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Alone: And So It Begins (2015)
Intense start to a bingable series
It's my second time watching Season 1. Having seen most the other seasons, I feel like this island may have been the most extreme environment due to the relentless moisture and apex predators. The winner here was an entertaining fella with a lot of knowledge and a good attitude.
It's easy to critisize the guys who tapped out due to fear but part of survival is knowing your limits. That cop got dropped in a bear den and once you know the fear might freeze you up, your life is a stake for sure.
I felt for Mitch because there is an intution that comes when a loved one is about to leave this life.
The final four were all very worthy but the winner was extremely likable. And the ending where he talks about humans and what he's taken away from the experience is very moving.
It's interesting that the runner up ends up talking himself into leaving and then goes on to win another season.
There's no way I could survive here but inmy 20s or 30s i would have liked to try. It definitly takes a certain mindset to live among predators. Kudos to all contestants.
May I Be Frank (2010)
Wonderful transformation
I enjoyed this film. It's interesting to note it was released the same year as the more well-known film called Fat sick and nearly Dead (a phrase from a raw vegan book from the '80s). I'm not sure why one was so popular and the other one seems so obscure except that Joe Cross has a lot of money and made sure to Market it heavily. Because otherwise these two films are really about the same thing. I've studied raw vegan living for almost 20 years now, maybe longer, and I know that juicing and eating raw vegan are in fact paths to allowing your body to heal itself. They are what places like hypocrites and Optimum Health Institute use. The Gratitude Cafe is a very unique Institution. I like the ones in LA better where, to my knowledge, they are fully raw while San Francisco and a much more questionable version in Santa Cruz both offer cooked food as well as raw. I have the recipe book as well as the Business model book the owners offer near the cash register.
I do wish they had shown more of what Frank was eating here. The Gratitude Cafe has a great menu that I also would have liked to have seen more of, and a lot of these recipes are things you can learn to make yourself.
It's very honorable that these young men took Frank under their wing, and I know that at the end of the film we see a lot of people dedicated their time, finances, or businesses to make sure the film was produced. I'm sad to think that they didn't include Marketing in all that they accomplished here. As someone who studied marketing and small business, I think they could have really marketing this to several docent demigraphics.
Someone asked what did they do with the composting from Frank's refrigerator. Well I can tell you that is not composting and it went straight to the garbage. You cannot compost processed denatured junk. It'll just sit there. Some people know what I'm talking about - there's an actual study that was done where a McDonald's hamburger and fries was put under glass for several months and at this point it's going on several years and it looks exactly the same as the day it was served. But I digress.
It's really exciting to see all the different levels of change that Frank goes through here, not the least of which is 47 lb. Truly if you do wheatgrass and mostly juicing and smoothies you can lose significant weight in a short amount of time but it has to be raw vegan because those are the foods that give your cells the nutrients they need. Kudos to everyone involved.
Ironically I had not seen this film before despite my studies and despite the fact that it's mentioned in a book I've had on my shelf for over 10 years called The Raw cure by Jacoby.
Cheers.
Fallout (2024)
Is GoreCom a category?
I mean what genre are shows like The Boys or Santa Clarita. They aren't Black comedy but there's definitly a comedic thread here. I tried to stick through the pilot episode but it was hard. When it was over, I felt relieved.
I'm not a gamer - although I did rescue the princess once in the early 90s. My only familiarity with the game Fallout is what I researched before writing this review. So I won't fit in to the 95% category of reviews here. But most sites describe it as anti Capitalist - which is ironic since here in the present we're the closest we've ever been to a nuclear war. But this series starts in the 1950s, like the game, where people were truly afraid of nuclear war. It was a different political climate, to say the least.
From a purely entertainment perspective, this show has not captured my intrigue - at all. The war theme is up my ally but it's just all in the background so far - a glimpse at the helos; some bad mf in iron suits standing by like man servants; a trans "brother" referred to as "their". The bloodshed in pod 33 bordered on comical aided by the lois lane dumdum who suddenly knows how to handle a dart gun and survives by luck.
Speaking of Lucy, she gets a knife in her abdomen where the blade is vertical but when she goes to staple the wound, it's now horizontal. Is this sloppy production or part of the comedy? I mean, it's so blaring, I'm honestly stumped.
Although I'm not fond of the character, I can appreciate the determination and sheltered but diciplined mentality. I'm hoping she becomes a badarse. (Also just kind of glad we're past the whole leading lady must be Hispanic thing.)
The pilot is presented in 4 sections to intro the various groups of characters, which I think was a poor decision. Traditionally, a pilot grabs your interest by investing in a handful of characters. It would have intrigued me more to have shorter glimpses with more focus on one group or other. Instead, it uses kind of a speed-dating technique. No one likes those.
The pilot had an opportunity to focus on Maximus but his interesting dialog comes after an oddly long pause just in time to almost make the 5 min scene have some value. Until then he seems pretty superficial. But I can tell he's going to be an ingesting character.
To summarize: too slow pace; too much comedic underpinning; boring sountrack; immature gore style.
I don't think I'll be watching more but I thought that about Wheel of Time, too, then it hooked me - The 1st season (2nd Season not recommended). Is GoreCom a category?
Wrath of Man (2021)
Unsatisfying
I admit, I might be a bit cynical today -- it's been rough -- so I wanted to escape into a kickbut film. I like Statham, and there's some decent actors in this film. But it felt dubbed even though it was filmed in English. It was hard to get comfortable with who was who and what was going on as they tried to deliver resumes in a pretentious banter-style dialog.
Then the scenario where Dougie gets taken out is just so unbelievable -- H fully knows better than to take his son on a job and yet he not only does so but leaves him in a secluded area where such a sharp shooter would know better than to trust any surroundings, particularly the exact location someone would be doing recon work. Then his son is too stupid to duck as soon as he realizes he's witnessing a crime. Adding dumber to dumb, he doesn't know enough to keep his head down when the criminals tell him to plant his face on the tar. It doesn't take a genius to know you won't live if you look directly at a killer -- they don't leave witnesses.
So I felt the whole set up was completely unbelievable. And why shoot at the legs of the person, the witness, running toward you when you've already killed 3 people? More nonsense.
