david-569 Reviews

Prey (I) (2022)

Not my cup 'o tea... except....

[7/10 · 9 August 2022]

Not my fav type flick. But was pulled in and have to say... was fun watching Comanche bad-assery. Liked that hero was a heroine. Liked the fight scenes that flowed. Could get nit picky but, naw.

So, props. I liked it.

Our Flag Means Death (2022–2023)

Love love love this HBO series.

[10/10 · 3 April 2022]

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Across the board superb cast. Script(s). Storylines. Cinematography. The entire effort is just straight up excellent. Rhys Darby and Taika Waititi.. divine together, and apart, and together.

Please, a second, third, fifth season. I will jump off a bridge, balcony... out of a moving car... if we aren't extended. So well worth.

Do I appear to be gushing. I am.

PS, Season 2 just ended for us. Pluuuuuuuuuuuuze. A season 3. PLUUUUUUUUUUUZE. This show is greatness.

Cowboy Bebop (2021)

Seriously love this

[10/10 · 1 January 2022]

Words that come to mind are too pedestrian. Like, quirky. Like edgy (no kidding). Like wowsers. Like...

Naw. I simply love this series. Defined characters thru the mayhem. I wish it would continue but...?

The Haka (2021)

Everything about it..

[10/10 · 2 August 2021]

It is simply beautiful. The visual impact. The personalities that come out in a brief period of time. The theme. The historical backdrop. The story.

It is simply beautiful.

Beat Street (1984)

Was around this...

[10/10 · 1 January 2021]

Mebbe the best way to frame my experience of this movie is... my mom, then in her late 60s in the early 2000s, saw and loved this movie. My mom was cool.

Saying that, was in NYC during the rise of this culture. Man, the best times. The best. The movie hit a zillion personal chords. For that reason, I don't care to review the writing, directing, dialogue, storyline, characters, etc. They are all GREAT because this is a great time to let sink into your bones. And still.

Sylvie's Love (2020)

Crawls, but if you are in the mood...

[6/10 · 27 December 2020]

Slow moving. Intentionally so. Lets the background appearances and music waft in. Also intentional. All fine. And the obvious response would be they could have sped up some of the scenes, some of the lines, some of the everything.

The difficulty was... it was all moving at 30mph. Need moments of 5mph and other moments if not at 100mph, at least 65... or 80.

Most important of all... it is the choice of an actor to play say, sad. Or sad and conflicted. Or sad and conflicted and confused. But it was all in the same meter. Playing sad and conflicted doesn't mean an actor should play sad and conflicted. That is too easy. The director should have addressed this. It would have helped if the actors were aided by direction that sought out 'sad and conflicted' with choices that weren't so obvious.

Anyway... sweet. Gentle. Ok. Varying the metronome, the cadence of the scenes would have helped. But it is what it is, which is an ok flick.

Soul (2020)

Well... pretty close to...

[10/10 · 26 December 2020]

Genius. Another word, brilliant. Another word... well... lots of words. An excellent draw you in feel, not feel good, but feel deeply... cinema. The nuances were as compelling as the large moments. What am I saying, it was all nuanced.

Gave it a 10. Would I have changed anything? Sure. But only because I wanted more and more. Perfect movie for Xmas day eve.

Super.

The Secret Garden (2020)

Don't be in such a hurry....

[8/10 · 10 December 2020]

Ya know... my missus had it on, I went to the reviews... hesitated from going into another room. Watched the first part. Was drawn in.

So, don't be in such a hurry with this movie. No, it is not great. Flawed for sure. But let the feeling seep in. The young girl's performance is top notch. And makes it work.

Settle in, let it waft into your senses. I liked it. More than a little. Perhaps was my mood, or it put me into a hopeful mood. A bit of both.

My Octopus Teacher (2020)

Brilliant

[10/10 · 22 November 2020]

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Emotionally drawn in from the beginning. I fell in love with 'her', and Craig Foster. More words would diminish this. Watch it. You must.

Away (2020)

Much has been said... so.... this is fantastic...

