"We're not critics. We're professional fan-girls." --- This blog is dedicated to movies and the entertainment industry. We use random selection to bring into light the best and worst of streaming films and entertainment news.
Movie Name/Year: False Positive (2021) Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller Length: 92 minutes Rating: R Production/Distribution: A24, Hulu Director: John Lee Writer: Ilana Glazer, John Lee Actors: Ilana Glazer, Justin Theroux, Gretchen Mol, Sabina Gadecki,
Pierce Brosnan, Josh Hamilton, Sophia Bush, Nils Lawton, Sullivan Jones, James
Cusati-Moyer, Lucy Walters, Jaygee Macapugay, Zainab Jah Blurb from IMDb: As if getting pregnant
weren't complicated enough, Lucy sets out to uncover the unsettling truth about
her fertility doctor.
Selina’s Point of View: False
Positive is the movie you
should bring up if you ever need to give an example of a horror film that
exists only to shock, with no depth or story behind it. I’ll be honest, I
had this movie scheduled for today and almost didn’t watch it. Cat needed the
day off, and trailers for False Positive gave off the impression that it
was going to touch on all of my triggers. I looked around, found another horror
I was going to watch… and then saw that this was trending in some places. So, I
decided to tough it out. I shouldn’t have. Every prediction
I made about this flick, from just watching the trailers, was true. There were
no surprises, no twists, and nothing to make it feel like it was worth
attention.
There were also
so many gratuitous moments that it’s hard to describe just one. Each one of them
was based around one sensitive subject or another: miscarriage, abortion, rape,
etc. None of them felt like they had any purpose other than to exploit the
triggers of the audience. Now, I don’t shy
away from films that utilize triggers. I enjoy a good revenge story – and usually
that includes something awful that needs avenging. There’s a way to do it,
though. This was not it. It left me with some images that are just absolutely
unnecessary. False
Positive was not good. It
was overly stylized – valuing shock value over substance. I do not
recommend it.
Streaming Services: Netflix Movie Name/Year: Good on Paper (2021) Genre: Comedy, Romance Length: 92 minutes Rating: R Production/Distribution: Netflix Director: Kimmy Gatewood Writer: Iliza Shlesinger Actors: Iliza Shlesinger, Margaret Cho,
Ryan Hansen, Rebecca Rittenhouse, Britney Young, Christopher Nicholas Smith,
Beth Dover, Kimia Behpoornia, Matt McGorry, Rebecca Delgado Smith, Rebekka
Johnson, Taylor Marie Hill, Tess Paras, Tony Rodriguez Blurb from IMDb: After years of putting her career first, a
stand-up comic meets a guy who seems perfect: smart, nice, successful and
possibly too good to be true.
Cat’s Point of View: We have reviewed a few of Iliza Shlesinger’s (Instant Family, Spenser Confidential,
Pieces of a Woman) stand-up specials over the years. I’ve generally enjoyed
them, as well as her roles in other various movies. When this film hit Netflix,
I was intrigued from the outset by the idea that Good on Paper might be, at least partially, based on a true story. While the names were changed, it was clear that Shlesinger
was inhabiting her own shoes in this role rather than walking in someone else’s.
This was her story, and as Good on Paper
unfolded, I find myself less intrigued and more horrified by the fact that this
is something that, at least in part, may have happened to her. The premise of Good on
Paper hits home for me. Unfortunately, I can’t exactly share a lot of
details why because it would give away spoilers. What it boils down to is that
we should always listen to our instincts as to when things seem too good to be
true. Sometimes you luck out, and other times life kicks you in the face with a
hard lesson.
Good on Paper also
reminded me a lot of something my husband and I watched together a while back.
