Correct. This thread I only post my reviews of current films either streaming or in theaters. I use the Movies/TV Random Post Whoring for older films.

FALL

The film opens with married couple Becky (Grace Caroline Currey) and Dan Connor (Mason Gooding) who are along for a mountain climb with their friend Hunter (Virginia Gardner). Suddenly, one of Dan's cables unexpectedly gives way and he plummets to his death. The story picks up specifically 51 weeks later where Becky is still devastated by her husbands untimely death, while avoiding her concerned father (played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and abusing alcohol as a coping mechanism. She contemplates suicide by overdosing on pills and booze until she receives a knock on her door from Hunter, who attempts to pull Becky out of her funk by asking her to come along on her next climb (which would be Becky's first since the accident). Initially turning the offer down but reconsidering after sleeping on it, the girls travel 6-hours away to a desert to climb an abandoned 2,000-foot radio tower. They reach the summit without issue, however, Becky's last push off of the ladder loosens a bolt on it. When the women are ready to come down a 200-foot section of the ladder hurdles towards Earth. Unable to get down and without food or water, the women must figure out a way to be rescued before they succumb to the elements. The story gets moving quickly with the women wasting little time getting to the tower and with a film like this, the audience is going to experience some sweaty palms moments. However, the film does drag in certain parts while the women's friendship is dissected and secrets from the past are brought to light. The CGI is spotty in parts and there's obvious dub work as there was a lot more cursing involved. In order to gain the cherished PG-13 rating, the actresses had to voice over some of their lines. A forgettable film with a motivating message that outside of a few heart-pounding moments, falls flat (pun intended). 4.5/10

SAMARITAN

Sylvester Stallone is getting in on the superhero action with an original character based in the fictional city of Granite City. Stallone used to be a hero by the name of Samaritan, who's arch-villain was his twin brother, Nemesis. Both were believed to have died in a fire 20-years ago until Samaritan's teenage neighbor Sam (Javon Walton), who is a huge fan of Samaritan's, believes Stallone survived the fire and is quietly living amongst them. The present day villain to Stallone is Cyrus (Pilou Asbæk), whom Sam previously and briefly worked for due to his mother's financial struggles and to keep them from being evicted from their apartment. Cyrus attempts to take over and become the new Nemesis in Granite City, promoting anarchy. Stallone's cover is finally blown when young Sam is bullied and battered by former associates of his and Stallone comes to his rescue. This is a decent B-action film that's built a very gritty and grimy world within Granite City. Although nowhere near on par with Marvel or even a DC film, I wouldn't mind a sequel to this as it is a pleasant enough ride to take. 5.5/10

ME TIME

Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg star as best friends Sonny Fisher and Huck Dembo respectively. Historically, Sonny has always participated in Huck's over-the-top birthday celebrations, until he married Maya (Regina Hall) and started a family. Maya is the breadwinner in the family as an architect, which relegates Sonny to a stay-at-home Dad. Maya brings home the bacon but the family doesn't operate without Sonny's involvement as Maya is so consumed by work, she repeatedly doesn't know basic, and at times, life-threatening details about her own children, like bringing an epipen with them on vacation in case of an emergency. While Maya has been so consumed with work, and Sonny so burdened by the day-to-day life of the family, they both agree Maya will take the children to her parents in Washington state in order to connect with them more, while Sonny will have a much deserved week to himself. During this time, he reconnects with Huck, who's last few birthdays he's missed due to raising a family. What ensues is a week-long adventure of getting back to their roots, rediscovering their bond for each other, and Sonny gaining more self-confidence. I'm not quite sure why this film has such bad reviews as I quite enjoyed it? The laughs unfortunately only come from Hart, while Wahlberg is repeatedly used as shock value. An enjoyable buddy comedy that is worth taking a flyer on. 6/10

