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Reviews
The Cleansing Hour (2019)
Wow!
Wow, this was entertaining, and not what I expected at all. Enough said by me...
The Cleansing Hour (2019)
Wow!
Wow, this was entertaining, and not what I expected at all. Enough said by me...
The King (2019)
Great!
The only place I found fault with The King, was the cinematography. For me, it was often too dark, which muted the detail from many a critical scene. Otherwise, The King was a well done and a complete epic drama, one I most assiduously enjoyed.
Sweetheart (2019)
Not a bad little creature feature.
I had most of my review written, but my dinner of tostadas and an enormous piña colada was beginning to haunt me, so I grabbed my bag for some Tums, and poof, it was gone. Now not having the pep to rewrite it again, I will just say Sweetheart was a decent survival verses monster flick. And this is the answer to the question why the title is Sweetheart? For the short time when the lead character isn't alone, she's, in a some what patronizing manner repeatedly called Sweetheart by her boyfriend.
Killer Sofa (2019)
Fun!
I'm not go to give a synopsis, and I actually thought this movie was done quite well. The acting and directing were solid, and considering how silly the story is, it kept me watching. If you like off the the wall paranormal horror, mixed with a bit of silliness, dark deadpan humor, and no CGI, then Killer Couch is it. This is a fun, something different, low budget horror film you can watch cuddle up with your favorite recliner.
Big Legend (2018)
A good B bigfoot flick
I think it's often forgotten when people rate films that independent &/or especially B movies aren't going to have the same level of bells and whistles as the big funded big studio productions do. One does need to take into account things like a film's budget and studio, ect. when rating them, because they aren't all created equally, so some pretty great stories are often passed over.
With aforementioned out of the way, I thought this was a pretty good addition to the bigfoot subgenre, not great, but good, and if one considers how many truly bad bf movies there are, this quite a decent effort.
I thought the acting was solid considering I'm not familiar with either of the leads faces or names, the cinematography was also done gorgeously, the action scenes felt top notch, and the practical effects, no CGI, they were also done for the most part well.
My main issue with this B bf flick, which might seem a trivial to most people, but it was very distracting to me was the FX blood. And seeing how this is a B horror movie, where there's usually lots of blood, I thought the bright orangey lucent red color of blood used here looked markedly unnatural. The blood looked even more unnatural, even florescent, when it was on the actor's hands and in the snow, and I think a darker more realistic looking crimson red color would've been a positive for this movie over all.
The Witch in the Window (2018)
I like this film
Let me start by saying, I'm partial to paranormal horror, and I've seen more movies in this subgenre than I can count. And I have to admit there's tons of stinkers out there, ghost story films so poorly done they're just awful and silly. In my opinion though, The Witch In The Window isnt one of them, I like this film a lot. The story is a little sparse here and there, but all the parts, the acting, cinematography, the sound, and directing of the movie, they're done quite well.
There's no blood or violence in the TWITW, only one retelling of an undetailed farm/combine accident, which supposedly happened many years earlier. There are some minor curse words said by the adults and by the 12 year old lead character, but nothing terribly harsh or offensive.
This film would be a great family Halloween watch, because there's nothing too scary, even the ghost herself isn't awfully scary. I'd recommend watching this film with children older than 10 y/o--children who you know aren't too impressionable, prone to having nightmares, or who scary stories ramp up their already overly active imaginations.
Actually, as a parent, I'd be more afraid of my tweens being influenced seeing the disrespect the 12 y/o boy occasionally shows his parents, more so than they're being traumatized by this ghost story.
Strange But True (2019)
No spoiler, but a hint.
I'm writing this if you're someone, like I am, someone who reads the reviews, but skips over those reviews with spoiler alerts.
The idea of how the girlfriend comes to find herself pregnant is definitely a stretch. But then again, if you were this girl, a girl who slept with one boyfriend, one time, and then found herself pregnant 4 years later with no explanation of how. You would try to rationalize the situation in every way you possible could. And yet, when nothing makes any real kind of sense, you'd then possibly look to the metaphysical for your answers, hence the title, "Strange But True."
Here's my tip, because there are few of us (the viewers) who aren't grasping all this story's twists. You need to pay attention, because the ideas presented by the other characters, and how they think she became pregnant can seem a bit confusing. Pay special attention to the scenes in the basement, and especially to the scene where the wife of the kindly older guardian-ish couple is confronting her husband about his cigarette stash, "etc."
Beneath Us (2019)
Slow.
