peter_schaeffer Reviews

3 Body Problem (2024– )

Good Show

[8/10 · 28 March 2024]

I read the books and watched one episode of the 'Three-Body Problem'. The Netflix series is quite good. Is it political? Yes, the book/show criticizes the Cultural Revolution (CR). Did the CR deserve the criticism? Yes, all the criticism it gets and more. Is the book/show anti-Chinese? No.

Is Cixin Liu the greatest science fiction writer of our time? Yes, he is. By far. The books are good and the Netflix series is good. Am I a fan of Netflix? Not really. Netflix has done some really awful work. However, this series is rather good.

The CR was a Chinese tragedy. It is rather sad that China's tragedy is gone from China, but all too apparent in the US.

Dune: Part Two (2024)

Dull and pretentious

[3/10 · 12 March 2024]

My overall comment on his movie is 'dull and pretentious' or perhaps 'pretentious and dull'. I went to see this movie last night. It was mostly a waste of time (and of course a waste of money). At one point, I got up and went to the bathroom. Did I miss anything? Not really. A long time ago, I read the Dune book(s). Without the book(s) this movie would have completely incomprehensible. This movie was far too long. The runtime is stated at 2 hours and 46 minutes. A much shorter and better movie is hiding inside this 'way too long' version. I will say in favor of this movie, that it is actually better than the 1985 version. That isn't saying much, but I wanted to end on a positive note.

Argylle (2024)

Entertaining, but not great movie

[6/10 · 19 February 2024]

I expected an unpretentious, low-brow, entertaining movie. I got an unpretentious, low-brow, entertaining movie. What I did not expect is a James Bond derivative. Perhaps I should have. The lady in the opening scene is pure Bond. However, we only see her once. The images of London and the Middle-East are great. The folks who filmed this movie are to be commended for their work. The train scenes are quite interesting. I have spent some time in Colorado and recognize some of the locales. One scene was filmed at Royal Gorge in Colorado. I have seen some pictures of Royal Gorge and it is very impressive.

The Little Mermaid (I) (2023)

Not A Very Good Movie

[1/10 · 4 June 2023]

The original movie was a classic. This one is not. This is just a rehash of old idea. The original movie had Ariel (the mermaid) who wanted to be something she was not. The original movie had Ursula (the bad witch) a very clear bad women. The original movie had the Prince (who Ariel wants to kiss her). The new movie has nothing new. Just another failing effort to squeeze cash out of a dying franchise. The fall of Disney reminds me of the fall of the US automakers. They had a reputation for building solid, reliable cars. They sold off that reputation for short-term cash. Disney is now doing the same thing. Selling off it's reputation for short-term cash. Sadly, Disney is in decline (possibly terminal). This movie is just another data point in the fall.

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (2022)

I Liked it Quite a Bit

[7/10 · 17 October 2022]

My expectations for this movie were rather low. However, it really wasn't that bad. The movie has an actual plot and there is a moral to the story. I am not a big fan of musicals and not inclined towards movie set in New York City. However, in spite of those obstacles (obstacles for me), I enjoyed the movie.

My original intent was to see a different (and more conventional) Halloween movie. However, my daughter insisted that we see this movie. With the help of the Internet, tickets were not hard to come buy. No regrets, at least for me.

Was this the greatest movie of all time? No, it was not. Was this the sort of movie that will stick with me for years? No. Was this movie worth seeing? Yes, it was.

By the way, going in I did not know that this movie was/is based on a children's book. I know now and will probably buy the book.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022– )

Not a great movie

[4/10 · 3 September 2022]

The movie was sort of slow. Too much money went into special effects and not enough into the plot. The movie is visually impressive, but thematically weak. I say this as someone who read all of the Tolkien books and watched all of the Peter Jackson movies. Maybe I was spoiled by how good Tolkien and Jackson really were.

The other movies are from around 2000 and were quite good (very good). I have read the New Zealand had Lord of the Rings tours for years afterword. Perhaps New Zealand still does (have Lord of the Rings) tours.

It is somewhat sad to see the Lord of the Rings franchise decline. Perhaps that is inevitable for all franchises. The other Lord of the Rings movies were so good, that I actually watched them at midnight. Yes, the movie theaters had 12:01 AM showings so you could watch them as soon as they came out.

Aladdin (2019)

Not Great, But Good for Kids

[4/10 · 26 May 2019]

This is not a great Disney movie (not exactly Frozen or the Lion King), but not a terrible one either. I give it two stars out of five. Actually, it gets a bit better over time. The last part of the movie might warrant three stars out of five.

The key acting roles are good. The guy chosen to play Aladdin and the lady chosen to play Jasmine are well cast and well done. Of course, Will Smith is a really good Genie. That said, Will Smith always does a great job.

Those are the positives.... The Sultan (Navid Negahban) is not great. Jafar (Marwan Kenzari) is too much of nice guy. Not nearly evil enough for the role.

The Tiger (Rajah) was a big plus. Not clear to me if they used a real tiger or a CGI tiger. Either way, very impressive.

Sadly, this Aladdin isn't as good as the 1992 animated version. Of course, the 1992 Aladdin was a runaway success. Topping the 1992 version would be a very tall order for any movie.

Should you go to this movie? If you have kids, definitely yes. Your kids will like it a lot (high probability). No kids? Probably not.

I should say that I am not a big fan of musicals.

UglyDolls (2019)

Epic Fail

[1/10 · 5 May 2019]

This move is bad. Sadly 'bad' only has three letters. Maybe something more like 'execrable', 'horrific', or 'fantastically vile' would be more appropriate. Actually, I lean towards 'epic', as in epically bad.

Actually, this movie is a Rorschach test of a sort. Basically, do parents love their kids enough to sit through this piece of drek. The answer to that question is Yes, they do. On the way out of the movie I suggested (rather loudly) that any parent who takes their kid to this movie has earned the 'Hero Parent of the Millennium' award. Several people (total strangers) came up to me and agreed with me. It was that bad.

Some people might try to argue that this is a sold zero star movie. I disagree. I think this film dreams of being a zero star movie and never comes close. Sadly, we don't have a way to rate movies with negative stars. Perhaps this movie will inspire a new rating system with negative stars.

Now in all fairness, the CGI was impressive and the music wasn't that bad. Still, watching this movie is taking one for the team (your kids).

I suggest bringing earphones and listening to a good video. 'Super Volcanoes of the Pacific Northwest' comes to mind. A number theory video might help here.

Captain Marvel (2019)

No What I Was Promised

[3/10 · 9 March 2019]

Most of the reviews of this movie were positive. Prior Marvel movies were tons of fun. This time I should have taken the negative reviews more seriously. Sadly, no refunds were available.