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Reviews
Bill Kennedy at the Movies (1956)
The 1970s version of Netflix & IMDB, seriously
Bill Kennedy at the Movies was a Detroit TV staple in the 1970s. If you asked friends about Bill Kennedy, they knew that you stayed home from school because it was on in the middle of the afternoon. Bill mastered the Midwestern charm that played well with his presentation of movie facts & trivia during commercial breaks that punctuated the films. He was often personal friends with many of the actors he described during those breaks. Initially, I thought any review of Bill Kennedy would be steeped in nostalgia, but it did occur to me that he could capture even the attention of school aged children while also entertaining mom and dad, which is a skill that seems lost on modern families. It's a shame that most of Bill's 30 year broadcasting career have simply been lost to the ages. Bill deserved more than that, as did Sir Graves Ghastly, another Detroit television icon of the 70s.
Ahsoka (2023)
Mediocre, but likely to be praised anyway...
The show isn't as good as Rebels. Rebels had Ezra, Kanan and Zeb to balance things out, but they're all left out of Ahsoka and their absence is quite noticeable. Even so, the rest of the Ghost crew didn't really don't do that much throughout the two episodes included with the premiere. I really wanted to like the show and thought I'd they could just surpass Rebels by even a paper thin margin, there would be hope for Ahsoka. I also struggled to reconcile the characters as they're portrayed here vs what I expected from Rebels. It's difficult to just forget 4 seasons of Rebels in less than 2 hours. Lastly, music was a huge disappointment. Again, it didn't improve on Rebels and sounded like generic action film music. If this is Filoni's best work, and considering it's AHSOKA, I would assume it is, then Star Wars is truly lost. :-(
Prometheus (2012)
A gorgeous, yet deeply flawed and confusing film
This isn't your parent's "Alien", nor apparently is it Ridley Scott's Alien.
Prometheus represents the most blatant example of "film making by committee" that we've ever seen from a 20th Century Fox production. The film seems incredibly confusing? We see incredible science and technology in Prometheus, but humans haven't apparently kept up? Despite all the aforementioned incredible science and technology, the characters in the film make reprehensibly BAD decisions that simply don't reflect the 'science' part of "Science Fiction".
This is because the film was reworked several times and according to executive producer Damon Lindelof , "Mistakes were made." Among the most egregious is cutting a bunch of dialog, which was important to understanding the convoluted plot, and then forgetting to repair the narrative broken by the cuts. That approach probably works fine for TV movies with simple, inconsequential plots, but not so much for the prequel to perhaps one of the greatest science fiction films ever made, by the very same director?!
It's been 10 years since the release of Prometheus and we're still no closer to learning how the xenomorph ended up on LV 426, where the crew of the Nostromo encountered it in Alien. This, despite the release of a second prequel, Alien: Covenant in 2017?!
It's unclear when Scott lost his mojo, but it's GONE. Damon Lindelof, who shares writing credits, is no Dan O'Bannon. Lindelof prescribes to JJ Abrams' 'mystery box' approach to story telling. This involves adding gratuitous details to a story, only to abandon them w/o resolution. All those gratuitous 'mysteries' aren't mysteries, they're just 'writing flourishes' that were never intended to be resolved by the writer. Despite promising to finish the story of Alien with prequels, it appears that Disney, who purchased 20th Century Fox in 2020 has no further plans for the Alien franchise.
To summarize, it's unlikely that Prometheus will entertain even the hungriest fans of Alien. It's far more likely viewers will end up questioning.
Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008)
The insanely entertaining story of Aussie cinema you've never heard...
It's hard to truly convey how entertaining this movie is! It's just a fun film to watch, completely free of controversy or pretense
I was introduced to Australian cinema in the late 70's when Mad Max played on American PPV. Back then, my father was still young and crafty. He'd figured out a way to decode the "OnTV" PPV that played over a public channel in Detroit. It involved something with sound, as the box used to decode it was a bookshelf speaker circuit board inside. My father was watching some late night TV after our bed time and called me to our living room several times to bear witness to the on screen carnage. My dad rarely, if ever, called for any of us to the living room after bed time. I scrambled downstairs as quietly as I could to see what all the noise was about. We were blown away by what we watched over the next hour and a half. My father and I raced dirt bikes on weekends and it seemed like someone had made an awesome film just for us?! To say Mad Max made an impression on my young pre-teen brain would be an understatement!
