Reviews

BETTER CALL SAUL could and should have been much better, at least the first two seasons. Hard to feel for any of the main characters as they have no redeeming characteristics. At least in BREAKING BAD there were some characters you cared about, but in SAUL, not one person can one relate to or care about. Even Kim, who seems to be the nicest of the main characters, has major flaws and is downright stupid. Too bad.

Another problem with this series is that there doesn't seem to be a point to it all. Just long, boring scenes that sometimes do not make sense, especially some of the openings. SPOILER ALERT: At the beginning of season two there is an opening of a man who works at Cinnabun at some mall. He gets locked in a garbage bin area for a while until someone opens the door. THAT'S IT. Throughout the rest of the season that scene is never referred to again. WHAT???? To what purpose did that prove or others like it. Also, what's thee thinking behind Mikes making havoc on the road for the truck that he overthrows by blowing out the tires. It's an open road where anyone can drive by either way and see it all. He ties the driver up, lies him on the road, slashes the tires and gets the money out. All of this would take several minutes or more. No cars other traffic? How does Mike know no one would be on the road during this whole time. Ludicrous . That's POOR WRITING INDEED. So many other improbable situations make this hard to take. Do not care what happens in season three as I am done with BETTER CALL SAUL. Only some of the acting is worthwhile, but not enough to continue with this pretty dreadful and slow moving series.

One either loves or hates his movies. This one falls in-between. Good premise that goes on much too long. OK acting by most, but a 'little-over-the-top" by Jackson and Leigh.

Two large plot holes or shortcomings mar the movie. SPOILER ALERT: Earlier in the day section when the baddies kill the people at the Haberdashery, how and who could have cleaned up all the blood stains so fast? Except for the covered chair, no way could they have washed and cleaned the whole place. Even worse, at the end, you have two guys to age weak and can hardly move, yet they are able to make a great looking noose, with nary a blood stain from the girl or themselves on the rope. They are actually able to get up on the rafters to sling the rope around, get down, put Leigh in the noose, again, nary a bit of blood, and able to pull the noose? Incredible feat which defeats the whole film. I aghast that Tarantino himself, or the crew or even the actors didn't think about the implausibility of all this. A mess, for sure.

Since about 90% of the film takes place in a stagecoach and the interior of the cabin, why the wide screen, 70 MM? Should have been filmed in black and white with just an old-fashion 1.33 camera lens. The more I think about the film the less I like it.

Another factor that doesn't make sense is the lie that the Jackson character tells the Dern character. Very offensive scene, and the blood-shed that follows is also overdone. Tarantino would be ashamed of himself for this one.

What started out as a number one has been downsized to a number 5 season 4.. Have not seen the whole season as yet, but the first four episodes are not nearly as good as past seasons, hence the rating to number 5 One major plot hole (spoiler alert) is : Doesn't anyone miss the guard who was murdered??? Thus far, NOTHING. Doesn't anyone on the staff or his private life wonder what happened to him? What about his paycheck. What does anyone think when he just 'vanishes' and doesn't even pick up his check!!!! Unless this is addressed later in the season, I will give this an even lower rating as the season progresses... Some of the backstories are not very interesting and just take up room as what's going on inside the prison. Wish the writers, producers or even some cast members would pick up on this and especially WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT HIT-MAN GUARD!!!!!! Nuff' said except some of the acting is very good to poor....will not name names!!!

Could have been a better movie if the screenplay made more sense. Some of the character development needed DEVELOPMENT. Maybe scenes were cut, but it seemed a bit disjointed. Good filming and acting, but too many un answered questions, especially the Hillary Swank character SPOILER ALERT: Is Ms. Swank ever going to make a movie in which her character doesn't die??? I think this is her fourth or fifth film where she perishes. Let's put her in a nice comedy? Anyway, the film is quite bleak about people who are 'out of it'. Everyone is a bit crazy or disconnected which makes this film hard to watch. Tommy Lee Jones is to commended for making a film such as this, but his talents should be utilized in a better script.

