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Xlyfindel
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Return to Sandakan (1995)
Informative and Gut-Wrenching
As a product of the United State's public school system, my knowledge of Australian history is abysmal. I had never heard of the people, places, and war crimes covered by this movie and was very skeptical throughout. However I was quickly enthralled, the few survivors being interviewed and the excellent retelling of the experiences they survived was really eye-opening. I couldn't stop watching and was blown away by the thoroughness of the endeavor. Not only did they interview the Australian survivors and their families, but also some of the Japanese and Axis soldiers and their families as well. I was in disbelief. The wounds of war obviously run very deep and even though this movie is already more than a decade old there is still no definitive end in sight for the lingering animosity. I don't know how well this film did or how it was published or broadcast, but I'm really glad that I finally did see it and hope that many others see it also.
The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)
Great Setup for a TV series
I can't give this a very high rating, but there are admirable efforts being put forth here. The setting is very small, with most of the movie taking place in just one room, and the cast is likewise tiny. Neither of those are bad at all, but the focus of the movie still somehow seems distracted despite the lack of distractions. For example, the beginning of the film starts with what appears to be a straightforward police procedural, then diverts strongly into the young-love tangent between the son and his girlfriend which had no appreciable effect on the story at all except to break-up the tone being set and add a few minutes to the run-time.
Much later on, near the end of the film, the old man promises to help Jane Doe, but immediately goes back on his word because he can't handle the suffering of taking on her wounds, which is healing her. He tries to kill himself but only succeeds in intimating to his son that he should kill him. This gets his son killed because the dad's bargain with the witch was to leave his son alone and take him only, but what was the point in it at all? He didn't seem like the type to be wishywashy or panic under stress, his character had been established as being quite stoic and having deep personal sense of integrity regarding his work and family. Bizarre.
What this movie does do right though, is establish a profound interest in the silent character of Jane Doe. The ending is very open, and with a little more care put into the exposition and plot direction, I could see how this could easily have spun-off into a mini/full serial on TV/streaming-service. I personally want to see what happened before, all the way back to her origin story especially, and what happens next, such as whether the van even gets to where it was going or what.
My initial impression was to rate it 7 stars but after a few hours thinking back on it kind of soured my opinion of it.
Priceless (2016)
Honest to Good Goodness
I had no idea what I was getting into with this movie. Throughout the whole film I kept getting the feeling that it was really trying hard to make the good guy look cool. To make doing the right thing seem like the right thing to do. I really like that. The bad guys weren't overly glorified or vilified either. I don't think they went too far, and it doesn't smack of the in your face over the top cheese-fest that other movies dealing with the subject usually have. I know the story well from made-for-TV movies though never was it so professionally shot or well acted.
There are only a few gripes i have about the movie, and they are personal irks that I can understand probably were taken into consideration and decided against by the creators.
1,) I really wish they had used the word RAPE at any point in the film. Everything else was so honest and boldfaced that it seems a shame to try and sugar coat it with euphemisms and allusions. 2,) The end seems really rushed and cut short. There are a lot of questions left unanswered, but I believe it is because they needed to get their message out after the climax instead of a concise denouement. 3,) They could have done a better job with working in the daughter and her relationship and importance to James. As it is it seems a bit contrived and little fake.
None of those are great detriments, and the message is important too. The movie was legitimately entertaining and kept my attention from very early on. I'm planning on watching it again with certain friends and recommending it as well. I'm glad I saw it.
Pablo (2012)
I hope he got his sauna
Dude clearly had a giant impact and i think he at least deserved to get his sauna. I know that the movie is a means to that as well as a chronicle and testament to the man's work and life. I really am happy to see artists and designers getting documentaries made with their input and charisma on screen. So far he is the youngest of the few I've seen and that says something since he's like 72 in the picture. Video documentaries make these people so much more accessible to the youth and uncouth and really do a great service for everyone's benefit. I mean, how many people even realize that opening credits are something people get paid for?
Nocturnal Animals (2016)
Boring
A movie about a book. Nothing new. Hold up, wait, try this! A movie about reading a book. WTF? Were you thinking? Why would anyone consider this a good idea? Oh, my mistake, not even a book. A manuscript! So much better. Right? Wrong...
Not gonna lie, Jake Gyllenhaal is great in this and really drew me into his character's side of the story. However being brought out of it and into some nonsense about a totally fake feeling and incomplete character reading the story is ridiculous. She is the main character and not even close to fleshed out, her dress and make up are demure and boring on purpose which could have been interesting if there was anything explaining her motivations or lifestyle choices, however instead there are silent shots panning around bland environments in muted tones and ugly colors. I know the design choices were made on purpose to be unappealing, but just leave it out instead of wasting your production budget on stupid-expensive looking sets/locations. Poor kids love that sh*t tho so of course that what we get. I think if just the guys story were presented in a re-edited version it would be a solid, if a little cliché, film at a watchable length around an hour twenty tops. As it is, it is way too long and visually dis- interesting, off- putting, and bland to make sitting through almost 2 hours a worthwhile use of anyone's time.
The Hole (2009)
Should have checked the rating
This is really a kids film.
