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Sex/Life (2021)
A rollercoaster ride to nowhere
This is a vapid & superficial "entertainment" show with a cliché show premise - a suburban housewife (Billie) with small children who's pining away for a former classic "bad boy" ex-lover (Brad) over her husband (Cooper) that treats her at least fairly well, except for maybe being clueless about what his wife really wants in order to make her happy. Don't watch this show for anything more than to see how that premise pans out. In short, use this show for "entertainment" purposes only (there are LOTS of ups & downs in the character's lives) - not for any life lessons. You deserve better people. The acting & cinematography of the show is pretty decent, and there's obviously a ton of sex/nudity in it - but the scripts of the show are pretty much garbage. If you do watch the entire series, as I did because a dear friend recommended it to me, the character arcs MIGHT make some sense to you, but don't count on it making any real sense over time.
I can see how many would view Billie as being "ungrateful" because she's being treated fairly well by Cooper, although not as passionately as she would maybe have liked, based on her previous experiences while she was "sowing her wild oats" as a younger lady. Billie initially mistakes "trust" from Brad when he was likely just a guy that wanted sex from a new, attractive stranger. Billie obviously needed to better communicate what she really wanted from Cooper, and she pretty much refuses to do that at just about every turn. Cooper doesn't do that well in that area either to be honest.
Many of the so-called "strong female characters" on the show are likely just immature with low self-esteem and/or self-destructive behavior tendencies in order to be with a classic toxic man like Brad. What exactly does Billie "love" about Brad, besides the sex (almost all of Billie & Brad's memories of each other are exclusively about sex)? What do they really have in common at all though? Someone who really loved Billie would respect her boundaries & accept "No" as a valid answer. Brad is just a rich, selfish & immature boy, and why Billie keeps falling for his infantile & intentionally manipulative excuses and "apologies" over & over again is beyond me. The main two female characters (Billie & Sasha) pretty much have absolutely, positively no idea what they really want out of their lives & are likely just making excuses for the situation(s) that they are currently in order to cover for that fact. The idea that both of them have a background in psychology is pretty ludicrous as well - beware of a TON of psychobabble in this show, especially from Billie's monologues.
I can see how some modern women could relate to either Billie or Sasha's situations though, especially if they unfortunately think that they don't "deserve" to be happy. I personally really, really didn't like how Billie basically dumps her two young kids over & over again to hook up with guys all the time because it's irresponsible. Good thing they are all only fictional characters...
Ardennes Fury (2014)
Laughably bad
I could barely get through the first few minutes of this absolute stinker of a movie before I had to turn it off. The geographical & weather settings for this movie are horribly wrong (no snow or cold & not enough forestry), the acting stunk & the equipment (Russian tanks & the like) used for this classic Western Front battle was very much out of place. I wouldn't even waste your time trying to watch this garbage at all - it was borderline offensive given this historical nature of the Battle of the Bulge. I didn't give it a one out of ten rating simply because I couldn't even make it through the entire movie.
Ten Million Throwaways (2021)
Avoid
This is standard anti-porn & anti-prostitution stuff that's extremely repetitive and unoriginal. There are a few interviews with male sex addicts and former strippers or adult film actresses that are mostly activists against the entire sex industry. There's also a lot of stock or staged footage used in the film as well as audio from literally a handful of extreme porn websites only. The film teases some "behind-the-scenes" information on the adult film industry but rarely delivers on this at all. As other reviewers have noted, this film is really just about further stigmatizing the sex industry while, at the same time, complaining about former sex industry workers are stigmatized.
Collapse (2009)
What a crackpot!
I just watched a slightly edited version of this film on the "Planet Green" channel, and boy am I glad that I didn't pay any money to see it!
The guy that's highlighted in this movie is a classic alarmist, and I guess he hasn't even found a way to make any money off of his claims, which is pretty sad all on it's own. After watching the entire movie, it's a wonder to me whether the movie's title is really about the subject matter that this alarmist was talking about or the alarmist himself.
