comblitz Reviews

Dreamland: A Storming Area 51 Story (2022)

What did you expect? Don't be so hard on this doc

[6/10 · 20 January 2023]

A few things to note off the bat:

1) Why are all the 10 star reviews by people who only have 1 review. This is always upsetting to me and I lose respect for the production team that does this.

2) The most interesting person in this film is Natasha and they didn't feature her enough. She seems like a whack job who was hanging out in the desert but if you find her on IMDB, you'll see she has been in quite a few projects (unlike most everyone else).

3) Brian Moreno is great. He made me get behind his struggle from the get go. He was constantly battling potential mutinies.

He's nervous, he's anxious and when his expectations were demolished, he self-destructed until saved by a few interviews.

At this time, this has a 3.1 rating. I don't believe that's fair. But I suppose the 1 star ratings offset the BS 10 star ratings, so whatever.

I finished this feature and by the end, I was happy to have seen it. It was an interesting journey and I enjoyed seeing all the characters except the pony tail white shirt guy who I found incredibly boring. As for Andy and Brian, it was great to see their attitudes take a 180 by the end, and seemed like they had no regrets.

I've never been to that part of Nevada so it was fun to see what it was like, or the absence of anything interesting out there.

Take this movie for what it is worth... Brian's struggle to document something that never got off the ground. I hope he makes more with much of the same people.

Memoria (I) (2021)

WTF? Give me my 2 hours back please

[4/10 · 1 December 2022]

Wow, this movie was unbelievably slow. It was over 2 hours and 1:55 of that was no dialogue. Just Tilda standing in wonderment of what was going on. Whatever the plotline was supposed to be, this is not how you portray it. It's like the director was stoned on shrooms and wanted to show like some really cool footage man, and then showing more. I watched most of this at 4x speed and it was still slow as hell. So in reality, I only lost about an hour in real time. Have I mentioned how God awful boring and long this movie was? They could've done this same story in a half hour black mirror and still would've had time for 15 minutes of credits.

The Midnight Club (2022)

Quit after 3

[4/10 · 21 October 2022]

After the third episode, my wife and I agreed to stop watching. The show is a little childish and maybe good for middle schoolers.

I could just imagine the writers thinking of a new series idea. One says "Oh, let's do something scary" and another says "Everybody does that". Then the first one says "Yeah, but how about telling scary stories?" and a third one says "Are you kidding? That's been done before." Then the first replies "OK, but what if we have teens telling the stories" and the other two remind him how there was recently an episode on TV just like that. So, the first writer finally brings out his ace in the hole. "Yeah, but what if they were terminally ill teen patients telling the story in a scary mansion where they all live and die?" and the other two say "Ahhh, now you've got something".

The Midas Touch (2020)

On your mark, get set, terrible!

[4/10 · 22 September 2022]

This movie was done very poorly. It had no value, not even as a fun to watch terrible movie. I feel like they had a casting call at an international convention of bad actors. The antagonists reminded me of mean Mr. Mustard from the Sergeant Pepper movie.

NOW for the big issue. The ratings don't make sense. Click on the rating to see the breakdown. It's around 3.8 or so, yet when it is averaged, they display 6.4. So something is definitely wrong with the algorithm of showing the rating of this terrible film.

WHAT was good about it? It is so hard to find something good but if I had to say something, the Benny Hill type of chasing in the park was kind of funny but only because it reminded me of Benny Hill.

The Last Days of American Crime (2020)

I got mad at this movie

[5/10 · 6 September 2022]

I was mad because it was waaaay too long. It was an ok story, but that's it. Seems like it could've been handled in a quick episode of black mirror, or at the very most, a 1hr 20minute movie. Michael Penn's acting was amazing as always but it was just too crazy of a movie to warrant the same amount of time as Godfather or Star Wars.

Now, mad aside, the movie production was ok. It had a solid plot, production wasn't cheap and a story you could get behind. A rating of 3.7 (average at the time of this writing) is a little harsh. I can't help to believe if Bruce Willis or some other A list played the lead, it might be averaging 5 or 6. Still, I don't feel like I enjoyed this and would've liked to have my 2.5 hours back.

