jamesjustice-92 Reviews

The Con Artists (1976)

If you're bluffing do it till the end

[10/10 · 29 May 2024]

It seems like I've seen this movie at least a hundred times - when I was growing up Bluff was one of my favorite movies and I always watched it on TV whenever it was on. There's something about Adriano Celentano and Anthony Quinn's dynamic duo that makes Bluff such an immortal classic that I can watch over and over again, even in its native Italian language (which I watched just now for the first time).

The con movies are not the best at showing true emotions because its main characters are embedded with lies - they can do or tell anything just to play the game to the end, to succeed in a bluff - and this one is no exception. Celentano's Felix is young but talented enough to play big games all by himself whereas Quinn's Philip knows every trick in the book and is ready to put everything for the bluff of a lifetime, and they team up to pull it. Sure it sounds a lot like The sting that came out just 3 years prior to this one but it hasn't got either the class or charisma of the main characters (no disrespect to Paul Newman and Robert Redford but their duo is just ordinary and no match to these guys), or the astonishing music by Lelio Luttazzi that I got hooked on since the first seconds.

By the time I got internet and was in my twenties already I found out that I was watching an abridged version of the movie the whole time: for censorship reasons there were many scenes deleted that included nudity, profanity and questionable decisions made by Felix - which was not surprising why but it sort of robbed the character of his own growth. When we first meet him he's mean, green, egotistical and willing to stoop as low as one can get to take what he wants but by the end he realizes there's more to life than just a game. A bluff is a bluff but if the safety of your own and the people nearest you are at stake you'd do the impossible to keep it, even put mannequins on motorcycles and say "Andiamo!".

Bluff is the kind of story that you'd want to go back to as soon as you're beginning to miss those characters (which happens sooner than you think), it's funny, witty, has a ton of memorable moments and pieces of dialogue, incredible performances and unbelievably beautiful music score. Pa-ba-raaam..

Petticoat Junction (1963–1970)

Some fun at the junction

[7/10 · 28 May 2024]

I was beginning to watch this show some time ago, I don't remember when exactly but back then it didn't quite grasp me and I quit shortly after, leaving the rating at 5/10. This year, when I discovered Green Acres, a far superior show to this one so far, I decided to give it another go and this time I left after 31 episodes, improving the rating up to 7. So, what's changed?

Petticoat junction has its moments of greatness and soul, most of them come from Bea Benaderet's character Kate Bradley who is one of the most charming and wise characters I ever saw on television, a true mother figure to the three girls she's raising, along with big child uncle Joe - Edgar Buchanan is great as a recurring character, like in Green Acres for instance, but when he plays the lead in most of the episodes after a while his schemes don't seem to interest any more; the same with Charlie Lane's Bedloe character and his innumerable attempts to bring Kate down - i just hate it when stories keep repeating over and over again (and it was only the first season). The girls' stories are not that entertaining either.

Overall I feel like the TV show does not know what it wants to be because for a sitcom it's not that funny and most of the jokes don't hit the mark, and when they play it serious it isn't deep enough and just leaves you scratching your head and not knowing what to do with those scripts. It does have a great opening music theme, the one you can easily replicate in your head after the second listen. Amazing Bea Benaderet alone is worth the watch but the rest of the cast is supposed to be just as alive and empathic which they don't get over the course of the first 30 episodes. I won't be returning to this show no more but will stick around for Green Acres instead - it seems more well balanced.

P. S. It's funny that I chose Green Acres of the three shows created by Paul Henning which is a spin-off of Petticoat junction which is itself a spin-off of The Beverly hillbillies which I didn't get past even a couple of episodes - they were just plain dumb. Probably Paul got better with time. It's hard to imagine a spin-off of a spin-off nowadays that's better than the original thing.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)

And then play it again and again and again

[4/10 · 13 May 2024]

Honestly I didn't want to watch this movie at all, after what they did in "Afterlife" I thought they couldn't go any lower than that but boy was I wrong. There's always space to go down and down and down to the bottom with these neverending franchises nowadays, isn't it?

In comparison to Afterlife Frozen empire at least had an original (kind of) idea and a brand new ghost to install fear and I have to admit, at times (like two or three) the movie gave me chills of terror and I reminisced of the good old days when Ghostbusters was branded as horror comedy. For that feeling I'm grateful to this new installment. Unfortunately all the rest felt out of place.

How many more times do Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson have to come back to their roles when all they do on screen is try and hide their boredom, especially Murray who just seems to show up on set for a day or two to shoot his scenes and get the paycheck - he doesn't even move a muscle to portray Venkman and it's just sickening to see such performances which are in abundance here. Why even bother?

Paul Rudd obviously had the time of his life in the movie but his character is rather dull, uninspired and looks a lot like his character from the Ant man movies - I know he's a good actor, I just don't know why he doesn't show it here. The rest of the cast is just as bad, I can't even single anybody out because of how unbelievably boring they all are and those dialogues - good golly, who wrote them? There are so many 'likes' in between words one would think they were all improvised. Just add some scientific mumbo jumbo and here you go, you have a script to seven more Ghostbusters movies.

I remembered who I liked best - Patton Oswalt, his character was truly original and although is purely expository to the story he gave the most memorable performance, way better than the main cast did.

