Change Your Image
ealrussell
Reviews
Hoovey (2015)
Decent faith-based movie based on a true story
I liked it. Is it a great movie? No. Some heavy handed music overlays were more distracting than evocative and one could see the ending coming... But it was heartfelt and true.
Yes, it is a faith based movie, so if that alone will rub you the wrong way, give it a pass. (I felt some reviewers were unnecessarily harsh based on the faith aspect vs the content itself.) But if you are a person of faith or open to looking to a power greater than you when the odds are against you (both father and son are filled with self-doubt), I think you will like it.
"It is not what happens to you, it is what you do with it" Eric Elliot.
Perry Mason: The Case of the Hasty Honeymooner (1965)
Keeps you guessing
I was left with more questions than answers after this episode. Where is our beloved William Tallman? The substitute district attorney did a good job but I do miss Hamilton Burger's sparring with Perry.
**Major spoiler**
(Absolutely don't read any further if you haven't seen the episode. This is for the other reviewers who can maybe shed some light.)
My other question is if Tolliver's medication reacted with acid, why did the killer even have to add any to the lemonade at all? Untainted lemonade would have been sufficient, no? And it would have made a great crime as there was no "murder weapon"!
**End of spoiler**
A few fun twists in who is really a "goodie" and who is not. Other reviewers mentioned a very unlikable protagonist that Perry ends up defending. I agree. But that's pretty typical, all his clients either lie to him or cover up things, and always are the last person to touch the murder "weapon". And most of them are fairly annoying too... Just like old times!
I enjoyed it.
For Rent (2008)
Jodi works her charm and magic
Jodi Gilmore is super talented. She is both a realtor and decorator-on-a-dime. She takes on some unrealistic clients (really, they want the Taj Mahal at half price) with grace and humor. I like watching her finesse their expectations, and then execute some creative designs. Gives me great ideas for my place. A fun, enjoyable watch.
It is a Canadian import from 2008, so the prices are not applicable to the US (as one reviewer bitterly complained), but I don't think anyone watches a reality show in US to rent something in Canada anyways.
Just enjoy the host Jodi Gilmore's charm and talent. Recommend.
Mission Possible (2018)
101 Dalmatians, it is not.
The other reviewers said it: Bad, bad, bad. I watched for 32 grueling minutes and still couldn't figure out the plot. 101 shitz-tsus?
Plot is confusing (that is generous), and bounces back and forth between the cliche'd bumbling dog villians trying to sell shitz-tzus to an over-the-top-countess, and a bunch of kids (with various accents) and seemingly little adult supervision wandering around Italy. Lines seem to be made up as they go.
John Savage is the only one who can act, and he must have lost a bet or was really hurting for money.
Go rent the real 101 Damaltions, a classic, good for kids and adults.
The Farmer and the Belle: Saving Santaland (2020)
Skip this one
An obvious vanity piece for the leads who are husband and wife in real life. They see each other through rose-colored glasses.... The rest of us, not so much. Both are too old to be playing young thirtys, and the female lead's claiming to be a model is very hard to swallow and detracts from being able to buy-in to the story.
The film attempts to redeem itself by promoting good values to young girls (beauty is to be found in the heart and actions) but loses credibility by then using the film as a marketing vehicle to sell a bracelet and book (See trivia notes.)
The 10-star reviews appear to be solicited from friends of the actress.
Likewise, I can only believe that Schneider and and Bernsen, true actors, must have done this out of charity or a favor owed to the female lead.. this is well beneath their talents.
A disappointment.... And I like watching cheesy Hallmark-type movies. Skip this one and watch the "Love's Enduring" franchise for better story telling.
Passenger 57 (1992)
Enough plot holes to fly a plane through
I know part of an action movie is the audience's "willing suspension of disbelief," but when you have to suspend it for every single moment of the movie, it gets annoying.
For example a known plane hijacker is transported on a plane.. what could go wrong there? Additionally it was supposed to be unknown what plane they were on, even to the airlines, yet all the sudden the villain has accomplices pop up everywhere. What happened to security clearances? And how did they know which plane to be on?
Why must Snipes open the bathroom door at least three times when the plane is under attack? That was unnecessary and all it did was draw attention to himself, which of course then he comes under attack instead of just quietly completing his call for help. Guess it would make a very short movie.
When he is discovered, the henchmen/woman have multiple opportunities to just take Snipes out with a single bullet but they don't. I guess that would end the movie really fast as well.
When the villian aske for the plane to be refueled as Snipes had opened the lines, there is no mention of it having been corrected, but low and behold, they take off again, fuel lines intact. Plot hole number 5.
During one of the fight scenes, cabin pressure is lost and the oxygen masks drop. The reason masks drop is that at that altitude the air is extremely thin, yet the two combatants continue energetically like they are Himalayan sherpas, immune to the decrease in oxygen.
I could go on, but you get the drift. Sly Devechico was the one good bit of comic relief.
Good for Snipes fans or those 12 and under.