htwhyppe-5 Reviews

The Good Doctor (2017–2024)

Obnoxious Shaun Murphy

[8/10 · 30 May 2023]

I used to enjoy this program, but they somehow lost control of their main character. He's become an obnoxious, in-everyone's-face jerk who'd be tossed out of every place on earth except a TV show. I don't recall this happening to Shore's last creation -- Greg House. He was obnoxious from the get-go, but that was part of his unique charm. I won't be watching the erstwhile good doctor next year. I suppose they could launch changes if they get enough reviews like this -- or get feedback from somebody besides the network executives -- because they have clearly lost their way. Seriously, when ever Shaun comes on the screen I emotionally leave the room.

White House Plumbers (2023)

Eagerly looked forward to this

[3/10 · 2 May 2023]

So imagine my surprise that the guys who made this mess seem to have taken their cues from the same people who initiated the break-in in the first place, and as Mark Felt points out in every iteration of this material, these were not bright guys. That is to say, this rendering of the comic opera that is the Watergate break-in is a mess. I love everybody in the cast, love the period, and the attention to detail, but I could not get to the end of episode one. Get me back to one of the versions of the Daisy Montgomery story, please. I also didn't like The Diplomat, so maybe it's just myself. I don't really think that. I believe that maybe it's a good thing that the WGA is striking. Maybe people will find their balance.

Dead Ringers (2023)

Yikes... please

[2/10 · 22 April 2023]

I also lasted almost exactly 15 minutes. I don't exactly what made me switch it off. The list of social crimes is endless. I remember the Jeremy Irons/David Cronenberg film quite well, and I didn't have any problems with it. Not the kind of problems where I'd flip it off. Don't get me wrong -- the tech credits and the acting are superb in this new version, and I can see how producers and money sources would want to take a tried and true product and throw it at the endless and broad canvas that is streaming. But for me it was just plain too dehumanizing. After all the aesthetic skirmishes since 2016 I don't need to inflict more on myself.

Z (1969)

I'm always asked to recommend films and --

[10/10 · 24 February 2023]

I invariably recommend Z. It's true, I was young and impressionable when I saw first in 1969. It was the height of political revolution, or at any rate, the height of the counter-culture making its voice heard across the country,, so we were all tuned into those pieces of art that sided with us. The film stayed with me throughout the decades and a couple years ago I sought out the film again. Not easy to find, but these days EVERYTHING can be found with the help of a keyboard and an internet connection. I found it, had it transformed from PAL to NTHS, then I had to burn it to disk... but then I had the sheer joy of watching it with my grown up daughter. It did not disappoint. It will never disappoint. I've been to Greece many times now, and the Greece it was then is not visible now... of course how deeply does a tourist look...? Z is a great film about an important event.

You People (2023)

I was surprised --

[3/10 · 31 January 2023]

-- at how quickly this went from ten to three. Fine cast, whatwith Julia and Eddie and Jonah. How bad can it be...? The answer came quickly, and every time you think it might improve it just dived deeper into dreckville. I guess that's not fair. It's not dreck exactly, it's just severe, paralyzing cringe. Not to mention that Jonah Hill looks about a hundred years old. I stayed with it, hoping that it would pick up in Act Two and give me something I could stomach, but alas. It was not to be. This was allowed out into theaters...? Color me astounded. Any film goes through a great many hoops from word processor to screen. How were so many people blind to its crappiness...?

The Fabelmans (2022)

This is a two and half hour motion selfie

[3/10 · 12 January 2023]

I'm a big fan of "Munich"; I thought it was powerful and dynamic. In its way it helped ameliorate the horrors of the '72 Olympics, as if anything could. It also brought us Eric Bana who is a great find if you ask me. I also thought well of "Empire of the Sun", largely because of the cast, particularly John Malkovich who can do no wrong. But this, this mush of a movie should have stayed locked away in memory. No need to traipse all the dirty laundry out for the world to see. What's the value of that? I really don't get it. Was Spielberg tired of being accused of never doing anything personal? Well, this more than makes up for that. And I'm unclear, despite its two and half hour length, did his mother get the help she clearly needed (at least through the lens of Spielberg et al.)? I also liked Jaws and will watch it again every time it's on tv. But I won't watch this again. E.ver.

