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Reviews
The Courier (2020)
Horrible
This is one boring movie. After 15 minutes I wanted to turn it off. Why does it have to be so dingy. It may as well have been done in black and white. It jumps all over the place. The music overpowers the dialog and is most annoying. How can anyone think that this is a good movie? Thank goodness I didn't have to pay to see this in a theatre. I would hate to have to get up and leave and I can just turn this one off and go to something else. A spy movie should be gripping from the beginning but this one has no redeeming quality whatsoever.
Don't waste your time on this movie. This one is very bad.
Dark Waters (2019)
Unearthing a tragedy
This is a valuable story. We should all be mindful of the impact that big industrial companies have on the environment. Where I live some paper mills have closed and the authorities are left to clean up the mess left behind by the companies instead of the companies cleaning up as the work goes on. The lawyer in this case is a true hero.
As for the movie itself it is quite good. The story is well told. However, why does the filming have to be so dark and dreary? Is the darkness to set the mood? The trend these days in movies is to keep the action dark. What for? Often you can't even tell what is happening in the movies today. The filming could have been much better.
The Mother (2023)
Couldn't watch this.
Well here we have another movie shot in the dark. Why do we seem to be getting movies that are shot so you can't see details. Is this technic something new that directors think is a good thing. The story is bad enough by I get depressed seeing all the grey. Perhaps it is dark for some of the time it is shot in Alaska in the winter.
There are crazy chases and crazy shooting. It is just so far fetched. Movies are becoming as bad as the latest music. It is no wonder why a whole generation is opting out of traditional entertainment. This is just a bad movie. What is the purpose of this movie? Just to give JLo a job?
Where the Crawdads Sing (2022)
Great movie
Everything about this film is great. Generally most movies have some aspect that ruins the entire film. This movie, in my opinion does not have any flaw. The acting is great. The filming is wonderful with great colour. There is no darkness in the filming that spoils so many movies these days. These days it is almost that the directors don't want you to see the set or to see the action. The story is very believable and the ending is a surprise. I thought sure that Tate was the culprit. Of course there are still some doubts.
This film should have won many awards but it may well yet get more credit. It is very heartfelt at the end.
Silent Hours (2021)
Hoped it would be better
This is a slow moving movie. Not really sure what it is about. It is hard to follow. Lots of the story makes no sense whatsoever. I would have fast foreword a lot of this. I only finished watching to see who was killing the women. I should have stopped watching and done something more worthwhile with my time. What a long movie. It could have been done in half the time. Sometimes I wonder how actors can go along with the script. Do actors ever speak up and say look this this just isn't going to work? A lot of movies are pretty good for a while and then it just takes one thing to ruin the whole show. This movie was like that.
Marie Antoinette (2022)
What's the good?
What's the good of an historical drama if it is not accurate. Lots of historical dramas ruin history and people don't even realize it most of the time. The first episode is just weird. The filming is a little too dark for my liking but the costumes and the sets are excellent. Why do we have to have the ridiculous background music. It surely is not necessary. What is the purpose of the that music? Can't the drama stand up on its own.
I doubt very much that I will continue to watch further episodes. I just cannot relate to this and I am a university history major.
I really do not know if this tragic period in history is being shown as well as it could have been.
Titanic (1997)
Not a great movie
The twenty fifth anniversary of the movie just passed and it had some hype. Why this movie is so popular I do not know. The story was ok and the set was ok but the acting was horrible. Leonardo was so out of place in this film. Just before this movie came out in the theatre there was a TV version released. The TV version had a great cast with Peter Gallagher, Catherine Zeta-Jones, George C. Scott, Tim Curry and Marilu Henner. Their acting was superb. The TV version was longer than the movie so it had more time to develop the characters. There is definitely something wrong with movie reviewers and critics. Often a great movie gets no respect yet poor movies get top scores.
I found it odd that a TV version would come out just before a theatre version. Cameron's version won the hype battle.
Xanadu (1980)
Great musical
I first saw this film in the theatre when it came out. Olivia was at the height of her career and Gene Kelly was still a star. Once you put aside your disbelief at the premise of the film and just enjoy the costumes and the music you will enjoy it. Generally I don't like musicals. There is something odd with a group of people that suddenly break out in song. The blending of the 1940's music with the modern ELO music is brilliant. I find the acting excellent. There is no understanding why people do not like this movie. Professional critics cannot be understood either. Often an excellent movie gets poor revues and conversely some mediocre movies get top scores.
Yellowstone (2018)
Had high hopes but it didn't live up to the hype.
We bought the first four seasons. The first episode is terrible. I don't know who is who and I don't know what is happening. Stuff is happening and I don't know why. I am a little hard of hearing, admittedly, but the dialog is really hard to follow. I really feel that we wasted our money. Who are these people? The producers couldn't even spring for real ice cream. The scoop of ice cream bounces like a ball. So fake. I don't know if I can waste the time watching the rest of the episodes. Where is Walt Longmire when you need him? Now that was a series that you could understand and follow. I gave this a four out of sympathy.
Who'd want to live in a place like this? Beautiful country but terrible people.
