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Zone blanche: The End Is Only the Beginning (2017)
Had Potential
Parts of this series were really interesting but certain things made it impossible for me to give this series a higher rating. Our protagonist at one point receives a serious life ending wound. She recovers in a very interesting way but afterwards she simply denies the strangeness of her recovery. Denies the importance that she even survived such a wound and is dismissive of how quick she recovers or that she was even able to recover at all. Then despite the fact that she is pursuing someone/something that had previously harmed her - she purposefully denies the possibility that the two incidences potentially could be connected. Which either makes her the literally the most stupid cop on the planet or in complete denial. But how does that work then? If she's not able to take her own situation seriously..., how can we take her seriously as an officer of the law when she isn't willing to examine every possibility regardless of her personal feelings? After waking up from what she experienced wouldn't one question "how did I manage to survive?" and "how is it possible I've recovered so quickly?" and "who took care of me?" It's a glaring oversight that undermines our character's strength and integrity and it undermines our story. Another thing that drove me crazy about this series is it was just a little long "in the tooth." At points I just wanted to say - "okay, we get it, a nasty little town, nasty secrets, spooky shadowy character and unanswered questions with many side stories weaving into one...but how long before we get to any insight into what's going on..." it was just too much dreary fleshing out of circumstances. And at times I just wanted to get this story over. I actually quit it for several days thinking I wasn't going to finish it - it got that annoying for me...in the end some of the characters were too predictable...tropes and stereotypes aside - this is a good series, but the hard-hitting (female) cop trope gets a bit obtuse and predictable. By the time she starts taking strange things seriously - I've disengaged from her character.
The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)
Gold
In a strange way we always get what we ask for and what we ask for always "gets" us...The Fall of the House of Usher is a tale that told by Poe is still relevant. And in this version, we have a Poe retelling that isn't a duplicate but manages to capture the essence of Poe's Usher. Poe uses The House of Usher as a metaphor for the Fall of a Family. But we all know it isn't just the literal story, but a metaphor Poe uses which hooks us deeply and subconsciously to Poe's unique and scary story. Poe wrote emotionally. His stories are American Gothic. His stories are Macabre to say the least. And in Flanagan's adaptation, we have exactly that. We have a reinterpretation of a Modern Fall of Usher that uses all the deep subconscious metaphors that keep us hooked to Poe. We have - Ancient Themes, we have Melodrama, The Macabre, we have Foreshadowing...Fear and Desperation, Profound Substance Abuse, Loneliness, Ruthless Love of Power and Money. A Lack of Morals and Values and the Ancient theme of Good struggling to Overcome Bad. Flanagan has given us a loaded deck and what a full, luscious, beautiful and dark deck it is. I extrapolate and say The Fall of the House of Usher is a glimpse into the fall of Society. But perhaps maybe at its best it's a glimpse into the Fall of Ourselves. We Become Our Own Usher House...don't let yours "become a dead and useless heart." Flanagan's as is Poe's "House of Usher" a Cautionary Tale. And honestly some of those New York apartments and the music are just sumptuous, beautiful scenes and clothes, each actor reels us in - there are no weak links...yep, cautionary tale indeed...here's a "taste" - "and the mind of guilt is full of scorpions, and I wouldn't wish their sting on anyone, never waste your time on guilt or shame as their alchemy is a savage cross to bear" Roderick Usher... Are you ready to get what you have coming? I say..."Nevermore"
Reptile (2023)
Choices
People every day face the situation our protagonist is facing...every day all of us are given choices that cause us to question ourselves and the people we care about and are intertwined with. The choices seem mundane but added up they change our lives in ways we can never predict. This story isn't flashy. It's not a new story. It's people you know...people you like, it's people who touch your heart. People you call friend. People you call enemy. All in a day's work. Maybe it's you. It's an everyday story. But make no mistake it is not a boring tale...our characters are well fleshed out without being predictable. We're able to catch glimpses into each of our characters. See a bit of darkness and light. What would you choose? Who would you choose? What would you do? Who do you really think you are? And who are you really?
