Reviews

David's art film failure. I took this one hard. As a life long Lynch fan, it was hard to see him crash and burn on nearly every level in making this film. I remember when Lynch had said that he was completely done with film after experimenting with digital video. He put out a small snippet Experimental short. I remember automatically being alarmed as to how silly and awful it was. But I decided to keep an open mind about the feature film that was upcoming.

I remember the hype around this release and told myself that I was going to watch the movie in theaters as Lynch was traveling the film across the country and the world. I was one of four people in the theater. Although it started intriguing enough, I was very concerned over not only the cinematography, but overall Look and editing of the picture. The terrible acting, the ridiculous amount of close-ups, the horrible color grading, the absolutely atrocious non-storyline, God awful lack of music & score, the complete and utterly ghastly visuals & sets and the asinine dialogue.

What was David Lynch thinking? Oh, I can tell you. Sometime later, I remember Lynch putting out a documentary style video about his life and art, but also behind-the-scenes of the making of this movie. He admitted himself that he was completely lost, frustrated and unsure while making this feature. It shows in the final film. I like the Jungian psychology aspect of the story, but it just did not cut the mustard.

I appreciate the most basic storyline of Laura Dern's character. She is in trouble, and gets lost in an alternate reality/loop and goes through a frightening odyssey. I absolutely love Dern as an actress and she deserved better from Lynch. She does deserve credit for her Total commitment and trust to David Lynch. She did the best job she could as an actor despite to what she was given and how she was directed. Too bad it backfired with this atrocious and result.

I remember being upset at Quentin Tarantino when he horribly criticized David Lynch's film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992). Tarantino famously said that "David Lynch has disappeared so far up his own ass that I have no desire to see another David Lynch movie until I hear something different." I believed that was a very unfair assessment because Fire Walk with Me was an excellent prequel to the TV show Twin Peaks. But now Tarantino's words actually doing perfectly true with Inland Empire. Good thing that Lynch mostly, And I really really do mean "Mostly" redeemed himself with the Twin Peaks revival 11 years later.

A movie about people you don't really care about. That's the main problem. Despite a solid performance of Michael Keaton as the villain, the other parts of the movie just sag. The characters of that Patty Palmer and Drake Goodman and just too plain stupid and naive. Even first time homeowners can't be this ridiculous. These two characters make the stupidest choices in almost every situation. Matthew Modine and Melanie Griffith just look completely bored playing the roles. They have no chemistry and are completely unlikeable and unsympathetic. You kind of want bad things to happen to them so the plot can progress. The writers even go for the gold in making them even more unsympathetic by having them make racist comments and insinuations. The film is well shot, but the pacing and editing become tedious. Even the final act is still pretty silly. At the end of it all you could see why this film did not do well at the box office.

As a big Gaffigan fan, this latest special is is weakest one to date. And he's had some weak ones already. After the Pale Tourist (which was fantastic) he kinda ran out of ideas. Most of the hour was a DOA. His jokes just don't land and are undercooked and totally unfunny. I did appreciate the darker material, especially about the pandemic. He's pretty funny when he is sounding more negative about life. But unfortunately, the rest of the jokes are just bland. This will be the last special I watch from him. Hopefully he'll just have some good film roles in the future. He is good in the parts he's had in movies.

Some of the worst acting I've seen for a major studio production. Everything is contrived, unnatural acting. Even from the parents. The whole tone of episode just seems off. The writing is cringe inducing and the direction is just nonexistent. The premise sounded intriguing but this first episode didn't do anything. None of the characters seem real or interesting. The bonfire scene was so unintentionally funny and I was face palming the whole time. The only thing that the episode had going for it was the gorgeous cinematography and location setting. Even Netflix has better teen drama content. Skip this title.

As per usual, an art film that's all fluff and pretentious pseudo storytelling than actual substance. The problem from the beginning is the extremely lazy, unfocused script and the "beating the dead horse" directing by Bruce Cheung. The drama itself is just not intriguing enough and the piecemeal and patchy editing doesn't help it's central storyline of fathers abandoning their families. The main lead Mickey, is just way too tiresome and one note to be made into a feature length picture. Franco and Jones (the only power players) themselves seem super bored with their roles. Nothing worthwhile happens. Even the bits of good engagement of the kids are ruined by the film's own trappings and inability to sell it to the audience. This could have been a 20 minute short film.

