Reviews

In our cowardly new world, is this what happens when artificial intelligence steps in? All of the life and soul have been drained out. The dialogue is wooden, cliched and plodding, largely centered on melodrama, with occasional flare ups of trademark violence. The plot is just a mundane exercise in bowling: set up some bad guys and bowl them over. Repeat. Even Reacher himself comes across now as a cyborg or Terminator--maybe even an AI creation. I will suffer it no longer and am sorely tempted to revisit Season 1 to see if it was even good to begin with and I had just had a lapse in discernment. But i KNOW it was good! One exquisite moment was when formula bad guy Robert Patrick (looking awful), who famously played an enemy cyborg Terminator in Terminator 2 (27 years ago!) looks at a list of aliases and says "Who the hell is Sarah Conner?" Nice. It's intriguing to me that the Terminator series focused a lot on artificial intelligence taking over the world and Reacher Season 2 has all the appearance of having been written, acted and crafted by artificial intelligence. Maybe the writer's strike precipitated this? Hard to figure out how season 2 could be so bad in contrast to season 1. It's like the positive/negative of a photo...

Greater than the sum of it's parts---and the "parts" alone are fantastic. Parts like talented acting, sets, score, script, editing, costumes and direction. A wonderfully entertaining and sweet movie that reminds me of Wes Andersen's whimsical style and the Coen Brothers dry humor. Maybe slightly derivative in that respect, but director Tom George still establishes his own style, enough for me to look forward to future projects. Every actor shines, but to name some names, Adrien Brody and David Oyelowo are over the top. Saoirse and Sam are typically spot on. Finally, the more familiar you are with Agatha Christie's works, the more you will get out of the movie.

Started with a solid bang, "hot out of the gate". Then episode 2 was just "pretty good". Then episode 3 was "hmmm..." and number 4 saw the earth coming up real quick for a crash and burn. Episode 4 was mostly arch villains having tea and crumpets talking smug malevolence, and brother/sister Moretz and Reynor profusely trading f-bombs. (Is this some sort of a rap cred game, or an homage to "Goodfellas" --or just trying to run the clock out?) Marvelous special effects will carry a show only so far, right? So much back story, there is no front story! And who else got excited when the double amputee got his amazing new avatar body and thought the action would explode? Only to fizzle out with a whimper within minutes. What in the world were they thinking?! I must say #4 did set up potential for outstanding action in subsequent episodes, but I'm not sure I trust the creators anymore. *UPDATE*--Episode 5 has me resigned to the fact that when The Peripheral is good, it is very good, and when it slumps-phew!--so I will take the good with the bad, I guess--I'm still in....

It really does appear as a straight up documentary. It is well crafted, too--beautifully shot and edited, wonderful graphics and, well-- brilliantly casted? Johnny Royal himself plays a freemason named Johnny Royal, although his appearance is that of a hard core rocker. Other actors are wonderfully childlike, nerdy and pompous in their roles as freemasons. All I could think of was neighborhood kids having their own "secret society" club--with an endless parade of goofy costumes, hats, accessories--and handshakes! These truly are kids, but absurdly playing "freemason" in adult bodies. As they go up from various degrees, reading endless literature, acquiring plaques, swords, rings, amulets, badges, necklaces, hats, rituals, etc. In an unending search for god, they could actually suffocate in symbolism! Meanwhile, they are deceived into thinking they are going somewhere. It must be really expensive, financially and time wise, to keep up with all the costumes, jewelry, accessories, meetings, chants and ascended, enlightened Mumbo Jumbo. Jesus Christ Himself, the Name above ALL names, actually comes in as #21 degree. Pretty good, eh? I wonder if He thinks this nonsense as funny as I do. So--enjoy! Marvelous, understated performances with a brilliant script. Sort of a restrained "Spinal Tap" satire of men's fraternal organizations. A wonderful work of art with much to learn about how a man can waste his life.

Hilarious B movie about a B movie. Had to watch twice just to fully glean the precious nuggets within this whimsical satire. Fantastic cast reveling in absurdity and.mayhem. Bottom line: BIG FUN!

Symbolically reflecting it's own environment, Katla moves at a glacier's pace as the magma of intrigue and mystery build deep within a volcano erupting with suspense and pathos. An Icelandic town coated in volcanic ash symbolizes the murky grey between the black and white of here and now reality. Stunning cinematography embellishes the hilarious hijinks of a dysfunctional family's voyage through a morass of time travel and apocalyptic doom. Like a Bjork song.

