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Reviews
The Bedroom Window (1987)
A decent thriller with some mediocre performances
The mood it creates is convincing. Stylistically it works: the score is electronic 80's, but a good version of it, and the cinematography is attractive as well. The story pulls you in and keeps you engaged.
However, the last third is unconvincing in plot and execution. Also, the acting is a mixed bag: Guttenberg just isn't the actor for this role (or any other non-comedic role, perhaps - he's actually the same as Police Academy's Mahoney), and while Isabelle Huppert is a fine actress in French, her English just sounds awkward here and unrealistic for a French person speaking English (could be the screenwriter's fault).
Worth a watch if you catch it on TV, but would not pay for it unless you're a Curtis Hanson completist or a fan of Huppert.
Ukraine on Fire (2016)
Helps us see the forbidden facts
A powerful documentary, which the far-right elements from Ukraine and elsewhere mistakenly portray as "pro-Russian propaganda" (check the one star votes).
No. What we have here is an, admittedly, somewhat one-sided portrayal of events leading up to the US-sponsored coup d'etat in Ukraine in 2014, but since we have already heard the entire narrative of the other side being parroted by MSM, this is not an issue. It's not an issue because everything presented here is factual, accompanied with plentiful video proof. The only error I've found is that Khrushchev was not really Ukrainian (he was pro-Ukrainian, but ethnically Russian).
The narrative goes back to WW2 and examines the roots of Ukrainian nationalism. It then continues to explain the US Cold-War involvement, and the continued interests of, especially, neoconservative elements of the US to poke the Russian bear until there's a reaction that could be used to make Russia weaker.
Watch this as soon as you can because there's a chance it will be banned (though Oliver Stone's name may mean that does not happen). And notice that people criticizing this film only talk in general terms without disputing anything of relevance that is present in the film.
Goliath (2016)
Intriguing, but season 4 is pure evil
I loved the first season of this often excellent show. If you like Billy Bob, it's almost unavoidable. The 2nd and 3rd were getting a bit weird, but still interesting. Season 4 follows the same pattern. But let me address an important topic if I may.
45 years we had a fantastic film, which in retrospect is possibly one of the top 3 most evil films ever. That was "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", which demonized Electroconvulsive Therapy -- scientifically proven the most effective psychiatric therapy, which saves thousands of lives yearly and could save many many more if not for the perceptions created by that amazing yet grossly ignorant film.
Now we have this. Demonization of opioids as such. I live in a 2-million-people country where we haven't had a single death yet from prescription opioids. That's because science tells us that less than 5% of legitimate patients who use prescription opioids become addicts. Dependant -- yes, but that's true even for antidepressants, for example. Dependence is very different from addiction, medically speaking. Dependence does not take lives. Yet this show somehow suggests that opioids should only be used for cancer patients??!? That's downright evil. The girl in the show had died because she got prescribed opioids for a spinal injury??? But that's completely NORMAL. If I hadn't been prescribed opioids for my spinal pain, I would have been dead by suicide now. The USA has a problem of overprescribing them for mild pain, a problem of having a shoddy medical system with inefficient controls of prescriptions, and of having a system where it's cheaper to then get opioids off the street because legitimate opioids are too expensive. Not a huge problem 20 years ago, but now street opioids are laced with the deadly fentanyl, and that combo has caused the massive rise in deaths.
It is NOT caused by prescribing regular doses of opioids to patients with legitimate severe pain or unbearable chronic pain.
Bosch (2014)
What a mess
Only low IQ people can enjoy this. The dialogues sound fake, and storylines are sometimes ridiculous and follow certain agendas, some of which are not quite subtle. The acting is not quite bad, but what can you do with such generic teevee dialogues. Loads of better crime related series out there. Hollywood should burn.
Unbelievable (2019)
Heart-breaking, well executed, but slightly long
A very good true-crime series with excellent casting, music, and cinematography. Note that some of the scenes involving careless policemen will make you angry. The series is overall too long, though - should have been at least 20 - 30% shorter. And the neo-feminist agenda is occasionally too heavily in your face, even in scenes where it's not needed at all. Although I guess the Soviet mentality of creating a politically idealized form of 'realism' has been ruining Hollywood for so long that we have to expect it.
Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer (2021)
Read the Philip Carlo book instead
The book by Philip Carlo is fascinating because the family story is by far the most interesting one of any serial killer. The narrative technique is excellent as well.
This documentary is shallow, but stylized to make it appear better than it is. The problem is that we don't learn almost anything about Ramirez's background. We also spend a lot of time listening to the two main cops who did almost nothing to get Richard captured. And there's almost nothing about Ramirez post-incarceration. Would have still been above average if they'd kept it up to 90 or 120 minutes instead of 180 or so, which the material presented did not warrant.