klv17 Reviews

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

Only Too Long If You Have A Short Attention Span

[8/10 · 16 January 2024]

This was a hard watch. The subject matter was sad and it exposed the dark underbelly of human nature. As grim as this film was at times, the real victims went through this misery a thousand-fold.

I love the fact that this film gave the Osage the time and the humanity that has been long overdue. The characters were fleshed out and real. They left me feeling in many ways like I wish I could have known them better. With a story like this one, they could have had a multiple part series, and still, there wouldn't be enough time to tell the story.

It's always the everyday citizens who watch, but don't see. They allow things like this to happen. It is the common thread for human atrocities. This story is another reminder.

The Woman King (2022)

Cut From the Same Cloth As Braveheart, Gladiator, King Arthur, Etc.

[7/10 · 4 September 2023]

It's a familiar historical theme.

History gets stretched. Drama a bit overdone.

Some parts added that could have been left out, as well as some facts that I wish they touched on more.

It was still a cool journey to take.

I felt like they could have done a better job fleshing out the characters of both the heroes and the villains. For such a long film they really could have done a better job of giving the characters more life.

I wish IMDB allowed for half stars, because it's a 6.5.

I do have a feeling that I will be rewatching it and enjoying the journey again. Much as I do with many films like this one.

Ghost Whisperer (2005–2010)

Terrible All Around

[2/10 · 23 April 2011]

I love great sci-fi/occult, fantasy etc. My favorite show of all time is the original Twilight Zone. I am not just a hater.

I really tried to enjoy this show & find some redeeming quality.

This is just a bad show. I don't pay any attention to the whole celebrity thing so I had only seen JLH in passing. In photos online where she was modeling etc.. She is a god-awful actress.

Awful acting all around. So bad in some areas I thought I was watching a parody of bad acting.

Perhaps the standards for acting have dropped very low because of the saturation of channels & it seems they all want to pump out some original show that defines them. This is why I avoid these shows like the plague.

I thought because of how long this show has been on & the following & because of the interesting subject matter it would be decent.

I was wrong.

A Flintstones Christmas Carol (1994 TV Movie)

Not Bad Not Great "Right In-Between"

[5/10 · 25 December 2010]

This is on Boomerang now as I write the review.

I still have a hard time getting past the new voices, so that could be a part of it for me. They just aren't the same without the classic voice actors.

The animation is actually quite nice. The new voice actors do a good job even though I am so used to the classic ones. They hold true to the story with a fun back-story.

It's a cute re-tell, but is one that I wouldn't miss if I never saw it. If this is on & there isn't much else worth watching then have a go at it.

The Pacific (2010)

Dark, Haunting, Gritty, Detached, Frenzied, & Psychological

[9/10 · 9 November 2010]

Very much the polar opposite of Band Of Brothers. This is equally amazing from a different approach of story-telling.

This mini-series at times is very hard to watch, but you are compelled. It grabs & tears at your insides in ways that compare to nothing I have ever viewed on a screen.

The 2 words that come to mind first are courage & perseverance.

Dark - The sense of impending doom. The film-makers captured this essence to perfection.

Haunting - The visions which must be seen to fully understand the terrors that were WW2. Again as you watch & the series progresses, the reality of these horrors cut you to your very core, & you carry the weight of them long after the episode.

Gritty - There was no going back, & environment of the battles were shot with a realism that brings you face to face with the enemy on his soil.

Detached - 24 hours a day for weeks without an end in sight surrounded by death brings men to places where there can be no attachment to anything but the weapon in their hands that keeps them alive. This detachment is what some complain about regarding the series. However this had to be to accurately portray the Pacific battles.

Frenzied - I will put it this way. There are scenes in the series that make every hair on your body stand on edge, & bring cold chills. As the Marines push forward & none can predict what is coming, or from where.

Psychological - The series through all of the above really drives this point home. It was a different era though, so this is not done in an over-stated way like you see with the later Vietnam movies, like The Deer Hunter or Apocalypse Now.

Do yourself a favor & watch the series. Put Band Of Brothers as far from your mind as you can. Then soak in this series for it's own merits.

##Negative Side##

My only issue with the series was that it was too short. There really needed to be a part 2 for the Iwojima episode. There were a few other loose ties that cold have been better sewn together for each with another 10 minutes added to each episode as well.

However they had to stay within the hour so it is understandable that editing had to be.

Dragon Ball (1995–2003)

So Much Better than Z, & Yet No Love

[10/10 · 8 January 2009]

There are no fights with people staring at each other for an entire episode, & 10 minutes turns into half of a saga as in the last half of the Frieza series. nor are there any ridiculous power levels.. No huge inaccuracies in the plot-lines, & lame filler that has you scratching your head.

Since when was Mercenary Tao a General? Since when did Dr. Gero lead the red ribbon army? He didn't.. It was Commander Red. Goku never met Dr.Gero, because he never existed.

I think the whole power level thing is great for video games, but makes for a "yaaawn" of a series.

Dragonball is actually believable, but fantastical all at once. You are never sitting & waiting & waiting for what you know is going to happen, because you simply don't know.

