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michaelwplde
Reviews
Spaceman (2024)
Strong eight not for the faint hearted
It's been the year (or so) of the sci-fi space films, and now even Sandler has one to his credit. This is not your usual run of the mill cookie cutter Adam Sandler feature film. Not even remotely so. Although it is set, for the most part, except when it is not, in the further reaches of the celestial heavens, beyond Jupiter, IIRC in the story telling. But as others have mentioned, it is less about the venue, as it is about the peoples involved, our astronaut solo-ist, Jakub, and his somewhat-estranged fairer half, Lenka, some months pregnant and, we are told, coming up on expecting, and Jakubs ground crew, intervening in his behalf.
Set as though this were a cooperative Czech mission in space, but let's be hundred percent brutally honest. It is told very much through the lens of a Jew-ish-ness informed wordview. I mean, heck, we have Jakub in primary focus, and his strained relationship with his wife, Lenka. We have Hanus (from the Czech, 'Hanush'), which we think is perhaps a deep-space castaway, hitching a ride, or so we're told. Perhaps could be the proddings of Jakub's inner spaceman, subconsciousness doing the prodding, from the ends of eternity, proclaiming many times, "do not be afraid", etc, who knows.
The Chopra cloud is there mainly as a plot device, Jakub's macguffin, so to speak, reason for having deployed to the further reaches of the celestial heavens, where he picks up the supposed interstellar arachnid traveler. And, also, the reason for Lenka's felt estrangement, as a consequence of Jakub's ambitions. As Jakub processes his innerman, eventually he finds himself dieing entirely to himself and ejecting in pursuit of his failing subconsiousness. Perhaps, as it turns out, in an effort to absolve himself, redeem himself, before his wife Lenka. Or maybe it really was to lend some comfort to his passing arachnid stowaway.
Fortunately for Jakub, the Koreans, we are given hints about, are there to rescue the then stranded solo-naut. Which in and of itself, besides Jakub being the lone-astronaut in a one man crew, leaving that suspension aside, also that he may be rescued, having already committed himself to the harshness of outer space.
Anyway, worth the couple of hours? Depends how you approach it, with an open mind, starts out one way, did not expect it to take quite the turns it did, but overall was not dissatisfying in the delivered outcome.
Footnote Hanus not the best English translation of the name, an actual Czech name, pronounced 'Hanush' with a hard not soft U sound. It is certainly not "hanus", an entirely different word and meaning. It is a real think, can duck that one, look it up; I did.
Poor Things (2023)
A message to the accelerated alliterated
I will challenge the accelerated alliteration folks out there.
Overall, found it rather naughtily nubile, delightfully decidant, wonderfully wicked, aurally arrousing. The cynical cinematics were gratuitously genuine, and yet charismatically characteristic, of the classical genre, yet with terribly taunting trysty twist. Innocently introverted in ways, yet naively newborn in others.
Rather a fan of Emma Stone's work from prior efforts, Zombieland franchise, for instance, obviously, and she does a fabulously foibled job at portraying the Frankensteinesque free-spirited monster. It is rather fun to witness her torrid tromp across the constipated contintents in search of her odiferous outlook on the world and of life in general.
Mark Ruffalo as well, obviously needs no introduction, far from his recent career roles, whose character initially schemes at stealing away the minstrel mistress, but soon finds himself so hopelessly wrapped around her wonky axels that he absolutely loses any semblence of sanity.
And let's not forget Willem Dafoe, whom we are to presume is the penultimate creature creation himself, turned prodigal progenitor of the next generations of dubiosly endowed degenerates.
Many other notable contributions to the whole effort could be enumerated here, but we will let the viewer experience the effort for oneself.
Leaving aside the whole creation versus creator issue, as long as you embark on the errand knowing what you are getting yourself into, a no holds barred sinfully syndicated adventure, no worries are to be had, and you will be egregiously entertained for a couple two three hours.
Frasier (2023)
Rated pretty strong mostly because of the thin content
Let's face it, in today's budget strapped era of directing, producing, casts, skeleton crews, etc... 10 episodes for a sitcom, effectively a S12, but benes of the doubts over the P+ host.
So many posting expecting a series "reboot". Will be honest, I was not hundred percent certain what to expect, either. Yes, same ole Frasier goodness. Thankfully couple of familiar faces sprinkled in, tastefully reprised, I might add, for good measure.
