mindfire-3 Reviews

The Bob Newhart Show: The Separation Story (1974) Season 3, Episode 4

Laugh track too prominent this episode

[7/10 · 11 December 2023]

The laugh track is way too loud and forced in this episode. And they keep changing the opening of the show. It would be interesting to know what kind of pressure they were getting from the network. Luckily there's still all the same chemistry with the cast.

We're into the third season and there seem to be some changes in Bob's patients. The biggest change is Bob's sister being a regular character in her relationship with Howard Borden.

With the opening it seems they tweaked the theme music a little earlier on. They changed the from him answering the phone to having him close the "Group in session" sign.

Walking and Talking: One (2012) Season 1, Episode 1

what band does that punk cover of "Getting to know you"?

[7/10 · 21 June 2022]

Interesting show worth checking out, hope to see the whole series. I wish i could figure out what punk group did the punk cover of the Rodgers and Hammerstein song, "Getting to know you". On this episode they start out with Julie Andrews' version and it morphs into this great punk cover of it. Someone please review this and say who did it. Anyway this is an interesting teenage girl coming of age show with a 70s music focus. Check it out.

Gilmore Girls (2000–2007)

unpopular opinion

[6/10 · 13 August 2021]

This show would be better without the main character, Lorelai Gilmore. I really try to tolerate her, but she is one of the most annoying characters in television. I like Luke, Lane, Rory is ok. Paris is pretty good. Kirk is great.

Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski (2018)

I would argue that the documentary is greater than the man

[7/10 · 15 December 2020]

The documentary, while aggrandizing Szukalski does a good job of showing him warts and all and putting him and his life in perspective. I found his ego very off-putting. I wasn't that impressed with his artwork, though he was certainly a good artist and more than competent. It's easy to see why he hasn't been established as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century as his art seems very of his time, though he has interesting influences and his blending of European influences with Native American art and the iconography of early human artifacts. His art fits in with art that tells a story and uses iconography and is monumental in its approach. He certainly lived an interesting life that was a part of history. His greatest tragedy is ultimately that of most of us, even those of us lesser than him, which is that life and history pass us by. This was obviously very hard for him to process. But he maintained a prolific and searching existence which is quite commendable. He ended up by being a kind of outsider artist who traveled down his own quirky path. As it is this documentary is a very good portrait of the human struggle and our mad need to make something of ourselves. In that respect I would say that it is better than the sum of its parts.

Euphoria (2019– )

we're all hoping to feel something meaningful

[9/10 · 17 July 2019]

This show is about a lot of the mistakes and lostness of youth. i come from an earlier generation and from a suburbia that more successfully repressed its youth. it wasn't until i was out of high school that i really started to become aware of the depth and breadth of the world. these kids are diving in and suffering from their own problems and the inevitable carried over problems of their parents' lives. there is so much ugliness and divisiveness in the world and our bodies are calling out to us to have fun and discover love and the vagaries of its physical expression. my generation came before the pill popping opiate epidemic. it's easy to seek out oblivion when you need to escape your pain, but it doesn't leave you in a good place to build up the life you ultimately need. maybe the biggest problem with this show is the emotions run so high that it has to seem sensational, but that's the way it feels when you are young. i remember that. the first cuts are the deepest. but life is so easy to run into a rut that i envy these kids on their dangerous journey and the feelings they are feeling and are going to feel. i love this show because you feel the heart of all involved and that's what i look for in art, something that makes me feel something that i feel myself, especially when most of TV is a reality hellscape of fake trivializations of life like something out of Orwellian tv or Brave New World. not enough shows or movies make you feel anything really. i watch more tv shows than movies at this point because those 100 million blockbusters are just calculated pre-fab. i'll take this and Mad Men, Rectify, 13 ReasonsWhy, Six Feet Under, Humans....

High Maintenance: Globo (2018) Season 2, Episode 1

could be a condemnation of a generation

[20 May 2019]

This episode upset me in that i would think that anyone who cared was paying enough attention to notice before looking at their phones the next day. it made me wonder if these people had even bothered voting or expressing their concerns on their always-connected social media. we talk a lot about privilege these days, and these people certainly are the epitome of privilege if they are only reacting after the fact. we are another kind of "me" generation in that we only care when it finally affects "us" and then it might be too late, like with the environment. but as long as it doesn't affect these people they are going to continue Netflix and chilling and smoking a bowl while the world burns. bummer indeed.

