Mom's Minute

Introduction to Halle Berry’s Bruised - A Netflix Movie Review

It has been awhile since I’ve seen a recent Halle Berry movie. The previous Halle Berry film I watched was John Wick 3 where she worked alongside Keanu Reeves with her attack dogs. The most recent Halle Berry movie I reviewed was her movie with Bruce Willis -- Perfect Strangers.

When I found out that Halle Berry had a Netflix movie coming out, I did not hesitate to make a mental note to watch it. I was anticipating this movie even more so because Halle Berry is not only starring in the movie, but is directing it as well. Should I have watched Halle Berry’s Netflix movie -- Bruised? Should you? Check out my review of Halle Berry's Bruised Netflix film to find out. By the way, Halle Berry's Netflix movie, Bruise is rated R and should not be watched by anyone seventeen years of age or younger without parent or adult guardian.

Plot of Halle Berry’s Bruised Netflix Movie

The plot of Halle Berry’s Bruised Netflix movie is pretty straight forward.  Specifically, a once famous UFC fighting champion, Jackie Justice played by Halle Berry, had a devastating defeat about four years prior and stopped fighting altogether. Even worse, she was on a seemingly self-destructive path using alcohol, and did not appear to care for herself. 

It just so happens that she got into an altercation in a public place. A promoter spotted her, offered her a title match, which Halle Berry’s character, Jackie Justice accepted and consequently trained diligently for.  As a backstory, she was reunited with her estranged son.

Acting Skills Displayed in Halle Berry’s Bruised Netflix Movie 

Halle Berry made history as the first African American woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress in 2002 for the movie Monster’s Ball. As a result, you probably would expect a display of superb acting skills from Halle Berry. She did not disappoint in her Netflix movie, Bruised.  In fact, all of the characters in the movie played their roles adequately.

Realism of Halle Berry’s Bruised Netflix Movie

Halle Berry’s Bruised Netflix movie showed a sufficient amount of realism, not only in Halle Berry's character portrayal of Jackie Justice, but also during the UFC training and fighting matches. The movie itself has a dark, sad, brooding background atmosphere. Each of the characters stayed in line with their character including the young actor Danny Boyd who played the part of  Manny, Halle Berry’s character son who she had abandoned previously but have since reunited.

Halle Berry’s Evaluation as the Director of the Bruised Netflix Movie

Prior to watching Halle Berry’s Netflix movie Bruised, I found out that she was going to direct the film herself.  There were problems finding a director for the movie -- so Halle Berry stepped in to perform directing as well as her acting duties. I believe she did a good job in directing the film to move the story along.

That being said, I think a good movie editor was needed to eliminate some scenes in the movie that were unnecessary. For example, in one scene, there was a cut to show her young son standing looking up for no apparent reason --  then the movie changed to a totally different scene not involving the character.

In fact my criticism of the movie includes, in some cases, the non-existence of smooth transitions from one scene to the next.  For instance, you would see Halle Berry's character having a verbal fight with her mother, and then the cut-away or next scene would be her walking on a sidewalk next to a graffiti covered wall -- with no connecting scene in between.

Assessment of Halle Berry’s Bruised Netflix Movie

Halle Berry’s Netflix movie Bruised is not a feel-good movie; however, you may be able to take some lessons about it regarding being resilient, getting up when you may be pushed down, etc. However, the movie, in my opinion, was depressing even towards the end -- after her “big” fight.  

I believe this was the dark tone Halle Berry was going for in her Netflix movie, Bruised. After you see this movie, once, you may not want to watch it again -- at least not right away due to its bleak and dark nature. 

Additionally, the movie itself leaves you with questions about what happens next to Halle Berry's character and her son after the fight.  After watching the movie, Bruised, you may have other questions as well, including what happened to her trainer, etc. To summarize, there are a few loose ends in the Netflix movie, Bruised that were not covered.

The above being said, if you are a Halle Berry fan or a fan of UFC fighting, and are not that much interested in the backstory of the main character, you may want to check out Halle Berry’s movie, Bruised. It is currently trending as a top ten movie on Netflix and may be worth your while to check out.

Rating of Halle Berry’s Bruised Netflix Movie

Based on a arating of 1 star to 5 stars with 5 stars being the highest, I rate Halle Berry’s Bruised Netflix movie 4 stars.

Introduction to Gilda: A Movie Review by Ms. H

You may have heard that Megan Thee Stallion, the rapper attributed her look at the recent Met Gala to “Old Hollywood Glamour.”  She had the classic signature hairstyle with a part on the side along with hair waves that gave her a look of elegance. Her gown also looked as if it came from that era. However, enough about Megan Thee Stallion’s look at that particular event. My movie review is about a film that in my opinion depicts old Hollywood glamour. In fact the star of the film Gilda exudes Hollywood glamour many times over. 

