Reviews

A professional couple living at a holiday retreat in the woods help a crazy gang who just happened to have kidnapped and mutilated their daughter.

This movie recently came on Netflix and is worth a look. Good special effects though very gory details.

At times I felt like a voyeur.

And the picture is almost a black comedy. We all know the brutal scenes are made up and no matter how realistic we are watching fiction.

This is a remake or some other picture, goodness knows what that is.

But who cares.

I thought the ending was ridiculous but in between plenty of compelling action and drama to keep us all amused if not shocked:

7/10.

This is quite a decent drama.

A family need a live in Nanny and one of the applicants for that position seems deranged and intent on causing havoc and worse to the family if she gets the job.

I thought there was some decent players, and the cast gives fairly credible and professional performances.

An outstanding feature of this movie is unlike other similar type stories by the very end of the picture there is a proper compassionate story to be told.

The actresses playing the Nanny and that of the wife more or less vie to steal the show though the husband also gives a believable showing.

Because the story ends up better than expected I can give this: 7/10.

This is an enjoyable thriller with plenty of good action.

A distressed daughter is taken in by her father's new wife and when everything starts to go wrong suspicion falls on the adopted girl.

I thought the acting was often very much full throttle and this picture had my attention throughout.

Decent direction and amongst the pluses the make-up and hair styles deserve merit.

Also the house interior is eye catching.

Plenty of decent performances from all the performers though maybe the one as the stepdaughter just about wins for being the best.

All the players give decent performances and seems to me this film deserves a part 2.

6 and a half rounded up= 7/10.

A lifestyle of a minimalist is something I want to try but this film does absolutely nothing to assist me in doing so. In fact after about 15 minutes of players giving scripted sob stories in particular of how they grew up in a poor family I fast forwarded and ended watching it.

We all know we live in a consumer society and companies try to persuade us to buy thing we do not need.

Also, many of us have do much stuff so it's a good idea to get rid of things by selling them or giving them away.

By uncluttering our lives in some cases that can make up happier and more contented. But not always as it depends on the individual concerned.

The main characters in this show did nothing to convince me that a minimalist lifestyle is the way to go. If it is for me then I will do it in my own way and not by anything shown in this picture:

1/10.

An entertaining and humorous yarn about a respectable man who through no fault of his own is drawn into a series of adventures to clear his name with a climatic conclusion on a ledge.

A bit like North by Northwest...isn't it, though maybe I am reading too much into the story.

Good acting all around with super stars of this era doing their best to entertain.

A clever script and smart direction.

No matter how much trouble they are in all the performers are immaculately attired, especial the lead players.

Pity about the tobacco intake but hey this was a different time period.

Anyone looking for an escapist film noir from the past need look no further:

7/10.

One of the problems with viewing this movie is that from my perspective it is dubbed into English and the accents are modern English accents.

The accents do not match the time period.

But more: many of the spoken words do not match how the actually characters they portray would speak.

To me the movie looks like actors wearing uniforms and pretending to be police and military.

The movie- despite the graphic evil- is unconvincing and no way could i believe in it.

Seems there were budget restrictions as some of the scenes were the same or similar locations throughout.

Many time I very nearly switched the film off and the best I can do is: 2/10.

A long but interesting movie about superstar Elvis Presley.

The star is the actor playing Elvis.

Cinematography is fabulous .

A movie that suggests that one Col Tom Parker was exploitive and used his cunning to make money to feed his gambling addiction.

I have to say that the actor playing this "baddie" was in my view a total mis-casting and awful.

Whenever he appears in the film all I see is Tom Hanks with body padding and other fakery and a ridiculous false accent.

What a shame that a picture with so many decent attributes is almost ruined by a massive casting error.

Nevertheless because of other winning attributes it is still a decent watch.

Six and a half rounded up:

7/10.

A brilliant mini-series about the true story of how hundreds of innocent people were framed by a corrupt computer program and the awful people who contributed to it and then did all they could to cover it up.

"Justice delayed is justice denied": is a well know saying that is appropriate here.

After decades still waiting for proper justice and now for most its too late.

The show does a superb job of exposing the events and the reasons for it.

