The thing is true yet is filled with twists, the ending is surprising, and it's never slow or dull. I don't understand how anyone can rate this thing below 9. In my opinion, a lot of Netflix content is subpar, but this is outstanding.
Reviews
16 Reviews
Patriot
(2015–2018)
Dark Dramedy, more like
8 March 2017
Patriot is in the comedy category, but it is a blend of drama and comedy, in nearly equal parts. It has many laugh out loud moments, but so does the Mad Men, to a lesser degree. Patriot is extremely personal, thought provoking, and touching.
This is absolutely the most artistic show of the new breed of excellent television in recent years. It's far above most of Amazon's offerings. I love this show. Every aspect is top-notch: the acting, the direction, the script, the cinematography. IMO this could be the best new show of the last year or two.
I sincerely hope Amazon renews for a second season.
This is absolutely the most artistic show of the new breed of excellent television in recent years. It's far above most of Amazon's offerings. I love this show. Every aspect is top-notch: the acting, the direction, the script, the cinematography. IMO this could be the best new show of the last year or two.
I sincerely hope Amazon renews for a second season.
Super
(I) (2010)
Underrated Horror Comedy
1 March 2017
So much to love about this film, from its stellar cast to Gunn's script and direction. It's got a horror element which may turn many off. But Ellen Page's performance will leave you in love with her. IMO this is a cult hit to share with those who enjoy dark humor. It is not a family friendly movie like "Guardians of the Galaxy". Gunn was a maker of horror films before that.
Walking Tall: Lone Justice
(2007 Video)
Only watch this if you want to see how unwatchable a film can be
2 January 2010
I can enjoy a guilty pleasure vigilante flick, but this is just bad. And not bad in a way you might enjoy seeing MST3K make fun of it. It's just nauseatingly bad like you can't find anything to enjoy about this no matter how hard you try. I truly regret wasting 2 hours of precious life on this crap. You can tell by watching it that no one was asked to act and everyone in it knew this film would only bury their careers. Apparently "Walking Tall" has garnered enough income that someone decided they could make a buck off their investment. If it's not the worst film I've seen, it's so bad that it's blotted the worse films from my memory.
Bhutto
(2010)
Saw an advance screening of this. Really Cool.
23 December 2009
I saw an advance screening of this. I had remembered Duane Baughman producing a play on Robert Kennedy that was surprisingly good, so I checked it out.
There are no spoilers in these comments:
As a typical American unaware of most of what goes on in other parts of the world, I knew almost nothing about Benazir Bhutto. This is a fascinating story not just about her life as a woman in power in a Muslim extremist society, but her entire family history and the history of Pakistan play roles in this film and it's truly engrossing. I highly recommend it.
There are no spoilers in these comments:
As a typical American unaware of most of what goes on in other parts of the world, I knew almost nothing about Benazir Bhutto. This is a fascinating story not just about her life as a woman in power in a Muslim extremist society, but her entire family history and the history of Pakistan play roles in this film and it's truly engrossing. I highly recommend it.
Quantum of Solace
(2008)
I do not understand why all the bad reviews
25 November 2008
If you like a campy Bond where the villain announces his plans before leaving Bond to escape from a death trap, this is not for you.
If you like taut spy movies, this may be for you. The plot is interesting, the action is fun, the movie's pace is quick.
Mind you, the film plays brilliantly with Bond clichés and even makes a dark tribute to Goldfinger.
The best part for me is the acting of Daniel Craig and Judith Dench, and the writing that makes for a great interaction between the characters.
I honestly don't know why it's getting love-it-or-hate-it reviews. The one valid criticism is the done-to-death shaky camera technique, that is at least interspersed with smooth camera angles, making it more palatable than Bourne.
Be sure you see this one for yourself before you dismiss it.
If you like taut spy movies, this may be for you. The plot is interesting, the action is fun, the movie's pace is quick.
Mind you, the film plays brilliantly with Bond clichés and even makes a dark tribute to Goldfinger.
The best part for me is the acting of Daniel Craig and Judith Dench, and the writing that makes for a great interaction between the characters.
I honestly don't know why it's getting love-it-or-hate-it reviews. The one valid criticism is the done-to-death shaky camera technique, that is at least interspersed with smooth camera angles, making it more palatable than Bourne.
Be sure you see this one for yourself before you dismiss it.
Batman
(1943)
Only a die-hard serial lover or Batman kitsch addict could enjoy this old serial
21 April 2004
The Batman movie serial was low-budget and like most or all old serials was poorly written. The Batman costume is one of the most laughable, looking like something a creative housemom would sew together for her 6-year old. Some films are so bad they are fun to watch, but what makes this serial sickening instead is the anti-Japanese sentiment. While it is not necessarily uncommon or even unkind that the main villain was a Japanese super-spy who very closely resembled the Joker; after all this serial aired during the height of World War II. The serial goes too far by referring to the Japanese as a race and hypes the interment of Japanese citizens as the backdrop for the story. As a Batman fan who even likes movies bad enough to be on "Mystery Science Theatre 3000", I recommend giving this serial a miss. Due to it's racist content I am lowering a two or three-star rating to one star.
