bmco-247-721025 Reviews

Rodeo (I) (2022)

OK, but not particularly compelling

[6/10 · 2 May 2023]

I stumbled across this movie while on a recent foreign/independent film craze. As the storyline suggests, it concerns a woman whose sole obsession involves getting her hands on and riding dirt bikes by any means possible. The woman and lead is apparently played by a non-professional actor and I feel she does a very credible job at portraying the role of a social misfit who has no job or other source of income and has to resort to stealing dirt bikes to satisfy her only interest. Although she is described as being young in the storyline, she's definitely not a teenager and judging by appearance possibly in her mid to late 20s. It's also evident that she is not an accomplished stunt rider.

Early on, she happens upon an illicit street bike rodeo and tries with some difficulty to ingratiate herself with one group of guys participating in the rodeo. As she slowly gains some acceptance from most, but not all of the group, you learn that they make an illicit living by reselling bikes with stolen parts out of a garage owned by their leader who happens to be in prison.

A 6 rating might be a little generous from my perspective, but I did watch the film all the way through and found the story interesting that I didn't feel I had wasted my time. I would hesitate to recommend this film though, unless the viewer has a particular interest the culture associated with young men trying to make a living with their dirt bikes.

The stunt riding looked pretty basic from my perspective and does not occur throughout the film. It was also difficult to comprehend how the final scene could physically happen the way it was shown, but it didn't necessarily spoil the rest of the story and was possibly intended as a symbolic conclusion to the tale.

The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile (2022)

Interesting Story even for those that don't listen to Country

[7/10 · 24 March 2023]

This film was playing at our art house cinema and while I can appreciate most forms of music, I was aware of Tanya Tucker but knew little else about her life and career.

For the most part, the film focusses on Brandi Carlile's adoration of Tanya Tucker's work and her efforts to bring Tanya back to into the limelight for the appreciate of her original fans and to gain the recognition she feels is warranted for a true country music icon. Brandi Carlile, a gifted musician in her own right, opens the film with her initial efforts to contact Tanya and convince her to produce a new country album. Most of the film focusses on her working with a somewhat hesitant Tanya on the new album with occasional glimpses back into Tanya's budding career when she started singing at venues like country fairs in her early teens.

While the bulk of the film focusses on the production of a new country album, it does go on to include the effort required to bring Tanya back for a live performance and without giving away any spoilers, the national recognition achieved for Brandi and Tanya's effort.

While the film does hint at the reasons for Tanya's 15 year hiatus from the country music scene, I feel the one criticism would be that it didn't explore that aspect of her life very much leaving viewers to possibly question the circumstances that led to her dropping out of the music scene.

Overall, I think it is a worthwhile & interesting watch to learn more about another music legend who came from such a poor background and became wildly successful at such an early age.

Murder in Big Horn (2023)

Many questions, but sadly no answers

[5/10 · 14 February 2023]

Having recently moved "out West," I became aware of this disturbing phenomena and hoped this documentary would shed some light on why this was occurring. Unfortunately, after watching all 3 episodes, I'm no wiser than I was before - hence the average rating.

The documentary primarily focusses on several recent instances where very young indigenous women had suddenly disappeared and who are later discovered with no clear explanation given for their tragic deaths. The bulk of the discussion following these incidents is given to pure speculation from concerned family members and other interested parties over what might have happened with little factual information to support those theories.

This documentary does highlight a seemingly credible outlook suggesting that the various law enforcement agencies responsible for investigating these deaths do very little or may even be somewhat obstructive in trying to get answers, however, very little input is provided from any of those sources making this view seem a little one sided.

Frustratingly, obvious questions about the circumstances surrounding each case are never posed until the very end of the documentary when a journalist makes halfhearted attempt to find out who one of the girls was with on the night of her disappearance. Yet, even this attempt is ultimately unsuccessful leaving viewers with too many unanswered questions.

There's plenty of background information and justifiable finger pointing about the plight of native life on the reservations and the circumstances leading to the poor quality of life, but nothing that I believe most people aren't already aware of and nothing concrete that really explains why indigenous women are being targeted and by whom.

Candy Land (2022)

I watched it on fast forward ....that's how bad it is.

[1/10 · 25 January 2023]

I was hoping for a somewhat gritty true to life film like "The Florida Project" - boy I couldn't have been more mistaken. The limited number of reviews (eight when I watched this) giving this film high marks should be the first clue that those reviews are planted to generate an overall rating that is deceptively higher than is warranted. That's if you even consider a 5ish rating to be good?

