Thomas is a man in his forties who is suffering from the pain of a breakup, living a monotonous and emotionless life. Suddenly, he is invited to participate in a Dark Web game to win 1 million.

The rules are simple: he will be the prey of hunters for 30 days, he cannot be attacked if he is accompanied by someone else and, if he survives for a month, he wins the grand prize. He will be filmed the entire time and all the places he frequents have been bugged.

Thomas immediately accepts the contract, believing that his family will support him in this challenge.

Is Self Reliance good?

When I saw the teaser being released by HULU, I immediately got excited. After all, a film produced by The Lonely Island (producers of the films Palms Springs and Popstar: never stop never stopping), featuring Nick Miller (Jake Johnson’s character in New Girl) and Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg’s character in Brooklyn 99), could only offer a good comedy. Unfortunately, we don’t see this potential being used here.

Although the premise is very interesting and at the beginning it makes us a little curious, throughout the film, we can feel how much the script gets lost in its own pretentiousness.

From the beginning, we know that Thomas is not a reliable narrator/character. After all, it’s not the first time he’s made up unrealistic stories that make his own family doubt his sanity. This is a fact that drags on and serves as the basis for the entire development of the film.

The problem, however, is that there comes a point when this narrative becomes tiresome. The lack of laughter, combined with fatigue, slowly leads us to a disinterest that not even the possibility of a romance can save.

The addition of Anna Kendrick’s character does not come with a romantic touch here, it is just a plot device being planted to try to make us laugh eventually and to force the growth of the main character. Although it works well for the second thing, unfortunately, the humorous aspect of her participation, once again, is not relevant to the story.

The impression we have is that in the last 20 or 30 minutes of the film, when we should start to get our answers, we are surprised with more questions. And the ending… well, it is not enough to answer everything.

The script for Self Reliance had everything to be a gem in the world of unfunny comedies that have been released in recent years, but in the end, we have the feeling that something is still missing. As if we were presented with an unfinished project, without the final touches on the script.

On the other hand, if we have a weak script here, Jake Johnson did a great job directing some scenes, especially the scenes with “the ninjas” which, despite being humorous in nature, brought a slight element of humor and a little chill down our necks before making us laugh.

Overall, Self Reliance is a 3-point film, worth watching when we don’t have many expectations and there’s nothing better to play.

Watch the Trailer:

For now, the film Self Reliance is not yet available on any Brazilian platform, but it should be distributed by Star+ soon.

O post Self Reliance apareceu primeiro em e-Popcorn.

Years have passed and his father never returned. Renato is now a successful businessman, has a fiancée and a stepson with whom he cannot create deep connections.

For him, parents and children do not need to be best friends. A belief built after suffering from abandonment during his childhood.

Everything changes when Katherine, his father’s current wife, calls him and tells him that he is sick, on the verge of death and wants to see him.

Suddenly, Renato discovers that he has a younger brother named Asher (Connor Del Rio) and the two embark on a journey of self-discovery in search of someone named Eloise.

Is Half-Siblings Good?

This was a movie I chose unpretentiously at 10pm on a Saturday. The phrase I used specifically was “I wanted something to do”.

I am happy to share that, definitely, Stepbrothers was that something. However, there is also a dramatic haze that surrounds the story of these two brothers who had never met.

Focusing on the character dynamics, Renato carries within himself a great resentment towards Uncle Sam. The idea of ​​having to travel to the United States because of a father he doesn’t even love makes him completely angry.

Meanwhile, Asher is a different guy (some say he’s weird), he can’t be serious and says whatever comes to mind.

When they meet for the first time, without knowing who the other is, their interaction leaves a terrible impression. To top it off, Asher tells Renato, a Mexican, that he’s “against the wall.” This makes things even more strange.

The “tense” atmosphere that fills the room when the two are officially introduced at the hospital doesn’t surprise viewers.

Throughout the plot, we can see Asher’s effort to connect with his brother and Renato’s effort to stay as far away as possible. They are opposites and couldn’t be more distant. And if it’s up to Renato alone, they’ll stay that way.

For me, the highlight of this film goes beyond the dynamic between the two main characters. In a not-so-subtle way, the plot manages to expose a deep-rooted prejudice among Americans towards people who are from other countries.

The hatred that Renato carries for the United States comes largely from the fact that his father left when he was a child. But in his brief time trying to understand what happened, he experiences many situations similar to those that kept his father away.

I really like the approach to healing from trauma and how our actions do indeed reflect aspects of these same traumatic events.

