Last Christmas

Last Christmas follows the story of Kate (Emilia Clarke) who works year round as an elf in a store named Santa’s Christmas shop. She recently had a heart transplant and has been in a slump ever since. With no where to turn and her life seeming dismal, she runs into a quirky stranger Tom (Henry Golding) who she quickly falls for.

This is your typical Christmas rom/com where someone isn’t feeling the Christmas spirit, but by the end they are. With that being said though, I really enjoyed this movie. The acting was top notch from Emilia Clarke, and Henry Golding. There is a twist ending, but it is pretty obvious, my wife guessed it. There’s subtle hints throughout the movie, and the song Last Christmas is played throughout, which pretty much gives it away. Even guessing the ending though, it doesn’t spoil the film. ‘Last Christmas’ delivers a heart warming feeling that will get you into the Christmas spirit.

Let it Snow

‘Let it Snow’ is another Netflix original movie featuring a star studded young cast including Kiernan Shipka (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Jacob Batalon (Spider-man Far from Home, Spider-man Homecoming), Odeya Rush (Goosebumps), Liv Hewson (Santa Clarita Diet), and the lone older actress Joan Cusack. ‘Let it Snow’ follows five different stories of high school students on Christmas Eve, whose town is hit with a snow storm. Each one is in a different place in their lives romantically speaking, and are just trying to figure it all out.

I typically don’t like romantic movies, and feel that November is too early to start the whole Christmas movie thing, but I really do like the cast and their shows/movies they have stared in. So i figured it was worth a shot anyway. This is not a real fast paced movie, it’s more of a chilled laid back type movie, focusing more on a couple of the stories and a little less on the other three. However, I liked it. The story isn’t very complex, and doesn’t go into depth, but the acting from these young actors, and actresses is good. They manage to keep the story entertaining. So if you’re looking for a more relaxed, laid back Christmas movie to start off the Christmas season, let it be ‘Let it Snow’.

Harriet

‘Harriet’ tells the extraordinary tale of the life of Harriet Tubman from her life as a slave, to her escape, to her transformation into “Moses”, one of America’s greatest hero’s. ‘Harriet’ stars Cynthia Erivo (Bad Times at the El Royal, Widows) as Harriet Tubman. ‘Harriet also stars Joe Alwyn (Mary Queen of Scots), Janelle Monae (Hidden Figures, Moonlight), Leslie Odom Jr (Murder on the Orient Express), and Henry Hunter Hall (Waist Deep).

This movie is pretty much what I thought it would be. The trailer’s made this movie look powerful and uplifting, and that’s exactly what is was. Cynthia Erivo nailed the inspirational role of Harriet Tubman. I’m sure Hollywood dramatized and added a few things,but regardless this is a great film about one of the most important people in American history.

Rattlesnake

‘Rattlesnake’ is an exclusive Netflix original. It’s about a woman and her daughter who are traveling through the desert when she suffers a flat tire. While changing the tire, the daughter suffers a rattlesnake bite. Panicked she looks around and sees a shack by itself, she rushes her daughter to the shack where a woman resides, the mysterious woman says she can save her daughter, and that she must still take her to a hospital. The woman tells the mother they can discuss payment later. The mother finds out the price of payment is a soul for a soul. Her daughters soul is spared, so the mother must take one in return, and she only has till sunset to do so.

‘Rattlesnake’ stars Carmen Ejogo (Fantastic Beasts), Emma Greenwell (Shameless), and Theo Rossi (SOA, Luke Cage). The acting is really good, especially Carmen Ejogo, she nails the frantic mother. I give Netflix a lot of credit for pumping out movie after movie, and I really love the story to this one. It’s a great storyline, and you can go a numerous amount of directions with it. At the end though I was hoping for more, especially with such a great storyline. It’s not a bad movie, but it’s not a great one either, it falls in the okay category, and at the end of the day it’s a forgettable one.

Zombieland: Double Tap

It’s been a full ten years since ‘Zombieland’ came out. It’s one of my all time favorites, the opening scene with Jesse Eisenberg being chased around a car by a zombie while going over his rules to survival is a classic opening scene. So I was a little hesitant to see ‘Double Tap’, only because normally a sequel never lives up to the hype especially if the first one is really good. ‘Double Tap’ brings back the original cast along with some other stars including Zoey Deutch, Avan Jogia, Rosario Dawson, Luke Wilson, and Thomas Middleditch.

I was pleasantly surprised with ‘Double Tap.’ It wasn’t as funny as I hoped, but it’s still a great film. Filled with plenty of action, even a few heart warming, and touching moments. I still stand by my theory if Woody Harrelson is in it, it’s worth watching. So rest easy ‘ Zombieland’ fans, this was the sequel we needed.

