chanellejholder Reviews

Mean Girls (2024)

I was wrong...

[9/10 · 12 March 2024]

I have to admit I'm not one of the original fans of Mean Girls (Lindsey Lohan version). I just never cared for it and tried many times to watch it. It was always cringey to me. So when I heard of this musical, I was like "WHY??!!!"

Yeah so, I was very wrong. A friend of mine that's very much a movie critic recommended this. She said she was shocked by how good it was. And literally this movie had me by the first song.

I was blown away! My husband who's not into these types of musicals, sat down and watched with me and laughed! I couldn't even believe I laughed so much. Haven't laughed at a good comedy in forever. Comedies today just aren't very funny. This was legit hilarious! The acting is so good!

I was blown away by the creativity and the shots! The choreography is phenomenal! The camera shots and choices made were all so strong! I was blown away with each and every musical number.

So, I was wrong. This movie is actually better than the original in my opinion. The lead makes so much more sense for the role too! She's so real and relatable! And the girl that plays Regina is phenomenal! I didn't think she would have been that great. But wow! And I love how real her size and shape is. She's stunning!

This is definitely worth seeing. Especially if you're initially thinking it'll suck. Give it a shot.

Wish (II) (2023)

Missed The Mark By Miles

[3/10 · 6 January 2024]

Just saw this in the theater with my kids. It was their first movie experience in a theater. Uhg! I WISH it could have been as great as my childhood experiences. Honestly felt like they mad rushed this movie. All the songs felt unfinished. Like they started an idea and didn't put the work into making it a finished song.

My daughters aren't even humming any of the songs after having watched it. None of them were memorable.

Never knew cartoons could over act until now. They were all cheesy and over the top. They all had the same personality.

I'm especially insulted by this film because they took the most beautiful concept from everything that makes Disney magical and butchered it! The concept of that magical Disney song "when you wish upon a star"... That's my childhood in one line. They made it mediocre.

I'm saddened that this was meant to be a dedication to a deceased member of the Disney team. You'd think they would have made it something that truly warmed our hearts and left us dreaming for days, months, years after.

In the credits they show pictures of iconic Disney characters from past movies and I was insulted. Like, how dare you put such impactful characters in the midst of the credits for such a poorly made film.

Honestly if they had put another year into working on this film perhaps it could have been something special. It's a lovely idea but definitely just clumsily executed.

Dear Evan Hansen (2021)

It's Definitely Not The Original But...

[8/10 · 10 November 2023]

I put off watching this movie for a looong time. And I wouldn't have watched it at all if a close friend of mine didn't beg me to. And it's for one simple reason- I loooooove the original Broadway musical.

Now it's not like I've seen the live version on stage before my eyes. But see that's what makes this situation I'm in worse. I watched YouTube videos of the performances from the original cast. Like crap quality YouTube videos that left me in tears and in love with the story, the actors and the music.

So for that fact, that should tell you just how good this live performance with the original cast must have been. It kills me I've never seen it and if someone would put up a recording of the entire show with the original cast, I just know sooo many fans would love it.

All that to say, this movie just doesn't measure up. It's got some great moments. I mean, it's cool getting sucked into the "world" of Dear Evan Hansen. But they took out some phenomenal songs from the original show. Songs that did so much inside of me in terms of connecting and relating to not just Evan but his mom and Connor. I'm hurt. I'm so so hurt.

So yeah, it's a good movie. But it's like just a taste of how amazing the actual musical is!

Oh and what people have said about Ben Platt looking too old for the part- lies! He fits in just fine. It totally works!

Upload (2020– )

Why Do I Even Bother??

[4/10 · 29 October 2023]

Ok I swear this time I'm actually done with this show. Someone make me sign that in blood so I don't torture myself and go back. Why do I keep doing this to myself??

Season one was just sooo good (my reasoning for 4 stars). It knew how to keep our attention. But after bearing through season two and now suffering through season 3- I truly need to do my self a favor and give up on this show.

Season 3 feels like a group of writers were individually given a scene to work on with no communication with each other and then they just tossed it all together. My husband and I get to the end of each episode scratching our heads like, "What just happened and where is this going???"

Everytime it seems like we're on to something. It seems like, ok maybe this is going somewhere- they just drop the ball. It's like the writer of that interesting plot point suddenly quit!

I swear I'm done this time. I promise...

Kevin Can F**k Himself (2021–2022)

Make The Connections, This Is A Rare And Precious Gem

[10/10 · 10 September 2023]

I need to explain something to those confused by the sitcom to reality idea. Imagine the way someone that's abused will try so hard to excuse the behavior of their abuser. This is THAT story. The abused will try so hard to excuse the toxic behavior of their abuser that they will turn their life into a sitcom. Now that we've cleared that up- watch the show!!!

