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mattmayakeller
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Die Wand (2012)
Great idea followed by lazy story writing
The idea is a brilliant jumping off point for either a story on human nature and/or sci fi. Unfortunately, being really clever and unfolding a mystery through clues is too much work for the art crowd, so they'd rather mope for 2 hours.
Wouldn't it be a great story if it was played out like a mystery and the viewer was given clues of what was happening and a really cool sci fi explanation was presented at the end, and the viewer might or might not have figured it about before the big reveal? For example, why does it seem like time outside the wall does not pass? However, that should mean that even though seasons changed inside the wall, the seasons outside should not change. They didn't do this. I guess that was too much work for them?
Maybe the wall could suddenly disappear as soon as it appeared and she is 2 years older than everyone else? Why not? Then she could see how this experience made her realize how much she needed other people. They could have made her a self-centered mopey person to begin with and this isolation could change her, then there would be a lesson?
Maybe they could have trapped her there with some other people. That way we could have some interesting dialog where they are trying to figure out how to escape. We could also see how different people deal with feeling trapped, like the classic move "The lifeboat".
We could have had a really scientific explanation of what happened or even a religious one? Maybe she is dead and is some kind of purgatory. Maybe pick another religion besides Christianity and she is going through the afterlife stages in those religions. Maybe she is a ghost and actually haunting the house?
Dang it there are so many very interesting ways this could have gone but no ... no we gotta bond with a dog and cow, cut our hair to look even more devastated, and mope for hours and hours.
I need to make a new rule for myself. Any movie where in the opening scenes they spend 5 minutes doing something like brushing their teeth or knitting sweater gets immediately nexted. It's just a forecast for a story teller that doesn't even try.
Was there some kind of feminist or animal lover thing going on her? I honestly really can't tell. Big news flash, the majority of people like animals to begin with, and most of us city slickers would be pretty uncomfortable with butchering a chicken ourselves but that is just obvious.
How did the ax wielding crazy mountain man find his way in, and why was he crazy? Now that would be a story!
4 stars is being kind to this movie, because frankly the ending made me angry. That's all you got! But I will give it 4 because it did hold me for 2 hours, and some elements like the visible time anomaly was interesting. Good thing I watched this for free on an airplane where I didn't miss out on anything else in life.
Live and Let Die (1973)
One of my favorite Bond movies with Voodoo
This thing was so iconic when I was growing up in the 70s and 80s, and for good reason. It has so many things going for it that were very original at the time. Who can forget the big smile, deep laugh, Voodoo guy? Didn't he end up in 7 Up commercials? You got the great Wings song as a theme. The New Orleans funeral band that murders people. The boat chases that skid across roadways and islands, and that stuff was real stunts, no cgi there. The explosion at the end of that chase was epic. They really blew something up!
Furthermore, you have the Smokey and the Bandit style Southern Sheriff, before Smokey and the Bandit and the Dukes of Hazard even existed. This movie was imitated in so many ways for over a decade. And finally you have Solitaire, Jane Seymour, quite possibly the most beautiful Bond girl ever and they have her in the coolest makeup and dresses. Here eyeliner was amazing and her chair closed around her like dress.
Yes, the bad guys are Starksy and Hutch and Dirty Harry style pimps but this is the 70s maaannnn. It was all as cool and groovy as can be back then, so just enjoy the charactures, along with platform shoes and crazy colorful clothes. It's actually refreshing to take a break from the stiff Spectre bad guys.
Yah, this thing is one of the best. Sorry Casino Royale lovers, but you don't have Sheriff Pepper, Mr Big, and Voodoo Tarot Cards!
A Guy Thing (2003)
Very Funny, Cute, Intelligent
I thought this was hilarious. I loved the pacing and the smart humor. Jason Lee makes great faces as do both Julia Stiles and Selma Blair.
So, I'd say the acting is quite good. It's also actually very cute.
This style of comedy reminded me of 80s classics like 16 Candles because it didn't try to hard, but set up the gags just right. It also stayed light the entire time.
