Zen-2-Zen Reviews

Reminiscence (2021)

what a difference a day hubris makes

[6 September 2021]

3 instead of 1 just because Rebecca Ferguson was superb, crystalizing the opinion that she should (have) be(en) next Lauren Bacall except that she'd need a next Bogie (which Hackman is not, pardon 'J' :-) and a real Noir director which is nowhere to be found.

Plus Thandiwe Newton of course. I wasn't sure I'd be able to watch her after so recent and superior Maeve in Westworld but she created so substantially different and mesmerizing character out of thin water (aka amateurish script) that I forgot who was that Maeve after firsts frame.

Hugh Jackman proved that he's not much of (some word :-) and should stick to Wolverine-like roles for good.

If Lisa Joy(less) had brains instead of hubris she would/should have asked Jonathan Nolan to write the script and then guilt his bro into directing and they'd be a 100 mil plus by now instead of 100 mil minus. Sure she wouldn't get to "sign her name" as an "auteur" (with apologies to the real meaning on that word :-) but she'd get a lot of production credit for IQ.

Wouldn't cost much more. All the money wasted on CGI to create flooded Miami looking like (really flooded) New Orleans would be saved and used to pay for quality direction and writing.

Don't know what else to say. I paused it 3-5 times and went to Safeway to buy some food during one of these breaks - that's how "intriguing" and "suspenseful" it was. Someone should make an edit with just Ferguson's and Newton's scenes and release as a kind of salvage short. I'd bet it would collect more viewers as an arthouse release :-) Dare to try ? :-))

Despite the Falling Snow (2016)

What a waste of a good actress

[6 September 2021]

The only reason I gave this 3 instead of 1 is superb performance of Rebecca Ferguson as two characters, plus excellent "danger face" miniature by Jelena Gavrilovic.

The "surprise" was telegraphed miles away and made the lead character stupid => should have never been greenlit without a serious rewrite.

The only thing that could have salvaged it would be to make Katya double agent (who worked hard to thwart the real spy) and Alexander a hapless fool and just a collateral damage used to sell Americans fabricated "secrets".

Then you get several surprises stageable in succession. Misha totally pissed off since he didn't know Katya was a double till he left gulag after the era (and his whole life) passed, old Sasha not recognizing aged Katya until much later, aged Katya being the grey eminence of renamed KGB (continued existence hinted), arranging for Lauren's exhibition, you can stil have Marina (without stupid lazbo shtick and with a pretty face and hair color matching that kid) ...

You get a bit of cat and mouse chase of the aged Katya and Alexander and for the "big surprise" he can forgive her (after all she did him a big favor) and only then discover that Katya is really "up up and away" in the hierarchy - old and new - more or less eternal :-)

With a very good makeup/mask Rebecca Ferguson could have played the aged Katya as well. Now we would be talking acting awards.

Five Star Christmas (2020 TV Movie)

Surprisingly good and fresh for it's (sub)genre

[23 June 2021]

I hardly ever watch any Hallmark productions so my expectations were really low. Sure there is a number of cliché and cheesy aspects but the actors are the ones who really gave this production much more than what these kinds of productions normally get for the money they pay. Or maybe Hallmark was paying better for this one?

Bethany Joy Lenz carved out a few almost monological scenes, so one might say that director also deserves kudos for having a ear for a slightly different approach when and actor brought it and not forcing everyone into an "ensemble" routine. Grace Beedie also managed to carve out, let's say a few solos and a few other created sparkling miniatures.

That's what gave this flick the quality that other people called, fun, witty, quirky - the sense of character's individuality which is rare and not usually expected in this kind of production.

Robert Wisden delivered very good support, almost prefect segue for others to shine when they could, and wanted to. A few others were not up to the (unexpected) higher standard. Victor Webster and Paula Shaw, almost unwatchable, Laura Soltis plain routine going on cheesy.

Now I'd like to see Bethany Joy Lenz and Grace Beedie doing something together, but with much better script, direction and production.

