patricjmiller Reviews

Beau Is Afraid (2023)

The most expensive "Mommy Issues" movie ever made

[3/10 · 5 September 2023]

This movie actually has the audacity to be listed as a comedy. The only funny thing about it, is that my wife and I sat through the three hour running time, waiting for something funny to happen. As other reviewers have said, this movie is basically one long nightmare. The only way I could make sense of it, was to imagine that this may be what the poor, psychotic, paranoid-schizophrenics you see on the streets of major cities, screaming and talking to themselves (and others), might be seeing and thinking. But that is a stretch.

Ari Aster clearly hates his mother. I just hope she wasn't alive to see this.

Who Green Lit this mess? Who paid for it? Do they All hate their Moms?

Babylon (I) (2022)

How many ways can you top the gross out meter?

[2/10 · 27 February 2023]

This was, without a doubt, the most gratuitous, silly, pile of vomit (sooooo much vomit) I have seen come out of a major studio since...well...ever! I can't remember when I have seen more big name talent, squandered on such a reckless, meandering, senseless, overblown mess. Every time I thought there was a reasonable plot starting to develop, it would devolve into yet another screaming, violent, orgy of stupidity that went nowhere. By the time we had reached 2.5 hours of being repulsed by scene after scene of excess silliness and overt suspensions of reality, we finally just hung in there for the logical conclusion...I wanted to shoot myself too! I'm pleased that the Academy saw fit to ignore this thing...no matter what the budget.

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021)

The last ten minutes...brilliant!

[10/10 · 28 January 2023]

If you didn't cry in the last ten minutes of this film, you aren't paying attention. The deep, simple elegant revelation at the end...sweet, deep, and transformative. The fact that they breath life, meaning, and pathos into what could easily have been a simple clever kid's movie, is what makes it brilliant. I went in expecting to be entertained. I didn't expect to be transformed.

The story behind the movie was enough to make me watch. But, the writing, acting, and clever solutions to how a tiny shell maneuvers life, is what made me buy it. Having worked for Will Vinton in the 1980s, I know what goes into long form stop animation. But this is so much more. What Vinton, Nick Park, and other animators from the last couple of decades lacked is heart...with adult messages. This is full of both.

The Perfection (2018)

The "Horror" was in the bodily functions

[3/10 · 26 May 2019]

So... if your idea of "horror and suspense," is watching people vomit up bugs, and defecate on a road...this is the movie for you! The plot was awful...the writing predictable...and the gratuitous sex came without any real movement in plot. Thank God they blurred out the repeated flashbacks of her naked abuser.

Just...plain...silly...with enough bodily function imagery to make you wince for the wrong reasons. And the final shot?? Hilarious...

Border (2018)

An amazingly unique modern fairy tale with amazing acting and makeup

[10/10 · 27 November 2018]

My title pretty much says it all. It was really engaging and fun in the way it slowly but surely revealed the key elements. The makeup was so pefectly done, it made you realize just how imperfectly common so many people are...and how deeply personal our subtle differences are. Grimm Bros, Roehl Dahl, and DelTorro combined.

Simply loved it!

The Happytime Murders (2018)

Seriously? What is all of the hubbub about?? It was Hilarious.

[8/10 · 24 August 2018]

I am a 64-year-old marketing guy, married to a 5th grade school teacher. Because is was available on Movie Pass, we decided to "risk our morality" and see this movie. Neither of us could figure out what all of the negativity and silly "up in arms" whining is about! We both found the movie hilarious, and far more clever than many of the other reviews are portraying.

WARNING... IT's A MUPPET MOVIE!!! If you have seen any of the other Muppet/Henson films, you know what to expect. Loads of Muppets interacting with humans...and acting silly. In this case, the jokes were raunchier, and more adult. Big whoop! But, even the crudest bits were pale in comparison to loads of other big Hollywood comedies out these days. There wasn't a single scene that was as gross and off-putting as the "taking a dump in the manhole" scene in "Bridesmaids." The whole bit with the silly string? Hilarious...and silly.

See it. Especially if you can get a discount, or matinee price. No. Don't take kids. But, I am guessing there are tons of kids these days who wouldn't even blink at the humor. We have seen a ton of movies in the past few weeks...and we both agreed, compared to "The Spy Who Left Me" or "the Meg" this was gold.

