OmStarsong Reviews

Static Codes (2023)

Really..?

[2/10 · 21 December 2023]

The only thing worse than making a crap movie is getting all your friends and coworkers to rate it high when they all know better.. They should be forced to watch this three times straight just as penance for their ridiculous fake reviews.. Taryn was in it for maybe a minute and thirty seconds tops.. Nothing sci fi about it other than the glowing arm.. Superficial drivel at its finest.. Maybe tattoo guy was ok, but the rest of it was poor acting, bad lighting, weak production values and a horrendous script with nothing to say and nothing at all entertaining about it.. Don't waste your time on this and reward then for what is probably just a money laundering gig..! 🙄

Sisu (2022)

Are You People Stupid..?

[5/10 · 4 July 2023]

Look, this could have been "Abe Lincoln, Vampire Hunter and I'd have given it an 8, but the writer director blew it.. All they had to do was toss in a little thing at the end justifying the inanity of it all by saying he was actually a living ghost, a zombie an immortal freaking maniac or something that a logical mind can grasp on to in order to make sense of it all.. But no, somehow we are supposed to believe this superhuman godman can actually carry all that gold across miles and miles, let alone apparently walk it out of a lake, survive all those bullets that can go right thru another body into his, somehow survive being hung for hours with a rusty nail in his leg propping him up, being beaten mercilessly by a piece of metal and after all that surviving a plane crash that goes nose in with nothing left of it except sisumon, his mega heavy bag of gold and his trusty pick.. All this when most any of his injuries should have killed him and then after traveling all those miles back to get the Nazi bike and even further to go pick up his dog he then walks casually into a bank and dumps his hefty bag of gold on the counter.. Oy, what a load alright..! This had a lot going for it but without some justification for his ability to do all this it's all for naught.. They could have made him like Jonah Hex even.. At least that would have given it continuity.. Abe Lincoln was a bad ass vampire killer which is totally believable within the context of the story, but this is amazingly lost when it so easily could have been fixed.. Reminds me of the many iterations of James Bond.. How easy would it be to just say clearly that 007 is the designation and Bond is the cover name for all with that number..? It boggles me that such a simple fix would tighten up these franchises and make them epic.. This could actually be that with some easy explanation and with the very decent production values he could have a solid franchise.. Treating us like ten year olds is a mistake that I hope those involved will learn from.. Everything else was pretty good..

The Artifice Girl (2022)

Well Done

[7/10 · 18 May 2023]

Too often writers who direct their indy movies get too self obsessed with their creation and then don't have the budget to back it up.. This one was very well written and directed..! The acting wasn't great, but certainly passable and they got their point across.. The set was minimalist so no issues there.. The music was well placed and consistent with its themes.. No great revelations, but the slow burn was I thought apropos for the the concept and gives it a more organic feel.. This is perhaps the greatest issue facing humanity today and I'm glad that writers are putting more attention on it.. These times they are a changin', for better or worse and as usual it will reflect the group consciousness of the time and as usual I suspect h7mans will have to learn the hard way.. Resistance is futile... 😉

Emancipation (2022)

Skewed Reviews

[7/10 · 1 April 2023]

Look, it has issues, but Will Smith isn't one of them, at least in this movie.. You can tell the ones who are reviewing it poorly just because they hate Smith.. Others may be connected to the movie or like Smith and rate it highly.. It's a solid show, but there are issues with the lighting, the as someone else mentioned "black and white" simplistic character development and more.. I get that there wasn't much to be happy about or find humor in, but it made for shallow characters and a fairly boring unconnected interest with the story line.. I think the Schindler choice of color or lack thereof felt a little manipulative too.. It really seems a poor choice and took away from the full involvement and connecting at a deep level with the people, the time and the action.. It felt diluted and weak in many spots.. All that said, the acting was as good as it could be and top notch given the script and direction.. Not sure how much of it is true, but it's an important story and I intend to research further.. 12 years had better character development.. Glory had more powerful immersion with the plot, but this is well deserving of a watch and hopefully it will remind people of how humans treated each other in the past and how truly not much has changed when humanity is looked on now..

It deserves a solid 7..

The Handler (I) (2021)

Laundromat Job

[2/10 · 31 March 2023]

Sound editing off.. Script missing large chunks.. Acting weak.. Visual Editing off.. Lighting was ok.. Common sense out the window.. Nobody in the neighborhood hears the hundreds of shots going off..? Nary a cop in sight.. 🙄 Obviously friends of the show are giving it higher ratings than it deserves.. The main character has been shot, stabbed, beat stupid and yet he seems to have boundless energy.. The editing is atrocious.. No sense of continuity.. And they ended the show with apparently a magic chair protecting this guy from constant fire..? 🤣 Top 8 worst shows all time.. Clearly nobody really cared about quality and this was almost certainly a laundering job.. I only gave it a 2 because this simplistic drivel was only an hour and a half..

