Reviews

I cannot believe that this incredible film has a score if 6.6 on IMDB. I am a jaded and cynical American and by the end of Jig I was standing and cheering.

The cameras tour the world from Ireland, England, America and Russia, following dancers at various schools of Irish dance, including one in NY City where a girl of Irish and Asian heritage is one of the star students.

A ten-year-old counterpart in Derry, Ireland will become close with the girl from the U. S. and the pair will compete at the World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.

I was riveted to the screen for the entire movie and I am astounded that the film did not win an Oscar.

Sydney Sweeney stars as as Sister Cecilia, a young woman who believes that God saved her from drowning in her childhood. She somehow winds up at a convent in Italy while carrying a book for translations. It makes no sense that an English speaking American would not find a place in the U. S. to enter a nunnery.

The imagery is of the usual Catholic chapel filled stained glass and statues. I am a cradle RC and I am familiar with such surroundings. It opens with a nun reciting the Rosary in Italian with English subtitles for those viewers not of the faith.

The worst aspect is a technical one as the actors often mumble their lines and all is lost as far as the storyline goes. Sweeney is often blood soaked and her ear piercing screams are over the top. Rosemary's Baby is similarly themed and a far superior film, as is The Omen.

I do not know how to review this remarkable movie from Bhutan. It should have won the Best Foreign Film at the Oscars. The country was one of the last ones to introduce voting to a public used to being ruled by a monarchy.

The leader decided to give the citizens the right to vote for their leader and it is the main focus of the story along with a Buddhist monk who has requested a gun for some undisclosed reason.

Enter an American arms dealer willing to hand over hard cash for a Civil War antique owned by an underling of the head monk.

What follows is a concise script with an uncanny examination of worldwide politics and real family values.

Do not miss this hidden gem.

When I see "based on a true story" at the start of a film, I wonder how much actually happened. Lara is a young housewife with mental problems and we see her with her husband at the office of a psychiatrist with some unexplained issues which are not disclosed until much later in the movie.

The background music is overwhelming and, when combined with Australian accents in frequent mumblecore mode, I was frustrated while attempting to understand the dialogue.

The final act is much better than the rest of the tedious story and the conclusion was a shock to this viewer. Religious fanaticism is the main message and after looking up what happened to the real life "Lara" (Joan Vollmer), a better film could have been made.

Georgina Campbell plays a park ranger who joins a flock of fellow officers to work in search and rescue operations.

A series of endless flashbacks show her as a little girl who saw her sister vanish without a trace. Thus, we have an explanation of her career choice.

At least the fashion budget was minimal as Ms. Campbell spends the entire film in a ranger's outfit.

She lives mostly in some sort of a one room cabin in the woods and heads out into the forest repeatedly in search of the lost, which includes her sister.

I was checking my clock every few minutes as I was bored to tears by the nonsensical story and I cannot recommend this movie.

After reading the book "Pimp," by Robert Beck, and a biography by one of the interview subjects of the film, I needed to find out more about Iceberg Slim.

Ice-T is the producer and he was heavily influenced by the bestselling memoir. Chris Rock hands out copies of the book on his movie sets. Along with two spouses and three daughters, all are interviewed throughout the documentary.

The best parts are the segments with the man himself. The former pimp is quite articulate and insightful. His first wife convinced him to write down his incredible stories and after typing them up, she found a publisher who changed his life forever.

Viewers should first read the memoir for a solid background to Iceberg Slim's wild journey.

Koji Yakusho is Hirayama, a man who lives alone in a small flat and sleeps on a mattress pad while reading books every night after a long day of cleaning public toilets in Tokyo. Koji is magnificent, as he speaks almost no lines at all for he first hour of the film.

Wenders chose a perfect soundtrack, of which, as a music lover, I appreciated. House of the Rising Sun is the first choice followed up by material from Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Otis Redding, and, last but not least, Nina Simone.

Hirayama uses an old fashioned 35mm camera to photograph trees and clouds on his lunch breaks. I am old enough to remember those times. My Nikon FTN has been stored in my closet for many years.

I hope that the film wins the Best Foreign Film award at the upcoming Oscars.

Much like Carrie White of the Stephen King novel and later film, Zafan is the first in her class to experience her period, and somehow, the school is aware of her situation.

Classmates mock her and the girl begins to exhibit some very strange behavior. A bathroom scene where she is attacked by a group of girls from her school results in a demon like possession and a Muslim supposed cleric arrives to perform an almost Catholic style exorcism. The man is obviously a con artist with business cards and social media presence.

The Malaysian scenery is beautiful and the lead actress is excellent.

I was not happy with the ending but Tiger Stripes is a decent horror film.

This anthology saves the best for last as a wealthy investor receives more than he bargained for when he is lured into the dark web of a fantasy site called Black Rabbit.

The first story was my least favorite as an unhappy couple suffer the consequences of an apparent home invasion. Things are not as they first appear.

It improves with F-Marry-Kill as a woman in some kind of a dungeon must make that choice with three men in shock collars who are part of a sadistic game in which the lady must complete three tasks in order to survive.

