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Reviews
Cats (2019)
Sleepy Time
I saw this on stage many years ago and it put me to sleep, cats dancing with no music, stage lighting was dark, I didn't get it. Thankfully I didn't see this film in the movie theater, I just caught it on HBO MAX so was able to fast forward quite a bit. I would have walked out of the theater - I didn't find any interesting parts. Wow, an overall rating of 2.3 - never have I seen anything rated so low, but it is deserved. Sadly.
Fatal Affair (2020)
Excellent Decor
The location of their home on the beach was worth the price of admission. Stunning. And their daughter was well behaved. Story was poorly executed and boring, as many are stating here. But I had computer work to complete so I would look up when they showed that beautiful home.
Mountain (2017)
Very Nice Piece of Work
As many have said here, they were cognizant of music that didn't fit the project. They're right - it was "dreadful" at least just past the halfway point. I was transfixed by what I was seeing, and tried hard to avoid what I could hear, except of course of the fine work by Willem Dafoe.
I loved seeing mountain adventures that went far beyond my imagination. So many ways to climb mountains; climb, ski, mountain biking and jumping off of them~
The final 15 minutes was majestic - the music improved and I was very glad to have seen the athleticism of so many young, talented people.
A Bad Moms Christmas (2017)
Thankfully I Asked For A Refund
I looked at the cast for this film and I am a fan of the "mothers" so I thought I would relax on a rainy afternoon and enjoy some laughs, and I like holiday films in general.
First disappointment was having youngsters using fowl language. This is a film with children yet with the "R" rating children can't see it, and they shouldn't. Children swearing in films is never a good idea, it's not creative and it's just a bad thing to do.
This film was way over the top making every aspect of the film far from realistic, too heavy handed. Twenty minutes into the film I knew I could not sit still so I went to customer service and said I needed to leave, I felt nauseated, so they cheerfully gave me a voucher to see another film when I am feeling better.
I must take better care in choosing films. I won't even bother with this film when it comes to Netflix~
David Brent: Life on the Road (2016)
Not Interesting, Not Funny
I had high hopes for his project. I had seen his activity on Twitter, pushing this film very hard and telling his fans to get the soundtrack. I saw him on many talk shows promoting the film and they would show some clips that seemed interesting. I waited until it was released on Netflix and resisted his requests to buy the DVD.
Thank goodness I didn't buy it. I watched it in the comfort of my home for pennies and was able to snooze a little because frankly - this film is so dull it put me to sleep.
I thought it was supposed to be a comedy, but it lacked humor. And it lacked interest. The story didn't hold my interest, I waited for something to happen, for the plot to move forward, but it didn't. He simply ran out of money to play live music (music is so-so) and ended back where he started.
Huge disappointment but it was softened by the ease in which I view things on Netflix and that I could snooze a little through the truly dull scenes~
Jason Bourne (2016)
Take A Pillow With You
I had just viewed a film that was full of style and excellent character development (Cafe Society). It is a treasure. As I was exiting I saw that this film, Jason Bourne, was to begin in a few minutes. I decided to take a look since I have been watching Riz Ahmed in the excellent HBO series The Night Of - don't miss this, it's great. So Riz was the appeal to me to see this film.
And since I had seen Matt Damon on The Late Late Show and talked about the motorcycle chase scene that as well had me interested in seeing it. The motorcycle scene comes early in the film and I was hugely disappointed because the sequence is heavily edited and the camera is shaking throughout - the audience is not meant to see the chase as though it were in real time. The last good chase scene I saw was with Steve McQueen in Bullitt, filmmakers have never topped it. So that disappointed me. Plus I like Julia Stiles and after that scene she is gone.
As for Riz, he is underutilized so I am yet again disappointed. In between the motorcycle chase and that last time Riz is on screen, there is a lot of noise, silly chases that defy even the logic of "action" films. Way too over the top.
Had I had a pillow with me I would have snoozed through much of this film. And sadly I was in a RPX theater which means it is "much louder" than normal.
