Reviews

Philosophy:

Red Moon Tide is a meditative existential waking nightmare. It calls upon the meditation of existence, morality, and reason. Through single frames it covers the universal singularity. Calamity, loneliness, and despair... all on full display. It's most frightening aspect is what the film questions and doesn't resolve.

The open void of existence, and its apparent senselessness. Our great war is a spiritual war, our great depression is our lives.

There is no thought without reason, no morality without truth. No clear understanding of what nothingness equates to, (aka the voided vaccume of space and time). What's beyond, if there's a beyond? It's relativity, and simultaneous ambiguity, puts reality into question.

The film mocks reality, and confronts it's meaninglessness. Call it, terrifying, and staggeringly beautiful.

This film will haunt you. With the truth that there is no truth. To reject all beliefs is in fact a belief. Summarized by the fact that we are the joke... don't laugh. That is the paradox.. you must confront.

Logic dictates that life is simultaneously meaningless and meaningful at the same time. You cannot accept one without accepting the other. If life's only meaning is that it's meaningless. Is that still meaningful? ... Meaningless cannot be identified without indirectly giving it meaning. That is why everything is interconnected. It's our brain and the illusion of self - that creates, separation.

Thought, idea, atoms, life itself. Randomness, order, morality, reason, despair. Truth, objectivity, subjectivity... thought.. an idea.. ... bigger than life itself. A universal singularity represented in single frames, a meditative waking nightmare.. a Red Moon Tide...Art? An idea... Call it Bigger than... life itself.

I found this episode oddly compelling. It has multiple layers of complexity. Representative of politics in general domestic and abroad. Our elected leaders are cartoon characters with a real person behind the caricature. A caricature representative of an over inflated political ideology statistically speaking, gone amiss. Equipped with dick jokes, juvenile humor, and conflicting views. Our electoral system is broken. Broken as much as a political cartoon bear colored in blue. Apprehensive of his bearish representation that miscategorizes him in a unfavorable, jocose light. One that he can not get away from because of the immoralized status quo. Our huberous/ over-inflated egos lead us... Lead us... gone astray. Far away from our primordial predecessors, 3.5 billion years in the making. Equipped with the know-how to do what's right. Classified, immortalized, with all our shortcomings, arguably unevolved as such. Darwin was wrong - and our biology v. Psychology is a concrete representation of our polarized make-up. Vapid, uneducated, self-centered, micronized focused, and over-confident in our unintentional objective mass extinction. That we inevitably find ourselves in. Hurtling towards oblivion. A universal singularity - masked in unobtained knowledge of: unified greed. To be one, is to have one, and to have one is to accept defeat.

Writing often determines the success or failure of a show. It can bomb an actors career, make good actors look bad, and expose others outside their depth. So true is Deadwood.

The tv format is the most demanding medium, calling upon hours of screen time. A few bad paragraphs and the jaded audience is not forgiving. Playing alongside the legendary 2005 line-up. Arguably no other show having been a better representation of that year. Developed into a cult like following, having access to the password will help you gain entry.

Every show in HBO's line-up that year, has gone down in the history books. Appearing both on imdbs top tv show list, and wgaw's best written tv shows. Shows like The Sopranos and The Wire alternate in the #1 spot. Both seem to share the label "Greatest Tv Show of All Time."Both were airing in 2005. As well as other classics like Six Feet Under, Rome, and Deadwood. While The Sopranos might have revolutionized the anti-hero archetype, and The Wire had the irreversible permutation of the multi narrative episodic format trend. Six Feet Under elevated the melodrama with phenomenal writing, and great acting. Rome was the Americanized version of the Telenovela, denoted by an exceptional level of awesomeness. With self-aware performances inciting multiple conflicting emotions, amongst its many other high marks. Deadwood did 3 things. It re-popularized Shakespeare, while simultaneously setting a new record for most f bombs in a single season of television. Lastly it implemented the dissemination of the western genre.

Deadwood, like all great things, is an acquired taste. The dialogue is written as victorian structured Shakespeare, told through the colloquialism of the west. What does that mean you may ask. It's essentially Shakespeare - minus what makes it largely unintelligible. Told through wording and phrasing of the west. The most cryptic aspects of shakespearean dialogue, are its expired word and phrasing. As well as its unusual time signature, and distinct tempo. It is written as blank verse. Blank verse has alternating unrhymed lines. Written as iambic pentameter, traditional prose, and traditional poetry. In addition it has accented notes on every other word periodically, throughout.

Victorian Structure is writing that took place during Queen Victoria's reign as queen. Ie. 1837 - 1901. The writing is "thick", full of "big" words, and extended descriptive sentences. What are colloquialisms of the west? Some examples are balderdash, bazoo, fair to middlin, fit to be tied, hoosegow, lambasting, quirely, squinny, and taradiddles. Deadwood in writing is after all, wordy ways of saying simple things. "Has the ability to" in place of "can." "In regards to" in place of "regarding."

