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Reviews
Dubai Bling (2022)
Materialistic trash with no real storyline...
I really feel dumber for watching this. The interactions and acting is so fake. The characters lack any depth and are trying way too hard it seems. This show reminds me of Shahs of Sunset, which eventually became so boring but at least had a marginally interesting storyline initially. This show does not. It's essentially just one long montage of Dubai and high-end brands or "bling" and, oh yea, a bunch of clowns (seemingly fake Emiratis?) in the background parading around as if they're actually anyone important. They're definitely not. I'd give a 0 if I could because, even if you like this type of brain dead materialism, there is no entertainment factor. There's at least a dozen other similar streaming shows you can find that are more worthwhile and actually have a storyline. Don't waste your time with this one.
Arrival (2016)
Unbelievable ... but in a bad way
Unfortunately there are too few "serious" alien themed movies that don't involve massive explosions, CGI and fantastical scenes of armageddon. With more previously-classified information being released to the public in recent years, the topic of UFOs and "extraterrestrials" is becoming more mainstream and less the realm of those who like to sport tinfoil hats on the weekends. As such, Arrival would have been a wonderful opportunity to imagine and examine what it would be like if we made contact and tried to communicate with aliens who landed on our planet. But, instead, it totally misses the mark.
My biggest gripe is that the film lacks intelligence and complexity. It reduces humans to being brainless warmongers while aliens, who've presumably developed advanced technology to travel light years, to altruistic yet helpless, self-sacrificing pacifists. Nothing about this movie is believable! Even the discussion of linguistics totally lacks creativity or study for that matter. Let's not even bring up the topic of physics or lack thereof. Also, why is the US Army handling an event that would undoubtedly be in purview of the Air Force and why would a Colonel be calling all the shots for something of this magnitude?
Overall, the acting is subpar as well (I don't know anyone who'd believe Whittaker's horrible attempt at a Bostonian accent and why would anyone write it in the script for him?). Adams and Renner are very talented actors but neither fit the part, by a long shot. I'm afraid their chemistry is also very weak.
Finally, the need for an incredibly sad subplot involving of the illness and loss of the protagonist's daughter is also lost on me. The tragic imagery is clearly intended to evoke emotion but it just seems incredibly forced and out of place. Such serious cinematic themes deserve more depth.
In all, I think I'm being generous by giving this movie 4.5 stars.
Cari & Jemele (won't) Stick to Sports (2020)
Nothing of value...garbage in fact
I just don't get it the purpose of this show. You can't get through five minutes without race being mentioned and not in a positive way. It's also quite confusing because you don't know if they're supposed to be funny or you're just supposed sit there and listen to how bad of a person you are falling well short of these two women's "moral superiority".
Glory (1989)
One of the best movies of all time...
A story worth telling, history worth knowing, acting worth seeing, and a film worth appreciating. This is of the best movies of all time...period.
Barkskins (2020)
Strong combination of history and mystery...
The limited series starts off gritty and, while it's a slower build, it seems to keep things interesting combining an early American historical setting with an element of mystery - shady characters, native American lore and a mysterious beast. I personally can't speak to how closely it follows the book but I thoroughly enjoy this genre, historically-based thrillers that build on mystery without turning into a complete fantasy. The program bears a similarity in style at least to The Terror which aired on the History Channel a few years back and was an amazing limited series. If you happened to enjoy that program, you likely enjoy this one as well.
The Irishman (2019)
Painful to watch the forced CGI...
I'm a huge fan of the original mafia cinema greats but this film is certainly not one of the them. The whole time watching I simply couldn't shake thinking "man, they're really trying to squeeze every last drop out of the Godfather/Casino/Goodfellas crew". Clearly no amount of CGI can mask that the old crew ain't young anymore...it's painful to watch really. Squinting won't help either. Nothing against older actors but the producers are only degrees separated from making talking puppets out of these old guys. What's worse is that the plot is subpar at best. But I guess there's still some money left in this genre and clan. Go figure.