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Thinkrolls 2
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Calling all future scientists! Boys and girls, it's time to put your best thinking cap on! Navigate...
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** "It's smart, it looks great, and it's not like any other numbers game on the App Store" - 3.5/5 -...
Galaxy on Fire 2™
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[ Galaxy on Fire 2™ is the award-winning space shooter that set a new standard for sci-fi gaming...
Skateboard Party 3 Pro
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Skateboard Party is back! This third edition of the popular sports franchise features professional...
Pinball HD Collection
Games and Sports
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This unique table features pinball bumpers and targets, plus a color monitor where you can take on a...
Sarah (7798 KP) rated Finding Steve McQueen (2019) in Movies
Nov 3, 2020
Not much of a heist
Finding Steve McQueen is a heist drama centring around a young man who idolises Steve McQueen, and follows him as he joins a gang of thieves as they plot to steal millions from President Nixon’s secret funds. This is loosely based around a true story and is told from the point of view of the gang’s getaway driver Harry Barber, with his McQueen inspired locks and mannerisms.
The tale of the 1972 heist is recounted by Barber (Travis Fimmel) to his girlfriend Molly Murphy (Rachael Taylor) in 1980, after having been on the run from the FBI for 8 years. This starts out as though it could be a rather fun and lighthearted heist movie, but I’m afraid despite it’s short 90 minute run time, it feels rather drawn out and dull. Right from the get go, the cinematography, directing style and just general look of this film just doesn’t feel right. It feels like it has been made for tv, it has that rather cheap look about it and sadly the camera angles and character styling do nothing but reinforce this. The CGI, whilst infrequent, is very bad and you can spot the green screen scenes a mile off. Even the car chase scene is lacklustre and unimpressive. You can tell that this hasn’t had a lot of money thrown at it.
The performances too I’m afraid are also rather lacking, although a large part of this is likely down to the often dodgy script that seems to enjoy ramming 70s references down our throats whilst being completely unconvincing about every other aspect of the story. I haven’t see much of Travis Fimmel, so I’m not sure if his goofy persona in this is his acting style or in character, but either way it doesn’t always work. Rachael Taylor’s Molly seems out of place and rather unlikeable and it’s only Forest Whitaker as FBI Agent Howard Lambert who comes out unscathed, playing a rather aloof and unfazed agent on the tail of the gang following the heist.
The heist itself is really the main problem here. Instead of being a heist movie, this plays out like a romance with a little bit of heist thrown in, and not a very exciting one at that. There are some moments of intrigue and fun when you see how the gang pulled the heist off and later on how they got caught, but apart from this it’s probably one of the dullest heists I’ve ever seen. Aside from a decent soundtrack, there is very little excitement in this. The motive for the heist also seems rather fuzzy and far fetched. Even the romance seems forced and wavers between being very fake and unconvincing to rather cringeworthy and cliched.
There’s also the question of whether this movie succeeds in finding Steve McQueen, and whilst it is undoubtedly a homage to the man himself, it is not a very successful one. It references all the right things but unfortunately struggles to get close to the man himself and as heist movies go, it may have done itself a disservice by trying to liken itself to McQueen and his successes. Overall I’m afraid this is a rather dull heist film that even with a low budget could’ve been much better.
The tale of the 1972 heist is recounted by Barber (Travis Fimmel) to his girlfriend Molly Murphy (Rachael Taylor) in 1980, after having been on the run from the FBI for 8 years. This starts out as though it could be a rather fun and lighthearted heist movie, but I’m afraid despite it’s short 90 minute run time, it feels rather drawn out and dull. Right from the get go, the cinematography, directing style and just general look of this film just doesn’t feel right. It feels like it has been made for tv, it has that rather cheap look about it and sadly the camera angles and character styling do nothing but reinforce this. The CGI, whilst infrequent, is very bad and you can spot the green screen scenes a mile off. Even the car chase scene is lacklustre and unimpressive. You can tell that this hasn’t had a lot of money thrown at it.
