guineverescott Reviews

The Idea of You (2024)

Not a rom-com

[2/10 · 22 May 2024]

What is happening here? This movie is a product of the nutso world we live in. Reviewers reveling in the exposure of the hypocrisy of older women not being able to date younger men while older men are never criticized for being with younger women. In a world full of hypocrisy, this one is hardly even noteworthy. I consider men that persue much younger women to be pigs, and the same rule applies to women. And why do we always make exceptions for famous or wealthy people? Ridiculous. This movie is depressing. There a few cutesy scenes that don't fit but are mildly amusing, but overall this movie left me feeling pretty lousy.

The Beekeeper (2024)

Could have been better

[5/10 · 21 April 2024]

Scamming call centers, targeting innocents and bleeding them dry. Seriously, they all should be eliminated ie: terminated. Statham is his usual bad a$$ self, lots of action, justified homicide and general bad guy hunting. The issue is the character Verona, as mentioned by someone else. At first she is basic every day tough girl cop but all of this is so personal to her and her behavior makes no sense. She continually makes the choice of duty over good, when good was the obvious right choice. She is questioned why she continually tries to stop the hero and she's all "duty". Meh, what she is is arrogant and narrow minded...and dumb. And the revelation of how presidents and their children obtain campaign funds...accurate. Poor USA.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023)

It was good

[8/10 · 14 January 2024]

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. When the whole Hunger games series started I paid little attention, I think I've only watched the first installment in it's entirety, just bits and pieces of the other two but I was interested in seeing how Snow becomes what he is. Strong performances from Tom Blyth and Viola Davis. There is too little Peter Dinklage to have an opinion of his performance. Couple of standouts in other characters whose names I don't recall. The stink bomb that sucks in this movie is Rachel Zegler. Yes she was born with a beautiful singing voice (lucky) but she's not much of an actor. At best she is very paint by numbers with zero nuance or charisma. She pretty enough and can sing but I bet had they looked a little harder, they could have cast someone much, much better. Her acting is just so bland and boring. Overall good movie though...now I have to actually watch the whole series.

Renfield (2023)

Not bad

[7/10 · 13 January 2024]

Love Nicholas Hoult, who doesn't? I normally don't like Akwafina, she usually plays such over the top characters that are just not enjoyable. She is very good in this movie, very enjoyable and a convincing performance, well done. Supporting cast is above average and they do their jobs well. The loser in this "could have been really good" movie is Nicholas Cage. What the af is this guy doing? He sure doesn't look like a creature that doesn't age, not by a long shot. Even when he is at 100% capacity he just can't do roles like these anymore. Heck, I thought he was too old when he played Ghost Rider...and now he's an ageless vampire? Absolutely ridiculous. Age appropriate roles. Look at Morgan Freeman, still making movies playing age appropriate roles.....whatever. The movie is campy and entertaining but would have been better without Cage.

Rose Red (2002)

I forgot about this one

[8/10 · 6 December 2023]

As kitschy as it is, this is a very good movie. I forget Melanie Linskey was ever so young. And the actor that plays Emory, he popped up in all sorts of productions after this mini about 30 lbs lighter. And a super young Jimmie Simpson, hardly recognized him. This is a fun movie, oddly I never read the book as I have read most of SK work. Is there even a book, I don't know. Wonderful cast, interesting story. I did see something relating to Ellen Rimbauer on Hulu so maybe it's based on a true story. Light gore, jump scares, a lot of chaos. I wish we could have seen more of the house inside but most of the shots are so tight that the viewer misses a lot. So happy Hulu has this now, I wasn't able to find it anywhere for the longest time. Oldish movie but very enjoyable.