MRS. DOUBTFIRE really showcases Robin Williams talents. I was never a big fan of his, but in this one he's tops. Kind of a silly premise that works, again thanks to Williams performance and a very able supporting cast. San Francisco locations help as does a nice music score. Synopsis can be supplied by anyone reading most of these reviews. Despite some plot holes and improbabilities, this movie works on just about all levels. It's kind of a 'dreamy' as opposed to an all out in out comedy. Divorce and unhappy people are never a comic narrative, and the bittersweet ending works just fine. For those of you who are Polly Holliday fans (Flo in the TV sitcom ALICE) she has nothing to do here. She has fourth billing on a card by herself but only has one line of dialogue in one scene. In looking at the "cutting room" floor clips, she had a much larger part. Here scenes were kind of a sub-plot that was very funny, but entirely eliminated from the final edit. In a way I an see why as the movie runs over two hours at it is, and for comedies, that's along time. SOME LIKE IT HOT, the best comedy ever made ended right at the two hour mark. Perfect. Wonder what Ms. Hollidays fans and Holliday herself thought of this. Do see the extras if you're going to watch this movie on DVD. By the way, Sally Field, as always, is quite wonderful.

The premise of THE GUEST is pretty good, but the execution not so good. What could have been a good thriller sadly goes downhill towards the end. A pity. Pretty good performances, especially from Dan Stevens. He does well with a difficult role. Good guy/bad guy. That's the problem. The screenplay doesn't seem to know what to do the his character. A good first half doesn't make for a totally satisfying movie. Just wish the writers would have been a little more original. That school Halloween seen was very unbelievable. What school has that kind of set-up for a Halloween party? It just cheapened the film and turned it from a good thriller to a slasher/horror movie. Too bad as it had a lot going for it for a while. SPOILER ALERT: The killing of the parents was the big mistake. Better to have helped the family as promised and then moved on, regardless of the daughter's interference. Brought the film down, down, DOWN. But even worse was the very end with "David" walking out disguised as a firefighter!!! Give us a break. Unless, of course, he was a robot!! And if so, the audience should have been clued in. Otherwise it was just too unrealistic. Shot three times, stabbed twice and off he goes!!! Big mistake folks. For these reasons I do not recommend THE GUEST. This movie only played one week in one Theatre in Pittsburgh. I can see why.

REVENGE is a guilty pleasure. Just finished season one. If one can suspend disbelief, great. If one is looking for reality, check that one at the door. Even with todays technology, what the characters do with all the technical mechanisms, no way could all this happen. Twenty years ago or less this series could not have possibly been produced. There are more loopholes than meets the eye. And just about all occurrences are improbable. Just one instance SPOILER ALERT. Lydia lives in a high class well secured apartment building. Yet, two, not one, but two men get in her apartment without any difficulty at all!!! Emily's disguises are almost nil. Strange people just a few years later didn't recognize her. And how did she get to be one of the hired help at the big NY Eve party at the Graysons. No credentials, no background, no references. How was she paid? Convenience for the viewer but so phony otherwise. And how can Emily and or her 'partner in crime' possibly do what they do without ever being seen or noticed? Just a few of dozens of examples that are unexplainable. Again, if you just want to be entertained as a thrill ride, then by all means, enjoy the ride. REVENGE could have just ended after the first season. Just started season 2 for fun..ANOTHER ALERT: How in the hell did Victoria escape from the plane that was blown up????? Unless this was all a dream, this is the stupidest, craziest example of writing EVER. Will I continue to watch season two? Now THAT'S a cliffhanger!! Well after watching the two remaining seasons....Big mistake. Characters make no sense, everything felt padded to fill time and the actors, got bless them, tried hard to keep a straight face while reciting terrible lines they were given. Why oh why do they always have someone listening in to conversations? So many plot holes it's hard to recall...Except for one Glaring hole. In the last season Mason confronts Amanda at the airport when she tries to get to Jack. How in the hell did he know she'd be there WHEN SHE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW SHE'D BE THERE UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE!! It's things like that that are very irritating. And why kill off so many characters?? Unbelievable. Season four was a MAJOR disappointment. Just so many loopholes and inconsistencies. SKIP THIS TRASH. The less said about Marguex character the better. Why did they make her turn so evil???? While I'm at it why didn't Amanda confront Victoria about the reason her son died was because of HER hiring that hit lady to get Amanda. It backfired and got her son instead. Sloppy writing on this one.

