**** = Really good
*** = Worth seeing
** = A waste of time, but one or two good moments
* = Not worth your time
-0 = Less Than Zero: viewing this is likely to result in a dramatic loss of IQ points.
1. The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972) I'd been thinking about this movie / play lately...even though it'd been 50 years or so since I'd first seen it. The truncated line, "My heart is full..." has often popped into my brain...that pitiful, mangled, cliched line which is all the failed mother can say at a critical moment in the action. Watching it this time was really hard, though. The unrelenting cruelty of the alcoholic mother was just so hard to push through. And the animal cruelty...well, if it had come earlier than the very end, I probably would have stopped watching. So not for the faint of heart, for sure, and I'm not sure it was worth the turmoil. The girl who played Matilda was brilliant, though. She's Nell Potts, daughter of Paul Newman (producer and director here) and Joanne Woodward (who plays the alcoholic mother). And get this: this was her second and final film. She went on to become an environmentalist and to found Newman's Own. ** 1/1/23
P.S. I checked all the usual platforms and couldn't find this movie, then went to YouTube and there it was, the whole shebang, and for free.
2. Just Mercy (2019) ***** This was at least my third viewing of this film, and it holds up well, losing none of the emotional impact. Michael B. Jordan is fantastic here, and Jamie Foxx, who vacillates between brilliance and absurdity in his roles more than any other actor I can think of (except, perhaps, Nicholas Cage), is Oscar worthy here, for sure. I don't know how anyone could watch this movie and still be in favor of the death penalty. 1/2/23
3. Matilda the Musical (2022) 1/5/22
4. Willow Season 1 (2022) *** Not a show I wanted to see, but Joe did, so.... And you know, it actually had some moments. Enough of them that I went back to watch the 1988 movie. And it was just awful. Unrelentingly so. 1/12/23
5. Willow (1988) * Just awful.
6. A Man Called Otto (2023) 1/13/23 Well, you know. Its Tom Hanks, so it was good. But I wanted it to be better. ***
7. Saving Mr. Banks (2013) 1/13/23 Because one Tom Banks movie a day just isn't enough. For Jacqueline. This was actually a great movie. I call it ****. And it's the first movie I really loved Collin Ferrell in. The man can hit some notes. Also, this movie made me want to read Mary Poppins...as well as watch the movie again, which I haven't done in about 50 years.
8. Straight Time (1978) *** Second time I've seen thisP forgotten Dustin Hoffman classic...first time being when it came out, in the theater, 45 years ago. It's a powerful film, and it holds up well. Hoffman manages to convince you that he is a dangerous person, and his anger is fearsome on the screen. There are also some great supporting bits from Harry Dean Stanton (who plays guitar and sings in one scene) and M. Emmet Walsh, who is amazingly obnoxious. Also, Gary Busey and Kathy Bates (in her first movie role) do fine jobs. Watching thus made me want to see more Dustin Hoffman movies asap. 1/14/23
9. The Devil and Daniel Johnstone (2005) **** Very strange and interesting movie. Appallingly honest at times. 1/15/23
10. Stand and Deliver (1988) *** Good, but not as goid as I remembered it being. For one thing because the teacher was kind of an asshole to the kids a lot of the time. For another because they went from gang bangers to dedicated students way too fast. It might be based on a true stiry, but it didn't ring true.1/16/23
11. Sphere (1998) As with the book, the first 1/3rd of this was actually pretty good, but it was a fast slide down hill from there, and by the end of it, nothing but a -0 rating would do. I'm stunned that such a great cast could gave been stuck in such a wretched movie. 1/20/23
12. Loan Wolves (2022) *****An astonishing documentary about student loan debt. Anyone opposed to Loan Forgiveness programs should watch this program so they can at least see what it is they are opposing... since it clearly isn't what they think it is. 1/21/23
13. Dombey and Son (1983) **** A five hour "movie" split up into 10 episodes...and a most excellent thing, I think. Granted that Episode 10 was a bit of a mess when compared to the book, as it squeezed several hundred pages' worth of material into 28 minutes and distorted and removed many key elements...but taken in and of itself, it actually brought the story to a satisfying conclusion which was not at odds with the philosophy of the novel. So yes, well worth seeing. 1/24/23
14. Shotgun Wedding (2023) ** Joe's choice. I'm not a Jennifer Lopez fan, but despite her, the movie's overall stupidity, and some surprising (and disconcerting) moments of violence, this movie wasn't all bad. I wouldn't want to pay to see it...though I did...but if you can catch it for free, it might be worth that.
