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sherripadgitt
Reviews
The Little Things (2021)
Not what you think it is...
I gave this a 4 star rating basically for effort. The acting was good, the atmosphere dark and gritty, music was good, but the story was terrible. Now, don't say that "I just don't get it", because I do very much get it. I get the red clip in the end, the guilt each officer now carries...all of it. I got the movie.
The movie was lazy or the story was lazy. I really expected more from Washington and Malek. The first half of the movie is a total bore-fest. It wasn't until the later half that it started to get interesting, but I could tell from being the viewer that the character they were after was not the person responsible for killing those women. So, I had no idea where it was going, but was getting kind of leery because there wasn't much time left and Malek is still digging holes.
The ending then came as not too much of a surprise, or lack of ending I should say. The story suddenly shifts from finding the serial killer to being a story about the two policemen all along, instead. From the get-go, they should have given more information into each person's past and present. The storyline should have been more helpful to clue the viewer in about the burden police and detectives face when things go wrong. It was what it was. You will either love this or hate it. I am the latter. Nothing worse than a movie that lets you down in the end. Similar to a cliff-hanger.
Star Trek: Picard (2020)
The show is great...a bit sluggish at times but great
I haven't watched Star Trek in years. I used to watch the original show way back when I was a teen and really loved it. It was all about different worlds and dilemmas with different beings from those worlds. It was strange and awesome! Always looked forward to new episodes. I was really looking forward to this series as well.
This show is good but really different from what I was used to. Of course we have had technical advancements with picture quality and set designs, and costumes, but this show feels sluggish while at the same time, not taking the time to explain things. There wasn't a lot of character building but this is season 1, so I figure that will take its time. Soji is an interesting character and so is Rios and Rafi. I enjoyed watching them. So while sluggish at times, there are scenes that are very entertaining. Rafi is always onto something. Rios' other parts are so funny and really fun to watch. A great show, but with a few drawbacks. Overall I give it a 7.
The Pyramid (2014)
I thought it was entertaining
Some bad reviews here, but I wasn't expecting a lot to begin with so I was quite entertained. It was a different type of horror and I found myself laughing out loud a few times. Sure, people died, but it is just a movie after all. Wait until you find out what the villains are.
I found myself scared at times, felt closed in at times and laughed a few times. Just everything in a movie that you could ask for!
A team of a father/daughter duo and another archeologist, a camera man and a journalist have a chance to enter a newly discovered pyramid so that they can retrieve their "rover" that gets stuck inside. It was a dumb idea, especially since they all wanted to go inside, but this is how the movie goes. Of course they find that the rover died and instead of worrying about how it was demolished, the main guy controlling the rover is worried about what NASA is going to say when they find out.
After they moan about the broken robot, they decide to leave and go out the way they came, but that becomes a problem as they can't find the way out as the safety string/rope was cut or broke preventing them from finding the entrance. From this point on, it is a hellistic journey into the Egyptian underworld with hieroglyphics giving small clues along the way and they also find that strange vermin (LOL) live within the shafts and rooms of the pyramid. From here on they go down, down, down into the depths of pyramid hell. I don't want to say a lot as I don't want this to have too many spoilers. Go into this movie without expectations and you might just be pleasantly surprised.
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021)
Marcel is a hit!
What a cute little character. Marcel is a shell with shoes on who lives in an air bnb with Connie who is the only family member left in the house. The rest of the family got carted away accidentally by the last occupants. Now here comes a new occupant who happens to want to make a documentary about Marcel. The two become good buddies all the while Marcel is showing him how he lives life in such a quirky but gentle way. Connie who is an elderly shell is the keeper of her garden and also helps the bugs when they are in trouble.
There are so many adorable tales in this one story. Marcel becomes an internet star who goes viral about the search for his family...which will lead him to bigger fish eventually to help him out. A few things about Marcel: He will melt your heart with his banter, he can play the macaroni like no one I have ever heard before, he loves to play in honey and climb the walls, and he tends to get car sick.
Martyrs Lane (2021)
Great performance by the everyone
I found this to be quite interesting and enjoyed every minute of this film. The child actors in this film did such an amazing job, and made their characters so realistic, it was wonderful to watch. The mother is sullen and detached most of the time with a side of grumpy in there. The father is a pastor and the family home is set up to take in needy people which happens.
The atmosphere of the movie is a bit on the depressive side. Leah's older sister, Bex is quite mean to Leah. There is a rough edge between the children and the mom.
