aldiboronti Reviews

The River of Romance (1929)

Superb melodrama

[9/10 · 18 August 2023]

Yes, the acting is way over the top but it's precisely the style this sort of work demands. We're watching a Victorian-type melodrama here and realism is certainly not wanted on voyage. Actors like Wallace Beery and Fred Kohler know just what's expected of them and deliver with gusto, chewing up every bit of scenery in sight. Buddy Rogers and Mary Brien are perfect in their roles, I swear one can smell magnolia blossoms in the air when they're on screen.

This tale of old Mississippi is such an enjoyable film but one has to leave one's modern sensibilities at the door as the price of entry. Trust me, it's worth it!

The Heart Punch (1932)

Death blow

[5/10 · 18 July 2023]

A boxer, played by silent star Lloyd Hughes, fights an opponent who unbeknownst to him has a weak heart. The man dies and Lloyd later finds himself falling in love with the man's sister, Marion Shilling, who is at first completely unaware that Lloyd unwittingly killed her brother. Upon discovering this she is appalled and wants nothing to do with him. I won't spoil the ending but let's just say that eventually Marion will find that her fate is in the hands of Lloyd and his skills as a boxer. OK, we're not talking Raging Bull here but as early movies go this remains quite watchable and Marion Shilling is always a treat for the eyes.

Crime Story (1986–1988)

By far the greatest TV gangster epic ever!

[10/10 · 6 September 2022]

And yes, better even than The Sopranos, although I love that show. Before Paulie Walnuts there was Paulie Gaglia. Before Tony Soprano there was Ray Luca. Many people seem to believe that quality television first appeared in the 90s but it isn't so as this show amply demonstrates.

Everything about this is superlative: the acting is incredible and clearly everyone who was anyone wanted to appear in this, apart from the regular cast, ably led by Dennis Farina and Tony Denison, we see Michael Madsen, Julia Roberts, Kevin Spacey, Eric Bogosian, Pam Grier and many more. The soundtrack is also to die for. I just can't praise this enough and Michael Mann is an absolute genius.

Nope (2022)

Nope thank you

[3/10 · 30 August 2022]

The movie is good-looking and has excellent production value. Peele has also lightened up on his dislike of everything Anglo-Saxon which is a relief. The story is a little hackneyed but that's forgivable, the acting too is OK. What definitely isn't OK though is the alien. It looks, especially the innards, like something thrown together out of leftovers from a carnival. I don't know whether there were budget restraints but the total effect is ludicrous. It doesn't evoke fear or awe but simply disbelief and laughter. What the hell were they thinking? A convincing alien could have rescued this film. The actual alien sunk it.

Dark Light (2021)

Oh wow, this one is really bad

[1/10 · 2 July 2022]

Actors who can't act, a director who can't direct, writers who can't write, sound technicians who are clueless about sound, this one has everything. I have rarely seen such a bad film. From the first few minutes as you watch your jaw will slowly start descending to the floor and for the rest of the film you will sit in slack-jawed astonishment at the travesty which is being enacted before you. I thought at first that there is no way this can be serious but, horror of horrors, it is. Unbelievable that anyone could be so deluded as to put this nonsense together and have the sheer gall to present it to the public.

The Staircase (2022)

Firth knocks it out of the park

[8/10 · 10 June 2022]

He does an amazing job of playing Michael Peterson right up to the final shot of the series where that enigmatic half-smile on his face speaks volumes. Another stand-out cast member is Parker Posey playing the ADA. If you've seen the original documentary you'll see just how accurately Posey plays her. She has the look and she has the mannerisms and accent down to a T. The rest of the cast are good too. Admittedly there's a lot of padding, a lesbian relationship out of nowhere and a steamy affair between Peterson and one of the production crew but on the whole this is a pretty good watch.

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

The Emperor's New Clothes

[1/10 · 19 May 2022]

Everyone is in awe of the Emperor's fine new clothes. How stylish they are! How magnificent! How artful and clever! The truth is of course that the Emperor has no new clothes. He's buck naked or if he's dressed at all it's in hand-me-down rags and remnants borrowed from others. But whisper it who dare lest they be thought a doofus, a philistine.

