powerrbill Reviews

Resurrection (2022)

Just another "Crazy Lady" story

[1/10 · 6 August 2022]

I am so sick of the hysterical female protagonist trope (I also hated 'The Babadook' for the same reason).

Rebecca Hall is a great actress, but she should be ashamed of herself for perpetuating the stereotype of a woman driven to hysteria because of abuse.

I watched this film because The Atlantic gave it such a great review and they said "it enters must-see territory thanks to its final act".

Really? The ending was ridiculous, inexplicable and nowhere near "must-see".

Perhaps I missed something, but my summary is: 'Crazy Lady Cliche Thinks She Sees Her Abuser Everywhere And Just Wait Till You See What She Thinks Is Living In His Tummy'!

I would call that spoiler alert, but it's so idiotic that it's more of a FAIR WARNING.

Titans (I) (2018–2023)

I really wanted this to be better than it is.

[5/10 · 30 September 2019]

I'm disappointed. I grew up with the New Teen Titans, so the depiction of Raven is a let-down. She was creepy and mysterious and (mostly) confident in the comics, but here she's just an insecure kid wearing trendy clothes.

A lot of folks on here are coming for Starfire's interpretation, but it doesn't bother me all that much. And I think the actress is actually pretty good. It would be hard to pull of a realistic Starfire without it being ridiculous.

You know what IS ridiculous? The silly costumes that Hawk and Dove wear. I mean, COME ON. They look like fools. I know it's pretty true to the comics, but it doesn't translate to film. I really hope, for the 2 actors' sakes, that they modify their looks to be more like streetwear and less like Mardi-Gras costumes.

The casting of Donna Troy is spot-on. Nailed it.

The Prodigy (2019)

I did not have high hopes. Turns out I was pleasantly surprised.

[8/10 · 8 May 2019]

From the trailer, this looked like expected drivel. But we were hungry for some scares so we gave it a shot. And we're happy we did. It's an interesting take on the old 'Bad Seed' idea. Definitely a rental, not a purchase. But the child actor delivers and so did his parents.

Split (IX) (2016)

Surprised by how much I enjoyed this!

[10/10 · 19 March 2017]

I loved 'The Sixth Sense'. I kinda liked 'Unbreakable'. I loved 'The Village' I was disappointed by 'Signs'. I hated the one where the trees were mad a people (The Happening? The Happenstance? The thing that happened that nobody cared about?" I really, really, really hated 'The Lady In The Water' I liked 'Devil'!! So, I was prepared to be disappointed by this film. Yet, I was not! James MacEvoy killed it! Betty Buckley killed it! This was a good story!

And the twist was....da,dumb...there IS no twist! So you can finally sit back and enjoy a M.Night Shyamalan movie WITHOUT trying to figure out the twist!

That's the best part and the part they should have advertised in the marketing!!!

Other People (I) (2016)

Sublime performances

[10/10 · 4 October 2016]

Didn't have high hopes since this film was available on iTunes before or at the same time as it was in theaters (was it even IN theaters?) but holy heck this was GOOD.

Shannon and Plemmons performances are amazing. Both so convincing in their respective role. Plemmons plays the insecure, unsure, chubby gay man perfectly. And Molly Shannon, who is rarely called upon for nuance, delivers her role as a cancer-stricken woman with such realistic subtlety that you'd be hard-pressed to say she'd never gone through it herself.

Is the concept maudlin? I suppose. It's not new ground, but it's a completely unique take on the situation with a subtext and performances that propel it to greatness. The opening scene is sad, but the end of the film is so much more sad. I can't say more without posting a spoiler, but when you see it you'll realize it's a testament to the directorial approach, script and performances.

With regard to performances, this film probably doesn't have the promotional machine behind it to ever be considered for awards, but if all things were equal and films were judged solely on themselves, I think both Plemmons and Shannon would be recognized for their exceptional performances.

Definitely worth the rental price. And I'm sure it will be free to view soon on some streaming site. Settle in and watch this fabulous, nuance-filled film.

Green Lantern (2011)

The critics are plain WRONG.

[10/10 · 5 July 2011]

This file premiered about 2 weeks ago and I couldn't go for scheduling reasons.

