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Glass Onion (2022)
Falls Way Short
Knives Out was a well written, directed, and acted film. It was a tight parlor murder mystery full of twists and turns and kept me guessing. I was hoping the sequel would be more of the same. Nope. It suffers from a severe case of what I call 'Sequelitis'. Directors fall prey to this and go too big and over-the-top with action, locations, and get too cute and gimmicky. The numerous cameos; why? It was a pointless, cheesy and unnecessary distraction that added nothing to the story. Self-indulgent nonsense. Thin story and thinner acting by actors who should have been much better. Frenetic and forced action scenes. Special effects were too big and a poor substitute for good writing. There was no subtlety or real humanity that was shown in the first Knives Out. The whole thing struck me as more cartoonish than a good whodunit. I really like Daniel Craig, but I think he lost the spark of Benoit he had the first film. He was subtle, suave, thoughtful, and insightful in the first film. Not here.
Mr Inbetween (2018)
As good as Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul
In my opinion, this is one of the best series in a long time. Ray reminds me of Mike Ermantraut from Breaking Bad & Better Call Saul. He's a deeply flawed guy with a strict suffer-no-fools and take-no-crap personal code. He's loyal to his friends, keeps his word, and cares deeply for his family. Everything about the show was aces; writing, directing, the characters -- everything. No annoying music or pointless car chases or phony Hollywood happy endings.
I don't know if there are going to be more seasons in the series or if it's a limited play at three seasons. I hope it continues.
See it, you won't regret it.
Kateo (2022)
Absurd
I usually like Korean action movies because the action is high octane and well done. This film was over-the-top absurd. Think Keanu Reeves in "John Wick", John Bernthal in "Punisher", Jason Statham in "Wild Card", Josh Brolin in "Old Boy", and "Daredevil" on steroids.
The Hero is is more indestructible than Superman and Iron Man.
The dialog in places was embarrassingly bad. The movie seemed interminably long and should have been edited down by at least thirty minutes. If you're 13-23 years old, you may find it passable.
She (1984)
Wow. Just . . . wow.
The title is "She", but this film is pure "She-it". A high school level production and it shows in everything, writing, directing, acting, costumes, locations, production values, FX, combat, you name it.
I suppose with a 12-pack of cheap 3.2 beer and a bag of Doritos it might be a passable time waster on a dull Saturday night. Either that or clean out your garage.
Love, Death & Robots: Night of the Mini Dead (2022)
Goofy Fun Romp
This little gem was ingenious and hilarious. A mini-zombie apocalypse that captured every zombie movie cliche and scene in a high-speed, zany romp. There were only a few words you could make out in the hyper chipmunk, munchkin voices, but what was said made me laugh out loud.
Watch it, you'll love it.
Bosch: Legacy (2022)
Excellent -- With A Couple Minor Quibbles
I was overjoyed that 'Bosch' continued after the main series wrapped. Also, that we didn't have to wait 3-or-more years for 'Bosch: Legacy' and have the good vibes fade. In addition, it was a nice touch to have a couple cameos from the original cast show up. More, please.
I think the writing and acting as a whole is right up there with the original. Here's where my quibbles rear their heads. One, the writing. I'm no prude and grew up in a household where my parents and relatives and I cursed like truckers. There are places in a script where the scene calls for strong language, but it seems like there were quite a few more 'F-bombs' being dropped by cast than in the original series. Way more. I've done some fiction writing and have a couple things up on Amazon. To me, gratuitous use of profanity is lazy writing and when it's overused, diminishes the impact. It's not a matter of being a prude or goody-twoshoes.
Second is actor Madison Lintz. I put up with her in the original series because she was a kid and a minor character, but now she's front and center with Harry. Sorry, but like others have pointed out, it just isn't working for me either. I'm sure she's a sweet young woman and is trying very hard, but her character and performance is annoying. The jaw jutting expression and teeth-clenching is terribly grating to watch. Finally, only ten episodes? Come on Amazon. You can afford more. I don't expect 20-something a season, but at least 3-5 more would be nice. With all the novels to draw from, I'm sure there's plenty of material to work with.
Jackass Forever (2022)
Just Plain Sad and Unfunny
I admit to liking some crude, dumb humor and stupid stunts -- if they're funny. There were possibly a half dozen funny bits in the whole film. The rest was just forced, tired, and not creative at all. The overly long and cringe-worthy opening take-off on Japanese monster movies was a waste of time and money to produce.
