joshua169 Reviews

Last and First Men (2020)

Not a movie, A classic SF story, as an audio book w/stills

[10/10 · 5 July 2020]

Another reviewer said it. This is is not a movie which is much of the reason for the dislike. There are no moving images. There is simply panning over still figures while the narrator speaks, telling a classic SF story written in 1939. It's old sf and it has no traditional story either. The story itself is not to everyone's taste so neither is this "visual audio book". The story is not boring to most SF fans, but as a MOVIE, sure it is. Because nothing moves. There are no actors. It's not really a movie at all in the normal sense. It's one of the most unfilmable stories ever written.

The ABC Murders (2018)

If it were an original story it'd be pretty good, as an adaptation it's an insult

[8/10 · 15 January 2019]

I have only watched the first of 3 parts. The story was not adapted, a new story inspired by the old one was written. That's a very different thing. The new story I think is a good one considered on it's own. If the prior work did not exist, people would like it. Nonetheless the story can well be considered an insult to both Agatha Christie and what many consider her greatest creation, Hercule Poirot. God help me I enjoyed it and was disgusted by it at the same time. This is not a Christie style story. Everything that made it so has been changed. This is NOT a Poirot story. The character here has been re-imagined to the point that it is a very different man, who has led a very different life. Without spoiling it, I'll just say the police reveal in the first episode they have discovered something so shocking so shattering to who Christie's Poirot was that it changes everything. It's a barbaric horrible thing to do and I HATE THE WRITER for doing it. But I will watch the rest like a person trapped in a cycle of cutting their own flesh, unable to stop the self harm, finding relief from their inner pain in destructive way, but in my case thankfully with a clear end in sight. (If any reader is in that literal situation, there is help, seek it out, the pain really can end.)

A Christmas in Tennessee (2018 TV Movie)

This movie is NOT set in the past

[13 December 2018]

One reviewer here mistakenly thinks the movie is set in the 40s or 50s due to an antique cash register and some other antiques and then complains about all the "out of period clothing" other anachronistic items. This person turned off the film as a result. This person failed to figure out a few old items surrounded by dozens of new items, like microwave in bakery, new cars parked in driveways, lots of modern clothes and hair styles, etc indicates a moderrn setting. Anyway sure the film is a typical lifetime Christmas offering. It's nothing extrodanary. If you like that sort of thing you will enjoy it. I did. If you don't, you won't. The addition of Santa is always a welcome addition for me. I WANT TO BELIEVE

Within These Walls (2015)

Good - and I'm not the only one who think so

[7/10 · 4 May 2018]

Contrasting my opinion, (that this film is good) with the only other one here as of 5/4/18 that it is "Bad, really bad", I had to wonder was it only me? Was it only me who found the acting quite good, the storying interesting and suspenseful, the central idea and the story fresh enough to be truly enjoyable? Is this a film that is well worth watching - as I believe, or like "sandpaper on your skin" as that reviewer does. Was this a horror film only I could love? I am easily amused - reader beware. So I sought other opinions. I'm pleased to report that every outside review I could find (not just those listed here) agrees with me. All the reviews were positive and some were very positive. FWIW.

Radius (2017)

Astonished how many missed the point

[6/10 · 29 November 2017]

No real spoilers here, but be warned anyway, lest I be accused

This is not a great movie but well worth the watch, and I'll watch it again someday. Acting was good, plot kept me following. wrapped up a bit too quickly but with a twist I never saw coming. an ending I didn't like as much as I could have, but then I love happy endings, and it didn't have one. But I think its good for me to not get them sometimes. Probably there should have been a bit more to explain and tie the central phenomenon into the later revelations, but see at as a metaphor people.

People seem to think the ending was not in keeping with the story or that the radius phenomena didn't really relate to the end where as I think they were intricately linked. I think the backstory actually explains the meaning of the front story. He killed everyone around him - near the end we find that he .... (hmm hmm?? get it? get it??). Her presence had a particular effect on him, and in the end this resulted in him taking a particular action that took care of present and past issues (hint hint nudge nudge, metaphor metaphor). If you must have a hand wave for the phenomenon can we say that her fear and desire to stop him at a particular moment (when he declared she could not) created a psychic force and link between them that caused the whole situation? Of course that's stupid, and I'm glad they didn't bother to try explain it that way or any other simple way.

The President Show (2017–2018)

I hate Trump but this is Lame

[4/10 · 19 May 2017]

I only watched the first one, so maybe its gets better, I can't say. I am a fan of good Trump satire and humor, as seen on SNL, Colbert, Daily Show, Samantha Bee and Seth Meyers. I watch them all. I wanted to like this. It just didn't measure up. The imitation of trump is fairly good, but the humor is to obvious, to low level. There just wasn't enough thought into the dialogue or the action. They say Trump humor writes itself, but not literally. You do need some quality satire to pull this off. With the administration itself rapidly approaching the point where Poe's law kicks in (i.e. something becomes so extreme you can't tell satire from the truth), you have to put some real thought in to it. You have to compete with a man who follows up his team telling the press "he did not share the info the press said" with "I can share anything I want". A man who digresses from talking about bombing Syria to talking about the chocolate cake. A man who inserts a paragraph about not being under investigation into a letter firing the head of the FBI. This show fails to be funnier than Trump.

Ticking Clock (2011 Video)

main character excruciatingly stupid

[6/10 · 7 May 2011]

I just want to be entertained and i'm easy to please. I don't even see most of the flaws in a movie reviewers will typically mention. But only a few minutes into this and I was asking - can I stand to watch a movie where the main character is so unbelievably stupid? Can anyone act against their own self0interest so consistently? For that matter can the police really be as stupid and sloppy as this about what he tells them? Fortunately this settles down some after a bit, but it's actually the number one problem I have here. Otherwise I liked it. Could have done without the excessive clues to the "twist" ending though. It's not not the sort of twist one expects in a crime film so it could have been played for a major, "whaaaaa?" effect, but they tossed that chance away.