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Warrior (2019)
Excellent Time Piece Action Show
I typically don't get worked up over a show. Some that come to mind for me is the X-Files, after a couple seasons had gone by and the alien storyline was really starting to develop, Seinfeld, once again after a couple seasons had gone by and the writing was starting to really get good. Most other shows that I've gotten into I liked, but I wasn't impatiently waiting for the next episode to come out.
This series has started out very well. It's developing storylines and hence the different actors and their parts in the big puzzle.
I'm not going to say the acting is superb, but it's certainly good enough. The show itself is centered on the Chinese experience and perspective of San Francisco Chinatown during the time that the Tong Wars were heating up, so you already have the crime patterns already set up when the main character crosses and ends up in San Fran. Most of the characters then don't understand English, some do. You catch on quickly though, and so you don't have to spend your time reading subtitles the actors speak English and it's implied when they are speaking Chinese. From time to time the show hits you with some subtitled Chinese just to remind you of this. Very well done IMO.
The camera work is SUPERB. The drama is SUPERB. The action is EXCELLENT. The amount of humor thrown in is EXCELLENT.
I've made it through the first 5 episodes and am impatiently waiting for the 6th, and am VERY happy to see season 2 is already planned. Hopefully the quality of the show will remain as good as it is now, and considering the time period they're covering and the events that can take place I assume that this show has at LEAST 3 excellent seasons in store.
I would say I wish a studio would have taken on this Bruce Lee venture years before, but I have to say the camera work and image quality is so good that it would have been a loss for it to have been made with lesser quality imaging. I'm hoping that this will look great in UHD so when I buy the disks I can enjoy even higher quality video than I get from watching this on Cinemax which is coming in @ 720p where I live.
Rotten Tomatoes says this: "Though it often buckles under the weight of its lofty ambitions and ideological pedigree, Warrior's devil may care attitude provides thrilling energy and action that will please those looking for a period drama with a little kick."
I don't know what that's supposed to mean, maybe the writer of the comment is getting too fancy with words and the full meaning is getting lost on himself/herself. I know this though, I have no problem following the storylines, and this particular time period and events were violent, so I would say there's no gratuitous violence and I'm not getting the buckling under any weight of anything. The show is moving at a nice pace right now, although if I were to make any complaint about it, it would be that I wish the writers could have come up with a 16 - 20 episode 1st season, just so they could slow it down a little bit and provide more entertainment. Hopefully the second season will have more episodes than this first season is going to have.
Space's Deepest Secrets (2016)
Good Series
People, when you watch documentaries and feel you could be watching the same thing as was broadcast on some other network, say PBS or BBC, it's probably true.
But that doesn't mean they are knockoffs and judging a DOC on that merit alone is not fair to the different networks. These networks co-produce a lot of documentaries, so that they don't have to do all the work themselves, as is the case with this DOC. It was co-produced by the BBC and the Science Channel. It says so in the credits, for both network's episodes.
I've seen DOCS that were co-produced by National Geographic, PBS, BBC, Arte, and even more including Canada's public TV (whose acronym slips my mind at the moment).
The different networks will release their own versions, and sometimes they can be a year or two off from each other based on the workload of that network. Each network will have their own narrator. Each will set the time of episodes based on how they do commercials, which tend to go something like, American releases other than PBS are 40 minutes long for an hour episode, PBS are around 50 minutes and BBC tend to be around 55 minutes.
I just checked "BBC Horizon Jupiter Revealed" released in 2018. The end credit, the VERY end credit that lists the network and year released says: A BBC Studios co-production with Science Channel.
Be fair people and understand how DOCs are made if you're going to leave comments about them or rate them.
A Star Is Born (2018)
Excellent Movie
Strong points: The MUSIC! Excellent production and performance of the music. I don't think it could have been done any better and am glad Lady Gaga was the female vocalist for this. The acting was also excellent, which is surprising considering Lady Gaga has spent a career making music, so another WELL DONE!
Weak point: The pacing. Mind you, I rated this movie 8/10, so I didn't see it as a failure, but the pacing is uneven. The beginning meet between the couple is done well, but takes some time, and to be able to maintain putting that much into different parts of the couple's relationship would have turned the movie into a 2.5 hour production, which I would have liked better, but I don't mind long movies when done well. What happens is some of the dialog that comes out doesn't seem like there's much backstory for it. So towards the end, the movie gives a snippet of a timestamp in the relationship, then another, then another, and is too rushed. I would have liked those snippets to be a little longer so it didn't feel kind of choppy at the end. It was a good enough storyline to add the additional 15 minutes.
Rango (2011)
Among the best animated features
First, Rango is not for a child who's not in school yet, or for that matter a child who's under about 8, with some variation based on the intelligence level of the child. I personally don't feel there's anything that is just WRONG for a child to watch, and the PG rating is appropriate, vs. PG-13. Most of the humor though won't be understood by a child not exposed to various humor, and a bit of the humor requires an adult mind. Consequently it makes great viewing for adults or a family, or kids near or in their teens.
