kenhe Reviews

Everybody Loves Raymond (1996–2005)

Hated as comedy

[1/10 · 3 September 2017]

I say this as a one time fan of Raymond. I felt the show was relatively apolitical, clean in language and content, and even though the adult characters were ALL deeply flawed, they were mostly likable but quirky. Except for Marie. She exhibits all the properties of a mentally ill paranoid schizophrenic, and he double talks denigrating Ray's wife are despicable, and in no way funny. The episode which most bothered me was when Ray's wife tells her kids to bet on whether her husband, Ray, and their father would do,say, or indicate something stupid. That is SICK to teach one's children to ridicule and laugh at their father. The one with the girl who ate insects was a real close runner up. Frank, Ray's dad, ALWAYS says the most insensitive, vulgar, and irrelevant comments possible, except when he is demanding that his wife feed him like he was some sort of infant. Ray is a man child of course, in need of direction, criticism, and help from his hyper critical and judgmental wife or he wouldn't last a day. Ray is of course a SPORTS WRITER so surprise he enjoys both watching and participating in SPORTS! How can his wife not understand this, but oh yeah, all she does with Ray is whine and complain that he doesn't help her a little bit with the house. Not a word of thanks for Ray's hard work, he is a hard working, sober, loyal, and relatively responsible husband. Instead Ray is presented as a bumbling buffoon unable to raise his kids, satisfy his wife, and cut himself from his mother's apron strings. This show had potential, but it just degenerated into another mindless family situation comedy, with strong elements of serious mental illness used for comic effects. Sorry folks, it failed.

The Big Bang Theory (2007–2019)

Why does Chuck Lorre hate Judaism?

[1/10 · 17 June 2015]

I used to like the BBT until Chuck Lorre's loathing of anything Jewish became frighteningly apparent. I normally would not care that some worthless Hollywood reptile built a character, Wolowitz, who so deeply and completely holds his Jewishness in total contempt, so be it. But the BBT is immensely popular, even among most secular Jews, that I feel that I have to object to how Lorre portrays Jews and Judaism in his show. So Wolowitz eats non kosher food regularly, seems to see lox and bagels as a Jewish ritual, and holds kosher food as a bad joke. Then wonder of wonders, Lorre has Wolowitz marry a gentile girl, a super shikseh in fact, a Polish Catholic girl, in total violation of every basic Jewish Law, period! But the crowning insult to Yiddishkeit, the cremation of Wolowitz's mother, took the cake. Cremation is absolutely, totally, and unforgivably forbidden by Jewish Law, Halacha, and it is even forbidden by Jewish Law for a relative to obey any instructions to cremate a Jew, ever. Indeed, the soul of the Jew cremated, his or her Neshoma or Jewish Soul, cannot enter Paradise, ever. I asked my wife what possesses Chuck Lorre and why he despises his own Jewish Faith so deeply and bitterly, and she was just as confused as I am. Again, I would not mind, but Lorre is insulting Judaism and the Jewish People far too much, and the cremation thing is the worst. Chuck, if you read this, please give your attacks on Judaism a rest, and get better writers, the eighth season was not funny, indeed, I saw no humor in Sheldon stealing Leonard's limelight, indeed, I saw it as a professional and personal betrayal of the highest order and not at all funny, just like the rest of the season!

Srugim (2008–2012)

A simple but touching soap opera

[10/10 · 9 March 2014]

This series is about how religious Jewish young people in Israel go about trying to find their partner within the limits of the Orthodox Jewish Community. The Israeli Jewish men and the women are concerned with keeping Jewish Law and at the same trying to achieve the happiness, love, marriage, and family which lie at the very core of religious Jewish marriage. The acting is surprisingly good, the women dress modestly, are tastefully submissive while remaining very feminine. The men are men I am familiar with, sensitive, supportive, very observant of Jewish Law, and again very modest in terms of their interactions with their women friends. Much of the story appeals to me because I know and understand religious men and women like these, and the local scenery I know very well. In this series,the single women and men are older than is common in the Jewish religious community, that is, they are approaching thirty and have not yet found the love of their lives. This means that they are getting sort of desperate, after all, in this community by the time a woman or man is twenty eight, they have been married for seven or eight years and have several children. The characters are very likable, and they are all quite attractive physically and socially, which would normally lead me to wonder how they avoided marriage and family for so long. But that is the point, and these actors do an excellent job portraying the pathos, the longing, and the real pain that older unmarried Israeli Jewish religious men and women feel.

