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Littlebigfan
Reviews
No Hard Feelings (2023)
It does the obvious so we'll!
Ten minutes in you know what this movie is and what it's going to do, and you shouldn't mind because it does what you signed up for superbly well. You know what's going to happen with the kid. You kinda know that JL will eventually expose and resolve her own demons. You know that it's trying to say that we all suffer our personal tragedies in much the same way even though those tragedies are all very different. "Everybody's got gaps" and that's a story that Hollywood has told forever, but, well told, we never tire of hearing it again. This accomplishes that with good lines and great appeal though some of the situations are broad and basic, others like him playing and singing "Maneater" are a knockout. Quite charming and worth your time.
The Harder They Fall (2021)
It's like they showed a western to someone from Mars...
And then the Martian tried to make a western. A painfully slow epic which steals from every western genre that came before it, but then it lapses into reggae musical interludes. And the gratuitous violence against everybody, Jesus... and no story. Well, there is a story, but the film meanders so much you don't care. The weirdest thing I've ever seen. Watch 3:10 to Yuma again, instead...or maybe The Harder They Come ;=)
Maid (2021)
Maid is going to win everything.
As the rich become richer and the poor poorer, we see more powerful pieces like Nomadland, Parasite, The Florida Project, etc and this, perhaps the most powerfully written piece yet about the circle of poverty, alcohol and abuse. In fathomable, unfixable life stories about a burgeoning segment of the population living on the margins, in Walmart parking lots and everywhere it's allowed.. Maid weaves such a beautifully written story about how abuse doesn't have to hit to hurt, and how nearly impossible it is to escape. I've never seen anything like it before. Bravo!
The Many Saints of Newark (2021)
What a missed chance...
A slice of life about a story we already know. We wanted the back story for the sopranos. We got a bunch of stereotypes killing each other.
Law & Order: Organized Crime (2021)
Whoever said comically bad...you're right!
From the over the top bad music, to the over the top, predictable story, it's hard to see how Dick Wolf let this out. And, though the story is predictable and done previously, it's also.confusing! Or, maybe I just didn't care enough to follow. And oddly, the season finale was preceded by an absolutely great L & O SVU episode about a male sexual abuse victim. How did the same people have anything to do with both shows?
Den skyldige (2018)
The plot explodes in your imagination more than on the screen.
A superb thriller with plot twists that leave you exhausted but gratified, even more than a similar film, Phone Booth.
Bir Baskadir (2020)
A wonderfully woven tale about modern Turkey, in conflict with its re-emerging Islamic past.
This is great storytelling. Wonderful actors wind their way through modern Turkey and its resurgence of ancient Islamic ways. If you liked HBO's In Treatment, it's that, but with all the patients and therapists back stories which makes them who they are today in Istanbul. Brilliant!
Chance (2016)
Dateline shows actual people doing things this crazy...
But in the end, I felt like I was being told a story that needed to extend itself to a logical, upbeat conclusion. The characters are very crazy, almost, but not quite incredible. Over time, outlandish characters are a difficult task for a cop series to pull off. This one had some doozies and the story had to get more out there to make them believable. It almost did it.
COBRA (2020)
Superbly entertaining!
Ok, this just couldn't happen the way it's portrayed. But that's not the point. It's rich detail and sadly accurate view of class division is great viewing, and not so far afield from Belfast. Perhaps the shape of things to come after the full effects of Brexit.
The Jewel in the Crown (1984)
Brilliant. More relevant now than upon original release.
Oh that Beecham House had the blunt audacity this series has. The last days of the Raj and British racism at it's worst, portrayed a stellar cast. Few series hold up so well over time. Well done.
Dolor y gloria (2019)
You must have seen a different film.
A ponderous and grim retrospective of a life which all film professionals (and most other people) would die for. Ironic that his films about others are so much better than the one he made about himself.
Suburbicon (2017)
Another Cohen Classic
I too don't see why people dislike this film. It's everything the Cohen brothers do so well, a bizarre extension of the truth we loath to think is really America, really ourselves, then and now. Dateline tells a true story like this every week. Here storyline is very linear and thoroughly entertaining. Perhaps Cohen humor is an acquired taste, but millions have acquired it. Well done.
Marcella (2016)
What happened...a new writing team??
Season 1 was really good. Season 2 was a terrible jumble of goofy subplots and tangents. Save your time, watch something else.
The Deuce (2017)
A jumble of clichéd B stories. Not The Sopranos
Trying to love this but it's a collage without a through story. Is it about the brothers dealing with the mob, the hookers and their pimps, the corrupt cops? A point in all directions is still like having no point at all. Lots of stereotypes. All stereotypes. Sound mix isn't great either. Can't hear the dialogue in noisy bars, restaurants, street scenes, etc. For a show to work, you gotta love somebody, even if they're a cooker like Walter White or a ruthless mob boss like Tony Soprano. Not feelin the love here.