Change Your Image
Joe X.
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
All in the Family: Cousin Maude's Visit (1971)
Laugh-Out-Loud funny episode
I laughed my butt off watching this one. You can see how Bea Arthur got a show of her own out of this. What a performance! She is a perfect, hilarious foil for Archie.
A top-five episode of the show.
What We Do in the Shadows: The Wellness Center (2021)
Hey! As good (or better) as the first two seasons
The Nandor-Guillermo relationship is the heart of the show. It's about time they got back to it.
I was disappointed that Guillermo only used garlic powder, instead of breaking out the stakes, but it was still one of the better episodes of the season or even the full run.
Seinfeld: The Phone Message (1991)
One of the best early episodes
I just found out that Jerry and Larry wrote this episode in two days after the scheduled one was rejected after a read-through. It's a George tour-de-force that comes from Larry's real life (as so many of the classic bits do).
If you watch the series in order, this is one of the first ones where you can see the typical Seinfeld style really starting to taking shape. This feels like the Seinfeld we're used to seeing--unlike most of the earlier episodes.
The Bad News Bears (1976)
This one gets better with age
There are some deep themes here. Conformity vs. Individualism. Rich vs. Poor. Well-off White vs. Everybody Else. Corporatism vs. Everybody Else.
The Bears are not even named after a big-league team and their sponsor is a bail bondsman. Their opponent, The Yankees, the epitome of big money, has Pizza Hut as their sponsor.
The Bears are more racially diverse than the Yankees, too. It is interesting that when the game is close and tense, and the hegemony is threatened, the coach of the Yankees resorts to violence.
Of course the powers that be still win at the end. But the losers realize they are just as worthy or more.
Director Michael Ritchie was really at the top of his game in the mid-seventies. Between this movie and "Smile," I don't think anybody portrayed the American suburban experience of the 70's any better. Two masterpieces.
Ted Lasso (2020)
Very good despite formulaic touches
I like this show more than I thought I would mainly because of Jason Sudeikis' performance. He channels Andy Griffith here, and although that might not sound so good, he pulls it off.
There are shades of "Major League" and "Bull Durham" here as well as any number of sports movies where a bunch of losers become winners. Setting it in the Premier League is a nice touch as it capitalizes on European football's growing popularity in the U.S. (for soccer fans) and pretty English scenery (for non-soccer fans). So, while predictable, it's so sweet and kind-hearted with just enough acid that's it's hard to dislike.
The lead character's conspicuous lack of sarcasm or bite is a nice change from typical streaming comedies and is a good antidote to the times we now find ourselves in, making it quality bingeable fare.
The Simpsons: Life on the Fast Lane (1990)
A perfect early episode
There are some harsh ratings for this one. It's a classic, packed with jokes that score from beginning to end. The characters are pretty fully-realized--just 9 episodes in. Patty and Selma especially. Homer's a little more selfish and a little less stupid. Jacques might be the funniest one-off character ever. It's so old now that I bet a lot of people don't even get the Officer and a Gentlemen reference at the end.
A 7.5 is what you give a good episode of Scrubs or How I Met Your Mother. This one deserves a 10.
30 for 30: Of Miracles and Men (2015)
One of the best 30-for30s
This is a fascinating story that covers the history of Soviet hockey, the Miracle on Ice from the Soviet perspective, and the trailblazers from that team that changed Soviet rules on working outside the country and joined the NHL. All three sections are absorbing. This episode should interest non-sports fans as well.
I wish there was a way to watch it again for free. It's probably worth the $4.
Sandwiches That You Will Like (2002)
A very relaxing watch
There's something about Rick Sebak's shows that are so relaxing and pleasant and watchable. Plus you find yourself wanting to go to most of these places and stuff your face.
Good stuff!
Joker (2019)
What am I missing?
I can see how Warner Brothers would greenlight something like this in a heartbeat. And it was a box-office smash, so I guess they made the right decision. It's just that Joker is about as shallow as the pitch that must have been used to sell it.
Take Joaquin Phoenix put him in a Taxi Driver world, give him a weird mom like Requiem for a Dream. Have the psycho want to be a comedian like King of Comedy. Ooh, ooh let's get DeNiro to play the Johnny Carson part. That'll be clever even though DeNiro is totally wrong for it. And do some kind of Bernie Goetz-but different! And have some kind of V for Vendetta-style revolution where everybody wears clown masks. Freaky huh?
