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Reviews
Russian Doll (2019)
More than just Groundhog Day
When I saw the premise for the story I was thinking "meh, been there, done that", but looked better than the other choices available. Wow, was i wrong. This might sound like standard groundhog stuff, but it adds a layer or two to the concept. Halfway through and I have no idea what is going to happen next. Mind-bending to say the least. Supposedly there is a season 2, which I can't imagine how they can follow-up on this story, unless it goes the direction of Black Mirror.
Shazam! (2019)
Finally a Wholesome Superhero
I've gotten tired of the super-heroes that are arrogant rich guys (Iron Man), arrogant jokers (Deadpool) or the ones that get handed ultimate powers and don't appreciate people below them (Captain Marvel). So I went into this movie hoping simply for a comedy, but was pleasantly surprised to see the character grow through the story to value wholesome ideals. My son said it wasn't realistic to always expect a superhero to be good all the time, but I think that is the point of a superhero movie. If I wanted to see a movie where the character didn't grow to be a better person, then I could just watch the world around me.
This might not be the superhero that people want, but it's the one they need.
Captain Marvel (2019)
When did heroes become jerks?
I was more than a bit put off by how Captain America was so smug and condescending to the people around her. Sure she's invincible, but she was supposedly human at one point. maybe it's because she was also a fighter pilot at one point and those guys are stereotypically arrogant as well. To be fair, Tony Stark (Iron Man) is also insufferable arrogant as well, which makes me dislike his movies as well. Deadpool has this type of vibe as well. Seems like this is a pattern.
It's for this reason that I don't think this movie is for everyone. If you want a hero to serve as a role model, then a smug, jerk, know-it-all is not something you want your children looking up to. It used to be that heroes were the good guys and not simply the ones that win the fight for your side. Why can't we have a hero that is compassionate, plays fairly and serves as a role model?
Cut Bank (2014)
not the cookie cutter spy thriller
I don't know why there wasn't more talk about this movie, because I thought it was wonderful. There are no car chases or government spies jumping between rooftops, but simply a story driven movie. You can empathize with a couple of characters the acting is that good.
However the movie is odd enough that the characters are best described as cartoonish in their single mindedness. Halfway through, you will know who is who and their roles play out as you'd expect. Still the acting shines through and it's nice to finally connect with the characters.
No, perhaps this is not a blockbuster that people expectantly await for months ahead of time, but it's solid story-telling.
The Hunger Games (2012)
Why is it called the Hunger Games?
I went with several people that never read the books and none of them understood why it was called the Hunger Games. Didn't the creators kinda miss this major point or did they plan on only fans watching the movie? I suppose no movie is going to meet up to the expectations of the fans of the book, but this was a pretty big oversight.
Filming at the beginning was horrible. It's that shaky type of filming they do in TV police dramas. You know the kind, where you get dizzy and have to look away. I'm not sure what they were thinking, but thankfully they stopped this about 1/3 of the way through. Maybe the shakiness was supposed to represent hunger?
The acting was good and what special effects there were turned out nice as well. The quintessential moment of fire was thankfully not a disappointment.
I think the problem is that they needed the movie to be 3 hours to really convey more of the book's essence. Still everyone that read the books will have to see this. If you didn't read the books, judging by the people that went with me that didn't, you probably can wait till it comes out on DVD.
Jericho (2006)
slower than Lost
Another commenter said it best when he called this a soap opera, because that's what it is. The focus is on interpersonal relationships and not much plot. It sounds like a great premise, but they only release one small plot point every episode and the other 95% of the time is spent on relationship building. You know you can fast forward through a scene when a couple of characters sit down, because it'll be a 3-4 minute discussion about feelings and it doesn't alter the plot at all.
The TV series Lost had the same kind of methodology, where they would release a little more info each week. The thing with Lost though was that everything was just so wacky that they gave you a bunch of plot points each episode and still there was something fresh to develop in the next one. The problem with Jericho is that it's pretty straight forward on what might happen, so they had to withhold too much and ration it out slowwwwlllly. If they played purely plot content, the story would fit into a hour and a half movie. Actually I bet this would have been a great movie, but they went with a TV series. I suppose it's difficult to take a movie plot and stretch it out 30-40 hours, so I suppose it' understandable that the spare time would be filled with interpersonal relationships.
If you're a sci-fi fan or like post-apocalyptic stories, I'd stay away from this. Your time is better spent watching Firefly again.
Armored (2009)
which are the good guys?
This film confuses me. Nearly the entire movie, I'm rooting for the "bad guys" to win. A few other reviewers have said the same thing already, but I just had to get this off my chest.
The cast is great, the filming is wonderful and direction even seems OK. The story just sends me for a loop though. It's a complete failure in concept of the script that makes this film fall flat.
It's like Luke Skywalker siding with Darth Vader, since the Empire was the lawful government in the galaxy. After all, Luke et al. were really just some rebel insurgents causing problems and destabilizing the galaxy. Still we empathized with the rebel force, because people like the underdog and want to fight oppression. Where is that in this movie? The bank is foreclosing on the protagonists house and he gets the chance to steal their money. He's a decorated war veteran and yet he's not even allowed to work extra hours to try to make ends meet. To add insult to injury, the state is coming in to break up his family (taking his brother away to foster care). So what does he do? He turns on his friends, burns up $42 million and ends up with not so much as a thank-you. Some might say that the bank he served to protect might be willing to end the foreclosure of his house as a reward, but come on, we all now that's fantasy. The banks would probably sue him for burning the money up or if they were feeling generous, simply collect their insurance payout for the lost currency. His only thank-you would be not to receive prosecution for going along with the plan when he submitted a false status report.
