Mom's Minute

Introduction to Bruce Willis Breach Movie Review 

There is a scene in the Wonder Woman 1984 movie where Wonder Woman looks at the Cheetah villain curiously when Cheetah is in full costume, and asks her, “What did you do?”  I’m not in any way comparing the Wonder Woman 1984 movie to Bruce Willis’ movie -- Breach. However, regarding the Breach movie, I could easily ask Bruce Willis the exact same question -- “What did you do?”

Unfortunately, I would ask Bruce Willis this question from a negative posture as well, because it seems to me that an actor of his caliber could do better in selecting movies to star in -- especially when the film will have his name at the top of the movie credits.

The above being said, here is my review of the Amazon Prime Video movie -- Breach starring Bruce Willis.

Plot of the Bruce Willis Breach Movie

Nothing new here, folks. This movie involves space travel where a group of selected people are aboard a spaceship, leaving old earth for a new one located somewhere in space.  Spoiler Alert: To add drama to the movie, initially, it appeared as if a couple got separated when the spaceship departed; however, they later met on the ship. In fact, the once-estranged partner of the couple became sort of a sidekick to Bruce Willis' character on the spaceship.  

Subplot of the Bruce Willis Breach Movie

The spaceship became inhabited by zombie-like creatures who shared the same elementary appearance of having  black goo on the bottom part of their face. Looks like the artist movie staff responsible for these creatures ran out of ideas as to how they should look and came up with this "design."

As expected, the subplot of the Breach movie involved the space crew protecting themselves against these zombies using weapons that looked like the plastic super soakers from the l990’s.  As the movie progresses, the crew faces other amateurish dangers as well.

Budget of the Bruce Willis Breach Movie

Big bucks were definitely not spent on making this movie. Money was spared when it came to hiring creative people to make the Breach movie worth watching.  Maybe money for the movie including the props, etc. was limited in order to pay for Bruce Willis' probably huge salary for starring in the movie Breach. 

Bruce Willis Breach Movie is no Fifth Element Blockbuster Movie

Bruce Willis Breach movie has a very slight similarity to one of his previous movies, The Fifth Element, but really there is no comparison between the two. Most of the criteria that makes for a good, quality movie was sadly lacking in the Breach movie. By contrast, it seems that The Fifth Element’s movie budget was substantial enough to hire quality movie people, including having a set that was far superior to that of the movie Breach.

Bruce Willis Acting Skills in the Breach Movie

The good news is that even though the script was lacking in substance and creativity, Bruce Willis managed to do a passable job acting in this movie. More positive news is that Bruce Willis’ role, unlike some of his recent ones, consisted of more than just a cameo appearance, or merely being a voice on a telephone etc.

To the contrary, Bruce Willis had an action role in the Breach movie. However, this fact alone, though an improvement, was not enough to save the movie.  On a positive note and to his credit, Bruce Willis did an ok job on this movie, given what he had to work with. 

That being said, it would take more than Bruce Willis’ acting talents to pull the movie Breach up to the A-list category. 

If I were to ask Bruce Willis -- “What did you do?”, I’m directing my question to his choice to star in the Breach movie. As you may know Bruce Willis is probably well-known for a series of what I consider good movies involving not only his role as John McClane in the Die Hard movie franchise, but many other A-list type movies as well.

But it looks like, as of now, Bruce Willis is simply out to get a paycheck and probably, a big one at that -- regardless of the type movie he appears in. I was anticipating seeing this movie after watching a series of his previous lackluster films -- hoping that his movie choices would change for the better.  Alas -- It seems to me his movie acting choices have gotten much worse.

Assessment of the Bruce Willis Breach Movie

Regretfully, I cannot recommend that you watch this movie, unless you are truly a “Die Hard” fan of Bruce Willis and want to see him again in movies. However before you watch the Breach movie you should ask yourself -- “What else could I be doing instead of wasting my valuable time?" I’m sure you will come up with something else to do which probably will be more to your liking.

As for me, by watching the Breach movie, I satisfied my curiosity as to the role that Bruce Willis would play in the Breach movie. I alluded to my anticipation of this film in my previous movie review here. But as for the magnitude of my viewing enjoyment in watching the Bruce Willis Breach movie -- it was little to none.

Rating of the Bruce Willis Breach Movie

Based on a rating of 1 star to 5 stars with 5 stars being the highest, I rate the Breach movie starring Bruce Willis, 1 ½ stars.

Introduction to Outside the Wire Netflix Movie Review

I must admit that it was a welcome change to see an African American actor headlining what may be a blockbuster movie on Netflix.  Of course this actor had a role previously in Marvel's blockbuster movie, Endgame and numerous other movies -- which probably helped him secure a starring role in the Outside the Wire movie. I'm referring to the actor Anthony Mackie who is probably known for playing the superhero character Falcon in the Marvel movie franchise.

