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Alien: Covenant (2017)
Is this the dumbest movie ever, or what?
I quit watching this movie a little over halfway through, and do not regret that decision. Although I loved BLADE RUNNER, I saw weaknesses in Ridley Scott's grasp of storytelling even in that early effort.
In particular, amongst other weaknesses, he does not understand suspense, which Alfred Hitchcock described as the "art of the known." In suspense, the skillful storyteller reveals the danger to the audience ("the known"), but withholds that knowledge from the character(s), then puts the character(s) in proximity of the danger. In this scenario, seeing the blithely unaware character(s) putting themselves at risk in proximity of the danger places the audience on the edge of their seats. Scott habitually fails to show the danger to the audience in advance of placing his characters in proximity of it.
Although ALIEN was a smart, far more effective movie -- certainly because of the script -- Scott failed to build suspense in that film in scenes where he could have done so. As a result, he had the alien popping out of places unexpectedly when he could have shown the audience where the alien was hiding and more effectively built suspense by having his characters unknowingly place themselves in proximity thereof.
But back to ALIEN: COVENANT: This movie struck me as the dumbest film I had seen in decades. Watch at the peril of your brain cells.
Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath (2016)
A COURAGEOUS EXPOSE OF AN ABUSIVE CULT
As a former Scientologist, I know of the abuse that this series reveals about the Church of Scientology, and the ways the church discourages its members from reporting the abuse to civil authorities. Every episode incisively and effectively peels the onion until the entire ruse is exposed. This series, hosted by the very courageous former Scientologists Leah Remini and Mike Rinder, is vital to the emotional health of all former Scientologists (and former members of other cults!), and stands as warning to any contemplating entering the Church of Scientology. Ten stars!
The Man in the High Castle (2015)
An episode of "Sliders" stretched to four seasons
I'm on episode 7 of season 1, waiting for "The Man in the High Castle" to "get good." Typically, the first episode of a series grabs the viewer, and that keeps the viewer engaged for the next several episodes (and hopefully the entire series). The first episode of "The Man in the High Castle" did not grab me. But I figured I'd give it a few episodes to do so. However, as of episode 7, it has utterly failed to grab me. Instead, I am finding it dull, trivial, and replete with cliched plotting and dialog.
I am not critical by nature, so I don't write negative reviews unless the material really fails to perform. Unfortunately, this series really fails to perform. Enough reviews on IMDb have given detailed criticism of this series, so I'll leave it to the reader to peruse them for further critical comments about it. I rather imagine "Sliders" would have done a more entertaining job of telling this story.
Timeless (2016)
I love "Timeless"
I absolutely love this show! The storytelling is complex and engaging. The characters are intelligent and interesting. Abigail Spencer is phenomenal as the leading lady. And, perhaps best of all, it has a sense of humor. It's not a comedy, but by drawing from modern pop culture in order to blend in with the past ("I'm nurse Jackie, this is Dr. Dre, and we're from General Hospital"), it evokes some sly and delicious humor. I can't wait for this show to return.
The Manhattan Project (1986)
This review gives praise to an overlooked but deserving film.
THE MANHATTAN PROJECT is a seriously underrated film. It's categorized and advertised as a "comedy," but in fact it's more accurately categorized as a dramatic thriller with light elements. The problem is that anyone expecting to see a comedy will be disappointed because the film is not as funny as a "comedy" needs to be. That, I believe, is why it was not as popular at the box office as it deserved to be. However, the film is an extremely smart dramatic thriller, and anyone screening it with that expectation -- and knowing its main characters are extremely bright high school kids -- will not be disappointed. THE MANHATTAN PROJECT is not a perfect film, but it is an excellent one.