You Should Have Left (2020)

Let's face it, could've been a little faster

[6/10 · 5 September 2022]

This movie was far from terrible, it had a decent story. It ended well which was a relief. Sort of reminded me a little of The Shining. The family of 3 rent a mysterious house that no one is sure who booked it. They should have addressed that more, rather than the moment in passing.

Kevin and Amanda (yes, we're on a first name basis) we very good in their roles. Though not as good as Stir Of Echoes, it held it's own, though Bacon was great in Stir.

The thriller scenes were done very well, gave me goosebumps at times. Somehow I decided to watch this movie at home alone around 4am, so that added to the scariness of the story.

Nice how 60 something Kevin Bacon plays the husband of 30 something Amanda. But I guess that had a little to do with the plot.

Survive the Night (2020)

Survive the terrible lighting

[5/10 · 14 July 2022]

Not only was this movie very predictable and not exciting, but for some reason the director thought it would be great to NOT see anything in the house. I mean, how much does a light bulb add to the film's budget?

Introducing, Selma Blair (2021)

Sad and delightful

[8/10 · 28 February 2022]

Selma Blair has always been a great actress and personality. This documentary took my fondness of her to a new level. Selma is very strong exposing her life and image in the most negative ways while undergoing chemo (no makeup, speaking issues, walking issues). Nothing but respect and love for her. My wife and I were glued to this wonderful documentary.

Scoob! (2020)

The mystery is it wasn't a mystery

[6/10 · 17 February 2022]

Big evolution for Scooby Doo but at least the commonality of all the episodes was that they were indeed a mystery. This movie was not that at all. Still it was fun to watch.

Dexter: New Blood (2021–2022)

Enjoying this series but am I the only one who thinks....

[8/10 · 7 January 2022]

Am I the only one who thinks Julia Jones looks EXACTLY like Jennifer Carpenter? I googled it and I think I'm alone on this... Every time there's a scene that zooms in from far, I can't tell which one it's gonna be until I see a police uniform :)

William (I) (2019)

Did they run out of money?

[5/10 · 19 September 2021]

Very short review here. This story was building up to have some kind of an amazing conclusion and then it's like the writer just ran out of money or time and was told that the story needs to end by noon today, so it was rushed. Very big let down for having invested my time.

The Vast of Night (2019)

Amazing Cinematography

[7/10 · 29 August 2021]

This movie was just great. Psychological thriller mixing old style film with a touch of Twilight Zone and War Of The Worlds. So enjoyable. Acting incredible like a 1950's movie. But what blew my mind the most was the camera traveling from the phone dispatch center to the school gym, to the radio station. I'll watch it again some day.

The Kingdom of Var (2019)

Greatest Comedy Ever

[3/10 · 28 August 2021]

Someone said "let's take the worst script, the worst actors, the worst quality and make a comedy that's supposed to be a horror story.

Inside the Rain (2019)

This movie was NOT terrible

[5/10 · 11 August 2021]

It was actually a fun watch. It moved nicely and the story was fun to watch. I think Aaron Fisher did a great job in writing/directing/acting. Rosie Perez played a great role. Maybe Eric Roberts wasn't needed in this movie and only put in for name recognition. I rated 5 out of 10 because it was watchable and put together well and I rate very low on movies.

Nuclear (2019)

Understanding this movie

[5/10 · 18 July 2021]

*** SPOILER ALERT BIG TIME ***

It starts out with a girl Emma, watching her brother almost kill their mother. She rescues the mother and they take off out to the country (not really sure what country it is, seemed to be England but then seems more like Russia).

Then the brother tracks her down. I say her, because her mother was actually never there.

So let's zip right to the ending. Turns out her mother did indeed die in the woods. And it also turns out the brother died in the woods as well. This must've happened one of two ways. One, when he approached her after killing the mother, she stabbed him and left him for dead. The alternate explanation is Emma killed them both.

But if that's true, why are there scenes when the mother is looking for Emma on the bridge? If she's dead, she should only exist in Emma's imagination.

