DonaldWinkler Reviews

Wellmania (2023)

Absolutely lovely

[9/10 · 1 April 2023]

A friend told me to watch this and I just binged through 6 episode while being on an endless bus ride through Europe. Never heard of Celeste or anybody involved in this, except Miranda "Eowyn" Otto of course, (who's role in this is an absolute highlight) and I was entertained greatly.

What starts of as a typical "woman struggling in her 40s" plot, soon surprises with sudden twists, incredibly lewd jokes, hilarious characters and a very sweet and heartwarming journey to self-discovery, lifelong friendships and about dealing with family affairs and the courage it takes to become a better person even when the odds are all against you.

Very clever, very funny and very mean in the best possible and charming way.

Definitely would watch a second season!

White Noise (I) (2022)

Annoying and dull

[2/10 · 9 February 2023]

Somehow someone green lighting this mess must have been on a mission of creating something really sophisticated and 'thought provoking' while trying to hit all the check marks the 'what worked well before on Netflix'-algorithm spat out. So they hired this director who seems to be trying so hard to be the next Woody Allen and an early Steven Spielberg at the same time on this one but then failing in epic ways.

Sometimes 'fake it till you make it' works but it definitely didn't in this case.

The result is a really off-putting movie in the most boring and joyless fashion possible.

It's like Stranger Things and Don't Look Up mixed with a severe amount of misanthropic sentiment and an underlying immature hate for the middle class family.

Better get therapy and leave the movie making to others.

Spencer (2021)

Very good and intense movie

[9/10 · 4 December 2022]

After bingeing the 5th season of The Crown it took me some time to try this one as the trailer already showed that a very different approach towards the royal family was attempted.

Spencer is a very adult and intimate study of a very troubled woman suffering from what she perceives as a stone cold and cruel family situation during a family gathering for the Christmas holidays. Lots of details are assumed to be known and mostly unexplained and we are following Diana spiraling out of control increasingly as the days add up.

If Diana was really that much of a nervous wreck, like this movie suggests, it gets quite obvious why - and plausible that - they had to get rid of her.

The Favourite (2018)

Excellent

[10/10 · 14 May 2022]

What a stunning, sharp, modern, provocative, brilliantly acted, excellently shot, suspenseful, dark, excruciatingly honest and extremely beautiful to watch timeless masterpiece!

Narcissus and Goldmund (2020)

Beautiful but a little bit off

[7/10 · 16 March 2022]

Just watched this movie and need to express my admiration for the costumes, the set design, the casting and the cinematography. The world the the story is set in feels very real while having a very distinguished look and poetic feel to it. Unfortunately everything else is falling a bit flat and tends to get a bit boring and stiff.

I probably would have switched it off half way if the role of Goldmund would not have been cast with such a beautiful (and fortunately mostly lightly dressed) handsome young actor. *sigh* Actually a 5 star movie but adding one for the beauty of the film and one for the sex appeal of the leading role.

Eternals (2021)

I really did not want to write this review

[2/10 · 2 February 2022]

Because every minute spend on this movie is a waste of your life, but seeing the desperate attempts of how brutally this huge steaming pile of nothing burger (at best) is advertised to be the next best thing since the invention of the wheel, forces me to write this in order to warn people.

Don't waste your time on this!

It's probably the worst movie ever made in the history of movie making considering how much money and how many big names and professionals of their trade are involved.

Beyond cringe.

2 Stars for fairness: The effects are great (duh...) and Angelina Jolie is doing a good job but is without a chance against everything else that is wrong with this movie.

C'mon C'mon (2021)

Get therapy

[2/10 · 5 January 2022]

What a pretentious boring piece of nothing. Self-obsessed entitled helpless wokesters failing in simple daily life tasks while soaking in their own pathological wokeness, instead of just pulling their heads out of their own derrières to eventually one day being capable to escape their 'depression-by-choice' life style.

That might as well apply to the director and the writers of this slow dragging tedious brain numbing movie.

The fact that the whole thing is shot in black and white should actually be enough to give it some warning label.

Don't Look Up (2021)

Meh

[6/10 · 25 December 2021]

I really wanted to like this much more than I did. Somehow most of the acting is lacking of authenticity and therefore many of the jokes don't work as well as they could or just fall flat.

Although Cate Blanchett delivers one of her most entertaining performances probably ever and Meryl Streep surprises with a very Trump-esque version of some fictional Hillary Clinton character, their work unfortunately gets diminished by the flippantly rushed story and DiCaprio's lack of talent.

