ryandgudgeon Reviews

Fall (I) (2022)

Pucker up.

[7/10 · 12 August 2022]

If this movie does one thing well, it's building tension. There was times I was on the edge of my seat, clinched and sweaty, just imagining being up on that tower myself.

This is far from a, what I would call, a "critically good" movie. The visuals aren't top notch, especially in the beginning, but becomes more forgivable after the first scene, some of the dialogue and actions of the characters might make you scratch your head, and there are some major plot points that some might find to be predictable. The ending does feel pretty abrupt and I feel like we missed a couple good scenes on the cutting room floor in favor of run time.

All that being said, if you're a huge fan of survival thriller movies in the vein of 47 Meters Down, Frozen, etc. You would certainly have a good time with this flick. It does an excellent job of keeping you on edge throughout the whole movie, which is quite a feat, and something I haven't felt in a theater in awhile. It certainly has its flaws but it entertains remarkably well.

Candyman (2021)

Fantastic horror that's a little heavy handed on social commentary.

[7/10 · 10 August 2022]

Candyman 2021 has a strong cast and pretty well rounded out characters. The visuals are great and some of the kill sequences are pretty amazing as well. There are a couple scenes where the social commentary was a little heavy handed for my liking, and it distracted me from the main story a little bit. But for me, it's an overall solid movie, albeit slightly disappointing from the hype it got.

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021)

There's really something for everyone here.

[8/10 · 10 August 2022]

I went into this thinking it was gonna be a simple whimsical kids movie but I got a huge kick out of this movie. There's something for everybody to love here. Go see it.

Nope (2022)

Another Win For Peele

[8/10 · 7 August 2022]

Hitting significantly harder than "Us" and not quite as hard as "Get Out", Nope is a new and surprising entry in Jordan Peele's catalog. Peele brings something unique to the table with each film, and this one doesn't disappoint, turning from a rather run of the mill alien flick into something else entirely halfway through. Strong performances from Daniel Kaluuya, who's quickly becoming one of my favorite actors of this generation, and Keke Palmer.

My gripes: There's two things I didn't really like about this movie, and one of them is the obsession with getting the *SPOILER* caught on camera. By the end, it seemed like that was the entire end goal and it didn't really work for me, namely, the scene at the wishing well.

Second being the way Keke Palmer's character, Emerald, was written. I found her loud mouth to be slightly grating at times the way half of her lines had to be shouted. This is something that definitely won't bother everybody, but it bothered me just a little.

Overall, this movie was outstanding. Each film he puts out has me holding my breath because everyone has a flop and I'm waiting for Peele's. Nope gets an 8 from me.

Fire of Love (2022)

Amazing footage, drab storytelling.

[6/10 · 7 August 2022]

The absolutely stunning footage of erupting volcanos are the highlight here in an otherwise lackluster documentary. Fire Of Love can't seem to commit fully to being a nature doc or a love story and thus fails at both. That being said, im not someone who is particularly interested in earth science or volcanology, so im sure that someone who has more interest in these fields might get a little more out of it then I did. IMO, it's worth a view when it comes to Disney+/Nat Geo, but other than that, skip the theater trip.