The Pliley Review

  Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller Rating:   TV-MA Synopsis: After a global pandemic destroys civilization, a hardened survivor takes charge of a 14-year-old girl who may be humanity's last hope. *** I will go on record immediately that I love this game and have played it through many times over the years. So when I heard about the TV show I was very excited.  I will admit that at first I was unsure about some of the casting choices, however it was clear very early on that each person played their parts beautifully. Both Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal did an amazing job in the lead roles. Gabriel Luna also played a great Tommy. Yet my heart could not stop the happiness when I saw the video game voice actors, Merle Dandridge as the same character  M arlene, Jeffrey Pierce the original Tommy as  Perry. And of course, the amazing  Ashley Johnson, the original Ellie, playing a new character of Anna and last but definately not least, the...

  Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Thriller Rating:   R Synopsis: When a mysterious enemy frames their late captain for corruption, Miami cops Mike and Marcus go rogue to expose a conspiracy - and clear their own names.  *** Being the huge Bad Boys fan I am, I was excited to hear about this one.  Right out the gate, we’re back with the boys driving fast with their usual banter and I was living for it. They were not playing around and within the first few minutes, I was freaking out. The plot played out beautifully and with the right amount of tension, though knowing some of the actors it was not a stretch to predict some upcoming events.  Will Smith as Mike and Martin Lawrence as Marcus are a classic combination that just works in this type of setting. I secretly hope they continue these movies for years to come.  The most recent cast members Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Jacob Scipio, and Paola Nunez who joined during the last movie, all retu...

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...

Genre:   Action, Thriller Rating:   R Synopsis:   A single father and friends venture from the safety of their homes to face monstrous creatures to save the life of a young boy. *** As soon as I saw the trailer for this movie, I was hooked. It has an interesting premise and creatures to boot. The entire cast did a great job, but the leads, Morena Baccarin as Nina, Anthony Mackie as Will, and Maddie Hasson as Katie, brought their game to the story, and it showed. The characters' complicated histories were played out perfectly, and I could feel their emotions as if I were part of their group.  The setting and cinematography are beautiful, though, after the first few minutes, you can tell it is pretty basic in terms of creature movies - somehow there are creatures so the humans are trying to survive. Still, they are pushed into situations where they have to cross paths.  However, I was very impressed with the survival aspects they showed, such as the air ...

  Genre:  Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller Rating:  R  Synopsis:  While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonists come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe. *** You all know what a huge Alien fan I am so when this came out I wasted no time in going to see it at the theatre. All the movies in the franchise have been hit or miss for me, but for this one, I have mixed feelings. They tried to include so many things that the story at times felt jumbled and though including one or two callbacks to the original Alien movie was welcomed and pretty cool. However, including one of the cast members was, in my opinion, a big mistake. Without giving away spoilers it is hard to discuss this aspect of the movie, however since it happens early on, you can pretty much predict some of the outcome of the meeting.  I sincerely appreciated going back to the practical effects and what they were trying to do, but sad...

  Genre:  Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller Rating: PG - 13 Synopsis:  A young woman, alienated from her community, finds herself in an action-packed face-off with a host of extraterrestrial beings threatening her future while forcing her to deal with the past.  *** I had very little information going into this movie and honestly, I think that is the best way to enjoy it. The main character, Brynn, is played beautifully by Kaitlyn Dever, who until this movie I had not heard of. I am definitely paying attention now.  Though the movie has almost no dialogue so much is said with facial expressions, situational awareness, and body language. Without words, you can almost hear what she is thinking and for the most part, I was thinking the same things.  Right from the opening scenes, you get an understanding of Brynn and how she does not fit in with her community, though she really tries. Thankfully I did not have to wait long until the action started and the first watch o...

  Genre:  Action, Drama, Crime, Thriller Rating:  R  Synopsis:  A docile family man slowly reveals his true character after his house gets burgled by two petty thieves, which, coincidentally, leads him into a bloody war with a Russian crime boss. I admit seeing the trailer for this movie I immediately thought of John Wick.  It was clear early on that this movie was hiding some weird mystery and WOW, what a ride. The movie did not hold back any punches and the beautifully choreographed fight scenes were just incredible. The violence was very graphic yet the main character  Hutch, played by Bob  Odenkirk, made it almost like dancing with a hint of humor. And not to sound creepy but some of those kills are freaking cool.  The storyline was perfect and everything played out in such a way that it felt natural and not forced. Each character brought what was expected to the overall movie and each actor did an incredible job of making me feel for the...

  Genre:  Action, Adventure, Drama, Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller Rating:  R  Synopsis:  A skilled Comanche warrior protects her tribe from a highly evolved alien predator that hunts humans for sport, fighting against the wilderness, dangerous colonizers, and this mysterious creature to keep her people safe. I'm a huge Predator fan so when I saw this trailer I had high hopes, with a hint of oh-please-let-it-be-good. I was admittedly very nervous about 1 person going toe to toe with a Predator, as we saw what happened last time and it was Arnie. Over the years the Predator franchise has had a few hits and misses. However, this one for me was a hit.  I'll admit before this movie I was a fan of Amber Midthunder from Roswell, New Mexico. I knew her acting skills were better than in the TV show so I'm glad she got a chance to show what she can do. The other actors I was not familiar with, however, everyone crushed their roles and I was rooting for them....

  Genre:  Action, Drama, Thriller, Suspense Rating:  TV-MA Synopsis:  Navy SEAL Commander James Reece turns to vengeance as he investigates the mysterious forces behind the murder of his entire platoon. Free from the military’s command structure, Reece applies the lessons he’s learned from nearly two decades of warfare to hunt down the people responsible. Let me start by saying that this is definitely not what I would usually watch. But honestly, for Chris Pratt, I will at least try. And overall I'm glad I did.   That being said I have to just say wow, just wow. Chris's performance was just incredible. The supporting cast also did amazing with what they were given but really Chris's reach in this series is just mind-blowing. I really worried that I could not take him seriously in this type of role but he really did show his range with this. Now for the bad part. I couldn't help but compare the TV show to a drawn-out version of Sylvester Stallone's Rambo. Si...

  Netflix Original - No copyright intended.   Genre: Science Fiction TV, TV Thrillers, TV Horror Rating: TV MA At the time when season one of this crazy, mind-bending show appeared on Netflix, no one knew anything about it. The trailer was a mix of confusing yet beautiful images so our interest was peaked.  Volume/season one consisted of 18 short but impactful stories about love, death, and indeed robots. I don't want to give away any spoilers so I won't go into the detail about each one but there were many that I have watched several times since its original release. I have rated each episode on the same 1 to 10 scale. Now each one looked amazing and the storylines were interesting. If I scored it low, it could be it just was not for me, or I did not like the style etc.  Three Robots  = 5 out of 10  Beyond The Aquila Rift = 8 out of 10  Ice Age = 4 out of 10 Sonnie's Edge = 8 out of 10 When the Yogurt Took Over = 4 out of 10 The Secret War = 8 out of...