searchersd Reviews

The Fabric of Christmas (2023 TV Movie)

Fabulous quilts, real romance

[8/10 · 2 February 2024]

Ferelith Young puts a lot more substance into her acting here than what you'd expect, considering that this appears to be just one more Christmas romance movie where boy gets girl, or girl gets boy. In fact, without her, it definitely would be just another one to sit through, because that's what you do at this time of the year. However, she makes this movie.

The story is also a bit different. A creative quilt artist meets a fireman who is more concerned with the outdated fire extinguishers in the community center where she creates. Opposites can attract.

Although low-budget, I can find no fault with the expertise of everything else. I'd probably watch this one again next year.

Titanic II (2010 Video)

Shaking my head....

[2/10 · 28 December 2023]

They even had Hayden die, just like Jack in Titanic "I"?

Unforgivable. Ruined the whole movie. I would have given it a much higher rating, despite all this movie's horrendous shortcomings. The lovers should have gone on and lived happily ever after. But I guess they really wanted movie number II to have the same sad ending as the original. Even worse, it looked like she was the sole Titanic survivor this time around. And what a disjointed ending. They're in the raft. Now roll those credits. Did they ever find any other survivors? Did they all die in those submarine lifeboats? Who knows?

Not going to go into the mediocrity of the rest- the screenplay, the CGI, the acting.... Puzzled why the few otherwise talented actors allowed themselves to participate in this.

So, it could have been a fun B movie. The ending sank it down to a D.

All Is Bright (2013)

If you're looking for a happy Christmas movie...

[9/10 · 23 December 2023]

This isn't it. You could remove Christmas altogether, they could be selling something other than Christmas trees, and the main storyline would be the same. It could even have the same ending.

The movie is really about relationships, about human nature. It delves into the question of whether people can change their nature. Can a bad person become a good one. Can one sacrifice one's own happiness in order to insure the happiness of others.

Excellent, award-worthy acting by the main three. Excellent everything else, as well.

It's a shame that this movie has been pushed into the seasonal Christmas pile. It's so much more than that.

A Christmas Carol (2020)

Nice, if it's your cup of tea

[4/10 · 20 December 2023]

Personally, I forced myself to watch, or should I say, experience this retelling of Dickens' A Christmas Carol. None of the actors speak. They just dance. In opera, the story is sung by the players. Here, the players are mute, their roles conveyed through their very expressive movements - via contemporary dance - their "voices" coming from "behind the curtain" when needed, together with that of the narrator who controls this retelling.

Actually, this production would have been better on a stage. It would have made more sense, and would have had a more appreciative audience. As a movie, it soon became boring. One already knows the story so no need to hang on to find out what happens in the end.

I do like contemporary dance. I love the way it can convey emotion. However, those who want to experience this at its best, should look elsewhere. And choose one or more of the other A Christmas Carol movies to soothe that seasonal itch.

I Woke Up a Vampire (2023– )

It's a Kiddie Show, People

[7/10 · 9 November 2023]

Seems like there are quite a few complaints here about this series, probably by adults who've forgotten that it was designed to be viewed by children. My 9 year old grandson enjoyed it and never complained once about the acting or anything else. I watched along with him and the only thing I didn't like was that the second series isn't there to find out what happens next.

Acting-wise I think all did the best they could with what they had to work with, and the story does hold your interest. Granted, it's a grade B production overall, but the idea here was to make a series with likable vampires, werewolves, etc., where "bad" people actually turn out to be good. Where your assumed enemies are later transformed into friends. Lots of good lessons to learn here.

Skymed (2022– )

It's a soap opera - enjoy!

[8/10 · 8 May 2023]

This show is just soap opera caliber, but as a soap opera it's keeping me interested and eager for the next installment so I gave it an 8. Yes, lots of different races acting in this and aside from the expected medical plots, the problems of social and workplace acceptance encountered by minorities and the past and present treatment of Canada's indigenous are also well-covered.

Most of the actors do a commendable job, the storyline flows well and there is enough excitement to keep one glued to the screen although some of the medical scenes often take second place to the interrelationships and sexual encounters of the characters. And there seems to be a great deal of these.

On the whole, there's still something about this that keeps me viewing. It's different, the locale is different, it portrays how the indigenous live, and, I just like soap operas. However, I doubt that this will go on to Series 2.

Kingdom of the Spiders (1977)

William Shatner was in THIS?

[5/10 · 29 March 2023]

Never saw this back in the day, but decided to watch this B movie only because I heard that "Captain Kirk" - William Shatner - was in it. I couldn't believe it. Mr. Shatner choosing to star in this "thriller". His career has been studded with many great performances but this, unfortunately, isn't one of them, although he seemed to have tried. Then again, this would probably have been a C movie without him.