5/5

BARBARIAN

Set in a rundown neighborhood in Detroit, Tess (Georgina Campbell) has an important job interview in the morning. She booked an Airbnb and is horrified to discover Keith (Bill Skarsgård) in the house upon her arrival. It could be a simple misunderstanding that the house was double booked or is there something more sinister involved? Discovering a hidden underground passage, Tess and Keith are intrigued enough to see where it leads. While this film is absolutely crazy at times, I will give props to writer/director Zach Cregger as this is most definitely an original film. A second viewing is in order as there are times where the audience cannot believe what is happening onscreen and parts may be more digestible a second time around. Also, the film has a non-linear timeline so it'll bounce around a bit but as always, come together perfectly in the end. This may not be a film for everyone, but for those horror fans or those looking for something a bit more obscure, this is worth taking a chance on. 6/10

PINOCCHIO (2022)

A live-action adaptation of the original source material, Tom Hanks is magnificent as Geppetto. This is the type of live-action film I wished I grew up with. Full disclosure, I am biased to the original cartoon as it was one of my favorites growing up. A few casting decisions can be called into question (I'll leave you to decide those) but Keegan-Michael Key also deserves a much deserved shout out to his all too brief rendition of Honest John. Outside of that, this follows the typical Disney formula where much of this is a shot-for-shot remake of the original cartoon while the CGI is next level! Still another exceptional experience from director Robert Zemeckis. 7/10

MOONAGE DAYDREAM

A David Bowie documentary, told through him with the assistance of archival footage. It spans his illustrious career and is put together magnificently by director Brett Morgen. This is an extremely well done piece of art as I'm a huge Bowie fan but didn't know much about the man himself. This, at times, allows David to bear his soul to the audience as he morphs from his early characters to his true self. An inspirational musical journey I was fortunate enough to view in Imax. If you're afforded the same, I highly recommend taking it. 8/10

PEARL

An extremely quickly released prequel to the film X that was released in March of this year, Pearl tells the story of the old woman (also played by Mia Goth in X) set in 1918. Pearl is born and raised on a Texas farm but has big aspirations to make it on the big screen as a dancer. Her father is infirmed in a vegetative state while her overbearing German mother wants her to assist the family in their day-to-day life and give up any ambitions she has outside of that. Her sister-in-law Misty (Emma Jenkins-Purro) informs Pearl of a dance audition at a local church that will tour the state for a dance recital. Believing this could lead to her big break, Pearl will not let anything stand in her way of making that audition. While this film is rated R and does have some horror elements to it, the story is more of a character study of Pearl: what makes her tick and how she came to be in X. Another strong performance by Mia Goth but the film can drag at times (with a runtime of 102 minutes) and for those hoping to see a big body count, you'll be disappointed as the number is lower than X. I preferred X over this but we'll see how MAXXXINE does when it's released. 5/10

GOODNIGHT MOMMY

An American remake of the 2014 Austrian film, the story follows a mother (Naomi Watts) who shares custody with her ex-husband (Peter Hermann) of their twin boys Elias & Lucas (Cameron & Nicholas Crovetti). The boys mother at first startles them based on her appearance as she rocks a spandex face mask that covers her entire face throughout much of the film. Behaving oddly and doing things their mother normally wouldn't do, the boys soon suspect the person underneath the mask is not their mother. This is a wonderful psychological roller coaster with quite the twist ending. I did pick up on one nuance throughout the film that did turn out to be something but I won't spoil that here. This is the type of film that after you see how the story ends, you want to immediately rewatch it to see what you can pickup with your new found knowledge. I'd like to see this again soon as I thoroughly enjoyed. Free for Amazon Prime members, it's worth it! 6.5/10

