Change Your Image
storm_cloud-55639
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Dark (2017)
Original and Intelligent Science Fiction
I love sci-fi about time travel and the whole time-space continuum thing. The first two seasons were beyond anything I have ever imagined. The concept was completely original. I binge-watched the first season and waited patiently for the second and third.
So why didn't I rate the series a perfect 10? Season 3 was beyond comprehension. There were far too many twists, plot turns, characters with multiple identities.....all racing back and forth in time. Then they added characters from a different dimension. I don't see how the writers keep it all straight in their heads.
I had already been through this with the series "Lost" and "The Twelve Monkeys." Finally to repeat what others have said, you don't need a lot of computer generated images or action scenes to make a great sci-fi movie.
Invasion (2021)
Gap Between Episodes 9 and 10
When Episode 9 ended, the Americans were about to nuke the mothership. The English kid had his brain shut down the aliens as if they were a Borg collective. Episode 10 started with people celebrating in the streets. The invasion is over. Earth won thanks to......Japan? Did I miss something?
The Vast of Night (2019)
Good Low-Budget Sci-Fi. Could Have Had Better Ending.
Reading previous reviews, this is a movie people either love or hate. There isn't much in between. I enjoyed it quite a bit, feeling that it didn't pander to cliches and had some impressive camera shots. There's quite a bit of loud, overlapping dialog that, while sometimes annoying, would be expected if the situation was real.
"Vast of Night" is as much of a detective movie as a sci-fi. The two main characters piece together what is happening in their small New Mexico town thought they're not totally convinced until they see irrefutable evidence at the end. Then, the ending comes all too quickly and we're left hanging. How about a postlogue, maybe the state police wondering why the town is deserted? Anything.
The Red Skelton Show: The Boston Pops Show (1969)
A Favorite
This was one of my favorite Red Skelton shows. In addition to conducting the Pops, Skelton also plays in the percussion section to great comic effect. I've not seen this episode in the fifty-one years since it was first broadcast. Apparently it is not available on DVD. Hopefully it will appear on the re-runs currently appearing on the HAPA cable channel.
You Bet Your Life: Episode #1.1 (1950)
First TV Episode of You Bet Your Life
I just saw this first episode on the Jewish Life TV Channel. While this first show set the pace and formate for the next eleven seasons, there were several differences as the show evolved.
There was no real set. Groucho pulled off his jacket and sat at a table behind a large poster for DeSoto-Plymouth. Behind was a large gray, flat wall. And two mikes for the contestants.
To show the audience the secret word, George Fenneman opened his jacket with the word "wall" written on a sheet of paper. The winning couple walked away with $1200, a huge sum for 1950. The second couple won $80.
In the early days of television they made up the rules as they went.
Downton Abbey (2019)
Just Like the TV Series and the Better for It
In a year of cartoons remade as live action, zombies and sci-do trying to impress us with CGI, Downton is a breath of fresh air. This movie has the exact same feel and pacing as the TV series. Had it been any different, I would have been disappointed.
There's enough drama, family secrets made known and surprises to keep long time fans satisfied. It left me wanting more. Maybe there should be a new Downton movie every three years or so like Star Wars.
My only criticism is the images looked better on my HDTV than on the big screen. Sharper and clearer but that's a minor thing.
Final thought: great date movie.
Undone (2019)
It All Adds Up to Nothing
Interesting storyline but the execution feels incomplete. The father character starts out as a guide to the afterlife but ends up being indecisive and weak. In the end, is it all really happening or is it mental illness? I hate these stories that expect me to decide the ending for myself. I feel like I've wasted my time.
Midsommar (2019)
What Was the Point?
I simply wasn't able to connect with this film. Yes, it had style, bloody deaths and human sacrifice but they were more disgusting than frightening.
But at the end, all I could do was ask "what was the point of this religion/cult/secret society? Did they worship some ancient god? Kill for for pleasure? As the film progressed, I waited form some kind of purpose to be revealed. The members took their beliefs very seriously. It was was a lifestyle with deeply rooted traditions and laws. When not meeting did they blend back into Swedish society with normal jobs and families?
Too many questions and no answers.
Two observations:
If this film was rated R, what does it take to get an X rating?
I enjoyed Stranger Things 3 more.
2 ou 3 choses que je sais d'elle (1967)
Boring Musings from People Stuck in the Middle Class
I suppose France, like Britain, suffered an identify crisis following WWII. Unlike America which was still in a post war boom, the French were trying to recover economically. Bored housewives apparently turned to prostitution for extra money.
But did they have to express every mundane thought or feeling they had? It just goes on and on. And that narrator! Whispering so low that even French-speaking viewers never knew what he was saying. So annoying. Why whisper? Thank God for subtitles.
