jburtonprod-802-759029 Reviews

Priscilla (2023)

A Joyless Account of a Relationship

[4/10 · 30 April 2024]

According to this movie Elvis and Priscilla's courtship had all the fire of an arranged marriage. Before her death, LIsa Marie Presley called the screenplay, 'vengeful and contemptuous'.

To say this is a one-sided portrayal of the marriage is an understatement. This movie would have you believe that there was never a good moment in the relationship.

It is a cliche of 21st century cinema that the male is always wrong and the woman is always right and in a near constant state of suffering in every male-female relationship. We get it, men suck.

Just reading through the wiki page of the source material, Priscilla's 1985 memoir, 'Elvis and Me', there is more to the story. The real Priscilla calls the Elvis the great love of her life. She is also frank about her own affairs. And I really would've loved to see the scene where Elvis and Priscilla dropped LSD.

This movie removes all the rough edges and rarely shows a time when the couple is happy. If the movie had shown moments of love and joy between the couple the stakes would've been higher. As it is, you wonder why they were ever together in first place.

There are no peaks and valleys in the film, only valleys and even lower valleys. As a result, the movie's narrative stifles whatever fire the actors might've been able to give their characters.

Priscilla seems to be in such a constant state of misery that there's nothing at stake. It is not a relationship you can pull for. It is also not fun to watch. I'm a fan of Sophia Coppola but this one missed the mark.

Late Night with the Devil (2023)

Unique, Authentic and Very Well Done Horror Flick

[8/10 · 28 April 2024]

What hooked me right away with this movie was how authentic it was to the era it's depicting. Everything about it is authentic. Fashion, hair styles, the Night Owl Band and their music, the video tape look, all match the 70s vibe, exactly. They even went further, foregoing the usual CGI with practical special and graphic effects. The result is a totally believable world.

The story is also very well done. Between the mockumentary beginning, the show and commercial interludes you get the complete story. David Dastmalchian and the rest of cast are note perfect. I really liked ingred Torelli's portrayal as the unnerving possessed child, Lilly. The filmmakers are right on the money in creating a group of characters who seem to come right out of the 70s. Even the writing and direction seems era specific. There is nothing that feels like the 21st Century in this movie.

You kind of know what's going to happen. These people are delving into dark forces they don't understand and can't control. The characters are all believable even though the movie keeps its tongue planted in its cheek. You sympathize with them, especially the host, Jack Delroy.

This movie is thick with details. I've watched it a few times and I'm going to add it to my horror collection. It's a fun horror ride definitely worth the watch. The Cairnes Brothers are now on my radar and I look forward to what they'll do next.

Road House (2024)

Started Off Fun, Then Went Off the Rails.

[3/10 · 17 April 2024]

I'm a big fan of the original with Patrick Swayze. I thought Jake Gyllenhaal was perfect casting for a remake. What I envisioned was the original's cheese with tone correct, modern 'John Wick' style fight scenes and a Rom/Com underneath. That's exactly what i got... until halfway into the picture. Then everything went horribly wrong.

For no reason things got very dark. This Dalton isn't a good guy who has to be pushed to fight. This Dalton is a full fledged sociopath who will murder with no remorse. He's the UFC's Ted Bundy. I don't know who thought the audiences that would watch this movie would just LOVE being tricked into a serial killer movie. Whoever it was, was an complete idiot.

I had this movie at a solid 7 pushing toward an 8. Then the points kept coming steadily off the board. The fights scenes are oddly cartoonish and horribly gruesome. And they were almost all fights to the death. The body count in this thing is significant.

The crooked sheriff's worst move in this whole movie was not arresting Dalton. This homicidal psychotic needs to be kept in a cage at the very least.

In what I think was meant to be the movie's tagline, the owner comes in with two bodies on ground and says, 'It's not so bad'. That's how insane this movie got.

You totally stop caring for any of the characters because the action is so ridiculous, brutal and unfunny. They totally tanked the picture's credibility.

This was a slam dunk and they blew it. Why they let it go that way is beyond me. If you think you're gonna a have a great date night, with action for the guys and beefcake for the girls, this ain't it.

It ain't a Rom and it ain't a Com and I really can't recommend it.

