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pieterboddaert
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JFK (1991)
Problematic misinformation
The problem with JFK is that it is actually a very good movie, if judged by the acting, the screenplay and direction.
The movie is highly convincing: it is hard NOT to believe there was a big conspiracy behind the murder of JFK.
And this is problematic. Because all serious scholars and journalists conclude that there was really only one killer and his name was Lee Harvey Oswald.
The conspiracy on which the movie is based are derived mainly from the highly controversial Jim Garrison (portrayed by Kevin Costner in the movie), and all of his theories have been debunked by various sources. The "magic bullet", the grassy knoll, the umbrella man are all bogus ideas that have unfortunately become part of the JFK folklore.
Anyone really interested in the JFK murder should at least read the book Case Closed by G. Posner. Much better use of your precious time than this movie.
The Holdovers (2023)
Rip off of many other movies. Very bad.
The Holdovers is a rip off of many movies:
Dead Poets Society
The Breakfast Club
The Graduate
Mr. Bean
If you like any of these movies, DO NOT watch this one.
Casting is bad, script is horribly boring, acting is merely overacting, "jokes" are not funny (not one of them).
The director thought he could simply steal ideas from the movie's mentioned above and mix it together but the plagiarism is so obvious it's enraging.
Moreover, the pace of the movie is so slow while the story is 100% predictable, calling this a snorefest is even too polite.
I can't understand the praise and awards for this movie.
Twin Peaks (1990)
The best late 20th century Gesamtkunstwerk
Twin Peaks was a life changing phenomenon to me when it first aired in the early nineties. The tv seasons 1 and 2, the accompanying books (Laura Palmers secret diary; the Dale Cooper tapes; the Access Guide to Twin Peaks), the cd's with soundtracks and more (from Julee Cruise), the Fire Walk With Me movie: Lynch and Frost created a whole new universe.
Over the years I've watched the series 3 times and I'm rewatching it at the moment. The series still hasn't lost its power to enchant me, to move me and to make me laugh.
I am rewatching to make up for the total failure of season 3 (2017). And I'm reconnecting with real Twin Peaks again.
My advice to new viewers: watch season 1; then read Laura Palmers Diary; watch season 2 and read Coopers Tapes and then watch Fire Walk With Me.
Do not watch season 3. It almost ruined my love for Twin Peaks.
All in all: 10 stars out of 10 If only 11 stars would be possible...
Twin Peaks: The Return (2017)
Disappointing to Twin Peaks fans
Like many, I absolutely adore Twin Peaks season 1 and 2, and the Fire, Walk With Me movie. I've watched them all 3 times at least, I read all the accompanying books - Twin Peaks was the most fabulous Gesamtkunstwerk I've ever experienced.
When season 3 came out 25 years after season 2 ended, I waited another 5 years before watching it. I had read so many negative reviews, I didn't want to spoil the memory of original Twin Peaks.
But lately I decided to give season 3 a chance, as my curiosity won of my fear of disappointment.
And disappointed I am!
Here's why.
1. Direction. Lynch continuously employs the old trick of slowing a scene down to an almost standstill. We've seen this in TP 1 and 2, where this technique contributed to the humor or the suspense of a scene. But this time it just doesn't work: there simply is no humor nor suspense to begin with. The result: boring. I couldn't watch this without the Fast Forward button permanently under my finger.
2. Script. The reason for the absence of suspense is the lack of a coherent plot. There are many - too many - storylines in season 3, and most of them are going nowhere. Every episode introduces new characters with new individual stories while Lynch and Frost completely fail in fitting these stories into the grander scheme. Because the storyline is so weak, attempts at suspense fail because a viewer cannot identify with any of the characters.
3. Characters. Speaking of the many characters: season 3 has more new characters than the original Twin Peaks cast. If you expect to watch a Twin Peaks sequel: this is not it. Half of the original cast appears only briefly (like 10 seconds), the other half has a role that adds nothing to the story. They're no more than a nostalgic wallpaper in front of which a different movie is filmed.
4. Locations. The little mountainous logging village of season 1 and 2 is just one of the many locations in the new series. Season 3 takes place in New York, South Dakota, Las Vegas, to name a few. All these location have one thing in common: they do not spark the imagination as the village of Twin Peaks: they have no charm, no beauty, no mystery. They're just bland stages (offices, suburbs, jails, apartments) you've already seen a million times before.
5. Soundtrack. Where ìs the soundtrack? One of Twin Peaks' distinctive features was the musical score by Angelo Badalamenti. In season 3 this legendary music only returns during the opening credits, and very sporadically during the episodes themselves. Most scenes are either completely silent or have a persistent background noise, that you might recognize from Inland Empire, the first movie where David Lynch started derailing. Oh yes, there is music in season 3: the episodes all end with a band performance on stage of the Roadhouse. In the original series Julee Cruise would perform on the same stage in the background of a scene, enhancing the emotional impact of the events. In season 3 the band performances are just a filler for the end credits, no value is added to the story. And by the way, the monotony of the performances put me in a state of depression every time.
