cledakling Reviews

Unfrosted (2024)

Silly fun

[6/10 · 18 May 2024]

You have to be of a certain age to recognize all the brands and mascots to appreciate this. I might be one of the few people who knew who Thurl Ravenscroft was before this movie began. That just adds to the fun.

The gags come pretty fast and furious and some of them miss, for example, the full cereal funeral. But there are enough to keep you smiling most of the time.

I loved seeing some favorite actors show up in random little parts. Christian Slater as part of "big milk" is a delight. John Hamm in his Mad Men role is fun, too. If you have 90 minutes to spare to just sit and have a good time, you could do a lot worse.

2nd Chance for Christmas (2019 TV Movie)

Overlooked and underrated holiday movie.

[8/10 · 21 December 2023]

I make it a point to watch every variation and adaptation of Charles Dickens Christmas Carol I find. I came upon this by chance. I liked it. Nothing fancy, just the basic story with a Pop Star diva in the lead. You'll recognize a lot of the actors and they were just fine.

I liked the Christmas ballad that the lead character sings; it's just as good as any of the newer Christmas songs you hear on the radio today.

I threw in an extra star or two to up the rating. Rather than watch endless adaptations of the same basic Hallmark/Lifetime Christmas romcom, add a new version of Scrooge to your holiday viewing.

Silo (2023– )

Blatant ripoff of City of Ember book.

[2/10 · 27 July 2023]

Hugh Dowy should be ashamed of himself. I'm thinking one of his kids red City of Ember in middle school. That's where I learned this story as a substitute teacher. As soon as I started watching Silo I couldn't get over the similarities.

At first I thought it was my imagination and then I search "Silo like City of Ember" and all sorts of things popped up on Reddit. I'm not alone.

I know there are only so many basic themes in literature, but all the concepts are here along with elements of every classic sci-fi story. They even quote Spock! The funny thing is that the movie version of City of Ember has Tim Robbins in it too!

No wonder our kids are all depressed and anxious with a steady stream of dystopian literature and subsequent movies.

Wellmania (2023)

They said to wait for episode 5 and it would get better

[3/10 · 20 June 2023]

Well I waited for episode 5 and didn't see any improvement. It wasn't an uneasy mix of humor and drama, it was neither.

The lead character was so incredibly selfish and manipulative and never stopped making everything all about her - even after everyone told her "stop making everything all about you." The disasters were all self-induced.

There were some funny lines. There were shades of Crazy Ex Girlfriend with a self-absorbed lead character, but this didn't work for me. Waiting through 8 episodes for a heart warming speech and dramatic reveal didn't make up for the time spent.

If she were my sister I would have paid to get her out of the country.

Living (2022)

Old dying guy harasses young woman

[6/10 · 15 June 2023]

From my headline, you'd be right to assume that I did not like this movie - at first. I went to check the reviews and sorted them so that the bad ones would come up first, because I was starting to feel like I was the only one who did not care for this movie. There were so many 10s and comments of "masterpiece".

When I discovered I wasn't alone, I was getting ready to turn it off. Then an unexpected story turn kept me watching. I'm glad I did.

It is very slow in the beginning and the main character did seem creepy. But it turned out to be lovely small movie with a beautiful score. I don't understand the 10s. But if you like quiet British films stick with it.

You People (2023)

Just dreadful

[1/10 · 14 February 2023]

Admittedly this is a review of the first 40 minutes or so of the movie. Rarely do I turn off a movie. I'm older and somehow I feel if I've made a commitment to a film I have to stick it out. However this was the definition of cringe-worthy.

I'm a fan of Blackish and Mixedish and was looking forward to a project from Kenya Barris, but unless this was supposed to be just a flat out farce I'm not sure what he was going for.

I've always thought that Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Eddie Murphy were overrated as serious actors, but I'm not sure there was much they could do with these cartoon characters.

And let's face it, while it was nice to see an everyman type get the pretty girl, this pairing just didn't work.

The King's Affection (2021– )

It could have been so much better.