The difference between this experience and root canal surgery is that this movie is visually stunning with a gorgeous soundtrack. Otherwise, both experiences are very similar and seem much longer than 2 hours. THANK GOD for fast forward! And thanks to God, too, that it never occurred to me to say to my wife: "Why don't we go out tonight and sit in a dark theater and observe the unrelenting horrors of war for 2 hours." Some war movies rise above the horrors with character development and plot. No so here. finally, if you ever found yourself annoyed by the pretenses of Hollywood, know that films like this are their own punishment. Everyone involved, despite their million $ lifestyles, had to spend every waking hour with this horror. Anti-war, for sure, and maybe someone out there (Hollywood?) needs a blatant reminder that war is Hell.

Longest 97 minute film I have ever seen! The parts are better than the whole.

Occasional laugh, some heart. creativity and intelligence do cameos. Half the script is PC obscenity and profanity.

Sandler and Aniston are pitch perfect! Their comedic talents are at peak performance in this madcap "mystery ". Why no theatrical release? It would have been a wonderful summer hit I think. All of the supporting cast, along with the gorgeous sets and scenery, just add to the substance and appeal of this worthy effort. Thanks to all for a wonderful entertainment!

Silly fun drawing sweetly on the continuing legacy of the Three Stooges, Laurel and Hardy, Abbot and Costello, etc. I remember the Dumb and Dumber series getting bad reviews too, but audiences always know better: these films make you laugh! Great sets with great actors. The flaw may have been in the editing-- it was a bit too quick, and left many great sight gags and comedy bits in the rear view mirror. I was grinning on the inside for most of the movie, which reminded me of how much I loved watching the Three Stooges--60 years ago! As for the Laurel and Hardy comparison--John C Reilly actually just got done playing Oliver Hardy in the wonderful biopic "Stan And Ollie"--yet another brilliant performance!

Yes, it's liberals trying to be "fair and balanced", yes, it's all over the place, yes, it starts with a bang and ends with a whimper. But was this conservative viewer entertained? You bet! Stellar cast. Shaloub was great, but what is that accent? And, man, was he annoying! Mary Elizabeth is always amazing. New to me, Johnny Day Gill, is so funny, he sweats comedy. Just looking at him brings a smile. I'll be looking for his future work. This whole production, from writing to editing and filmography, was refreshingly bold and daring. They took on massive challenges and bit into many issues (superficially), tried their best, but by the end it all just collapsed from so much weight. Copious kudos for trying!

This is a skillfully crafted message for the Church! I hope and pray many will view it, and thereby have their faith strengthened.

Where to start? This rocked my world. I always naively thought the Pope was pretty much a Christian like me. Based on this Vatican approved and produced puff piece, I certainly doubt it. He appears to just be an affable CEO of a large organization. Through the course of the movie salvation through faith in the Savior Jesus Christ is never mentioned. Satan isn't even mentioned, despite much talk about his handiwork. Francis is undoubtedly a nice, well intentioned guy. I'll let his words speak for themselves: "Poverty is at the heart of the gospel." (No, the shed blood of Jesus is) "What hope have youth without jobs?" (Hope in a savior, Jesus Christ) "Work brings dignity." (God imparts dignity to us) He rails against consumerism, but ironically bemoans the lack of employment. "Soil, water and air and all living beings of creation are under permanent threat." "We are not alone, we have Jesus our older brother and many other brothers." "The model of Saint Francis shows (drug addicts) a way, a revolutionary path." (not Jesus?) "I only ask God that... death won't find me empty and alone, not having done enough." (Does he read the Bible?) "I am not eternal. Nobody is, only God is eternal." (John 3:16--"that they may have eternal life...") "Perhaps (God) the Father could not have imagined so deep a fall and profound an abyss (as the Holocaust)." (uh...omniscience?) "Building a wall is not a solution. Closing borders solves nothing." ( Have you , good sir, not noticed that your ENTIRE COUNTRY, Vatican City, is surrounded by a HUGE wall?!) "Never take a proselytising attitude. Never." "Protecting the planet, our home, is our most pressing task today." "Who is the poorest of the poor? Mother Earth! We have plundered and abused her!" "God does not see us with his eyes. He sees us with his heart." And finally, this: "the biblical story of creation is a mythical form of expression. Creation is a development, an evolution." There are plenty more faithless quotes that shocked me. Again, nice guy with quirky, unChristian sentiments and observations. I did like his take on love being dependent on freedom and free will. That indicated there may be some depth and true knowledge of God somewhere. The film maker, Wim Wenders, also narrates in a hushed, pretentious and overly dramatic monotone. I would have loved to know more about the man biographically, like the wonderful Ruth Bader Ginsburg doc "RBG", which covered her entire life, not just her current position on the Supreme Court. You got to know the whole person and what shaped her philosophy on life.

Alas--worthy subject matter poorly rendered. The limited talents of the film makers should have made this an hour long. I grew tired of the incessant still shots of Ms. Ginsburg with the same huge glasses and dour expression, as if the film makers had run out of ideas and material but needed to pad it up to make it "full length". Academic, informative and , of course, hagiographic. One notable lapse in the sycophancy was this intriguing exchange: "What was mother like?" her daughter was asked. "Exigent", she replied, sheepishly.