The picture goes about connecting these dots dutifully, accompanied by a two note kettle drum score that represents Arthur getting beaten down deeper and deeper. It also beats on the audience. There are several sequences that are apparently Arthur's daydreams and others that seem like daydreams but apparently aren't. These serve to break up the A to B to C plot and confuse the audience. The uprising happens because the whole town was celebrating a triple murder. But I guess they were protesting income inequality or something. Didn't make sense to me, but I am not part of the 16-34 male, superhero-movie-fan audience that this offering was aimed at.
I watched to see Joaquin Phoenix chew the scenery. And for the 70s sets and cinematography, which were really good. But that's about all I got out of it. I feel old.
Taxi Driver (1976)
Prescient and depressing
It is strange to think that it has been 45 years since Taxi Driver's release. In comparison, Taxi Driver came out 37 years after Gone With the Wind and The Wizard of Oz. I think it's fair to say that Taxi Driver belongs on a short list of American films that are cultural touchstones (along with those 1939 classics) . But Taxi Driver seems astonishingly relevant and much more modern after 44 years than those 1939 pictures felt in 1976.
The theme of isolation especially resonates today. The plaintive Herrmann score evokes a calmer, more innocent era. The neon and lighted marquees slide by in a blur. Steam rises from manhole covers. It's beautiful and a little scary. Travis is trying but he's troubled. The city is scary despite all the pretty lights. And try as he might, he can find no allies in this world to help him work his way through it. His inability to connect with women, or really anybody, leads to bloody compensation.
The historical relevance is well documented. Screenwriter Schrader drew inspiration from diaries of Arthur Bremer, who shot George Wallace in 1972. In 1981, John Hickley-an obsessive watcher of the film-tried to assassinate Ronald Reagan to impress Jody Foster. I find it interesting that all three men didn't really care who they killed. Bremer had also stalked Nixon, and Hickley, Carter. Travis didn't care either. He wasn't looking for fame like his real-life counterparts, though, he was just addled and isolated and enraged. But that's a type that's all too familiar today.
Considering the endless stories of mentally ill shooters that we listen to now, it appears that Taxi Driver predicted what was coming. I don't think the filmmakers were going for that; it was probably more historical when it was written-the Texas Tower spree killings occurred 10 years earlier as well as several assassinations and attempts. But as it was one of the first films to explore this type of character, it turned out to be prescient. And depressing. But that's what it is: a depressing work of art.
The Simpsons: A Streetcar Named Marge (1992)
A Great Simpsons Musical
Once you get over the ridiculousness of making a musical of Streetcar and watch this episode a few times, you realize that songs are not only funny, they're pretty darn catchy. I could sing you a good bit of most of them from memory. This show, the play I mean, has become a classic.
The show, The Simpsons I mean, went on to do many more songs and musical numbers, but this is an early example of the musical-comedy brilliance of the show's writers.
And Jon Lovitz is gut-bustingly hilarious in this one.
The Crown (2016)
Season 3 finishes strongly
Like many others, I found the cast change jarring during the first four or five episodes but found that as I got used to the characters, the later episodes equaled or surpassed the quality of the first 2 seasons.
Olivia Coleman by the end proves to be even more deep and sympathetic than Claire Foy, even though I was skeptical at the beginning. Tobias Menzies is perfect throughout and provides a seamless progression from Matt Smith as Phillip. Josh O' Conner and Erin Doherty are fabulous as Prince Charles and Princess Anne.
I think the last five or so episodes of Season 3 are probably better than anything in the first two seasons. So, if you're like me, and were nostalgic for the original cast when starting to watch this new season, just stick with it.
The Simpsons: Black Widower (1992)
Fantastic episode
This is a marvelously plotted piece of non-claptrap that never made me want to wretch! Ahh, what a great line!
This one IS marvelously plotted-- and hilarious. A great episode from back when The Simpsons killed it every week.
Double Indemnity (1944)
An acclaimed classic that still might be underrated
When people ask me what my favorite movie is, I just say "Double Indemnity" because it's at least one of my favorites and I can be fairly certain that the person asking me hasn't seen it which everyone should. For its time and its genre, it's pretty much perfect.
It is the essential film noir. The script may have been equaled but you'll never convince me that it's been topped. Casablanca you might can say equaled it.
You can't claim to a fan of old movies if you haven't seen this picture. And you have to see it four or five times to appreciate the razor-sharp script.
Cheers: Homicidal Ham (1983)
One of the best episodes
This is a really well-constructed episode. The play within the teleplay is very well-done and creates a lot of dramatic tension that is broken with humor. Not a bad episode to show to introduce someone to Cheers.
Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood (2019)
An end of an era movie about the end of an era?
