The Invisible Man

‘The Invisible Man’ is a 2020 horror/ thriller with it’s own take on the classic story of ‘The Invisible Man’. A woman’s abusive ex dies leaving her five million on the condition she is mentally sound. If she is proved to be mentally unsound, she loses all the money. She is convinced her ex faked his death and is now tormenting her as an invisible force. ‘The Invisible Man’ stars Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale), Oliver Jackson- Cohen (Faster), Harriet Dyer (No Activity), and Aldis Hodge (What Men Want).

‘The Invisible Man’ is put out by Blumhouse productions, and like I mentioned in my review on ‘Fantasy Island’, Blumhouse puts out some really good horror movies. So I was excited when this came out, after seeing the trailer I was a little hesitant, it appeared to be one of those that basically show the entire movie in the trailer. I figured I would still give it a shot though. It’s a decent movie, a little slow of a build up for my tastes. Also I found it to be predictable, other than that the writing is good, it does manage to throw a couple of twists in there, and the acting is solid from the main stars. I have to go with a 6.5/10.

The Gentlemen

‘The Gentlemen’ is a 2020 action/thriller with a blockbuster cast starring Matthew Mcconaughey (Mud, The Lincoln Lawyer), Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy), Henry Golding (Last Christmas), Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey), Jeremy Strong (Serenity), Eddie Marsan (Vice), Colin Farrell (The Lobster), and Hugh Grant (Love Actually)

When ‘The Gentlemen was in theaters I went and saw ‘1917’ instead, but now its out on DVD, so I had to catch it. You can’t really tell in the trailers exactly what ‘The Gentlemen’ is about, you just know it’s sort of mafia related. All I know is Matthew Mcconaughey isn’t in a bad film. ‘The Gentlemen’ is very crude with F bombs and C bombs left and right throughout the movie. The way it’s written though, honestly you don’t even notice. It wouldn’t be the same without the language. It’s a two hour movie, but you’re so transfixed to the movie, it flies by. The plot is complex and twist after twist through out in the entire movie. It’s another incredible performance by Mcconaughey and the entire cast is perfect. ‘The Gentlemen’ is a 10/10.

The Lovebirds

‘The Lovebirds’ is a 2020 comedy that was just released to Netflix. It follows Leilani (Issa Rae) and Jibran (Kumail Nanjiani), a couple who recently broke up and who unknowingly get involved in a murder. Scared they’re the main suspects, they are now on the run from the law and determined to find the real killer. Other than Issa Rae (The Photograph) and Kumail Nanjiani (Stuber), ‘The Lovebirds’ stars Paul Sparks (House of Cards), and Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect).

I read an article saying one of the only good things to come out of COVID-19 is ‘The Lovebirds’ skipping theaters and coming straight to Netflix. Which is a terrible thing to say, but it’s true. I kept seeing this movie previewed in theaters before quarantine took place, and I knew it was a movie I had to see. So I was beyond excited when I heard it was coming to Netflix. Kumail Nanjiani is hilarious, I love him in ‘Stuber’. Unfortunately, as much as I hate to say it, ‘The Lovebirds’ is a major letdown. It’s one of those movies that all the funny parts are shown in the previews and that’s it. It’s not a bad movie, just an okay one. I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch it, I give it a 5/10.

The Wrong Missy

‘The Wrong Missy’ is Netflix’s new comedy starring David Spade (Joe Dirt), and Lauren Lapkus ( The Big Bang Theory). It’s currently number one in the U.S. for Netflix. Tim (Spade) goes on a blind date with Melissa (Lapkus), Melissa turns out to be beyond crazy and Tim hopes to never see her again. He ends up inviting her to Hawaii by mistake after meeting another Melissa. He texts the blind date by mistake thinking it is the new Melissa and now Tim is stuck in Hawaii on a corporate retreat with the crazy one.

‘The Wrong Missy’ is a Happy Madison production. You know when it’s a Happy Madison production, Adam Sandler is going to bring the whole crew. I love it, I love how he uses pretty much the same actors in all Happy Madison productions. ‘The Wrong Missy’ isn’t any different, other than David Spade it has Nick Swardson, Jackie Sandler, Rob Schneider, Jorge Garcia, Jonathan Loughran, Jared Sandler, and Vanilla Ice. You watch any Adam Sandler film you’re going to see one or several of these guys in it.

The film is a little on the crude side, if you don’t like those type of movies this ones not for you. It’s pretty good, Lauren Lapkus steals the show with her crazy part. She has you saying WTF more than once, it also has its laugh out loud parts. I give it a 6.5/10

The Vast of Night

‘The Vast of Night’ is a 2019 Sci-Fi/mystery. It takes place in a small rural town in New Mexico in the 1950’s. A strange radio wave comes across the radio, the young switch operator and young local disc jokey try to uncover the source. ‘The Vast of Night’ stars Sierra McCormick (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Jake Horowitz, Gail Cronauer (Texas Cotton), and Bruce Davis (Rattlesnake).

‘The Vast of Night’ is a unique movie, I can’t think of one like it. It has a ‘Twilight Zone’ mixed with ‘War of the Worlds’ feel to it. I went to the drive in and caught this one, which was pretty cool since the film is set in the 1950’s, it felt like being in the past. Not a lot happens during the film its an hour and half of pure dialog, but they pull it off. You stay transfixed to the screen and it only feels like it’s about a 30 minute movie, the writing is great. Only complaint I have is a lot of the film is dark so it’s hard to tell what’s going on. If it wasn’t for that I would give it a 10, because the writing does deserve it. I have to go with an 8.5/10, it’s definitely a must see.

