karen-821-938620 Reviews

Encounter (III) (2021)

Don't read any reviews of this movie

[9/10 · 15 July 2022]

This movie knows what it is doing and you are the one it is doing it to. I am still somewhat unsure of the ending and I like it that way. The bad reviews are by people who want what they expect when they pick a movie. Remember when it was possible to see a movie that you hadn't already seen picked to pieces by reviews? How about no synopsis on the schedule? I think Amazon does a very responsible job presenting this movie. I have a Ram truck and am a little disappointed that they got the parking brake wrong. The 4x4 selector is on the floor between the seats and a child could knock it out of gear easily. I woke up this morning wondering if Malik's parole officer was named Hattie after Hattie McDaniels. She is scary in "Alice Adams. " The acting is excellent. My only objection is that I have never encountered an effective mosquito repellant.

The Bay (II) (2012)

Based on real science

[9/10 · 24 June 2022]

I just read about this movie because the very real fish parasite it is based on was recently found in a batch of imported fish in Britain. It's called a cymothoa exigua and it eats a fish's tongue and then takes the tongues place. It occurs off the coast of Mexico, not New England. I don't have enough characters to submit this review and I haven't seen the movie (yet) but if you have or want to you should know that it has a back story.

Replicas (2018)

Keanu Reeves shows emotions

[6/10 · 28 January 2022]

This movie is one of the least rigorous of its genre. At one point they do raise the point that a being imprinted with your mind isn't you, but they never really grapple with what that means. I am on my third golden retriever but I don't love each one because I believe they are the same dog. Keanu Reaves seems more than happy to decide the termination of his family's consciousnesses are just fine as long as he suffers no loss. He does seem pretty upset at the time of their death and his character does dumb things and gets called for it. That's refreshing. However, I found the cheery ending unsatisfactory.

The Nines (2007)

Have I lost my mind or is this film messing with my head?

[8/10 · 26 March 2021]

My husband and I enjoyed this film, but we both remember seeing an almost identical film with McCarthy and Falcone in the same roles, Lisa Kudrow in the Hope Davis role and no Ryan Reynolds. There was more bleed through between the main character's identities but less thematic continuity. . It was a memorable film, whatever space time discontinuum it was in. We watched this film after watching The Trap Door at the End of the Universe.

Diminuendo (II) (2018)

Slow,but steady

[8/10 · 11 January 2021]

I don't know what people were expecting from this film, but if you want a sci fi romp with a sexy robot, this will disappoint. At first, I was disappointed, but it ended up being a satisfying reverie on memory, projection and responsibility. Hatch's saggy old face is good to see. Some of the action is stupid, but consistent with the stupidity and cowardice of the characters. Emotional courage and cowardice is another one of the the themes explored in the film. If you like thinking and feeling at the same time, you may like this well-crafted film.

Whistle Down the Wind (1961)

One of my favorite films

[8/10 · 19 October 2020]

When I was a child this, The Little Kidnappers and Alice in Wonderland were shown on the television fairly often and were my favorites. I still remember Bate's facial expression at the end and the surprise I felt in college when I realized that I already loved Alan Bates. I haven't seen the film again for more than 40 years, but I hope to someday.

The Rabbit Trap (1959)

Timeless modern story

[8/10 · 19 October 2020]

I saw this movie decades ago but, like Little Kidnappers, it made it big impression. Leacock was an affecting film director with a distinguished early career and I don't understand why so much of his later work was as a journeyman on television shows. I hope he was well paid.

Octopus (2000 Video)

Best giant octopus movie ever

[5/10 · 15 October 2020]

What do you expect from a movie about a giant octopus? This movie starts with a scene that is both tense and sad. The second scene was lifted from Hitchcock's film Sabatuer. About 45 minutes in my husband said "This movie reminds me of an Alfred Hichcock". It has some tension, a lot if psychological bits that are humorous and get your guard down and one in particular that is unusual and pivotal ala vertigo. There is even a blond cocktease, although she is hardly an ice queen. We enjoyed it and suspect someone enjoyed making it.