Overall, I've seen funnier content on YouTube 'Pooter' stunts and amateur fart spray pranks.
How this mess rates seven stars is beyond me.
Alone (2020)
Stupid Characters doing Stupid Things
Spoilers ahead for those who haven't seen this or the Korean film. Here we go . . .
After the zombie sh** hits the fan, pretty-boy survivor mopes around, trying to call Daddy, getting drunk, smoking some weed, and acting like he's been in Gitmo since the 90s. He mopes around, batting imaginary baseballs, playing air guitar, smashing stuff in supposed rage and frustration. Poor little snowflake. After 42 days, a month and a half, he's ready to hang himself and end his life. Seriously? Before he does, he spies a young lady across the courtyard, a fellow survivor. Hooray. They live on the 3rd or 4th floors of the apartment complex and write cutesy signs to each other to communicate. She asks if he has water. He writes back that he has plenty of boiled water. Huh? Not once has there been a scene of him doing this or making any preparations to survive. He rigs a zip line across the courtyard to send bottles of water to her. Our hero. They start making goo-goo eyes at each other and sending self-conscious flirtation signs back and forth like 13-year-olds. Fast forward. Later he scrounges a couple walkie-talkies from a neighbor's unit. Does he send one over by the zip line? No. He ties sheets together for a rope, shinnies down, tries to avoid the living dead in the courtyard and toss a walkie-talkie up to her balcony. Huge plot line goof and hole in logic. Next they spend a lot of time chatting via the talkies like they were on a Club Med vacation. Later, he's scrounging in other units for food and stuff when she finally reaches him after a bit of radio silence. She starts reaming him like they've been married for 30 years and he's all apologetic like a good little metro-sexual. There's a ton more dumb stuff, but this give you the basics. The ending is one of the dumbest yet.
Mother/Android (2021)
Talented Actress Wasted
CGM is a good actress. She was a pivotal character in "The Equalizer" with Denzel Washington. This film was what you'd expect from a weekday SciFy Channel offering. The premise was interesting enough, but it was quite poorly executed. Short take: Androids become self-aware, revolt, and attempt to kill off humanity. Standard plot; fine. Two clueless college kids on the run from killer 'droids trying to find sanctuary and safety. She's preggers and he's trying to do the 'right thing'. There are plot holes and time jumps galore. F'rinstance: They are in a tent in the woods with a lantern on like a beacon, laying in sleeping bags, making pillow talk like they're on vacation. Yet, civilization as they knew it has collapsed all around them. Huh? I know it's all movie fiction, but if your friends and family were all slaughtered by killer droids just after you learned you were preggers or going to be a father, you'd be all hunkered down in full survival mode.
The movie was needlessly over-long. It should have been cut by at least 15-20 minutes to tighten up the impact and what little action took place. The end scene was horribly mawkish and went on and on and on. It should have been trimmed by at least 75%. Pass on this one.
Love It or List It (2008)
Seriously?
My wife watches this show in spurts and I avoid it. I can't help over-hearing it in the background while I'm doing other things. I've watched a couple episodes just to placate my mate.
I looked up Hilary's bio here on the IMDB and it says she was born in Toronto, Canada. Yet she speaks in some sort of faux British accent. Huh? Is this just some sort of affectation for the show or her film roles? Annoying and pretentious.
My wife likes all the renovation/make-over/remodeling shows on HGTV and the other stations. They all are pretty much scripted and formulaic and I find them very misleading. I'm not a general contractor, but growing up I helped my father build several houses and have friends in the trades. Some of these shows are a joke, especially the demo portion. Also, they are misleading in rarely mentioning permits and inspections and the planning process. It's all done on 30-60 minutes. Yeah, I know; they edit for time constraints. Duh. But over all, they leave a false impression for those who don't know better.
Alien Conquest (2021)
What Happened To Tom Sizemmore?
Tom Sizemore used to be a great actor. I know he's had a bad drug problem. During the filming of 'Saving Private Ryan', he was tested daily to keep him clean and sober. I wish he'd get himself straight. Tom can hardly talk and he physically looks like a hardened tweaker. He's got sores and blotches all over his face in this dreadful turkey of a film. I don't know how he gets roles given his sorry state, but look at his IMDB credits and he's got a ton of stuff in the pipeline. Sadly, they're all probably D-grade schlock like this mess.
