Reviews

First let me say I have worked in TV and film for over 12 years. I have worked on everything from TV commercials for lawn mowers to feature films and documentaries. So, I know how much goes into making even a short commercial.

I am a big mystery buff and a big fan of documentaries, true crime and human psychology. The deep mysteries of the human mind, complexities of human emotion and the endless motives and drives that influence the good and evil aspects of human nature that dwells within us all, has fascinated me my entire life.

"Making A Murder" is one of the best true crime documentaries I have ever seen. Rivaling even Truman Capote in capturing that terrible beauty that is being human and living in an imperfect world populated with complex and often times, frustrating and confusing circumstances.

I have given this documentary a 10 out of 10 stars, which is something I rarely do but was well earned in my opinion. I consider several variables depending on the genre, for a documentary I consider; the story itself, it's pacing, the cinematography, character development and emotional impact.

The oftentimes trite but true phrase "Life is stranger than fiction" is spectacularly illustrated throughout this series. From the first episode to the last, this series grabs your attention immediately and accelerates from there. I watched the entire series in a day. Which speaks to the powerful pull of the story and the real life people who are living it.

I understand that it has taken filmmakers Moira Demos, Laura Ricciardi and their team ten years to create "Making a Murder". The sheer tenacity, passion and dedication it takes to pull something like this off is nothing short of incredible. With hundreds of hours of footage and a dynamic and ever moving story, Moria Demos and Laura Ricciardi take us on quite a roller-coaster ride. It's a fast paced journey, filled with shocking twists, gut wrenching turns and many times unbelievable circumstances that leaves you filled with a mix of conflicting emotions that will have you screaming at the screen in outrage, disbelief and sadness.

"Making A Murder" is an inside view of our very flawed and unbalanced justice system. It shows us a reality, that very few who have not been there, exists and thrives in our modern world. The absolute and crushing power that law enforcement can wield without impunity, especially against the ever growing disadvantaged is disturbing. Truth and justice seem to hold very little value in much of today's justice system that is filled with arrest quotas, biases, vendetta's, private prisons, greed and human error.

The story has quite a punch and I hope it opens a dialog among us all about the state of law enforcement, the justice system and the terrible imbalance of power that allows those without the resources and money needed to mount a fair defense all too often are chewed up and spit out by a system that is filled with flawed human beings.

I'm a long time mystery/suspense buff, from classic film noir like "The Third man" to modern day, independently produced films like the wonderfully twisted, suspense thriller "Hard Candy". I'm a big Hitchcock fan, as well as great mystery novel writers. There are so many varieties of mystery and suspense and I enjoy them all. But, The best murder mystery has that tight wire suspense woven into the very fabric of the story. To achieve that atmosphere there are a few key elements that MUST be present; A well thought out and engaging plot with enough information about the mystery that you can speculate about possible suspects, great character development,(you need to feel invested in the characters, this includes the villains) and when and how clues are revealed. In "True Detective" we discover the clues at the same time as the detectives do in the flashbacks, we are given as much information as they at the time, but in the "present day" interviews we know, they know much, much more and this information is slowly revealed to us. It's great fun to try and work the case with them and you never have to wait too long to see if were right about a particular situation. Last, but by no means least - the element of surprise or the "Unknown." Something unexpected happens or someone does or says something that takes you completely by surprise, the proverbial "twist", which if done right brings us into that taught, dark area of suspense. This is by far the hardest of all the sub-genres of mystery to achieve. "True Detective" delivers on all fronts and exceeds expectations. TD is a multi-faceted story with superb acting, cinematography, writing, editing, perfect locations and deeply detailed sets. So far, I have not found any aspect of the production that is lacking. Thus the 10 | 10 rating, which is rare for me.

I love the gritty juxtaposition of the characters, sets and dialog. From the opening credits of "True Detective" you get a sense of the show's uniqueness. From the song by The Handsome Family "Far From Any Road" to the striking layered images of key cast members overlayed with shots of ordinary and extraordinary objects and the environment where the story takes place.

