Review – I Want You Back

 I Want You Back (2022)
PG-13‧ Rom Com ‧ 1 hour 51 Minutes (111 Minutes)

Reviewd by Silas Lindenstein


Written by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berge   

Directed by ‎Jason Orley

THE CAST

Charlie Day, Jenny Slate, Scott Eastwood, Gina Rodriquez, Manny Jacinto

THE STORY

(In their own words) Newly dumped thirty-somethings Peter and Emma team up to sabotage their exes’ new relationships and win them back for good.

THE REVIEW

I Want You Back is fun Rom-Com that ponders the question, is love lost worth fighting for? Is a no-holds-barred, take no prisoners approach to winning back your ex really what’s best. 

Peter and Emma work in the same office building and have a chance meeting in the stairwell as they are both finding a place for good cry. Turns out, they were both dumped by their significant other the same previous weekend. Misery loves company as this chance meeting of strangers turns to friendship. But they both have a yearning for their former loves, and one night out partying and lamenting they come up with idea. Emma will seduce Peter’s Ex’s new boyfriend and break them up so his ex will come back to Emma. And Peter will befriend Emma’s ex, and start convincing him to leave his new girlfriend and go back to Emma.  It reminded me of the deal in Throw Mama From The Train, with a fundamental difference (aside from not murdering people). To the audience Peter and Emma need to remain unlike-able while they attempt to do something kind of crappy. Break up a couple for no other reason than to make themselves happy. 

0ne of the interesting things about this rom-com is that there is no bad guy. There’s no arrogant or cheating boyfriend where the woman should be leaving for our hero. None of that. The exes actually seem in really nice relationships. To pull this movie off though, we have to like Peter and Emma. Which is definitely where this film has its strengths. Charlie Day does a fantastic job as Peter. He is extremely likable and gives us a fully fleshed out character. His portrayal is nuanced, subtle, and very committed to each moment. To a lesser degree so is Jenny Slate as Emma. While she is clearly a very strong actor, her character isn’t nearly as likable as Peter. But she does a great job portraying a lonely character who is both lost in love and life until she meets someone who believes in her. 

The test of a good rom-com is whether you feel better about life after seeing it. And it succeeds in doing that. It is very smoothly shot, funny, and heartwarming. 

THE BEST
Three BEST things about the film

  1. The likability of the main characters was off the charts
  2. The lack of villains.
  3. An Easter egg, where Manny Jacinto makes a nod towards, The Good Place, an NBC sitcom that he starred in . 

THE WORST

The three WORST things about the Film

  1. There was no bad guy/gal to root against. The only people you root against are happy, otherwise you are rooting against the main characters. 
  2. Predictability.
  3. Unnecessary anger at the end.

THE LESSON

Don’t be determined that you know what your life is supposed to be like.

THE FINAL WORD

A fun and funny film about learning to let go of the ones who once loved you. 

THE VERDICT

My 3L system gives me the choice to Love It, Like It, or Lose It. 

I want you back gets a Like It.

WHERE TO WATCH

I Want You Back is available on Amazon Prime Video.

Here’s the trailer

ABOUT SILAS

When he’s not reviewing films or interviewing people for the Black & A Half podcast, Silas Lindenstein can be found in the greater metro Seattle, WA working as a real estate agent helping people buy and sell homes, or performing stand up comedy to fellow nerds. He has a wife and three children and desperately wants to learn to make the perfect homemade pizza.

Review – Moonfall

Moonfall  (2022)

Review by Silas Lindenstein


PG-13 ‧ Scifi ‧ 2 hours 4 Minutes

Written by Roland Emmerich & Harald Kloser & Spenser Cohen

Directed by ‎Roland Emmerich

THE CAST

Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, John Bradley, Michael Peña,
Charlie Plummer, Kelly Yu, Eme Ikwuakor, Carolina Bartczak, and Donald
Sutherland

THE STORY

In Moonfall, a mysterious force knocks the Moon from its orbit around Earth and sends it hurtling on a collision course with life as we know it. With mere weeks before impact and the world on the brink of annihilation, NASA executive and former astronaut Jo Fowler (Academy Award® winner Halle Berry) is convinced she has the key to saving us all – but only one astronaut from her past, Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson, “Midway”) and a conspiracy theorist K.C. Houseman (John Bradley, “Game of Thrones”) believes her. These unlikely heroes will mount an impossible last-ditch mission into space, leaving behind everyone they love, only to find out that our Moon is not what we think it is.   

THE REVIEW

Wow.

The visuals are jaw dropping, the story is ridiculous, and the acting is shameful, yet somehow I left the theater smiling ear to ear from utter enjoyment of one of the most epic disaster movies I’ve ever seen. Is it a “good film”? No. Is it a fun film to watch? “Hell yeah!”

I’ve always had a love of disaster films, from the old Earthquake films to modern epic disasters like 2012. I want a ludicrous plot, played for with absolute conviction. There are many times in the film that what’s happening on screen makes absolutely no sense, but it’s enjoyable watching the actors try and get out of the contrived situation.

