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best found footage
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Reviews
Blink Twice (2024)
I am sure I will get a lot of hate for this, but..
..this would have worked so much better for me if Zoe had been the star, or maybe any other actress besides the one she picked, because I just did not get her at all.
For the premise to work, the lead needed to be someone we can all relate to and identify with, and I just did not know who this girl was. She did not bring the character to any kind of life, she seemed to be not very intelligent, and her interest in Tatum just seemed juvenile, not like a woman who was interested in a man, but more like a little girl with a crush. There was no depth to her at all until the end, when she suddenly and surprisingly became a master manipulator.... I could not and did not buy it, and with another actress, I would have.
The Age of Innocence (1934)
Surprisingly fresh
I have seen Scorsese's film many times and have always loved the luxurious attention to detail, but always thought Mae was miscast and there wasn't much humor, it was more of a melodramatic romance than a statement on values and morals of the time, so I was hesitant to watch this version, figuring it would be boring and predictable...
Instead, I was pleasantly surprised, this film actually had the depth, humor and awareness that I did not find in Scorsese's film. The movie is also remarkably adult for its time, and totally believable as well as faithful to the novel; the dialog was crisp, quick and mature and the story moved along steadily.
Nobody seems miscast or out of place and unlike other reviewers, I didn't find any problem with John Bole's performance, I thought he conveyed exactly what he was supposed to and was even less wimpy than Daniel Day-Lewis's performance in the Scorsese film.
Overall I recommend this version highly, and while I do prefer the pace of this film, it will never compare to the visual sumptuousness of the Scorsese version.
Mea Culpa (2024)
i was hoping for a return to the great 90s neo-noir but....
This did not do it. The movie tried and failed miserably in all aspects. Come on, Tyler, we know you can do better than this. I think the main problem was Kelly Rowland, not a great actress, but maybe if she had a decent script, we might have seen a glimmer of what she may be capable of...we will never know because it just was a rehash of older, better films that I personally never get tired of. If you want to see a great suspense neo-noir about lawyers with shady clients that this movie can only aspire to, watch Jagged Edge, Guilty as Sin, Criminal Law, Presumed Innocent or Fracture. Tyler wants to do this, so do it again and make it right.
I.S.S. (2023)
I was so looking forward to this...
...and I was so let down....
I love outer space sci-fi movies, and when I saw the trailers for this I was overjoyed and could not wait for it to be released, and then started seeing reviews saying how it was not very good, to put it mildly. Still, I wanted to see it.
I initially did have a problem with the plot itself before I ever saw this film, because I thought it was kind of stupid; World War III breaks out while scientists from both countries at war are on board the ISS and are ordered to essentially kill each other to take control of the space station. If you think about it, it's dumb, regardless of the reason, which the scientists figure out, but is never spelled out by the opposing governments in their orders. Bad writing starts here, and keeps descending...
Nothing else that happens after this point makes much sense, and scenes that should have an emotional impact just sit there like they're waiting for someone to notice, and the ending is vague and unsatisfying.
I am still waiting to see a new outer space sci-fi movie.
A Cold Grave (2024)
Take it from a real lover of found footage films...
This is just bad. Not fun, or amusing, and I really tried to like the main character because it was obvious that he wanted us to be in on the joke, but he couldn't save the script.
The storyline went nowhere and wound up being very boring, and I had this movie on while I was working on client books, which proved to be much more interesting, always a big fail there.
I watched this on Tubi as a double feature with Horror in the Forest, which I have not finished yet and didn't even know it was the same filmmakers and cast, so I am hoping it's a little more interesting.
Bottom line, I didn't hate anyone in the film, I just hated the film, and it got three stars only for some interesting performances.
The Creator (2023)
this could have been great...
...just like a few other movies could have been great, if the lead was a different actor.
I am so sorry, because this guy might be a great person to know in real life, but I do not buy John David Washington in any lead role he has done since Blackkklansman.
He just has no heart or soul in this or the last film I saw him in, which was Tenet, which again left me cold because of his non-performance.
