Contributions by: Renee Cuisia on Netflix (Page 5)
Renee Cuisia is the lead curator at A Good Movie to Watch. In her spare time, she likes to watch K-dramas and analyze them to death. She’s also seen You’ve Got Mail one too many times but is still convinced it’s one of the greatest films out there.
A screwball comedy following two crass female cops sounds, well, nice. But without a compelling mystery, believable chemistry, and funny jokes, Nice Girls fails to live up to its name. The crime that drives the movie’s plot feels flimsy and Disney-esque, a formula of a mystery you’ve seen a hundred times before. The chemistry between […]
There is nothing in this Netflix docuseries about the disappearance of the ARA San Juan that you can’t read or watch anywhere else on the internet. The case itself is interesting, brimming with political controversy and engineering lessons to be learned, but the series’ narrative structure and editing are so formulaic and dull that they […]
Compared to recently released age-gap romances The Idea of You and A Family Affair, Lonely Planet feels more mature. Liam Hemsworth’s Owen is a capable financier without any manchild tendencies, and his attraction to Laura Dern’s Katherine has nothing to do, at least explicitly, with age. They like each other simply because they do. They […]
On paper, A Man in Full looks like it could be the next Succession or, at the very least, Yellowstone. It gives us a look into Atlanta’s ultra-wealthy, primarily through the eyes of the tycoon Charlie Croker (Jeff Daniels). The show is headlined by stars like Diane Lane and Lucy Liu, helmed by acclaimed director […]
I’m sure the novel Uglies is based on makes a lot more sense since it has a lot of space to world-build and explore themes like external beauty, class, and identity. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the movie Uglies, which is almost impressively out of date in look and tone. The CGI is […]
It’s hard not to compare Dirty Pop with Quiet on the Set, a documentary that also recently exposed the dirty machinations that went into creating teen stars. But where Quiet on the Set was compelling and revelatory, Dirty Pop is just frustrating. It stretches its story so that you’re not really sure, up until the […]
In the grand scheme of streamer romcoms, A Family Affair is not too bad. Like The Idea of You before it, the film explores what it means to find love as a woman late in life while proving that it can be just as exciting and steamy as any other affair. The film is even […]
It’s hard not to be struck by the inspiring stories of the six soldier-athletes we follow in Heart of Invictus. Many have lost limbs, most suffer from PTSD, and even others, like Ukrainian medic Yulia Paievska, are still active-duty and on the frontlines of war. They recall stories from their troubled past and uplifting present, […]
For a film with virtually no plot, there’s a lot of fuss going on in Oregon. The characters are constantly yelling and complaining, but the noise—like the plot, the set, and everything else about the film—is empty. The beauty of a Turkish summer is reduced to indoor sets, where much of the film takes place, […]
If you’re expecting a twisty and thrilling look at a dangerous group of hackers who hide deep within a military bunker in Europe, and who refer to their entire operation as “straight from a James Bond movie,” then you might be disappointed with Cyberbunker, a dragging documentary that relies too heavily on talking heads for […]
Sanitized, predictable, and utterly cheesy, Happiness for Beginners feels like one of those TV movies made to fill the time in between the stuff people actually watch. It’s baffling how wasted Kemper is here; the actress’ signature pep, which was fully utilized in shows like The Office and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, is nowhere to be […]
From the moment it begins, The Monkey King hardly pauses to take a breath. The characters are always frantically jumping into the next scene, the action is nonstop, and the jokes, though juvenile, arrive one after the other. This is okay if you’re looking for a brisk viewing experience, but not so if you’re prone […]
Spy Ops is informative, and at least in the beginning, quite engaging. But the allure of insider access and first-hand knowledge quickly gives way to boredom. You can only insert so many archival clips, reenact so many events, and dramatize so much of the music before it becomes obvious how scant the material actually is. […]
If you’re looking at posters and stills of this film thinking, “I know exactly what will happen here,” you’re right. Whatever it is, you’re right. Mother of the Bride is the type of vacation-wedding movie that’s been done a thousand times better before. But a generic premise is one thing; it’s easy to forgive cliches […]
As impressive as Vasco Rossi’s life was, it’s hard to connect to someone you haven’t heard of, which is probably why this docuseries is best seen by die-hard music fans alone. The series takes its time to introduce Rossi and explain his impact on Italian music, but even then, it can seem like something you’ve […]
You don’t really have to watch the first two movies to get this third installment of the rom-com trilogy. Squared Love Everlasting is largely about how two people who are settled and secure in their relationship deal with a major curveball, in this case, the revelation that Enzo has some unfinished business with his ex, […]
Following the success of the Zom 100 manga and anime, Netflix quickly followed suit with a live-action film, which begs the question: why? Why bother, when the freshly released series is barely a month old and already a vibrant interpretation of the comic book it was based from? Why bother, when you’re not going to […]
In 2013, following the Ukrainian government’s termination of an EU agreement (in blatant disregard of what its citizens have been calling for), a wave of peaceful protests start to crop up at the country’s capital. Things escalate when the police violently disperse the protestors, but the people of Ukraine are not so easily held down. […]
