Change Your Image
kgreene-955-929538
Reviews
Jack Ryan (2018)
3 stars (out of 10) for Season 3
I looked forward to another season of 'Jack Ryan,' but with some doubts as to how the producers and writers could arrive at something fresh and entertaining. My worst fears have been realised, I'm afraid. Season 3 is a tired mishmash of the worst elements of the contemporary spy/adventure genre. An improbable storyline which we've all seen before, characters who have become stereotypes and who like to hang up the phone without saying goodbye. (I think that makes them appear determined and tough. Or maybe that identifies them as a 'bad guy.')
The action is standard fare, the technology is tremendous (but seems to work effectively for only a few, while the White House and other world governments seem to know nothing), private jets are always available, important phones are encrypted (except when they are not), and the acting is, sadly, rather flat. (Well, the acting might have been better if there had been better dialogue.)
I gave up on this season in episode 5, so I feel I gave it a fair viewing. I just couldn't take anymore of it.
I try to find what is good about a movie or book or play (any artwork), but this season really fell short. I guess I can say that I liked many of the interiors.
The Recruit (2022)
Quite improbable. Quite entertaining.
I enjoyed this show quite a lot and am looking forward to a second season. (I have my fingers crossed.)
My only negative criticism I might make is that the series takes something of a too serious tone beginning with its sixth episode, one which interferes with the light satire and quick wit initiated in the first episode and conducted throughout the next four.
The acting is very good and many of the characters become quite endearing, especially the male lead who radiates boyish charm and takes us along with him on a hapless, rather exciting trip into espionage, mob politics, and gunplay.
The other actors and actresses stand up to him in talent, displaying a wide range of convincing emotion for all the mishaps and surprises that lay ahead of them.
As for the plot, it's improbable---even impossible---but that takes nothing away from the fun. And the events are presented in a way which is neither too self-referential nor parody.
But don't be fooled that this series is simple comedy. It tugs on heartstrings, too, and this complexity in presentation and balance is most welcome.
All this said, the series contains scenes of torture, murder, and suggestive intimacy. The older viewer will understand that this is simply a part of the genre, but I would be hesitant to suggest this for the adolescent viewer. In fact, I wouldn't. And the series is hardly appropriate for children.
SAS Rogue Heroes (2022)
An amoral adventure story with no valid pretensions of historical accuracy
This was a series I was not expecting, so it would be wrong of me to say I had expected more of it. Instead, I watched and was both entertained with a rollicking, somewhat old-fashioned adventure story ... and discomfited by the anachronistic choices of music and frequent strong language and the silly side story involving a female French-Algerian secret agent.
The acting was superb and the characterizations were layered enough to show promise of surviving a second series. In some ways, though, I hope that the creators will stop at what they've done and be proud of it, turning to something entirely imaginative and not given to parading as history.
So, if you are an adult, suspend your disbelief and enjoy the show. The series is well done with surprising wit and even more unexpected deep feeling.
My Policeman (2022)
A real disappointment
I came to the film with few expectations and found it improbable and, to an extent, disturbing.
An argument will be made that the prejudice of Britain in the 1950s led the characters to behave in the awful way they did, deceiving each other and themselves, but I don't accept this. Prejudice and intolerance do not justify dishonesty, selfishness, and careerism or, at others' expense, the failure to accept oneself.
The film is really about weakness and the illusion that love somehow justifies one's foolish and boorish acts. Everyone here is ruined to a great extent because of his or her own stubborn self-delusion and the film reaches much too far for some kind of plausible resolution of everyone's regrets, hurt, and anger. I worry that each of the main characters would hold to the end some notion that he or she 'did it all for love.' That's just balderdash.
In saying this, I don't say I have no sympathy for the main characters. I feel very sorry for them, but I would be more forgiving of their deceptions and flaws were they adolescents. Adults were never so naïve in the 1950s. I think the only sensible character in the film was the female teacher colleague who tried to bring some sense to the female lead.
And, trying hard not to be petty, but everything and everyone was a bit too neat, too well dressed, too orderly. Even Brighton!
Finally, I suppose the idea was to paint a picture of stiff-upper lip and reserved Britons, but I failed to see any glimmer of passion in even the tangential sex scenes.
Bullet Train (2022)
Perhaps if I were 14 again...
Sophomoric humor, gratuitous violence, blood, gore, assassins, a bullet train... What could go wrong?
Quite a bit actually.
Granted, I was raised on Agatha Christie and have settled into a grudging admiration for unique and powerful films like 'Fight Club' and 'Pulp Fiction,' but this movie can't compare with these. It is chaotic, brassy, self-aware, tired (in truth) and I suppose post-modern. (Post-modern is a term I hardly understand. It seems like an excuse to me for things that are obscure and so wry in their humor and intent that the uninitiated are left at the proverbial station.)
