ix-58258 Reviews

Glasshouse (2021)

If you CAN'T do SLOW, this film's not for you

[10/10 · 8 February 2022]

This is a SLOW movie, so, if you lack facility to find engagement with being patient, to savor a small, delicious treat of a film that you might actually have to work a little to earn gratification from, you'll want to stay away from this.

Go watch some colorful action film where half the budget is spent on explosions if you can't do a SLOW movie.

This movie is SLOW, and its reward is a small treat for waiting, but, you'll think about this treat for awhile. This isn't some be meaty microwave burger of instant gratification.

Part the symbolism is a terrible, patient garden that blooms with the blood and bodies of those that have failed, giving only enough to feed but a small group.

I very much enjoyed this film, and rate it maximum high to offset its detractors.

The Matrix Resurrections (I) (2021)

It's a sin against Keanu Jesus to leave a bad review

[10/10 · 6 January 2022]

Despite some rabid bad reviewers, and even some fair criticisms, I rather enjoyed this film.

I also went into this without high expectations.

What made the very first Matrix was some never-seen-before cutting edge film effects technology, and the 2 following films rode on the coat tails of that, doing fairly well without really adding much other than playing out the ancient old Messiah story in the Matrix universe.

This new version was fun. It didn't really explore any new ground, introduce new effects, but, it let us revisit a universe we loved, and, I'm pretty sure it's not nearly as bad as some folks knee-jerk bombing it want to claim.

Keanu is also the best everything. Negging on any work he's part of is just bad juju. Keanu's success is all of our success, and with the last several years being the dumpster fire it's been, we need more light, and more Keanu, even if it doesn't live up to some folks' expectations.

The Book of Boba Fett (2021–2022)

Wonderful long-haul show.

[10/10 · 5 January 2022]

This show is not, and will not be paced for your short attention-span tik-tok insta tweeter types where everything has to be compact, McNugget-sized instant gratification.

No. This show is in for the long haul.

The story-telling for this series is set to a measured, calculated pace, and it's a slower pace that will outlast whatever short-term minimized attention-span trend all the cool kids want everything to be right now.

There's punctuations of action, tidbits of easter eggs, and fan-servy little bullets, but, over all, this is building up to something, and working on the fleshing out, and adding new dimensions of lore so, not every baddy or background character is just a cardboard cut-out with a target painted on, but, potentially characters that could mean something, and mean something later in other shows.

The Book of Boba Fett isn't just about Boba Fett, but, another chapter in a larger universe that may have consequences or influences already planned to carry over into other series, like The Mandalorian, Asoka, or something else.

Consider how all this might fit as a piece into and influence the larger Star Wars Universe still growing, and in development.

Lost Relics of the Knights Templar (2020– )

2 super creepy guys you'd never trust ...

[1/10 · 4 January 2022]

Whoever these two "antique collector" guys are, they ring all the creep factor alarm bells.

Looking at them makes one's skin crawl, but, hey, they want you to trust them to buy into some stories about their junk since they're entirely too self-interested and sociopathic to let actual Historians, conservators, and people who's whole lives are dedicated to the the things they claim look at the things at ANY reputable British museum, confirming provenance and other important bits they conveniently skip over.

Settlers (2021)

It's not what you think it is, and that makes it all the better

[9/10 · 1 January 2022]

The environment isn't "Mars" enough?

Um, they're INSIDE a GIANT BUBBLE.

The little girl is bratty and sulky and rebellious?

Uh, her father, her favorite person, was killed by this asshole Jerry that her mom is now making nice with, and the guy's trying to Stockholm Syndrome them with creepy niceness? I'd have tried to stab the guy in the throat with a broken chicken bone or anything sharp any and every chance i could get. If anything, the child character's actions and responses are conservative.

The movie is exceptional.

It's not the film you think it's going to be.

It's an "Art" film too, so, expect a slow pace, and expect to not understand or "get" why what's what, and try to listen to what the film director and story is trying to say instead of trifling.

All the actors do phenomenal work.

For the budget this film had, it flies well above expectations.

Lovecraft Country (2020)

Fantastic start, wonderful cast, and absolutely sensational

[10/10 · 17 August 2020]

The first episode starts with a tease for what's likely to come in later episodes, but then gives us a long, slow, run of world building and character development/establishment. The last 10 minutes of the first episode give us what we've been waiting for with another peek at Lovecraftian horrors to tide us over until our next episode.

Yesterday, the rating listed for this was a puzzling 5, but, I suspected, in today's divisive, political landscape with weaponized social media, that racist trolls were bad-review-flooding this amazing show because the main focal cast are people of color. This morning, however, the rating shown is more properly sitting above 8.

