Visual album from Beyoncé inspired by ‘The Lion King’.
I’ll start off by saying that I’m not the biggest Beyonce fan, what I am a huge fan of is her as a person. I think she’s very smart and the way she combines her music with issues going on currently is very well done. Black is King is a visual album a quite beautiful one as well, it has some of the best visuals and filming so far this year. It’s captivating and absolutely breathtakingly beautiful, the choreography is absolutely well done with several different styles of dancing it’s very diverse and combines the dances with the mood of the music. There’s a lot of symbolism and meaning to it which I found a lot of it to be quite clever, this is definitely a passion project which works really well. However what I liked most about the visual album was the amount of effort put into it, it shows a lot of dedication. Like Beyoncé wanted to make this perfect and get everything down, which I really admire you really don’t see that with a lot of films. A lot of the time it’s the bare minimum but here it goes beyond that! I highly recommend giving this one a watch!
A family must use a magical box of Animal Crackers to save a run-down circus from being taken over by their evil uncle Horatio P. Huntington.
Animal Crackers is a film that took awhile to come out in America, it was originally supposed to be released in 2017 but over the course of several delays it just wasn’t happening. At some point Netflix bought the rights to it and released it in 2020. Which I’m actually surprised I enjoyed this movie, usually I would not like animated movies like this but there’s this certain charm to this movie that I can’t really explain that I really like. The voice acting is fantastic between Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Danny DeVito, Ian McKellen and a few others it’s quite great and probably the best thing about this movie. I thought the premise of the movie was done well and did it’s job, the one thing with this movie I didn’t like however was the animation. I don’t think the animation was necessarily bad it was just nothing noteworthy there was clearly effort put into it but it’s just not the type of animation that I would jump up and down about. For what this movie was it was decent and it’s definitely harmless!!
After an innocent AOL chat turns racy, a Catholic teenager in the early 00s discovers masturbating and struggles to suppress her new urges in the face of eternal damnation.
Yes God Yes is a horny version of Lady Bird, that’s not a bad thing either! There’s a lot working for this movie, first off Natalia Dyer as the leading role does a fantastic job and brings a very raw performance. It’s one of those performances in a coming of age film that you can relate to pretty easily, the direction is really well done from Karen Maine who gives a realistic feel to the movie. The writing was very solid there were tons of character study moments with Alice the main character, which I feel is when the movie was at it’s best. It really makes you feel for Alice and develops her character throughout the movie quite well, I do wish the movie could have added a little bit more to some of the other characters. But overall Yes God Yes is a very solid movie with a lot to like about it, definitely check this one out.
7/10 B
A young Jewish boy somewhere in Eastern Europe seeks refuge during World War II where he encounters many different characters.
This is going to come as a huge shock, but I was not a fan of The Painted Bird. I will say the use of black and white was great and the filming was very strong as well. The major problem I have with this movie however is the running time combined with the pacing, it’s way too slow and feels like a chore to sit through. The movie also does feel like a not very good version of “Come And See” which is a movie that is very hard to recreate or attempt, it is unfortunate because somewhere in this movie there is a good movie. It’s just struggling to be free from the slog fest, acting wise it’s pretty decent but leaves a lot more to be desired…
5/10 C
A widow struggling to get by meets a stranger who subscribes to a philosophy of positive thinking.
The Secret Dare To Dream is the end result when you get a even worse version of a Nicholas Sparks adaption movie. What do I even say about this movie? It does every single thing that every Nicholas Sparks movie does except much worse, Katie Holmes is for whatever reason in this movie which is probably good for this movie because she’s the only good thing about this garbage. Otherwise the acting is terrible it’s the type of acting you would see in a Lifetime movie, the writing is horrendous and some of the most cliched schlock you will witness this year. This is the type of movie that feels so manufactured by doing absolutely nothing to separate itself from other movies like it, at least with some of the Nicholas Sparks movies like The Last Song or Dear John they had some sort of likability to them. This movie doesn’t have that at all avoid this garbage at all costs!
Maya with her best friend, Dini, tries to survive in a city without a family. She realized that she might inherit a property from her rich family. Maya returns to the village with Dini and unaware of the danger was waiting for her.
I won’t say too much about Impetigore because the less you know about it the better, I really did not know what to expect from this movie. But I really got to say it was definitely creepy at times, it’s mostly from the storytelling and the atmosphere both have a sense of dread and really capture the feeling of being hunted. The acting is quite great especially from the main lead Tara Basro, the writing is also really strong with some very haunting moments that actually quite disturbed me at times. The direction of this movie was spot on and really hit all the notes on making an effective horror film, it’s definitely a movie to checkout especially if the plot gets you interested!!
