maryleishman Reviews

Midsommar (2019)

See Midsommar in Theaters

[8/10 · 3 July 2019]

I had the opportunity to see Midsommar at an early screening and while I think the film could end up being divisive among movie-goers, I still think it is worth your time. I'm not 100% sold on this film, but I did enjoy it. It was intriguing and very beautiful. For me the highlights of the film were the cinematography, short composition, sound editing, and sound mixing. In terms of sound I honestly feel this movie is Oscar worthy. Florence Pugh also deserves some recognition. She carried the whole film on her back and that shouldn't be overlooked. Her acting was spot on and completely believable. I loved it and I loved her. My main problem wasn't the completely unsettling events that took place throughout the movie, but that the storylines of the main characters felt a bit weak and took a back seat. I think I would have cared more about where the film went if we had a better understanding of the characters. I felt there was no clear character development happening. Whether you love this film or hate it I think it's worth the watch. At the very least it's better than giving your money to a remake or a sequel.

Lore (2017–2018)

What Ever Happened to Aaron Mahnke

[5/10 · 19 October 2018]

I was surprised when I genuinely ended up loving season one of Lore. It was spooky and insightful. But I feel like Lore has lost its spirit without the Narration of Aaron Mahnke. The first season was polished and put together, but now I feel like it's turned into a cheap TLC reality re-enactment series. Without Aaron Mahnke this show is nothing. Come on Amazon, you can do better than this.

Lore (2017–2018)

Where's the Animation?

[5/10 · 13 October 2017]

The content of Lore is extremely fascinating. I didn't know what to expect when I first started watching the show, but after 3 episodes I am hooked. However, I am a little disappointed that there isn't more animation. In the 3 episodes I've watched there's only been about 4 minutes of animation. After watching the trailers for the series I was expecting the whole thing to be animation. But other than that the show is really spectacular. It's perfect for its Friday the 13th release date.

Carol (2015)

Beautiful, but boring.

[5/10 · 25 September 2017]

This was a beautiful story with beautiful music and beautiful costumes and beautiful cinematography, but it was a total snooze fest. The whole movie I felt myself either uncomfortable with the awkwardness of Rooney Maras character or totally bored out of my mind. While this film was filled with emotion, I felt there wasn't a lot to it. The film just dragged on with Carol dragging Therese across the country. There were points in this film where I was literally falling asleep. The film is beautiful- there is no question about it. But I wouldn't recommend unless you are ready for a long nap.

Mother! (2017)

Set your expectations lower...no even lower.

[1/10 · 14 September 2017]

I went into mother with high expectations. Its a star studded cast with an incredible director and creative team behind it, but this show honestly sucked. It started out as a snooze fest. The cinematography was excellent and there were some creative shots, but for the most part it was pretty boring. And then came the house guests. Oh boy. The whole story line was just obnoxious. I hated every character. You have Michelle Phiffer who is a horrible human, Ed Harris who is off his rocker, and Jennifer Lawrence who plays the submissive housewife who takes all of their crap. She doesn't stand up for herself or to her husband and it drove me NUTS. I wanted to put my arms through the screen and shake Jennifer Lawrence the whole time and tell her to stand up for herself! After the house guests leave the story became absolutely crazy. Not crazy in a good way. Crazy in a "why am I sitting here watching this film" way. While I understood the film in the end, there was absolutely nothing redeeming or entertaining about this story line to me. About midway through the movie I turned to my friend and said "maybe we should just leave", but we decided to stay and I truly regret that decision. The last half of the movie was utter chaos with no light at the end of the tunnel. I felt this entire movie had no sense of direction. The ending was artsy, but totally bazaar and there was truly not a single moment of this film that I enjoyed. I didn't give it a 1/10 because of the cinematography and creativity, but if it weren't for those things this would have gotten a 1. I HATED it. Save your money on this chaotic "psychological thriller" and go see IT instead. I promise you aren't missing anything with this mother of a dozy.

It (I) (2017)

Loved every minute of it

[8/10 · 8 September 2017]

To start off my review I'd like everyone to know I'm a huge Stephen King fan. I love every Stephen King book I've ever read and there is NOTHING quite like an excellent Stephen King film adaptation and this is one of those great film adaptations. What I love so much about IT is that it's a horror film while remaining a comedy and while still focusing on the bigger story line. IT was never a story about a killer clown, but a bunch of kids who banded together for a huge adventure. I loved that the movie gave the audience some excellent scares while still remaining authentic to the comedy of the book. In my opinion the highlight of this film was the banter between the kids and the perfect delivery of one liners by Finn Wolfhard. That kid seriously stole the show. I also liked that there were some moments that felt a little campy and some truly horrifying moments because it made the movie feel more realistic. Its hard to make a horror movie feel authentic, but this film was exactly that. I have high expectations for chapter 2.

