srobertson-75103 Reviews

Outer Range (2022– )

Engaging story but hard to follow

[8/10 · 24 May 2024]

I am almost finished with season 2. This is a very engaging story and I'm usually very anxious to see the next episode. When I started season 2, I realized I didn't catch a lot of critical parts of season 1 and I had to go back and rewatch parts of it. Either I have a really bad memory or the story is just too confusing to grasp the first time around. It was also helpful for me to go online and read a recap of each episode written by random people. So, if you're willing to put a little work into it, it's a fascinating story with a little sci fi thrown in. I would say the acting is superb. Josh Brolin, Lili Taylor, Imogene Poots are very good. It seems like season 2 is going at a much faster pace than season 1 but, again, you really have to pay attention. As others have mentioned, the singing and music choices are annoying and a few times I had to fast forward because it was like nails on a chalkboard. This is a gritty western type series with some fist fights, hunting scenes, and horse chases. I usually don't like that type of film, but this one has caught my attention.

The Way Home (2023– )

Loved the Time Travel with Believable Story

[10/10 · 2 May 2024]

I just finished season 2 and I'm hoping there will be a season 3. This series has just the right pace...not too much happening at once but enough to keep you interested. I love all the main characters and the acting is very believable. I will say though that Hallmark seems to be caving to the woke agenda with two women characters kissing on screen and of course they have to get in their "diversity quota".

Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

As others have said, this isn't the typical Hallmark formula. I have watched a number of Hallmark movies and they are very predictable...within the first 5 minutes I can predict the ending. This series is much different and a pleasant surprise.

Palm Royale (2024– )

Fun Trip Back To The 60's

[8/10 · 21 March 2024]

I've only watched a few episodes, but it's a fun look back at the social scene back in the 60's. I'm old enough to remember much of the clothing, furniture, cars which are all very realistically depicted. Times were a bit more innocent on the surface, but lots of interesting things happened behind the scenes which would now be considered "politically incorrect". It's almost what I would call a dark comedy back in a time where people openly flaunted their wealth.

It's not totally believable, and obviously fiction, but still fun to watch and there are quite a few big names in the cast. Carol Burnett looks great and there are a few other actors which I haven't seen in years like Julia Duffy of Bob Newhart fame, Ricky Martin (who looks great), and Laura Dern.

The Crowded Room (2023)

Sad, Disturbing, but Excellent

[9/10 · 19 March 2024]

This series does roll out very slowly but by the 3rd or 4th episode, I couldn't wait to watch the next one. The story completely turned into something different by the 4th episode and everything from the beginning started to make sense. I'll admit, at first I couldn't quite figure out why certain scenes were in there and some were very hard to watch. This series starts out rather gritty and I had to fast forward through some of the violence and overtly graphic scenes.

This wasn't a feel good movie and it's sad and depressing to see the cruelty which can be a reality for many kids and adults.

The acting by the main characters was excellent. I've seen Amanda Seyfried in many films and she's always been good. This is the first time I've seen Tom Holland and he's very versatile, especially in a part like this. It's interesting that he has a British accent in real life because he sounded very American in this series.

Overall I highly recommend. The only reason I didn't give it 10 stars was because of some of the violence and somewhat graphic sex scenes.

Super Pumped (2022– )

Very Engaging Series, Wonderful Acting and Very Realistic

[10/10 · 6 March 2024]

I actually got this DVD set at the library and had to binge watch all of it because I couldn't stop! I'm not sure how much of the story was embellished, but it's very interesting how these business start-up's go through all of the trial and tribulations of working with regulators, unions, employees and tech giants.

It really does take a special kind of person to be able to take everything that is thrown at you and still succeed. I highly recommend this as it is very entertaining, and you actually learn a lot about business in the process. I especially enjoyed the performances by Joseph Gordon Levitt, Kyle Chandler and Uma Thurman. I was surprised to see Elizabeth Shue playing the mother...I guess time flies!

Gaslit (2022)

Loved it! A deep dive into Watergate

[9/10 · 26 December 2023]

I'm old enough to remember Watergate the first time around, but this explains exactly what happened and it delves deeper into each of those involved. Everything was very authentic in terms of recreating the 70's (furnishings, fashions, etc) and it brought back a lot of memories.

I can't believe the transformation of Sean Penn! I watched 3 episodes before I realized he was playing John Mitchell. I've recommended this series to many people and most of them are in my age range and they really like it.

The Martha Mitchell story is almost unbelievable. She was a larger than life character who could not be held back and she spoke her mind. It would be interesting to hear from her daughter who is still alive today. It just goes to show you how nasty politics has been in the past and still is today.