Line of Duty: A Disastrous Affair (2012) Season 1, Episode 1

i like the bad guy and hate the "good guys"

[1/10 · 2 February 2019]

The cop they're going after doesn't seem so bad, but he is trapped in a compromising situation. The main characters in the show have nothing that draws us to side with them. Their white boss even says at one point "No one is blacker than me!", which I suppose is a reference to having suffered from prejudice for being Irish, but comes across as hubris. I want the good guys to lose and the "bad guy" to win, but I didn't care enough to keep watching after the 1st episode of season 2 to be honest. I really don't understand how this show has such a good score on the IMDB. I'll take Endeavour over this any day. This show just comes across as pure self-righteousness. There were so many situations where I found myself just saying to the the screen, "Oh come on, this is absurd." I understand why some people say that the main characters are miscast.

Fringe: Letters of Transit (2012) Season 4, Episode 19

the observers are just another set of bad guys

[1/10 · 31 January 2013]

i know i'm in the minority here, but i was hugely disappointed that this episode and the 5th season made the observers out to be just another set of bad guys. throughout the series they had been advanced and otherworldly, and seemed above things like conquering. in this episode suddenly there are lots of observers and we are in the future and they have conquered the human population. i know this series has revamped itself a few times, but this was too much for me. it trivialized the observers for me to see them hanging out like lame bad-asses in a club and being just another powerful set of bad guys. also, i liked the worlds that Fringe had resided in up until this point and found the new scenario for this episode and the fifth season to be an all-too-familiar dystopia. i was looking forward to buying the blu-ray complete series when it comes out, but will pass on it like i did with the also disappointing Lost, also created by J.J. Abrams. i feel like the writing his shows have popularized is sloppy is happy to throw away everything in the story that has gone before. ultimately, for me he is too gimmicky, like M. Night Shyamalan. i will always love the characters this show made me love like Walter Bishop, but ultimately i don't care to follow where this story goes.

Starting Out in the Evening (2007)

a great movie about different stages in a thoughtful life

[9/10 · 15 October 2007]

i saw this film at the austin film festival and didn't know what to expect, but i really appreciated the character study of Leonard Schiller (as masterfully played by Frank Langella) and his contrast with Lauren Ambrose's character as a young graduate student doing her master's thesis on the aging writer who is no longer appreciated and has resigned his life to a kind of monastic, slow work on a novel that he may never finish. Lili Taylor plays Langella's daughter trying to direct the course of her life as she turns 40 and re-enters a relationship with an ex, played with great thoughtfulness by Adrian Lester (who I last remember as the narrator character from Primary Colors). i wish there were more movies like this, that show people struggling to make their lives happen on their own meaningful terms, as we live our lives, thankfully without explosions and car chases for the most part. life is an education in how to live it and this film has something to say about that.

He-Play: The Lounge Bar (1991) Season Unknown, Episode Unknown

great song/short film, where can i find it?

[10/10 · 1 May 2007]

i saw this when it was released as part of a short film festival. it's a shame that there isn't more of a venue for short films, but it must be that there are so many bad ones. anyway, this film is very funny and sweet and features the song of the title of the film by the group The Front Lawn. it was nice to be introduced to their music, a very good Australian band apparently. i have been looking for this short film ever since but haven't been able to find it anywhere and would appreciate any info about how to find it. the song of this movie tells the story of the characters in it, one of whom has amnesia and tells the story of his accident. highly recommended if it can be found anywhere, as is the music of The Front Lawn.

The Gits (2005)

powerful life, sad story

[8/10 · 9 March 2007]

i got to see this at the sxsw film festival. it was both wonderful and sad to be introduced to the songs of the Gits and Mia Zapata considering the tragedy surrounding her story. this documentary communicates her passion and lack of artifice and it was great the realness with which everyone involved spoke about her, their lack of pretension, and how much she meant to them. it is good to know that the organization Home Alive was founded as a result of her random, violent death. the filmmaker has an obvious sense of purpose in communicating the life of this singer that many of us were not aware of while she was alive.

Inland Empire (2006)

opinions are different, our brains catch and reject different things

[4/10 · 7 February 2007]

i've been looking forward to this movie for months. i read some of the reviews, not any "spoilers", saw the score of 8.1 on the IMDb, and mentally tried to leave myself wide open. i found some of the imagery and vignettes to be reminiscent of dreams/impressions/nightmares. but there are some technical issues that are sort of jarring in a way that didn't work for me. i welcome digital video, but this looks like it was shot with some really cheap, crappy camcorder. also the close-ups are sort of out of control. i am reminded that there are parts of Lynch's films that i love and parts that don't work for me, only with this movie it is more so. sadly, i was bored through lots of it, especially in the second half. i don't mean to impugn David Lynch's artistry. he can make what he wants and i will have to eventually check it out, but i can see where it might help if he worked within a system that directs that wacky brain of his somewhat. we all need some direction in life, even the genius directors. plus this movie also makes me realize that i feel a little sorry for Lynch that he keeps coming back to his nightmare visions. i'm sure he must have had more childhood trauma than most, but even my dreams have a wider spectrum and have large narrative breaks from the recurrent confused nightmare. it will be awhile before i will be able to see this again and i doubt i'll watch the whole thing. i need to re-watch Mulholland Drive soon. oh, and i have to say that there were bits that i found just plain stupid, mostly involving a group of women gathered in a room. these women strike me as Lynch starlet hangers-on, part of the cult of weird that worships at Eraserhead etc. David Lynch himself comes across as a guileless, unpretentious, genuinely weird person whereas a lot of his fans come across as less than bright would-be goths that think his f'd up world is cool. he shows us some moments no one else can, but he is a disturbed little boy in a cynical world.

