Category Archives: Doc’s Movie Reviews

Bone Lake

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Okay. I am not sure what I can say about this one.

According to IMDB, “A couple’s vacation at a secluded estate is upended when they’re forced to share the mansion with a mysterious couple. A dream getaway spirals into a nightmarish maze of sex, lies, and manipulation, triggering a battle for survival.”

This movie started out with a scene of two naked people running through the woods. It was just a terrible season and ended in a ridiculous way and I thought to myself, “What did I get myself into.” Then, it switched from the scene and it was a story being told by a boyfriend Diego (Marco Pigossi) to his girlfriend Sage (Maddie Hasson). It was meant to show that Diego was not a very good writer, even though he had recently quit his teaching job to write a novel. So I forgave that terrible scene because it was meant to show characterization of Diego.

The premise itself was common and things were really slow and dull in the first act and a half or so. Some dumb things were happening as it seemed that it was typical type of movie like this.

A little over a half way through the film, the story suddenly went totally batshit crazy. Then, I didn’t know what was happening and, honestly, the film had my attention more than it had before.

Is it a plausible movie? No, it is not. The stuff that goes down is ridiculous. It is also very different than the beginning of the film. It does do some interesting theorizing on couples, but when the chainsaws come out… well, there is only so much time for theorizing.

I am not sure how to feel about this. I was entertained at times while at other times I found myself feeling stupider having watched it. It felt like it was meant to be a satire at times, but I do not think that was the intent. I am torn on Bone Lake.

2.9 stars

Dead of Winter

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I have always thought that Emma Thompson was immensely talented as an actor. I have an even greater respect for her after watching her as an action hero in Dead of Winter.

Thompson played Barb, who had just lost her husband of many years. She was on the way to an out-of-the-way lake in Minnesota with his ashes when she comes across a snowstorm. Stopping at a cabin for directions, she came across a suspicious couple. Barb does not think anything of it, and she continues to the lake. However, while there, she sees a young adult girl with her hands tied and being held at gunpoint.

Going back to the cabin to investigate, Barb finds the girl, Leah, tied up in the basement of the cabin.

Emma Thompson was like a combination of Marge from Fargo and Dorothy from Fargo TV show. The movie does take time to give us background on Barb and her husband. They met at the lake where he wanted his ashes scattered. Barb was a hero, ready to put her life on the line for this stranger.

The film did a great job of creating a tension while watching. It was never over the top and it kept the audience wondering how Barb was going to get out of the trouble.

Without spoilers, I loved the end of the film. It was unexpected and quite dramatic.

While this may not be the greatest movie I have seen, it was enjoyable watch. Emma Thompson is a brilliant actor and she worked in an action movie way better than I ever expected.

3.5 stars

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

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I have been anxiously awaiting the latest Knives Out film from Rian Johnson to drop on Netflix/ I knew the film had been released in EXTREMELY limited release, no where near me, and the streamer was my only opportunity to see it. I wish I could have seen this in the theater on the big screen. I was a fan of Knives Out and Glass Onion, the first two films of the series, but Wake Up Dead Man was different.

It was a masterpiece.

There will be no spoilers, of course, in this review, so I am not sure how much I can reveal. I will simply say that the story was brilliant, and kept me guessing the whole way. Even when it appeared to be obvious about what happened, the full reveal was not yet detailed.

Daniel Craig returned as the glorious Benoit Blanc, in a story of murder and mystery in a small church in New York state. In what seemed to be an unsolvable case, Benoit Blanc walked through the crime scenes and the motives with Father Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor), whose dark past made him every bit the suspect as anyone else.

The cast is exceptional. Led by stunning performances by Josh O’Connor and Daniel Craig, the remainder of the cast were spectacular. Josh Brolin and Glenn Close were both amazing in this film, showing off how powerful they are as actors. The film included Jeremy Renner, Andrew Scott, Mila Kunis, Kerry Washington, Daryl McCormack, Cailee Spaeny, Thomas Hayden Church, Annie Hamilton and Jeffrey Wright.

Rian Johnson’s script was special. I loved the way the story played out and developed the characters and plot. There is so much depth here that it absolutely fills up the screen. The dialogue, as with most Rian Johnson projects, is sharp and witty, and, despite the dark undertones of the tale, had plenty of moments of levity that worked perfectly.

