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Poltergeist333
Reviews
The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)
I really wanted to love this, but the moral panic was disgusting
I loved many of the episodes, and the way they wove Poe's short stories and poetry throughout. There's a lot for anyone who likes psychological horror. But even as someone who leans left, their bias and proselytizing is nauseating at times. Pretending that opiates kill everyone they touch is beyond wrong.
People with this same attitude have all but prevented everyone from prescribing opiates starting around 2012. The 2016 CDC guidelines, written by the drug treatment lobby, largely completed this by also causing doctors to even force taper established patients who had zero signs of abuse. And yet overdoses have shot through the roof in this time period. Meanwhile, many people have been tortured "for their own good."
People who claim such drugs only hurt people should go back to the days without fire. Surely many argued the same thing about it.
Funny how this film seems to champion the people... unless they're in pain. Then their need is misrepresented as addiction. How dare people want treatment for pain, or for people to fulfill that need. The ridiculous hypocrisy completely ruined the last episode. And yes, making Monsanto out to be the worst of the bunch caused me to laugh out loud. This is a great example of the horseshoe effect, where the far left and right overlap at crazy and misinformation. Try taking an objective look sometime, but most won't, because confirmation bias and tribalism rule over facts and science.
Echo (2023)
Not like other superhero movies, thank goodness
If you want more cookie-cutter mediocrity, go watch a DC flick. Marvel has always been about morals, ethics, and storytelling, not mindless action entertainment, which is why I find all the qq that much more ridiculous.
While I hate that there are so few genuine indigenous americans in the business, I LOVE that I get to see my favorites so often. If you liked Reservation Dogs, you'll probably like this, in that it shares a significant amount of cast members.
I don't want to put spoilers in, but suffice to say there is plenty of action that backs up the great storytelling and complex characters and interactions. If you came for mindless action trash, you won't like it.
The Rat Catcher (2023)
I wanted to love this, but it almost seems hostile to Dahls vision and words
600 words on a short? Doesn't seem appropriate, but I'll try. As stated in the title, I wanted so much to love this. I love the writer, and I'm a long time fan of Richard Ayoade. I run hot and cold on Wes Anderson, but in this case, cold isn't adequate to voice my disappointment in, and even disdain for the treatment this outstanding story gets. The visuals not only were inadequate in matching the words, but it almost seemed deliberate, in that Wes apparently couldn't even be bothered to try to match the narration. It's not even that I expected the titular role to look like exactly a rat, but he didn't look or act ratlike at all, despite this being THE major plot point. Does Wes expect us to believe he couldn't even do as well as the Harry Potter movies? I have been doing my best to try to ignore the things I don't like in art, but there was a clear lack of execution, and if there was some reason for it, I don't get it at all. At best it was pretention, which I don't abide. I am almost exactly in the middle (9 minutes elapsed, 8 min 56 seconds to go) and I honestly don't know if I want to waste another 9 minutes of my life. If I manage to finish it and it changes my mind, I will edit accordingly. Perhaps the worst part is that I was looking forward to watching all of these shorts, and now have no desire to risk my time further.
I Wanna Rock: The '80s Metal Dream (2023)
These people aren't metal. This is revisionism.
This show is absolutely ludicrous and is trying to rewrite history. Dee Snider is the closest thing to an actual metal artist, but he hasn't done anything notable since "Stay Hungry." He reminds me of a high school football player who spends decades reliving their glory days.
Most of the true metal fans laughed at Kip Winger long before Beevis and Butthead. He was a joke, and now he's a crybaby. His "music" didn't have any substance and it was hard to tell the difference between him and the women he was objectifying.
It's no surprise that an industry that was all about the looks and clearly not about the music crashed and burned. They didn't need Grunge to do it. They were devoid of any real substance and so most people had no problem forgetting them. Note that during the same time Pantera, Megadeth, and Metallica had some of their best years. I laugh at all the hairbands and their fans crying about grunge instead of going out there and making good music to stay relevant.
This show largely perpetuates the same mindset while ignoring the real metal bands who kept putting out quality music. I say good riddance.
You Can't Kill Meme (2021)
Sometimes comes off as a commercial for delusion, but gives significant insight
Many of the concepts and mind experiments have some validity in theory, but you need to hear it from the unfiltered point of view to truly appreciate the delusion and how they have taken things way too far.
Yes, writing things down makes it more likely you will follow up. Yes, things can go viral and impact thoughts of the public (Shamanism IS a valid social construct) by appealing to the lowest common denominator. No, this is NOT magic. It is sociology and anthropology, and they are treating it like magic.
I do wish the film makers had done some research on the concepts that this movement have bastardized and presented it as some counterpoint. I also get the impression that the film maker allowed the "guests" to dictate the terms. I don't feel this removes the importance or relevance of the content, but it absolutely could have been done better.
The Big Short (2015)
Outstanding.
The Kama Sutra of illustrations of how we were screwed and how blatant capitalism failed due to blatant corruption.
This hit every note and then some for me. Christian Bale alone was brilliant. Then add in Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and an outstanding supporting cast. I knew roughly 70% of what was presented here, but the contextualization of the facts through the eyes of the short sellers was just genius.
You would have thought that the cover up would have been what failed the perpetrators, instead it almost worked, and quite possibly will again without the always dirty word: Regulation. The depth and clarity of the drama and the facts together raises my hopes for humankind. Brilliant in inception and execution.
I Am Number Four (2011)
Very good movie
Snark is certainly the new black. Despite the snarky comments by other reviewers, it is NOWHERE NEAR a Twilight clone. Yes, it has a teen with powers, and it would be impossible to get completely away from the 'teen angst' points of the plot, but they were understated and not melodramatic. A little bit of romance which was part of the plot, but far from the sappy overindulgence of Twilight. Great acting and dialogue. Just enough feel-good to make you smile a couple of times. Good, well developed story. Great FX that was actually part of the story, rather than a story built around the FX (like you see all too often these days). Overall, a very well made sci-fi movie that happens to have teens in it.