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belsonrj
Reviews
True Crime Story: Look Into My Eyes (2023)
Can't believe this actually needs to be said
I see a lot of reviews here saying that the documentary omits information and steers the narrative to one side. Perhaps this is true in some sense.
However, regardless of how effective or influential the hypnosis was on these students; this high school principal, again....this high school PRINCIPAL, should never have, under any circumstances, been performing these hypnotherapy sessions on students. He wasn't even the guidance counselor, which would have still been inappropriate, but at the very least it would've been adjacent to his professional scope of practice. "Scope of practice" being a key concept here. This is why dentists are not supposed to write prescriptions for depression meds even though they are also doctors who care about your health.
I felt like I was taking crazy pills as I watched these people struggle with some perceived moral conundrum about whether he was at fault or not. How in the hell is an educational administrator allowed to perform psychiatric therapy without the proper credentials and on minors no less?! What year is it? What country is this? These actions alone are criminal. I graduated high school in 2005, so not too far from these students, and I couldn't fathom my old high school principal holding private, recorded, hypnotherapy sessions on students.
So, it's impossible to prove how much or how little these sessions may have affected the outcome of these students' lives. One thing we do know is that we wouldn't be asking these questions had any adult used common sense in this situation and said anything close to, "Um, actually, no. This is entirely inappropriate and bizarre to think that you can mess around in the minds of children as a high school principal with nothing more than good intentions and a hypnosis certificate."
This is exactly why we require credentials in this country. And this principal was incredibly narcissistic to think that he could circumvent the proper credentials based on his own comfort in his level of understanding. And that's what the documentary truly succeeded in proving to me. That he is, without a doubt, guilty of being irresponsible with minors and abusing his position.
Dementia (2015)
Entertaining. Above average with flaws.
The movie definitely starts out strong. Dementia is one of the scariest realities to me and adding the twist of Vietnam POW PTSD makes it pretty heavy.
They did a good job of setting up the movie and introducing the characters in a fluid way. The acting was pretty great all around except for the son. His performance was just so flat. Another reviewer mentioned that this movie felt TV like, which I agree with, and the son's performance was one of those elements. The contrast of his performance against the others made it even more obvious.
I also thought she would be gaslighting him more into questioning reality therefore making us question it and not really knowing if perhaps we were stuck in his delusion as well. Instead it's pretty obvious from the beginning that she's messing with him and has nefarious intentions. Her composure split half way through was pretty bizarre too. I also saw this mentioned in other reviews, but the whole doll thing in the store was such kinda cringey. These are more of the TV movie-like vibes it was giving off. She had been playing this kind of eerie but somewhat normal character and then she just loses it and can't contain her creepiness for the rest of the movie. It wasn't terrible, just felt kinda awkward.
The Vietnam flashbacks were pretty visceral. They didn't show too much, but enough to make you understand the horror he must've experienced. The pacing was good. There wasn't really any lulls. 90 minute movies are more refreshing these days. It feels like less of an investment, and it was enough to tell the story without going too far off the rails.
Lastly, a few thoughts on the ending.
No clue how his granddaughter inexplicably freed herself from being gagged and bound. It almost seems like they edited a scene out. When she showed up to the house you're thinking ok so either she'll save him or he'll save her? Perhaps he can attempt to redeem himself by sacrificing himself for her? I don't know. Instead he is confronted with his horrible crime and he just does this about-face into a sadistic monster who seems to revel in the horrible things he did to this widow in front of her daughter. He wasn't even taken aback with this new information that this little girl watched him murder her mother? The entire movie we're kind of led to believe that this broken person who ended up being an alcoholic monster that did terrible things is now coming to terms with how horrible he was and is looking for an ounce of redemption in his final days only to find out he never really changed and it seems like he's still that sadistic monster even without the alcohol. And then it seems the only reason his granddaughter was there was to be the witness and I suppose ultimately bring him to justice by letting him die? Was the timely entrance of the son explained? Did he even notice the nurse shot dead on the floor? I mean, it definitely wasn't the ending I expected. I suppose you could call it a twist, but not really the kind of twist that makes you think. More like a "oh, ok" kind of twist.
I can't see myself watching it again, but it had its memorable moments.
The Shrink Next Door (2021)
I'm enthralled by the story
I feel like this show is getting uneven ratings because a lot of people came in expecting a full blown comedy. It's a miniseries inspired by true events, so they're just telling a bizarre story. I'm also a big fan of seeing comedians pull off more dramatic roles. The character study is fascinating as well.
The Green Knight (2021)
Achieved what it set out to do
I can definitely understand some people not enjoying this movie although I don't understand the visceral hatred coming from some people who seem to be very insecure about not liking/getting it. I went into this movie knowing nothing about it, and I spent the first part of the movie trying to guess the outcome and flesh out the plot until I realized that it was pretty much entirely an allegory, and I was able to let go of the need to ground this movie and follow a plot. Then, I could just appreciate what was actually being said without the distraction of following a plot. It seems a lot of people were frustratingly looking for a story that wasn't there.
Contrary to what's being said, you don't have to be pretentious to enjoy this movie. I enjoyed trying to interpret the allegories, and if you don't enjoy doing that then you probably won't enjoy this movie. Simple as that. It doesn't have to be an ego test. It can just be a matter of taste and nothing more. Imagine that. Plus, the cinematography was mesmerizing at times and the acting was great.