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Reviews
La mesita del comedor (2022)
Definitely good enough for how disturbing it is
This movie is very effective. It sets out to be an incredibly disturbing black comedy. But where it thrives is TENSION. I have not seen a film that has made me this tense in a long time. And that's how this film sticks the landing for what could have been another grotesque gross-for-gross-sake. The film is really just a tension narrative with tons of deception which tantalizes the viewer into thinking "it's gonna happen NOW." When the pay off happens, it's great and tasteful. So while this might be advertised as a big disturbing story, it's really a story about putting a machine in motion and letting it work until the last satisfying ending. Definitely not for everyone and I can't per se recommend it. But if you know you know. This film works, and it's not in my preferred genre at ALL.
I Saw the TV Glow (2024)
One of the worst films I've ever seen
I cannot stress this enough, this is one of the worst films I've ever seen. I kept waiting for something to happen. My girlfriend and I kept waiting for something to happen. That thing that hooks you in to show you that indeed there is a story happening and you're not wasting your time.
That moment never came. I love weird. I love art house. But this was just art house indulgence. I respect that there is probably more going on with this film's message that I'm not seeing and I elect to do more research. But I won't waste my time and sit through it again. If the message is THAT buried and it's "left up to interpretation" then I think the mission of the film is lost imo. Im not a filmmaker so I can't judge too hard. But as a songwriter if my song isn't clear the audience won't always connect to it. I think it's going to be very hard for audiences to connect with this film on a deeper level due to its lack of clarity to its point. Beau is Afraid was more clear than this...
The Fourth Kind (2009)
Aliens are rarely this scary
So first of all: I do NOT understand the low views here. I saw this movie back when it came back and I still think about it regularly. Second of all, we all know Alien, but there aren't a ton of alien inspired horror films that make the alien threat actually SCARY. And this film is TERRIFYING. I remember think "wow someone found a way to actually make aliens really menacing." And they are! Abduction, unknown, it's all here but In a way that is truly portrayed as threatening and not like "huh what if met aliens?" This is like "no definitely don't meet THESE aliens." Watch it. Super disturbing. True threat. And some very memorable and creative scares. Won't ever see. Owls the same way again.
Cam (2018)
Intriguing, but overrated
This is Netflix excuse to make soft pornographic content, one of many. The idea is of the film is very simple: what would happen if identity theft became someone looking just like you on the internet? It's an intriguing idea. But the pay off is lazy and boring. The rest of it is skin and that's it. The performances are fine. The aesthetics are great: nice color, neon tint most of the film. But the deceptive hook leads nowhere interesting. Lots of potential and could have been really good if the questions were better answered, but that I don't care is probably indicative to how interesting those questions really are, right? Watch "Watcher" instead for a better thriller. The one on prime, NOT Netflix.
Mr. Robot: Hello, Elliot (2019)
I have truly never seen anything like this
This episode is special. I'm the grand pantheon of television history, this is probably the best finale to a television series I've ever seen. It is CERTAINLY the best PAYOFF to a show I've ever seen. And one that connects so brilliantly grandiose concept of the mind to human understand our heart. I've struggled with mental illness for decades and for the last scene to be meeting eye with a loved one and them saying hello to you after being "gone" for so long, feel so familiar to me. I am truly moved, and truly thankful for this episode and this show. Wonderfully story telling about what suffering from mental illness looks like and how coming back to yourself feels so beautiful.
Speak No Evil (2022)
Pure rubbish
Just another Funny Games with violins. Pure nonsense. 3/4 annoyance and 1/4 sadism. If you're into that thing, you'll have a great time. But if you're, you know, not a sociopath, you'll recognize this film for what it is: unnecessary sociopathy.
Why do people trust strangers? That is a valid question. And they could have done so much more with this film other than reduce it to boring nastiness. One thing is for sure: it's very real. This is a no frill f around and find out "oh if it's not the consequences of my actions" kind of film. If they wanted this to be a realistic account, they got it. But if they wanted it to be entertaining, they should have taken some better drugs than the ones that inspired this film.
Jessica Jones (2015)
AKA A Missed Opportunity
AKA A Missed Opportunity
So many times Marvel will have a great idea but fail to execute it outweighing too heavy on their cheesy cartoony charm. Usually it's really fun! Spider-Man wouldn't be Spider-Man without the cheese of Peter Parker. But sometimes it becomes just that: really cheesy. This is one such show. It had me really interested. It promises a brilliant heroin with a more than interesting adversary. But it wasn't the acting that didn't cut it this time, it was the ENTIRE script. Jessica is brilliant. Her intelligence and wit make for one brilliant badass. I can't say this poor review is too much to her fault. What they did with her and the rest of the cast is what makes this show laughable. The story set-up itself is dark and interesting. It began with promise and I wanted to keep watching. But when they pulled the trigger and the show starts progressing, it resolved with gag-worthy results. I actually laughed at some of the things I watched. I mean does she really need to throw the sofa ALL the way across the room to make her point? It would actually be frightening and impactful if it was done right. But this didn't work. I get it! She has intense and horrible PTSD. But she's too smart for that. She's too interesting not to be taken seriously and at that point she wasn't Jessica anymore. She appeared a childish girl with a poorly scripted scene. That's not the Jessica I met at the beginning, and it's certainly not Krysten Ritter's fault. She was a puppet of bad writing. Most of the characters are portrayed this way and I just wasn't a fan. I've never been able to NOT finish a series on Netflix. This one is now my first.
Noir is my favorite film style but the darkness promised by the introduction was never really fulfilled with anything other than bad taste. The undertone of the show changed many times, which I am likely to adore. But it proved more confusing than cathartic. I wasn't sure whether to be horrified, amused, or disgusted at some points. I was never really sure what they were going for. It took a strange turn for the sadistic towards the end and I found this distasteful. It was such an intelligent start to have such a petty finish.
The orchestration of the troubled PTSD super-heroin who drinks away her past is the perfect set up, and Ritter was the right choice. But the writing let her down. Her serious and credible condition was made dramatic by less than believable table-turn-over tantrums. It's such an interesting show to be turned into such a joke. Promising cast but without the writing in place the performances had no foundation to stand on and fell flat.