Fantasy Island

‘Fantasy Island’ is a 2020 horror/mystery movie based off of the 70’s show with the same name. Guests come to an island where their biggest fantasy comes true, no matter how impossible it may be. Once the fantasy starts it must play out till the end, no matter how deadly it may be. ‘Fantasy Island’ stars Michael Pena (Jexi, Ant-Man), Maggie Q (Designated Survivor), Lucy Hale (Truth or Dare), Austin Stowell (Catch-22), Portia Doubleday (Carrie), Jimmy Ouyang (Crazy Rich Asians), Ryan Hansen (Veronica Mars), Michael Rooker (Guardians of the Galaxy), and Charlotte McKinney (Baywatch).

‘Fantasy Island’ is produced by Blumhouse, which they’ve put out some pretty good movies in the past such as ‘Get Out’, ‘Glass’, ‘Happy Death Day’, and many others, so I was pretty excited about this one. The reviews on IMDb, and Rotten Tomatoes are pretty low though, so I wasn’t too sure what to expect. ‘Fantasy Island’ surpassed my expectations. I’ve said in other reviews I don’t like to give spoilers, I hate when it happens to me, so I don’t do it. With that said, all I can say it is full of twists. Just when you think you have it figured out, it hits you with another one. It has the same feel as the movie ‘Escape Room’. It even teases at the end that there may be a second one. Honestly it’s a great movie. I give it a 8/10.

Sonic the Hedgehog

‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ is the 2020 family action/comedy film based off the popular SEGA game. Sonic is hiding out on Earth when he is discovered and hunted by the evil Dr. Robotnik. Sonic teams up with his first friend, the local town sheriff, in order to get his gold rings back and avoid capture. Sonic stars Jim Carrey (The Mask), James Marsden (Westworld), Ben Schwartz (Night School), and Tika Sumpter (Ride Along).

The movie’s original design for Sonic didn’t go over well with fans. Once Sonic’s design dropped, the internet was quickly flooded with memes and they were heckled so bad that the movie studio went back and changed how Sonic looked. He basically looked like a poor rendering of himself wearing full suit PJs, it ended up pushing the movie back. The cool thing about it is the studio listened to fans and went back and redesigned Sonic. For that simple reason I hope this movie does really well. Sonic is currently the second highest grossing film for 2020, even though the quarantine may have helped them out, it seems changing Sonic’s look worked for them.

I wasn’t sure what to expect of this film, but I figured I would give it a shot. I didn’t get a chance to catch it in theaters before social distancing took place, but it is available now in Redbox. This is surprisingly a really good movie. The casting is great, Jim Carrey nails his role as Dr. Robotnik, which weird off beat roles have always been up his alley. Ben Schwartz also does a really good job as the Voice of Sonic. They leave it open for a second one as well, this is a great film for the whole family. I give it a 7/10.

Dangerous Lies

‘Dangerous Lies’ is a 2020 Netflix original thriller that is currently number one on their U.S. today. A broke caregiver and her husband inherit her patients house and wealth after he passes. She has only been working for him for four months, and it puts them under the authorities eye. Everything begins to snowball from there. ‘Dangerous Lies’ stars Camila Mendes (Riverdale), Jessie T Usher (Shaft), Elliott Gould (Friends), Cam Gigandet (Never Back Down), Michael P. Northey (Adventures in Babysitting), and Jamie Chung (Gotham).

Parts of ‘Dangerous Lies’ are pretty predictable, but they do a good job with misdirection and tying it all together in the end. It’s worth the watch. I give it a 7/10.

Extraction

‘Extraction’ is a Netflix original action thriller starring Thor himself , Chris Hemsworth, that has been number 1 on movies for U.S. today since releasing on April 24th. Hemsworth plays a mercenary who is hired and sent to Bangladesh to rescue the kidnapped son of a drug lord. When Hemsworth is double crossed he must fight his way out of Bangladesh to keep himself and the boy alive.

Outside of Hemsworth, ‘Extraction’ stars David Harbour (Stranger Things), Golshifteh Farahani (Body of Lies), Randeep Hooda (Highway), and Rudhraksh Jaiswal.

Netflix is known for bringing in blockbuster stars for their original movies, and ‘Extraction’ isn’t any different with Hemsworth. This is an adrenaline rush from start to finish. It’s pretty much a ‘John Wick’ style film but instead of Keanu Reeves you get Chris Hemsworth. It’s definitely worth the watch. I give it a 7/10.

The Lighthouse

‘The Lighthouse’ is 2019 horror/drama that can be currently found in Redbox. ‘The Lighthouse’ follows the story of two lighthouse keepers who are on the job for four weeks while waiting for their relief as they slowly slip into insanity. ‘The Lighthouse’ has a very small cast, it’s only a two person cast made up of Willem Dafoe (The Boondock Saints), and Robert Pattinson (Twilight).

‘The Lighthouse’ was nominated for several awards and won several as well. It is also highly rated on IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, and Metacritic. It’s filmed in black and white and the use of light and shadows give it an old school look. The movie itself is very odd, the acting from Dafoe and Pattinson is solid, and both men play their parts very well. However the movie is filled with random flash scenes, such as Pattinson having sex with a mermaid, and octopus tentacles. The two hour run time feels much longer, more like a three hour movie. It has you guessing what is going on through much of it. I feel if you like artsy type movies, this one will be up your alley. Even though the acting is good and it’s highly rated, for me it’s a pass. I give it a 4.5/10.