Tag Archives: Karissa Meno

Holiday Movies to Watch Over Winter Break

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By Karissa Meno

1. Home Alone (1990)

Where to Watch: Disney+

Starring Macaulay Culkin as an 8 year-old boy left behind during the holiday season as the rest of his family goes on a trip. The boy is left behind to fend off burglars with traps and games laid around his house.

2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

Where to Watch: HBOmax

Starring Jim Carrey as a green hairy mischievous creature who hates Christmas. A little girl sets off to get the Grinch in the holiday spirit while the Grinch plans to take away their Christmas cheer.

3. A Christmas Story (1983)

Where to Watch: HBOmax

Starring Peter Billingsley. A young boy narrating his life through the unforgettable holiday season as he hopes to get his dream gift and get through the holiday season.

4. The Santa Clause (1994)

Where to Watch: Disney+

Starring Tim Allen. A regular father and worker has a run in with the real Santa Claus and if forced to take his place after a tragic accident, he can no longer live a normal life.

5. Gremlins (1984)

Where to Watch: HBOmax

Starring Zack Galligan as a young worker who comes home to find that his inventive father has bought him an extremely rare gift–a special creature that can’t have water or eat after midnight. The holiday season is invaded by the little gremlins during Christmas.

6. Elf (2003)

Where to Watch: HBOmax

Starring Will Ferrell as an elf sent from the North Pole to search for his father. He navigates his life through New York City with his very enthusiastic personality.

7. Arthur Christmas (2011)

Where to Watch: Hulu

Starring James McAvoy as a young man who is sent to help Santa Claus and his technical operation team to deliver a gift to the one girl they missed before Christmas morning.

8. Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer (1964)

Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video

Starring Billie Mae Richards. The story of Rudolph and how he grows up with his bright red nose as he navigates through rough lifestyles and comments only to meet other outcasts who are different like him, while being chased by the abominable snowman.

9. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)

Where to Watch: HBOmax

Starring Chevy Chase as the father of the family who is set on doing the regular Christmas traditions like tree picking, shopping, and family coming over but there is always something that goes wrong.

10. Jingle All The Way (1996)

Where to Watch: Youtube (Primetime subscription)

Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as the father of a family of three when he forgets to buy his son his favorite superhero toy. He sets off to retrieve one only to find that it is a lot harder to shop for Christmas late.

Opinion: Avoid Consumerism and Black Friday

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By The Grinch

It feels sad to me that all we care about now are the sales and online purchases for the holiday seasons and not the fact that we get to enjoy the holidays. 

I try my best to avoid holiday shopping, but my family is so consumed by the sales of clothes and toys that it’s hard to avoid. Even seeing the Christmas commercials in November brings an icky feeling to my chest. I find it upsetting that Christmas lost its meaning, and it really is like the movies with the people rushing around grabbing all the toys from the shelf. I described Black Friday and holiday shopping as “ridiculous.” It is such a hassle to get the items you want for Christmas and since people every year decide to start shopping early, now everyone is deciding to shop early. If we continue like this we might as well start Christmas shopping in September.

I’m not saying that the gifts I have received in the past years have been terrible; the shopping itself is a nightmare. In the time during Covid when we bought everything online it felt even worse. There are many issues with Black Friday starting with the hours, employees availability, and now the shopping experience. 

Employees will probably have the hardest time getting through work when the holidays come by. During the holidays I experience so many employees rushing and going through all the aisles to deliver the shoppers items or even stock the shelves. I have tried my best to avoid shopping in stores to avoid conflicts like pricing and the risk of it being out of stock by the time I have the money for it. I watch as my family bargains and rushes to get gifts out of the way due to their past experiences with Christmas shopping. Even though their techniques are effective, soon enough other people will follow. Like this recent month, Thanksgiving hadn’t even passed and there were deals, trees, red, white, and green everywhere. It boils my blood to see so many people rushing through the holidays just for the deals.

I asked multiple sources how they felt about the Christmas season starting early and this is what they said:

One of my friends had a very enthusiastic opinion that Christmas shopping early was “good,” but that was because they were able to buy more at an affordable price. 

