetary constraints hold First Date back from being decent, despite that it does have a promising start that could be interesting but it goes downhill from there. The humor itself just doesn’t work, there’s maybe one or two jokes that somewhat work. But a lot of it is the typical humor you would see in a crime comedy movie, the pacing is horrible one moment the movie goes at a decent pace and then the next it goes way too fast that it forgets to develop it’s characters and scenes. Speaking of which the characters..they really have little to no personality, outside of the main character who is at least given some sort of development, every other character feels like a walking, talking cliche. The script feels like a first draft that wasn’t checked through, which is very unfortunate. This could have actually worked if more time was put into it…outside of the lead and a few jokes this one didn’t do much for me at all.

3/10 D-

Netflix Original Movie Catchup: The Dig and Finding Ohana (2021)


An archaeologist embarks on the historically important excavation of Sutton Hoo in 1938.

The Dig is pretty great, I really did not know much about the movie before watching! It’s a straightforward movie that’s about an important excavation, the acting all around was very solid Carey Mulligan being the standout who really shows her talent here and does a pretty great job. The cinematography combined with the setting of the film gives it a beautiful look and captures the feeling of going out on a important excavation, the direction from Simon Stone is also quite great. Stone captures quite a lot in each scene and manages to make them unique in their own way, I do feel the pacing does drag towards the final act and could have been 10 minutes shorter. But that doesn’t take away how beautiful and quite great The Dig is! A very solid Netflix Original and I can’t wait to see what Simon Stone does next!!

7/10 B


A summer in rural O‘ahu takes an exciting turn for two Brooklyn-raised siblings when a journal pointing to long-lost treasure sets them on an epic adventure with new friends, and leads them to reconnect with their Hawaiian heritage.

I don’t quite understand why Finding Ohana was 123 minutes long but oh well, the movie itself is a very serviceable family movie. It feels a lot like The Goonies, ET and a few others, the acting is decent enough that gets the job done for the most part. The problem is the jokes, the pacing and the writing, the jokes very rarely hit a lot of it is the type of humor that just isn’t funny. The pacing really becomes a problem towards the middle of the film, it comes to a full stop and feels like it goes on and on. The writing is just not good, tons of cliche characters, way too predictable and feels like a chore to sit through. Which is a shame because somewhere in this movie there is a decent family movie but it’s crowded by way too many flaws that ultimately make this movie a clone of other family movies. It’s nothing particularly bad but it’s one of those Netflix originals that will be quickly forgotten about.

5/10 C

Catchup Reviews: The Wanting Mare and The Reckoning (2021)


In Whithren, a line of women pass a recurring dream through multiple generations.

The Wanting Mare is a very interesting little movie, that brings you into it’s own little world. A world that’s definitely interesting to visit, it’s one of those films that feels very bizarre and you question “what the hell is happening” but at the same time you are intrigued. The fantasy and sci-fi elements are really interesting and quite welcoming, they bring something new to the table. The acting and writing have this sort of fantasy feel to them that makes the movie’s own identity which is very unique, it captures this imaginative feel. While you are watching it also feels like you are in a dreamlike state, it’s a very interesting experience that you will definitely think about after watching. The direction is quite great combine that with the cinematography and you have a beautiful film, go into this one blindly!

7/10 B


Evelyn, a young widow haunted by the recent suicide of her husband Joseph, is falsely accused of being a witch by her Landlord after she rejects his advances.

Question….What happened to Neil Marshall? Remember when use to be really great? Dog Soldiers and The Descent were great films, he seriously had a lot of promise as a director. Then Hellboy (2019) which was easily one of the worst of 2019, when I heard he was making another movie I was really hoping he would make a comeback…sadly that’s not the case. The Reckoning is a horrendous movie that often forgets what it’s set out to do, the “burn the witch” genre has been done to death numerous times and here it combines every last cliche in the book, what seals this movie’s fate is the garbage writing. A lot of the writing makes little to no sense and it keeps having to remind the audience about simple plot devices that we are already fully aware of, the acting is just as terrible with little to no direction and every single one of the actors and actresses failing to bring any sort of energy in their role. There is one or two “it’s so bad it’s hilarious” moments but that is truly not enough to save this mess of a movie. Avoid this one at all costs.

Disgrace To Cinema F

Strider (2020)


Jody, a lonely teenage girl, joins forces with Hannah, a disgraced track coach. Together, they spend a summer training for The Pinnacle Games, the biggest track and field competition on the East Coast.


Strider is a simple but yet very inspiring film, I’m not even into running yet I felt very inspired. Strider has a simple setup that I feel anyone can get behind, some of the standouts include Yelena Friedman and Maggie Alexander both of who give very raw performances that really make the film more authentic and relatable, the chemistry also really works between the two. It’s a beautiful type of chemistry that’s captured in the most authentic way possible! The setting of the film adds to it as well, it’s quite great and gives the film a sort of personality! It’s writing is straight to the point, it knows what it wants to be plus knows what it’s going for as well and sometimes that’s all you really want from some movies. This is a nice movie to put on in afternoon can’t wait to see what Mark Lewis does next!

7/10 B