Cinematic Sommelier
7.1
So… it’s female “John Wick”… Jane Wick?
I hit play because of Katie Holmes. I was left speechless as the credits rolled at the conclusion of this hellacious curveball from the depths of Amazon Prime Video.
The acting may be cheesy, but the story is razor sharp and the action is divine. This movie had no right to be this good, but here we are. Don’t let the Sunday school teacher attire fool you…
7.7
One of the better films in the franchise! Including one of the most effective opening scenes in the entire series. A great homage to the “Nightmare on Elm Street” franchise.
The plot itself has all the markings of a “Scream” film. Great commentary on the genre as a whole. Strong cast. Devastating kills. The weakest link in the fabric of the film is the plot armor that guards the core four from EVERYTHING, and left me laughing after some vocal “oh, what the f**k!?” moments in the theater. Exceptionally entertaining.
8.6
Broken people hurting, but also helping fellow broken people. The best and worst of humanity, and the sometimes close proximity of the two in our lives as we cross paths. A brilliant study in grief, redemption, addiction, and perseverance. Morgan Freeman kicks ass, as expected, but damn… Florence Pugh is a powerhouse on the big screen!
Make sure to have a box of tissues at the ready, and fair warning, they get into some deep shit here. It’s not for the faint of heart or those who are not in the best place emotionally to see depictions of attempted suicide, blacking out, or sexual assault.
6.5
Good, not great. Reading the book ruined the movie.
I recommend “And Party Every Day” instead. The full story of this meteoric rise and spectacular fall from grace, and everything in between is something far better than Hollywood could ever put to film. Outside of the copious amounts of cocaine, they got that right. Casablanca Records was a one of a kind story with characters so complex that this film had massive shoes to fill. Unfortunately, it came out very vanilla.
As a huge KISS fan, they did the band dirty in this film. So much history misrepresented. For shame, movie!
https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-casablanca-records-story
6.1
It’s a cinematographic representation of the frog in the boiling water. If that frog was also tapping his watch and asking for this whole thing to hurry up and be done with. It felt every second of its hour and forty five minute runtime. Willem Dafoe does his damndest to save this thing, and does cement himself as the master of “slowly slipping into madness” guy, but even he can’t save this from itself. Art heist gone wrong movie turns into silver screen serpent eating its own tail in search of a deeper meaning.
Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare 