Cinematic Sommelier
7.7
… and the Zoey Deutch streak continues! A Netflix rom-com for the ages, with a fun twist on the genre. Eerily similar to “Love Again,” minus the Celin Deon. This was an incredible (albeit cheesy) tale as old as time. Nick Offerman’s character was hellaciously over the top and a bit silly, but everything else really clicked for me with this one.
8.5
An all-timer, and one of the most straightforward examples of the hero’s journey put to film! Stephen King really nails these coming of age stories… this one is definitely one of the better early film adaptations. Every member of the cast going on to great things really speaks to the strength of the lightning in a bottle factor at play here.
7.5
Colin Firth as the bad guy had me shook, I’m not going to lie.
In a weird riffing on the “Memento” genre, Nicole Kidman kills is as this amnesiac. Get ready to be on the edge of your seat as each sinister scene rounds the corner and catches you off guard. The things you find when you dare to surf the depths of Netflix.
7.4
Adam Scott, man… there’s nothing he can’t do!
What seems like it’s straight out of a Stephen King novel is surprisingly not… instead, it simply riffs on the Overlook hotel so well that you don’t even notice it until thinking back on it. In the thick of things, each turn of the corner is filled with a surprising amount of dread and well, surprise. I never expected this one to pack as much of a punch as it did. I enjoyed it from the first frame to the last. This would have been rad in October, though… my only complaint.
7.7
Get ready to love a super cheesy movie that seems to stupid to believe. This wouldn’t work with any other actors. I just can’t see it landing without Rudd and Nick Jonas’s onscreen chemistry. Their comedic chops play so well off each other that it makes everything have just the right balance and believability. I really can’t believe this insane plot worked and was as entertaining and genuinely enjoyable as it was. A tale of brotherhood, the golden rule, love, family, and music – the universal language.
Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare 