Change Your Image
samoanui
Reviews
Worst Roommate Ever: Roomate Wanted - Part 2 (2022)
Leaves out some pertinent facts
Not sure why they decided to leave out some pertinent facts:
1- Jamison left Tulane after one year because of what he perceived to be Anti-Israel sentiment
2- He moved to Israel where he joined the military. The stress on Israeli soldiers is of course well known, especially in the years he was there.
3- He met a Dutch woman in Israel and moved to the Netherlands with her. The Netherlands at that time, had a world famous Squatters Rights movement.
4-His father refused to pay for his grad school degrees despite paying for his brother's Ivy League degree. When his father passed away, he left Jamison nothing despite him being in debt (from his Masters in History at Georgetown and his JD at U of Miami, where he was a good student in both programs). If he had a bit of money, he probably could have taken a bar review course and passed the bar with little effort.
Not sure why they left these facts out but they are useful in understanding what happened.
White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch (2022)
Woke nonsense
Who would have thought a hip clothing brand would hire based on looks? Isn't this the norm in pretty much every industry? You hire good looking people to be the face of the company and put them in visible roles. Even at the popular restaurant I worked at in high school, the good looking girls would work in front as hostesses, while the less attractive girls would work in the kitchen. If this was the norm for a restaurant, how much more normal would it be for a clothing brand which is primarily selling image? What a waste of time to watch such a stupid one-sided documentary.
What the Health (2017)
What the Health did I just watch
Very low-IQ propaganda aimed at a very low IQ audience. According to this documentary, everything, including diabetes, isn't caused by high carb diets and obesity, but instead because of meat consumption. But common sense will lead you to ask why India is both the vegetarian capital of the world and the diabetes capital of the world.
An Inconvenient Tax (2011)
Interesting topic, terrible execution
Interesting topic, amazing access to all sorts of experts such as Steve Forbes, but ruined by a constant barrage of animations and irrelevant film footage. You would get 20 seconds of an interesting interview followed up by 10 seconds of a cartoon or irrelevant "funny" footage, followed up by another 20 seconds which is starting to be interesting, then some more stock footage. It totally ruins the flow.
The Disappearance of Crystal Rogers (2018)
Absolutely the worst
6 episodes could have been condensed into one, almost nothing happens in this documentary series. You can learn more about the cases with 5 minutes of googling than by watching 6 hours of this documentary series.
Catfish (2010)
Doesn't seem credible
This doesn't seem to be a credible documentary. The only question is whether Angela was in cahoots with the documentarians, or whether the documentarians knew it was a hoax early on and then tried to film it and feign surprise. Either way, it makes this film a lot less interesting.
The Weight of Gold (2020)
Good documentary for those who don't know the sacrifices Olympic athletes make
Good documentary for those who don't know the sacrifices Olympic athletes make. However, what should be mentioned, is the rampant use of performance enhancing drugs (including steroids) by Olympic athletes. After the Olympics, many athletes cycle off, and this is a very dangerous time, leading to depression and dark thoughts. Seems this documentary aims to spotlight the massive sacrifices Olympians make, and mentioning rampant steroid abuse would somehow tarnish their image. Yet, one should look at rampant steroid abuse as yet another example of the many sacrifices they make -- both when it comes to mental health and also to physical health.
The Killing Season (2016)
Sensationalistic Nonsense
I think the number of times the documentarians say "Rachel and I" amounts to more than the total unsolved murders in the US. It got to the point when I would cringe when I heard it. Perhaps they should make this series less about them and more about the unsolved murders?
It seems the documentarians would rush from one unsolved series of murders to another, throwing around wild accusations against everyone from the police departments to motorcycle gangs. At the end of eight episodes we are left with no new insights into any of the cases. Some of the interviews they did were very interesting, but the documentarians spoiled it by inserting themselves into everything constantly, and making everything overly dramatic. The scary music was hilarious.
Finding Yingying (2020)
Interesting documentary but left out a lot
This is an interesting documentary but it did leave out some pertinent facts, perhaps intentionally.
