Change Your Image
bjjvsg
Reviews
Ghostwriter (2019)
Missed Opportunity
I had high hopes for a new show to watch with my family. I thought it would be like a British teen show. If you've ever watched The Sparticle Mystery or The Sarah Jane Adventures (among others) you'll know what I was thinking. The first episode was so riddled with unnecessary race references and politics that I had to turn it off. British shows are diverse without politics. Oh the black kid and the white kid are siblings? Cool. The Indian Mom has a white daughter? Cool. No explanation for any of this? Very cool. What does this teach the audience? It teaches acceptance! It teaches kids (and adults!) to look past superficial differences to what truly connects human beings. Friendship, love, kinship, and shared experiences bind us and help us see each other for our true selves. The character of "the character" shows through and those lessons help people be more accepting of others in their own lives. My take away from the Wizard of Oz was not judging a book by its cover as well. A good witch? All the characters realize things about themselves and others along the way. AMAZING positive lessons. Acting like we still live under Jim Crow when we don't is not teaching anyone anything positive. What a missed opportunity!
A Holiday Boyfriend (2019)
Zero Stars for Feminist Nightmare
This movie is so awful words can't describe it. The main actress is not just unlikeable, but loathsome! She and her friends have no clue how to be like-able, marriageable, or lady-like. They're dumb, skanky, bimbos who need Jesus and a backhand across the face. There's no reason for the hunky rancher to like her once she opens her mouth. She calls him weird multiple times for nothing more than being quiet and not wanting casual sex. That's how real men act! He was easy to like in my opinion, but definitely like they got an actual rancher and tried to make him an actor. The quality is low in every area. How did this get made?!
The Legend of the Five (2020)
A puzzle with many missing pieces
This movie was low budget, but money can't fix everything. The flow between scenes was choppy and left you feeling like you missed something. The writing repeated phrases ("This is real.", for one) that did nothing to move the story forward or give insight into characters or motivations. There were missed opportunities everywhere that could have made the movie better. My daughter and I laughed that at least they made use of The Lord of the Rings old Orc costumes. I thought it was a TV movie setting up a series, especially the strange unfulfilling "ending" so I came to IMDb to look for a connection to something else. Nope. What happened to the other original Elementals? Zoe didn't seem stupid so why would she think the Sorcerer would be on their side when they are also Elementals? Was she possessed the entire time or just when convenient for the ridiculous story? Who and/or what were the mouse-like Whovillian-esque people they ran into? We thought for a moment the kids would be the dinner the male creature so wanted, but it was just a baked chicken leg he craved I suppose. I had a hope after the trailer, but save yourself an hour and watch something else.
A Match Made at Christmas (2021)
The Worst.
Most Christmas movies a la Hallmark/Lifetime are cheesy and sappy. I still love them at Christmas time. This movie is not in those categories. It's an absolutely awful story. The female lead is a people pleaser, sure, but she has truly sacrificed for the people she loves. In return, they accuse her of being a manipulative steam roller who wants her way. It's insane to me! She gave up college and travel to take care of her Mom. She kept the family business going after her Dad died so her brother would have something to come back to after finishing school. She gave up her travel dream a second time to buy her whiny friend her dream wedding dress. It made me wonder, what had any of them done to deserve that kind of sacrifice? They were all ungrateful. When did any one of them stop to think about her and her feelings? What had any of them ever done for her?
Now enter in her selfish brothers friend. They could've found a good looking actor, but even then it wouldn't have redeemed the character. He's a one dimensional a-hole. Everyone thinks his awful behavior is fine and only reprimands the woman. I got a real abusive vibe from him. How a man treats his mother is a hint how he'll treat you. But this girl so wanted to be loved by anyone her crazy Aunt held hands with that she missed all the obvious red flags. He yelled at her, yelled at her elderly Aunt, slammed a door in her face, was rude in every interaction. Even the scene of throwing flour, which they meant to be cute, was tainted. Then you get to the ending. We were so wanting them to NOT end up together. She has a moment of clarity and says "we'll just end up hurting each other." To which he says "I'll always come back."😳 What a couple of psychos! They should show this film in psychology classes as examples of mental illnesses.