Change Your Image
KaseyB12
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Keep Breathing (2022)
A story about a rock would have been more entertaining
The acting is fine just unfortunate they forgot to pair that with an actual story. The main character is obnoxious - she yells at service people, airport staff, doctors, colleagues, her father for absolutely no reason. The only time she manages to crack a smile is when she's drunk and kicking people's garbage cans over. Lacks any sense of humor or joy. If you're going to be a grump at least be a charming grump...there was literally no reason to root for her. She also seems rather forgetful for someone who has only a small bag to keep track of. The flashbacks might have been set up to tell a story of abandonment, forgiveness etc but it does so without a single lovable character throughout the show. The only thing I got out of it was how to build a temporary compass. So yay for that.
Downsizing (2017)
Could have been so good...
The downsizing idea was so good but they focus on that only in the first 30 minutes and then you're just put into this bland world where we're focused on small people only - so everyone just appears normal sized and it might as well be a movie about regular sized people. Instead of exploring the dynamics and potential conflicts of a downsized community or diving deeper into the socio-economic and environmental consequences, it turns into a fairly standard story about personal discovery and helping less fortunate communities, and the effects of climate change without significant utilization of its sci-fi premise.
Paul could make have made efforts to bridge the gap by visiting Audrey in the regular-sized world. Take her on dates where he has to navigate a giant-sized environment. What happens when a small person and a large person falls in love? What happens when you downsize a Karen who visits large sized restaurants to pick on the waiters?
While the movie touches on the environmental motivation for downsizing. How does the smaller footprint of humans actually impact the planet? Are there unforeseen consequences to wildlife or ecosystems? What happens in a war? Would people get eaten by birds or animals? What happens during an Earthquake. How does our size play a role in the world? How does your perspective of the world change when you're that small? Aren't you even more vulnerable when the government is so much larger than you? It could play on so many social, political and existential themes, it could have been comical, entertaining and existential but it just falls flat.
I don't know if we'd be in such a perfectly segregated world. Large and small people would still need to interact.
Happiness for Beginners (2023)
Good for picture-in-picture or multitasking.
I tried to watch it but felt unbearably bored. When I switched on picture-in-picture, it became a thousand times more enjoyable and I got some work done!
My "picture-in-picture" movie checklist:
1. A predictable plot.
2. Uninteresting characters that you will not remember or care about.
3. Nothing visually engaging, so you won't mind looking away. You can easily watch it in picture-in-picture mode or on a secondary screen while you focus on more important tasks, without missing any crucial plot developments.
4. Minimal dialogue or repetitive dialogue that doesn't require close attention, so you won't miss out on key plot points if you only catch snippets of conversation.
5. Low stakes with no suspenseful twists that would otherwise demand your full attention or emotional investment.
6. A soundtrack that is unobtrusive and bland, making it easy to tune out or blend into the background of whatever task you're focusing on.
This movie checks all the boxes above.
Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker (2020)
Do Addie/Annie some justice and read about the true story
I knew it was based on a true story but had no idea what the history was. So I watched it for what it was and it moved me. I'm Indian (my great grandfather was kidnapped from India to be a slave in South Africa) so I think the parts that really got me is how hard it is to come up from a place of discrimination, removed from your family and your home, and on top of it, to be a WOMAN of color and to climb as high as Madam CJ Walker did - it's no ordinary story. It made me think of my family's history and what it took to build homes and businesses and how important it is for us to acknowledge our history and to carry it forward in a way that would lift humanity. In those ways, the story was great. Unfortunately, after reading other people's reviews and some research into the true story, I had to knock down my rating because they took too many creative liberties and they basically wrote a piece of fiction loosely based on Madam CJ Walker. I had no idea that Addie Monroe (based on Annie Malone) was actually the first black female millionaire (who Walker stole from). A story that was closer to reality could've been more compelling/human. Walker was not a perfect person. Annie was not a light-skinned evil person. Her products were stolen. She worked hard too. Tell both stories without watering it down or pretending that Walker had some kind of high ground to stand on for stealing Annie's products (light-skinned vs dark-skinned - this is not accurate to the historical facts). Also it's sad that most people won't even look into the actual history and they will assume the Netflix show is the truth...for that reason, I give it a 6...could go as low as 5 but because it made me think of my family history with more appreciation, I can't go that low. Plus it was so beautiful to see everyone wear their hair in so many different ways and the set was great. So 6/10 but please look up the real story after watching this. Annie Malone was unjustly portrayed as a villain.