The Secret: Dare to Dream (2020)

Enjoyed the positive message...although a bit unrealistic

[7/10 · 30 March 2021]

Yes, I liked the movie...watched it all the way through without getting bored. Yes, it was a little unrealistic, but I enjoyed watching a movie with a positive message and it was a relief not to get bombarded with profanity and blood and guts. I'm sure most people would love a complete stranger to come into their life, fix their house, car and finances. But that's what movies are for, right?

The acting was fine...but some of the scenes weren't totally believable and a little too "Polyanna".

I haven't really heard about "The Secret" since back in the day when Oprah had that whole series on it. I have been a big believer in the law of attraction, visualization, etc. Perhaps as I have gotten older and more comfortable, I haven't had the need to "fix" things in my life as when I was younger... so the self help genre isn't my thing anymore.

Overall, a good movie with a happy ending.

Bombshell (I) (2019)

Interesting backstory of Fox News

[8/10 · 30 March 2021]

I had heard bits and pieces of this story in real life, but never knew the entire background. There wasn't anything totally earthshattering in the movie, but it sort of dug into the dilemma women have face when confronted with unwanted advances and ultimatums by their male superiors.

This probably isn't as much of as surprise after the "me too" movement has taken hold nowadays.

Charlize Theron was amazing as Megan Kelly...wow, what a transformation with makeup - how did they do that? John Lithgow was also unrecognizable as Roger Ailes.

Interesting movie, worth the time to watch...especially since most of this wasn't too far in the past.

Chasing Sleep (2000)

PAINFULLY SLOW...LOTS OF PLUMBING, PILL POPPING, DOOR RINGING AND PHONE ANSWERING

[2/10 · 17 September 2020]

Plenty of symbolism to go around in this movie...the problem is that I really don't have the energy to try and figure all of this out. I just want a movie that is straight forward...a beginning, a middle and a satisfying end. If you love plungers, plumbing, drains with lots of blood then you'll love this movie. The whole movie takes place in this guy's house...plenty of phone calls and doorbells with characters that symbolize other things. Very boring with no reward at the end.

Just Before I Go (2014)

ODDLY ENTERTAINING, PART COMEDY, PART DRAMA, PART CRAZY

[7/10 · 8 September 2020]

Surprisingly funny movie about a guy who goes back to confront his past before he takes his life. He visits old teachers, his brother, mother, his high school bully and an old flame. Many of these people were part of his troubled past but he learns a lot about why people acted the way they did. Their lives wound up being a lot more screwed up than his. This movie has some mature themes so it's not for everyone. I was laughing out loud for much of the movie, but that alternated with some really touching scenes. Overall I found it very entertaining!

Dial a Prayer (2015)

NOT A CHRISTIAN MOVIE, NOT REALLY ABOUT PRAYER EITHER!

[6/10 · 7 September 2020]

This was actually listed as a comedy, but it was no such thing. There were a few funny parts about how these phone center employees were trained on how to answer with prayers. This was not at all a Christian movie...some foul language, sex, drinking, etc. I cannot handle sappy Christian movies because they're too fake and white washed. The basic plot was a woman was doing community service after committing a crime and her father was a big shot attorney who basically got her off easy. She reluctantly has to work a prayer call center and hates every minute of it. But she unknowingly actually helps some people. It was a slower paced movie, but it kept me engaged. Her crime slowly unfolds throughout the movie and it connects her to a few other characters. The film kind of pokes fun at Christians doing the "dial a prayer" thing (which is probably why it was listed as a comedy), but there is a moral to the story or at least an evolution of the main character.

Believe Me (2014)

Not a Sappy Christian Film, Funny, Skeptical and Entertaining

[7/10 · 7 September 2020]

No, this isn't a squeaky clean Christian film (but not vulgar either). I don't like the whole Christian genre because I'm a bit of a skeptic and most real Christian movies are way to cheesy and fake for me. But I did think this was a good film. I thought they really nailed the whole "Christian Culture"...studying the way they talk, the way they dress, in a really funny way. Yes, the movie had a "moral of the story" where they saw the err of their ways, but these guys were depicted in a true to life sort of way. I'm not a big churchgoer, but I've gone enough to know how accurate this film was. The movie sort of touched on how easy it is to take advantage of those who wholeheartedly expect the best in people. Yes, it was kind of sad, but in a funny kind of way. But all is well that ends well!

