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johnnyc-1
Reviews
The Ipcress File (2022)
As good a spy thriller as I've seen in years
I haven't seen the original film or read the novel, so there's that, but I just can't see how one can compare the 60s film adaptation to a 2022 mini-series. So I'll just get that out of the way...I'm reviewing this on its own merits.
The series is as good a spy thriller as I've seen in years. And there's a bonus - it's also a 60s period piece and really *feels* like the 60s. The story is part mystery, part spy thriller and moves along quickly as we try to keep up with all the bits they leave to keep us wondering "what is going on here?". All is revealed after a few unexpected twists and turns. What spy movie doesn't have plenty of those?
Cole and Boynton play characters who aren't what they seem and as the series unfolds our first impressions are turned upside-down. There's a restrained but definite chemistry between these two. Another reviewer described Boynton as a "revelation". I have to agree.
This was a pleasure to watch!
Escaping Twin Flames (2023)
I can't rate this
It's hard to watch people who are vulnerable get sucked in like this. I'll just say this:
Cults make people do things they don't want to do or wouldn't normally do. I'll repeat: CULTS MAKE PEOPLE DO THINGS THEY DON'T WANT TO DO. If you say you don't want to do what they tell you to do, they'll coerce, shame, blame, and threaten you if you don't want to do what you're told to do. The leaders will do it themselves, but they'll also use other cult members to apply the required pressure to make you submit.
When you're in a cult, you don't know you're in one until something terrible happens that brings on the questions, because if you're not asking questions, you'll never get out. And cult leaders and their devoted followers hate when you ask questions, because questions will usually lead to you walking out of the physical or virtual doors.
What's difficult about this particular cult is they're a "virtual cult" - they mostly didn't live anywhere near each other. It was all happening over the Internet. Unlike the other cults we've heard of, this cult existed almost entirely in the virtual world, so entirely in the minds of its members. No one was physically prevented from leaving, but in their minds they were trapped. Asking questions is how all former cult members manage to escape.
It's a tough watch. I can't recommend watching, but if you have an interest in cults, or think you have been subjected to a person or group of people who have made you do things you didn't want to do, then watch and ask questions of the world around you. You might be in one and not even know it.
Painkiller (2023)
Poor cousin to Dopesick
If it were not for Uzo Aduba's performance as Edie Flowers, and that character's telling of the story of the U. S. attorneys who tried to prosecute Purdue for their crimes, I would have given this a 4.
The producers introduce this series with a warning that there are strobe effects and that those sensitive to these effects should not watch. One might ask why all the stylish effects are necessary in the first place. This is a case of style overwhelming a story. I found myself forwarding through many of the scenes that contributed nothing to the story and probably only served the producers need to be "artistic".
It lacks the heart of Dopesick, which didn't need the ridiculous effects and annoying soundtrack because its characters had depth and redeeming qualities and the story was well told. Of course, the Sacklers and their minions are irredeemable in both series, but in Dopesick the addicts, their families, and the U. S. attorneys are depicted as being flawed but redeemable. In Painkillers, the main addict is somewhat likable, but incredibly, members of his family are depicted as being part of the problem. This is really despicable.
If you haven't seen Dopesick, watch that first. It's really all you need to see to get an idea of the monster that was unleashed by the Sacklers' Oxycontin.
And a warning: if you have every been addicted to opioids, some scenes in Painkiller might be triggering.
I Care a Lot (2020)
Awful
As many have already written, it started well. I immediately despised the Marla Grayson character and her circle of co-conspirators in conning the elderly out of their freedom and money. Rosamund Pike played her role well - if you're not a sociopath, you will want this character to be in a state where she "is neither uncomfortable or comfortable" at the end. It's a solid performance. It's also a solid performance by Dianne Wiest playing Grayson's powerless target, Jennifer Peterson.
But then things just get ridiculous and it becomes difficult to watch. There's no one to like here, and the only person we can have any sympathy for is the victim, who in the end becomes merely an afterthought to the whole plot. And you'd think that maybe if we don't like Grayson or her partner, the two together might be somewhat likeable, but no. They are both despicable characters apart or together.
Dinklage is good, but the character he plays is undeveloped and one dimensional.
Overall, not one character has any redeeming qualities, and the story is a complete mess.
Trial by Media: Big Dan's (2020)
Cannot rate this
I usually rate, rarely review, but just can't rate this. It's so sad and awful, with nothing positive you can take from it. Watch by all means - I don't regret the time. It's historic and reveals a great deal about American society then and now.
The series is "Trial by Media", and this is about the worst case I know of in that class. "Man's inhumanity to man", wrote Robert Burns. Well, here it is in full display. Many of the old local tv and radio interviews of the average Joes and Janes on the streets of New Bedford have not aged well. In fact, they're often appalling. All parties but the victim come out of this guilty - the media, the town as a whole, the criminal justice system, the society at large, and, of course, the actual rapists and everyone in Big Dan's on that terrible night.
I will never watch this again. It's just too heartbreaking.
Our Father (2022)
The unimaginable hell of it all!
I rarely rate anything a 10, but this is a 10. It has one job to do and it does it well.
Prior to seeing this doc, I'm not sure I could have ever appreciated the sort of hell these siblings and their parents must be going through as a result of Cline's actions. There needs to be a word that properly describes just how evil it is to artificially impregnate a woman without her knowledge and consent! This is a medical crime that no existing laws could address without legislation....just crazy.
The parents of these siblings believed the mother was either being impregnated with the husband's sperm or the sperm of a rigorously screened medical student. Instead, for some twisted reasons that we may never know, Cline masturbated in an adjacent room and seconds later impregnated his unsuspecting "patient" (victim!) with his fresh sperm. And he did this at least 94 times and still counting! Utterly disgusting! There really are no words that describe just how bad this is.
Thankfully, this film does a magnificent job of telling the story of the unfolding horror these siblings and their parents are going through. Jacoba Ballard is something else! Bravo to her for getting all these siblings together and having the grit and determination to bring their story to light. But all the siblings and parents show tremendous strength in telling their individual stories. As hard as it is for them tell us, they get through it.