Josh Brolin has had quite a year. This role, along with his roles in Weapons and The Running Man, gives quite the spectrum of his talents as an actor.

The movie is long, but it does not feel such. It is such an engaging mystery with amazing performances and writing that it flies by. I did not think this would surpass the first Knives Out film for me, but it has done so. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is worth every second you spend on Netflix.

5 stars

If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

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A24 has had some powerful movies over the years. If I Had Legs I’d Kick You ids one of those movies that was difficult to watch, but featured some amazing drama and performances.

Rose Byrne is remarkable in the film. Her performance as Linda was so visceral, so on the edge that it made me uncomfortable watching, in the good way.

According to IMDB, “With her life crashing down around her, Linda attempts to navigate her child’s mysterious illness, her absent husband, a missing person, and an increasingly hostile relationship with her therapist.“

Conan O’Brien had a supporting performance as another therapist that was so unexpected. He did not seem like the Conan O’Brien that we were familiar with. He did an exceptional job with this role.

Linda’s husband was constantly calling and harassing her, but, in the end, when he showed up as Christian Slater, everything fell apart for Linda.

Watching Linda being overwhelmed by everything in her life was some of the most painful stuff that I have seen on the screen in quite some time. With constant bad choices, Linda’s downward spiral was shocking at times. It was a powerful example of mental illness and how it can truly submerge who you are.

We never see the daughter on camera until the very end of the film. The husband was also just a voice for most of the film. Both of these choices added to the isolation feel for Linda and the weight of everything bearing down on her.

This was a very potent movie, but it is not one of those that I want to see again. The performances were top notch, but you do not come out of the experience feeling positive.

3.8 stars

Blue Moon

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December usually brings a series of potential Oscar contenders out, whether it be in the theaters or on streaming. I had heard about a performance by Ethan Hawke in a film called Blue Moon, where he played Lorenz Hart, a popular lyricist who worked with Richard Rodgers. It was available for rental on Fandango At Home so I gave it a shot.

The film is set in one location, Sardi’s restaurant on the night of the Broadway opening of Oklahoma!, a musical written by Hart’s longtime writing partner Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Hart was jealous, regretful and melancholy over the new musical, and spoke to the others

Hawke was astonishing in the performance because he had such a monumental amount of dialogue. This entire movie was built around the words being said by Lorenz Hart and the others in the restaurant. The monologues were extremely noticeable and stood out as some of the best writing of the year.

I absolutely can see this being nominated for an Academy Award for Best original Screenplay. The words of the film was as much of the star of this film as any of the actors.

There were a few notable actors in the cast along with Ethan Hawke. That included Margaret Qualley, Andrew Scott, Bobby Cannavale, Simon Delaney and Jonah Lee.

Robert Linklater directed Blue Moon, providing the pathway for the actors to deliver the lines of the script. It was an impressive accomplishment. The film had a Broadway play feel to it, as there were very few sets involved.

3.9 stars

Old Guard 2

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I really enjoyed the first Old Guard movie. It was based on a cool comic book series that I also loved. I was excited about a sequel coming on Netflix. I am afraid that there was a reason that Old Guard 2, which debuted on the streamer at the beginning of July, was a film that I did not watch until December.

This was terrible. Such a gigantic step back from the exciting and original Old Guard film that it felt like a totally different franchise. I hadn’t even known this had come out until I was researching superhero movies for this year.

According to IMDB, “Andy and her team of immortal warriors continue their mission to protect humanity. This time, they have to face off against a formidable new foe who threatens the very fabric of the Old Guard, while also dealing with the return of an immortal who was thought to be long lost.”

The movie was slow, dull, and featured a group of actors just going through the motions. There was some interesting action at times, but most of them just blended together and became background noise.

The plot is weak. I am not sure what matters here. The film does not have much heart, especially when compared to the first one. It felt like it was nothing more than a place card for the next movie in the franchise, which would shock me if it ever got made.

1 star

Jay Kelly

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This movie popped up on Netflix recently and I added it my queue. I was able to watch it this morning.

I have never been a huge George Clooney fan, but I can’t say that his presence has ever kept me from watching a movie. I can say that about his co-star Adam Sandler, who has a bunch of movies that I never watched because he was the lead. I went into this with the knowledge that Sandler has had some Oscar buzz about him so I hoped this would be more like Uncut Gems and less like Billy Madison.