My entire family ended up watching many of the motor head films described in NQH (Midnite Spares, The Chain Reaction, etc), while searching for the next dose of that elusive Mad Max adrenaline. Only Road Warrior could match, but we were watching a lot of Australian films we likely wouldn't have watched had we not been so impressed with Mad Max.
If you have even a passing interest in Mad Max, I'd strongly recommend watching this film. They also cover the more salacious titles that Australia churned out for a few years and it's hilarious to see what drove Australians to the cinema before Australia developed a native film industry that could face off against the best film makers the world had to offer. A great film for anyone who loves cinema!
A Glitch in the Matrix (2021)
Incels and gamers tackle simulation theory? Not even close.
If you were already familiar with simulation theory before Elon Musk made his "controversial" comments about it, then it's unlikely this doc will provide you with any further insight into the topic. Even though I was looking forward to this doc, less than halfway through the film I simply lost interest. The director took an interesting topic and managed to make it BORING. That's likely due to the "testimonials" they chose to include in this film, complete with digital avatars to conceal their identities. I'd wager they spent more time on their avatars than they did contemplating the subject matter. The interviewees continuously refer to video games (and "The Matrix") in comparing their experiences with "glitches" in simulations. That's where this doc fails so miserably: There's almost zero discussion based on physics or science, despite this being a scientific theory that's taken seriously by the scientific community. They rely almost entirely on anonymous interviews and testimonies to provide evidence of said simulation. The quality of these comments is sometimes laughable. Far more interesting discussions on this topic can be found freely on YouTube, etc. If you are in search of a adult documentary that discusses the topic of sim theory in detail, well, this isn't it.
In the Earth (2021)
Another "indie horror flick" that seems to have run out of money halfway through filming.
I'm not a huge fan of horror movies and this film perfectly demonstrates why. Despite the cool cover art, and being listed as "Sci Fi" genre film, there's no science fiction in this film. The film makers took elements from Alien Covenant, The Happening, Avatar, even 2001 A Space Odyssey, probably discussed them for a few mins and presented this stinking pile of trash as their vision of a horror film.
I challenge anyone to watch and try to make sense of whatever happened during this nearly 2 hour film of people wandering through the forest wailing and screaming. There's no story here, it's simply a "people walk into forest hoping stuff happens" kind of film. We hear about a virus pandemic, but it's never referred to outside of the first act. There is, however, a dump truck of exposition as the third act begins, almost as if it's a completely different film?! There's little gore and when there is, the characters heal miraculously and apparently feel zero pain. That's one of the most irritating things about this film: People don't act like people. They act like characters driven only by what the script requires.
This one earned the director, Ben Wheatley, an entry on the list of directors I'll avoid in the future. Wheatley was already on the list for his bizarre "High Rise" film, but I missed the credit when watching the film. It's unclear who's writing all the checks to pay for these B movie horror flicks of late, but I don't want to be involved with any of them when they fail so spectacularly up. How these folks continue to find funding is both confusing and frustrating. Wheatley's past films range from strange to downright ridiculous. Even so, someone continues to pay out for even more of Wheatley's misadventures, which apparently includes the highly anticipated sequel to "The Meg."
That was a joke. No one wants or cares about a sequel to "The Meg" except for some studio knucklehead who wants to make a few bucks using someone else's money to do it. Just like Hollywood, the indie scene is well into a death spiral of it's own.
Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
A perfectly average horror film that just happens to include "Exorcist" in the title
I read a few reviews before watching this. They included praise for camera work, acting, etc. Even so, this movie requires no real analysis as it's a simple generic horror film, replete with jump scares and monster closets. The plot sounds interesting at first glance, but once we get to the dig it's a pretty boring ride to the end.
I gave this a shot because it directed by Renny Harlin, who directed some good flicks in the 90's. I'm unsure what happened here, but it's nothing like his older work. It's quite plain, although some scenes were more violent than I anticipated. There's not much to say, as the film plays like a made for TV movie, not a prequel to The Exorcist. Even if you dispense with any premise that this is related to that movie, it's still not a very entertaining film.
The Burrowers (2008)
Wow, a FAR better film than the cover suggests!
