imdbbonfiresky Reviews

You People (2023)

Awful dreck

[2/10 · 4 February 2023]

Other reviews here articulated much better just how cringe this film was. I am a huge Eddy Murphy fan, love Julia Dreyfus, David Duchovny who was underused here. Even Jonah Hill. Watched his personal therapist documentary Stutz recently and thought it was good.

The initial scene of meeting the parents was funny for a few minutes, but as the film went on, became just an uninspired rehash of uncomfortable situations with forced delivery.

As a jew myself. My biggest issue is Jonah Hill is just not attractive(maybe Im wrong as beauty is in the eye of the beholder) . Yes I know love is not just about beauty. But I had a very hard time believing someone as beautiful as Lauren London would have a physical attraction to Jonah Hill at all.(other than his Hollywood cash provider money in realnlife maybe) Even with that disbelief aside. This movie just dragged on way too long. Hammering in the same concept over and over. Maybe if this had a running time of 1hour and 20min? To be honest if some 39year old guy wanted to court my daughter and I found out he still goes out on coke binges, however I found it. That just a no. Then you come around and organize and force them to marry on the spot after all that and it's all happy ending. Yeah ok.

The only person that was remotely funny consistently was Mike Epps character (Uncle Ej).

Needed better writers. Maybe it sounded good on paper. But the result was garbage.

The Guilty (2021)

Weak execution. Slow and depressing

[3/10 · 9 October 2021]

Weak execution. Slow and depressing. Poor writing. Hard to relate to a man with a short fuse and anger management issues. Willing to break procedure, department rules, and people rights without having all the information.

Pass on this one.

Mare of Easttown (2021)

Should have ended at episode 5. Started strong but fizzles out

[6/10 · 6 June 2021]

It started strong. The acting &cast is great. Had me hooked. (Overlooking a bunch of plot holes that were thrown in to throw you off, just to keep you guessing) But then around the climax of episode 5. It suddenly started to ger drawn-out. They felt the need to give every character they introduced some sort of closure, while attempting to add twists. I felt too committed to this show. It felt like a chore to keep watching and soured the strong momentum&suspense the show had.

I kept saying please don't let there be an episode 8. Especially please don't let there be a second season.

If judging by ep 1-5 I would give it a 7.5 As a whole I give it a 6

Honestly they probably could have told the whole story in 4 episodes.

I watched the making of after and the cast said they were "kept in suspense,not knowing what was going ro happen before hand." While I'm sure it's thrilling from an actors point of view to take your character onto multitude of developement and emotional levels. It becomes a drag for the viewer.

Naked Singularity (2021)

Muddled Mess. Disappointment of fast pacing low substance. Good acting , but not enough to make you care about any of the characters.

[3/10 · 12 April 2021]

Paid too much to see this at the SFFILM Festival Fort Mason Drive-in Premiere on 4/9/2021. My first "Cinema" experience since pre covid. Had a lot of star power and of actors I like.

Pros. The acting was great, some stylish cinematography.

Really enjoyed seeing Tim Blake Nelson as the stoner philosopher

Cons: Messy directing. Too fast paced for it's own good. I did not care for the outcome of any single character in this movie. Honestly the plot was just not that good. It almost tries to become a different movie half way through with fast paced editing and split screen oceans eleven/mission impossible split screen heist style pacing. The build up made no sense. The climax made no sense. When the closing scene came on I was like wait. That's it?

I had no emotion at the end of the movie, no deep thoughts about any character, and wondering what did I just watch.

If the plot was more developed/more clever and running time extended where you could connect and start caring for any of the characters. It would have been a better film?

Perhaps this is aimed at the add Ritalin nation? Wait to watch this on tv.

The Last Blockbuster (2020)

Bad. Drawn out beyond belief. There are 2 interviewers worth watching. The Ceo and Lloyd Kaufman

[3/10 · 12 April 2021]

Netflix releases some good documentaries but they also bankroll a lot of garbage. Unfortunate this was garbage. This would have made a decent 30min documentary. The CEO provided good insight, and Lloyd Kaufman was interesting character which for some reason the interviewers cuts short after just a couple minutes and says "ok that's enough of Lloyd"? WTF?

The narrator was kind of stuck up.

Instead holding on to nostalgia, doing super slow re-enactments of experiences that are painful to watch. WHY?

We get people proudly proclaiming how they stole gamecube games when they knew blockbuster was shutting down and laughing about it proudly.

If the director just stuck to the facts, infographics, only the interesting characters kept it at 30minutes (Ceo interview and Lloyd). This might have been good. Otherwise just watch the preview and consider yourself saved of a time waste.

Run (I) (2020)

Hyperventilating Child and Typecast Mom

[4/10 · 15 December 2020]

This is the 2nd Sarah Paulson feature that I cringed to get through. (The other was Ratchet on Netflix was a show I had to turn off after 3 episodes. Seems she likes this roles of being a crazy pill pusher or is being typecaat.

Rin is a rehashed, so and so is not who you thought they are thriller. With a child that is just hyperventilating every scene. I honestly thought her acting was pretty mediocre.

There are plenty of yeah right moments.

