Change Your Image
![](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjQ4MTY5NzU2M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNDc5NTgwMTI@._V1_SY100_SX100_.jpg)
clayandersonjohnson
Reviews
Luther: The Fallen Sun (2023)
Starts bad, moves slow, ends bad slowly
This movie is so far fetched it makes Goldfinger look like a documentary. Anyone expecting anything similar to the great TV series will most likely be disappointed.
It manages to be confusing while signaling the most obvious move throughout. The timeline jumps abruptly through weeks or months (who knows?) at the beginning before returning to the present.
The identity of the heavy is never fully explained. Neither is his motivation. Is it money, depravity, power, attention? He just appears to be an insane all around bad guy. Like plot holes? You got 'em!
There is talk of this possibly becoming a franchise. If it is this was not a stellar debut.
Ancient Apocalypse (2022)
Take it with a grain of salt
This is certainly interesting. It introduced me to several places I was unfamiliar with. In the end although fascinating Graham Hancock is not an investigative reporter as he claims but simply a book author pushing a compelling mystery theory.
Many of the experts he introduces to verify his claims merely respond with answers along the lines of "We don't know." No physical evidence of his proposed Ice Age advanced civilization is exhibited other than the sites themselves and legends. Even Joe Rogan suggests at the end that Hancock might be too emotionally invested in the issue as well as those who deny his claim.
This is entertaining without a doubt but although some points have validity many others are simply speculation. Take it with a grain of salt.
The English (2022)
Beautiful cinematography
The cinematography and photography are beautiful. It is an interesting enough saga to binge watch on a winter's evening. If you are a fan of spaghetti westerns you will love this.
The script is as historically accurate as a Bigfoot tale and major names in the cast have very small parts in the action..
The costumes are lovely but don't match the period and no English lady of this time would ever sit aside a horse in this manner although the women from the plains might. The dialogue could be much better.
It is the 1890s West as envisioned in an opium dream of Samuel Taylor Coleridge if he were peering into the future..
Wild Is the Wind (2022)
Intense and Absorbing
This is one of the most gripping and intense films I have ever seen. It is well written, well acted and directed with stunning locations.
It is an extremely brutal portrayal of two corrupt police officers in South Africa whose neglect of duty and criminal behavior come back to haunt them.
An innocent man who is illiterate is manipulated into signing an Admission of Guilt to the abduction and murder of a young woman believing he is only requesting a review by a magistrate. He is taken to trial although his story is valid and there is no actual physical evidence against him.
This brings life destroying consequences upon the entire community.
The Patient (2022)
I like it but...
I am enjoying the show but do not find it successful as a mystery or thriller. It seems almost like a comedy of horrors. This is partially because of the short episode format making it seem more like a very black sit-com.
There are also too many cliches. There is the Jewish background, the house in the woods, the docile beta male therapist, etc. It is perplexing that the doctor is not more proactive in attempting to escape. He is bolted to the floor but with that heavy a chain it would seem likely the plate at the floor could be loosened by repeated twisting to loosen the bolts enough to remove them by hand.
So it is an interesting show but hardly suspenseful or thrilling.
The Little Things (2021)
Unexceptional
We watched this on HBO Max. It is a by the numbers serial killer movie. The first five minutes are suspenseful then it goes to autopilot. There are a couple of car chases which mildly peak interest but not of the standout excitement variety. There are no actual on screen captures or killings.
Denzel Washington is lackluster, Rami Malek appears to be sleepwalking through his performance. Jared Leto as the suspected killer is the only actor who seems to really be into his character.
It has a disappointing plot twist at the climax and a cliched coverup. It is surprising the screenplay got the green light but after a year of no big name openings it might have looked acceptable.
Bo Burnham: Inside (2021)
Started Good. Ended Badly
The first 20 minutes were great! It was extremely funny, original, and a spot on critique of America 2020. Then you slowly begin to realize that it is a metaphor for the pandemic in more ways than one.
It goes pointlessly on and on and on. The only highlight of the second half was Everything All The Time about the Internet. The ending was so cliched I could not believe he did it.
The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness (2021)
Overly long and drawn out
The first two episodes make a good case for David Berkowitz not acting alone. The proposition he was aided by John and Michael Carr is pretty substantial. They were the sons of Samuel Carr and his treatment of them matched the references in the letters. He also owned a large black dog.
One of the biggest connections not mentioned in the film is the detectives in the case said that the language in the letters indicated knowledge of old Scottish. Carr is a name with Northern English roots. There may have been others involved as both brothers died soon after in questionable circumstances .They may have had connections to a minor cult in the NYC area.
The Descent into Darkness is Terry's obsession with the case and his continued effort to then construct a framework of national Satanic worshippers. He discredited his earlier work on the SOS case by his book Ultimate Evil and his appearances on tabloid TV promoting it. He truly did go down the rabbit hole.
I would have rated this higher if they had condensed this version to three episodes. By the fourth episode the premise had become boring.
The Timber (2015)
Quite Accurate
In spite of bad reviews from those who did not understand the context this is a very good film. It is well acted and directed, has a great musical score, and the plot line probably is fairly truthful for the period.
The Gold Rush did not attract the best and brightest. It attracted lower class indigents willing to do anything to escape their desperate situations at home. This movie hits the mark with the number who must have gone mad from the combination of isolation, frustration, and greed.