Tag: movie review

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The Little Mermaid Review

Posted on by kimberlyheskett

Okay, I’m diving right into this review and I’m not going to bother to try and avoid spoilers since we all already know how this movie goes. This remake was really good, a perfectly fine addition to the list of live actions. The CGI and character designs were perfect, yes even Sebastian, Flounder, and Scuttle(WTF did people this a “live-action” fish and crab was going to look like!!!). My favorite part was how each of the merpeople had their own distinct pattern, I do have to admit I loved some of Ariel’s sister’s colors more than hers. Not only did the movie look great but Halle Bailey’s singing was on point. I can also appreciate that besides adding a few scenes/songs the overall story didn’t change, it’s basically the classic Little Mermaid story with some bonuses.

While as a whole I enjoyed this remake there are two things that I had issues with. The first and definitely the lesser issue was that besides Sebastian, Flounder, and Scuttle no other sea creatures talked. Not even Flotsam and Jetsam talk which I was pretty disappointed about. I kept expecting the other sea creatures to be shown talking, especially during the songs where there are other singers, but that didn’t happen. As much as I didn’t want to think it, I just kept thinking “If the main three can talk why aren’t the rest?”. Now, my second issue is the much bigger one: I can’t decide if I like the new songs they added. In the other live-action remakes like Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin where they add new songs I really really liked those songs. But with the new ones for The Little Mermaid, I can’t decide if they were worth the added time. Though I think they might grow on me after some time so lets see if my opinion of them change.

Before I finish this review I do have to say that even though I liked it I didn’t leave the theater super hyped. And that’s probably due to the fact that The Little Mermaid as a whole has never really been one of my favorite Disney classics. So, it’s no surprise that I wouldn’t be super excited for its remake. But even still I would give this movie a solid 7 out of 10.

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Book Club The Next Chapter Review

Posted on by kimberlyheskett

As you might guess, I saw this movie with my Mom and sister. I have nothing against this genre of movie it’s just not my favorite so I went in expecting an average movie that was relatively entertaining to watch. And that’s practically what I got. I don’t think there was anything wrong with the movie but I also don’t think there was anything special. It was a cute movie plain and simple.

I guess because I’m so used to movies that have higher stakes, more consequences(either in the movie or for sequels), and way more ups and downs this movie felt kind of flat. Even though there were a few “low” parts they just weren’t that impactful so the movie as a whole was just okay to me. Basically, I wasn’t able to get drawn into the movie so when anything “bad” or “good” happened I was just like “Okay this is happening now”. Even though I wasn’t a huge fan of the movie it’s not bad so I would give it a 6 out of 10.

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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Review

Posted on by kimberlyheskett

Since I hate unexpected spoilers I’m going to try to be light on the details but if I unintentionally spoil something by what I say then I’m sorry in advance. Now back to our previously scheduled review. Volume 3 was a perfect conclusion to the Guardians series. I was continually going back and forth between crying and laughing which of course was fitting for a GOTG finale. Obviously, a Guardians movie has to have amazing jokes all around so that’s no surprise but then all the emotional scenes really hit home that this is the finale. It would also be remiss of me to not mention the CGI. I know that Marvel movies and shows have been in a little hot water recently with the CGI, and while I personally don’t mind what some people call “bad” CGI, I can fully appreciate that Volume 3’s CGI was amazing. It looked so good that I was grossed the entire time they were in the organic space station.

But the true shining star was the villain… The High Evolutionary! Lately, we’ve been having a lot of what I would like to call iffy villains. By that, I mean villains that you can understand their motivations and maybe at times even get behind. So, having a villain like the High Evolutionary who has absolutely no redeeming qualities and is truly a madman villain was truly refreshing. I can just hate him without any conflicting feelings which makes the motivations simple and thus doesn’t leave you with a moral dilemma you have to deal with during the final movie.