Perhaps that is what I can recommend to the serious viewer over the age of maturity. Don't board this train. Instead, take a walk among cherry blossoms and head for more mature entertainments.
Anomalous (2016)
Plodding. And, frankly, rather boring.
There is very little that one could call horror in this movie, or even tension. I can't fault the acting, though none of it really stood out for me. The director seemed determined to plod along with a rather flat tone and such a tangled storyline to arrive finally at an unclear dénouement.
So many questions to ask and to never have answered. Who is the interrogator? Why does she say this is not an interrogation? What sensible person would sit still for such an unreasonable line of questioning from such an unpleasant person, let alone a psychiatrist? Why such an interest in a 'simple' death? Why would such a ill patient be left alone to fend for himself and in a dilapidated house? Etc. Etc. Don't even ask about the interrogation room.
Hearts in Atlantis (2001)
Well made, well acted
This is a well made, well acted film which stays largely faithful to its source material, a collection of two novellas and three short stories entitled "Hearts in Atlantis.'
To be honest, and perhaps this is not uncommon, I was more moved by the collection than this film, but there is no denying that this reworking of the story makes for a poignant, heartwarming experience overall, though there are some parts that are hard to watch as there is violence. One scene in particular cannot be 'cleaned up' or ignored for what it is.
Sir Anthony puts in a solid performance which he has repeated many times after this film was released. This isn't to say that he wasn't made for this role, but the newcomer to this film in year 2022 may not be as impressed as were audiences 21 years ago.
The other actors were really superb.
I'm not quite sure as to how I feel about the supernatural elements being explained away, in a manner of speaking, in the film. It removed some of the menace that one finds in the novella 'Low Men in Yellow Coats.' The novella simply has a grittier texture that heightens one's emotions, even while challenging one's suspension of belief. The film lacks that disorienting disconnect with our ordinary world. After all, this is Stephen King's writing being interpreted for a wide, wide audience. Not all the hard or unpleasant parts would be expected to appear. (Though, it's true, I don't remember the one scene to which I made reference above actually appearing in print. I'll have to get out my copy of the collection and check. Regardless, it's time for a re-read after all these years.)
A film well worth a look.
Around the World in 80 Days (2021)
Perhaps I will revisit this review, but...
I've seen 3 complete episodes now and am disappointed with the lack of excitement and fun, of casual bravado, of a lively pace. Turning an adventure story into a string of moralizing lessons as one meanders across the globe just does not do it for me. Granted, the low level of gratuitous violence and sex is most welcome, and the visuals are really quite good, but this world seems strangely torn between soft satire and high-mindedness.
The acting is quite good, to be fair, but there is no dash, no energy. I have to wonder if one were to watch only a compilation of the opening recaps in each episode would one have then experienced the best of this series. That wouldn't be saying much for the six hours or so that make up this slogging adventure.
It's turning into a struggle for me to watch.
Flashbacks of a Fool (2008)
Lovely and thoughtful
A wonderful, quiet film with quite a surprising power. I liked everything about it except that I would have been pleased with a bit more explication as to who all these people were and more of their backgrounds. Then again, that might have spoiled everything.
To be honest, I've never really thought much of Daniel Craig as an actor, but he is quite good here. Understated and far from the cartoonish James Bond.
Lovely film.
The Sandman (2022)
I lost interest early on...
I lost interest early on but I did finish watching all of Series 1.
I'm unfamiliar with the graphic novel and perhaps that puts me at a disadvantage. Matters seems too mixed in tone and I had difficulty accepting some of the premises as it all seemed convoluted and as though the story arc was created by a committee rather than having a single vision.
I enjoyed the first three or four episodes, found the next three or four too slowly paced and the last of them far too saccharine and cartoonish. The close was a real disappointment with its promise of an even more incoherent world. Should a fantasy have some coherency of its own, some elements that offer a rock of a core instead of taffy?
And weren't all the gay characters either camp or evil? Did I miss someone who wasn't? And serial killers moved to grief by a lecture? Or was their some magic at play? And I still don't know how the lady was impregnated during dreaming. There is a lot I missed or at which I just shook my head and thought let's just get on with it. Anyway, there won't be a Series 2 for me.
The drag performer was great, by the way. And Morpheus did a great job in emoting without being given many good lines. (His sudden humility at the close was most unwelcome to me.)
And, finally, haven't we learned a long time ago that true evil is banal?
