johntravolta12345 Reviews

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

Overdrawn nonsensical mess. Only Kubrick himself could have pulled off a film like this.

[10 October 2022]

What on earth did I just watch? Spielberg is clearly out of his element here. The screenplay is confusing and tiresome, the dialogue shallow and corny. The core of a film like this, of course, is not supposed to be its story but the images, the moments, the raw intense emotion that deep moral quandaries can provoke. While the special effects and cinematography are admittedly beautiful and captivating, the emotion feels forced and fake. Perhaps that is because not enough time is spent on character development - Monica and Henry are potrayed as archetypical of a mother and father as can be. The bulk of the budget of this film, both in time and money, is spent on fantastical visuals and sci-fi elements that are irrelevant to the core.

American History X (1998)

Silly, didactic fairy tale - propaganda by you know who

[20 September 2022]

Where to begin? This film is a bold piece of propaganda. The goal is to build a narrative so emotionally gripping that your rational faculties are disarmed - and you are inclined to believe and identify with the moral lesson it is trying to preach, without actually questioning any of its underlying assumptions. Edward Norton's character, as well as his father, and his older mentor, make several points in their dialogue that are rational and well-founded in decades of crime, immigration, and intelligence testing data about the nature of minorities in this country. None of these points are refuted rationally but rather pilloried emotionally, to make them seem so disgusting and abhorrent that you will be dissuaded from even considering them rationally yourself. A bold and aggressive piece of propaganda by you-know-who to try to stop the wave of consciousness of the truth (about race issues) that has been taking hold in America since the inception of the internet in the 90s. Admittedly, the propaganda strategy is brilliant and bold, and worked exactly as intended, at least when this film was released.

The Decent One (2014)

Brilliant. A hidden gem of a documentary.

[25 December 2021]

The truth fears no investigation! And what better source of truth can there be about Heinrich Himmler than his own personal letters? Together with letters from his wife and daughter, his mistress, his subordinates in the SS, and others, this film shows us the reality of the war criminal - a man with clearly psychopathic tendencies, so consumed by Nazi ideology, and so bereft of faith in God, that he explicity ordered the mass murder of hundreds of thousands (at least) and justified it in plain text as being for the benefit of Germany and of "his people."

This is a must watch for anyone with an interest in the horrors of WWII. A case study in the banality of evil. How could a simple son of farmers (indeed, Himmler's occupation is listed as "certified farmer" on his marriage certificate) end up orchestrating such henious crimes with a straight face? I believe this film shows that the capacity for evil indeed lies within every one of us.

Thank you to the filmmakers for giving this material the light of day. Invaluable perspective on what really happened to lead to the "final solution" - unadulterated by propaganda or political correctness.

The truth fears no investigation - and the truth is indeed that Heinrich Himmler was an unrepentant war criminal.

The Assistant (III) (2019)

Idiotic self-pity

[14 February 2020]

The preachy message this movie is trying to convey is hilarious in its absurdity. To be clear, the whole thing is a waste of time and boring except for the one scene when our protagonist talks to HR. The movie is clearly trying to make you feel like you should be on her side but what she says is so ridiculous that it just exposes what a silly moral premise the whole movie is based up on.

Like the HR guy says, "she's a grown woman ... are you saying that a woman can't make her own choices?"

Well, funnily enough, despite our protagonist denying it, that is exactly what this movie is trying to say.

D-

Good Boys (2019)

Disgusting propaganda

[19 January 2020]

So obscenely aggressive in promoting its agenda that I think (I hope) people will finally wake up to the Hollywood propaganda. If the Hollywood creeps think sexualizing kids is just "fun and games", they got another thing coming.

A Hidden Life (2019)

Subversion of Christian theology; a tragic portrait of a misguided man

[31 December 2019]

The Lord does not teach us to simply "be happy," as is suggested in this film. He teaches us to fight for the truth, for righteousness, for good in the face of evil. Of course, the trouble is figuring out what is "right" versus what is "evil," but nevertheless, a Christian is obliged to pick a side. (The famous quote from the Bible is "So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.")

As portrayed in the firm, this is a portrait of a tragically misguided man who failed to commit to either the cause he was being called to fight for, or to fighting with a real resistance force against it. He refused to do either, opting to only passively do nothing. While we have no reason to doubt his moral conviction in this passive resistance, this is not actually what the Bible teaches. It is just a modern subversion.

