SoundsOKtoMe Reviews

Civil War (2024)

Equal parts captivating, sobering, frightening

[9/10 · 15 April 2024]

Given current political tensions, this film can serve as a warning. Or maybe it's just solid, absorbing entertainment, like the WWII films my dad used to take me to see. But while this isn't a history lesson, it could become one, much in the same way as Idiocracy. This is a "what if" film, and offers food for thought unlike many others.

There are absurd partisan grumblings that this is a propaganda piece since it has been released in an election year. Yet there are no descriptions of the ideologies of the warring sides, no mentions of politics. And significantly, no sides taken by the journalists portrayed. They are logging the events as they unfold and being sucked in and affected by them as they happen. All the way up to the ending, no sides have been taken. "There ain't no good guy, there ain't no bad guy, there's only you and me and we just disagree" (Jim Krueger)

The Losers (I) (2010)

The A Team revisited?

[5/10 · 27 September 2023]

Great cast, lots of action, but after the opening titles, it was all downhill. I'm not sure why I kept watching... most of all, the late great Roger Ebert gave it a great review, so I persevered. But the over-the top acting (ESPECIALLY Jason Patric as the bad guy) did this one in for me.

It's got all the noisy flashy stuff that kids crave (including mediocre effects!) It really should've been a whole lot more fun despite the best efforts of Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Idris Elba. I like Zoe Saldana and Chris Evans, but they were nothing more than caricatures in this.

This cast would've done better tossing the script and just making it all up as they went along.

I really WANTED to like this. Even if just out of respect for Mr Ebert!

Arctic Void (2022)

Fascinating but not for the short attention span crowd

[8/10 · 11 July 2023]

This is definitely NOT material for viewers who don't want to think about what they're watching. I glossed over too many details on the first viewing and decided to watch it again. This movie is definitely not for everyone, and it doesn't offer a lot of "bump in the night" scares. But it establishes an incredibly eerie atmosphere pretty quickly and maintains it throughout. There are a few genuinely creepy, head scratching moments. And it's fairly claustrophobic for a movie shot in these wild open spaces. Seems to be a cross between 2001, A Space Odyssey, the Shining and Endangered Species. It leaves a lot for the viewer to presume. But the clues are there. Certainly deserves way better ratings than I'm seeing!

Last Seen Alive (2022)

I've seen worse. But this is still not good.

[3/10 · 15 October 2022]

This movie didn't quite manage to live up to my low expectations of it.

The story itself was just "okay", and the stupid and irrational decisions by the lead character are all on the screenwriters who mapped out this mess. But Gerard Butler "gives it his all" tries to sell it anyway, with some of the most over-the-top overacting since Faye Dunaway in "Mommy Dearest" and Nicolas Cage in "Vampire's Kiss". But THOSE characters were both mentally unstable, and the performances were somewhat justifiable and fit in those films. In this one, Butler is supposedly portraying the level headed STABLE guy, not the lunatic.

And yes, I watched it to the end because I wanted to write this review. Not much frustrates me more than reading a review that says "Terrible movie... I watched 10 minutes and turned it off". If you watch 10 minutes of a film, you aren't qualified to review it!

Gutsy (2022– )

This series is begging for bad reviews from people who didn't watch it

[10/10 · 13 September 2022]

There is nothing more threatening to a misogynist than an empowered woman, and every episode highlights several of them. This series could be considered misogynist bait... it's about strong, intelligent, driven women and is hosted by one of the most reviled (by thin-skinned misogynists) and loved women in the world and her daughter.

Hillary and Chelsea do a decent job with the interviews, meetings and mini-adventures. There's a lot of fluff, no " hard-hitting" journalism, but this series introduced me to a lot of interesting women I may never have otherwise heard of. Worth the watch, even if just for that.

Badsville (2017)

unforgettable

[7/10 · 23 November 2021]

Brutal, unflinching. Feels like real life in a place you don't want to be with people you don't want to be around. Hard to watch but exceptionally well done and on a shoestring budget.

Bushwick (2017)

Not for thin -skinned right wingers

[9/10 · 18 July 2021]

Fairly claustrophobic action pic, with a more believable spin on the usual invasion storyline. Now that it's 2021, this is not such a far-fetched premise (among my own acquaintances I've heard secession talk.) This film is more timely than when it came out, and far more credible than Red Dawn or its remake, very possibly BECAUSE of our current socio-political climate. Nope, the good guys don't always make it out alive.

Snow and Bautista have excellent chemistry and both their characters are believable in their roles. I found the sister a bit annoying, otherwise all acting is solid, or at least solid enough.

The Interior (I) (2015)

Creepy

[7/10 · 5 June 2021]

Low budget creepy psychological fare. Not for fans of Transformers or Pacific Rim. Not for the impatient. Not for those who want everything tied up neatly and explained.

Army of the Damned (2013)

striving for mediocrity

[1/10 · 30 July 2019]

This was awful, but at least the soundtrack sucked!

John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)

Laurence Fishburne ruined it for me

[5/10 · 3 March 2019]

Ok, it's an overthe-top action movie. I can handle all the violence and unlikely scenarios, but Fishburne's dialog? Naw.

Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)

a fun surprise in every room

[8/10 · 23 October 2018]

A real movie with real acting, real writing and little or no CGI. Some suspense, some intrigue, a couple of interesting twists.... pure entertainment. Coen Brothers by way of Tarantino?

Suicide Squad (2016)

waste of time

[3/10 · 23 October 2018]

What a clattery train-wreck of a movie, and incredible waste of talent. With all the CGI, awful writing, dim joke, might as well have been watching a video game. I REALLY wanted to like it, but we just weren't made for each other.

How It Ends (2018)

If you're looking for an action hero movie, this isn't it

[10/10 · 15 July 2018]

I watched this BECAUSE of all the bad reviews, not despite them. I've often found that my tastes aren't in lockstep with the "blockbuster" crowd. And I was not disappointedwith my instincts on this film after reading several IMDB reviews. Everyone has a different idea of what a movie should be. This one is NOT a typical "end of times" movie. It doesn't lay out exactly what is happening as it happens, bringing with it what I saw as a more realistic perspective of how things might be in such times.... no communications, no power, sudden chaos. We don't know any more than the characters do... just as it would be. If you're looking for a beginning with "once upon a time" and an ending of "and they lived happily ever after", then move on.

The Ballad of Lefty Brown (2017)

Excellent performances, quite a story

[8/10 · 17 June 2018]

It's a crime that a movie like this grossed under $8k at the box office when tripe passes for blockbusters

Hooker with a Hacksaw (2017)

A bit too long

[2/10 · 20 May 2018]

At 70 minutes, it's about an hour longer than it needs to be.

Being There (1979)

Simple mind meets complex times.

[10/10 · 12 February 2006]

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. It's a study on the profound nature of simplicity and how our perceptions and pre-conceived notions can deceive us.

The lead character is the rarest of all beings- an innocent and naive adult whose simple-minded nature is perceived as brilliance. Circumstances take him into the home of a presidential confidante and he becomes an unlikely adviser to powerful people; sought-after talk show guest and potential political contender. And all the while he doesn't even know it.

This film pre-dated Forrest Gump by 15 years, and "out-Gumps' it by a mile or two. (And Forrest Gump wasn't too shabby, either!)

Two Oscar Nominations here, too. Peter Sellers lost to Dustin Hoffman in "Kramer Vs. Kramer" and Melvyn Douglass won Best Supporting Actor beating Robert Duvall in "Apocolypse Now". Pretty impressive for a movie hardly anyone saw at the theaters.