danielmartinx Reviews

Death and Other Details (2024)

Slogging through it still

[6/10 · 4 April 2024]

I feel like I've been watching for months.

I can't remember anyone's name.

The business deal is odd. People at this level should have a better ability to evaluate investment.

What episode am I on. Am I supposed to care about the death of that lady's mother. Why are there so many scenes going nowhere.

The photography is perfect. Composition and montage and lighting is all done away.

The characters are opaque. It's hard to care about them.

Rahul and Hugo make the most of their scenes.

Mandy's accent needed more work.

Violett's hair makes this feel like an SNL skit.

How am I still watching this.

The Pyx (1973)

I love this film

[8/10 · 3 April 2024]

I love this film. There are flaws in it for sure, but I think a lot of people have watched the poor re-editing of it called the hooker murders.

It's a pretty simple story. There might be elements that seem confusing, but I defy anyone to watch it to the end and not see how all of the parts fit together.

Karen Black is unbelievably beautiful and strange in this film. She is a cipher. We are looking at her from the outside, we are seeing her exterior, we are listening to the stories and accounts from other people. We never actually get into her mind or see reality from her perspective.

I commend the script for that.

This is also a masterpiece of 1970s on-location cinematography. The city atmosphere, with unique Quebecois touches, is perfect.

For what it's worth, the story jumps back and forth between present time and past time. I think it does this more than most films of the '70s, and I can see how it was confusing to people. But in 2024, we are inundated with television and film that uses this technique. Most viewers are going to be able to figure out when there is a transition from present to past or vice versa.

As for the thematic elements, I would like to testify that in the 1970s everybody believed that there was a guy called Satan and that he was going to be reborn or something like that. The culture was a lot different back then. This stuff hit harder because most people would just be shocked at the idea of a black mass. I don't think most people today even know what a black mass is. And I'm not going to tell you. Because then I would have to click the thing that says does this review contain spoilers, and I don't want to do that.

Go into the film with an open mind. Be aware that Elizabeth looks different to different people, and the unevenness of her behavior from scene to scene starts to make sense.

The Mind Snatchers (1972)

Too scattered but worth watching

[6/10 · 28 March 2024]

I wish they had cut a lot more of this dialogue. I've been imagining this on a stage in a theater and it would be wonderful. With all of this talking, they would create a world and it would have ups and downs and it would work.

That doesn't translate to film. You don't have to create a world or an atmosphere. The camera can photograph a huge empty room in a mental hospital and you don't have to tell us what it feels like. The starkness of the setting is already pretty overwhelming. They are trapped. This is horrifying.

I grew up in the 70s so I'm familiar with this weird weak neurotic snarky tone that everyone has. It was a pretty awful time to live. People were not nice. Negativity was coolness, and everybody just wanted to drop out and let go of everything.

I was really not liking Christopher Walken in the first few minutes but I relaxed and decided to go with it. And here he is an absolutely wonderful actor doing the best with this material. And a lot of his works that we all know about now as an actor show up here. It might be worth watching just to see Christopher walken.

She Beast (1966)

Major flaws but also many strengths

[8/10 · 10 February 2024]

The camera work is really good and all of the shots are composed beautifully. A ton of work went into the technical side of this film. The actors dubbed their lines so that the conversations are perfectly recorded. And I am a huge fan of Italian and hammerhouse horror and this film plays with that aesthetic but also has some naturalistic passages.

The story is dumb af. There is no nice way to put it. It plays like a comedy half of the time. The comedy almost overpowers the horror. In fact, there is no horror in this horror film.

Nonetheless, I highly recommend. There is a high definition version on YouTube now that is completely worth watching.

The Peripheral (2022)

I like this, but it's horrible in many ways

[7/10 · 25 November 2022]

I like the look, it's obvious they put a lot of energy and time into this, the visuals are stunning and amazing, Chloe is a goddess, the other actors are turning in fantastic performances, but the story lags. It lags.

The characters are not flashed out at all. Everyone in the future seems is just an outfit and a hairstyle, and it's pretty much all of the snotty people from the Hunger Games redux.

The motivations for everyone's behavior remain obscure no matter how long you watch. Even when you fully understand the explanation that the show gives you for why people are doing what they're doing, it doesn't make sense. Enormous amounts of energy are being wasted for nothing by all of the futuristic characters.

The rural Southern characters are caricatures and one dimensional.

I would suggest that if people are going to work with William Gibson in the future, y'all might want to remember that he writes novels and not screenplays. His texts are interesting because he spends tons of time obsessing over details of physical objects, like a tweaker, but when you translate this to action on the screen, it's very empty. Just get someone to work with him on the screenplay and try to identify what the dramatic moments are and also try to create some kind of framework in which all of these things make sense.

I recommend this, and I like it, and at times I love it, but I shake my head and roll my eyes every single episode.

Tell Me Lies (2022– )

Horrible but you should watch it

[7/10 · 12 November 2022]

Horrible but you should watch it. The characters are barely even one to mentional. They are 0.5 dimensional. Every character enters every scene with motivation to be unpleasant and to say vague unpleasant things to the other characters. Even the drama is weak. Somebody drove around a corner fast and another car swerved to miss them, so that first driver is a murderer? Really? I don't think that's how it happens.

