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Reviews
A View from a Hill (2005)
Meh
I don't really like gruesome horror, I prefer milder ghost stories. So I thought this might be just the thing. But when it was over I said out loud, "that was it?" I haven't read the original story, but according to other reviews, perhaps I should. This adaptation didn't really tell the tale and I'm left confused about the whole binoculars aspect, in fact the whole what-Baxter-was-doing part. I suppose we're just supposed to infer for ourselves. However it IS very British. "Oh, sorry about the hanging, old chap. Didn't mean to ruin your holiday." If you just want a quick ghost story and you either don't have anything else to do or you want something to watch while you do other things, maybe this is for you. But don't look away for a minute like I did or you might miss the climactic part. Maybe the good thing is that it might inspire people to read Mr. James' stories.
The Eternal Daughter (2022)
Not what I expected, and yet it was
I expected a ghost movie in the traditional sense. It is very slow moving and just . . . Conversations and people behaving oddly. After a bit I realized it wasn't going to be a traditional apparitions-type bumps-in-the-night ghost movie, but more like memories and regrets as ghosts. I've seen enough movies that about one third through I figured out how it was going to turn out. So basically I kept watching to see if I was correct. It's creepy enough, but also quiet. Don't expect a horror movie in the traditional sense, but it is happy, sad, scary, not scary - it's an art film, no doubt about that. If you're up for that, it's worth watching. A film to make you feel and think, but not if you're looking for a horror or action film. M. Night Shyamalan-esque.
Space Station 76 (2014)
Homage to the 70s!
I think other reviewers, perhaps those who are younger than 50, are missing the point. This is at once an homage and a satire of the 70s. As a Gen Xer who was 9 in 1976, I recognize these designs, props, furniture, hairstyles and attitudes. Pitch perfect. It's like a story of any 70s neighborhood, but they set it in space instead. Which is in itself an homage to the explosion of space-themed movies and tv of the 70s. The sexism, the closeted homosexual, the disinterested moms escaping with new-age therapy and prescription drugs. OMG they have a water bed!! I mean, I'm only half way through but I'm enjoying it just for the nostalgia. And the old guy who can't figure out the video phone, lol - do you recognize him from 2001: A Space Odyssey? Jerry O'Connell is also in it which is always a bonus, and he's so smarmy! I'll come back and adjust my rating if necessary when I finish watching.
I finished the movie and still loved it. It's a little window into the 70s - the unfulfilled housewives whose only jobs were sex, being moms, choosing menus and wallpaper, drinking wine and giving dinner parties v the one woman who is trying to make progress by having a job and everyone's attitudes toward her; and the parents who stayed together only for the kids. Did y'all miss the reference to the Nostradamus? Mindy is so much like Eric's sister on "That 70s Show." And the 60s and 70s were notorious for curing women's "hang ups" with Valium, rather than have doctors actually *listen* to them. Kinda like that hasn't changed too much.
For everyone saying it's depressing, I don't think so. Seems like everyone has a mostly happy ending except for Mindy. But maybe that catharsis is what Mindy needed and now she can be free to make some changes in her life. The captain gets a new boyfriend and other couples connect or reconnect. The little girl got to play the anti-gravity game and now will maybe have some more connection and affection in her life but will definitely grow up as a Gen Xer who might write the screenplay for this movie.
Queen of the Stardust Ballroom (1975)
Enjoying the nostalgia, but not the execution of it
As a Gen X, I'm enjoying the nostalgia of seeing these authentic 70s scenes, outfits, cars, etc. The premise of this story is promising, yet delivered in a pretty unacceptable way.
First, these folks are in their early 50s - why are they being portrayed as at the ends of their lives? I realize 50 was "over the hill" at that time but my goodness. I'm 56 and feel and act a lot "younger" than these folks are portrayed. I agree with other reviewers that the whole "I'm married" story is not dealt with very well. Like, please explain it to us, the viewers! I understand the whole desire to live for today and everything, but it seems quite unfair to the wife, whoever or wherever she is. It seems a cop out to leave it to our imagination. The two in the story I guess we're supposed to believe they just don't care, and that's not so much living for today as being selfish. Is the wife sad? Sitting at home with dinner waiting? I couldn't help thinking of her.
The ending - really? At 50? Is this realistic? It's not like this woman is 80 or 90 for goodness' sake! Oh, and the oddly placed singing as if it's a musical is weird. Is it a musical, or is it not? It would be much less jarring if they were being portrayed as actually singing to themselves or performing, not as if it's a musical. And more inside the Stardust. I want to see more of what actually goes on at the Stardust since that's the title of the movie. I agree also they could have included some really awesome music, but the music is nondescript. I guess they didn't have the money for the rights or something.
