thebricks Reviews

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024)

Terrible movie, unlikable leads, terrible premise

[1/10 · 12 May 2024]

Henry Cavill is getting overexposed. He plays the same character in every movie. One reason he won't work as Bond is because it feels like he's played him already in several movies. He's so overexposed and cartoonish, casting him would never work now.

Henry Golding is reduced to almost extra-level status, which seems criminal given his career. The idea of him playing Bond is growing on me.

My main issue with the movie is how unlikable the protagonists are. They're all absolutely smug, like they time traveled from the 21st century from a frat house to the forties to a war zone. Alan Ritchson feels like he'd make for a better villain, career wise. He's not a likable actor, even in Reacher. Like Amos in The Expanse, he's supposed to be a good guy but it feels like a glorification of someone who is a bully.

I didn't find this movie entertaining. It got on my nerves. I think Guy Ritchie can do better than this. He has lost the organic charm he had from Lock Stock and Snatch. It's a shame.

Twisted Metal (2023– )

Excellent show, gives me Daybreak vibes

[10/10 · 28 July 2023]

I was a fan of the original game when it came out on the PS1 back in the nineties. However, it got old and I stopped playing it and the sequels. The show pretty much has little to do with the game but the adaptation of it is so well done that it just works. I binge watched half the season and want to finish the rest tonight. It's well-done and does an amazing job of capturing the nineties and the vibe during that time, almost better than even some of the shows during that time did. I would actually probably even say, late nineties.

You can't take it seriously. There are a COUPLE anachronisms, but I swear they were intentional, either just to mess with viewers or because they couldn't find an appropriate location that was still intact. For instance, the movie theater has stadium seating and black leather recliners. Stadium seating was getting more popular around that time but recliners definitely weren't around for sure. I don't think they were until the mid-2010's. If the theater had Blankman, I assume the apocalypse happened in 1994, but that opens up a new can of worms with anachronisms.

Definitely highly recommend, most adaptations are terrible but Peacock did an amazing job here.

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Pretty much Avatar: REMIX, so much was recycled

[1/10 · 16 December 2022]

Everything just looked similar to the last movie. The CGI, the animations, the dialogue, the action sequences, were all literally copy and pasted from the first movie. There was zero originality. It was clear James Cameron did this for cash because it's not up to his standards. Even Terminator 2, which is widely praised by audiences, wasn't really as good as Terminator 1. It was easy to see T2 was just a rehash of T1 that wasn't as good.

This movie didn't really need a sequel. The first ended very well. A sequel would have the humans coming back in force and annihilating the Na'vi. Which happened, but instead of seeing the new human force attack the Na'vi, we basically got a revenge/whale hunt plot. The Quaritch subplot needed to have ended with the last film. He's been reduced to a cartoonish villain. I'm not even kidding. In the first movie, Quaritch was just a company man looking for profit at the expense of the natives. Now he has free reign to go after Jake Sully at the expense of his Earth employers. WUT?

We all know James Cameron's obsession with deep sea submersible diving, so it was painful to see him shoehorn this into the Avatar story in an unbelievable way. I don't want to make any spoilers, but at the end of the movie, I was left with a bad taste in my mouth. The writing just wasn't good in this movie.

Please wait for streaming. It's not worth watching in theaters. Trust me.

Prey (I) (2022)

Laugh out loud campy and bad

[5/10 · 6 August 2022]

Saw that this movie got rave reviews by the critics, which to me is usually a red flag. Seeing that this got sent to streaming instead of the theaters, especially when movie theaters are in desperate need of content to show was another red flag.

It's a really bad movie. I'm not going to lie. I won't spoil anything. However, there is one fight scene where something happens that is so egregious, numerous other users online have commented that it took them out of the movie. It makes the audience lose any and all respect for the Predator, not because he's evil, but because of bad writing. That and his plot armor comes and goes depending on what point in the movie he's in.

Also, people were very religious and spiritual back in these days, from Native Americans to the Europeans. Their first impression upon seeing the Predator would likely be that it was a God or a Demon, especially with the invisibility cloak. I highly doubt anyone would rush to fight it without hesitation. Especially after seeing their friends easily wiped out by its strength and advanced technology. They would have run and never looked back. Without question.

