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Arctic Void (2022)
Beautiful scenery byt not much more
This movie is an interesting experience. At first the beautiful scenery and the premise of the story grab your attention. The introduction of the supporting characters are done in a quirky way and most of these characters seem to offer something to be discovered.
At some point the entire plot changes inexplicably to add a mystery element, and then the remaining lead characters make some questionable decisions, that lead them on a journey into a deserted settlement of some kind. It seems as if the only reason this happened was to use the setting of this deserted settlement for some scenes in the movie. There's no other reason I can think of why they would abandon their ship and go onto land in any rational world.
Once they arrive on land the entire plot falls apart very quickly and leads to a very predictable and contrived ending.
The setting and scenery, together with beautiful cinematography make this watchable for the most part. The acting is good, but the plot and character development do not provide any satisfaction to the viewer.
Survivor: Do or Die (2021)
The end of Survivor
This episode marks beginning of the end for the Survivor series. The single worst episode of Survivor to date.
Most people don't watch a series like Survivor to be bombarded with social justice issues. Unfortunately it has now sadly become a social justice propaganda piece and I'm sure many people have had enough and won't watch again.
Ojing-eo geim (2021)
Original interpretation of a familiar concept
The premise of this story is not unique, although the setting up of the games to the death in the form of well-know children's games is unique. The first, second and third episodes were interesting and worth watching, but I feel you if you skipped to the last episode after that you wouldn't have missed much.
The conclusion of this series is clearly made with an eye on a second season, which is regrettable as it would have given a much stronger ending to the story line if there was finality on the outcome of the lives of all involved.
In summary, I can understand why the show is so popular, but in essence it's an old recipe being revisited and recycled for a new audience.
LuLaRich (2021)
Promises much but fades quickly
This docu-series starts very strong and provides a nice balanced background to how Lularoe started. Unfortunately they reveal all the most important pieces of information in the form of a clip montage, which turns out to be all there is to see really.
Also, this is clearly a radical feminist piece of propaganda which unfortunately isn't balanced enough from that point of view to really dig deeper into the reason so many women actually joined Lularoe to start with. Conveniently it is all blamed on the "outdated" worldviews of the founders of Lularoe, according to the filmmakers.
I would have wanted more in-depth analysis of those that stayed and still participate in selling Lularoe products. Surely there must be more compelling reasons for this to balance the narrative with those that left.
Britney vs Spears (2021)
Some interesting revelations
This documentary is gripping throughout, and reveals some new previously unknown facts about the whole saga.
Unfortunately the motive of the filmmakers are questionable, especially as at some point the blame the so-called patriarchy for Britney's woes. At that point one realises that their worldview is questionable and it creates a suspicion about what they might not have added to the movie in order to portray the narrative they want.
Fathom (2021)
Disappointing
This movie promises an intriguing new understanding of the world of humpback whales. Unfortunately it only delivers a nauseating feminist mouthpiece.
Science is interesting. Forcing an ideology down the viewer's throat in the guise of science - not so much.
The Wrong Missy (2020)
Some funny moments
The storyline is quite original, although predictable. There are some really funny scenes in the first half of the film, but it gradually deteriorates into a farce.
I think that Missy's role would have been better understated and a bit more naive than the hyper-extrovert portrayed the film. The film portrays her as a bumbling idiot at first and then later on wants your sympathy. It's hard to switch as a viewer if the character is portrayed superficially as she is.
The production quality is good and the movie is enjoyable to some extent but ultimately the lack of sincerity by the lead character (Missy) is a fatal flaw for the whole film.
All Is True (2018)
Promising much, sadly not delivering
The subject matter would seem fascinating upon first glance, and indeed I was intrigued by the lesser know part of Shakespeare's life as a film.
Unfortunately the plot is convoluted and no flow between the scenes. The climax of the film seems very contrived and unconvincing.
If anything, the sets, costumes and acting are brilliant and the lighting and cinematography very good.
It's a pity the story didn't have a more focused timeline. It looks like a set of episodes from Shakespeare's last years. It was difficult at times to follow the relevance of some scened.
Night School (2018)
Waste of Time
An absolute waste of time. One or two laughs, if you can bear the social justice and political preaching.
Goliath: Tongue Tied (2018)
Disappointing
This is an unfortunate and sadly very disappointing ending to Series 2. The viewer will ultimately feel cheated for watching the entire series.
Many of the characters end up with unbelievable and rather ridiculous fates.
The Boers at the End of the World (2015)
Singularly outstanding documentary
An absolutely captivating piece of documentary filmmaking. It captures the history and struggles of an isolated community in a sincere and honest manner. The subjects long for something they have dreamt of and only heard of from their parents.
A tension builds throughout the film in that the subjects may or may not actually be happy if they finally can visit Africa for the first time. The climax is endearing and touches every viewer's heart in some way.
The cinematography is excellent and the soundtrack beautiful.
Leprechaun: Origins (2014)
Extraordinary Bad Film
This film must rank as one of the worst films of all time in any category.
The story builds no suspense, defies logic and insults the viewer's intelligence.
Acting is very one-dimensional, but then again you can't blame the poor actors, as I am sure they would be capable of more if they had proper direction.
