atleverton Reviews

Spaceman (I) (2024)

Good and Bad Sci-fi

[5/10 · 28 April 2024]

Adam Sandler does a great job portraying the loneliness of someone stuck in space for a long time, his interactions with the spider creature are also for the most part full of heart, I also liked the Post-Soviet touches that the film imagines a Czech space program would have, which are aesthetically pleasing, but make no sense as Czechia hasn't been part of the Soviet Bloc for 34 years. I thought the relationship with Lenka, and the conclusion of the movie were trite. Why would a space spider from deep space care at all about the human nature of love? One must either accept that the movie is telling the truth, or that its main character went space-mad. I would recommend this film, but it is a frustrating watch.

What Jennifer Did (2024)

Done Better on Youtube

[5/10 · 28 April 2024]

As others have said, this topic was much better covered by a Youtuber called JCS Psychology, and I think that the reason for this is the nature of how the police solved the case. They did so largely on their interrogations of Jennifer and others in the case, so it makes sense to analysis those and explore how they were done. This wasn't a forensic heavy case so making a documentary about it seems a bit like a waste of time. As to her motivations in the crime itself, it seems like she was about to be caught in a lie, and she didn't want to face the consequences, and she couldn't imagine being independent-of course none of that would ever be a sufficient justification of what she did.

The Antisocial Network (2024)

Not a Great Documentary

[6/10 · 28 April 2024]

But it managed to be educational and present its thesis quite well. The thesis is that the infamous 4chan led to such social movements as OccupyWallstreet, Anonymous, Gamergate, and the rise of Donald Trump and finally, to January 6th. It showed how these groups morphed together and separated. It shows very clearly how the alt-right latched onto meme culture and tried to hijack the political discourse. I was never on 4chan, but remember seeing their productions out in the wild. It's a cautionary tale about two things, the first about how just because you create something, that does not mean you can control it as the creator of 4chan discovered, and the second is never to underestimate the stupidity of the masses. They will beieve anything as long as its in a visual form with some white text.

West of Memphis (2012)

Victims of the Satanic Panic

[8/10 · 28 April 2024]

This is a good documentary because it shows the mockery of justice the original trial was. The cops coerced a developmentally delayed individual to confess, and then manipulated the confession until he said what they wanted him to say. Forensic evidence was misinterpreted and lied about, all to frame this killing as the result of a satanic cult. Why people would believe that is a fascinating story by itself, (look up Satanic Panic) , but out of the scope of this review. Two boys were sent to prison for the rest of their lives, and a third to death row. For some reason, the case attracted the attention of famous people like Peter Jackson and Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam. Eventually they did enough investigation to establish very credibly that he boys were innocent. In, the end, the boys were innocent and left out of prison, but the true killer is still out there. Maybe it would be a goo didea if criminal cases were periodically reviewed to see if the prosecutions original theory holds up, because we all know just because you convict someone doesn't mean you have convicted the correct individual.

Three Identical Strangers (2018)

How is no one in prison?

[8/10 · 28 April 2024]

Imagine having a great unexpected thing happening to you, which is amazing and great. Then imagine that this unexpected thing is tarnished and slimed by a great darkness. Three boys at the age of 19 discover that they are twins, and find some similarities and try to rebuild a relationship with each other. Later they discover that they are at the center of a remarkably unethical experiment-they have been separated at birth and placed in homes which had been picked due to their different parenting styles. They dealt with this in various ways, and suffered a new tragedy. But what I don't understand is how no one was punished for this.....surely human experimentation without consent is illegal? A good documentary about a horrible story.

Monk (2002–2009)

A Great Show Despite Itself

[8/10 · 28 April 2024]

When this show came out I watched a few episodes and fell for the superficiality of the premise-look at that man with a mental disorder-how funny! It falls into the same trap as Big Bang Theory, where someone who clearly has a different brain is made fun off by his friends for it, and in this case, is the cause of frustration to all who know him. But beneath this veneer of low comedy, there's a compelling portrayal of a very troubled man. There's one episode where you can see how deeply unhappy he is, and usually his suffering is a joke in the series. It was well acted and written,. There's another time a culprit that Monk catches says, 'are you happy now?' and he says, No, but this is as good as it gets. There's another scence where he is tortured at the dentist that is chlling. I think you could do cut of the series without the quirky music and it would work as a thriller.

