LnineB Reviews

Fair Play (2023)

Study in toxic personalities

[6/10 · 9 October 2023]

Well actually it's just a study in Toxic masculinity. Both characters are alphas males. Luke is a passive, do gooder, masquerading as an alpha male and Emily is an Alpha male masquerading as a trophy girlfriend.

When both of their true personalities are exposed by Emily winning a posititin that Luke thought he would get, everything goes wrong. Luke get's even weaker and Emily turns into everything they hate about their bosses. It culminates into two violent acts portrayed by both characters that once again exposes their true personalities.

In a weird way Fair Play is a very similar but not as effective as GONE GIRL. I say not as effective because Gone Girl is a true thriller . Fair play attempt to set the same scenario in a more realistic setting as corporate America. Which makes it more of a a film about two toxic people . What I like about Gone Girl is that it goes all in when it portrays the psychotic behavior of both characters. FAIR PLAY on the other hand, Toys with the idea of both Luke and Emily being psychotic but never explores it. Both violent scenes seem out of place. They have been together for two years and the viewers get no signs that these characters would do what they did. I give it six because of the performances and direction but it loses 4 points for it's weak writing.

The Bling Ring (2022)

Privilege in America.

[4/10 · 14 November 2022]

This documentary is really unbelievable. You can't represent privilege better than to have a guy wax poetic about all the crimes he committed on a documentary show while at the same time complaining about another movie not giving him the proper credit of being the RING LEADER. AND he only got 2 years of jail time out of all the possible years. During the same conversations the guy , he brags about snitching on his other accomplices to get no time at all, only to show his anger at the possibility of doing that small amount of time. While all of this is happening, the other accomplice who wasn't even a part of the ring (By Nick's own statements) has a reality tv show following her, replaying everything in a fake production. All of that is unbearable to watch, but what makes the documentary bad is that it completely ignores all of that in order to focus on the silliness of Hollywood. Hollywood isn't the problem with this case. It was the privilege. Fame or not if these kids lived in Detroit, Michigan or in West Virginia, they all would've been in prison for half a decade. As a matter of fact, I would bet that as I'm typing this someone is getting 5 to 10 years for the home invasion of one house much less a dozen houses and the theft of over a million in property.

The Walking Dead (2010–2022)

Like a Boxer beyond his prime.

[6/10 · 12 October 2022]

As a boxing fan, the saddest part of that sport is to see a once great champion step into the ring at 39,40 or 41 and go up against some up and coming journeyman, only to get demolished. The Walking Dead is exactly like that. It was once one of the greatest shows in an era of GREAT TV shows. It's now not even a ghost of its former self. It's something completely different, not even holding up to average TV shows. I use to not be able to wait for a season and now I'll watch an episode if I get around to it, usually late at night before I go to sleep.

Unlike many that repeat this narrative, I do think the good years go all the way to season 7 or 8. I do agree that seasons 1 through 4 are masterful, but 4 through 8 aren't bad and to me season 7 was truly horrifying with Negan being the greatest villain on the show.

But then....oh man.... after that, season 9 through the end is some of the worst TV writing I've ever seen. It's bloated with filler characters and filler storylines. People disappear and return with little to no explanation. Others change personalities for no reason at all and others just pop up for a few episodes as if we are supposed to know them. The last 3 part series finale is truly the worst ending to a show I have ever watched and I've suffered through Lost, Dexter and Weeds endings.

I don't keep up with the creation of the show, so I don't know what happened but somewhere in season 9 or 10, something changed. Either the writing, showrunner, or directors completely changed. It turned into this soapy drama with absolutely no thrills or horror at all except of course the zombies who by now are not horrific at all. They are just annoying.

I'm watching to the end mainly because I finish everything I start but wow, this is painful to witness, can't wait until it's over.

Martyrs (2008)

Intelligent but still exploitation

[6/10 · 1 May 2022]

I've watched this film twice, once when it came out in 2008 and then again in 2022. I seriously thought I would rate it higher after a second viewing but I didn't. Although I'm a fan of brutally honest films, this one seriously gives the critics ammunition for the belief that films like this are nothing more than exploitation to the 9th degree. The first three sequences, although just as brutal as the last, has substance and says way more about abuse, trauma and the aftermath than the violence does. It's a supernatural revenge story, executed pretty well and is worth the praise the film gets.

