Luther: The Fallen Sun

“Luther: The Fallen Sun” is a 2023 Netflix original crime/drama/thriller currently sitting at number one on Netflix. It stars Idris Elba (Beast), Cynthia Erivo (Harriet), Andy Serkis (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), and Dermot Crowley (Luther).

Luther is on the case of young man who was murdered, the killer feels Luther is getting close and brings some of Luther’s tactics to light sending Luther to prison. Now with more murders coming to light, Luther must escape prison and stop the killer before it’s too late.

Fans of the show “Luther” can rejoice. Everyone’s favorite detective is back. Great thing about this movie is that it’s also a great standalone film as well. If you haven’t seen the show, no problem, it’s the same characters but it doesn’t tie directly into the show. So, you’ll love it if you haven’t seen the show and you’ll love it if you have. I’m personally a fan of the show and was pumped when this movie was first released. It’s fast paced, action packed, and can only deliver the way Luther can. It also teases there may be a sequel, only time will tell. If you are a fan of the show, Alice unfortunately doesn’t make an appearance in this one, maybe the next one. I give it an 8/10.

You People

“You People” is a Netflix original 2023 comedy/drama starring Eddie Murphy (Meet Dave), Jonah Hill (Superbad), Lauren London (ATL), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Seinfeld), David Duchovny (The X-Files) Mike Epps (Friday After Next), and Rhea Perlman (Cheers).

A young white Jewish man and young African American Muslim woman fall in love and get engaged. Being different skin colors and from different worlds may prove to be too big of a hurdle to overcome with tension from their families mounting.

Eddie Murphy is the GOAT of comedy to me, and I also like Jonah Hill. They bring in the star power also adding Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Mike Epps. So, it looks like a no brainer, that it’s a must see. It’s currently sitting at number one in movies on Netflix. So, how is it? They missed the mark somewhere. It’s two hours of focusing on race. Which is an important issue, but they tried to also make a comedy out of it and ended up falling flat. Either make it a drama, or a comedy with the star power you have. Instead, its a two hour bore, with a couple of good jokes here and there. Overall though, you just want it to end. It’s a shame because I really wanted to like this one, but I give it a 5/10.

Emily the Criminal

This is the first review of the 2023 for me. I’m going to start it off with a 2022 drama/ thriller titled “Emily the Criminal” starring Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation), Theo Rossi (Sons of Anarchy), and Megalyn Echikunwoke (Night School).

A recent ex con (Plaza) is struggling to make ends meet. Bills are piling up, especially her student loans, and her job at a catering company isn’t enough. No other jobs will look past her felony conviction. Without any other choice, she gets caught up in a credit card scheme in order to make some fast cash. It soon proves to be a slippery slope.

I hadn’t heard anything about this movie, but it sounded good, and I like Aubrey Plaza. She always plays a goofy quirky roll that just seems to be her, so it was nice to see her in a more serious role. She’s paired alongside Theo Rossi in this gritty drama. Both play their roles really well, and Plaza proves she can do more than just comedy. There’s enough suspense and action to keep the adrenaline pumping, and keep you wondering what is going to happen next. It’s a great, fast paced watch. You can catch it on Netflix. I give it an 8/10.

I Believe in Santa

This will probably be my last review of 2022. So why not finish off the year with another Christmas movie? Tis the season after all. “I Believe in Santa” is a Netflix original 2022 Christmas Rom/Com starring Christina Moore (“That 70’s Show”), John Ducey (“Wheels of Fortune”), Sachin Bhatt (“Hidden Canyons”), Violet McGraw (“The Haunting of Hill House”), and Lateefah Holder (“Other People”).

A columnist (Moore) who doesn’t believe in Christmas ends up dating a Christmas fanatic (Ducey) who still believes in Santa.

There’s a ton of Christmas movies that come out every year during the holiday season, especially the Hallmark ones. The majority of them are crap. So, it’s hard sometimes to find one worth watching. I like how original the idea of this one is. It’s like if “Elf” was dating someone. Not to the extreme of Will Ferrell’s character but going for the same ballpark. As far as new Christmas movies go, this one is pretty decent. The acting is good, and the story like I mentioned is unique. I felt it could have been funnier than it was, and they could have done more with the characters. Having a diehard Christmas fanatic and a non-believer dating, they could have done a ton of funny situations with it, but they didn’t. Also, it was a little slow in spots, but overall, it’s still worth the watch. I give it a 6.5/10.