I also appreciate the intelligent dialog rather than a lot of the gross out humor in many "comedies". Yes, there was a little bathroom humor but it wasn't the backbone. Comedies like Super Bad and The Hangover were great but so many comedies these days are just poor imitations of those. The shock formula has to be done just right or it is totally terrible. For example, the "The Watch" was complete garbage. An Fbomb every sentence is not good writing. I'm not offended just bored with that kind of poor writing.
I have also watched like 100 Jennifer Aniston comedies with my wife, and I like them, but it was good to see something tending more to what the boys like. Definitely a solid 8. No idea why this is so underrated on here. Maybe just because its kind of old, from 2003. I think it will at least climb into 7s as more people see it.
Babylon (2022)
I could only make it through the first 10 minutes
So, completely not what I expected. I enjoy movies about the 1920s because it was such fascinating time. The music then was great, and it was a period full of optimism and energy. Think of all the amazing things that were happening. World War 1 was over, technology was advancing at an astounding pace, women were gaining more freedom and rights. A movie that combines beautiful clear modern filming and cgi and is able to leverage all the films and history from that era to have a really accurate portrayal and maybe a great story would be very cool.
Of course Brad Pitt being in the movie would a bonus right.
Unfortunately this moving was instead nothing but twisted, gross, classless, headonistic garbage. It starts with a scene were some characters need to get an elephant up a hill using some 1920s cars. That should make an interesting scene. But it wan't.
Firstly, the dialog absolutely stinks. Instead of talking like people from the 1920s the characters sound like low class spoiled brats from our current era who use the F word for 50% of their dialog. What horrible writing! Let's hear these people use some 1920ish lingo, and I know for a fact people didn't talk like that back then. Not even the lowest of the low. Throwing a bunch of F words in to "be cool" isn't writing, its just lazy.
Then it seems the main point of the whole up the hill scene was for the elephant to spray diarrhea all over one of the characters. After the diarrhea event they cut to another scene and didn't even tell us how they made it up the hill. I guess the whole grand finale of that scene was poop? The scene they cut too is a gross fat guy getting urinated on by a woman. Sorry guys but I grew out of bathroom humor when I turned 5. I gave it 10 minutes, that was enough. Maybe some people think that this kind of stuff is sexy? I have no idea but not my crowd. I am just disappointed that I watched this at home. It would have been much more satisfying to be able to publicly display my discontent by walking out of the theater and asking for my money back. Yuck.
The Little Mermaid (2023)
Very disappointing
As a classic tale cherished by many, The Little Mermaid's live-action adaptation had the potential to make a splash. However, this rendition failed to live up to the expectations set by its animated predecessor. While the film had its merits, particularly in terms of visual effects and production design, its musical aspect fell flat, and the animations were more alarming than enchanting for young audiences.
One of the most glaring shortcomings of this rendition was the lackluster music. The original animated film boasted a timeless soundtrack that captured the hearts of audiences worldwide. Unfortunately, the live-action adaptation's musical performances failed to match the caliber of the beloved songs. The actress cast in the lead role struggled with her singing, failing to evoke the same emotional resonance and vocal prowess that audiences fell in love with in the animated version. This disparity robbed the film of its musical magic, leaving viewers longing for the original renditions.
Additionally, the decision to bring the underwater world of Ariel to life with live-action and CGI hybrid animation proved to be a double-edged sword. While some aspects of the visual effects were visually impressive, particularly the underwater scenes, they tended to lean toward the uncanny valley. The hybrid approach often left characters looking unnervingly unrealistic, which could be distressing for younger viewers. The overly realistic rendition of underwater creatures, such as fish and other sea creatures, lacked the charm and whimsy that the animated counterparts possessed, diminishing the film's overall appeal.
Another notable misstep was the choice to adapt The Little Mermaid as a live-action film rather than remaining faithful to its animated roots. While live-action adaptations can breathe new life into beloved stories, in this case, it didn't quite work. The film struggled to capture the same sense of wonder and enchantment that the original animation brought to the screen. The live-action format simply couldn't replicate the vibrant colors, fluidity, and ethereal charm that made the animated film so captivating.
In summary the movie lacked good music, was too scary for little kids, but boring for adults. I recommend spending your money elsewhere.
Midsommar (2019)
Sensationalistic garbage
This movie is what happens when people watch so many movies and TV and consume so much media that they are numb to everything. This results in "entertainment" that reaches for the lowest common denominator.
