gian55 Reviews

Midnight Mass (2021)

Satanic Fantasy

[6/10 · 8 October 2021]

Great, if you like Satanic fantasy, but fraught with confusing and meaningless thoughts. And quite boring at points.

Designated Survivor (2016–2019)

0 Stars for Season Three; 10 Stars each for Season One and Two

[7/10 · 25 April 2020]

Season One and Two were fantastic: Interesting, gripping, great cast and production. I couldn't wait for the next episode. After Netflix took over Season Three, I stopped watching after about one-third of the episodes. Season Three is obsessed and strategized with misguided identity politics, "politically correct" content, and crass language. The screenplays for Season Three are amateurish and nowhere match those of Season One and Two. Strange, when Netflix produces, things get sleazy.

Unplanned (I) (2019)

Truth Will Out

[10/10 · 14 September 2019]

Well acted, well written, and worth seeing. Of course it's Rated "R," because it portrays what really happens in an abortion. The MPAA knew that what happens in an abortion is "disturbing material," especially for those under seventeen-years old. The movie reveals what happens in a contemporary "Abattoir."

Little Women (2017)

Worst Yet

[5/10 · 17 June 2018]

The worst production I've ever seen of this classic. Boring on almost all levels: script, scenery, photography, etc. The films are all better. It seems TV series move very slowly and tend toward repetition. Recent series like "Little Women," "The Diary of Anne Frank," and "Picnic at Hanging Rock," never approach the artistry or intensity of the great films of the same works. However, today's films don't seem to match up to the "oldies" either.

Picnic at Hanging Rock (2018)

Don't Waste Your Time

[4/10 · 3 June 2018]

Watch Peter Weir's earlier film. That is brilliant. This series is a long, drawn out bore. Extremely slow moving, meaningless imagery, added contemporary agendas that never appear in Joan Lindsay's novel. Photography is good; actors are good--but they don't have much to work with.

The Handmaiden (2016)

Essentially Boring

[3/10 · 18 April 2017]

If you have a penchant for pornography, this is for you. It delivers a convoluted and essentially meaningless plot that seems to have been constructed merely for the presentation of the sex scenes. It presents devious men who misuse and abuse women, but it reveals more about devious women who misuse and abuse each other. The movie is beautifully filmed, but not so well edited. The actors (pornstars?) are good at their trade; however, they portray women in a negative way—as self-obsessed sex objects.

The Letters (II) (2014)

Great film on the life of Mother Teresa

[10/10 · 3 June 2016]

The Letters is an absorbing and interesting film on the life of Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Revealing her accomplishments but concentrating on her trials and tribulations--and her bouts with "spiritual darkness"--it has a different perspective than previous films about Mother Teresa. Max von Sydow and Rutger Hauer were excellent, as usual. The rest of the cast were very good, although some presented as somewhat rigid, but that might have been on the part of the script. Juliet Stevenson, however,was exceptional. Her posture and mannerisms were reminiscent of those of Mother Teresa. The cinematography and editing were well done. The film is certainly worth watching, and a good biographical rendering, contrary to the unsubstantiated and unreferenced accusations about Mother Teresa offered by angry, unkind persons influenced by the same agendas fostered by the late Christopher Hitchens.