Change Your Image
Jarlus1
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Cop Car (2015)
Unexpected and entertaining
I really wasn't sure what kind of movie this was going to be, it had a very lighthearted vibe for a while to a point where I was thinking it was going to be a very clean and tidy movie. Then came in darker elements to create what I felt was a more "full" movie.
The acting wasn't terrible. Most of the roles didn't call for great acting and the child actors were as good as you can get these days. And yeah the kids can be pretty damn stupid but that's how kids are. I have kids of my own and I felt the script for the kids was spot on. Kids have wonky ass concerns and realizations. They learn things differently and accidentally. They get dumb ideas and fail to execute good ideas. That is how children roll.
The movie kept me guessing as to where it was going to end up because when kids are so heavily involved in movies writers and directors have a tendency to weaken the movie. This movie told an adult story through children and that's not easy to do so props.
7/10
@JarlJarlBinks
Bone Tomahawk (2015)
Average Western Above Average Horror
I was very hopeful during the opening scene as it was very engaging and I'm a huge fan of Sid Haid. Sadly he's barely in this movie and the opening scene gave way to a much slower paced hour where not a lot happens outside of some pretty good dialogue here and there.
The second hour really picks up though and is where the meat of the movie lies. The tribals were genuinely horrifying and I did feel worried for the characters which I haven't felt during a horror movie in a very long time. The movie did feel authentic due to some decent acting and setting. The most impressive thing about this movie is its 1.8 million dollar budget. This movie has more than its money's worth.
I'd given a much higher score if the first hour wasn't so drawn out making multiple viewings a chore.
Dirty Grandpa (2016)
Enough with bad comedies already
First off I want to address the fact that there are a handful of racist jokes that were low hanging fruit directed at a character who's soul purpose in this movie is to take crap. No character development is no surprise in a blockbuster comedy but this dude, who was gay and black was literally only there for Robert De Niro to make racist jokes. Then towards the end they have a bunch of stereotyped black guys come out of nowhere and validate him so he doesn't seem "so bad". It was gratuitous. This movie is whiter than The Oscars.
There were quite a few funny gags and a couple of pretty boring moments. Half of the movie felt like rob Schneider level characters. Aubrey Plaza is great on TV and while she had a couple of good lines most of the movie didn't fit her type of humor. There was some terrible delivery and the role seemed like a step backwards for her.
There's also a moment that's in every single comedy these days where a really drunk naked guy does crazy stuff. Surely we can mix up the formula a little bit.
@JarlJarlBinks
Coherence (2013)
7.1??? How on earth?
Coherence has so many problems I don't know where to start. It says most of this films dialogue is improvised, well it shows, for the worst. Every time a scripted part comes up the line delivery feels so damn forced that you can actually measure when they switch between improvising and scripted exposition.
The idea it's self is really cool but I was consistently frustrated with how wasted of an idea it was. They barely do anything interesting with it. There's so many possibilities here but nothing is really showed except one house and a vague dark street. At a certain point I just stopped caring entirely about the plot. I'd never cared about the characters who were all painfully obvious.
The first half hour was so incredibly boring and tedious. I wanted to see reality bend, not a long ass time of a bunch of actors mucking around improving. This would make a much better theater show. There weren't even any special effects or tricks used so you could literally just put it on a stage. You could have a fake comet on a string and all.
Speaking of the comet which is a part of the description and premise, it's seen like maybe twice during the whole movie. It's always just references to the comet by the actors.
Overrated as all hell.
Synchronicity (2015)
Tries way too hard
This movie boasts a "sci fi noir" tag and I gotta say, it's a cop out. It's more of a b grade movie than a noir film of any kind.
The soundtrack was repetitive cut and pastes of 80s "sounds" which were super cheesy and just gross. Look back to The Machine for an example of a decent sound track, this sounds like the version done by an inexperienced composer.
The plot it's self is basically what Primer did much better but it had a romance that was essential for the plot to work and unfortunately this writer and the lead actress cannot pull off romance. Don't make a romantic relationship the key to your plot unless you're as good at romance writing as you are science fiction writing. The other aspect of the film, which many unfairly compare to Dark City, is that they use an endless amount of gloss and dark lighting to try to make everything seem dark and gritty. Combined with the music it was just tedious to take in.
Don't get suckered in by the comparisons made to better movies or the "noir" tags.