ramblr78 Reviews

The Wire (2002–2008)

Authenticity at its best

[10/10 · 17 June 2013]

I generally detest crime dramas, so that a show like this can be my all-time favorite TV serial attests to the high caliber and quality of writing, cast, characters, authenticity and everything else that goes into creating such a show. Why can't all film/TV be this good? Hollywood take note: you don't need a-list stars to make a blockbuster film, that formula is so overdone. Every character in this series is outstanding and authentic and etched in my memory. I would even venture to say that several of the best characters ever seen on film or t.v. played a role in this show. I want to thank EVERYONE who played a part in the creation and broadcasting of such an excellent series. "

TPB AFK: The Pirate Bay Away from Keyboard (2013)

Civil disobedience

[10/10 · 12 February 2013]

I am very happy to see these guys out there on the front lines fighting the good fight, no matter how the docu was made, what facts and figures may have been omitted etc. I could still get a feeling of what it was they are fighting against and I support The Pirate Bay and their efforts completely. No matter what means they try to argue their case the U.S., the big film and music industries already have their minds made up about what file sharing is and to argue with them is like talking to a brick wall, the dice are loaded. It isn't a question about justice, truth or facts anymore, it's all about organized crime under the guise of government and the threat of non-existent law. A broken brand of capitalism and democratic system that the fatuous aristocrats have continued to preach since the Bronze age if not before this is the reason that the poor and disaffected have risen up every time to fight against. I am an artist myself and I love to see artists getting their due when it is deserved, but I am against this over excessive, this brazen decadence that the head execs get for a disproportionate amount of work, for example, getting their latest monkey to poop out the newest hip-hop or pop song or Marvel film. Yeah I said it so what, does that make me a communist? No, but I am against this hyper-capitalism and the police state movement that exists in the U.S. and its allies today, where the poor and weak are relentlessly being marginalized by the rich, where the justice system is bought and paid for by large corporations, where the rich are getting super rich the world over. There are many fronts on which to fight this battle and TPB is fighting it on the entertainment front, I salute them and commend their efforts. Sporting industry, banking/credit/insurance, and you name it next.

Ted (2012)

Comedy is Back

[8/10 · 10 February 2013]

Finally a comedy that I laughed out loud at more times than I can remember, I can't remember a comedy this good since 'I Love You Man.' Now for the criticisms, although I felt the writing and the jokes were very funny, it was the same story told a million times over, the only difference was the substitution of a teddy bear in place of a real person. Mark Wahlberg was good as usual (I do like his work) but as other people have said, I was a little distracted by his character being 35 when he clearly looks several years older than that, I'm 34 myself so I should know, just sayin'. The film may skew more towards the male audience with the humor and the lead male protagonist roles, also I didn't find the film overly offensive, the comic timing was good and the jokes were funny and not too over the top, definitely American humor if that is up your alley. Anyway, I have been putting off watching this film for a long time because I just found the premise weak and have been jaded by so many bad comedies releasing in recent memory, but I finally watched 'Ted' and I wasn't disappointed, best comedy in a long time.

Lawless (2012)

Good Film Overall

[8/10 · 9 February 2013]

I enjoyed this film. I thought the writing was very authentic and appropriate for the period, the acting, set designs, basically everything was very good, the one thing that I felt weary of was the story arc and the whole good vs. evil, big government against the simple honest man and whatnot. I'm not sure that that storyline needs to be told so often, I personally wish that there were different ways to tell a story, I'm no expert in storytelling, so I can't condemn a film's storyline for being unoriginal, but in this case the whole context seemed to stick out like the scabbed hangnail of a thumb if you know what I mean. No? Oh well... I give it a 7.7 out of 10.

Taken 2 (2012)

The World Is A Worse Place to Live Because of This FIlm

[1/10 · 8 February 2013]

Wow, $45 million dollars wasted on a crap film, the storyline was completely unbelievable, as was the action. Not much else to say, don't even feel like wasting more energy discussing this film, luckily I watched at home so I could work on my computer while it played in the background, but even then I found it completely irritating and wished it to be over. How can Hollywood dump this much money into a story as flimsy as this is way beyond me. It must be just spoiled rich people who don't have a clue about the value of money. There are countless other ways to spend $45 million dollars. To make matters worse, I just saw The Expendables 2 yesterday on video and had the same painful experience. The Expendables 2 had a $90 million budget, so that's nearly $150 million dollars on 3 hours of wasted life on the audiences behalf. Why even bother, Hollywood thinks that they are the good guys but the truth is that there is way too much money floating around in the wrong hands that could be getting spent on making better some of the countless things that make life difficult for humankind.