I highly recommend giving this show some eyeballs. Maybe some will wait until the season is finished so as to binge it all in one go, but, I invite you to instead watch each episode as they come out, to give you time to chew on it, and build suspense about what's certainly to develop as the show does.

Pandora (2019–2020)

Lower than expected Budget, simple fair, but, perhaps, give it a chance. Too soon to call.

[5/10 · 17 July 2019]

I just watched the first episode of this. I seems this is a lower budget offering. If you're watching the fantasy show The Outpost, it's of similar budget, in writing, production value, acting, direction and effects, but, sci-fi instead of fantasy.

It feels like a made for TV show, similar to how the old Xena, Hercules productions were all relatively lower budget shows, though, they were still worth watching.

It's too soon to say if this can be another Xena or Hercules as far as popularity, since we seem to expect and require a LOT more sophistication in story telling, set pieces, and everything else these days when we get spoiled by big budget productions like GoT, The Walking Dead, Star Trek Discovery, etc.

It's probably 1/2 a notch below The Orville in production value, but, The Orville doesn't take itself seriously while this feels like it wants to be more than it is.

I'll continue to give this one a chance. The Swamp Thing has a bigger budget, and I'm watching that, though, I'm putting an effort into trying to like it. I dunno. The whole Flash, Supergirl, Arrowverse formula works really well, and I love those shows even though they're low budget, but, i suspect this is less than half the budget of those per episode.

Eh, We'll see.

Recommendation: I think it's too soon to make a call on this. There are, however, tons of shows that've had far greater popularity, better writing, more likable characters, and production value that've gotten the axe almost right off. if you find you really love this show, don't invest too much, because I expect they're depending on the low budget as one of the selling factors for renewal, but, that might maybe not be enough.

I say give this show a chance to grow and develop, but, don't get married to it. It's something to watch and there's far worse on TV that needs to go away, but, can't ever seem to die, as well as far better shows that've wound up on the chopping block far too soon.

Starhunter Redux (2017– )

Unwatchable by today's standards.

[1/10 · 4 December 2018]

I don't know who resurrected this show and thought it was a good idea to re-cut re-release it under a new 2017 - 18 release date, but, if you go into this thinking it's something new, you're getting catfished with something that's from 2000 that looks and sounds like it was done in the 1980s.

Apologies to anyone who loved this show ... 18 years ago, but, I couldn't get beyond the first 10 minutes, despite the spectacular boobs in the first minute of the show. If you don't already have some retro-attachment to this show, then, by today's standards, it's unwatchable. The acting (or directorship, since bad directors can make stellar actors looks awful) is ... well, it's so bad, you just have to see it to believe how bad it is. The same seems to go for the writing as well. Calling the dialogue "uncomplicated" would be extremely gentle and kind. The whole thing is ... I just couldn't, and I tried my best. Compared to other shows filmed around the same time, it might be on par with Lexx when it comes to budget and special effects. I liked Lexx. I still love Lexx. That, however, comes from watching Lexx decades ago and liking it decades ago. I would not expect anyone that's never seen Lexx to watch and like it today. Thus, there's that. This might be a fantastic re-showing for anyone that was familiar with and loved it ... when it was filmed decades ago and is now re-whatevered. I lack that favor bias, and find it unwatchable. Again, that's subjective, and some folks might maybe, perhaps think otherwise.

Titans (I) (2018–2023)

If you get past the first episode, it's a great show.

[8/10 · 3 November 2018]

Sorry, not sorry, but, the first episode of this series was just really awful. Background music swelled to the forefront to cover flat line delivery, fight scenes looked like they were cut after only one or two takes, and the whole thing played like one of those no-budget written, directed, and starred in by all the same person films that goes straight to whatever streaming service they're lucky enough to get picked up by. The first episode was just really bad.

After that, however, something happened. I don't know what, but episode 2 was 1000x better, like suddenly the show was getting professional attention; direction, post production, lighting, technical, and everything else. This has continued through episodes 3 and 4 too, and turned something that looked and played like it should have been tossed in the bin from the first episode into something, actually quite well worth watching.

If you can get over and past the first episode, IMO, the show is worth the patience invested, and looks to be developing into something quite interesting.

The Neon Demon (2016)

Leads nowhere except to inevitable disappointment.

[3/10 · 31 August 2016]

It's a pretty movie for the eyeballs with some wonderfully artistic visuals, but, other than that, it doesn't have much of a plot, and seems all mostly pointless and anticlimactic after an over-long, entirely way too drawn out, extremely slow story that leads nowhere except to inevitable disappointment.

Perhaps that's the entire point of the movie? I felt the actors, who were phenomenal in and of themselves, were entirely wasted for the talents they represent which could have been employed to much greater effect and facility than ... whatever this film is. I recommend watching something else. Watch something you've seen before and liked, and even if you've seen it a dozen times before, it'll be more engaging, and satisfying than this.