After the Wedding (2019)

Stupid pile-up of soap tripes

[7 November 2019]

One honest soap producer defined the "genre" as "you know, the father and the mother and the brain cancer" :-)) And that's exactly the definition of this pile of tripe - give or take a few frames :-)))) This is a soap condensed into a 90 min - give or take 15 :-) If this was a Lifetime made for TV flick I'd say "OK, their audience, their budget, didn't see it anyway". But this pile of soap pretends to be a bona fide feature film ? No way..

13 Reasons Why (2017–2020)

6 times too long, 6 times too weak

[20 February 2019]

I read the Wiki page first and though that surely these critics with negative reviews must have been just pesky, petty and picky. Well just 3 episodes latter I had to agree with them.

Producers wanted to crank out way too many hours and just that was enough to ruin otherwise good conceptual idea. I thought that maybe it's the case of the "being faithful to the book" delusion (books are written for different audience and blindly following that is preven recipe for disaster), but no - the book has just 320 pages. You just can't make 13, 26, now 39 ? hours from that - there's no material.

Fist going for 60 instead of 45 min episodes immediately stretches out everything and it's painfully visible. Filler, after filler, after filler. And then 13 episodes per season where you barely have enough for 10 and an insult to injury going for 3 seasons where the material is barely enough for one.

That's the core reason why people perceive the main character as unbelievable, artificial, even stupid. 6 times more minutes than material.

Then the forced "social services" cross "instructional" attempt which just serves to annoy with stupidity and cements the show as a fabrication that doesn't support its own lead character. It's like they wanted to "make something for every (political) segment" and the result is of course one big nothing. It would be semi justifiable if this was an ABC show (the Nielsen terror, always having to dumb down to pander to the lowest 30% segment). But not for a cable and even more for a web streaming show.

To make any sense at all a "suicider story" show has to take totally opposite direction. To vigorously defend it's lead character's right to suicide and a legitimate choice in the given situation - whatever it is. Only then it becomes genuinely controversial and exploding with primal attraction for the audience to see the forbidden fruit.

Even if half of the audience ends up hating the lead, the center holds strong and gives birth to a mythical character. Remember Hedda Gabler? Imagine if Ibsen watered her down to "get twice the text" or "be the advocate for 'social worker acceptable' line". Imagine "politically correct" Dexter?

Otherwise don't take on the subject you don't have the guts and brains to carry. It's not for everyone.

Casting was largely sub par, possibly due to a very low budget. The character named Clay doesn't actually have to look and feel like clay :-) He's supposed to portray very smart but socially awkward guy - not a clad dummy with zero facial expressivity. Camera, camera. camera - need actors that camera likes and reads - camera is the audience. Lead actress, occasionally a glimpse but it's more the camera, directors and editing breaking their backs.

Interesting thing though, two young black actresses came from the background and stole every single scene they had - Alisha Boe and Ajiona Alexus. Probably because no one was paying attention to tell them to stop since the "star" is vanishing :-)) If the show wasn't with cemented "progression", even semi competent writing teams start writing for such actors on their own - just because it's fun and rewarding to make things for for someone who can do more.

Das Boot (2018– )

Drei Boote Gesunken Einz Vermisst :-)

[4 January 2019]

Or, pardon my Franco-Deutsch, ein pathétique scheisse mit merde (pun intended).

The "quality" of this nonsense is on the level of a 50 years old Yugoslav "partisan" movie. A colossal pile of stereotypes that belong to 1955 but are released in 1958 due to the equipment shortages :-)

Even the mere technical level is amateurish, starting with a tinfoil shining long shot of the U-Boot. To hard to compare the original? Screenshots don't cost money :-)

And then the whole "all devil Germans, all angel partizans" (pardon "the resistance") and an insult to injury - making female "protagonist" a stupid lesbian who betrays her country for "a kiss" from, guess who, a Jewish lesbian. Surprize, surprize :-)))

Seriously ??