Of course, I’m referring to the classic black and white Hollywood movie, Gilda, that stars none other than the Hollywood icon herself, Rita Hayworth.  Did I enjoy watching the movie Gilda, or was I sorely disappointed? Check out my movie review of Gilda to find out.

Plot of the Gilda Movie

The movie has an overall casino- type gambling atmosphere that still matches scenes that you may see at current such venues today with the many black jack tables, card tables, games, etc. The major difference of course was the blatant smoking which was prevalent during this era.

Rita Hayworth stars as Gilda, the main character of the movie. Her character is not only the wife of an “enterprising” casino owner, but she also evidently had some dealings with her co-star -- Glenn Ford, who played the part of her romantic interest.

The story centers around her interactions with Glenn Ford's character, her husband as well as other actors in the movie who are connected in some way with the casino business.

Acting Abilities Displayed in the Gilda Movie

As I mentioned previously, Gilda is a classic 1946 movie.  As such, I was taken aback by how the camera made a point of showing lots of close ups of the actors’ faces, including of course Rita Hayworth's in many scenes -- especially the eyes.  Additionally, the acting seemed stilted and not as free-flowing as seen in some movies today -- but I guess this type of acting was the norm during that time. By the way, these observations by me did not take away from the riveting story or happenings in the Gilda movie.

Special Effects in the Gilda Movie

Gilda is not only a dramatic classic film, but there are elements of action in the movie as well.  However, due to the lack of the advanced movie technology used today, I could tell that the plane crash over the ocean scene suffered as a result of this. 

That being said, given that this is a 1946 movie, absent explosion special effects, Computer-Generated Imagery - CGI, etc. of today, I give this specific plane crash scene a pass. Also there was a scene in the movie that would have been shown in gruesome detail in some of today’s movies, just to get the audience's attention. You will know what I’m talking about if you watch the movie Gilda.

Relevance of the Gilda Movie 

You may hesitate to watch a movie made in 1946, mainly because the scenarios may not be relevant to today.  I will assure you that the GIlda movie had many inklings of what is going on in today’s world relative to people to people interactions and other areas.  If I was wearing one, I would tip my hat to the casting staff for selecting Rita Hayworth to star in this movie. In 1946, Rita Hayworth was considered a top notch actor who was certainly able to bring in movie goers. Who knew that years later, this movie would still able to attract audiences.

Assessment of the Gilda Movie

I found the Gilda movie not only entertaining but interesting as well.  I enjoyed the various fashions she wore as well as the attention grabbing plot of the Gilda movie. I was in no way disappointed after I watched the movie, Gilda.

 If you want to experience a classic black and white Hollywood film from a gone but not forgotten era, I highly recommend that you watch the movie Gilda. As you may have noticed, there are some modern day movies that sometimes try to emulate old Hollywood glam. But as the saying goes -- paraphrased -- “There is nothing like the real thing.”

Rating of the Gilda Movie

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

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Introduction to Edge of Fear: Netflix Movie Review

Has it been awhile since you’ve watched an “A Cabin in the Woods” type movie?  As you may know this movie type is about a group of people either surviving or succumbing to unfortunate events. 

If you have not, or would like to watch a movie of this genre, then you may want to check out the 2018 movie -- Edge of Fear. Check out my movie review of Edge of Fear to find out more.

Plot of the Edge of Fear Netflix Movie

As I indicated above, the movie Edge of Fear is about “survival of the fittest, or the smartest" -- given the situations these characters find themselves in. The characters are a rather unsavory group of inmates -- one of which is the head of a cartel in Mexico. He is taken from a prison bus by a group of people led by another criminal leader. They, of course, will butt heads with each other. This is especially true after their mode of transportation is destroyed and they have to trek their way in the woods to a solitary cabin where a group of friends are together.

The events in the movie Edge of Fear center around the actions, sometimes horrendous, that occur when the group is allowed inside the cabin -- and of course they take over the cabin as well as the people inside.

Actors in the Edge of Fear Netflix Movie

There are no big name actors in the film, Edge of Fear, even though one of the leaders’ faces looked familiar to me. For the most part, to my knowledge, these are actors who have never been in block-buster films. That being said, I think with one exception, they all did an adequate job in their acting roles.

