Tag: 2020

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Movie Review

ABC Film Challenge – Catch Up 2020 – Q – Fantasy Island (2020) Movie Review

This is going under Q because of Maggie Q.

Director: Jeff Wadlow

Writer: Jillian Jacobs, Christopher Roach, Jeff Wadlow (Screenplay)

Starring: Maggie Q, Lucy Hale, Portia Doubleday, Michael Pena, Michael Rooker, Kim Coates, Charlotte McKinney

Plot: A horror adaptation of the popular ’70s TV show about a magical island resort.

Runtime: 1 Hour 50 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Soap Opera Horror

Story: Fantasy Island starts as five strangers, Gwen (Q), Melanie (Hale), Patrick (Stowell), Brax (Yang) and JD (Hansen) travel to Fantasy island to be part of the latest resort hosted by Mr Roarke (Pena). Gwen wants a chance to have another chance with man she could have lived her whole life with, Melanie wants revenge on a high school bully, Patrick wants to have some military action, while Brax and JD just want it all.

The one rule on Fantasy Island is that you complete the fantasy until the end, only when the fantasies become too realistic, the people want to know the truth about the island in hopes of trying to escape alive.

Thoughts on Fantasy Island

Characters – Mr Roarke is the man that runs the fantasies, he does it for his own reasons and will always be calm when explaining the rules to the guests, he is always in control with his staff willing to do anything for him. Gwen is one of the guests, her fantasy is to change a moment in her life, with that moment helping her add together the pieces to what is really going on the island, she is the most down to Earth of the guests. Melanie was bullied through high school, now she has become a shallow person over compensating for her broken person, she gets a chance to get revenge on the school bully, only she needs to learn the real world isn’t about high school anymore. Patrick wants to follow in his father’s footsteps in the military wanting to become a solider and see some action.

Performances – Michael Pena and Maggie Q are the highlights of this movie, they keep their characters in the path needed, while partly down to writing maybe down to acting Lucy Hale and Austin Stowell make the cast very mixed direction for their characters.

Story – The story here follows five people that win a competition to get the fantasy they desire only they don’t want to go through with it and must fight to survive what the island truly has planned for them. This story does seem like it should be easy enough, only it ends up become like a soap opera with a twist coming in nearly every single line in the film, even if the grander scale of everything is meant to make sense by the end. It can be enjoyed a lot more drunk because it is right out there with how everything unfolds.

Comedy/Horror – The comedy in this film feels more accidently rather than planned in the film, with the horror not coming through strong enough, with nothing be scary in anyway through the film.

Settings – The island itself looks beautiful, having everything you would want to have a good time, relax, only for it to become way to big for what the visual side of the film.

Special Effects – The effects in the film are basic enough, it does work for the cheesy side, only it isn’t as strong as it could be.


Scene of the Movie – Full soap opera ending.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Too many twists.

Final Thoughts – This is a horror film that ends up becoming more of a soap opera rather than horror film but feels like a true drunk movie night.

Overall: Drunk Late Night Horror.

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Movie Review

ABC Film Challenge – Catch Up 2020 – O – Onward (2020) Movie Review

Director: Dan Scanlon

Writer: Dan Scanlon, Keith Bunin, Jason Headley (Screenplay)

Starring: (Voice Talents) Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Octavia Spencer, Mel Rodriguez, Kyle Bornheimer

Plot: Set in a suburban fantasy world, two teenage elf brothers embark on a quest to discover if there is still magic out there.

Runtime: 1 Hour 42 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Pixar 101

Story: Onward starts as we enter a world that was once filled with magic, which slowly got replaced with science, creating the world we know, only with the fairy tale characters including the elf family the Lightfoot’s, student Ian, his older brother Barley, that is always trying to remember the past and their mother Laurel.

Being Ian 16th birthday his late father left the boys a gift, to use magic to bring him back to life for one day, only for Barley to interfere causing him to come back as just legs. The brothers must go on an adventure to complete the spell before time runs out and they lose him forever.