[5/10 · 23 September 2022]

I'm a fan of longing looks as much as the next person, but this was just ridiculous. There were probably two full hours of people just staring at each other or off into the distance. There was plenty of story here, there was no need to drag it on for 20 episodes. And all those slow motion tumbles into the arms of a first or forbidden love. Is tripping the only way to meet someone?

Many have mentioned the casting. Park Eum-Bin is just too petite and Rowoon's features are almost more delicate than hers. I was constantly distracted thinking that the child actor who plays Jung Ji looks like he'd grow up to be the character Hyun. I know that child Jung Ji had a terrible trauma, but adult Jung Ji has nothing to suggest his younger self.

The story and look of the show were great, But there were so many character inconsistencies to make this the 10 rating that so many people seem to think. Yes I watched it all; mostly to see how it would turn out and was sorely tempted to just look to IMDb and find out. But I stuck with it because frankly, I had a free 20 hours. But if you're pressed for time I wouldn't do it.

Under the Banner of Heaven (2022– )

If anybody tells you that they belong to the one true church, run the other way.

[8/10 · 20 August 2022]

I thought it was a really well done telling of a true crime story. The fictional characters brought not only the events to life but the emotional and moral conflicts that were surly found within the LDS community. The acting was exceptional all the way around.

I in no way see this as an indictment of the LDS Church any more than I do the on going attacks on churches, mosques and synagogues by extremists both inside and outside established religions. And you need look no further than the Catholics and Southern Baptists for evidence that main line religions will cover up all manner of wrong doing that hurts their faithful rather than risk bad PR.

The Lafferty's, just like many today, claimed to know how the founding fathers' Christian intentions should be implemented in the US legal system despite no mention of Christ in the Constitution or Declaration. They prayed about it, so they know. Sounds familiar.

And don't say that the Lafferty brothers were crazy when they slaughtered Brenda and her baby. These were regular guys operating businesses and functioning in a community that told them they were the head of their wives and their households and to be obeyed on earth and in eternity. With so many brothers living and working in close proximity they were their own cult, reinforcing the patriarch's ideals until as grown men they struggled for succession. It's a tale as old as time.

Within only a few years of joining their family, college educated Brenda raised in a devout Mormon family that treated her as a whole person represented such a threat to the Lafferty men that found a spiritual reason to kill her.

Oh and they wanted more wives too; like virtually every fundamentalist sect of every belief system.

As a historical event, we know how this all ends. But it was a gripping watch nonetheless.

Mythic Quest (2020– )

The Jo assistant character is beyond a caricature

[2/10 · 14 August 2022]

I saw reviews suggesting that it takes several episodes to get better; but every time Jo the new admin assist showed up I just couldn't stand it.

I like dark irreverent snarky humor, but trying to get laughs from a character who considers it sport to drive people to suicide I'm out.

There are good lines but the other characters are all annoying and even ratcheted down to a real world level none of these people would last a day in a job.

Crazy Love (I) (2007)

Definitely crazy and definitely not love

[7/10 · 4 August 2022]

I watched a lot of true crime stuff so Crazy Love kept coming up on Netflix. I'm old enough to have recalled this couple when they made the rounds of all the talk shows, but I honestly didn't remember the story at all. It's a very well done documentary with terrific musical selections from the time and for the subject - which just gets worse and worse as it goes along.

We hear the story of a jealous suitor saying "if I can't have you nobody can" and instead of someone dead or in jail we get these two who managed to make it work for them! It's jaw-dropping, and sad that they could financially succeed because of this twisted fame they've achieved.

How either of them would be willing to be interviewed let alone essentially host a home movie of their lives is beyond me. The man is clearly a narcissist from the outset and unabashed liar. He tells you that. She was his victim, but managed at least to cash in on it.

There is racism, misogyny and an old white guy who doesn't know enough not to use the n word. There is no getting around the fact that they would not be sitting where they are now if he hadn't been a rich white lawyer. And I don't think being Jewish in NYC hurt him either.

So if you like true crime without dead bodies that is very evocative of the times, give it a watch and prepare to be appalled.

Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (2021– )

Are the rest like this?

