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Reviews
The Second Coming of Christ (2018)
Barely scratches the surface, has numerous theological issues. So undramatic
In this movie, there is no mark of the beast, no stars falling down to the Earth, no 100 lb hailstones, no immortal fools who accepted the mark and proactively suffer, no winepress of the blood of the wicked, the 2nd coming scene was totally cheap and undramatic (Indiana Jones was more disturbing than this), nobody going to Hell, nobody going to Heaven. The earth was not destroyed but merely restored (in violation of a new heaven and new earth). The violence and death is severely understated, one one person is beheaded, basically there is just so many theological and eschatological problems with this movie, such bad acting, and such lack of drama, that I can't take this movie seriously. The news reports are a bunch of cheap tricks. A movie that most accurately represents the end times would best be reserved for a R rated or NC-17 film, not a watered down piece of performance like this. The success of The Passion Of The Christ is proof that you can't downplay the horrendousness of the end times.
Sausage Party (2016)
Hilarious and deep
I love how this movie covers multiple philosophies in a hilarious, stereotypical manner. It also highlights the strengths and weaknesses of an atheistic worldview. It shows the power of optimism and vision, plus the dangers of militant atheism, and ironically makes a small, discreet defense of religious worldviews.
The Card Counter (2021)
Badly written
This movie is a horrendous misrepresentation of counting cards (a perfectly legal but frowned upon way to have a small 1% advantage over the casino),
and a highly offensive slur/insult to the people who count cards professionally in casinos in real life.
The main character learned his craft in prison, making counting cards sound illegal (IT'S NOT)!
His blackjack plays are completely against basic strategy, and would never have been utilized as an exception to the rule.
The only time you'd hit 14 against a 6, or double 9 against a 10, is if the dealer accidentally showed you their hole card, yet this movie never shows him taking advantage of such information.
Worst of all, they show him playing blackjack at a 6:5 table. No card counter worth their weight in salt would ever play a 6:5 game. Play 3:2 only!
It's no wonder Boyd strongly encouraged filming part of this movie at one of their casino properties.
If you want good information on counting cards, watch a documentary or read a book on the subject.
Don't watch this movie!
Thumbelina (1994)
Hilarious and edgy for its time
Thumbelina is not a perfect movie/story, but the elements of this story are very engaging. Barry Manilow's music (Let Me Be Your Wings) was so phenomenal, he sang it on late night television. Instead of the prince popping out of nowhere in the end, our main protagonist takes some stand for herself in devotion and determination. Gilbert Gottfried's role was loud and obnoxiously hilarious, particularly when he spanked Thumbelina in public. Their Razzie award song, Marry the Mole, actually matches well with the story. Basically, I find this movie to be a bit underrated, although I do understand why people hate on it, particularly the swallow singing "Follow Your Heart."
The New Price Is Right (1972)
Bob Barker era, fantastic. Drew Carey era, meh
During the Bob Barker era, the show was so much better. They purposely left behind a bunch of patterns for dilligent viewers (loyal friend and true) to memorize and improve their chances of winning, giving us a sense of skill and accomplishment. Bob Barker knew how to work up the excitement.
Then came the dark times, the Drew Carey era. When Terry Kneiss skillfully got a perfect bid on the showcase showdown, Drew Carey and Fremantle Media decided to be jerks about it. They refused to give Terry a standing ovation,
Bob Barker would have declared Terry a hero, an all time champion.
Today, The Price Is Right has been transformed from a game of blackjack and poker, to a stupid slot machine, where morons can win big with dumb luck.
All the patterns are now gone. There is zero incentive to watch the show ahead of time. All they care about is hype and stupidity.
21 (2008)
I'm a real life professional blackjack player
This movie is so grossly inaccurate I find it highly offensive. Counting cards is a grind. It's not some magical thing where you win every time. In fact, there are prolonged winning and losing streaks in the game that last several months and sometimes a few years, even for advantage players. While it is true that some card counters have been beaten or robbed in the past, that doesn't happen the vast majority of the time. Casinos are owned by corporations, so if they assaulted customers they'd be sued in court and most likely lose. A better ending for this movie would be a scene where the card counters sue the casinos and win big, similar to James Grosjean's famous lawsuit. If you want to learn card counting, watch a documentary instead, read books on the subject, email pros, and have your game evaluated in person before you start playing. STAY AWAY FROM THIS MOVIE!
