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lark1964
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Dune (2021)
True to the story and then some!
I hear the director of 1984's Dune wants "nothing to do with this" - golly, dude, it must really piss David Lynch off this version made *sense*, the mythology was on point, the presentation was just so utterly fantastic, the rich characters were true to each of their part, they were all believable and amazing. The sets were fantastic, too, it was so gorgeous to see the entire planet just so full of color and power. I read Dune in high school 40 years ago, THIS version does the tale justice! I didn't want it to end, but I know I am seriously anticipating being blown away by Part Two in 2024! Bravo!
The Witcher: Shaerrawedd (2023)
Not a bad beginning
Overall, my opinion of Season 3 has been mediocre, I do love our heroic trio, and when they're together, they're strong and impressive, when they're separated, they're weakened by the loss of one another, which is normal, but individually, they are still capable of fantastic things.
But what amazes me are the number of negative comments I read. What does anyone expect? This is a long tale of a princess who has lost her home and her family, a man searching for the princess to protect her, a woman also lost and who has found a purpose in protecting that princess. And they go through turmoil. Season one was them finding one another. Season two was them coming together cohesively. Season three the continent has become chaos, and they're trying to navigate it, together, apart, they keep returning to one another for love and support.
There are weaknesses to be sure, but it's only episode one, I didn't expect it to flesh out everything from the start. I loved seeing Yarpin again! I did like the tragic tale of Shaerrawedd. I loved the Beltyne (how do you spell it?) festival overall. The monster fight was pretty much standard for monster fights in the ongoing legend. Jaskier is typical entertaining comic relief, as a bard should be. HE, actually, was the problem I had in general with the whole eight episode arc, his change in proclivity felt forced, changing him just to "add depth" at a later point. But I loved his ongoing girlfriend, what a riot she is! And Jaskier refusing to feel guilty about misbehaving was at least on point.
The elves felt more lost than anything throughout all eight episodes. Dara saddens me, he felt wasted, a "stunning" figure throughout, but he had little to do or say of any substance, even his last appearance in episode 8 felt like a throwaway cameo.
But seriously, people - war is coming, and people die. Suddenly, and without warning, that IS what war is. So - stop being shocked. And stop getting angry, it comes with the territory.
I find myself wondering what changes are coming down the pike. Geralt does not disappear, Yen does not abandon him, Ciri - she is transformed, no longer a child, she is becoming magnificent.
The Power of the Dog (2021)
I stink and I like it!
Slow. Slow, slow, slow. Painfully slow. And nothing really is resolved. I loved watching Benedict Cumberbatch be a jerk. I loved watching Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst be gentle and quiet and try to work with BC's caveman. But OMG, I wanted to take a nap through half of it. This was a 30 minute story stretched over 2+ hours.
Kaubôi bibappu: Cowboy Bebop: Heavy Metal Queen (1998)
You screw up we all die!
VT is wonderful, independent, irreverent, likeable, and Zeroes the cat definitely has good taste in friends! This is probably my favorite of the entire series!
Dave Chappelle: The Closer (2021)
Heartfelt and Sincere - and still so FUNNY
Dave doesn't have a problem with ANYONE - except white people! He talks about everything, and yes, he talks about Daphne Dorman, who he considered to be one of his best friends, and a terrific comededian! Do yourself a favor and realize: this man is a philosopher.
To Sir, with Love (1967)
Apple for Teacher
One of the greatest tributes to teaching professionals EVER. The experiences Mr. Thackeray has with students and teachers are spot ON! Some teachers are patient, some are cynical, all are part of the establishment. The students are perfectly typical, ranging from sweet to poorly behaved and ultimately - Mr. Thackeray turns them into adults. Absolutely amazing!
Spy (2015)
Very cute!
Yes, it's predictable, but it's a delightful predictable. You could tell on seeing certain spooks who the good ones were vs. The not-good ones. And, of course, the final moment: priceless!
Star Trek: The Mark of Gideon (1969)
Ever heard of Rhythm?
It's very simple: what is the reproductive cycle? There are days when a woman is fertile, and days when she is not. How is it possible a warp-aware planet is not scientifically advanced enough to understand basic fertility? Contraception notwithstanding, how are these people so completely unable to comprehend a calendar?