The documentary mentions that perhaps Brendt went after Yingying because she is Asian and meek. Why didn't they mention that he also tried to abduct a girl earlier that day and that girl was a blonde blue-eyed American girl? Seems them divulging that would go against the political narrative.
They also failed to mention that Brendt's wife left on a trip with her lover the day of the abduction and took him to the same resort/hotel as she spent with Brendt for their honeymoon. While this of course doesn't absolve Brendt of guilt in the murder of Yingying, it does shed light on to why he started developing psychological issues for which he sought treatment, and why he abducted and killed a girl that day.
There are countless other omissions and I can't but feel at least some of them were intentional.
The Red Pill (2016)
Fantastic
I'm not a Mens Rights Activist by any means, but this documentary is excellent in touching upon many often overlooked issues.
The Plot Against America (2020)
Cliche and terrible
Simon's the Wire was a breath of fresh air. This meanwhile, is trite and cliche. Perhaps it's the best that can be done with the 3rd rate novel that this series is based on. Find something else, this is trash.
1917 (2019)
Excellent cinematography, poor writing
This film is beautifully shot. Unfortunately there are so many plot holes it's hard to keep watching with a straight face.
Amanda Knox (2016)
Well made but one sided
This is a very watchable documentary. It also benefits from great access and interviews to many of the big players in the case. I would have given this documentary an 8 or 9 out of 10 if it weren't for just how biased this documentary is. There are many great reviews on here which detail exactly what was left out. In addition, there are excellent websites which discuss even minor points at length. If you only watch this documentary, you may easily be convinced of Amanda's 100% innocence based on this documentary's narrow selection of facts.
Nonetheless, I think many of the outside websites and negative reviews are just as certain about Knox's guilt as this documentary is certain that she is innocent. Unfortunately there are no smoking guns when it comes to this case, except for the African, Guede who was rightly convicted of murder. While he may not have done it alone (but it is possible he did), it doesn't necessarily mean he had to have committed the crime with Knox and her boyfriend. It's more likely that he committed the crime with another accomplice, who is now walking free.
Dark Money (2018)
If you want a simple one sided documentary about campaign finance that you won't learn much from, this is it!
I'm annoyed by partisan documentaries which aim to help their side's cause to the detriment of being enlightening or informative. This is definitely one of them. It (rightly) blames the disproportionate affect that money has on elections, and how it hinders the vote of the common people. I agree 100%.
Unfortunately it only looks at it from the perspective of the left, and attacks corporations. It makes the Koch brothers (and Adelson) boogeymen. It's extremely partisan. And that is about as informative as when the right blames everything on Soros and labor unions. Guess what? Rich politically active donors have a massive impact on elections, whether it is left or right. Organized single party interest groups provide substantial support to candidates, whether it is right (guns, pro-life, religion, etc) or left (atheists, minorities, LGBT, unions, pro-choice, etc.)
The topic of campaign finance reform is even more pressing in 2020 when Bloomburg has spent over $100 million dollars before even the first primary was held. Yet, the left won't criticize him for this because he's on their team. Yet I find it as distasteful as when Trump with his enormous wealth enters politics and drowns out the voices of regular people.
In summary, if you're looking for an honest and objective documentary that exposes the problems of campaign finance, you better keep looking. If you're looking at a shallow documentary that supports your side, which you won't learn much from, this is it!
American Factory (2019)
Interesting but leaves out some pertinent facts
This is a solid documentary and will provide food for thought when it comes to many issues, such as the trade war with China, unionization, automation, etc.
That being said, there is a political slant to this documentary and some pertinent info is left out. As well as some translation errors.
First, what the documentary leaves out is the average hourly wage of workers in GM was over $70 an hour because of the plush contracts the UAW, the union representing the workers, was able to get the workers. Of course such high wages created problems for the company, because this was way above the market rate. Companies both in and outside the US were able to produce goods at the same or higher quality level much cheaper.
And thus GM received a government bailout by the Obama administration to the tune of 23 billion dollars. This allowed GM to keep running while keeping these outlandishly high UAW wages. This film is actually produced by Higher Ground Productions, Michelle and Barrack Obama's film production company. Thus it's not a surprise that they would like to portray the situation as that unions are the only salvation to protect American workers from low wages and safety issues. Yet, the reality is that the unions raised wages to a level where companies couldn't compete, $70+ dollars an hour for the average worker at GM, and thus companies either moved or completely closed.
