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jaynestrange
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A Thread of Deceit: The Hart Family Tragedy (2020)
interesting, but doesn't spend enough time asking the real questions
It's interesting to see the perspectives of people who were close to the Hart family, but too much time is spent letting these friends ramble about how hurt they feel by online bullies, or how they aren't being 'allowed' to publicly process their emotions. Look, I get that finding our your friends murdered six children is going to cause a lot of complicated emotions, but you can't publicly talk about how your child abusing friends were great people without expecting public pushback.
For what it's worth, I don't think the filmmakers set out to make something that comes across as making excuses for murder. The title is "Thread of Deceit" & I think they did effectively show how well the Hart moms deceived the people around them. Even after they committed murder, there are still people willing to defend them, so clearly they worked very hard to portray a certain image.
It just would have been far more interesting & worthwhile to really get what was actually going on in the Hart household, not just the vague impressions of what they seemed like online or at festivals. Talk to more of their neighbors, teachers, family, anyone who interacted with them on a regular basis. Spend more time exploring how the perfect pictures on Facebook didn't reflect reality.
Chicago P.D. (2014)
Police Brutality: The TV Show
I like a good police investigation show, so I watched eight episodes, to see if it would get good at some point, but was disappointed. There just aren't any characters that you really want to see succeed. In a functional police department all these cops would be fired for lying, beating up suspects, and totally violating the constitutional rights of the people the arrest. It's not that I dislike morally grey protagonists, I just usually like them to have some more redeeming features. It would be a much stronger show if it focused more on investigative work and less on beating up suspects until they confess.
The Possession (2012)
not terribly interesting or scary
Basically a standard possession story. It's not *bad*, just doesn't really have anything particularly scary or interesting about it. From the first ten minutes, you can pretty much predict the entire rest of the movie.
Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness (2021)
zombies in the White House
In the first episode, a character says, completely seriously, "The more important question is: How did zombies get in the White House?" That's pretty much how the show is. Not great, but an entertaining enough waste of time.
The Babysitter (2017)
this is what would happen if you combined Quentin Tarantino & Wes Anderson
I didn't expect to like this movie just based on the trailer, but I really did. It has a real 'cult classic' feel to it. Not for everyone though so if "coming-of-age horror comedy with lots of gore" doesn't appeal to you, then you might want to skip it.
Sinister (2012)
atmospheric but lacking substance
Aesthetically, I think this is a really good horror movie. In character & plot however, there's not much there. You never really know anything about the characters, they seem more like placeholders in a partially-finished script.
Amityville: The Awakening (2017)
not great
There's just not a lot here to review, honestly. Stuff happens, some of it is creepy, then it's over. The only really good thing I can say about it is Cameron Monaghan delivers quite an unsettling performance, despite the fact his character is immobile for most of the movie.
Polaroid (2019)
totally uninteresting
The most notable thing about this movie was how poorly lit it was.
The Emoji Movie (2017)
one long ad
In what universe is it ethical to make a movie-length advertisement and then market it to children?
The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann (2019)
interesting but incomplete
If, like me, you were a kid when the case was in the news, then this series is fairly interesting. I think it does a good job highlighting all the things that went wrong in the early hours of the investigation & how that hampered everything that followed. There was not nearly enough attention in the series given to the parents as suspects though, and no mention of whether or not any of the McCanns' friends could have been involved. (Not to mention that if she was kidnapped, it was their negligence that allowed it.)
Nurses Who Kill (2016)
repetitive
The reconstructions segments for the episodes about American killers were clearly not well-researched. At one point they have their actress wearing a British nurses' uniform instead of scrubs like a nurse would in the US, and some 'Texans' have accents that sound much more like they're from Georgia.
It really felt like they were trying to stretch out to fill a time slot too, repeating bits of interview footage over & over.