Bride Wars (2009)
Mean spirited besties who are unfunny
I don't know how these movies get funding. I thought Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson were rich and wouldn't be desperate for money so trusting that, I clicked play. I want to unclick. Maybe this will convince you not to click. This is a sellout movie. A cash grab. It's low effort. It will give you secondhand embarrassment. Two grown women can't come to a compromise on a wedding venue conflict. I was looking forward to some bridezilla shenanigans but it doesn't really pay off in laughs. Mostly feels mean-spirited without any comedic effects. Emma's fiancé calls her out for being a brat but they make it seem like he just doesn't understand her. I'm not expecting much from a movie called Bride Wars - but I was expecting a laugh. Expectations might be too high I guess?
Leave the World Behind (2023)
5 stars for some interesting scenes. 5 stars missing because the ending is a miss!
I read someone's review on here stating that the ending is a message of the escapism we all experience through entertainment but even with that message, I didn't care much for the daughter Rose so it didn't have a good pay off. If they wanted us to care about that message, then choose an actress that has more than one facial expression and make her character more interesting and likeable.
Remember when there used to be intelligent kids in movies like E. T. who actually tried to do something useful? They earned our compassion and we rooted for them. Rose never gets into our hearts. It ends with her chewing obnoxiously as if she hadn't eaten for days and then putting on a DVD - we didn't care enough about her storyline to take in any of the meaning behind that scene.
I wanted to wake this kid up from sleep walking through a war. No offence to the actor but some offence to the writer/director - do better with character building!
Julia Roberts (Amanda) is like a triggered blowfish throughout the movie. You get tired of it. Stop yelling at everyone. They're going through it too. Also there's this heart to heart between Ruth and Amanda in the middle of searching for her missing child and worrying about her dying son...nobody...literally no-one would be talking about their hatred for humans in that moment.
The dance scene seemed super awkward to me and also just a day ago she was accusing him of being a criminal, now she's in his arms fighting the urge to sleep with him because she's married.
Ruth is another painful character to watch...
I don't know, they all were pretty annoying.
The 5 stars are for the interesting scenes like the Tesla pileup and for the strong start...the rest of the stars are missing due to us being cheated out of a good ending. Message or no message, we didn't feel a strong enough connection to the characters to care!
After the Party (2023)
Great show if you like being depressed.
It's well acted and you'll likely get frustrated with the messy main character but given the circumstances, it's not easy to be less messy. There are realistic aspects to this in that victims (especially boys) are unlikely speak up against an abuser so she was in for an uphill battle from the start. What's most frustrating is the abuser gets to simply disappear. He never faces any consequences and the annoying daughter never gets to know that her mother was right all along. I would rewrite the ending because we're sitting through an awkward, gruelling messy story, and would at least enjoy a satisfying ending...but nope, it takes you through misery and leaves you even more miserable at the end. There's no triumphs. No release for the main character. No resolutions. Great show if you like depression...(and I get that real life is like that...loads of victims never get justice but if you got nothing better to do with your time than sink your soul into this stressful mess, then...go take a nap instead - it will do you good).
Shotgun Wedding (2022)
Ageism shouldn't affect your opinion
It was okay for some mindless TV when you're hungover and looking to switch off your brain and watch some tomfoolery. I would not spend money on it. I'm not going to ask my friends to watch it but since you're not my friend, have at it. Just be prepared to suspend your disbelief by a lot in order to make it through. Don't look for common sense in it, it's in short supply. You might squeeze out a laugh or two at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation they are in. I personally do not like the reviews that are picking on J Lo's age. If I get to be 50, I hope I look and feel nearly as good as she does. Props to her for maintaining a career since the 90s! There's no definition for how you should behave at 50. It harms no-one. If you're a J Lo fan, you'll enjoy it.
