rograngle Reviews

Reptile (2023)

LETHARGIC, CREEPY, HORROR NOIR

[4/10 · 22 October 2023]

I tried to watch it, but it didn't sweep me away. Benicio del Toro is a great screen presence, but these cops don't really convince me they are cops. I grew up around cops and interviewed many as a newspaper reporter. These guys walk and talk and dress like rich businessmen. I'm about 30 minutes in. We'll see.

I'm at 1:22, with 53 minutes to go. It feels more like a horror movie than a mystery. The tone is weird-creepy. And the set design is kind of barf green. Weird. There is a story buried in here somewhere. Think I'll pack it in for the night. Maybe finish it another time.

I never finished it. Too slow, no go. And I never believed any of the relationships in the movie. The lead cop and his wife - didn't feel married to me. The banter among cops felt fake.

The Diplomat (II) (2023– )

ACT 3 PROBLEMS, DEUS EX MACHINA ENDING

[7/10 · 23 April 2023]

Great till the end, which was disappointing. This is razzle-dazzle filmmaking at its best. Realistic, intense, profound, full of great scenes and fascinating characters rendered in depth. But the ending... There is an old saying in Hollywood: If you have Act 3 problems, you really have Act 1 problems. The ending was a classic deus ex machina (god from the machine) which comes out of left field, for no good reason. It is not part of the story. Some obscure character shows up that we have not seen before. A big event happens, for no reason except to end the story.

The main character, Kate, has two problems to solve: her new job and her supposedly failing marriage. The job story line works well. And Keri Russell is wonderful. Her acting is a tour de force.

But the marriage problem didn't work for me. I've been in a bad marriage, and hers was nothing like the real thing. It might have worked if it had been more realistic.

But as it plays, she needs another goal or desire that could pay off in Act 3. The tiny subplot about Afghanistan might have worked if it was threaded all the way through.

What is still great is you feel like you understand what wielding power is like and what it's like to work in the Foreign Service. I still recommend it.

BTW, it is NOT a thriller. It is a drama.

High Crimes (2002)

A NEAR MISS

[5/10 · 9 February 2022]

Lots of good acting. Very believable Marine Corps stuff (although I have never been in the Corps.). Ashley Judd is great, as always. So is Morgan Freeman. There are just three or four scenes that don't work for me, and the through-line doesn't quite hold up for me. (spoiler alert) In the climactic sequence, Claire seems confused. She almost shoots the guy who just saved her life. Overall, I feel a little bit sandbagged by the plot. Fairly entertaining. I'd give it a C+.

The Plagues of Breslau (2018)

GREAT UNTIL THE END

[5/10 · 27 January 2022]

I loved this movie until the end. It was a five-star movie with a bad ending, for me. I was rooting for the bad guy, who is trying to do a good thing. I can think of two or three better endings.

I loved everything about Act One and Act Two. The acting, the plotting, the pacing, the writing. Amazing.

It was like watching a champion runner fall on her face before the finish line. Act Three made no sense to me.

Rogue City (2020)

DOWNBEAT TO SAY THE LEAST

[4/10 · 15 January 2022]

It's an odd movie. Very well done, but with a negative worldview. All the men are corrupt and most of the women are sex objects. You could say it's a feel-bad movie.

Ava (IV) (2020)

Waste of talent

[4/10 · 28 December 2021]

Ever start watching a movie where you love the actress, think she is talented and beautiful but just don't buy it? (Spoiler alert) This movie lost me when our heroine battles a squad of soldiers and kicks their butts. Yeah, right. I have trouble when the woman is tougher than a whole bunch of men. Not sure why we are supposed to be so gullible. Did anyone read the script?

Some good moments, but too much nonsense. Too bad. I love Jessica Chastain. Her talents are wasted here.

Alex Cross (2012)

This movie lacks the usual moral structure of thrillers.

[3/10 · 14 September 2019]

When I see a thriller, I want the good guys to win. I want my moral values restored and reaffirmed. Here, in a way, the bad guy wins. There was a moment just before the climax, when I sort of wanted the bad guy to win. The energy seems to shift to his side. But I think it's a mistake to give the bad guy this much power. (spoiler alert) Here, the bad guy kills Cross's lovely wife and the other cop's lovely GF. That is supposed to make us want him dead. In most thrillers, there is one good person that we like who is killed, and that justifies our blood lust to see the killer get his just desserts. But here, two admirable characters are killed, and that casts a pall over the rest of the story. At the end, I didn't feel satisfied but kind of sickened.