Zhen xiu ji (2022)
Charming, Fun, Historically Inaccurate and Worth It
There are a lot of things that one can find fault with regarding this series. The focus is supposedly Chinese but even the dress is Korean. That's a bit interesting...??! But with that said - this show is charming. Keep in mind American audiences have eating habits are very different Stateside. No slurping, lip smacking, teeth chomping, gurgling. In Asia enjoying your food is more polite than so called table manners. I discovered this rudely when I watched a man hock a loogie into a napkin at dinner in my first dining experience in Guangzhou. I did find this a bit annoying, and I found the same to be true as I watched this series, but table manners are also one of my pet peeves. I'm a bit neurotic about table manners and having been to China it was a good lesson in getting over myself. Nevertheless, this could be a trigger for those as fastidious as I am. But oh, my goodness...watching the cooking, the gorgeous sets, the gorgeous food, the gorgeous (Nationally and Historically incorrect) clothing, the gorgeous hair and costumes and a playful storyline with wonderful, fun, engaging actors and this little series is magic. We Americans do not have millenniums of history of cooking and recipes. Our cooking technique is born of a three-hundred-year history that has been honored by various worldwide cooking traditions. But the cooking traditions of China and Asia in general are thousands of years old and it is fun to catch a peek into this ancient tradition. I once was privileged enough to visit China and one of the high points of the visit was the truly exquisite food. This series though extremely historically inaccurate does bring some of those wonderful memories back. I remember getting Stateside and spending years trying to figure out the ingredients to a single cucumber salad I had been served. Our actors are charming and convincing. The storyline is something we all love - Food and Competition and Love of course!! A cute little series I plan on re-watching!
Good Behavior (2016)
smart, intense, delicious and primal
This is not a glossed over rose tinted perspective of human behavior...okay, Ms. Dockery can make even a hangover look good. Nevertheless, it is almost viscerally painful to follow Letty. I suppose the fiction hits a bit too close to personal reality. The characters are full and complicated and the story telling is compelling. There is real flesh in these characters. They aren't hollowed caricatures of what a writer might "think" people behave like - oh wait they are!! But this illusion is brilliantly weaved together in a fast moving and compelling drama. Oh yeah baby!! Bring it on!!This is going to be one heck of a fun ride; if not painful! Interesting and a good pull on the old gray cells there is a gamut of emotions explored here and the themes remain classic. Nevertheless hold onto your hat you're about ready to take a fascinating trip and a crazy ride. Fiction can be as interesting as life. Oh and my nine rating? Well, I've not even finished one episode...
Carl Panzram: The Spirit of Hatred and Vengeance (2011)
Failure and Success...
Many people will try and claim that this movie is "soft" on Panzram the rapist, murderer and killer. They'd be wrong. There is no softening of such horrific crimes. We are told this over and over by Panzram himself. If you want to judge I suppose Panzram's your "kinda" guy. He is a pariah of everything gone wrong in one human being and how wrong one human being can actually be. But if you take a bigger picture there is a very loud message booming here. Panzram tells us as much...Borowski won't let us forget. Cruelty begets cruelty. Sadism begets sadism. Ruthlessness makes a person ruthless. If you want to create a monster treat a person as a monster. Now of course some folks will be monsters just because of their genetic disposition. And some will overcome being treated like a monster and become a Human once again. Panzram is indeed a fury of hate. But is it so hard for the average person not to also become vengeful when raped, and abused? And isn't it easier to understand what makes a vengeful monster after we ourselves have been abused. I think Lesser and Panzram's perspective is that it is easier to make or even become a monster than the average person would probably think. Not only is this movie sad...it leads one to wonder just who Panzram might have been had he been treated kindly in his life. This is no way excuses his ruthlessness. But it is a question that remains unanswered and lingers hanging in the air...He pretends to not care, to have no conscious. He lies. He knows his murderous intent is because of who he is and what has happened to him. And while he doesn't care who he hurts he clearly knows it is wrong. But if he didn't care why then warn us of what can happen when a child is abused? Why then share his story? In that sense Panzram "outs" himself...he loves his vengeance, it makes him feel good to be cruel and to make the world pay for what it has done to him...but yet he also warns us of what he could do. Why warn us if you don't care? But make no mistake he is psychotic. I don't think Panzram should have ever been trusted. I believe his every word..."don't turn your back on me ever again" but I also believe what Lesser believed...underneath the horror of a destroyed man there is a Human desperate to escape and fly free... Panzram is the story of the Human Race as a failure.He shows us not only what that failure is...but how Humanity can also be a Success. Panzram is the story of Us.
