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marsha8211
Reviews
Small Engine Repair (2021)
Do You Care?
The real problem for me with this film, after much thought, was that I didn't care at all about Crystal. She is given no depth. Neither is Frank. Swaino and Packie are funny, but Frank is just stoic most of the time, and has no real redeeming qualities given him. These three men have been friends since childhood, but after a fight at a bar, all of a sudden Frank doesn't want to see either of them again? That didn't ring true to me.
Crystal is basically a female version of the guys: foul-mouthed, loud-mouthed, and not nearly enough screen time to get to know any other levels of her character. Therefore, when she is victimized, I felt bad on a broad human level, but not on a personal level.
The writing was believable, the direction was good, the acting was excellent, but all in all, it didn't add up to much of anything for me.
And the ending was a little anti-climactic. Throw in the miraculous "hand squeeze, and that kind of did it for me.
Would I recommend this to anyone? No. It spite of how hard it tried, and in spite of Packie stealing nearly every scene he was in.
Death of a Child (2017)
The Death of Empathy
Perhaps you have to be a parent to understand this film. My children are all four-legged and furry. However, I am an adult with many responsibilities, and I can't comprehend how much of a fog you would have to be in to leave your child, or to "forget" your child, in a car. I watched this film, expecting to be moved, expecting to feel their pain, expecting to understand something about it, anything about it. I felt nothing but disbelief as several continued on as if their biggest concern was jail. I didn't feel their grief. I didn't like any of them, except the mother of the first child whose death they delved into. Perhaps it was a poor job of directing, perhaps I'm just incapable of understanding how one forgets something so important in a vehicle. We got through 40 minutes of this, and I couldn't take anymore. Someone can talk about how they felt suicidal, or how they felt like they couldn't go on, but if I don't "feel" that coming from you, I don't believe a word of it. The death of a child breaks my heart. This documentary just made me sick with rage.
Chicago P.D. (2014)
Cliché 101
The casting department obviously felt the need to hire a few hunks to continue in the vein of Chicago Fire, and to set up romances down the line. The problem with this, in my opinion, is that I didn't believe any of them as cops. The vibe is just "off". You have the "is he good or is he bad" lead in Jason Beghe, who shows, of course, that he has a good heart, no matter what else he does. You have the two "hunky" guys, one of whom engages in an altercation that almost made me laugh out loud (his macho moment). You have the girl who looks like she's 15, and I believe she's gone through all the training to be where she is like I believe in the Tooth Fairy. You have the "grizzly" street guy (who I actually liked the best), and you have the "mother," who I didn't believe was a cop either.
The storyline was good when it focused on the cartel, but there were so many other distracting things going on, that it took away from the action.
I felt insulted and angry after watching this. Not a minute is believable (except for the cartel), the acting is less than stellar, and the writing is, as I said in my heading, "Cliche 101". I expected more from Dick Wolfe. If you've seen one good cop show in your life, you will laugh at this. I suggest you watch Justified or Rizzoli & Isles instead. At least you'll find people to love and root for.