The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)

Why..?

[5/10 · 2 February 2023]

What's the point..? That there is not enough sadness and misery in the world and that violence is the only option..? Thought we got enough of that from Greenblat or Tarrentino.. 🙄 I would gladly leave it here, but more letters are required because like Hollywood more content means more filler in between runs to the bank.. If I didn't know better I'd say this was a laundering situation, but alas I think it's just a sad, boring bit of drivel that serves no good value other then self inflation of ego.. How many slice of life movies do we need..? Where's the storytelling..? Where's the growth of consciousness and evolution of character..? I suppose one could look at it as a reflection of the decline of society, but again, why..? Been there, seen that.. Can't believe this guy got an Oscar nomination over Cameron who offers us something colorful, creative and positive.. This seeping sadness and depressing dark ooze of self indulgence serves only as a paycheck and temporary distraction for some Irish folk too encumbered in their misery to find any light in their imperial drudgery.. I gave it 5 stars because the acting was of course good, the set was fine and outside of the writing and directing it had great potential.. Would easily make my list of top ten worst "well made" movies all time, and I've seen thousands..

Manifest West (2022)

Slice of Life

[5/10 · 22 December 2022]

Not sure why I need 600 characters, but here goes- It's a relatively well done film loosely based on Ruby Ridge I assume.. The acting is ok, the set acceptable.. The directing is even fine.. I think the problem is in the writing and editing.. The characters aren't fleshed out.. It's very bare bones and the timing seems slightly off.. Just too rushed.. But all of that is minor compared to the laziness of the basic story.. Been there, done that.. We get it already.. The system is broken and too many people fall thru the cracks.. Same ol', same ol'.. Where's the growth..? Where's the evolution of character and education of consciousness..? I want to see a wholistic arc giving us solutions and showing positive change.. This is just the same old negative Hollywood crap.. Where's the hope..? The parts were decent enough here, but they just don't add up to anything.. It's a real problem that would be better served by giving us something positive.. Maybe the budget was small and the producers just wanted to cut it short, but it could have been way better.. For the record I could have said all that with 100 characters or less.. And the younger girl probably did the best acting of all.. Everybody else was a bit cliche for their roles.. She seemed to actually have an idea what to do with her character, so props to her..! 👍

Driver (I) (2021)

Low Budget

[3/10 · 30 November 2022]

Look, for a low budget film they had a decent idea here.. The first half was fairly linear, logical, adequately well done.. The second half was a disaster.. I don't know if they ran out of money, but it went full garbage with nearly impossible to see dark scenes, choppy scenes, even the writing and acting went to a new low.. It's like two different films.. Ill have to look at who edited it, but that was the single most horrendous effort I've ever seen in 60 years and thousands of movies.. Lazar should be ashamed he let it be put out like this.. Very strange.. He actually had a decent rhythm going and I was ready to give it a 6, but there were complete scenes missing, some half chopped, no fluidity and it was just a disaster.. His acting was ok, even the writing and directing were decent enough for the first half, but they could have saved a lot of money and dignity by just waiting until they could afford a decent editor.. I kind of enjoyed the first half, but completely shocked by how bad it ended.. What a waste of potential.. 🙄

One and the Same (2021)

It's a Matter of Relativity

[5/10 · 20 September 2022]

Because only someone related to those involved with this mess would rate it so highly.. 🙄 Except for Plummer the rest need a lot more experience in acting.. The mom especially was tough to take.. Over wrought and way over played.. Some of the crap acting is on the script and some on the directing.. Shades of Dead Again, but very diluted shades.. The seeds were there and I'm all for exploring past life connections, but this was all over the place and just poorly executed in every way.. Maybe the writer and director were in constant conflict because one was channeled from a past/alternate life, but they just never managed to work it out.. Too bad.. None of the characters were likable and with nobody to root for it's hard to be invested emotionally or curiously.. Its all pretty much sub conscious id manifesting thru emotional reaction with no sense of logic or self reflection.. In any case 5 is being generous only because I want to root for anything dealing with consciousness.. Go watch Dead Again or The Reincarnation of Peter Proud or even better What Dreams May Come.. Now that was brilliance of depth on a similar subject matter..! Cheers.

Dominion (2015)

Great Expectations..?

[7/10 · 7 September 2022]

The only real negative for me is the completely inane title.. Whoever approved that should be fired.. Makes it sound like a cartoon, but it's way misleading.. 🙄 No doubt the low scores are coming from those expecting the typical Hollywood big explosion extravaganzas and special effects psychedelia so often tossed out for the mindless public.. This is a low budget, simple film that actually has something to say for those who can still think for themselves.. An utter surprise to see something like this actually be allowed in these ever restricting times.. The writer, director and producers should be proud of putting out something a little different from the norm.. There are little seeds strewn throughout that brought a smile and made this one worth remembering.. It's sad that so many will skip this because of the low scores, but it isn't a surprise as anything that questions establishment authority and hints at alternative awareness is so often stifled.. Read between the lines, forget the ignorant reviews.. This is way better than one would expect from a low budget, no name cast and crew.. It reminds me of Starman without the named stars.. If you can't find something to like here you aren't trying very hard.. haha I fully recommend this and hope those who need to see it will.. A really pleasant surprise..! Well done..! 🙏

The Girl on the Mountain (2022)

Meh

[5/10 · 2 September 2022]

Not sure I can get 600 characters worth of disappointment at what could have been, but I'll try..

The scenery is great.. The story concept fine.. It all goes downhill from there.. Someone else mentioned details and that's the biggest flaw for sure.. "Put the gun down or I'll shoot the kid.." Well, uh, he's gonna kill you both anyway so why in the hell do they always put the gun down..? 🙄 Biggest cliche of stupidity ever..! Then others have mentioned stuff like walking off into the night with your truck unlocked and the lights on.. Hero is soaking wet from the lake water, seconds later dry as a bone.. Bad guy miraculously heals from a stab wound in a couple days.. Two other guys have significant life threatening wounds, but soldier on to their bitter end.. I don't think so.. The bad hillbilly boys never cuss.. And generally not using contracted words.. That's a major pet peeve.. Who the hell talks like that..? And then wimpy music teacher turns into bad ass country boy with no explanation other than just because.. He knows the bad guys are coming, but takes forever to start preparing and stays camped out in the open.. All of a sudden he turns into Rambo and is making complicated traps that the actual country boys walk right in to.. This only happens in Hollywood.. At the end the truck with its miracle battery starts right up and off they drive.. No mention of the bodies.. Assume he buried them with his tiny pick in a forest full of tree roots..? 🙄 The kid finding the one person in the massive forest who knows sign language..? 🤣 Poor writing, major plot holes, stilted acting.. The director should know his script since he wrote it.. Editing atrocious.. It's almost a parody of typical Hollywood cliches all jammed together to distract the ignorant audience from the initial poor script.. I still ended up giving it a 5 because I really like the challenging nature movies.. The cinematography was pretty good and kudos for that..! The rest, no.. 5 is generous to say the least..

Shuffle (2011)

Surprisingly Good

[7/10 · 31 August 2022]

Took awhile to get the groove, but just got better and better when the pieces all started to come together.. Peeling away the layers to find a sweet, fairly simple message.. KK should be very proud of this creation.. No plot holes, good production value for such a small budget, cinematography was fluid and it didn't resort to frequent dark lighting to cover budget constraints, the acting was pretty good and really an enjoyable watch.. Impressive to have such quality on such a small budget.. Hope he gets more for the next one, tho not sure how he could have improved on this.. It's a wonderful life and we do have the power to change not only the future, but the past.. Kudos..! 🤗

The Night My Number Came Up (1955)

To Tell Or Not To Tell

[8/10 · 29 August 2022]

That is the question.. 'Tis better to keep one's mouth shut or plant the seed of doubt..? By all means I choose spill every time..! If nothing else it makes for an interesting story.. And so this movie, based on a true story does just that.. It offers the audience the chance to consider for themselves whether better to participate in a psychological dance or simply ignore any outside distraction.. This is my second psychological thriller in two days, both movies from the mid 50's.. They just rarely make them like this anymore.. If it's not blood and guts and superficial shock value it doesn't get greenlighted by the studio heads that think they know best.. I was most impressed by the continuity and attention to detail.. Beyond one minor goof in the map reading, it was very fluid and realistic with each scene well balanced and done right.. I hope all who were involved with this movie at the time we're proud of their efforts and the picture in total.. It was well done and a very enjoyable watch.. Nice bit of humor at the end too.. It's a gem and worth the watch.. 🤗

No Name on the Bullet (1959)

Good Psychological Western

[7/10 · 28 August 2022]

Surprising good movie..! Can't think of anything to complain about really, except one small goof in the chess game.. Better writing than usually seen in these B Western flicks.. No plot holes.. Decent acting with some classic familiar character actors.. Pacing fluid.. Cinematography well done.. Definitely one of my favorite Audie Murphy movies.. Better than A Man With No Name logic wise.. Wouldn't surprise me if Sergio got some of his ideas from this one.. Worth the watch.. 👊🏼 600 characters..? It doesn't need it, but for the sake of promoting this gem I'll babble on.. If they made more intelligent movies like this now days Hollywood might be more respected..