Where it loses its footing is in the last sequence. The movie then becomes exploitation for no purpose at all but to give the viewer a weak offspring of Hostel and The Salem Witch Trials. I understand taking a turn for one or another but why combine the two? The movie explains the whole cult situation verbally to us in one scene but then the writer felt the need to show us how the cult executes its atrocities. The sequence is about 30 minutes and could've been five or ten. As a matter of fact, I think it could've been even more impactful if we didn't see any of the abuse at all and had to imagine what they did instead of imagining what Anna said at the very end. It would've been better to give that 30 minutes to exploring the cult and its members.

Speaking of the end, don't expect the story to give you a clear conclusion. It's completely left up to the viewers imagination. My personal interpretation was that the film is still a revenge story and that Anna , in finding out what her friend really experienced , decided to afflict revenge in her own way. I believe she told the leader something that truly horrified her.

A Quiet Place Part II (2020)

Less Cloverfield, more Stranger Things

[5/10 · 18 March 2022]

..

And that's a bad thing. Not to say Stranger Things is bad. I can't wait for the next season. But at no time during the series do you fear for any of the main characters safety. To me, that puts a movie in the 'good' category instead of the great one. The sequel to Quiet place is exactly like that. At no time did I think that any of the main characters were in true danger. The writing was done in way to make you feel like they will always win and well.....they always do. It even looked like Stranger Things at times, especially when it made the two children the heroes without a single lose of any characters that you are invested in. As a matter of fact, they pull the old troupe of introducing useless characters towards the end just so they can let the aliens kill something.

This sequel lost everything that I loved about the first., The singular survivalist story, the claustrophobia and more importantly the true fear of not knowing what could happen. It's very formulaic and predictable.

Descent (2007)

Amazingly dark portrayal of trauma.

[7/10 · 28 March 2021]

For once, I finally get to see a movie that portrays the reality of the aftermath of rape. This film digs deep into the psyche of what it can feel like after being violated and humiliated by another human being. Everyone talks about the ending but the true horror of the film is the very long middle segments that explores Dawson's character true descent into depression and darkness. She just doesn't "move on". She goes from living a normal college life to exploring the dark side of pain and trauma by failing out of school, drugs, alcohol and finally revenge. This is not a pure revenge story. It's more about the thin line between being prey or being the predator. At the end of the film , Rosario's character still feels empty, she still has a void. She crosses the line to become the predator but found out that it's extremely easy to become a predator. The difficult part of life is healing. With that said, the revenge is pretty sweet. I did not see that coming at all and honestly enjoyed it from the viewers perspective but not from the perspective of reality. Excellent film.

Revenge (II) (2017)

Doesn't carve any new paths

[5/10 · 7 December 2020]

I don't know..... I just don't get the appeal. The constant abandoning of character development in stories like this bothers me. What makes a guy so damn evil that they decide to kill a girl he dated, just to keep her from telling on a friend that he didn't like in the first place? What makes a girl who doesn't have a history of showing no strength at all, all of the sudden show the strength to survive a bloody death but also get Terminator like revenge????

In it's defense, the rape revenge trope is know for it's shallow story telling, even the most revered ( Last House, I Spit, etc.) seem hell bent on not having any character development at all. But the biggest problem I have is why are we still getting these types of films in 2020? Especially following some of the films that in my opinion flipped the script on the genre like, Irreversible and Red White and Blue.

Both of those films proved that you don't need a complicated plot in order to give the character some depth. They prove that it can be done is many ways through the tools that movie making grants a director. Where Last House and I spit on your grave is given the license to ignore those tools due to their low budget and grindhouse era, this film should not get the same pass.

Because of the lack of character development, I really didn't care what happened to any of the characters. And although the action scenes were well choreographed, I spent more time questioning the how and why instead of enjoying the thrill ride. I've seen reviews that say this is the new revenge film for the METOO era but to me I just watched a poor knock-off of I spit on your grave that doesn't address a single modern issue related to the era. Like I said I just don't get it!

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

The originator in so many ways.

