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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Life of the Party (2018) in Movies
Jul 8, 2019
Deanna (Melissa McCarthy) has spent the past 21 years being a dedicated wife and mother. Her and her husband Dan (Matt Walsh) have delivered their only daughter, Maddie (Molly Gordon) to their alma mater for her Senior year at college. As Deanna and Dan leave to what she thinks is their romantic trip to Italy, Dan breaks the information that 1. He wants a divorce and 2. He has been seeing Marcie (Julie Bowen) for a while and is in love with her. In a tailspin, Deanna retreats to her parents Mike and Sandy (Stephen Root and Jacki Weaver, respectively)feeling upended and lost.
While recovering from the emotional bomb, her best friend Christine (Maya Rudolph as that BFF who says all things unedited and is SO VERY Ride or Die) helps to pull her (and the audience) out of the dark depths with the best drunk racquetball sideline ever. The chemistry between McCarthy and Rudolph feels like two naturals riffing off with each other. Their interchanges throughout the film had me snort-laughing throughout.
Deanna decides that since she did not graduate with her degree due to motherhood and Dan, it’s an opportunity to finish and pursue her dream of being an archaeologist. Dee registers and lets her daughter know of the huge changes happening. Dee can come off as a Pollyanna to a degree, but it is her can do, positive attitude that eventually helps her ride out the rollercoaster for her senior year.
Once she is entrenched in the school year, her daughter’s friends bring her into their circle and forces her to life the college life instead of only studying all the time. She meets the very handsome Jack ( Luke Benward) a much younger man, teaching him the finer arts of canoodling of a more experienced kind.
The film is cleverly written and produced by McCarthy and Ben Falcone (her husband) at the helm directing this movie. Melissa, is brilliant at giving us wonderfully unexpected physical comedy with fantastic comic timing. The cast, have given us an enjoyable movie that is a heartily, welcomed respite.
Life of the Party is a fun Girls Night Out.
While recovering from the emotional bomb, her best friend Christine (Maya Rudolph as that BFF who says all things unedited and is SO VERY Ride or Die) helps to pull her (and the audience) out of the dark depths with the best drunk racquetball sideline ever. The chemistry between McCarthy and Rudolph feels like two naturals riffing off with each other. Their interchanges throughout the film had me snort-laughing throughout.
Deanna decides that since she did not graduate with her degree due to motherhood and Dan, it’s an opportunity to finish and pursue her dream of being an archaeologist. Dee registers and lets her daughter know of the huge changes happening. Dee can come off as a Pollyanna to a degree, but it is her can do, positive attitude that eventually helps her ride out the rollercoaster for her senior year.
Once she is entrenched in the school year, her daughter’s friends bring her into their circle and forces her to life the college life instead of only studying all the time. She meets the very handsome Jack ( Luke Benward) a much younger man, teaching him the finer arts of canoodling of a more experienced kind.
The film is cleverly written and produced by McCarthy and Ben Falcone (her husband) at the helm directing this movie. Melissa, is brilliant at giving us wonderfully unexpected physical comedy with fantastic comic timing. The cast, have given us an enjoyable movie that is a heartily, welcomed respite.
Life of the Party is a fun Girls Night Out.
Leigh J (71 KP) rated The Lost Boys (1987) in Movies
Nov 8, 2019
Best Movie Ever
Contains spoilers, click to show
Michael and Sam are Brothers who are moving, with their Mom Lucy, to Santa Carla following a Divorce. Santa Carla just happens to be the murder capital of the world. When they get to Santa Carla, they are met with an eccentric Grandpa and, shock horror!, no TV! Faced with the absolute atrocity that is no MTV, they decide to explore the nightlife of their new town and upon doing this, meet the beautiful and mysterious Star. Michael is instantly besotted and chases after her, leaving Sam at a local Comic Shop... and at the mercy of an intense duo called the Frog Brothers, who give Sam a comic called "Vampires Everywhere" and allude to the fact that he might want to read it to survive which Sam laughs off.