Thoughts on Onward

Characters – Ian Lightfoot is the younger of the two brothers, he is a shy student that hasn’t ever fit in at school and has wanted to meet his father his whole life, on his 16th birthday he learns that he has the power of magic and can bring their father back to life for a day, he must learn to overcome his own fears on this adventure to understand what he could become in life. Barley is the older brother that has played games studying the ancient ways, using his own faith to lead the adventure, despite having a screw up mentality to the rest of the town. Laurel is the mother that has always scared for her boys, encouraged them and now is in search for them after they vanish. The Manticore was once a monster of fear that unlocks the quest while trying to recapture her past glories.

Story – The story here follows two brothers who get a chance to spend one day with their father through magic, only for things not to go to plan, with the two needing to go on an adventure to complete the spell. This is a story that is looking to turn into a big heart, with the two brothers needing to look at themselves and understand the truth about themselves to get through this day. We see how even if people are going on different paths, they can always be there for each other. We try to dive into a world of magic once lost, which seems to be a clear reflection on how the human society has started to get lazier and forget where we came from, but it just doesn’t hit that level on a strong enough note.

Adventure/Comedy – The adventure is the two brothers travelling to try and find an item that could bring their father back, it takes them to locations, only for everything to not seem that worth it, because the adventure is learning about the two of them, with most of the comedy coming off very weak for a Pixar movie.

Settings – The film uses a mix of the modern ideas for homes, with how the historical ones are now modernised, along with a typical quest route.

Animation – The animation standard is never going to be question when it comes to a Pixar movie, you know it will look perfect in every frame.


Scene of the Movie – The realization.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The comedy seems weak.

Final Thoughts – This is one of Pixar’s weakest movies, that isn’t saying it is bad, it just doesn’t reach the heights that the others have in the past, lacking the true heart the rest achieved.

Overall: Typical Pixar Film.

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Movie Review

Ten Minutes to Midnight (2020) Movie Review

Director: Erik Bloomquist

Writer: Erik Bloomquist, Carson Bloomquist (Screenplay)

Starring: Caroline Williams, Nicole Kang, Nicholas Tucci, William Youmans, Adam Weppler, Alice Kremelberg

Plot: Bitten by a rabid bat, a late-night radio host terrorizes her co-workers as she slowly transforms into a vampire.

Runtime: 1 Hour 13 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Ten Minutes to Midnight starts when late-night radio host Amy Marlowe (Williams) gets bitten before her show, she starts to learn that her boss Robert or Bob (Youmans) has bought in a younger presenter Sienna (Kang) to learn of Amy, potentially replace her in the future.

As the night unfolds Amy sees herself going through strange visions, with her usual co-workers acting differently, not knowing if the bite has anything to do with it.

Thoughts on Ten Minutes to Midnight

Characters & Performances – Amy Marlowe is the late-night talk show host that has been doing it for years, she has been bitten before work, which will be what drives her questionable actions for the rest of the night, where she doesn’t know what is real or not. Caroline Williams shows the range for this role, which shows the professional figure, the experienced person and the one losing their mind with ease. Sienna is the young replacement that is being lined up for Amy’s show, she doesn’t look for advice, but is more interested in stepping on people to get to the top, becoming the primary target for Amy’s rage. We do meet the other people from around the studio, the producer on the show, the manager, the creepy security guard, who all have been working with Amy for years and know how important she is. Each of the performers give us strong performances, running with the quirks about their characters through the film.

Story – The story here follows an aging radio talk-show host that gets bitten before work, as she learns that she might be getting replaced and the night spirals out of control. This is a story that focuses on one woman going through a life change that goes hand in hand with another change that is going on in her life, which does see her latest show going in a direction she just doesn’t understand, playing out the wakey night in different eyes. We do get certain moments that click really well and others that seem to miss, but the crazy storyline just makes everything more appealing.