War of the Worlds (2005)
Excellent new twist remake of a classic
I saw this again the other day, having not seen it for a few years. I remember taking my then-teenage daughter to the theater: she had never seen the original, and she was blown away by the conclusion!
I was skeptical, at first, the original was SO good, but Tom Cruise, who I am about 50/50 for "liking" in anything ("Risky Business" was great, who talked him into "Legend" or "Vanilla Sky", I thought I was going to wet my pants laughing at "Knight and Day", I loved "Rain Man", MI has been tried and true..., etc.) was perfect for the part of an average guy caught up in something he was so shocked to experience.
I loved the camera crew, they were fantastic! Such a quick moment with them, and they chewed up their little scene with reality! Dakota Fanning was everything she could be, tense, ethereal, stunned and yet smart, depending on her father, trusting him to protect her as best he could.
The final moments were stunning, just as they had been the first time I saw the original, just as they had been in 2005 when I saw this version.
Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)
So very disappointed.
My sister once remarked to me, "You can tell if a movie is good if you want the DVD and will watch it again."
Independence Day: Resurgence - I won't waste money on the DVD.
Is it entertaining? It's OK. Buy your popcorn, giggle a bit.
Is it worth the full price of tickets? Well, that's debatable. I went with my sister in law, she pretty much likes everything; I mean, it has to be HORRID before she'd complain about a movie. I think just the idea of sitting in that theater for a couple of hours and escaping the reality of the world around us is enough to justify pretty much any movie to her.
But they tried too hard. And they tried too hard, too fast. The characters were poorly fleshed out, and just not interesting. The story was so full of holes
And the "we're going to make a third one!" was shoved down the throats of everyone in the theater.
Truly disappointing. I wanted to like it, I really did.
Why Did I Get Married? (2007)
Why did I watch this movie?
Let me first point out - I am white.
Let me also point out - this was REAL LIFE. Who cares what color any of these people are? There were maybe one or two weak points, I mean, let's face it, Sheila's husband Mike was a pig. I don't care how forgiving someone is, that man was HORRID. And for all she was a forgiving person, you don't have to get gut-kicked to realize when your husband kicks you off a plane while sitting next to your "friend" who is tagging along on a "couples weekend" - and this friend doesn't get off the plane with you? - there's something rotten going on. Mike was an overblown caricature of male chauvinism. Unless this man grew up a hillbilly and was the spawn of cousins, he could not have been this bluntly stupid. (I take a point off for him)
I did like Sheila putting him (and the "trick") finally in his place. She was quiet, firm, graceful, eloquent - everything I would wish I could be in a similar situation!
I liked Angela a lot, too, although Keisha was another caricature - if this woman publicly behaved like such a tramp, what in the world could make her ex-husband even *consider* sex with her again, I don't care if they did have a child together? Or are we supposed to believe he was truly that indiscriminate? But his final confrontation with his wife and his ex - again, a well-deserved smack-down, quiet and firm!
Angela insisting she didn't want to be a grown-up woman, she WANTED to be a little girl, I admired that: she knew she was wrong to hold a grudge, it was in her voice and response, but she wanted to be silly and maybe get just a little more sympathy for her tantrum.
For the most part, this was an excellent portrayal of people's lives. It has nothing to do with race, or even 30-something's or gender, or whatever else anyone wants to toss into the complaint pot - this was a compassionately presented story about the realities of marriage.
I commend Tyler Perry - I don't like his comedies (a little over the top for me), but he's good at drawing out emotions clearly and presenting them well.
Forever Evil (1987)
OK... I admit it... I know these people
Freeman Williams and cast were all part of the Texas Renaissance Festival many years ago (I was a wench), and Freeman told me late one night after too much mead about his desire to film this movie - a remake, no less, of another really cheesy horror film - and... oh, boy!
I loved it! But then... I know the inside jokes... and I just about wet my pants laughing each time another schlock death occurred...
This is a popcorn film, folks, don't take it seriously, take it for what it was written for - Freeman wanted it to appear on USA latenight with - gad, what was her name, the vampy looking woman with the wild black wig? Elvira? And that's really where it belonged! This was great!
Tin Man (2007)
Ah, Mystic Man, we hardly knew ye!
Well, for a completely new take on the tale of Dorothy and the wizard of Oz, this was really pretty good.
