Change Your Image
lazlovandor
Reviews
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
A very boring space odissey
I remember having seen this movie a long time ago. The truth is that I didn't remember the details well anymore, except that it was a boring movie that started with some monkeys jumping, there was a noisy computer that ended up killing the crew, and an intriguing ending.
Over the years, especially thanks to the special effects of this film, Stanley Kubrick gained gratuitous fame among conspiracists who deny the manned flights of the Apollo Project. I vaguely remembered the grandeur of those effects, but at the same time I was curious to see them with the critical eyes of the 21st century.
After the film was re-released on HBOMAX, I had the opportunity to read the comments of Steven Spielberg and, above all, James Cameron, who stated that he had seen the film 18 times. Thus, taking advantage of a free night and the possibility of watching it as part of the normal programming, I binged the 2:20 hours that the film lasts, resisting the desire to sleep.
The first "surprise" was a black screen with a hum in the background that made me change the channel to check if it was a device or transmission failure. Finally the activity began with the famous introduction with the actors dressed as hominids.
I am not going to go into details. It is definitely an extremely slow, anachronistic film and does indeed present excellent special effects, its greatest and only merit. However, those who believe that Stanley Kurbick organized the special effects to simulate the United States landing on the Moon, just by watching the film should be convinced that this was not possible, never in the life.
Before finishing the film, you have to watch a boring "psychedelic" show of flashing lights whose purpose only critics will understand, to get to the scene of a newborn baby, without further explanation. The meaning is left to the imagination of the spectators. Possibly those who read the book will have a better understanding of it.
3 points for the special effects.
We Have a Ghost (2023)
So now the CIA is Ghostbuster
After the first half of what could be described as a mildly funny family comedy, the plot becomes entangled with a CIA agent specialized in capturing ghosts. She obviously never had the opportunity to get real ghosts, however she proves to be an expert ghost hunter. She obtains authorization from a CIA director, managing to capture Ernest, with a SWAT team armed with ghostbuster equipment designed by her. It is not explained why the CIA needs a real ghost or how she managed to design a team to hunt ghosts without ever having even seen one. All of that is absolutely confusing but it seems to be in the vein of discrediting the CIA. Finally, the young protagonist discovers that Ernest's problem is to catch his murderer who appears on the scene as a serial killer. The film ends with Ernest's final meeting with his daughter and his very conventional release from ghosting.
While I can understand the frustration of those who qualified with 1 star, I gave it 3 starts, just because I could endure watching the complete boring two hours.
Travelin' Band: Creedence Clearwater Revival at the Royal Albert Hall (2022)
Not a documentary
While Netflix is "selling" this production as a documentary, you get just what they tell you in the title: CCR in the Royal Albert Hall.
So, 10+ for CCR but I'm giving just 5/10 for this production. I expected a DOCUMENTARY
The so called documentary is just some photos and comments about their earliest years and that's ok but not enough.
Some afterwords at the end about CCR will tell you about being by default, after The Beatles were gone, the greatest band by the end of 1971, and that's quiet true. But by 1972 they were gone.
Why they disbanded at the top of their glory? What happened to CCR? Why they disappeared?
What happened to John Fogerty? What happened with Fogerty's creativity? Being the author of most of CCR's biggest hits, he produced only one more or less significant song, The Old Man Down the Road, in 1984, accused by by producer Saul Zaentz being a plagiarism... of his own "Run Through the Jungle"
Probably most of the public doesn't know about his unique case of auto-plagiarism which reached the US Supreme Court.
After he won his case, his main repertory were still his CCR's hits.
Meanwhile the so called documentary covers only their concert. Assigning just 15 minutes to the movie as the epilogue of CCR might have given it the real documentary touch and not just a music video.
L'origine du monde (2020)
When Cannes is not a credit
Long ago I don't give much credit to movies presented in the Cannes Festival and this one only strenghtens my conviction.
Jean Luis and Valerie doesn't seem to have a fully satisfactory marital relationship but I don't know how this is related to the main issue of the movie.
Fellow feels strangely after doing some exercise and.when checks, finds that his heart is not beating, so he calls his friend, a veterinary.
Then accepts his wife's suggestion visiting a witch who declares that he must bring a photo of his 82 years old mother's vagina in 3 days else he'll die. A photo downloaded from Internet won't work.
Rest of the movie is about the intents to make the photo. Hard to tell the limit between funny and grotesque.
Obviously, the justification of the movie is absurd or fantastic but undeniably original. The final has no moral.
I rated it 4/10 because I could watch it till the end without getting asleep, has some funny scenes and ultimately justifies my.subscription to Netflix.
If you might feel uneasy about bad jokes disrespecting 82 year old mothers you might not like the movie.
Interceptor (2022)
Baddy but not the worse
I've seen worse. It entertains for an hour and a half, which is more than many critically-rated movies do. I don't agree with ratings that start by saying it's the worst they've ever seen.
It is definitely full of the typical elements that characterize this type of B class films: the girl expert in military technics and martial arts fighting trained terrorists, fighting even with one hand, taking blows that do not seem to affect her, doing physical exercises worthy of a gymnastics contest, the typical countdowns that arrive at the last second, the bad guys who instead of killing her with a shot start talking, explaining the whole plot until she has the opportunity to escape, etc.