The old message of be careful what you wish for is delivered with verve and I recommend Midnight Peepshow.

I read the book in 2017 and Scorcese stays true to the source material. The major difference being that the book has more material on the financial angle of the supposed caretakers of the Osage people.

Robert De Niro is the leader of the evil and money hungry pack of thieves with murder in his heart. Leonardo DiCaprio is his equally greedy nephew who marries an Osage woman named Mollie, with rights to the land's oil rich territory.

Lily Gladstone is magnificent as Mollie and will most likely win the Oscar for Best Actress. The entire cast shines under the watchful direction of Marty Scorcese. I took off one point for the unnecessary length of over three hours. The credits alone must run ten minutes. It takes a village to work on a Marty production.

Mark Ruffalo directed and stars as Father Joe, a priest who runs a homeless shelter on Skid Row in Los Angeles. Christopher Thornton wrote the script and plays Dean, a man in a wheelchair who works as a club DJ. He relies on Father Joe for his meals and lives in his car while the priest seeks an apartment for him.

One day, Dean places his hands upon a man on a sidewalk and he is miraculously healed. Word spreads quickly and Dean is sought for his newfound powers.

The concept is good but the script is much too contrived. Orlando Bloom is a Johnny Rotten type of rock star who recruits Dean to promote a floundering music career. The music performed live is terrible; a bad imitation of some early Nine Inch Nails.

Juliette Lewis is a foul mouthed bass player with the worst lines in the film. Mr. Thornton needs to work on his storytelling skills.

When I read that this story was based on a real life serial killer, I had to see it and I was not disappointed.

Larry Lee Ranes is the actual killer and he is named Bobby here and is played to the hilt by Jacob Elordi. His mannerisms are similar to those of the Charles Starkweather character in Badlands with Martin Sheen as the James Dean type of character.

Jim is on the road with his show biz chimp and he picks up the youthful and innocent looking hitchhiker(Elordi), not realizing that his passenger is on the run after a few brutal murders.

The violent acts are briefly shown in flashbacks and the film is more a character study than a true crime story.

The two leads have perfect chemistry and He Went That Way is a solid 8/10.

I admit to have unusual taste in films and Rideshare is right up there with other oddities like Eating Raoul from many years back. It is all a matter of personal taste. Many of the reviews are extremely negative but I was entertained by the strangeness of the story.

Jason drives a Prius and picks up an assortment of passengers in the hours after midnight and asks his customers if they are thirsty and would like some water. Those who take him up on his offer have not made a wise decision as it turns out that the generous driver is a serial killer.

The situations are frequently funny and I recommend this low budget entry.

For those awaiting surgery, do not watch this mini-series. The graphic scenes shown with intense blood and guts will forever keep me from ever seeking medical advice.

Dr. Christopher Duntsch was a brilliant doctor and medical researcher who, unfortunately, lacks a conscience of any kind.

Duntsch is played by a Canadian actor by the name of Joshua Jackson and he is nothing short of brilliant. He captures the menacing stare and unmatched ego of the good doctor.

Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater are the doctors who report their colleague after a few unnecessary deaths due to the malfeasance of the psycho physician.

I was reminded of The Good Nurse, with the only difference being that Charles Cullen was a nurse in New Jersey. In both cases, the hospitals attempted to cover thier asses. Our medical system is all about the Benjamins.

I would have preferred a more linear style of storytelling, and at almost seven hours, the series could have been cut down to four hours. A solid 8/10.

The stunning Gloria Guida is Daniela, a young prostitute who goes by the name of "Blue Jeans." She wears booty shorts with verve and is arrested at the beginning of the film which leads her to come up with a story of a dead mother and father who has abandoned her.

The police believe her tale and bring in a man who is told that her name matches his and that he must be her daddy.

It is off to a castle that he is restoring and let the fireworks begin. His live-in girlfriend is none to pleased with his supposed "daughter" sauntering around the place in sexy attire.

Miss Guida sheds her clothes on numerous occasions and she is simply breathtaking.

The story contains some decent humor and I liked the ending. A solid 7/10.

Liam Neeson is Finbar Murphy, living in Donegal at the times of the Troubles in the north of Ireland in 1974. The hitman for hire has decided that it is time to hang up his gun when a troubled little girl forces him to come out of retirement for one more kill.

Kerry Condon is a dedicated member of the IRA and has just led a car bombing in Belfast which has killed two children near the blast.

She and her cohorts wind up in Donegal where her brother has been done in by Finbar for his treatment of the daughter of a neighbor. The gun toting freedom fighter seeks revenge for the death of her brother.

Neeson and Condon are terrific in the lead roles and the Irish scenery is breathtaking. As a fan of Dostoyevsky, I was able to guess the final scene. One of the best films of 2023.

I have always been intrigued by events of 11/22/63 and even though I was only less than a month from my sixth birthday, I can remember walking into our family kitchen and telling my mother that the president had been shot.

A perfect companion to the documentary is David Lifton's massive book, "Best Evidence," which provides in-depth details as to the strange happenings involving the body of JFK and the cursory autopsy done by military doctors in Washington, D. C. rather than in Dallas.

