bramstayer Reviews

Players (1979)

Meh but it tries. Love story on grass

[3/10 · 27 May 2024]

Some cameos with real players (ironically during the Borg era at Wimby hes not mentioned) But the acting thr bad camera i dont know. The story was meh. I like sports movies if tgey are fun. I can handle the clichés but this was a slog. Nice to hear the real voices of the men whi were officially the annocers of Wimbledon and the real centre court. But it had the best scene when we got close ups of gorgeous Vilas!! Him and borg at the French or SW19 are worth watching even if ghe ball is hard to see adjust your contrast!! And check those two titans out! Great hair great sportsmanship & great tennis with those shorts and wooden rackets!!

The Eternal Daughter (2022)

Tilda Swindon does double duty in slow twist sleeper( literally)

[5/10 · 26 February 2024]

This isn't at all like haunted hotel movie I wrong guessed it was. Tilda Swindon, whose so authentic in every role, plays the 2 main characters that have gone to a Boutique Hotel which is the former childhood home of the elderly mother. Its a SLOW moving pace with, at first anyway, brief awkward conversations. The daughter is a film maker who cannot sleep the entire trip, loses the dog, plans a bithday party with only 1 invitation and has her mothers habit of eavesdropping on each other's chats with folks. It was soooo slow at times I was able to really notice the lovely lace on the chair backs and the decor of the dining room, or how when daughter Tilda smiles broadly shes SO beautiful. You see little of the other staff than the terse Receptionist. The mother is a mystery to her daughter but the daughter is very unhappy as she's inadequate somehow. We DO also meet William who's worked at hotel for YEARS, and clearly knows mother. Is this too much? There's of course the reality that I DIDN'T clue in on. So it had me feeling so sad for the main ladies. I wonder if many others guessed. When the answers are revealed I didnt mind as much for the long build up. Thats one thing movie lovers ask for; a build up is fine so long as it goes somewhere. Or means something. In this film, I wasn't disappointed that it is a haunting we all face. I loved the shot of the sky through the trees at dawn, in front the long road to this fine house, thats now a hotel. This was a great looking film but its rather spare for those who don't like long SLOW walks. It WILL bore all the James Wan style fans. I was very off on the genre I thought this was!

Wimbledon (2004)

Not funny or even cute way & too boring

[2/10 · 4 July 2023]

I guess when you know the lead has to somehow WIN WIMBLEDON, even though he's ranked around 160th and is announcing his retirement from professional tennis, ( umm So : why at that point even announce.?..why not just go away..)Sorry..... So no spoilers here EXCEPT you're in for the formulated rom com/ underdog love story movie. Literally and NOT a penny or pence more. British bartenders are accidentally more funny, in 3 mins, than the whole runtime of this humourless predictable stupid boring supposed comedy! I'm serious; one character said something kinda funny at the big match but due to the unnatural silence at a Wimbledon final, another character REPEATS (whispers) it for .. MORE LAUGHS.? WOW I recognized Jamie from Game of Thrones, a minor role of pal/rival and of course the really talented Kirsten Dunst. EVEN the English male lead, Paul Bettany who I believe, has a few too many evil/ fanatical killer priest characters in his acting resumé isn'tthe problem. This SHOULD have been at least FUNNY, the brother who bets against him played by James McAvoy could have been a full character or his parents but none of them, (all good British actors) can make this lazy script do anthing but often hang like a wet fart as another joke turns into a N/A experience. Speaking of which, the filmmakers had the sport of TENNIS, a real zero sum result with 2 guys and every point a potential detour, that can have some amazing physical playing action as any real Wimbledon men's Final ( with or without an English underdog) proves. Its not like I WOULD expect that if this WAS a funny comedy, but it could have at least been a vehicle for some stunning fast nail-biting event, that great Tennis becomes at the grand slam level. Instead it made the game just MORE filler with stand-ins and quick edits of the actors just doing tv- movie style tennis w stunts, complete with every cliché. When Kirsten says Love means NOTHING, I really thought of the t-shirt I saw that on in the 1970s. Watch matches from the actual Wimbledon Championship; as it just started this week and THERE IS Andy Murray just got through round one today! This film is 20 yrs old. Its no excuse though. At least John McEnroe did a good job.

