tiefirst Reviews

Airheads (1994)

What a cool movie

[8/10 · 9 June 2022]

We've got Brendan Frazier before he dissappered, Adam Sandler before he had to make movies for himself, Kramer, David St Hubbins, two ghostbusters,a fun and funny story, and lastly a brief cameo from Galactic Cowboys.

Sons of Thunder aka Galactic Cowboys was a nice surprise, however brief. If you like the era of music that is promoted in this movie, give Galactic Cowboys a try. They're a nice little band from Texas that never got as known as they deserve, but always seem to be having fun making rockin' music.

Airheads doesn't break any ground, but it is a good time from start to finish. The story is over the top and unlikely, but it can be taken as inspiring.

It has a School of Rock vibe to it, although it came out quite a bit earlier than School of Rock, and it doesn't have much of a grounded underlying theme as School of Rock does. But both movies are true to the art they are portraying.

There's not much I have to offer cinematically here. Just enjoy the ride and the rock.

Stranger Things: Chapter One: The Hellfire Club (2022) Season 4, Episode 1

Not a great start, but still has potential

[7/10 · 30 May 2022]

Like many others are stating, the first episode of season 4 is heavy with filler.

It is still pretty evident that the creators are still invested in their product, as episode two will yield.

Couple of points about the first episode. The biggest being the basketball game. If I recall, this show is set in Indiana. Indiana is widely regarded as the home of basketball....esecially as it pertains to high school basketball. As with high school basketball, this is usually a winter sport. Indiana, being a midwestern state does experience all four seasons. If its basketball season, especially end of season tournament time, there could likely be winter weather. If no snow, the students would certainly be dressed for the weather. The people in the episode are all acting and dressing as if its a mild fall or spring day.

Also, the game takes place in the late afternoon. Basketball in a state like Indiana, would be treated like a prime time event and not an afterthought.

I know I went on about this detail a bit long, but its one that bugged me in the moment of viewing.

Another problem that reoccurred that I had forgotten about is the little black girl. I forget her name. She was one of the biggest mistakes that the series made in season three, and they brought her back.

Here's the problem. She's this series attempt at checking the woke box. I don't feel like this show has much to do with that nonsense, but with her it seems evident.

She's smug, which is a huge annoyance. She has every answer for every situation. She gets forced into the role of hero without ever earning it. She's just right about everything and good at everything because..... We were invested in Dustin and Steve, but here she comes stealing ALL of their thunder in season three. Now they bring her back in the first episode and make her a hero again. I'd dial her back like Jar Jar or Rose, but I feel like we're going to get more of her than we could ever want.

Otherwise, the show seems like its going to deliver again.

The Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020)

Whatever this is, it went for it.

[7/10 · 27 May 2022]

There seems to be a lot of love it or hate it reviews surrounding this movie. I completely get it, either way.

I happened to enjoy this movie. I don't know if its a multiple watch type of movie, but I enjoyed the time I spent with it.

The writer, director, actor(one guy)did a decent job with each aspect. People say he overacted.....he did, but to a credit.

People say he didn't write very well. I personally thought the dialogue was engaging. His jokes landed with me, anyway. I laughed more at this movie than I did at some more well known comedies circulating right now that one may find on the big red N.

People say he didn't direct this very well. I didn't see too much to fuss at with direction. The Wolf of Snow Hollow is short, sweet, and doesn't get bogged down or raise too many questions.

The cinematogrophy is very good, although I'd say the technology today allows for even an ametuer to do a decent job anymore. Still though, worth crediting.

Really, the only complaint I could make is that they kind of wrap it up nice and tight and very abruptly.

This is an odd movie. Its definetly its own thing, but they owned it.

Wrath of Man (2021)

When the dialogue is more ficticious than the action

[6/10 · 19 May 2022]

I took upon watching Wrath of Man because of Jason Statham. I almost turned it off when I saw Guy Ritchie was a part of this.

The dialogue is ridiculous within this movie. Armored truck security employees don't talk like this. Nobody talks like this. I don't mind a little embelishment for style, but the script is out of bounds stupid.

I can deal with the crazy action and fight sequences of Jason Statham, but Guy Ritchie's dialogue is just dumb.

I don't get what people see in his movies.

This got a six for Statham, and could have got more.

Ritchie held this back....as normal.

Senior Year (2022)

3/10 for Rebel's comeback attempt

[3/10 · 18 May 2022]

Rebel Wilson is sort of a love her or hate her actress. I tend to be in favor of her.