Step Brothers is a fun film that makes you laugh and cry, but it is, above all, a film that addresses the personal growth and emotional healing of two adults who were hurt during their childhood, due to a third adult who could not accept his own choices.

It is a film that goes by quickly and is definitely worth watching.

O post Half-brothers apareceu primeiro em e-Popcorn.

Mavis Beaumont (Michelle Buteau) is a fashion designer with a lot of personality and dreams. When her stable relationship with the perfect man comes to an end on the eve of a great professional opportunity, she needs to find a way to start over in her life. And with the help of her best friends, she sets out in search of new adventures.

Right from the start, I would like to point out that one of my favorite parts of this series: the character’s best friends have their own stories. They are more than just “friends of the main character” and escape the cliché of the unemployed friend who is always on screen ready to crack a joke.

Marley (Tasha Smith) and Khalil (Tone Bell) have plots that are just as interesting as Mavis. Khalil is the typical scoundrel who ends up falling in love and experiencing romance for the first time, and Marley is discovering/developing more of her sexuality.

And even though it is not as in-depth as the main plot, we can follow a little of each one’s story.

Despite addressing issues such as racism, plus-size women, and having a lot of LGBTQIA+ representation, none of these issues seem forced in the story. On the contrary, they are there adjacent to everything else and are treated with due naturalness.

The comedy itself revolves around Mavis’s discovery and journey of learning to be single. We follow a woman returning to the single life in her early 30s, after a long relationship that didn’t end well.

Here, we follow her disastrous dates, her professional challenges, and her adventures living in a house with someone who is the complete opposite of her.

Jade (Liza Treyger) is an eccentric character, with questionable habits (such as bathing her body in olive oil and sitting on the apartment’s furniture) and a cat affectionately called Cocaine.

Her character comes as a contrast to the normality of Mavis’ life, the change from a stable life to a messy apartment and an even messier roommate.

As for Mavis’ love life, when I started the series, when I got to know the dynamics between her and Khalil, I was afraid of being led to “ship” the two for the sake of plot convenience. In shows with plus-size characters, this is already a cliché: “the chubby friend who ends up being seen as a woman by her long-time friend”.

Fortunately, the tone is quickly set; the two are friends, they care a lot about each other and would do anything for each other, but that’s it.

There’s no room for romance; on the contrary, each one really roots for the other’s love life and there are no secrets between them. Khalil is Mavis’ best friend, almost like a brother, but there’s nothing more to it than that. Which makes the love between them even more genuine.

As for her ex, Jacques, he still wants to reconcile the relationship and chases after Mavis for a good part of the series. Despite being the reason for the breakup, he wants to prove to her that he can’t live without her and that he has now changed into a better person.

There is a slight “love triangle” when we are introduced to Luca, an Italian with a sense of humor and an accent that takes our main character’s breath away.

In the end, Surviving in Style is a series that shares with the viewer the daily life of a woman in normal situations of her day to day life.

And yes, despite being a mid-size/plus-size woman, there is never a mention of insecurity due to her body, Mavis is a very confident woman, men compliment her and flirt with her.

In works with the same theme, a common mistake is to always reduce the character to this, being fat is who she is and nothing else matters. Fortunately, this is another cliché avoided by Surviving in Style.

Surviving in Style is a quick series, easy to binge-watch and with great moments to make you laugh. The series is available on Netflix and has 8 episodes.

For now, there is no confirmation of a new season and Michelle Buteau, the actress who plays Mavis and author of the book of the same name, made it clear that she will not consider the idea of ​​another season until the rights of the writers are respected and the strikes in Hollywood end.

Watch the trailer:

O post Survival of the Thickest apareceu primeiro em e-Popcorn.

Still, I don’t give up and always give it a chance when a new movie of the genre is released.

When I saw the trailer for Puppy Love, I wasn’t very excited about the story. But the cast did interest me.

Lucy Hale (Pretty Little Liars) and Grant Gustin (The Flash) play Nicole and Max. He is a boy who developed social phobia after COVID and isolated himself from the world during the two years of the pandemic, she is a party girl with a very messy lifestyle.

When Max decides to adopt Chloe on medical advice and Nicole rescues Channing Tatum from the streets, their paths end up crossing.

Is Puppy Love good?

Puppy Love dives into the plots of enemies to lovers and opposites attract. If these aren’t clichés enough, sprinkle the film with absurd scenes and dialogues and you’ll have a film that would be shown in an afternoon session after a few cuts.

There’s nothing that shines or stands out enough to make Puppy Love the romantic comedy of the year.