"True Detective" is a slow burn mystery, it's not boring by any means but, It's certainly not for folks looking for lots of gratuitous violence, action, sex and a slapped together confession at the end to wrap things up. "True Detective" is a mystery/crime drama for people who enjoy to be challenged on many levels.

"True Detective" is suspense as it should be done and the show takes the time to allow the viewers to become invested in the characters and the story. Revelations are always happening, but in a more realistic way. Some are obvious and in your face, while others are much more subtle. There's so much more going on under the surface.

A good example of this can be found in the two leads - Woody Harrelson who plays Detective Martin Hart and Matthew McConaughey who plays Detective Rust Cohle. Rust is seen at first blush as the damaged one, the unstable one and Martin as the true blue, solid as a rock cop, who goes by the book, but as time goes on and the story unfolds, you see that this isn't really the case at all. Just the opposite is true.

As Hart talks of rules and boundaries in the "present day" interviews we see his actions from the past betray his words and/or wishes. Cohle on the other hand is like a priest or philosopher, not only in the "present day" interviews but also in the flashbacks. He's constantly aware of the "inside" joke, he's the one who can "see" what's really going on. His eyes are wide open - he suffers from insomnia, he literally sees things others cannot and this profoundly changes the way he views and interacts with himself and the world. The numbing protective layer that society has applied to the human experience through religion, social norms and practices, our society's black and white view of justice have been burned away for Cohle, which gives him a form of second sight.

They give several explanations on why Cohle "sees things", they even do an episode called "Seeing Things" (Ep.2 Season 1) In Cohle's mind it's the death of his daughter and end of his marriage and the ensuing chain reaction that followed his own personal tragedy, the story reveals to us he has a rare neurological condition called synesthesia, which is a neurological phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway.

3 Episodes in and "True Detective" has become my favorite crime drama. I've already re-watched it several times and each time I watch an episode over, I see something new, a small detail I didn't notice the first time that makes me view everything in a different light. For example: Cohle's mirror - his apartment is sparse, monk like even. It's almost empty and makes Hart feel sorry for Cohle. What is in his space are only the bare necessities. He has a mirror that is only as big as one eye. This small detail is not verbally addressed, it's on screen for barely a minute, if you blink you could easily miss it. He stands there before a mostly bare wall and with one eye stares into himself. The only pictures he has are of "DB's" (dead bodies) which he also stares intently at for hours at a time, all the books he owns are about crime, psychology,crime research and of course his own large notebook, which earned him the nickname of "The Taxman".

I can't wait for the next episode. 10 stars , I highly recommend this series and suggest a binge watch.

As a life long mystery buff,I find "Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries" to be a real treat. The series is very reminiscent of Agatha Christie's "Marple" (with Geraldine McEwan ) and "Poirot" (with David Suchet). There's just something special about period murder mysteries, perhaps it's the lack of high tech machines that do our sleuthing for us, a la CSI, or maybe it's the romanticism of the period itself. Regardless, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries is expertly produced from exquisite wardrobe & makeup, to lush shooting locations and breathtaking cinematography. Every element of the production is done with such attention to detail, you loose yourself in the story. The two leads, Essie Davis as Miss Phryne Fisher and Nathan Page as Detective Jack Robinson are perfect in their roles. Having watched each episode thus far, I cannot imagine anyone else portraying these delightful characters and their chemistry is undeniable. The entire cast is great, the characters are well thought out and multi-dimensional. The episodes are also well done, peppered with historical information and accuracy. I would highly recommend "Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries" to any mystery buff, it's a modern classic done in the period style of the roaring 20's.

I just watched the pilot of Sleepy Hollow and was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed it, I like the modern reboot of this classic story. I like the way they have taken the era in which the original Washington Irving story takes place, which gives a nod to the man and story itself and skillfully brings it into the modern day.

Sleepy Hollow blends in elements of magic, horror and mystery. The production values are great, the casting and acting also spot on and I love the creative license they have taken with the story. It's crazy, fun and full of surprises. One of which I really like, is the apocalyptic angle. I also really like the supernatural aspect of it, I'd love to go into more detail, but I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't watched it yet.

