lreese-1 Reviews

Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV (2024)

Nonsense

[1/10 · 8 April 2024]

The first episode revealed no real abuse, just silly conjecture and whining. I think we all know that child actors live in a weird world. This episode revealed nothing but gossip.

Parents should be involved But in this series, no parent is shown to be involved at all. Not mentioned or interviewed.

Employees whining about pay, women not getting the respect they think they deserve, people having their feelings hurt, may be abuse, but not abuse that's very interesting to me.

It's the kind of series that might please readers of the National Enquier and gossip magazines.

Maybe the other episodes have facts that might relate to abuse. But I doubt it. It's sad that HBO would air this type of trashy show.

Project Greenlight: A New Generation (2023– )

OK in a Different Way.

[7/10 · 17 July 2023]

The woman only version is OK.

It's not like the others which focus on movie making skills and production details.

This version is happier and more relaxed, but the director still has battles with production.

The hosts are all capable and seem to work well together.

The 2nd episode explains that the series is focused on uplifting under represented women, even in the production crew etc. I'm OK with that premise.

They spell out the rules pretty clearly.

Watching them build a movie based on affirmative Action at its core is interesting to watch. It doesn't always work out as expected.

The new group is much softer. They try not to offend each other in person, and don't get their points across. They're just too nice for the most part. The struggle they have, trying not to be aggressive is fun to watch too.

I've seen the movie, the advisors were correct in their criticisms while it was in production, but did very little to correct the obvious weaknesses in the movie, other than to tell the director to fix it, without follow up, or actual ideas.. The director they picked was very competent, but not overly creative. Very smart though.. She did many things very well. Having her help write and direct was too much for her. Too many other director functions she had to work on to create new visions to the story and script them.

If you like movies and want to learn about their production, you should watch this.

DUST Collection: Comedy (2020) Season Unknown, Episode Unknown

Fun Sci Fi Anthology

[8/10 · 23 July 2022]

Not sure why these 4 stories were packaged together.

The production values are good. The actors play their parts well.

The first story is an alien conquest plot at a disco. It's OK. Pretty standard. The leads are good.

The 2nd story is better, an interesting Alexia revolt. It's fun, not what you'd expect!

3rd Story is about a space fighter squadron experiencing life style changes that break up the groups Peter Pan lifestyle.. It's comical. Fun, but kinda corny. Maturity and responsibility ruin everything. Puff the magic dragon always dies in the end. Lol 4th Story Odd time traveling Archeology story with excellent special effects. A complicated story that's well written.

These should be watched. Hope the curator does more.

The stories aren't Black Mirror or Twilight Zone quality, but superior to the many others Anthologies out now. Not political or woke.

It was a good time!

Dead Ant (2017)

THEM is back. With sideboob!

[9/10 · 5 February 2022]

Well cast. Real actors, not stiffs.

Tom Arnold is perfect as a horrible human being. The chicks are hot. Full frontal nudity in the opening scene.

It hits all the traditional cliches. It's very raunchy, snarky and demeaning to everyone. Not a show to watch with your Mom! It's a movie for drunk, stoned guys to watch late night, but others may enjoy it.

I watched "Them", as a kid countless times. It was on shown regularly. It was scary as a kid.

As an adult, I think the addition of snarky, raunchy humor, hot topless chicks and Rock and Roll is an good improvement to the "Them" franchise.

A great movie for the old USA late show "Up all night". Which, unless you had Cinemax, was as raunchy as you could get!

Party Boat (2017 TV Movie)

THE FIRST REVIEW! WATCHING NOW!!

[6/10 · 6 December 2021]

It starts fine with lots of young men in polo shirts jumping around and a few hot chicks in bikinis. The picture is grainy. Commercials comes quick.

It's a party crew v crazy cop movie. The plot is stupid,as expected. But not horrible. The jokes work at times.. They aren't clever, but kind of amusing at times.. Its a crazy cops v party crew Movie..With a subplot love triangle. The cop is stereotypically crazy. The actor plays it fine. Stiff in a Patrick Warburton style, but not as funny. The cop side kick provides comic relief. Pauly Shore style. But not Pauly Shore.....I've seen Lake Cops get more psycho then this. Conservation Cops can be worse. It oddly has a ring of truth.

