I'm not a big fan of musicals. They usually leave me feeling that they're very artificial, the story of a play being an excuse for some music. This film transcends that. The story is engrossing, the cast superb as they transform from one character into another each believably full fleshed. As other reviewers have noted, the story itself transforms over the course of the film - revliving the horror of 9/11, the confusion and panic of those caught up in its consequences, the struggle for acceptance and liberation from stereotypes, but above it all the incredible generous hospitality of a little town shown to fellow human beings in trouble. And with it all, the vocal performances are excellent. It's the whole package.
Reviews
18 Reviews
Highly enjoyable
15 November 2022
I enjoyed this movie more than I expected to. It was hard to see how a new Black Panther movie could be made witnout Chadwick Boseman, who so defined the character onscreen. But Wakanda Forever was a truly worthy sequel. The story arc continued true in so many ways to its predecessor. Performances were excellent, cinematography superb.
My only beef is the introduction of an origin story and setting for the character Namor that had no connection whatsoever to that of the Namor of the comic books other than being related to an underwater civilization. Not even a veneer of an attempt at reconciliation. Oh well.
My only beef is the introduction of an origin story and setting for the character Namor that had no connection whatsoever to that of the Namor of the comic books other than being related to an underwater civilization. Not even a veneer of an attempt at reconciliation. Oh well.
Coherence
(2013)
Mediocre
9 August 2021
There's only a little that's new or imaginative here, amd half of it just doesn't work.
Alternate universes with variants of people from this one are nothing new. When one character starts talking about what if there is an evil version of us, you almost expect him to add, "you know, like in the Star Trek episode 'Mirror, Mirror'?" But somehow making them cross because there's a comet passing nearby? Sorry, no attempt at an explanation would have been a better choice than a ridiculous one. And my brother said to call him if anything strange happened, because you know, comet. They do the darndest things, just like that famous weird meteor explosion in Russia.
Crossing multiple realities and the resulting confusion of who's from where and who belongs where and what are they trying to do and why, is the one new twist here. But the chaotic way in which it was presented just makes for confusion, not mystery and suspense.
The amateurish production could have been tolerable if the story hung together. But just doesn't.
Alternate universes with variants of people from this one are nothing new. When one character starts talking about what if there is an evil version of us, you almost expect him to add, "you know, like in the Star Trek episode 'Mirror, Mirror'?" But somehow making them cross because there's a comet passing nearby? Sorry, no attempt at an explanation would have been a better choice than a ridiculous one. And my brother said to call him if anything strange happened, because you know, comet. They do the darndest things, just like that famous weird meteor explosion in Russia.
Crossing multiple realities and the resulting confusion of who's from where and who belongs where and what are they trying to do and why, is the one new twist here. But the chaotic way in which it was presented just makes for confusion, not mystery and suspense.
The amateurish production could have been tolerable if the story hung together. But just doesn't.
Aquaman
(2018)
Free but not worth the money
20 November 2019
Tbis movie was available as free in-flight entertainment onboard a Southwest flight I took recently, and I generally enjoy superhero movies, so I fired it up. I turned it off around 10-15 minutes in.
As I have grown up, so have superhero stories, developing plots that are more complex than just who wins the fistfight, characters with some depth, and dialog beyond that of Saturday morning cartoons. This movie - or at least as much of it as I watched - showed none of that. It felt more like something I might have enjoyed as a 12-year-old comic book fan than anything I'd want to watch as an adult.
Maybe your kid will enjoy it, but if you're a grown up fan of the superhero genre, you can let this one pass.
As I have grown up, so have superhero stories, developing plots that are more complex than just who wins the fistfight, characters with some depth, and dialog beyond that of Saturday morning cartoons. This movie - or at least as much of it as I watched - showed none of that. It felt more like something I might have enjoyed as a 12-year-old comic book fan than anything I'd want to watch as an adult.
Maybe your kid will enjoy it, but if you're a grown up fan of the superhero genre, you can let this one pass.
Aladdin
(2019)
Pretty bad
2 November 2019
I have no idea how there are enough 7-year-old girls giving ratings for this movie to have the rating it did.
Even with the understanding that this is a children's movie, it's really poorly done. The acting is mediocre to poor. Even Will Smith cannot salvage this script. Not even a parrot and a monkey. Music thoroughly uninspired too.