Maybe I'm spoiled by the great films from the 80s and 90s where a badarse is a badarse 100% of the time, but in modern films there is too much attempt to make the hero suffer or be incapacitated. I know this is supposed to create tension for the audience. But here, for me, it loses all of the appeal to make the hero so momentarily dense that he doesn't check his weapon before getting in the armored car, nor does he suspect Bullet of being involved. Due to these lapses in judgement, H is unable to save any of the original team working in the Depot.
He finally decides to get off his duff when one of the other crew get close enough to be an easy target. One review claimed that H put on the armor suit of the big guy, but he only put on the helmet. At some point, he plays dead, which he's very good at, and he does eventually get the guy who killed his son-- ironically, the last man standing-- but in the meantime he was completely useless.
Ok, mission accomplished, I guess. But the ride from Point A to Point C was just not as interesting as it could have been. I felt more backstory on H was in order, or done in a more comprehensive way. At some point, we realize he is the kingpin on a successful armored car ring but is he wealthy, has he ever done time, where did he get his training? At the final scene, some goon asks if it's time to clean up, basically, so now we're wondering if he was just doing armored cars or what kind of team was he running exactly? There's only a handful of top dogs that have righthand men who clean up their dead.
I also felt no serious team would have included Jan in that final heist, he was clearly a loose cannon and selfish, putting the other team members at risk.
The film was kind of piecemeal and had too many "then" and "now" signage on the screen with an attempt at Chapter titles that should have been used the whole film or not at all.
But all in, it wasn't a bad watch. There's the usual good guy/bad guy situation where we aren't completely sure who is good and who is bad. There's lots of gun fire. A solid 5* from me.
Iliza Shlesinger: War Paint (2013)
Not sure how she made it past open mic night
Her opening is atrocious. Any comedian looking to grab the crowd needs to have material everyone can identify with. Being a frequent flyer in section D is not a common thing at all. Plus, why call someone's cousin a bidch for workng there? It's the airline, not the employees. But it gives us insight to Ilza's maturity level, or lack of it.
I ff a few times and just couldn't get on board with that nagging yelling voice. Jerry Lewis made it work but he developed a character that went with it. I found all of her material to be overly angry and sexualized (not in a good way). I've seen better female comedians on AGT: He Huang; Vicki Barbolak.
Road House (2024)
Entertaining but amateur
When i watch a fight film, i want to see the hero win frequently. This film had Dalton getting beat up way too much. He's shown as a badarse vaguely with a few good blows and ninja-like punches. But once he claims to be a level of mad that's lethal, he still isn't mad enough to win against the Irishman.
There's so much luck involved in everything that happens, including his adversaries hesitating just long enough for him to make another move. Then this unbeatable UFC champ gets kicked, punched and stabbed to the point ur screaming at the film - not things like "comin kick his arse" but more the "are you phawking joking, this is complete crap. This movie socks!" Totally unbelievable considering he's such a well-known name that people fear him for his reputation alone.
It's been years since i saw Patrick Swayze's Roadhouse but i know it was better by leaps and bounds. More believable characters, fights, relationships, and music - although the blues rock and funky gospel here was much appreciated.
The main bar room fight where everyone was engaged in fighting was choreographed very artistically, which i thought was cool. But overall, not much visual entertainment here - other than Gyllenhaal and McGregor with McGregor being a better actor imo despite this being his first actual film role according to imdb info. Or perhaps his character was just more interesting.
I'm going to also critique the cast and just say this is a sign of the times: We have a minority of caucasians, which is getting to be more and more common. We don't get the modern Latina version of the love interest, which i was relieved by, but we still get a heavy accent.
Any hoo.
My background is mainly Greek and yet there are zero leading actresses portraying Greek women. There are a few Greek actresses including Jennifer Aniston, Marina Sirtis, Teena Fay and Betty White - but they don't represent their culture in their roles. In fact, there's no box to check for us on any government form except, ironically, Caucasian.
But i digress.
As far as the movie itself, this is not a remake as so many people are claiming; the writers call this a reimagining.
I would much rather look at Patrick Swayze. I'm not familiar with Gyllenhaal but while he's got a body that could win martial arts awards, his face reminds me of Scott Bakula - almost nerdy. He didn't sell the part for me.
But its nice to see he and Jessica Williams are both born in the US, which is getting to be rare in American film today.
I wasn't really drawn in by the Portuguese doctor. For the first half the film I thought she was part of the drug ring and by the end we still aren't sure.
If you like half naked hot men, I would recommend this film but there's really not much else to it. We have no investment in any charcters and the action scenes are just over the top staging that have been done better in 1970s Bond films. It's also the first time i was aware during a film that they weren't really out on the ocean during some of the boat scenes.
There's definitely a bit of comedy here from the band still playing during bar brawls to the kingpin being reprimanded by his father from prison which aded some lighthearted atmospher. But overall, i felt it strung me along for an hour and 20 minutes until i started yelling, "this is bullchit, get the phawk up off your arse, are you kidding?" We all can appreciate the film trying to get the audience invested by having the bad guy get the upper hand occasionally but this film milks that to death and never really gives us any legitimate fight scenes. For that reason, i can't give more than 5 * and would give 4.5 if possible. However, most of the acting was more like a 6 - the actors did a great job with what they had. Hannah Love is such a beauty, I'm sure we'll see a lot more of her.
Go with Me (2015)
True definition of a slow burn
I found this free on yt and was a bit surprised because of all the great actors here. I thought for sure it must have failed in some way. But surprisingly, it's the true definition of a slow burn. The characters were all believable without a huge amount of backstory. This is a film about how ordinary people play by the rules while one menace terrorizes their small community to the point they are slaves to their fear and unwillingness to meet him on his own level.
When a woman returns to her hometown and refuses to leave despite being assaulted and stalked by the psychopath, 2 men who have huge grudges decide it's time to put an end to the terror. It feels a bit like that scene in the Wizard of Oz where all the witches soldiers rejoice after she is killed, so you know the whole town is not going to do anything but quietly be grateful.
It's truly a hard look at what ordinary people will endure and when they make that decision to stop being victims.
It does start slowly but I disagree that there is pointless dialog and empty scenes. Everything paints parts of the story until the final climax. The run time is perfect.
