Change Your Image
niplips
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
My Adventures with Superman (2023)
an insult to the canon
How did they get permission from the descendants of the creators to write this garbage? Jimmy Olsen as a deluded conspiracy-nut that should have been wearing tinfoil hats. Lois as a blatantly thieving, lying "it's-all-about-me" terrible excuse for a human being. And the wimpiest superman ever conceived. I won't even get into the amateur skills of whomever did the drawing for this garbage, not to mention the cornball plots and dialogues that the so-called writers inflicted. There have been numerous incarnations of these characters over the years, in various media forms, some good, some not so good, but this is totally bad.
The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries: The Last Kiss of Summer: Part 1 (1978)
atrociously edited pablum
They must have been some deep budgetary ka-ka for this final season. Not only was the number of episodes slashed, but they burned two of those episodes by turning this into a so-called two parter. With a really thin plot-line and not much acting talent to carry things, they split this into two parts by padding each episode with excruciatingly repetitious scenes of Joe & his chick in this episode, and massive flashbacks in the 2nd. The editing in these episodes was worse than the toupe worn by that minister in the first episode. And the plot-line? It would take an absolute idiot to fall for Joe's so-called revenge plot. Phew.
This Is America, Charlie Brown (1988)
interesting song choice, from "2001"
Early in the episode, we hear Peppermint Patty singing the 1892 song "Daisy" (full title of which is "Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two)"). This song was used in the movie "2001: A Space Oddysey", at the moment HAL begs for his life. The use in 2001 is significant because it was the first song ever performed by a computer, specifically, the IBM 704, at Bell Labs in 1962. On a surface level, this moment functions as an homage to the early days of artificial intelligence, but it also poses an important question about sentiency and humanity.
HAL's scheming and logic fade to simplicity as the computer regresses by 40 years, back to a time when computers were programmed to bring joy to those around them. The song takes HAL back to its childhood, and emphasizes that Dave is killing that child just as much as he is dismantling a malfunctioning computer system. Adding to the overall themes and interpretations of 2001: A Space Odyssey, HAL's callback to an earlier system command suggests that evolution may be just as possible for computers as it is for humans, given a sufficient level of sentience.
Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again (2022)
Rut Roh
Well, watched the thing all the way through (ugh), and one thing seemed to stand out. This was a Scooby-Doo cartoon, without any of the Scooby gang, and no mystery. Well, let me correct myself - there is ONE mystery associated with this: whose asinine idea was this? Never was a fan of Ben Stiller, and while watching the 3 REAL NATM movies, I asked myself a few times, "would this be better with someone else?" Well, just a few minutes into this one, I was wishing he was in it. Someone in another review wondered why none of the original actors returned for this one? Aside from Robin Williams' obvious reason for absence, I suspect either the rest must have seen the script beforehand, or more likely, Disney simply "cheaped out" with the "talent".
Murder Mystery (2019)
Biggest Mystery is all Netflix's hype
Netflix keeps telling us what a wonderful, vastly beloved movie this is. I don't see it. Typical Sandler overdone, repetitive efforts at humor. Decent plot might have fared better with someone other than Sandler. Seemed to have borrowed heavily from "Nick and Nora" (Thin Man) and Christie's "Tommy & Tuppence", and like those series, could have been just as amusing without the penis jokes and other potty humor. Unfortunately, Sandler just can't seem to outgrow himself, and instead of what could have been an entertaining pastiche of Dashiell Hammett & Dame Agatha, we got a pastiche of Sandler. The sequel wasn't much better.
Snoopy Come Home (1972)
needed an editor
Lots of good things about this one, nice story lines, good characterizations, even a couple of decent songs. But, like the predecessor (A Boy Named Charlie Brown), the music went overboard, as well as some of the sequences (such as Snoopy and Woodstock's trip to the hospital). With some judicious editing, this could have been much better (especially for childrens' attention spans!!). I suspect it did better in video releases than the money-losing theatrical release, because theaters don't have fast-forward buttons!!! I'm not generally a fan of movies getting edited for television, but in this case, especially when intended for young audiences, a 30-to-45 minute version might be in order.
Holiday Inn: The New Irving Berlin Musical - Live (2017)
Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better
That's what Irving Berlin was singing as he rolled over in his grave after hearing this mediocre musical mish-mosh. Mediocre actors, mediocre singing and dancing, amateurish song-placement and production. I guess this is what Broadway is all about these days. Since there's such a dearth of imagination and real talent, the answer seems to be to take the classics and "reimagine" them until they're barely recognizable parodies of the originals. And, while they're at it, keep the original time period, while completely ignoring norms that existed in those times. Utter, unmitigated garbage, and 2 hours of my life I'll never get back.