[8/10 · 7 December 2020]

This film will always be one of the most inventive and original horror films in my book. Although it wasn't the first found footage film, it definitely set off the trend of so many followers for the next two decades. In addition to that , this film will also be known as the film that probably had the most inventive marketing strategies ever. It literally went viral before anyone even knew the term or anyone even knew that such a thing could be accomplished with the internet. With all of that said, the film is constantly knocked by horror fans for not being "scary" or not realistic or "cheesy". To me the film shows how anyone can execute a powerfully suspenseful story with little to no violence and a very low budget. It all starts with the acting. The performances by the actors in this film are absolutely remarkable. I was 14 when I first saw it and literally still thought it was "real" when I went to the theater to see it. This was accomplished by the believable and realistic performances by everyone , especially the lead female. The story is simple but down right scary and honestly would've held its own as just a survivalist film. This leads to my only gripe with the film and that's the fact that it really didn't need to develop, the supernatural and/or murderer plot beyond what it did in the beginning. It really only served the purpose of giving others a reason to hate on it. Just being lost in the woods is scary enough and to me the director did an amazing job of creating an extreme level of intensity just with that part of the story. The ending was open ended enough to send chills down your spine, once again without showing any blood or gore. It's affective with just atmosphere and acting. Like I said earlier , some people really hate this film but what I find interesting is that many people who hate it love films that were obviously influenced by it. Without Blair Witch we would not have Paranormal activity, Quarantine or even the most recent The Host.

Savage Youth (2018)

As a story it's good, as a re-telling of reality it's horrible.

[6/10 · 17 October 2020]

If this was a standalone movie with an original story, I would think it's good story. The acting is good and the performances are believable. But the story is flat and confusing without context. The problem is the fact that the story has context that the writer completely decided to ignore.

The movie's climax portrays an incident that's almost innocent, a sad tragedy of four misguided youth that almost says that ..."if only these kids had better parents, opportunities or choices , the tragedy wouldn't have happened."

In reality this is based on a true story that the writer admitted to researching through social media and not talking to any family members or even the killers. He also admitted to attending the funerals and trials but used very little of the real story. He cloaks that decision with a " exhaustive creative research" justification.

The problem with all of this is that in his attempt to tell a "real" story, he portrays an "alternative facts" story that's actually more Hollywood than reality.

There are millions of misguided kids out their that lived in a racially tense environments that didn't murder two of their acquaintances in cold blood and that alone would make a great movie. But this real story is far from that.

The real story is a story of a very privileged criminal that was allowed to torment his friends and their families without barely having a record before he committed this crime. The men and girls admitted to killing the other two and having sex on top of the dead bodies. He also admitted to trying to skin one of victims face off in order to post it on Instagram. All of this was left out of the movie because I guess it would've spoiled The good kids gone wrong creative story.

My point is , a story about the troubles of growing up in the Midwest would've been an amazing study even without murder. But to take a real life murder to creatively alter reality just seems lazy and disrespectful.

The King (II) (2017)

Loved it.

[8/10 · 19 January 2020]

This is an Amazing film that actually paints Elvis in a positive light while exposing the culture of racism of American's that loved and continues to love him. Elvis was NOT a racist but couldn't escape the fact the a large portion of his fans were. The fake quote wasn't the catalyst behind the belief of him being racist. It was the racist experiences of the many black fans that adored him that actually generated the thought that he was part of that horrible time in America. The experiences included things like the fact that many black fans couldn't see him in the same venue along side their white peers, or the fact that they were thrown out of concerts for made up reasons or not let in at all. It also didn't help that he was the biggest star during arguably the worst time in America and said very little about the injustices that he himself hated and sometimes experienced himself ( ie, when he toured with black band members or vilified for sounding and dancing too "black"). Many minority fans waited for the time when The King would prove that he was an ally but that time never came even when America's race relations were coming to a boiling point in the 60's. Those fans felt portrayed and essentially lumped him in with the era he was so closely tied with. It didn't help that later it was discovered that the music he made his millions from was written by black song writers who didn't get a dime. It also didn't help that his later "self absorbed" "Vegas" years exposed a tortured and sometime contentious, unlikable person. With that said, I really think he gets a bad wrap for things he couldn't control , or who knows, wasn't allowed to control.

Midsommar (2019)

Horrifically Wonderful

[8/10 · 9 December 2019]

This is by far the best horror film I've seen in the past five or so years. I've actually seen it three times since it's release and will watch it again shortly after buying the extended version.

This film isn't perfect. It could actually be a bit too long and the middle sequence after the mid-act climax is WAY too long for such an intense climax. With that said, there are a few things that completely make you forgive those mistakes.

1. Florence Pugh's performance : She's absolutely amazing and captures the intricate details of a person's psyche after experiencing a traumatic event. Her performance also justifies her actions later in the film. We are constantly reminded that she is broken and fragile. In that state she could be easily manipulated and should'e been nurtured instead of patronized.

