Tag: Amazon Studios

REVIEW: Somebody I Used to Know (2023)

Alison Brie and Danny Pudi star in Somebody I Used To Know — PHOTO: Scott Patrick Green/Prime Video

Directed by Dave Franco — Screenplay by Dave Franco and Alison Brie.

Somebody I Used to Know is Dave Franco’s second film as a director. The actor-turned-filmmaker has teamed up with his wife (and co-writer) Alison Brie, of Community, Mad Men, and GLOW fame, to make a modern romantic comedy with an indie look and references that make it clear that the filmmakers behind Somebody I Used to Know are fully aware of the films they’re aping. The film isn’t merely derivative; you know where it’s going almost from the minute the premise has been introduced to you. 

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REVIEW: Don’t Make Me Go (2022)

JOHN CHO and MIA ISAAC are father and daughter, respectively, in DON’T MAKE ME GO — PHOTOS: Amazon Studios.

Directed by Hannah Marks – Screenplay by Vera Herbert.

A dramedy road trip film, Don’t Make Me Go tells the story of the Park family, which consists of only the single father, Max (played by John Cho), and his teenage daughter, Wally (played by Mia Isaac). Together they embark on a cross-country road trip for the purpose of finding Wally’s estranged mother. Max has just learned that he has a terminal disease, so this is a priceless trip, on which he needs to spend his time wisely to prepare her for what is to come, bond with her, and give her lasting memories. He also has to find a way to tell his daughter what is going on with him, and, as far as she knows, she’s just going on the trip to learn how to drive and to accompany her father to his high school reunion.

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REVIEW: Coming 2 America (2021)

Eddie Murphy stars in COMING 2 AMERICA. — Photo Courtesy of Amazon Studios.

Directed by Craig Brewer (Dolemite Is My Name) — Screenplay by Kenya Barris, Barry W. Blaustein, and David Sheffield.

Craig Brewer’s Coming 2 America takes place 30 years after the events of the first film, and the sequel still follows Akeem (played by Eddie Murphy), who has now become king of Zamunda, as he tries to figure out who his heir to the throne will be. The neighboring nation conveniently called Nextdoria (you get the joke) has proposed that since Akeem has no male successor to the throne, his eldest daughter, Meeka (played by KiKi Layne), should be married to the eldest son of the leader of Nextdoria for the purpose of bringing the two nations closer together. But Akeem doesn’t like that idea, so he is looking for another way out of this problem. Continue reading “REVIEW: Coming 2 America (2021)” →

REVIEW: I’m Your Woman (2020)

Still Photo Wilson Webb Amazon
‘I’m Your Woman,’ Still Image — Photo: Wilson Webb / Amazon Studios.

Directed by Julia Hart — Screenplay by Julia Hart & Jordan Horowitz.

In the first scenes of Julia Hart’s latest film, I’m Your Woman, we are introduced to Jean (played by Rachel Brosnahan) who has become passive and inactive as she has resigned herself to never become a mother, which she had always hoped to become. For Jean, days go by at home, while her husband, Eddie (played by Bill Heck), goes out to do God-knows-what. But then one day her dream comes true in the oddest way possible. One day, Eddie stands in the doorway with a nameless child who he insists is theirs. Continue reading “REVIEW: I’m Your Woman (2020)” →

REVIEW: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020)

Release Poster – Amazon Studios

Directed by Jason Woliner — Distributed by Amazon Studios.

In 2006, Larry Charles’ mockumentary Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan — or, you know, just Borat — became a cultural phenomenon. Fourteen years later, Sacha Baron Cohen has brought back his most popular fictional satirical character for the purpose of ringing the alarm bell as Americans get ready to vote in the 2020 Presidential Election. Although it’s not as fresh, sharp, or funny as the original hit film, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm [sic], as the sequel has been titled, is arguably the funniest movie of the year. Continue reading “REVIEW: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020)” →

SERIES REVIEW: Fleabag (2016; 2019)

Fleabag was created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

This is a complete series review of the BBC Three and Amazon Studios black comedy series Fleabag, which aired its first season in 2016 and its second and final season in 2019. Both seasons consisted of six episodes with each episode having a runtime of approximately thirty minutes. A ‘series review’ is a new review concept on the blog that is inspired by my franchise reviews, which feature short reviews of every film in a franchise within a single article. Below you’ll find my reviews of each season as well as a full season grade for seasons one and two.
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REVIEW: The Upside (2019)

Theatrical Release Poster – STX Films / Lantern Entertainment

The following is a short review of The Upside — Directed by Neil Burger.

A remake of Olivier Nakache & Éric Toledano’s French film, Intouchables, from 2011, Neil Burger’s The Upside follows Dell Scott (played by Kevin Hart), an African-American father on parole, who is hired to be the caregiver of the quadriplegic millionaire Phillip Lacasse (played by Bryan Cranston), who, after having lost his wife, has lost his will to live. Together, they form an — according to this film’s cliched formula — unlikely friendship from which they both learn a lot about life and culture. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Upside (2019)” →

REVIEW: Suspiria (2018)

Theatrical Release Poster – Amazon Studios

The following is a review of Suspiria — Directed by Luca Guadagnino.

The original Dario Argento Italian horror classic Suspiria is one of those films horror fanatics scream from the rooftops for you to watch. For the longest time, I was one of those who ignored that call. To prepare for Luca Guadagnino’s 2018 reimagining of the same name, I finally decided to sit down and watch Argento’s film, and while I didn’t love it as much as its disciples do, I recognized it as a stunning stylish classic with a frightening musical theme, but the dialogue and the acting left something to be desired. Continue reading “REVIEW: Suspiria (2018)” →

REVIEW: You Were Never Really Here (2018)

Theatrical Release Poster – StudioCanal / Amazon Studios

The following is a review of You Were Never Really Here — Directed by Lynne Ramsay.

After I saw Lynne Ramsay’s You Were Never Really Here the day before yesterday, I decided to reread one of Roger Ebert’s excellent reviews of Taxi Driver — the Scorsese classic which this Lynne Ramsay film, rightly, has been compared to a lot. In the review, Ebert smartly noted that Travis Bickle’s response to his own iconic line “Are you talking to me?” — “Well, I’m the only one here,” — was the truest line in a film about loneliness and alienation. Continue reading “REVIEW: You Were Never Really Here (2018)” →

REVIEW: The Big Sick (2017)

Theatrical Release Poster – Amazon Studios / Lionsgate

The following is a review of The Big Sick – Directed by Michael Showalter.

In Michael Showalter’s The Big Sick, Kumail Nanjiani (played by himself), a Pakistani-American stand-up comedian, has fallen in love with a heckler, a white woman named Emily (played by Zoe Kazan). Kumail quickly starts a relationship with this woman, but he is not ready to tell his parents as they are very conservative and constantly shove Pakistani women in front of him whenever he visits his parents’ home. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Big Sick (2017)” →