cudax Reviews

The Lone Ranger (2013)

UGLY and VIOLENT

[5/10 · 9 May 2024]

Not at all what I expected from a movie starring Johnny Depp! First of all, it bounced around back and forth between scenes, flashbacks, and just plain nonsense BS scenes. Started out interesting, but quickly became just very slow and dull for the entire middle of the movie. Then, it picked up The pace again a bit for a while, meandering about back and forth in time. I like the horse, who is very strange and quirky, but likable, much like Johnny Depp himself. I think the title is all wrong, because it probably should have been named Tonto, but it's a remake of the original series The Lone Ranger, hence the title.

The Redemption of Henry Myers (2014)

Almost didn't watch it

[5/10 · 12 March 2024]

I didn't know beforehand that this was a Hallmark production, or I probably would have skipped it entirely. The main reason is because the Hallmark productions are sickeningly sweet and disgustingly prudish without any of the elements that make up the usual good Western, which would be, at least a little bit of minor swearing. I can do without the graphic violence in some westerns and other genres of movies, but I feel they should be at least realistic to the period. In those days, swearing would not be the usual swear words used today, but generally would be Bible related blasphemy. I like the cinematography. The little girl was probably the best part of this movie. As far as trivia goes, when he is shown shaving off his beard for the first time in who knows how long, he's shown looking in the mirror, and, he's using the blunt back side of the straight razor and not the edge! Anyway, despite being painfully slow, the sheriff gives Henry a second chance, so we get the obligatory happy ending of a Hallmark presentation.

Lonesome Dove: The Series (1994–1995)

One of the best Western series

[8/10 · 8 March 2024]

I absolutely love this series. I own it and all of the rest of the lonesome Dove series and movies. Coincidentally, my friend Chip and I had taken a trip from Lake Tahoe through Glacier National Park for the Huckleberry festival, then across the Canadian line into Waterton Glacier Park in the autumn of 1995, which I later found out was the same time they were filming this series! We never went all the way to Calgary or the valley just west of it where it was being filmed. We went to the town of Banff, then drove up the icefield highway all the way to Prince George where we had a bite to eat. Then continued all the way to Prince Rupert, where we boarded the ferry that took us down the inland passage to Victoria Island, where we disembarked. I drove the entire length of the island to the port at Vancouver where we continued our trip back to Lake Tahoe. Anyway back to the actual review, I absolutely love this and everything else about the Lonesome Dove books by Larry McMurtry. I highly recommend anybody of any age to watch any and all of Larry McMurtries series and movies. There is no profanity to be worried about.

Mountain Top (2017)

Oh well...

[5/10 · 2 February 2024]

This is a whole lot of religious bull×××t as most movies of this sort are. I don't care what a person believes, as long as they don't try to convince me to be like them. This movie is one of the slowest in recent years. It just rambles on, seeming going toward the inevitable happy ending, and, not in a good way. The acting was done well enough, and the beautiful South Carolina scenery is shown off realistically. However, I struggled to get through this movie because of my aversion to religious people, and especially organized religion that has caused more death and destroyed than nearly anything else in the history of the world. I only stayed with it to see just exactly it was going to end. I have a problem recommendation this to anyone but devout Christians, with whom I want nothing to do!

No Time to Die (2021)

Great action, but...

[7/10 · 28 November 2023]

As usual, there's always a lot of great action sequences, some more believable than others of course. The earlier movies in this long series were obviously lacking sophistication with respect to special effects, but got marginally better until around the time of Pierce Brosnan, who, in my opinion, was the best, even though I love Daniel Craig in the role. He was a gritty,capable, no nonsense secret agent and doesn't disappoint. My problem is two-fold...firstly, James Bond is not supposed to fall in love. 007 remains detached from emotional involvement, but twice now, he has fallen in love! Secondly, and, most important, if Bond were to "retire" to a more peaceful life,, he would be free to get involved with a woman. However, the 007 number woud not be given to another agent while both were brought on board by MI-6.

