Three Sentence Movie Reviews – Page 16

Athlete A Gets an A+

Athlete A

Directed by Bonni Cohen, Jon Shenk

The review:

The rise of the tiny gymnast has run parallel to my time on earth, and I’ve kept tabs from on the Olympic branch of the sport since the 80s* including Larry Nassar’s arrest, trial, and the 100+ victim statements.** While we follow the reporters recounting their efforts to break the abuse story, directors Cohen and Shenk use gymnasts, parents,*** lawyers, and trainers to highlight the many things wrong with USA Gymnastics.**** The use and discarding of these girls is hard to watch, but it’s worth every minute of your time.

The verdict: Recommended

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

Further sentences:

*Béla Károli hugging Mary Lou Retton after her perfect vault is one of my earliest Olympic memories, though I gave up watching the Olympics after Atlanta when the commentary became unbearable. (“What a terrible tragedy! You can see how disappointing it is that she won bronze!”)
**That Nassar’s plea bargain allowed so many women to speak was perhaps the most powerful moment in a long history of women speaking up and being ignored. (Or worse.)
***Maggie Nichols’s parents are particularly good at simply stating the many outrageous things that were going on.
****I’d like to start talking about making sure Olympic athletes meet minimum age requirements, for one.

Questions:

How many other sports organizations do you think need the same level of scrutiny as USA Gymnastics got?
What was the most moving moment in the film for you? Or the most maddening.

Other reviews of Athlete A:

Kate Erbland, Indiewire
Leah Greenblat, Entertainment

Text: We love winners in this country. This is a competitive country. We consider ourselves the best in the world at everything, right? But this notion that we would sacrifice our young to win I think disgustes us a little. —Jennfier Say. —Athlete A. Read the three sentence movie review 3SMReviews.com

The Assistant’s Long Day

The Assistant

Directed by Kitty Green
Written by Kitty Green

The review:

On the one hand this is a like enduring a very long day of a job you long to quit; on the other the minute-by-minute chronicle allows plenty of time to contemplate things* as the banal a-lot-ain’t-right-here feelings continue. What Julia Garner is doing is a lot harder than it looks and she carries us through her mundane, creepy, and disgusting tasks.** Even more fun: the things other employees say as justification.***

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: $1.80 via Redbox
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*”If movies are made by people like this, why am I even supporting the industry?” was one of my many thoughts.
**Kitty Green’s choice to never show the boss is what makes this movie so powerful.
***A close second: the lines Garners co-workers feed her so she can properly apologize to her terrible boss.

Questions:

What was the most surprising thing about the company?
Would you continue to work in this job?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

The film was shot in eighteen days.

Other reviews of The Assistant:

Alissa Wilkinson, Vox
Sheila O’Malley, RogerEbert.com

Text reads: Don't worry. You're not his type. —The Assistant. Read the three sentence movie review: 3SMReviews.com

Bad Times at the El Royale Make for Good Movie

Bad Times at the El Royale

Directed by Drew Goddard
Written by Drew Goddard

The review:

I’m a sucker for stylish set design and once I saw the state line dividing the El Royale into California and Nevada sections I was all in.* Add more than one creepy mystery, a cast that owns the camera** and this was an excellent night at the movies.*** It was also just a tad too long, alas.

The verdict: Good

Cost: $2.00 via Redbox (They only had a Bluray copy so it cost more.)
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Knives Out (This is the opposite film: a sunny and fun mystery. It might make a nice palate cleanser.)
Brick
Widows
Game Night (Also an opposite. Hilarious mystery.)

Further sentences:

*Have I stood with four limbs in four states at Four Corners? Why yes I have! Human-created lines of demarcation are fascinating.
**The film does a great job cycling through the motel guests’ stories. From the beginning, it seems like it’s going to be Jon Hamm’s movie, but that shifts as we see the stories of each guest.
***Don’t go in expecting a happy ending, though. Also, it would be interesting to represent in graph form Chris Hemsworth’s (Billy Lee) repelling and magnetic energy. And then segment out how much his naked torso is contributing to that magnetic energy.

Questions:

How did you feel about the ending? Did it all work out okay for you?
Which character intrigued you the most?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

The El Royale was built from scratch on a sound stage with much of the furniture and decor being custom made (including branded matchboxes and coasters for the bar). The color scheme was meticulously set out so that the California side was mostly yellows and oranges, while the Nevada side was purples and blues. Red was reserved for the borderline, jukebox, and chandelier, while green is almost entirely absent until the end.

Also this:

There was no pre-recorded soundtrack, so all of Cynthia Erivo’s singing in the film is for real. For the lengthy tracking shot scene behind the hotel mirrors, Erivo had to perform “Try a Little Tenderness” 27 times.

Cynthia Erivo can SING!