The story here is easily explainable enough but still leaves the viewer guessing with several questions as Leah is being visited by her new nightly visitor. Who is she? Where does she come from? What happened to have brought her to Leah?
I am surprised this movie got a lower imdb score. I give it an 8 at least. Not your usual ghost story!
Foe (2023)
This is about relationship drama, not so much Sci-Fi/SPOILER ALERT
I truly think if this wasn't labeled as science fiction that the reviews would be better. This is a movie (to me) about the relationship between a man and his wife in which there is a complicated dynamic between the two. Especially with Fen, as she changes moods from one moment to the next while, Junior seems happy most of the time. Fen has reasons she is moody as she is stuck on the farm all day every day and Junior at least goes to work.
I'm not sure they needed to go to the science fiction story in this or left the drama out of the science fiction or compromised on both, but this ends up leaving much of the sci-fi out except for the concepts of it and leaves pretty much a drama film based on Hen and Junior's relationship.
SPOILER ALERT --BELOW HERE
A man does come to their home saying Junior won the lottery and needs to train so that they both can live in space in the future. In the meantime, an AI needs to stay with Hen to keep her company. The AI is an exact replica of Junior and has Junior's personality and consciousness. The AI has all of Junior's memories and personality. In the movie you cannot even tell that the Junior at home is the AI. They seamlessly bring that on. Hen develops a relationship with AI Junior and at what point she realizes it is an AI is not clear for me. It is a slow-burn so I don't think I could watch this again.
During this entire show, the government man who came in the beginning also stays with Hen to monitor everything. The movie never really goes to space to visualize what the real Junior is doing and how he is faring or what life is like up in space. I suppose that would have given the surprise away, but to me it wasn't really much of a surprise to guess that the Junior at home was the AI.... I figured that was the case.
The movie carries on until real Junior comes home and it becomes horrible for the AI Junior that is a real self-aware being. He is locked to the floor and writhing around knowing he is going to lose Hen forever. It is particularly sad.
Once back with real Junior, Hen's relationship with him breaks down as Junior is very jealous that Hen fell in love with AI Junior. Nothing seems to work. The next thing that happens is that Hen leaves and Junior goes crazy looking for her. After this, Hen walks into the dining room with Junior at the table and she seems renewed with a happier demeanor. Hen has now been replaced with her AI.
The Humans (2021)
Interesting
I kept waiting for the ball to drop, so to speak, but it happens so slowly that you don't notice it much. A thanksgiving dinner turns kind of sour, much like any family drama but the visual effects and sound make this movie creepy...very creepy. Also the apartment may be haunted. Lights go out, balls drop from nowhere, more lights go out, horrible loud noises that sound un-holy coming from upstairs, doors creek and move on their own. I may try to watch this again to see if I catch more unnatural things happening. They are so slight at the time the immediate connection to haunted apartment doesn't click until later. I really enjoyed this.
John Carpenter's Suburban Screams (2023)
Not Scary, not psychological, but very predictable, boring
I thought this might be a good watch, but just in the first couple of episodes, I found this to be drivel. It says these are true stories, but I am wondering what % is true. Like 98% false/2% true. Shows that portray pretense of this magnitude are a bit insulting. They think that the majority of people believe in Ouiji boards and will buy this nonsense, but they fail in this. I grew up with a Ouiji board and nothing ever happened....nothing. It was the most boring game around the house. We got it out around Halloween time as a decoration for treat or treat night. Occasionally we played it, but it never worked as intended. It always takes more than one player so if the planchet moves then it is pretty much guaranteed that the other person is moving it. It is a "psych out" type of game where you try to trick your partner into believing that you are not the one moving the disk on the board. I would even move the planchet on purpose occasionally and saw the wonder in everyone's eyes. People can be gullible, but to think that playing this game for the first time is going to bring out chairs toppling on top of themselves and the planchet moving by itself just do not make any sense. If I were a spirit on the other side and finally got communication, the last thing I would want to do would be to scare everyone off. I'd want to get my say in as much as I could. That was the first episode. I won't ruin anymore. The show is simplistic and it assumes that the viewer is gullible.
Gone in the Night (2022)
Tongue in Cheek Horror
This is what it is and I felt like it was a fun watch. The entire show felt like a parody on a parody and was so ridiculous that it had to be made in jest and fun.