Save your time.
Even with the understanding that this is a children's movie, it's really poorly done. The acting is mediocre to poor. Even Will Smith cannot salvage this script. Not even a parrot and a monkey. Music thoroughly uninspired too.
Save your time.
Good Boys
(2019)
Feelgood movie, easy entertainment, no Oscars
30 August 2019
It's a summer afternoon at the movies, light comedy and some early coming of age, no heavy drama. Good performances all around, and young star Jacob Tremblay is one to watch in the coming years, but no Oscar-worthy performances here and not a movie you'll need to watch more than once.
Not one for kids in the age group it's about since it'a R rated, more for adults who remember the awkwardness of that age.
You could save some money, wait to watch it on TV or DVD and not miss out on anything.
Not one for kids in the age group it's about since it'a R rated, more for adults who remember the awkwardness of that age.
You could save some money, wait to watch it on TV or DVD and not miss out on anything.
My, what a bad movie
19 August 2019
Just another action flick
2 June 2019
Passengers
(I) (2016)
Stunning visuals, good performances, hokey resolution
24 March 2019
Since Star Wars, science fiction films have been compelled to wow us visually with special effects, each topping the previous with its display of grand things outside our current experience. (Unfortunately often at the neglect of plor, characterization, etc., but that's a different rant.) Passengers is a success here.
Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence are both highly talented actors, and they both did good jobs here. Quite believable, both of them.
I found pacing of the movie unsatisfying, too much time spent on build up - scene setting and buildup of the budding romance - until finally getting into the drama of danger and its resolution.
The background story of a company making sesquigazillions in money off colonizing planets that take hundreds of years for trips leaves me skeptical, but I'm willing to give that a bit of a break because its just backstory to set the scene.
My biggest complaint though is the idea of this one man being able to able to pull off saving the ship as he did. The idea is, well, he's a mechanic so he can fix stuff. The earlier part where he finds and reads a manual to figure out how to do things, OK, but coming into the climax where he has to figure out what is wrong with the ship and how to fix it, what are they going to do? I kid you not, "Look for something that's broken." Open a cabinet of electronics and look at it and say, "That looks OK". And then when they finally find the source of the problem (I'm trying very hard not to do spoilers here), under intense time pressure (so no time to read maintenance manuals) he instantly knows what has to be done and how and where.
Kinda spoiled it for me. Not sorry I watched it on TV, but if I had paid for it in a movie theater I would have been disappointed.
Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence are both highly talented actors, and they both did good jobs here. Quite believable, both of them.
I found pacing of the movie unsatisfying, too much time spent on build up - scene setting and buildup of the budding romance - until finally getting into the drama of danger and its resolution.
The background story of a company making sesquigazillions in money off colonizing planets that take hundreds of years for trips leaves me skeptical, but I'm willing to give that a bit of a break because its just backstory to set the scene.
My biggest complaint though is the idea of this one man being able to able to pull off saving the ship as he did. The idea is, well, he's a mechanic so he can fix stuff. The earlier part where he finds and reads a manual to figure out how to do things, OK, but coming into the climax where he has to figure out what is wrong with the ship and how to fix it, what are they going to do? I kid you not, "Look for something that's broken." Open a cabinet of electronics and look at it and say, "That looks OK". And then when they finally find the source of the problem (I'm trying very hard not to do spoilers here), under intense time pressure (so no time to read maintenance manuals) he instantly knows what has to be done and how and where.
Kinda spoiled it for me. Not sorry I watched it on TV, but if I had paid for it in a movie theater I would have been disappointed.
Green Book
(2018)
Good but not great
14 March 2019
It was good, make no mistake about it, just not quite as good as I was hoping for from an Academy Award Best Picture.
Performances were excellent, as were the period settings. Scripting mostly good, though I'm pretty sure there were at least a couple of modern expressions that crept into the dialogue that were not in popular use at the time.
My biggest complaint is the predictability of the plot. No surprises whatsoever. Runner up is the stereotyping of Italian Americans, particularly annoying in a movie that challenges stereotyping of blacks.
Performances were excellent, as were the period settings. Scripting mostly good, though I'm pretty sure there were at least a couple of modern expressions that crept into the dialogue that were not in popular use at the time.