Eight emergency room physicians who were present when Kennedy was brought in all agreed that the wound to the throat was an entrance wound were astounded with the conclusions of the Warren Report. As Lifton's book speculated, the wounds were altered in order to verify the conclusion that Oswald was the lone gunmen.

The Zapruder clip is shown and it is quite obvious that Kennedy was shot from the front.

The film is a very good one and should be of interest to anyone seeking the truth.

This was right up my alley as it combined two of my obsessions; serial killers and computers.

A young model with a resemblance to a murdered teenage girl attends the trial of the suspected murderer. She meets a fellow courtroom enthusiast and they a join the maddening crowds at the spectacle.

The suspect is kept in a room within the courtroom and he is kept behind glass.

The model is an internet geek and soon learns of the dark web where supposed snuff films are available at auction for the right price. She hacks her way into that world in order to uncover the missing video of one of the victims.

Red Rooms is a realistic portrayal of the dangers of modern technology.

Having read a book on the pig farmer Robert Pickton, I was familiar with most of the details in the film. Jake Busey is well cast as the serial killer. He and his brother inherited a large farm and sold a portion of it for a couple of million dollars. They hosted parties with attendees being mostly bikers and drug addicted prostitutes. Cocaine was provided by the genial hosts and after many years of missing sex workers the Canadian cops took an interest in the mystery.

A massive pig is the costar and he is extremely well fed by Robert with the severed body parts of the wayward women.

Unfortunately, the accompanying soundtrack is loud and intrusive. The main artist actually performs live at a party and the man has no musical talent and he should change career paths.

A former porn star named Ginger Lynn is cast as Robert's incestuous mother. The storyline is not for the squeamish.

Luckily, I stayed past the final credits as there is a scene with Pickton in jail reminiscing over his final body count.

Other than a solid lead performance by Busey, I was unimpressed with Killer Pig.

Two brothers come upon a corpse which has been hacked up and upon further investigation discover that some evil spirit has invaded the town.

They visit a woman whose son's body looks like some kind of infected, blubbery mess. I was expecting a Father Karras type of priest(The Exorcist) but apparently the modern day people of Argentina have little regard for religion of any kind.

Instead, the bro's decide to remove the fleshy mess from the comforts of home and take him on a long and scenic road trip.

They drop off said problem and head back to their village where strange things begin to happen.

The film held my interest most of the way but the ending is quite ambiguous.

Sister Narcisa arrives at a convent in 1949 after receiving visions of the Virgin Mary ten years earlier.

The young novice begins experiencing strange events, such as a chair falling over from time to time.

She is given the assignment of teaching a classroom of young girls as she prepares to take her final vows.

The storyline becomes a bit confused with some flashbacks showing the rape of a nun by soldiers during the war.

We get a large dose of Hail Mary's, Our Father's and Glory Be's along the way. Those of us raised Catholic are very familiar with those particular prayers as part of our daily rosaries.

The film is a slow burn but the ending is decent.

Beneath Clouds is a character driven drama with two great performances by the lead actors. Lena(Danielle Hall) hides the fact that her mother is Aboriginal and only recognizes the whiteness of her Irish father.

Vaughn(Damian Pitt) is a young Black man who escapes from a prison farm in order to visit his dying mother in Sydney.

Along the road the two meet up and it becomes a road trip with the pair on screen for a majority of the movie. Vaughn lectures Lena on the horrible racial history of their nation. His partner idealizes her father and says that she wishes to leave Australia to live in Ireland.

My only complaint is the lack of subtitles and at times, this American had trouble understanding the Aussie accents.

Danielle Hall and Damian Pitt make Beneath Clouds a worthy film.

I read a review which compared this film to the Canadian version of Martyrs and so I took a shot at it.

I gave Martyrs a 9/10 and it is my #1 horror movie of all time. Megalomaniac does not come close. I was bored throughout the silliness of the story and the lack of clarity with flashbacks that made no sense to this viewer.

Felix and his sister Martha are the offspring of a notorious serial killer and the siblings carry on in the family tradition. Felix abducts women and murders them and then leaves them at the side of the road. His sister lives with him in their gothic house and works at a factory where she is harassed by her co-workers.

A social worker pays monthly visits to the home for unexplained reasons while a young woman is chained to a wall in a nearby room.

The ending is a bloody mess and I do not recommend this film.

Words cannot describe how good this documentary is. Sister Helen is a real life saint who ran a shelter for twenty-one drug addicted men who must obey the nun's military-like facility.

Helen was married and lost her husband and one son to substance abuse and another son was knifed to death in the South Bronx where she opened the shelter.

The challenges are enormous with Sister Helen often berating her residents with language not in keeping with her holy vows.

She admits to her own problems with heavy drinking and has no room for excuses, as she has heard them all. Her wards are handed small plastic cups and told that it is time to p***.

Sister Helen is unlike any nun I have ever met, and I was taught to read and write by Franciscans as a child. Get out your handkerchiefs for this unforgettable film.