You can slice it, dice it, splice it, and turn it upside down -- but no matter what you do, this film is never going to be remembered as anything more than "early" Isabel May. On the plus side, this is a low budget indie which never pretends to be more than it actually is. It is sincere. The production values are top notch. It is a memorable and passionate exploration of the twin themes of loss and reconnection (with both the living and the dead). It is well written and well acted. But, again, for film lovers of the far future, May will be the calling card, the hook. In 1883 (2021), May stole every scene she was in and, because she was also doing the V. O., she stole those scenes as well. May is one of those rare talents who can instantly morph from drop-dead gorgeous to a rubber-faced Jim Carrie clone, and back again. If she does not have a major fanbase already, I am sure she will develop one very quickly. The sooner the better. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))
Reviews
2,073 Reviews
Paper Dolls
(2023– )
under-reviewed, under-rated, under-appreciated
3 May 2024
Found by accident and gave it a spin. Sure, there is a soap opera vibe but that is a feature, not a bug. The point was to reveal a ruthless industry, which in turn requires ruthless characters. Starts slow and builds nicely. The performances were excellent all around. Yes, some actors were chewing the scenery, but that's exactly how it was written. Standouts were Miah Madden, who, after this performance, can say goodbye to her Disneyesque persona and go for the grit. And Emma Booth gets her best scenes towards the end of the series but nonetheless haunts the entire run with her sheer physical presence and hand-grenade temperament. Ironically, just like the underlying story, in real life the studio could have promoted this better. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))
The Long Game
(I) (2023)
rock solid underdog movie
30 April 2024
For as long as there have been movies, the "underdog" niche has been popular. What's not to like about watching someone (or someones) come from behind to show the rest of us that, in the right circumstances, anything is possible? Golf might seem at first like a poor fit for this category, but of course the real story is about discrimination. It works. Jay Hernandez is the glue that keeps the attention of the audience, and he basically steals every scene not otherwise nailed down. Quaid has recently started a "second career" as an older actor playing older parts. And he is good in all of them. The 1950s are a welcome distraction for viewers in an age where modern and now both seem somehow inauthentic and wrong. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))
Finally, a suspense episode that weaponizes the cold
28 April 2024
First, this is a very supereior series in almost every way. However, what caught my eye about this especially creepy episode was the brilliant use of the snow (cold) to enhance the effect. Although most of us do not think about it consciously, weather, especially cold weather is our enemy. You can sleep outdoors in hot climate. Cold climates? Hardly. There is a brilliant scene here where Rapace is trying to find the road to a cabin she's been to "a million times" but somehow the road is not where it should be. This elicits fear from her daughter (a single role played by the two Coleman twins, and brilliantly) who is both confused and cautious. Rapace's chaacter solves the dilemma by taking a shortcut across a frozen lake in the middle of an icestorm, all the while assuring her daughter it will be fine. We hear the crunching of snow under the tires and we too are afraid. It is a visceral fear which you cannot avoid, no matter how hard you try. Props to the writer. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))
Monkey Man
(2024)
more of a highlight reel than a feature
27 April 2024
Say what you will about Stallone (go ahead ... I'll wait), he knew how to play his audience like a violin. Every Rocky movie, and every film done by Stallone when he was on vacation from Rocky, honored the classic dramatic "beats" of the story arc to keep the viewer hooked. Patel, not so much. In fact, Monkey Man violates the most basic movie test touted by the late Roger Ebert -- the 20 minute rule. 20 mins into this 2 hr extravaganza, the viewer still has no idea what is happening ... and in filmdom that is playing with fire. In fact, as a story, the film does not really catch fire until about the 1:15 mark. However, as a directorial debut, MM catches fire from the first frame. And you will remember it. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))
Late Night with the Devil
(2023)
once every half century
22 April 2024
You could end the conversation by simply calling this an above-average horror film with a retro feel, and you would be right. And you would also be wrong. This is the kind of film that comes along about every half-century. The last time we saw something like this was 1988's THEY LIVE by John Carpenter. Which has, over the years, become a cult classic and also synonymous with so-called Predictive Programming. That older film is believed to have a revealed a world where everything in modern society is designed to control and exploit the masses. This film -- which features a pitch-perfect deconstruction of the role of late-night TV in capturing the attention of the masses -- takes a much bolder step and looks hard at the sacrifices some of us are prepared to make to get what we want. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))
