Reviews
Damsel (2024)
Cute but humdrum and may teach the wrong morality
As I write this review, I'm struck by how the girl never gets the boy and the romance is shown to be a pretext for a sinister plot. I worry in empowering women, we are diminishing the role of men in society.
Certainly women can get along without men just as men can get along without women, but our society will not and is not surviving without marriage and procreation. Sadly, these are falling by the wayside under the aegis of female empowerment which veers these days to showing the evilness of male domination, toxic masculinity, or whatever other buzzwords you care to use.
The values that are being exalted in contemporary media are vindictiveness, revenge, and personal empowerment. But these highlight victimhood rather than personal responsibility. Our entire culture has skewed to defense of victims in lieu of making oneself strong and forging forward. It's all well and good to protect the weak but don't aspire to be weak! Each of us has baggage, some of it quite large and unwieldy, but strive to ascend beyond that. Don't embrace your suffering; rise above it! Past movies and literature was how people of meager means became giants. These people suffered unbelievable tragedy - crippling injuries, low expectations, physical disabilities, all manner of the deck being stacked against them. The message wasn't to embrace the infirmities and use them to demand more from others. It was to rise above one's own disadvantages and soar.
The movie is decent. Millie Brown is a horror/thriller actress who brings much pathos and drama to the role, and the wicked mother-in-law is adequately played by Ms. Penn. However, the plot is hackneyed and it lagged where there were opportunities to shine. For instance, the relationship between the monster and the girl could have been drawn out more. I was disappointed that the "thorn in a paw" resolution to reform the dragon wasn't longer. The scene was shortened to create a surprise of victory - which surprise! Surprise! Didn't surprise anyone. But the fellowship and ultimate friendship could have been used to create much more emotion.
Overall a decent flick for a weekend but it won't win any awards and won't be remembered.
The Rookie: Feds (2022)
Not the worst but pretty close
The main character is annoying. She reminds me of the ladies caught on COPS/reality Youtube videos screaming at the police. Her dress is unprofessional, her attitude is unprofessional, and she's just plain obnoxious. I like the idea of a counter-culture person being a savant but she needs to be more subtle like a Monk or Columbo, not an oversexed harridan.
The most debilitating character to the plot was Courtney Ford. I loved her in Dexter but here she's just nasty and over-the-top sociopathic. Her poorly written character is the reason I turned it off and stopped watching.
In fact, the entire show is over the top. James Lesure, who was a wonderful understated supporting actor in Las Vegas, languishes as a wannabe agent who's content as a middling bureaucrat. Her immediate supervisor Culp is given short shrift.
Nathan Filion is a cameo actor who gets top billing. Not only a misrepresentation but a blatant bait-and-switch.
A cute premise but a bad script, good actors given substandard material, and poor pacing make this an unsatisfactory view. Pass!
Almost Paradise (2020)
Silly fun action
I never understand people who rate movies based on reality versus expected. No, this show isn't realistic (the American airbase closed 10 years ago and guns aren't played with in PI like they are in the USA)
But it's fun and the lead character Christian Kane is extraordinary. And the detective chick is hot (mama the bikini scene!), the sidekick is a martial arts guru, and the scenery is beautiful. It's a silly little show but succeeds wildly as enjoyable, even if completely unbelievable.
Leave No Trace (2018)
Great acting but story goes nowhere and everyone's depressed
As a traumatized Special Ops warrior, the Dad would have better survival skills. He tromped through the woods, not once scanning the terrain to detect traps and assess utility. The pathetic outdoor technique exhibited were incongruous with the type of hard-set experience earned by a shell-shocked Marine.
Using plastic to catch water and wood shavings to ignite fire are tired props. How about showing snares and traps? And he never erected defensive measures? Why didn't he leave bits of food to deter the dogs so they could get away?
As a vet, I can maintain the psychology is unrealistic. Combat vets who are primary care of a charge don't wander around aimlessly in the woods. He'd either fall into such a depression he wouldn't travel with her, or he'd focus on teaching the girl how to survive and defer his PTSD.
Service animals are routinely prescribed for shell shocked vets because taking care of another transfers thoughts away from the self and depression. Mental and physical activity is the best coping mechanism for PTSD.
The movie received a 100% critic rating and near that for users on rotten tomatoes. So I was expecting a stellar experience. Throughout it I wanted pull out my own teeth. At the end, I shrugged "so what?"
The acting was well done but what was the point? The writer could have gone down some interesting roads, describing more unusual survival skills. Or showcasing how the girl's homeschooling was superior to current curriculae.
Also, what a depressing flick! If I saw a character in this movie smile, it was fleeting. It sucked the joy right out of the house. The girl was the only interesting character, the father just lumbered and moped. Even the ancillary characters were either going through the motions, and nobody was emotionally invested in anyone else. By the end, I had no investment either.