In real life it is a total disgrace the lives and livelihood ruined by the hideous behavior of some awful cowardly people who will continue even now to try attempt to deny the truth:

10/10.

This is the true story of a plane crash in the Andes when some survived the crash itself and tried to stay alive in appalling conditions.

I remember the actual event and it made headlines around the world.

The movie is a fitting tribute to those on the plane. A superb production with first rate acting, photography and direction.

The music is wholly appropriate and hauntingly right for the whole picture.

Also special mention for the dubbing from Spanish to English which is done brilliantly.

The genius of the film is to convey the isolation and lose yet at the same time to give us a feeling of hope and spiritual purpose.

9/10.

A deluded unpleasant person called Steve Cartisano who is basically a fraudster and criminal with no proper qualifications or training runs a Wilderness Camp for teens who need proper help. Instead of giving the children help and guidance his camps are awful places which generally abuses the children at the same time getting big fees from the parents who ought to know better.

Cartisano's family and associates are interviewed, and they came across as deluded and devious as he is.

Shocking how kids can be badly mistreated when it take so long for the authorities to try to take action,. We also learn that Cartisano also committed sexual abuse on at least one of the victims.

He had his own children who were addicts etc.

The producers ought to have been more severe on showing this was totally a criminal enterprise masquerading as doing good:

6/10.

Leonard Bernstein was a musical genius, including writing and composing. West Side Story is perhaps his main achievement.

This film reveals that this music Maestro did not just possess a unique musical talent but also a remarkable talent as a gay man to marry a woman and have children.

As his West Side Story collaborator, Arthur Laurents, is credited with revealing about Bernstein, "He was a gay man who got married. He wasn't conflicted about his sexual orientation at all. He was a gay man".

And apparently his wife went into the marriage knowing full well he was a gay.

So as sure as night follows day most women seek in a man monogamy yet many gays living the gay lifestyle indulge in the opposite.

In between examining their relationship, we get insights into the music and genius of Bernstein including his conducting and composing.

The lead actor gives a show stopping performance ousted by the actress playing his wife who is even better!

8/10.

I am trying to be kind and generous about this film. What I never realized before viewing it, is that the picture is science fantasy about drug use, and it is only after around 2 hours that fact is revealed at least to me.

Apparently, the story is taken from a best-selling book.

Seems to me the writer was high on some substances when writing this fantasy and he uses perfume as a substitute for whatever he was on.

The story: A lunatic is obsessed with perfume and commit murders in furtherance of his obsession and the question is can his perfume seduce the rest of the world?

Positive aspects include that the movie is beautifully filmed and has haunting music.

Also the cat and dog in the movie give good albeit brief performances.

Poor performances from all the leads who are ultimately unconvincing as the story and plot are totally ludicrous.

A few points added for the positives =

3/10.

Writing this a week before Xmas. From now until after I think I better stay with happy movies as this picture is so intense and sad.

A same sex couple with an adopted child go on holiday to a cabin in the forest only to find they have been chosen to make the ultimate sacrifice. If they do not agree to do that the world will end!

Now lets get this right.

For same reason which to me is never explained in any proper way or at all, unless the trio do as asked the whole world will end.

After the conclusion of the movie, I tried to get an understanding of why these particular people were selected and why the world would end but then I realized why should I waste my time doing that when the picture ought to have told me alas it did not.

The acting and direction is first rate but no matter how good the preposterous and unexplained rationale of this story leave me no alternative to reduce my rating by at least 5.

If anyone can give me a reasonable explanation do please tell me!

3/10.

More than 2 hours of total nonsense, which looks like it is made up as it goes along.

Fake dialogue with a ludicrous story.

A family decide to go on a holiday only to find they are in the middle of some kind of human disaster.

That family plus the others who join them are a bunch of very boring uninteresting characters.

But wait:

The animals know what is going on!

Which is more than the rest of us do!

Dear oh dear what a silly film!

And we need to endure hours of tedious lunacy which goes on and on and gets more and more stupid when most sane people are hoping -indeed praying -for this rubbish to end:

1/10.

This 3 parts Netflix documentary examines how gullible and lonely people can be ; they have mental problems and are duped into following a couple of repulsive con artists who are cruel and wicked and have no scruples in lying , cheating, stealing and exploiting their unfortunate victims.