The performances too I’m afraid are also rather lacking, although a large part of this is likely down to the often dodgy script that seems to enjoy ramming 70s references down our throats whilst being completely unconvincing about every other aspect of the story. I haven’t see much of Travis Fimmel, so I’m not sure if his goofy persona in this is his acting style or in character, but either way it doesn’t always work. Rachael Taylor’s Molly seems out of place and rather unlikeable and it’s only Forest Whitaker as FBI Agent Howard Lambert who comes out unscathed, playing a rather aloof and unfazed agent on the tail of the gang following the heist.
The heist itself is really the main problem here. Instead of being a heist movie, this plays out like a romance with a little bit of heist thrown in, and not a very exciting one at that. There are some moments of intrigue and fun when you see how the gang pulled the heist off and later on how they got caught, but apart from this it’s probably one of the dullest heists I’ve ever seen. Aside from a decent soundtrack, there is very little excitement in this. The motive for the heist also seems rather fuzzy and far fetched. Even the romance seems forced and wavers between being very fake and unconvincing to rather cringeworthy and cliched.
There’s also the question of whether this movie succeeds in finding Steve McQueen, and whilst it is undoubtedly a homage to the man himself, it is not a very successful one. It references all the right things but unfortunately struggles to get close to the man himself and as heist movies go, it may have done itself a disservice by trying to liken itself to McQueen and his successes. Overall I’m afraid this is a rather dull heist film that even with a low budget could’ve been much better.
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Cruella (2021) in Movies
Jun 13, 2021
Fights to find the right tone - but succeeds more than it fails
The new Disney live action film CRUELLA (telling the origin story of one of the most well known villains in Disney animation history) is one of those strange films that is trying to walk a thin line between “G” rated “kid” entertainment and an “R” rated film intended for a more “mature” audience.
An that, ultimately, is the issue with this film, it bounces around tonally - sometimes bumping up against the “G” rating and often times landing closer to the “R”, so that, in the end, it will not be a totally satisfying experience for either the “G” or the “R” crowd.
Emma Stone takes on the title role of CRUELLA and in this film you watch her become the Cruella DeVille that you see in the Disney Animated Film (and the Glenn Close live action remake). Stone is very good in this role - almost a perfect fit. However, it looks to me that she is having a much better time playing the evil “R” rated version of Cruella rather then the comic-bookish “G” rated version, so her performance is, at times, brilliant and at other times, not as brillaint.
Emma Thompson steals just about every scene she is in as Cruella’s nemesis “The Baroness”. It’s good to see this terrific actress getting a role that she can really sink her teeth in. I hope this leads to other, strong important roles for this actress “of a certain age”.
The supporting players are strong…or should I say…Mark Strong (hehehehe). He brings his usual gravitas to the role of The Baroness’ right-hand man. But the players who impressed me the most were Joel Fry (YESTERDAY) and Paul Walter Hauser (RICHARD JEWELL) as Cruella’s 2 best friends/henchmen. They both were able to flesh out these characters (who are usually portrayed as bumbling buffoons) and both were able to find the line between “G” and “R” very well - and stay on it the entire film.
Director Craig Gillespie (I, TONYA) finds the correct tone for this film more often than not, but it is in the “not” portion of this that he fails this movie. The shifts in tone (often on a dime) are often jarring and the blame for this would have to be put right at the Director’s feet, though the look of this film (sort of a 1960’s Austin Powers meets SteamPunk look) succeeds VERY well and is as much a character in this film as the performers.
One final thing, the soundtrack used in CRUELLA is an interesting touch. Gillespie and Composer Nicholas Britell eschews (for the most part) a conventional score and highlights most of the scenes with a Pop song - though here Gillespie whips us around tonally as well. For, since the film is set in 1960’s London, a good many of the tunes used are ‘60 (and early ‘70’s) rock hits. But….every now and then…he will drop in a ‘80’s number.
But…as I sit and write this review, I am finding myself falling more and more on the side of “I Liked It”, so…set aside the tonal shifts…and you will be entertained by CRUELLA much more than you would expect.
Letter Grade: B+
7 1/2 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank (ofMarquis)
An that, ultimately, is the issue with this film, it bounces around tonally - sometimes bumping up against the “G” rating and often times landing closer to the “R”, so that, in the end, it will not be a totally satisfying experience for either the “G” or the “R” crowd.