It starts off like a mysterious movie and you want to find out why the boyfriend took off with the other girl. Then by connecting a few dots, you realize that the story is going somewhere else....entirely. It felt like it was made on the fly, like improv and I wonder if they used improv to design this. It just can't be anything else. Like I think they may have had an outline of a story, but then it just goes as in it just goes off the rails. It was funny to watch and thank you to all of the actors for putting this little gem together.
Fatale (2020)
B or C Rated Movie
I was really surprised Hillary Swank was in this poor class movie. I'm not sure if it was the constant frown on the lead character's face all of the time or because Hillary Swank just didn't fit this role, but the movie didn't come off as expected. It had a few odd vibes to it.
For starters, there was no character bonding. I think that is one of the most important things a movie can do for the audience is to let the characters reveal just a bit of a personal soft side so the viewer can identify with the character....some kind of real human traits would be nice. Next, the character that Hillary plays is just not her bag. She is not fem fatale material. I love Hillary Swank in most of her roles, but I felt like I was missing out on something with this one. The wife had no redeeming qualities so the viewer isn't able to bond with her, nor his brother but I have to say he was the only light-hearted character in the movie. His character was believable.
Lastly, everyone is rich in the movie. Like dirty, stinking rich. Not too many people live like this so if this was portraying a normal husband and wife who had a nice house but not a mansion with an automatic parking system, but no house security on, then it may have been okay. This was a bit too much for this particular plot line. The storyline was good, but would have loved to have seen this in a different kind of setting. It felt like a Harlequin Romance met Fatal Attraction in a hyper-sexual, hyper-rich atmosphere where all of the characters live in their own little worlds, but not each others.
Oppenheimer (2023)
Political Garbage
This movie was shattered into so many pieces but revealed very little as to how the bomb was made. The parts of his life it did go over were more about how Oppenheimer was interrogated because he had communist friends/affair. And even then, it does little to completely go over it all. It is fragmented and split about much like the atom itself.
If you want to watch this for scientific value, then this is the wrong movie. Very little is explained going over the actual splitting of atoms and what it took to get there. This is about interrogation, only and it goes back into his life in fragmented bits to try to explain what was happening and fails miserably. At about 30 minutes before the movie ended, we got up and walked out. It was not what I expected at all.
Many people are raving about this movie and I honestly do not see it or how or why people would be. It was drivel at best. JMO.
Run Rabbit Run (2023)
The blandest story I have ever seen
This was just terrible to sit through. I had to come back to it several times as it just goes so slow and is monotonous at best. The story is told is such a peculiar way that you don't know what is going on until about 3/4 the way through, and even then it has you guessing still. I still don't know if I watched trauma unfold, a ghost story, or something entirely different.
The little girl who acted in this did an impeccable job. That was about the only redeeming part in this movie. She played her character well. The rest of the crew, did subpar at best in my opinion. The mom just has this constant look of horror on her face and cannot get away from that. The dad is as dense as they come, but I think that was his part to play so maybe not all bad there. There are parts in the movie that just do not make any sense at all. Maybe if I watch it again, I might pick it apart, but then again, maybe not. LOL
Not impressive. A much clearer story told would have been better than to keep the audience guessing the entire time. Melancholy works sometimes but not always.
Legion (2017)
Absolute Drivel!
I don't see how this show has such a high rating. I love mysteries, thrillers and suspenseful shows, but this is just a complete mess. Having a schizophrenic meltdown for two, even three episodes I could tolerate. The entire show is like this. I keep watching episode after episode hoping these loose strings will find a way to come together and it never does. Each episode brings more and more confusion.
Bad guys, good guys, heroes, and all kinds of characters but nothing brings them all together, and nothing tells you what in the world is really going on. Again, how is this rated so high??
I don't consider myself a professional movie critic, but I like what I like and don't like what I don't like. I am not completely oblivious to being able to enjoy surreal scenarios and dream scenes either, but the creators made this entire show one dream scene after the other, after the other, after the other, after the other...AND then throw in an alternate reality scene, then real reality...or is it???
This show is scattered all over with scenes that do not do anything to advance the story. In fact the story here does little to advance itself at all. It is messy to say the least.
Maybe you have to be a Marvel fan to appreciate this. I have watched Marvel shows before and they are usually exciting and written well. I don't know what happened here and it is sad to say I am a bit upset that I don't understand any of it. So, he is a super-hero, and...?
Jared from Subway: Catching a Monster (2023)
So disturbing!