I went in expecting something more like the Ring or Ouji and taking the blurb to heart I was prepared for some spooky creepiness. I wasn't disappointed with the special effects, and the creepy girl crawling back into the hole definitely got my attention, but the pace and dialogue are definitely aimed at engaging and relating to a pg audience and not really scary or interesting by horror movie standards. Also, the acting was really pretty lame, the little boy was OK, but the other two had such forced and stilted interactions with each other and the other characters that it was actually an effort not to just give up watching part way through. It felt very compartmentalized and I was honestly disappointed at the lack of deaths happening, not even deaths off-screen or something. The old guy who owned the place before the family moved in promised they would all die, but it didn't even come close, 0 out of 3(4?)! When the clown doll didn't grow Freddy claws and slaughter the kid I knew something was up and that is when I looked it up on my phone here and saw that the rating was pg13 and I just sat through the rest of it ashamed for myself and the movie.
The Exterminator (1980)
Not bad
After the opening intro in Vietnam or wherever, the title sequence with the world trade center featured was actually pretty cool. I liked that a lot.
The practical effects were pretty extreme looking and not totally lame like a lot of other films from the era which just go for over the top unbelievable ultra-violence. The story itself is pretty weird, but the action scenes flow together well enough to have kept me from getting bored. I have no idea what the real message of the film was but there seemed to be a few different points the creators were trying to make about politics and social issues at the time.
I don't think this will become a favorite of mine, but I watched it a couple times and didn't hate it.
Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma (1975)
Intensely Dull
This film was recommended to me as a groundbreaking, trendsetting, example of horror film unlike anything I had ever seen. And it is unlike anything I had ever seen in that I don't think I have ever seen a more uninteresting and boring film. The shock value is there, there is no denying that the movie goes for the throat so to speak, with regards to trying way too hard to evoke visceral reactions from the viewer with gratuitous representations of morbidity and depravity. However the production is so poor that mostly it comes across as having the same level of production value as a high school musical. The practical effects are weak, and in the 70's nudity was far from being scandalous whereas now it is just downright tame. The ideas presented in the film are convoluted and a little bit ridiculous. Meandering monologues of old men speaking directly into the camera and shaky camera work throughout the film make it difficult to watch and take seriously despite the grave nature of the subject matter. If you handle boredom well and have a stomach for unsophisticated juvenile political ideals then maybe this outdated eye vomit will be tolerable and entertaining.
I found reading the reviews here to be far more entertaining and interesting than the movie itself
American Honey (2016)
Mindless Unentertainment
Twice as long as it should be and couldn't even keep my attention for 20 minutes at a time. I tried. Watching this at 2-4x speed with subtitles is the only way I could actually sit through the whole movie. And even then, the most tiny distraction from the film be it a text message, an email, or a book I've been putting off reading was far more engaging and entertaining than this movie. I honestly thought it would be good because the blurb drew me in and normally I love these stories where the characters are endearing and growing and beautiful, but these weren't even interesting. I understand the subject matter is pretty boring, but that's all the more reason to make the film shorter and more succinct instead of making it a chore to slog through totally throwaway scenes that blatantly bring nothing to character development or plot progression.
The Greater Good (2011)
Not Immature
My girlfriend was an anti-vaxxer and i always thought it was so strange she took the most conspiratorial aspects to heart. This really broadens the subject to more concrete economical and political terms that are much more realistic. The science is what scares most people and the misunderstanding of it is what starts the crazies going. Presenting just the facts is enough and this film does that satisfactorily.
A lot of the reviews here are people with their own agenda and biases confirming their own stance and reinforcing their own established position. The video they are reviewing however is an attempt to provide an escape from that kind of thinking by presenting opportunities for each side to acknowledge and agree with each other.
I get it, a lot of people are just looking for attention but the fact of the matter is the issue exists and there are things people can do about it.
So why not make things better for everyone?
Into the Blue (2005)
Great couples movie
I actually really like this movie because it has my cute ex-girlfriend's name in it as one of the main characters. Aside from that and it being really cute to watch together I can't give it a really stellar rating. I would have lost all interest about halfway through the movie when it hit a standstill trying to set up dramatic tension between the paper thin characters. It is also a very pretty movie with the setting in someplace I would love to go vacation along with gratuitous underwater scenes. This is the other thing that broke my suspension of disbelief, they are under water for way too long! Even with the professional diver background it seems like it was an unrealistically long amount of time between breathes, which is fine, but then the element of drowning is put into play later. I like the acting in this plenty enough, its just the story and motivating forces moving the character actions seem kind of weak.
Upside Down (2012)
Solid Movie
First, I'll address my own feeling towards this movie. It's just a little bit too romantic for the amount of Sci-Fi present. The discordant themes just don't work for me. I'm willing to suspend my disbelief just so far for making the interesting science parts work, but asking for reinterpretations of classic fairy tale tropes on top of that is a little too much. One or the other and it might keep my attention in a good way. As it is I just can't stop with the nitpicking of just random absurdities on either end. What I really did enjoy was all of the fantastic shots allowed for by the double gravity of the story. The visuals in this movie are very impressive and well done. I also can't fault the acting at all, both leads are convincing and endearing, with a roster of various memorable support. I'd like to like this movie, and I've watched it more than a couple times because my girlfriend loves it, but it just hasn't grown on me at all.
Zombi Holocaust (1980)
Ugh....
This was sooooo bad. I thought it would be a bit of a campy horror flick with great (for the time) practical effects, but I was disappointed on almost all fronts. It started off promising, in a student hospital with plenty opportunity for interesting characters and exciting re-purposing of settings, but got super bland and boring almost immediately. So bad that I think I actually fell asleep sometime between some guy jumping out a window and a bunch of randos calling for help on a cannibal island. The effects were over the top, but far from being good enough to make me think watching the film was worth it. The lead actress is beautiful though, so at least one part they got right. But aside from that I really feel like I wasted my time watching this movie.