Change Your Image
annog
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Rick and Morty: That's Amorte (2023)
Justin Roiland's abscence is obvious and not good.
The characters that Roiland breathed life into: Rick, Morty, Mr Poopy Butthole, and a zillion incidental bit parts, are now created by a small crowd of new voice actors.
As a result, Rick, sounds only superficially like the Rick we have known for years. There is never the punch, only a feeble attempt. Rick always seems to be obvious and trying to be cool.
And it not just the voice actors who are a witless imitation.
Rick does not have good lines to deliver.
Episode 3, takes a further deep dive away from the past in incompetent ploy to use narcissistic cannibalism as comedy. One suspects that the fans of this series are not an easily offended lot. This episode will likely create a backlash, because it is dull, insipid and desperate. It is not funny, or even hip in anyway.
It is not the subject matter that will offend. The offence will come as a result of the pathetic writing and the new voices who synthesize an episode so lousy that it turns us far away from what made this show an obscure, hip, and a massively loved gem.
Who Farted? (2019)
Amateurish Attempt to Make $$$ on Climate Change
Who Farted would seem worth an effort to take a chance with a bit of your time. While the title is provocative, the movies does not hold your interest and at times is cringe-worthy obvious bad.
The film is not well directed and one gets the impression that dilettante/directors switched plots to try and align the movies with a trendy topic.
Co-director Nik Sheehan adds to his collection of films with a similar lack of style or substance that dominate his previous efforts.
The topic of climate is not well served by such false sensibilities as abounds in the entire 1hour 20 minutes. I guess even fewer people will feel inclined to do anything to help the planet after experiencing this unfunny, irritating and childish film.
In the end we all leave the theatre knowing: Who farted.
Country Music (2019)
One gets the feeling from watching Country Music that Ken Burns hates Country Music.
Far too often Burn's Country Music reminds us that Country Music is the music of the people. I cannot count how on how many occasions one talking head or another declares" We are all in this together". Yet, the tone of this series is so sterile so distant, so unmusical you might believe that Ken detests the art form..
Few music documentaries have anything to do with music. There are too many "experts" and celebrities telling the viewer what to think. Right from the start we are subjected to a little history of Country Music sandwiched between sickly sweet cameos .
This is typical of contemporary music documentaries, small portions of fact and history overwhelmed by smug talking heads whose insider information seems to be about how clever the interviewee believe them self to be.
And of course a subtle sub current is political correctness and what monsters we all were/are. I think most people tuned in to get a history lesson and reminisce. Instead we are lectured and served a heaping helping of Ken's usual political and cultural sanctimoniousness featuring the usual cast of politically narrow pals.
Ken Burn's Country Music feels as natural as Dolly Parton's heavy make- up and surgically altered face attempting to resemble her teenage years.
Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
Loved Queen, Hated This Amateurish Ham Handed Movie.
Whether you like Queen or not, this is one terrible film. It is so bad in so many ways. The actor who plays Freddy, has two things right. Freddy's posh accent and his teeth. Maybe Freddy was not very bright, but he was as charming as he was talented and he was a gymnast on stage. I have enjoyed Malek's work in other movies but his characterisation of Mercury makes him look like a cross eyed vampire ( the teeth thing). On the concert stage Rami just looks awful. Mainy times in this film you are actually embarrassed for his Freddy. In fact some may find Rami Malek's portrayal insulting to Freddy's memory.
So, you might think never mind, just go for the music, and that never really happens. We only get silly, little carelessly selected snippets of the music of Queen. You rarely get to sit back and enjoy the band.
The writing is just putrid bad. Long periods of clumsy sentimental nothingness, and then a little bit about the band.
Save yourself the time and money. Go for one of the documentaries on Queen that have been popped out recently.
Just saying this because I am surprised a bush effort like this is so largely praised. This time the critics were right.
The Night Manager (2016)
After 1st episode it becomes a Soap Opera, Too Little Actual Plot
The first episode of The Night Manager, gets off to a cracking start and deserves the high rating.. But, then it becomes mainly a soap opera and while watchable, is far less interesting.
Tom Hiddleston rips apart episode 1, creating an interesting talented, self reliant Johnathan Pine. Then his initial character is replaced with a smiling fawning twit.
