dan_90802 Reviews

Ripley (2024)

Stunning but .....

[6/10 · 14 April 2024]

...... I'll get to the "but" in a minute.

Superbly cinematic and expertly filmed, Ripley gets the period, vibe, sets and props spot on. Ripley does not appear to have spared any expertise or expense in getting things right.

The cast, with one glaring exception, is exceptional. The exception is Andrew Scott. I adore him in most everything else he has done, but he should have turned down - nay, run away from - this role. He is far too old to play Tom Ripley; in fact, he is more than twice the age of Ripley and no amount of makeup or tape can hide the actor's age. Pity, as Scott acts the role well, but his effort, indeed, the entire series, is spoiled due to the incredulity of a 47 year-old playing a ~25 year old.

Longest Third Date (2023)

Cringe

[2/10 · 18 June 2023]

The "Documentary" tag is disappointingly inaccurate. "Reality?" Sure. Which makes the whole thing cringeworthy. Why lie? A more apt title would be "Wannabe 'Influencer' & Immature Woman Make a Movie."

On March 17, 2020 - weeks after the world was advised of a grave public health threat and a week after the WHO declared a global pandemic - a handsome white guy who wants to be an influencer buys cheap tickets to Costa Roca for himself and an immature 30-year old Asian girl he claims to want to take on a third date for five days. Cheap tickets because airlines had already figured out that travel would end soon. And then COVID unexpectedly happened?! Puh-leeze. If you read any newspaper, you knew already in December 2019 what was coming. After watching this docudrama, I conclude that it was professionally cast and deliberately (reen)acted .

It is hard to know which parts, if any, were recorded during the putative vacation and which were made afterward. But it is crystal clear that much of the footage was created for the sole purpose of making a movie. So, it's insincere at best, but really it's just duplicitous factionalized "reality."

Two stars because the wildlife was nice to see.

As I Am (2020)

Oh my

[2/10 · 27 July 2022]

This movie was recommended to me by Amazon Prime. I should learn not to click on these.

Interesting premise, but poorly executed. Cinematography was hit and miss and the sound was abysmal. The script needed further development, which might have given viewers characters that were more than their one-dimensional portrayals. The two leads were okay, but the supporting cast was bad: from the wooden delivery of lines ("Manny's" parents and coworkers) to the overacting ("Trey's" parents) - to the point of being stereotypical and offensive.

In the end, we're not sure if Manny is on the spectrum or just emotionally stunted. So many questions that could have been answered to add to the story, but it is what it is. And what's worse is that we don't even care.

The Accompanist (2019)

Ugh. Another one.

[2/10 · 10 August 2021]

These written by/directed by/starring turds really need to stop. Amazon and Netflix need to stop picking them up so maybe these "auteurs" will stop making them. Unsympathetic characters poorly portrayed wandering through a thin plot. Enough!

Misguided Behavior (2017)

Painful to watch

[2/10 · 14 May 2021]

I think the filmmakers started with good intentions - a feature film featuring African-Americans in every lead role. Unfortunately the effort fails in almost every way. The biggest problem is the sound editing and mixing. The entire film sounds as though it was recorded in a small room with concrete walls.

The script is juvenile. There is no subtlety, no room for viewers to extrapolate. Compounding this problem is the performance of most of the actors. While some might lay blame on the actors themselves, this is a directorial deficiency. A good director can lead even wooden actors to good performances. Not here.

The FX consist of slo-mo scenes, but the dialogue does not slow. The dissonance is jarring. I developed a headache by the halfway mark and, masochistically, stuck it out. Let my suffering prevent yours. You're welcome.

Spycraft (2020–2022)

Hard to listen to

[5/10 · 29 January 2021]

Not much new in this series, so disappointing in that regard. But any enjoyment of rehashing old information in a new format is demolished by the inept narrator, Dylan R. Berry. He is not listed in the cast and crew. Maybe because this gig is so embarrassing?

Fire Song (2015)

The Ennui is Palpable.

[8/10 · 21 May 2018]

A coming of age story set in a First Nations community that features the weariness and dissatisfaction of life on a reserve. The story centers on Shane, a "good" boy who is academically superior to his peers. He wants to get out and move to Toronto to attend university, but he faces several challenges: his girlfriend, his boyfriend, his mother, the memories of his sister, lack of money.

Shane's girlfriend, Tara, is needy and alcoholic. His boyfriend, David, is a proud Native, who wants to stay to effect positive changes in the community. His mother is catatonic following the suicide of her daughter, Shane's sister. David's grandmother, with whom he lives, does not believe that the Creator intended for men to be with men.

Tara happens upon Shane and David kissing one night. She confronts them then runs away. As she is walking, she meets Kyle, who is the boyfriend of her best friend. They drink and end up in an empty building and Kyle rapes Tara. She hangs herself and Kyle returns to his aunt's house and his girlfriend.

Kyle's aunt is the community's drug dealer. Desperate to make money, Shane agrees to sell for her, but nobody will buy from him. He and David return the unsold drugs and attempt to rob her, but she fires a gun and the police arrive to arrest her and Kyle.

David's grandmother visits Shane's mom, they discuss the situation with Shane and David, who are asleep in the next room, and decide to help Shane get to Toronto.

It is a fairly predictable arc and ending, but 8/10 for portraying the gut-wrenching desperation of what life must be like in a depressed community with no jobs and no hope for betterment.

Quinn (II) (2016)

A Narcissictic Love Letter

[2/10 · 19 November 2017]

Writer, producer, director Alexander Roman also stars as the titular character in this short about an MI6 agent whose KGB lover is tasked to kill Quinn and his family. Quinn is spared in the killing, and the story follow the aftermath. In flashbacks, we learn how the plot to kill Quinn and his family was arranged by Quinn's MI6 handler, who then kills the KGB agent for not completing his assignment.

The cinematography is very good and the score is on point. But the direction is nothing more than a narcissistic exercise of film making. It lavishes softly lit scenes on Mr Roman in the warm Havana sun while framing the lover and handler in cold, bleak lighting and scenery.

The Curiosity of Chance (2006)

It's not Oscar worthy, but it isn't THAT bad.

[5/10 · 28 January 2010]

If you're looking for 90 minutes or so of mindless entertainment, you could do worse than The Curiosity of Chance. As others have mentioned, it is not original in any way. The gay stereotype as creative outsider is old. The jock as thick-headed homophobe is tired. And the supporting characters are nothing more than stock creatures from any coming-of-age, coming-out-of-the-closet story set in high school.

Set in "the 1980's", TCOC seems to repel some viewers because they do not understand the setting (an American high school in Flemish-speaking Belgium). While this is not explained anywhere in the film, there are a lot of clues. The houses are not typically suburban America, the license plates are clearly foreign, the big sport is soccer, people have accents, etc. I'm not clear why the writer/director did not make this clear, as it might have added some interest. Instead, it seems like he tried to keep it country-neutral, as in, this could have been anywhere. But that simply leaves a viewer scratching his head wondering why all these "American" high school kids and their teachers speak English with a Flemish accent.

Set that aside. Just pretend that you know that this is set in Europe, in an American-style, English-immersion high school. Ex pats send their kids there, so there are some Americans. Then you can enjoy the flick.

Think part Edge of Seventeen, Get Real, Rock Haven, and Grande École mushed together. There are worse ways to spend an hour and a half.