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Reviews
The Born Losers (1967)
cliche-ridden mess
This was bad. Dialogue was bad. Editing was bad. Acting was cornball. Directing was practically non-existent. The sound had to have been recorded with a hand-held cheap microphone. AND JANE RUSSELL???? Her scene was an embarrassment to her career. I can't inagine why she came out of semi-retirement to utterly trash whatever legacy she had. She was dressed up like she was going to the Oscars or a Presidential gala event. And her last on-camera shot was a make-up smeared face and maniacal laughter that was so......BAD!!! I sat through this garbage just to see at what point in time Billy Jack was going to kick butt as he did in his "Billy Jack" film. A couple of sporadic karate chops and then uses a rifle to perform a cold-blooded between-the-eyes shooting. A 60's era worthless biker exploitation......MOVIE??? NO, a waste of time.
The Verdict (1982)
Ten thumbs-up
Newman at his VERY best. His summation is as if he was in real courtroom setting and his impassioned closing referenced nothing about the case itself. Instead, he tells the jury "you are the law" ...it was basically...take what you heard and do what's right. The number 1 (hour) having been changed to a 9 (hours), with the jury being instructed to disregard that testimony ...PERFECT ENDING. A judge may rule something inadmissible but credibility and TRUTH should prevail. Jack Warden touches Newman's arm at the end of the summation. I doubt that was even in the script. Warden was telling Newman, "Well done" ..
Outrage (1973)
50 years ago and still resonates
Haven't thought of this movie in decades. (Too much of) witnessing low-lifes, punks, thieves, hooded scumbags, looters, shoplifters and mayhem-causing-Aholes on the news brought this movie to mind. This isn't a Bronson "Death Wish" scenario. Culp isn't going out waiting to be accosted. I can still remember how I felt when I saw Culp do what any "Ain't gonna take this cr@p anymore" person would do. If the police and so-called justice system aren't going to address this problem of lawlessness...whether it's the theme and plot of "Outrage" or what, in particular, the "mom and pop" businesses are faced with ...then a form of vigilanteism is coming. It's hard to watch the "smash and grab" incidents with the scumbags having ZERO accountability.
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
Great submarine start...lame key story
I thought the first 10 minutes was going to take us into a suspenseful "What's going on here?" story. WRONG!!! OH MY GOSH, THERE'S A KEY!!!...but not just any key. This key has (WOW!!) two parts. AND THEY LIGHT UP WHEN THE HALVES COME TOGETHER!!!! WOW!!! COOL!!! Sorry, but this movie was all flash and over-the-top action sequences that were thrown together only because that's what the audience expects from an Impossible Mission. It doesn't surprise that PART II was filmed ar the same time. They could have taken care of the entire KEY story in one movie and made their ridiculous profit, but why settle for a billion dollars with PART ONE when Tom and the crew can make two billion with two movies???
A Civil Action (1998)
VERY well done
Travolta is GREAT. Duval is GREAT. The movie is based on real life events and while some drama may have been added for effect, it's a well-told story. I personally identify with two characters...the father whose son died in the car unexpectedly (being deposed by Duval) and the mother who simply wanted to know the who, what and why of her son's death and expecting an apology from whoever was responsible. My experience with a loved one's passing...totally similar situation. A lot of movies contain scenes that simply add minutes to the typical 90 to 110 minute run. In this movie, every scene has relevance. I believe that this was Travolta's best performance.
Well Worth the watch.
The Killing (1956)
Kubrick at his best
I saw this movie 10-15 years ago and was wowed... had no idea at the time that Kubrick was the director.... Only recently happened to find that out. I am going to watch it again. Sterling Hayden was great in both this and another Kubrick film, Dr Strangelove. And it's always good to see Elijah Cook in whatever role he plays.
Don't Look Up (2021)
I Don't Get It
This was labeled as both a comedy and a disaster film. First off, it was not a comedy but it was a disaster. I wasn't sure if this was going to be a silly Armageddon-type film or the more serious (and believable) Deep Impact-type film. It was neither. Any satire was forced upon us and contrived. Any seriousness was mangled by bad dialogue and meaningless scenes thrown in. DiCaprio and Blanchard bed scene...a waste of screen time. Dicaprio's wife confronting them together... a waste of screen time. I could go on but Why? This film tried so hard to be "cool" but left me cold. We did get to see Streep's dimpled buttocks at the very end just before she was being devoured by some alien creature...by that time, I said out loud, "Great!!! This travesty is over." What I expected and what I got were light years apart. Even had I expected a "comedy/disaster-combo-film", sorry...total failure.
