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Legion (2017)
Very Confusing, Weird, Overly Symbolic Acid Trip
I'll be honest. I really struggled to make it through all three seasons of this series. I wanted to give it a fair chance, so I slowly plodded on episode after episode, hoping that it would eventually get better.
Sadly, with each season it just got weirder and weirder. There was a disproportionate amount of nonsensical symbolism which was never explained. I eventually arrived at the conclusion that the symbolism was just filler material which was added simply because it was weird, and for no other reason. It was as if the writers were saying to viewers "See; this is how weird we can get."
The way many episodes repeatedly jump from one timeline to another is overdone and only adds to the overall confusion. It takes a while to figure everything out, and you really have to pay attention.
To me, this series came across as a David Lynch wannabe on steroids. It was just too much weirdness. It was just one big, long acid trip. It was as if the actual creators and writers were represented by all the druggies in the series.
Concerning the characters themselves, I didn't become emotionally invested in any of them. I just didn't care what happened to any of them. I was given no reason to.
After the end-of-the-world buildup, the series disappointedly concluded without a bang. I have no inclination to ever watch this series again.
Left Behind: Rise of the Antichrist (2023)
Disappointing Endeavor
As much as I like Kevin Sorbo from his "Andromeda" days, I was rather disappointed by this new endeavor to bring the Left Behind book series to the big screen. Aside from the fact that I don't agree with the Futurist perspective, this movie just didn't have any spiritual umph to it. It was neither moving nor exciting, in my view. It only offers a rehash of what we have already seen in the original Left Behind movies, which, quite frankly, did a much better all-around job than what we see in this movie. It is beyond me how anyone can give this movie a score of 8 to 10, unless they either haven't seen the original movies, or were paid to leave a positive review. My gosh, even the Antichrist didn't come off as menacing, whereas the original actor in the original movies did. Maybe I am just jaded from seeing so many Christian-oriented movies, but sorry, it is a thumbs down for me.
Passengers (2016)
Excellent Outer Space Love Story!
What can I say? I love sci-fi. I love Outer Space stories. I love heart-felt love stories with an element of forgiveness. Throw in excellent special effects very much like Stanley Kubrick throughout the entire movie, plus a very fitting music score, and then add three top-notch actors like Chris Pratt, Jennifer Lawrence and Lawrence Fishburne, and you end up with a wonderful Outer Space thriller like "Passengers". Oh, and of course, I really liked Michael Sheen as the bartender. The obvious link to Kubrick's "The Shining" is no doubt intentional. The chemistry between Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence was great. There is just nothing about this film that I did not like. I am giving it a 10 to boost it up from its current rating of 7.
Coyote Peterson: Brave the Wild (2020)
Excellent, Clean, Family-Friendly, Educational Nature Videos
With the pervasiveness of foul language on the television set, in movies, and on the Internet, it is refreshing to find a series of online nature videos -- and more recently, a TV show -- in which the author and his small crew have consciously chosen to keep their language clean throughout each episode.
Whether it is their Brave Wilderness Internet productions, Breaking Trail Internet productions or Brave the Wild TV episodes, Coyote Peterson, Mark Vins and Mario Aldecoa offer viewers a close, hands-on look at a plethora of creatures in the wild, and they do it with a high level of enthusiasm, dedication, love and respect for the creatures they are filming. Their videos remind me a lot of an old show called "Kratt's Creatures" which my daughter and I enjoyed watching close to two decades ago.
If you are looking for high-quality, educational nature shows which you can feel comfortable with sharing with your young children, look no further than the aforementioned videos and TV show. I highly recommend them.
And while you are at it, check out some of the many nature shows which have featured David Attenborough. They are likewise of excellent quality.
Anastasia: Once Upon a Time (2020)
Turning a Historical Tragedy into a Fantasy
I admit. I have mixed feelings about this movie. On the one hand, I understand that this is a movie which targets young girls, that it is about enduring friendships, and that it is a fantasy. This becomes evident rather quickly due to the magical elements and effects which are incorporated into the early parts of the story. Taken from that perspective, the film does have its sweet and touching moments.