Excision (2012)

So Slithering Good,Dripping wet!.. instant light hearted gory Indie classic..

[8/10 · 24 June 2023]

If you ever saw Masters of Horror: Imprint; set in 1940s China & has LOADS of zany torturous cruelty & a rather banal attitude toward dead fetuses; you will be FINE with THIS! It's slow, has great cameos, no notable music just scenes where people SAW ME in frozen faced shock asking 'WTAF Mom!' I hope you go in cold like me. I didnt read 1 review but go the idea from YouTube list video. Great actors good use of blood. STILL the most effective tool in the body-horror arsenal of a director with a cool scene toward girls' monthy reality. Not for hemophobics or ppl not into FINE INDIE cuisine. Thumbs up for me!! Teen horror done well.

Triangle of Sadness (2022)

The world has these people all boarding a vessel in Monaco....now.

[7/10 · 10 June 2023]

I watched this knowing only that Woody Harrelson was in it. What a fun (and I have no doubt TOTALLY possible ) and accurate depiction of the Europeans this time. I'm behind having just seen White Lotus...both seasons.

I was sick on a sunny afternoon so some of the dining scenes had me laughing so hard. Good choreography!

How the world tolerates all of the rudest dumbest people just because they have money has been an boring ugly fact for centuries. BUT I STILL ENJOY this modern glance on a rented oligarchs' huge dining rooms & cabins.( where a spolied male model can get a working man fired for just speaking only to be revealed as one of the worthless tools dependent on humans that were literally invisible 2 days before) is enjoyable & yet not predictable!! Great Cast. It was funny some scenes linger like the arguments with the model couple. But totally enjoyable!

BTW Do any of you know how to do anything but be served?? LOL.. I loved Abigail.....LOL...I'm not finished but I TOTALLY RECOMMEND.this. Captain Abigail knows the world...I loved when it was serious while being hilarious...the quid pro quo.😅🤣 Looks like they had a good time making this too.

King Leopold's Ghost (2006)

A Well-made doc that is unflinching history, ofyen overlooked

[9/10 · 31 May 2023]

This is valuable material; especially if interested in the period of what was called 'the Age of Discovery.' As a kid I read the sanitized story of Imperialism but mostly the English, then American progress at the expense of Africans. The symbol of floating hands is still THERE as a stain on the legacy of Leopold. And Belgium. As heartless as the English, French, Spanish & Portuguese. The legacy still haunts the Congo & the world. Well titled: honest, horrible, still not known enough. Forget fables. Africans are writing History their honest history now. Find them. I recommend this as a primer to more documents & books. Glad its on platforms to see.

Dead of Winter (2014)

This seems Canadian, but ok, not terrible

[4/10 · 28 August 2022]

THAT'S NOT a bad thing these days but its odd not to just set it there. So obviously Canadian...anyways yeah.

The Geo Cache thing is so 2005! & not too funny. The usual types likethe older guy seems way too cool about sudden decapitations and booby traps. Thats not a spoiler its in the first 20 min lotsa dumb jokes when they should kinda strategizing what the best way outta this melting forest trek. Its boilerplate "in the forest horror" film design, just add snow avoid too many accents & call it Colorado.volume goes from 3 to 50 alot. No subtitles either!

However, stunts were a bit on the 'bloodbath' level. ( not quite torure porn like Saw- same characters tho!) Still good to nod off to on a rainy afternoon. I'm finding it harder to locate new films on my new Prime app so that is my excuse. Oh & beware a character whose going pee..bad things happen.

