Fan Art Friday/New Movie Review

You know, I wanted to do a full movie recap of The Peanut Butter Falcon that I had the pleasure of watching last night, but I realize there was so much in there that can’t be converted into words that I decided this could also be an appreciation post for Shia LaBeouf! I’ve grown up with Shia starting with Even Stevens, so seeing him make very indie, but incredible film choices over the years has been really fun to watch. Sure, his social life is a little odd, but wasn’t Louis, too?

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Where’d You Go, Bernadette Movie Review

Saturday night, while my sister and a friend went to go see 47 Meters Down: Uncaged, I went to go see, by myself, in an empty theater, the newly released Where’d You Go, Bernadette. A lot of people would be very uncomfortable with that, my sister included, but I think it’s sort of awesome! And the fact that it’s happened to me twice in one month (The Art of Self Defense) means that people are sleeping on some pretty good cinema!

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Weekend Movie Review: An Indie Triumph and Big Name Flop

Maybe seeing two movies back to back swayed my opinion here, but one movie I saw this weekend was definitely a winner, while the other just sort of left me feeling nothing. I don’t know that I had high hopes for either, but I was certainly looking forward to seeing both. I don’t feel that time was wasted, but maybe could have been spent watching a different film.

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Indie Film Review: The Art of Self Defense

There’s nothing I love more than a good indie film, and The Art of Self Defense checked all the boxes for me this weekend. I had been anticipating this film for a while, so the fact that it finally came to a theater near me meant I had to take the drive to go see it. Yes, I was the only person in the theater, and frankly, that’s a travesty! Either way, here’s my take on this gem of a film.

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Netflix Movie Review: Secret Obsession

I should have known that with a name like Secret Obsession that this new Netflix film was going to be rough…like Lifetime level rough. And it was! The fact that it was also starring basically dormant actress, Brenda Song (of Disney fame), should have also tipped me off. My sister was dying to see it, so I gave it the benefit of the doubt. It’s an hour and a half I’ll never get back, but sadly, I have seen worse.

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Movie Review: Animal Kingdom

Before I start actively watching TNT’s Animal Kingdom from the beginning (currently on season 4), I decided to watch the Australian film of the same name that it is loosely based on. I should also note that the film centers on the real life Pettingill crime family of Melbourne, which is a little crazy if you think about it.

Truthfully, I have seen parts of the U.S. television show, and the movie is a bit boring. I also thought that Jackie Weaver’s role was pretty limited and was a little confused why she got an Oscar nomination for it, but I digress. The film is told in the perspective of Joshua “J” Cody as he moves in with his grandmother and uncles following his mother’s suicide death. His uncles, Pope, Craig, Deran, and family friend Baz all specialize in armed robbery. The police are onto the family and are actively looking for Pope.

In all the chaos, Baz gets killed off early, which leads to the rest of the family getting sloppy and falling apart. J is mostly to blame for all of their hardships, which also end up getting Craig killed in the process. After everything the family has gone through, grandma Smurf decides that “J needs to go” and puts a hit out on him. Aware of this, J heads back to talk with Smurf and ends up killing Pope as retaliation for smothering his girlfriend. This ends up cementing his place within the family (not that there are many members left).

Like I said, this was a little slow, but the Australian accents made up for that in a way. And the cast was absolutely amazing, but I look forward to all the action I know the U.S. series has to offer. They seem to follow each other well enough, but you have to make it exciting if you’re dragging a two-hour movie over the course of at least 46 hours of television. I’ll report back as I finish each installment!

Movie Review: We Have Always Lived in the Castle

As a fan of all Daddario and Farmiga siblings, and Sebastian Stan’s face, I decided to watch We Have Always Lived in the Castle last night. Adapted from Shirley Jackson’s 1962 mystery novel of the same name, this film wasn’t necessarily mysterious based on today’s standards, but it was certainly eerie. Mainly because lead, Merricat (Taissa Farmiga), is quite odd and very succinct in her actions and vocabulary.

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