Nimona (2023)

One of the Best Animated Films in a while

[10/10 · 27 March 2024]

I think while the creators of this file definitely have an agenda, it stands on its own as a great work of art. The animation is excellent, and the world building is solid. A lot of films for children do not do a great job at establishing the universe that the characters live in, but this one does. The movie is full of some things that are shocking for a kid's film (and I don't mean two men dating)-the twists are unexpected. It's great story telling. I can see why Disney dropped it, they had a much weaker film, Buzz Lightyear banned in China because two same sex characters held hands. This would definitely not receive a wide release in China, which is a shame because it is a great movie.

Ozark (2017–2022)

Dull and Bleak

[1/10 · 26 March 2024]

I can get why this show has an appeal for some, but I did not like it. I don't like my fiction to be so bleak. I get that life is sometimes dark and no fun, but this show is completely without fun, and slow. It's hard to sympathize with the main character, who was money-laundering for the cartel. It is a victim of the Skylar syndrome. Skylar is the wife of Walt in Breaking Bad, and when that series came out, many criticized her character for being shrill and unpleasant, when of course that would be natural behaviour if you found out your husband became a drug lord. Marty's wife had no idea about his money laundering ways, but that's okay because she was having an affair. This is a bleak, depressing waste of time.

The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping (2024)

A Personal Look at a horrifying industry

[10/10 · 26 March 2024]

There have been a slew of documentaries recently about the troubled teen industry, but this is the first that was made by survivors of one particularly bad institution. This industry feeds off of the idea that parents have made the mistake of coddling their children and some 'tough love' will turn their lives around. Who knows if this method could work in the hands of experts? The problem is that most people who start these kinds of programs have no educational qualifications, and they hire people with no educational qualifications because it is cheaper. They charge much more than traditional private schools because of this 'special' program-it's a scam. Not only that, the lack of outside supervision makes these places rife with abuse. And for what? A damaged beyond repair relationship with parents and, in this case, a phoney high school diploma. Yeah, the diploma from the school feature in this documentary was not recognized by the State of New York, so the people who did graduate could not use this "qualification" to attend further education. The tone of the series is a lot more personal than what is usually presented on Netflix, it reminds me of some of the best work of Michael Moore, like Bowling for Columbine. It is one of those documentaries that makes you more knowledgeable about the world after you watch it.

Resident Alien (2021– )

A Fun Watch

[8/10 · 26 March 2024]

Not a great show, but it certainly has its moments of fun. An alien is sent to Earth on a secret mission, and it does not go well. He attempts to blend in by taking over the life of a doctor with a cabin in a small town, and his lack of knowledge of humanity leads to funny encounters. The best part of the show is the relationship between the alien, Harry, and Max a young boy who can see his true self. It is perfect for those people who have always felt a bit like a fish out of water, and makes you think that you might be or someone you know might be an alien. Not the best show to watch, but if you like science fiction, it's a fun watch.

The Outreau Case: A French Nightmare (2024)

Focusses too much on the scandal, and not the aftermath

[5/10 · 26 March 2024]

This series shows why it is important that the legal system is run by professionals with the highest level of competence and integrity. The documentary focuses on a scandal that erupted after an investigation involving paedophilia in one family in Outreau, France. The children in this family were one hundred percent victims of this horrible crime. Unfortunately, their mother, apart from being an enabler of abuse, was a pathological liar, and this led to many innocent people being accused of this crime. When word of this got out, it sparked a scandal in France, and many of the accused were cleared of any wrong-doing. Perhaps prematurely (which the documentary does not address). Three people who were cleared were subsequently charged and convicted of crimes against children. The trail itself was a sham....child victims were subjected to hours of testimony in public court, which is not something that is good for them, or conducive to the interest of justice. The defence lawyers were permitted to ruin the character of children. If a child is required to testify about such a matter, it should happen behind closed doors, with no cross-examination. My conclusion is that such investigations should not be reported to the public until a verdict is reached.

Homicide: New York (2024)

An Uninspired True-Crime Series

[5/10 · 26 March 2024]

This is a written and directed by the numbers true crime series from Netflix. It's not bad, but it is not especially compelling. It focuses on the same group of investigators who deal with serious crimes in New York City. It does offer an interesting glimpse into that world, where the top investigators in one of the largest cities in the world do know each other. Many of these stories, however, begin like so-New York was really violent back then, but you'd never imagine a business owner being gunned down in their own business. Which seems like an odd thing to say....as if business owners were immune from violent crime in a violent city. Not that interesting, but maybe if you like the history of crime in New York, it's worth a watch.

