Tag Archives: Movie Review

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Review

Tags : Movie Review

The Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who’ve developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level. But when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second Ice Age.

Why did I come to this movie again?

The original Ghostbusters is one of my all-time favorite movies! I enjoyed Afterlife, and thought I would give this one a chance. Because it’s a sequel, my expectations were pretty low.

4 of 5

Characters

There were a LOT of characters in this movie. So many that I think it was detrimental.

I knew all of the people from the original film, which helped. I loved that they brought them back and got them involved. The nostalgia bait was high, and I totally embraced it. If you haven’t seen the very first one, you’re going to miss some good jokes and maybe be confused.

The kids were fun, but just as I got interested in them the show flipped to someone else.

The new addition adults were cool. I mean, who doesn’t love Paul Rudd doing his Paul Rudd thing? The fire bender dude didn’t have nearly enough screen time. He was pretty important, but we barely know him.

I liked all of the characters, but didn’t get to spend enough time with any of them. I think this show could have benefited from cutting a few things to let others really shine.

3 of 5

Did I care what happened?

Yes, I did. The conflicts started building from the very beginning of the show and kept going through the end. As a matter of fact, I was interested in a few things that didn’t get enough screentime.

4 of 5

Plot Holes

Like a superhero movie, I expected plot holes. Although, for me, most of them were me asking, “Why?” about various things that happened. My writer brain got distracted several times, and most of my questions didn’t get answered.

In the opening sequence, they destroyed a bunch of things, including the structural integrity of a building, and then are shocked when there are consequences.

My brain: Why?

The Plot: Moving on…

3 of 5

How many times did I yawn?

I stayed engaged, and I don’t think the hubby fell asleep, which is high praise for a movie.

Although there were some flickering lights in our theater that I started to notice about halfway through the show. Considering I’d been ignoring them before that, the middle was a bit slow…but not slow…because everything felt rushed. It was strange.

4 of 5

Cool Factor

The effects were great. Ghosts were fun. I enjoyed watching the show.

5 of 5

The End

Because there were so many characters, and the writers gave each of them a little bit of screentime, there wasn’t enough time for anything. The bad guy didn’t appear until near the end of the show, and then he was suddenly gone. The fire bender learned to use fire in a day.

The end felt like the middle, and I was ready for more story.

4 of 5

Overall Enjoyment

Despite this moving suffering from a bloated cast and a whiplash pace, I did enjoy it. It hit quite a few nostalgia buttons while also including new fun. I’ll probably watch it again at some point.

4 of 5

Total: 31

That’s just barely a Brown Belt!

White Belt: 1-10
Yellow Belt: 11-19
Purple Belt: 20-25
Green Belt: 26-30
Brown Belt: 31-35
Black Belt: 36-40

Dune: Part Two Movie Review

Tags : Movie Review

Paul Atreides unites with Chani and the Fremen while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family.

Why did I come to this movie again?

Because it’s Dune: Part Two!

5 of 5

Characters

This story is full of great characters with rich backgrounds and varied ideals. The film did a good job of showing us this.

Chani was probably my favorite.

There were a few who felt flat. I’m not sure if that was the actor or the director.

4 of 5

Did I care what happened?

Since I haven’t read the book for at least twenty-five years, I was interested in what happened. Mostly because I didn’t really remember.

The film kept the tension going, which kept me interested.

4 of 5

Plot Holes

There will always be plot holes in adaptations from books to film, and I’m generally forgiving with those.

What I didn’t love in this movie was little things like not showing us, the audience, how to ride a worm via a training run for Paul. They skipped a bunch of little things, due to time I’m sure, that made parts of the story feel shallow.

4 of 5

How many times did I yawn?

Surprisingly, none. Part two is faster paced than one, so that was good. I don’t think the hubby fell asleep at all, which is miraculous.

5 of 5

Cool Factor

I can’t fault the beauty of each scene in this movie. The attention to detail is mind-boggling, and I loved seeing it in the theater.

The battles were awesome, which is important to an action junkie like me. If you’re looking for a spectacle that’s also pretty, this is your film!

5 of 5

The End

It’s abrupt. There’s no denying that. However, I did love that Chani marches off because Paul is not only betraying here, but he’s also being an idiot. All he’s doing is replacing one overlord with another, and that’s not what they need.

4 of 5

Overall Enjoyment

Like the first film, I loved each individual scene, but the movie felt like a pile of squares for a beautiful quilt that were hastily strung together. Did I like it? Yes. Would I watch it again? Yes. Can I say I loved it? Not quite.

4 of 5

Total: 35

That’s a Brown Belt!

White Belt: 1-10
Yellow Belt: 11-19
Purple Belt: 20-25
Green Belt: 26-30
Brown Belt: 31-35
Black Belt: 36-40

Argylle Movie Review

Tags : Movie Review

A reclusive author who writes espionage novels about a secret agent and a global spy syndicate realizes the plot of the new book she’s writing starts to mirror real-world events, in real time.

Why did I come to this movie again?

Some friends wanted to see it, and I was like…fine. (I’d heard it was pretty bad, but sometimes going in with low expectations is best.)

4 of 5

Characters

I loved Bryce Dallas Howard in this! She did a great job playing a seemingly mild-mannered spy novel writer who was way out of her depth. The character was cute and fun, and then something more. I also love that she told the director that she wasn’t going to lose a bunch of weight to fit an ideal actress size for this film, and the director said that was fine, he wanted her as an actress, not for what she looked like.