Senior Year wasn't a great attempt after an abscence from her. I don't blame her. She has the chops for a decent comedy. I blame Netflix. Netflix can suck the big one. This streaming service can only benefit from getting out of the production industry and just bring us content from people who actually know how to make movies.

This movie could have been a balls to the wall comedy. It had the people and the content, but it went light on the comedy and decided to try and be a satire fore wokeness. Now I'm all for sticking the woke movement wher the sun don't shine. This pathetic chapter in the history of humanity can't end quick enough. However, if someone wanted to create a satire at the expense of the woke movement, Netflix isn't the ones to do it. They are the problem. They are bought in. They tried to do a satire piece here and failed because they don't believe in what they were doing.

We could have been given a hysterical comedy......it even had an R rating as it was. So they weren't afraid to go there. But instead we got typical Netflix crap.

Beware the big red N.

Odd Thomas (2013)

This is more geared for a series than a movie

[5/10 · 4 May 2022]

The tone of Odd Thomas is set from the word go, and you're either in or you're out.

If directed and edited differently, it might have made a decent little movie. Instead, it plays like an episode of a comic book adaptation one would see on the CW.

The lead, Anton Yelchin, does a fine job in his role. Sadly, we lost him at a young age. He already had a pretty good list of works and could have done more.

The leading lady, Addison Timlin, is nice to look at, but her acting chops in this movie are heavily lacking. It isn't the script, its her. She cannot deliver a line. She is just regurgitating her script in a nervous hurrid pace.

Willam DeFoe is misplaced in this movie. He's a treasure, but he's out of this movie's league.

The story, the action, and the dialogue are not enough to do anything special for this movie. Again, it just feels like cable series level quality.

Saint Maud (2019)

Has the potential, but doesn't deliver

[6/10 · 2 May 2022]

Saint Maud has some elements that do work, but overall it doesn't quite fullfill as a movie for any genre.

I believe this is supposed to be a horror movie. The director, who I believe is also the writer, creates a premise and couples that with atmosphere, sound, lighting, imagery, and score to suggest some appealing horror elements. The problem is that there is no real delivery or payoff.

Our protagonist would appear to also be our antagonist, but she doesn't really serve either roll to any complete level.

The problem? Dilema? Whatever one would call the driving force of the story is almost absent. There's just not much to root for or be concerned with or care to see through. The story starts off suggesting something of a plot, but then gives that up for really nothing at all.

Secondary and tirtiary characters come and go, but add nothing to the story. Its pretty much the one girl's story, and there isn't much to that.

Saint Maud seems to be in the same vein as The Empty Man or maybe Hereditary in its attempts at atmosphere and mood, but it doesn't compare in plot or story to either of those others.

I'll give this movie its due in potential. I just wish it would have been more refined for its own sake.

Freaks (2018)

Strike two

[3/10 · 24 April 2022]

This is strike two this evening of trying to find an even watchable movie on Netflix.

The Rental lasted a whole 20 minutes before I shut it off. I'm a little over halfway through Freaks. It isn't looking good.

Our main protagonist's powers are getting her way by throwing a tantrum......well done. Just what today's society needed.

The movie also features Emile Hirsch. I called him not Jack Black in this case. I'm probably on an island on this one, but I don't get the buzz around Emile Hirsch. I don't really care for him in his movies.

Bruce Dern is Bruce Dern.

Question; can anyone imagine this movie running through theaters? That's become my test of the quality of these movies on streaming platforms. Could they fill a theater? This one couldn't.

I think the oversaturation of streaming platforms has watered down the quality of movies. Anybody, these days, with a few bucks and a camera can get a movie produced. There's a platform for them, and it shows.

I guess there's an audience for everything. This movie has plenty of 8 and higher ratings. I guess it doesn't take much anymore to impress people. Between Netflix, Prime, Hulu, Tik Tok, youtube....... It should be a vast universe of whatever the heart desires, but we're instead left with poorly executed half baked ideas by posers.

Speilberg isn't going to be here forever and Kubrick and Hitchcock are already gone. Does anyone want to even try to fill those shoes? Anyone at all?

1:14. I'm done.

3/10 for Bruce Dern, and I'm really not that big of a fan of his.