I haven’t seen many productions utilizing the blend of stand-up routine
interjecting into the narrative. So, of course, this brought Foolish (1999) to mind. I’d have to say
that I laughed more, and found Foolish to be the funnier of the two films, but
that’s neither here nor there. The story here was actually centered on comedy more
than it was an actual comedic movie. Good
on Paper had a huge dramatic vibe to it that somewhat dimmed the comedy
aspect when things really got rolling. I still found parts highly amusing,
though. I do have to wonder, though, if the production team went out
of their way to play up Ryan Hansen’s (Dog
Days, Veronica Mars, Fantasy Island) slight resemblance to one of the leads
of Revenge of the Nerds (1984), or if
that was an accidental coincidence. I digress...
Be that as it may, I was excited to see Margaret Cho (Bright, Undateable John, Friendsgiving) involved with this production. I love her to pieces and she was in fine form here.
Good on Paper had
some decent potential, though I’m not entirely sure it completely lived up to
it. It was fine, when all was said and done. I can’t say that I’m going to
remember it down the road, but it was solid and there aren’t any specific
complaints I could give. If you like Shlesinger, and would find a humorous
cautionary tale entertaining, maybe check it out.
Streaming Services: Shudder Movie Name/Year: An Unquiet Grave (2021) Genre: Horror Length: 72 minutes Rating: Unrated Production/Distribution: Unquiet Films, Shudder Director: Terence Krey Writer: Terence Krey, Christine Nyland Actors: Christine Nyland, Jacob A. Ware Blurb from IMDb: A year after the death of his wife, a man enlists her sister to help him bring her back.
Selina’s Point of View: An
Unquiet Grave
was fine, but absolutely not for me. This film covered
grief. There are a lot of places to take a subject like that. Many well-loved
horrors delve deep into grief: The Babadook (2014), Pet Semetary
(1989/2019), and Midsommar (2019) are only the immediate 3 that pop into
my mind. That’s without giving it more than a few seconds of thought. Each of the films
I mentioned have incredible staying power. They claw their nails into your mind
and refuse to let go. Even if you didn’t like them on first watch-through (or
at all), they still become movies that pop into your mind whenever grief comes
into play. I don’t see An
Unquiet Grave being that. It wasn’t a bad film – but it was so slow that
paying attention became impossible. All the ‘big
reveals’ were not big or reveals. They were obvious turns. In fact, there was
no part of me that saw the story going any other way.
The settings were
suitably creepy. The acting was good. Even the scripted tended to feel natural.
For all intents and purposes, this should be an amazing flick. I was just so
bored that I can’t say that. Right now, the
majority of critics are loving it. It’s got great preliminary reviews. I
predict that general audiences are not going to take to it as well. It’s art. There’s
not doubt about that. It’s just not what I’m looking for in a horror film. It
didn’t capture my attention, and it didn’t scare me. If you want to
see for yourself, An Unquiet Grave will be available through Shudder on
June 24.
Cat’s Point of View: I have one thing
to say in the wake of the credits for An Unquiet Grave: oi. Let me back up a
little bit. I am always excited when we get a chance to watch a screener for
Shudder. It’s really hit or miss whether or not we’ll enjoy the movies, but I always
enjoy giving them a watch There are some
times, however, that you just have to question why a movie was even made. Today
felt like one of those moments as I watched the narrative of An Unquiet
Grave unfold. Within minutes, I had a general idea about what was going on.
I predicted exactly how it was going to turn out before reaching the halfway
point.
I was bored and
nothing transpiring on-screen engrossed me well enough to allow me to suspend
disbelief. Let’s be clear,
though – it wasn’t a dumpster fire. It was simply ‘meh.’ The acting was
generally tolerable, at least. The story didn’t call for much more than low-fi
practical effects so there wasn’t anything askew there for the most part,
either. An Unquiet Grave was simply basic and predictable. There are so many
better options on the Shudder streaming platform than An Unquiet Grave.
I’d recommend seeking one of those rather than wasting an hour or so of your
day.
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 87% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – None Metascore – None Metacritic User Score – None IMDB Score – 6.3/10 Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 2/5 Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 2/5 Trust-the-Dice’s
Parental Advisory Rating:
R Movie Trailer:
