I enjoyed this movie pretty much. Fun to watch, and I am very picky Great look, great production values, great settings, good action, lots of bad guys get killed, satisfying shooting, good feel to it overall. (SPOILER ALERT) But I have a plot question. The hot blonde lures our hero into a trap, early on. Then the killer gets zipped. But the hot blonde could not have known Bidwell was there or could stop the shooter in time. So it doesn't make sense. We never see Bidwell and the blonde together. So I kept expecting the hot blonde to turn out to be a traitor. Confusing. Anyway, I'd give it a B. Not perfect, but fun.
Reviews
62 Reviews
The Score
(2001)
GREAT CAST, FUN SCENES, BUT...
30 December 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I enjoyed it until the end, which I thought was way too clever and too twisty. (SPOILER ALERT) I hated the double cross and the double twist. Why do they do this in Hollywood? Do they think the audience is that child-like? That we have not seen these clichés a thousand times? We have. Give us a break.
I love De Niro on the screen, and Ed Norton gets to show off his acting chops. Nice, Ed, a character within a character. And I love Angela Basset. Handsome woman with a great screen presence.
But Hollywood relies too often on the same tired plot clichés. Yeah, sure, it's one last score. And his girlfriend, who is a better person than he is, doesn't want him to do it. Of course. So he risks losing her. Yeah, we know, we have seen it all before. Can't they freshen up the plot? What if she were the driving force behind the heist, wanting a bigger house and a more diamonds to wear? What if they have a sick relationship and are codependent or doing bondage and dominance? Maybe she leads him around with a leash around his neck. But no, they rely on the same old tired clichés. I guess they play well in Peoria.
The final sequence is way too elaborate and technical for me. I really don't care that our favorite thief has to suspend himself from the ceiling with an elaborate system of pullies. Sure. OK. Whatever. Who cares? And don't get me started on the MacGuffin. A gold scepter? Sure. OK. Whatever. Who cares? And that big explosion? Please. Give me a break. A whamo? Really?
Then we get to the twists that I hate. I was so let down at the end, but I liked it up till then. As I have so many times before. Ho hum. Bye now.
I love De Niro on the screen, and Ed Norton gets to show off his acting chops. Nice, Ed, a character within a character. And I love Angela Basset. Handsome woman with a great screen presence.
But Hollywood relies too often on the same tired plot clichés. Yeah, sure, it's one last score. And his girlfriend, who is a better person than he is, doesn't want him to do it. Of course. So he risks losing her. Yeah, we know, we have seen it all before. Can't they freshen up the plot? What if she were the driving force behind the heist, wanting a bigger house and a more diamonds to wear? What if they have a sick relationship and are codependent or doing bondage and dominance? Maybe she leads him around with a leash around his neck. But no, they rely on the same old tired clichés. I guess they play well in Peoria.
The final sequence is way too elaborate and technical for me. I really don't care that our favorite thief has to suspend himself from the ceiling with an elaborate system of pullies. Sure. OK. Whatever. Who cares? And don't get me started on the MacGuffin. A gold scepter? Sure. OK. Whatever. Who cares? And that big explosion? Please. Give me a break. A whamo? Really?
Then we get to the twists that I hate. I was so let down at the end, but I liked it up till then. As I have so many times before. Ho hum. Bye now.
My Name Is Vendetta
(2022)
GOOD ACTING, MEMORABLE MOMENTS
17 December 2022
I liked the acting, especially the male lead. Very believable. But the story burned hot and cold for me. Some moments were great, others not quite right and some predictable. I found myself yelling at the screen at times. The girl's rebellion was a bit too much, for me, early on.
But back to the concept: Here is another movie about a man's past catching up with him. I wish the Mafia characters had been more nuanced. I lived in Little Italy in NYC, so I've seen some good things the Mafia did. There was no street crime, for one thing. I knew a guy who went home for a holiday with his college roommate and got to know a Mafia family. They were warm and loving with each other. These movie characters are all a little too one-dimensional, I thought. I wanted a happier ending, for one thing.
But back to the concept: Here is another movie about a man's past catching up with him. I wish the Mafia characters had been more nuanced. I lived in Little Italy in NYC, so I've seen some good things the Mafia did. There was no street crime, for one thing. I knew a guy who went home for a holiday with his college roommate and got to know a Mafia family. They were warm and loving with each other. These movie characters are all a little too one-dimensional, I thought. I wanted a happier ending, for one thing.
The Shallows
(2016)
FAULTY DRAMATIC THEORY
24 November 2022
I love Blake Lively. Her acting and her looks. But this movie did not work for me. In my opinion, it was based on a faulty dramatic theory: that all you have to do is put the main character in danger, and more danger, and make the character's life hell, and then make it worse, and worse, and worse. And so on. And on. It got so ridiculous. It's like a character getting a broken leg, then a broken back, then a broken neck, then terminal cancer. Pretty soon, you're going, yeah right. It pushes suspending disbelief to its limits. And beyond. It strains credulity and your empathy. I was laughing toward the end. I only kept watching because of Blake Lively and her acting. "The Shallows" is in fact shallow, a lot like "The Revenant," which was really boring.
Stranger Than Paradise
(1984)
MOST BORING MOVIE I'VE EVER SEEN
29 October 2022
Nothing happens, and then nothing happens, and then nothing happens.
OK, I need more characters: Nothing happens, and then nothing happens, and then nothing happens.
OK, I need more characters: Nothing happens, and then nothing happens, and then nothing happens.
In case you don't get the idea, this review is a lot like the movie.
Jim Jarmusch has a weird idea of drama. Here, there is no conflict, no character development, no storyline, no central dramatic question, none of that.
All I remember is this long slow boring car trip.
I remember two or three characters traveling in a car. Snore.
Give me "Die Hard" any day.
OK, I need more characters: Nothing happens, and then nothing happens, and then nothing happens.
OK, I need more characters: Nothing happens, and then nothing happens, and then nothing happens.
In case you don't get the idea, this review is a lot like the movie.
Jim Jarmusch has a weird idea of drama. Here, there is no conflict, no character development, no storyline, no central dramatic question, none of that.
All I remember is this long slow boring car trip.
I remember two or three characters traveling in a car. Snore.
Give me "Die Hard" any day.
Cardinal
(2017–2020)
BEST COP SHOW EVER
27 October 2022
I've been a fan of cop shows for many years. I grew up around cops. My dad had several friends who were cops, and they let me shoot their guns when I was a kid. Later, I covered cops for several newspapers. For ten years, my favorite cop show was "Blue Bloods." Now it's "Cardinal." I love everything about it: the photography, the writing, the stories, the acting, the underlying meaning and psychology of the stories and the characters. One of the themes I like is the way chasing and dealing with criminals affects police and their families. (Not in a good way.) Another is what it's like to be a criminal. There is more depth here than I've ever seen. I am also reading the novels that inspired the show: "Forty Words for Sorrow" and "By The Time You Read This" by Giles Blunt. So far, they are great.
BTW, almost forgot. This show has all the usual cop-show clichés and tropes that most cop shows have. But it is so well done and they are so well handled that I don't mind.
BTW, almost forgot. This show has all the usual cop-show clichés and tropes that most cop shows have. But it is so well done and they are so well handled that I don't mind.
The Matrix
(1999)
SPECIAL EFFECTS, TO NO GOOD EFFECT
4 September 2022
I hated The Matrix. Saw it when it first came out, in a multiplex where I also saw The Corrupter with Chow Yun-fat, which I loved. Two different eras and styles of movie making. The new and the old. Special effects and thematic BS vs a real story with believable characters.
I know, I know, I'm old-fashioned. So be it. When Keanu Reeves is dodging bullets in hyper-space and goofy-time, I felt like dodging out the door. I always tell my friends that when people in the movie start flying through the air, I start flying out the door.
I have a friend I love dearly who started a discussion group about whether we all live in a matrix, whether the life we think we know is all fake. Oh, Lordy, what a colossal waste of time. To me. Not to her and not to modern audiences.
Oh, well, time marches on. Onward into the matrix, friends and neighbors. Think I'll stay right here, in good old-fashioned reality, whatever that is.
I know, I know, I'm old-fashioned. So be it. When Keanu Reeves is dodging bullets in hyper-space and goofy-time, I felt like dodging out the door. I always tell my friends that when people in the movie start flying through the air, I start flying out the door.
I have a friend I love dearly who started a discussion group about whether we all live in a matrix, whether the life we think we know is all fake. Oh, Lordy, what a colossal waste of time. To me. Not to her and not to modern audiences.
Oh, well, time marches on. Onward into the matrix, friends and neighbors. Think I'll stay right here, in good old-fashioned reality, whatever that is.
The Losers
(I) (2010)
WELL SHOT, GENERIC MACHO-PSYCHO FLICK
4 September 2022
Well, I do love Zoe Saldana. She's wildly attractive and she can act.
The DP and designers did a good job with this B-movie generic macho-psycho action flick. Some good acting and lots of action.
For me, Zoe's character flip-flops too many times in ways that make no sense. She's a good guy, a bad guy, a good guy, a bad guy, reliable, unreliable, back and forth. I guess that is supposed to be intriguing. Too confusing for this old geezer.
The rest of the cast is all-pro, all the time. I wish the script was worth their trouble. But what are ya gonna do? The bad guy, Mr. Big, is kinda interesting, a little different from most power-hungry titans of terror.
I watched it late last night, so honestly can't remember the end. I must have zoned out.
Fun for what it is. Not a total loser.
The DP and designers did a good job with this B-movie generic macho-psycho action flick. Some good acting and lots of action.
For me, Zoe's character flip-flops too many times in ways that make no sense. She's a good guy, a bad guy, a good guy, a bad guy, reliable, unreliable, back and forth. I guess that is supposed to be intriguing. Too confusing for this old geezer.
The rest of the cast is all-pro, all the time. I wish the script was worth their trouble. But what are ya gonna do? The bad guy, Mr. Big, is kinda interesting, a little different from most power-hungry titans of terror.
I watched it late last night, so honestly can't remember the end. I must have zoned out.
Fun for what it is. Not a total loser.
I Came By
(2022)
HAS SOME GOOD MOMENTS
4 September 2022
Good idea for a movie. Rich, powerful man who is widely respected and totally evil, taken on by a bunch of low-lifes.
As in a lot of thrillers, the good guys have to be outgunned by the bad guy. That works well here.
The characters are interesting and fairly well drawn. The actor who played Hector Blake was great. In fact, I liked all the actors. I always like Kelly Macdonald. The script was not structured the way I like a story to unfold. I found the first half tedious. The setup took too long. I was not hooked until the midpoint. And the ending didn't work well for me. Parts of it were suspenseful. Not all the plot points were satisfying. I didn't like what happened to Lizzie, or the other victims. I wanted some to live happily ever after. Overall, the tone was too bleak, I thought.
As in a lot of thrillers, the good guys have to be outgunned by the bad guy. That works well here.
The characters are interesting and fairly well drawn. The actor who played Hector Blake was great. In fact, I liked all the actors. I always like Kelly Macdonald. The script was not structured the way I like a story to unfold. I found the first half tedious. The setup took too long. I was not hooked until the midpoint. And the ending didn't work well for me. Parts of it were suspenseful. Not all the plot points were satisfying. I didn't like what happened to Lizzie, or the other victims. I wanted some to live happily ever after. Overall, the tone was too bleak, I thought.
Don't Breathe
(2016)
ACT TWO IS REALLY GOOD
7 August 2022
I was lukewarm about Act One. The setup was OK. At least they made the characters three-dimensional.
Act Two really worked for me. I thought it was well-done and very suspenseful. Lots of intense moments.
Act Three, for me, went on way too long and had too many horror-movie tropes. Some bits were predictable and others laughable.
I really liked the blind man. Well acted, well directed and well shot.
So, well-done in parts, uneven in parts, and overall worth a look.
Act Two really worked for me. I thought it was well-done and very suspenseful. Lots of intense moments.
Act Three, for me, went on way too long and had too many horror-movie tropes. Some bits were predictable and others laughable.
I really liked the blind man. Well acted, well directed and well shot.
So, well-done in parts, uneven in parts, and overall worth a look.
Out of Time
(I) (2003)
WELL, THE WOMEN LOOK GOOD
6 August 2022
The best thing about this movie is Eva Mendez. Wow, she looks good. Otherwise, it is overly complex and tedious. There is one moment in the middle when it has a promising twist. But alas they don't make good use of it. The plot is a mess. It is well shot in good settings in steamy tropical Florida.
A Call to Spy
(2019)
GREAT MOVIE. REALISTIC. GRIPPING.
16 July 2022
I loved this movie. Grew up on WWII flicks. This is one of the best.
I have no complaints. Amazingly well done. Acting, writing, directing, production values -- all first-rate.
These women were amazingly courageous and selfless. True heroes.
We can all learn something from their examples. Love this kind docudrama. My favorite uncle was in WWII in the Pacific Theater, as they called it.
So many people gave their lives for our freedoms. Now they are under attack again. So sad. And from within.
I have no complaints. Amazingly well done. Acting, writing, directing, production values -- all first-rate.
These women were amazingly courageous and selfless. True heroes.
We can all learn something from their examples. Love this kind docudrama. My favorite uncle was in WWII in the Pacific Theater, as they called it.
So many people gave their lives for our freedoms. Now they are under attack again. So sad. And from within.
Lying and Stealing
(2019)
LOVED IT UNTIL THE ENDING
18 June 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I loved it madly most of the way. I found it smart, clever, cute, sexy, suspenseful. Most intelligent and most fun movie I have seen in years.
It's very hard for me to find movies and novels that I like. I've been a writer, a journalist, a copy editor, a published poet, and an English teacher most of my life. I am very critical. This scored an A+ on my grade-sheet. Until the end, which I found confusing, sorry to say.