Olivia Colman is likable but really out of place as the cripplingly empathetic spy master. Her crew of international nerds that back her up, may be politically correct, but in reality, infinitely boring. David Harewood as CIA agent Joel Steadman just is not convincing. Only Hugh Laurie is reasonably consistent, but even he whores the character of Richard Onslow Roper, international criminal and arms trader, when ever the script gets thin.And the script gets thin often.
There are many problems with the script. A lot of obvious lines, or lines that do not nail the mood or tempo of the program or characters.
Hardcore Henry (2015)
How Much violence do you want...?
The title sequence of Hardcore Henry,and Henry is punched in the face, shot with pistol, has a baseball bat applied to head,shot again with a pistol, then shot by shotgun. Finally he is slashed in the stomach by a broken bottle, knifed by a serrated blade that goes completely through his neck and shot in the head. All filmed in slow motion, ultra-graphic realism with blood and bits of tissue, bone, and organs flying everywhere very slowly.
The graphic destruction of human tissue for the film's never-ending murders could only be imagined by sadists and others who are not tousled by the experience of watching human suffering.
This movie has no central idea, very little plot, no direction, only ceaseless pornographic violence. When any tiny parts of the plot peek out between the endless killing, they are swiftly brushed aside by new brace of homicides.
Apparently there is humor in Hardcore Henry, according to one reviewer. He sneered cynically at those who found the violence too intense, or found the movie to be too similar to video games. "What did you expect?" he asked, implying that those who found this movie went a bit too far lacked sophistication. He then went on to lecture and say that he found much humor and laughed often throughout this movie.
We have been conditioned to increasingly accept more and more graphic violence on TV and the Big Screen.
But when does the violence become too intense? And what happens when and if, it does? Hardcore Henry may inspire some debate on these matters.
Top 10 Biggest Beasts Ever (2015)
Great Beasts held back by long winded Nerds
You may have noticed that National Geographic television has changed in the past few years. We are guessing that the tall foreheads at Nat Geo instructed the production people that in order to attract a new generation of spectators, they should be more vigorous and forceful in their presentation.
First the good news: the dinosaurs and modern creatures presented in "Top 10 Biggest Beasts Ever" are captivating. The special effects (cgi) imagines for us how the "beasts" might look and renders a provocative and amusing model of speculation.
But, the whole thing is strung together by ,wonderfully
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
More About Hair and Fashion, not Really about Spies.
Guy Ritchie has made two good films and this one sadly is not in that category.Perhaps his marriage to Madonna ruined him, er, creatively speaking.
We love the humour in this movie, but there is not enough of it to pull us through and make it a good film. It's a bit like the original TV show and to tell the truth (though I was a huge fan at the time) the show was not that great.
We kept waiting for something interesting to happen. All we got was people bitching at each other and more fashion, but very little humor and/or spy thriller.
Stanley Kubrick's Boxes (2008)
We had a difficult time watching due to the narrator's voice, and his need to be in the story.
Stanley Kubrick was an intensely interesting man. He was also secretive and reclusive. Not surprisingly,very little media exists about Stanley and/or the production of his films.
Jon Ronson has taken boxes from Kubrick's house and opened them. The boxes contain pictures and documents from the director's productions and after examination, permit the Kubrick curious to glimpse aspects of Stanley's mind and method. Ronson puts the distillation of his finds into this meandering documentary film.
There are some impediments during the film. Ronson's voice is irritatingly nasal and high pitched. And when he pronounces the letter "S", the sibilance is so intense that his deliberately calm demeanor becomes painful.
Also, there is too much of Mr Ronson in the film. The viewer could be forgiven if they were to be confused about his the subject and who is the reporter.
Otherwise, the subject of Kubrick's Boxes is fertile ground for you if are interested in the man. And with some effort and concentration, we got past the Mr Ronson's heavy hand and grating voice.
Meet the Romans with Mary Beard (2012)
Ruined by bad audio, and its attempt to be hyper-exciting
A great subject, and we have no doubt the host is an expert that could lead us to knowledge.
But Mary Beard narrates, and she has prominent speech impediments which turn the letter"S" into an irritating sensation in the listener's ear. And she uses the letter"S" (possibly, tens of) thousand of times in each episode. (count the number of "S"'s, and soft "C"'s, in this short review. Multiply by one hour)
This series also suffers from a common modern blight on documentaries, the desire to make them ultra-exciting in every second of the show.
