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Reviews
The Eagle and the Albatross (2020)
This is a movie set on a Golf Course, definitely not a Golf Movie!
I've spent plenty of time on golf courses and the movie's total disregard for golf etiquette and customs bothered me. This movie was an insult to golf courses and country clubs as the people just didn't look or act like the ones you'd expect to see at such a venue. How many times were people talking during someone's back swing or standing close to the person when they're addressing the ball? During the tournament, which was announced as a shot-gun where everyone tees off on different holes, everyone lined up at the first hole and waited for each group to tee off? Couldn't they have hired some actors that actually played golf instead of a bunch of hackers that looked like they had never picked up a golf club, including the lead actress? (I cringed watching the actors swing, before the camera cut away, as you could tell they barely hit the ball.) Couldn't they have hired someone who's actually worked at a golf course as a technical advisor? The 9-hole course and clubhouse itself looked like a mediocre, small, public course, not a real 18-hole course that one could actually sell private memberships to. Aside from the poor setting and lack of realistic details, the story itself was pretty cute, albeit somewhat offensive at times with the oriental/Korean jokes and the gay woman. The back story of the lead actress was never really explained, i.e. She was apparently born in Korea but spoke English like she was raised in the US. Only good part was Dan Lauria who had a passable golf swing for someone.in their 70's. Adrienne Barbeau was almost unrecognizable from her days as a well-known actress in the 70's and 80's.
Quantum Leap: July 13th, 1985 (2022)
Room for Improvement
First off, I was a little confused because the previews showed Ben leaping into a female punk rocker. Instead, we got a small-time bank robber trying to save his partner from dying on their next heist. Overall, I wasn't too impressed with the writing on this first episode, especially since they never explained why he "accidentally" leaped in the first place. But I'll give it a chance to improve. Raymond Lee, as Dr. Ben Song, was OK. He has some dramatic range, but it remains to be seen if he's as versatile an actor as Scott Bakula. I didn't like the casting choice of Caitlin Bassett as Dr. Song's advisor and time-travel companion. She's playing it very serious, doesn't contribute much in terms of useful or strategic information, and doesn't even have the colorful little communicator with Ziggy that squeals and squawks. For this Addison/"Al" character to be successful she's going to need to be more commanding, as far as interpreting the reason for each leap, and humorous. The rest of the Quantum Leap team didn't have much to do in the Pilot, mainly because they're all trying to figure out why Dr. Song deliberately leaped when they're still trying to get Ziggy programmed. I'm not sure what the plan is for them is as they were not featured in the original series.
A Ghost Story (2017)
Too Slow and Dreary to Entertain
"A Ghost Story" is literally about a ghost - a young husband, who is apparently killed in an auto accident, and stays behind in the family home even after his widow moves out. Unfortunately, his ghost stands around, draped in a sheet, barely moving and saying nothing, while people come and go and changes happen to their home over decades, and even centuries. There is hardly any dialogue in the whole movie and long stretches where nothing happens. Why, for example, do we have to watch the grieving wife eat a pie for five minutes? What's the significance of the crack in the wall, and the note inside, that the ghost keeps scratching at? What were the circumstances of the husband's death that caused him to want to come back and "haunt" his old home? I like Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck, but they hardly have any lines and cannot lift up the story for the limited time they're actually on-screen. If you're looking for a film about grief and depression, after a close friend's death, maybe this has some redeeming values. Otherwise, however, it's not good entertainment.
The Girl in the Woods (2021)
Not Optimistic about this Show's Future
I came across this show on Peacock and the premise sounded intriguing. A secret cult, deep in the Oregon forests, protects the outside world from demons that periodically escape from a nearby portal to the demon world. A teenage girl, trained by the cult to be a "guardian" against these creatures and the daughter of the cult's leader, decides to escape from the cult and ends up befriending a couple local kids. Together, they hunt and do away with monsters that threaten their little community of West Pine, OR. The obvious parallel is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, set in central Oregon instead of southern California. After watching three episodes, I have some concerns. The first is the 25 min. Episodes where there's hardly time to build up much plot and I've never been a big fan of anthology TV series. The second is the two local sidekicks who don't seem to have any ambition and like to force jokes onto the lead character, Carrie, who plays her role straight and serious. The first demon, some sort of monster who lures his victims into the woods to live of their blook, we very weak. They'll definitely need better villains/monsters. Then, there's the element of the Cult trying to chase, and return Carrie to their clutches, because they don't want the secret of the monster's portal to be discovered. The Cult seems more good, than bad, however, and the local townspeople seem clueless. I also don't like the lesbian/gay elements that seem to be developing between Carrie and one of the other Guardian trainees and the queerish local sidekick guy. I'll invest another couple hours to watch the last five episodes of season one, but I don't think I can recommend season two just yet.