Pirate Radio USA (2006)

freedom to the airwaves!

[8/10 · 20 October 2006]

nice history of low wattage radio and the struggle for small, truly independent, neighborhood community broadcasting. makes you want to set up your own station just to keep commercial-free speech on the air. also covers the consolidation of media outlets and the WTO protests. i'm sure the founding fathers would have approved of this film! patriotism is standing up for the ideals of freedom our country was founded on, not standing idly by as all our media are sold out to monolithic corporate entities who see nothing more than their bottom line. the airwaves are a public trust, like our state parks, and should serve more than the lowest common denominator. the voice of the people should be heard!

The TV Set (2006)

depressing, but enjoyable TV insider's story

[5/10 · 20 October 2006]

very depressing insider's story of the difficulty of getting any kind of decent show on network TV. makes me want to reconsider the few TV shows that i actually watch as it's hard to believe anything actually decent could survive this process. the movie is funny, but in a "it's funny how truly mediocre most of our cultural output is" kind of way. Duchovny did a good job and it is a good movie. hopefully Slut Wars and a good sitcom appealing to a narrow demographic can coexist. reminds me that there are still plenty of good books to read. Sigourney Weaver is funny, but her character seems to crush the life out of anything that would express any human emotion.

Elizabeth I (2005)

i think i'll go back to history books for my entertainments

[6/10 · 10 September 2006]

this is a certainly passable dramatization, but it was never raised in my awareness as anything but a mere dramatization. there were too many times where a romantic thread was followed that did not ring true. i felt like i got more meaningful information from five minutes research on Wikipedia than i got from this drama. the drama, for me, never transcended mere adequateness, if that. i did like the acting of Toby Jones as Robert Cecil and look forward to seeing him as Truman Capote in Infamous. and Walsingham seemed nearly as interesting a character in this as he was portrayed so well by Geoffrey Rush in Elizabeth with Cate Blanchett. too bad that one guy was in those Star Wars movies, whenever he spoke all i could hear was Palpatine and cringe. i retreat to my untidy corner and plan to look at good history books when i want history and better dramas when i want drama. a subtitle for this film might be "the passionate loves of a virgin" or "the men of Elizabeth".

The Haunting (1963)

a movie about the horrors of loneliness and repression

[6/10 · 2 November 2005]

i kept thinking while watching this movie that it could have been made without any special effects as a psychological thriller about insanity rather than a horror film. Julie Harris' character has lived an unfulfilled life of repression and loneliness and sees Hill house as an escape. she is desperate to connect with the people she meets at Hill house, she needs them because she doesn't want to have to go back to the empty horror that is her life of repression under her domineering sister. when she finds that her host Mr. Markway is married the real world is cut off to her and so in some sense she weds herself to the house itself, because the house is the only thing in her life that gave her a chance to be someone and not finding life anywhere else, ultimately she stays the only way she knows how, she hurls her car into the tree that brought an end to the first mistress of the house. her character's desperation is far more frightening than mere horror, because it is far more real and something all of us know something about.

Bride & Prejudice (2004)

empty dreck

[2/10 · 21 April 2005]

the leads are attractive but without soul, especially the men. of course they partially pale in comparison to colin firth, but really this whole movie seems like an weak harlequin romance lacking any of the depth of character that is essential to this kind of drama. you can't really believe or care about these characters' motivations. which is disappointing because bend it like beckham and bhaji on the beach were really pretty good. also the bollywood-esquire songs are disappointing westernizations lacking the beauty of what they are emulating. there is something sort of connect-the-dots about this production in that the points of the story are hit upon without the necessary emotional vibrancy to give them any impact.

Deacons for Defense (2003 TV Movie)

an important film that needed to be made

[10/10 · 19 February 2005]

while we like to think of a world where violence is not necessary, there are times when one needs to defend oneself. this film mentions an important example: how is it that a man is allowed to fight against strangers in a war on another continent, and yet not allowed to defend his own family at home? we are still not where we need to be. i can think of too many examples of racism that i, as a white man have witnessed against people of color. we should not tolerate hate. one day i hope that understanding will conquer the ignorance that is the source of all hatred. this movie is a powerful reminder that we should not tolerate injustice. we all need to defend against those who allow violence to oppress.

we cannot allow the characterization of those different from us in the simplistic terms of being "less than" us. it is one thing to be proud of yourself, but as a race, as the human race, we cannot be proud of ourselves until we truly establish that one of us has no need to defend himself against another.

and this message could be just as easily translated into the way we deal with the difference in culture and religion between the west and the middle east. this film shows the true price of civil rights and reminds us that we cannot tolerate ignorance wherever it rears its proud, lazy, and ugly head.