Another anonymous source notes, “I think it’s good to shop early because of the sales and that you can save money. The only thing that makes it ridiculous is dealing with people at the store and the lines.”

Holiday shopping, especially so early, feels like a lot of stress and planning that is only gonna last until those kids tear into those presents.

If there were any solutions to avoiding the conflicts of holiday shopping it would be to shop online or do pick-up in the store. If you wanna avoid the rush of people and store sales, online shopping will always have deals going on until the holiday season is over.

Avoid the rush, people; and please don’t start holiday shopping during August next year.

Film Review: Halloween Ends

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By Karissa Meno

If people ask me if I would recommend Halloween Ends I would just tell you, “Only if you want to see if Michael Myers is really put to an end.”

•Halloween Ends was released October 14, 2022 almost a year after Halloween Kills (2021). It was directed by David Gordon Green, edited by Tim Alverson, with music by John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, and Danial Davies.
•The cast included Jamie Lee Curtis (Laura Strode), James Jude Courtney (Michael Myers), Andi Matichak (Allyson Nelson), Rohan Campbell (Corey Cunningham), Kyle Richards (Lindsey Wallace), and Will Patton (Frank Hawkins).

Halloween Ends needed a more consistent and overall better storyline, and here’s why.

Official film poster

Summary:

Halloween Ends takes place four years after Halloween Kills, but they first introduce a new story and character jumping back to Halloween night in 2019.

The movie introduces Corey Cunningham, a babysitter for the neighborhood. While the parents are away, the kid and Corey are left all alone in the house with the terrifying thought that Michael may have come for them. After a terrible accident, Corey is now back in society facing the aftermath of Michael Myers.

Meanwhile, Laurie and Alison have made a new life for themselves with a new house and Alison has become a nurse. With Corey back in town he is introduced to Laurie and Alison and instantly falls for Alison. Later that Halloween, Corey discovers a shocking new friend hidden away. Over the course of a few days Laurie and Alison now have to live with the consequence of bringing Corey into their lives.

Opinion:

When the movie first started I noticed that Halloween Ends teamed up with Blumhouse Productions and I was a little terrified knowing Blumhouse’s reputation. It was a good idea to bring them in, due to their improvement in jumpscares, or maybe it was just the loud sound system. Overall the jumpscares were much improved and it felt a little more like a scary movie.

As me and my friends described during the movie, it felt like they needed to waste time in the beginning and middle of the movie in order to actually get to the most important part, the end (no pun intended). Everything felt so out of place and nothing really seemed to fit together.

My friends and I would even catch ourselves asking, “What is happening?” It felt more like a drama heading towards the middle of the story rather than a slasher film. In my opinion, the only enjoyable part was the ending; it gave action and suspense. The end had me and my friends cheering for Jamie Lee Curtis.

The theater experience was also uplifting, not only did we laugh together we were able to make jokes together. All I can say is it is always a good time watching scary movies with friends.

Film Review: Hocus Pocus 2 on Disney+

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By Karissa Meno

3.5 out of 5 stars

The sequel to Hocus Pocus has been anticipated for years and is now kicking off this Halloween season, September 30th on Disney+. 

Hocus Pocus 2 is a Disney+ only special. Directed by Anne Fletcher with executive producers Adam Shankman, David Kirschner, and Ralph Winter. Production designer, Nelson Coates and set decorator, Andrew Baseman. The cast included the return of the incredible 1993 actors Bette Midler (Winifred Sanderson), Sarah Jessica Parker (Sarah Sanderson), Kathy Najimy (Mary Sanderson), Doug Jones (Billy Butcherson), and introduced a new cast with Whitney Peak (Becca), Belissa Escobedo (Izzy), Lilia Buckingham (Cassie Traske), Sam Richardson (Gilbert), Tony Hale (Jefry Traske), and Froy Gutierrez (Mike).

Thirty years after the first release of Hocus Pocus in 1993, the 2022 adaptation re-introduces the Sanderson sisters to the modern world of 2022 Salem. 

Becca is a high school student who, with the accidental help of her best friend Izzy, relights the black flame candle that brings back the legendary Sanderson sisters. Throughout that Halloween night Becca, Izzy, and Cassie attempt to stop the sisters from taking revenge on Salem. 

Summary:

The story opens with the young Sanderson sisters in Salem. They struggle with the town’s residents and their close minded thinking. The sisters eventually run away seeking to escape their neighbors, who attempt to separate them. While on the run they meet a witch who peaks their interest in witchcraft. Later on you can understand that the events of 1993 have already taken place when they cut to present-day Salem. Becca and Izzy head to school Halloween morning to talk about Becca’s birthday tradition. While at school you can see the struggling friendship between Becca, Izzy, and Cassie.

Since 1993, the Sanderson sisters have become town legends, with the all knowing Gilbert running the now Sanderson tour house. Later that night, with a gift from Gilbert, Becca and Izzy have accidentally brought back the Sanderson sisters. As the siblings try to get back into old habits, Becca and Izzy show them around “new Salem”, they show the sisters modern day life, but eventually they don’t want to shift into new habits and head back to their lifestyle. Even with the conflicts between Becca and Cassie they try to gain her help to send the Sanderson sisters away.

The Opinion:

A lot of people have asked me what my opinion is on Hocus Pocus 2, the only sentence I have been able to fabricate is, “It’s actually pretty great.” Obviously sequels can’t beat the originals, but Hocus Pocus 2 is a good enough sequel to correlate with the original.

While watching it I was enjoying and appreciating the effort put in by the new and returning cast members, as well as the set designers who really made the movie visually appealing to me. It doesn’t feel like they just put something together. I got the sense that they had been planning this film for months, maybe even years. 

I was a little disappointed with the absence of a certain talking cat from the original film, Thackeray Binx, but I did enjoy seeing one particular previous cast member, Doug Jones, who reprised his role as “Billy” Butcherson. 

A particular scene where Sanderson sisters began to sing, felt a little strange; it didn’t quite sit well with me. They did sing in the original, but I felt that they were so dedicated to focusing on the story and characters in the sequel that the singing just felt out of place within the storyline. Even though some of the characters were a little cliche the movie felt more mature due to their acting and the character’s personalities. I do believe that the true Disney and Hocus Pocus fans will love and admire the sequel this Halloween season. 

This sequel’s goal was to send a message to appreciate the people you have and the power that comes with having a good group of people around you. I wasn’t entirely sure of the movie’s theme other than focusing on the Sanderson sisters’ return. The most I could interpret was the importance of having people that you connect with even through hardship. 

Hocus Pocus 2 was an overall joy and an exciting experience to watch for the first time. This movie really made me want to buy a Roomba for the fun of it (you’ll understand if this convinces you to watch it).

What an amazing start to almost everyone’s favorite month, October!

Film Review: Don’t Worry Darling Offers Drama on and off the Screen

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By Karissa Meno 

Don’t Worry Darling is as excellent as it is suspicious, not only horrifying but a puzzle that is not so easy to start and not easy to find the pieces.

This 1950’s inspired film was directed by Olivia Wilde with screenplay by Katie Silberman. Editors include Jennifer Lame, Affonso Gonçalves, and Andrew Leven along with the beautiful costume design by Arianne Philips. The cast includes the very actress known for her suspenseful movies, Florence Pugh (Alice Chambers), Harry Styles (Jack Chambers), Chris Pratt (Frank), Gemma Chan (Shelley), Olivia Wilde (Bunny), Nick Kroll (Bill), Dita Von Teese (Gigi), and Timothy Simons (Dean).

Don’t Worry Darling has an important and emotional cast. Not only do they fit their roles but every character feels like a part of the small puzzle that is Don’t Worry Darling.

Summary: 

The 1950’s-themed movie shows our lovely couple Alice and Jack who live in the modern dream-like suburbia that is a small part of the experimental company named Victory. The company provides the houses that all the couples live in. With the provided houses, all the men go to work at the headquarters of Victory while the women stay home and fulfill their wifely duties or go shopping.

The town consists of fancy parties, neighborly get-togethers, elegant drinks, and the occasional ominous flashbacks. Everyone’s life is on a strict routine and everyone seems to comply, except for when one woman disagrees with the lifestyle everyones has taken up. This shakes up Alice, in particular, to investigate the strange goings-on that the town is hiding from the other wives and even causes some of them to step out of their routine. With the investigation, Alice leads into a deeper and more secretive vortex.

The Performances:

As I mentioned earlier, all the characters felt fit to play the role they were assigned, and it was only the matter of how they used the elements of their character to create that suspenseful atmosphere. Florence Pugh does an excellent job at portraying the troubled and impactful role of Alice. She uses her character to express the stress and concern of trying to find answers and figure out what the true story is throughout the movie. Pugh’s character makes you want the answers and to step out of the confinement their world offered.

The role of Harry Styles didn’t quite sit right with me throughout the movie. This is not to say his acting was substandard, but Styles didn’t give me the element of Jack that I was looking for. I felt Styles looked too sweet and humble to play Jack. I expected a more rigid and tough character who displays the components of the suburban male. Jack was able to communicate the secretive and mysterious persona, but so do all the other characters.

As for background characters–including Bunny, Frank, Gigi, Margret, and Bill–they all felt very secretive and somewhat evasive of their surroundings.They felt as if they wished to avoid all other issues and unanswered questions that were happening in their town. It was a “smile now and ask questions never” level of communication.

My Opinion: 

When starting the film, Don’t Worry Darling felt warm and cozy. The movie made me feel safe with the adoring modern and neat suburbia storyline. The concept of a routine filled and vibrant life along with classical mechanics of the 1950s has always been a genre and movie style I could admire.

As time went on in the movie, you start to see the world unraveling and the people breaking down. They had a good way of making you wonder what all of these scenes and messages meant. I was encouraged to come up with theories and possible conclusions of my own. The suspense was good, but when you think of horror you don’t think of Don’t Worry Darling. There were no true jumpscares but I was unsettled and nervous like I could feel something about to happen.

The music and the sounds are very important to pay attention to. The music makes you queasy and anxious and sometimes it is even enough for you to cover your eyes. There were scenes that made you flinch and made you have the strangest looks on your face.

The ending, on the other hand, wasn’t anything I was expecting, but not in a good way–it was different, but it wasn’t quite the spin I was looking for. I had hoped the ending would be more lurid, horrific, or contain an unexpected plot twist. Even though the movie tried to have a plot twist it didn’t come as a big surprise, and it was almost anticlimactic. The ending could have been worked better and give more of the twisted storyline to Don’t Worry Darling.

The Off-Camera Cast Gossip:

Later on after shooting and before the premiere of Don’t Worry Darling, there were possible disputes involving the cast. Most tense situations with the cast are mostly rumored or stated. Most alleged drama was surrounded by Olivia Wilde, and there were possible arguments between Florence Pugh and a new romance with Harry Styles. Even after these allegations most were confirmed or explained to be a misunderstanding. There were rumors stating that Harry Styles had spat on co-star Chris Pratt which was confirmed to not be true. Even during casting for Don’t Worry Darling, Harry Styles’ character, Jack, was supposed to be played by another actor which was eventually cut out due to scheduling conflict. Later on during filming, people thought that Pugh wasn’t approving of Styles and Wilde’s relationship even when there was no direct comment from any of the stars themselves about the relationship.

Don’t Worry Darling is an anticipatory movie with much potential that almost hit a climax but didn’t quite fit the horror aspect it set out to achieve. It is still an enjoyable and interesting movie that I would recommend to people if they enjoy the colorful aesthetics of the 1950s incorporated with the horror of living a routine life.

Karissa Meno

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Karissa Meno is a senior at John Glenn High School. She is the Copy Editor and Web Editor for the Shoemaker Bugle. She plans to go to Fullerton College or LBCC to major in English/Journalism. Her favorite subjects are language arts, anatomy, and journalism. In her spare time, she writes, paints, draws, and watches movies. She also loves recommending the perfect book to others. She loves going to the movie theaters and enjoys any romantic comedy and Marvel movie. She also likes to go to Target, Barnes & Noble, and Starbucks. Her favorite news sources are The LA Times and The New York Times.