Knight and Day (2010)

Fun with reservations

[7/10 · 24 November 2023]

I have always been a fan of Cameron Diaz, she's quirky and funny, also not hard on the eyes. That being said, I personally don't care for Tom Cruise and his fake Cult religion. I think that if I met him in person I'd be tempted to say that although I have enjoyed some of his movies, I can't imagine how he could possibly be a member of what I judge to be a cult rather than a legitimate religion. In any case, I firmly believe that religion has been the cause of more wars and killing than all other factors. But, I did enjoy this movie. I think it would have been better cast with a different leading man, maybe Timothy Oliphant?

I loved the GTO, by the way, always been a fan of those, and one of my best high school friends had one. To sum it up, I can recommend it as a fun action movie regardless of my personal feelings about the leading man.

Chuck: Chuck Versus the Bearded Bandit (2011) Season 5, Episode 2

Garbage

[2/10 · 26 September 2023]

The first three seasons are really interesting and overall a great watch. I think Zachary Levi, who was newto me up until this series was just about perfectly cast as the nerd college educated front man for the series. I also love Yvonne Strahovski, also a stranger to me, as the erstwhile heroine. However, I can't stand the character of Morgan, regardless of how well Joshua Gomez portrays him. By the fourth season, things really start to go downhill rapidly. The first two episodes of season five are the absolute worst in the whole series. I only finished this series out of desperate hopes that it could be redeemed, but alas, nothing worthwhile happens in the final season. So sad to waste a huge number of guest stars on this drivel that had a great start, but failed to cross the finish line as a winner. Too many technical errors and goofs to list, but the Toyota Matrix being portrayed as an electric car just didn't work for anyone familiar with it, and I miss the quirky General Beckman being in charge.

Brothers of the Wind (2015)

Gorgeous

[8/10 · 27 August 2023]

This movie is, cinematically speaking, positively gorgeous. It must have provided unique challenges to the film crews, including getting literally thousands of pounds of equipment up into the very challenging terrain of the Austrian Alps.

The in-flight sequences of the Golden eagles was breath-taking. I think that Manuel Camacho was a perfect choice for the youth boy who nursed the injured young eagle back to health.

Gene Reno seems like the perfect choice for the role of "mountain caretaker" as well as providing the narrative. While I was living in Kings Beach at Lake Tahoe, I had the rare privilege of having seen and also getting within just a few feet away from one of only two nesting pairs of Golden Eagles at that time. I believe that there are as many as four nesting pairs now, according to my recent research. Although I am not opposed to hunting for food, I am very much in favor of legislation to prevent the use of steel jawed traps, regardless of the circumstances. I was drawn to happy tears when the boy finally found the courage to let his "pet" eagle return to the wild where he belongs!

Bullet Proof (2022)

Could have been reasonably good

[5/10 · 19 August 2023]

I am definitely NOT a fan of Vinny Jones, and this is just one more example of how terrible he is as an actor. But, he obviously has a loyal fan club that are willing to give this movie a much better rating than it garners otherwise. James Clayton has done a bang-up job for his debut as a writer/director, and does a surprisingly good job of acting, but this movie is totally carried by Mia Lecompte. She's not the typical sweet, meek, good girlfriend of the evil druglord. There's no doubt that some of the scenery is beautiful, and the junkyard scenes are believable. I have never seen Mia Lecompte in anything before, but she has a promising future if this is any indication of her talent, and, she is also good looking. Just don't hesitate to take the Vinny Jones fan club ratings to heart, because it's undoubted a good B movie, but doesn't deserve a 10/10 rating!

Love & Mercy (2014)

Not too bad, but

[4/10 · 13 August 2023]

First off, I don't want to take anything away from Paul Dano, who is an extremely talented actor, but he bore no resemblance whatsoever to the real Brian Wilson. I had an opportunity to meet a huge amount of stars in both film and music just because I grew up at Lake Tahoe where my stepfather Sam had a photo studio and also a contract with the casinos to take publicity photos usually just known as "head shots". Therefore, in terms of looks alone, John Cusack was a much closer match. I liked the script, although I personally think it rambled on a bit. I know that the Beach Boys had a profound influence on The Beatles, who were one of the greatest artists of all time.