AIR FORCE ONE (1997)
President James Marshall (Harrison Ford) with his wife and daughter boards Air Force One leaving Moscow, where he was appalauded for announcing a zero tolerance policy toward terrorism. Lo and behold, a gang of terrorists headed by Ivan Korshunov (Gary Oldman), posing as journalists, take over the plane and threaten to shoot one hostage each half hour if Marshall doesn't convince the Russian government to release a terrorist leader they've imprisoned. The Secret Service hustles the Prez into a pod that's ejected from the plane via parachute. But wait--Marshall climbed out and is still on the plane! After victorious hand-to-hand combat with several terrorists, shootouts with submachine guns, hanging on to an open loading ramp with one hand, and other derring-do he swore to uphold when he took his Oath of Office, the Prez prevails and the bad guy dies. Ford, a one-note actor, is two notes here (scared and exhausted), though Glenn Close is good as the Veep. Director Wolfgang Petersen knows how to make an action movie, and "Air Force One" is all action (no credibility), but it'll have you leaning into every scene.

THE NAKED CITY (1948)

Lt. Dan Muldoon (Barry Fitzgerald) of NYCP's Homicide Bureau, gets a murder case--an attractive women's clothing model who, it turns out, is connected in non-linear ways to a burglary ring involving her pathologically lying boyfriend (Howard Duff, major leading man of the era, for once a bad guy), The movie is good on police methodology, presided over with charm by Muldoon. It ends with a chase across the Williamsburg Bridge, doing in one of the murder perps (Ted DeCorsia, leading heavy of the era).

Fans call this a film noir, but the dialog and some of the acting aren't crisp enough to put it anywhere in league with "Double Indemnity" or "Laura." But every exterior was shot right on the streets of NYC, which makes it well worth the price of admission. Plus, Fitzgerald, Eternal Irish Priest, does his best to portray a Homicide detective as One O'Them Elves Which Kissed the Blarney Stone--curiously effective in winning over witnesses. Definitely good.
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DON'T WORRY DARLING

Set in a California desert during the 1950s, Frank (Chris Pine) creates an experimental community with the Victory Project. The audience, as well as the women in the film, know very little about the Victory Project; whereas the men know all about it. In traditional roles, the men work while the women take care of the home. Some of the women claim they don't even know how to drive but still make it into town via the local trolley. The story follows Alice (Florence Pugh) and Jack Chambers (Harry Styles), a young married couple who are mad for each other. Everything is going splendidly until one day while riding the trolley, Alice sees a plane crash down behind a mountain. With an unwillingly bus driver who refuses to drive her over to the crash site, Alice decides to investigate to see if anyone is injured or alive. In doing so, she soon learns there is something sinister behind this all-too-perfect community. This is the best I've seen Chris Pine as he is delightful as Frank, who's treated by the others as almost a godlike figure for inviting them into his community. He's the epitome of debonair: cool, calm, sophisticated, and intelligent. Pugh and Styles chemistry onscreen is steamy at times and adorable at others. I had some of the ending figured out going in to this movie but not completely, so I was still pleasantly surprised by it. The world created here is incredibly authentic and detailed, so major props to the set designers and style department. The trailers quite intrigued me so I went in to this with moderately high expectations and for the most part, it delivered. Much has been made in the press about the behind-the-scenes drama but at least the work didn't suffer. Looking forward to another viewing. 7/10

EMILY THE CRIMINAL

Aubrey Plaza stars as Emily, a young woman who works a menial job as a catering delivery driver who has a felon conviction on her record and is drowning in $70,000 worth of student loan debt. Unable to finish college due to her lack of resources following her criminal conviction, Emily has a difficult time securing gainful employment until one day, she covers a coworkers night shift so he can watch his son play baseball. As a thank you, he gives her a phone number to text that allows her to make $200 for 1 hour of work. Vague but enticing, Emily texts the number and is soon setup to perform an illegal task for cold hard cash. After her first taste of easy money, Emily continues down a destructive but lucrative path towards financial freedom. I'm always excited to see comedians expand their range and Plaza does a wonderful job as the hard as nails and jersey girl Emily. She's joined by costar Theo Rossi who plays Youcef, who is her contact for her jobs. An interesting look at a criminal enterprise that deals in credit card and other types of fraud. This film didn't receive much of a marketing campaign but I'm glad I took a flyer on it as it surpassed my expectations. 6.5/10