Always new characters, adventures, & twists in the stories that actually make for a fun series. Awesome humor, & magical places. Tests of strength & purity of character, & friendships built on realistic type events.

You see how Goku wins over the most evil of hearts & minds, From Yamacha, to Tien to Piccolo. All the characters are involved & help to solve the crisis at hand.

Do yourself a big favor if you're a fan of Goku & the crew, & make sure you watch this series from the very beginning. Don't just pick it up in the middle from seeing one episode & say yuck!!!

I did exactly that. Then when i saw how god-awful GT was, I decided to start here instead. Was well worth it. It really is so much better than Z hands down..

Dancer in the Dark (2000)

Eeeeeek

[3/10 · 14 June 2007]

Breaking out into song as she dances with a dead man...lol.

I actually love Bjork's music, but this movie was just downright awful.

Bad plot - Bad script - even worse musical numbers..

the only redeeming quality was Bjork's dramatic acting, although even that was over the top & pretentious.

I blame the writers & director more for this fact however..

I believe if given a decent vehicle, she has the ability to really shine.

However this vehicle is more reminiscent of a 1976 AMC Gremlin.

Funky, & strange enough, but with really bad mechanics, & integrity.

I gave it a 3 & not a 1 only because of Bjork's ability to draw me into her world almost by mistake, because she's compelling.

Also her innovative music.

Mind you not the singing, but the wicked palette of music flavor which would've worked for me with a cd release..

Watership Down (1978)

A Great Lesson & Sometimes Lessons Aren't Very Cheery

[9/10 · 19 December 2006]

Firstly i must say in reading some of the reviews of this film not being suitable for young viewers. "Gimme a break.." This is one of the biggest problems with the whole of free society in todays world. People are sickeningly soft. Life is not all about happiness. As a matter of fact, life is more about how one handles the injustices, & disappointments that come within a 24 hour day. "Do we rise above?" or do we cringe & fall in line... These days more than ever, the latter is true. This is why i highly recommend this movie to kids. No not toddlers, because they won't understand it, but kids who can sit & play Grand Theft auto, or an rpg for 10 hours straight, or watch the likes of a marathon of Spongebob Squarepants. "Um - Yes." I won't even get into the story itself, because that's redundant at this point. Just watch this amazing tale, & formulate your own views. Films such as this, with excellent screen writing, & real artistic integrity, allow for the mind to exercise, formulate, expand.. Unlike 99% of the drivel that's 100% computer rendered, pop culture, & sales targeted, predictable, & Pc approved, for fear of losing $$$$. That's the sad thing actually.. Film-makers could care less about the children these days, only the loss of a buck..

Jarhead (2005)

This is the worst war movie in the history of film

[3/10 · 15 March 2006]

Within 15 minutes of watching the mini-series Band Of Brothers, I felt connected to the characters. Within 5 minutes i felt an attachment in Platoon. In the opening scene of whistling troops heading into camp in The Bridge Over The River Kwai, I was hooked.

Even the poorer dramatic war films had me feeling a connection of some sort for the characters.

This film however was one big empty shell of nothingness. It took old clichés from old war movies like for one, Full metal Jacket, turned them into sleeping powder.. Old Sgt.. Ermey couldn't even get into this one.

I do understand what was supposed to be the point of the film. As an example Hamburger Hill had a far more bleak point. It wasn't supposed to be enjoyable, yet it was light years more enjoyable than this film

I've seen just about every war film ever made, foreign & USA made.This is just hands down, without a close second the very worst.

The cinematography & sets were nice, but this is expected in the days of CGI...

Don't waste your time, even when it comes to cable.

The Matrix (1999)

Heavily influenced by manga

[7/10 · 31 January 2004]

Japan is like the shadow of The Matrix, stretching out elusively behind it as a kind of history, more than as a directly illuminating reference such as the obvious nods (should that be bows?) to Hong Kong action movies in the many fight scenes, and the genuflections to Christian themes such as sacrifice and redemption. Nevertheless, like a shadow, things Japanese are responsible for lending a certain depth to the proceedings.

The Matrix series' directors the Wachowski brothers have a pedigree that would perhaps find more widespread respect in Japan than the west. They began their narrative work as comic-book artists, working on Marvel Comics' Ectokid. In Japan, manga are seen as an alternate form of storytelling rather than the poor cousin of the novel, something with which the Wachowskis clearly concur. They are on record as big fans of anime, the animated version of manga, citing in particular their love of SF cult classics Akira (1988) and Ghost in the Shell (1996/98), which both began life as manga. In fact, the online Wikipedia contends that The Matrix contains direct allusions to both films

:Both a scene almost at the end of the movie, where Neo's breathing seems to buckle the fabric of reality in a corridor he is standing in, as well as the "psychic children" scene in the Oracle's waiting room, are evocative of similar scenes from the 1980s anime classic Akira. The title sequence, the rooftop chase scene where an agent breaks a concrete tile on the roof when landing after a jump, the scene late in the movie where a character hides behind a column while pieces of it are blown away by bullets, and a chase scene in a fruit market where shots hit watermelons, are practically identical to shots in another anime science fiction classic, Ghost in the Shell.