ToniCollette – Credits Rolling

When news breaks that Aunt Hilda (Kathleen Turner), who has been terminally ill for awhile, is dying, everyone wonders who she will leave her impressive estate to.

Will it be sisters Macey (Toni Collette) and Savanna (Anna Faris) who are willing to do whatever it takes to save their fathers’ cafe? Or maybe cousin Beatrice (Rosemarie DeWitt) and her husband James (Ron Livingston) who try with all their might with freshly baked goods and other delicious meals? Perhaps it may even be the odd one of the bunch, Richard (David Duchovny), who wants a new Porsche? One thing is certain: they will do whatever it takes to get what they want.

The main reason for checking out a movie such as The Estate is for its star studded cast. While Collette and Faris didn’t quite sell me on the fact that they were sisters, they still worked well off each other. Collette is great in everything she does and Faris has always been sort of under appreciated and yet great at comedy. It was Duchovny, however, who really sold his performance for me. A million parts sleazy with a dash of creepy, he completely made it work and was the best character to me.

Attempting to suck up to a dying family member for their fortune is kinda awful and so it’s hard to root for these characters. But I have to admit that a few of the situations they found themselves in were funny. Some moments had me laughing out loud, but others just fell flat. It’s as if they were trying to jam too much into a short run time and it got a little out of control. Just when you thought you could breathe a sigh of relief, the next obstacle was introduced.

Overall, The Estate had all the ingredients to work, but I think there was some confusion along the way. I can’t help but wonder if it knew what kind of film wanted to be – do these characters feel bad for what they are doing and can they redeem themselves, or are they straight up awful human beings who deserve nothing? Had this question been answered, I believe there would have been a better flow to the story and that would have given me more satisfaction at the end.

Rating: ♥️♥️.5

I never watch movies about space and I didn’t really know anything about Stowaway except for the fact that Anna Kendrick is in it. I think she is such a breath of fresh air and I will literally devour everything that she stars in. I didn’t know what I was going to think about the film going into it, but I am trying to break out of my comfort zone. I am happy to report that I liked it a lot more than I thought I was going to which is always a plus! Unfortunately there were still some things that could have been improved upon.

Zoe (Anna Kendrick), David (Daniel Dae Kim) and Marina (Toni Collette) have just embarked on a mission to Mars. Everything seems to be going smoothly until they discover an unplanned passenger named Michael (Shamier Anderson) has accidentally come along. Suddenly their voyage is jeopardized and they need to figure out how they are going to survive with an extra person onboard.

The part of the film that bothered me most was that this was a very slow burn. It took ages for something to happen and scenes were drawn out to each individual detail. Don’t get me wrong, I completely understand that this is how it needed to be. It perfectly encapsulated the tone and atmosphere of being in space and the severity of what was happening. However, if you are looking something more fast paced, then this will not be for you. It took me awhile to adjust and get used to this pace and I’m still not sure I liked it.

Anna Kendrick, Daniel Dae Kim and Toni Collette are household names and I liked seeing them together in this. I am unfamiliar with Shamier Anderson, but I did think he was a great addition in the cast. While they gave great performances, I have to say that we didn’t learn very much about some of their characters. It seemed as though they stayed one dimensional and I would have appreciated more information there. I think it would have helped me root for some of them more.

Overall, Stowaway was a pleasant surprise. I was expecting something drab, but there were certainly moments that gripped me and kept me on the edge of my seat. I do feel like some things could have been fleshed out more and because of that, it did leave me wanting more.

Rating: ♥♥♥