xoxone Reviews

The Time Traveler's Wife (2022)

Provisional review after 2 episodes

[7/10 · 26 May 2022]

I saw the promo, disliked it, and was pretty sure this was just a poor commercial attempt to franchise a movie that doesn't readily lend itself to franchising. I did not read the book. Due to morbid curiosity and some time on my hands I decided to give it a try.

Yes, the characters are significantly less appealing than those from the movie, but the movie was pretty sweet, almost sacchrine despite some uncomfortable issues of free will and boundaries. What the series is doing, at least so far, is examining some of those issues through the seeming paradoxes of time travel.

This is exploration beyond the movie so I'm finding it interesting. And there is a very funny in-joke when Claire is brushing her toy horse.

Looking forward to where it goes and wondering if the characters ever become less annoying.

Dear Dictator (2017)

Enjoyable, not life- changing

[7/10 · 12 February 2020]

Apparently Addario and Syracuse saw Labor Day and thought: " gosh this would make a terrific comedy". It doesn't quite hit the mark, but manages to be enjoyable, highlighted by the fine performances of Rush and Holmes. And yes, they do deliver the necessary transformations.

Dan Soder: Son of a Gary (2019 TV Special)

Diverse, coherent, and funny

[8/10 · 11 January 2020]

I was not familiar with Soder until I saw this on TV, and having seen other HBO stand-up specials, I wasn't expecting too much. I was pleasantly surprised by how real the stories felt, and how well they were woven together. At the end of the show it felt like I had experienced an integrated and organic event, rather than a haphazard mashup of stories and jokes, some of which may have been funny. Mushrooms and edibles did feature in more than one story, but not to the extent that this non stoner could not relate to the underlying truths of the stories.

The Movies (2019)

Great subject, mediocre treatment

[5/10 · 14 December 2019]

Possibly it's a generational thing, but I found the tempo and transitions choppy and frenzied. As an example, in what seems to be the middle of discussing Mel Brooks' genius, they start showing a scene from Dr. Strangelove. This frantic narrative style is repeated throughout the series. The clips are great fun, but there isn't too much to this beyond that.

Banshee (2013–2016)

Fun, just don't overthink it

[7/10 · 27 July 2019]

Generally well executed, lots of action, violence,nudity and sex, with a measure of gratuitous character development and plot. Remember that beautiful, mysterious woman on the bus with the Amber necklace in one episode of House? If, like me, you wanted to see more of her, you can do that in Banshee. A lot more, actually. Turns out she is quite a capable actress. Despite the Timex quality of the villains and heros, the show manages to be enjoyable and interesting, just don't take it too seriously.

Juliet, Naked (2018)

Delightful

[8/10 · 4 June 2019]

From the logline I was expecting something a bit fluffier but I was pleasantly surprised by an intelligent and well crafted movie. Also well acted. Rose Byrne was absolutely captivating in her portrayal of solid, stable Annie realizing that she has been allowing life to pass her by. The two or three second scene of her almost disappearing as she tries on a mail order frumpy dress against the background of the similarly frumpy bathroom wallpaper is piercing, tender and funny. For me, I found it refreshing that the main character is so clearly (to me) wrong about the beauty and value of the less polished performances represented by Juliet naked, and that Tucker's agreement with her on this is actually the first step in forging their bond. This delicious irony reinforced by the movie's title wonderfully illustrates how waiting for supposed perfection as opposed to appreciating pure, honest and, of course, imperfect things fits so well with watching life go by. I could be wrong about the film's intent of course but I hope not.

Dr. T & the Women (2000)

All Altman

[7/10 · 7 March 2019]

Film is collaborative, and I tend to go for the ones where the acting is the most important element. This is not that. While the acting is fine, from start to finish it's all Altman. It's quite politically incorrect and easy to see why a lot of people hated it. I found it honest in telling it's truths and, in a few places, funny enough to laugh out loud.

The Fountain (2006)

Immortality

[3/10 · 14 February 2019]

If you want to live forever, watch all 96 minutes of this movie. You won't actually live forever, but it will feel like it.

Always Shine (2016)

Good hit; no field

[3/10 · 11 February 2019]

The two leads give fine performances in this hopeless mess of a movie.

Mother! (2017)

20 % horror, 30% abstract, 15% absurdist, 5% comedy, the rest self indulgent allegory.

[4/10 · 1 November 2018]

Ok, definitely not a 1 or 2, and surely not an 8, 9 or 10. But, depending on my mood at the time I watched it, I probably could have come down anywhere in between. If you are a stickler for, you know, characters acting more or less like actual human beings, give this a miss. If you adore abstract art, come on down. If, like me, you can very occasionally find something interesting or rarely even moving in an abstract painting, maybe you should see this. If you're in the right mood. It isn't easy to act characters who don't behave like any kind of real human beings; I thought Jennifer Lawrence did a heroic job. Her co star, in my mind, was the soundtrack which supplied punctuation to every moment. I'm not really sure if the soundtrack was brilliant or not; normally on a first viewing I don't expect to be hyper aware of the soundtrack throughout the movie, but it certainly had a strong effect. Perhaps the soundtrack took a workshop with Chubbuck, "The Power of the Soundtrack". The movie is not about people, it is about themes (I think): presumably various religious mythologies, mostly Christian, sustainability, humanity,stuff like that. A lot of the filming is aesthetically interesting, in and of itself. For me there were two LOL scenes, one was the "MEDIC!" scene, and the other I won't mention because it's way too dark. Not brilliant humor, but hysterical releases against the unsustained Rosemary's Baby atmosphere. Not sure if they were intended to be funny, but I sure laughed. So, all in all, I'm glad I saw it but no, not a great film. Maybe I'll feel differently in a decade or two, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

Tin Star (2017–2020)

Strong women, weak plot

[6/10 · 24 September 2018]

Who says there aren't a lot of roles for strong women characters? This series is full of them. A stunning performance by Genevieve O'Reilly makes her complex and heroic character believable, at least up until the scripts of the final episodes drive it over the top. Relative newcomer Abigail Lawrie is very impressive as the daughter. Christina Hendricks is magnetic, of course, and mostly believable until the ridiculous final episodes. Even the smaller role of deputy is well filled by Sarah Podemski. The men are a bit less impressive, both as characters and actors. Tim Roth is fine, most of the heavies are adequate for cannon fodder, but Christopher Heyerdahl really has no chance to breath life into the Dr. Evil villain. I don't regret the time I spend watching; there were quite a few deeply resonating interactions between characters that felt true. Unfortunately, the chef always seemed to find a way to knock over the pot holding the fragrant, quality ingredients at the last minute.