Manda's MovieWatch

You know what you’re going to see when you go to this type of movie, and you won’t be disappointed- lots of twister destruction. I was a little surprised at how much it was like the original- down to what the heroine was wearing. At least there was some updating: Glen Powell doesn’t disappoint, and how refreshing to have male eye candy and a female hero. A fun summer blockbuster, don’t expect too much. 2 watch checks, Ryan would stay awake and it’s definitely worth seeing on the big screen.

A cool origin story of one of the best Mad Max characters, Furiosa was a visual feast but the plot lacked a little. If you’re a Mad Max fan, you’ll love all the insane vehicle hybrid creations and driving battles. But it felt like we only scratched the surface of who Furiosa was as a girl and what life was like where she came from. I was still left with a lot of questions. Mostly, I just want to see what happens in the next chapter for Furiosa, she’s pretty bad ass. Chris Hemsworth’s character, Dementus, was more of a distraction, or maybe that was just his fake nose. 3 watch checks, Ryan would stay awake for this one! Probably better on a big screen- but Max is streaming it now.

Ugh. Not even Paul Rudd could save this movie. Where is the originality? This felt like a lame attempt at re-doing more of the same. Was great to see most of the original Ghostbusters but they were sadly underutilized. Skip it- you’ve seen it already. 4 watch checks. Ryan would be asleep within the first 5 minutes. Don’t waste money for the big screen, it’s currently on Netflix.

I liked it. Ok I admit, I was not a fan of the first Dune movie (yes I know it’s a remake and originally was a book and even though it feels like a rip off of Star Wars -that it actually came out first and likely inspired George Lucas). So before watching Dune 2, I re-watched the first Dune with subtitles on (because I’m old and that’s what we do) and that helped me understand and enjoy the second Dune movie. It’s good. The special effects are impressive, the acting is outstanding and the creativity of other worlds is, pretty inspired. The first movie was a lot of character building for Paul (our hero) and is a good set up for the second movie which is more action. What’s not to love: there’s betrayal, a hero saga, a love story and several evil villains, I also kind of love the female power plays here. It’s worth a watch. 2 watch checks for me (impressive in such a long movie). Big screen is better if possible. Sadly, Ryan would probably fall asleep- he can’t go the distance…if there’s a slow scene near the end, we lose him.

I was disappointed in this one. It felt too basic, like only scratching the surface of what should have been a great story. I was hoping to see more about Bob Marley’s life, instead it was mostly focused on his last few years with some flashbacks. The music was great and I did get a better understanding of the Rastafarian culture though- so not a total loss. 3 watch checks, Ryan would have fallen asleep for sure and this is totally rentable.

Such a fun movie! I so enjoyed this movie, it’s hard not to enjoy watching Ryan Gosling in any role but his tough guy with tender vulnerability was just outstanding in this movie. On top of that, it was a great story filled with so many amazing stunts. A true love letter to all the stunt men & women in movies. Action packed, funny, sweet love story- it has all the things! 0 watch checks, a must on the big screen and Ryan would for sure stay awake- go see it!

A lesson on the appreciation of the simple things in life. It’s a moving concept- “Komorebi”…the dancing patterns of light created by sunlight & wind through the leaves of a tree…or actually maybe it’s more the appreciation of those patterns and the knowledge that the pattern will never be the same. Or the beauty in the way a song can make you feel. This movie would have been a wonderful live action short. As a full movie though, it’s Groundhog Day-esque had me too bored for the first hour and a half. 3 watch checks, Ryan would definitely fall asleep, and you can definitely rent it.

Zone was an unsettling movie, I’m sure that’s the point. I was left with lots of questions which is not my favorite type of movie, I prefer to be given the story in its entirety, not made to guess what happened. There’s several scenes where you hear horrible noises, but don’t see them- one in particular where we see the German officer and the sky, while there’s screaming and gunshots. I suppose it’s symbolism – the officer turning a blind eye, but if you’re going to make a movie about the horrors of the holocaust, I feel we owe it to those who were murdered, to show all the story and not let a blind eye be the reality. I believe it will probably win the Oscar for Best Foreign Film (but only because Anatomy of a Fall isn’t in the running- really interesting that Sandra Hüller was in both films). 2 watch checks, Ryan would stay awake, this was a rentable one.

It’s Oscar time! Oppenheimer will probably clean up, but I truly loved The Holdovers, Barbie and American Fiction and I’m hoping they will be recognized in some category. I don’t think they will win, but Mark Ruffalo, Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling Paul Giamati, Jeffrey Wright, America Ferrera and are all SO deserving in their roles. (Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr & Lily Gladstone also so deserving and I think will walk away with the gold statue). Enjoy the Oscars & keep going to the movies!

Such a great movie and deeper than I expected. I thought it was only going to be about the entertainment industry forcing a black narrative but it went into family relations, and a beautiful complicated one at that. Bravo Jeffrey Wright! It’s great, I was absolutely impressed. 1 watch check, Ryan would stay awake- this can be a rental. See it, you won’t be sorry.

This movie was a bit disjointed. The first half seemed to be building his story but the second half felt like a big time jump without much explanation. ?? I was disappointed- it seemed like this could have been a great in depth look at a fascinating historical character, but it failed to do that. (It didn’t help that I was expecting the caliber of Gladiator…definitely not there.) 3 watch checks. Ryan stayed awake but only with lots of snacks. This would be better on the big screen.