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Reviews
The Holdovers (2023)
well made movie you've seen a 100 times
Three damaged characters are stuck together at a prep school over the Christmas holiday. We get to learn the story of three unhappy people either bereft of close relationships or feeling of abandonment. One has intentionally isolated himself to avoid being disappointed. Another has lost to son to war. The third has been abandoned by his newly remarried parents
The story is well written, the acting first rate and the direction gives space to the actors to tell their story. If I had never seen this kind of story telling before, this would be a 9. So if you want to revisit with something familiar, absolutely watch this. Given the paucity of good movies this year, it's worthy of your time.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022)
Please just stop
Star trek has been around forever and I can understand they want to try something different, but this is not about exploring space, different cultures or saying something about us. Instead it is largely about the crew, their feeling and struggles. It's so self-involved and just tedious. This sad series hit a new low with s2.e9 - Star Trek the Musical
Some people may find it funny or just a refreshing mood change, but why does any of this have to be on a spaceship. There was an earlier story arc at the beginning of the season speaking about sexual preferences. A fair topic but it shouldn't take 3 episodes to make your point. At some point there should have been a discussion of the purpose of star fleet, the exercise of power and the co-mingling of science and military, but don't hold your breath. It's not like it is not a relevant and timely topic.
Serenity (2019)
Not as bad as critics say but still not worth your time
Baker Dill is a ship boat captain who takes out deep sea fishing tourists to pay for his obsession of catching a great white whale of a tuna. He struggles financially and has physical relationship with a woman who helps him out financially in exchange for epic sex. Enter his ex-wife who offers him a fortune for killing her abusive husband and saving their son from an emotionally abusive step father.
A well worn film noir set-up and there is nothing really notable about the writing or the acting. There is actually a good reason why it should not be well set-up, but for the audience it does not help.
The film has a huge plot twist mid-way through, but it has the effect of totally destroying any dramatic tension of the story and now nothing that happens matters to the characters or the story. The twist is a clever variation on an old trick, but it reduces the remainder of the movie to an intellectual exercise. The director tries to make the ending meaningful with a final event, but by then no one cares what happens to the characters.
Replicas (2018)
so this could have been a decent movie
Replicas could have been a movie about a cautionary tale of playing God or the hubris of science without understanding how it might be used or just a horror story of a science project gone wrong. But instead this is an awful story about a man who brings back his wife and kids from the dead and then has to fight the big evil corporation to save them again. Don't waste your time
Doctor Who (2005)
bad writing is killing a series I love
I just finished the 5th episode with Jodie Whitaker as the new doctor. The writing is so weak and the stories so dull and plodding that I can't blame the cast. I get that the transition to a new doctor takes some time both in terms of storytelling and character development. But there seems to be little continuity between the old and new doctor. They are technically the same person! I'm not asking her to be the same as the previous doctors. I get that they are trying to do some new things, take new paths and so some breaks with earlier seasons are necessary. But is feels like they have erased much of her past. Also, the old doctors used to have some fun. This doctor is kind of a grind. I get that the showrunner said they were going to stay closer to earth and old foes would not revisit the show much if at all, but the stories just feel juvenile and lack depth.
I used to be excited to catch the next episode, but now it feels like drudgery just to get through it. Keep the cast, but something needs to be done about the writing!
The Cured (2017)
nice idea, but so-so storytelling
So Ireland was devastated by zombies, but 4 years later a cure was found. The cured will not relapse but as they are re-integrated back into society they are largely hated by the never infected and treated very badly There is also a plan to euthanize the uncurable although there may be hope for a better cure. The cured are not unreasonably paranoid that the never infected want to wipe out the cured as well and so the cured plan to violently resist.
So this is an Irish film and I can't help think this is a metaphor for the Catholic vs. Protestant troubles. The story reveals how various characters succumb to fear and hate while a few try to rise above it.
I'm not really sure the film has anything insightful to say - just that fear and hate is poison that only makes things worse.
Counterpart (2017)
cold war revisted
This may seem like sci-fi, but the 2 parallel worlds is simply a device to re-examine the cold war. The Berlin setting was the epicenter of a lot of spy vs spy activity and it is a fine character in this drama.
I don't know how I feel about the series. J K Simmons is quite good and his portrayal of 2 different versions of himself is probably the best thing about the show. He is the only character I'm emotional invested it.
The pacing is a bit slow and while we know some of the reasons for the "other side's" action against "our" side. There is not yet a motivation that pulls the viewer in and makes him/her want to know more.
It's early for me - only 7 episodes. So I'm willing to see how this plays out
The Artist (2011)
a technical feat with an overused plot
We have seen this story lots of time: A Star is Born. So the director decided to do it as a silent movie. The performances are very good and Dujardin is amazing. The actors are so good that there is almost no need for dialogue and you know both in terms of plot and emotion what is going on without explanation. As a technical feat, this silent film is 10 stars, but you need to tell a story with depth as well. Dujardin does practically all the heavy lifting in this movie, but I just never got caught up in the drama of his descent or in Peppy's attempts to save him. I just felt like paint by numbers (maybe that's why silent pictures died).
So enjoy the craft of the actors, the feel of Hollywood as it transitions from silent to talkies, but not a great movie. Again Dujardin deserves an Oscar nomination.
War Horse (2011)
two hour wait for one very good scene
This is a typical overly sentimental movie that announces that a big scene is about to occur. Spielberg at his most melodramatic. From the salt of the earth family who are down on their luck to the pure of heart boy who raises and trains the horse, every cliché is on parade. So you get the story of how this horse came to join in WWI and the dramas that follow. Don't worry that there is no space left to lecture us on how WWI changes the nature of war and gentlemen are no longer suited for it. Watch the horse alternate between scenes of cruelty and kindness until a very fine scene 2 hours into this way too long movie where British and Germans need to come together to save the horse.
Fine production values and many well constructed sets, but the movie is little more than Benji with a horse.