Overall still entertaining and enjoyable enough to sit through it but sadly too disappointing in too many aspects to really stick or have any deeper meaning or sustained value.

Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)

Wow!

[10/10 · 1 October 2021]

Stumbled upon this on Prime Video and had never heard of this movie let alone Florence Foster Jenkins. What a delightful tragically funny and touching masterpiece in every which way.

Stephen Frears once again delivers a brilliantly directed, stunningly told and outstandingly acted movie! And as always reveals the audience, that is willing and able to listen, so much more about life and the tragic beauty of it all, than just the plot of the movie and it's characters itself.

"People may say I couldn't sing, but no one can say I didn't sing!'

Bravo, Mr. Frears!!

And Bravo Florence Foster Jenkins!!

The Tomorrow War (2021)

Pretty bad but just above the bar of still watchable

[5/10 · 3 July 2021]

First it's hard to get into and through the bumpy long winded intro. And while you keep wondering about some of the massive plot holes which they fail to fill, you eventually will make it to the middle of it and then get suckered through to the end by some massive action / cgi scenes to the inevitable emotional generic happy ending. Mankind gets saved thanks to an endlessly chewed and chopped down attempt to merge Independent Day, Starship Troopers, World War Z and then some, into an algorithm-approved plot salad, that fails to come up with anything new or really mind blowing.

If these kind of 'straight to stream' movies are supposed to be the 'new normal', most movie lovers will probably have to find some new way of spending time because to sum things up this is tedious garbage and really only last while you watch it, if you even get that far, of course.

The Kominsky Method (2018–2021)

Simply brilliant

[10/10 · 13 June 2021]

I just finished season 3 and have to express how much I love this show and it's odd set of characters. What started as something that my mother once called 'Grace and Frankie' for people with a prostate, just blew me away with yet another (too short, but) truly touching and emotionally deep continuation that doesn't fail to be extremely entertaining at the same time. In an era of endless millennial virtue signaling phony rip-off garbage, this is refreshingly honest, real and downright cruel in a most delightful way.

Mythic Quest: Everlight (2021) Season 1, Episode 11

I found that rather stupid

[4/10 · 17 April 2021]

When I saw there's a new surprise episode before the new season starts I was happy and excited to watch it immediately but I don't get all the good reviews. It's not funny and feels over all very forced and desperate.

Let's hope the coming season has something more to offer than this.

The Dead Don't Die (2019)

I (surprisingly) liked it a lot

[9/10 · 13 March 2021]

Finally a zombie comedy for grown ups that don't like zombie movies but who are still fully aware of the very precise analogy to modern society. Lavishly casted and beautifully framed and shot. Braindead meets Twin Peaks meets Stranger Things in a hilariously stoic, entertainingly acted and over all very well executed way.

Joker (I) (2019)

Probably the most overrated movie in decades

[2/10 · 11 March 2021]

Watched it and turned off after being 30 minutes in. Watched the rest later and am still not impressed. The costumes and set design don't fit the time it supposed to play in. DeNiro's late night show feels totally unrealistic and does not convince at all. Like most other aspects of the movie. The plot has huge holes which they try to cover up with the 'it was only in his imagination' trick. What a bore. And finally the much praised acting falls completely flat for me on most scenes as Phoenix does just the same thing over and over again and it is not as great as everybody claims at all. The whole film feels like a bad attempt to copy a very dull Scorcese movie and somewhat forced into the Batman universe to actually get made, because in this day and age that is the only thing that Hollywood thinks people want to see. When actually it's the only thing that they put out there and people just keep lowering their intelligence and demands to an ever lower hanging bar.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

Politically ridiculous but still a great movie

[8/10 · 28 February 2021]

As rightfully stated here by some already the ridiculous glorification of left wing extremism and not unexpected pandering to the liberal mob is painfully obvious and I totally understand how this could ruin the movie for many out there. But let's not kid ourselves... what else did you expect from a movie on this issues in times like ours?! Nevertheless the movie was very entertaining and an unexpected treat amidst all the 'new normal' streaming mediocrities that are being pump out lately. Great writing and a very well performing cast make it one of the better productions in recent years and a really solid modern 'Hollywood movie' in the best possible meaning of that term.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020)

What a waste of time

[5/10 · 23 February 2021]

Old fashioned, stereotypical, outdated and boring. I expected a great Blues musical and an empowering story but that's not happening here. 4 stars for the quality of production and one for Viola Davis even if the one dimensional characters and the slowly dragging along plot ruin this movie quite thoroughly.