The Addams Family (1991)
Phenomenal use of live actors
I saw the first animated version of the late 2010's, and it doesn't hold a finger to this 90's classic. Christina Ricci is phenomenal as a sadistic young actor, correcting our misunderstanding of history, good cannibal jokes (so good they repeated that joke in the animated version), clever planning, and having real personality. Anjelica Huston is beautiful, romantic, and smooth talking. Mr Addams carries the same charm, body type, and romantic desire of the tv series. Good, live actors bring the mystique of the Addams Family to life. Highly recommend!
50 First Dates (2004)
Beautiful and hilarious
This movie combines a complicated romance with the beauty of Hawaii, and a brief, albeit incomplete and slightly inaccurate introduction to the long term effects of brain injuries. The interactions are hilarious, goofy, and will strike a chord with you for many years to come.
Rain Man (1988)
Masterpiece
The movie Rain Man plays powerfully on your emotions. Tom Cruise is so effective at being a jerk he is full blown offensive due to his script. Dustin Hoffman demonstrates that the movie producers did some serious research before producing this movie. Rain Man exposes you to the world of sales, business, broken families, romantic relationships, and it was highly successful in giving people a brief, albeit rudimentary introduction to the world of the autism spectrum. The famous casino scene that everybody thinks about when they see this movie, is a typical Hollywood exaggeration and misrepresentation of counting cards. Besides that, the movie is very touching and a must see for anyone studying disabilities.
Deal or No Deal? (2005)
Inferior to the US version
Deal or No Deal UK is engaging. I like how they color coded the cases. Thr simple silence, 22 cases instead of 26, and less noise is a slightly pleasant change. However, I think the US version is much better. First off, the UK top prize is only $250k tax free. The US version is $1 million, which is worth over $600k after taxes. This in turn leads the US version to be much more intense, and scare contestants with 6 figure offers. You almost never see that in the UK version. Also, the UK version requires way too many suitcases to be eliminated per round, while the US goes one case at a time in the 2nd half for dramatic, entertaining purposes. The UK format in turn allows the banker to make mathematically horrendous bank offers, even on the last bank offer. This results in 1) more risk taking 2) more often than not, spineless contestants settling for paltry sums of money. Personally, I find the UK banker's stingy banker formula infuriating. On the US version I complain that contestants are being too risky with mathematically more generous bank offers of 6 figures. In the UK version I am always complaining that the British players are wimps, taking bank offers in the low 5 figures worth less than half of fair value. The US version also has a lot more fun, silly gimmicks to it, and the contestants are more competitive in your face have more drive and energy, especially when shouting NO DEAL and fighting the banker. UK version everyone is using good manners with the banker, hence making the show look pathetic at times.
Deal or No Deal (2005)
Highly intense and intricate
Deal or No Deal looks like a dumb game of luck on the surface, where you pick one case out of 26 and go through a process of elimination.
The real element of this game comes from the "evil Banker", who offers to buy your case and reduce your personal risk, in exchange for a guaranteed amount worth less than fair value.
Because of the Banker, this show goes deep into the world of psychology, human behavior, expected value (average value of the case), volatility, and utilitarian value (are you willing to sacrifice long term gains to secure a smaller win?), all of which have been studied extensively by brilliant experts writing papers on game theory.
Watching this show is intense, but that's also what makes it exciting. The differing views people have as to when to take a bank offer, they vary from taking the first offer, to going all the way.
I can understand why some people can't stomach it. Game shows love to bring extroverted contestants on air who are more likely to take risks.
Also, some of the bank offers are designed 1) to encourage risk taking 2) take advantage of scared contestants by making low ball offers 3) to be very generous to try to compel the player to settle for less.
In some cases the Banker offers more than fair value, just to be generous and toy with the audience.
The thought of receiving a 6 figure bank offer, and people accepting, turning it down, making it bigger, or in some cases losing it all on national TV, it is absolutely wild.
The game show host, Howie Mandel, is fundamental to the show. He expands on the game by getting us to know the contestants and family members, who are an interesting bunch.
The contestants leave people sitting at home shouting at their tvs, because a contestant is, more often than not, a bigger risk taker than the person watching at home.
Also, Deal or No Deal is self aware of the fact that their game show can be viewed by some as a bit boring and overly simplistic.
In response, they change things up all the time with surprise celebrity appearances, family/community reunions, special themes that center on the contestant, and customized bank offers for dream prizes specifically appealing to that contestant, plus other silly things to make some episodes memorable.
One last comment: I find it ironic that the original run of Deal or No Deal ended in 2008, at the same time that "evil bankers" went from a silly gimmick, to a real thing involving trillions in dollars and millions of job losses in the 2008 financial crisis.