Breach (2020)
Abysmallly Bad
Other reviewers have covered most of why this film is atrocious so I'll just mention the sets and props. They producers must have cleaned out the local Home Depot and scrounged some Radio Shack surplus sales for set materials and props. You could see the drywall screws and staples they used to cobble together the sets. They could have spent $20 for spackle and putty to smooth things out, but that may have broke the budget. The set builders tried to imitate that classic 'space corrosion' effect by dribbling thinned paint down the walls. The tech gear looked like it was tossed together from obsolete PC and VCR parts and the wiring was bundled using zip-ties. The movie is set in 2242 A. D. Seriously? And the flamethrowers; I swear the fuel tanks were Thermos bottles. The weaponry looked like Airsoft guns and muzzle flashes were cheesy CGI post production add-ons. The one weapon that would kill the monsters easily was used once and never used again. Go figure.
Yeah, I admit I wasted an hour and a half on this bomb.
Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard (2021)
Suffers From 'Sequel Syndrome'
I liked and enjoyed the original because I like Reynolds and Jackson. Salma is a decent actress, too. This film basically suffers from what I call 'Sequel Syndrome'. This is where the writers/director/producers believe that if a little of everything that made the original a good film is fine, then the sequel will be better if they exponentially overdo everything. And I mean everything. I'm no prude and I'm used to some F-bombs dropped into a film for dramatic effect. But this film was ridiculous. Especially Salma's dialog. Yes, she was salty in the original, but here? Wow. Everything from the cardboard villains to the chase scenes to the shootouts to the CGI. Others may not have a problem with this, but I do. Too many potentially good sequels have fallen into this trap. To me, it's sloppy and lazy film making. This could have been so much better. I'm being too generous giving even five stars.
The Ice Road (2021)
Dullest 'Action' Movie Ever
I like Liam Neeson, but he has put out some atrocious films in recent years. He must have agreed to this turkey for the paycheck. The alleged action scenes went on way too long and were as boring as watching bumpers rust in a Walmart parking lot. The fight/action coordinator should find a new career. Matt McCoy as the lead bad man? Seriously? You know they were scraping bottom on this movie. Netflix is buying, financing, and showing some really lowbrow junk. Save yourself some time and take a nap or sort your socks instead of wasting it on this.
Sentinelle (2021)
Revenge Thriller Without the Thrill
Standard bare-bones revenge 'thriller' that falls flat on every level. This has all the genre's tropes: drug chugging traumatized combat vet comes home to mete out vigilante justice for family member victimized by rich bad guy the cops can't touch. New wrinkle (?) heroine is gay or at least has a hook-up with another woman.
Olga just doesn't cut it in the lead and was completely unconvincing playing the tough combat vet. Supposedly suffering from PTSD and pounding down opioids came across as posing more than acting. Her drug abuse featured the over-used and tired cliche of gulping a mouthful of pills with no water or liquid and not instantly gagging or choking on them. Have you ever tried to swallow several gelatin capsules or dry tablets at once? Even a one-a-day vitamin will gag you. Prescription medications are notoriously nasty tasting, especially if you try to chew them up before swallowing. I've had numerous surgeries and spent months in the hospital and taken everything from antibiotics to pain meds so I know what they're like and what it takes to get them down.
The actions sequences were boring and unconvincing. Long story short: save yourself an hour and a half and take a pass on this. You want a good revenge flick? Try 'Wild Card' with Jason Statham.
Hard Kill (2020)
Couldn't Finish It
I like Bruce Willis as an action movie actor. I thought "Last Man Standing" was a great vehicle for his hard-boiled persona. He has morphed into the laziest slug of an actor since Rutger Hauer. Does he really need money that bad to make these turkeys? I got maybe 20 minutes into this mess and bailed. Lousy script, college level acting, cheesiest location, special effects, you name it.
As a side note, this film featured one of my movie pet peeves. It's when the heroes are under-gunned or short of guns and ammo and they eliminate a bunch of bad guys. Do rag-pick and scrounge their weapons and ammo? No, they nonsensically leave it lying with the body and move on. WTF? And the bullet strike FX? Looked like paintball hits. Seriously?