Woody Strode, Lieux Dressler and Altovise Davis also managed to entertain despite what was given them. Others fell short, including Mr. Shatner's wife, Marcy Lafferty.

The storyline, the continuity, the direction, everything leaves much to be desired. But, it's a B movie so we can't really expect too much.

I felt sorry for the thousands of tarantulas that had to be used (and squashed) back then, before the use of special effects. And much credit has to be given to the actors who allowed these creatures to crawl all over them, the sets, etc., despite their being harmless.

The ending leaves us hanging. What happens to the characters? Do they finally become a meal for the spiders or do they escape? Very unsatisfying. Oh well.

Battleship (2012)

Becoming a classic action/sci fi movie

[9/10 · 30 January 2023]

I just had to watch this movie again for maybe the fifth time since it came out. It's fun, it's exciting, and it even has a hot looking action hero in it - Taylor Kitsch.

With our world the way it is currently, this movie allows us to escape into a different one where the good guys, our US navy, battle the bad guys, alien invaders from another planet and we win!

We also see a man who can't get his act together, who is held back by his fears, finally take control of his life and in so doing, saves the world. And there is also romance thrown into the mix.

The main actors do a good job. Also participating are actual servicemen, all working to create a realistic picture of our navy in action.

Being that this is a movie I like returning to, although it's not top of the line perfection, I gave it a 9. Not for its excellence - just for its enjoyability.

Partner Track (2022)

It's an OK show

[6/10 · 27 January 2023]

Good enough for a season 2 renewal? Probably not. The initial idea was a great one. The follow through killed it, though. Especially bad was episode 1 - I was ready to call it quits right then but another reviewer here said to go on to episode 2 - it would get better. It did. It improved from really bad to mediocre. Subsequent episodes continued to improve but not enough.

I wasn't especially impressed with Arden Cho. Not enough spark there. I hadn't seen Dominic Sherwood since the Shadowhunters series where he spoke with an American accent and did a commendable job. Here he spoke with an accent sounding like a combo of South African and "proper" English together but with a little bit of American in there as well, even though his character (and Sherwood himself) hails from England. Aside from my being jarred whenever he spoke his lines, his acting, in my opinion, was faultless.

It seemed like the characters had so much to say - to cram so much within the span of an episode, especially noticeable in episode 1, that many of their lines were rattled off, often one character speaking the moment another finished. I think I missed half of what they were saying, but I think I got the gist of it.

The legal action was interesting. Not that I am familiar with the goings on in a law practice, but that part seemed believable and well presented.

As far as race and sexual identity, the show throws in some lessons for us here. Necessary? Maybe, but we're really here to enjoy watching a show where all races and creeds work well together as equals, not to be educated about the prevalence of bias and hatred. We know. We see enough of it in real life.

So, Partner Track is similar to the usual Hallmark romance but it's geared more to an audience with an interest in the workings of the legal profession, in this instance corporate law.

I'm up to episode 5. I'll keep watching until the end.

Wildcat (2022)

It's about ocelots - no, mental illness - no, actually both

[8/10 · 22 January 2023]

One would expect that a documentary entitled Wildcat would be about wild cats. This one, however, is way more about a young man, broken from his experience as a British soldier In Afghanistan, who expects to solve his problems by hiding himself away in the Peruvian jungle. He finds a wild animal rehabilitator to assist who also has her own emotional codependency problem. While trying to help some baby ocelots return to the wild, they both finally conclude that they are unable to help themselves.

There's beautiful scenery, jungle flora and fauna and two amazingly beautiful ocelots where we see some of their progression over many months, where they are taught to kill their own food and other skills which will enable them to return to a jungle existence.

But we also see Harry getting much to close emotionally to his ocelots which he believes will help him to become more stable, even though he understands that one day he has to let them go.

So, we do not learn that much about ocelot rehabilitation from this documentary as it seems to predominantly showcase PTSD, depression and codependency. Viewing this documentary made us feel sad about the two individuals but we were actually more interested in seeing and learning about those stunning ocelots and about the other rehabilitation work done by this organization.

One interesting suggestion by someone who has never done this: I would be releasing the animal at least ten miles away from my compound when it's deemed ready to return to the wild, so there would be much less of a chance that it would return right back to me again!

Jurassic World Dominion (2022)

Too much, too long

[5/10 · 8 January 2023]

Just finished streaming this movie. What a mess. There was too much going on. Too many plots. Too many action scenes. Not enough character development. Choppy editing - I guess the original movie was even longer so they had to snip out a lot, which unfortunately cut down enormously from its continuity.

Not as exciting as it could have been - when confronted by a dinosaur, you knew that the characters were going to stand still, then hide, then there would be a dinosaur fight, the characters would escape, and then the whole thing would repeat in the very next scene.

I was also amazed that Owen was able to rope a large running dinosaur while on horseback, with no regard for the impossible difference in size/weight and we are supposed to believe this.

