Change Your Image
notastripper
Reviews
Slumlord (2015)
Couldn't you find more interesting tenants to spy on?
The movie has an interesting premise, but ultimately falls flat. We're all too accustomed to invasions of privacy now, and this may be the reason the viewer feels little or no outrage at the actions of the creepy landlord. We never feel the slightest sense of outrage at the invasion of privacy; instead, we're more inclined to watch along with him as the married couple go about their daily lives. And that complicity delivers a second problem: the couple we're watching is boring, and we keep watching them hoping that they'll do something interesting or at least get up to something; far too much time is devoted to them doing nothing. Again, perhaps it's a reflection of our times that there is nothing remotely titillating or even involving about the couple, but the landlord and the viewer don't seem to witness anything that couldn't be seen on a reality tv show; the whole thing comes off like Big Brother with mischief. Some good performances though, and Neville Archambault is gamely unpleasant as the landlord. Interestingly, the sequel is better: the tenants there at least have more engaging problems.
My Baby Gone (2017)
A bit predictable.
One day, I'd like to see a movie where the crazy baby-snatcher gets away with it. An interesting premise, marred by weak pacing and an astonishingly wooden performance from Ryan S. Williams.
The Man in the Sky (1957)
Airport 1957
By now, most viewers are so aware of movie tropes that films like this are virtually devoid of suspense. At some point, filmmakers started throwing subplots and extraneous characters into disaster movies so that the audience could never be completely assured of anyone's survival; doing so might have helped here. Instead, we have the reliable Hawkins, up there by himself, refusing to bail out of an experimental plane which only he can land. Uh-huh. There's not enough character development or good dialogue to engage the viewer's interest. At one point, a journalist remarks to the effect that there's no story without a crash. He may be callous, but he's right.