wiztwas Reviews

The Meddler (2015)

Cringeworthy product placement ruins the film.

[4/10 · 1 October 2016]

If you are going to do product placement in a film then it needs to be subtle, this is up there with that terrible Tom Hanks film with the shipping company product placement or one of those "Mobile Phone" films form the 80's there was another film recently, that was based on a brilliant book, they changed a diary from a book to using a camera so they could do the product placement, it again ruined the film.

The story itself was probably not as bad as the commercialisation of the film.

I just wish that the distraction of bizarre elements, such as the mentioning of having purchased the places product in the initial call to her daughter, the befriending of the guy who helps her with her placed product and works in the placed product shop, the mentioning of the placed product web browser when searching the internet, her purchasing the placed product for the baby shower, her purchasing placed product for the chickens.

This is the future of cinema, it is a commercial dressed up as movie, I think it is much more than one commercial to far. This is a ruined film. Thanks placed product.

I know product placement is here to stay, but it can be done well, it can be subtle, it can be and unnoticed part of the story. But when you alter the story and insert extra elements in order to achieve extra product placements then you are at serious risk of making a bad advert instead of a good film.

Burnt (I) (2015)

Inconsistencies all over. Unable to suspend my disbelief

[2/10 · 14 February 2016]

I failed to suspend my disbelief, there were so many things that were plain wrong.

Riding a motorcycle without a crash helmet... illegal in the UK.

The French girl smoking at the restaurant launch in a public building... illegal in the UK.

Chef smoking in a kitchen, wrong on so many levels. It is illegal in the UK to smoke in the workplace, no self respecting chef would destroy his taste buds with cigarettes, no self respecting chef would allow anyone to smoke in a kitchen even if it was not illegal.

The spoken French was not as bad as it could have been, but the body language was terrible, no one even kissed a greeting.

There were scenes that just lacked hissy fits are to be expected, but we need to understand why we need to be wanting to have the hissy fit ourselves, we need to feel chefs passion anger and want to punch something as well, not go oh yes, we expect chefs to be having fits so we better insert one here in the story.

The buzz of the kitchen, the dialogue of shouting out orders and shouting instructions was rushed trying to get too much into a short short and it ended up having too much buzz, breaking the disbelief, reminding us this wasn't a chef, but an actor playing the part of a chef.

I feel this film should have been about relationships, it should have been about emotions and passion of food. The kissing should never have happened, it should have been about people, relationships.

As for stereotypes it re-enforced them all and failed to break any, why did he not have questions about his sexuality, why did the sous chef not come back and make up after the cayenne.

Why were we not given more time to find out about the drug dealers from Paris (who have a UK registered Range Rover? Product placement?) and are demanding money from him? What they keep a spare car over here just to go and get money out of a three year old debt? It was not convincing, it felt and came over as being really lame.

Knives, Knives, Knives, who ever did this knew about chefs and their relationship with knives, I guess a lot of us do. It is part of being a chef, but why incorporate this so many times? Product placement?

The frying pan drawer is history, the new equipment to boil in the bag visible in so many shots (product placement?)

I feel like I have been robbed of my time, the only stimulating aspect has been venting it all here.

The Witch's Sabbath (2005)

Perpetuates all myths as well

[1/10 · 2 February 2006]

Not only is it dire, but the research is non existent.

Satan is a Christian concept, pagans and wiccans do not acknowledge Satan.

Was the budget that low they could not spend a few bucks on finding things out? A little research could have gone a long way towards making this much more believable and possibly making it better.

Any film that is based on any stereotype rather than research and facts is aimed at the dumb viewer who will watch anything.

The writer deserves to be sacrificed at the next Sabbat.

Please can we be treated with a little more respect, we are not all idiots.

Dark Secrets: Inside Bohemian Grove (2000 Video)

Unconvincing hype!

[1/10 · 7 May 2005]

Perhaps the most religious zealots, might buy the claim of Satanism and mock human sacrifice, but no one else.

Entertaining and at times embarrassingly poor at others, even the most uneducated will spot the lack of logic and the leaps of abstraction.

Clearly this exclusive club does have distinguished visitors, they openly have a mock ritual, the link of the mock ritual to paganism is tenuous at best and to human sacrifice almost non existent. The ceremony itself had more in common with a modern day theme park than any Pagan rite.

This "documentary" tells us nothing of Paganism, an ancient faith based around nature worship. Instead it attempts to demonise what I imagine is otherwise a very successful business selling expensive "retreats" to the top Men in America.

All it did was to convince me that Alex Jones is a self serving publicist out to make a name for himself by attempting to create stories where clearly there is none. Looking at the credits it appears there was no one other than Alex Jones involved in the film, certainly had there been, they would have pointed out the lack of credibility of his claims and suggested that he not waste his time and ours on the venture.

The film does remind us how individuals can try to distort the truth, it also shows us how easily some people can accept a distorted truth (some people believed the film totally and gave it a 10) Hype and sensationalism are great for fiction, but when we confuse them in news and documentaries it is quite damaging. Good film if only for reminding us to question things more.

Aftermath: Unanswered Questions from 9/11 (2003 Video)

Whether or not the answers offered are the truth, the questions are important

[8/10 · 7 May 2005]

This film asks a series of important questions about 9-11, it is less challenging than some of the other films made in the same vein, it sticks to a few key areas where the there are blanks in the logic of what happened.