While I loved the movie I do have one complaint and one unpopular opinion. The complaint is simply that the “explanation” of why Gamora is alive was very lacking and might I say stupid. It seemed like it was basically “Hey she’s alive and we don’t know why” which I feel like they could have given us a better reason. Now my unpopular opinion is that I feel like some people are over-exaggerating the sadness in the movie just a tad. It was for sure sad but honestly, I’ve seen sadder. But I still would give this movie a 9 out of 10.

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Polite Society Review

Posted on by kimberlyheskett

I had high hopes for this movie when I first saw the trailer, but those hopes weren’t really met. It was fun to watch but it ultimately left me more confused than satisfied. The best way to describe this movie was that it was ridiculous. And while some movies can be amazing by being ridiculous this one sadly was not. It’s like the movie didn’t know if it wanted to be serious or crazy. One minute it’s about a girl in the normal situation of parents not approving of her career path the next there’s a weird-ass plot about clone insemination. There were too many parts that made it more confusing than good. Like how did so many people know martial arts or why in the world were all of the wedding guests okay with trying to trap the bride? I was also constantly confused if all the fight scenes were supposed to be actually happening or if they were imaginary fights in Ria’s head.

I think I would have been way better if two things were fixed. First, instead of having the in-law do some mad scientist stuff they should have just been secret assholes. It’s a way less convoluted plot that doesn’t add more questions and what-ifs than needed. Also, I feel like all of Ria’s fights should have been in her head. Since that way wouldn’t create any questions like “What about the destroyed stuff?” or “Why does everyone know how to fight?”. Basically, I would give this movie a 6 out of 10, fun to watch but way too many wtf moments.

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Movie Review Dump #2

Posted on by kimberlyheskett

Today I was in one of my moods where I watch a bunch of random movies on Amazon(most being B flicks) so I decided to do a mini review on the few I watched.

Shadow Master

So, when I first came across this I was excited for some cool shadow magic plus martial arts but sadly I was massively disappointed. The only good thing about this movie was the martial arts, the fights looked real and well-choreographed. The only superpower the dude seemed to have was healing which was boring. But the worst parts were that the plot made no sense and there was only like 2% of world-building. I was so confused about what was going go on so this movie gets a 4 out of 10.

Heavenquest: A Pilgrim’s Progress

Oh my gosh, I was so bored with this movie. Normally when I go searching for random movies like this(straight to DVD-type movies) I can sometimes find a diamond in the ruff, but this was not that. I just kept going back to playing on my phone the whole time because this movie couldn’t hold my attention. I also am very conflicted about the costumes, I’m not sure if I like them or hate them. All I know is that something felt off about the outfits. The biggest problem was that story basically felt like it was missing chapters if you know what I mean. So I would give this movie a 3 out of 10.

I Am Dragon

Now where the other 2 movies I am comfortable calling B flicks this one is not, the only reason it’s not bigger is because it is a Russian movie. I will also admit that this was like the 3rd time I’ve watched this movie(I needed to wash away the taste of a bad movie by watching a good one). Everything was great in this movie. The plot was perfect it flowed great, it made sense, and it didn’t seem like anything was missing. Not only was the plot great but so were the special effects, costumes, setting, and CGI. Literally, the only problem I had was at the very beginning of the movie with the scene with Mira’s sister the acting/writing seemed off. But that scene doesn’t stop me from giving this movie an 8 out of 10.

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Renfield Review

Posted on by kimberlyheskett

I was excited when I heard about this movie, but I tried to keep my enthusiasm to a minimum because it could have gone very bad, but luckily I was not disappointed. It was everything and nothing like I’d expected. The gore and violence were top notch some of it even surprised me, even though I was expecting it to be insane. While I was semi-shocked about the violence(in a good way) the comedy was exactly what I was hoping for, funny but not over the top. There weren’t jokes or gags every five seconds, which I think helped make the movie more serious. The seriousness/heart was something I was definitely not expecting but immensely enjoyed anyways.

