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Downward Dog (2017)
Plagiarism? (Ripped right from a 1970's comedy/horror flick)
This show steals a plot convention from an old 1970's early 1980's movie in which a dog describes, in first person voice, perceptions about his/its life. The dog in this movie had to absorb a change in, the introduction of a new baby thereby causing his treatment to degrade over time. First the dog accepted his new circumstance, but eventually the dog has enough and killed the baby aka his competition.
This show represents television of the worst order; it shows a total lack of generational memory, originality, and humor. The writers and producers of this tripe have no grounding in the history of film and television their "brilliant" idea is just a retread of ideas past.
If the writers and producers had no knowledge of "prior art" would their retread be considered plagiarism or even copyright infringement?
I would argue that the "prior art" was actually tripe while this TV show is not even fit for a dog, not even fit for a dog with an internal voice.
Jungletown (2017)
Millennials Fish Flop on Gilligan's Island
IN the olden days American Utopian pioneers included the Shakers, the Oneidas and the Amanas. These pioneers had a communal and religious dedication towards perfection, society, work, hand craftsmanship and in the way they conducted their lives. Remember Shaker furniture? These Utopian societies are long dead but their legacy lives on.
Special-snowflake millennials lack everything that the original American Utopians brought to the table in days of old. Case in point millennials lack "skilz." Thus, when watching this show I began laughing out loud.
I even cried (in laughter) as these snowflakes paid big bucks for "the experience" of rolling around in the mud of an "ecovillage," while starving, as their cult-like-mentor snarfed copious quantities of GMO corn-chips and bought $150 bottles of wine while flying first class.
The comedy of this show just could not be any better;
I expect to see a Panamanian gang trying to shake down the clueless. The millennials will ask to see the gang's badges. The Panamanians will reply "Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stink-in' badges!" According to the US department of state NONE of the land in the Panamanian outback has recorded title records, and the country is high on the list of legal corruption. Sounds like a good place to build a Utopian community to me, NOT!
"Our survival as a species" depends on a group of millennials that want to pioneer the jungle. Unfortunately, American millennials cannot navigate their way out of a paper bag.
Let's be ecologically friendly by composting with our own manure while we use plastic PVC pipe. That dog does not know how to hunt.
Lets demonstrate that millennials have no real world skills, manipulative skills, and/or critical thinking skills.
If I wanted to select an elite millennial up to the challenge of homesteading in the jungle; I would naturally select an sex seeking manic depressive millennial that works for as an editor on the Huffington post. Watching a millennial that discontinued her mental illness medication makes for a great reality show. The LGBT trend has gone stale so mental illness will be the next big "community" of interest.
The millennial with a finance major but never used a hand tool; I am looking forward to him chopping his arm off doing something physical. He was looking forward to communicating and his fate will be to commune with the mud of a rain-forest.
The pathetic "reality" of this hip Vice Network "reality" show is as funny as it is scary.
Ghost in the Shell (2017)
Flat Tire
The best thing I can say about "Ghost in the Shell" is that it was not as bad as Suicide Squad. I hated the fact that this movie used CGI to create scenery that tried (very unsuccessfully) to emulate "Blade Runner." The movie also tried unsuccessfully to borrow elements from "Max Headroom," "Wolverine," and "RoboCop." So here we have a modern day movie that does not meet the aesthetic and thematic standards of movies decades past.
Blade Runner had grit not antiseptic CGI with mangled shots of Hong Kong. If you have ever been to Hong Kong you will immediately know that Ghost in the Shell was shot in Hong Kong. Why then would Japanese people (and cheeky and cheesy cyborgs alike) be living in and dominating the street of Hong Kong.
As to cyborgs, why not 3d print a plastic jawbone or Victorian clockwork eye sockets of your own. That is how cheesy the non-cgi effects were. Why would a modern day robot have steam-punk eye sockets? Why?
This movie had phony special effects but lacked any kind of social commentary or science fiction story whatsoever. Death Race 2050 lacked special effects but had a totally incredible level of social commentary that used a science fiction story to talk about current issues. Death Race 2050 made people uncomfortable, it hit home.
If you want science fiction your best bet is to watch TV. "The Expanse," talked about the fragility of human designed (and thus simplified) complex systems. A show with no budget, and minimal special effects, hit upon an issue that great thinkers such as James Lovelock have identified as being a very important part of our future.
Ghost in the Shell is not science fiction, its milieu is cheesy and unbelievable, the action is flat, does not talk to the ethics of technology, and the action sucks.
Perhaps sensibilities of Chinese production companies has killed yet another movie. When I see Chinese production companies take credit for a movie I about to see I shudder.
Medici (2016)
Machiavellian Intrigue, Not
"Medici: Masters of Florence" presents itself to the viewers as a drubbed down version of a previous TV show called "The Borgias." Like these two modern TV shows, the historical realities of old co-occupied the same space-time. For this reason the producers, seeking star power, dusted off Dustin Hoffman to counter the mojo of Jeremy Irons, no irony lost there.
"The Borgia's," being a far more nuanced show, must have confused allot of people thus the producers of this show felt it better to lower the intellectual level down a few notches
The problem of drubbing things down resides in the fact that complex plots and personages are discarded so everything can be transparently explained and then understood by the viewership.
Even with the drubbing down the show is still entertaining.
Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
Saving Private Ryan, NOT! Who is on first? Claude Rains
In years past a movie of this "fine" caliber would have gone right to DVD or Cable TV directly from production. However, this movie shines or even monkeyshines compared to such 2016 "hits" such as"Revenge of the Low IQ," "Lets Spin-off Sequel Number 10," or "The Great Wall of Chinese CGI."
By monkeyshine I mean that this movie is a bad joke being played on us by the producers who are quite convinced that their "shiznit" doesn't stink because the word for excrement has been banned on this and other reviewing sites.
Everything is relative thus this review had to be curved; sort of a grade inflation for a film review lest every film get one star. I am of the mind that over inflated reviews must be hit on the head with a standard deviation or two. Looking for good movies in 2016 was like finding Claude Rains either in the "Invisible Man" or the " Sudanese oasis of the "Last Outpost."
The Young Pope (2016)
Speaking to the antipodal nature of faith and religious institutions
The Young Pope strikes deeply at the antipodal and "dualistic" nature of faith, people, and religious institutions. For example, a person might "claim" the moral high ground but conduct himself in a totally immoral way. Alternately, you might conduct yourself less than perfectly and in fact hold morality closely within your grasp. For most of us our exact natures are never quite black and white. The Young Pope speaks to this and other interpersonal and moral complexities and it does so in a very sophisticated and interesting way.
And no, according to IO9, "If You Liked Suicide Squad, You'll Love The Young Pope." If you understand what the Young Pope has to say you will not like Suicide Squad.
Jackie (2016)
Myopic not biopic, aka Seabiscuit the Sequel
This movie was not a biopic instead it was simply myopic. Let me explain myself, "Capote" represents a good biopic movie and "Seabiscuit" a bad myopic movie.
A biographical movie, a biopic, would have covered "Jackie" with more breadth, instead this movie presents her in a myopic and narrow focus over a very short event-driven period of time.
For me this movie was simply too long and not enough. I would have liked to see Jackie in her youth, meeting JFK, during her tenure in the White House, her experience in Dallas, and then in her relationship with Onassis and also the Kennedy Family.
Ironically, I am straining to find ten lines with which to fill in this review. Not having ten lines, well that sums up this movie, it was Seabiscuit all over again.