Reviews

We would rather live in Eternal Hell ... Than experience a moment of discomfort.

We do whatever we can, to avoid addressing our problems; We change the subject whenever we think about them, we convince ourselves that nothing actually happened, we find ways to laugh about them... we do whatever mental gymnastics we can-to convince ourselves that we do not need to address things that may cause us discomfort.

The problem is: those things do not go away unless you confront them; And, the more you suppress 'pain'... the more painful it becomes.

If your wall is on fire - simply avoiding the fact that your wall is on fire-does not put out the flames.

That only allows the fire to get bigger.

If a phone is ringing-it will keep ringing until it is answered (Rabbits don't have voicemail).

Grief, guilt, trauma... it's never easy to confront those emotions. It's painful.

But, it's infinitely more painful to continue carrying the weight of those emotions.

This could very well be ... The most beautiful Film I have ever seen.

The Fountain is the kind of film that can change your life.

This is one of those films that the Critics simply "got wrong". For the life of me, I do not understand how someone can watch The Fountain and not be absolutely astonished.

However, although the film got mediocre reviews, since it's release I have seen countless people say that this is their favorite film of all time, and that it changed their lives.

I feel the same.

This Film is like nothing I have ever seen before. It completely takes me into another world when I watch it, and truly moves me in a way that few other works of art, do.

Please, just watch it.

And if you're not crazy about it after you watch it-Wait a little while and try watching it again. If you STILL aren't crazy about it-Try doing that 10 more times. I'm kind of joking-but I'm also kind of serious. This film means SO much to me, and I just want others to be able to experience the utter bliss and euphoria-that this film brings to me.

Everything about "Chernobyl" is absolutely flawless. But, what makes this series so brilliant - Is the way the Chernobyl disaster is used as a metaphor for the times we are living in; Much like Denis Villeneuve's masterpiece "Arrival".

"Chernobyl" is not merely a well-executed thriller that retells the events of a horrific tragedy. It is a timeless, universal tale about the faults of humanity, and how those seemingly-insignificant faults - Are capable of bringing about the Apocalypse.

We live in a time where so much of what we say is overly-dramatized and exaggerated. The problem with routinely being hyperbolic, is that-When you actually DO need to explain how "atypical" or "unprecedented" something is-You are unable to express that, because people are desensitized to that way of speaking. So, I humbly ask that you put aside your skepticism regarding that, and just assume that I am genuine when I say this: Of all the Art that I have experienced in my life; Films, Music, Literature, Paintings ... 'The Act Of Killing' ... Is one of the Greatest, most brilliant, most powerful works of Art - I have ever encountered.

The film has had such an overwhelming impact on me, that I still cannot fathom how remarkable it is.

If you are reading this review to figure out if you should watch The Act of Killing, then I strongly encourage, and plead with you, to leave IMDb right now, and watch it. I think the film will be much more profound and much more powerful-the less you know about it. All you need to know is that this film is an examination of men that were part of the Indonesian death squads, that were responsible for the deaths of roughly a million people in the mid 1960s.

Again, I believe you should know as little as you can about this film before you see it, so I don't want to say too much. I'll just say that-the director of this film (Joshua Oppenheimer) is a genius, and he turns material that would've already been-more than enough-for a great documentary ... And turns that into something more akin to a Dostoyevsky-Fever dream.

Like 'Get Out' - this film shows how easy it is to succumb to the power of suggestion.

Let me preface my review by saying this: I am not cynical. I NEVER say that a film is overrated. I never watch a film and say "I hated that"; If I don't like a film after I watch it for the first time - I simply say that I need to watch it again; Most of my favorite films are ones that I didn't "get" the first (or second or third) time I watched them. I think that always keeping an open mind, allows you to like so many more films/works of Art, because you never have it in your mind that you don't like something, so you're always giving things another chance. I also never say that a film is bad or overrated-simply because I think it's extremely arrogant to assume that: If I didn't "get" the film ... that means that nobody else did... So, for me to say a film is overrated or "bad" - is *extremely* rare. That has happened no more than 2 or 3 times in my life; In fact, the only time I remember thinking a film (OR album) was "bad" or overrated ... was "Get Out".