Talhotblond (2009)
Delusions and Reality
Wow! What a heart-breaker. We've all heard the dangers of the internet. Those same dangers have existed before the internet and they will exist far beyond the internet. The Darkness of Humanity, deceit, jealousy and betrayal are old themes in the repertoire of Human Existence. What is different here is the ability of Humanity to live in an existence of non-reality and have that non-reality respond back. Not as an auditory hallucination. Not as a delusion but as a text in real time, interaction with another human being. We believe what we want to believe and we pretend not to believe what we don't want to think is real. We say and act what we want others to believe about ourselves...when does the line of truth and reality blur...just what is it and when is it when we choose our delusion and believe it as the truth about ourselves? When do we act upon our delusions? When do we allow ourselves to become our very worst?
Antichrist (2009)
A thought provoking movie of the horrors of self-loathing and misogyny.
Spoiler Alert! Whew! I won't recommend this movie with an exception of a very few folks who have very open minds. NOTHING IS EASY about this movie. Scenes are horrific taking every bit of tolerance to suffer through. Compelling, disturbing and frustrating "Antichrist" demands thought. Obvious themes are: 1.) Destruction in the Act of Creation 2.) Self Loathing 3.) Break Down of the Family Unit 4.) Psychiatry as a Destructive Force and also a Creative Force. Misogynistic overtones are rife. Our antagonist is a woman perpetuating misogyny through self-loathing. Don't jump to the conclusion that von Trier is misogynistic. Our character doesn't think at the beginning of her journey that she has a dislike for her own kind; quite the opposite. Darkening influences of her mind/illness and her environment twist her reality into one of such hatred she perceives it as evil. The ticks fox and the deer tempt us. We wonder where we stand in this forsaken gloom. The intense dislike of what inner hatred can do/be is often a self -loathing we all have. Rarely do we lose our grip as much as our antagonist does. This is what a single germ of misogyny and an evil mindset can become; ruthlessly, twisting the mind with self-hate shown at its worst. In psychosis, we watch as our main character disintegrates. We are tempted to believe in this misogyny as our "She" compels us to see and also as our "He" sees the 3 Beggars too. My belief is that it is the three beggars or his/her instinct that is warning him/her/us of impending danger; what the damage of self -hate can do. "Antichrist" is a metaphor for what our "She" refuses to see. Hate of women/self only brings about bad things. It is a darkness from which the forest of our primeval brain seems unwilling to let go. Capturing us like the 3 Beggars: Grief, Despair and Pain. The forest is dark and tangled as our Human Condition. The 3 Beggars bring us nothing but misery. In the final scene we see a horde of women approaching our "He." None of them hurt our "He" they walk beyond him. Walk beyond the Three Beggars as our "He" leaves the Darkness of the Forest of Misogyny. He steps into the light away from his living hell from which all men die. A raging example of Self Loathing is rarely as provocative as this; if one scratches beyond the horrific images and follows our "hero" out of the misogynistic forest, like our hero we find there is a bit of light to be found.
Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me (2012)
Clear as a Bell
Lovely, poignant and beautiful the story of Big Star is fraught with the inescapable trappings of life that both manage to bind and also free us. There is already a wonderful review by David Ferguson. His review sums up much of what you'd actually expect to find on the liner notes of a DVD compilation release of this movie. And he's spot on. My review won't add or be any better. In the end my review will only add a bit of the haunting beauty and power that was Big Star and that lingers with us. A black diamond glimpse into the souls of not only Big Star but each and every one of us. A cautionary song/tale that sums up much of what I think the movie offers: "Take care not to hurt yourself Beware of the need for help You might need too much And people are such Take care, please, take care Some people read idea books And some people have pretty looks But if your eyes are wide And all words aside Take care, please, take care. This sounds a bit like goodbye In a way it is I guess. As I leave your side. I've taken the air. Take care, please, take care. Take care, please, take care." Wm Alexander Chilton
Jack Reacher (2012)
Not Beyond Reach...