Heavenly Deposit (2019)
Above-average, faith-based Movie, similar to a modern "It's a Wonderful Life"
Peter (George Vincent), an out-of-work actor, and Ellie (Kristina Denton), a hair-dresser, are a 30-something couple struggling to make it during the 2008-2009 recession in Los Angeles. Their home is being foreclosed on, so they call in all their favors to friends and relatives and start selling off anything they have of value (car, jewelry, stamp album, etc.). After the obligatory health-scare, just as he has scraped enough money to pay off their mortgage, Peter is at his wits-end and experiences a sort of George Bailey (It's a Wonderful Life) awakening, learns to pray again, and everything starts to work out - health scare averted, friends/relatives help, brief visit from a guardian angel, and new work prospects.
As other reviews have noted, the movie's pacing is somewhat slow and the main characters (Peter and Ellie) do not come off as all that sympathetic. However, the movie's message is good and the variety of realistic side characters (mother, best friend, co-workers, bank manager, plucky nurse, and others) keep it interesting. The ending is a little abrupt, but you pretty much know how this type of movie is going to turn-out anyway. The religious tone is just about right, not too preachy, and the turn-around in the couple's fortunes also seems fairly real, as opposed to miraculous. The guardian angel scene is not over-worked, more like a ghostly encounter, and the people that help them seem decent and concerned. The John Savage role is quite brief, so I'm not sure why he's played up so much in the credits.
Sex Guaranteed (2017)
Deceptive Title for Weak Rom-Com
The full title is Sex Guaranteed - A Love Story, so you figure out early on where the plot is going. Kevin is a nice guy drifting in his job as a roofer, set in New Orleans I believe, and meets this rich guy, played by Stephen Dorff, who wants to help him get his ex-fiance back by giving-him start-up money for an ill-conceived business idea of opening a "Trampoline World". The Dorff character hires him an escort, Zade, who befriend's Kevin and eventually seduces him.
Kevin's ex-fiance, by the way, is now sleeping with Kevin's brother, so the cute Zade (who turns out to be a nice girl from a good family that moonlights as an escort) starts to look like a better option. The best thing in this movie is Stephen Dorff, who is wry, funny, and manic-depressive, while holding these week-long parties at this house, and keeps prompting Kevin to do something about his failed romantic history. The Kevin and Zade/Millie characters are OK, but the actors don't show much range or passion. There is little sex in this movie, until the end when Zade and Kevin hook up, and one brief topless scene. The comedy is pretty bland, as the script could use some work. For example, the movie's funniest scene appears to be where Zade trys to tell a knock-knock joke to an older woman in a supermarket. It's a reasonably pleasant film, with a decent concept, that barely kept my interest for its 83 min. run time. I agree that it needs a different title and would nominate "A week with Zade" or something similar.
Negative (2017)
Watchable Spy Drama
The previous reviews are not wrong about this movie's far-fetched plot. Basically, a professional photographer takes a random photo of a woman in an LA park. Next thing, the woman shows up at his apartment to claim the photo and negative. Then, bad guys show up and the guy and woman go on the run to Phoenix. The woman turns out to be some sort of english secret agent, who has been declared EOS (execute on sight) by her agency and is also being followed by two Columbian hit men, who also want to kill her. She takes along the photographer to protect him and he does a lot of complaining, until the final showdown when he helps defeat the hit men. It makes little sense why a photograph of the woman spy should be so important and, then, how the bad guys are able to track them so effectively driving across the American west. Nonetheless, the woman secret agent is reasonably well-acted and the pair feel like they are in real danger as rabbits trying to escape from an all-seeing enemy. The movie takes itself a little too seriously, and some better writing could tighten up the plot, but it's not all bad as the two leads do a good job playing off each other and coming to a common understanding to save their lives.
Under the Skin (2013)
Good Actress in a Terrible Film
I can't understand how Scarlett Johansson, in the prime of her career, would allow herself to be in such a poor film. This movie is too long, too slow, has no plot, no action, terrible sound, terrible dialogue, bad lighting, and is simply nonsensical. There are long swaths of no dialogue, with an annoying, screechy soundtrack, that make you wonder why am I wasting my time. The basic plot, which I gathered from reading the reviews, as the movie itself makes little sense, is about a female alien wandering around Scotland to learn about humans. Oh yeah, you get to see Scarlett nude, about 3/4's through the movie, but by them you've totally lost all interest. She's literally the only reason to watch this drivel, and even she seems to be sleepwalking. These people who are giving this movie 9 and 10's were obviously paid because there's no way you could label this a good or artistic movie.