Of course a really clever story, or a story that illuminates the depths of the human psychi, or that highlights a moral subject could also be stimulating and different. Old Twilight Zone episodes illustrate how something scary can be combined with an absolutely brilliant story telling to make us think.
That is not the case with this movie. It is instead an example of how it is easiest for a director or writer just to take the sex and violence to a higher level. Even the characters in the movie were vomitting. This movie is nothing more than the theater equivalent of explosive diarrhea.
I should have bailed out as soon as her sister killed herself and her parents, because it was evident then that the movie was just going for the most twisted sick crap that could be dredged up. Instead I hung on hoping for something clever, like maybe this cult was maintaining a giant tarantula, or a giant buried space ship with hungry aliens. Or maybe it would turn into a pretty cool chase scene escape story. Nope nope nope. It was jus a puky bloody cry fest.
What exactly was this director trying to accomplish? Distrust for friendly Scandinavians maybe. Like the friendly old Swedish guy offers you lukfisk right now but fall asleep and you'll wake up paralyzed in a bloody bears body and be burned alive. Or maybe this directory just really hated going to church.
Whatever his motives were he certainly wasted a lot of time and money making a train wreck of a movie. I am amazed by the fact that a couple hundred people all collaborated on something like this. You need custom people, camera people, special affects people, writers, editors, the list goes on and on. Yet, all these people contributed time and energy to this. Truly amazing.
Don't Look Up (2021)
Satire with a purpose
For entertainment value I'd give this a 7. For social value I give it a 10, so I'll settle on a 9. The best type of humor is humor that makes you think in ways you had not previously. Sometimes social issues when critiqued directly bounce off people because of prejudices the audience has. However, when played out as a story and using fictional characters, even to go far as cartoon animals, suddenly the message finds its way through. A great example of this is George Orwell's "Animal Farm". This movie is along those lines and there is nothing subtle about its message.
There are two big players in any country that shape society, the government and big business. Nobody expects big business to take care of anyone but themselves. We all have higher expectations of the government, because it is the main balance against big business. For example, a business can make a lot more money by simply dumping toxic waste in a river. Anyone who thinks business's will police themselves is naive. They will find some way to justify destructive behavior for profit. There are lots of fish in the world right? There is money to be made, and this is not "that" bad.
So, the government has to balance the greater good of the people of the country but also create an environment where business can succeed. So, what happens when the government is completely in the pocket of business and politicians are only concerned with re-election. Obviously, lots of bad stuff goes down. Throw in a comet, societies veneration of tech billionairs, the petty sensationalism of the self serving media, and ... apocalypse happens. This movie isn't just a thinly veiled comment on the governments response to global warming. It actually applies to anything that requires the government to be the protector of the people.
This movie is hilarious and disturbing but it needed to be said, and this has so much more social value than gross out or shock humor. Good job guys.
First Knight (1995)
Inspiring in its ethics
If you are looking for a movie that makes you feel what its like to believe in something, this is a great movie. Maybe it doesn't follow the story line that closely of the "original" Author legends. For example there is no Merlin. However, it is quite inspirational in its championing of true ethics and what it means to believe in what is right and just. The inscription on the round table says it all "In serving each other we become free". Its a beautiful story and a good reminder of the kind of thinking that has helped the world to reach a modern civilized and sympathetic state. There certainly are challenges and threats to progress to this day, but don't forget how we got here. So far the tyrants always eventually lose, and greed is somewhat generally kept in check. The only way that evil can win is when good men do nothing, and it is justified to be proud of what is good about our past and to continue to focus on the positive.
Corporate Animals (2019)
Possibly one of the worst movies I have ever seen
Well, I didn't realize that cannibalism and murder could be so hilarious .... um no. Throw in some strange company sex and a naked fat man and we have the makings of a revolutionary comedy that redefines modern humor ... um no. There aren't many comedies these days and even far less good ones. I almost think that movies like The End, and Super Bad, have made gross out humor the only thing that is left anymore. Oh, and using the F-word makes everything so funny right? Hopefully intelligent humor will make a comeback one day. Definitely not this movie.
