ethanarmstrong79 Reviews

Attenborough and the Sea Dragon (2018 TV Movie)

Good program. Questionable detective work.

[8/10 · 29 December 2022]

Interesting program. The CGI renderings of these extinct beasts is awe-inspiring, as is the footage of the ichthyosaurs present-day descendants, the crocodiles. The sheer scale of effort required to unearth these fossils is impressive. But as for the forensic scientist's ruling on a cause of death for the show's primary fossil discovery -- isn't it plausible this creature died of natural causes? The skeleton could've been damaged by the elements, sediments, glacier, or scavengers after it died. It's confusing why these paleontologists jump to the conclusion that its torso was snapped by the jaws of a massive predator.

The Lighthouse (I) (2019)

Replace The Overlook Hotel with The Lighthouse

[9/10 · 1 November 2021]

This masterpiece is Herman Melville meets Stanley Kubrik. Many elements of this movie borrow from The Shining and 2001, e.g., sparse dialog, themes of isolation, the highly dissonant film score, cold atmosphere, the ax scene towards the end. Robert Pattinson is somewhat upstaged by old man Willem Defoe here.

Blackbird (I) (2019)

Palliative care, Right-to-Die, Dignitas

[7/10 · 9 January 2021]

A physician-assisted suicide drama looks at the controversy from different angles. Anyone who's seen a loved one slowly decay over a period of time can see the appeal of a thoughtfully planned farewell. This movie is mostly well done, but lacking comic relief -- except for the presence of Rainn Wilson.

Sound of Metal (2019)

The isolation and quietude of hearing loss

[10/10 · 7 December 2020]

"Sound of Metal" is the tragedy of Ruben (whose hearing is a casualty of his love of music) and his girlfriend, Lou. It gives a unique insight into the sensory experience of sudden and pervasive hearing loss. It chronicles the catastrophe of his disorder's onset, and his attempt at adapting to his new condition through a deafness support community. The reaction shots, closeups, space, and acting are extraordinarily good. As film is a medium of sound and vision, we get to - in a sense (no pun intended) - experience the isolation and quietude of hearing loss first-hand.

Happiest Season (2020)

LGBT version of "Meet the Parents"

[6/10 · 3 December 2020]

"Happiest Season" has a lot of the hilarious awkwardness of "Meet the Parents" with the added twist of two closeted girlfriends. It's got some very funny moments, though usually farcical. In contrast to "Meet the Parents", this one is missing some credible subtleties. Would be in-laws are clueless, but dialog is less ironic when they're over-the-top, ultra-clueless.

Antebellum (2020)

Trite, heavy-handed, preachy, unoriginal

[5/10 · 2 December 2020]

The plantation footage is well-done. Great editing and lighting. Alex Haley's Roots writ large, but lacking the seriousness, depth, and accuracy of Roots. Characters are very one-dimensional. Only heroes, monsters, and angels; which makes for a very facile and boring story.

Netflix vs. the World (2019)

A Seemingly Obvious Idea Explodes

[8/10 · 29 September 2020]

A group of folks connected a video rental store with the post office, and it turned into a $216 billion company. I skipped over the part where they designed the Web 1.0 application, experimented with a variety of business strategies, reconnoitered an automated mail sorter for their own use, overtook Blockbuster Video, built a sizable install base, switched to digital distribution, released their own content.

PEN15 (2019–2021)

Teenage Bewilderment

[9/10 · 21 September 2020]

This series captures the near total cognitive impairment of adolescence. Every thought, perception, and idea that enters the heads of these kids is comically distorted, wrong-headed, or askew. The life of a teenager is a veritable Alice and Wonderland of confusion.

Up in the Air (I) (2009)

Clooney played by Clooney

[8/10 · 10 September 2020]

Clooney, a (mostly) life-long bachelor, plays a version of himself. The role, Ryan Bingham, is like the James Bond of HR -- no attachments. When he discovers his casual partner already has a husband and kids, one almost feels a sense of pity over his desperation. *Almost*.

Most Likely to Succeed (2019)

The Evolution of a High-Achievement Self

[9/10 · 8 September 2020]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Similar to the "7 Up" documentary series, which follows subjects from childhood into adulthood. "Most Likely To Succeed" follows several high-schoolers through college, early career, key relationships, and into early adulthood. At times, fate seems to diverge along class (and also racial) lines among the subjects. It's also quite fascinating to witness the evolution of their personalities, as their experiences shape their view of themselves, their upbringing, privilege, hardship, and overarching life trajectory. There are some very heart-warming and inspiring moments, and is a great case study in psycho-social development.