The Back Pages (2017– )

Thank God for brevity. This is someones project for Film class, right?

[2/10 · 31 January 2022]

Grading on a curve this is D minus, right when I have had too much, its LITERALLY over. So keep that 13 minute run time AND I'm still watching the first 4, and were too low budget to show us more than shadow puppets. I mean this is not exactly Prime content . The endings dont make any sense. Remimds me a kids tv show called Mr. Dressup, but it's missing the talent.

Gosh what a bore.

Prey (VI) (2021)

Not bad. But it branches off to well worn paths.

[6/10 · 13 January 2022]

Good actors. Great lack of crappy music. The characters are given a brief time to show us who's a big phony who's in the dark and who is not gonna be Final Guy. Some cool cliché terrors with a shooter who has lots of time on their hands. Truths are revealed. None all that original. The best of these films WAS and IS Deliverance. Go rent that for a real cool tense male bonding nightmare. Otherwise, this is another Netflix offering that let me down. 😑They need to be more brave. Or just stop REPEATING the films we've already seen with British actors. Even REAL missing persons lost in REAL hiking trips and national parks can be more tense than this was. With the right narration sure! I love German art AND films though. That's not changed. Also USE the subtitles. The dubbed version is terrible.

Mother/Android (2021)

They did NOTHING with the nothing they had.

[2/10 · 7 January 2022]

After Ex-Machina or Bladerunner 2059, this is like a bad network televsion adaptation of a draft of a storyboard. Like before most of his adapted books were feature films, Stephen King did a two part mini series for Salem's Lot. And its great for its age. Gosh I wish I had watched that instead of this.

But I LOVE the genre, and this film has NO character development, AT ALL because the two leads just found out at a party 5 minutes into the film that shes pregnant. Thats the basis of their characters. The special effect are also NOT as good as the walking dead.

Thats it and the dialogue is soo boring like a REAL boring couple, yet the end of the world didnt make them miss more than socks and the internet.

(Also they survived by sitting in a clearing of a forest inside a glowing poptent that literally looks like a beacon to anyone who may want ANYTHING.. like the ANDROIDS maybe? Bears? Common sense: ziltch Nobody eats ever except one can of tuna. Way late into the film.. yet they survived till 9th month gestation. This film never gestated. LOL sorry. I know lame..)

Then the revolt from all the adroids who got even LESS build up as, to HOW/WHY they seamlessly integrate into the lives of these spoiled college aged kids & then BOOM. Its the 7th season era walking dead with not enough zombie, but not yet where the people are worse.

That comes later via bureaucracy...LOL.. yes boring is a word for this film. There's more TELL than SHOW in this film about the real story. A film cant be this bad without great characters played by actors with great dialogue ahhhhh you know what. This IS slog with a forgettable ending. I'd really skip this. NETFLIX NEEDS TO STOP WITH THESE FILLER FILMS.

The Wasteland (2021)

Beautifully filmed and acted, great date movie!

[7/10 · 6 January 2022]

So I hope this review makes it. I tried 2 other times to review films including this one but if I hit the back button my review was disappeared so I will be kinda brief. A movie like this, that is beautifully photographed, acted, scored, & everything and will be memorable for THOSE things because the story is thin and at this point been done ALOT. Are people who isolate themselves crazy or is the beast real? It doesnt matter really when a mum dad and 1 kid live on an ocean view property with a lot of rabbits & not enough ammo & after some scary interactions, poof..dads GONE on a ride to somewhere...? There's enough shown to convince us either way; if this is all cabin fever or good old fashioned Spanish folklore passed down through the ages since the inquisition. Or its also all REAL. Its a PERFECT DATE MOVIE cuz you can watch it & still carry on a conversion albeit quietly at the beginning if at a cinema, what where those things again?? Anyways its great Netfilix gives me endless subtitle films from all over.. the mother character goes through a real transformation so her son has an excuse to be really convinced & confused by the beast be it man or myth. AND Well done on the spooky without TOO much gore or jumps. Its good it has JUST enough. Kids though eh? They REALLY carry on when they want their mama. I wanted to punch this kid for alot of the film. But Diego has to go through this I mean the kid has a great mic drop as his answer to the evil. Its get BIG at the end. Luckily theres lots of talent at work here. I think the last 20 minutes including the outdoor night imagery is so gorgeous and the ending is not hollywood. Another PLUS. Its takes a village folks, a family alone on some desolate island is just primer for mental health issues at the least. But thats what THEY WANT you to think!! A solid 7 from me.