The whole story - while maybe at the time it was new - is very cliche. Older (Boomer) woman rediscovers herself when spouse dies, finds that being married was rather stifling although she felt content at the time, some of her children and friends don't like the new her and want her to stay the same but there is one who is supportive. I wish this movie had been more imaginative (as in less cliche), but not with the odd singing. The characters are all caricatures that we've seen before. And the mail carrier's character is not fleshed out. This is a guy who normally apparently can't get ladies to dance with him, he lies when he says he's just looking for friendship but he's obviously on "the make", he's married and never said so - why on earth is she attracted to him? I don't see it - he can dance and he quotes literary works but what else is there about him? She says "he is a good man." Really?
I don't understand how she gets to be Queen - from what little they've shown us from inside the Stardust, she doesn't compare with the current Queen who arranges events and contests, welcomes newcomers and is friendly and outgoing to all. I'm not sure at all that she'd be very good at the job. I also don't understand in the middle of the film how they come in third in a dance competition because they are not that good compared to the other dancers we see.
I'm not knocking old movies, I love a lot of old movies and classics, but sorry, a classic this is not. It's just . . . Depressing.
The Innkeepers (2011)
Decent Ghost Story
This is a decent ghost story for those who aren't in the mood for heavy effects and cgi or for a gory slasher film (which I never am). I think it could have used a little bit more ambiguously scary stuff though, like a few more sightings of "something" or noises. Nothing much happens until the end. And we never do find out for sure what happened to the spirits, or who the "three" of them are supposed to be, which is a little frustrating. I liked that it was filmed in an actual historic inn famed to be haunted, rather than some recreation on a sound stage. I like to watch moderately spooky films around Halloween time and this fit the bill. Scary enough to suit the season, not enough to give me nightmares. The characters are realistic - except Lee. She's a bit too far out there and knows too much - just because she's a self-proclaimed crystal healer doesn't mean she can understand the paranormal as well. But then again, there are ghosts in this movie, so . . .
Magic in the Moonlight (2014)
Terrible
The only reason I gave this three stars is because of the costumes, the music, and the scenery. Otherwise this movie is terrible. I must be a medium myself because before the movie was 1/3 over I predicted what was going to happen. The main character is insufferable; actually all the characters are. I had to fast forward several times through the loooooong boring expositions of Stanley to get to the ending, which I hoped would be much better. I get the point of all the philosophizing, but let's at least make it entertaining? You'd think there'd be a little more, well, magic as well. It started off promisingly but then fell off completely. And it's so very close to the same characterization of the famous Mr. Darcy. "Against all of my better judgment I fell in love with you . . ." The worst part is that Colin Firth is too old for Emma Stone. Yes, the movie takes place in the 20s where such an age difference was common and no one thought twice. But in the real world the actors themselves had to kiss in the film, and I find that inappropriate. Sure, they read the scripts and agreed to it, but still, I find it inappropriate. Then I saw Woody Allen's name in the credits and it all made sense. The plot is bad, the script is bad. I love Colin Firth, but I think maybe he should have turned this one down.
Lockwood & Co. (2023)
I really wish this was so much better
I really, really wanted to like this series. The premise was really promising, and I love the setting. I watched the entire first season because I was hoping it would somehow get better, and because I didn't feel up to the task of finding something new worth watching. But there are so many problems with this show that I just can't overlook: 1) I thought there would be a lot more ghost fighting; 2) these agents are TERRIBLE. They don't have skills, they never make a plan, they trust everyone all the time (yet not each other), they are only still alive because of some kind of dumb luck (or because ALL the other agents are even worse). They give away information. All. The. Time. They are the worst at hiding or being quiet or not leaving footprints, etc. They do the stupidest things, and yet they keep telling everyone how they are the best. Also, literally EVERYONE knows where they live, how is it the bad guys don't come there for them? How do they get their windows fixed so bad guys don't just walk in? 3) they constantly lose their equipment, including their rapiers, and yet have them again in the next scene or episode. How do they keep getting new rapiers? Where do they get money from? They never seem to go on any other jobs; 4) the head of DEPRAC is such a cliche character - oh, I'm going to keep telling you how awful you are, that you are going to be put out of business, but I'm really a nice guy underneath so I won't do that just yet; 5) what happened to the thing where ghosts can super easily put people into a weird coma? Did they forget that plot point? Because Anthony and Lucy would have had that happen way before now, with how easily it happened to Lucy's friend; 6) Evil people seem to give way more time and opportunity to these three than seems logical. Pam held a knife to Lucy and yet didn't kill her or cut her off until Lucy had said her piece to George? What lovely manners.
