Day: August 25, 2022

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Movie Review

The Invitation (2022) Movie Review

The Invitation – Movie Review

The Invitation

Director: Jessica M Thompson

Writer: Blair Butler, Jessica M Thompson (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: A young woman is courted and swept off her feet, only to realize a gothic conspiracy is afoot.

Runtime: 1 Hour 44 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Invitation starts when New York resident Evie (Emmanuel) learns she has lost relatives in England. A new family member, a second Cousin Oliver (Skinner) insists she joins him in England for a family wedding.

Evie finds herself thrown into a high-class society as a guest of Walter (Doherty) for the upcoming family wedding. It doesn’t take long before Evie sees not everything is right and learns the truth about the family’s past.

Verdict on The Invitation

Characters

Evie is a young woman struggling to make ends meet in New York, she has just lost her mother and her artistic dreams seem far away. She takes a DNA test only to learn she has long-lost relatives in England and gets tempted into joining them for a wedding. Evie shows compassion for the staff because she is used to being like them, as she adapts to being one of the ladies of the manor. It doesn’t take long before she starts falling for handsome host Walter, unaware of what she is getting herself into.

Walter is the host of the party; it is his manor they are visiting, and he sees something different in Evie. He welcomes her to the home and shows her the life she could be living. Walter comes off like prince charming, listening to Evie, unlike most men she has met before.

Viktoria and Lucy are the two bridesmaids for the wedding, they both show different levels of friendliness toward Evie. Grace is Evie’s best friend and doesn’t join on the trip, but is always a phone call or text away to make sure she is safe.

Performances

Nathalie Emmanuel is great in the leading role, we see a lost side to her character in New York, mixed with the depression of losing her mother and her dreams with her. Once she is out in England, we see a stronger side to her character, one that doesn’t back down easily.

Thomas Doherty brings the dreamy handsome host to life, he relies on his looks to win hearts and his smooth delivery helps along the way. Courtney Taylor is excellent for a laugh, giving serious vibes like Lil Rel Howery in ‘Get Out’. As the best friend who doesn’t trust strangers. The rest of the supporting performances are good, getting the big moments when needed.

Story

The story follows a young woman who finds out she is related to a high-class English family. She reluctantly agrees to attend a wedding to meet the family only to find herself in the middle of something much bigger and more dangerous.

This story does feel like the beginning of a fairy tale romance, with a young woman rushed off her feet and thrown into a world she never imagined. It soon gets filled with mystery and suspense, as we see what is happening in the shadows and what is waiting for.

This is a clever twist on what we get to see, having a similar feeling to ‘Get Out’ by meeting a rich family and ‘Ready or Not’ thrown into a massive party environment, welcoming someone new to the family. It is played out in a more serious tone but is an engaging story to follow.

Themes

The Invitation is a horror thriller that jumps at the chance to use the gothic environment and atmosphere. The manor house used is beautiful and would have secrets within its history. When it comes to a sequence in the final act, we do get the biggest weakness, with the overuse of cutting for different angles, which is very jarring. One of the subplots within the movie, made me think of ‘Ready or Not’ and that was with the help disappearing, it was done in a more comic tone than it could have been.

Final Thoughts – The Invitation is a nice gothic horror that feels like Get Out met Ready or Not.

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Movie Review

Last Journey of Paul W.R. (2020) Movie Review

Last Journey of Paul W.R. – Movie Review

Last Journey of Paul W.R.

Director: Romain Quirot

Writer: Romain Quirot (Screenplay)

Writer: Antoine Jaunin, Laurent Turner (Collaboration)

Cast

  • Hugo Becker (Assault)
  • Jean Reno (Leon)
  • Paul Hamy (9 Fingers)
  • Lya Oussadit-Lessert (Sweetheart)
  • Bruno Lochet (Le Clan)

Plot: The red moon threatens our existence on earth. Our only hope is the enigmatic Paul WR, the most talented astronaut of its generation. But a few hours before the start of the Great mission, Paul disappeared.

Runtime: 1 Hour 27 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Last Journey of Paul W.R. starts as the world faces extinction as the red moon threatens to collide with Earth. Astronaut Paul W.R. (Becker) is preparing for a final mission to save the planet. Only he goes on the run, seeing the world facing destruction.

As Paul goes on the run, his brother Eliot (Hamy) tries the mission, which seems to fail. Paul has some unfinished business he wants to take care of, as he is left to figure out what is important, trying to save the world or enjoying his final moments.

Verdict on Last Journey of Paul W.R.

Characters

Paul W.R. is a brilliant astronaut, trained to be Earth’s saviour from destruction. He has gone on the run, in search of answers about his childhood visions. Paul believes that they contain a better solution for saving the world, but it is a risk he is willing to take.

Elma joins Paul on his journey, giving her a chance at her own adventure for her final days on Earth. She has been through a lot before, and this is her last chance to feel valued in life.

Henry W.R. is Paul’s father, he has trained him for this mission and became concerned about the visions he suffered with. He tried solving them with medicine, believing it would help solve the problems for the greater good of the planet.

Performances

Hugo Becker in the leading role is great, as he shows the uncertainty his character is going through. He brings everything to make his character look like he is about to risk everything for another solution.

Jean Reno shows us the mentor figure, used to create the mission and bring the added star power to the movie. Lya Oussadit-Lessert as the plucky young woman who joins Paul on his journey brings more heart to the bigger journey.

Story

The story follows an astronaut on the run from a mission that could save humanity. He wants to find his own answers about life before he goes, believing he won’t make it back otherwise.

