Reviews

I saw this movie 2 hours ago and still have a lump in my throat.

An absolutely real and utterly absorbing story about a family living through a loss, together- magically - before the loss had even fully occurred.

The amazing thing about this movie to me was what it did NOT say. Never preachy, always forgiving - as we are with those we love - the screenplay painted the negative space, telling a far more eloquent story by letting us fill in the blanks with our own experiences.

Acting was terrific- which in this film meant that they didn't seem as if they were acting at all. Every actor fully inhabited their characters, effortlessly. Seamlessly. We watched them, these people, and laughed with them, and felt what they felt. I feel as if I'd been invited to the gathering as a part of the family.

So many scenes I'm left thinking about- wondering about not only what was unsaid but what had come before, and what went after. And then I realize I already know.

Finally, I would say the timeless "TOTEM" is, simply, an indelible statement on the value of life and love, and the meaning of our passing - as meaningful and as beautiful in its way as life itself. This movie is not only, suddenly, one of my favorite movies ever, but I'd say it's also one the few I've seen that changed me.

To me, this film is testament to film as a vehicle to make us feel, and remember to always feel, alive.

A quiet little movie. Paul Giamatti his usual great acting job as a tough curmudgeonly professor. He and the school's head cook were in my opinion the only interesting characters in the movie. The "kid" who was supposed to be 17 and looked much older than that was distracting and not an extremely good actor.

Other characters were poorly drawn- the mean kid, the smart homesick Asian kid, the school's a-hole headmaster, the selfish parents. The movie would have been better if these characters had been a bit more realistic.

The sets are fine and the movie is carried by the always watchable Giamatti who gets the most out of every role.

Not a bad movie but it's "MILES" away from Sideways which is far better in almost every way.

This isn't just a good Nicolas Cage movie. This is not just a good movie.

This is a movie I will watch several times, and see new things each time.

This is a movie I will bring my 20-something sons and will tell everyone about.

So many messages here on so many levels, yet this movie is not preachy or pretentious. The story is so well told, both through the excellent script by also what is NOT said. The acting was stellar throughout- especially by Cage in the lead role.

Nobody else could play this role but Nicolas Cage, who inhabits the character with utter honesty and devastating humanity.

Doubtless this movie will go on as one of the best of the year, and one of Cage's top 2 or 3 acting roles.

Flanagan is back!

This series I would say is his third best, after Hill House and Midnight Mass.

Overall, the writing was excellent- combining Poe stories and moments with a big story about our times, and the types of people that sell their soul to the devil.

The trump reference (hilarious by the way) and the adult themes (especially episode 2) will cause some viewers to pretend they hated the show - you can tell who they are by the 1-star reviews.

Don't be fooled however- this show is an absolute blast. Very well acted, casted, scripted and directed. Scary, gory, suspenseful, and a good story!

One small complaint- it removed some of the fun by giving away the ending in the first episode. They might have instead let this build step by step.

I've never given a 10 before, believing always that something could have been improved upon.

Not here.

I was a huge Spidey comics fan, and loved the Spiderman 2 movie. The glut of Marvel movies are just TOO MUCH overall... lots of noise and mess, and very little that has any lasting impact.

This movie has it all. Complex but understandable, heartfelt and dramatic but also funny as hell, powerfully written dialog you've never heard in a mainstream cartoon, and the art? OMG the art. Just beautiful.

I loved the way the different spiderverses were woven together logically and actually made clear. The little origin stories were well-told and hilarious.

Aside from the main story we're so many little glimpses into these other universes that made each seem real- not a distraction but a validation of the concept.

Words fail to describe this cinematic experience. If this movie is not up for Best Picture, there is something wrong. Utterly fantastic filmmaking.

Every single character is I likeable and I relatable except perhaps the husband of the lead female.

Manipulative, overly long, and just plan stupid.

Might have made a good movie.

Stretched paper thin with artificial twists and unearned emotion. We know nothing about these characters except what the plot forces on them. I didn't care about a single one of them or what happened at the end. Writing is awful and obvious.