The Monuments Men (2014)

Just does not work as a film

[1/10 · 26 March 2024]

This movie was a waste of time. It tried to construct a narrative around the mission of the 'Monument Men' and it failed. Films have a beginning, middle and end, or at least they have a 'story' which is greater than their plot. This has neither. The characters in it seem to be larping at war, which would have been a strange attitude for people alive to have. One other thing that was off-putting was the principle message of the film, that this was the fight to save civilization from the dark forces of Nazidom. This elevates material culture to the position of being the only thing that represent civilization, and ignores the fact that the Nazis didn't take these things because they wanted to destroy them, in fact they fell into the same trap as seeing material objects as the only representation of civilization. Also, Americans in the film talk about the priceless works of European art as "our culture" it seems a bit Nazi thinking to me. But apart from the weird message, the film is just boring.

Ford v Ferrari (2019)

Great for Racing fans, a car wreck for everyone else

[5/10 · 26 March 2024]

This is not a good movie, but it is a compelling one. It tells the story of the Ford motor company's quest to unseat Ferrari's dominance in the legendary 24 hours of Le Mans race. It does this through the lens of the relationship between Colby Shelby, race car builder, and Ken Miles, race car driver. The race scenes are well done, and exciting. The acting, and writing, are a bit.....much. I have seen Christian Bale and Matt Damon, who play Miles and Shelby respectively, in much better performances, but watching their performances in this is like watching a car crash. You just can't take your eyes off of them. They make weird choices.....like Damon's chewing gum in pivotal scenes of the film, which I guess is to display the character's nervousness or something, but just comes off as gross, or Bale's cartoonish impersonation of a British man from the 1960's. I see on his Wikipedia page that Bale is British, but the insults he uses to other drivers in the film, are very British and not universal.....for example, I don't think he uses the 'f' word once. Two kinds of people will like this movie, racing fans, and fans of good bad movies.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003)

Seasons 1-5 are perfect.....you can forget the rest

[9/10 · 23 March 2024]

I have so many thoughts about Buffy, so I won't structure this as a normal review but use bullet points.

Buffy, at least the first five seasons, is the Star Trek of my generation. It is the perfect combination of camp, camp action, comedy, and creepiness and terror.

The character of Willow was revolutionary-she not only had a lesbian kiss, but she had multiple relationships with women. However, she is clearly a bisexual, even if the writers of Buffy did not know such a thing existed. She was attracted to men, had a relationship with one. In fact, her being attracted to a woman comes completely out of left field, and her previous attraction to men is thrown out.

In the earlier seasons, the show was a perfect balance of the creepy and the comedic, but after season five it lost its steam.....I think the problem was the invention of the Big Bad story arc, which was also revolutionary, but it became predictable in this series, and similar series that followed, like the Flash.

The scariest episode of the entire run of Buffy does not deal with a supernatural event, but with the death of her mother by completely natural causes. I haven't seen a death of a character handled so well. Buffy says when she finds her mother dead, Mom, Mom......and then finally Mommy. It's so powerful. It's a realistic examination of the reaction people have to death. It ties in the story of the show, the plot of the show is a Slayer fighting evil, but the story of the show is about Buffy's coming of age. She does all the things you need to do as you grow older, fall in love, lose your parents (either through death or distance) and have adult responsibilities thrust on you. That's why the second two seasons fail, because they contribute nothing to this story.

Also, if the story had ended at the end of season 5, Xander and Anya would have had the happy ending that they deserved. Later on Xander leaves her as he is afraid that he would become his parents, which is a legitimate fear....but maybe get some therapy? Work on yourself? And he says at the end of the series that he still loves he but when he finds out that she died, he treats it like a joke. Xander started the series off as a sort of author surrogate and a way that the audience can relate to the world of Buffy. He's annoying and self-centered, but he matures, finds out that he does have a talent for something and believes in himself. This character development is thrown away. I think an honest last episode should have had him crying like a baby......which would be understandable all things considered.

