Thoughts on 5 Films

1. After the Hunt - This movie is...fine. I'm not the biggest Luca Guadagnino fan (I think Challengers is his best film, and I still didn't love that). I don't really understand the praise that he receives, but that's not a new feeling for me. There are so many directors/actors/movies/shows that are SO overrated because people throw the word "masterpiece" around all willy-nilly nowadays. I think this might be his worst reviewed movie, but I think it's better than a lot of them (still a 3 star movie, for me). The story has been done before with Doubt, The Hunt, Tar, etc. with a teacher being accused of something and dealing with the fallout. I don't think this film offers anything new, perspective-wise. It's told from the perspective of a friend/co-worker of the accused who has to choose whether to support her friend/co-worker or the victim, and I think that's supposed to be an interesting vantage point or something, but it's not. You can believe the victim and support your friend as well and bow out of the problem that you know nothing about. And this is what causes people's heads to spin - TWO things/ideas can conflict with each other and both can still be true. Yes, we, as a society, need to believe women and treat victims of abuse better, but there are still two sides to every story. And unless you were present, you will never know which is true. But this character doesn't bow out - she involves herself and is also given an underlying motive for wanting her friend/co-worker to be guilty (she will get the better job). They also say the line "if it's real to you, then it's real", which is such a bullshit line. People convince themselves of things all the time and memory is very inconsistent. They should have pushed into these ideas more. I just don't find anything about this provocative (maybe if it were released 15 years ago), but it's definitely trying to be. It's way too long, and I already know how it's going to end. Also, the way scholars talk is so fucking dull and and elitist - I would kill myself if I had to be around that all the time. I do love this cast, though. I've always been a big Julia Roberts fan, and it's nice to see Andrew Garfield act again (it's been a while!). Ayo Edebiri is finally in a decent movie (it's been rough with Opus and Omniloop). Plus, the cop from Bad Sisters! I love her! And Chloe Sevigny with a bad haircut and very little to do! I also like the sound design. It's not a movie that I'll remember a year from now, but it's fine. 

2. A Minecraft Movie - I didn't plan on watching this, but I've been very sick for the past 7 weeks and my husband also got the flu last week so in our bid to rest, we watched a movie after dinner and then went to be early every night (it's still ongoing so we've watched a LOT of bad movies and a few good ones). He's not a "movie person", so picking movies that he will want to watch is a tough challenge. Especially when he's sick - he wants to be able to laugh or zone out with a dumb action movie (which explains the next 3 films on this list). And he doesn't want to pay for anything since we have so many streaming services. He would just pirate them if I didn't object to that. So instead we wait for films to be available on one of our streaming services, but that also limits our choices. After scrolling through our apps for an hour, I came across this and he was like "fine" and I suddenly found myself watching the worst film of the year (and maybe one of the worst films I've ever seen?). There is a way to make videogame films accessible to an audience who might not be familiar with it, and they don't even attempt to do this. I did not understand what was happening at all. And it's definitely trying to be funny and I laughed, mildly at two lines (and I couldn't for the life of me tell you what those two lines were). I do appreciate Jason Momoa being silly though. He was so good in Fast X, and I feel like he brings a part of that character to this - a flamboyant silliness that a lot of big, tough guys would shy away from. I also like the girl from Wednesday (it took me the whole movie to figure out what she's from...haha!). And of course, Danielle Brooks (although I feel bad that they make her wear that very unflattering track suit for the whole movie). Overall, the cast is actually great - and they have fun chemistry together. It's just the story and dialogue that are lacking. And the effects are horrific - this did not make me want to play this game at all, either. In fact, it looks like the dumbest shit imaginable and probably a cause of the downfall of the next generation (and there is a significant drop in intelligence and street smarts with gen z. I work with loads of gen z 20 somethings and I can count on one hand how many will be successful. It's disturbing!). 