9/10 A
Dr. Emma Collins and her team are spending their third summer on the island of Little Happy studying the effect of climate change on the great white sharks who come to the nearby nursery every year to give birth. Along with the last two inhabitants of this former fishing village, their peaceful life is disrupted when a “scientific” team led by her ex-boyfriend and marine biologist Richard show up looking for three bull sharks who we soon learn aren’t just any bull sharks.
Well color me surprised Deep Blue Sea 3 was actually not that bad, it’s definitely something I would ever watch again. But wow what a huge improvement over the disastrous second movie. The thing that is holding this movie back however is it seems to focus way too much on the human characters, it would be one thing if the human characters were well you know were well written. But this movie doesn’t have that, the writing is very very basic making the characters not very interesting. So whenever a shark appeared on screen that was when the movie was at it’s best (although the sharks didn’t exactly look that great) the strangest part about this is this came from the director of The Quiet Ones and Quarantine 2 (both pretty bad movies) I really don’t have much else to say about this movie. It just kind of exists, I went it with very low expectations and I’ll give credit where credit is due they somehow managed to massively improve from the last movie.
In the sequel to 2018’s THE KISSING BOOTH, high school senior Elle juggles a long-distance relationship with her dreamy boyfriend Noah, college applications, and a new friendship with a handsome classmate that could change everything.
The fact that I subjected myself with this movie and somehow was able to finish this movie in one sitting is truly amazing, look the first Kissing Booth I thought was bad but not as bad as a lot of people made it out to be. I definitely saw far far worse, this however was just inexcusable…not only is the acting and writing even worse but this movie doubles down on the whole “writers have no idea how actual teenagers talk like” I was certainly not ready for some of the worst lines I think I’ve heard this year. A lot of it feels out of touch, ridiculous and not investing at all. I mean “personal jungle gym” really?!? I seriously hope Joey King was payed good money for this, the worst thing about this movie is the running time…somebody please explain to me how and why is this movie 2 hours and 11 minutes, the first movie was an hour and 50 minutes still too long but you know what at least it wasn’t 2 hours. The pacing is even worse in this movie, just when you think it’s about to wrap and come to a close there is still 30-40 minutes left. Lastly the main character is unlikable everything she says and does make her come off more and more unlikable, it’s mostly due to her decision making and how poorly written she is. Overall The Kissing Booth 2 is a waste of time, please skip this one at all costs!!
Two couples rent a vacation home for what should be a celebratory weekend get-away.
The Rental is a very odd one, in terms of I have no idea what to really think of it. Dave Franco did do a decent job with a lot of things such as creating an atmosphere and giving the characters some sort of development. However that all gets thrown out the window when the final act comes around, it feels like they ran out of ideas or had no idea how to close the movie so they just slapped a lot of different ideas in which none of them really worked. If you are expecting anything new you won’t get it here, it’s a very stylized thriller but that’s about it. The plot has been done before it’s just done in a stylized way, acting wise I thought it was pretty fine. Alison Brie is definitely the standout among everyone as well as Dan Stevens. Overall It’s not necessarily bad as it is a movie that could have been much more.
5/10 C
An ex-soldier, living homeless in London, is offered a place to stay at a decaying house inhabited by a young woman and her dying mother. As he starts to fall for her, he cannot ignore his suspicion that something sinister is going on.
It’s very disappointing to say that I wasn’t a fan of Amulet. A lot of elements that make a strong horror movie are there, the atmosphere is haunting, visually it’s pretty strong with some creepy moments as well. The major problem is the story, it takes way too long to get going, a lot of it is just not that interesting it’s only until the last act of the film where the movie goes nuts and events start to get interesting. The final act feels like it was made by an entirely different team who really wanted to go all out with it and made it strong, but as I said the rest of the movie feels like a chore to sit through. I strongly believe that if this movie were a short film I think it would have been a lot stronger.
2038: George Almore is working on a true human-equivalent AI. His latest prototype is almost ready. This sensitive phase is also the riskiest. Especially as he has a goal that must be hidden at all costs: being reunited with his dead wife.
Archive is definitely a movie that surprised me, it takes elements of Moon, Ex Machina and I Am Mother and does something fresh with it. For a low budget movie the visuals, filming and the setting are very impressive. You would think this movie would have a much higher budget, the acting is pretty strong and the writing actually has some quite powerful moments that goes to certain topics you honestly wouldn’t expect. The ending was the standout it truly does something different and I feel they nailed it, it was definitely a huge risk that could have easily broke this movie into pieces but that’s not the case here! The cinematography combined with the music does a fantastic job of giving the film a atmosphere that really compliments the film! I highly suggest checking this out when you can, the less you know about this movie the more you are going to like it.
