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Reviews
The Midnight Sky (2020)
A sad, sweet reflection on Humanity
Wonderful.
Sometimes it seems as if the human race is splitting into two species and this film is one of the delineating lines.
If you liked it you're probably a decent human being. Thoughtful, reflective concerned about the future of our world and your fellow man.
If you disliked it, you're probably some kind of narrow nationalist in the jingoistic stamp of Brexit or Trump with an unnatural love of fossil fuels.
Ignore the negative reviews. Enjoy, savor. Find out what kind of human being you are.
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)
Beautiful, Moving, Funny
So ... I liked it. I think that's clear:-)
If you know Eurovision, you'll love this. It's a kind, warm love letter to the lunacy of Eurovision.
Mars: Contagion (2018)
In the light of Covid-19
This episode is pure prophecy. Well paced and superbly acted.
The Orville: Lasting Impressions (2019)
A very deft and moving love story
Wow! I was in tears at the end of this. Somehow the ingenious mix of nostalgia and bitter sweet love story really got to me. Man, thank goodness for this show, it really is the methadone of the star trek universe, and frankly, this episode was better than the real thing.
Lovin' The Orville.
Incorporated (2016)
One possible future, I don't know tech stuff
The current route our world is on is extrapolated mercilessly in this fast paced thriller and it makes for some compelling TV. I've only seen a few episodes, so it's not clear where things are going. Nonetheless, the fate of various characters begins to spin off the rails fairly quickly. There is plenty of nail biting tension and glimpses of the future are seeded in the writing, which I loved! There are so many great lines just dropped into the mix in passing:
"We'll have the champagne, one of the Norwegians." "I hear the beaches in Reykjavik are fantastic." "Everyone uses a gestator, it's just common sense."
However, I prefer my fictional dystopias, well, fictional so let's heed the warnings while we enjoy the show:-)
Ash vs Evil Dead (2015)
The rare successful resurrection of a beloved franchise! Don't miss this if you're an Evil Dead fan.
The thing about violence (in film) is that there is a sweet spot, a deftness of touch in the direction that can justify even quite gory scenes as long as these are brief and drive the story. Alien and The Thing strike this delicate balance.
Then there is gratuitous violence. The kind of violence that doesn't propel the plot or tell us anything new. There are countless B thru Z Movies that deliver this kind of clumsy, industrial meat cleavering.
Then there is that magical, impossible place that defies all the norms. A category of gore spattered flesh fest where the violence is self consciously gratuitous; absurdly, sickeningly, hilariously so. Some of Peter Jackson's early work falls into this category, the Evil Dead of course, almost anything involving Quentin Tarantino and some (but not all) of the Night/Day/Dawn of the Dead films.
**** very modest spoilers ahead ****
To this canon can now be added Ash vs The Evil Dead. A fine entrails draped extravaganza that will have you squinting at the screen from behind the sofa in delighted, disbelieving disgust. If relentless uncompromising gore sickens you DO NOT WATCH THIS. If however, you are somewhat depraved in your tastes, this is for you!
The Nightmare (2015)
Too much BOO! and not enough HOO?
I've one sleep paralysis experience and I loved it. I understand that people who genuinely suffer may find this hard to believe!
Yep, just one utterly fascinating example as an adult so I was very excited when I heard about this documentary and was thrilled to see that netflix had it available!
Dropped everything to watch it. It would be dishonest to say I didn't enjoy, it did. It was creepy and generated plenty of goose bumps. However, it could have done all of that and still stuck to reality.
All the talk of demons, aliens and other dimensions should have been counterpointed with the very extensive body of research that has been done on SP. This is the documentaries greatest failing and it is a substantial one; plenty of people who are genuine sufferers may mistakenly assume that the speculative opinion of these other sufferers reflects reality and that could be disastrous for them.
Flight World War II (2015)
Infuriatingly stupid
I love alternate history. I went into this knowing it was irritating as hell but despite having my expectations set to for "Abysmal" I'm still annoyed.
So little of this makes sense.
*spoilers*
Why not fly to the UK? How would a corporal in the British Army have access to information that at the time would have been classified totally tip toppity top utterly most secret? How would he get access to this information in near real-time in 1940? How would 1940's tech integrate with a radar installation from 2000 fricking 15? Why would he discuss this stuff with a random voice in an open transmission? Then the business with the radar? Dropped practically in Germany itself? Jesus!!! These Germans have fully functional Me-262's already and they almost got fricking radar? How is Nigel just minutes away from Germany? The two "historians"? Ugh!!
Bottom line, nothing that Britain or America do in this timeline will stop the Nazis. Spitfires from 1940 would not stand a chance against ME-262's; Dunkirk is a proper disaster we are told and the Battle of Britain will almost certainly be lost probably by July, thus paving the way for operation Sea Lion.
One final observation. Nigel at one points wonders when the yanks will join the war effort, they could "use the technology". It was of course precisely the reverse that occurred; the British had the tech the Americans had the resources.
PPS that god awful "twist" at the end. What an excrescence this "film" is.