But all told, was rather refreshing of a series. Same tonal, temp quality that we came to expect from Frasier 93-04, except advanced in years, but not so well advanced, pardoning the puns. Must admit, more than a couple of moments when I was dieing in laughter, perhaps wittier, even sharper than the original spin-off.
Only so much ground they can cover in a 20+ min spot, sans commercials and such, but they covered it faithfully to the original Frasier spin-off. They did right by the Lilith reprisal. As well as the Roz 'surprise' reprisal. Both were equally satisfying in their own ways.
In spite of what was pretty much a brand new cast, did well by the S12. We'll see what if anything a S13+ brings. Dare I say break a leg lucky number.
28 Days Haunted (2022)
The whole premise is a bit flimsy IMO
Rating four benefit of the doubt, the documented evidence, voice boxes and such, lend some support to the actual investigations, supposing they actually did investigate, and it was not some Blair Witch manufactured crisis.
The whole thing is a bit suspect to me when one of the teams apparemtly unearths, almost literally, evidence of 'occult rituals' or at the very least, protection majick. Probably a portal they disrupted, who knows. But to be honest, if the production crews, never mind benefactors, are worth their salt, they call in the officials when they are doing any sort of digging, who knows what infrastructure they are likely to damage.
Further suspect when another of the teams unearths what appears to be actual crime scene evidence. Again, calling into credibility the production crews, if not also benefactors. Maybe they are coordinating behind the scenes and are not documenting officials interventions, IDK. But seems to me whatever experiment, investigation, is under way, gets HALTED until further, evem cold case, sweeps can take place.
Curious though that the teams are deployed to their respective sites in a blind, if not double blind, manner, not disclosed about 28 day anythings, or whatever. I mean, what other conclusions are they going to come to. After you've been immersed in a place for any length of time, you get familiar with it, and it with you, of course the frequencies beging to harmonize. That is only natural.
Seems like the production filming, round table strategies, confessionals, all a bit contrived, if you ask me.
She Came to Me (2023)
Considering the assembled cast, surprising good
Considering the cast assembled on this project, AH, MT, anchored by a masterful performance by PD, did not expect this one to be quite as engaging, intriguing, as I found it to be. It was a bit predictible in places, stereotypical in others. And the muse inspirations for the 'operatic' interpretations... I mean, could it be any more obvious, in your face, what PD's is telling the world, or his 'wife' of convenience. She (AH's character) uses him at every turn, then makes excuses why she cannot 'be there'. But then refreshingly PD's character finds himself very nearly swept of his tiny legs and feet, if I may dare, by MT's character. Tugs the discordant young couple to DE of all places where they can elope and escape the statist stenographer step-father, even having the balls to float the word 'regime'. All things considered, you got couple hours to spend, not a disappointing performance. Could it be a bit less stereotyped, sure. Give it a strong C- D+ overall. Seen better especially these past couple of years, but also far, far, worse, by more than a few nautical miles.
Superman & Lois (2021)
Gimpy series becoming gimpier still
So many story lines thus far that seem to have gimped out... 'Jeremy Irons' IIRC was initially being referred to as Captain Luthor (?)... Maybe I missed something, but he went from CL to suddenly JHI virtually overnight or between scheduled mid-season breaks, IDK SMH. Bizarro, barely a whimper out of that arc. And now the whole LL DD debacle... half the cast was apparently written off the show in the S3 finale believe it or not, with some build up, but in a MacGuffin line or three of dialog, according to one article I read, heading into a gimpified S4 DoS arc, Sam ('dealt with by LL and his goon squad), Kyle Sarah and Chrissy (for 'reasons'), Irons and his daughter (also for 'reasons', although how an the clock still be ticking without a Sam, someone want to 'splain to me that one, albeit this is not foretold knowledge to the characters themselves, I expect). Was not clear on the fate of the other other LL (not Lex, not Lois), but I assume she has her S4 MacGuffin 'reasons' as well, all things considered. The hits just keep coming. Not that SL has been that fat of a series from the git go, fewer eps than its contemporary counterpards, etc, but apparently even slimmer still with S4 being scheduled for just 10. With even a blurb that perhaps even sfx gimpier still, if that were even possible, recall from the git go the sfx were never really the strong suit of this series. Which is forgivable because the cine, for the most part, has been pretty fantastic compared to its contemporaries, just a bygone quality cine, far and away better than its Flash+S/g predecessors. I mean it took the star power of a MC, seasoned actor in his own right, to come in and give the LL brand a jolt of energy that, I think, really helped to lift S3 to some new heights. Sad it seems that, too, is probably going to gimp out heading into S4. Anyway, Superman, don't let us down in this up up and away, probably, finale S4 season.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
Confused how this is receiving so many high ratings
Individually the performances are strong enough. Character Chemistry between characters is strong enough, with development to boot. That much I did not have a problem with. Depends on your sense of humor, I guess, it is just 'one of those films', when every gag build up to a punch line is to a line to a word to a syllable itself a punch line, kind of ruins the punch line when it is one long run on punch line in the works. CP's performa nce is strong enough and carries the whole crew. MR also strong enough and what a diverse background she's got, ROFLMAO. HG bit of a type cast given his track record, resume, etc, but it also works for him. And on from there. Like I said, depends on your sense of humor whether this works for you or not. Maybe it'll grow on me, hopefully not need to peel off too many scabs for the injuriously bad sense of gag joke telling.