Themes – Ten Minutes to Midnight is a horror that will dive into the mindset of one person that will drive them through a different horror situation, with everything taking place in the radio station over one night.

Ten Minutes to Midnight is a wakey horror that will dive into the madness of the mind during a big life change.

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Movie Review

Hunted (2020) Shudder Movie Review

Director: Vincent Paronnaud

Writer: Vincent Paronnaud, Lea Pernollet (Screenplay)

Starring: Lucie Debay, Gilles Vandeweerd, Kevin Van Doorslaer, Dianne Weller, Ciaran O’Brien, Arieh Worthalter

Plot: The company of wolves is better than that of man.” Once upon a frenzied time, Woman meets Man. Woman dances with Man. Man kisses Woman. Man grips Woman. Woman escapes Man. Man chases Woman – Nothing new. Or is there?


Tagline – Two Maniac Killers. The Woods. Eve.

Runtime: 1 Hour 36 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Hunted starts when real estate developer Eve (Debay) finds her bad day going from bad to worse, when she heads to a bar meeting a Handsome Guy (Worthalter) who looks like she is hitting it off with, before his Accomplice Andy (O’Brien) joins them, looking to make her their latest victim.

The plan for the psychopaths doesn’t go the way they want either, when they are involved in a car accident, giving Eve a chance to escape, where she will use the forest to try and escape clutches of the killers.

Thoughts on Hunted

Characters – Eve has seen her job getting questioned, seeing her face the pressure behind it, needing to let off some steam in a bar, this only makes her day worse when she ends up getting kidnapped by two psychopaths and is left to fight back in the forest to survive. The Handsome Man doesn’t get named, but is training a new accomplice to help him in his twisted world of kidnapping and recording the rape and murder of women, he has little patience for the trainee and knows he needs to clean up the situation if he is ever to escape. The Accomplice is trying to learn the ways, but does come off clumsy along the way, causing more problems than solutions.

Performances – Lucie Debay is great in the leading role, being the fighter against the evil chasing her. Arieh Worthalter is entertaining as the villain, always looking like he is tired of what people are causing him.

Story – The story here follows a woman that gets kidnapped by a couple of psychopaths and ends up in the middle of the forest needing to fight back to survive. This does give us one of the more traditional battle of victim versus killers, with a twist on what happens in the forest, though we do spend more time focused on the killer, rather than the victims attempts to survive. It is everything you would imagine for how things unfold, it is easy to watch and does end up giving us a story we understand.

Action – The action is plenty of running and fighting, which will help the story have the intense running required.

Settings – The film uses the forest setting to help in the battle between the two sides, helping bring more to the battle for Eve.

Final Thoughts – Hunted is an intense action thriller that once unleashes, doesn’t stop.



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Movie Review

ABC Film Challenge – Catch-Up 2020 – H – Hooking Up (2020) Movie Review

Director: Nico Raineau

Writer: Nico Raineau, Lauren Schacher (Screenplay)

Starring: Brittany Snow, Sam Richardson, Anna Akana, Jordana Brewster, Vivica A Fox, Amy Pietz, Shaun J Brown

Plot: After he receives a new cancer diagnosis and she is fired from her job as a sex columnist, Bailey and Darla take a road trip that forces them to get intimate with their issues, as well as each other.


Tagline – There’s more to love than sex.

Runtime: 1 Hour 44 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Hooking Up starts as we meet gym employee and cancer survivor Bailey Brighton (Richardson) who is in the middle of break up and the tragic news, the cancer has returned, he meets sex addict Darla Beane (Snow) who has just lost her job for her behaviour and decides to make a story of her own sexual history, with Bailey joining her on the journey, replaying her history.

As the journey unfolds, the two start to learn about their pasts and how they have lived different lives along the way, but now they could help each other in the future.

