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Reviews
Unstable (2023)
Witty, intelligent comedy
This was promoted like some type of Elon Musk satire, but that is at most 5% of the theme. This somehow manages to be a fast paced satire of science, philosophy, father/son relationships, dating, landscaping, child rearing and much more.
It truly is intelligently written by intelligent screenwriters. So many satires are severely limited to the screenwriter's pet peeves.
The father/son dynamics are great and also multi-dimensional. I did not realize until looking at IMDB that the actors ARE father and son, as well contributors to the writing.
In many ways this is an incredibly pro-science comedy. Science is presented as cool, exciting, and literally needed to save the world. At the same time (which I will not vouch for some of the blackboard equations) most of the science seems real-the biotech product being worked on by the main characters is certainly real. And the scientist are only a little geeky-not the extreme versions found in most shows.
Mr. Jones (2019)
Powerful Polish/Ukrainian/UK forgotten tragedy
The Ukrainian famine is not a forgetting tragedy, though it is not as well know as it should be. I mean the actions of Gareth Jones in trying to expose it.
Even George Orwell's famed novel inspired by the famine, Animal Farm, was at the time published by only a small vanity press. Orwell is a minor character here, but this is Jones' story.
The Old Guard (2020)
Good movie, cliche corporate villain
The idea of a small band of immoral warriors secretly roaming the earth has been done to death, but this is a generally imaginative, well-done take on the story.
It gets ruined by a juvenile Hollywood take on evil corporations: a big pharma exec who LITERALLY takes joy in 250,000 mice dying to develop a drug (after evil corporations, animal rights is definitely a Hollywood thing). And while it is easy to believe "big pharma" would want tissue samples from immortals, none of the ways it goes about it are logical or necessary
In the end it is far easier to believe in immortal warriors than in this corporation or the CEO.
Panic: The Untold Story of the 2008 Financial Crisis (2018)
Best review of the management of the crisis and political reactions
So much that is done discussing 2008 is intensely ideological and biased. This is much better than that.
American Rescue Squad (2015)
A racist, eugenics rant.
Starting with a superhero called "The Taxpayer" seeking to perform a forced abortion on a pregnant Hispanic teenager ("Hispanic" is emphasized) so that the kid will not be a burden, it goes down from there.
This is a eugenics rank that could have been produced in the Third Reich.
Instant Family (2018)
Funny & moving for anyone, but a perfect movie for fifth dates, or for parents and their teenaged (or older kids).
This is a movie that is intensely funny and ruthlessly truthful, while never abandoning one goal for the other. NOT your standard dramedy.
While the topic is foster parenting, it is about ALL aspects of parenting and family life. I saw it with my 14-year-old son (not adopted) and it inspired HIM to talk about our family and other families for more than an hour afterwards. He had me take him because is a fan of the "Daddy's Home" movies, which also have Mark Wahlburg and a seemingly similar theme, but this is much funnier and much more serious. He is planning to see it a second time with his mom.
A "first-date" movie only for the fearless, but if you try it for that, you WILL laugh and you will find yourselves talking about a lot afterwards. A NECESSARY movie for any couple beginning to be more serious.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
Smart, funny, feel-good action movie. How often do all they descriptions go together?!
Smart, funny, feel-good action movie. How often do all they descriptions go together?
Great dialogue with smarter comebacks than Aaron Sorkin characters. Great chemistry between all three major characters.
Active Measures (2018)
Excellent documentary, but also a horror film we are living
An important film to watch today to understand current events.
With surprisingly little speculation, the how, where, and why of Russia seeking to divide us and bring a perverted and paranoid form of nationalism to power in America.