Second, you can't help but feel sympathy for many of these workers. Many of them are old, and older workers tend to be a little slower, especially when it comes to manufacturing jobs. In addition, it seems many of the workers Fuyao hired were those who couldn't find work in the 4+ years since their original factory was closed. We aren't dealing with the average American worker here. As you watch the documentary you can't help but find yourself rooting for those workers, and hope that they do turn things around. You realize that these workers on average are not very productive, and are bound to be replaced, and can't help but thinking why don't you make things a bit easier for Fuyao (if only for self preservation) and yes, offer to work on weekends, or offer to work some (paid) overtime.
If Fuyao America does unionize, and raise wages, don't you think the Chinese will just pack up and move to another location? I'm slightly entertained by the entitled nature of these workers such as the one saying he can't believe that he is paid less than his daughter who does peoples nails. Well, using that logic, perhaps manicurists should have unionized as well. Perhaps we should all unionize. Is it fair that a tax lawyer should make more than a criminal defense attorney? Is it fair that a cardiologist should make more than a general practitioner? Luckily. we have the market and supply and demand to answer those questions.
Also, as someone who has lived and worked in Asia, including China, it has to be mentioned that labor conflicts in China are not rare, they have been common since at least the 1980's. The Chinese workers Fuyao brought to the US tend to be above average for Chinese workers (most Chinese today still want to work in the US, or at least work for a foreign company in China) while the American workers tend to be a bit worse (on average) for American workers. Also, China is not immune to economics, and many Chinese factories have moved abroad to Southeast Asia because labor and other costs have made it hard to compete at that price point. This documentary ignores the basic economics angle and instead tries to force the discussion into one of a cultural clash (hard working Chinese who work 12 hour days with 1-2 days off a month versus American workers who want 8 hour days and higher safety conditions). The truth is much more mundane.
Nonetheless, this is an interesting and excellent documentary. Highly recommended. But keep in mind the political slant.
Cold Case Hammarskjöld (2019)
Mockumentary or Documentary?
The first half of the movie is about the death of Hammarskold. That part is interesting, but the documentary provides no new information, and ignores much info taken from the many investigations into the incident.
When the documentary makers were denied permission to dig, they had to salvage the documentary in some way. I think that's where the second part comes in. The problem with the second part is that the sources just aren't believable. Anyone familiar with intelligence realizes that there are so many inaccuracies in what they say that they can't be taken seriously. Yet this documentary builds an entire wild scenario about them and the South African Marine Research Institute. Are they paid actors? Hilarious. The far fetched schemes conjured up in this documentary are even more hilarious.
This mockumentary may still be worth a watch, as long as you don't take it too seriously. It's almost in the 'it's so bad it's good' category.
The Edge of Democracy (2019)
Terrible production quality and biased
The good: Some good footage of Lula and Dilma.
The bad: Biased, incomplete, with tons of unnecessary footage of protests. This documentary is over 2 hours, and if you cut out all the meaningless random scenes of protests, you could shave off an hour. Grating tone of the narrator. Very little insight into Brazilian society. You can learn much more just by watching random Youtube videos for 2 hours.
Revenge of the Ninja (1983)
The best ninja movie
This movie is terrible. The acting is just awful and the plot could have (or perhaps was?) written by a drunk autistic child. Nonetheless, you will love it. Watch it! It and Enter the Ninja are easily the two best ninja movies of the 80's.
Enter the Ninja (1981)
The movie which started the ninja craze of the 80s
A poorly written, poorly acted movie which is a classic! It started the ninja craze of the 1980s and is pure comedy. It's so bad it's good!
RBG (2018)
Interesting person, Terrible One-Sided Propoganda Documentary
If I were to rate this documentary solely on the basis of its subject, I would give it a 10. RBG is a very interesting person, who has had a profound impact on the law, and it is worth learning about her regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum. Nonetheless, this documentary is extremely one-sided and intentionally leaves out important facts, or distorts them, solely to make its point.