The ghost itself is extremely superficial, ordinary and doesn't do much in the narrative - I can't believe I'm saying this but I miss Vigo from Ghostbusters II who was at least motivated to be a villain throughout the movie and this one (I can't even remember the name) is only there for like fifteen minutes of the whole movie - all the rest is just some family drama blown out of proportions by a teenager who no one supposedly understands, a wannabe father who is as infantile as the said teenager and the bunch of retired old heroes who are present only to serve the movie's title being Ghostbusters. There's literally nothing in this movie that Ghostbusters is all about.

Afterlife tried to reboot the franchise by bringing new characters as if to pass the torch from the old ones but Frozen empire does it all over again, only with even less enthusiasm and I can see the writers of the future sequels hopelessly trying to come up with an original idea but failing and doing the same movie over and over again, oh and adding Ray Parker Jr.'s theme song in the end of course - I just don't see myself watching those anymore.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024)

Blood, fun and nazis

[4/10 · 12 May 2024]

I don't know what happened to Guy Ritchie in recent years but since The Gentlemen he wasn't able to make a decent movie, let alone watchable. I remember when each new Guy Ritchie film was like an event, that you buy the ticket to, sit in amazement in the theater and have a great taste afterwards at how his brilliant mind works. Now he's making almost two movies a year and after this one I don't know why I should even bother to watch any more of his... let's say, creations.

Four people have worked on the script to The Ministry, including Ritchie himself, and none of them thought what a load of bull feces they are making. Yes, I know the story is "based" on true events and the premise tells also that the movie depicts a "heavily fictionalized" account of events of the famed Postmaster operation from WWII but boy why did it have to be that far from reality that it feels almost like a superhero movie?

Writing strong multidimensional characters was always a weak spot of Ritchie's who preferred an ensemble cast with colorful but almost identically one-sided characters over the strong ones, to represent the full spectrum of emotions; who with their presence dragged the movie out of sheer boredom through loquacious dialogues, fun narrative and fantastic performances. The Ministry only has fun. Even a bit of fun to be exact.

The movie lacks every trademark of a Guy Ritchie film and it basically loses, in every sense of the way, the core to be called "a motion picture". The actors don't do a thing with their characters and I don't see any difference in Henry Cavill from every other character I saw him play - he is as Superman, as Napoleon Solo (from another one of Ritchie's creations, The man from U. N. C. L. E.) or that guy Walker from Mission Impossible as it gets, they're all literally the same person. The rest of the cast shows just about equal amount of individuality in them as Henry, with maybe a tiny exception of Eiza Gonzalez who at least tried to pretend like she had a background story.

Even the music that's almost always a highlight of a Guy Ritchie movie is boring and unimaginative here, it bears some distant motifs of the author's touch but not enough to be memorable. Two hours stretched out over this shallow tapestry of blood, fun and nazis and leaves you with nothing at all in the end.

I kept bringing up Guy Ritchie because of how shocked I am with his cracked genius lately. Something must have happened to him otherwise he wouldn't be putting movies out on mass production with no real value in them. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare as a movie is bad enough but as a Guy Ritchie movie is even worse.

Code 8: Part II (2024)

10,000 volts of more nothing

[5/10 · 9 May 2024]

Well it didn't work. Just as I expected it.

Code 8 Part II takes off 5 years after the events of the first movie and we get the balls rolling right at the beginning with establishment of a new kind of police force, new corruption schemes and some new powerful characters in this strange new world and what we don't get, still, is the character development. I don't know why is it so hard for moviemakers of today to create a strong, alive character that you can identify yourself with, just one. None of those people on screen were even remotely close to being real.

Lazy writing and the desire to build a franchise is the scourge of today's cinema and they both are prevalent in this movie. First of all, we weren't needing the second part of the story to begin with because the first hadn't given us enough to hold on to or expect something more of - getting the second part under those conditions is supposed to having a lot changed to turn them around but sadly we were robbed of that just as well. Second and the most important is that the characters are same old, they hadn't learned anything, even the main character, Connor, played by Robbie Amell, after five years in prison hadn't changed a bit when he says one thing only to do the opposite in the exact time of ten seconds. He sure does some quick thinking when the same day he met a girl he decided to put his life at risk to save her; I'm not saying it's not noble or anything, it sure is but there's just no way he would've done that only after having said a handful of words to a person. And this whole movie is full of alike clichés.

Yes, it's nice to have political innuendos, corrupt policemen, two-dimensional protagonists and antagonists who can show both good and bad in them but this is simply not enough to make a good cohesive body of work if the characters themselves don't do a thing. Maybe it could have worked as a series, when you have more time to explore the universe and background of characters but as a standalone movie of 100 minutes it sure does have way too many filler scenes that don't serve the movie's purpose thoroughly.

All in all if there is going to be a third part of Code 8 (somehow I won't be surprised it could happen) I will not be getting back to it because there really isn't anything to get back to.

Three Comrades (1938)

All for one and one for all

[6/10 · 23 April 2024]

I first read Erich Maria Remarque's novel back in my sophomore year at the university and I was perplexed by its characters, how they all cared for one another despite everything that was thrown at them - this is the kind of camaraderie sadly not present in most of the people nowadays. This 1938 movie version of the novel shows it in abundance too but somewhat watered down.