There was actually a 1974 Yugoslav TV show with "bad Germans" that was three orders of magnitude better than this. Because it had a sense of humor, and "the resistance" wasn't "all angels" and Germans were only "mostly bad" so the audience got an occasional German or "bourgeoisie" character to root for. The production team is probably dead by now but these guys could have paid some people close to that generation of filmmakers to teach them how are these kinds of things done well.

I can bet that even Kusturica (he's much younger) would turn this into something that at least wouldn't be ashamed of the original it abused. Wolfgang Petersen is still alive.

What made the real "Das Boot" a legend was exactly that it said loud and clear NYET to traditional chablonic portrayals of "monster" and/or "clinically insane" German soldiers and gave us real, living and breathing, human beings. That's what allowed it to convey the whole atmosphere, the fear, desperation and ability to overcome the impossible. Being subversive is exactly what allowed it to become instant legend.

And now someone "smart" decided to tarnish the name of the legend with a 60+ years outdated pileup of "politically correct" lunacy.

Bravo, should get a special Oscar for the most ridiculous waste of celluloid. At least it's just disk space now - easy to delete.

Dynasty (2017–2022)

Ha ha ha ha ha - this would be a joke it it wasn't so sad

[30 October 2018]

So, I finally got around to seing the first episode of this sh.. pardon something :-) and do you know how long did it last on my screen? About 20 m out 42. That's it. I saw maybe 10 episodes total of the original and all I can say is that the original cast looks like a Shakespeare company compared to these dilettants.

I guess one has to see something like this to appreciate (albeit in hindsight) how good Aaron Spelling actually was.

I can't even imagine Fallon being fat on cam, Crystal being a stip mall hooker and Steven being an obvious idiot and that's what this "reboot" served. I knew that CW was a cheap house, but THIS cheap? No way. They did occasionally score a thing or two worth remembering and/or seeing latter but that was apparently with some very different people at the helm.

Who's going to be Alexis? Roseanne Barr ? :-))))))))))))))

Black Box (2014)

My my my - canceling this explains all mental problems ABC has - collectively :-)

[13 October 2018]

Seriously, to cancel a thing like this requires progressively degrading IQ over decades and spread all over the "organization" - if there's any left by this time :-))

What a loss, what a stupidity of proverbial "brass".

Yes it is intense and challenging for the "Dancing with the Stars" crowd - that's what art does.

Soooo ABC is not so stupid and boring because they had a bad luck - it's because they chose to be that way. No use saying anything more, but this does explain the whole history that gave them so bad name that these days it's the ultimate embarrassment if someone's show can't get anyone but ABC to air it.

Absentia (2017–2020)

Ha

[30 September 2018]

OK, so it's a bit silly to try to explain something to people who can't understand anything.

For those who do - this is first and foremost the actor's. This is what good actors do when no one stands in their way. They create a universe out of a thin air.

Reminds me of "The OA" (pronounced "away" - now you know it :-). This was just a tad bit shy of going into surreal/Sci-Fi zone. So OK they need to give Brit Marling a gig to nudge them to cross that Rubicon - just for a hairline :-) For example Emily doesn't have to exactly survive the "water box" in a literal way.

It's just silly to see some specimens protesting that it's "not American enough". Thank goodness it's not :-) It's not a stupid Marlowe soap/procedural/fake-everything. It shakes the Earth and who's afraid of the tremor can go watch stupid "Take Two".

Speaking about the good European angle - remember "Forbrydelsen" and how one stupid, ahem, specimen :-) tried "Americanized adaptation" and delivered infuriating flop? The original was taking 2 years per season, a thing that no US channel/"network" is willing to pay for - yet ("The OA" is following exactly in these footsteps).

