Reviews

8.4 stars.

Feels like this film was released around 2020. When I watch a movie or the third time in 8 years, it has to be on my tops list. Something about how Pratt and Lawrence get along on screen. It's the same as her and Bradley Cooper, but Pratt brings a separate comedy aspect with a less flamboyant synergy and more of a quirky one. It's hard to describe, Cooper and Pratt are very similar personalities, so Jennifer is actually the catalyst that provides the magic of the pairings. Nevertheless, I love 'Passengers'. Something about Pratt and how he expresses his longing and eventually his love for her character. He will take a crowbar to the head if he has to, that's how much he cares. And she feels the depth of his love, so maybe his betrayal isn't the end of the universe, who knows (It's pretty stinking bad if you ask me).

And what to say about her performance? I don't know, I think she should have already won 4 Oscars: Silver Linings (won the Oscar), 'Hunger Games' (nada), 'Joy' (nominated), 'American Hustle' (nominated), and...'Passengers'. But they wouldn't ever nominate her for a "cut-rate" sci-fi movie like this, no way. It's not artsy and classy enough to make the list. And what about her performance in 'Serena'? No mention, because the film kinda sucked, but she was awesome. And what about 'Winter's Bone' (nominated)? I guess she was too unknown at the time. Three Oscar nominations and one win and she's only 34. Hello???

Great movie.

7.2 stars.

I was so very surprised to see a film about an apparently super famous female grammy winner from the 70's. Listen to that voice, what an angel. I am so very ashamed that I knew almost nothing about this most amazing female artist named Helen Reddy. Sure, I recognize at least five of her hits, and yet I never remembered her name. Are you kidding me? There are some singers that slip between the cracks I suppose, but this woman had a fantastic smooth and silky voice and her music had so much spunk and pizzaz it was simply brilliant. I suppose maybe it's because she is Australian that I wasn't really familiar with her persona. I even recognize her face, yet my recognition is brief and minimal. She does not quite venture into my realm of well-known 70's artists and that's a travesty.

7.3 stars.

A film about a young man who fought harder than anyone else on his team to be the best football player. He was bullied and maligned his whole young life, but his mother's faith and his big brother's friendship helped him push through the trials. Most of all, his faith in God gave him the strength to push beyond all the obstacles.

This movie portrays his struggles very skillfully and it feels like he truly had all odds against him, so it's an inspiration to watch him climb the ladder. He went from a nobody to a major somebody in a matter of 4 years and it's quite the tale of hard work and persistence. I think every young person must watch this film.

7.0 stars.

This is a semi-memorable documentary about a really bad avalanche in one of the most avalanche prone resorts in the world. What's the big surprise here? It's obvious that something like this was going to happen in such a hazardous location, and yet, the local "experts" figured they had it under control. It's a sad story of the needless loss innocent lives. These things happened a lot in those days, not so much now 40 years later. We don't see nearly as much of these dangerous occurrences in the United States these days. For some reason our safety awareness has skyrocketed ten-fold since the 80's, yet life expectancy hasn't changed. I find that interesting. This film is very well done. I don't watch a whole lot of documentaries, but got through this one just fine.

7.3 stars.

This movie has a lot of good parts that authentically depict the actions of a shady family in 1970's and 80's. What I found riveting was Gosling's performance. I swear that guy makes the best psychopath. He could actually make a very convincing Bond villain. I know that seems harsh, considering Bond villains generally represent all that is evil in the world. But most Bond villains have very stellar careers both before and after the role. In this role, he nails being a very disturbed young man, unable to adapt to losing his mother at a very young age.

Dunst portrays in her usual fashion, nothing particularly noteworthy. Her abilities were outstanding as a child actress, and I suspect that child actor syndrome caught up with her later in life, like with so many others. Her abilities to expand her repertoire into a variety of rules has been stunted. What happened? However, this role did not require much, so Dunst was satisfactory.

The story is all over the place with a lot of characters, covering about twenty years of events. The setting is varied and the theme is somewhat difficult to ascertain. Is this all about Gosling's character and his manipulative nature? I don't think that's the whole point, but it's the main factor. Is this film about family dynamics and all the people who are affected by this prominent crime family? I think that's part of it too. My point is that this story covers a lot of material and these days it would be a six part miniseries, no doubt.

7.4 stars.

It's good enough to earn 7.4. I don't plan on seeing this film again, and if I do, it would have to be far in the future. It has an impressive cast of familiar faces.

