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Resident Evil (2022)
I'll never understand 1 star reviews.
1 star because everything was unprofessional and bad?
But that's not the case in this. Editing was good, cinematography was good, and special effects were good. The acting was fine considering this is supposed to appeal to teens and not hard core RE fans. It's made to introduce new fans to the old film series which for many of us wasn't that exciting or smart anyways.
I enjoyed it and yes the main leads are annoying as hell and make more trouble than it's worth but I found that fun. Watching how clueless they were wandering this landscape of terror was funny in a B-movie kind of enjoyment. By the time they introduce Bert, I was cracking up.
Maybe this was like Rocky Horror for me. Some people take that seriously and I just laugh out of sheer enjoyment.
Big Gold Brick (2022)
Great screenplay - quirky and witty
I enjoyed the writing. It was a fun story and quirky (in the way that most people don't like). But I like it when I can't guess what's going to happen next and after seeing as many movies as I have, I usually guess the next line of dialogue or scene even in really good films.
So it was quite refreshing to ride along in this wacky idea of a story. And I enjoyed the cast especially Andy Garcia (who usually plays it safe in a lot of popular films with easy plots and like-able stock characters).
It was produced well but I feel that if Paul Thomas Anderson, Spike Jones, the Coen Brothers or even Danny Boyle had this script then it may have been more well received. And they would have served the story better, creatively.
BTW: 10 star reviews are for people that can't find no major faults but also would watch it over and over again. There are many films like that. But to give a 1 star review, like a few for this film, when a film has cast professional actors and crew is an insult to their hard work/ talent and irresponsible writing. Anything professionally shot and acted deserves 4 stars (out of 10) at minimum.
Ojing-eo geim (2021)
Too corny for me
I have seen Battle Royale and all the Hunger Games. So I see the comparison to those well constructed films. But this film's characters have the emotional and mental capacity of teenagers.
If it were teens it may have been more believable. Every plot point was predictable to a point I was yelling at the tv and the actors performances for many scenes was overdone. It was way too long for such a simple idea that has already been done before and much better in other films.
And most every character is un likable. Even the main one is so lost 90% of the time that you lose interest in his redemption.
Kastanjemanden (2021)
Could have been better ending
The last episode was irritating. The killer became obvious and the lead detective had no situational awareness. Then she lets herself get captured easily.
And when other characters are covered in gas, they somehow don't catch fire from the flames outside the door (even though the whole room is doused.
And they escape by sawing metal bars with a power saw. Sparks flying everywhere! And they still don't catch fire. Grrr.
Lazy ending to an otherwise decent show.
Reminiscence (2021)
Corny, and familiar
So I love gumshoe, detective-y, film noir style. Hell, I liked the theatrical version of Blade Runner with the narration.
Even Harrison Ford hated that version.
That being said, when used in the film, it comes off as corny and waaaay too familiar.
I've started and stopped this film three times. That should have told me something. It's boring. The characters are too simple and two dimensional.
Great idea and great cast but that's what most big budget films have. Every time.
But it usually the story pacing, editing, dialogue, etc that kills the film.
And nothing is different here.
La Brea (2021)
I'll never understand 1 star reviews
This isn't 1 out of five it's 1 out of ten stars, folks. 1 star reviews insult all the professional production crews who put in a lot of their talent and experience into making this a watchable show. Is there decent camera work and lighting and audio? Then it already has 1 star for that. Now there's editing and story structure/flow. Yes, this may not have an interesting plot to some but there is one there (not a likable one for me). So there's another star. And the actors aren't turning in amazing performances but it's better than a student film acting so there's another star.
And yea, I see the 'wokeness' with the character choices but hey folks, it's ok for shows to have several people that represent most of society. That's a real demographic in Southern California.
And remember, the leads are still American, attractive and white. So it's not too woke is it now?
The way I see it, if everything in the film is average, then it deserves a 5 or a 6. And if you think that any basic element of this major broadcast release (and heavily funded) is the worst you have ever seen, then you have never seen the average student film or random kids videos with iMovie.
Now add a star to that for each element that makes it above average. Sadly this doesn't have anything to warrant above average. So it's a 5 for me.
Prisoners of the Ghostland (2021)
Fun and visual
For those who keep hoping Nicholas Cage is going to turn into some mythological creature like you imagined him in other films, stop it. He's an actor. He has a style. He sees a script and does what he wants each time. It doesn't always hit for some people but that's Cage. He doesn't deserve the extreme 1 star hit jobs.
This film reminds me of the 'tongue in cheek' Cage. 'Tough guy but laughs at the situation around him' Cage. The sets are purposely designed to be kitschy like a horror comic. The references to Mad Max (Thunderdome not Road Warrior) is also on purpose.
