A very stark film with bad writing, acting, editing, scoring and everything else. Seems to be a town with only two young guys in it, and every girl in town is aggressively flinging themselves at them like a hardcore Three's Company episode. And complete with a ridiculous, ranting confession by the villain at the end. The only good thing about this movie is that it was short. Even so, a complete waste of time. Don't bother.
Reviews
13 Reviews
I came late to the Star Wars party, meaning...
6 May 2022
Being no fan of pop-culture, I had never seen any of the films in the franchise until my early 50s when in May 2019, I added them to my streaming queue. Even though the special effects of the 42yo original seemed dated, I found it enjoyable with interesting characters and good writing. Within the month I had watched the first seven films, with Return of the Jedi being the best (in my opinion). I didn't even mind Jar-Jar Binks, but I should've stopped watching after the first seven. I was warned by a co-worker who is a mega-fan.
The Rise of Skywalker and its predecessor, The Last Jedi, left me saying 'huh.' It seems the trend in Hollywood -instead of creating new quality material, is to focus on wringing every penny out of a franchise until it becomes unwatchable. The special effects for this film are top notch as usual, but it seems the producers thought it was okay to stamp the 'Star Wars' name on a story, which was very poorly written, and pass it off to the fans. I found the plot to be convoluted and almost incoherent at times, with too many flashbacks and visits from spirits and ghosts to try and justify what the characters were doing. It just didn't work for me. It's as if they had leftover storylines and decided to cram them all into this one film. Lucas should've stopped at seven films. I'm glad (and hope) this is the last of the lot. And sorry for the long-time fans, who've made Mr. Lucas a lot of money, to have to sit through this tripe as a finale.
The Rise of Skywalker and its predecessor, The Last Jedi, left me saying 'huh.' It seems the trend in Hollywood -instead of creating new quality material, is to focus on wringing every penny out of a franchise until it becomes unwatchable. The special effects for this film are top notch as usual, but it seems the producers thought it was okay to stamp the 'Star Wars' name on a story, which was very poorly written, and pass it off to the fans. I found the plot to be convoluted and almost incoherent at times, with too many flashbacks and visits from spirits and ghosts to try and justify what the characters were doing. It just didn't work for me. It's as if they had leftover storylines and decided to cram them all into this one film. Lucas should've stopped at seven films. I'm glad (and hope) this is the last of the lot. And sorry for the long-time fans, who've made Mr. Lucas a lot of money, to have to sit through this tripe as a finale.
Liar Liar
(1997)
Horrible and irritatingly unfunny!
10 April 2022
I was bored today and decided to stream this movie, as the storyline seemed like clever and interesting. After about the first 15 minutes, I regretted it. I've never been a huge fan of Jim Carey and this movie cements that. Carey's CONSTANT screaming, mugging and over-the-top silly antics gave me a headache. I can honestly say this is one of the absolute worst films I've ever watched. I won't even go into the ridiculous courtroom drama and the contrived ending. Seldom do I giving a rating of "1", but it's the lowest available. A total waste of time!
Darling
(1965)
THIS was a Best Picture nominee?!!
20 March 2022
I'm not knocking Julie Christie's Oscar for Best Actress at all, but uninteresting and unlikeable characters with an uninteresting story and uninteresting scenes make for a very boring, meandering mess of a movie. I certainly don't understand the appeal of this film or why it was nominated for so many Oscars.
I'll Follow You Down
(2013)
Not at all what I expected...in a bad way
12 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Based on the synopsis on my cable guide, I expected this to be more of a crime drama. When it veered into being sci-fi, I wasn't mad about it, but expected it to be something more worthwhile.
I wanted to see this as I'm a huge fan of Gillian Anderson ,who I think is an amazing actress, and who I've always believed carefully chooses her roles to showcase her talent. This just didn't work for her. It's almost as if she made this film on her day off. There wasn't enough for her to sink her teeth into. And poor HJO did the best he could with a bad script and dialogue when Anderson's character exited a third of the way through, leaving him in the pivotal role.
Halfway through I began to realize this film was a disappointment and I should've spent my time elsewhere. There seemed to be a definite disconnect between the actors, writers, the director and the work they were charged with credibly bringing to life on the screen. I would not recommend this film.