15. Russian Doll Season 1 (2019) ***
16. Russian Doll Season 2 (2022) *** An interesting show, for sure, and I think it's worth watching, but that's at least due in part to the fact that I really love Natasha Lyonne. Thought there were some grave inconsistencies in the plot, though...and might write at greater length about that, so enough for here for now.
17. Summer Magic (1963) ** Not the greatest Disney movie, but hey, it's got Burl Ives...and he sings "The Ugly Bug Ball." Also features Jimmy Mathers, Jerry's little brother. Plus I got it for 25¢ (on VHS). Worked for me!
18. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) ** There were a few good moments in this two hour explosion-fest, but for the most part it was a big disappointment. Almost none of the charm of the first two movies remains here, as Marvel essentially turns Ant Man into a gigantic slug fest, whose primary purpose seems to be to introduce Kang the Conqueror to the Marvel Universe. In fact, any Marvel hero could have been put into this spot and served equally well. A shame...and for me, a complete waste of time and money. If you have to see it, go Redbox or Disney+. It's definitely not worth the big money at the theater. 2/17/23
19. Crossing Over (2009) ** Not a great movie, but Harrison Ford did a good job, and Alice Eve was lovely (not to mention topless a couple of times)...so that was worth doing. Especially since it was free on Freevee.
20. Only Two Can Play (1962) * Saw this because I happened upon the Kingsley Amis book it was based on and found the movie on YouTube. Interesting, in that it starred Peter Sellers...but he was pretty bad as the lecherous librarian. I was surprised that a movie from this time period would be centered on a married man attempting to have an affair with a married woman...and by the fact that the married woman (played by Mai Zetterling) 's butt was shown onscreen. That was about as thrilling as it got, though.
21. The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019) I thought the directing on this movie (by Armando Iannucci) was brilliant. So much so that I looked up Iannucci with the intention of watching more of his stuff...only to find that he only had four other films, and that I'd seen and liked one of them: The Death of Stalin (2017). So I guess I'll see if I can find the other three. Unfortunately the movie itself wasn't as good as the directing. It's worth seeing, for sure, but the diverse casting reeked of political correctness (and defied logic and probability), the changes in the plot (from the novel) were nonsensical as well as jarring, and at 119 minutes it was just too short. 3/15/23
22. The Last of Us (2023) *** Some episodes were good, some were too Walking Dead...and the whole thing was way too Mandalorian. I'd probably watch a second season if they make one, but I wouldn't die for the lack of it.
23. Poker Face (2023) *** As I said before, I really love Natasha Lyonne and this show had some great moments. But really...nobody could just "bump into" this many murders. Should have made her a homicide cop. That would've at least made it closer to possible. I actually subscribed to Peacock so I could watch this show...and I'm not sorry. But it could have been a lot better.
24. Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) ** Not good...though there actually were some good moments, and the Guest Star (not telling) was almost a nice surprise. (Saw a hint of it in a preview, alas. It would have been a bigger thrill if it'd been a complete surprise.) But you know, there's just so much WRONG with this whole concept. And what's this Justice Society stuff?
25. John Wick 4 (2023) Not my cup of tea at all...but there were some interesting touches here and there. Like the scene filmed from above as the fight moved from room to room. And the fight in the dance club where the Danvers were oblivious to the violence happening in front of them. Maybe worth a Redbox rental. 3/25/23
26. Plane (2023) *** An unprentious title for an unpretentious movie. And you know what? It was a very fast 107 minutes. And there was very little stupid That Couldn't Happen stuff. Maybe none, actually, though I don't know enough about planes to say for sure. But at any event, there was nothing which distracted me from the movie. Simple plot, great characters courtesy of Mike Colter and Gerard Butler, and pretty much non-stop action. Definitely worth doing.
27. Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) *** Not as good as I thought it would be based on the trailers, but at least mildly amusing throughout, and Chris Pine was more Chris Pine than he has ever been before.
28. Tulsa King Season 1 (2022) **** I wasn't even sure if I wanted to watch this, but I did and...Stallone is great! Not to mention pretty fuckin' funny. I unabashedly recommend this series...yet another bit of brilliance spinning out of the Taylor Sheridan Universe. That guy is gold so far as I can see (Mayor of Kingston, 1923).
29. Winter's Tale (2014) ** A bad movie with some good moments. Alas, not worth watching...despite some heavy star power--Colin Farrell, Jennifer Connelly, Russell Crowe, and Will Smith. 4/8/23
30. Derry Girls Season Three (2022) **** This show is so good, so funny. Plus a guest appearance by Liam Neeson in episode 1--and a cameo in episode 7. Even if you don't love Ireland, this show is great.
31. The Whale (2022) **** Not a great ending, but everything up until the last few minutes was pretty fuckin' great. And sad.