Waste of a cast. Literally nothing worthwhile happens despite some interesting initial setup and mood. All the actors seem bored. The script and direction is the film's own worst enemy. The title of the movie itself is a good description of the overall feeling of the movie, No Sudden Move, because it's just a lame monotone affair with no surprises despite its choppy pseudo-complicated storyline. This is one of the very few Don Cheadle performances that I genuinely disliked. He acted like he hated the work. Even when the final captions come on screen you're like "...hmmmmm......ok then yay". No wonder it was released direct to HBO Max because it totally would've bombed at the box office.

Although the entire cast is stellar, Jeremy Allen White Is the absolute super star of the show. His portrayal is so real, heartfelt, nuanced, and heartbreaking. His character is trying his best, A lot of the times failing, but also a lot of times winning. Very sympathetic portrayal. As someone who used to work in the restaurant industry, and still has family and friends working in professional kitchens, The material definitely hits close to home. Although there is many great comedic moments in the show and moments of funny awkwardness, this show is definitely an intense drama. There is so many things to unpack. But I think most people can enjoy this show due to the excellent writing, directing and acting. Even if you've never worked in the service industry before, we have all eaten out at restaurants and you know how crazy you can be. You will get it. The show does not relent. Each episode continues to get more and more intense. And The payoffs are excellent. Whether you love the characters or hate them, You really want to know what's going to happen with these people. Top tier TV. Highly recommend.

A lot to unpack here. The tension, sympathy and stress level the writers where going for definitely comes through. When you really start to hate and wish bad things on certain characters, Then writers have done their job. There is also a lot of very strange, but comedic moments. I think the cast and crew nailed the gags perfectly. But there is also a lot of small little heartfelt moments, Which brings the shows engaging drama back into play. And this is what makes the show great. Want to see what ends up happening to these characters.

After some very uneven and weak episodes and moments in this third season, I feel Like it did redeem himself with some great stuff throughout. This last episode is definitely part of that stuff. Tense, gripping and shocking. Great writing, directing and acting by Bill Hader. Everyone was actually good. I was expecting certain things to turn out the way they did because of the brilliant Easter eggs laid out throughout the whole season. Like Hader had said before the premiere, "a lot of bad things happen in the season." With fourth outing already written, I cannot wait for it to come out. I can't wait to see what happens next.

I did like the tense and dark moments. I can tell they are setting up the finale. I hope it is a strong one because a lot of this episode just felt like a wasted opportunity. Zero care for Sally's story arc. I don't mind the lack of comedy here, but most of 33 minutes was just boring. Barry, Gene and Noho Hank's journey is still interesting but there just wasn't enough to really suck you in. Too fragmented. Episode 8 better be a powerhouse.

Verbinski also makes sure that he doesn't "show" you anything either. That's ok when a horror film is actually good and scary. The movie basically feels like a two hour trailer. Just a lame attempt at a horror movie. Naomi Watts is a great actress and it's a shame that she was forced to star in this. She does the best that she could with the material. The pace is tedious, too many convenient plot devices and too many stupid character motivations. Most of The Ring is just unforgivably boring. The film starts to finally have somewhat of a decent build up of interest and tension starting at the last 40 minutes, then proceeds to have the stupidest conclusion possible. No real onscreen violence or scares. Definitely would not recommend. I heard there is a part 2. Not even remotely interested.

...season. Some great twists and turns. It's good to see Gene be somewhat redeemed and kind of happy. Barry is still a psycho and almost unlikeable but there is something there that makes you want to see his story. With Sally, urgh it's just impossible to like her or feel sorry for her. Just a bad character and bad acting by Goldberg. You can tell in this season that it's just going to go bad for a lot of characters. The final scene of this episode was just sad but weird. How we like it.

I don't know, the tone was just completely off. For the most part this episode didn't work dramatically or comedy wise. These first three episodes have really tested my love for the show. Barry is just acting too creepy and unlikeable. Yes we get, he's mentally unstable and is a killer. But it has crossed into a weird territory where the characters could finally lose all sympathy from the audience. I'll be patient and wait to see how it progresses obviously. Will give major credit to Henry Winkler for his acting, especially for his final scene on set of the TV show with Barry.

...a disappointing 3rd episode. This one hit all the right marks of drama, action and dark comedy. The build up of tension worked so well. The final scenes between Barry & Sally and then Barry and Gene are exactly the reasons on why I love the show. Can't wait to see what happens next.

Josh Friedman and David Koepp's family drama was already incredibly weak and cringe to begin with. Then further exacerbated by the horrendous acting by both Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin. The movie becomes grating at best in the drama department. How did Steven Spielberg agree to this script and approval of these two young actors? But then again, he has ruined plenty of movies. See Artificial Intelligence.

