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Reviews
Der Schutzengel (2022)
Strangely Edited
The story is interesting, but there are a number of problems. I don't have any idea why this movie jumps back and forth in the timeline; it doesn't help the plot at all. Anyway, there is a bigger problem -- the dubbing in English. It isn't a problem with matching lip movements, it's a problem with the some of the voice actors, especially the old lady. Her voice is almost comical. Her inflections are so bad that I'd bet a theatre audience would break out laughing. The other problem is the dubbing sound. When you dub a voice for an actor who is outside, you'd expect the voice to sound like it's outside, not like the voice was recorded in a studio. All the voices sound that way; close mic'd in an anechoic chamber. It was bad enough that I was tempted to switch to the Austrian language track and turn on English subtitles, the only problem was, English subtitles were not available.
The Challenger Disaster (2019)
Could have been better . . .
There are two main problems with this movie: editing, and the director's attempt to use bickering engineers as the primary source of drama. In the beginning of the movie, the film cuts back and forth between two sets of lawyers that occurs long after the disaster. This is a bit confusing; unnecessarily so. Then we move to an argument of engineers at Morton Thiokol -- pre-disaster. There isn't any good reason for not relating this story chronologically or at least not flipping around indiscriminately. Secondly, the true story has plenty of drama without trying to artificially create drama by having the engineers engaging in an angry, disrespectful argument, which was apparently grossly exaggerated from what really happened.
The Outer Limits (1963)
Among the best TV programs of the 1960s
The first season of The Outer Limits had the best opening titles of any program on TV. It would be interesting to know why the producers changed their musical producer in season 2 from Dominic Frontiere to Harry Lubin, who used the same music he had used for One Step Beyond. It was not an improvement.
The stories were generally very good, with the chief weakness being the frequent use of actors in monster costumes and special effects that are mediocre by today's standards, but then I imagine the producers were constrained by the show's budget.
Watching the series today reveals so many actors who went on to become household names in their own TV series, such as David McCallum, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, etc.
The Outer Limits ranks up there with other great science fiction series such as Twilight Zone and even Star Trek.
Lost in Space (1965)
Entertaining as a children's show . . .
When Lost in Space debuted in the fall TV lineup for 1965, our family watched it every week and we kids enjoyed it. Now, almost 57 years later I'm watching it on Amazon Prime and I'm surprised at how silly it got in the very first season. Jonathan Harris is the very definition of a ham actor. Was this by design? If so, it became tedious to watch after the first few episodes. Too many plots center around his character and the devious attempts to enrich himself or get back to earth at the expense of everyone else. Too many of the aliens happen to be humanoids and speak perfect English. On the positive side, producer Irwin Allen certainly made a laudable effort with special effects given the technology of the 1960s. Also, we get to see a number of guest stars that ultimately became quite well known with their own TV shows and movies. There's the nostalgia aspect in play for people of my age, but beyond that, it's a disappointment. By the third season, the plots became so ludicrous that even back in 1967, we quit watching it.
Debt Collectors (2020)
Exaggerated characters in an average shoot-em-up . . .
A simple plot intended to set up plenty scenes of gratuitous violence with Mandylor channeling his best imitation of Mickey Rourke, which I actually found annoying because it was so grossly overdone. Adkins manages to play the entire movie displaying just one emotion; anger. Well, it's simpler that way and maybe it's really the director's fault. To be fair, no one attached to this film had any notion of making something that would satisfy critics. It was more a case of "how can we cash in on a sequel that made us money before". This is one of those flicks you watch when you can't find anything good on.
America's Forgotten (2020)
One of those films . . .
This is one of those films that every American should see. It takes a good look at the illegal immigration issue and even proposes a possible solution.
Brotherhood (2019)
Good Story That Deserved A Better Movie
First the good: Good production values, photography, etc. The actors did a fine job.
The bad: The story is cut up into a series of flash forward and flashbacks that destroy continuity. If only the whole thing had been told chronologically it would have been much better. And why don't we see the actual cause of the overturned canoe? Cost?