I'm glad to see the networks finally embracing genres like horror -"The Walking Dead" is a great example of how, if done well, and taken seriously, a genre TV show can be a big hit with a large demographic. I'm certain I'm not alone in being over the so called "reality TV" which is neither reality nor proper TV. I'm also sick and tired of the endless cop procedural's that seem to dominate network TV. It's time for new ideas, even if they come from old stories.

If they keep up the good writing, develop the characters properly, keep high production values and hold onto the show runner for more than one season without replacing them, I can easily see this show be a success.

I enjoy a good action movie from time to time and Parker is not it. This movie was a stinker. It's like they took one take, cold and moved on to the next shot. I knew every actor in this film and each one of them is far better than this movie. The writing and direction of this film was one of the worst I have ever seen. Don't waste nearly 2 hours of you life on this movie. It was phoned in by everyone involved. The plot had more holes than Swiss cheese and the dialog was utter slop. It was so bad, we actually laughed through most of it. This was a poorly written and directed film that wasted perfectly good talent and scenery. Someone needed a paycheck and didn't care what the end result would look like. What make this especially obnoxious is that with the right writer and directors this could have been a decent movie.

Odd Thomas was a solid movie and it was indeed an enjoyable watch. I'm a pretty big fan of the Odd Thomas books. As with any novel turned into a movie there was much of the finer details left out and a few that were never there added in. I feel they did a fair job of capturing Odd's character. I do feel the chemistry between Odd and Stormy was a bit off. I'm not sure if this was due to the casting ,acting or direction. Or the fact that so much about her character was left out. But it felt more juvenile rather than deep love of your life love. I can't help but wonder if they had given it a slightly bigger budget and focused more on some of the other characters and their stories, it would have been a great movie, instead of merely a good one.

In the book we get a lot more ghostly communication between Odd and a very diverse and interesting collection of ghosts, including Elvis. I would have loved to see more of this in the movie, as I feel it really helps the viewer/reader understand the world of the dead and how it impacts the living world and Odd himself. One of the most interesting characters in the books is his strange friend Little Ozzie and his cat, Ozzie has 6 fingers on his left hand, writes detective novels and knows about Odds unusual powers as does the Sheriff. Of course Stormy is the only one who knows everything about Odd.

I gave Odd Thomas a 7 out 10 - It's a good solid movie and a fun watch. I'd love to see it made into a T.V. series. I think that way you could get the in-depth character development and plot lines you have in the books.

I first discovered "Wire in the Blood" by happy accident, I was watching Agatha Christie's Miss Marple on Amazon prime and "Wire in the Blood" popped up in my recommended list. I became hooked from the first episode "Mermaids Singing" which is done in 2 parts, with each episode my enthusiasm for the show also grew. Wire in the blood is now one of my favorite crime/Mystery/Drama shows for T.V. I'm a big fan of good,clever mystery. There are many crime/mystery books and shows out there but few are done this well with excellent character development, believable plots and story lines that are on one hand complex, terrifying, fully engrossing and on the other hand funny, thoughtful and informative. The show and books are dark and twisted. If your a fan of the genre and have not yet discovered Dr.Tony Hill I recommend that you do.

Wire in the blood was created and produced by Coastal Productions for the ITV network, it ran from 2002 to 2008 comprising of six seasons. Wire in the Blood was ITV's top rated show, was syndicated to 30 countries and won multiple awards. So when ITV did not pick up Wire in the blood for another season there was widespread disbelief and major disappointment for the millions of devoted fans.

Coastal Productions was created by Robson Green and Sandra Jobling in 1997. Their main objective was to create and produce quality shows in east Britain, creating jobs and giving voice to that area of the country. It blows every CSI, cop procedural made in the US totally out of the water. Wire in the Blood is based on the books of noted and award winning Scottish crime writer Val McDermid.