Main characters are divided into two groups: Robert Taylor and Robert Young are underperforming, especially Taylor whose Erich is a weak shadow of that man from the book, unemotional and distant. Lenz was my favorite character from the book but Robert Young didn't quite give me that feeling that I was expecting from the wisecracking cannonball Gottfried - maybe he should have been given the role of cool, level headed Otto that suited his persona better whereas Franchot Tone would just be thrilling to look at as Lenz and that leads us to the second group - those who did it splendidly.

His and Margaret Sullavan's performances were the highlight of the movie, and they carried it on their shoulders almost solely. I only wish it had more depth of the book, a little bit more pieces of dialogue and a greater focus on character development because the whole narrative felt rushed, without any real time to consider the consequences of the actions but I guess it's the thing with every movie adaptation of novels - they all seem just so superficial and bland in comparison to the source material, not all of them but most of them. You would think seeing the name F. Scott Fitzgerald as one of the screenwriters of Three comrades was a guaranteed label of quality to say the least but sadly I couldn't see his influence on it.

Overall this is a pretty darn good movie, considering this is the only movie adaptation of Remarque's novel (All Quiet on the Western front on the other hand had three already) it serves it justice just fine but as a standalone movie, without the burden of the novel, it looks bleak and rather forgettable.

A Gentleman in Moscow (2024)

No gentlemen for Russia

[4/10 · 22 April 2024]

Being of russian heritage I'm slightly familiar with its history and how the country lived and is living to this day and this tv series has less than nothing of understanding of that - no wonder here, not a single russian person was involved in making it, even as a consultant, so one should assume this whole concept is a work of fiction based on something someone heard that might have happened. But it didn't.

Ewan McGregor looks nothing like a person of russian descent, of nobility - yes, almost a hundred percent but he is an Englishman through and through and all his mannerisms scream of that as well. I'm not even trying to comprehend the choice of some non-white actors to play the russians - they just look alien in the setting, that's all.

But even if you look at this piece of cinema with an unbiased point of view and pretend it could be true it still doesn't tell us anything interesting about the characters to hold onto. After four episodes I finally gave up grasping for a single ounce of narrative to even remotely interest me in watching any further. The acting is what made me go this far but if the story is not engaging, the characters are bland and inauthentic and the narrative drags from one event to the other without real substance and depth there's nothing that great acting can do to save this.

Code 8 (2019)

10,000 volts of nothing

[6/10 · 29 March 2024]

I liked the job that Robbie Amell did on Upload so I decided to dive into his filmography and one part of it stood out particularly - Code 8. From what I've read this was his and his cousin Steven's dream project that they shot a short feature to in 2016 and then made it to full length three years later. All things considered they did well but not enough for it to become a fully-shaped body of work. Yes, they established the universe but it left more head scratches than truly authentic experience of a strange new world those characters lived in.

The movie doesn't look cheap for a second though, considering its budget was far from being sufficient to make a sci-fi thriller with a few political and moral undertones. The acting is also top-notch but what drags is the story: the movie is only 90 minutes long but the narrative is slow and uneventful and the dialogues, I'm afraid, take the crown for being the weakest link of the movie. I could expect those kind of short back and forth answer-replies from a 20-minute movie (wink to where this idea came from) but as a feature length it underscores a lot and just doesn't work for the movie at all: it just gives you an exposition into the backgrounds of the characters but it's not enough to make them real and alive to us, the viewers.

Overall I feel like Code 8 aimed higher and could have been much better if only the people involved in making it put some more effort into it, worked on the characters and rules of its universe and maybe then they could have gotten a decent movie worth rewatching to dive in again and again but it turned out as it turned out - shallow, doing the bare minimum not to make the viewer fall asleep type a movie and now, after Part 2 recently came out (which I will watch shortly), trying to make a franchise out of that said minimum that we've got so far. Needless to say that it won't work out under those conditions but I'll tell you for sure in the next review.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1996)

This is one of those TV shows we wish to have a second season to

[9/10 · 16 March 2024]

Ever since I learned of Scott Bakula on Quantum Leap and then again on Star Trek Enterprise I wanted to dig into his filmography to see what this talented man could else do and I saw the name "Mr & Mrs Smith" up there but somehow couldn't lay my finger on this show for a while but a couple of weeks ago I finally found it and boy oh boy what a joy it was. Even though I had a copy of the show with questionable quality I still enjoyed the hell out of this little TV series that should have been one of the best of its era but now is unfairly forgotten.

Scott pairs for this one with Maria Bello (I only knew her from The Mummy's third movie which was OK at best but here she shines much brighter) and they play a couple of spies, each week on a different mission but staying on the same one throughout - to learn more about each other's past and a little bit for each other while they're at it.

To tell you the truth I hate 'one week - one case' rule of any TV series but Mr & Mrs Smith makes it all worthy of your time. It's funny and charming, and you fall in love with the characters instantly and by the last episode you can't help but feeling you were robbed off the second season because the show is really great. I just can't put my finger on what was happening in the executives' heads when they cancelled the show midway its freshman season, after episode nine, and left four more episodes unreleased at all. Were they blind not to see the finest potential in the series which clearly had it? Beats me.

But at least we had that much, 13 episodes of strong character building, some interesting adventures and tons of entertaining moments in which Scott Bakula and Maria Bello delivered a lot of fantastic moments that I won't ever forget.

Kings from Queens: The Run DMC Story (2024)

It's like that

[8/10 · 3 February 2024]

I've discovered Run DMC at the dawn of my musical development, the first song I heard was probably Tougher than leather from their eponymous 1988 album and I remember liking it instantly. I was head deep in rock music back then and this blend of hip-hop and rock broke ground for me to inhale something different and boy after that the flood of Run DMC songs took me over just like that (what?) and that's the way it was.

Their story is a story of success, the popularization of the new genre when they shook the world in 1984, how they changed the game and opened the gates to tons of new music artists and genres. Without DJ Run, DMC and Jam Master Jay there wouldn't be no gangsta rap, no rap rock, no alternative metal, no nu metal and no artists of said genres. They were the kings.

This little 2,5 hour documentary tells us their story and how it was back in the day. Touching interviews, pieces of shows, music and the final bowdown present the full account of events that happened in lives of those three great people from Hollis, Queens, how they got together and their mutual desire to make music, to follow their dreams and just do what they do best - and by doing just that they made this world a better place to live in.

The music of Run DMC is a part of my life, as much as many others' on this planet, it resonates with people, makes them want to rock out and rhyme along. Their music is timeless. They don't make no songs like these, period.

The Jeffersons (1975–1985)

Movin' on up

[9/10 · 29 January 2024]

This is the third time I'm writing this review from memory - the other two were deleted without saving, even a draft was lost and I really wanted my 450th review to be special, so here it goes again!

I started watching The Jeffersons during covid when all of us had way too much spare time on our hands and I wanted to dive in some uncharted territory for me back then in terms of entertainment and I was trying out TV shows with almost exclusively black casts, and out of all I touched upon - Good times, Family matters, Sanford and son, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air - The Jeffersons stood out like a rock that no one dared to touch. Without exaggeration they were one of the best TV families to ever surface on the small screen.

What made the show great was not only the quality humor and relevant topics that resonate with viewers even today but its characters. Let it be loud-mouthed and abnoxious George or calm and rational Louise, or Lionel, or the Zebras (I mean the Willises), or posh Harry Bentley, or witty and sarcastic Florence (hands down my favorite character - boy her quick remarks toward Mr. Jefferson were out of this world), or even Ralph the doorman or Charlie the bartender - all of them were outstanding, with their own stories, backgrounds, personal agendas and problems - they all were real people. And I felt like a part of their big family over the course of 11 seasons and 253 episodes, when I tuned in episode after episode just to spend a little time with them in the deluxe apartment in the sky (probably THE best theme song of ALL times).

Sure the show had got some questionable decisions over the years it was on the air - like recasting Lionel's character and replacing Mike Evans with Damon Evans (no relation), or having the character of Alan Willis brought in only to have him appeared in the handful of episodes and shortly after vanishing without a trace and never spoken of again (nod to Cunningham's older son from Happy days) or just the fact that the show did not have a proper series finale, having been cancelled too abruptly for all those people involved - all those things have played out in its own favor after all. Damon found his Lionel way sooner than I was expecting it and have made this familiar role his own (but I still prefer Mike's version of the character who is more suited to the Jeffersons family), Alan still made some impact on viewers with some funny and memorable episodes and who cares that the show does not have an ending? It truly does not need one because the stories could go on and on forever, as long as we feel like a part of the family.

The Jeffersons was, is and will always be one of the best sitcoms, surely high above 99% of them all; it spoke loudly of racism, intolerance, inequality and many other things in times when it was rarely heard. The raw and unbridled energy of the first seasons, with frequent usage of N-words that could really put anyone off but were justified those days nonetheless, match splendidly with wisdom of the later seasons and the perfect balance between comedy and drama have made it a show with no drops in quality whatsoever.

I may have forgotten some things I said in the previous renditions of my review but I do believe I've said everything by now. The Jeffersons is that good that I'm ready to write over and over again about them, and that says something.

Persian Lessons (2020)

Reza's list

[8/10 · 28 January 2024]

True heroes don't have names, they don't want fame or fortune or even recognition - all they want is to help those in need. I don't know how true the "true events" that Persian lessons were inspired by but I'm sure there was some truth behind this unnamed man's actions who cleverly lied his way out of death and into saving so many others he didn't even know.

Persian lessons has Schindler's list vibe written all over it but the main thing that sets them apart though is that the protagonist is not German. Nahuel Pérez Biscayart plays a Jew who pretends to be a Persian and gets the attention of the concentration camp's commandant (played stupendously by Lars Eidinger) who desperately wants to learn some of this language and he agrees to teach him, making it up along the way.

I have to admit the linguistic aspect of this made up language is well thought-out and structured, so much so that it really sounds like one. The atmosphere is well-fitting also, with its moody colorless backgrounds and almost neverending winter that paint a pretty good picture of a place where all hopes die. The two main characters have splendid chemistry together and are the only ones who truly have a closure by the end of the movie. The rest of the cast, although quite lively in their own way, don't have much to become truly alive and it's understandable - the movie's not about them, but it sure would be nice to have some meaningful resolutions for those with more than a handful of lines and screen time as well.

Overall I believe Persian lessons could never have that impact Schindler's list or even The pianist had but it has soul, it has a strong main character who is not afraid to risk his life for the sake of others, and it has a wonderful, bittersweet aftertaste that is unlikely to go away any time soon after the movie ends.

