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The Devil's Hour (2022)
Nope
The Devil's Hour tells the story of a woman, who is also the main character, Lucy Chambers played by Jessica Raine, who is trying to live a normal life with her disabled son and her mentally ill mother who suffers some form of dementia. But as the show goes on nothing is what it seems. What seems like a family legacy of mental illness turns into clairvoyance of things happening that didn't happen . . .or something. All the while a totally unrelated detective and his partner are working on a case of abductions and murder connected to a man named "Gideon", played by Peter Capaldi, who isn't the smartest at getting away with his crimes. Crimes that are so important to him, enough to alter the lives of few random, and sometimes unlikable, people as if they are the only people on the planet.
There were things that I just didn't understand. For instance, his father. If child-Gideon was able to just disappear after his gruesome acts towards his father, why didn't he just disappear with his brother to avoid having to do it all over again? Also, when he goes after the teenage drug dealer and doesn't execute his plan because an armless Lucy stood in front of him, I just slapped myself silly. Are British shows meant to be soft or something? Cause if it was really that important to Gideon then that wouldn't be reason enough to abandon his plans. He could have knocked her out and proceeded with his goal or really anything he could have done differently. Nope, he didn't even attempt it and then it produced even worse results. Really everything in the film seemed unrealistically convenient to keep the bad storyline going. I mean, there's a lot more, too much to list. Then there were the last two episodes, the really bad "explanation", it ruined the entire series for me. Before it was just "bad", after that it was one of the worst series I have ever seen. A lot of stuff happens in this show. Some characters I really liked, like Isaac and the grandmother, but not for the theme of this series. It seemed like the writer had a lot of ideas for different films but only one budget, so he threw all of those ideas into one show and gave it a really lame ending to wrap it all up. I would definitely pass on this one. Or at least watch the last two episodes, or even just the last, and really you'll save a lot of time that could have been wasted.
7 donne e un mistero (2021)
Great classic murder mystery
Six women find their beloved father, husband, son-in-law murdered and discover they are trapped in the house unable to reach the police or escape. Suddenly a seventh mystery woman shows up and secrets are revealed as all women play detective trying to figure out who the murderer is among them.
Beautifully visual and great cast and acting. This is an example of a classic whodunit murder mystery where all the character's deepest and darkest secrets are revealed. It's fun to watch and there's even a twist at the end. Don't listen to the bad reviews here, if you are a fan of whodunit murder mysteries, this one is a nice homage to the classics and it's Italian, which is what makes it unique. The film obviously takes place at an earlier time in Italy, hence the outfits, hair, makeup, and decor, so no, you're not going to get references to today's social issues. It's an Italian version of the film Clue except with earlier generation women. I enjoyed it very much. My only advice is to listen to it in the beautiful Italian language, the dubbed version will ruin it.
An Audience of Chairs (2018)
Parenting alone with mental illness
A subject not talked about enough in cinema or otherwise: parenting "alone" with mental illness. Maura, a mother of two, is struggling to keep it together as a mental disorder inherited by her mother slowly creeps into her life during the toughest time in marriage, career, and motherhood. We watch as Maura rollercoasters through mania and depression, torn between her love of playing music -- something she shared with her late mother -- and being a mother herself. The medications would "dull it all" and Maura's refusal to take it was her way of feeling "something" and we see it was unfortuntely to her detriment when she decides to do something dangerous and unforgiveable.
Being a mother who struggles with mental illness and doing this all alone I can relate to this film a lot. I found Maura's life to be more priviledged than mine though since she had the suppport of her loving father to help her get better, but I still felt deeply connected. I never once blamed anyone for what unfolded. A teetering marriage certainly could have been a result of Maura's mental disorder and I felt that everyone did their best to help her, even Maura herself. I felt that everything that happened had to happen in order for Maura to find the courage to get better. It was a good film.
Haunted (2018)
Two is the magical number
Two episodes in and I lost interest, seems to be a reoccurring theme with reviewers here. Before watching the show I read an interview with the writers and they had me intrigued with their claims that these were real stories from real people and that nothing was fabricated. Well the first season that queued up for me on Netflix was season 3 and the first episode was clearly bogus. The writers didn't even have to put forth the effort of investigating that one, if the cuts were that "deep" and frequent then show us the scars. Even if self inflicted, at least make it believable. I also know that if anyone found an obvious torture chamber with traces of blood, that they would call the police to have it investigated. Humans are self-absorbed by nature and love to play the "hero". They decided to just board it up and forget about it. They are either lying or they don't want to admit they were on a bender of heavy drugs, hence the boyfriend's odd behavior and his unfortunate accident that lead to his demise.
