heydanno Reviews

Attack on Titan (2013–2023)

So I sat down to watch some Netflix...

[17 January 2014]

O... M... G...

I noticed 'Attack on Titans' listed in the New Titles queue on Neflix and noted that it was rated 4.9 stars, which is unusual. Typically anything over 4.5 stars is almost always worth checking out so I thought, "What the heck. I'll watch this Titan A.E. rip off. Couldn't be any worse." I was not able to tell from the short description and tiny thumbnail what it was about.

Boy was I in for a surprise (massive understatement!). When a big, red something grasped the top of a monolithic wall my mind was blown... and remained blown. I am still in shock hours after watching the first episode. I can't believe what I saw and the feelings it stirred in me.

This is old school story telling baby. Simple. Effective. Horrific. The stuff nightmares are made of. And heroes.

Talhotblond (2009)

Like another reviewer said... One of the top 10 OMG moments in cinema history

[2 January 2014]

I truly do not understand the hate and hyper criticism this stunning documentary has received. I cannot imagine how it could have been made better. I thought the film was outstanding (and I have pretty much seen them all). Among many positives, it contained one of the Top 10 OMG moments in the history of film. People need to stop trying to be the next Roger Ebert and be thankful you are treated with cinematic gifts like this from time to time. They are so rare. The music was great. The narration was unique and very effective. The voice over actors were high caliber. The interviews where compelling. The story was astonishing (yet deeply sad of course).

Evidence of Blood (1998 TV Movie)

Almost complete...

[7 September 2013]

For me, this movie would have felt complete if we were given the pleasure of seeing the female lead's reaction to the big reveal about her father. I really wanted to see that because we cared about her and knew how tortured she was over her father.

I admit that I was tricked into getting annoyed about the 'convenient' visit by the clerk to the lead's temp house where she gave him the 'revealing' page of court testimony that the victim's mother had poured over for years. I was thinking, "Oh sure. A break in the case via such a contrived find." Umm... was I wrong! The fact that the victim's mother never truly identified the green dress only led down a rabbit hole. It did not actually mean anything and did not help the writer solve the case.

The Chosen One (2010 Video)

Was this a drama... or a comedy...?

[15 April 2011]

It's as if everyone in the film was acting in a comedy... except Rob Schneider, who played it totally straight. Not straight in a funny way like he was the straight man in a comedy. I mean he played it straight, as if he were in a serious drama. My reactions were; confusion, disappointment, irritation... and finally... well, after finally seeing that Rob was doing a darn fine job of dramatic acting (even though this was marketed as a comedy) I fast forwarded to the end, then ejected the DVD.

My final thought was, "Boy, he must have been mad at the director or something because it was like he intentionally ruined that movie by playing everything too straight." Rob is not a stupid guy. He had to have known he was screwing up what could have been a funny little comedy. Weird. I must say though, if his performance could be cut out and pasted into a drama it would have been very impressive.