Even magic/caper movies need SOME sense of reality. This movie is so full of holes and unbelievable situations it's almost funny. If one can really see it as a fantasy film, then fine. You'll enjoy it. If one wants any coherency SKIP IT. SPOILER ALERT: The twist could have worked if what the Ruffulo character did was believable...but there were SO MANY instances that the writers had him do that did not justify the ending. Too bad, because the photography, music and even some of the acting was just fine. The story should have been completely re-written. Film was also very choppy and it looks like scenes were filmed and cut or should have be written and filmed. Am tired of Jesse Eisenberg playing the same character in EVERY MOVIE IN WHICH HE APPEARS. His acting range is A-B. Give somebody else with real talent a chance at his roles.

THE CALL could have been a very good movie, but isn't. Too many loose ends unbelievable events. The start of the movie is very good as is the acting. Story of a looney who kidnaps girls who reminds him of his departed sister who he seems to have had an unhealthy relationship with. His latest kidnap victim is Casey. She's put into his trunk, has a cell phone and calls 911. Earlier a similar incident happened with Halley Barrie at the ER phone line and she fails to save the girl. This isn't going to happen again. So far, so good. Then things get out of hand which make the rest of the movie quite stupid. SPOILER ALERT: The kidnapper does all kinds of crazy things in broad daylight and no one sees anything? Beating up a man and then killing him. Changing bodies from one trunk to the other. Another incident at a gas station and no one sees anything again. The most ludicrous thing of all is the kidnappers lair. No way could a man who is married and have a full time job have the time or money to make this huge underground lair with many rooms, running water and electricity yet. And how in the world when he and he and his victims go down the ladder into the lair can the trap door where he goes down cover itself up with dirt and grass????? Just skip the lair altogether and have him have a shack or rundown home somewhere to do his dirty deeds. That would have made much more sense. Of course this is a movie and nothing is supposed to make much sense. Even with the Barrie character finds and goes down the lair with no back-up, weapon or telling anyone where she's going!!! Too stupid to be believed. Of course the end is quite controversial which doesn't make much sense either. Too bad, because this had the makings of a very good movie.

Like most films nowadays, it's best to leave reality and logic at the door. After all is said and done, IDENTITY Thief is kind of fun....again, leaving logic at the door. Nothing makes much sense and certain scenes are completely inane and unbelievable .. SPOILER ALERT..namely when Melissa Macarthy is hit by that car full force and gets up with nary a scratch or injury of any kind. Like being hit by a feather. Did I mention you must leave reality and logic at the door? Would have been a much better 'road trip' movie if there were SOME sorts of reality. Another dumb aspect of the movie is the stupid people chasing them. How they knew where they were all the time is really FAR OUT. I realize to make the film a little more exciting, bad guys must be thrown in the plot. Too bad. Best thing about the movie is Melissa Macarthy. Jason Bateman is not bad either, but the movie belongs to Melissa. Another good thing about the movie is the way it was filmed. No jerky editing or hand held cameras. Just good old fashions movie making as ALL movies should be filmed, but are not. The plot, as it were, wholly unbelievable as where was the FBI during this whole shebang? An ordinary person DOES NOT SET OUT TO FIND HIS IDENTITY Thief. Oh, but then there would be no movie!!