Tag: Omari Hardwick

Spoiler-Free Review of “The Mother” on Netflix: J.Lo Stars in Netflix’s Latest Female Assassin Thriller

*This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!*

“You don’t know how bad this gets…”

The Mother premiered on Netflix on May 12th 2023. The action thriller film stars Jennifer Lopez, Omari Hardwick, Lucy Paez, and Joseph Fiennes. It runs for an hour and fifty-seven minutes.

After years of hiding from her enemies, a female assassin re-emerges when her daughter’s life is threatened.

Here is the trailer:

The Mother has lots of action-packed moments featuring a bad-ass performance by Jennifer Lopez, but does it do enough to earn a a watch? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Images courtesy of Netflix

Starts off with a bang.

A lot of these films can give the audience way too much backstory and set-up so I was really excited when The Mother got right into things with intense action and some solid fight scenes. The pacing was decent overall and I think there was a good enough balance between the action and the heartwarming moments to make this an entertaining movie from start to finish.

Images courtesy of Netflix

J.Lo is bad-ass!

Similar to Allison Janney in Netflix’s thriller, Lou, Jennifer Lopez really put forth a valiant effort here with a believable performance. She did a lot of her own stunt training and I was honestly impressed by how well she executed everything in this movie. She was the BEST part of the movie by far and elevated it in a lot of ways.

The Cons:

Images courtesy of Netflix

Plays it safe…

This movie followed a by the numbers formula without ever straying off course. Sure, it was entertaining, but it needed a little bit more of an edge to set it apart. A lot of things were really predictable and I think if it had stepped away from its comfort zone just a little bit, it might have packed more of a punch.

That being said, this film fit the bill for a Netflix movie of the week. I think it would actually make a fantastic double feature alongside Jennifer Lopez’s 2002 thriller, Enough.

So am I in or out?

Images courtesy of Netflix

I’m in!!!

If you enjoy films like Lou and Enough, there’s plenty to like in this film. Jennifer Lopez gives it her all with lots of action to keep viewers satisfied.

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on The Mother in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

DON’T TAKE THE JOB…

It was only supposed to be temporary…but when Olivia Crewe accepts a new position that seems too good to be true, she soon discovers that twelve other girls previously had the same job as her. Only none of them lasted for more than thirty days. No notice. Nothing…right before they mysteriously disappeared without a trace.

My supernatural thriller Girl Number Thirteen is out now! I hope you enjoy!

Girl Number Thirteen is available here!

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Spoiler-Free Review of “Pieces of Her” on Netflix: A Thriller with Heart

*This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!*

“If someone threatens your child, you do anything to protect them…”

Pieces of Her premiered on March 4th 2022 on Netflix with eight episodes available to stream now. The mystery-thriller series stars Toni Collette, Bella Heathcote, Omari Hardwick and Jacob Scipio. Each episode runs for approximately 45-55 minutes.

After an attack in a small town, a mother desperately tries to protect her daughter against dangerous threats as secrets surrounding her own dark past are revealed.

Here is the trailer:

Pieces of Her hooks its audience with a compelling mystery and plenty of twists and reveals to keep you coming back for more, but is it worthy of your next watch? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Images courtesy of Netflix

Toni Collette is as brilliant as ever!

Wow, she was so good in this! She really manages to fully embrace whatever role she is given and I am always drawn in that much more because of her performances. I thought she was fantastic in this series and she actually elevated it a lot when the plot went down the rabbit hole a few times.

An intriguing mystery.

I thought the mystery at the core of the series was a good one and I actually really liked that this show revealed a lot about this mother-daughter relationship, giving it a more emotional tone which worked in the show’s favor. Although some of the reveals were predictable, there were a lot that I didn’t see coming and I thought that this show was very easy to binge-watch.

The Cons:

Images courtesy of Netflix

Wishy-washy female lead.

I didn’t mind the character of Andy but she started to make some really dumb decisions as the show continued. This was frustrating at times because I want to really care about the characters to remain invested and I had a hard time connecting to her. I don’t think the performance was bad and there were some redeeming moments here and there, but I wanted a lot more from her as a character.

I also thought that the first half of the series was a lot stronger than the second half. Things started to lose steam after a while and we went off on several tangents before we got to the conclusion. That being said, I still think there was enough happening to keep me entertained.

So am I in or out?