Upon chasing Star, Michael quickly finds out that she is part of a Gang of enigmatic young guys, their leader being the antagonistic David. Desperate to get closer to Star and gain some new friends, Michael goes along to their lair and is coaxed into drinking some "Wine" by the young men. Soon enough, Michael begins changing and finding out more about who David, Star and the gang really are... and who he really is now. Sam is also noticing changes in Michael, and suspects that Lucy's new flame, Max, is also involved with what is happening to Michael. But, after a terrifying reveal and a body count happening at a Bonfire, are Sam and Michael too late to save themselves? Does Max really have a tie to these mysterious Boys? Could they all hold the key as to why Santa Carla is the murder capital of the world?
I remember watching The Lost Boys as a kid and falling head over heels in love with everything about it; the way it looks, the music, The Lost Boys themselves (who became my style icons from then on!), the epic story... everything! It's such a great Movie, mixing Horror and Comedy perfectly and throwing in the most chaotic and horrific Vampire reveal I've ever seen (favourite scene, of course!). It's quite simply a joy to watch... I'm on my 500th watch already! LOVE it!
Upon chasing Star, Michael quickly finds out that she is part of a Gang of enigmatic young guys, their leader being the antagonistic David. Desperate to get closer to Star and gain some new friends, Michael goes along to their lair and is coaxed into drinking some "Wine" by the young men. Soon enough, Michael begins changing and finding out more about who David, Star and the gang really are... and who he really is now. Sam is also noticing changes in Michael, and suspects that Lucy's new flame, Max, is also involved with what is happening to Michael. But, after a terrifying reveal and a body count happening at a Bonfire, are Sam and Michael too late to save themselves? Does Max really have a tie to these mysterious Boys? Could they all hold the key as to why Santa Carla is the murder capital of the world?
I remember watching The Lost Boys as a kid and falling head over heels in love with everything about it; the way it looks, the music, The Lost Boys themselves (who became my style icons from then on!), the epic story... everything! It's such a great Movie, mixing Horror and Comedy perfectly and throwing in the most chaotic and horrific Vampire reveal I've ever seen (favourite scene, of course!). It's quite simply a joy to watch... I'm on my 500th watch already! LOVE it!
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Marriage Story (2019) in Movies
Dec 18, 2019
Marriage Story is the kind of film that I just know is going to stick with me for some time. It's handling of it's subject matter feels deeply human and heart wrenching, but still manages to be just about light hearted enough to not plunge into a bleak drama.
The two leads here are fantastic. I've grown to really enjoy Scarlett Johansson over the years and here, she comes across as relatable and real.
Adam Driver is quickly becoming a favourite if mine also. Everything I see him in, he just seems to give it his all, and here is no different.
Both characters are decent people, who have their flaws like all of us, but they both want to keep their child happy, and they both want each other to suffer as little as possible.
I ended up liking both of them so much, that I found it hard to watch as lawyers get involved, and the situation spirals somewhat.
The much talked about argument scene between the two hit me hard - at the time of writing, I'm going through a divorce myself - and some of the dialogue sounded too familiar.
I found the screenplay to be top notch throughout. I was engaged and didn't feel lost or bored for the entire 2+ hour runtime. This a combination of Noah Baumbach's talent, and the above-mentioned fantastic cast. The two leads are fleshed out by a handful of veterans such as Laura Dern, Alan Alda, and Ray Liotta. It's a pretty stellar line up.
The narrative is straightforward, and as such, gives the characters and dialogue room to breathe. The emotional impact is increased tenfold, with a beautiful music score by the legendary Randy Newman. I think it's probably the best music score I've heard this year.
Due to personal circumstance, I was hesitant to watch Marriage Story, but I'm so glad that I did. It's very moving and relatable. Even though things can get tough, and people you love get hurt, life still goes on, and we are strong enough to get through trials like this. It's a message that Marriage Story wears proudly.
The two leads here are fantastic. I've grown to really enjoy Scarlett Johansson over the years and here, she comes across as relatable and real.
Adam Driver is quickly becoming a favourite if mine also. Everything I see him in, he just seems to give it his all, and here is no different.
Both characters are decent people, who have their flaws like all of us, but they both want to keep their child happy, and they both want each other to suffer as little as possible.
I ended up liking both of them so much, that I found it hard to watch as lawyers get involved, and the situation spirals somewhat.