True Blood (2008–2014)

Very late to the party, but leaving just as early

[5/10 · 21 April 2022]

I'm giving the show a generic 5/10 rating. I watched the first episode. The setting doesn't do anything for me.....not a New Orleans or Louisiana fan.

The premise of having vampires be a known and accepted minority race doesn't excite me.

Anna Pacquin's mysterious abilities are intreguing, but perhaps not enough to hook me.

The biggest problem is the character of Tara. Now if I had any intent to run with this show, she may be a character that has a deeper importance to the show. I'm not, and her only contributions to this episode were being the absolute worst person ever. She was all kinds of wrong and without reason or recourse. Maybe in 2006 or whenever this show started, Tara was cutting edge and empowering. In 2022, she's worn out and exhausting. And I looked ahead at the episode guide. Apparently she is a long running character.

Butchers (2020)

Why?

[1/10 · 19 April 2022]

Why indeed. Why can't filmakers understand the very simple concept of creating likeable characters that the audience cares about? If we don't care and can't relate to them, then we aren't attatched enough to be bothered when they meet adversity.

I don't know. Maybe you all do relate them. Maybe I'm the odd man out.

Make the characters likeable. You can't just put pretty women in movies and call it good. If you do go this route, then you better have them deliver the goods.

Or, you could just make them LIKEABLE!!!

This movie fails on many levels, but it mostly fails because nobody could or should invest themselves in the wellbeing of the characters.

I only lasted about 20 minutes before tapping out.

Metal Lords (2022)

Decent, but should have been so much more

[6/10 · 13 April 2022]

My initial feeling going into this was that it was going to be like School of Rock. It didn't take long to see that this wasn't going to be the case. Despite it being a completely different movie, it still had all of the makings and opportunity to be just as good. Metal Lords could have and should have been an instant classic. It was not.

As with ALL Netflix productions, the budget is there. Therefore the production is top notch. The staffing is top notch. The cinematogrophy is top notch. The music, especially here, was top notch. The writing and pacing? Nowhere to be found. Does Netflix hire tik tokers to write this stuff, or edit it?

The three main actors were great for their rolls, but the script was inadequate. I don't blame them.

There were moments that were unearned like the drum kit acquisition, the romance between the two leads, the moment of cheating at the wedding party, the invitation and discovery of the cellist, the check in and escape of the recovery center. These all could have been better fleshed out, but they blew through this stuff to make room for a bully, a secondary romantic influence, a mental disorder, and an unrealistic timeline to be prepared for a live show.

There was no need for a bully dynamic in this movie, plus it never got resolved. There was no need for the false romantic interest since they had the actual romantic interest between the drummer and cellist.

And why, why, why do movies insist on unrealistic timelines? We're not looking for suspense in a rock movie. If they need six months or a year to get ready, let them have that. But not two weeks.

I'm not sure what the sideplot with the mental disorder was either. In a different movie, this might have worked. In this movie, it made a monster out of what should have been a great character.

The fast lovers dynamic was icky. These are teenagers, right? Is this how they talk and progress into a sexual relationship these days? God help us if this is accurate.

I like that the movie did not just try and immitate School of Rock. I like that it attempted to investigate some of these offshoots within the teenager dynamic. I think they played on too many negative aspects painting a bleak picture of what a teenager's life looks like. These were pretty awful teens with completely absent parents.

If this movie could have established a point and focused on that point, this could have been a spectacular movie. Unfortunately it dabbled in too many topics and themes and had no identity. The poor characters had no identity.

I give it a 6 out of 10 for trying and almost being something good.

Maybe one day, Netflix will simply sign the damn checks and stop interfering with artistic liberties. I've seen brand name directors attatched to Netflix Originsls. I know they work together. Let them work.

All of Us Are Dead (2022– )

This series keeps outdoing itself with each episode.

[8/10 · 1 April 2022]

I'm more of a movie person. Sit down for two hours. Enjoy. Move on. I have a hard time getting into series material. Stranger Things, Game of Thrones, and Squid Game are just a few that landed with me, but should that really come as a surprise. On the other hand, Yellowstone, Breaking Bad, and Ozark did not hook me. The point being, I can be a hard sell when it comes to series material.

All of Us Are Dead was the most recent series that I took a chance on. With all of the zombie based material out there, I had reservations, and really only jumped in based on its high rating. As of writing this, I only have the last episode to watch. This series has managed to get better with every episode. I heard one reviewer suggest that its too long and could have cut some subplots or character interactions. I disagree. Everything going on here only serves the development of something bigger. The dialogues are all needed to base and give depth to the characters. I came to care for almost every character, good or bad.