Krakatit (1948)

Now the world is gone - I'm just one.

[8/10 · 23 January 2024]

This is my first dive into Czechoslovakian cinema and boy what a spectacle it was!

Krakatit arrived a little after the first testing of an atomic bomb and, riding that wave of terror, horror and fear while it's new, Otakar Vávra put out his version of a substance so destructive it could blow up the whole world all by itself, that's how powerful this is. Of course it all is far from being authentic or scientific and serves more as a hyperbolization of a possible end if the people won't stop experimenting with explosives in their labs but is nonetheless scary and makes you very aware of the things that might come.

The brilliant chemist Prokop, played beautifully by Karel Höger, becomes a target of multiple people who are eager to get their hands on his powerful invention in order to become the masters of the world. It is a premise you have likely seen a hundred times already but this movie plays out a bit differently than expected. It gives plenty of room to speculate on the subject of war, deaths and destruction but the narrative doesn't give much information on what is actually going on while we're at it. It could all be just some feverish man's dream, there could be some truth to his story, a lot of truth or even an actual account of events that really happened. The director toys with you every single second and by doing so makes you doubt everything.

For a movie titled Krakatit it repeats this word just enough times to install fear in it and by the end of it you feel scared to your wits. It even begins to sound scary to you when you repeat it and it's no wonder - it was named after Krakatoa volcano which eruption in 1883 destroyed over 70% of land surrounding it and took thousands of lives with it.

Weird camera angles, symbolism, psychoanalysis and post traumatic side of it are surely inspired by Hitchcock's Spellbound and Trumbo's novel Johnny Got His Gun (some parts of it most probably inspired his own later movie version of the novel in return) which just goes to show how truly ageless this movie is. Perfect cinematography with not a single frame wasted on hollow expositions, fantastic music score that cools your blood down, outstanding production that doesn't defer much from that of Hollywood from that era and great performances - it all takes you on one of the most nightmarish journeys in your movie lifetimes, gives you some headscratchers along the way and makes you think hard.

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023)

Better never than late

[5/10 · 19 January 2024]

Why does everybody need to make a franchise out of every single succesful thing? Chicken Run premiered 23 years ago and it was a standalone, ok movie with not much of a premise and more like an homage to all those breakout movies but it was mildly succesful at the box office so it did get a continuation no one asked for, 23 years later that is.

Dawn of the nugget is flawed from the beginning: most of the original voice actors hadn't returned (and I don't blame them), stop motion animation doesn't feel like one anymore in here, the plot is miles away from being even remotely original (substituting breaking out for breaking in does not suffice as original anyway) and the jokes for the second movie were not delivered again - although it feels more light-hearted than the much darker first movie it still had some eye raising moments in terms of suitability for kids.

And I'm afraid this is exactly the kind of movie that's strictly for kids - with some good ideas about freedom, bravery, not shutting the door on the world and giving a helping hand to those who need it even if you don't know them well - adults won't find anything new in that and even if some of them were fans of the original would probably not like this movie much anyway because of how secondhand (personally I would say thirdhand) the whole movie feels throughout.

Obviously the studios and filmmakers are running out of ideas in the past decades with countless sequels, franchises, universes and multiverses of the same movies being produced non stop like a chicken nugget factory in Dawn of the nugget and I'm guessing more of old standalone movies are about to resurface again in the near future.

Chicken Run (2000)

The great chicken escape

[7/10 · 16 January 2024]

I used to have Chicken Run on VHS back in the days and watched it I don't know how many times, the last being probably something like 15 years ago at least. Well I never realized back then how dark and adult this cartoon was until I saw it with my grown up eyes.

The stop motion animation is top notch and so is the voice acting but the main problem is, as with most of the movies, one-dimensional and grotesque villains. The Tweedys are a bizarre and incompatible duo of farmers, raising chickens for profit and when they receive little of it they turn into maniacs, so blood thirsty you wouldn't believe this was rated only PG.

Overall this little animated feature is nothing but an escape film; the only difference is the setting - a chicken farm instead of a concentration camp. It obviously raises awareness of the farms and farmers that breed animals only for slaughter and takes inspiration from the likes of The Great Escape with multiple nods to Stalag 17 (even the main barrack where chickens plot their escape is numbered seventeen) and it references some other classics such as Raiders of the Lost Ark and Braveheart which only adds points to the narrative.

I remember disliking the movie upon the first few viewings as a teenager for being just plain dumb and boring - now I dislike it for the whole set of other reasons: the lack of comedy for instance, as it is labeled as a comedy film, and the general second hand nature of the script which utilizes every cliché in the handbook but it still is nevertheless a good piece of cinema that takes the same old formula and gives it a whole new and creative spin that lets you wander off along with the phantasy of the people who wrote it.

The Big Street (1942)

A girl's best friend is a dollar

[6/10 · 7 January 2024]

Love sure does make you act foolish at times, as much as caring and going all the extra miles for the other person. And it feels good when the other meets you halfway although most of the times it's one-way. Does it make you foolish hence? In a way, yes, but it says a lot more about you too, how much you're willing to give up or sacrifice in order to make the one you love happier. I know that feeling not by hearsay and that's why it was particularly painful for me to watch The big street.

Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball may not have the best chemistry together but they do play well off of each other. Fonda's loyal, puppy-eyed Pinks has found the princess he's ready to carry around in his arms forever only to be treated like trash from her, a spoiled, selfish, bad-mouthed "your highness" - played gracefully by Lucille Ball, and out of type as well - and their duo is so highly unlikely to last that you can't help but wondering if this movie was supposed to be a fairytale by nature.

All things considered this is not a great movie to be honest. It has its moments of wisdom and some good acting but the overall unrealisticness of the narrative just couldn't keep me on the edge of the seat waiting for it to start making sense. Maybe this movie is just there to remind us that there really is nothing that cannot be done for the benefit of making it FOR someone without asking anything in return but it seemed too far-fetched in 1942 already and especially now but it's nice to know there are still people like us who could do it all in the name of love.

Seinfeld (1989–1998)

The show about everything

[9/10 · 3 January 2024]

I have been hesitant to watch the show for a while - I've heard so much about it, that it was a show about nothing where the main characters just sat around, talked and got themselves into all sorts of situations that I really couldn't care less about this type of show because I want my TV show to be smart and thoughtful and funny and bring me to watch it again and I didn't think any of it would apply to Seinfeld - but I was wrong.

Nine seasons went by very quickly and I grew fond of all those characters - Jerry, Elaine, Kramer and George were like a family to me, an obnoxious, weird and mean family for sure but they were real and their problems, although half the time unrelatable, were funny enough for me to go on and accept them as is.

I think everyone would agree that Jerry Seinfeld is no actor and it is obvious in most of the scenes he's in but his underperformance didn't bother me one bit because of how quirky those scenes were - it's really hard to keep the straight face when you're in that much of an urge to laugh at it.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus was probably my least favorite of all the characters but she brought a perfect dynamic to the overall male cast and points of view so much so that she became solely responsible that the show lasted as long as it is because of her.

Michael Richards' Cosmo was absolutely mind-blowing in every single thing he did on screen; I've met some strange characters on all types of shows but his is probably THE best of them all - the only one weirder than Kramer is probably Christopher Lloyd's Jim Ignatowski of Taxi who was so pure dumb fun you wouldn't believe he and Kramer weren't related in some way.

And of course Jason Alexander. I loved his unpleasant character in Pretty woman but in Seinfeld he brought his unpleasantness to the mountain high level. George Costanza is not a good guy, I don't think any of the four could ever be (nod to the finale!) but he brought that charm, that shtick to the character he embodied that it became impossible not to fall in love with him and his rude, loud, angry and dislikable persona against all odds. Out of all four of them he was the most relatable and everyone who has ever lived on this planet has got a part of George Costanza in them whether they know it or not, whether they like it or not. It's there. And that's how great this show is.

I wouldn't say Seinfeld would make a top 10 shows of all time for me because I still cringed every here and there and found some scenes obscenely unfunny but 95% of it is pure gold - I mean those little catchphrases has become a part of English language for god's sake: to be the master of its own domain, shrinkage, man hands, yada yada and so many more - it is a phenomenal show! So Top 20 for sure!

P. S. George's rendition of 'Believe it or not' has got to be the funniest answering machine song ever, even better than Ross' 'We will call you back' by a mile!

Frasier (2023– )

I guess they managed not to frasier much up

[9/10 · 8 December 2023]

I have been a fan of Cheers for a while now but when Frasier started immediately after Cheers ended I was reluctant to go on because he was not among my favorite characters - honestly I thought he wasn't really likeable in the first place but I gave it a go and he did not disappoint. All eleven seasons went by like it was nothing and by the end of it I loved this character, still not as much as I loved Sam or Norm but he kind of grew on me. Just like with Joey - he wasn't one of my favorite characters out of a beloved sitcom but the fact that he has been given a bit more time to blossom says surely in favor of it.

As much as I hate continuations of already finished TV series, movies etc. I also admire courage and enthusiasm of those trying to replicate that feeling you had while watching the originals once more and I am going to be the first to poke a stick in them and tell them they failed when they do but here my worries were unnecessary. Frasier delivered just like it always did - with that pompous know-it-all doofus we all grew to like over time back in the saddle again, alive and kicking more puns and funny business, not forgetting the greatest legacy he left behind. Would I watch further? Absolutely, because season 12 is way too short!

Suddenly (1954)

One of Sinatra's best performances ever

[8/10 · 28 November 2023]

I stumbled upon this movie suddenly, just by reading its name I thought what an unusual name it's got and when I learned Frank Sinatra plays the lead I simply could not stay away - Frankie almost never disappoints.

Just fresh off his Oscar win for From here to eternity this role found him playing against type and boy did he do it splendidly. I can even go on by saying that this is probably one of his best performances ever - his character is so lifelike, so flawed, so reckless yet calm, tough and aware what he's capable of, a bit too talky and arrogant but in a charming way. You kind of pity this man but secretly root for him also.

We all know those people who were offended, screwed up by the system and instead of finding the other way they bear a grudge and blame everybody else but them for their mishaps. And Frank embodies that kind of people so gracefully, so dashingly that you can't help falling in love with him and follow his every move and every word he says. When he shows up on the screen circa 16 minute mark - point, from there on this is his movie.

