gimlisbeard Reviews

Golda (2023)

Great film, historically accurate and great acting Released August 2023

[10/10 · 26 May 2024]

This film was released in August 2023, NOT fall 2023 as many reviews claim. This film is an excellent portrayal of a woman who was nicknamed the "Iron Lady of Israel." Helen Mirren portrays her so well one almost thinks it is Gold Meir.

The point of the film is not to convey historical fact, although they get the dates correct for the most part. But, to convey who Golda Meir was at the end of her time on earth. Golda is portrayed as a woman who is capable of making the hard decisions, but who feels those decisions deeply like a mother. She is warm person who is not just a head of state, but a mother, and grandmother. A woman who is fighting for her children and family - because she was, they all were. She is very much like all women, not just mothers, she understands what sacrifice well, and how much every sacrifice costs. She was like every woman - they will do anything to save their families - anything. She was more the Mother of Israel, than the Iron Lady.

Doctor Who: The Devil's Chord (2024) Season 1, Episode 2

This episode was all about music

[4/10 · 12 May 2024]

And it was horrible. The music was horrendous. Literally every little bit of music was awful.

And why does Doctor Who need to be a song and dance number or about babies?

What happened to taking on actual issues? What about the fantastic writing - like Dino's in Space? Or Any Peter Capaldi or David Tennant episode? What about doing what science fiction is supposed to do-make us think. Make us see the world through a different lens and try to make it a bit better than it was before. Force a little introspection. These have been silly storylines - all fluff and no substance.

Ruby Sunday and the Doctor, I don't know. They're very talented actors but the characters lack depth. The Doctor talks about everyone he has lost, then smiles?

If this is what the next generation of doctor who fans like, then it is just sad.

Mr. Russell - we know you can do better. Enough with the fluff. If anything this younger generation needs to learn about what it is to have a moral compass and what that means.

Psi Cops (2023– )

Either you get it or you don't, you love it or you don't

[10/10 · 9 May 2024]

It's got really cool graphic quality - kind of like funky water colour comics. The stories are insane and hilarious. The main character are fantastically incompetent and seem to get everything wrong until the very end when they ultimately prevail. Its really is a case of either you like weird and outrageous stories and comedy or you don't. It's a bit gross as well which kind of adds to it.

It's very Canadian in its humour. Some folks won't "get it" at all. Those folks should probably continue watching the Simpsons.

I have a bunch more characters to use so I'll just say that it's a great Canadian animation show.

Jack Osbourne's Night of Terror: Bigfoot (2022 TV Special)

Wow. That was annoying.

[5/10 · 22 April 2024]

Jack Osborne - as usual he is smart, articulate, and capable. Jason Mews - the annoying dude from Clerks. Essentially, within the first 15 min you wish Jack had left Jason in the woods because he is so incredibly annoying and a tad on the stupid side. Jason's not funny, he's just a 50-year old version of that annoying kid from grade 3 that never grew up. Would have loved this with just Jack or with any of the other people Jack has worked with - anyone, anyone else. I gave it a 5 because Jack is great, and Jason is not. So, it's an average between the two.

And I need some more characters 123456.

Haunted Mansion (2023)

Pure fun entertainment without any "messaging"

[8/10 · 9 October 2023]

This movie is so much fun. It's particularly more fun if you know the ride in Disneyland really well. Lots of great references to the ride. The characters are fun, the costumer great, storyline is tons of fun. I can't stop saying "fun!" It is warm, funny, sweet, and harkens back to Disney movies of that we all grew up with. Some folks seem to have a problem with the main characters being black. Well, the characters and actors are great and convey the story wonderfully. All of the characters were wonderfully cast and it's a well thought out and action packed screenplay that has no slow or lagging moments. Great date night or family movie. Fun for all!

Ahsoka (2023– )

Disappointing- not worth putting your phone down

[3/10 · 3 September 2023]

Plodding, dull, slow, monotone. Those are the words that come to mind with this show. Casting is bad - none of them do much and none have any presence. The side actors make it a bit more interesting but Dawson and Liu Bordizzo are dull as heck. They talk as slow as they move - yes, slowly, have almost monotone diction, and stand around - a lot. Even the fight scenes are slow. When a droid side-character has more interesting speaking tone and able to have more presence than the main characters, it speaks epic tomes. Know the saying, "show don't tell"? They just keep telling and not showing. For an action series, it seems to have forgotten to have "action". Seems miscast, poorly written and directed. This is, sadly, a Star Wars series you can skip without feeling you've lost out. And yes, this was written by a huge sci-fi and Star Wars fan. I honestly don't know how it can possibly get some of the high ratings it has received.

