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Reviews
I Saw the TV Glow (2024)
Um, what?
When two teens, Owen (an antsy and anxious Justice Smith) and Maddie (Brigette Lundy-Paine, overtly mysterious and weird) bond over a TV show that gets suddenly canceled in the 1990s. When the show is canceled, Maddie disappears. Then comes back. Meanwhile, Owen's life stays pretty mediocre as he fights a mysterious illness.
Folks, this is the worst movie I have seen of 2024!
I have NO idea what the plot is. I have no idea what the point was. If there were themes or symbolism of bigger issues, I didn't get it. I've seen Justice Smith on stage where he shone bright like diamond, as well as in plenty of other films. But here, his portrayal was just off-putting and squeamish. Never heard of Lundy-Paine, but she was not great as she did her line readings like Winona Ryder's Beetlejuice character was doing an impression of Aubrey Plaza.
Some scenes were framed well and nicely shot, but a broken clock is correct twice a day.
So inclusion: What? And as a follow-up: Huh?
F.
Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood (2019)
Important Topic, Halfhearted Attempt
Watched this hour-long documentary via TCM and found it interesting as well as lacking. Some of the movies I was familiar with (Breakfast at Tiffany's) and others I was not (The Crimson Kimono, Sayonara, et al.), but the film veered off into an odd direction midway through to discuss the camps for the Japanese during WW2 but failed to talk to George Takei, who was actually sent to one of these camps as a small child and has been in various productions about this very topic.
I think the topic is extremely important and deserves to be tackled a bit more in-depth than this film allowed. Great to hear from Tamlyn Tomita, but there are sooo many more we could've heard from (Nancy Kwan, James Hong, etc.). Also it seems like the movie was essentially only about Japanese racism since hardly any other Asian races were featured or even mentioned.
Important topic but this was a half-hearted attempt. D.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996)
Every TV Episode is Better Than This
Mike and the bots do their thing to the 1955 bomb, "This Island Earth," which details a US scientist recruited by an alien culture for research. At only an hour and 14 minutes, this "feature" was shorter than any episode in the history of MST3K! I remember being disappointed in this when I excitedly saw it in the theater with Rebecca Eldridge back in 1996. That disappointment has not gone away. This "movie version" reeks of being tinkered with by a major studio which, apparently, was exactly the case. There aren't near as many "riffs," and the movie featured was cut by at least 20 minutes and it shows because it really makes no sense as the action suddenly jumps from one relaxed scene to one where the entrapped scientists are trying to escape with their lives. Every single MST3K episode is better than this movie. Luckily there are plenty.
Alice & Jack (2023)
Just Awful, Awful People
Six episodes follow 16 years in the lives of two on again/off again lovebirds ... the people's lives they interrupt. Ugh, what a dour, unhappy show. The two main characters -- Alice (Andrea Riseborough, annoying and unlikable) and Jack (Domhnall Gleeson, whiny, forlorn) are just not that likable.
Other than striking it rich on one of Alice's stock tips (I guess), these two mooks have nothing but bad luck. One gets married then divorced. The other's wedding is derailed. They can't have fulfilling relationships with anyone else because they're hung up on each other because they must have such low self-esteem.
My god, they're just awful. At first, I thought Jack was a "loveable loser" type, but no; as the show went on, it was obvious he was just a glutton for punishment. Despite how much I've enjoyed Gleeson's work before, in this he was just a dishrag. And Alice...don't even get me started on this nightmare wrapped in a toothache shoved into a pain in the behind! Just awful. Cannot see why each found the other attractive, appealing, or worth the trouble.
What awful, awful people. Thankfully, there's NO possibility for second series...if you get my meaning. But, obviously, the acting was great since they both elicited such strong emotions from this guy.
Ugh, just terrible characters.
Fool Me Once (2024)
Not the best Harlan Coben Adaptation
Yet another British produced adaptation of a Harlen Coben novel where army vet Maya Stern spends the series trying to get to the bottom of who killed her sister and her husband d within weeks of each other and with the same gun. Yeah, this one meandered bit too much h for me plus there were a lot of guns in this so it was obviously meant to take place in an American setting. Some of the casting was not overly inspired either. However, the final episode to wrap up the loose ends was pretty tight. Not the best adaptation IMHO. I was glad when it ended.
Had a seasoned actress other than Michelle Keegan been cast as Maya, it might've been a bit more believable. She had NO believability has a "hardened war veteran" at all. And she was extremely unlikable so, as a viewer, it was hard to feel sorry for her, especially because she now lived alone in a cool mansion with her toddler.
