kkmetz Reviews

The Therapy (2023– )

Enigmatic mystery drama

[9/10 · 8 November 2023]

This is truly a psychological mystery and contains twists and turns and unexpected imaginings. I am surprised there are such low ratings by some people. The cinematography was beautiful, the acting was very well done especially the main character Victor. Such a range of emotions. The two teenage girls also I think did an excellent job of being typically moody in a very believable way. The second main character Roth also carried off his part very well. The layers upon layers of imaginings versus reality gave the plot a lot of mysterious ambience that was enhanced by the musical score. There were some very tender and moving moments especially at the end. The dubbing was pretty good so all in all I really was captivated by this Limited series.

Transatlantic (2023)

Enlightening but sad

[4/10 · 17 May 2023]

I appreciated the historical significance of this miniseries. It was an important part of history that this journalist and those who allied with him helped so many people. It has not been recognized or known generally speaking. I thought the acting was just fair. The people seemed to be one dimensional to me in many ways. The tension between the various factions was very realistically portrayed, however. I feel like the story could've been told within a two hour movie rather than a miniseries. It seemed like the story drug at times. I did not like the ending where none of the lovers remained together and one of the significant people was killed. I know they needed to be realistic but they could've had a more hopeful ending. It just seemed to drag down the positive effects of all the work they were doing to have such a sad ending.

The Descendants (2011)

Heartfelt and artfully done

[10/10 · 16 April 2023]

This is first of all a story about family love, ancestors, and finding one's way during upheavals in life. I find it odd that the story that is very dramatic and deals with death and conflict and betrayal is called a comedy. I don't know where that came from. There are perhaps underlying amusing moments but overall it is a very dramatic and in some ways deep story about the changes in a man's life when his wife is in a coma and will be taken off life support and then die. It also deals with all the difficulties he has with being the sole support and love now for his two daughters. There are some quirky characters and perhaps that's where the idea of the comedy comes from. There are also serious conflicts with friends, lovers, in-laws. The acting is superb. The scenery of Hawaii is so beautiful and the music is lovely to hear. Even though this is basically about a sad time in a difficult time in a man's life I found it very enriching as a movie. I did not read the book but I am glad the movie got an award as the best adaptation of a novel. So even though this is dealing with very difficult decisions and life changes it is an inspiring story because the main characters survive and learn how to keep loving each other while doing so.

The Only Living Boy in New York (2017)

Extensional overtones

[9/10 · 9 March 2023]

The acting in this was superb. It was almost like a melodrama At first. Then it segued into a more complicated plot of relationships. I won't go into detail because I don't wanna give any spoilers. But it was woven together very well and I'm not sure why some people didn't seem to like the story. I thought it was unique, and had unexpected responses from The characters. The music was absolutely fantastic with Simon and Garfunkel, Bill Evans, Bob Dylan, etc. I would recommend this as a dramatic movie with a little bit of tongue in cheek humor. If you want some thing that's enjoyable with good acting, good music, this is for you.

Our Universe (2022– )

Inspiring and yet.......

[7/10 · 3 March 2023]

The photography was beautifully done and the CGI images were impressive. In contrast to what another reviewer said that the music was like elevator music I found it to be creative and a welcome addition to the narrative and the filming. Morgan Freeman's voice of course is always wonderful to listen to and I think he did a superb job. As another reviewer said however the dialogue was a little slow. I know they were trying to time it along with various pictures and images but it seemed halting and could've been more on the mark. The most impressive part of the documentary to me was the stories and scenes of the animals. Particularly the chimpanzees, the elephants, and the penguins. I wondered how in the world they got photographs and filming of these animals in their natural habitat. I assume they were the actual animals and not part of the CGI images. I found it interesting that they gave particular animals names therefore anthropomorphizing them. I assume they did that in order to increase our interest and caring for The animals. In each episode they tried to show how life is interconnected to the cosmos and that sometimes seemed to be repetitive. The overall message and tone of the documentary was very pleasing and satisfying. I am glad I saw it but I think it had a few flaws but some other nature documentaries avoided.

Cloudburst (2011)

What were they thinking?

[3/10 · 19 May 2022]

I was really looking forward to this because I like Olympia Dukakis as an actor. However even though she acted well her character was just a miserable human being. She was mean to everybody including the woman she loved. Her choices seem to be questionable at best. The whole thing seemed unreasonable and the choices they made to do what when didn't make sense. Why they didn't go ahead and get married I don't know. Why she called the niece when they were going to get married I don't know. And the ending of her lover dying is a real downer. Even the supposed comedy scenes didn't really come off well.