For me, the best part of the movie was at the end, when Owen returns Blue's baby, and Blue acknowledges this giving Owen a humanlike expression, being unable to verbalize her thanks. Finally, one scene in the movie evoking some feeling.

They tried to wrap up all the storylines from the previous movies but it just didn't work. Too many vegetables for the amount of liquid in this soup.

Menorah in the Middle (2022)

Oy vey.

[3/10 · 15 December 2022]

Not really a B movie. I would say it's a C movie. Poor writing, a disjointed presentation, and a mostly misguided attempt to stuff in as many Jewishisms as possible but without any real "tam" behind them (look up that word!) However, you could tell the actors still really tried to make a go of it, despite the weird casting of a bulked up giant as the fiancé of Ms. DeVito, that picture alone constantly interfering with my ability to follow the storyline. I mean, what a mismatch.

It's so nice to have a Hanukkah movie or two to watch amongst the hundreds of Christmas movies available at this time of year. Just not this one.

Wednesday (2022– )

Truly enjoyable

[10/10 · 12 December 2022]

Being an Addams Family fan ever since the first TV series, I had to see what this latest attempt has done with the Addams' daughter, Wednesday. So happy I did. This interpretation of her is going to stick in my mind for a long time - played so masterfully by Jenna. Jenna will always be Wednesday to me, just as Johnny Depp is Edward Scissorhands.

Yes, there are themes reminiscent of Harry Potter, but the same can be said of quite a few films and series ever since. So what. We still seem to be enjoying them.

Loved the mystery, the fast-paced action, the fantasy. Excellent acting by all plus pretty good special effects. Not for young children, but highly recommended for everyone else.

Megan Leavey (2017)

A story that needs to be told, yet again

[10/10 · 26 November 2022]

This movie has some similarity to Dog, which also tells the story of a dog and it's handler, the handler this time being a female marine who joins up to escape her problems, and her not so trainable canine bomb sniffing associate. I think this film does a better job of it than Dog does.

Kate Mara does a very believable job in the role of Megan, as does the rest of the cast. The canine star playing Rex also knows his stuff. The only fault I noticed there was his lack of affection for Kate - never any of the usual doggy exuberance you'd see from a normal dog when meeting up with his human after a long time apart. He eagerly runs across the field to her, but no tail wagging and doggy kisses when he reaches her. Instead he seems to be looking at his trainer off camera. Oh well. I got the picture anyway.

Despite this, the movie does an excellent job telling us about our heroes, both human and canine, and that we should be doing a great deal more to reward them after they come back from duty. Putting service dogs to sleep when they've outlived their usefulness should not ever be considered their reward.

Christmas with You (2022)

Loved it!

[8/10 · 26 November 2022]

Such a sweet movie! So surprised at the low rating! Freddie and Aimee couldn't have been better in their roles, so believable together that I suspect they might have had something going off the set as well. The grandma, the daughter, everyone was at the top of their form. Yes, it's a Christmas romcom, but the fact that it's an ethnic romcom makes it different and so interesting, seeing all the different family and holiday customs, the quinceanera....

And it delves into the life of an aging pop star who continues to set aside love, family and a normal life in order to maintain the trappings of stardom. Her competition gets younger every year and she fears that she won't be able to keep herself as well as her music relevant in a more youthful market.

This movie kept me glued to the screen. I laughed, I cried, and I was very happy with the ending. Definitely better than your average Christmas movie. Better than your average romcom.

Karen Pirie (2022– )

What is the matter with the audio? Then once more with subtitles

[8/10 · 2 November 2022]

Something's wrong somewhere with the sound quality. For example, in the initial pub scene, the characters' voices are low and muddled, but all other sounds in the pub, background noise, music, are perfectly fine! I turned up my volume but that just made everything that was non vocal deafening! Is this a special version of the series made expressly to be dubbed over in French, etc., but never completed?

So, I stopped my suffering about 15 minutes in.

Looks like I am not the only one reporting this here, judging by what other reviewers are saying. Some have solved this by adding the subtitles. Maybe I'll try to view this once more, doing the same.

After viewing a second time with subtitles:

I've changed my rating from a 3 to an 8. It certainly does help when you can actually "hear" the dialogue! After episode one I can say that I'm thoroughly enjoying this whodunnit. Excellent acting by all and I'm definitely going to stay with this series.

The sound quality does seem to improve further into episode one, but still a shame that one needs to employ English subtitles for an English series.

Werewolf by Night (2022 TV Movie)

Wow! Marvel CAN be creative once in a while

[8/10 · 23 October 2022]

Being that Halloween's coming, I decided to give this werewolf movie a whirl. Wait - it's a movie? It's too short, less than an hour long. Maybe it's a pilot for a series? After viewing this, I hope they do make a series out of it.

