Change Your Image
survivorcritic
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Joker (2019)
A Compelling and Astonishing Art Piece
Art pieces usually stink up the screen. This is a notable exception and superbly acted by Joaquin Phoenix in a tour de force performance. You wonder how an actor could even take other roles after doing something like this. I'd need to take some time off. I would think Phoenix's role would have drained him psychologically. He appears like he is drained physically. He appears practically emaciated. And chain smokes through out the film. In a late scene you can actually see the tobacco stains on his fingers. Making you wonder "is this guy really healthy?" Because he certainly doesn't look it.
It's as if they took a cue from "Eraserhead" in the dark, grim cinematography. It's not BW like that film. But dark none the less. Dark on the screen and dark in the content. I won't give specifics or spoilers but the character Arthur Fleck spirals into madness and murder.
What is most compelling for me is that I identified with the character. I sustained abuse as a child. My childhood was in poverty. I slept in a hallway until I was a teen ager. We lost our home to a predatory bank. I took abuse at school. I remember having a knife held to my throat in 8th grade. I was terrified to go to the bathroom.
As I near my senior years I realize just how grim my life has been. It's been a train wreck. Poverty, joblessness, isolation, loneliness, health problems, mental health issues. I've seen the inside of mental institutions. I was abused in mental institutions. I've been beat down and kicked on the street by groups of street thugs more than once. I've woken up more than once with all the white in both eyes blotted out by broken blood vessels so I looked like some kind of vampire. My jaw broken, my nose broken multiple times. I have memories to make a life time of nightmares. I remember being strapped down all fours to a bed for weeks at a time. An attendant would play games while feeding me. Not putting the food in my mouth. Poking the fork into my cheeks and forehead and laughing at me. They'd leave me in a room all alone all day just laying there. No TV, no visitors, nothing. When I was released I went looking for that guy. When I found him in a shopping mall he started running.
When I became older I reacted by becoming something I am not. I became a raging mad man. I was arrested one time because a man took my parking space. In an angry rage I smashed out every window in his car with a steel pipe. I was jumping up and down on the roof as amazed people nearby watched. One time a man cheated me forty dollars on a drug deal. I wasn't drunk but I had been drinking as usual. I was always drinking. And chain smoking. I chased him through the streets at speeds over a hundred miles an hour. When I caught him I made him get down on his knees in the middle of the street and held a gun to his head in front of numerous witnesses. None of whom would give a statement to police. They knew me on that street. But I'm not a killer. I didn't turn into Arthur Fleck.
Through the sheer force of my own will I changed. Not with religion but with intellect. It didn't take incarceration. It didn't take counseling. It didn't take a twelve step program. It just took being honest with myself. I used that anger as motivation. They were not going to win. I was going to win because I was better than them. I was smarter. I was superior. And although I am definitely not living the high life I am all right today. I have some things. I never, ever touch alcohol. That's a distant memory.
The future is somewhat scary because of my condition and the fact that I will have no children to look after me. But I'm not in dire straits. I'm secure enough to survive. I know how to survive. I've recovered some dignity. And now I'm writing material. It's good material. I have verbal skills. I'm good with the language.
I've seen a lot and I have a great deal to say. It's not all happy tunes. I have some harsh criticism of various things about society and the follies of the human race and I will be offering this in both fiction and non fiction form. I believe I know where things are going and it is an ugly picture. I believe homo sapiens is destroying itself and the planet because of personal flaws, greed, selfishness and ignorance. I still believe as Arthur Fleck that people are just so self-centered and hypocritical and rotten to each other. I still don't like people very much. I probably never will. I had the rotten nature of people again verified for me in recent revelations from my autistic cousin about the ridicule and abuse he has faced. He received so much taunting from so many cruel individuals that he doesn't even want to associate with people. He can communicate with me by using internet chats. Otherwise it would be difficult.
But instead of filling people full of holes or stabbing them in the throat like Arthur? I'll put my criticisms of the rotten and flawed nature of homo sapiens down on paper. Like Mr. Costanza said at Festivus, "I've got a lot of problems with you people and now you're going to hear about it." I'm well read, intelligent and educated and you're going to hear about it. I know things. There is a reason no one wants to play Jeopardy or Trivial Pursuit with me. I have some poignant observations about the failure of leadership in the world for over a century. They have no vision. They have no sense. And never learn from history.