Writings such as* the aforementioned are spread throughout the entire series. Beyond the great writing we have Ian McShane's career high performance as AL Swearengen. McShane amongst others, is immediately, apparently, a classically trained actor. They all have a good grasp of the material, and deliver lines impeccably. Season 1's episode 10 "mister wu" could go head to head against any other, as the greatest episode in television. It's hilarious from Start to finish, and works as a good inductuctor into the series. It has a matter of fact nonchalantness about murder which speaks to the overall tone of the series. It also has a classic communication through non-communication scene. As well as another where this guy is voluntarily humiliating himself, while apologizing for not doing a better job at it.

Deadwood is good because it works as a hidden gem, lost to history. Almost everyone doesn't like Westerns, and most people who like Westerns don't like Shakespeare. Those who do, stumble across it and are enthralled, and glad they gave it a chance. It works as a anti-western, and a English Majors blank blank. It's poetry in motion, delivered in a western dialect, timeless, enigmatic, and prodigious. Its a nobby rowdy-dow, thats as fine as cream gravy, nuff said.

Saint Maud had its world premiere at tiff back in September of 2019. Met with acclaim both critically, and publicly. It was then picked up for distribution by A24. With the A24 name attached, it was quick to garner attention. Stuck in a perpetual hype loop, it's initial Fall 2019 release was delayed - a literal year and a half. Now officially released in the states, it has been quick to receive criticism for unrealistic expectations getting left unmet.

Saint Mauds artistic, elevated labels are as condign as they are trite. Genre filmmaking has taken a dramatic turn. Now accessible to the ironic crowd's, ironic viewing, now unironic... ironically. What a cataclysmic turn that has transpired, indelible, memorable, quotidian.

Everything is flawless, start to finish. As with any good writing, it paints a picture outside of frame. It outlines themes between themes, with an overall artistic aesthetic. Climactic payoff, may not be top-tier, more high-mid. However, it does resonate. Everything is exactly as it should be.. The best genre release of the year.

Arguably one of the most beautiful bw films oat. It reads as a memoriam to his father, and a love letter to cinema. Mank, is Fincher's Silence*. Fincher's attention to detail has never been more noticeable. So supposedly 50% of the people watching this wouldn't guess that Fincher Directed it? Literally everything (minus the story) screams Fincher... Actors giving their careers best performance.... wallpaper, artwork, hats, pens, lamps (all era specific) extras giving credited* worthy performances.... cinematography. . impossible to improve upon... what ever $300,000 camera Fincher's DP uses... 3 years in post ... no less than 20 takes per scene.. It's all there, and it's awe inspiring. Its something to view, not watch. Take in at face value, rate the making of documentary higher. Its a slice of life film, assembled as a feature. Lacking plot, but not prestige. This is not an art film. What is art?

The condign divisive film for the Ages. Oz Perkins is an auteur maligned on the peripheral fringe of a clandestine genre known as arthouse horror.

Commonly misunderstood through the out of focus lense of the non-spectrum populous. Who lack foresight, hindsight, and well, insight. Displayed through a certain level of unsightliness in their congenital vapidness. Speaking to art in general, this is "historically accurate".

To speak of an elusive narrative, is to speak on a categorical miss, entirely. This is a challenging atmospheric mood piece. That is a celluloid piece of art, with a story told, almost exclusively visually. It encompasses the best cinematography and sound editing, I've come across to date. It is a pulchritudinous gothic masterpiece.

Trial by Media is another solid Netflix Docu-Series I set to my notification list long ago. It does not disappoint, nor exceed the thoughts that precede. I like the fact that they cover the b-sides of what has been televised. It doesn't cover the OJ Simpson Trial, or Michael Jackson's Trial, or anything like that. The cases covered are far removed enough, to only have been heard in passing, though not fully realized.

Interesting enough, the cases covered may be stenciled on, however not in the broadest of strokes. That is something I am grateful for. Is something like a podcast with visuals, the minimalist approach seems to work for me.

Covering societal impact through media's outward reflection. It ponders what that says about us, covering a wide range of topics such as race, consent, corruption, psychopathy, misuse of power, and capitalism's flawed infrastructure. The series never takes sides, only stating the facts one episode at a time.

Seinfeld is always considered to be the greatest comedy tv series of all time. It heralded the death of the multi-camera sitcom. It changed the way television was written from that point forward. Everyone with relevant credentials unanimously agrees, at least as far as comedic television goes... "It Will Never Be Outdone."