I wanted to see this as I'm a huge fan of Gillian Anderson ,who I think is an amazing actress, and who I've always believed carefully chooses her roles to showcase her talent. This just didn't work for her. It's almost as if she made this film on her day off. There wasn't enough for her to sink her teeth into. And poor HJO did the best he could with a bad script and dialogue when Anderson's character exited a third of the way through, leaving him in the pivotal role.
Halfway through I began to realize this film was a disappointment and I should've spent my time elsewhere. There seemed to be a definite disconnect between the actors, writers, the director and the work they were charged with credibly bringing to life on the screen. I would not recommend this film.
Meet Me in St. Louis
(1944)
Ugh! I knew I was in Bored-sville when...
26 September 2021
...the first 30 minutes of this film revolved around a late supper and a phone call from New York which came and went with no fanfare. I must've checked my watch a dozen times. I understand that it's a year in the life of the family, but what a boring year. It wasn't funny, clever or at all interesting in any way. These vignettes were overly long and really seemed to offer nothing in the way of a coherent storyline or a reason to actually care about any of these characters. And the exaggerated acting didn't help.
I've only seen a handful of Judy Garland musicals and think she's a great talent, but I have to say this is the worst one so far and even SHE couldn't save this meandering mess. The musical numbers weren't all that great and the title song was a real dud. I really wanted to enjoy this film but found it to be a total miss.
I've only seen a handful of Judy Garland musicals and think she's a great talent, but I have to say this is the worst one so far and even SHE couldn't save this meandering mess. The musical numbers weren't all that great and the title song was a real dud. I really wanted to enjoy this film but found it to be a total miss.
Clash by Night
(1952)
Bad decisions and great performances make for an EXCELLENT film!
18 September 2021
I have always been a fan of Barbara Stanwyck and she doesn't disappoint here in what I think is one of her best roles. This was a film where all the characters were tormented souls and made bad decisions, be it relationships with booze and cigarettes, or getting into and perhaps staying in relationships for what they believed were the right reasons. The result is amazing to watch. Fritz Lang directed all the players to their best. Brilliant performances all-around.
M*A*S*H
(1970)
LOVED the series! Just saw the movie for the first time...
8 August 2021
...and HATED it! Oddly, I had never seen the series nor the movie before. About 2018-ish at the age of 52-ish, I decided to record it. Watched the first episode and thought "meh". Watched the second episode and got a few chuckles. Within a month I had binged through the first two seasons. I eventually finished all seasons in short order and excitedly had to order the series finale DVD which wasn't airing in syndication.
M*A*S*H was not a series I thought I would like, but it was brilliant and not a single episode was wasted, Watched the movie today and was so bored I shut it off to take a short nap. When I resumed watching I kept my eye on the clock counting the minutes for it to end. Had I seen this movie first I NEVER would've watched the series, which I now consider one of my top five best-ever series. I chalk it up to someone having the great vision for what the movie could potentially become as a proper series, with the development of characters I grew to love --even the ones which I should've hated, and with great actors all around. No doubt television can color and grow characters, and present new stories on its weekly canvas that a movie can't do in-depth in 120 minutes. I only laughed at maybe three lines So glad I didn't see the movie first and therefore got to experience one of the best series of all time.
M*A*S*H was not a series I thought I would like, but it was brilliant and not a single episode was wasted, Watched the movie today and was so bored I shut it off to take a short nap. When I resumed watching I kept my eye on the clock counting the minutes for it to end. Had I seen this movie first I NEVER would've watched the series, which I now consider one of my top five best-ever series. I chalk it up to someone having the great vision for what the movie could potentially become as a proper series, with the development of characters I grew to love --even the ones which I should've hated, and with great actors all around. No doubt television can color and grow characters, and present new stories on its weekly canvas that a movie can't do in-depth in 120 minutes. I only laughed at maybe three lines So glad I didn't see the movie first and therefore got to experience one of the best series of all time.
Affliction
(1997)
Too many distractions left me saying 'huh?'