2. The first sequence, Mid-climax and finale. Like I said earlier the parts in between these sequences are a bit too long but these scenes are masterful, especially the build-up to the middle sequence. Aster reminds us , in the beginning of this film , that TRUE horror comes in the form of depression, suicide, murder and supreme lost of a loved one. The beginning scene is almost too much to watch, especially if you've experienced similar horrific acts. The Mid-Climax is just simply horrific. There's nothing symbolic about it. It's just something that you almost don't want to see ever again. The ending is tamer in comparison to the first two sequences but it does successfully wraps up a surreal experience in the most perfect way.

3. The cinematography: The beginning of the film is dark and appropriate for the theme,but the rest of the film, almost 2-1/2 hours of it , is represented in a wash of light and colors. It literally looks TOO perfect , of which is exactly the feeling you should get once you meet the cult. By the end of the film the light and colors become annoying. Too me that's a good thing, because, also by then, you are finding out how horrific of a setting the land is. This is a perfect way carrying out a concept through the details of a film.

4. The deeper meaning: This is of course my interpretation but the deeper meaning of this film makes it a masterpiece. I've seen reviews saying that the film is unrealistic and that there is NO story or mystery in the film. I actually think the exact opposite. it's unrealistic to some because it's an analogy of something that is very REAL . The complete disconnect we as humans have with trauma is represented clearly in this film. The story to me is about this disconnect with trauma or the lack of meaningful relationships. This is the reason someone can be drawn to cults or negative influences. The supporting characters in this film represent the everyday reactions and responses to horrific trauma by a lot of people today (ie thoughts and prayers). The main character represents the person that is truly grieving and is often left alone or made to think that their grieving is actually wrong. To me this analogy makes this film VERY realistic and actually more scary than other horror films.

I absolutely loved this film and can't wait to watch the extended version of it. It's the well crafted, thought provoking, type of horror that we need in this day and time. 8/10

The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (2019)

A must see if you are fine watching the privileged con people.

[7/10 · 6 December 2019]

I don't know how many docs are out there that basically have the same story of a rich privileged person who is constantly given opportunities to fraud people. This is another one. It's actually really good and intriguing, but I couldn't help but thinking that a poor, minority person, for example, wouldn't get no where close to getting hundreds of millions of dollars for something that they can't prove will work. She not only accomplished this, but she did it when people actually warned others that it wouldn't work. She also ruined lives along the way without any remorse, even today. After watching this, I guarantee two things. If she isn't convicted, she will be back with another scheme that people will invest in and that by the trial, summer of 2020, she will be pregnant in order to get more sympathy from the jurors.

Power (2014–2020)

Understand it's appeal.....

[4/10 · 6 December 2019]

.....it's very similar to the reason why people still eat fast food knowing that it's horrible for you. It's, glitzy, glamorous and completely unrealistic, but it allows its viewers to watch a drama about the drug game without getting their hands, or eyes dirty. Even I have made it to season 5, slowly but surely, and mainly because every now and then I want to watch something simple but entertaining. With that said, this show is very contrived and is two steps away from a soap opera. It also has some of the most ridiculously stupid characters a show could have. Even people I know who love the show can't stand certain characters like Angela and Ghost's son. I have to admit, I have literally fast forwarded past scenes with Angela in them. It's not the actress , it's the completely over the top way the writers make these characters do things. Angela, for example, is a complete mess. A woman who loves a drug dealer who is married, even though she's a FBI agent. Then there is the problem with well written characters who are horrible actors. I know I'm going to get heat for this, but the character that fits this bill is Tommy. I simply can't stand his cardboard acting and wide eyed expressions. I simply have not bought into him being a "tough" guy. His acting is simply horrible. The saving grace is the lead character and the characters wife. Their dynamic is realistic. Her delivery is spot on in every scene she's in. If you feel shows like Empire are great then this one will be a masterpiece for you. But if you want depth , pass this by and watch The Wire, which is on Amazon prime as well or watch the British crime drama Top Boy.

Joker (I) (2019)

Simply masterful.

[8/10 · 31 October 2019]

I'm seriously not a fan of the whole Marvel explosion of films that ,no matter how you view them , ends up being the same picture. This Warner Brother's film ,of the DC comic's top villain Joker, is nothing like any of those films. It's dark, depressing, bleak and extremely slow. Instead of letting the special fx's, fight scenes and testosterone filled action take center stage, it allows space for a mesmerizing acting performance by Joaquin Phoenix. Many are saying that he copied Deniro's performance in Taxi Driver, but I say that he honestly topped that performance by a mile. Deniro had no boundaries. Phoenix had to craft his performance within the boundaries of the comic book super villain named Joker, and he masterfully makes the transformation right in front of our eyes, within 120 minutes.

