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Keeping Rosy (2014)
Outstanding
Shocked that the overall rating is not significantly higher. I came on this film when I was in a "there's nothing to watch" mood and I was stunned at how good it is. The other 10 star reviews explain it so well that I'll just say that this movie is frightening, shocking, completely absorbing and one of the most meaningful movies, in terms of human nature, I've watched in a long time.
Mr. Mercedes (2017)
So good
Tuned in for Brendan Gleeson, who is outstanding. Such a good program. Kelly Lynch is the best she's ever been. I'm in love with Holland Taylor. Hilarious cameo by Stephen King.
Welcome Home (2018)
Why do beautiful women disfigure themselves?
Emily was beautiful before the way over the top lip job. So distracting. Expecting the beautiful Emily but the lips have taken over.
Gold Digger (2019)
No wonder Trump won
Trump isn't part of this show but when I read the many besotted "LOVE TRIUMPHS! AGE IS IRRELEVANT!" reviews of this godawful show, I realized how gullible so many people are. A wealthy 60 year old woman gets conned by a 30 year old grifter. That's the story here. But to read the reviews, the guy's an innocent, the woman's a liberated modern marvel, and shame on any of us who are skeptical. Even if it were real, the "romance" would not have a snowball's chance in hell of lasting more than a few years. Why are people so determined to be hoodwinked?
Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer (2019)
Freakin' great show!
Broke my heart. Had a lot of trouble getting through the first episode because of the heartbreak; but, man, those avengers are some cool, life-affirming humans! In a county run by the soulless super-wealthy, the decency of the ordinary people who tracked the monster down really cheered me up. Should win best documentary. And if there's a Best Title category, this show's title should definitely win. Very clever person who came up with it.
Columbo: Blueprint for Murder (1972)
Well, it's Peter Falk. No other words needed.
Movies, TV, limited series. Doesn't matter where. The best acting by anyone anywhere was done by Peter Falk in the Columbo franchise. He was the king of comic timing. And Columbo is the best character ever invented. This particular episode also feature the marvelous Janis Paige, who comic presence alongside Columbo, and the other more dour characters, is priceless. If you were born after 1975 and have never caught an episode from this series, you're in for a real treat.
Dark Places, Deadly Illusions (2021)
Is it legal for a movie to be this numbingly boring and still be labeled a thriller?
This movie is Exhibit 1 in support of the claim that a thriller can be mind-numbingly boring. This movie is a "Give me back the 90 minutes you stole from me, Netflix" event. Instead of churning out hideous fare like this, with the hackneyed, cloaked-in-menace "mysterious stranger" at the end, why doesn't Netflix concentrate its resources on a few really good shows? Sure, people come to Netflix for the Coen Brothers or for Better Call Saul and maybe that's how Netflix justifies pumping out drivel like this thing but, on the other hand, I'd be willing to bet that movies like this drive away as many subscribers as Better Call Saul attracts.
Your Honor (2020)
So good. Every single actor is outstanding.
Boy, I hope there will be a second season. The acting and plot are so good. Very sad but very good. The performance by Andrene Ward-Hammond totally blew me away. The way she used her mouth, teeth, smile, and hands. What an absolutely original actress. That is not meant to take away from the other actors, who are all spot-on for their characters. I've just never seen another character like Ward-Hammond's Big Mo. Phenomenal.
The Loudest Voice (2019)
Astonishing performance by Russell Crowe
Russell Crowe is so good at playing complex individuals that, by the end, I was in near tears for Ailes, as despicable a person as he was. The way Crow played him reminded me a lot of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman. Before I watched this, I had just seen Crowe in The Next Three Days. He's a major talent. And he's a good sport, as his response to John Oliver's hilarious outreach has shown.
