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Perfect Days (2023)
A little unobtrusive gem and hymn to life
This will most likely disapppoint you if you're seeking your nest dopamine kick script of Western cinema.
This movie is the antithesis to superficiality.
It's a grounded balanced experience slowly unfolding.
It's about what to make of life. About what repetetive essentials looks lke if fed by humility. About appreciation of small and everyday things. About observing the small cracks of light in silence and feeling blessed.
It's the life of a middle aged Japanese man cleaning public toilets in Tokyo.
It's sneak peak into Japanese culture curiously accompanied by a the golden music of the 60s as well as written words of value absorbed by a mostly silent protagonist
It's a little zen retreat - or maybe just a tip of the principles of less is more - and a step back from quickfix immersion 'culture' - but without the judgement.
It's the human condition.
Joy mostly, but also pain and loss.
Beautifully scripted, directed, cutted and acted out.
It's nothing new on purpose.
It's and ode to life when you realise ilife that what you make it.
A Confession (2019)
Apalling justice system
Apart from the tragic victim cases this series showcases the horrific flaws of a justice system failing to a degree where it discourages honest police work and actually dismisses voluntary confessions that holds merit. It also exposes a rotten British police leadership culture where superiors hides behind a rigid PACE procedure which in reality disqualifies the truth from facing the light. Instead subordinates are humiliated by theirs leaders in public while the testimonial (most likely serial) killer is washed off as 'improper'. In case Superintendent Steve Fulcher did nto choose to have that conversation with the killer no other victims would've been found. What an utter disgrace to behold a system of desk popes disqualifying the actions of brave and honest hands on investigators. The only true gross misconduct in this case is the inkompetance of the petty superiors involved.
The Great Hack (2019)
Gain insight and don't fall prey to the constant Fearmongering
Still to this day scary to behold the facual consequenses of being plugged into the matrix as a puppet.
In the case of Cambridge Analytica and Facebook scandal it's documented how easily sving voters were being direcly manipulated via targeted marketing on social media.
Cambridge Analytica provided an (illegal) data harvesting (scraping) of Facebook user data (in conjunction with Facebook) to profile "the persuadables" (sving voters) for political campaigns worldwide.
The objective: How to help one political contender manipulate said voters (plugged into Facebook) in order to achive a desireable result on the vote.
The documentary provides a glimpe into the methodlogy of Cambridge Analytica. How a key figure of the Obama campaign was persuaded to work for C. A. and subsequently aided the Brexit frontrunner campaign as well as the 2016 Trumph's online "Alamo" campaign using said methology - victoriosly (by any means and at any cost - morally as well as financially it seems).
E.g. 70.000 voters in 3 swings states became bombarded with fear propoganda in the 2016 US election and this provided the victory of the Trumph campaign.
As the Guardian reporter in the documentary puts it; The Brexit campaign served as the 'petri dish' of the Trumph campaign.
In short. Personal data was (and arguably still is) illegally harvested (scraped) from Facebook and sold to any third party willing to pay in order for further their political agenda.
The collective human consciousness has been digitalised. We need to take a stand through awareness against the conglomerates as they have not done their ethical howework.
As the documentary examplifies throughout Facebook has clearly graded their own 'social ideologiy' backwards to avoid real ethical stance on offering data as a political propoganda weapon.
What's scary is that the stand involves being aware that everybody is a potential target for misinformation by being plugged into the social grid.
The documentary shows how Facebook clearly bend their 'social ideology' backwards to avoid real ethical stance on the data weapons they have made available to the point where it pretty evident.
Zuckerberg at the Senate hearing pretending to comply while in fact he is really doing is evading responsability at any cost - particularly the cost of scraped Facebook user data.
I get why a CEO like Zuckerberg has to hold a steady ship to maintain some sort of control. But I fear for the state of the world we live in every time those who are really in power in effect over and over turn out as untouchables... and I fear what is happening when master manipulators manage to steer the crowds by exposing them to fear scenarioes to further their own agenda.
Those are my fears and those fears will be exploited on Facebook as their campaigh tools put thousands of profiling data points in the hands of advertisers.