The most of the picture plays out in a single room and it's one of those movies that you already know what's going to happen next - the Chekhov's guns are everywhere and the characters themselves express it in words but despite that you're hanging on to it, desperately hoping for a different outcome - that's what just one man can do to an average movie. If it starred any other less famous actor it could have been just that - but here we almost have a masterpiece.

Nefarious (2023)

Call me by my real name

[9/10 · 17 November 2023]

A recommendation for this movie came to me from a tiktok guy who praised it highly so I decided to give it a go myself and boy was I blown away by it.

Almost the whole movie consists of a conversation, a dialogue between a psychiatrist and a convicted to death prisoner who claims to be the demon and their word battle is full of thoughts that I'd rarely think of and some I found very hard to digest from the first viewing. Are we indeed free to do whatever we want in this world? We never were. Is humankind moving forward in the battle against inequality, injustice, intolerance and hate? They never were.

Nefarious speaks the truth about the lies our respective governments feed us to keep us oblivious, to hush us out and pretend everything is OK when the world has clearly gone mad, especially lately. We're like blind kittens searching for mama to soothe us but the fact is we're just too scared to open our eyes, to speak out, to go against the machine, we don't want to be free because we just don't know what to do with freedom. We'll never know.

Sean Patrick Flanery is an absolute monster in his role; his chemistry with Jordan Belfi is palpable throughout the whole movie and the way they play off of each other makes you not want to miss a single word they're saying, although Jordan is more stiff in his performance - he tries to play tough but in the end it feels forced rather than natural, or maybe it was the whole idea all along?

Overall this is a perfect psychological thriller (and not a horror it's billed as) with fantastic dialogues, great acting and unpredictable turns here and there. The fact that most of the movie plays out in one room with just two actors only adds it atmosphere and seclusion which give you a strong aftertaste and a huge amount of thoughts to go through.

The Addams Family (1964–1966)

Another love at third sight

[8/10 · 5 November 2023]

ABC's The Addams family and CBS's The Munsters went hand in hand back in 1964 to 1966, had the same-ish concept, weird black humor, touched upon diversities and family matters, had one of the most memorable and catchy theme songs and both got cancelled after two seasons, way too soon, but enjoyed some cult following afterwards. As I already mentioned in my review of The Munsters I didn't like that show initially - it took me more than 10 years and three attempts to watch it in full. Funny that I've had the exact same thing with the Addamses.

I guess it's just the matter of taste and maturity because not every show is for you at the certain age you start watching it. Sure, there are some timeless ageless classics like Friends, Family Ties, Cheers, Frasier, How I Met Your Mother and many more but there are also likes of The Addams family that find their niche only when the viewer is ready to absorb them as is. I know, that's what happened to me.

Back in 2011 I found the show unfunny and grasping way too strong to be the opposite of The Munsters, in my point of view a superior TV show for me back then, but as years went by and I watched both shows almost simultaneously I've noticed another thing: The Addams family holds better after 60 years than The Munsters (which at the beginning of season 2 seemed to run out of ideas but then went back on route whereas the Addamses never lost its charm throughout the whole 64 episodes) but both shows had the gags, had the colorful characters, weird stories and some grains of wisdom scattered here and there for us.

Gomez, Morticia, Fester, Lurch, Mama, Pugsley, Wednesday, Itt and even The Thing had their own little lives that we were a part of, a part of the Addams family. Yes, they differed from your usual American family but no matter what they always stuck together and had fun. It doesn't matter if you don't meet the norms of society standards - what matters is that you live your life the way you want and do not bother what others might think or say. That's life, c'est la vie (that's French!) and The Addams family proclaimed it loud and clear and will always have a special place in my heart for that.

Gen V (2023– )

Generation clash

[9/10 · 4 November 2023]

From the crazy screwed up world of The Boys comes this gem of a series called Gen V, perhaps even more screwed up and in your face. Nah, who am I kidding? Nothing can be gorier than The Boys but Gen V is surely way up there in the top.

It tells us a story of a group of teenagers trying to fit into this world of superpeople, learning how to use their powers for good (and for evil too), coping with all of the difficulties they must face and figuring out what they truly are, what is their purpose, whether they go against this messed up system or become a part of the machine. Those are some basic things every adolescent goes through in their life but Gen V kids do it all with intrigues, conspiracies, bloodshed, sexual innuendos and tons and tons of dead bodies. In a word, nothing that a Boys fan won't like.

Solid performances by mostly unknown for me actors, except Patrick Schwarzenegger whose father is a liiiittle bit known in a world of cinema, engaging story that grabs you by the throat and doesn't allow you to even blink because you might just miss some hilariously over the top and brutal death or injury, fantastic soundtrack at the end of every episode (as usual) and some memorable cameos from the said universe and a cliffhanger the series leaves the viewer on is all there is to need to be excitedly waiting for a new dose of Gen V.

Bodies (2023)

Do you know if you are loved?

[8/10 · 31 October 2023]

What can I say? I just love a good sci-fi story and this one caught my attention almost immediately: one body, four different people and the grand plan to connect it all - how can you not love that premise?

