Rom-Com

“Love & Other Drugs”

By Brett_G on

8.1

“Sometimes the things you want the most don’t happen, and what you least expect happens. I don’t know; you meet thousands of people, and none of them really touch you. And then you meet one person, and your life is changed forever.”

Another film that I was led to by a Tik Tok. However, this time, I was pleasantly surprised by this powerhouse of a romantic comedy! I never expected the “they learn from each other to become better people and build a deep connection” to be this well-executed and impactful! I may have even become a bit misty-eyed at the finale. Separately, on the surface, they’re genuinely terrible people. The classic “you’ve met your match” scenario, where our leads bring out both the best and worst in each other. Through this wild ride of a whirlwind romance, you get just as lost in the blinding infatuation as the characters do.

It even contains some insightful commentary on the healthcare field and pharmaceutical industry. The other pharma reps duking it out in the corporate world. A disillusioned physician searching for the meaning that called him to the profession. Another unexpected well of insight and narrative depth that gave this film much more of a well-rounded sense of profundity to balance the levity of Jamie and Maggie’s no strings attached love affair.

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Drama Suspense/Thriller

“The Outfit”

By Brett_G on

7.8

“A well-tied tie is the first serious step in life.” – Oscar Wilde

I KNEW there was more to the old man than met the eye!

Zoey Deutch got me into the theater. This one-room play put to film that has better twists and turns than most trying to be mystery films kept me there and engaged until the credits rolled. It was like “Phantom Thread” meets “Goodfellas,” and I was all-in. The actors all do a superb job of slowly revealing their true selves and motives and keep the audience guessing almost until the film’s final frame. It was indeed a work of art.

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Comedy Netflix

“The Bubble”

By Brett_G on

6.5

It was… okay?

Some funny moments, some funny characters. Ultimately forgettable. It may very well be that it was too early for a COVID movie. It could be that it was just the Netflix effect of moving ever-closer to the “everything for everyone” genre and losing their edge on many of their products, leading to the “meh, it killed some time” feeling as the credits roll.

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Action Blockbuster

“Ambulance”

By Brett_G on

6.9

For the love of all that is holy… WHO GAVE MICHAEL BAY A DRONE?!?

When this heist goes sideways, our two main characters will commandeer an ambulance and go on a tight quarters drama draped in a Michael Bay action thriller for the ages. In all seriousness, they could not have cast this any better or picked a better director. Just enough story to hold everything together and give Bay an excuse to blow up half of the city of Los Angeles.

It could have been 20-30 minutes shorter, but that would have taken away one too many explosions and unnecessary gunfights, apparently. So turn your brain off and watch the sirens go “whoo!” and everything else go “boom!”

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Action Blockbuster

“Moonfall”

By Brett_G on

7.9

Moon – Fall

Movie – Good

This looked silly on the surface. It had no business being as great as it was. Patrick Wilson and Halle Berry play off each other perfectly, and John Bradley plays a perfect third wheel.

The special effects were gorgeous and just the right amount of insane, which I expected. I didn’t expect, however, how well they would pull off the story. I didn’t expect to care about the plot as much as I did. Disaster movies aren’t famous for making you care about the characters and the world that’s being destroyed. This film perfectly weaves in the peripheral characters and settings in a way that there are actually some stakes, which kept me on the edge of my seat and wholeheartedly along for this other-worldly ride from beginning to end.

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