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In a world where movie tickets are pricey and you could spend hours browsing streaming platforms, Zoe is here to help by giving you the nuts and bolts of a movie or TV show without the spoilers! But movies and shows are more than just mindless consumables, they’re stories that tell us something about our world and the people around us. Zoe invites you into a deeper conversation about media and how to navigate modern storytelling.
In this spoiler-free reel review, Zoe warns you about this film Bad Boys Ride or Die. She encourages you to NOT spend time and money at the movie theater with this one. It is an obnoxious film with bad editing, poor tasteless humor, and a performance by Will Smith that lacks charm.
Zoe dives deep into the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the latest installment in the reboot franchise. Zoe is a big fan of the original film Planet of the Apes from 1968, and fell in love with the recent trilogy helmed mostly by Matt Reeves. This new installment comes after what Zoe describes as a perfect trilogy, so how exactly do you follow-up perfection? It is a nearly impossible task, and Zoe said she mostly enjoyed the movie but found some flaws... In this spoiler-filled review, she explains her exact problems with the movie and comparing it to the previous film's execution on characters and social commentary. It's a long rant, thanks for joining!
In this spoiler-free reel review, Zoe discusses the latest installment to a franchise she loves: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Admittedly, this franchise may be somewhat niche. There are likely two types of audience go-ers: those who love the trilogy and those who haven't seen any of the previous films. So this poses a challenge for the filmmakers, how do they please both types of audience members or do they just choose one of them? Zoe thinks the filmmakers did a good job at solving this problem, but there's another challenge. The protagonist. How can you create a lovable protagonist after following Caesar's journey for three films? Zoe thinks they did a good job trying to solve this problem, but she has overall mixed feelings as a fan of the franchise. She does however recommend the film if 1) you have proper expectations & 2) don't bring your small children!!! CGI apes does NOT equal kid-friendly movie.
In this spoiler-free reel review, Zoe covers the action-packed film The Fall Guy, starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt. The film is a love letter to the stunt community, filmmaking, and classic action films. That makes a lot of sense because its directed by David Leitch who got his start in Hollywood by being a stunt man and has now directed several big action films. This action film is pretty good but Zoe cautions those bringing younger family members with its drug references and strong language.
This episode of Reel Review is different. Instead of reviewing a new movie, Zoe is joined with two incredible guests to discuss their new film: Pastor's Kid. The film's director and writer is Benjamin Koppin, who works in L.A. as a commercial producer and independent filmmaker with his wife. The leading actress in the film is played by Courtney Bandeko who loves working in indie-films and has also done a lot of TV shows.
In this Reel 2, Zoe is taking a closer look at the "true story" the movie The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is based on. It turns out this action-backed and violent rated R film may not be as true to the real life events or heroes as it seems. And sadly, that is true with many films based on "true stories" because there is no standard or expectation for how accurate they are supposed to be... Is this a problem? Is it okay to fudge the facts to make it entertaining? Zoe would argue it isn't okay but what do you think?
In this spoiler-free reel review, Zoe covers the refreshing and entertaining film "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare" starring Henry Cavil. Zoe and her husband Sam enjoyed this film but it is definitely for mature audiences with profuse swearing and a glorification of violence. There is one scene which has some nudity from behind, but it is a scene which shows a character how bad these Nazis are, and the scene was done tastefully and purposefully. The film is fast paced and based on the true story of this secret mission to stop the Nazis...
In this spoiler-free reel review, Zoe covers the surprising film "Monkey Man" which was written, directed, produced and starring Dev Patel. This film is rated R in every way, from the bloody violence, to language, and nudity, but it is also a heavy film wrestling with a lot of themes like religion and politics, revenge, and the treatment of minorities. It is a difficult film to recommend and depends on you, the movie-goer. For sure, it is a provocative film that is full of heart.
In this Reel 2, Zoe asked her resident Godzilla-expert Sam to bring his knowledge to the conversation. Sam discusses why he felt this movie was more of a Kong movie than a Godzilla film, not really a team-up, and he wishes the Legendary studio would make a genuine Godzilla-centered film. They also talk about the monster-verse, franchise-fatigue, and how it is indeed possible to make legitimately good monster movies.... and maybe this one is just "okay".
Big monster fights are not Zoe's cup of tea when it comes to movies but this latest entry in the "monster-verse" franchise from Legendary Studios surprised her! She had a very fun time at the theater and her husband who is a mega Godzilla fan was also pleased. It can't be compared to Japan's film, Godzilla Minus One, from last year, but that's okay because they're two completely different films and it's something Zoe can't wait to talk about in Reel 2.
In this deep dive into Kung Fu Panda 4, Zoe explains why she feels this full shows the greed of Hollywood. One of the film's co-directors, Stephanie Stein, has come out expressing her frustration with DreamWorks and shared her unfortunate experience on the project. Her story explains exactly what went wrong on this film: the bad storytelling decisions, lack of character development, rapid pacing, and how clearly it was all produced to make money. This shouldn't come as a surprise, of course, but it is frustrating none the less. Zoe emphasizes the importance of good storytelling and how disappointing it is to see this happen to a good animated trilogy.
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