Finding a show that's entertaining and intriguing from the first episode to the last is damn near impossible these days. But this show made it possible!

I want to know who the genius is behind this because it is amazing! I'm left wanting to start the series over from the beginning to rewatch. I haven't felt that way about a TV show since The Office!

And the acting!!!! Actors I thought could only be sitcom actors proved they were genius actors! I couldn't believe the switch! I couldn't believe it!

Everyone out there that's pissed at the fact that there's nothing good to watch on TV nowadays HAS to watch this show! Trust me, it will make your day- it will make your life!

Renfield (2023)

Nicholas Cage is a... Phenomenal Actor?!!

[8/10 · 28 August 2023]

For those of us who have a confusing love hate relationship with Nicholas Cage, this movie is for you. I was pleasantly surprised. He played a genuine Dracula. I mean anyone else would have totally cheesed it up and made it too much. But he was very convincing and genuine. I was scared of him and yet so intrigued too! He was the best actor and character in the whole movie.

The movie as a whole was good... I wouldn't say it was great. But it was definitely better than most new release movies of today. (Is this season of bad movies ever going to pass? It's exhausting).

But this one is actually quite good. Five minutes in and I knew right away this was gonna be worth the watch.

I'm disappointed that the dialogue was on the nose at points. Just a lot of characters spelling out the back story in their dialogue instead of throwing it in seamlessly for the audience to catch on.

Quite a bit of the acting (except for a few key actors) was cringe. But it seems that's just the norm in today's movies and tv shows (unless it's British). I don't understand why.

But all in all, so long as you're not sensitive to blood and gore, you should watch this movie. Oh! The blood and gore was a bit too animated and unrealistic. But it didn't take away from the movie too much. Didn't add to it either honestly.

Good Omens (2019– )

Two Seasons with Only One Season Good, Therefore 5/10

[5/10 · 22 August 2023]

Season One was AMAZING!!! So amazing that I want to give Season Two a 0/10 because how dare you take such an amazing cast and such a phenomenal story base and just RUIN IT!

The pilot of season two alone left me feeling like, "Is this the same show we just watched???"

The pilot of a season should leave you desiring more than anything to get to the end of that season. This left me feeling like, why did I just waste an hour of my time? There are new characters I'm apparently supposed to care about but I don't give a flying fart about. There's no reason for these stories to deserve my attention and yet it's taking up so much of my time.

The two main characters are enjoyable to watch in Season Two but they truly don't spend enough time on screen for me to care about focusing on the show. Also the main plot is not as awe inspiring as the first season. Just boring. I'm so disappointed in the producers of this show.

They seemed to have done what every other producer did after the pandemic. Saw that they needed to fill all this empty space with new content quickly. And just threw out what ever quick plot lines they could without giving it the care and consideration it needed.

I guess now I have to hunt for something good to watch once again...

Cocaine Bear (2023)

It Was Good But...

[7/10 · 26 June 2023]

My husband was so pumped to watch this movie with me. Honestly the photo on Amazon creeped me out, so I really wasn't interested. But when he said, "We're watching this!" I figured, it's been a while since I've watched something a little freaking and edgy... Perhaps too long.

It's a good movie. A mixture of well seasoned actors that make the plot seem very genuine, as well as actors that are probably new to the screen, (just trying too hard to "act").

The plot was timed out well. Very easy to follow. Some seriously hilarious bits. I actually did laugh out loud and felt proud of the characters. The writers did a great job of layering the characters back stories. Beautifully done.

But perhaps it's simply been too long since I've watched a good Rambo or Kill Bill. I just couldn't finish the movie. I got half way through and finally said, "I really need to watch something happy before I go to bed." It was already late so we switched to SNL.

Despite not finishing the movie, I was pleased with what I saw and enjoyed that much. My heart simply couldn't take watching people get mauled.

The Lost City (2022)

A ten seems high but...

[10/10 · 9 April 2023]

Have you seen the recent adventure crap movies out recently??? Uncharted and Red Notice to name a few. I literally gave up hope on finding a solid movie in this genre released after 2020. But tonight I finally gave in and thought, why not try this movie?

I mean it's Sandra Bullock. She has a loooooong trail of phenomenal movies made. The only movie I could think of that was disappointing in her trail was Miss Congeniality 2. But let's pretend that never happened.

This movie was what other movies of it's kind attempted but could not do! It's funny! My husband and I genuinely laughed out loud! I can't tell you the last time a recently released movie made us do that!

The character development and back stories were well done! What really did it for us was the characters themselves. They were so layered. They had heart!

Even the cheesy parts of this movie was well earned. Not out of place. Cringey but in a way that added to the story.

I really enjoyed this movie. I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it again. But it put a great smile on my face and warmed my heart. It gave me hope for movies yet to be released. So it gets a 10/10 because it went above and beyond movies of it's kind that were recently released.

