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garethbridges
Reviews
Secrets of Playboy (2022)
Playboy was Bad! Wow!
The lack of self-reflection in the interviewees was palpable. Others in the review here have described it exhaustively.
This is a typical product of the "MeToo" age, with a bunch of ex- bunnies who willingly took part in a fantasy version of human sexuality, and were amply paid for it, now complaining. Their complaints? Well, I can't specifically remember a lot of them so well because they seemed to lack teeth. The Mansion was "like a cult" we heard, but not a cult, as the girls had outside jobs and friends, and were free to leave whenever they wanted. The girls were "effectively brainwashed", or "soft brainwashed" was another term used, which seems to mean they were offered money for doing nothing, something they they rather enjoyed. It was "like" Stockholm Syndrome, explained Holly - but not diagnosed Stockholm Syndrome, just a real lot like it. I mean a REAL lot.
All this was presented with an ominous soundtrack, giving gravitas to the portrait of Hefner as the ultimate villain.
Now I am not fan of Hefner, or Playboy. Seriously, who ever fell for this fantasy? I am sure I saw through it all by my early teens. Anyway, if I wanted to get my jollies a copy of Hustler was a far superior option! Some of us did actually "buy Playboy for the articles", just like the old joke! I remember obtaining a 1978 edition with a Bob Dylan interview. And one would flick through the overly touched up, super glossy nude spreads just as a matter of convenience. Yawn.
Svörtu sandar (2021)
Dismal, Dire, Sad
I'm afraid to say this is a pretty dismal affair.
It is a noir crime thriller that focuses on the psychology and "realistic" failings of it's protagonists rather more than most series. In this sense I think it is a genuine attempt at something unique. The main character, Anita, is a hothead who specials in emotional outbursts, and totally irrational responses to the criminal situations she confronts. The genial old police chief (there always has to be one), Raggi, is utterly inept, likely slipping into early dementia, and living in squalour since the death of his wife. Anita's mother is a basket case who hates her daughter for ever being born. And so on...
The police procedure is dreadful to the point of being way beyond inept, to the point of being completely silly. To give you a taste of what it is like, a few police decide to raid the the hotel room containing a psychopath serial killer, without backup because, well, according to Anita, "he's probably asleep".
It's all a bit forced with regard to just how cool and sexually liberated we all are, with all the main female characters fully riding the old CC (if you get that reference!).
The only problem is, gee whiz, is any of this interesting?! Dismal, failed characters making mistake after mistake, and a serial killer who is more just plain sad than terrifyingly devious. Perhaps this is all "realistic". But if it is, give me an entertaining fantasy any day! Anita, our main character and heroine, shows zero super-sleuth capabilities. She is just an annoying woman-child. None of the characters are likeable as such.
Spooky music and spectacular volcanic Icelandic scenery rescue this a bit. Kind of watchable, if you have no life, like me!
The Coroner (2015)
bluh
Perhaps I shouldn't review this, as I didn't really watch much of it.
You'd all agree that we have a plethora of shows to watch these days through multitudinous media outlets. It occurs to me that there are not enough talented scriptwriters to maintain this torrent of product. Hence we get this trite dross. It is kind of semi-watchful if you have no standards (which is me, in some moods).
The Sketch Artist (Portrait - Robot) (2021)
So-so
"Sketch Artist" is the latest in a string of police procedurals I have watched that are underwhelming. It's not that it's an awful show, but since the epic days of Nordic noire ("The Bridge", "The Killing"), American shows like "Bosch" and "Low Winter Sun", and even the Canadian detective show "Cardinal", this seems a big step down in intensity.
The characters are kind of phoned in stereotypes - there's the rugged old-school tough detective, the geeky young IT wunderkind, the unstable but empathetic sketch artist, Eve Garance (from which the show is titled), and an invalided tough as nails female boss. They all work in a special unit outside of the police (so no actual police procedure needs to be researched), working out of a suitably dingy basement, for dramatic effect. You don't have to be a stereotype to work there, but it certainly helps. It's a bit like power rangers, but coloured suits are replaced with cardboard cut-out stereotype personalities
Certain glaring weaknesses can bring a show down, destroying the suspension of disbelief, even for a viewer who wants to enjoy it. As an example, the tough detective, Bernard, doesn't mind using a bit of old-school (and highly illegal) strong-arm violence to crack cases. But he looks too old and slow to possibly be a physical enforcer. It is jarringly implausible.