[2/10 · 14 September 2020]

Adding to my review. This is fantastic. Not the series. The reviews. These are some of the best, most entertaining, funniest reviews like... ever. Well done. Worth the price of admission. Not to the proggie. But to the reviewers.

Restating much of the obvious. Yes yes yes.. I know I know I know. Hollywood... create conflict. But fer crissakes, mete it out in some semblance of sane. Talk about cramming conflict(sssssss, yes, plural) into a small space.

As another reviewer said, viewers are not stupid. Stop treating them, us, me, as such. This is a character driven thing with space, moon, I guess Mars, as a backstory. Ugh. Let's just put one thing out there, one of a slew... there is no way, NO WAY would such a mission get off the ground without years of training. Which includes people's ability to function.. cripes, you know the rest.

Watch at your own risk. It is dull enough to drag one to the channel changer because.. ugh.

The One and Only Ivan (2020)

Quiet...

[10/10 · 30 August 2020]

In all this chaos.... quiet. Am so drawn to the quiet between the lines. Of dialogue. Of action. Of the chaos that we live in.

So here comes this movie that instantly drew my attention because of what I didn't hear. Loud voices. Jamming up instant conflict that is screenwriting. No car chases. No blowing up buildings. No shoot 'em ups. Quiet.

It was the quiet between the action, the dialogue, that is attractive. Highly recommend this movie to just... feel.... good.... for a couple of hours.

And mega props to Bryan Cranston, Angelina Jolie, Chaka Khan, Danny DeVito, Sam Rockwell, everyone... for this great star turn. It is what was expressed in between the lines that is soooooooooo great.

Street Food: Latin America (2020)

Love love love...

[10/10 · 24 July 2020]

Love love love this series. It has a similar rhythm to each program. Sometimes hardship to overcoming. Always tho, a journey with the central characters. That sounds dry. It is not. It is beautiful. In there with the people. And we are along for their ride to being great artists.

Please. More more more. Especially in these times. It is an absolutely exquisite series. It has inspired our home. We are completely drawn to this wonderful presentation. Yes please... more more more.

The Politician (2019–2020)

Not a showstopper...

[4/10 · 8 July 2020]

Ok, moderately interesting. Writing uneven. On purpose of course. Mildly quirky. On purpose of course. IMNSHO, could use stronger commitments on everything. Characters, stronger. More to it. Just not enough to sink one's teeth in to consistently. Since picking nits... supremely bad choice to conduct scenes when developing the story in a library. Shushing dialogue is one thing. Ms Dreyfuss for instance... speed talk mumbling is not acting. For all the actors... speak clearly, even when under stress. Sloughing through scenes, well.. shame on the director(s) for not tightening this aspect. Made it far less interesting having to work at it. More nits... was offput by Ms Lange's brush on Blanche Dubois. Lazy. A plus.. Rahne Jones had a terrific monologue early on. Excellent, high energy, real. Not much else to write home about. Saw elsewhere... lazy writing. Yup. Which leads to lazy direction, etc etc.

Kim's Convenience (2016–2021)

Fantastic...

[10/10 · 5 June 2020]

I love this show. Hooked from the first episode. Writing, terrific. Acting, terrific. Comedic everything, terrific. The all around production, terrific. I could go on.. but you get the idea. Absolutely terrific.

The Long Gray Line (1955)

Ford, Power, O'Hara, West Point... whimsy at its best...

[10/10 · 19 May 2020]

