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Songbird (II) (2020)
6/10
COVID-Inspired Dramapocalypse Film
12 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
If you enjoy the apocalyptic, big brother style of paranoia, this is the feeling you get from watching Songbird in separating the human stories from the movie. Recorded announcements permit neighbors to snitch on each other. We find out what life would be like if we need the military to control everything in order to keep the pandemic from eliminating humans.

The hero of the movie, Nico (K. J. Apa), is convincing as a courier with immunity. The story captures what people are doing while isolating during the COVID pandemic. It also shows us how people are struggling while separated from those whom they love. The people who are isolated have regular virus checks that are monitored by authorities so you cannot leave your home if you're infected. It gives the viewer an idea of how restrictions could escalate if variants of the COVID virus surpass the effectiveness of vaccines.

Nico's g.f., Sara (Sofia Carson), is dealing with a lot and he has to help her. This storyline is the most interesting when it crosses into the involvement of acquiring something to save her using the connection to William Griffin (Bradley Whitford).

Griffin is a jerk and his mistress, May (Alexandra Daddario), decides she isn't going to put up with his b.s. May has been in contact with a military veteran and she enlists his help so that she can be safe from Griffin. This is another key moment of suspense, which has a heroic aspect. Griffin's wife, Piper (Demi Moore), is intent on stopping Griffin, though we don't know how much her involvement is until the end.

The story gets suspenseful as Nico is desperate to save Sara. The villain of the story reminds me of Gary Oldman in his role as the dangerously eccentric Stansfield in The Professional. Emmett Harland (Peter Stormare) is wild and unpredictable, but most fascinating. We don't know his background so it's a challenge to like him, however, he's fun to watch go nuts. He fills all of the scenes he's in with tension.

Nico's boss is the movie's comic relief. Lester (Craig Robinson) dispatches Nico for deliveries. We get a perspective of what essential workers manage their staff and their own lives during a pandemic. He's holding it together in a daily routine. His tech-savvy skills are cool, but not so realistic. It's a movie so just go with it.

The conclusion involves the characters on the good side teaming up. It is a sappy ending, but the movie is fine for a depiction of the paranoia we have experienced about a virus that is here to stay.
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El Candidato (2020– )
10/10
Addicting to Watch
4 April 2021
Incredibly well-written, acting is spectacular, and I want a second season! Wayne Addison is lovable even as flawed as he is and with good reason. Episodes 7 and 8 are my favorite, but I can rewatch from 1-10 and still see something new each time. It feels spontaneous and I like that it doesn't hold back.
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Waitress (2007)
10/10
Heartwarming, funny, overall excellently done
8 May 2007
Every moment in the film looks honest whether it be the way it was written or the way the actors depicted such strong characters. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked some of the characters. Some of it may not be realistic, but I can suspend my cynicism and go with the flow of the story. I recommend it for a refreshing story of small-town life that isn't cliché. The music is pleasant too, not some major ploy to try to market the movie with a new theme song everyone will associate the movie with later. The song that the director wrote stands up well with a catchy lyric. It's a movie that has memorable comedic elements in a story that touches the soul. Everyone in the world has a hobby and has a dream, even when life seems bleak. It's that kind of story.
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10/10
compelling documentary
17 January 2005
This film is probably one of the most captivating documentaries about a side of Iceland that everyone wants to understand better... It's showing this week on the Sundance Channel. Make sure you record it during one of the showings listed below. Watch it more than once. If the Supernatural is not your favorite subject matter, stick with the movie through the very end and you may change your mind. The version I watched twice in 2004 was 90 minutes long, so I am interested to see if I miss the 5 minutes they cut.

The filmmaker Jean Michel Roux made several trips to Iceland for this project to record the stories told by everyone he wanted to put in the movie. Then he had the footage in Icelandic written in French and then he returned to conduct interviews based on the stories the people told only having to translate the final interviews again into French for him to edit the film. He got the idea to do this film when he was doing location scouting for a fictional Sci-Fi film he was developing.

The soundtrack is equally moving featuring Hector Zazou, The Residents, Biosphere and Gorecki. This movie was so popular at the San Francisco Film Festival last year that they had to add two more screenings, totaling 4 screenings. If you want to know what the atmosphere is truly like, you have to visit Iceland, but if you just want to get about 85 minutes inside the remote country and meet its most fascinating residents, then you really must see this movie. Tell as many people you know who are even just remotely curious about Iceland or about the Supernatural.
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