I also had thought, at first glance, that the dialogue between the students was clumsy and generic. On second thought, its probably closer to how teens talk to each other than is usually presented in film and television. The tension is present and done well. The students drive to survive coupled by their shortcomings in doing so, whether because of age, stature, experience, or resources, seems fairly real.

These episodes hit a little harder with each one.

If you're reading this as a consideration to start the series, I would say go for it.

If you're reading this as a consideration to continue the series, I would say stay with it.

I am usually jaded with whatever I watch. Few movies or series play with my emotions anymore. Episodes 10 and 11 are butt kickers. If you can manage to be invested in the characters, any of them, these two episodes will affect you.

I can't wait to see how this wraps up. One to go.

Halloween Kills (2021)

Halloween Kills......its own franchise.

[3/10 · 28 March 2022]

Kind of like with the last few seasons of The Walking Dead, I felt more of an obligation to see this movie through more than a genuine desire to watch it.

Other than the nastalgia of bringing back actors from the original movie, I'm not sure what makes this a Halloween movie.

Halloween is more about suspense and implied violence. This movie brings a lot of pointless gore. Michael Myers is supposed to be driven and efficient. He stalks specific and relevant targets, he kills, he moves on. The killer in this movie, whoever he is, spends time making a mess out of everyone in a ten yard radius of where he was in that moment. Completely not the character of Michael Myers.

Halloween was also a good suspenseful horror movie, and nothing more. This goofy abomination has also decided to check the woke boxes. Let's see; Do we have a specified percent of black characters? Check Do we have any gay characters? Check Are our female characters not only strong, but stronger than the men? Check Nobody is watching Halloween for an activist message. Get it out of here. Get it out of everywhere while you're at it.

They really need to come up with another genre of movies for junk like this. Its not scary enough to be horror. Its not suspenseful enough to be thriller. Its not funny.....at least by design, so it isn't a comedy.

Way too many "horror" movies since the 90's could fill up this unspecified genre.

The Adam Project (2022)

Did you all feel my giant eye roll?

[4/10 · 20 March 2022]

The Adam Project isn't a good movie. I knew it wouldn't be going into it, but it looked like it would at least be mindless fun.

For starters, its a Netflix original content project, so there's strike one.

The cgi is laughably bad. People, Jurrasic Park came out almost 30 years ago. Why is there still substandard cgi in our movies?

The writing and story are almost absent. Young Adam buys in way to quickly and easily. The relationship between old Adam and Gamora has no foundation and we feel nothing for her loss.

And can we give it a break with time travel as an element of story telling? I don't believe its possible or will ever be realized, but all it serves as in movies is plot convenience. At least Terminator and Back to the Future had respect for the topic while they played with it.

With all of that said, it is just a movie and Ryan Reynolds is still enjoyable, but this movie lost me with one line.

Kathy Keener's character when talking to her younger self refers to our current environment as toast.

For the love of God, will people in the news media, government, and our entertainment media shut the hell up about how doomed the environment is? If people want to start being stewards of our planet, then start acting like it. But put up or shut up.

I don't think I can stand to hear another woke ass bit of preachy liberal dialogue in our various forms of entertainment media. Make an entertaining product without telling us what to think or how to feel. If you do want to force an agenda, then make a documentary and see how few people come to watch.

When I stop seeing trash all over the sides of the roads and littering parks and shopping areas, I'll start listening to people crying about our doomed planet. When I stop seeing people racing to be the first to have the biggest house or the newest car or the latest technology or seeing every single damn human walking around like a zombie with their face glued to a phone screen, then maybe I'll believe that I live on a planet inhabited by people who actually do care about the environment. In the mean time, we're all a bunch of self righteous hypocrites and some of us think we need to tell everyone else how bad we're treating our home. Fine, preach away. Just don't do it within the scope of my time of relaxation and attempted enjoyment.

Damn it anyway.

The Last Duel (2021)

Unsure of the intent here.

[6/10 · 15 March 2022]

Through two thirds of The Last Duel, I felt like I was watching a slow paced mideival period piece movie. As it turns out, this movie is based on a real account in history. However, being the time setting was the late 1300's, who knows where the facts land?