Deadwood
(2004–2006)
Stake your claim in the lawless West
9 April 2004
I love this show. This is a worthy successor to the Sopranos. Brilliant acting, brilliant writing, brilliant direction. It's been a long time since someone came along and breathed new life into the Western genre. This is probably the best ensemble cast ever assembled for a TV show. The show's creators surpass Peckinpah in presenting the cruel, gritty, violent life in parts of the Old West, when people sought to make a life for themselves in a lawless environment, after the Indians were wiped out but before there was government. People have different motives and intentions for living in such a place, and those elements mix into a pungent brew in a place called Deadwood.
Point of Origin
(2002 TV Movie)
The Ultimate TV Movie
29 June 2002
Well the IMDB crowd didn't seem to think much of it but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I feel that in many ways this HBO production based on a stranger-than-fiction arson investigation is the best that small screen productions can be. However, beware aspiring filmmakers, it doesn't follow the classic Sid Field story arc.
The movie was directed by one of the finest cinematographers in recent times; just check his IMDB profile-- http://us.imdb.com/Name?Sigel,+Newton+Thomas. I look forward to seeing his future works.
If the story catches your interest, you might want to track down a NOVA special entitled "Hunt for the Serial Arsonist", and compare the screenplay to the facts of the case including interviews with investigator John Orr.
The movie was directed by one of the finest cinematographers in recent times; just check his IMDB profile-- http://us.imdb.com/Name?Sigel,+Newton+Thomas. I look forward to seeing his future works.
If the story catches your interest, you might want to track down a NOVA special entitled "Hunt for the Serial Arsonist", and compare the screenplay to the facts of the case including interviews with investigator John Orr.
Double Switch
(1993 Video Game)
I don't know what that last reviewer was smoking but I want some!
1 June 2002
I worked at SEGA when those god-awful SegaCD games came out. They were just dreadful. You switch around from room to room while washed up actors reluctantly read their bad lines. And the premise is always the same. you can't watch the scenes you have to memorize the sequence of going from room to room and pressing a button to release a booby trap at just the right time. Christ almighty I need prozac after just thinking about those horrid Digital Pictures games.
Titan A.E.
(2000)
Stilted, exaggerated and cliched, like all Don Bluth cartoons
30 June 2001
Roger Ebert has lost his mind and this film proves it. I saw it based on his glowing recommendations.
Like all of Don Bluth's work, this feature typifies what is wrong with most hollywood animation (with the exception of Warner Bros and one or two others). Bluth's animation tries to copy Disney (he left Disney studios in the 80's) and while some of the elements are there, it is just a Disney copy. Not only is the animation a stiff cliched Disney knockoff, so are the plots, story elements and characters. It's all cookie cutter production. Even the elaborate CG effects are uninspired.
Like all of Don Bluth's work, this feature typifies what is wrong with most hollywood animation (with the exception of Warner Bros and one or two others). Bluth's animation tries to copy Disney (he left Disney studios in the 80's) and while some of the elements are there, it is just a Disney copy. Not only is the animation a stiff cliched Disney knockoff, so are the plots, story elements and characters. It's all cookie cutter production. Even the elaborate CG effects are uninspired.
Outside Providence
(1999)
Terrific-- funny, touching, outstanding peformances
30 May 2001
I would never have believed that such a gem would come from the farrely brothers, and i'm disappointed by all the critics and apparently imdb members who panned it. This is a terrific movie, and Alec Baldwin among others delivered such fine performances in this film that combines coming-of-age wit and drama with 70's nostalgia. I guess if you can't relate to a kid so poor his suitcase is a trashbag, or if you shun any movie that reminisces fondly of kids smoking pot and drinking (an accurate portrayal of the times), then don't even bother. But if you're looking through the premium channels looking for something to get you through summer reruns, trust the words of this stranger and you'll be glad you did.
X-Men
(2000)
Another Bryan Singer coup
20 August 2000
Singer is probably the best Hollywood director when it comes to films with lots of characters, as he proved with The Usual Suspects. Here again he weaves an exciting tapestry of character interaction, origin stories, plot points and allegories.
Viewers expecting to see a blockbuster action movie such as "Terminator 2" or "Die Hard" may be let down. The movie is more about character interaction and plot twists. Additionally, the budget for this film was something like 75 million (a fraction of what most big action movies cost these days), which was no doubt significantly doled out to the likes of Patrick Stewart and Ian McClellan. But it's a terrific film, the kind of movie that has the viewer remembering scenes and quotable lines long after seeing it.
