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School Spirits (2023)
fun supernatural teen-angst murder mystery
This wonderfully entertaining murder myster stars Peyton List as Maddie, the ghost of a girl who has no memory of her own death. No one has even found her body - just signs of a struggle. In her new form, she encounters other people who died in the school and who have a support group built on trying to "pass on." Maddie is told to let go of her human life, but she needs to understand what happened first.
This is a very entertaining series with the sort of relatable, well-acted teens that don't annoy old people like me. The mystery is solid, full of twists and red herrings, and the season ender is both very surprising and yet beautifully set up - like a good M. Knight Shyamalan movie, when you get to the twist you believe it because it was staring at you the whole time, in plain sight.
The ending is also a cliffhanger, resolving one mystery, opening some new ones, and creating real anticipation for what is to come.
It's funny, it's touching, it's engaging, and it's well worth watching.
Mrs. Davis (2023)
imaginative. entertaining. surprising. insane.
After watching the first episode of Mrs. Davis I was somewhat on the fence. It was the sort of crazy, over-the-top, mind-bending style I enjoy, but was it trying too hard? Did that reveal an emotional void? Was it style over substance.
But by the second episode I was totally won over. Because like the best speculative fiction, this isn't a series about tech but a series about humans seeking their place in a world that is just so confusing.
The cast, lead by Betty Gilpin as an ass-kicking nun, is terrific. The show is often funny, sometimes intense, always, constantly, unrelentingly surprising. I have never seen so many hairpin twists, and yet I accept them all, because somehow it all makes some sort of sense.
You'll never see anything like this again, so watch it.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Great moments, but Dreyfus's character is a disaster that keeps this from greatness
At first, Close Encounters is electrifying. The first scene uses the desert wind to create an echo of the violent rain from Rashomon as it sets up the movie. The eerie lights of the control room really create a mood. The toys all turning on in the little boys room. The chaos of the protagonist's family (I loved the kid methodically destroying a doll), the mysterious events on the road, and oh my God the scene with the lights pushing into the house. Spielberg spoke film like a native, and it was mind blowing.
And then it started going wrong. Because the Richard Dreyfuss character made no sense at all. He did a lot of crazy things, but his level of crazy never seemed to match the level of crazy in his actions.
There would have been several ways to fix this. First, you could establish the character as prone to obsessiveness. Alternately, you could have shown more clearly the process leading him to go so nuts.
The family was entertaining but made the story less sensible. He should have lived alone in an apartment, or if you want those kids scenes, make him an uncle staying there temporarily, or have the relationship on the verge of divorce. Any of these would help his actions throughout and even more so his final decision.
That's what's so frustrating. The issues should have been obvious, and should have been solved. Spielberg needed a good script doctor.
The movie pulls itself back together in the end with that memorable final sequence, even if it raises a lot of questions about the alien's actions throughout the movie, which don't make any more sense than Dreyfuss's.
Great special effects, great moments. Some bad writing and arguably the wrong actor to take this role (Dreyfuss is better at playing irritating characters than unraveling ones). Definitely worth seeing for the best parts, but it could have been a true sci-fi classic and it missed that.
Agatha All Along: Maiden Mother Crone (2024)
A mixed ending for a great series.
Unlike some people here, I really liked the twist that ended the penultimate episode. And I loved the way later on that this final episode used flashbacks to highlight moments where Agatha was saying things that, in retrospect, did not mean what we thought they meant at the time (it might be interesting to rewatch the series with the new context).
So those parts of the episode I really liked.
As for Agatha's origin story, well, it was kind of interesting but didn't grab me the way everything else in the series did. And also, honestly, even though I knew at the beginning that Agatha was awful, she was fun and less awful for this series and it was hard coming face to face with what a monster she has always been.
The battle between Agatha, the Teen, and Death was fairly enjoyable. But Agatha's action don't really make that much sense in the context of who she's been.
But what really lost me was the very end, with ghost-Agatha. First off, this idea of Agatha gambling on being a ghost seems weird. Then there's this whole bit where Billy gets mad and tries to banish her. But then she stops him and somehow persuades him that really, they're both killers, even though ultimately Billy killed subconsciously and without intent while Agatha was a psychopathic serial killer. So I don't accept the two-sides-of-the-same-coin framing. This makes Billie's acceptance of that frame unpersuasive, especially when the upshot is, "hey, let's be friends and partner up and have adventures!" Which is so WTF that I can't even.
After all that, I just felt, "What? That's it?
I still love the series overall, but I'm pretty mad about that ending, honestly.
