wave54's Reviews

The Resort: The Disappointment of Time (2022)

Season 1, Episode 1

1/10

25 August 2022

Applies to 1st episode 8/24/22 on NBC

Will watch 1 more episode to see if it improves - this pilot episode should have been gripping and enticing, but was very lackluster and amateurish. A married couple, with absolutely zero chemistry, begin investigating a 15-year-old missing persons case based on an old cellphone found in the woods while on vacation near Cancun.

Unless things pick up, all I see are incredibly dull characters and a lifeless plot.

5 out of 18 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Surveillance 24/7 (2007)

3/10

Agree... falls short of the mark.

27 April 2009

My opinion is much like that of others commenting here. The film has a great plot line that just goes horribly wrong with lackluster acting and the odd use of multiple media to replicate CCTV cameras.

The story weaved back-and-forth from subplot to subplot without achieving any real traction. What was the crux of the movie: the gay affair involving a royal, Adam and his relationships with former "ex", friend, father, etc., or the overuse and dangers of too many surveillance cameras? By trying to tie all these elements together cohesively, the viewer probably will come away feeling cheated in that no subplot or element is fully fleshed out. Any one plot line could have been compelling -- all of them threaded together just didn't work in this case. 3 out of 10 stars.

4 out of 8 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Pathology (2008)

2/10

Dark, brooding low-budget horror!

10 September 2008

Warning: Spoilers

Hmm... Just finished the film, and it wasn't much of a thriller at all. Also, no character development, thin storyline and preposterous situations.

Apparently, the hospital has no security, cameras or oversight of its employees. You can just drag 3 hookers into the autopsy room, slaughter them, clean it up and then walk out like its just a normal day. Or, you can rig the entire room and all its occupants to fry in a hellacious explosion, walk out of the building and there are no police and you're not a suspect. Puhleeze...

I suppose that lovers of gore and dark, greenish, creepy effects will enjoy it, but in the grand scheme of things, Pathology is a completely unremarkable film.

The instant the girlfriend joined Ted at the hospital, I knew right where the plot was headed.

Two stars for decent cinematography and effects.

3 out of 8 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Black Ops (2008 Video)

1/10

Awful!

19 May 2008

Even taking into account that this is low-budget, Black Ops is truly a horrendous pile of steaming crap. Watch this at your own peril. The film combines an element of supernatural horror and an action/adventure military flick, but fails on both counts.

There are better films that touch on the same current topic of Middle Eastern terrorism and the use of torture and extraordinary rendition. There are also numerous horror movies that are infinitely more satisfying.

The camera work and audio are crisp and professional-grade. The storyline, dialogue and acting are not.

1 star out of 10.

24 out of 36 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

The Girl Next Door (2007)

3/10

No Context!

19 December 2007

Warning: Spoilers

Viewing "The Girl Next Door" is like watching the middle act of a 3-act play. What is lacking is the backdrop of life for the involved characters before and after the events that are portrayed. We see, for much of the 90 minute runtime, psychological and physical torture of a teenage girl with no direct or indirect explanation for the actions taken. Beyond that, the film offers no clue as to the passivity of the other children who either participate in the crime or merely view it without taking action.

All I felt at the end of TGND, is dirty for having watched it with no greater knowledge, insight or understanding for what occurred. I'm not so squeamish that I can't view violence, horror and sadism in the context of a larger story -- the problem here is that, there IS nothing else. TGND comes off as an exploitive, quasi-snuff film and cannot be compared to "A Clockwork Orange", "River's Edge" or "Lord of the Flies."

10 out of 22 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

East Side Story (I) (2006)

4/10

Strictly Mid-Pack!

13 December 2007

With the high score here on IMDb, I was expecting far more than this film delivered. East Side Story is technically fine with respectable acting, yet the plot was just so much frothy fluff with nothing to bite into. There's no tension or drama, and not enough laughs to be a comedy either.

