scheidlerbarry Reviews

Catwoman (2004)

3.4 has to be misprint.

[10/10 · 10 June 2021]

With Halle Berry, Sharon Stone and Benjamin Bratt the eye candy rates at least a 4. Not near as bad as I was led to believe. If it hit the movie circuit again I would go see it on the big screen.

Perception (2012–2015)

Enjoyed show but always uncomfortable with it.

[7/10 · 28 February 2021]

I enjoyed the show for its actors and the story lines. Never the less I always felt uncomfortable with the messages of the show. I grew up with a paranoid schizophrenic mother. Her perceptions did not give her an insight into reality. Quite the opposite. It was not manageable by her trying to control her delusions. It was delusions which did not get better over time. It made her manipulative in that her delusions would over come my family. They became unable to convince and take action. That responsibility fell on me. She was extremely abusive and she knew how to hurt you in your weakest point. This incapacitated the rest of the family. I would insist on dealing with the symptoms no matter how much she abused me. Her disorder could only be managed with medicine and she had to be hospitalized until her symptoms were under control. Always the delusions were a detriment to her. Sometimes they were terrifying. Medicine was the only thing that kept her functioning until it didn't. Then the doctors would write new prescriptions to get the symptoms under control. Her paranoid schizophrenia was not a functional condition and medicine is sometimes the only thing that keeps the patient together.

True Grit (2010)

Excellent Film - Weak Finish

[7/10 · 12 April 2011]

This movie captivated and enthralled me. The story was not shot in the grand cinematic style of the original with John Wayne but was a grittier and more realistic presentation. Jeff Bridges did one of his finest performances. Matt Damon delivered the quality we have come to expect and Glen Campbell was unable to deliver in the original film. Josh Brolin as Tom Chaney was a much improved and almost child like character. Haillee Stanfield did a good job as Maddie; however, Kim Darby's performance in the original was different than anything I had ever seen in movies at that time. I believe Darby's performance was a ground breaking role for actresses. Still, I felt that the remake was superior to the original in many ways until the final scene of the film. The original John Wayne version left me happy as it wrapped up the odds and ends of the story. By jumping ahead a decade or so the filmmakers took away from the story itself. I liken it to watching a documentary on the 2004 Red Sox and their breaking of the "Curse of the Bambino" and ending the documentary with the White Sox sweeping the Red Sox in the first round of the 2005 playoffs. It just wasn't germane to the story.

The Departed (2006)

Best Film of the Year

[10/10 · 7 November 2006]

Wow! Best Film this year. Scorsese has matched a terrific cast and a great story and pieced together a masterpiece. In the deluge of mush touring American theaters in 2006 appeared this diamond. Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio are outstanding in the leading roles. The best performance of their careers. Jack Nicholson should win the Oscar for his role as an Irish godfather. The supporting cast of Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone and Mark Wahlberg were excellent. Vera Farmiga is terrific as a psychiatrist torn between the "nice guy" and the "bad boy". Be warned, like any Scorsese film, violence is explicit and disturbing.