fullheadofsteam Reviews

Dances with Wolves (1990)

Watch this movie again!

[10/10 · 23 March 2020]

Saw this movie when it was originally theatrically released. Knew then what a great film it was. Have just now watched it again in bluray. It is cinematically brilliant and gorgeous to watch. If you haven't seen this exceptional film recently, please do so - it is simply what a film masterpiece should be!

1917 (2019)

Cinematic Masterwork

[10/10 · 14 February 2020]

Usually I find that user ratings on IMDB of movies are a bit too high. In the case if user ratings for this film, currently at 8.5, the overall rating is 1.5 points too low! This is simply a cinematic masterpiece, period. No movie in history has ever been filmed as if in one long, uncut scene! Genius and ground-breaking film making. Breathtaking cinematography. Grit and beauty and reality of war, through the lens of the Director's personal knowledge passed from his own grandfather. Tear-jerking, heart-wrenching, pulsating tension, individuals persevering through an ever changing and huge landscape of war and the unknown - this is an epic brilliantly made for the big screen experience - bold yet nuanced. There was no better film released in 2019, and the fact that overall IMDB rating is anything less than 10 can only speak on behalf of those persons rating this film who have not closely followed and watched films from the silents to today, evaluating story first and foremost, then in close conjunction with directing, acting, cinematography, sets and sound. This movie is exquisitely detailed in every aspect of story-telling and film making. Thank you, Sam Mendes!

The Irishman (2019)

Beat Scorsese Mob movie, period

[9/10 · 1 December 2019]

Be prepared and aware! This is in our day and age an exceptionally long film, so if you are not well rested wait until you are!! That said, this is in fact Scorsese's triumph of his mafia boss films. In particular he realizes and presents real life mobsters, while bringing out their nuances which few gangster films, if any, try to realize and successfully show on film! This includes the brilliant, as in New York/New Jersey speak and intellect, pitch perfect. Violence serves solely as punctuation, dialogue all-important, and the best-defined gangsters we have ever seen. Based on real life gangsters, arguably questionable confession, and what should be admittedly and pathetic inaccurate portrayal of prison life, Martin Scorsese brings us out of Coppola's gangster heyday to the elderly demise of that culture and characters.

Manchester by the Sea (2016)

Journey to deep need for psychotherapy

[3/10 · 7 November 2019]

Am at a complete loss to see the virtue in this deploringly prolonged journey in depression. The movie is overhyped, as it is mneither brilliant nor inspirational. Oh, so where to begin? Start with a main character who cannot even stand himself, then cast him into the pain and accompanying forgotten, once but no longer happy memories, of the death of his only sibling, an older brother. Mix that up with the resultant reunion and guardianship over his nephew, his now deceased brother's only child, who despite the countless flashbacks of happy childhood memories with his uncle has now inexplicitly forgotten, probably as a not-so-bright teenager. So of course the nephew is miserable over his dad's death, but not so much as to have his mind taken off of sex. Then of course he is foul-mouthed and disrespectful to the uncle he supposedly once adored, and our main character, his uncle, remains emotionally dwarfed and incapable of acting like an adult. Mix in the failed marriages of both the main character and his deceased brother, who had wives go off the proverbial beam, and some shame and guilt. If your idea of having a good movie experience is wallowing through and with characters dripping of self-pity, but resolving differences through contrivance and placating instead of really maturing or overcoming, then have at it. The movie achieves nothing, and could find no character worth caring about because they are all so self-absorbed and self-centered.

Day of the Falcon (II) (2011)

Shamefully underrated on Rotten Tomatoes!

[7/10 · 20 September 2019]

Seems like some reviewers on this site are so in love with their own opinions that they write lengthy essays - but I like to cut, as they say, to the chase. So here it is in the proverbial nutshell: This is a lavishly produced, finely directed and cinematically gorgeous film - those factors in and of themselves deserve and demand attention and critical respect. No need to tell you the storyline here, as you can read it anywhere. Do not be put off if some of the acting and dialogue is a bit hackneyed, because the scope and breadth of the story itself outweigh those trivial problems. And finally, pay close attention so you can keep track of who's who and where's where!

Justified (2010–2015)

Re-watch of this series a MUST!