24 May 2021
I only watched this movie because I have list of all Oscars winners in the five major categories. A good performance by James Coburn? Sure. But is a good performance in a movie with so many flaws really a good performance? This story moved very slowly and was unbelievably muddled. It was touted as a crime drama but had way too many tributaries... an abusive childhood, a divorce and child custody issue, a possible marriage, a murder, a descent into madness, possible corruption, a toothache, and on and on. And Nolte's incoherent mumbling got worse as the film went on, and there was no captioning to help understand what he was saying. Maybe the captioners couldn't understand him either. I was expecting it all to come together by the end, but it just never happened. The only notable thing to get resolved was the toothache.
Half-way through I paused the movie to go for my usual Sunday morning walk with a neighbor with whom I discussed the film. He summed it up best without having seen it. "It sounds like a bunch of scraps from other movies used to make a new one." Well said. I can't recommend this movie which was just all over the place.
Half-way through I paused the movie to go for my usual Sunday morning walk with a neighbor with whom I discussed the film. He summed it up best without having seen it. "It sounds like a bunch of scraps from other movies used to make a new one." Well said. I can't recommend this movie which was just all over the place.
The Unholy Wife
(1957)
Just plain awful!
3 April 2021
Not sure what was the worst about this film --the bad writing or the even worse directing who drew wooden and sometimes irritating performances out of his actors. When Steiger's characters comes home to find his friend dead on the floor and his wife with the gun in her hand, he shows no energy or emotion, and basically shrugs his shoulders as if to say "now what?" And the lover's reaction when she mentions the winery being worth $250K --a cartoonish villain's single raised eyebrow. I actually laughed out loud at that. Wish I could have back the time I spent watching this train wreck of a film.
The Secret Fury
(1950)
By the end I was laughing at how bad it was.
15 February 2021
Warning: Spoilers
At first I was interested in "the mystery" of this film. Had Ellen Ewing really married someone else? I assumed not, but was interested to see how it would be resolved. What ensued was just a load of nonsense and I found myself predicting what was next -- "he'll see the reflection of the boat in the water" and "well that's a precarious way to store a large mirror." Oh, and I forgot about the seashell in the pocket of her jacket. I could only imagine this all started with these clues and someone decided to write a movie script around them.
Claudette Colbert is way too good an actress for this, but her wide-eyed I-didn't-do-this-look wore on my last nerve about 30 minutes in. The other frustration was we go straight from a murder scene into prosecuting the case --which by the way was going to be handled by her jilted ex-lover (really?!), and the only clue we're provided with is that "the gun fell on the floor" and whoever did it was wearing gloves. And tough guy Robert Taylor was wasted on this. The best he was given to work with was trying to drown a guy under a spigot on the street.
Of course I deduced the actual villain, but assumed it was to get at Ellen's money. Instead, in the last five minutes the feeble motive was given that it was punishment for having been put in an asylum by Ellen's father, so if she killed him he would have his revenge of her being confined to an asylum too...or if she didn't, he'd kill HER. Why not just do that at the outset and spare us all 126 minutes of a story that doesn't hold together? I literally was laughing at the end at how ridiculous it was. Ugh!
Claudette Colbert is way too good an actress for this, but her wide-eyed I-didn't-do-this-look wore on my last nerve about 30 minutes in. The other frustration was we go straight from a murder scene into prosecuting the case --which by the way was going to be handled by her jilted ex-lover (really?!), and the only clue we're provided with is that "the gun fell on the floor" and whoever did it was wearing gloves. And tough guy Robert Taylor was wasted on this. The best he was given to work with was trying to drown a guy under a spigot on the street.
Of course I deduced the actual villain, but assumed it was to get at Ellen's money. Instead, in the last five minutes the feeble motive was given that it was punishment for having been put in an asylum by Ellen's father, so if she killed him he would have his revenge of her being confined to an asylum too...or if she didn't, he'd kill HER. Why not just do that at the outset and spare us all 126 minutes of a story that doesn't hold together? I literally was laughing at the end at how ridiculous it was. Ugh!
Cry of the Hunted
(1953)
What a disappointment!