The Last Scout (2017)

Well written and acted psychological study

[8/10 · 2 December 2017]

This film is more about personalities than plot, although the plot does ultimately appear in the last half. Most of the tension is about which jerk is going to become a villain and if the ship is going to fall apart. I'm not sure how this movie would play to someone who has never been in a small group of people trying to do something vital, at least to our livelihood, with inadequate resources. It gets a bit weak at the end, but remains very moving because the characters have earned our concern. This turns out not to be surprising, as most of the top billed actors, director and writer have made multiple movies and TV shows together. This was even picked up as a series for 2018. In one scene two characters watch The Night of the Living Dead, and they have made zombie films together. The atmosphere throughout is a little like that of the Nostromo, without the alien. There aren't jokes, but there is humor, especially from the chat bot ship's computer. If you liked Europa Report you should like this, although they don't go to the trouble to simulate no gravity.

The main trouble, and it is a big one, is that there is constant background noise, with the ship rumbling, creaking and banging and the sound mixing is poor, so much of the dialogue is lost. I re-watched certain parts with CC and am upping this movie another star. I have gone through IMDb selecting films this crew have made together and hope some are available.

The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo (1964–1965)

Best Frankenstein ever

[9/10 · 23 November 2017]

These made a deep impression on me as a child. I ended up reading all the classics they were based on and they did a pretty good job of adapting the ones I remembered when I was reading them. Now I don't remember anything. The Fankenstein in particular was closer to the original than any film or television version I've seen since and Moby Dick wasn't bad, either. Call him Ishmael. Magoo's character was especially well suited to Cyrano deBergerac, in which he uncharacteristically played the lead. There was very little typical Magoo shenanigans or laughs in general, which seems like the dumbest idea for a TV show you can imagine, but they really pulled it off with the writing and choice of source material. How they fit everything into a half hour I can't imagine.

Alien: Covenant (2017)

It could have been as bad as Prometheus

[5/10 · 18 October 2017]

The visuals of this movie are pretty good and occasionally the characters are interesting, but mostly this is the sort of film where people have to keep doing stupid things just to move the plot forward. It's exactly like a Star Trek where the two top officers and the ship's doctor go down to an unknown planet without hazmat suits. M class planets are dangerous. I try to avoid contact with unknown pools of water, but they immediately jump into a lake without waders. You see a rover type bot sitting on the ramp of the ship while most of the humans go off to their dooms. For 90 bucks they could have picked up a drone at BJs and gotten a better idea of what they were getting into.

The themes of Prometheus are a little better developed, but the whole story of a being disappointed with his creator has been done before. The makers of this film are obviously disappointed with their creator, evolution, which they don't seem to understand. The Fassbinder character does have some charisma, which makes the film much more watchable at the end, but even he is illogical for no reason at key moments. It's hard to give up on the Alien franchise but I'd rather see another Alien vs Predatorthan this pretentious glop.

Prometheus (I) (2012)

What a mess

[5/10 · 18 October 2017]

When you have to read a movies Wikipedia page before you watch the sequel, you know it was a forgettable movie. All I remember is the opening scene and a sense of irritation. Some works of art, like Ulysses, are so dense it is useful to have an annotated edition, but you still get moved and informed without it. This movie is so incoherent that it doesn't make any sense until you read about it and even then it is more like a hodge podge of ideas and half expressed symbolism without significant meaning. The movie makers had a lot of fun conceptualizing the movie, as much fun as a bunch of stoned 15 year olds talking philosophy.

Science has answered so many questions about how this structure or that underpinning of life could arise on a primitive earth being bombarded by comets that looking for the source of life elsewhere is an idiosyncratic fantasy. If the rain of water and complex chemicals from comets isn't stellar enough for you and the splicing of DNA randomly done by viruses isn't creepy enough, de gustibus. Besides, if we were seeded by other organic beings, you have just pushed off the question to who or what made them. If aliens came here and tweaked some species to change the course of their evolution they probably did it with orchids, not humans.

Alienate (2016)

In the new genre of low budget Sci if, this is a thoughtful, soulful entry

[8/10 · 2 October 2017]

Initially we were looking for a mindless film to zone out on. When we realized it was using multiple timelines, we were prepared to be irritated, but it was still easy to follow, because the jumps correspond to memories and realizations or show simultaneous events that then blend through the use of cell phones. Coincidentally, we saw it the night before the Las Vegas shootings, and it served as a kind of prep for the issue of the relative horrors of dieing alone or dieing with everyone else, flight to safety, risking youself to help someone else. This is an almost boringly naturalistic film that is very focused on the nature of marital relationships and the fear of death, which seems to have disappointed a lot of people. It breaks a number of conventional rules of the genre with realism. If you want to watch a film that makes you think you could easily survive an alien invasion and it would be fun, watch something else.