Wilderness (2023– )

It's entertaining

[8/10 · 16 September 2023]

I was recommended this show by a loved one, wasn't even on my radar. I watched it over three days and I enjoyed it. Some reviewers are saying it was dull or slow and I disagree, it is a slow burn for sure, but not dull. The female lead was miscast imho, I think someone less "cute" would be better. The casting is an improvement from putting supermodels in this role, but still not very believable. An average girl was what they needed to sell this. And the casting for the boss female was horrific, terrible actor. Otherwise, this is good show. It unfortunately also highlights some very real flaws in the US judicial system that Americans will recognize. It's a yes from me.

Silo (2023– )

Great start, then it fails

[4/10 · 26 July 2023]

It started out so great, Rashida Jones is a treat in episode one. The rest of the cast is mostly okay. Except for the guy playing Sims. That guy is terrible. Looks like someone lost a bet and has to include him and he is a terrible actor. His stilted and seeming untrained delivery yanks the viewer out if the scene every time. And then there's Ferguson, what happened to her accent? Why does everyone else sound American and she sounds like the chef from the muppets at times. Weird and confusing. And slow, this show is slow as molasses in January. I went to the oh so (not) reliable wiki page just to read a plot synopsis to see if I should persevere.... I should not. Only die hard book fans should if they enjoy suffering.

Rain Dogs (2023– )

Great production, garbage story

[6/10 · 22 May 2023]

What were they thinking? Is this supposed to be an underdog Story or just the depressing pile of poo it is. The two main characters are unlikable twits with a capital T. Over the course of two years neither one of them grows at all, they just continue to spiral down while being in complete denial regarding their complicity in their situations. All of the woe is me crap is ridiculous pandering to a type of individual that refuses to take responsibility for their lives. And some stellar terrible parenting is exhibited here. In reality, Iris would have been better off in foster scare than with her thuggish mother and her stunted friend. So gross. It was well acted, I believed every bit of it.

Fatal Attraction (2023– )

Missing the point

[7/10 · 7 May 2023]

Many of the reviewers are correct in saying that the casting is off. In general I like Joshua Jackson, Lizzy Caplan and Amanda Peet...just not together. Joshua Jackson is dumpy and barely recognizable as Dan Gallagher, Lizzy is very attractive usually but somehow they manage to make her dumpy too and Amanda Peet looks like a warmed over corpse. Understandably this creates zero chemistry. Bland and boring. The different viewpoints are interesting, turns out that Alex us evening nuttier than as played by Glen Close. If they were trying to garner sympathy for the Alex character they are failing. The power dynamic between Dan and Alex is all wrong, they have rewritten it to put Alex in a much weaker position. Trying to make her more sympathetic, albeit unsuccessfully. The best change is the character Mike, the most entertaining person in the whole shebang. This brings us to the worst character, Ellen Gallagher. Seriously, who cares about her POV. Or her therapists. She's barely a prop in the event story so why is so much time wasted on her whining?

Edited to up the rating..if you're still on the fence, just watch it. I just finished the first season and holy pajamas what a ride. Even Ellen becomes relevant when she stops whining, give it a chance. I wish this were a stand alone tbh, it would have fared much better if people had not compared it to the original.

The Secret of Karma (2020)

So much potential

[6/10 · 8 April 2023]

This movie is odd. You would think that Brendan Fraser is a leading character and he is not. The man that plays the primary character is absent from the cover, and an actor I've never seen before. I'm not saying that he is bad just not known to me. The dialogue is weird and stunted, like terrible voice over. The plot is hard enough to understand without the handicap of bad production so I don't understand what happened here. It's like the producers were trying to make it suck, or make reincarnation and Karma a joke, or cast doubt on the existence of God. They achieved the hokey factor for sure. I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone that hasn't read extensively about NDE'S, it won't make a speck of sense.

Nope (2022)

Just no

[2/10 · 7 April 2023]

In a perfect word, actors like Daniel Kaluuya would only appear in movies worthy of his talent. This slop is so far below his pay grade it's revolting. Is it because of the success of Get Out? Does he owe Jordan Peele or something? He must as there is no other explanation. For all I know , all of the actors in this steaming pile of crap are too good. A trained pack of lemurs would be too good. Now that I think about it, the two stars are too generous. This is a one half star effort at most. I only gave one more star because of Kaluuya. Anyway, there are better alien movies out there, don't pick this one.