People will likely be angered by what I have to say. I have fairly harsh criticisms for just about every religion in the world. And that will certainly push some buttons. I've studied them all. Some of it will be presented with humor, believe it or not. And as I do it I will never, ever forget this character Arthur Fleck. Because I saw myself in Arthur. The anger, the anguish, the hopelessness. It was like looking into the pit. It was both horrifying and inspiring. Arthur wrote in his note book. "The worst thing about being mentally ill is that people expect you to not behave like it." I have actually said that to people in those exact words. Somebody had some insight.
Could there be a sequel? Could Phoenix reprise his role? I think this piece is complete. To extend it would be wrong.
Red Dead Redemption II (2018)
The Best game ever but the horses do not perform properly
I am at 91% completion story mode and level 80 online. Great game and I won't complain about the "Grindy" tendencies so many others complain about. If you are good you are going to make money in either mode. I have all I need. Really rich in story mode and plenty of money online. I've never bought Gold Bars, level 14 Trader, Level 4 Bounty Hunter, level 4 Collector. But something about the game is supremely annoying and has me thinking about quitting. The horrible quality of the horses! They are undependable and incredibly stupid. They will get you killed hundreds of times. They go flying off cliffs. They stop dead when encountering predators, basically serving you up to be eaten. None of them can stay on their feet. They trip and fall easily over things your character can just walk over. I would not even use their practically useless horses if I wasn't forced to. I have owned the best ones and every one of them is a lemon. They're way over-priced considering how terrible they are. And they do not perform as advertised. I just fell off my horse about 10 times in the last hour. The horse won't jump the rock or log half of the time. And then here I am on the ground or dead again. My own horse murders me every time I play the game. And that is getting really tiresome. The fact that the horses are so stupid puts a stain on a fine game. Give us better horses! Ones that are steadier on their feet! Ones that don't freeze when encountering predators!
Tha God's Honest Truth with Charlamagne Tha God (2021)
If I Could Give This A Zero I would
You can tell somebody as dishonest and brain-dead as Stephen Colbert was involved with this garbage. I am astoundedt that sleazy Comedy Central could put something as absolutely outrageously racist as this show. My goodness it's blatant. It's a television cultural atrocity. Where is the outrage?
Whites will notice this guy is completely racist against white people. It's not even close to being subtle. There's all these jokes that are blatantly racist at the expense of white people. Generalities that cast white people in a bad light. It's absolutely horrible. How can they possibly tolerat this in our society? What is happening to our society that evil men like this are allowed to have television shows? The worst atrocity is that the jokes are not even funny.
But that's not the half of it. McKelvey casts broad, false stereotypes about Black people that should offend them as well. McKelvey does these jokes like "Black people do this or say this" or "white people do this or say this" or "Black people believe this", etc. I'm waiting for him to get off the Black/White thing and get into trouble making racist jokes about other races. And then I'll laugh when they bring the hammer down on his head. Right now it appears it's just fine and dandy for McKelvey to spout as many racist stereotypes as he wants on his show as long he keeps it Black and White. And you know something? That seems to be how McKelvey seese everything. Us VS them. Black and White. And Black and white are so completely different as to be unable to ever mix in graceful fashion. We're just too different, you see.
And McKelvey does this with incredible arrogance like he speaks for the Black race. I'll sit and listen to him and say out loud "All Black people are not like that. All White people are like that. As a matter of fact, very few white people are like that as he suggests in his joke.
The bottom line is that McKelvey is a profoundly evil individual. And his background strongly suggest this guy is pond scum. So why is Comedy Central giving an unfunny racist a show? A show absolutely nobody laughs at. He doesn't get any laughs. Like every one of Comedy Central's shows including Colbert's they use a laugh track. Even when they have a studio audience. Because the garbage they put out is not funny. And Trevor Noah isn't funny, either. Nobody laughs at his jokes, either. Because he's not funny, either. Imagine that. "Comedy Central." A network supposedly dedicated to making poeple laugh. And very few of us laugh. Because it's not funny. It's nasty. It's evil. And it's a big lie.
Live by Night (2016)
Ok but lazy direction and Affleck sleep walks his role with far too understatement
Mediocre gangster flick fails to deliver but still better than most movies. Why did this take 5 years to appear on Netflix? I had to keep back tracking in scenes because Ben mumbles his lines. And Elle Fanning can barely be understood. Her Irish accent is awful. I thought anyone could do an Irish brogue. Mine is excellent. Elle simply cannot do it. She ends up sounding more Swede than Irish. There is little excitement in this movie and not much to raise your pulse but those who like gangster flicks will say it is just ok.
