Reviews

This is probably the best show that's ever been on TV, with probably the best performance of Alan Alda , playing the most horrible person he's ever played. It's compelling , it rings true it's like a play , but it's on TV. I get why it only had a few chapters , ' cause it ain't easy doing that kind of stuff for more than a year.

Don't Look Up is an outrageous satire of our current state of politics mixed with our fascination with celebrity culture , the dumbing down of science mixed with the mindless triviality the idiot news services use to distract the masses. It is entertaining in an an annoying way . Is Meryl Streep playing a similar role she was playing in the remake of " The Manchurian Candidate" while using the same name of the character she played in "Adaptation" , a superior and more interesting satire? Leonardo DiCaprio is interesting playing a nerd scientist, the movie is curious , but I don't know if it really works... it's not all satire , not all serious...

I just watched "The Bellboy after all these years, and I gotta say, it's a work of art! If you are familiar with the little-seen but genius French director, Jacques Tati, you will see a lot of parallels to this movie and a Tati film, and that's a good thing! I assume Jerry borrowed from Tati, and that may be why he was so popular in France. See this film, it's visually stunning , and very funny, too!

They should do a double feature of Bad Teacher and That's My Boy , two of the worst films to come out in the last 15 years! Who greenlights these insipid wastes of film, anyway? And are people that dumb that they think these films are entertaining? PATHETIC! I'd give it no stars , but it won't let me!

Where did this movie come from? " The Last Movie Star" is a comic farce and a joy to watch. Burt Reynolds always had that " who the hell cares, it's just show biz " thing , and proves it again in this virtually unknown swan song for Burt. It's really fun. I just ran into it on cable, and it's worth a watch!

I've heard this is the " Citizen Kane of alcholic clown movies", and it may be!

I just watched " Love and Other Drugs" for the second time , after seeing it when it first came out. All I can say is it's an interesting character study about 2 very flawed people , surrounded by a large advertisement for the pharmaceutical industry. Let me first say that I have little to no respect for the pharmaceutical industry , and I cringed when I saw how this movie glorifies big pharma , but I found the two main characters , played by Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway to be flawed but interesting people, and that's what made the movie hold up. Also , it's a little dated , as it chronicles the time when Viagra first came out. I don't know if the director had in mind to make big pharma look good , but , it sort of puts a positive light on big pharma , and these days , with the opioid epidemic going in full swing, I don't have a positive view of big pharma! It's am interesting time capsule of a period , not that long ago.

The film "The Comedian" is not really funny , kind of annoying and nasty. Is Robert De Niros character , Jackie Burke , supposed to be Rupert Pupkin after thirty years in the business , all bitter , nasty and burned out? Of course , "King of Comedy" was a much better and entertaining movie had more interesting characters and focus , and Scorsese is a better director than Taylor Hackford. I don't understand why ANYONE would find Jackie Burke funny , charming or anything. It wanted to be a nice character study between Deniro and Leslie Mann , which sort of works , but then you have the relationship between Jackie Burke and his brother , played by Danny DeVito, which was just annoying. Italians playing Jews is an interesting dynamic , and , as I like to say , Jews and Italians are very similar in character , especially in New York. It could have been a lot better , but it is what it is, which is not a very good film.

"Exit Through the Gift Shop" is like no other documentary ever made. I assume "Mr. Brainwash" is a real person , as I assume Banksy is a real person, although no one knows who Banksy is , because exposing his identity could get him arrested.As for " Mr. Brainwash" , he may be a real person , he may be an actor playing a role. In any case , ETTGS is a very interesting and entertaining film, it makes you question the line between art and commerce , and does it in a very interesting way. Banksy is actually a very accomplished artist , he's not your run of the mill graffiti artist. Thr film also lets you in on the world of graffiti artists , as well as Shephard Fairy , who designed the original posters for Obama's first run for the presidency. Go see this film , you won't soon forget it!

I have tried to watch this abortion of a film called "That's my Boy" a couple of times now , and all I can say is "Who is giving Adam Sandler money to make "films" , and who in the hell thinks this CRAP is funny"? If there was ever a reason to think our society is in it's last days , this "film" could be the biggest indicator of it. Raped by his high school teacher , Adam Sandler plays the lead and is idolized by his peers. THIS IS A PREMISE OF A MAJOR Hollywood MOVIE? WTF PEOPLE! I guess there are rape jokes , incest jokes , racist & sexist jokes all through this "film" . Is this any indication of what Sandler thinks about in his real life? And , another thing bothers me about Sandler's movies. How the hell does he get legitimate actors like Al Pacino and Susan Sarandon to appear in his crap? Pacino was in his previous piece of doo - doo, "Jack and Jill" , and Sarandon has a walk on in this "film". Now , of course , his latest fiasco , Pixels is playing , and , really people , don't support Sandler anymore! His "films" are just that. A filmy , disgusting slime that insult your stupidity , leave you feeling violated , and depleted of all intelligence. SANDLER , JUST GO AWAY , YOU NEED SERIOUS HELP!!!