Images courtesy of Netflix

I’m in!

This show really kept me on the edge of my seat. With each new episode, I needed to know more! If you enjoy mystery thrillers, you will feel right at home with this one.

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on Pieces of Her in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

THIS COMPETITION IS KILLER…

When former friends, Shay and Adriana team up to participate in a Halloween scavenger hunt with a cash prize, they temporarily put their differences aside to outsmart their opponents. However, they soon start to realize that a dangerous threat is playing their own version of the game, stalking them during each hunt.

Winning is now a necessity as their lives are at stake. As old wounds and memories re-surface, Shay and Adriana attempt to unmask the threat before the night is over, but soon learn that Scream Hunt is not done with them just yet…

My young adult horror thriller is out now! I hope you enjoy!

Scream Hunt is available here!

**If you enjoyed this blog, I would love it if you would click the follow button on your way out to subscribe.  Thanks for your support!

Spoiler-Free Review of “Army of the Dead” on Netflix: Ocean’s Eleven meets World War Z

*This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!*

“This should be a simple in and out…”

Army of the Dead is a horror action film that released on May 21st 2021 on Netflix. The film stars Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Tig Notaro, Omari Hardwick, and Garret Dillahunt. It runs for approximately two and a half hours.

The film takes place after a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas as a group of mercenaries go through zombie territory in order to pull off a heist with a lot of cash.

Here is the trailer:

Army of the Dead looks like it could be filled with a lot of gory zombie fun, but does its dragged out set-up get in the way of pure greatness? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Army of the Dead Spoiler Free Review Cast

Images courtesy of Netflix

Fun dynamic between characters.

This movie had an Ocean’s Eleven vibe going on and I actually thought this worked in the movie’s favor because you cared more about what happened to the characters. Dave Bautista played the exact role I needed him to play and we also had some other stand-out performances as well. 

It was honestly really funny to see good guy Garret Dillahunt from Fear the Walking Dead play a complete jerk and I think that the comedy sprinkled throughout the film actually really helped. The film didn’t take itself too seriously and that was important because all I wanted was an action filled zombie flick and I think it delivered on that.

Lots of action.

If you came for lots of violence and action, you will not be disappointed. Once the film gets going, you will have plenty of that to go around. The Vegas setting worked in the film’s favor and the zombies were actually pretty formidable too, which prevented this film from feeling overdone and stale.

The Cons:

Army of the Dead Spoiler Free Review 2

Images courtesy of Netflix

Way too long and issues with pacing.

My biggest con about this film is the length of it. I don’t want to watch a zombie action film for two and a half hours. I don’t really want to watch any film for that long, but I make exceptions here and there.

This movie should have been an hour and forty minutes and I think the dragged out length really hurt this film. We don’t even get any real gritty action until over an hour into the movie and that’s when the film takes off, but this film could easily lose an audience within the first hour.

While I loved the introduction to the gang of characters, we could have fast forwarded through a lot of the unnecessary fluff. The heart-to-heart talks and slow moving flashbacks were a little too much as well.

I think that if this film had broken away from that and just embraced its real identity, it would have been much better in my opinion.

So am I in or out?

Army of the Dead Spoiler Free Review 3

Images courtesy of Netflix

I’m in!

While I was on the fence about this movie during the first hour, things picked up once we got to the meaty part of the plot and the action, gore, and comedy really delivered for me. I thought this movie was a lot of fun. It wasn’t anything truly epic or outstanding, but it was thoroughly entertaining.

The movie was way too long, but luckily it made up for that in the second half. If you are looking for some zombie fun with a lot of action, you’re in the right place.

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on Army of the Dead in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

THIS COMPETITION IS KILLER…

Scream Hunt Coming Soon

When former friends, Shay and Adriana team up to participate in a Halloween scavenger hunt with a cash prize, they temporarily put their differences aside to outsmart their opponents. However, they soon start to realize that a dangerous threat is playing their own version of the game, stalking them during each hunt.

Winning is now a necessity as their lives are at stake. As old wounds and memories re-surface, Shay and Adriana attempt to unmask the threat before the night is over, but soon learn that Scream Hunt is not done with them just yet…

My new young adult horror thriller comes out October 7th 2021! I hope you enjoy!

Scream Hunt is available here!

**If you enjoyed this blog, I would love it if you would click the follow button on your way out to subscribe.  Thanks for your support!