The actor I am singling out as an exception and who could have delivered a better performance is Lin Shen who played the part of the doctor who after being severely injured managed to perform some Macgyver inspired maneuvers to get himself out of various situations. In my opinion, he was not convincing in his role, especially when he was severely hurt. I noticed that he frowned at least once after being injured when really he should have been grimancing throughout most of the movie.

The Most Unrealistic Happening in the Edge of Fear Netflix Movie

Of course, this movie is a made up story with exaggerated actions, including violence. However, there is one circumstance in the movie which is highly unlikely to happen even if the story is fabricated.  Without going into details, the incident involved the use of battery acid fluid in a bottle.  

It was a puzzle to me how the injured character would know that he would have to use this especially when he could not foresee what the other characters would possibly do in the future.  

As an aside, I’m sure he was making noise as he dragged himself behind a counter near the enemies with the battery acid -- Yet they did not hear anything suspicious or look around the area. This in my opinion is highly unlikely to ever happen.

Assessment of the Edge of Fear Netflix Movie

The movie, Edge of Fear has some violent and graphic scenes and should not be watched by anyone under 17 years of age. The Edge of Fear movie may hold your interest, if only to find out all the different methods one of the characters used to sleuth himself from being found by his enemies.

Rating of the Edge of Fear Netflix Movie

Based on a rating of 1 star to five stars with five stars being the highest, I rate the Edge of Fear Netflix Movie 2 stars.

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Introduction to the Clint Eastwood Cry Macho Movie Review

Have you noticed that recently many newly released films are being shown at movie theaters only, instead of being streamed on HBO Max etc. simultaneously? I was aware of this trend so the question is would Clint Eastwood's movie, Cry Macho follow suit?

The good news is this movie is also being streamed on HBO Max. Is there other good news regarding Clint Eastwood;s Cry Macho movie? More importantly, is it a bad, good or indifferent movie? Check out my movie review of Clint Eastwood’s Cry Macho movie to find out.

Plot of the the Clint Eastwood Cry Macho Movie

The plot of the Clint Eastwood Cry Macho movie centers around his character (Mike Milo) being asked to drive from Texas to Mexico to retrieve the 13 year old son of his boss. The boss, played by Dwight Yoakam, thinks that Clint Eastwood’s character owes him a return favor due to what he has done to support him including paying his rent, etc . Clint Eastwood agrees to make the drive to Mexico to first locate Dwight Yoakam character's son and second to bring him home.

The actions in the Clint Eastwood movie, Cry Macho involve fights, disagreements, and interactions his character faces mostly happening in Mexico while trying to return Dwight Yoakum character's son to Texas.

Reality Checks in the Clint Eastwood Cry Macho Movie

As a disclaimer, Clint Eastood’s Cry Macho movie is based on a novel; therefore, the events in the film as well as in the movie story are of course, completely made up or imagined. Therefore, the author could easily insert bits and pieces of action in his book to try to make the novel more interesting to read. By the same token, as the movie-maker, director as well as the star of the film Cry Macho, Clint Eastwood could very well add a number of fictitious events as well. In other words, the movie is not based on reality or a true story.

Some far-fetched actions that happened in the film deals with the pet rooster (Macho) of actor Eduardo Minett's character seemingly rescuing him -- which I’m sure it would not perform in real life. You will know what I’m talking about if you watch Clint Eastwood’s film, Cry Macho.

Other unrealistic scenes involve the mother’s hired hands whose job was to track down and locate the son, after he was taken by Clint Eastwood’s character. As expected, their encounters with Clint Eastwood’s character always ended in failure.

Other unrealistic moments in the movie occurred when Clint Eastwood’s character found out the real reason the father wanted his son returned to him from Mexico. From the final scenes in the movie, this intent was not evident when he finally met his son.  Again, I will not divulge what I mean here in order not to spoil the Clint Eastwood movie, Cry Macho.

The son’s purported troublesome character-traits were suspect as well since he was described by his mother as being unruly, etc. However, during the movie, he demonstrated that he was almost the complete opposite.

There may be other unrealistic scenes in the Clint Eastwood movie Cry Macho, but I will stop here.

Suspense in the Clint Eastwood Cry Macho Movie

The suspense level in Clint Eastood’s movie Cry Macho is very low to non-existent. Throughout the movie, you will probably know that whatever roadblocks his character encounters, he has a way out. So if you are looking to watch a suspenseful film -- Clint Eastwood’s Cry Macho should not be among your choices of movies to watch.

Assessment of the Clint Eastwood Cry Macho Movie

I applaud Clint Eastwood for not only starring in his movie, Cry Macho, but also directing it as well. With his years of experience in movies, including Westerns -- it is a given that he has the expertise to deliver a movie that had elements of drama as well as action to keep the movie-watching audience’s attention.

