v-26640 Reviews

Modern Marvels: World Trade Center (2001) Season 7, Episode 19

RE: Just rebuild the same towers

[23 April 2024]

No. It is very short sighed and emotional thinking to call for towers to be rebuilt tit for tat.

First of all, in 2001 they were technologically outdated. They had no robust fire sprinklers.

Secondly, rebuilding them would only attract another terrorist attack. Which would cause another tragedy and outcry in america.

Thirdly, thousands of people perished there and it's sacred place. So nothing should be build on sacred place, and I'm glad it was done this way.

Anyway, it is clear for everyone that these towers simply lacked any efficient air protection against suicide attacks. If there was anti-aircraft gin on one of the towers with a radar, it would have shot down these aircrafts and albeit some losses would have incurred, towers would have been saved and would still be standing.

Out of the Clear Blue Sky (2012)

A testimonial proof that people can be bought by money

[1/10 · 6 April 2024]

4 days after 9/11 Mr Lutnick ceased salary payments to people who perished in the attached. Made sense. If you don't work, you dont earn.

Then families of the dead attacked Cantor for doing this.

How is the terror attack fault of Cantor company?

It is everyone's responsibility to have life insurance policy bought, no ensure their family id not left in the limbo after tragic event.

It is NOT Cantor's responsibility to give anything to their families.

If families of the dead have any claims to make for consequences of that attack, they should sue Saudi Arabia or Al Qaeda, which were aiding and abetting 9/11.

Cantor is not babysitting company but run for profit. You lost your relative as a result of 3rd party action, that;'s not Cantor's fault.

End of story.

The Last Train (1973)

This is nothingburger movie, compared to what germans did in the East during WW2

[1/10 · 29 March 2024]

Usage of nice rural shots in the movie should not fool the viewer to think this was all the same in all countries. It wasn't.

Germans used double standards on occupied territories during WW2.

On the West, like france or holland, germans kept their appearances of civilized nation, and treated deportees quite fine, providing passenger trains for them for transportation. They were given food and water for the length of the journey.

On the East however, like poland or russia, germans didn't keep their mask on, and treated deportees with brutality, herded them into cattle trains sometimes up to 150 people in one car. Often no food and water were given so when train arrived at destination, many people were dead.

Therefore viewer of movie like Le Train should make an effort to learn about history, instead of treating this move as historical one. German's occupation of france was child's play comparing to poland's occupation. French people were not hunted like Jews were.

Miami Vice: Nobody Lives Forever (1985) Season 1, Episode 20

Solid. May not be in Top 50, but still beats any season 4 & 5 episode.

[7/10 · 4 January 2024]

Story is simple, based on some punks going wild and hitting random people or places without any beforehand action plan.

This makes hard to learn their pattern and to catch them for vice cops. What happens in a meantime is devoted to Crockett's romance story.

Well directed, pastels colors are what they should be and Jan Hammer music score haunts ears easily. These are key elements of MV episode that went missing in seasons 4 & 5.

Original Airdate: March 29, 1985

Written by: Edward DiLorenzo

Directed by: Jim Johnston

Notable Guest Stars: Martin Ferrero, Peter Friedman, Giancarlo Esposito, Michael Carmine and Kim Griest.

Miami Vice: Shadow in the Dark (1986) Season 3, Episode 6

Real-world police work replaced by paranormal nonsense.

[1/10 · 2 January 2024]

This episode went totally wrong in the end although it started fine.

It's unbelievable to think that in real world prowler wouldn't encounter house occupants that have either silent panic button connected to security agency, or gun under their pillow.

Then victim would use on of these and boom, prowler is caught or dead.

Give me a break. We're watching that all prowler's victims lived in grandiose houses / penthouse. They afforded to buy it so they couldn't have afforded even basic security installed???

A dog would also hear and spot the prowler immediately and alarm everyone by barking, and once it happened I don't think prowler would continue further.

