iquine Reviews

Straight Time (1978)

Raw, Honest and Quietly Engrossing

[8/10 · 10 May 2024]

Simply put, this movie was highly engaging with just honest acting and very good storytelling. Not a flashy film yet Hoffman's portrayal of a career criminal, Max, carries the film along with sold supporting characters. Max seemingly wants to make good choices yet easily falls back into what he knows, burglary. The film smoothly weaves between his emotions, thought process and occasional temper as well as a light romantic thread while he tries to get one more score to help him start a new chapter in his life. Overall, this was a pleasant surprise which also had many great actors and actresses early in their career.

Unfrosted (2024)

Rapid Fire Silliness

[8/10 · 10 May 2024]

Seinfeld's comedy stretched to movie length. Leave it to Seinfeld and Jim Gaffigan to star in a movie about sugary breakfast foods. The crux of the movie revolves around powerful cereal makers Kellogg's and Post, in the early 60s, to see who will be able to bring to market the next big thing, two rectangles with fruit in-between. See how the idea is born, taste tested, brought to market and promoted. The fast-paced scenes are riddled with jokes and gags with colorful period sets. This was funny, highly entertaining and felt fresh and modern and loaded with unexpected cameos from actors playing their notable characters.

There's No Tomorrow (1939)

Tumultuous Life Leads to Dramatic Life Choices

[7/10 · 7 May 2024]

A woman is working at a sleezy night club where she must dance and wear risqué outfits. The gentlemen that accompany her for drinks notices she is different from the typical gals. Turns out she has a son to feed and care for while her husband is out of the picture and soiled their family name, thus making it impossible for her to get respectable work. A man from her past suddenly appears and she attempts to quickly build a false façade in hopes of winning him over without him knowing the unsavory paths she has taken. The director did use some restraint with character and story direction, less over the top dramatic, near the end which totally accentuates the emotional turmoil and leads to a striking ending. An ending that lingers on the palette like a fine wine yet sends a chill up the spine.

The Four Seasons (1981)

Four Seasons of Drama

[8/10 · 7 May 2024]

First time seeing Carol Burnett in a film vs her TV show. This film is pure screenplay and acting and "The Four Seasons" title takes you through emotional phases of three married couples as they spend vacations together during each of the seasons. They all get along great with meaningful discussion over tasty meals. Yet the drama escalates when one husband decides to get divorced. This throws the nicely balanced group out of order and triggers some weighty personally focused topics to light. Will their bond of friendship survive when people grievances are aired. Overall, great actors delivering real and raw performances. Dialog drama trumps cinematic appeal every step of the way.

Summertime (1955)

Katherine Hepburn Travelog

[6/10 · 25 April 2024]

Hepburn visits Venice and wanders around alone enjoying the sites and food yet feels lonely, go fugure. As she ended immerses herself in the culture, a dapper chap strikes her fancy and her external mental focuses turn inwards with the fragrance of romance in the Italian air. As the Italian scenery turns dark, so do the complexities of the romance. Will the suave chap be able to real in Hepburn or will she flee back to America and calm? This is obviously a picturesque film with the focus on the acting, scenery and food. I bet for its time, 1955, and common air travel just taking off, it filled the theater seats especially with Hepburn headlining.

The Whistle Blower (1986)

Clever Yet a Bit Drab

[6/10 · 25 April 2024]

This is a great classic film for those Michael Caine fans. A former military man (Caine) is notified his son has tied. Originally clarified as an accident or suicide, he believes he was murdered. His son had worked for British intelligence service, so his father presumes there is a connection as some things didn't add up. Michael Caine's character self-proclaims he is just a normal dude but is really skilled at cleverly extracting information from people to help lead him to uncovering the truth. Will he uncover the truth or die trying? This is a straight-shooting film carried by Michael Cane. Enjoyable and entertaining yet a tad plain.

Serena (I) (2014)

Love Goes Haywire

[7/10 · 22 April 2024]

Well, some bad life decisions catch up with a logging company owner. Mr. Pemberton (Cooper) is seeking to grow his logging business into a global empire. Located in a small and remote forest town in the 1880s or so he messes around with a cute helper girl. He later spots a confident horse-riding lady (Lawrence) who strikes his fancy and they marry hastily. She has a background in logging processes and is a proven asset to his business. Her arrival slowly upsets the balance of power and influence in the small town and mistrust and selfish actions sprout up as quickly as trees are hacked down. The igniter to the strife is a fertility accident she has, which also triggers some internal mental struggles. Watch as the drama unfolds and see if the logging empire will prosper. This was a solid little period piece with some good dramatic acting and nice lighting and cinematography. The story did seem to create a few abrupt character decision which could have been smoothed out with a bit more time allowed.