[9/10 · 20 August 2019]

Not going to elaborate here on the story line, since that is what most other reviewers want to tell you despite the fact that it is provided by IMDB. The reviews are what should count most. So, having recently purchased the entire series on dvd, then watching all episodes again these years after they first aired, the ONLY review message I wish to convey is that this series was superior to the slightly-overrated series Breaking Bad (and I liked Breaking Bad!). If you only watched some, if not all, Justified episodes, or if you, similar to me, did not recall all of the series, I urge you to watch it all again - by the end, you will have a Givens or Crowder accent and speech patter!!!!!

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)

Maybe Tarantino's Best Yet

[9/10 · 15 August 2019]

This may well rank as the most brilliant of Tarantino film to date. Where to begin? First there is the attention to period detail of both societal styles of the 1960's, but the popular music and more importantly the TV shows and B-movies of the decade. This movie even far more than the brilliant Coen brothers Buster Scruggs movie lavishes real love particularly on the Hollywood Western genre. But deeper than just the visual acuity and styling, the movie delves more deeply into the lives, minds and character of those who played in those Westerns and were so caught up by the Hollywood system and lifestyle. And Tarantino, always brilliant but long in dialogue, here comes up with great dialogue on a more condensed and sharper scale, but using extreme and intense facial close-ups to reveal more of a character. Finally, anyone who has read an account of the Charlie Manson cult murders will be able to readily identify with certain aspects and characters, but unless you've read or seen spoilers, you will not know where the deliberately heightened tension toward the climax of the film will lead. Thank you, Quentin Tarantino, for this brilliant piece of film artistry.

Black Panther (2018)

What a waste

[3/10 · 30 April 2019]

There are far too many reviews that rather agonizingly run too long - So let this one be brief but very on point: This movie is contrived, derivative and formulaic, period. It reaches nothing higher than hyped banality in striving for political and racial correctness. Trying to balance the scales of racial injustice is vainly attempted here via Marvel Comic Hollyweird. That it should have been nominated for an Academy Best Picture award speaks to the brainless community of those living in the entertainment bubble of vapid pretense in our current times.

The Favourite (2018)

Overrated is a kind critique

[4/10 · 24 April 2019]

This is perhaps the most overrated movie in the past year. So what if the actors are good? The entire story is about a physically diseased and mentally incompetent English queen who can't muster enough sense, or put into place effective palace intrigue, to know who to trust and who to believe in her own household. A movie that simply grinds on in depicting a historical figure as so pathetic is hardly great cinema, and what's worse is that even the storytellers here, meaning the script writers and the director, have no sense of direction or moral compass regarding any of the scripted characters. At the end of this movie, either you'll be stuck in the stunning cinematography, costumes and consummate acting, or stuck with the sensibility that those aspects meant nothing and only dressed up a very vapid and soulless trudge-through-the-mud movie.

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)

Ranks right up there with Blood Simple, Oh Brother Where Art Thou, and Fargo

[10/10 · 23 December 2018]

This movie is EVERYTHING a Coen Bros. movie should be! It starts with paying homage to John Ford. It is also a send-up of the B-Westerns (including good-guy in white hat vs. bad guy in black). It is deeply contemplative. It is rich in dialogue. It digs deep into human nature, human folly and the proverbial luck of the draw. None of the 6 stories go where you might expect them to. It should proudly bear the classic theater masks of comedy and tragedy. This movie is art, pure but not necessarily simple. This film is a fabulous melange, a completely unique and savory concoction, and most especially for connoisseurs of western movies and TV, from the silents through Eastwood.

The Purge (I) (2013)

Great film production, but stupidity erupts as story unfolds

[3/10 · 4 July 2018]

The concept for the main movies solid. The actual production quality is solid. The actors chosen for this film are solid. So, then, why do such "solid" foundations ultimately crumble? Simply because of a seriously flawed script and screenplay. Lighting, camera angles, set, all are just fine, as are the characters feeding into the thrill-eager audience, when what happens? Stupidity, pure and simple. A father in close range pointing his pistol at the head of an intruder holding the father's daughter at gunpoint can't or won't or doesn't pull the trigger? The father's wife, daughter's mom sneakily hidden with a gun behind the daughter's assailant and with a clear shot doesn't pull the trigger?? But after subduing the daughter's assailant, the girl's parents can't cooperate on what to do next, but in deciding to turn the guy over to predators the father must, in addition to duct taping the guy, instead of simply dragging the guy out by his collar to the bad guys, instead insists on further taping the guy to a chair before moving him? And afterwards the guy somehow and totally inexplicably slips out of the tight duct-taped mouth so he can again talk to the father who's family he has jeopardized? This does not even begin to explain why the youngest kid in the family is nothing more than an ambivalent jerk. Love the concept, love the killing, love the looks of the film ad Ethan Hawk, just cannot believe how it all goes down!