My Boy (2015)

Overdressed Older Woman walking in platform shoes and that's about it

[2/10 · 1 June 2020]

Basically this movie is about an older woman walking around platform shoes and driving a kid in her car. This may hold the record for the most pointless movie ever made. Dumb dumb dumb If you decide to watch it keep your fast forward button handy - you will not miss a thing

We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

Annoyingly boring --- too much idle screen time

[3/10 · 23 April 2020]

In all fairness, the movie did finally come together at the end...but it just took forever to get there. The stoic face of the mother was just plain annoying and the flashbacks were confusing. I spent the majority of the time completely bored and frustrated that I was being strung along slowly and painfully.

The constant moving from past to present was hard to follow and I finally realized I had to look at the main character's hairstyle to figure out what time period the film was depicting. As far as I could tell there were 4 time periods...the distant past before having Kevin...the somewhat distant past when Kevin was small...the not-so distant past when Kevin was a teenager and the present.

Many things go unexplained...what was that big tomato fight at the beginning? Why didn't the parents of this troubled boy get some outside help? (- yes there were signs that this kid was going to go off the rails.) Instead all the mother did was look blankly into space whenever her kid did something odd. Yes, they needed to talk about Kevin...so why didn't they? I guess that was the point of the movie maybe? They had the potential to make this a better movie, but the silent flat affect of the mother was so boring and annoying - I just didn't have the patience for it. You can only sit a watch a woman going about her daily life for so long before you just want to get to the point. I got really tired of her walking around, going to work, washing her face, making lunch, and rarely speaking. I wound up fast forwarding through many slow spots...and there were plenty of them. Uggghhh...waste of time for me

Beach House (2018)

SO-SO MOVIE, KIND OF PREDICTABLE

[5/10 · 16 April 2020]

I believe this movie was based on a book, so it only had so much to work with (and sometimes stories are fine in to read but just don't have enough substance for a movie.) I could tell exactly what was going to happen every step of the way...when the visitor comes to the house, the camera goes right over to the college age daughter to show her interest....you know something is going to happen between the two. Anyway, the movie is slow to unfold but it finally does toward the end. No real surprises. I think they were trying to draw a parallel between the Paul character and the daughter. They weren't so different after all. That's about all I walked away with.

Disgraced (2017)

SAD DOCUMENTARY ABOUT CORRUPTION ON MANY LEVELS

[7/10 · 25 March 2020]

I'm not a big sports person, but I saw this documentary and it looked interesting. I didn't know college sports were so corrupt. Lots of money and "gifts" passed under the table. You'd think so called "religious" institutions would hold themselves to a higher standard...but it simply isn't so. This has been demonstrated over and over again. I couldn't figure out the motive for the murder of Dennehy or if the documentary was insinuating there was more to it...was he just the fall guy? Coach Bliss seems caught up in justifying his unethical actions with one excuse after another. I can't believe he didn't think his cover up attempt would stay under the radar. Now I know why I'm not a big sports fan...too much money at stake pushes people in the wrong direction. My heart breaks for Dennehy's family.

Charlie St. Cloud (2010)

Didn't see it till 2020, but very good movie

[9/10 · 21 March 2020]

Sorry I didn't see this earlier, great movie, some twist and turns. I haven't seen a whole lot of movies with Zack Efron (much younger generation than me), but I really enjoyed this movie. The beginning was a tiny bit slow, but it really picked up after that. I loved the ending...it actually had some resolution and was very satisfying. Very good acting, very believable.

Josie (2018)

VERY SLOW, NOTHING HAPPENS UNTIL THE LAST 5 MINUTES

[5/10 · 20 March 2020]

Painfully slow movie...but something does finally happen in the last 5 minutes - but it's not worth the wait. I'm not a fan of the "small southern town" movies. The actors all had fake accents and I couldn't understand what in the heck they were saying. I had to keep rewinding to catch the few important passages which were critical to the story. The main female character was supposedly a high school student ...not very believable...but as it turns out, it probably wasn't supposed to be. Dylan McDermott is one of my favorites but I can't figure out why he was in this low budget film.

The Goldfinch (2019)

I LIKED THE MOVIE, BUT WITHOUT READING THE BOOK, SOME PARTS DIDN'T MAKE SENSE

[7/10 · 19 March 2020]

I did like the movie and I was engaged, but I had a hard time figuring out exactly what happened with his Russian friend and the illegal use of the painting to back drug deals. Still confused on all of that and how this all connected to the antique store. The ending was somewhat dissatisfying. It does explain a number of things, but I wish the main character's life would have unfolded more and we could see what happened to him. Did he marry? Did he ever see his one true love again?

