solitudeape Reviews

The Sandman: Collectors (2022) Season 1, Episode 9

Weak episode in a very good series

[5/10 · 2 June 2023]

A lot of people complain about Rose and Jed. I agree with much of what they've said. Rose, while not all bad, is 2 dimensional and boring. Jed, like one review said, acts in ways that make no sense for what he's gone through. It seems the writers don't know how younger people behave. More annoying for me is Lyta. She's more like 1.5 dimensional. I don't understand her purpose in the story besides shill to incite Rose to go from a dull character to a stupid one.

I've never read the graphic novels so I can't compare. Overall, though I chose to write about this episode, I really enjoy the series and look forward to the next two episodes and then the next season.

The Night Agent: The Call (2023) Season 1, Episode 1

Sloppy in so many ways

[5/10 · 4 April 2023]

The first episode (as far as I've gotten so far) sets the series up as a realistic depiction of political intrigue but has so many unrealistic plot points.

An agent wouldn't take a victim to their personal home.

Why are important back information sitting out on his desk?

Forced dialogue to get the viewer up to speed.

Horrible female actress.

Sloppy scene where he is accosted by thugs on the street.

Very changeable weather - rain, dry, rain, inconsistencies all over the horizon.

I'll give it another episode because the first episode is usually crap because getting viewers up to speed is difficult to do in a natural way. It doesn't look good for thinking viewers.

Emergency (2022)

Not perfect but still a worthy film

[6/10 · 31 May 2022]

Certainly the characters are 2.5 dimensional and the plot pulled from various directions in order to push the message. But, I feel that, with a light suspension of disbelief, the film works well informing the audience about a very real source of anxiety by men of color.

The Problem with Apu (2017)

I hate to agree with so many racist trolls who I agree with

[4/10 · 25 May 2022]

This documentary lays out a good argument with good interviews, intertwined with good anecdotes, and very good structure. The end result, though doesn't make a strong argument about why Apu should've been removed from the show (though I agree that it now should be since it has done it's job).

The premise of the Simpsons is that everybody and everything is satirized. That is acknowledged in the first few minutes by the filmmakers. Then they proceed to essentially throw that understanding out the window. Just as we can't support the right to free speech but censor racists, we can't allow social commentary to comment on everyone but the group you are a minority of.

For me, this film would've been better if they had wrestled with the idea of, would it be as offensive of a character if a white guy wasn't the voice but instead an Indian all along. Also, the comparison of minstrel entertainment and Apu is a false equivalency. The minstrels, besides "celebrating" the art, completely denigrated the original artists. From episode one that Apu was in, he was casting a light on the racism he has to deal with every day.

It's irony.

Sideways (2004)

Maybe I missed the era when this varietal was fresh with hints of asparagus and elderberry

[5/10 · 24 May 2022]

I remember when this film came out that it was talked about and raved about. Now that I finally got around to seeing it, I don't know if it was a product of the era and has gone stale or just not my varietal of film.

Dull, flat, with vapid aromas of trying too hard.

Most Dangerous Game (2020–2023)

Very uneven execution

[5/10 · 20 May 2022]

No pun intended.

I can't think of a film that had such a good (not great) framework of a story, decent photography, good actors, etc... but uneven and at times dreadful details.

11.22.63 (2016)

The center question of motivation is never satisfied

[5/10 · 3 May 2022]

There are so many good things about this limited series. But, episode after episode I never felt that the audience is given a satisfying explanation about why Jake actually pursues the mission of changing the past. There is nothing urgent nor personal so I only see him doing what he does because the script calls him to.

The Batman (2022)

Full of itself and refuses to admit it has no ideas

[3/10 · 19 April 2022]

I'll give the fillmmakers that the visuals are quite pretty and the action interesting in its semi-uniqueness.

Other than that, this was a monumental waste of time and a pointless exercise in self-obsessive attention seeking that was mired in dullness.

The French Dispatch (2021)

Only for groupies

[5/10 · 4 March 2022]

I think this is the only Anderson film where I felt he has caricaturized himself. There is the spirit but no real soul. The whimsical performances pulled out by him, this time feel tired and waxen.

A bloated, pointless, meandering waste of 2+ hours. At least it is beautiful to watch in the wonderful Wes Anderson way.

Kimi (2022)

Why did this work?

[8/10 · 11 February 2022]

I don't know.

Why do Steven Soderbergh films so often look like big budget student films. He uses techniques that either shouldn't be used for so long or pacing that feels odd in a way that a 2nd year film student would. But it usually works for him. I kept wanting to turn Kimi off. In the end, I think the sum total of its parts worked (for me).

The Giver (2014)

A good premise that collapsed under its own weight

[4/10 · 17 December 2021]

In the beginning of this film, I was completely engaged. As it progressed, the contradictions and illogical plot devices turned me off. In the end, it felt as 2-dimensional as a Hallmark film.

American History X (1998)

Great story, mediocre film

[6/10 · 20 August 2021]

This film is highly overrated.