Your Sister's Sister (2011)
Claptrap
I was appalled and offended that a subconscious message of this move was basically how little a woman (if she's a sociopath) can get a baby.
Sure, just have a one-night stand with a good guy after flirting and drinking and then seducing him. No problem there except she poked holes in the condom!
It annoyed me that she never faced retribution or much scorn. Oh sure, her sister gave her the cold shoulder for a few days while the hapless would-be father camped out and destroyed his bike in a fit of pique. Because this witch tricked him into being a father. And then had the nerve to stay in the same house while the guy left until he returned satisfied and warm-hearted to say he accepted all three of them and wanted to have a family.
Really? He wants to raise a child with a woman who tricked him? Who he doesn't even know other than a drunken hookup? What values she'll impart! Wonder who's going to tell the kid when asks how his/her mommy and daddy met.
How dare this well-written well-acted yet immoral script and excellent actors deliberately convey the message that tricking a guy into a baby has no consequences!
She didn't even apologize other than admitting she was a horrible person! And then that he wasn't ever to know about it. Not allowed to know he had a child in the world.
I wouldn't have just glared at that woman for what she did. And then forced her to take a morning after pill. Or sued her. Ridiculous! You feministas and the rest trying spread the message that you can trample on a man just because you feel aggrieved at toxic testosterone... ought to be ashamed of yourselves.
Captain Marvel (2019)
Fun movie with good comedy and drama
Can't imagine what expectations some people have to rate this a 1! The acting is first-rate and dialog crisp but not world-class, and Jackson and Larson lead the not-too-complex story well, and Lynch did a wonderful job as a hard-charging pilot.
It isn't Gone with the Wind nor is it meant to be. But it's fun, Brie is cute, Jackson plays a hapless victim to the strong woman hilariously, the humor is unexpected and timed well, the special effects are as good as they get, and it tied in perfectly with the Marvel Universe. I thought it was a more enjoyable waste of time than most entertainment today.
Love (2016)
Amazing but I have no earthly reason why!
Wow! Is all I can say about this serial. It's similar to Big Bang but more maudlin and more a couple than an ensemble.
My best advice is if you don't hate the first episode, stick out out the first few. I wasn't impressed the first episode, the second was a little better, the third more so, and after a few episodes, it became a very engaging binge watch.
Mother! (2017)
If not for the actors...
I wouldn't have given this a chance. Even so, I could barely get through it.
The acting is tremendous, though. Despite one reviewer's pan of Jennifer Lawrence, I find her one of the finest actresses of our age. (Watch "Silver Innings Playbook" to judge for yourself.) And the supporting cast are excellent. The production quality is good with decent effects. But the story didn't hold my attention, and had I not started to write a review, I wouldn't even have finished it.
Even with the incredible star power, Mother! failed to grab my attention quickly enough to keep me from getting bored, I couldn't care about the characters, it didn't keep me interested - quirky and frenetic didn't add up to entertaining - and the horrifying end didn't justify the convoluted path.
Madam Secretary (2014)
Give it a chance
This is a great new show that highlights Tea's and Tim's acting chops. I'm glad to see casting chose the talented versus gorgeous actor route and graced them with intelligent crisp dialogue. I'm a guy and it's nice to see a middle aged woman get a leading role.
The geopolitics and inner politics are a bit reminiscent of "West Wing" although the ensemble doesn't have the synergy of WW's first two seasons, and the cast doesn't play off each other quite as well.
Unfortunately, most of the reviews I've read thus far reveal that the public sees this show as an unpaid ad vehicle to Secty Clinton - I disagree - so tragically, it may not last long.
I agree with a previous reviewer who asserted that the eldest daughter is obnoxious. She's probably written true to life: she'd likely be spoiled and entitled having grown up upper middle class in today's society with her privileges. And she'd probably be saddled with sophomoritis since she's a 20 year old articulate woman who's a freshman dropout.
I also have to marvel at the negotiating/conflict resolution skill of the writers as voiced by the parents. Several times I've had to stop the program and sit at the TV in amazement at how deftly these parents dealt with a child's misbehaving or explanations of tragedies. And Tea's character displays the same art in her political maneuvering. Wow! I wish I could diffuse arguments that artfully. Or had been graced with parents who had an iota of their skill.
Bottom line: this show deserves to be renewed.
Primeval (2007)
Spoiler alert, guy!
1. Write "spoiler alert" before revealing the punchline, guy! I haven't seen the move and you state right away about how it's a crocodile instead of a serial killer. That's annoying! 2. Write "spoiler alert" before revealing the punchline, guy! I haven't seen the move and you state right away about how it's a crocodile instead of a serial killer. That's annoying! 3. Write "spoiler alert" before revealing the punchline, guy! I haven't seen the move and you state right away about how it's a crocodile instead of a serial killer. That's annoying! 4. Write "spoiler alert" before revealing the punchline, guy! I haven't seen the move and you state right away about how it's a crocodile instead of a serial killer. That's annoying!