So "dear network" - just give these folks a decent budget and the freedom/nudge to cross certain lines and the rest will be history - as the future will remember it :-)

Reverie (2018)

Can't mix Sci-Fi and melodrama - by definition

[3 September 2018]

I know that Spielberg signed his name under this and I can't hold it against him, who's going to produce Sci-Fi if he won't? But when he signs his name he also needs to exercise some actual creative control, slap that stupid guy and send him back to do a rewrite instead of being an absentee landlord. He made the same mistake with that nonsense show in which dinos "liked to eat nickel" by a "great mind" of that Braga creature.

Sci-Fi is a genre of ideas, genre for smart people. Melodrama is genre for stupid people to wipe their tears on stupid "oh so emmo" concoctions. They don't live in the same universe and if you mix that you lose all audience. Melodrama lovers can't understand even a single word of Sci-Fi and Sci-Fi lovers puke when they see sappy "designs". Every character has a "sad backstory" which stinks on PVC and formaldehyde beyond endurance and destroys what could have been a decent average show.

In this show every episode is a steaming pile of sap concoctions. What was supposed to be the Sci-Fi "part" was spent in 16 min of the 1st episode, 8 of the 2nd, 4 of the 3rd 2 of the 4th, 1 of the 5th. Then it flatlined but didn't awake as The OA :-)))

Seriously, if he wants to do something really good he needs to stand behind a show like "The OA". I'm sure Brit Marling wouldn't have refused extra budget :-) and a better distribution channel and he'd have something he'd be proud to show around instead of having to hide his name (literally in this case).

The sole bright spot of this show is Sarah Shahi. She's in that class that can make a wooden pole look alive at the other side of the frame but she can't revive brainded scripts - even gods have their limits :-))

So, Steve, be nice, next time, give Brit this budget and you can ask Sarah to join her latter :-) At least she'll get to practice some good non-verbal acting and to learn text that is worth something.

The Last Tycoon (2016–2017)

Cheapest production of the season ?

[2 September 2018]

I always knew that Amazon was a cheapskate but to be THIS cheap ?? They must have given production team their door desks and told them to bring their own sodas :-))))

As a concept this had potential to become "Mad Men 2". And then what happened?

Catastrophic writing where you can literally see how and where they are missing ideas staring them in their faces (this happens only when the writing team is totally incompetent or depressed and no one cares about anything - because they are working for a dime per hour).

Fitzgerald was turning in his grave day and night when he saw what they did with his novel. They had to call Hope to put him back to rest :-) Not kidding you - she is on the cast list :-))

3rd league of actors. Makes you cringe how obviously artificial their "acting" is. Not a single pretty actress on screen ??

I see Bailey Noble on the cast list but where's she on screen? Did they put a sack on her face to hide her so that her face doesn't eclipse "stars" ?

I see Danielle Rose Russell on the list but where is she? Saw her face like like 3 times 5 sec each. How stupid do you have to be to have the one and only "Hope Mikaelson" an not rewrite the script to push her to the first plane to light up the screen?

I see now, HBO wanted to do this but when they saw Billy Ray's catastrophe of the script they ran for cover and then he sold it to Amazon for peanuts and to add insult to injury went to direct as well.

Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

"Mia" didn't need this nonsense on her resume

[27 August 2018]

Seriously, I understand that the money was probably good but you just can't take something as stupid as this after iconic Mia. You just can't. This is one of these flicks that are so devoid of any substance that you can't even criticise them since there's nothing to write about.

Hope her other projects end up being worth something. Or maybe "Humans" were just one random lucky strike in her lifetime?

The Greatest Showman (2017)

What a waste of celluloid, padon disk space

[26 August 2018]

Sooo producers started paying bots to post early praises by the pound ? Seriously ? :-))))) The "industry" has gotten THAT desperate ???? I had to sort by time since "most helpful" reviews looked so ridiculous. And then everything became clear.