For starters, am biased. Multiples of ways. A few years ago after an Army-Air Force football game, a bunch of ring knockers, West Pointers to us civilians, gathered at one of their comrade's house for post game revelry. Soon saw the ladies disappearing to other parts of the house while the men, perhaps 25 of them gathered in the TV room. The host put on The Long Gray Line. And quickly the chatter was about... just about all of them were there when the film was made. "Hey, there I am in....", "That's me.. I was able to meet Maureen O'Hara.." And deeper recollections. I don't remember who won the game. This was infinitely better, watching these men in their at the time late 70s, reminiscence. Why matter? Because they could have picked the flick apart for accuracy. They didn't. They saw it as whimsy, which the farther away they aged from their days at West Point, this is what happens. To a person they loved the movie. And they ALL knew Marty Maher. Of course they did. Switching to... my father was on the Howitzer, West Point yearbook. He graduated 5 years before the movie was filmed. He was a highly skilled photographer. We have a photographic portrait, negs and all, he took of Marty Maher. Exquisite photo. He'd never seen the movie. We watched it together recently. He characteristically picked a few nits but could tell his whimsy took over. Not just his personal, but the John Ford story telling. Why this review? Because it springs not just from those who attended WP, but from those who WERE there. A thumbs up for the John Ford storytelling and representations. Me, I loved the movie. If one knows a scintilla of the goings on of the academy, it resonates. If not no matter... it is after all Hollywood, Ford at his finest, and terrific star turns for Tyrone Power and Maureen O'Hara along with wonderful acting. Whimsy, about a place that has a tremendous amount to do with why we who live in the USA are here. For sure this movie schmaltzes it up.. for good reason. Marty Maher was, is iconic.

Lorena, Light-footed Woman (2019)

Two worlds, three worlds, many worlds.

[10/10 · 23 April 2020]

Brilliant. Lorena runs. Lorena as seamstress. Lorena as daughter. Lorena as sister. Lorena as world class runner. Tends sheep. Runs with fireflies. 28 minutes of absolute bliss. Brilliant.

Tiger King (2020–2021)

Slight yes, and the rest a monumental no

[1/10 · 31 March 2020]

Learning that Joe Exotic dealt with the passing of his brother, organ donation, the responsibilities involved in this... deeply felt. Real. Remarkable if one has ever been in this situation. Props to him. The end. What does 'the end' mean? Absolutely nothing else redeeming about this. If one of the themes of this series was to lay open the absurdity of this industry, the series itself is one of the actors in this cacophony of absurdity actors. Said I would watch the first episode. Done. If people are that bored to crawl through this series, well... I gave this a 1. Those who aspire to care for animals with the sole effort to return them to as much of a natural habitat that is left as possible, if possible.. they have my utmost interest. The actors in this series including the filmmakers, all of whom profit in all of this, if they all fell into the ocean it would not soon enough.

Formula 1: Drive to Survive (2019– )

Terrific..

[10/10 · 19 March 2020]

Being mildly familiar with F1 racing, this made me a huge fan. Remarkably dramatic, enticing... has it all. More more more please. A terrific use of time.

Ford v Ferrari (2019)

Terrific cinema..

[10/10 · 29 January 2020]

Cinema. Great cinema. Where to start? I guess, the starting line... the production aspect, top top top shelf. Stepping into every shot. Feeling the feel of the late 50s and 60s. The feel. Great start. Script, writing, story.. terrific. Performances. Stellar. So excellent when the director, direction, turns the actor loose. Everyone presents top shelf performances. Damon and Bale, great. The players, Caitriona Balfe and Christian Bale, would like to have seen more there. Who steals every scene though is Noah Jupe as Peter Miles. It is simply a great 2+ hours of cinema. One of the few times am compelled to rewatch the film.

AJ and the Queen (2020)

Did I mention I love this series?

[10/10 · 21 January 2020]

I love this series. The writing, direction, performances.. fantastic. Rupaul is fantastic. Absolutely drawn into his character's humanity, humanness, humor. So great the way drag performances are woven thru. All of the acting performances are given latitude to shine. So great, everyone's performances. Testament to the director(s), production team, etc. There is something else that immediately resonates about this production. Lolita. And NO, not the obvious man/child parallel. *Forget that*. Lolita was as much a travelogue, of travel, of the United States. AJ and The Queen has the same almost pastoral resonance in its story travels as Lolita has in its writing and imagery through its travel passages. Yes, AJ and the Queen is a beautiful modern day Lolita travelogue. Did I mention Rupaul is fantastic? Did I mention I love this series? Saddness, joy, hope, despair, optimism, smart, etc etc etc... Rupaul gives us everything. Fantastic performance. Everyone gives wonderful performances. But... what a talent this Mr. Charles is, but we knew this already. Pluuuueeze keep this excellent series going.