Shotgun Wedding (2022)
Whadoyawant anyway
Most of the other films out there are complete and utter garbage. Either there is a thinly veiled agenda, a subperforming plot, little to no production value, and the list goes on. For what it was, this film just has it all. Couple of character roles are understandably a bit type cast given recent other performances, White Lotus, for instance, but take what I can get here. There was definitely chemistry, didn't take itself too seriously, had a great mix of action, bit of romance mixed in, and so on. Can't believe there were so many negative reviews here. It celebrated wholesome man woman relationship and the two of them were so great together. Even the extra-family dynamics were tantalizingly fantastic. And a cute little cast-driven karaoke closer to boot. Kinda fun all around.
Wolf Pack (2023)
Hardly a 10 according to one source
Not that I consider myself a guru when it comes to the horror, suspense, thriller, or even vampire or ww genres. One source had it at an IMDB 10, hardly that; 6 is more like it, but honestly I am not sure I would give it even that.
Right off the bat they try to play off the name recognition, I think. Understandably so, but so much so that I think they are missing a step or three in terms of macguffin, plot establishment, character introduction, character development.
We're just expected to 'know' that there is this brother and sister WW out there... or that there are these two pup sirelings suddenly come into existence. Or that there is a big bad WW sire out there.
Or that somehow the SMG role is really somehow an LAFD 'arson investigator', including dialog put down zingers i.e. 'blunt instrument' LAPD Officer Jan, whatever.
The pups, all seem to have a schtick. So that's how it's gonna be, huh? Hearing, smell, running, strength... Oh, OKAY. And I guess none of them know how or have turned (yet). And they all just seem to have a wolvie sense about them, huh. Seems a bit Highlander-esque to me.
IDK, if this were aired on CW rather than P+, I would not have been that surprised, to be honest. It is just that 'flashy', gimmicky, etc. Kinda giving prior WW ventures a bad name with all its attempts.
Not overly optimistic it is going to get any better than that, sorry to say. Not that familiar with the series backstory, production notes, etc, coming into this one, but I think they might have way overplayed ther SMG et al hand.
Black Adam (2022)
Over promised under delivered by 1000 country miles
There was obviously a lot of hype heading into this one, no pun intended, i.e. Black adams forehead, but about all that bought them was The Rock's neckline and shoulders, shiny, thick and broad as they may be. Other than that, I feel like they missed a golden opportunity to pay off such a historic team up in the Justice Society, especially we have seen cameos of 'the team', IIRC, in Stargirl, for instance. Really missed the mark on the DC verse hero characters, IMO. Fate, feel like he was nothing more than a fancy magician illusionist, one avenue removed from the Las Vegas strip; lost on this effort was the mystique in that persona. Hawkman, bold, bravado, maybe, about 50% passable delivery IMO. And there was one sequence, in particular, in which, was it really that necessary, even to setup 'what came next', overly gratuitous, unnecessary, IMO. By contrast, at least they had the class to suggest, 'and maybe smash a few things along the way' with Professor Hulk and Avengers Endgame. Cyclone, wasn't she 'white', granddaughter of Red Tornado? So of course they had to make her 'black'. Atom Smasher, no opinion really, other than it seemed like he was the latinx comic relief, actually just about all the 'heroes' had some misfit comic element about them. Which may be what they were aiming at considering the central figure was the villan (ahem) 'anti-hero' Black Adam. Any version of the character, though, I've ever seen depicted, is not so shallow, not so wooden, a bit more depth and range in his character, even in spite of him being a culturally distant misfit. Also one of the closing moments in the flick, feel like they missed a golden opportunity to pay off BA's 'team player' motif in Shazam power sharing, but maybe that is an ability exclusive to Shazam, IDK. About the only two personas they 'got right' at all, or that were consistent, anyway, with previous continuum efforts, was Waller and Harcourt, props for that segue, actually. Perhaps the only thing possibly worth mentioning was the Superman post credits segue, which of course is another classic.
