jbaronde Reviews

A Whale for the Killing (1981 TV Movie)

Good TV movie about local rednecks (me) trying to shoot a stranded humpback whale with "city folk, strangers" getting' in the way.

[5/10 · 27 February 2011]

Barely remember this and uncertain if it is exactly the movie I am thinking of. There is a humpback whale stuck in a bay because of current low tides but there was high tides when the whale went into the bay. When discovered by locals in small, harbor town, some of the gun nuts or hunters want to go shoot it as it would be pretty awesome to say you shot a whale in the bay near your town. Think of THAT head on your mantle!! Some non-locals who happen to be there for some reason....I think it was they were ship wrecked, step in, reluctantly, to stop them from shooting the whale and try to get the whale back into the ocean. I don't remember how it ended or what happened but there is some good drama btw the redneck hunters and the visiting "whale savers".

I was a young kid when I saw this and later got a high fever up to 105-106 F from some virus or hot summer heat. I started hallucinating and starting picturing this movie happening in the window of my bedroom and was freaked out about how we could fit all the fish and whale in my bedroom. My mother was very worried about me and thought I was possessed by the devil because once during this illness i apparently turned and told her "Mom, I hate God!" Well, a few days later on the way to the doctor and sitting in front of an air conditioner, my fever broke and I was fine. I only remember the hallucinations about the fish and this movie. It took me forever to remember what the name of the movie was and thanks to IMDb.com I believe this is it.

I am a hunter and enjoy guns, but am not a fan of killing endangered species and don't condone shooting humpback whales in your local harbor just because you can. My earlier comments were satirical and tongue-in-cheek. It is possible to enjoy guns without being ridiculous about it...but then you don't get to be on TV or the NRA because they only accept crazies and those good for TV ratings. Common sense and reason aren't good for TV ratings.

Anyhow, wish I could find a copy of this movie so I could watch it again.

Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

Awesome, different, funny

[10/10 · 1 August 2004]

I just heard about this on the news one day and popped into to see it in the theater. All that I knew was that it was about a dork in high school. I think the best way to watch movies is to go in without an idea or what it should be. Otherwise, you tend to think it sucks when it doesn't turn out the way you expected, even though it may have been great.

I loved this movie. Some people said it looked depressing. It was not, unless you consider Idaho depressing, which is a different topic. Actually the setting made me think of home, South Dakota, so don't be offended Idaho.

This movie has a bunch of hilarious or quirky, random scenes that just happen for no particular reason until you get to the end. There isn't much of a plot. It is more of a story about a dork that is easy to like because he tries to be cool and fails miserably but doesn't care.

You may have to have a different sense of humor to get this one. By that I mean the ability to get things other than what is on shows like Friends or movies like Men in Black.