I don't know, the acting was good, the cinematography was good, but the story lacked any real depth, and unfortunately the characters were also severely under developed. I actually didnt care for the whole premise of this film, because it was about a well off narcissistic white couple, who flips properties using undocumented Latino men to do the work. But instead of paying their hires, they imprisoned them, they terrorized and tortured them, and when the work was finished, they killed them and left their corpses to rot under the houses. One can see here why racial hatred is such a cancer on society, because it's things like this movie that help to desensitize people and perpetuate pigeonholing a group of people based solely on their race. Prejudice is a sickness of fearful, narcissistic, self entitled, elitists; it's weak minded people who take all they can when it serves them, no matter who's left drowning and destroyed in their wake.
Five Feet Apart (2019)
A good movie about a cruel disease.
As a respiratory therapist, I can attest to the insane amounts of medications CF patients must take and the hours of operose therapies they must endure everyday to keep breathing. This movie had plenty of over the top moments, moments that would never happen in a hospital, but I think the writer/s and the director needed to stray from the substantive reality of cystic fibrosis, because for many patients CF can be quite difficult to manage and even insidious when they develop respiratory infections. Actually treating/meeting young people with CF and CF patients after receiving lung trasplants, I felt Five Hours Apart did a fine job portraying the bravery, the old soul wisdom, and the grit that young people with CF often have, and for me that's what made this movie a 10.
The Institute (2017)
The Institute wasn't even a decent B film.
Really? I watch A LOT of movies, and I KNOW that doesn't make me any kind of a credible critic, but for me, this movie was truly an insensate effort.
It's Victorian America, where doctors of an elitist secret society/cult refer unsuspecting wealthy young women to the Rosewood Institute. The Rosewood Institute is a posh psychiatric hospital for women, one where they don't actually help any women get better, but rather, they, using drugs and abuse, the women are brainwashed into willing participates of their demented cult rituals and prostitution, and ultimately to be sold as sex slaves to other wealthy cult members.
The acting, directing and cinematography were all wanting, and what's with James Franco, his character was tediously dull, and his acting seemed almost amateurish. In my opinion, The Institute wasn't even a decent B film.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle (2018)
The little things make or break this story.
I haven't read the book, but I liked movie, "We Have Always Lived In The Castle." I think the casting and acting are perfect, the cinematography is beautiful, but really, this movie will seem rather pointless if you miss any of the latent clues. And even when you catch those fleeting intimations of character, you have to be willing to cogitate their meanings in the story, because they are what motivates each character to do what they do.
I don't like to leave spoilers, so if you're reading this before watching the movie, all I can say is, pay attention, because it's the little things that will make or break this film for you.
Private Life (2018)
Disappointing ending.
I'm bad at writing reviews, but I enjoyed this movie a lot. I thought the acting was great, and all the characters felt real in their respective connections to one another. I truly loved the chemistry between Kathryn Hahn as (Rachel) and Paul Giamatti (Richard) as a couple in their 40s, as they went through a gamet of emotional ups and downs, in what's often murky waters of fertility treatments and adoption disappointments. I especially loved Kayli Carter (Sadie/step-niece), I thought she added the right amount of youthful energy, chaos, and hope in consenting to help give her uncle and aunt (Rachel and Richard) the gift of a new life. The ending was the only part of this movie where I felt let down, because we're left looking at two scared people, not knowing, if their wish ever comes true.
Jack Goes Home (2016)
I liked this movie, a lot.
Reviews are important to me, they're an essential part of my choosing which movies to watch and which ones to pass over, because having a disability I watch A LOT of movies. And for the last five or so years, I've also been rating every movie I've seen on IMDb, to keep a running list and history of them all. Unfortunately I'm not great at writing reviews, I get too overwhelmed with details and trying to put my thoughts down, so I just wind up rambling on... oh well. My point is, I just hate fake reviews are used to plump up a movie's ratings, and I hate those reviews that make you wonder if the writer actually watched the movie they're reviewing at all or at least the same movie as I did? I say this, because I read so many reviews, by both amateurs and professionals, narratives that are filled with unforgivable mistakes, like the writing the wrong lead character's name for example; how can one watch a 90 min. movie, where the name is spoke many-many times, and still not know what the character's right name is, etc.? This just floors me. Sorry for my rant.
Looking Glass (2018)
Forgettable.
None of the goings on in this movie made any sense. Watching this movie was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle from a rummage sale, one where you don't know what the picture is, because it wasn't in it's original/right box. And after an hour of trying to put this garage sale puzzle together, you've come to realize, there are pieces missing, and there's also pieces from some other puzzle here too. That's what watching the Looking Glass felt like, it was boring, unsatisfying, and the ending was a disappointment.
Der Hauptmann (2017)
Not what I expected.