The Rookie: Feds (2022–2023)

Please stop this crap

[2/10 · 6 December 2022]

This woman is beyond embarrassing. The cutesy., ditzy act in a woman this age is beyond offensive. She nearly ruined our enjoyment of The Rookie, but just stop. There is probably a good idea within the FBI, but not through the eyes of a singularly offensive beast like this. We like The Rookie; it clicks on all cylinders. This does not. I'm sure it will be put out of its misery soon enough by the network and Niecy cretin can find her place in daytime TV, which is clearly where she belongs. There, or as a grocery clerk, no offense to grocery clerks everywhere.. Prime time is a tough nut to crack. Leave it to the pros.

Anna Karenina (I) (2012)

Dull beyond all reason

[4/10 · 21 September 2022]

Worse yet, the sound track is utterly miserable. Whenever my family and I watch something where the dialogue is underwater we say "Ah, English mix," and we are invariably correct. I don't believe that Tolstoy was out to put us to sleep, but that's what this epic does. All this great talent and this is the result? I'm sure it looked great on paper, but I'm afraid that's where this should have remained. You've got Jude Law, and Kiera Knightley, Domhnall Gleeson, all this high-priced talent on screen -- not to mention the great Tom Stoppard behind the keyboard and this is the result? Gotverdamt. Start over again.

The Gray Man (2022)

I'm not young or vapid enough --

[4/10 · 22 July 2022]

-- to enjoy this picture. Maybe if I'd lasted the additional hour I'd have found some purchase, but not even Ryan Gosling or Ana De Armas could get me there. (I'm also a big fan of Billy Bob.) But Gosling's skills are relegated to the back seat in favor of exploding crap. I think if your demands are not high then this could be watchable. But those with discretion will lose interest quickly. Maybe Russo needed his brother to keep him on the beam. Though in truth I doubt he cared if he made crap as long as big bucks came as part of the package.

The Old Man (2022– )

I wanted to love this, but --

[3/10 · 15 July 2022]

I did not. It's all phone calls or flashbacks. The forward motion of drama is completely stalled out. I'm a huge Jeff Bridges fan -- he's the best actor of his generation, so I was twice as disappointed as I might have been if I weren't a fan. To its credit I can't tell by watching that Bridges was suffering Covid and/or melanoma, so that's to the filmmakers credit. Shoulda used the down time to figure out how to spin a more dynamic front story. Alia Shawkat is great as always, as is Lithgow, but the writing is so weak.

2000 Mules (2022)

What BS

[2/10 · 12 July 2022]

Unsubstantiated opinions by people with an axe to grind, in defense of the musty vulgar, cretinous clown ever to inhabit the office. And the film-making is nothing. Substandard.

Tehran (2020– )

This is a first for me, I love Tehran BUT --

[8/10 · 19 June 2022]

-- the final episode of Season Two killed Milad?! What?? All he did was help Mossad. I suppose the intent was to wipe out Tamar too, which I guess makes sense. But killing Milad was a bridge too far for the film makers. I will of course be back for Season Three if it happens. Otherwise, superior all around. Great use of Athens as Tehran, Great acting. Shawn Taub is SO evil, as he was in Homeland.

Guillermo Villas: Settling the Score (2020)

Terrific and sad

[7/10 · 12 June 2022]

I was major fan of Vilas's back in the 70s. I was just starting my life as a tennis player, and though I was not a leftie I had great admiration for Vilas, plus he was not prima donna or a pr**k like the Americans. McEnroe has rehabilitated his reputation to a certain extent by being an amusing color guy on the majors, but Vilas does not need rehabilitation of his reputation. It's sad that the ATP might never give credit where it is due in terms of Vilas's status as number one... also sad that Vilas has early onset memory issues. But the film does not harp. It is not maudlin and only modestly sentimental. It's an excellent documentary about an extraordinary player.

Ozark (2017–2022)

Really terrific show, except --

[7/10 · 19 May 2022]

-- for Laura Linney. When speaks I hear nails on a chalkboard. She's washed-out and vague, and the high quality of the serves only to make us notice it more. The quality of the writing and situations is nearly up there with The Sopranos, rare air indeed.

Operation Mincemeat (2021)

Unfathomably dull

[3/10 · 13 May 2022]

For all the on-screen talent and the esteem in which the Operation is held, this was agonizing. I kept waiting for it to start; and then I couldn't wait for it to be over. I loved Shakespeare in Love, also Corelli's Mandolin, both of which were made by John Madden. Go figure.