Dr.Tony Hill played by Robson Green is our main character, he is a clinical psychologist who works as a profiler for the Bradfield police; he specialises in repeat violent offenders, and has come into contact with a number of serial killers throughout his career. D.C.I. Carol Jordan played by Hermione Norris is a hard working officer and head of the Major Incident Team (MIT) of Bradfield Metropolitan Police's CID. Season 4 introduces us to a new lead character - DI Alex Fielding she is a senior detective at Bradfield CID and is a dedicated professional, always willing to put in the hours to get the case solved. Her warmth and down-to-earth style have gained her the respect of her police colleagues and Dr Tony Hill. There are many very well developed characters in this series i recommend you visit Wikipedia to get the full description of the show and it's wonderful characters http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_in_the_Blood

I also recommend that once you finish watching the series you read Val Mcdermid's books on Tony Hill & Carol Jordan. After the last episode of season 6 I felt left just hanging there - I wanted more more more and to know what happened next?!! As tribute to the shows success and devoted fans there is even a fan site where fans of both the TV show and books have written some pretty good Fan Fiction from chapters to full short stories. http://www.fanfiction.net/TV/Wire-in-the-Blood/

The Pact starts off kinda slow but I'd say the last half to a third was really great, packed with surprises and genuine creep outs. The title of the film is a bit of a mystery in and of itself. Though I do have a few ideas, but I won't post them on this review. The acting was solid all around and I greatly admire the set production on this film. In some ways when it comes to a good Thriller/Mystery/Horror movie I feel less is more. And in this case the low budget was a blessing. No over the top CGI infested story here, which I found added to the story as a whole. The movie felt gritty and real. The start was slow, we spend nearly half the movie for the set-up, I do feel this could have been done in half the time. I would have liked to have seen much more on what happens in the second half of the movie, more info, more history. I'd love to say more but I don't want to spoil anything for you. This is far and away one of the best Mystery/Horror films to come out in a long time. It's many things , but one thing it's not is lame and predictable.

I highly recommend a watching of this film, it slipped right under my radar and I'm glad I stumbled across this title here on IMDb.

This movie breaks the cop procedural movie mold. With stellar performances from Jake Gyllenhaal (Brian) and Michael Peña (mike), you really feel the bond, friendship and love these two share not only as brothers in blue but as best friends outside of the department. End of Watch gives the viewer a peek behind the shield and shows that cops are ordinary people who live and work under extraordinary conditions. Normally I don't like the hand- held camera/documentary style of filming, however in this movie it works and really adds to the realism. I definitively want to give a shout out to Anna Kendrick, playing Brian's girlfriend/wife as well as America Ferrera who plays Mike's wife. The on-screen chemistry of the cast, especially these four is what made "End of Watch" such a great movie. I was engrossed from the jump and stayed that way until the end. End of Watch is a must watch movie and now goes down as one of my favorite films in this genre.

This is what you get when you get greedy, the original movies by the Waynan bros. SM1 & SM2 were fun, funny and original. SM3 was stolen from the bros and done poorly, here we are at SM5 and it's painfully obvious that it lacks the brilliance of the first two. Scary Movie 5 is a knock- off of a knock-off and even as a parody movie it's just awful. I love silly bad movies, but this is just bad bad, nothing to redeem it at all, for the exception of a few cameos. The laughs are few and far between. They would have done better casting unknown actors instead of filling it with D list actors like Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan. Save your money and your time - check out the first two or go see A haunted house instead.

I wasn't expecting much when I watched the Factory because of the erratic reviews, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Mike Fletcher played perfectly by John Cusack, is a workaholic cop obsessed with a case about missing prostitutes, assumed dead but no bodies were ever found. Mike is also a loving father to his feisty daughter Abby, played by Mae Whitmanand, who also does a fantastic job of portraying a love sick, rebellious young girl who feels her mother is a tyrant because she wants her to follow the rules. Father and daughter have a special bond and though Mike works too hard, he's there for Abby and seems to be the only one who can reach her. Mike is a dedicated family man, but his obsession with the case causes him to work late hours and frustrates his wife, played by Sonya Walger, who does a good job of playing the devoted but frustrated wife and mother. I would have like to have seen a bit more of her in this film, since the true message of this movie is ultimately about family. Mike's partner played by the brilliant Jennifer Carpenter, is not only mikes partner but also a family friend. She is always there for Mike, checking on his progress with the case and backing him up with the boss. The other bright star of this film is Dallas Roberts who's acting really brings life to his character. His portrayal was not at all what you would expect and that just delighted me.

