Martin Scorsese could have easily left an hour of this movie on the editing room floor. It may have been interesting if it didn't draw out so long. Also, whatever CGI they used to make Robert De Niro look young was so unnatural that it's the most distracting thing I've ever seen in a movie.
Reviews
7 Reviews
Midsommar
(2019)
Interesting story, half-witted writing
26 April 2021
This movie is weird. Whether that's good or bad is entirely up to each viewer. I didn't find the idea or the execution of it that bad but the one thing I can't forgive is the writing. The writer (and maybe the director?) wanted so badly for every viewer to understand exactly what was going on that it may as well have been narrated. Some people won't get it and that's fine. For those of us who enjoy reading between the lines, it was insulting and it ruined the movie.
Please learn the art of subtlety.
Please learn the art of subtlety.
Banshee
(2013–2016)
I don't understand all the positive reviews
25 February 2021
I'm at a loss reading the reviews for this show. It's hard for me to believe Banshee wasn't written by a group of 15yo boys playing video games. I can't believe a grown adult had anything to do with it. The number of high ratings for this moronic show reiterate just how shallow the gene pool has become.
The Alienist
(2018– )
19th Century Criminal Minds
13 January 2021
It looks like the writers of this show binged Criminal Minds then wrote a storyline set in 19th century New York. The characters use terminology and investigation techniques that were first developed in the 1970s. Also, a psychologist, newspaper illustrator, and police station secretary are the brilliant investigative team we follow throughout the show.
I made it halfway through episode 3 before I tapped out (and I usually have to see even bad productions through to the end).
I made it halfway through episode 3 before I tapped out (and I usually have to see even bad productions through to the end).
Meh
30 September 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Edgar maintains his silence for 23 1/2 hours but starts talking because an investigator points out there's a camera in front of him? That's the best you can do? I like David Tennant but this is a huge waste of time. The details that nail him are interesting but it's not worth sitting through 38 minutes to get to it.
Borderline
(2016–2017)
Please Continue Filming!
11 February 2017
This show is FUNNY! I found myself drawn into the characters right away and I was legitimately sad when I finished the 6th episode, hoping there would eventually be more. I don't understand all the negative reviews, maybe they're Americans who don't get British wit? (I say that as an American who is thoroughly entertained by it.) My favorite is the review which says it's just a copy of The Office (USA). Does he hate Parks & Rec and Modern Family for the same reason? And does he realize that The Office is a complete ripoff of a British show by the same name?
Borderline is understated so if you don't find humor in everyday humanity then this show is not for you. I do and I laughed out loud many times in each episode. I'm a fan and I hope it comes back for another season (or seven).
Borderline is understated so if you don't find humor in everyday humanity then this show is not for you. I do and I laughed out loud many times in each episode. I'm a fan and I hope it comes back for another season (or seven).
13th
(2016)
Wildly Inaccurate Statistics
28 January 2017
Warning: Spoilers
First of all, there is plenty wrong with our prison system and word needs to get out about it. A portion of 13th discusses the privatized prison business; it's a huge problem. The portion on ALEC is informative and important for all Americans to know. There are significant injustices on young, black men: the story of Kalief Browder is heartbreaking and maddening. However, 13th fails in what I see as the biggest problem with most "documentaries" these days (aside from the fact that they don't actually qualify as documentaries by definition, see below): when they present numbers that are inaccurate, I become skeptical of ALL information they present. If you can't tell the truth on items which can be fact-checked, why should I trust your opinions?
A lot of what is presented in 13th is done so through the lens of the storyteller, which is understandable, but numbers are cold, hard facts and when one gets those wrong, every point presented around it is discredited. It would take too long to fact check the whole movie so I'll focus on the most glaring inaccuracies: prison population.
Throughout the documentary, the storyteller shows the rise in prison population over the last several decades and at 50:37, the U.S. prison population in 2014 is listed at 2,306,200. That was a staggering number for me so I immediately searched for statistics. The Bureau of Justice Statistics shows a total prison population (state and federal) of 1,562,319 for 2014. If you want to claim the DOJ pads their numbers to make them look better than they really are, I'll allow a margin of error. However, margins of error rarely creep above 5% and in this case, the margin of error would have to be 47.6% percent for that to be true. FORTY SEVEN POINT SIX PERCENT! In my mind, that's when the documentarian went from "documentarian" to "storyteller". She also showed the rise in prison population from decade to decade but failed to mention that the prison population has been consistently trending down year by year since 2009. Granted, the number is small percentage points but it's truth, nonetheless, and doesn't fit her viewpoint.