Stories are dictated via the script in a ham-fisted way. They might as well all walk in and describe their characters, "I'm the one who...".
Also, we don't have one single epic tale here, but rather a sequence of smaller cases that are more or less uncovered by investigation. Arguably, this is not a failing.
I would describe this as early post-woke offering. As an example, when the IT wunderkind, Anthony, attacks the rugged old detective, Bernard, for not liking him for his skin colour, Bernard has a mini-rant about hating everyone equally. It's pathetic. It's not quite as bad as having woke politics preached to you, but having anti-wokeism preached ain't that great.
Despite my whining, it's kind of watchable on a rainy day.
Midnattssol (2016)
Some big mistakes
Another reviewers have said it already - this has some profoundly illogical and poorly conceived plot elements.
I love Scandanavian crime noir, being a near fanatical devotee of The Bridge, and fan of Wallander and the Millenium series, so I was looking forward to this edgy, atmospheric contribution. I wanted to like it, but the plot flaws were too striking for me to fully engage.
Rather than go through all the plot flaws in detail, and it is actually pretty relentless, I will critique just a few of them that really irked me!
* Massive Spoiler Alert*
The first murder is ludicrous. The means of death, strapping someone to a helicopter rotor blade defies description. Where to begin? First, what inertial forces are produced by a rotor in motion? Well, pretty huge actually - and easily enough to kill someone, but you actually need a high differential force to rip a head off. But that doesn't even really bother me. I am an engineer/physicist, and I haven't bothered to work out its feasibility, because it is just so stupid on other levels. As a means of death, well the victim will pass out before they die, and they will die before the massive physical damage is evident. As other critics have pointed out, the unbalance in the rotor would prevent it ever getting up to speed. Then, even if that were all OK, to kill someone this way you have to steal a helicopter (from a small company with 3 vehicles!), fly it to the middle of nowhere, and then presumably walk home - all without being detected in any of the 17 ways this can go wrong! And even if all that is conceded all that, that specific means of death was not a necessary plot/thematic element - so basically it's a pile of rubbish for nothing. It really felt that the show's producers thought it would be very edgy and noir. Am I being picky?
In one of the plot constructions, 10 years previous to the present day, one of the characters has his son murdered (drowned) in front of him, while he is tied down to watch. This murder, in this cockamamie world, was a threat. Like, you tell the cops and we'll...er...kill your son, the most precious thing in your life? Oh wait,we just did that! I would think that to callously murder someone's son in front of them, and then release the guy with this so called "warning" is more likely to incite a vicious, homicidal retaliation! Wouldn't it?
And so it goes. You get the drift. All edge, no sense. Or all tip, no iceberg, as the saying goes.
Other elements of the plot were interesting, but none of the characters ever settled down to something plausible and relatable.
The series' joke was a good one. This is where a wise shaman is asked where another, more elusive shaman, with expert knowledge in drugs and poisons, could be found. Long pause..."Facebook" she replied. Ho ho.
Despite my negative comments here I found the show kind of watchable on a rainy day. hence the 3/10.
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Formula Film
This movie was generated by a computer program.
If you would like to make a movie like this yourself, the following inputs are required... 1) Style - quirky, indie - "a la mode 2006". 2) Sincerity - zero. 3) Intellectual level - low. 4) Subject - Click the boxes for "Quirky dysfunctional family" and "Child exploitation" with the clarity level set at "Confused".
Don't forget to click on "Dirty gran'pa".
Seriously, has there ever been a more contrived movie? Indie films are now more formulaic than Hollywood blockbusters. The most severe indictment on this movie are the directors' comments (one of the DVD features). Listen to these two rank amateurs, devoid of any overall vision, describe how they try to hook the audience in, scene by scene. Its a fascinating study in all that is going wrong in independent movie-making.
The film touches upon a whole range of interesting issues but lacks any coherence. It is heavy-handed. It throws up some sentimental notions of "family" and "not quitting" that could cause you to throw up.
A profoundly insincere film.