I Am Mother (2019)
Draws you in and ultimately disappoints
I initially identified this as a slick production and thought it had potential. When the vast bulk of sci-fi movies (and all genres of movies) are complete garbage. I see perhaps 5 out of 100 films that I can say were well done. It's usually the writing that is the main flaw. The writers mess it up. And that's exactly what happened with I Am Mother.
It's as if they had discussed a number of endings and decided to use two of them at the same time. The first is ort of what is supposed to be a shock ending but is really predictable. Followed by a confusing series of events leading into the second ending that will leave most viewers wondering "what just happened?" Because it ends with a confusing mess about which 100 different people would make 100 different conclusions. It reminds me of another dystopian flick with a little girl set in an ice age with a big star. It also made no sense at all. You were supposed to decide for yourself if the girl was even real or just a figment of his imagination. Ridiculous. This is what happens when big stars are allowed to make "Art" films. You leave the theater shaking your heads and need the theater critic to explain the artsy-fartsy concepts they were trying to present.
With "I Am Mother" the screenplay writers had an interesting hook but couldn't fish it in. They really didn't know exactly how to end the film. And because of that you will be unsatisfied. And some of you will be ticked off that you spent an hour and 53 minutes on a let-down that really explains nothing. Nothing about the girl's future. Nothing about the future of the embyryos, the facility, the outside world, or anything else. They just let it all hang. Movies like that make people want to throw their remotes at the television.
Also, if this girl represents a genetic improvement in homo sapiens, it doesn't say much for the present species. This character was as dumb as toast. I've met 7-year-olds with more sense than that character. Despite being raised with science she endangered herself with biological contamination. The machines tried to fix stupid and failed.
But Homo Sapiens is forever stupid. Probably too stupid to survive itself. And, as everyone knows, you can't fix stupid. There is no fixing the profound stupidity, recklessness, and deep flaws of the human race. Because our brains have not changed in 200,000 years. And never will. Homos Sapiens is as intelligent as it will ever get. Our average IQ's are stuck and static. Suspended forever in evolution. And that's not nearly smart enough. The human race because it is so weak, diseased, and deeply flawed is destined to destroy the planet, most of the other large animals, and eventually itself.
Gold Rush: Freddy Dodge's Mine Rescue (2021)
Freddy's not doing them any favors
These shows are really popular but I don't find it pleasurable watching people work extremely hard and risk injury. While knowing almost every one of them by retirement will be completely broke. As they tear up pristine environments in remote eco-systems with endangered wildlife.
Freddy should be urging them to quit and get a real job because the graveyard of dead mining companies is an enormous cemetery. Just about everyone eventually goes broke.
And even while they're making the big money they're worrying about the bankers and afraid to spend any of it. That's why Parker Schnable won't even spend the 600K on a median price home even though he's a millionaire on paper. The bankers are always breathing down every one of these guys' necks and every one of them including Schnabel is buried deeply in debt.
And you know what? They never, ever show the bankers in these shows. They don't even show them talking to them on the telephone when they regularly have to beg for another $500,000 to replace broken equipment that wore out before they were even paid off. Those huge Volvo earth movers? None of them are paid off. Those huge $350K Caterpillar front loaders? They're not paid off. They are usually sold or in the junk yard or re-posssessed before the last payment is made.
And that's what happens to these guys when they go belly-up from massive loan debt and get buried by expenses related to equipment break-downs. The bank seizes all their equipment and sell it all at auction to other people stupid enough to get involved in this business. Does anyone make any money? Yes, the bankers. Interest from the loans and profit from re-possessing equipment. The value of the gold isn't much compared to the cost to produce it. The profit margin is so small it's insane. They're tearing up the Alaskan wildnerness for pennies of net profit on the dollar. It all goes into expenses, loan payments, interest on loans, and wages. They spend an enormous amount of money on fuel alone. Everything they ship costs a fortune in freight costs.
And, of course, they rip the hell out of a beautiful landscape and throw silt into the creeks and rivers to make pennies on the dollar. Of course it's not going to come out of the ground easy. They have to process a huge mountain of dirt to get just one ounce of gold. Burning up fuel in the process. They'd make a bigger profit margin re-cycling aluminum. And most of the guys working for these companies would have more long-term economic security driving tractor-trailers in the lower 48. Truckers make big money now and they're in demand.
These miners might have a couple good years and then nothing. It's not a real job. It's a fantasy being played out by grown men and women who refuse to grow up and face the reality that they need secure employment for the long haul and this isn't it.