The plot has been criticized for being heavy handed, but honestly the simple fact that we can have such a story still be relevant in 2019, shows that as a society we haven't been heavy handed enough. There are no happy endings in Joker. Some might say that it even glorifies or at least justifies the evils of the world. Maybe it does. But remember , the story ,like Phoenix's performance is bound by the DC story in the first place. If you have a problem with the bleakness , it might be because you are coming to the realization that at some point we will be Gotham because we are definitely following on the path of Gotham's past that this film represents.

Overall, I don't know of a better Comic book film. As a matter of fact , it's the only comic book film of recent years that is Oscar worthy.

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)

Amazing acting performances saves poor story

[6/10 · 27 July 2019]

I'm a HUGE Tarantino fan. Every movie release is an event with me and my friends. This alone makes his movies a notch better than most. You are never disappointed with the EVENT. You leave the theater saying the 2.5 to 3 hours were worth it. This film isn't an exception. Actually I was surprised when it got to the ending so fast because it didn't seem like we had been in the theater that long.

With that said, the problem with this film is that DiCaprio's and Pitt's performances literally carry the 3 hour running time. Unlike his classics, Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill, that had a stellar script with amazing performances, this one had a C-rated script with Phenomenal performances. As a duo, I think Pitt and DiCaprio's performances were the best of all of Q's films. Even better than Pulp Fiction mainly because I thought S. Jackson was the better out of the two between him and Travolta.

The story is basically about a struggling actor who is at the end of his relevance and his friendship with his psychologically more grounded stunt man. This alone is a GREAT premise and really is enough to give those two actors enough material for them to hypnotize the viewers with magical acting.

The development of that premise alone would've made this film a beautiful study about male friendships and brotherhood. But instead of completing that story arc, Tarantino abandons it to add, what I think, is a expository on the changing of the guard....or times......or generations......or Hollywood. The point is.....whatever he was trying to say wasn't clear at all. On the surface , if the above mentioned was the secondary premise, it was done WAYYYYY better by the TV series MADMEN . In this film, it just didn't work or gel within the 3 hour time frame. I don't know if he was saying that the Hippie Generation ruined Hollywood or that DiCaprio's character couldn't stomach the change that Hollywood was going through or both . The reason it is was unclear was because it wasn't carefully crafted. As a matter of fact , to me it was developed clumsily by tying the whole story with the Manson killings, especially in the films finale.

The end, although taunt with suspense and high in action, was really pointless, except to maybe say that the," OLD guard wins at that end"..... "Or that they should've won"...... Either way, this was done better in Tarantino's previous film ". This one, with the few exceptions of DiCaprio's character yelling "G-D Hippies", had only one developed set up scene ( of which was done extremely well) and that was with Pitt's character. The next thing we know we are viewing a major battle between the two generations at the end.

I gave this one a 6, one of the lowest ratings by me for a Tarantino movie because it ranks right there with his other average film Jackie Brown. The big exception is that Jackie Brown lost points for its acting and not its story. OUATIH is the exact reverse. I seriously think this film desperately needed DiCaprio and Pitt, because without them , we may have actually witnessed a first and that's a failed Tarantino film.

When They See Us (2019)

Couldn't finish, too disturbing and too true.

[9/10 · 13 June 2019]

