cassandrawilliams-12817 Reviews

How to Succeed with Brunettes (1967)

A Beautiful Guide to Good Manners

[10/10 · 31 January 2023]

This seems like one of the few films to proudly declare its preference for brunettes as opposed to blondes, and for that I am eternally grateful. I hate the stereotype that blondes are prettier, I dislike media such as "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" which perpetuates that attitude, and so I love anything (however small or obscure) which dares to state the opposite.

Anyway, the brunette in this film, whom two different US seamen pursue with opposite strategies and success, is gorgeous. (The actress' name has been lost to time, apparently.) The advice given to her would-be suitors, while outdated in one or two places, is still mostly applicable. The negative examples are genuinely funny and made me laugh in several places.

Overall, it's is a quirky and charming oddity, born out of America's desire to teach our men in uniform to conduct themselves well. (As their behavior reflects on the institution, and so good impressions towards members of the public means good PR.) The short is a success in what it set out to do and is entertaining even outside of its intended context.

Cinemassacre's Monster Madness: 28 Days Later (2021) Season 13, Episode 1

Rolfe Sinks to a New Low

[1/10 · 5 October 2021]

James has been getting lazier and more entitled for years, exporting nearly all the writing, production and editing of his main series to the folks at Screenwave. It's sad but somewhat understandable. However, with this video he exposed two things, both of which reflect badly on his character and company (Cinemassacre). First, he revealed that he can no longer be bothered to write the scripts for what is billed as his own opinion piece, and only a five minute one at that. This implies he probably does less for his other projects than we previously suspected and that his "reviews" are disingenuous fakes. Second, we now know that Screenwave has absolutely zero quality control, transparency or accountability that they would let this plagiarism get by at all, and then go on to cover it up. In this venture, they deleted comments talking about what happened, then offered no less than 3 different contradictory excuses via Justin Silverman (Cinemassacre producer) plus an unlisted non-apology on an alternate channel by James.

If it was James who plagarized, as many suspect it was, the company cannot fire the only person viewers care about. That means the brand "Cinemassace," if it exists at all in the future, will be an undead zombie. No one can ever trust Rolfe again, including old videos. If it was this new guy Newt, as the official statements have implied, then why isn't he fired already? How is PLAGARISM not a fireable offence? What standards, if any, can Rolfe/Cinemassacre claim to have if they continue to associate with him and Screenwave?

This whole debacle has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt just how little Rolfe cares about his fans or reputation anymore. It exposes the clown show that he has entrusted Cinemassacre's IPs with. It's really sad to see this man, who was once emblematic of the potential for independent content creators in the internet era, to descend to such mediocrity. I really expected better of you, James.

The Dragon in My Dreams (2010)

Grown Man Makes Melodramatic "Documentary" About a Dragon Statue

[1/10 · 19 June 2021]

This includes sterling interviews with Rolfe's mom. There's a scene where Rolfe kneels before the dragon, evidently in prayer or a romantic proposal, with a man's butt hanging in the air in the background. My sentiments exactly.