Three Sentence Movie Reviews – Page 14

High School Musical Meets Its Goal

High School Musical

Directed by Kenny Ortega
Written by Peter Barsocchini

The review:

This movie is very good at what it sets out to do which is entertaining children.* As such, it features some perfectly serviceable performances done by a variety of attractive actors playing teenagers, some fun dance sequences, very forgettable songs** and a clear message.*** I found myself wondering if Zac Efron’s one-foot-on-wall lean**** was something he came up with, or was directed to do.

The verdict: Good (at what it sets out to do)

Cost: Disney+ Hulu monthly fee ($12.99)
Where watched: at home. I also sampled the Suite Life Movie to catch Cole Sprouse when he was an actual teenager and Right on Track to see Brie Larson when she was a teenager. I didn’t make it past the fifteen-minute mark for either of those films.

Consider also watching:

Grease
Fame
Hairspray
Bring It On

Further sentences:

*As I’ve revisited some live-action Disney films I loved in my childhood, I have discovered that they also were very good at entertaining children, and are not the quality film experience I’ve grown to appreciate as an adult.
**Mediocre forgettable is always better than mediocre and catchy.
***We can all work together!
****Which makes me think of 70’s catalog fashion modeled by men.

Questions:

How would you evaluate Zac Ephron’s career since High School Musical?
What’s your favorite not-really-good-yet-fun movie?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

The movie was filmed at East High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. Students still use Sharpay’s pink locker.

Also this:
Zac Efron’s singing voice was that of Drew Seeley, who tested for the role of Troy. Seeley sang the entirety of “Get’cha Head in the Game” and the reprise of “What I’ve Been Looking For.” Efron only sings the first four lines of “Start of Something New,” the first sentence of “Breaking Free,” and during the scene on the balcony. The reason for this is because Efron’s natural voice was too low for that of a tenor and the producers wanted a tenor to match the role. Efron did, however, do all of his own singing in the sequels, as all the music in those films had been tailored specifically for his voice.

Other reviews of High School Musical:

Sonia Cerca, A Film A Day
Rachel Cericola, Big Picture, Big Sound

Orange background with a white frame. Text: Look, you're a hoops dude. Not a musical singer person. Have you ever seen Michael Crawford on a cereal box?--High School Musical. Read the three sentence movie reivew: 3SMReviews.com

Catfish: Untangling What’s True and What’s False

Picture of Nev Shulman next to a portrait of Nev Shulman.

Catfish

Directed by Henry Joost, Ariel Shulman

Pre-review note: some people have questioned if this is a documentary or a pseudo-documentary. I’m in the camp of: Really Happened But Also Footage Recreated.

The review:

It’s quite handy when your good-looking brother provides you with the setup for an interesting documentary; in this case the brother, Nev, received a painting by an eight-year-old of a photo he’d taken. Back before the internet, perhaps a written correspondence might have developed, but in 2010* Nev connected with the girl’s mother on Facebook, and subsequently became online friends with the entire family. The strength of this documentary is not just that it coined a now-common term,** but the humanity in which all parties are portrayed.***

The verdict: Good

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home

Further sentences:

*When watching it’s important to transport yourself back to 2010, when we were just starting to talk about how accurate the online profiles of people are.
**Seemingly accidentally, as it’s an ancillary character telling a story that introduces the term.
***The confrontation scene in this movie could have been handled a number of ways: anger, villification, outrage. Instead it was done with compassion and resulted in an honest story that was the selling point of this film for me.

Questions:

What was your favorite scene in this film? (I enjoyed the reading aloud of text messages.)
Do you think anything good came of this incident?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

As of August 2011, the film has been hit with two lawsuits and, according to Catfish distributor Relativity Media, the film has an unrecouped balance of more than $8.5 million and will not likely ever become profitable. Both of these lawsuits have to do with songs used within the movie not being attributed to their creators.

(It’s important to do your due diligence with permissions.)