His eyes are empty, totally vacant, and may as well be made of glass. This film needs you to believe that this man has loved, and lost, and loves again, and all I see are empty emotionless eyes trying to evoke anything but deadness.
I just can't watch another movie with this man in it, unless he is a supporting character, because he just does not have what it takes to make an empathetic leading man.
Maestro (2023)
I guess it will get some oscars nods?
I just am so unimpressed and impressed at the same time; there are some standout scenes in this film which need to be seen to be appreciated and admired, while there are also scenes which need to be edited because they're pretty sloppy.
I can't really fault the makeup and/or cgi as it's flawless, but Cooper really doesn't possess or capture the charisma of Bernstein, who was not only much better looking but much bigger overall in terms of personality, showmanship and grandeur. That isn't really Cooper's fault, as it's hard for average people to embody greatness. Oh, that sounded a bit snide, didn't it?
Well, let's move on to the story, or lack thereof, since this seems to be the story of Bernstein's marriage rather than his accomplishments or even humble beginnings; this film could sit with any golden age movie bio about sexually ambiguous personalities, since it barely touches on Bernstein's sexual persona except in terms of his wife's POV.
The acting is fine, I am sure Carey will pick up a nom and some of the scenes will force a few noms, but as a whole the film is just okay.
From the Shadows (2022)
Not bad but could have been better
There's a lot to like here, despite some poor acting and poor dialogue - there was a good, cheesy storyline with some welcome campiness to lighten the mood, but the film should have stuck to the screen life scenario.
I am a fan of found footage films, and can find something to like in almost all of them, just for the fact that they follow the found footage tried and true formula, so the entire premise is that the viewer becomes part of the action and there is more involvement and immediacy in the storyline.
Had this film stuck to that formula, mainly the screen life model, this would have been a lot more fun than it was.
Waterloo Bridge (1931)
the tearjerker to end all tearjerkers
I wasn't even going to watch this, because I wasn't all that thrilled with the film starring Vivien Leigh, and didn't even know about this prior effort, but I saw it blurbed on TCM and it had Bette Davis in it and was pre-code, so I figured what the hell, give it a try, especially based on reviews here.
I have to agree with the reviews, I have never seen a movie from this time period acted so naturally and realistically, and have never been so involved in a story I thought I already knew.
It's a shame the leads did not win Oscars for their performances or go on to better and greater things, because they totally convinced me with their performances; in fact all the cast were perfect as they had to be, and, while the ending was a bit clunky and rather abrupt and therefore wasn't the devastation I expected, I was already crying anyway.
See this and forget the remake, it cannot compare.
Don't Look Away (2023)
I liked this until the end
I was enjoying this until the last ten minutes or so when it seemed that the script ended too soon and someone had to jump in and finish the movie at whatever cost to what went on before...
I was not a big fan of It Follows, didn't really care for the entire concept of the movie once the initial theme was established, so while I can agree that this is reminiscent of that film, Don't Look Away also has its own lore and its own strange engulfing vibe that kept going all through the film until the unfortunate ending.
I could think of several ways this could have ended, but the ending that was settled on really felt totally out of place with the rest of the film.
Reptile (2023)
Could have been so much better
With very little effort, this film could have been an Oscar contender, but as it is, it's a bit confusing and a little overlong.
Too many irrelevant scenes that are completely unnecessary to the plot or any characters' motivations go on for too long, while specific scenes necessary to the storyline are abruptly cut short.
I have to wonder if there is a director's cut, that, while it would probably be longer (and this film is long enough as it is), would also offer more coherency as well as closure for some of the characters and situations. As the movie is now, it leaves too many unanswered questions.
Family Dinner (2022)
Thriller, Horror, Suspense AIO
Who cares what genre it is; it's a combination of all three, and while you've seen films with similar plot lines like this before, you know what to expect and even how it might turn out, but it's still worth the watch to get there.
