tantry1
Joined Jul 2000
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Reviews7
tantry1's rating
The movie is incredibly low budget - even though it's a period piece there are few period piece elements that would cost much. It's almost entirely in a single filming location and the other locations are simple places that took little to no set dressing etc.
This isn't normally a problem for the genre because the murder mystery just needs a good mystery with fun characters, fun misdirects, and a solve at the end that makes you feel like something was accomplished.
It does OK on the character part, although mysteriously having American actors with only OK English accents even though the premise means they could easily have just used their normal accents. I feel like Chris Browning did some good work although that might be because his character had the most interesting stuff to do.
But the movie commits the worst sin a murder mystery can commit - our amateur sleuth solves nothing. She is simply handed all the evidence she needs. Deduction is not required. Any other character (bar the killer) could have been in her place at the end to be shown the evidence, it would change nothing because she did not have to gather clues or piece anything together.
This isn't normally a problem for the genre because the murder mystery just needs a good mystery with fun characters, fun misdirects, and a solve at the end that makes you feel like something was accomplished.
It does OK on the character part, although mysteriously having American actors with only OK English accents even though the premise means they could easily have just used their normal accents. I feel like Chris Browning did some good work although that might be because his character had the most interesting stuff to do.
But the movie commits the worst sin a murder mystery can commit - our amateur sleuth solves nothing. She is simply handed all the evidence she needs. Deduction is not required. Any other character (bar the killer) could have been in her place at the end to be shown the evidence, it would change nothing because she did not have to gather clues or piece anything together.
I saw director his previous movie because of the cast and it was... OKish. It was just a bit off for the entire thing, the comedy didn't quite land, the romance didn't quite land, the horror was very meh, everything was a little bit wrong. It had good ideas but the execution did not meet them.
This movie corrects all that. The vibe is on for almost everything. The snark works, the romance works, the horror works, the action, the framing, you get it.
It's 8/10 instead of 9 or 10 because the ending is weak. They either needed a lot more exposition or a fair bit less. The threat of Heart Eyes goes from 110% to like just fighting a normal human with no fighting skills instantly. There's a plausible explanation for it but it's a bad one.
All the actors did a great job. Sets great. Costumes great. Effects fantastic. Whole production really great.
Solid 8/10. If Josh Ruben figures out how to end a movie like this on his third try it'll be a real banger.
This movie corrects all that. The vibe is on for almost everything. The snark works, the romance works, the horror works, the action, the framing, you get it.
It's 8/10 instead of 9 or 10 because the ending is weak. They either needed a lot more exposition or a fair bit less. The threat of Heart Eyes goes from 110% to like just fighting a normal human with no fighting skills instantly. There's a plausible explanation for it but it's a bad one.
All the actors did a great job. Sets great. Costumes great. Effects fantastic. Whole production really great.
Solid 8/10. If Josh Ruben figures out how to end a movie like this on his third try it'll be a real banger.