The Zone of Interest (2023)

Real Life Horror Movie

[9/10 · 13 April 2024]

Make no mistake, this is a horror movie. A lot of the horror is conveyed through sound, the constant cacophony of the Auschwitz killing machine. The roar of incinerators,, random gun shots and screams of the victims on 'the other side of the wall' are the film's soundtrack. The Commandant's family is deaf to this sound, as they live a life of luxury. This film is one of the clearest illustrations of the banality of evil.

The film is beautifully shot in a sort of hyper-real style. While not being derivative. The cinematography reminded me of Kubrick. This is a story about monsters told in a detached, almost documentary style. There are no big dramatic scenes, just a relentless grind.

One of the most monstrous of the Nazi monsters is Rudolph Höss' wife, Hedwig. She is one of the most chilling Nazis ever put on screen. When her mother visits she brags that she is called 'The Queen of Auschwitz'. She runs her house on slave labor from the inmates.

She's cruel and totally self-absorbed, a true Nazi sociopath. Rudolph on the other hand is an empty suit. He goes about his task of mass murder like an accountant going over numbers. He is a character totally lacking in conscience.

The film has an artistic touch in its depiction of one of the local girls who stashes fruit in work areas outside camp. At first I thought it was a fantasy scene or one of the children's dreams. The thermal photography made the action stand out, sort of like the girl in the red coat in 'Schindler's List'. That kindness is totally alien to the rest of the film.

I have a hard time making it through holocaust movies. I usually have to take a break about halfway though. I thought that might happen, here, but it didn't. 'The Zone of Interest' is an incredible movie very much in the same league as films like Schindler's List' and 'The Pianist'. Not an easy watch but very worthwhile.

The Regime (2024)

This Could Have Been Great But Was Not.

[6/10 · 9 April 2024]

The performances are top notch. That's what really drives this series. The concept is great and timely. The satire that was used worked. The writing is were this series failed.

They really couldn't have created a better vehicle for satire. 'Authoritarian regime in Middle Europe country unravels'. It's a concept that writes large passages for you. Where they fail is in the payoffs. It's okay to leave some things open for people to figure out but they leave huge unanswered questions.

They failed to realize that Agnes was the beating heart of the show. That character's story should've been equal to Harold and Elana's. They tease that Agnes is on the way to do something big and then just yank the plug. Leaving her and her son's fate unresolved is almost a cardinal writing sin.

And I'm not saying the show wasn't a fun watch. It kept me interested and amused the entire series. It's just you start ticking off the missed opportunities.

It's a series that always seems like it's on the verge of soaring but then fails to leave the ground. It ends up being a standard A-B-A plot line except there's nothing learned at the end.

They Called Him Mostly Harmless (2024)

This Documentary is NOT True Crime and NOT Worth Watching.

[2/10 · 13 February 2024]

The ads for this documentary make you think there is some big crime that's going to be discovered. There isn't.

A big part of the video is self-proclaimed 'internet sleuths' complaining about how they were treated online. This is NOT a 'true crime' documentary and never should've been marketed as such.

The real story was about an unidentified hiker that was found dead from starvation. The video gives the impression that once they discover the identity of the hiker a great mystery, possibly a murder, will be solved. There is no great mystery. It's just a guy who came from a badly dysfunctional family who had some abusive relationships with women and then decided to drop off the grid. That's it.

I can see no reason why anyone would think this story was worth the time, effort and money to make a documentary. I think this is the beginning of the 'Selfie' generation thinking that every little thing they come across is worthy of documenting just because they came across it. They need to grow up.

This doc is a waste of time and never should've made it to HBO.

Griselda (2024)

Very Tepid Portrayal of a Sociopath

[4/10 · 28 January 2024]

I had high hopes for this miniseries. Coming from the producers and directors of 'Narcos', I figured this would be just as committed to accuracy and unflinching in its handling of the violence. It seems the producers felt, since this was a woman narco, they had to pull punches. The result is a series that could play on the Lifetime Channel with very little editing.

The REAL Griselda Blanco was an unrepentant mass murder. She was directly investigated for 40 murders and believed to be responsible for 250, total. This miniseries glazes over that. There is only a tiny fraction of The Black Widow's hits shown and a lot of the murders take place off camera.