I saw Gone Girl at the theater when it first came out a few months ago , and I thought it was kind of entertaining , and a bit twisted and creepy. I just saw it again on HBO , and all I can say is , HUH? I think it's a kind of clever movie , but it's only good for one viewing , because during the middle of the movie , you have to say to yourself, SHE'S A WRITER , SHE MADE THE WHOLE THING UP! C'MON , PEOPLE , WHY DO YOU HAVE ANY SYMPATHY FOR THIS LYING, CONNIVING WOMAN??? Of course , the Ben Affleck character wasn't that much more likable , or believable , but , c'Mon , the people had sympathy for this woman who was a writer and made the whole story up? Is this a mystery for stupid people , or what? There's no real suspense in this movie , just a lot of contrivances , and that's too bad. Watch What Lies Beneath , with Harrison Ford , and Michelle Phieffer. That is a much better , creepier movie that doesn't insult you.

I just saw "Love and Mercy" , and I felt like I was inside the head of Brian Wilson , for a little while. I have to sit down and listen to "Pet Sounds" again , and maybe even "Smile" again , as these albums are the basis of this movie , an extraordinary journey inside the head , and tortured soul of Brian Wilson. It's hard to explain the creative process , and , being a photographer of sorts , and having been told I have a "gift" , I can sort of understand what an artist goes through in creating artistic expressions, for a lack of a better term. "Pet Sounds" has been acknowledged as one of the best albums in rock history , and it sill reverberates in a way few albums can. Paul Dano plays Wilson the younger , and John Cusack plays the older, damaged Brian , when he's being handled by Dr. Eugene Landy , the quack , as played by Paul Giamotti. , as a manipulative , nasty self styled "saver" of Brian. This movie touched me in a way that movies don't usually touch me. There are some slow periods in the movie , and it's not really a mainstream movie , and it's not told in a mainstream - by the numbers biopic sort of way , but , we've seen enough of those kinds of movies. This is told in a way a person who's gone through problems with mental illness and creativity and issues related to that , and I think creativity and mental illness can go together , as has been proved time , and time again. It's not a perfect movie , and Brian Wilson is probably a complicated , tortured soul , and I've heard he can be very touchy in interviews , and very flaky in concert , but the fact of what he probably went through , and the fact that he's still here is a testament to the soul of a true artist. Go see it!

That's right , The Fifth Element is a low rent Blade Runner. There I said it. The Fifth Element is Blade Runner for the 15 year old crowd. It is a dopey , multi - colored mess , a sci -fi movie for people who don't like to think too much. It is an annoying exercise in mediocre special effects , dumbed down story lines , and characters that are so one - dimensional and annoying that they are almost intolerable , aka Chris Tucker. Just what the hell was his character supposed to be doing anyway? As an inter - planetary DJ , he narrates nearly half the movie , and it's basically AWFUL. Milla Jovovich is an alien who can't speak English , and tries to communicate in cute foreign - speak throughout the movie , but is just annoying as well. And Bruce Willis as the world - weary cab driver is doing his macho thing as well as he usually does it , but I found this movie exhausting , stupid , amateurish , and just plain dopey.

I have not seen "Blended" , I will not see "Blended" , or anything else associated with the awful , horrible Adam Sandler! Who is he making these "films" for? He's a ten year old boy , who's been given as much money as he wants to make what amounts to someone with a limited amount of ideas making horrible , horrible choices and barfing these ideas all over the audience. I tried to watch "That's my Boy" , the last piece of crap he passed off as a "movie" , and I couldn't get past the first five minutes. I couldn't believe what I was seeing on the screen. Someone in Hollywood must stop him! I know these movies make a ridiculous amount of money , but WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON PEOPLE? Does the movie going public have the mental age of ten, because these "films" are basically just a string of poop jokes , dick jokes , with bad frat boy stuff thrown in. All in all , after you watch one of these turkeys , you feel like you need a bath , 'cause you just want to go "EWWWW" , I FEEL REALLY DIRTY" ADAM SANDLER , YOU'RE NOT FUNNY , JUST GO AWAY!