This movie is so incredibly bad. It starts off with horrible clunky dialogue that doesn't even deserve the label contrived. When the opening scene bares an uncanny resemblance to The Rooms infamous flower shop scene, you know you are heading towards trouble. Admittedly the trailer screams inferior film making but I was willing to give it a chance. I thought maybe it's watchable when watching it for free and not in a theater. I was sadly mistaken. The first scene starts off with some random guy asking Affleck where his turkey was. He's like we're at a liquor store and no sorry I don't have it on me. He's like you're a 42 yr old man with a backwards baseball cap, and why are you looking and talking like we're in a flaming pile of trash that was misidentified as a movie? They're all ha, ha, turkey, sisters house, game, yeah, see you, later. Then he goes on to tell the clerk "yeah I'll take some scratch offs, thank you" - direct quote. The clerks all ... ok well I have 60 to choose from and some isn't a number, you skeez ball. No one on set was like...? How about instead of sounding completely retarded. Lets have the character say something that actually makes sense, when he says it. Something that isn't a redundant, redaction, contradiction.

I gave it some time. As soon as he started coaching, it got slightly better. Yet still had really really really really really bad writing. All the kids were taking jabs at each other while blowing the coach and you're like... no single person talks like that, let alone 12.

With recent failed attempts such as the likes of "Watchmen", "His Dark Materials", and the cringe fest that was "Euphoria". It's nice to have something reminiscent of "The Night Of" airing again. Not since "Chernobyl" have we had the privilege of such elevated television from HBO.

I was skeptical when I saw Andrew Bernstein's directing cred. Known best for working alongside Joel Schumacher in the production of the hot mess that was 1997s Batman & Robin. (You know, that one movie that birthed a thousand Schwarzenegger Mr Freeze memes). So I was hesitant. Can you blame me?

I can fortunately confirm there is none of that here.

Likely saved by Jason Bateman's producing, directing, and performance. It's true he's never been in a bad series or film. He can do no wrong. Also Ben Mendelsohn is a clear standout here... as per usual.

The cinematography is concise and deliberate. There are a lot of aerial shots, as well as ones from the room over. The framing is also top notch. It reminds me of Mindhunter really. There's also a noticeable green hue in some cases something Fincher is also well known for. In the editing stage.

The writing and sound design is solid enough. Nothing to write home about though. Maybe "The Outsider's" only shortcoming is that it's not inline with the binge Tv Model, and it will be weeks between segments. Something the viewing audience outgrew long ago. Will it maintain its grip or get lost in the fold. Something something Asia, Only Time Will Tell*.

I'm as big into the random people trapped in a random room randomly dying film genre, as much as the next guy. This however redefines bad.

At first I was thinking ok dialogue ok acting, what is going on here? What happened to the so bad it's good contrivances I've known and loved. Initially I was thinking how does this movie have such a bad rating? Are they watching the same movie I am?

Then it hit me. Nothing has happened the whole movie... and it's almost over. Oh and that's right nick cannon is the worst actor I've seen on screen. That Fargo guys constant lighting cigarettes isn't placing him in intriguing mysterious territory... he just sucks. Oh and so does everyone else... bleach anyone? Cheers!

After the first episode I was instantly hooked. Only three episodes are out so far, so that's all I can speak to. So far everything you might have liked about Shyamalan is present here.

Every episode starts with an explanation and ends in a mystery. The pacing of the show moves along expeditiously within its solid 30 minute post-streaming gen block.

Its shot in a single location, written for the stage, and a bit of a fever dream. The mystery is continuously layered + 1 in each and every episode.

The dialogue itself is nothing too impressive. Still better than most shows, but only because it is spoken in cadence, and dense in continuous subtext. This keeps you engaged but compared to its other aspects aka, it's biggest shortcoming. Also Lauren Ambrose's performance is irritating and bad. Six Feet Under is one of my favorite show of all time, but she was the worst actor in that show as well.

Overall good, I recommend.

Dave Chappelle's new special was absolutely horrible. I wouldn't think it to be a divisive viewing, but it seems to be manifesting as such.

I consider nothing to be off-limits. However, this is just needlessly offensive and not even remotely funny under any circumstances.

If it was genuinely funny I would be the first one to laugh. For me a lot of what is brought up and discussed could only be compared to holocaust jokes. Can they be funny? Sure... though 99.999% of the time, they aren't. You immediately get highly offended and see that person as a gross POS.

It's an official step back in Dave Chappelle's film cannon. As well as an official step back in a backwards forward thinking Neanderthalicesque society. Fraught with ambiguous morals that we're struggling to hold onto. Caught in our perpetual dereliction of all that was, and all that could have been.

Quite the shambolic retelling of the tragedy/fortunate life that is Iversons. I've never been a big sports guy outside of THPS. However I've been on a big basketball documentary kick lately, and have to say this is one of favorites. Not your typical sports doc, which I think explains the 7.0 average rating. I was shocked to see that after watching it and checking the rating I was thinking it would be 8.0 + easy, and was sadly mistaken.

The new Jim Crowe would be a sensible pairing because of their proquinity in liberal social-political informative similarities. In summary, Iverson is much more of a introspective humanitarian piece, rather than a biopic basketball doc. Like minded people will have an appreciation for its positive informative undertones and overtones of exposing such (hower unfortunate) quotidian injustices.