The imagery of Rango is OUTSTANDING, and I feel the CGI is better than other animated movies, with maybe one or two exceptions where they may be on the same level, and IMO the CGI rivals that of the best blockbuster movies, of any genre.
The storyline isn't complicated, and it doesn't need to be; the journey along the storyline is everything.
If you allow yourself the pleasure, you will laugh or at least smile most your way through the movie, but if you start the movie with an overly critical mind, you'll find your reasons to criticize. I recommend easing up a bit of that critical part of you, and enjoy.
Cults and Extreme Belief (2018)
Good series for the most part
I like the episodes other than those that deal with, and there isn't an easy way to say this using words that label, religions that have been around for a LONG time. I have issues calling them cults. Jehovah's Witness would be one. If you look at conversations that identify why some people call them a cult (very strict rules, indoctrinated, etc...) that really applies to ALL religion. Protestant or Catholic Christians indoctrinate their children too, but they would use the word "teach". They ALL have rules, but it's a matter of how much those within the religion follow them. For instance the Bible makes it very clear about what a Christian is (follow the teachings of Christ, teaching the message of Christ), but may if most don't know how serious that is. If they did, they'd be driving around neighborhoods talking to strangers. The difference is in Christianity, many if not most people who CALL themselves Christian don't really live a Christian life (and I don't mean living poor) because the church they go to doesn't make it clear about what BELIEF really means. You can't believe something that is so life encompassing as religion which is teaching you how to live life, but only pay it lip service. It is life engaging.
So, I don't like a series that differentiates what in my mind would be a religion (Jehovah's Witness) because of it longevity and number of members because it's not something like Islam or Christianity. All religions were started by men, and the teachings are based on what the religious leaders believed is correct view of God's message to humans, along with how to life a life. So, a better series would be "religion, cults and extreme beliefs" and then not try to separate them out, and best to show all religions.
I'm non religious, but was brought up in a Christian household, where my Dad was a Dr. of Theology and going to church was mandatory, along with learning about Christ, along with spreading the word of God (Christ = Christianity).
Hidden Figures (2016)
review of reviews
There are reviews of this movie with pretty low ratings and the reasons that follow have to do with what the person feels is an overstated sense of racism at NASA at this point in time. Segregation, and hence racism in Virginia was enforced BY LAW, so you need to understand that first. There is some good fact checking that has been done about NASA, these women and that time period, and even though this movie is overstated a little, there are commenters who have said that racism pretty much didn't exist in NASA because they were focused on the mission. Well, that's far from true also. The movie does take poetic license on how it's applied and to who the effects were felt the most. For instance, this is from one site that checked the story and got details:
Did Katherine have to run across the NASA Langley campus to use the bathroom? Not exactly. In Margot Lee Shetterly's book, this is something that is experienced more by Mary Jackson (portrayed by Janelle Monáe) than Katherine Johnson. Mary went to work on a project on NASA Langley's East Side alongside several white computers. She was not familiar with those buildings and when she asked a group of white women where the bathroom was, they giggled at her and offered no help. The closest bathroom was for whites. Humiliated and angry, Mary set off on a time-consuming search for a colored bathroom. Unlike in the movie, there were colored bathrooms on the East Side but not in every building. The sprint across the campus in the movie might be somewhat of an exaggeration, but finding a bathroom was indeed a point of frustration.
As for Katherine Johnson herself, Shetterly writes that when Katherine started working there, she didn't even realize that the bathrooms at Langley were segregated. This is because the bathrooms for white employees were unmarked and there weren't many colored bathrooms to be seen. It took a couple years before she was confronted with her mistake, but she simply ignored the comment and continued to use the white restrooms. No one brought it up again and she refused to enter the colored bathrooms.
Another point that was made is that Katherine Johnson said she didn't FEEL racism while she was working there. You need to read in detail to understand that racism was present, although maybe not prevalent. But, what a person FEELS is unique and I know what she meant. She meant that she was wrapped up with the work and her feelings about THAT overrode any other feelings she may have had. It doesn't mean she didn't SEE racism. She CHOSE to feel the positives, since EVERY human controls their feelings whether they know it or not. You either do it actively or passively.
What is TRUE is these women DID face racism at NASA, and if you think they were treated or paid like a white man working at NASA, you are pretty out of touch with the 40s-60s Southern US, which still does it's best to find subtle ways to provide more advantage to whites. I could give a few examples right here where I live, such as closing any licensing offices in predominately black areas so if they want to get an ID they have to make a very long trip, followed by passing ID laws. Subtle.