The Men Who Built America (2012)

Entertaining, But Questionable Experts

[9/10 · 3 September 2020]

Pretty entertaining series, with an odd mix of commentators. Sort of a pot-boiler as historical documentaries go. We know it's more Hollywood than history when Donald Trump, Mark Cuban, Donny Deutsch, Steve Wynn, Russell Simmons, Jim Cramer, and Jerry Weintraub are consulted to comment on the history of American business. Alan Greenspan, good. Jack Welch, Carly Fiorina, Steve Case -- okay. Can't go wrong with Campbell Scott narrating.

American Experience: The Eugenics Crusade (2018) Season 31, Episode 3

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

[9/10 · 28 July 2020]

Scientists had long investigated the mechanics and statistical probabilities of simple heredity (see Gregor Mendel's copious documentation on the basic traits handed down through generations of peas). Farmers had long practiced artificial selection for the improvement of agriculture. Botanists, physicians, and biologists had worked to eliminate diseases and disorders through the discovery of therapeutic compounds. The merging of these three domains created the terrifying field of eugenics: the science of improving humanity through sterilization and euthanasia.

Were it not for the discrediting of the field by outspoken scientists, we might still be living in the dystopia shown in this documentary. Even former eugenicists had to eat crow to crack the foundations of this insidious programme. A few outrageous legal cases brought to light the shameful practice of sterilization. And finally the horrors of the Holocaust followed eugenics to its logical conclusion: large scale euthanasia and genocide.

It's is a cautionary tale. We have no guarantee that today's promise of genetic engineering will not produce an equally disastrous outcome again.

American Experience: The Blackout (2015 TV Movie)

Scary, Not Just Inconvenient

[9/10 · 28 July 2020]

Blizzard of '78. Blackout of '77. Events that I didn't live through, but I have some vague memory of overhearing stories about them. This documentary evokes fiction like The Purge: a night of chaos. It centers around what can happen when mayhem is unleashed in an already economically compromised city. In contrast to a previous NYC black out a decade earlier, during which anarchy did not explode -- the city truly hits rock bottom during this one summer day in 1977. Thousands of criminals (and even would-be non-criminals) demolish parts of the city in an orgy of burglary, arson, and violence. Bodies arrive at blacked out hospitals with deep wounds from broken glass. 100F temperatures add to the misery.

Ken Burns: American Lives: Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (2005) Season 1, Episode 10

Ken Burns: Master Storyteller

[8/10 · 27 April 2020]

This is a very enlightening and thought-provoking program. Good blend of sports, society, politics. Signature Ken Burn style.

It's astonishing to hear commentators of Johnson's day fearing African-American domination -- starting with boxing and gradually continuing through academia, politics, and the arts. Today, we think of Luka Doncic, Tom Brady, Lionel Messi, Roger Federer as simply athletes; not Great White Hopes. No race checkbox, e.g., Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, Native American need be checked. Sometimes we need to look deeper into the past to see how far we've come. Today we look to Steph Curry, Patrick Mahomes, Lonzo Ball, Klay Thompson, or Tiger Woods to highlight the ambiguities and absurdities of racism, colorism, shadeism, and ethnocentrism. We're all people.

The Last Dance: Episode II (2020) Season 1, Episode 2

Pippen's Ascent: The Slimmest of Odds

[8/10 · 24 April 2020]

This was a great episode showing rare, early Pippen footage of his time at Central Arkansas. The interview of President Bill Clinton (on his fellow Arkansan), and Pippen's own amazement at his NBA draft selection -- didn't quite capture the unlikelihood of his rise to stardom. But consider that it's virtually unheard of for an NAIA player to make the NBA, let alone become a Hall-of-Famer. When he joined the Central Arkansas Bears, the probability of his eventual success in professional basketball was truly miniscule. Jerry Krause found a gem on that one.

Judy (II) (2019)

The Particular Misery of Success

[10/10 · 19 February 2020]

Judy shows the tragic side of success. It's a tragedy normally obscured in the minds of workaday, middle-class folks who go to watch movies like "Judy" at the local cinema. It's hard to believe such deep despair could lurk behind the glitz, glamour, and limelight of movie stardom. This curious conundrum occasionally rears it's ugly head amongst the super-successful (see recent celebrity suicides, e.g., Kate Spade, Anthony Bourdain, Robin Williams). But everyday Joe's and Jane's can't easily empathize with the plight of the rich and famous. A movie like "Judy" shows us how.

