Paradise Hills

Gimly

2019-12-28

50%

I think _Paradise Hills_ was almost good, and it's disappointing that it fell short of actually achieving that. Of course, it was almost crap too, so dodging that by the skin of its teeth is good, though not exactly high praise. _Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole._

Kamurai

2020-11-20

70%

Really good watch, would watch again, and can recommend. This is (almost) a spiritual successor to "The Island", and in most respects is about as good. There are certain aspects that under cut the aspects that make it good, but I can't mention them without ruining the movie before you watch it. The oddest bit (not said lightly) is honestly the mix of the cast. Milla Jojovich and Emma Roberts are proven entities that could carry a movie (fairly easily), but then there are also Danielle Macdonald ("Birdbox") and Awkwafina ("Jumanji: The Next Level") neither of which give a good performance or do I consider quality actors. I'm not sure higher quality actors would serve the movie any better. Any real problems are in the script itself. The movie has a ridiculously high production value as it is intended to represent the overly wealthy. There is a great little mystery / survival story here, but I'm not sure it will endure through multiple watches.