Dark Winds (2022– )

Pretty bad show

[1/10 · 11 July 2022]

Anytime a show's production is more obsessed with the mood and location more than the actual plot, that's a red flag. I've been to these places before. The story is beyond boring. Nothing is happening but every episode is shot like it's profound because the production team clearly isn't from the Navajo region.

I quit watching when the new police officer said he went to Berkeley. I basically knew he was going to be the savior that saves everyone. That's because people from these schools are the ones writing these scripts. It's their way of saying they are better than everyone else. I went to one, I know.

Read some reviews on here and confirmed everything I said was right and quit watching.

Black Bird (2022)

Too many tropes, unbelievable

[5/10 · 11 July 2022]

The show boils down to a multi-episode series about a prison snitch. This is all it's about. Paul Walter Hauser depressingly is only taking roles in which he is typecast as someone slow. The guy seems like a good actor but he needs to move on from this or his career will be over. He's from my hometown and it's a bit depressing to see people from here depicted like this.

The FBI, as portrayed in this show, is beyond ridiculous. The female agent obviously is going to sleep with Taron's character at some point. The FBI agents were way too chummy with Jimmy during the transport. Pretty sure they wouldn't be talking with him freely and uncuffed. I'm not a cop, I'm not in the FBI, but I can't imagine that would ever be standard procedure.

I felt some sort of agenda was being pushed when the agents talked about how Jimmy got along with everyone in prison, which made him the right person to talk to Larry. Did it really ever go down like this? Also, if Larry was going to walk, not sure how this ever would have happened, why not follow him until he tried something? Do all killers even remember where their bodies are buried? I buried stuff in my backyard as a kid and couldn't even find it, burying it in the real world is a whole other story.

The show is ok for now but I have a feeling that at some point, I will give up.

Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

Best Thor movie of the series

[9/10 · 8 July 2022]

I was pretty shocked by this movie. I went in thinking it was going to be horrible. I had a free ticket and absolutely nothing better to do. It's probably one of the better movies in the MCU. Natalie Portman shockingly pulled her weight in this film and did a great job. The last film she did a great job acting in was The Professional, which is a shame. She's coasted off that film ever since and it was cringe-worthy.

There were some parts where they tried to overdo it at the beginning with the Guardians, but thankfully, someone did damage control and the movie got less cringe-worthy as time went on. The cameos are pretty great as well.

Highly recommended.

Who Killed the Electric Car? (2006)

Bad movie, shameless propaganda

[1/10 · 12 June 2022]

Documentary just shows how crazed and fanatical the EV fanboys area. Back in 2006, range for these cars was like 60 miles per charge, charging was slow, chargers were definitely non-existent, and knowing what we know about the Bolt and other electric cars, the batteries were probably very unstable and dangerous. Someone on a board mentioned that GM took these cars back because they were experimental and could likely hurt someone who decided to keep them. They weren't meant to be owned by consumers. How would you even get it fixed if something happened to it back then? Even today in many areas, mechanics won't and can't touch them. Can you imagine what it was like back in the early 2000s?

I truly believe electric vehicles will fail again. They are trying to mandate EVs without vetting them properly. There is no real attempt to address the issues with these cars. Instead of being able to have a civil discussion about them, you are met with hostile responses and insults. It reminds me of having a discussion with someone about religion.

Can't recommend. The documentary has done enough damage already.

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Low effort cash grab sequel with a ton of plot holes

[4/10 · 30 May 2022]

1. Still acts like San Diego is the same place it was in the eighties, which couldn't be further from the truth.

2. Maverick is, career-wise and socially still in the same place he was in 1986, which is hard to believe.

3. Despite having pictures all over Pacific Fleet's lobby and being a legend in Naval Aviation, today's young top aviators have no clue who Maverick is.

4. Unnamed enemy nation has fifth-generation fighter jets but no nuclear weapons, which is simply impossible.

5. SAM missiles are easily visible on mountains but while cruise missiles were sent to take the airfield out, none were sent to take out the SAMs, which would have made the mission a lot easier.