 Was the star in this mainstram movie enough to persuade me to like the Outside the Wire film? Check out my movie review of the Netflix film, Outside the Wire to find out.

Synopsis of Outside the Wire Netflix Movie

The plot the Outside the Wire movie is pretty straightforward.  Outside the Wire is a military action film. In it, a young Air Force drone pilot, actor Damson Idris as Lt. Thomas Harp, teams up with a machine android military officer -- Anthony Mackie as Leo -- who for all intents and purposes looks human.  

The premise of the film seems simple at first, but as the storyline progresses, you may be surprised at what this movie is all about.  Interestingly enough, initially the drone pilot thinks he is being teamed up with Leo as punishment and a reprimand for disobeying a direct order, but as you watch the storyline unfolds, you find out that this is the least of his problems.

Acting Skills of the Stars of Outside the Wire Movie

In my opinion, all the actors in Outside the Wire portrayed their roles adequately.  Except for the propensity of the android military officer to use lots of profanity, I thought the script was well-written. Also most of the scenarios and conversations moved the story and the action along in the film.

Action in Outside the Wire Movie

When the conversations died down in the movie Outside the Wire, there were sufficient number of segments featuring action scenes. This, of course, can be expected in a military-type film.  I'm sure that plenty of stunt people were used n the fighting scenes which added to the action in the film.

Unnecessary Characters in Outside the Wire Movie

Without spoiling the movie, there is a fight scene where the android military officer is fighting a number of enemies alone. Just when the young pilot attempts to join in to help, for some reason, the female leader played by Emily Beecham raised her arm against his chest, seemingly to stop him from joining in the fight. Then just a few seconds later, she commences to join the fight herself. Go figure.

Many Villains in Outside the Wire Movie

You will see your fair share of villains in the Outside the Wire movie. One notable character who very well could have been left out the cast of villains was in fact the leader described above.  Maybe they could have shown her congregating with people in areas outside the wire, but I did not see a need for her to have a speaking part.  By reducing her role, there could have been more interaction between the two main characters, Leo and Harp.

Assessment of Outside the Wire Movie

I was not a fan of the fights and violence in this movie -- even if Outside the Wire is a war-type movie. By the way, as a precaution, there are some disturbing scenes in the movie as well, which may cause you to turn your head away from the screen.  Maybe the writer-director wanted to show the gruesomeness of the fightings, altercations, etc. as well as the aftermath -- but there is a scene shown in the film that I think  went too far.

The above being said, I believe the Outside the Wire film will keep your interest, especially if you like watching military type movies.  There are a few loose ends in the movie as well as illogical actions, i.e. not knowing what happens for certain characters, etc. -- especially toward the end of the movie, but this did not take away from the storyline of the movie.  

Rating of Outside the Wire Movie

Based on a rating of 1 star to 5 stars with 5 stars being the highest, I rate the Outside the Wire movie 5 stars.

Introduction to the Locked Down Movie

Given the current pandemic situation, I think many of us may be able to identify with the title of this movie. Even with the title of “Locked Down," I was not sure what to expect from this film since I had not seen any of the previews prior to watching the movie.

By the way, the Locked Down film I’m reviewing is the one that stars Anne Hathaway and not the other Locked Down movie that was released recently.

When I saw that Anne Hathaway was starring in this movie, I decided this film may be worth watching. I’ve seen a few of Anne Hathaway’s movies and enjoyed watching them. Based on the fact that I consider Anne Hathaway an A-list actor, I decided to watch and review this movie.

Was the Locked Down movie worth watching?  Even more importantly, do I think you will enjoy this movie?  Check out my movie review of Locked Down starring Anne Hathaway to find out.

Plot of  the Locked Down Movie

Once you begin watching the Locked Down movie, you may come to the conclusion that this film is the usual run-of-the-mill relationship-type movie with a couple arguing back and forth over what appears to be trivia matters. However, there is more to the movie than relationship problems.  The plot of the story uses their relationship as a stepping stone for actions done by the couple that seemed to come out of nowhere.  You will know what I’m referring to if you watch the movie.

Subplot of the Locked Down Movie

If I revealed the subplot of the Locked Down movie, I believe I would be divulging part of the storyline of the film where events seem to get out of hand.  You may find yourself asking -- "Will she or WIll she not?"  On the other hand, you may also ask yourself -- "Will he or will he not?" perform a specific deed or act. As I alluded to earlier-- You will know what I’m talking about if you watch the movie, Locked Down.

