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My Brothers Wife (1966)
Part of a group of Art movies a friend recommended to me
The Plot (2/ 5).
The plot was simple......man visits brother, has an affair with his sister in law. Brother then cons sister-in-law for money with false promises. The movie paces well, and the outside stories are minimal
The Acting (0.5 / 5)
The opening fight scene was phonier than any wrestling match I ever saw and unfortunately the acting never got any better. The dubbing means that every scene involving the two main male actors sounds like they're reading off of cue cards while the female lead on the other hand, comes across as competent. There a places in the film where the dialogue gives the impression of 'padding' to make the scenes last longer.
Overall (2.5)
Some of the breaks in the movies gave the impression that this may have been a made for TV movie (something quickly quashed by the movie's content). The nudity factor here is medium, and some of it is quite gratuitous and does nothing for the plot. It's too hard to overlook the flaws in this one for me.
Post It (2014)
Fun
There is another review that says 'Refreshing' and I totally agree.
The Plot (4 / 5).
The plot is good and original. Who would have thought that you could get 10 good minutes out of a 3M product? Certainly not I, yet here it is. For a movie that runs around 8 minutes, there is a lot of plot which keeps it moving and fun. You certainly wouldn't expect the movie to end the way it did based on two people meeting on a bench, one with a box.
The Acting (3.5 / 5)
The acting in the movie is pretty good, and given the short running time, the actors give their characters some development beyond the opening scene, something you don't get in 90 minute movies some time. The script is believable and well executed by the actors.
The movie is a solid 7.5, not quite an 8 (too short), so a 7 is what IMDb will grant it. There are short movie subjects that deserve a longer movie (The Silent Child for instance) and some which don't. This is a nicely executed example of a subject where 8-10 minutes is just about right!
New Boy (2007)
The ending surprised me
I've promised myself I'm going to watch every Oscar nominated short film I can find.
The Plot (3 / 5).
The story is a bit cliché in some aspects (bullying the new kid in class, teacher oblivious, etc) but the flashback scenes work very well. I was not expecting the ending to be what it was, but I was pleasantly surprised.
The Acting (3 / 5)
The acting in this is decent, none of the young actors come across as Laurence Olivier in his prime, but they don't look it's their first rodeo either. Script is good, written at the level you would expect from children this age.
The first 'short' on my journey to watch as many Oscar nominated shorts as I can. As they're all Oscar nominated, somebody must have thought there was some good in them.
Sisters in Leather (1969)
At least the plot idea is decent...
Another from the list of art movies a friend left me with.
The Plot (2.5 / 5).
This movie actually has a plot that's believeable, and interesting. The music was enjoyable to listen to, some of it was quite jazzy, and at other times, I got a very Can / Amon Duul vibe from it (the scene where Joe first enters the Pool Hall for example).
The Acting (.5 / 5)
The acting in this movie is bad. The actors were very rigid in their scenes and at least once you get the impression that one of the male bikers received an off-screen cue to read his lines. The script is minimal, and at times sounds like it was written by a horny teenaged boy.
Again, I will not be recommending this movie to any of my friends (nor my enemies)
Tenemos la carne (2016)
Ugh
The Plot (1.5/5)
The movie is certainly 'out there' and a lot of the dialogue and acting seem contrived and intentionally meant more for shock than entertainment. It's a very one dimensional story which hopes that the viewer will see more than meets the eye, when the reality is that this is a shallow film.
The Acting (1/5)
Given the limitations of the script, it is hard to expect anything other than what the film presents which is not very good acting, but at the same time, none of the thespians are put in situations which warrant any real acting
Overall (2.5/10)
This is from a list of 200+ movies a friend sent me. Through 30, about half of them have gratuitous sex scenes that do nothing for the plot. This movie is no exception, without the unnecessary sexual scenes, this movie would be about 50 minutes and still be plotless.
Baise-moi (2000)
Interesting To Say The Least
The Plot (2/5)
The plot isn't original, and as some other reviews state is nothing more that Thelma and Louise for Adults. But it is well executed and I have to give points for that.
The Acting (2/5)
Considering the two female leads were known as pornographic actresses at the time, it's not surprising that they play that part well. However as this is supposed to be a 'mainstream' movie, their acting leaves a lot to be desired. Unfortunately, very few of the other actors / actresses in the film are given any chance to develop their characters aside from maybe a sex scene and then getting blown away (which I could do).
Overall
The film was one of 200+ films recommended by a friend who is really into art films, but it seems he meant movies depicting strange sex obsessed characters. I would not recommend this film to my friends simply because it is one dimensional in nature and I would like to think they want more substance in their movies.
