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sakulin
Reviews
Alien Contactee (2020)
Amazing How Gullible People Are
What nonsense. Sorta like listening to a TV preacher interpreting the Book of Revelations. This Turi character is a total phony, an astrology nut and a (marginal) motivational speaker. He calls himself a doctor but his only legitimate piece of paper is a certificate in welding. WELDING! He claims a doctorate in metaphysics which he bought from a diploma mill in Sacramento.
He has had alien encounters? Consider that the only people who claim such encounters are yokels who always relate that the aliens primary interest is in their private parts. It's similar to medieval claims of seeing the Virgin Mary with the claims always made by ignorant young country girls. Do we ever hear of aliens making contacts with professors at universities? .
Turi claims his first encounter is with some "big" aliens in a bar late at night. Any society capable of space travel would be, intellectually, far superior to those of us on Earth. Why would they be in a bar late at night waiting for teenage Turi and asking him if he wanted to play cards?
Reading other reviews on here it appears that this guy has a cult following. How naive can you all be? In my local newspaper the astrology forecasts are appropriately on the same page as the comics.
Arizona (2018)
Violent Trash
Wasted my time watching this stuff. A cast of unpleasant characters.
Welcome to Mooseport (2004)
Lame Romantic Comedy
I usually don't watch romantic comedies because they are often lame - this was no exception. I enjoy Gene Hackman and Maura Tierney which is why I decided to watch it. The character played by Ray Romana was not convincing.and was a complete dunce. Why would a bright young veterinarian have anything to do with this jerk? Who but a jerk would open an engagement ring box over an open sewer grate? There were some laughs but it dragged at the end and got overly sentimental. Not my cup of tea.
Fauda (2015)
Should Have Been Called "Revenge"
I had a difficult time identifying the good guys because they all appear to be a bunch of undisciplined thugs. Rather violent. I find myself sympathetic with the Palestinians, after all, it was their land that was stolen. What hope do they really have? And establishing a nation based upon mythology? come on.
The Death of Stalin (2017)
A Let Down
I was expecting a serious depiction of history but what I saw was slapstick. This was supposed to funny? Factual? One scene had a reference to Abbott and Costello which is what it resembled. Half an hour was enough for me. What a waste of a very good team of actors. One star is generous.
Salt (2010)
Unbelievable Garbage
This unfortunately is the type of trash that Hollywood does so well. Why did I keep watching it? The violence is so intense and the stunts so utterly ridiculous that the movie is almost laughable. Anti-Russian propaganda that would have one believe that Russia has completely infiltrated our society. I thought the Bourne series were bad but this makes them appear to be a picnic. CRAP!
The Dyatlov Pass Incident (2013)
Don't be Duped - Just Another Horror Flick
Began well and leads a viewer to believe that the movie may be a fact based documentary but then, about half way through, the characters began displaying their immaturity. About two thirds in, the movie fell apart with an incredulous amount of nonsense which revealed that this was just another run of the mill horror flick. Don't get sucked in as I did and expect to see some facts about the Dyatlov Pass Incident. There is nothing here!
The Killer Inside Me (2010)
A Sick Motion Picture
If a viewer is a misogynist they will love this disgustingly violent movie. What prompts a novelist, screenwriter and/or director to produce a disturbing script such as this? Is it a reflection of our society? The senseless beating of women to a bloody pump must hold little attraction for most viewers and I was sickened by the gratuitous violence. I should have pulled the plug after watching the first beating but wanted to see the sick deputy get his comeuppance. Just another example of Hollywood trying to appease America's appetite for bloodlust.
Everest (2015)
Boring and Annoying (possible spoiler alert)
Couldn't wait for this movie to be over and had zero sympathy for these fools that put their lives at risk to climb a mountain. The Brolin character claimed that he was bored when at home but felt alive when climbing. Later admitted when on the mountain that he had eyesight problems. Real smart guy. Duh. Was the loss of his hands and nose worth it? Think of the self created anguish through which they put their families. Like skiers, who venture into dangerous territory after being warned of an avalanche risk, relatives ask the authorities to put others at risk to save these macho idiots.
I'm reminded of a movie that I saw years ago about two Austrians attempting to scale the north face of the Matterhorn. Near the end of the movie one of them was hanging helplessly from a rope shouting that he didn't want to die (which he did). Thought about that a little late didn't he! Totally boring.