Netflix has done it again: I binge-watched another one of its shows that totally sucked me in and never let go. To tell you the truth, by the ending of episode six the whole picture was already there: there was the plot, how it came into fruition from point A to point B through some Cs and Ds, how the characters has played the part and everything added up as if you've managed to assemble the puzzle and finally see the whole picture. But you see, when you do that there are no more pieces of puzzle left but in case with Bodies there were two more episodes, so you can imagine my surprise. What was there left unsaid? Turns out a whole lot.

This little series tells you that even a small detail can make a difference, let alone a sacrifice that is being made for the greater good. It tells you that no matter what happens and how much this world whirls you around itself you should always keep your head above water and don't let anything or anyone be the judge of you. Regrets eat you from inside but they also make you stronger and wiser and if you add all of this to the time travel setting this would always be a piece of art I'd sure watch.

On the downside the story itself, although well thought-out has one giant flaw that ruins the whole idea - the lack of proper motivation for the main antagonist. Once you make it clear what he wants - you are disappointed at how laughable his whole plan really is. Every little boy wants to feel loved and when he isn't then he goes out there and wreaks havoc and seeds destruction to plant his own vision of love - how original.

Other than that it's a solid body of work, with lots of twists and turns, exciting narrative that keeps you on the edge almost the whole time, skillful performances, good visuals and set pieces that represent four different epochs and naturally the story that leaves you guessing in between episodes and thinking some time after.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1981)

Now this is the guide I'd like to have

[8/10 · 23 October 2023]

The first time I've heard of The Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy was somewhere in mid-2000s when the movie came out - which I hadn't watched nor have I read the book up to this point but I'm sure going to after watching this series - but somehow I never was interested enough to dive into this wonderful world created by Douglas Adams. As time went by and I began to see his name more often, particularly in the credits of multiple episodes of Doctor Who written by him, the interest slowly built up until tonight, when I discovered there was the 1981 miniseries of his greatest body of work and I was hooked from the start to finish it here and now.

What is evident right away is that this world is full of layers, small details and nuances that build the huge universe of the Guide. It is a story that could have easily been turned into a multiple season TV series but instead we get a six-part miniseries with total runtime of 200 minutes by the end of which we're kind of hoping there were more.

I'm certain I'll be getting back to this series: it's meticulously made and written; the dialogues are hilarious and sophisticated at the same time, jokes fly around here and there and if you're watching with a straight face you might just miss some, special effects are surprisingly well crafted - I was ready for the aforementioned Doctor Who level of visuals but here it was rather good, and the actors do the good job in bringing the characters to life, although not quite fully.

What lacks here is some character development - none of the characters don't seem to reflect on any of the series' events but just swallow the narrative and move along further. Episode six is especially rushed in that field, as if they were trying to fit in as many things as possible and, just like I said, the ending leaves you wanting more.

Overall this is a great miniseries, not quite as adventurous as Doctor Who and not as funny as Red Dwarf but British sci-fi shows are truly one of a kind and The Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy proves it wholeheartedly.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

Mission: Long

[7/10 · 22 October 2023]

I cannot say I'm a fan of this series but I have watched every entry in it. First two movies - multiple times because they were broadcast on TV from time to time throughout my childhood, and ever since Ghost Protocol I tend to watch a new installment as soon as it comes out. With every new chapter of Ethan Hunt's adventures the story gets more and more bizarre, the stunts - crazier, and the runtime lengthier.

Dead Reckoning Part I clocks in at 160 minutes and that's a lot for an action flick where action almost never stops and as a result the movie feels overbloated with said action which nevertheless sticks you to your seat but in the meantime bores you to death too. When there's a lot of action, fueled by generous, almost unlimited amount of time to expand it in full it unwillingly lets loose of it and it goes all over the place. Same was with John Wick chapter 3 - it felt like the main hero himself is tired of the action already but cannot stop. In the first movie the scene on top of the train was intense and jam-packed with fights and choreography; here the same scene takes about two times longer and not much happens on the way from point A to B - and when you're more interested in the result than in the process it's easily skippable. And almost every scene feels that way. Cut the movie short for 40 minutes and it will only win, without losing in action and quality.

If you put 'part one' at the beginning of the movie, it can only mean one thing: you won't get the resolution by the end of it hence it puts you in the wrong mood from the start which is not a good thing. Same was with the snooze fest called Dune part one - you just don't enjoy the movie as much as you could have without a burden of knowing that you would have to wait for quite some time to learn the answers for the questions you will be getting as you watch, and I don't like that.

On the bright side, Tom Cruise has become a household name for delivering the good action, either he runs, drives, fights or jumps off a cliff you know - he will get the job done masterfully, and he did. He's the driving force here, an Energizer battery that keeps going and going and going but at times you just see on his face an expression, as if telling us that he's getting too old for this. Which is why I'm amazed by everything this man does - my dad couldn't run even half a mile, and he's two years younger than Tom.

The choice for a main antagonist is also somewhat unconventional but reflects the current state of the world and I found it very easy to dwell on that. Lorne Balfe's music is an absolute perfection and fits the narrative like a glove, keeping us on the edge of the seat.

Overall MI7 is a step down from part six, mostly in terms of lengthy runtime; its seemingly larger than life story is a gift and a curse because for action lovers it will be too long, for intellectuals - not smart enough, and for the fans of the franchise it could be both, so it's no wonder the movie didn't do well at the box office and I'll keep the lowest expectations for Part 2.