Cold Case (2003–2010)

Now they smear Viet Nam veterans

[1/10 · 19 February 2014]

So now the old slanders are dragged out, Viet Nam veterans as rapists, baby killers, and the murderers of mothers, grandmothers, and little girls. And of course, when a Viet vet fails to show enough patriotism, well another Viet vet murders him! Well folks, I am a Viet Nam War veteran and I never saw American soldiers commit a single atrocity, but I have seen the innumerable atrocities and war crimes committed by North Vietnamese soldiers and Viet Cong. And on this ridiculous show, Cold Case, I have seen political atrocities carried out on American TV against brave and heroic Viet Nam War veterans like myself and my fellow vets for no other reason than to pump a TV show and perpetuate the vicious libels and slanders that have plagued American Viet Nam War veterans by empty headed liberals who happen to have a public TV platform. This episode about the Viet Nam veterans sickened me, and should disgust any decent and moral American citizen.

Prometheus (I) (2012)

A thoughtful prequel

[9/10 · 7 July 2013]

This was at least as good as Alien and it was visually more compelling. The story line was obvious to anyone who had seen Alien and all the more enjoyable because of it's predictability. Every generation should have it's own version of Alien, and I feel that this version was perfectly suited to the present generation. This film had really excellent CGI and it attempted, largely successfully in my opinion, to put the human experience into a specific perspective. That is to say, where did we originate and what might be the consequences of our trying to find out. Ridley Scott managed to include a religious perspective effectively without becoming mawkish or overbearing. This film was easy to watch, exciting, and sufficiently suspenseful to keep my attention.

Conan the Barbarian (2011)

Another excellent rendition of the Conan legend

[9/10 · 2 July 2012]

To me there is no such thing as a bad or even mediocre Conan movie, they are all great because as an adventurer/hero there is no one to hold a candle to Conan! Conan is the archetype, the Gold standard if you will, against which all mythical heroes are measured. Of course, my acquaintance with Conan began when I was a teenager back in the 1960's and I had occasion to actually read the Robert E. Howard Conan stories. No movie, version, or modern rendition of Conan can ever measure up to the Conan vision I enjoyed as a kid in my mind's eye, but Conan is such a powerful, charismatic, and decisive hero that no matter who portrays him or what avenue he appears in, Conan always stands head and shoulders above the rest. Try not to over think Conan or attempt to make him into something he is not, Conan is a direct action problem solver, usually using the point of his sword or poniard.

Avatar (2009)

This movie may be just a ripoff of a science fiction novella by Poul Anderson

[1/10 · 29 January 2010]

Many years ago a rather obscure science fiction writer, Poul Anderson, wrote a seminal science fiction novella entitled "Call Me Joe." In this novella, the main character is a bitterly unhappy paraplegic who is given the job of mentally synthesizing with an artificially created being in order to settle and develop a planet rich in resources but otherwise dangerous, poisonous, and violent. At the end of the novella, Mr. Anderson posits that science has now found a place and a job for otherwise unusable cripples which gives them new bodies and new lives, and thus a valuable place in society. While Avatar takes this particular concept to a different place from a slightly different angle, the basic idea of paraplegics or other types of cripples being given a new lease on life by synthesizing their mental capabilities with those of another creature, whether Mr. Cameron admits it or not, is Poul Anderson's, and for Mr. Cameron not to acknowledge his debt to this outstanding writer is immoral. I would expect as a minimum that Mr. Cameron would let his admirers know that while he is a great director, he took his idea from an even greater and more creative source.