Model House
(2024)
depends on what you were expecting,,,
17 April 2024
In my over 2000+ reviews here, I have discussed dozens of B-movies that were essentially 90 minutes of your life you were never going to get back. Ever. MODEL HOUSE does not exactly fit that category. Let's start with the opening. Although it was probably not deliberate, the "shocker" off the top, clearly intended to hook the audience, turns out to have the highest production values of the entire movie. That 2 minute bit, which could stand entirely on its own as a cautionary tale about the dangers of social media, is so well done that it actually promises you a much better production than you actually get. The rest of the movie tries really hard to maintain that standard, but does not succeed. Speaking of standards, if you hold this film to the standards of the original 1970s slasher flicks -- which implies that you actually went to theaters in the 1970s -- it will actually pass the bar. So, as a retro exercise, you have an above-average script (with a few surprises) painfully dragging this B-movie to the finish line. However, if you hold this film to the more modern standards of horror/suspense, it gets marks for effort but still comes up short. Way short. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))
so good, could be a standalone movie
17 April 2024
This is not faint praise. Hollywood may have invented the "coming of age" movie, Canada may captured the rom-com market by offering low-rent actors and simplistic stories, but, at the end of the day, Korea perfected both of these genres. This is one of the most powerful 1:15 episodes I have ever seen. Even though it seems at first glance that not much is happening, if you unpack what is going on here you will find complex ideas presented about family, loss, love, promises, growing up, regret, conflict, courage, memories. And, most importantly, joy. Not one false note to be seen anywhere. The skill of the writers was never more evident than in this episode. Could be deconstructed and studied in film class. Should be, in fact. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))
Who Is Erin Carter?
(2023)
a Master Class in non-linear story telling
17 April 2024
Short version of this review: a very engaging (sympatico) star, and scripts that "break all the rules," result in an almost-addictive guilty pleasure of a series. Longer version: look closely at the Jack Reacher franchise (one of the most successful male fiction series of all time, now a successful streaming product) and you will see storylines that treat linearity almost as a religion. Every move, every decision, that Reacher makes is calculated, and based on something that happened before. This is the time-honored method of telling a story. As for Erin Carter, we will never know precisely what drove creator Jack Lothian to pen this tale, but we can be certain that nothing about the script hijinks in Erin were accidental. Lothian cut his teeth on hit products like STRIKE BACK -- which ran for a decade -- so we can assume he knows his way around a script. Yet in ERIN, he threw the rulebook out the window. In this series, things literally happen for no reason at all. And they happen like that very often. If Lothian was running some sort of experiment, it must have been considered a success. ERIN hooks the audience both in spite of, and because of, the wacky story-telling. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))
a metaphor, possibly epitaph, for civilization 2024
15 April 2024
In a way, the number of reviews for this single episode says it all. The shock, the horror, the disbelief that the same team that did s01 of TD somehow also did s04? The very idea seems like it belongs in the BELIEVE IT OR NOT MUSEUM. But this is indeed the world we currently live in. A world where, while demand for streaming content is at a high, the quality of the content being green-lighted and produced is at a low. This season of TD started out on the wrong foot And ended up crawling. In the snow. You know something is up when the star of a series does interviews describing her own character as "deliberately unrelatable." The extraordinary number of IMDb members who took the time to comment on E06 speaks to a demographic that clearly expected things to improve. Instead they got worse. A perfect metaphor for the world. Hopefully our grandkids, our progeny, will have a better metaphor for their world. Knock on wood. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))
Sugar
(2024– )
could be the most passionate show on tv this year
15 April 2024
Not passion, as in romance. Passion as in, I love what I am doing and I am going to get every bit of it perfect. Creator Mark Protosevich loves film, loves LA, loves the old hardboiled shamus films -- clearly not the case with the team behind Monsieur Spade! -- loves people, dogs, rare alcohol, fine cars .... you get the picture. Sometimes, it's rare, you find a production that overflows with such passion for detail you can get lost in the process instead of the content. Sugar has great content too, and Farrell, having landed the role of a lifetime, puts everything he has has into it. Special entertainment. Sip it. Savor it. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))
The Greatest Hits
(2024)
a deliberately vague movie?
