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Reviews
Cold Mountain (2003)
Love and war
"Cold Mountain" features an impressive cast in a Civil War love story. There's something here for everyone.
Jude Law plays a soldier journeying home to Nicole Kidman's character, with a notable appearance by Natalie Portman. Renée Zellweger's acting here is much praised by others, but failed to convince me, perhaps because I am so familiar with Appalachia.
The film masterfully blends love and war, appealing to a wide range of audiences. The romance element presents an idealistic love-at-first-sight. Even the characters acknowledge the unrealistic nature of their love. The combat scenes are intense, with the initial war sequences giving way to more personal conflicts as the story progresses.
"Cold Mountain" is a great choice for a movie night with your significant other.
The Acolyte (2024)
A missed opportunity
The Acolyte arrives with the promise of exploring new sectors of the Star Wars mythos. The series spins a new narrative around the Jedi and their connection to the Force, but the creativity sometimes breaks Star Wars canon. Ultimately, it may disappoint many long-time Star Wars fans.
The show introduces us to a new ensemble of characters whose motivations and backstories have potential. However, the execution leaves these characters feeling one-dimensional, with their arcs seeming more like missed opportunities than exciting journeys.
While The Acolyte presents a fresh perspective on the Jedi Order, the series' portrayal of the Force and its users strays into territory that might discomfort long-time fans, who could find the reinterpretation at odds with the established lore.
Star Wars fans are ultimately an easy audience to please; they want light saber fights and explosions. Alas, the action sequences, while visually engaging, are sporadic and lack the necessary narrative to make them truly impactful.
In conclusion, The Acolyte is a series that had the potential to be a bold exploration of the Force but ultimately may lose many long-time fans along the way. Fans may find this entry lacking the spirit that sparked their love for the galaxy far, far away.
Ordinary Angels (2024)
Tears for everyone!
This is a real tear-jerker. There are many movies along these lines, but this film executes this theme excellently.
Hillary Swank plays a character much like Erin Brockovich. The real person was not an alcoholic and was not estranged from her son, but she was okay with this embellishment, perhaps in exchange for money. There are other deviations from the facts for the sake of entertainment, but the core story is true.
While many of the characters are religious, this is not a movie that is trying to shove religion down your throat. It's just that the events take place at the start of the Bible Belt, namely Louisville, Kentucky.
This film is worth viewing. It may inspire you to overcome obstacles in your life and help others to do the same.
Palm Springs (2020)
A comedy romance with a sci-fi twist
"Palm Springs" is a refreshing take on the time-loop trope, blending sci-fi, comedy, and romance. The film follows Nyles (Andy Samberg) and Sarah (Cristin Milioti) as they navigate the strange phenomenon that has brought them together.
Andy Samberg delivers a standout performance, balancing his signature comedic style with a surprising depth of character. Cristin Milioti competently portrays a woman grappling with her own issues amidst the chaos. As they are thrown together by circumstance, comedy ensues.
Overall, "Palm Springs" is a delightful surprise, offering more than just laughs. It has a science fiction component that will appeal to some and a romantic component for others. Therefore, it should appeal to a wide audience.
The Remains of the Day (1993)
Much ado about nothing
Great acting of unrealistic characters makes for an unrewarding viewing experience. Anthony Hopkins' portrayal of a man hiding his emotions to the bitter end makes him seem like a sociopath, like Hannibal Lecter. Virtually nothing happens in the movie, especially to his character.
I'm aware that many consider this a masterpiece. And certainly I can find much to praise in the acting and cinematography. However, this simply is a movie without a good plot. My wife, who loves period romances, could not make it through. That's just as well, because the ending is especially unsatisfying. It was better handled in the book.
Colony (2016)
Premise has potential
I've only seen the pilot, but the premise is interesting and the show has potential.
It's set in a dystopian future, an America where armored vehicles patrol city streets and gestapo-like Homeland police arrest civilians SWAT-style for minor infractions. I suspect not everything is as it seems. There may be conspiracies within conspiracies. With a producer from Lost on the project, we at least should expect some plot twists.
Based on the exposition in the first episode, I expect the show will become a sci-fi spy thriller. Some people have complained about the slow pace, but once we become invested in the characters and the tension is ratcheted up, we may find the pace perfect.
Colony: Pilot (2016)
People are stupid
The premise of the show is that people are so stupid that they would accept ubiquitous surveillance, an oppressive Homeland department, and militarized police with armored vehicles - just to keep them safe from a vague, unseen (possibly unreal) threat. And the show is right.