One Fine Day (1996)

Wholesome & Clever

[10/10 · 9 March 2023]

I can watch this story on repeat! It lifts my spirits when I'm having a bad day. The music first of all, is so soothing. It's perfectly matched with every scene. The acting makes it so easy to watch. It's very real. Very relaxed and genuinely funny. Not forceful in any way.

The story line is so much fun! It's completely believable. I love the antics between the kids and the adults. Of course George Clooney is amazing with the kids!

The characters grow so much in the timeline of the story despite it being one day. I love that! The writing is spot on. The romance is so believable! Stories like this don't come around anymore. This is a true gem!

Donkeyhead (2022)

Canada Needed This

[7/10 · 7 March 2023]

All in all we need more stories like this out there. We need the perspectives of immigrant Canadian families. We need stories with diversity.

The story overall was beautiful. It was heartfelt. The relationship between the siblings was beautiful and fun! For me, despite not understanding a lot about the culture, it was so awesome experiencing these new ideas and traditions.

There were parts that were lacking. Parts where the overall idea was received but the execution was not well done. This was unfortunate as the overall idea was a home run.

The acting overall was good! The acting from the brothers was especially very natural and easy to watch. There were unfortunately some camera angles that were uncomfortable to watch and took me out of the story. That was unfortunate but it was worth getting through.

The Santa Clauses (2022–2023)

Uhg... I'll finish it out of respect

[2/10 · 27 December 2022]

I loooooove The Santa Clause. And when we saw this trailer we were excited. But ouch. What a slap in the face this was to the original... Or maybe more like a kick in the nuts. What was especially odd was the relationship between the dark skinned kinky haired elf and Santa. I state his specific features because, for me as a dark skinned kinky haired woman myself, I've seen the reality that most lead roles for black people will go to mixed race light skinned and soft haired black people. But for the role of this elf to go to a dark skinned black actor such as this made the relationship seem far to similar to the role of a slave/servant and his master in old films. It was a very uncomfortable thing to watch and very disappointing to see. It was this gross obsession and need to be at Santa's absolute beck and call and to please him at any means possible for nothing in return.

Aside from that the acting, especially from the elves was very off from the original films. The elves are supposed to act like very old and wise beings. But these elves acted like they were kids in a present day Disney musical production (not a classic like Annie). Very over the top. The head elf actually did this well though. She was a really good actress as a whole!

I think the idea for this series was a fun one but I suppose I should have expected in today's world it would have come together very cheesy and lame.

Hotel Artemis (2018)

Finally a GREAT Action Film

[10/10 · 27 December 2022]

It came out in 2018 and perhaps my husband and I missed it's release because of all the Avengers hype at that time. But man, after all the recently disappointing action movie releases (like Uncharted... Wtf was that) it was soooo good to come across an action film that got us excited, intrigued and obsessed with each character. Most action movie characters today, even in the same film will be identical to one another in mannerisms and back story. But in this movie each character was so unique and intriguing. And wow the acting was phenomenal! My husband and I literally finished the film like "When's the next time we'll see an action movie that good?" And sadly, we have no idea...

Uncharted (2022)

No Layer or Depth

[2/10 · 26 December 2022]

A viewer should always feel like a movie is worth investing into. And that's not just for the actors. We need to fall in love with the characters and the plot and feel like the lead could be our best friend. I wouldn't even call the leads an acquaintance. Someone I glaced at across the street would give me even more than these lead characters are giving me. I'm so bored I regret having pressed play. And I've been going back and forth on pressing play for months now, because deep down I knew this was coming. Just from the look of the trailer I could tell this was going to be a let down. And truly all this movie did was take the highlights of classic adventure films and compile them into a movie. And because of this we don't get the "boring" parts of adventure films- the parts that make us want to watch the movie.

The Greatest Showman (2017)

If You Appreciate Classical Musicals DON'T Watch This

[5/10 · 8 December 2022]

Is it a good movie, yes. It's good. It's not great and I would not classify it a musical. Perhaps simply a movie with advertisement style breaks into music videos. The musical numbers are definitely the highlight of the film. But what's lacking is the fact that the plot and music numbers don't work together. The story itself is not layered, but it had so much potential. The musical numbers come across like we're missing parts of the plot. We don't get to learn much about these characters that it seems we ought to be invested in. They're just there. Even the bearded lady who is PHENOMENAL, we don't know much about. The love story between Zac and Zendaya makes no sense because there was no real chase or "love story" behind their sudden desire to be together. If I was to solely rate the soundtrack of this film it would be a definite 10/10. But unfortunately the movie is very lacking. And there's too much CGI. So unfortunate.