I snagged this in 2020, as the reviews looked interesting and I'd never heard of this movie. I knew nothing about it, which likely made it more entertaining to watch? I actually had a second movie lined up in case I bailed out of this in the first 10 mins. I'm usually pretty stingy with rating films, but this one really took me by surprise and earned the 7 I gave it. The cast includes folks that are normally in supporting roles, like Clancy Brown, who's been in dozens of westerns and Doug Hutchinson, who's become a great villain character actor. So the acting is top notch, with no awkward scenes to make excuses for. The script was tight and the FX way were better than I expected from a low budget film, let alone a genuine period film. This movie never tries to be something it isn't. I'm so burned out on films that attempt to improvise their way through an incomplete (or just plain bad) script. The story was never silly or illogical, words are used sparingly and details that aren't required to tell the story are simply left to our imaginations. Only occasionally do I run across films like this little gem. Give a watch, at least for a few mins and see if you don't end up watching the whole film, it's definitely worth a look.
Disturbing the Peace (2020)
Not nearly as bad as all the Guy Pearce fans make it out to be
Disclaimer: I was a huge fan of Guy Pearce before I watched this and still consider myself a fan after viewing. For the longest time I've felt that Pearce was one of the most under utilized talents in Hollywood. And while he upstages the rest of the cast here, his performance isn't ridiculous in this film. I was actually surprised I made thru the entire film w/o feeling the urge to leave early, considering it's abysmal score. It's simply no where near as bad as many of the reviews here imply. It's ironic that the folks who are voting this down seem to be fans of Pearce? And, I've watched far worse movies than this that had far greater scores.
The film isn't bad, it's just low budget. It's a very straight forward plot. They could have been far more creative with it, but this seems to be the story they wanted to tell. Guy Pearce competently plays a US Marshall who's posted in a small town for reasons explained during the film's opening scene. Where we begin to see some predictable camp mostly surrounds the villains of the story, but again, no where near as bad as described by other reviews.
I won't be shopping for this on Blu-Ray or rewatching it any time soon, but neither can a I curse a film simply because it's a low budget film. Folks seem to have the same expectations for everything, even though some 45 min TV shows have budgets 3X that this entire film had?
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
An incredibly disappointing end to The Skywalker Saga
I saw Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker last night. I've been thinking all day of how best to share my thoughts with a non-spoiler review. My opinion hasn't changed overnight: this is one of the worst movies I've seen in recent years. ROS isn't just the worst "Star Wars" movie, but one of the worst movies I've seen in years. Starting right after the title crawl, this movie just took off at a frenetic pace. There's an INSANE degree of exposition that occurs within the opening minutes and it just keeps on going at this breakneck speed all the way to the credits.
After the first hour, I gave up any expectation of satisfaction as there was no way a film could explain everything that happened in the first 2 movies of the sequel trilogy (The Force Awakens & The Last Jedi), AND all the questions the film prompted in its first and second acts. Due to pace, the film just blew right by and didn't even bother trying address any of those lingering questions. This is a recurring issue with this film, it simply moves too fast. It looks as if a series of cut scenes from several Star Wars video games were assembled into one big long scene and the plot was developed afterward. After the second hour, I honestly began to wonder if Abrams had just packed in as much as the budget allowed to spite Star Wars fans for vocally disliking the Disney Star Wars films. It's truly bizarre to consider this film was Disney's biggest title of the year?
One thing I confirmed after watching the film: JJ Abrams is a horrible storyteller. He had thousands of books, video games and comics he could have borrowed from, but he chose to go his own way and it shows. I've heard others describing this film as a hot mess and I'd agree that it's surely that's an accurate summary of the film. The film is simply an absolute mess that almost defies description.
I know that so many others like me (I was 9 yo when I saw Star Wars in 1977) and this film punctuates how these Disney Star Wars movies pale in comparison to the originals. I'm guessing that many are eager to see the film for themselves as I did last night, but you should know how disappointed you're likely to be upon leaving the cinema after watching such a weak ending to a 40+ year pop culture phenomenon.
The Mandalorian (2019)
The Mandalorian: Star Wars gloriously rebounds!
I've just finished watching the first episode and all I have to say is "WOW!"
The "Mando" is unadulterated, old-school Star Wars! This is certainly a very different kind of story than we're used to from Star Wars, but it all fit so nicely within the Star Wars universe. From the polished set design right down to the details of how the droids move, Favreau and Filoni (who directed Ep 1) have simply nailed it. Everything looks as if it were filmed right after ROTJ, only with better SFX. Regarding SFX: I can't see anyone being disappointed. The FX look great, indistinguishable from the feature films. The use of models, prosthetics and puppets gives everything a genuine quality that CGI simply cannot match. Example: The Razor Crest looks even better than the Millennium Falcon from the Disney sequels. It's looks tangibly real, while the "new" CG'ed Falcon looks like high resolution gaming graphics. And not a single scene was wasted on gratuitous nonsense; each scene added something to the story. It's a serious show with some phenomenal story-telling. It's also clear that this show was intended for adults, even though it'll certainly appeal to kids as well.