American Horror Story: Something's Coming (2022) Season 11, Episode 1

Someone lost sight

[5/10 · 22 March 2023]

This season of AHS is very far removed from the original premise. I was avoiding it after the dismal Double Feature season. This series started out as things that are universally scary to most people as in ghosts, aliens and generally unlikely events. This season focuses on the beginnings of the AIDS epidemic and the seedy underbelly of NYC gay culture. From some of the reviews I've read here it seems to be accurate. It's interesting and unsettling, which makes for good tv. But, at the same time it is something that happened IRL and that in itself should make it a no go for a what is supposed to be a spooky show. This isn't Dateline. The acting is great, the leads that play Gino and Patrick are phenomenal. Some new faces with some familiars like Grossman, Quinto and O'Hare....all very good and then comes Sandra Bernhardt......a screeching clunker to any scene she intrudes on. Completely ruins the flow as She. Can't. Act. Terrible. That role could have been played by any no name actor that would have done it better. She literally ruins every scene. The show found some incredibly good, young male actors for this season, they are inspiring they are so believable and yet they include a name with zero talent. And then they shoehorn Patti Lupone into the story...I think her role was supposed to be a drag queen, not a real woman. I'm not sorry I watched it, it was better than Roanoke, Cult and DBL Feature. But I wouldn't watch it again.

The Menu (2022)

I liked most of it

[5/10 · 20 March 2023]

This movie isn't as stupid as some reviewers claim, just my opinion. I found it entertaining. The characters are caricatures of the most obscene people most if us dislike. Most of the casting was spot on, the politician, the critic, self proclaimed foodie, hedge fund bros, airhead actor and the escort. Ralph Fiennes is a legend imho, and even though we are getting over exposed to Taylor-Joy her presence is interesting enough.

The problems with this movie is the lack of reason. I get Slowicks frustration, and the demise of the a holes...but not the rest of them. The politicians wife was victimized by him so why her? Same with the assistant's and the sous chefs....what a waste as they were all so young. The ending is stupid. Stop watching at marker 1:18 or so, nothing interesting happens after that.

We Have a Ghost (2023)

I loved this

[9/10 · 2 March 2023]

What a fun ride this movie is, I had a blast! I suspect that this film will become a cult classic as it is very relatable for many people. I was a bit aghast at the " stupid white people" comment, we agreed that only Kevin Hart can say that in movies. Like, all whites had a meeting and agreed...so this is a breach. Not really, white people aren't allowed to group up and have meetings. But, even with gratuitous white bashing, this is an interesting story. I liked it and maybe you will too. Fair warning...the cover makes it look like Jennifer Coolidge is a primary character and she is not.... I wish she would choose better roles but I digress...this is a good movie.

The Nevers (2021–2023)

The first six were entertaining

[1/10 · 25 February 2023]

But the next six are on a scheduled programming service with ads...meaning boring commercials. The app is free and they offer some shows on demand but not this one. For this show they want to roll the clock back to pre-binge, pre on demand pre cable dark ages. No one wants to go backwards in this department and this is a huge mistake for this show. The two plus year hiatus was enough to lose audience interests. I was very interested in Amalia, Patience, Galanthi....and now I'm too annoyed, bored and put out to bother to care. How can anyone be this dumb? What a waste of talent to abuse such fine actors. That this show is done and airing on a garbage service and the ridiculous Mayfair Witch series is on a prime platform is laughable. Throwing out the excellent and keeping the crappy....so gross.