Uncut Gems (2019)

A character study in thrill addiction (gambling, sex, risk, adrenaline)

[10/10 · 16 January 2020]

"Uncut Gems" builds up to a scene where NBA star, Kevin Garnett, buys a rare opal gem from Ratner (Sandler). After the purchase, Garnett delivers a man-to-man, scathing indictment of Ratner's character -- referencing his lack of integrity, dishonesty, and all-around shadiness. In what seems to be a descent into pure desperation, Ratner tries to draw a moral equivalence between a jeweler's drive for profit and a sportsman's drive to win. Garnett doesn't quite buy it, and it seems - neither should the audience.

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)

Tension via reference to dark news item from yesteryear

[6/10 · 15 December 2019]

This movie inserts the Manson family into the story of Rick Dalton, actor in decline. I was foggy on the details on the Manson killings, but knew enough to get a sense of foreboding throughout.

Marriage Story (2019)

Worked for me

[9/10 · 10 December 2019]

Divorce movies don't typically capture the ambivalence of divorce. Marriage Story does. The highs and lows -- even while the agonizing process proceeds. Soon-to-be ex-spouses converse cordially one moment, and then spew bile and hatred the next. It struck a chord with me. This is The Squid and the Whale, but substitute Adam Driver for Jeff Daniels, and Scarlett Johansson for Laura Linney. The upper-classness is a bit bothersome, e.g., squabbles over the couples' New York and Los Angeles homes, his independent theater company, her acting career. Oh, those first world problems.

Isn't It Romantic (2019)

A Likely - Thus Amusing - Tale of Romance

[6/10 · 27 February 2019]

"Isn't It Romantic" is a snarky, TvTropes-ish take on an entire genre of filmmaking. An amusing compendium of rom-com cliches. The funniest part of the movie is Liam Hemsworth's fiendishly counterfeit grins and quips delivered while courting Rebel Wilson's Natalie. The movie succeeds in dissecting the delusions experienced in romantic fantasy. But in the end, it's a parody of itself --- the girl *does* get the guy. Only in this movie they fixed a glitch: she gets _a_ guy, instead of _the_ guy. A probable romance brought down to the dullness of reality. The unlikely tales make our hearts flutter, while the likely ones make us laugh.

Isn't It Romantic (2019)

Crikey, heeh's ya' toll, dahk an' hain-sum goy

[6/10 · 27 February 2019]

Amusing compendium of rom-com cliches. The funniest part of the movie is Liam Hemsworth's fiendishly counterfeit grins and quips. Crikey - heeh's ya' toll, dahk an' hain-sum goy. The movie succeeds in dissecting the delusions we all experience in romantic fantasy --- sort of a snarky, TvTropes.com-ish take on an entire genre of filmmaking.

A Star Is Born (2018)

Escalator of Euphoria: Out of Order

[4/10 · 21 February 2019]

"A Star Is Born" follows the love story of Jackson and Ally and her meteoric rise to pop music stardom. Lady Gaga is at home in this role, having claimed to have made celebrity into in art form in and of itself. Jackson, an established professional musician, comes across Ally's lounge act by chance as he stumbles into a bar she's performing in one evening. The two have a rapport, and Ally shares a heartfelt song she wrote for him in the parking lot of a convenience store. In what seems like the blink of an eye, she's on stage with Jackson in front of thousands - performing one of her original songs as a duet. The crowds rave, the critics adore, limitless success piles onto itself, a pristine courtship builds to marriage -- it seems nothing can stop this train of happiness from chugging along to infinity. Though is Jackson really there throughout it all in his drug-addled stupor? The non-stop escalator of euphoria can't go on forever. And it indeed it doesn't, crashing in a fiery blaze of suicidal trauma at the end. Jackson's suicide - like all suicides - leaves a multitude of questions. For example, where were his demons leading up to the event? Is he a haunted Chris Cornell? An overwhelmed, depressive, confused Kurt Cobain? A Jim Morrison or Jimi Hendrix with too much guilt on his modest psychological plate? It's a fantastical, sweet love story divorced from the day-to-day reality of its viewers, but I prefer to see it as a statement on the emptiness of fame.

The Girl on the Train (2016)

Not quite

[5/10 · 17 November 2018]

This movie wanted to be "Memento" (a superior and more original psychological thriller), but falls into trite sisterhood tropes.

New Girl (2011–2018)

Cutie want to be a geek

[8/10 · 15 October 2018]

Zooey Deschanel uses male dork foils to boost her nerd-cred.

Big Little Lies (2017–2019)

There's more to marital dysfunction

[9/10 · 24 September 2018]

Depicting deep-rooted, relational dysfunction is tricky to do in short episodes. Abusive patterns evolve slowly and subtly over time through the phases of a lengthy relationship. When crammed into a time slice; we get the same old, hackneyed lines, e.g., "He's good with the kids", "He's passionate", etc.