Downsizing (2017)

It isn't Your Parents' Honey-I-Shrunk-the Kids

[8/10 · 6 April 2018]

I read reviews at this IMDB site moaning and whining and wailing over the fact that somehow the movie wasn't as expected from the TV adverts and trailers. To that I say T.S., and please grow up -- if you want to judge a movie by the pre-release publicity releases, then don't bother going to see the actual film! What movie lover and devotee isn't acutely aware of the fact that a studio PR department doesn't get, or always share, let alone project, a screenwriter and director's vision???? So when you read the heading of a viewer's review that gripes, moans, whines that the trailers didn't match the movie or that they were misled, please simply relegate those reviews to the desktop of a kindergarten teacher's returned homework assignment papers. So, being smart enough to actually keep an open mind, then you can watch this movie unfold beautifully, at first sublimely and ultimately boldly, into a smart morality tale. That's it -- no need to over-intellectualize, just straight and to the point about selfish self-survival at the cost of never seeing another sunset, or living one's life out in the proverbial open in order to help one another get through each and every day that may be remaining, all the while not hiding from or shunning the world's natural beauty which may shroud mankind's ultimate physical doom. The acting in this movie is superb, the characters fully defined as presented, and thus a puzzlement as to why it didn't garner higher ratings -- unless, of course, too many raters were stuck on previews rather than open-minded conceptual thinking -- those people who may have wanted to see a slick, slightly refined remake of Honey I Shrunk the Kids.

Bound by Honor (1993)

Much Too Highly Rated

[4/10 · 15 March 2018]

The fact that this movie is so highly rated on IMDB is a reflection more on a general public ignorance of gang activities and of prison life. The fact that it provides a weak protagonist who could not successfully become a trusted and strong prison gang member should be obvious, but more important is the rather stupid stereotyping of not only prison life, but of the complexity of prison gang affiliations. Of course the movie goes stereotypically even further in demonizing prison officials, as either unnecessarily mean or corrupt (or both). Too much Hollywood and ridiculous drivel in terms of "real life" as to warrant a high rating -- in fact some of the scenes are so obviously contrived and stupidly staged as to relegate this movie to the lower echelons of modern crime and gang-themed films.

He Got Game (1998)

Brief and concise review

[3/10 · 15 March 2018]

Go ahead if you want to and read the over-long, overly loquacious thousand-word reviews if you have the patience and the time to waste -- bottom line in reviewing this movie can be concise as this: Good actors, emotionally well-intended, but all for naught due to the initial very contrived premise that puts the plot in motion, which of course as so contrived undermines the overall credibility of the story.

Purple Rain (1984)

Collectible for sheer musical brilliance

[8/10 · 31 January 2018]

This is NOT a movie to be rated or evaluated based on actors performances, cinematography, or other traditional cinematic evaluation criteria. Rather, this is a movie all about the music -- the story line is a mere thread to a musical tie-in. And please forgive, if not forget, an amateurish performance by Apollonia, as she is truly only a sex object in the grand scheme of things here. But look to the absolutely fabulous and energetic performances by Morris Day and The Time, so good and fun as counterpoint to the terrific music of Prince and his band, and of course ultimately the undeniable virtuosity of Prince himself.

Hostiles (2017)

Well-intentioned but not centered

[5/10 · 31 January 2018]