To make things worse Lt Gilmore is portrait like some kind of cop that hurries up to catch the prowler without any disregard to shared collaboration with Vice. What would be the point of such hurry? Police can't be everywhere and can't protect every house. It takes time to find the offender.

Last final minutes when Gilmore use "paranormal skills" to point to the target house is absolutely nothing that intelligent person can buy. I believe episode director realised three quarters of already filmed episode went totally in wrong direction therefore tried to rescue it, which made the whole episode even worse. In real world you don't solve cases this way. You engage with informants, set traps, set up hidden areas surveillance, inform local residents in discretion to have guns under pillow or advise them to set up alarms in their houses.

None of this happened in this episode.

Miami Vice: Contempt of Court (1987) Season 4, Episode 1

Season 4 is when it started all wrong. Totally wrong.

[2/10 · 29 December 2023]

Seasons 1-2 were essence of vice. Art deco style, solid police work. Essence of the series.

Season 3 was darker, gritter vice.

Overall, seasons 1-3 had good and worse episodes. But their level was pretty much balanced, there were not very bad episodes during these years.

But since season 4 things started to downfall down the slope.

Story scrips are unimpressve. Characters lack chemistry. Acting looks forced. Some episodes looks like more X-files than real world police work.

Crockett grew lion lion hair and Tubbs grew beard, I don't know who advised that but it looks terrible.

Jan Hammer watched it and sensed what's going on in S4 and departed from the show, and rightfully so. He wouldn't have liked to compose his great tunes to bad acting and bad script.

I really preferred if MV ended after season 3.

This way the series would have cult and iconic status today, easily with 9/10 rating. But it doesn't.

When I rewatch MV I almost always play first three seasons only. Coincidence?

Stalin: Von der Revolution zur Supermacht (1993)

The very best series about Stalin I watched.

[10/10 · 15 December 2023]

The series was made in 1993 by Hartmut Kaminski who has long passed away now.

It provides a great amount of not-seen-before footage from soviet era, which makes the value itself for the series.

But the greatest thing is that the viewer enjoys the ultimate experience of the historical footage and is not disturbed by narrator trying to show his face to the camera, which is a disease of modern documentaries and they ruin them.

I watched the series to learn of Stalin rule as much possible, and I wasn't disappointed. Narrator's voice is pleasant and addition of historian Volkonogov brings an extra benefit.

There won't be any more such great documentaries ever done, even if new footage emerges from russian archives. Simply because times have changed, and modern directors lack skills and patience to understand how good documentary is made.

This series is superior to any sensationalist documentary made by BBC or any other past 2000.

Columbo (1971–2003)

Quite enjoyable, but has not aged well.

[5/10 · 21 October 2023]

Columbo is undoubtedly the best detective tv series ever, if you place yourself for a while at the times it was broadcast.

Some episodes are great, and keep viewer to the very end.

However, most of those crimes would have been solved easily today using modern techniques like DNA and CCTV cameras, or to check at which location was suspect's mobile phone at the time of the crime.

Also, it is reasonable to assume once Columbo investigates murder, there would be an attempt on his life. But none of such things happen in 69 episodes. Quite unbelievable, considering level of crime rate in USA that keeps being much nigher than Europe.

Overall, it's enjoyable show if you have nothing else to watch on weekend evening. Otherwise, switch to CSI tv series that is up to date, and where rumbled raincoat sap won't impress today no one.

2010 (1984)

Awful acting and wasted potential

[2/10 · 15 October 2023]

This movie could have been much better than famous Kubrick prequel, 2001 A Space Odyssey.

It was made almost 20 decades later than it.

However, it failed to capitalize on technology advancements and thus, is huge disappointment.

We're seeing in the movie that cold war mood is still on, and script stick to USA-USSR rivarly even in the cosmos. Ok, let it be, director couldn't have been predictive enough to know cold war will have ended in 6 years in 1990. Worse part is how both russian crews act in their spaceship.