The Full Monty (2023– )

Timely, heartfelt, and powerful for its day.

[10/10 · 27 August 2023]

The series is an amazing heartfelt look at Britain's current status of schools, healthcare, refugees, homelessness, pensioners, small business, etc. It is well-rounded and full of heart and care. They bring together all levels of society and ages to create an amazing cross-cross of stories that will have you laughing and crying. Fantastic writing and amazingly talented actors bring together a real-world experience that everyone in most western countries can relate to that are struggling with inflation, jobs, and price of gas and general out-of-price for basics that the western world is struggling with right now. Timely, heartfelt, and powerful for its day.

Wycliffe and the Cycle of Death (1993 TV Movie)

So slow it goes backwards... slowly

[3/10 · 27 July 2023]

There is a lot of sitting comfortably and talking, then standing and talking, then one standing while talking and the other sitting comfortably and talking. None have any expressions on their face except occasionally somewhat pensive, or maybe they were constipated. Sometimes they were standing outside talking in almost monotone voices, which was a nice diversion from when they were sitting comfortably inside talking in expressionless voices over tea. There were a great variety of tea and mantles. One woman had great hair. I was able to go about tidying and take my dog out for a small walk without feeling like I'd missed much. By the end all I wanted was a nice cup of tea - sitting inside, comfortably.

The Great (2020–2023)

Recommended for fun, not any accuracy

[5/10 · 1 May 2023]

It is 99.9% historically inaccurate from the very basics of the fact that she came from Prussia not Germany, she did not become Empress until her 30's, to really everything and anything else. It is funny and if you just look at it as a bit of light and sordid fun with some very gruesome bits, it's fine. Don't take it seriously and go on a fun ride. If you're looking for something historically accurate or docu-drama this is definitely not it. Elle is fantastic as is Nicholas and the rest of the cast. The costuming is amazing and so are the sets. Nicholas plays the role of a narcissistic, egomaniacal ruler brilliantly. Yet, he's still charming and have a hard time hating him. Elle's Catherine is great as well. The character growth and strength she exemplifies is exceptional as well. Recommended for fun, and definitely not for any historical accuracy.

Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

Epically bad.

[1/10 · 29 December 2022]

Should go down in the annals of one of the worst movies made. The humour is bland. The only reason I gave it a 1 - is because Christian Bale was great - despite the writing and directing. Mr. Bale was the only good part of this movie. If the humour was smarter, the writing had more depth, and let Portman and Bale do more - it may have been redeemable. I watched it on Disney+ and wouldn't be willing to spend money in the theatre for this drivel. I love Marvel - but this movie was not up to par compared with any of the main Marvel movies and definitely not even close to any of the Black Panther movies.

Eternals (2021)

Boring

[3/10 · 20 February 2022]

Just dull, then it goes to boring, slides slowly into more boring, then it plods into guess what? More boring and at 1:26 min I gave up. Doubt that I'll even bother coming back to finish it.

Not a super hero movie.

The Tomorrow War (2021)

The biggest issue is the story...

[2/10 · 4 July 2021]

Great action scenes, Chris Pratt was great as were all the actors but the HUGE story holes can't be ignored.

Spoilers ahead.

Main story holds that Pratt's character has to bring back to his time a serum to destroy the aliens before they destroy humanity. Problem - they don't actually even need the serum. The whole thing would have been tied up easily by just blowing up the alien ship and then holding the serum for future use if one escaped or if more came to earth. But otherwise, the serum was literally a useless device in the story.

The story would have worked better if the adult Muri had an advanced degree in geology and worked with the character Charlie with Dan jumping in as pseudo leader and motivator. The fact that it rested on a 16 year old kid in high school liking volcanoes was just silly. It would have worked better if it the Chinese volcano bit was a flashback from class discussion and then have Charlie and Muri go further with it. Then the fact that they just kind of turn up in the middle of Siberia on snowmobiles seems far fetched to say the least.

The story just ruined the movie in so many ways because it wasn't at all plausible. It's like someone that doesn't really like scifi decided to write a script for an action movie assuming the audience is too stupid to figure out how implausible the storyline is. There were so many easy ways to have this movie this make sense and have even more action scenes, but they went the dumb and stupid route. Even in scifi - the story needs to make sense in the world that it resides in.