The Rainbow Tribe (2011)

Number Rolled: 65

Movie Name/Year: The Rainbow Tribe (2011)

Genre: Drama

Length: 89 minutes

Rating: PG

Production Companies: International Production Company

Producer: Daniel Frisch, Gary Hellerstein, John Naveira, Sarote Tabcum Jr., Philip Waley, Ryan Westheimer

Director: Christopher R. Watson

Writer: Daniel Frisch

Actors: David James Elliott, Grayson Russell, Ed Quinn, Julie Ann Emery, Rebecca Mader, Noah Munck, Max Burkholder, Gabriel Mann, Renee Taylor, Aidan Gould, Stephen Tobolowsky, Harrison Herron, Dalton O’Dell, Dennis Volochkov, Taylor Boggan, Harvey J. Alperin, Mark Bakunas

Morgan has just received the worst news of his life. He’s absolutely devastated and unable to get passed that hopeless feeling in order to get on the right path. As a way to clear his head, he decides to return to his old camp, as a counselor, for one session.

Netflix claimed it was a drama, which threw me off because most movies for children skip that genre. Although movies get mislabeled pretty often, this wasn’t one of those times. It definitely went the drama route.

To be honest, the story was a bit more interesting than I thought it would be. It had some truly interesting components. Unfortunately, the makers of the film decided not to tie up any of the endings. When the credits roll, you still don’t know the answers to the majority of your questions. I hate that. I mean, it’s fine to have a bit of an open ending, but when NOTHING comes to an end? It’s just annoying.

With my enjoyment of the basic story, you might expect my score for The Rainbow Tribe to be higher. It’s low, because I didn’t find it entertaining. Most of the scenes were severely overacted, even for kid actors. I didn’t believe the parts that the adults were playing and, even worse than that, the movie didn’t tug at my heartstrings. I felt nothing.

Dramas need to make you feel.

In the end, it’s not a bad film for a pre-teen, but parents might have some explaining to do when it's over.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – None

Netflix’s Prediction for Me – 4/5

Trust-the-Dice Score – 2/5

P.S. There are “Behind the Scenes” extras during the credits.

Movie Trailer: 

Save the Date (2012)

Number Rolled: 90

Movie Name/Year: Save the Date (2012)

Genre: Romance

Length: 96 minutes

Rating: R

Production Companies: Gilbert Films, Instinctive Film, Night and Day Pictures, XYZ Films

Executive Producer: Gary Gilbert

Director: Michael Mohan

Writer: Jeffrey Brown, Michael Mohan, Egan Reich

Actors: Lizzy Caplan, Alison Brie, Martin Starr, Geoffrey Arend, Mark Webber, Melonie Diaz, Timothy Busfield, Gigi Bermingham, Grant Harvey

Sarah doesn’t believe in marriage. At all. Somehow, that needs to be balanced with her very committed boyfriend and the sister that is super excited to be getting married in a few months. Sarah knows it won’t be long before things come crashing down.

Lizzy Caplan (The Interview, Bachelorette, Mean Girls) and Alison Brie (Community, Mad Men, The Five-Year Engagement) are very good actresses. They are simply way too good for this movie.

Let me clear, the film wasn’t terrible. It was solid enough, as much as a movie like this can be. I just don’t find this kind of film entertaining. It was a little like being a fly on the wall, spying on someone’s life. That might sound like a good thing, but have you ever read a non-writer’s journal? No plot. None. Its depth is barely pond-worthy when the story would benefit from an ocean.

Regardless of how I feel, I don’t believe I have the right to fully trash Save the Date. The actors were on point and very committed to their characters. The script had some super emotional moments and other significantly hilarious bits. I particularly enjoyed the additions during the opening and closing credits.

The problem is, I think Save the Date might actually be good. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get into it. It’s simply not my kind of movie.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 46%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 38%

Netflix’s Prediction for Me – 3.4/5

Trust-the-Dice Score – 2.5/5

P.S. Pictures and an extra scene during the credits.

Movie Trailer: