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Reviews
One Day (2024)
I made it to the end of Episode 10... still waiting.
One Day is a series I was pretty sure I would at least like, if not really enjoy due to the high IMDB rating of over 8.0. I typically find the ratings here align well with my opinion of movies and TV shows. This is an exception. I'm well over half way through this series and both my wife and I are waiting for the series to bring us in. No such luck yet, and frankly it's too late. Even if I enjoy the final four episodes it won't be enough to make up for the time-suck of seemingly uninspired film making so far. The actors are generally competent if not good, but they don't all fit their parts (casting) and are not always convincing with their performances... maybe it's directing too. The story itself is slow and lacking in any compelling love or realistic friends interest and the episodes can drag on, even in their relatively short duration. I don't really like any of the characters a lot (except for Tilly, Amber Grappy). So this leads me to the astonishing overall rating this series gets here on IMDB of 8.1. There sure are a lot of people who are willing to overlook a lot of shortcomings to rate this anything above a 7. I probably enjoyed it below a 6 rating, but it's not a hateful waste of time, just disappointing and slow.
Black Bird (2022)
Excellent miniseries.
This is an easy review to write because I don't have to explain away why I thought it was lacking or why I give it a poor review. It's an excellent miniseries that is gripping, disturbing, and powerful. The fact that the story is true is amazing and adds to the bingability of this show. The story follows the events surrounding a minimum security drug offender who gets a chance to reduce or commute his sentence if he works with the FBI to help gather confessions and evidence from a convicted child-killer who is up for appeal due to accusations of coerced confession. The story by itself is a great one, but the characters (as well as possible embellishments of what happens inside the maximum security prison) really bring this to a top notch level. Acting across the board was at least very good, all the way to excellent. Paul Walter Hauser provides an excellent+ performance as Larry Hall. His ability to create a complex and atypical character is astounding. I don't know how much he studied and emulated the personality of Larry Hall vs. How much he embellished for the sake of the show itself, but it's VERY compelling. I really didn't know Taron Egerton or Sepideh Moafi before this show, and they were both quite good. Script and music are also great. No lapses in plausibility and no unrealistic or poorly constructed dialogue. 9/10 is the lowest possible score for this miniseries.
Tár (2022)
A bit much, but well acted.
Tar is a 150 minute long story of a woman experiencing the peak of her career, who enters the unraveling that befalls said career due to past deeds. It's a long one. It's not terribly thrilling nor dramatic. But it is well acted from all ends, including Ms. Blanchett of course. I think the film probably deserves at least a 7 for the many things it does well in cinema (acting, as mentioned; music; directing; etc.) but I can't say that I enjoyed to the level of 7. That's probably more like a 5.5 to 6. Maybe it was my mood but it seemed to seep pretension too many times, and I don't think it was the intent of the director. It was a slow burn that didn't do enough to keep me engaged (I do like good slow burners), and given it's length, the storytelling seemed somewhat unbalanced. I did want t like it more but I could't be convinced to engage and enjoy it more. Some are obviously taken by it's nuances and acting, and other aspects, which I certainly cannot fault them for, but I somehow could not sink my teeth in.
BTW, if I read one more person state that this movie is for people willing to invest their attention and think, who don't need to be "spoon fed baby food", or who are "able to appreciation 'quality' cinema"... I'm going to pull (the rest of) my hair out. You don't need to be an intellectual to enjoy the movie, and you certainly don't qualify as a dolt if you don't like it much.
Smile (2022)
Sufficiently scary, good modern horror flick.
I've been a fan of classic horror (not slasher) for a looong time. I've seen enough to be skeptical of horror films until they actually deliver. Smile does. Good acting, pace, music/sound, well done jump scares, as well as concept and plot (... you know, as far as horror goes). I was on the edge of my seat for most of the film. The only downside was the final portions of the film where the creators felt compelled to give the evil a face. It felt unnecessary given that they had successfully avoided that (with good effect) up until those final scenes. Fortunately it wasn't a deal breaker. A solid horror film that will scare and delight fans of the genre. They did leave the door open at the end for sequels, but recycling this theme may not work.
The Deep House (2021)
Couldn't help myself... I liked it.
Young divers entering a strange, dark, and scary environment (depths of an isolated lake)... and then they enter a submerged old house? Sounds interesting to me, worth a try. Fortunately I thought it was worth the effort. I'm a sucker for gouly, ghosty things, and even better if they're floating right towards you. The underwater environs for a horror flick work here. I can forgive a lot if a director and their team succeed in the most important parts of a movie, and I really thought they did. Script and acting aside I thought this was scary enough to tic the "successful horror" box. My daughter, who is also a horror movie fan (excluding slasher films), did not like it so much. She couldn't get past some of the shortcomings that are noted quite a bit in other reviews here. So, if you really like ghost, paranormal, and macabre movies, The Deep House may very well have a lot of what you look for in such films.
The Invisible Man (2020)
... not bad, not great.
In this latest iteration of H. G. Wells' original concept/story, Moss does a commendable job as an abused and desperate partner of a brilliant but psychotic tech mogul, forced to the edge and fleeing his maddening control over her. What follows is a somewhat interesting and tense story of how technologically-explained "invisible-ness" can, yet again, lead to selfishness, greed, lust, and violence.
