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davidbleavitt
Reviews
Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2021)
Overall review and finale
Bad Batch, on the whole, was decent. Used, mostly, to justify how Palaptine returned; a prologue.
The show didn't need to exist, and could have been a much shorter miniseries and arrive at the same point.
The finale was lame, frankly. The episode was an over-long rescue with predictable results; all surviving. The epilogue, between Hunter and Omega was wasted. Who did she become in the Rebellion. Why just send her off sans closure.
Rex, at least, got a nice insertion into the original trilogy as the ret-conned him into the bearded bloke on Endor; one of the new canon's best pay-offs, imho.
Overall the show gets a B- Finale a C.
A Christmas Carol (2019)
Know when to be faithful and not
For those reading, I give this advice, do not go in expecting a slavishly faithful retread of what's gone before but, rather, embrace this as a spiritual adaptation.
What to make of this remarkable achievement in adapting Dickens' ubiquitous Scrooge?
Well, frankly, this was an incredible albeit rather loose...shall one say, variation on a classic.
Guy Pierce played a very intriguing take on a much younger than usual Ebenezer Scrooge, especially when one looks at the source and the various tv and cinematic versions; Michael Caine, Alistair Sim, and, yes, even Jim Carry's part in Robert Zimekas' animation.
This was a darker meditation on the oft told tale and this is to its credit.
Jacob Marley, well played by Stephen Graham, seems to have come from a comedy, albeit subdued, that plays rather well, if against the grain of the rest of the proceedings. His final scene with Scrooge was very welcome and a fine thing.
Andy Serkis was amazing, as one would expect, as The Ghost Of Christmas Past.
The use or Scrooge's sister as the Ghost Of Christmas Present was remarkable, as was her more fleshed out part in Scrooge's past; I won't spoil this here, as it is best left to be discovered.
How Scrooge's became the Scrooge we know is given a fascinating spin, well beyond the typical narrative we all well know.
Mary Cratchit was amazing as the, dare I say, catalyst for this.
Cocaine Bear (2023)
Bloody, gory and I've not laughed so hard in a long while
However bloody and gory Cocaine Bear was, it was such a load of fun.
Elizabeth Banks did an excellent job directing and the cast just full on embraced the absurdity and seemed to be having a blast making it.
Yes, the bear looked so CG for its first appearance, but got a bit better.
The soundtrack, both songs and score were well done.
Keri Russell, Ray Liotta and all were a joy. Margo Martindale, O'Shea Jackson Jr, Aaron Holliday and all were fun to watch.
The two kids, Brooklynn Prince and Christian Covery were amazing.
2 mid credit scenes to enjoy.
The nature shots were nicely done as well.
Will this win any awards? Probably not. Was it a blast? For sure.
Glad the shot in daylight.
Polite Society (2023)
A very fun homage hodgepodge
What can I say except this movie, Polite Society, was a very pleasant surprise.
A bit of Mission Impossible, Jane Austen, Tarantino(the good QT), and, to a degree, Get Out.
Basically girls meets boy, boy meets girl, boy's mom wants girl to be a carrier for her clone, sister and friends save the day.
This one had some genuine laughs, and was a bit of absurd fun.
I was expecting, to a point, this may have been an absurd fantasy by Ria Khan, as her sister, Lena is about to be married; especially given how, aftee one of their fights , the wounds are healed. Either this was an intentionally well done embrace of the cartoon nature of the picture, or massive continuity issues. I reckon the former, as I did embrace the fun of it.
I give this a B+
Missing (2023)
A high tech after school special; remember to say I love you
Nowhere near as fun as its......shall we say sister movie Searching, but not bad.
The number of red herrings was...well, a lot.
Some useless tangential shots that set up possible things, here and there.
What was Kevin's part in thus? Why linger on Javi's shirt twice?
Good performances, to be sure.
The ending, which I won't spoil, reeked of after school special reconcile with mom, albeit in a high tech genre piece.
Storm Ried was amazing as June; great work, for sure.
Again, nowhere near as fun as Searching, but enjoyable for sure.
The finale, whilst having a "message" could have been better. Some of it could have gone many more satisfying ways.
Clerks III (2022)
Fun but not kosher
So, I know what to expect from Kevin Smith and, in some ways he did not disappoint; performances were fantastic throughout and the profanity flew freely.
A very touching and heartfelt story; partly autobiographical. No spoiler that Smith had a widowmaker heart attack, and these are no joke; heart attack. Excellent casting choice in Amy Sedaris, by the way, and a nice touch how the PSA was woven jn. She was brilliant.
Why Smith felt the need to invoke satan, I don't know. One thing, and understandable, to doubt God and to ask HIM to show Himself. Far different to have Elias Grover(Travis Fehrman) turn to satan. Parents, please educate your kids that he is evil. Turn to God, repent and make Jesus Lord and Savior.
Seeing Rosario Dawson, and the almost Bishop Of Digne(Les Mis reference) use of her dead character Becky Scott, was lovely. Was kinda sorta hoping for a Jedi Force Ghost of Dante and her as an ending, along with Alanis Morissette's God popping up. This, i thibk, would've given more of a sweet to a bitter-sweet ending. Randall's eulogy was perfect, with the pop culture references.
Mixed feelings, frankly.
All in all, satan being the exception, and fine movie with great call backs to what came before.
Shotgun Wedding (2022)
A good time
Shotgun Wedding is an enjoyable romantic action comedy. Cheech Marin and Jennifer Coolidge are such a joy.