Mary Beard is overly familiar with her audience, indulging in clumsy vulgarities, just minutes into the first program.
You also feel a sort of tension from the rapid edits, bombastic music, and a new image every half second throughout the program.
The viewer never gets a satisfying look at the marvelous Roman architecture and art that are a substantial portion of the narrative in the show.
Perhaps the producers believe that the audience does not posses enough of an attention span left to enjoy informative documentaries without pyrotechnics.
Pity, the subject matter is most interesting, but the viewer will have difficult job of relating due to the over blown production values and the constant spitting noise in the narration.
And this is typical of other recent BBC documentaries.
We need a new champion of documentaries and history based TV. The BBC used to be that, but not so much anymore.
Catch .44 (2011)
There is not a thing in this movie makes the time to watch it worthwhile.
This movie is so bad that I turned it off.
I'd keep an eye on the people who made this turkey.
They will probably make other dreadful movies in the future.
What has happened to Bruce Willis? Is he desperate for money?
Nothing makes sense, and we don;t care if it does, or does not.
There is not a thing in this movie makes the time to watch it worthwhile.
Forest Whitaker, is as usual, awful.
Instead of watching this movie, it would be more fun to just stare out your front window.
I could go on.
Setup (2011)
Great cast wasted in an ill-realized action Flick
There are so many name actors in "Set Up" that have in the past been very interesting. Not so in this venture.Bad script, bad direction, and cheap use of music deadens, rather than brings life to this vehicle.
Ryan Phillippe's role is in particular, a half baked clod who just annoyed us during his on screen time. Although Phillippe is the largest offender, there were plenty of other poorly formed characters that made time drag.Bruce Willis needs to avoid slop like this if he wants to avoid becoming a joke in his latter career.
We finished it, but we are not proud of that fact.
Nicely photographed (at times) If we must say something positive.
Red State (2011)
Satire or Bigotry?
Do the makers of this movie take the view that all religious people are the same as the psychopaths as their creations in Red State?
I am not much for religion myself, but I do sense that it is very fashionable to bash religion these days. Some folks will give high marks to a film just for its politically correct attitudes.
There is not much here, unless you came to see bloodshed and massive profanity. Of course that is what a great number of Hollywood movies offer.
So, most of us find ourselves caught between two unreasonable forces. One,of true religious extremism, the other adolescent left wingers, for whom this sort of shallow smear job, passes for thinking.
And we encounter the latter far more often than the former.
Nowhere Boy (2009)
Lennon Would Have Despised It.
Nowhere Boy is a chick flick running on syrupy emotions and National Enquirer sentiment.To accomplish that the film makers forsook the truth and vomit on any real chance of knowing the young Lennon.
There are so many inaccuracies, but the real offensive is the deliberate will to mislead and create a sappy boy-band character that John Lennon is well documented to have despised.
Only a fool would believe that John played his first gig on a truck bed and the band is tight, polished and professional.The Beatles were only so after years of playing in Berlin. Even the earliest live Beatles recordings are much more crude and rough.
Lennon hardly spent any time with Julia, and she damn sure did not teach him to play the banjo,day after day.
John Lennon would have been quite disgusted with this movie. I turned off after giving it an hour or so.
Henry VIII (2003)
I turned the DVD off after an hour.
I love Ray Winstone, but I did not like this TV series/movie. For starters, historical dramas do not create a good atmosphere when the actors have modern haircuts.
The producers were not able to tell this very intense story without relying on heavy handed TV show type of pyrotechnics. It is obvious that they take the audience for fools.
Ray's coarse accent is usually a blessing. But not here.
In fact, almost none of the actors were commanding and compelling to watch.
I could not finish it.
Hannibal Rising (2007)
This is not a particularly good film
First of all, let us abandon the notion that this is a horror film. This is a guy gets wronged and slowly kills all of the participants, movie.
It is the sort of plot that we see in super hero comics. It is not horror.
The actor playing Hannibal, is just plainly not a good actor. And he is boring too. He is killing people, and I am bored stiff.