Also, the first two episodes seem to be devoted to cementing Griselda Blanco as some sort of feminist icon. I mean why not? She's a 'woman' murdering drug dealer but she's being being picked on by all the 'male' murdering drug dealers. I consider myself a feminist and almost always support the connected causes. Griselda wasn't a 'feminist' any more than Pablo Escobar was a 'humanitarian'.

She was a total psychopath who murdered both husbands and an incredible number of people some of whom only had tenuous connections to the drug business. Her assassins didn't care what the collateral damage was and neither did she. Among these were woman and children. Her lifestyle led to death of three of her children. She was a monster and a black hole of a person who swallowed up people whole. She should have been portrayed that way. She is not.

While all gangster movies play with the likability of the leading mobster they also show the sides of them that make them horrible. Every good film about the Mob shows its destructiveness.

By the time Season 2 of 'Narcos' was over it was quite clear what a monster Pablo Escobar was. By the end of the final episode I think everybody watching feels, 'He got what he deserved'.

The 'Griselda' series soft handling of the bad side of Griselda Blanco makes this portrayal feel very dishonest. I found the final scene especially egregious.

I really didn't think I was going to write this long of a review. It's just the more I think about this series the less I like it and the message it seems to want to send.

Napoleon (2023)

Not As Good As 'Waterloo' But Still Good.

[7/10 · 29 November 2023]

Ridley Scott's 'Napoleon' is a lavish costume drama with a lot going for it. It's a big sprawling film filled with spectacle. Joaquin Phoenix gives an oddly compelling performance as the film's title character.

However, I couldn't help but notice the film falls short in almost every regard when compared to the all but forgotten film, 'Waterloo'.

'Waterloo' was released in 1970. It stars powerhouse actors Rod Steiger as the French general and Christopher Plummer as Wellington. If that wasn't enough star power it also features Orson Welles as King Louis and has other stars, Virginia McKenna, Dan O'Herlihy and Jack Hawkins in supporting roles. This incredible costume drama was produced by Dino De Laurentiis. You would think this would've made the film a lock for the Oscars and big box office but because it was co-funded by Italian and Soviet Union sources it got neither. This was the height of the Cold War and the Soviet involvement was the kiss of death for the American market.

Still, 'Waterloo' is an absolutely astounding film and one the most accurate depictions of a major battle ever filmed. You get a front row seat of the two brilliant commanders and their armies and the ebb and flow of the defining battle. Some of the shots look like fine art paintings they're so beautifully shot and executed.

"Napoleon' falls short in almost every category compared to 'Waterloo' but it still ends up being a very watchable movie. Some of the things I didn't like was the obvious disregard for accuracy concerning the battle scenes. Napoleon never shot cannons at the Pyramids. What he did was create 'divisional squares' of musketeers set up in rows so they could provide 'rolling fire' to neutralize the sword carrying, horseback riding Ottoman led forces. He never lured an army out onto a frozen lake so he could pelt it with cannon fire, either. At Austerlitz he lured the Russian and Austrian forces down off the hills they occupied into a town controlled by French forces. Then he took the hill with the help of reserve soldiers he'd hidden in a fog bank. The truth of both those battles would've been much more satisfying than the abbreviated 'Big Hollywood' choices the film makes.

I know all this must make it sound like I hated 'Napoleon' but I didn't. It holds its own as a big budget production about a big personality. Joaquin Phoenix's portrayal of the title character is odd, quirky and compelling. I really can't wait for this movie to come out on Blu-ray. I'm sure it's going to be filled with all sorts of extras.

'Napoleon' covers a lot of ground, from 'The Little Corporal's' rise to his final banishment on the isle of St. Helena. The film is gloomy but beautiful. There's a stretch in the movie that gets a little tedious as it's mainly talking but it picks up again, building toward the finale. Overall, the film is an amazing achievement and well worth the watch.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)

A Good Addition to the Dracula Canon.

[8/10 · 16 November 2023]

I'm a major fan of vampire movies and this is a good one. One of the things that stood out in this interpretation of a chapter of Bram Stoker's book was Dracula, itself.

You've heard about how horrible it was be fed upon by the creature. This film shows just how horrible it would be. I mean it seriously creeped me out.

The movie is good and really starts delivering after a fairly long setup. Watching some of the behind the scenes the director really went out o his way to stay authentic and true to tone of the novel. They actually built the Demeter on a wet set.

One scene may shock you and I thought they went a little too far. But again works of that era hadn't had political correctness beaten into them.