6. Tiresome trope at the beginning where Tom Cruise crashes the experimental plane, ends up in a diner around the Southwest that looks like it time traveled from the seventies or eighties, from the restaurant to the clothes people wore. I traveled all around that area and no one dresses like that. They all dress like Americans do all over the country. Waitresses at diners also all wear polos and pants, they don't wear dresses from the eighties. Hollywood seems to still think flyover country hasn't changed since 40 years ago.

7. Pretty sure fifth-generation fighters wouldn't have to engage in a dogfight at close range with an F/A-18.

8. Perhaps the most ludicrous scene in the film, the Hind attack helicopter is searching for Maverick and chooses to fire at him instead of capturing him. That doesn't happen, not even in Ukraine. Pilots are valuable to use as bargaining chips. Even regular soldiers are as we've seen in the past couple decades. You would think an advisor would have told them that scene was dumb.

9. Other than a brief mention at the beginning, the movie pretends drones don't exist, which is a missed opportunity. Along with the Ukraine War, it makes the film look dated.

10. Too much nostalgia for the old film, from the soundtrack that was copy and pasted with no variation, the need to include Goose's son, which was unnecessary, including Ice as a Commander. Cruise also doesn't show his age. The film needed to go in its own direction, not act like it was set one year after the original Top Gun.

11. The training for the bombing run wasn't realistic. They couldn't copy the canyon exactly. Much of what Maverick did is likely already being taught to top aviators or easily accomplished by tech. If you know a lot about military equipment, or more than your casual viewer, the film is kind of silly.

Top Gun was alright, but a sequel just wasn't warranted and was guaranteed to be off. It's a decent watch once, but look for this to be quickly forgotten like that Independence Day sequel. The high praise and reviews are kind of unwarranted.

Tokyo Vice (2022– )

Takes itself too seriously, Ansel is unlikable.

[1/10 · 10 April 2022]

Seeing actors like Ansel and Miles Teller really makes me wonder if Hollyowod is a meritocracy. How in the world does a guy like Ansel get leading roles without any acting talent?

His character in this show is just insufferable. He's basically a know-it-all And he's insufferably boring.

Pass.

Ambulance (2022)

Shortest review you'll ever read

[10/10 · 10 April 2022]

If you want to see a Michael Bay movie and know what to expect, you're gonna love this movie. It delivers.

If you hate Michael Bay and live and breathe for authenticity, go watch Sonic. You're gonna have a bad time.

If they ever remake Titanic, I hope Michael Bay directs it. I'd watch it ten times.

Bel-Air (2022– )

Basically the Fresh Prince of Bel Air as a Nightmare

[1/10 · 7 March 2022]

I loved the original show. It's a classic and it was great social commentary. Will Smith as the lead made the whole show. He was everything. You could not have gotten rid of him and made the show work.

This show, I don't know. It's a nightmare. The lead is on par with Carlton in terms of charisma and coolness. That's already a huge mistake. He's not believable as a star basketball player. Uncle Phil is downright scary. He's a judge with a multi-million dollar mansion and famous chefs cooking at his lavish parties. He hangs out with other judges who look like they're straight out of Training Day. Jeffrey is also scary.

I loved the original show. I can't watch the show because it would ruin everything I loved about Will Smith's version. I mean, it just gets worse every minute you watch it. Carlton is absolutely the worst.

The show would have been a great idea as a Fresh Prince reunion special where, say, Will has the nightmare, then decides to meet up with everyone after years being apart. I just don't see how it works as a drama. I mean, what's next, Seinfeld as a thriller? With Kramer as a creepy stalker neighbor, Elaine as a neurotic, mentally disturbed woman in and out of mental hospitals and George as a conservative loser with his own Youtube channel and COVID conspiracies?

I shouldn't give Hollywood any ideas.