Thoughts on Hooking Up

Characters – Darla is a sex addict who writes articles on sex for a magazine, she is assigned therapy which she isn’t happy about and her actions at work see her getting fired, in her own attempt to get her job back, she looks to go on a replay of her own history with a cancer victim, only to learn it is her own pain of love, which is causing more problems for her. Bailey is a mild-mannered gym employee who has beaten cancer, he is going through a break up and has discovered the cancer has returned, causing him to question everything and agree to join Darla on her journey, stepping outside his own comfort zone for the first time in years. Liz is the ex-girlfriend that has broken up with Bailey after encouraging him to look to date other people, she will always support him and she does remain close with him. We meet the parents and the people who are supporting the two through their problems along the way.

Performances – Brittany Snow does bring as a character we wouldn’t expect to see from her, here one that does have her problems that covered up with her confidence. Sam Richardson steals the show here as a gentle kind characters that has been lost most of his life, which is what is causing him more problems along the way. The rest of the cast do give us strong performance throughout, understanding their characters in the world of the leads.

Story – The story here follows two people who are both in need of help, one is a sex addict who has spiralled out of control, while the other is a cancer sufferer who isn’t sure how to deal with his own future, not knowing what the future will hold, who end up going on a journey together. The story will give us a look at self-discovery from people who will need to start taking life a different direction, either from needing supporting through cancer, who addiction. It does show us how important it is to ask for help and let people in to support you, even if we do go down a misleading road at times.

Comedy – The comedy comes from seeing a lot of Bailey’s reactions to hearing Darla’s stories, the two have had different lives, which will see more reactions coming from them.

Settings – The film is a road trip movie, it doesn’t hit any of the major locations you would expect to see around the different cities, which shows us more of a normal life that Darla has been on.


Scene of the Movie – 1-year later.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – It doesn’t seem to have a friend in Bailey’s life, even after everything he has been through, you would like to think he would have had a support bubble around him.

Final Thoughts – Hooking Up is a comedy that highlights the importance of friendship and relationships in life.



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Movie Review

Pieces of a Woman (2020) Movie Review

Pieces of a Woman – Kirby is Sensational

Director: Kornel Mundruczo

Writer: Kata Weber, Ansuman Bhagat (Screenplay)

Starring: Vanessa Kirby, Shia LaBeouf, Ellen Burstyn, Iliza Shlesinger, Benny Safdie, Sarah Snook, Molly Parker

Plot: When a young mother’s home birth ends in unfathomable tragedy, she begins a year-long odyssey of mourning that fractures relationships with loved ones in this deeply personal story of a woman learning to live alongside her loss.

Runtime: 2 Hours 6 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Pieces of a Woman starts as we meet Martha (Kirby) and Sean (LaBeouf) who are expecting their first child together. With the homebirth about to take place, we see what should be a joyous occasion, turns into an unimaginable nightmare as they lose the baby moments after she is born.

Martha finds herself becoming distant from the world, looking to do whatever she can to move on from what happened, while Sean leads Martha’s mother Elizabeth (Burstyn) in a court case against the midwife, keep bringing up the memories of the tragic day.

Thoughts on Pieces of a Woman

Characters & Performances – Martha is the expecting mother, expecting to have the greatest moment of her life, the brief moment of joy is taken from her though, putting her in position no one would ever want to be near, losing a baby. Martha finds her own way to grief this, by becoming colder, trying to move on with her life the best way she could find, she is doing this alone, despite people around her knowing she needs them, her reluctance to find help sees her explosion being more powerful, as her decisions are always for the best. Vanessa Kirby has come along way from the scene stealing performances in the early seasons of The Crown to give what can only be described as the best performance of the year. Sean is the partner who works in construction, he has followed the wishes of Martha, but after they lose their baby, he starts to find himself heading down the criminal court case, breaking down in private, falling off the wagon falling for his addictions. Shia LaBeouf does give us a wonderful supporting role where he can show the pain in a different way to Kirby. Elizabeth is Martha’s mother that wants to help her and see her express the pain she has been through, she wants answers and feels like her daughter is grieving without her support. Ellen Burstyn gets the brilliance in the support role, which will see her shining in her scenes, which will bring the bigger emotionally driven scenes to life.