Secondly, they should have hired science consultant. There is no sound in cosmic vacuum, so any thrust or explosion heard is pure fabrication. Kubrick knew it and didn't make that mistake, and it gave his movie cult status.

Music is kinda awful too.

Two Fathers' Justice (1985 TV Movie)

Great revenge movie

[8/10 · 3 October 2023]

If you hate illegal substances and don't have naive faith with 'justice' system, this movie is for you.

Just finished watching it and I really liked it. Robert Conrad and George Hamilton give good and natural performances and don't fake anything. The movie is pleasant to watch, not too short and not too long.

There's also sequel made 8 years after original movie but it's not as good as this one.

What is to be learned from the movie: justice system won't help you, it only serves the rich and powerful. If you want justice, you organize, plan and take things into your own hands.

Two Fathers' Justice was made in 1986 but motto of the movie still holds today.

So Much Water (2013)

Don't waste 2 hours of your life

[1/10 · 1 October 2023]

If you plant to watch it, don't. You'll waste 2 hours of your life and you're gonna regret it.

The plot evolves around vacation of two children of daddy who didn't seem to check forecast before he booked it.

Later on, he is surprised swimming pool is closed due to rain, and uses the time to hook up with other woman, to the displeasure of two children.

At the same time teenage daughter of daddy wants to get wild and desperately finds a guy to attend a party. Cigarettes and alcohol go into play. She cannot handle them well and aborts the party and daddy gets furious finding his daughter in such state.

What I learned from the movie: in Uruguay toilet paper is precious thing as you need to ask restaurant staff to have a roll of it before you go to the loo.

Avalanche Express (1979)

Wasted time

[3/10 · 27 September 2023]

Avalanche Express is cold-era spy movie with action located in Switzerland. There are bunch of famous-at-the-time actors cast for it like Robert Shaw, Linda Evans and Lee Marvin.

However, that's all from positive things the movie has to offer.

Now bad things. A lot of action is made in swiss scenery with train progressing there. However, once can clearly see director used chico train instead of real one !

Another even more ridiculous thing is that shootout scenes in train were not set in real nature, but in other location. Viewer can clearly see frost over train cars and train, but there is no water vapor coming from actor's mouth when they speak!

Robert Shaw performance is solid but unimpressive. 4/10 Linda Evans doesn't make the film any better. In a spy world, addition of woman is asking for trouble. 3/10 Lee Marvin gives solid performance is the only reason the movie is not a disaster. 7/10.

The Train (1964)

Interesting science fiction for inept audience

[2/10 · 24 September 2023]

Looks like germans on the cargo train weren't trained to use basic navigational device called compass. If they were, they would quickly figure out the train is not moving east to germany, and would immediately stopped the train. Which makes the whole movie script unbelievable.

Looks like germans on the cargo train weren't trained to use basic navigational device called compass. If they were, they would quickly figure out the train is not moving east to germany, and would immediately stopped the train. Which makes the whole movie script unbelievable.

Looks like germans on the cargo train weren't trained to use basic navigational device called compass. If they were, they would quickly figure out the train is not moving east to germany, and would immediately stopped the train. Which makes the whole movie script unbelievable.

The Glass House (1972 TV Movie)

Beats Shawnshank Redemption

[9/10 · 12 September 2023]

This is the movie that shows real prison life, no sugarcoating like Shawshank Redemption. Vic Morrow best role in career (as ruthless Hugo Slocum that uses his power to eliminate anyone that he doesn't like).

Clu Gulager gives good performance also as prison guard that is conflicted between sworn statement to fulfill his duties in good faith, and internal cartel that involved senior guards and other prisoners.

The movie could have been twice as long and wouldn't be boring.

This is real piece of prison life that can happen in any other penitentiary institution. Forget overhyped Shawshank Redemption that is more like sci-fi than realistic movie.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Pathetic. Glorification of worst criminals as heoes.

