Moonstreams Reviews

Strays (2023)

Offensive; tasteless; missed opportunity

[2/10 · 3 September 2023]

I wanted to like this movie. I'm a dog lover and brought my friends to see it. From the beginning, the language of non-stop f-bombs and m-f's was a distraction. There's scenes and references to masturbation, and dog poop galore. I was embarrassed much of the time, instead of being entertained. What's weird is that it's R-rated. The entire movie seems to be aimed at an adolescent audience - who else appreciates the humor in dogs cursing, butt-smelling, and performing other crude acts, for over an hour? Because it is completely "dubbed" (of course), the real live dogs could be saying anything. To save this movie, I recommend "redubbing" it with G or PG-13 appropriate language, and market it to the kids. As it is now, it's a dirty joke that goes on way too long.

And Just Like That... (2021– )

Beyond bad

[2/10 · 8 July 2023]

Everything is wrong here. Viewers will go from blushing at the near pornographic poses in the sex scenes, to cringing at the dumbed-down dialog throughout all the episodes. There's an uncomfortable mission to demonstrate diversity, equity and inclusiveness in every scene. All the original ladies are now shown to be silly and self-absorbed. The men are mostly reduced to boy toys. Wise are the actors who avoided joining this mess. One star for the guest stars sprinkled in occasionally. One star for the fashions that are always a part of the show. 2 stars overall is actually generous. Most will be disappointed, as am I.

The Black Room (1935)

Karloff x 2 = genius

[9/10 · 29 April 2023]

This was my introduction to the genius of Boris Karloff. I first saw it screened on a local, late Friday night, tv horror program. It was already over 25 years old by then. You know, it was the kind of show kids stayed up til midnight to watch and often fell asleep soon after it started. This one was no snoozer. The leading lady and the other characters are all very good, but it's Boris Karloff who brings out the sweetness and good and the mean and nasty in his character(s). I saw it 2 or 3 times in a year on that late-night Shock Theater. Then it just disappeared. If you've not seen it grab some popcorn, turn off the phones, kick back and enjoy this one.

Ticket to Paradise (2022)

Came for the laughs; stayed for the view.

[6/10 · 24 April 2023]

The setting is beautiful, and filled with Hawaiian twinkling, turquoise waters; sculpted cliffs; leaping porpoises; and sunny beaches. The young couple's budding romance in this island paradise feels natural, and both the actors are charming. The plot and most of the characters are fairly familiar. Clooney and Roberts go through the predictable divorced-couple, witty insults, calamities, and conspiracies. But, they come across as old friends, not old lovers. There are no belly laughs and no sentimental tears. There's no nasty villain nor car chases - No exploding special effects. This movie feels like those black & white classic battles of the sexes. It may make you smile a little and that setting will definitely just keep drawing you in.

The Last Thing He Told Me (2023– )

Slow burn suspense.

[7/10 · 23 April 2023]

I'm sure Jennifer Garner is why most of us tuned into this series. She's always a joy to watch. It's not the first time she's carried most of a movie herself. Her character reacted to most situations as a typical wife and step-mom could have reacted. The setting throughout was really beautiful -mostly California. Strangely, I kept having "deja vu" moments where I was reminded of past fictional disappearing husbands. Lifetime probably has a month of them. The teenage step-daughter was belligerent and sassy - and not in a cute way. This quickly grew very annoying but eventually she grew out of it. The rest of the cast - hubby; police; friends; and bad guys; were all good. The story did crawl along, though. The pace was really too slow to maintain suspense. The story possibly could have been told in one of two fewer episodes. Jennifer Garner fans will be okay with it.

King Richard (2021)

Steady with no surprises.

[6/10 · 19 June 2022]

The girls' story was interesting. I wanted more about them and what they were feeling - the wife, too. The dad had a plan and pretty much was sticking to it. I really didn't learn much more than that about him. I didn't care for the music. Sometimes it felt like I was watching a soap opera where the music tells me what I need to be feeling during the scenes.

Blue Night (2018)

Very, very, very, slow.

[3/10 · 25 April 2021]

This is probably the agonizingly slow way one might accept a serious illness diagnosis. It's like watching and aching in dark grief with someone in the depths of sadness and fear. The jagged music grated on my nerves throughout the scenes as SJP's character zigzagged about NYC. The ending credits show up surprisingly out of nowhere and are accompanied by more strange and painful music. It is most accurately described as more dread than sad. Yes, relentless dread. That's it.

Lady Beware (1987)

Lane sells it. Timeless story. Loved it.

[9/10 · 3 March 2019]

I find this movie every few years and watch it again. Something about it is haunting. Diane Lane makes the whole movie. Her New York loft is a crucial piece of the plot - almost another character. The males characters are fine but she's divine.

The Bad Seed (2018 TV Movie)

Sorry, not sorry. I liked it.

[7/10 · 23 September 2018]

I remember staying up for the late, late show as a kid to watch the original "Bad Seed" enough times to memorize a lot of the dialog. Later, in high school, I acted out a Bad Seed scene for Drama class. Rob Lowe's updated version gave me the same creepy dread whenever Emma came on the scene that I felt when little Rhoda emerged in the original version. The color is an improvement over black and white, and the setting is beautiful. This version had enough changes to keep thriller fans interested. I recommend it, whether you like the original version or not.