The poster/advert and synopsis is written to take the viewer in, but if you bother to watch even the first few minutes, you'll see this is nothing more than a "B" grade production (or less) with nothing to offer except a predictable script with at best mediocre acting by unappealing actors that ultimately veers towards a violent sexploitation film. And to be honest if that's what you're after there are certainly better choices than this one.

Nice View (2022)

Slightly Above Average

[6/10 · 24 November 2022]

It's a theme that has been repeated many times - an individual struggling against seeming insurmountable odds to come to the aid of a loved one. In this case, it's a young cell phone repairman needing to raise money to provide a critical operation for his younger sister.

The brother takes a gamble with his small business and what limited resources he has to purchase a large shipment of defective cell phones intending to refurbish them and resell them at a profit. When Chinese law is suddenly changed to outlaw the sale of refurbished products, he goes further out on a limb financially to strike up a deal with the original cell phone manufacturer to repair the cell phones so that they can be sold as new inventory. While the script will be familiar to most, showing how the struggle could play out in Chinese culture made it just interesting enough to stick with it to the end.

The storyline is very predictable and while the actors representing the main characters are generally portrayed realistically, some of the supporting actors tend to overplay their parts lending a slightly amateurish feel at times. Not a great film, but if you like international settings, it could be worth your while.

Tug of War (2021)

Worth Watching

[6/10 · 14 October 2022]

Set in 1950s Zanzibar and based on the award-winning Swahili novel by Adam Shafi, Tug of War brings to life a little-known slice of history about the underground movement to win independence for Zanzibar, which was under British rule. Denge, a young Mswahili revolutionary leader trained in the Soviet Union, distributes "Free Zanzibar" pamphlets and recruits people to the cause. One of his recruits is Yasmin, a young Indian-Zanzibari woman who has run away from an arranged marriage, and whose Indian heritage places her in the privileged upper classes of society.

This was more a simple love story and less focused on the details of the political strife that was the basis of for the story. I felt the pacing was a little slow at times, even more so than usual for an independent film. Still, I found the cultural aspects and the principle characters interesting enough to overcome some of the more tedious stretches in the film.

6 stars in my personal rating guide translates to "not riveting, but a worthwhile watch."

We Go On (2016)

Should Get an Oscar for Awful Acting

[4/10 · 23 September 2022]

Ok, sadly I did sit through the entire film and there is a bit of a story here, but from my perspective, any feature garnering less than a 5 out of 10 rating is generally not worth watching and as my 4 rating would suggest, I can't recommend giving up 90 minutes of your time to watch this film.

I am utterly convinced the 8 - 10 ratings were planted to get more viewers - easy enough to do considering this film was produced in LA. As a few other reviews do honestly point out it is a low-budget production and while that's not necessarily a given that a film will be unwatchable, the poor quality of this film was apparent in the first 10 minutes and things don't improve from there.

What makes this film so difficult to watch is the subpar acting style, particularly by the lead characters, Miles and his mother. I don't know how to describe it other than to say it came across as painfully amateurish and unnatural. The story was mildly entertaining but somewhat predictable and nothing that hasn't been done previously.

Somos. (2021)

Accurate Portrayal of Zeta Cartel's Savage Massacre

[7/10 · 13 July 2021]

This series portrays the events leading up to the Zeta Cartel's over the top revenge killings in the Mexican border town of Allende, Mexico in March of 2011. The first several episodes set the stage for the events and some of the people that were involved and affected by those events.

With no prior knowledge of this tragedy, I was curious if possibly some of the scenes were sensationalized for dramatic effect. However, after I read the detailed ProPublica article which is easily found online, it includes, witness accounts, confessions, phone transcripts, etc. So that you quickly realize it is a very accurate telling of events.

The series held my interest from the beginning. Some reviews found the pacing a little slow until the final episode, but for me it was interesting getting a sense for the culture in a small Mexican border town and necessary for the audience to become invested in the people that were affected by these events. I felt the acting was convincing and really helped make the characters believable and interesting. Definitely a worthwhile watch in my book and a 7 rating equals "very good" in my view of how ratings should work.

The Little Things (2021)

"True Detective" Atmosphere

[7/10 · 31 January 2021]

Viewers that liked the dark atmospheric "True Detective" HBO mini-series, will probably enjoy the similar feel this film provides. That said, I would rate most of the True Detective mini-series a little higher for realism, where some aspects of The Little Things seemed to strain credibility a bit, but nothing so overt as to take away from making this a worthwhile watch.