Other reviews of Catfish:

Claudia Puig, USA Today
Dana Stevens, Slate

Orange background with black text: And there are those people who are catfish in life. And they keep you on your toes. They keep you guessing, they keep you thinking, they keep you fresh. And I thank god for the catfish because we would be droll, boring and dull if we didn't have somebody nipping at our fin. —Catfish. Read the three sentence movie review. 3SMReviews.com

Fast Color: Focusing on Relationships Not Super Powers

Fast Color

Directed by Julia Hart
Written by Julia Hart, Jordan Horowitz

The review:

The Venn diagram of this movie includes circles for dystopian* and super powers, but also includes a circle for created by a woman** and in these overlapping circles things don’t play out as one would expect.*** While there is some cat and mouse going on, plus some mystery, this is mostly a family drama, which makes for a nice superhero change. While I wasn’t convinced by a character’s choice at the end of the movie, there was a lot to like about this film.****

The verdict: Good

Cost: monthly Hulu charge ($12.99 with Disney+)
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*No rain for eight years.
**Directed and co-written.
***It would be interesting to do a breakdown of the difference between movies with superheros and movies with characters with superpowers. Where does the power cross over into the hero category?
****Gugu Mbatha-Raw, for one. I’ve yet to see a bad movie with her in it.

Questions:

Would you be interested in a sequel, or a series set in this world?
What would be the advantage of having such an ability?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

They wanted to feature the women between the camera and their abilities as often as possible. Director Julia Hart says superhero movies, films with big effects beats, frequently put the FX first and leave characters off to the side of the screen. They instead chose to acknowledge that the characters are “extra ordinary”—a description Horowitz stole from Toussaint—and that they deserved to be front and center.

Other reviews of Fast Color:

Monica Castillo, The Wrap
Kimber Meyers, The Playlist

Black text on an orange background. It's gotten harder for us to stay in hiding. —Fast Color. Read the three-sentence movie review 3SMReviews.com

Top Movies July 2020

(21 total movies watched.) (There was an at-home vacation.) (So more movies than normal.)

Bad Times at the El Royale

Seven strangers, five rooms.

Athlete A

Untold numbers of gymnasts

The Assistant

One assistant, one awful job.

Little

Three incredible performances.

Miss Juneteenth

One mother, one daughter, two different goals.

Apollo 13

Three astronauts and a bunch of nerds.

Sleepless in Seattle

Two people, one continent between them.

The Old Guard

Four mercenaries, one newcomer.

Hamilton

One musical, filmed for cinema.

Dunkirk

Three timelines, one movie.

Palm Springs

Two wedding guests, one day.

How I Leave Now

One girl, two cousins.

A picture of Saoirse Ronan and Tom Holland. A star with text that reads Good. Text: 3SMReviews.com How I Live Now

We Are Freestyle Love Supreme

One band of incredibly talented people.

Chris Jackson and Lin-Manuel Miranda in 2005. A star with text that reads: Good. An arch with text that reads: 3SMReviews.com We Are Freestyle Love Supreme

Little Woods

One week left on probation, two sisters.

Re-watched this month: Hamilton, Avengers Endgame

Little Woods: Poverty During Boom Times

Little Woods

Directed by Ni DaCosta
Written by Ni DaCosta

The review:

A quality dramatic film with about the life of a person facing economic challenges is always a win in my book, which makes this film a winner.* In this “modern Western**” Tessa Thompson and Lily James play sisters who are doing what they can to hold onto their family home and vanquish other complications. For both actors, it’s a chance to be not glamorous while flexing their serious drama skills so we can see their characters’ fight for survival,*** set in the North Dakota oil boom.****

The verdict: Good

Cost: $12.99 (monthly Disney+ and Hulu combo fee)
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Blindspotting (Double feature subject: the last few days on probation. Watch this first, then Blindspotting)
Winter’s Bone
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Wild Rose

Further sentences:

*They’re difficult to make. Poverty is grinding and it’s harder to wring dramatic tension out of a story about ends continually not meeting than one where, say, a meteor is going to hit earth, or a ship is sinking.
**The synopsis on IMDB calls it a modern Western. I’m not sure I agree with the term.
***In the grand tradition of always questioning poor people’s choices, I found myself wondering why they didn’t rent out some rooms in the house. I think maybe the mother had just died though, so perhaps that was hampering the process.
****I enjoyed seeing this particular slice of life, which I had only read about.