Significant Other (2022)
Horror? Thriller? More like a tragic comedy of unforced errors
Starts off suspenseful enough, but the cliches seem a bit forced. Pregnant with double entendres throughout, to which you can play along with the writers, "sure but just wait". Then they have to explain that this is really about the black (or blue) goo body snatchers, who happened to also arrive in the Mork+Mindy egg shaped space craft. For Maika Monroe seemed like more of the same, type cast, accidentally suspenseful thriller genre. For Jake Lacy, also seems like a type cast comedy of errors, especially once the whole body snatcher double motif was backtracked and explained, for his role in The White Lotus. If you have the time maybe it is worth passing on this one, but I'm not sure the journey, let alone destination, is that satisfying.
Dig (2022)
Painfully rubber mallet to watch
Signature scenes the rubber mallet, that about says it all. Between my eyes, over and over again, the whole time. Thinly veiled macguffins, reasons for the characters having investment, motivation, plot devices, whatever. Pretty much that way throughout; by the time the thugs are holding the heroes captive, more of the same, more rubber mallet blows to the viewer's face. Get it over with already. How many more characters do I really need to describe just how much of a lame duck this one really was. So many were the plot devices, motivations, etc, was it really that interesting, no, not really. I am finally done.
Unicorn Town (2022)
Pretty well done saga, journey
Evidently NA has some pull with the IC, given some of the names, resources, assets, drawn together in the back office of the effort. Pretty decently compiled from home spun footage, from what I can tell, and official club and league footage, as documented in the trailing credits. Told a pretty decent, rich story, front, middle and rear. Teased you with a bittersweet pill to swallow, but did not leave you there in the end. But to be fair, if you look up the SHU, they have been strong contenders, not taking that away from them whatsoever, but the NY Lions have also been there as their northern arch rivals. Both pretty strong teams in their own rite. Worth the watch? Sure, I did not mind it.
Purple Hearts (2022)
More a hers than a his film
I'd say perhaps 70/30 hers/his film, but definitely passable if couples are curious about it. IDK what else to say about it; seemed like more of a SC talent pageant than an NG GQ runway film to me, but whatever. As far as couple drama, there was; kind of predictable, and all the usual marxist propoganda check boxes were checked as one might expect at this point. Worth the watch? Two thumbs 50/50. Up to you. Enjoy!
As They Made Us (2022)
Just a well stitched together life story
Just a regular story about life, chapters, transitions, focused on how one Jewish gal apparently leans into her faith to make it through (we are left to assume). Well worth the watch even if you are not Jewish. Also, kudos MB for such a daring, bold move, not only P+D, but also WRITING. Well done. IHS.
Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber (2022)
Surprised this is getting such high reviews
It seems this series is yet another installment in a tragic trend throughout the media, from HaCF to WeCursed (I mean, Crashed), exposure of a sort, or perhaps celebration, at having blown up, disrupted, industry trends, and what have you. As far as SP is concerned, it's bad enough that episodes tend to be named for a quippy line in the dialog, usually delivered at some poetically pivotal moment during the episode, but to also name itself, the series, not just once, but repeatedly... Meh, that's pretty bad form, if you ask me. In fact quite terrible.
All the Old Knives (2022)
Surprised this one rated six dot anything
Really, it's not that good. It's a gratuitous affair wrapped in a who done it mystery, with a table turner twist on top for good measure. Has some big time name actors, that's about the only draw this film has, not only CP carrying but basically a CP+TN duo carrying, with contributions from a handful of others. That's about the only draw this film has, otherwise, does not seem like that much interesting, new ground covered.
