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Benzo1818
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Mischief (1985)
Good '80's High School '50's period piece that when it was released Kelly Preston pretty much blew my 12yo mind...&...
...set my high school goals for "dating" girls up into the stratosphere.
If I had to vote...when it comes to shaping my prepuberty to puberty to early adult age idea of what the ideal woman should look like, I think the Kelly Preston scene would be 1A to Phoebe Cates' 1B scene in FTARH 🤔 . Deep film study questions I know 😁
The movie is actually pretty entertaining besides said KP scene. If you love movies set in the 50's...and/or movies set in High School(IE "Prison movies" as many critics call them)I think you'll enjoy this. It's pretty light but done well. The main story has been done many times so no real surprises other than the Kelly Preston scene basically Blowing all us Gen X men's minds that watched on cable in the mid 80's
Worth a watch
3 out of 5(10 pt rating scales are dumb)if it didn't have "the scene"...1 point bump to 4 out of 5 for how important said KP scene was to my adolescence
Thank You Kelly & RIP.
Ghislaine Maxwell: Filthy Rich (2022)
Predictably no new insight into GM, Manipulative & Nothing illuminating if one only has barely followed the case
I struggle with parts of this case. I do not struggle with anything that has to do with 14 yo girls. However I do struggle with aspiring models, actresses & massage therapists acting completely shocked at being propositioned for sexual favors in return for money. The Jeffrey Epstein version interviews Annie Farmer's sister who was/is an artist & was receiving gifts, being put up in mansions to nothing but her art, etc & then at a certain point was propositioned for sex...ran in to a room and barricaded her self & left...but then allowed her younger sister to go there & surprise surprise the same thing happened
I guess my heart is black because it seems like anyone with half a brian & a bit of savvy would not accept any of these "gifts" w/o assuming there would eventually be a quid pro quo & at some point the giftee would want something in return.
Of course I'm only speaking of the women that are of age(which varies drastically from state to state & country to country. In fact 16 is the age of consent in most states in the USA). Maybe my ego is low? But did these women think that they were so amazing that people were just going to sponsor their careers, academic goals at the tune of thousands of dollars because they were so smart and interesting? The world is FULL of people doing very demeaning things for far less money.
These docs also put their finger in the scale by showing old photos of these women either years prior to the incident, or when they have no makeup on & look their absolute youngest.
I also would not be surprised if the reason we don't hear about all of the other "friends" of JE/GM is because there are secret settlement negotiations going on with them to keep their names out of the media.
Toward the end of the "Documentary" I found it very rich for an Attorney w/Jeffrey Boice's history to say something to the effect of "...these people need to be heard, powerful people can't...blah blah..."...Boice was one of the attorneys that AMBUSHED Tyler Shultz(the main whistleblower of the Theranos case)at his grandfather George Shultz's home in an attempt to force him to recant & sign NDA documents. An event that basically wrecked Tyler's relationship with his grandfather.
I realize attorneys are going to do attorney things & are essential(esp being questioned by police in ANY facet. ALWAYS say you want an attorney present...no matter what). But it's a little cringe when Attorney's that mostly have represented the uber wealthy bang the table for the little guy
Anyway in the zeitgeist of our times, there is no way a documentary delving in to this case &/or subject matter can even dip its toes in the balanced waters. The closest they came here was reading some of the cross examination & immediately calling it "rough" or "harsh" when I'm sure everyone of those attorneys would have taken the exact same plays from that playbook had they been retained by the other side.
I liked the small bit that talked about Ghislane's background. Being an American I wasn't as familiar with her as I'm sure people from the UK are. But nothing else was really illuminating if you've even just barely been following the heels of coverage this case has gotten(seems like the media almost trying to make up for dropping the ball on the original JE conviction?)
All that said I give this a 2/5...on par with one of the better episodes of the crappy, paint-by-numbers American true crime shows like "Dateline" & "48hrs"
The Vow (2020)
The First one was way too long and annoying...Some of the most cringe-worthy people & moments you'll see on an HBO Joint
This criticism/review is about what I think about Sarah & Mark after having watched(the endlessly tedious & cringeworthy)"The Vow"& now having watched most of "The Vow" Episode 1 of Part 2...
...it's complete MADNESS that they are doing a "Part II" with the same losers(probably criminals...if KR is...I'm not sure why they aren't?) from the "Part 1". Be vary wary of people that say things like "I wanna change the world.."...& no...the cult leader didn't say that...the Mark Vicente..(dude that should prolly be sitting in prison along side KE did)...Co-Director of that terrible doc "What the Bleep..". There is actually audio in the doc of this simp crying while telling KR how amazing it is that someone like him exists on this earth after just meeting & talking to the dude for "5 hours".
I think the only reason the two main characters didn't also go to prison is because they rolled early...at least that's my guess?
Another red flag is how fast they all wanted to become leaders, teachers, etc. Right off the bat. It wasn't good enough for these narcissists to sit back and learn...no...soon after having anyone listen to their self absorbed nonsense, give them an old fashioned psychic "Cold Reading" it was quickly time to try to suck up all the attention in the room & "Fix" all the newbies(...errr...recruits...)with all the amazing "Technology"(I'm surprised Scientology isn't suing NXIVM for stealing that term) they had to offer..or...CHANGE the world
Is it at all a surprise that Mark & Sarah(of Part 1 & Episode 1 of part II...that's as far as i've hate-watched Part II)are a failed actress & failed screenwriter/director(that BTW at one point in the doc describes one his own screenplays as "Great"). Hollyweird is full of people like this that have no real talent but see the entertainment business as their path that via ego and narcissism has given them the unrealistic hope that they are just one discovery away...or one casting couch...errr...chance meeting with a big producer or agent away from stardom.....then they can live up in the stratosphere that they belong...above the unwashed masses...because they ARE special...if only they could have everyone know just how special they are.