Then, I put it off because the reviews were so bad. I chatted with co-workers, some who were hopeful and others who were dissuaded because of the bad reviews.

My boyfriend and I discussed going to see it last week, but he's not as into superhero movies as I am and since the reviews were bad, we decided to wait till it came out on video.

BIG MISTAKE.

Luckily, he went out of town on business and I went after work tonight. I am so, so, so happy I did.

DO NOT MISS THISON THE BIG SCREEN!!!!!!!

Is Ryan Reynolds miscast? Yes, but it doesn't matter: he does a fine job. But it's the villains that you need to see this movie for: Peter Saarsgard's performance is chilling, repulsive, scary and totally amazing. And that CGI baddie named Paralax is just as scary....but he's massive and he does a serious number on whatever city he was attacking.

The off-Earth scenes are great, the CGI/effects are very good. And the characters like Kilowog and Sinestro are well-done.

Bottom line: if you're like me and you were letting the critics drive your decision to see this film...DON'T LET THEM. It's much better than they're giving it credit for. It's better than Thor and it's better than First Class.

Looking forward to Captain America!!!!

Helvetica (2007)

An utterly eye-gouging experience

[1/10 · 13 September 2007]

I should have known better than to go to a film about a typeface, but I was invited to the premiere as a guest of honor and thought it would be rude to dismiss it outright.

The only interesting bits featured Vignelli and his quote "....if you want to be really fancy..." is a great one, but this film is nothing more than a crowd rallyer for an AIGA conference. It's not really a 'film' per se.

Call me a Marxist, but documentary films should have some socio-political strategy behind them. 'Helvetica' seems to have been made simply to allow the designoscenti the opportunity for more solipsistic chin scratching. If ever there was an example of the design community being out of touch with Joe Consumer, this film is it.

Fantastic Four (I) (2005)

I was totally surprised

[6/10 · 8 July 2005]

I really went in thinking this movie was going to bite and I would be embarrassed to admit that I'd seen it. I was wrong. It was good. Really good. The dude that played Johnny Storm was fantastic. The Thing's make-up was a bit of a disappointment, but after a while, it didn't seem to matter. The special effects were great, well-done. Not half-ass-ed CGI at all. I'd totally recommend it to anyone looking for a great, fun summer flick. There's nothing parents would find objectionable for kids. There's nothing Christians, Muslims, Hindis or Jews might find offensive either. I have to write ten lines to get this thing posted, which means that I'm just going to blather on for the next couple of lines to flush out my full ten line minimum. Who can write for ten lines?

Cold Creek Manor (2003)

Took a leak and never went back.

[1/10 · 29 September 2003]

Saw it tonight and left before it was over. I got as far as the part where Dorf comes to the house and is smashing everything up. I had to take a leak (which usually poses a problem if I like the movie). So I got up, went to the bathroom and then just went home. Never went back in to see the end because I honestly did not care.

Invincible (2001)

a disaster

[1/10 · 1 October 2002]

In order to see the tiny nugget of originality and creativity in this movie, you'd have to get past the bad acting and lame compositional shots. Unfortunately, everything is so bad that it's impossible.

Maybe it's because he can actually act, but Tim Roth's character was far more interesting than Zische, the naive buffoon. A movie about Roth's cover-up and mysticism would have been far more engaging.

Blood Work (2002)

Poor, poor Eastwood.

[1/10 · 19 August 2002]

I had to avert my eyes when "Graciella" started kissing McCaleb. It was almost too horrifying for words. I usually like Eastwood's films, but this was a waste of good film.

The Time Machine (2002)

A hideous mistake

[1/10 · 17 March 2002]

Ah, if only I had a time machine I could have fast-forwarded to the end of this abysmal nightmare. Skip this...even on video it's a terrible waste of time.

Spiral (1999)

Difficult subject with an effortless delivery.

[10/10 · 30 July 2001]

A high-energy soundtrack. Sublime cinematography. A dark, nihilistic vision of the X-Generation: this short delivers a punch in a manner not unlike that of the past 5 years worth of music video.

The difference here is that the actors in this film display actual skill and their performances are relevant and meaningful. While the subject at hand is fairly heavy, the delivery by cast and crew never gets heavy-handed. Excellent performances by Previdi and Cook.