If You Could Only Cook (1935)

uplifting fun

[10/10 · 2 November 2004]

this movie is in the spirit of pursuing your dreams and following your heart. it's the wonderfully silly story of a auto designer whose company wants to keep making what sells rather that try his new designs. while soul-searching in the park he meets unemployed Jean Arthur who thinks he's down on his luck also. she sees a job for a married couple (a live in butler and cook), turns to him and ergo, the title. anyway, it's a lot of fun. for some reason this isn't available on video and isn't shown on TCM etc. so i had to find a copy on eBay. and now our town is having a Jean Arthur film festival (why didn't they consult me!? :-)). this is my favorite of Jean Arthur's movies not available on video, followed by Party Wire.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

i can't remember what i forgot to forget

[9/10 · 21 March 2004]

beautiful movie. so many nicely captured moments of memories. as well as the capturing of the hallucinatory mental state. maybe this has happened to all of us before. maybe we've all already erased ourselves a thousand times over and our lives are like weary, recorded-over vhs tapes that god recorded oprah on. the mind feeds on new experiences. this one feels nice. also, reminds me of bits of seconds by john frankenheimer, and vanilla sky/abre los ojos, and also dark city, but i like this better than all of those (seconds is too scary for me). please don't erase kate winslet from my brain.

Bad Santa (2003)

good antidote for the holidays

[4 December 2003]

if you feel like you've been family-filmed out and are sick of syrupy messages then this movie is a good antidote to that. it gave me the kind of laughs i needed. maybe not a great movie, but if you're trapped in a multiplex and need some laughs, then this should deliver.

Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. (1999)

not one of Morris' best

[4/10 · 24 November 2003]

like i'm sure other people have said this guy isn't a very worthwhile subject. sure, our society has a morbid fascination with death, and it's funny hearing him talk about how much he smokes and how much coffee he drinks, but he's into giving himself an unworthy mystique. anyway, the bottom line is that he's a moron racist using feeble methods to try to disprove the mountain of evidence of the holocaust, and as such he should be forgotten by time. but Morris is in love with any kind of curiosities, which normally i wouldn't fault him for.

The Matrix Revolutions (2003)

very satisfying conclusion

[8/10 · 11 November 2003]

i was worried about how i would feel about this movie after seeing all the negative reviews but i think the negative reviews come from two perspectives; 1) people who only like the matrix for the hong kong style fight sequences, and 2) people who can't follow the movie or don't like the fact that it is not self-contained like the first one.

i'll try not to spoil anything for people who haven't seen it. for me the ending of a movie (or series of movies) is crucial, and if i feel that the ending is weak i can't really like the movie. so like i said i was worried, but i was very happy with the way the storyline was resolved. some of the machine action sequences or battle scenes or whatever didn't do so much for me, but that storyline was fairly necessary for the movie.

all in all i am really looking forward to seeing what the wachowski brothers do next. i really like the philosophical/psychological elements in their films and would really be interested in seeing what they could do with a movie that didn't require so much action and special effects. but i do hope that they might consider going back to some of these characters and telling us more about them. i love the implications of the sati character and would love to see more of the merovingian and persephone. and who could ever get enough of agent smith?

the matrix: 9.5, reloaded: 8 (mostly for the weakness of the first 40 minutes), and revolutions: 9 (for being too dependent on the machine action/battle sequences). it's been a wonderful trip.

Freshman Diaries (2003– )

another great show from the creator of american high

[27 September 2003]

i've just seen the first two episodes of this show, but so far it's great. it captures the time of life when you leave home and find yourself and experience a bit of the world outside your childhood. anyway, the kids in the show are great and fun and even if they are different from you, what they are going through is pretty universal and if you can't relate to it then you have no imagination whatsoever. anyway, i can't wait to see the rest of the series and only wish there was more "reality tv" like this as real life is pretty interesting when you actually deal with it and interact with other people.

My Flesh and Blood (2003)

this is so damn great!

[10/10 · 19 July 2003]

this documentary is so moving and both painful and heartwarming to watch. it shows you both the harshness of being human and what noble spirits humans are capable of having as well. the children in this documentary will move you deeply even if you have a heart of stone. i wish this was out already because i can't wait to see it again. it will remind you of what good there is in people before we get to where we shut each other out completely. if only we were capable of helping each other more.