That having been said, I'd recommend anyone to see American History X. It packs a punch like an after-school special does. It has a valuable message and it delivers it with no ambiguity.

Unfortunately, the story is like a goat bashing the viewer and the acting by much of the cast is wooden like a 1st year college student delivering on presentation on MacBeth without having read it deeply. This film has the heart of a classic but the energy of a student film.

Closed for Storm (2020)

A good story in need of major work

[5/10 · 20 July 2021]

As a big fan of the various Bright Sun Films, I was expecting a lot. This film either needed a whole lot more content to sustain the feature length or should be heavily edited and make it a short film.

Instead, it feels like one of their 25 minute Youtube videos with added, and duplicative, content. There is only so much meandering through the carnage wrought by Katrina the audience can take. Additionally, my guess is that the interviews they conducted had few gems. So, they chose to include a lot of filler, dull comments to keep striving for a feature film.

It didn't work.

Wendy (2020)

Not for viewers who need help seeing the story

[8/10 · 26 May 2021]

I'll admit that. I had difficulty with Benh's first film. I wasn't able to put in the effort to find the story under the barrage of images and insinuated meaning. On second viewing a few years later, I got it.

I understand why this film was criticized but I don't agree with the conclusion that it's boring. The comparison to Terrence Malick is appropriate. These films are more experiential than structured stories. The take some release from the guided method of storytelling that is normally used. They take work. They are like poetry.

Scarface (1983)

Bye bye money

[3/10 · 22 March 2021]

To say that this film lacks anything good about it is going too far. The excess in it is empty. The acting is overall dreadful. There is not a single character that I could feel for or with. What an utter waste of time. In the pantheon of gangster films, this is the Real Housewives of New Jersey.

Gran Torino (2008)

Why does anyone think Clint Eastwood is a good director

[4/10 · 3 February 2021]

Every single Eastwood film I have seen is poorly acted, poorly filmed, awkwardly written, and weakly directed. Their only redeeming feature is that they usually have good themes .... delivered as if in an after-school special. This was painful to watch to get to the point where the moral is bashed in my face.

Atlas Shrugged: Part I (2011)

Surprised and disappointed

[4/10 · 20 January 2021]

Many reviews talk about the poor production value due to the budget. This is where my surprise lies. I thought, considering the needs on the production design balanced by a budget that can't do it right, this film would look like a tv show. Instead, I thought the cinematagraphy and set design were done very well in mimicking the period piece it is (1940s industry but set in 2016). What disappointed me was that the film turned a book into an animated book. The novel is essentially a series of monologues linked together by a thin philosophical theory. The film puts images to it and forgets that films need to show more than tell.

Ghost in the Shell (2017)

Sorely under appreciated

[8/10 · 12 November 2020]

I agree with the many reviews that say that the 1995 version has more soul. Regardless, that was a product of a Japanese company and predates this version by 22 years. I feel that the 1995 version pales in comparison to the 1968 short story by Philip K Dick, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep." That observation is also irrelevant. For what this attempts to do, the remake does an excellent job of conveying the underlying themes. I agree with a previous reviewer who pointed out how snobbery and harsh criticism is what is expected out of reviews. Watch this flick with eyes open to what it is, not with the expectation that it is competing with the anime version.

Discovering Bigfoot (2017 Video)

It is hard to overstate how horrible this film is

[1/10 · 16 January 2018]

I doubt I can add anything to the comprehensive list of reviews below. What claims to be a documentary is actually a full length infomercial on Todd and his business which is to bring people into the woods and expose them to bigfoot. As a believer in sasquatch, I came into this wanting to learn more. Instead, I watched a man desperate to get attention to how cool he is blather on. I wondered at times if he is in on the joke after one too many scenes of him running around like a weekend commando and listening to audio of him chastise himself for not finding focus properly. I learned absolutely nothing but that bigfoot can steal 2 hours of my time and I can do nothing about it.

Girl on the Edge (2015)

Good intention and heart, zero follow through

[1/10 · 7 June 2017]

This film stumbles at every juncture and in every single way. I watched it at an event to promote it and organizations that support the issues that this film portrays. The director, Jay Silverman, was present as well as the inspiration for the Peter Coyote character, a career therapist who runs some outdoor rehabilitation organizations. The topic is important and timely. Sadly, this film is dreadful from minute one. The story line is told in a manner as if the writers don't know the topic - though the director fashioned the movie around his daughter's experiences, so you'd assume some knowledge. The acting was horrendous with the exception of most of the scenes with the leading lady. The dialogue was a disjointed series of soundbites from PSAs it appears. The photography was dreadful. Finally, many of the events and outbursts by the characters were unmotivated and thus nearly every scene felt two-dimensional. Afterwards, the director, the therapist, and a local teen counselor spoke in a panel and felt the ignorance by Jay Silverman shown in all its glory. If you make a theme film, it is wise to actually understand the topic. I am pleased that your daughter didn't kill herself and she is now mentally well, but your film was a waste of my two hours.