Henry Cavil was there for eye-candy effect, which worked.

Sam Rockwell did a pretty good job too.

The bad guys were simply bad, which isn’t enough these days. Audiences want more.

I honestly didn’t mind the characters. This movie was set up as ridiculous from the first few minutes, and it only went downhill from there. I wasn’t expecting much in the realm of character development, and I didn’t get it.

Is that a win-win? I’m not sure.

3 of 5

Did I care what happened?

I didn’t fall asleep, but the two people I was with did. The pacing felt jerky, but it kept me entertained.

4 of 5

Plot Holes

If this was a superhero film, I’d say, “of course there are plot holes.” Since this was sort of like a superhero film, I’ll say, “there weren’t just plot holes, but more like plot chasms.”

So many things didn’t make sense, and there was literally a plot twist every ten minutes. Maybe more. I stopped trying to keep track and simply ride the chaos.

3 of 5

How many times did I yawn?

Like I said, the pacing felt jerky. I don’t love it when the director uses the main character falling asleep or unconscious and waking up somewhere new as a scene change, and this film did it four or five times.

There was plenty of action, and more than enough twists, so I didn’t yawn at all. I did roll my eyes a lot.

4 of 5

Cool Factor

I’d love to say this film looked great, but frankly the CGI was awful. Between the unrealistic cat, the obviously green-screen backgrounds, the cartoon oil spill, and the horrible body double CGI in the action scenes I felt like I was watching something from at least 15 years ago.

Now, if you’re in it for pure cheesiness, then this is your movie. The action was over the top and the characters cliché.

3 of 5

The End

Um…the ending was okay. I guess. I left this movie almost as confused as when I started, which isn’t good. The threads sort of wrapped up, but not really.

4 of 5

Overall Enjoyment

I’m glad I went and saw this on $5 Tuesday at the theater. Was it fun to watch? Yes. Did I laugh a few times at the silliness of it all? Yes. Would I see it again? Probably not.

3 of 5

Total: 28

That’s a Green Belt!

White Belt: 1-10
Yellow Belt: 11-19
Purple Belt: 20-25
Green Belt: 26-30
Brown Belt: 31-35
Black Belt: 36-40

Blue Beetle Movie Review

Tags : Movie Review

An alien scarab chooses Jaime Reyes to be its symbiotic host, bestowing the recent college graduate with a suit of armor that’s capable of extraordinary powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the superhero known as Blue Beetle.

Why did I come to this movie again?

I was on a plane, saw it on the list, and decided I wanted some mindless entertainment for a couple of hours. Honestly, I’ve felt pretty meh about this movie since it came out, which is why I hadn’t seen it yet.

4 of 5

Characters

I really liked Xolo Maridueña (the guy who played Jamie) in Cobra Kai, and I think he did a decent job here. Jamie’s character was…fine. Nothing super new or exciting as far as a superhero origin story goes.

Through the first part of the movie his family was annoying to the point of me almost switching to another show. I get that he had to bond with the beetle, but having his family treat something that could be priceless like a $5 ball from WalMart made me cranky. They mostly redeemed themselves by the end. I did like his dad, and who doesn’t love a warrior grandma?

The bad guy didn’t do much for me. She’s evil, wants money, and will do anything to get it. They tried to give her a backstory, but it fell flat for me.

The love interest was just kind of there for convenience of the plot.

The Beetle should have had a lot more screen time.

3 of 5

Did I care what happened?

I only sort of cared what happened. Without a strong draw to the characters I wasn’t terribly invested in what was going on.

3 of 5

Plot Holes

This is a superhero film, of course there are plot holes. In this case I felt like they underexplained anything that had to do with the actual plot.

For instance, the girl’s dad was a pseudo superhero? Tell me more about that. Give me more than a two-sentence explanation that leaves me with more questions than answers. And can anyone who has a license fly the Blue Beetle mobile?

Why did the beetle choose Jamie? They skirted the issue and we learned nothing more about it.

What exactly is the hierarchy at the big evil corporation?

Why couldn’t Jamie find a job after coming home from college? Pretty sure people in big cities hire college graduates no matter what neighborhood they’re from.

3 of 5

How many times did I yawn?

The pacing of this film was okay. Instead of yawning, let’s talk about how many times I rolled my eyes.

Many.

I liked that they used a minority family who were down on their luck, but just how many times can they remind us that anyone with money or power is evil? Approximately 85 in two hours. Show us once. If the writers do that correctly, you don’t need to tell the audience about it again. And again. And again.

4 of 5

Cool Factor

This film looked good. Granted, I was watching a small screen in the back of an airline seat, but I didn’t get thrown out of the story by any of the effects, and while they didn’t explain much about the Beetle, I did think it was cool.

4 of 5

The End

While the finale was super fun, it bordered on ridiculous. His family, who were barely competent at the beginning of the show, break him out of a high security facility? Like I said, it was fun. I laughed more than once, but I was also rolling my eyes a bit.

4 of 5

Overall Enjoyment

I’d give this one a meh. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t terrible. I did have low expectations, so that probably helped.

I think this movie tried to straddle the line between campy and serious, and didn’t quite get the balance right.

3 of 5

Total: 28

That’s a Green Belt!

White Belt: 1-10
Yellow Belt: 11-19
Purple Belt: 20-25
Green Belt: 26-30
Brown Belt: 31-35
Black Belt: 36-40