I've seen this guy speak locally on local govt. access TV, and this is some of the nonsense that he spouts: -"more than half of the predictions that he made in this movie have come true, and they will all come true eventually"
-"economic growth is NOT possible with out oil, and there is NO substitutes or replacements for oil"...which is not true at all!
-"around 1890 or so, oil started to be used and the human population soared to 7 billion, and those 5+ billion people ONLY exist because of oil"
-"there are 10 calories of hydrocarbon energy (from oil & natural gas primarily) in every 1 calorie of food consumed in the industrialized world today"
-"it take 30 years to change an energy infrastructure"
-"Peak Oil arrived at the end of 2005"...which is not true.
-he's had no income for about a year
-"human industrial civilization is collapsing, period, and it cannot be reversed"
-"he is right about 80% of the time", and "he's been 'right' for two decades" now
-"the FDIC is insolvent"...which it isn't!
-"Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac are getting ready to ask for another $150 billion"
-"the U.S. govt. is a 'servant' of the Federal Reserve system, specifically the Federal Reserve Bank of NY"
-he's against fiat currency & fractional reserve banking...even though he clearly doesn't understand either concept!
-"there will be another round of bailouts very soon" in the USA
-"methanol is a net energy loser"
-Saudi Arabia has 25% of the known oil on the planet, and they have passed Peak Oil as well"...which really isn't true as no one knows how much oil Saudi Arabia (or any of the OPEC nations) really has!
-big states (like CA, OH, MI) will start to not pay into their state pension plans by the end of this year
-the Federal Reserve can't "print any more money" (something that his buddy Ron Paul keeps saying)...the Fed doesn't print any money, the U.S. Treasury does!
-we will "see $2000 gold by the end of this year", but he "doesn't advocate buying gold" anymore...sure, sure!
-oil will spike "to $100/barrel within the next couple of months"
-Wall Street is betting against states & local governments through CDOs
-"the 'cliff event' will come no later than the summer of 2010"
-he fully endorses state secessionist movements as he says that states will secede "whether they want to or not"
-he can't pay his own rent in Venice, CA, and he hasn't seen any money from this movie & his speaking engagements yet
-Greece, Romania, Thailand, Spain, Italy, Portugal, the UK, Japan are all going to "go down" soon
-the CIA has been smuggling & dealing drugs since 1979...which is the REAL REASON why he became famous across the U.S. in the first place!
-there aren't enough U.S. troops in the USA to enforce martial law but "not everyone should own a gun", and the major West coast ports will be protected by the military
-CA may "split into 3-4 states eventually"
-"we are reverting to a feudal society", and "in a short period of time, living conditions will be back to Victorian society"
-he's no longer in favor of building nuclear power plants, and he thinks that "we're long past Peak Uranium"...which isn't true at all!
-he thinks that the "govt. should get out of the way & let us save ourselves"
-he thinks that state governments "should disengage from the federal govt."
-he's "never owned a house in his entire life"
-he thinks that "the faster the system goes down, the better"
Ugh...Peak Oil is real...nothing can change that in my mind...it's simple math, but this guy is basically a wacko & a fear-monger IMHO. We broke through the Malthusian Cycle with the Industrial Revolution.
Don't bother watching this movie, even if the viewing is for free!
C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America (2004)
Great, but very offensive movie
This movie was about as great as it was offensive. I had heard of & seen some of the blatantly racist commercial imagery that;s on display in this film before, but the breath & depth of it that was shown in this movie was truly amazing. While the movie is mostly pure fiction and/or satire, it was truly offensive & scary in some parts.
It's quite amusing (albeit predictable) to see some Southern apologists on the discussion boards trying to rip this movie to shreds, but there are some quite large plot holes in the movie.
I seriously doubt that the British would have entered into our Civil War on the side of the South, as they were not very friendly towards slavery by that time in their own history. Also, it's quite odd that Canada is portrayed as one of the CSA's main "enemies" (after the UK had came to the CSA's aid in the movie) as they had quite close ties with the UK for many, many years after our Civil War. I also find it hard to believe that only a few thousand people would have fled the CSA after it's takeover of the USA, and there definitely is a case to be made that the CSA's entire aim in our Civil War was just to remain independent, not to takeover all of the USA.