Musicals are usually stupid, pretty much by definition, but the genre manages do produce something good once in a decade. Needless to say that this thing is not in that group. One shouldn't expect anything from a flick that Zac Efron is attached to anyway. And that girl named "Zendaya" ?? They should do cartoons with them - to save on ink and labor for frame drawing :-)

Hugh Jackman apparently got a water running through his ears after "Les Misérables" and "conveniently forgot" that Anne Hathaway actually carried that one on her back, together with several equally brilliant actors, and that he was really not much more that a furniture there. Or should we say mise en scène ? :-)

Thank god for for the skip button.

The OA (2016–2019)

This IS Earth shattering but you have to see "I Origins" first - yes you do :-)

[26 August 2018]

Don't ask for explanations, don't as for rationalizations - just watch it in that order (if you can, if you can't you''l have to back-imagine a bit) and you'll see. Not going to say anything more - you've been warned ;-)))

Apart from that - hats down to Brit Marling for what she did here and whoever doesn't understand, what can I say, watch for that Angel Hunter approaching while you are not watching - you've been warned :-)))

Which brings me to the HUGE kudos to Jason Isaacs, but it's kind of expected from the cap'tain Lorca and the one who is Awake :-) Whoever hasn't watched that - go back and do it. You have to follow breadcrumbs left by people who can pull off that kind of stuff and I don't have to tell you anything - the second you see it you'll grasp iot.

Comet (2014)

Ha it's not a movie - it's a painting guys - honest :-)

[24 August 2018]

But you'' have to watch it carefully to understand this.

This is actually a conceptual flick, meaning that all classifications attached are ridiculous. It is a kind of romance but it's not comedy, not drama, not Sci-Fi (even though you do see interlaced timelines - they are not :-).

Catch the moment in which female lead professes her hatred for "time based art" (meaning flicks - because you are confined to following the time) and claims that painting is the real art because you see everything at the same time and you look at it for whatever short or long period of time you want - which makes it timeless.

Well this whole flick is doing (OK trying) exactly that for you. It doesn't let you latch to a time progression. Forces you to accept all moment of that cupple's history as happening at the same time in front of you - transposing the time into (timeless) painting.

That's why it doesn't matter that female lead is not really beautiful on screen, despite the male lead repeating N times that she is, and it doesn't matter that male lead is a nutcase and it doesn't matter that neither can act to save their lives if they had to. They are just brush strokes on a canvas painted by director. No one cares that "Mademoiselles from Avignon" are ugly - because they are just "cubes" in Picasso's painting.

And OK production didn't have money to pay actually beautiful actress :-) but we are not going to split hair in front of a painting, are we? Although it would have been a masterpiece if they did have more money and better cast (and would go into legend right next to "Marienbad").

The only problem is that director did succumb to the dictate of "time" and even "formula" by the end and made a linear "finale" ruining the concept to a degree.

But it did remain timeless to a significant degree. If you want to check this claim watch it again. Unlike all story/time-progression flicks that turn boring once you "know the plot and what happened at the end" this one doesn't - because it is a painting and all these moments happen at equally same instant - it just takes you time to grasp them all :-) Would work great as a playlist with bookmarks for all jumps. Then you could create your own path.

Kim loved this flick, and yes that is a bit too meta statement for the linear notion of things :-) but it is what it is. This flick wasn't made for you and me - it was made for Kim. Don't believe it? Check out director's page - personal section :-) Wellcome to twilight zone :-)))

Terminator Genisys (2015)

Hopefully this is going to be the last one - ever

[23 August 2018]

There's no reason to give "Terminator" series any respect at all but it kind of grows on you and you make your peace with nonsense. And then this piece of gosa comes along.

No you can't "reboot" Sarah Connor with a different face, Maybe you could with a young and completely unknown actress but you can't turn Daenerys into Sarah Connor - unless she's going to flash her tits and sit on an ape - up, down, up, down, up, down :-)))))

Doing something so stupid is enough to just hit the stop button and say goodby. Whatever miniscule credit prior episodes somehow managed to gather, this one just flushed down the toilet. Good riddance.

Endeavour (2012–2023)

What kind of stupid nonsense is this ??