Buffalo Rider (2015)

After School Special meets Thailand.. but more engaging...

[8/10 · 26 July 2019]

Astonished to see this film has not been reviewed. Onward.

Would be easy to assign words like cute, warmfuzzy, heartwarming, warming, warm.. It's much more. Yes, themes are pushed, metaphors placed front and center, gentle twists and turns in the plot, character developments easy to pin, goodness and evils clearly defined.

Formulaic I guess. A bit of an After School Special: Thailand. And I say good. Couldn't take your eyes off of some of the characters, the kids and the adults Easily drawn to how it was shot and presented the performers. And the buffalo(s). Simple simple. And lovely. Take the time and begin watching it... and betcha good chance it will hook ya. Two hours I won't get back, and I am very happy for it. Because the film left me... happy. A complete blubbering mess at the end of the singing silent ones. Well done.

And the basketball too.. and finally smiling elder.

A Star Is Born (2018)

Realness

[6/10 · 8 July 2019]

The most real thing in the movide was Lady Gaga. Very much appreciated her realness. Mr Cooper, Meh. Story, slightly better than Meh. No need to "method act" the voice. Punchy exposition of the story. Points made. Discomforting metaphors expressed. Got it. But must return to Lady Gaga. Realness. Couldn't take your eyes off of her which makes sense given she is Lady Gaga. Was not partial to the direction, directing. Punchy. And have to further say.. couldn't take your eyes off of her from the first moment. A star wasn't born in the movie. She stole the whole thing because did I mention.. she is Lady Gaga. Found it most excellent that for a performer who is about theatre... did I mention she is most real in this film.

The Tigers of Scotland (2017)

Critical, vital, mesmerizing..

[10/10 · 13 November 2018]

Peaceful. Human. Beautiful. As have said about our future on this rock, so they go, so we go. As in the path of extinction. The information imparted by the vested parties in this is a superb blend of the cat... its past, present and hopeful future. And why we should care.

We should care because as they go, so do we. The people in the film care. It becomes infectious how much they care. And it presents like a beautiful soft jazz piece. Where the silence between the notes are as important as the notes.

Yes, wistful descriptions. But that is what comes across. Oh, the visuals are stunning.

Well done. Was completely mesmerized by this. Sad to see others who did not resonate with it. Personally was completely drawn into this. The cats.. I want success for this.

I Feel Bad (2018)

Great. Wonderfully great...

[10/10 · 28 October 2018]

Came back to add... having seen more episodes... pluuuuze keep this show. Give it a chance to settle in. I think it is great. Bummed to see some of the less than stellar reviews. So just returning to say keep this program. It is tightening up each episode and is simply a fantastic treat to view.

First review:

Title says it. Am not that thrilled with TV, hence TV shows. Rare is when something comes along in any genre that grabs my attention. This did. It is terrific. The writing, directing and performance is top shelf. Quick, quip-y, wonderfully sharp. And the themes. Terrifically handled. The commercial performers are tack sharp. It all comes together. Such a bummer to see such negative reviews because when it is all put together, this is wonderfully entertaining. Pluuuuuuuuze, keep up this great effort. This is absolutely a terrific show, soup to nuts.

Inhumans (2017)

Please... stop.

[1/10 · 1 October 2017]

Please. Stop. Who ever allowed this to get out of concept and into development needs to not work in the industry.

Concept - dull Writing - horrendous Direction - impossible to make compelling, nay, tolerable, without decent writing, which this has none. Editing - impossible to make compelling, nay, tolerable, without decent writing, which this has none. Acting - impossible to make compelling.. dittos above Costumes - impossible to.. dittos above. Sound track - impossible.. dittos above. CGI - imposs... dittos above. Everything else - dittos above.

This is just plain bad. I cannot drum up enough imagination to add more commentary because it is impossible to write compelling commentary when.... dittos above.

OK, let me add one creative nit pick. If they are on the moon, which has 1/6th gravity, at least try and act like there is 1/6th gravity. Is that asking too much? Of course it is. Buck Rogers from 1939... muy better.