The Pliley Review

  Genre:  Sci-fi, Adventure Rating:   PG-13 Synopsis: Paul Atreides unites with the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future. *** Part Two wastes no time in jumping right back into the world of Arrakis and the war for control of the spice. If you have read the original book or watched the older movie version you will have some idea of where the story is going.  However, without spoilers, the ending does not match the book exactly, so even if you know, you will not know everything.   Like the first movie, the cast is brilliant and plays to their characters extremely well. Timothée Chalamet is still crushing it as the main character Paul. The introduction of the newest character, Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen played by Austin Butler added the right amount of threat. I do have to shout out, Florence P...

  Genre:  Horror, Sci-fi Rating:   PG-13 Synopsis: A young woman named Sam finds herself trapped in New York City during the early stages of an invasion by alien creatures with ultra-sensitive hearing. *** Disclaimer: I am a huge fan of the original A Quiet Place (9 out of 10) and though I liked the second one (7 out of 10) it did not have the same weight. After watching the trailer I had immense hope for this one. I was right to do so.  Day One solves some of the problems in the second by introducing new and interesting characters in a completely new setting. This is how a sequel to the original should have been done. Many questions arose while watching the original movie and thanks to the storyline, new setting, and characters some questions are answered. Both about the big cities and the creatures themselves.  The casting in this movie was spot on and I honestly could not pick a favorite between Lupita Nyong'o as Samira and Joseph Quinn as Eric. They were inc...

  Genre:  Action, Adventure, Animation Rating:   16+  Synopsis: SECRET LEVEL is a new adult animated anthology series featuring original stories set within the worlds of some of the world’s most beloved video games. From the creative minds behind LOVE, DEATH + ROBOTS, each of the 15 episodes is a celebration of games and gamers. *** Right from the introduction to the series, you can tell without reading the descriptions that it is the same Love, Death, and Robots team. As it is 15 different stories you have to remember that the same story will not continue on the next episode. The cast did an incredible job of embodying each character and bringing the animation to life. Each animation style was done with a specific vision in mind and I thought that each one was executed amazingly. The visuals on every single one were just stunning and some I just loved so much there were not enough words to describe them. This series really shined in this element.  The biggest ...

  Genre:  Musical, Fantasy Rating:   PG Synopsis: Elphaba, a misunderstood young woman because of her green skin, and Galinda, a popular girl, become friends at Shiz University in the Land of Oz. After an encounter with the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads. *** Disclaimer: I’ve never seen the musical and going into the movie knew nothing about the plot and only vaguely 2 songs.  Right off the bat, I was on Team Green as I hate bullies. Yet I have to say the harshness of the opening definitely pulled me in. The library scene had me cringing as I’m a huge book lover, but all the songs were amazing during the entire movie.  Though I have nothing to compare the performances story or character-wise, high praise goes to both Ariana Grande as Galinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in their respective roles. Ariana, of course, took to the songs like a fish to water and although I had never heard Cynthia sing before the vocals for both were i...

  This is short and sweet. Thank you for all the support and love during 2024, and cheers to many more years to come. I c an't wait to see what 2025 brings. Always Keep Fighting.  You Are Enough.    A R Pliley   Follow my Instagram ► http://instagram.com/alisonpliley Like me on Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/arpliley

  Genre:  Family, Comedy Rating:   PG Synopsis: The Herdmans are six siblings, who have a reputation for being the worst kids in the world. However, when they take over the local church pageant during the holidays, they just might teach a shocked community the true meaning of Christmas. *** From the trailer, I had high hopes for a fun, festive, and heartwarming story.  The adult cast for this movie was wonderful. Yet full props have to be given to all the kids, especially Beatrice Schneider as Imogene who really nailed this role and embraced the complexities of the character.   In all honesty, the first 45 minutes of the movie I was seriously conflicted. Being a mom it's hard to watch kids bully other kids, but I had hope that it would get better. Though eventually it did, it almost felt a little too late since it was the halfway point of the movie at that point.  The storyline was straightforward so very predictable when all was said and done. However...