I barely got to the end of the series as I was dumbstruck by how stupid the people were and how devious the perpetrators are who operate a cult.

Toal nonsense and psychobabble is foisted on the prey to convince them of all sorts of ludicrous rubbish.

How can people be so idiotic?

I do have sympathy for the unfortunate victims but only just....

6 and a half rounded up:

Super laugh out loud tale about older dads who are in a world that seems no longer able to connect with them.

Some idiot professional critic gave this movie a low rating and said it had no story.

How ridiculous!

This film tells a fabulous tale about how our world can be governed by the worst kind of wokies who are so sensitive they make life intolerable.

Likewise the older dads generation can often be stuck in what can be a nasty unpleasant life where the true feelings of others are ignored and damage is done.

The contrast between the 2 worlds is brilliantly and hilariously presented.

Sure a few of the scenes in the picture are a bit disjointed and the gags not so amusing but mostly this is a super funny picture and thought provoking too:

8/10.

This is the dramatization of a true story about an evil UK DJ turned "tv star" who used his fame to get away with hideous crimes.

As he became famous, he was able to use that fame as a cover to commit crimes against mainly children.

The film is in 4 parts and has snippets of interviews with brave actual victims as well as showing real-life excerpts from the various activities this criminal did during his life.

The lead actor gives a show stopping performance revealing what a repulsive person is like behind the camouflage.

Not only during his later years the DJ was treated as a VIP by the media and the public; royalty gave him top honors and after he died his funeral was as if he was a Monarch.

Fooling most of the people all of the time

Dear oh dear!

To me what this movie reveals is that not only in the UK but around the world we are guilty of allowing celebrity status to mask and excuse some awful individuals:

7/10.

This is surely one of the best ever dramas about WW2 ever made.

The story is about Easy Company: a group of paratroopers from training to the DD landings and then incidents across Europe to the invasion of Germany.

It came out in 2001 and recently repeated in 2023 with all 10 episodes on Netflix.

This is compelling viewing in every single episode.

Of course, whilst it is taken from actual events it can best be described as fictionalized facts. Justifiably so as its' a work of art even though it deals with deadly serious issues.

The episodes briefly show real life members of the group recounting their experiences.

No matter how devastatingly awful events were, we viewers can never actually know how bad it was; and what we have is a brilliant attempt to live through the horrors as watchers rather than participants.

The painstaking agony of soldiers in a war is graphically revealed.

Revenge, cruelty, self-destructiveness, negligence and criminality are highlighted though the bravery and selflessness of this band of brothers shines through:

10/10.

Difficult for me to rate this movie.

On my viewing of the picture it is well presented with first rate performances about a Hippie and a Pastor with others who bring about a Jesus revolution during the so called counter culture in the 1960's.

Jonathan Roumie plays the hippie and his performance steals the show.

Though a druggie lifestyle can make anyone believe they are in contact with God.

However:

On the face of it the story is uplifting and inspirational.

The result is the birth of a new branch of Christian churches.

So almost too good to be true.

But before writing this review I did some research. The movie story bears only a minimal resemblance to the truth then and now.

In real life the hippie was a closeted gay and the Church and its main leadership now and then hate gays and regard gay intimate relationships sinful.

Not of this is shown in the movie.

In real life the Hippie dies of Aids having been ostracized by the Church. No doubt they would say he got his just deserts.

What a joke!

For presenting a untruthful account of the events I reduce my 7 out of 10 by 4 marks=

3/10.

The first 10 minutes was promising: exciting with plenty of decent enjoyable action.

How wrong I was!

But after that it all went downhill.

Meant to be a spy thriller with some secret organization trying to save the world (or are they?) but impossible for me to discern who are the goodies and who are the baddies...I don't know and do not care!

The fighting action gets very tedious, very quickly.

The plot is ludicrous.

The acting is barely B picture level.

I lost interest barely an hour into this nonsense. I turned it off well before the end as otherwise it would give me a worse headache.

Special effects and computer animation are confusing and quite frankly after a while just boring.

The film tries to please everyone with its diversity but in the end pleases no one with any sense: only just above the lowest rating due to the decent opening scenes:

2/10.