So-Please take those things into consideration when you read the rest of this...

As I was watching Birds of Passage - I was *literally in shock* - that a film with such overwhelmingly positive reviews ... could be SO bad. It was actually surreal. I kept waiting for things to change-Where I thought that I was just missing "something", or that I was not in the mood or being cynical, or that there would be some kind of way that all of the things that seemed bad about the film-would somehow be resolved... That never happened. The longer the film went on ... the WORSE it got.

I don't even know where to start, so I guess I'll start with the most blatant problem with Birds Of Passage... The plot of this film is *LITERALLY* a 'mix and match' of the EXACT same plot points-from all of the other drug dealer films/shows; Traffic, Blow, Breaking Bad, Scarface, etc. It's seriously like a greatest hits compilation-being put out as a new album.

What's worse is that the plot points make absolutely no sense, within the context of the characters.

It is the exact definition of "expediency"-Where, it's like every plot point is included for the sole purpose of just getting to the next part of the story. Things would just "happen". There were multiple times where I was watching a "pivotal scene" and thinking "Where did this come from? "Why would he do that?"... I know that sounds like I'm exaggerating but I swear to you, I'm not.

Imagine if: In The Dark Knight ... Batman just started robbing banks in the second act of the movie... THAT is what it seemed like was happening in Birds Of Passage.

The film just runs through plot points. It truly seems like the screenplay was made by: cutting and pasting other "drug dealer movie" plot points ... Then, writing a *cliff notes version* of that - Then, using THAT as the script.

So, the plot is a compilation of the exact same plot points in a million other movies, AND none of the plot points make sense.... AND on top of all that, you develop no connection, to ANY of the characters. Absolutely None.

By the third act, you still don't have any reason to feel emotionally invested in what happens, to anyone.

I feel like I've seen "that" kind of critique in a lot of reviews before-but I've always thought that it seemed like it was just a bunch of words, because I've never really experienced that from a film.

Now, I know exactly what they mean when they say that. I don't even know how to explain it; I just felt like I did not know anything-about any of the characters, and that I didn't connect with any of them, on any level.

Next, although it wasn't like the acting, in its entirety-was awful ... But there were definitely moments where I thought the acting seemed pretty bad.

I don't know how else to explain-how "surreal" it was to watch this film. I just kept thinking "is this really happening? Is this movie actually THIS BAD? What am I missing? Something has to change. How is this movie so bad? ..."

The only thing this movie has going for it-is the cinematography. Visually, it's absolutely BEAUTIFUL.

I actually think that the cinematography *may* have tricked people into thinking that the film was good; You wouldn't expect a film that is shot so well-to be so bad.

Aside from that, the only possible explanation that I can think of, for "how" this film got the kind of praise that it got ... is from some kind of "political-esque bias", or something like that; Like, maybe because the film is foreign, or that it has a female co-director and writer ... although, I think that the praise for Get Out-was 1000% because of "that kind of thing" ... I feel like that bias for this film seems like a bit of a stretch... But I seriously cannot fathom how any critic could say anything positive about the movie, unless they had SOME kind of bias, that would make them do so.

It's seriously THAT bad.

Let me end by saying this: I do not like that I am writing a bad review for a piece of art, I HATE "hating on art".

I would MUCH rather prefer "praising art".

However, the "hype" and bias surrounding art, especially in film, has gotten out of hand-to the point of absurdity.

A film does not deserve to be praised-simply because 'it is praised'. A film does not deserve to be praised simply because it has a certain political or ideological stance that is consistent with the critic's political/ideological beliefs.

These kinds of things are destroying art.

If something is good - it is good.

If it is bad - it is bad.

End of story.

That is how it should be.