Bull: Espionage (2021)
Rediculous mood swing
I normally don't rate individual episodes. But with the huge personilty shifts in the show over 5 seasons, to be fed the bull in this episode is the straw that breaks the camel's back. The writers are once again trying the angry outfit on Bull but it just doesn't fit. I'm sure we've all passed Psych 101 in college and can shrink everything he's gone through but he just isn't selling it; Bull is too smart to entertain this rediculous pity party. Add to that, the episode is about a guy who commits espionage but Bull feels he shouldn't be punished because he didn't intend to harm the US, he just wanted to reveal a problem. It's just not something an intelligent person can chew and swallow without gagging since Bull, more than anyone, knows that to reveal such a problem you hire an attorney, not publish secret government documents on a public website. These snow flake scenarios are the Achilles heel of what should be a good show.
Episode 1 was very emotional and I actually thought the show was going to dig deep this season. Then this bull. I can see why te show couldn't stay afloat, although 6 seasons isn't a bad run.
Bull (2016)
clever but gimmicky; predictable poetic justice outcomes
I'm a fan of Weatherly in NCIS. He was the color spot in that team of merry characters. I always thought he kind of wasted his best years being pigeon-holed as the snarky comedic underling.
But, like with Cranston in Your Honor, Bull's character is too diluted and never really has that wow factor.
Weatherly still retains his GQ-ish good looks here and displays his sultry bedroom voice. But he was one of those exceptionally attractive actors one can't help but feel was never properly displayed in film, like Bradley James of Merlin. So finding he was the lead in another drama series made me happy.
However, it's not really what I'd hoped for him. In early parts of the series, it's entertaining if not a bit trite, though based on real technique, and so procedural you can literally taste the cookie doe in every scene. They try to add an edgy angry feel starting in season 2 but Weatherly just doesn't pull off the James Spader arrogance the producers are going for.
We get the poetic-justice outcome in each offering surrounded by the best case scenario of what jury consultants deceptively call a science.
By mid Season 2, they're trying too hard to add wrenches in the super smooth magic show and bring the gratuitous personal lives of his team into the spotlight. At some point, the trial science takes a back seat to the lengthy court arguments and personal drama.
I was surprised it claims to be based on Dr. Phil's early work. I've occasionally watched the Dr. Phil show and find it to be just a polite rendition of the Springer Show. Phil doesn't seem to be particularly on point about individual's psyche so much as pandering to the most shocking aspects of perceptions.
But in reality, the show is co-written and co-produced by McGraw, meaning it's an ideal of what he hoped would happen in the jury consulting business.
The truth is, you can gauge a most-likely scenario on a juror based on body language and social media activity but, like any other intuitive power, only someone with the inborn penchant for reading energy can perform as our dear Bull is doing in this series.
Like so many procedurals that rely on catching the big fish on every expedition, the mere fact this perfect outcome happens once every episode makes it pure drama. They do try to have interesting cases but the obviousness of the real perpetrator makes the last minute aha moments too unbelievable.
Despite my fondness of Weatherly, his character here never really developed and there aren't enough interesting characters surrounding Bull. It feels like the show is more interested in spotlighting issues than building characters - here they need the characters to change according to the needs of the episode.
I felt as though some of the dialog was intended to be delivered differently, more passionately yet the yelling in the court room was too much & just felt chaotic. A good show makes you feel like you're watching a real drama play out but Marissa's wardrobe becomes the most interesting character.
By the end of the series, I felt it was time, considering there just wasn't enough investment for the audience even after 6 seasons it really shot it's own foot by coupling Bull with the domineering Izzy and her smokers voice becomes one of the agitations despite that the nails on a chalkboard brother is unceremoniously removed late in season 5.
I wasn't surprised by the final episode although it was not necessary for Bull to destroy his career and TAC, there are a number of ways an attorney reveals info without damaging himself or his firm. The defendant d being tried for negligent homicide, not murder. The double jeopardy rule would not apply. So while it was dramatic, anyone who has been in and around lawyers knows this was an implausible ending.
On a positive note, it does seem to stick with American victims instead of the plethora of foreigners Dinozzo's team was forced to break laws for.
Panic Room (2002)
Great idea somewhat poor in execution
I remember when this film came out, it was highly anticipated because of Foster being in the lead and because panic rooms were kind of a novel idea for the public. It should have been a gripping thriller but Foster playing her part so well next to the inexperienced Stewart made it seem like Foster was overreacting at times and saying dialog that didn't fit the moment.
I see a lot of reviews claiming the ending was disappointing because the bad guy who turned out to have a conscience got nabbed. But for me that was just good police work and justice . Let's face it, he wasn't a good guy he just wasn't a murderer.
I felt there were a lot of plot holes and, even when it first came out, unbelievable. There was no explanation of why the robbers didn't just come back at a later time, why the phone was hooked up but not the panic room etc. The robbers were borderline comical except Forester. But I will say that although one reviewer claims the CGI on the fire was comical, it actually was spot-on because fire from carbon monoxide does burn blue not red. But I agree with the reviews who said there were so many plot holes including tapping out SOS and then stopping when you finally get someone's attention! I mean, I understand that the director wants to create tension and have those moments where the audience screams because the actor is being so stupid, but couldn't it be something less obvious? They're literally capturing the attention of the person who may be the only one that could see their light in order to start yelling, which that person would not be able to hear.
Seeing Stewart at this young age was intriguing in as much as she is just as boring here as she is later in Twilight. But at least in this film she plays a character that actually suits her true identity. I have to say that when I discovered Stewart is not interested in the male species yet she played the lead in such a romantic film as Twilight I was beyond disappointed. I mean, that's got to make you shed a tear, right? Yet perhaps it also explains her lackluster performance. But I digress.
The huge brownstone was an amazing house and I think they could have used it better. But for having a film with only one venue, I thought the house was pretty cool. Foster is a seasoned actor but she doesn't sell this part for me. Not a waste of time but feels very dated in 2024. I didn't like it in 2002 that well either.
#TextMeWhenYouGetHome: Nikki Kuhnhausen (2022)
Well done series, this episode stands out
It's interesting to see people online claiming David knew from the start. But the majority of people are basically honest & expect others are, as well. Ironically, many live in a fantasy world where the very honesty needed to gain authentic relationships would destroy the image they have of themselves. I do believe the majority of men would feel extremely decieved to find your partner is not what they present themselves as. It's an inborn reaction. We can love people who deny the gender God chose for them but that's a learned response in objective situations.
I felt David's story was believable since Nikki had a history of violenz and drug abuse while David did not, and he only dated hedero women. It's likely Nikki was offended by his regection because they need others to validate their personal perception.