Penelope (2006)

Excellent

[8/10 · 13 July 2023]

This is a refreshing twist on a fairytale. Christina Ricci was an excellent choice for the lead actress along with James McAvoy who plays her love interest. The cinamatography is truly rich and colorful, as is the mansion where she lived. She was born into her family's curse, which was that the firstborn girl child in the family would have the nose of a pig. This family had nothing but male children for generations until Penelope came along. The makeup department did an outstanding job with her nose, and her ears were only shown once I believe. This is truly a tear jerker and a feel good movie at the same time. I highly recommend it to audiences of all ages.

Rampage (2018)

Just okay

[5/10 · 9 July 2023]

This flick has an unusual twist to the normal sci-fi offerings. It was fairly easy to follow and mostly just mediocre as far as a screen play goes. I like the interaction between Dwayne's character and the albino ape, George. It isn't too obvious that it's a man in a Gorilla suit, so kudos to the special effects team. However, I don't find it believable that the wolf could be like a flying squirrel. Of course there's also a huge mutant alligator that looks like it was crossed with a triceratops! Ridiculous. And, maybe it's just me, but I fail to understand why anyone would keep building up huge bulging muscles to the point of looking like a freakshow. Dwayne looks like he can barely move like a normal person. I watched it to the end out of sheer boredom. If this describes you, then by all means try to watch it without cringing at every turn.

First Target (2000 TV Movie)

Fodder

[3/10 · 20 June 2023]

First off, the casting was lousy. Darryl Hannah has never been much more than a mediocre actress. In my opinion, she isn't even that attractive. If you gave her a crew cut, she could easily pass herself off as a man. The femme Fatale, played by Brandy Ledford is almost passable as far as looks go, but couldn't act her way out of a paper bag. The plot is a cliché as are most of the primary characters. I wonder how the cast got through the wooden dialog and how any writer would ever claim this drivel. The extreme closeups do nothing to enhance this flick, they are only unnecessary distractions in something that is such a snooze fest already! I am being charitable by giving it three stars. As for the tram itself, when the president is told to get everyone down on the floor, he does that, but a minute later, they show an open hatch in the center of the floor, which very few tram gondolas have. There's usually a manual override on the sliding door and a hatch to the rooftop for maintenance personnel.

Barefoot (I) (2014)

Must see

[10/10 · 30 May 2023]

I loved virtually everything about this movie. Evan Rachel Wood delivers one of her finest performances alongside Scott Speedman. The entire cast is at their best and I will always remember this as one of my favorite feel good movies, right up there with Little Big Man, and, Kinky Boots just to mention a couple. J. K Simmons is also at his best, playing the head of the psychiatric hospital where Daisy was held for years after her mother died. She never got used to wearing shoes, hence the name of this movie. Treat Williams and Kate Burton as Jay Wheeler's parents were great as well. I have nothing to add other than people who like a feel good movie should absolutely add this to their list!

Pieces of Her: Episode #1.7 (2022) Season 1, Episode 7

Just bad

[4/10 · 12 May 2023]

I have watched the entire series of this enormous steaming pile of dogs***, hoping with each episode that it was going to get better. No such luck. Even Toni Collette, who I usually like,fails to save this crap. The script has some merit for originality, but overall it totally sucks. Flashbacks don't help at all, they only interrupt the series. A couple of the actors and actresses seemed to be just going through the motions, trying to deliver their best. Sometimes they succeed for a moment, but then they are only following the script. Overall, I only stayed on until the end out of boredom. Sadly, I cannot recommend this to anyone. The best performance to me is the little girl whose blank stare is mesmerizing and reminiscent of some children I have encounter in the past but none have been afraid of me. To the contrary, nearly all children are fascinated by me, but in order not to offend or cause them concern I always either just smile at the child and walk away, or ask the parent if it's OK to say hello.

Kaleidoscope (2023)

Try to keep up...

[6/10 · 10 May 2023]

This particular limited series is a jumbled mess, but original and very entertaining. You can pretty much ignore the episodes order, as long as you leave the White episode for last. The cast does a wonderful job and the writing is definitely not your run-of-the-mill Thriller. Also, it is hard to follow along sometimes, but I would recommend watching the episodes in the order that they actually show what's happening and not the order that is unraveling as a series unfolds. After watching it I looked for an explanation and some of the postings online were wrong especially concerning the fate of Alex. So I would recommend this for entertainment value alone. I was sad to see some of the cast characters dying or being killed to put it precisely.