Adieu au langage (2014)
I'll admit I did not fully understand this movie
The Plot (2/5)
It's been a few days since I watched the movie and I'm still not sure I understand what I was supposed to be watching. It kept me riveted to the TV for an hour or so however so there was something in it. I found some of the cutaways between the human scenes and the dog scenes to be a bit jarring at times.
The Acting (4/5)
The acting was very good here. I felt the characters were very believable and that helped. There was almost a documentary feel at times to the acting.
Overall (6/10).
While I didn't fully understand what I was watching, I enjoyed what I was watching and really wished I had done better in French Class 40 years ago so I wouldn't have to rely on subtitles.
I have a lot of friends who consider themselves movie buffs who like this genre and I would not hesitate to recommend this movie.
A Magical Christmas Village (2022)
Fits the Bill As a Christmas Movie
The Good
A well executed plot, not quite original but plausible
The Bad
Why has Marlo Thomas let herself go? The cosmetic surgery results are a distraction if you're like me and are old enough to remember 'That Girl'
The Plot (3/5)
As I stated the movie plot and script were decent, and plausible.
The Acting (3/5)
Alison Sweeney is a professional at the 'Filmed in Canada, Hallmark Christmas TV Movie" and this one was no exception. Despite her looks, Marlo gave a good performance as always as did Luke Macfarlane. While I realize she's young, I was not impressed with Maesa Nicholson's acting. This is one of her first three movies so hopefully she will improve.
Overall (6/10)
The movie is watchable and enjoyable, and a decent example of the Hallmark Christmas TV Movie genre. Nothing extraordinary here, but nothing cringeworthy either. 10-15 years ago, a lot of these movies made me cringe when watching them, but today, out of the 30+ movies Hallmark ships out every Christmas, only 2-3 make me feel that way now.
Bedways (2010)
What was I watching?
This movie was recommended to me by a friend, and they seem to have good taste in movies so I watched it on a streaming service.
The plot (1.5/5)
The plot revolves around a director making a movie at a friend's apartment but not really knowing what she wants to create. As a result, there is an abundance of sexual scenes (supposedly unsimulated) that seem to exist only to show sex scenes.
The acting (1.5/5)
The acting is certainly sub-par. There are two reasons for this in my opinion. 1, the director wanted the sex scenes to be real so he looked for inexperienced actors. 2, the plot / script wasn't all that great to begin with so you can only be as good as what you work with.
I would not watch this movie again, now would I recommend it to any friends (or enemies for that matter).
Runaway Christmas Bride (2017)
Why? Why? Why?
The score may be generous. I've seen the leads in other roles before, but their acting was far better. The biggest issue I had with this movie was that the background music NEVER seems to stop....and I mean never. Every bit of dialogue in this movie, is done over music.
So, bad acting, weak story, constant dialogue over music, and gthis is a less than stellar 90 minutes.
Siu je yau sam (2014)
Not a bad little movie
I read several reviews of this movie before deciding to watch it (Thank God for subtitles) and they were all over the place so I went in with no expectations. I was told of Annie Liu and that this was a decent romantic comedy.
The gist of the story is that there are two couples, one an older couple and one a younger couple. Each couple is plagued by sexual problems leading to extramarital affairs that come back to haunt them in different ways but at the end of the movie all is well with the couples (although the final couple of minutes are a little on the corny side).
The acting isn't bad. There are some scenes where it looks contrived. The dialogue (as depicted in the English subtitles) isn't bad either. If there is one thing to complain about is that later in the movie they use flashbacks to fill in scenes from earlier in the movie. The problem being that the user didn't realize anything was left out of the first scene, although the flashback adds perspective.
On the whole I found the movie enjoyable, nothing cringeworthy about the acting or dialogue, but nothing award winning either. The female cast is attractive which helps make the affairs believable and the plot is easy to follow, albeit predictable in places.
Possible Spoiler Alert: One bit of warning, if you are hoping to watch this movie to see some hardcore sex scenes, pass it by. There's very little nudity (about 30 seconds of Jacquelin Ch'ng's breasts), just a lot of suggested sex. In fact, the movie would have been just as good if half of them were left out as they did nothing for the plot.
Bagged (2010)
I can think of better ways to waste time
Spoiler Alert
The 'film' is about 10 minutes long and has absolutely no dialogue. I have always enjoyed Kristin Booth's acting but I do question why she took this role.
The premise of the short is really about a woman personifying a purse. Original? Yes. Good? I didn't think so.
It would have been delightful had the writer chosen to add some dialogue to Emma, or gave some more 'personification' to the purse. As it is, the zipper on the purse can form a smile and the metal locking thingies can click to form a wink.
The film did give me the urge to make spaghetti however.
First Dates Canada (2015)
So-So Time Waster
The premise of the show is as you would expect, a 30 minute show detailing blind dates. Unfortunately as a viewer, you don't get much.