There are some dubious assumptions made about the CSA's dominance of the rest of the Western Hemisphere as well in the movie. One could argue that the USA did much of the same kind of things (being involved in many armed conflicts in the region & asserting quite a bit of political dominance in the region) that the CSA is portrayed as doing in the movie.
The attitude of the actors in the movie towards all non-white races was the most offensive to me, and the movie really wasn't that humorous to me IMO. I had seen portions of this movie before on IFC, but finally watching it all the way through was quite hard for me due to all of the blatantly racist (to prove a point in the movie's defense) content. This movie is definitely worth a watch, but just be prepared to be offended (from just about whatever side of the political spectrum you come from) if you watch it.
None of the acting was particularly great, but the subject matter & the stark, honest way that it was dealt with caused me to rate this movie highly.
Jennifer's Body (2009)
Actually not that bad
I can understand why some would want to poo-poo Megan Fox's first "big movie", but I thought that this movie wasn't all that bad.
I liked the one-liners that the characters exchanged in the movie...these are teenagers people...it's really not serious dialog. The demon angles that were played were quite interesting as well, and I LOVED the heavy metal music that played around or after each kill...that may be my own musical preferences coming through though.
Let's face it...Megan Fox is nuclear hot. I swear that her stomach is the tightest looking thing that I've ever seen in this movie. No, she doesn't get naked (just some side boobage & a lot of near nakedness otherwise while she's swimming), but the female-on-female kissing scene was well worth it IMO.
If you can leave your serious side at the door, this movie, which isn't that long, will entertain you for sure. Will it be winning any significant awards? No, but that's not what this movie was about. It was merely a fluff piece...nothing more or less. Try & see it for free...it'll be well-worth it...lol...
Night of the Living Dead (2006)
Horrible, horrible film
This film was basically unwatchable (I was rooting for it to just END towards the end of the movie), and I found it to be personally offensive that they would try to ruin a classic movie like "Night of the Living Dead" by "re-imagining" it in this crappy way. The ending of the movie was just a pile of baloney IMO.
The film starts out promising, with some clever nods to the original movie in the first couple of scenes, but it goes waaaaay downhill after that. There are so many plot holes in this flick that I can't even count them. Basically, I think they were hoping that just having Sid Haig in a very few scenes could carry the movie, but they failed miserably. The acting is God-awful & unimaginative. There are many scenes in this movie that do nothing to move the "plot" along.
Some of the creature effects are pretty cool, but the other "special" effects are amateurish at best. I didn't watch the movie in "3D", but I don't think that I missed anything. I also paid zero dollars to see this piece of trash, and I still feel like I deserve a refund!
Star Trek (2009)
not as much of a disappointment as I though, but...
it was still not a very good Star Trek movie IMHO. I was worried about this movie from when I first saw the trailers (and thought that Kirk & Uhura were going to hook up!) right through to when I saw the director openly say that he wasn't a fan of the original Star Trek series. Ugh...
Well, I WAS a big fan of the original series, and every other Star Trek series had to grow on me some before I would "accept" it (except for Voyager...that was just a bunch of baloney IMO).
So, I am left with many, many questions now that this movie has apparently "rebooted" the entire Star Trek universe (and yes, I know that it was just a bunch of TV shows).