Acceptance side, for me it would be akin to the parent who constantly tells their child what a great talent they are when really they're just trying to build their confidence rather than being honest about the actual talent. I think people who have friends and family who treat them as if they really see them a certain way makes them feel confident yet this learned perception cannot be matched by strangers and acquaintances. I'm speaking as someone trained in psychology so I'm not trying to be hadeful but I also choose not to be pisee at this particular moment. We can all claim our neighbor is a unicorn but the truth will be revealed at some point.
Regecgection can be a shocking blow to the person who's been living in a world that others have created for them with good intentions.
I don't think it can be deemed a hade cryme when the person has essentially loored you under false pretenses. Most transdender people understand that the average stranger or acquaintance needs to be told the truth. But not all of them see it that way. In fact they often say "Come-on, you knew." But in all honesty, many times it's just not that obvious.
I personally think that should also be considered a cryme just like any assauld. In fact there are actual cases where a woman was fooled for months or even years by someone claiming to be male and eventually won a lawsuit for the fraud.
It's one thing to be accepting and even loving towards people at odds with themselves but it's another thing to be forced into their world and be expected to show compassion in the face of such deception.
I consider myself a compassionate person but I think David is also a victim here. In my legal background, we are taught that the basis of American law is the But For rule; in other words would this crime have happened but for this action or inaction. Sure, the burglar broke his leg in your shop but for his trying to rob you it wouldn't have happened.
So I feel that we can't just simply have sympathy for the person because we're supposed to, we have to also ask ourselves what actions they took or should have taken that would have changed the outcome.
That's my personal & professional opinion and I haven't said anything against the polisee so I'm hoping that someone can set aside their personal fague checker and post this review. Or they should also remove the even more quessionable remarks on the main series page.
Alone: Alone: Before the Drop (2023)
Interesting peek at how contestants are prepped for the show
I found this prequel very interesting. I always knew they must train the contestants on using cameras ahead of the actual drop off. It discuses a lot of things such as how many people apply to be on the show and how the production team checks the sites and maps the routes to them.
I will say though, some of these contestants make some of the most rookie mistakes I've ever seen in Alone. I'm on E6 right now and so far 2 people failed to secure their fish catch from animals w/one guy continuing to make several mistakes on other issues, as well; 1 failed to tie down their gill net; 2 built elaborate cabins without procuring food; 2 failed to boil their water. I assume they are just going about things as they had at home instead of considering the change of circumstances. Few, if any, are seasoned survival experts but seem to be mainly trained by learning growing up either being trained by their father or for necessity.
I'm trained in psychology but I'm a bit stumped at how being in the wilderness alone has such an insurmountable pull on the psyche to go home to your family. I think it's got to relate to feeling responsible or perhaps worrying about what could go wrong in your absence. Those are powerful worries. But I do understand that obsessing on something makes a person rationalize (and I've no doubt every person who tapped out for that psychological pull has regretted it). That's part of the struggle with things like addiction or low self esteem. The trick is to make a decision to put something else in your mind and find hobbies like wood craft, making trinkets etc.
Predator Pets (2018)
Very well done if not a bit preachy
I'm surprised to see only one other review here regarding this documentary series. Unfortunately I couldn't like or dislike that review because the ending sentence was confusing and off-putting. But I agree the series is very good. It's very informative although there's a lot of repetition. They do show lots of the wild animals they are discussing while they're speaking to the caretaker or owner.
I've always found it fascinating, as I guess a lot of people do, that anyone would make the commitment of this magnitude to not only tend to a creature that no one else can but to accept the risks that go with it. But this series also addresses the issue of neighbors and communities who are endangered by irresponsible owners. It also does delve into some of the encounters where people lost their lives because of having these exotic pets. You find the owners will often say things like, 'It's not for everyone, you have to really make a commitment and be responsible.' So that was a little redundant for me but I guess a lot of programs nowadays feel they need to really hit home the information that fails to come naturally, such as common sense, to people. Episode 11, in particular, goes way out of its way to keep reiterating how dangerous it can be and how responsible the owner must be. So, in the greatest sense this documentary was designed to help people understand the complications due to it being a huge problem; it's not just for entertainment.
But in all honesty, human beings do a myriad of things everyday that are toxic and dangerous, including drinking, drugs, smoking, promiscuity, driving cars, mountain climbing, skydiving and eating processed foods or over indulgence in sugary snacks. So I feel the main thing that I'm taking away from this is that the animals need to be cared for responsibly even if we don't care for ourselves responsibly.
One of the segments is about Joe exotic, which surprised me in as much as he seems very personable and knowledgeable contrary to the crackpot the media has made him out to be.
If you're expecting this to be one of those Fatal Attraction type of series, it's not. It's just very informative and entertaining without all the blood, gore and scary sound bites.
Reptile (2023)
Slow Burn means there's a burn at the end
I read several reviews both before and after watching this film - I like to see the consensus from both pre and post viewing. The high stars made me keep watching after my better judgement said to turn if off. Then after, I searched for the low stars to see how well our opinions collaborated. To be honest, I think a lot of the reviews - both low and high stars - got several aspects of the film wrong on at least some levels. There's a lot of complaints that tidbits were never wrapped up, which is true depending on whether you thought you followed the clues to some conclusion.
Let me first confirm, I felt this film was a huge waste of time. Not as bad as The Wicker Man or Jaws 3D but it's certainly no Sin City or Dragged Across Concrete (although you may feel like you have been).
Reptile never reveals in any articulate way why it chose that title. We can only surmise it was trying to say Snake in a beat-around-the-bush way. Ironically, that's what this film does for it's entire 2 hours and 14 minutes.
Some call it a Slow Burn but that phrase actually implies there is a mind-blowing finale. Not so here. In fact, it seems to wrap up rather tidy considering how difficult it should have been to pinch the right people and send the good guys home.
Reptile winds us through a mine-field of clues and innuendo, much of which felt more like flipping through a photo album with the only context being that at some point it would weave some coherency. One can only assume Grant Singer was going for a puzzle effect but which, for me, fell flat. (Although he does have an interview online somewhere about the film and admits there's no clear indication of what happened to Eli.) The only success was that we are truly unsure of who the criminals are until around 10 minutes before the film ends.
