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In the Shadow of the Moon (2019)
Justifying murder for thought crimes
I watched this movie a couple weeks ago, and the more time that passes, the more abhorrent I find this movie.
It is about a serial killer who is able to remotely kill people for having bad thoughts, and the audience is supposed to identify with the killer and excuse their actions. I have been a liberal Democrat all my life, but I am seeing a shift towards radical liberalism in Hollywood that is now leading to a dark, dark place. If this kind of messaging in the moral of this story leads to its natural conclusion (execute anyone who listens to or reads anything that might promote hatred), Hollywood is saying anyone who disagrees with groupthink will be punished. In an absurd lack of self-awareness on the part of the script-writers, the film not-so-subtly promotes the very kind of violence it is telling us to be afraid of. I
The movie was interesting from a science fiction standpoint, but its message that it is morally acceptable to kill an innocent person for their thoughts is horrifying.
Things Heard & Seen (2021)
The ending explained
It seems a lot of people didn't get the ending. Maybe this will help:
- George Claire supposedly wrote his dissertation on George Innes, a famous American landscape artist. Innes was a follower of Swedenborg, who believed (among other things) there is a connection to Heaven and Hell through nature. The movie was sprinkled with gorgeous landscape views, with dramatic lighting and brilliant colors, meant to evoke Inness' paintings.
- Floyd's first meeting with George includes a reference to Swedenborg, and Floyd holds up his book with an Innes painting depicting a a cross in the sky, meant to be a portal to Heaven. He states he is a follower in Swedenborg's beliefs, believes in the existence of spirits who will help those in the physical world, and sees nature's connection to spiritualism in Inness' paintings.
- Cathy and Floyd see the female spirits during the seance. They are being held back by a malevolent male spirit.
- After George murders Floyd, the spirits confront George with his crime using George Inness' painting with the cross during the classroom slideshow. This painting is also a metaphor for Floyd's death in the water; Floyd has gone to Heaven, and has, in fact, become a re-enactment of his favorite Inness painting.
- The female spirits of the house (seen earlier in the seance) try to help Cathy, but cannot do much in the face of a man's free will (I.e. George's decision to murder Cathy). What they can do to help is wake up Justine.
- With Justine's threat becoming a reality, George tries to flee on the boat, however the spirits confront him again, using the topic of his supposed dissertation. But the Inness painting has changed - this time the cross is upside down, and a fiery portal is opening up under the waves. George is going to Hell (either literally or figuratively), and has now become the subject of an Inness painting that is the *reverse* of Floyd's painting.
- The painting depicting George's hellacious fate hangs on a wall. We see through the flash of the woman's ring that it is across from the photo of the Smit family who also became the spirits in the household. The female spirits had successfully avenged Catherine, thus finally taking care of one of their own.
A Discovery of Witches (2018)
Wanted to like this...
...but I think the lead actress was terribly miscast. Teresa Palmer is lovely to look at and seems sweet and earnest in the role, but she doesn't have the gravitas to pull off a PhD-educated woman, let alone convey the complexity of a supernatural being who has been denying her powers. It is particularly evident in her scenes with Matthew Goode, who is excellent and seems puzzled as to how he got paired with such a youthful lightweight. The other actors are of varying capabilities, with the adults being clearly stronger.
The writing is bland, with little sparkle. I struggled to pay attention. I haven't read the books but got the impression that Diana and Matthew fall in love slowly; in the series it happens immediately with no lead time - it doesn't feel earned.
The good in the series? It is visually breathtaking, with pretty people and rich, elegant sets, and it takes advantage of the lovely European architecture of the various countries it visits. The music was beautiful, and matched both the storyline and the look and feel of the setting.
I wanted to like it - in the hands of the right writers and casting director, it could have been a powerful series. As it is, it seemed like a fantastic dessert that I couldn't wait to bite into, but turned out to be tasteless and dry.
Jack Ryan (2018)
Tom Clancy fans may be disappointed, but good series regardless
Anyone who is a big fan of the Jack Ryan books will likely be disappointed by some changes, particularly the "new" Adm. Greer. It took me a couple episodes to get past that. There is also a new emphasis on the villain's backstory, which surprised us, but was engaging, and a good addition. The series was well-paced for eight episodes, and there were several spots where I couldn't tear my eyes away. Casting was mostly good, especially the villain's wife, and many supporting characters were unusually strong considering how little time the were onscreen. There are some unrealistic moments that generated an eye roll, but did not affect our enjoyment. If you're a big Tom Clancy fan, leave your expectations at the door, and enjoy it for what it is - a good spy thriller.
Vampire on Bikini Beach (1988)
This is...
...the worst movie I've ever seen.
It's not even mock-worthy.
The bad music, bad sound, bad singing, bad dubbing, bad acting, bad storyline, bad sets, embarrassingly bad dialogue...who ever thought this should be made?
I've always been a connoisseur of bad movies (Caged Fury, Vampire Lovers), and I thought this would be good for laughs. As we watched it, my husband leaned over and said - for the first time after eight years of watching bad movies with me - that I owed him big for this one.
This is the first comment I've ever posted on IMDb, and I am doing it specifically to warn people not to waste their time. There are dozens of fun B movies that are a blast if seen with the right people - this is not one of them.