Short take: No drama, no tension, no thanks. You're better off with a beer, some popcorn, and reruns of "Hogan's Heroes".
Alien Warfare (2019)
Words Fail Me
I've watched some dreadful movies just to see how bad they can get. This one struck an all-time low. Where to begin? The acting: wooden and over-wrought at the same time. Quite a feat. Script? Cliched and amateurish. Sets and locations? The location scout must have spent 15 minutes and $20 on everything. Props: Stock footage of a Predator drone morphed into a pile of plastic toy parts on the ground. Weapons? Guns must have been toys or Airsoft because while firing several hundred rounds, not one empty shell casing was ejected or fell to the ground. Costumes? Surplus military and the alien costumes looked like black cardboard, duct tape and long underwear.
Don't waste an hour and a half of your life on this. You've been warned.
Hangman (2017)
Could Have Been A Good Movie, Wasn't
The cast was there, the script wasn't. I'm a fiction writer and have a novel and a short story published. This movie had potential, but as the cliche goes, potential just means you haven't done it yet.
The actors had little to work with and seemed resigned to merely collecting a paycheck. Sarah Shahi's part was a total waste of her talent. She's a wheelchair user and her backstory is a toss off and added nothing to advance the story. I saw little in the way of a dynamic between Karl Urban and Al Pacino. Brittny Snow? The less said, the better. Her range went from 'A' to 'B'. Her little expository revelation concerning her backstory was hokum and a cheap suck up to police.
Others have covered the plot hole angles so I won't bother. Fast-forward to ending scene. It should have been left on the editing room floor. Total cliche and cop-out. The hero thinks the whole nightmare is over and the case is closed? Wrong. Boy scoots up to him at his wife's grave and hands him a note. Hero opens it to reveal another hangman puzzle. Roll credits. Seriously? This baloney was a cliche in the 80s. Cheap, pointless device.
Cosmos (2019)
Some very good, some not so much.
The Good: Acting over all was good and the actors came across as believable in their respective roles. The directing was pretty much on point. I liked the story premise and character development and while a bit slow in stretches, the story advanced at a good pace.
The Not So Good: The writing/story/character development got a bit sophomoric in spots. It came across as a 'Young Adult', sappy exchange when the characters got over their hard feelings, buried the proverbial hatchet, and came together as a team. Tighter, more experienced writing would have avoided this.
The power loss scenes were just dumb. As someone pointed out, why not have an inverter running off the 12V auto system? Most campers/Winnebago type vehicles use them. Or a portable generator? The worst was the completely idiotic, pointless drama hyping scenes of the actors running around the woods gathering up equipment while the laptop battery is dying. Seriously? They have made the most important discovery in history and they are going to jeopardize it by running around grabbing antennas, extension cords, and a portable telescope? Nonsense. You'd leave your Gramma in the woods and come back later to pick her up.
All-in-all, it was a good basic first effort type film that had the potential to be very good if it had more seasoning and experience in a few areas. I've written some fiction and have them up on Amazon and Smashwords, among others. The writing weaknesses stood out as the main flaws. If it were my script to work on, I know exactly where I'd make the changes.
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019)
A Fair Wrap-up For Jesse
Like several have previously stated, I didn't quite know what to expect from this film. Was it bad? No, but it depends on your definition of 'bad'. It was well written, directed, acted, and paced. But it definitely was not an extension of "Breaking Bad". It was basically an epilogue for Jesse Pinkman, a messed up young man who got into something over his head and nearly paid with his life. I suppose you could term it a kind of redemption story. He realizes, almost too late, just how badly he screwed up, comes to terms with it, and wants nothing more than a chance to completely break free and start over. Does the film succeed? I think so and quite well.
Along with Aaron Paul, the real gem of the show is the late Robert Forester's role. Quiet, reserved, and powerful. The man had chops. It was also nice to see a snippet of my all-time favorite BB character, Mike. I sincerely hope he shows up in the up-coming season of "Better Call Saul".
Brightburn (2019)
Lame
Given the premise and the beginning, I was hoping for a new wrinkle in the hero genre. Huge disappointment. The kid was a stiff; he quickly got homicidal for no logical reason other than to take over the earth at the behest of some unseen force.
The whole mess devolved into your typical teen gore fest featuring a tiresome parade of bloody close-up deaths and maimings. I confess I got fed up after the kid mangled his uncle's pick-up truck with him in it, leaving the poor guy trying to hold his dislocated jaw in place. I bailed out at that point. Not worth my precious time.