This movie was very well done, from some really good acting to excellent production and cinematography. I gave this movie an 8 star rating and it's well worth a watch. There are ratings for this movie all across the spectrum from 1 star to 10 stars. My advice is ignore the crappy reviews, some folks just like to hate. Some of the crap that has come out in recent years, especially in this genre, I think is to blame for some folks burnout on the genre. But this one is great, I would have liked to have see a touch more character development in a few spots and bit more juxtaposition of the good vs. evil concepts this movie offers. The important thing is this movie does offer some really layered concepts. Any movie that can deliver a surprise and this one has a couple, is a treat in my book. The factory kept me on the edge of my seat in suspense, It's rare that I find myself rooting for characters and I was SO glad they didn't Disney it up with a typical Hollywood ending.

I found "The Awakening" to be a breath of fresh air for the Horror/Suspense genre. With so many shaky cam, found footage, reality show type horror/suspense movies hitting the box offices and living rooms around the world with poor character development, over the top torture and gore, plots so thin they are the only transparent ghosts in the picture. "The Awakening" is bound to be an instant classic! It's done with just the right amount of restraint, it has a rather Hitchcockian tone to it.What you don't see is far more suspenseful and adds to it.Sometimes less really is more. There is a fine line to walk especially with a ghost story, to achieve that sense of spine tingling, skin crawling feeling and that element can only be teased from the psyche with mystery, not in your face guts or a head being lopped off - that is shock value and gross out, which is perfectly fine for a slasher pic or a grind house movie, but not a good ghost story.

"The Awakening" is set in 1921 England, our Protagonist Florence Cathcart a free thinking, strong willed ghost buster, author and hoax crusher opens this gem of a movie by diving right into the fray. Mediums, psychics and séances' were all the rage during that time period, which began with the religion of spiritualism. Spiritualism developed and reached its peak growth in the 1840's to the 1920's. With many patrons from the Aristocratic and famous class, like Abraham Lincoln joining his wife for a séance after the death of their young son. After WWI many bereaved souls were searching for a connection to loved ones lost either from deadly illness or the horrors of war and were further victimized by unscrupulous charlatans seeking only coin and selling false hope. Florence's main objective is to put a stop to this and shed light and truth on the subject of death, the afterlife and ghosts. But after being invited to a supposedly haunted old grand estate that was converted into a boy's boarding school, with a recent death of a student and a rumor of an old murder and sightings of a ghost, Florence finds much more than school boy pranks and hoaxes - she finds something good, something frightening and something truly enlightening.

The character development in "The Awakening" is done perfectly with solid performances from the entire cast. The cinematography is excellent as is the entire production tip to tail. From sets and wardrobe to the musical score. The research done for the story and time period is what really brings this ghost story to life. It's the small details and creepy little surprises that all add to the reality of the time this story is told and the ensuing mystery. I must also comment on the pacing - this movie wasted no time, it's no action packed, a scare a minute kind of movie, it's far more subtle, but it's never slow or boring and nothing is wasted.

As a true horror/suspense connoisseur (I have a degree in film production and I was a make-up artist/Stylist for print, film and T.V. for 12 years.) I'd like to comment on some of the cynical and negative reviews. One cannot simply lump all horror and suspense films together. There are many subsets of the genre (Slasher, Grind House, Mystery, Supernatural, Creature, Occult, Gothic..etc.)and each has it's own flavor so to speak. You cannot compare a movie like "A nightmare on Elm street" to "The Changeling". Though they are both considered to be horror, one is supernatural slasher and the other is classic ghost story. Even when comparing movies in the same subset like "The house on haunted hill" with "The Haunting" both of which have remakes, have huge differences, usually found in the details and presentation and should be considered unique in their own right. While it may be true that there is nothing new under the sun and we've all seen the same plots and themes over and over again - I have found there is always something new to add to the age old themes.

This movie is in my top 10 of great ghost stories - 8 out of 10 stars for "The Awakening".