According to IMDB, “Famous movie actor Jay Kelly embarks on a journey of self-discovery, confronting his past and present with his devoted manager Ron.”

I really liked this movie. I thought George Clooney did a sensational job of playing this iconic action movie star who was going through an existential crisis, and I was very impressed with the work of Adam Sandler in this film. He still was able to provide some of the best comedic lines without sacrificing character or intelligence.

Director Noah Baumbach provided a sharp satirical look at Hollywood and how the life of a movie star can be a lonely one. A couple of times, Jay Kelly’s daughter said that he was “never alone” but the film does a great job of showing how he absolutely could be, even while surrounded by his entourage. It showed, as well, the lack of understanding Jay Kelly had on his daughter’s lives.

There were some solid supporting appearances in Jay Kelly. Laura Dern, Stacy Keach, Jim Broadbent, Billy Crudup, Patrick Wilson, Riley Keough, and Grace Edwards.

It does feel a touch long, but I don’t know what I would remove. There are scenes that focus in on Adam Sandler and his life and background that really develops his character that I would not remove at all.

Clooney really does make this role feel like it is something that he has lived through. I believed every thought and feeling jay had during the course of the movie. The film had some neat sequences where something was shot in a way that was original. For example, there was a scene with Jay and his daughter where they were on the phone, but the film shot it as if they were walking beside one another.

Jay Kelly was a engaging movie with some really well developed characters. I was very impressed by the film overall.

4 stars

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2

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I was not a huge fan of the first Five Night’s at Freddy’s movie from a few years ago, but it was not the worst thing I had ever seen. Unfortunately, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 took a step back.

According to IMDB, “One year has passed since the supernatural nightmare at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. The stories about what transpired there have been twisted into a campy local legend, inspiring the town’s first ever Fazfest. Former security guard Mike (Josh Hutcherson) and police officer Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail) have kept the truth from Mike’s 11-year-old sister, Abby (Piper Rubio), concerning the fate of her animatronic friends. But when Abby sneaks out to reconnect with Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy, it will set into motion a terrifying series of events, revealing dark secrets about the true origin of Freddy’s, and unleashing a long-forgotten horror hidden away for decades.”

I did not like this one at all. It felt so forced. The story was weak. The inclusion of the animatronics was silly. The ending was poor. I just did not like much of anything about this movie.

I do have one thing that I thought looked cool and that was the look of The Marionette when combined with Charlotte. It was a really cool design and I did like that part of the film. However, all of the other robotic characters were just a waste.

I also hate when a movie provides a teacher who would just not be around in today’s world and Wayne Knight played one here. There was so much about this that did not work for me.

1.5 stars

Hamnet

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I actually did not know that this was a story featuring William Shakespeare until about 2/3rd through the movie. I knew Hamnet sounded like Hamlet, but I did not know how it was connected. In fact, as I walked into the theater, I thought to myself that I had no idea what this movie was about.

We meet Agnes and Will, who fall in love and get married. Agnes was initially believed to be the daughter of a forest witch, but that never felt like it was addressed. Agnes gets pregnant. They have a daughter and then have twins later, one of which seemed to be born dead, but survived.

As I mentioned, I had no idea this was meant to be Shakespeare and I also did not know that he had a son named Hamnet who died when he was 11, supposedly from the plague. That was believed to be one of the influences for Shakespeare to write his best tragedies, including Hamlet.

I was extremely bored through the first half of this movie. I was not enjoying it at all. However, there were two amazing performances in the heart of this film. Paul Mescal played Will and he did a great job, but the stand out performance in the film belonged to Jessie Buckley as Agnes. Even at the times when I was feeling bored with the story and the script, Jessie Buckley was bringing it hard.

I had heard that this was an Oscar possible nominated film and I was ready to rip that idea apart. There was an amazing scene with Buckley and Jacobi Jupe, who was playing Hamnet, but it still had not swayed my opinion.

Then, the ending happened. The ending was unbelievable! It absolutely took the rest of this movie and elevated it to a level that I could not believe. I came out of the film with serious feels. Most of the time, the example is the ending is bad and damaged the memory of a film. This time, I have a much more positive thought of the film because of the finale.