Questions:

What past events do you think have shaped the relationship between the two sisters?
Breaking the law? Necessary or avoidable in this instance?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

The story was initially conceived as a modern retelling of Othello, which is where the names Deb and Ollie/Oleander come from.

Other reviews of Little Woods:

Kimberly Jones, Austin Chronicle
Katie Rife, AV Club

Text: Your choices are only as good as your options are. —Little Woods. Read the three sentence movie review. 3SMReviews.com

We Are Freestyle Love Supreme Highlights Early Talent

Is that, George Washington? But younger? And Alexander Hamilton, but younger and with shorter hair? Indeed! It’s Chris Jackson and Lin-Manuel Miranda in 2005. Which is only part of the charm of this documentary.

We Are Freestyle Love Supreme

Directed by Andrew Fried
Written by Brian Anton, Peter Curtis

The review:

The main draw to this documentary is to see Lin-Manuel Miranda in 2005, back before he was Lin-Manuel Miranda,* but what ended up hooking me was this story of an improv group doing full shows in hip-hop freestyle rhyme.** It’s fun to see shows from both 2005 and 2019 and to hear the participants talk about how important the group was to their lives. With this many people the narrative spreads thin and it felt like a lot of things got skipped, but overall, this was fascinating to watch.***

The verdict: Good

Cost: Hulu monthly fee ($12.99 in combo with Disney+)
Where watched: at home

Further sentences:

*I recognized Miranda, but then the name Thomas Kail sounded familiar. “Wasn’t that the director of Hamilton?” I asked myself. It was. Then someone else looked familiar. “Is that the George Washington guy from Hamilton?” Yes it was Chris Jackson. Matt wandered in and said, “I recognize that Utkarsh guy.” He was the boyfriend in Brittany Runs a Marathon.
**I’m always up for the creativity of improv, this added a new level. Also, as a person who’s knowledge stops with Yo! MTV Raps, I have no idea if “hip-hop freestyle rhyme” was the best way to describe what they do. Am I saying the same thing three times?
***It was good insight into where the torrent of words from Hamilton came from. Stephen Merchant was my stand-in, asking questions of the troupe as to how they manage to think of the rhymes off the top of their head.

Questions:

What was your favorite word that was used for freestyle improv?
Aside from Lin-Manuel Miranda, who do you think has had the most success in the group?

Other reviews of We are Freestyle Love Extreme:

Lily Janiak, San Francisco Chronicle
Caroline Siede, AV Club

Orange background with text: I think we decided to get back together because it's probably the purest expression of joy that any of us have ever felt in doing a show. —We Are Freestyle Love Supreme

The Kissing Booth 2: Teenage Girls Deserve More

The Kissing Booth 2

Directed by Vince Marcello
Written by Vince Marcello, Jay S. Arnold

The review:

Good gravy, don’t teenage girls deserve story logic like teenage boys do?* Nothing in this film makes sense, especially the time line** but also people’s motivations are cued at the need of the plot. Regardless, did I watch the whole thing with a smile on my face?***

The verdict: Skip

Also Good, if you are in the right mood and willing to overlook many, many flaws.

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home

Consider watching instead:

Further sentences:

*Yes, they do!
**The time line in this film operates at speed of plot. Sending in college applications in September? Finding out if you got into schools in June? Homecoming carnival happening after Thanksgiving? Still unanswered from the first movie: Dance Club? Who are the other members? What does the club do?
***Yes.