It's one of my favorite kinds of film. It's a mish mash of styles (western, apocalyptic, Crime-revenge, Japanese kabuki, etc) and l take it for what it is. Not sure I'd give it any esteemed awards but maybe some cult festivals, horror, fantasy fest medals.
And anyone who gave this a 1 star has not seen enough films to know what a 1 star really means. All films deserve at least four stars for basically having a story, music, editing, acting that is passable. Then you add a star for each element that excelled for you.
For me one star for visuals. Exciting and colorful. One more star for fun, cheesy romp in the always interesting comic book style. One more star for Cage being Cage. And one more star for his supporting cast for playing along to this insanity that elevates it to cult status.
Karppi (2018)
So many problems for a good looking show.
I love Nordic Noir. It pains me that this show has story problems. This would be a Broadchurch or The Killing if this didn't have so many plot holes and in consistent actions by the characters.
We all know the premise: oil and water personalities, male and female cop duo, solving major crimes that have many other crimes linked to it. And I love that premise. I can think of other great shows like The Bridge, Homeland etc.
I like the actors, the settings, the cinematography and the basic story outlines.
But it is irritating to watch simple police procedures and common sense take a back seat to advancing the drama and thrills.
For example (and there are so many) in Season 2, the Mayor has just been escorted out of city hall under armed guard under suspicion that someone is out to kill or abduct her. But the very next scene is her being dropped home by a Friggin' public taxi, no escort, no surveillance of her home, no police presence to check on her daughter (who is blind!) and home alone at night?!?!
So of course she comes home and her daughter is missing! And the mayor is now alone in her home but now she's safe because well, why not?
And how many times is the main character going to rush into dangerous situations with no gun drawn, no backup, no common sense about how to sneak around without getting beat up or almost killed before some miracle situation happens that saves her every time?
These kinds of moments ruin the otherwise mostly good show.
She Dies Tomorrow (2020)
I don't know this genre
So this is being called Cosmic Horror. I am unfamiliar with it. I watched a slow film that dealt with a lot of self pity and wallowing and introspection. If you do a lot of that then this may hit home for you.
There was a nice aesthetic to it cinematically. Like a relaxing breeze or song but don't come expecting a three act structure or a typical ending.
Summer Night (2019)
I liked it. Slow burn.
It's got an Austiny, Linklater feel to it and the bands in the film have decent tunes but the script isn't very compelling. This could have been a much better film with more interesting dialogue.
Some of the scenes are in long wide shots but the dialogue and acting isn't good enough to let it all okay it out in a long static shot. Some cutaways would improve the dialogue and acting issues.
I laughed aloud more than once (really good Observational humor) but the deep thoughts are drowning in the shallow end of the thought pool.
Square One (2019)
Too many "10" star reviews to be believable
The film sheds light on new information and shows that there were greedy people involved and false accusations but it has many problems.
The interviewees speak as though things are fact when most of what they say is still their "version" of the story. There are very long-winded explanations of events that are sometimes just from what somewhat supposedly 'said' to them.
And there are virtually no victims actually interviews for the film!! Except one relative of Jackson over a controversial (not really) photo shoot.
The end of the film mentions a 'fact' that all pedofiles have an average of 250 victims and that is preposterous. Then compared that nugget to the fact that MJ only had 5...not buying that comparison.
The use of 2:35 widescreen framing for a film full of interviews and stock footage isn't appropriate and amateur. That's saved for sweeping epics and landscape and action films for a reason.
The editing is bad (Too many long-winded interviews with not enough cutaways) and the music choices are awkward, sometimes sloppily edited and sometimes corny.
To see so many 10 star reviews and 'this should get an Emmy" and "the best indie film of the year" should tell you that there are a lot of fans and or fake reviews trying to prop this film up. And the professional film critics stayed away from this one in high numbers. Or Saw it and didn't Want write a review for it...
Leaving Neverland looks and sounds better and professional on every level. Whether you believe the second hand stories told in this film or the first hand victim interviews of Leaving Neverland is up to you.
One of these films could be slanted towards greed/money and the other towards fan devotion / temporary fame.
You pick.
Face to Face Time (2020)
Funny
Nice performances for a cute/awkward story. Nicely shot, good editing for comedic timing.
The Witcher (2019)
Only for Hardcore Fantasy watchers
It's not a good sign when you've started the show twice and not even realized it.
I like Cavill. I like the sets and the costumes. I like the cinematography / lighting, most of the time.
I don't like some of the jokes/dialogue. Seemed a bit infantile. I don't like some of the character makeup. Specifically, some of the monsters seem silly.
I don't like the time jumping. At least not so early before we can get involved with a character or storyline or a mystery to keep us interested.
