The Eagle and the Albatross

The story is centered at a run down golf course in the middle of nowhere. The club is on the verge of closing but it has its diehard regulars - a group of eccentrics who live for golf.

Enter a Korean teenager who feels lost in the world. The best player at the club takes her under his wing and teaches her golf.

I won't go any further with the storyline (no spoilers!) but I will say that the theme of the movie should appeal to a wide audience. It's about "finding your tribe" as one of the characters says. It's about finding the acceptance most people long for.

The beginning of the movie is a little disjointed, but it evolves into a funny, bawdy and touching film. It's also beautifully filmed and has great acting from everyone in the large cast. Dan Lauria and Amber Liu are the standouts. Their chemistry is what really holds this movie together.

If you're a golf nut or into k-pop, you'll love the movie. But even if you've never held a club and think k-pop is a cereal, you'll be touched by the great ensemble cast and the relationships that form on and off the green.

For the life of me, I don't know how films this horrible get made. There isn't anything about it that is remotely decent. First of all, absolutely no one in the movie can act. No one. They all should devote their careers to being extras. The acting is cringeworthy.

Second of all is the writing. It's beyond horrible. It seems like it was written by a bunch of 10-year olds. I mean it's 2023. And you're still writing about golf where the funniest jokes are references to balls? Are you serious? I don't think I made ball jokes when I was in third grade.

And I have to admit, this was the rare movie where I had to quit about half way into it. It was that bad. But if you want to see how NOT to make a movie, check this stinker out.

I should have know when it gut high ratings when only 90 people rated it. All friends of the actors and the crew. Moviejunkiemark.blogspot.

I've spent plenty of time on golf courses and the movie's total disregard for golf etiquette and customs bothered me. This movie was an insult to golf courses and country clubs as the people just didn't look or act like the ones you'd expect to see at such a venue. How many times were people talking during someone's back swing or standing close to the person when they're addressing the ball? During the tournament, which was announced as a shot-gun where everyone tees off on different holes, everyone lined up at the first hole and waited for each group to tee off? Couldn't they have hired some actors that actually played golf instead of a bunch of hackers that looked like they had never picked up a golf club, including the lead actress? (I cringed watching the actors swing, before the camera cut away, as you could tell they barely hit the ball.) Couldn't they have hired someone who's actually worked at a golf course as a technical advisor? The 9-hole course and clubhouse itself looked like a mediocre, small, public course, not a real 18-hole course that one could actually sell private memberships to. Aside from the poor setting and lack of realistic details, the story itself was pretty cute, albeit somewhat offensive at times with the oriental/Korean jokes and the gay woman. The back story of the lead actress was never really explained, i.e. She was apparently born in Korea but spoke English like she was raised in the US. Only good part was Dan Lauria who had a passable golf swing for someone.in their 70's. Adrienne Barbeau was almost unrecognizable from her days as a well-known actress in the 70's and 80's.

"Let's write a star-making vehicle for a wooden K-Pop star centered around... golf." Luckily, they also included a sub-plot involving wirelessly controlled sex toys, or this may have ended up being one of the oddest films ever conceived.

Okay as an Amber stan, I've waited for this film since it's announcement date. So, I'm going to talk about Amber first in this review and then the overall cast and crew as well as production of the film- my opinions on it, anyways. I have been a fan of Amber since I was very young and I've always said that she has the potential to be a really good actress. It always infuriated me that she never really had an interest or wants to go in to acting. Her involvement on her first drama must've changed her mind- but back to Eagle and the Albatross... this film proved to me that she has what it takes to pursue projects within the movie industry. For a relatively amateur actress, and I'm saying this even despite my bias, she delivered her portrayal of Jimin really well. The last scene between her and Dan Laura's character was probably the highlight of the entire film for me, not only because it proved to me just how talented Amber can be as an actress but also because the chemistry between Amber and Dan Laura seemed so organic and authentic. I loved the dynamic between the two characters and both of the actors are extremely talented individuals. Regarding The Eagle and the Albatross as a whole, I feel like this movie was a good watch and is definitely lives up to its title of "a feel good" film -- despite the tear jerker scene towards the end... you know what I'm talking about. There were some parts of the script I would've liked to see tweaked a bit- such as some of the innuendos, the portrayal of a butch lesbian and the sudden death of a character being brushed aside without any on-screen closure... but that's just particulars and overall, I feel like it was a nice little movie. I will definitely rewatch soon!