Questions:

How does this movie manage to be pleasurable and maddening at the same time?
What was the single most unrealistic moment in this film?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

The movie is set in Los Angeles but mostly filmed in Cape Town, South Africa.

Other reviews of The Kissing Booth 2:

Kate Erbland, Indiewire
Stephanie Zacharek, Time

All movies watched on Netflix January–Present

Good

Skip

Love Simple is a Simple Movie

A picture of Francisco Solorzano and Patrizia Hernandez with a sketch of NYC brownstones behind them

Love Simple

Directed by Mark von Sternberg
Written by Mark von Sternberg

The review:

When you have two characters who are both lying to make themselves look better to the person they like it doesn’t make for the best narrative.* While this is a solid example of a middle-to-low quality indie film, it’s not the best way to spend your time. While you are waiting for the couple to find each other out, you can wonder if you’ve seen anyone anywhere else,** contemplate if naming a female character “Keith” is more distracting than endearing, and take in some 2009 fashions.***

The verdict: Skip

Cost: Free via Kanopy Streaming Service
Where watched: at home

Consider watching instead:

Further sentences:

*They will either discover their lies and break up, or discover their lies and find a way to forgive each other. Those are the two endings. Watching them pile up their lies until the point when they have to come clean does not make for an interesting movie.
**Mostly the answer is no.
***Men’s jeans were still really baggy then. I had forgotten.

Questions:

Who was telling the biggest lie?
Were you rooting for or against the couple by the end of the film?

How I Live Now Showcases Young Actors

How I Live Now

Directed by Kevin Macdonald
Written by Jeremy Brock, Penelope Skinner, Tony Grisoni

The review:

While I could see what this movie was trying to do* it didn’t quite pull through, but I did appreciate it for showing war from a civilian perspective. All three leads have gone on to many good things** and it’s great to see these early performances. For anyone who ever wondering, “how would I adapt if my city was invaded during a war?” this provides some good insights.

The verdict: Good

Cost: $2.99 via Google Play
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Show how the average girls’ internal monologue is something akin to a mean girl whispering all the time and show how none of that matters when times get tough.
**I watched this because it was a Saoirse Ronan performance I hadn’t seen, but I was most intrigued to see Tom Holland. He’s tiny! Ironically, his real age when filming this movie from 2013 is two years older than the age his Spider-Man character is in Spider-Man Homecoming (2017). George MacKay was also the oldest boy in Captain Fantastic and one of the two soldiers carrying out the mission in 1917.

Questions:

How do you feel about the ending?
What act took the most bravery?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Director Kevin Macdonald chose to film the first half of this movie with a hand-held camera to give the paradise like–countryside home a sense of humanity, as though the camera was alive and breathing. The second half of this movie was shot in a more steady and smoother style to make the war-torn countryside more sharp and unforgiving, as though the camera was mechanical.

Other reviews of How I Live Now:

Tasha Robinson, The Dissolve
Cath Clarke, Time Out London

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High School Musical

The review:

The verdict: Good (at what it sets out to do)

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

Questions:

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Other reviews of High School Musical:

Catfish

The review:

The verdict: Good

Further sentences:

Questions:

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Other reviews of Catfish:

Fast Color

The review:

The verdict: Good

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

Questions:

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Other reviews of Fast Color:

Little Woods

Little Woods

The review:

The verdict: Good

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

Questions:

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Other reviews of Little Woods:

We Are Freestyle Love Supreme

The review:

The verdict: Good

Further sentences:

Questions:

Other reviews of We are Freestyle Love Extreme:

The Kissing Booth 2

The review:

The verdict: Skip

Consider watching instead:

Questions:

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Other reviews of The Kissing Booth 2:

Recommended

Good

Skip

Love Simple

The review:

The verdict: Skip

Consider watching instead:

Further sentences:

Questions:

How I Live Now

The review:

The verdict: Good

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

Questions:

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Other reviews of How I Live Now: