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Chicago Fire: Dead Zone (2021)
Ode to the B.G. crew
Not to miss a beat without Casey, the crew at 51 is asked to deal with a ransomware attack on the emergency dispatch system by going old school. As always, well written entertaining and dramatic, great episode!
Papillon (2017)
Without comparison, it's a respectful attempt to tell the story of human resilience based on a true story
Papillon is a movie starring Charlie Hunnan and Rami Malek directed by Michael Noer based on the true story of Henri Charriere (Pappilon) and his incredible will to escape prison for a crime he didn't commit. The depth of the story overreaches every other aspect of the movie.
Hunnan and Malek are terrific with very minimal dialogue to work with. They build an unspoken and powerful friendship that carries throughout the horror of the French Guinea prison they are sent to. The supporting cast is equally powerful under the directing of Noer.
The scenery and effects are secondary to the story and relationships built in the brutal reality of this prison. The music is rare but suspensful and heartfelt. I enjoyed this movie way more than I expected to and would recommend it to anyone interested in true stories of human spirit and compassion.
Annihilation (2018)
Definitely a head scratcher and not for everyone
Annihilation directed by Alex Garland based on the novel by Jeff VanderMeer is a sci-fi movie starring Natalie Portman, Oscar Isaac with supporting roles for Jennifer Jason Leight, Benedict Wong, Gina Rodriguez, Tuva Novotny, and Tessa Thompson. The basic premise is a meteor hits a lighthouse and subsequently creates a "shimmer" that is growing and radically changing everything within it with as of yet no survivors or explanations. It's somewhat of an alien horror movie built around a psychological thriller.
The acting was really split and I really enjoyed some of the roles and really disliked others. Natalie Portman as always does a wonderful job breaking out an emotionally charged complex character and has decent chemistry with Oscar Isaac in a slightly less than great performance as her husband and spark that starts the plot rolling.
The special effects were wonderful leaving just enough to the imagination to make you wonder what's real and what isn't. I felt like the sound was overwhelmingly powerful in only a couple moments and left us in quiet reflection at many points. This was definitely intentional and a wonderful piece to the overall atmosphere of the movie.
Overall, the acting of the supporting cast and the somewhat arbitrary approach to dealing with the shimmer left a little to be desired but the mystery, suspense, and final reveal were worth the wait! Good movie, just missed being great!
The Theory of Everything (2014)
Wonderful acting in a timid approach to one of the most brilliant and complex men in history
This movie should have been a 10 with the wonderful acting from Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones. The underused supporting cast was wonderful where they were used and the music was haunting and beautifully integrated to the emotional highpoints of the movie. James Marsh does a wonderful job of building the intense personal moments of the movie, the one thing I felt was missing was the understated enormity of those moments. Perhaps that was his intent, however; it left me a little empty. Like the movie, just a little more fluid and depth and I would have loved it!
Puncture (2011)
Where's the power of the media?
The story of this movie is the strength. A big money corporate cover up so that massive amounts of money can be saved at the expense of front line medical workers safety. I don't know if I just missed it in the news or didn't care, but with the subject matter it seemed to me that a media presence would have brought about a lot more attention to this issue and pushed for change a lot quicker. The characters were mostly well developed although Chris Evans is a tough sell as a sick drug addict personal injury lawyer. Blame Captain America but he's just too good to be the ugly person I think the director was trying to convey as the difficulty of this lawsuit. His acting was fine, and the rest of the cast was good but just missed on being great. There were a few scenes that seemed out of place and I could only really explain as that attempt to complicate his character as "not all good". Overall, good but not great!
Tidelands: Home (2018)
Taking an illegal family business to the supernatural level
The pilot for this series gave us a lot to look forward to. We are provided with complicated relationships and motivations of existence right from the start. We learn a very little about the mysterious "Tidelanders" and a business relationship generations deep with a coastal town. The characters are complex and compelling with multiple storylines to drive this series suspensefully to the next episode.
Explained: Monogamy (2018)
Monogamy, the new human way!
Really informative look and the short history of monogamy and some suggested reasons for it. Takes a historical perspective of monogamy and opens our eyes to just how animalistic we are. Entertaining and educational show that opened this viewers mind to all the possibilities and reasons monogamy seems to be so difficult for so many people.
Easy: Vegan Cinderella (2016)
Another challenging depiction of everyday struggles between lovers
A lesbian couple struggles with the absurdity of trying to be someone you're not just to please your significant other. This episode reminds all of us that loving someone for who they are is far more lasting and endearing than loving someone for who you want them to be.
Greenhouse Academy: Pilot (2017)
Simple yet powerful backdrop
The series premieres on the highest of highs dropping to the lowest of lows. Somewhat stealing a real-life story of the failed launch of the shuttle Challenger with the civilian teacher on board. Two teenagers and their father cheering at a celebration of accomplishment watch in terror as the launch goes horribly wrong.
Skip ahead over half a year and the family is struggling to identify themselves and pursue their lives after the tragedy. The children, the main protagonists, fight for each other and against each other to find themselves while dad sits in a haze essentially lost to the story.
While the acting is pretty good and story mechanics identifiable they are a bit rehearsed and a little predictable. I'm hoping the complexity will improve as the series gains traction.
The title of the series is a revered school where the kids mother went and her legacy allows them an opportunity that normally would not have been given, at least that's what the creator wants us to think. Some help, some challenges, and a lot of questions remain as to how successful the siblings will be at this school.
Easy: The F**King Study (2016)
Challenge your happiness and gender norm...
In kind of a whirlwind of emotional regret, a married couple challenges their sexual happiness after an awkward conversation at a party. The episode rushes through the difficulties of keeping an exciting sex life amidst the responsibilities of being parents and maintaining successful businesses. An interesting well acted interlude focusing on one aspect of marriage and its importance for the overall well being of the marriage.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)
Hugely imaginative, poorly acted
What a beautiful, complex, and original universe Luc Besson created for this movie. Unfortunately, the two leads that propel this "love story" mix as well as oil in water. The emotional depth displayed by these two really drags down the overall feeling of this film. The flirting isn't flirtatious it's preposterous and the love isn't lovely it's almost annoying.
I've loved the worlds Luc Besson has created, from small parts of a large city in "The Professional" to the sprawling expanse of "The Fifth Element." This one could have been as well with better chemistry among the actors.
Dina (2017)
Sometimes it's difficult to watch something so real and different from your life.
Don't let the review title fool you, this was a good movie. Taking a person's life and making it real is not that easy to do regardless of the situation that person is in. The director takes the life of two people who are so invested in being good to each other that it supercedes every other situation in their life that they struggle with. The simplicity of the story a couple planning a marriage and honeymoon undercuts the complexity of the reality of these two people. The characteristic that moves the story and flatlines the suspense (there isn't any) is the untouchable honesty they share with each other over the most complex things most of us fumble with horribly to talk about. I enjoyed the movie but it wasn't perfect and could have used a little more continuity in the timeline, but I think the way it was done was intentional and other people might like that. Wonderfully real people and an amazingly boring story line makes this difficult to watch at times but pushes us to look at life from an angle very different from what most of us see through an event that most of us go through.