The plot of the Union feels insultingly childish. An undercover agency has to retrieve an important device before it falls into the “wrong” (i.e. non-Western) hands, and to achieve that, they absolutely must have Mike (Wahlberg) on their team. That nothing here seems plausible shouldn’t be the point–it’s an action movie anyway. But even the […]
Nothing happens in Soultcatcher that you haven’t seen before. There is an evil scientist who creates a weapon of mass destruction. There are government officials fighting to obtain the weapon for political gain. And of course, there is a rugged team of mercenaries, each with their own distinct identifier, tasked to save the day. None […]
Set in the capital of Peru, How to Deal with a Heartbreak is a follow-up to the mildly successful romantic comedy How to Get Over a Breakup. The titles are pretty self-explanatory, but where the first film is strictly about romance, the sequel experiments with more tender themes like family and friendship. It features everyday […]
The OA is one of those things that you’ll either absolutely love or loathe. If you like sprawling supernatural shows (like Lost) with Biblical references (like Supernatural), then the OA should be right up your alley. It’s philosophical and dramatic, asking questions about existence and the afterlife, and it has plenty of mystery to keep […]
Despite a wealth of first-hand accounts, it’s hard to be on board Encounters’ premise. It lacks the hard evidence, credible sources, and science-backed data to be taken seriously. The closest we get to a fact-checker is Sara, a local newspaper editor who refuses to buy into the story in episode one. It’s full-on speculation presented […]
There’s little to like in Hidden Strike, a shoddy action thriller riddled with dodgy CGI, melodramatic performances, and ultra-predictable plotlines. You could even play a drinking game spotting all the action cliches present in the film (take a shot every time the patriotic hero dedicates a killing to his countrymen). Mostly, it’s laughable and complex […]
Many things can be said about Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s whirlwind relationship. It was messy, violent, and indicative of the massive power imbalance that prevails in Hollywood relationships. And the lawsuits that resulted from their offenses against each other were informative too; the ex-couple’s 2022 defamation trial was a landmark case that proved the […]
It’s very likely you already know about the fictional character Matilda, a clever but neglected child who discovers she has telekinesis and uses it for good. You may have even grown up watching the 1996 film multiple times, as I have, and secretly tried to move a random object with your mind to see if […]
The pulp and machismo that defined the ‘80s is very much present in Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash, but instead of glorifying the era, Indonesian auteur Edwin smartly flips the script and puts the headstrong Iteung (Ladya Cheryl) front and center in this subversive and heady action film. As the anti-damsel-in-distress, Iteung expertly […]
Labyrinth is a fantasy film starring a young Jennifer Connelly as Sarah Williams, a teenager who wishes her infant brother away to the goblins. Immediately regretting her decision, she pleads to the Goblin King, played by David Bowie, for his safe return. He agrees, but only on the condition that she escapes his massive, trap-filled […]
In Amy, Kapadia eschews talking heads for something more intimate: home videos, photographs, and phone messages from Winehouse’s earliest and closest friends, which he stitches together to reintroduce a version of the singer that has, up till this point, been ignored by the public. It’s an attempt to reverse Winehouse’s vilified public persona, not by […]
Grandparents are often depicted as innately loving, especially towards their grandchildren, so it’s a delight to see someone like M’s Amah, who is testy and tenacious, and quite proud to be doing her own thing even in her old age. She runs her house alone and sells congee in her neighborhood, and even when presented […]
Based on the 13-episode series of the same name, Violet Evergarden tells the story of Violet, a scribe commissioned to write letters at a time when telephones and computers had yet to exist. Shell-shocked from her time in the war, Violet is exceptionally stoic, except when she remembers Gilbert, her military superior and sometime lover. […]
It looks like something you’ve already seen before: a student genius turns a simple high school cheating scheme into a full-blown, high-stakes heist. But layered with great acting, taut writing, and sharp observations about the ways in which education (and society in general) fails its students, Bad Genius turns a familiar premise into something genuinely […]
Set in 1920s India, RRR follows two revolutionaries who strike up an unlikely bond and fend off the British regime from their home. In their epic journey to protect their people, they encounter a number of setbacks that prompts them to put their incredible combat skills on full display. Despite its three-hour run, RRR never […]
At the onset of World War II, with most adult males serving in the army, baseball owners came up with the ingenious idea of forming an all-female baseball league. A League of Their Own tells that story through sisters Dottie (Geena Davies) and Kit (Lori Petty), who are enlisted to be part of the Rockford […]
Part fantasy, part road trip, and part coming-of-age, Suzume is a rich and fast-paced tale with no dull moments in between. The energy is relentless and the animation, as expected, is dazzling, so even though there are occasional plot holes and melodramatic reaches, you’d be hard-pressed not to forgive them. Suzume still wins you over. […]
Beautiful in its painterly compositions and gut-wrenching in its storytelling, The Wild Robot has been dubbed one of the best animated features in a while, and rightly so. The film, which is a bit like if Tarzan were a robot, or if Stitch had to assimilate in the wild instead of the city, is a […]