This is a beautiful movie in several respects, first with the homage to the best Westerns ever made, because it lavishes itself cinematographically on landscape as a primary character of the story, and secondly because it is driven as a morality tale, good vs. evil, with blurred lines becoming clarified and erased. And it must of course be said that Christian Bale's acting is superior and compelling. There are, unfortunately, flawed elements that ultimately lower this movie in both accurate portrayal but stretch the imagination to be sure, and thus it fails to meet the lofty heights touted by the TV advertising hype that it is the best Western since Unforgiven. In fact, both 3:10 to Yuma and Appaloosa both eclipse this film in gravitas. And here are some of the spoilers that drag the movie down from the loftier heights it's Director most certainly sought: The very opening sequence is unbelievable, as no man intent on protecting his family would wildly charge out of what could have been a barricaded position within his house to wildly run and shoot his rifle at a line of marauding Indians. :after in the film, women are abducted and apparently -- and here the film fails to make clear - raped by fur trappers -- without a mere peep no less scream heard from any of the women at the time of abduction, even though they had warning. More absurd is that when the good guys find where the abductors are camped, and holding the high ground train their rifles down upon the encampment, fail to simply fire upon and thus obliterate the bad guys when the bad guys emerge from their tents and start looking around because of a noise they heard. And finally, the movie is reduced to over-emotional, and so resultantly illogical sentimentality -- a sentimentality which we modern Americans most certainly have a sense of, but which hardened and violent Indians and U.S. Cavalry officers would not likely have experienced in 1892, and certainly the widow, unlike in this film, of an Indian massacre upon her family would not have developed a warm and fuzzy relationship with any Indians. It is, therefore, a wishful film and certainly may have greater appeal to a younger and more naive, based on removal from history in time, generation. And it is perhaps doubtful as well that any Native Americans over the age of 50 will be led to as cozy a relational feeling toward a former nemesis, meaning the U.S. Government, in the Government's war on them, the forced relocations and internments, as do the main characters of this film.

1408 (2007)

Severely flawed and unsatisfactory

[2/10 · 24 January 2018]

What do you do with a movie that, fairly early on, shows you that the main character suffers a serious surfboarding accident and thus is so obvious in setting up brain damage as a likely reason for the lengthier remainder of the film? What do you do with a movie that shows us how the man character can override the thermostat of his hotel room once, but then fails to do so again?? What do you do with a movie that hints at, then actually goes to a crawling-through-the ventilation-system scene with absolutely no meaningful or important result(s), ether positive or negative whatsoever for the main character??? What do you do with a movie that leads the main character to believe that a bottle of brandy may have been laced with an hallucinogenic drug, thereby accounting for what he sees as distorted and unreal, but then continues to let his situation worsen with continued drinking the brandy???? And so it seems too obvious that reviewers on the IMDB website who praise this movie have major flaws in logical thinking. And as a final closure to how ridiculous this movie truly fails, you go ahead and try to figure out the ending with no help or advice...

Same Kind of Different as Me (2017)

Bound to be the most under appreciated movie of the year, yet a very fine film

[8/10 · 1 November 2017]

That this movie has not received the publicity and advanced advertising that it truly deserves is shameful -- the producers and production studio should be ashamed of themselves and they will reap their due reward from low attendance and most likely box office profit loss. This film definitely is worth its proverbial weight (cost) in gold. First and foremost is the plot itself, which propels the human instinct of avoidance of the uncomfortable, as with dirty homeless people, to a higher plane of reaching out, in caring rather than invasive ways, in order to actually help those less fortunate despite their social handicaps. That there is a Christian spirit about this movie is without doubt, but there is no specific religious dogma or theology. There is no "action", there is no graphic violence, there is no nudity, there is no profanity -- how completely refreshing in a movie. It is all character and dialog driven -- the acting is absolutely top notch, the dialog thoughtful and smart. The theme: reconciliation in all of our weakened or seemingly broken relationships if possible, with the onus being on ourselves to make the effort, in other words doing what we can to heal ourselves, and then being able to effectively, meaningfully reach out to and help those less fortunate, with respect rather than pity. This movie is a true treasure which, sadly I fear, will be missed by a very large audience due to lack of effective promotion.

Tomorrowland (2015)

Believe the bad reviews

[2/10 · 30 September 2017]

Believe the bad reviews, and don't be misled by starry-eyed and wishful reviews. This film could not possibly be any clunkier and over-the-top convoluted melodrama, and Walt Disney himself would have shuddered at the outrageously ridiculous and twisted plot. No spoilers here, simply a warning: this movie is more pretentious, contrived and far-fetched than Oliver Stone's mildly entertaining movie "JFK", to which this movie is similar in trying to wrangle as many out-there and somewhat hair-brained theories as possible of a future world, including at it's core a conspiracy theory. George Clooney cannot save this disaster of an intelligent or articulate sic-fi fantasy, but the naive and confused might be drawn into thinking this is somehow, some way a meaningful or good movie. And did I mention that it is laboriously, almost painfully to long? Or, as a Disney movie, too graphically violent for kids...even though Tomorrowland at Disneyland was always intended as, and still remains, friendly to youngsters? Yech! Which rhymes perfectly with what this movie is: Dreck.