Some, maybe most viewers anticipate a more traditional conclusion to the film which undoubtedly accounts for some of the lower ratings, yet there's a good story here and the acting all around struck me as very good and for that I would recommend this film to others.

The Devils (1971)

Impact Doesn't Hold Up for 2021 Audiences

[3/10 · 22 January 2021]

I saw this film at our university when it was released in 1971 and could remember that it left a lasting impression on me, and after 40 years had a desire to watch it again. It's not widely available, however there are a few DVD copies floating around on eBay, some with the scenes that were considered too controversial in 1971 to be included with the original release.

Sadly, most of what this film has going for it is shock value and sequences that were certainly considered outrageous for movie audiences in the 70s. The historical religious themes may be accurate to a degree, however they are portrayed in such an outlandish way as to leave you with the impression that this was more of an art film exercise as opposed to a film with an interesting story to tell.

The acting in most cases is grossly exaggerated with lots of yelling and screaming and at times you just want it to stop. Oliver Reed does a credible job as Father Grandier, however most of the other characters were not plausible portrayals and I simply found them annoying.

Although notoriously shocking and controversial for the 70s, those characteristics do not make this film "good cinema" and that is particularly so today. I wasn't shocked watching this film again, however I was not entertained either and having watched it all the way through can't award it more than 3 stars.

Share (I) (2019)

Should be shown in every High School

[8/10 · 30 July 2019]

I'm usually more critical of film than my contemporaries, so was surprised to see so many low grades for this film. Early on, I considered giving up this film because it starts slow and it seemed a little repetitive of a subject that I felt had been covered before. The subject matter surrounds a disturbing brief cell phone video of high school girl that had passed out at a party. The video in this film is not overly explicit, but it is clear there are some unsettling sexual aspects experienced by the lead character and as the story develops it becomes clear to the viewer that impact of having this widely "shared" on social media is going to have lasting impact for many, not just the victim.

I did not see the focus of this movie so much as a "Me Too" film, but more emphasis possibly about how technology (i.e. the damaging impact of irresponsible social media) can impact an entire community. There's no question that what happens to this young girl is reprehensible and offers a morality lesson in it's own right. The very realistically portrayed impact the video has on the victim's parents, friends, the accused, however, sends a very strong message for anyone living in an age where sharing everything on social media is too often second nature.

The Devil We Know (2018)

Shocking!!! - Former DuPont Employee

[7/10 · 15 February 2019]

First - the documentary. I thought the evidence was damning and generally well presented. It leaves little room for doubt about the harmful effects PFOA and the misguided attempts at damage control by DuPont. The documentary reminds everyone that watches it that the impact of this chemical is global and virtually everyone is impacted, although to what extent is unclear.

Although I consider a 7 star review "very good," I felt balance of time was weighted a little too heavily on a few individuals that were (or may have been) affected by PFOA vs. what took place in the courts. It seemed clear that the producers had access to a fair amount of company documentation and some very telling interviews with company spokesmen as well as attorneys for the plaintiffs and it was those sequences that had the biggest impact for me.

As a retired Mech. Engr. for DuPont, I can honestly say I have never encountered any circumstances where I saw or was asked to do anything morally or legally wrong. I was the project lead on a multi-million dollar solvent capture project, and I can say that our internal Environmental Dept. Representatives were often more trying to deal with on regulatory requirements than the local EPA representatives. That's not to say I dispute the message in this documentary. It's clear some company officials made some very misguided decisions in an effort to limit the financial impact to the corporation.

Touch (VI) (2014)

Intriguing, but Implausible.

[4/10 · 4 February 2019]

The previews and reviews for this film had me expecting a thriller with a woman and her young daughter on the run from someone. Indeed, the film starts out in that fashion, however as the story evolves you realize the mystery is more complex and this film is not your traditional chase movie.

The backstory isn't really explained in detail until nearly the last 20 minutes of the film, but perplexing inconsistencies in some of the story sequences will lead most viewers to start piecing together the dark interaction between Dawn and her daughter. Having figured this out, the director keeps you hooked by keeping the reason for Dawn's flight hidden from viewers until nearly the very end.

In one sense this is a compelling enough reason to watch the film through to the end, which is obviously what the director intended. The disappointment though, is that in many instances I found the behavior exhibited by various characters including Dawn to be unrealistic. In just one example, Dawn has a sexual episode that given all of the circumstances, struck me as totally improbable. This use of artistic license may appeal to some, but if at the end of the day you are sitting there thinking, "well that would never happen," then it spoils the story at least for me.

