7.5
Honestly, I don’t know what I was expecting… they have to rescue a princess. Pretty colors. Cheap laughs. No more, no less. Quick in and out 90 minute runtime. Intellectual property mining at its finest.
8.3
Something very bad does indeed happen. Promises delivered on.
I thoroughly enjoyed every twist and turn of this one. It got much more sinister than I expected while exploring similar space as the “Ready or Not” films. If you’re near your own nuptials, you might want to wait until safely down the aisle to watch this one. It might even help you feel better about minor mishaps during the big day…
7.9
Similar to “The Holdovers,” this series did such a great job of world building that I simply enjoyed hanging out at the country club for a couple of weeks while this all played out.
The summer love stories, awkward dates, lifelong friendship forging, and endless 80’s classics on the soundtrack took the caddyshack wannabe vibe and blew it out of the water.
The main problem I had was the fact that it had the most awkwardly abrupt ending this side of “Hung.” Really bummed that Prime Video pulled a Netflix here and rug pulled my could have been comfort show.
9.1
Bravo!
The best space movie since “Interstellar” and “The Martian.” The best sci-fi blockbuster this side of “Ready Player One.” Above all, a film by lovers of film – it shows in every single frame. This is why we go to the movie theater. Ryan Gosling absolutely ROCKS IT as science teacher Ryland Grace lost in space with his buddy Rocky. I never thought I’d be getting teary eyed over a rock person, but here we are… Not since TARS has a sidekick brought this much hear to the sidecar and stolen so many scenes. The depth of the heart and storytelling and impactful messages about love, friendship, society, and the bravery of scientific exploration were so much more than I expected. On a technical level, the film is also GORGEOUS and incredibly well constructed from the first frame to the last. The music, the scenery, the storytelling – all firing on all cylinders. A movie so good it’s inspired me to read the book!
7.4
Ok, stick with me here… this was far better than I expected. I expected a low brow attempt at social commentary that devolved into “laughing at this means I’m going to hell” comedy. What this actually evolved into was a surprisingly nuanced take on society, race, belonging, family, assimilation, and inner comfort with ourselves… with a few solid laughs sprinkled in for much needed levity. Really really well done!
Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare 