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A Quiet Place (2018)
Adequately suspenseful
From the beginning, when the little boy gets attacked, it reminded me of an old Looney Tunes episode, called 'Rock-a-Bye Bear'. In that episode, the slightest sound, like a whispered 'Good-night' or wolf whistle had the bear immediately jumping out of nowhere at the protagonist, yelling 'Quiet! I said be quiet!'. I'm not knocking the acting or directing, just the story. Maybe that Looney Tunes episode was the inspiration? The movie was about as suspenseful as any M. Night Shyamalan movie, with a Shyamalan-style storyline. The story itself was a bit comic. I agree with other reviewers. If sound is drowned out near a roaring waterfall, what is the family waiting for? Move there! And what's that about the creatures being crippled by a high-pitched frequency? The creatures haven't run into any kind of high-pitched frequency here on Earth until the girl's hearing aid feedback? And the creatures can be killed simply by shooting it in the head with a shotgun? I'm sure I wasn't the only one who stopped and said, 'wait a minute.. No one else in the world though of that?' In our frightened, paranoid world, especially after the first few creatures attacked, it would be 'shoot first-ask questions later'.
Your Place or Mine (2023)
Netflix is really scraping the bottom
Netflix must really be running out of options for anything viable to show. Hollywood responds by throwing anything out there with a recognizable name, or two, regardless of the plot, writing, or directing. This is one of the few movies that I've ditched halfway thru as simply not worth wasting any more time on. Did Reese Witherspoon lose what little talent she had, along with her looks? Ashton Kutcher never did and it certainly still shows. From the very beginning of this story with the non-stop, non-break phone call from the time the characters wake up to the time they're at work, the story goes from one unbelievable moment, both in reality and in acting ability, to another. I know that Hollywood is running out of ideas, but really Netflix, let Peacock or some other second rate streaming service take stories like this.
The Power of the Dog (2021)
Story jumps around.
Movies where the story jumps from scene to scene, with no fluidity or foundation to allow the audience to know how they got from point A to point B, are simply a waste of good acting and a, I'm assuming, good story. I'll never know what this story was all about unless I read the book. If I need to have a copy on my lap to follow along, there should be a disclaimer at the start.
Christmas Break-In (2018)
OMG this was terrible!
As others have pointed out, this is a cheap rip-off of Home Alone. I'm not sure why Danny Glover would add this to his dossier, but even Robin Williams had 'RV'. It doesn't matter that the acting is awful, with the exception of Glover, because the writing couldn't have been worse. The next time Netflix goes bargaining shopping looking to add to their repertoire, someone there should actually watch it to see what they're subjecting their audience to.
Tata muta muntii (2021)
Waste of time
I hate getting to the end of the movie and realize that the only thing that was accomplished was that I wasted 1:49 of my life staring at a story that went nowhere. There is no redemption of the main character. There is no miraculous recovery of the lost hikers. There is not even selfless humanity displayed when another hiker is lost and the main character selfishly denies any ability to assist. This may have been based on a true story, but why was it made into a film?
Pieces of a Woman (2020)
Not my cup of tea
Others may enjoy movies that jump around from plot point to plot point without any continuity, but I'm not a fan. I gave 1 star for the realism or the birth, 1 for Ellen Burstyn's performance, and 1 for Vanessa Kirby's convincing portrayal of an American. Other than the first 30 minutes, where we witness the baby's birth, there were several jumps from point to point without any transition. For instance, when did they decide on making a headstone for her grave? why did Sean and Elizabeth jump from bonding together over Martha to her declaring that she never liked him and gave him a (apparently - we never saw) big check to leave and never come back? Why did he take the check and head to Seattle without even a good-bye kiss to the woman he supposedly loved and had a baby with? Where does Lucy come from at the end of the movie and why do we never get another shot of Martha's face, even though she had ending lines? Then there were strange unnecessary camera angles, like in the courtroom scene. Why are we staring at the neck of the person speaking instead of their face?
As I said in the beginning; others may understand and enjoy movies like this. I find it a disappointing waste of 126 minutes waiting for explanations that never came.
Hillbilly Elegy (2020)
Great story
Very accurate portrayal of life with addiction and the destruction it causes! Fantastic acting from Glenn Close and Amy Adams. Another Ron Howard directing gem!