The party crew is good looking. The actors are all competent. The Love interests were unconvincing. Not much chemistry. The lead girl is pretty. But not many other hot chicks. Most of the time the party is lame with very little fun bring shown on camera. More hot chicks and music would've been nice.

The watergun scene was shot well. They spent time and care on that scene.. It perked the movie up. It drags until then. Then picks up as the cop v party battle begins.

Actually the cop battle plays second fiddle to the love triangle plot.

Cop battle may have been better. They all should have taken more drugs. The party is pretty lame. A bar battle and a dance. That's about it.

...The mother is annoying she had mostly bad racist lines and delivered them poorly. But she crushed the watergun scene.

Character development isn't crucial in this genre. Which is good, since what there is, is lame and weak. But not insulting.

The score is pedestrian. Mostly not annoying. No interesting. No skill is displayed. Hopefully it was iinexpensive.

The ending is weird . Pretty dumb.

Monster Island (2004 TV Movie)

Kinda sad

[3/10 · 24 November 2021]

Has all the hot chick's and dumb script necessary for this type of movie, but the lead, Daniel Letterle cannot act, making the movie difficult to watch.

Fortunately, it looks as if he's retired from acting. Good choice!

The Man Who Saved Ben-Hur (2016)

He Had Stories To Tell But they aren't here!

[3/10 · 28 March 2021]

The story of Hollywood AD who truly wanted to tell his stories. I'm sure he had many great ones. He knew many stars personally. They aren't told here.

This is not about good times. The director focuses in on his analysis of Johnny's current life. Some are told by narration.

The few stories he was allowed to tell were great. He just wasn't allowed to tell many of them.

The movie is more about the director and his strange, sappy psychoanalysis of Johnny. He wants us to feel sorry for Johnny. Why is unclear. As if he led a sad life?

It doesn't make sense. More of a hack job than a celebration or story of the man's interesting life. He seemed like a great guy.. I doubt Johnny wants his legacy to be that of him in his underwear, sad music playing and his nephew telling people how sad his life was in a movie.

Quite a shame.

Tom and Jerry (II) (2021)

It's OK

[6/10 · 16 March 2021]

Not a bad effort. Better than some of Tom and Jerry's from the 60's. The music was awful. It sounded cheap. That was a major flaw. It couldn't have been more annoying and inappropriately placed. Very poor job. The violence is toned down. So is the action. It is kind of slow. But I'll let the flaws pass. It's Tom and Jerry! A kinder gentler version for the snowflake children these days. They are a little to soft to see old cartoons unedited. Too many triggers for them. They need a cute, soft version of Tom and Jerry. The real ones may emotionally scar them due to their upbringing.

The Ruins (2008)

Brutally Good!

[8/10 · 9 March 2021]

Odd movie for the genre.

Well written script in that all the characters act logically.

The special effects are weak. Its a very serious movie. No laughter. It has a lot of blood, but no hot chicks or nudity.

It will not make you feel better.

Sisters (1972)

His Best Hitchcockian Film

[8/10 · 27 February 2021]

An innocent bystander caught in a web of intrigue is one of my favorite plot lines. DePalma does it well here. Though not as technically mastered as Hitchcock's films, it was likely low budget. It was an American International Picture. The script is plausible. That's rarely the case in these types of movies. The characters were thinly developed, but that was appropriate due to the real time effect of the movie. It's constantly in motion, moving forward. A good thing in a thriller. The Actors were all competent. They look stiff at times, but that was kind of a style in the 70's. The story is told straight forward. Not directed as Hitchcock. Hitchcock would open with a metaphor and layer visual and tonal montages to manipulate time.. He told stores visually by precise abstract shots thrown together forcing the audience to build the story in their minds. DePalma uses lots of dialog to push the story forward rather than use complex visual scenes. When he tries, it usually seems contrived and disjointed. Thankfully he didn't try too often. DePalma tells you the story rather than let you figure out. A simpler style of directing. But effective here. The movie flowed well. The shocking scenes were shocking. Lots of fake blood etc. It was done well. The score was an absolute copy of Hitchcock. It was great. Palma didn't direct in the same style as Hitchcock in any of his movies. He never really tried. He used the same plot lines and tried to create the same effect, but his movies are generally filled with lots of useless gunk in my opinion. But they still are very good. Hitchcock made worse movies than this one. His style didn't always work for me. DePalma did a great job here with his style. I'll give it an 8 for effort.