Synchronic (2019)

Anthony Mackie is in EVERYTHING these days. I enjoyed this more than expected

[7/10 · 14 May 2021]

I like "time is a lie" type films..this is such a film.

I thought the drug angle while necessary, gave it a weird dingy kind of scarier beginning; so it improved with every minute after the first 15. I love sci-fi and I think this a tight great date movie. It had good actors making the most out of their kinda tepid dialogue which helped alot. This isn't a huge CGI contender though I loved never knowing when our hero would end up. The effects were of a good quality like the dialogue not too much- just right.

In all, a good film that used it premise well and a good 140 minutes watch. They COULD have made a slower, more detailed time travel thing or more on the daughter's storyline, but I was grateful they didn't. It would have been familiar ground anyway.

I JUST saw Mackie in the Woman in the Window. A small role but man, he's everywhere. That's a good thing! I like him; he and Jamie were a great team.

Law & Order: Four Cops Shot (2010) Season 20, Episode 17

GREAT Episode lots packed in keeps it very interesting. BEST AT WHAT THEY DO...

[9/10 · 12 May 2021]

I would love to know who played Hightop the dealer/ friend of the accused cop killer. Mostly though this is a great use of VIRTUALLY every actor in the show. The outraged captain even has the nerve to suggest that the Lieutenant has gone soft with her health issues. (excusssse you sir!!) Mostly it shows how overzealous cops can use criminals to their advantage yet remain respectable victims despite the facts that come out. Even Lupo acts with mob mentality. The scene with all the cops in the shop after they pick up the wrong guy at first was actually done better in another Law & Order when the guy (accused copkiller) is perpwalked INTO THE STATION while police officers flank both sides of the walkway in a silent yet menancing sombre stance. Maybe Criminal Intent. ( I miss that one too but I get the actors need to move on...) hahaha & cant wait to start the new Law& Order: Organised Crime, in which Meloni is reprising his much missed character of Stabler. Its been YEARS since the flagship L&O left our tv screens except in lucky to find reruns in syndication, but I'm gonna still hope that a retired DA JACK McCoy can make a FEW cameos. And I WILL be outraged if we don't see the longest serving actor from the original L&O ( S. EPATHA MERKERSON) I had to memorize her name as its difficult, reprise her character as she could be chief of Ds by now!

If we dont its because she said no. She's an actor whose character left a real imprint on me. She is, BEFORE SVU surpassed their date, the longest oldest lasting character and it would be cool if she made just one appearance to solidify that! Come on Dick Wolf you owe her!!! LOL I love this show. Its so long you can watch it to the last season 20yrs worth, then forget the first season's endings. I loved Ben Stone too. But they REALLY did well getting Sam Waterston and the many lovely ladies as his assistants who were GREAT actors who happened to be beautiful. I miss this show. I don't watch the rapey one, as it got SO soapy with Olivias character and she was becoming totally unrealstic.

Also too graphic. And though I love Who songs like the best of them, CSI was also too gross and far fetched. I liked the police story.... then the court story. So on that note, this episode was edited so well EVERYONE gets good lines and are imperative to the telling of the story. Plus SO MANY GREAT actors guest star I hadn't seen Debra Winger in years. There she was a few episodes back. I hope the new one will last. And give us those lovely reunions we all pray for. PS ANYONE know who played Hightop?.in this? Its NOT in the cast listings and he looks like my old neighbour a pot head with the hair exactly!