This show reminds me of the original pilot to GOT. It was redone (A talented writer director friend told them to redo it) because it was muddled like this and didn't have a clear idea on what to get emotionally involved with. This is more concerned with spectacle than developing an engaging story.
And Too much magic, for my tastes. I love GOT and Firefly but not Xena and Buffy.
This is more for the fans of the latter.
Black Christmas (2019)
Bad script - silly execution
This latest version is no upgrade from the 1974 cult classic. At least Margot Kidder was fun to watch back then. The 2006 version was bad but still better than this one.
There are way too many cheesy lines.
I consider myself a male feminist and this movie isn't bad because women wrote and directed and started in it or because they come out on top. How many bad movies are criticized because the film was made by men? It's bad because the situations are silly and the dialogue is way over the top.
The scares are simple and not creative and many of the interesting moments were just ripped off from better executed films.
The 2 dimensional characters make the ending even worse with the cliche "let's explain the whole plot and Not kill the lead" (as if we didn't know the whole plot from the trailer).
Want to see high quality female-made productions? See Monster, Wonder Woman, Near Dark, The Piano, GLOW, Orange is the New Black, Lady Bird, I Am Sam and Winter's Bone.
Ad Astra (2019)
Overall...average
Great special effects and cinematography. It had interesting scenes. I mean cmon. Space pirates on rovers attacking on the dark side of the moon? Great idea. Mad max-ish.
And then there were so many subplot nods to Interstellar, Sunshine, Apocalypse Now, 2001.
All that led good stuff led me to give it six stars. It lost the remaining four stars because it never seem to really go to anywhere exciting enough for me to care for two hours. Or ever watch again.
And then add the noticeable and questionable science used to propel the story. It took me out of it to a point that I almost turned it off.
The Gauntlet (1977)
Guilty pleasure.
So many things wrong with the story. And I love it.
B Movie. Think of it that way and it's a fun film.
The Other Side of the Wind (2018)
Wow. WTF?
What can I say about this film? What is it or what was it or how is it possible?
Welles life was controversial, with plenty of highs and even more lows and Hollywood betrayal.
But what about this last film? Finally released from a vault and edited, in short, It was amazing. The creativity is neverending. Picture this: Orson Welles working with John Huston and Peter Bogdonovich as his main 'acting' leads. It is a revelation.
He has made a film within a film. Meta in every way. He even directs the film within a film like his fictional director character would. It is rife with sex and sensuality (something Welles has never done before).
It is also a deeply personal autobiographical essay about Welles life and his interpersonal relationships.
But it doesn't stop there. Its rare to experience a filmmakers journey filmed and edited fictionally over years yet creepily mirrored the film's story and its improbable future (as it was being held hostage by the French and Iranian producers! What a behind the scenes film the documentary they could make! Oh wait, they did. Its called "They'll Love Me When I'm Dead" and its amazing too.
Welles has the last laugh on the Hollywood studio sytem, ignorant producers, ego, film critics and all the usual suspects.
The Girl in the Spider's Web (2018)
Fantastic fun!
I have seen all the Millennium films and i absolutely love the different interpretations each director takes. It is so much fun to see what the new style is going to be.
Fede takes the characters and runs them thrigj a 007/Jason Bourne filter and it is thrilling. It will help to see it in a Dolby Cinema theatre. The film begs for a high quality projection like Mad Max: Fury Road.
This film fired on all cylinders (of what I like to see in an action film).
Claire Foy amazes me with every performance. Its hard to believe she is the same actress in Unsane and The Crown!
I imagine that the film plays out like the film they wanted to make. No mistakes. A Popcorn flick of the highest order!
Call Me by Your Name (2017)
Sweet, touching character study
I enjoyed the time and pacing of this film and the subtle performances and interplay between each of the characters.
But I am stunned that everyone is so focused on the two main actors when Michael Stuhlbarg steals the film towards end. He was robbed of an Oscar nomination
The Book of Henry (2017)
Well filmed but ridiculous plot/story
SPOILER ALERT (I reveal all the major plot points so don't read this if you haven't seen the film)
I went to this film particularly from watching the trailer which had some promise but also some worries to what was the 'plot'. The trailer gave me the impression that a unusually smart child is trying to save 'the girl next door' from abuse (potential murder?) from her step dad and somehow the smart kid's mom is showed with a high powered sniper's rifle like she is going to kill him.
The film's first half is fun and pretty dramatic with the medical fate of our lead character. Very moving. I didn't expect that level of sadness. I had to literally ask both of my guests if the lead character really just died half way through the film!
But then the film takes a ridiculous turn: Henry leaves a book behind (hence the title) with a plot to assassinate the stepdad and instructions for his mom to carry it out (now that he learns of his own terminal illness).
