I had heard about the Kim Wall case years ago when it happened and had followed the news surrounding the murder. You couldn't come up with this stuff: experimental engineering group trying to send a rocket into space led by a secret sadomasichist who lured and murdered a young journalist in his handmade submarine. Just crazy. Once he was convicted, I kind of fell off any updates. It's incredible that a documentary following the group's mechanical achievements was already in the works when the murder happened. The movie then switched its focus to the case at hand. Because the murder is arguably more interesting than the rocket ship, the documentary features more about that and glosses over what this organization was originally working on, which I was disappointed in because I would have liked to understand them better. Then my chief complaint is that the movie jump back and forth in time very frequently, dizzying the viewer and confusing them if they miss the title card noting when the upcoming footage was shot. I understand starting with the murder to hook the viewer in, but it's just relentless with the jumps throughout the feature. But I do appreciate learning a lot of new, and honestly super creepy details about the case. The pacing also speeds along well and never drags. I would recommend this documentary for true crime fans and possibly those interested in engineering, but am noting that it's light on the engineering-side.
Reviews
8 Reviews
The Knight Before Christmas
(2019)
For TV Holiday Mush, It's Pretty Good
24 December 2022
I usually don't like the Hallmark Channel Christmas movie stuff but we randomly put this on and it was actually decent. There's good chemistry between the leads and the visuals were really nice. The acting was good all around. The story was kind of dumb but when they have to shoot 100 of these every year I can't expect them to come up with much else. I appreciated that it actually looked like winter in the sets and not like a Christmas set in the middle of a California summer. There's a secondary plot about the neighbor tryna hit that knight but it's pretty lazy and flat. Overall, if you're looking for something to throw on Netflix during the holiday season, you could do a lot worse than A Knight Before Christmas.
12 Pups of Christmas
(2019)
Terrible and Nonsensical
11 December 2022
I don't feel like writing a novel on this so I'll just say that this film's dialogue and story don't really make sense if you spend even an ounce of attention to it. The company the main character works for seems like a cult and the conversations between people sound like they were written by dogs guessing how people talk. The CEO character looks scared 24/7 and probably needs to check himself in somewhere for a nervous breakdown. The acting is terrible too. People adopting the puppies act like they're adopting a child, it's super weird. It was excruciating to get through. The only reason I didn't give it 1/10 is because the sets look nice. Don't bother with this trash.
Santa's Slay
(2005)
Better Than It Has The Right To Be
1 November 2022
For a lower-budget, Christmas-horror B-movie, this film is pretty entertaining. It's not going to win any awards but that's not why it was created. It's got a good sense of humor, surprisingly. The dialogue and acting is good. The sets look low-rent. As long as you don't take it seriously at all, you'll enjoy it. Plus, some fun cameos and casting, like Bill Goldberg (a Jewish wrestler) as Santa. If you can find a copy of it (it took us a lot of searching to find it, but eventually we saw it on Vudu) and you're looking for something light to watch around the Christmas or Halloween season, try this one on for size.
Ultimate Death Match
(2009 Video)
Hardly Able to Call This a Movie
23 April 2022
A slapped-together montage of wrestling and washed up wrestling stars with some of the worst editing, cinematography, and editing I've ever seen. There's only a thread of a plot that barely keeps from snapping at any given moment. It basically looks like an excuse for the director to hand out with some wresting names. Don't watch unless you love BOTH wrestling and bad movies.
The Jesse Ventura Story
(1999 TV Movie)
Who is this for?
11 April 2022
As a wrestling fan, I can tell you this film is not for fans. How do I know this? Well, to start, the late 90's WCW branding throughout what is supposed to be the 70's-80's is mind boggling. Especially them suggesting that Jesse's first match, in the 70's, was against Goldberg, a wrestling star from the 90's. What? Even some non fans knew who Goldberg was. They couldn't give Goldberg a fake name and pretend he was someone else? There was very little effort made in the sets, costumes, or props to shade the scenes in the correct time periods. I don't expect much from small budget film but I expect more than this. There are too many factual errors to list here but I can tell you this film's only truth is that Jesse's name is Jesse Ventura. Almost everything else is a farce. The acting is passable which is why I'm giving it two stars. I guess this film could be for non-fans? But there isn't much substance to keep a non-fan interested. It seems like a school project film that somehow ended up on national television.
The Love Boat: Hong Kong Cruise: Polly's Poker Palace/Shop Ahoy/Double Date/The Hong Kong Affair/Two Tails of a City: Part 2
(1984)
"Hong Kong Cruise" Set in... Beijing
Season 7, Episode 20
11 January 2022
Just wanted to point out that this episode, the crew and passengers visit Tiananmen Square, the Great Wall (I think the Badaling section?), the Imperial Palace, the Beijing Zoo, and the Ming Tombs all in like, four hours. Which would be impossible in real life. Also, there's no Chinese or Chinese-American representation - the Chinese are simple used as set dressing. The one character that is said to know their way around the area is... white. I know it was the 70's and times were different back then, but wow! It's a trip to see how things like this were approached back then.
Outside of that, the episode tries to cram too many storylines into its run-time while also wanting to serve up a visual journey around Beijing. It's cluttered and hard to recognize what's going on at any given point.
Outside of that, the episode tries to cram too many storylines into its run-time while also wanting to serve up a visual journey around Beijing. It's cluttered and hard to recognize what's going on at any given point.
Charming
(2018)
"Charming" film for kids
10 January 2021
I liked this movie more than I thought I would. I think the awesome music helped a lot - I think without it the film would be kind of meh. The concept is fun though - why is Prince Charming rescuing multiple princesses in all those fairy tales? Oops. Now he's got problems. Overall, it's an enjoyable film for kids and something to play during a lazy afternoon, but I've seen better.
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