Another thing that made this movie really good was that the casting was great. I don’t normally pay attention to that but for some reason, I noticed it in this movie. Every actor fits their role perfectly and that in turn makes the movie that much better. All in all, I would give this movie a 7.5 out of 10. (it only loses a few points since I’m stupid and prefer that Dracula isn’t a villain in my vampire movies)

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John Wick: Chapter 4 Review

Posted on by kimberlyheskett

Before I start I want to make it clear that I enjoy watching every John Wick movie but completely love the entire saga as a whole. That being said this last chapter definitely wasn’t my favorite. I still had a bunch of fun watching it but there were a few aspects that left something to be desired. Most of that is due to some of the fight choreography. I know I’m not an expert on creating fight scenes but there were a few moments that just felt off to me. There were times when the extras seemed like they were actually waiting for their cue to do something and not “actually fighting” which kind of ruined my immersion into the world of the movie. Another problem with the extras revolves around the crowd scenes, especially the club and Arc de Triomphe scenes. I know it looked awesome and made things more exciting having the huge crowd and a lot of cars around but it felt super weird to me that there were almost zero reactions to all the violence going around. The only reactions happened at the end of the fights which gave it a very choreographed vibe, which I think gave the movie an off feel.

But even though this one isn’t my favorite John Wick I would still give it a 7 out of 10 because I can’t get enough of John being a badass. P.S. I really hope this isn’t the end of this franchise I wasn’t emotionally prepared for if it is the last one.

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The Super Mario Bros. Movie Review

Posted on by kimberlyheskett

This movie is another one for the short list of successful video game movie adaptations. It was successful due to 2 details the animation and its overall simplicity. The animation was the type that is simple but has the depth and details that are able to make it look just plain cool. While I like super duper realistic animation sometimes it’s nice to have something more simple. And that simplicity is why I think Super Mario Bros was able to succeed.

First, they kept the character designs simple they didn’t add unnecessary details or stray from the source. While that’s all fine and dandy for other more realistic video game movies it’s completely unnecessary for a Mario movie. Besides the characters, they also kept the world-building simple too. They didn’t bother adding any complicated explanation for stuff like how the pipes, power-ups, or even the whole other world works. By ignoring explanations for this stuff it basically gives the watcher permission to just enjoy watching Mario and company on the big screen without having to learn a whole new world system. They also made the plot simple as in it’s not really different from the games.

Basically, this whole movie was simple in a very very good way. You never had to question anything or be confused as to why they chose to do something the way they did. Plus, it truly felt like a Mario movie, so I give it a 7 out of 10.

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Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves Review

Posted on by kimberlyheskett

As someone who has always been interested in D&D but hasn’t yet gotten the courage to find a party Honor Among Thieves was a great stand-in. It allowed me to experience D&D without actually playing the game! Which makes me want to play the actual game even more. There were so many things I loved about this movie. First and foremost are all the monsters, creatures, and non-humans. They all looked so fantastic and I absolutely loved being able to put my minuscule D&D knowledge to use trying to name everything. The only thing that comes second to the special effects was the comedy/acting itself. I had so much fun watching this movie which is all due to those two things.

I also have to say that this was a great adaptation of a game into movie form. Most other game adaptations have been hit-or-miss but Honor Among Thieves was very successful in my eyes. It had a majority of realistic fantasy with just a hint of wackiness that I’ve heard comes from D&D games, making it perfect. Honestly, I would love to see a sequel with even more characters added so I would give this movie an 8 out of 10.

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Shazam Fury of the Gods Review

Posted on by kimberlyheskett

I’ve never been a huge fan of the DC movies, especially now since it looks like the universe is going to be redone, but out of them all I think I enjoyed Shazam the most. So, going into Fury of the Gods I was cautiously optimistic. And just like the first movie, I think I’ve ultimately decided it’s an okay movie, not great but okay. It had funny moments, cliché moments, and some stupid moments. All of the good and bad basically equaled out to have the movie land in the middle ground. In other words, I had fun watching the movie but I won’t feel compelled to watch it again.

I do want to mention as a huge fan of Greek mythology my favorite part of this movie was of course the Greek mythology all throughout the movie. Specifically the mythological creatures and even more specifically the unicorn. Those unicorns were so cool looking that it made me super happy seeing them. So with all the good and the okay in this movie I would give it a 6 out of 10.