13 April 2024
And, to overuse a delicious quote from SEINFELD, not that there is anything wrong with that. The most interesting thing about this quite adequate film is the odd way reviewers approach it. It is as if no two pundits can agree on what they just saw? Some see a time travel film along the lines of THE TIME TRAVELOR's WIFE. Some see a deconstruction of the role of music in modern society. Some simply see a useful vehicle to move along the career of the always photogenic Boynton (who, for example, is all most of us can recall from the otherwise tedious IPCRESS FILE). Some even suggest that the film's auteur created this ambiguity deliberately to hold the attention. Which is, after all, the primary purpose of any film. Entertainment. Holding one's gaze. This reviewer, like Boynton's own character, sees all the possibilities at once, and each has merit.. But, unlike that character, will not attempt to change or alter any of them. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
(2023– )
textbook example of the over-use of the streaming template
11 April 2024
As I have said in other reviews, historians of the future will applaud the way streaming took down the hopelessly corrupt cable model. But they will also lament that, in the rush to deliver new series content to millions -- for creators, the real payout is in series, not movies -- many productions that SHOULD HAVE been "one-of" movies turned into weak series that literally imploded in front of our own eyes. This one is textbook. Good start, good premise. Kurt Russell is one of my favorite actors and even appears in my IMDb list of best all-time films. Anna Sawai may possibly be remembered as one of the most stunning faces of this generation. Great start. But by E10, we have a script that would even embarrass an afternoon soap opera star. The (older) Russell delivers dialog to his (time-warped younger) lost love that comes across as cringe-worthy. Ouch. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))
Monster Mash
(2024)
find out who did the marketing ... and hire them
8 April 2024
First the movie. Possibly one of the worst I have seen, and that includes my 2000+ reviews here. The lighting is so dark from scene to scene you might actually think the screen on your device has failed. The writing and acting and overall effect -- or lack of same -- will make you wish the film had originally been done in any language other than English. That way, at least, you could dismiss the end result as bad dubbing. Or bad subtitling. But none of that is "the" extraordinary thing about this film. The extraordinary thing about this release is that the marketer decided to throw all the lemons into the metaphorical blender and make lemonade. The press kit for MONSTER MASH actually touts the fact that it was shot in only 5 days -- like that is a plus! Feels more like 5 hours. Worse, some reviewers actually fell for this hustle, and praised the end result as "campy" ... and "fun". The only fun thing about this movie is pressing the STOP button and taking your trade elsewhere. Except for the marketing. The marketing is brilliant. And campy. And fun. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))
Constellation
(2024– )
review intended for viewers of the far future...