Sahara (2005)

A truly miserable mess

[1/10 · 29 March 2007]

Yes I have read the Clive Cussler novel Sahara, indeed several times, and I have read and enjoyed all the rest of Clive's action adventures. NO, I did not expect the movie Sahara to be an accurate film version of the novel but I hardly expected it to be so completely different from the novel. The whole point of the novel, the tracking of a dangerous waste toxin, was almost ignored by the movie, and replaced by the search for the Confederate gold. But worse, while the novel followed a logical progression and led inevitably to various plot complications, like the encounter with the various West Africa navies, or the discovery of Kitty Mannock's lost airplane, the movie plot just sort of pulled these encounters off the shelf and shoved them in. I felt the acting was just pitiful and brought to mind the other Clive Cussler novel which had been produced as a movie, a bad truly awful movie, called Raise the Titanic! I cannot help but think that the producers of this turkey simply bit off more than they could ever hope to chew. All the subplots in the novel Sahara combined to produce a really interesting story. In the movie all the subplots just couldn't be effectively fitted in and the movie was just wasn't big enough to contain them.

Slipstream (2005)

I think I saw this on the old Twilight Zone TV show in the Sixties

[2/10 · 24 May 2006]

I think I saw this idea of time travel in the old Twilight Zone Rod Serling show in the Sixties. In the Serling version, the lead character has a rather magical stop watch which he uses to stop time and action so he can actually carry out a bank robbery and not get caught. Unfortunately for him, he accidentally drops the stop watch and breaks it, thus imprisoning himself in a time and place where everything but him has been stopped. Your typical Twilight Zone ending. Indeed, this movie "Slipstream" incorporates so much of the Rod Serling story, albeit in a different mix, that I half expected to see some sort of thanks to good 'ol Rod in the credits. The idea of messing with time for personal gain is not a bad one, Bill Murray in Groundhog Day managed to do it quite well. But with Shawn Astin as the lead it is just too small for this particular two hour movie. As a twenty minute, thirty with commercials, TV show, it would have been a lot leaner, and perhaps a lot meaner.

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)

Live in Georgia for a while

[10/10 · 16 June 2005]

As a native Georgian, I can relate to the horror that the Prisoner From a Chain Gang experiences. Although I left Atlanta, Georgia around thirty years ago, I can still recall the wanton cruelty and excessive violence towards both poor whites, middle class whites, and Negroes by the Georgia State Police, the Atlanta Police Department, and the Marietta Police. I can only imagine, by way of this horrifying film, just how awful things were back in the Thirty's, inside the Talmadge dominated Georgia prisons, with prison guards whipping and beating, and even killing prisoners,

for little or no reason. It is too bad that so many Americans are insulated from the horror of the American penal system that they no longer understand just how destructive any prison sentence can be for their children and friends, or their friends children.

Rio Bravo (1959)

The American Western the way it ought to be done

[9/10 · 28 April 2005]

I had not seen El Dorado for several years but I had seen and enjoyed The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Alamo, and El Dorado's template, Rio Bravo several times. In a very concrete sense these are all the same movies, and could well be considered to be the godfather of the series, Deadwood. All the films include a very specific use of a broken down alcoholic, apparently not an unusual feature of the real Wild West, usually a good guy, or like in Liberty Valance, Lee Marvin, a quintessential bad guy, or as in the Alamo, well they were all drunks there apparently. John Wayne, a fine if underrated actor, of course sets the pace in all these films, even when surrounded by such excellent actors like Jimmy Stewart, Richard Widmark,Lee Marvin, Ed Asner, Woody Strode, Dean Martin, Robert Mitchum, and Walter Brennan. These movies were morality plays in the finest sense of that genre. We all know that the good gunfighters, led by Big John, will save the day, except at the Alamo where only honor was won, and they will save the day against insurmountable, almost unbelievable odds, but the action and the acting is so extraordinarily convincing that we suspend our cynicism and eagerly and breathlessly follow the action. Unfortunately, the bad gunfighters, and their leaders, are all too one dimensional, so thoroughly evil that the viewer practically prays for their demise. But except in the case of Lee Marvin's portrayal of Liberty Valance, even Ed Asner, or Claude Akins, or Santa Anna had some good qualities, or were at least fighting for a cause of some sort. It might have been more interesting, at least, to show these men as characters and not just cardboard cutouts. In the end, however, all these movies stand out from the many badly done and sadly done westerns were made around the same time. My personal belief is that John Wayne is the main reason. His drawl, his understated and yet strong, manly, and courteous character, and his exemplary behavior both on and off the screen is what made and makes him an enduring role model, and real Hollywood star, even now in our jaded and tawdry times.

