Reviews
La ragazza nella nebbia (2017)
Convoluted Noir Plot
Well-acted, suspenseful, dark... Surprising film-noir effort, in Italian. Rushed, confusing ending dis-credits the Writer and/or Director for their poor planning, but otherwise, worth a watch....
December Bride (1990)
Unusual Irish Lass
My maternal grandmother came from this area of Ireland. The screen writer's take on the subject of female liberation was refreshing, especially in light of the cavorting antics of the local priest/preacher.
Melanijas hronika (2016)
WWII Baltic Tragedy
I attended high school with several Lithuanian & Latvian refugees in the mid-fifties, in Canada. I found them to be quite stoic and reserved, and can now understand why they might behave in his way.
Their parents were mis-treated as fascists by the Russians, simply because the Germans had smothered them for so long. This led to their deportation to Stalin's hostile, 3000 mile distant work camps and a starvation existence.
A story well worth telling, in black & white film, due to its grim theme...
Moonlight (2002)
Colorful Story
Strengths: Cinematography, locales, chase action, Lauren character.
Weaknesses: Overdone toiletry; weak, uncomprehending dialog.
This coming-of-age, diminutive waif seems too street-wise for me; stretches credibility. Pilgrimage scenes border on the ridiculous.
Apocalypto (2006)
An Awesome Portrait
I've traveled in the jungles around Vera Crus and Campeche many times, and this epic story about the collapsing Mayan civilization was awesome. It answered so many questions I've always had about the Mayan era, how they lived and loved, and why their fate was to be predestined by their behavior. A brilliant film by a Master director. Thanks, Mel...
Otchiy bereg (2017)
Realistic
Wonderful scenery and acting. Portrays life in Russia before and during WWII.
American Son (2019)
Racist
Hope I can give this thing a ZERO rating. KW has to repeat her lines, as written in the script, but she does so with such venom, on, and on, and on...Had to skip forward to get some relief, it got so painful, the screeching on., and on. The unceasing ranting became so painful, it was almost a relief to see her grief at the tragic outcome.
The Irishman (2019)
Underdone
I am somewhat a fan of Scorsese's work. And not surprised at the hype many of these commenters heap on this movie. Have to agree with several others that DeNiro 's delivery was plodding and tortured., Pacino's role was quite overdone, with his carrying-on about language, and the outrageous yelling spasms. Pesci was Pesci. Very dull story; women smokers were a highlight to watch. What purports to be an epic film, all about a hit man, seems a bridge too far. for me. My 5 rating now seems to be too charitable for this dross film.
Quién te cantará (2018)
Jerky
What was the point of Violeta telling Lila to call herself? What was the significance of the dream? Interesting, but jerky plot . Well-performed.
Needs second or third watch to make any sense out of the story.
El apóstata (2015)
Light-Hearted
We know why Martin Luther affixed his note to the church door, but we don't know why our hero here is so adamant to have his baptismal record removed from the registry. Would be nice to know, to give some continuity to the story.
The middle of the story seems to be just everyday happenings, except for his mother's chiding about how his apostasy would hurt the family name. In the final analysis, our hero achieves his objective, but in a rather crude way. I guess he deserves a BRAVO for that...
Hai Phuong (2019)
Familiar Plot
Plot has been used several times before. But, let's give a cheer to Vietnam for getting out their FIRST movie. And what a thriller it was, with their dynamic female lead. Typical of this type of scenario, the cops are always slow and plodding, last to arrive, and first to take credit.
RAMBA has arrived in Vietnam...
Diecisiete (2019)
Full Circle
Young brother brings older brother back to life and reality during RV trip with grandma in tow. Sensitivity grew as movie progressed... Nice movie.
Planetarium (2016)
Disappointed
Tuned in because of Portman & Depp, but soon saw that there was no real depth to the story. History is always useful...
Noblemen (2018)
Weak Character & Confusing Ending
This is one confused kid. Yes, he was tormented unmercifully by rich upperclassmen, but I don't know why he didn't finally reach his limit ;
any sane person normally would. He had several chances to turn himself around, but he sadly just stood by like a petrified little girl, and in the final analysis, put to death his best defender. Sure, his tormentors were finally apprehended, but at such a horrific cost , all due to his weakness! Terribly weak main character!
300 mil do nieba (1989)
Young men's fantasy
Loved this story to death. Such an adventure for these two boys. The younger one's spirit was remarkable and livened up the story. Tear-jerking end scene...
