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coryjayw
Reviews
Morgan (2016)
Good enough to watch for free
It's rare that a movie is written and directed and unfolds in a completely satisfying and fulfilling way - this is definitely not one of them.
I understand an occasional twist that is slightly annoying, HOWEVER it's extremely frustrating to have to sit through a scene (or 2 or 3) that simply defies all logic. I also understand that things have to go a certain direction in order to set up and connect scenes - but with just a little creativity the same outcome could be produced in a more believable and satisfying way.
Spoiler alert.
Morgan had definitely already displayed the behavior of a ruthless, non-stopping, unfeeling, cold blooded killer and one of the characters had a perfect opportunity to shoot her with a high powered rifle at close range but instead he points it at the ground, holds up his hand and says "stop, just stop", continues to walk towards her and waits to aim when he's close enough for her to deflect the barrel.
That scene alone was enough to ruin the whole movie for me (and there's another one equally as bad a few minutes later).
Again, I understand that she could obviously not be killed off at that moment but the writer, director...hell the KEY GRIP could have come up with a better way to make that scene more congruent and believable.
The movie really did have potential but when it starts crossing the line into completely cliché' moves and causes the audience to scream at the characters in disbelief and anger then it's lost most of its credibility and impact.
Another character tries to shoot her in the forest with the same rifle but misses. She sees the direction Morgan heads in yet she continues to stare off into the opposite direction and casually flips her hair out of her face and slowly moves the bolt action to load another shell.
I literally said out loud "She'll be behind you in 30 seconds"...sure enough there she was.
For the MOST part I found the movie bearable, somewhat satisfying and not completely predictable but those two scenes knocked about 3 stars off of it for me.
In a Valley of Violence (2016)
B Movie at BEST
I've seen worse, but the only things that I found truly entertaining about it were the dog and Taissa Farmiga (what a doll).
I felt that the movie teetered back and forth between being serious and being a parody - without really accomplishing either one. When the plot called for a truly gritty, violent scene it was played out in a way that made it seem awkward and uncalled for.
It had its moments, but they were rare and left me with a sense of dissatisfaction - sort of like when you really want to sneeze and it never really materializes (G rated analogy) I wouldn't consider it a TOTAL waste of time, but set your expectations to about the C+ to B- movie grade scale and be prepared to endure a lot of "womp womp" moments.
Baked in Brooklyn (2016)
Pleasantly Surprising
I don't write reviews for movies very often and I am very critical about what I spend my time watching. With so many options available, if a movie doesn't pull me in within the first 5 to 10 minutes then I'm looking for something else. The first 60 seconds of this movie was questionable for me but I was sold before the 3 minute mark and was fully engaged from that point on (I'm not afraid to stop movies mid-stream if they get stupid).
The story line flowed nicely, the acting talent was grade A, and the chemistry between Brener and Daddario was definitely above average.
I found it thoroughly entertaining and the type of movie that I'd watch again soon with someone on a movie date (a rarity for me).