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Reviews
Foe (2023)
Blah! Broth w/o any meat.
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky could have written this. Sucked the life out of me, waiting, waiting for it to pick up and develop a plot. There is an attempt to put heart into the characters, but I was left hungry for development and maturity. Dystopian story line that leads to anemic fading and deep despair. I can't believe someone convinced a studio to produce this. The fire and interlopers were inserted as a confusion and impotent device. I felt like a teen was whining at me the whole time. Remember Readers Digest Condensed Books? They could take War and Peace, and reduce it to a palatable 200 pages without sacrificing any other important, plot lines. If they were to take this movie and condense it, it would simply read, "All is despair."
6 Underground (2019)
Most Violent and Graphic Film Ever
Not since the destruction of the Death Star have so many "bad guys" died in a movie. The quality of the special effects is so graphic that the annihilation of scores and scores of people becomes boring. They start out in a car chase in Italy with a shot "good gal" in the back seat bleeding copious amounts of blood, while the car mows down car after car, nuns, (not a baby or puppies) "bad guy after bad guy" with imaginative special effects that are GRUESOME! The only piece of suspense is a Shakespearian plot embedded in the last third of the movie. No one should see this movie. It is deeply disturbing. An hour and a half of death destruction, and mayhem that is just one graphic death after another. Death becomes de rigor. It is a slaying reminiscent of a shoot 'em up Call of Duty video game. Are movie goers so vapid that someone has to die every single minute? Blood and guts with some exhilaration via daring parcoure. Definitely no one 15 or younger should be let in to see this!
The Courier (2012)
I'm so angry!!!!
I haven't been this angry in quite a long time. I hope you're looking at the reviews before you watch this movie. A $15 million movie, that made $58,000. It shouldn't have made that much. This movie makes you live with ambiguity! They probably thought there would be a successor movie after this one. Not so. The world is better off without it. It's not the worst movie yard ever seen, but it's close. There is no resolution to the quest. You are left, holding the ending in a empty bag. Spoiler: you never get to know what the end is. I can't believe I watch this whole thing to be stuck with n ambiguous ending! Made me angry. Do not recommend you watch.
Mrs. Davis (2023)
Fountain of Metaphores
A far too long string of nonsensical religious metaphors. It is a lot of crazy vignettes that are rooted in faith without sincerity. It's like reading Camus and having delusions and hallucinations. There is a tone of formal religion is false; genuine, true faith is life-changing and an expression of your lived experience in service of your faith. It even makes fun of itself, along with tongue in cheek puns. Everything from the Holy Grail, the Pieta, Kings, the Pope and the elements of Communion are targets. A Roman Catholic nun (a sister), Jesus her husband, a childhood friend found through trauma, along with meeting a (father) priest, and those imprisoned by their religion appear in the segments of hallucination. A waste of time in the same way as "The Gods Must be Crazy."
Infinitum: Subject Unknown (2021)
Groundhog Day except it's England
I was very tense about the first three times as the sequence played out. I get it that production was interrupted by the pandemic. Movies were particularly effected. Here in Atlanta everything stopped that was motion picture production. Then Tyler Perry figured out how to have the cast and crew of each movie completely sequestered. Once that was accomplished, with all the cast and crew staying in the same hotel, eating at the same time, having the same buses to transport people back-and-forth between venues, then production was able to resume just with a lot of very strict restrictions. For this movie,. There just weren't realistic wise, evidently, ways to complete the thought process for the storyline. I would not recommend this film to anybody. I think they struggled hard to make it science-fiction, but with the constraints of the pandemic it all turned out to be poop. Sorry people who worked on this. It just really is redeemable.
1899 (2022)
Deadly Boring
I can't believe I tried so hard to watch this. I've made it up to episode five and there is nothing that I can think of that will engage me enough to finish the series. Midway, the door is opened to a Doctor Who-esque set of improbable events. It's like a fishing lure trying to get you to stay fishing for meaning. The captioning gets exhausting after a while. Unless you know Danish, German and French languages you end up reading the captions endlessly. The ocean liners create a set much as an uncharted island, a space setting, or trapped In Antarctica or a submarine would limit the size of a set. The juxtaposition of modern music in the background is disorienting. I think a rating of five is very generous. I think Netflix wasted a lot of money, and underestimates the intellect of their membership on this one.
Apostasy (2017)
Don't recommend
This is the most depressing movie I have ever watched in my entire life. I kept hoping that there would be a release and that there would be some good that would justify the humiliation and family friction. There wasn't any. I had no preconceptions of the inner workings of Jehovah witnesses, I have always admired the fact that they would put themselves out into the world go door to door to attempt to live their faith honestly by offering testimonials to others. I will never look at this religion again the same way. I have no idea how anyone can live under such oppressive, rigid and male-dominated rules. If you can do that and feel happy and fulfilled then congratulations. For God sake don't watch this if you're already depressed. Why this film was ever made is a mystery. If the depictions here are accurate about the church and how one must live day to day, I would perish.
The Watcher (2022)
More suspense than horror
Into relationships and a great deal of family and community turmoil run through the entire length of this movie/series. You'll be asked to figure out what is plausible and implausible over and over. Who's telling the truth? Shades of Wednesday Addams, and other stereotypes appear throughout. Gives the 98% a peak in to the 2%. I find myself on the fence about recommending it. Don't waste your time or great for a rainy day. I'm not a fan of it, but I don't hate it either. Some of the characters are humorously over stereotyped. Strange noises in the night could actually be menacing. Them mystique of old and beautiful homes on the outside, sometimes mask inner mysteries.