Dark Tourist (2012)

Scary & Tense. Very violent; the Name is an Anagram. .

[6/10 · 19 February 2021]

I recognized some elements of the characters obsession, a killer who burned dozens of churches and murdered scores more, but it was another Carl, and in 1930 they executed him. The Carl WOULD make a hell of a movie ALMOST beyond belief. The last name is an anagram. But ABOUT the film....

So I realized he doesn't really have red hair but I still really love the lead actor. Liked him on TWD.

Its a very dark movie indeed. He can pkay a good guy or a real prick, or just a good guy with a bad mind or soul or whatever. He is a 2nd generation grief tourist. But he is also just an act away of becoming like the men he obsesses over. Or maybe he relates because he is just like what he's hunting.

This is raw and sweaty and naked, NOT for the folks who want a haunting ghost story.

It's somewhat bloody but the violence gets seriously sexualized as it gets deeper and more out of control, like the characters mind. A character obsessed with serial killers. Like everyone else but you know hes just MORE into it than usual. Hummmm... This is also not really fiction as the murder industry is lucrative.

It began with an ever growing sense of dread. Effective. Scary. Hes so mean to a woman who is so kind. THAT was hard for me to watch. The rest got progressively more cruel. I assumed correctly he wasn't just a pedestrian. A meat and bones film. Was not too long which I appreciate!

Did its job. I love Michael as a red head though.

Great date movie...😉 Off to the void!

Babyteeth (2019)

Hard subject handled with shaky hands

[7/10 · 10 January 2021]

I didn't hate this movie even though cancer teen dramas are totally NOT my thing, so impressed am I by the 3 actors whose work I know, I STILL watched tho with low expectations.

Lets say who first the 3: parents mum from the BABADOOK Dad the cop from the Outsider & of COURSE, Eliza who, was SO brilliant & a star in Sharp Objects. So good was she, I kept an eye out for new works. And found her in The Devil All the Time & this.

Okay the film is loose, has a dream- almost-ethereal feel at times, but the parents tend to come off as TOO desperate as a couple: LET ALONE as the parents of child with cancer. The homeless/drug addicted boyfriend needed more levels to his personality to make it believable that her folks, indeed desperate to do ALMOST anything) would go from total disgust to begging him to stay using the Dr. Dad's prescription pad. Toby Wallace was seamless though, his tears when she makes a request to him almost got me to spill a few, (& thankfully the film moved on to another emotional experience) . It had a good pacing at times. Not all through.

I don't wanna harp on it but they seemed to be allowing something MOST REAL parents would NOT, just so she would not run away. This film WILL be appreciated by some people I am sure. The music, acting & cinematography were on point. Australia has great birds just everywhere (not mention beaches & weather that allows shorts year round!) The filmakers didn't waste the natural gifts of the locations & setting.

I'm glad I saw it. I probably won't want to see it again. I bet most people who have real kids with real cancer will be perhaps the best reviewers. But then they may not want to see it at all.

Pieces of a Woman (2020)

GLAD I DIDNT KNOW WHAT FILM WAS ABOUT AT ALL WHAT A SURPRISE,:

[8/10 · 9 January 2021]

