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Don Quixote (2015)
Delightful simple film
Lower your expectations and delight in the joy of this little film.
Please don't judge this movie on expectations of greatness or slick production values.
This is a simple film with an indie feel and corresponding budget. Its heart and humor resound throughout its short length (one hour and 22 minutes).
Pay no attention to any big name actors, they appropriately play small parts in the telling of this classic tale by Cervantes.
I was charmed by its humbleness in not trying to make itself more than what it is.
I shall be delighted to watch this again with my best friends over a wineskin or two as our hearts are buoyed and illuminated with chivalry and smiling honors.
8/10.
Dead in 5 Heartbeats (2013)
Motorcycle Club lifestyle and depths
If you're expecting some glitzy Hollywood production with some studio heads' ideas about what they want you to think bikers and Motorcycle Clubs are like, then this isn't the film for you.
However, if you're interested in seeing a gritty portrayal of real bikers and their ethos of freedom and loyalty, I'd highly recommend it.
A few real actors, and many real MC members grace the movie with their presence and truth of their lives and tales in a well written movie that puts the viewer right into the midst of a composite story based on the book "Freedom" by Sonny Barger, a founding member of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club.
If you're looking for some biker wisdom and Jeffersonian ideals put into an honest and realistic cinematic production, you won't be disappointed.
9 out of 10 stars for its heart and realism. Will watch again. Respect given.
True Detective: Night Country: Part 1 (2024)
Jumping the Shark slowly and painfully
Trying so hard to be relevant but every scene is painfully cringe. Everything is awful and contrived and slow and boring and predictable. Long, drawn out scenes, trying so hard to be meaningful and make us want to care, but doing a disservice to the cultures it's purporting to represent in its Alaskan setting by its heavy handed boringness.
None of the characters are likeable or interesting, and the predictable plot drags on and on, ad nauseum.
I kept hoping it might get better, but it just kept its Junior High school quality and I was sighing in painful eye rolling in every cringing moment.
It might have been watchable as a 90 minute movie, but the awful writing kept assaulting me continually and I only kept watching to finally have the story arc finished.
Embarrassing and awful and a ridiculous waste of time. It gets one star for some nice music in a couple of episodes, but just look the songs up online to save yourself from an awful debacle of a subject deserving of higher caliber writing.
Panther People (2023)
Well made, but lacking a little in breadth
A well made documentary about the "Panther Platform" cars made by Ford/Mercury/Lincoln (Ford LTD Crown Victoria, Ford Crown Victoria, Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, Lincoln Town Car, and Continental Mark VI).
The film takes us to various locales around the US and Canada and the kinship their owners find among each other for the love of these cars.
We meet some interesting people and their rides, but too much focus is given the Crown Victoria models. I happened to see one or two Mercury Marauders in a camera pan, maybe even one Lincoln Town Car, but virtually no attention was given to them. I was hoping to see much more of the Marauders and Town Cars, but they were only mentioned in passing.
A lot of the focus was given to a couple of the owners and some of it became relatively boring before long, dragging down the pacing.
It seemed like a lot more material, cars and owners, was available than what we were given.
I'd like to see a follow-up focusing more on the Lincoln Town Cars and Marauders.
Worth a watch if you're a Crown Vic enthusiast.
Had more potential than what was delivered.
I'd give it a 6.49 out of 10 stars, rounded down to 6.
The Illusionist (2006)
Shockingly reprehensible
To summarize this movie, teenage girl befriends and kisses interesting boy. Their "relationship" is nixed by her parents. He goes away for 15 years. She grows up, gets involved with Crown Prince, and becomes engaged to him. Old flame returns, woman cheats on her Crown Prince fiancé with boy from 15 years ago. She and her old flame decide to fake her death, falsely blame the Prince for her murder, ruin his reputation and that of the Royal family, drive him to suicide, and then, get away with it all, just so they can "be together".
How on earth does a story like that get a rating of 7.7 out of 10? Are there no questions about this kind of morality? According to this film, infidelity is good, slander is good, driving someone to suicide is good, as long as it's all done for the sake of a romantic relationship.
I am absolutely shocked and disgusted by this film, and terribly disappointed that the filmmakers managed to trick so many people into viewing this as not only acceptable, but even laudable. For bloody shame!