"How to Get Away with Euphoria" would be a good title. Still, it's worth watching. Just don't expect an interesting story, good performances, or an acceptable script. This is the kind of content that was created for binge watching. Binge away.

The Groundstar Conspiracy (1972)

Great '70s cinematography

[8/10 · 31 October 2022]

I love films from this era because of the incredible amount of formica, cheap tile, carpet, wallpaper, concrete, glass, and steel in every shot. There's something so lush about film and television from the early 1970s. I like to remember that it was a bizarre and broken time, with Vietnam and Watergate looming over everyone. People retreated from life outside the home and focused on hair and clothing. Pop culture was very shallow and easily accessible. Films from this time all have an element of giallo with stylishness and hipster details carrying the film forward at times. This film is wonderful to watch, and the story is a bit foolish but very dramatic and engaging. And the actors turn in good performances. It's such a window into what life was like back in 1972.

Ombre roventi (1970)

I didn't hate this

[7/10 · 9 October 2022]

The sleazy, superficial, vapid, druggy atmosphere is almost overpowering. But, having grown up in the '70s, I can't say it isn't an accurate depiction of reality around that time.

The plot is a mass, as others have noted. I would really like to see a better quality video of this. The sets are amazing.

The music is pretty atmospheric. And the depiction of hippies as cult murderers is pretty good. It will make you laugh, but it will also make you feel disgust and contempt for the entire scene.

There are a lot of passages that made me think of Kenneth Anger. There were also a lot of scenes where I found myself wondering where are all of the Egyptians?

The Turning (2020)

Not the worst, not the best

[5/10 · 14 August 2022]

I think screenwriters and directors underestimate how difficult it is to film this story. The elements are much more unpleasant than they seem at first. Most people reading the text notice really quickly that it appears that the children have been sexually molested by the former governess and Quint. At the very least, the two were engaged in a horrific process of grooming with the children, and the text dances around it a lot but it makes it a really horrifying story.

Filming this would be difficult. The actors for the most part are giving their all to this script, and there are some commendably coherent performances. The cinematography is decent and the Victorian mansion motif is very consistent with the story. I think it's a good looking film.

There are also some huge problems with the mood and pacing, and some awkward and stilted scenes that are actually kind of bad. I would still recommend watching this. Go and expecting to laugh once in a while, and be prepared to hate some of the parts of the film, but I command the actors with some exceptions for their work here.

The Lodge (2019)

Excellent camerawork

[9/10 · 9 July 2022]

I really like the shots in this. The camera work is really good, and it's clear that their eye is on the walls and halls and architecture and landscapes. I could tell from the start when it opens with minimalist architecture that they were setting up a contrast for a creepy lodge later on. And I was not disappointed.

Atmosphere and pacing are also very good. I really enjoyed this movie.

The Stay (2021)

Good for what it is

[9/10 · 4 July 2022]

I'm actually enjoying this. From negative reviews I thought all kinds of horrible things would be here, but the actors are doing the best with this script. For some reason, this film dives deep into a sick and toxic marriage and drags the audience through all kinds of unpleasant emotions associated with breakups and dead marriages. It's strangely unpleasant, but a lot of horror depends upon broken relationships, dead parents, illness and infection, etc.

Citizen Bio (2020)

Affect is off

[8/10 · 22 February 2022]

When the biohackers talk about the failure of the project, they smile. When Tristan talks about being locked out of the laboratory, he appears to be happy. I think this is because it confirms his paranoid and conspiratorial beliefs, and I think that that's more of a win for these kind of biohackers and anarchists than any actual accomplishment would be. This whole story is a win for them because it justifies their toxic and pessimistic views about life and humanity.

Columbo: The Conspirators (1978) Season 7, Episode 5

Cold blooded psycho

[9/10 · 8 February 2022]

One of the things I like about this episode is how the poet is a loud, braggadocio, narcissistic, hateful psychopath. But the actor does a good job of showing how the cold and manipulative psychopath can exude charm even when their eyes are coldly scanning the crowd to see how they're being reacted to. This actor is so good.

The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness (2021)

Enjoyable but sad

[8/10 · 25 January 2022]

I think Maury lost his mind over this. Of course there are groups of drug using kids who use satanic imagery, but there's nothing linking this to the murders. Of course it's possible that there were other people involved with David Berkowitz, and possibly there were people assisting him in the killings. Maybe even other people were gunmen at times.

Among the many problems I see with his approach, he seems to have thought that the two or three famous people associated with cult activity were the only people in the universe. The process church was a very unimportant and minor avant-garde group, and I don't think they ever had any kind of power over other people who were engaged in occult activity and occult practices.

I myself have no fears about black magic or sorcery from a supernatural point of view, but people who have those beliefs also possess motivations to murder other human beings at times. So satanists are dangerous people, and there are groups of satanic believers. But they're not coordinated by the process church or Charles Manson. But they're not coordinated by the process church or Charles Manson.