Spider-Man No Way Home: Movie Review

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By: Karissa Meno

Spider-Man No Way Home was the most spectacular Marvel movie that “phase four” has produced. We expected so much of the film and it very well delivered that expectation. 

WARNING: SPOILER ALERTS!
With many speculations and accusations going around about the movie, it was hard to tell exactly what would happen even though the cast and crew tried their hardest to keep Spider-Man No Way Home the most secretive movie to appear in Marvel. This web-slinging adventure hit theaters December 17, 2021 and was the greatest end to this year of Marvel movies. Directed by Jon Watts, produced by Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal, and with music by Micheal Giacchino, this $200-million-budget movie along with it’s amazing graphics and visuals comes with an amazing cast.

Tom Holland (Peter Parker/Spider-Man), Zendaya (MJ or Michelle Jones), Marisa Tomei (Aunt May), Jacob Batalon (Ned Leeds), Alfred Molina (Dr. Otto Octavius), Willem Dafoe (Norman Osborn), Jon Favreau (Happy), Benedict Cumberbatch (Dr. Strange), Jamie Foxx (Electro), and with the incredible Tobey Maguire (Peter Parker/Spider-Man), Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker/Spider-Man), and Charlie Cox (Matt Murdock/Daredevil).

This incredible cast made an unforgettable and even incredible movie. 

Spider-Man No Way Home picks up where Spider-man Far From Home left off with Peter and MJ swinging through the city together and is stopped by a news report with incriminating evidence of Spider-Man and the reveal of Spider-Man’s identity with a video left by Mysterio. After this, Peter Parker’s life is turned upside down when he is made “public enemy #1” all around the world. With the support of MJ, Aunt May, Ned, and Happy they help to try and clear Peter’s name. All Peter needed was “a really good lawyer.”

Along with fighting the public opinion, Peter, MJ, and Ned send in college applications hoping to get into their dream school, MIT. After a devastating rejection from MIT, Peter hopes to change things to help MJ and Ned get into MIT. He asks for help from Dr. Strange to cast a spell that can make the world forget Peter Parker is Spider-Man. With an intense spell contained from getting out into the world, Peter hopes to talk to the MIT Chancellor on her way to the airport. The freeway is crowded as Peter starts to sense a strange presence. The appearance of Spider-Man’s villains begin to appear due to the fact the villains know who Spider-Man is. 

Instead of sending the villains home, which was Dr. Strange’s intention, Peter wants to help them become better people in an attempt to change their fate. Peter begins to help each of the villains to either help contain or control their powers in good ways. With Peter’s spider senses it unleashes multiple conflicts with all villians causing Peter to have a period of contemplation with himself. Wanting to put an end to the multiverse conflicts, MJ and Ned are met with two very important people to help Peter on his adventure. With the help of Peter’s metaphorical “brothers” he plans to do what he intended and help the villains. With the final battle in place everyone is back in a good place, but Peter is faced with another huge conflict when he decides to make everyone forget who Peter Parker is, including sending all of the” intruders” home. Peter starts a new chapter and begins to live life on his own with his name cleared and his identity secret again. 

Spider-Man No Way Home was possibly one of the most illuminating and has many people wondering what this “multiverse” will do for the MCU. Even though I felt the movie was moving fast they were still able to fit in all the important and creative scenes. The fight scenes were incredibly set up; even though some parts felt awkward, the fight scenes kept me interested. Peter shows a clear reflection of being a kid and being ready to take on the responsibility it takes to be a hero. The story felt off at certain points and felt almost random but it made sense to the movie’s importance. The movie had me mostly excited and amazed as I was watching. The movie gave me so many emotions at once: excited, amazed, and as they say, “on the edge of my seat.” 