Emma Stone takes on the title role of CRUELLA and in this film you watch her become the Cruella DeVille that you see in the Disney Animated Film (and the Glenn Close live action remake). Stone is very good in this role - almost a perfect fit. However, it looks to me that she is having a much better time playing the evil “R” rated version of Cruella rather then the comic-bookish “G” rated version, so her performance is, at times, brilliant and at other times, not as brillaint.
Emma Thompson steals just about every scene she is in as Cruella’s nemesis “The Baroness”. It’s good to see this terrific actress getting a role that she can really sink her teeth in. I hope this leads to other, strong important roles for this actress “of a certain age”.
The supporting players are strong…or should I say…Mark Strong (hehehehe). He brings his usual gravitas to the role of The Baroness’ right-hand man. But the players who impressed me the most were Joel Fry (YESTERDAY) and Paul Walter Hauser (RICHARD JEWELL) as Cruella’s 2 best friends/henchmen. They both were able to flesh out these characters (who are usually portrayed as bumbling buffoons) and both were able to find the line between “G” and “R” very well - and stay on it the entire film.
Director Craig Gillespie (I, TONYA) finds the correct tone for this film more often than not, but it is in the “not” portion of this that he fails this movie. The shifts in tone (often on a dime) are often jarring and the blame for this would have to be put right at the Director’s feet, though the look of this film (sort of a 1960’s Austin Powers meets SteamPunk look) succeeds VERY well and is as much a character in this film as the performers.
One final thing, the soundtrack used in CRUELLA is an interesting touch. Gillespie and Composer Nicholas Britell eschews (for the most part) a conventional score and highlights most of the scenes with a Pop song - though here Gillespie whips us around tonally as well. For, since the film is set in 1960’s London, a good many of the tunes used are ‘60 (and early ‘70’s) rock hits. But….every now and then…he will drop in a ‘80’s number.
But…as I sit and write this review, I am finding myself falling more and more on the side of “I Liked It”, so…set aside the tonal shifts…and you will be entertained by CRUELLA much more than you would expect.
Letter Grade: B+
7 1/2 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank (ofMarquis)
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Mortal Kombat (2021) in Movies
May 23, 2021
Contains spoilers, click to show
Mortal Kombat is one of those films that doesn't seem to know what story it wants to tell, it starts with a grudge battle between a proto Sub Zero and Proto Scorpion then jumps to the modern times with Sub-Zero hunting a young fighter, Cole Young. Then it (kind of) switches back to the Scorpion/Sub-Zero grudge match.
The bulk of the movie follows Cole as he joins up with Sonya Blade to find a group of 'Earths Champions' in an attempt to stop a secret invasion from Outworld. The hero's are, of course various characters from the 'Mortal Kombat' video games and a lot of the film is just looking for excuses to for the characters to shout out one liners from the games.
This isn't to say that Mortal Kombat is a bad movie, it has good fight scenes and the relationship between Sonia and Kano lead to some of the funniest moments of the movie. In fact I would go as far as saying that Kano is the best character of the film, a tough job seeing as he seems to be there for the comic relief.
There is a lot of time put into the put into the human characters but almost nothing to the villains, the most we find out about them is that Kabal seems to be a human and that Kano put him in his suit, there is no back story to this, no information a to how he ended up on outworld and, puzzlingly he seems to want to Kano to join up with his team.
I felt that there was something disappointing about the ending (HERE BE SPOILERS)..... All through the film we are told that Cole is the last of Hanzo Hasashi's (Scorpion) blood line (even though Cole has a daughter so she should be the last), he's given Hanzo's weapon and is being set up to become Scorpion. Then suddenly Hanzo is back, as Scorpion and all but saves the day. I know the film has the law of the games to follow but building one character up and then just re introducing someone else to all but take his place just feels like a cheat, especially as most of the film is about finding the power within and using it to win.
Saying all that Mortal Kombat is a good film, it has action and humour and some quite graphic 'Brutalities'. I think part of the problem is the 1995 Mortal Kombat film which feels a lot more fun, it doesn't have all the blood but it has a simple story, the villains seem slightly more rounded and the soundtrack just works. Also, and I know there is a big push to have actors of the 'correct' ethnicity I really do think that Christopher Lambert was a better 'Lord Rayden', Tadanobu Asano, who plays the character in this version seems bland and emotionless. I think that even an elder god would get worked up if evil forces were trying to invade his realm, especially if the invaders were breaking the rules.