The Habitation of Dragons (1992)
Dreadful TV Movie
I made the mistake of watching this slow moving drama on a cable channel. Obviously created as a stage production I found it plodding and annoying. Living in the south I found the phony Southern accents overdone, as usual, and unrecognizable. There were too many characters and the males were difficult to sort out because they all looked similar. The constant bickering which began immediately was grating and continued throughout the movie until I was urging the movie to end and get the misery over. The acting was dreadful and reminiscent of a high school production. The fact that writer Foote had two of his relatives in the cast should have been ample warning not to watch this drivel. Like many others I'm sure, I find it difficult to view Jean Stapleton as anyone other than Mrs. Archie Bunker.
A Life Apart: Hasidism in America (1997)
An Interesting View Of Hasidism
This movie was an amazing look at Hasidism, the extreme Jewish group that behave and dress in a rather bizarre manner. The movie reminded me of Jesus Camp, a horror documentary about the indoctrination of Christian children. A Life Apart is similar in the respect that it involves indoctrination of vulnerable Jewish children. This branch of Judaism can only be considered an anachronism and projects an exclusivity that is rather frightening. The manner in which they lived, particularly in Eastern Europe, invited persecution.
Like most religions, Hasidism is patriarchal and women are relegated to a role of being essentially baby machines. The average family has ten children which results in an economic burden for most families. They have their own schools, and like all church schools, library books are rigidly censored. Members of this cult, and it is a cult, don't interact with other members of society and believe that they are superior to any other. The clothing worn by the men is dreadful as is the strange head-ware and they appear to have a fetish about beards and hair. Most of the men wear thick coke-bottle glasses.
I found the movie fascinating but these people are from another era. I find their society very similar to that of Islam a religion with which they are in constant conflict. I came away from this film feeling very sorry for the members trapped within it and particularly for the children. Very sad but an eye opener.
Lulu on the Bridge (1998)
A Rip Off
Sure it was suspenseful. It was fascinating for about 90 minutes until the anthropologist (Defoe) grilled our protagonist (Keitel) about his childhood and his relationship with his brother and father. Then I knew that I had been had! The writer and directors had adopted a staple of the soap operas and TV movies, but instead of just a little dream sequence, the whole thing was a dream sequence. The whole story came crashing down when I realized that the only mystery in the movie was choosing between Keitel imagining this as he lay on the night club floor or laying in the hospital bed. I hate dream sequences. One can do anything with them. People fascinated with this movie after seeing the distasteful ending are deluding themselves. Shame on the director. Go back to the soaps.
Birth (2004)
Pretentious Crap
Wasted almost two hours watching this nonsense. Reincarnation? Right! A questionable technique successfully used by the Brahmans to control Hindu society. And what ten year old would become involved in such a bizarre plot to, I assume, seduce a mature woman? He hasn't even entered puberty. He would be out playing with his friends. And Nicole is playing a role of obviously a successful business woman? She is a nut case. Unbelievable.
Comments at this site often are made by frustrated wannabe movie critics. Very few of the comments are written in the vernacular. In contrast to MRQE, where the critics are employed and use everyday English (that's why they are employed folks), the posters here often use a stilted form of English to which I can't relate. Who do they think they are impressing? Only themselves, I suggest. The reviews are similar to the nonsense that I remember reading on the rear cover of jazz lp's that I bought years ago. What did all that flowery prose mean?
Anyway, this movie was not entertaining and had little, if any, relationship to real life. People don't behave in this manner. Only Lauren Bacall seemed like anybody that I know. I suppose it's stimulating if you believe in UFO's, astrology, or buy all those urban legends. Nonsense!
La double vie de Véronique (1991)
Dreadful
I watch a movie to be entertained. This flick was not entertaining. Symbolism be damned. The movie was as annoying as many of the reviews posted on here, a bit over the top. Reviewers at this site are apt to try to impress readers with their literary skill. They read like the nonsense I remember printed on the covers of old LPs. Doublespeak. Please people, lets restrict our comments to plain old everyday English.
I'm an American but prefer foreign movies to most of the action crap produced by Hollywood. This one was a bit much. The gloomy photography was annoying. The French Veronique was one short of a six pack. She never bothered to look at the photographs she took in Poland? She decided she was in love with her stalker after inviting him to her hotel room? Love? Both women were totally promiscuous and the viewer never knew the guys the women were having sex with.
I'm sorry but I didn't get it. A waste of 100 minutes of my life. I could find similar symbolism watching paint dry. One poster, from Spain, took at swipe at at the American movie industry of which I am no great fan. However, his comments reflect the xenophobia is alive and well in Spain as it here here in the US.
