lf780 Reviews

What We Found (2020)

Good cast but an overambitious script

[6/10 · 6 September 2020]

The main reason I heard about this movie is because Elizabeth Mitchell is in it. Though I knew she would only play a small supporting role, I gave it a try anyway, hoping the movie wouldn't suffer too much from typical budget-related indie-film problems. And at least to a certain extent, it did not.

The overall style and camera work is quite decent. Sure, with a smaller budget, there aren't any fancy locations or large crowd scenes or similar, and that's to be expected, but the team did the best with what they had. I definitely didn't expect the kind of action sequence at the river toward the end of the movie. And they also tried to add some visual variety using (I assume) a camera drone for some of the establishing shots.

Another thumbs up goes to the cast. I wasn't familiar with any of the kids before watching this movie but I think we'll see more of them in the future. They played well together and made the most of the lines they were given.

But this brings me to the main shortcoming of this movie: the script. Or, maybe it wasn't so much the script itself but things had to be cut or were edited poorly -- I can't tell. I just know that the story tried to do too much and ended up saying too little. Too many issues were crammed into one movie: drug trafficking, gun violence, corrupt cops, bullying, abusive parents, the stereotypical missing black father (let's retire this cliché for a while, shall we?), the usual high-school drama, and above all, a murder mystery.

It's just too much, and none of these issues get enough room to breathe and to develop their full potential. It also affects the characters, who often remain underdeveloped and leave the audience waiting for something to really connect with. And in the end, everything gets wrapped up too neatly, and it feels like the creators tried to tick off as many "drama, baby!" boxes as possible without really dealing with all the repercussions.

At the end of the day, it's a decent indie movie. Not one of the best, but certainly not one of the worst I've seen either. If you have an afternoon or evening to spare, give it a try. Indie movies can always use our support, and this cast deserves some more attention. Just keep your expectations low with regard to the story / twists.

Looking forward to the next projects of everybody involved in "What We Found".

Knives Out (2019)

Not bad but certainly overrated

[5/10 · 9 March 2020]

Add me to the list of people who went into this with high expectations (after having read so much praise about it) and came out of it utterly disappointed.

In terms of production value, it's not a bad movie -- good cinematography, genre-appropriate production design, suitable music, big-name cast (though heavily underused) and so on.

But what matters most in this genre is a good story, a clever crime and cues that give viewers something to think about throughout the film, and a resolution that puts all the pieces of the puzzle together and provides a satisfactory conclusion. Sadly, the opposite happens here.

The story doesn't know what it wants to do and feels like four different drafts of a script were mashed into one. It begins like the classic whodunnit where you have a whole group/family of suspects, all of them with motives, and you need to figure out who's lying and why -- except that after the introduction of all the family members, most of them get tossed aside and will only be cardboard characters without much significance for the rest of the movie.

Instead, the second part now shifts the focus to the young nurse who found the deceased family patriarch (who happened to be a famous author of, you guessed it, crime novels). And we get to spend about 45 minutes only with the nurse's part of the story -- and the mystery behind the death is revealed. It was all just an accident with some switched medication, but in his dying moments, the patriarch decides to make it look like a suicide in order to protect his beloved nurse friend because she's an immigrant and her mother could get deported and so on and on.

At this point, a viewer with high expectations is thinking "okay, no, it can't be this simple? The nurse is probably playing a long con and has only pretended to accidentally switch the medication... or maybe the crime author is playing a game with her and just faking it all because, after all, we've never seen a closeup of the dead body, nor the funeral, nor his actual death..."

Sadly, this is not where the movie is going. Instead, the third part of this script mashup begins and the one remaining family member who hasn't been ruled out completely by this point conveniently shows up and becomes part of the story -- and he's such an ass in such a non-subtle way that a viewer with high expectations is praying to the crime story gods that Rian Johnson will have something better up his sleeve than what he's telegraphing in this part of the story -- but, nope. It turns out, this ass whom we've barely seen throughout the first half of the movie did indeed want the family patriarch dead and had a hand in this not-so-accidental switch of medication.

Which leads us to the final part of the script, in which Rian Johnson desperately tries bring this mess to a good conclusion -- and fails. By now, everything is way too convoluted: It was an accident that turned into a fake suicide that turned out to have been an attempted murder that eventually led to a real murder of the family's housemaid who had figured out the real murderer (who had actually only attempted the murder) and therefore invited him into a deserted laundromat (because that's definitely where you want to meet alone with a killer!) where he wanted to kill her but he once again messed up and didn't properly kill her so she was still alive when the nurse arrived in order to meet with someone blackmailing her about the crime she hadn't committed, and she saves the housemaid's life but as a consequence has to turn herself in for a crime she didn't commit only for the detective to suddenly figure it all out and the not-yet-an-actual-killer giving them a detailed confession right before the housemaid dies in the hospital so that we now have a real murder and a real confession from an actual killer.... or something.