For all of the special effects and disasters happening as a result of the moon changing orbit, Moonfall does sneak in a message about trusting technology that is being built to help us.

Moonfall works well as a disaster film because it embraces the ridiculousness of it. If anything the first two acts of the film were too mild compared to the final act of the film.

Moonfall partially works because of all the surprises, so I don’t want to ruin anything here other than the main plot above. The makers have set up a potential huge world building. I fear audiences won’t appreciate this film enough for it to continue past one film, but I will hope.

If you’ve seen the trailer for Moonfall and said “That looks stupid,” you probably shouldn’t go, because you’re right and you won’t enjoy it. If you’ve seen the trailer and said “that looks ridiculous, I have to see it,” you will love the film.

You will get out of the film what you put into it.

THE BEST
Three BEST things about the film

  1. The special effects. Simply amazing effects that really helped tell the story. Though at one point, I swear I thought they were using models.
  2. The world building. Can’t say much on this….but man, the possibilities.
  3. The sheer volume of epic disasters. Disaster after disaster….Moonfall had a windfall of disasters to watch.

THE WORST

The three WORST things about the Film

  1. The acting. They said all the correct lines in the right order, but that’s the best I can say for it. I can’t be sure they did more than one take on most scenes. Actors were pretty flat.
  2. It does hit a level of ridiculousness that is hard to stay with. Do not try to understand an ounce of the physics laws of the film.
  3. Stock characters galore. At times I felt like I could have won a “Stock Character Bingo.”

THE LESSON

Despite the topsy-turvy, crazy rollercoaster of a movie that it is, Moonfall does have a message beneath it. Be careful of the tech we are creating. Little conveniences can become monstrous problems.

THE FINAL WORD

This film was everything that I could have hoped for from an epic disaster film. Leave your brains at home and grab some popcorn and go enjoy.

THE VERDICT
My 3L system gives me the choice to Love It, Like It, or Lose It. 

Moonfall gets a Like It.

Here is the trailer for Moonfall:

ABOUT SILAS

When he’s not reviewing films or interviewing people for the Black & A Half podcast, Silas Lindenstein can be found in the greater metro Seattle, WA working as a real estate agent helping people buy and sell homes, or performing stand up comedy to fellow nerds. He has a wife and three children and desperately wants to learn to make the perfect homemade pizza.

Review: Four To Dinner

Four To Dinner (2022)

Directed by Alessio Maria Federici

Written by Martino Coli

Rated TV-MA | 1 hour 45 minutes

Review by Silas Lindenstein

THE CAST

Starring: Matilde Gioli, Giuseppe Maggio, Matteo Martari, and Ilenia Pastorelli

THE STORY

In this rom-com challenging the concept of soulmates, parallel storylines portray four single friends as they pair up in different couple combinations

THE REVIEW

An Italian rom-com exploring the concept of soulmates in a uniquely told tale. Two pairs of single men and women meet/are set up at a dinner party.  From there we follow the first steps of courtship between pairs, then suddenly we go back in time and see what would happen  if the couples had matched up differently.  From there on the film cuts back and forth between choice one and choice two. So two different storylines, or alternate worlds.

Do opposites attract or is more similar interests better? Would you be just as happy with Cindy or Sue if you didn’t know the otherwise? Would you make the same mistakes? Would you make the same choices that affect your love life?

Those are all questions this film makes you think about. Which is ultimately what I look for in a film; does it make me question life and choices I’ve made. 

Then I look at execution of the film.  Four to Dinner does a good job with the back and forth concept though there are a few transitions that are hard to tell which timeline they are in. Being a subtitled Film, it makes it even more challenging to keep track.  However, for as many times as you miss the transitions there are equally beautiful, well done, surprising transitions.  

The films strength are in the story and acting. The concept  of “what if” has been done before I’m films like Sliding Doors, but not focusing so much on the idea of soulmates.  The actors do well working as an ensemble and their comic timing crossing the language barrier.  Very grounded and three dimensions performances.

This film won’t change your life, but may cause some interesting discussions with your loved one.  It’s a worth a watch. 

THE BEST

  1. The premise
  2. The way they tell the story.
  3. The chemistry between the actors.

THE WORST

  1. At times, have trouble telling when we jumped between “timelines”.
  2. Film doesn’t answer the question it asked.
  3. There’s a degree of predictability within each timeline.


THE LESSON

A soulmate isn’t necessarily your sole mate.

THE FINAL WORD

An enjoyable film that will make you ask questions about love, soulmates, and the choices you make.

THE VERDICT

Based on my 3 L system; Love It, Like It, or Lose It……Four To Dinner gets a Like It.

ABOUT SILAS

When he’s not reviewing films or interviewing people for the Black & A Half podcast, Silas Lindenstein can be found in the greater metro Seattle, WA working as a real estate agent helping people buy and sell homes, or performing stand up comedy to fellow nerds. He has a wife and three children and desperately wants to learn to make the perfect homemade pizza.