fashinrashin Reviews

Fall of Civilizations (2019 Podcast Series)

OUTSTANDING

[10/10 · 7 May 2024]

There is no greater level of excellence than this series. Mr Cooper has devised and executed the high water mark for documentary history. I started out just listening to these pods as a podcast, not knowing there were YouTube episodes. There are a number that are so evocative you are there back in time with the people , through the narrator - its spellbinding.

The episodes on the Phoenicians and Assyrians are incredible.

You watch this and something like "The Rest is History" seems like a children's story. David Starkey can create worlds and nuance like this series, but Mr Cooper takes it all much further.

I knew a little about the Sumerians and Egyptians and the Vikings. This series brought me real knowledge on those eras . The rest of the series are just peaks of pleasurable listening, deep dives into the mists of time. This series gives the viewer a rich, textured , understanding of our forebears. Magnificent,

Arcadian (2024)

Disregard the low ratings

[7/10 · 4 May 2024]

Fabulous tension, if this doesn't have you with knotted guts, I don't know what will Cage is excellent, really believable as a fierce father. The two boys are great, as is the rest of the cast The premise is a well worn trope, but that's ok, these "It follows"..."A quiet place" ....etc, can really work in the right hands This could have been amazing if the DP had more time setting up shots. He didn't.... this was made on a shoestring budget, probably with a freaking IPhone.

The creatures are terrifying, and relentless , this flick could have a follow up movie, showing where the kids start to win against the creatures The Cage renaissance continues.

Civil War (2024)

Mandatory viewing

[8/10 · 19 April 2024]

Please go see it. Its an important film......There are some staggering images in this film, and the sound effects will win every award. The jump scares because of a gun going off caught me 4 times. The soundtrack is also striking (and bizarre), dissonant songs with disparate sequences, its unsettling, and that's the point.

The direction is fabulous, the acting perfect, (half the cast of DEVS in in this film), Jesse Plemons will freak you the **** out. He is good at that, I have to say Dunst is incredible but who steals the show is Stephen McKinley Henderson, who turns out to be an 80 year old "Mad Max" with a walking stick.

I saw this in IMAX and some of the camera shots (Forrest Fire, D. C. assault) were truly incredible.

I want to watch this again because there are a lot of nuances I missed.

Jimmy Carr: Natural Born Killer (2024)

Carr is not funny, never was.

[2/10 · 18 April 2024]

WHY are we getting UK comediennes instead of American ones ??

Carr has been around a long time, and he just isn't funny There is no irony, pathos or bathos with his shtick.

He should study the greats like Shandling, Prior, Stephen Wright, Carlin , Burr, Hicks, Candy, Redd FOXX, Bamford , etc. Even Tony Hancock, Pete and Dud, Sean Lock. Billy Connelly UNDERSTOOD the absurd , modern life, filth, and shock CARR understands nothing, he is NOT edgy

He is completely unaware, of being self aware, his BS working class Northern Working mens club crap IS REALLY PASSE, its nearly 100 years out of date He may as well do Vaudville !

Steve! (2024– )

This is tricky

[3/10 · 2 April 2024]

The problem is , in order to tag along with what will be the vox Populi of comedy opinion, I would have to say I like Steve Martins comedy I don't, Im not a prop man, very few can pull that off Tommy Cooper (England), The Pythons, Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin. This group is very rare company.....Martin is closest to the Pythons, its his obvious influence.

I found this "docu-expose" solipsistic. I'm sorry I don't see Seinfeld Shandling, Carlin ETC doing this self aggrandizing puffery, puff piece

That said what Steve does for laughs, doesn't make me laugh.

As for his acting, its ok, he is brilliant in Trains Planes and Automobiles, but only because of John Candy, WHO WAS an acting and comedy genius. John Candy carried Martin in that film.

As for the rest yeah, Martin can come up with some cute ideas, he can write some good screenplays. He can act. But its not top tier, none of it is. He is not Dan Hicks, or Carlin , Bill Burr, Shandling, Maria Bamford, he is not that clever. He doesn't have the pathos. Generally incredible comedy comes from pain. It comes from TRUTH that is so true its funny.

And as for that forkin banjo playing , PLEASE STOP.

Im gonna be shot to hell for this review but I don't care. Either you are funny or you are not You cant fake it til you make it.

Poor Things (2023)

Free will ?

[3/10 · 14 March 2024]

This is not about free will......Im not shocked, its not the first film I have seen that is tasteless, brash, and gauche. I just don't see the point ...... The sets are amazing, the acting cant be faulted. The cinematography incredible. It just doesn't have a point. Sexy Beast had a point, and it was riveting, Under the skin was mesmerizing, and "The Favorite" was delicious and dark and funny, and actually had some historical veracity.