This is a slow burn film, with no wasted scenes or padding, with believable and sympathetic actors, and you don't really have to suspend disbelief because the girl and the boy act like real kids would act around parents and adults. True, the girl is a bit smarter at the end than you may have thought she should be, but since it's only one small contrivance, it was acceptable as it was needed to get to a satisfying conclusion.
Black Mirror: Loch Henry (2023)
could have been much better
I don't think this was totally representative of the general theme of retro tech for this season, unless you consider that the couple was using vcr tapes to find out about an old crime. OK, whatever. (The first episode was definitely future tech so not sure why that was even included, but anyway this review is about this particular episode and why I didn't enjoy it..)
For the most part this was a bit slow moving until the girlfriend finds out about the missing couple, and it takes off slowly from there, culminating in a story that wasn't exactly satisfying.
For one thing, the girlfriend didn't need to die, and her death was treated like nothing in the rest of the story, so that bothered me because it was so unnecessary. If I think about it enough, it could be an indictment of the way people behind the scenes are treated within the film industry, but that really seems to be a stretch.
Nothing was actually resolved, we still don't know why nobody tried to find out who the extra person doing all the filming was, we assume it was the grandfather since he seems so remorseful, but if it was him, why does he act so guilty now when he obviously was having fun during the crimes? And his excuse was that he and his wife engaged in some swinging with the officer and his wife and then didn't like some of the activities involved...so his whole storyline makes no sense. Makes no sense for the mother to kill herself, either.
Just not satisfying, needed a lot of rewrites, imho.
Black Mirror: Mazey Day (2023)
Upping the rating
This was my favorite episode of the season, because, aside from Joan is Awful, the others simply did not embrace the Black Mirror future tech theme we know and love, and this didn't either, but this episode didn't have me questioning plot points and/or rolling my eyes.
I get that this season was trying for retro tech, but that really didn't work as all of the episodes could have taken place now, and probably would have worked a lot better if they had, aside from this one, which starts out as your basic papparazzi story and then goes somewhere else.
That "somewhere else" seems to be the reason so many people hate this episode, but I loved it; it felt like a much needed change of pace. It moved right along, tight, no filler, gave you all the clues, had likable and believable characters, and was logical from beginning to end. There was no real retro tech theme here, and it didn't belong in Black Mirror, but it was a good story done well.
The Crowded Room (2023)
I have too many questions...
...that I really hope will all be answered in the next 7 episodes, and will update my rating and review accordingly.
I know nothing about the person the show is based on aside from him being a rapist and I am hoping the show doesn't go there because it would be too alienating, at least in my opinion.
Tom Holland is incredible in his characterization, and he doesn't try to wring any sympathy or love from the viewer, which is refreshing and admirable.
The questions I have are about his alters; the term I think was used in Sybil and/or The Three Faces of Eve, which are the only movies I remember seeing about this disorder and my only reference points so I will use that...
If one of his alters is the one carrying out the drug deals, for example, why does the dealer know him as Danny and not as Jonny? And how does Danny reconcile the fact that nobody else sees Jonny or Mike except him? We know he is Ariana, and we know people know him by that name...but nobody knows him as Jonny or Mike. It also seems like Mike takes over to deal with Annabelle, although Ariana did also, but Annabelle only knows Danny...and Yitzak and Jonny both can become violent when Danny needs rescuing, but how the hell did Danny fight off an entire gang beating him up? How is Danny there with all these alters, but still has blackouts? There's more, but you get the idea.
Just so many questions that I hope will be addressed in the next 7 episodes, since I can see that most of the alters we have seen will not be back after episode 4, in which case I assume we will see how Danny personifies all his different personalities and it will be fascinating to see Tom Holland's performance(s).
I won't quibble about the inaccuracies of the time period, because I am invested and can suspend disbelief when it comes to various anachronisms, as long as the story is delivered satisfactorily.
As stated I will update accordingly when it's over.
Malum (2023)
If the same director made both films...