The second problem is Henry's reasons (and his mother's belief in these reasons) for why the murder of the stepdad by his own mother is the only option. IMDb user stevepat99 is right when he says that the plan is full of holes and puts the mom in serious danger of prosecution and that being a "genius" Henry could have found a way to entrap the stepdad instead of having his naive mother (who Henry doesn't trust to balance her own checking account and having no criminal background or experience with guns) commit murder.
And he is also right about the confrontation scene with the stepdad and the Henry's mother in the dark, woods. She harshly threatens him, to his face, to take him down. She stand there with no protection or backup and purposefully leaves the gun behind her! Now he walks away, but we learn in the end, (when he kills himself) that he's a bully and a coward so of course that's why he didn't harm her.
But then the Principal turns him in to the authorities the same night just because she saw 'something' in the victim's school talent show dance performance that now makes her believe she truly is a victim (even after multiple attempts by Henry to have the Principal report the abuse). My guess is that she talked to the victim after her moment of 'dance routine sadness moment of clarity' and got the victim to confess finally, but SHOW that or indicate it in an explanation in the film.
And then there's the fact that we never see the abuse. Although, they cut to the mother's face at one point and the look of horror on it indicates to us that something bad is happening or about to... (she subsequently interrupts it by calling the stepdad at the moment). Even an artsy, shadowy fight scene or some other visual indicator to leave us with a definite impression of what is happening to the young girl. The film lead me, at points, in the first half, to wonder if Henry is wrong about the Stepdad and maybe there is a 'twist ending', which there really isn't.
And why does the mother burn Henry's book at the end? She could just remove the 'assassination plot' pages, but keep all the other wonderful things he drew. Or at least show her removing the good pages before burning the bad.
Anyways, I felt insulted, unfilled and emotionally flat at the end of this movie that I wished had ended at Henry's death scene. It would still be an unfulfilled movie but at least it would have ended on powerful emotion.
Blood Punch (2014)
Smart, funny horror film
It's Groundhog Day meets Blood Simple. At least, that's the way the writer and director describe this well written and performed indie horror film.
Don't let the fact that the writer and director are married and worked on Disney films (like Power Rangers) most of their career. Don't let the fact that the three main leads (two of THEM are married) are Power Rangers. No, really. Frickin' Power Rangers. It helps to have a good past working relationship with your crew/cast and this film's result is solid proof.
The story is edgy, fun and smart. The plot plays out like a mystery/thriller and doesn't let you down in the end.
It was a huge hit at the Austin Film Festival and won the audience award.
A Yeti in the City (2007)
Too many ideas...
It was imaginative, but the script was disjointed and the story was all over the place. I get the whole 'muppet movie' for adults description but it could have been a better short film with more 'defined' ideas of what the story was really trying to get across.
The actors performances were kitchy and fun but also seemed infantile.
The script had too many ideas going on within itself. I find most actual Muppet movies to have more maturity in dialogue and story. The film had a lot of heavy-handed thoughts and poetry but it wasn't that much fun sit for two hours watching it play out.
I think this filmmaker has a future in the 'business' but a limited audience to play to.
Juno (2007)
A Must See!
The best film at the Austin Film Festival (that I saw). Juno, played by Ellen Page, is brilliant, hilarious and adorable. The film is directed with a Wes Anderson flair/style in which Reitman accomplishes wonderfully.
Michael Cera and Jason Bateman of Fox's mistakenly canceled "Arrested Development" provide the perfect comedic timing and really make this film shine.
First-time writer Diablo Cody has the world at her feet. The script is a rare find for those of us who write or who have had the 'pleasure' of being script analysts. Its wit, story and characters are perfect.
This film is why I love film fests and just going to the movies in general.
Kabluey (2007)
Funny little blue man....
The little blue man is hilarious. The design of the mascot, who is the centerpiece of the film, is flawless in its visual statement of generic corporate symbols. The film is very funny and the performances are good. There are times when characters like the one played by Teri Garr, could've been more developed and not as random and cruel.
The 'beer can scene' is hilarious and shows the true comic talent of Prendergast. Kudrow does a fine job of being very angry and depressed, almost too much.
But the highlight is the little blue man. If the director doesn't market that costume for Halloween, he's making a big mistake.
Breaking the Waves (1996)
Powerful and heart stomping....
Lars Von Trier's instant classic is a must for any avid film-goer's collection. The film boasts an amazing lead, Emily Watson, whose performances since this film, has yet to come close to the intensity of this role. Stellan Skarsgard, the film's male lead, gives a fine performance. The rest of the cast as well, deserve Oscar nods. Every single one of them. The hand-held camera work by Director Lars Von Trier brings a gritty, documentary-style feel to the intense dramatic story line and performances. The soundtrack is loaded with 60's classics set against beautifully photographed (although enhanced) camera shots placed throughout the film in chapters, intermission-style.