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m-fleisher
Reviews
A Man in Full (2024)
Started as drama, ended as farce
What in the world were the creators thinking? Was there some sort of battle between the writer and director? How many major themes can reasonably be crammed into a limited series without the viewer thinking, 'A swing and a miss.'? So many unbelievable writing and story contrivances, the strong acting by Jeff Daniels, Diane Lane, and Lucy Liu (who was always dressed to kill) was grossly diminished.
I try to avoid spoilers, however, when a 60-year-old sociopath attacks a rattlesnake barehanded, acquires a bionic knee and walks, literally walks, ('I don't do wheelchairs'.) out of the hospital the day after a total knee replacement, and when Jeff Daniels' character suddenly imitates Peter Sellers' -mind of its own hand- to murder the sudden lover of his ex-wife of 20 years, I reached my limit.
Racial and social injustices? Throw the amputated storylines into the mix, then wave a magic wand to end the story lines when the final bell begins to ring.
The only nice-touch, micro-moment for me was the video call between the broke banker-nerd and the now-wealthy mother of his love child, he had to use his ASUS while she glammed out with a top line Apple. I was that desperate.
Felines (2023)
Did I really give it five stars?
This low, low budget movie won't disappoint unless you're looking for reasonable acting, directing, writing, sound, lighting, editing, or a plot that makes sense. In fact, every aspect of the film making process was done artlessly. Perhaps the only creative area that showed some slight success was in the casting. That is not to say that the actors who landed their roles displayed significant acting ability. The casting was partially successful in finding some faces that fit the characters, and only hit and miss at that for a small cast. The sleazy actor looked the part. The two lead actors looked like thoughtless, reckless, twisted individuals. And unfortunately, that is about it for highlights. In hindsight, five stars was very generous and will likely be one of the higher ratings. Those involved took some risks, creative and financial, that just didn't produce a satisfying end result. If I were a gambling soul, the over/under for rating will probably be closer to 2.0.
Hannah Has a Ho-Phase (2012)
A surprise worth watching for entertainment not inspiration.
First, I have no disclosures to this film or cast, in any possible way. For its genre of "R" rated, "indie-type", later in the evening "rom-com" with sexual story lines, it was surprisingly good with some slow spots. Few laugh out loud moments but still a rom-com. Clearly not the worst movie ever or an award winner. I don't understand how 'a ten dollar bet due to really needing the money' led to 'worst movie even seen'. There is no way this could be or become a Lifetime movie without cutting most of it. Most of the actors did a good to very good job with a script that ranged from trite and predictable to nearly clever. A few very well known actors, Kate McKennon and Matt Servitto as examples, and none I would say turned in F level work. If it was low budget, you could see the money on the screen, as they say, with above average production values. Like other similar movies, moral messages aren't hugely prominent but were present despite the romantic, comedic, and sensual vehicle. Clearly, a reviewer had a particular viewpoint including criticism of a "liberal agenda", defining some of the female characters sexual behaviors as being "wh**e...empowerment", and finishing with complaining about the $6 charge to watch it over a $10 dollar bet. Not the best movie, though better than the National Lampoons and others series for its type. Given that, I liked it and it was worth watching for the genre. Maybe even worth a second watch.
Feels So Good (2013)
Pointless movie about shallow people
Maybe two stars is generous. An entire movie about vacuous people. Mostly beautiful female gold diggers in Miami. Don't waste your time.