The story is engaging enough, and Adam Driver is great as always. Matt Damon is good when they can surgically remove Ben Affleck from him.....this wasn't the case here. Jodie Comer is an up and comer(no pun intended) that has caught my interest. I just saw her in Free Guy prior to seeing The Last Duel.

It was the third chapter, Comer's perspective, where my radar was going nuts. The movie seemed to reveal a woke, me too vibe as it broached the subject of Comer's rape and redemption. This rose to the surface mostly in the trial scene. I get that things were more primitive and drachonian(spelling??) in the 14th century as it pertains to gender equality and trial proceedings or even the understanding of the biology of sex. With all of that said, it really hit me hard as an agenda based preachy moment in an otherwise well done movie. Regardless of intent, it took me right out of the movie. The climactic duel wasn't enough to recover my interest and I'll be paying attention to see if Comer finds herself in future roles that could be taken as pushing an agenda.

Antlers (2021)

Slow burn, rushed conclusion

[5/10 · 22 February 2022]

Not really much to add here that other reviewers have already said.

As far as production goes, this is a nice piece of work. It looks great. Some really nice panoramics, and good lighting and atmosphere.

The acting seems to be on par, and the subdued dialogue and script compliment the somber tone of the story.

Again, technically its a nice movie.

The movie is missing the "it" factor. Its a slow paced movie, which is fine, but there are longer movies that manage to achieve some sort of pace. Antlers can be dreadfully slow at times.

I liken it to Jaws. There's a small community that is terrorized by a natural entity. Bodies begin to turn up, yet authorities aren't ready to except the source of the killings. One of the few members of the community who is ready to accept the monster is the one who has to remove it.

I don't need to validate Jaws. However, I think we can all agree that Jaws has the "it" factor. Antlers does not, but then again it seems that most movies made within the last 20 or so years don't have it.

I'm not sure what the creators of Antlers could have done differently. All I know is that this isn't a movie that people will look to see a second time. It just doesn't demand it.

Can't Hardly Wait (1998)

Its no Dazed and Confused

[5/10 · 1 February 2022]

Can't Hardly Wait feels as if it its trying to be the 90's contribution to the slice of life style movies for a decade or a generation that we've seen in the past.

I think of American Graffiti representing the late 50's/ early 60's. Then there's Dazed and Confused representing the 70's. Fast Times at Ridgemont High rounds out the early 80's. Then we get Can't Hardly Wait for the 90's.

I had enough audible chuckles with this movie, and did generally enjoy my time with it. It is lacking, however, when compared to the other movies mentioned and how they relate to their specific time period.

As someone who graduated high school early in the 90's, I never felt a connection to any character type within this movie. I didn't get involved with any of the story lines either. I only felt like a spectator. I also didn't care about any of the characters. I think the movie wants us to care about Ethan Embry's character, but he spent so much time moping that I was just exhausted with him. His character is such a deviation from what the rest of the movie is trying to do that it would have been better to just not write him in at all.

The all night party with underage drinking seemed unlikely. That didn't bother me too much as I accepted it as a set piece more than the actual event taking place. The cops showing up at 4:00 in the morning was stupid though. That kind of party in that kind of neighborhood would have been stopped by law enforcement before midnight. Neighbors would be bothered by this and make a call.

I don't know how big the graduating class was supposed to be, but for Jennifer Love Hewitt to be the goddess of the class was a bit much as well. She's cute and all, but just at that party, I thought there were a few lookers beyond her. My graduating class only had 94 students, and there were plenty of girls who were well regarded or desireable. Of course, with a class that small, everyone knows each other and you get a chance to know everyone for who they are.....which goes a long way.

Dazed and Confused will always be the gold standard for these types of movies. Even though its set in the 70's, I can relate to every character in that movie. I can easily connect certain classmates I had to specific characters within the movie. Whatever they did when makeing Dazed and Confused, they nailed it.

Can't Hardly Wait missed the mark.

Big Brother (2018)

What???

[3/10 · 28 January 2022]

I generally like Donnie Yen's work, but I'm not sure what's going on here.

I know there's a little bit of a cultural gap between Chinese and US filmmaking. This movie goes beyond those gaps.

Within a standard run time, Big Brother attempts to be a martial arts movie, inspirational underdog story, war story, man against organized crime movie, comedy, drama, second chance story, and what else....

The dialogue is clunky. There are seear words that don't work within the seemingly intended tone.

There are scenes of nudity that are awkward and out of place.

Performances by the struggling students are rushed and don't really have realized conclusions.

