Movie Reviews

Christmas with a View (2018)

Christmas with a View

Christmas with a View (2018)

Director:

Justin G. Dyck

Starring:

Kaitlyn Leeb

Scott Cavalheiro

Plot:

Secret aspirations between a failed restaurateur and a celebrity chef threaten their blossoming Christmas romance.

Review:

Christmas with a View was like watching a softcore porno, only there was no sex. The actors had very little chemistry and the only reason I knew the female lead was interested in the male lead was because they told me. They tried to show her giving him longing glances, but it did not come off that way. I honestly felt blindsided when they started kissing because I didn’t think either of them really felt in to each other.

Also, two of the three young men in the movie showed off their abs. While I appreciate that, it does play into my softcore porn angle. Plus, it was just really weird and random.

Christmas with a View is about a woman who had a failed restaurant in Chicago and is licking her wounds at home by managing a successful restaurant with poise and competence. In comes a bad boy chef, who isn’t actually a bad boy in any way, searching for a place where his parents had a good Christmas, before he was born.

They date, the woman reacts weirdly to a revelation by the chef, they makeup, and it ends happily.

Even with my addition of an extra star for Christmas movies this one was bad. It hit tropes, but not in a satisfying way.

3/5

Christmas Chronicles (2018)

Christmas Chronicles

Christmas Chronicles (2018)

NETFLIX

Director:

Clay Kaytis

Starring:

Kurt Russell

Darby Camp

Judah Lewis

Plot:

The story of sister and brother, Kate and Teddy Pierce, whose Christmas Eve plan to catch Santa Claus on camera turns into an unexpected journey that most kids could only dream about.

Review:

The first movie of my holiday season and I don’t think I could have chosen better. From the minute I saw the trailer I was excited to watch and it was an effort to wait until after the Thanksgiving holiday was over. Things ended up being perfect when I was able to watch with both of my kids and my husband; it was a definite Hallmark moment.

Anyway, Kate, Darby Camp, and Teddy, Judah Lewis, have recently lost their father and are having a rough Christmas. Their mom is having to work a lot and isn’t there as much. It’s hard and very emotional, the intro borrowed from Up. One thing leads to another and the kids decide to stay up and catch Santa in the act, low and behold, it works!

Kurt Russell as Santa is inspired and he was so freaking perfect! Ugh! It was awesome!

Christmas Chronicles hit a lot of the best Christmas movie tropes. There was a musical number, there were lots of lore explanation, there was a cynical child that needed to be shown that the world doesn’t completely suck. Even the elves were cool. There was a car chase! Seriously, what more do you need from a Christmas movie?

Fair warning, I cried at the end.

Christmas Chronicles has definitely been added to my list of yearly Christmas movies. It was everything I could have possibly asked for.

5/5

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)

 

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)

NETFLIX

Director:

Ethan Coen

Joel Coen

Starring:

Tim Blake Nelson

James Franco

Liam Neeson

Harry Melling

Tom Waits

Bill Heck

Zoe Kazan

Grainger Hines

Jonjo O’Neill

Brendan Gleeson

Saul Rubinek

Tyne Daly

Chelcie Ross

Plot:

An anthology film comprised of six stories, each dealing with a different aspect of life in the Old West.

Review:

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a Western anthology in which at least one person dies in every story. The first story is amusing and fun to watch, while each story after that is various levels of depressing. It was not what I expected and while I enjoyed some parts of it and the stories will probably stick with me a while, I didn’t really like it.

The first story is Buster Scruggs, it’s filled with music and seeming magic, it’s fun. The next story is Near Algodones and it is also fairly amusing and fun, with a tragic, though, deserved ending. Things take a dark and depressing turn with Meal Ticket and it made me really sad. All Gold Canyon was depressing in a different way, though, it had beautiful scenery. I ended up talking to the TV a fair amount during The Girl Who Got Rattled and was seriously hoping it would take a different turn than it did. Sadly, by the time we got to the final story, The Mortal Remains, I had checked out and did not pay as much attention to it. So if it was a fitting ending, I’m not sure.

I wasn’t a fan of The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, but then it’s not really the type of movie I like to watch. I will say, after watching something so depressing, I’m really looking forward to some Christmas movies.

2/5

Oceans Thirteen (2007)

Ocean's 13 Movie

Oceans Thirteen (2007)

Director:

Steven Soderbergh

Starring:

George Clooney

Brad Pitt

Matt Damon

Elliot Gould

Al Pacino

Plot:

Danny Ocean rounds up the boys for a third heist, after casino owner Willy Bank double-crosses one of the original eleven, Reuben Tishkoff.

Review:

The glitz and glamour with a convoluted heist were all here, but it didn’t feel as smooth and seamless as the previous movies in the series. I think they had too many call backs. We had the “villains” from both previous movies and because of that the ending was even busier than they usually are.

Still, it was a movie with a gorgeous cast and very well shot. It might not be as good as the first, but I think it’s better than the second. It’s at least as good as Oceans 8. Definitely worth a watch if you like the rest of the series.

3/5

The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018)

the Spy Who Dumped Me

The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018)

Director:

Susanna Fogel

Starring:

Mila Kunis

Kate McKinnon

Sam Heughan

Justin Theroux

Plot:

Audrey and Morgan are best friends who unwittingly become entangled in an international conspiracy when one of the women discovers the boyfriend who dumped her was actually a spy.

Review:

Audrey, Mila Kunis, is dumped by a d-bag that turns out to be a spy, Justin Theroux. She is then pulled into a plot that involves traveling all over Europe, surviving multiple gun fights, and attempts on her life. The movie is incredibly amusing and fun to watch, I love how competent the friends are, but they also make obvious newbie mistakes, and hijinks ensue.

The real revelation for me was Sam Heughan. I’ve never had a desire to watch Outlander until now, but damn that man can walk down a hallway. The scene where he’s going in to save the women…if my husband hadn’t been sitting right beside me I would have rewound that scene a few times. I actually searched for a gif of it but couldn’t find it. So sad.

The movie was definitely entertaining and has been added to the list of movies I’ll buy when I see it on sale. I could see myself watching it just to have something fun on in the background.

4/5