johnchristopher-1 Reviews

My Son Hunter (2022)

MAGA fantasy film is just the kind garbage you'd expect

[1/10 · 24 September 2022]

100% propaganda-and not even convincing at that. This is the fantasy film every maga-conservative wants the world to believe is true. It's no secret that Hunter lived a life of excess, so what's the point of spending 2 million to produce garbage? Because this is what the producers think will help them win mid-terms and ultimately the presidency. Since the film is billed as a Drama, you can be sure it holds few proven facts.

To focus momentarily on the film-craft, the acting here is comically bad, even amateurish. Cinematography is passable. The dialogue is clumsy and unbelievable.

Nevertheless, maga-people will spend their money on this bit of tripe regardless of fact or fiction. It's only available by streaming or download which likely means they couldn't get a distributor to get it in theaters.

Midsommar (2019)

No plot. Many loose ends.

[1/10 · 26 February 2020]

I enjoy weird movies but not this one. Visually beautiful and highly disturbing. Its biggest problem is the many many plot holes and lack of resolution. I wouldn't recommend it.

Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice (2019)

Fantastic documentary-Heartfelt and honest

[10/10 · 9 September 2019]

I became familiar with Linda's music in the 70's, and followed her career throughout my life. The filmmakers do a fine job of telling her story, and Linda herself does voiceover narration seamlessly which was created by using snippets of Linda's many interviews over the years.

You will appreciate the film even if you are unfamiliar with her as performer. Hearing the performances and recordings remind us of the power, range and soulful voice she had.

The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)

The audience clapped as the credits rolled!

[9/10 · 1 September 2019]

I throughly enjoyed this film. It was well-written and well-directed. It brings a lot of emotions together as a dramatic comedy. Good to see a film of this caliber in major release.

Lodge 49 (2018–2019)

Nope

[3/10 · 29 August 2019]

I watched season one and was interested in the show. Season two has gotten off to a much slower start and I'm just not invested in the characters. It seems painfully slow to me and I'm going to have to give it up.

The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)

This is Art!

[10/10 · 6 July 2019]

The Last Black Man in San Francisco is a beautifully photographed, well-acted film with a sumptuous musical score. Filmed in San Francisco, cinematographer Adam Newport-Berra captures the essence of the city by shooting in the neighborhoods versus the typical tourist locations most commonly covered in every other SF-based film. As a viewer, I appreciated the great attention given to creating unique shots that emphasize shadows, light, and especially the gorgeous color-grading of this film.

Every actor delivers outstanding and memorable performances. Jimmie Fails is so natural as a brooding protagonist, but Jonathan Majors who plays Montgomery Allen steals the show in the third act.

The premise of the film seems simple, but the storytelling is complex, featuring stretches of dialogue that some audiences might not have the patience to handle. There is a lot to take in, and you'll likely reflect on the film immediately after viewing it and again in the days that follow.

On a personal note, I want to thank the filmmakers for making a beautiful film about my hometown and recognizing all there is to both love and hate about the city in the year 2019.

The Predator (2018)

Don't waste your time

[1/10 · 28 May 2019]

Unbelievably bad. Shane Black has lost his touch. Poor acting. Throw away dialogue. Bad CGI. No plot. Might as well have been produced by Disney and would've likely been better.

Unsane (2018)

Soderbergh has lost his edge

[4/10 · 18 August 2018]

What starts out well gets very muddled. Many plot holes. This is what happens when you resort to a gimmick like shooting a feature on an iPhone just for the sake of hype. The last 30 minutes were painful and amateurish.

The Beguiled (2017)

The Beguiled is a yawn-fest. Or, act two is a great time for a nap

[3/10 · 8 July 2017]

Honestly, I can appreciate a slow building drama that takes its time to build characters. Unfortunately, this remake of the film gives us very little in the way of conflict or tension after the setup and introduction of the characters.

There is some decent acting here from the cast, but I found it nearly impossible to see any detail in their faces due to the choice of shooting in very low light or artificially creating the effect in post. While I can't place blame entirely on the film as our local theater may have had issues with their projection system. Still, I prefer to see the expressions in actor's faces, otherwise I might as well be listening to a radio play.

The film could have been a full stop brighter and adding some fill light on the faces still would have allowed the look to be dark and drab as it was apparently intended.

By the time we get to the third act we still aren't rooting for our protagonist and frankly it's not completely clear until the climax that it's supposed to be Kidman's character. The editing is unimpressive.

This remake of "The Beguiled" isn't anything special. I suspect the jurors who awarded Coppola "Cannes Best Director Award" must have not have seen the film. For me it was best summed up by a phrase I overheard by a nearby audience member, "Is that it?". Yes... I'm afraid so.

Willow Creek (2013)

WTF?! You'll never get back the time you lost watching this crap!

[1/10 · 26 May 2016]

This "thing" can't even pass for a movie. I think people on IMDb got paid to give it a good review. It is so, so so bad. Wooden performances, unlikable characters and no plot!

Ultra-low budget film with no redeeming value. I take that back. The location was beautiful. Beyond that the so-called "slow burn" was just a bunch of unrelated interviews and visits with people in the area.

Much of the last 20 minutes consists of scary noises and... something that may or may not be a Sasquatch.

I suspect this movie took a weekend to shoot and couldn't have cost more that a few hundred bucks to make.

Jobs (2013)

Steve would not have approved

[2/10 · 31 July 2014]

Terrible film all around and a waste of two hours.

Ashton Kutcher's portrayal of Jobs never reaches a believable level. Whenever he's on screen he's simply Ashton Kutcher evoking some Jobs mannerisms. Even the seasoned character actors seemed out of place here delivering some very poor dialogue.

The script is a mess, but worse is the look and feel of the film. Zero creative cinematography and the editing looks like a rough cut. The whole film plays like a movie made for the Lifetime channel.

Lastly, if you happen to be interested in Silicon Valley history or Apple, don't look to this film for accuracy. Jobs is an abysmal film.