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shelleyk-87798
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Into the White (2012)
Surprisingly Honest
I don't think I've seen a better movie of this type. Not the trite Hollywood variety. A more believable telling of human interaction in war, the spirit of survival, clinging to civilization, and the complexity of the differences between an individual and their government.
1984 (1956)
Peter Cushing & Donald Pleasance
Peter Cushing is actually the actor who plays Winston Smith in the 1956 version of the movie 1984, and Donald Pleasance plays Syme. I'm not sure why most internet sites credit 2 completely different actors.
The Crow Road (1996)
A study in misogyny
If you wonder why women have anger against men, just listen to the dialogue in the first 10 minutes. Instead of going after men in general, look at the men involved in this spew of hatred.
Werewolves Within (2021)
How can you not love this movie?
How could anyone not love this movie? It is spooky, funny, and definitely quirky. I actually had to watch it twice because I assumed the movie would go in the same trite direction as every other movie from the last few years (boring), but instead, it went in a completely different direction, and I like the overall message - which I won't spoil for you.
The Conjuring (2013)
Deja vu
I know that this movie is incredibly popular, but I watched it feeling like I'd seen all this before. It is a strange mish-mash of every popular 1970's to early 80's haunted house movie ever made. There are scenes in the Conjuring that look almost exactly like the Amityville Horror. You always know how each scene will end if you enjoy 70's-80's horror, which you probably do if you are attracted to this movie. Too predictable, cliche, and unoriginal, but a decent montage if you want to skip all those old movies and get this all-in-one.
The Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020)
Great comedy-horror
If you liked "Shaun of the Dead", you should see this movie. Jim Cummings plays the lead neurotic, flawed, crazy, lovable character with complex family interactions. Everyone was entertained.
11.22.63 (2016)
Very, very long
I have to say at the beginning that it drives me crazy that the premise of the movie is grossly flawed. A guy goes back in time to prevent the assassination of JFK because then the Vietnam War would not have been ramped up. Ridiculous - JFK got the US into Vietnam!!! How ignorant of history can the writers be?? I found it difficult to get past this, but frankly, I also don't get the JFK hero-worship thing. I never have. I wasn't alive then, and I think this is a baby-boomer obsession. I think you will enjoy this show more if you are also obsessed with JFK and his assassination. I didn't think their handling of time-travel contained very original ideas. It had some interesting parts, but overall, it was long, plodding, and too focused on the minutia of the assassination.
Atlantique (2019)
Best movie I've seen in a while
Wow - I highly recommend. I don't know why this movie doesn't have better ratings, but I refuse to read any of the reviews until I've written my own. This movie has it all - it is a powerful but tragic love story whose main characters (who I got attached to right away) suffer from the cultural and economic perils, as well as class inequality, in Africa. This includes the lack of police or legal protections for poorer classes that drive migrants to risk their lives to come to the Western world. This movie also contains original, supernatural elements. We were drawn in immediately, and everyone in the house that saw even one minute stayed to watch the rest (unusual), because it was just that good. The setting was effective, the atmosphere from normal to mysterious, the actors were great, and the supernatural aspects were executed without the predictable Western tropes. Great movie!
The Crown (2016)
Season by season, it disintegrates
I absolutely loved Seasons 1 & 2. Perfect actors. Interesting plots, character development, and dynamics. I couldn't get enough. Season 3 was excellent, but I have to say that Season 4 has been a real disappointment. It was stressful to watch and seems kind of awkward. The acting is okay but not fantastic like it was. Characters seem very 2 dimensional and, frankly, they are rather boring. I guess you can't expect something that starts this amazing to stay this amazing.
Home (2016)
Excellent. Great twist at end.
The East German Stasi guy on here screaming "Propaganda!" would also find The Exorcist offensive because of its reference to religion. Calm down buddy. This is a good movie. I think people are reading too much into it, but it scared the heck out of me. I like movies that don't overdo it with the scare tactics; they generally come off as cliche, and I can usually tell what's going to happen before it does. I liked the straightforwardness of this one, and the twist at the end took me completely by surprise. It was very unexpected. Worth watching!
Dr. T & the Women (2000)
Painful and Awkward
Surprisingly bad considering the cast. Awkward and painful 'comedy' about a chauvinistic gynecologist with a Messiah complex who drops his wife off at an insane asylum following her nervous breakdown while he carries on an affair with a younger woman. Old fashioned but not in a good way in that the 'hero' is a real pig - yet the movie positions him as the great caretaker of women, and the women get no sympathy from the writer/director/producers while being portrayed as vacuous, cackling hens.
Bless This Mess (2019)
Laugh-out-Loud Funny
I randomly turned on this show for episode 4 "The Return of Short Shorts" and my husband and I laughed so hard - we were shocked that a show this funny was on TV and we hadn't even heard of it. I then streamed all episodes. This is the funniest show I have seen in a long, long time. I absolutely love comedy so I'm happy to have found this. What do I love about this show? 1) It is laugh-out-loud funny 2) fish out of water comedy (my favorite) 3) The characters are all funny, eccentric and absolutely lovable - both the city and country characters. The brilliant writers don't pick favorites so it doesn't feel political or snobby, just very, very funny and light - not mean-spirited, which is refreshing! The use of music is brilliant (especially "Good Bye My Friend It's Hard to Die." Who'd have thought that could be so hilarious?). Plus the 2 main characters have great chemistry and it's nice to see a happy young marriage on TV.
The War Within (2014)
Unique and Brilliant
Wow - this film was much more than I expected! A brilliant work that uses imagination and metaphor to relay truths about the human mind/heart/soul. The War Within delves into the many aspects of a human and follows one man's journey as he struggles in the aftermath of a dark event in his life. The movie breaks down the parts of a man's being (Conscience, Emotion, Will, Memory, Heart, Mind) as they go to war with one another as the man struggles for emotional survival in the wake of a tragedy. I particularly loved the actor that played "emotion" and the way in which the film displays the complexity of an individual. I love that the movie did not oversimplify; most movies cheapen out and characters are painted with one brush - not here. I cannot imagine anyone who couldn't relate to this examination of the human experience put forth without pretension. Finally, the film shows, first metaphorically and then literally, how faith is gained and how it effects the different aspects of a person's being. Creative, complex and smart. I highly recommend.
Das weiße Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (2009)
Overly simple
Be warned that I write this as a WWII historian who has also (obviously) studied WWI so I can see the stupidity of this 'film' on so many, many levels that it was truly excruciating for me. Let's just say that this oh-so-deep analysis of what led Germany to WWI (and WWII for that matter) is......... wait for it......... Germans are inherently evil (canned applause here). My God. So simple. So stupid.
And might I add that the subtlety that other writers refer to does not exist. The evil of Germans is rammed down your throat with all the "subtlety" of a machete and a foghorn including some of the grossest acts known to humans performed by just your common village-folk.
By presenting racism as an explanation so that we don't have to bother ourselves with anything so complicated as, well, history, it is best to shoot the film in black and white to give it a bit of style, since there really isn't any substance. When the 'moral' lesson is that a ethnic group is just inferior and evil and that's that, you better lean on Style.
Stop. Please.