Boring and predictable. It would have been a great 30min episode maybe on black mirror. But just felt too drawn out for a movie.

Mosley (2019)

Weak Story and Script

[4/10 · 11 April 2020]

The story kinda just rushes in and tries to fill in the blanks. This is drawing parallels on Slavery but at the same time relies on magic and power of belief. Oppressed intelligent animals must believe in a fairy tale that will give them back the power and set them free.

The characters, the way of life& their motivations are all a bit silly in this story of repression.

There are also what I would call many filler scenes to cutting back to Mosley annoying kid.

If you start asking "but why?" on many of the story progressions it falls apart so quickly.

It was silly and not well written. Animation was fairly decent though.

Mosley (2019)

Meh. Weak Story.

[4/10 · 9 April 2020]

Meh. Maybe for kids, The story just kinda of rushes on with many loopholes and unanswered questions. Ties in humanity and slavery. I almost stopped watching a few times. But left it on in the background. In the end I suppose the moral is believe in magic to find strength out of of oppression. Which literally ends up being fairy tale magic. Forgettable waste of time.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)

Meh. I was bored. Poor Script and direction. Actors lacked depth.

[5/10 · 23 July 2018]

Pros: Effects Cons: Poor Writing. Same formula rehashed. Lots of cheesy dramatic moments. Boat pulling away from volcano as the dinasour cries. Cliche characters lacking depth. Evil villain auction. Somehow guy entrusted w estate builds a whole undeground lab/lair without anyone in the household ever noticing. Nobody ever notices the lab crew, workers, food delivery? Lots of traffic leading up to this? Lots of predictable moments. Bedroom dinasour moment was cheesy horror movie monster scene attempt. Even Chris Pratt seemed kind of bored in this movie alright Im getting paid for this look. For a budget of 170mil and a franchise this big. NEEDS SMARTER WRITERS&BETTER DIRECTOR. The whole time I honestly wasnt invested into any single character if they lived or died.Little girl gets chased around by predator dinasours trying to kill her for half the movie while screaming repeatedly. Witnesses one get killed as people around her risk their lives peril & then immediately chooses to let them all live...ok. Also did not have to open every gate in the scene shes opening it one by one., Could have kept the mega predators like the Trex locked up. Enjoyed the effects, thats about all.

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

Fun Campy Stylish

[7/10 · 23 July 2018]

Fun, campy, stylish. Great special effects. Decent jokes. I don't watch all the marvel films or follow the comics. So on its own I though it was one of the better marvel films. 6.8/10

Baby Driver (2017)

I too don't understand how this is so highly rated

[6/10 · 15 September 2017]

I'm being generous with the stars. But I've seen so many poorly made movies this year. That this at least excels in some aspects.

The chase sequences were pretty cool, and I would say a lot more plausible/realistic than many movies. Where you could see if someone was that good in reality they might actually get away. On a technical level it had a lot going for it. So I will give it that.

The biggest disbelief in this film is the story. It's a bit silly. The main actor while he could dance, had good looks, and do a parkour move over the car. The whole time. I thought was a pretty terrible actor. Made me wonder who chose this kid for the role? When the love story rolled around, I could not wait for it to get back to the action. I suppose he would make for a good dj too. But not an actor.

It was like Baby was trying to do a bad ass hip Napoleon Dynamite? The girl at the diner instantly became the most supportive girlfriend ever with very little history or investment to risk her whole life. But OK.

The acting by the supporting cast was very good. But again the story is just silly.

If the director would make an action edit, without the whole love story. Limited to just the kid driving the heist, not trying to act.Just the supporting actors, it would be good, maybe even a 7.4 How this kid got the leading role is beyond me. Must have some connections in Hollywood some studio exec wanted to make his son happy?

Watch if your bored, or are highschool age or younger.

The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017)

Meh. Cliché. Boring.

[5/10 · 28 August 2017]

Samuel L Jackson plays a shadow rehash of his previous acting roles. Pretty much just get paid to say MotherFawker 200 times through this movie. It was a hard sell hes this tough hit-man.More like a tired old man dragging through the movie. When he has his signature manic laugh, I can tell he is acting. What was up with the music choice for the action sequences, it made it sound goofy. Gary Oldmans Russian dialect was pretty off, no wonder he switches to English in the beginning. Selma Hayek was fun to watch.

But overall this movie felt like, what would happen if ignorant Americans go to another country and not give a sh*t about the people or the culture or "the stupid dutch buildings"(Selma Hayek quote) The whole movie Samuel L puts a ton of innocent people in danger with complete disregard, but then has a line saying. "I cannot see innocent people get hurt."

Ryan Reynolds was his usual self, put in a good performance. But the cheesy music over the top unrealistic action sequences. The whole timing you got 5hours to produce this witness. Done before, done better, less plot holes. Forgettable movie.

Assassin's Creed (2016)

Muddy Direction.

[5/10 · 12 March 2017]

Well , I feel the meta-score is more accurate. I played the first game a decade ago. So I don't recall much. Judging this as a movie alone, not comparing to the game. The direction leaves you not enough to care for any of the characters or the story. Not enough character development, rushes through the story. Jeremy Irons potential is wasted, he has very few lines in the movie. I feel Michael Fasbender is miscast for the role as well. Had some cool special effects, but otherwise a very forgettable movie. Could have used more character development and perhaps smarter dialogue.