Corporate Animals

‘Corporate Animals’ is a horror/ thriller comedy featuring a pretty decent cast. Ed Helms (Hangover, The Office), Demi Moore, Jessica Williams (Booksmart), and Karan Soni (Deadpool, Deadpool 2) all star in this film. If you haven’t heard of it, ‘Corporate Animals’ is about an egotistical CEO (Demi Moore) who takes her employees on a team bonding exercise in a cave in New Mexico. Once a cave in occurs they have to make some difficult decisions in order to survive.

If you’ve read my other reviews, you know there isn’t a lot of movies I haven’t liked. This isn’t in the same category as the dumpster fire ‘The Bad Batch’, but it’s still not good. It was hit and miss in the comedy department with mostly miss. Half the movie is dark due to being no lights in the cave, but you can’t even see whats going on. If I didn’t want to watch half a movie and only listen I would close my eyes. A disappointment considering the cast and story line, could have been a good film if executed right.

Countdown

If you could find out the exact moment of your death down to the hour, minute, second, would you do it? This is the question ‘Countdown’ asks. In our modern tech savvy world everything is just a download away with an app on our phone. Countdown is an app that does just that, it lets you know the exact moment of your death. The story follows a young nurse (Elizabeth Lail) who downloads the app out of curiosity, and finds out she only has hours left to live. She runs into a guy (Jordan Calloway) who also downloaded the app, and also has hours left to live. They are determined to find a way to get rid of the app and will do whatever it takes. Only one problem, that’s a breach of contract with the app, and death will still come.

It’s your typical pg 13 horror film, it’s not R so it needs to rely on the story and jump scenes vs gore, nudity, and language. The Acting is pretty good, and it’s actually a good movie. It’s not scary, but it does have a creepy factor going for it. It’s worth a watch.

Addams Family (2019)

To say I was apprehensive about this film is an understatement. I was a kid when the 1991, and 1993 ones came out, so I saw them quite a bit over the years. I was worried this cartoon version wouldn’t capture the essence of ‘The Addams Family’, and was just more of a marketing and money making ploy than anything. It has a great cast with Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things, IT), Chloë Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass, Carrie), Charlize Theron, and even Snoop Dogg as cousin it.

The movie was better than I thought it would be, and I was pleasantly surprised. They give several nods to the previous films. There’s jokes that only the adults understand, that will keep them from getting bored, while the kids still love it. It’s a great family film, if you’re looking for a good Halloween film to take the kids to, this one is for you.

Joker

Everyone knows the ‘Joker’ movie, it’s the hottest movie in the world right now, but is it worth the watch? When I saw the ‘Joker’ preview for the first time I thought it looked terrible, and with Joaquin Phoenix cast as the Joker I thought it was a terrible casting choice. The more I saw the previews, the more intrigued I became, you couldn’t go to a movie without seeing this previewed. So I’ll jump right into it, ‘Joker’ is a brilliant movie, and Joaquin Phoenix is nothing short of brilliant. He deserves an Oscar for his portrayal of the Joker, and honestly if he doesn’t get one it’s a snub. This is a very dark take on the Joker, but that’s the main reason why I love it, they managed to humanize the Joker, and even gain sympathy for him. It shows the transformation of a mentally ill man who society has turned their back on, who spirals deeper and deeper into insanity till the breaking point where he finally becomes the Joker. They captured the true Joker here, which I don’t feel has been managed to do before. As much as I hate to say it move over Heath Ledger, we have a new Joker in Joaquin Phoenix, and I may dare say we have the movie of the year.

Head Count

I found this gem on Netflix. It’s a perfect movie in time for Halloween. ‘Head Count’ is about a group of four college couples and their single female friend who take a weekend trip out west for vacation while renting a secluded house. While out on one of their desert hikes and downtime on one of the peaks, they run into our main character Evan and his hippie brother Peyton. Evan is only in town for the weekend as well to visit Peyton, they have an estranged relationship, and Evan is more than happy to go with the couples and Zoe, the single female, back to their rented house for a weekend of partying. While sitting around the campfire they take turns telling scary stories from a website. When it’s Evan’s turn he reads off a rhyme about a spirit who if you say it’s name five times you end up summoning. All the kids laugh it off as a lame rhyme and continue their partying. The spirit is a shape shifter who takes the form of the different kids and can only kill in groups of five by making them commit suicide.

This movie is a little slow at first, but about half way through it takes off hard with the creepy factor and does not stop. I wouldn’t say it’s scary, but it is more of a psychological thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat through out the movie. I loved it, it’s an Indy film with unknown actors and actresses, but they did and amazing job, and as I mentioned before it really nails the creepy factor. If you can get past the first twenty minuets setting up the film, it is worth the watch.