[4/10 · 30 July 2022]

This is only the second Kdrama/comedy I've watched and I'm amazed at the 10 scores for a a show with so many unlikable characters. I don't know if the lead female was worse when she didn't like the nice guy or once she decided she loved him. And the neighbors were right; he's too good for her!

I watched Crash Landing On To You and really enjoyed it once I got accustomed to the odd blend of drama and comedy. The very serious nature of the main dilemma made the comic scenes a welcome relief. Here everybody is just awful to each other.

The sad backstories they gave the eccentric locals really didn't seem to excuse the way they treated each other. And of course the guys were almost all buffoons. The yelling, the kicking, the slapping; it was like watching The Three Stooges in the middle of a schmaltzy Hallmark movie. And I love those Hallmark movies where the big city girl moves back home and has a "meet cute" with a guy that she initially doesn't like and severely underestimates. Just like this one.

From reading online about kdramas, I gather that having characters get drunk and passing out to express their feelings is common. Both of those things happened in the two that I've watched, and even though these two shows were very different in overall tone, there were so many scenes that were the same from one show to the other. I guess if you're going to make 16 episodes of what could really just be a 90-minute boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back movie you have to throw every single troupe you've got in every single show.

Maybe it is better to watch these shows just one episode a week rather than one after another because it just really was too much. I'm going to watch to the end though just to find out the answers to the three big town secrets.

Anything's Possible (2022)

Don't watch if you're going to complain that it's too "woke".

[7/10 · 24 July 2022]

I've been watching coming of what age movies since I was coming of age in the 1970s. This is a very nice addition to the genre with the typical best friend breakup, shifting allegiances, etc., of high school dramas seen through more tolerant, but still fraught, gender issues of today. Richie Cunningham never had to deal with such things.

I'm a substitute teacher in southwest Ohio bouncing from rural to urban schools, and if you don't think that there are LGBTQ kids in your school you're mistaken.

The actors are young and charming and the city of Pittsburgh looks great. Although as a native Pittsburgh I know those characters are on the wrong bus to get to their destinations! Look for the Billy Porter (the director) mural and stay for the High School Musical inspired closing credits.

It Follows (2014)

Came for the SE Michigan filming locations

[3/10 · 24 July 2022]

I felt like watching a horror movie and saw this on one of those best horror movies to watch on Netflix sites.

The premise is interesting and could be interpreted a variety of ways: loss of innocence, fear of growing up and being responsible, or more literally the danger of STDs. But with no back story it's just a "teens in peril" horror movie with boobs instead of blood. I'm in my sixties and have always passed on that genre and was disappointed.

There is no consistent internal logic; no "silver bullet" as it were. Also, I gather that the writer wanted to be vague about the time period, but having one character with what seems to be a flip up Kindle that she reads from is unnecessary when everything else is landlines, big tube TVs and old cars. The police show after an assult but not a murder. And running through broken glass doesn't slow you down, etc.

I know I'm not the target audience and it didn't work for me.

Persuasion (I) (2022)

Just do a modern adaptation, not this mashup

[4/10 · 17 July 2022]

Jane Austen is all about the language. Why bother if you're going to change it, adding anachronistic phrases. These stores are very particular to their time; that's what makes them what they are. They can and have been marvelously updated. So why this attempt at inserting modern sensibility and language into a story that exists as a written classic?

I've gotten used to the multicultural casting and it's nice for actors to be able to play previously unavailable parts. Though I do think we are going to have lots of people who are going to grow up thinking that the regency era was one of diversity and tolerance!

Bridgerton had no literary antecedent so it was a fun romp. The Great is a lavish costume comedy featuring historic characters that's a hoot. But hands off Jane Austen.

Marry Me (2022)

Exactly what you'd expect.

[5/10 · 11 July 2022]

A pleasant and predictable romcom that oddly enough suffers from the international stardom achieved by JLo since her earlier "meet cute" films from 20 years ago. This is the one to watch if you want to feel bad about your own aging process 🙂.

It would be a very nice family film with the whole mathletes competition if it weren't for one incredibly tasteless musical number early on. But then I guess we should have expected that too.

Keeper of the Ashes: The Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders (2022– )

Just write a check Kristen.