I recommend this for all vampire movie fans. It's well done film that has some good scares.

The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)

Unwatchable. Another Dud by Flanagan

[1/10 · 20 October 2023]

This mini-series is totally divorced from Edgar Allen Poe. It's like the screenwriters just wanted to use Poe's work as the armature for their 21st century cliche characters and politically correct story lines. Like Quentin Tarantino said, we're living in the time where ideology trumps Art. This mini-series is a clear example of that critique.

Partly for the sake of being 'pan-cultural' the Usher 'Family' is unrecognizable as such. I mean I really didn't buy that any of these people were related. The dialogue is actually painful to listen to. There is a lot of unnecessary dialogue. There are, also, a lot of bad performances which was unexpected because the cast is really solid. I can't tell you anything about the end or middle of the series because I could only last for Episodes One and Two, actually half of Episode Two. I really couldn't go any further. I've officially 'walked out' on this series.

It is ridiculous that this mess is scoring higher than 'Dr. Sleep'. You really can't trust IMDBs ratings, anymore.

Mike Flanagan took way too many liberties with the source material. This series is totally lacking in the atmosphere and sense of impending doom that is thick in Poe's literature. I'm a big fan of Poe and was hoping this series would capture his spirit. It doesn't.

I've really liked Flanagan and thought the changes he made to 'Doctor Sleep' were very good. And I like 'Hill House' and 'Gerald's Game'. I was indifferent to 'Bly Manor'. I really didn't like 'Midnight Mass' and 'The Midnight Club'. I'm starting to wonder if Flanagan is a one-trick pony whose trick has been used up.

Better Watch Out (II) (2016)

'Home Alone' Gone Totally Wrong

[3/10 · 27 August 2023]

This movie is based on the premise, 'What if the kid in 'Home Alone' was a sociopath?' Now, this could've had a lot of potential for a dark comedy. Where the filmmakers take it is just creepy and unfunny.

This movie fails not because of the actors or the premise but because of the writing and tone. The tone is all wrong. The movie is difficult to watch because it deals with an underage kid who's fixated with his babysitter. His interactions with her are very inappropriate and makes you wince instead of laugh.

Another big part of problem is the films marketing would lead you believe this IS a horror movie version of 'Home Alone' with a teenage kid and babysitter vs. Home invaders. You are jolted 20 minutes in when it is revealed this is not the case.

Levi Miller puts in a strong performance as Luke and plays said sociopath with gusto. That really only made things worse because it drags the movie away from comedy and into more conventional thriller territory. Olivia DeJonge as Ashley does a good job as the babysitter in a no win situation. The content and tone of this movie is just inappropriate. It asks questions it has no hope of answering and just makes us endure a creepy, uncomfortable ride.

While there is a 'last laugh' moment at the end you're left to figure out how all this plays out. The carnage that's been inflicted far outweighs the light tone of the ending.

Smile (V) (2022)

Missed Opportunity That Tanks in The Third Act.

[4/10 · 19 July 2023]

The plot is weak. There aren't many scares other than the 'jump' kind. The characters, for the most part, are not that likeable. More often than not the 'smiles' that are supposed to be terrifying come off as goofy. It's going to be tough to meet the IMDB quota for 600 characters because there's not much here.

It was nice to see Robin Weigert who I LOVED as Calamity Jane on 'Deadwood' but she's not given a lot to do. That's the same for the entire cast.

They spend the entire film going back and forth between whether what the protagonist is experiencing is real or the result of childhood trauma and guilt. You get the idea that the movie is really headed somewhere and there was a good opportunity to turn this into an 'elevated' horror film but it really tanks in the third act. 'It Follows' covers a lot of the same ground and does it MUCH better.

It's not a horrible movie but there's not much here to command your attention. It's a good movie to put on while you're doing other stuff.

Myth of the Zodiac Killer (2023)

This is a Complete Farce.

[1/10 · 14 July 2023]

There is no investigation going on in this documentary. I've seen just about every Zodiac doc and I'm guessing all the participants in those films think this thing is a farce.

The main problem is the director seems to have done no research, himself. Instead, he features this English professor, Thomas Horan, who is a Zodiac hobbyist. Horan jumps to conclusions and makes nutzo claims like he's the only Zodiac researcher 'who has read all material on the case'. He has no way of knowing that and the claim itself blows his credibility.