I am NOT disappointed by the mystery or thrill. It's just enough misdirection and suspense to cause one to ponder the mysterious man's motivations.

The music, acting and cinematography are on point. I don't understand the negative reviews, except maybe it's somewhat limited in scope. We don't see much for locations, maybe 5 main ones. There is the back road, the bunker, the mansion, the courtroom, and a couple other quick scenes in various locations. A film like this needs to include a more dynamic vision of past events, maybe add some other settings, I'm not quite sure, but the impact of the twists and turns is curtailed. There is one very good twist at the end that I didn't see coming, but I'm sure many detected it.

The film is quite entertaining, but a major factor is the decision of the lead's father as to why he confides in her with this secret mind-blowing information. It's a strange and possibly hateful thing he's done, a very heavy burden placed upon her, but maybe that's the point. However, it doesn't leave the right impression on the audience. They don't nail the psychological aspects of the father-daughter relationship well enough. That facet of the narrative did not sufficiently set the stage for a more powerful reveal at the end. But it was still entertaining.

7.7 stars.

A bit of gangster life and a bunch of chess nerds = 'Critical Thinking'. It's the oddest mixture of boys growing up in the hood and all ending up in some weird electives class about playing chess. I really think this has got to be the strangest real life story I've heard of. You can't make this stuff up. What kids from the projects are going to end up in a chess class and actually be amazing players like this? These kids who grew up on the bad side of town in Miami are rocking these prep rich kid schools left and right. We have the gangster and drug dealing side story which was actually a bit intense, and a new guy that joins the club and he's insanely genius. It's an entertaining movie. I can't find any fault in it. The main character's girlfriend is way out of his league, which was far fetched, but otherwise this film is smooth.

7.8 stars.

I noticed all of her boyfriends looked and acted very similar. Interesting.

What I got from watching this film is that it's okay to be honest with everyone. I'm talking about true honesty, just totally being yourself no matter what the consequence. And while it's not popular to be brutally honest, because it tends to bruise egos and rub the wrong way, there is a way to be open and honest without being rude or making people uncomfortable. I think Carrie is at the perfect spot on that honesty scale. She knows exactly how to make people feel at ease.

She is somewhat eccentric, but men realize that she is real and actually one of the good ones. All strange artistic and overly intelligent quirks notwithstanding, Carrie is most definitely the sort of woman I would want to marry. Say what you will. I have met a lot of women like Carrie, but they all ended up disappointing me. Later in life I realized they hadn't disappointed me, I disappointed them. I thought I knew what I was doing, but they realized I was clueless and moved on. I've always been honest to a fault, but not very reliable. This is what I've learned from this film.

8.1 stars.

The movie is great, there is nothing negative to say about it. I cannot believe how thought provoking it is, it's about starvation in Malawi, how people totally rely on the rain for their livelihood. This film is about a family and a village of subsistence farmers in Malawi and how they live in total squalor. They are very intelligent people. They seem just like any of us, but they live in harsh conditions and so it changes a person. They do what they can to be able to send their children to school, but it appears that most of these children in these poor places don't have the good fortune to attend school. This movie is about one boy has the opportunity, and for the short time he has, he learns something extremely valuable. He learns about electricity and wind power. But then he's expelled, because his father is stubborn and decides not to pay the tuition. We can't fully blame him, but you'll see for yourself. As the story goes, the boy eventually is able to harness the wind. It's truly a heroic and exciting journey. It's a must-see.

My soapbox: there is no excuse for poverty and starvation in this world. I'd like to think there's a solution, but there is no solution, because poverty is necessary for certain ideological and political agendas to be met. We all know that the state of California alone could feed the whole continent of Africa and still feed a large portion of the United States. World hunger is an unfortunate result of war and the inability of politicians to be reasonable. There are too few "important" men making monumental decisions, and it always comes down to power and greed and delusions of grandeur. Thus, they cannot agree on anything good.

Did you know that there is more surplus food being wasted in g@z@ right now than is needed to feed several small countries? Did you know that just a handful of the most prominent charities to fight hunger can feed every hungry person in the world for the next hundred years? Did you know, did you know, did you know?? You ask, why aren't they? Because it's all about entitlement, the middle man, the supply chain and good old fashioned diplomacy. It goes on and on....and while this film is very emotional and sad, there is an easy solution to it all, and so I have a perspective and I am ashamed at warmongers and power hungry maniacs. It all hinges on thte lack about democracy and religion. If these banana republics would just listen to reason....but they don't, because we won't let them.