...then the director must have had an awful lot of really competent help creating Last Shift, because that is a well done, well acted and well written horror film, while Malum is a schlocky gore fest with inane acting and dopey dialog.
Just watch the first 15 minutes of Malum and then switch over to Last Shift and watch the first 15 minutes of that. It is a travesty how badly Malum compares to Last Shift in the same scenes - the acting is abysmal, in particular the alleged actress in Malum compared to the believable actress in First Shift, and the dialog has been severely dumbed down in Malum - and the dialog in First Shift was simplistic enough.
Really, nothing about Malum is horrific, unless you count what it's done to the reputation of the director.
Some Came Running (1958)
Cringe
I can only hope someone decides to revisit the actual book and make a mini-series, because this film is awful.
Unrealistic characters, situations, and dialog; I get that everyone in this film is an archetype, but it still annoys me, particularly Shirley's character, the most idiotic, dumb hooker with a heart of gold stereotype who is also so child-like I just wanted to slap her every time she opened her mouth. The men aren't much better, though Dean Martin is the only one who seems like someone you'd actually meet in real life.
The entire movie is just cringeworthy, but if you like to watch films based on books that miss the mark completely, this is it.
Intersection (1994)
guess the twist
This is a short O. Henry type story turned into a feature length film, so if you haven't guessed the twist 20 minutes in, you can continue to watch it and be totally satisfied, because the acting is good enough to carry it along and it will jerk some tears at the end even if you did guess where it's going. I just didn't feel like sitting through a full length movie to find out whether or not I was right.
And, while watching this, I was reminded of A Handful of Dust, another short story with a twist turned into a feature length film that totally pissed me off towards the end when I realized it was just The Man Who Liked Dickens with a completely different hour and a half of back story that accomplished nothing other than to possibly make the viewer think, "wow, what a loser this guy is". I am aware that Evelyn Waugh wrote the novel and the short story, but never bothered to find out why both were necessary.
So back to Intersection, if you like O. Henry type stories, this is well worth the watch even if it should have been a short film instead.
Dead Ringers (2023)
Four episodes in and it's just as I thought when I saw the first episode...
...that this is an overly long and overly indulgent remake of a classic feature length film that did not need to be remade as a series.
I was excited about this when I read about Rachel starring in a remake, and then was immediately apprehensive when I read it was going to be a six episode series. Why? What is there to add? As it turns out, nothing.
I could have gotten all the plot points in the first four episodes in one hour, because there was no need to drag this out other than to showcase all the weirdness that we could easily see and pick up on with a better script in just five minute scenes, if that much. And the script - a mess at best - too much time spent on silly characters and situations we don't need to know about or care about, and too little time spent on the developing relationship of Beverly and Genevieve ( nice homage there ). There is also too much focus on Elliot going crazy for seemingly no reason about Beverly's relationship because there is no exposition prior to that other than that Elliot appears to be a sociopath.
I could pick this series apart all day and I haven't even seen all of it yet: I believe the twins' names were reversed for whatever silly reason; the game the twins play of swapping patients and lovers is brushed aside for no good reason since it was the catalyst for the deepening relationship and subsequent breakup and breakdown of the twins; the red operating gowns were a surreal and visual example of the decline of the twins' mindset, while here they appear with no good excuse to justify their existence other than to signal the start of the new center...
I'm sure I could go on once I have seen the remaining episodes but I have no desire to catch up right now. I would rather see the original film again just to see how a good film is written, and the original was not exactly a masterpiece to begin with, but it got from point a to point b without long, drawn out,
self-indulgent, time-wasting scenes and extraneous characters doing weird things just to be weird and taking up time and space needed for the storyline.
Boston Strangler (2023)
Interesting and informative but ultimately uninvolving
I had seen the Tony Curtis movie, and had also learned that DeSalvo may not have been responsible for all the killings, but that was all I really knew about the case, so this movie filled in a lot of the gaps, and while it featured a lot of interesting information, I did wonder why the epilogue did not include anything about the person of interest named Dempsey, who I then had to search online to find out that he was a fictionalized character based on a man named Charles Terry, who was suspected of being the original Boston Strangler.