I kept my hopes for the show within reason considering all the issues we've seen from Disney's new Star Wars films. Even so, my expectations were completely annihilated! THIS is what I expected from modern Star Wars and I'm so pleased with the results. With all the tension and uncertainty surrounding the imminent release of JJ Abrams second Star Wars film (Rise of Skywalker) next month, it's a huge relief to see that Star Wars still has so much to offer when the stories are told by the right folks. Favreau and Filoni may have just saved Disney's Star Wars, it's that good! I could bear not even seeing Ep 9 knowing we have 8 more episodes of The Mandalorian to watch.
Cosmos (2019)
Another victim (?) of upvoting a mediocre title...
This movie is simply ok. I had it figured out about a third of the way through. Anyone that has a modest understanding of SETI, the 21 cm line and satellite behavior can deduce the premise. The actors are better than usual at this budget, but, WOW, the last half of the movie has so much "forced" tension!? Would a bunch of academics *really* drive the way the film portrays? I seriously doubt it, considering I know a few academics that are the same age/fields as these guys.
It's just ok. Know that going in and you're a lot less likely to be disappointed.
It Comes at Night (2017)
One of the best "cerebral" horror/thrillers in years
I scored this film strictly on the basis of how much I enjoyed the film. There's a certain air of mystery from the opening scenes, right through to third act where information is meted out sparingly, leaving viewers to wonder what exactly is going on here.
It's fresh, and doesn't try too hard to impress you with gore or insane visuals. The story plot holds up well, even after second or even third viewings. The cast performs exceptionally well, even though some characters are annoying due not their poor acting chops, but the actions their characters take during the film.
There's also a feeling of isolation that accompanies the story, adding to the tension that if anything goes awry with our characters, they are truly alone and left to fend for themselves.
I was pleased to discover that this film doesn't commit to any horror cliches associated with "cabin in the woods" stories. I feel it deserves a far better score than the current 6.2 it currently carries.
Check it out, you'll be happy you did.
The Triangle (2016)
As all FF films, starts strong, but.....
I was intrigued by this film, due to some reviews I read here at IMDb. Apparently, I read the wrong reviews.The film isn't "bad", it's actually technically executed very well.
The acting is actually quite convincing, with specific props to Andrew Rizzo, who plays the group's leader. He manages to balance what seems like underlying malice with a "Hey, it's all cool" attitude.
There's a building feeling of dread as the film progresses and then things very interesting (sound like most found footage films you've seen?)
In the closing scenes of the film, things get very, very strange and the tension level rises considerably when things start going south rapidly.
And just as we think we're about to see the big reveal: Nothing. Nada.
Just as with so many of these FF films, we're left to wonder what the hell just happened and what we've just spent 90 mins watching.
Only questions, no answers.
I scored this film a 4 based on it's technical competence. That said, I've seen better films that lacked the technical prowess of this film because they actually told me a story with a plausible ending.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
Ridiculous plot, barely perceivable after watching twice..
Be prepared for perhaps the most senseless plot of any "blockbuster" movie ever released.
Throughout several plot "twists" it's so easy to be left behind by shallow explanations of what the characters intend to do next, that is almost seems as if it was done intentionally to cover the gaping holes left in the story.
The 30 minute climax of the film is a perfect example of summer blockbuster overkill, as most viewers will be completely overwhelmed by sheer volume of things happening on screen. It calls to mind the feeling of spinning a car out of control, sitting helplessly waiting for impact or for the car to eventually roll to a stop.
The film is visually satisfying, with large ocean vistas, sailing ships, SFX, etc. But how it managed to garner a score above 5 is a wonder to me. I could not have cared less about the characters, their motivation, or even success as the story was excruciatingly convoluted. More time was spent on setting up slapstick gags (most involving Sparrow or the pirate's monkey) than actually trying to tell the story.
It seems as though folks don't expect much from films these days. This film, followed closely by "Transformers" demonstrate huge budget films with mind numbingly dull plots that still manage to do well at the box office. Expect more of the same as the studios continue to make money from these sickeningly boring movies.