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Reviews
A League of Their Own (2022)
Disappointing
Wanted to love this, but just couldn't. The lead actress just cannot act, and it's only spotlighted by the fact that she spends so much of her time opposite D'Arcy Carden, who is fantastic. The lead also plays the same "I'm smart but quirky but self-conscious but lovable but awkward but still lovable" character that seems to pop up in every single streaming comedy made these days. It's very stale by now.
The characters talk and act like they live in 2022. It's very jarring. They basically made a modern show about a group of female friends living in Chicago, but just changed the time period and added the baseball to ride the success of the movie. It just doesn't have anything new to offer. It's not similar enough to the movie to be a good tribute, and it's not original enough in its approach to stand on its own. Pass.
A Chiara (2021)
Interesting but flawed.
The premise and plot are good. Actors did a good job too. My main objections are three:
1. I didn't like the handheld shaky cam cinematography. I thought it was inappropriate for the story and made it difficult to get perspective on the settings.
2. They don't really explain much about Chiara as a person. All of the energy is given to how she reacts to certain situations, but there's not much explanation for why she, unlike her sister, reacts as she does. We are expected to take a lot for granted.
3. They could have cut 30 minutes from this movie without losing anything. The first half in particular takes forever to get where it's going.
All in all, it's worth a watch. I am surprised it won a major award at Cannes. It seems very film student-y to me. Lots of good ideas weighed down by not knowing when to stop with the cinematic flourishes and just get to the storytelling.
The Godfather (1972)
Incredible
I think it's the best movie ever made, but I wanted to give it one star just to see what would happen.
Now they're telling me I need 150 characters to publish the review. Hope this does the trick.
Halloween Kills (2021)
Weak.
Most notable of all, Jamie Lee Curtis does *nothing* the whole movie. She literally plays zero part in the action. What a waste.
Otherwise, it's interchangeable with any dumb, low-budget horror movie. A whole lot of gore, absolutely no good scares. It's on par with the kind of "guy in a mask kills people" slasher movies that you can dig up on Amazon, but to do Michael Myers like this feels wrong. Just lazy and obvious and uninteresting.
Skip it.
High Fidelity (2020)
Lazy reboot
Instead of a white guy, Rob is a black woman. Instead of Chicago, it's Brooklyn. Instead of getting annoyed by Katrina & the Waves on a Monday, Rob gets annoyed by Dexys Midnight Runners on a Tuesday. This is what passes for a reboot.
I really wanted to like this. I love the book and movie, and I like Zoe Kravitz. But...man. This is just so lazy. Many lines and plot points are lifted verbatim from the movie, such that it becomes very predictable. Pretty much "...but with a woman!" syndrome in full force. Very disappointing.
Chicago Party Aunt (2021)
Brutal. Just brutal.
I am the target audience for this. I live in and love Chicago, and adult animation is my favorite genre. And yet.
It's just so, so bad. The jokes are tired and obvious. The main character is annoying and her "grossness" is so predictable. You know she's going to snore. You know she's going to fart. A fart can be funny, but you need to give it some context. Just putting it out there is not a joke. No one told the writers that.
And I am a sucker for all things Chicago, but the references get old really fast. "You're gonna take Blue Line to Division. Then take the 9 bus down Ashland!" Did you Chicago people hear that? About the Blue Line and Ashland? You guys recognize those words! That makes this entertainment! They pack like 60 of them in to every episode and seem to think Chicagoans will be so enamored with hearing local terms that we'll overlook how awful this show is.
And make no mistake. It's really, really awful.