Alaska wasn't meant to be tore up like this. People were not even supposed to live there. And until 15,000 years ago nobody was. These gold "strip miners" remind me of "scrappers" in the lower 48 who go around mining junk for valuable metal. It's a job guys do when they don't know how to do anything else or are too dumb to be trained in anything. The high school drop-outs and people who are illiterate, for example. It really doesn't take too many brains to operate trucks and move dirt around. You can practically be an idiot if you have good motor skills and still perform at that job. You don't need any education at all. It's probably why they can't quit. They can't get work doing anything else.
The psychologically sick thing is that even when these Gold miners finally realize it is just like spinning their wheels with the huge expenses and overhead and equipment failures? And that they're never really going to get rich because the banks will keep them deeply in debt like slaves? They still can't quit! Their better sense is telling them to quit, but they're addicted to it like a drug. They can't stop mining even when the ship is sinking. The bankers have to literally put padlocks on the place for them to give up and go home. The addiction won't let them go. It's like, "Well, next year we'll hit that good dirt and finally pay off some of the equipment." And I've heard this numerous times on these various gold mining shows "only 100 ounces more and we can think about breaking even." Like breaking even is a desirable goal! When I'm in business, I want to do more than break even. Watching Gold Mining shows for me is like watching sick drug addicts. Only big companies doing deep mining make the big money today. These small operations are relics of the past.
The Marksman (2021)
Terrible writing, terrible direction, waste of Liam
It's sad to see a fine actor like Liam Neeson doing terrible movies like this. This script was so lame as to be pathetic. At numerous points in the movie you might exclaim aloud "No one is that stupid." Why would the make a leading character so dumb? Was that on purpose to make him so stupid? It is mind-boggling. You mean, he wasn't smart enough to rent a car? Let's get this straight. He has a Mexican drug cartel chasing him. They have ID'd his truck. His truck is full of bullet holes. But he doesn't know enough to ditch the vehicle. Not only that, but he gets drunk and passes out in a truck, leaving the kid alone in the bar. The kid the cartel is trying to kill. So he's trying to save the kid but does that? There isn't a single person on earth in this situation who would make the decisions made by this leading character. The movie is plodding and boring. With a title like "marksman" you're deluded into thinking there is a lot of shooting. No, there isn't. The lack of action will mean many will never finish watching this movie. They'll fall asleep or lose interest. A total waste of time watching one of the worst movies possible this year. I don't even know how studios can possibly even release garbage like this. I would be afraid to even release it, feeling it would hurt my reputation in the business for such a sloppy effort. And who were these writers anyways? They really shouldn't have the job. They're no good at it.
The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)
One of those movies critics bashed but many people liked
Roger Ebert destroyed the film in his review by pointing out some of the absurdities. Yeah, it was really stupid having a big bird flying at night knock Val Kilmer out of that tree. I think the only thing that flies at night in that region are fruit bats.
But I still genuinely enjoyed the film and I'm usually a fairly harsh critic on these things. I give a lot of thumbs-down. This film is good enough to watch again a few years later. The fear and tenseness of the situations with the big cats really will send a chill down the backs of many. This is scarier than many horror movies and the incidents are real history. These cats did eat a lot of people. It was unheard of before or since and that really makes the movie interesting. It is extremely unusual behavior.
Of course my positive review might be because I get off on screaming natives being eaten alive by hungry lions. They feast on the plentiful meat.
Outlander (2014)
Well acted but historically inaccurate, slow moving, and incredibly redundant
The story lines have been really redundant in the first season. I may be done with it at Episode 12. Because they not only use the same edited clips in various ways over and over again (how many times did they show floggings? I lost count). I thought, what was the Director's obsession with whipping people? Was it like a fetish with him or something? The plot lines are so repetitive. It was damsel in distress gets grabbed. Damsel almost faces calamity. Damsel is rescued. Rinse and repeat. I was wondering, how many different people are going to take her prisoner in the first season alone? She was repeatedly in danger of being raped or almost raped, almost burned at the stake for witchcraft, etc. You might expect her to captured by space aliens or Cheyenne warriors at any moment. The "damsel in distress" angle was done so much they had to manufacture stupid side plot lines to get her outside the castle so she could be in danger again. I mean, stay in castle, woman. They'll grab you if you go out there. It got to be so stupid it kind of ruined the credibility of the show for me. You could tell easily this was written by a woman if you knew nothing about the author. And it seemed the author couldn't get the story focus off of the woman to allow many of the other characters to be developed. If you look at the camera time, Clair Beecham absolutely dominates scenes. I think she's like in more than half the scenes like a scene hog. It's like the Director wanted her in each and every scene. She has a dominant amount of lines in the dialog in this thing. There