Death Race 2050 (2017 Video)

At last a remake that lives up to the original

[8/10 · 25 September 2017]

The original is a classic, a splatter fest with a subtle sense of humor that relies on social commentary for most of the jokes. This movie picks up the same tone and sensibility and is actually better than the original. The production values and acting are slightly better. Even the characters are slightly better drawn. It's worth it to read signs, check out props and observe miscellaneous people in crowd scenes or you'll miss many of the jokes. Contemporary events fuel a fiercer parody than the original, but the spirit is very much the same. In all, it is as though fans of the old movie who know a little more about making movies decided to make their own homage. BTW, if you think this movie borrows from the Hunger Games you have it backwards. Death Race was the original.

Alien Reign of Man (2017)

Too bad it's too bad

[2/10 · 8 August 2017]

The worst thing about this movie is that the sound is so mismanaged and the actors speak so unclearly that you can't understand half the dialogue. Fortunately, after a while you won't care. The plot is pointless, the aliens aren't very threatening, things happen without explanation, and there are some continuity problems especially at the end that make you suspect that they ran out of money and cobbled something together from the scenes they had managed to get filmed. One of the characters reminds me of the actor who replaced Calculon on "All My Circuits". Most annoyingly, one of the characters wears a space suit with her bu** length hair flowing free. I've had bu** length hair, and you aren't going to do that. Some grade B movies that are projects cobbled together by filmmakers and actors who can't get work are gems, like Phil the Alien or the Sorcerers, but this ain't one.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

Apes on horseback, what's not to like? Well...

[5/10 · 8 August 2017]

This is a visually compelling movie which attempts to illustrate how much easier it is to start a war than keep a peace. Unfortunately, the script seems to have been written by a bright 5th grader with no idea of how anything works. Every scene has a couple logical or continuity problems which are annoying if you know anything about power grids, power plants, tunnels and explosives, antibiotics, the climate of California, the distribution of power plants in California or the flora and fauna of Muir Woods. The only thing to eat there for apes would be banana slugs, and not once do they show the inside of one of those sequoias, which is just a shame. Ironically, the film makers have decided not to give the apes clothes, making them into Ken dolls instead, but even an ape is going to want a jacket in Muir woods on a rainy day. No primate, human or otherwise, is going to stay in that part of the bay area without ocean trade. Of course, San Jose wouldn't look very compelling covered with ivy and poison oak, but at least it has arable land and the sun shines. However, many of the negative reviews forget that in this series the intelligence of the apes is not evolutionary, but comes from the deus ex machina of a magic virus that makes you smart, but then kills you if you are human, but not if you are an ape. For this film, this is logical consistency.

More annoying are the uncharacteristic things done by people and apes just to move the plot forward and create formulaic dramatic situations. We know so much about ape psychology that the idea that more than a dozen chimps could live together peaceably is nonsense. "Ape no kill other ape"? Not likely. Also, if you met a talking ape, wouldn't you try to talk to it? And not once does anyone point out that humans are apes. At least the intellectual is still an orangutan. Gary Oldmans character is better drawn than the reviews would make you think and there are a couple cute scenes, but mostly you have to suppress the thought, "Why are they doing that?".

Nightcrawler (2014)

A perfect jewel

[10/10 · 28 June 2017]

My husband is a psychotherapist with 35 years of working with all sorts of patients, and most crazy movie characters get a lot of, "When you have this diagnosis you aren't going to see that" or "This guy's rages would disrupt the plot." In the case of this movie, he was more interested in making the diagnosis. The "goofs" in this movies may be many in terms of the minutia of how a television station works, but in terms of of plot, character and cinematic imagery, it is practically perfect. Nothing is extraneous, from the props to things that seem illogical initially. The movie opens with him cutting through a fence right next to an opening in the fence and it proceeds from there. BTW, I remember the last shot of the watch and it isn't plastic.

