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Reviews
Bienvenidos a Edén (2022)
Enjoyable Spanish Thriller/Sci-fi with Stunning Scenery
I don't understand why people loathe this program so much except that art is subjective. I personally enjoyed it very much and hope they make a season 2. I watched it in 2 sittings and was never bored, but I watch a lot of international TV and my husband is from Mexico so I speak passable Spanish and don't mind subtitles.
You might want to skip it if you don't speak Spanish and hate subtitles or dubbing into your language. Also if you need a neat, tidy ending, or you are not a fan of X Files, Stephen King, etc. Where you might have to take some things with "a grain of salt." It is a predominantly young cast so is diverse in gender, race and sexual orientation but not so much age. Global warming is discussed. If any of that bothers you, skip it.
If, however, you enjoy psychological thrillers/sci fi, amazing geography (filmed in Barcelona, San Sebastian and The Canary Islands), good acting (Spanish style acting can run more "theatrical" like American soaps but this one was no more overacted than Defending Jacob which I just finished and enjoyed, and Belinda - who plays Afrilux - is quite well known in Mexico. She's been acting since 10 - so cast not all novices or unknowns), a fast pace IMO (episodes are short 30 to 45 min and only 8 of them) and don't mind an open ending, you might give it a shot.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Those who said they don't understand why there's very little security the answer is they don't need it. You are trapped on an island. Where are u going to go? They show the guy at the beginning trying to run and hide. When they all come for u, u are outnumbered. If u do manage to hide, how long can u keep it up and how are you going to feed yourself?
The cult part was very well done IMO. Just watched the documentary about the real life cult Nexium. It works the way they portrayed it: prey on the lost and disenfranchised (background of abuse, neglect, trauma or people who "don't fit in"), make them feel safe, valued and heard, make them a part of something special that is worth defending. Use reward and punishment to keep people in line. Harass and terrify people who try to leave or speak against the cult. In real life people capitulate very quickly to brain washing and it is extremely difficult to remove someone from a cult. If they come out, most have to be deprogrammed so I felt they showed that dynamic very well, albeit in a more young-adult angsty way.
I agree about the not fighting back, however. Yes, they were exhausted, traumatized and unaware of what a cattle bolt looks like and what it would do to them, but there should have been at least a little more fight. Granted in a boat or against a cliff's ledge there's not much room to fight, but they could have at least tried to take one with them. But again, where can you go if you do manage to take the 1 or 2 guards down? Eventually the cult's posse would overtake u.
And picking a chosen few new recruits and releasing the rest was explained. They were looking for certain personality types who would fit in and "get with the program." 100 strangers plied with alcohol, driven thru the night, plied with more alcohol, easy pickings. I was 20 a few decades ago, but definitely had a few nights that were blurry, so not noticing 5 strangers out of 99 not getting back on the boat would be plausible. They felt safe because it looked like a legit production for a new product, so no one was really on high alert. And then the 5 that were chosen were the kind who might run off or take time away, so friends or families not too alarmed at first.
Again, got to take this genre with a grain of salt. One James Bond villain had radioactive lint (I actually saw it in a museum of movie props in England LOL) and one of my favorite Twilight Zones had a gremlin tearing up the wing of an aircraft while in flight so...;)
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)
Superbly Acted Drama, Overview of Ted Bundy
This is a chilling look at Ted Bundy from multiple perspectives. It is not a biopic, a case study, or a blow by blow account; it is an overview of the events and a cautionary tale about how easily we can be fooled and that is what makes it truly terrifying.
My husband and I lived through these events like the millions of other Americans who had no personal involvement in this case. You would see things in the paper, on tv, and your heart would sink for the victims and their loved ones.
You would see this charismatic, intelligent man who was also a manipulative, narcissistic socio/psychopath and start to understand how he could fool people for so long.
What this movie does brilliantly, because it is based loosely on his long term girlfriend's book, is show just that. It does not glorify him or disrespect the victims, imo. In fact, when you see the 30 known victims names on screen and realize how small the letters are in order to fit them all in one shot, and also understand authorities believe there are more, it drives home the scope of this man's heinous crimes.
This film is basically 2 parts and unfolds in the way it did for a lot of us. We didn't have every detail, but what we did know was gut wrenching and heart breaking. When you watch the first half, an ordinary women meeting a charming man, falling in love, living a life with him and seeing his (unbeknownst to her) crimes being revealed through the media, it is a startling juxtaposition of her perception and what actually is. I kept thinking how horrifying those memories must be for her and her child in hindsight. They don't go deeply into the "offness" she saw in him now and again, but stick with the rose colored glasses view she had of him because he was a master manipulator, which they drive home with the second part of this film. You see him lost in his arrogance, trying to use and fool everyone from the people in the courtroom, to his new girlfriend, and us - the tv viewer.
Zac Efron absolutely nails the multiple facets of this man's deeply disturbing psychopathy hidden beneath masks and a handsome face. The cast delivers spot on performances, even if they don't always physically match the real people. They portray the essence of the people and in the end if you watch this film understanding you are getting an overview, basically what we saw unfold in the press plus some fly on the wall moments from his girlfriend's perspective, I can't imagine you will feel disappointed. Again, this is not meant to educate you on his crimes or the lives of his victims that were cut so brutally short. There are many other films that do that, so this is a new and different approach. This is an interesting and chilling drama that reminds the viewer how easily any one of us could fall prey to a master manipulator, a monster with a handsome face. Truly terrifying.
Upgrade (2018)
Solid B Movie Action Film, Sci-fi Fun
This was a hard movie for me to rate, so I admit my 7 rating might not be entirely fair to the film. In my mind I was about to see a low budget sci-fi, in the class of Infinity Chamber (which I recommend if you like low budget sci-fi of the cerebral sort), so my mind set was not correct for the genre into which I would personally place this film (see title).