My biggest complaint is the predictability of the plot. No surprises whatsoever. Runner up is the stereotyping of Italian Americans, particularly annoying in a movie that challenges stereotyping of blacks.
Crazy Rich Asians
(2018)
Thoroughly predictable
29 August 2018
Not a bad movie, but you could have correctly written down 80% of the plot after the first 10 minutes. Points for some very good performances, absolutely stunning images of Singapore. Would have been fine to catch on TV than pay to see it in the theater.
The David S. Pumpkins Halloween Special
(2017 TV Short)
Really bad
28 October 2017
What a gross disappointment. All of the saccharine of a Charlie Brown holiday special and none of the charm. Trite script and animation, no laughs.
This might have been appropriate in an 8:00pm time slot for 7 year olds...but in Saturday Night Live's Time slot? No. Lorne Michaels should be embarrassed.
This might have been appropriate in an 8:00pm time slot for 7 year olds...but in Saturday Night Live's Time slot? No. Lorne Michaels should be embarrassed.
Interstellar
(2014)
Ending spoils it
1 September 2017
I recently watched "Interstellar" for a second time, initially having forgotten that I'd already seen it. My wife and did a lot of "gee this looks familiar". She remembered more of it than I did (odd, because my memories of movies is usually much better) and as we talked about it more and got to recalling the ending I said, "This is *that* movie? That was terrible!"
I think I was so annoyed at the ending I'd blanked out having seen the movie at all.
Second time through, I feel the same way about the ending. Terrible. "Deus ex machina". Ticked me off as much as the ending of "Arrival" did. And it's really a shame, because the rest of the movie was pretty well done. Nice world building, stunning visuals (if at times a bit too 2001- ish), pretty good acting, plot, pacing. I'd love to want to watch this again for all that. But I will never do that, I would not want to experience the ending again.
I think I was so annoyed at the ending I'd blanked out having seen the movie at all.
Second time through, I feel the same way about the ending. Terrible. "Deus ex machina". Ticked me off as much as the ending of "Arrival" did. And it's really a shame, because the rest of the movie was pretty well done. Nice world building, stunning visuals (if at times a bit too 2001- ish), pretty good acting, plot, pacing. I'd love to want to watch this again for all that. But I will never do that, I would not want to experience the ending again.
A Dog's Purpose
(2017)
I was all prepared not to like it
8 June 2017
This is a mooshy, feel-good movie with a thoroughly predictable conclusion.I do not like mooshy, feel-good movies with predictable endings. They leave me with a cloying taste in my mouth. I'm a jaded old cynic.
... What can I say? This was fun. The narration was amusing, the dogs were all very good actors, the people not bad too. I didn't even mind much that I was being transparently emotionally manipulated.
I walked away feeling good. You don't get that very often from a movie.
... What can I say? This was fun. The narration was amusing, the dogs were all very good actors, the people not bad too. I didn't even mind much that I was being transparently emotionally manipulated.
I walked away feeling good. You don't get that very often from a movie.
Stalker
(2014–2015)
but it's just... bad writing
29 January 2015
Whatever the other plusses and minuses of the show, it's tough to recover from bad writing. Much of the dialogue is stilted and could have been cut and pasted from any of a dozen other police procedurals (special credit especially should be given to Criminal Minds...). And there are too many plot contrivances that don't bear up under even casual scrutiny, leaving you to answer "why did that happen?" with "well, they needed it for the plot".
Like many cop shows, it's good for an adrenaline rush, but there are shows where you can find that plus a story that doesn't require you to take your mind out of gear in order to suspend disbelief.
Like many cop shows, it's good for an adrenaline rush, but there are shows where you can find that plus a story that doesn't require you to take your mind out of gear in order to suspend disbelief.
300
(2006)
Almost got what I paid for
8 May 2010
It takes a special movie for you to watch it for free on TV and feel like you overpaid.
If this were a science fiction movie, it would be one with scenes where crowds all point upward toward the sky to indicate their shock at seeing a flying saucer. But it's not, so instead muscle-bound soldiers shout "Haroo! Haroo!" in choreographed unison, and politicians shake their fists and shout "Traitor! Traitor!" when Persian coins fall from the corpse of the guy who sold them out.