I'm not a screenwriter, but I think it should be obvious to most people that the plot is backwards here. I don't care if the bank gets their money, I want to see the family stay together and keep their house. The only thing I was left with after this movie is the message that serving your masters is reward onto itself. Gee thanks, the good guys clearly lost at the end of this one and that's depressing.
Triangle (2009)
Surprisingly good
I wasn't expecting this to be such a good movie. I don't recall much hype or marketing of this movie, so it came as a pleasant surprise. Something about this screams b-movie, but it is really a top notch film. I would compare it to the surprise I had from watching Tarantino's El Mariachi, since both seem low budget, but deliver where it counts.
The movie makes you think and while it's not going to be some stunning shocker by the end, it will stay with you for quite a while. Not in a sick or disturbing way, not even in a good way either, more of a philosophical way. If a movie can do this, then I think it's worth it for everyone to watch it at least once.
Edge of Darkness (2010)
Wasn't Mel Gibson a good actor once?
It's hard to say what exactly is wrong with this movie. Its premise is OK, the actors are OK and the filming is actually nice. I would probably have to describe what went wrong simply as lack of passion.
It seems like maybe the director is at fault here. I haven't even paid attention to who directed it, hopefully it wasn't Gibson himself, but maybe that would explain the resulting dull performance he gave on camera.
What can I say to clue anyone reading this as to what is wrong with the film? How about it's boring, implausible, predictable or maybe simply tedious. It has to be bad direction, because the ingredients all seem there to be a worthwhile show, so it must simply be poor execution. Does this convey the message?
If you want my advice as to whether to see this film or not, look up who the director actually was, see if you liked any of his other movies and decide based on that.
Deadgirl (2008)
original and disturbing
It's not often that a movie can add a new aspect to the horror genre. How many different ways can you make a slasher or silence of the lambs film? This film is nothing if it is not original. You might be disturbed, you might call this filth and you might think it should be banned from viewing, but you'll have to admit that you haven't seen something like this before.
I thought acting, direction and filming was all very well done. The writing may have been a little better to explain some of the pre and post story, but hey, how plausible are 99% of other horror films anyway.
Bottom line, if you can stomach it after the first 15 minutes, then this is well worth the time to watch if you are into real horror. I wouldn't say it should be watched by anyone that is expecting the typical 'jump out from behind a corner' movie, this is real horror and is something that that can't be unseen once watched.
The Hurt Locker (2008)
Intriguing, but stops short
It seems that people are either hating this film or loving it. Well, I think I can easily sum this up for anyone considering watching this.
It's basically "Generation Kill", just with different characters and not enough time to develop all the characters. The movie was over two hours and yet I wanted to learn more about the characters. I was really drawn into the characters and there was a lot of depth that could have been played upon, yet it seems a lot of story remains on the cutting room floor. Besides the characters, there seemed to be a few sub-plots to the story that were not being told and it really left me wanting more. Perhaps this really should have been told in a mini-series format, because some things are just left hanging and you need to fill in the details yourself. Maybe if it was a mini-series though, the Generation Kill producers would cry foul, because they're that close in format to one another. It makes me wonder which production came first or was there some collaboration between them?
Bottom line, if you liked Generation Kill, then you'll like this without a doubt. It's production is the same caliber and it's only missing the length to call it a true squeal.
Amusement (2008)
High production value
It seems that a lot of reviewers are critical of this movie, but I rather liked it. I would say it's fairly original, though perhaps most of it's various components have been done in prior movies. What do you expect from the horror genre, new and completely original ideas for the dozens of movies appearing every year? I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea about thinking this movie is a rehash of a prior movie plot, because I don't believe it is. I didn't really know where the story was headed and it kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end. I thought the acting, direction and overall production were excellent. I would recommend this film to just about any horror fan and I think everyone will find something to enjoy.
The only criticisms that I can make has been mentioned by a couple of others already, which is the editing and screenplay. The story doesn't fit together very well, until the very end and then you can understand what they were trying to create. The real problem here is that there seems to be parts missing from the story, which you can fill in fairly well for yourself, but the film never really attempts to detail these out for you. It's hard to really describe without giving spoilers, but it's like the film Saw in it's intricacy at times, but with a multimillion dollar price tag to all the gadgets. I suppose a deranged killer can have a lot of disposable income, but you just don't imagine him spending it all on an apparent one time event.
Again, it's easy to pick apart the missing pieces of this film, but while I was watching it I felt it was nicely done and well worth my time.
Eden Lake (2008)
Sleeper hit
I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by this film. The whole premise seemed done and then done again many times, but they seem to have pulled this one off with some uniqueness. While I thought I would be able to predict the script through the entire movie, I must say that by halfway through I didn't know where this was going and by the end of the movie I was a bit disturbed like I hadn't been in awhile from watching a movie. Filming, direction and most of the acting was very well done. I might criticize some of the acting and scripting regarding the boyfriend, but it's easily overlooked since the rest of it is much better. All in all, I think anyone that enjoys a suspenseful movie will find this worthwhile.