. Great film

HOUSE OF DARKNESS

Serving as an unofficial quasi-sequel to DRACULA, Mina (Kate Bosworth) is picked up by Hap (Justin Long) at a local bar. Offering her a ride home, Hap thinks he's going to score with the beautiful young lady. However, things are not as they seem when they arrive back at her place. 2 opening shots make for a beautiful tribute to Dracula films of the past and Kate Bosworth is quite the seductive vixen playing Mina (in fact, Hap describes her as a bunny at one point during the film). Outside of those compliments, this was actually a bit of a bore. Exhaustively long scenes where the dialogue talks around in circles with very little advancement. The same happens later on in the film when Hap meets Lucy (Gia Crovatin), who gives another wonderful performance in the film, but is relegated to the same doldrums as Mina was previously. All of this builds to an ending the audience was already there within the first 5 minutes of the opening credits. Disappointing as the trailer seemed to offer more. 5/10

THE INVITATION

Evie (Nathalie Emmanuel) works for a catering company who are hired for swanky, posh New York elitist parties; however, her true passion in life is her art (ceramics to be more specific). Being an only child with no family as her mother passed away recently, her perpetual victim coworker Grace (Courtney Taylor) swipes a goodie bag from the party that houses a free DNA test kit and gives it to Evie. Feeling she has nothing to lose and everything to gain, Evie completes and submits her DNA test when in short order, she's contacted by her 2nd cousin Oliver (Hugh Skinner). He's in New York on business and is quite insistent she come back to England with him for a family wedding (all expenses paid mind you) to meet the rest of the family. Once there, Evie quickly falls for the lord of the manner Walter De Ville (Thomas Doherty) but also begins to worry about her safety. The trailer unfortunately spoils too much here as the audience already has an idea where the story goes before it has a chance to unfold. Plenty of undertones dealing with racism and sexism as basically the entire cast consists of white males outside of Nathalie of course. I imagine she wants to cash in on her post-GAME OF THRONES success and prove she can be a leading actress but this was not the project to attempt to flex those muscles on as there's very little here to work with. This is supposed to be a horror/thriller and while the gore elements are there to satisfy the horror fans, the thriller aspect is anything but as jump scares as telegraphed from a mile away. Pepper in some woke dialogue about Brits, the monarchy, and colonizers with the addition of a black female lead and you've checked a couple of boxes for those who care about those sorts of trivial matters as well. Seems that's the direction this project was interested in going rather than a quality film with any substance. 3/10

SMILE

Sosie Bacon stars as Dr. Rose Cotter, a psychologist who witnesses a horrible suicide in her office by a new patient, Laura Weaver (Caitlin Stasey). However, the wild and incredibly hard to believe claims Laura tries to convince Rose of while alive begin to affect Rose as well. Being a professional in the field, it soon becomes obvious to those who are close to Rose she's suffering a mental breakdown. But, what Rose and Laura experienced has happened to others as well and Rose desperately attempts to uncover the key to stopping it before her time is up. I really enjoyed the trailer doesn't give away too much and I went into this as cold as I could for fear of spoilers (and I'm glad I did). This was such an incredible ride! It's the type of movie that gets underneath your skin from the beginning and festers there for the duration of the film. In my opinion, this is a breakout performance for Sosie, who delivers such an incredibly emotionally and psychically draining performance. Creepy, scary, and in some ways original (in some ways not, as cynics could easily make a comparison to a film from 2002 that I won't name for fear of drawing parallels/spoilers). Unfortunately, I'm not sure how well it'll perform at the box office as the marketing push was mediocre at best. It should live on as a cult classic if nothing else but I pray they leave it as a singular story and don't attempt to squeeze more out of the IP as horror franchises especially are known to do. Go see this film, you will not be disappointed! 8/10

WoW!