Well my wife and I finished watching the four seasons. My rating of four stars stands. It is impossible to believe that this kind of life exists anywhere. It really is a crazy story, convoluted and overly violent. The real cowboy scenes are good and the scenery is great.
In 1999 my wife and I drove through Yellowstone Park, Wyoming, Montana, and South Dakota. We drove over Beartooth mountain. We vowed that we would go back again but after watching this series I doubt it. Who would want to go to a place where people would rather kill you than give you the time of day, a place where people ask, "Who'd you kill today?".
The only good person in this whole mess is Monica.
But hey, no fighting on the ranch but come on guys let's go murder some cowboys.
The Sinner: Part IV (2021)
The series isn't getting any better
I was really looking forward to season four. The first two seasons were really good. Season three was not that good. Bill Pullman is a great troubled character actor. This season starts out pretty good. Lunenburg looks pretty good. Episode one is ok but then the wheels fall off. The story is ok but why does the filming have to be so dark. Even the scenes during the day outside are dull and the scenes indoors are really gloomy. Do the directors think that washing out all the colour adds to the suspense? I certainly don't think so. If there is a season five I'll watch. I just hope that the producers can get some lights and brighter film. I don't need scenes where I have to wonder what is happening.
I tried to finish watching the series but after episode 4 the show got worse. It is boring and just too dark for me to see what is happening. I couldn't waste anymore time so I was done part way through episode 5.
It's too bad. I like Bill Pullman.
Hope Street (2020)
Good show with thick accent
I enjoyed the first episode. I like the bright filming. So many of today's shows are dark even during the daylight. The sound is good but the Irish accent is difficult to understand a lot of the time. It will be interesting to follow the series and see how the characters develop and to learn the real reason why the new detective has come to town and why the sergeant is so against the new hire. The program has a winner in the setting. The setting is a great change from the usual stuff we see.
I cannot understand why the program is getting such harsh reviews. The story is realistic and the acting seems to be top rate. I do wish though that the director would fill up the teacups. There is nothing worse than actors pretending to drink from empty cups.
Walker: Independence (2022)
New style western
This is ok at best. The story is ok. The setting is ok. What is not ok is the obtrusive and endless music that interferes with the dialog. Why do producers and directors feel that they need music to make the story more dramatic or tense?
The filming is good. The shows these days seem to be all done in the dark so that half the time you don't know what is happening. This program is bright. Good for them.
The first episode is good but is this story going to carry on all the way through the series. I doubt if this thread can sustain itself very long. Other story lines will have to be employed which will be a good thing.
The second episode will decide if I continue to watch.
Two Shallow Graves: The McStay Family Murders (2022)
Very interesting documentary
I enjoyed this documentary but I still do not know who murdered the McStay family. One thing is clear to me. There was more than reasonable doubt to the guilt of Merritt. There was very poor police investigation and the prosecutors were more interested in getting a conviction than in finding the truth. The justice system is in sad shape.
Why didn't the authorities do more in depth investigation of the four other suspects. Even the brother Michael is very suspicious. How could the jury find Merritt guilty with no real evidence. The are just so many holes all over this case.
I am happy that there is a stay on executions. Perhaps some new evidence will come to light to save Merritt from a life in jail. His defence team did a fairly good job but they did make some mistakes but they were up against a brick wall.
Woe is the person that is charged with a major crime because the state has endless resources to bring to the case whereas the average person has nothing to fight with really and their life is ruined no matter what the verdict.
The North Water (2021)
The North Water sinks badly
I just watched the first episode on CBC. I will not be watching anymore episodes. Why are drama series these days all done in the dark? This is absolutely the worst in that department. I can't understand what the actors are saying. The whole production is hopeless. Why are some people giving this such high ratings? At least some people are bing honest with their ratings. A rating of 4 might be reasonable. This series had the potential to be great. I was looking forward to it but 5 minutes in and I was ready to turn it off. I could tell that the production wasn't going to get any better. There is no time to waste on this series.
The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
Masterpiece
This is a masterpiece. Truly one of the greatest movies of all time. The acting, the music, the cinematography and the story are exceptional. There are very few movies that I like to watch more than once but this movie I never tire of. It has everything you would want in a movie.
After watching the movie a third time I had to give it a 10.
How can this not be right up there with the other greats like Casablanca and Gone With The Wind?
1917 (2019)
OK at best
This movie was so slow. It had some good visual effects and it did show the horrors of war but there was nothing new here. I don't understand the high rating that it received on IMDb.
Titanic (1996)
Hype on Cameron's Titanic
I finally found somewhere that deals with the titanic mini series. Ihave wondered for years why the mini series didn't get much notoriety when all you heard about at the time was the Cameron movie. The TV series was much better in so many ways. The actors in the mini series were much better, the scenery and set was better, the script was better and the treatment given to the plight of all the passengers and the crew. the only thing that Cameron's movie had that was better was the song by Celine Dion. Why doesn't this mini series get more credit? I just do not understand. After all just look at the cast alone. Imagine the stature of George C. Scott, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Peter Gallagher against Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet. Also Marylu Henner and Tim Curry are great. In Cameron's movie all you have is DiCaprio saying Rose's name over and over. The TV series developed the characters much more which is understandable I suppose given the hours they had compared to the movie.