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Reviews
Black Mirror: Joan Is Awful (2023)
A Great Idea and Mediorce Script.
The central idea is classic Black Mirror, but each moment that had potential for dramatic tension is undermined by a script that ranges between silly and simply dull. It seems like they came set with an interesting idea but had no idea what to do with it. Lots of celebrity references and cameos that ended up being flat name dropping. The ending feels hurried and certainly didn't leave me "thinking" as the best Black Mirror episodes did.
I gave it a six because there are moments of humour. The cast seemed to have done their best with what they were given. Many people will find it a pleasant time waster, but if you are looking for dark compelling sci-fi drama or techno horror, you will be disappointed.
Dead to Me (2019)
Very Strong Start, Then Dimisnishing Returns
The first season was witty, tense and unquestionably hilarious. But as with so many comedy series the actors and writers get bored and they was to "stretch". What it drifts into is a comedy that starts to take itself seriously and it becomes mere melodrama. I have always loved Christina Applegate's comedic sense.
The third season has it's charms but I found myself rarely laughing and much of the tension was gone. I suppose it was inevitable and the pace of the first season would have been difficult to maintain without increasingly silly contrivances.
I am very sorry to hear of her personal struggles. And this show will continue to appeal to many. But it is just not for me.
Outer Range (2022)
Atmosphere, Mystery and Little Else
Sometimes it isn't what is said that is what is most interesting..... but not usually. There are a number of moments of supposed intense drama in this series in which a character needs to have need an urgent and revelatory conversation, but ends up sputtering incoherently or saying essentially nothing. This kind of sums up this series. There are far too many shots and entire scenes which seems entirely aimless. You can only tease a mystery for so long before I begin to wonder if there really is more to this than empty twists and ambiguous or entirely undefined motivations. Indeed the motivations of the lead and a number of the other characters are so unclear that I found myself finding it difficult to care what happens to any of them. On the upside, I thought the cast was great and doing the best with what they had.
The Staircase (2022)
Good Start but Drifts and Wanders
There is lots good quality elements here, but even as someone who knew the story from the documentary, towards the end the constantly flipping timeline starts to simply get in the way. This version of Micheal is actually more likeable than the real one and the two leads do a great job with the ambiguous nature of the characters they are portraying. Rather then focus on the ups and downs of the unfolding of the evidence, the story focuses more on the children and the background of the documentary itself. At times the trial seems to be an afterthought and it makes the show feel aimless and unfocused.
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (2016)
Former Fan But and She Needs to Retool This Show
I thought she was hilarious on the Daily Show and even read her book, but she can't recognize that she has lost her edge. There is just very smug self-satisfied repetition of the same tired talking points. She isn't remotely subversive but speaks "truth", not to, but from power.
The Umbrella Academy (2019)
Mostly Great
I enjoyed the mystery of season one more than season two. And it is also worth pointing out that I am generally entirely burnt out on superhero stories, but all that said, it is original with a great cast. There have been several points in season two where I though the writing choices were weak but it has enough going for it that it didn't stop me from enjoying it.
The Flight Attendant (2020)
A Noble Effort
Perhaps it says more about my expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised with the first few episodes. I found the set-up interesting and a good balance of comedy and drama. But as the episodes progress, the script starts to feel bloated and meandering. It was not so much an issue with the originality of the plot twists but the somewhat muddled execution and scenes that felt like filler.
Extraction (2020)
This is an Action Film "."
Apparently this needs to be repeated. This is an action film. It appears that some were sorely disappointed that it was not a rom-com, a period drama or an "important film". However, as an action movie, it is far better than average. In terms of intensity, originality, and production value, this is often on par with John Wick. True the plot is not particularly intricate and the character development is minimal, but much is done with little. There is no sense that any of the actors are phoning in the performance because on paper they aren't given much of an opportunity to show other dimensions. The movie covers events over a short period of time and the characters are focused on the issues at hand. There are a few breathers but we aren't sidetracked into forced "lets talk about us" scenes in the middle of life or death struggle. With the superhero genre beaten to death, a straight-forward fast-paced entertaining film is an increasingly rare gem and well worth the watch.
The Undoing (2020)
And Signifying Nothing
It starts out better than average. Reminiscent of an east coast sequel to Pretty Little Lies. We are offered a peak into world inhabited mostly by the wealthy and pampered, but who beneath a thin veneer of faux happiness mostly appear jaded, cynical or otherwise miserable. Some initial good writing and a strong performance by Hugh Grant draws you in for the first few episodes. Part of what makes it compelling is the uncertainty of the motives of those involved, but around the middle of the series, the ambiguity and twists begin to feel like manipulation. A clear example is Nicole Kidman's character. Throughout the series she seems remote and wooden. At the beginning we are led to believe there is more to her than meets the eye. However, we learn she isn't so much a real character but just a tool to create suspense. Moreover, there a number of scenes that appear weighty but prove to be filler. I understand the potential for the idea that the lack of twist is the twist, and we are sucked into wanting to believe just like Kidman's character. But there just wasn't enough of substance here to fill a series. And then there is the car chase at the end....well enough said
Moana (2016)
Less Than Meets the Eye
Too many people seem to feel the need to love this movie for all the self-congratulatory ways in which this is supposed to be a politically satisfying Disney outing without noticing that it is one of the dullest Disney outings in a very long time.