Unfortunately, that also means that some people are too stupid to appreciate a show like this. They will decry it as unrealistic, all the while living in a reality scarcely different from the show's.
In this first episode, Josh Holloway (of Lost) and Sarah Wayne Callies (of the Walking Dead) did a fine job as Will and Katie Bowman, or whatever their names are. The character "Lori" in Walking Dead was not likable, but let's be open-minded and see how Sarah does with "Katie", okay? One of my few criticisms here is that Will and Katie were set up as spy-vs-spy, being on opposite sides of the conflict, which seemed contrived.
There's much exposition in this episode, which may be objectionable to attention-impaired viewers. However, there are many hidden details, if you watch carefully. Some of these things you won't notice the first time, just because of the order in which you are seeing things. On second viewing, pay attention to the billboards (familiar face there), the drones (propulsion method), the guy being hauled away while Katie hides under the armored vehicle (think about whether and how he might know her), the black void (ironically Hollywood, I think) in the nighttime view, and bacon (where did Proxy Snyder get something that tastes like bacon if almost everyone is crammed into the zones?)
There is more to this show than you might think at first glance.
The Man in the High Castle (2015)
I'm stingy on 10's, but this is a 10.
The pilot does a beautiful job of rendering Philip K. Dick's concept of an American continent divided between Imperial Japanese and Nazi Germans. It is dense, and not for casual viewing.
It's not just an alternate reality. There is an object from our reality in theirs, which makes it not just fiction but science fiction. So our reality affects theirs. Does their reality affect ours?
We are shown how horrible the Imperial Japanese and Nazis were, yet our American government today is not dissimilar. Torture until death, searching without a warrant, gunning down civilians on the street... this is America today.
It's the most novel and exciting TV show in a long time.
The 100 (2014)
Titillating, not Vapid
If you look at the ratings, there are lots of 1's and other low scores, and yet the show is still averaging ~8. It's much the same for masterpieces such as 2001: A Space Odyssey. Although not a masterpiece, the 100 may be the best science fiction show on TV at present.
The first two episodes make it seem like a teen drama, but they are unrepresentative. For one thing, there will be content inappropriate for young teens. If you still don't like the show by episode five, then you should probably give up, though the show continues to improve throughout the first season and the next.
A constant theme of the show is characters choosing to do immoral actions in order to survive. That's an interesting dilemma. Because of this, some "good" characters take a turn to the "dark side", while some "evil" characters find a little redemption. Sometimes the writers are too heavy-handed in the transitions, but at least the characters are evolving and not stuck as cartoonish stereotypes.
Another theme of the show is the fluidity of power. Someone in power may be getting electric lashes later, and then rise again to power: lather, rinse, repeat. The initial leader of the Ark, Jaha, is an interesting character, in that he seems to have shades of "Baltar" (Battlestar Galactica), a sort of false prophet. He speaks of destiny, while killing anyone who inconveniently gets in the way.
Scientific accuracy is not one of the show's strong points, but allow me address some of the biggest criticisms.
* Many reviewers are upset about the Ark people's blood being a temporary cure to radiation; however, the show tells us they are genetically engineered to be radiation-resistant.
* The way radiation acts in the show is totally inconsistent with our current science, and yes, this is annoying. However, this is the distant future; I'm led to believe the nuclear apocalypse was with "improved" nukes that leave persistent radiation causing death in minutes, unless you are genetically resistant. Meh, I tried.
* Another weird thing is the acid fog, but you get a logical explanation for it during season two. Still, it's odd that it doesn't affect foliage. However, there are many plants today that are acid-resistant or even acid-loving. One real world plant has even been shown to have recently mutated to no longer be vulnerable to one kind of acid, a man-made herbicide used in Agent Orange. So, presumably only plants resistant to the acid fog (Agent Orange?) grow around the mountain, because any non-resistant plants were killed off long ago.
* Finally, some reviewers point to the illogic/dangers of having guns in space, but the show tells us the space stations were at war at one time, presumably during the nuclear world war, and the thirteenth station was destroyed. Only after that did the people on the remaining twelve stations decide it was better to work together. They joined the stations together to form the Ark.
Granted, science and logic are not the show's strong suit, but the storyline is. So, take a big dose of suspension of disbelief and prepare for an adventure.