heavydude Reviews

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (2023)

Incredible

[8/10 · 26 August 2023]

A little slow in a few places, which gets an 8 from me, but one can almost overlook that when the good stuff starts happening.

A word of warning. There are 7 episodes. As of tonight August 25, only 6 have played on Amazon Prime. Prime doesn't tell you there are 7.. If you haven't started yet I suggest you wait until the 31st and binge all 7 because number 6 is a real cliffhanger.

I was looking for something that wasn't cookie cutter detective mysteries and was hooked by Prime's description: "After losing her parents to a mysterious fire, nine-year-old Alice Hart is raised by her grandmother June on a flower farm where she learns there are secrets within secrets. But years on, an unearthed betrayal sees Alice forced to face her past."

Sounded like one of those gothic mysteries in the tradition of Du Maurier's Rebecca and Bronte's Jane Eyre. Well, it sorta is, but with modern issues.

The acting is great, the cast superb, the scenery gorgeous, and the story line disturbing, but necessary.

Sigourney Weaver plays against type in her character June Hart, a manipulative, controlling matriarch, who unsympathetically tries to hold her "family" together, often to their detriment.

I'm writing generalities. Others have been more specific.

See it.

Killer Tumbleweeds (2008)

A Train Wreck

[10/10 · 4 May 2023]

This movie is like a train wreck. You can't help slowing down and staring at it until it fades off into the distance.

In my book of the worst movies ever made this one just pushed Plan 9 From Outer Space out of first place.

So why am I giving it 10 stars? Because it's a hoot, that's why. And I love Plan 9 From Outer Space, too.

The action is filmed in a quasi-documentary style reminiscent of the Blair Witch Project. Shaky camera work, ordinary people moving the story along.

The movie contains tropes from other genres. Like the prison road gang scene.

The news reporting throughout the movie harks back to the Orson Welles War of the Worlds broadcast.

Turn off your brain and watch it for fun.

Now that Amazon Prime Video is airing it, it's likely to also become a cult classic.

Doors (I) (2021)

I'd give it no stars if I could.

[1/10 · 23 April 2023]

If you are reading these reviews before watching, please heed the negatives and don't waste your time. I was sucked in by the summary which alluded to an interesting premise.

"When numerous mysterious alien "doors" appear around the globe, humanity must come together to understand their purpose."

My reaction at the end of the move was "Huh."

Other revews have said of us naysayers that we know nothing about good sci-fi. Snort. I've been a sci-fi fan for over 65 years. I have read and seen everything from the most intellectual (Asimov, Clark) to the juvenile (Star Wars, Lost in Space) to the lowest parodies and farces (Plan Nine from Outer Space, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes).

If you want a better story than Doors, watch Plan Nine from Outer Space.

Boris and Natasha (1992 TV Movie)

Gotta give it a 10.

[10/10 · 22 November 2021]

Here it is, 29 years later and I never knew this movie existed until I came across it on Amazon Prime. Boris and Natash: The Movie. Say, what!

I am a life long fan of the Rocky and Bullwinkle family of shows, watched the originals starting in 1959. Watched the reruns every time they came on. I was at the movies in 2000 when a trailer came on for the R & B movies. Couldn't wait to see that one. It was wonderful.

I spent the last hour and a half laughing myself silly at the antics of Boris and Natasha. Sally Kellerman nailed it, in spite of the page boy haircut (that's what it's called). Dave Thomas, not so much. Totally wrong voice, wrong accent. Sounded more like Andy Kaufman's character, Latka, on Taxi.

Otherwise the movie was a hoot. Lots of in jokes for the fans. Fans will love it, others maybe not.

Purple People Eater (1988)

Absolutely Wonderful

[10/10 · 15 June 2021]

It's 2021 and I'm 74 years old and watched this movie for the first time and loved it. It starts off slow but picks up big time when the Purple People Eater shows up. Plenty of laughs for the child in me and plenty of nostalgia for the adult. Special treats for me were the 1955 Thunderbird and the 1959 Ford Galaxie convertible.

Anyway, if it's still on youtube, watch it with your kids or grandkids.

Nightflyers (2018)

Don't waste your time.

[1/10 · 1 December 2020]

By now you've read enough reviews to know all the cliches: Earth is dying (as usual). A scientist finds an object in space that might be intelligent aliens that might hold the key to Earth's survival (as usual). An expedition ship manned by incompetent amateurs (as usual) is sent out to chase down the aliens. A homicidal telepath is on board (as usual). The ship experiences numerous malfunctions from the getgo (as usual). Something is messing with the minds of the crew members (as usual) causing hallucinations and violence (as usual).

Is it the telepath? Is it the aliens who don't want to be found?

No, it's the Captain's mother, for Pete's sake.

When she died she uploaded her consciousness into the ship's computers, became virtually omnipotent, and she's the one causing all the problems. When Mommy's Boy doesn't do what she wants, she gives him painful headaches.

Trouble is, you don't find this out until the 4th episode. That's when I quit. I love sci fi cliches as much as anybody but "My Mother, the Spaceship" is just too far beyond ridiculous.

If you've read this far before watching the show, I've done you a solid. Find something else to watch. "My Mother, the Car" makes more sense than this. LOL. Full episodes on youtube.

The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (2000)

November 19 - National Rocky & Bullwinkle Day

[10/10 · 19 November 2020]

The premier episode of Rocky & Bullwinkle was aired on November 19, 1959. I was 13 and the show became a staple in my household during its first run from 1959-1964. As I grew older I watched it in reruns. Even as an adult, I enjoyed the puns and silly situations.