Tokyo Vice (2022–2024)

22 minutes is eough

[2/10 · 29 April 2022]

I wanted to like this; a stranger in a strange land premise often works great, and I like Ansel. But here I am steaming toward the middle of the episode and there's 's nary single character attribute that I can assign the main guy, except that he's from Missouri, which is not exactly a meaningful personal character trait. Too bad there ism nothing else to stream. This will not be back.

Severance (2022– )

Arrogant and numbing

[2/10 · 26 April 2022]

It thinks it's new and eye-opening when it is tired and painfully cliched. Black Mirror is a good comparison since it too is contemporary, hip, sci-fi. But where Black Mirror succeeds, this fails. In the first ten minutes the most interesting aspect is that Adam Scott has a blue band-aid. This is drek being shoveled at the un-sophisticated.

Barry Lyndon (1975)

It's hard to say who Kubrick was pranking with this --

[3/10 · 21 January 2022]

Casting a complete lout as a complete lout is daring business. Ryan O'Neal will never be mistaken for an actor. I believe that Kubrick did this awful picture just so he could experiment with/develop the lenses he needed to shoot with no artificial light. The artifice, thus, was left in the hands of the awful Ryan O'Neal. And he certainly excels at it. A worse on-screen thug there has never been. Brilliant casting of his son (using his assistant) was inspired. But come on. This film was a catastrophe, except for those fast lenses... so it was worth it.

Being the Ricardos (2021)

I liked this film a lot, BUT

[7/10 · 7 January 2022]

I despised Lucy when I watched her as a kid. An attractive woman behaving like Emmet Kelly is a truly awful combination. I don't remember ever laughing at a thing Lucy did. And she was on TV in various iterations for about100 years. But the movie well made and keeps your interest -- what the heck, kit Aaron Sorkin, so of course it's got that going for it, which is a lot. Kudos to Kidman and Bardem for inhabiting their characters. First rate acting up and down the line.

Open Water (2003)

I want to say this is trash, but --

[3/10 · 6 January 2022]

-- it doesn't rise to the level of trash, and it's not really fair to the "film-makers" who are clearly just amateurs. Anything from which a trailer can be wrought will get people into the seats for a moment, and that defines this "film" -- literally and figuratively because this was shot on digital before digital became the way of the world -- there's lots of filler of the happy locals and nice drinks. Skip it go to the beach.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005– )

On incessantly

[4/10 · 17 December 2021]

This show is omnipresent; I wish only that it were as funny as it is steadfast. Instead it is only modestly funny only occasionally. I wish I loved it because as I say it's on, and on, and on. Comedy is hard, and these guys know just how hard.

7 Days in Entebbe (2018)

Good cast is --

[4/10 · 8 December 2021]

-- pretty much wasted in this lackluster production. I was anxious to something that the Peter Finch version of this same event missed. Unfortunately, what we got was a bunch of dancing. Say what? Apparently there's a dance program that exists to express the events of the Raid on Entebbe. Why it's in this film is beyond me. Maybe production funds were conditional on its inclusion.

Narcos: Mexico (2018–2021)

Not only are the stories shocking --

[7/10 · 5 December 2021]

-- the style with which these stories are photographed is fantastic, There was one shot where the director or DP decided he liked the ceiling and put the camera way up high so kit could be featured. It was really unusual and great. Normally a crew .likes it easy; in the Philippines, for example. The crew by default sets up the camera at the height the cameraman can look through the lens without bending, I kid you not. The guys are Narcos throw that laziness and routine out the window. The camera choreography is as dynamic as the actors.

Here Today (2021)

Sad clown trope

[3/10 · 10 November 2021]

Indeed, I saw this on a trans-continental flight. I can't stomach Marvel stuff, and stuff that belongs on the big screen isn't what ought to be watched on a plane, so I went with what seemed as if it had human beings. This has human beings but it devolved fairly quickly into the old sad clown trope, which is really annoying. I believe I made it to the end of the movie, but by then I needed a drink, and I don't drink.

Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)

Unwatchable drek

[2/10 · 14 August 2021]

Wasting such a vast array of talent is quite an achievement. Good title. And that's all. I like Karen Gillan a lot, in principle. Carla Cugino. Lena Heady. Paul Giamatti. It's not easy to make such a bad film with .such stellar talent. It's enough to make you reconsider your Netflix subscription.