We need to appeal to the reighning leaders of Facebook, Amazon, Google, Apple and Tesla to implement end embed an ethical ideology into both their business logic and their algoritms... rather than waiting for the AI to come will be able to sort of the mess rather thge annihilating the issue (us) for the sake of preserving the planet.
Because once big money talks there appears to be no standards anymore.
The old lesson stands: Don't believe everything you read (or see). Check multiple sources. Verify.
Please don't buy into neither the convenience of looking the other way nor promoting negative discourses fueled by heated emotions.
That's how Hitler won Germany. History will repeat itself unless we stay on our toes and alert.
Be critical yet objective - and recognice that those who try to spread fear and devide by promoting segregation and violence are either blind ideological followers or spindocters orchestrating schemes on behalf of dubious people eager to control your mindset.
Our digital minds have been sold a long ago. It's time to reclaim - peacefully.
Being aware of the fallacy and potentially corrupt nature of social ads is a good start. Watch this documentary with an open mind and it beats the crap out of any horror flick.
Dronningen (2019)
The price of selfism and denial
A daring tale of a flawed human and the wreckage her actions and consequential denial leaves behind. Most will condemn for being as disgraceful as her deviant actions are despicable. Her decisions are obviously uncalled for morally speaking. The hints of her own victim experience as a child in foster care leaves just about enough of an explanation to reason the actions leading to an unavoidable tragedy. Pretty flawless performances in a tale of human manipulation, loyalty and betrayal - of others and ultimately oneself. In the end the rhetoric philosophical question ends up being - are human beings really in charge of their lives. The answer; surely not when as lost in conditional unethical patterns as this fallen Queen. 8.5 / 10 - for a well scripted and executed tale of taboos and turmoil.
Waking Life (2001)
Fear not - dreamers are not the dead ones
This movie is a true account of life outside the Barbie and Ken boxes of suburbia. I seriously consider this a beautiful experience that most people should enjoy and discuss in order to embrace evolution of human life.
If this does not seem match your 'preferred genre profile' or 'entertainment style', do this;
Watch it alone with a open mind - and stay present - accept and understand.
You may in the end be rewarded with a deeper insight to human life through the channeled wisdom of the people involved. Except the red guy in jail who is a truly scary embodiment of unconsciousness... along with the guy who shoots the bartender. Some of the protagonists are deeply trapped within their own minds while other have liberated themselves and as free as birds. Humans as humans should be. Human 2.0 (or is it 3 or 4).
If this is for you: watch it and smile.
The contrast is both scary and powerful and serves to show how we should take responsibility for our lives and each other. But the movie is not moralistic - it's simply honest and most of the people reconstruct a reality that all humans deserve to sense beneath 'the matrix'... as such it's a quest for the truth and the meaning of life.
The first 10 minutes may be an exit prequel for completely unconscious people (almost had me turn it off - I didn't). Guess I am just another example of how we are zombies brainwashed into stereotyped entertainment schemes - accepting the unreal - drama and indifference as the point of life when there is so much more.
In the end it comes forward more as an emotion than through the beautiful perspectives on human life and beyond is portrayed. The narrative is well constructed and creatively put together in a 'acid'-like yet non-cheesy cartoon theater setting. The setting becomes the voice of the movie along with the young male main character trapped in the infinite loop of life. Who am I? What matters? What is dream? What is real?
Personally I will always be grateful for this experience Richard Linklaiter - so thank you! Whether alienated from society, alone, open for new impressions or in spiritual search of meaning and enlightenment this dream is surely one everybody should benefit from having at least once in the lifetime...
The dreamers are not the dead ones!
Community (2009)
Painfully boring...
in spite of an impressive ensemble the community show to me felt like a worst case scenario of unimaginative and impersonal humor. The writing was clichéd, shallow and unimaginative to a degree where it felt annoying - and while some of the actors may cause an occasional smile on your face it will quickly turn to a frown as characters are reduced to flat puppets. I for one found myself struggling just to get past the 3 first episodes of season 1... each one a more one-dimensional, uninspiring and downright dull piece of American standard 'we're so wacky' comedy than the previous one...
In the end Community comes across as a feeble attempt of imitating the pace and style of a great show like Scrubs - but in spite of a far more favorable comedic setting (college) the show fails in every respect in terms of delivery and doesn't even compare to its counterpart...