Buffy suddenly has a sister in season 5 and this is dealt with in a very good way.....at first you are surprised that they added the character and just expect you to accept it, but there's a twist. But after this, they turn the character of Buffy's dad into a deadbeat, which he was not. One of the plots of the early episodes was a situation where all your nightmares come true....and people had various nightmares, but Buffy's was that her dad would reject her. And in the end of the episode, it's revealed that her Dad cares a lot about her. Which is the case when he is mentioned until season 5 (apart from one cancellation, but things happen). After season 5, due to the invention of Dawn, he becomes a deadbeat. I think it's explained by the magic of the monks that created Dawn, but I think in reality it's poor writing....they wanted Buffy to be thrust in this world where she has to take care of her sister (who she's had for 3 months) without any help whatsoever, but I think it did a disservice to her dad.

I don't know if anyone would bother watching the whole run of the series in this day and age, but the early seasons are definitely gold.

Raël: The Alien Prophet (2024)

I believe

[7/10 · 3 March 2024]

That aliens might have visited earth, and why wouldn't they? It's a fascinating planet. What I don't believe is that they randomly stopped some French guy and made him the Messiah. I also don't believe that they created humanity, because evolution is a good explanation for that. Rael seems to be a typical cult leader doing nefarious stuff because people let him. The one thing I don't really understand is how opposed people are to human cloning. At the moment it would be a purely biological process - identical twins are clones, so why not give childless couples another option, apart from IVF? If you know nothing about this group, it's a good watch. A.

Can I Tell You A Secret? (2024)

Not a social media person....

[8/10 · 3 March 2024]

But I found this compelling. People are living their lives as they see fit, and they randomly become the target of a stalker. I have watched a few documentaries about stalkers recently, and in all of those cases, the stalkers had some kind of personal connection with the victims, this is a frightening new version where you can be stalked by a completely random person. As someone, who briefly had an encounter with a stalker, I am full of sympathy for people who went to the police, and they were laughed at. And as for those reviews that compared being the victim of a stalker to an annoying telemarketer, may it never happen to you.

Man on the Run (2023)

Good Introduction

[7/10 · 2 March 2024]

To one of the biggest financial scandals of recent times. It does a good job of introducing the players, and explaining what happened. I have two observations. The first is that the audacity that some people have, you are caught red handled stealing money from the country you were elected to lead and you blame other people? Shameless. The other observation that I have is about the practice of paying celebrities to attend your parties. So basically if you have enough money you can pay pretty much whoever you want to show up, it doesn't matter what shady or immoral things you might be up to. It's a bizarre world.

American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders (2024)

Long and Meandering

[5/10 · 2 March 2024]

And very American. I can kind of see why the filmmakers went the wrong that they did, because they wanted to show how easy it is to get caught up in conspiratorial thinking, but the real conspiracy that they discover along the way is not paid much attention to. This case is another one where many people have opinions, one that someone they know would never commit suicide, even after pouring years and thousands of dollars down the drain. I do not know if the main protagonist of this series committed suicide or not, nor will ever know. It should be obvious by known that American police are as a whole, not very good at their jobs, and need a massive amount of training that they do not get.

Little Nicholas: Life of a Scoundrel (2024)

Deeply Unpleasant

[5/10 · 2 March 2024]

To watch as its main character loves to hear the sound of his own voice, and it is not very clear when he is telling the truth, and when he is lying. He seems to have made a living by making up stuff, and people around him believed him. I'm not sure how we are supposed to take this story - at the centre there seems to be a figure of ridicule, but then there are individuals who are scared to death of what has been uncovered because of this case. The documentary itself is a bit of a waste of time, it deeps no deeper into its main character, although the production values are very high in this. Not recommened.

NASCAR: Full Speed (2024– )

Driving around in Circles

[5/10 · 2 February 2024]

This docuseries does have a few interesting personalities to watch, and the racing is sometimes interesting, but it is boring and repetitive in five short episodes. Mostly, this is due to the nature of the sport. They really do just drive around in circles. It's a stereotype that happens to be true. While there is certainly a lot of money in Nascar, it pales in comparison to F1. In F1, the big teams can spend a half a billion dollars per year. This leads to investing in making the cars as fast as they can possibly go within the rules, and in Nascar the cars still have to look like cars, if that makes sense. I think the drivers, are very talented, but they are so American. It would be interesting to see how they would do in F1 and how F1 drivers would do in Nascar. If you are looking for a more entertaining racing docuseries, check out 'Drive to Survive'.