The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

A wonderful surprise

[9/10 · 14 April 2005]

The Shop Around the Corner was a wonderful and unexpected surprise. The main plot between Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan was overtaken by the apparent subplot between and among the manager of the shop and his workers. This movie was produced in a more tender and sweeter time, with a much gentler sense of comedy, and the actors even seemed to be really participating in the show, not just acting like it. The choice of an Eastern European setting was very effective, especially the Budapest locale, a Hollywood version of Budapest it is true, but one which had not yet been ravaged and twisted by the horrors of World War II. The black and white format again helped in that the viewer wasn't distracted by the beauty or the color of the scenery, and could focus on the brilliance of the acting, which by the way, was evident among all the actors, not just the ones in the starring roles. I too fail to see much in common with the 1998 production of You've Got Mail, except for the actual mail element. Also, this movie was a much better and far more involved movie, with really credible acting.

Control Factor (2003 TV Movie)

Really great acting

[9/10 · 21 February 2005]

Control Factor had great acting, not just the main players, but the supporting cast as well. And in spite of the obvious fact that this movie contained elements of various other popular movies, like the Matrix, and even the really great movie Total Recall, it still stood on its own. I had to laugh at some the gimmicks like the baseball caps the protagonists used to repel the government transmitted mind controlling radio waves. THAT brought to mind the fabled tin foil helmets that unstable people are alleged to wear to prevent aliens from mentally controlling them. I watched this movie twice, mainly to enjoy it and it's credibility, but also to concentrate on the technical aspects, how the director managed to keep the several plot lines in operation simultaneously, and still maintain the viewers interest. Adam Baldwin was really gave a great performance, advancing from innocent bystander, to confused victim, and finally to effective leader. I have recommended this movie to all my friends, and will continue to do so. Controlling Factor was to my mind a much better action, sci-fi, and psychological thriller than many other more popular and probably more expensively produced movies.

Suzie Gold (2004)

Cliché, kitschy, and excellent

[8/10 · 6 February 2005]

Suzie Gold is certainly a niche film, the antics of a typical upper middle class Jewish family in Great Britain, but could just as well have been cast in the United States, or any country in Europe. Suzie Gold is certainly cliché, the overbearing Jewish mother, the passive Jewish father, the Jewish Princess daughter, and the whole social climbing Jewish social scene. The dialog was priceless, and very very accurate for that Jewish social group. The attitude towards the Jewish religion, that is, stylish, flexible, and comical, even though pretty much true to life, still bordered on kitsch. Summer Phoenix, not being Jewish, still did a great job in what was probably a very difficult role. The only trouble was that being a shiksa, she tended to act like one. I could personally relate to this film, the characters were really taken from real life, the situations were entirely believable, and conversations were the sort I have actually been involved in. And the dilemmas, that is, a younger daughter marrying before her desperate older sister, intermarriage, the whole Jewish mother shtick, the Jewish mother in law shtick, the Jewish daughter as princess, and the Jewish son as prince, they all rang very true, sadly in the case of the character of Anthony. I do doubt that non Jews would find this movie to be very entertaining, except in an exotic sense, or as a short look into a reality of a small part of the sometimes odd Jewish world. But then I felt that this was a movie made by Jews and for Jews, thus it would be understood and be entertaining only for Jews, and only for those Jews who can stand outside our own social, religious, communal, and ethnic scene, and laugh at and cry at our own foibles. I felt that Suzie Gold was overall a very sweet film.

Webs (2003 TV Movie)

Three battles for the price of one

[7/10 · 23 January 2005]

Webs offered me as a viewer several enjoyable movies, one with an alternate world and a believably bizarre and deadly enemy, another with human protagonists at odds with each other while at the same time confronting a common threat, and still another with the drama of people sacrificing themselves for the common good. There was drama and even some effective acting, although it was obvious that this was a low budget picture, and the actors weren't exactly first rate. Still, for me, these actors were fresh faces, and while not as experienced or polished as bigger names, they really threw themselves into their roles. The spoilers :The special effects I felt were quite acceptable and unexpectedly good, especially the Spider Queen, but even her zombie soldiers and their black blood spraying every which way when they were killed was pretty creepy. The professor and his time machine was routine, expected, and mundane, but he played his role quite well, and didn't let it turn into cartoon. The tense final scene in which the leader and the professor sacrifice themselves in order to allow the last two humans to return to an apparently prehistoric era was satisfying as an ending, and along with the science fiction and human drama, I feel made this movie well above average.