Friends with Kids (2011)

bad writing

[3/10 · 17 August 2012]

the actors were fine, but as the featured reviewer pointed out the story was just bad, didn't anyone tell Jennifer Westfeldt that no one cares about spoiled over privileged Manhattanites anymore, just arrogant idiots who think they are the reason why the world turns and that everyone looks up to them. the two main characters were so badly developed that there was no connection between them and the audience, basically a spoiled guy, who has a nice job and rich parents, who is friends with a spoiled girl, who decide rather spontaneously to have a baby together yet still date other people. when the (surprise) relationship doesn't work out the way that they expect, then the two separate and try to find happiness on their own terms, but alas discover that they can't live without each other so in the end they reunite as a traditional husband and wife couple. When a romantic comedy ends with the actresses last line being "I want you to fu*k the sh*t out of me" well, you know what kind of conclusion to make. I really can't be bothered to write a better review because the film just doesn't merit any more of my time to be wasted thinking about this trite filth.

Troll 2 (1990)

Sure its bad but worst ever? nah

[4/10 · 7 July 2012]

Yes, the acting is bad, the costumes are cheap and the music is laughable. But worst movie of all time? definitely not. I don't have the energy to dissect the film scene by scene nor would anyone want that, but I actually did enjoy certain aspects of the film, what I enjoyed was its 'campy' improvised feel, and how it always manages to avoid cliché, and that even in the most unconventional ways. The film has the creators stamp all over it and when he encounters a snag or hiccup in the plot, be damned to those who disagree with how one should deal it, he plows through it and comes up with his own completely unique solution no matter how illogical it may be. This is film this is make believe, I don't care if it makes sense it is actually refreshing to see a little bit of 'weird' now and then. That is not to say that I wholly enjoyed the film, I found it to drag on and several times let myself be distracted by other things while the film played, it is no great film even in its badness, it is bad for sure, but there were more than a few entertaining moments. For instance, Troll 2 has nothing to do with trolls, it is a movie about goblins, but hey whatever just a technicality eh? lololol.

Samsara (2001)

Added to my All Time Favorite List

[10/10 · 4 July 2012]

Wonderful original story, clear metaphors everything made sense. The films metaphors speak clearly, you can tell the director and crew put real love into the film. I really can't say enough about this film to do it justice so at least i'd like to say, great job cast crew and director of this film, I really loved it. I've been to Ladakh 3 times now and have been in the back-country where there are no roads and only little hamlets and small towns, and stayed with the people just like this, it is one of my favorite places on earth. Another bonus is Christy Chung and Neelesha Bovara are both gorgeous and the love making scenes were original and extremely sensual. I put this on my all time favorite list in between The Godfather and Star Wars. Although films rankings on my list may change, the favorites never go away. Anyway Thank you for creating such a wonderful masterpiece.

Titicut Follies (1967)

Beautiful, haunting film about Mentally challenged people and how they were treated in 1960's asylum procedures.

[10/10 · 7 September 2011]

Titicut Follies is not as controversial or offensive as other reviewers might claim, I found the film to be an impartial look at life inside a mental asylum. So there are naked men, so there are people being force fed because they refuse to eat. There was no question in my mind as to whether the people residing in the asylum had mental disorders or not, of course they all did, even if their logic seemed sound their sanity was not up to the level that a normal person's would be considered to be. The staff may be considered 'primitive' by todays standards but I feel they had (especially the supervisors) genuine concern for their patients. Googling reviews on Titicut Follies i quickly gathered that clearly this is a movie that can be interpreted in a myriad of ways.

What got my attention were the things that were spoken about but not shown. Such as the suicide that happened the night prior and the prepping of recently deceased 'JIm' for burial, also the guardsman who spoke about the gas chamber where he couldn't breathe and tears came to his eyes and stuck on his clothes even after washing them, his wife couldn't bear the stench even when they were hung in the closet even after being washed. How he wondered how the gas didn't bother the patients, (I'm sure they were bothered by it). The racial comments by the guard and the irreverent bantering of the orderly to Jim, these are the only two issues that raised my suspicions of mistreatment but, I suspect these situations were typical of that time and nothing more should be made of it. What I've been wondering if the gas, the suicide and Jim's death all concerned the same person, namely Jim. Probably a stretch, but I'll have to watch it one more time to put the pieces together.

Even if my theory doesn't add up (which I'm sure it won't) the film offers a mesmerizing and (emotionally comforting) peek into a strange world long past of people and situations that most of us will never be able to experience.

When you watch the film be sure to enable subtitles because the sound isn't the best quality and also some of the patients inter-mesh gibberish with logical speech, the subtitles are what really made the film for me, without them, Titicut Follies will seem like a random set of images with no character development etc. and make an otherwise great film seem bland and empty.