One notable song and very little genuine humour. Dramatic tension is almost non-existent even by Disney standards since it progresses in pretty much a straight line from beginning to end. A few minutes in and the middle and end of the movie are never in doubt.
13 Reasons Why (2017)
Deeply Flawed, Painful Yet a Must See
While it is unfair to expect that movies or TV shows targeted young adults must constantly present a morality play or take on the character of a extended public service announcement, this show embarks upon truly dangerous territory. And the most troubling aspect is apparent in the title. However, if viewed as an exploration of the ripple effects of the sometimes intentional and sometimes accidental ways in which people can bully and harm each other, particularly in the teen-aged world of heightened sensitivity and emotion, the show is in many ways excellent.
As the title suggests, the story centres around a series of tapes left by "Hanna" a teenager who recently committed suicide. We follow "Clay" as he listens to the tapes. By way of a series of flashbacks we try to understand what led Hanna to her decision.
The story structure, filming, soundtrack and overall presentation drew me in notwithstanding my initial skepticism. There were almost too many good performances from the cast to list and that was notwithstanding a script that ranged from deeply touching and real to downright awkward and manipulative. In the early episodes most the principal characters appear as clichés cut from the Breakfast Club but in time we begin to see most of them them as fleshed out complex beings.
In short, as we are told constantly about the tapes, you need to suspend judgment until you see it all. The show's greatest strengths and weaknesses are difficult to appreciate without seeing it through to the end. As an exploration of bullying and the "reasons" we all have for the harm we cause each other, this is one of the best teen dramas I have seen. As an eyes open look at suicide, it fails.
The Thin Red Line (1998)
An Improv experiment for Actors and aspiring poets
Fragments of a truly great film mashed in with wandering, distracting, unnecessary and ultimately self-indulgent improv by both the actors and the director.
This is very self-consciously a "FILM" and I was always aware I was watching a "FILM". Sections contain inspired photography. Other sections could have been made into a truly great short film. However, I never felt I was watching a movie about Guadalcanal or really even a film about war. Yet it was too sloppy and unfocused to achieve the metaphysical or abstract.
I think I would have loved the film it almost was.
Spring Breakers (2012)
A Promissory Note for a Movie
To start with I liked the movie "Kids", the script for which was co-written by Spring Breakers director Harmony Korine. However I am left wondering if Korine should have also entrusted this script to "Kids" director Larry Clark because the movie it most reminded me of was Clark's "Bully". Both movies had young bodies on prominent display, hyper-sexuality, a pervasive sense of menace and seemingly vacuous main characters. However, Bully is at least partially based on a true story and the soullessness of the main characters are made disturbing only by its basis in reality and because there is some attempt at development and back story.
However, after watching Spring Breakers the only thing that disturbed me was the hour and a half I just wasted. Although I eventually found the short-cut mix-mash style of editing tedious, there is some effort to make the movie visually interesting beyond the obvious eye candy of a movie set in a fantasy world of the ultimate hormone and drug fuelled Spring Break. On that basis alone, and the only reason I didn't give it one or two stars, it can be distinguished from the "frat boys getting laid" comedy the title suggests, or the "guns n bitches" Hip Hop music video it came very close to emulating. However, each time the movie attempts to surprise and develop what might seem to be an interesting plot line, it spins off in yet another direction. Surprise is offered in lieu of content.
The only shadow of a character in the whole movie was offered by James Franco. However, the movie centers around four female protagonists and each time one of them was in danger of becoming a real human being she disappears. The potent sense of tension and danger hinted at throughout the film never pays off. Any chance at provoking thought on the vacuous hedonism on display is lost What is left is a silly unreal ending involving unreal people.
La Belle Noiseuse (1991)
Art Imitates Art
I mostly enjoyed the experience of watching this film. I had an afternoon to kill. It was snowy outside but it was warm cozy and quiet inside. I had the few days off before so I was in a relaxed and comfortable in my comfortable cozy house.
It is about a middle-aged and financially comfortable "Artist" living in beautiful surroundings. He doesn't need to paint to earn a living and apparently he needs to do very little in general. He has the ability to spend long periods of time doing nothing but indulging in his art. When the screen is not filled with images of a beautiful naked girl, it is filled with images of the idealized self-imagine of the artist< or would-be artist, as "Artist".
One cannot but help draw parallels with the director himself. At that point in his career, established, comfortable and few practical limits on his ability to wallow in his "art". Although it has all the props of artistry and we are left of believe the artist has suffered for his art, the end product is merely pretty with no real tension or original insight.
This film is to cinema what Kenny G is to Jazz. If you are in the right mood, you may find it pleasant to have on in the background while reading a book.