Let's just grasp the nettle here. This is a bad film. It's completely uninspired, using old sf concepts as if they were somehow original or clever. The actors try their best but have so little to work with that they come across as talentless hams which I'm sure they're not. No, the responsibilty for this mess lies with the director and the writers. The only people this will impress are those who have never read or watched intelligent science fiction and obviously there are a lot of them out there.

Such a boring movie and it feels so bloody long and good films never seem long. You never want them to end but with this one you wish it had never started.

Demon (IV) (2017)

Don't waste your time

[1/10 · 18 April 2022]

The stories are bad, the acting worse. I kept watching until the bitter end in the belief that surely all the stories couldn't be as bad as the first ones. But they were. Not a single redeeming segment. Do yourself a favor, go stare at the wall for an hour or so, you'll have a much better time.

Kundun (1997)

Anti-Chinese propaganda from Scorsese

[1/10 · 8 April 2022]

There is no getting round the fact that the old Tibet was a corrupt and oppressive theocracy where monks ruled the roost and committed the most appalling crimes against the peasantry while soaking them for every penny they had. And all this was overseen by the head priest, the Dalai Lama. But let them put on funny hats, blow clangorous trumpets and wear silly masks and Scorsese will forgive them anything. This guy never saw a superstition he didn't like. He's exactly the same with equally dumb Catholic superstitions. The rationality of the Chinese Communists Scorsese considers evil, never mind that they freed the Tibetans from servitude to fanatical theocrats.

I award Scorsese's film 8 stars for the usual superb direction but deduct 7 for the disgraceful distortions of history in the screenplay.

Sin Eater (I) (2022)

Hit and miss but it kept me watching

[5/10 · 15 March 2022]

First of all I have to admire the sheer pluck of Jessie Nerud. Putting up with those grotesque choppers throughout the movie can't have been pleasant and I think many actresses would have passed on blemishing their looks in such a manner. The rest of the cast are adequate rather than good and there's a lack of decent scares in the film but if you lower your expectations it's not a bad watch.

Archive 81 (2022)

Unoriginal and boring

[2/10 · 14 March 2022]

It's also very badly acted, the leads especially need to be convincing and they simply aren't. Quite frankly I've seen better acting in a high school production. The series is overlong and not frightening in the least. This is a real dud from Netflix and not worth a horror fan's time. Go watch From instead.

Sundown (I) (2021)

As I was sitting in my chair ......

[2/10 · 17 February 2022]

I watched a film that wasn't there. It wasn't there again today. Oh how I wish it would go away. (With apologies to WH Mearns.) This is indeed the absence of a film rather than a film. I stared blankly at the screen while I watched and the screen stared blankly back at me. Wait, I thought, any moment something will happen, I see it in Roth's eyes, I feel it in the air. So I waited. And I waited. And I waited. Roll end credits.

Now don't get me wrong. I can appreciate slow films, Last Year at Marienbad is among my favorite movies. But this one I found simply boring. Some people clearly like it though. De gustibus non disputandum est. An extra point just for Tim Roth raises the score to 2.

The Haunting of Hythe House (2021)

Don't bother

[1/10 · 10 January 2022]

This movie sucks. You will deeply regret the time you spent watching it. Really, you'd have much more fun visiting your dentist for a root canal. Everything is bad, the writing, the acting, the directing. A 5 year old could make a better horror film than this. I feel insulted being presented with this garbage. Do yourself a favor and avoid like the plague.

The Truman Show (1998)

Plot holes you could drive a truck through

[4/10 · 30 December 2021]

First the unprepared sets that Truman discovers. Why wouldn't they build an actual small town for the show, they clearly have the budget for it. Do they really believe that Truman will always go where he's supposed to over the course of his whole life? That makes no sense.

Then there's the loop that Truman shows his supposed wife. These people, the old lady on the bike, the guy, the driver of the Volkswagen, are all in constant communication with the directorial staff who would tell them to change course, Truman is expecting a loop. Again, no sense.

The ads. Manufacturers will pay for simple product placement, why would they risk blowing the whole show by obvious ads? They wouldn't.

There are plot holes like this throughout the film. Sure, willing suspension of disbelief and all, but that only goes so far. Rely too much on it and you spoil a film. For this reason it gets only 4 stars, although I admit the acting is superb. Shame the writing doesn't match up to it.