Crimson Peak (2015)

Well this was fun

[8/10 · 19 February 2023]

I like ghost stories, and mystery and suspense..but not gore. Gore is for other people, not me. This is a lovely story with beautiful costumes and one rather silly house. This silly house has a huge 14 to 16 ft hole in the roof that opens at the center of the house. Yet they keep the fires burning all day and night.....they can buy coal. They aren't burning furniture, they are burning coal. Silly house. The story is predictable, but it is fun. The special effects are not horrible, only one scene contains a slightly cringy creature. This could have been turned into a series imho. Squeezing this into a feature format was a mistake.

Shotgun Wedding (2022)

It was fun

[8/10 · 30 January 2023]

What a bunch of lame dope heads giving this such a low rating. I wasn't even going to watch because j Lopez movies are seriously all the same, she's always some unappreciated woman that suddenly is noticed and always wins..,blah. But that doesn't happen here, she looks great but whatever, we expect that. She plays a person that is almost normal. The whole setup is silly but I was thoroughly entertained. My only complaint is that while Duhamel is a dirty bloody mess, Lopez is a bit smudged with still perfect make up...that was lame. Lopez needs to get serious and allow herself to look like crap. And they underutilized Jennifer Coolidge, did they not know what talent they had on that set? It's a fun watch, ignore the pseudo intellectuals that can't take a joke.

The Last of Us (2023– )

Meh

[2/10 · 29 January 2023]

My son played the entirety of this game a few times, and he thought I would find it interesting. He has explained a few things to me that a non gamer wouldn't know, some foreshadow of spore affects and such...but even so, I find the story lacking. Joel is a jerk. He is an entirely unsympathetic character. One person made him tolerable and if you watched episode two...you know. The kid character might be worth the effort to hang in but I find her irritating as well. Minimal likability. As of now I care about no one in this story, so there's no point in continuing. My son disagrees, but from what I've seen, a two star rating is too generous.

A Ghost Story (2017)

Nonsense

[2/10 · 12 December 2022]

Before I watched this "movie", I had no fear of death. My biggest concern was a painful death but that's pretty much it. Now, I'm terrified of dying. WTH

This is someone's idea of what? I couldn't tell you. The afterlife or time travel or space time continuum or grief or how stupid and tedious our lives are. Could be all or none of these things. The depiction of our ghost is very trouble some, as is the neighbor ghost that wears a floral sheet and not a plain white one. I don't have a better idea, not one that humanizes the ghost while making it real but invisible, but good grief the sheet was bad. And the pie scene..I read a few reviews before writing and the pie scene isn't the thing that the critics want it to be. The most astonishing thing is that a woman who could be the poster child for thinsperation would never plow through a whole pie. Not even a grief stricken one. Unless they include a purge scene, this wasted five minutes makes zero sense. The most nonsensical scene of this whole nightmare movie.

Spirited (2022)

Ugh, I get it but why

[5/10 · 19 November 2022]

Well, for starters I am ecstatic that so many young dancers were employed for this movie. They need the work. Speaking of talent....there are actors that can actually sing. They exist and they are awesome. Will Farrell really can't, Octavia Spencer does better than J Aniston did (on The Morning Show) and Reynolds is talk singing ie: Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady. If you're going to make a musical, hire stage actors. The days of Marnie Nixon voice overs are gone. The writing is good and the fx and the scenery. All cool. I even liked the goofy story. I still can't decide if Ryan is hot or not, it's really weird. I get it, big names sell, that's why Ashley Hamilton was played by the most wrinkly beta boy I've ever seen. But everyone evolves. Musicals require actors blessed with gifted vocal cords. Hire those people. Or maybe bring back the vocal fakery. While giving the artist credit. What a mess. It's entertaining but just imagine if your favorite stage actor were singing..sigh.

R.I.P.D. 2: Rise of the Damned (2022)

Oh Come on, it was fun!

[9/10 · 19 November 2022]

I do not get all of the negative reviews. The plot of this installment is at least ten times better than that lame story with Kevin Bacon. And I enjoyed the first one. I love Jeff Bridges and can mildly enjoy Ryan Reynolds to a point. But this story with Jeffrey Donovan is so much bigger and so much better. It is true that I did not recognize any of the other actors here, but I did enjoy them and would be happy to be entertained by them again. Slim was a stand out for me.