Big budget blockbusters with adult themes and limited special effects are a dying breed in Hollywood. Quentin Tarantino is one of the few auteurs that makes them anymore. And if Once Upon a Time in...Hollywood is one of the last of a dying breed, it's an awfully good picture to go out on.
As Tarantino regales about another dying breed 50 years ago, he packs his script with enough references and self-references for 10 movies. He concocts a detailed back-story for his lead with a filmography and film clips galore. There are also several movies within the movie. You'd probably have to watch it 3 or 4 times and take a graduate-level course on Hollywood in the 60s to catch all the Easter eggs- one that I haven't seen mentioned-Cliff's wife has a sister, Natalie, and the mystery of the wife's demise mirrors that of Natalie Wood. That's just one of like 1000.
His depiction of Los Angeles in 1969 is an astounding feat. How are they driving down an LA freeway in broad daylight with what looks like actual traffic with nothing but 1960s cars? It doesn't look like CGI because it isn't! They shut down the highway! They built the storefronts, and recreated the movie posters, the interiors, and even the Spahn Ranch with obsessive attention to detail. It absolutely looks like 1969. It's utterly immersive.
They didn't move the camera like this in 1969, though--long tracking shots following cars and horses and swooping crane shots over long-lost LA landmarks that take your breath away. I was giddy watching it. It'd be a great movie even without dialogue. But the script will have a good shot at an Oscar. The performances and casting are basically flawless. I wouldn't be surprised if DiCaprio snags another statue--and he might not be the only one.
I really don't understand people that don't care for this picture. Is it a generational thing? The references are eluding the younger audience? They know little or nothing about schlocky 60s movies or TV or the Manson family? It's moves too slow for them? It's too long? (On a price per entertaining minute basis this might be the best deal ever!) Do they not appreciate real old-fashioned movie making that doesn't use CGI as a crutch? Because this film will be studied in film classes in 50 years, or 100 years. As a technical achievement, it's that good.
The story is plenty good too, although if you are over a certain age like the director and myself, it will have more resonance. And it contains ample QT-style revenge for the schmoes who came for the ultra-violence.
I guess I don't get what's not to like. It is a sublime movie going experience. I wonder how much longer they're going to make 'em like this. Outside of Tarantino and the Coens, maybe they've already stopped.
Platoon (1986)
Classic War Movie
In Platoon, Stone brilliantly accomplishes what he set out to do: to show the viewer what it would be like to be a new volunteer on the front "line" in Vietnam. By the time Charlie Sheen goes out on that first night ambush, I was totally immersed. I felt his fear and isolation. I was scared to death for him.
Sheen's character becomes less isolated, but he still can't trust everyone. I can't think of a picture that examines the divisions within a unit like Platoon does. Fear and distrust and tension are woven throughout the film. When I watched it the first time, I couldn't ever really untie the knot in my gut.
After repeated viewings you notice how Stone adroitly gets so many characters into the mix. He's got 23 soldiers (by my count) with lines, and almost all of them are fleshed out a little. The stars were great, but Stone gets fantastic performances from the whole cast (and many little-known actors, some of whom gave up acting). It's a remarkable ensemble.
Repeated viewings reveal some flaws, of course, but compared to what this film achieves, they are minor. There are a few operatic moments which I was willing to indulge the director because of his ability to create such an intimate look at a soldier's experience of war.
BlacKkKlansman (2018)
Entertaining, slightly odd pastiche of comedy, drama, politics, history
Spike Lee has some great source material here (how was this story not more famous?) and he doesn't screw it up.
The comedy isn't laugh-out-loud funny and some more suspense could have been wrung from the plot. Because the book really didn't contain one, a big ending had to be written in, and it's a bit of a let down. Still, Lee is able to knit an absorbing story out of all the parts.
The incredible thing is most of the rest of it is true, and the two leads Washington and Driver do a good job bringing it off. Topher Grace is well-cast as David Duke, but the rest of the support is a little thin in spite of the film's expansive run time.
Lee must have loved learning about the Klansmen's "Birth of a Nation" movie night. It allowed him to delve into one of his favorite topics, the whitewashing of D.W. Griffith. It might seem a little didactic to those who already know the story, but it's a good history lesson for younger viewers.
Lee bookends the film with political commentary in his typically provocative fashion, which was jarring but affecting. Alas, he's likely preaching to the choir given his audience.
BlackkKlansman certainly gave you something to think about on the way home, like the best of Lee's films did, and for that it's worthwhile viewing.
Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
Not good. Not good at all.