Midway (2019)

Feels like a Chinese movie dubbed in English

[16 November 2019]

The most cringey script of any war movie ever made, as if the producers were totally foreign to the culture, dialogue, and general feeling of the time... oh wait, they are. This is an attempt to transplant the cheesy grandiose nationalist films Chinese studios love to pump out over to the US. Awesome CGI (+3 stars for that), but otherwise a very silly caricature of history.

The Captain (2017)

An absurd, fantastical, hilarious experience

[14 June 2019]

The protagonist of this movie quite literally wins the lottery. Everyone who's read about the tragic fate of lottery winners knows that 9/10 end up either broke or dead, in any case always in a much worse state at the end of their lives than if they hadn't won the lottery. Most by that point even openly say they regret it, wish it hadn't happened to them.

And yet, deep down, in the back of our minds, despite knowing and hearing and reading this wisdom all the time, we all still desperately want to win the lottery, because we're confident that such misfortune and mistakes would not befall us.

Watching Hauptmann Herold in 'The Captain' is like stepping into that fantasyland in which we win the lottery and seize every moment. Naturally, this devolves into utter and complete lunacy... including a good bit of Tarantino-style caricatured bloodletting. But this is what makes the movie such a delight on the big screen.

After all, this is not a Nazi or WW2 historical epic by any means; it is a character study of the more sinister elements that lurk inside every one of us. Must watch with an open mind.

Ma (I) (2019)

Excellent fun

[10 June 2019]

Perhaps my view of this movie diverges from others because I'm not a horror aficionado. Jump scares and intense horror are not things I would want to willingly endure. But this movie had just the right dose - mixed in with some real comedy and EXCELLENT acting by Octavia Spencer. Really fun movie, though apparently not as scary or intense your typical horror flick.

My Best Summer (2019)

Painfully corny, wholesome, cliched romcom

[8 June 2019]

This movie is almost entirely a waste of time. It does have one redeeming quality though, for foreign audiences- gives us a lens into then culture kids grow up in, what pressures they face, and what they aspire to be and seem to care about, in China today. Being a nerd is cool. Winning physics competitions there is the equivalent of being a high school football star in the USA. Theirs is an effeminate, wholesome, romantic world. Diametrically opposed to ours (in the West) where crude obscenities have become our new normal. Yet it is also a distinctly self-centered and materialistic world, similar to ours in the West. Interesting.

The Sun Is Also a Star (2019)

Social justice propaganda slipped into in every moment

[23 May 2019]

Agendas ruin movies. Especially not-so-hidden in your face ideological agendas that hijack the whole point of the film. This could have been a nice cute heartwarming story. Instead it felt cold, fake, and plastic. F-

Molly's Game (2017)

A film about a narcissist who is made out to be some sort of hero

[10 April 2019]

Molly Bloom very clearly played a role in writing this movie about herself. She's made out to be some sort of David fighting Goliath, struggling innocently against evil mobsters and prosecutors who want to "unjustly" put her away. I mean look at how selfless she is for not selling her secrets to TMZ! Wow! What a noble woman just trying to make ends meet (nevermind her lavish lifestyle and annual income >$4 million.....)

Is this what it takes to become a self-proclaimed champion of righteousness in today's day and age? Can Molly Bloom really seriously be considered a "hero" for not exposing Hollywood's dirty slime?? This movie tries to make it seem like she's the second coming of Christ. WTF.

In reality Ms. Molly ran a risky business and got sloppy, and ended up paying the price for that sloppiness. End of story. There was no need to make this melodramatic overdrawn movie about her occupation.

Shazam! (2019)

Don't listen to the shills. This is garbage with a few one-liners.

[8 April 2019]

I don't know if the other reviewers saw the same movie I did. Feels to me like DC paid a bunch of folks to give them 10/10 before any real reviews would have a chance to show up.

This is a film for braindead America - it has no nuance, no "jokes" or plot lines that aren't explicitly explained (some multiple times), no genuine heart or even a single fully developed character. Everyone fits into their modern superhero film archetype. References are made to "hip memes" and being "woke." Brief but unmissable nods are made to the ideologically possessed social justice crowd.

Watch this after watching any serious superhero movie from decades prior, even the not so great ones, and it becomes apparent how far we've fallen. This is a bastardization of the genre..... but sadly seems like it's here to stay.

The Final Year (2017)

A portrait of extraordinary arrogance

[16 February 2019]

This film was fascinating because it uncovers, through a number of candid moments, the vulgar pride of these brash young intellectuals. It made my skin crawl to actually see and hear them in the flesh (or at least on a big screen...). These young idealists, including President Obama, could perhaps have done something productive for our country if they had been able to get a proper education in their youth. Tragically, they weren't - and the shallow education (or perhaps more accurately, indoctrination) they did receive has led them to operate on a shallow and incomplete set of moral principles, leading them to make short-sighted policy decisions that ultimately hurt our own people, and people around the world, in the long-term. They just aren't able to grasp the context of their decisions in the grand scheme of things. Our nation's leadership under Obama is a story of misplaced intelligence.