[19 August 2018]

5 years "in production" with the "whole" 4 episodes per season ?? Yeah right.

And it's a stupid "crime show". Normal productions crank out 13-25 episodes per season since it's all just regurgitating someone else's material from 8-10-20-50 years ago. So what's the whole pretense about? Someone imagining they are going to Cannes with a copy&paste job ? Seriously ?????

And the screeching stupid "name" of the "lead" - "Endeavour" ? What's this ? A show for imbeciles, pardon my French :-)

If there was an Emmy for the laziest production this one would win it for sure :-)))))))))))))))

400 Days (2015)

When you see "Matt Osterman" just skip it

[18 August 2018]

This one is sooooo stupid - like an e-mail spammer offering you "fantastic job" carrying manure in supremely orban Back Water Oklahoma, last post office Lower Wasteland.

Thank God for fast forward, but even that didn't help. Whoever paid for this pile of gosa needs to get a life sentence for crimes against humanity. Not kidding at all. This was colossal insult not just for the genre but for the cinematography as a notion and the hard drive space wasted to hold their "material".

There needs to be a warning flag on IMDb to let people know what to skip.

Time Trap (2017)

This one is good, good, good - seriously

[17 August 2018]

What a surprising little gem hiding in the shadows.

BTW the "spoiler" at the top of the page is really not. It's just the premise that you do need to know in order to start watching at all.

It's hard to explain how and why is this flick so good. Everything is done with good measure, no attempts at "bigger than live" moves/effect and that's what actually keeps you inside the story and never. ever snaps you out. So you get used to things but nothing ever gets boring. Everything progresses just the way it should and with the perfect pacing. Maybe that's the key concept here - perfect pacing. Soooo many flicks shoot themselves in the foot by not knowing how to do it.

You start actually "reading" the story it and the ending is perfectly logical :-) But only if you don't fast forward through it. If you jump then everything is going to crazy and you will walk away.

Now I'm searching around to see what else have these people done. It can't be just one :-) It can't be that this was just a one time lucky coincidence. Just about everyone knew exactly what they are doing and how they need to do it.

Stargate Origins (2018)

David vs Goliath

[8 August 2018]

Who will win ? Can 11min episode stand against say 40 ? I'll tell you in 40 min :-)

Or maybe not - coz, just like most other TV show, this managed to get boring an hard to endure (who's watching :-) "mid season". So it's really the "number" that decides ? No matter how much, or little, material they have to write - half the way they will become unbearable :-)

I believe most of these 1-s just couldn't bear to continue past that cringing point. Well, I'll try - even is just to tell you what's on the other side :-) And what the hell is that Mercedes at the end of every "episode"? I want Tesla :-)))

It does have a number of magic moment in the final 20% - just like any other show.

But the "finale" was just plain stupid. Yas I do know that they had to fit into the past "mythology" but MGM is a dying company that couldn't pay more than 5% or normal production costs so I think it's fair to say that "someone" should have been brave enough to try a reboot. There would be another company to pitch in. There always is if there's something remotely worth saving.

And no more that Mercedes - OK ? Read my lips - Tesla - T e s l a - you know what I mean :-)

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018)

Might be the last Lily James flick worth watching

[5 August 2018]

The one who did deliver earth-shattering performance, albeit as a miniature, was Jessica Brown Findlay. She didn't need any hand-holding. Took what little she was given and ran with it. Now it becomes clear why was she so afraid of Downton Abbey and wanted early exit. She used similar "method" there - took whatever little was given and turned it into something substantial on hew own. She was probably not given anything further to work with which was a red flag indeed. Now I wish someone would put her Ophelia somewhere on-line.

Lily James wasn't anything close to it, just a sketch of what she can, or could have done. After that horror named "Mamma Mia" I don't have much hope left but I hope I'm wrong and that she was terribly sick while ding that "other thing". But she will have to get back to top shape, both physically and mentally very fast.