The effects are good although some charters seem to have more attention than others (Sub-Zero, I'm looking at you) and there could have been more attention spent to the 'Evil' characters but, over all the film works with few problems.
The bulk of the movie follows Cole as he joins up with Sonya Blade to find a group of 'Earths Champions' in an attempt to stop a secret invasion from Outworld. The hero's are, of course various characters from the 'Mortal Kombat' video games and a lot of the film is just looking for excuses to for the characters to shout out one liners from the games.
This isn't to say that Mortal Kombat is a bad movie, it has good fight scenes and the relationship between Sonia and Kano lead to some of the funniest moments of the movie. In fact I would go as far as saying that Kano is the best character of the film, a tough job seeing as he seems to be there for the comic relief.
There is a lot of time put into the put into the human characters but almost nothing to the villains, the most we find out about them is that Kabal seems to be a human and that Kano put him in his suit, there is no back story to this, no information a to how he ended up on outworld and, puzzlingly he seems to want to Kano to join up with his team.
I felt that there was something disappointing about the ending (HERE BE SPOILERS)..... All through the film we are told that Cole is the last of Hanzo Hasashi's (Scorpion) blood line (even though Cole has a daughter so she should be the last), he's given Hanzo's weapon and is being set up to become Scorpion. Then suddenly Hanzo is back, as Scorpion and all but saves the day. I know the film has the law of the games to follow but building one character up and then just re introducing someone else to all but take his place just feels like a cheat, especially as most of the film is about finding the power within and using it to win.
Saying all that Mortal Kombat is a good film, it has action and humour and some quite graphic 'Brutalities'. I think part of the problem is the 1995 Mortal Kombat film which feels a lot more fun, it doesn't have all the blood but it has a simple story, the villains seem slightly more rounded and the soundtrack just works. Also, and I know there is a big push to have actors of the 'correct' ethnicity I really do think that Christopher Lambert was a better 'Lord Rayden', Tadanobu Asano, who plays the character in this version seems bland and emotionless. I think that even an elder god would get worked up if evil forces were trying to invade his realm, especially if the invaders were breaking the rules.
The effects are good although some charters seem to have more attention than others (Sub-Zero, I'm looking at you) and there could have been more attention spent to the 'Evil' characters but, over all the film works with few problems.
Sarah (7798 KP) rated Snatch (2001) in Movies
Dec 20, 2020
Hilarious
Film #7 on the 100 Movies Bucket List: Snatch
Snatch (2000) is Guy Ritchie’s second film following on from his hugely successful debut, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998). Critically Snatch wasn’t quite as well received as it’s predecessor but the general movie going public found it a lot more enjoyable, and personally I agree with the public. I’ve always loved Snatch and prefer it over Lock, Stock.
Snatch tells a rather convoluted and twisting tale about gangsters, diamonds and unlicensed boxing. In a number of intersecting storylines, we see unlicensed boxing promoters Turkish (Jason Statham) and Tommy (Stephen Graham) get pulled into the world of match fixing with violent bookmaker Brick Top (Alan Ford), recruiting Brad Pitt’s gypsy Mickey along the way. And then you have inept criminals Sol (Lennie James), Vinny (Robbie Gee) and Tyrone (Ade) as they attempt to steal a valuable diamond from Franky Four Fingers (Benicio Del Toro) on behalf of Russian Boris the Blade (Rade Serbedzija), also involving Vinnie Jones’s Bullet-Tooth Tony, Mike Reid’s Doug the Head and Dennis Farina’s Cousin Avi along the way. As you can see, the plot isn’t exactly straight forward but despite it’s complexity, it’s a fun and entertaining watch to see all of these separate storylines come together.