Wonderland (1999)
British Working Class Life in the 30's
A very poignant tale that reflects working class life in the UK in the 1930's. I know. I was there and can relate to Liam because I was also a stutterer. I lived in a bleak London working class suburb in a ubiquitous row house, altho' a little better the one depicted in this movie. Liam reflects the lives of quiet desperation that most of the working class Brits lived. Bread and drippin', and bubble and squeak, were part of our everyday diet. Anti-Catholic? I don't think so. I think a more true reflection of what churches practice to impose their control and cook the minds of young children. The movie was very sad and brought back bitter memories for me. Fortunately I escaped the poverty and emigrated to the US. I know how poor Liam felt when his mother sent him on errands which required him to try to talk to the shop keepers and neighbors. For us stuttering children it is truly a terrifying experience. An unsatisfactory ending perhaps but for most working class families there is no satisfactory ending.
The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
Eye Candy for Violence Addicts
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS Another Hollywood exercise in gratuitous violence. Entertaining perhaps but a tad tedious. A formula flick. We know immediately that the girl is going to get whacked. And we also know that one of the main bad guys is a CIA insider. Matt appears to have all the tools at the perfect time. He just " happened" to have a license plate in his bag of tricks, a mind-boggling supply of tools to perform his deeds, and an endless supply of money. He was fluent in God knows how many languages and how can any human take such physical punishment and keep walking. He never ate, never slept, never went to the john. If he was so smart why didn't he take a time out to disguise himself. Even a Groucho mask.
And the ending. Give me a break. The endless car chase. Get it over with. Haven't we seen this before? Maybe a thousand times? And no automobile can take that kind of punishment and keep rolling.
A few days before watching this crap I had seen a beautiful Chinese flick called "The Way Home". No violence and just nice people. And prior to that a fantastic Spanish production "Talk to Her". Why can't Hollywood make thoughtful movies like these? I suppose that Bourne is a reflection of our violent society.
This was a waste of my time.
Cost of Living (1997)
Dreadful
What was it about? Too many unexplained circumstances, above all, why are these guys attracted to this vile woman? Falco plays one of the most unpleasant female roles that I have ever seen on the screen. And she certainly isn't attractive. (SPOILERS) Who is the biker? Who is the guy who claims to be her husband? Why is she always driving other guys cars? Don't the goons who live in this fishing community have anything on their minds but sex and booze? What is she doing here anyway? How did the biker and her husband find her in this hole?
She was telling her friends that she was leaving town but wouldn't leave. In one of the late scenes where she was telling her love sick mechanic boy friend that she was leaving, I found myself screaming at the screen for her to please leave already. A waste of time. Garbage.
Love Walked In (1997)
Dreadful
What a waste of time. The characters weren't believable. Stamp behaved like a zombie. I didn't see him smile during the entire movie. He was gaga over the female lead, who I thought was nothing in particular, and her singing left me cold. And the annoying parallel story - wow! Don't watch it. I give it a 1, and I'm being generous.
Domestic Disturbance (2001)
Belongs on the Lifetime Channel
Dreadful movie. What is Travolta doing in garbage like this. Travolta's dumb ex-wife marries this hunk, knowing nothing about him.....and he has a past. This goon knocks off his partner in crime, which is seen by his snotty stepson who blabs, is not believed, and is then terrorized by his stepfather. Formula ending. Don't waste your time seeing this garbage. You can catch stuff like this on the male-bashing Lifetime channel any evening.
Vernon, Florida (1981)
Great Documentary
I loved this movie. Living in Alabama I have visited many small towns just like Vernon. Heck, I know people like this where I live now. They are wonderfully entertaining. Some reviewers complain that it is cruel and pokes fun at southerners, old people, and the uneducated. Nonsense. We southerners love this stuff. This is real life Mayberry, one of the most enduring of all TV shows, which also parodies small town southern life - and we love it. Morris is magnificent. Incidentally, I will be in Vernon in October.
High Crimes (2002)
Dreadfull Movie
A formula flick. Morgan Freeman always has great presence on the screen but haven't we seen the former great lawyer, now an alcoholic, resurrected to solve a mystery, so many many times before? Please! The ridiculous twist at the end completely invalidates the plot. Considering the ending. one has to ask "why did all those nonsensical events take place earlier in the story?" An insult to a viewers intelligence. A total waste of time. A big fat "F".