13 Reasons Why (2017–2020)

13 Reasons Why This is so Important

[5/10 · 2 April 2017]

This series is so important. When I was in high school I experienced a lot of the same things Hannah Baker experiences in this series. I was made a speculation because of my body and people thought I was a slut even though I didn't even kiss anyone until I was 17. I was suicidal at one point and tried to commit suicide and these were the thoughts that went through my head as I contemplated suicide That being said: this series brings up the consequences of suicide and the reasons so many young people commit suicide. This is important because it brings awareness to the issue and shows the warning signs that you can look for in someone who is contemplating harming themselves. This story is phenomenally written and brilliantly directed. The series shows the mourning parents trying to piece things together, the friend who had no idea what went wrong, and the peers who physically, verbally, and mentally hurt Hannah Baker. There is beautiful character development as teenagers, parents and teachers figure out what killed Hannah Baker and how they each need to change themselves. The acting feels very real and the characters feel like people we all knew in high school. I have heard a lot of speculation that this story is "unrealistic" and for some it may be, but to me this felt like I was watching a TV series of my high school years on Netflix and it was extremely real. Some will hate this and some will say that it makes suicide seem glamorous, but if you watch the whole thing you will see how suicide can negatively effect a whole community. There are some pretty hard moments to watch, but I feel everyone involved with this production did an incredible job tackling this very difficult material. This series will make you stop and think. I would strongly recommend parents to sit down with their teens, watch this series together, and have a discussion about it. This story is real and very powerful

Before I Fall (2017)

Regina George has nothing on these girls

[6/10 · 16 March 2017]

When I saw the trailer for this movie I wasn't expecting much. I thought it looked pretty stupid and wasn't planing on seeing it until I was invited to go to this movie with a friend, and I was genuinely pleasantly surprised. This movie is basically a mix with mean girls and groundhogs day, but unlike both of these comedies Before I Fall is not a comedy. We follow the life of Samantha who is a semi- nice-ish girl who is friends with some of the meanest girls I've seen in any high school movie. Its valentines day, she goes to a party, the girls bully and put down another girl, and Samantha ends up starting the day all over again over and over again. There were some things that worked for this movie and things that did't. The scenery was beautiful and helped elevate the whole film, the soundtrack really worked with the electro-pop music, and the film was surprisingly deep. We also get to see the growth of the main character in an hour and a half which is awesome. What didn't work was the backstory. We don't really find out a whole lot about these mean girls and what makes them mean which is pretty important since this movie is a drama, not a comedy. We also don't know anything about the girl(s) the mean girls bully. Obviously there is a reason for the mean girls to be so cruel, but what is it? I think this movie desperately needed a back story. Another thing that didn't work is that this story was going too many places. There was the boyfriend, the mean girls, the family problems, the weird girl they bully, the lesbian girl, and the awkward boy who is hopelessly in love. Not to mention the whole problem that the day keeps starting over. There was just way too much going on. Overall not great, but not bad either. Solid 6.5 out of 10. A good movie for Nicholas Sparks loving teenage girls, not as awesome for adults.

Studio C (2012– )

This Show is Just the Worst

[2/10 · 5 March 2017]

I think this show is so terribly unfunny. I feel like all they do is steal jokes and sketches from SNL and other comedy shows and make them clean. I appreciate the cleanliness and I think its awesome that its something that the whole family can watch, but its just so terribly unfunny that its ridiculously stupid. Unoriginal and unfunny. No wonder people think Mormons are the weirdest. 2 stars

Get Out (I) (2017)

Did I See The Same Movie?

[8/10 · 5 March 2017]

Did I see the same movie everyone else did? When I saw the trailer for this movie a few months back I really didn't plan on seeing it because I thought it looked like every other horror movie and there wouldn't be anything special about it. Then it came out and got raving reviews and I felt like I had to see it. So I saw it and I was a bit disappointed. I loved the first half of the movie, but I kind of felt like the second half missed the mark. I thought the comedy aspect was a little dull and I didn't think the jokes were great. I actually couldn't really tell if the whole movie was a big joke or not. But one thing this movie did do was keep me entertained. The whole movie I was wondering what was going to happen next and what was happening. I didn't think about anything outside the theater and I was completely focused and entertained by the movie, which is what a movie is suppose to do! I would recommend this movie, I thought it was really good, but I didn't think it deserved a 10 star review or that it was the best horror movie of all time. 6.5 stars!

Arrival (II) (2016)

It wasn't perfect, but an incredible movie all the same

[8/10 · 20 February 2017]

I saw this a few months after this came out and my expectations weren't too high because of all of the mixed reviews, but I loved this film. If you are a die hard si fi fan you probably won't love this just because this is more of a si fi/mystery/drama mix. What I loved about this film was the mystery and creativity. This wasn't your standard alien movie and there was a lot of depth to it. The cinematography was incredible, I mean absolute eye candy. The score was beautiful and intricate. And Amy Adams performance was truly show stopping. Not to mention the incredible plot twist. The only thing I didn't like about this was that it was a little slow, but after the first 20-30 minutes the movie really takes off and draws you in. This movie was a showstopper, I highly recommend it.

A Cure for Wellness (2016)

There's more good about this movie than bad

[4/10 · 16 February 2017]

I'm going to start off this review by saying this movie can't be as bad as anyone is saying it is. If you read a bad review, the reviewer is not taking into account the great things about this movie. For starters, the cinematography is incredible. The lighting, the coloring, the angels of the shots, its all very aesthetically pleasing. The plot is also quite good. Sure there were a few rough moments and some little plot holes, but the plot itself was creative and intriguing. This movie also did what a movie is suppose to do-- it transported the watcher. I was on the edge of my seat the whole film. I didn't want to go to the bathroom because I was so captivated. But there were some bad things about this film. For starters: the ending was confusing. I think the ending would have been significantly better if they would have actually just cut the last 20 minutes as a whole. The last 20 minutes of the movie just turned the whole movie around and I didn't like it one bit. There were also quite a few unanswered questions. This movie was creepy as hell, but a good movie all the same. I would have rated it higher if it weren't for the last 20-30 minutes of the movie, but it just became too much. Solid 6.5