Decent, watchable flick, albeit sinking into ridiculous "designer romantic" ending. Director doing much more than the lead, but showing what she can do with good guidance and decent light and photography. Unfortunately all that is gone after that other thing and no one can have the faintest idea whether that's reversible or is she going to remain the premature 50 that no one dares to do a close-up with anymore. It could also be that Lily James tends to fall for chick-lit-ish content.

A warning for people reading this - if you haven't seen that other thing - just don't :-) It will haunt you like an early childhood trauma for years. Keep your eyes closed, pray hard and wait the next year - might help :-))

Oh and another great miniature, by that redhead chick called Isola :-) I kept staring at her, sure that I saw that face before but I just couldn't place it anywhere. Because she looked much younger here. We know her as the matriarch from "Humans". They should have let Mia do a cameo - that would be something :-)

Killjoys: Johnny Dangerously (2018) Season 4, Episode 2

Just a little salute to Mayko Nguyen's performance, OK and McCormack's :-)

[30 July 2018]

Being one of those who puked over Seyah's "character" last season I just have to say - whoever she had to kill in "production" to get her character progress into a genuine bad-ass (instead of a sick in her head from S03) it was a bullet well spent and I hope she used the second to "stamp" that thick skull - OK and the 3rd just to confirm the 2nd :-))))

Seriously - why did she have to wait the whole season to show that she can do in ~10 sec what many other's can't so in 2 years - be a funny and ass-kicking bad-ass at the same time ?

Forget "Anela" (one Hannah is perfectly good for us - as long as she doesn't get Ghosty [don't even think about stealing that one - 2 parties are going to sue you :-) ] :-) Just give Seyah enough rounds (and keep her on the good side of the world).

Oh and kudos to Kelly McCormack for a perfect "Hollywood ugly" with a geek flavor. She might be the next Elisabeth Moss - except that Moss can't do the geek angle if her life depended on it (her final reach is a typist and a handmaid :-), sorry but true ).

Zoe (I) (2018)

True masterpiece

[29 July 2018]

I've opened this flick with trepidation since mixing genres with Sci-Fi is by and large means disaster or pretense (huge number of westerns, masquerading as SciFi - a piece with shooting and singing - you know hat I mean :-)

But this one is not just totally real, it's superior. Asimov and his "I Robot" are little kids compared to this and yes supreme philosophical dilemmas do need the "romance" aspect to drive the point. "What is human" can't be answered without answering "what is love for a human". Forget "3 laws". Loving a woman is our biological prime directive - the only way to continue our species. Can you transcend it ?

Sci-Fi is the genre of ideas, not "action", horror (the porn of the gore), "characters" etc. - ideas. And this flick is the quintessential ideas movie.

It manages to drive the timeless "what is human" on the ultimate personal level. Remember the Diogenes mocking Plato by bringing a plucked chicken and yelling first "Ecce Homo" (before the term was invented :-) because the bozo defined human as a "featherless biped"? Well both would go "beeeee" in front of dilemma this film manages to pose in so concrete, human form. So romance movies do have a purpose - occasionally :-)

Now if only "distinguished members" of "the Academy" could stop sniffing anuses and jerking off on LGBT crap and start growing some brains they just might realize how much shame will they bring on themselves buy not even seeing, let alone understanding this film. And the core of this philosophical debate will be very real and burning in about 100 years.

On the down side, this flick lacks the budget and much better casting. Yes I do know why, in theory, plain looking female lead "worked for the story" in order to "create bigger surprise" but it really didn't. This is a philosophical flick, it doesn't live by "surprises" (which get spent in an instant anyway) and lead actress has to be able to capture the audience in the first frame - or she's not the lead.

Proverbial "Jane Eyre" fixations are self-destructive. I still remember how crazy "book fans" disparaged Ruth Wilson for not being "plain by the book" while delivering the best Jane Eyre - ever.