[5/10 · 10 July 2022]

The story deserves this attention and the extensive archival footage makes for an evocative documentary. But why oh why did Kristen Chenoweth have to put herself in this story? Isn't she famous enough? An on screen blurb before or after clarifying her interest would have been more than enough.

Unfortunately not as many people will watch this because of the way it's been promoted as a celebrity vehicle.

Memories of Murder (2003)

Masterpiece of crime cinema?

[1/10 · 10 July 2022]

Maybe as an American I just didn't get the tone of this film. I watch a lot of crime dramas in various languages, but after 45 minutes of watching two stupid and violent police detectives fabricate evidence to arrest a impossible suspect, I was done.

I checked the other reviews to see if it was just me and should I forge ahead and found others who stuck it out and weren't converted to. Even some fans weren't happy with the ending so I gave it a pass.

I have no problem with dark humor and comedy being mixed in with murder and thrillers, but this just wasn't done in a way that I could appreciate or understand why others found it to be such a "thrilling" crime drama. I just wanted somebody to strangle the two detectives!

Stranger Things (2016–2025)

Only the bad haircuts remain the same.

[6/10 · 2 June 2022]

The suspenseful program you could watch with pre teens in 2016 is long gone in the fourth season. So are the once youthful actors. It's now very dark and gruesome.

And hasn't 11 had enough to deal with already without setting her up against some California mean girls?

I never would have thought all these years later that my favorite character would actually be Steve.

Big Eden (2000)

Hallmark movie with gay people!

[8/10 · 23 May 2022]

20 years before Hallmark put a gay couple at the center of one of its holiday movies, Big Eden has a successful NYC man called back to his hometown only to find that his best friend and secret teenage crush has also returned.

This small town in Montana is the most progressive place you can imagine and the whole flannel clad town plays match maker.

No surprises or plot twists, just a nice movie that now seems to be at once oddly ahead of its time and nostalgic.

Not That Funny (2012)

A lovely little film.

[9/10 · 22 May 2022]

Netflix recommended this film for me and I'm really glad that it did. It's just charming. While it's a story about a guy who wants to impress a pretty girl, It's also about family and connections and the human condition in a heart warming package.

The Power of the Dog (2021)

I didn't like The Piano either

[3/10 · 31 March 2022]

It's a long slow ride to the ah ha moment and it can't make up for spending so much time with such disagreeable people. I didn't see the particulars of the ending coming, but hardly cared.

The Lost Daughter (2021)

Selfish parents with spoiled children.

[3/10 · 1 January 2022]

Sure motherhood is hard and to be a parent is to feel an almost constant undercurrent of guilt and regret over things done and undone.

And who hasn't looked at young people and wonder how.we.got.from.there to here. But an hour in and I was annoyed and bored. It was only remembering the opening scene that remined me that something must happen at some point. But I think I'll just read the spoilers!

La La Land (2016)

If only singers and dancers had been leads in a musical.

[6/10 · 8 October 2021]

I'm a huge movie musical fan and have been happy to see a minor resurgence in the genre. It took me a while to get to La La Land. It was pretty to look at and a slight charming story with a wonderful big finish. But gosh darn it, if you're making a MUSICAL put real singers and dancers in it! Broadway caliber stars would have made this great.

Black Swan (2010)

Sexually repressed young woman under stress goes crazy.

[9/10 · 24 September 2021]

I had always wanted to see this movie given the rave reviews and critical acclaim. And I am fan of the spiral into madness genre. But really? Take away the upscale music and ballet and it's just psycho sexual titillation with famous actors. There is nothing subtle about the descent and the lead character is too timid to be believed as contending for the lead in a major ballet company's production.

Many people consider this a "masterpiece" and I don't get it. Honestly, call me a sexist, but I think many men just liked the idea of Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis together in a movie they could go to with their partners.😉

The Lady in the Van (2015)

Acting so good I hate everyone.

[4/10 · 26 July 2021]

You can read the reviews. I just couldn't deal with a son who could care for his mom but chooses to put her in a home while taking care of an angry, incontinent, ungrateful mentally ill woman in his driveway.