Needed stronger writing and cleaner direction.

Collateral Beauty (2016)

What a Terrible Mess of a Film. Why was this made? Holiday cash grab?

[1/10 · 17 December 2016]

I got dragged to this film due to star power. Never having seen a preview for this film. This is a made for the Hallmark channel film, daytime slot time waster. I guess the star power needed a holiday paycheck and a reason to hang out. None of the supporting character stories are developed/deep enough for you to care. The plot requires a major sense of disbelief.

Spoilers Will Smith gives intro speech then doesn't say a word for half the movie. Next scene(2min later) 3 years later he looses a 6year old daughter we are never introduced to. Toward finale, ends up saying a few lines crying, and collecting a paycheck. All while director pans camera and plays music to build up suspense into boring plot. Followed by scenes of confused face Will smith cycling around New York City. He writes letters to Death, Love, Time or whatever. While his friends plot to screw him out of the company by proving hes unfit to run his own company. They do this by hiring 3 actors . Helen Mirren , Keira Knightly and some black dude I've never seen before. They hire some grandma looking lady that does this by stealing letters from a USPs mailbox, then uses a shitty cell phone with poor angles to capture this and they "digitally remove" the actors to prove hes talking to himself. (it gets worse)

Actors confront Will Smith as Death/Love/Time he has an almost instant dramatic transformation,starts talking and snaps out of his depression (half the movie angry sad face). Goes to the support group for people with lost kids, where we are shown some dramatic monologues from mothers who lost kids. Hes been stalking the group outside many times. Organizer of group sees him. He comes in eventually. They kind have dates I guess. Support group lady drops a foreshadowing bomb you can see a mile away on when she lost her daughter. She recollects how at hospital, some old lady told her "Collateral Beauty" ( Hmm which old lady are we presented out of all the actors..Helen Mirren)

In the end The "actors" turn out to be really who they are, death/love/time whatever. But not before screwing out Will Smith company friends of $20,000 each. (Makes sense right). And there is some emotional attempts of manipulation. Happy company partner friend guy apparently has cancer then confronted goes from happy to I'm dying in like 10min, emotional scenes with Helen Mirren.(your beyond caring at this point as you just want the movie to get to some point)

But wait here comes the major emotional end scene..surprise Helen Mirren was the lady that told her that, and shes is really Will Smith wife, and he just had to be told that to remember.

Really the actors tried here(- Will Smith) The Biggest fault lies With Director: David Frankel Writer: Allan Loeb. I don't know how or why they got the green light or the star power for such garbage.

Wait to watch this film when you dumb down over the years due to memory loss and loose critical thinking abilities and they force you to watch this at your nursing home.

I still can't believe they got all this star power to be in this turd.

I would give this a 2.5/10 for some performances but the overwhelming studio plant astroturf reviews need some balance.

The Neon Demon (2016)

Empty, Style, No Substance

[1/10 · 4 October 2016]

Seriously. What utter garbage. The entire dialogue of this film could fit under 4 pages of written text. I can't believe this was produced. The film does have a suspense art style that makes you think this is going to develop into something interesting. That at any point all this nonsense will elope into something interesting. But instead this film manages to remain a vapid empty shell of nothingness with some shock value thrown in.

Keanu Reeves in this film ..why? After seeing him in John Wick, I kept asking why Keaunu. I guess he needed the paycheck. This is not some artistic movie. It's masturbation of some sort.

One of the worst movies I've seen this year!

Self/less (2015)

Had all the right elements,budget and actors to be be a hit. But was utterly disappointed! Directing is the major fault.

[3/10 · 31 August 2015]

Don't trust these reviews, they are likely people involved in the production. When I saw the preview, One of my favorite actors Ben Kingsley. A futuristic sci fi thriller.... Ryan Renolds who wasn't terrible in the "Woman in Gold" with Helen Mirren as a supporting actor. Director of the Cell and other heavy visual style. A budget of $26millin not too shabby. What could go wrong? A lot it seems, what had such great potential quickly turned into a B movie.

The beginning wasn't that terrible actually, Ben Kingsley did a great job as always with what he had. The biggest problem with this movie is the directing by far! Some casting mistakes were made. There was tons of cheesy dialogue. The wife was quite the miscast as well, there was little chemistry between Ryan Renolds and his "wife", and felt like acting. In fact this was one of the worst performances I've seen from Ryan Renolds. In a stronger directors hands with better music and visual work, it would have detracted a bit and pushed the experience higher. There was little suspense and thriller within the movie, I just couldn't wait for it to end. This could have been sooo much better in a hands of a stronger director even with the poor acting.

A waste of time in the end, there are better movies out there. If it wasn't for Ben Kingley I would give this movie 1 star, but he kept it engaging and interesting the first 15min.

Anyway you have been warned, if you want to watch a poor rehash with bad acting and full of plot holes go for it. Otherwise save your time! I think this director has peaked his prime and is set to join Uwe Bole in his next collaboration.