compjazzca-68116 Reviews

Wilderness (2023)

Long, drawn out unoriginal story. No mystery here - misery

[3/10 · 1 October 2023]

Painfully dragged out. Not a one-of-a-kind story; stretched out over 5 hours with lots of filler music and long segues. Had to back up and rely on CCs on some of the mumbly dialogue - not just the dialect. Kept thinking "I've seen this" but IMDb says it came out 2023. In some ways I can't help but wonder if this is a promo for Jenna Coleman and/or the soundtrack, it sure was long considering the content. It was a lot like a made for TV movie directed and/or edited by one who didn't who didn't know the meaning of "cut" or "crop". It's like a book with 40 pages of content stretched out to satisfy the publisher 250 page requirements.

IMO, I find it hard to believe there's consideration of a 2nd season. I, for one, have better things to do with my time and won't be watching.

Shepherd (II) (2021)

Awesome inner and outer views

[8/10 · 4 July 2023]

Far under-rated at 4.9! One of the problems with today's viewers seems to be their extreme need for fast, gory, action packed "horror".

This is a great film for those who can deal with a slower paced show with things to think on. There are fabulous, unusual, eerie views of some very remote and very old scenery of house, and decrepit light house quite possibly now gone.

Would have liked to have seen the sheep theme worked in more. Never did we see a flock of hundreds as mentioned in the want ad. They can have such distinct personalities it would have been cool to see them as representatives of people of his past... and a bit more relationship with his 8 year old dog.

What spurred me to watch this obviously wasn't the ratings. It was the remoteness of the Scottish countryside and part of a trailer showing the great cinematography expressing the power of wild nature.

Recommended for a relaxing watch which might leave you with things to think on about your own relationships, paranoia and phobias. Enjoy - I sure did!

Inside (I) (2023)

QUINTESSENTIAL

[9/10 · 22 April 2023]

I'm not one who typically watches heist shows; it was Dafoe that lured me in and I'm glad for it. Inside was the most enjoyable film I've seen in a long while, however, I may need to explain that I was raised to be a critic as my father was a sound editor and somewhat of a crank. Comments like "wasn't that a fun show" were not part of our conversations. Instead, movies were rated for acting, cinematography, lighting, direction, etc., etc.... and of course sound. Also, I've studied Fine Art and Art History at post-secondary levels among other pursuits. I'm not going to pick any nits because the few worthy of picking can easily be dismissed as artistic license.

For me, this was a most enjoyable show. Despite the seriousness of Nemo's dilemma several times I broke out in laughter to the point of tears. Dafoe was the perect person to fill this role. His aging body with all its wrinkles, sags and crevices added much to the 'art' of this film. Kudos Dafoe!

The Hunt for Raoul Moat (2023)

Worthy of a watch

[8/10 · 21 April 2023]

A well done compelling true story about one of the many abusive situations leading to deaths that occur everywhere. I would not have watched if it were in documentary format. 3 episodes was perfect - not dragged out into a long series of 6 or 8 episodes like so many shows are now.

As for Moat's idolaters they are of what I'm left to call a 'group' that revel in and honour sensationalism and horrific behaviors much of which is egged on by social media, at least IMHO. There was a definite place for them in showing it's not only the perpetrators that are ill or twisted. It's a larger portion of society than many, if not most, aren't aware exists.

Women Talking (2022)

KUDOS SARAH! - Diving in for a 3rd watch

[10/10 · 24 March 2023]

KUDOS SARAH! You've come a long way from Avon Lea!

I wrote a long review back when there'd only been 84 other reviews, but it wasn't a fair review and I never posted it. I was reviewing the reviewers more than the film. Some of their nit picking and rants just proved they weren't paying attention or had no comprehension of the topic at hand, as though this was set an Amish community somewhere in rural middle America.

After my first watch I felt the vocabulary far too large. On second watch, not so much. A male friend grew up in Mennonite colony. He said he schooled to grade 5 but his reading skills were about par with today's Canadian grade 3. However, in every day speech you'd never know it unless you used uncommon words. I 've settled with acceptable and am letting what I feel to be a minor discrepancy slide. With a smaller vocabulary perhaps it would have felt a bit more spontaneous - aka less 'scripted' yet might have turned monotonous or boring - tough call to make.

One paragraph addition: Besides, nowhere did it say none of the women knew how to read; it said they had little schooling, NOT no schooling. Education is more than the old 3 Rs (reading, 'riting and 'rithmatic. I've also had a think back on several 'illiterate' people I've known casually due to circumstance. Guess you could say they fooled me until a document, math or theory came up.

The semi-monochromatic colour and lighting fit in beautifully. It was perfectly barn-like and really helped push the serious and somber mood. IMO, this should have won a cinematography award.

This is an important story that needed telling and Sarah did it proud!

It's rare for me to watch anything twice. I'm almost ready to dive into for a third watch. Until then it gets one of my extremely rare 10 stars.

Will patiently be waiting for Sarah's next.

The Watchful Eye (2023)

A Needlework Special

[4/10 · 24 March 2023]

9 eps in and still waiting. This is a show that requires something else on the side; hence the "needlework", knitting, drawing, or solitaire on the side. It doesn't require full eye attention. How it rates above 6 is beyond me. Glad I'm not paying a subscription to watch it! Hoped it might provide something more interesting than the big N's increasingly long dragged out tales. One thing for certain is there's a lot of junk shows being made these days. Kind of like coffee - I'd rather have one cup of good coffee than 3 cups of cheap coffee. Hopefully all involved are newbies and they come out of this with an awareness of how not to do things. Unless this has a good punch-line finish I can't give it more than 4 as the filming was decent, acting mediocre... maybe 3 as I had to back up to understand some of the mumbly dialogue which might have sounded better if I had a high end sound system - or worse. When all said and done, this could easily been done as a less than 2 hour movie of the made for TV genre. DISAPPOINTED.