Styx (2018)
Just keep on sailing
Obviously this film is attempting to convey some kind of moral message. Yet, the only message it really gives is that she would have been way better off to report the refugee boat and move on. She accomplished absolutely nothing. In fact she might have even sent more people to their watery graves by approaching the boat.
Are we to believe that many of the people on board have Ebola or something? Also wouldn't a refugee boat be in the Mediterranean instead of out in the Pacific off the West Coast of Africa?
The worst part is the ending. She is just all stoic and shocked maybe, so I assume the viewer is supposed to feel guilt or remorse?
This film I think is a huge failure because I care less about the refugees now then I did before I saw this.
Yep, nothing you can do. Thanks for the lesson guys.
The only thing I did like was the lack of music. I actually appreciate the realism that a soundtrack with very little to no music creates. I am also tired of the weird synth music that so many movies are full of lately, which seemed to have started with Interstellar.
The Last Days on Mars (2013)
Laziest script in the solar system
The scenery in the beginning was cool. After that it all went downhill.
Firstly, the dialog early on the movie was so annoying and the characters so unlikeable that it was very unusual. Maybe the director or story writer hangs around with some of the most annoying pretentious irritating people imaginable because it felt like what was supposed to be friendly banter was unbearably irritating.
Next all hopes of a clever intelligent story was lost when the movie suddenly became "the walking dead on Mars". Dumb violent zombies occasionally know how to rig high explosives to blow off air locks on occasion though, which makes no sense. They should have gone full comedy and showed two zombies playing chess while snacking on body parts and listening to classical music. ha ha.
However, the grand finally of stupidity was the horrible ending. One man fights for survival and finally gets in orbit and blows the zombie and zombie blood out the airlock. Will he live? Is he infected? Actually the director decided nobody gives a f#@*% and just decided to end the movie there. Is that supposed to be some kind of artistic move? I just call that audience abuse. Maybe they just ran out of money and zombie makeup? Planning a sequel? Yah, dream on.
Hard to believe studios shell out this kind of money when the story stinks. In the old days a lot of Sci Fi had horrible effects but some really fascinating stories. Evidently the pendulum has swung the other way. Okay it was a unintelligent horror movie but at least give the viewer some satisfaction in the end.
Dark (2017)
The beginning is the end and the end wasn't planned
This series started out pretty good. I would say it started as an 8 (I gave it 6 ultimately), because, in the beginning, it was very interesting the way that the whole thing unfolded as an elaborate puzzle. The viewer really had to think to figure out what was happening in the overlapping timelines and to figure out who were the younger or older versions of characters we had seen before. Also, I just love the idea of time travel in general. The best Family Guy episodes are the time machine ones.
Unfortunately, the story started to degrade by the 2nd season, and by the 3rd season it became a complete mess. While there were lots of things to like, there are also real flaws broken out as follows.
What was with all the kid killing? This was in there right from the beginning. I think if you are going to be murdering elementary school kids by burning off their faces, and dumping their bodies in piles of leaves or constructions sites, you had better have a solid villain and story line to back it up. They never gave a definitive explanation for this. I guess we are to believe that this was an attempt at time machine development, but the whole thing was left ambiguous. Yet, the head kid killer, Noah, was shown to not be such a bad guy after all. Really? How about Ulrich bashing 6 year old Helge's skull in with a rock? What a wonderful scene that was? I guess I understand if you are going to be going down the terror route, like Texas chainsaw massacre, brutally killing some young people is a good way to create some creepy drama and get the teenagers hearts pumping, and make your movie feel like the "real deal". However, I think that there are some lines that shouldn't be crossed even in entertainment. Some things are just sick, straight up. However, I, like most viewers just put my disgust aside in hopes of some kind of justice I guess. Oh, and before I forget, the kiddy wall papered torture play room, with preschool music, was a nice touch as well. Yikes.
Sex scenes and nudity just dropped in like little snacks. 90% of the sex scenes and nudity didn't seem to add anything to the story and they would often start out at the beginning of the episode with no build up to them. I think the director handled this the same way as a lot of the violence. He/she figured, well you gotta have some sex and violence in your film to be successful. Sprinkle it in. The 14 year olds watching this won't realize they are being manipulated. They will just think this is adult stuff so they will feel like this movie is cool and not kiddy stuff.