Underworld (2003)

Too much action, not enough horror

[7/10 · 10 December 2004]

I suppose it's my own fault that I had such great expectations from this movie, I had hoped for a standard horror thriller, with innocent human victims preyed upon and devoured by vampires and werewolves in the course of the conflict. And indeed, that is how Underworld started out, but quickly this movie transformed itself into a routine, and not particularly exciting action flick. In my opinion, in horror movies the supernatural antagonists have to inflict their savagery on relatively defenseless victims, victims who ultimately conquer and kill these predators by some clever and unexpected ruse.

In this movie, first of all, both vampires and werewolves are equally unsympathetic to humans since both use their formidable powers to prey upon their unaware,unsuspecting and usually defenseless victims. Secondly, both of these groups of supernatural creatures were equally powerful, having achieved what could be called a balance of power in terms of their pretty standard weaponry. Thirdly, and finally, both sides got so tied up with their fantastic martial arts, their pistols, machine guns, and magic bullets, and even their car chases, that I soon forgot that they were supposed to be supernatural creatures of the night at all and they simply turned into Matrix wannabes.

I felt that the sets were suitably eerie, the costumes beautiful, the acting better than average, and the plot of the film, when it was finally made clear at the denouement, quite acceptable. In fact, I feel that had the script been tweaked just a little, making one side somewhat more unfairly devious and even a little more powerful, that as a viewer I might have enjoyed an effective horror film, rather than a run of the mill action thriller, with vampires and werewolves in place of van Damme or Stallone.

I can still recall, and relish, the rather ancient horror thriller of Frankenstein meets the Wolfman as managing to effectively coordinate fear, horror, and a pretty good fight scene without sacrificing the basic intent of the film.

Bad Moon (1996)

An enjoyable hour and twenty minutes

[8/10 · 9 December 2004]

I was positively impressed with just how well done the transformation into the werewolf was done. I am very familiar with werewolf movies from the ones done by Lon Chaney Jr. to the present day and this one was pretty effective.

The plot was standard, but just how much can one change the werewolf saga? A good man is against his will unfortunately transformed into a murderous creature of the night, and even though he tries his best to control his urges, it is all to no avail, and in the end someone close to him has to end his bloody reign of terror.

The acting by the principles was reasonable, and yes the German Shepherd, Thor, did steal the show, but again, so what? I would even enjoy watching it again!

Undercover Brother (2002)

Far better than I expected

[10/10 · 1 October 2004]

I don't thing I stopped laughing for more than ten seconds while I watched this really funny movie. True, the jokes were predictable, and often rather juvenile, thankfully without the usual vulgarity, but the actors presented them so innocently, and even credibly, that I just had to laugh. The premise, even though absurd and rather racist, had little bearing on the movie itself, and was little more than a small and little noticed prop. I expected Billie Dee Williams and Chris Kattan to be excellent in their roles, and I was not disappointed, but even better, the supporting actors brought a freshness and delight to their parts. And importantly, the producers liked the concept of the movie, and had the business sense to invest enough money into the scenery, the costumes, and the locations to make this hilarious comedy a great success!

Spiders II: Breeding Ground (2001)

Not at all bad

[7/10 · 28 September 2004]

I realize that this movie was made in Eastern Europe by a German company, and that the special effects were a little childish. But while the acting by the main players was excellent, even the actors playing the ship's crew tried their level best to turn in a good performance. The plot was just a little too contrived, but then this was a horror movie so I would expect to suspend my realism for a little while. In any event this movie was certainly worth seeing once, and the truth of the matter is that Stephanie Niznik was really believable, and took her role very seriously. Her husband was okay, but Richard Moll as the Doctor was just wonderful, even when he and Niznik played who's got the gun at the very end, it wasn't really as Abbot and Costello as it looked. Spiders 2 was definitely a good, scary movie which deserves more credit than it has been given.

