micalclark Reviews

Daniel (II) (2023)

Almost wish it was longer

[24 December 2023]

It's rare in these days of three hour plus movies to say I wish a film was longer, but in this case, I wish it was.

It's an interesting film and well worth watching in terms of seeing someone living life to the fullest and suddenly finding themselves, unexpectedly, at the end of it all.

My only complaint is at the end of 102 minutes, relatively short these days, that I didn't feel I knew Daniel as well as I could have. From what I understand he filmed over a thousand hours of his life, and this easily could have been a two hour to two and half hour film and I would've felt like I knew him better.

On the upside, maybe more people will watch it as it's reasonably short and since it was produced by his sister, maybe she didn't know what best to include or leave out.

In the end it would be difficult not to recommend it, as it is one of those "live life while you can" kind of stories. I just wish I got to know Daniel a little better over the course of the film and with all the available footage there was, I think the possibility was there.

The Highest of Stakes (2023)

Scammers will scam

[7 December 2023]

The fact that Hex followers have often been described as a cult and that almost every review of this film has rated it a ten, should tell you everything you need to know about the reviewers. There is currently only one review out of over fifty that rates this film as less than a ten and that's at an eight. There are very few films that really deserve a ten rating. Any film that has anything to say will have some people who love it and some who hate it. So it's pretty obvious the ratings are being manipulated and that it's really just a ninety minute infomercial for Hex.

The film consists mostly of talking heads hype people for Hex who call themselves Hexicans including the scam leader himself Richard Heart bragging about not only Hex, but his big dick, cars, high IQ, ability to predict the future, and world's largest diamond. You'll see other reviews claim the film is balanced because they interview one couple who lost money in comparison to all the others, some of whom are hyping Hex and PulseChain even though they lost money as well. That's not what any normal person would consider balanced.

In addition, there's several scenes about midway through that look completely staged. One where Heart is supposedly at a meetup in Denmark at which people in the audience asking questions and they cut back and forth to Heart in front of a red curtain answering questions. The lighting and sound give the impression these weren't even filmed at the same time in the same room, as if the questions were filmed and then Heart was filmed later after he thought up cute funny answers. Cue the canned laughter. Then there's another scene with Heart at what appears to be an estate surrounded by blonde debutante investors drinking wine and dancing with hula girls while making his pitch. No explanation of who these rich blond potential investors are is ever made.

Without any spoilers to how the film itself ends, it's pretty easy to look up on the internet how Hex and PulseChain are doing now. Hex reached its height in Sept 2021 at .478 and is currently, at time of this review, at .0005 and Pulsechain has been at zero since May. Richard Heart is currently being sued by the SEC.

I truly hope no one reading the reviews here or watching the film gets taken in by the hype.

Flora and Son (2023)

Loved it!

[3 October 2023]

Light hearted beautiful movie about family and the way music can bring people together.

Eve Hewson is amazing as a single mom, struggling to sort out her life, and make a connection with her troublesome son. I had no idea she was Bono's daughter until I read her bio here on IMDB to find out what else I could see her in.

Joseph Gordon Leavitt is great as an overseas guitar teacher although I felt his character could've been more developed, Oren Kinlan is fantastic as Flora's troublesome but sensitive son, and Jack Reynor does well in his small part as Flora's ex and Max's Dad. Most other characters are pretty incidental.

Overall the story and writing is subtle, but really well done. Production wise there probably wasn't a huge budget, but it works well for this nice understated story.

There's little not to like here. Overall a wonderful film.

Jones Plantation (2023)

Intense social/political commentary, but a flawed film

[25 September 2023]

This film may be the best social and political commentary I've seen in a long time. Covers any number of themes relevant to American history and I can see it being presented in social studies classes for years to come. It's well worth watching for that alone.

As a film, it tends to drag a bit. There's lots of long discussions and speeches to get to the social and political statements they wish to make. In general movies tend to work a bit better when they show things through storytelling than through long drawn out dialogs.

Acting performances are mixed. Some of them are great, others fall a bit short of the emotional impact needed to get the points across and some of the writing leaves some characters as cliches.

The other thing that I found bothersome was the soundtrack. A lot of it seems to be canned music that's just dropped in at odd points and doesn't blend well between parts. The music choices often seemed to not fit well with what's happening in the scene.

But again this is a pretty powerful film that's for the most part well presented.

This Place Rules (2022)

All the worst America has to offer

[3 January 2023]

Lots of interviews with drunk and drugged up people on both sides. It really exposes the worst of the US in every way. People who are so disconnected from reality that they have nothing to offer beyond fear and anger. People who openly claim to be Nazi's, fascists, religious zealots, and anarchists. It's frightening to see children raised in families like these that feed them non-sensical, truly unbelievable conspiracy theories from a young age.