Saint Cecilia of Spiralence (2021)
Stale, Better suited to a three act play
Film noir with minimal plot, delivered in obscuration and nothing but innuendo and suggestive sets. 1.17 minutes you will never get back to your life.
Cinderella (2021)
Loosely Interpreted Cinderella
This "bold" musical interpretation of the classic tale is a very unpleasant experience. The singer's voices are not always in synch with the mouth movements. It feels very much like it was hurried through as "adequate." Precision wasn't necessary because they were aiming for adequate. There are bunches of social references sprinkled throughout, only out done by blatant stereotypes. Music is very Disneyesque, but the story is more told as an opera. Twisting the plot to have an obligatory black rapper, making fat characters "funny" and inserting Feminism as a cause, makes me pinch my nose to avoid the stink. The money wasted on this bloated "take" on the Cinderella folktale is a waste. The social references are too adult and oblique for a child. In my opinion children would be board with it.
Extreme Archaeology (2004)
Experts of all kinds
There is definitely some brute force required, as well as expertise in other fields, so it couldn't be all women. Their approach to the site seemed unnecessarily daring-do but I am sure there were reasons not shared. Good team work. Much like "Time Team" but with less exploration of literature or simulations. Liked the input of the Geologist. Gripping initially, but slowed down as time wore on. C-14 validated the time, helping archeologists who come back another day.
Time Team Digs (2002)
Scientific Papers Galor
Most of the time the episodes work in conjunction with museum or town cooperation. All of their work is sometime rushed due to the artificial timeline of the program. The excitement the experts display seems sometimes over the top. On hall, however, it's instructive, it gives the watcher insight into the various scientific fields that have to work together to completely understand what's going on geologically as well as archaeologically. There seems to be an expert for the most esoteric kinds of inquiry. Professor Phil it's very dynamic, and willing to try most anything that no one else would. Every person in this team has encyclopedic knowledge of some aspect of archaeology. It's interesting. There's a lot of effort that goes into this. I just love this program. I am a nerd. That is not bad. But documentaries like this are fascinating to me. Quite well done and comprehensive as one can be in 42 minutes. I suspect many of the professionals working in conjunction with this team are able to get a good bit of white paper and journal article mileage.
Winter's Bone (2010)
Stereotypes, well portrayed stereotypes
Bleak, followed by more bleak. Regional stereotypes. Plot is sewed up in regional stereotypes. More bleak. I can't believe I waited to the very end. If you are looking for any redeeming features, I suppose "family" would be it. Really, really bleak.
The Goldfinch (2019)
Great Concept, but...
The story is revealed like peeling an onion by layers. The flashbacks and forwarding to present times gives it a kind of hurky jerky feel and it is hard to follow along at times. Relationships are evocative and complex. The plot never goes where you might guess it would, in a pleasing labyrinth through time and unexpected occurrences. It is very long but I don't know what you could put on the cutting room floor. Believable, almost. Sadly several relationship situations are all too real. Not for kids under 12, IMO. They'd be board out of their skull and there are some drug using scenes that I would't Want my kid to see. A big screen is not required to enjoy it. Save this one for a rainy night when it comes out as a rental.
A Most Wanted Man (2014)
Twists and Turns
In almost an homage to Alfred Hitchcock, the story is slow to unfold and built around a gray industrial backdrop. Clearly the spies know one another and seek a reputation as a "team player," but while your attention is held in one place, the plot suddenly takes an unexpected turn. It sews up some of the unknown holes sprinkled throughout. I found parts totally unbelievable. The quest to buy respectability, the continuity of acknowledgement of spy after spy in chauffer-driven vehicles is just unfathomably improbable. Props to the late Hoffman, but a poor exposition of ethics and betrayal weight the story down. A root canal that steals 2 hours of your life without novocaine.
The Forgiven (2017)
Incredible performance!
Forest Whitaker gives an incredible performance of Desmond Tutu. He takes the form of Tutu in the way he stands, the voice and the mannerisms. Her took his big self and made himself a near perfect recreation of the real Tutu (Real Tutu is 86!). There are some slow spots but the plot is quite good. Other remarkable characters and performances. Highly recommend.
Bad Company (2002)
It's a comedy, no it's drama
A will done chase, a love story, a bit of an old hack, Anthony Hopkins is spry and young-ish. This is not a typical spy hunt. Very fast action. Lots of fast cars. A serious deadline. Twists and turns almost give it some authenticity.
The Neighbor (2017)
1:45 I can never get back
1) Fully a third of the movie was just Fichtner looking at someone silently.
2) The character Ficthner plays is truly an alcoholic. Good grief at the beer!
3 He is also a letch.
4) The ending was quite unfulfilling!
Patriot (2015)
Zebras are really elephants in disguise
This is the most nonsensical program I've ever seen. I got all the way to episode two and it's just gobbledygook. Everything said it is is kind of loose associations. If someone says Lincoln, the next person is going to talk about Lincoln Nebraska or, Lincoln on the penny. Or Lincoln as in Lincoln logs. The repartee is just so awful that you can't discern the plot. If you have a TV in your barn for the animals, they might understand this.