Agatha All Along (2024)
Lots of fun
This fun spinoff of WandaVision isn't quite as out there, but it's clever, imaginative, and often quite funny, with an excellent cast.
The basic story involves Agatha trying to regain her powers, which involves getting a coven together with the intent of walking the "witch's road" with the goal of getting one's heart's desire - if you can make it through various eccentric challenges.
Kathryn Hahn is excellent in her reprisal of Agatha, who winds up with a coven of witches who don't really like or trust her - unsurprising, considering what we know of her from WandaVision.
There are some notable twists, and I thought they were good, even ones that have got some criticism from others. Unfortunately the very end didn't work for me, which was a let down, but overall it was an excellent experience that I wholeheartedly recomment.
Oppenheimer (2023)
Good though overrated
I really like Christopher Nolan, but if I weren't a fan I wouldn't have watched this based on the trailer. And while I did enjoy it, and it had some style and good performances (notably an incredible Emily Blunt), I can't say that what I saw was much better than what I expected from the trailer.
This is Nolan at his least out-there persona. It's a pretty straightforward movie, even though the trailer focuses on some of the more striking (and rare) moments. For the most part, this is Oppenheimer's project and Oppenheimer's trial, and while both are well done, this seems like a movie that could have been directed by a lot of people.
Worth watching, but not Christopher-Nolan-level worth watching.
Going Postal (2010)
enjoyable comedy
In Going Postal, a breezy conman finds himself, through a rather unlikely series of events, running a post office. This brings him into contact with a friendly but stern gollum, an archnemesis who runs a competing service something like a telegram, and a pale, intimidating businesswoman named Adora. Will he save the post office, or fleece it?
This is a lot of fun, offering a sprightly sense of humor, and engaging story, and appealing performances by Richard Coyle as the conman and, especially, Claire Foy as the oh-so-intense Adora.
The one thing that could have been better is damp-looking Nosferatu knock-off which just looks utterly ridiculous, not in a funny way but just in a "have the intern design the costume" way. But it's a small role, so not a big issue.
Hope some more Discworld movies are coming down the pike - so far I've enjoyed them all. This one is certainly recommended.
Afro Samurai: Resurrection (2009)
Uh...
I really liked the Afro Samurai anime series. It was lots of fun. But I didn't realize there had been a movie sequel until 15 years later. Excitedly, I sat down to watch it, and, uh ... what?
It starts with a fight, and stuff happens, and the unstoppable protagonist somehow gets the prize he worked the whole series to get snatched away by some rando, and then he's, I guess, going to kinda do what he did in the series all over again, except this time to protect his father's ghost?
What?
Anyway, it was just an incomprehensible mess, and after about a half hour I couldn't take it anymore. I'm hugely disappointed.
Kirikou et la sorcière (1998)
kinda cute
In Kirikou, a boy is born fully capable of talking, walking, and overcoming evil. The story, apparently based, or inspired, by folk tales, unfolds like a story told by a child, with things just sort of happening.
At first it's very episodic, with a series of short "saves the day" stories that began to bore me, but most of the movie is actually Kirikou's final quest, which is more elaborate and interesting and kept me more-or-less engaged.
The movie has an interesting look to it - it's not *great* animation, but it's distinct and rather attractive.
I'm torn between giving this a 5 and a 6. The story telling is weak but it is imaginative. I wouldn't really recommend it, but it's not bad, and it's something different.
Se ying diu sau (1978)
entertaining nonsense
In this comedy, one martial arts discipline is hunting down and killing everyone from another martial arts discipline. I don't understand why, but that's the deal.
Jackie Chan has nothing to do with this. He just works as a grunt and sample punching bag at martial arts school, until he meets an old man who trains him and ... this sounds so dumb I can't even continue.
The martial arts fights are an odd mix of straight-ahead fights and Jackie-Chan-style comedy fights, done by both Chan and by the old man, played by Siu-Tin Yuen. These are exactly what you watch Jackie Chan movies for. There's also fun low comedy involving a rich man and his idiot son.
One interesting thing about this movie is how much of it is just Jackie Chan doing his moves. It's what happens during the opening credits, and again in scenes of Chan progressing. It's surprisingly enjoyable - it's more like watching a dance performance than anything else.
Anyway, it's a pretty dumb movie, but most of the action is great (although I'm not such a fan of the occasional straight-ahead one-on-one fights that don't involve Chan or Yuen) and the pace is quick.
Lots of fun, and recommended.
Machete (2010)
Sometimes fun, often dull
Machete begins with a ridiculously over-the-top action sequence with grisly violence. It's dumb but also genuinely enjoyable.
But then the story starts. Danny Trejo is a retired cop who gets involved in something bad that turns out worse for him. He finds himself hunted but also helped by a couple of really hot ladies.