7 April 2024
.... because only from that perspective will this show make sense. Essentially, for viewers of the present, you have a series (episodic TV) that is well written, well acted, and well presented yet paradoxically one which seems to annoy as many content consumers as it pleases. So what went wrong? The answer is that our present age is painfully transitioning from an era of "authoritarian" entertainment -- where the networks and the cable companies essentially controlled what you could or could not watch -- to an era of content on demand. The transition is awkward because billions of dollars of ad revenues weigh in the balance, and most advertisers are not used to paying attention to what consumers actually want. This show is a textbook illustration. It would have made a PERFECT movie, with none of the cognitive dissonance seen in these reviews. But in our present age the demand for streaming series-based content is so great that the producers took the money .. and ran. Hopefully in the far future these problems are solved? ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))
in memoriam -- Cricket we hardly knew you
4 April 2024
Warning: Spoilers
This is a type of review I have never done in any of my 2000+ IMDb writeups -- in memoriam for the character of Cricket, so well portrayed by Susan Kelechi Watson that you could argue the series, as good as it us, will actually suffer from her loss. With her, it could have been even better. Hey, this is TV. Characters come and go. The original STAR TREK (anyone remember?) had a running joke about the weekly Sacrificial Crew Member. But this show is all about heart and Cricket had that, in spades. She will be missed. Also, the episode finally clarifies the identity of the most dangerous weekly villains in the series WILL TRENT -- the writers! ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))
The Brothers Sun
(2024)
good intentions are not enough
2 April 2024
There are a lot of really clever elements to this story. In the right hands, this could have been a superior film, with all the right beats, and the perfect combination of action and drama. But, not for the first time, the need to stretch out the concept for a full series -- much like stretching pizza dough to flatten the pie -- proved too big a burden for the creators. By E06 it had become painfully obvious that the show had decided to bet the farm on the audience connecting with Bruce, one of the most conflicted and unlikable characters in the history of TV. And by E07, it was clear that the writers had reached a dead-end, and decided to try mayhem and slapstick to close out the arcs. Better luck next time. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))
Something Undone
(2021– )
look behind the behind
1 April 2024
Something Undone is unusual, and I am not referring to its subject matter. It is Canadian, it is relatively low-budget, its creators are also its stars, it takes place in obscure locales, and its metamorphosis into a series was not 100% organic. That said, it is pretty amazing. The direction is a standout. The creators have somehow managed to turn ordinary scenes where nothing much is happening into into images and sounds that hold the attention, keep you watching. In Hollywood, that trick can win you awards. In Canada, not so much. The idea of creators casting themselves as leads only enhances this oddball effect, and for the most part works well. Billy Campbell, one of the most unappreciated talents in the biz, steals every scene he is in. Film students could learn from this. Something Undone arguably refers not only to the story, but to the way it was brought to the big screen. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))
Renegade Nell
(2024– )
Either you are really gonna like it ... or you ain't
31 March 2024
Can we speak plainly? When the creators of a series decide to take historical fiction, historical fantasy, and the supernatural -- and throw the entire lot into a Ninja blender set on HI, the result is not going to please everyone. On the other hand, this is entertainment we are talking about, not a medical school entrance exam. So, depending on the viewer, it either works. Or it doesn't. Think of shows like WEDNESDAY or XENA WARRIOR PRINCESS. Good production values, good acting, good writing. Now it is entirely up to you. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))
Ordinary Angels
(2024)
WoW -- performances of a kind not seen for some time
31 March 2024
If you are reading this, you have either just seen Ordinary Angels or you are about to. In either circumstance, good for you. On the one hand this is one of those very rare, 4-hankie, feel-good movies based on real life. Capably written and directed. Solid from top to bottom. What really stands out however are the performances. Swank, not seen on the screen for some time, reminds the world why she was, and is, an A-lister. It is a performance not even Julia Roberts could top, she charges every scene like a Tesla battery. Alan Ritchson, on the other hand, deliberately undersells himself (compared for example to his persona in REACHER) to help Swank hit her high notes. Point and counterpoint. Excellent. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))
Shifting Gears
(2024 TV Movie)
OK rom com with 2 oddities ....