At one of the crime scenes, based on the location of a shell casing, he proclaims it proves that the shooter was on the passenger side shooting over the hood of the car. That itself is a huge leap. And from this he 'deduces' there were two killers. This is a ridiculous reach and this guy has NO forensic training, whatsoever.

Horan is not qualified as an investigator and is working backwards from his thesis. That is bad investigative technique and bad science. This is every bit as weak as any of NIck Broomfield's docs on the Biggie and Trupac Murders. If you are going to put out a true crime documentary you have to at least do INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM. There is nothing like that going on, here. It's just some retired professor spinning theories without the rigor to drop test them.

The only interesting segment is the AI evaluation of the handwriting but even that is inconclusive. If you watch this 'documentary' you will know less about the Zodiac than if never watched it at all.

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

The Marvel-ization of Avatar

[6/10 · 9 June 2023]

The first Avatar was a spectacle but it also had a story that was compelling. There were real things at stake, like a people's home being destroyed and its collective memory being erased. You really felt the terror the Na'vi were experiencing in the face of a horrific genocidal attack. So, while it checked all the boxes for big box office fun it also had an adult theme and message.

'Avatar 2' says 'the heck with all that' and tells a less interesting story where the stakes are not as high. It's peppered with teenagers calling each other 'Bro' and behaving according to every cliche the Marvel Universe has shoved down our throat these past years. It's really a kidding movie that bends over backwards to appeal to the early teen market.

While the movie is beautiful and engaging at times, it's disappointing because it's James Cameron, one of the all-time greatest creators of action/adventure movies. He shouldn't be kowtowing to a market or be 'trying to remain relevant'' He should be showing the Marvel crowd how it's done.

Looking at the credits Cameron teamed with two other writers on this project. They're both writers of many CGI blockbusters. It really shows. 'Avatar' was written by Cameron, alone. It's a very well written and concise movie. 'Avatar 2' feels more like writing by committee and it's very cliche.

Seeing as there's already a release date for 'Avatar 3', this is obviously a bridge movie. So, there's a good chance 'Avatar 3' will be better. This one wasn't bad but the writing should've been better.

Waco: The Aftermath (2023)

Sends the Wrong Message at a Dangerous Time.

[4/10 · 14 May 2023]

I'm very confused about what the point was for this mini-series. In it's attempts to bend over backward to be fair they cast the government, once again, as the bad guy.

The trial isn't historically accurate. It had more defendants and it ended far more favorably for the majority of them. The Tim McVeigh/Neo-Nazi story-line is presented as if the U. S. government was begging for Oklahoma City to happen. It was not.

What happened in Mt. Carmel was a tragic series of accidents with David Koresh's self-fulfilling martyr complex dooming the Branch Davidians. What McVeigh did was a unconscionable act of terrorism and mass murder.

The U. S. government is presented as weak, petty, mean spirited and clueless. I could easily see this series being played in Proud Boys and other fascist militia functions as a recruiting film.

The first mini-series did a far better job of pointing out the faults on both sides. Waco was a tragic accident. It was never justification for domestic terrorism or the rise of neo-Nazism.

There can never be 'middle ground' between a democracy and fascism. This series was poorly conceived and executed and sends the totally wrong message at a very dangerous time.

History's Greatest Heists (2023– )

Well Presented and Fun True Crime Series

[9/10 · 6 May 2023]

I've been watching a lot of true crime for a writing project I'm doing. They can get pretty grim. It's nice to watch a series where there's some planning, intrigue and police work where a person isn't dead at the the end of it. (For the most part)

Pierce Brosnan does an excellent job of presenting the series. There's a snappiness and lightness to the series. The capers are all interesting and presented in detail. Almost all the episodes prove no matter how well a caper is planned something is, usually, overlooked.

I'm hoping this series is picked up. It's very informative and wildly entertaining. Any one of the capers could make a good movie.

Gangs of London (2020– )

Gangster Themed Action/Adventure

[7/10 · 14 January 2023]

If you're looking for a gritty crime story based on real life, keep looking. If you're looking for a gangster themed action/adventure melodrama with a moral universe like Games of Thrones, you've found your show.

This is a very slick and polished show. It's got John Wick type fight scenes and plenty of twisting plot lines. It has a similar brutality to G of Tl. Don't be surprised by the major character death count. Another villain will be along, soon enough.