In some respects, this movie fits in with movies about artificial intelligence, as the main character has logic and learning, but his empathetic function is severely damaged. Usually, these people come to the attention of authorities at an early age because of their anger. However, the film makers let us know that this guy has managed to separate himself from the people who knew him as a child and has been using the internet to learn to modify his behavior and affect in order to appear more normal. Ironically, many of the things he teaches himself to do are things a therapist would advise, usually to no avail.

Margeret Mead had a theory that different societies favored different personality types, although the individuals in those societies would still show the usual range of personality type. This movie is a bildungs roman of a man learning how to fit his pathology into a perverted society where antisocial personality disorder with something mild on the Asperger's spectrum gives him advantages. It isn't just the news room, either. An internet that encourages people to manipulate their way to personal power fits him like a glove. The role of lieing in his psychology and the psychology of a certain prominent con artist makes this a truly relevant movie, powerfully prophetic. No, I am not thinking about Martin Shkreli, but I could be. A number of studies have shown that as people gain personal power their empathetic function diminishes, and we live in a time when that dynamic is being normalised and politicized.

I wanted to see this movie because the trailers reminded me of an ex- boyfriend. This person had a highly developed empathetic function and took care of everyone around him, as in making sure they had a place to sleep and something to eat, because those were the people who were his friends. The earnest literalism, the manic energy, even facial expressions continued to remind me of my friend for the whole movie. Ironically, he had been a man with a plan that was going to keep him firmly in the middle class, when he decided that he didn't want to be that person and reorganized his life so he could hangout and help people he liked. In a world flooded with movies about evil falling from the sky or popping out of a box, this is a real movie about real evil.

ARQ (2016)

Groundhog day with guns and explosions

[7/10 · 27 October 2016]

This movie is more of a psychological thriller than a meditation on fate or a multiverse. No attempts are made to explain why anything happens; in fact, every time something different occurs in the looping mechanism and the guy who invented the machine is asked why, he says,"I don't know! I don't even know why it loops time!" Even the nature of the general disaster that has engulfed society, the nature of the evil corporation that has taken over or the resistance is sketched in.

It is fun and the characters are well drawn and you certainly aren't going to be expending much mental energy. Like groundhog day, it is more about personal relationships and the utilization of precognition to change fate, small "f".

The Outer Limits: The Zanti Misfits (1963) Season 1, Episode 14

So, you think this is scary...

[6/10 · 12 September 2016]

In California we have giant flesh colored ants called Jerusalem Crickets. The first time I saw one, it seriously creeped me out, to the point that I couldn't pick it up to put it outside, as I usually do, but instead I hit it with a shoe. That was a mistake, as it was very fleshy. Anyway, this episode reminded of my first encounter with a Jerusalem Cricket. I kept saying, "Put down that gun and take off your shoe!"

What is a lot more disturbing today about this episode is the way it resonates with current politics. A foreign power is sending us it's undesirables. Criminals and malcontents are lumped together. Both categories can only be dealt with by execution. How many of the 'misfits' were communists, I wonder. And the solution is to shoot wildly!

Flashes - The Director's Cut (I) (2014)

Not bad, not that good either

[7/10 · 12 September 2016]

As movies about string theory and the multiverse, this has got to be the laziest. They go with the idea that "every possibility" means anything is possible. The intention appears to be a pilot for a series with almost unlimited plot lines but recurring actors. However, the writing and character development was well enough done that they probably deserved to get picked up. There were even shots of humor that didn't have "humorous note" written all over them.

If you aren't looking for a head trip, this isn't bad. There are times when a person can feel as though their consciousness is just on the edge of sensing possibilities that will not be experienced by the body and this movies plays with this idea adequately. It did make me cry at one point because the character development is well done and they captured the moment you realize how much you have screwed others over and are unlikely to make it any better.

Synchronicity (IV) (2015)

These guys have done their homework

[8/10 · 5 September 2016]

Like most movies in this genre, it is hard to write a review without spoilers, but I am going to try. It is also normal to be thinking "this movie is lazy,these people are unrealistic, this plot is full of holes". Then, as it moves along it starts making sense. It has very good foreshadowing, so good that they could be spoilers if you are sharp enough. The speculations about the moral meaning of the collapsing wave function in a multiverse are very good. The great strength of the film is in its psychological and moral themes. The interactions of fate and personality are well investigated and one of the better foreshadowings shows that the filmmakers are quite aware of what they are doing. By the end, you may be wondering who you are rooting for.