The interactions between the main characters are quick and, often, it’s hard to understand some of their attitudes.

In the first meeting, for example, it seems that the character Nicole chose to be annoying for no reason. Meanwhile, Max continued to be the only one with justification for his actions (coming from a psychological problem).

Max and Nicole don’t like each other, but after a meeting in the park, Chloe ends up getting pregnant by Channing Tatum (and yes, the film shows the scene of the puppies being made). Because of this, the main characters need to learn to live together, since they will be grandparents to a pet.

Little by little, we see the change happen, Nicole helps Max feel better and get out of the house more. While Max helps Nicole face her fears and enroll in college.

Like every cliché movie, the reason for the conflict is kind of stupid, but it works here in the middle of this “guy with OCD, sloppy girl” narrative.

As for the acting, Lucy delivers the same as always, her performance is consistent and she manages to play the perfect girl from a rom-com movie.

Grant, on the other hand, is once again haunted by his past. If in The Flash it was absurd to have the character sing, here, there is no reason at all. The actor has to sing for nothing, with no addition to the narrative.

The reason is only one and obvious: he acted in Glee and knows how to sing.

In conclusion

Puppy Love won’t change the history of cinema; it’s just another generic and forgettable film that’s good for a laugh here and there.

Because it’s quick, it’s worth watching while you’re doing something else in your day-to-day life and just want to have some fun.

The film premiered on August 18 in the United States and is not yet available on any Brazilian streaming service.

O post Puppy Love apareceu primeiro em e-Popcorn.

Now, imagine inheriting a huge rural property, full of history and many spaces to be enjoyed?

A paradise!

When journalist Samantha (Rose Mclver) and her husband Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) become owners of the Woodstone family mansion, they both see an opportunity to transform the place into an inn to make “easy” money.

What neither of them imagine is that a group of eight ghosts are very committed to making this plan not come to fruition.

Everything changes when, by accident, Sam gains the ability to see his invisible tenants, the first person to see them in years. A surprise for her and the others, but especially for Jay, who needs to support her on this new journey.

But is it good?

The series produced by CBS is the American version of the series of the same name produced by the BBC in the United Kingdom.

I’m not in a position to compare the two, as I’ve only watched the Americanized version, so I’ll reserve my right to only talk about the 2021 series.

Starting with the main couple, although it is a little difficult to buy into their relationship due to the chemistry that is not so evident at the beginning, the more we watch, the more we become convinced of the love that exists between them.

Jay is a down-to-earth chef who always takes things on the practical side. Samantha is a writer who has dreams and big plans.

This opposing picture makes the couple achieve the perfect balance, as well as making their dynamics even more interesting, when Jay decides to believe in Sam and in the existence of ghosts around the house.

Ghosts are perfect, each in their own way. From nativists to Vikings to hipsters and stock market entrepreneurs, there is a wide range of stories and personalities to be explored throughout the episodes.

The highlights, in my opinion, are Alberta (Danielle Pinnock), a singer who believes she was murdered, Captain Isaac Higgintoot (Brandon Scott Jones), killed during the war and Hetty (Rebecca Wisocky), the former lady of the house who doesn’t agree with the customs of modern women.

These are by far the funniest and have the best ghostly situations. Whether it’s the cause of death or the jokes from beyond the grave, they carry much of the humor with them.

The others, however, leave nothing to be desired. The difference in age, personality and eras lived bring a very special touch to the script.

For example, a Viking who becomes addicted to reality shows and starts marathoning without his friend. Current fights that certainly wouldn’t affect a Viking in 800AD.

Some -not so frequent- characters are also added to bring more depth to the plot or introduce us to more about the non-living core.

The series has two complete seasons and, according to the Deadline portal, it has already been renewed for a third season, with no premiere date yet.

In Brazil, all 40 episodes can be watched on the Paramount+ streaming platform.

See trailer for the first season (subtitles unavailable):

O post Ghosts | A Mansion, an Inheritance, and Eight Crazy Ghosts apareceu primeiro em e-Popcorn.

Referring to the phrase “seasons and a movie” said several times throughout the seasons, it seems that this prophecy is even closer to being fulfilled.

Despite suggesting the return of the entire cast (with the exception of Chevy Chase), there is still no official information about who will return for the film. According to Variety, there is also no confirmation that Donald Glover and Yvette Nicole Brown will join the cast, but there are expectations for a special appearance. Will we have another episode of Troy & Abed in the morning?

O post ‘Community’ Will Get A Movie in 2023 With Members of The Original Cast apareceu primeiro em e-Popcorn.