There are dozens of gay-themed films available that have a sharper edge and allow the viewer to actually feel something instead of watching a few gay men in a cheesy, predictable, plain-vanilla sitcom. Admittedly, many of the best movies are foreign -- which is fine by me. If you haven't already, view the many titles from Latin America, Europe and Asia for a sharper taste and story lines you won't find from US studios. Can't honestly give ESS any more than 4 stars out of 10.

5 out of 11 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Blank (2003)

1/10

Utterly Pointless!

9 August 2007

The saving grace of "Blank" is its short length -- at 32 minutes, it had already run its course, and then some. The film is a static depiction of seven days in the life of a thirty-ish single man wallowing in alcohol and the emptiness of a dull and meaningless existence.

He starts every morning trying to awaken from his drunken stupor, trudges off to his job at an apartment rental agency and then spends the night consuming mass quantities of beer and imagining events that may or may not be actual.

Slightly reminiscent of "Requiem for a Dream" or "Spun", but with booze instead of drugs and without the complete storyline or the interesting characters. "Blank" does not have a beginning, middle and end; just a mindless, dull middle part.

1 star out of ten

0 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

In Good Company (2004)

4/10

Seen it before...

6 January 2005

In Good Company is mildly pleasant, inoffensive froth. Not bad but totally unexceptional.

I feel as though I've seen this same movie a hundred times before -- usually as a TV Movie of the Week. It's hampered by a thin unoriginal script, formulaic acting and humor that always seems to fall flat.

The opportunity was there to insert a colorful character or a twist -- something to pull this out of the ordinary. But, sadly that never happened.

I can't help but wonder what the film would have been like with a smart-ass, wise-cracking Bruce Willis playing the father instead of the comatose Dennis Quaid. And Topher Grace plays the same part he always plays -- himself! Homorable mention. 2 stars out of 5.

4 out of 11 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

The Golden Bowl (2000)

6/10

Tedious, but beautiful, period film

10 January 2002

I had great expectations for The Golden Bowl, yet it seems that I felt as many others did.

The sets and costumes were exquisite -- the story just droned on and on without any connection between the characters. Kate Beckinsale was flat and lifeless, Jeremy Northam couldn't fool anyone as an Italian prince. His accent was all over the place. When he tried to sound somewhat Italian, it was cartoonish and contrived.

Too bad -- such an enormous effort for so little reward. TGB won't be loved or remembered years from now. It should have.

6 out of 10 for the elegant and richly detailed sets.

3 out of 6 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Reindeer Games (2000)

1/10

Absolutely wretched!

8 January 2002

For the amount of money and promotion spent on this film, it is definitely at the bottom of the barrel. It could be excusable as a low-budget independent or a made-for-tv flick, but not a multi-million dollar production.

A writer could have taken the initial premise of an ex-con assuming his cellmate's identity on the outside and run in a thousand different (and more interesting) directions. Instead we get a cheesy good guy/bad guy storyline and cardboard characters.

I'm at the 1 hour mark and I won't bother with the rest of the movie. I stopped caring after 5 minutes.

Horrible script, acting and production values. What else is left?

The DVD cover is real nice -- end of story. Another waste of money!

1 out of 10 only because there isn't a zero.

3 out of 7 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Happy, Texas (1999)

3/10

Not Even Worth Renting!

30 December 2001

Tired, silly plot and preposterous acting throughout. About as funny as slipping on a banana peel!!!

Jeremy Northam should go back to the style of acting he truly excels at -- the distinguished, proper English gentleman. A comedian he's not!

I'll gladly return this stinker to the video store and break out my copy of "The Winslow Boy". Rates a generous 3 out of 10.

0 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Cast Away (2000)

5/10

Movie or very long FedEX Commercial?

30 December 2001

A new twist on an old theme stretched to an agonizing two-and-a-half hours. If I had never viewed foreign films that combine intellect, humour grace and spectacular scenery, I might think that Cast Away is a stellar performance.