All these films entertained , in very different ways, but "Poor Things" is a slog, it has no sub text , or even "top text" Don't get me wrong Emma Stone is fearless, absolutely committed, in this film. Mark Ruffalo is excellent. But so are a lot of actors in their way...... Liz Taylor WAOVW, Anything Christian Bale takes on, DDLewis, Malcolm McDowell could "Go There", (and it cost him), But this production doesn't go anywhere.

I hope Emma Stone pulls away from this "Arts for arts sake" She is the best in her generation, but this is just DePalmas "Caligula" with fancier sets.

Saltburn (2023)

Are you English ? Have you rubbed shoulders with these people ?

[7/10 · 26 December 2023]

I have , and I do wish to say there was dialog and aspects of this film that gave me the willies. You see, this is not a narrative, it is more a documentary. Emerald Fennel is showing us something.....

The English upper classes "are not like us" and some of the screenplay had me bug eyed as to its authenticity. Much has been covered in other books and films, Brideshead, Gosford Park, "IF" , Another Country etc But what Saltburn does is show you the mechanics of interpersonal upper class dynamics. And that is not pretty, but VERY on point.

These people are "removed" from their children, and everyone else is there for their entertainment. "The Love' is not there, there are no REAL "externalities of endearment" displayed by the upper classes.

Emerald Fennel has cut open the upper crust cadaver and its not pretty Another big clue about this culture is what the party-goer parent says about her kids at school at Olivers birthday party.

Shudder" !" I get the shivers thinking about what these people really are and that I used to be among them.

Fabulous acting, fab location, fab camera work.

A Murder at the End of the World (2023)

Dreck

[3/10 · 14 December 2023]

Wow dragsville, this type of whodunnit is just so much freakin work and very little payoff. If you want to know how to pace a show try. Broadchurch or Fortitude or. The Killing.

This is just appalling dribble, I dont care about these people (bad writing), everyone is a dillatante, no one is believable Its just bad, bad writing I gave the scenery 3 points because well, Iceland !

I am shocked Clive Owen signed on - hes better than this.

I tried 4 episodes and then exclaimed I want my time and money back !!

Oh and the main character is a good actress but completely miscast in this Do Better !

Whoever greenlit this script needs an enema at both ends.

Leave the World Behind (2023)

So it has to be spelled out ? You have to have an ending ?

[8/10 · 10 December 2023]

What is wrong with people ? This was excellent. Great acting, great cast. Great premise, super camera work, the creep factor was all pervasive.

Kevin Bacons speech summed it up, and some other insights from the female leads did too. If you want answers watch it again.

This actually could be a good series, "The Last of Us " Is a good series and this film is in that vein.

This film reminds me a little bit of "How I live Now" with Saorse Ronan, that has no easy answers, but its still a damn good flick .

Things might (and can, and maybe will), end up like this. Imploding Civilizations dont have one big bang event . It took time for the Romans to collapse......Watch "The Rover" its also like this, and VERY likely how the end will happen.

Quiz Lady (2023)

More like this please, the world needs more like this. film

[8/10 · 9 November 2023]

I got towards the end of this and didnt want it to leave. It was because I liked these people so much.

Everyone is good in this. But Sandra OH and Ferrell steal the show. Sandra Oh just crushes her character with just enough over the topness, coupled with incredible caring for those people around her.

She loves her sister.

The action is fast, and the continuity is great, the subplots are also really funny with the kidnappers being a real high point.

Watch out for this movie , it will creep up on you, , its seems like fluff but there are a lot of really good messages in this flick.

More like this please. The world needs more like this.

The Recruit (2022– )

SLEEPER

[8/10 · 5 October 2023]

This is actually a very good mindless show, that you have to pay attention to.

All the players are excellent , many of these actors are yeoman and the writing is pretty good, so character development is easy for them This show may be "ironic" and comedic, but there are some pretty good Washington insider digs at the expense of the "Company" (CIA) and D. C. in general.

I am in the first season episode 5 and its quite hard to switch it off So yeah, its a binge.

The story clips along, there is good continuity, and the direction is snappy. Please try it, if you like smart dialog, spy spoofs and humor, this show will work.

God Is a Bullet (2023)

Worth watching....missed opportunity, there was a great film here

[6/10 · 15 July 2023]

Another great film on the cutting room floor.... Look at this cast Ethan Suplee, karl glusman, January jones, Coster Waldau, Jamie Foxx, and MALKA MONROE is superb.