3. The Family Plan 2 - I watched the first one, my husband did not, but he picked this movie because it filled the "zone out to a dumb action movie" quota. I mean, I would never watch a sequel to a movie without having watched the first, but that's just me. But, if I'm honest, which I always am, do I remember the first one??? No absolutely not. And that's not all because of my bad memory, I think a lot of it has to do with it being an unmemorable movie. A movie in which a sequel was not necessary at all, but everything is given a sequel nowadays. I guess it's not really a hard plot to pick up quickly (it's basically the same movie as Nobody and this has the same plot as Nobody 2, it's just the same movie set in a different place!). Oh wait!! I do remember loving Michelle Monoghan's character in the first one and she had a very memorable fight scene with Maggie Q. There is really nothing memorable here. It doesn't help that I can't stand Kit Harington. And why does he look so tiny in this?? He actually looks very different in this and I can't really pinpoint why, but his tininess really stuck out. Him and Marky Mark are the same height and yet he looks so small in comparison. And he's just really laughable as a menacing villain (and also 1/2 brother to Marky Mark??? Ok, sure.). The kids are good in this, and I like the way they include them in the action in a realistic way. I knew the boyfriend's dad was someone important the very second he said "let me call my dad". It's such obvious foreshadowing that makes me groan. But I get that this is not made as a thinking movie - just turn your brain off and try to have fun with it. 

4. Relay - I liked this movie a lot, but my husband ruined this for me because he guessed the plot twist within the first 20 minutes. And as soon as he said it, I was like, "oh yeah, that is probably what's going to happen" and then it did (it's ok, I got him back by guessing the twist of Poker Face season 2 ending. I called that WAY before there was any indication). But I wish I didn't watch it with the twist already in the front of my mind the whole time. Anyway, I still really enjoyed this - mostly due to the cast. Riz Ahmed AND Lily James???!!! WOW what a pairing!! I love Riz so much - he is such an incredible, thoughtful actor. Never too showy, but always hits every emotion. And I have a super crush on Lily James. There's also Willa Fitzgerald who is a very cliched "badass" character who doesn't have much to do but snap her gum and say sarcastic things (I don't actually know if she chews gum in this movie, but that's what the character feels like). And Sam Worthington, which is weird because my husband and I also FINALLY watched the second Avatar movie right before this so we did an accidental Sam Worthington double bill. He's such an inconsistent actor though. It's so weird how he really nails a role and then in the next movie I see him in, he's the worst actor I've ever seen. But he's good in this! I don't think it's a hard role to play, but at least he doesn't ruin the movie like he sometimes does! I like the shots of NY/NJ - you can tell it's actually filmed on location and it does a great job of making the city feel gritty but also hopeful at the same time. It feels like a classic 70s thriller, which is getting rarer and rarer these days (rarer is such a weird word to say and type lol). It also feels a bit different with the plot heavily relying on technology made for deaf people. The protagonist utilizes a relay service to communicate with whistleblowers to help them make deals and disappear. I've used a relay service once to interview a deaf candidate for a job. It's an interesting service - and it is a completely secure service. Although, I'm sure that if there are crimes being admitted to - they have ways to still charge and convict people. But it's an interesting device used in this little thriller - it's not something that I've seen used before, so that automatically makes me go "okay, this is cool! This is fresh! Something new! It can still be done!". 

5. Playdate - This was another film chosen out of pure exhaustion from scrolling. We saw an action/comedy starring the guy from Reacher (and we both love Reacher) and pressed play not knowing anything else. But I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did and the ONLY reason for that enjoyment is because of Alan Ritchson. HOLY SHIT. He is HILARIOUS. On Reacher he's more serious, introspective, etc., with some funny/dry humor moments, but he's, like, laugh-out-loud funny in this and it's so unexpected. His timing on jokes is the best. Sometimes the actual dialogue might not be funny, but if it's delivered correctly anything can be funny. Like, I would watch this again in a heartbeat just to laugh all over again. It helps that he's HOT too. I'm not usually into muscle men, but he's so handsome and tall. And I just LOVE when big muscly men are silly. I was practically drooling through the whole thing. Ritchson took a 1 star movie and made it a 3 star movie. I wish he had a better scene partner. Kevin James is fine, but I'm not the biggest fan. The plot is absolutely ridiculous but it also has some twists that you may or may not see coming so I'm not going to spoil it - just know that it's So Stupid. BUT, there are some lines that are so funny I had tears in my eyes, so the plot doesn't even matter. The big one is the "Run, Forrest, run!" line because it's a joke from 30 years ago but the way Ritchson delivers it is incredible. We had to pause the movie to finish laughing. There are some really good film references too - like the "Stuck in the Middle with You" homage (again, crying laughing!) and the "Give it Up" song plays with circular tracking shots like in Kingsman. There are also some other funny movie lines "You've seen The Departed, he'll be whacked!" and "Like the Yellowstone guy from Bodyguard" - both got me good. I probably missed a ton of jokes from laughing so hard. I highly recommend this if you want to watch something stupid with a hot guy being really funny.