Change Your Image
johnsokw
Reviews
The Regime (2024)
Episode 4 cracked me up
Everyone is so good in this. I see why some stars are stars. My one complaint is same complaint with many of today's super series:
The writers often rely too often on F expletives (which I myself use often) when they could try harder for really clever, unique, masterpiece worthy lines. I mean any old nobody can say, F off. Once is okay but 20X a show is lazy quick filler. Again true of Succession and others.
While I visited Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and...East Berlin on short trips during Gorbachev years, I didn't experience the gangster gov't abuse as citizens did. I trust that the writers are careful to make the show relevant to viewers much younger than I am because few care about the oppression of folks 40 years ago. Just curious whether the writers will take bizarre and cruel stories about today's cruel/ bizzare regimes. I guess it has to remain funny and nervously light-hearted. That's harder to do if an episode is based on today's Cuba or Nicaragua or Venezuela. Too close. Ok maybe I have enough characters now.
Wednesday (2022)
Give it a try and see.
My review really is for anyone who has not seen it yet. Though I doubt people come to IMDB first. But whatever.. You don't need me to tell you if you're enjoying a series or hating it. I enjoyed having it on and followed it mostly. I watched it ,but sometimes did something else when it got less than, then I rewound/went back. It seemed clear it was for teens and parents who aren't going to judge it as Pauline Kael or Francois Truffaut would. I've never seen Sabrina or the other shows some say it's a copy of so it seemed newish to me. I got the same fun feeling I got from the Buffy Vampire Series. Predictable but who cares? Gothic and done before but who cares? I loved seeing Gwendolyn Christie I wasn't expecting Mad Men or The Crown level script so I had a great time. I was not expecting to be transported by a cinematic/television masterpiece.
Bambi II (2006)
If you love Bambi you might really like this.
I really love Bambi 1942. I saw this on Disney + and just figured "Why not?" I assumed I would be horrified after 60 seconds and move on. Nope. The animation was obviously more Lion King technique than that of the Nine Old men bit it's still the Bambi I loved. The backgrounds are not as museum worthy as Ty wong's landscapes, but they're still lovely. The voices are what I am so happy with. Modern movies use such forgettable, annoying voices. These were charming and pretty close to the originals. Flower is every bit as adorable as he was in '42. My big complaint and I admit i am probably alone is I hated the songs .. I didn't let it affect my star rating because I admit I hate a lot of modern pop creations. They're the easily composed pablum that take 5 minutes to create. Forgotten even faster. Not everyone loves "I Bring you a Song" from original though I think it's a swell mysterious waltz.
After the Thin Man (1936)
Cracks me up every time
I get a lot more out of films in general when subtitles are on, especially The Thin Man series. The dialogue is so fast and often refers to men I haven't yet learned the faces of. So charming and hilarious. I can't judge it by the standards of crime solving mysteries. Of those I am not a connoisseur, but for snap, sparkle and wit and gorgeous gowns , they're hard to beat.
It's rather fun enjoying a murder /crime drama without the tension.
I use old films to gauge how English has changed too. Thin Man shows offer clues. The sus PECT noun. Rather than SUSpect like we say today. BAcardi rather than BuhKARdee. WE also learn that cute words and slang we think of modern are actually quite old.
Well, those details are just bonuses. I just wish there were more.
The Swan (1956)
exquisite
I wish the job of music composition had been given to a real top notch composer. It was okay and sufficiently sweet, but I would have loved to hear what Dimitri Tiomkin could have done.
It feels as if it ought to be an opera with a final trio as in Der Rosenkavalier. I guess that's why I loved the regal bearing and careful acting. Estelle Winwood is hilarious. The cast is great. I love how it plays like a play. I miss that very much. Love camera shots with actors all in the shot. Gives the director some great opportunities. I hate movies that feel the need to have a new scene after 3 lines. I gave it 10 stars but I am not a fan of the title. I guess it was Ferenc Molnar's title.
One reviewer called it too talky. Hmm dunno what to say to that. A moderator will delete my entry. I mean. Many of us can follow a story or read a book longer than a kiddie book.
Dead Ringer (1963)
I've been starving for an old b & w. This hit the spot.