Unfortunately, this is all predictable and badly done. And yes, I understand that this is recreating something called "grindhouse" which is apparently very violent B movies from the past, but I didn't watch those movies so for me, this is just a bad movie.
Take the first time the two hot ladies, one a cop, one a taco-truck-owner/revolutionary. The dialogue is really terrible. Is it a true representation of bad grindhouse dialogue. Probably. But it's still just dumb, really uninteresting dialogue.
I wound up watching about half of this before I gave up. Trejo is excellent, but the movie is just not for me.
Long ma jing shen (2023)
maudlin dreck with a few high points
This movie begins really well. Chan is a middle-aged guy living in the stable with his horse, who humorously wakes him up as the film begins. There's also, early on, an excellent, martial arts fight with some loan sharks.
Meanwhile, some businessmen want to take Jackie's horse, forcing him to reconnect with the law-student daughter who wants nothing to do with him and her doofus boyfriend who Chan starts to toughen up.
At this point, everything was good. A little humor, a little action, a little heart. But that little heart soon turned into a *lot* of heart as Chan restarts his stuntman career while trying to make amends with his daughter. And it just gets sappier and sappier.
There's one more good action sequence later, but for the most part the movie is just about Chan and his sweet, bland daughter.
If you want a sappy "family" movie, I guess this is an option. But I don't recommend this.
Abigail (2024)
Exciting and well made
Some people have objected that the movie trailer gives away a major plot twist that happens halfway through the film. I won't say what it is, but I will say that if I hadn't watched the trailer and seen what the twist was, I wouldn't have watched the film - the twist was what made it hard to resist. So I can't criticize the choice made in that trailer.
But without giving things away, I can say this is a taught crime thriller about a kidnapping that goes in a very unexpected direction. The well-acted characters are clearly drawn, in some cases personable, and act consistently. The plot is well constructed, with events building on previous events, so even though it gets pretty out there, it all holds together.
You can quibble with the ending, but it worked for me.
Not a movie for ages, but if you want to see a solid crime-suspense-horror movie with a little gore, I'd say check it out.
Jing wu ying xiong (1994)
Come on, people, this is a terrible movie
There are two criteria you can use for a martial arts movie - the drama, and the action. Ideally, both are good. But for a lot of martial arts films, good action cures all ills.
Dramatically, Fist of the Legend is abysmal. It is not so much a story as a series of incidents, most resulting in a fight. There is no character development. There is no story development. There is no investment in, or rooting for, anyone. It's not even cheesy, terrible, which can be fun. Instead, it's very serious, and very terrible.
But no one cares because they're watching the movie for the fights, right? And a lot of people love the fights in this movie. But even on that level, this doesn't work for me. These are mainly a series of brutal, mano a mano fights. People hit, people kick, people jump. At first this is reasonably entertaining, but there's no variety to it. You have to really, really like this straight ahead first-and-feet fights.
But what I like in martial arts are fun, crazy fights, like in Jet Li's Tai Chi Master, or Michelle Yeoh's Wing Chun, or pretty much any Jackie Chan movie. And that's just not what you get here.
So if you like a bunch of one-on-one brawls, perhaps you'll forgive what is, by any objective standard, a terrible, terrible movie. But that doesn't mean it's not terrible.
Invitation to a Murder (2023)
watchable
I can't say I didn't go into this eyes wide open. I read the user reviews, and yes, they are accurate. But I really like murder mysteries, so even after watching the trailer, which showed numerous issues, I thought I'd take a chance.
In this period piece movie (excellent set design), a random assortment of people are invited to an island to meet a billionaire. Not one of them refuses this vague invitation, and when they arrive there are no answers, just more questions. So one of the invitees, a bored, mystery-obsessed florist starts playing detective.
This is not a bad set up, but it's all done rather poorly. The dialogue is not well written, with odd language that I think is a failed attempt to capture old-timey language, and people say things that people wouldn't say. As the mystery progresses, people ask bad questions, or ask good questions as accusations but don't wait for answers. People argue when it doesn't make sense. The florist makes Sherlock-style deductions but there's no explanation of her process.
The pacing is very poor. Even though the movie is only 90 minutes, a lot of it is filler. At times there's a rush of plot and other times it just spins its wheels.
The resolution, when it comes, is pretty nonsensical.
Agatha Christie, who is name checked in this, built her mysteries on character motivation and ingenuity, but this is like a collage of bits from better mysteries.
And yet, I don't regret watching this, because I find whodunnits comforting. Invitation to a Murder is, for mystery fans, what Hallmark movies are for romance fans - bad movies that scratch an itch.
