Love At First Sight, Vacation Friends 2, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves & How To Blow Up A Pipeline Reviews

I’m back! But exhausted after posting so many reviews recently. This weekend I hope to catch up on comments & on reading blogs! Have watched very few movies in October so far, so at least I don’t have to go crazy reviewing a million things. But they’ve all been horror, so I might try to review them in time for Halloween.

Here are three 2023 movies I enjoyed. And one 2023 release (in the U.K.) that I didn’t enjoy so much.

Love At First Sight (2023)

Directed by Vanessa Caswill

Based on The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

Starring: Haley Lu Richardson, Ben Hardy, Jameela Jamil, Rob Delaney, Sally Phillips, Dexter Fletcher

Plot Synopsis: (via IMDb)
Hadley and Oliver begin to fall for each other on their flight from New York to London. The probability of ever finding each other again seems impossible, but love – and London – may have a way of defying the odds.

My Opinion:

Really enjoyed this, but I’ve liked Haley Lu Richardson since the excellent Columbus (highly recommend). Sweet story, good chemistry between couple & I always like American/British romance as that’s my own situation. Jameela Jamil’s appearances were cheesy – just narrating would’ve been better. But still my favorite 2023 rom-com-dram.

My Rating: 7.5/10

Vacation Friends 2 (2023)

Directed & Written by Clay Tarver

Starring: Lil Rel Howery, Yvonne Orji, John Cena, Meredith Hagner, Steve Buscemi, Ronny Chieng, Jamie Hector

Plot Synopsis: (via IMDb)
A couple who meets up with another couple while on vacation in Mexico sees their friendship take an awkward turn when they get back home.

My Opinion:

Okay, sorry, I found both of these movies pretty damn funny? Don’t get me wrong, I’ve found nothing truly hilarious since like 1992 & most modern comedy is awful but these two made me laugh. John Cena & Meredith Hagner are great as the outrageous couple while Lil Rel Howery & Yvonne Orji work so perfectly as the normal couple putting up with their crazy shit. PLUS, this one has Steve Buscemi! I adore Buscemi and he’s brilliant here as always. He does comedy so well. Love him.

Enjoyed this. Think I originally gave this half a point less than I might have after seeing its low rating. Screw that – I’m putting it back to 7. It’s fun & the actors are perfect in these roles. Plus… BUSCEMI!

My Rating: 7/10

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

Directed by Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley

Based on Dungeons & Dragons by Hasbro

Starring: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Hugh Grant

Plot Synopsis: (via IMDb)
A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers embark on an epic quest to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people.

My Opinion:

The rating for this on Letterboxd is a bit too high but it was good fun & better than I think anyone was expecting. It’s so rare to get a good family-friendly adventure comedy now that everyone is extra enthusiastic when we do (we had movies like this constantly in the ‘80s). Great characters & everyone seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves, especially Grant & Pine.

Speaking of the ‘80s, it made me remember that I loved the Dungeons & Dragons Saturday morning cartoon. Anyone else watch that?! I’d love to see it again. Wonder if it would stand the test of time…

My Rating: 7/10

How To Blow Up A Pipeline (2022)

Directed by Daniel Goldhaber

Based on How to Blow Up a Pipeline by Andreas Malm

Starring: Ariela Barer, Kristine Froseth, Lukas Gage, Forrest Goodluck, Sasha Lane, Jayme Lawson, Marcus Scribner, Jake Weary, Irene Bedard

Plot Synopsis: (via Wikipedia)
It relies on ideas advanced in Andreas Malm’s 2021 book of the same name, published by Verso Books. Malm’s nonfiction work examines the history of social justice movements and argues for property destruction as a valid tactic in the pursuit of environmental justice.

My Opinion:

This was okay? I didn’t care about anyone except maybe the girl who was dying & her girlfriend & childhood friend. Everyone else was annoying as hell. And why did that dude keep spitting all the time? Why do dudes spit? Anyway. Where was I? Oh yeah. This movie. I just didn’t care. Story okay but godawful character development. Which is bad when each one got focused on separately.

My Rating: 6/10