This remake of Dirty, Rotten Scoundrels (which, yes, was a remake of an even older movie) stars Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson. It is ridiculous — and hilarious. I’ll concede that it’s not particularly good, but I laughed so hard while watching it! THUMBS UP from me.
Aladdin:
I was worried about this live action remake of the Disney classic (and one of my favorites). After watching it, I’m not sure I feel much better. It was fine. FINE. Some things were fun, and my kids liked it a lot. Some things were cringe-inducing or just not quite right. I loved Aladdin, I wanted more (and hope to see more) from the actress playing Jasmine, and I wish Will Smith would have either gone full cartoon character/Robin Williams impersonator or full Will Smith/totally new thing. But he didn’t.
So I don’t feel like this movie deserves a thumbs DOWN, but it’s not really a full thumbs UP either. I guess that means I’m giving this one a SHRUG. It was just…fine.
Netflix Movies (insta story, 6.10.19)
On Monday, I talked about three movies I watched on Netflix. (Connect with me on Instagram to make sure you never miss a live Thumbs Up & Thumbs Down report!) The first movie, Brampton’s Own, is a thumbs down for me! It’s the story of a minor league baseball player who returns to his hometown during a career slump and reconnects with his childhood sweetheart. I have read and watched this same story dozens of times, so I thought it would be a sweet, enjoyable watch. Uh, no. It was not. I didn’t like the movie, and I certainly didn’t like the ending. THUMBS DOWN!
A middle-of-the-road thumbs up goes to a Netflix Original movie, Good Sam. It’s about a reporter who investigates af rolex datejust mens m126200 0008 rolex calibre 2836 2813 white dial silver tone anonymous donations of money, finds her direction in life, and falls in love. It’s cute, and I liked it. THUMBS UP.
Finally, the biggest of thumbs up to Always Be My Maybe. This romcom is written and produced by the two main stars, Ali Wong and Randall Park. They are childhood best friends who have a falling out then come back together years later. It is FANTASTIC. Stop whatever you’re doing and watch this one now! It’s groundbreaking in that it’s a romantic comedy about two Asian-Americans. It’s smart, it avoids cliches and stereotypes, and the dialogue and plot turns are believable. It celebrates ambitious successful women, and OH YEAH, there’s the whole Keanu of the thing. Just…watch it. THUMBS UP!
From Friend to Fiance
SIGH. Look. I love Hallmark movies. I do! But lately, I am struggling with the new movies they’re airing. I’m not sure who’s changed, me or Hallmark. But either way, several of them have been so cheesy or even boring that I’ve turned them off before getting halfway through.
I’m sorry to say From Friend to Fiance was no exception. I did watch the entire movie. But I did not love it. I didn’t even really like it. The writing was flat, the acting was cringe-worthy (including some unexplainable accents), and the production was cheap. The leads were pretty, I’ll give you that, but that’s about it. And they did resist making the third corner of the love triangle a stereotypical mean girl (despite her back story as a high school mean girl), so I appreciate that. Still, it is a THUMBS DOWN for me.
But if you want to watch a movie about a woman realizing she has romantic feelings for her longtime best friend and trying to deal with his upcoming wedding…just watch My Best Friend’s Wedding. We might not get the ending we want, but we’ll always have that Dionne Warwick singalong.
Love, Take Two (insta story, 6.17.19)
Now THIS is what I’m talking about, Hallmark! This movie — a new one for the channel’s June Weddings series — features two people of color who used to date in college and are reunited as adults. She’s the producer of a reality TV show and he’s one of the contestants. The catch? The show is about engaged couples planning their weddings (and he’s one of the grooms-to-be)!
I found this movie cute, funny, and fairly believable. The ending was lousy, as they often are, but the bulk of the movie was great. THUMBS UP!
The Jane Austen Book Club
This is not a new movie. It actually came out in 2007, and I hadn’t heard of it until recently. And if you know me well, you might know that — brace yourself — I don’t even really like Jane Austen that much. (Gasp! Is that even possible? SCANDALOUS.)
Anyway. The Jane Austen Book Club is about a group of women and one man who form a book club dedicated to reading only Jane Austen books. Relationships form, things happen. It stars Emily Blunt, Maria Bello, Amy Brennaman, Kathy Baker, Maggie Grace, and Hugh Dancy. And it is DELIGHTFUL. I really enjoyed it and can’t believe I spent the last 12 years not even knowing it existed. If you haven’t watched it before either, you can find it on Netflix. THUMBS UP.
Juliet, Naked (insta story, 6.26.19)
This movie is not as racy as the title implies. It’s rated R for language, I think. And it’s about a woman who’s spent 15 years dating a guy who’s obsessed with a former rock star. She accidentally starts a pen pal relationship with said rock star and a friendship develops. Rose Byrne, Chris O’Dowd, and Ethan Hawke are great in this movie — but it is definitely NOT a romantic comedy.
When I saw the trailer for this several months ago, I thought it was a unique storyline and one more indy romcom to put on my list. When I saw it was free on Prime recently, I was excited to finally watch it. And it WAS good. But also kind of a drag. The movie itself was slow, which is fine. But it also wasn’t terribly uplifting, and that’s not really fine. I’m bummed about this, but I’m giving it a THUMBS DOWN.
