[A summary of my movie and TV reviews from last month, posted to Attrition.org, mixed in with other reviews.]
Coming 2 America (2021)
Medium: Movie (Amazon)
Rating: 4/5 Zamunda Ministry of Propaganda approves
Reviewer: jericho
Reference(s): IMDB Listing || Amazon
Thirty years later, a sequel that was never supposed to happen according to Arsenio Hall. I’m glad they changed their mind! While a sequel that largely follows the same plot of the first, the movie does a good job of giving equal time to the new characters while giving a very healthy dose of cameos and an incredible amount of the original cast who returned. Wesley Snipes plays the goofiest, over-the-top, African warlord and he delivers. Jermaine Fowler and KiKi Layne are the breakout stars, and Leslie Jones who I usually don’t care for at all did a great job with her character. Very light-hearted and the movie doesn’t take itself seriously one bit, the way it should be.
Cosmic Sin (2021)
Medium: Movie
Rating: 0/5 This movie is the sin
Reviewer: jericho
Reference(s): IMDB Listing
Yes, the first ‘0’ review. This movie is every bad cliché you’ve seen in a war or sci-fi movie, combined with the worst dialogue, a healthy dose of continuity failure, and just total shit for the rest. Year is 2524, quantum travel, colonizing planets, aliens? Sure, I can suspend disbelief to enjoy that. Every single bit after that? Nope. It’s hard to describe just how bad it is, how every scene is a “what?” or “that makes no sense!” Add to that the most ridiculous armor, gliding through space wearing mostly normal clothes, and silly aliens. There were two big scenes that seemed like material was left on the cutting room floor, leaving me to wonder what even happened. One question asked in the movie several times is “was the encounter positive or negative for both sides?” Negative for me, thanks for asking
I Care A Lot (2020)
Medium: Movie (Netflix)
Rating: 4.5/5 a classic evil vs evil battle
Reviewer: jericho
Reference(s): IMDB Listing || Netflix
This is a crime movie, from start to finish. I had a notion of what the movie was about going into it, but it had a nice escalation moving past what I thought it was. There are no good people in this movie, not a single one; and that makes it fun and interesting. Pike is the standout star for sure, and Dinklage does a pretty good job playing a character that doesn’t immediately remind you of Tyrion Lannister (a challenge to be sure). One thing I really enjoyed was trying to guess who would come out on top, how it would end, and if it would be satisfying. I guessed wrong and it was quite enjoyable. The only complaint is the movie name; it just doesn’t fit to me.
Point Blank (2019)
Medium: Movie (Netflix)
Rating: 2/5 What’s the point? [This space intentionally left blank]
Reviewer: jericho
Reference(s): IMDB Listing || Netflix
An ER nurse and a career criminal are forced into an unlikely partnership in taking down a ring of corrupt cops threatening the lives of both their families. The film is a remake of the 2010 French film of the same name, originally called “Àbout portant“. I suspect this is a shitty remake of the original because it is a long series of boring clichés for the most part. The only refreshing thing is that Anthony Mackey, who is muscular, gets his ass handed to him because he is a doctor and not a fighter. I’d skip this one.
Cherry (2021)
Medium: Movie (Apple)
Rating: 5/5 definitely not cheery
Reviewer: jericho
Reference(s): IMDB Listing || Trailer
Despite primarily covering a small part of the lives of two characters, wonderfully played by Ciara Bravo and Tom Holland, the movie has an epic feel to it. That is helped by the movie having no lulls; scenes are only as long as they need to be before advancing to the next event. We’re given the story of an unnamed character coming of age through love, war, drugs, and crime. Throughout, the one constant in his life is his love for Emily even when the relationship is perhaps the worst thing for either of them. The acting, narration, and cinematography is outstanding and this movie is worth the watch.
3022 (2019)
Medium: Movie (Multiple)
Rating: 0.5/5 space junk, figuratively speaking
Reviewer: jericho
Reference(s): IMDB Listing || Amazon
This movie is supposed to be set in the year 2190, but every single part of the technology suggests it was set in 2005. I like when Sci-Fi leans away from making everything bright and full of beeps, but this runs in the opposite direction full tilt. That means the show, with a small cast set in a small space station, needs to carry the movie. And it simply did not do that. It feels like each person was filmed giving their lines without any co-stars around for tense scenes. Very little sense of chemistry and a lot of dialogue seemed unnatural. Avoid this trash.
The Ballad of Lefty Brown (2017)
Medium: Movie (Multiple)
Rating: 2/5 It’s a sad song
Reviewer: jericho
Reference(s): IMDB Listing || Amazon
I appreciate a good western, and I know a good one may be a little slow compared to other genres. This definitely fits the bill and revolves around a simple plot at first; Lefty vows to find the killer of his best friend. The cast is stellar, full of big names, yet none of the performances really stand out. Pullman plays Lefty well but the character just wasn’t compelling to me. Flanagan’s acting is over-the-top and he plays a boring stereotype. Caviezel’s stoic tough guy is boring and seemingly his normal go-to role. After the simple plot aspect concludes, the movie falls short on the rest of it giving the impression the writers felt they needed filler to round it out.
Unknown (2011)
Medium: Movie (Multiple)
Rating: 3.5 / 5 needs more ‘thrill’ in the ‘thriller’ designation
Reviewer: jericho
Reference(s): IMDB Listing || Trailer
This is a tough movie to review without spoilers, so maybe an anti-spoiler? You know something is coming at the end, to resolve the entire premise and plot of the movie. It does a poor job giving hints to let you guess which direction it will go, so you are on a scenic ride with no ability to look out the side windows. The one time they do give you a hint, you only realize it in hindsight because they don’t actually give you a hint. It comes across as “wait… that is poor writing” when there is a reason for it. Liam Neeson is very Liam in this movie where he plays Liam who gets a bump on the head and wakes up with some memory loss, only to find someone pretending to be him, and he has to figure it out.
SAS: Red Notice (2021)
Medium: Movie (multiple)
Rating: 1 / 5 Throw a red card on this one
Reviewer: jericho
Reference(s): IMDB Listing || Amazon
Ruby Rose stars in this movie with guns and badasses and shooting and fights and stuff. If that doesn’t sound exciting, neither was the movie. Rose plays for the evil side this time, not the proverbial “good guy”. The lead guy on the good side was so boring I mistook him for an extra until a few scenes in. As you might guess, the movie is full of plot holes and has quite the predictable ending. No one stands out in this movie as far as acting and there are several recognizable faces, none from notable shows either. Skip it unless you need to get sleep.