7.6 stars.

This reminds me of any good Paul Rudd meets Kristen Wiig type of film, but instead we get to enjoy two other funny actors, not as well known, but very funny nonetheless. You have to like the lead actors, who I think are hilarious, and so I was pleasantly surprised.

The downside is that the film loses some momentum towards the end. It's funny and sad at first, then it becomes very interesting and I thought it was going to be a total blast and the leads are hanging out and being clever and all is just perfect. But as the plot gets intricate and the story takes a few unexpected turns, things start to get a bit confusing. If I'm being honest, the last 20 minutes didn't make much sense. But whatever, it's mostly a satisfying romantic comedy.

5.4 stars.

Producers paid for this film, but it's not what they thought they had paid for. I know the executive producer thought, "what is this garbage?" At first it had some promise, there is an angel and the in-laws and they all seemed likable.

Everyone is way too good looking for real life. I've seen the two lead actors in various shows back in the early days, those young adult type shows like Melrose Place, or Dallas, stuff like that. I think maybe she was in "Starship Troopers". Anyway, she has aged quite well I must say. I have nothing to say about this film, however. It's awkward and not clever at all. The music is made up of a constant silly background melody, but it doesn't bring any emotion or feeling, so basically there is no musical impact. So the final product is half decent acting with zero plot, zero impact, zero intelligent dialogue. Don't ruin a good message. If you are trying to reach people for God, don't crank out such miserable content. Do better. If you are going to make it silly, at least cast Dean Cain.

6.4 stars.

Maybe it wasn't totally no budget, there are some great scenes that seemed polished. In fact, the whole film looks well done and not cheaply made, but it feels cheap and I feel cheap for watching it. There seems to be about 7 main characters. I'll spitball it and say the hotel concierge was one of them along with a man and a woman of middle age who are seated next to each other on the plane. Then there is the air traffic controller who is a recognizable actor (X-Men, Rookie Blue, and a plethora of movies and shows), and a young woman with semi-dark skin, and maybe they are attempting to portray her as an Arab, it's uncertain, but she's English. And then there's the actual Arab who is a New Yorker and they are looking strangely at him and treating him with disdain because he's Muslim. And finally there's an arrogant businessman who has to get back to New York immediately, and thinks the whole world owes him. So anyways, those are the main characters.

The film was good for the first hour, then we are dealing with some cut rate relationships forming between two couples and the snooty businessman is all up in everyone's face because he feels like his life is more important than anyone else. The hotel worker is probably the only person with any redeeming qualities. I liked her portrayal of an Irish woman who lives in NewFoundland and works in a hotel that is inundated by thousands of passengers who have no place to go now that no planes are allowed to fly into the USA due to the twin towers being attacked. Otherwise the film was a disappointment after about 50 minutes.

7.3 stars.

I found this to be a fascinating piece of art because of Cumberbatch. Beside his wonderful portrayal of a sick man who was a genius there is Foy and she's the second best thing about this film, but unfortunately her role is cut short because she portrays the wife who died early on.

Anyways, the film started out really good, for some reason it was very engaging and interesting and I found myself getting sucked in fast. We are pulled into a family of a man named Louis and all of his sisters and his mother. It feels like an authentic English household in the late 19th century (as far as I can tell). How many sisters did this man have? It seems like at least 5. The eldest sister is not a happy person and is always yelling at him for this and that (with good reason). He is very eccentric and eventually succumbs to mental illness.

He was a very smart and industrious artist, but unfortunately was not able to earn a decent living for his family. He was quite charismatic, as the movie shows, but for some reason he had no business savvy, so everything he accomplished was for naught and his family had to exist on the charity of others. That's a sad reality that we've seen too often in these famous historical figures. They changed the world, but didn't have a penny to their name.

Another sister has Schizophrenia, there are a lot of challenges in this large, but extremely poor family. It's quite tragic and depressing after the halfway point. He grows old and becomes a solitary and troubled old man.

The story had a lot of potential, but somehow it falls short of the quality entertainment I had anticipated.

7.9 stars.

