It Ends with Us (2024)

Adaptation of the popular romance novel by Colleen Hoover. Beautiful woman falls in love with handsome doctor, while also recalling the lost sweetheart of her youth. She ends up reconnecting with him in present times, to the detriment of her current relationship. Could not possibly be more predictable if it tried. It contains depictions of domestic violence, which ended up being controversial because people thought this was going to be a traditional love story. In short, it's about escaping the cycle of abuse. Depending on how much you identify with the themes presented, your mileage may vary.

2 trips down the stairs out of 5

THE SHALLOWS [2016]

Director Jaume Collet-Serra momentarily steps away from Liam Neeson to direct Blake Lively in the beautifully shot survival thriller The Shallows.
Lively does a fine job at holding her own as a young woman stranded on a rock just off the Mexican shores after a violent shark attack.
Normally films that take place in a single setting tend to carry a smug look on it's face as if it were breaking new ground but The Shallows is only interested in nail-biting tension and melodramatic ferocity to keep the viewer's attention.  There's not an awful lot of smarts being tossed around the ridiculous narrative, nor is there anything new and exciting but that's where it finds it's highest admiration.  It simply sets out to entertain, breaking the viewer out of their own mundane lives for a brisk 90 minutes.

2½ surfboard seagulls out of 5

HICK [2011]

It's unfortunate when actors give strong performances for weak films.
Eddie Redmayne & Blake Lively do just that for director Derick Martini's road movie Hick, based on Andrea Portes' novel of the same name.
Chloë Grace Moretz pulls off a pretty impressive job as a runaway teen who meets a gaggle of folks who seem fun at first but as she gets to know them better it becomes apparent they're all nothing but trouble.   It's overly gritty, terribly uneven and the whole thing feels pretty pointless.  If not for the amazing acting I would have turned it off after about 30 minutes of this trashy dribble.

2 fluffy god-damned delicious eggs out of 5

THE TOWN [2010]

Based upon Chuck Hogan's crime thriller novel, The Town, actor/director Ben Affleck gathers together an amazing cast and takes us on another moody and atmospheric trip through Boston.
Like his directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone, Affleck allows the city to play the leading character while setting up the captivating story and characters around it. With brutally realistic action pieces, believable performances and tension that builds at the perfect pace, The Town shows that Affleck is an incredibly talented director and storyteller.

4 Nuns With Guns out of 5

Green Lantern (2011)

No one's reviewed this yet? Well, okay.

Like a lot of these origin movies, it spends a lot of time on back story and not enough on action. Once Hal Jordan obtains his mystical powers, however, it slips into high gear. Sometimes resembling Superman (and for once he is recognized, even with his "disguise"), this DC comic book adaptation has fun with the character's powers and I didn't end up resenting Ryan Reynolds more than I usually do. Definitely a helluva lot better than Thor and Transformers 3.

2.5 rippling pectoral muscles out of 5