davesandri Reviews

Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War (2024)

Why is this the title of this series...?

[1/10 · 18 March 2024]

Well, if you're coming to learn about the cold war and the proliferation of nuclear weapons, you've come to the wrong place.

From the very first frame something will seem off. Each of the nine episodes starts with a piece about Putin, and the war between Ukraine and Russia. Each time this gets longer and longer.

The last two episodes give up any pretext at all and goes all out for hitting you over the head with their narrative which has NOTHING to do with what this series was billed as.

Worse than that, they don't even bother to present factual information, but resort to repeating unsubstantiated rumors and conspiracy theories as proven facts.

Goebbels would be proud to have made this.

American Murder: The Family Next Door (2020)

Work your program. Take accountability.

[3/10 · 12 March 2024]

From a technical standpoint, there's nothing to really complain about, nor anything to applaud. It's fine in that respect. But that's about it.

To call it a documentary is about as fair as calling Ivy Ridge a school. There isn't a single unbiased or objective frame to be found in the entire film, which comes across more like a for of mental health treatment focused on using art to express oneself.

Every person involved with this project does nothing but to play a victim and are unable to move past this, blaming literally everybody else for everything wrong with their lives.

While not making excuses for some of the things they say they went through, the "proof" they offer is questionable at best. For example they might show a child being attacked by staff, but we see that same child swinging a weapon at them, and are limited to four to five second clips lacking context.

Only one person admitted to the behaviour that got them there (hooked on heroin at 14 or so), while the rest refuse to acknowledge anything which may have brought there parents to being willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars in their attempt to help their kids.

Oh. And as for the abuse they endured, some of it appeared bad, some claims would definitely be if they weren't just rumors, others, well, apparently non climate controlled rooms are a form of abuse.

This film probably brought more harm to the creators cause than help.

It's not a documentary. It's an activist hit piece.

Fast X (2023)

The unforgivable part...

[2/10 · 18 October 2023]

Look, there's beating a dead horse, then there's this. Trying to cram in as many cameos as you can, every kdy coming back from the dead all the time, bad script, bad acting, terrible villain whod be better off being called a McGuffin does not a good movie make.

But that's not what the worst of it is.

The unforgivable part is that throughout all the train wrecks that were this movie, were supposed to believe that Paul Walker's character is seeing all that is going on, and yet somehow decides to just keep it safe and stay hidden away when nobody else can do anything even close to that.

They turn his legacy into that of a whimp. It would have been better off to have had him killed off screen.

Encounters (2023)

I want to believe!

[2/10 · 3 October 2023]

I do. I really do. But this? This is just beyond ridiculous in the claims people are making.

Like we all have heard the excuse as to why encounters with aliens aren't recorded. It was to quick, or alien tech turned off my camera, or what have you. Ok. Fine. That could be believable in an abstract way.

But when your claims are that you couldn't record repeated long term harassment such as military helicopters chasing your cattle night after night and you couldn't get THAT. Not buying it.

Other details in stories are equally ludicrous when you think about them for more than a few seconds. "I called the naval air station and talked to a major and he said they didn't have F-16s flying."

Well yeah. The navy doesn't have F-16. That's the Air Force, but then again they don't have majors either...

Maybe if you want to laugh at the ridiculousness of it, but honestly, Mars Attacks seems more believable at times...

Love Is Blind (2020– )

Love is preachy

[3/10 · 10 November 2022]

So the wife got me to sit and watch this show with her. That's fair, she'd done similar for me and watch shows not up her ally fairly, so I gave it a chance.

The first two seasons I watched and found it interesting from a perspective of judging compatibility, betting with my wife which couples make it, and the psychology behind it. So while it wasn't something I would choose to watch myself, I could still enjoy it. Those two seasons I would have judged a solid 6.

Then came season 3.

Now, it's more about the messaging and full of nothing but hypocrites. Messages? Well, issues like body positivity. Fat acceptance (all the guys are in good shape to body builders while half the girls are, well to be polite, not). Abortion. Immigration. Toxic masculinity. And so on.

Hypocrisy? How about a person who has a weeks long fight over the fact that a her fiancé answer honestly that he thinks another contestant is physically more attractive, but he's not attracted to them, but she then celebrates going to the strippers regardless of her fiancés feelings. And you'll find other examples just like this throughout.

The Little Things (2021)

Meh

[5/10 · 20 September 2022]

Given the cast of this movie, I was quite excited to see what it was all about. The pacing however, brought that right down as it just seemed to drag on. Jared nailed his part mind you, but Denzel and Rami were just so bland in their portrayals it sort of ruined a potentially good story. Add to that the threads in the story that just went nowhere or were completely forgotten about.

The most disappointing part given how energetic and extraordinary Denzel usually is, was that this might actually be my most disliked role of his. Not just for the reasons stated, but for his characters treated of his dog. He abandons it for a week or so and thinks nothing of it.

Good enough to have something on that you want for mindless noise.

The Ice Road (2021)

How bad is it?