One cool thing about the 60s cinema. Half the movies are in color and offer a glimpse of what's coming in the 70s, and the other half are lower budget b/w talk-centered pictures that still feel classic 40s.
This is not a film to analyze for plausibility, though I believe the script manages to make us believe this could happen. No complaints. I love that in what some might call slow scenes of Bette Davis walking or standing around her room, I was never bored. Her face performs even when there's no dialogue or action.
Andre Previn's score doesn't make me want to buy the soundtrack but it sounds right for this movie: basic and cheap movie-ish enough that it fits well. It's as if the cast, crew and creators all agreed to make a terrific, well done, entertaining reasonably priced improbable crime drama. I wish such harmony and unity of purpose existed today.
Haunted Mansion (2023)
Bathos Mansion. Add Warning about negative depictions of certain groups.
I think whoever was given the task of making a movie out of the attraction had a huge challenge. Last summer when so many trashed it, I thought why not Incorporate the abandoned sea captain idea with the water effect imagineers had in mind back in early 60s. Not sure it's effective or a distraction. My big complaint: There are so many experienced proven writing and directing teams. Why entrust such a investment to a Not-quite-there-yet director/writer? The movie and script felt like a project of a 22 year old film student who had older experienced professionals occasionally checking in now and then to offer advice that gets ignored. The team could look up a dozen Youtube How to write clips and see how many Don'ts they actually Did. So many times in crucial tense spots, someone makes a dumb joke.!!!! The topical humor and current slang is so unprofessional. Mentioning CVS, Amazon isn't humor. And obviously this cast is about inclusion or rather replacement, I suppose, so why beat up on B and Bs and tourists. Laying on the stereotype of white tourists in funny garb is what Disney is apologizing for at the beginning of many old Disney movies so why repeat past mistakes of making negative depictions?
Klute (1971)
I chose 10/10 even though
Saw it 2023 summer.( First time in 1980, but I remember nothing).
This movie has style. God I miss good movies and good, simple movie making. Not afraid NOT to have music in every scene.
These days I almost never sit through an entire movie. I usually watch over 2 days or sometimes 3 AND with subtitles. I sat in my chair the entire time, NO subtitles. I honestly don't care about any of the thriller content, and would have been delighted if Tom Gruneman's disappearance had simply been a reason to bring John K and Bree together then dismissed. In fact I almost subtracted one star because. Of the Peter Gable content. I really didn't care. I don't need be on the edge of my seat. I wanted something far more sophisticated than a schlocky typical crime thriller yawn. The movie was far stronger and more memorable for the Bree /Klute content.
The Sword in the Stone (1963)
Tries to be more than children's flick... but
It's is a marvelous feeling when one re-watches a show or movie you saw a kid and discover a whole other level of dialogue, meaning, interest. Disney films made under Walt Disney's watch tend to balance the parts interesting to grown-ups with those only 10 and younger would like. Except for this one. I love animated animals. Bambi's my fav Disney film for art. I even love the animals in Snow White. I feel the animators gave them gags and other roles other than just crashing into things, narrowly escaping snapping mauls.
Just as I am getting into Sword in the Stone, the story slows for these extended animal scenes. Maybe Walt knew little kids really didn't follow dialogue. The fish scene in the castle moat is the same "escape from predator" scene from all sorts of movies. Frankly I'm tired of it. Narrow escapes, predator either crashes into a rock or bites down on the wrong thing like the skinny wolf at the beginning. I have no idea if Walt was changing his attitudes to humor, but the 1937-1940s were wittier. Save a bunch of Merlin's anachronisms, there wasn't much to intrigue maturer viewers.
Then there's the gap when it seems they forgot this was a movie about the future king. I feel Walt wasted his animators time and talents by choosing to do a King Arthur movie if he had no interest in handling the legends as we know them. It's as if he just needed an excuse to have more talking animals running about. Btw that is also why I was disappointed in The Princess and the Frog. I couldn't believe so much of that flick was her as a frog not even a person.