Puff: Wonders of the Reef (2021)

Awesome! Glad I Watched!

[10/10 · 6 January 2023]

Thought this was going to be an ani-kid's show. Thank you for showing me what I'll never be able to see in real life. Here in the North the coral reefs aren't talked about over coffee. CBC Quirks and Quarks is likely where we learned about their ill health - for lack of better term.

It's fine with me if there was an "agenda" here; after all, many documentaries have them.

This film shows one aspect of the many diverse eco-systems on this mind-blowing planet, each of which is intrinsically linked to all the others. It's not a Super Hero Fantasy show. It's a real reality show even if they may have 'shopped' the main character for clarity and continuity. I'll be watching this again. It's beautiful.

House of the Dragon (2022– )

Oh the F and C words!

[1/10 · 23 August 2022]

Only 13 minutes in and they have to use the F word... by Young Princess Rhaenyra in disdain for her teacher no less. We already know she has a rebellious streak... and later the C word. Guess I'm too old for this poor quality immature script. At 20 M an episode I'd rather see the money go into homeless housing or food stability projects. I'll donate the cost of the bag of chips I won't be eating watching this! And why isn't IMDb giving it an age rating?

I'm Sorry If I Took a Toll on You (2021)

Not even worthy if it were a short.

[1/10 · 7 May 2022]

I've watched many Canadian movies despite their low ratings. Many of which were made by novices where perhaps the sound was bad or the cameraperson gave one motion sickness (or both) but at the heart of the film was a good story or unique tale leaving the viewer with things on think on. THIS IS NOT IT!

The only possible redeeming qualities here might be practice for high school classes or as critique examples in 1st term acting, film, make-up or studio courses.

1/2 star for the attempt and 1/2 star for the gained experience in how not to write, produce, direct and film a movie people might want to watch. Stick with it kids but find some higher caliber mentors if you are serious.

Julia (2022–2023)

"Artistic licence", ignorance or plain stupidity?

[6/10 · 23 April 2022]

"Artistic licence", ignorance or plain stupidity? We enjoy bio-dramas over documentaries, however we expect them to be non-fiction, not made up tales to through names about.

In episode 4, sometime after Julia's cooking show had been airing, Paul (Julia's husband) had an exhibition of his artwork. He thanked all the guests including Sylvia Plath for their attendance. I sensed that something was off. I hadn't seen her and backed up the video to see who or how she was portrayed. Only her name was used. Oddly, my internet research said Sylvia Plath had died the day the first French Chef show premiered.

If Paul or Julia had known or been friends with Plath and there was a reason she be mentioned in the story the writers should have brought her name into the story by other means; not at an exhibition that took place sometime after Plath's demise.

This has changed my attitude towards the whole series. How many other things have been made up or untrue? It's worse than those historical shows where today's slang is used in stories that are supposed to have taken place hundreds or thousands of years ago. We acknowledge sometimes details are condensed or changed a bit to go with dramatic flow, but IMPO this was rude. These writers get a big fat ZERO! Apart from the writing, I give it about a 6. Through the years I've watched quite a few of Julia's shows. Lancashire took a bit of getting used to. Whether pure type casting or not, Hyde Pierce and Neuwirth have made for pleasant viewing and I'll likely watch the whole season... all the time wondering what else is made up or plain bs. I'm surprised that in 64 user reviews and 6 critic reviews it appears I'm the only one who picked up on Plath, may she rest in peace!

Radium Girls (2018)

Great little clip of rarely considered history

[9/10 · 19 December 2020]

I'd seen old catalogue and newspaper ads for radium products from cosmetics of all sorts to watches, elixirs etc. but had given little thought to the plant workers and product testers that made them. Hopefully, some who watch this will take it as a subtle wake up call to look into some of the chemicals (many untested) that are being added to our personal products; shampoo, makeup, even sunscreens etc., and foods. An ice cream that never melts cannot be healthy. We ARE what we eat, drink and put on our bodies. Kudos to the producer here! I found it a bit slow and a bit mild in terms of not truly expressing the extreme mental and physical anguish these women went through - otherwise I'd give it a 10.

40: The Temptation of Christ (2020)

where was the director?

[1/10 · 20 April 2020]

Clean hands and manicured nails? I think not. didn't waste my time on something so ridiculous!

Manifest (2018–2023)

A Waste of Pixels

[1/10 · 10 March 2020]

Within a couple eps of S1 it distinctly felt like this was going to be a write-as-it-went show. The writers gave no indication of knowing where they were going to go with the hollow plot, nor did the ham actors all of which had no sense of character. We created richer, deeper, more realistic characters for 10-15 skits in 1st semester acting class in community college.

Somehow I toughed out S1 but snoozed through a good part of it. Weekly recaps always told it all in a 2-3 minute time frame.

Because of its 7+ rating I tried to watch S2 but nothing had improved and much better shows got priority.

Who did they pay to get such high ratings? It would fare better as an after school kids' show. ZZZ

Breaking the Chain (2007)

Not about North American beliefs or Mitote

[4/10 · 5 January 2020]

This story is not as described. It is about a young caucasian (white) man and his growing up in suburban America. As a boy he befriended an Eastern Indian American family and learned about beliefs contrary to his atheist father's. It is his tale of finding his path and passion as an artist.