The Most Hated Woman in America (2017)
Incomplete Effort
This could have been a very BIG story. But it was obviously put into the hands of people who were not up to the task. This 'most hated woman' recognized how Government regularly insinuates itself in the education of children, and decided to do something about it through Article ! of the Constitution. I think the subject needs to be re-visited, hopefully in the very near future. Acting performances were very poor, except for herione herself. Grisly execution scene...
American Factory (2019)
Warning to US Youth
Shocking experience for these US workers, having to grovel at the feet of their new Chinese masters. I felt embarrassed for them, and sad at what they had to endure.
Film should be watched by our youth, to show them that a good education will help them avoid a similar fate. Unfortunately, our US education system is not up to the task.
Una (2016)
Contrived
An infatuated 13 year old waits 15 years to confront an illegal 'lover?' Not within the realm of reality! It just doesn't ring true...
What did she do while waiting for the ultimate confrontation? Obtain an education, or get a decent job? We don't learn much about that long period of time.
In spite of the rather contrived plot, acting performances were generally pretty good, however. Stokes, as young Una, was definitely very alluring bait..
El Hijo (2019)
French Ending
A lot of movies we watch leave us with a question mark ending; it's what we call a French Ending. This one left us with two. Performances were all pretty good. Scenes a little too dark, but they suited the story line.
Ending was contrived, but consistent with Sigrid's behavior; i.e. clandestine location for new residence. My wife's theory on the second baby was that she had had wins, and left one behind when leaving . My theory, given her obsessive behavior, is that she obtained a second infant (maybe adoption) and swapped him to Lorenco for Henrik. Whichever happened, the Lawyer is legally bound to report her findings and bring Sigrid before authorities. DNA's will finally tell the real story.
CONTRIVED, but INTERESTING. I'm so surprised at the overall rejection of my fellow commenters. T'was a Shame!
Sicilian Ghost Story (2017)
Dark, Dark...
Having visited Sicily several times and traveled across it by train and automobile, I was disappointed at how little of it was portrayed in this movie . I found the title to be misleading as well. This wasn't a 'ghost' story; it was an in-human atrocity!
The film was so Dark most of the time, I could hardly see what I was supposed to be watching; subtitles were my only guide.
It is unfortunate that the Mafia has to be so vicious with their membership, but taking revenge with children is beyond the pale.
This movie was NOT entertaining, it was morbid; should not have been made!!!
Frozen River (2008)
Surprisingly Good
As a prior Canadian, I watched with interest, since I often visited the Messina/Cornwall area. Driving across the St Lawrence River can be
death-defying experience, unless you are a desperate mother trying to get a double-wide for your kids. The baby rescue was a heart pounding experience.
Job well-done, author and director...
Tales of the City (2019)
Disappointed
Being a Californian I was hoping to see SF in a better light than I know it to be, but was disappointed to see that it's worse than I thought, at least in this poor, trashy offering.
Laura Linney was superb, as always. Surprised that Dukakis stooped to involve herself in such a farce; she should have read the script first; she must need the money, real bad.
Hun qiu xi men (2019)
Incomprehensible
Garbled intitial scenes---did she off herself? And why? Next, we're in Taiwan, and subjected to a nonsensical parade of idiocy. Forget it! Not worth the time, but have to admit the colors were fascinating...
Highway Thru Hell (2012)
Great Action-Never Lets Up
Love this action oriented series. Been watching it from its beginning, and have seen it improve with each new Series.
Noted that the writers have toned down Quiring's "snarkiness." Although he is obviously a very experienced wreck expert, the show suffered when he used to show-off too much. Good change.
I'll keep watching. Good filler, just before hitting the sack!
Pacific Standard Time (2016)
Slow start, interesting finish
Found it strange that two unemployed recent grads were able to convince the home owner that they would be able to take care of this unbelievably beautiful place.
Enter Steelgood. His characterization seemed inconsistent with those of Veronica and Percy. Expecting payback from Percy made sense, though. I've paid-back myself, when younger, to someone who had helped me a lot.
Jump to the end. Seems like Veronica broke into Steelgood's valise, and discovering all that money, grabbed and stowed it, replacing it with useless paper wrapped in $ 100 bills.Nice swap!Ties in to her final comment in the car where she says, "The best lies contain some truth."
Like some other comments, I found the ending confusing.