I think the preview for The Captain is misleading, because I believed this film to be more of a dark comedy. Well there wasn't anything funny about WWII, and this film definitely shows more of what was so horrific in those dark times, so comedy, there's none. It's all about the evil brutality, that the damaged men of Nazi Germany, with too much power, unjustly delivered unto even their own people, but not until after they were made weak and defenseless first.
Holmes & Watson (2018)
Just Say No!
This movie is just so stupid, I can even force myself to continue watching it in it's entirety! Just Say No!
A Simple Favor (2018)
Wow!
A Simple Favor was creative and entertaining, and it was a lot better movie than I had anticipated. Granted the story was a bit over the top, but hey, we watch movies for a little fun and escapism, and that's what it definitely provided, for me anyway.
A Star Is Born (2018)
People either love, Love, LOVE this movie or they down right hate it.
It appears people either love, Love, LOVE this movie or they down right hate it. Well, I love, Love, LOVE parts of this version of A Star Is Born, but I didn't love all of it. And to be clear, the parts I didn't love, I also didn't hate them either.
I thought the acting was great, there was wonderful chemistry between the leads and all the supporting actors. The emotion portrayed by all throughout the highs and lows, to me anyway, never felt forced or disingenuous, which is also why I love ×3 many parts of this film.
I gave ASIB (2018) 8 out of 10 stars, because in the latter half of the film, in some of the darker and more serious of dramatic scenes, they felt a bit long, which caused their gravity and impact to feel somewhat diluted.
All and all ASIB was an engaging movie, one with viseral characters trying to navigating life, love, and the side effects of fickle fame, good and bad--I smiled with the characters, and I too was moved to tears when their hearts where broken, and any movie that can achieve this is worthy of my esteem.
Escape Room (2019)
One of the better escape movies I've seen.
Out of the 3-4 escape room movies I've seen, this is one of the best. Sure, the premise of this film is nothing new, and yes the acting is a bit weak at times, but the characters were still effective within their particular roles and/or type of people they represented. What I liked was how details about the characters were presented, how they were used as a nexus to tie the characters to specific puzzle elements in each of the rooms. The Escape Room was more original from other movies I've seen of this type. Lastly, the level of action from start to finish was good, and it kept me watching to see what would happen next. I thought Panic Room was more than a reasonably entertaining bit of escapism for my brain.
Adrift (2018)
Adrift was mostly a good watch...
Adrift was mostly a good watch, but the ending left me feeling a somewhat cheated. This difficult and tragic story was made even more difficult in it's telling, in that there was a couple for me to care about and become emotionally invested in, and then abruptly, there wasn't. I hated the ending.
The Meg (2018)
I liked The Meg, it's a good creature feature.
I have a lot of health problems, so I probably watch a lot more movies than the average person, and I know that doesn't make me a qualified movie critic. With the aformentioned being said, I just want to say, yes The Meg is pretty cheesy, and yes this story has been done already many times, but it still was a fun creature feature. The actors have good on-screen chemistry, the visuals and CGI are done quite well, and for me, The Meg was a pretty okay and entertaining movie. Actually, I'd have no problem watching The Meg a second or even a third time with someone who hasn't seen it.
Peppermint (2018)
I liked this movie!
Vigilante violence is wrong, but is it? Is an aggrieved paladin wrong for seeking her own brand of justice, especially when those who swore to protect her and her family failed to do so? Should corrupt malfeasants be allowed to protect their own interests and dirty doings, and should they be allowed to operate outside the law at the expense of good people? Peppermint is about a one woman army, one who gets revenge by kicking a lot of bad guy butt!
The Monster Project (2017)
Better than I had supposed.
The Monster Project was much better than what I had supposed: the acting was good by some, and not as good by some others, but all in all, a pretty entertaining monster movie was pulled off. The monsters where a great surprise A+++, they were done exceptionally well, and they appeared to be done with little to no CGI? The things that kept me from rating this movie better were: 1st, the footage filmed inside the house and after the interviews, the cinematography was disproportionately too dark, which made many scenes difficult to follow.
Secondly, I agree with another reviewer who said, they could've done without the last ten minutes of this film. The story didn't need the cult and for sure it didn't need the evoking and promoting of narcissist personality disorder guy to the stratum of Satan either. The ending scenario was not beneficial nor did it support the rest of the movie. The ending should have been about found footage being found which confirmed "monsters are real!"
Born to Be Free (2016)
Humans are monsters!
It's profoundly sad, that man's biggest motivator continues to be his own greed. What's especially sad is, the claim of "in the name of science" is used to disguise infinite atrocities and horrific crimes being perpetrated against animals everyday. And what's the price for exploiting the world's great wild species, it's their pain, their suffering, and their systematic extermination and extinction, and for what, for fuller pockets! -KL