Cold Pursuit (2019)

Not what you'd expect... at all

[11 February 2019]

I went in expecting something like Taken, with Liam Neeson playing his usual role, but it's not really like that at all. This is a dark comedy far more than it is a thriller, whether it was intended to be unbalanced in that way or not. I only wish it was more "put together"... there are a number of plot holes and the comedy is really all situational, rather than weaving through the narrative in a meaningful way. But nevertheless, this is worth seeing in a theater, if only to experience the unexpected absurdity of the whole thing. The whole crowd was laughing out loud at several parts.

Generation Wealth (2018)

The story of a woman who unconsciously ended up exactly like her own mother...

[9 February 2019]

And, more broadly, an examination of how pathology typically leads to even more pathology -- presented here in the context of how kids raised with incomplete and unsatisfied childhoods end up raising their own kids with the same or similar problems, leading to a snowball effect of pathologies that plague our society in innumerable ways. This is the key takeaway, despite the filmmaker likely not intending it to be: that childcare is extremely important (obviously), and the chain reaction caused by inadequate childcare may very well end up being eventual cause for America's collapse.

As our nation's population has grown during Ms. Greenfield's lifetime; as time has progressed; as our economic system has found new aspects of life to commodify and squeeze into our GDP growth figures, the pathologies of our culture have ballooned in tandem with our economic "success." We may very well have passed the point of no return towards our societal collapse, as this film suggests. At the very least, we are precipitously close to it.

Though I would like to say that this film is a must-watch, for its observations and lessons are so important for our nation's future, I think that such a recommendation is actually futile. As the professional critic reviews exemplify, for some folks (dare I say the majority of the US), this film will fall on deaf ears. We are so deep into our system of delusional desires and vacuous goals that we require great shock to awake to the truth. For this, there is no substitute for lived experience. Hence, as the reviews make evident, those who have experienced something that made them realize the truth of this film FOR THEMSELVES have rated it highly, while others have dismissed it as meandering and inconclusive. In other words, this film reaffirms the conclusions drawn by those who have already learned these same lessons for themselves, while baffling and even aggravating those who just can't/don't understand. We find ourselves in an unfolding catastrophe that is too alluring and complex for most of us to be able to perceive clearly -- let alone do anything about.

In any case, thank you Ms. Greenfield for your effort in making this film, and in particular, your own introspection on how you (and your family) were in a way consumed by the pathologies of our society. This was powerful storytelling, beautifully filmed and narrated. 10/10

Free Solo (2018)

Painful to watch.. not because of fear, but because of cringe

[7 February 2019]

A portrait of an extraordinary man with singular purpose, whose life is nearly irreversibly derailed by an obtuse, obnoxious, and painfully ignorant (albeit admittedly hot) young woman.

It was difficult to keep one's eyes on the screen scene whenever the girlfriend, Sanni, appeared. She is clearly unable to understand what it means to have a passion in life, to care about a purpose greater than oneself. All she thinks and talks about is herself - and despite causing our climber to injure himself twice, continues to pester him with her self-indulgent childish nonsense.

If she hadn't had the good sense to leave before his big climb (and one wonders whether it was really of her own accord, or thanks to the nudging of the filmmakers), the climb likely would have either never happened or ended in disaster.

It was truly breathtaking to see the actual climb on film, especially in IMAX - and the cinematography and production quality is top notch. But for the preceding hour and half, by focusing on his girlfriend for so much of the film, and trying to frame their superficial relationship as something actually meaningful to him detracted from this film. Made much of this "documentary" feel obnoxious at best, and dishonest at worst, for the sake of satisfying some glib romantic plot desire from the studio/producers.

Vice (I) (2018)

Grossly entertaining -- but flawed. Would be 10/10 if it wasn't for the last 5 minutes.

[25 December 2018]

Did Dick Cheney's invasion of Iraq spawn ISIS? The refugee crisis? The deluge of terror attacks in the years since? It certainly seems so, and this film makes a powerful, totally factual case for it. Despite being a registered a Republican -- or at least, someone who believes in the values the GOP professes to stand for -- it seems incontrovertible that this man Dick Cheney et al. destroyed whatever hope we had left for the conservative movement by being so repugnantly greedy (Cheney) and tragically stupid (George W.) with the invasion of Iraq, fiscal irresponsibility, and white shoe corruption that they oversaw.