Total Recall (1990)

A very clever movie

[10/10 · 15 August 2004]

I really enjoyed Total Recall, and have watched it over a dozen times. The theme of the movie, that nothing is what it appears to be, combined with the science fiction strangeness and what is really very good, solid acting by Schwartzenegger and Stone, is very clever and holds the audience's interest up until the very end. I felt that the action scenes were remarkable, that many of the actors lines witty, credible, and provocative and that the climax of the movie was quite satisfying and left me feeling that I had more than gotten my monies worth from the show. I have recommended this movie to all my friends and loaned out the video more times than I can count.

The Red Badge of Courage (1951)

A stark and powerful morality play

[10/10 · 11 July 2004]

The Red Badge of Courage starring the true life war hero Audie Murphy lost nothing by being filmed in black and white. Much like the more well known All Quiet on the Western Front, the Red Badge of Courage tells the story of a youth growing to maturity on the front lines of a bitter and devastating military conflict. Indeed, the character known as The Youth must come face to face with his youth and mortality. While he initially seems to fail the test, like all good morality plays, his own goodness, decency, and innocence allows him to grow into a courageous leader, that is, a man. John Huston should be given most of the credit for keeping this film focussed on the raging inner conflict of The Youth. The battle scenes were to my mind realistic but not overemphasized, the cowardice and the bravery of the soldiers under fire only served to make The Youth's inner turmoil more immediate, and in the final scenes, the recovery of The Youth from his confusion and fear was outstanding. Audie Murphy was a good actor, and he really shined in the war movies he made, perhaps as a direct result of his WWII experiences.

Forrest Gump (1994)

Purity and innocence retained

[10/10 · 31 May 2004]

I have seen this movie easily a half a dozen times, and I find that the beauty of the film is how Forrest Gump not only shares his innocence and purity with others, including the audience, he also manages to retain that innocence and purity through some very difficult times. As a Viet Nam veteran, and a college graduate of the late Sixties, I could of course personally relate to the various periods that Forrest Gump endures. I would only mention that the skillful and seamless blending of music, action, and period costume was enthralling. And yet it was so perfectly understated that Forrest Gump's travels through thirty five years of the stormiest and most meaningful years of American history only became clearly defined for the viewer. Even more so than the well known chocolates quote as a metaphor for life, I felt that the remark that stupid is what you do is probably more workable for most of us.

The War of the Worlds (1953)

An even better 50's movie than the Forbidden Planet

[10/10 · 24 May 2004]

The War of the Worlds starring Gene Barry has the benefits of solid acting and an excellent plot. The actors are always believable, actually allowing their own personal tension and understanding of the catastrophe facing them to build as the plot unfolds before the viewer. In the wrong hands even the brief appearance of the Martians could have deteriorated into almost slapstick comedy but instead the director only allowed us to see flashes of the aliens rather than dwelling on them. Indeed, this was both necessary and effective, since the special effects, the spaceships, and even the Martians themselves were only props to give meaning and body to the real narrative. That narrative of course is classic, human beings facing a problem to which they have no solution, not even their wits and knowledge can save them. Their salvation must and does come from outside of them, presumably from the hands of God, since the moment of the Martians doom occurs while the movies focus is on Gene Barry finding his companion in a church full of people praying. I thought this movie was indeed great as an action film full of excellent special effects, but the movie was even greater in the way it explored the dilemma of human powerlessness and the power of faith.

Sunset Boulevard (1950)

The seedy underside brought to life

[10/10 · 18 April 2004]

I really enjoyed this film because of its realism. The seamy and unclean underside of "Hollywood" is given flesh and blood by both William Holden in his calculating manipulation and Gloria Swanson by her cold, grasping desperation. The technique of telling the story from the viewpoint of William Holden's character, who has already paid the price of his cynicism and greed, was so effective as to be priceless. What was best, for me however, was the sympathy that both the lead characters managed to evoke in spite of their obvious and outrageous flaws. What could be more realistic, pitiful, but superbly tragic than the butler writing phony fan letters to his faded star employer? The fact that Sunset Boulevard was filmed in black and white I believe added to the power of the acting and the effectiveness of the narrative in the sense that it lent a grimy aspect to what was truly a dirty little story of personal failure. I also believe that because it was in black and white, I was never distracted by the scenery or the beauty of the sets and I was able to concentrate on the central aspects of the acting of William Holden and Gloria Swanson and the story they were portraying. This was one of the greatest movies of all time!