Blue Bloods (2010–2024)

Believable and relevant

[8/10 · 30 September 2017]

First and foremost is smart script writing and character development. Blue Bloods excels in both areas, creating an imperfect but intrinsically stalwart family of New York City law enforcement professionals, and putting them in situations based on real-life, current issues (i.e., racial divisions, drug gang warfare, politics, and personal family matters). Pay no attention to the negative IMDb reviews of this TV show, as the series has heart and soul -- apparently lacking in detractors. The show is somewhat idealistic, but such idealism is represented in a cultural and contextually relevant way, which lets the idealism rest comfortably in human compassion and boldness of character.

The Manhattan Project (1986)

Movie Message: Idealism over Reality

[4/10 · 26 September 2017]

Love the realistic themes of this film: that some very bright older teenagers can indeed out- think many adults, and that nuclear proliferation is not the best answer to international conflicting interests. However, the actual execution of these themes as represented in the film are naive, sometimes stupid, and thus rendered as recklessly juvenile and thereby meaningless. Please pay as little actual attention as possible to the lab break-in and theft by the teenage protagonist, as it very well can render the remainder of the film meaningless. Also, please don't pay too close attention to how a career nuclear scientist and practitioner, as John Lithgow's character, could so easily succumb to naive and unrealistic ideations of a teenager who thinks he's smarter than he actually is. Should I even interject the implausibility of the "love" story between the title character and Cynthia Nixon? As in wanting to kiss immediately after only one of them smoking? And her parents then walking in but not smelling the cigarette smoke? And so, after all is said and done, this movie is excellent for taking the best idealistic approach to nuclear warfare, but consequently deserves some derision for failing to understand that the Hollywood answers it provides in the the film could not possibly even begin to adequately address the complexities of the real world we live in.

Odd Thomas (2013)

Anton Yeltsin shows in this film that he had a promising career

[5/10 · 22 September 2017]

A minor movie to be sure, but with good production and acting value. Fun to watch. Did anyone else notice the truly bizarre scene where Anton is running a chase through an alley and a Jeep backs into and almost crushes him? Does anyone else find this creepily prophetic???? I found this disturbing, yet went on to appreciate the fact that this young actor showed the chops, even in this good but minor film, to have become a major film actor, even beyond the Star Trek films.

The Orville (2017–2022)

Sadness in the TV Universe

[1/10 · 15 September 2017]

If this is what now passes as acceptable and enjoyable network TV, then the television media prophets are right in their assessment and predictions that cable far surpasses and will in fact eclipse network TV. This is drivel, pure and simple, with little to no originality in concept or execution. In other words, this new TV series serves no useful purpose other than if it could be used as toilet paper, which of course in the real world it cannot. It bases itself on the truly original Star Trek TV series, an iconic classic worthy of intellectual discernment in the context of 1960's American television, as it was completely original, innovative and visionary. And this of course cheapens the value in a mediocre rip-off, which only tries to turn a spin by adding some crass and crude, and in the premiere episode, totally valueless punchlines. Given the original brilliance of Gene Roddenberry and his vision, The Orville is a complete insult. Even discerning millennials need not be sucked into this vapid vortex of TV banality. Seth McFarlane is of course a profanity machine, which he tries without total success to damper down here for network TV, while trying to portray a modern-day Captain Kirk. The show is a complete loser on so many levels, but then look at the idiotic high IMDb rating. A gray cloud hangs over our heads.

Blood Drive (2017)

Best cable late-night entertainment on the planet!

[8/10 · 8 July 2017]

This show has been deliberately done as a grindhouse exploitation series. So, that established, nothing lurid is off the table and for TV, this is trying to reach the max. So, either love it or get the hell away from it! Escapist voyeurism at it's TV best, with a ridiculously good script. The very title itself as double entendre is a giveaway. Terrific cinematography with some nice direction from Psych star James Roday, who by now we should have fully realized can have a disturbed take on life! It makes TV's "American Horror Story" look like a tame family picnic in the park. And you truly need to relish the performance by actor Colin ..Cunningham (as in the former character named Pope in Falling Skies).

The American Success Company (1979)

Conceptually interesting, ultimately a cinematic failure

[3/10 · 19 March 2017]

The heart and intention of and for this movie are nothing but good, but ultimately it fails in a script that starts smart but becomes, as the movie progresses, not only flawed but terribly disjointed. Add to this that some of the acting is far to hammy, and some scenes entirely too stagey and contrived. Grading it, an A minus for intent of message, and D minus for successful cinematic execution of same. In other words, do not spoil your own social ideals hoping this flop will further the awareness you would like to share with the world.