were other characters they could develop, but absolutely everything revolved around Claire and perhaps her husband and really no one else. You see Colin the Laird a lot but you still don't know him because his character is largely a shell. He's just a prop for Claire. And the witchcraft angle? Witchcraft trials were outlawed after the English and Scottish Parliaments merged in 1707. So it was both English and Scottish law. There would have been no trial like that 40 years later. Also, they talk of Bonnie Prince Charlie as being "across the sea." No, he was in Scotland recruiting an Army by 1746. But they still didn't have Prince Charles in the story line by Season 12. It just seemed to be kind of a stereotype to have an obligatory witchcraft trial for the lead character. And ridiculous that she once again squirms out of it. Nobody got that many chances in those days. Her being like a cat with nine lives made it seem like a comic book. It got to be silly for me like the dumb plot lines in a daytime soap opera. That really is one of the best comparison for this show. A slow-moving soap opera with repetitive everything. Even the dialog repeats itself. You get the distinct impression that they were striving to stretch this out with writing of little substance and drama. And what was with Claire's constantly melancholy demeanor? She rarely had a smile, I can't even remember so far seeing the lead character even laugh. She's not jovial, she has no humor. She always has a mournful look on her face like she's on her way to a funeral. She has one acting expression and it's her Mona Lisa. MIss "frozen face." I'm typing this as once again for some inexplicable reason Claire is in the woods with somebody and here comes danger again. Oh, it looks like she's going to be captured again. It's the dirty red coats again. The question begs, why isn't she at home in McKenzie Castle after being captured so many times? How stupid can she be to keep going into the countryside like that? Stay indoors, dummy, stay indoors.
Captain Marvel (2019)
Marvel franchise needs to stop putting out garbage like this
Captain Marvel by Stan Lee is an iconic franchise in the comic universe. I thought for a second I saw the old guy in a cameo but he died in 2018.
And what do they do with this movie? Go a long way toward destroying any chance this character had of a lasting movie franchise. They probably killed Captain Marvel movies with this bomb. Brie Larson is absolutely horrible in this role. It was not a good fit at all. She was miscast. And that was clear to just about everybody that saw the movie.
What's with the glib acting style Brie delivered in some of the scenes? And why was she in such a hurry to spit out her lines in some of those scenes? She talked too fast. You'd think the director would have slowed down her delivery a little bit. Because she was just spitting the lines, not delivering them, and running words together. And she didn't deliver her lines with the force you'd expect of a super hero. She's got this weak little voice of a little girl. Like she doesn't even have the lungs to shout at anyone loud enough to get their attention in a crowd. When she is speaking you're actually forced to turn up the volume because her speaking voice is so weak. You wanted her to clear her throat or something. Larson is 31 and she has the screen presence and speaking voice of a young girl. She needs to practice talking louder and with more force. Doesn't she have any stage experience that forced her to strengthen her voice?
And are superheroes supposed to be completely invincible? Even Superman could be killed. There's no tension in the movie, no suspense. And why do directors feel that it is good movie-making to present such a rapid progression of brightly lit surreal imagery that it actually hurts the eyes? And you have to look away? It's like trying to stare into a strobe light. Or staring straight into repeated camera flashes. I hate when they do that. It adds nothing to the film except giving people headaches. And some people seizures.
Bird Box (2018)
One-note plot and serious lack of substance
You always want to love Sandra Bullock and John Malkovich. And seriously wonder what makes them take roles like this. This is when people try to make artsy-fartsy films out of nothing. One critic called it "a psychological comparison study of parenthood with self-destruction and the struggle to survive." Oh, how deep. I knew from about the first five minutes of this film that it would be much like the last "everybody starts committing suicide" film "The Happening." It has much in common with this film. Both have big names most people like in movies. Both explain absolutely nothing. Both have endings that suck. And both movies absolutely stink. If it wasn't for the obligatory and contrived violence people would fall asleep during this movie. And jumping back and forth in time is annoying. I always hated the "constant flashback" method of making movies. In this one some guy who lived for about 5 minutes babbled about his novel he was writing about ancient demons. So it's demons. Right. But that isn't what the movie portrays. They didn't go into any religious nonsense, so why even infer demons? Ridiculous. What a lazy script. It doesn't matter if the talent is good if the shallow story absolutely sucks. And the ending will leave you scratching your head. Just like the rest of the movie. What, that's supposed to be a good result for them?
The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness (2021)
Phony Tabloid Garbage Is A Disgrace
David Berkowitz would have been unable to develop the social connections necessary for that "Satanic Conspiracy Thing" to work. Like many paranoid schizophrenics, David was de-socialized. He wouldn't have been able to relate without alienating his contacts in some way. Absolutely no one would have trusted him. Because they would have easily detected something was really wrong with him.