Well, except for that one scene where Will seems to be having a flashback of finding Summer but we see her leg twitch just ever so slightly and her eyes blink. Then we know that Summer was still alive when Will was in the room with her despite the knife in her side. The alleged bite marks are never explained but then again they are never confirmed as bite marks.
I feel 3 stars may be a tad low but I'm deducting points for putting those big names in to keep me expecting a better payout. Del Torre played his part expertly, as did all the actors. However, it's just not that interesting, even with co-stars like Silverstone as the standard small town arm candy who has now gotten comfortably chubby over years of marriage, and Timberlake as the arrogant and sociopathic mama's boy.
The clues ever so slowly pile up but only looking back do we realize that Sam and Summer both had the paint on them because they were using For Sale properties for their sexual rendezvous. But even finding all that heroine in Sam's shed doesn't jog any further ah-ha moments for the star detective. They interview one of Sam and Summer's friends who tells them Summer didn't do drugs, but even then there's no light coming on in the small-town detective who himself apparently has a bit of a unique past.
The most interesting character is Eli who knows more than they give him credit for since he's dismissed due to his grudge.
In the end, we find that indeed the boyfriend murdered Summer. Presumably, Wally killed Eli after Tom hands the thumb drive to the Chief - or did he leave town? The bleach container does seem to point at a murder, though.
I think for such an intricate enterprise, the criminals made a lot of mistakes with code names like W6 and keeping the car that was used in a crime. What a lot of people seemed to have missed is that the reason Judy knew it was a Chrysler is because he uncle had one. No one asked if he still did!
What it doesn't really tell us is why they expected Summer to be in on it or why they didn't throw some money at her instead of expecting her to keep their secrets. It also doesn't specifically tell us that Will's mom was the kingpin but I felt that she must have been, and she was probably the one with the fake blond hair that ended up at the crime scene.
We also don't really know if Sam was in on it or if he was just the schmuck that got set up by Will because he was banging Summer. I also thought it was unclear who shot Sam.
The ending with Tom using his new faucet after a Paraffin bath (helps with arthritis and looks like snake skin coming off), we know he's not under any suspicion and now has a new start.
I guess there are still lingering questions. If anyone can say succinctly what happened to who and why, I'm all ears. But if you search online you'll find a lot of people trying to answer who actually don't know anymore than you or I.
But don't watch it just because I've challenged you to figure it out. I'm betting you will be just as disappointed and somewhat perplexed as I am. You might like it, though. A lot of people did. Just not me.
Rampart (2011)
1999s response to public outcry
Woody Harrelson is a surprising actor if you first met him on a little comedy called Cheers where he was a dimwit bartender with unexpectedly witty insight. Since then his resume has grown incredibly but none of it has been in comedy, or almost none. His style has an almost Bryan Cranston type of hutzpah. This is one of those examples where Harrelson gives us a standout performance, and in fact there are many big names in this film. Someone born in the late 90s or early 2000s may be asking why or even who are they. They're also likely to feel that this film has almost nothing to do with the situation we see today .
The reason is because back in the 90s police corruption was a new topic and one that had been kept underground for as long as possible. So in its time, this film would have been very controversial and surprising to most of the audience. It attempts to address the issue by imagining one of the corrupt cops and how his life turned out.
The problem I have with this film is that it asks us to visualize that this misogynistic arrogant narcissist probably eventually loses his position in the police department and has lost his family and lost the respect of his children - in other words we're supposed to imagine the poetic justice that should happen to someone of his caliber but which doesn't usually actually happen. He doesn't have a friend to speak of because he's treated everyone so badly, even letting his attorney friend die on the beach rather than call an ambulance. Would such a murderous personality who doesn't really think that he's done anything wrong just hang around in town waiting to be put in handcuffs? Just no real ending to this film other than for the audience to believe that a corrupt cop eventually gets fingered- not by observant citizens but by cops and higher ups who are determined to take him through the process.
I just find it very unrealistic. When we consider that Derek Chauvin had 17 complaints from civilians and four complaints from fellow officers yet was still on the street to continue and eventually murder someone. I look at this film and I wonder, did Chauvin also kill other people before George Floyd? I realize it's popular these days correlate Floyd with the blm movement and try to dismiss them both for the ensuing riots. But if you watch the trial you can't really come away and say that Chauvin was innocent. Still there are those who take that stance. And they're always will be. But hopefully there are enough people who know right from wrong instead of just supporting a group or a department regardless of what it's made up of.
What I did like about this film is that it does show us the type of person who would be this arrogant and narcissistic, in whose own mind they are some sort of hero, taking out the trash, as so many people like to say, and excusing their crimes upon criminals.
But that's my main concern, that it tries to imply such cops are not only rare but meet their ultimate fate. I just don't think that's true. I also think it skirted around the main issue of brutality against minorities.
So, I'm giving six stars which is actually a high score. I felt that the acting was great but the film itself was just a character study that spent too much time showing him drinking and womanizing instead of showing him on the streets as a cop. I can appreciate that the intention was to show a character study of someone who is capable of those actions but it would be kind of like showing Charles Bronson in the mechanic but not having him kill anyone and for me, whether in 1999 or in 2024, this movie falls short.
This is a man who truly believed that everyone else is wrong and that he was right. And that is exactly the kind of person who would be a rogue cop. But I just think this film was trying too hard to help the audience perceive it as something rare and that is appropriately dealt with and that also has a Poetic Justice aspect but that's just not the most common scenario.
The Tourist (2022)
Edgy indie feel but too much leeway
This is regarding S1 since S2 isn't actually released yet. Not sure why I'm seeing reviews for it. It was a bit hard getting through E1 with a big event then not much. The intro of Helen made it feel poorly acted initially. The last minutes of E1 make me check out E2. 3 & 4 were also good and keep dropping breadcrumbs. There was some interesting clues and situations. But E5 & 6 took too much artistic leeway. I appreciated the conceptualization for the flashbacks but it was such a different mood. 6 also veered from the quirky gritty story somewhat.
The high praise for Danielle in the reviews seems suspect but maybe she's a big star in Australia. I found it hard to like her initially (Helen). Her character makes sense but it's just really over the top with the sappy personality and apologetic expressions as well as trying to make their point about low self esteem and the definition of beauty. It seems almost comical. It just didn't feel authentic. I mean, at least with Drop Dead Diva we knew it was a fantasy.
There is some humor here but it's not enough to add comedy to the genre. People saying it's like Fargo have seen too few dark comedies - it's nothing like Fargo. Momento maybe.