The Batman (2022)

Best Batman movie ever made

[10/10 · 5 March 2022]

Saw it in theaters today expecting to hate it. I absolutely loved it. Very surprised. Plot had a lot of depth, acting performances were phenomenal, the mood was incredible. I love that the director put his vision on screen and didn't dumb down the film like many others have. I will say this was even better than Nolan's movies. Nolan tried to make the films like he had a problem with Batman in general. Batman Begins was very good. The Dark Knight wasn't on repeat viewings and The Dark Knight Rises was a total failure altogether.

In this movie, the director isn't ashamed of the Batman universe. He didn't dumb it down like Zack Snyder did. This is Batman, this is Gotham City in all its dirty glory.

My main issue is that the general audience might not appreciate it. It's three hours long, action isn't the greatest and I can see how the plot would lose many in the audience. It wouldn't surprise me to see the next movie get dumbed down or to see another reboot.

It definitely is a movie that gets you to forget every predecessor that was ever made. Very commendable. Highly recommended.

The White Lotus (2021–2025)

Just terrible, made no sense

[1/10 · 17 August 2021]

Have no idea what all the hype was about. Started playing on my phone, looked up occasionally, absolutely nothing was happening. It was so weird. Kept watching, didn't get any better and felt uncomfortable watching it.

I skipped through other episodes. I swear that I've seen Youtube travel videos more riveting than this show. I don't get it. Really don't recommend it at all. Wow.

The Suicide Squad (2021)

Mediocre, Daniela Melchior best thing about the movie shockingly

[5/10 · 8 August 2021]

Not a very good movie. Lost a lot of faith in James Gunn after this. I also think Margot Robbie needs to be replaced after this film. She just has no passion for the Harley Quinn role. She phones it in along with John Cena and Idris Elba. Elba's performance was so bad, they renamed his character Bloodsport to leave the door open for Will Smith to come back, which is hilarious.

The most interesting characters leave the movie at the very beginning, a very bizarre decision that left the rest of the movie with very boring characters to carry the film. It was very disappointing to see how much the trailers basically lied to the audience. Not sure if these decisions were COVID influenced, but it made no sense.

The plot and villains were just not very threatening, which led to me playing with my laptop and phone quite a bit. I just didn't see a reason to care, especially when you know someone in the US government can just press a button and make their problems go away.

Daniela Melchior is the best thing about the film. She upstaged Big Money Margot Robbie. Really embarrassing stuff. Whereas the film's loss of Will Smith hurt the sequel quite a bit, Margot's removal from the movie probably would have improved it. Daniela is so good in the role, I'd argue that she should replace Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. She's simply better than the Ratcatcher role.

Watch this on streaming if you can, don't waste your time in theaters.

Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)

I can see why the critics hated it

[1/10 · 23 July 2021]

It's a giant bragfest for Lebron, rubbing his wealth in everyone's face, his basketball success, making his kid look like a super genius...oh yeah, he's also a super basketball player.

No one is sympathetic, but quite honestly in this world, that's probably the most believable thing about the movie.

Hard pass. No good.

The God Committee (2021)

Great movie, don't understand the bad reviews

[10/10 · 21 July 2021]

Don't comment much on this site anymore due to my reviews constantly being deleted, but this was a great movie. Definitely does not deserve the low, low rating. Give it a chance. Been a long time since I've seen a movie with a solid plot like this without the wham bam of Marvel movies, not saying I don't like that though.

Utopia (2020)

Watch the UK version instead, this is like a parody of that one

[1/10 · 7 February 2021]

Anyone remember when someone satirized the proposed American Akira remake? This show pretty much is just like that. I saw Utopia premiere on Amazon Prime some months ago. I watched that first, the US version, had absolutely no idea what was going on and turned off. Hated the show. I saw the UK versions also on Prime but figured if the US one was so bad, the UK one could only be worse.

So my brother actually turns it on and tells me it's good. I was intrigued. Usually, his taste is awful, but I decided to give it a chance after work. I mean, from the first five minutes, it hooks you. It was incredible. Absolutely underrated. It's incredibly tragic that the show was not allowed to continue and finish at least a couple more seasons.

Long story short, Amazon saw promise in the show but instead of continuing on with a third season, decided to reboot it for the American audience. Man, was this bad. I think they decided to cross Big Bang Theory with Utopia and see if it would work. It was a terrible idea. I actually liked this version of Jessica Hyde, she was more believable than the British version.

