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Reviews
The Consultant (2023)
No consistency, no resolutions.
Bentley Little wrote an OK novel with some internal inconsistencies and a kind of unsatisfying resolution. But it's an interesting novel and so Amazon decides to create a series. The creators of this series used almost nothing from the novel except some character names and the fact that it took place in a software company. Why ignore many characters and pretty much the entire plot is not clear. When making a feature length movie we expect that some of the elements of the novel will be omitted or changed. But this is an 8 episode series which gives them plenty of time to include much of the plot.
Having gotten that off my chest, the series is plagued by loose ends, inconsistencies, and a refusal to come up with some explanation as to why the villain is doing what he's doing. He has magical powers except when they decide he doesn't. He has trouble walking up and down stairs (for reasons I don't want to spoil) but doesn't take the elevator. He has a sort of mind control, again except when he doesn't.
The cast is great: Christoph Waltz couldn't be better. Brittany O'Grady and Nat Wolff couldn't be better.
I kept hoping for resolution and explanations which is why, I suppose I made it to the end. All I got was a plea for a Part 2.
Blood Craft (2019)
Format witchcraft movie with emoting
This is a regular, standard brand horror movie: traumatized sisters want revenge on their dead father. OK. The surprizing flaw here is the really amaturish acting. I just can't get over it. These people are not new to the work, Augie Duke has been in like 30 movies! Is it the Director? Certainly, some of the choices are pretty bad. Who walks into a bathroom and sits in the bathtub to have a conversation? Anyway, this is a script-o-matic, format film that could have been a nice, entertaining 90 or so minutes but instead I was interrupted by noticing the acting or strange stilted behavior which ruined the suspension of disbelief.
Pretty Ugly People (2008)
"The Big Chill" for people who went to college in the 90s
I'm a boomer who loved The Big Chill and I enjoyed this version for millenials. There's a lot of negative reviews from people who think the portrayals were standard cliches but you know what? Most of us are pretty standard cliches...that's life, that's relationships, that dealing with your college friends (yes, I still see them one a year since we graduated in 1978). This film is kind of sweet, kind of dramatic, not very deep, and a lot like life. Plus there's a very good cast with Missi Pyle and Melinda McCarthy (who shakes off her usual goofy persona for a more quiet, dramatic and utterly sympathetic role.
Spoonful of Sugar (2022)
Wait for it!
This seems like a movie about a crazy nanny, and it is. However, every character in the movie is crazy so the fun is in finding out who the craziest caharacters are. I found this really clever and surprising, especially the twist at the end. It's a fresh take on the obsession drama. Morgan Saylor shines as the crazy nanny and you develop a lot of sympathy for the character. It's deliberatly bleak, and several times one of the characters says "it'll be okay," and you can't help bu think: no, it's not! Watch it for the mystery, watch it for the sometimes absurd dialog, and especially for the LSD dosing!
Skinamarink (2022)
Pretentious AF
I see that some people appreciate the artsy aspects of this film, like the long static shot of the top of a lamp and the ceiling while we hear one side of a dull telephone call, or a long static shot of a night light and the floor while we hear nothing at all. The director seemed to really enjoy high shots - the top of a doorway and the ceiling, almost all the shots are what we would call unbalanced screen forces and little audio. It takes 27 minutes of atmospheric, grainy, dark, visuals before the plot even starts. And it starts slowly...very slowly. It makes liberal use of old cartoons and their campy audio. The characters whisper so there are subtitles, I assume to make it more mysterious. All of this is decidedly creepy, I get it, but it's trying way too hard to defy conventions for no apparent cinematic reason. Look at my film, see how cool I am?! I say pretentious BS.