There are no good guys on this show. Everyone is constantly jockeying for a better seat at the table. In some ways it's similar to 'Banshee'. You have to take it with a grain of salt. Still it's a fun show and a good watch.

Benedict Arnold: Hero Betrayed (2021)

I Don't Buy Their Central Premise.

[6/10 · 31 December 2022]

Overall, this is a good documentary which shows Arnold's side of the story. It short changes everyone else, however.

Yes, Arnold was a successful field commander but he was also full of pride and bitterness. The documentary makes it seem as if he was singled out by not being reimbursed for the money owed him but EVERY commander in the Continental Army was in similar circumstances, even George Washington.

Arnold's many personal quarrels are glazed over as a lack of understanding 'politics'. I think Arnold's personal problems were far deeper rooted. One of Arnold's biggest problems was his refusal to follow orders. While this proved a virtue in some of his encounters it is impossible to run an army with officers who behave the way Arnold did.

My guess is Ethan Allen, John Brown and General Gates all saw Arnold for who he was and he hated them for it.

The depth of his treason against George Washington isn't really presented fully. His West Point plot may well have ended with Washington captured or killed by the British. This was after Washington had championed him, again and again. This would've been a crushing blow to the Continental Army and could've directly led to America's defeat.

Arnold had been betraying America for almost a full year before he was caught. In that time he gave away detailed information about the Continental Army. This included troop and supply locations which probably caused many deaths. Then, once he joined the British, Arnold led raids against American cities, sacking them, leaving them in flames and plundered with many people killed.

Yes, Arnold made many sacrifices to the 'cause' but so did others. None of them betrayed their country. Arnold did. Ultimately, he was not the 'man of honor' he so desperately tried to present to the world. He deserves his place in infamy.

Don't Worry Darling (I) (2022)

Good Movie Hurt by Off Screen Drama

[7/10 · 25 November 2022]

I thought this movie was very entertaining. Olivia Wilde is a talented director and I look forward to her next film.

I think if this movie had come out without the accompanying, seemingly endless off screen drama it would've have been better received by the public. The movie itself is good, with great performances from Pugh and Pine. Pugh in particular is mesmerizing and her performance helps carry the film. It's beautifully shot by Matthew Libatique in a hyper-real style.

Olivia Wilde's direction is very strong. It's clear she had a grip on the material and delivers a biting, surreal, social satire wrapped in a thriller. The story is somewhat derivative of 'The Stepford Wives' as is the film's final message. It's still original enough to keep us guessing.

There is some 'woke feminism' in it that I didn't care for. One of the female characters kills one of the film's villains so women can take over. I guess it doesn't matter that the world's a lie if women are in charge. Scratchin' my head over that one.

Overall, it's a good film and definitely worth a watch.

I Came By (2022)

The Worst 'Best Friend' on Earth

[5/10 · 16 October 2022]

The premise is interesting and there's some good performances but the plot falls way short. There's a number of events that happen in this movie that just don't seem believable.

The story is about about two taggers, one white and one black, who are supposed to be best friends. When one wants out due to his new family obligations the other goes solo on an ill fated tag at the home of respected judge.

When the white tagger doesn't doesn't return home his mother becomes alarmed. The mother asks the black tagger who was practically raised in her home to help find out what is happening. The black tagger refuses. He says he has to look after his family. Any more would spoil the plot but suffice it to say this guy is the worst best friend in the history of the planet. The points I've given are for the performances and production, not for the plot.

The Good Exorcist (2018)

Good Considering the Budget and Contstraints.

[6/10 · 11 October 2022]

I rented this movie for ninety-nine cents because I had watched the 'Rebel Without a Crew' series and wanted to see how the movies had turned out. If you don't know, this movie was shot for that series. All participants were given a $7000 dollar budget and two weeks to complete their film. There's a lot to like about this movie. The cast is good and they all totally get what the director was going for in his first feature film. There's some really good performances all around. There is a lot of craft displayed in direction, a number of good sequences, nice camera angles and good visual story telling. The opening sequence was well done and the twilight dance scene was charming.