Finally, there is just no imagination in the deaths,nothing new here in the movie.
Not the worst picture I have seen, but pretty damn shallow.I turned it of about 3/4 of the way through.
Elizabeth I (2005)
Nice Costumes, shame about the acting and history
There is some sort of mass hysteria going on here. I think people have been fooled into believe that Elizabeth I, is deep. Here as on Masterpiece Theatre, expensive costumes and flash photography do not a "masterpiece" make.
Mirren's "Bess" is a good one basically. She does swing well into the part, playing Elizabeth as a lusty CEO. Through 80% of the film this characterization works. But, when her character is emphatic in her darker emotions, Mirren is really over-the-top overwrought. And it reminds me of Mel Blanc, doing such things in the guise of many characters he voiced in Warner Brothers cartoons. I am actually embarrassed for her.
Some of the blame for this poor acting must be shared with the script writers. There is an old axiom in screen writing that you can not just have the actors stand about and shout out their emotions. I am angry! I am anguished by your betrayal! You have to have clever dialogue to weave the fabric of the story for the audience.
Elizabeth l commits the sin of having Mirren, and others, shout out their feelings. And it happens many times throughout the series.
There is also the small matter( to some) of the very large liberties taken by the film with historical fact. They are numerous and at times completely at odds with the woman and her times.
Elizabeth l is designed to be smutty, emphasizing Bess' odd, conflicting libido. I doubt that she and Leicester, or Essex, ever petted each other in public, let alone at a mass ceremony for the people.
The Earl Of Leicester died at his house in Oxfordshire. Bess was no where close. and certainly not in bed with him. Essex, a shallow man, was no great fan of his step father, and was not there at his deathbed either.
There are more and they pollute the truly fascinating story of one of history's most remarkable monarchs
Deep Impact (1998)
A dull soap opera masquerades as science fiction
A dreary news anchor, her dislike of her father's new wife, and a myriad of stories about that would best belong on a night time soap very much interfere with what little science fiction that Deep Impact, imparts.
It comes as little surprise to know that the director is primarily a TV director, and has subsequently returned to the sort of emotional pornography that TV is now.
The use of music in this vehicle manages to successfully convert the empathetic to pathetic, is enough reason to give Deep Impact a very wide berth.
Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
A Stunning Surprise(Ignore The Misleading DVD Cover)
Movies are so hyped in this age of modern media excess. And most viewers will be confused by the packaging on the video of this movie.
Those who are aware of The Coen Brothers' achievements in movie making will perhaps understand this film, where others don't.
Remove the sappy romantic comedy images, and you have a very funny Coen Bros movie, which also happens to be partially a romantic comedy, perhaps their funniest movie ever.
Other movies by these two guys such as Fargo, The Big Lebowski, even Raising Arizona, are smart, stylish, and humorous.
Intolerable Cruelty is subtle, yet belly laugh funny. The confusion comes from looking at the picture George Clooney, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, smirking at one another on the DVD cover.
We can safely presume that zillions of couples selected this " romantic comedy" for movie night, to have a nice safe evening. What they got was a madhouse. The cover says chic-flick, but this movie is not safe, it is in fact very edgey, and confrontational.
And it is fair. It does a wonderful send up of both men and women.
Just remember this: Intolerable Cruelty is a Coen Brothers film, and you will likely get the joke.
The Hunted (2003)
he runs, they get him, he gets away, he runs, they almost get him, he runs...
On some levels the movie is fun. Tommy Lee, and Benicio Del Toro, although not at their very best, establish a couple of solid characters.
Connie Neilsen is pretty limp as the skinny middle-aged model/FBI agent in charge. But the boys at least make the movie fun.
After the first few minutes the whole movie is just a constant chase, he runs, they get him, he gets away, he runs, they almost get him, he runs...
28 Days Later... (2002)
Standard Zombie vehicle with some very silly politics
I was in the mood for a scary movie, but 28 Days Later does not satisfy.
This is your standard end of civilization/ avoid the zombies horror picture. It has all been done before, many times.
It is interesting to figure out how under such duress the characters in this movie can continuously come up with nice new fashion outfits, all while they are fleeing for their lives in absolute terror.They must be consumer zombies, which is kind of horrifying, but not at all in the way I had wanted, or expected. Sure,it's the end of the world, but why stop shopping?
