Movies & TV

Juror #2 (2025)

Courtroom Drama

I have been on a kick lately where I’ve been watching films based on how high they have been rated either on IMDB or Rottentomatoes. This one had pretty high marks so I gave it a shot. This was not groundbreaking to me, though good. They introduced a unique conumdrum but it wasn’t enough to keep me hooked. However, it was more than enough to keep others interested, so don’t go by my experience – you may have a different one. 

Final Grade: C-

If I had know this was directed by Clint Eastwood, I would have skipped it altogether. His movies are just not my cup of tea. 

Black Phone (2022)

Horror

One of the worst films I’ve ever seen and no I’m not joking. I would give this a grade of F but that’s not low enough.

Final Grade: G

The reason this film scored so low with me is because it is not the story of how a little boy escapes, it is of how a little boy dies. In this film the boy could only escape because of a supernatural connection, but not only that, he needed a psychic connection to supplement the supernatural one. In other words, no matter who you look at it, that boy died, regardless of how the film played it out. If a little boy was actually in that position, there would be no other little boys to call him and there would certainly be no psychic toddler aged sister to tell the police where you were. I think the film would’ve been much better if 1.) they had the little boy escape through his own devices and not have to depend on others that would not exist in the real world. And 2.) A motive. I get that in the real world, these things sometimes happen at random but that is incredibly rare. There is always a reason, be it past trauma, mental health, sacrifice, inner demons, etc. We know that there is a pattern because he only chooses little boys, so that they didn’t reveal a motive  super troubling, and overall a very unsatisfying film. I would’ve loved to seen the kid escaped and it be believable. They really missed the mark with this one. #JustMyOpinion

Fight or Flight (2025)

Action/Comedy

I don’t know what made me put this film on. I think I was looking at reviews on rottentomatoes.com and the ratings for this was favorable but I never expected it to be as good as it was. It offhandedly reminded me of Kill Bill, Snakes on a Plane, and Bullet Train but to me was better than all three. That doesn’t mean it actually was better, I’m just saying I enjoyed it more. Non-stop action, and quite funny in parts. Never knew Josh Hartnett had this performance in him. This might be my favorite roll of his.

Final Grade: B+

The scene towards the end where he was fighting while he was high, and seeing stuff that wasn’t actually happening? I laughed harder at that than I do at most actual comedy movies. The plot was also quite meaningful to me cuz I’m always going to believe that children should be allowed to be children.

One of Them Days (2025)

Comedy

I think this might be one of my favorite comedy films from the past half decade, maybe whole decade. I don’t look goofy or silly stuff, and most of the film was not that so when it did happen, I didn’t mind. Keke & SZA – both of them killed it. The kinship felt real and I would argue that’s probably because it is real. Now I’m gonna need ‘One of Them Weeks’, ‘One of Them Months’, and ‘One of Them Years.’ 😂❤️

Final Grade: A

There were, of course some things that could’ve been better but I don’t fault the movie. King Lolo being willing to kill someone over a pair of sneakers he no longer needed felt like a stretch. That he’d kill girls, even more of a stretch when you could figure out more uses for someone alive than dead BUT they needed that in the plot because without it, how do you move the story forward. And this is just me being nitpicky – I didn’t mind the Lolo storyline because watching them navigate it meant more screen time for Keke and SZA and I’m here for it.

Flow (2024)

It is incredibly rare I watch animated or family films. The only reason I put this on is because 1.) the ratings seemed unreal and 2.) I like cats. Had no idea what to expect. Was underwhelmed the first 10 minutes, then this movie blew my top off , it was sooooo good. Fun, funny, whimsical, tragic, and full of heart. I LOVED IT!
Grade: A+

I would never EVER had guessed that a movie with not a single word of dialogue could engage me like this. The entire movie I kept trying to guess where it was going and I was not right a single time. It kept me surprised until the very end. The scene with the bird with the broken wing rising into the sky, it was 10 minutes after that scene was over that I realized what had happened. Just a fantastic movie from beginning to end. 10/10

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April Fool's Day (1986)

This was the first horror movie I ever saw in a theatre. I was barely elementary school aged and my mom told my big brother he could only go to the movies if he took me and my sister. He’d told her he was going to see something else (I can’t remember what) and then switched it up when we got there and told us not to tell mommy when we got home. We didn’t. I had nightmares that night. So I decided to rewatch all these decades later and now realize this movie only seemed scary because I had never seen one before. 😂
Grade: C-

I was too young to understand what I was looking at when I went with my brother and sister but got dang… Every other line had something to do with sex. They should’ve just axed the horror elements, put some breasts in this and just made it a porno. I can’t remember a movie being this sexual without showing any – I mean, every friggin joke was about boning? Well, I reckon now we know what poor writing looks like. If you have nothing to say, talk about sex.

The Heretic (2024)

Fantastic film. The writing was incredibly clever and the acting was brilliant. Some people would call it horror, some would call it psychological thriller.  All I know is the tension in parts was nearly unbearable. I felt true anxiety watching this.
Grade: A

Movies like this, filled with so much tension are why it is so hard for me to watch black horror films. I don’t mind experiencing tension like this in a movie but so many situations I see in real life where black folks are genuinely afraid and/or in harms way of something that is inescapable makes me sometimes physically ill. I felt true anxiety watching this and the last time I felt this type of anxiety in real life and much, much stronger was the George Floyd video. So I’m thrilled that no black folks were in this. I honestly don’t think I could watch if there were.

All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

I am not a person who normally watches or enjoys war or military based films. However sometimes as I’m looking for something to watch I just click on whatever the first thing I see that has a positive rating. I was pleasantly surprised here and appreciated how this film explored conflict by soldiers, not as heroes but as humans.
Grade: B-

I’m not sure this will count as spoiling but just showing appreciation for that the characters in this movie felt like real people and behaved in ways that you don’t often associate with the courageousness and honor that one associates with being in the military. I do not often think anything other than soldiers are the badasses of our society until I see them once they are back from their tours and are struggling both based on what they went through in the service and how they are treated once they return home.

Conclave (2024)

I give credit where it is due, this was not nearly as boring as I thought it would be. Every movie doesn’t have to be an action movie if you have a compelling storyline, plot and characters.
Grade: B

My goodness they did the black priest dirty. But I’m not buying that sister girl didn’t know why she was there. As soon as she saw the dude she had to know that was the reason she was sent there. Ain’t no coincidence that big, it was planned. 

Paroxycus

As I get older I find that I don’t have enough spare time to devote to just sitting down and looking at a screen for two hours. So, in order to keep up with the movies or shows I’m interested in I tend to watch them while I’m performing another task.

When I am doing things like folding laundry, cooking a meal, or repairing/sewing clothes I will put on a movie. It’s also why I love having dual monitors. There are a lot of weekly or monthly computer tasks I must perform and so I might put a TV show on to accompany my work.

Win/win for everybody!

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