Well, that's all I have. It wasn't really confusing, just a great exploration of the psyche of someone who suffered trauma.

My rating of 5 is actually good in my book.

Mank (2020)

Not the worst movie but sooo boring... just boring

[4/10 · 2 July 2021]

My wife and I started watching this movie and we both nearly fell asleep and we weren't tired. Just boring, I was hoping someone would throw a pie already. Skipped through most of 2nd half because I have to go food shopping this week and wasn't sure there would be enough time. Gary Oldman is always wonderful and the rest of the cast was spot on... but the writer was missing his entertainment bone when he wrote this.

The Piketon Family Murders (2019 TV Movie)

Amazing Story but ended too soon before results are in

[6/10 · 26 June 2021]

Great presentation about the horrific events of the murders of an entire family of 8 (Rhoden family) by a few potential groups, ending up in accusing a family but then it ends. I realize history hadn't unfolded yet, but perhaps they should have waited longer for the story to unfold. Also, as with many documentaries, much of the same footage is viewed over and over again as if to make this feature longer.

Luckily we have YouTube and I got to see more recent updates. Well worth a watch.

I don't rate very high in general, so this is still a good signal from me.

Mermaid Down (2019)

Mermaid Interrupted

[5/10 · 30 May 2021]

Not so great and not so terrible. A mermaid is caught and forced to stay in a crazy home with other ladies. An evil doctor is in charge, though it's not clear what his goal was, other than to experiment.

#IMomSoHard Live (2019 TV Special)

Hilarious and Informative

[6/10 · 18 May 2021]

Both great entertainers and their humor, coupled with physical presence makes them one of the funniest live events I've seen in years. I rate very low all the time, so for me, a 6 means it was great. 7 and above is reserved for stuff like Star Wars.

Antidote (I) (2021)

This was NOT terrible

[5/10 · 11 May 2021]

Seems a little familiar in the horror genre. A woman with appendicitis goes to a hospital and wakes up in a prison like hospital. What she discovers changes every thing. This was watchable. Not great, but the story held out pretty well with a decent ending.

Captured (II) (2019)

Meh, prevent abuse through photography

[5/10 · 2 January 2021]

Story borders on mystery and abuse prevention. Lead male was good actor, the rest of the cast were very mediocre. Nice scenery and camera work.

Hardball: The Girls of Summer (2019)

Beautiful documentary

[7/10 · 19 December 2020]

As the father of 2 girls, this documentary really moved me. I admire the girls for their spirit and perseverance fighting to be recognized as real athletes. Each had their own story, their own hardships, all culminating in an idea that we are not all treated equal just yet. Loved seeing the team support and great athleticism. We have come to far with equality to fall short on recognizing half the world for their own talent.

The Day After I'm Gone (2019)

Sad story set in Israel

[5/10 · 8 November 2020]

While this is not my type of drama, I watched it because it was filmed in Israel. So I loved seeing the scenes of Tel-Aviv and out in the mountains. It's a story of a father and daughter who are on completely different paths and seem to never communicate with each other. I felt the depiction of families in Israel was very accurate, love, caring, and pain.

The Queen's Gambit (2020)

Wow, never boring... even STAR TREK is boring

[9/10 · 29 October 2020]

I love all things Star Trek but they have too many boring scenes, love stories, etc., that it might as well be called Soap Opera In Space. So what does that have to do with The Queen's Gambit? Just bringing up a point on how this movie was never ever boring. Always things moving, happening, growing. Loved it and "power-watched" it from start to finish at one sitting. I need to get out more :)

Amazing Stories: The Heat (2020) Season 1, Episode 2

Why all the haters?

[6/10 · 18 October 2020]

This show was decent. It's an episode of Amazing Stories, not a full length feature film. I feel like if this was on Black Mirror, no one would be crying. Similar stories have been done, but each having their own twist. The acting was fine (believe me, I criticize bad acting all the time). The story was good. Rated 6/10, which is pretty high for me. If people are beating up the ratings because of the sexuality, they need to really join the rest of the modern world and live with it.