1) The show takes place at an Earl's Restaurant in the lower BC Mainland
2) There are three couples highlighted each episode
3) Each episode starts with an introduction to the first couple one at a time as each person enters the restaurant. Person #1 comes in, we get a little intro, they sit at the bar. Person #2 comes in, we get an intro, and they're introduced to the date and eventually seated. We then get a bit of banter from their date
4) #3 is repeated for the next two couples until the show is almost half over
5) We move from table to table to get some of the banter from the couples
6) Almost like clockwork, one of the pairs will go to the bathroom and make a phone call (it never fails)
7) We see the couple leave one at a time
8) We have a talk with each of the couples in a back room on stools to see how the date went, any future dates, etc
9) Just before the closing credits, we get a single line update on each couple like 'Jane enjoyed her date with Dick, but decided that they would never be more than friends'
Unfortunately, with 23 minutes to fill, and three dates being focused on, there really isn't anything for the viewing audience to bite into. You don't get enough of their personalities, or any sense of how the date is going from the banter to be able to sit there, watch, and root for a couple to hit it off. It's almost like you're at the same restaurant and these couples are at tables surrounding yours, they're just there, every few minutes you hear something that makes you look over, but nothing to make you invested in the result. As these episodes are shown back to back, I did watch two episodes and got the same lack of vibes from both episodes. Not must-see watching, just a so so time waster.
The Perfect Girlfriend (2015)
Seriously.,....what was I thinking?
While watching a series of movies on the movie network and this was the next one in line. Within the first 5 minutes, I knew what was coming, I should have turned it off then.
The movie features a predictable theme, but in the process of laying out the plot, there was some serious issues. Being an evilly coerced love triangle, there are three main characters. None of the characters get very well developed unfortunately and fall into the same trap you see in a love triangle. This is what hurts the movie in my opinion. You know what is going to happen, and you keep hoping that one of the characters will do something interesting to keep you interested....but by the end of the movie you are still waiting for that something to interesting to happen, and realize you wasted 90 minutes watching a movie you've seen before.
The acting, while not great, isn't bad, they just had a bad storyline to act to, something that seems to happen to Curtis Crawford movies.
Big Deal (1985)
A Sad Waste of 2 Hours
Well, I wasn't planning on watching this movie but it came on the tube after another movie I had was watching (Something Wild) and I decided to watch it rather than fill the dishwasher.
The first thing that should have told me that filling the dishwasher would have provided me with more enjoyment was the music. The movie is Canadian and dates from 1985........the music is very reminiscent of many CTV home grown shows of the period....i.e.....quite bad synth.
The second thing that should have clued me in, the entire plot was predictable within the first 5 minutes.
The final thing that should have forced a channel change was the dialogue. You've heard better dialogue at an elementary school play.
The best way to describe this is to think of the worst SCTV skit you can think of and let it run for 90 minutes commercial free
Date Movie (2006)
An awful movie
This was, in pure and simple terms, an awful movie. I watched this movie on Christmas Eve after wrapping presents, looking for something light and funny to end the evening.
What I saw was 70 minutes of the unfunniest movie footage I have ever seen that was billed as 'comedy'. I have seen most (if not all) the material that was being spoofed and not once did a mere chuckle come out.
If you are thinking about renting this movie, or doing a movie-on-demand type deal. I would strongly advise you to re-think your decision. Out of the entire movie universe there are bound to be duds, but aside from some bad B-Movies I saw on the USA Network while in University in the early 1980s, this movie is the dud to which I will compare all future movies.
The movie ended 15 minutes ago, and to unfunny.........I can add the word unmemorable.
The Terminal (2004)
Not Bad
This was an enjoyable little movie that I watched recently. It wasn't what I had expected based on the commercials I had seen, but that can be a positive and in this case it was.
First, I felt that Tom Hank's character was portrayed in a very good light however I didn't see a lot of character development.
Second, I felt that Catherine Zeta-Jones was over billed. While she plays a character that is important to the plot, we don't see a lot of her and in the end the viewer is asking questions about her character.
All in all it's not a bad little movie. No heavy thinking required, it moves along well, and it has a happy ending, although not the ending I was expecting.
The Beachcombers (1972)
A Canadian Classic
Sunday nights in Canada were never complete until "The Beachcombers" were over. Now, one can watch the show in all it's glory on TV Land Canada, Thank God for the CRTC and their Canadian Content rules or this could be a lost gem. While a graduate student in the US, I was surprised at the number of American students who were close to the border and fell in love with "The Beachcombers", I even remember the commercials that Bruno Gerussi used to do for McCain's back then. It is indeed sad that Nick, Molly, and Relic are no longer with us as that would have made for a better TV reunion movie. Thanks again to TV Land Canada, your continued support of "The Beachcombers" is graciously appreciated by the fans.