The much talked about argument scene between the two hit me hard - at the time of writing, I'm going through a divorce myself - and some of the dialogue sounded too familiar.
I found the screenplay to be top notch throughout. I was engaged and didn't feel lost or bored for the entire 2+ hour runtime. This a combination of Noah Baumbach's talent, and the above-mentioned fantastic cast. The two leads are fleshed out by a handful of veterans such as Laura Dern, Alan Alda, and Ray Liotta. It's a pretty stellar line up.
The narrative is straightforward, and as such, gives the characters and dialogue room to breathe. The emotional impact is increased tenfold, with a beautiful music score by the legendary Randy Newman. I think it's probably the best music score I've heard this year.
Due to personal circumstance, I was hesitant to watch Marriage Story, but I'm so glad that I did. It's very moving and relatable. Even though things can get tough, and people you love get hurt, life still goes on, and we are strong enough to get through trials like this. It's a message that Marriage Story wears proudly.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated San Andreas (2015) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
The new Warner Brothers movie San Andreas stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Chief Ray Gaines, Carla Gugino as Emma Gaines, Alexandra Daddario as their daughter Blake Gaines, Paul Giamatti as scientist Lawrence, Ioan Gruffudd as Daniel (Emma’s new love interest, as she & Chief Gaines are about to finalize their divorce), and Archie Panjabi as Serena, a reporter.
The movie opens with a gut-wrenching helicopter rescue lead by Chief Gaines where he rescues a girl from a car that has careened off the edge of a cliff and is hanging precariously over a river. He manages to sweep her out of the car just barely before the car crashes the rest of the way down the cliff which would have surely killed her.
In my opinion, the movie never stops delivering gut wrenching, edge of your set moments. I was holding my breath and on edge thru the entirety of the film.
This is definitely a movie that you absolutely do NOT want to wait and see at home, it NEEDS ‘the big screen’. I think it probably is also better in 3D as well, I think the 3D adds to the special effects and helps pull you into the movie.
I was able to connect to the characters and while some of the situations were really really far fetched (Gaines rescuing Emma off the top of a collapsing building in a rescue helicopter as it literally crumbled away beneath her), the dedication that his character showed in trying to get her to safety, really made the story work for me.
There were moments of cute comedy in the film, mostly in the interactions between Blake Gaines and the brothers Ben and Ollie (Hugo Johnstone-Burt and Art Parkinson) that helped break up some of the tension imposed by the continuous onslaught of the disasters caused by the biggest earthquakes ever recorded.
If you like action / disaster movies, and a decent story, you will like this film.
Rated PG-13, I wouldn’t bring young children, but I would bring older kids, aged 13 and up, as the rating suggests.
I would give this movie 4 out of 5 stars for a good story and edge of your seat action throughout.
The movie opens with a gut-wrenching helicopter rescue lead by Chief Gaines where he rescues a girl from a car that has careened off the edge of a cliff and is hanging precariously over a river. He manages to sweep her out of the car just barely before the car crashes the rest of the way down the cliff which would have surely killed her.
In my opinion, the movie never stops delivering gut wrenching, edge of your set moments. I was holding my breath and on edge thru the entirety of the film.
This is definitely a movie that you absolutely do NOT want to wait and see at home, it NEEDS ‘the big screen’. I think it probably is also better in 3D as well, I think the 3D adds to the special effects and helps pull you into the movie.
I was able to connect to the characters and while some of the situations were really really far fetched (Gaines rescuing Emma off the top of a collapsing building in a rescue helicopter as it literally crumbled away beneath her), the dedication that his character showed in trying to get her to safety, really made the story work for me.
There were moments of cute comedy in the film, mostly in the interactions between Blake Gaines and the brothers Ben and Ollie (Hugo Johnstone-Burt and Art Parkinson) that helped break up some of the tension imposed by the continuous onslaught of the disasters caused by the biggest earthquakes ever recorded.
If you like action / disaster movies, and a decent story, you will like this film.
Rated PG-13, I wouldn’t bring young children, but I would bring older kids, aged 13 and up, as the rating suggests.
I would give this movie 4 out of 5 stars for a good story and edge of your seat action throughout.
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