That’s a great bunch of reviews to go over with my Wife…. She loves your reviews.

Thank you i12

I am very interested in seeing the Beer Run movie also that is soon to release.

I dunno, Irishman...you must be living off a Trust Fund to get the time and money to see and review all those movies.,,

You do a great service for us film fans on this board,

I'm planning to go see Smile tonight!

Thanks DP, glad you and the Mrs. enjoy them! I still need to see THE GREATEST BEER RUN EVER as well and it's on my list. Just gotta find the time to squeeze it in.

Thanks TB and I wish I had the trust fund, believe me. I have the AMC A-List that's $20 a month and allows up to 3 movies per week (or 12 per month). Great investment!

What did you think?

We enjoyed it. Sosie is phenomenal

I very much enjoyed it. It's the type of mainstream horror I like. In the same boat as movies like Sinister, It Follows, The Conjuring 1 & 2...it's definitely derivative and heavily relies on jump scares, but there's a very effective sense of eerie dread throughout and the sound design and visuals of these movies are excellent and (especially for a mainstream horror) appropriately nightmarish. So despite not being entirely original, it's definitely effective and I'd pick it over some shlocky campy gore slasher movie any day of the week.

Glad you guys both enjoyed it and I agree with your assessment TKJ. Loved IT FOLLOWS and I felt it reminded me of that and THE RING. Looking forward to seeing it again (hopefully) soon.

AMSTERDAM

Writer/Director David O. Russell continues to recycle previous cast members while also gaining new ones. This new entry into his auteur is no different than his previous films as he (somehow) continuously is able to garner multiple Hollywood A-list actors for his films. This story (somewhat based upon true events) enlists the likes of Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Robert De Niro, Michael Shannon, Anya Taylor-Joe, and Rami Malek. The story follows a WWI veteran doctor Burt Berendsen (Bale), WWI veteran and lawyer Harold Woodman (Washington), and nurse Valerie Voze (Robbie) on a case of mistaken identity. When their former commander of their regimen turns up dead, Berendsen is asked by the commanders daughter, Liz Meekins (Taylor Swift), to perform the autopsy as she believes something is afoul with regards to her fathers untimely passing. While revealing the results of her fathers death, Liz is suddenly killed in front of an onset of bystanders. Being made the scapegoats of the murder both Berendsen and Woodman must piece together who benefits most from the murder of their former commander in order to clear their names. Truth be told, I've never been much of a fan of David O. Russell. His films have always been mediocre to me and this is no different. He assembles an A-list cast to carry his lightweight film and this is just another iteration of it. The film states it's based upon true events but as a member of the audience, being able to decipher fact from fiction is a difficult task. And in fact, this feels more like Hollywood/liberal propaganda in its own right as anyone who disagrees with their narrative (oops, spoiler alert) is deemed an enemy. I was bored about halfway/three-quarters in and the finale is a convoluted mess with so much information being presented to the audience, I questioned who was right and who was not. Not a terrible film that is maybe worth seeking out at least once but on streaming and not in theaters. 5.5/10

BLONDE

A fictionalized retelling of Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe, Ana de Armas stars as the blonde bombshell. As an audience member it's difficult to separate fact from fiction and this is a difficult film to get through (but not for the reasons you think). I am perplexed at the NC-17 rating, as while there is nudity in the film, it's not gratuitous. There are some difficult scenes presented to the audience but that's the point of it: Marilyn was so used, abused, and discarded in so many ways it's difficult to watch. Another point of contention coming in was de Armas' Cuban accent. While it stood out in the trailers, with the exception of a few scenes in the film with a runtime of 2 hours and 46 minutes, I did not find it distracting at all. de Marmas delivers a borderline Oscar nominee performance and she has the looks and vulnerability down pat. Anyone who is a fan of Monroe or de Armas I recommend slivering out the time to watch this at least once as she delivers such an emotional and towering performance. 6/10