Other reviews of Bad Times at the El Royale:

Jessica Kiang, The Playlist
Katie Rife, AV Club

Orange background. Text says: This is not a place for a priest, Father. You shouldn't be here. —Bad Times at the El Royale. Read the three sentence movie review 3SMReviews.com

Top Movies June 2020

(11 Movies Watched Total)

See You Yesterday

Teen Time Travel

13th

Amendment Abuse

Da 5 Bloods

Vietnam Vets

Wild Rose

Country out of Country

The Watermlon Woman

Winning Woman

Jaws

Scary Shark

Interstellar

Space Separation

Blindspotting

Felony Fear

Do the Right Thing

Boiling Block

Can’t Hardly Wait

Teen Torment

Rewatched: Lady Bird (Still great!)

Have you been waiting for Can’t Hardly Wait?

Can’t Hardly Wait

Directed by Harry Elfont & Deborah Kaplan
Written by Deborah Kaplan, Harry Elfont

The review:

Wowee, does this standard multi-character teenage comedy capture a time.* While it’s great to reacquaint yourself with people who once were around a lot and have faded,** I’m not sure this is the greatest use of your movie-watching time.*** But if you, like me, can never resist a teen comedy and you haven’t yet seen this, well, you’ve got some homework.

The verdict: Good

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

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*My teen years encompassed 1987–1994 and aside from Say Anything in 1989 not one teen comedy was released while I was actually a teenager. This, in my memory, is the first after the drought.
**Jennifer Love Hewitt, Seth Green, Sean Patrick Thomas, Jenna Elfman. (Ethan Embry I just saw in a minor role in Blindspotting. He was great in that. A little so-so in this.)
***Though it’s a teen comedy before cell phones plus the 1990s clothing is so fun to remind you that you are glad you aren’t wearing it any longer.

Questions:

What did you think of the wrapup text that tells you where everyone is?
If you had to dress like one of the characters, which would it be?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

At one point, there’s a distant shot showing someone doing flips in the party’s yard. That’s actually Ethan Embry. In addition to acting, he was an award-winning gymnast from a very young age.

Other reviews of Can’t Hardly Wait:

Mick La Salle, San Francisco Chronicle
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Text says: Nobody drink the beer. The beer has gone bad! --Can's Hardly Wait. Read the three-sentence movie review 3SMReviews.com

Do the Right Thing: Getting to Know a Block

Do the Right Thing

Directed by Spike Lee
Written by Spike Lee

The review:

Spike Lee spends a lot of time letting us get to know the residents of a neighborhood block* which, by the time the big thing happens at the 90-minute mark your feeling are stronger than they would have been if the big thing happened fifteen minutes in. Aside from the tactics of the police** much of this movie felt very familiar 31 years later. The main players all turn in great performances*** and despite the fact I watched this on a not-hot day, that increasing tension of heat and city was aptly recreated.

The verdict: Good

Cost: Possibly free through one of the services? I cannot recall.
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*This feature was what sunk the film for me when I first attempted to watch it in the late 90s. It’s a very slow film. It was so slow that I gave up and watched something else, or perhaps took a nap.
**Then: going in swinging with their billy clubs. Now: drawing a gun and shooting.
***You know who isn’t good at acting though? Joie Lee. Rosie Perez is also a little raw. (Though she’s great in the dance sequence that opens the film!)

Questions:

Mookie’s big action after the terrible action. What do you think?
Tell me your favorite character or characters. (Mine were the three guys (Robin Harris, Paul Benjamin, Frankie Faison) sitting in front of the red wall, though the Mayor was great too.)

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

The opening sequence, which featured the song “Fight The Power”, was written especially for the movie. Rosie Perez dancing to the song took eight hours to film.

Other reviews of Do the Right Thing:

Helen O’Hara, Time Out
Kathleen Carroll, Daily News

Quote from Do the Right Thing: Today's temperature's gonna rise up over 100 degress, so there's a Jheri curl alert! That's right, Jheri curl alert.

All movies watched on Netflix December 2019–Present

Good

Da 5 Bloods (June)
See You Yesterday (June)
18 Presents (May)
Inception (May)
Extraction (April)
P.S. I Still Love You (February)
The Two Popes (December)
Atlantics (December)

Skip

Blindspotting: Friendship & Transitions

Blindspotting

Directed by Carlos López Estrada
Written by Rafael Casal, Daveed Diggs

The review:

Friendship is at the heart of this film; a friendship that makes two people better and worse.* Watching the friendship between Collin (Daveed Diggs) and Miles (Rafael Casal) and choices made (now and in the past)** highlights so many contemporary issues. This is a movie where I had all the feelings, it’s laugh-while-watching-alone-funny,*** it graphically illustrates the ramifications of gentrification,**** it has a lot to say about race,***** our system of punishment, and it’s got moments of pure terror.******

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: Free! Google Play is not charging. Watch it today!
Where watched: at home.