Donnie is supposed to be an inspirational teacher, but never teaches class. Instead he acts more as a guardian angel for the students.

The plot lines set around combat are way out of place.

I'm all for seeing Donnie Yen doing what he does best, but just commit to that in a fluid story line.

If they want to flex Donnie's muscle within a dramatic performance, then commit to that instead.

This movie just tries to do way too many things.

Oh, and what's with the soundtrack? Is that China's version of K pop on display? If so......just don't.

Aileen Wuornos: American Boogeywoman (2021)

Are there any competent writers anymore?

[1/10 · 24 January 2022]

I lasted less than 10 minutes with this movie.

I tolerate quite an assortment of good and bad when it comes to movies. I will sit through almost anything.

I had no hopes for this movie, but it starred Peyton List. As I enjoy her work in Cobra Kai, I thought this might be a nice side project of hers where I could see her expand her range.

I know Peyton is still very young and most of her credits go to Disney channel series level of quality. As much as I enjoy Cobra Kai, its not high quality cinema either.

I hope she can one day get a break out role and be regarded as a major actress, but this movie didn't aid in that journey.

I could only take 10 minutes of the terrible on the nose writing. This writing had no innovation, no poetry, nothing to compell the viewer, and after a brief ride I concluded that it wasn't going to get better.

First off, we meet an adult Aileen in custody and awaiting her execution. I get that years of murder and probably drug use along with a stay in prison will rough a person up, but there's no way Peyton List grows up to be the adult version played on the screen. That was my petty criticism.

Young Aileen is seen turning a trick with a rather large man in a truck. Little Aileen robs and beats this large man with little effort.

Following the previous scene, Aileen walks down a beach and past a group of people her age. A girl in the group immediately gets up, goes to Aileen, asks her name, and invites her to the group. I know its the 70's in this scene, but there were no suspiscious looks or talking amongst the group. There were no judgemental looks towards Aileen. The girl greeting Aileen had not a moment of suspiscion or hestitation of this strange girl just passing by. Under the fairest of circumstances, this is just an unlikely behaviour for young clicky teenagers.

Aileen accepts this invitation. This sociopath who just sold her body and committed assault and possibly murder decides that socializing with a bunch of teens is a comforting and logical option. Again, not likely.

Once she is accepted, a boy in the group immediately gets right in her face and lays out an assault of vile insults at her in regards to sexual acts. These were not in any way playful jabs. This could never have been confused with light hazing or flirting. Besides that, Peyton is gorgeous. Even though this is a scene in a movie, the fact remains she's still an attractive young lady. Under no circumstance is a young available man going to greet her with terrible and ill motivated insults.

Aileen cracks the guy across the head with a 6 pack and begins to walk away. The girl who initiated conversation chases down Aileen and insists on taking her home with her. Yes, this complete stranger who just laid out a friend is still viewed as someone safe to befriend and bring to her own home.

I quit after that. The logic with any of it was completely absent. It all only served to push the plot, but it was clumsy and rushed beyond anything I've seen in recent memory. Also, the dialogue was so weak in creating these scenes.

I'm not even sure what basic level of writing to compare this with. Maybe see spot run? I don't know. At least see spot run serves a specific purpose to a specific audience.

Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016)

Uhmmm....

[3/10 · 17 January 2022]

How bad is the first Ouija movie, that this one is regarded as better? I haven't seen the first Ouija, but I did watch this....prequal?

It was fairly boring. Another review on here said to just watch the Exorcist intead. I would go a little farther and suggest that the trailer for the Exorcist would be more scary and entertaining.

This movie doesn't make good use of its time. It has a standard running time, but there isn't much content packed in there.

The mom is a complete dope. I know its set in the 60's, and that wasn't the best time to be a single mother, but she still makes some terrible judgement calls.

The older daughter is overall fine, but she seems to be rushed and fed all of the answers very quickly when the plot demands it.

The youngest daughter is the biggest problem here. I wish filmmakers would just stop with these evil child plot devices. It is played out. You could have plugged this little girl into every movie ever made featuring a child troubled by a spirit and she'd fit right in. Its copy and paste at its best. Children can be portrayed as creepy, but you have to earn it. This movie doesn't.

Maybe my expectations for a horror movie are too high, or maybe I'm just desensitized.