The Gray Man (2022)
Stopped viewing at about an hour in
I give a '1' rating to all the movies I can't stand to watch until the end. (I make my own rules, just so you know.)
The locations are nice.
As for the story, science fiction is closer to reality than this film. The first hour was filled with action and blood and an airplane (or three or four) darting off to Berlin or Prague or Bangkok and with important looking people looking at computer screens and looking resolute with their tough sounding orders.
The male lead was pretty good. (Ryan Reynolds or Ryan Gosling. I have trouble telling them apart.)
Extraction (2020)
They made the movie they wanted.
To be honest, I was able to watch this movie for free and enjoyed it to some extent, but I would not recommend it to anyone wishing to see a 'meaningful' film. It is not that. It is a typical 'action' movie with some good moments, especially some of the tracking shots and even some well done tender moments. It is not realistic, nor is it meant to be. It holds no deep or thoughtful presence, but it does display to some extent the living conditions of the poor in the Indian subcontinent.
The creators made the movie that they wanted, and, for that reason, I award them with a ten star rating.
Dune (2021)
Not a noteworthy effort
A disappointment, I'm sure, for those who are devotees of Herbert's novel. The storyline and script left little for the actors to do except stare wistfully or transfixed into the distance. Well, then there was sword play, as if this were an Arthurian drama. Trope followed trope.
The most disappointing thing, as I saw it, was the sense that this world and time was not all that different than ours today. With luck, they'll have Starbucks in their caves.
I will pass on any Dune, Part II.
Doctor Sleep (2019)
I suffered through all of this movie so that I could be fair in my review.
Perhaps the director had poor source material. (I did not read the novel, so I can't really say.)
The cinematography was a real disappointment. This, coupled with an even more disappointing plot, gave the movie little if any gravitas and very little cinematic atmosphere.
And, was there any soundtrack of note that wasn't borrowed from Kubrick's film?
The Rebels of PT-218 (2021)
3 stars - to be charitable
Rather poor writing. I don't think even the most talented actor could have made the script palatable.
Without Remorse (2021)
One can take one's suspension of disbelief only so far
One starts one's viewing with a good deal of anticipation and a feeling of promise---an African-American John Clark, a surprisingly attractive Lieutenant Commander, high explosives, and all that---and then the improbable and very weak plot unfolds and one's heart sinks.
The film has nothing in common with Tom Clancy's book which shares the same title as this offering, with the exception of a character name or two, and that is a real disappointment. It isn't that the film does not follow the novel's plot that is troubling, but that there is no authorial strength to what is offered. This film's script feels as though it was drafted by a committee of individuals with an affection for comic book plots and filmed by a too devoted fan of film noir.
The Little Things (2021)
Worth the viewing, and I don't care for much contemporary cinema
I enjoyed the film. It had a pace that pleased me, with no fireworks and heavy weapons, things that frankly I have outgrown. (I hope that doesn't sound snobbish. It's simply true. The case is, I'm old enough to be pleased with characters more than fast action and chases.)
I can't help but feel that the film moved into somewhat surrealist territory with the closing minutes. To have the detective digging all those holes reminded me of the kind of play Samuel Beckett would stage. It cannot be considered literally, but symbolically. To take the detective's actions literally would lead one to poke awful fun at the film (as many have.) Granted, it's a bit off putting as one is not prepared well for this elevation---if you will---to a different reality, but one should have faith in the director's vision.
The film poses many questions. "What would you have done?" seems to be the most pressing and unsettling. That uneasy feeling one gets at the very close should not be ignored. Place yourself in the film's various persons' circumstances and ask yourself, What would I have done?
Myself, I'm not entirely comfortable with all the decisions I might have made in the same situations.
The 2nd (2020)
No need to pile on
Yes, it's a poor film. No, I would not recommend it to anyone.
The Two Popes (2019)
Engaging enough
A well crafted fantasy with all the good intentions of its creators.
Rocketman (2019)
A feeling much like most of Elton's music after 'Blue Moves.'
Eventually this film will be made into a theater production and then it will appear in Vegas in some smaller fashion and then third-rate Elton impersonators will take it to tiny community theaters. None of this is good news.
Aquarians (2017)
A captivating film.
More films like this one would get me off the couch and back to the cinema.
Lovely acting set in a community that feels so very real (if not a wee bit romanticized.)
There is an element of subdued magic realism in the film that finally blossoms into something like faith.
All adults will gain something by watching this film.
As Far as the Eye Can See (2016)
A beautiful and thoughtfully made film.
Film not as spectacle but as meditation and a lovely depiction of a fading lifestyle. A film with texture and grace and, while a film and nothing different than that, it might be compared to a short story in its aims and satisfactions. Quite good acting all around, too.