The Noel Diary

“The Noel Diary” is a 2022 Netflix original Christmas Romantic Comedy film starring Justin Hartley (This is Us), Barrett Doss (Iron Fist), and Bonnie Bedelia (Die Hard).

It’s Christmas time and a famous bestselling author (Hartley) goes back to his childhood home after he finds out his mother passed away. He hasn’t been home in twenty years and when he returns, he finds a woman (Doss) waiting outside his house. The woman is the daughter of the nanny who watched him and his deceased brother as kids. She was put up for adoption by her mom and is trying to find any info she can about her. While Hartley is going through his mom’s possessions, he stumbles across a diary that belonged to the nanny. It may hold the key to reuniting mother and daughter. They set off following the clues to reunite them, and along the way he tries to reconcile some of his own past. All the while the two start to fall for each other.

This one isn’t very Christmasy, it takes place during Christmas and there’s snow throughout the entire movie, but that’s about it. It feels more like a Nicholas Spark movie. It’s more of a romantic drama instead of comedy. The acting is pretty good, it follows the cookie cutter style romantic movie where the two want to be together, but can’t because of certain reasons, end up being together, but then can’t once again. If you’re into these types of movies, you’ll love it. It is not as cheesy as the last Christmas rom/com I reviewed “Falling for Christmas”, the acting and story are line are both better making it a better watch. I give it a 6/10. Still not my cup of tea, and I found the ending to be a little bit of a letdown.

Falling for Christmas

It’s that time of year again when the holiday movies start to roll out. Let’s take a look at the first one I’ve watched this year. A 2022 Netflix original romantic comedy Christmas movie titled “Falling for Christmas.” It stars Lindsay Lohan (The Parent Trap), Chord Overstreet (The Hole), and George Young (Containment).

A struggling small time ski resort owner (Overstreet) doesn’t know how he’s going to stay open through this holiday season. He’s tried everything he can think of when he comes across a young woman (Lohan) in the woods who is unconscious from a ski accident. He lets her stay at his resort since she has lost her memory from the accident and doesn’t know who she is. It turns out she is an heiress to a large successful ski resort, and the two start to fall in love.

This one is very Hallmark-esque, it’s the same cookie cutter plot from all Hallmark holiday movies. Someone rich meets an unlikely love interest who is not rich, and love prevails. We’ve seen it done a thousand times. Only big difference is this one has Lindsay Lohan in it, she plays a good role but it’s still cheesy, predictable, and Hallmark-esque. Don’t count on it becoming a holiday classic anytime soon. If Hallmark movies are your thing, you’ll probably love this one, I give it a 5.5/10.

The Munsters (2022)

“The Munsters” is a 2022 Rob Zombie reboot comedy of the classic 60’s sitcom with the same name. The movie stars Sheri Moon Zombie (The Devil’s Rejects), Jeff Daniel Phillips (3 from Hell), Daniel Roebuck (3 from Hell), Richard Brake (31), Jorge Garcia (Lost), and Thomas Boykin (3 from Hell).

This is a prequel to the Sitcom. It shows life before Lily and Herman, how they got together, and how Herman came into existence. It also follows their move from Transylvania to America.

I was excited for this one ever since it was first announced, I have loved The Munsters since I was a kid. It was before my time, but as a kid I would watch classics like The Munsters, Leave it to Beaver, Green Acres, Twilight Zone, Andy Griffith, and The Beverly Hillbillies. Rob Zombie is notorious for using the same actors and actresses in every movie especially with his wife Sheri Moon. This one isn’t any different as he uses Phillips, Roebuck, Brake, and Boykin who have all been in previous movies of his. So how did the reboot stack up, and how did his repeat actors do?

