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The Flight Attendant (2020)
Doesn't Know What It Is
This is a show with no idea what it wants to be (comedy, drama, thriller, etc) and it's not good at anything. The writing is hackneyed, the plot is beyond ridiculous, and the acting is pretty bad all around. Zosia Mamet, in particular, is extremely lucky her father is David Mamet because she is horrible. I suppose Kaley Cuoco plays the main character well, but not great and it's not enough to save a horrid show. The only bright spot is Rosie Perez, and it's a stretch to even say that.
Pharma Bro (2021)
Missed the mark
Completely missed the mark. It's a mouthpiece for the subject made by a major fanboy of his on top of essentially being a documentary about making a documentary. There was, maybe, a total of 7 minutes towards the end where they tried to make the point they should've made from the beginning. Not worth the time.
The Assistant (2019)
It'll stay with you...just not in the way intended
Where to begin? As strictly a movie, forgetting about the social commentaries, it's arguably one of the worst I've seen. Ever. That was clear about 15 minutes in.
The point being made is very clear, however there should still be some story and character development. There was none. The choice to make this simply a "day in the life of" movie really killed any opportunity for development and to draw the viewer in. That's a difficult enough concept to have work even with a good story, good script, and interesting characters. None of which this movie had.
There's so much buzz about Gardener's performance but I fail to see how we can call it a performance. She was convincingly unhappy - not a feat of acting in any way - and had about 8 lines of dialogue. Great job! Give her an award!
I guess visually it was...fine.
Now, to the social commentary. The most glaring to me was the small allusion to Harvey Weinstein. Either make it more of a plot point or just leave it out. That's too big of a situation to barely make note of - and wasn't really done well anyway.
As for the daily harassment, annoyances, lack of respect, sexism, etc.. My wife has been in the music business for 13 years and her first number of years as an assistant, her days were filled with these, as was the main characters. Now, there is most definitely a story to be told there, but to take such serious situations and turn them into mundane everyday occurrences was an injustice.
Supposing the point was to show how these things are everyday occurrences, and to do so somewhat accurately, then that was achieved. Which is why I gave 3 stars. It's just that, like I said, as a movie it is terrible and as a way to shed light on what women face in the film, or any other, industry it was an utter failure.
I believe the point for this movie was to have the social commentary points stick with you, to have the movie stay on your mind. It certainly does, but not in the intended way. It stays with you because it's hard to forget just how bad this movie really is.
Army of the Dead (2021)
Well, That Wad A Thing I Watched...
...most of...I watched this for two reasons, Tig Notaro and because it seemed like it could be a fun movie. The kind of movie that isn't great, but is fun to watch and enjoyable enough to feel like I didn't waste my time. I was wrong. Tig was good, but not good enough to carry a terrible movie. The cgi was horrid (as one could expect from a Snyder film), the story was severely lacking (even for a zombie heist film), the acting was for the most part abysmal, and overall there was nothing in the movie to really draw me in and keep me invested. Not to mention the stereotypical and hackneyed characters. I gave up about 75 minutes in, which looking back, was 72 minutes too many. Don't waste your time.
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
I Wanted to Like It...
I thought Wonder Woman was bad, I was hoping WW84 would be a better movie, I really wanted to like it so I didn't read anything about it up until watching it last night. Well, it is truly, a remarkably bad movie. I do not know where to begin so I'll just list the aspects of the movie that were good:
1- ....
Having gotten the positives out of the way, I will now list only some of the major problems with WW84:
1- Lazy, hackneyed, cheesy writing ("I'll never love again!")
2- Story and character development was severely lacking
3- The CGI, I thought Wonder Woman 2017 was bad, WW84 takes to an incredibly sad new low
4- The acting, it was either completely flat and hollow, or over the top cartoonish, and not in an intentional enjoyable way
5- The editing, we all know that this 2:32:00 long movie could very well have been cut down to 1:40:00 - not that it would've really helped it though, it would just make viewers feel better about how much time they committed to what is arguably the worst movie in years
There are many other criticisms that are specific to certain events and sequences in the movie but they all fall under one or two of the 5 above. It ultimately boils down to this: Wonder Woman had so much praise heaped upon it that we were all a little blinded when it came to seeing how bad that movie actually was. WW84 gave Jenkins a rare opportunity to retroactively prove Wonder Woman was deserving and that WW84, while redeeming the first entry, was deserving of all the accolades itself as well. Unfortunately that did not happen - in fact WW84 made things worse. Let's all let Wonder Woman put that lasso on us so we can honestly admit just how bad these two movies are and then let's wish we don't get more.