It's called "knowing your trade". So OK, you can't have "Mia", but "Humans" didn't get Mia from Santa Claus either. They worked hard to find an unknown actress who does capture the audience from the first frame. That would have easily made enough difference to get at least an art-house release after Tribeca.

Salute to Amazon for supporting it but this has to go to actual, physical, theaters, and if they really, really don't know "why", they are in the wrong business.

Baby Driver (2017)

Now this is a good thriller with good acting

[26 July 2018]

I had a laugh reading how some people wrote stuff as this was advertised as a Cannes winner or something.

It's a thriller with good driving sequences. Sub-genre that has it's rules.

That keeps it way ahead of the usual pack is acting. At least 4 actors created great miniatures that the'll be proud to mention even in 10 years.

This is why I'm so sorry that Lily James allowed herself to be attached to that stain named "Mamma Mia". This is the caliber that she can actually do. Given the good director who knows his light sculpting (watch her face, compare to "Mamma Mia" - huge difference).

Jon Hamm also good, as expected, Ansel Elgort, interesting surprise (for people not in the know it takes a lot of discipline and skill to do that kind of frozen face, but steaming and ready to explode), even Kevin Spacey was good (I don't expect anything from him, ever :-) and Jamie Foxx had his on bats-crazy sub-show (proving that that Oscar wasn't political).

The "problem" this flick has is that it is ensemble piece and they never get Oscars since they can't have distinctive "stars' by definition and Academy keeps stubbornly refusing to add ensemble award.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018)

Worst flick of the year - period

[25 July 2018]

Lilly James didn't need this kind of blunder.

Even if we forget totally stupid "story" (on the grounds that it's a summer flick so a story is not on the checklist) everything else is even worse.

Amateur hour direction, "choreographer" form the 1st grade elementary? No, kindergarten. At lest that's the aspect that can be designed and rehearsed.

Singing - can't say who is worst. Like someone made a bet how many eardrums he can rupture. If that is the actual singing voice of Lilly James then the should never ever try again. But I think that it's not. Listen carefully - it's a single tone like from an arcade game. No harmonics/timbre. It physically hurts your ears => auto-tune, triple run by someone on double crack overdose, or meth, or both :-)

Two old ladies "singing" and "dancing" == dread queen "experience".

Imagine if they hired Agnetha & Anni-Frid to do it instead, even just an homage ? They'd kill them all even in their late 60-s at there would be at least twice the audience since it would be genuine historic event. But then they'd be in danger that they's sing everything :-)

This is internet age - we have all their songs on 2 clicks on YT and we still remember how Agnetha & Anni-Frid sound and whit what kind of finesse they deliver.

This colossal failure is actually the strongest argument ever for dubbing singing voices. Something that "old Hollywood" knew how to execute to perfection.

Imagine when Cher ends up being the best singer and looking the best in comparison (despite all that Botox) and Amanda Seyfried starts sounding OK.

Camera/light design - was anyone even doing this of they gave a VHS to a janitor? How on earth did they manage to make Lilly James look fat in her face ??? The magical Lilly James from "Downton Abbey" and the best "Cinderella" ever? On what kinds of drugs one has to be to screw it THAT MUCH ????

You'd have to keep her in a torture chamber and sleepless for 3 days to get the "result" (swollen face) we saw. Oh wait, you don't, you just need totally incompetent light, photography and "direction". If they asked any passer by he'd do it better - because he'd put in a effort !!

Don't know what else to say - just want to forget this as fast as I can. IMDb needs to introduce negative votes.

I don't know if IMDb "survives" YT links, but if it does you just have to see this - young girl who intuitively understands the importance of harmonics/timbre. She's not autotune "perefct" but you just can't stop "thinking about these angel eyes" :-) To play it safe, just add watch?v=jOl3dgPuX-Q to base YT URL and you'll be there :-) Or search for "ANGELEYES I ABBA I Annelie".

So how comes that "venerable production" couldn't do something so simple? Because they couldn't care less - that's the alpha and omega of this failure.