Joshua Zeman is despicable for playing to Berkowitz's long-ago debunked fantasy story about Satanic cultists being involved in his murders. No, it was David. It should be remembered that Berkowitz flip-flopped on his story more than once. And this is a paranoid schizophrenic we're talking about. I've followed his story. I just sold an autographed book by his lawyer. The guy had patterns of delusions that are religious-based. Which is a common feature of schizophrenics. And is the specific topic of research that got me interested in the case.
Zeman is also evil for exploiting a sordid story that still is alive with living victims (Berkowitz occasionally makes the news and he's still obviously insane). And for exploiting a horrible disease for which no cure will ever happen and for which treatment is often futile. Somebody needs to chastise this director for this piece of exploitation garbage.
The Midnight Sky (2020)
Dark, dreadful, boring and goes nowhere slowly
The strongest impression for those who make it most of the way through this movie (most will quit before that) is that this is one of those films that requires you to read the book to understand the fillm. Many people who watch this movie to the end will still not understand what happened in the movie or why. Why is the little girl in the movie? That's a common question and there really is no answer. Because she contributes absolutely nothing to the film. Movie goers have been even asking if she was even real or just an imaginary companion for Clooney's character. That's how meaningless the girl's character is. They jump from location to completely different location in the movie until you are dizzy. Without any real connection of the dialog to connect the scenes. You're in the Arctic. Then you're in outer space for 120 seconds. Then you're somewhere else 120 seconds later where the weather seems normal and people are driving their SUV's to work at the observatory. Confusing since the set-up for the movie has everybody moving underground because of an apocalypse. Again, a happening they never explain. They they jump back to the Arctic again 2 minutes after that. Is this is a flashback? Who knows? Are they in linear time? In the future, in the past? Who knows? Because it seems George Clooney wanted this to be a film with vagueness and leave the viewer puzzled. So he has it jumping all the over the place. What was the purpose of the dying man in the wrecked plane? And isn't it kind of stupid to think that the wolves nearby wouldn't have gotten to him? He can't even move. They never, ever explained what that was all about and why it was even in the film. And this is what often happens when actors gain control of a film's production. They end up making art pieces for other people in the craft to marvel at how deep and artistic they are. IN this film there is absolutely zero explanation of where they are taking you. There's no connection between the people at the different locations until the very end. Just an awful film with no redeeming quality at all except perhaps some of the cinematography. They put some money into that. They should have put money into re-writing the script and hiring another Director.
Spenser Confidential (2020)
Not a very cohesive story or direction or editing or scene progression
Mark Wahlberg's movies are usually better than this. This is the type of movie people pause to take a telephone call and never finish watching because it can't hold their interest enough to re-launch it. This has a disjointed story line that jumps around and doesn't make much sense because they include scenes that are a distraction and not necessary to the plot. And they don't set up the story well.
So half way in many viewers may still not even have a clue of what the movie is about. It will seem to them an unrelated collection of scenes that don't seem to fit together in any way. I got the feeling very early that much of the footage could have been cut from this film and not hurt it at all. It's as if they inserted some fight scenes into the film like they felt they were obligated to do so. Just stuck them in there because an action movie needs fight scenes. Like the one with the police at the police station. Which served zero purpose for the plot and was redundant. "Get out of Boston." Yeah, he already heard that. Several times. Spenser's ex-girl friend has a lot of useless scenes and useless dialog in the movie. This character really contributed nothing important to the story and could have been written out. Her character is like cardboard filler. And her dialog mainly consists of swearing a lot with a Boston accent. Bokeem Woodbine's character is so transparent you have his number right away. A predictable movie with a shallow plot. And the Director did an absolutely terrible job. What kind of scene selection is this? A: Sloppy. The film's editors can take some blame for this mess. And the writers should have tweaked the story before the cameras ever rolled. Peter Berg is supposed to be good. You don't get that from this film.
Hard Kill (2020)
Wish I could rate it negative stars
What an awful movie. It makes you wonder why Bruce Willis wants to end his career doing bombs like this. Just about the entire movie set is an abandoned factory or warehouse complex. The bad guys are ridiculously pathetic. The plot is ridiculously thin. The movie is so stupid it's almost comical.