I only had this on TV while I was doing things around the house so the time wasn't a complete waste. For some strange reason, I kept thinking how great a movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark" was. Ark has more happening in its first ten minutes than this film has in over an hour and a half.
No Limit (1935)
Enjoyable Period Movie
I've enjoyed Formby's singing and ukulele playing for several years but have just tonight seen several of his movies on TCM. It's easy to see why he was (and is still) loved in the UK. Formby's style of comedy reminded me of Jerry Lewis in his early movies though Formby preceded Lewis by some 15 years.
George enters a motorcycle race, sings and meets a pretty girl. He's the underdog. Will he win? Will he get the girl in the end? Of course. Surprised?
The film uses quite a bit of actual race footage and the. Crashes are quite violent. One rider falls over and is hit by two other riders. One cycle and rider go over the edge of a mountain. I'd be surprised if he lived.
Stream some of Formby's songs on Spotify. "Count Your Blessings and Smile" or "When I'm Cleaning Windows".
Mickey's Audition (1992)
Perfect Short Fit for Showing in the Magic Kingdom
I saw this short film in the Movie Theater on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom of Disney World about 1995. Disney CEO Michael Eisner was still in power and appeared in the film with Mickey.
Filmed at Disney-MGM Studios, I saw quite a few of the movie's locations in the park. Mickey himself was animated as he made his way around Hollywood and into Disney's soundstage. Mel Brooks was the director of his screen test, Dom DeLuise was the sound engineer. Roy Disney played his uncle Walt.
Only about five minutes long, the movie was a perfect fit for the Magic Kingdom in tone and playfulness. Too back it can't be seen any more.
How It Ends (2018)
Big Promise, No Payoff
What begins as a disaster movie quickly turns into a road trip through a lawless landscape.....something we've seen a dozen times before. Though our heroes drive from New York City to Seattle, they come into contact with surprisingly few other people or cars.
When Will manages to find his fiancée, the story takes a left turn as a neighbor want to kills Will and take Samantha. The two of them, apparently the only live people left on the west coast, try to outrun an ash cloud in their jeep. I say "try" because the movie ends before we find out if they live.
In fact, we never learn what caused the apocalypse. War? Probably but we'll have to wait for the inevitable sequel.
Final verdict: watch the first 10 minutes and the last 5 minutes.
12 Monkeys: The Beginning Part 2 (2018)
Great Ending to a Great Series
I'm sorry the series came to an end but it had to at some point. My favorite scenes were in the Emerson Hotel, especially when the hotel was in it's glory. The earlier times were so classy and refined.
My only complaint is how confused it became after the Primaries, the Witness and Titan entered the story line. It was no longer about the plague until the last couple of episodes. I didn't understand why Cole and Railly felt it necessary to release the plague when they had stopped it.
At least we found out how all the characters ended up. What a surprise to find the Witness was the ancient body carrying the virus but didn't that just start the whole plague thing again?
The Last Man on Earth (2015)
Not Renewed?
If the producers can't film a new season, at least tell us where the series was headed....maybe on the show's official web site. They can summarize each episode and at least give us some closure.
Westworld: Vanishing Point (2018)
Delores and Teddy
For several episodes Delores has been going on and on about how hosts are no longer controlled by humans. They are free to make their own choices. She loves Teddy because of the way he is.
So what does Delores do when Teddy shows too much kindness and empathy? She forces him to change into someone who would rather die than to be what she made him. She's turned into a controlling, killing woman, using hosts for her own ends......just like the guests did.
One more thought: who else is tired of watching only ten or so great episodes of a series only to have wait an entire year until the next season? Westworld, Game of Thrones, Man in the High Castle take years to watch and the payoff isn't always worth the time invested.....ie Lost.
The Strain: The Last Stand (2017)
Quick Ending to a Long Series
The Strain ended with a quick, fan-pleasing conclusion tonight but let's go back to the last episode of last season. Just when our heroes were about to defeat the Master, Zach detonated a nuclear device, destroying Liberty Island, the Statue of Liberty and coating NYC with radiation. On watching the first episode of the this season, I thought I had missed a few episodes. The team had split up and was dispersed around the country. Suddenly the Master had complete control of the world. Little by little we learn there had been a worldwide nuclear war with major cities destroyed. The writers weren't very forthcoming with this information.
The Great Ending owes quite a lot to Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. The Master (Emperor) says, "Zach (Luke), kill your father and take your place by my side. Together we will run the world (universe)." Zach, who has been a traitorous little snot the entire series, refused to kill Eph and shoots the Master instead. Then he detonates a second bomb, killing himself, the Master, his dad and saving NYC. Why the sudden change?
Just think, if they had lured the Master into a trap sooner and killed him with just three people, the series would have lasted maybe only two seasons.