Category Archives: Relationships

Movie Review: Together

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The standout issue with the new horror movie “Together” is that its premise and special effects represent a brand-new idea that has never been done before in a film.

A married couple, Tim and Millie, played by real-life couple Dave Franco and Allison Brie, move to the country and on a hiking trip find themselves infected by supernatural water, which tries to physically connect them together.

The remainder of this movie is about conflicts in Tim and Millie’s relationship and horrific scenes where the two of them are like magnets trying to pull themselves apart from each other. There is a side story where another teacher in the school where Millie teaches is familiar with this water and videos are seen of ceremonies where this teacher is trying to bond with his partner, who it seems, passed away some time ago. For this part of the story, not enough is explained, suggesting that perhaps these people are aliens who might have infected the area with this body-bonding water. In the end, we never find out the origin of this supernatural water.

There are the typical gross-out scenes that are common with physical horror movies like this one; most are well done, especially when they show the combining of body parts. The ending was no surprise, and overall, I give this movie a very mild recommendation only because of some of the originality.

The Rotten Tomatoes rating of 94% is way too high, with my rating around 75% and small thumbs up.

Movie Review: Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning

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The good news is that, to ultimately save the life of Tom Cruise and any number of stuntmen who create the most dangerous movie stunts in the history of film, this eighth installment., “Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning” will most likely be the very last Mission Impossible movie. The problem with insane stunts like these is that for each new film, the producers always try to top themselves, and one day, during one mundane take of an action sequence, someone is going to be killed.

This new movie now has the most dangerous stunt scenes ever filmed, including the climax with two biplanes and Tom Cruise wingwalking, and climbing around both airplanes with a high probability of instant death. Some videos about these stunts explain the years of planning and risk involved (included in this blog) as Tom Cruise has once again topped himself, but has put his life in the most extreme danger in this movie.

As far as the rest of this 2-hour and 49-minute action film, there are times when the story is rather slow with a plotline that is overly crazy and complex, about a worldwide AI virus and the series of tasks required to find the source code and then trap the virus to save the world. There are also very dangerous scenes on a submarine where Tom Cruise spends a long period underwater looking for this container that, along with another device, is needed to trap the AI virus that is putting the world on the brink of nuclear war. This part of the action is the most far-fetched, with Tom Cruise at one point without a diving suit very deep in freezing cold water, something that would definitely kill any human being.

The rest of the cast includes the two regulars in this long-running movie franchise, including Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn and Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell, with Hayley Atwell as Grace, and did not include Rebecca Ferguson as Ilsa Faust who has been Ethan Hunt’s long-term love interest and was in the last Mission Impossible movie released in 2023. This is because she was killed off in the last movie, something I did not like about the previous Mission: Impossible film. I also thought the ending of this film was too similar to the ending of Mission: Impossible Fallout, released in 2018, and the film was unnecessarily long.

The Rotten Tomatoes reviews for this film are an anemic 80%, mainly due to the overly complex and convoluted plot, with my rating 100% for the incredible action scenes and a solid 85% for this movie.

Movie Review: The Friend

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The new movie “The Friend” has a very simple logline. An older man, Walter, played by Bill Murray, decides to commit suicide and leave his Great Dane, named Apollo, with a friend Iris, played by Naomi Watts. What follows in this story is the grief that Iris experiences after losing a close friend, the many difficulties in trying to take care of a giant dog, and her landlord’s constant reminders that dogs are not allowed in her rent-controlled apartment.

This movie is filmed entirely in New York City, following Iris continuing with her professional and personal life despite the many challenges she suddenly faces after her friend dies, coping with both grief and anger. There are more flashback scenes with Bill Murray towards the end of this film, that show the depth fo this friendship between Ira and Walter.

Most of the good moments of this story are about the personality and likability of the dog when he demonstrates a high level of intelligence including several moments of sadness in his eyes, after Watler dies early in the film. From ChatGPT: “Great Danes are considered a giant breed, and unfortunately, larger dogs tend to have shorter lifespans compared to smaller breeds. Some of the most common health issues that can affect their longevity include: Bone Cancer, Heart Disease, Hip Dysplasia and Gastric Torsion.“

I thought the ending was well done, with Iris struggling to find a solution to the landlord forcing her to get rid of the dog that she has grown to love.

The Rotten Tomatoes rating for The Friend is a very high 86% with my rating around 80% with an overall running time that could have been shorter, due to the very simple story.