This movie is one gigantic, embarrassing cliche. Think of the most cliched "humble girl marries rich prince" movie (Pretty Woman, or something similar), mix in 50% more cliches, some hit-you-over-the-head dialogue, and 5 episodes of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Now dumb it down a shade more.
If you like dreck like that, then you'll like this.
I don't and I didn't.
Except for the setting and characters being Asian, this is a cookie-cutter film that has garnered an obscene amount more praise than it deserves. But hey, good for Asians. They have as much right to make and enjoy this garbage as anyone else.
Will not be seeing Crazy Rich Asians II, III, IV, or V.
3 stars for the pretty pictures and Pierre Png, who was actually quite good as the cousin's cheating husband.
The Simpsons: Trash of the Titans (1998)
A perfect encapsulation of the 2016 election-- 18 years before it happened!
Homer gets angry at his garbagemen and to exact vengeance, decides to run for sanitation commissioner. He promises voters the moon in his bid to win the election. His opponent, Ray Patterson, offers only competence and experience. Of course, the booboisie voters choose Homer, who proceeds to make a perfect hash of it. Disaster ensues.
When asked to return, the former commissioner (Steve Martin) responds, "It's so gratifying to leave you wallowing in the mess you made. You're screwed. Thank you. Bye." No losing candidate has said it better.
Probably the best season 9 episode and solid evidence that The Simpsons golden age extended beyond season 8.
Nobody does political satire better than the Simpsons. They can even predict the future.
Mindhunter (2017)
Certainly bingeworthy. Not a masterpiece.
Other reviewers who mentioned that Mindhunter is like 2 different shows have it right. You've got the bingeworthy and the cringeworthy. The part dealing with interviewing serial killers and solving local crimes is quite good. The part that tries to delve into the characters home life and relationships slows the show's momentum and is actually hard to watch at times. Luckily, the relationship parts make up only about 20-25% of the show.
Set design and cinematography are top notch. Soundtrack is hit and miss, but there are some great selections, like the Led Zeppelin in the last episode, that are powerful. All of it seems tailored to appeal to late Boomers/early Gen-Xers who grew up in the 70s. That's me, and I really enjoyed the cars, clothes, mise en scene, and the color pallet.
Dialogue can be too on-the-nose and explanatory sometimes. The writers should give the audience more credit. The interview scenes are compelling, though. They are the core of the show, and I wanted more of them.
80% x 8.4 rating for the police work parts. 20% x 4.4 rating for the relationship parts = 7.6 overall rating. In toto, it was a good first season, and I'm looking forward to see where it goes from here.
Bad Teacher (2011)
Crude... but I like it
'Bad Teacher' sets the bar low and clears it with ease.
The film's unalloyed tastelessness is its best quality. Diaz bludgeons the viewer with vulgarity and coarseness, and I admired the way she tears into her role. She has no redeeming qualities, yet I rooted for her. If you can surrender and allow yourself to be dragged into the muck, it's an enjoyable ride.
The jokes come fast. Not all are funny, but enough of them score to keep things moving. The supporting performances are superb. There are many experienced comedic actors here adding funny bits with great timing. Timberlake had the weakest written part, but even he ripped off a few zingers. I probably got the biggest chuckles from the bits in the unrated version that were cut out of the theatrical cut. They were truly crude. I'm not proud of it, but there it is. Such is the charm of this one if you go for that sort of thing.
The Descendants (2011)
A big ehh..
Alexander Payne's made a career out of casting a gimlet eye on the foibles of flawed middle class folks, and while he might have seemed a bit condescending toward them, you empathized with them or even loved them.
Ironically, with Clooney's 1-percenter lead, Payne seems to have gone to great lengths to portray his most likable protagonist thus far, yet I feel nothing.
Clooney spends the movie trying to resolve being cuckolded while he drags his two daughters and a stoner boyfriend along for the ride. Shouldn't he be helping his kids cope with their loss? Truth be told, they don't seem all that broken up about it. Nor does he, although he's obsessed with being cheated on. In fact the only person who registers what feels like appropriate grief is father-in-law Robert Forster. His performance stands out because of it.
Clooney's character is remote. He can barely stand to hug his kids when they find out mom's doomed. When stoner boy reveals a horribly painful fact, Clooney's a wax dummy. And Clooney does not do sorrow well. So you have this melodramatic set-up about the most tragic of circumstances, and the lead actor plays it like a wooden Indian. I understand that was the point. It just didn't work is all.