Then this movie is for you! You will be hard put to pick your favorite scene: graphic 6 gun slaughters, a substantial spider crawling into a sleeping man's mouth, the subsequent hideous sickness and bloody vomiting of hundreds of baby spiders, a horse diseased, the brutal and primitive sawing off of an arm, nauseating drunkeness, hideous chemical burns, suicide by gun to the head, and other atrocities I'm hoping I can't recall. Like a Coen Brothers movie, but without humor or women, the acting and script were above par. Ocassional nice exterior shots (Spain pretending to be Oregon wilds), but mostly too many close up headshots. Flashes of greatness.

Wow. One of my favorite actors, Ben Foster, at his most restrained and understated, which made for boredom. Thomasin McKenzie also had to underwhelm, but shone anyway. Still, the pace was glacial, "it was a real snoozer". I couldn't make it to the end. Everything turn out ok?

Well made and compelling, with some sag now and then and an intrusive, overbearing score, this is a moving story about forgiveness and the crazy music business. However, it's not about Jesus Christ or the Gospel. Our Savior is barely (if at all) mentioned. The SOURCE of all forgiveness, His death for all sin and resurrection-the GOOD NEWS!- is never presented. Some characters even attribute the song "I Can Only Imagine", to changing their lives--not Jesus Christ! The abusive father's life change apparently came through listening to a magic radio. Then there is the absurd glorification of worldly success. This is a nice religious movie for a comfortable church goer about a magic song that can magically change lives.

Wonderful movie making! Well crafted, fast paced and engaging, with just the right touch of irony and humor thrown in. Straight, no BS. A good Bruce Willis fix for us fans, and a tribute to Eli Roth's maturity as a film maker. It seemed to bring out the "feminine side" of the critics-- we can live without that. So sorry it appears to have (maybe) broken even financially. It deserves better. Well done to all involved!

I agree with everything good said about this black comedy and can only emphatically add that the Chechen gang is exquisitely crafted and hilarious. Perhaps the most extraordinary character, the bald Noho ("Can I get you a submarine sandwich?"), is unforgettable. Just a brilliant performance. The ridiculous twins, one who is obsessed with killing Barry and then his tortuous brother who insists on building a set of stocks, are wonderfully absurd.

I tried, I really did. In the end (not of the movie), I just couldn't go on watching the bloated, besotted stumblebum that was "Churchill". Almost as bad as Lithgow's portrayal in "The Crown" of Churchill as some sort of second rate Marvel Universe creature. If this was England's leadership in WW2, they should surely have been vanquished. This miserable film is fraught with error (as well documented by other reviewers here) and brutally monotonous: here's a closeup of Winston's ugly mug, then cut to closeup of his beautiful young assistant, who by contrast appears downright otherworldly, again and again and again. The film is also 100% Godless: apparently, England's leadership during their "darkest hour" never once thought of turning to God, and Churchill must have been as much an atheist as Hitler and Mussolini. I'm thankful Joe Wright was arrogant enough to brag right off that this piffle is "A Joe Wright Film". I am forever forewarned.

An excellent, engaging tale, perhaps a bit hackneyed at times, that is greatly enhanced by Jennifer Connelly's STELLAR performance. The Oscar goes to her, in my opinion. She and Josh create a marvelously realistic and empathetic relationship that lives on beyond the screening. I hope she is getting the credit she deserves for this marvelous performance (other than $millions, of course...)

I couldn't agree more with the bulk of these reviews--great movie but lacking emotional grab. I just wanted to add that a recent release is an excellent "bookend" to this work: "Their Finest" is about Dunkirk, too, but with overwhelming emotional engagement (it's a romance above all else). A marvelous movie about Dunkirk, from the perspective of the British department of propaganda burdened with producing short movies promoting the war. Subtle humor throughout, as well.

The first of 3 discs was spot on--crisp, engaging, well produced and compelling. Truly promising with wonderful special effects. All of a sudden, as if the flush lever were hit, disc 2 swirls into nonsense and turgid drama, descending rapidly through disc 3. The story gets absolutely derailed with Hallmark moments and sappy "love" strewn about like cars from a massive train derailment. The mawkish teacle swirls into strident emotionalism, drawn out sentiment, pointless dialogue, and continuity disasters. Many of the cast are just plain annoying, especially Jennifer's mother, whose tremulous delivery was uncomfortably vulnerable and fragile to me. The series swaggers drunkenly from cloying to banal, from shock to boredom with plenty of nonsense thrown in. (The Devil visually is really amazing, though, despite an emotionally constipated demeanor.)