Shirley (2024)

Bold Woman; Less Bold Storytelling

[6/10 · 22 April 2024]

This Shirley is possibly even more bold than Shirley, the waitress cooking up burgers for Rerun, from "What's Happening!" This is a great piece of American culture as it is about the first black congresswoman, Shirley Chisholm, who became the first Black woman to run for President of the United States. She was portrayed as a smart and savvy person who wouldn't let people tell her no or that she couldn't or shouldn't do something she believed in. The story follows her as she ramps up her presidential run, the people in her inner circle, her husband's role and of course the obstacles she had to overcome. Overall, the storytelling lacked finesse and subtly as it was a bit heavy-handed at times and felt like a choppy bullet list of moments. The acting and costumes felt spot on. Cool political and inspirational story.

Tiptoes (2002)

Strange Film with Big Names

[4/10 · 18 April 2024]

With more dwarves than "Timebandits", Tiptoes takes a more somber tone around a couple who discover they are going to have a baby. Only at this point the woman learns that guy has a brother who is a dwarf and others in his family thus there is a chance and concern their child may also be born a dwarf. So, they have conversations and discuss this topic with their dwarf buddies and what will this mean for their relationship. The viewer waits to see if their child will be a dwarf or not and if it so, how will they manage their new reality? Overall, this has an interesting core point but is handled with lackluster emotions, cinematography and drama. Dinklage added some side humor and even though I knew Gary Oldman was in this, I never even noticed him...he is a true acting chameleon.

The Little Things (2021)

Obsessing to Capture a Serial Killer

[8/10 · 18 April 2024]

Deke (Denzel) and Baxter (Rami) play two detectives who become intently focused on nabbing a serial killer. They sort of team up as Deke, an out of the box thinker, may have some past clues to help solve the recent murder Baxter is working on. This has a slight vibe of "SE7EN" yet is its own film. They both latch on to a suspect but the trick for the viewer is to see if this truly is the killer or are the detectives so intent of solving this case, inner turmoil plot points from the past, that they are too eager in their clue hunting and assessment. Overall, this film is well-acted, mysterious and sets a great atmosphere throughout. It does keep the viewer thinking and wondering even past the fine scene.

Dumplin' (2018)

School Bullies Should Watch This In Detention

[3/10 · 15 April 2024]

Sure, this sends a potpourri of good messages but it just felt a bit too Hallmark. Maybe that was the goal. You of course knew who to root for but felt very little emotional engagement or concern. Willowdean, nicknamed Dumplin' by her image conscious mother is a high school girl with a plump figure. Her mother is managing the school's beauty pageant and is embarrassed that her daughter would enter. By entering she gives confidence for other unexpected girls to enter while also teaching hey Mom some lager lessons along the way. So, will the prettiest girl win this year and will her Mom learn some new lessons? Additionally, will Dumplin's confidence strengthen or come crumbling down? That's the kind of movie this is. The acting was just fine. The screenplay was too shallow; needed a bit more teeth to extract viewer emotions.

Bird on a Wire (1990)

Stereotypical 80s Action/Romance

[6/10 · 11 April 2024]

Even though this is 1990, this is pure 80s. Gibson, play a dude who has been given a new identity for helping convict a shady FBI who was dealing drugs. While repairing cars in a small town, his ex-fiancé (Hawn) spots him. He tries to play dumb but even after 15 years, she can't forget his face. Not surprisingly, just as she rolls up, some bad guys have been tipped off on his whereabouts and show up. Now he spills the beans to his ex as they both try to escape the bad guys. This is basically a cat & mouse movie with some decent analog car chase and explosion scenes. Will they escape and survive and of course will they rekindle their love they once had. LOL If you want to see classic actors in their youth and like semi-cheesy 80s movies, then this is perfect for you.

Silverado (1985)

Big Names, yet Totally by the Numbers Western

[5/10 · 11 April 2024]

I had heard of this Western, vaguely, so gave it a go. Additionally, with all the big name actors I had higher expectations. This was a totally fine movie. Some unique characters, punchy dialog here and there and many guns blasting. Yet overall, it was nothing special. All the action scenes were fairly tame and unimaginative. The overall story of 4 cowboys coming to the town of Silverado to bring peace and fairness back to the townsfolk was overly bland. Silverado never seemed to be a place where danger was just around the corner and any corruption was not shown as excessive. It didn't rev up the viewer for the drama to unfold.