Uncut Gems (2019)
Like watching a two hour train wreck in slow motion
They called this a career high for Adam Sandler. Although there is nothing to criticize about his performance there is little that could have saved this grim movie. It's a story about a degenerate gambler and that's not exactly an entertaining subject. You feel like you're watching a 2 hour train wreck in progress. Actually it is over two hours when there is not enough substance to justify that much film. It could have been done in 90 minutes no problem. I felt it really dragged and that observation is being made in many other user reviews. The direction and dialogue is sort of like reality television and that gets annoying after awhile. During its theater run I could believe many goers were ticked off as they left their seats. Many viewers at home will turn this movie off in the first half hour because of how slowly it develops. Or they will fast-forward through much of it.
The Irishman (2019)
Hyped beyond its value
A movie with this cast should have been much better. The acting is good but the story simply drags. Many people will find it boring. I know I did. ( fight scenes are silly, by the way. They look fake and DeNiro looks ridiculous. ). The Hoffa story has already been done enough times (and done better than this). Nicholson's film is far superior. Fans of the stars in this film will stick with it because they love these guys. Others may find it so drab that they'll only watch half of it and never finish. There's a good reason why this had a very limited theatrical release. Because it's not that great or interesting of a movie. It fits into a platform like Netflix and I'm sure many people will enjoy this movie on that platform. But it's not good enough for the big screen. It would have flopped badly and embarrassed all of the big names in the production. These three guys have been in movies that are much, much better than this. If this is their last major movie it's terrible that they would go out on a bland stinker. If not for the acting of the 3 stars I'd give this an even worse score. I'm being generous.
V-Wars (2019)
You'll nod off during the vampire apocalypse
I thought this was going to be good because of the concept of a vampire plague. I know it's been done before numerous times but I wanted to see their take on it. The title is Vwars but the content and action doesn't resemble much of a war at all. I kept thinking, when does the war start? Boring is the key word for this series.
How can anybody possible make a movie about vampires and have it so boring that people have a hard time staying awake when they watch it? I suffered until the last episode when they finally ramp up some scenes of the beginning of an apocalypse but it's such a short content that it's only a few minutes at the end of the series. We don't see people and the military fighting a mass vampire uprising as the country descends into chaos with an enormous death toll. I think that's what people expected from this show. They didn't get it.. The increase in intensity probably was to give some substance to the show at the end of its run. The vampires really don't start to run amok until the last episode. And you don't really see much of that action. It's just implied. To see this in a second season is highly unlikely. The acting is so-so (Somerhalder has practically the same expression in every scene but I liked Hardee T. Lineham in this), the sets are boring and drab, and the writing is absolutely horrible. I truly believe that because the show drags so much people will actually fall asleep watching it. You get a distinct impression that they didn't put nearly enough money into production. Especially in finding better sets and locations. The only way they could have made it more drab if it was in black and white. But if the writing stinks, that really doesn't matter, does it?
Another Life (2019)
Bad writing wastes the talent
I got whiplash watching this series and I watched it to the end. They would bounce their scenes back and forth from the ship to earth. That interspersed with the constant forays into surrealism and dream sequences gave this viewer the feeling of being jerked around.
I saw far too much of the characters' romantic lives than I wanted to. People living with rationed water having sex in small, hot, clammy quarters. You can smell the funk coming off your TV set. The writers apparently couldn't resist ripping off Alien. The space creature sequences are just plain silly. The science is ridiculous. Such as flying into a cloud of Dark Matter like it was nothing. I found myself skipping scenes. I'd be surprised if it was picked up for another season.
Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted (2019)
Ramsay hobnobs with the natives
If Ramsay's show is a copy of Bourdain's "No Reservations' it's the lamest copy possible. In Gordon's next show he'll probably be roasting monkeys on a spit with pygmies in the African jungle. Introduce the natives to a stove and HAACP principals, Gordon. The natives have nothing to teach us except perhaps how to get food-borne illnesses and parasites. Back to the primitive is a trip to the hospital.
The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)
A Must-Watch for Horror Fans
I gave this 9 stars from a horror fan's perspective. People not so much enamored of the genre score it less. Perhaps because it is so dark and left them squeamish. It can do that to people. In one scene that is particularly true-especially for men. It also gives a feel for the sinister nature of Duvalier's dictatorship. The production values are excellent and the performances convincing.
I had to give it 9 stars (a high rating for a horror film) because it is probably the best horror film ever about the subject of voodoo. Anyone interested in the occult should definitely watch this movie. It will scare the living daylights out of people who are already frightened of this occult practice. For them it will likely produce nightmares. Or make it difficult to go to sleep. People who are claustrophobic probably shouldn't watch it. It will put them back in therapy.
