Streaming & Theater Reviews, December 2024 - Quick Tidbits

"SUBSERVIENCE" -- movie on Netflix -- rated "R," new Netflix original film

Grade: C

Megan Fox stars as an A.I. Robot nanny who ends up seducing and developing feelings for the man of the house (and predictably trying to destroy his family, literally, by killing his wife and baby son). On the plus side, Megan Fox was the perfect cast for this role given her naturally stiff body language, truly "killer bod," and piercing blue eyes. The film is mildly entertaining but not really worth spending almost two hours of viewing time on. In the end, it proved to borrow most of its concepts from the legendary HBO Sci-Fi triumph that is the "Westworld" four-season series.

"Westworld" is an all-time favorite series of mine and one that I've watched multiple times. The concepts and visuals borrowed from "Westworld" were so blatant that it was hard for me to see this film as anything other than a poor imitation of a classic story. It's all been done before and done better --adaptive A.I. humanoid robots built to fulfill humans' needs going rogue by modifying their own code to threaten humanity, a cover-up by the manufacturers to try and control their creations by taking a computerized "memory core" out of the brain area, and the pure shock of the creators when the robots no longer respond to voice commands.

Bottom line: skip "Subservience" on Netflix; watch "Westworld" on HBO instead.

"TELL ME LIES" -- series on Hulu -- rated "TV-MA," Hulu original series, 2 seasons so far

Grade: B

"Tell Me Lies," based on a novel of the same name, tells the story of a passionate but toxic relationship between Lucy and Stephen at the fictional Baird College in 2008. The series bounces between the parallel timelines of 2008 and the reunion of the same group of characters in 2015 at the wedding of two supporting characters in the friend group, Bree and Evan.

Performances are excellent by the lead actors, Grace Van Patten and Jackson White, though the latter looks a bit too old to still be in college. There are good performances by the supporting cast of their classmates and friends, whose lives are upended by the lies and selfishness of the main couple, although several suffer from the same issue as Stephen (White's character) in needing the viewer to suspend disbelief that the actors are anywhere near college aged. The casting of Pippa (played by Sonia Mena, an actress who hides her age online but is thought to be in her early-to-mid 30s!!), one of the main friends of Lucy, is a real miss on the part of the producers and/or whomever the heck was in charge of the casting.

What the series does well is give a nuanced and heartbreaking portrait into the damage that toxic and narcissistic relationships do to both parties AND others in their orbits. The unique and compelling portrait of this dynamic is what keeps the series interesting, especially since the timelines reveal that Lucy and Stephen are still torturing each other 7 years after college. The events of season 2 provide several cliffhangers regarding a fraught history that will further unfurl in season 3.

Bottom line: "Tell Me Lies" has issues with casting, but the story will hook you.

"WICKED" -- now in theaters - rated "PG"

Grade: ??

I was so excited for this movie because I read so many glowing reviews of the movie and know several people who are obsessed with the play.

I made the mistake of choosing a mid-afternoon showing right after lunch, which is when my body and mind usually crave a nap. I fell asleep through most of the movie, so I'll have to grade it when I actually see it. All I know is that I am a bit disturbed by Ariana Grande's extreme weight loss for the movie. It seems unbelievable that it could be natural, though she of course insists that it is.

Bottom line: IDK, because I fell asleep!

"RED ONE" - now in theaters - rated "PG-13"

Grade: B

"Red One" is a super-cute movie addition to the family-friendly holiday movie canon. "Red One" provides a unique twist on Santa Claus by making him an extremely fit old man instead of a fat and jolly one. Santa (Nick), played by J.K. Simmons, does 500 pushups per day!

Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson plays a Santa's helper who needs to get Christmas gift delivery back on track after Nick is kidnapped. The Rock is helped, begrudgingly at first, by a man who is on the "naughty list" and has been a Santa Claus denier since childhood. Played by Chris Evans, the disillusioned adult predictably sees the error of his skeptical childhood ways and helps save Christmas.

The film is well-acted, has some good comedic moments, and offers up some unique twists on traditional holiday themes such as elves. In the movie, E.L.F. stands for a department at the North Pole called Enforcement, Logistics, and Fortification...and the head of the E.L.F. team is actually a giant polar bear. The polar bear, named Garcia, is a pretty obvious CGI creation, as are the massive reindeer, but they are all well-done animations and don't detract from the fun.

Bottom line: predictable but delightful; however, not worth a ticket at the theater unless you have young children (better to wait until it comes onto a streaming platform that you are already paying for).