The interviewer who intersperses a little commentary here and there, rarely asks any questions of the people he interviews. He just holds out a microphone and lets them spout whatever insane nonsense they want.

The first 2/3s of the film isn't even really focused on Jan 6th. It's just random mentally unbalanced people being interviewed on the streets during various protests with a few interviews with radical leaders like Alex Jones, who are mostly admittedly in it for the money. Unfortunately these leaders manipulated all these angry, ignorant and unbalanced people who don't know what to believe to take violent actions.

It's a truly sad portrayal of America when this is really just a small portion of the population.

Tales of the Walking Dead (2022)

Tough show to rate overall

[4 September 2022]

This is a tough show to give an overall rating to. Every episode is different characters, different actors, different writers, different directors. As such it's kind of a mixed bag. The first couple of episodes were cheesy and terrible. With episode three we got a good backstory for Alpha of the Skinwalkers. Unfortunately, slipped again with episode four, but episode five was probably the best one so far. Might change my rating/review in the long run, this is just based on what's there so far.

My recommendation is to look at the reviews for separate episodes and just watch the ones that are rated above a seven or so. My four rating is based on an average of two good episodes compared to three bad ones. There is some good stuff to see here, if you're a fan of the Walking Dead, which has had it's own ups and downs and Fear the Walking Dead, which did ok up until the addition of a second apocalypse, this time nuclear. That said, if you're interested in getting into the Walking Dead series', this is not a good place to start.

Elvis (2022)

Long on sensationalism. Short on facts

[11 August 2022]

The movie opens with a bunch of overly dramatic music which sets the tone for the film. You know what you're getting from the start. A lot over blown scenes with little to back it up.

That said, it's not a terrible film if you don't take it too seriously. Most of the acting is pretty good although there are definitely spots where it slips into over acting. Cinematography is mostly good although again there are some overly dramatic shots that don't really fit the tone of the moment.

Overall I gave it a six. There's little here you haven't seen before.

The Rehearsal (2022– )

Weird and pointless

[16 July 2022]

Not sure what this is, but billing it as a comedy doesn't really seem appropriate. Can't say I laughed at all during the first episode. It mostly just seemed weirdly uncomfortable to watch and by the end I got the impression the whole episode was probably scripted.

Not much to say beyond that without getting into spoilers so I'll leave it at that, but don't think I'll watch again. If it's not scripted it's a fairly unique concept, so gave it a couple stars based on that. If it is scripted, which is the impression I got, then I don't see the point at all.

West Side Story (2021)

Some good, some not so good makes it a middling remake

[25 February 2022]

Have to admit WSS was never a favorite musical of mine. The tough gang members snapping fingers and performing ballet moves on the streets of NY always seemed a bit silly from the get go. That said the songs are as wonderful as ever and the film is beautifully shot. The choreography is maybe even a step up from the original.

Most of the cast does well in their roles, but I found baby faced Ansel Elgort a little hard to buy as the street tough ex-con Tony. Vocally I was impressed at how well he did with some of the singing at first, but as things went on, he was a bit weak on some of the more difficult songs.

There are some changes to the original story. Updated for a slightly more modern take. Nothing outlandish though. It sticks pretty close to the original, which begs the question, why remake it? Although I guess even the musical itself is mostly a retelling of Romeo and Juliet anyway.

So worth a watch if you like the play and want to see a slightly different take on it with some better cinematography and choreography. Other than that it's an ok'ish version of the musical that I found slightly weaker than the 1961 version.

Dumbo (2019)

Burton needs to stop

[29 March 2019]

I think it's time for Tim Burton to stop. This remake has none of the charm of the original film. The first half hour maybe has occasional moments that appear as an homage to the original. There's a few scene's just remade in live action form and even a couple of what I guess could be considered very brief cameos by Mr. Stork and Timothy Q. Mouse, but those characters really play zero part in the film.

Beyond that first half hour it goes off the rails quickly and continues a downward spiral that has almost no relation to the original story, including caricatured antagonists and chase scenes. A cast that includes Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, and Danny Devito, turn in some of the worst performances of their careers. At least Johnny Depp doesn't make an appearance.

Like his remake of the Chocolate Factory, and just about every other Burton film it has to get creepy at some point. Unfortunately, it does so in what seems such a forced way and what's become such a cliche way in Burton films; and it doesn't even really fit the story line. Danny Elfman's over dramatic score, another predictable staple of Burton's films, doesn't help.

Some of Burton's early films, like "The Nightmare Before Christmas" were brilliant and groundbreaking. Unfortunately, like many of his characters, he's become a caricature of himself with no new ideas, just remaking old ideas in his own style which has become a caricature of itself.

I actually found myself yawning and drifting off during what should've been the climax of the film. But there was little there but a cliched story with a bit of Burton's weirdness thrown in.