31 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The best parts of this movie were the excellently choreographed fight scenes between Tunner and Jory...then someone made the mistake of writing a screenplay around those scenes. The worst parts: Tunner's witty one-liners grow old within the first 20 minutes, but he continues to deliver them regardless of his circumstances. Polly Bergen adds nothing beyond eye-candy, and Tunner's delirious three-minute dream sequence about Jory's escape was laughable and about three minutes too long. And likewise for Jory's delusional confession after succumbing to an infection.
Implausibility abounds in this film, beginning with a rear-ender car accident which frees an improperly shackled Jory, Tunner going blindly to hunt a fugitive in an unfamiliar environment presumably filled with gators and snakes with no gun and nothing but a set of handcuffs, a picnic basket full of sandwiches and vitamins, and a partner who will sensibly bail on him along the way. Tunner and Goodwin search the bayou and go as far as Goodwin beating a local for info on Jory. Really?! Goodwin would rather try to beat the truth out of you but won't search your shack for Jory without a warrant. And don't forget the local sheriff who could care less about the whole ordeal. By the end of the movie, I sided with the sheriff.
Lots of plot holes in that we never exactly know what Jory's crime was, and why Tunner has such a devotion to him as a prisoner. Also, we don't know why Jory is deeply devoted to his wife and son, but yet risks going back to jail instead of letting Tunner perish in the quicksand. Then there's the three final scenes which were evidently just throwaway patch-jobs to put a bow on an awful package of a film...and there you have it. Ugh!
Implausibility abounds in this film, beginning with a rear-ender car accident which frees an improperly shackled Jory, Tunner going blindly to hunt a fugitive in an unfamiliar environment presumably filled with gators and snakes with no gun and nothing but a set of handcuffs, a picnic basket full of sandwiches and vitamins, and a partner who will sensibly bail on him along the way. Tunner and Goodwin search the bayou and go as far as Goodwin beating a local for info on Jory. Really?! Goodwin would rather try to beat the truth out of you but won't search your shack for Jory without a warrant. And don't forget the local sheriff who could care less about the whole ordeal. By the end of the movie, I sided with the sheriff.
Lots of plot holes in that we never exactly know what Jory's crime was, and why Tunner has such a devotion to him as a prisoner. Also, we don't know why Jory is deeply devoted to his wife and son, but yet risks going back to jail instead of letting Tunner perish in the quicksand. Then there's the three final scenes which were evidently just throwaway patch-jobs to put a bow on an awful package of a film...and there you have it. Ugh!
The Haves and the Have Nots
(2013–2021)
WHY OH WHY is this show still on the air?!
18 November 2020
I truly respect Tyler Perry for stepping up to provide entertainment for our black community, but that doesn't mean that he shouldn't strive for quality instead of turning out garbage under his banner. When this show first began, I was excited by the promos and decided to watch. I made it thru three episodes before I'd had enough. The first three episodes creeped along and covered one weekend in soap opera time with Candace meeting the Cryers. The final straw was a scene between Hannah and her son where they needed money. It started after a commercial break and ended 10-15 minutes later at the next commercial break. The dialogue was repetitive as they alternated saying "we need the money, where are we going to get the money, we have to have the money, but how can we get the money..." POINTLESS! I can only imagine it's still on the air because people love a train wreck or need something to laugh at.
As a producer, Tyler Perry has the means and the money to do great things by hiring the best writers and directors (and best set decorators), but he tries to do it all himself and the quality is just plain bad!. I came to post this review when I recently saw another awful promo for season 7 (huh?) where Hannah was having a discussion with a white female character who said "but I really need the money" and then saying the same to Jim in the next clip. It was as if that scene that made me bail after three episodes in season 1 was still going on. Stick to producing Tyler, and stop tagging everything with "Tyler Perry's..." When I see that tag, I change the channel.
As a producer, Tyler Perry has the means and the money to do great things by hiring the best writers and directors (and best set decorators), but he tries to do it all himself and the quality is just plain bad!. I came to post this review when I recently saw another awful promo for season 7 (huh?) where Hannah was having a discussion with a white female character who said "but I really need the money" and then saying the same to Jim in the next clip. It was as if that scene that made me bail after three episodes in season 1 was still going on. Stick to producing Tyler, and stop tagging everything with "Tyler Perry's..." When I see that tag, I change the channel.
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