Story – The story here follows a couple that suffer the tragedy of losing a baby at childbirth and go in different directions to try and overcome the grief they have suffered. This is a powerful story that shows the true heartbreak a couple would suffer from losing a baby, how everyone will look to overcome this in different ways and how it will change somebody forever. We have a sequence in the story that shows the childbirth, which is around 25 minutes long, filmed like a single take, which shows all the stress and the emotional carnage that is left behind once it is all over. We do get to see a darker side to everything, with how the court case is bought up, which does seem unfair, but is solved in the best way.

Themes – Pieces of a Woman is a powerful drama, that focuses on the life of the couple in the aftermath, we get the construction of a bridge to help show the time lapse going on, with each new stage focusing on that more than anything else.

Pieces of a Woman is a powerful drama that is going to leave most people an emotional wreck.

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Movie Review

Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020) Movie Review

Director: Eliza Hittman

Writer: Eliza Hittman (Screenplay)

Starring: Taila Ryder, Sidney Flanigan, Ryan Eggold, Sharon Van Etten

Plot: A pair of teenage girls in rural Pennsylvania travel to New York City to seek out medical help after an unintended pregnancy.

Runtime: 1 Hour 41 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Never Rarely Sometimes Always starts as we meet high school student Autumn (Flanigan) who finds herself learning that she is pregnant, knowing she won’t get much support out of her family, she turns to a local clinic and the internet for options, looking at her own ways out, before her best friend and cousin Skylar (Ryder) agrees to help her by taking her to New York for a solution, all the way leaving Autumn to make the most difficult decision of her young life.

Thoughts on Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Characters – Autumn is a quiet high school student, working in a grocery store, while not always feeling welcome at home, which becomes more difficult for her when she learns she is pregnant, she doesn’t know who to turn to, trying to solve the problem herself, before her best friend joins her on a journey to find a solution. She is given a decision no one her age should be put through, keeping her own pain inside even from her own cousin and best friend. Skylar is the best friend and cousin, she will support Autumn on her every decision, stick up for her when people might be taking advantage of her and find a way to make sure she gets the help she needs.

Performances – Sidney Flanigan gives us one of the best performances of the year here, she keeps her character grounded, hiding emotions and when things are released, you feel the impact they make on her being able to release the pain. Talia Ryder is excellent in the supporting role, showing the support, while not giving us a role that requires her being overly friendly, knowing the level of support her friend needs.

Story – The story here follows a high school girl that learns she is pregnant and doesn’t know who to turn to, before joining her best friend on a trip to New York to find a solution, without the rest of her family needing to know the truth. This is an excellent story that will show the difficult decisions a teenager might go through with an unplanned pregnancy, showing us how they will want to keep it away from people, do thing they wouldn’t want to, in an attempt to stop it and shows the support is there from strangers who will offer the options and understand the choices. There are some very difficult scenes to watch that show us just how difficult everything is for Autumn and by the end of the film, you will be left broken by her ordeal and decision.

Settings – The film does show us how a small town doesn’t always give the best advice, while the big city will offer the help required to anyone in need of it.


Scene of the Movie – Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always, what an uncomfortable scene.

Final Thoughts – Never Rarely Sometimes Always is one of the films of the year, one that will give us outstanding performances and direction, leaving us broken by the end.



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Movie Review

The Clearing (2020) Movie Review

Director: David Matalon

Writer: David Matalon (Screenplay)

Starring: Liam McIntyre, Aundrea Smith, Steven Swadling, Sydelle Noel

Plot: A father must battle his way through the zombie apocalypse to save his daughter.