I assume they circle back in S2 to clear up how Elliot could be an accountant and also a drug cartel. But I'm not sure I'll be watching. I loved the first few episodes but with 5 & 6 i started just hoping it would end. I also dislike the idea of Helen and Elliot being a couple. I like them as the involuntary friends who find a camaraderie.
Can I Tell You A Secret? (2024)
An important film to remind young people that the internet is a jungle and you are prey
I'm surprised at the low star reviews here, but perhaps this film hasn't obtained the audience it was aimed at, which is the younger people who are living there entire life on social media. Or maybe they aren't leaving reviews. Everyone should watch this to understand how important safety online is and how easy it is for someone to fool you into thinking they're somebod they aren't.
Matthew, who had done so much damage to so many people, is the most prolific, arguably. But this is not an isolated incident. These young girls get on social media practically nude doing things that they think are making them get views and likes and followers. They leave their friends list open, oftentimes to people who don't even have to be on their friends list to view it. They post where they've been and where they're going. It's no wonder that more people haven't done this exact thing. It's no surprise that someone with autistic spectrum found this to be a hobby he was really good at. But this is a huge crisis in our world. Oftentimes you see people posting on their own social media page that if someone tells them that they changed their number or changed their Facebook to not believe them. And that's a good rule of thumb - as well a get proof before you send sensitive info to an unfamiliar profile regarless of thename displayed. But we don't learn that in junior high school, at least not that I know of. Free food for thought there, though.
The internet has hijacked our lives so fast from the time AOL made us pay $20 an hour to get on the information Highway with no ads and free websites to this moment In time where everything not only costs us money but the people trying to advertise to us and get our attention and get our money are using our own RAM on our own computer to force their way into our lives. They're tracking us, they're keeping tabs on what we're buying and what credit card we're using and who are main contacts are. It's a frightening world.
There are a lot more celebrities, if you consider a social media influencer a celebrity - personally, I don't but it's the new trend. We no longer have one new rising star every few months or few years, we have hundreds of people every week spending all of their free time on social media trying to get followers. Some actually figure out how to make money at it but most people don't. If you can believe that.
I found this film to be something of an important insertion into the lives of those young people who will bother to watch it and, in that sense, I felt the film was well done if you consider that it's aimed at young people who are actually on the internet trying to make a name for themselves and not being taught -or ignoring- the laws of safety. I didn't think it dragged on too much - goodness sakes isn't it only two episodes?
And just some trivia, I thought the producers were inserting that strange voice even though we initially think the perpetrator is only responding through text. But if you're watching closely there is one moment or actually probably more like a 15-second spot where they show the perpetrator speaking and then slow the voice down and it becomes that voice that we hear throughout the film. So yes it's for drama but it is actually mimicking his voice slowed down or disguised. Enemy rate I appreciated the dramatization of voices as if they were reading their own text because I don't like reading text all the time. I've never been one to watch films where I have to read the English translation unless it's a real good documentary and I'm not a fan of the modern technique of making the audience read text. So I personally appreciated them adding those voices.
Lost in the Sun (2015)
Enjoyable old fashioned drama
I enjoyed the old fashioned, bare bones of this film - the kind that rely on telling a story instead of being a kaleidoscope of CGI or a thrill ride of sex and speed. It reminds me of films like Paper Moon or Splendor in the Grass because of it's focus on the main actors in an impoverished landscape engaged in pure human emotion caught up in hopelessness.
I felt the write-up was misleading because the term orphan implies a child had no living kin, which is not the case here.
Of the few reviews, several seemed to know early on who John was but I wasn't sure until the end.
I noticed the Goofs section for this film list inaccurate goofs and I'm not sure how they were approved by the database: they incorrectly say Farmington is a desert with no farms and no railraod. But the town is literally named for the crux of residents being farmers. Starting in the early 1900s, it was known for it's apple orchards. It's also not a desert, boasting one of the largest lakes in that region. As well, one of the earliest railroads went right through Farmington to pick up Apple's and other vegetables from the farmers.
I was a little confused when the grandmother asked Louis how he got there because early in the film John calls and tells her he has the boy.
It didn't all make perfect sense but most details in the film had some purpose.
A decent, well-acted old style film that touches honest emotion.
Lover Stalker Killer (2024)
Familiar story that draws out the relationships
For a lot of us true crime buffs, this is a familiar story. A&E did a shorter piece on this, as well as others. For those not Familiar with it, I thought nedflix did an ok job drawing out the mystery although I felt they intended to give a big clue with divulging that lengthy moment where Liz happens to show up the first time Dave has Cari over (& this is just a personal note but 'C a r i' is actually pronounced Kar-y, traditionally; so if you pronounce it that way, the voice to text will spell Cari correctly).
I see a lot of reviews calling Liz smart but I disagree. Cunning, perhaps. But most people who use internet even in the early or mid 2000s know that you can sign up for an internet service that disguises your true IP address where your IP will look different each time, and there are VOIP phone services where you can use a different phone number from your own cell phone and sign up for as many numbers as you have the time and patience for. Many free email services allow you to have up to 5 different outgoing names. She was able to manipulate people because of their tendancy to take things at face value and their inability to suspect such shocking deception.
She should have been easy to catch from early on. The cops did shyddy work plain and simple. When they found Cari's car and knew she had not taken her clothes or medication and had not used her bank cards, those are red flags for a suspicious disappearance. It's sad her mother and son had to suffer all those years without being taken seriously.
The detectives that took on the case much later did an excellent job. What amazing dedication. But early on, the other detectives should have traced the text and emails by default. The guy who staked out Daves work should have realized that if he could not find Cari stalking Dave, he should be looking for someone else -- who WAS always around?
Nedflix added a lot of detail on the front end of this story but didn't have as many details in other areas as some other retellings. But overall not a bad watch.
I understand Dave feeling some responsibility but I thought it was strange of him to think he should have told Cari he wasn't interested; he should have seen red flags when Liz came by while Cari was there, and to a lesser degree, from the sudden shift in attitude from Cari's text before her disappearance.
I feel there's still a lot we don't know. But I do think Liz burned her own house down to finally be rid of the ashes from burning Cari, which she probably had brought home with her - otherwise someone would have found the burnt remains. Burning her own house down serves two purposes: making Cari look like she's still alive and destroying a body no one is looking for.