6. Visual effects. The visual effects are either cringingly amateurish or laughably over the top - or both, in most cases. A dead tree branch with a lump of clay on top, illuminated by a strobe, really? Cooper is teleported from one dimension to another: just shake the camera like a madman? But actually, I have to admit that the simplicity of the effects is not the problem. In season 1 and 2 a simple red curtain and a geometric floor design was enough to make us believe that there really wàs a Black Lodge. In season 3 Lynch is unable to convince me as a viewer that what we see is really happening. Lynch is like your dad telling his dreams at the breakfast table. You listen, you understand it was meaningful for himself, but after a minute it starts to get really boring because what might seem fantastic in his own imagination, is just a series of unconnected events to you.
7. Violence and Gore. Season 3 shows so much extreme violence (cut of heads, mutilated bodies, pools of blood) and yet those scenes are not scary, nor gripping. In season 1 three seconds of a silent BOB behind Laura Palmers bed was enough to scare a nation. Lynch should have kept Hitchcock's rule in mind of leaving the horror to the audience's own imagination.
Let me conclude. Lynch and Frost have not only disappointed me, but initially they enraged me for ruining the series.
I must admit though that after a week some images and scenes of season 3 still haunt me. Somehow Lynch knows how to penetrate deeply into my subconscious. And that deserves some credit.
Uncut Gems (2019)
Most annoying movie in history of mankind.
Did I say "the worst movie in the history of mankind"? Well, I was being rather mild. It is the ugliest piece of cinematic terror you will ever encounter. I couldn't bear watching this movie any longer than about 5 or 10 minutes.
The movie consists of ugly men constantly yelling at each other and it made my head hurt. The horrible nerve wrecking soundtrack sounded like an 80's synthesizer cassette played backwards at an inconsistent speed. The camera was moving like it was hand held by a Parkinson patient on crack.
I could not grasp what the story was actually supposed to be about.
After 5 minutes I only hoped the Adam Sandler character would be killed by one of the thugs.
Avoid like the plague.
Aftermath: Population Zero (2008)
Badly executed propaganda movie
This is anti-nuclear propaganda, for nothing about what is told about nuclear power plants is true.
Abandoned nuclear reactors will NOT explode as shown. The cooling systems will cool the fuel to safe levels, even when all systems go down.
The movie contradicts itself in an almost funny way: at 28 min in: "If people were still on the planet, the radiation would cause cancer with millions of people". But the premise of the entire movie is THERE ARE NO PEOPLE.
Later the movie continues fearmongering against nuclear energy - which is actually the only form of energy that can save the planet from a climate disaster.
What a hoax.
C'mon C'mon (2021)
Pretentious and disappointing
After seeing some excellent movies starring Joaquin Phoenix (Joker, Her), I was thrilled to go watch this one, starring my favorite actor.
But what a disappointment. I tried but could not watch it till the end... I quit after 45 minutes of virtually nothing eventful in the movie.
The acting might be seen as great "natural" acting, but the problem is that especially Joaquin Phoenix is mumbling half of his lines like he doesn't care.
A greater problem is that the scriptwriter and director fail to engage the viewer. After 45 minutes I still couldn't care at all what would happen next because I did not care about any of the portrayed people.
I think Mike Mills wanted to make a grownup-man/young-boy-movie like Kramer vs Kramer or Paris, Texas, but the problem is that there is no story to tell, nor any interesting conflict between them. The behavior of the boy is portrayed as "eccentric" but looks quite normal to me.
There are a lot of clichés in this movie: man bonding with the kid by reading Wizard of OZ stories. The demented grandmother. The overprotective mother. The black and white filming.
Filming in black and white adds to the pretentiousness of the movie. There is no other reason to use black & white than wanting to be arty or sophisticated. It doesn't add anything to the story.
Really felt as a waste of time.
Berg (2021)
Pretentious and boring.
This is like watching your boring uncle's vacation slides. But then worse. Nothing happens. The composition of the images is directionless, without focus. Often you cannot even see what you are looking at, the images have no contrast, no depth.
This movie does not capture in any way a mountain experience.
Pretentious and lazy. Couldn't watch this to the end.
No Time to Die (2021)
Do not watch if you love James Bond
Spoiler alert.
All SPECTRE people die.
Blofeld dies.
Felix Leiter dies.
James Bond dies.
Oh, and first he becomes a father.
I was paying money to have a nice evening. This movie depressed me and made me angry.
One star is even too much for this.
Do not watch.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011)
Way too dark - literally
This movie is way too dark, literally. I can't see a d*mn thing! Whole scenes have an 80% black screen. Very annoying and distracting.
Shrek (2001)
Well done but partly boring and sometimes not suited for young children
About half an hour into the movie, it gets a bit boring, then it gets better in the second half.
The violence against animals is shocking for young children (exploding bird, blown up frog and snake, grilled rats).
Too much shouting, screaming and general loud noise to my taste, I had to lower the volume many times.
All in all my kids liked it.
Girls (2012)
Not funny or entertaining at all
Could not even bring myself to watch the pilot to the end.
I did not find it funny at all, nor entertaining. All I saw were spoiled brats with annoying vocal fry voices. Boring scenes for the instagram generation.
De regels van Floor (2018)
One of the funniest things on tv in the past years
The series tells very funny short stories, with an excellent Bobbie Mulder starring as Floor. One of the funniest things on tv in the past years, puts a smile on my face, or makes me laugh out loud everytime!