Where the film falls short is the sound. It's pretty much drilled into new filmmakers that the sound is more important than the picture. There's huge volume jumps between the music an dialogue. There's also jumps in volume and quality of the audio during dialog scenes. A lot of this could've been fixed in post production and it really should've been. Even if it couldn't be done by the deadline it should've been done before the movie was released. Some of the special effects fall short but on this budget that is understandable. I'm sure he could raise the money on Kickstarter or GoFundMe to fix these problems and I wish he would. Josh Stifter is talented director and he has a good eye for talent.

Overall, it's a fun watch and good example for new filmmakers on what can be done on shoestring budget.

Monster (2022– )

Doesn't Quite Hit the Mark.

[6/10 · 28 September 2022]

While this mini-series is well produced and directed it doesn't quite hit the mark. A big part of it is Evan Peters portrayal. I really like him as a actor but he has too much humanity to play this role. The real Jeffrey Dahmer is vacant and robotic. He has no humanity, at all.

Richard Jenkins does his usual great job as a father who tries to reach and save his son. He is a semi-tragic character as he makes wrong decisions time after time in his efforts. It forces you to think any effort to reach Dahmer was probably doomed from the start.

There's no procedural drama here but the series makes it clear why that is. Many times Dahmer should've been caught but the police views on gays and minorities meant the cases weren't taken seriously.

The sixth episode is the hardest to watch but it also is the one that most clearly shows the impact of Dahmer's horrible crimes on the families. It also drives home that these people weren't just 'victims'. They were real human beings with hopes and dreams.

A series on Dahmer was always bound to have problems, so, for the most part this production is pretty strong. It's not an easy watch but is probably a must for true crime fans. The series does show clearly that Dahmer's actions were the worst imaginable manifestation of 'abandonment syndrome'. I would say it was above average but not great and maybe that's all a story about Jeffrey Dahmer should be.

The Aviary (2022)

Any Movie That Challenges the Audience Gets Bad Scores

[7/10 · 31 August 2022]

I think IMDB has been lobotomized by the Marvel Universe generation. Any movie that is challenging and requires any thought gets ridiculously bad scores.

This is a good slow burn thriller. It has a non-relenting creepy feeling to it. Malin Akerman and Lorenza Izzo put in good performances as two women who have just escaped a cult. It kept me guessing right up to end and the ending, though satisfying, was not what I expected. It's the type of movie that makes you wonder what just happened.

It's definitely worth a watch if you want an escape from mindless CGI action spectacles and want a real movie about real people where something real is at stake.

Gaslit (2022)

What Happened to Martha Was Worse.

[7/10 · 25 August 2022]

Overall, this is a good mini-series that is reasonably accurate. The thing that bothered me was their depiction of E. Howard Hunt, G. Gordan Liddy and the others as incompetent boobs. These were evil people. Many of the players in Watergate are suspected of being involved in the assassination of JFK.

What was done to Martha Mitchell was horrible and ugly and they totally glossed over that she died of the same kind of mysterious, fast acting cancer that took Jack Ruby, Hugo Chavez and others who get on the wrong side of the CIA.

It's also interesting to note Steve King, the person who held Martha captive, was appointed Ambassador of the Czech Republic by Donald Trump. I guess that gives you an idea of who's still in charge.

The show was good. Sean Penn will probably win an Emmy and Julia Roberts did a very good job. However, Watergate and its aftermath wasn't a farce. It was a low point and black spot in our history and there wasn't much that was funny about it.

The Black Phone (2021)

Entertaining But Not Very Scary.

[7/10 · 14 August 2022]

I enjoyed this movie but it was short on scares. It's really more like a horror-themed coming of age story. Still there were some really good moments in it. The Grabber's masks, designed by Horror legend, Tom Savini, are great. Ethan Hawke does a good job as the main villain.

The story is adapted for the screen by Joe Hill, the son of Stephen King. It is based on Hill's short story of the same name. I'm sure this movie will be Hill's gateway to bigger and better things.

Mason Thames is good and Madeleine McGraw is outstanding as the two young protagonists. The movie doesn't drag and it was generally a fun watch.

I can't put my finger on it but for some reason I never bought that any of the main characters were in any peril. We hear of the violence but we hardly see any. When it does come it's not shocking and sort of inconsequential.

Come to think of it, there is a character they could've sacrificed to up the stakes. (You'll know who it is when watch the movie).

Overall, it's worth a watch. It's just not very frightening.