I enjoyed the whole focus on "Deej" remembering her childhood, which she hadn't even known was the truth, vs. the "Real World" where she'd lived. It was absolutely delightful fun the way the little bits of the Wizard of Oz were threaded into her memories, and things like, "Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!" - that was just *cooooooool* how they put that into her experiences.
My biggest issue - and it's not really an issue, just a slight complaint - was Zooey Deschanel, she pretty much has only one expression, and it was just plain frustrating to see her always look the same all the time, wide-eyed surprise. But then again, I suppose if I'd been dropped into a fairy tale world and found out I was a native and the outside world had been the un-real place, maybe I'd walk around in a state of perpetual surprise, as well.
However, Zooey D has a lot of energy, so she kind of made up for it just by zipping around all over the place.
And Alan Cumming is just adorable as a dancing dingbat with martial arts power - what did the Tin Man say, he was a man of many layers, but he didn't say "layers", it was pretty funny. It was a very interesting twist to have had his brain physically removed, too, he was lobotomized to save the O.Z., after D.G. was lost.
Neal McDonough seemed to be trying to do an Indiana Jones impersonation, I like him a lot, normally, but I think the writers were making him just a little too - well, they were supposed to be making him heartless, instead he just kind of turned out sarcastic and a little world-weary.
Cracked up laughing at his comment, "There wasn't so much hugging when *I* did it." Actually, come to think of it, a lot of his comments were dry, in that respect, the Tin Man was pretty great.
Kathleen Robinson was wonderful, actors love to play a villain, I think, and she did it well. She was great as a liar, too, she could go from pretending to be good to being so nasty perfectly, it was really fun. And speaking of expressions - without moving a muscle, this woman can change her expression, THAT was impressive! The girl who played her as a young Ezkadilia (sp?) was just stunning, physically as well as aesthetically, she'll be amazing in a few more years, I expect she would be the one to watch for as an awards winner in the coming decades.
But Richard Dreyfuss... *sigh* What an incredible performance. He just "became" the Mystic Man, he was so typically magnificent, and yet - he had such a small amount of screen time. Watching him as he did his show, to his sad addiction, to the moment when he was opposite D.G., quietly telling her what was happening and how to solve it without giving anything away - wow. For him, I give the series an extra star, just "BECAUSE! BECAUSE! BECAUSE! BECAUSE! BE-CUUUUUUUUUUUZ! Because of the wonderful things he does!"
I would say - this was pretty fun to watch, better than many of the things I've seen on Sci Fi, and it's a fun warp of nostalgia for people who have seen the old movie. Truthfully, it's not for little kids to watch, some of it was pretty intense, but teenagers could handle it without a problem.
The Da Vinci Code (2006)
Ignore the critics' Cliff Notes review
Honestly. Some of the reviews I have seen sound like some high school student's Cliff Notes review of Hamlet. Ignore them. They're not worth a glance.
Something that everyone seems to forget -- this is a FICTIONAL tale. Dan Brown wrote a story -- a "story" -- which asks people to suspend belief and enjoy turning pages at a rapid pace through a narrative that spans 24 hours. And it was a great story. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Now put it on the screen. Put Ron Howard in the director's seat, and have Tom Hanks star. Point to those who are accusing them of blasphemy, devil worship, who are trying to "debunk the codes", swearing to boycott this film, whatever else -- both men are Catholic.
Ain't nothing not to like seeing here. It's beautifully filmed. Paris, the Louvre, the French countryside, the beautiful old mansions and the castles and the churches, what a trip, and they were just magnificent to see.
Ain't nothing to insult your intelligence here, either. It's intense. It's not "talky" (goodness, children, if you're going to criticize, how about reading the book first, see how "talky" it *could* have been!), it's not dull, pedantic -- e-gad, what vocabularies these critics have, and yet not one of them seems to have a clue about the actual definitions of the words they parrot.
I've read the book. I go to church. My PASTOR enjoyed the story, and has been looking forward to the movie. Many in the congregation have the same idea, it's a story, a variation, something to make you not "question your beliefs", but instead, may even re-inforce them -- without "shaking your foundations".