32. Following (1998) *** An interesting movie, for sure--it's the first full-length movie released by Christopher Nolan's but a puzzling one as well. It's a twisted, time-distorted tale shot in black and white, and I'm not certain about some of the derails of what happened.
33. Insomnia (2002) *** This was an.okay movie, but it did not seem like a Christopher Nolan movie at all. Very straightforward, no fucking around with time, just a linear story.
34. Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 (2023) *** Reviews of this were not good, so my expectations were pretty low. And I can definitely understand why critics were so hard on the movie. There were several gaping plot holes. There was too much slam bang. But you know...there were also some dry touching moments, and more than a few laugh out louds. I also was amused by the fact that they kept me waiting through all of the credits to watch Star Lord eat cornflakes. Worth seeing at the theater.
35. Last Will. & Testament (2012) ***** Probably the best documentary I've seen on Edward de Vere as Shake-speare. And you can see it for free on Freevee. I can't imagine anyone watching this and waking away with at minimum doubts about the identification if Shake-speare with The Man From Stratford.
36. Peter Pan and Wendy (2023) I don't understand the Disney obsession with replacing perfectly good (and sometimes nigh perfect) cartoons with live action renditions...but clearly I'm in the minority on this, as the ones I've heard of have been quite successful. And, in fact, my kids claim to prefer the live action versions to the cartoons. But the ones I've seen have left me cold, and his one is no exception. And I'm willing to admit that part of that might be the Old Guy bent towards referencing my own youth. But there's more than thar, too. In The Jungle Book remake, for instance, they cut out many of the great songs which were at the heart of the story. And in Peter Pan and Wendy, I was very conscious of the fact that grown men were threatening and committing acts of violence against children...something which did not seem nearly as disturbing in cartoon form...because it lacked the bite of reality. ANYway...I thought thus movie was a complete waste of my time.
P.S. Just saw that Ever Gabo Anderson, who plays Wendy Darling, is Milla Jovovich's daughter. So there's that.
37. Passion Play (2010) I like Mickey Rourke, so there's that. And I like to look at Megan Fox, so there's that. And it was interesting to see Bill Murray playing a heavy. And that's about it, really. **
38. S.W.A.T. Season Six (2022-2023) I wouldn't watch this show if not for Joe, but that said, it's not bad. I get tired of Hondo's "smooth" shit sometimes, but for the most part it's compelling tv.
39. F.B.I. Season Five (2022-2023) See comments for S.W.A.T. -- minus the Hondo bit.
40. F.B.I. International Season Two (2022-2023) See comments for F.B.I. ...although Vinessa Vidotto is so hot that I might watch this one even without Joe.
41. F.B.I. Most Wanted Season Four (2022-2023) Yep.
42. The Son (2022) Very sad movie about suicide...and obviously based on A play, as that dialogue has that phony "I'm in a play" edge to it.
43. The King's Daughter (2022) No Alessandro Scarlatti, as there was in the novel (original title: The Moon and the Sun), and there were dozens of things wrong with this thing, but it kind of worked, actually. Would've been better with Scarlatti, of course. 5/29/23
44. Legion of Super-Heroes (2023) I was pretty excited to see this listing pop up on MAX...but it wasn't very good. Bad animation, huge plot holes in the story, and worst of all, A beloved classic LoS-H character was turned into a bad guy. Nope. 5/29/23
45. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) *** I thought the first hour of thus was brilliant, and the graphics remained there for the second hour, but the story turned into some soggy shit. Mostly chase scenes that just went on and on. And then there were some big-fucking-gantic plot holes...and to too it all off, we end on a cliffhanger. This would be a good movie to watch stoned...that way you could sink into the visuals and not be distracted by the failings of the writing. Note to self. 6/03/23
46. 65 (2023) Within the first ten minutes I had two thoughts about this movie: (1) why do so many (most? all?) Science fiction movies have to have spaceships flying through dense asteroid fields? Don't writers know anything about basic astronomy? (2) why do spaceship pilots always know how the fix their broken spaceships? Just once I'd like to see a pilot who didn't know shit about the mechanics if his ship...who relied on the space equivalent of AAA? After that, it was just straight downhill. A truly awful movie. 6/03/23
47. Bleak House (2005) ****
48. Fanny: The Right to Rock (2023) Kind of a terrible title, but a great documentary about an important band that was washed out if music history. ***** 6/11/23
49. Extraction 2 (2023) ** If you liked John Wick, you'll love this. I didn't like John Wick. 6/16/23
50. The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet (2013) **** A really good--possibly great--movie. I need to read that book asap. It made UT to my because tabke, so it's looming. 6/16/23 to 6/19/23
51. Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) ** Not as godawful as the first movie, but still...if you've read any science fiction of note, this is very old hat...and incredibly simplistic. Also, I do not like those attenuated figures at all. 6/17/23