They happened to be incredibly smart and NASA needed them so they accepted them even though they were black, but they weren't treated the same. The site I visited was History vs Hollywood. A good read there will fill you in to the reality of the story. For me personally, considering I KNOW how much humility, control and pride swallowing they had to go through to even be employed, I can kind of forgive the screen writing of variations of the truth, because they were surrounded by racism at the very least in many subtle ways and in some cases very overt ways. Of course the three women felt it and experienced it in different ways.
Go read before you write a review blasting it for its display of racism. Frankly, it would have been a biased movie to protect the feelings of the white audience if they DIDN'T show it, and it would have been more disingenuous than the slight exaggerations that ended up in the screenplay, and THAT would have been done to sell tickets and discs.
Babel (2006)
One of the Best multi-story Movies
Before watching Babel I had only seen one other movie where you follow multiple story lines and see how they intersect, so you could say this was fresh to me when I watched this movie.
What makes this movie so great is that each story line has a LOT of drama to it and you learn enough about the scenario and characters that it pulls you in to each story. I read another review where the central story lines, the one with Brad Pitt doesn't allow Cate Blanchett to be involved much. Well, yeah because that's the story line. To me if she were more involved it would have been forced and would have ruined it. Brad Pitt did a fantastic job. Some have said he's a little stoic, or emotionless or words to that effect, in various movies but here he does well. News flash. Many men are stoic or emotionless on the outside. To me, that's one of the things that makes him great. There is enough emotion or outward expression from him, in every single movie of his I have seen, that makes those movies real. It's why he's been in so many great movies. It's partly because of him. Their story line is once again the central story line, as all the others have an effect on theirs.
If you enjoy drama this movie will most likely pull you in completely and it will be a wonderful 2 hours and 20 minutes. I've watched it a few times and I am a mix between action and drama kind of guy. In a way this movie comes close to being an action movie in each story line as the drama gets pretty intense. Guess that's why it's been in my player more than once.
I said it's one of the best multi-story movies. Honestly the way I feel is it's at the top and any other great multi-story movie is simply sharing space at the top with Babel.
Dim the light and get out the popcorn.
Hereafter (2010)
Very Interesting Topic
I'm writing a review on this based on the review that IMDb decided is the one you read on the page for the movie, which I find to be a pathetic review of a drama.
I'm a 50 something YO so take that into account when you read this. A drama doesn't need to move quickly. It needs to have a story line that will keep you interested. So if you can only deal with action, or drama that is also thriller/action or whatever, then this movie isn't for you.
If you can only deal with movies that can only be 100% factual, then I suggest that you don't watch movies at all, and stick to documentaries. Oh wait, even they aren't always factual. OK just joking, but I think you get the drift. You can't rip apart a fictional movie based on realism. It's a silly notion if you think about it.
This movie achieves the main points for me to be interested in a movie: Character development, which is knowing enough about a character to be interested one bit in the fact that the character is in the movie (drama, I know that many people are in action movies and last for maybe a second or two as they are shot, cut in half, etc...).
Does the story move at a decent pace? I believe yes. It bounces since characters are going to collide. But it's not overly complicated to follow.
Is the story interesting? Yes. Put your fact checker away people.
Is it believable? Only if you think a person can do what Matt Damon's character was doing, or if you believe in an afterlife. So this is one where a movie has to strike a balance for me to enjoy it, and this one does.
If you put too much emphasis on that last point though, you have to eliminate so many great movies that you shouldn't even bother watching movies.
Those are the basics for me.
The Maze Runner (2014)
Below average action movie
I guess I'm kind of a traditionalist, because I like a story to build, including the part where you get to know the characters at least a little bit.
I go into movies with an open mind and just let the movie unfold. I don't read reviews, although I come to IMDb to see the genres of movies and the rating. When I saw this had a 7 star rating I felt safe going to it.
I'm guessing if you are a young child or a teenager this was interesting as this has all very young actors, which in itself isn't bad, but add that to a lack of story and no character development and I felt like walking out of the theatre about half way in, and the urge was growing the longer the movie went on. However I was there with my wife, we were in the a theatre with food service and I was enjoying the coke and popcorn, and I didn't want to bother my wife.
People get stuck into a living area surrounded by maze, people find a way out in the end after battling some strange mechanical creatures, find out in the end of the movie they were put there as an experiment, and an obvious lead to a sequel as woman says next is phase 2. That's the spoiler. Oh I forgot, there was the character who was mostly an antagonist and the person who pushes to get out via the maze at all cost.
Lilo & Stitch (2002)
Great Family movie
To me this is one of Disney's best if not the best Disney movie ever made. It takes on one of the hardest family situations, children losing their parents and shows just how important family is, while at the same time making an entertaining movie. It balances everything out with smart humor and the fact that this is a sci-fi.
Since this is a sci-fi movie so there is no sense in talking about it being believable or plausible. The problems that go on between the two sisters are very believable though, along with the acting out by Lilo at various points during the movie.
The cartoon actors are all excellent, and so are their voices.