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House of Hammer (2022)
Desperate and absurd
I was wondering why a three hour documentary was needed but I soon realised most of this documentary is not about Armie Hammer. And, as one might expect, it's terribly one-sided (and unnecessarily long) and it tries to force a fiercely curated narrative.
The aim of this documentary is to paint a very calculated damning picture of Armie Hammer. However, it fails miserably and doesn't prove that he did anything wrong. It's all based on the rather absurd assumption that the sins of the father (as well as those of the grandfather and the great grandfather) are the sins of the son. They are not.
Perhaps what the documentary does achieve is to comment on our society as one that is prudish and eager to be appear easily shockable. And we do like a good witch hunt in our cancel-prone society.
I think the documentary makers should have stuck to the main story with its available evidence of the alleged crimes and they should have tried to keep a balance of opinions among its interviewed participants.
Please bear in mind, this is my review of the documentary, not a review of the actor Armie Hammer or his alleged behaviour.
Love to Love You, Donna Summer (2023)
Disappointing
This was somewhat disappointing. To start with, you almost never see who's speaking. You only hear their voice which is very difficult to follow but also frustrating, you want to see the person speaking. Similarly, and bizarrely, there is very little footage of Donna Summer speaking, you mainly, only, hear her voice.
To add to the confusion, it is somewhat disjointed, going back and forth in time, back and forth in relationships and music eras.
There's a lot of private home video footage which doesn't really tell a story and it almost never relates to what you hear being said by the faceless talking heads.
They're not dwelling too much on her being the Queen of Disco, or the disco era itself (I had anticipated this would be the focal point at least for half the documentary). Then nothing about the 80s or the 90s and very little about her final years.
Even the gay backlash of the 80s is treated (briefly) as something that happened to her as opposed something she unknowingly and maybe naively instigated.
I guess I expected a celebration of a woman, an era (or two) and an impressive body of work.
Lisey's Story (2021)
Even Julianne Moore can't save this.
It's rare for me to abandon a series but this is unwatchable. Truly godawful. Some nice images and a great soundtrack but very little else of value.
The Crime of the Century (2021)
Unnecessarily long
Unnecessarily long, repetitive, one-sided and full of personal opinions.
Please note: this is not a comment on the opioid crisis, just a comment on this documentary.
The Outsiders (1983)
awful b movie
How do so many beautiful people make such an awful movie!
12 Monkeys (1995)
Silly, over long drivel
Silly, over long drivel with no redeeming qualities. The characters are caricatures and it's all a big mishmash of different ideas from different films.
Bruce Willis seems to be acting without directions, lost in this cinematic cacophony.
Sometimes a comedy with a joke that never delivers, sometimes a Monty Pythons film that never finds its way.
The Untouchables (1987)
Laughable
This was a crushing disappointment. The script is laughable and the acting is preposterous. For a moment I thought this was a comedy. Sean Connery plays a caricature (seriously, was this a comedy?) and even De Niro is bad.
Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine (2015)
Lacks direction and purpose
This film was a rather bizarre affair.
It starts as a love letter to Steve Jobs. A tribute even. Then you realise that you're actually watching the history of Apple and this is not a Steve Jobs biography (which is what I expected).
However, then, you realise it's actually a hate letter to the whole of Apple. You spend quite a long time hearing about Foxconn which is the Chinese company that produces most of Apple's products and you're not exactly sure why and how it fits in (it doesn't).
Then follows some more personal attacks on Jobs including, people who make indirect accusations and who imply negative facts without actually explaining why they say what it is they are saying on film.
The film lacks direction and purpose. It is a waste of time (unjustifiably too long), money and effort (on the part of the audience).