The storyteller also lends a significant portion of the documentary to (emphatically) suggest that the war on drugs was designed to put black men behind bars and further suggests that it wildly succeeded. While I won't attempt to prove or disprove the intent of the war on drugs because I can't do so with fact (and neither can she, by the way), I can discredit her assertion of success. Again on the BJS report for prison population in 2014, 14.9% were locked up on drug-related charges (3.5% of those were possession, the other 11.4% were trafficking and other offenses). The largest population of black men in prison, 57.8%, were convicted of violent offenses (murder, manslaughter, rape/sexual assault, robbery, aggravated/simple assault). If the war on drugs (which was only a ploy to lock up non-white males, as asserted by the storyteller) is what caused such a jump in prison population, why are just under 15% of the total black prison population behind bars for drugs? And only 3.5% behind bars for drug possession?
In addition, the statistics on total black male U.S. population and black male prison population are wildly inaccurate.
Let me remind you of the descriptions of 13th on IMDb and Netflix:
"In this thought-provoking documentary, scholars, activists, and politicians analyze the criminalization of African Americans and the U.S. prison boom."
"An in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nations history of racial inequality."
Not only does this in-depth "documentary" about inequality in the prison system fail to even mention the reason most black men are incarcerated, it outright tells you the reason is war on drugs. I'm left incredibly frustrated because 13th squanders its opportunity to inform people about what's wrong in our judicial system by largely falsifying information. In addition, the way it's edited at the end perpetuates hate, fear, and separation, which does nothing to promote change but further creates divide.
Finally, I'll leave you with the definitions of "documentary" and "propaganda".
Documentary:
adj. Presenting facts objectively without editorializing or inserting fictional matter, as in a book or film. n. A work, such as a film or television program, presenting political, social, or historical subject matter in a factual and informative manner and often consisting of actual news films or interviews accompanied by narration.
Propaganda:
noun : the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person
: ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause; also : a public action having such an effect
A lot of what is presented in 13th is done so through the lens of the storyteller, which is understandable, but numbers are cold, hard facts and when one gets those wrong, every point presented around it is discredited. It would take too long to fact check the whole movie so I'll focus on the most glaring inaccuracies: prison population.
Throughout the documentary, the storyteller shows the rise in prison population over the last several decades and at 50:37, the U.S. prison population in 2014 is listed at 2,306,200. That was a staggering number for me so I immediately searched for statistics. The Bureau of Justice Statistics shows a total prison population (state and federal) of 1,562,319 for 2014. If you want to claim the DOJ pads their numbers to make them look better than they really are, I'll allow a margin of error. However, margins of error rarely creep above 5% and in this case, the margin of error would have to be 47.6% percent for that to be true. FORTY SEVEN POINT SIX PERCENT! In my mind, that's when the documentarian went from "documentarian" to "storyteller". She also showed the rise in prison population from decade to decade but failed to mention that the prison population has been consistently trending down year by year since 2009. Granted, the number is small percentage points but it's truth, nonetheless, and doesn't fit her viewpoint.
The storyteller also lends a significant portion of the documentary to (emphatically) suggest that the war on drugs was designed to put black men behind bars and further suggests that it wildly succeeded. While I won't attempt to prove or disprove the intent of the war on drugs because I can't do so with fact (and neither can she, by the way), I can discredit her assertion of success. Again on the BJS report for prison population in 2014, 14.9% were locked up on drug-related charges (3.5% of those were possession, the other 11.4% were trafficking and other offenses). The largest population of black men in prison, 57.8%, were convicted of violent offenses (murder, manslaughter, rape/sexual assault, robbery, aggravated/simple assault). If the war on drugs (which was only a ploy to lock up non-white males, as asserted by the storyteller) is what caused such a jump in prison population, why are just under 15% of the total black prison population behind bars for drugs? And only 3.5% behind bars for drug possession?
In addition, the statistics on total black male U.S. population and black male prison population are wildly inaccurate.
Let me remind you of the descriptions of 13th on IMDb and Netflix:
"In this thought-provoking documentary, scholars, activists, and politicians analyze the criminalization of African Americans and the U.S. prison boom."
"An in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nations history of racial inequality."
Not only does this in-depth "documentary" about inequality in the prison system fail to even mention the reason most black men are incarcerated, it outright tells you the reason is war on drugs. I'm left incredibly frustrated because 13th squanders its opportunity to inform people about what's wrong in our judicial system by largely falsifying information. In addition, the way it's edited at the end perpetuates hate, fear, and separation, which does nothing to promote change but further creates divide.
Finally, I'll leave you with the definitions of "documentary" and "propaganda".
Documentary:
adj. Presenting facts objectively without editorializing or inserting fictional matter, as in a book or film. n. A work, such as a film or television program, presenting political, social, or historical subject matter in a factual and informative manner and often consisting of actual news films or interviews accompanied by narration.
Propaganda:
noun : the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person
: ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause; also : a public action having such an effect
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