Audiences are very excited to see what the adventures for Spider-Man are after this. Of course if you stayed for the end-credit scene you would have seen the special sneak peek at Dr. Strange Multiverse of Madness.
Dr. Strange Multiverse of Madness shows a glimpse of what releasing the multiverse has done for Dr. Strange. We also see a very special appearance from Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch/ Wanda Maxinoff) and Xochitl Gomez (America Chavez) who are very important characters to be seen alongside Dr. Strange. Even though the trailer shows a lot, it’s hard to tell exactly what this movie will have in store for us. Dr. Strange could be on an adventure to fix what the multiverse’s effects have on the world around them. After seeing Spider-Man No Way Home and seeing the trailer for Dr. Strange Multiverse of Madness, everyone is very excited to see exactly what the multiverse is going to do for future Marvel movies.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2021): Film Review

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By Karissa Meno

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid premiered on Disney+ on Friday, December 3, 2021 and was found all over Twitter that same day. Diary of a Wimpy Kid was definitely something different coming from the original live action Diary of a Wimpy Kid from 2010 and something to reflect upon with the book.

This Walt Disney Company, 20th Century Studios, 20th Century Animation, and Color Force Production was directed by Swinton O. Scott lll, with producers Jeff Kinney, Bradford Simpson and Nina Jacobson. The music was composed by John Paesano with screenplay by Jeff Kinney. The cast contains the voices of Bradly Noon (Greg Heffley), Ethan William Childress (Rowley), Erica Cerra (Susan), Chris Diamantopoulos (Frank), Hunter Dillon (Roderick), Christian Convery (Fregley), and Gracen Newton (Manny). 

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Disney+ Movie Trailer and Photos | POPSUGAR Family

The story starts off just like in the book and original movie: Greg is starting middle school soon. We are introduced to Rowley, Greg’s best friend who doesn’t get the concept of middle school and “acting his age.” We’re also introduced to Greg’s family, which, just like in the book and original film, contain Greg’s mom Susan or Mrs. Heffley, Greg’s dad Frank or Mr. Heffley, Greg’s older brother Roderick, and Greg’s younger brother Manny. The characters are animated to have the same physical factors as they do in the book with large heads and feet and skinny legs and arms.

Roderick gives Greg advice on how to get through middle school and is faced with the challenge that Rowley may not survive middle school (but trust me, no one does). They also must survive the famous moldy cheese. Greg starts to give subtle but not so subtle advice to Rowley on how to survive middle school. As they head into their new and uncharted school they try to get through the day as much as possible. After the first day, Greg hopes to help Rowley survive middle school for the rest of the year. Even though Rowley takes Greg’s advice for a few weeks, as Halloween approaches for the new middle schoolers, they fall back into certain aspects that lead them to be chased down by a few reckless teenagers trying to bully and take Greg and Rowley’s candy.

After Halloween, Greg has to deal with having no video and ends up giving Rowley a popularity mechanism. The day they go back to school, Rowley starts to gain new friends and become more popular like Greg wishes for. As Greg and Rowley grow apart and Rowley gains a new best friend, Greg starts to grow jealous and tries to make Rowley jealous in the process. After a few terrifying encounters with Greg’s neighbor Greg realizes that it was time to do right by Rowley and do what he wants even if people judge him (or run away from him either way). 

The movie itself had me confused when I would see the physical features of most characters. This new, short film is based on the book Diary of a Wimpy Kid, the events that happened are meant to sequence with the events in the book. In the movie, each event happened in a significantly different way. The animation was greatly significant as well as the coloring and other factors of the animation that made it interesting to watch. Some of the beginning and end storytelling was drawn just like it was from the book, which I always found nice to see. Some of the voicing matched up perfectly with most characters or sounded a little too young for “meant to be older characters.” Even though the movie happened very fast it all made sense and transitioned smoothly. As most people would say, the movie wasn’t great but it wasn’t bad (I just hope they don’t consider making a sequel).

Disney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid animated movie gets a new poster and sequel

Home Sweet Home Alone: Film Review

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By Karissa Meno

Rating: 1 out of 5.

We love to start the holidays early, especially with our Christmas movies. There’s no better feeling than watching a Christmas movie, especially the Home Alone movies. Even though the new movies will never be better than the original, it’s just like every other Christmas movie.