Never Let Go (I) (2015)

CRAP

[1/10 · 1 May 2023]

Don't even bother watching this steaming pile of dogs**t! I tried to make it to the end, just to see if maybe it had any redeeming quality at all, but NO it doesn't. The acting is horribly stereotypical and really just bad overall. Plot has so many holes that it looks like a wiffle ball. The protagonist is just a very poor attempt at making a woman into a young Liam Neeson or James Bond. It just doesn't work for me. Way too many goofs and blunders can be attributed to poor script writer. There's simply not any credibility to anything about this whole mess that is laughingly call a movie. Any good reviews of this crap are likely written by friends and family members of the so-called star. Please take my advice, don't even bother unless you are so bored that you are willing to endure the pain of seeing this crap.

Who is Amos Otis? (2020)

Well acted

[5/10 · 25 April 2023]

First of all, I will undoubtedly be hated by the crowd who still believe the lies of a megalomaniac who has to control as much of his world as possible in seeking to become an absolute dictator of the world's most powerful country. So, let's get into the very clear parallel to one of this country's most danger and power hungry con man presidents...the entire movie is pretty much the trial of a man who admittedly planned and sucessfully killed the President of the United States. I found it a reminiscent of a couple of famous trials in our history. I thought it was well written, and, in my opinion brilliant. Very well acted by the entire cast. The racist remarks by one witness early in the trial was convincing evidence of how much it can equate to a particular man that we all know regardless of how you feel about him.

Where the Crawdads Sing (2022)

BEAUTIFUL

[10/10 · 23 April 2023]

I have been searching for anything that would keep me from rating this as anything less than a 10, but I just can't. It is simply one of the most beautiful movies I've seen for many years. The cinematography is outstanding, as is the footage of the marshland lifestyle. The acting is at the highest level, especially seeing Garrett Dillahunt as a really nasty father figure when most of the roles I associate him with are rather likeable characters. I had never heard of Daisy Edgar-Jones, but this movie is a great introduction to me of her talent. The very kind, generous, loving black couple is what I (a caucasion man from California) witnessed first hand in many places while hauling cars all over this country. I won't go into any details or spoilers, so for anyone and everyone who likes a feel good movie, this one is an ABSOLUTE MUST!

Florida Man (2023)

Loved it

[9/10 · 22 April 2023]

Nothing typical about this limited series that takes place in Florida (duh). Forget all the stupid jokes about Florida, and, the ultra conservative idiots who will undoubtedly have something negative to say about this series. I personally loved it, especially the interaction between Edgar Ramirez and Abby Lee. In this series, Abby Lee dispells any doubts about her being just a model with a pretty face. She does a terrific job at acting the part of the good looking but not especially bright girlfriend. Mike has two ex wives, both of whom are probably still in love with him at least a little bit. I love the unexpected plot twists and turns. The "mob boss" son of his mob boss father who was killed by Mike is out for revenge. I won't give away too much, because people need to put aside their prejudices and preconceived cliched notions about Florida and just watch this great little series.

In the Name of the King: Two Worlds (2011)

Waste of time and money

[2/10 · 13 March 2023]

This was undoubtedly the worst movie that I have ever seen, and that's saying something. The writer/director has no sense of what a screenplay should be, and, he obviously doesn't care what critics or other reviews are saying...the whole cast is sleep walking thru this steaming pile of S**t. I don't recall ever seeing Dolf Lundgren with such a stupid expression on his face, and the rest of the cast struggles to get through their lines as if they are all drunk or stoned. I only watched until the end in hopes that it could possibly have some redeeming quality, but it just doesn't! Goofs are abundant and the trivia is weak at best. Don't bother to watch this crap movie.