Luz (II) (2018)

Just because it might be smart, doesn't mean its good

[5/10 · 5 January 2022]

I give Luz a 5 out of 10. I do this because I at least owe the makers of this movie their due. I think they did what they set out to do. The problem is that they didn't include the audience. A movie can be a lot of things; smart, angry, dijointed, simplistic, action packed, erotic, whatever.... But doesn't it still have to be appealing? Otherwise what's the point?

Trust me. Whatever underlying tones or metaphors are present with this movie will not be reached by hardly anyone. And I would contest that those who claim to understand what's going on with this movie are fooling you and themselves.

These art movies can continue to be produced the way they are. That's fine and even great, but give the audience a payoff, or something. Anything at all. This movie doesn't deliver anything for the effort you will put into watching it.

Babysitter Must Die (2020)

I guess this was my cure for insomnia

[3/10 · 30 November 2021]

I came to a crossroads the other night. Do I head to bed, or do I find a short run time movie? In hindsight, I should have went to bed. Instead I watched The Babysitter Must Die.....well mostly. It was free and only ran for 76 minutes. If we're completely honest, I did sleep through a chunk of this. I got enough from what I saw to formulate an opinion on this movie....and actually, I probably knew before I selected this flick what I was in for.

The Babysitter Must Die has a few major problems. The first is that the creators missed their mark on the tone of this movie. I don't mind that the movie uses the tone that it did, but it really wasn't set up for the audience that way. The title throws us off first. Then the character build of the babysitter misleads us again. Yet again, we're misdirected by some freeze frame exposition about the babysitter's skillset. This is set up to be a movie, perhaps in the vein of Scott Pilgrim or Kill Bill. You know, a movie with some tongue in cheek dialogue and maybe some dark comedy. It doesn't do this.....at all.

Another problem is the cultits, if you can really call them that. They bring no sense of dread to the movie. Sure they kill of few people in cold blood, but they come off more like regular people we might encounter at the supermarket than they do as servants of the devil. There's a movie called You're Next that I think this movie wanted to be. The antagonists in You're Next were just hired thugs in animal masks, but masks or not, they brought a sense of dread upon first arrival. The cultists in TBMD never hit the mark with this major characteristic.

Another smaller problem is with the lead actress. She really didn't have the charisma to get the audience on board. She was clearly too old to be playing this role, but she also just didn't have the "it" factor. She didn't need to be a stone cold fox for this to work....she wasn't. But something just felt off with her. Really, the only character that did work in this movie was the little girl being babysat.

The Babysitter Must Die is just another movie in a long list of bad movies that is part of a bigger problem of the oversaturation of the streaming industry that we are experiencing right now. These streaming platforms either fill their libraries with B and C level garbage or worse yet, they promote their "original content". I'm not sure which catagory TBMD lands in, but either way it is a cut rate movie that will be seen by more people than it deserves. There are too many ways for movies to be made or picked up for production or to be broadcast to a wide audience. And coupled with the amount of people in the world now who have ready access and time to view these vacuous libraries, more and more of this second and third tier product will be made.

Netflix hit the jackpot with Stranger Things. That was a pretty early on "original content" win. Then Netflix went back for more....and more. Then the other platforms jumped into the game. Pretty much all of it failing horribly, but people watch this stuff, so everyone thinks these are high quality productions. These platforms need to learn their place. They aren't creators. They're messengers. Bring the content, don't make it. You're no good at it.

Merantau (2009)

As far as martial arts go, this one has heart

[8/10 · 29 November 2021]

I've seen a few movies now from the lead actor of Merantau(I can't ever remember his name). I believe Merantau is his first movie......its still his best. This movie does a great job of getting the audience behind our lead. He's humble, outwardly thinking, caring, and doesn't really want to take on what this story dishes out to him. He's a very admirable character. The siblingshe ends up having to help are also likable despite their shortcomings. The main antagonists are a bit cartoonish, but still different enough to keep things fresh.

There are some terrific fight sequences offered up here....as good as anything else that's out there. But for as good as the fighting is, the movie just has a lot of heart in it.

Merantau is one of my favorites in the martial arts genre.

The Raid: Redemption (2011)

Worth the watch

[6/10 · 29 November 2021]

I had heard the The Raid was a very good martial arts movie. I heard that it had a fairly well developed story, relative to its genre.

For the quality of martial arts techniques exhibited, I'd say it meets expectations.

For story, it starts off strong. Unfortunately, it finishes a little out of breath.