Method (2017)

Very well written script. Watch it.

[9/10 · 31 January 2021]

Very well acted and scripted. Great plot with clever twists. The male leads made a great classic Hollywood romantic couple regardless of gender. Walter being the big dominant stubborn alpha male and Young being the cute, clever little Submissive female. Which was great. There is no political statement involved. No pandering. No token foolishness. Its certainly not an LGBT movie. It's a rather traditional movie with a cute feminine guy playing the female lead. Not suprising that an alpha dom man would be attracted. Young looks beautiful at times. Very charming and desirable.. Like a cute little Aubrey Hepburn at times...LGBT issues are not explored here. The themes mostly explore method acting, and how we all "method actors". Few show their true selves. Our deepest desires. For good reason. When you follow the method acting thing too far, and love gets involved, we all know your brain dissolves. Then your brain reforms and focuses on doing everything it can to keep the love.....Until suddenly, the love is gone..And your confused! The movie is kind of like that..But so is everything else..Maybe?

Lindsey

Spiral (I) (2019)

VERY BORING.

[4/10 · 10 November 2020]

The acting is ok. The cinematography, and sound are fine. Just a dumb story.

There is no horror. Maybe some suspense. The plot just grinds on with very little happening of interest until the end.

The character development is sparse. The motivations of the family and the neighbors is difficult to surmise. We learn very little about their pasts. Pretty hard to relate to or care much about any of them.

If they'd ended the film after the birthday party, I suppose it may have left a more interesting impression....But they junked up the ending with the same old same old.. Not a good watch. But... It does have a gay multi racial couple as leads. That's different. That's about the only thing interesting about it.

Coastal Elites (2020 TV Movie)

Only For Those that Hate or Love Trump!

[4/10 · 16 September 2020]

More of a diatribe than a movie, those that hate Trump will enjoy the affirmation of their beliefs. Those that like Trump will enjoy trashing it! The movie presents 5 actors by themselves speaking to the screen. There is no plot, character development and looks like it's shot on an iphone. The camera never moves. Unfortunately no interesting themes develop. Nothing novel. Same old Country Mouse versus City Mouse themes. The Coastal Elite theme, as usual is that everyone that likes Trump or his policies is evil and stupid. Those that don't believe in that are deplorable and deserve to be shamed. Since only City Mice speak, we only hear their side. They trash Country mice pretty hard! There are no "fine" people on the other side. Much of the dialogues are character attacks. Not much policy is discussed. Mostly just anger. It's rarely amusing. More humor would have been nice. Perhaps if these actors, who are coastal elites themselves, were telling their own stories rather than reciting Paul Rudniks script, it would have been more interesting. They likely have better more powerful stories than those in the script. I watched it. It was tough at times as it's overdramatic and mostly just the same old same old I read everyday in the NYT but more Fake. Only Political fanatics like me, or the self righteous know it alls that will cuss at it or fawn over it will be able to finish this movie without falling asleep or ignoring it and playing on their phones.

Out There (2006)

Pleasant story with good acting

[7/10 · 1 July 2020]

The plot is three city boys go to the country to help on an uncle's farm. This is not a stoner movie as the caption implies. The cast is strong. The actors were good in their roles and well cast. The script is somewhat boring but believable. But the lack of character development with such few characters is a weakness in the movie that limits the potential of anyone thinking it's great. Even with the great cast. The movie looks good. It was filmed well. Care was taken to set the scenes. The sets were appropriate. The stationwagon was great. It's not one of those cheapo camera movies. The editing seemed spot on. I noticed no errors in continuity. The sound was fine. The music fit the script well. Overall. I liked this movie. The story isn't that interesting but the script isn't stupid. The acting is spot on. It looks good. I think it's worth watching if it's free...or less than $1.00! I am the second person to review this movie. I am not affiliated with the movie in any way. I watched it on my TV on IFC network. I am also not affiliated in any way with IFC network!!

Da 5 Bloods (2020)

It's OK...Not GOOD

[6/10 · 17 June 2020]

How this got such rave reviews from critics is a testament to their mindless devotion to culturally popular directors. The character development is thin. Tough to understand their motivations. They change then change back for seemingly no reason..The script is uneven as if written by committee. There are some interesting plot points, the basic story idea is good..But the script does not tell a good story. The added bonus pictures strewn in add nothing to the story. They just distract and chop things up. The cinematography is nice. It's filmed well... The special effects were fine in the battle scenes. It was pleasant to watch. The acting was good. It was a good cast. If you think of it as just another war movie, rather than a Spike Lee movie, it's ok I guess. It's a movie that is not worth watching unless it's free and you've got nothing else to do....Probably be better to watch "She's gotta have it" again instead!!

