**** = 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. Prisoners (2013) *** This was a truly brutal movie about child kidnapping, child abuse, and torture of a mentally handicapped man. And casting Jake Gyllenhaal as the hero cop did not work for me--'cause the guy looks and sounds do creepy that you kept expecting him to join in on the kidnapping, abuse, and torture. I had to watch it in three different sittings because it stressed me out do much. 1/2/24
2. Godzilla Minus One (2023) *** I wanted this to be better, but the truth is that it dragged a bit, and would've been a better movie if it'd been 30 minutes shorter. Sorry. 1/7/24
3. Nabbuco (2024) **** A pretty amazing opera with a fantastic set. 1/10/24
4. Incendies (2010) **** Another brutal movie. War, torture, rape. But at its heart this is a very touching story about children in search of their mother's past. And once again there was some fine camera work. 1/11/24
5. Enemy (2013) *** To be honest, I didn't understand this movie. Especially the giant spider bit. So...interesting... but WTF??? 1/15/24
6. Ivanhoe (1952) 20 year old Elizabeth Taylor...what more could you possibly want from a movie? 1/19/24
7. Paddington 2 (2017) **** Jimmy told me that Quentin Tarrentino called this a perfect movie. Not to me, but it was MUCH better than I thought it would be. 1/26/24
8. American Fiction (2024) **** Funny, but with some bite, too. 1/27/24
9. The Lake at the Bottom of the World (2022) **** A truly great movie. It captures the joy of being a scientist, even in the harsh environment of Antarctica. Watching it made me wish u could go back in time and follow the Oceanographer path that I wanted to find when I was young and enraptured by Jacques Cousteau. 2/7/24
10. Life on Mars (2006) Funny, I had such a good (if vague) memory of this show. But after 4 episodes (of the first season's 8) I'd had enough. The story is just so thin...the acting so bad.... And at no time did I believe that Sam was stranded in the past. He was much too absorbed in the 1973 plot line to convince me that it was "a dream." And his longings for his "real life" in 2006 were much too sporadic. So I'm moving on, moving on.
11. True Detective Season 4: Night Country **** I don't know why this show got such terrible reviews. I thought it was excellent and compelling, and Jodie Foster should get an Emmy for her brilliant performance. It was also good to see so many Native Americans in the show. Two thumbs up with a twist. 2/19/24
12. The Gambler (1997) 2/21/24
13. Madame Web (2024) ** I don't think this was as terrible as I'd thought and heard it would be, but I'm not completely sure since I nodded off a few times. At any rate, there's still no reason to go out of your way to see this thing...unless you have a son who MUST see every Marvel movie made. 2/25/24
14. Avatar: The Last Airbender (2024) **** I thought this Netflix series was great.
15. The Flash (2023) ** You know, I didn't think it was good on this second viewing, but I didn't think it was terrible, either. Had some moments. Probably won't ever watch it again, but...yeah.
16. Dune Part One (2021) **** Loved it (3rd time), but watched it now because I was going to see
17. Dune Part 2 (2024) **** Which was just excellent. And from what I hear, there's going to be a Part 3 at some point. Thinking hard about re-reading the book now. Dare I eat a peach? 3/2/34
18. Hold the Dark (2018) *** Just wanted to see some James Badge Dale, and Netflix had this. And JBD was good as an Alaskan lawman, and Jeffrey Wright's presence was a nice surprise. This movie was harsh, though. There's A long scene where a guy with a machine gun massacres a bunch of cops, and it is quite vivid. Took me two sittings to make it through this one. There were also some lively scenes of Alaskan mountains which made me wish I'd seen this in a tbeater. I'd guess not many people had that experience, though, as I doubt that this one was around for long. 3/6/24
19. Life (2017) *** Speaking of inTENSE...wow. This one was a non-stop thrill ride. An excellent way to kill two hours when you're confined to your couch with covid. Again. 3/6/24
20. Ordinary Angels (2024) ***** This movie was Jacqueline's idea, and I had less than zero interest in seeing it. But it was very powerful. Not so much in a Christian way...in fact, religion itself wasn't anywhere near the center of this story. It was a story...and apparently a true one...about a person who felt driven to help a stranger. A bit more complicated than that, but in essence the truth. A bonus was that it was set in Louisville, Kentucky...and in 1994, when I'd already been living here for a few years. I was surprised that I didn't know the story already, but I was teaching and had two babies and one on the way, so I probably wasn't too aware of the world outside of my head at the time. At any rate...I laughed and cried, and give two thumbs up for the movie and for Hillary Swank, who did an awesome job as the hairdresser who helped a little girl get a liver. 3/10/24
21. Kung Fu Panda (2008) Cute...but not nearly as funny as I was hoping it'd be. Say **
22. The Magic Flute (2022) ** 3/18/24
23. Spaceman (2024) ***** Yep. I thought this was a truly great movie. More on that later. 3/19/24
24. Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) * Just read A series review that said this was the best of the four movies, but Rotten Tomatoes and I disagree. It was just a yawner...not much story, just chasing and fighting. And some preachy stuff. 3/20/24
25. Three Body Problem (2024) **** I could've done without the slicing people into pieces bit in Episode 5, but other than that, I thought this was brilliant stuff. And Benedict Wong was superb as the ornery detective. Here's hoping for Season 2.
26. The Silence of Mark Rothko (2016) **** Realized I'd seen this before almost immediately, but watched it again anyway. Decided I want another go at it with some Delta-8 in my gut, so will watch again today. 4/10/24
2 comments:
Benedict Wong would like a word... :-)
Damned autocorrect!!! Thanks for the catch!
Post a Comment