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Reviews
Dave: The Observer (2021)
Good Stuff!!! And Yes, A Bit Uncomfortable For (Most) Straight Guys.
Get over your discomfort. At least explore it--that's what the episode is asking you to do. If every show made were based on the principal that no one anywhere should be uncomfortable, the quality of programming would suffer. One purpose of art is to provoke, to stimulate, and sometimes to make the consumer uncomfortable. That's a good thing, it can yield growth, critical thinking, and greater acceptance. I prefer not to see a lot of gratuitous violence, gore, or homoeroticism, but I don't completely pan a show just because it has some. The truth is Dave is portraying all kinds of complex human emotions and relationship dynamics that are seldom scene on screen and not easy to convey. And he's doing a darn good job of it.
Soul (2020)
Somewhat Over-Rated and a Jazz Disappointment
This is decent entertainment, but definitely not a great movie. The visuals are very good, but the story line is a mixed-bag, and the last 5 minutes are abrupt and feel like a big cop-out.
From a jazz--music point of view, "Soul" is disappointing. As one critic wrote, this will not turn anyone on to jazz who was not already a fan. At the performance where Joe performs with Dorothea Williams at the Half-Note the film jumps from jazz song to song with just a few seconds given to each. Perhaps the filmmakers were trying to make sure that no non-jazz fans get bored, but the result also guarantees that no one's estimation of jazz will improve in the slightest.
The plot is too metaphysical and convoluted for a child under 12 to grasp, concerning what happens before we are born, when we live, and when we die, and why.
In the laughter department the film is weak. Indeed my only laugh came when watching the cat try to open the door to Joe's apartment.
Lastly, the end is a big disappointment. What happens to the two main characters is largely left unanswered. The writers' inability to answer these questions make the ending seem abrupt and unsatisfactory. Previous entries by Pixar, such as Toy Story, Ratatouille and The Incredibles, are in a different league. My rating is 6.5.
Boogie Nights (1997)
Not A Great Film. . .Highly Overrated!
This film is very well acted, and has a very good soundtrack. Unfortunately the soundtrack is over-used, especially in the first hour. I didn't laugh, nor cry, and I didn't care about any of the characters.
This film has so many plot threads, none of which are particularly interesting because the characters are shallow, dumb, one dimensional, or all three. While there are a few very good scenes, most are like this (ridiculous):
one guy shoots himself dead at a party because his wife repeatedly cuckolds him,
a porn starlet stomps on her lovers face with her roller skates for no good reason moments after he was inside her,
a well-endowed stud rises in the porn world, then falls due to excessive drug use, then re-rises after a murderous botched robbery attempt,
same porn star records an awful rock record and gets really upset when he doesn't have access to the source recordings,
same porn star gets beat up by some good-old boys after he is unable to get an erection in a pick-up truck in a vacant parking lot,
a different porn star gets rejected for a bank loan he needed to start his own HI-FI stereo business because he had worked in porn only to bear witness to a botched robbery attempt in a doughnut shop. Covered in blood and other human remains from the shoot-out in the doughnut shop, he makes off with the doughnuts, the stolen loot, and finally gets to start his Hi-Fi business,
a porn producer transitions from film to video after refusing to do so in a "tense" business meeting,
a hot waif sniffs too much coke at a pool party and has to be whisked off to the hospital,
a senior-aged porn-backer gets accused of being involved with an underage teen and gets beat up in jail,
a gay film-hand harbors a crush on the well-endowed porn star, but when he finally gets the alcohol-fueled courage to act on it, is rebuffed,
a female drug addicted porn star lost partial custody of her son and cries when she cannot re-gain it.
Sadly, while watchable, these scenes do not add up to a great film.
But if this sounds like your cup of tea, happy watching!
Clear Water: Detroit's River Revival (2018)
A Few Great Songs From "Lost" Artists Make This Doc Shine
This documentary explores the history of Black musicians in Detroit that centered around a particular record label. It shows especially how the African-American Churches played a key role in the development of Black secular music (which lead eventually to rock-n-roll). Several musicians who disappeared from public view for decades are tracked down, and they provide brilliant and moving musical performances.