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Reviews
Death Saved My Life (2021)
Much as I love Meagan Good...
This movie didn't really make much sense. There Aside from the fact that some of the things in it seem really unlikely to have been doable and the psychological damage shown implausible in what seemed like such a short period of time, it was not really made clear who was involved in what and whose involvement was coincidental. Especially the police. Perhaps if it had been a limited series they could have filled in those blanks but with them unfilled, it was like watching a Skinemax movie without the sex. The acting was okay for most, better for Meagan who is a good actress, but I think the writing was the issue. It's a no from me.
Pieces of Her (2022)
Enjoyable But The Casting Is Questionable
I thought the series was interesting and did enjoy it ultimately. Toni Collette is a great actress who emotes well and was in command of her character clearly. I don't see what was so bad about the actress playing her daughter that there would be such a united front here regarding her character or performance. She was just about who I thought she should be given the circumstances, although she turned out to be quite a bit more resourceful in short order than anytime could have expected given the first episode.
The one thing that I would have changed is the casting of the younger versions of the characters, particularly young Jane. No knock on the actress, who I could look at all day as she was adorable, gorgeous and played the part well. It's that there was literally no possible bridge to her going from that actress to Toni Collette besides via plastic surgery, which I kept expecting to find out Jane had undergone. No dice - they just didn't see a need to find an actress who was believable as a younger Jane. So you have to wonder how her facial structure, seeming Eastern European accent, voice, and mannerisms just flat out disappeared.
If you can get by those things, this is an enjoyable story and presentation.
Awake (2021)
This Was A Good Movie
I'm actually not surprised so many people are panning this movie given the current intellectual level and attention span in the country, but these limitations most suffer through really have no bearing on the quality of this movie at all. It was actually very good.
I'm going to avoid any spoilers, and instead say that the premise of the movie is very interesting. Certainly the effects visited on the populace as a result of what took place are completely believable given the physiological realities and physical requirements of being human, even if there's no way of quantifying whether or not the actual mechanism that created the crisis is possible. But this is fictional, so how scientifically sound does it have to be? We live in an era with 388 foot tall radioactive dragons battling 300 foot tall gorillas that speak sign language in movies. Surely we can make room for one more promise that's out there?
The acting was actually extremely good. Given what was happening, the emotions and emotional strength portrayed was spot on in my view. Unlike these witless zombie movies people keep flooding to see, this movie required some actual acting talent to pull off and everyone did well. I was particularly impressed with Arianna Greenblatt's performance. She portrayed a girl several years younger than herself and while it would have been an amazing performance coming from an 8 or 9 year old, even at 13 she really delivered in a movie portraying a situation that would completely terrify any child were they caught up in it.
Ignore people claiming there was no action or that it moved too slow. It's like they watched a different movie. I would say it was paced pretty much the same way War of the Worlds was paced. You can't have pandemonium in every scene of a movie. That's the best way to confirm there was no attention paid to story design and plot. But given today's movie audience? Maybe that's the only way studios can hope to stay in business.
Hit and Run (2009)
So Bad It's The Best
Pretty much the same thing as the Creepshow 2 short story The Hitchhiker, except without the hilariously overdone "THANKS FOR THE RIDE LADY!" and with plot changes and a few extra turns. Perfect B movie popcorn fare with good performances from everyone involved and the most inappropriate main soundtrack and ending credits song imaginable which if you're like me, is the cherry on top that a good cheap horror flick can't do without. There's really nothing like driving club EDM songs to fit absolutely nowhere given the theme.
This is really the gift that keeps on giving. Even after you mow it down with your car.
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Never Mind The Genuine Faux Purists
Look. I waited five hours in line on opening day in '77 to see the original Star Wars and I had every single original toy they made when I was a kid. So as purists go I'm about as pure as it gets minus the light saber battles and tents at 14:00 on workdays in the middle of Hollywood Blvd. With that said, ignore anybody trying to mega-pan this movie regardless of their logic. As with Game of Thrones, there will always be a contingent of pocket protector wearing nerds who lack the talent to have been employed in a saga like this who will have some problem with it. And I'm a 70's D&D playing kid who was the first in my group to be able to program a computer, at 9 years old. A true TRS-80 4K dork.
This was a really good movie. It was a fitting end to the story, with sadness, loss, triumph, laughter, and plenty of the same action that made the original's breakthroughs in '77 so trademarked. In that combination, I find it more in the vein of Rogue One, which having seen all of them, was the best movie of them all in my opinion from a film making and directing standpoint, without the camp, and with that realism that is necessary even in a fictional story that sells it and maintains the emotion. As a Star Wars film which by definition had to ensure that "good" triumphs over "evil", they managed to mask it in uncertainty well enough to make the story interesting and fun to immerse in. And what more could one have asked?
Can one find things to whine about? Well if you quit your job and devote every minute you have until the power gets cut off watching Star Wars, I'm betting yes. But if you work for a living and actually show up there, aren't paid to whine about things nobody will pay you to do, want to see an entertaining movie that leaves a good feeling without being corny, and have invested in the saga at all to where you at least know where The Last Jedi left off, then you won't be disappointed. Full stop.