Not too many people have been able to make the connection with the characters and that this is a prequel. Is it cheesy? Yup. But I may even go back and watch the first one now that I have better back story. It is worth your time.

Ghosts (2021– )

It's actually good

[8/10 · 13 November 2022]

All this whining about the UK vs American version. Stop. The first few episodes are a bit rough but this US version warms up and finds its pace pretty quickly. I like the characters from both versions. The biggest difference is the humor, UK is dry, sarcastic...American is more direct and unfortunately too woke. But still funny. Stop with the comparisons, they are both good. Give it a chance. To fulfill the character count.... Heddy and Sass are my favorite American character ghosts. Mary, Kitty and Thomas are favorites in the UK show. If there is one big weakness that the American show has, it's the leads. I like Sam and Jay fine, but Alison and Mike are more relatable.

Raymond & Ray (2022)

Just watch it

[8/10 · 4 November 2022]

The synopsis for this film ends with "just watch it". Apple TV attempt at realism I suppose. So, I watched and mostly enjoyed it. Both of the male leads are very easy on the eyes so that part was easy enough. This flick also offers some lovely ladies as well. It's difficult at times, the way family, and feeling emotions are difficult. The scenery is rather boring, I would have suspected that it had been shot further north than Virginia. But, that is where they filmed it. Looked a bit more Ohio, Indiana, Illinois to me but at least it wasn't Vancouver. It is a slow burn drama with a bit of comedy. If you have siblings, you will understand. If you're an only child, skip it.

Luckiest Girl Alive (2022)

I didn't read the book, so went in cold

[2/10 · 12 October 2022]

Oh my, so many things wrong here. The characters, all them were more like charicatures of personality types. As in, this is what a victim looks like and how a victim behaves, this is what a rapist looks like and how a rapist behaves, this is a generic overbearing mother, this is a rich pretty boy/Man...and so on. Mmm, that is not how any of this works. Nothing is that cut and dry. Apparently Mila Kunis said in some interview that we all have this messy stuff in our pasts. It's true, I do , friends do and it's frustrating that when our traumas happenened, victim shaming was the norm. That wasn't right. But what is happening now is also not right. Being victimized does not give anyone permission to be rotten, to be mean and gross and vile and to use people. Did anyone even notice that the school shooter was the original victim? Being raped is horrifying, that I can attest to. I've never been held down while someone took a dump on my chest. I can only imagine how traumatic that would be. Does that warrant a school shooting....nope. But what would have happened had the shooting not happened, would Tiffani had just kept covering for her rapists? Had the Dean guy not implicated her in the shooting would it have ever come out at all? The truth is, no matter how many times stories like this are told, the rich kids will get away with their depravity because money talks. And Tiffany used this not to empower anyone but herself by tearing down the people closest to her. She is unsympathetic. She suffers all this trauma and her victory lap is to be a well dressed, obnoxiously rude, inconsiderate turd that people move out of the way to avoid. She's not important, she's just very visibly vile. This is not her winning, it's her passing her victimization on to everyone else. By the end she is not a victim or a survivor. She's just a bully. And while feminists are taking a victory lap with all this bull crap posturing of strength, the Hunter Biden's of this world are still getting away with it.

Mr. Harrigan's Phone (2022)

A decent movie from a less than story

[8/10 · 12 October 2022]

For a SK adaptation, this is in fact very good. Most SK movies suck, big time. This one was very accurate to the original short story, casting was spot on. The problem is that the story wasn't great to begin with. I read this about two years ago I think, and kind of threw my hands up at the end and thought "wth", that was dumb. And yet I wasted my time watching the movie. So it is a well done movie using a poorly thought out story. So if you're a constant reader, knock yourself out, otherwise give it a pass.

Character count character count character count character count one two three four I declare a thumb war. Wow.