ryan-jentzsch Reviews

Xanadu (1980)

This is a terrible movie with a special place in my heart

[3/10 · 21 August 2021]

I saw this in the theater when it came out and the only reason I went was because I had a huge crush on Olivia and loved the sound of her singing. The movie really deserves 2 stars and not 3 but I still have a bit of a crush on Olivia so I gave it 3. As to the movie itself...

Plot: thin and when there was a plot it was convoluted.

Acting: Terrible. So bad that Michel Beck was nominated for a Razzie for worst actor.

Stage and sets: Okay.

Before I Fall (2017)

Mean Girls meets Ground Hog Day is accurate

[7/10 · 11 March 2017]

Plot: 6

Themes and Tone: 9

Acting and Characters: 8

Direction: 6

Music and Score: 5

Cinematography: 8

Production Design: 10

Special Effects: 7

Editing: 9

Pacing: 5

Dialogue: 9

Plot: Has been done before. This movie in the context of high school.

Themes and Tone: The move goes for a dark theme and achieves it. On this level the film made an emotional impression on me.

Acting and Characters: Strong stereotypes but the female lead and especially Halston Sage's performances make up for this.

Direction: The movie is a slow start and spends too much time establishing the main characters as a typical mean girl clique. Part of the issue is the story itself (it's repetitive).

Score and Music: I saw this movie with my daughter. I asked if she recognized any of the music in the film. She said no. Not music I would choose to listen to.

Cinematography: This is actually one of the best features of the movie. Nice smooth camera work. Interesting angles and close-ups when needed.

Production Design: Sets and backdrop are very believable and added to the overall theme of the movie.

Special Effects: Aside from one jump scare pretending to be a special effect this aspect of the film is done well.

Editing: Transitions between scenes and other editing is clean and flows.

Pace: A slow start and eventually picks up to a decent pace.

Dialogue: Well done. The film is repetitive due to it's nature. Even so each scene of dialog is needed and adds to the movie.

I was surprised that I liked this movie more than I thought I would. I went because my daughter wanted to see a movie and she chose this one.