Battleship (2012)
Aliens throw grenades
Incredibly advanced aliens make it to earth (they WOULD be advanced aliens, right?) with an incredibly large spaceship and it throws grenades at its adversary. This alone sank the movie Battleship. All CGI and very very very little else. Hard to believe a couple hundred million went into this sad excuse for a movie.
Valkyrie (2008)
Almost a 10
The only thing I didn't like about this movie was the ending. I wanted the good guys to win, so it's a nine rating. Cruise gives a great performance. The characters are believable and perfectly cast. All the scenes work, there's no extra baggage. The movie keeps the viewer interested all the way through. Good work, Hollywood.
The Lone Ranger (2013)
Wow!!! What a movie
It's very easy to point out the 8940 things wrong with this travesty. That's the number of seconds in this 149 minute, 250 million dollar waste. Tedious, boring, unimaginative, silly, overcooked yet underdone, and acting and dialogue like something witnessed in a bad junior high school play with an $25,000 budget, not 250 million. Worst, most ridiculous scene which we are supposed to take seriuosly---when the train wrecks with Jack Sparrow and the Wimp Ranger being thrown off, both tumble and tumble and tumble at 40 mph, slam against whatever and not a scratch on either of them, no torn clothes, no sprained joints, and that stupid magpie is still on the Indian's, I mean, pirate's head. Worthless scene done in CGI, wow! Aren't we impressed!!! Oh, the William Tell overture music part was great. I closed my eyes and daydreamed about Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels.
Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940)
Heros
Robinson gives his best performance in my mind. Happened to catch this movie years ago and though dramatized, am sure, the story is about a man dedicated to helping people and is a very powerful message to us....who are our heros? Sports heros? Music heros? Hollywood heros? No. People like Dr English are the heros of this planet. Great movie and Robinson is superb in the role.
The Masked Singer (2019)
Entertainment
I hope it's not politically incorrect to address low IQ's and how this relates to "The Masked Autotune". My IQ is 12 (twelve). I love the show. I have nothing better to do with my life except be thoroughly entertained by has-beens and nobodies. If I could give this genius show a 12 instead of a 10, I would, so I give it a 1 (one). The judges' reactions are so over the top and I just giggle. Oh, Oh, the absolute suspense. I would consider watching this show again, but my IQ recently dipped to 5 (five) after the last show, and I think the show caused my 7(seven) point drop. If I go to zero, I will tune in again. Mr Cannon, you are a genius.
Indebted (2020)
Stale
Channel surfing
Accidentally hit indebted
Same stuff rehashed again again again on other sitcoms
canned laughter dumb situations
I'm too old for this stuff stale stuff
Red River (1948)
More than a western
The story, the acting, the music, the directing, the characters... This is the kind of movie that simply isn't and couldn't be made again, not in black and white or in color. Duke gives a great performance. I never really considered him to be a great actor but this role and Rooster Coburn solidifies him as the quintessential rough and ready cowboy. Clift and Brennan also came through. This is simply a great story and director Hawks knew his craft.
Widows (2018)
Steve McTarantino
The movie tried so hard to be what the screenplay and director wanted it to be that it went a little off kilter. 20 minutes too long. Implausible situation with 3 amateurs "planning" a heist that was totally anti-climactic once we got to the end. Gratuitous bowling alley violence against a cripple. Overdone scenes. Almost corny at times. I expected a bank heist thriller and instead got Mr Duval being injected yet once again into this overlong movie near the end, screaming meaningless obscenities at his son. Mr McQueen meets Mr Tarantino...but not quite.
Searching (2018)
Different and very well done
A very well done movie. It kept me thinking throughout. Just what is going on? Where is this leading? Is there a bad guy? Is this one the bad guy? Where is she? It all came together at the end. The manner of storytelling is a first. A truly original way of presenting a story. No flash, no special effects, nothing overdone and first rate acting by everyone. For the first time in quite a while, I left the cinema satisfied.