Script of the Locked Down Movie

In my opinion, the script of Locked Down was well written. The script-writer used interesting dialogue and situations between the couple in an attempt to keep your interest. There is also a hit of suspense in this movie, since you are not certain how the relationship will end.  Additionally, you may try to predict if the couple will go through with the subplot mentioned above.

Since the movie is set in the current time of the pandemic, several virtual, online meetings including those of a personal and business nature take place between Anne Hathaway’’s and the other characters in the movie.  It was interesting how even sometimes with these type of conversations and intereactions, the writer was able to provide not only a sense of drama, but one of suspense as well.

Assessment of the Locked Down Movie

My impression of the Locked Down movie is that each of the main actors was trying to one-up the other.  In other words, since Anne Hathaway is probably more well-known than her partner actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, I think he was trying to keep up with Anne Hathaway’s acting skills. 

That being said, by doing so, this movie has a lot of back and forth dialogue instead of action, adventure, etc. However, with the two dueling for the best actor label so to speak, the viewing audience was provided a high caliber of combined acting talent.

Spoiler Alert: Towards the end of the movie, an action takes place that was not to my liking. Namely, the wrong message may have been sent -- even if this is after all a movie. As a result, I reduced my rating of the Locked Down movie by 1/2 star.  Otherwise, with all things considered, I believe this was a good movie to watch and I would recommend it.

Rating of the Locked Down Movie

Based on a rating of 1 star to 5 stars with 5 stars being the highest, I rate the Locked Down movie 4 1/2 stars.

Introduction to George Clooney’s Midnight Sky Netflix Movie Review

At one time George Clooney’s Midnight Sky movie was on Netflix’s top ten list. However, after a while, as expected, it slipped out of the top ten. I intended to watch this movie earlier; however, I hesitated mainly because I heard that it was a sad, depressing movie. And who wants to rush to look at a depressing movie?  

 However, after a sizable time delay, I decided to give George Clooney’s Midnight Sky movie a look-see. My rationale was that maybe the movie is not as sad as I imagined it would be.

 Did I make the right decision? In other words, should I have skipped watching George Clooney’s Midnight Sky movie indefinitely?  Check out my George Clooney’s Midnight Siy movie review to find out.

Plot of George Clooney’s Midnight Sky Movie

If you watch George Clooney’s Midnight Sky movie trailer, you may know that this film can be described as an apocalypse type movie. I would agree with this description. Additionally,  I would compare this movie in some ways to Tom Hanks Cast Away, Sandra Bullock’s Gravity as well as one of George Clooney’s older films -- The Perfect Storm. If you watch George Clooney’s Midnight Sky movie, you may see the parallels as well.

 George Clooney’s Midnight Sky - An A-list Type Movie

Because of George Clooney’s media name draw and recognition, many people probably saw this movie simply because he was the star. 

As you may know, George Clooney is known for numerous A-list type movies that do not disappoint relative to entertainment value. Now that he made a movie for Netflix, did the quality of his film drop? This is a subjective question; however, from my point of view, I will say that it looks like there were no quality shortcuts taken.

Even though quite a bit of the scenery may have been Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI), I was impressed  by the cinematography in the movie, as well as the realism of the different scenarios throughout the film.

Additionally, I give kudos to George Clooney for not only starring in this film but for directing it as well.

Assessment of George Clooney’s Midnight Sky Movie

Your perception of whether or not George Clooney’s Midnight Sky is a good or bad movie depends on your individual taste in the movies. For example, if you like action oriented, car chases, explosion-type movies, George Clooney’s Midnight Sky movie may not sit well with you. On the other hand, if you enjoy watching a movie that has a little drama mixed with space action and the inevitable emergencies that may ensue, I think you will like watching Geoge Cloonehy’s Midnight Sky movie.

As I indicated earlier, unfortunately, I did not rush to watch George Clooney’s Midnight Sky movie because of the sad overtones that were shared when the movie was initially released on Netflix.  

Now, after watching this film, not only should I have not skipped watching George Clooney’s Midnight Sky movie, but maybe I should have watched it sooner.

My suggestion is if you have not yet watched George Clooney’s Midnight Sky movie, you may want to see it and come to your own conclusions. As for me, I will definitely give George Clooney’s Midnight Sky movie a thumbs up.

Rating of George Clooney’s Midnight Sky Movie

Based on a rating of 1 star to 5 stars, with 5 stars being the highest, I rate George Clooney’s Midnight Sky movie, 5 stars. 

Introduction to Wonder Woman 1984 HBO Max Movie Review

It was a long time coming, but finally, Wonder Woman 1984 movie starring Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman became available to watch on Christmas Day, December 25, 2020. 

