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billythewizard
Reviews
Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities (2022)
The Autopsy
One of my favorite science fiction short stories is Michael Shea's "The Autopsy". S1: E3 is as true to the original as I could have asked for. At just under one hour, the writers kept everything tight without sacrificing any of the elements that made the original so entertaining. I have read and reread the short story several times and I am always amazed at Michael Shea's knowledge of the medical procedures involved in a real autopsy as well as his talent to tell a riveting tale of terror. I know I will go back and rewatch this episode from time to time.
Do yourself a real favor and sit down and enjoy this movie.
Get Out (2017)
Get Out stays with you
I only recently heard of this film even though it was one of the highest grossing movies of 2017.
A chilling thriller was my first reaction. However, after thinking about it for several days, the full horror of what was happening sank in.
An excellent, thought provoking movie.
The Power of the Dog (2021)
Stunning
The opening lines by Peter tell the whole story. There is so much undercurrent going on in this remarkable film. I won't tell the story. You should watch it and ponder on it yourself. At the end, Peter reminded me of Norman Bates.
Mute (2018)
Trapper John
Did any else notice that Cactus was a near clone of Trapper John from the original movie M. A. S. H.? Even down to the Trapper John coat, mustache, and bubble gum. I rate movies by how often I would re-watch them. I would not watch this one again.
The Lost Daughter (2021)
A waste of time
I kept waiting for some dramatic reveal, perhaps that Leda's young daughter had drowned. Not so. Nothing really happens except the fact that Leda is a neurotic dingbat. I gave it 3 stars due to the quality of the acting.
Don't Look Up (2021)
A waste of time
This movie failed for me because it could not make up its mind whether to be a somber warning, like "Fail Safe" or a black comedy like "Dr. Strangelove". It was too long by about 30-40 minutes. As a side note, if you scroll through the end credits, several continuing scenes are included. My favorite: The "Ark" spaceship that the President and Bash CEO escaped on lands on a garden of Eden like planet. The President is enthralled by a large ostrich like animal and goes to pet it. It immediately tears her to shreds and a whole herd of them come out and surround the other earthling survivors. In fact, this was the best scene in the whole movie.
The Night of the Cat (1973)
So bad it makes "Plan 9 From Outer Space" look like "Citizen Kane".
I played a small role in this film and, thank God, I am barely recognizable.
The cat woman, Beth, was played by an actress named Yvonne (?). And that is her in all the scenes, karate chops and all. I assume that Yvonne sued to have all mention of her removed from the movie because she is not mentioned or written about anywhere. Kathy Allen is given top billing but she only had a small role - she was Beth's sister who was run down by the car in the beginning of the film.
Actually, the stories behind the making of The Night Of The Cat are funny and intriguing and would make a good documentary.
Norman Williams, the creator of the concept and the screenwriter, was actually a con man from Detroit. At the end of the filming, he disappeared, along with the cameras and equipment (not his), never to be heard from again.
It was a great experience to work on one of the worst movies ever made.
I gave it two stars, rather than only one, simply because I am in it.
The Motive (2020)
Goes nowhere
I binged watched this documentary and was anticipating a finaly reveal from the coy defense attorney. He led the interviewer to believe he knew what the motive was but never revealed it. The kid is obviously a sociopath with no remorse, empathy, or guilt. Don't waste your time.
The Guilty (2021)
Too much tension
Good drama needs tension for it to be dramatic. But the tension needs to be broken from time to time - a light moment here, a calming moment there. Not in this film. I became more and more annoyed as the tension and the desperation of the characters continued to grow without a break. Toward the end, I found myself hating all the characters, including the little girl. I can take just so much crying and gnashing of teeth. This movie went way beyond that.
The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness (2021)
NYPD coverup
I read Terry's book "The Ultimate Evil" in 1991 and was fascinated by the story.
It seems to me that the NYPD was covering something up by not investigating further and, in fact, being outright surly to Terry and his ideas.
It may be they were afraid that if Berkowitz recanted his guilty plea and won a new trial, the NYPD would not be able to use any of the evidence they found in his car by illegally breaking and entering it without a search warrant. IMHO.
Nocturnal Animals (2016)
Outstanding movie making
I watched it again and was pleasantly surprised to find I liked it even more than the first time, knowing what the story was ultimately about.
It has so many elements going for it - thrilling suspense, haunting music, incredible production values for all cast and crew. And above all, I found it heartbreaking about lost love and lost ideals.
Do not miss this film.
Ratched (2020)
Bernard Herrmann's Music
Did anyone else hear themes from "Psycho", "Cape Fear", and "Vertigo" in the first episode? Nice use of Herrmann's great music.
Tales of Found Footage (2019)
Talk talk talk and more talk.
What a complete waste of time. The first episode was weak and they got worse as it went on. Who makes the stuff up?
Grey Wolf: Hitler's Escape to Argentina (2012)
Completely discredited
This film is a hoax. I quit watching halfway through and looked up the facts about the movie. It has links to Stormfront, an online white supremacist hate group. Read the Wikipedia article below for details:
Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood (2019)
The Best
This film immediately became my favorite Tarantino movie. Margot Robbie, who plays Sharon Tate, expressed my sentiments exactly when she was interviewed by Harry Smith on NBC's Today show. She said that most people only remember Sharon Tate because of her savage murder by the scum that was the Manson Family and she wanted to show more of Sharon's life.