So while I certainly don't recommend this movie, if you really like mysteries, this is one.
The Big Steal (1949)
entertaining almost-noir
This movie about two people who don't trust each other chasing after someone else isn't a noir detective movie - it's more a light crime drama road trip - and yet, it somehow *feels* like a noir detective movie. This is in part because Mitchum has that vibe, and in part because it portrays a world where no one can be trusted and has a canny cop who's a bit of a chess master.
Mitchum is excellent, as is often the case, and has good chemistry with Greer as a woman who's half antagonist and half love interest. The film version of Mexico is engaging and director Don Siegel keeps things moving briskly.
It's a fun B movie and well worth your time.
The Institute (2012)
too cute by half
Like a lot of people, I watched this after the terrific tv series dispatches from elsewhere.
This is presumably a documentary about the real-life alternate reality game that inspired the series. And at first, it's pretty interesting, as it interviews participants and creators.
When I read user reviews, they would complain it wasn't a real documentary, and at first I thought they were being too demanding. I thought, maybe it's fudging things a bit, since it's made by people involved in teh ARG, but it still seemed reasonable.
But as it goes along, this blurring of the real and the illusion, while true, I suppose, to the spirit of the ARG, means that this fails as a documentary because you don't feel you've really learned much. But it also fails as fiction, because much of it is incredibly boring.
Ultimately, this is just a really self-indulgent film that fails on multiple levels. Which is a shame, because I think something interesting could have been made out of the experience. But then, I guess that's what dispatches from elsewhere was - the interesting thing they finally got out of the event.
Gojira -1.0 (2023)
Surprisingly good
I'm not a Godzilla guy. I saw the first movie decades ago and was underwhelmed, and didn't watch any others (or even realize how many there were) until I took a look at this one, because I heard good things.
And I was really surprised by how non-cheesy this was. After WWII, a cowardly (I sure don't blame him!) Kamikaze pilot tries to survive postwar Japan and eventually deal with his guilt by taking on a giant radiated monster.
As much postwar drama as monster movie, much of this is not about action but about character, and it's really effecting. And when the action comes, it's pretty darn impressive.
This movie was so good that I thought perhaps I had misjudged Godzilla, so I watched one that is highly regarded by Godzilla fans, "Shin Godzilla," and it was ... okay.
So I'm still not a Godzilla guy. But whether you like Godzilla or not, you should watch this movie, because it's terrific.
Orion and the Dark (2024)
Entertaining if a bit over-meta
I was surprised to see Charlie Kaufman had written a children's cartoon, but he hits an interesting point between normal-kids-movie and Kaufman-esque.
The movie is about a boy afraid of the dark who meets the friendly, misunderstood Dark, who takes him on a night's journey where he meets other night entities like unexplained noises. But things don't go as expected.
It's an intriguing premise with a good voice cast, good animation, and good humor. Some of the entities don't totally make sense - why would there be a good dream entity as opposed to just an all-dream entity? But it works.
Then there's the latter part, which is where Charlie goes full Kaufman. And I guess my attitude towards that is, it's conceptually interesting but takes you out of the story. This is the issue with meta storytelling - it distances you from the story. Kaufman has pulled this off before, but I feel like the conventions of a kid's cartoon don't really vibe with that approach.
Still, I really enjoyed this overall, and it's certainly the most accessible thing Kaufman has done for a while, or perhaps ever.
Invitation to the Dance (1956)
has its moments, but not many
Gene Kelly's try for auteur status was three wordless half-hour dance stories. Each has at least one good number, but all fail at the storytelling aspect.
The first is a sad-clown story of the sort every entertainer seems to want to make. It's the least interesting and most pretentious of the trio, although the boisterous middle number is kind of fun.
The second in conceptually interesting, as it follows a bracelet from dancer to dancer, with Kelly not showing up until the end. The best number is not Kelly's, it's a tap dance by Tommy Rall. There's also a mildly amusing number with a hungry art model and a somewhat interesting finale by Kelly and Tamara Toumanova that fails to keep its momentum.
The last, partially animated story is justifiably considered the highlight, but a lot of it is still pretty weak. But the dance with the two harem guards is genuinely fun, especially the second part that follows an underwhelming romance section.
I wouldn't recommend bothering with this, although it is worth seeing if you can track down the animated dance with the guards on youtube or something.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)
I like this as well as the original
It's worth mentioning that I'm not as big a fan of the original Beetlejuice as some people. For me, both movies fall in the category of good-not-great, with fun special effects and goofy characters and entertaining bits.