[1/10 · 21 June 2022]

Let's just put it this way. The last five years of Bruce Willis movies look good in comparison.

Ridiculous premise, script, acting, cliches, logic. Don't let the actors in it fool you. Sure there's recognizable names. Even some hidden favorites for some. But really not worth it on any way.

Web of Make Believe: Death, Lies and the Internet (2022)

You can tell it was made with an agenda

[2/10 · 17 June 2022]

I mean, at one point the series is talking about violence from the alt-right while showing people with AntiFa signs, flags, shirts and so forth fighting and pepper spraying people. That's the level of attention to detail this "documentary" has. Often times refuting itself within a same scene. It just comes across as contrived and a video version of long Facebook posts, and leaves you saying "oh come on!" repeatedly.

The score was pretty effective at building tension though.

WandaVision (2021)

An allegory...

[1/10 · 13 May 2022]

The premise of this show is basically why slavery and dominion over others can be a good thing. That's right. The over arching theme of this entire "mini series" is that sometimes, it can be all right to make others into your slaves.

Birds of Prey (2020)

Forget what you know...

[2/10 · 16 November 2021]

It's worse than you thought or have been told. Bad writing, bad lighting, bad story, bad acting, bad sets, bad cinematography, bad plot, bad sound, bad soundtrack. The only reason it's not a one is because there were a few good shots/choreography in some of the fight scenes.

Other than that, not a single redeeming thing.

History of Horror (2018–2021)

When it's good...

[5/10 · 15 November 2021]

It's good. Real good. Hits all the nostalgic notes that make you remember how you felt when you first see an iconic film. And it gives you a new perspective, and appreciation for it. But when it's bad, it's cringe.

You take movies like The Exorcist, Evil Dead, The Omen, Paranormal Activity and Rosemary's Baby. And then you lump in Get Out and Jennifer's Body and try and present them as if they are equal in popularity, impact and reverence.

Then you add in the politics and ideologies into the mix which can turn each episode from a fun reminiscing feel to being preached to. And it just takes you right out of it and makes you want to just skip ahead to the next episode.

Hollywood, please, just focus ok entertaining us. Not moralizing.

Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press (2017)

It's a pity party

[2/10 · 12 November 2021]

The whole thing, while well constructed, is really nothing more than the media throwing itself a pity party as to why the public doesn't trust them anymore, and how they are the arbiters of truth and are under attack from shadowy forces of wealth and influence. While some decent points are made when taken on their own, they only hold up to scrutiny, in fact the entire thing only holds up to scrutiny, if you accept one thing.

Hulk Hogans sex tape was information which needed to be published in order to serve the greater good of society and the public. If you can't accept that his sex tape is on par with say a terrorist attack, this is just gonna be a spin campaign.

The Dead Don't Die (2019)

Don't do it...

[2/10 · 28 October 2021]

I know. It has some big names that you'd normally like, so you might be thinking "I'll give it a chance". Don't! The way I'd describe this movie is, picture a college film project made by some hipsters who try WAY to hard to be ironic and think repeating the same joke every five minutes without any emotion at all conveyed through the film will be hilarious all while trying (and failing) to make some seemingly obvious profound existential commentary on our society for the sole purpose of creating something so they can say "you just don't get it man, you have to think about it all". Not to mention the on the nose cliches, terrible lighting and lack of anything going on of relevance or explanation.

Hellboy (2019)

Four is being generous

[4/10 · 26 October 2021]

Well cast for the most part with the well known names portraying their characters to the best of their ability given the script. Other than that though, a bit of a train wreck. Script/story, lighting, soundtrack, cinematography all combine to make this a bit of a train wreck. Even the special effects and make up were a step back from the 2004 version. I saw it for free and still managed to feel ripped off. If you've seen The Mummy from 2017 with Tom Cruise, it's a bit worse than that.

Attack of the Hollywood Cliches! (2021 TV Special)

Preachy

[3/10 · 26 October 2021]

While it pulled good examples of the cliches, and it was fun to watch the clips from some great movies, this just ends up making you feel guilty for liking them, and seems to find a way to make every cliche something being done to attack some sort of IDPOL.

Worth (2020)

Just fell a little short

[6/10 · 12 September 2021]

Well written, edited, and so forth. Keaton and Tucci are masterful in their portrayals. The movie has very touching moments that portrays the situation in the film as well as those of the stories of the people this is based on in a very sympathetic and emotional manner. I would recommend to almost anyone who asks me to give it a shot. My only real criticism is that it can be slow at times, and at the core concept the movies plot self describes to be about justice. How suing the airlines over the events of 9/11 is about justice or the motivation in doing so however is never explained.

It comes down to characters always saying the whole movie is about being just but never once explains why it's the airlines fault.

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)

Disappointing Quinton

[4/10 · 1 September 2021]

Acting was fine, everybody played their parts well. It had the "feeling" of being 1969. But, for a Tarantino movie, the dialog was severely lacking in comparison with little more than a sentence being said by each character at a time. No real in depth character development that makes you connect with them. Lots of superfluous shots that while we'll done, feel more like just included to pad the run time. Worst part was probably the plot, or more like the lack of one really. In the end, not horrible, but nothing special and not what you would think of as a Tarantino movie.