If Jessie Buckley does not win the Academy Award for this performance, they should just stop giving out Best Actress Awards. Jessie Buckley is sensational and totally carries the film on her back. I would have totally checked out from this had it not been for Jessie Buckley.

Oscar winner Chloe Zhao does a great job with the direction of this film. I loved the ending of this.

3.5 stars

Stitch Head

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I had intended on renting and watching Stitch Head, the animated movie in the style of 3D CG animation, during this past weekend’s post-Thanksgiving, Snowpocalypse Weekend, but it kind of got lost in the shuffle. I did not think about Stitch Head until I was filling in the list of films and I saw the character of Stitch Head on the banner. Oops. So I rented it from Fandango at Home and planned on watching it this week.

The time was tonight and I watched the film.

According to IMDB, “Follows Stitch Head, a small creature awoken by a Mad Professor in a castle to protect the professor’s other creations from the townspeople of Grubbers Nubbin.”

My first thought was that this, particularly the character designs, reminded me of the old Rankin/Bass animated shows like Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The colors of Stitch Head also made me think about the old Christmas shows. That was all good things.

The story was cute with the monsters that were being created by the mad Professor were all scared of humans, expecting the angry mob to burst through the door of their castle at any minute. Stitch Head, the first monster created by Professor, was the one who could keep the monsters calm.

When circus ringmaster, Fulbert Freakfinder, came across Stitch Head, he knew that bringing Stitch Head to his circus would make a lot of money. He manipulated Stitch Head to agree to leave the castle and join his circus.

The voice cast was led by Asa Butterfield as Stitch Head. There was also Joel Fry, Tia Bannon, Seth Usdenov, Rob Brydon, Alison Steadman, Fern Brady, Jamali Maddix, Sway Clarke and Paul Tylak.

Stitch Head was simple in a lot of ways. It was weird as a couple of times, the film seemed like it was about to burst into songs, but they ended about as quickly as they started. The animation was great, bringing me back to those old Rankin/Bass shows and it was fun.

Character design was quirky and creative. Yes, there may not have been anything groundbreaking about this animated movie, but it was solid and enjoyable.

3.75 stars

Jingle Bell Heist

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The only reason I decided to watch this Netflix film, Jingle Bell Heist, was I needed to have a Christmas movie for the Year in Review.

Who would have guessed, but I really liked this movie.

According to IMDB, “At the height of the holiday season, two strangers team up to rob one of London’s most famous department stores while accidentally falling in love.“

I found this charming and fun. However, more than that, I found this one to be written extremely well. There were a couple of twists that happened in the film that I did not see coming and that was unexpected.

Olivia Holt played Sophia and Connor Swindells played Nick. The had chemistry with one another and, even though they were always going to be the pair that falls in love in this Christmas rom-com, they were quirky enough to stand out from the typical couple in these Christmas movies.

The film moved well, flowing from one scene to the next. It did not overstay its welcome and I would think this is an exceptional film to watch during the holiday season.

Peter Serafinowicz played the rich and crooked Maxwell Sterling. As a villain, Serafinowicz was basically one note, but there was enough from him to help us understand how rotten a person he was. Lucy Punch played Sterling’s wife, Cynthia, in a fun, albeit small, part. Though it was small, it was very impactful.

I was pleased that the first Christmas film I watched for the Year in Review turned out to be a extremely solid one. If this turns out to be the only Christmas movie I get to see this year, it is nice to know that I have seen a good one.

3.8 stars

Wildcat

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I was watching a video on YouTube today of the Kristian Harloff Show. This was the day of the week where Roxy Striar appeared. I always enjoy her TV picks for the week so I played it for awhile. They were speaking about a new movie that Roxy was in, which starred Kate Beckinsale, called Wildcat. Looking at the info for the film, I saw it was rentable on Prime.

It was an action movie, directed by James Nunn, who has a reputation for action.

Sadly, the story was fairly convoluted and messy.

Beckinsale played a former black ops operative named Ada. She had a relationship with another operative named Roman (Lewis Tan). Ada wanted to leave the life and settle down, but Roman was not interested.

Several years later, Ada and her daughter Charlotte (Isabelle Moxley) ran into Roman and they had dinner. They were going to remain friends. Later that night, Charlotte was kidnapped because Ada’s brother Edward (Rasmus Hardiker) owed money to mobsters and had spoke about his sister the former black op.