What about Kirk's brother?? He dies in one of the original Star Trek TV episodes. Was he born before Jim Kirk was, or do they even have the same father now (or then, in the original series)?? Captain Pike never commands the Enterprise on missions with Spock to that forbidden planet (from The Menagerie), where he will apparently end up after being crippled at a much later date? Spock has no Mom now?? What about his half-brother from Star Trek 5?? Where the heck did HE come from?? Kirk gets to be Captain of the Enterprise *immediately* at the end of this current movie without having to train as a lower-ranked officer on other Starships?? That seems like a rash move by Starfleet...they let him skip 5 or so ranks just like that?? I can understand him being "promoted" to acting First Officer during the initial crisis when StarFleet didn't have enough personnel to go around, but give me a break! I think this next one is already in the "Goofs" section for this movie...but in the Star Trek original series, no one had ever seen a Romulan before, so no one knew that they looked like & shared an ancient ancestry with Vulcan, but yet no one gets excited about seeing them as they really look (pointed ears & all) in this latest movie. Huh?? At least Kirk didn't sleep with Uhura, but Spock does?? What the heck is up with that??? Basically, if you believe this current movie, then everything that has basically happened in the entire Star Trek universe (from the original series onward) has either never happened now or it will now happen in at least a slightly different way. I wonder if Spock will still die like he did at the end of the Star Trek 2 movie?? This current movie is a pretty good action movie, and I agree with the director that it might even be better if you come to this movie with little to no knowledge of the Star Trek universe. However, as a devoted Trekkie myself, I'd say skip the entire thing.
If the next movie tries to re-write even more of the Star Trek universe, I might even pass on that movie altogether!
Conflict: Desert Storm (2002)
good game
As someone who wasn't in favor of the First Gulf War at all, this game was pretty darn good! What I liked most about it was the ability to control *all* of the characters in the game (as opposed to SOCOM & the like), and the missions were quite long & difficult at times.
The game's missions are a good range of the types of things that special forces probably did during the First Gulf War. Some of the flaws of the game were the difficulty in healing characters (which I think was fixed in the sequel to this game), and the ability of the characters to carry an unbelievable & unrealistic amount of gear & weapons (this was also fixed, I believe, in this game's sequel).
The company that did this game was known at the time for putting out some real stinkers, but this isn't one of them IMHO. It's definitely worth a rental, and I'm sure you can buy it for a song at this late date.
Crank: High Voltage (2009)
great, funny action flick
This is a great, silly action flick that is a fun joyride...if you can suspend your disbelief that is. The quick editing style can be a bit much at times, but the themes of the movie (different fighting styles & comedic routines) along with some of the "crude" video game graphics are quite refreshing at times.
There are a lot of flashbacks to the first movie...so, if you haven't seen that one yet, I'd recommend seeing it first. But, even having seen the first movie in the movie theater, I still had some trouble following the "plot" in a few spots. The quick-hitting style of the movie's editing doesn't leave you much time to reflect on things like that. This movie is much more laugh-out-loud funny than the first one, which was more of a revenge flick IMO. There is also a lot more nudity in this recent flick.
Why does Ling Bai always seem to play a stripper or a whore in just about ever movie that I see her in?? Also, yes, Lauren Holly does appear to play a horny psychiatrist (with a HUGE rack) in this movie...alongside a character from the first movie that was "terrorized" by the main character.
All in all, I'd expect them to make another sequel to this movie (the "plot" leaves that option wide open), and I'd be there in a second to see it!
Watchmen (2009)
good flick, but very deep
This is not your "normal" comic book movie by any means. There is a LOT going on in this movie...even the opening credits need to be watched carefully to see how some of the main characters have developed in the past. There are also a LOT of flashbacks employed in the movie, which can be confusing for some...but they try to fill-in reasons why some of the main characters are acting the way that they are. The Rorshack character actually appears (without his mask) quite a few times in the movie, if you know what to look for. Watching this movie more than once may be a given if you really want to take in everything.
There is also a LOT of frontal male nudity from the Doctor Manhattan character. Why that guy can't morph himself some undies I'll never know. You'll see his manhood in various forms of being flaccid...so be prepared. For the guys though, expect to see some topless shots from at least one of the main female characters.
It would help when watching this movie if you had some basic knowledge of the political history of the USA (and the world in general) in order to understand exactly what has unfolded in this alternate Watchmen universe.
Watchmen is good, not great, flick, and it's definitely worth a view in the movie theater if you can catch it.