The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord (2020)

The Great and Te rrible Day of the Bored

[2/10 · 28 December 2021]

Not great but certainly terrible so the title was half right. This film is drivel. The actors do their best to put it across but the inanities of the script defeat them at every turn. To stretch this thin material out to over 2 hours is an offense against all cinematic decency. I award the film 2 stars in sympathy for the actors and for the one good shot in the whole movie. At the end when both characters are gazing at the horizon raptly at the last moment we see the woman cast a sidelong glance at the guy which definitely spells 'the sooner I get away from this lunatic the better.'

Copshop (2021)

Well worth the watch

[7/10 · 27 November 2021]

To be honest I'd watch Butler and Grillo in anything, they're both superb in action movies. Valerie Young is a real revelation, she holds her own really well when she's toe to toe with Butler and Grillo. I think this young lady is going places. In short this is a good movie and you will not regret giving it your time.

The Exorcism in Amarillo (2020)

Put not your trust in rave reviewers

[1/10 · 25 November 2021]

Despite all the plaudits here (clearly written by fellow Christians) this not a good film. It's poorly written, poorly acted and poorly directed. I have nothing against Christian movies, it's just that I've rarely seen a good one. Horror fans can safely skip this one.

Hideout (2021)

Not bad at all

[6/10 · 10 November 2021]

It held me to the end and that's more than I can say for a lot of horror pics these days. Sure, the plot is familiar, I've watched a couple over the years with almost exactly the same setup, but the actors give it their all, the direction is crisp and efficient and on the whole it's an enjoyable watch. In short, to paraphrase Pope, 'May this put money in your purse For I assure you I've seen worse'.

Familiars (2021)

The lead actress is pretty. The movie sucks

[1/10 · 12 September 2021]

Risible plot, poor acting, terrible direction. The lead actress deserves better.

The Green Knight (2021)

Tedious in the extreme

[1/10 · 19 August 2021]

I kept telling myself, stick around, something will happen soon. It didn't. Don't get me wrong, I can enjoy films which are slowly paced, Last Year At Marienbad is one of my favorite movies, but there's artfully slow and there's painfully slow. This one is just boring.

Let's Dream (2021)

Let's dream

[1/10 · 16 July 2021]

You'll certainly find it a more productive use of your time than watching this film and helpfully the movie does its best to put you to sleep in the first 5 minutes. The lead actor is possessed of the most boring and monotonous voice I have ever heard. Insomniacs would find him a real boon. Others though should avoid the film. You'll have far more fun at the dentist.

Here After (2020)

Superb film

[10/10 · 17 June 2021]

This really surprised me,, I wasn't expecting such a great film. Kudos to everyone involved, especially the writer and director Harry Greenberger and the actors. Nora Arnezeder,, Andy Karl and. Michael Rispoli. This is one you won't forget.

The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness (2021– )

Short on substance, long on conspiracy theories

[1/10 · 7 May 2021]

I read this idiotic book on the Son of Sam some 30 or so years ago and when I heard about this Netflix series I thought, surely not, even Netflix woldn't stoop this low, giving credit to a dumb conspiracy theory that was discredited long since. But I forgot that Netflix never saw a conspiracy theory that it didn't like, even at the risk of breathing new life into the dangerous Satanic panic that gripped the US in the 80s and 90s and sent many totally innocent people to prison.

To sum up, this documentary is utter nonsense. The cops caught the Son of Sam, they had a ton of evidence, he confessed, was jailed for life and the killings stopped. But what murderer doesn't want constant attention? And when isn't there some sucker out there willing to listen to his ludicrous ramblings about armies of Satanists nationwide and oh by the way he only did one of the shootings. Yeah, right.

Do yourselves a favor, guys. Watch a serious documentary about the killings and give this piece of trash a miss.

Siberia (2020)

An exploration into the language of dreams

[6/10 · 14 December 2020]

And appropriately I fell asleep halfway through. I did wake up eventually and watch it all but only with a few cups of coffee to keep me going. I usually love Ferrara and thought I could watch Dafoe in anything. This tested that theory to destruction. Oh there are some excellent scenes but on the whole it's just so soporific. Maybe it's all that snow..............................

Wander (I) (2020)

Here's confusion worse confounded

[3/10 · 6 December 2020]

One day in the far distant future mankind will uncover all the secrets of the universe. The last thing uncovered will be what the heck this movie's about.