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chughesbabb
Reviews
White Lie (2019)
A bleak future
A scammer movie with a horror vibe. The main character is a traumatized and messed up young woman who's concocted a vile lie in order to profit financially and socially. Her dad doesn't believe her, calls her out and she has to go to desperate lengths to convince everyone she's telling the truth. She is awful. We see not quite enough background to understand why. I would have liked a little more about what makes her tick. As it is she's not really sympathetic but she is fascinating. (Why do so many audience reviewers think characters have to be likable or sympathetic? I like characters to be terrible people sometimes.)
The horror to me is the prospect of what she's gotten herself into. Events near the end of the movie show her getting help from scary people who will collect on her debt (in money and presumably beyond; note her driver's warning tone when he leaves her at the "doctor").
By pulling off her con one more day she is digging herself into a deeper more dangerous hole that could very well have the same outcome as terminal cancer. This is what the father feared and why he tried to stop her. So while the ending is too abrupt for some, it also leaves you imagining what her future will look like ... dreadful.
Cerdita (2022)
Clever and entertaining with awful dubbing (English)
If you have to have the English dubbed version, just turn off the sound and watch it with captions, as that will be better than enduring the terrible voice acting and translation. I have to believe the script comes across better in Spanish.
It could be tightened up a bit. The teens' meanness is trop-ey to the point of being cartoonish, but it works for making us take joy in their fate. The mom is archetypical although her role delivers some nuance and the most laughs.
That said, Piggy is a satisfying and entertaining - cleverly shot acted and edited - bullying, revenge fantasy, coming of age, family and relationships story set to a slasher flick with romantic undertones and a few zingers.
Mind Over Murder (2022)
Remarkable
A mark of intelligence is the willingness and ability to change one's perception as new information becomes available. It's rarely seen among group thinkers, be it a tight knit neighborhood or a virtual community with an opinion. The movie Mind over Murder is remarkable when we see people literally putting themselves in others' situations, changing their minds and imparting their collective gained wisdom on others.
As I suspected those slamming the series did not watch through to the end. At first I too was put off a bit by the pacing and the play aspect, but then I began to understand the reason for it. By the last episode I knew I was seeing something truly unique and a project that tangibly led to healing in this small town.
The true crime murder component of the movie is a vehicle for what I saw as something far more meaningful which is humans softening and beginning to understand one another in the face of heightened emotion and years of pain and solidifying opinions. It is something the residents of our world need so much. This docuseries was life changing for so many people who were in pain. I felt that while watching the last episode. Are there moments of cringe? Yes. But they serve a purpose. Give it a chance. We learn in the movie that some people simply don't want to hear the truth after investing so many years in a certain way of thought. I recommend softening, opening your mind and then diving in to this.