NOTHING wrong with the acting, super acting, action shots were good, tension build up was good, Its just too long and it didnt know what it was.

I think it was a Noir/Horror /Gothic cult movie that would have been around for decades. Who knows maybe there is a directors cut, maybe this was butchered by other hands, and not the creative team. There is a great movie in all that rotten story boarding and lack of continuity.

The real movie is on the cutting room floor.

Sicario (2015)

Not Overrated, This film is special

[9/10 · 4 July 2023]

Right off the bat, DEAKINS is a master, he deserves 20 oscars.

The Cinematography is gripping, the pacing impecable, the story boarding and continuity 100% correct.

I think I agree with some person here that said Emily Blunts story arc is too fuzzy, This is a smart FBI Agent she would have figured it out sooner and possibly taken action to stop it sooner. Not that I wanted it stopped, its a sick war with no rules, you have to be a wolf, there is no other choice. Everyone gives 100% in this film and it shows.

I think the real test of this is film is have seen it about 7 times.....And when I see it on a movie platform , I say "nah, I have seen this too much, but i will watch the first 20 minutes because it is so well shot".

Then Two hours and 30 minutes goes by and I was riveted to the chair the whole time.

This film is special.

To Catch a Killer (2023)

WHOA, dont pass this up

[9/10 · 18 May 2023]

You think this is going to be passable, but formulaic police thriller , and then WHAM-O this has something to say !

Amazing performances Mendelssohn is always first rate, Woodly shows she has the goods, but all the players really buy into this drama. This works as a police procedural, police drama, philosophical eye opener, thriller.

EXCELLENT movie. If this doesn't get you thinking about what we are doing NOTHING will POWERFUL FILM MAKING !

Great cinematography, sound effects terrific shots, location scouting was first rate. The only non credible part is, the drug taking would not allow her to be a cop This film needs to be well known.

These Final Hours (2013)

This movie gets right up in your grill

[8/10 · 17 April 2023]

Great acting, and a great AUSTRALIAN film. This was made for 2,5 million $ . Which doesnt seem possible. Are you paying attention Hollywood ?

This film is in the same vein as "Melancholia" by Lars Von Trier. Its the same, but very different.

The main thing is the cast and director in both films, committed to the movie and it really shows.

Everything that comes out of Australia in feature film is good. Hollywood should just give them billions and let them go mad.

More please ......If you think about it Australia is the best place for end of the world dystopias, The Drought, Mad Max, The Rover, Ravenous, its all set "down under"

This movie stays with you. I just watched for the second time and it really is an affecting piece of work.

The Snowman (2017)

What a cast !!, what a disaster

[2/10 · 17 April 2023]

2 stars for the camera work.

Thats it Everyone was so wooden !!. I have read some Jo Nesbo and he is Meh......There are other Nordic Noir writers who are much better. I bring this up as there isnt much to work with in the first place with a Nesbo story. But that is no excuse for this film making which had ZERO continuity.

Gainsborough cannot act, she should just stop. Its pitiful to watch her.

This film must have cost a forune to make.

Why does Netflick turn out such dreck, and spend so much money ?

It could be this film is on the cutting room floor, It could be the film wasnt story boarded very well, It could be the director is an imbecile.

We will never know.....

Daisy Jones & The Six (2023)

It gets a 6 ONLY because of Riley Keough

[6/10 · 18 March 2023]

Say what you want Keough is something pretty special.

I first saw her 5 years ago in Sodebergs "The Girlfriend Experience: and it was the same then YOU CANNOT take your eyes off her. She kidnaps the camera and then the camera becomes the victim of "The Stockholm Syndrome" It also doesnt help that in fleeting moments and the right lighting - ELVIS freakin Presley is back on the screen 'Whatever ELVIS had she has too !! IIs actual CHARISMA a word that is overused but correct in this case.

Claifin is good as the male lead, but you want to kick him in the nethers, because he is a jerk , Suki Waterhouse is excellent.

Everyone else is a cardboard cut out.

Its banal, derivative watered down poppycock, but as Paul Weller and the JAM said "The public gets what the public wants"

The White Lotus (2021–2025)

This is the same BAD scenery as "Succession"

[3/10 · 11 February 2023]

And "Succession" is effing horrifying. Why do Americans like 10,000 of cringe and people behaving badly for breakfast lench and dinner ?

At least call this what it is "Knotts Landing" Dallas" as the World Turns" Its awful. At least Dallas had humor, This is just awful people behaving badly, and Succession is just the same What is the attraction ?? Isnt work life and family life fraught with this 24/7 Re Enforcing Trump Family Values on steroids , and "The Kardashians"doesnt make us better as people or better Americans.