Kindergarten Cop (1990)

A Blend of Tough and Comedic Arnold

[6/10 · 5 April 2024]

This was leaving Netflix in a month, figured I'd check it off the list while I had the chance. To no surprise to anyone, Arnold winds up in the role of a kindergarten teacher as he is undercover trying to locate a dangerous criminal's ex-wife. The movie starts out with him acting like a pure 80s tough guy and then blends into Arnold being overwhelmed by tiny and loud children. The story wouldn't be complete without tying in some romance that entangles Arnold's two worlds. Overall, it was moderately entertaining with moments of decent comedy and action. It was fun to watch how Arnold got control of his classroom. Not as bad as I was expecting and filmed cinematically more like a comedy than an action movie.

99 Homes (2014)

Great Character Development & Acting

[7/10 · 5 April 2024]

How far would you go if you hit rock bottom financially and needed money fast to feed your kid. This is a really emotionally tense film as you watch the reality of people getting evicted from their home and the sobering reality as that sets in with them. The protagonist father, a handyman, get evicted by a real estate agent who despite that offers him work as he is desperate. As the father tries to make ends meet from odd jobs the agent brings him under his wing and begins to cross the line from honest hard work into savvy illegal activity as he has found ways to screw the big banks. The agent to has faced hard times and has been hardened by the system and found ways to prosper while letting his morals slide. How long will the father play the agent's game before his own morals finally emerge. This story indirectly highlighted the problems that led to the housing and banking collapse and the downstream effect that had on those who wound up in bad financial situations from nefarious guidance. Great acting and well-written.

Nyad (2023)

Tame Approach To A Dynamic True Story

[6/10 · 1 April 2024]

The director was afraid to go in the water past their ankles. They should have cannonballed in!

If only the screenplay was as bold as the actual lady being portrayed, this could have ratcheted up the tension and drama. It had plenty of both but played it safe. The movie was about Diana Nyad, who at the age of 60 attempts to swim, unaided, from Cuba to Florida. The acting was good and it was told straightforward. And while it tiptoed into visual creativity, it did so sparingly that it felt out of place. I did learn a lot about her massive challenge and obstacles to achieve it so that was useful to tell her story. It felt tailored to the upper female age brackets out for dinner and a movie but overall it was fine. Jodi Foster is ripped for her age. Wow.

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

Rich and Layered Plot Coupled with Striking Cinematography

[8/10 · 25 March 2024]

Set in the period around the Korean War, two members from a platoon are having reoccurring nightmares after returning from service. This story is very interesting and intricate, and it revolves around the main soldier's mother and his commanding officer and of course the root of his nightmares. The timeline jumps around a little and there are a few twists and turns, which help piece together the full story, while ratcheting up the drama and tension. The acting is top notch and the screenplay is very convincing. When you layer on rich black and white, well-framed scenes and you have a winner of a film.

Society of the Snow (2023)

Trying to Survive in Extremely Harsh Climate

[8/10 · 25 March 2024]

So, I never have wanted to watch "Alive" for the obvious reason. Why I thought another plane crash in the Andes Mountains wouldn't head down the same path is beyond me. At a high level, a rugby team and others crash with trying to cross the peaks of the Andes Mountains. How will they be rescued and how many will survive until that day. While this was arduous and exhaustive to watch, it was very well done. Genuinely good effects and they did a good job of managing several characters by giving them time to develop their personalities. This is a mix bag of amazing human survival with incredible sadness. It is wild to think this was a true event.

Marriage Italian Style (1964)

Pure 60s Italian RomCom-Drama

[5/10 · 20 March 2024]

Italian heavy hitters Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni star in this pure Italian romantic drama of true love never fully realized. As with many Italian films from the 60s, the men can never fully commit to the lady. Same here as Domenico first catches a glimpse of Filumena at a brothel during WWII and two years later, as a successful businessman their paths cross again and he takes her as a mistress while she works for his business. Somehow, she has three children without him knowing or knowing if they are his. Filumena is dreaming of a real marriage while Domenico is happy with this arrangement as he can still have her as another side fling. Will Filumena every get a ring and how will these the kids factor in? Are they even Domenico's? Overall, this was well-acted with a quick paced story that had shaky plot points yet also didn't have the typical picturesque Italian atmosphere.

Paint (II) (2023)

Misleading. Not Funny. Not Witty.