Asking a bit too much of the audience, this version of being invisible suffers from typical Hollywood pitfalls. Expendable and cliche co-characters, implausible character reactions, as well as a common recycled storyline. Some other reviewer stated it well... lazy filmmaking. It gets a 6 cuz you could probably watch it and not want your time back.
Pachinko (2022)
Exceptional series. Top notch acting.
If you like Korean dramas this one certainly won't disappoint, and it's probably one of the best out there. So far, after 4 episodes, the story moves along well at an even pace, without unnecessary distractions or side stories that add little or nothing to the big picture (It's ok to not be Ok is guilty of this and it drove me nuts). IMO an 8 or above on IMDB is typically a *great* show. My actual rating on this would be an 8.5. The story is compelling, the acting superb, and the interwoven timelines really does work well. I know the book is chronological but if you've not read the book then there's really no criticizing this approach to the series. I find I'm most drawn to the older scenes and the stark and different lives that were lead back then. The story seems more raw and real here. The only drawbacks seem to be a few implausible choices the characters make now and again, but that doesn't take away much from the overall storytelling. This series isn't for everyone, but most will like it, and successful at what it's meant/trying to be.
Suspicion (2022)
Can't keep watching
I'm currently 1.5 episodes in and I'm bored off my a$$. It's not compelling, the actors don't gel very well, the writing suks. I need to clean the bathroom so I think I'll stop watching. Translation: it's bad.
Licorice Pizza (2021)
It's a good movie. Not for everyone.
I usually find it's not necessary to describe much what a film is about when I add to my (very few) reviews here on IMDb. That's always done for me in other reviews. I also can't seem to help including opinions of other reviewers here within my own reviews. That said, as mentioned, this is a good movie. It doesn't go much further than that. As a matter of fact many may not find it good at all, depending on what you like to get out of movies. It's not serious, there's very little "action" and nobody is stereotypically beautiful. But i'm good with that, even welcome it. This is a cute romcom (but yeah it's more than that), witty, funny at times, and very period oriented. Yes, it does become a bit confusing halfway through regarding what it's really trying to be, or what it's about. But at some point after that it becomes unnecessary to continue to ask. It just is what it is. Fun cameos, individual and slightly adventurous mini stories, and unconventional ideas about movie storytelling make it interesting enough to make it all the way through and say you enjoyed it at the end. I can't fathom giving this a 10/10 or even a 9/10. The accolades that accompany such ratings within these user reviews are confusing. The movie really isn't *that* good. It doesn't really benefit from being seen on the big screen either. You're more than welcome to wait until it comes to your home screen somewhere.
The Power of the Dog (2021)
Long and drawn out with little to show for it...
...So why give it six starts instead of three? The musical score is compelling, the cinematography is excellent; and the cast do very commendable work in this film. So 6 stars. Problem is it moves rather slowly, reveals and accomplishes little, and relies on unexplained but obvious undertones within the characters to create drama that ends up not really building on itself. Repressed abuse; homophobia and homo-erotica; stoic cowboyism; "complex" characters? IDK what to think about how this movie moves and what some scenes are trying to accomplish. I did watch the whole movie and I was compelled to do so, not because I was enjoying the film or bought into the "story" or the characters, but rather I was dying to see if anything would happen. It did, but too little too late and with not a lot of compelling reason for the events to unfold as they did. Those are my vague review words for the film. Watch it, try to get more out of it than I did... perhaps you will.
Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer (2019)
A very gripping murder documentary.
An earlier reviewer mentioned this documentary would be best viewed if you know as little as possible about it before watching. I agree. I somehow missed this real life "event" as it unfolded almost a decade ago, and because of that my viewing experience was no doubt enhanced in a very dramatic way. No need to blither through the series events for you, that's been done here a lot. Suffice to say, if you like crime documentaries, and/or even fancy yourself an armchair sleuth, you're in for a helluva ride. Careful, it's brutal and raw. You may even be tempted to hate. But I doubt you'll be able to stop watching the series if you make it to the 30 minute mark of episode 1.
Arbitrary: Here's my ranking of the episodes from best to "less-than-best"
1
3
2
Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak (2020)
A documentary series that could be half as long.
First a quick review. This documentary takes on a great topic, then beats the hell out of it. The threat of a pandemic is real and seeing what is being done to help prevent it is interesting and educating. The people who work hard to help prevent widespread disease outbreaks are often motivated altruistically and use science as a main tool. You get to see a lot of this in the show, Which is good, but it tends to be redundant . You also get to see a lot of things you may not be expecting such as personal lives, descriptions of religious beliefs, extracurricular activities, etc. This may not be such a bad thing, but it is done to an extent that leaves the movie jumping between important scientific endeavor within the context of public health, and somewhat disjointed and rather uninteresting topics outside the realm of what the movie claims to be. A "6" is an honest ranking that doesn't pump it up, and doesn't push it too undeservedly low.
Next, comments on the widely varying reviews. Because this movie/series Decides to touch on topics and ideas that are outside the realm of public health and safety, many reviewers seem to feel a need to criticize it for going against, or supporting certain political, religious, or other believes. Giving this show a 1/10 or a 10/10 rating is absolutely silly. It seems that anti-vaxers can't stand it because it goes directly against their "beliefs" regardless of reality and science. People giving it a 10 seem to be doing so simply because they don't like that some people gave it a low ranking. If you like good documentaries you'll probably feel it's ok, not great. if you are in public health or science in general, you may like it even more. If you're politically sensitive or anti-vaxer, you probably won't like it.