The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore (2015–2016)

Hey, Jon Stewart, you have a production company. CC isn't the only network

[9/10 · 28 August 2016]

Until Colbert, the slot after the Daily Show was a black hole, eating show after show. I would like to see how this show did compared to one of them. I know we never watched them, but we watched these guys. Wilmore is fine, but it was the rest of the cast that made it fun to watch. We'll try to keep track of where they go, but someone should snatch up as many of them as possible. Judging from the way "keep it a hunnet" entered their vocabulary and has since left, the primary demographic watching this show were white guys who appear on television. This show was sort of an intro to black culture. We cant believe we wont see any more of the regulars, especially Mike Yard, Ricky Valez, Jordan Carlos, God, Jesus and the best Donald Trump.

Fairwell, Nightly Show. We'll miss you and all the guests we aren't going to see discussing politics anywhere else.

The Invasion (I) (2007)

Well intentioned thoughtful failure

[6/10 · 3 July 2016]

This film tries to rework the whole body snatcher concept to encompass new realities, but doesn't go far enough to get there. It signals so clearly so quickly that the pods won't win and assimilation is reversible that the tension is seriously diffused. At the same time, the pod system offers an alternative to our current political and social disorder; in the background you hear reports of peace in the middle east and reconciliation between the United States and Venezuela. However, instead of playing this theme up for some sort of ambiguity, the pod beings don't get along with dogs. In a choice between world peace and no dogs, what choice is there?

In the originals the trade off is between order and love, while this one introduces some mild indications that the pod beings are still capable of affection and empathy. This theme is handled blandly and is countered by the plot twist that a main character is immune to assimilation. Even worse, Kidman is surrounded by people who are helpful and know what is going on and that network prevails right to the end, eliminating the sense of isolation that is another hallmark of body snatcher movies. It is as though the filmmaker wants to avoid any serious sense of threat or tension. Maybe they were pod people themselves, or the movie is intended to create the experience of being assimilated! I can say for sure it is a vehicle for displaying Nicole Kidman's figure in a series of tasteful rib knit tops, which does provide some interest.

Jackrabbit (2015)

In the new genre of low budget Sci fi, this is a thoughtful, soulful entry

[8/10 · 8 June 2016]

Don't expect explosions, aliens or CGI of any sort. It isn't even too plot driven and none of the twists are too surprising. What is surprising are the sophisticated cinematic techniques that create a film reminiscent of Altman, Aldridge or Hal Hartley. Background conversations, radio broadcasts, meticulously constructed sets, and a naturalistic, somewhat flat acting style create a palpable world with believable characters. All sorts of objects turn out to have significance and there is a door that practically becomes a character. All sorts of weird stuff turns out to have reasonable explanations by the end. Like the similar film "Advantageous" it explores themes of courage, honor and love.

The recent news story about the nuclear weapon systems being run by ancient code had me remembering my days programming for Lockheed in the '80's and this film gets that world. When one of the characters talks about going to a city in the desert where you could make a lot of money, I thought he meant relocating his company to Austin, but that turns out to be where the director was born and this was filmed. It was tapped to be the new silicon Valley during the Reagan administration, and, according to this movie, the dress code didn't change much.

Time Lapse (2014)

More impacting the day after than when you watch it

[9/10 · 5 January 2016]

I have revised my rating to 9 from 7 because this film sticks with you. This movie lulls you into a state of receptivity. "Nice little indie, nice characters, nice plot. Too bad they wouldn't recognize a collapsed wave function if it fell on them." Then, in the final minutes every theme is drawn into a cinematic singularity. You find yourself dumped out into the neon glow, as it were, and you realize that although the characters were clueless about string theory, the film makers were not. What seemed stupid and arbitrary makes too much sense. You also realize that they've kept you in the same dark as the characters.

The less you know before you see it the first time, the better, but I look forward to seeing it again aware of what and who was driving the action. This film is a meditation on the intersection of personality, determinism and knowledge. I