But did these two dunces cause the wildfires in California? Or the illegal immigration problems at the South of the border? Come on.. Whatever Trump is doing may be idiotic, but in order to make your point, particularly to a hostile audience, you must be extremely precise with facts. The last five minutes threw an otherwise excellent film into an ideological frenzy -- for a few seconds (in the rapid sequence of cutscenes) it stooped to the level of pettiness that it was trying to criticize in the first place.

This made the final post-credits scene then quite ironic; yes, the film has a liberal bias, but that is irrelevant as long as it is all factual. And it was -- until the last five minutes, and other few moments throughout the film, in which Mr. McKay was unable to control the urge to blame EVERYTHING on a bad, bad man, just because he has evidence to show that he was indeed responsible for some things.

For this, I docked a couple stars.

But overall, this movie is bitingly funny, an instant satirical classic, with a (mostly) honest and important message. Definitely worth seeing, in theaters if you can, just to see the extraordinary Christian Bale in all his bloated glory... :)

Raise the Red Lantern (1991)

Overrated mediocrity. The drawn-out tale of an individual woefully unprepared for her life, who finds herself unable to adapt. What's the point?

[23 December 2018]

Perhaps I was expecting too much. Other reviewers of this film have overwhelmingly ranked it as one of the best of all time, in any language. Sadly that could not be further from reality.

At a surface level, this film is just boring. It drags on for far too long, with an extremely predictable storyline, single setting (in which everything blends together), and characters that, with the exception of Gong Li, each fit neatly into an archetype.

Even looking a little deeper, if we are able to stay awake through this soap opera, the story itself is unappealing. Gong Li's character (Songlian) is, in a word, best described by incompetence. She arrives as a naive young girl and naturally finds it a bit difficult to adjust to her new life. Yet over time, she fails to adapt: her attempts continue to result in failure and chaos in the household, getting worse and worse each time.

This is the story of an incompetent human being; to glorify or somehow romanticize her struggle into some sort of tragedy, with great meaning and beatuy, is a travesty in itself. Yet somehow my fellow reviewers seem to have deluded themselves into doing exactly that.

I digress. If you are interested in watching the film purely for its techniques of cinematography, go ahead. Personally, even in that regard, I would pass, but I cannot deny that it is unique.

Mortal Engines (2018)

Who paid for this movie?

[17 December 2018]

Cool effects with a hollow plot, as other reviewers have broadly noted.

The theme of west vs. east and it's outcome makes you wonder who really produced and paid for this movie though. It almost felt like some Chinese propaganda by the end. No wonder its a box office hit over there and flop here.

Instant Family (2018)

Corny feel-good film - unfortunately superficial, lacking genuine characters and heart

[13 December 2018]

This movie could've been real; it could've been good. Instead its just a big circle jerk for rich city folk, with lots of fake emotion with too little real heart. At least it is advertising for people to adopt, but overall I found it disappointing with how fake it all is. Must admit there are quite a few laugh out loud moments though.

Assassination Nation (2018)

Black Mirror on steroids, the film of a generation

[22 September 2018]

Ignore the last 5 minutes or so, when the writer/director goes off on some nonsensical hillary-should've-been-president rant, and you have a masterpiece.

Awesome acting all around, intense suspense, crazy violence, and a plot that seems really quite horrifyingly plausible in today's America. Older folks may think that's an exaggeration, but ask a millennial and they will tell you otherwise.

The soundtrack made even the dullest moment gripping, and some of the cinematography is really groundbreaking and beautiful. Won't spoil anything about the plot itself... just go in with no expectations whatsoever, and prepare yourself for a wild ride.

Alpha (II) (2018)

CGI is ruining movies

[26 August 2018]

This movie hardly has a plot - and the lead actors are not at all convincing in their roles. None of the characters are really devloped at all, wolf included. The whole spectacle revolves around CGI landscape panoramas and a few intense action shots, as if that should make up for the lack of any real substance. The landscapes, albeit digitally altered, were really breathtaking for the first 15 minutes... but they quickly became repetitive. Overall this film is a waste of time.