I didn't want to know what this was about so I was gripped in first 30 minutes as it was filmed with great angles and what felt like seamless photography. I also felt it had realism to it without being too graphic. The story is indeed a sad one, but stayed above the hankie degree and depicted the real discomfort of the thing humans are worst at. That is dealing with other peoples tragedies, AND dealing with those people when the tragedies are ours. We just all either sink under our turtlenecks or worse, some sound like they just swallowed a self help book on grieving. Add a court drama to round out the whole affair and it COULD HAVE been overdone, (& like oscarbait scenes in some places reminded me this IS an actor's movie) as it goes through the incremental timeline we see pain, crazy ,healing & abandonment, as well as new focus for the family, with Burnstyn's feisty Survivor matriarch becoming more fragile. So the the court was the bookend for the film's dramatic opening. They didn't take too long or speak too low like some dramas do. The dialogue was great for some characters; it felt Siobhan from Succession literally didn't change clothes from her HBO character! LOL she even sounded AND acted like Shiv!! 😉 In the end most everyone survives the death of a baby, as in life but they aren't the people they were. I recommend this on rainy Sunday afternoon after papers & tea, without reading too many reviews. I am glad I didn't even read or watch the trailer. Netflix did it again. I have had a bad run run of starting some of their series' and almost gave up. Their films are better. Maybe theres just too much of it. But movies with this quality made me stay around after the price hike. We are totally in lockdown like the 1st one in 2020. We need more good movies.

War of the Worlds (2019– )

Someone is Blackmailing the entire cast and crew.

[1/10 · 23 December 2020]

Even the worst netflix foreign mishmash of some family / political story would have more action more dialogue more tension more purpose, more story more visuals more everything in the most basic sense. Theres no way they had a wardrobe person. Those look like clothes other actors wear between shoots in other productions...The police jackets looked borrowed. Its all SOOOO TERRIBLE. I won't complain about confusion because that would utilize my imagination. Is this some anti Brexit joke? Wow its so bad I mean worse than bad. It could be a 1970s Canadian horror that's funny but not on purpose, however its not that FUN! I cannot beleive ppl watched the footage after a day of filming and went "awesome! Great that's just the ambivalence and dead delivery I wanted for an alien world domination showdown....wait for it......television series".....with NO special effects or SOUND effects beyond what a DJ does ....AND in Brussels or wherever!?! You CANNOT be SERIOUS. Its actually bad for everyone involved to even run this mess.

Is every actor owing money to some devious obsessed fan who has videos of them on the toilet with camera facing up from the bowl?? Cuz thats the ONLY answer good enough to explain GABRIEL BYRNE et al for doing this project!!

Waste of time,money, everything. IT COULD BE A TAX RIGHT OFF...otherwis..? An insult to the title, but I'm done on episode 4 where.. I made to the point where the blind girl sees off and on. I wanted to be her. LUCKY blind HER. You've been warned!

Law & Order: Life Line (2005) Season 16, Episode 5

Law & Order still can make you love courtrooms. I miss it.

[9/10 · 22 December 2020]

I really HOPE someone will take the time to review, somewhat briefly each episode. I hope it doesn't turn out to be me. That would be a challenge. For example this episode featuring William Sadler. Great character actor! They lines up to be on the filmed on location in NYC NBC watershed series. People brought their A game. This one has an ominous ending. This one also has a few corners as I call them. (Or mulligans LOL per A Hitch.. ) sometimes they work REALLY well. Some have TOO many extra corners & the feeling that someone else finished a showrunners work in mid recording. But mostly the work was stellar. It was about the CASE. Nothing else. NOT the affairs of the lawyers. I will for sure review my favourite episodes as they won't be available for much longer on my basic cable channel. I was lucky to find it.

With the new Peacock streaming services ppl may have to get some cheap bundles of streaming because.... It will be TOO much tv for ANY family. And too expensive for tv you may never watch. I'm sure the TV guys are just like the music exectives whose wet dream was to make consumers pay for EVERY play. I hope they end up in the afterbith left behind by this industry's disruptors. First Netlfix now everyone. Still THIS show has a quality and veracity ( by tv standards) owed to great actors who anchor the show. From the ADA, his boss the Lieutenant ( awesome actress AND longest serving in the original L& O ) to the ever changing cops who always made the miranda reading seem fresh. Lenny was so well cast. I hope a new generation enjoy the show. It was before all of the semen-DNA-drenched episodic procedural series' with endless female victims became indistinguishable. It stands up. SVU has Mariska to thank for its loyal fans. It was however based on this lamdmark show & thanks to it's many distinctions. Not the least of which every Sopranos actor featured as a lawyer, suspect, even Jr, as a judge! I'm watching this AFTER seeing the last episode in 2010....its still compelling and i forget them all which makes it all the more fun. I just hope everyone will have a chance to see them today. This was the best show on tv before television got its proper budgets and talent to compete with movies ppl couldn't afford to see. Or now just don't want to see Marvel or CD COMIC films..or computer animation. I hope they return to the first season. That would be fun.