Monsters Inside: The 24 Faces of Billy Milligan (2021)

Interesting study of a hoax

[8/10 · 20 January 2022]

This is a difficult subject to present in a documentary. They present all of the jumbled accounts, without saying anything about the truth value of Billy's claim. As you listen to the mental health professionals speak, the flimsiness of his facade becomes less and less believable.

One of my favorite touches is the fact that when psychiatrist expressed skepticism, they were told to watch a Sally Field mini series in order to understand multiple personality disorder.

Don't Look Up (2021)

... um ...

[4/10 · 29 December 2021]

I do not enjoy this film. No. I don't know if it's supposed to be a comedy. It has a lot of farcical elements that are distracting, but then it becomes suddenly serious. No.

Close Encounters of the Fifth Kind (2020)

It takes a while to get to their claims

[3/10 · 28 December 2020]

The discourse of UFOs is basically listening to people's paranoid ideation. They assert that the government monitors publication and THIS PROVES THAT ALIENS ARE AMONGST US because the government can ONLY be monitoring publication to suppress UFO data.

There is no other subject which the government could be monitoring.

Think about that for a moment. It's nonsensical and delusional beyond belief.

From a logic point of view, that argument simply assumes its premises and asserts them, over and over. There is no reason to believe that all governments for the past 100 years are *only* focused on suppression of UFO data. There are thousands of other pieces of data which our governments would wish to suppress.

Assesrting that it can *only* be UFO data is a tell.

It reveals that the makers of this documentary are insane.

You Were Never Really Here (2017)

Very thin and flat

[4/10 · 16 October 2020]

The film has some good photography, but the story is sad and empty. I suspect that I am supposed to be feeling histrionic waves of emotion during the long, drawn out scenes of Phoenix standing and grimacing while mood music plays in the background. He's on a train bridge, emoting. He's standing in a dark room, emoting. He's sitting on the shore of a lake, emoting. I imagine that some of the audience would feel this, but the film leaves me uninterested in the subjective life of the character. I can't care what he's feeling because I just can't find anything to care about.

I also found some of the scenes to be amateurish and superficial. He is asked to photograph a tourist and her friends and he has a flashback, for instance. I think some people would enjoy this type of exposition, with jump cuts and jarring juxtaposition of imagery. Not me, not in the film anyway.

I See You (II) (2019)

Thoroughly detestable film, but good camera work and competent acting

[6/10 · 28 September 2020]

I don't want to overstate the obvious. This is a paltry film with a bare, hollow core. The actors are competent and I admire them for making the most of this horrible, horrible material. The camera work is almost admirable, and whoever is in charge of the overall style did a great job. But the dark, sick atmosphere ultimately leads nowhere.

By all means, watch this film. But don't expect anything but sick thrills from this paranoid, schizoid ordeal.

Secrets of Three Hungry Wives (1978 TV Movie)

Surprisingly unpleasant

[8/10 · 2 June 2020]

This movie has some flaws for sure, but the weird darkness at the core of everything is very disturbing. Eve Plumb delightfully portrays a disturbed, broken young woman with daddy issues. It's all shocking. I'm surprised that the film goes to such dark places. This is really appalling.

Annihilation (I) (2018)

just doesn't work

[6/10 · 27 April 2020]

So much potential, so many interesting ideas, but the plot is as thin as a Saturday morning cartoon.

The Legacy (1978)

Absolutely worth watching, in spite of itself

[8/10 · 9 February 2020]

It is a beautiful film and the characters are interesting and captivating. Story is stupid as all get out. Oh my goodness, this is a stupid story.

The supernatural element is administered in homeopathic doses, but each detail is so stupid and unbelievable that it's hard not to laugh. Nonetheless, our protagonists are so likable that it's almost a comedy.

I recommend this fully, even though I can't give it 10 stars.

Autopsy (1975)

Excellent film

[9/10 · 17 December 2019]

One disturbing plot element is how unpleasant the main character is. She is horrible to everyone, consistently.

The Holly Kane Experiment (2017)

Amazing what they did with small budget; terrible view of psychology

[6/10 · 1 December 2019]

This might seem like a side-issue to some, but I work in behavioral health and there were a few things that seemed terribly off about this script. Our heroine is filled with rage and self-doubt, with mood swings and erratic interpersonal behavior including bullying, hypersexualizing, idealizing and loathing people upon sight. These things are obvious to everyone she interacts with. It's hard for me to get past the damaged, broken persona she exhibits. She's so disproportionately pathological that it is a story problem for me.

Estranged (I) (2015)

Terrible

[1/10 · 4 November 2019]

What went wrong? When I see a terrible movie, I tend to think that it's poor direction or poor storytelling. I think there's some story problems with this movie that are unsolvable. The main character is in a house with evil people, and it goes on and on, and nothing happens. Sure, there's a plot, but they spend an hour doing nothing.

You don't create suspense when your audience already knows what is happening. There is no point in watching a main character express surprise or shock at the situation that is already obvious.

For me, the main problem is that this person has no reason to be with her family. There is no legitimate reason for her to be recuperating with these people. That's giant problem in terms of the story.