I am a life long sci-fi fan, and being 48 I have read/seen a lot of sci-fi. So, for me this was not something story wise I haven't been exposed to. Low budget and B movie mean 2 different things in my mind. For me, Low budget = unknown/relatively unknown actors; could be sub par acting, could be great, could be a little of both; limited sets, costumes, etc.; story could be fantastic, fresh, oscar worthy, etc. or could be a new director learning the trade. B movie = all of the above, but usually not great acting, character development, etc. with camp thrown in. Cheeky dialogue, over the top this, a bit of the silly in that. This film reminded me of John Carpenter's work, and I grew up with that and loved it.
If someone had sat me down and said that they were going to show me a B movie action film with sci-fi elements, I would then give this film a solid 8. If they had then said the action part is really the focus, and it is fresh and creative, but there is a bit of gore. It is not over the top or a focus of the film, in fact it is spaced out and short lived, I would then go as far as a 9.
So with that being said:
Positives: action sequences, how they used their limited budget (by sci-fi standards) in regards to sets, props etc., camera work
Negatives: acting (imo, very bad...like people reading their lines, no chemistry between any 2 characters, etc.), stilted dialogue
I would recommend this film to people who enjoy tongue in cheek action and sci-fi films and don't mind low budget or B movies. Also, if you are new to the genre, this might feel fresh and different.
For me personally, I was so distracted by the bad acting, the confusion over the category of film I was watching (completely my fault), the silly stuck in my own head internal dialogue about how much the lead actor looked like Tom Hardy, that I never connected with the film. And since concept wise it was nothing new to me, I ended up being a bit bored. Then the first action scene happened and I was like, hey now! But then the unexpected gore (again my fault, didn't know about the Saw connection) which was luckily short lived, threw me for a loop. So I had avoided reading too much about the film because I didn't want anything given away, and ended up being woefully undereducated about what I was about to see. Again, my fault.
I mentioned Infinity Chamber before. That film has a limited budget, not the best acting, a concept you have seen before if you like sci-fi, but I was never bored. I was never sure exactly what was actually happening, so I got to sit and think about that afterwards. In this film, I knew what was up the entire time, and while I enjoyed the ending, I have seen that same ending twice within the last year.
Go into this with your focus on the action scenes and odds are you are going to have fun. Don't make my mistake and think you will be mulling it over during or after the movie. Just sit back, eat some popcorn and enjoy!
Karppi (2018)
Enjoyable Mystery
I always enjoy watching series from other countries because of the added element of another culture. I liked that we got to see a lot of the countryside, cities, houses, etc. It is shot in Finland in the winter, so the setting is snowy and beautiful.
The acting is solid and I felt there was good character development. Although some of the personalities presented are a bit hard to connect with and others bordered on stereotypes, I felt we got to know these characters pretty well, quirks and all.
My biggest "complaint" would be it just went on too long. First, this could have been done easily in 10 episodes instead of 12. Also I personally feel there were just too many working parts, too many unnecessary action scenes, especially in the last episode. How many twists, chases, kidnappings, etc. do we really need? Well, of course that is a matter of opinion, but for me it would have been more enjoyable if it were a little tighter and wrapped up once they rooted out the identity of the murderer.
None of these things made me feel like I wasted my time or that the series wasn't enjoyable. I did like it and would recommend it to people who enjoy cerebral mysteries but with action scenes too.
Contratiempo (2016)
Not too Tough to Figure Out but Enjoyable
First of all, the actors are very good. There is a little overacting by one character, imo, but overall a very talented cast. It is also shot very nicely. If you are new to the genre, you might not see the "twist", but if you watch a lot of mysteries or thrillers odds are it will become glaringly obvious very early. If you work it out early on, you might begin to feel the way I did (or maybe not) but it started to become a bit tedious. It is not a waste of time or terrible, but neither is it mind blowing or anything you haven't seen before if you watch this type of movie or program a lot. I would recommend it for a rainy day or if your in the mood for an atmospheric thriller, but just know the secret isn't that tough to work out so it might end up being more of a drama than a mystery.
The Fields (2011)
Yikes! Skip It
Really, really bad. I will watch a movie to the end if there is at least one redeeming characteristic; like acting, costumes, etc. Unfortunately, there isn't even one thing to focus on in this film in my opinion.
The acting was so bad I started to fast forward to see if there was something interesting on the horizon, like better actors, a tangible story line, just anything! But every time I stopped and watched a little more, I just kept asking myself what the heck is this?
The characters are all unlikable, nothing really happens, everything is dark and dirty, and there is really no point to anything as far as I could tell.
I guess it is just about a dysfunctional family who gets scared by unkown people for an unknown reason. Maybe this could be interesting with the right actors and atmosphere, but everything was too inaccessible to me, even though I spent summers on my own grandparents' farms in the 70's and remember being freaked out by various things they allude to here (old toys, vast open fields we weren't supposed to wander in, etc.). The film is just boring, poorly acted, and not coherent or atmospheric enough to work.
Hereditary (2018)
Slow Burn Drama With Disappointing Ending
The good: acting is excellent, cinematography is interesting, story elements that are set in reality (grief, family issues, etc.) are well done
The bad: occult side of story at first interesting, but then steadily becomes cheesy until a laughable ending
This film is not scary, besides a couple of jump scares, nor is it anything that hasn't been done before. Worth a watch on cable or Netflix, but I wouldn't run out and pay theater prices for it. Props to Toni Collette and the young man who played her son. They were tasked with some emotional heavy lifting which I feel they both did an excellent job executing.