To say that "Django Unchained" is a revisionist revenge fantasy is beyond the obvious and besides the point. It is a visceral , outrageous , frightening , in some points hysterical movie that examines this country's history with racism and slavery that we still haven't worked through , and still bear the scars of. Who's to say that there wasn't a German bounty hunter roaming the old south in the days before the Civil War , and who's to say that he didn't employ a former slave as his assistant? OK , that probably didn't happen , but Quentin Tarrentino is an artist , and a very skilled one at that , so he takes some liberties , which pay off big in the end. The movie gives us scenes of the old south and slavery that we haven't seen before , frightening , ugly scenes , that may well have been the common , everyday experience for a lot of people , and puts it in the context of "this is how it was , and this was the reality " . He does it the style of the spaghetti western , and throws in some comic relief to take some of the pain away , which makes it a little easier to take , but it is still a highly disturbing vision , and can weigh on your mind long after the film is over, which is what good art is supposed to do. I saw this film at the theater when it first came out , and was troubled by it's brutality being shown as everyday life , but , I'm watching it on HBO now, of course the small screen will tone down some of the brutality , and the other aspects will come through, as the comic relief aspects , showing what a bunch of buffoons the "poor white trash" element could be, there is a "Blazing Saddles" sort of silliness to some of those scenes. To put it into perspective , "Django Unchained " , is an important film , trying to grasp an important topic , in a way we haven't seen in quite this way before. It's hard to watch in places , it is disturbing , but it makes you think , and that's always a good thing.

I saw "This is the End" on pay per view , and I just gotta' say why did you let these half wit - nerdy , self absorbed "movie stars" make a movie? Oh sure , it made buckets of money parodying the very thing these guys claim to hate , but it wasn't really funny , wasn't really clever , wasn't really a movie! It was just an excuse to get all the new slacker nerd heroes together in a movie that wasn't a movie , doing what they do best , revel in insincerity, act like they don't really give a crap , and the world ends around them ! FUNNY , NOT! I didn't make it through the whole thing , I was in too much disbelief! I suppose I like some of these guys individually , James Franco can be a very good actor , Seth Rogan is sort of tolerable in some things , Jonah Hill usually just bugs me , he was alright in "Moneyball", individually , with the right direction , they are tolerable , but , together , with no boundaries or direction , it's TOO MUCH! I suppose the end of the world would be terrible , but if you had to spend it with these clowns , it would be INTOLERABLE!

I suppose you could say the show "Clear History" was an extended episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" , but without as many laughs , and you'd be right. I enjoy "Curb" ' was a big Seinfeld fan , but to watch a Larry David joke go for over 90 minutes , or however long it went was a bit too much. OK , it was funny to see Larry in a long haired wig for the first 20 minutes , but , this show is overall NOT FUNNY! It was basically an exercise in how long you could tolerate the obnoxious Larry David persona , and after about an hour , I said "enough". I don't know what else to say , but , maybe the idea of a car called The "Howard" was funny , but that's all I'll say. Larry , go back to "Curb" , I think we'd all be better off if you did!

I just sat through "This is 40" , and I think they should rename it "This is Pointless". This self indulgent , sloppy , lazy , whiny excuse for a movie should have never seen the light of day , and to think it made nearly $80 million at the box office is an embarrassment to people who have any taste for good filmmaking. While I have enjoyed some of the previous films of Judd Apatow, It seemed the studio had so much confidence in his previous track record that they just gave him a bunch of money and said "Do whatever you want" , and that's what he did , and that's what we got. The enormous waste of talents like Paul Rudd , Albert Brooks , John Lithgow , etc. , is glaring , and I was just waiting for something, anything to happen in the movie to break up the monotony. The use of Apatows two daughters , non actors they are , was as annoying as the obvious lack of a script , and the fact that a lot of the movie seemed to be ad libbed , and really had nowhere to go, and basically wasn't the least bit interesting , or funny , just annoying. The movie went on and on for over two hours , weaving it's little plot of this annoying, self absorbed little family , the plot was about How Paul Rudds' record label was struggling , how Leslie Mann , playing his wife, ran a store which was losing money from a possible thieving employee , and how their daughters were driving them crazy with their daily demands. All in all , I had to go "Who the hell cares?" These self absorbed , totally unlikeable , totally unbelievable characters had nothing to say , nowhere to go , and nothing to do. If I'm ever going to see another Apatow project , I hope he gets his head out of his butt, and can make a movie with interesting characters and situations, instead of the loathsome , uninteresting characters and storyline that go nowhere, which is what this movie is.

I've seen Magnolia , own the VHS tape,and really like it. It's a very deep, depressing ,totally absorbing film. It's hard to get it all in one viewing , but it really sucks you in. I suppose people either love it or hate it , or just don't get it. Anyway I've been listening to the CD "Celebrities at their Worst" , and there's a cut in which Ernie Anderson , father of the films director ,PT Anderson, is swearing a blue streak. The Jason Robards character is probably based on Ernie Anderson , because if you heard the Ernie Anderson CD , you would swear you were watching a scene from Magnolia. In fact , Ernie Anderson should have had a writing credit, because Jason Riobard's dialog is lifted from that Ernie Anderson cut . It's very interesting.