American Auto (2021)
Only watched a few minutes
As the title said. Only a review of 3-4 minutes then I fast forwarded a bit. The first seasons of hit series were not as unfunny as what I saw here. How on earth did those facile, dumb jabs and bits get past the first reading? Surely it should have been punched up through subsequent script prep phases. I think it needs an authority with impeccable taste like Mike Shur or Greg what's his name to nix and filter out the weak lines. I don't get it.. Why would n't you use your best humor, your best bits for the first episode? Honestly they should change the concept to a group of comedy writers who through favors performed, connections and demographic box checking end up crating a tired sit com. Switch from Dearborn, Michigan to Culver City. This has been done before. Hollywood knows best how to parody itself. Dick Van Dyke and MTmoore show, lots of other show biz , media series do well because they're writing about a world they understand. Who on earth in this multi racial 30 something group knows the car industry? They look like project managers for any department but the one that deals with mechanics, motors and foreign markets.
Arnold (1973)
Arnold ought to be redone
So often we gripe when perfectly fine movies are re-done. Arnold is an example of a flawed movie that NEEDS to be redone. Probably on a streaming channel. Not the big screen.
The story is a nice simple idea but needs much better writing, better jokes. I like its simple easy practical effects, the actors and actresses are okay. I like a movie filmed mostly in one house.
I looked up the credits of its writers and of course nothing to brag about too loudly.
I also am really put off by the bar scenes involving John McGyver ogling the busty barmaid. By itself the dirty old man going after busty lady just isn't funny. Without added goofiness or clever lines, it so bores me. I laugh at well written offensive jokes and stunts but these were infuriatingly idiotic. Or I assume they were, I fast forwarded through much of it.
The Birds (1963)
Great good movie
Film and lit experts say all the pages need to support the story. Well I realize how artificial that rule can make films if strictly followed. In real life, there are unrelated elements happening all around our main dramas. I find the awkward moments between Annie and Melanie to be interesting. I almost wish there were another film just about the adults with no birds no horror. As is, the adult drama as interesting as it promises to be seems to end up just "vamping" to use a piano performaning term before the birds come out to entertain. Here are some dumb ways to blend the two: If Melanie and Annie had disagreement over Mitch and Mel had to leave and got attacked. Or Mitch dashes out earlier to see how Annie is. Idk. Why spend all that time filming them discussing Mitch only to drop it. Make it all about bird attacks.
That '90s Show (2023)
My Scorn is for the team who made the decisions
How is it that some creators can cast teens you instantly click with? All the kids and their buds in the Middle are perfect. The kids in Modern Family and their friends are perfect. I am not biased against young new actors. Eddie, Wally, Gilbert, Larry Mondello, Judy and the Beaver were great. Loved the kids in Fresh off the Boat too. Even the kids in Stranger Things.
The new teens or whatever in That 90s show seem straight out of a new 2023 Mickey Mouse Show. All grins and cute faces, ebullient and eager and nope. I cringe when they have lines. Clearly the Turners were told by Netflix to cast kids who would appeal to 14 year olds. This is not targeted at the people who watched That 70s show. It's going to be so tamed and caring.
Perhaps they can redo the young cast before it loses audience and use the casting directors who worked for Modern Family and the Middle.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
Depends on why you're watching it.
I like good musicals with actors who belong in musicals. Usually that means strong singers or strong doubling. Gene Kelly for example had no strong voice, but his dancing made up for it and he was given songs that didn't require belting it out. Is he tone deaf? Seriouisly I'm not joking. It's like that movie Meryl Streep did about the lady who thought she could sing. I cannot imagine that the soundtrack sold well at all if one was even made. Their technique should have been more like the sprechgesang of Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady. But why was Tim Burton so set on Johnny Depp? Everyone has a few stupid moments in life. At least hire someone to dubb in a stronger singing voice. The style of their acting in the end was dictated by their feeble singing voices. So it was all blase, gothic, bored high schooler voices. Also why make it so violent that people who love Sweeney Todd wouldn't even be able to watch it? What a jerk.
Big Business (1988)
Just ordered a copy for my sister
I saw it when it came out and laughed my A-- off. I know not everyone will like it. I noticed my dad and brother hated pushy, strong willed comediennes. If F Troop or McHale's navy or Home Improvement is your cup of tea, this might be a bore.