I'm surprisd her attorney didn't try to deem her mentally ill because she obviously is deeply troubled. But I'm glad she'll never see the outside of prison.
Warrior (2019)
Realism mixed with modern ideology for affect
When I was a kid I saw all the Bruce Lee movies and learned to love watching martial arts and martial art based films. Nothing beats a good kung fu fight. I watched the pilot episode of this series and I am going to write a review even though I'm not planning to watch anymore of the series. I enjoyed it to an extent and I can honestly say I felt there was a lot of realism but also a lot of modern ideology inserted to bring the series into a modern story and be more adaptable for audiences appreciation. So I can say that anyone who complains that it's not realistic fails to understand the premise of filmmaking. It's not a documentary, it's a drama. But having said that, it is indeed a drama which takes its time and isn't always that interesting to watch. It's dark and moody, in fact much of this first episode was in such dim lighting that I wasn't sure if they were trying to seem authentic or if they were trying to create some sort of a magician's illusion to make us believe something's happening that isn't. Which is okay but better done in proper lighting. The sad fact is there is some realism here- the Chinese were treated horribly and most of the Caucasians in San Francisco at that time were Irish. So that aspect is realistic. I think that might bother some people and could be appreciated apparently by many people, based on the over the top high star reviews on this series- the realism of the bigotry and violence. But there's a lot of violence that is not realistic but is inserted to make it entertaining.
I did find some entertainment value, and some interesting bread crumbs that would definitely make the series bingeable to someone who was interested. There is a lot of violence and a lot of nudity and a lot of cussing. But none of that has to do with my reasons for not wanting to continue the series. I just simply didn't find it that interesting. I will say that the producers went out of their way to make sure the women who had nude scenes were natural and on the verge of malnutrition, so that's very realistic. The filth and lawlessness is also very realistic. But there's just not enough of the storyline here for the series to be dragged out as much as it is. There seems to me far too much length between the fight scenes, which most martial art films are wtche for. I also find it hard to believe that our protagonist meets up with someone who is just a skilled in the first episode. I'm hoping that they become collaborators rather than remain enemies. I also thought it was strange that the sister blamed her brother for what she knew at the time was throwing herself on the fire for the family. The Chinese women I know are very strong but I think that having so many dominant women is extremely unrealistic which is why I say that there's a lot of modern ideology in this series. The Madam turns out to be a very interesting character toward the end of this pilot episode, and if I were going to watch any other episodes it would be to see where that character goes. But at this moment I don't believe that is going to take place. There's just too much darkness, a lack of meaningful dialog to fill the long interums, and gratuitous nudity to make this a serious show. I agree with some of the reviews that say it just seems like it should have been a movie and has been dragged out into a series.
I'm not sure who all the 9 and 10 star reviews are from but I'm pretty sure that 99% of them are from young males because one review actually mentioned that you should watch it alone. I think that if this series is the closest you get to having something excite you, you are not getting out enough. The nudity here is not meant to be exciting, it's meant to show the oppressive and dark nature of the time. That shouldn't excite you.
Bullet Train (2022)
Did you count the spots?
I think there's two kinds of people who watched this film: those who counted the spots on the ladybugs and those who didn't. What I mean is, those who have a keen sense for detail will appreciate this film more than those who need a broad picture to take shape with minimum effort. This film has a great story set-up that reveals itself in sections while the interim is peppered with witty action scenes and clever dialog that helps frame the story. Much of the humor lies in the detailed facial expressions, captured with skilled precision.
Some of the low-star reviews missed blaring details, such as why the train was virtually empty. They complain that the action scenes were unrealistic having entirely missed the humor of the good v bad luck theme. The film mocks the popular mental health portfolio we see so much in today's younger crowd with great success. In fact, there are so many clever personality odes that the characters are built on them rather than taking us on verbose intros.
Bullet Train may remind some of the older crowd of a combination of clever assassin films over many decades yet it doesnt feel cliche. I don't know that I would watch it more than once but out was definitely worth the first go.
Alone: Flesh and Blood (2017)
Prefer the Alone format but couples was interesting
This is my second time watching Season four. The first time, I immediately disliked the couple format because it was in such opposition to the title of the show. Since they never repeated it, I'll assume it was the least favorite for other fans, as well. My second time, I was ready to give it more of a chance to capture my interest and enjoyed it more. They started with 7 teams of two, including only one married couple. I thought it was a little extreme to have one member of each team hike 10 days over nearly impassable terrain before the team even began their homesteading together. Sure enough, almost half the teams didn't make it through that initial challenge. One team tapped out on day 13 after the hiking partner spent that grueling 10 days fighting the overgrown forest and starving. I felt bad for him, that his partner was such a woose. The married couple was a bit annoying although Brooke was entertaining at times. They were likable just very arrogant and showy for the cameras. You can't help but admire their shared love of the wild. But honestly, I thought Brooke was in her 50s with a younger hubby until you see her in the review episode without the huge hat, hillbilly braids and oversized coat lol. I wasn't judging, I'm just saying it was a real surprise to see her without all that get-up. I knew they wouldn't win after they spent all those calories on a fancy cabin.
The son and father were very interesting. The dad was 61 and it's hard to imagine someone that age enduring so long. But I was a bit sad they didn't win because I really liked Sam. Maybe because that's my grandsons name. But the winners were worthy and likable. The brothers have an enviable relationship. I initially didn't expect them to last because the boat was not that impressive and the crab trap was odd to me. One guy cut his finger by moving the blade toward his hand - a hugely rookie move. But when they win, I was excited for them. Overall, a decent watch but the solo survivors are more interesting. There are alot of additional challenges to have a partner as well as perks. But for me, there's nothing alone about being together.
No Country for Old Men (2007)
Great film in its time
I'll start by saying, yes, the film is gripping and engaging. The senseless violence was shocking yet artful. However, by the end I had to re-check certain parts to make sure I put things together correctly because it felt unfinished and full of holes. It's a film you really have to pay close attention to so you can collect all the clues.
First of all, Anton was not with the cartel, he was a hired retrieval specislist who was causing so much clean-up the man who hired him then hired a hit man to take Anton out; then hired a group of Mexican retrieval specialists and gave them a 2nd locater for the money. They're the ones who learned where Moss would be from the mother, but we see Anton's handywork at that motel in El Paso letting us know he now has the money. There's no clear dotted line here for the audience to follow, and this happens more than once in this film.