Tomorrow, November 19, 2020 is the 61st anniversary of the premier episode. I did not know that there was a holiday devoted to Rocky and Bullwinkle. When I found out I checked out IMDB for an update and was unpleasantly surprised at all the negative reviews about The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle. I had to speak up.

Early in the year 2000 I was in a movie theater waiting for a movie to start. A couple of trailers had already come on. Then, a trailer started with a view of crowds. People started pointing to the sky. "Look, up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane..." For a second I thought "Oh, another Superman movie." Then, a life sized Bullwinkle J. Moose standing amid real people, followed by Rocket J. Squirrel flying through the air. "Incredible, a live action Rocky & Bullwinkle movie."

The movie was released in June 2000 and I watched it with the enthusiasm of a 13 year old and the wisdom of a 54 year old. It was awesome. Was it silly and stupid? Of course. Even the characters self-deprecatingly admit it. Narrator: "Even their wordplay had gotten hackneyed and cheap." Bullwinkle: "No. It was always like this." Therein lies the charm of the movie.

Today, at the top of the IMDB page I saw a 4.2 star rating. I thought "Did I miss something 20 years ago?" I just finished watching it again. No, I didn't miss anything. It was just as awesome now (I'm 74) as it was 20 years ago.

It's the naysayers that missed the whole point of the movie - FUN. To them I quote FBI agent Karen Sympathy: "What you believe in when you are young can still be true when you grow up."

To the rest of us who love the franchise, young or old, "Hooray, we have a holiday." Watch the movie every year on November 19.

Dark (2017–2020)

I'm embarrassed to admit that I watch two seasons before bailing.

[1/10 · 17 November 2020]

I've been a sci-fi addict since the 5th grade and that was over 50 years ago. I have read and watched the best and the worst. I love time travel stories. Dark is an interesting premise destroyed by too much adultery, stupid teenagers going into the woods at night, way too much rain, and ultra long soap opera pauses between virtually every sentence of dialog. When I finished season 2, I cheated and read the season 3 episode summaries on Wikipedia. Frankly, you'd be better off reading the summaries of all 3 seasons. You'll get the story within about a half hour instead of spending wasted days and wasted nights watching it.

Interpreters: a C & Earth Chronicle - quantum 1 (2019)

I've seen worse.

[7/10 · 24 October 2020]

I know. My subject title contradicts my rating of 7/10. I'm a sci-fi nut and will watch just about anything. As bad as the movie is technically, it's a pretty good story with an interesting premise. I ignored the cliches and choppy editing and just sat back and enjoyed it.

Trauma Center (2019)

A Waste.

[1/10 · 23 October 2020]

I think Bruce Willis is in this just to get people to watch it. What a disappointment. Looked like he was sleepwalking through the movie as well as having bad dialogue. The two bad cops gave a better performance but still couldn't save the movie.

Into the Night (II) (2020–2021)

Langoliers and airplane disaster movies rolled into one.

[8/10 · 21 October 2020]

Looks like I'm not the only one who had Stephen King's Langoliers come to mind. However, having recently watched Murder on Flight 502 (1975) all the airplane disaster movies of the 1970s and earlier came rushing back (The Crowded Sky, Zero Hour, Airplane, Terror in the Sky). Anyway, despite the dubbing issues and the cliches, Into the Night kept me on the edge of my seat for the first season and I'm looking forward to the second season.

Space Captain: Captain of Space! (2014)

I would give this an 11 but the dial doesn't go that high.

[10/10 · 29 June 2020]

This movie popped out at me on Amazon Prime. The title elicited a chuckle and the rolling narration, starting with Chapter 3 a la Star Wars, got me laughing. The movie hilariously parodies all of the characters of the Flash Gordon serials of the 1930s. Each time I thought I could stop laughing and catch my breath, something else started my up again. Spaceships that look like they were made out of Tinker Toys. Characters talking like Harvey Korman. Scientific holes that you can drive a truck through. Two scientists back on Earth named Dr Middleton and Dr Crabbe. I wonder if anybody else caught that. In the Flash Gordon serials Charles Middleton portrayed Emperor Ming, the Merciless, of the Planet Mongol and, of course, Buster Crabbe was Flash Gordon.

If you're a fan of Plan 9 From Outer Space and the like, you're gonna love this one.

The Fare (I) (2018)

A different approach to a time loop story.

[10/10 · 9 April 2020]

I agree with the high praise of other reviewers. For me, it's a 10, because I have been a cab driver (in the same make of car - Checker) and was able to empathize with the weariness Harris displays early in the movie until Penny gets into the cab. What I found interesting in this story is that Harris doesn't know he's in a time look (a departure from other time loop movies where the protagonist figures it out very quickly) for quite a few resets until - well, you'll see. It's quite a surprise.

Others have touched on the details so I'll just say that the Sci-Fi, romance, and taxicab elements are aces with me.

I do have one caveat. I watched the movie on Amazon Prime and had the closed captions on because of a hearing problem. Toward the end, when Harris' predicament is explained, one of the captions has a hilarious error. See if you can catch it if you use the CCs or if you just want a quick laugh.

Dark Matter (2015–2017)

Rooted to my chair for 3 days.

[10/10 · 28 June 2018]

Discovered this on Netflix and couldn't tear myself away. Long story short, if you are a sci fi fan (a la Firefly, SG, Orphan Black, etc) this is a great show. Season 3 ended with a cliffhanger and lots of unanswered questions that could easily carry another season without getting stale. I hope Netflix will produce more episodes.