Holy shit….what a fucking ending.

Let me be clear and say that before the last 15 minutes, I wouldn’t’ve considered this one of my favorite movies. But after that twist, it is 100% in my Top 10.

The way that the film implements the seven deadly sins and connects it to the themes of the movie is ingenious. The killer reveal caught me off guard, and the relationship between David and William is a great one, with Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman knocking it out of the park.

I will admit that I at least was aware of the “What’s in the box?!” scene before watching, but it’s actually so much better when you’re in the dark about everything else. Including what’s actually IN the box, which caught me completely off guard.

This movie is a 9/10, easily. The only thing dragging it down is a few pacing issues in the early scenes.

Carry-On is a new Netflix thriller set at Christmas time that sees a TSA agent, Ethan Kopek, forced to allow a dangerous suitcase through security by a mysterious and dangerous Traveler. With the clock ticking before the suitcase gets on the plane and with the Traveler watching and directing his every move, Ethan is forced to find a way to save the lives of the passengers before Christmas. Between Carry-On and Rebel Ridge, Netflix has found success with action thrillers this year, thanks to charismatic leads and compelling antagonists.

Carry-On succeeds in large part because of Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman. I was a big fan of their dynamic, where Bateman, thanks to his crew and skills, is able to puppet Egerton into his bidding. I always appreciate it when a villain is just evil. There’s no ulterior motive, there’s no tragic backstory, and no reason for us to feel any sympathy towards him. Bateman plays a character like this incredibly well, thanks to his ability to deadpan lines that should carry more weight, but he dials it up when he needs to.

Egerton is phenomenal at showing his emotions and you can feel his fear and guilt on the screen as each attempt to foil the Traveler fails and the suitcase gets closer to its destination. It’s great to foil him with Bateman because you immediately sympathize with him. He’s a good person who’s at the wrong place at the wrong time, but he’s also the only person capable of saving the day.

While the movie doesn’t really deviate from a cookie-cutter story, I found it was able to generate enough tension to stay engaging. There are elements of the story that really worked for me, like some twists with who’s involved and the Traveler’s motives. But other things were a bit too out of place for me. I felt like Danielle Deadwyler’s character did not fit this movie well, specifically in a later action sequence she had with Logan-Marshall Green. Part of me wonders if the movie needed to have certain elements even to be made, but having an FBI subplot took me out of this intimate, thrilling experience.

The action in this movie is good, nothing too spectacular, but that’s ok with me. This movie is at its best when it’s just the Traveler instructing Ethan and Ethan trying and failing to outsmart him, and the movie knows it.

...

Read the full review and see our thoughts here: https://firstpicturehouse.com/rapid-review-carry-on-2024/

Originally posted here: https://short-and-sweet-movie-reviews.blogspot.com/2024/12/mary-2024-movie-review.html

The Netflix biblical epic "Mary" is a retelling of the story of Mary and Joseph and the birth of Jesus. It's based on The Gospel of James or Protoevangelium of James, an apocryphal or non-canonical gospel, so don't be surprised if many of the events and characters portrayed on screen diverge from the familiar Bible teachings. It's an odd choice that is bound to irritate religious conservatives who will probably not be able to watch this one all the way through. However, that's not even the movie's worst offense.

Billed by the streamer as a "timeless coming-of-age story", it feels more like a comic bok origin story, with hilariously over-the-top scenes, like a schlocky showdown between Lucifer and the angel Gabriel, which veer on self-parody. It's never a good sign when it feels like you're watching an episode of "Supernatural". For those of you out there who think the Bible narrative is nonsensical, Netflix seemed determined to one-up it with mind-boggling plot developments, cartoonish characters and action sequences that feel completely out of place.

It's overblown, full of its own importance, and completely oblivious to how unintentionally funny it gets when it sacrifices depth in favor of faux-epicness. The acting is flat and uninspiring. Relative newcomer Noa Cohen as Mary has little to offer other than wide-eyed numbness and a gaping void of emotion. She's clearly out of her depth, but I suppose it's hard to blame the actors when the writing and dialogue are horrendous and the characters so hollow. It's not even an exaggeration, Timothy Michael Hayes' script has some of the worst lines of dialogue I've heard in a long time.

Casting Anthony Hopkins as the tyrannical King Herod is possibly the only thing this movie did right. The actor is a miracle of God, and the only entertaining thing about this 100-minute ordeal. I can't say he gives the movie a redeeming quality, because he's not really that much in it, but I will say you will spend most of this movie's running time wishing it had more King Herod and less Mary.

On a technical level, everything about this so-called Biblical epic screams "made for streaming". The cinematography and art direction are generically competent, but still underwhelming. The costumes are adequate for a period piece, apart from some headwear designs that feel more at home in Denis Villeneuve's "Dune". You'll know them when you see them. The original score by Timothy Williams swells with orchestral aplomb throughout, but it's undermined by the lack of a memorable main theme and by the movie's overall lack of emotional depth.

To my surprise, the film is directed by D.J. Caruso, who is best known for helming "The Salton Sea", "Taking Lives", "Disturbia" and "Eagle Eye". I've always thought of him as a competent director, capable of turning drivel into something watchable or at the very least mildly entertaining. That's not the case with "Mary", which I'm sad to say is the worst film I've watched in 2024. Don't even bother with this one. Just watch "The Nativity Story" or, better yet, the "Jesus of Nazareth" miniseries.

Just got done watching it again after a while and man I love it so much. It's a fantastic story alone, but mixed with that extra Fulci magic to make it an all around horror experience from the get go. The very beginning with the lightning and thunder had me reeled in like a fish. Speaking of animals.. that spider scene is insane!! The character of Jill was played so perfectly I thought and the two characters at the end, those shots with that incredible atmosphere Fulci creates to wrap everything up, the music is beautiful to me honestly. I could go on and on but I'm interested to hear what your opinions are

Wow. What a gem. I don't know how I never got around to it, but it really is a well-done flick.

I didn't realize (obviously) that the angel part didn't come in until the tail-end. But, the whole movie is fantastic. It's sad, wholesome, sad again, wholesome again, depressing, existential, then insanely wholesome at the end. My heart swelled at the end, and it left me thinking about it.

Happy Holidays, y'all.

It's 10:59 pm in LA and at 12 am I will watch the second season of the much awaited Squid Game and I will keep reviewing each episode in the comments. Do watch out for them!

( mr-goa )

...it was pretty wonderful. (Sadly, had to watch it in soap opera 59.94 since the TV was set up that way and the kids hated it at 23.98.)

As a Gen-X, that movie always seemed like a silly kids movie, the Millinneal equivalent of "Escape to Witch Mountain" or "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" for us. By the time it came out I was in the middle of college and that wasn't really on our radar as college kids. We were going out seeing Wild at Heart, Goodfellas, Reversal of Fortune, Miller's Crossing, The Handmaid's Tale, Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, King of New York, Metropolitan, Jesus of Montreal, and Come See the Paradise. It was a great year in film.

I had to look up how old the main actor was, he was just 10! I always thought it was Haley Joel Osment, but it was Kieran Culkin's brother, Macaulay. Kieran's new movie A Real Pain is amazing. Just incredible.

That movie relies so heavily on young Macaulay. They likely couldn't shoot more than four or five hours a day with him due to child labor laws. He probably had to nail a lot of performances in a short time, and he was really great. It's crazy to think of a ten-year-old having to anchor a whole movie. If his character didn't work, then the mom's concert wouldn't matter, things like that.

My kids inform me that Macaulay was a bigger star once, but now Kieran is. And they don't know who Haley Joel Osment is, so now I feel double-stupid. But I was pretty impressed by Home Alone and glad I finally saw it after all this time!

Coming in blind.

Dune has been a whisper throughout most of my life, the books, the film adaptation from the 90s or early 2000s, the games...

the mention of the word 'spice' and desert landscapes.

No clue what to expect but it's enjoyable so far. Bought the movie following years of it being the only movie everyone I spoke to agreeing on being an instant classic.

No doubt the original book is better, many here will point to the lore as being where it holds up.

For me personally, I finally need a good movie after avoiding them for years.

Originally posted here here: https://short-and-sweet-movie-reviews.blogspot.com/2024/12/the-best-christmas-pageant-ever-2024-movie-review.html

Based on the 1972 children's novel "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" by Barbara Robinson, the 2024 holiday dramedy of the same name tells the story of a community who is about to discover the true meaning of Christmas with the help of six problem children, "the worst kids in the history of the world", who end up playing the lead roles in the town's traditional nativity pageant.

The film is directed by Dallas Jenkins, best known for helming the Biblical miniseries "The Chosen", and its shaped like your usual faith-based movie, in that it's a fairly dull viewing that allocates way too much time setting up scenes that serve as a crash course on the basics of Christianity. It doesn't feel like it's necessarily trying to convert the unfaithful, but it too often functions like a Sunday school session.