Ada reunited with her former team in an attempt to pull of a heist to get the money to pay off the mobster.

This had some possibilities, storywise, but it felt that these plot points got too lost among the rest of the pieces tossed into the movie.

I hated the character of Edward. He made every scene worse, with the exception of the very final one.

The action was pretty decent, but there was a bit too much gunfire for my taste. I did like the connection between Ada and Roman. They worked well together.

The final was silly. I am not sure what they were doing.

I did love seeing Roxy in the film. She did great in her small role, and I am so happy that she has gotten the opportunity.

This just is not my type of movie.

2.5 stars

Splitsville

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Another film from Fandango at Home that I have been eyeballing for quite awhile was a comedy called Splitsville. I had seen trailers for this film in the theaters, but it never came around my area. So I knew it would be one I watched eventually. This weekend turned out to be the perfect opportunity.

According to IMDB, “When Ashley asks for a divorce, the good-natured Carey runs to his friends, Julie and Paul, for support. Their secret to happiness is an open marriage; that is, until Carey crosses the line and throws all of their relationships into chaos.”

The ensemble of this film was solid with Dakota Johnson, Kyle Marvin, Adria Arjona and Michael Angelo Covino leading the way. These four actors were very solid and had some really good comedic timing. The fight between Marvin and Covino, as shown in the trailer, was extremely well laid out and escalated to a funny pitch.

I was into the story as the film was moving along, but I have to say, without spoiling anything, that I was not fond of where the story went and the final act of the film, while still funny, lost me. I just did not believe what happened would have happened, and it spoiled the first two thirds of the film that I was really enjoying.

Admittedly, it did not totally wreck the film. I am still going to give it a positive review, but the way this wrapped up definitely dragged the score down quite a bit.

3.1 stars

Twinless

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The snow continues here and so does the EYG post-Thanksgiving, Snowpocalypse Weekend with another film I rented off Fandango at Home called Twinless.

Roman (Dylan O’Brian) had just lost his twin brother in a car accident and he was struggling through the grief and pain. He went to a support group for others who lost a twin. In this group he met Dennis (James Sweeney) and they bonded over their mutual loss. They became unlikely friends. However, there was a secret that threatened to destroy their friendship.

I had in my head what this film was going to be, but I was surprised by the way this story developed. There was a darkness to this comedy that I was not expecting.

Dylan O’ Brian did a great job as Rocky and there was chemistry between him and James Sweeney’s Dennis. Still, one of the characters was not as likable as you would think.

I don’t want to spoil anything, so it is going to be tough to go into specifics about most of this movie.

This was solid and engaging. There were great performances in the film, especially our two lead protagonists. It is a solid movie.

3.75 stars

Eleanor the Great

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As we have the second film of the 2025 post-Thanksgiving, Snowpocalypse Weekend, there is actually snow on the ground. It has been snowing all morning though it does feel as if it is not as much as was forecast.

Still, nowhere to go this afternoon so I rented Eleanor the Great off Fandango At Home (aka Vudu) starring June Squibb.

After the death of her friend and longtime roommate, 94-year old Eleanor Morgenstein (June Squibb) was lonely and grieving. By fate, she wound up in a support group for Holocaust survivors. Not sure what to do, but craving the human attention, Eleanor, not a Holocaust survivor, began telling the stories of her recently passed roommate, who did survive, as her own. From these tales, she met a bright young journalism student, Nina (Erin Kellyman), who had suffered her own recent loss.

This was the feature directorial debut by Scarlett Johansson, and she did a fine job with a story that placed the delightful June Squibb front and center. I am not sure there is a more impressive actress working today than the nonagenarian. She brought an energy to the film that would not have been there without her.

The story was good, but Squibb elevated it into a much higher level. It was a typical “lies get revealed” type story, but Squibb made this more than just a typical tale. You could feel her passion for the film in every moment she was on screen.

The relationship between Eleanor and Nina was another positive of the movie. They had a bond that you could feel on screen. When Nina discovered that Eleanor was not what she had represented herself as, the pain and betrayal cut deep.

It may have wrapped up too neatly in the end, but it did give us an ending that provided hope for the future of the characters.

3.5 stars