I have a friend who was on the Oregon State crew probably about 12 years ago, give or take. He has probably seen this movie. I haven't talked to him in a while, but I know he would love it. I'm sure he has many critiques for it too, but I liked the emotional impact of the film. Clooney is good at whatever he does and here is one of his directorial masterpieces. I didn't much like "Monuments Men", something about that film was a bit monotonous. I don't recall ever seeing his best movie, at least it looks like his greatest directorial work "Good Night, and Good Luck". But "The Boys in the Boat" was inspiring, emotional and impactful. There isn't any comedy to speak of, and it's not a light story, it's pretty serious. It tells a lesser known tale of a rowing team from the University of Washington in the 1936 olympics, you know, the games where Jesse Owens has stolen all the news for the past 90 years (and for good reason), but still, this story of these boys needed to be told as well. And has it been told in a movie, I don't know, but this film is probably the best portrayal of it.

6.7 stars.

Let's start by saying this film is good in the way it evokes some emotions and sad moments regarding an 18 year old adopted teenage boy, who by the end of the film meets his biological parents. Kirk Cameron is his adoptive father etc. The roles are performed wonderfully, the music brings tears, it's a very gut wrenching (in a nice way) experience with all the intense drama. It has an inspirational side to it, not pushy or in your face for the audience, but there is talk of praying and God strewn about. You can tell the people are Christians. The red-headed best friend teenage boy is funny, adding good humor, which makes the story more authentic.

Now for the downside: the actual parents in the story would be about 38-42 years old (Cameron's character and his wife), but the actors are in their 50's and possibly early 60's. The biological mother would be literally 36 years old, not a day older (she gave birth to him at age 18). Unfortunately, the actress is in her 50's??!!! Rookie mistake guys. Nothing is more insulting to me than when a casting director brushes over something like this. It's shoddy, it's lazy, it's poor filmmaking. I always cut my ratings down when this happens, so instead of 7.5, "Lifemark" gets a 6.7. Unless a film is absolutely spectacular I can wink at this this error.

7.3 stars.

I was moved by this documentary. This woman, apparently some sort of Nepalese peasant girl, born in a cave, born a Sherpa. She explains the Sherpa girls, they are born with the name Sherpa and their first name is the day of the week, and she was born on a Wednesday, thus Lhakpa. And so with that tidbit of knowledge given to us, we embark on her most recent climb of Everest in 2022 with flashbacks over the past 20 years. This is her tenth climb. She is the only woman to climb Everest more than 6 times, according to Wikipedia. There are two women that have done it 6 times. The story is amazing. She seems to be a sound person with a lot of energy, a positive mental attitude, and two wonderful daughters. Her husband was an abusive man and she had to overcome that challenge as well. She really is a hero.

This is an emotional film for many reasons. The music evokes feelings of sympathy and joy. I highly suggest you check it out, just to get an idea of how some seemingly unknown and unfortunate person can be so successful in life and overcome so many challenges.

6.9 stars.

I don't see why it's so bad. There are a lot of things in the news about these two, and it's slanted. On the one hand, they are so big into all these social movements and frankly, I disagree with most of them. And so we are on this familiar wheel of celebrities on a bandwagon that any person with a bird brain can deconstruct within a minute. Now, getting beyond all of those apparent failures to place Harry and Meghan in a more sympathetic light, I still like them both a lot. They exude a genuine charisma, whether they share the same ideologies or not. I liked her in "Suits" and I like Harry, because any child of Lady Di has to be a good person, no way around it. A mother like that? She was the genuine article, fun loving, outgoing, yet shy and reserved, intelligent, exuberant, yet troubled, she was so unhappy. From my limited knowledge of her problems and the causes, I still blame the King (King Charles III, of course).

6.7 stars.

This is the story of a desperate man with a wife and two children. Life is going great. Unfortunately, he has a few personal problems. What he doesn't realize is his personal problems have jeopardized everything he holds dear. I don't want to spoil it, so anything I say of the story will ruin it for you. I'm going to keep it light. This man seems happy, but he has run up some massive debts. His life spins out of control and he must perform a bunch of random acts and commit some crimes to get his life back in order. Then there is a major twist and he has to figure out how to manage the situation. Eventually, he may be the victor. That's all I got. I will say this started off great, then was good, then ok, then it was bad, then it recovered a little back to ok. I have to say it didn't end on a good note. Overall it was a bit below average. For me, average is 7.0. Enjoy.

8.0 stars.

