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Reviews
The Lost City (2005)
I lost count . . .
Of the cringe-worthy lines in this dismal film. Just painful to watch. Almost all acting was stilted and sleep-inducing. The normally-talented Bill Murray was lost in this film, delivering yawner and yawner. I can only imagine his reaction to the script. A big, big drop from Lost In Translation. I can only imagine his reaction to being asked to make his lines funny. Much of the dialogue was right out of a cliche dictionary. My wife and I labored through out of our interest in Cuba, but this seemed like a film lasting longer than Reds. Add in the surreal bit role of Dustin Hoffman and the floundering Andy Garcia (who was over his head as director) and you have a five-star dud.
Leave the World Behind (2023)
Leave this movie behind!
What a mega-disappointment. The beginning was promising, but the film just completely falls apart. I was expecting a plot twist, but didn't even find a real plot. It's an all-star cast, but there's no chemistry, and all sorts of surreal interactions. Literally, nothing makes sense as we grind through scene after scene. Maybe there's some lurking logic, like we all need friends to survive challenges, or that the easiest way to destroy America is to let America destroy itself. But don't waste your time on this dud, a film that truly leaves you scratching your head, asking why the heck they bothered to make it.
The Midnight Sky (2020)
A collision in plot between incoherence and implausibility
I had high hopes for this film, but it just didn't work for me. Now, I watched it on my laptop (about our only option during the pandemic), so I'm sure it would deliver real visual pop in a theatre. But I struggled, mightily, with the story line. I could write paragraphs about aspects of the plot that were wholly implausible, and I could write paragraphs about the plot's incoherence. In some ways, it seems like a fitting end that only two people remain from all of humanity, which might be a metaphor for the exodus from theaters we'd be seeing if that were the venue.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017)
Good but could be a lot better
I was enthusiastic about Season 1. Now, midway into Season 2, I am so hoping that the writers make adjustments. Brosnahan is awesome. It's time to put her first husband Joel in the rear-view mirror. He just drains the energy out of every scene. And if the CIA is looking for a technique to replace waterboarding, just show prisoners the footage with Abe Weissman in the Catskills. These scenes are worse than standing next to a jack hammer. Hoping these two prominent male characters (Joel, Abe) fade out, and we see a lot more of Lenny Bruce and the intriguing and funny Benjamin. I'll keep watching, but will drop it if we see more of episodes like episodes 4-6 of Season 2. At its best, the series is great. But at its worst, it falls far short of being fun to watch.
The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (2017)
Exhausting
I heard a great New Yorker Radio Hour podcast about the film, so I dove in with high hopes. But it was a slog. I'm a big fan of Dustin Hoffman, but he must have been directed to wear out the audience, which he does quite effectively. I kept looking for some spark -- humor, emotion, love, or just about anything other than the sensation of standing next to a jackhammer for almost two hours. But that's what this film- watching experience was.