Netflix really needs to go back to high quality stories we care about, with good writing and true character development and actual tension driven from the interaction of these characters.

Sorry - just lame.

This show has no idea what it wants to be. The gratuitous violence and overt and obvious racism clashes with the humorous buddy-film side of things.

The violence, racism, and homophobia are delivered artlessly, without message or meaning, and the humor is very poorly written and does nothing to balance it out. Nothing is funny. It's all just dumb.

Acting is good- they're playing their roles. Christina Hendricks prances through the story reading her lines without conviction, but Christian Slater is a convincing sociopath. The main two buddies are ok but they mainly sleep through their roles passively as if they're waiting for a better series.

Don't waste your time.

I've been a huge fan of Flanagan. Absolutely loved the Haunting of Hill House, and Midnight Mass was an absolute blast.

I went into The Midnight Club with high hopes. The first couple episodes seemed to be building to something good.

However as the series went on, the personal stories of the young, terminal protagonists just created more loose threads while not revealing enough about them to help us care about them as characters. The main story about the house, the horror of impending death, and the possibility for hope really are what we were there for- and desperately needed far more attention.

The scares are very few and far between, and seemingly unrelated to any of the young people or their stories. Lots of tears rolling down faces, but very little natural tension, or chemistry between the young characters, who all look far too pretty and healthy to be believable as terminal patients in a hospice.

The writing was not very strong, and everybody except the Irish character was pretty much the same; bland and interchangeable like an after school special. The older characters like the in-house doctor, and the father of the female lead are about as interesting as the adult figures in a Peanuts cartoon.

Kudos to Ruth Codd, who plays the red-haired disabled ballerina - she and the mysterious blonde woman (Samantha Sloyan, who had also been excellent in Midnight Mass) are the only ones who manage to bring life to this bland mess of a show. This had been intended to last for multiple seasons, but I doubt there will be enough who care to watch more than one. I'm definitely not interested. 10 hours wasted.

It's a great story, by Stephen King. Fun to see Donald Sutherland again, conveys so much with the arched eyebrow or a few words. The boy actor as lead is bland but competent in the key role. Other characters are essentially props and cartoonishly drawn like his father, the bully and the teacher who influences the boy.

If you haven't read the book, you might enjoy the interesting story. If you have read it, you might find that this was a paint by numbers copy, adding nothing, and entirely predictable.

It's an earnest effort nonetheless, and worth watching on an Autumn day. Some parts are extremely slow and seem inserted solely for the purpose of stretching a short story into a full length movie.

A bit better then "meh" but not much.

I love this series.

Don't get too wrapped up in the complexities and beliefs of the characters.

It's a monster story. Pure and simple. Humans vs monsters.

The statements here made about religion are thought provoking, while also being respectful and never condescending to those who do believe.

The series is a little long, but the tension builds very well. Many different things could be happening, and it's fun to watch the mysterious pile up. Watch this series with a friend and try to guess what's going on. You'll be pleased to find that what is revealed is both what you thought and NOT entirely what you expected.

As far as Flanagans other offerings, I would say Haunting of Hill House is my favorite. This is #2.

My son thinks this one is the best by far.

Enjoy! And... beware!

Loved the original with Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell. They had buddy chemistry, and the stories had messages and morals. This one is just... not good.

Main actor is bland. There is no chemistry between the couple that's supposed to be engaged. Some changes to the computer and the knowledge they have about each "jump" is convenient and makes things far less interesting than the first show. The part of the "AI" that is needed is always "down" when they need it, in an attempt to artificially add suspense.

Writing is obvious and bland. "If you screw this up, ... I'll kill you" says the bad guy. Uhhh ok. No real character development. Stories are simplistic and unsatisfying.

Network TV just can't compete with the streaming services. This is a great reminder of that. Damn shame, given such a powerful and well respected vehicle. If these early episodes are any indication, it seems they're wasting that asset. Whoever is at the helm doesn't really seem to know what they're doing.