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*People who have been friends since they were twelve sometimes have complex friendships by the time they are in their twenties. Both people have changed so much that sometimes what links them together isn’t always the best for either of them.
**The scene where we find out why Collin had to serve time is particularly brilliant. We’re hearing about the incident from an excited bystander, but the two people who were there have different feelings.
***Watching Miles sell things provides a lot of the comedy. That beauty shop scene will stick in my brain for a very long time.
****Including the transformation of the Kwik Mart and houses torn down, with new ones inserted into the block face.
*****Collin and Miles argument about Miles not using a certain word does more to get across race disparities than forty essays.
******For people who “just don’t get” Black people’s fear of the police, this movie offers a ton of opportunities to understand why.

Questions:

Do you think Collin and Miles will continue to be friends?
What was the most memorable scene for you?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Collin’s alarm clock at the halfway house is set to 6:25. 625 spells out O-A-K on a phone and is also on a shirt that Collin wears.

Other reviews of Blindspotting:

The Curvy Film Critic
Kay-B, Black Girl Nerds

Interstellar is Engaging, Confusing

Interstellar

Directed by Christopher Nolan
Written by Jonathan & Christopher Nolan

The review:

Matthew McConaughey, in his I’m-a-serious-actor period, travels through Nolan’s take on space (and time) in a film that is engrossing, and yet left me with many questions.* It’s interesting how the first big moment of action/tension comes more than an hour into the film, yet the story up until that point is more than enough to hold my interest.** As mentioned in the previous review, I still wasn’t a fan of Cooper’s manly I-make-the-decisions move, but this time was too busy enjoying the performances of Mackenzie Foy, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain to let it bug me.***

The verdict: Good

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

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*This seems to be a theme of Nolan’s more recent films. [Vague spoilers ahead] I’m thoroughly engrossed, but what exactly did that data programmed into the watch do? Where did that tesseract thing come from? Why did Murph have to go to a different station, couldn’t Cooper have gone to her? How, exactly is Cooper getting to Brand in just that little ship? [End vague spoilers.]
**I would be curious to see a well-written drama that was a prequel of sorts. Just how did the world get to be anti-science and farmers-only?
***Plus, Wes Bently! What do I have to do to get more Wes Bentley? [Checks IMDB] Apparently, I must watch movies that I have not watched that don’t exactly appeal to me.

Questions:

See above questions
Has Matthew McConaughey’s I’m-a-serious-actor phase ended? What movies do you think that phase spanned?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

The giant dust clouds were created on location, using large fans to blow cellulose-based synthetic dust through the air.

Also:

The documentary-style interviews of older survivors shown at the beginning of this movie and again on the television playing in the farmhouse toward the end of the movie are from Ken Burns The Dust Bowl (2012). They are real survivors, not actors, of that natural disaster.

Other reviews of Interstellar:

Dana Stevens, Slate
Claudia Puig, USA Today

I’ve Now Seen Jaws and It Is Excellent

That’s my hot take on this 45-year-old movie.

Jaws

Directed by Steven Spielberg
Written by Peter Benchley, Carl Gottlieb

The review:

Thank goodness for malfunctioning mechanical sharks as the shark-less filmmaking tricks hold tried and true 45 years later, expertly establishing a solid level of fear so that when the mechanical shark does show up* I was willing to treat it with the same amount of fear I had when it was being implied. Aside from many Coronavirus parallels, this movie is packed with excellent scenes** and provides many legitimate scares. I wondered if I would end up rooting for the shark,*** but the menace was properly recorded and while I would have liked to broker a peace agreement to perhaps avoid violence being perpetuated on both sides, I was okay with how things turned out.****

The verdict: Recommended

(It’s ridiculous I am just watching this for the first time.)
(This happens a lot with movies that were released before I could walk)

Cost: $1.99 via Redbox On Demand
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Open Water
The Grey

Further sentences:

*It hasn’t aged well, though is pretty impressive from a practical effects standpoint.
**Roy Scheider watching with worry as people frolic on the beach; Robert Shaw’s fingernails-on-chalkboard introduction; Shaw’s tale of the USS Indianapolis; Any scene with Richard Dreyfuss; Lorraine Gary’s realization that sharks can bite through boats and her about face from “it’s okay” status.
***As I did for the whale in the Ron Howard film In the Heart of the Sea.
****This movie also has an interesting split. Most of it is the story of a police chief’s interactions with people in the town and trying to make good decisions. The last section is Men vs. Nature. The end of the film doesn’t wrap back around to tie into the chief/town part. Interesting.

Questions:

Does everyone find Richard Dreyfuss as mesmerizing as I do, or is this some imprinting thing that happened to me in the 80s?
What was the scariest part for you?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Several decades after the release of Jaws (1975), Lee Fierro, who played Mrs. Kintner, walked into a seafood restaurant and noticed that the menu had an “Alex Kintner Sandwich.” She commented that she had played his mother so many years ago; the owner of the restaurant ran out to meet her, and he was none other than Jeffrey Voorhees, who had played her son. They had not seen each other since the original movie shoot.

Other reviews of Jaws:

Kathleen Carroll, Daily News
Vintage review from Time