Morose teen Winona Ryder is still morose and has kept a lot of his original look as a ghostbuster. Her own daughter is appropriately embarrassed by her and her whole crazy family. That daughter is played by Jenna Ortega, who in spite of playing the weird Wednesday Addams in Tim Burton's TV series, here fulfills the role of the eye-rolling "normal one."
The plot is nutty, with good turns by Monica Bellucci has a corpse who pulls herself together and WIllem Dafoe as a cop-no-actor-no-cop. Hell is once again quite the place, and Michael Keaton reprises Beetlejuice with gusto.
All in all this is a fun movie that stays true to the original. Check it out.
Palm Royale: Maxine Throws a Party (2024)
a lot of this is great, but...
I thought this was a terrific episode almost all the way to the end. It's the craziest episode of the season, the Beach Ball is truly wild, and Maxine's song is quite the thing.
But the producers wanted a cliffhanger, and for some reason they wanted it to be WAY DARKER THAN ANYTHING ELSE IN THE SHOW.
Suddenly a goofy attempt on Nixon's life leaves a main character choking on his own blood, Laura Dern is arrested after Julia Duffy somehow escapes, and you know, it kinda bummed me out. Maxine's life blowing up and Carol Burnett's being a whole different person were quite enough for a decent cliffhanger - why, in a show that's been so light and silly and nutty, bum me out in the last five minutes?
It was a bad choice, and it was unnecessary. It's still a solid series overall, and even a solid episode overall, but I am annoyed with the writers for leaving us with this. I hope things don't fall apart in season 2.
Palm Royale (2024)
Entertaining fluff
I had doubts at first about Palm Royale, which follows an ethically challenged beauty queen desperate to break into high society. At first, she just seemed awful, as did most of the other people, and her dream seemed so petty and dumb. The movie was more appealing for its set design and campy acting than anything else.
But the series surprised me, giving increasing depth to the protagonist and offering just a little bit of complexity to it all.
The series also gets crazier and crazier with the twists and turns as it goes along, reaching a level of over-the-top goofiness by the end that's just lots of fun.
I did feel the cliffhanger at the end was too dark for the series, and I hope they quickly clear away the rubble they created with that when season two begins. But overall, this is terrific fun and well worth watching.
Brats (2024)
surprisingly interesting
I had no interest in a movie about the Brat Pack, but my Gen-X girlfriend did. The documentary follows Andrew McCarthy as he interviews his fellow Brat Packers and sees if they are as infuriated-to-this-day by the phrase as he is.
My initial reaction was, he's being ridiculous, but it was interesting to see this from the point of view of people who saw themselves as distinct actors who got lumped together in mockery because they were in a couple of movies together.
It's interesting to see that they all have some thoughts on it, although the least bitter are the two biggest stars of the group, Rob Lowe and Demi Moore, who breezily dismiss any trauma from the comfort of their sunny mansions.
One can't help but feel that the bitterest of the crew, like McCarthy and Estevez, may be blaming an article because they can't face the idea that they were just Hollywood flash-in-the-pans like thousands before them whose moment in the sun was brief. I mean, while only a couple held onto real stardom, they all seem to be doing fine.
I generally liked the Brat Packers. Director McCarthy did a good job of showing himself slowly coming to terms with the coinage and seeing that a lot of his reaction had to do with his own insecurities. Ally Sheedy was likable and seemed like someone I would hang out with. Lowe was also likable, even though he always plays douches. Moore had a therapy-infused "don't let your trauma define you" vibe that suggested she would make an excellent guru.
McCarthy also smartly brought in some Brat Pack analysts, including Malcolm Gladwell, to make it look a *little* less like navel gazing.
I'm not sure this is worth watching if you haven't seen at least a couple of Brat Pack classics, but if you have, this is kind of fun.
Tai gik Cheung Sam Fung (1993)
Terrific, mostly
Tai Chi Master starts well, as it follows the ascent of two young boys then men in a monastery. One is cocky, the other humble, and both have excellent martial arts. When things go sideways, there is a marvelous battle and a big disruption in their lives.
They meet more people, get involved in some stuff, and there is so much wonderful, clever, entertaining, often comical martial arts, beautifully choreographed and filmed so well that you understand every motion.
The last part of the movie is also terrific, with a rousing finale.
But somewhere in between that great start and that great end, there is a hugely annoying part that swings wildly from the most horrific moment to the silliest, lowest-brow comedy. I really don't understand how a movie that otherwise is really pretty perfect light entertainment falls apart so badly.
The end result is still an excellent film - my God! The action! - but a movie that falls short of what it could have been with a few smarter choices.
Good performances, great fighting, mainly good story, definitely worth watching.