I have talked to comic book fans and those who never read a comic book and everyone I polled (except many critics, go figure) thoroughly enjoyed the film.
The success of the movie should also be credited to Ian McClellan's masterful Magneto, and to a slightly lesser degree, Patrick Stewart's endearing Professor Xavier.
If you're like me, you'll wind up watching it 2 or 3 times.
Viewers expecting to see a blockbuster action movie such as "Terminator 2" or "Die Hard" may be let down. The movie is more about character interaction and plot twists. Additionally, the budget for this film was something like 75 million (a fraction of what most big action movies cost these days), which was no doubt significantly doled out to the likes of Patrick Stewart and Ian McClellan. But it's a terrific film, the kind of movie that has the viewer remembering scenes and quotable lines long after seeing it.
I have talked to comic book fans and those who never read a comic book and everyone I polled (except many critics, go figure) thoroughly enjoyed the film.
The success of the movie should also be credited to Ian McClellan's masterful Magneto, and to a slightly lesser degree, Patrick Stewart's endearing Professor Xavier.
If you're like me, you'll wind up watching it 2 or 3 times.
The Green Mile
(1999)
Cinematic mastery of a not-so-masterful King story.
20 August 2000
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed watching this movie and I recommend it, and the director/writer/producer did a fine job.
The main complaints of critics was that the film is too long. Poppycock I say, a great movie is a great movie no matter the length. The film never sags or gets boring. I never found myself disconnecting from the film to check my watch. I was caught up in the film and forgot about the passage of time-- the mark of a true cinematic experience.
The only negative thing I have to say about this film is that unlike Shawshank Redemption, in which the director/screenwriter took a Stephen King short story and created a truly transcendent experience, the Green Mile is one of King's hokier recent stories (originally sold *by the chapter* if you can believe it), and in the end King lets us down gently with a somewhat unspectacular climax.
However, if you think that "Shawshank" is one of the best films of modern times as I do, then you'll enjoy this film. And if you haven't seen Shawshank, watch it instead-- or watch it after you see Green Mile, and save the best for last.
The main complaints of critics was that the film is too long. Poppycock I say, a great movie is a great movie no matter the length. The film never sags or gets boring. I never found myself disconnecting from the film to check my watch. I was caught up in the film and forgot about the passage of time-- the mark of a true cinematic experience.
The only negative thing I have to say about this film is that unlike Shawshank Redemption, in which the director/screenwriter took a Stephen King short story and created a truly transcendent experience, the Green Mile is one of King's hokier recent stories (originally sold *by the chapter* if you can believe it), and in the end King lets us down gently with a somewhat unspectacular climax.
However, if you think that "Shawshank" is one of the best films of modern times as I do, then you'll enjoy this film. And if you haven't seen Shawshank, watch it instead-- or watch it after you see Green Mile, and save the best for last.
Three Kings
(1999)
Came to see an action caper and saw so much more
8 June 2000
David O. Russell has surpassed his previous work and made that rarest of movies, a film that enlightens, inspires, and entertains.
I don't understand why superior works like this are being ignored by the media while everyone from Roger Ebert on down touts the latest Tom Cruise or Julia Roberts vehicle.
Perhaps its because most of us didn't like the way our government finished the Gulf War and would rather not think about it; we'd rather just remember the self-congratulatory speeches and get on with living the American dream.
I don't understand why superior works like this are being ignored by the media while everyone from Roger Ebert on down touts the latest Tom Cruise or Julia Roberts vehicle.
Perhaps its because most of us didn't like the way our government finished the Gulf War and would rather not think about it; we'd rather just remember the self-congratulatory speeches and get on with living the American dream.
Touch of Evil
(1958)
If you think Citizen Kane is one of the greatest films ever made you MUST see this film
28 June 1999
See the restored version that was released in 1999. Another brilliant work by Welles that was tragically misunderstood by the studio that financed it.
It is evident however, the amount of admiration garnered by Welles' Hollywood peers. Even the smallest cameos are filled by screen legends. Probably the finest performances Chuck Heston and Janet Leigh ever gave, and no doubt the credit belongs to Director Welles.
No need to give another synopsis-- if you like Welles, if you like Film Noir, see this film and marvel at its multifaceted beauty.
It is evident however, the amount of admiration garnered by Welles' Hollywood peers. Even the smallest cameos are filled by screen legends. Probably the finest performances Chuck Heston and Janet Leigh ever gave, and no doubt the credit belongs to Director Welles.
No need to give another synopsis-- if you like Welles, if you like Film Noir, see this film and marvel at its multifaceted beauty.
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