First, by only viewing this documentary, one would think that her husband gave up his legal career to support RBG and cook dinner for her and the kids. The truth is that he had a very successful legal career as a tax lawyer and tenured professor at Columbia Law School. He did move to DC to be with RBG, but became a law professor at Georgetown Law School, not some house husband. The documentary mentions that RBG was shy and that it was needed for her husband to sing her praises during Senate confirmation. What it doesn't tell you is that her husband was the attorney for future Presidential Candidate and billionaire Ross Perot, and that Perot lobbied hard to get her nominated, as a way to return the favor for the hundreds of millions of dollars Ginsburg was able to save him. Perot's influence on Republicans, as well as lobbying by the Jewish community, is what allowed her to be so easily confirmed. The documentary makes it seem like she was confirmed 96-3 because she was so exemplary that she overcame political partisanship. But it's important to remember that Scalia was confirmed 98-0. A more honest documentary would have mentioned that the backing of Perot, and other Republicans, by her tax lawyer husband was crucial in both the confirmation hearings.
The bias of this documentary shines when it describes Scalia as a right wing nut job, and claims Ginsburg was able to maintain a friendship with him because of nonsense like 'always be a lady.' Anyone who knows RBG or Scalia knows that they were close friends who met for dinner weekly. It's not that she was just ignoring his politics and trying to remain civil. They were actually close friends and didn't let politics affect that. I think for those blinded by partisanship, it's hard to imagine being friends with someone who is on the opposite side of the political spectrum. But for most people, it isn't. RBG's husband himself was close friends with Perot, who while running as an independent twice, was a lifelong Republican and always endorsed Republican candidates.
The third issue this documentary glosses over is that many on the left spoke out trying to have RBG step down while Obama was still President. This way the Democrats would be able to retain the seat on the Supreme Court. She could even have had some say over who her replacement would be, and perhaps have had one of her former clerks be her replacement. But she decided to stay on even though she was slowing down and the quality of her output was waning. Nonetheless she tenaciously clung to power, and now she is battling cancer for the 4th time, and has no choice but to remain on the Court until we have a Democratic President. This documentary quickly addresses these criticisms (from the Left, mind you) by saying she would stay on until she couldn't "go full steam." The problem is that she hasn't been going full steam for nearly a decade now, and there is a good chance Trump will be able to place another Justice on the Court because of her. Yet this whole contentious issue is downplayed by repeatedly showing excerpts of her in the gym working out to some energetic music. Those of us who follow the Court are fully aware that she has slowed down considerably, and perhaps isn't all mentally there anymore (given her extremely poor choice of wading into the election by publicly criticizing a Presidential candidate). Some energetic workout music isn't going convince knowledgeable people otherwise.
There are many other issues that the documentary should have addressed; such as the lack of diversity in her clerks (a paucity of African-American and Hispanic clerks, as well as less women than would be expected), as well as a more thorough examination of her jurisprudence. Instead we get a one-sided propaganda piece that is making RBG out to be some sort of God, and not what she is, an impressive but human figure. Even those who tend to be on the Left, like myself, are a bit dissatisfied with the childish one-sided view of RBG.
Outbreak (1995)
Terrible
This movie's target audience is composed of children and those with an IQ hovering around 70. If you even have a bit of common sense and/or scientific knowledge, you will lose your suspension of disbelief within 5 minutes. While the topic of animal to human viruses is as relevant today as when the movie was made, the low brow way the movie approaches the topic is just laughable.
The Brink (2019)
Terrible
I'm certainly no Trump-fan (didn't vote for him last time, won't vote for him next time) but you can't help but feel this documentary is a political hit-piece on Bannon by the director. Bannon is an interesting figure, intelligent and well spoken with a keen understanding of politics, and yet the director would select certain scenes which have no informative value, but attempt to make him or those with similar viewpoints look bad. I learned nothing from this documentary. Perhaps if someone a little more intellectually honest made it the result would have been different.
The Laundromat (2019)
Poorly done, simplistic examination of an interesting topic
The topic of offshore finance is fascinating, but unfortunately this poorly written and poorly acted film will leave you not learning anything new. Your time is better spent watching a 5 minute Youtube video on the topic.