I know there is debate amongst intellectuals whether or not "Free-Will" exists. Whether it does or not...often when these cults are exposed I have a hard time telling where the line is drawn between Free Will, or choice lies & someone's own agency lies? It seems very convenient for Sarah to say now that she wasn't up for the all women sub-cult , the "slave" language, the dieting, the sex, & even the "Branding"(in 1980 that would be more shocking, but i'm sorry, in 2022 with how popular body mods & tattooing has become, I'm suspicious that they were all down for it until some extra attention they felt privy to never came? But I could be wrong) while she was one of the main recruiters and while to the time of filming the "Documentary" is STILL using the NXIVM jargon in just about every sentence.
IMO Mark & Sarah were lost, self absorbed, and confused why they weren't being looked at by the world as special. Trying to find stardom in show biz with no marketable talent wasn't paying the bills...so their antenna was up...they were looking for any new-age short cut They stumbled in to NXIVM... got short conned by some mid-level pseudo-psychology mixed with old school early 20th century Psychic Cold Reading....& while in the honeymoon period of being conned they saw there was a buck to be made & joined & recruited whole heartedly.
IMO they were 100% in on the con...riding the coat-tails of KR & Nancy Saltzman's con...following the NXIVM program & proselytizing because it fed their own greed & narcissistic appetite for attention, adulation, CONTROL, & most of all MONEY...& when things got hot...they pulled the rip cord...& now they are trying to repair their names by doing these victim propaganda documentaries that are hot while the people I'd really like to hear from are the people they recruited & made money from convincing them to join...Sarah's "slaves"...I'm only in Part 2 Episode 1....maybe we will hear from them.
Killing Them Softly (2012)
Maybe best portrayal of a Heroin nod/conversation Ive seen in a film...??
Props to the filmmakers & the actors Mendelsohn & McNairy for the scene when McNairy is trying to get information from BM but the problem is BM is high on Smack and keeps fading in & out of a "nod". Having experienced this in both ends, I gotta say...they NAILED it...I would almost guess that the character BM is portraying may have taken a Benzo on top of the H as well...at least that has been the scenario often times when I've witness this. Either way great action & good effects along with it...well done
Lost Girls (2020)
Why I usually don't like dramatizations on true events and biopics
Having followed the Gilgo Beach/LISK murders, I find this movie very cringe worthy. The acting is good but that doesn't make up for the paint by numbers white hats(Moms of murdered girls) & black hats(uninterested cops). Unfortunately or fortunately 90min isn't enuff time to really flesh out a complex story such as this & would be much better served as a 3-5 part documentary series in the right hands.
I realize Hollywood has ALWAYS rounded the sharp edges & make real life characters better looking, & more palatable for middle America to swallow...but the real people portrayed in this film are/were much more damaged and complex than portrayed...Esp. Gilbert's mother & youngest sister...who was/is so mentally disturbed in real life, she ended up murdering the mother by stabbing her multiple times and is currently in prison &/or hospital. If you knew nothing or very little of this story & based your knowledge on this film & said portrayals, you wouldnt have a clue about the reality. Not that it really matters when it comes to the death of these women...but this movie prolly woulda been better off NOT based on actual real life people
Mrs. Harris (2005)
Unique Style and Fresh take on the Stale "Bio-Pic" Genre...
...Kingsley and Bening's performances are stellar. Like the Film itself, their portrayal of the idiosyncratic/intellectual characters and script is amazing. I'm usually not very psyched to see a Bio-pic because a film's length cannot squeeze the complexities of a life and often only the really good or bad is portrayed, neither giving the full story.
Mrs.Harris and "Hy" remind me of people from that niche of society I've known,especially in the way some intellectuals repress emotion w/logic. While for the most part I respect people who process feelings before acting out, but like in the film, too much repressed emotion can be a ticking time-bomb.
Props to the Film-makers and actors for an entertaining, unique,smart,& funny film that like most good/great films get better upon each viewing as details,layers are revealed. I'd recommend to those who seen it once, or didn't watch the film in its entirety to hold judgement until the 2nd viewing.
The film is well cast down to the smallest roles. And while Ellen Burstyn is a great actress(she played role of Mrs Harris in made-for-TV film soon after actual events in the early 80's)its amazing that she was nominated for an Emmy for her 15 seconds of screen time(she plays an ex-lover of Hy's that is being interviewed in a sort of "mock"umentary w/different characters who know the main characters in some way that threads its way throughout the film. The main plot is told through flashbacks from the trial of Mrs.Harris). It makes me wonder if whomever votes for the Emmy's owed her something, or it was pay-back for a past snubbing? While her 15seconds are solid, after seeing it three times I don't see them as worthy of an award or any more recognition than any of the other small roles(Brett Butler,Phillip Baker Hall, and Mary McDonald also give good short performances in the mock-doc thread)?? IMO ALL awards for art are irrelevant anyway(in comparing arts quality) because art is a subjective medium thats quality(sans technical proficiencies)and comparisons are up to an individuals personal taste and preference. Award shows are really just vehicles to promote stars, films, and the industries as a whole(music and/or Film). I'm not naive to the awards relevance and value to the individuals nominated or those involved w/a nominated project. Obviously the Financial gains and opportunity from the exposure and critical recognition is very important to an industry thats goal is to attract as many customers as possible(errr business). Too often people begin to believe that awards are fact,or a true gauge. Like a sporting competition. I've heard competent adults say things like..."that film should've won best picture because it was BETTER than that film..."??).
As a dark comedy Mrs Harris IMO is an excellent film, thats characters and script resinate later. I've laughed several times upon remembering certain lines by Bening and Kingsley. Kinglsey's portrayal of "Hy's" laugh is Hysterical