JeffG-4 Reviews

The Shape of Water (2017)

Possible nod to the original Gill Man?

[10/10 · 16 March 2021]

There is a casual mention early in the movie that the creature was discovered in South America. The famous 50's Gill Man from the "Black Lagoon" also hailed from South America.

The Man in the High Castle (2015–2019)

Still Lacking an Explanation

[6/10 · 21 December 2016]

Just completed watching the second season last night. Like the first season, I found the episodes and the story line just compelling enough to make me keep coming back the next one. That being said, I am a sci- fi buff who enjoys explanations of what and why certain things are happening in the story. This series offers no such thing. There is absolutely no explanation given for the parallel universe/alternate reality part of the plot. The concept is fascinating, but the viewer has no clue as to the hows and whys of it. It reminded me a lot of the movie "Cloverfield" where a gigantic monster suddenly appears and starts to destroy NYC, with no explanation given as to where the creature came from and how it came into existence. Hopefully, the next season of High Castle will shed more light on the sci-fi part of the story line.

Cloverfield (2008)

My Head is Still Pounding

[1/10 · 25 February 2008]

If you can past the headache-inducing camera effect, you then can try to sort out the rest of this mess they are calling a "film". Beside it's rather cheesy FX, it's plot is totally without meaning. There is absolutely no explanation for anything that occurs in this movie. Where did the monster come from? What brought it here? Why New York? When the military opted for the last resort, how much of the city did the implied nuke attack take out? Did the nuke kill the monster(s)? Etc, etc, ad nauseum. If they expected true SF fans to warm-up to this one, they were sadly mistaken. It's been over 48-hrs since I went to see it and my head is still pounding. Ouch.

C.C. & Company (1970)

Has One Redeeming Factor

[1/10 · 2 December 2006]

From start-to-finish, this movie is a stinker. Bad acting, lousy script and terrible production values. I can see Joe Namath doing it but it's hard to believe that an accomplished actress like Ann-Margaret agreed to appear in this loser. That being said, I just located and purchased this hard-to-find flick at the aptly-named Cheesy Movies.com. Why? Because it is the only movie that blue-eyed soul man Wayne Cochran and the C.C. Riders ever appeared in. If there are any Cochran fans reading this, grab this movie and catch Wayne and his boys doing a full-length version of "I Can't Turn You Loose". Wayne Cochran recordings are very hard to come by, let alone a cinematic appearance. It was worth the $4.98 I paid for it.

Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

The "Worst of The Best"

[1 February 2004]

The Sean Connery Bond is of course, the best. But even the Connery series has to have a "loser" and this flick is it. Boring, silly, poorly conceived characters, crummy script, and in Jill St. John, the absolute "bottom-of-the-barrel" as Bond girls go. Her acting in this movie is so poor that at times that she appears to be doing it as a joke. Connery would be been well advised to sit this one out instead of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service".

The Invisible Boy (1957)

Possible sequel to Forbidden Planet?

[4 April 1999]

Some movie trivia sleuths consider this film to be sort of a "sequel" to Forbidden Planet" (also a Nick Nayfack production). Look for a scene early in the film where the disassembled "Robby" is found in a present-day scientist's store room, with notes indicating the scientist had developed a way of going into the future, where he obtained the robot. Also in this room is a picture that the young boy comments on, showing "Robby" emerging from the Forbidden Planet saucer ship at the "Chicago Spaceport" in the year 2242, inferring that Commander Adams, Altaira, and the rest of the crew made it back to Earth safely after the Krell furnaces caused the explosion of Altair IV at the end of that film.