I would enjoy this series if only Lockwood and Co were written as much better and actually capable characters. And can we please lay off the constant "George constantly feels left out of the team because he's the research guy" stuff? Ugh. It's annoying and cliche. I recommend this for very casual watching only. I hope the books are better!
Screen Two: The Clothes in the Wardrobe (1993)
No redeeming qualities
This was described as a comedy. I found nothing humorous in it. At all. The characters are caricatures. The flashbacks to Egypt don't help the story. The bride-to-be is sullen the entire time and honestly I just wanted to smack her or tell her to speak up. I couldn't find it in me to like or care about any of the characters. The end of the film, the resolution, is neither magical nor amazing nor creative. It's frankly a bit unbelievable. I'm relieved that I'm finished watching this, although I am left really disappointed. I feel like it could have been so much more - I don't know who edited it; I'm not sure they ever watched the final cut that they edited it to because there is not much of a story here. Too many things going on but also nothing going on. Like it was a movie to showcase Jeanne Moreau and nothing else. She is the only one whose character is fleshed out at all. It should have been called "Lilli saves the Day" or something.
The Perfect Host (2010)
Not a new plot, full of cliches
Brilliant thriller? Not really. Full of movie cliches - news reports about John conveniently come on exactly when needed, the convenience store just happens to get robbed when he's in there, etc. It's obvious from the beginning that Warwick is not going to be what we're supposed to think he is. I had to turn this off as it is just gruesome and disturbing, but I assume the rest involves these two guys continuing to torture each other, while John tries to get away and his reason for becoming a criminal is gradually revealed to us, making us sympathetic to his character, and in the end the police miraculously figure out where he is and catch both criminals at once. Based on how this movie started, I figure this is pretty much how it's going to go. Is that correct? Maybe not, but I don't want to watch the rest of this to find out.
Fisherman's Friends (2019)
The only good thing was the singing, and not enough of it
Trite, cliched, rude, not funny. Dialogue not realistic. Another tired stupid-city-guy-who-learns-country-ways v wise country people thing. The little guys v the government. The characters are caricatures (the guy who has a baby but can't pay bills, the angry guy, the foul-mouthed jokester), the main character is an idiot. Supposed to be heartwarming, but people are just jerks to each other. Who says, we won't listen to you unless you go fishing with us and let us make fun of you? Of course he gets seasick. He's a record exec. but doesn't know what would happen with recording outside, or that his buddies are winding him up? The only semi enjoyable parts are the singing, the accents and the views of Cornwall. Does EVERYBODY in Great Britain do quiz nights? Oh look, the old small-town rivalry plot. I had to turn it off.
The Selling (2011)
Just what I was looking for
This movie was just what I was looking for. I'm so glad I decided to give it a chance after reading some of the not so good reviews. Those who didn't like it must not have any sense of humor or fun and take themselves and movies way too seriously. There seems to be a dearth of either classic or decent family Halloween type movies this year on either Netflix or Amazon, or new movies that aren't just slasher or over-the-top creepy. I wanted something not too heavy on the horror or adult situations and not too light on substance for our family (2 adults and 2 teens) to watch. We laughed all the way through this one, and there were mild scares and some unexpected twists as well. It's like an homage to all the classic scary movies but with added humor and a fresh new plot. I could guess what was going to happen next in a lot of places which was ok, but there were enough twists to surprise us and make it entertaining and funny. I think this is a new family favorite! I'd better buy a copy in case we can't find it on streaming platforms next year when we want to see it again. Make sure to watch it through the credits, too.
Super 8 (2011)
Entertaining if you don't take it too seriously
If you watch this movie as an independent, stand-alone kind of thing and/or you take it too seriously you probably are not going to like it. But if you approach it with nostalgia for family style movies of the late 70s and early 80s, I think you will like it. It's made in that style, as an homage to those movies certain of us watched and loved as kids. Yes, it intentionally has elements in it from Spielberg films - that is part of the fun, to pick out where you see those moments and remember them fondly. If you love Spielberg films, count this as yet another one that you may not have seen. Is it cheesy? Yes. Does it make perfect sense? No. Just like other movies of that time period. I'm confused that people say it has no plot. It does. Are there holes or unexplained things in it? Sure. Does it seem like they wanted to cram in as many scenes that would remind you of other movies that they could? Absolutely. From a nostalgic point of view, I enjoyed watching this movie. I especially enjoyed the end during the credits, I was hoping we would get to see that part. If you are a fan of Stranger Things, I think you will like this, I kept thinking how this was very similar to that. Just don't take it too seriously. I'm pretty sure you're not meant to. It's a fun romp with purposely over-the-top special effects and 80's style cliched script and characters. I probably will watch again to find references I missed this time.