The action and effects sequences are fantastic. The aliens and their annihilation of humans was well done and frankly, quite terrifying. The movie touching on man's downfall and it's inherent darkness was sobering and it rang true. No sugar coating here by Spielberg. It highlights that we are really no better than the aliens, especially if the situation was reversed. If anything, we would be worse. This was the movie's best and most intriguing motif.

But for Pete's sake. The film is its own worst enemy. The only reason I didn't rate it 2 stars was because of Tom and Tim's acting and the good points above.

As far as the action/sci-fi/adventure genre, this was the last spell by Steven that anybody cared about.

Not his best special but still funny. Funny jab at the pandemic and some clever jokes about marching bands, bikers and getting old/fat. But some sections were completely unfunny and cringe. Even the audience was silent, reminding him that the jokes were overcooked and not working. His golfing bit was kinda funny. His finale joke fell flat also. Oh well, still a fan.

I knew it was going to be garbage after the mess of season 1, but the ridiculousness got even worse with this season. With the exception of two character's (Fezco & Nate) I literally could care less about anyone on the show. Nothing interesting or worthwhile happens this season except for one episode. Pointless, drawn out scenes, ineffective meta pretentiousness, overacting, cringeworthy writing, tiresome characters, hopeless editing and failed directing by Sam Levinson. Will not be continuing on with this show.

This season was already skating on thin ice for me. There is some very stupid and unbelievable story plot points and some very tiresome characters. But some of the teen/adult issues that are dealt with and also some good acting have kept it from cracking through.

This episode 8 finale however was just ridiculous and borderline unwatchable. Literally nothing happens except for some side character developments. The whole episode felt like it turned into musical theatre. It felt like some retrospective about the people on the show that didn't really matter. There was no point. Self indulgent, repetitive, and highly pretentious. My friends and I literally started laughing during the final act and musical number. Downright silly.

If season 2 doesn't improve quickly, there will be no reason to continue on with all this.

I was definitely unsure of this film even though I like Cumberbatch, Plemons and Smit-McPhee. I did not really know much about the movie going in but I am so glad I gave it a chance. A slow but carefully and intricately crafted drama about secrets. Benedict is especially good here, you absolutely forget Doctor Strange and only see Phil the tortured cowboy with a secret. Although I always felt he was a great young actor, Kodi truly surprises here playing the son who is also holding a secret. Dunst is fantastic as well as the frail and sensitive mother.

The movie is of course slow burn, but it engages the open minded viewer quickly because you want to know who these characters are or what they do and want. The gorgeous cinematography, music score are characters themselves that also pull you into the story. Must be said that from the onset, Jonny Greenwood's original music lassos' you into the tale. Each "chapter" gets more and more involved, feeling the tension and unease build more and more uncomfortable amount. By the final two sections, you're left with a very uneasy feeling. Maybe second guessing yourself.

The Power Of The Dog will still be a tough sell for many. Period films in general are. A lot of people will not like the slow burn quality nor the lack "action" the filmmakers are going for. I am glad that this was released on Netflix, so that hopefully more people are willing to give it a chance. But totally would have bombed at the box office, had it been a wide release. Would definitely recommend.

The good: When it comes to this kind of material, nobody can really touch Ridley Scott. He can deliver the goods with epic storytelling, great actors, and superb production values. The lead actors are all in top form here. It's fun to watch Matt Damon take on this kind of role and he did not disappoint. Jodie Comer is excellent as well. The production design and cinematography are gorgeous as expected.

The bad: Uneven writing and film pacing. Now the idea of telling the story in three different perspectives might have seemed like a great idea on paper, but here it just ends up dragging the film on for too long. It loses it's impact. Even sections before and after the three "reenactments" seem very choppy.

The ugly: there is none. Still an enjoyable movie. Wish more people had given it a chance.

Ok so we all know the history, we know what ends up happening so we are at least supposed to be entertained by the story and license taken because it's based off a novel. Therein lies the dilemma, the movie is just not that interesting or engaging. It loses it weight rather quickly. The clumsy friendship, the unbelievable plot points, over the top acting ( by one of the characters, which gets extremely tiresome), and the choppy story flow, really wobbles the whole film before it tips over. But giving credit when credit is due, the acting by George MacKay and Jeremy Irons. Some interesting angles and some wise choices. It's fun watching veteran actor Jeremy do his thing. MacKay is definitely believable as the young diplomat put in a highly dangerous situation. Such a shame movie couldn't un-trap itself from its own cage.