Yet at the same time, taking into consideration the fact that this movie is derived from actual tragic events in Russian history -- the murder of Czar Nicholas II and his entire family by the Bolsheviks in 1918 -- I almost find it disrespectful and inappropriate that this movie was even made. The movie totally ignores the horror of those events, and some viewers might even say, makes light of them. It just wants to be a feel-good, happy ending movie.
To add injury to insult, part of the plot is based on a longstanding conspiracy theory regarding Anastasia, which, from what I can tell, has no basis in actual historical fact.
So, weighing all of these various points, I can give the film a 5 at best. If you would like to see a movie which more realistically portrays the reign of Czar Nicholas II, and the ultimate demise of him and his family, I encourage you to view 1971's "Nicholas and Alexandra" starring Michael Jayston, Janet Suzman and Tom Baker. Obviously, it is not 100% historically accurate either, but it is a lot closer to the truth than this feel-good fantasy.
The Scarlet Letter (1995)
Captivating Love Story and So Much More!
I loved this movie! I was captivated by it from beginning to end. From scene to scene, I was drawn further and further along. The beautiful Demi Moore and talented Gary Oldman were both excellent. I have enjoyed both actors for many years now, but I would have never imagined them working so well together, as they did in this movie. Their chemistry was great. This movie reminds me of another great romance film: Ridley Scott's 2006 "Tristan & Isolde", starring James Franco and Sophia Myles. Yes, I am a sucker for such love stories. :)
The movie does not let go of your emotions, and John Barry's extremely moving score has a lot to do with that. This movie is very sensual in parts, heart-wrenching in others, and shocking in yet other parts.
This review would not be complete without mentioning the beautiful photography. The pristine forest scenes were amazing, as were the photo effects in some of the other scenes.
I suppose the only thing I didn't like about this movie was some disrespect towards the Bible in one particular scene, plus one of the questionable messages the movie seems to want to convey.
In conclusion, if you enjoy romance movies with a lot of drama, plus a very interesting historical backdrop centering around Puritan life, you might want to give this film a viewing.
The X Files (1993)
Season 11 Very Disappointing -- They Dropped the Ball
I have been an X-Files fan since 1993. Being a sci-fi geek, I absolutely loved the show, and I looked forward to watching each episode with eager anticipation. This was sci-fi television at its best.
I was never really a fan of the filler episodes, of which there have been many. For me personally, the alien/UFO story arc was always the main draw of the show, and that is what I most enjoyed watching.
Having said that, Season 11 has pretty much been a big disappointment to me. Not only that, but I actually feel cheated, as if there was intentional deception on the part of Chris Carter and team.
Episode 1 gave us hope that they were finally back on track with the main story arc revolving around the alien/UFO incursion and its aftereffects. But then what happened? Filler episode after filler episode which were totally unrelated to the main story arc, except for the one episode where William was brought into the picture.
In the commercial previews, the announcer kept telling us that we were going to get answers. No we didn't!
As I kept watching one episode after the other, I kept saying to myself, and hoping, "Now, they are finally going to get back to the main alien/UFO story arc," but it never happened. Instead, it turned into more of a crime/family drama type show about trying to find William, and Mulder and Scully's personal relationship.
I thought, "Surely now that we are on the final episode -- Episode 10 -- they are going to get back to the events of Episode 1 with the bridge scene and the UFO, the plague killing everyone, confusion in the streets, etc."
It never happened. Instead, Chris Carter and team took the cheap way out. The only thing I can figure out is that because Mulder killed CSM on the dock, we are supposed to assume that everything that happened in Episode 1 was prevented from happening, and what Scully saw, never came to pass. And William popping his head out of the water just doesn't cut it.
If this was to be the final season of The X-Files, then from Episode 1 to the end, I feel that Chris Carter and team owed it to us long-time viewers to give us some solid answers, after being devoted to the show for so many years. Instead, they fished us with Episode 1, and then pretty much took a detour elsewhere.
Again, cheap, cheap, cheap.