As time goes on, questions remain unanswered, the political exploitation of the terrorist threat continues and we really should be questioning the events of that day as clearly they have become the foundation of a series of actions which could not have otherwise happened.

My take... politicians are the lowest forms of life and more than capable of doing much more than they are accused of in this film, there was also more than adequate motive, but I also believe in the burden of proof being on the prosecution.

It is an interesting and stimulating film, which will have you discussing and even arguing your view for some time to come. Discussion and debate are a good thing and this is a worthy topic. The subject has been almost off limits due to the war and the knee jerk tabloid reactions, perhaps now in 2005 the public are ready to re-appraise the event that changed world history and to ask some of the questions that couldn't be asked at the time.

DC 9/11: Time of Crisis (2003 TV Movie)

American Propaganda

[22 September 2004]

If you are an arrogant American "we are the best" head-in-the-sand redneck who can not accept that the American government has been involved in funding and training terrorists for decades and is, at least, partly responsible for what has happened, you are going to love this film.

For the rest of us we just have to stand back in awe at the stupidity of the people who believe this to be true and unbiased.

9-11 has produced a raft of films and documentaries..

The John Pilger documentaries http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0683400/ are really hard hitting asking challenging questions about the whole middle east issue.

The documentary by Micheal Ruppert is equally outlandish in it's claims around 9-11 as this film (only in the other direction) and just about as true.

Probably the most verifiyable information comes from Noam Chomsky http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0159008/ Distorted Morality http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361959/combined provides a deluge of facts to support clear arguments around the issues. However facts are pretty boring, the film is footage of university lectures, shot with one camera from one place and it is really hard work to watch, but probably the one film that is most reliable in terms of facts. The Power and the Terror http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338357/combined is more palatable if you can't face the heavy style of Distorted Morality

Moore produced a film that got attention, I don't think it has the best facts, the best arguments but it was well made and well promoted.

Balance is a key to understanding, all these films need to be questioned and it is good and healthy that we question them. But you need to have seen a variety from across the board to really get a feel for what the truth might be.

Monkeybone (2001)

Banal "wallpaper" comedy

[1/10 · 13 January 2002]

If your idea of a good night is to watch sport on TV, get drunk and then watch a movie and you don't know what banal means then this film may be good for you.

For the rest of us, it is a dreary recipe of formulaic comedy aimed at appealing to the masses. There are too many films like this, dumbed down to appeal to everyone, inoffensive and unstimulating.

The plot is predictable as are the jokes, there is nothing new, the good guy wins and there is a happy ending, a load of "hilariously funny" sketches fill in the gaps.

The film had potential to explore the dark side of the plot but, they just kept it up beat and bouncy all the way to the end. As a result it failed to engage me at any time at any level.

Cast Away (2000)

Product placement gone mad

[1/10 · 3 January 2002]

Well the film is a big advert for a major parcel carrier, barely disguised as a work of art. Clearly this picture was going to make money just from the sponsorship alone.

Barely a single shot does not contain the logo.

I don't go to the movies to watch adverts, it irritates me that the level of product placement has got to this level.

Info-mercials are for cheap late night telly, not for prime-time cinema.

Give this film what is deserves, a miss!

The Fast and the Furious (2001)

Car Stunts, Car Stunts, Nothing Else

[1/10 · 2 August 2001]

If you want to see lots of Car Stunts and are a Petrol Head then this is a great movie, for the rest of us the lack of plot, dialogue, and character formation makes for poor viewing.

A blokes buddy film with lots of fast cars and nothing else.

Da Ali G Show (2000–2004)

What a Recipe!

[8/10 · 17 April 2000]

Ali G comes from Staines, and his larger than life obsession with Staines, drugs and all things youth like will make him a huge hit.

Take a dose of Goodness Gracious Me, a dollop of Louis Therioux, a whole lot of a gangster rapper attitude, mixed with a quantity of recreational drugs and no fear of saying what he thinks to get Ali G.

If you can hang up your hang ups and chill out with the TV Ali G will have you rolling around even if like me your well past the obvious youth market audience.

Ali G has several characters, taking on the persona of a dumb rapper, he deliberately misinterprets his interviewees with such style and conviction that they seem to really believe him and have to climb down to the kindergarten level.

His apparent naivety as he says to the man from the home office with a display of narcotics "it's not as if it's illegal is it?" (The poor man had no idea what to say or where to turn.) and the skill with which he brings down the top dog from the FBI whom he takes literally whilst making a figurative comment about doing a hypothetical crime. Suggesting that is was not such a good idea to talk about the job whilst the cameras were on.

Behind it all is a great talent who enjoys performing his art as much as I do watching it.

Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) (2000–2001)

"Fantastic"

[17 April 2000]

Vic and Bob are not really my cup of tea, yet this brings out the very best in them and is original yet following in the same tradition of the original series, of which, I was a fan.

They bring new life to a dead character and inject the original screenplay style with their own charm.

The sexy seductive sound-track and the chemistry of Jeff and Jeannie, and the cameo onslaught overwhelms the senses with admiration for the entire team that produces it.

Retaining so much of the seventies yet injecting it with so much of today it is a different series to the original, yet it respects the original at the same time as being satirical. It is truly a unique series and one which, for me, is un-missable.