I did expect more of a sense of urgency; the film just seemed to ramble along on one flat note, whereas films like this tend to, via very typical means of direction, acting, soundtrack, camera angles, etc., produce more tension and suspense, even if only on the part of the characters in the story. There was just no excitement here or any feeling of accomplishment, either from Carrie or Keira, and I have to note that Keira was strangely stiff. Her face never seemed to change expression, and while I didn't mind her accent at all, not expecting the characters to all have the typical Bah-ston accent, I was more put off by her total lack of affect, and I really hope it was simply due to some medical procedure like Botox and not that she is just losing her touch. In fact, it was strange to see more animation in the still photos shown in the epilogue of the actual woman she played..
So while the film has an interesting and informative storlyline, it just feels totally flat and uninvolving, and you will really have to make an effort to stay focused..
Unwelcome (2022)
Not bad at all
I gave Unwelcome a higher rating than it deserves, just to try and balance the score, because the movie really is worth at least one viewing.
The biggest issue I had with the film was towards the end, when the inevitable redcap payment is demanded; those scenes severely lacked logic and coherence, much less resolution. Some of the horror scenes are very timid, while others are outright silly with gross-out gore, again. With no logical reasons why.
Aside from those ultimately minor problems, this is still an overall decent enough horror movie to watch at least once, even if you're looking at your phone for most of it.
Baby Ruby (2022)
balancing the ratings now
I know this did not get great critic reviews and I imagine the majority of reviewers here will do the same because they all seem to be of one mind anyway...
I figured this would be the usual pseudo-deep indie bore-fest with long scenes of the protagonist staring into space along with carefully sculpted scenes of nature or an urban landscape, but surprisingly this was nothing like that.
There was a plot and a story to follow, with wit and humor in the direction if not so much in the script, and I was never bored for a second. I also appreciated the few fantastical touches as they were necessary for the journey, ours and the protagonist's. And the baby was adorable, so there's that..
Overall, very well done, and well acted.
Babylon (2022)
Babylon Nights
I couldn't help but compare this to Boogie Nights, it has the same frenetic, kinetic energy but is lacking the coherent, cohesive flow that could tie everything together seamlessly.
Brad Pitt should win every award for his performance; he was the heart of the movie, while Diego Calva was the soul. I couldn't take my eyes off either of them while they were onscreen but I wish they had more to do with each other. Margot Robbie could have easily stolen every scene, but Diego was right there with her. I could watch her dance scene at the party over and over again.... I also thought some of the insider jokes were amusing - Margot and Samara in the same scene! (Or were they...?) and a repeated scene of Brad kissing an actress who was very reminiscent of Angelina....
Overall Babylon is a somewhat rewarding watch, but I have no desire to see the whole movie again any time soon, while I wouldn't mind seeing Boogie Nights again, especially after seeing Babylon.
Skinamarink (2022)
Jacob's Stepladder
15 minutes in we hear the father talking to someone, presumably on the phone, about someone who fell down the stairs, hit his head, is ok and didn't even need stitches.
That's the only explanation you'll get for everything that happens afterwards..
The boy feels abandoned by the father - he isn't ok after that fall, after all..did the father even take his son to the ER or just shrug it off? So now we're in the boy's dream and that's why the father is nowhere to be found and the boy can find no way out and nobody to help him, and every scene is symbolic of the fear and isolation the boy is experiencing.
Manifest West (2022)
not good
I only decided to watch this because of the guy from the Walking Dead and figured he was the star, but he was just the hook. I won't reiterate what other reviewers have said is wrong with this film, other than pointing out that it is, indeed, pointless, but what really annoyed me was the final resolution.
The older daughter completely changes her personality and character into a worldly, wise, completely different person and spouts out a couple of pseudo-philosophical aphorisms that completely and magically change the father's mind and then everything is ok and we get the end.
In short, this was a ridiculous waste of time.