JohnnyD Reviews

Moonfall (2022)

Entertaining!

[8/10 · 2 January 2023]

I saw during spring 2022 in the cinema on the strength of the trailers and the reputation of the actors and director. I enjoyed myself, so I sought out and purchased the digital version when it became available. Since then, I've watched 6 or 7 times (admittedly sometimes with <100% attention) and have enjoyed myself.

Look: some plot points are silly, and IMHO they zipped through the discovery-to-calamity stage way too quickly (cf. Deep Impact, and even Armageddon, which were more measured in the escalating crisis). The latter was jarring, especially since, as a result, the character development pre-crisis is fairly thin.

However the result is a fairly early turn of focus on the savior stage, during which the lead characters work on saving the earth from imminent destruction. There are some pretty neat visual effects, especially centering on spacecraft launches and interactions with the foe. Sequences with Sonny and his comrades are hastily drawn but are in their own way effective.

I don't wish to get bogged down on the credibility of the movie's premise. As Roger Ebert says (paraphrasing) the value of a movie is how it's about what it's about. With that out of the way, I found the movie's "universe" compelling and thought-provoking.

Good to very good performances all around, with shout-outs to John Bradley (K. C.) and Charlie Plummer (Sonny). I'd seek these two out in future performances.

Before We Go (I) (2014)

Surprisingly moving, thoughtful romance

[9/10 · 4 September 2018]

This movie is very good, better than suggested by the professional critics' reviews. The premise is set early: a young man & woman have a Meet Cute / Not-Cute at Grand Central late at night, and we follow along for a few hours as they attempt to resolve their problems. I found the dialogue, the plot flow, and especially the confrontation of emotional burdens very natural, and very thoughtful and creative at the same time. The movie very much drew me in: I cared about the characters and was rooting for them.

Keep an eye out for a small, but key role played by John Cullum (Holling Vincoeur from Northern Exposure). Character well written and portrayed!

Odd Thomas (2013)

Surprisingly good

[8/10 · 19 September 2014]

Watched this on Netflix last week. Am a bit of a fan of Anton Yelchin (Fright Night, Like Crazy, Middle of Nowhere, Taken) so this caught my eye. Also Willem Dafoe was a draw. Bottom line is that I got caught up watching it one late night. Has a bit of "Repo Man" absurdity but the suspense builds nicely towards the end. After watching this movie, and reading the credits, I realized this was a Dean Koontz book. Of course! I'd read several of this author's books, but this particular series seemed, er, "odd" to me, so I haven't ready any selections. This will change. It's a shame to see movies like this not get wide release, but I'm grateful for Netflix for making this movie available. My only hope is that the talent gets a decent share of the proceeds, since I gladly would have paid admission to a cinema to see this.

Stranded (2001)

this movie grows on you

[8/10 · 17 October 2013]

So I was recommended this movie on Netflix due to a couple other low-budget indie-ish sci-fi movies that I've seen. After watching the first half-hour, which consists of pretty wooden acting and laborious exposition, I put this movie aside. The next day I went to IMDb.com, and the user reviews encouraged me to keep on going.

This turns out to be a wise recommendation. Yes, the acting and line-reading is, for the most part, pretty amateurish. At points it reminds the viewer of a high school play. However if you accept that these are meant to be ordinary people in unusual circumstances, you can get beyond this.

Action picks up after that first half-hour, when the astronauts leave their spaceship. This is not "action" in a conventional sci-fi movie: events happen slowly and with plenty of time in between. This is meant as a compliment. The movie shines in the exterior scenes, and it brings meaning back to the spaceship scenes.

This is not a big-budget CGI-filled movie, but again this is meant as a compliment. After that first half-hour, which in retrospect is necessary to set up the astronauts' predicament, the movie does an excellent job at telling a story and making the viewer wonder: how would I act and feel under similar circumstances?

Bottom line: definitely worth a watch.

Funny Money (2006)

surprisingly entertaining comedy farce

[9/10 · 5 August 2012]

We picked this DVD out of a stack one Saturday afternoon and dropped it in, not expecting much. The movie starts slow, with about a half-hour of exposition. It really kicks into gear when the action moves to the apartment of the two leads (Chase and Miller).

The movie works like a play, with most of the action confined to this apartment. Characters come and go, and interact with each other. This is not a subtle or ironic comedy, but rather most of the gags are coarse and blunt. Some are also repeated a number of times.

This may not be your cup of tea, but for me, on that afternoon, it was just what I was in the mood to see. I laughed out loud and was sad when the movie started to wrap up.