Also, don't go in expecting a comedy. It has its fair share of humorous material and its voice over narration takes great inspiration from "A Christmas Story", but I was disappointed by how rigidly and lifeless it's all presented. Add to that some flat and muted cinematography and the result has a made-for-TV dryness. Aside from that, its underlying message of redemption ends up being more poignant than I expected, wrapping it all up with a strong emotional payoff. It's also a nice tribute to the transformative power of art.

The cast gets the job done efficiently enough, and the kids are fine, but the under-appreciated Judy Greer steals the show, playing a mother who takes on the challenge of directing the treasured pageant. The stakes are high and the margin for error near zero, but she's unwavering in her determination to see it all through, and throughout all the chaos never gives up on the six troublemakers that the entire town wants to see kicked off the play. That's pretty much what true Christmas spirit is all about.

In the end, "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" is a sincere family-friendly holiday movie with a genuine heart, that is unfortunately very clumsily executed. It's sometimes a slog to get through, so I don't quite think it will become a Christmas classic anytime soon, but it's definitely a notch above the usual holiday drivel, and could be worth a try, even if you're not fond of faith-based flicks.

Subverted plot/message: go gays! Fuck Russia.

A movie has not gotten under my skin like this in a long time. The whole movie is expertly shot and put together as Kubrick was known to do. The ceremony scene is so haunting and beautiful at the same time. I think Sydney Pollack is underrated in it, I really liked how he played his character. This movie also makes me miss when Tom Cruise would challenge himself and not just play action/spy man.

Originally posted here: https://short-and-sweet-movie-reviews.blogspot.com/2024/12/genie-2023-movie-review.html

The 2023 Christmas movie "Genie" is a a remake of a 1991 British television film directed by Sam Boyd and written by Richard Curtis. Both return to helm and pen the updated story of a genie (Melissa McCarthy) who enters the life of Bernard Bottle (Paapa Essiedu), a stressed-out workaholic who is on the verge of losing everything that matters in life, his family, just in time for Christmas.

Apart from the twist of adding "One Thousand and One Nights" into the Christmas mix, the film is still very much restricted by the confines of the overused and overabused holiday genre. It features the same tired tropes and cloying sentimentality that we've experienced countless times in Christmas movies. It seems to want to say something important about the meaningful things in one's life, but the script and characters are too bland and uninspiring to deliver that message in an effective manner. It's heavy on platitudes and light on Christmas charm.

Most of the cast is unfortunately very forgettable. Paapa Essiedu plays a dull protagonist, making me wonder how this movie would have played out with someone like Eddie Murphy involved. The only bright spot in this otherwise dreary affair is Melissa McCarthy, who is pitch perfect in every scene. I'm always surprised by how well her comedic timing works, even when she doesn't have a great partner to work off of, and how she can squeeze some comedy from the dumbest dialogue imaginable. While she's basically playing herself at this point, I do appreciate her talent for comedy. Alan Cumming, who starred in the original film as Bernard, makes a brief, but funny appearance as Bernard's nasty boss, while Luis Guzmán is a lot of fun as a hard-boiled police detective.

It's hard to believe the script is written by Richard Curtis, the same man who also wrote "Four Weddings and a Funeral", "Notting Hill" and "About Time". Yeah, "Love Actually" too, but the less said about that one, the better. I never watched the original, which was titled "Bernard and the Genie", but I have a feeling it's probably better than this watered down streaming fodder. "Genie" is no Christmas classic. It's light on laughs and gratingly flat, but not really offensively bad, either. It's just another generic Christmas movie that doesn't have what it takes to stand out among the flood of Hallmark/Netflix-style holiday offerings.

I can't see how or why this movie was ever rated X...there was barely any nudity...and as far as being on the top 100 movies if all time?...no. It's just not very good

I love docos but I intentionally avoid anything with child victims because it bothers me roo much.

This had a slow reveal and sneaked through my defences. I regret watching it.

I need to know WHY. I have questions keeping me up at night.

1) Why the fuck did Jill Dudley pimp her innocent boys out to upper class pedos?

Was it for the money stashes found in the house? Or Was it for sexual kicks?

2) Were the parties otherwise normal or were they specifically for attracting pedos.

3) the horrific photograph was carefully locked away. Was that the brochure used to entice the pedos.

4) the dad must have known something???

This documentary has disturbed me greatly. I wish I never saw it and I wish those boys were never passed around by there mother.

Sickening and infuriating