Armageddon (1998)
There wasn't a "zero" star rating
Best comedy movie I ever ever ever sat through. Bruce's Tiger Woods moments, haha, and then chasing and shooting at affleck on an oil rig. I would think that would be rather dangerous with all those pipes and flammable liquids. It was so funny, though. I was actually disappointed that this movie then turned....serious? I just laughed and laughed. Billy bob, you tried to act so cool with your "size of Texas" and other remarks. What a comedian! And then, the whole crew with their demands, like not wanting to pay taxes. Ha ha snort snort. And then (jumping to the end of this jewel because I don't want to waste any more time with this review), the editing. EDITING? I don't know which was worse, the editing or the worthless script. That wasn't editing. There were so many jumps from one scene to another near the finale, that my head started spinning and I started laughing just so I wouldn't throw up from the over-assault of my visual senses and from the dizziness brought on. I hadn't felt that queasy since having sat through the Blair Witch Project with its incessant camera shaking. I laughed but not all the way to the bank as this sorry cast did. Fact is, this movie actually made me mad when I left the theatre. What a sorry, sorry mess. Yes, I was laughing mad. I would classify this as the best comedy ever and the worst serious movie ever and right on par with another very expensive worthless flick, the Wild Wild West. What absolutely amazes me is the amount of money this stupid travesty brought in. I look back and wonder why the hell there wasn't a class action lawsuit filed against the concocters of this comedic garbage. I have never asked a theatre for my money back. I was a fool for not doing so after sitting through this laughable comedy.
A Quiet Place (2018)
So much potential
So much potential, yet too many holes in this story. Slow, slow, boring start, and tried to get better and looked like the story would take off. WRONG!! First off, wouldn't you carry the shotgun everywhere you go? While traipsing through the dangerous woods, would you have your youngest, most vulnerable child lagging way behind, only to be scooped up by a beast? Forget the noisemaker the little tike turned on, alerting the beasts...what if the kid trips and blurts out a syllable? I'd be carrying my kid. Why string up an array of lights and security cameras? I thought all you had to do was sign all the time. 90 minutes into this saga and a teen has an "aha!" moment and hits upon the exact right decibel level, frequency, hertz or whatever and magically immobilizes the enemy? Hello?... were there scientists anywhere out there trying to figure out a remedy only to be out-thought by a 9th grader? Best cringe and scariest moment was of the 2 inch nail injury...not enough to save this movie. And the ending? Ok, now I see how the security cameras and shotgun come in handy. But, too late...this is 90-something minute movie ONLY and it's simply time for it to abruptly end. I cannot understand how this movie gets rave reviews. Sad, sad ending. Had its moments, but mere moments don't make a good movie.
Popeye (1980)
superb
Superb example of taking a cartoon character and doing absolutely nothing with it....absolutely no story , unsustainable noise that the producers try to pass off as music. "he needs me he needs me he needs me" ---What? You can't write another line of verse and find a word that rhymes with "me"? And, I didn't realize for the first few unending minutes that Poopdeck Pappy was supposed to be "singing" during the long, boring boat chase. Annoying background noise with him complaining about children or some such meaningless banter. The original Popeye The Sailorman song, performed at the end of this horrific mess, was the only thing even remotely true to the cartoon. Williams mumbles throughout the film and Duvall is just plain annoying. She's almost as annoying as in The Shining. This attempt at movie-making was written as they went along. terrible. I can only hope that the special town set they built for this tragedy went to the homeless locals in (Malta, was it?). Someone should benefit from the building of this fictitious town. Certainly moviegoers did not benefit. I was 27 in 1980. I remember walking out of the theater and thinking " what the heck!!!" It's on a movie channel right now and I am laughing very hard, both because of some of the reviews I've just read and am torturing myself (AGAIN)while watching a movie that is so ridiculously bad. Robin Williams...please donate your fee you got for this mess to some worthy charity, Maltan refugees.
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
rotten
There isn't a zero rating? or a "minus" rating? wasted characters, wasted dialog, disjunctive, listed as a "comedy" and is NOT a comedy by any stretch of imagination. quick shot of fellatio....stupid. replace the "apple" painting with a woman fondling another woman....dumb. Adrien Brody screaming obscenities at the reading of the will...why? Willem Dafoe on skis, being chased...what? Harvey Keitel's prison character with a bad-fitting bald-thing covering his head. Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Edward Norton....shame on you. Adrien Brody---WHY???? people either loved it or loathed it, it seems. I really wanted to ask for a refund. I really don't understand the positive reviews---I guess I wasn't existential enough.