[1/10 · 12 September 2023]

Morgan Freeman voice is irritating. I dont know why he was selected to this movie, Robert De Niro would be much better.

The movie is full of improbable scenarios. First, I find it hard to believe that no other prisoner wouldnt notice his digging during nights. And we know he must have done the digging during night.

Secondly, such long tunnel as illustrated on the movie between cell and utility corridor wouldn't be possible, as there are no such solid walls. Thirdly, if he escaped he wouldnt be able to put poster on the hole properly, so guard would spot the hole when he entered the cell. He didn't spot it, so it makes the plot unreliable.

Overall very poor movie, particularly the ending. If you want real piece of prison movie, watch The Glass House, The Glass House or Hole. Shanshank Redemption is overhyped movie that doesn't stand realities.

Sunshine (2007)

An insult to modern science

[2/10 · 11 September 2023]

The movie is full of sound effects in cosmic space, like explosions or thrust sounds. Who was special effects advisor, 14 yo child?

First of all, cosmic space is vacuum. Meaning that you won't hear any sound there, because it has no means to travel like it does in Earth.

Secondly, the crew consists of personalities that find it easy to argue with each other. This make them vulnerable and unpredictable to mission goals. Human is weak link, so to deliver the payload, automated mission immune to conflicts is best value for money.

Last but not least, the movie was made far later than 2002 A Space Odyssey, but director didn't even dare to watch it, otherwise he would have avoided childish mistakes that gives this movie only 2/20 stars.

CIA: Crime Investigation Australia (2005–2023)

Garbage

[1/10 · 7 January 2023]

Constant flashing effects between motion. Very tiresome to watch. People who made this documentary don't care about watchers' eyes. They think the more flashes they add, the more trendy the movie becomes. Wrong. After couple of minutes of watching it makes you turn off the whole farce. Constant flashing effects between motion. Very tiresome to watch. People who made this documentary don't care about watchers' eyes. They think the more flashes they add, the more trendy the movie becomes. Wrong. After couple of minutes of watching it makes you turn off the whole farce. So don't buy these on streaming as on on youtube you can watch sample of this dreadful production. Docus from 0s or 80s are much better.

Polskie drogi (1976– )

Promotion of false narration during communist times.

[1/10 · 4 August 2022]

Don't get me wrong, on artistic or screenplay level it's not bad television series.

What makes it unreliable is that the director didn't include any - not even a small one - topic about tragic fate of Jews during WW2 on polish occupied territories.

Jews were huge part of polish society then and intertwined with polish people on so many levels, it is unforgivable that they weren't even mentioned in this tv series, like...they never existed.

It is no wonder because postwar poland and its cinematography was very much antisemitic, and promoted fake narration than poles were the only victims from Nazis.

The series also omits totalitarian role of Soviet Union but this is more explainable than omission of Jews history, due to censorship in poland until 1989.

Summing it up, this not historically reliable series, and was negatively reviewed by professional historians. In poland it may have high rating because of polish sentiments and general ignorance of Jews tragic history.

Cold Sweat (1970)

Bronson's wife playing again?

[1/10 · 23 December 2021]

Why is that Jill Ireland had to play with Bronson again in this movie. Didn't they have any other female actors better suited for the role? Or Bronson put a condition to the directors that he will play only with his wife? I don't understand her selection here.

Attention, les enfants regardent (1978)

Black comedy movie which is more laughable than enjoyable

[2/10 · 23 December 2021]

I find it hard to believe that after nanny drowned, nobody is worried about kids living alone.

Normally police would visit their house and make sure kids have another nanny assigned to them. What parents , even on holiday, trust kids to leave them alone ? Script does not make sense.

And no one is curious about missing car drowned by kids in the sea? Yeah that makes sense.

I don't know that director of this film wanted to pass to the audience. Was it encouragement for youths to commit crimes? Was it to show french police indulgence?

And kids vowing not to tell the truth to anyone? Give me a break. When police starts sniffing what's going on, they would split all the kids and start to interrogate then separately and good investigator would quickly found out their statement's discrepancies and break them.