I have to say, years later after suffering in a class for 17th French drama in French, I was impressed that Big Business worked mostly according to time and space rules for theater that the Greeks established. What comedies or films can say they do that? The main story takes place in about a day and in one location. The quick clips other than in the hotel barely count as scenes involving dialogue. I recently tried to watch parts of What's Up, Doc? From '72 Ugh. Nope. Couldn't do it. Same for High Anxiety. Big Business is as watchable and entertaining now as watching Wizard of Oz or National Velvet. Shoulder silhouettes changed since 1988 and unlike STeve Winwood's tune, pop music no longer has melody or key signaturesf, time signatures or pleasant sound, but this movie stays fresh.
Bridgerton (2020)
I can only review Title because that's all I saw.
Bridgerton had better not be a real place because I want to say it sounds made up. Netflix's period shows all look like junk just based on the hair and make up of the actresses. I know the scripts will be some form of Young and the Restless pablum. Whom are these shows for? Certainly not the folks who watched British series imported for Masterpiece theater with Alistair Cook (not the watered down, dumbed down version today on Sunday nights. I guess they're for teens? I miss period shows for smarter audiences. PHones and TVs and cars got smarter. Period series though. Go watch some series from the 70s or 80s. Probably sentences and scenes are too long.
A mil kilómetros de la Navidad (2021)
Glad a friend recommended it
I watched the dubbed version so I could read Spanish subtitles to practice Spanish. I thought the dubbing was way better than the job done for the last dubbed movie I saw. A Christmas movie must accomplish a whole different list of tasks than other comedies, and it performs. (Some may fault it for not having a signature Xmas tune. ) My only complaint: once again a perfectly fine family movie can't be distributed as widely as it deserves because of a few totally unnecessary expletives. Why the heck must this movie have the F word. Even s*&t is unnecessary. Netflix ought to fix this for next season when I hope it returns. The F word alone means I would never show it to my mom.
Phyllis (1975)
Worth watching even with flaws
The show has enough great lines and comebacks to satisfy one's appetite if MTM and Bob Newhart are up your alley. This show is not for people who love Tim Allen's shows or How I Met your MOther. Then again what do I know? I wish they had realized it needed fixing sooner and steered it in a different direction.
I'll never understand why they stuck her in San Francisco only to recreate a domestic / office comedy? Why not put her up against all the wacky groups there? Back in Minn, she was interested in a shallow way in the latest thing/fad as long as she could stay stylish and superior. Also I still don't get why the creators think having others pick on her is funny. Phyllis is way better and cooler than the eternally drowzy talking Jonathan or the ditzy Audrey. They have no room to talk.
Last. I wonder if others like me are always ill-at -ease both because of the cluttered set and her unwelcome status in the house. Uncomfortable all around. AT the office, at home. I wish they'd planted her on firm ground.
The White Lotus: Arrivals (2021)
So nice. Not tumultuous and that's good.
I know nothing of Michael White but I'd guess he's British. The filming and scenes have that high quality that one just doesn't get from Americans except on HBO or premium channels. Each episode also isn't filled with stupid, improbable thrills and spills. Chases. I love that there's no trendy awful pop soundtrack. You know the music people blare while washing their car. Some say it's boring because it doesn't work like Marvel Cinematic Universe. Me I think Marvel hero movies are boring.
Decked Out: The Clock Deck (2013)
Huh? Who wants a giant clock for a party space?
My sister and I cracked ourselves up about the effect a clock has on folks lounging around or partying. I hope it ticks really loud. The clock is the big buzz kill in Cinderella after all. I want to research who sponsored this series since so many materials keep re-apprearing from episode to episode. Decisions appear based on how to incorporate certain products not on sound design principles.
The Woman in the Window (2021)
Mixed Feelings
I sort of wish it had been a period movie set before every mental illness term was familiar. It would also be more plausible how details from the past lives were so easy to conceal even with the fact that today's internet (at least mine) always steers away from what you're looking for to paid entries. I think I am more forgiving of implausible turns when it comes to the old thrillers than I am for pictures made in recent decades. We enjoy Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte, Hitchcock's pix and Wait Until Dark, Lady in a Cage, Snake Pit and other hysterical women victims even though we could shred them for the same things we despise about Woman in the Window. If we could remove the color and replace Amy Adams face with a young Olivia de Havilland's we'd probably respect it more.
Hazel (1961)
Domestic fantasy?