31 March 2024
In my over 2000+ reviews here (ouch,) I have repeatedly discussed the Great Canadian X-Mas Movie Factory, and the Great Canadian Rom Com Machine. Canada's film sector was jump-started decades ago based on changes to their tax code. Who would have imagined that, half a century later, their film output is best known for Santa Claus and soap operas? This one checks all the boxes, the dialog is adequate, and the story is predictable but pleasant. The two oddities are ... (1) viewers checking out the film because of the car angle will be disappointed. Most of if not all of the technical bits are complete nonsense. Memo to producers -- next time, spend $20 on a technical script consultant. And (2) Canadian Tyler Hynes has an edge to his acting which he keeps well hidden because his agent has him doing mainly rom-coms. But one gets the feeling there is an action hero hiding in there somewhere, something he should explore when possible. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))
Population: 11
(2024– )
writing writing writing
31 March 2024
If you are not paying attention to the quality product coming from down under, you are missing out. Mystery Road (the original) is awesome. Mr. In-Between is unforgettable, especially the episode where the protagonist goes after a local who abducted a child. And Deadloch is like Fargo, wacky and interesting at the same time (early Fargo, not recent Fargo!). Population 11 seems to aiming for zany, and hits the mark more often than it misses. The writing is the hook, and there is dialog here that sneaks up on you and, before you realize it, you find yourself laughing out loud. (S01E01 -- Officer Geraldine, claiming the reward after producing a generic and nondescript boot -- "That's for you to figure out. Now's the time for you to cough up the reward money.") Smooth! ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))
the cliffhanger perfected
31 March 2024
The term cliffhanger goes back to the origin of film in the 1920s. Even then, even in the silent era, creators understood the importance of hooking the viewer, making the viewer want to see more. The word is taken from the various endings used in those days -- the episode closes with the heroine tied to the RR tracks, with the heroine hanging from a cliff fighting to hang on, etc. A century later, creators still strive for this effect. For example an episode of the hit series Better Call Saul had a critical episode involving a marksman setting up a shot, which was a cliffhanger. That individual episode struck a chord and rated many dozens of member reviews. This one is even better. Perfection. Pulse pounding perfection. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))
ever watch a writing team drown in front of your eyes knowing there was nothing you could do to save them?
28 March 2024
Warning: Spoilers
For clarity. Taking a formerly brilliant show and dragging it through the dirt -- both literally and figuratively -- in the name of a social cause does not make the entertainment quality any better. The trope of allowing the viewer to empathize with an escape attempt of the protagonist, only to have that attempt fail, is so tired and worn-out and over-used that the warning off the top of the episode should include that information too. Not only was this once a great series, but the first episode of this season was a standout. It made huge promises that the creative team were clearly incapable of delivering. And where did the continuity editors go? Presumably Mrs. Lyons (the mother-in-law) was sufficiently in the story loop to stage the debacle at the debate, yet at the same time paradoxically out of the loop when it came to knowing where Dot actually was? Raise your hand if, the moment Graves decided to visit Roy, you knew in your gut he was not coming out alive. Raise your hand if, as the closing credits flew by, you knew in your gut you had been hoodwinked into thinking this was actual entertainment, and in fact this was 45 minutes of your life you would never get back. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))
Road House
(2024)
At the 30:00 Min mark exactly..
22 March 2024
... there is an interesting trope. The "bad guys" are bullying a local store owner and, to help him out, a female child with a baseball bat steps out onto the street. Menacingly. The bad guys find this funny. The audience is confused. Then, our protagonist, Dalton (played by Hollywood A-lister Jake Gyllenhaal, brilliant in SOURCE CODE 2011, who trained for a full year to get the ripped bod he needed for this part) opens the door behind the girl with the bat, and stares at the bad guys. Just stares. The bad guys see Dalton and immediately head for the hills. The girl with the bat, not "understanding" that the bad guys were more afraid of Dalton than of her, is confused. So is the audience. For the second time. Because this trope was stolen from the 1966 classic A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, which launched Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone into hyperspace. Which is the problem with this film. Everything in it is stolen from somewhere. And what remains is simply not enough for an entertaining film. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))
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