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Reviews
Into the Ashes (2019)
Decent Movie - Moody Without The Chance of Substance
This movie has a lot of great components working for it - actors, music, premise,etc; but it fails to utilize them to its fullest potential. Frank Grillo is menacing in the scenes that he's in and Robert Taylor is a great actor but severely underused in his role. There are pocket windows of some really great dialogue but they are a few and far between. The only thing that holds the movie is the music and the intensity that Luke Grimes's performance delivers. The plot is a recycled plot that we've seen time and time again. Had they explored more with Luke Grimes and Frank Grillo's characters' past, improved the dialogue, and fleshed out Robert Taylor's character, then it would of been a really good movie. Also, the ending just made it feel like they gave up on the movie. No substance and all fillers.
6 Underground (2019)
All Filler. All Fluff, and No Substance.
Watched this movie or attempted to, but about an hour in, I was jarred and left disappointed with how much of a hot mess this movie is. The 1st 30 mins of this movie was good especially the chemistry between Reynolds and Franco but that was short lived when Franco's character exited. You have a really talented group of actors in this picture and Corey Hawkins, whose acting is left with mediocrity, and I'm left scratching my heading - asking how did it go so bad. Then I remember that Michael Bay directed this movie. This movie had ingredients of a really fun, fast paced, and character driven movie but all we're left with is overdramatic explosions, car chases, and head scratching deaths. The movie stops and restarts itself with too many interludes of characters' backstory that just become unnecessary word vomit. This is probably the worst Ryan Reynolds movie since Green Lantern and Michael Bay's worst movie since Transformers 2. Again, it's extremely disappointing because this movie had all the makings of a really great movie - story concept, actors, and locations but was poorly executed by a has been director and third rate editing team. When will Bay learn that more is less and that characters are more if you invest 100 percent into them.
Republic of Doyle (2010)
A Hidden Gem
I found this lovely gem of a show on Netflix and I must a it's truly excellent! With such a well-balanced, vibrant and stellar cast, I can't figure out why I didn't come across this show sooner.
Allan Hawco does such an amazing job with his portrayal of ex-cop turned private investigator who has an extraordinary knack for solving cases but has more growing up to do when it comes to women. Also, his chemistry with Krystin Pellerin is natural and electric.
This series is loaded with solid plots, great humor, and excellent writing. It's quite frankly a lot better than most American mystery procedural shows that are currently still airing for some reason. If you're looking to binge watch a hidden gem on Netflix then this Canadian produced crime show is definitely worth the time as well as the laughs.
P.S. Look for a few amazing guest star appearances throughout the series run.
When We First Met (2018)
A fresh take a "Do Over" Movie
Just finished this film today and I must say that this movie threw me for a loop because about mid way through the film, I thought I had the whole plot figured out and then the plot twist happens towards the end of the second act. This film provides a fresh take on the "Do Over" genre which kept me watching. There are a few minor flaws with the film that truly keep it from being a great movie. Adam Devine's character plays the lovable second fiddle friend very well but his comedic chops are somewhat watered down in this film, although he does produce a few minor laughs here and there. Daddario's character offers nothing we haven't seen in a RomCom as the object of Devine's affections. Her character is very generic. It just seems like everyone's character is pretty generic with the exception of Shelley Hennig's character who initially plays the "Bitchy" best friend to Daddario's character, turns out to be used effectively as nice under the radar plot device which always viewers to see two different sides of Hennig's character. Overall, When We First Met is a fun, watchable movie for viewers, with a great plot twist and some added funny humor but it's not a movie that you'll remember for the ages.