If you thought this last paragraph was impossible to follow along and annoyingly written, then congrats, that's like how I felt when the detective gave his endless monologue at the end of the movie explaining the whole crime.

Long story short: This movie isn't well written. It's not the entertaining detective story/whodunnit mystery that it wants to be. At its core, it's yet another story about a patriarch changing his last will and getting killed by a disgruntled heir. But this simple plot is buried under a convoluted mess of coincidences and side-plots that don't really matter much in the end.

The biggest mystery of "Knives Out" is why so many people praised it and why it's even getting a sequel. When that comes out, I'll be watching something else.

DriverX (2017)

DriverX takes all the right turns

[8/10 · 26 November 2018]

This is a micro-budget film that was, at least partially, funded via a Kickstarter campaign (full disclosure: I chipped in a few bucks) -- which often can be a turn-off for viewers because, let's be honest, some of these projects really look like they've been shot on a shoestring budget. Fortunately, "DriverX" does not fall into this category and instead skillfully makes the best of its limited resources. The cinematography and color scheme is smooth and easy on the eye; the script circumvents some of the project's limitations (e.g., the need to stick to few locations, no fancy effects or chart-topping songs on the soundtrack) by turning them into plausible story elements/character traits; the supporting cast and some familiar faces all fit right in; and the lead actor (Patrick Fabian) easily carries the movie with a convincing portrayal of the middle-aged husband & father who tries to ensure his family's financial stability in a society that offers fewer and fewer options in the workforce for people like him.

All in all, a zeitgeisty indie movie about a man and his family trying to make things work in the age of the "gig economy." Be sure to check it out!

Dead of Summer (2016)

First half bad, second half good (S1)

[5/10 · 11 September 2016]

Considering what DEAD OF SUMMER set out to do -- recreate the 1980s horror movie feeling with a fun summer show that's not meant to be taken too seriously --, I have to say the second half of Season 1 managed to do that, but the first half fell completely flat.

The problem is that the show is set up such that each season focuses on one particular summer and one group of characters. However, each of the main characters gets one episode of flashbacks dedicated to them (think in terms of LOST's first season). There are about 9 such characters and only 10 episodes. You can do the math. It basically means, as soon as you get to know some of the characters, they get killed off. (Not all of them die, but I don't want to spoil too much.) So for me, the question was: Why should I care? What's the point? Why should I get invested in any of the characters (and hence, the story) when I only see their backstory but not much about how they act and make decisions NOW? The reason a show introduces a character's backstory is so we can understand how the characters tick and why they act the way they do and what lessons they learn over time -- but if you kill them off right after spending a lot of time showing their backstory, there won't be much growth. No lessons learned. Nothing memorable for the audience. Furthermore, the first season suffers from some pretty glaring logic flaws. For example, they have all these young children in this summer camp -- but when the killings begin, they just keep going as if nothing happened? What about traumatizing these kids for life? What about their parents -- they're okay with leaving their kids in a camp tainted by death and mysterious events? I'm not buying it.

The second half of the season does much better with regard to the above mentioned problems. For example, when they finally want to evacuate the kids, the evil spirits in the camp try to stop the bus. Or when some of the main characters try to run away from camp, there's some sort of force field preventing them from getting out (I think it's similar to ONCE UPON A TIME -- apparently Kitsis/Horowitz love to borrow from other shows they've been involved with). While these are, of course, supernatural things that require you to suspend your disbelief, they make it much easier to accept that the main characters and all these children are stuck in that camp and have to fight for their lives. Similarly, the pacing of the last few episodes is much better. There's more at stake; the main characters can't trust each other anymore; there's more urgency; and some of the flashbacks reveal some new twists that put everything into a new light.

So, for me, it's 5/10 stars. I watched the first season as it unfolded week after week, and there was too much time in between episodes to ignore all these flaws. If you binge-watch the whole season and don't really think about its (lack of) logic, it might leave a better impression. The last few episodes really showed what the show could have been.

Rizzoli & Isles (2010–2016)

Used to be good but not worth watching after Season 4

[4/10 · 6 March 2016]

I found this show more or less by coincidence a few years ago. I had heard of Tess Gerritsen but never read any of her "Rizzoli & Isles" books and initially wasn't even aware that this was a show based on existing successful novels. In other words: I came in without any bias or expectation.