Despite these issues, the real failing of Dark was the complete unraveling of the story in the 3rd season. I think it is completely obvious that they were making this up as they went along, at that point. It's hard to believe they dropped millions of Euros on this story without having a plan, but when they brought the alternate universe in where everyone had a slightly different haircut I thought I was watching a comedy. Oh yah, really foggy in this place too. Martha looks terrible in straight bangs, by the way. Does any woman look good in straight bangs? Anyways, I digress.
Back to my point. Not only did the story line go wonky, but the time travel vignette's got completely random. Remember in the beginning that whenever someone traveled back in time you were aware of it and you had to think about the implications and do this whole cool puzzle thing in your head. Well, those days are over my friend. Season 3, be prepared to be fire hosed with random characters popping out of nowhere, with no concern with whether you know who the hell they are or what their purpose is. Yah, and lots and lots of random killing. Don't worry if a major character goes down even when time shouldn't permit it, because of alternate universes and overlapping time spaghetti, the director can decide arbitrarily if that gun is allowed to work. Let's face it, the last season was a complete CF. There is no way that the director or the audience even cares about explanations anymore. The logic is gone. This is about flash now my friends! Ugh, horrible. It was really not easy to stick with it, but I just had to see how this mess would end after dedicating hours and hours to it. 6 stars is a kind rating actually.
Other annoying "not so" details. Remember how instrumental the nuclear power plant was in the whole tear in time thing. Not anymore, actually it was a particle accelerator that caused it. Surprise!
I have to say that I was glad they had a somewhat happy ending. It felt a little forced, but they even gave us hope that Jonas and Martha will be born as a babies, and possibly fall in love. Ahhhhhh. It did feel a little disingenuous after the kill fest but that is entertainment for the masses I guess.
Am I the only one that thought when the scientist explained Schrödinger's cat that he looked an awful lot like Austin Powers? I was totally expecting him to say "Yahhhh Baby!".
By the way, Donnie Darko is actually way better and has some of the same ideas in it. Furthemore, it is sub 2 hours I believe.
Roma (2018)
Clean up after the dog if you want your marriage to last
As soon as I noticed this movie was black white and they had a 5 minute scene watching the soap go down the drain, I should have ended it right there. However, it was a mailed DVD so it was more of commitment than streaming so I gave it a go.
There are some good things about this movie. I think it was a pretty good depiction of middle upper class city life in Latin America. I am married to a Peruvian and many things were very accurate about the lifestyle, and the house. I also like the nostalgia component since I was a kid in the 70s and even though this movie took place in another country, there were still many familiar enjoyable details. I also found the affection of the family endearing. I also like that they didn't kill any of the major characters, just to torture the audience, which these kinds of artsy movies tend to do. I was waiting for tragedy but it never happened fortunately.
The bad thing about this movie is that it lacked any kind of real story or plot, and that it was often super tedious. I don't think claiming that this makes this movie like real life and therefore realistic is a good excuse. I think it's just plain lazy. I have real life already. I watch movies because I want an entertaining story or because I want to experience something new, or learn something. I suppose I did learn some things and have some new experiences with this movie, but watching soap go down the drain or watching a maid take every corner around the house is hardly anything new. It seems like the director is more in love with his camera work than actually caring much about the audience's experience. Can I label camera work pretentious?
I feel that somehow this movie was a montage of subtle and not so subtle social statements. Maybe that is the real purpose of this movie. So I am going to list some of what I perceived, with a little sarcasm mixed in
1) Clean up after the dog if you want your marriage to last. Well the only thing I remember the husband saying the entire movie was something about there being dog poop all over the place, and there were many shots of the dog poop in the driveway. I think he left because of the poop maybe?
2) You can't trust people that do karate naked. Unfortunately, the one scene in the movie that I will probably not forget. Yuck. What is the point really?
3) Men are bad. Every adult male in this movie aside from maybe the chauffer, who really didn't have a single line, were astoundingly cold uncaring people. One of the wife's most dramatic lines was something about a woman always being alone. The karate guy boyfriend was also awful.