Sometimes a sad movie is done right. This is one of those. I cried more than a few times, and not just for the beautiful people and the tragic story. Sure, if all the actors weren't so good looking, I suppose it wouldn't be quite so satisfying, nonetheless, what a wonderfully heartbreaking story. And so I will just write this review thinking to myself it could easily be nothing more than average, doesn't stand out, is not extraordinary. Yes, this is probably how I will remember "Midnight Sun" the next time I watch it (probably in 3 to 5 years). And I'll read this review and be reminded of what a beautiful and emotionally fulfilling story it is, not too sappy, not too depressing, just enough happiness for me to go about the rest of my day with a little smile. Some people in this world are dealt a really bad hand. What right do I have to feel sorry for myself? You might say we all have every right, because pain and sadness are subjective. Well, maybe this film will grant me perspective.

7.4 stars.

What I really like about this film is the heartwarming feeling that it provides from start to finish. It's about an 8 year old girl who has lost her mom recently to some illness. The dad moves them to a remote cabin style house in the French Alps. She is given a wolf puppy by one of their neighbors. We realize Mystery is a wolf, but the dad and uncle don't. The bad news is that wolves are hunted in this region because they eat lots of sheep and the sheep herders' livelihood is threatened.

The rest of the story is predictable, you can guess what will happen next. Mystery is discovered, sheep herders are angry, little girl is beside herself, dad is conflicted. No need to dig too deep into the cliche plot. What I really found quite emotional was the beautiful sad and sometimes joyful music, but it evokes very strong emotions, all the while we fall helplessly in love with this tame wolf and a little girl who depends upon the companionship of little Mystery more than anything. It's really a powerful and, if I'm being honest, over emotionally charging story. I cried hard, it felt so bittersweet. These animal movies can be overwhelming sometimes.

7.0 stars.

This was not a bad movie. I watched it a few months ago. The story of a man who is a preacher. He used to be a lawyer, he let that old life go. There's an old fellow who is in big trouble and he wants this preacher to represent him. This old fella has a secret and it's all about these churches and some thing that he has done that is apparently really really shady. As we learn more about what's going on, and the old fella is being cryptic with the lawyer, the information is being revealed to us Here are a little in there a little and it's not a bad movie. I have to say it was entertaining, as well as religious but easy and palatable way.

7.0 stars.

It's not the best movie about God, but it stirs some feelings anyway. The story is of a boy who is introduced to Jesus as he's reading some Bible verses on the side of a church and he instantly believes everything he reads. His dad and mom are basically atheists and all of the people in his life are too, so he's sort of alone in this new religion that he's found.

The part where he's alone in Los Angeles with no other Christians around is a bit far fetched. There are Christians everywhere in the real world. So the boy finds some consolation at a local church nearby, and then miracles happen around him. That's the story and it's really good at that point, but then it takes a strange turn.

Seems the main actor is the dad, even though the protagonist is the boy. It's hard to tell, however the dad character was not the most effective actor.

The last 30 minutes are dumb. The script puts a gangster spin on it and it appears the adversary a.k.a. The devil, is part of some gangster underworld, or maybe he's not him, but it seems like him. Or was he one of the upper guys who run the media corporations that own the TV station? I can't tell, but either way, this movie went beyond the boundaries of normal. Nevertheless, it had some really heartfelt miracle moments.

6.9 stars.

I suppose the story could have been great if perhaps they cleaned up the script and added a bit more consistency. Some of the pieces are missing, so the flow is off. It's like a chess game, missing a rook, the king and a few pawns. It would be tough game. This film can't make up for it. Maybe that's not the best metaphor, nevertheless, there is something missing. The song the story revolves around is pretty good when sung by the young lead male, but whatever rendition Bridges' character sings, cuts it off at the knees. It loses the spark that makes it modern and alive, and it feels more like a b-side from the 70's. The side plot, if that's what you call it, was good, with the two young guys talking and dealing with stuff. The movie starts off really good, to be honest, Bridges kind of makes it a bit of a bummer. I don't know why. Maybe he played the character too well.

7.3 stars.

I enjoyed the experience of watching "The Inspection", it's sort of a "G. I. Jane" Vibe but for a gay man in the Marines instead of a woman in the special forces. There are many similarities, the gay man gets pummeled over and over, his sergeant is brutal, there is a very powerful scene where the unthinkable happens, it should have changed the lives of all involved forever, maybe it did, but I won't spoil it. This is a good film for various reasons, it is very good at making you feel sorry for the man. It does not paint a very happy picture of men in the US military who don't like gays. And I suppose some of them might actually be like this movie portrays, I don't know. Whatever the lesson learned I can say the movie is entertaining and the acting is really good.