This was really hard to watch and listen to. It is hard for me to understand why the FBI took so long to do anything to bring this guy down. There were so many different things they could have done and directions they could have gone to get something done. Instead they put this woman through absolute torment while her family falls apart trying to get enough evidence to bring him in. Had not one of those FBI ever watched, "To Catch a Predator"???
This was a good documentary and I actually heard more than what was necessary to convince me that Jared is a terrible human being. It is disturbing to know that there are probably many predators out there that don't get caught. And didn't Rochelle's son say he moved to Thailand? Isn't that where Jared claimed he got his underage children? I wish they would have pressed him about why he chose to move there. That left me feeling very weird about it and then the documentary was over. Why would they even include that part?? Like, what?
Abducted in Plain Sight (2017)
Unbelievable Story
I'm going to try to sum this up quickly. First there is a movie titled: "A Friend of the Family" that also explains this tale well. I call it a tale because that is exactly what I believe it is. Just because this family was fooled into fooling around with the neighbor, and their pre-teen daughter was fooled into believing she was half-alien, and getting preyed upon by the next-door neighbor, doesn't mean we have to fall for this whopper of a tale.
So yes, the girl, Jan is told she is half alien and Zada and Zethra (from another planet) have given her and the next-door pedophile, "B" a mission to complete which involves him taking her any time he pleases and molesting her on multiple occasions, so that they may save their dying planet.
There are so many unbelievable scenarios in this story. There are just too many to mention, but the documentary and movie both state that this is a real and true story. That doesn't mean that I have to believe it, because I don't. I especially don't buy the entire alien story. That seems entirely made up and I think done so to try to relieve the parents of some accountability. Also the FBI agents in this are just as unbelievable too an don't know what a pedophile is, so I think this entire story was embellished. That is just my opinion.
Both the movie and this documentary is worth the watch so you too can scream quietly out-loud to yourself as you are fed this gobsmacked story.
Post Mortem: No One Dies in Skarnes (2021)
Hoping for a second season!
This was wonderfully made and I really enjoyed this series. This was a horror series with just the right amount of comedic relief. The actors were believable in their characters and really pulled every episode off nicely.
In the beginning of this series, Live' is found dead in a field with no apparent markings but is taken off for autopsy due to her young age and circumstances. To all that see her she is dead. Things suddenly change when the doctor who begins the autopsy (by sticking a knife into Live') is startled when Live' jumps off the table screaming.
Live' who doesn't understand what happened does not remember at first what had happened to her. She slowly regains part of her memory which sets off her journey of discovery. A discovery in which she realizes who/what she is now.
In the meantime, her father and brother head up a funeral agency in town. But no one hardly ever dies in Skarnes so the business isn't doing too great.
Meeting all of the characters in a show is very important to me. I love being able to get to know the parties involved in a story. This was done in a delightful way and we get to see the personalities of the main characters and their nuances, which I loved. Live's brother, Odd was my favorite character in this. He is delightful and his character brings subtle comedy to the story.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Enjoyed most of the movie
I really enjoyed watching this but I did have a few exceptions to it. The story was great, but I did wish they spent more time building up a few of the characters. Especially "Penny", who Maverick had a previous relationship with. They also didn't give much of a build-up to Ace's character again, but I do understand he probably wasn't at his full functioning potential with his throat cancer diagnosis. I also wish they would have gone into the other pilot's lives a bit more so we could "bond" with those characters too. It also would have been great to actually identify where they were and who the enemy was. All we really get is the mission and weapons that are in the enemy's hands to attack. I would have felt more for the mission had I known who what where and when so that could bolster the mission. It did feel a bit rushed with the process but it is a short time frame to put it all in. If they had focused more on this mission and cut out the side story with the unknown woman, then I think it would have been better. Not all movies need a love story. Other than these exceptions, it was a good watch.
Dance 100 (2023)
I was expecting better...
At the beginning of episode 2 when noone stood behind the heavier dancer, I decided then and there to stop watching. She was just as talented as the others. With that said, I found the show very boring. I thought I was going to watch outstanding dance routines, but instead I felt a bit agitated and wanted to rush through the show just to get to see the routines. I didn't want to see a bunch of chit chat or antagonism between dancers. That part was especially demoralizing to me, to see other dancers criticize the routines when they are peers to the choreographers. They are the same. They just were not chosen to choregraph the routine. I didn't get that.
So they need to extend the dancing part on the show, cut back on the backstage stuff and give people what they want to see: more dancing. Kind of like World of Dance where you get to see straight on, the routine. Not cutting in and out and away from the stage. Also give the bigger choreographers a chance. That was awful. Not even one person stood behind her. I call BS on that.