Fun, with some mild cheeky jokes; not crossing the border in to filthy raunchy.
Jason Moore, who directed Avenue Q, one of the best musicals ever, acquitted himself very well.
Jennifer Lopez and Josh Dudhamel were a good pairing. Coolidge and Steve Coulter were a fine pair. His business with the video camera, near the end was a nice touch.
Callie Hernandez and the supporting cast had some good and not so good moments, but nothing ruinous.
The scenery was lovely. The dialogue was heaps of fun.
I laughed a lot.
The special effects were decent. The underlying message and the balance of action and comedy was spot on.
Just go with it and have a great time.
The Menu (2022)
A great meal
Thoughts on The Menu. Rather well done take down/poke in the eye of the overly pretentious dining experience with well done darkly comic suspense, and minor horror(not overly violent or slasher like) elements; each one appropriate to the tale being told and not excessive for my tastes. It highlights the most important ingredient in any dish, of which my beautiful beloved wife is the master; love.
This would have worked as a bit of interactive theater as well.
The movie was well cast and acted. Tight story as well.
Couple of quotable lines; "even your hot dishes are cold" being a stand out for me.
For reasons best left unrevealed, I want a cheeseburger; just a well cooked cheeseburger.
The Big Fix (2018)
Fun Freaky Friday Style
Hi All,
I can say that I rather enjoyed The Big Fix.
The performances were great, throughout.
Despite some anti-biblical teaching, it stood up for what's important in marriage and family.
This had some fun gags as well, especially break a leg.
Brook Muci and Matt Moore were standouts playing the mom in daughter's body and son in dad's body, respectively.
Despite some predictable plot twists, this was a source of mostly clean laughs.
The supporting cast was great as well.
Yes, it was a low budget movie, as is the case with most Christian films, but was enjoyable nonetheless.
The closing credits have a fun gag/deleted scene as well.
Fall (2022)
Decent movie
Pretty good intense, at times, thrill ride. Excellent performances by the two leads. Needed, of course, as we're watching them the majority of the time.
Nicely done, photography, as they could have done blue/green screen. This aspect worked incredibly well, I think.
Good music helped things.
The only downside, for me, was it seemed a bit long, in places. I do wish they had used some time to show the trip down, when she was rescued. The scene with the vulture, whilst understandably graphic, and rightly so, was genius. Good foreshadow as well. Each moment was deserved, so to speak.
This is good for a cinema visit, I think.
Overall B-
Beavis and Butt-Head: Escape Room/The Special One (2022)
Such fun
Been far to long. Escape Room was classic B&B, and had me rolling. Just leave your brain at the door and enjoy.
The fire one wasn't as fun, but had good bits.
Hot Shots! (1991)
Sheer Delight
Like Airplane 1 and 2, and the Naked Gun films this is a joy to see.
Great joyous fun from start to finish. Sheen, Bridges, Golina, Cryer and Elwes are brilliant.
The Ice Road (2021)
Entertaining action
Spoiler Alert!
I was hoping that this would tonally be along the lines of Unstoppable with Chris Pine and Denzel Washington and was a bit disappointed.
Pegged that Goldenrod would die and and Tantoo would be adversary turned ally.
The ending was disappointing, as Gurty should have survived. A huge downer. That said, an entertaining way to spend a couple of hours.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
Charming
A charming comedy. Russell and Monroe seemed well suited for their parts. The sets were great, the musical numbers well staged. The courtroom scene was a hoot.
Nice fun comedy.
The porthole scene was a particular highlight.
Bus Stop (1956)
What was this?
What was this movie? Seemed almost like a Twilight Zone-ish affair. This was a tough one to sir through, to put it mildly. Don Murray's character of Bo was a full on creep, despite his not fully realising it. What type of low self-esteem issues did Cherie have that she ended up with Him? Even Arthur O'Connell(Virgil) looked uncomfortable playing his part.
I suppose I made a mistake even watching this.
Do not recommend. See Some Like Ir Hot instead.
Runaway Train (1985)
Typical Golan Globus
So mediocre it was almost funny-ish. Nice budget, yes; should have sent Superman 4 a few dollars, frankly. Voight must have had a spot of fun chewing the scenery. Alan Hume, the DP of Fish Called Wanda(4 years after this) and Return Of The Jedi(2 years prior) must have been off his game or something. I found it awkward to watch, cinematography wise, to say nothing of the script. One of those did they pay someone to write this type ones. Unstoppable, with Chris Pine and Denzel Washington is far better.
Boss Level (2020)
Still fun
Saw this for the second time, since the theatrical run. A lot of fun to be had, especially if you get caught up in the fun and suspend your disbelief. I'm David and David has done this.
Being the Ricardos (2021)
Not bad; downer end tag
So, I loved the way they showed Lucille Ball(Nicole Kidman) imagining the staging of various scenes; the flash forward to the grape stomping scenes were a highlight. JK Simmons and Nina Ariadne(William Frawley and Vivian Vance) were the acting highlights. On the whole a decent film. Kidman gave a good performance ad Ball..Frankly, whilst it is common knowledge they divorced, I could have done with a more upbeat ending; thr stats on the show, perhaps.
No Time to Die (2021)
Slog
Yeesh, this was WAY to long. You know you're in trouble when the best part is a Russian scientist. Ballsy end, to be sure, however. Rami Malick was pretty good, with little screen time he had.