The Pliley Review

  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...

                                                         Genre:   Romantic, Comedy Rating:   TV-14  Synopsis: Ten years after a botched proposal, two star-crossed exes must spend Christmas together after discovering their partners are siblings . *** The first movie I’ve seen with Lindsy Lohan since her return and I had high hopes.  The narration at the beginning providing some backstory was a little weird and felt out of place, especially given the person chosen so honestly I was nervous.  But wow, the said ‘botched’ proposal brought me into the story with a bang of both hilarity and heartbreak.  The cast did a great job and brought their characters to life. Each one felt very real and you started rooting for them as individuals even before the romance portion played a factor. Lindsey ...

  Genre:   Family, Comedy Rating:   PG  Synopsis: Santa and his elite elf team use spy-like stunts to deliver billions of presents to all the world's children in one incredible night. But a child is missed! Now it is up to Santa's youngest son Arthur to fix this slip-up and make good on the promise of Christmas. *** The casting in this movie was perfect. The main character of Arthur is played beautifully by James McAvoy and while the rest of the star-studded cast brought theirs to life with ease, I can not praise James enough. The childlike wonder in Arthur makes you easily root for him and James encapsulates his character perfectly.  Within the first few minutes of the movie, you get a complete sense of who each character is and how they interact with each other. Bad or good.  The storyline is simple and heartwarming with the right amount of action and jokes to keep you interested even after the credits roll. The animation is smooth and will be sure t...

  Genre:   Action, Comedy Rating:   PG-13 Synopsis:    When a villain kidnaps Santa Claus from the North Pole, an E.L.F. (Extremely Large and Formidable) operative joins forces with the world's most accomplished tracker to find him and save Christmas. *** When I first saw the trailer for this movie I was excited with a hint of apprehension as it could be either really great or really bad. I am so happy it was the former.  The cast did a great job at bringing the story to life and each embraced their roles beautifully. Lucy Liu, Dwayne Johnson, and Chris Evans all did amazing. J. K. Simmons as Santa Claus also did a great job, but as you can imagine from the synopsis he is not in the movie runtime much. Now, were they Oscar-winning performances? No, however, they made each situation feel as if you were there and you really felt for their predicament. By the end, you are rooting for the good guys.  The storyline was simple enough, yet there was...

                                     I just wanted to take a moment and wish everyone a                             Happy Holidays!  Over the next week as we approach Christmas I will be posting 1 Holiday Movie a Day  on the following days:  12/19/2024 12/20/2024 12/21/2024 12/22/2024 To keep the reviews a surprise I will not say exactly which movies I will be posting, however, I am thinking fun, kid-friendly, romantic, comedy, PG-13, or lower to keep with the holiday spirit. I really love the R-rated, Krampus movie from 2015 so I may slide that one in at some point, as an added bonus, but we shall see.  Things to Note:  Between December 23rd - January 1st, 2025 there will be no new reviews as I spend time with the family. But keep a look out for my H...

  Genre:   Family, Comedy Rating:   PG  Synopsis:   When the Whos down in Whoville decide to make Christmas bigger and brighter, the disgruntled Grinch and his loyal dog, Max, realize there is one way to gain peace and quiet. *** There have been a few adaptations of the Grinch over the years and following the footsteps of the Jim Carrey version, I was not sure what else they could do with it. I am so happy that I was wrong.  Benedict Cumberbatch as the voice of the Grinch fits the role perfectly. He encapsulates all the grumpiness you’d expect combined with the misunderstood creature who is just longing to belong. Cameron Seely made an adorable impression as the intelligent child of Cindy Lou Who.  The animation style captures the bright colors of the original book as well as the different emotions during the story, which I think adds to the story. The scenes spent on the recon of the town also added to the story as it is not just about the s...

  Genre:  Action, Sci-Fi Rating:   R Synopsis:  The origin story of renegade warrior Furiosa before her encounter and team-up with Mad Max. *** Right off the bat, I admit I am one of the people who liked the Mad Max remake, Fury Road.  Selecting Anya Taylor-Joy as the key character, Furiosa, was a great choice as she could easily pass for a younger, Charlize Theron, just from her facial expressions alone. The similarities did not end there as she crushed the role.  I also have to shout out, Chris  Hemsworth, who did a fantastic job. I was so happy to see him in another type of role and embracing his inner villain.  I do have to say it was not the worst movie I have ever seen. The world-building was great and added more crews/groups that were interesting to see and how they differentiated from the ones we had already met.  I will say that this story covers the time of Furiosa being a very small child right up to the time she appears in Fury Ro...

Genre:  Action, Thriller Rating:   PG-13 Synopsis:  Kate Carter, a retired tornado-chaser and meteorologist, is persuaded to return to Oklahoma to work with a new team and new technologies. *** If you like the first one and can ignore the movie logic then it's a fun ride.  The cast did a great job with what they were given and honestly, I feel that the Tornado Wrangler, Glen Powell, was the biggest reason that most people liked this movie. This movie was not made to win awards or epic storytelling. It was exactly what you think it would be. Very predictable and follows the same story as the first one. In all seriousness, I was shocked when one specific scene didn't happen as it was almost identical until then. Then some very random moments felt out of place. The type of oh-we-are-doing-this-now type moment that pulled you out of the action.  Final Thoughts My hubby gave it a 4, but overall it was a fun ride so I will rate it slightly higher. Good to watch o...