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chrismullaly
Reviews
Apollo 11 (2019)
Awesome Stuff Indeed
I'd read all about Neil, Buzz, and Michael. I've seen of course, the the clip where Cronkite sheds his glasses in awe, as man stands on a rock a quarter million miles away. But watching the whole thing progress, from the prep, to the launch, to the landing, to re-entry, in remastered 1080p beautifulness, is something very special indeed. You know how it turns out, but it still feels anxious the whole time because, you are in the room with mission control, and they know the razor's edge with which this men were operating. You see real footage from Columbia and Eagle. Remarkably, at the 1:08:55 mark as Eagle takeoffs from the moon, a ufo streaks across the sky. No joke. It makes sense that the real joy in Houston doesn't come when Neil steps on the moon. It comes following the three minute re-entry communications black out when Houston hears Armstrong and knows the craft, which had been traveling at 36,000+ mph, and was exposed to 5,000 F temperatures, had survived re-entry. You feel their relief. The whole thing is stunning. And less than 70 years after Kitty Hawk. Remarkable. Watch it.
Black Bear (2020)
How Did This Get Any Positive Reviews?
This was easily the worst film rated 6.5 on IMDB that I have ever seen. One film critic described it a very, very funny black comedy. I did not laugh once. Another critic labeled it a mystery/thriller. Huh? What was the mystery? Where we the thrills? The first part
of the film seemed okay as a setup. Solid acting leading to an event that led to a horrible injury. I expected part 2 to be about the coverup or follow up to said event. Nope. Part 2 was a completely disjointed, terribly overacted, incredibly boring story that did nothing to drive closure on part 1 and was only peripherally related to it. It was as though they ran out of money for actual writers after part 1, went to a local community college, asked for the D students among the English majors, and said hey guys, just finish this up for us. But instead, the D students tried to get clever. When that is just not their long suit. As Aubrey winks at the screen in the final scene, I shock my head in disgust at the 105 minutes that I will never get back. I almost never feel that way. This one was just plain bad.