Schindler's List (1993)

A breathtakingly poignant masterpiece by Spielberg

[19 December 2011]

Steven Spielberg's masterpiece, Schindler's List, is clearly one of the most poignant and perceptive movies of our generation. Up till now, I had simply heard such praises of the film countless times from family and friends, and had accepted them to be true. Now, after having viewed the film myself, I can attest to such a statement and much, much more. The basis of the story revolves around the life of one man – Oskar Schindler – whose subtle yet lucid transformation during the Holocaust relentlessly captures the interest of the audience. While the film is filled with many depictions of gruesome violence, it still manages to aptly display the emotions behind them in an uncharacteristically impartial way; in essence, Schindler's List perfectly presents itself as both a technical and artistic masterpiece, and is able to do so without hindering its plot in any way, shape, or form.

Rather than conforming to the framework of a classic World War II drama, the plot of this movie, as mentioned above, is more of an exposé about Schindler and the reasons behind his actions. The protagonist of this film, Liam Neeson, was wisely cast by Spielberg for the role of Oskar Schindler. In my opinion, this choice was superb for many reasons; the poise and sincerity displayed by Neeson throughout the film is characteristically reminiscent of historical accounts of the real Schindler. He flows through his many roles, as a womanizer, businessman, humanitarian, and lover, with a fantastic sense of ease and genuineness in his actions. The other protagonist, Itzhak Stern, was played by the widely renowned Ben Kingsley who, once again, failed to disappoint. In fact, I would argue that the casting of Kingsley alongside Liam Neeson gave their relationship in the film a whole new perspective. As the pragmatist in Schindler's business, Kingsley is initially afraid of the Direktor, but quickly comes to terms with his impulsiveness and stubbornness. This leads to a remarkably subtle relationship between them that is even further accentuated by their stark physical and emotional contrast. The primary antagonist in the film, Amon Goeth, was also masterfully cast by Spielberg and his crew, but I have some complaints as to his portrayal as a psychopath in the film. Although Ralph Fiennes did a remarkable job emulating the nuances of a Nazi officer, his role as the Commandant of Płaszów gave the impression that he was mentally ill, which, in my opinion, takes away from the effect of his arbitrary cruelty. However, the script and dialogue aren't by any means his responsibility, and he definitely did an amazing job with what he was given.

My personal favorite part of the movie was definitely the closing five minutes in which Schindler has to flee, and the workers are liberated by a Red Army dragoon. This scene is a great culmination to all that happens in the movie, and carries a bigger emotional impact than even the horrifying scenes of Auschwitz. It also captures the essence of the enduring relationship between Schindler and Stern without being melodramatic or unnecessarily maudlin. Schindler's breakdown regarding his inability to save "a few more" helps solidify the audience's perception of his benevolence, while also hinting at the doomed fate of the others. When the throng of Schindler's Jews morph into their descendants today, this emotional impact is given a touch of reality. This sudden influx of authenticity makes the rest of the movie even more moving too, and does well to evoke genuine sympathy rather than pity from the audience.

Arguably, the most remarkable thing about Schindler's List may be its ability to present a relatively neutral view on such a historically stigmatized topic. The movie pretty much tells it how it is (or was, really); yet, contrary to intuition, this makes the moral ramifications of the film even more profound than they would have otherwise been. As Ebert points out in his review's conclusion, the reason why Uncle Tom's Cabin has been met with so much disdain is because of Stowe's relentless commentary on the flaws and evils of slavery. Such triteness can often incite argument rather than agreement, and so, in my own opinion, it's best to leave the moral judgment to the viewers, and simply focus on the story, as Spielberg has done. When I finished watching this film, the first thought that I had was to juxtapose the pre- and post-war Schindlers, and to compare their values and goals as individuals. By doing this, I found that the primary moral lesson that I take away from this film is that by helping others, you are really helping yourself. This is rarely in materialistic terms, of course, but a clean conscience and contentment with yourself is more than any man can ask for – after that point, there is no fear of pain, no paranoia of death; after that point, your life is fulfilled and desire loses its value; after that point, you are the strongest person out of anyone, although you may seem weaker in appearance. This is exactly what Oskar Schindler achieved, and through seeing his actions I think others will take away a similar, albeit paraphrased message too.

In conclusion, I'd like to discuss what audiences this film is most geared towards, and my interpretation of its intended purpose on such audiences. Besides the age and maturity factor, I think that this movie will appeal to all sides of the genre spectrum,and is definitely worth a watch for anyone who hasn't already seen it. Overall, no matter how hard I tried, there is very little to complain about this film, and countless things to praise it. Therefore, out of 4 stars, I would give Schindler's List a full 3.9 for its masterful direction, stunning screenplay, thought provoking dialogue, mind-boggling imagery, astonishing characterization, and much, much more. This movie will clearly go down in history as an indubitable classic, and will undoubtedly be referenced for many generations to come.