Category Archives: Film reviews

Film reviews

You, Me, & Tuscany Review

Leave a comment

A B-level rom-com that flies its way over Tuscany, Italy. It maintains a sense of a joyful adventure that finds a family vibe and keep resorting to love as the downfall. Directed by Kat Coiro, this is You, Me, & Tuscany. A setup where a woman’s life is in disarray, but she manages to find a loving family thanks to faking a situation. A joyful and silly film that somehow has proper chemistry to create a fulfilling side which feels touching.

With Coiro continuing to direct full-length films, she keeps improving her use of elements that make love feel spontaneous. That is how it is throughout all of You, Me, & Tuscany. Wonderful in moments, but also predictable. Overall, though, she is a director with a clever mind. Especially with the mix of Tuscany, Italy and bringing together a loving albeit mistaken family. 

The main character is Anna, and she is played by Halle Bailey. She finds herself on a messy adventure. She always struggles to keep her life together, yet decides to take a risk by posing as a fiancé. Later she finds herself at a Villa in Tuscany, Italy. The family loves her, and she begins to feel connected to Michael, played by Rege-Jean Page. However, Anna lies and says she is engaged to Matteo, played by Lorenzo de Moor. The family adores both, but Halle’s lies are the only things bringing her closer to this family. The truth is that she feels love for Michael, and not Matteo.

The boisterous setup allows for some positive moments to flow. There are scenes of cooking and festivities and not letting traditions down. Anna learns to confide in herself. The film’s writing is so set on Anna—she is the queen of faking things andcan sometimes find a gap in her illogical choices. The “illogical” side of You, Me, & Tuscany is average.

I found myself feeling mixed response to this film leading me to feel almost neutral throughout the experience. This is primarily because my fascination was so much in tune with the scenery around Tuscany and the culinary side. The dynamics attractedmy attention, but they were  mediocre.  The cultural side is the winning aspect of the story.

On a level of clarity, I felt the performances and appearances of Halle Bailey and Rege-Jean Page are the selling point of this film. Especially since both are A list cast members for this romantic comedy. They play the roles well, but the rest of the dynamic behind it is purely predictable, relying on vast scenery to impress its audience. I do appreciate how it portrays in its context someone coming out of their shell, but also, I feel that the backstory could have provided much more. This is a film that deserves a more dramatic, yet empathetic premise–not one based solely on a setup of deceit.  It picks itself up with everyone enjoying the company of one another. I guess no rejection is what makes this film rather attention grabbing. Overall, I remain neutral. Two out of four stars.

 

Film reviews

Beast Review

Leave a comment

This is one of the most audacious films about the subject of sportsmanship. There is a lot to lose and a strong backstory in Beast. Directed by Tyler Atkins, he brings his audience into a boxing match of vengeance where redemption rises in the ring. There are many errors in the search for glory. I walked in with mixed expectations and left asking for more because Beast exceeded my expectations.  

There is a sense of brotherhood and fatherhood that prevails due to various components in the story that are torn and lost. Some things have occurred around the ring and others outside of the ring, involving those who left the glory days of MMA. The story has a purpose—one of resilience. Beast is monumental at almost grade A level.

The main character is Patton James, played by Daniel MacPherson. His father is Sammy, played by Russell Crowe. His brother is Malon, played by Mojean Aria. Between the brothers and their father, the dedication to MMA is strong, but choices have led them to make sacrifices and incur debts. Patton is the one who made “sacrifices” and Malon is the one with the “debts.” Patton finds himself in a position to help his brother redeem himself by getting back in the ring. Over time, there are hurdles that do not make the return easy. This gives the underdog story of Beast brilliance.

In the sport of boxing, there is the drive to never give up. There is also the need to build mental toughness, and Patton is the king of that area in Beast. Given the complicated relationship he has with his father Sammy, he redeems himself by continuously putting his efforts into making strides to fight again. The films backstory has a harsh dynamic. However, it effectively displays the strong sense of purpose required to make a return.

Patton wants to fight to compensate for the problems in Malon’s life. However, he wants to be able to be the best father to his family as well. He wants to be the primary example of excellence to all those in his family. To do so, he must learn to channel his emotions to truly fight and win in the ring.Throughout the movie there is the repeated message that the ring is the place to be the king. The demonstration of sportsmanship flies like a rainbow of sadness surrounding brotherhood.

The depiction of madness in the narrative is inspirational and nearly flawless. The dynamics in the performances of Crowe and MacPherson are well executed. Beast is an underdog story, where falling and getting up again occur repeatedly. Winning brings out the best of the dramatics in Beast.

While this story has traction which is enhanced by a nemesis which makes the storyline even feel more enticing. That nemesis is another fighter, Xavier Grau, played by Bren Foster. He breaks the rules inside the ring and only cares about his title because it can bring him big bucks. Regardless of his choices,his hits have no impact. For Patton, on the other hand, his hits so have an impact. They count since they are meant to save those around him and give them a better life. That is why the fight is the epicenter of Beast. Three out of four stars.

Film reviews

The Yeti Review

1 Comment

I was hoping for some terror that would shock or awe me. I was also hoping for a sense of uncharted territory. I thought this was going to be a suspense thriller with old-school vibes. As it turns out, this film was rather dull. Co-written and co-directed by Gene Gallerano and William Pisciotta, this is The Yeti. A wilderness film that tries to seem interesting while keeping the shock levels low. The cinematics of common ground though look as if it was rushed in the process. Overall, my boredom came around way too easily.

The film revolves around an expedition in Alaska territory in the year 1947. Its main characters are Merriell Sunday Sr. (Corbin Bernsen), and Hollis Banister (William Sadler). Both have vanished into the wilderness. Ellie (Brittany Allen), and Merrierll Sunday Jr. (Eric Nelsen) set off on an adventure to find them, however, their journey carries some monstrous paths. The forest has eerie moments, with those who are on the trek being the prey. Overall, the context of the film  rushes to get to the point of danger. 

The film requires more of a premise. It starts off with a sense to feel historical, but is tainted. The film has compass and voyager discussions, a lot of which are sloppy, C grade writing. The scenery is great to capture the essence of dangerous lands, but it is not utilized to the extent to flow with cinematics properly. Then there are others on the expedition, including Booker (Jim Cummings). Most of the conversations, however, are between Ellie, Merriell, and Booker—the other characters feel non-existent. I felt the movie had its moments to feel like absolutely nothing was happening. That is how dry my experience was. Overall, though, the thought of a monster and primal fear kept my attention span somehow. I remained hopeful.

With the film hurdling its way to find the scary, it creates a backstory that feels trapped, but then later it opens up with the many sound effects of the forest and the appearance of its namesake creature. The primal instinct to feel fear was lost to me, instead, my head was spinning. I was thinking repeatedly, who is coming around? No justice was coming around positively for me with The Yeti. Overall, the blurriness never evolved intoany sort of form to hold the film’s creativity or the feeling of being obscure or unique.

With the angle of trying to save someone but also face a form of creepy, The Yeti is one of those films where I did not lose faith,but I knew that it could be better. Primarily because the layouts around it were promising for a much more enriching experience.Moving throughout the terror, there were no proper conclusions or contexts to the automatic jumps of the many broken fragments in the film. These “broken fragments” of saving someone with no backstory behind  why they are missing in the first place were frustrating in not being cohesive on the level that I was anticipating. The concept of the direction continued to attempt at finding its thriving side but continually flopped. I still rate the film at two out of four stars.