This is one for viewing via Netflix (not for me, once was definitely enough) or iTunes thereby being able to fast forward through parts that aren't meant to be seen by the audience anyway.
The Infiltrator (2016)
Book Is More Engaging
I am a fan of Cranston which is why I went to see this film. I've felt he chooses projects that are solid pieces of story telling. I immediately felt that had I not read the book many years ago, I would not have known what was happening because the story telling in the movie is very disjointed and somewhat uneven.
A huge problem is Cranston's age. He's too old for the role of Mazur. At the time the events took place Mazur would have been about 40, Cranston looks 60. He has young kids, and Diane Kruger is much younger than him. So I didn't buy into the character as being believable as nonfiction.
More could have been added to let the audience know what the police department was facing financially to front his undercover operation. That is a key issue to this story. The undercover cost was huge. I was not disappointed that there was not a lot of action, I wanted a film with lots of dialogue but more detailed storytelling so the audience can follow the challenges of the behind- the-scenes undercover operation.
I wanted more of the thought process behind Mazur's decision to take on another case instead of retiring when he could. What was his motivation to take on this dangerous assignment? Never saw a dialogue between him and his wife about his motives since this case would take a toll on their family.
The film felt like a made for TV on USA Network or the CW, not a Hollywood production. The acting overall is fine, but the dialogue was stiff. Drug world stories can be a yawn but I was expecting it to be much closer to the book which is why the combination of having read the book and liking Cranston so much led me to want to see this film. The movie didn't need more star power than Cranston, Kruger, Dukakis (love all her work) Bratt and Leguizano.
Aaron Paul would have made a good Mazur but he's too young - Bob Odenkirk would be the right age and might have been a more interesting choice as Mazur. One detail that was not clear to me was the fate of Pablo Escobar. Cranston would have been better used as a supporting character, someone working with John Leguizamo, and John was great, and he's believable as a drug informant. Kruger was stunning as the fiancé and it's interesting that after this case she never again went undercover. Seems like a smart move since there were some close calls.
This won't be the summer hit I thought it would be and it might play well on Netflix or Cinemax. The film looked grainy so that might be challenging for a small screen. Not sure why it was done that way, I found it distracting.
Overall not fun movie going experience. If the story of Pablo Escobar is of interest, pick up the book, it's a page turner. The details are worth knowing and one gets the sense of the complications inherent in undercover work and the risks everyone takes. The book also tells of the creative ways drugs are moved from country to country. And more could have been emphasized why following the money, not the drugs, is a better trail to Escobar.
The Boss (2016)
Not for children - then don't put them in the film
It was said right here on this site, this is a lousy film, save your money, don't go see it. I went to see it because I liked Spy a lot - I thought perhaps this one would have funny parts, be interesting, clever and maybe have original humor.
Sadly I didn't walk out. I'll walk out of bad films but maybe it was the tasty bag of popcorn I was eating slowly, and enjoying my free Coke from my Regal points.
I am disappointed that the filmmakers chose to use children throughout the film, yet they used foul language and some adult themes that gave it an "R" rating, thereby preventing young children to see a film that could have been fun if they had cleaned up the language. And with a wider audience, surely they could have figured out that it could have made so much more money.
I truly do not understand the thinking behind the use of children in most of the film yet not making it suitable for them to enjoy - certainly there are enough "R" rated films that use adults, but very few films that use children with proper language and making a film the whole family can see.
If a film has an "R" rating, then leave children out of the story. Easy enough to do.
Neighbors (2014)
Free Pass Accepted
For the first time in all my years of watching films, I was moved to ask for my money back after sitting through 48 minutes of this pitiful film. Guest services agreed with me and cheerfully gave me a pass to return to the theater and see a movie with substance. The baby was cute, and that is the sum of anything positive to say about this film. I used to think Seth Rogen made good choices of projects. Alas, I was mistaken. I wasn't offended by the crude humor, the dialog did not contain humor, creativity, or logic. I should have read more reviews before selecting this film. I went by the success of the opening weekend ticket sales. Never to that, obviously.