Love Me :
Rated: R
Plot Summary: Millions of years after humans have gone extinct, a satellite (Stephen Yuen) and an ocean buoy (Kristen Stewart) connect to the internet and begin to find out what it means to be human and explore love.
Almost every aspect of ‘Love Me’ can be described by one word: okay. The themes, the title, the dialogue and the soundtrack are all just… okay.
Viewers would think that ‘Love Me’ is either a heartwarming tale of love (based on its barebones title) or a compelling deconstruction of what it means to be human (based on its marketing), but ‘Love Me’ instead gives surface-level samples of both.
While ‘Love Me’ has a promising and unusual premise and a star-studded duo of Kristen Stewart and Stephen Yuen, its dialogue dilutes what otherwise could have been an ambitious ‘WALL-E’-esque film.
‘Love Me’ is split into three sections: Photo-realistic CGI based on Earth between the buoy and satellite, an animated section based on the internet and then a live-action section portrayed by Stewart and Yuen. The trailer would likely make prospective viewers believe a majority of the movie is in the live-action section, but the animated section makes up most of the movie. The animation is –again– just okay and the pacing drags at times.
Ironically, ‘Love Me’s worst issue is that the dialogue between two robots feels too robotic. ‘Love Me’ spends too long trying to act cute about how these robots don’t know how to be human instead of letting the characters grow.
‘Love Me’ is rated R because of a short, non-graphic sex scene that is only vaguely essential to the plot. It’s a disservice to the film’s message to suggest that sex is a vital part of the human experience. Even worse, if the scene was left out, Love Me could have been rated PG.
‘Love Me’ is a unique, visually appealing film that could make its viewers think critically about being human, but it could have used another draft in the writing room. Due to its unusual premise and some blink-or-you’ll-miss-it comedy, it’s a movie that viewers should probably wait to watch on streaming so they can digest it better.
FINAL VERDICT:
STREAM IT!
3.0 / 5 STARS
Companion :
Rated: R
Plot Summary: Iris (Sophie Thatcher) and her boyfriend Josh (Jack Quaid) go on a weekend trip that quickly goes off the rails after Iris accidentally kills the millionaire owner of their lodge. But Iris quickly learns that Josh may be keeping a big secret from her and he may be responsible for the death and something much darker.
Companion is an incredible movie that holds itself back from true greatness.
Most prospective viewers will be drawn in by ‘Companion’s flashy trailer and a killer opening line from Iris, stating “there are two moments where I was happiest: the day I met Josh, and the day I killed him.”
While this line is incredible for filling theater seats, it ruins the stakes for the movie. Before viewers even see the film, they already know how it will end. Even if this line turned out to be a subversion, then it would be lazy writing. ‘Companion’ does a good job of keeping viewers invested in its journey, but knowing how it will end diminishes the viewing experience.
But this isn’t the biggest issue ‘Companion’ faces because a greater plot point is spoiled in the movie’s marketing. This would be like knowing who Anakin Skywalker is before watching ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ for the first time – viewers might understand the movie a little better, but the magic will be ruined and taint what could have been an all-time, mind-blowing reveal.
What viewers need to know is that if Companion’s publicity was subtler, it would have gone down as one of the most subversive and unique movies of the 2020s and maybe beyond. Some may argue that ‘Companion’ would not have the buzz it does without these twists teased in the marketing, but this writer disagrees.
‘Companion’ is a not-so-subtle spotlight on the struggles of being a woman in a sex-dominated world and an allegory for escaping a toxic relationship. It expertly showcases how lying is an unhealthy, slippery slope and yet another smash hit for actor Jack Quaid, who has another film, ‘Novacaine,’ coming out in March.
Even with its marketing flubs, readers should see Companion as soon as convenient.
FINAL VERDICT:
SEE IT!
4.0 / 5 STARS
“What is See it, Stream it, Skip it?”
“See it, Stream it, Skip it” is a movie review column by writer Cody Buskohl that serves to give readers two to three spoiler-free reviews every week of new box office films and report back on whether they should see it now, wait until it comes to streaming services, or skip it all together.