The Sixth Commandment (2023)
Heartbreaking yet Stellar
Oh man, did this one enthrall me! This four-part series tells the TRUE story of Ben Field (Éanna Hardwicke) and how he wormed his way into two lonely older people's lives: Retired professor Peter Farquart (Timothy Spall) and retired headmistress (the lovely Anne Reid). Some great, great performances. The last two episodes played much like a Law & Order, which is a feature rather than a bug. A really great examination of the loneliness that strikes older folks and how easy it is for them to fall victim to a ripped, charming schemer. But trust me, you will hate Ben Field! Just awful, awful excuse for a human. Also, this is far from being exploitative because it goes to great lengths to show what decent people the victims were, and that makes you hate the villain that much more.
The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970)
London 70s at its Best!
From 1970, Roger Moore plays Pelham who, after a car crash, seems to have an exact body double who spends his time undoing what Pelham has put into place both professionally and personally. Sort of a high-concept Jekyll & Hyde tale, this role is reportedly one of Moore's favorites. Pelham 2 has an affair, plays snooker for money, participates in an underhanded business deal, quite a nasty character indeed. All the while Pelham 1 (or Pelham Classic, if you will), becomes agitated and unglued by all this nonsense. Very much a psychological thriller because as the viewer, you really have no idea what's going on. Is he losing it? Is there an imposter? Time travel (narrator: It is not time travel.) This is one of the flicks I believe I became aware of via Reel Britannia on BritBox via Prime and immediately put it on my IMDb watchlist; it was not on Netflix/DVD but it was one of my first DVDs through cafedvd. A definite nailbiter from the time and the opening theme by Michael J. Lewis is remarkable.
Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie (1972)
Surreal and Meandering
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie. This surreal, plotless film from Luis Bunuel features six friends all trying to have a meal together in various situations but they constantly interrupted by dreams, police, army battalions...you name it. It's considered a "comic masterpiece." I wouldn't go that far, but it was highly entertaining, more entertaining than I was expecting. This movie is purported to be the basis of the first act of the final Sondheim musical, the awfully titled "Here We Are." The meandering plot -- like its meandering characters -- was like listening to a mix tape someone else made full of songs you don't recognize but are still enjoyable. Now my curiosity is really piqued about the musical (which I'm seeing in late December).
Jonah from Tonga (2014)
Chris Lilley = genius; Not for most Americans
I think Chris Lilley is a comedic genius and I've loved all of his shows even though I've pretty much loathed all of his characters. Unlike, say Frasier or Niles Crane or David Brent and Michael Scott, Lilley's characters are simply NOT appealing human beings. Not only would you not want to know them, you'd likely want to avoid them or even kick them in the throat. Jonah is the second of Lilley's "Summer Heights High" characters to get their own show -- J'amie was the first -- and he is the most annoying of the three characters from SHH. The problem a lot of people -- specifically Americans -- is that the story lines don't resolve in the Hollywood way and the characters are so abhorrent. If there's any justice, Mr. G will get his own show as well!
The Poseidon Adventure (2005)
Not as bad as I expected, but....
Where do I begin? Of course this movie was cheesy and it could've been much better, but it also could've been much worse (i.e. some other film about a capsizing ship was made and the only upside down scenes were in corridors! I apologize for not remembering the name of it). There was no sense of suspense whatsoever. The scenes taking place outside the ship of the rescue effort absolutely RUINED the movie. The ending was too pat; you knew what going to live and who was going to die---James Martin has been so helpful getting Mrs. Rosen thru the air duct: dead! slutty maseusse who sleeps with a married man: dead! The terrorist who Rogo dragged thru the inverted ship: DEAD! However, I do choose to give the writer and the director the benefit of the doubt. The scuttlebutt is that the TV movie was severely altered from what was originally planned by some network exec who played up the terrorist angle. (IN THE SPIRIT OF FULL DISCLOSURE, I SHOULD ADD THAT I AM A MEMBER OF THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE FAN CLUB).
The one bit of casting that I truly hated was Steve Guttenberg. If you see his name in a movie, you know it's going to have a cheese factor. And he is still in great shape but his body looks 20 years younger than his face. scary. Plus, he was quoted in an EW article in a review of this movie and he came off sounding like a self-important jerk. You're Steve Guttenberg!!! I would've much rather seen someone like Jimmy Smits, Gary Sinise, William Petersen, etc. in the role of the duplicitous husband.
I also agree with one of the earlier posts pondering how someone could survive getting bounced about in a 3-story tall ballroom, while others die from massive trauma in a corridor. huh?
I also found it a tad disappointing that the survivors found the other bomb---in the mess of the overturned engine room, the bomb is just sitting on a platform waiting to be tapped--blew a hole in the hull and just jumped to safety. Reminds me of Lindo Rogo's lambasting of her husband in the original: "Why don't you just say this is the police, kick out the hull, and swim to shore!"
That being said, when the movie is released on DVD (according to Netflix, that will be in March), I will buy it. Maybe it will be the director's real cut.
Personally, I'm not going to complain about not being emotionally vested in the characters because I watched The Simpsons during the movie's first half hour. oops!