The Cool Kids (2016)

Pretty Good Cabin in the Woods Pic

[7/10 · 2 March 2020]

Like most movies in this genre, the girls are young and pretty The men, young and handsome. There is no nudity that I saw. There are a few brief sex scenes

The movie is slow and stupid for the first half hour.. The attempt at character development was weak and lame. The plot line was poorly constructed. Fortunately those elements don't have to to great in movies like this.

Once they arrive at the cabin the movie improves. The script is tighter, the actors get better, even the camera work and cinematography improve.

It has it's thrilling moments. The girls scream well. The guys act masculine and strong....The usual.....But there is an other twist!!

It doesn't become great, but not many movies in this genre are. For this type of movie I'd say it was pretty good. I enjoyed it.

If you like movies where a group of sexy, stoned young people are stuck somewhere and terrorized, you'll like it. ... I was not involved or know anyone involved with this movie in any way. I saw it on Prime.

The Colours of Desire (2017)

Bizzare, Well Scripted Fun Ride

[8/10 · 9 February 2020]

Found this on Prime. This is the first review. It's a fascinating movie. A story of a man looking for a wish. You get no more plot discussion from me!

The script was much better than I expected for a low budget movie. It's clever. It doesn't follow normal movie cliches. Just when you think you have a grasp of where it's heading, it turns. What makes it interesting is that these turns are logical based on the framework of the plot. They all fit together and create a world where the multiple valid conclusions are possible. Many of the actors are stiff, but Roger Conners and John Maslowski played their roles exceptionally. I assumed Conners would "go over the top" with his character but he played it with the perfect creepy finesse. Except for the action scenes, which were awful, and the special effects which were worse, the film was shot beautifully. I watch lots of movies. Usually at least one per day. Many of them low budget like this one. Most are lame and weak. I was shocked that this unknown movie with unknown actors could create such a wonderfully bizzare story. With an actual compelling theme too! Thank You!!

No. I do not know anyone involved in anyway with this movie!

1917 (2019)

Great technique, very pretty. But boring.

[6/10 · 5 February 2020]

I was bored. The story was not interesting. The script was shallow and not believable. No character development. The one shot filming that worked great in Birdman, becomes tedious here as very little actually happens.

The movie's cinematography, special effects and camera tricks are cool to watch for awhile, but not for 2 hours.

There are many great WW1 movies. This one is not and hopefully won't be recognized as one. See : All Quiet on the Western Front, Paths of Glory, Gallipoli, Lawernce of Arabia, Grand Illusion, Sergeant York, Farewell to Arms and many others are far better movies than 1917.. It would be a shame if this boring movie becomes "the standard" for WW1 movies above the many, many movies far superior. It wasn't bad. It was good. But why did they spend so much money on a soft, boring, unbelievable script? Such a waste money and talent.

The Last Sharknado: It's About Time (2018 TV Movie)

3.5 Too Low!! Respect the Sharknado.

[7/10 · 1 February 2020]

It's a Shaknado..it should be rated on that basis. As they travel through time in this one, they fight the sharknados in various time periods fighting dinosaurs, using various weapons etc. Typical gory implausible battles, lots of goofy cameos and bad puns. It's poorly shot. The special effects are ridiculous and the script and plot are stupid. The perfect recipe for sharknado fun!

Race for the White House (2016– )

Kind of interesting

[7/10 · 16 March 2016]

I watched the Lincoln v Douglas episode. It was somewhat interesting, but not particularly based on facts. I was surprised at how inaccurate it was. I suppose they wanted to make the story interesting, but I was hoping to actually learn something new. Living in Illinois, 30 miles from Springfield, I have learned quite a bit about Lincoln and the politics of the time. Within the first few minutes the show claims Lincoln was an inexperienced politician. He wasn't. He'd been in the state legislature since the 1830's. Then it states he lost the Senate election to Stephan Douglas. There was no Senate election. Senators were appointed by the state legislature. These factual errors continue throughout the show.

Entertaining, but you could learn more on Wiki!!