I didn't finish it, maybe I will this week, but I did watch the whole Ken Burns documentary. The fact that this happens constantly in this country is extremely sad and evil and I'm speaking from experience. Back in 1999 the only black kid in our neighborhood was accused of raping a girl in my freshman class. We saw the whole neighborhood turn on him and our whole school get divided about whether or not he was guilty. The big difference between the Central Park 5 and my neighbor is that my neighbors family had money. They immediately provided bail and a lawyer before interrogations started and thankfully so b3cause like the Central Park 5 my neighbor was innocent. He was innocent because many of us actually saw him at a restaurant when they said he was doing the rape. The only detail I will give is this, the police did not question a single one of us. We had to go to them. Our stories didn't fit their narrative so they didn't believe any of us. They didn't drop charges until the manager at the restaurant verified what we said. What this story , the documentary and many other instances shows is that in America, a young black teenager has no leeway in terms of making mistakes. As a white female , I can't tell you how many times I've been in the wrong place with the wrong people, but I've never been interrogated for anything. I've never been in a police station for hours even though I've been at a party that was busted for drugs and weapons. I've never been abused by a cop even though, I've cursed , yelled and screamed at them in the past. Black males can't afford to make these kind of mistakes. They can't afford to be in a park hanging out or in the park fighting or doing anything. This case fell apart before it became a case. Not a single confession match with the others, the police made these boys out to be wild animals but also criminal masterminds at the same time. The DAs defense to all of the inconsistencies was that they were cleverly lying to get out of jail. " cleverly", uh I thought they were wild animals????? The documentary does a better job of showing how the confessions made no sense at all, even the ones that they tried to clean up for the case. The timelines were all wrong , each kid confessed to hitting the woman with a different weapon. They also got the location incorrect. But what was worse is that the REAL rapist went free and committed more crimes afterwards, including murders. I often wonder what would happen if this was the reality for every American or If the norm for everyone would be that the way to pay for a simple mistake is your life?

Thirteen (2003)

A little redundant in the beginning but.....

[6/10 · 13 May 2019]

This film suffers from rehashing territory that has been done b3fore in films but where it succeeds is in representing those topics is complex and realistic ways. I had some problems with this film, especially with its handling of race but some of the criticisms are unwarranted. First off, this film isn't a good girl gone bad film. If you watch carefully, you'll notice that the lead character was having problems before she met the troubled child. At home a caring but flawed mother was not necessarily representing the perfect example herself. Her father isn't around or caring and they aren't necessarily doing well financially. None of these things are excuses for her actions but it does explain why she rebelled externally so fast. She was rebelling internally for awhile with the cuttings, which I also believe was happening before she went downhill. The secondary character was nothing but a mirror negative representation of herself with one big difference. In her downhill spiral, what she finds out is that unlike her counterpart, her actions have consequences. The last scenes show this as she starts to realize that she may fail school , lose the respect of her brother, as well as losing neighbors and friends of whom she has grown accustomed to. On top of all of that, the friend she thought she had , was betraying her little by little in order to keep her status quo. Her friend is able to not deal with consequences because of the way she manipulates every situation. Secondly I read some criticisms about this film not being realistic. I actually found it to be the opposite. As a matter of fact, I think this film foreshadowed the issues that are extremely prevalent in today's society, some 16 years later.

Us (II) (2019)

Amazing addition to the horror genre

[7/10 · 24 March 2019]

Us is another notch in Jordan Peele's belt in regards to being a horror movie master. I know he only has two movies but there are very few writer directors in the genre that accomplished two effective movies back to back. As a matter of fact, his second film, although undoubtedly won't garner the attention that his first did, could be a more successful installment within the horror genre. Both films are laced with social commentary but unlike Get Out, Us doesn't depend on it in order for it to be impactful.

For example, if the lead character in Get Out was white then the thriller would have been a bit common and cliched. Us ,on the other hand, is just as good of a horror film without the social commentary. The scares are unique and well developed. The details are even better. Most horror films, especially modern American ones, forget about sound or language. Peele uses it to his advantage. Not only is the soundtrack and score placed perfectly, the use of the human voice is perfected. The main villains voice is truely horrific. The growls and grunts that come from the little evil boy is masterful. The mute yells from the fathers doppelgänger was primal and bone chilling.

In addition to sound, the story was well written and well paced. The intensity increases as the scope of the film increased. I seriously thought the film was going to be more insulated, ie, the home invasion type,but when I realized it was going to be more, I was pleasantly surprised. The twist is minor compared to the final conflict. The reveal is well delivered but once again minor compared to the horror of the imagery and then there is the social commentary. Like I said, to me it's minor, but Jordan Peele does really know how to interweave complex topics like race and social class with horror. It's not done as well as movies like, The Babadook, The Planet of the Apes or Rosemary's Baby, but it's still intriguing and fits well within the jumps and scares.

The only negatives I have with this film is the cinematography and the use of comedy. The first quarter of the film uses lighting and color to its advantage but once the scares leaves the first house, it becomes secondary. Also the use of daylight was wasted. I love films that make use of daylight as a scare tactic. Peele didn't do a good job here. Everything is too bright and would've been better if it was shot near dawn. Also unlike Get out, where the comedy fit, this time it didn't make sense at all. Why would a family who just had to fight for their lives sit around a table and crack jokes????