Simple, if you loved The Munsters like I do, you’re going to love this film. Zombie does a great job of capturing the essence of the 60’s and The Munsters. Not to mention the actors Phillips and Roebuck do a great job playing Herman and the Count, but the real star is Moon Zombie. She does such a great job as Lily, she even has her mannerisms down to a t. It’s perfect. Now if you haven’t seen the sitcom or not really a fan of it, you’re not going to like this movie. You’ll think it’s dumb, silly, and campy, which it kind of is, but that’s how the sitcom is too, and Zombie does such an amazing job of capturing that. Another cool little tidbit, Pat Priest and Butch Patrick have small roles in this film. They played Marilyn and Eddie in the original show. For me, as a fan it’s a must watch and I give it an 8/10. You can catch it on Netflix.

The Curse of Bridge Hollow

“The Curse of Bridge Hollow” is Netflix’s newest Halloween themed movie. It’s a 2022 family/comedy starring Marlon Wayans (White Chicks), Priah Ferguson (Stranger Things), Kelly Rowland (Empire), John Michael Higgins (Pitch Perfect), Lauren Lapkus (The Wrong Missy), and Rob Riggle (Holey Moley).

A teenage girl (Ferguson), her mom (Rowland), and her dad (Wayans) move to a small town from the city around Halloween time. The small town is all about Halloween and all the houses deck out their yards in decorations. The girl accidently unleashes an ancient spirit who brings all the yard decorations in town to life. She now must team up with her dad, who doesn’t believe in the paranormal but only science, to stop the curse before it’s too late.

I like Priah Ferguson, she’s great in “Stranger Things”, and I also like Marlon Wayans, he’s a very funny dude. It also looks like it would be good, an original concept. However, it’s not funny and just seems to be a rip off of “Goosebumps” with Jack Black but not near as good. It didn’t seem to know its target audience. It’s labeled a family film, but it appears to be too scary for kids, maybe not older kids, but not scary enough to be a horror. It also drops a couple of random curse words that don’t seem to be family friendly but again too dumb/not scary to be for adults either. It just falls in that weird void. Instead of battling R.L. Stein’s monsters in “Goosebumps” they run around defeating yard decorations while maintaining too not being funny. It sets up for a sequel at the end, but I hope Netflix spares us from that atrocity. I would give this one a pass this Halloween. I give it a 5/10.

Last Seen Alive

“Last Seen Alive” is a 2022 Netflix original thriller/action starring Gerard Butler (The Bounty Hunter), Jaimie Alexander (Thor), Russell Hornsby (Fences), Ethan Embry (Sweet Home Alabama), and Michael Irby (Mayans M.C.)

A married couple who are going through a rough patch are on their way to the wife’s parents for her to stay and think things over. They stop at a gas station and the wife (Alexander) goes in to buy some water and snacks, but she never comes back out. Now a desperate husband (Butler) will do whatever it takes to find his wife.

Gerard Butler is a great actor and he’s proven himself as an action star over the years. So, he does a great job in this as the desperate husband trying to track down his wife. I found it a little shallow in terms of the story. It’s a good story and it’s action packed but I felt like it lacked depth, they could have gone more into why she was missing versus just scratching the surface. It’s still a good action-packed watch. I give it a 7.5/10.

End of the Road

“End of the Road” is a 2022 Netflix original thriller starring Queen Latifah (Set It Off), Ludacris (2 Fast 2 Furious), and Beau Bridges (My Name is Earl).

A mom, her brother, and two kids are moving to Texas after the passing of her husband to try to start a new life. While staying overnight in a seedy motel on their way to Texas, they hear a gunshot go off in the room beside theirs. When they rush over, they find a dead man and duffel bag full of money. The brother takes the duffel bag of money to give them a better life. Now they’re caught up in a dangerous game with a dangerous man who wants his money back.

I love Queen Latifah and Ludacris both, and the plot sounded pretty good. The acting’s good but it’s predictable. I called who “Mr. Cross” was early on in the film, and some off the scenes are laughable. Like for Instance where Queen Latifah has her hands zip tied together but still manages to beat up a group of white supremacists. Not very believable. It’s not a bad movie just not a thriller. I give 6/10.