robynnet Reviews

Easter Sunday (2022)

So badly wanted to like it

[4/10 · 6 September 2022]

I'm a HUGE Jo Koy fan and was really looking forward to his first feature film, but unfortunately it wasn't great. If you've never seen Jo's stand up act, you will likely enjoy this film a bit more since many of the jokes in the movie are recycled from his shows. The supporting cast was good, with a great cameo by Lou Diamond Phillips, but I only really chuckled a few times. The script was predictable, the story forced, and some of the jokes felt like they were added at the last minute to fill in time. 4 stars for the supporting cast and the few giggles, but I wanted at least one big belly laugh like I get watching Jo Koy perform his stand up.

I wish I liked this more.

Lucifer: Bloody Celestial Karaoke Jam (2021) Season 5, Episode 10

Unnecessary

[1/10 · 5 August 2021]

Not every show needs a musical episode. Having to sit through this was my own hell loop.

Robin Hood (2018)

God-awful

[3/10 · 15 January 2021]

I am usually ALL about the historical and/or legendary dramas so I wanted to like this. Taran Egerton is a brilliant actor as are Ben Mendelson and Jamie Foxx, so whatever stars I rate this comes from them but there was nothing else holding me. The language was off, the costumes were a mix of Millenia and centuries, the writing unbelievable, explosions out of place, CGI unnecessary, and there was barely an ounce of Robin Hood canon. Why? WHY???

Apartment 143 (2011)

Horrible in every way

[1/10 · 19 February 2014]

I love a good movie. I even love the occasional bad movie! I am also enough of a movie buff to be fair when watching a B film, but this film was beyond awful.

I can only assume that the makers of Emergo (or Apartment 143 as it was titled on Netflix) decided to try to cash in on the popularity of movies like Paranormal Activity and make their own. They failed in a completely miserable way. What they ended up with was a stinker so bad, that I couldn't wait to inform you all not to waste 85 minutes of your time.

A family is having difficulties here. Mom died and Dad appears to be doing the best he can for his two children. The teenage daughter blames him for her mother's death and hates him, and his young son is just a happy little kid that apparently is unaffected by anything. Now strange, paranormal things are happening in the house (ie: slamming doors, windows, moving furniture, etc.), and when Dad moves his family, the paranormal activity follows them to their new house. Now Dad hires a paranormal investigative team to help. Sounds like a movie worth watching if you like that sort of stuff right? Wrong! Here's the bottom line:

Plot? Garbage. Premise? Garbage. Acting? Garbage. Dialogue? Garbage. Characters? Unlikable, unbelievable garbage (The "Doctor" tells Dad to relax and do nothing while his daughter is being physically hurt! Yeah the Doc was the worst character of all) Sound Garbled garbage Lighting? Dull garbage. Special Effects? A 6yr old could do better garbage.

I'm so glad that if I had to watch this at all, I saw it on Netflix. At least I didn't waste money on a ticket. But I want my time back. I cannot remember the last time I was so disappointed in a movie... and I paid money in a theatre to see the Blair Witch sequel!

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)

Laughable plot left me in the dark in Dark of the Moon

[6/10 · 2 July 2011]

For the curious parent:

Here's the bottom line... Some sexual content (the new girlfriend is some sexy supermodel type), but no actual sex scenes. The movie was pretty good. My boys LOVED it (14 & 16)...I thought it was OK. It was just the whole concept; ie the ENTIRE space race in the 60's being based on hiding a Transformer ship that crashed. It was...laughable. They tied in Neil Armstrong's moon landing, there's a cameo with the real "Buzz" Aldren and actual footage of news reports. I enjoyed the cleverly edited footage from the 60's tied in to the movie...I also enjoyed it in Forrest Gump! Also irritating was that their JFK looked absolutely NOTHING like Kennedy! Do we blame casting or makeup? The 3D was meh. This cash grab of filming every summer blockbuster in 3-D for the sake of more dollars, is getting old, fast. The action scenes would have been just as good without it IMO.