Extracted (2012)

All or Nothing

[6/10 · 18 August 2022]

The reviews are very strange.. It's as if these people have never seen sci-fi before.. 🤔 Definitely worth the watch.. Acting is ok, but there are a lot of little details that knock it down to a medium score.. Just seems a bit stilted in dialogue and logic.. The cinematography could have been more fluid.. The concept was good.. Not much of a twist, but enough.. The ending seems rushed and tacked on.. It doesn't really flow with the rest of the movie.. Still, it is worth your time.. At least it leaves you pondering the possibilities.. Maybe with a bigger budget it would have helped smooth it out..

Destination Marfa (2021)

Interesting

[5/10 · 17 August 2022]

Not sure I've ever seen a movie that had nearly all 1's and 10's.. The 10's were probably family, friends and folks who just got that vibe that clicked at this point in their lives.. The 1's are probably those with great expectations who were looking for something specific.. To them I would say avoid theater at all costs.. The moon may be made out of cardboard and without a sense of imagination and wonder you'll be disappointed.. 🙄 Obviously it's an Indy made on a cheap budget, but once you get past all that just appreciate it for what it is, a simple story with an intended message.. Sometimes that's all the entertainment I need.. I gave it the same score as Michael Bay's last film.. There are at least 3 good character actors I've seen for years and that was a pleasant surprise.. They probably didn't make much, but maybe they had fun as their contribution was appreciated by me.. If you can understand it for what it is, a simple low budget Indy then homely you'll find it worth your while.. I look forward to seeing more of Stapp's work.. 🤗

The Legend of Ben Hall (2017)

Nobody Said Outlaws Were Smart-

[6/10 · 13 August 2022]

But these guys were really special.. I don't know how accurate this is, but it looks like they tried at least.. I think the problem is in the script tho.. Should have focused more on Hall and how he managed so many robberies without killing anyone.. That would have been very interesting to me.. This was just a typical Western buddy movie.. Not sure why all the hate.. Certainly wasn't that bad and better than a lot of the tripe these days.. Acting was ok, tho the Happy Guy was a bit annoying.. Cinematography was pretty good I thought.. Flow was decent.. Production quality ok.. Just felt a bit too black and white.. Except for the kids there were zero likable characters and I think that made it a major bummer.. Really just approached it wrong and focused too much on the negative.. Too slice of life for me.. Still, I'd have given it 6 1/2 stars if possible as it's still a passable Western..

The Frame (2014)

Somebody Get This Guy a Budget..!

[8/10 · 7 August 2022]

If he can do this with a minimal budget, what can he do with big bucks..? But then would Hollywood producers force their mindless pap on him..?

Hard to say, but I am way impressed..! If you forget the religious aspect and simply consider it all as consciousness projection it all makes pretty good sense.. Considering how much video, movies, etc I watch it would not be a surprise to me to have a reflective manifestation like this.. haha Really solid acting by the main cast.. Really good directing with impeccable timing.. Fluid cinematography and nothing shoved in your face.. Even the gunplay was realistic and within the bounds of logic.. Like a few other movies about consciousness and perspective this is basically a simple Inception.. Everything is relative, even how we perceive the meaning of this play.. Well done everyone involved in this and thank you for putting something smart out there and allowing the audience to receive something positive amongst the typical horror and angst Hollywood cranks out these days.. 👍

Springfield Rifle (1952)

Classic Western

[7/10 · 7 August 2022]

Fairly simple plot, very black and white, but well done for what it is.. Better than I expected.. Cooper was decent.. I think Lon Chaney Jr had one of his better roles here.. Fess Parker was a nice surprise.. Simple film, but well laid out.. No major plot holes.. Without doubt the Cinematography was the stand out..!

Definitely worth the view if you're into Westerns..

