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Orson47
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Triple Frontier (2019)
This is Not at All Believable
Triple Frontier is an attempt to show us the plight of America's veterans from our elite forces who are hard pressed to successfully re-enter main-stream society following their return from various war zones. Without the skills both vocationally and psychologically to be successful in civilian life and with the motto of always faithful looming in the background, five former service buddies gather to steal from what we are told is an evil drug lord his fortune. The plan which isn't fully revealed until it actually happens is fraught with more holes than a pound of Swiss cheese and it smells a bit like it, too. While other reviewers have pointed out the obvious flaws in the execution of the crime itself, I must add that the escape into the jungle and over the mountains to the ocean is just too unbelievable. They seem to endure the cold of the mountains and once the mules are lost/abandoned this group is able to drag hundreds of pounds of money by themselves up and over the Andes. Once must ask where the climbing equipment suddenly materializes. For me, the best part of this movie was the death of Affleck and with that they managed to carry his body all the way back...REALLY? These are 123 minutes that I will never get back. Don't waste your time.
Good Behavior (2016)
First Season has issues Second Season is just bad
I binge-watched the first season of this show and absolutely loved the Michelle Dockery character or perhaps more like loved Ms. Dockery. The plot is a tad thin in this first season, but I was able to go along with much of it and suspend belief just a tad at some of the antics. There are some holes and clearly the characters in order to keep the story rolling, slip through them. The end of the final episode of the first season was fine and while it left me perhaps wanting more, I could have been just as happy with the show ending there. Unfortunately, the second season takes the sublime and makes it ridiculous. The FBI characters, all of them not just the lead one who appears in both seasons, are more mall cop than educated intelligent professionals that we are used to seeing wearing the FBI jackets. The rogue FBI agent is so unprofessional to be merely a cartoon of herself and completely off the reality radar. While she seemingly lends comedy to the story, she also becomes absurd and whatever she touches does as well. I am sure that the local Raleigh, NC bureau must be totally embarrassed by the portrayal. The second season is unnecessary and is merely there to make money for TNT. It is not good television.
The Bold Type (2017)
Seriously, who really lives and talks this way?
This show desperately attempts to cover ALL of the bases at once. We have these twenty-something BFF's who all work for the same magazine in one capacity or another and are constantly under the gun from their know it all boss, who despite her gruff exterior is really just a sweetheart. She has the maternal instincts of someone who did a bad job as a mother for her own kids and now can take these three, mostly Jane, though, under her wing and mold them into fine young women who care about everything important all the time. Of course, they care about everything important except when it means that it will in some small way prevent them from getting ahead, getting laid or most of all landing that special someone...their soul mate! The best scenes are in the fashion closet where they can be their shallow selves and offer advice to each other or get it from the mother superior. The dialogue was written by someone who wishes everyone actually talks the way the script is written and acting is just not that good. All of them are attractive physically, but they have the depth of a kiddie pool. There are, of course, attempts at diversity both racially and sexually, but the actors are so very stereotypical that they lack any credibility. What is more interesting is how these young women afford the digs that they live in on their small salaries in a city we are led to believe is New York but is really Montreal. Rents are high there, too! I guess if you want a dose of unreality, then this fluff is perfect for you. I am sure in the end, each one of these women will achieve what they have set out to do: have an orgasm, land that job in high fashion, and figure out if being gay is really a bad thing when you know you can never tell your parents. These people need to have real problems like clogged sinks or head colds and then it might begin to resemble real life.
Final Girl (2015)
What A Waste of Time
Right from jump street, not the movie, this film lacks anything redeeming to save it from a 1 out of 10. While one would expect more from Wes Bentley, one has to assume that he either needed the money or lost a bet in choosing this script. The holes in this make Swiss cheese look inadequate. Whoever thought that Abigail Breslin would be perfect for this part needs to go back to casting school. With all due respect to her, she cannot handle this part and probably for the sake of her career should have passed it up anyway. There must be twenty actresses that could have been selected for this role and perhaps Breslin was the only one of the twenty who said, "Yeah, I can do this.". Without getting to involved here, let me just say that she does not have the face or the grit for this part. Her physical skills (fighting) are clearly lacking and apparently the choreographer gave up in trying to teach her. I loved the lighting in the forest. Seriously, where did the back light come from? Thankfully, I did not pay for this with anything other than my valuable time. I assume the producers are using this piece of trash as a tax right off. The IRS should decline to accept that knowing that any sane person would recognize a bad investment when they read the script.
The F Word (2013)
Daniel Radcliffe is NOT a HUNK
Okay, this movie was about as believable as Will Farrell playing one of Santa's Elves...in this case Radcliffe is apparently an elf and not much more. This was not that interesting a story and quite easily predictable. When Harry Met Sally upgraded...ah, no...downgraded by quite a bit. Zoe Kazan is cute to a point and the use of Adam Driver and MacKenzie Davis as the deus ex machina was wasted.Yeah, I sat through it, but it was a cloudy day and I watched it over five hours taking breaks to do important things like vacuum and walking the dog...which by the way, with all due respect to my dog, is a more apt description of this movie.
Third Person (2013)
It Took Me Awhile to Figure This One Out
I am a Haggis fan. I have enjoyed his other films and since I also like both Liam Neeson and Olivia Wilde, I set aside the requisite time to watch Third Person. To be candid, it was not until I read some of the reviews posted here that I figured out what was going on, but only because I was trying to understand what the point was of the Adrien Brody character and how anyone with a grain of sense in their brain would do what he did. That part of the story could have been eliminated and the film would have been shortened by about 30 minutes for the better. His part in this saga was unnecessary and frankly very unbelievable and added zero to the overall story. If I had directed this; I would have eliminated that entire portion of the script involving the Brody character and left the rest intact. The Mila Kunis character was well played and she showed that she has some serious acting skills. The other supporters including Kim Basinger, James Franco, and Maria Bello produced very credible performances. The character played by Olivia Wilde did trouble me a bit, but as the story unraveled, I realized that she had issues and those manifested themselves quite nicely with the relationship she had with the Liam Neeson character. The other point that kept this from being an 8 or 9 was that locations of where things were happening was hugely confusing, especially near the conclusion when you have no clue if the characters are in Paris, New York or Rome. That part stretched the credibility factor, as did the Fiat product placement throughout, although, without giving too much away, I get that the settings were the responsibility of the Neeson character's mindset.
Cold in July (2014)
Do Not Waste Your Time...Unfortunately, I did!
I can understand, I think, why Don Johnson did this movie and I guess the same can be said for Michael C. Hall, but I am at a loss to understand what would motivate someone like Sam Shepherd to do this? The man has been in great films and written exquisite screen plays himself. He is a talented and respected actor. So, what motivated him to do this? The plot is thinly structured and the film has more holes than a pound of Swiss cheese, especially in the climatic scene near the end. Vinessa Shaw, who I have enjoyed in other films, is semi-eye candy, I guess, but apparently brain dead when it comes to her husband getting up in the middle of the night and going out to do whatever. Although, perhaps she is a very deep sleeper, which might have been what she was doing when she agreed to do this movie. I am somewhat amazed that producers read this screenplay and then apparently ponied up enough money to actually shoot it. Apparently, they needed a tax right off and willingly took the loss that this piece of cinematic junk is likely to bring. Gee, do you think I liked it even a teeny bit...well, perhaps because I gave it a 2 and that was being generous.