52. The Flash (2023) *** Not as good as I wanted it to be, but pretty good...especially the first half and the last bit. The stupid extended fight scene stuff could have been pared down quite a bit, though, and made for a better movie. 6/18/23
53. Jesus Revolution (2023) I have to confess that I had no interest in this movie at all...it was Jacqueline's pick...and that I didn't watch every minute of it...but it was actually pretty good. It wasn't the namby pamby Christian thing that I imagined it would be. In fact, it was well worth seeing. At least a ***, and maybe a ****. 6/25/23
54. Marlowe (2022) Ah, Liam Neeson, you're way too old for this. And it was just sad seeing Jessica Lange in a bit part. The screenplay, co-written by Director Neil Jordan, William Monahan, and John Banville, bears most of the fault for the wretchedness of this movie, though. Improbable plot points and characterizations, and truly awful dialogue. (At one point A Bad Guy with an over the top Southern accent (we're talking Fioghorn Leghorn here) reads to Marlowe from Strunk and White's The Elements of Style. Mmm-hmmm.) I got this movie for free from Redbix, and still didn't come close to getting my money's worth. 6/26/23
55. Rosario + Vampire (2008) There's a lot of underwear shots and jiggling breasts, but there's a little more to it, too. I thought it was fun, and reckon that I'll have a look at Season 2 pretty soon.
56. The Name of the Rose (1986) Some flaws for sure, but still a pretty excellent movie. Now I've got to re-read the book. 7/2/23
57. The Worst Movie Ever! (2011) The title says it all, but (1) I've now seen the lowest grossing movie of all time (opening weekend, $11, total gross $25,000) and (2) I saw it for free on Internet Archive. So there's that. 7/3/23
58. Meg 2: The Trench (2023) Wow. I think this was even worse than the first one, hard as that is to believe.
59. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) Interesting visuals, but same old song and dance. Are these movies making any money at all?
60. Shrinking Season 1 (2023) A most excellent show. In fact, the first episode was so good that I decided to subscribe to AppleTV so that I could watch the rest of the season...though it helped that the second season of Foundation had just dropped.
61. Hidden Strike (2023) Jackie Chan and John Cenna...in a movie that is mostly in Chinese, and all bad.
62. Cities That Sing: Paris (2022) Good, and Renee Fleming was awesome and lovely, but as much as I enjoyed the singing, I could have used more City.
63. Gran Turismo (2024) Wasn't expecting much, but this was a great movie with some brilliant directorial moves.
64. The Equalizer 3 (2023) Believe it or not, and despite some truly horrifying violence, this was a good movie. I didn't even think about looking at my watch from the first scene to the last. That said, there's really nothing new here, and nothing that anybody needs, but if you just want to while away two hours, this is a good way to do it. 9/1/23
65. Quarterback (2023) A most excellent show which significantly increased my love for Patrick Mahomes and Kirk Cousins.
66. After Life Season One (2019) A very dark show at times, and the lead character does several things which are so awful that I almost stopped watching, but in the end I am glad that I hung in there, and I may even go on to Season Two. 9/7/23
67. The Batman (2022) Even better the second time around...and I liked it a lot the first time.
68. The Haunting of Venice (2023) A disappointing film. I wasn't all that keen on seeing it anyway (Joe's choice), which usually leads to better feelings due to low expectations. But not this time. For one thing, the filmography was distracting: "scary" angles which distracted because there was no reason for them, camera motions which were too fast and blurred the images. A waste of time and money. 9/16/23
69. The Creator (2023) Some serious plot holes, but I hardly noticed them because this movie just looked so darned good.
70. Paul McCartney in Red Square (2003) Quite a good concert, actually. And I like the way they wove interviews and other stuff in between the songs. Note to Paul's guitarist, Brian Ray: I slept with your girlfriend. (Actually true, unlikely as that seems.)
71. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (2023) Didn't work for me. Too staged, too lacking in spontaneity, too...lacking in heart. I did like the acoustic guitar song near the end, though. 10/14/23
72. Invasion Season 2 (2023) A most excellent show.
73. Silo (2023) There were some pretty immense flaws in this show, but despite that, I found this show to be very compelling. Here's hoping that there will be a second season. Finished 11/5/23
74. Loki Season 2 (2023) A confusing show, for sure, but at least the last episode had some laughs.
75. Arctic Void (2022) * Happens to me quite often: A movie starts, and I'm thinking, "Wow, this is SO good! I'm going to recommend this to everybody!" And then it slides downhill. This was a terrible movie...but it did start off well. And the scenery (glaciers mostly) was stunning. I also love deserted city stuff, and we had that. But it was still a waste of time, so avoid it if you can. 11/10/23
76. Goosebumps Season One (2023) This was better than I thought it would be (I've Goosebumped before, you see), and had some actually creepy moments. Not something I need any more of, but I didn't sleep through it.
77. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023) An awful movie, and at 2 hours and 37 minutes, it just kept on giving. It was cruel, stupid, and absolutely worthless. 11/17/23
78. Barbarian (2022) A relatively low budget ($4 million) horror/thriller that was quite good...even though I'm averse to horror and had no interest in seeing this movie--ran across it and a glance turned into a watch.
79. No Hard Feelings (2023) A terrible movie. It's amazing that Jennifer Lawrence went from an amazing start (Winter's Bone ) to a piece of shit like this. 11/28/23
80. X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X (2023) Like most modern operas, this was more than a little bit screechy, and there was at least one questionable casting (Malcolm's mom and wife are played by the same person, which seems kind of icky)...but it's a moving story. Worth doing...even though my ticket was $21. 11/29/23
81. Black Ice (2022) A superb documentary about black ice hickey players. It still stuns me to see so many people being hateful to someone because if their race. But there it is. Should be required viewing. 12/1/23
82. Pitch Black (2000) A 33 year old Vin Diesel, a Radha Mitchell who looks and sounds like a young Jessica Lange, and a Cole Hauser who reminds me of Matthew McConaughey. Add some bad special effects and a soundtrack straight out of the 70s. And you know what? It's actually not that bad. Not Bad enough that I'm going to watch the next movie in the Riddick series. 12/8/23
83. Dark Fury (2004) Very short (35 minutes), but pretty entertaining if you can put up with the bad animation... which is occasionally interrupted by some very bad computer graphics. I'd give it *** 12/8/23
84. Losing the Race: Self-Sabotage in Black America (2000) ***** This is a recorded talk by John McWhorter, talking about his book Losing the Race: Self-Sabotage in Black America. I definitely want to know more about this fellow. 12/9/23
85. Click (2006) *** Some good things about this movie: (1) good message about not letting the important things in life get lost along the way, (2) Kate Beckinsale sure is pretty-- though I had a hard time believing she'd fall for Michael Newman), (3) Henry Winkler, (4) Christopher Walken, and (5) slow motion of Iryna Blokhina jogging. 12/9/23
86. For All Mankind Season One (2019) **** It took me awhile to get around to this show, and it took me longer than usual to make it through the ten episodes of the first season, but wow, this show really kicks ass. Heading for Season Two asap. 12/13/23
87. Wonka (2023) -0 The only good thing I can say about this movie is that it made me want to eat chocolate. Other than that, this was a painful experience, filled with stupidity and cruelty--like throwing a newborn baby down a laundry chute, if you can believe that. There were some songs; the new ones seemed bland to me, and the old ones were truncated...and much better done by Gene Wilder. This attempt to prequel Willy Wonka was a complete waste of my time...and a waste of $125 million. Not even worth a Redbox rental.
88. Leave the World Behind (2023) **** A pretty weird movie...which of course puts it right up my alley and straight into my galley. Impressive performances by Julia Roberts and Mahershala Ali and Ethan Hawke...and The Kids were pretty good, too. The ending was probably a big disappointment for most viewers...it hasn't received good reviews...but it worked for me. Netflix has it. 12/20/23.
89. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023) * I'll tell you what was lost here: two hours and about 25 bucks. Tediously long fight scebes, substandard special effects, horrific over the top "acting." Here's hoping James Gunn can bring some justice to the DC heroes when he takes over. 12/23/23
90. Rebel Moon (2023) ** Short version: what a shame Mary Jane had a pain at the party. Long version: coming soon to a blog near you. 12/24/23
91. Arrival (2016) ***** 3rd time around for this one, though it's been awhile...like 7 years. Still holds up and packs a he'll of A punch, though. Now I want to go re-read Ted Chiang's stories.
92. The Boys in the Boat (2023) **** Good, but it could've been great, and for me it was the director (George Clooney) who was the weak link. The constant act of focusing on an oarlock during the races, for instance, implying that it would break and ruin the race for the boys, was false tendion. And the boys were alk at least ten years too old for their parts. (The lead actor amongst them was 33!)
93. Polytechnique (2009) **** and possibly *****, but not for the faint if heart. It's about a school shooting. But it's amazing movie, and for me it was worth the trauma. 12/30/23
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