Copshop (2021)

Adequate Entertainment

[6/10 · 6 August 2022]

Meh, typical Hollywood shoot em up where the bullets never run out and time stands still, but the acting was excellent, especially the Lamb character.. He stole the show and was worth the price of entry..! Well produced for a mostly one location set.. Lazy writing and the directing was mostly one speed, but there were some moments of dialogue with Lamb that made it fun.. This could have been really good as an Independant film with less shooting and explosions and more intense suspense.. I could see this as a 70's flinch where they took more time to explore the characters.. Reminds me a bit of the Good, Bad and Ugly vibe without the humor.. Worth the watch to pass the time.. Good popcorn movie..!

Good Thief (2021)

Uh, No..

[3/10 · 5 August 2022]

Shallow plot line.. Weak dialogue.. Poir acting by all but the black girlfriend.. She was decent.. Maybe it was the lines..? Just bad in every conceivable way.. What was the point..? No message.. No visuals.. No entertainment.. No moral.. Somehow every character was unlikable and nearly all immoral.. What an epic waste of time..! 3 stars is really generous.. Any rating over 3 almost certainly came from one of this movie crew or their family and friends because no one can possible justify this trash.. 🙄

The Shipment (II) (2021)

2 is Generous

[2/10 · 4 August 2022]

Been a long time since I've seen a movie this bad.. I mean on every level.. The concept was ok, but downhill from there.. The writing was so full of plot holes, weak dialogue, unrealistic scenarios, poor speech patterns and ridiculous babble that it would make a junior high kid seem brilliant.. The production values were so cheap I'm surprised they didn't save money by using a cardboard moon.. It looked like a kids backyard set.. The sub interior was ok, but that was about it.. Everything else looked cheap, fake or taken from outside usage.. The acting- I know it was difficult with such a crummy script and Majors, Sizemore and Lasardo probably just needed the extra cash, but really really weak by nearly everyone.. The blond wife was the most believable of the bunch and she had very few lines.. Basically an incoherent mess and the producers would probably be ashamed if this weren't an obvious money laundering deal.. I dislike being so negative, but it's only fair considering the effort they went to here, which wasn't much at all.. 🙄

Murder at Yellowstone City (2022)

Not as Bad as Reviewed by Some

[6/10 · 31 July 2022]

Wanted to give it 7 stars, would give it 6 1/2 if possible..

Positives- actors, a couple creative scenes I hadn't seen before in a Western, cinematography not bad at all, acting decent, plot line acceptable and actually analogous to the world at large, which I'm not sure was intentional, but works from my perspective..

Negatives- everything looks new, like they just made it or polished it up.. Kinda weak on I presume the set masters part.. I don't think it's giving anything away to toss in the typical scenario of people getting shot several times, then still functioning.. Of course bullets rarely run out and Hollywood does what it does and way overdoes the booms and bangs.. They had an ok idea for the script, but I suspect in order to get the picture made the studio or some idiot producer decided they needed more bang for the buck.. It's too bad as if they had let it alone (and gave it a better title) this could have been very good.. As is, I found it entertaining enough.. No worse than dozens of old B rated Westerns from years gone by.. If they'd have fixed the 3 main problems I mentioned (and the stupid title) it could have been a contender.. I give it bonus points for the deeper world view and I hope people get some value from that as not many movies can offer that these days.. Certainly better than a lot of the garbage I've seen over recent years..! 🤔

Last Survivors (2021)

Not That Bad..

[6/10 · 24 May 2022]

No idea why the sci fix reference, but I'm guessing the bad reviews are mostly coming from those expecting an alien invasion, bombs, battles, blood and guts.. Basically teenagers with short attention spans.. Yes, it was fairly predictable, but I thought it wasn't bad for a what if scenario.. Nothing unbelievable, tho depending on how many trespassers went missing over the years I think it would have raised enough suspicion that they'd have been caught long before.. That said, the rest was relatively believable and tight enough to maintain a sense of reality.. I do not doubt this has and will continue to happen in the real world, so then this simple movie offers a what if perspective.. The cinematography was good, scenery great, acting surprising adequate and the directing solid.. For what it is I'm not sure there's a lot needing to change.. I did wonder where the canned peaches came from, but generally it's a fine little film.. The bad reviews are mostly coming from those whose expectations of grand murder and mayhem from aliens were not fulfilled.. I think 6 is fair for this type of movie and I'd like to hear honest justification for less..

Brimstone (2016)

Another Negative Slice of Life

[4/10 · 27 March 2022]

Apparently the writer/director has some deep seated issues he could only work out on film in a way that the whole world can view his self indulgent paean to violence and torture.. Apparently he's a follower of the Tarantino school of I don't know how to write anything truly creative so I'll just take random plot ideas and make it all as violent and ignorant as possible.. Misery loves company..? What a waste of time and energy..