Don't kid yourself. This movie has no surprises and is littered with moments of predictability and typical typecasting of characters. Half way through the movie one of our main protagonists backs off a bit and after being so fervent in her quest in the beginning of our story manages to undermine the credibility of her character. But with predictable fortitude she rallies. There is nothing new here and nothing really presented in a fresh way that would re-energize tired and worn out themes which could use with a bit of refreshing. We view the ever churning questions of fairness, individual rights, right to a fair trial, loss of civil liberties and lack of fair judicial proceeding in a way that isn't particularly fresh or interesting presenting itself in a rather mundane vigilantism with completely predictable bad guys and a very over worked story line. Nevertheless, this movie is rather entertaining. The acting solid if perhaps the dialog a bit assuming. And despite the stereotyping of our characters and the plot I still enjoyed this film. Rosamund Pike isn't given much acting room and Tom Cruise sticks to his formulaic mannerisms. Robert Duvall's character is not surprising either but his presence in the movie is still fun if not believable he still manages to make us want to set aside our disbelief considering the material he is given. Despite all these faux pas, this movie works. The actors/characters have chemistry and they bounce well off of their fellow actors. What a delight to have Werner Herzog play Zek (what an interesting play on the concept of freedom in a name, eh?)whose character I would have loved to seen fleshed out along with Cruise's and Pike's characters. In the end it does what a good, if not great movie should do...it entertains. Nothing too heavy here and nothing to fluffy either. A nice meat and potatoes kind of flick. A perfect after work movie on hump day. Not bad movie by any means and not great movie but it is good enough. Did I mention the '68 Camaro and Chevelle growl! What fabulous cars! And to those preoccupied with Cruise's stature get over it. The implication large and tall men are the only men who can play alpha male leading roles is ridiculous. Tom Cruise (though I'm not a fan) does more than hold his own as the lead character. I'll say it again enjoyed it. A bit of fun for a Wednesday!
Octane (2003)
Out of Gas
With such actors as Johnathan Rhys Meyers, and Madeleine Stowe one initially might think reviews giving this movie the thumbs down might be a bit harsh. Unfortunately, this effort is no gem...and manages to run out of octane before it has even begun. Redundant plot, redundant characters can't even save the best of actors and this piece is full of predictability. Unfortunately, the predictability runs straight into the end of the movie where we are left to wonder HOW? things end up as they do. For the reviewers who gave this piece anymore than 2 stars I offer that just because you like something it doesn't mean it is good. I'm a big Twinkie fan but that doesn't mean they are actually good...it just means I like bad food. Same with this movie there will be a few people who will "buy" into the visual images. Those images (and there aren't many) are the only thing that cause this piece to get my two stars, that and the actors. The gas tank party palace- could have been really cool device in a different movie. But This little ditty is just plain out of gas! Rolling down the road on fumes.
Dark World (2008)
Pretending vs Acting
"Is that a gun in your hand or are you just glad to see me?" Seriously?! Dialogue like this makes any solid ground the actors might have to stand on disappear. Along with the poorly sewn together scenes this movie comes off as a run through rehearsal in need of a lot of work. Because we spend much of the time having the characters "tell" us or ask other characters what they are supposed to be doing, thinking and feeling the dialog isn't so much a chance for the actors to act as it is for them to "pretend" their characters. As Al Pacino once said 'don't lie to the camera it will always see it' and because the actors are never really allowed to act they end up having to fake what the dialog and the director can't seem to create - a plausible tale. This might have been a really good story but in the end this piece is a bit too "tacky" to "easy" for any of us to really enjoy. I give the acting two stars. Underneath the wreckage of what the director has done there could be a rather spooky and interesting piece of work. But not even the actors can make this film believable. FAIL.