I loved it. A black and white monster movie that so reminds me of those old ones I used to watch on TV on Saturdays. The spookiness, the same kind of cinematography, the views of scary monster heads on the walls, the crazy monster hunting characters and the old fashioned depiction of a werewolf without using any CGI - someone in a hairy werewolf suit complete with skilled makeup artistry for his face.

No idea if this is true to the characters in the comic book series. Never read them. But everything certainly works stupendously here on the screen. I'd like more.

Dog (I) (2022)

Excellent for me, but for others, not so much

[8/10 · 21 September 2022]

Judging by many reviews on here, many seem to have missed the main point of this movie. Perhaps this is because there were so many "funny" scenes thrown in as a disguise, in an attempt to lighten things up.

Briggs is a physically and mentally damaged veteran who served his country, but who's been rewarded with a dead end job serving the unappreciative behind a food counter. Although he wants back into service, they won't take him because of his injuries. We also have a dog, Lulu, who shielded her human partner from enemy fire, being seriously injured in the process. She is now mentally scarred, uncontrollable, judged no longer fit for service and will be euthanized after her last duty assignment - showing up at her handler's funeral. And Briggs has to take her there.

Both actors have done a fine job with what they were given, but the fact that many of the film's nuances were missed by its audience shows that the story could have been presented in a more effective way. This is not your usual happy dog movie. Viewers should have been noticing a lot more than, for example, Briggs not leaving the car windows open for Lulu - tsk tsk - animal cruelty.

Both are much too absorbed in their own worlds of pain and confusion to notice that of the other. Briggs compensates with humor. Lulu cannot.

Could this movie have done better in conveying their story, or, has our own ability to understand their pain been impaired because we are, at this time, experiencing too much of our own?

This movie should be a 10, but I gave it an 8, because.

That's Amor (2022)

Better than most!

[10/10 · 6 September 2022]

Giving this a 10 because it's strangely getting such low ratings lately. This romance is definitely better than the usual Hallmark-like fare. The male lead is hot. Isaac, you need to beef yourself up a little and get some better roles. The female lead is believable and very talented. Their chemistry is amazing. The bedroom scene spicey enough, leaving the rest to the imagination. Yes, the storyline has been way overdone, the ending was boring, the budget was low, but all things considered, I forgive this in this movie. It's one of the best choices when you're in the mood for something in this category.

Thirteen Lives (2022)

A great movie

[10/10 · 9 August 2022]

You know a movie is truly great when you already know how it ends, but it keeps you on the edge of your seat anyway! This was an amazing story of heroes and humanity that needed Ron Howard to retell it again in his masterful way, together with excellent acting and cinematography. I cried and I cheered. Some have complained the movie was too long. I was actually sorry it ended when it did.

Independence Day (1996)

Re: the Special Edition Extended Version

[8/10 · 27 July 2022]

The original I rated an 8. This one gets a 10. Much was better explained in this version, including the backstory of Russell and his family. The journey to the end of this version was a little different, some scenes were added, others missing. Perhaps both versions should be viewed in order to appreciate the whole picture!

Orphan Horse (2018)

A beautiful movie

[9/10 · 22 July 2022]

More than a movie about a young orphan girl's healing relationship with a horse who is also an orphan, it is a story of how this relationship also ends up repairing the lives of those around her. Exceptional acting and everything else makes this movie a great one for families with older children to watch. Keep a box of tissues handy.

Falling Inn Love (2019)

Same story, different actors

[5/10 · 13 July 2022]

Forced myself to keep watching it. Often hard to understand what Demos was saying, due to the Aussie accent. Too me, there was something missing between the two leads, but the New Zealand scenery was lovely. Just something light to watch if you're in the mood for a romcom.

Love & Gelato (2022)

I loved it

[8/10 · 9 July 2022]

I expected this to be a B movie, but instead I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, you pretty much have an idea about what's going to happen in the end, but the journey to get there in this film was anything but boring. There is an Italian authenticity about it, as well as an interesting portrayal of what could happen to a "nerdy" girl who travels to Rome in search of the secrets kept by her mother. I have no complaints about the acting, the scenery is fantastic, and a tissue might be needed at the end. Well done.

Somewhere in Time (1980)

A beautiful and timeless romance

[10/10 · 2 July 2022]

Last time I saw this movie was probably back in the 80's on TV. I loved it then and so happy to see that it's finally back again. It's not just a time travel movie. It's not a science fiction movie. It's a romantic fantasy where one achieves the impossible to reach his soulmate - he's drawn to a woman who exists in another time, and he must then discover how to cross time to get to her. And she also recognizes that there is a connection between them - that she has always been waiting just for him. Just pure romance. Yes, this movie is a bit dated compared to what's being produced today, but it still works, Beautiful acting, beautiful story, beautiful scenery, beautiful everything.