And the movie does show us another side. She was a beautiful, innocent, and excited young woman who was realizing her dream that is held by tens of millions of other young women all over the world - becoming a world famous and admired movie star.
Her memory deserves to honored this way and not just for her untimely death
The entire audience was laughing and cheering as Brad Pitt killed the characters of Tex Watson and Susan Atkins and Leonardo DiCaprio toasted Patricia Krenwinkel in the swimming pool. It was fiction, yes. But it was the way it should have been in real life and I think we all knew that deep down.
The only thing I would have added was Leonardo DiCaprio taking the flame thrower out to the Spahn Ranch and exterminating Charles Manson and the rest of the vermin out there who worshipped Manson and committed murder for him.
Long Lost (2018)
Frustrating
As the movie wore on, I got more and more frustrated with Seth. His perpetual moroseness, sour demeanor, and reluctance to let himself go became tiresome. Toward the end, I was hoping he would either capitulate and have sex with the girl or they would kill him. Since neither happened, now I'm sorry they didn't kill him. Would have made for a better ending.
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Shameful moviemaking
I saw this film in 1968 after coming home from Vietnam and being discharged from the Marine Corps. I never understood why people would want to glamorize such evil. Thank goodness for the recent Netflix film "The Highwaymen" for finally setting the record straight about the real-life Texas Rangers who hunted down and killed those psychopaths.
Arthur Penn portrayed Ranger Hamer as a incompetent red-necked fool by casting bucktoothed comedic actor Denver Pyle in the role. And Hamer's wife successfully sued for defamation of character. The choice of Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway was phoney as well. In real life, both Bonnie and Clyde were little sawed-off squirts and not the beautiful and almost regal characters we see on the screen.
Warren Beatty went on later to glamorize another psychotic killer in the film "Bugsy". But this is to be expected from a draft-dodging coward who deliberately got a dishonorable discharge from the California Air National Guard in January 1961, making him ineligible for any future military service.
I still can't understand why such murderous evil is glamorized. I hope I never will.
Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)
Ridiculous
I gave it three stars simply because the actors are talented and did a good job in spite of working with a pointless, listless script. This is another movie in a recently long line of Netflix disappointments, including the overrated and overhyped "Bird Box".
Bird Box (2018)
Too long
Started off with a great premise, but dragged on far too long for such a weak finish.
Hold the Dark (2018)
Too smart for me? NOT.
One of the reviewers gave this stinkbomb a high score and suggested those of us who hated the film weren't smart enough to understand it. More BS from the artsy-fartsy crowd.
Halfway through, I became discouraged because I thought maybe it would turn out to be just another supernatural horror movie, with the woman and her husband turning out to be real wolves in human form, thus all the senseless murders. Now I think it may have been a better film if they HAD been animals possessing human form.
What a waste of time.
1 Dead man, 6 Suspects, $65 Million (2018)
Unbelievably Bad
Everything about this short (49 minutes) film is amateurish. The acting is so bad it is painful to watch. The plot is so thin you can see exactly what is coming and there are no surprises other than the fact that Amazon Prime features it on their streaming videos.
The "1 Dead" man is supposedly a multi-millionaire but lives in a cheesy dump of an apartment. Why would he need a full time butler?
I could go on about how lousy all the production values are, but I've already wasted too much of my time on this loser.
Contratiempo (2016)
The best I've seen in quite some time
One of the very best murder mysteries/thrillers I've seen in a long time. It's in Spanish, but even the English subtitles are brisk and to the point and do not detract from enjoying this remarkable film. The twists and turns took me all the way to the last few seconds. It was almost like a grand banquet complete with appetizers, soup and salads, an extraordinary entree and the final, exquisite dessert of an ending. Completely satisfying. I gave it a 10 only because I couldn't choose 11 or 12.
Brace for Impact (2016)
A total waste of time
One of the most annoying films I've seen recently and the actress (Kerry Condon) playing the lead role was the chief cause of the annoyance. She may be a gifted actress but this film did not show off any talent she might possess. It was a wooden and obnoxious performance. Perhaps it wasn't her fault since she was given an unbelievably bad and poorly written script and non-direction. Her character came off as completely false and unsympathetic (An aviation crash expert who is afraid of flying? Give me a break). The character reminded me of one of those nasty little yipping dogs that won't stop barking at you. And the PC of it all was nauseating - Women, gays, Muslims, Hispanics and a physically handicapped black woman in the hospital are all good. Uh-oh. They left out a transgender (at least not that we could tell). Did they overlook any other minority? And of course, white heterosexual American men are fat and bad.
Vanishing on 7th Street (2010)
A Complete Waste of Time
This movie was an absolute waste of time - People disappearing and leaving no clues, just clothing. Where did they go? No explanations, just hazy shadows out to get you in the dark. What were they? Souls? Demons? Who cares. How did everyone know from the get-go it was the dark that was dangerous ? There was no closure at all. Not frightening in the least. The continual darkness was sinister at first, but it soon became just an irritation to watch. As maddening as the ending to "Picnic At Hanging Rock" was, at least "Picnic..." was well shot in daylight with great scenery. Vanishing on 7th Avenue was just dark and drab. What a waste of beautiful,talented Thandie Newton and the talents of John Leguizamo. The ONLY redeeming thing about this experience was that I didn't pay money to see it.