Love Birds (2011)
Cute and sweet
Not deep, but better than most of the drivel available to watch without paying extra these days. Cute and sweet. The girl needs to lighten up a little, and yeah, there are a few cliche situations but I don't regret the time I spent watching.
The Earthling (1980)
NOT entertaining, not realistic
I don't like movies whose "point" does not also translate into an entertaining film. I don't mean that it has to have a happy ending necessarily, but I should say "that was a good movie, and it really made me think." Not this one. The only reasons I'd give to watch this movie are if you want to see views of Australia, if you really like either of these actors, if you have absolutely nothing better to do, or if you like movies with a message that bludgeons you over the head.
I'm honestly surprised at all the praise for this film. It seems as if someone wanted to pay homage to beautiful scenes in Australia, but didn't spend a lot of thought or time on a story to stick in it. And they made a film in Australia, featuring two American actors? Anyway, I find it odd that man supposedly has so little time left that he won't take a starving boy two-days journey back to where he can get help, and yet they hike for days and days more, with hardly any rest or trouble? The child can't remember words or even his name, then suddenly he can speak normally, then he can't? Why didn't the old guy just come out and say, I'm dying kid, you've gotta learn a few things so you can survive when I'm not here? He was so awful, he almost let the kid be torn up by wild dogs. I understand the point that we're all in this alone and we have to fight and learn to survive and be responsible for ourselves. But I don't go for the mentality of "I suffered as a child, and so you should suffer, too." And the dialogue - one minute the old guy doesn't want to say anything, the next he's telling a big, long adult story about his life and it's obvious that this is for OUR benefit to let us in on his backstory, not something natural to the scene. The native animals are so obviously placed in the scenes, hopping by idyllically at the hot spring, or perching scenically on bushes in front of the camera. At times the cinematography seems very set up and forced.
Was this movie just some kind of rehash of lost child stories in Australia (but with an American twist), like the real-life 1960 story of Stephen Walls and the 1978 movie, Little Boy Lost? I am also left wondering - the aborigines must have been aware of this boy wandering around lost - I feel that they would have helped him in some way. They turn up later in the film, briefly, but only as a scare for the child and a vehicle for Holden to espouse some ritual.
In the end, I cannot recommend this movie unless you feel like you need to experience it for yourself. It is painful to watch (I'm not simply referring to the subject matter) and several parts just don't make sense.
The Aeronauts (2019)
I learned two things . . .
Well, I did learn two things from this awful film. 1. Women WERE involved in ballooning and 2. butterflies CAN fly at altitudes of several thousand feet. I looked these things up after doubting them when they appeared in the film.
That said, the script of this film is awful. And I seriously wondered if any writers had done their homework when neither character was in the least bit chilly as they floated above the clouds in their open basket balloon, even after they had gotten soaking wet. I lamented all the money spent on the lavish costumes and sets, but apparently none was spent on dialogue or presenting things close to reality. There is a scene where Amelia has apparently been lying around depressed for several days at least without washing and is coerced by her sister to get up and get dressed - however her hair is clean and fluffy and her clothes are perfect and white and clean.
And the woman's name is Amelia. Really? That's original.
I never finished watching this film, it just was not worth investing my time.
Sunset Song (2015)
Not sure what this is supposed to be
This movie fell flat for me. Not sure what the director was trying to capture here. First of all, I found the lead actress quite distracting. She just did not belong, and didn't seem to have any emotions whatsoever. Her face almost always looked the same. She was way too pretty, her hair seemed very fake like a wig, and she was wearing much too much makeup for a character that probably never even would have had access to makeup or dreamed of wearing any. There didn't seem to be much characterization of any of the characters. The father was confusing and they made him out to be a monster. No one seemed to have any story at all. I guess you had to have read the book to understand. The description of the movie said it was about a girl in the early 1900s dreaming about a different life. I did not see any evidence of this. She never seemed discontented with her life.
The movie also made it seem like it was really easy for these two to successfully run a farm all by themselves with little help. They didn't appear to work very hard or ever get dirty. Just too many unrealities in a movie that seemed to want to present some kind of earthy, stark human reality.
I gave up halfway through, when war was declared. I've watched a lot of movies, I can see what's coming. And for me, it's not worth sticking around to see if I'm right. The only character I even care anything about at this point is the young husband, and pretty sure he's not coming back.