The F**k-It List (2020)
Boring and annoying
If you want to be bored out of your gourd and rolling your eyes on a continuous loop, then this is the movie for you. It's superficial, boring, unrelatable and hopeless. Through most of the movie I wondered what on earth I was doing with my life. I'm not easily bored either. The main character is just whining about how great it is that he has two healthy, hard-working parents and all the opportunities at his feet. He's seen as a hero of some kind when his actions are anything but heroic. He just comes off as ungrateful. His parents seem to be keen to listen to him and understand his feelings so whatever he wanted to study instead of clarinet, he could have easily said so and they'd have supported it. He suffers no real hardships but we're supposed to admire him or connect with his character? The soundtrack can try but it will not invoke any emotional response from me. The characters live in a different planet from the rest of us.
Moms' Night Out (2014)
Brainless, humourless, unbearable
There's not one intelligent character in this movie. A bunch of absolute morons fumbling around, whining and being Karens. If you wanted a comedy, you'll get no laughs. There's no likeable characters. They are all absolutely unfit to be let loose in society. No. It doesn't matter if there's religion in it or not. This was supposed to be a comedy. It's dull and super annoying. The shrill, whiney women will not let anyone get a word in sideways and you'll have to suffer through it all without any relief. Music is used to force emotion but you never feel connected to the characters even for a little bit. Skip it. Really. You have better things to do with your time...watching paint dry would be far more entertaining.
Little Fires Everywhere (2020)
Sad people everywhere
There's very little relief from the misery that seems to consume every character on this show. I suppose toxic mothers have a potent and wide-reaching effect on the world around them. Reese Witherspoon plays the A-Type personality effortlessly. She's done it so much, I wonder if she's become it. She does an amazing job as usual and pulls off the darker aspects of her character in a convincing way. You're never reminded of the fact that it's just a show when Reese does her thing. Kerry Washington on the other hand is insufferable. I found myself mimicking her facial expressions out of boredom and I could not empathise with her at all. She takes a double serving of victimhood with her bad decisions and she demands that the world apologises for not suffering the way she does. I found it hilarious when the actress who plays the young Kelly/Mia mimicked Kerry's facial expressions to the T. Young Reese did a great job too. I think Pearl was the only normal human in all of shaker who just wanted to have fun and her role was really well acted. The kids gave the most surprising performances, they were all great! Poor Izzy! The storyline isn't all that amazing but I imagine the book is probably better. Give it a watch if you're bored with nothing else to see or if you're a Reese Witherspoon Stan.
The Handmaid's Tale (2017)
Watching at 2X speed was still too slow!
I tried 2X speed and still felt like it was all happening in slow motion. I ended up spring cleaning my entire apartment while watching the show and did not miss a single thing. I am relieved to see I'm not the only one rolling my eyes at the Moss closeups! We ALREADY know her kid was kidnapped and brainwashed and that she feels like a failed parent - we don't need to repeat the same conversation over and over again.
June: My daughter! They took my daughter! I am a bad mother.
Friend of June: It's not your fault. You did your best.
We don't NEED to see this multiple times. We get the concept: she's in pain over her daughter. What's next...let's move the plot along!! Okay...but first: we need a closeup of the staircase railing, of their fingers scratching at the wood, of Moss's face, of Moss's face, of Moss's face, of a wall, a ceiling...of June's incredibly slooooooow walk to the truck that's illegally smuggling handmaids out of Gilead.
She has the main character invincibility card. Somehow, she commits huge crimes that are illegal in Gilead and gets away with it, while others get hung or disfigured or sent to the colonies for much lesser offences.
To it's credit, the production is amazing and there are some scenes that I will say had me feeling some feelings for the characters. I was curious enough to keep watching to see how far June can go before she's hanging on the wall...plot holes take her all the way to Canada...
Why didn't she trade Fred for Hannah and Janine though?? Well! They need SOMETHING to focus on in season 5 don't they? Yup more "they took my daughter and I'm a failed parent" conversations coming soon!
Man vs Bee (2022)
Nope! Skip this!
I do not appreciate seeing a dog getting injured even if it's meant to be a joke. Other than that, even if you're willing to overlook this stupidity, the whole show was unfunny. All I enjoyed seeing was the beautiful house and then we didn't even get the pleasure of seeing this stupid man rot in jail for being too stupid to function in daily life. There's a different sorta feeling to the Mr. Bean series. You kinda expect him to behave like a child. In this, we're supposed to believe he is a FATHER...no. Something is missing from this show...not sure what it is...but I didn't laugh at any of it.