Other than those small things, this is another horror masterpiece. I'm so happy that the horror genre is getting the respect it deserves and even more happy that a it was delivered by an African American writer, director.

Fyre Fraud (2019)

More a study of our society than it is of a fraudster

[6/10 · 17 January 2019]

Con Artist have been around forever but there are particular times when they thrive and benefit from a societal situation more. For example Con artist ran rampant during America's Great Depression era due to the heartbreaking need to survive at all cost by the public. Most people needed to have faith in something during that time and con artist were more than happy to provide that source in things like fake jobs, get rich quick schemes or even religion. What this documentary exposes is that we are in a new era that appears to be ripe for the same tactics used in previous times but on a larger scale. The big difference is the size and scope of the scam and more importantly the fact that we aren't in a Great Depression. As a matter of fact , these new scams are now in the form of politics, social status and popularity. And often times take advantage of the very wealthy. This particular scam only worked because of the uncanny need of its victims to want to be apart of something exclusive and to , in a way, execute their very own scam of false success through social media. What this documentary does a good job of showing is that the success of cons are as much about the people who fall for them as it is about the con artist. The main culprit in this film looks and acts like every single con artist through out time, he's confident to the point of arrogance, talks a mile a minute and never takes no for an answer. He's narcissistic and greedy but yet really doesn't hide those negative traits. As a matter of fact, like most frauds, the first con is to convince people that those negative traits are actually positives. On the surface, none of this scam should've worked. But like what his developer parents no doubt taught him, it's not about what an item is in the present , it's what it could be in the future. In many ways real estate developers have the same traits as con men because of that ability to sale what isn't there. They are masters at getting people and financial institutions to buy into a speculation. This main character spent a lifetime doing exactly this over and over again. And like most con men they fail, they fail big, but yet they find a way to convince their victims to not focus on their past failures but to focus on the awards of the future. Every single person who was involved with or attended this failure of a festival could've used the same social media to find out that its leader was a con artist. But yet they didn't. They decided to once again put their faith into the speculation. Ja Rule ,for example, who maintains the whole thing wasn't a scam , actually worked with the guy before ,executing a previous scam that was funded by yet another scam artist oil tycoon. How do you ignore all of this and decide to go into business once again with the same person? Well the same reason a bank decides to invest into a development when the developer has filed bankruptcy 3 times, by investing into the dream. Ja Rule , like everyone else desperately wanted to be a part of the dream. Whether it's greed or the need to be wanted, those desires override the logical because being logical is not "exciting". Mark my words, we will hear from the main character again and I guarantee the next con will be bigger than this one and once again it will be successful, because the victims will need for it to be.

Dirty Money: Payday (2018) Season 1, Episode 2

America, land of the for sale and home of the greedy.

[8/10 · 11 June 2018]

This is an excellent episode within an already great documentary series. Scott Tucker and his brother started a business lending money to poor people ,who normally couldn't get loans. These payday loans have 300 to 600 percent interest as shown on one of the real documents and later is found to be illegal and predatory. Let's stop right here for a second, and forget that I said illegal and predatory. The biggest and clearest sign that these people are living in an alternate reality is their idea that what they did is normal. It is mentioned in this documentary that Scott Tucker was an intelligent and clever business man. On the surface, he looks like a go getter, a person who sees what he wants and accomplishes that goal. With that said, him and his brother's goal was not banking, contracting, law, real estate or any of the multidue of careers that usually intellengent people pick. They pick the payday loan businesses . Who sits around and says "hey that's what I want to do with my life, lend people money at mobster interest rates and on the top of that charge origination fees monthly. " " oh, and let's get native Americans involved ,even though we aren't native americans, just so we can avoid state regulations". Let me tell who would say that. Someone who is only looking at profits. Someone who can care less what they do and how they do it as long as they experience the riches from it.

Now, the payday loan part isn't really why they were indicted. Many people get payday loans knowing that they will be paying high interest rates. Many do not want to do it, but they have to. It's bad enough that they are forced to go to such measures just to survive. It just makes it even worse that a company would pretend like they are debiting your account for payments but are actually debiting renewal fees every month when you don't pay the loan off in full. After paying enough fees that are almost the amount of the loan, they then finally start debiting the loan amount. Then they were practicing in states that didn't even allow payday loans. That was the part that was illegal. They did this until they built up a 2 billion dollar company, so much so that Scott could fund a race team. Not one time did they sit down and ask themselves if this was ethically right at minimum much less legal? Not once????