I once read when a writer compared LA Law to Law & Order that the issue was L&O took itself to seriously. That was the whole point. It WASN'T a soap about lawyers and their lives and families. It was about American Justice. And the DA didnt ALWAYS win when they shoud have. I miss it.

Becoming (I) (2020)

Awkwardly tense then kinda weird. Sunday rain afternoon film.

[3/10 · 30 October 2020]

I like the English male actor from other films. Its not terrible. Definitely a low budget suspense movie. Not really memorable, perhaps theres too many of these out at once. It starts out really quite well..the actors save it from being bad. Strange things happen to this changing guy. Has the same sort of idea as the Outsider from HBO but way less character development as in none.. Better than alot of creature horrors out there. This is not that.

Law & Order: Blaze (2003) Season 14, Episode 5

Lenny rocks in this one

[8/10 · 10 October 2020]

A good bendy episode thats inspired by the Great White tragedy. Where 100 + died. Much worse. So was Larry king when he asked one guy who was severely burned what it was like to be in a coma.!, the cable news in early 21st century was just getting terrible, compared to now. I recall this it was so sad. The real one. LAW& ORDER was always ripped from the headlines. FYI The mom in this is now Gerry on Succession! Love her!

Ratched (2020)

WHY not use these characters for AHS....? No shadow of OFOTCN

[4/10 · 19 September 2020]

First moan......The HOSPITAL looks like the Chateau Laurier lounges with brighter colours & endless chandeliers. Than some diamomd status hotels...... In a MENTAL institution paid for mostly by the state in post war USA?..??? Say what? LOL 🙄 Ok FINE set decorations & costumes too grand for the locals & persons represented notwithstanding; its a waste of great actors AND a legendary character. This makes Castle Rock's origin story of Annie Wilkes seem inspired. I liked THAT because I knew what I was in for it was season 2 after all. I hate to join the chorus of "style over substance" but this isn't my first Ryan Murphy rodeo. I am a genuine FAN of pretty much all his FX projects. AHS VERSACE, OJ & especially Feud was perfectly cast AND beautifully shot AND paced. But the Netflix work seems phoned in & in the case of The Politician; rushed camp cynical and yet still childishly optimistic on the bigger picture AND characters ,especially well everyone (not Paltrow or the man guy) spoke with disaffected speedy monotones. I got through that thanks to the great actors & enjoyed the pace once i realised this is the shows 'flavour'. I finished but never did I think about a season 3. You know? it was more than done.... This is a bit of that with AHS side stuff AND gore. It would have been a cool AHS season. But the settings have been done, they had an asylum ( that WAS realistic tho probably nicer than reality) and HOTEL was a weirldy dark yet once-opulent pile of rocks full of ghosts...so they just did that here sans fantômes but used Rachet as clickbait for streaming apps. I wont give up on Ryan/Brad.* I was sad when i heard Sarah & Evan werent gonna be in the 1984AHS but NOW I see it was refreshing to not have them both playing multiple roles in the same season. (That confused me with Bubbles/ grandma...) I digress. I'm predicting the ending now (ep7,) that a big fish is out of the water..still no way this world connects at all to the character of Nurse Rached in the amazing still brilliant film. Its like Kanye sampling Beatles music but not knowing who Paul is/ was...to music. I hope they* go camping not glamping for inspiration..BTW.the music like AHS ripped from Hitchcock films was also overused & at times annoying. Well onto the next....its gonna been Halloween and if they DON'T use PANDEMIC as the theme THIS year it was likely due to timing & lockdowns. The real horror story for America is a political one. May not be ending anytime soon.