However, long story short, the vapid, shallow party and bar scenes that are tropes of American comedies and dramas combined with an incredibly bizarre decision a character makes at the end of the second episode ruined the show for me. Whoever the writer was made such an insane decision that it made the rest of the show from there on unbelievable, if it takes the path you expect it to take. It basically makes the character just another villain that can't be trusted. I truly believe that it was that scene that ultimately got the show cancelled. It's a shame. It should have been rewritten.

Absolutely do not recommend. One of the worst I've ever seen. Stick to the UK version and demand it get concluded somehow.

Long Way Up (2020)

Said I would give it a few episodes to judge the show and electric cars

[7/10 · 21 November 2020]

Yeah, so many governments and car companies are obsessed with mandating sales of EV cars by 2025-2035 and banning gas cars by that point. Unfortunately, from what I know of EVs, these things are going to be as viable as Major League Soccer in the US. No surprise, their fans often tend to share the same mentality.

Ewan MacGregor and Charley Boorman reunite to do a trip from Patagonia to Los Angeles, something I thought is probably insane to do and impossible, but with a crew and security, anything is possible. The main twist is, they want to do it on electric motorcycles and pick-up trucks. If you are not a fanboy and do your research, you will realize how much of a nightmare it is to do something like this.

EVs do not do well in the cold. They charge poorly and lose lots of range. They take much longer to recharge than it takes to refuel a car. Based on different levels, it may take days to 8 hours to 2 hours. If you fast charge for 2 hours, you damage the battery. It's not good. If someone else is using the same chargers at the same time, your charging time is cut in half! Based on their range, you have 3-4 hours of driving before you have to stop off and charge for hours. You really want to be stuck in East St. Louis charging for a couple hours? There is a cooling system that these cars need and if it fails, the car could explode or catch on fire. The batteries cost a lot because of the materials used and this may never change. To get the car down to affordable prices, corners have to be cut with the interior. This also cuts down on weight to magically extend the range. What's going to happen to the grid when/if everyone recharges their cars at the same time? Many of these cities can't even handle power now. Where are these cars going to park off the interstate for hours when they need to charge?

And before anyone says, "Oh, in ten years, they'll have this all figured out", you're wrong, my electrical engineer college friend/EV fanboy told me that TEN YEARS AGO!!! These cars are not new tech, it's been around as long as the car has been! Many EV fanboys do not know this!

I was a bit horrified to see the guys leave Argentina, only to mention they had been there five weeks!!! I would hope this included weeks of build-up and prep, otherwise, if it took five weeks to get out of there on an EV bike, then wow. Also, red flags were raised when Rivian said they built their first prototypes to drive on the show. Not even going to say anything about them installing 150 chargers across South and Central America for the trip...but shouldn't your start-up have had the prototypes built and been testing them already? Just saying! Then they conveniently disappeared for long periods of time, which was even more suspicious.

If EVs were so great, why isn't every Bentley, Rolls Royce, Mercedes and BMW an EV by now? Why didn't GM release the Corvette as an EV? That's their flagship. If something was so demonstrably superior and the future, it should be in luxury cars first, at least. Automakers would make next year's models EVs and everyone would be excited about it. As it stands, everything about these cars strikes me as inferior and undesirable.

This show was a laughable fail for EVs and even if I were insane enough to have pre-ordered one, I would have canceled. I live in a Northern state and this thing sounds like it would be my worst nightmare. Unless some miracle happens with battery tech, I'm staying away. They can't even make my phone battery last a day, how are they going to keep a car on the road a reasonable amount of time? I'm just saying.

Veronica Guerin (2003)

Was I supposed to be rooting for the drug dealers?

[1/10 · 15 November 2020]

The movie was fine, I had no issues with it. I just didn't like the Veronica Guerin person. Cate Blanchett is a great actress, I have no problem with her. I just thought Veronica Guerin as depicted as probably as bad a person as the drug dealers were portrayed to be. In another life, she probably would eagerly have gotten into that trade. I feel like the director really didn't like her either considering the depiction of her numerous speeding and parking tickets showed that she was an anti-social person who had contempt for the rules of society.