Life & Beth (2022)
The dryness of life we all feel
It's not a comedy but you'll get some laughs for sure. Don't go in with the expectation of light-heartedness. There's heaviness in the story but nothing we've not all experienced in our lives. Probably better suited to people in their late 30's/early 40's - I don't know that a younger audience would get it...necessarily. In my late 30's, I feel the same way as Beth. There's a layer of general disappointment. I thought by now, I'd have it all together. The big house, the kids, the husband...I got the husband...but he didn't want kids...I've switched careers plenty and still don't know where I'm going with that. I don't have that many friends - the few I keep, I am glad for but we rarely have time to just hang out. My husband is very much like John...doesn't understand social cues or whispering...but he's a solid piece of art and beauty that I can't get enough of. I've done a lot to adapt to his quirks as he has done for me. I cried at certain points, it makes you think of things that's happened to you...it makes you wish you had a better relationship with your parents but it also understands how that's not possible all the time. We all do the best we can. We all start life with a lot of hope. Kind of like a balloon that's inflated fully and looking shiny and beautiful...sparking so much joy...then the air starts to leak out of it over time and it becomes less and less bouncy...eventually...you'll need to pop that balloon...toss it out and in all your fragility with your lungs full of soot, you blow up a new balloon slowly and it's a struggle to get it to be as full as the first balloon. There are things that are behind you and uncertainty lays before you...you just have to take it one tiny moment at a time. I love the the kids running joyfully past the ceremony...looking like Beth and her sister...they are just starting their path and the "balloon" is super bouncy!
Guest House (2020)
Watch this if you hate yourself and just want to annoy yourself
It's The characters are all absolutely obnoxious. The story is dumb. There is nothing to laugh about. Watch this if you're in the mood to torture yourself.
Shameless: DNR (2021)
All by myself...
Instead of allowing the audience to connect with the fear Debbie was feeling, they continually played the song "all by myself..." during her scenes. What is this? Are they trying to create a cheap meme or produce a high end TV show?
If it was the former, I'm not laughing. It really felt out of place.
The music in Shameless has always been great. They choose a beautiful soundtrack that compliments the emotions of the character.
I've never seen a scene before in the entire series where they played a song that was the literal translation of the characters feelings in such a cheesy and stupid way.
Can you imagine them doing this for any of Fiona's scenes? She had plenty of moments where she felt the loneliness of being apart from her family. It was always captured beautifully and it usually invoked emotion for the audience.
What Debbie is experiencing is a common problem people face when they grow up in a chaotic environment. It's very difficult for them to adapt to a quieter lifestyle. They need the chaos to feel normal. This is a serious issue that deserved to be portrayed as such. It could have been a relatable moment. A chance for the audience to actually feel something for Debbie!
Also the Gallagher kids have always had to pull together and work as a team through the toughest of things but somehow they are all too far up their own butts to notice that their 9 year old brother is taking care of Frank while he has DEMENTIA. Seriously! None of them felt that it might be too much responsibility for a child?
Also Fiona raised these kids and the only character that ever mentions her name is Frank?
Grrr. It's so inconsistent with what we have seen before. I just hope the finale is better.
Defending Jacob (2020)
True to life in criminal cases
A lot of people seem disappointed that the ending was not tied up with a pretty ribbon. From personal experience losing a loved one to homicide, I can tell you that these things never ends happily with all your questions neatly answered. There's an array of suspects, conflicting stories, suspicious behavior, events that cannot be untangled and differences in opinion which often includes confirmation bias and armchair detectives, speculation and confusion. There are people who will behave in ways that make you feel extremely suspicious but it's only a hunch and not necessarily meaningful. You can lose your mind trying to make sense of it all. I found the ending to match real life. The iceberg metaphor also hit home. The feeling of your entire life changing. Things will never be the way they were before. There's your life before the event and your life after the event and you do lose a huge piece of yourself in the process. I found myself frustrated with Laurie but she was rightfully confused and scared. We never really get to know the truth. Doubt creeps in. It was well acted even though we've seen these characters before in many shows but has a special twist to it that I thought was interesting. It's not going to charge your life but it's worth a watch to me. Felt relatable and real.