I really enjoy the lead actor in this movie. I've seen a few of his movies, but Merantau is still his best overall film. As a rule, with his movies, they do tend to have a bit more under the skin than most martial arts flicks.

Where this movie succeeds is in the level of suspense and dread that it creates for the protagonists, early on. It accomplishes this in a very simple and direct manner. I wish the creator of this movie could have kept that momentum all the way to the end.

Another area of success is within the display of skill in the fighting segments. There aren't a lot of quick sequence editing tricks. We get to see these techniques play out in somewhat long takes. There's a lot of skill shown here, and the care in presenting it.

Where the movie fails is a hard drop in tension and realism. At some point, probably after the first ambush on the SWAT team, the tension leaves the movie and doesn't come back. The realism leaves shortly after. I can't speak much to why it loses tension. It just does. The realism is a lot easier to point out. One of the most common flaws in martial arts, or fighting films in general, is the characters seeming to be indestructible. This movie loses its spark from this flaw in a big way. Most of the fights are quick. Two guys face off. There's a few well choreographed exchanges. One dies. One moves on. The elongated fights, with the main antagonist fighter to be specific, are so long and unreal that they become boring. I know the creator wants to showcase the skill, but its at the cost of any sense of harm to either fighter. At one point, a character is hung from a chain and punched on as if he were a heavy bag. He gets released only to get up and begin fighting as if he were fresh and unharmed. In the same climatic scene, there's a two on one fight with the one being horribly outsized, yet he is able to overcome a size disadvantage and a numbers disadvantage. He even continues to fight at a high level after he has been stabbed in the throat. At some point, taking bodily abuse has to mean something for these fight sequences to carry weight. I wish martial arts movies would figure this out going forward. Some realism would go a long way.

The Raid was certainly a fun watch, but its not the best martial arts film out there.

Nobody (I) (2021)

Nothing stronger than plot armor

[7/10 · 19 November 2021]

Nobody was a fun enough ride if you suspend belief in reality. The movie is set in our reality, but our protagonist seems to be superhuman. Its fun to turn off the brain from time to time and just enjoy our hero kicking butt. That's what this movie is. Oh sure, he takes his beatings. I think this is to make us think he's just like us. The problem is, he takes pummeling, knife stabs, gunfire, small explosives, and two car crashes and manages to mildly limp away only to be fully recovered by the next scene. So there's that.

The motive here is misguided and even absent. Our protagonist does a ton of damage and takes a lot of lives due to a fight he picked. He's the victim of a home invasion in which he declines any confrontation, but only seeks out vengence once he realizes that his daughter's bracelet was taken. He pursues the home invaders to a dead end. And that should have been that. On the bus ride home, some Russian spoiled brats get on his bus and start causing trouble....you've seen the previews likely. He beats them all to within inches of their lives. Well, one happens to be a Russian gangster's kin. We've been here before. When will the Russians learn how to play nice? His beatdown of the busriders is motivation lost. Chasing a novelty bracelet was sweet, but not vengence worthy. Beating down thugs on a bus was just dumb. This, of course, sets everything in motion. Now we're rooting for him to fight a fight he started.

Once set in motion, its one fight scene after another. Sometimes he's on offense, sometimes he's on defense. It goes back and forth a few times.

Strangely enough, the best scenes in the movie are non fighting scenes. There's good scene between him and his wife where they discuss their drifting apart. There's a good scene between him and his daughter where she values his protective qualities. The moment before the bus brawl where he considers his actions which is pretty solid. He has a nice moment with his dad before things get nasty. And my favorite scene is where he confronts the main antogonist over a dinner at the antagonist's club. The fight scenes are fairly uninspired. I actually checked out for a moment during the last fight at the wharehouse. It got a little too silly.

I gave this movie a higher score than it probably deserved. I found Bob Odenkirk to be a nice change of pace from the stereotypical action stars, so that was nice. He was mysterious, assertive, and funny. There were a couple of moments that made me chuckle. I know they were by design, but they still worked. Christopher Lloyd has some fun scenes.

I'm not in law enforcement or CIA or FBI. I'm not a veteran of any of the armed forces either. I know there are some well trained and dangerous people out there, but some of these characters in movies are getting to be a bit much. I don't care how well trained or hardened you are, at some point you lose to physics like everyone else. At some point, you're hopelessly outnumbered or against impossible odds.

In the case of movies, there's plot armor, and nothing is stronger than that.