The Priory of Sion was a real sect, it truly existed in Medieval Europe. The Knights Templar, the army of the Priory really were part of the crusades, but their campaign was delegated by the Priory, not the Catholic church. They were very powerful, influential, and wealthy. And they were slaughtered by the envious. The rumor is that they continued to exist in secret. Back somewhere in the mid-50's this was supposedly proved untrue. The whole basis of this film is that this "proof" was also false.
You know what I think really annoys the critics about this movie? There are no wild explosions, no fantastic shootouts, no X-Men, no 00 agents running around, no megalomaniacs trying to take over the world -- there is only Tom Hanks, a professor, nonetheless, but a fairly ordinary person -- and the mad pace of travel is one night and into another day, not weeks, no "epic". There was no revenge, no buried treasure (in the literal sense), there was no hack and slash -- they were asked to use their minds, and the critics don't want to think.
Nobody can tell anyone what to think or to do or to be -- not really. So don't let a movie critic who you don't even know tell you that because they don't understand something, you can't possibly understand it either. This movie is meant to entertain you. Suspend the reality of this reality for a couple of hours. Eat popcorn. Be entertained. Enjoy.
Q & A (1990)
What a horrible movie
There is nothing to redeem this movie. Not one single character in this movie is sympathetic, not one action taken by anyone is even remotely justified. From the DA's prejudice to the nasty cop's increasingly sociopathic behavior to the bitter ex-girlfriend's stupid choices of a man to "take care of her".
The only person who could even be said to have integrity was Armand Assante, a gangster, and only because he basically stuck to his principles, amoral as they were. Timothy Hutton tries, but the simple fact of the matter is, he's not a nice guy, he's a jerk, and the the girl between them had no self-esteem to start with, so what made her think she could suddenly gain it by behaving like a moron?
Gad, what a waste of film.
King Kong (2005)
I wanted to like this movie
I really did.
I like Andy Serkis.
I think Adrien Brody is nothing short of incredible.
I love Jack Black.
And Peter Jackson has a superb imagination.
*sigh* It's sad, when critics I respect slobber over themselves extolling a movie's virtues, and I see the same errors I saw in Lord of the Rings. Ad nauseum.
My basic criticism of Jackson: he "frames" his actors. Peter: it's a "movie" because people are in motion. You want stills? Take a photograph! Don't film someone's face for 10 seconds to get the "full impact" of their emotions when 1-2 seconds are sufficient. He did this in LOTR, but those movies had so so much story, with politics, many threads, and complex characters, when someone's face was framed, it maybe have been too long, but it was surrounded by activity. Truthfully, 15 minutes could have been shaved off each movie (all stills), but, for the most part, they were tolerable.
There's no politics to King Kong. No intrigue, unless you want to count Jack Black's stealing of his own film from a money-grubbing bunch of producers. And unfortunately, many characters are background fodder, the cardboard "red-shirt" sailors, "The Kid", "The Old Salt", "The Experienced Longshoreman With Integrity" and "The Cynical but Brilliant Captain" were predictable in dialogue and behavior, what they had to say could be lifted out of 1930's melodrama: maybe it was (I didn't watch to make certain) taken straight out of the 1930's Kong; the remaining crew was just there to get killed on-screen.
The defining failure of this film was in New York, when Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) comes out of the fog (this was when I started falling asleep): Ann goes looking for Kong, who has been tearing apart the city looking for her, and suddenly, "just as he's about to kill the hero (TM)" there she is, in a diaphanous white dress, and we see her Stop. Then Kong Stops. Then they're framed together, his huge menacing shape staring down at her while she stares up at him, Stopped. OK. Fine. We get it. Then Kong's face again. And Ann's face. And yet another shot of the two of them. Deja vu? And yes, believe it or not, a THIRD time we go through this! What was Jackson thinking? Was he so sure we didn't get it the first time -- or the second -- he had to show us their *still* faces with their "raw emotion" all over again? Another thing I was disgusted with: the Valley of the Bugs. Come ON. I'm sure bugs were bigger in prehistoric times, and certainly, the sight of mosquitoes the size of hummingbirds was -- well, unnerving, but
acceptable to a degree. But now, in the valley, the bugs are "HUGE", "MENACING", and mostly inanimate *props*. The most laughable? The Giant Worms. I don't know what these worms could possibly have evolved into, maybe I just don't know enough about entomology or genetics, or whatever the species science study is, but these things had to have been someone's idea of a joke! They were not only huge, they had protuberances with HORNS, no less, which poked out of their skin like -- well, like penises coming out of a foreskin. I'm not sure whose sexual fantasy involves worms, but giant horny penis worms which eat people -- I'm sure it could be a whole new field of psychology! And Adrian Brody fighting off a giant cockroach prop: this was a moment he should be too humiliated to add to his resume.