Emulating sh!tty shallow people is not healthy at all,

This rots our brains.

Babylon (I) (2022)

Good films are meant to make you uncomfortable

[8/10 · 4 February 2023]

I liked this a lot. Some of the Burbank filming scenes are frankly incredible. Chazelle is an auteur, there is no doubt about that. He knows his subject.

That all said there were aspects of this movie that really were disturbing. OK, I am a recovering addict so Miss La Roi's behavior and descent into a complete batsh!t drug fiend is hard to take. But there are other scenes that are just as haunting . (no spoilers) A BIG SHOUT OUT to. Tobey Maguire , that was some acting !! This entire sequence of descending into the bowels of hell was something else , Again, hats off to the director / writer in dreaming up this Ken Russell homage.

The film does fall apart somewhat at the end, I know what Chazelle was trying to do and SAY but it just seems rushed and doesnt do its subject justice.

Jesus It must have been wild living in those times with that access ! The 1920s were a GAS !

Violent Night (2022)

Ya filthy animal

[7/10 · 1 January 2023]

Everyone does a good job in this though I do think it could have been 12 minutes shorter and therefore better.

Editing people, editing.

The funniest parts was the little girl channeling " home Alone" torture on the bad guys.

Some of that was really MEDIEVAL !

I bet there is a sequel .

I hope they bring back the little kid and Santa because those actors really stood out As did Beverly D'angelo John Leguizamo is an A1 bad guy haha.

The gags with the reindeer were great too, They should get their own movie Bad Santa is the best but this is quite good, and it must have been a blast to make Bravo.

Alaska Daily (2022–2023)

Very good indeed

[8/10 · 8 October 2022]

We are losing local news, and its HUGE that a show like this highlites what we are losing.

The 4th estate (journalism), is one of the cornerstones of democracy, we NEED these people to tell us whats going on.

Obviously one of the main characters is the Alaskan scenic beauty. It sure looked good on my TV

Hilary Swank is perfect, the rest of the cast are excellent too. The quality of the writing is stupendous, not too preachy, it's acerbic and its on point. The reporters really are seen as doing what they do as a calling , not a job. The story on missing native women IS important.

I like this show.

Emily the Criminal (2022)

Great writing, great acting 1970s American cinema IS BACK !

[8/10 · 14 September 2022]

Ok this is an Aubrey Plaza joint from top to bottom, but man does she carry this film.

If nothing else this film will have cult status for decades to come, like "Blood Simple", Eraserhead, Rivers Edge, The Last Detail. Its old school with a modern vibe. Its telling a story but its also definitely "anti-hero" sensibilities.

In a very short space of time, Plaza has gone from comedic elf to full tilt dramatic force of nature. If you think about it , that was always there in her work.

Theo Rossi is also EXCELLENT in film. Take note Hollywood a new era was just born Hats off to everyone associated with this GREAT FILM (its not a movie)

The Forgotten Battle (2020)

GOOD addition to a new front of the WW2 Story

[8/10 · 9 September 2022]

The battle of Arnhem was crucial in WW2 . This film artfully shows the beginning of that.

The Dutch underground patriot resistance is really done proud, and the "fog of war" and "GREY areas" are well done too . The narrative showed not all Germans were monsters and that is important to note. War is hell, and that comes across in this film really well.

Another great companion film to this one, showing the Dutch resistance, is "Black book" its very well done like this effort

We done the actors, directors and CREW. Please more like this, we should never NEVER forget the sacrice and the lessons of WW2.

The Rehearsal (2022– )

Why ?

[2/10 · 22 August 2022]

This is like a whoopie cushions , or a rubber chicken, fun the first time for 5 seconds, but then it gets catastrophically old fast. This isnt "stealth therapy" or social engineering, or even cringe humor, its a gimmick that gets very tired very quickly.

I dont understand why the plaudits are so high for this ?

Life is a series of happy and unhappy social interaction experiments. Navel gazing about that will not enhance anything.

One soldiers on, and perseveres, making mental notes about "I wont do that again", or "I will try that again"

House of the Dragon (2022– )

Nah

[5/10 · 21 August 2022]

Its more or less impossible to beat out that first cast of GOT. This lot of pikers cant hold candle to the likes of "Spider" Tyrion, Jamie,Arya,Cersei, Tywin ,Hot Pie, Theon , and his sister and RAMSEY BOLTON .

The casting director needs to be hung from the yardarm, there are some fabulous actors out there, why this crew ??

This also seems like a cut rate production, WITH ALL THE MISTAKES of the first series looming already.

Read the books , they are much better than this twaddle.