4) Never leave you maid who can't swim to watch the kids at the beach in pounding surf. Duhhh
5) The life of a poor maid in Mexico is not all that glamorous. Maybe this is the big reveal. Ha ha
Overall a very forgettable movie aside from the "karate" scene.
365 dni (2020)
Mafia themed 50 shades of grey
What do 50 shades of grey and twighlight have in common. The lure of the bad rich handsome bad boy. I'd say this movie took it too another level, because instead of just seducing her he literally kidnaps her, handcuffs her, and forces her to fall in love. Stockholm syndrome taken to the next level. The crazy thing is that this is still a chick flick and frankly I was a bit bored. It was a relief that the end was so abrupt because the story really didn't seem to have anywhere to go. The only reason I made it that far is because girl is attractive.
Song of the South (1946)
A wonderful sweet story about how respect and affection bridged the racial gap in the Old South
I remember this movie from when I was 4 years old. I loved the song Zippity Doe Dah and we even had some books made from the movie with the story of the Tar Baby and Breer Rabbit. As far as I can tell, this movie is exactly the opposite of racist. It's been a couple of years since I watched it, but here is what I recall the storyline to be. A young white boy becomes friends with an old black man named Uncle Reemis. The two enjoy each other's company and Uncle Reemis tells him great stories which also have moral lessons. However, the parents disapprove of him hanging out with Uncle Reemis because well, they are racist. However, in the end they realize that they were wrong and everyone ends up happy. Gee what a horrible story (sarcasm). Apparently people take offense of this film because it depicts slaves possibly being happy being slaves. Would you have preferred a Django type story instead, ha ha? Get a grip people, this is set in the South during slavery. People learning to respect each other is progress and possibly how slavery eventually ended right? Let's not burn the history books, because we need them to keep from repeating the same mistakes.
Ad Astra (2019)
Lots of big actors but not much of a story, lame music
There isn't actually that much to say about this movie because not much happened. If killing expensive actors' characters is an accomplishment then mission accomplished. Donald Sutherland, heart attack before he blew up the budget. Tom Lee Jones, squeeze him in the end so he's not too expensive and have him commit suicide for basically no reason at all. Brad Pitt, well he's there the whole movie looking kind of bummed out. Must have been an easy way to make money for him because its not like he had to memorize a lot of lines. Not a story that needed to be told and not even very entertaining. The worst thing was the crappy music. Now this is just strictly my opinion but I'm tired of the crap music in lots of new movies lately. They play a single electronic note for like a minute straight and then slowly fade it out, or its like two notes on a piano being slowly repeated back and forth. It sounds like when I was 8 and I sat down at the piano to play something "scary". Must be the same composer and everyone thinks he's good or something. I can't relate.
Valkyrie (2008)
A really great movie
I appreciate a well told true story. I have always liked WWII movies because the Nazi's make such clear cut bad guys. There is not much grey area when it comes to this war about who the bad guys were. The fascinating thing about Valkyrie is that it not only condemns Nazism and fascism but also shows that there were still plenty of good people in Germany who were willing to die for what was right. This movie isn't just entertaining. It has a higher moral message in the end, and that is the difference between a good movie and a great movie. By realistically showing the characters as being human, both the "good guys" and the "bad guys", I think we are reminded that there was really not anything that special about the German psyche that allowed this to happen. It can happen anywhere in the world.
I think the famous Edmund Burke quote says it best
"The Only Thing Necessary for the Triumph of Evil is that Good Men Do Nothing"
Acting : Great
Music : Great
Realism : Great
Message : Great
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Not a good story, not good science fiction
Okay, let's review the evidence you have after you see a good movie.
1) You know every character by name. You can relate to at least one of the characters.
2) You can remember some real cool dialog, whether it is funny or dramatic or meaningful.
3) You suspend your disbelief. This is especially important for science fiction. Although sci-fi is fantasy it should at least put boundaries on its physics so that even though characters have super human abilities there are still "reasonable" limits on them. If only a 4 year old can suspend their disbelief for 2 hours then something is wrong.
4) Some sort of classic story telling pattern is used. There is a well defined conflict along with information that tells you the context of what is happening. You should know how each character gives meaning to the story. The story should have some build up toward a climax and then a meaningful conclusion.