Even on the documentary everyone around him fails to see that they did anything illegal but more importantly, not a single person around him mentions a single customer and how all of this affected them. It's as if they don't care or don't realize the turmoil they caused. Like I said , they all were living in an alternative reality.

Flint Town (2018)

Very good but wrong title.

[6/10 · 29 May 2018]

I really liked this documentary series. It takes a very realistic look into the police force of Flint, MI. Whatever your opinion is on policing in America, you can't deny the struggles and problems that they face. Especially for a police force in a town with no resources or support. This documentary painted a picture of officers who in some cases grew up in Flint and really care about the community and at the same time showed the ones who seemed to be just doing it for a job. Either way, it's absolutely unbelievable that a city of that size can only place 8 officers on the night shift or have to depend on volunteering officers. The only negative is that it really should be called Flint Blue or something like that. This documentary isn't really about the town at all. I would love to see a second season that actually looks at the people who live in the city.

All Eyez on Me (2017)

Horrible acting and no glue.

[5/10 · 27 May 2018]

What I mean about glue is that the film has absolutely no transitions. It goes from scene to scene like a rapid fire assault gun. You never get attached to any one character except the lead and unfortunately other than looking like PAC, he didn't have the acting chops to carry a 2-1/2 hour movie. Every scene just scratches the surface even the ones that begs for more depth. I don't understand how The NWA movie can get it so right and this one loses its way, especially for someone like 2pac.

Aliens (1986)

I'm in the minority.

[5/10 · 25 May 2018]

After a brilliant ,claustrophobic and atmospheric first film , Mr. Cameron takes the Alien franchise into the realm of what would become the fail safe formula of success for action movies . He does this a full decade or even two before it becomes the norm for every action film for decades after its 1986 release. For any other franchise this would be good. But after a Sci-Fi/Horror classic original, the second film is horribly dated and predictable. Cameron removes all the horror out of the film and replaces it with an all out assault on the viewers senses. He even changes Rippleys character from a sensitive but strong survivor female lead to an alpha female , who can do no wrong, including out boxing a natural predator while controlling a bulky and clumsy metal machine body crane. The first film appeals to all demographics while the second is an unapologetic attempt to appease the testosterone filled 20 year old audience. Everything plays second fiddle to the action including the cinematography, set design, acting and even the Alien, hince the need for multiple Aliens. It is simply TOO EPIC ,with too much action and having too much ego.

Proxy (I) (2013)

Intriguing but flawed

[3/10 · 24 May 2018]

Somehow this uneven disturbing drama keeps your interest even though it has flat and drab acting and a clumsy plot. A satisfying ending would've saved the film completely but it failed miserably in that department. As a matter of fact, the film literally ends as if they ran out of production budget but I doubt that is true because it runs a full 2 hours. The film is purposefully ambiguous and plays with the question of what would happen if psychopaths meet each other. This cat and mouse play is actually successful. It's also successful at studying the true life mental disorder of Munchausen syndrome. The two main characters display this syndrome in horrific ways. Where it falls flat is in the attempt to wrap up a complex story with the most elementary and lazy ending ever. It was almost like the writer was purposefully sabotaging the film. A lot of people compared it a Hitchcock film but to me it reminded of Brain De Palma lesser films. Actually this film plays better as a satire of De Palma films but I doubt that was its intent.

Soundbreaking: Stories from the Cutting Edge of Recorded Music: The Human Instrument (2016) Season 1, Episode 3

The weakest episode.

[5/10 · 17 May 2018]

How do you do a documentary about the voice as an instrument and leave so many great artist out? Even more importantly, how do you include minority artist so sparingly? The first 20 minutes has only one black artist, Bessie Smith. The next has a sprinkle of Aretha, and Ray Charles but then they feature black artist the most when they talk about AutoTune???? Featuring T-pain and Kanye West. Huh???????

Marvin Gaye did so much for vocals and vocal recording that wasn't mentioned at all except for 1 minute of his duet with Tammy. Al Green was featured in the promo but not the documentary. No Nat King Cole, Natalie Cole, NO WHITNEY HOUSTON or Luther Vandross. But yet they spend extra time on Christina Aguilera and Lady Gaga.

It also missed some great opportunities to talk about other greats that are not pop or rock singers. No opera, no gospel, no folk singers. I guess they don't count. I know you can't include everyone, but at minimum feature the best of the best.