So there it is, well done, a movie that actually makes you cheer for the drug dealers. Unbelievable. I mean, can we also discuss how stupid Veronica was? The end of the movie was just like, wow, how naive and arrogant was she?

Unhinged (I) (2020)

The most Michigan movie ever filmed in Louisiana

[7/10 · 14 November 2020]

I live in Michigan. As soon as I started this movie, I got vibes this was supposed to take place in Metro Detroit. Rachel is basically poor, living in her mom's house because she lost her hair salon and now does her client's hair at their homes. She drives an old Volvo and can't afford to buy a new car. She seems to live in a nice neighborhood where her neighbors have money but she doesn't. Her brother is unemployed, trying to start a company that will probably never happen. Her daily life involves driving all around the city, constantly stuck in traffic, worried about how to pay her next bill. She gets stuck behind some guy in a pickup, honks, only for this guy to lose his mind and decide to get payback from her for not being a nice driver.

It was only when the news announced that something happened in Auburn Hills, won't say what and that Russell Crowe's character worked at an auto plant as a middle manager that I realized it was supposed to be Metro Detroit. FYI, Auburn Hills is the northern part of Metro Detroit where the Pistons used to play and where Chrysler is headquartered. Too much of it seemed familiar before though because if you live in Michigan, are a millennial, probably a college graduate and aren't financially comfortable, this is pretty much your life!

That to me was the true horror of this movie. Not Russell Crowe's character, just how soul crushing this state is and how horrible the people here are. Some of the worst people in this state drive those huge pickups and try to bully drivers with them! One even tried to pretty much fight me on the highway entrance ramp for tapping my horn! The people here are so ignorant and high strung that dealing with them on a daily basis is like walking on eggshells!

Nice touch with Rachel buying the Powerball tickets in the gas station. Many of the smug, privileged, sometimes even working class natives frown on lottery here but anyone with brains knows a dollar or two here and there is the price for escaping from this state.

Not sure how you'll think of this movie if you're not from Michigan but if you are, you might find this movie more disturbing than it's supposed to be!

Honest Thief (2020)

Turn your brain on and this is a 1 star movie

[8/10 · 16 October 2020]

So, the world's dumbest bank robber, Tom decides one day that to impress a woman he wants to start a new life with, he's going to confess to the FBI and use his money as leverage to work out a deal. He feels guilty about stealing from banks even though it's revealed he did it to seek revenge against a CEO who ripped off his dad's pension. So by confessing, he's essentially giving that evil CEO back his money? Wut? Ok, I know he's just giving it back to the Feds, but still...

The Feds don't believe Tom and finally decide to send agents after a few days. They actually think he's insane and search through his storage locker, digging through trash and almost missing the loot until Agent Hall finally finds it in a random box. Agent Nivens gets the bright idea to steal the money, even though they're on record just about everywhere dealing with this guy, on camera everywhere. Clearly the FBI only hires millennials who haven't walked into Best Buy in the last twenty years. Just ludicrous.

Clearly now, they were setting everything up for a plot twist with Jeffrey Donovan's character as the newly divorced agent who lost almost everything in the divorce. I'm sure we all kept waiting for the big reveal. Maybe it was supposed to happen in the parking lot at the end when he just lets Tom go for everything. For whatever reason, they resisted the urge to do that, which is refreshing, yet, since this obviously isn't an Oscar award winning drama, they might as well have done that for some excitement. Shame.

I actually enjoyed this. I probably won't watch it again, but...it's original! It could have been done better. The potential is there. That's the one upside of the pandemic, big blockbuster films are being delayed and B-movie films like this that are somewhat original are getting a chance. I like it.

Tenet (2020)

Christopher Nolan needs to end the pseudointellectual act

[1/10 · 10 October 2020]

Tenet basically was a confirmation of all of my concerns about Christopher Nolan's approach to moviemaking. He doesn't make movies for people to enjoy; he makes movies to confuse people. All of his movies are a giant shell game.