[4/10 · 20 March 2024]

Why make a movie with a character trying so hard to be Bob Ross and craft an inaccurate fictional life around the main character? They even used his painting style yet turned him into a calm swinger who is able to land any lady with his calm demeanor. The movie was about how the, not Bob Ross, painter's famous television painting show gets abruptly upstaged by a youthful female who paints totally opposite whacky scenes. Then Bob starts to get treated poorly. Who writes this stuff? None of the characters were likeable or relatable and it is impossible to not see the protagonist as the real Bob Ross even though it isn't about his real life. Just create a new cooky character to base the story on. It would help. The movie got worse and less believable as it went on even though it is complete fiction. Owen Wilson did a good job portraying a Bob Ross caricature so kudos there I guess.

Golda (2023)

A+ for Helen Mirren

[7/10 · 15 March 2024]

I'll give higher marks for Mirren vs the entire film. The film was solid. It was a good portrayal (historical accuracy unknown) of Golda Meir, the leader of Israel during the late 40s and early 50s. The cinematography was moody, has an appropriate color palette and had many striking shots. The story followed Golda through the tumultuous Yom Kippur War and how she tried to guide her country from annihilation. Mirren was obviously in heavy makeup, perhaps a bit much, but one can flow with it even with her being in most every shot: chain-smoking. Rather than show battle scenes, probably to cut costs, the film effectively uses Meir's emotional reaction to elicit view emotions. Overall, this was a measured and gentle approach to telling these stories as it was driven by discussion dialog. Overall, it followed a modern approach to the historical drama genre.

The 400 Blows (1959)

The Importance of Genuine Caring Adults Manifests Itself in a Youthful Boy

[7/10 · 13 March 2024]

The viewer follows the life of Antoine, an elementary school boy trying to get through life with a strict schoolteacher, loosely engaged father and distracted mother. Not a model student, he finds more interest in getting through life his own way while away from the home or school. Lacking true parental love or feeling of being wanted he skips school without worry and makes questionable decisions based on emotion or need. The camera puts the viewer on the action with raw editing and many hand-held rich black and white shots. Overall, the story goes with the flow through a few rebellious days with parents who are out of ideas to help and reluctant to put in the necessary effort. After the famous free-frame ending, you wonder where Antoine will end up hours or days from that moment.

Elemental (2023)

Fire and Ice Clash; Can Love Bond Them

[9/10 · 12 March 2024]

This is a unique and animated take on the age-old Romeo and Juliet story. A fire family moves into a water world (get Kevin Costner out of your head), essentially as an immigrant metaphor. The hard-working fire family has a daughter who meets a water boy (not Adam Sandler). The father has dreams of her taking over the humble family store although she has other passions.. The water boy enters her life as an adversary, yet they bond as the story progresses. Follow their story through family drama and well as social class clashes. Cinematically, this was another animation stunner with voluptuous colors and atmosphere. Brisk pacing with a genuinely good story as a twist on the classic. Great voice acting as well.

Leave the World Behind (2023)

Reverse Crescendo: High Intrigue to Severe Disappointment

[3/10 · 12 March 2024]

Whatever happened to Julie Roberts; she hasn't really been on the radar recently? Well, this isn't one of her historic glowing moments. Not her fault. This movie starts out extremely intriguing, as some strange events begin to occur, you begin to wonder if this is a thriller or perhaps is there a Sci-Fi angle going on but as the movie progresses the worse the screenplay and dialog get. Characters and plot moments get reduced down to modern stereotypes and the all too familiar lectures of how humans are really just a horrible species who are helpless without their cell phones. Character decisions are not believable, nor are they likable. Plus, the script threw in an overuse of pointless curse words, for the kid characters too, as a feeble attempt to feel cool. There were some nice cinematic moments but overall, it felt like a recent college grad wrote it. How on Earth did they get so many big name actors/actresses?

Everly (2014)

Even Mindless Movies Need Minimal Plot Development

[2/10 · 8 March 2024]

Hollywood must be so thin on ideas that they probably threw darts at plot features and hit the words, Selma Hayek, blood splatter, single room location, not just guns but also Samurai swords, cleavage, child and the darts missed character development and plot depth. This was really mindless, pointless and preposterous. I became tired with it halfway through but I foolishly suck it out. The acting was terrible, the people involved with the direction and script should be embarrassed with the end result. Sure, it looked snazzy as the action and effects were solid but none of that matters if there isn't even a loose point to it all. Looking for senseless violence, then look no further. At least some of the violence was semi-creative.