1st Reviews

      Saint Maud packs a rather large punch in its short runtime. I was expecting a straightforward horror film about a woman possessed to do evil deeds, but Saint Maud is much more than that. It is a rather new psychological horror that focuses on the danger of mental illness left unchecked. Maud is a troubled young woman who suffers PTSD from a very traumatic event with a patient while working at a hospital. Maud turned to faith for guidance and now dedicates herself to God in an effort to cleanse herself of the traumatic event. Now working in hospice care, and longing for something or someone to connect with, Maud is given her first patient to care for. Amanda is a cancer patient who requires 24-hour care but she has a past that does not align with Maud's religious beliefs.  Like any good horror film, you spend most of your time watching tensely for something to happen, but Saint Maud isn't as giving as most. The pulse-pounding soundtrack keeps you on your toes, c...

     American Desert is a film about a military veteran Matt Benning who finds himself entangled in a vicious cycle of drugs, violence, and toxic relationships. Matt starts out the movie as an unemployed and down-and-out character trying to assimilate back into civilian life, as he deals with personal issues, including alcoholism on top of his use of prescription drugs. He uses these outlets as a sort of coping mechanism for PTSD from his tours in Afghanistan. He then meets a girl who you think will seemingly pull him out of this funk with lots of love and care, since she helps him get a job and they develop a strong relationship. However, this road isn’t without a whole new set of problems to face, vices to consume, and just overall bad people to be around.  Without giving too much away, this point in Matt’s life is truly a scenario where it seems to have to get worse before it gets better. Matt makes the decision to take matters into his own hands, and be accountab...

    It is 2092, Humans have vacated earth and now live on an orbiting home called UTS, located in upper earth orbit. Tae-ho, Captain Jang, Tiger Park, and a robot named Bubs are the crew of the ship Victory, a junk collecting ship that trades space junk for cash. While on a routine mission, the crew discovers a cargo ship containing a dangerous humanoid child named Dorothy. UTS' top security is looking for Dorothy which puts the crew right in the middle of the action to save earth from complete destruction.  Tae-ho being the main hero, we get to see a glimpse into his backstory, but I do wish we got to know the rest of the teams' past a bit more, as the film gives us just enough to be invested in them. Captain Jang is a badass leader who does not take any shit from anyone. Tiger Park had some amazing moments, especially with Dorothy, who by the way, is my favorite character. Played by Ye-Rin Park, she adds such an entertaining dynamic to the crew. The film is filled with ...

  Jiu Jitsu stars martial arts skills in the lead role with Alain Moussi, Nicolas Cage, and other familiar faces, which all together form an ancient order of jiu-jitsu fighters who, every six years, battle a vicious race of alien invaders in order to save mankind. The movie itself sounds a bit ridiculous in terms of its plot, and I can assure you that it lives up to the description above.  I'll give it to you straight with this review because if you're looking for an exceptional film with fantastic dialogue, interesting characters, top-notch acting, or intriguing themes, then this probably isn't the movie for you. However, there are some positives with the film that could have an appeal to many viewers around. Jiu Jitsu feels like one constant fight scene as it rarely takes a break from the skillful martial arts battles between the characters to lay the groundwork for something bigger. Therefore, if a martial arts action film is something that you like, then it may be worth...

Welcome to Icarus II, a suicide mission to try and reignite the sun.  55 million miles from home, a team of astronauts travel through space on a collision course for the sun. Their ship contains a massive thermal nuclear weapon in an effort to fling the bomb into the sun to reignite its core.  As they travel closer to the sun and pass Mercury, they are presented with a dilemma as they discover the remains of Icarus 1. The team must discuss and assess the risk moving forward as their chance of succeeding has now potentially doubled if they choose to secure the payload on the stranded Icarus 1.  I found myself entranced immediately as the film began, from the incredible visuals to the relatable crew, the tension of the situation, and the vigorous sounds of outer space.  The 8 men and women of Icarus are designed to embody a religious or spiritual allegory as they each cling to something to emphasize their beliefs. The development of each character throughout the film c...

The History of Swear Words is a documentary that we would have never known we would want, but Netflix knew better. The first season of this hilarious documentary series examines the six most commonly used swear words in the English language in very quick, 20-minute episodes. Each episode explores the past, present, and potential future for each word from the expertise of: linguistic specialists, actors, and comedians. These unique perspectives allow us to get a range of knowledge about the use of the word that are simultaneously interesting and useless.  I was excited to see this show when I found out that Nicolas Cage was going to be the host since it seemed like such a perfect fit. He is hilarious, charismatic, and sure does delivers the F-bomb with such sophistication. He and the guests give the episodes that comedic edge which makes it easy to watch and offers many laughs throughout. It is also interesting to see how society reacts to the words in popular culture, specifically ...

To start, I would like you to read the online descriptions of the film.  IMDB's description is: "A young woman, traumatized by a tragic event in her past, seeks out vengeance against those who crossed her path".  The Google description is: "Nothing in Cassie's life is what it appears to be -- she's wickedly smart, tantalizingly cunning, and she's living a secret double life by night. Now, an unexpected encounter is about to give Cassie a chance to right the wrongs from the past".  If you asked me what the film was about, my description would be "Cassie Thomas does everything in her power to right the wrong and restore whatever legacy is left of her friend Nina who was a victim of rape." These Hollywood descriptions are glazing over the events that are the reason why the film is even happening. Nina is the main character of the film, not Cassie. Though we are following the life of Cassie, she is merely an embodiment of justice in the tragedy...