Sam Cooke is like a God to me. I believe that he had without question, the most beautiful voice in the history of music. I would say that except for Elvis Presley - he is the greatest singer that has ever walked the face of the earth. All of this is to say - although I would watch anything that had to do with Cooke - in some ways, I found this documentary absolutely disgusting. To me, the people that made this documentary basically exploited Cooke and his music so that they could promote an absolutely ridiculous conspiracy theory about how Cooke may have been assassinated. Although I would consider myself liberal, I can't stand the whole PC/Woke nonsense that has become common amongst the left. And this documentary is a shining example of that kind of ideology. There is literally no evidence whatsoever that supports this idiotic idea that Cooke was assassinated. What the makers of this documentary did is absolutely reprehensible. It reminds me of "psychics"; who tarnish the memories of people's loved ones for their own benefit. All in all - I would say; sure, you could watch this documentary. But just know that there's is going to be a ton that you'll probably be annoyed with.

This film is as powerful as it gets. It's hard to believe how many topics are encapsulated by this documentary; poverty, family, childhood, adolescence, broken homes, crime, addiction, economics, race, dreams, hope, disappointment, failure, despair .... It's like every facet of life that people struggle with is crystallized in Hoop Dreams. I feel like it should be impossible to watch this film, and not come away from it with a greater empathy for people that face the struggles that the people in this film have to deal with. This film is not out to be a piece of politically correct propaganda - this is an honest representation of families under extremely difficult circumstances. This film truly reminds me of why I consider myself a liberal. I have become disillusioned with the liberal party in the past few years. I feel like the Left has lost touch with what is important in life. But Hoop Dreams always reminds me of what we should be fighting for .... Empathy.

I was very skeptical about watching this show. The fact that it was ANOTHER serial killer show, and a spin off, and the fact that it was on NBC ... I thought there was no way it would be good. But I could not have been more wrong. This is a truly excellent show. It is not in any way cheesy or dumb the way so many similar shows are. I actually don't understand how this show got onto a network like NBC to begin with-This show is DARK. And I don't mean "dark" like it's violent... it's much more than that. There are many great qualities to this show but what sets it apart from all other shows is the tone and its aesthetics. The visuals, the sounds, the imagery-are absolutely astounding. I cannot believe more shows have not tried to incorporate the kind of look and feel that Hannibal has.

Long story short - This is an Excellent Series.

I would even go as far to say that it's probably one of my 10 favorite Shows of all time, along with: The Sopranos, Twin Peaks, Fargo, Breaking Bad, Lost, The Leftovers, The Wire, Legion, Dark, Westworld, Game Of Thrones, & The Americans .... If you like Complex, Dark, Surreal, Intense shows like me - Then, you can't go wrong with Hannibal.

This is The Godfather of surrealist films and one of my three favorite films of all time. Words cannot describe what Eraserhead will do to you. I would advise people not to watch this if they are in a "bad place". You really have to be prepared for it. I know it sounds like I'm being hyperbolic but I promise, I'm not. Despite the fact that it is not a horror film, It is the most disturbing and terrifying film that I have ever seen. It gets at the root of our deepest fears. But, although it is disturbing, it is also extremely beautiful, and completely takes you into another world. As strange as Eraserhead is, it is not as confusing as many people think. The film is "about" - what it's about. You are seeing a man's greatest fears become a reality. And his fears are the same as all of ours. That is what makes it so terrifying and so hard to deal with.

To me, this is the modern day "Apocalypse Now". The great thing about this film is that - not only is it incredibly suspenseful and thrilling to watch - it is also extremely philosophical. The film really is about "Borders"; both literally and figuratively. Like Apocalypse Now, it really delves into what we become when we lose our sense of morality. It's just such a smart film. On top of all that, the acting is impeccable. Blunt, Del Toro, and Brolin are outstanding. I simply can't recommend this film enough.

This is an absolutely phenomenal film. I have no idea why it has such a low rating . I'm not the biggest "Horror film buff"; There aren't that many modern horror films that I truly love. But The Witch astounded me. I think (along with Hereditary) it's the greatest horror film I've seen in such a long time.