Mile 22 (2018)
Left too many unanswered questions
Just as quick as the camera shots during the action scenes, and just as confusing, were all of the unanswered plot points at the end. Where was the cesium? Did they retrieve any of it? What happened on the plane and with its passengers? Who was responsible for break-in at HQ that killed all of the CIA personnel? Who was it that was interviewing Silva? Why? What was the result of that interview? Even if this movie was going to series, it would be difficult to answer all of these.
Possession (2002)
Intriguing romantic tale
Though I have not read the book, and this story comes off very much like The Da Vinci Code, the intrigue and romance is worth a watch.
Lo imposible (2012)
Now I know what it's like to live thru a tsunami!
Very realistic portrayal of actually being in a terrifying catastrophe. I'm not sure why we spend so much time staring at Maria while she's under anesthesia, or why the actual Spanish couple is portrayed by British actors (and an American actress faking a British accent), but other than that, a great film!
The Homesman (2014)
That's it?
This is one of those movies that I get to the end of spending two hours waiting for a decent ending and say, 'that's it?'. What a waste of time! Tommy Lee Jones should stick to acting.
Midway (2019)
Tried to cram in too much material.
I really the historical lead-in to WWII that explained Japan's reasoning for going to war and the lead-up to it. I especially appreciated the extreme attention to detail that this movie painstakingly researched and insisted on including. I feel that they simply tried to cover too much material in a 2:18 time frame. There was hardly any time left to spend on the battle itself! I was dearly hoping for the kind of attention to detail and historical accuracy from the beginning of the movie to pour over into the effects of the battle on Midway island, on the carriers, and with the men and planes involved. The 1976 version spent way too much time on two unrelated and totally irrelevant love stories, but at least spent some time in the planes, on the island, and on the ships Hopefully, the best footage wasn't left on the editing room floor. Otherwise, sign me up for the uncut, unedited version!
The Little Hours (2017)
Not one laugh
I must have missed something - what part of this was funny or a supposed comedy?
The Shack (2017)
Beautiful movie!
Though the themes of judgement and forgiveness may be too much for some, it is well worth watching.
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Should have won the oscar for boredom
I know I'm 50 years too late on this review. I wasted $5 buying this movie on DVD in an FYE's bargain bin because I had always heard high praise of Stanley Kubrick and this movie. I don't know where I heard that praise. I wish I did so that I could always do *exactly opposite* whatever those critics recommend. This has got to be the movie industry's most boring movie ever; hands down. From the opening scene where the mysterious monolith is discovered by early man until HAL locks Dr Bowman out of the space station, it's about as exciting as watching paint dry. Nothing much actually happens! Literally. The movie is 2:29 and the viewer who fortunately owns this on DVD can fast-forward the first 1:45 and not miss anything. How did this movie ever deserve praise, an 8.3 IMDB rating, or an Oscar?
Django Unchained (2012)
This movie is way over-rated.
Currently an 8.4 on IMDB? Really? This movie, like any other Quentin Tarantino movie I've seen, is simply terrible to the point of being farcical. Watch it only if you're into dark humor, rather than a good story. From the over use of blood during the ending gun battle, to the bullet that is so powerful as to slide its victim into the next room, to Jamie Foxx's use of sunglasses in a setting before they were even invented, to Tarantino's usually pointless cameo, this movie and it's story were barely believable. That this movie won 2 Oscars only speaks to the motion picture academy's lack of judgement and taste.
For Love's Sake (2013)
A first year drama student could do better
I borrowed this from my local library because it looked like a good, heartwarming story. It's a good thing that I didn't spend money on a rental or DVD purchase of any kind. Aside from Dana Carvey's 'The Master of Disguise', this is possibly the worst movie I've seen. Did they have tryouts for the parts in this film or did Walkington simply pull in members of his family and neighbors to play the roles? The acting is dreadful. Any freshmen studying acting at a local liberal arts college could do better. The screenplay is like the writer is trying to stretch a story that could be told in a 30 minute TV episode, with commercials, into a 90-minute movie. The entire production seems only a bit more professional than anyone's home movie. I don't know if there is such a thing as vanity publishing in the movie industry, but that's the only explanation I can come up with how this movie made it to DVD.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
The emperor has no clothes on..
I'll be one of the few to say this movie was terrible. I don't think much of Quentin Tarantino movies in general. I only watched this because Netflix had it listed and it had been so highly regarded for so many years. Besides John Travolta reliving 'Saturday Night Fever' and Samuel L Jackson's profanity-laced tirade, what was this movie even about?