chex13 Reviews

The Magic Pill (2017)

Incomplete

[5/10 · 7 April 2019]

Little reference to actual data, the real take away is to eat unprocessed whole foods. They didn't demonstrate that a ketogenic whole food diet is better than any other balanced whole food diet.

A bit biased towards animal products (I don't care either way but I smelled an agenda), again with no data to explain why animal sourced fats or proteins are better than other sources. Some dubious claims that our ancestors are mostly meat - hunter gatherers get most nutrition from veg and fruit because hunts are only occasionally successful.

Shame that a doco based around the fact that we have a lot of incorrect dietary information from government also tries to push a slight agenda which doesn't have supporting data.

Dude (2018)

Easy watching

[8/10 · 21 April 2018]

Only reviewing this because the other reviews were so polarised.

It starts off pretty badly with white girls talking like gangster rappers but it does pick up as it goes along and it was definitely reminiscent of my last few weeks of high school.

Seeing lots of complaints about the girls' behaviour and drug use but the movie is set in a hippie school, similar to where I went to school and yes, we were very mutlicultural, very promiscuous and very into marijuana. Anyone complaining about how this doesn't fit their idea of high school obv doesn't get it. Perhaps you went to a school more similar to the Mike character.

I find it a much welcome break from the usual BS cheerleader, jock, geek stereotype that everyone associates with american teen movies. The great thing about Netflix movies and shows is how they are breaking all the preconceived notions of how a movie should be made and we are seeing diverse storylines that the networks would never have risked airing.

Considering that the vast majority of teen movies play into the middle america scenarios of neatly defined social roles this is a great movie which appeals to those of us that didn't go to your average government school.

The Ranch (2016–2020)

Oatmeal

[2/10 · 31 December 2017]

Before Netflix and other internet tv services came along we were mostly subjected to bland, boring, 'oatmeal' spec shows by the networks.

How you can take Danny Masterson and Ashton Kutcher and produce this blandness is beyond me. It's 90's quality tv with an R- rated soundtrack and a cringeworthy laugh track.

Kumaré (2011)

Defeats his own point

[5/10 · 30 September 2013]

The definition of a guru being 'darkness into light' i.e. realisation of a truth should have given Vikram some pause for thought. His quest to spread a message that he believes to be true made him real guru, not a false one. The fact that he decided to be a guru seems to be his rationale behind being false, which makes no sense. The only way he would have been a false guru is if he had intentionally misled people, which he didn't. Indeed he connected better with people as Kumare than as Vikram.

The entire premise defeats his own message. The fact that these people needed someone to tell them that they should be their own guru requires a guru for the message to be delivered. It is the same message as Buddhism, Sikhism and probably other eastern traditions.

The only thing he demonstrated was the difference between a real guru and a false one. Ironically he was one of the real ones with a true message, once again, defeating his own aim. Something he didn't seem to realise at any point.

The Devil's Double (2011)

Mundane

[3/10 · 27 July 2013]

Why take an amazing true story and turn into a mundane fictional one?

The reality of Latif's life was that he became so entrenched in Uday's character that he practically became him. He became violent and even after he escaped with his wife and kids (not with a hooker on a horse) he continued to behave like Uday.

The acting was not great. The portrayal of Uday was over the top and not believable. Same with the constant backchat from Latif to Uday considering that an out of line comment is the reason Latif ended up getting shot in reality.

The film could have been an intelligent psychological drama instead of a dumbed blockbuster. Shame.