A Murder in Mansfield (2017)

Not "Making a Murderer"

[3/10 · 6 December 2018]

This film caught my eye having lived in a community adjacent to Mansfield and also having gotten caught up in other series like "Making a Murderer," that for me were fascinating exposés of our legal system. This film is not in that category, but more of a trip down memory lane for the young boy, Collier, 20+ years after his mother was murdered.

I stopped watching about 30 minutes into the documentary because it failed to indicate there were any curious aspects of the actual crime or legal trial. Rather the focus was on Collier both as a 12 year old when his mother was murdered (through video testimony at trial) and as an adult trying to reconnect with various adults involved in his and his mothers social sphere before and after the murder.

The only aspect that I found remotely interesting was that 12 year old Collier was unusually very adult like as a 12 year old, possibly due to his somewhat unique relationship with his mother and what were clearly unusual circumstances growing up in that household. That said, it was not enough to hold my interest and I didn't get the sense there would be any surprising developments as the story progressed, so I felt no compulsion to go further.

The Clovehitch Killer (2018)

Not Believable, Not Tense, Not Interesting Characters

[4/10 · 25 November 2018]

I did watch this all the way through, so it merits at least a 4, possibly 5 rating. The concept was intriguing, but the execution was clumsy in that the main character, young Tyler, did not behave in a way that I felt was credible. For instance, he took unnecessary risks snooping around when he might be discovered instead of waiting until there was no possibility of being found out - who would do that? Also, for someone clever enough to figure out who the Clovehitch Killer was, he made some incredibly dumb decisions, but I'll refrain from saying more to avoid any spoilers. There were just too many instances of "no people don't behave that way," for me to really recommend this film.

On a final note - those of you rating films like this a 10 - think about what that means. A 10 suggests this could be a candidate for an Academy Award. IMDB needs to provide some rating guidance - the only award this movie deserves is a Razzie.

Small Town Crime (2017)

If Small Town Crime is a 10 then, the Godfather or Taxi Driver must be a 20!

[3/10 · 1 May 2018]

I'll admit, John Hawkes character was somewhat entertaining, however, his overnight transition from a self described falling down drunk to a the individual that was going to put a violent misdeed right was simply not believable.

The story line is not original and generally predictable throughout. John Hawkes is an alcoholic ex cop who finds a young woman who has been brutalized and left for dead and decides to immerse himself in solving the crime..... sound familiar? The "down-on-your-luck" character presented as a potential savior is a cheap hook to draw people in and admittedly, this theme and the implausibly high ratings from others convinced me to give it a try. What spoiled it for me in the end was a plot that lacked authenticity and simply became less plausible as the story progressed.

There's plenty of violent action and as stated previously, most people enjoy seeing characters rise up to confront evil which may be enough for some, however, this story just didn't have enough substance to be very satisfying.

I also have to wonder at the ratings for this movie. If you are rating a movie a "10" or even a "9," to me you're saying that was one of the best movies you've ever seen... probably should be nominated for an Oscar or Golden Globe. This phenomenon occurs much too frequently on IMDb. This film is not Oscar caliber - it's mediocre at best.

The Passing (2015)

An Award Winner?

[3/10 · 4 March 2018]

The opening scene sets the tone for the entire film, i.e. dark, brooding, virtually no dialog and painfully slow moving. The positive reviews and award nominations convinced me this would be worth watching, however, I found the actions of the characters to be implausible throughout the film making it difficult for me to become immersed in the story.

Still, the cinematography was somewhat captivating, so I hung in there for the big reveal at the end, but once again was disappointed to find nothing particularly clever about the troubling past of the three characters as it was gradually revealed to the audience. I suppose, learning the back story of each character will be interesting for some viewers, but anything less than 5 stars from my perspective suggests my time could have been spent watching something more worthwhile.

Hollow in the Land (2017)

Capable Acting = Above Average Drama

[6/10 · 10 December 2017]

I thought this was an above average film made more interesting by the capable acting of Dianna Argon as the lead character, Alison Miller. Throughout the story, Alison has to deal with a lot of disrespect from others in this blue collar environment largely due to the relationship between her father's crime and the local community, but also because of her younger brother's unruliness and general bias from Alison's being a lesbian. This all conspires to make her struggle to find her brother and hopefully prove his innocence more challenging and thereby interesting.