The first episode I caught was one from either Season 2 or Season 3. What I found was a somewhat light-hearted procedural with two female leads (one a cop, the other the medical examiner), a balanced mix of humor and drama, and a good supporting cast. I watched another episode, decided that it was good enough, and went back to the pilot to watch it all in order.

The first season is, without doubt, the best of the whole show. It's sightly edgier than the rest, it has a strong and creepy villain in Charles Hoyt and another interesting antagonist in Paddy Doyle (the father of Isles and a criminal on the opposite side of the law), and it always keeps the supporting cast enough in the background to allow the two leads to grow and carry the story.

The second & third seasons underwent a noticeable change in tone. Everything got a bit lighter, there's this increasingly annoying clown music in humorous scenes, and the supporting cast begins to take away some of the main characters' screen time. But as a whole, the show still works. Even one of my favorite episodes is in Season 3 (3x02). And some of the new guest characters (in particular, Isles' biological mother and Rizzoli's ego-driven soldier-lover) added some much needed conflict and allowed us to see more of the vulnerable side of the two leads.

Then came Season 4, and things became complicated. Again, it had some very good episodes (especially 4x04, but also 4x07 and 4x09), but towards the end of the season, everything unraveled. This was also around the time when Lee Thompson Young (who played Rizzoli's partner) committed suicide, which certainly must have been a factor in what was happening both on screen and behind the scenes and eventually resulted in the firing of showrunner Janet Tamaro. I won't speculate, but the last two or three episodes of Season 4 already hinted at the drastic changes to come. Out of the blue, Rizzoli's younger brother forces himself upon Isles without any consequences at all, whereas Rizzoli herself turns into a shadow of her former self and accepts the blackmail-proposal from her soldier lover (basically: "marry me, or I'll go back to Afghanistan!"), followed by an unexpected pregnancy. This wasn't good. This was turning into something very sexist that I wouldn't enjoy.

And with the new showrunner Jan Nash, everything got so much worse in Season 5 and Season 6. Granted, Nash's first few episodes gave me hope. They sent off the emotionally abusive soldier lover (though in a very amateurish cop-out), got rid of the pregnancy (again, in a very amateurish way that left much to be desired), they even temporarily toned down the clown music.

But then Nash and her unskilled writers destroyed everything that was good about the show. They ruined the female leads and turned them into incompetent stupid caricatures. They added completely pointless story lines for the supporting characters and made them a central part of the show (Rizzoli's mother and brother have become a real pain in the ass). They brought back the clown music. They erased Isles' backstory and added tons of continuity errors to the show. They got rid of all the guest characters that had added depth (Paddy Doyle, Isles' biological mother, Rizzoli's father, Rizzoli's boss, etc.). They killed off Isles' only remaining friend/colleague (Susie Chang) outside of the Rizzoli family and replaced her with a new man who -- AGAIN -- forced himself upon Isles without any consequences at all. They turned Isles into a shallow two-dimensional joke of a woman who chooses guns like fashion accessories. They took away all of Rizzoli's professionalism and let her make basic mistakes that not even the most inexperienced rookie cop would make. And the list goes on and on and on.

The ratings have continually fallen, and I'm glad that this disaster has finally been cancelled. This is not a show about two strong, independent and mature women anymore. This is a step back, and it's sad that all of this happened under the supervision of a female showrunner (Jan Nash even admitted that she didn't bother watching the first seasons when she took over control).

Watch the first four seasons. They're decent, light-hearted entertainment. But definitely ignore the rest.

Gone Elvis (2011)

A quiet film that should be heard

[8/10 · 19 December 2011]

"Gone Elvis" confronts the viewer with the bare and hopeless lives of those who have fought abroad for their country but whose country won't fight for them once they're back home. The short film follows one day in the life of Olivia Sloane, who served in Iraq, while her husband took off with her daughter, and who has nothing left now but her car, some worn clothes, and a handful of dollars. The terrors of war and the memories of sexual abuse by other soldiers haunt her, while she desperately tries to find a job and get her life back under control. Unfortunately, a mere "thank you for your service" by her fellow citizens won't pay her bills, and so there's little hope left.

That bare, hopeless life of fictional Sloane and thousands of veterans just like her in the real world is silently captured by the camera. No fancy shots or any other distractions except for the occasional soundtrack, whose melody is as haunting as the nightmares that Sloane carries around in her head. And as the day reaches its end, the camera withdraws and moves on - just like those who'd rather ignore the desperation of so many homeless veterans out there.

Watch "Gone Elvis", and you'll feel some of that desperation. And while you can crawl back into your comfy beds in your warm homes afterward, those veterans are still out there in the streets or in their cars. Alone and without hope. Maybe this quiet little film can make some noise, so go watch it, rent it, share it. It's the least you can do.