The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018)

Really wanted to like this...

[5/10 · 7 August 2018]

You can probably figure out by the title what a letdown this movie was. It was just a complete fustercluck of concepts that barely held together as separate pieces ( spy thriller, comedy, rom-com, buddy pic) but not one of them rung true. I love both lead ladies...but, could never figure out why one was serious and badass, while the other was a poorly scripted cartoon character.

And for me...they broke the cardinal rule of big movie action pics....if you are going to show that much blood (and there is a ton), you can't just have the characters cracking jokes as people die or are dismembered. There was no real suspense...Sophomoric humor...and unbelievable action sequences with unfunny dialogue....all done with idiot grins.

Just. Plain. Silly. Glad we used Movie Pass on this one...I would have been upset to spend my own money on it.

Hereditary (2018)

7/8ths of a great horror film

[8/10 · 16 June 2018]

Sooooooo Close...But sorry, the last 10 minutes ruins the film. There were so many great ideas...and some really scary twists. I loved the way it built slowly, with little crumbs being dropped along the way. And then the ending... just silly. There are so many ways that the ending could have been better. And frankly, a lot of the movies that this one is compared to got it right. This just felt like they ran out of gas, and tried to tie it together with something that will scare Catholics...and just to make it work for everyone else, by adding a ton of weird gore.

Let's face it...if King Paimon is really the badass demon that the legends say he was, he didn't need a goofy group of "satanist" if he wanted to show up and take control.

Oh well... a lot of fun. Collette was great! But, this is no "6th Sense."

Peter Rabbit (2018)

The perfect all family movie

[10/10 · 6 May 2018]

As a grandfather of 7...and a very picky viewer of kid's movies...Peter Rabbit is simply one of the best I have seen in years. Hilarious combination of kid and adult humor... seamless CGI...the animals are so believable and multi-dimensional. Just wonderful.

And as a bonus...so many of Beatrix Potter's characters brought to life in a modern way...just brilliant.

Only the crankiest curmudgeon could dislike this charming creation.

Hail, Caesar! (2016)

Soooooooooo Disappointed

[4/10 · 10 February 2016]

Let's start with the fact that I am a huge fan of the Cohen Brothers. I have seen all of their films in the theater, and I own a ton of their movies on Blu Ray. I also understand that they have an equally wide range of styles and genres in which they work as producers, writers, and directors.

However, after watching the trailers, I assumed we were in for something similar to their brilliant "Oh Brother Where Art Thou?," that to this day, remains one of my favorite movies and soundtracks of all time.

Nope. Not even close.

I am not going to "spoil" anything here regarding plot lines, because the "plot" was so disjointed, random, and disconnected, that to imply that there was an actual plot would be misleading.

You know you are in trouble when you have to rely on voice-over narration to try to hold something together. But even the narration seemed confusingly unhelpful. Three, or was it four, or maybe even five, sub-plots that had no real connection whatsoever…except that they were all set in the golden era of Hollywood.

The irony of having the whole "Commies in Hollywood" bit…especially with the ridiculous submarine scene…in the year the "Trumbo" was released, was just too much to handle. There was a perceptive groan in the audience...no laughs.

This was, at best, an overblown, over-produced, over-cast mess.

Someone in the audience behind us said, "It's like they are trying to do homage to Wes Anderson…but don't seem to know what makes Wes Anderson movies work." I couldn't agree more.

The production value was entertaining in its bombast…but the cast was completely wasted on this.

Sorry guys…I'll remember you for Fargo, No Country for Old Men, Oh Brother, The Big Lebowski, Raising Arizona, and even Barton Fink. But this one? I am going to do my best to forget this one altogether.

Hereafter (2010)

Slow Pace- with unfulfilling and ambiguous story

[5/10 · 22 October 2010]

The pacing of this film did not bother me. Of course, I am over 50, so I can actually sit still through a slower paced storyline that includes a number of different characters, without something blowing up, or someone getting undressed to keep my attention.

