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Reviews
Room 237 (2012)
Two stars, and that's for footage only.
This doc is merely a compilation of kooky theories about an ordinary film and like all films, The Shining had it's share of continuity errors but are somehow interpreted to have some kind of hidden meanings.
In one instance one of the commentators goes on about a skiing poster in the background of a shot and believes it's a minotaur and this must mean that Jack Torrance is a minotaur while it's clearly a skier unless of course you're tripping on acid.
Another scene is when Wendy is telling Jack the weather report, a chair in the background vanishes between takes and all of a sudden there's some ulterior message. Kubrick was known to do-over scenes with as many as 50 takes, some grip probably took the damn chair somewhere for a smoke break and didn't put it back but no, there's a conspiracy.
Sorry I wasted my time on what I thought would be a serious documentary about a terrific Kubrick classic.
The Martha Mitchell Effect (2022)
Short but sweet, then again so was Martha.
At only about 40 minutes running time this was a well done documentary which really told everything you need to know about the heroic loose cannon known as Martha Mitchell.
Lots of quality archival footage, interview segments and photos. If you've seen the film "All The Presidents Men" The Martha Mitchell Effect is a perfect dessert.
There are no spoilers to give since this is more of an historical documentary and we all know what happened with The Watergate scandal. At the time this was all going down, Martha became somewhat of a celebrity and too hot a pistol for Nixon or even her own husband, Attorney General and campaign manager John Mitchell. With Martha making the rounds on the talk show circuit and spilling whatever she had, Martha couldn't shut up and it was great!
Capricorn One (1977)
Classic 70's thriller!
Don't judge this one by looking at the cast, one would assume a cast peppered with the likes of O. J Simpson, Brenda Vaccaro & Elliot Gould would be a stinker, you'd be mistaken.
The production & story here are excellent and the premise is so plausible that it's fueled a generation of Tide pod eating conspiracy theorists worldwide.
The aviation sequences are likely the trickiest and greatest in Hollywood history. Capricorn One is not only a must see, it's a must-have for your digital or DVD archive because you will watch it many times after the first viewing.
There will be nitpickers hemming and hawing about how an Apollo era Saturn V setup could carry men to Mars but the producers obviously didn't want to cheapen the film with cheesy graphic overlays of some fantasy spacecraft, this is the 1970's when no CGI was there to create a believable ship.
Cruise Ship Killers (2020)
The real victims are the viewers
Very vague glossing over of real murders at sea with fake names, last names aren't even mentioned and neither are the ships. One episode "Shelley" tells the story of a woman named Shelley that was supposedly murdered by her ex-husband Will off the coast of Vancouver but with some detective work, it turns out the real case is about a Chinese woman named Yang Wenjuan and the location was off the Coast of Hong Kong on a gambling boat, not even a cruise ship.
Why the producers couldn't tell the true stories of these crimes is the real mystery.
This is not a documentary in a true sense, it's more like a story told like a rumor spreads after its been passed along by 20 people where all the real info got butchered.
The Concorde... Airport '79 (1979)
Supersonic stinker!
One thing is true about the four film series, they went from good to bad in perfect order. Airport '77 showed that the series was out of ideas for plausible aircraft disaster scenario, Airport '79 Concorde was like "Hold my beer!"
The ridiculous plot was neatly joined by a lousy script and delivered by acting that that was beneath that of it's stars.
The real life aircraft highlighted in this film would sadly become the first and last of it's type to crash and Airport '79 has immortalized it forever. The Concorde itself at the time of filming was a fairly new phenomenon in the world of aviation and this was probably why audiences came to the box office to see '79, theatergoers came in with curiosity and left with disappointment. Airport '79 could have been so much better with proper writing.
Zero Hour! (1957)
Overly melodramatic s**tshow.
Lloyd Bridges should have gotten an Oscar for the near flawless impersonation of Sterling Hayden's original performance in this picture. If you've seen Airplane, this film is irrevocably ruined for you, you'll find yourself ad libbing and imagining watermelons crashing down from the ceiling or Johnny unplugging the runway lights.
You'll see why the Zuckers chose this for parody fodder immediately.
Horizon Line (2020)
This movie went from action to comedy quickly!
Pure nonsensical trash, guy climbs out to the front of the aircraft to one handedly fix a fuel leak with duct tape then girl climbs up onto the wing to pour some booze in the fuel tank, she pours 3 bottles and the the guage goes from nearly empty to 20%. Lol.
American Masters: Raul Julia: The World's a Stage (2019)
A legend remembered.
My first encounter with Raul Julia was when I was 12, I had an accident where the top of my finger got looped off in a hotel door, my mother took me to see Dracula on Broadway to take my mind of my misery, Julia was brilliant!
As the documentary makes clear, the stage was Julia's natural element and I was mesmerized. This piece really introduces you to his lesser known albeit important works as well as showing how well he was loved by anyone who was fortunate enough to work and be close to him.
7500 (2019)
Realistic Aviation meets realistic terror on film.
I don't think since Hitchcock's "Lifeboat" has an entire film been confined to such an intimate set.
As a sim pilot that flies an A320, I can attest that what the real pilots said in these reviews is accurate, great consulting and bravo for using a real aircraft as the setting. The acting by all was superb!
The French Atlantic Affair (1979)
This could easily have been 2 episodes instead of 3.
Too much boring filler material and it's obvious. Great footage of the Festivale with Queen Mary interiors. No shortage of terrible French accents and a cringe worthy performance by Telly Savalas.
Space Force (2020)
A fine lampooning of the ridiculous entity known as Space Force
Lots of laughs with some heavy hitters, Steve Carrell is brilliant as usual. You'll see some bad reviews and they're mostly likely coming from the tRump camp.
Masterfully done sets and props deserve a nod here too. Sadly as we know, this is Fred Willard's last project, enjoy.
The Nun (2018)
All the frights expected.
Perfect location shooting and plenty of jump out of your seat moments, although it does not really tie into the Conjuring franchise as well as the rest, it gave you what you came for and then some.