And don't worry about filling holes and inconsistencies. Beginning with, trying to be logical, they never could have made the movie.
The Land of Steady Habits (2018)
Steady habits?
To begin the review, the movie is not a comedy. Doesn't even have a funny minute. Watched it till the end expecting something at least worth a smile, but no way.
It's a rather sad but mostly boring Christmas story. A problematic grown up kid with a problematic family because of the divorce and the more problematic son of their friend with a turtle.
Anders seems to be really good getting his women to bed but couldn't conserve his wife. I didn't really understood until the end why they divorced.
At least he solved the problem of the turtle.
I simply can't understand how someone might qualify this movie over 5. Worth a solid 2 for me.
Wolkenbruchs wunderliche Reise in die Arme einer Schickse (2018)
A Parody of Orthodox Jews
The film can only be classified as a parody. It's obviously funny but it shouldn't be taken seriously at all. Absolutely everything, starting with the character, his family, his environment and his "girlfriends" are exaggerated distortions.
The producers themselves, despite apparently having some knowledge of Jewish traditions, gloss over any number of details that are ultimately not worth discussing in this review, as the film would lose its grace if it tried to conform to Jewish orthodoxy.
The scene in which Moddy yells at his mother and she responds with a slap in the face made me think. In real life, the slap would have turned his head off... but hey, let's remember that this is a parody. A parody of Orthodox Jews.
Senior Year (2022)
Supposed to be funny
Another mediocre highschool movie based on the false idea that someone simply may stand up after being in coma 20 years.
This 40 years old "girl", Rebel Wilson, going back to school sounds funny but all the situation is totally incredible and irreal. She even continues using her cheerleader uniform and graduation dress, after 20 years doing her stunts as before. OK, she lost weigh and looks fine but still she is just too overweighted to be a cheerleader.
Ok to watch on Netflix if you can't find something better.
Daybreak (2019)
Not funny at all!
This series sometimes pretends to be funny but no way! It's just pathetic! Initialy, at the best, it could drive a smile or two, then stops being funny at all. Scenes are too large, lenghtened to justify more episodes. At most, it shouldn't take more than 2 hours, at most, 3 episodes, to resume all the story.
By the way, I find absolutely unnecesary the gay scenes. They don't add anything to the content of the movie except to attract LGBT public.
I'm really not interested in a second season. I gave it 3 stars only because somehow I could watch all the episodes, expecting, uselessly to see some funny scenes, but no luck. So, after watching this 1st season, hopefully will be the last season!
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (2016)
After a good first season, the second starts boring
This one of the few Netflix series I could watch completely, at least the first season. I haven't read the book so I have no parameters to compare. Possibly critics are right when they comment that the book was better. Happens with good books.
In any case, I did find first season quite entertaining.
Take note that this series IS BASED on the book, so they don't pretend to follow the book as it was written.
Dirk Gently somehow reminds me Sheldon Cooper just in his mannerisms, in a funny way..
Bart, the hollistic assassin makes funny her murderous character, even if I never understood why she must kill, why she can't be hurt, where she came from; she states never having gone to a reastaurant to eat, didn't know what a hotel is for etc.
A strange incongruency I didn't understand was how is that gadget working as Time Machine, using electic bulbs and components is invented by somewone in late XIX century. It's not something supernatural it's some unavailable technology for that time. Presumeit's for the original conception of Douglas Adams...
Now I'm watching season 2; after 2 quite boring episodes, I'm not sure if I'll continue watching it So I feel that the termination of the series was quite justified. positive creativity was depleted after season 1 and BBC decided not to give an opportunity for a third, risking an even worst .
EDITED: After I finished watching the complete Season 2, I may say that after episode 4 it is getting less boring but the supernatural is mostly infantil. Actually, the explanation is because all this supernatural world was created by the mind of "the boy". 10 episodes were not enough to fill all the holes of the plot.
I feel that the gay scenes of Season 2 are completely unnecesary and meanless, and more, if we remember after the movie ends, that everything came out from the mind of a kid. By the way, I don't believe that gay content comes from the book by Douglas Adams.
Take out the gay scenes and some "blood" and you get a movie for kids.
Even so, among all the bad series of Netflix, this one is worth to see.
Forbidden Planet (1956)
Star Trek 1956
I saw this movie the first time 58 years ago, back in 1958. I didn't understand most part of the plot because of my lack of English knowledge but I liked it. Now, in 2016, I still like it the and after all that time, I feel it is still enjoyable. My current impression is that definitively, you see its influence in the Star Trek series. After all those years the movie has not lost its "sci-fi" quality, even if the electronic equipment displayed lacks the sophistication of current systems. No explanation is given about how "speed of light" paradox is solved; actually neither Star Trek gives a really convincing theory. Hyper light drive simply works. Well, if you see Rush about F1 races with James Hunt and Niki Lauda no one expects much explanations about car mechanics. So, what we have is a convincing SF movie, with no humanoid monsters running around.
It should be obvious that this spaceship should have no communication problems with base; the explanation is not convincing.
By the way, the most serious technological flaw is the "cookie" character. Does someone seriously may imagine that a hyperlight spaceship from the XXIII century needs a "cook"?
Just funny that Commander Adams solved the mystery that led to the auto destruction of a civilization one million times more advanced than the human.