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wooingscotsman
Reviews
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022)
Have you ever heard the tragedy of Darth Alfred the Weird?
Epic. Moving. And 100% true.
I've met with Al and hung out with Al and his band. Granted, that started in the mid-90's and according to this he didn't make it out of the 80's but... still 100% true to the spirit of Al. From his humble beginnings as a counter-cultural revolutionary to his historic rise to the top of every music summit that exists, this film captures all of the essential moments that made Al the Weirdest motherf×@%er this planet has ever seen.
However... if I may, the reason I couldn't give this film 10 stars was because of the hack actor who was playing the record executive who turned down Al early on. Not sure where they found that schmoe but he brings the film down an entire two stars. I'm sure he's somebody's uncle or something but, wooooof, there is a bare minimum of talent required to be in a film this epic, no need for pointless cameos by talentless scrubs.
Never Surrender: A Galaxy Quest Documentary (2019)
A perfect documentary for a perfect film
First off.. Just watched this on amazon prime in April of 2020 and I did NOT hear any of the audio mixing issues other reviewers have repeatedly mentioned (I'm a professional editor by trade, so it's the kind of thing I would have picked up on for sure), so I'm thinking that the filmmakers have gone back and corrected those issues prior to the streaming release.
With that out of the way... This is really a fantastic documentary of a great film. Well-representative of everyone from the cast to the fans, cut in a way that both gives everyone a voice but also tells the story of how the film grew from a seed of an idea to a cult classic. Hilarious, heartwarming, wry and informative, absolutely worth 90 minutes of your time.
The Grinch (2018)
My time was wasted, Mr. Grinch
Listen, Christmas is the one time of year where I'll completely go in for sappy, heart-felt films that appeal to our inner child and better nature. But... This film is utter garbage. Watered down, it's like someone saw the original Grinch once and then decided to make it a longer screenplay... after they suffered severe brain trauma and spent 10 years in a coma and forgot the best moments of the OG.
There was so little character development to this Grinch... He was never diabolical, creepy, or malicious, he was just sad and lonely but really deep down a pretty nice guy who, with the exception of not letting his dog sleep in the bed with him, just needed some friends. He didn't transform with realization when his plan was foiled, it was more like his heart grew... I dunno, maybe 10% instead of three-sizes that fateful day.
The changes in Cindy Loo-Who and her motivations weren't bad at all and could have made for a solid approach in the hands of a better writer, and even could have made this film watchable, but the butchering of the Grinch himself is flat-out unforgivable. Worst of all, though, were the lack of the traditional Grinch song (save for a remix that sorta maybe kinda paid tribute to it) and some of the most memorable lines from the classic book. "It came without packages, boxes and bags?" Not in this version!