Ozark (2017)
Not the way southern Missourians actually sound
The director and actors did not take the care needed to convey The Ozarks, especially the way southern Missourians actually sound when they speak. What is used in this show is the entertainment business's idea of what southern "poor whites" sound like when they speak. "Ha" for "high", "ma" for "my" and so on. Parts of Missouri have very distinct dialects but they don't sound like the voices in this show. It wouldn't be so bad if we didn't have to hear the same phony accent from a main character, Ruth, over and over. The plots might or might not make the show interesting to watch but the show has been lazily researched, produced, directed and acted. If you have only one dollar and you spend it on something you don't really want or need it won't be available when you want to buy something you do really want or need. Same thing with time, except that time is more important than money. That's why I quit this show after the third episode.
Rubberneck (2012)
Way better than 5.3
This is a good movie. I don't understand its mediocre rating. Karpovsky is excellent and not afraid to make himself unlikeable. That takes guts, especially since he plays a voice of reason in Girls. I hope he gets more roles, because he's good. The female lead is also willing to play a non-evil, but equally unlikeable, character. Good acting all around. And the subject matter is a lot more important than what we are invited to watch in standard Hollywood fare. This movie is really worth watching.
Der Untergang (2004)
Phenomenal performance by Bruno Ganz
This movie really brings home the devastation bigotry brings down on us all. It not only ruins the lives of the targeted, it destroys the perpetrators. The performances in the film are top-notch and the sequence of events is relatively easy to follow. The film is well worth having to read subtitles. Having watched Bruno Ganz as Hitler, it's impossible for me to imagine anyone else playing the part. The testimony of one of the inhabitants of the bunker is particularly effective, especially since she does not excuse herself but, in fact, accuses herself. Assuming we will be lucky enough to still have public schools in the future, this film should be required viewing in every US high school.
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
Wife said kids' father was hit by a train - Blue Ruin homage?
I just saw this very good movie for the first time. I was inspired to watch it because in the reviews of my favorite new movie, Blue Ruin, there were several comparisons to the Coen Brothers' movies. Everett's wife in O Brother tells his kids that he was hit by a train. In Blue Ruin, when Ben first sees Dwight, he tells him a guy (someone, I guess, they had both known) got hit by a train. It's the best comic line in the movie, in my opinion. I would love to know if it was actually an homage to the Coen Brothers. Jeremy Saulnier, the Blue Ruin creator, and Macon Blair, his friend and the star in Blue Ruin, strike me as being very subtle and intelligent, and I would be surprised if the train reference wasn't their way of honoring the Coens.
Blue Ruin (2013)
Hard to explain why this movie is so good
This movie is so good, so well written and so well acted that I think if these guys never do anything else they will still be high among "the quality" in the movie business. Macon Blair's performance broke my heart. Another reviewer's summary says "the keys are in the car", Dwight's final words, repeated over and over, through gurgling blood. I remember thinking, when I watched the movie for the first time, "Oh, these perfect filmmakers actually forgot something. Dwight did not tell William that the keys were in the car." But then when I understood what Dwight was saying as he was dying I realized that even this point had been thought out by the filmmakers. It's hard to describe how intelligent this movie is.
The shots of the Delaware beach rides in Dwight's background at night are so beautiful they will never be matched. The dark humor is the most sophisticated I can think of from any genre. I have watched the movie several times and I still laugh when Ben, just after first seeing Dwight, says the thing about the guy getting hit by a train.
This is a great, great movie.
The Killing (2011)
Very good show
Went into watching this show with a bad attitude because it wasn't Breaking Bad. It did seem flat at first, particularly because the female lead is very low key. But the actors are very good and the low key nature of Ms. Enos's acting now seems very realistic. She isn't dolled up in a fake TV way and she has the kind of problems a real working person would have. Joel Kinnamann must be a sleeper. Why is he not plastered all over the internet? He is an absolutely fantastic, talented actor. My only reservation has to do with Michelle Forbes. She was very good in In Treatment but I think she is overused in "sour" young middle age female roles. I believe she is starting to be typecast and I hope she fights this because she is good when she is not playing the same old, same old. When I saw The Killing is an AMC show, the fact that it is so good started to make more sense.