trfromhawaii Reviews

Regression (I) (2015)

Well Acted with an Important message

[9/10 · 20 March 2017]

I really enjoyed the movie. I thought it was very well acted and would commend in particular the actress who portrayed the grandmother. Both Ethan Hawke and Emma Watson gave strong performances, also. As a criminal defense lawyer, I was happy to see the credibility of psycho-therapy examined; very refreshing. I think the movie calls into question much more than Satanic Ritual Abuse and would hope viewers could make the connection with many other aspects of life. Would highly recommend despite some downright gory and scary scenes.

A Country Christmas Story (2013 TV Movie)

Not Your Typical Christmas Feel Good Movie

[8/10 · 17 December 2013]

This time of year I love channel surfing for Christmas movies...and most seem to be written from the same outline with a twist here or there and offer very little challenge when it comes to picking up on the foreshadowing and predicting the finale ... I usually find myself mentally jumping ahead to the ending when I am no more than 1/3 or 1/2 way through and almost always being correct on all major details...the attractive girl with history, the attractive guy with history, a third party that facilitates their unlikely and usually acrimonious meeting, a slow to start to their awkward romance that explodes 3/4 of the way through into a passionate, feel good relationship, only to implode 10 minutes later with accusations of lying or withholding pertinent facts only to conclude minutes later with a reconciliation that is sappy sweet, mostly unsatisfying and almost always offering the viewer a corny gleam of hope that Santa is indeed alive and well... A Country Christmas Story is different; first of all, it is not very Christmasy; it could just as easily have been set during another time of year; but I found that it thoughtfully offered up dialogue on issues that are not seasonal nor frequently confronted from the eyes of a child and played that theme out with some great acting, several original country tracks worthy of more listening and a satisfying, believable and Santa-less ending...