Paradise Hills movie review by Movie Review Mom

MOVIE TITLE: Paradise Hills

RATING: Not rated yet

LENGTH: 1 hour, 35 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: D for dumb

IN A NUTSHELL:

This Sci-fi horror/thriller is Alice Waddington’s directorial debut. The film debuted at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and quickly afterward, Samuel Goldwyn Films acquired the distribution rights. Unfortunately, it’s not as good as it thinks it is.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Some crude language and 1 F-bomb.
Some violence

THEMES:

“There’s always a way to get what you want.” – Amarna (Eliza Gonzalez)
Female empowerment
Independence
Identity

THINGS I LIKED:

I’m a sucker for Milla Jovovich.
I’ve been seeing Emma Roberts all over the place lately. Good for her. She sings in the movie too. A-lister Julia Roberts must be one proud auntie.
The young cast includes Danielle MacDonald, Awkwafina, Jeremy Irvine, and Eliza Gonzalez.
Fun and creative costume design.
The fantastical set designs were intriguing.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

The sound kind of drove me nuts.
Some of the acting wasn’t very good. I’ve seen many of the actors do much better in other movies, so I was disappointed. It had everything to do with the poor script.
I feel terrible saying this, but I was bored.
Some of the scenes take place in dim moonlight, so it’ll be hard to see what’s going on if you watch this on a small device once the film goes to streaming or DVD.
It takes itself way too seriously.
Many things are totally random and just don’t make any sense at all. If they’re symbolic, then I totally missed it. Everything just seemed really dumb and self-indulgent to me.

INTERESTING LINES:

* “Some people complain that rose bushes have thorns. I rejoice that thorn bushes have roses.” – Duchess (Milla Jovovich)

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