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Reviews
Reacher (2022)
I miss Lee Child
James Grant AKA Lee Child wrote one helluva series of Reacher novels. Great writing which grabbed you, just like Reacher did to the bad guys. Unfortunately, his writing is sorely missed on this TV series. It is full of clunky, dumbed down repartee. If I hear "you don't mess with the Special Investigators" one more time, I will puke. No one talks like that and no one would use that as their catchphrase. Real Army would say something short and to the point like "you don't mess with the 110th". Come back, Lee Child! We need your way with words and this series needs help with their dialogue and plots and please, don't hand this off to brother Andrew, as he cannot write as well as you. I gave up buying Reacher novels once you handed off the reins.
The Map of Tiny Perfect Things (2021)
Wonderful, touching move
OK. I admit it. I'm a sucker for for a well crafted, sci-fi, romantic movie. This movie fits that bill. Similar in concept to Groundhog Day, where the same day is experienced over and over, this movie expands on that theme. It explores one repeating day through the eyes of a young man and draws you into his world. That day continues to repeat itself until suddenly he meets a girl who is having the same repeated day. They hang together and see that day in a new way. Perfect tableau's appearing in front of them for moments through that day. You see these moments just as they see them. Tiny, perfect things. You feel their wonder and joy. You feel their heartache. Watch this movie. It will make your day.
Angel of Death (2009)
Zoe Bell is great, this movie is not
Zoe Bell is great and i see good things in her future BUT starring in poor movies like this is not a harbinger of good things to come. She is a natural. She delivers evenly poorly written lines well. This movie, unfortunately, contains many poorly written lines. The screenwriters must have been about 12 years old as the dialogue is at that level of sophistication. Lots of swearing. No professionalism. They tried to emulate a lot of other movies and you can see it in the cinematography and soundtrack. A good showcase for Zoe's talent as she rises above the dreck. Watch it for her role as that is the only shining spot in this movie.
Shaft (2019)
Could have been good but...
I enjoyed the original Shaft movie. It established a strong, outspoken character and carried that character through subsequent movies into the early 70's.
Samuel Jackson's reprise of the character in 2000 paid homage to the original and did a good job of transporting the character into present day.
This film is a poor sequel to the 2000 film. Shaft's son is now grown and is the punchline to almost every (poorly written and acted) joke. In real life he would die the moment he walked into a rough neighborhood. Jackson is older and despite attempts to hide it (turtlenecks?), shows every bit of his 69 years. Driving an old muscle car is cliched and the banter between him and his son is forced and seldom funny.
This movie is a cheap attempt to cash in on the sequel machine that Hollywood is milking as they lack original ideas and movies.
Very poor movie. Give it a pass and watch something else.
In a Valley of Violence (2016)
less than 1 star
This is one of the worse movies I have ever had the misfortune of seeing. Poor dialogue, poor acting, poor cinematography - it fails on all accounts. Imagine a high school play performed by amateurs with stilted, ungainly dialogue - that is better than this movie. I like Travolta and Hawke. They are both fine actors but this piece of crap makes them look bad. Whoever wrote the screenplay should be flogged. Even if you could fast forward the movie at 3-4 times speed it would still drag. I watched it to the end hoping for some glimpse of competency, some chance of redemption and was disappointed. If I paid to see this I would demand my money back. This is not worth watching even if you are bored and nothing else is playing. Stay away, stay far away.
Traded (2016)
really bad movie
It can be tough to make a movie nowadays.
Even with big name stars if the dialogue is poor or the director is lacking the movie will stink.
This is a really bad movie.
Remember those plays you would go to in grammar or high school? Amateurs are not skilled enough so the timing is off and the dialogue is poor.
This is that situation in a movie.
Everything is off.
Timing, fight scenes, dialogue, acting - all off.
Even Kris cannot rescue this stinker.
Run away.
Grimsby (2016)
garbage
Some of Sacha Baron Cohen's movies contain a modest amount of comedy. Most of them are just stupid, gross humor. If you have an IQ under 60 you may find them amusing. I understand that comedy is not the same for everyone but after a few minutes of this movie I was heading for the exit. I did not see or hear anyone in the theater laughing. The comedic skits in this movie fall so flat you can hear the thud. Not sure who green-lighted this movie but whoever it was should be taken out and flogged. Unless you can find this in the $1 bin at your local discount store (and it is headed there, take my word) I would avoid it like the plague. What a flop. What were Mark and Penelope thinking when they signed on for this stinker?
Solace (2015)
Wow
Wow! What a movie.
Sure, there have been other psychic movies before this but this sets the bar so much higher.
Great actors, directing, cinematography, editing....this has it all.
I won't go into the plot as you can read that above.
Anthony Hopkins, as always, is top notch.
Colin Farrell is very good.
Abbie Cornish is a joy.
Its so good to see Jeffrey Dean Morgan playing a role that fits him perfectly.
Afonso Poyart did such a great job on this film that I want to see more from him.
Do you hear me, Hollywood?
Cop Car (2015)
good movie
A great acting job by Kevin Bacon and newcomers James Freedson-Jackson and Hays Wellford. Surprisingly good movie with only a few implausible moments. Writers obviously remember what it was like to be a kid. The joy of discovery mixed with the fear of the unknown. The difficulty in figuring things out. The excitement of new experiences. This is a movie that makes you remember what it is like to be a kid. It sucked me in and I was thoroughly entertained. It is will worth your time. Give it a shot. You will not be disappointed. I know I wasn't. Review requires ten lines of text so I will need to type in several more words to get this accepted.