Change Your Image
privatejoe-73661
Reviews
Loudmouth (2022)
Deceiving description
The official description from the studio suggests that this documentary might actually delve into the controversy of the eponymous "loudmouth". This would make sense as Sharpton is infamously disdained for his self-serving antics and reputation for bigoted remarks and inciting violence.
Instead, the documentary is just a lot of Sharpton praising himself as he loves to do. When they cover incidents where Sharpton lied about events, they don't mention the true facts - they just go along with his fiction then as an alternative history today.
I get that most docs take an angle and I figured that this one was obviously going to lean in Sharpton's direction. But this doc is a love letter to the man so why did they name it "loudmouth" and write a description that suggests it might at least pretend to offer some critical thought? If you're one of the handful of people in the country who is actually a fan of this huckster, than you might like this film. For the rest of us, it'll leave you feeling a bit nauseous.
Babysplitters (2019)
Unsettling and definitely not for everyone
I'm a bit old-fashioned so the whole premise of intentional co-co-parenting was a challenge but then the movie also has a lot of questionable sex scenarios, both visually and ethically in terms of being 'triggering'. It's funny in a cringe humor sort of way but if that's not for you, this movie won't be worth the watch as there is very little in terms of emotional reward with all of the contrived tongue-in-cheek plot twists. Acting is very good though and it's well shot.
It's intended audience is very much millennials or zoomers as the characters' motivations are extremely contemporary both for themselves and the regard they have for others. It's not a movie I could recommend to others.
Adult Material (2020)
Moral sentiment usurps supposed controversial subject
The acting is fantastic but the subject matter belies an obnoxious and overwrought desire by the writers to inundate the viewer with their own moral sentiments. If you're like me, you were hoping for a 'slice of life' drama about a subculture rarely discussed.
Instead, the subject matter is used for a flimsy pretense to preach the same Twitter canards that one expects of Netflix. This show isn't the worst way to waste an afternoon but you won't leave being impressed or surprised. It's half shock imagery, half banal progressive lecture with an edgy veneer. That said, if you can get past the assumption that, as a viewer, you're a susceptible vessel for trite cliches - the show provides a lot of memorable and interesting scenes not seen in comparable mini-series.
The Tillman Story (2010)
His story deserved to be told but not like this
The central thesis of this documentary is that this hero specifically did it not for public adulation and that his story was exploited after his death. And yet the storytellers could not help but exploit the story for their own narrative about the war while pretending they were simply providing an objective account about the personal context and his motivation. It seemed like the filmmakers went out of their way to make the family seem unsympathetic - again, for what I feel was an intentional framing of the subject as an object towards a political end. Unless I'm missing some subtle and purposefully obtuse 'examine yourself' narrative about questioning the filmmakers intent, this doc seems nakedly hypocritical.
Beyond this objection, the pacing of the doc is inconsistent and provides relevant information after it would have been narratively important to know. Nevertheless it's gets a 5 because they got a lot of important interviews, video clips, and basically had a high production value.
The F**k-It List (2020)
Be indolent and selfish or you're an idiot
What's the point of being a spoiled brat other than to throw away all of the advantages in the world to be a narcissistic, self-righteous, hedonist? If this seems like a bad plot for a movie than this film isn't for you. And regrettably, no, it's not satirical even in an ironic unintentional way. Your skin will crawl knowing that a large crew of people who think this way were able to overfund a solipsistic defense of their own squandered potential.
Human Capital (2019)
Genre shift
Starts out as an adult drama, ends as teen
melodrama. Not a bad movie, acting is good, but know that the tag line didn't live up to expectations. It watches as if two different directors made it.
Windfall (2022)
3/4 good, 1/4 bad
Like a lot of suspense movies, the buildup is fantastic but they don't know how to end it. Movie languishes at the end without purpose and the final minute is a painful, pointless conclusion that feels like you've wasted your time. The dreaded cliffhanger sort of end is more satisfying that the humdrum 'eh who cares, it's something' that the director/writer went with.
The Weekend Away (2022)
Banal and unrewarding
Classic case of a suspense movie with a good buildup but not knowing how to end it. Trust me, you will leave dissatisfied and frustrated by two different incongruent out-of-the-blue deus ex machinas with little foreshadowing or coherence with the plot. In sum: good acting; bad script.