Six Nations: Full Contact (2024)

Weird Sport

[6/10 · 31 January 2024]

This is a very weird sport. I mean, the losers win a wooden spoon. The sport is also a very brutal one. There's an argument in hockey that helmets made the sport more dangerous because players can hit harder. People who make that argument have never watched rugby. A hard hitting sport with barely a helmet to be seen. Also interesting to see are the motivational speeches given by the coaches, especially the Italian one. Clearly, the Italian team is the worst in the tournament, but he's saying that they have a shot. I wonder how motivational it would be if he had just said that he doesn't beleive that they can win. It's a good introduction to the sport, but drags a little bit.

Whiplash (2014)

Good Film, but misinterpreted

[9/10 · 28 January 2024]

This is a good film, but I think that people have taken the wrong message away from it. I think this is similar to Fight Club, and American Psycho or even Starship Troopers. This isn't a satire, it's more of an exploration of how much people will put up with in pursuit of a goal. People see Fletcher as a hard-ass, but see his actions as necessary. But after he loses his job, because the school he works for has been sued, he tells Andrew....'that he never had a Charlie Parker'. Earlier, he tells his band that a former band member died in a traffic accident.......but it turns out that he actually committed suicide, and it was his parents that sued the school. He basically admits without realizing it that his methods are rubbish. At the end of the movie, he tries to humiliate Andrew by having him perform a song that he hadn't practiced, and then the show and film end with a great drum performance. But honestly, I don't think it happened. I think it's wish fulfilment by Andrew. I think he was severely injured after his car crash and was unable to play. There's no way that a man like Fletcher would permit someone dripping in blood to perform. So it's not a tale of the sacrifice that must be endured to be successful, it's a tale of the abuse we accept because we want to be great. It reminds me of Athlete A, a documentary about abuse in gymnastics that was also ignored because the program was successful.

Uncharted (2022)

Mostly Bad, but one part is good

[1/10 · 28 January 2024]

This is a ridiculous movie, which shows why Tom Holland is not a movie star, despite his movies making billions of dollars. The reason that his movies made billions of dollars is that the character is popular, not the actor. In this poorly written film, he is given very little chance to show off his acting chops, although there are a few funny moments. But Tom Holland is not the problem with the movie. The writing is atrociously bad, and full of lines that aren't clichés but sound so stupid that they should be like, 'nothing is ever lost, it just isn't found yet'. The history is in the movie is appallingly bad, even for a Hollywood film, and the story that drives the plot makes no sense. Then we have the end of the movie where it all goes off the rails in a way that is so ridiculous it will make you guffaw. They find two treasure ships in a cave. According to the story, they have been there 500 years, and yet they are still intact. This is a common trope in many movies, but then those same ships are lifted out of the caves- by helicopter, and the bad guys stay on the ships, while they are being carried by the helicopters! No one would do this because the ships would break apart. I mean, abandoned houses aren't safe after a few decades, why would a 500 hundred-year-old ship. It is the most ludicrous thing I have ever seen put to film. Apart from that, it just looks so fake. The CGI in the film, is just bad. They did something to Tom Holland's face in some of the scenes, where it looks like a potato or like he was stung by a bee.

American Nightmare (2024)

A Good Argument for Justice Reform

[8/10 · 21 January 2024]

Another True-Crime documentary from Netflix. It does a good job of presenting the police's point of view in the first episode, expands on what was the truth in the second and third episodes. It's a very bizarre tale, and it's understandable that the police would be sceptical. However, a good example of why multiple leads should be followed in an investigation. Initially, that the boyfriend has murdered his girlfriend. But instead of actually trying to prove this, they devote a great deal of time interrogating the boyfriend. And then when the girlfriend actually shows up alive, deal of time to saying that they created a hoax. But if they had devoted at least some time to actually investigating their story, they may have found the perpetrator. One question I have about the series is that they mentioned that they were kidnapped by more than one person, no only one person has ever been convicted of this crime. That person sent multiple emails to a newspaper claiming that there were two other people involved in the crime. The target of the crime was the boyfriend's ex-girlfriend. Her ex-boyfriend was an FBI agent who was investigating this crime. So why wasn't he investigated? Why was no one following up the leads of the two other assailants? It feels like the investigation is actually incomplete, but the law establishment was happy that they had one conviction, and they didn't go forward to finding the other people responsible for the crime. It's a good examination of what can go wrong when you focus on one theory during an investigation.