Nightflyers (2018)
This series is awful.
I know there are better Hollywood writers out there...where are you? That said, this is a story that you will find more frustrating than enjoyable.
A group of explorers travels out into space to connect with an Alien craft. That is a great idea for a story, but the mishaps surrounding the ship happen almost immediately going further into space. The characters are continually making decisions that do not help the situation in the slightest. Continually making dumb decisions, I think is the premise for this show. Some scientist on the crew decides to bring an "L1" on board who are known to be telepaths, which in turn this one has mayhem on his mind. This was well known before the crew member made the decision to bring him aboard. He is so bad that they have to bring him in a locked mini-dungeon all to himself. Of course he immediately starts to eff things up---who da thunk it?
So no, I haven't seen the entire show....just stuck on episode two and ready to call this quits. A good show needs to have characters that make good solid decisions with maybe occasional mistakes, but this show is the opposite. Every crew member that is focused on makes terrible decisions which go on to lead to catastrophes, only to bring out more terrible decisions. Sadly 1/10.
The Adderall Diaries (2015)
Disjointed Story
I wanted to like this movie, but I found it really hard trying to keep up with what was going on. It didn't seem like James Franco really sold his character very well and that may be more due to editing than his acting abilities. The story is not smooth and tries to bring in too many elements to tell this tale. It doesn't give you time to really bond with the characters and their feelings or their struggle. You are introduced to the characters and after it just goes all over the place.
The story is about a young man who is a writing who writes telling his story of his abuse. His story comes into question and his life spirals from there. Again, if they spent a bit more time introducing who he is and was with some back-story beforehand, then this film would have been better executed. From my take, it was a butchered mess of a film with not much context.
Fast Color (2018)
Nice concept but feels flat
So, I have no idea, really what I just watched. At the end I am left with the idea that she could make it rain. The story is disjointed and doesn't flow easily. Super-natural powers are present in all three women, but yet it isn't really shown exactly what those powers can do. Scientists and others are trying to track them down, but even that falls a bit flat. Then there are the colors which make no sense when it comes to their abilities. I would love to see this tied together a bit more tightly to develop some suspense as well as wonder and to explain what the colors mean. 5/10.
From (2022)
Ok...where is season 2?
I am so hooked on this show. There are so many different angles this could go and the show is taking it's own path. I love it! The acting is really good. At first I was a bit upset that they didn't set up a type of think-tank where a group would bounce ideas and findings to each other, but they are trying to find their way...the way they see fit. This is such a great thriller. Highly recommend!
Short synopsis: People from all over the US suddenly end up in a town that they cannot get out of. They have no idea how they got there and the road just keeps taking them back over and over again. That is until
an accident happens. The newly arrived are about to find out what this place has in store. After dark things get pretty serious in the town and everyone MUST be inside their home. Lock your windows and doors, please! Oh heck where is that talisman? Where did I put that?
The Block Island Sound (2020)
Loved this movie
I was almost ready to give up on this, but I kept right in there with it. It is a slow burn, but it will all make sense with all of the pieces put together towards the end. I was not expecting this to be what it was. You start off thinking one way and then you are taken through an experience to something else entirely. I want to watch it again, now!
Bridgerton (2020)
Loved the first season. Second season...
I didn't like the second season as much. I think they made a grave error on releasing who Lady Whistledown really is. This isn't the only issue I had. The two sisters from India were beautiful, but lacking in their acting abilities. I couldn't buy in to either character's believability. One, so naïve and the other so obstinate. The entire story is also very tiring. It seems to go on forever. Back and forth and so on and so forth between the sisters and the elder Bridgerton. I just wanted it to be over...lol. I do rate it at a 7 though because most all of the acting from all other characters was great. I love the outfits and the jewelry. I could go on and on about the jewelry.
The Righteous Gemstones (2019)
This tries to hard to be funny
I would have loved to see a smart team come up with actual comedy covering this topic of mega-churches and all it has to offer. But, this is way over-the-top and because of that it isn't funny or cute or smart. I am at the beginning of the second season and I see they brought Eric Roberts in. His acting abilities have never impressed me. He fits right in. I love John Goodman, but I can't figure out his MO in this show. The other characters are very cringey. What happened to intelligent shows with decent plots? This is like watching an adult version of some cartoony creation. Meh.