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
hot mess
The whole thing is just a disaster. The very premise, that Thanos thinks getting rid of half of the living things in the universe (not half the human or half the sentient beings, but half the cows & half the chickens & half the space creatures too) is just to dumb to handle. A five-year-old could tell you that's a stupid plan, and yet we're supposed to believe a Titan can't see the flaw in it? (I'd say the single bright spot here is Steve Rogers's backside. Truly, America's ass.)
Unplanned (2019)
not actually based on a true story
This film claims to tell the true story of a woman called Abby Johnson. In actuality, almost everything in the movie was made up by Johnson for her own gain. The life-changing abortion she saw? Never happened. Johnson was in fact about to be fired from Planned Parenthood (for inappropriate conduct) and the Coalition for Life was promising 3 thousand dollar speaking engagements for anyone who would leave Planned Parenthood and join them. Johnson took that offer, and has clearly been making money off a fabricated story ever since.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2014)
atmospheric, but the plot isn't great
The whole film was beautifully shot, so I didn't hate it, but the plot was 'meh' at best.
The Nun (2018)
not great
I may just be desensitized, but I didn't find it all that horrific. Something about the undead nun was kind of hilarious to me, which really took me out of the horror mindset. I think this would be a good movie to watch if you want to grab some friends, some pizza, and yell 'behind you' at the tv for a while - otherwise give it a pass.
The Conjuring 2 (2016)
definitely better than the rest of the franchise
Unlike the rest of the series, this one actually scared me some! I felt like there was actually some plot to it, and you get more of a chance to know the characters.
Look Away (2018)
either Lovecraftian horror or a terrifying metaphor for mental illness
Either way, I really enjoyed it. Very atmospheric. Some people might not like the amount of questions the ending leaves unanswered, but I felt like it really benefited from not telling you anything for certain, just leaving you horrified and wondering.
Annabelle: Creation (2017)
no suprises
It was fine. Some good special effects. No real plot twists or surprises. (I noticed there were like four different times a character comes home just in time to hear someone in the house screaming. Just thought I throw that in here.)
Behind the Curve (2018)
best documentary I've ever seen
The filmmakers do a masterful job cutting together footage of the flat-earth brigade with interviews with smart, engaging science experts. It's a perfect look at why people fall into conspiracy theories.
Fyre (2019)
do you like to watch rich people mess up?
This is great as both documentary and entertainment. It makes the whole Fyre disaster make total sense, when you see this world where a guy saying "I bough a drug lord's private island" is met with enthusiasm rather than skepticism.
If you like watching 'epic fails' but don't like feeling bad for the people involved, this is the documentary for you! There's hardly a sympathetic person on screen, so you can revel in schadenfreude all you want.
The Haunting of Hill House (2018)
scared the ever-living crap out of me
This is some dang good horror. The last couple episodes weren't my favorite, they didn't have the same suspense (which seems to be the case with a lot of horror shows) but the ending was satisfying.
Once Upon a Time (2011)
it started out strong
The first few seasons were good, but it really got lost around the fourth. There gets to be a lot of self-conscious Disney tie-ins which kind of make it hard to watch.
The Girl on the Train (2016)
good but uninspired
The very definition of 'solid but uninspired'. There's no major problems, but I felt like there weren't really a lot of surprises either.
National Treasure (2004)
almost the worst two hours of my life
I have never disliked a movie more than this. I was told that it was fun and funny, so I thought "sure, why not? some cinematic cheese to watch on a Sunday night". Oh boy was I wrong. I swear it felt like I had fallen into a parallel dimension while I was trapped watching this travesty, while the people on the couch with me seemed to be really enjoying themselves. And then, finally, when it was almost over and I figured it couldn't cram anymore bad into the last two minutes, the note it chooses to end on is: 'an attractive woman is a prize to be won by getting rich, just like a sports car'. Wow.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
I tried to like it
I really did try, but I just couldn't make myself care. The whole film is just one big loud flashy CGI scene after another, with no time to actually feel for the characters. They also managed to make Thanos less visually scary than in the other movies? (To quote my sister: "He looks like a big purple thumb".)