Home Sweet Home Alone is directed by Dan Mazer, produced by Hutch Parker and Dan Wilson, with the story by Mikey Day, Streeter Seidell, and John Hughes. The cast consists of Archie Yates (Max Mercer), Ellie Kemper, Rob Delaney, Aisling Bea, Kenan Thompson, Pete Holmes, Ally Maki, and Chris Parnell.

The movie follows the same format as the previous ones, but focuses on Max Mercer, who lives in a similar family situation. Max and his mother Carol stop by an open house being run by broke couple Jeff and Pam, who can no longer afford to pay it’s mortgage. Max goes to the bathroom there, and afterwards converses about their collection of porcelain dolls. Carol suggests selling them for money, and after finding them worth thousands of dollars scramble to sell them, only to find one missing. Tracing the doll back to Max, they decide to try and break into the house to retrieve it. Max, on the other hand, gets ready for a trip to Tokyo for Christmas. On the day of, though, Max accidentally gets left behind, and subsequently has to face Jeff and Pam solo. He decides to fill the shoes of Kevin, and sets up traps to catch them in the act.

Even though every Christmas movie is meant to be wholesome and cheerful, I wasn’t feeling any sort of direct emotion towards the movie. The movie seemed uneventful and felt like every other remake of Home Alone. It felt stale and sort of dried up, along with being typical and harboring no aspects of the original Home Alone movies. The story was trying too hard to make sense of it all, and as a result didn’t seem as important. The movie felt slow but at the same time felt like the movie was happening all at once. If you enjoy any particular Christmas movie there are good characteristics to take away from the movie, but this Christmas movie was personally not my favorite.

Archie Yates as Max in HOME SWEET HOME ALONE, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Philippe Bosse. © 2021 20th Century Studios.

Red Notice: Movie Review

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By: Karissa Meno

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Red Notice is set up to be a fun and adventurous movie, and as always contains a little comedy. The Netflix Original movie beats views of the Disney+ film Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings.

This Flynn Picture Company, Seven Bucks Productions, and Bad Version, Inc. production is directed by Rawsn Marshall Thurber. This action/comedy has a starring cast of Gal Gadot (Sarah Black/The Bishop), Dwayne Johnson (John Hartley), Ryan Reynolds (Booth), Ritu Arya (Inspector Urvashi Das), and Chris Diamontopoulos (Sotto Voce) that make this movie eventful.

This movie offers the story of the worlds greatest con-artist (Booth) and intelligent FBI Agent (Hartley) looking for Ancient Egypt’s Cleopatra’s famous and expensive glamour eggs. While trying to beat the worlds greatest thief (Sarah Black) to the eggs as well. All while creating an action filled and adventurous roller coaster throughout different places.  

The movie begins fast paced, introducing our two main characters Booth and Agent Hartley. Booth is the world’s greatest con-artist and Agent Hartley is part of the FBI trying to track down Booth. Booth’s main objective is to gain Cleopatra’s extravagant glamour egg given to her by Mark Antony. After Hartley goes on a chase for Booth, a misunderstanding leads both Hartley and Booth to work together. They are given an offer by Sarah Black who also wants to retrieve the glamour eggs. Now Booth and Hartley are on a race to beat Sarah to the eggs. This adventure brings Booth And Hartley closer together as Hartley is looking to regain his reputation in the FBI. Later the three of them are forced to work together on their trip to the third egg.

The beginning of the movie is fast moving but still easy to keep up with. Ryan Reynolds as always offers some great comedy throughout any scene. Even though the action begins a couple minutes before the start, it was eventful to watch for an action/comedy. The events that follow make sense, in a way but are very random; and even though the story has an objective it lays a little bit of history behind the story all tying it up to the places they travel. I’ve never been one for your “historical con-artist action movies” but this one seemed eventful to me in some way that I never took a chance on action movies. Some aspects of the movie were your typical cheesy action scenes, but all is well and good enough for me.

If you love your action-filled car chases, slow motion air scenes, sort of predictable twists and turns, going from place to place, and some occasional safe-cracking, this is the movie for you.

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