Primeval (2007)
Surprisingly good
I wasn't expecting much from this movie, especially in light of the poor choice of originally marketing it as a "serial killer" movie. In fact we only went to see it on our double date because of the scant choice at the local multiplex.
That said, however, I was pleasantly surprised to find it an above average creature flick. Shot in South Africa, the setting was beautiful with the awesome landscapes and wildlife. Also, it did a good job of bringing some of the horrors of war ravaged and ethnically cleansed Burundi to light, without becoming too self-important about it. (I found it interesting how one of the characters noted that it was the humans fault that this monster had been created, as the crocodile had gained a taste for human flesh after feeding on so many dead victims from all the war's massacres.)
Some good tension, mostly good acting performances and directing (though I did think that some of the action scenes were shot too close for too long), interspersed with amusing comedic moments, left me feeling fairly satisfied. I'll probably even rent it again upon it's DVD release.
London (2005)
Noisy and disappointing
The story's summary on the back of the DVD sounded interesting enough, however, the only reason I didn't turn it off a third of the way through was because I was just barely intrigued enough to want to see how it ended. While there were a few interesting moments of dialogue, I felt no empathy with the film's protagonist, rather, he was an angry, self-involved a**hole who did nothing but whine and yell the whole time. It was utterly impossible to think that the character London would find anything attractive in him, let alone would have ever been in love with him. This movie tries very hard to be trendy, smart, and artsy, yet it failed in each respect. While the ending was nice to see in a movie, and the soundtrack was enjoyable and appropriate, it still did not make this film worth watching, and I wish I hadn't bothered.
Hostel (2005)
Not Up to Its Hype
Considering the marketing of Hostel as one of the most shocking horror films, my girlfriend and I were eager to watch the just out "uncut" DVD. Actually, I watched most of it alone as she fell asleep within 45 minutes.
We watch a lot of horror films, yet this one fell well short of any frights, dream-weavers, or even suspense. I'm being generous in giving it a 5 of 10.
And do not expect it to be a Quentin Tarantino film either. He neither wrote nor directed it, and I can only imagine how much more interesting it would be if he had. There was no evidence of Tarantino in it whatsoever. Now I'm not hating on Eli Roth, I liked Cabin Fever, with it's mix of angst, blood, and black humor, but he took a fine concept for a film, and turned it into a shmozzle of a road-trip movie without any laughs, a soft-porn movie that wouldn't even excite a teenager, a gore movie which just seemed wholly unrealistic and hokey, and a thriller into a predictable outcome without any tension.
Yes there were some scenes that were disturbing, perhaps, to the squeamish, but I wouldn't let my mother watch it anyway. I found Rob Zombie's "Devil's Rejects" much more disturbing, unexpected, tense, and story-driven than this yawn, I mean, yarn.
I was expecting much more with Tarantino prominently featured as executive producer. I mean, True Romance, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Dusk Till Dawn even, these are all either noteworthy or excellent movies he's written, but sadly, he penned nothing here. I would really be interested in what he'd do with a horror screenplay himself.
To summarize, I'm glad I didn't pay to see it in the theater, and also glad I work in a video store so that I could see it for free. It's barely worth a DVD rental (very scant special features BTW), if only to inspire others to strive to do more and better in writing and directing than this tame might-have-been.
Hustle & Flow (2005)
a great movie
From all I'd heard about it, I had high expectations of this movie before I watched it, and I was not disappointed. Wow. It was not a good movie, it was a GREAT movie. D-Jay is a Memphis pimp trying to get out of the hustling game. In his heart and mind burns the flow of rhythm and lyrics born out of the gritty streets, where he ekes out a living for himself and his "girls". But he dreams of more, of bringing his verse out, knowing its cathartic nature can be his only hope for escape and freedom from his life of drug dealing and pimping. Hustle & Flow has a rock-solid supporting cast, but Terence Howard needs an Oscar for his portrayal of the rapping pimp, D-Jay. He made it real, he brought D-Jay to life, he gave him his heart, the good, bad, inspiring, self-defeating, overcoming, and redeeming. Maybe Terence Howard isn't "big" enough yet in the Academy circles, but in my mind, if he doesn't deserve an Oscar, no one does.