The Contractor (2022)
Would have rated higher but
I started higher 6-7 maybe. Not the most original movie premise ever done. The acting wasn't all that bad, actually, throughout. Scenes, sequences, expression, etc, all very plausible. Also, a bit of soft disclosure there, IMO; but take away what you want to. What killed it for me was the post-prod. Dialog seemed rather muted to me; my hearing ain't great, but it's not that bad. Could have been clearer. Maybe the delivery just wasn't there, I don't know, but like I said, the acting other was not not terrible, like in some flicks as of late. Over the muted fuzzy dialog was an over produced soundtrack, effects, etc. That absolutely killed it for me. Otherwise, got hours to spare, not a bad way to spend them.
Dog (2022)
More of an endearing furry flashbang flick
It was special, endearing, at moments, throughout the film. It was also somewhat of a recipe script; seems like that MO has been done, many, many times before. But that is not to say the film did not have a character all its own. Worth the watch, even a bit family friendly have that as your objective. But do not expect anything altogether groundbreaking in terms of original content. The underpinning MO of the boy meets dog rescue sort of thing is the main theme and all the ups downs twists turns you might expect in a man versus beast, or furry flashbang, sort of genre. But like I said, there is plenty of character to boot, so you do not notice quite as much. Was leaning toward rating 5 or 6 for the recipe, but the character impressed me to 6 or 7.
A Day to Die (2022)
Gave Grillo the bene of the doubt but otherwise it is B-A-D
It's pretty bad; the cine is awkward, the acting is isolated and wooden at best, the effects are shotty, scale of 1-10 about a 2 for prod val. Shame because the last couple of Grillo films have been pretty decent, I think. Willis films on the other hand, another poor choice, IMO. I gave it a 2 only because I was cautiously optimistic it might be a halfway okay Grillo film, but... it was not. Did not make it 30m in and it Died.
Driven to Kill (2021)
Check my eye liner and lipstick...
Not especially believable. Didn't watch it much beyond that. Literally, she'd be sweating gallons driving such powerful machinery, especially if she is not conditioned for it. 'Did my mascara run?' Anyway, props for the effort, I suppose.
Titans (2018)
Basically stuck in a rut
Hardly any 'hero-ing' basically just a fancy crime drama now. S3E1 hinted at more, and they could have done so much more with it so far. What did we get for a S/f flight effect? Basically a boot and heel shot; probably didn't even rig anything up, just asked AD to lift her leg up... Or any B/b changes; again, hints of perhaps more animals coming, but nothing, one absent tee, 'crickets' LOL. Some fancy Kryptonian stuff, and a few Tamaranian fire effects, woopdee. And where did 'Raven' go in S3? Also, conspicuous by her absense... Never mind, how about any Terra story arcs. Had so much promise...
Titans (2018)
Basically stuck in a rut
Hardly any 'hero-ing' basically just a fancy crime drama now. S3E1 hinted at more, and they could have done so much more with it so far. What did we get for a S/f flight effect? Basically a boot and heel shot; probably didn't even rig anything up, just asked AD to lift her leg up... Or any B/b changes; again, hints of perhaps more animals coming, but nothing, one absent tee, 'crickets' LOL. Some fancy Kryptonian stuff, and a few Tamaranian fire effects, woopdee. And where did 'Raven' go in S3? Also, conspicuous by her absense... Never mind, how about any Terra story arcs. Had so much promise...
Schumacher (2021)
Such a bygone era
Who will ever forget the screaming V12 850 hp 15,800 rpm naturally aspirated engines of the era. MS is the penultimate iconic figure of that time. Like them or hate them, Ferarri and MS were the pinacle of success during that time, and proved it consistently, nearly every other race. Such a great example to that and any other sport or walk of life.
Reminiscence (2021)
It was okay, but it was also kind of schizophrenic
The film did not know what it wanted to be, quite honestly. But about 30% through realized it was kind of a coppa-detective flick set in a post-apoc sci-fi setting. Then by about 60% through wondered if it was caper heist flick, which it kinda was also. Then by about 80% through wondered if, the boy won the girl tragic love story, all rolled into one... It was busy. Very busy. A lot of layers. Probably too many. Yet, I'll give them a strong C+ for the effort anyway. Could probably have been better if it was not so layered.