Triangle (2009)

CONTINUOUS LOOP A LITTLE CONFUSING

[6/10 · 18 March 2020]

This was an okay movie...not great. Some of the scenes on the ship dragged on and by the nature of the movie were repetitive. I thought of better ways to have the movie unfold and I thought of better endings. The movie does explain itself as it goes on, but it would have been much better if there was some kind of time slip and the main character was a cruise ship passenger going back and forth in time. Just my opinion on how to make it better...

Winter's Bone (2010)

SAD FILM ABOUT POVERTY, FEMALE ABUSE AND BACK COUNTRY CONSPIRACY

[5/10 · 15 March 2020]

Didn't see this until 2020, found it at the library. Artistically, it was a very good film, but it was hard to watch. First, it was just hard to see the squalid living conditions and the constant repression and abuse of women. Second, it was sad to see the children who had barely enough to eat and were in constant fear of losing everything. I know there are people who actually live this way, and it's heartbreaking to watch. As far as the actual movie, it was deep, meaningful, and well acted. I only gave it 5 stars because it was way too slow for me and it seemed like the entire movie was a long, hard, abusive search for her dad. I would rather watch something more upbeat with more of a storyline. The scenes seemed to consist of driving old beat up trucks to bars with abusive men, scraping together meals from squirrels and handouts from neighbors, and going from one ramshackle house to another where the women are scared of their husbands. Too hard for me to watch even though this reflects some parts of our society.

Personal Shopper (2016)

LOW BUDGET FILM, GOOD ACTING BUT WEAK STORY

[5/10 · 14 March 2020]

I don't have anything against low budget films as long as they actually have an interesting story to tell. I didn't quite get the point of the movie. Basically the main character was trying to make contact with her deceased brother. There were many irrelevant things going on in the movie and, as others have said, they didn't add to the plot at all. There were many train rides, lots of texting (which I could barely read since they were so small - but in the end they didn't add anything at all), some subtitles since the movie took place in France, which again, took a lot of work to read. Lots of time was wasted watching Kristin Stewart try on someone elses clothes and again the whole texting with a stranger was a complete waste of time. I think the acting was decent, but you can only do so much without a story. I could think of many other ways to develop this story...it really had potential, but nothing ever came to fruition. The ending was vague and dissatisfying.

Angel Has Fallen (2019)

ANOTHER REASON OUTSOURCING IS BAD FOR AMERICA!

[7/10 · 12 March 2020]

Did I like the film? Yes, even though some of the action scenes went on a bit long for my limited attention span. I thought it was a good story with many surprises along the way. The movie touches on how outsourcing government functions can leave us vulnerable. The movie was timely with the president being a hybrid of Trump and Obama (Morgan Freeman was called "President Trumble" or something like that.) The movie touched on Russian interference although that turns out to be one of the story lines that might surprise you. I felt engaged in the story ...and was that really Nick Nolte? Either they had excellent hair and make-up or he needs to play Santa Claus in his next movie. Awwww...I remember when he was such a hunk - but I'm dating myself!

Experimenter (2015)

A psychologist's life leaves a mark on many generations after

[7/10 · 10 March 2020]

I have heard about this experiment many times over the years...I even heard about it a few days ago on a podcast before seeing this movie. The movie goes through all of the work of Stanley Milgram along with all of his ups and downs in his career. This was an interesting movie and I liked how Peter Scarsgaard narrated as he went along. It was good to see Winona Ryder again. The acting was very good and it was interesting to see the backstory that went along with all of these experiments that we've heard about in school and elsewhere. You do need some patience to get through the movie - psychological experiments can be tedious on film and in real life.

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)

NOSTALGIC, GOOD MUSIC, BUT THAT'S ABOUT IT

[5/10 · 8 March 2020]

Wow, lots of big names in the movie. I was really excited to watch it. I did enjoy the memories of the 60's. All the attention to detail wasn't lost on me...everything from the clothes, music, and even the radio commercials were authentic. I'm old enough to remember all of it and that's probably what kept me watching the movie. Unfortunately, it was way too slow for me and I did fast forward through some parts that seemed unnecessarily long. Although I felt the movie was an accurate depiction of life in the 60's like the carefree attitude, drinking, smoking, watching television, movie making, etc., the movie just didn't have a storyline. I had to read one of the spoilers here on this site to figure out the ending. I think the ending was the only part of the movie where something actually happened. So, if you want to take a trip back in time, go ahead and watch it...you'll see some of your favorite actors. But if you're looking for some excitement - you may be disappointed.