The Queen's Gambit (2020)

Simply stunning

[10/10 · 20 January 2021]

Everything about this show is simply stunning, brilliant and a pinnacle of excellent entertainment! Thank you Netflix for putting this one together so graciously!

Away (2020)

The negative reviews here are hilarious...

[9/10 · 25 November 2020]

... they clearly show how useless the opinions of some people have become. You don't criticize TV-Shows based on your failed expectations of what you thought it is going to be, but on what they actually turn out to deliver. And if you can't see the quality of this show, then you probably shouldn't utter your opinion on stuff at all as it is worthless and ignorant and holds no actual value but letting the world know how you personally feel when you don't understand how the world works. Sure the phone-home thing is a bit over the top, but it helps to tell the stories of the crew members in a very close and emotional way and helps to describe what the actual challenges of long distance space travel for humans might be. To put the focus on the psychological drain of such a journey might not be that action packed as the SciFi nerdiverse would want, but definitely worth to contemplate about, and in the case of Away, done in an excellent and very approachable manner.

And to all the members of the 'wasted hours of my life' crowd: nobody forces you to watch everything that's on Netflix. That's your own responsibility. And not ever is going to be everything that Netflix does considered to be for everyone to watch. Get a grip and take a walk once in a while. :)

Enola Holmes (2020)

Very entertaining...

[8/10 · 13 October 2020]

And after reading that she produced it herself, I am very impressed and happy to dismiss the little flaws here and there as a charming signature of a great and very promising young producer/actress. Although the excessive talking to the audience did irritate a bit at first, i still found myself enjoying it increasingly more and more as it is very consistent and well placed throughout this ever changing fast paced adventure and because she is pulling it off so exemplary, that it gives the movie a very modern and young appeal while adding a whole set of layers to the way the story is narrated. A very entertaining and well worth watching piece of British cinema (well almost) and definitely one of the luckier shots in the dark that Netflix has had in the last couple of months (or even years?!).

Amazing Stories: The Heat (2020) Season 1, Episode 2

Better than the 1st episode

[6/10 · 13 March 2020]

But again somewhat rushed to the end. Why are they wasting time in meaningless music clip style sequences when they are then missing time to get the story told with the right pace? I didn't find the acting that bad. I think both of them play somewhat believable neither did I find the language that over the top. (Watching with subtitles though) What concerned me more is the fact that they either have a grossly chemtrailed sky when it's sunny or foggy rainy days (as a result from the spraying) and that nobody seems to be annoyed by that. ;)

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

Could be 10 stars...

[9/10 · 9 December 2019]

But the highly overrated performance of Sam Rockwell ruining every scene he is in. His rendition of the dumb ass redneck deputy is too comic-like to fit with the sublime and superb acting of the rest of the cast. You can even see him smirking through his role as he seems to find himself so great. Surely not worth an Oscar. (But then everybody knows the Oscars are a shady business anyways.) Frances McDormand though is stunning and her Oscar is definitely well deserved.

The Morning Show (I) (2019– )

Why?!

[10/10 · 5 November 2019]

After all the hideous flops this woman caused, why on earth would anybody risk to jeopardize this (although a bit forced on the pc side) potentially entertaining new series by casting Jennifer Aniston as the lead role? Which means she gets lots of close ups. Its hard...

Whitney (2018)

Breathtaking

[10/10 · 3 February 2019]

Never been a big fan of Whitney Houston back then but this is definitely one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. The amount of unseen footage is making it a truly deep and intimate experience. You just have to love and admire her for all that she went through and achieved! May she Rest In Peace and her legacy live on forever!

Roma (2018)

This is not a movie and depressing from the get go

[2/10 · 8 January 2019]

Really I don't get the hype at all! I'd rather watch Marie Condo fold another three seasons long some random strangers underwear than this pretentious boring montage of static camera and annoying sound recording. And it's too clean for black and white.

Mirror Mirror (I) (2012)

Heavily underrated brilliant gem!

[10/10 · 3 January 2019]

Never watched this because of the devastating critics it got right from the start but just fell in love with it on Netflix. What a stunning, tasteful, funny, witty, adult, enchanting and entertaining gem! With great acting (Julia Roberts is giving the comedic performance of her life in my opinion), hilarious costumes, incredible sets and fast a paced suspenseful story throughout the whole movie. If you don't get how entertainingly different and brilliant this movie is then you just don't get it and that's that.