The Avengers (2012)

Comics are all formulaic, the films could be more

[5/10 · 8 August 2020]

I can't say the kids I watched it with even liked it. I was often bored, felt the formula was the same as another film I found kinda silly. ( but it turns out they copied this one hahaha ) its forgotten by tomorrow I bet...this happens now woth Tom Cruise movies for the same reason. The costumes & names change the women have different hair or accents but its so forgettable. At least it should be fun. Theyre from comics so I get they have a formula that works and redo it. I did prefer the scenes with Thor and is now errant half-brother. Otherwise, the kids were often bored. Maybe theres a age where this is perfect. Its probably not mine nor the 10 and 11 yrs olds. (Maybe its because they mostly read classic and new sci-fi fiction books.) This where all the money goes for entertainment. Rides, parks, comics, cruises, streaming content... and these films all run by the SAME top people. How can we expect anything artistic in these films? STILL to those who actually MADE the magical appear on screen, I salute the CGI animators, the costume (LOL) makeup wigs and cool set dec. They are the artists. I bet the storyboards are awesome. I think those who love Superman and Spider-Man WILL love this. Its not for everyone.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

Best film ive seen all year

[9/10 · 25 July 2020]

A austere cool pallet, perfect for passionate dialogue, stiff realistic costumes, and gorgeous French actors. Sold! That sea arch is a setting indeed. This is more than just pretty things. Its tender. Surprised by the musical moments when they occur, as this is a visual delight; a film about artists and the use of art to capture moments, the very soul of a person (who wishes to be captured.) Sadly like many great 18th century love story films, its characters cant get everything they want as they are all women; each burdened by their position in society. It blooms nicely and has steady performances. A great film to recommend. Nothing complex just love, passion and the cruel brunt of reality to make a tale worth telling. I will watch this director's works and no doubt will see the main actors in many films to come. Its still delicious to see them get what they desire if only briefly and create a memory to recall with joy in their controlled worlds.

Only (2019)

Lead actress ruins the premise for vanity

[2/10 · 14 July 2020]

Great possible premise, but they blew it. Its been done better by better and this was a waste of time. Predictably dull. I hated the female lead but she didnt write it. She does nothing but childlike mistakes while the main man does so much to secure her. Its simple things that others mentioned that show how little things add up to a big heave of....who cares. Better luck next time. There's a word for the hatred of men..it's...man-hating! And I'm a girl! Misandry! THAT'S IT! There's ONLY 1 good guy and even he's totally abused for keeping them alive. It helps to notice that first blood test because 70% of the film is flashback stuff..maybe only by days but still. Ive seen worse AND it was like this. Walking Dead's Chandler Riggs was MY personal highlight. Oh & shows the logo for Tribeca film festival but not ut winning anything. Like me having some Facebbok page showing logos for Miss Universe.... I hate picking on independent films but I guess it had great locations & visuals. It didnt really need to make alot of panicked hoarding citizens slowly going fera scenesl, which is likely why they didnt to even show it.

The Girl Next Door (2007)

Torture porn for those who love domestic violence in period pieces

[3/10 · 21 April 2020]

I wont say DON'T watch this but this is hard to watch so be warned. It DIDNT teach me ANYTHING I dont know already but perhaps some one out there doesnt know that sicko metal families have been hiding in plain sight while they string up their unwanted kids. Its not a date movie. But its possible it could start some conversations someone out there needs to have. The family in Cali who chained up 17 kids some of them adults for years while they starved to death is still worse than any movie. I hope that doesn't become a film. Perhaps these fiction one will suffice. Reality is always more disgustingly worse. It was effective as a horror film.