He's plenty invested in his personal tragedy, though. He gets most worked up in his therapeutic monologues with his comatose wife. As he goes through anger, repentance, and acceptance, we are supposed to think he has accomplished something. I didn't. Another character also exorcises demons over top the vegged-out wife. That poor woman. (Although, from what we hear about her in the script, she's not supposed to be very likable.)
At the end, Clooney shows he has grown to the point where he can stand to sit on the same couch with his kids and eat ice cream. I can appreciate understatement and all, but it's not enough. Ask the younger one if she wants to go camping next week or something. Anything.
I would be remiss without adding that the voice-over and on-the-nose expository dialogue in the first third of the film were also below Payne's usually high standards. I guess every director has a misfire eventually.
The Social Network (2010)
Entertaining Flick, A Little Over-hyped
The critics are falling all over themselves praising this film, predicting a armload of Oscars for the principals come March, and that could very well happen, but The Social Network doesn't seem like any kind of modern-day classic to me.
What strikes one while watching it is the skillful way Sorkin, Fincher, and the actors can hold your interest for 2 hours with a story about a socially-awkward computer wiz's rise to the top and the pesky lawsuits he had to endure, which seem real important during the film, but eventually result in settlements.
Apparently Fincher can make any subject matter interesting, and Sorkin's rapid-fire script had the audience I watched with hanging on every word. You had to pay attention. If you were distracted for 5 seconds, you might miss 4 lines of dialogue. And while all of it was clever, there were no great truths coming from the actor's mouths. There wasn't much of a theme to latch on to here, other than the irony of a friendless geek creating the biggest social phenomenon on the web. As far as I could tell, everyone just wanted to get paid. Except Justin Timberlake's character who wanted to get laid and high as well. He was great, by the way.
Jesse Eisenberg was also great (again) evolving from his usual intelligent, self-conscious, sensitive guy to an intelligent, self-conscious, insensitive guy. Not much of a leap that Eisenberg manages easily. I didn't hate his character at the end as much as everyone else seems to. Best bud Andrew Garfield and rich guy(s) Armie Hammer were good too.
I guess the lack of real conflict or suspense is the cause for the slight flatness I felt at the end. I knew Zuckerberg was going to come out filthy rich and in the absence of any personal epiphany from him, the fate of his former best bud just wasn't enough to get me emotionally involved. (Don't worry, he got paid -- along with everyone else.)
Revolutionary Road (2008)
Not all that revolutionary in 2009
When this novel came out in 1961, with JFK in office and America at the zenith of empire, perhaps this story about the dark rumblings beneath the veneer of suburban normalcy was bold and original. But now? Almost 50 years later? It's been done to death, don't you think?
We get it, Mendes. The suburbs suck, and the American Dream isn't all it's cracked up to be. You already covered that territory once-- more deftly. Add to that: the 50s were a conformist prison. Congratulations, you've hit the cliché trifecta.
The timing on this one is especially bad given our current economic woes. The family lives in a beautiful neighborhood. Husband has a secure, not-too-difficult job and is about to be promoted. Children are healthy and happy. Looks pretty good from the edge of the abyss here in 2010. What's the problem?
The wife never became an artist!--not that she showed any evidence of possessing a speck of talent. Her neighbors are boring!--although they seem to be perfectly nice folks. Their trip to Paris where they were somehow to achieve self-actualization was scrubbed! Her husband turned out to be a rather ordinary fellow and not Cary Grant! Boo freaking hoo!
Take some of hubby's raise, hire a nanny, and then perfect your "art." Hell, Grace Metalious wrote Peyton Place under the same set of constraints without the raise and the nanny (during the exact same time period). No, not with this precious broad. It's Paris or nothing for her.
Is this movie trying to say that the wife's inability to grow up --i.e., deal with the responsibilities of life and diminished expectations-- was her tragic flaw? Or is it proposing that "society" and "the times" caused a non-conformist to destroy herself? It's hard to say, but given the emphasis on setting and period details, it seems to be the latter. Through the telescope of 50 years, it just looks naive and childish. A better theme would be: how do we find dignity and meaning in life once we realize we're not that "special?" But that's a little deeper than this shallow examination cared to delve. Much easier to blame the "phoniness" of "society."
The crazy son of the real estate agent was a clumsy contrivance to catalyze the conflict and hammer the audience over the head with the movie's theme.
The acting was good, given the material. The sets and cinematography were top-notch. It's a great movie to look at with the sound off. Beautiful really, which pushes the rating into respectable territory. Points, too, for at least addressing the most common of adult themes in a straightforward, un-ironic fashion. But in the end, it's rather "fake-deep" and superfluous with an unsatisfying ending.