It was disappointing that Harrelson's role was so uninteresting.
So many people call Anton the protagonist but the film is called No Country for Old Men. The title tells us who the protagonist is. The opening narration does, as well.
I was expecting more from all the hype, and the reviews are some of the most pretentious, verbose I've seen on this database over a psycological thriller. For me it was a bit of a shydshow because of the many plot holes, starting with a military-trained soldier going to bring water to a man he should have known would now be dead in a shootout he should have known others - killers -would be arriving to.
This same ex military now decides to send his wife to meet him and immediately discloses the location without informing her to not tell anyone where they're going nor making her promise to leave her mom behind.
But between Harrelson in the cartel's attorneys office and the wife and mom in the taxi, we see there is overt humor intended now and then. Especially with the indiferent Sheriff and his Deputy.
Over all, this film is entertaining and had very well-constructed charcters all played masterfully. I very much appreciated the noticable lack of soundtrack, which amplified each character.
In the end, we see Ed Tom going to retirement after consulting his father and coming away with the realization that there's nothing more he can do. He's out of his depth with the fast changing landscape of drug lords and hitmen.
You have to understand the timing of the film - set in the 80s where the US war on drugs was a huge poitical issue.
Gald I finally saw it but for me it's a one and done.
Alone: The Hunted (2021)
Contestants in S8 are the least interesting
I've watched well over half the seasons and I'm actually on my second time watching Season 8. There are some interesting contestants on most of the Alone series - good thing because, really, just watching and hearing how each person deals with their situation, what methods they try, how they cope with the intense psychological battle (or fail to) is the only variation in each season. Other than that, we watch each player pretty much just doing the same things over and over. So having interesting contestants is important. But this season, the interesting ones are few. For the first time, I find myself fast forwarding rather than hear more of the same self-pity party, or hear another note of bad singing, or listen to more ego whining. Even Kermit got tiring for me. And the ridiculousness of not knowing which accent you'll use for which camera angle has got to be the most annoying thing I've witnessed on a reality show ever.
The person I thought could win let the mind games convince him to leave. I have zero doubt such great survivslists who fall for that mind-muck will kick themselves for it till the day they die. It's way tougher to go home and face the kids you promised you'd do your best for. It just goes to show, the most capable people don't really understand how to fight their greatest foe on this series.
Another who tapped clearly just didn't want to fail any more than he ahead had and left before he completely destroyed his reputation as a survivalist coach.
Kudos to anyone with the guts to attempt this challenge - sincerely. But this season isn't my favorite.
I also don't like the newer format at this point of the series where they no longer remind us of who's still in the game, as well as how they focus on just a few for several episodes and then go back several days to include other contestants; or speed up several days to show the first tap then go backwards.
Missing 411 (2016)
Informative with no attempted conclusion
I see most of the reviews refer to someone who wrote books by the same name. I did not read those books. But I give at least seven stars for the attempt to get this information out there - perhaps someone knows something and is willing to come forward, especially years later. I disagree with one of the reviews that claims all these children were abducted by animals, who then goes on to quote some story about a mountain lion where the story goes on and on about the horrific noise that was witnessed during the attack. None of these children had any such noise associated with their going missing. In fact there was a suspicious absence of noise. Any two year old I know who might be grabbed by a mountain lion would definitely scream his little head off. I also disagree with the many reviews who claim there was a suggestion of paranormal activity in this documentary. I saw no such thing. I think that only those who watch paranormal type of films would reach that conclusion. In most instances where it's either an alien abduction or some sort of paranormal disappearance, the person when found later is still fully dressed and alive. So I'm going to say I don't think there's anything paranormal here or the suggestion of any paranormal activity. This documentary simply gives us information and goes over some of the questions suspicions and potential possibilities. It also discusses a disappearance where the child was found and lived but was too young to remember what happened to him, even telling the adults that a cat scratched his face rather than keep having to face the question.
I did feel it meandered too much, and went backwards and forwards making it hard to keep up with which case they were focused on. I would have liked to hear more about the father and son who found the pristine white shoes. But clearly the two little boys whose remains were found later got lost or were taken by a human. If those areas were searched previously yet the remains were found there later that either means the child return to that area after the search and then later died there or that he was put there by someone after the search party left. There's clearly no evidence that animals were involved and I think that's exactly what makes these cases so mysterious. It did seem strange that those parents refuse to talk to media and then try to make it seem like a well founded decision. If my child was missing I would talk to everyone who would listen and certainly get in front of every camera pointed in my direction. So that does seem a little sketchy. The idea that two parents would continue on down a path and assume they're tiny 2-year-old made it back to camp is incomprehensible. You don't take your eyes off 2-year-old in your own home never mind in an isolated dangerous wilderness. They didn't go back and tell the grandpa "hey we're leaving him with you", they just sent him back up to the camp? That sounds so sus. I think it's very likely that couple had gone down the mountain to sell the child with someone they lined up and then returned and pretended that he was still with them. It sounds like the grandpa was not really all there and they felt like they could easily convince him that they sent the boy back up to the camp unescorted. But here I go acting like all the social media armchair sleuths putting out ideas and opinion that I really have no basis for other than what I learned from this film just now.
What I do know, being someone who has lived in the Santa Cruz mountains, is that you do not leave children alone in the mountains especially not young ones like those. You have to keep your eye on them every minute because if they fall or get sucked into a hole or get taken by an animal you want to have known what happened and hopefully prevent it.
The Wilderness is a very dangerous place. I've had grown friends, male friends, who have lost their way on paths they've crossed many times in their life. I've seen people get knocked out from a fall and wake up and not know where they were for the next three days until their memory came back. I've heard of children who wander off with strangers because of a promise to bring them back to their parents or some promise of a treat. I mean if I was a perpetrator what better place than to hang around a campground where families come. But if there was a human Predator doing this, you would think that we'd hear more about it more frequently.
I think each of these situations is slightly different and there were times when I thought a child was abducted and then his items returned, and there were another time when I thought the child was lost and simply couldn't find his way back. I also noted that the sheriff who talked about the dogs wanting to go search up the hill didn't seem to know if that hill was ever searched. And unfortunately it's very possible that never was searched if somebody said Oh that child could not have gotten up that hill on his own, they might not have searched the hill.
It's very sad to think that these children suffered, and of the suffering that the parents endured not being able to protect or save their children.