You haven't surveyed the horror genre of film until you have seen it. I'm surprised we don't see it on top 100 lists
Triple Frontier (2019)
The characters are not genuine, the script and direction are horrible
The writing in this film is an insult to the U.S. Military. No special forces would make the glaring mistakes made by the characters in this movie. It makes the movie laughable. It's a movie that even children watching it will point out the ridiculous holes. Like "Why didn't they use a silencer?"
No operation would start without exact data related to weight capacity of an aircraft because it affects fuel consumption. That's a basic detail seen to by military people. Diligently. Since they had aircraft. True professionals never would say, "well, we're overweight but let's try it anyways." Because that's a death sentence. If you're overweight, you don't fly. Period. So their pilot was the best? Yeah, right.
There's a ton of unrealistic things in this film. I'm willing to bet whoever wrote this script didn't serve in the armed forces. So Ben Affleck is doing movies with terrible writing. How the mighty have fallen.
Perhaps the most dramatic plot line in the film is extremely predictable with blatant clues dropped at the beginning of the movie. You can read that one if you're falling asleep. Which you may be by that time. Just terrible, terrible writing.
Backdraft 2 (2019)
Hot it's not
There are considerably more lead character scenes and lines than usually seen in a movie. You won't be able to remember a scene that he's not in. That contributes to the criticism that the other characters are basically shells. It's like they were expecting the lead actor to carry the entire production. And if you ask some one who saw the movie they may not be able to remember anything the Sean McCaffrey character said. Because a lot of it is really boring and mundane. One-hour cable TV dramas evoke more interest than the dialogue in this movie. The villain characters were not well-defined, either. When they can't make the villains memorable something is wrong.
Alisha Bailey floats through scenes with what appears to be a confused look on her face as if to ask "What's going on and why am I here.?" Exactly, Alisha. We were all wondering the same thing. Because with this script her character would have shone about as much if cast as a firefighter's dog. It's the kind of roles actresses take when they can't find other work. And in which casting directors are looking for diversity.
The other characters stand out about as much. William Baldwin comes off like he stepped in from a tired TV drama. Complete with familiar, insipid dialogue. An exception is the return of Donald Sutherland, who reprises his role as the goofy, insane arsonist. It's great to see the old guy working. Even if he does look like he's almost dead.
The cheap, cheesy special effects and CGI finish off what became a B-Movie going straight to video. This more than anything else reveal this as a weak production. The rocket scene is hilarious. If you make it that far. Most people will have fallen asleep or turned it off by that time.
Exposed (2016)
This movie will put you to sleep
Get a cup of coffee ready if you're going to watch this movie. Or two. Or make it a big Espresso. Because if you're like me you will be nodding off with this one. This is the kind of movie that people don't even finish watching. The supernatural business is lame and so are the "spooky" sight gags. They wouldn't scare a child.
The pregnancy thing was stupid and cliche. So was the religious business. The sub-titles and Spanish dialogue quickly become annoying. And if you like action, this isn't the movie for you.
You get the sense that this film could have been easily changed into a completely different movie in the editing room. Like they shot the scenes then put the movie together. And really didn't know exactly what would result.
You start the movie hoping it will be a good police drama starring Keanu Reeves and it ends up being a slow-moving melodrama. And one of the most boring films in recent memory. I'm still yawning.
The Punisher (2017)
Action and personalities will entertain many but don't expect any level of realism
Before I even looked I knew most people would give this show (Both seasons; the review option doesn't allow reviewing seasons separately) a good rating. Because it's fun. Especially for those who like a lot of comic-book style violence and action. There is a great deal of violence and extremely violent fight scenes. There are explosions, vehicle crashes, and a tremendous body count.
Anyone going into this should realize ahead of time that this is taken from a comic book. Many of the fight sequences are ridiculous in the sense that no one, not even the Punisher, could take that kind of punishment. Frank is hit in the top of his skull with the metal part of a shovel. The shovel breaks over his head. And it doesn't knock him out. It would fracture anybody's skull. Frank is punched in the back of the head about six times by a guy with a thick chain wrapped around his fist. Doesn't phase him. He is smashed in the face about 5 times with a weight from a gym. The next day his face barely shows any sign of swelling. A woman is thrown through a third-story window and hits the sidewalk face-first. In the hospital later her face is practically unmarked. Frank hits a villain in the head twice with a small gas cylinder. It's like hitting somebody with a sledgehammer. The villain doesn't even go down. Countless other examples like this can be seen in both seasons.
In "The Punisher" the main characters are seemingly invincible. Everyone else is cannon fodder. If you can get past that silliness, enjoy.