Religulous (2008)
Good movie
This movie was very funny, and it was at least slightly informative for those that don't know some of the details of the major religions that are in the USA right now. Pretty much every religion that's mentioned here gets mocked a lot, but they left out an examination of the Eastern religions of Buddism, Hinduism, Shinto, etc....not sure why. Maybe they are not that great an influence over the USA, but some of those religions are as numerous as Islamic people in the USA. The Islamic faith, IMO, got slammed a tad harder than the other religions mentioned in the movie though. It's important to remember that just about ANY religion can be perverted (like both Christianity AND Islam) to promote violence against "un-believers".
The movie kind of jumps around in places, and it has some subtitles, quick movie clips & news articles that flash across the screen at times. It might be better to wait and see it in the comfort of your own home so you can rewind what you might miss. I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone that is curious OR skeptical about religion in general. Be prepared to be offended though if you are a hard-core believer in just about ANY of the major faiths.
Hostel: Part II (2007)
Why you should skip this movie...
and just see the first one instead. I loved the first Hostel because of its fantastic embrace of showing *all* the gore & having a plot that had twists & turns that you couldn't see coming. In this second installment, there is plenty of gore still, but they use a technique of showing you the gore, then cutting away from it briefly, then cutting back to it again as if to say, "Yes, you really did see that the first time around". It's funny.
The other thing that is different about this newer version is that they show you some of the background to why the "bad guys" are bad, and how they are "organized". However, this, I think, dispels a HUGE amount of the tension that a movie like this needs to have. You already know who the bad guys are, who the victims are, etc., etc.. Almost everything, minus some small twists & turns, is laid out for you ahead of time. This leaves little in the amount of suspense IMO.
My other small beef with this film is that they don't actually *show* one of the main characters being killed! I mean, this is what the whole Hostel mindset is about...actually showing you how people get killed, not just referring to someone being killed later. It's almost as if they ran out of money in the special effects budget or something like that. It's not like the movie was too long to begin with (~90 mins.).
I also didn't like the fact that I knew some of the actors that were playing the main characters. It's not like there are any huge names here, but there are some actors that you'd be hard pressed not to recognize. The exact reason that the first movie worked, I think, is because it didn't have a lot of known actors in it...like the Scream movies did.
There's plenty of bad behavior, nudity, gore, and the like, but not enough to warrant this movie to be anything less than disappointing. I expected a lot more from Eli Roth. You got my money though...so he should be happy now... :(
Babylon 5: The Lost Tales (2007)
don't bother
There's really nothing important to see here. There's a BS tale about religion, and then Sheridan "saves" Earth by making a crunchy-chewy decision about what to do with a member of Centauri royal court...yawn... There's only a few of the "main" characters from the original series and the "Crusade" series (which I still miss BTW) in it. A whole lot of other characters are mentioned in the dialog, but they are never seen. I guess some of the original cast are even dead at this point. It's not even an hour and half long for cripes sake! This is definitely a pass in my book...don't waste your time!! I ordered it on PPV and was very disappointed...it wasn't even worth the four bucks that I paid for it...
Kicking & Screaming (2005)
worth a rental
It was a mildly funny movie overall. This movie was worth it for me for one reason...one of the scenes towards the end of the movie between Dikta and Will. The exchange that they have is both rapid fire and drop-on-the-floor funny! I had to watch it twice to enjoy it fully. "I'm not crazy...I'm just thirsty!" I'll be honest...most of this movie is lame and very Hollywood, but the above exchange makes it worthy of at least a rental. Will basically pulls this movie out of crappie. A lot of the characters aren't fully flushed out, but remember that this is a comedy people. Just watching Will riff is a joy. Just keep an eye out for that one scene...
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
a decent horror flick...possible spoilers!
This was a decent horror flick. Not as good as the original...but what else is new? There are some "Hollywood" additions to the story, but with Michael Bay involved...again...what else is new? That doesn't include the ending either. Most of the actors did a great job. Jessica Biel makes this movie though. Follow the bouncing boobies!! She looks smoking hot in this movie. Wet T-shirt and all. Need I say more?! Worth a rental...better yet...catch it on cable for free! This movie has sequel written all over it! Hint: Pay special attention to the trucker towards the end of the film and watch the credits...fans of the original film will get a special treat.