The leprechaun itself looks like a kind of zombie crossed with a gorilla, with one singular growling sound and a range of motions limited two seemingly wobbling left to right on the spot.
To top off everything, the cinematography and lighting is absolutely cringe-worthily bad. There are so many instances of poor lighting and excruciatingly poor lens and setup choices that it becomes distracting to the movie itself.
Stay away or watch it to learn how not to.
John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)
Great Movie - I think not
Was this a story board for a first person shooter action game being released later in the year? This is probably the single worst mindless action film in many years.
It begs belief how John Wick even survived the first 5 minutes of the movie, much more the rest of the laughable remainder of the film. There is just too much action that builds up every 5 minutes to very unsatisfying mini-climaxes, that the grand finale is a tremendous relief, so that the audience can finally stop watching.
Comparing this to something like Taken, at least that film had a story line in which the main character had a singular purpose for all the violence. In John Wick 2, it is so mindless and ridiculous that it I felt cheated out of my money.
Ballade vir 'n Enkeling (2015)
Not convincing enough
This film has good production values and takes the modern Afrikaans film to a new height of quality of direction and acting. It is a compelling story and the events are revealed in flashbacks from different perspectives.
Unfortunately, this film suffers from a number of unnecessary and perhaps detracting plot events, and some visual effects are not really appropriate to this genre (the typical effect being computer screens being superimposed over the background).
For example, the meeting of the three main characters at the pool seems contrived, even impossible. The subsequent obvious sexual tension is understandable, but the deliberate avoidance of this by the characters of this is unbelievable.
Then the shooting of the father is set up rather ridiculously with the father hiding behind the earth mound on which the targets are place. This is rather stupid and no person with some knowledge of guns would do that. Also the disturbance of the birds by Lena is rather contrived.
Then the events in the correctional facility for boys seem to be written for a movie, rather than from the perspective of a person who has to endure three years of that environment. I don't know that such facilities would be permitted in an environment where parents are visiting their children in the facility.
To summarize, it is an enjoyable film, and worth watching, but leaves one a bit unconvinced at the end of it.
St. Vincent (2014)
Believable acting, decent directing, but still unsatisfying
This is a movie with a lot of laughs, some good moments and a fairly original characters. The three main roles are played well: McCarthy in an uncharacteristic restrained role, Watts in what shows a very versatile actress, and Murray who can play this kind character in his sleep.
The acting is very believable and the story line purposeful, however, I still felt unsatisfied at the end. The premise of "saints among us" is worth exploring, but maybe in the end, less misanthropic people are also saints among us, but the change from "bad guy" to "saint" is less subtle, and hence less worthy of making a movie.
In summary, good movie, but if you expected a performance from Murray along the lines of "Lost in Translation", you'll be disappointed.
The Unknown Known (2013)
Misunderstood as a failure
Many reviews of this film decry the lack of any new revelations of note. Many commentators argue that Donald Rumsfeld is evasive and too smart for Errol Morris.
On the contrary I believe this is actually a better film, more revealing than "Fog of War". How, you may ask?
Simply this, McNamara was emotional and outspoken. He captivated the audience. Rumsfeld was "cold and measured". This is just as thrilling. If you look very closely, there are subtle clues in his evasiveness, even if to illuminate his extreme arrogance as a veil for something hidden beneath.
What that something is, we can only speculate on, but that is part of the film's appeal. We can learn more from the unknown knowns than what is clearly spelled out.
Butter (2011)
One of the worst movies imaginable
I really wouldn't rate any film 1 out of 10 very lightly. But this film is so unconvincing and superficial, that I could not do otherwise.
For example, why does Bob go to a strip club? It seems completely impulsive and contrary to the history of his character depicted in great details just minutes before.
Then there seems to be no coherency in Laura's character either. What was the cause of the marital problems - she seemed happy enough to have stuck it out for 15 years, so why now suddenly does she go back 360 degrees?
What is the role of the stripper, apart from insisting on $600? She is not a catalyst for anything, and she does not add anything to the eventual outcome of the movie.
I would like to think that an actor like Hugh Jackman is rather embarrassed about his role in the film, albeit with some real comic sense.
These are just examples of the unconvincing characters and story line. The one compelling performance is by Yara Shahidi, but whose role is somehow diminished by racial jokes which seem completely out of context.
Please stay clear of this one...
The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
Not deserving all the positive reviews
It has been some time since the initial release of this movie. It has received relatively positive reviews, which at the time may have been inspired by the novelty value of the film.
I suspect, if most reviewers would re-evaluate the film now, they would agree that is mostly mediocre and almost completely lacks a sensible plot. At first it may seem interesting, but assessing the movie in totality, I don't think the novelty of many elements of the film makes up for the lack of the plot.
There are some scary and surprising scenes, but it just seems like a mindless "bloodfest" in the end. You can see the demise of ALL the characters coming as if sign posted on a freeway.
My conclusion is that this is a highly overrated film, which embraced gratuitous violence unashamedly. This is not even relevant, like for example in a Quinton Tarantino movie, and therefore I give it a generous 2 out of 10.