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Reviews
Provinces of Night (2010)
A movie with a warning
Dirty, gloomy, melo-dramatic, like many movies today,
But on the other hand, its a good study into the human condition on how not to live, and how what we sew, we also reap, sometimes in full measure.
Good watching old veteran Kristofferson who may have flinched a couple of times making the movie, as he was once on that road himself.
Worth a watch.
Winter's Bone (2010)
well done movie based on the book
Another movie of the 'strong girl' variety with the best of men sorely lacking. (familiar tune today). However, its a well done story of a slice of gritty life in desolate places. No wasted, superfluous filming, everthing is necessary to the story, based upon the book. So I give em an 8 in movie production.
Lost (2004)
A real mind bender
Wow! This one really knocked the garde out of avant garde. I binge-watched years after it ended, and the first seasons (my favorites) got me hooked with episodic cliff hangers, great character development and how the sets complimented the story & characters on their own is extraordinary. Before long, however, mythical and illusory factors, alternate realities, back story, forward and sideways story, all contributed to feeling the writers were getting in over their heads. There was little sympathy for the survivors, as they were constantly getting duped or attacked or trekking into the jungle at the behest of strangers. But, even with the ambiguity in story, you can't turn away once starting - every episode provides more suspense, more unexplained oddities and circumstances, more great camera and settings.
Observance (2015)
Some things that are there, some that aren't
No spoiler here, because I can't really contribute any understanding of the work, except there was this lonely (and I'm told, grieving) detective, some dark gurgling stuff, eyeball close-ups and some creepy shots, a few great photos....and some things that were there and some that weren't but seemed to be. I think the art students got to far into the rabbit hole, and couldn't make it back out. They really blew the avant out of avant garde. If this sounds ambiguous, its because I just finished watching.
But as with all raw talent, we hope for growth and refinement, and knowing there may be some squares like me in the audience. So, for now, I'll give it one star, as I couldn't find anything less.
Narcos (2015)
Great visual production, hard to decipher story line.
Possible spoiler: Narcos is a Great gripping visual production, but don't depend on this to maintain a consistent story line. Previous knowledge of the affairs shown is necessary. Dialog is trendy minimalist. English dialog, particularly with the 2 DEA agents necessary to follow the story was unintelligible and garbled. Possibly this could be a problem in sound compression in Netflix streaming. Spanish dialog I could understand due to subtitles. Also, there is X rated material inserted, although brief. For these reasons, I gave it a lower rating, although, as mentioned a gripping production. Scenes on location, ethnic actors and actresses & choreography add to the realism, making you feel you are in the scenes.