Equilibrium (2002)
You won't "forget the Matrix", but...
you will most likely find this movie entertaining. It's got good and
innovative action and a pretty decent plot to go along with it. Christian Bale is very good at portraying the arc that his character goes through in the movie. I would highly recommend this movie...too bad I never heard about it playing in the movie thether...
Tornado! (1996)
better than Twister...
I was surprised by this movie. Don't get me wrong...this movie is no academy award winner, but it's better (more accurate) than Twister, which had to have the bigger budget by far. There actually was a device that was used by tornado researchers a while ago, called Toto I think, like the device that's in the movie. I don't think that it ever actually came in contact with a tornado though. I was also surprised at how the National Weather Service was portrayed in the movie. They (in particular SPC, which is actually the Storm Prediction Center) seem very inept and ineffective, which is an unfair portrait. The acronym "SPC" is never actually defined in the movie either, I don't think, which is strange considering that I think most people wouldn't know what SPC was. The ending of the movie is a little hokey, but this movie was a lot better than I thought it was going to be.
U Turn (1997)
a great movie...with some great twists...
I stumbled across this movie buried in the DVD section, and it was
surprisingly good! The cast is quite large and talented...from the
main characters to the bit parts. As an added bonus, you get to "see"
J-Lo in all her glory...if you know what I mean. The movie is a little
long, and the twists in the plot tend to get a little extreme towards
the end...but it's well worth a rental.
Urban Menace (1999)
this movie stinks...
I was sooo disappointed by this movie. The visuals, the plot, the fact that Ice-T is barely in it...everything! I'm sure that Snoop could have found a better vehicle for him to "act" in. Do not see this movie under any circumstances!!
The Thin Red Line (1998)
a very looong movie
I saw this movie in the movie theater, and it was extremely long, slow, and confusing. Some of the battle scenes are pretty good, but you have to wade through a lot of stuff to get to them. One cool thing that happened during the screening that I saw was that during one of the battle scenes when an American soldier throws a into a Japanese bunker...the film broke exactly as the exploded! We were left in the dark for twenty minutes while they quickly fixed the film. After the movie was over, I was speaking with some of my friends that had seen the movie with me, and I realized that I had completely meshed a bunch of the characters together into one. It was very hard for me to distinguish between most of the main characters that have a lot of screen time. I would see this movie if you like war movies, but do not pay full price to see it!
The Crow: City of Angels (1996)
skip this sequel...
...and see either the original movie or the third movie in the series. The main "bad guy" wasn't portrayed by a believable actor (he is famous for being on NBC's "Law and Order"). The ending doesn't go with the theme of the movie, which is about the revenge of one man for the fact that he (and the ones that he cares about) has been wronged. This movie is a case in point of how Hollywood messes up a perfectly good movie with a sequel. I wish they would just let good movies end where they are supposed to.
The Crow (1994)
awesome
One of the best action/horror movies that I've ever seen. Very violent, but very justified in its violence. It probably seems like such a great movie to most because it was Lee's last movie (he died during it's filming). If you like dark characters and movies with anti-heroes...see this movie. Excellent metal/alternative soundtrack as well.
Remember the Titans (2000)
it's not about the game people...
This was one of the best movies that I've seen in quite a while. Yea, there are the Hollywood-styled football scenes, but it's what takes place off the field that's really important. Denzel seems to gravitate to racially motivated films, and this is one of them. I know this will sound corny, but we could all learn from this movie. For such a long movie, the ending is kind of abrupt and could have been shaped in a better way to prepare the viewer. See this movie, please.
Almost Famous (2000)
surprisingly good...
Pretty good flick...well worth the rental. I'm not much of a "child of the 70s", but I thought that this was a good movie. I couldn't believe that the kid in the film didn't want to see Black Sabbath in concert though when he had the chance, but maybe I'm too much of a metalhead to be objective there. The ending was interesting and didn't make much sense to me, but after I thought about how the movie was supposed to be mildly autobiographical...it made sense. See this movie...