What I Did for Love (2006 TV Movie)

Gag me

[3/10 · 1 March 2023]

OK, I realize that this steaming pile is a Hallmark (makes me nauseous) production, but it's even more lame then the usual Hallmark crap. I like James Gammon, but his character makes me want to kick him in the you know what. Going through the motions trying to deal with a really poorly written screenplay. I almost didn't recognize Sally Struthers as the aunt. I instantly recognized the scenery from personal experience doing a lot of hiking around the independence and Lone Pine area and Bishop California. In the background it shows Mount Whitney in a couple of scenes and the Alabama Hills are a reall fugged place with amazing rock formations, so the cinematography is outstanding and in my opinion the only redeeming quality at this movie can claim. If you like the sickly sweet thing like Hallmark cards usually are you might like this. Personally I was struggling to watch it all the way to the end, but at least the family comes around to the boyfriend's side.

New Amsterdam (2018–2023)

Oh well...

[7/10 · 22 February 2023]

First season was very interesting, with quirky characters and plots. Max Goodwin feels like a different version of House, although he's not nearly as seeming unfeeling. He starts out taking over the job of hospital manager with interesting results. He overhears some employees speaking Spanish, betting on how long the new manager will last. He replies in Spanish that he will take the bet...from that point it goes along with major policy changes (he fires the entire surgical staff on the first day). "How can I help?" Is his catch phrase.

Second season, he gets a little more weird, which progresses to him thinking he has the solution to global warming! AS IF...there really are some great episodes sprinkled into the increasingly poorly written ones. I have mo idea what the writers were thinking (or not)...All for free on Netflix for 4 out of 5 seasons. I didn't find out season 5 wasn't on Netflix until it inexplicably ended on season 4, when I found out that I would have to subscribe to another channel to watch season 5 for closure after the really crappy finale to the 4th season. That SUCKS. Max's behavior becomes increasingly more erratic in seasons 3 and 4 until I wondered WTF are they thinking? Overall, even though I had been generally interested in some of the characters, in the end I was just disappointed and pissed off by the end of season 4.

Maybe I would have re-immersed myself in this series in season 5, but I will never know without paying for it, which isn't going to happen!

Alex Cross (2012)

Complete waste of time and money

[2/10 · 19 February 2023]

First of all, I have to say that to substitute Tyler Perry for the great Morgan Freeman amounts to a crime in itself.

The script is so poorly written that it's nearly impossible to follow. The editing could have been done better by a high school student with a working brain. Too many goofs to list, but a couple come to mind...a Rhodes scholarship has NEVER been given to anyone in China. Next, as far as editing goes, in one high speed chase, you can clearly see a traffic copbl in the middle of the road holding back traffic. Mathew Fox is mostly good as the sociopathic hitman, but here again a goof comes into play...namely, when he's on the overhead (electric train), he fires an RPG while the train is moving. It doesn't work that way, as the RPG would follow the forward momentum of the train and no way could it find the target unless he stopped the train long enough to fire it.

Most of the cast is sleep walking through the script as if they were bored out of their minds, as was I. I only watched it until the end out of sheer curiosity to see if it would have any redeeming quality, but no such luck. If I had paid to see it in a theater I would have demanded my money back!

I watched on Amazon prime video because I have an account. Now I'm convinced that I wasted nearly two hours that could have been put to better use, but I have been cooped up at home recuperating from an injury and getting bored.

Oblivion (I) (2013)

DON'T BOTHER

[2/10 · 15 February 2023]

This steaming pile of S**T is just another poor example of how Hollywood has been perverting movies and , their stars for decades now. Some of the cast members are great, but I will not include Tom Cruise in these! He has a typical short man complex that requires him to be portrayed as taller or at least as tall as all other actors in whatever movie he is in at the time. He's just another mediocre actor who has been resting on his laurels for decades now without contributing anything meaningful at all. His religious cult beliefs are an affront to our intelligence. People have the right to any belief, but that doesn't mean they have the right to force it down the throat of others. This flick is mediocre at best, but it has a few good moments (very few). All said and done, I am being generous with my review at 2 stars...I do like both Olga Kurylenko and Andrea Riseborough, and I think they both gave 100%. Defintely my fault for purchasing this movie which in Blu ray is visually stunning bit without any other redeeming features.