This is a movie made for 11-year-old boys who are experiencing the beginnings of testosterone poisoning, who get pumped by loud music played over slow motion battle scenes where each spear thrust and sword swipe has to be accompanied by visible sprays of blood to make sure you really know that someone is getting eviscerated. You saw the movie, guys, now play the video game!
Anyone else...? There HAS to be something else better to watch, folks.
If this were a science fiction movie, it would be one with scenes where crowds all point upward toward the sky to indicate their shock at seeing a flying saucer. But it's not, so instead muscle-bound soldiers shout "Haroo! Haroo!" in choreographed unison, and politicians shake their fists and shout "Traitor! Traitor!" when Persian coins fall from the corpse of the guy who sold them out.
This is a movie made for 11-year-old boys who are experiencing the beginnings of testosterone poisoning, who get pumped by loud music played over slow motion battle scenes where each spear thrust and sword swipe has to be accompanied by visible sprays of blood to make sure you really know that someone is getting eviscerated. You saw the movie, guys, now play the video game!
Anyone else...? There HAS to be something else better to watch, folks.
China Rose
(1983 TV Movie)
Grossly disappointing
5 August 2009
I thought "Any movie with George C. Scott has to have something on the ball...!" I was wrong.
This is the only movie that has moved me enough to want to write a review for IMDb.
There's not a single good performance in the movie. Scott's is best, clocking in at "not too bad" which is a gross disappointment for an actor of his caliber. Ali MacGraw is painful to watch. It goes downhill from there, one awkward scene with stilted dialog after another.
Where was the director? Busy having lunch during the whole shooting?
About the only positive reaction I have is the photography, giving a nice flavor of mainland China and Hong Kong.
I am so glad I didn't actually pay money to watch this.
This is the only movie that has moved me enough to want to write a review for IMDb.
There's not a single good performance in the movie. Scott's is best, clocking in at "not too bad" which is a gross disappointment for an actor of his caliber. Ali MacGraw is painful to watch. It goes downhill from there, one awkward scene with stilted dialog after another.
Where was the director? Busy having lunch during the whole shooting?
About the only positive reaction I have is the photography, giving a nice flavor of mainland China and Hong Kong.
I am so glad I didn't actually pay money to watch this.
King Kong
(2005)
Great cinematography, good performances, but spoiled by clichés
12 February 2007
There are some very good performances here, not the least that of Kong. Kong's facials especially were quite evocative, and you got a good feel for the interaction between Kong and the object of his infatuation. Jack Black was a pleasant surprise as the unscrupulous movie maker; a more serious actor couldn't have pulled it off.
The cinematography is as good as you'd expect from Peter Jackson. Huge vistas, teeming jungles, yawning abysses...
But why oh why did it have to be loaded with silly clichés? Couldn't Jackson have played it straight? Did we have to have battling dinosaurs? Did Jackson so badly need to settle the age old question "If King Kong fought a T-Rex who would win?" And I'm sorry, even if I were to buy a herd of brontosaurs stampeding through a rocky pass, I really don't buy people running in the midst of the thundering feet and surviving.
Let's quickly pass by the savage black natives beating their tree trunk drums and doing their primitive dances as they eagerly sacrifice the beautiful white blonde chick to their god.
I suspect that Jackson used these sorts of things to try to recreate the feeling of the movie era of the original Kong. But at this point it just feels like silliness. Watching this at night on TV, I felt no need to watch to the end, and went to bed instead.
The cinematography is as good as you'd expect from Peter Jackson. Huge vistas, teeming jungles, yawning abysses...
But why oh why did it have to be loaded with silly clichés? Couldn't Jackson have played it straight? Did we have to have battling dinosaurs? Did Jackson so badly need to settle the age old question "If King Kong fought a T-Rex who would win?" And I'm sorry, even if I were to buy a herd of brontosaurs stampeding through a rocky pass, I really don't buy people running in the midst of the thundering feet and surviving.
Let's quickly pass by the savage black natives beating their tree trunk drums and doing their primitive dances as they eagerly sacrifice the beautiful white blonde chick to their god.
I suspect that Jackson used these sorts of things to try to recreate the feeling of the movie era of the original Kong. But at this point it just feels like silliness. Watching this at night on TV, I felt no need to watch to the end, and went to bed instead.
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