A skilled cook has traveled west and joined a group of fur trappers in Oregon, though he only finds true connection with a Chinese immigrant also seeking his fortune. Soon the two collaborate on a successful business.
First Cow is truly something special, Kelly Reichardt truly made a film that is extremely powerful and that says a lot while doing the smallest things. They say a piece of art can say a lot while doing the smallest things, I feel that First Cow truly does that. John Magaro and Orion Lee both hit it out of the park, both of them give raw performances combined with incredible writing truly makes them some of the best performances of the year. Just the discussions the both of them have with each other is fascinating to watch, it feels very grounded and it sticks with you as well. The friendship element I absolutely loved, the direction from Kelly Reichardt is very very special she shows how realistic she wants this movie to be. She shows that showing the simplest things such as two characters having a simple discussion can be one of the strongest elements In a film, the music and the filming both are incredible. They both match the setting extremely well and give the viewer a feel of where it’s taking place, the movie tackles the problems with capitalism which I thought the movie did it in a way that was quite clever. It’s truly remarkable how much effort and passion was put into this movie, as far as best directors so far this year I really got to say but I feel like that goes to Kelly Reichardt! Overall First Cow is a masterpiece it’s the best film of the year, I highly recommend checking it out when you can!!!
A daughter, mother and grandmother are haunted by a manifestation of dementia that consumes their family’s home.
If it’s one thing 2020 needed when it comes to film it was another very good horror movie, The Invisible Man and The Lodge were the last few very good horror movies I saw. Relic is a terrifying story about the horrors of Dementia, it’s a quite fascinating story as well. First off the acting was some of the best I’ve seen so far this year, it felt incredibly raw which really helps the movie become more powerful and is definitely one of the key factors of making this film creepy. The same thing can be said about the writing, they really did a good job of making this as real as possible by not throwing in any over the top or outlandish lines that you wouldn’t see any person say. Directing wise this movie was just flawless Natalie Erika James did a fantastic job in the directors chair, she really put a lot of passion and character into the movie. Speaking of characters Natalie Erika James definitely knows how to create characters and development in a very haunting and atmospheric way. The atmosphere is perfect it’s some of the best I’ve seen in awhile, it’s haunting, thrilling and it makes you feel terrified in a lot of different ways which I have to say i was not expecting. I really think that’s how I felt about the whole movie, I was not expecting Relic to be this good but here we are now. It also has this old soul to it, it has this classic horror movie vibe mixed with some newer stuff which I really liked. It really helped this movie standout among the crowd! Overall Relic is one of my favorites of the year, if you are looking for a very recent really good horror movie I highly recommend giving this a go!
Five American soldiers assigned to hold a French Chateau near the end of World War II. This unexpected respite quickly descends into madness when they encounter a supernatural enemy more terrifying than anything seen on the battlefield.
I like the concept of World War II or World War I horror movies like Overlord, but where as Overlord used a lot of great ideas and was you know actually pretty good…this movie was not. The horror elements just didn’t work at all here, a lot of it was either predictable jumpscares or the atmosphere was lacking. I feel like this was originally suppose to be some war movie and then one of the writers was like “hey how about we turn this into a horror movie?” The acting and writing are terrible and really don’t do add much at all, the direction is very very uninspired. I feel like this could have been good if better ideas were placed into it because it’s very obvious nobody working on this movie had any idea what they were doing. The only thing I can say I at least thought was okay was the filming, but even then it’s not that great.
2/10 F
Ellie tries to mend her marriage with her husband Marcus after a brief encounter with an old friend, David, only to find that David is more dangerous and unstable than she’d realized.
I could just say “the rating is disgrace to cinema that’s the review” but I won’t, anyway this is by Peter Sullivan the same director who did Secret Obsession (2019) and like that movie this movie is just as bad if not worse. So first off this is yet ANOTHER Fatal Attraction clone you know like No Good Deed, The Perfect Guy, The Boy Next Door, When The Bough Breaks and so on. My god is this one of the worst ones, at least with some of the others they can be so bad that there are some funny moments in them. With this movie you don’t get that at all it’s mostly piss poor acting, writing, directing and it feels like this movie should have been on the LifeTime not Netflix. I know I keep saying the same thing whenever I review these types of movies but can you blame me? They are all the exact same thing but the plot is tweaked a tiny bit and sometimes the movie itself is slightly better or worse then others. It’s one of the laziest concepts and overused I’ve seen in a movie and it really needs to stop, the movie itself goes the way you think it does. Which brings up another point….it’s predictable as hell all you need to do is watch at least one of these movies or if it’s your first time watching one of these movies the first 5 minutes of this movie, and you will know what’s going to happen. Fatal Affair is a huge waste of time, give this one a skip you will thank me later.
Jerome Reviews... 