As the story develops, you learn there is a fair amount of interplay between the various people in the background and it can be a little confusing if you're not paying attention to the various character's names. If you do loose track as I did, it still manages to come together in the end. All said, in my view, a worthwhile watch.

Bullet Head (2017)

What were Brody and Malkovich thinking?

[4/10 · 9 December 2017]

A somewhat novel story, but completely lacked any credibility and once the stage is set, becomes very predictable. The trailers would have you thinking it is a non-stop thrill ride, but that is not the case as there are several scenes & flash backs that just seem to drag on.

The ending sequence stretched out way too long to the point, you just wanted it to be over. I did watch it all the way through, so maybe 4 stars. Hard to believe Adrien Brody & Malkovich were conned into doing this film. Such a waste of talent.

Radius (2017)

Ruined by the ending

[5/10 · 15 November 2017]

The concept behind Radius was just a little too implausible for me to have high hopes for this movie, but the trailers and positive reviews convinced me to give it a try. With both of the main characters suffering memory loss, I was pleasantly surprised to find the gradual undoing of the mystery entertaining and logical.... until the final 20 minutes. I can't say more without spoiling the movie, and to be fair I didn't feel like I completely wasted my time watching it.... BUT it could have been so much better than a 5 if the script had stuck to the original premise.

As some of the other reviews suggest, some will view the ending as a clever plot twist, however, from my perspective it was a second-rate Hollywood cliché.

Mayhem (2017)

Better than I expected.

[6/10 · 14 November 2017]

This is a movie that doesn't take itself seriously and neither should the viewer. With that in mind, I found Mayhem to be very entertaining. Steven Yeun (a "Walking Dead" regular) and Samara Weaving personalities were both fun to watch and provided good laughs at the right moments without trying to be too cute. This film has lots of violence and blood which I suppose could be off-putting for some, but not coupled with a lot of unnecessary special effects gore, so I didn't find any of the scenes squeamish. All said, I felt Mayhem provided an hour and a half of solid entertainment and would recommend it as an above average watch.

The Ghoul (2016)

More Planted Glowing Ratings on IMDb

[1/10 · 4 October 2017]

Researching this film before watching it, unfortunately convinced me it would be worthwhile, however, it's clear now that I was taken in by IMDb reviews that were planted to give the movie an overall favorable rating. My instinct after the first 15 minutes was to turn it off, but I gave it the benefit of the doubt since many British independent films do tend to start slow and build to a thoughtful and meaningful result.

Without giving anything away, do yourself a favor and look up the definition for a Mobius strip and then imagine a very abstract story revolving around that meaning with a multitude of loose ends that are never explained and you'll have saved yourself nearly an hour and a half of boredom and frustration.

Bushwick (2017)

Entertaining "B - Guilty Pleasure" Film

[6/10 · 27 August 2017]

Clearly a "B" film not meant to be taken seriously but yet, still manages to be entertaining. The action sequences and battle effects are better than I would have expected for a film with limited funding. There are quite a few nonsensical plot sequences, but towards the last half the writers try to inject a little logic to make sense out of what is happening while the two main characters gradually travel through multiple life threatening moments in their effort to reach family and ultimately safety. If you're up for a different "guilty pleasure" watch, then I can recommend watching Bushwick.

Rememory (2017)

Science Fiction - Not....

[6/10 · 25 August 2017]

Less a science fiction film and more of a murder mystery revolving around who killed the scientist, Gordon Dunn. The acting was good, however, sometimes the story dragged a bit and probably could have been shortened vs. for instance, repeatedly rehashing some of the memories played back on the revolutionary play back device.

There is nothing flashy or remotely interesting when it comes to the actual memory device. It's simply a means for allowing the story to gradually reveal the secret around how the inventor's life ended. At times it seemed the story was striving for some emotional depth, however, I didn't find the theme that compelling. In the end, I didn't feel that I wasted my time watching Rememory and think on average, most people will find it entertaining, but not particularly memorable :)

The Transfiguration (2016)

Painfully Slow and "Un-engaging."

[3/10 · 16 August 2017]

I enjoy Independent films, however the pacing for this particular film was excruciatingly slow and the main character so deadpan and without emotion that at times I felt the need to fast forward in order to get on with the next segment. The soundtrack used during the so called "tense scenes" really had a 50s B movie quality to it, adding to the impression that it was a low budget exercise. No real punch line or moral with the ending and while I did watch it all the way through, the story didn't have any depth to it, the characters were uninteresting and I simply can't recommend it.