The Vow (2020)
Solid Doc, but Has Issues
It's an interesting documentary about some pretty devious predators. However, I feel that Mark Vincente was entirely complicit and knowing. Only "standing up to" Nxivm when his marriage to Bonnie was on the line.
I've noticed that even the people speaking out against it, the victims, seem to still speak with a degree of reverence for it. Mark seems to be no exception to this. He is in nearly every photo and video of the cult. Right next to Keith. Curious, right?
His responses to people voicing concerns, revealing truths, etc. are always short, "yeah" or something to that effect. Said with an obvious degree of doubt and disbelief.
Then there is this 9 part docuseries which is, so far, very heavy-handed in promoting the cult's programs and way of thinking. And short on the interesting nitty gritty of taking down the cult. Maybe he did this as his idea of a proper setup, but I really doubt it. I suppose we will see in the 2nd half of the series. Either way, Mark Vincente seems just as guilty as the rest of them to me.
Outside the Bubble: On the Road with Alexandra Pelosi (2018)
Great Idea, Poor Execution
The general premise of stepping outside the leftist bubble and hearing from Trump supporters with obviously different lives and viewpoints could've been a fantastic documentary series/film. However, the way this particular example was executed was, well, horrible. Nearly every interview seemed to kick off with Pelosi being annoyed and yelling at them, then there was the editing. I get that there was probably a lot to try and fit into a one hour slot, but it came across as though it was Pelosi basically mocking their ways of life. Rather than hearing a true discussion as to what they believe and why, she was being belligerent towards them and seemed to only use footage of them that intended on portraying the subjects as dumb, poor, rednecks. Then, there was the whole "Nancy Pelosi's grandchildren" thing. I just don't understand the point of that other than for her to say, "Hey, I'm Nancy Pelosi's daughter and here are her real grandchildren" in a gotcha kind of moment that made no sense.
This should be a series, with each hour long episode covering a different topic, led by a more level-headed, rational, interviewer who can carry on a calm discussion with someone, rather than a belligerent, judgmental, short sighted interviewer. And it should be edited in such a way to give us more of a full picture of what they believe and why.
TL;DR - This felt like an arrogant leftists elite putting down, and putting on display, people she thinks are lesser than her. Much like the old freak shows/side shows/circus shows used to do. 2 stars for the premise, no additional stars for actual content/execution.
**I say all this as a liberal who is in full support of open dialogue**
The Hurt Locker (2008)
really?
Having seen this film I must say that the only reason it won the top two Academy Awards is very simple, the Academy traditionally does not like to give Best Picture and Best Director to science fiction films and their directors. And the other nominees just didn't cut it so Hurt Locker and Kathryn Bigelow respectively won. The movie doesn't grab you as Kathryn claims it does, I was insanely bored from the very first second. The only reason I gave this movie a 3/10 is for the cinematography. So maybe Bigelow deserves some credit for that, but really, how much?? Jeremy Renner was fine, not great, not terrible, fine. Some people say that this is a very fair and realistic depiction of war versus, say, the dramatized Saving Private Ryan. Don't get me wrong, I love Saving Private Ryan, but the actual storyline is one that would never actually take place. And maybe that's why people love The Hurt Locker, because it seems like it's so true to life. This isn't something I can accurately comment on having never served in the armed forces; just throwing my thoughts out. While on that topic, however, what is happening with that soldier who said the reporter who wrote the screenplay stole his life experiences, his story, about his time in Iraq? I'm interested to see what happens with that. At any rate though, this movie was not deserving of any Academy Awards, and certain not Best Picture and Best Director. And if you've ever seen Kathryn Bigelow in interviews, she has this very cocky attitude, an undeserved sense of accomplishment. Now she has two Oscars that were given to her because she and her film were the lesser of two evils to make her even more obnoxious. All in all, don't see this film, don't waste your money or your time.