Delon must have understood made a big mistake to cast in this C-class movie. No wonder the film was a failure in box office at that time.

2 stars for scenery but overall a waste off time.

Lost in the Wild (2019– )

Not introvert-friendly documentary.

[1/10 · 17 October 2021]

I've watched many documentaries over last 20years, some going back to 60s of previous century up to lates ones like Lost in the Wild.

The problem with modern ones like LITW is that narrator feel a must to appear on the camera while talking and to do the show for herself, with a overbearing tendency to emphasize her voice too much, whereas on older documentaries a narrator is behind the camera and not visible, thus allowing exploration of a topic to be done in most effective and undisturbed manner.

I am introvert and this is not the documentary that I am fond of watching. Her voice is tiresome and annoying, camera is shaky and lacks stabilization. It can't compare to top documentaries like those narrated by David Attenborough.

If you're introvert too, I suggest skipping this.

Unsolved Mysteries (1987–2010)

Mixed opinion

[5/10 · 19 February 2021]

This series was great to uncover crimes, unexplained deaths, missing persons cases and did their best it it at a time with a high level of details and events reconstructions.

However it was bad idea was to add all those UFOs garbage, alleged ghosts, haunted houses and other very amusing at best paranormal X-files like stories. These all are not based on science and not backed up. Funniest thing is except US of A in no country people report ufos. Coincidence? No, they're made up. People who spoke about them did this more for publicity or were attention seekers with only desire to be on TV. OH MOMMA I WANNA BE ON TV, LET'S INVENT UFO STORY!

If series focused only or documented crime stories I would easily give 8/10 But overall 5/10.

25 Years of Innocence (2020)

A powerful movie about how person can be sentenced on circumstantial evidences.

[7/10 · 20 January 2021]

Tomasz Komenda was sentenced about 3 years after the crime had been committed basing on simple idea - 'find me a man and we fill forge evidences against him'. What this move does not show is that at that time Attorney General, now deceased Lech Kaczynski had been urged that a killer is found and sentenced to silence medias hysteria and coverage about brutal murder and rape of that young girl. Later when the murder was put on Tomasz, he was publicly defamed by Lech Kaczynski. Despite Mr L. Kaczynski death in Smolensk plane crash and after Tomasz was exonerated, no polish public institution nor police have never apologized Tomasz for their actions, which is a standard practice in western democratic countries.

Not much changed in post-soviet bloc however after 1990 in terms of judiciary mentality. Human Rights Watch estimates that 1-3% of sentences in Poland may be those in which innocent people are sentenced just because either suspects were threatened by police to force to confess by beatings. No effective police control and their procedures exists as of today. You may call it a mafia or not but I believe it's not far from truth in Poland.

Personally I believe his family did not do enough to get him out of prison, a good lawyer would smash the case easily and he is worth every money, why did it happen 15 years later is a mystery for me.

As Tomasz said after his release, there are no good people in prisons , there is only evil.

Rosie (I) (2018)

Don't make kinds unless you have secured place to live with them.

[3/10 · 9 January 2021]

The movie highlights important problem in Irish society - lack of personal responsibilities for own action. I am single and would never decide to make kids unless I secured place to live for them. And for three kids that Rosie has permanent is not a suitable place. it should be a house where teenage kid has its own room. Otherwise you hurt your children. Homelessness is a result of bad own decisions and bad planning of your own life.

Secrets of the Solar System (2020– )

Not including episode about Uranus and Neptune is a total joke.

[4/10 · 9 December 2020]

These are ice giants, much bigger than Earth and have had unquestionable influence on our Solar System. Uranus has its unique small planetary system with more than 10 moons, and planet itself orbits on its side. Neptune has unique moon which orbits retrograde , unlike any other moon, and has active geysers despite being 25 times farther from Sun than Earth.

Omission of these planets is a shame on series producers.