Change Your Image
mike-puorro
Reviews
Zeitgeist (2007)
Prepare to be brainwashed
Zeitgeist tickles the ears of those who have a bone to pick with Christianity, but rather than go on the attack with facts, and there are plenty, Zeitgeist relies on hypnotic music to lull the viewer into believing lies about the history of world religions.
Cockamamie theories such as the "son" of God actually referring to God as the "sun" will be immediately recognized as bunk by any student of linguistics, history, and religion who knows that modern English and the words son and sun as we know them today didn't even exist when the New Testament was written!
Instead of simply agreeing with misinformation that preys on your sympathies, all it takes is a little secular academic research to unravel Zeitgeist from beginning to end.
I found this movie very compelling until it began to insult my intelligence.
Three Tales (2002)
Make the Connection
Three Tales suggests scientific achievements such as cloning, and investing our trust and emotions in Artificial Intelligence may have the potential to be just as disastrous as the Hindenburg, and just as dangerous as the atomic bomb.
Three seemingly unrelated events paint a picture of human ingenuity run amuck. Three Tales begs the question, just because we CAN do something SHOULD we do it.
The Hindenburg, Nuclear Bomb Tests, and the Cloning of Animals leads into the Artificial Intelligence segment which should at that point in the film incite a little terror in the viewer
Three Tales is way ahead of its time in predicting the possibility that human being just might invent themselves out of existence.
Undergods (2020)
Human tales from a dystopian future near you.
Deeply disturbing and heartrending themes are explored here such as a thin line between love and hate, hierarchy and the division of class, power in the wrong hands, death, and dehumanization.
I'm giving it 10 stars to up the average. I imagine it's low ratings are the result of some viewers being bored and/or unacquainted with hard ship.
The allegories here are subtle and relatable. The stories are interconnected in theme, but don't necessarily take place in the same thematic world.
Expect loose ends and permission to come to your own conclusions.
On a personal note, this movie affected my dreams the night after I watched it. The bizarre workhouse segment spoke to me.
Mercury Rising (1998)
Why so much hate?
Other than a couple far fetched scenarios Mercury Rising is a solid 90's action thriller.
It's quirky, fun, and has heart. What it lacks in realism it makes up for in raising autism awareness. I don't think it fails in this regard.
Alec Baldwin plays a cold calculating villain. The boy is believable as someone who is differently abled. Bruce Willis is noticeably invested in his performance, especially compared to some of his under the radar direct to streaming fare.
Anybody reading these reviews before seeing the movie is going to expect a disaster, all I can suggest is watch it with an open mind.
You just might enjoy it.
Tideland (2005)
Disturbing.
You know how child abuse permanently messes kids up? Terry Gilliam made a charming movie about that.
We are supposed to believe the victim is coping successfully with obscene circumstances through the power of innocence and imagination, but I felt like the circumstances depicted in this movie are like watching a 20 car pile up on the highway.
It's a train-wreck from beginning to end, not the movie itself, but what the child protagonist goes through.
Watching Tideland is like watching a building burn down with people trapped inside when there's nothing you can do about it.
I'm surprised the actress who played the lead role isn't scarred for life.
Creepshow: Gray Matter/The House of the Head (2019)
Both segments strong
Sets the bar pretty high. Good stuff for fans of horror anthology series of the 80's like Tales from the Dark Side and Monsters.
I hope they maintain this level of story driven episodes. I only skipped to the end of two episodes because I found them preachy without the merit of being creative or original.
If writers have something sociopolitical to say, they really should do it in the context of something interesting, otherwise it comes across as pretentious and ham fisted.
Other than that minor complaint, I'm really impressed with most of these episodes.
The series did seem to start with its best foot forward. These first two episodes are hard to top, especially the second.
Brian and Charles (2022)
Charming
This may sound prudish, but I'm getting tired of being verbally abused by every new movie I watch. Brian and Charles came along at just the right time to remind me of what I like about films in the first place.
Had to rate it 10 despite some of it's flawed logic. It would have behooved the film for Brian to have been a more technical idiot savant, thus explaining his ability to create the robot, but the movie is so charming as it is that it's forgivable.
Brian's desperation and isolation will not be unfamiliar to many a modern viewer, and Charles' wonder and curiosity, wonder, and desire for approval speaks to child in us all.
No profanity - Likable Characters -Straightforward Story - Relatable
This formula is still entertaining. Who knew?
Ender's Game (2013)
A victim of social politics
Orson Scott Card wrote Ender's Game before same sex marriage was even on the table as a hot button social issue. There are no political messages regarding this subject in the book, or in the movie.
The author is not preoccupied with forwarding an agenda. He simply made a few comments which amounted to him favoring traditional marriage, and suddenly he, every fan of his work, is labeled a bigot.
What does any of that have to do with Ender Wiggin, and his struggle to save mankind while maintaining his humanity? I grew up with the science fiction and fantasy books of Orson Scott Card. This movie is a dynamic and imaginative revisit to one of the happier memories of my childhood.
I'm not going to let social politics take this movie away from me. If you like Ender's Game, don't feel bullied by popular opinion into letting go of something you love.
Rango (2011)
Flawed but forgivable
Rango is literate, but plagued by ridiculous plot devices and implausible mythology IE; Anthropomorphic animals capable of industrialized culture coexisting in a universe with modern humans.
Animals can be flattened by trucks and survive, but also shot and killed. There are no consistent physical laws or rules in this universe. It exists solely as a vehicle for it's loquacious script, good humor, and strange social and political commentary.
With religious themes, dark gross out humor and some over the top adult dialog, this may not be the best choice for younger viewers. The laughs in Rango don't come cheap, you'll find yourself making compromises.
The Man from Earth (2007)
Preachy
The Man From Earth begins as a plausible fantasy with the potential to take many interesting directions, but devolves into a pseudo-psychological melodrama revolving around heavy handed cringe worthy fringe theories on the origin of life and teachings of Jesus Christ.
This viewer is left wondering who this movie is for. Mainstream viewers are not going enjoy the dry monologues and forced banter of a bunch of college professors sitting in a living room chatting, intellectuals will suffer through the scientific and historical inaccuracies of the script, educated atheists will groan clichéd testimony of a Godless universe, and people of faith are going to run home crying halfway through the movie.
All in all, this movie is painfully slow moving exhibition of mediocrity in all regards, from set and editing to acting, script, and story.