Sadly, it comes off as the usual white-bread Hollywood mediocrity. It excels at nothing except hype.

If you like movies of men who are stranded on an island, look for the Italian film "Mediterraneo" -- warm, funny and you won't even have to look at the FedEX logo a thousand times.

1 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Swordfish (2001)

3/10

Another Hollywood "Fast-Food" Offering

16 December 2001

The first 5-10 minutes were great -- it was all downhill after that. Another typical Hollywood thriller where they plug in the car chase, the explosions and the provocative females in all the right spots.

The movie is great technically and the actors are skilled but you'll forget about this flick before you reach the door. Lots of eye candy and no substance to linger over. It looks just like a hundred other films from the past few years.

Nobody will remember or watch this in 10 or 20 years -- consumable fast-food, not haute cuisine.

0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Storm of the Century (1999)

9/10

First-Rate Mini-Series

16 December 2001

Caught this when it originally aired on television some years ago. I remember being impressed then and recently purchased the DVD.

At a bit over 4 hours, it's quite a long movie but that extra time draws the viewer deeper and deeper into this tightly-knit island community during a huge snowstorm that isolates them from the mainland.

High production values, believable characters and an incredible performance by Colm Fiore as the stranger, Andre Lenoge, keep this film appropriately chilling.

Give it a watch on a cold, winter day with a good stock of hot cider and cinnamon doughnuts.

1 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Memento (2000)

Completely underwhelming!

26 November 2001

Warning: Spoilers

I just finished viewing Memento about an hour ago and find myself stunned at the high praise it receives, If not for the edgy and sometimes startling editing, this would be nothing more than a decent "Outer Limits" or "X-Files" episode.

The characters are so excruciatingly thin and unappealing I couldn't feel anything or empathize with Lenny's plight. Who really cares?? Too bad the producers couldn't have added a bit of human spirit to draw the viewer in deeper and heighten the suspense.

****** Possible Spoilers *********

I'm assuming that there was no murder, as told throughout the movie, and that Lenny was *in fact* Sammy and his wife died in the same manner as Sammy's wife did. If so, how did we get from there to a man from San Francisco tearing around Nevada in a car stolen from a drug dealer that he killed in an abandoned building (who the hell knows why he was there anyhow)? And where does a policeman (John G.) fit into this clutter, other than adding necessary backdrop?

Another commentor was pleased that all the "loose ends" weren't neatly tied up. Normally, I would agree, but in this case some of the plot holes the size of Texas could have been filled in to tie a loose collection of facts and characters into something resembling a story.

5 out of 10 for originality in presentation!

0 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane (1998)

9/10

Quick-moving Dark Comedy

15 August 2001

If you begin to watch this movie knowing that it's a extremely low-budget independent with non-actors, you'll be quite surprised. It has a better story-line, acting and editing than many of the multi-million dollar Hollywood productions that are foisted on us.

BGBO is definitely an edgy, sarcastic, dark comedy. It isn't meant to be true-to-life or a Hitchcock thriller with every loose end tied up and fraught with subtleties and nuances.

Accept it for what it is -- I loved it and never saw the plot twist towards the end coming (the reason for the GTO). Gave it a 9 out of 10.

If only the networks could come up with movies-of-the-week as original as this instead of the endless retreads with former models and sitcom stars.

6 out of 12 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

The Designated Mourner (1997)

1/10

Who Needs Sleeping Pills?

13 August 2001

Sadly, I bought this tape based on the description and came to the same conclusion as a previous poster -- the worst film I ever tried to watch!

I can usually make it to the end of almost any movie, but 10 minutes into this one has tried all my patience. This is a style you either appreciate or you don't -- no middle ground.

There are three people sitting at a table speaking about mundane nothingness into the camera. No plot or action or change of scenery.

Sorry, had to give this a 1 out of 10.

14 out of 32 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

wave54

Reviews

Tell Your Friends

Recently Viewed