Yet some things worked. Kong was wonderful, the technology that projected Andy Serkis' emotions through the ape's eyes was great, his size was never screwed up, he was large, that was all, and the reference that he was 25 feet tall, pretty much, he always looked 25 feet tall, never 80 feet or 12 feet tall, Ann Darrow never looked like a Barbie doll in his hand. And the Tyrannosaurus Rex, they were nothing short of fantastic to watch, they were truly scary. As Kong was fighting them, even knowing there was no way he could lose that battle, there were moments the fight looked as real and ferocious as it was supposed to be. Ann Darrow distracting Kong when he first captures her, gaining his trust, it was kinda cute, she was a clever little thing, not a mindless screamer like Fay, what a relief. Adrian Brody was perfect as a passionate young writer in love with the theatre, "but not so in love he would jump off a ship". And Jack Black was just delightful as a self-absorbed director who would sacrifice anyone and everyone to make his film.
However, the best characters in the whole movie (certainly the most disturbing and terrifying) were the natives on Kong's island. They're visible briefly, but these are fearsome creatures, little more than animals, violent, self-preserving, rudimentarily evolved cavemen, these pitiful wretches had survived however many millenia, living by instinct, protecting and growing in the shadow of the ancient wall which origin is never determined -- or sought. Never again are they mentioned, no one seems to have a crisis of conscience that their monkey has been stolen, there is no concern about their well-being in any way, but they were there, brutal, stark, and utterly frightening.
This was fluff. Sort of enjoyable fluff, but: a popcorn movie. A much too LONG popcorn movie. I suggest: rent the DVD and when it gets boring -- when one face too many sits still on the screen -- fast forward.
I cannot honestly give it more than three stars: two for the T-Rex and the natives, and one more for occasionally entertaining performances, but I feel compelled to subtract a star for one reason -- I didn't go to look at a photo album.
True Lies (1994)
Fan Drools, Arnold Rules
Goodness.
I watched this again last night, for about the umpteenth time. I got it on DVD finally -- my daughter and I wore out the video tape.
What do we love? Everyone blends well together. Tom Arnold is funny, Arnold is funny, Jamie Lee is funny, Grant is funny -- and they aren't trying to be, they just work so well together, and they're a riot! I think my favorite bit is Gib (Tom Arnold) and Fasil (Grant Heslov) hassling Harry (Arnie! Arnie! Arnie!) about "the babe at the party" Juno Skinner (Tia Carrera) -- after she danced the tango with Harry at the party, Juno was "ready to bear his children", so learning that they need to "send in a specialist", Gib asks Fasil to dance, and Fasil accepts, and they start to waltz in front of the data center with the most ridiculous looks on their faces, while Harry mutters, "Assholes." These are GUYS, and they work together, and this is what people are like when they work at something they love.
Fact is, every scene with these three is priceless, from the beginning when Gib is trying to race down an ice-covered road, to him returning Harry's belongings as he morphs back into his "normal" life, and the way their boss, Spencer Trilby (Charlton Heston, Oh, My!!), cuts them all to pieces for messing up their latest mission, but cuts them slack as well because he trusts them to get their work done, to Gib's comment to Harry after his firefight on the remote island with the terrorists, "I thought this looked like your work!" -- their working together is great, their relationship, their friendship, it's all very believable and a lot of fun to watch! The end is a scream, too, it's its own little story, five minutes of slapstick, when Helen (Jamie Lee) and Harry are on a mission to meet some contact at a new and different party -- Helen spots Simon (Bill Paxton -- oh, my, GAWD, the man has a future as a stand-up comedian!) and threatens to "do him right here" -- and the poor guy is true to form, while Harry watches his wife admiringly, and then they dance, with Gib complaining to them both in the background: his relationship with Helen has graduated to the same level of camaraderie as his with Harry by this point, it's supremely obvious.
This is one of my all-time favorite movies!