If you can get past the seriously laughable plot, and the fact that you've paid an additional $4 per ticket and must now fit 3-D glasses over your prescription ones, then the rest is somewhat enjoyable. Good action scenes. Typical Michael Bay explosions & whatnot. Comical lines by the parents and some very annoying little bots (on the same level of annoyance as Mudflap & Skids from the last installment) I much preferred Shia's chemistry with Megan Fox to Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, but they at least managed to explain the switch effectively.

All in all, I just can't not like Shia LaBeouf; Particularly in the role of Sam Witwicky. For his charming performance alone, I'd give it 3½ out of 5 stars or a 7/10

The New Daughter (2009)

Scared The Crap Out Of Me!

[8/10 · 17 July 2010]

I will spare you readers with the plot summary since it is already available in many other places within this site. I will assume that you, the reader, just want to figure out if "The New Daughter" is worth watching, so here goes my experience and opinion...

It is rare these days in the midst of movies like "Saw" and "The Unborn" to find a movie that finds something new among the old and over used. I can't tell you how long it's been since I watched a movie and then went to bed with "one eye open" afterwards. Movies these days just don't seem to scare me anymore. I've seen it all before. I watched this movie with my teenage son since we always enjoy a good psychological thriller. I wouldn't say I was a Kevin Costner fan - although I definitely wouldn't warn anyone against one of his older epics - and thought it might be almost comical to see him in a thriller. I was thinking about Mr. Brooks (the other K.C. thriller) and how that movie very much failed to impress me. But I have been occasionally surprised by actors that hadn't before made an impact on me, so I made the popcorn and prepared to be somewhat bored. The problem is (not exactly a problem... more of a surprise) that I WASN'T bored! In fact, I was on the edge of my seat, and by the end of the movie I was clinging to my son, my cat, the afghan that two hours before was neatly lain across the back of the sofa... I was completely creeped out!

There is an ominous background throughout the entire movie that really works. I kept thinking "This is REALLY eerie". The plot, the musical score, the cinematographer's grayish hue to everything, the director's decision to make everything very subdued, the lack of gore. All of it comes together to make for a pretty good watch. It all just kind of worked. Think "The Grudge" meets "The Ring" meets "Signs" meets "The Blair Witch". The New Daughter is not a knock off of these movies, it's like this movie takes the best parts of the aforementioned films and turns them into a brand new type of thriller.

This is not the best thriller/horror I ever saw, but it is definitely well worth watching. It was chilling without being disturbing. I gave it an 8/10 for every part that was unique, and for Kevin Costner's surprisingly honest portrayal of a father just trying to protect his kids. Additional kudos to Ivana Baquero as troubled Louisa James and Gattlin Griffith as the innocent Sam James.

Bottom line... Find something to cling to and enjoy The New Daughter.

Remember Me (I) (2010)

Just skip the first hour

[7/10 · 16 June 2010]

I was really looking forward to seeing this movie, But I must say, I was slightly disappointed.

Robert Pattinson (Twilight series) plays Tyler Hawkins, a woeful young man struggling with the death of his older brother and a father who he believes hates him. Tyler unexpectedly finds love with Ally Craig played by Emilie de Ravin (LOST) in the form of a revenge bet.

Pattinson does play the brooding rebel quite well, and de Ravin does a nice job as a college student with troubles of her own, but the chemistry between the two is stiff at best.

Now, I love it when a movie delves into character development, but for the first time ever, I think I found a movie that went too far. This movie just dragged on and on and on and on again. The plot was thoughtful and had oh so much potential, but sadly, this entire movie could have been much better as a 45 minute short film. No problem if you need a bathroom break. No need to pause if you want to make some popcorn or tuck the kids in. You will still get all the background information you need and know exactly what is going on if you just watch the last 45 to 50 minutes.

AND...if you do that, you might actually like it!