5) You feel that the use of emotion in the movie fits the story. In other words, the music isn't super dramatic for someone brushing their teeth. The music and the story fit together, and you do not feel like you are being manipulated to feel things that the story does not deserve to invoke.
6) The movie is well paced. It does not jump from scene to scene like some crazy video game, and it is also not too slow. There is action where is make sense and quiet moments where thought and planning happen. Why is the necessary? Because this is how real life is, and in order for a movie to feel real the pacing has to be realistic. Furthermore, too fast of pacing is even worse then too slow because it puts the viewer to sleep with a barrage of information that causes the viewer to shut down mentally.
7) The movie can stand on its own. If this was the only movie that a viewer has seen from this story line then it should still be good. The movie shouldn't be trying to pull all its meaning from previous episodes. This would violate the formula of good story telling.
8) The movie has original content, thoughts, ideas. Sometimes cleverness alone warrants making a movie. Everyone wants something fresh, even if it's an extrapolation of previous ideas.
This episode of Star Wars failed all of these criteria.
Star Wars (1977)
One of the best movies of all time duhhh
Still the best Star Wars ever. Great heroes. Great villians. Amazing music. Amazing special effects (yes still some of the best even better than most cgi) All of George Lucas's later edits were not well done, but the greatness still shines through. Yes, Han did shoot first, but he was told he was going to be killed, so what's the problem George? The later plunked in CGI definitely throws off the timing of those scenes, especially on the entry to Mosisli and it doesn't even look good. Yuck, oh well. Maybe some day they will release the real original again on high def digital.
I'd have to guess that this movie was the best selling of all time. I was 7 when it came out and I remember people saying they went to see it at the theater 10 times or more! Revenue will not tell you the truth because the value of the dollar has changed as have the number of peopl in the US. I think if you wanted to really compare a movies sales against other movies you would have to take the tickets sold and divide it by the population of the country at the time. Star Wars would blow everything else away. I guarantee it.
The most important thing about this movie is that it leaves you feeling good. Good conquers evil and you are thoroughly entertained. I think on IMDB "The Godfather" is actually rated number 1. A good movie, but oh please, and how depressing.
Gladiator (2000)
One of my favorite movies ever
Great music. Great acting and character development. Great heros and villians.
Amazing battle scenes. Beautiful sets and scenery. The good guy wins in the end, well sorta. What more could you ask for!
Black Mirror: Shut Up and Dance (2016)
Too disturbing and sadistic to be called good
This episode was really just a sadist fest. Interesting how they try to justify all that in the end by throwing in the most politically incorrect group of the day "the lowly pedophiles". Nice try guys, still sick and sadistic. I don't care how bad someones crime is, torture is never justified. I think this episode tried to come off with a moral message, but for me the person persecuting these people is far sicker than they are, and maybe the person that wrote this episode too.
Black Mirror: Nosedive (2016)
Should have been a half hour episode
A perfect story for 30 minutes. 60 minutes of this was really tedious. Everyone is superficial, we get it already! I think it is a good comment on how superficial social media is and it does a good job of extrapolating a possible future if that idea is taken too far. It is also a bit predictable. Good idea but story line could have been a little more intricate. Also, dialog where she just drops f-bombs could use a little better writing. Call me old school but Black Mirror in general is a little too explicative laced. Guess they are pulling in a less sophisticated crowd like that. Don't get me wrong, well used f-words make sense but too much, just lazy writing.
Black Mirror: Hated in the Nation (2016)
Beware or technology and government surveillance
The best science fiction is the stuff that carries a moral warning or social comment, and this episode does not disappoint. Interesting how Black Mirror comes out of Britain as did George Orwell. Yet, the British seem to be the most surveillance happy country in the world. Humanity you have been warned. I rate this as the second best episode behind "Crocodile" in the first 4 seasons.
Black Mirror: Crocodile (2017)
A brilliant story with great acting and an ethical punchline
My pick for the best Black Mirror episode in the first 4 seasons. I love how it shows how a bad decision and a cover up can spiral out of control. They could also label this episode "Do the right thing". I like how its not just a well told story but actually has some ethical meat behind it. Story telling at its best.