The Islands (2019)
Needed: Actors
Story line had possibilities, but it was poorly written, and even more badly acted. Sad that the closest thing to decent acting came came from the Cook Islands beauty queen cast in the lead role.
Holiday Miracle (2014)
IS WHAT IT INTENDS TO BE
A nice, family friendly "magic of Christmas" movie. No, it's no Citizen Kane, but then, Citizen Kane wasn't either. Turn off the critic vibe, and enjoy yourself. There are far worse ways to spend 90 minutes.
Sangaree (1953)
mere shadow of the book
Frank Slaughter's books focused heavily on medical practices of the eras in which the stories were written, adventure, and romance (usually involving 3 persons, and unrequited for the main character until the end. This movie had the 3rd, next to nothing of the others. Read the book. You'll learn something, and you'll be better entertained than after this hour and a half pretense.
Megaliths of the Gods (2019)
you'll need your tinfoil cap for this one
Buy yourself a bag of manure, set it on the table and watch it for 42 minutes. After that time, you'll have absorbed as much scientific information as you'd get watching this amateur Youtuber's dreck. He's quick to damn the "accepted science" of trained archaeologists, but offers no science whatsoever to back up his claims, which are borderline "chariots of the gods". In the Petra section, he remarks how long it would have taken for a civilization to "dig out" the caves and chambers, and that the Nabataeans could not have done so, and that they merely "hired" someone to "decorate" what they'd found. He doesn't seem to grasp the fact that creating those ornate facades didn't exactly happen overnight, and would have required the same tools he claims "prove" it couldn't have been the Nabataeans who chiseled out the openings in what he claims is almost diamond-hard sandstone.
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978)
the last scene defines the movie quite well
The last scene of this piece of dreck, shows an audience booing and throwing vegetables at a pianist, Dudley Moore, which is very appropriate considering he's the person responsible for the garbage presented as entertainment. I have no problem with spoofs - I rather enjoy them if they're well done - but even The Asylum would be ashamed to turn out something this bad and so devoid of substance.
Petticoat Junction: Wings (1968)
Bobbi Jo's dance
Watching Bobbi Jo's "It Girl" dance made the episode worth watching.
Gunsmoke: Lover Boy (1963)
what a hypocrite
Well... that husband was so high and mighty about how there's nothing worse than an informer, yet he demands that his wife "inform" on who came to visit her. :)
Petticoat Junction: The Fishing Derby (1967)
Kate accessory to fraud
Surprised the network let this one run - what Joe and Sam did broke all kinds of state and federal contest and fraud laws. Sponsors cannot judge nor participate in a contest, much less claim the prize.
The Grinch (2018)
narrator horrendous, music atrocious
I don't know who that narrator was (or who he was related to!) but you could pull any kid from a 3rd grade classroom and get it better. And the music - atrocious, especially that sorry excuse of a cover of "You're a Mean One". Get a decent narrator and lose the so-called music, and the movie is entertaining and well done. But that ego-trip casting for a narrator, and the no-talent music makes it almost unbearable.
Raise the Titanic (1980)
A TRAIN WRECK ABOUT A SHIP WRECK
I always figured Cussler was being a little dramatic with his trashing of this movie upon it's release. However, I've just read the book and watched the movie back-to-back. Cussler was right. Casting was atrocious, especially of Pitt, Sandecker, and Prevlov. Anne Archer was totally wasted - maybe if they'd included the scene of Dana stripping in front of the Russian soldiers, the movie might have done better. :) Seriously, I understand the difficulty of turning a multi-faceted novel into a 2-hour movie, but at least keep in the important parts, such as the CORRECT ENDING!! Read the book - the movie is a waste of time.
African Adventure: Safari in the Okavango (2007)
not a nature video - a love fest
basically, a love-fest for some nature photographer - I suspect he produced it himself, which makes it a narcissistic love-fest. Occasionally, the Hosanna's back off a bit and one gets a little bit of nice 3d nature, until the adulation starts up again.
If you like watching people tool around in jeeps and boats, you'll love it. If not, stay away.
It's a shame so much attention was paid to pimping this individual, rather than letting his work speak for itself. We keep hearing about how great a nature photographer and conservationist he is, yet we see nothing but vehicles running around river-delta with an occasional lion, elephant, or bird.