I love Hazel for what it is. I don't want to return to those days of live-in domestic help (Brady Bunch, Jeffersons, Maude); I don't demand a proletariat uprising as some critics want. It has enough episodes condemning snobbery to prove it's not stuck in antiquity. Moreover, anyone today who thinks attitudes to manual labor have changed a lot is fooling him/herself.
So love it for what it is and isn't. NO snark, NO reliance on constant put-downs, NO overdone innuendo. Like Donna Reed Show, the show is the right amount of up-lifing optimism and grounded pessimism.
Done with that issue, Next topic. I am guessing 60s TV was getting stale with the nuclear family formula and networks had to shake up programming by replacing it with shows featuring supernatural, single parents, identical cousins or whatever ingredients created Green Acres and Gilligan's Island. Thank goodness today we can love both sweet Hazel AND fierce Breaking Bad;
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
Much pleased me and much p*ssed me off.
My friend stopped the dvd midway saying she'd finish it later bc I couldn't shut up about things that bothered me. I kept promising to keep quiet. By the end she too had some "That would never happen" comments. My attitude before The Nov election and George Floyd may have been somewhat different about portrayal of cops. I think creators even of a fictional town owe it to the public to be extremely careful when depicting groups. Any exaggeration is fuel for not only crazy behavior but crazy opinions. Luckily there are other opportunities to beside this film. // I wanted the casting to feel real like Nomadland which had me wondering whether they cast non-actors. In 3 Billboards much of the cast felt about as real Missouri redneck as Father Knows Best's family is real. Save Mildred, all the females were thinnish Hollywood attractive. The men are professional theatre types who somehow land in the Ozarks speaking "movie Southern" Was that the comedy I keep hearing about? Was it the heinous crime that was the background for comedy? Was it the overuse of F word which I am guilty of too? Parks and Rec, Strangers with Candy, Futurama are funny. Here, I may have chortled once or twice, I admit. Yes, chortled. No chuckles, no giggles.
Call Me Kat (2021)
Never heard of Miranda and missed the pilot
Very pleased to judge a late Feb episode without the pilot and Miranda cluttering my opinions. I am not countering anything others have said. I do not have to laugh out loud to enjoy a light-hearted sitcom if the story pulls me in. I don't think the show knows who its audience is, nor what class it's in. Is it aiming to be evaluated on par with Taxi, Modern Family, MTM, Living Single, Bob Newhart Show, Jeffersons, Good Times and Frazier, et al? or is it trying to be grouped with Angie, Here's Boomer, Gloria, That's My Mama? I know I tend not to like the first seasons of many sitcoms that have become super popular. Mindy Project bored me to death S1 but I enjoyed the rest, same for Seinfeld, Big Bang,
Last night's episode seemed like 2 shows in one. Is this how networks are going to fulfil promises to be inclusive? Let's hope not. One story was aimed (poorly) at one demographic, then another, then another. and not even amusing, This comment is harsh. but I don't apologize: Why was the script even approved to be xeroxed and distributed for memorization and rehearsal? Someone owed someone a favor or someone was too timid to say," This is substandard."
I hope my fears are wrong about the tension and taking of sides in the writers room. I imagine a young trendy golden child beloved by network bigwigs coming up with lame jokes while the older funnier seasoned writers mumble under their breath, "that's so stupid. What an idiot."
Young Sheldon (2017)
Changed my mind after a few seasons.
I erased my first review from years ago. I was a big supporter. It's November 2021 and now my sister and I both are reluctantly moving away. If we watch it'll be because the networks have given up on the sitcom and Young Sheldon is one of the few left. It feels as if the people in control don't care anymore. It's not funny. I don't need to laugh out loud but it doesn't amuse either. Well, let's say it's not for us who are gaga about TBBT. I guess it's still fine for families with young children who are allowed to stay up late to watch. I'm glad there's something wholesome for them. I love wholesome I just wish it were funny or interesting wholesome. The simple conflicts could be resolved much more quickly without dragging them out over an entire episode or two episodes. Sadly CBS commercial and promo breaks are so dang long there's not much show in this show. As a result, there's not enough time to tie up all the plots. I wish they'd steer away from religion and serious topics like the adultery bc there's no room nor dedication by the writers to do it well. I don't wanna see Missy crying as she did tonight not that I thought the reason convincing. It's a comedy not an after school special.