What makes this complex and quite frankly bonkers story so good to watch is the script and absolutely superb dialogue. Considering this isn’t what you’d class as a typical comedy fun, it is downright hilarious. No matter how many times I’ve seen this film, it still makes me laugh every time with it’s smart, witty and funny dialogue. From Turkish’s narration to Cousin Avi’s scathing remarks about London and pretty much every interaction between Sol, Vinny and Tyrone, Snatch is extremely amusing. Admittedly there are some lines and exchanges that feel a little too forced and staged, and I think this may be due to some questionable acting and the sometimes unnatural sounding London accents.
Guy Ritchie has undoubtedly put together a stylish and slick film, and Snatch definitely encompasses the dark and gritty feel of London. Maybe a little too much as it can feel a bit gloomy at times. It has a great soundtrack and this really works with Ritchie’s directing style for the most part. There are some questionable camera angles and not all of these work – the most grating for me was in the opening scenes with Franky Four Finger’s heist where the camera jumped around far too much.
Despite this, his style works well in general and is aided by the fantastic cast that has been assembled. I’ve never been a fan of Jason Statham, but this is by far his best work, although the star of Snatch is certainly Brad Pitt, who is virtually unrecognisable as gypsy Mickey, both in looks and with his purposely indecipherable Irish accent. Snatch came out the year after Fight Club at a time that would likely be classed as the peak of Pitt’s career, so to see him play a character like Mickey was surprising to say the least. But the entire cast shine with the material they’ve got to work with.
Snatch isn’t a film for everyone and definitely not for the easily offended. For me, I could watch this repeatedly and still laugh every time, and it’s absolutely deserving of a place on this list.
Snatch (2000) is Guy Ritchie’s second film following on from his hugely successful debut, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998). Critically Snatch wasn’t quite as well received as it’s predecessor but the general movie going public found it a lot more enjoyable, and personally I agree with the public. I’ve always loved Snatch and prefer it over Lock, Stock.
Snatch tells a rather convoluted and twisting tale about gangsters, diamonds and unlicensed boxing. In a number of intersecting storylines, we see unlicensed boxing promoters Turkish (Jason Statham) and Tommy (Stephen Graham) get pulled into the world of match fixing with violent bookmaker Brick Top (Alan Ford), recruiting Brad Pitt’s gypsy Mickey along the way. And then you have inept criminals Sol (Lennie James), Vinny (Robbie Gee) and Tyrone (Ade) as they attempt to steal a valuable diamond from Franky Four Fingers (Benicio Del Toro) on behalf of Russian Boris the Blade (Rade Serbedzija), also involving Vinnie Jones’s Bullet-Tooth Tony, Mike Reid’s Doug the Head and Dennis Farina’s Cousin Avi along the way. As you can see, the plot isn’t exactly straight forward but despite it’s complexity, it’s a fun and entertaining watch to see all of these separate storylines come together.
What makes this complex and quite frankly bonkers story so good to watch is the script and absolutely superb dialogue. Considering this isn’t what you’d class as a typical comedy fun, it is downright hilarious. No matter how many times I’ve seen this film, it still makes me laugh every time with it’s smart, witty and funny dialogue. From Turkish’s narration to Cousin Avi’s scathing remarks about London and pretty much every interaction between Sol, Vinny and Tyrone, Snatch is extremely amusing. Admittedly there are some lines and exchanges that feel a little too forced and staged, and I think this may be due to some questionable acting and the sometimes unnatural sounding London accents.
Guy Ritchie has undoubtedly put together a stylish and slick film, and Snatch definitely encompasses the dark and gritty feel of London. Maybe a little too much as it can feel a bit gloomy at times. It has a great soundtrack and this really works with Ritchie’s directing style for the most part. There are some questionable camera angles and not all of these work – the most grating for me was in the opening scenes with Franky Four Finger’s heist where the camera jumped around far too much.
Despite this, his style works well in general and is aided by the fantastic cast that has been assembled. I’ve never been a fan of Jason Statham, but this is by far his best work, although the star of Snatch is certainly Brad Pitt, who is virtually unrecognisable as gypsy Mickey, both in looks and with his purposely indecipherable Irish accent. Snatch came out the year after Fight Club at a time that would likely be classed as the peak of Pitt’s career, so to see him play a character like Mickey was surprising to say the least. But the entire cast shine with the material they’ve got to work with.
