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Reviews
Top of the Lake (2013)
What a hot mess of hot messes
Where to start? You think this is going to be a mystery about a girl gone missing. There are hints that she was sexually abused by her stepdad (or step brothers) and the detective on the case (Elizabeth Moss) can't seem to get over her own emotional baggage to help. And what the ever loving HELL is up with the community of old ladies living in containers? Holly Hunter's character GJ is a complete train wreck. All of her scenes make ABSOLUTELY no sense whatsoever. And the kid with the YES/NO written on his hands who won't talk. Can this get any weirder? There is absolutely no plot, no story, just a mixture of scenes strung together in the faint hopes that the viewer won't be able to figure out that nothing is happening. The only thing this series has going for it is nice scenery. And what the hell is up with people walking out into icy cold water?? If you think my review is rambling, spend 5 hours watching this and you'll realize I make more sense than this series.
Sound of Freedom (2023)
Oscar worthy but will get snubbed
Jim Caveziel gives an incredible performance as a Homeland Security agent tasked with tracking down child pornographers. His journey takes him into the dark underground of human traffickers and reveals their motives and methods for luring and kidnapping young children. And sets him in a mission to find two and return them to their family.
I really feel that this story has been a long time coming and so glad to see someone who's been practically ostracized from Hollywood (due to Passion of the Christ) deliver an outstanding performance in a movie about a topic no one in Hollywood wants to discuss.
And for that reason, it will get snubbed. It's a shame too. Caveziel has earned his place in the industry but he'll never get the accolades he deserves.
The Black Demon (2023)
Where to start?
I actually had to go through the process of resetting my password so that I could write this. Where did this film go wrong? Literally everywhere after the premise. The idea was good....a massive, "godlike" shark is summoned to enact revenge on the oil company shill who falsified safety documents which poisoned the water and killed the town it once promised to help with jobs and revenue. Got it....after that it goes downhill FAST. The acting is over the top awful (save for the mechanic on the rig), the CGI is horrible. If they had saved their budget for one or two really good shots of the shark it would have made it much better (Spielberg's JAWS and not Michael Bay). Josh Lucas' acting.... I remember him being really good in Sweet Home Alabama and not too bad in The Lincoln Lawyer. What happened here?? The overly annoying teenage daughter who only wants to "be somewhere else so she can Instagram" suddenly knows how to make advanced polymers? Using nail polish? The little boy wasn't so much annoying. The wife and mother was pretty decent. I loved how every time they fell into and then came out of the water there was "just enough" oil slime on their faces to let you know there's oil in the water but not enough to actually cover their faces. Oil in the water goes EVERYWHERE....not just in little smudges here and there. It was like this movie wanted to be an environmental wake up call, a cautionary tale of global capitalism run amok, a horror flick and a family drama all at once. It didn't do any of them very well.
Entombed (2020)
Taut and tense post apocalyptic thriller
I saw this on the FB FLIC site and decided to give it a watch. Director and cast do a lot with minimal settings , virtually no SFX, and a small(ish) budget. From the start, you get to know who's who and what they want. Pacing is kept tight and the story moves forward quickly without any exposition needed. It wound up going where I wasn't initially expecting which was refreshing. The ending was a bit of a bummer as I wanted to see something else but all in all a good watch.
The Last Full Measure (2019)
What a story
Just finished this. The heartache felt by those vets and the burden they carry for fighting an unpopular war leapt off the screen for me. We owe them for what they gave up and gave us. All gave some, some gave all.