What did bother me, perhaps comes from a unique view from others reviewing the film. As one who has experienced an NDE, I was disappointed with both the flimsy, and undeveloped view of the female lead's experience, and the ambiguous way in which her story unfolded.

On one hand, we have a character whose NDE was so life-altering, as to divert her from her primary job as a political reporter, into someone who writes a book extolling the difficulty in revealing the truth in the modern media world about the validity of the NDE experience. The dust jacket on her book, as well as casual references to her research, talk about all of the expert testimony that support the overwhelming facts about NDE experiences, and the correlation between science and the afterlife. And then…the movie tells us nothing.

The script (or perhaps what was left after Eastwood edited the script) simply glosses over anything substantial in the way of research, except to talk about a Nobel laureate who was ridiculed after revealing his research. One line...out of over two and a half hours of script.

The question to me, is why start the conversation, if you aren't going to offer even a small slice of the answers? The research is voluminous. Those of us who have experienced an NDE know that it is far more than a chemical reaction to the body starting to shut down. Much more.

But, all we are left with in this movie, is a lead character who doesn't want to acknowledge his gift, even in the face of those around him who believe in a "hereafter," more than he does.

Anyone who has experienced an NDE will find this movie sadly unfulfilling. But perhaps, it will bring many more of us to admit to what happened, and start a much more meaningful dialogue about the facts.

As a few of the younger reviewers mentioned, a vast majority of the audience was over 50. No doubt many of those there were looking for answers about the "aferlife," for one reason or another.

It would have been a great chance to tell the world something substantial. But in the end the movie was a nice idea, with slow execution...and painfully unfulfilling.

Rachel Getting Married (2008)

Wife didn't make it through half of the movie

[5/10 · 22 February 2009]

We went forewarned that the hand-held images were getting to people. My wife is one who is affected by this kind of imagery. She had to leave early from Blair Witch Project, Saving Private Ryan and Breaking Waves.

She took the Dramamine before the movie… we sat WAY back in the theater to minimize the hand-held-sea-sickness-effect. It was all to no avail.

By the time Rachel lays into her sister for being self-serving and ruining the rehearsal dinner, she was headed for the exit and the bathroom.

I do not usually get queasy from anything, including roller coasters, sailing, or any other number of things that cause visual disorientation. But, I too, felt a bit loose in the guts.

What is God's name was Demme thinking? I enjoyed the banter. I loved Hathaway's performance, what I saw of it. I was put off by the smarmy, too-clever and creative, family. I hardly had time to absorb what appeared to be Winger's incredibly cold, and distant mother role.

But it was all for naught, as we couldn't get past the ridiculous and extremely unnecessary hand-held jerks and spasms that forced us to fight with the nausea, while the actors on screen fought with one another.

Australia (2008)

I want the time I wasted on this back...

[2/10 · 25 December 2008]

This movie...no matter how glorious the landscapes, was one of the most inane, simple-minded, cliché, messes I have seen in year. It is obvious the intent was some sort of clever Australian "Gone with the Wind," but it misses that mark in so many ways (other than its tedious length) as to be laughable. Instead of tribute to GWTW, it ends up being a horrible trashing of the Great America Western, and the corny big budget Hollywood epics that are long on visual and short on content.

The constant Wizard of Oz references made me laugh out loud in disgust. It was as if the director couldn't decide what style he wanted to use, so he just expanded, and expanded, and expanded, until he had three story lines, with loose connections, with no way to end them, until they all just run their course and die slowly in front of you.

It was a complete waste of time.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

Better than Australia...but misses the mark

[6/10 · 25 December 2008]

In the past four days, we have seen four movies. Milk, Australia, Slumdog Millionaire and Benjamine Button. Of the four, the "blockbusters" were the weakest. Both Australia and Button are FAR too long, and pull from previous films for their content and concepts.

While I loved the performances of both Pitt and Blanchett, the story is just too long (especially when it was derived from a F. Scott Fitzgerald short story). I wanted it to go somewhere. The "big twist" was telegraphed in a zillion ways. Beautiful faces and places...but not much more to offer.

If you have a choice between all of the films out during the holiday season, see Slumdog Millionaire. FAR better movie-- original, great story, moving, and not a lick of CGI or special effects.