How and why this show has a rating above 5 on IMDb is an utter mystery to me and seriously challenges the credibility of the IMDb comedy audience seriously praising this. It must be a testament to a crowd of fans willing to settle for less than average as great... combined with bought votes to keep the show afloat.
What I saw was however so unbelievably unimaginative that I'd rather eat a bowl of razors than watching another episode! Don't waste your life on this...
Triangle (2009)
Awful plot structure disguised as recurring nightmare
I cannot believe all the positive raves in here. I also don't get why this movie (or "Devil" for that matter) made it to IMDb recent underrated horror films list by Keith. People - seriously!l
This movie is actually one of the worst horror flicks I have seen in a long time. So bad that I needed to get it out of my system by writing this review - which is like my - third only or something.
AS I NEED TO WARN OTHERS NOT TO WASTE THEIR TIME ON THIS!
The acting was fairly decent all round - and so was the setting (on the sea is used too rarely I think) and the overall feel of the movie. The effects are decent - but the entire premise of the movie is simply a recurring series of loops within loops - resulting in even bigger... well, loops. It seems like this was made for the sole purpose of justify a 'do you get the big picture of this picture' ending. Only problem is - yes - I got it! It was bloody obvious that the end was meant to justify the means - an endless sequence designed to keep the living dead on the edge of their seats.
Its like a pimped wannabe horror version of "Memento" composed by a one track minded script writer with a fetish for plot twists - except he actually forgets the plot. Instead the movie goes nuts and overboard on the twists. Then the director and editors tries to carry it home by camouflaging the entire train wreck as a roller-coaster ghost- ride of a absent-minded schizophrenic and cursed heroine.
The premise of deja-vus completely fails itself with the recurring "Oh - now I remember and know what to do's" (which becomes tedious) and the only outcome is that one feels increasingly alienated from the protagonist. The heroine becomes more of an antagonist - and altogether this movie may impress those easily impressed by anything new - no matter the lack of quality and consistency in the script.
1/10 - maybe it could get 1 star more - but need to 'keep it real' and counterweight the overenthusiastic fan reviews in here (must be the movie team with family and friends).
Seriously, save your time for something worth watching. Like "The Ruins" or "1408" also on Keith Simanton's otherwise decent list. My recommendation for an alternative 'on water' horror / suspense flick would be the excellent "Dead Calm" directed by Ray Ingram (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097162/)
Do yourself a big favor and watch that instead - and leave this to rot at the bottom of the Bermuda Triangle!
The Traveler (2010)
Worst piece of junk movie... ever!
Hope Val Kilmer fired his agent after this - as this movie excels by its complete absence of talent in every aspect of movie-making. The makers of this movie ought to suffer far worse than the characters in this petty excuse of a flick. Cannot believe ANYBODY financed this piece of crap and that it actually made it to DVD. The movie makers ought to pay investors back with interests and compensate its unfortunate viewers for their suffering.
The acting is terrible. The characters are flat and annoying. The plot is at best boring. The cutting is terrible. The effects are exceptionally bad (check the stuffed cat on the stairway in the end - one of the better special effects) and the screenplay is probably the worst piece of junk I have ever come across. Please don't allow the people behind this to ever make a movie again!
Trust me - don't waste your precious time on this!
The Unborn (2009)
Why? I sure don't have a clue...
in regards to why this movie had to be?
Me and my girlfriend just wasted what seems like a year of our life watching this sorry excuse of a movie. I was ready to stop this after 30 minutes...
Completely void of suspense and any psychological tension whatsoever. Amazingly poor script, even worse directed and poorly acted. Like a nightmare you cannot get out of because you need to stay to see how badly this train wrecks. Relies entirely on visual effects that are decently executed, but boring, clichéd and completely outdated...
Sadly commercial and talentless American-style poorly executed adaptation of recent Japanese-style inspired flicks like the Ring, The Grudge etc... soaking and drowning in their aftermath hoping to catch some easy $ in their wake. The people who made this movie happen should be strapped to chairs, put into tiny black boxes and forced to watch this piece of junk over and over for (at least) 1 year. Also, they should be out of work... In fact - they should not be allowed to leave their tiny boxes... EVER! Unoriginal, uninspired and a utter bloody waste of time!