Fate: The Winx Saga (2021–2022)

So Much Potential- But It's Essentially Porn

[2/10 · 6 December 2022]

Season 1 was very good! But it felt like it was only the beginning. Like season 1 was basically the first chapter of a larger story. I was invested. The characters are layered and so exciting to watch. But then season 2 comes along and it's all sex. And experimental sex! Like what is happening??? Literally watching a porno and all the aspects of a deeper story from season 1 are hard to find. The larger story takes a backseat- no it's been thrown into the trunk. But it's all about who's getting laid. My high school life didn't even have 1/4 of that amount of sex. I don't understand what I'm watching. It's such a disappointment.

The People We Hate at the Wedding (2022)

The Trailer Was Better Than The Movie

[1/10 · 29 November 2022]

Husband is out for the evening, so I get the kids to bed early and think to myself, I'll have a glass of wine and watch a good chick flick. I've had my eye on this movie for quite some time now. But I was literally waiting for the perfect opportunity to watch it. I saved it like I would a yummy piece of cheesecake (I'm clearly on a weight-loss journey). I literally kept my phone far away from me to avoid distractions. I was ready to get absorbed... This movie was the equivalent of sitting down to enjoy that piece of cheesecake to only find it's been infested by magots. I'm crushed! I've loved every single lead actor here! How could they do this to me??? You're better than this Ben!!! The creators of this movie owe me for this! What a missed opportunity for a night watching a classic chick flick... Like The Wedding Planner.

The Devil's Hour (2022– )

It was amazing buuuuut...

[9/10 · 24 November 2022]

Wow! I can't believe I had no clue what was going on but felt so invested. Like, I was ok with being confused. In fact it made me more intrigued. Each scene kept me on my toes! I was so lost but it just made it that much more exciting.

With each episode I felt like I almost figured it out but then went right back to having no clue in the next episode and yet I still felt like I was getting somewhere. The concept all made sense in the end and it was a great idea! In fact it was phenomenal!

The acting was great! I felt real! Like I was in a whole other world with completely different rules. It was trippy.

Very well done! But.... The end of that last episode sucked!

Mammals (2022)

Great in most aspects and boring in others

[5/10 · 17 November 2022]

Honestly this is James Corden's best acting. That was the first thing that hooked me. Because of that I had to keep watching. However, I spent most the time playing a game on my phone. And I didn't start out playing a game on my phone either. I just needed something to do to get me through it. It's got a lot about it that's truly a work of art. The pictures itself are beautiful. James' character is loveable. I wanted him to win! But there are also aspects that are simply... Pointless? I guess I'm just left asking myself, what's the point of that plot line? Instead of, ohhh another engaging side of the story. I think it only just missed the mark. So all in all, disappointing but not a terrible waste of time.

Blockbuster (2022)

Just... Why?

[1/10 · 8 November 2022]

I just don't get it. This seemed like a waste of time, money and creativity. It takes no risks and has no depth of characters. It's not even worth playing in the background while I do chores.

The comedy is far too surface. The characters seem like they've been taken from other successful tv shows and thrown into this one. It's nothing new and exciting. It comes across far too formulated with little to no passion.

I'm especially disappointed because the lead actors are typically my favorite to watch on screen. But watching this is just painful. It's trying to hard to be likeable and watched by all.

Bandit (2022)

I'm emotionally invested!

[8/10 · 24 September 2022]

The difference between this story and the average heist movie is the raw and vulnerable connection you feel to the characters and their stories. It's not just the excitement of the chase, but it's the why behind the chase and that is so uncommon.

It truly shows the dynamic story telling behind this movie. My heart strings were not just tugged but yanked. I knew why I wanted the lead to win and it was more than just because he was the lead. Not to mention there's so many genuinely funny moments in here. The acting (specifically by the lead) is truly phenomenal and this is a beautiful story that has to be seen!

Hard Cell (2022)

Still Not Funny Past 1st Episode

[1/10 · 19 September 2022]

I was hopeful this would be like The Office. As in the characters would have depth and be very real. The first turn off was how caricatured everyone is. So annoyingly over played. All trying far too hard to be funny. The storyline was also trying too hard to be like The Office. I watched the first episode and then came on here to read reviews. I saw everyone said you've gotta get through the first episode before it's worth watching... That wasn't true. My husband and I got half way through the second episode while trying not to throw up. It was so hard to watch. Just not funny and not genuine.

Bookmarks (2020)

We need this!

[10/10 · 14 June 2022]

My daughter is mixed and she is one of a handful of black kids in her school. She often asks me questions about why she looks the way she does and why I look the way I do. Often time this is said in disappointment. That needs to stop! She was so excited to show me this tv series and especially the first episode where the lady removed her wig at the end because she's seen mommy rocking a bald head and wig. This is sooo important for today!