Snatch isn’t a film for everyone and definitely not for the easily offended. For me, I could watch this repeatedly and still laugh every time, and it’s absolutely deserving of a place on this list.
Gareth von Kallenbach (974 KP) rated Yesterday (2019) in Movies
Jun 28, 2019
A Fun Musical About What Matters Most In Life
When the lights go out all over the world struggling singer-songwriter, Jack Malik (Himesh Patel), is blindsided by a double decker bus. The bus knocks him off his bike and sends him flying across the pavement where he lands unconscious. When he wakes up he is missing his beard and a couple of front teeth. He thinks it just been the worst end of the worst day of his life. But he couldn’t be more wrong. Earlier he had decided to give up his quest for fame and go back to being a teacher. Despite his best friend, manager, fan since grade school Ellie (Lily James) trying hard to convince him to not give up on his dreams. But days after the crash Jack is still ready to hang it up. Elle as a present for Jack leaving the hospital gives him a brand new guitar. Jack decides to play a song but a great guitar needs a great song so he plays Yesterday by The Beattles. When he is finished Elle is almost in tears, his friends Nick and Carol (Harry Michell and Sophia Di Marino) are in sock.
They want to know where he came up with this amazing song. Jack tells them the greatest pop band in history…The Beattles. But they have no idea who that is and neither does the rest of the world. Now Jack is the only person in the world who knows the songs of one of the top selling iconic bands in history. It’s not long before the world comes to know of Jack Malik the single greatest song writer of all time. But will he be found out as a fraud, will fame and money change him and most importantly will he leave behind the people he cares for most.
This Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire) director comedy is original and well written, by Jack Barth (story) and RAbbey Mordue
ichard Curtis (screenplay). The story is part romantic comedy and part fantasy film. It’s original and fun but there are times that the story is clunky and oddly put together. There are times that feel like major events are skipped over. The soundtrack is definitely filled with The Beattles with some modern music sprinkled in, including Ed Sheerran who plays himself in the film. If you are a fan of The Beattles you will definitely enjoy the film and how they wind the music into the story. The cast is fun and fit well together. Patel is both awkward and troubled and he does a well in the lead. He also does a great job singing. Kate McKinnon (Ghostbusters, Saturday Night Live) is great as a money hungry music executive.
I admittedly am a huge fan of The Beattles and was very excited but premise of this film. At the very least I would be able to listen to good music for two hours. But I really enjoyed the originality and visuals that were put together. The story while clunky at times was overall fun to watch. When you thought it was predictable and knew where the film was taking you the story would divert slightly and surprise you. It is a fun date movie that worth the price of a movie ticket.
4 out of 5
http://sknr.net/2019/06/27/yesterday/
They want to know where he came up with this amazing song. Jack tells them the greatest pop band in history…The Beattles. But they have no idea who that is and neither does the rest of the world. Now Jack is the only person in the world who knows the songs of one of the top selling iconic bands in history. It’s not long before the world comes to know of Jack Malik the single greatest song writer of all time. But will he be found out as a fraud, will fame and money change him and most importantly will he leave behind the people he cares for most.
This Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire) director comedy is original and well written, by Jack Barth (story) and RAbbey Mordue
ichard Curtis (screenplay). The story is part romantic comedy and part fantasy film. It’s original and fun but there are times that the story is clunky and oddly put together. There are times that feel like major events are skipped over. The soundtrack is definitely filled with The Beattles with some modern music sprinkled in, including Ed Sheerran who plays himself in the film. If you are a fan of The Beattles you will definitely enjoy the film and how they wind the music into the story. The cast is fun and fit well together. Patel is both awkward and troubled and he does a well in the lead. He also does a great job singing. Kate McKinnon (Ghostbusters, Saturday Night Live) is great as a money hungry music executive.
I admittedly am a huge fan of The Beattles and was very excited but premise of this film. At the very least I would be able to listen to good music for two hours. But I really enjoyed the originality and visuals that were put together. The story while clunky at times was overall fun to watch. When you thought it was predictable and knew where the film was taking you the story would divert slightly and surprise you. It is a fun date movie that worth the price of a movie ticket.
4 out of 5
http://sknr.net/2019/06/27/yesterday/