ophelia82006 Reviews

Baby Ruby (2022)

What nobody tells you...

[7/10 · 7 June 2023]

Nobody tells you that all babies are not created equal. Some will literally suck the life out of you when you already don't have much life to give. A baby that incessantly cries is not the same as one that sleeps and smiles and coos.

That is what this movie is about. The underlying questioning of yourself and your abilities. The feeling that you are losing yourself, your sanity and that nothing is going to be the same again. That everyone else has it together while you are drowning.

This movie was so triggering because it captured every one of those feelings. It was hard to watch for these reasons, but also a brilliant idea for a horror film...

Under the Banner of Heaven (2022)

True picture of what religion and relying on "faith" can do

[10/10 · 27 May 2022]

I was not brought up Mormon, rather Jehovah's Witness, but so many of the elements share a commonality. The reliance on "faith" to a supernatural power which is, in reality, reliance on man's interpretation of "God". The greatest sin of having apostolic thoughts that include questioning what has been ingrained in your mind and heart since birth and finally the crisis of conscience that occurs when you can no longer depend on the "church" and are now alone with your thoughts and have to learn to think for yourself. I have been through all the phases of what I consider "grief" and loss that comes from daring to leave a controlling belief system and being shunned from family and friends because of it.

I know some feel this show does not portray "all Mormons" and likely you are right. That said, I don't think it is meant to. It is meant to portray what happens when extreme adherence begins to etch into the mind and becomes a seed for violence. This idea that a religion can be removed from its tenets and history is hypocritical and from that perspective you can understand where Mormon (or any kind of) fundamentalism stems. If your religion and religious book defends or even is a proponent of misogyny, violence and other malignant behaviors, just choosing not to adhere to these extremes is not enough. You have to cut it off at its root and begin to think for yourself. Typically people are raised in faith traditions and just continue to follow the palatable tenets and traditions while throwing out or ignoring the ones that are hard to digest. This show points out, however, that you can't parse the good from the bad and continue to follow a religion whose history and tenets are of a violent nature.

Midnight Mass (2021)

Interesting concept, annoying characters

[6/10 · 2 October 2021]

The concept of this show is interesting but many of the characters (particularly the religious ones) were insufferable. I was shouting "shut up" at the TV often. Although it does pretty much sum up what I think of obnoxious religious people...