Drama – Page 25 – Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare

“The King of Staten Island”

By Brett_G on February 28, 2022February 21, 2022

6.9

I’m torn on this one.

I would have loved this one if it had not been for the excessive runtime. It just dragged on about a half-hour too long. For most of it, I felt like I got a look into the unlikely charm of Pete Davidson. I found him likable until I got too much of him and could then feel my IQ dropping precipitously by the minute. Everything just felt overplayed by the time the credits rolled. It crosses the line from entertainment to therapy sessions after a while.

All of that said, the wrestling match with Bill Burr was amazing. We might get to see a replay of it, but with Kayne here in the next week or so.

“Don’t Bother to Knock”

By Brett_G on February 28, 2022February 20, 2022

7.2

Be careful who you flirt with at the hotel bar… Or from across the courtyard. Or who you hire as your babysitter.

This was far closer to “Psycho” than I expected. Marilyn Monroe had quite the acting chops to pull off this premise. At first, I thought I was watching a romance novel projected onto the silver screen but ended up engulfed in an enigma. Despite the short run time, there is an unexpected depth to this classic, and it alone justified my purchase of a 10-film Marilyn Monroe film bundle.

Drama HBO Suspense/Thriller

“Nightmare Alley”

By Brett_G on February 27, 2022February 20, 2022

6.5

Beautiful film. Meh story.

I was hellaciously intrigued by the trailer and what I thought was the film’s premise. Sometimes that intrigue hits; sometimes it misses. Unfortunately, this one ended up being a trapeze act of a narrative, swinging wildly all over the place for far too long and with no rhyme or reason. All to, I think, come full circle. I’m still not quite sure what I was supposed to take away from this one. There are some great premises and possibilities, but the story opts for the path of least resistance and goes for tricking the audience into thinking that misdirection and the resulting confusion is evidence of its cleverness, instead of just a cheap Christopher Nolan rip-off. Honestly, I think the overall lesson here was a “don’t stick your dick in crazy” cautionary tale dressed in a noir disguise.

Blockbuster Drama Suspense/Thriller

“Death on the Nile”

By Brett_G on February 24, 2022February 22, 2022

7.9

At first, I honestly thought I had walked into and sat in the wrong movie theater. First, we start out in World War 1, then move on to Dirty Dancing… Heavy on the dirty. I mean, I know it’s Armie Hammer, but damn.

I’ll watch anything that has Gal Gadot in it, so of course, my butt was in a seat for this whodunnit. The gist of it is if you like “Murder on the Orient Express,” you’ll like this. There are many of the same tropes, but just enough differentiation to keep you intrigued as each new clue is uncovered and suspect eliminated, either figuratively or literally. We get the origin story of Poirot’s mustache that no one asked for but gives his character an incredible boost of depth and complexity that helps him become someone you actually root for by the end of the film. I called the ending as the movie was getting started, but I thoroughly enjoyed the wild ride to the climactic conclusion. Well done “Clue” spin-off in yet another exotic locale.

Drama Indie

“Sundown”

By Brett_G on February 21, 2022February 20, 2022

5.4

Well, the trailer had me sold. By the time the credits rolled, I felt like I, too, wanted to fake losing my passport and spend some time with a mistress in an exotic beach town contemplating what it is that I’m doing with my life.

Honestly, the movie’s best scene, coincidentally bringing the most excitement and momentum to the film, was a fellow tourist being gunned down by jet ski hitmen. If that sentence has you confused, welcome to the mindset this one leaves you in. I’ll save you the hour and a half runtime – the best aspect of this movie.