There are so many things wrong with this slow, tedious, poorly-written movie, I don't know where to start.

Oscar Isaac sleepwalks through this snooze fest. The pace is glacial, the plot meaningless, the gambling uninformed and seemingly written by someone who has never actually played any of the games they're trying to dramatize.

Laughably childish dialogue with no wit, tension or humor.

Simply pathetic.

This is a drive-in movie. It's not fine cinema.

Poorly defined, wooden characters, terrible script. Ok acting. Plot drives the story, such as it is. It held my attention. That's the best I can say. Plot holes you could drive a truck through.

Teenagers would enjoy.

Saw this great flick at the Milwaukee Film Fest opening night, and had a chance to meet the subject (and star) after the movie.

Great job dramatizing the events, with Steve playing himself as he took on Pez USA and the meanie leader "the Pezident." Thought-provoking and very well made, this movie was touching, amusing and ultimately very satisfying.

Strongly recommended.

Don't worry if you have a lot of questions while watching this show. You are in good hands.

Masterful and mysterious, musical and memorable. This series will burn into your memory and being a smile to your face when you recall, or when you TRY but fail to tell others about it.

It's not just a cartoon. Don't dismiss it because of that medium.

Engaging actors and writing. In the end, however, more gimmicky than anything else. The filmmakers clearly love their own work. More of an exercise in interesting technique- like a film school project- than a fully realized movie. A bad episode of Twilight Zone with a strong script and acting but not much else.

There are a number of ways to describe this fine series, but it's on its own as one of the most enjoyable watching experiences of the last 5 years. The characters are all likable and do things you would expect them to do. The humor is both character as well as situationally driven, the plot and pacing move along swiftly - this movie also acts as a mystery that reveals itself slowly, with twists. There are so many IDEAS in this movie. It is rich, and fully realized, and endlessly inventive. The writers never talk down to the viewers, presenting the challenges of near-future technology for you to decide. Are these good things or not? The futuristic stuff is either laughably ridiculous, or amazing, or amazingly useful, or both. And at the heart of it, there is an unlikely and thoroughly believable love story.

Highest rating.

I really wanted to like this. It's worthwhile topic that deserved a far better movie. Mark Ruffalo seems half-asleep during the entire movie, plodding around, failing to say anything but a few obvious platitudes. Perhaps if he mustered a little anger, or eloquence, the movie might have been better. Maybe it was the writing? The pacing? The direction? One scene shows a street, and some cars, and lingers there, like there's something there we should see. What is it? No clue. These kinds of movies are sort of review-proof. The story is so worthy of a movie, and is enough by itself to make anyone angry. This movie just wastes the chance. In the last few minutes the film gives some statements about the devastating and longlasting effects of this "forever chemical." Those crushing statistics alone have about 100x as much impact as does this entire slog of a movie. If you want to learn about this horrible corporate crime, I recommend you read about it online rather than sit through this pathetic rendering. Just my take.

I highly recommend this fine series. It is both an extension of the original 3 movies, but it's also - incredibly - an improvement of even that excellent original Karate Kid movie. It takes what was best about KK and continues the story with heart, intelligence and unwavering charm. There is such care here. The characters are all perfectly cast and given well-timed placement into the story, and their actions and words are perfectly inspired by what you would expect the character to do. The writing is spot on, and the acting is just right. The kids talk like kids (remember that amazingly natural performance of Raph Macchio in the first movies?) and the adults perfectly balance their adult roles with the oft-conflicting responsibilities of mentoring their kids. Macchio and Zabka are just great - complex and interesting people who want to hate each other but they really can't, because they both care about the same things despite their different approaches. Zabka (Johnny) is so good here. You laugh at him, but you feel for him. He is trying so hard, and there is good there. Cobra Kai is a skillfully rendered, massively enjoyable family experience. It is a loving homage not just to a great original movie, but to a different time where spare dialog, PG-13 action, and simple universal feelings were all we needed to get the point across. I tip my hat to everyone involved in this fine series.