Unhinged (2020)
Did Russell Crowe Need the Money?
The plot here is similar to the movie Falling Down with Michael Douglas: middle class white guy gets fired from his job and becomes unhinged and decides to take out his frustration on innocent folks. The plot is predictable, gratuitously violent in the extreme, and simplistic, which makes me wonder why Crowe did the film. It's not his style. Note also that Crowe has a beard and is as big as a house --possibly in preparation for playing Santa Claus in some future film. As is often the case in these kinds of films, the psychotic killer gets pretty much free rain to kill and destroy with impunity until his victim finally decides to fight back, and perhaps the one redeeming quality of the plot is that the killer doesn't revive from apparent death to get one last shot at mayhem as so often occurs in similar movies.
You're Next (2011)
Suffers from Shakey Camera Syndrome
Sorry. I just don't get it. Why do so many modern directors think that filming a movie with a handheld camera constantly moving as if a dog was tearing at the cameraman's pants is stylistic genius? You just want to shout, "Hold the damn thing still." Maybe the first director that did this could be called clever. Now it's just tedious and annoying. The great irony about this is that Panavision and others spent a lot of time and money developing gyro stabilized cameras to defeat this very thing. To directors everywhere: Stop trying to impress your pseudo artistic friends and just tell the story.
The Spanish Prisoner (1997)
Entertaining . . . too bad a bit more thought wasn't put into it.
This film is definitely worth watching, but it has some plot problems. Among the biggest is why so much effort was put into framing Joe Ross for the theft of the formula book; it doesn't make sense. The book has been successfully stolen; why bother to set up Joe for the crime? Secondly, we're made to believe that Joe is extremely concerned about security for the book, but it seems not to faze him in the least when the "FBI" tells him to take the real book to his meeting with Jimmy at the carousel, when a fake one would do just fine for the purpose. Finally, at the end, why bother to try to kill Joe on the ferry? Is Jimmy afraid of fingerprints on the tennis book, or security footage at the hotel? Jimmy had time and opportunity to beat Joe in destroying both. There are other flaws; after Joe realizes his formula book has been switched he should be asking himself how both books appear identical when only he and Klein have keys to the safe. But if you let this and other weaknesses pass, you'll enjoy the film.
Turbulence (1997)
One Killer on a Plane is Never Enough
I'm picturing the producer and director reviewing the daily rushes with about two thirds of the movie shot. They look at each other and decide they have a better chance of making a comedy out of it rather than a drama, so they shoot the rest of the movie that way. What else could they do? No one could take this film seriously.
Losing the Way (2018)
Good photography . . .
Reminds me of my four-wheeling days in the 1980's, though I didn't have a nose ring. It's a good cautionary tale with regard to traveling some barely passable roads and in their incident with a bear. (If you're in bear country don't expect a tent will protect you.) The photography is good with plenty of scenic views. Maybe a good touch would be to edit in an occasional map view to show the audience where they are.
Trauma Center (2019)
If you can't find anything else to watch . . .
If there was an award for a major celebrity making the greatest number of bad movies, Bruce Willis would certainly get a nomination. The plot is the familiar "bad guys try to kill the pretty girl but the pretty girl get tough and fights back" film. This one has all the usual cliches where the pretty girl always manages to escape death just in the nick of time. Worse still, Bruce plays this whole movie like he's drugged or half looped. Maybe he just doesn't care. And maybe he doesn't care if we know he doesn't care. It's a paycheck, after all.
If you can't find anything else to watch and you're looking to waste 90 minutes of time, here's a movie for you.
The Evil Inside Her (2019)
I guess Eric Roberts will do anything for a buck
Terrible acting, poor camera work, and mediocre plot. According to IMDB the budget was $300,000. I wonder how much of that was for Eric Roberts. This is the second low budget flick with him I've seen in the last week. Apparently he is in the "I'll do anything for a buck" mode. When I see the favorable reviews for this movie I have to believe those folks were somehow connected to the production.