The easiest thing in the world for someone to do is confuse them. It is incredibly easy to ask difficult questions. It's much harder to entertain people. Christopher Nolan doesn't want to entertain; he wants to make movies to prove that he is intelligent. After twenty or so years, he still doesn't think he's proven it enough to everyone.

Let's be honest about Nolan's inspiration for this movie; he thought making a movie about videos set in reverse was cool and wanted to find a reason to center a film around this. None of it was entertaining nor did it make any sense. It's a trash movie. You could see around the scene they stepped into the time machine or whatever it was that they lost the plot. It was a contrived mess after that. If someone had $20 for Advil in the theater I watched it in, I would have paid it.

It's sad to see such an amazing cast wasted like this. John David Washington has a bright future ahead of him but it was sad to see him starring front and center in a trash film like this that could ruin his career. Robert Pattinson, once again, bad choice of film that will also hurt his career. He needs to cut his hair if he wants to be taken seriously. Everything about him screams IT guy, not movie star. Elizabeth Debicki, loved her as always, would run away with her in 30 seconds flat if she asked me, but she's gotta take better films than this. She's also getting typecast too and needs to do something risky.

I have to be honest, in a normal year, I think Tenet would have flopped. Word of mouth would have been bad and it would have been destroyed by the competition. Because it's pretty much the only game in town, it's dominated. It very well may be one of the last films to be released until better fare comes out next year. Everything is being delayed or brought to streaming. Something has to give. I hope Christopher Nolan reevaluates himself after this movie and comes back with something better in his next project. This film was a bit of a mess. He can do better and I would suggest doing movies with a good script and a relatable plot instead of trying to confuse people in an attempt to prove he is an intellectual.

The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

Knew a lot of people like Chris Gardner, can't like this movie

[1/10 · 28 September 2020]

Something about this movie rubbed me the wrong way a few years after watching it. It was supposed to be an inspirational story about a man named Chris Gardner who struggled to make a living and even ended up homeless at one point. He eventually meets, from my recollection, a very rich man who changes his fortunes and changes his life. We are supposed to be inspired and aspire to achieve everything this man did.

Here's the problem; my dad is a doctor. They are notorious for not managing money well. I knew a LOT of people like Chris Gardner in my life who took advantage of my father. He was very socially inept and didn't understand social nuances, like staying friends with people of your own social and economic background. Naturally, salesmen were nice to him and took advantage. He basically bought their friendship by buying their products. Over and over again. It's just one way these guys work. Many come from impoverished low-income backgrounds and see any business relationship they have as a hustle. One lady that I knew was a wealth manager and practically cleaned my father out. She's retired in a nice house, bought her son a house and is living a fantastic life. It was only as an adult that I realized she was some sort of a swengali who totally took advantage of him in just about every possible way. She was involved in every aspect of his life and was practically his best friend. When my dad told her what I thought of her, she ceased all contact with him. Just like that. That's just not what a real friend would do. I was pretty much proven right.

Nothing really has improved, he's still found more con artists who want to take advantage of him. The result is, he's got a rough retirement ahead of him and is going to leave his wife and us with nothing, possibly even his debt.

So yeah, there's a reason this movie and Ballers makes me so uncomfortable. It happens to more people than you think. I always find movies that make boiler room types out to be inspirational heroes. Most are jumped up criminals who prey on high-income people. Even if you don't feel sorry for them, consider NBA players like Tim Duncan and Patrick Ewing who earned millions but have to work as assistant coaches like they're grinding to pay the rent, or some of these doctors out there working until their 80s like Dr. Fauci. There's a reason they can't quit. I just have no idea how people can be so stupid. My only conclusion is that they just never learned the value of money and budgeting.

Can't recommend a movie that makes me feel dirty watching it.

Daybreak (I) (2019)

One of the best shows I've ever seen

[10/10 · 25 September 2020]

What is Netflix thinking cancelling it, and why isn't another network jumping all over this show? It's a shame this show is getting screwed like this. So many great performances, I feel like many of them were probably getting offers for movies and other TV shows and dipped anyways. It was great while it lasted.