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Little Women (2017)
Rather stunning at certain moments
The biggest weakness of this show is its rushed ending. However, while not perfect, the places where it's strongest really shine. The cast is, overall, very good. Emily Watson as Marmee is extremely convincing (and most likely the best Marmee ever put on the scree). There are certain points where she almost stole the show, she was truly impressive.
I was overall very pleased with the cast. Beth is fantastic in this series, she truly shines. Amy's a tricky one, because she does seem too old for her age, but she really does well with what she's given.
Also, I think the romantic chemistry in this series (for all three girls) is very well done. I'm very pleased with that aspect.
Overall, I thought it was very well-made and very entertaining.
The Truman Show (1998)
A Masterpiece
After rewatching The Truman Show (twice) I've come to the conclusion that the film is, indeed, a masterpiece. It's just a perfect movie.
1. The plotline is smart. Not only does the film open itself up for a lot of social commentary, but it's constantly intriguing. It leaves you a bit in the dark at the beginning, but everything gets revealed to you so well.
2. It's not pretentious. The movie knows how to be smart, not self-indulgent.
3. It's VERY well acted. Everyone is a class act in this movie. No one is average.
I really have no qualms about this movie. It's terrific.
The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019)
One of the laziest scripts I've seen for a kids film...
Seriously, it felt like I was watching a marathon of Disney shorts... you know, those cutsie, bland stories that try to be silly, but are so generic at the same time? Everything is so shallow that I can't understand for the life of me what person would feel any emotional investment while watching this. You could literally walk out of half the film, come back, and know exactly what's going on. The reason this isn't one star is the ending, which is easily the most entertaining part of the movie. What ever happened to Toy Story, or Finding Nemo? Great animated films are becoming rarer by the year.
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
The series first bad film.
I'm not sure how this film garnered such a cult following; it's certainly one of the weakest scripts written for the series. It recycles many of the same ideas that "Escape" had (long interrogation scenes, overly philosophical dialogue, etc.), but in an imaginatively bankrupt way. We get a silly scene where Caesar's owner is getting interrogated by the government about whether he or his ape said "filthy human b*st*rds"; it doesn't feel intimidating or suspenseful, rather ridiculous that the police would spend all this time on these dumb questions when they already have a device that would force him to tell the truth.
Also, as I was watching, I found that the movie would have really benefited if it had more of a soundtrack; it could have covered some of the tasteless filler and made the emotional moments stronger.
I don't understand the appeal of this film, but if you like it, by all means!
Walk the Line (2005)
Well, it's not terrible.
While the movie sustains a strong sense of energy through its lead performers and competent directing, I found myself a bit offended by how shallowly it painted many of Johnny Cash's relationships (particularly with his first wife). While Cash did many terrible things during his career, the movie tries with all of its power to portray his first wife and father as the source of his problems, never trying to help the audience understand their motives.
Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
Flawed, but worth watching
As far as low-budget sequels go, Beneath the Planet of the Apes really isn't bad. They don't try to recycle all the same ideas the original had, but actually expand upon the Ape universe. You will have to suspend your level of disbelief a little (especially at the beginning which has several dumb moments), but as the movie goes on, tension starts building and the plot gets weirder and weirder until it all (literally) explodes with a very bold ending. In the end, I think Beneath is a worthy sequel to a classic sci fi film.
Jane Eyre (2011)
Do yourself a favor
Just read the book. Please don't watch this load of crap. This movie takes a great book and turns it into a cheesy 19th century romance.
Adaptation. (2002)
Not Kaufman's best work, but still good
I am a great admirer of the work of Kaufman (Anomalisa being one of my all time favorite movies) but this movie was a bit of a disappointment. First of all, I find it to be a pretty weak character study in comparison to Kaufman's other films. Nicholas Cage's character arc feels quite generic. (Ben Stiller's "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" has the same character arc, and that was a very mediocre film). It's that idea of facing your fears and learning lessons the hard way. And the Meryl Streep character felt very unnecessarily stupid. She is so determined that no one find out her secrets that she will murder anyone that discovers, yet she has quickly and easily accessible pictures of herself on Chris Cooper's website? However, the movie has many redemptive values, including terrific performances by everyone, but especially Cage, who give a career best performance. It's amazing how much chemistry Cage has with himself as he plays these two brothers. The story is also fantastic and works all too well. So, while I have some problems with the movie, I still recommend it.
Born in China (2019)
The Film has no idea what it's talking about
As I was watching this movie, I was captivated. It was absolutely horrifying what was happening to babies and fetuses during the One Child Policy. And I thought "wow, this is actually a pretty powerful case for Anti-Abortion." (I don't want to get into politics, so I won't be attacking the film for it's stance on the topic). The documentary really takes its time showing the humanity that babies have. And, as I was watching, I also thought "In what ways are we brainwashed by our culture?" I thought the documentary was going to be some disturbing fable about how governments brainwash their citizens.
However, the film doesn't express that notion at all. It turns out that the U.S. is basically perfect and the whole movie was an ad for Pro-Choice. WHAT??!!?! What was the point of talking about the babies and all the horrible things they suffered if you really just care about the mothers? Long story short: the documentary doesn't know how to get it's point across well AT ALL.