 I waited a  few days after launch of the film to watch this movie mainly to see if I could save money by taking advantage of possible free trials available on any of the streaming services. By the way, the Wonder Woman 1984 movie is currently being shown in select theaters as well as via HBO Max.  My choice was to watch it free on HBO Max, as a Hulu add on 7-day trial.

It took awhile, but I finally went through the logistics of setting up my 7 day free trial of HBO Max, using the Hulu add-on. The major draw for me doing this was of course to watch the sequel to the 2017 blockbuster surprise hit movie  -- Wonder Woman practically free.  

Was Wonder Woman 1984 worth the wait? Check out my movie review to find out.

Synopsis of Wonder Woman 1984 Movie

Of course most superheroes’ main objectives involve solving crimes and defeating villains. This holds true for the Wonder Woman 1984 movie where there was not just one villain, but seemingly two that Wonder Woman had to contend with. The additional villain may have been one of the downfalls of Wonder Woman 1984 movie because instead of using screen time to showcase Wonder Woman’s superior skills, time had to be spent developing not one  but two villains.

Storyline of Wonder Woman 1984 Movie

As expected, Wonder Woman 1984 is set in the year 1984. Therefore, similar to the 2017 Wonder Woman movie starring Gal Gadot that was released in 2017, the scenery was set in the 1984 time period. 

To get straight to the point, I think the storyline of Wonder Woman 1984 was sort of amateurish and did not lend itself to any creativity.  In fact the incidents that happened in the movie to cause the villain to have a certain power did not  follow common-sense logic. For instance, how could the villain absorb  powers of an object without either ingesting it or using some other means to make it a part of himself. To try to make sense of this villain's “transformation”, I guess I can surmise that maybe he inhaled dust particles from the gem object. 

However, since the plot had familiar comic-book type scenarios, it’s understandable that the storyline did not have to be realistic. That being said,  I think more thought should have been put into creating a creative, attention-grabbing Wonder Woman story that would showcase plenty of her powers because after all, the movie is above all about Wonder Woman.

Highlights of Wonder Woman 1984 Movie

I think I can count on one hand the highlights of the Wonder Woman 1984 movie using less than four fingers. This is in stark contrast to the 2017 Wonder Woman film that had so many epic scenes, it would be difficult for me to limit them to a few. 

In addition to not showcasing Wonder Woman’s many powers, the story did not center around her. Instead, plenty of screen time was given to the villains, which of course, took away from those scenes that could have involved Wonder Woman.

By the way, I would like to remind the writers that Wonder Woman has many superhero talents that are not tied to her lasso.  Spoiler Alert:  If you watch Wonder Woman 1984, you can't help but notice all the attention that was given to her “Spiderman'' like maneuvers using her lasso.  Even though the lasso's use was overdone -- due to the limited powers shown by Wonder Woman in this movie -- the lasso stunts actually stood out for me.

Quick Sequel to the 2017 Wonder Woman Movie

I give kudos to the writers, directors, actors and others who I believe worked  hard to bring the sequel to Wonder Woman to fruition quickly -- even though there were delays due to the pandemic.  However, I would have been satisfied to wait a few more months, or how much time that was needed to create a movie that was full-fledged focused on Wonder Woman.

On a positive note, the beginning of the movie was satisfactory, even though it gave the false pretense that Wonder Woman would be the main focus of the movie instead of others.

Assessment of Wonder Woman 1984 Movie

If there is another Wonder Woman movie or sequel developed and released, the plot should be centered around a story that would require Wonder Woman to showcase skills such as her strength, her fighting abilities, the use of her shield, her sword and yes -- her lasso. I believe that not showcasing these skills and having a weak storyline were major fails for the  Wonder Woman 1984 movie.

To put it bluntly -- Except for a few of the action scenes, the Wonder Woman 1984 movie was not worth the wait.

That being said, watching Wonder Woman 1984 was not a complete fail -- especially since I watched it on  HBO Max. As a result, I was able to check out other movies and offerings on this streaming app.

Plus by using HBO Max, I watched the 2017 blockbuster movie Wonder Woman again. When I did and watched the excellent story, the superb action stunts and more -- I instantly recalled why I saw this film multiple times when it appeared in the movie theaters.

I even watched a few of the original Wonder Woman television shows starring Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman on HBO Max.  I guess by now you can tell that I’m a Wonder Woman fan.

What’s Next for Gal Gadot

The movie, Wonder Woman 1984 obviously did not make the grade for me -- but I do believe in second chances. Hopefully the movie people will learn from their mistakes in making Wonder Woman 1984 and make another Wonder Woman movie that will be even better than the 2017 Wonder Woman.  I guess only time will tell.

Rating of Wonder Woman 1984 Movie

Based on a rating of 1 star to 5 stars with 5 stars being the highest, I rate the Wonder Woman 1984 movie three (3 ) stars.