The second episode was a deal breaker for me once the mom confirmed that "yeah, being a witch definitely makes sense" to her obvious traumatized children. Everything that happened could be explained by simple logic before jumping to the possibility of a witch of sorcery which has never been proven to exist historically as much as modern pagans want to believe. For instance, the woman telling the story never really claimed in her interview that she was picked up by her throat and held in midair, she just claims something attacked her. The brother claims he was sleeping and woke with strangulation marks on his neck, but no one investigated the room to see if he may have gotten caught up on something during the night. The older sister's metal fan was far too close to the bed, likely why the mother would shut it off. You see she had her hand sticking out as she slept so it could most certainly get caught up in the blades. Who can really say if it were unplugged that night? We all make careless mistakes especially a busy single mother with three jobs caring for four children and all the commotion in the house over supernatural forces. As for the "fog" on the staircase, we don't really hear the claim, all we hear is that the main narrator felt as if something was present in the house with her, but she never really says from her own mouth that there was a fog on the staircase screaming "get out". And lastly, why would someone target the children and not the mother who put all her money into the house, seeing as though she was the deciding factor in all this? To the contrary the "witch" targeted children who have wild imaginations and likely suffered from anxiety considering they didn't have much parental supervision and had an irrational mother who would encourage their imaginings and fears.
I'm actually a big fan of horror and horror anthologies and I enjoy a good campfire tale, even if fictitious these were not good stories. I may give the rest of a shot at a later time, but I personally don't really care for the slasher episodes, there are plenty of investigative crime documentaries and shows streaming on Netflix and elsewhere that are real cases. I don't personally care for them and don't need to reminded of Humans and monstrous behavior.
The Deep End (2022)
The Dalai Lama got his wisdom from Buddhist teachersss..
...and those teachers had teachers and so on. Even the Buddha himself learned from sages and those sages learned from other sages and so on and this went on for thousands of years. Teal Swan should educate herself on the Dalai Lama and Eastern schools in general before she uses him in a childish argument likened to a domineering wife quarreling with her doormat of a husband. Even moreso when she speaks on the subject of "reincarnation" which she clearly knows zero about. Reincarnation is not a "reboot", it's a way to "live" morally.
This is an age old tale of humans being born and going through life without any real resolution and it's splendidly depicted by the makers of this documentary series. Yes, Teal Swan shows us the truth, the truth that we'll do anything we can to avoid legitimate work taught by skilled teachers and age old wisdom, because "that's too boring, we like drama".
The Fat Boy Chronicles (2010)
Exceeded expectations
When I read the description of the movie I must admit I was a bit skeptical. Can changing ourselves to fit the societal standard of beauty really bring us happiness? This film answers the question and the message is a good one. I think the most crucial part of the movie was when Sable confronted Jimmy and let him know that being "fat" isn't the worst thing that can happen to someone.
No Letting Go (2015)
You just do what it takes. . .
I am reviewing from the perspective of someone who was a child with chronic anxiety and bouts of depression. I do not have bipolar disorder, but I am what is considered "Neurodivergent" with adult ADHD and Autism. This hit home for me watching the parents turn their nose up at special education and treatment and trying to force "normalcy". I grew up with a family who didn't believe in any of this and didn't want to be viewed as having a "disabled child" so ignored all the signs and labeled me a "bad kid with behavioral problems". I had a really rough life as a result and at age 40 am finally getting the support I need. Although I feel the child was misdiagnosed in the film and treatment outdated, I do appreciate how the film turned out and hope it teaches parents to let go of their misguided views and stop stigmatizing treatment for those with neurological differences who have trouble fitting into a one-size-fits-all world.
The Other Lamb (2019)
I came here to be snarky
When I saw the description, I asked myself, "what could possibly be wrong with being in an all female cult?" I was ready to be challenged with a new way of thinking. 6 minutes into the film, the women are all having dinner together at the table and at the head of the table...a man. It all made sense.
This ilm is visually beautiful and atmospheric. If you're looking for anything more, this isn't the film for you.