Author: Brett_G

Indie Rom-Com Suspense/Thriller

“Strange Darling”

By Brett_G on

8.5

I can honestly say that I had no idea what the hell was going to happen next this entire film… I was blown away with every twist and turn here. The film pulls the rug out from under you every time you make an assumption or feel assured you’re finally on steady footing. A mix of Tarantino and Nolan, the story unfolds in out of order chapters, slowly blossoming and colliding with the serendipity of a romance novel. Gird your loins… I guarantee that you’re not ready for this one.

Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner are ELECTRIC, and perfect for their roles. Not a second wasted, and not an emotion missed in a tight one and a half hour thriller/horror/romance that will leave you laughing(?) at the MOST inappropriate times. One of my top movies of the year. Booking it now.

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Action Blockbuster

“Borderlands”

By Brett_G on

3.0

An hour and forty minutes (that feels like two and a half) of my life that I will never get back…

Runescape level graphics, straight up lazy writing, uninspired performances, culminating in a hot mess of a movie. There was a reason I was the only one in the theater to see this one. If I didn’t have AMC A-List I would have felt even more ripped off.

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Action Suspense/Thriller

“Trap”

By Brett_G on

7.4

M. Night… buddy… SO MANY TWIST ENDINGS

Until they leave the arena and things go off the rails as there are seemingly endless attempts at a repeat of “The Sixth Sense” magic, this is a damn good thriller. Josh Hartnett is amazing in this role, and the story is so tightly wound that you’re on the edge of your seat the entire runtime.

The fact that M. Night basically made a movie as a big budget music video for his daughter Saleka Shyamalan is such a boss move, you have to respect it. She turns in a surprisingly great performance in the finale, as things take an unexpected turn… and then another unexpected turn… and then another unexpected turn. There are 3-4 solid endings to the film you get to watch and basically pick from to end things on.

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Blockbuster Documentary

“Reagan”

By Brett_G on

7.5

Pretty much exactly what I expected… which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

I feel like I forgot how good of an actor Dennis Quaid is. John Voight as a Russian spy was an interesting choice, but Quaid turns out to be a perfect pick.

What I was afraid was going to fall into the trap of being pure “Boomer Bait” in the first half actually lets some punches fly in the second half. I figured they would shy away from the skeletons in the closet of one of the more conflicting legacies in American politics, but they actually went there. From calling in the National Guard as Governor, to losing his jelly beans (Alzheimer’s) likely before departing the White House, to running guns and destabilizing Central America, South America, and the Middle East in just 2 terms… I figured “Narcos” and “Sicario” were going to be the only projects willing to admit we created our own enemies for the last 50 years trying to “fix” things.

The framing device of an old Russian recounting his life’s work was a weird choice, but fades more into the background as things take off, and you’re left with a mildly entertaining, albeit long biopic.

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Suspense/Thriller

“Afraid”

By Brett_G on

7.2

This was a weird one… None of the ideas are necessarily “new,” but this movie actually puts them on the screen. I felt like every premise included in the tight hour and a half runtime has been haunting society for the past 5-10 years, but we’ve all just let it fester instead of talking about it head-on, ya know? Or, it may be that I just finished the audiobook of Jonathan Haidt’s “Anxious Generation”… who’s to say?

Technicality-wise, this is a tight thriller. They try to add some jump scares to make it a horror flick, but they do little to take away from the “this is hitting a little too close to home” factor at play here. Fantastic acting by all involved, and phenomenal execution.

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