In the end, the movie puts forward the idea that the army guys that are there to protect them, are the real monsters, worse even than the murderous hoards. I reckon that is what some people prefer to believe, and you have to hope that they never have the opportunity to test out their theories in a truly bad situation, where things have fallen apart and they need help. But they will have their smug little attitudes until then, won't they?
Maybe we need a good zombie infestation to demonstrate the difference between real horror and post modern paranoia.
The Italian Job (2003)
More of a snow job, really...
After viewing The Italian Job, we understand why Ed Norton distanced himself from this Hollywood whore, saying it was nothing more than contractual obligation that made him take part in this film.
The Italian Job has the attitude, clothes, and hairstyles for a decent Mini Cooper commercial, but the this same approach stinks up a motion picture. And there is so little else here that the movie teeters on tedium at times
Hollywood sure knows how to make gloss, and this picture has buckets of it. Trouble is, that gloss in large amounts becomes rancid goo. The Italian Job is sickeningly sweet from the the first scene, and pours on the glucose all through the film.
Trouble is also that modern movie audiences don't seem to tell a good film from a jelly doughnut. I fear we will see more of this sort of drivel in the future.
The wimpy sensitive new age relationship between the criminals is the excess that puts this movie over the top,successfully pushing it from merely mediocre, into shamefully shallow. Get a dialogue writer, will ya, Gary Gray?
Vanilla Sky (2001)
The Heavy Hand Of Cameron Crowe
Vanilla Sky suffers from a certain smugness, a too glib bent to the dialogue and actor's technique.
As in Almost Famous, Crowe pivots his film around one or two compellingly attractive stars.In this case Tom Cruise, and in Almost Famous, Kate Hudson.
Cruise, like Hudson would do well to learn to shut up, and stop showing off their teeth. Though both actors do a superb job of flashing THE charming smile, we can get too much of a slick thing. Added to the mix, they are surrounded by lesser mortals with the same affliction of refined white flour dialogue, and cheesy grinitis.
We are also left to wonder what exactly does the music have to do with what(little) is going on, on screen?
I can see this guy Cameron Crowe doing smarmy TV in the near future.
Daredevil (2003)
Boring Formula Driven Nothingness
Dare Devil is no Spiderman. If we start exposing mediocrity in movies, Daredevil would be a good starting point.
Save your money and go see something good. Nice music, but not enough to change things much.
Training Day (2001)
denzel gets oscar, but all is not perfect...
SPOILERS ALERT I am glad the Denzel won his first best actor Oscar. I could think of other roles he has played more deserving of accolades. Fair enough, he does a fine job here.
The problem with this movies is not the acting, though Ethan Hawke is no giant. The problem with this movie is the writing.
I will give this movies top marks for disturbing imagery, and its hyper-adrenaline feel. But some things just do not make sense in the plot.
Denzel's character plays a street-wise narcotics cop, tough as coffin nail, always one step ahead of everyone. Ethan Hawke is a boy scout of uniform cop, that is on his first training day with Denzel.
We the audience are then taking for a ride. Denzel puts the rookie through hell, and we squirm watching.
He talks/tricks the newbie into smoking pcp, drinking beer, and pocketing confiscated money. If that doesn't push your sense of disbelief, Denzel, then shows him his personal whore, and bastard son. To cap off a typical LAPD first day, training day, Denzel then introduces Hawke's character to three high ranking government officials, all who reveal their high level corruption in casual conversation. From these three they get permission to murder a major drug dealer, and split four million dollars in drug money.
When Hawke's character refuses to go along after the murder, Denzel then tricks him into going to a rat's nest of gangsters, abandoning him to be murdered by the gang.
At this point we have to figure Hawke's character as a very stupid man.
Yet after he is released by the gangsters( for saving the leader's cousin that morning)he stalks Denzel at his whore's apartment, and get's the drop on him.
After the completely predictable long fight scene between Denzel, and Hawke, Denzel is confronted by all the gang members that he previously owned, and Hawke is allowed to escape. Instead of killing Denzel they just stare at him as though they very disappointed in him, and go home.
In the end, Denzel is killed by some Russians, whom we have never seen before in the movie.
Just a few holes in the plot?