If you're a fan of the original, skip this mess of a film and watch the original again. Or maybe watch the first half hour, but skip the rest. There's little you'll recognize from the classic Disney tale.

If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

It's good, but a bit shorter would've made it better

[27 January 2019]

It's a good film about a relationship that faces a very difficult situation. Like many true life stories of this type there is no real happy ending, just people moving forward however they can without any real choices they can take to make things better. Too many of their choices are being controlled by others. The police, the accuser, the lawyers.

The performances are excellent and it's well worth seeing for those, but many of the characters are underdeveloped. The film's biggest weak point is in the editing. There are long drawn out love scenes and scenes that show a minor detail, like Tish's mother deciding whether to wear a wig or not. While they may tell a little about the character and the black experience in America, too much time is spent on these small details and we never get a real impression of their overall character and motivations.

The dragged out moments will probably make this a film that will only appeal to a smaller audience so I think a shorter film may have made it easier to get the message across to more people. The message here is important and deserves to be heard by as many people as possible.

Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story (2019 TV Movie)

The most fictional bio I've ever seen

[20 January 2019]

Somehow Lifetime took a courageous, strong willed, highly intelligent journalist who risked her life going undercover to expose a broken mental health system ... and turned her into an amnesia victim with a contrived romance to her psychiatrist who needed another lover to swoop in at the last minute to rescue her. Nellie Bly is rolling over in her grave.

The only reason this isn't one star is that some of performers did a decent job in their roles. Pretty sure the writers and director never read Bly's book or any other bio that did any research at all on the subject. Maybe got their info from Wikipedia and made up the rest to turn this into an almost entirely fictional story.

Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

More CGI, less magic

[25 December 2018]

While it's not terrible, it really lacks the magic of the original. Emily Blunt is better than I would've expected in a role that Julie Andrews was really made for. Lin Manuel Miranda, while no Dick Van Dyke, is OK, but there really seems to be no need for this copycat character in this sequel. There's also this odd admiral character who just appears every once in a while to fire off a cannon nonsensically and Meryl Streep's cameo plays out like a bad Johnny Depp performance.

The evil bank's closing on the house trope is so old and overused it goes back to the beginnings of cinema. I can remember it from the old Laurel and Hardy March of the Wooden Soldiers film and it was probably used in silent films before that even. Surely someone at Disney could've come up with a more interesting plot to drop Mary Poppins into.

The songs are pleasant enough but not particularly memorable. Much of the film just seems to be a cheap imitation of the original rather than an actual sequel. From the dancing chimney sweepers to the dancing penguins we've seen it all before. It's just done bigger in an attempt to outdo the original without any creativity or even the simple magic that made the original so appealing to begin with. The dancing penguins are now joined by an entire menagerie of elephants, etc. and the chimney sweepers dance with bikes in a skate park and torches.

Unfortunately, other than a few cameo appearances at the end (almost worth seeing just for those) I found it pretty mediocre. More of a half hearted nostalgic tribute than anything else.

Till We Meet Again (2015)

Was this supposed to be a romance film?

[21 August 2017]

Watched this based on the high ratings and just don't get it.

A struggling couple of early thirty somethings travel separately. They fail to meet up where they planned and instead of being concerned about each other they both selfishly go off and sleep with other people. Then they selfishly discard the people they slept with. Their past relationship is shown through flashback memories and doesn't seem all that passionate, interesting, or romantic. I'm not sure why they were a couple to begin with.

It's fifteen minutes before the end of the film.

Do they get back together?

Do they decide to stay and explore their new relationships?

Do they go home alone?

I can't tell you, because I didn't bother to watch the ending. I just didn't care. Part of any good story is understanding the characters motivations. I had no idea what these characters wanted. It didn't seem like they had any idea either. Just several couples meandering through life with no commitment to anything or anyone, but not really having any fun either. Just an hour and a half of aimless wandering.

The Book of Life (2014)

Falls sadly short

[24 October 2014]

I really wanted to love this. The design and texturing of every character, scene and prop is absolutely gorgeous. In that aspect they really recreated Day of the Dead culture beautifully. The gags are sometimes funny, sometimes silly ... I can accept that in a movie made primarily of kids. The story is OK for the most part.

Where it really fell short for me was the soundtrack. There would suddenly be a pop song that totally takes you out of this entire cultural world they put so much effort into creating, to the degree that it's laughable. Not even a Mexican pop song, but some blatant American or English pop that either came across cheesy or completely ridiculous. Whoever chose to put Elvis or Radiohead in this film totally ruined it for me. There is certainly more appropriate Mexican music to support the mood of the film. Why recreate the look of an entire cultural event only to throw in something musically that so completely doesn't fit in the context of the mood, story or film? I don't get it

The Woman (I) (2011)

Mixed bag

[1 June 2011]

I don't write a lot of reviews but this film gained a lot of publicity after some guy at Sundance walked out (or got kicked out) for complaining about the violence and misogyny in it. He was probably right to walk out, but did so for all the wrong reasons. I didn't find the movie particularly violent for the horror genre. What it was lacking was better writing and character development. So adding the review to give people a better idea of what they were getting, since it's presently sitting at an 8.5 with no other reviews.