High Score (2020)

Nothing special, but not horrible.

[4/10 · 30 August 2021]

While a docuseries on video games could be very interesting, and while this hits at some of the high points, every episode is subverted to focus on some specific agenda. Video game tournaments? A trans person once won one, so we will focus on that. Cartridge based console are created. Let's focus on the one created by an African American that never went anywhere. Role playing games start to take off and lead to things like Dark Souls or Final Fantasy. Sure, that's cool and all, but a gay man once created one that never really went anywhere.

The series could have been so much better has it focused on the core principals of each episode, rather than finding a diverse example that was a drop in the bucket instead. If it weren't for that filler in each episode, the run time would be half as long at best.

If your interested in a real documentary about video games, try "Video Games: The Movie" instead.

Shadow in the Cloud (2020)

Absolute confusing mess

[2/10 · 26 August 2021]

Started off interesting, the first 25 minutes or so, all though a bit on the nose and heavy handed with over the top dialog on the part of the crew. Then we get into the bait and switch aspect of the movie. The movie then goes from what looks like in the trailer a horror suspense kind of thing about gremlins, to a woah is me my relationship sucks, to the main character being able to crawl over the outside of an aircraft in flight, under attack, to rescue a baby hanging by a strap to the airframe.

And then it just goes and gets worse somehow...

No idea as to the quantity of drugs it took to write this, approve it, and then actually make it, but it must be a lot.

Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy (2021)

Netflix does it again.

[1/10 · 24 June 2021]

Another "documentary" that makes addicts out to be victims who have no choice in or responsibilities for their actions. To the point where they claim it to be immoral to arrest a woman who smokes crack during her pregnancy for child endangerment. Not to mention the racial connotations forced into it. Don't waste your time unless you want to feel angry or dumber.

The Business of Drugs (2020)

Educational but slanted

[4/10 · 23 June 2021]

It was a very well produced series, with a lot of care and time taken to make sure that the docuseries got its point across. But, be aware that it tends to spend a lot of time seemingly campaigning for the legalization of narcotics, and tends to gloss over or simply ignore the downside and costs of drug use to a lot of other parts of society, instead trying to frame addicts as victims more than anything else. The most admirable trait is the advocacy for research into narcotics for therapeutic purposes. But for instance with that case, it doesn't even differentiate between regulated experimentation or research, versus garage chemists.

In fact, in one episode the host compares meth to aderol. And the traffickers in many episodes are framed simply as people who have no choice and are also victims in a sense. Other times drug use is even glamorized by the users as harmless fun or a trendy hobby. And in some cases would prefer to blame pharmaceutical companies for say producing opioids but then makes excuses for those producing opioids in illegal labs, such as fentanyl.

Overall, an educational series but with a heavy bias though, which tends to ignores pretty much all the major and obvious downsides to the drug trade.

Monster Hunter (2020)

Brainless entertainment shoot 'me up

[3/10 · 19 June 2021]

As a movie, I can say that the cinematography, visual and so forth were well done. Can't really fault it on any of the technical aspects, but it's not like it stood out either.

Story wise, as expected, it wasn't anything spectacular. However, as an adaptation from a video game to a movie, well, it was about as effective as the movie to video game adaptation of ET.

Not a bad thing to throw on and experience once while board with time to kill and you can play on your phone or walk away and come back to it.

This Is the End (2013)

Only for masochists

[3/10 · 4 June 2021]

My god. I watched this movie when it first came out, and due to lockdown figured I'd give it another shot when it showed up on a streaming service. What a mistake. Not even a single chuckle. Was like watching a feature length version of all those cringe celebrity YouTube videos saying "we're all in this together!"

The only saving grace is that you get to watch a lot of one repetitive role "actors" expire throughout its run, making it somewhat cathartic.

I will give the sfx department some credit though as they exceeded my expectations for what this "movie" could pull off. Other than that, I'd have to agree with Jay Baruchel that the LA scene is garbage filled with garbage people if this was even 1/10th accurate.

Men in Black: International (2019)

Thank God for Chris Hemsworth

[3/10 · 19 May 2021]

If it weren't for him, this movie would have been completely unwatchable. Has the feel, look, CGI, jokes, etc of Ghostbusters Answer The Call (2016). Trying to jam in way to many nostalgia moments that did nothing but remind you that this was a bad reboot idea that makes the original three look like Oscar contenders.

If your going to watch this, keep your phone handy as you will get bored and need a distraction.

Breach (IV) (2020)

John McClane as a space janitor

[2/10 · 18 May 2021]

I don't know what happened to Bruce Willis's career, but this is a new low for it. The movie was beyond predictable with every event foreshadowed within the first five minutes or so. Bad acting. Bad makeup. Bad dialog. Bad concept!

Don't do it!

They set it up for a sequel, so if you watch this, there's a chance they'll think it's popular and make said sequel making the world a dumber place.