I must admit that even though this movie is not exceptional, I think it's  an entertaining albeit thoughtful one. I would rank it in the middle If I was asked if the Clint Eastwood film Cry Macho is a good or bad movie. On a more positive note, the movie cinematography showed plenty of outdoor scenes, and environments of various terrains to include galloping horses. In fact, one of my favorite scenes in the film was the horse-riding training Clint Eastwood's character gave to the Eduardo Minett's character in Mexico.

Spoiler Alert: The ending of the Clint Eastwood Cry Macho movie could have been more revealing to let the movie-viewing audience know if maybe the father changed his mind about his reasons for wanting his son back, and whether or not Clint Eastwood’s character remained in Mexico. After you watch the movie, I guess you will come to your own conclusions on how the movie ended -- just as I did.

Rating of the Clint Eastwood Cry Macho Movie

Based on a rating 1 star to 5 stars with 5 stars being the highest, I rate the Clint Eastwood Cry Macho movie 3 stars.

Introduction to Intrusion: A Netflix Movie Review

I was hesitant to watch the Intrusion movie, mainly because I’ve seen so many other similar type movies before. I was sure this movie would follow the same playbook of people allowing strangers into their homes, then unfortunately, regretting that they did so.

I was on the fence about seeing the Intrusion movie. Eventually got off the fence and decided to watch it. The reason? I wanted to see if the film, Intrusion would be any different from the others. Was it? Should I have passed on watching it? Should you? Check out my Netflix movie review of Intrusion to find out.

Plot of the Intrusion Movie

The actions in the Intrusion movie centered around a cover-up dealing with one of the homeowners, the contractor and the IRS. Towards that end, the story had subplots involving the wife’s disease, which she had overcome, her husband who took care of her during that time and who also built their home where the Intrusion would later take place.

Actors in the Intrusion Movie

The wife was played by Frieda Pinto who you may be familiar with from the Slumdog Millionaire movie she starred in awhile back. For the most part, the other actors were unknown to me. Of course having big name actors in movies is not the main ingredient for a good film, but sometimes it does help to boost the entertainment level, especially when stories of home invasions have been shown many times before.

Acting Abilities Displayed in the Intrusion Movie

In my opinion, the husband and wife were miscast in the movie Intrusion. The chemistry between the main actors Frieda Pinto and Logan Marshall-Green were non-existent on screen. Spoiler Alert: In other words, I did not get the feeling that they were a happily married couple from the start. Therefore, I was not at all surprised that the wife became suspicious of the  husband.

Storyline of the Intrusion Movie

It is unclear why the antagonist in the movie (the husband) chooses to make his wife his victim. In fact, there was another character in the movie where there also was no basis for this character to become a victim.

Furthermore, if the husband wanted to get even with his “blackmailer” contractor, he could have dealt directly with this character instead of one of his relatives -- who by the way was reported as missing. 

Unrealistic Actions in the Intrusion Movie

I think, unless a movie or storyline is a satire, etc. films should have some resemblance to reality about them. The  Netflix Intrusion movie failed in this area. For example, why would the wife turn on a light ion in the husband's home office where she was searching for clues, when she knew the husband could probably tell she was in that particular room by the lighted up window? Why not use a flashlight instead, especially since the rest of the house was dark? This happened not once but twice in the movie.

Additionally, why after spending a number of years tending to his then sick wife in the past would the husband all of a sudden turn against her, especially, since she is now doing well and is no longer a "burden" to him?

Another  example of unrealistic actions occurred during the car-following scene. Instead of following the husband in a car when the wife discovered he left his wallet home, the wife could have simply called him, left a message if he didn’t answer. Also since the movie showed only two cars on the road at night, the husband would have easily noticed that he was being followed.

There are other unrealistic actions in the Intrusion movie as well, but I will stop here.

Assessment of the Intrusion Movie

The movie Intrusion attempted to be suspenseful, but to me it was not. To be fair, there was some suspense as to why the house was broken into initially and no belongings, items, etc.  were taken. However, as you watch the movie, the perpetrator as well as the reason this was done is later revealed.  

Overall, this movie was different from the other home invasions films I’ve seen in that the wife and husband were not held captive in their home by strangers. However, due to the unrealistic twists and turns in the movie without showing the basis for them, the movie Intrusion was just a so-so type movie for me -- one that I could have passed on watching.  If you watch the Netflix movie, Intrusion, you may come to the same conclusion.

Rating of the Intrusion Movie

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