This is an interesting story that shows how the Earth can face destruction and the person who could save it, must face their own reality before diving in headfirst. The dystopian environment in the story helps show us how much is at stake. This story does take on the disaster story in a different direction too, without needing to go for the mega destruction moments.

Themes

Last Journey of Paul W.R. is a sci-fi thriller set in a dystopian world. the empty environment, despite having modern technology including hovercars shows humanity facing the last hope to survive. Even using modern technology, we get to keep most of the film looking like a not-too-distant future. The whole movie has a feel of a mixture of ‘The Bad Batch’ & ‘Turbo Kid’.

Final Thoughts – Last Journey of Paul W.R. is a techno-sounding dystopian treat.

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Movie Review

ABC Film Challenge – Romance – Y – Young Hearts (2020) Movie Review

Director: Sarah Sherman, Zachary Ray Sherman

Writer: Sarah Sherman (Screenplay)

Starring: Anjini Taneja Azhar, Quinn Liebling, Alex Jarmon, Ayla Carda, Embry Johnson, Eric Martin Reid

Plot: Harper enters high school and sparks a relationship with her brother’s best friend, Tilly. While Harper deals with social blowback, the older Tilly is congratulated, setting up a very modern love story in the age of Time’s Up and Me Too.

Runtime: 1 Hour 21 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Young Hearts starts as Harper (Azhar) starts high school where he brother Adam (Jarmon) has attended for the last couple of years, new there, she doesn’t know how to fit in, accepting invites to hangout from anyone there.

As Harper ends up spending more time with Adam’s best friend Tilly (Liebling), where the two end up sparking up an unusual relationship, which will see their classmates look at them differently in the social differences between the two.

Thoughts on Young Hearts

Thoughts – Young Hearts will bring the modern high school romance to the limelight, putting the new social backlash over a relationship being felt on all sides, with other students being happy to make up more rumours about people and needing to overcome what people think. Young Hearts does an excellent job showing the awkwardness of a young relationship, not knowing everything they are going though, with the friends around them wanting to learn from them. This could be seen as a low key relationship drama, giving us the idea that the first will be one to learn from. The performances from Anjini Taneja Azhar and Quinn Liebling are both excellent, with both the young stars being the part they are performing, adding the unsure nature to each scene or interaction. Young Hearts is a great romance story, one that fits the modern world perfectly.

Final Thoughts – Young Hearts is an excellent look at modern young love.

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Movie Review

The Wedding Pact 2: The Baby Pact (2022) Movie Review

The Wedding Pact 2 The Baby Pact – Movie Review

The Baby Pact

Director: Matt Berman

Writer: Matt Berman (Screenplay)

Cast

  • Haylie Duff (Napoleon Dynamite)
  • Scott Michael Campbell (Brokeback Mountain)
  • Gail O’Grady (Criminal Minds)
  • Connor Trinneer (American Made)
  • Heather Maccomb (Prison Break)

Plot: A major event happens in Elizabeth’s life that causes her to leave Boston.

Runtime: 1 Hour 40 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Wedding Pact 2 The Baby Pact starts as Elizabeth (Duff) returns home with her sister Rachel (McComb) in the aftermath of her husband’s death. Elizabeth is expecting their first child and promised not to do this alone, being around family.

It doesn’t take Elizabeth long to start rebuilding her life, getting a job as a florist with an old school friend Joe Jr (Aaron). Elizabeth’s new life could come crashing down when her mother-in-law wants full custody of her grandchild.

Verdict on The Wedding Pact 2 The Baby Pact

Characters

Elizabeth Becker is a widowed pregnant woman who needs to rebuild her life. She surrounds herself with family returning to her hometown. Everything seems to be going smooth for her until she gets caught in the middle of a court case for custody of her unborn child. She is put through unnecessary stress at a time for calm.

Rachel is Elizabeth’s sister that supports her in her time of need. Being there when nobody else is left for her. Joe Jr offers Elizabeth a job, to help her get back on her feet.

Kevin Pyle and Robin Pyle are rival siblings’ lawyers who are on both sides of the case. In what is sibling rivalry that gets experienced in court at times. Jennifer Becker is Elizabeth’s mother-in-law that is fighting for full custody of her grandchild, believing Elizabeth is an unfit mother.

Performances

Haylie Duff is great in the leading role, as we see her trying her best to remain positive in a time of great pain. She is the heart and soul of the movie, and through everything, we support her character.

In the supporting cast, we get strong performances, even if not everybody gets as much screen time. Heather McComb gets the laughs, Gail O’Grady and Chase Masterson make you hate their characters. While Quintin Aaron and Connor Trinneer bring us nice supporting characters.

Story

The story follows a pregnant widow who is starting to rebuild her life, only to find herself facing a new challenge, a legal challenge for custody of her unborn child.

This is a sequel to ‘The Wedding Pact’ which sees the husband dying between movies. The idea of replacing a character off-camera is unusual and works for this story because it builds an interesting idea of a woman needing to figure out her life after his passing. When it comes to the court case, this is a massive question mark, because I find it hard to believe it got this far.

The story is told in a much lighter tone than it could have been. Where it balances reunions with old friends who have lived different lives and the serious side of the court case.

Themes

The Wedding Pact 2 The Baby Pact is a comedy-drama that keeps the mood of the film light but never moves into the romantic comedy side of things, which the original film was. It sees the main character Elizabeth returning to her hometown, giving a reunion experience between the characters. There are also impactful moments, including a visit from the ghost of Elizabeth’s father.

Final Thoughts – The Wedding Pact 2 The Baby Pact is an enjoyable feel-good movie.