If done right, it could have been a twist on the Superman schtick of the super strong good guy comes to earth and does good. There is no exposition of why he's bad, why he just wants to kill people (other than they just annoy him), or what his goal is. Even bad guys need motivation.
The film should have been titled, "Spuperkid Goes On Killing Spree".
Peaky Blinders (2013)
Seasons Are Way Too Short
All the other reviewers have covered the positive aspects of the show. My one and only complaint about the series, and all British series in general, is they are entirely too short.
Perhaps we're spoiled in the U.S., but we're accustomed to a season being upwards of 20+ episodes. A shortened season is about 13.
It seems like the show just gets cranked up and really exciting and then -- DONE. Then you have to wait at least a year for the next season.
Monte Walsh (1970)
Wanted To Like It, But . . .
I'm not a newcomer to Westerns and I'm pushing 72. I've had a life-long interest in the American West, studied its history, and even wrote a novel set in the 19th century. Somehow, I never got around to watching 'Monte Walsh' until recently, though I'd heard it was supposed to be a bit of a classic. While I wanted so much to like it given its cast and genre, it just did not hook me. This despite the fact that Lee Marvin is one of my favorite actors and in his prime. The film didn't hit many right notes for me. Something was off. None of the characters really grabbed me. Marvin was fantastic in 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance', 'The Professionals', and 'Cat Ballou'. Heck, he even did well in the atrocious 'Paint Your Wagon'. And those were just his westerns. He appeared to coast through this role. The usually dependable Jack Palance, to me, phoned in his role.
A story of friends aging in the passing of the West was done so much better in 'Lonesome Dove' and 'The Wild Bunch'. Marvin and Palance were miles better in 'The Professionals'. I have no idea what the casting director had in mind when they cast Jeanne Moreau. She was completely unbelievable. It may be that the film just has not held up well in comparison to many others.
I've watched most of John Wayne's films over years along with all the Spaghetti Westerns, all the TV shows, Tom Selleck and Sam Elliot's work, and everything in between. I know my subject matter and this film doesn't cut it for me. JMO.
Here Alone (2016)
Fell Apart In The 3rd Act
Others have covered the film well in general, so I won't bother covering that portion.
*Spoilers Follow* The stereotypical bratty, jealous female teen is telegraphed shortly after she and her wounded step-dad appear. She develops an increasing case of the hots for him and a resentment of his attention to our heroine. She later prepares to seduce him. When step-dad and our heroine return from scavenging firewood and hook up in the car, she does a slow burn and you can see she's going to make a move to eliminate her competition. After step-dad convinces our heroine to come with them, she hatches a plan to get more food for the journey from a nearby house she'd been raiding. Step-dad will act as a decoy while she and hormonal teen sneak in and make off with the chow. While our heroine is busy grabbing the loot, snarky girl clubs her, ties her up, and screams for the zombies to come and get lunch. She then bugs out with the food with the zombies in hot pursuit. Our heroine frees herself, grabs her .22, and heads back to camp. Meanwhile Ms. Hormones gets back to camp, tells step-dad that the zombies got our heroine. At that point, about a half dozen shuffling dead show up and attack the two of them. He wades into them with a tire-iron and knife as one goes after Ms. Hormones. Our heroine shows up, picks off a few semi-dead. Both Ms. Hormones and step-dad are about to be bitten and our heroine is down to her last round. Who will she save? She flashes back to her sick baby who has come down with the 'Z' virus and she sadly has to euthanize the sick baby. Flash forward. Final scenes of dead zombies on the ground around the dead step-dad. Our heroine is now driving off with Ms. Hormones lying next to her with her head on her lap. Seriously? She chooses to let the step-dad die and she saves Ms. Hormones, who you with recall tried to feed her to the zombies. Now she drives off with her as some sort of surrogate new daughter replacement? What kind of baloney is that? *Spoilers Off* As I said, the first 2/3 of the film were quite good. But I had a feeling that like so many independent films trying to be cool and 'arty', they were going to wrap it up with some sort of twist at the end. This film could easily have been much better. I wasn't expecting the typical happy ending, but this didn't ring true either. Yes, she faced a dilemma. I didn't agree with the writer's or director's choice.