Runtime: 1 Hour 28 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Slow Movie Zombie

Story: The Clearing starts as Tom (McIntrye) reluctantly takes his daughter Mira (Smith) on a camping trip to spend time bonding, they have started to become distant over the recent years and his wife Naomi (Noel) believes this will bring them closer again.

The camping trip does start awkward, as the two need to first put aside their differences, only for the first morning to take a dramatic twist, when the two come under attack by zombies, with Tom stranded in the campervan, he must hope Mira is safe.

Thoughts on The Clearing

Characters – Tom is a distant father, who doesn’t always want to spend time with his daughter, he reluctantly goes on a camping trip with her, where he must first convince her, he wants to see her before they can enjoy their time together, only he finds himself alone when a zombie outbreak hits them and he must hope his daughter can defend herself. Mira is the daughter, she has hit the technology stage of life, where she doesn’t want to be around her father, she doesn’t feel like she is what he wants, which is what he must convince her about. She gets stuck outside with the zombies, using her former nature training to stay alive.

Performances – Liam McIntyre must do most of the work here, he is the distant father, the man that believes he has lost his daughter, who knows he can’t risk too much to get out alive, while also showing the broken side of his character if things have gone wrong, he shows us the emotional rollercoaster his character must go on, though the accent isn’t the most convincing. Aundrea Smith brings the moody kid to life, while not being overly involved once the attack happens.

Story – The story here follows a father trying to rebuild his relationship with his daughter, only to find himself needing to fight off zombies in a sudden outbreak, where he doesn’t know if his daughter or safe or not. This is kept to a simple story, of a father needing to survive in any hope of saving his daughter. We don’t get too much focus on the rebuilding the relationship, as more of the story is set on the father trying to survive, while seemingly constantly making bad decisions and somehow survive each moment, it does leave you shaking your head at certain moments that happen.

Horror – The horror in the film comes from seeing how the zombies are attacking, while not much fresh comes from the attacks.

Settings – The film does maintain one location, the clearing for the camping where we attack happens, it does show us just how helpless he is.


Scene of the Movie – The opening attack.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Decision making.

Final Thoughts – This is a by the book zombie movie that is filled with terrible decisions even though it does create a smart location for setting.

Overall: Bad Decision Zombie Movie

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Movie Review

Hot Money (2020) Movie Review

Director: Susan Kucera

Plot: Confused by the foundations of our economy, stocks, derivatives, cost of energy and taxes? You are not alone. Untangle the complicated realities of our global financial system and its profound relationship to government, politics and climate change with the help of international experts and all the humour of a New Yorker cartoon, as we ‘out’ the whole charade that could to societal collapse.

Runtime: 1 Hour 58 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Hot Money starts as we see how two generations of Americans General Wesley Clark and Wes Clark Jr are looking to tackle the climate change problems America is facing, looking at how the money in the world has started to make people act differently, looking at how this can see their whole world taken away from investment due to the climate change. We continue to see how people’s lives have been changed from flooding, or fire or other natural weather events are causing people to lose the homes they invest in being left with nothing and how the endless circle of money problems that people haven’t been connecting to the climate change coming.

Thoughts on Hot Money

Thoughts – Hot Money is a documentary that will look at the connection between money and climate change, seeing how the world is changing, does need to be addressed before it is too late. We see how mostly America is seeing a bigger problem with the insurance of investment being turned away after years of it being put into people’s head, with the insurance companies not wanting to risk the cover. This does want to highlight climate change coming, it works well in the discussion like format between the father and son, from different generations, but other sides of the film can come off like they are talking down on everyone who isn’t supporting the change. It does focus on certain ideas of what could happen to make a change, though it doesn’t get into the full look into the bigger projects that could fix many of the problems coming.

Final Thoughts – Hot Money is an interesting documentary that does end up showing us the warning of what is coming from a different point of view.