The mother and kids of the family and even "the woman" were fairly well acted and developed, although I find it hard to believe in any teenagers these days that will just do whatever their father says. Unfortunately, the father, teacher, and some other small parts seemed to be more caricature than character. The fact that it was not working was obvious, although how much of it can be blamed on bad writing, bad acting, or bad directing may be debatable. Unfortunately, the father is in almost every scene, so this caricature becomes the centerpiece that the rest of the film revolves around.

There are some other problems with sound choices and some of the worst use of music I've heard in any film. Almost every time one of these alt-pop tunes came on all I could think was "Really? They're using this to set the mood?!" I think only once during the course of the film, did a song come on that I thought "Oh, this almost, sort of works". Most of these songs would probably be fine on their own, but didn't seem to fit the mood of the film at all.

In addition occasional bad directing, lighting, and editing choices left me not being able to see or understand what was happening at certain points in the film or understanding why they edited the same shots cutting back and forth at times. This is most obvious in the opening scenes where they are showing the girl raised by wolves. It's a pretty common theme that's been done dozens of times before. Yet here they spend too much time on it, without actually developing it at all. Just a lot of jumpy cuts going back and forth to state the obvious, to the point that I started fast forwarding to get to the credits and see if the film was actually going anywhere. The credits really shouldn't be more interesting than the opening scenes. I would have much rather seen more development on the father's character and what his motivations were in these opening scenes. We never really get any of that, and as I said earlier, he's pivotal to the way every other character acts and reacts during the course of the film. Other than those complaints, the overall technical aspects of the film were pretty professional for an indie film.

The biggest problem for me though, was lack of any kind of suspense buildup. Something that is ever present in the best of horror films, and usually at least some hint of, even in a mediocre horror film. I was never really left wondering what was going to happen next, things just happened and we watched, but didn't feel much of anything for the characters involved.

I respect the director's decision to do something a bit out there in terms of film norms these days, and the ending might give you a bit of a chuckle, if you hang in there that long, but in the end found it to be a rather low end mediocre movie, so 5 out of 10.

Intimidad (I) (2008)

Simple Story, beautifully told...

[31 May 2010]

I'm not one to write reviews and I know people see a ten rating and think I'm probably a friend of the filmmaker, but I don't actually know anyone involved with this film. I gave it a ten because I couldn't really come up with anything that could've been done better here.

The film is a documentary that follows a young Mexican couple as they try to raise the money to afford some land and a home for their daughter. It is not an immigration story like so many other films recently that cover that topic. The couple remains in Mexico but needs to leave their daughter behind and move to a city closer to the border. There they can work in American factories (owned by companies like Victoria's Secret) that pay them far below minimum wage, which is still much more than they can earn in their home town where there are few jobs.

The young mother, Cecy, struggles with feelings of leaving her daughter behind and eventually the young man, Camillo, must struggle with feelings of leaving both his wife and daughter behind when she decides to stay back to help her ailing father. They suffer through a hurricane that floods their small rental home and use candles and leftover wood.

I won't give away how it ends, but to see a family go through so much and feel so grateful for so little really makes you realize how fortunate most of us in the US have it and how much we take for granted.

It's a documentary, but one with a narrative. You really want this couple to succeed. They are hard working people who care about their families, and just want a better life. Considering it was filmed in remote areas of Mexico I didn't notice much in the way of technological problems with sound and lighting you might expect. Even when it's not Hollywood blockbuster quality. it doesn't distract from the story in any way.

My compliments to everyone involved in the film. It's really beautiful, and I can't recommend it highly enough. Thanks for giving me something wonderful to watch that isn't a remake or halfhearted sequel. Well done.

Last Stop for Paul (2006)

Fun and a pleasant surprise.

[13 February 2009]

This movie is fun and uplifting. For a movie on a limited indie budget it's really well done. Yeah, there are likely to be no Oscar winning performances here, but there were very few times when I didn't believe a line either. The story is a bit meandering and includes a lot of people they meet along the way interjecting their own travel stories, but mostly that only adds to the freshness and authenticity of the film. You can really feel like you're there (or have been somewhere like it) most of the time, running into all these offbeat characters. Well worth seeing if you can take a break from all the Hollywood Blockbusters. Personally, I like smaller films and will look forward to seeing more from the Mandt Brothers.