I figured out what went wrong with the ending. It was too easy for the good guys to defeat the bad guys. After all the danger and suspense, the story needs a slam-bang gut-wrenching climax. (SPOILER ALERT) Our hero knocks out the two thugs, but he doesn't kill them. We know they are coming back. And they just poison Mr. Big? How weak. There is no real conflict. The weak ending ruined a good movie.
It's very hard for me to find movies and novels that I like. I've been a writer, a journalist, a copy editor, a published poet, and an English teacher most of my life. I am very critical. This scored an A+ on my grade-sheet. Until the end, which I found confusing, sorry to say.
I figured out what went wrong with the ending. It was too easy for the good guys to defeat the bad guys. After all the danger and suspense, the story needs a slam-bang gut-wrenching climax. (SPOILER ALERT) Our hero knocks out the two thugs, but he doesn't kill them. We know they are coming back. And they just poison Mr. Big? How weak. There is no real conflict. The weak ending ruined a good movie.
The Old Man
(2022– )
WEAK DIALOGUE, BRAINLESS PLOT
18 June 2022
Didn't anyone read the script? I struggled through about half the first ep and found it tedious, slow, boring, and pointless.
What is the weakest thing you can do in any kind of dramatic writing? Expository dialogue. "Here we are in outer space. Yes it's cold out here.." What is the strongest thing? Imply, so the reader has to figure it out. "The Old Man" so far is full of weak, expository dialogue. This show is in the running for the worst show I've ever seen.
Wait, he let's the dogs out of the car. The bad guy is right there. Yet the dogs disappear for no reason. Makes no sense.
How can anyone watch watch this?
What is the weakest thing you can do in any kind of dramatic writing? Expository dialogue. "Here we are in outer space. Yes it's cold out here.." What is the strongest thing? Imply, so the reader has to figure it out. "The Old Man" so far is full of weak, expository dialogue. This show is in the running for the worst show I've ever seen.
Wait, he let's the dogs out of the car. The bad guy is right there. Yet the dogs disappear for no reason. Makes no sense.
How can anyone watch watch this?
Drive
(I) (2011)
UNBEARABLE, NONSENSICAL, CLICHED
30 May 2022
Warning: Spoilers
One of the worst movies I have ever tried to watch. I hated it. It has some good moments early on, with the driver, the mom, and the kid. But when "Standard" comes home, he has to be suspicious. Then (SPOILER ALERT) we are hit over the head with a big fat cliché. Mr. Big demands that the kid's dad rob a Pawn Shop or he will come after the kid and the mom. It makes no sense. Why doesn't he rob the pawn shop himself? Or hire one of a million other criminals? I found the plot stomach-churning and nonsensical. I finally gave up about 70 minutes in. Horrible.
Blade Runner
(1982)
ONE OF MY FAVES
7 May 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I loved every minute of this movie. It was my favorite for maybe ten years.
It combined 40s film noir, a classic detective thriller, complete with profound moral dilemmas. And it raises existential questions. How do we know we are really human? Love the line "More human than human," the motto of the company that made the androids and the theme of the movie itself. But the remake, "Blade Runner 2049" was horrible, one of the worst, most boring movies I have ever seen. What a waste of time.
It combined 40s film noir, a classic detective thriller, complete with profound moral dilemmas. And it raises existential questions. How do we know we are really human? Love the line "More human than human," the motto of the company that made the androids and the theme of the movie itself. But the remake, "Blade Runner 2049" was horrible, one of the worst, most boring movies I have ever seen. What a waste of time.
Bastille Day
(2016)
SHOULD'VE BEEN MORE FUN
19 April 2022
THE TAKE, a movie with Idris Elba, has good moments, but is not as good as it should be. Kelly Reilly has a weak part. She is great in Yellowstone and is underutilized here. Richard Madden, as the pickpocket, is good, and those scenes are good. The naked woman scene is clever. The good guys/bad guys plot is way too convoluted. My grade: B-. Worth a look.
Miss Sloane
(2016)
TOO TOUGH, TOO FAST, TOO OVERCOOKED
16 April 2022
'MISS SLOANE'
Didn't work for me. I just didn't believe it. I don't think the actors believed it either. There was a little voice in the back of my head saying, "This is BS."
Too fast, too rat-a-tat-tat in the dialogue. The character is too ruthless, too tough, too heartless, too self-interested. I bailed after about 50 minutes. I felt battered.
The movie was like an over-cooked cheeseburger, the beef like a slab of shoe leather.
Didn't work for me. I just didn't believe it. I don't think the actors believed it either. There was a little voice in the back of my head saying, "This is BS."
Too fast, too rat-a-tat-tat in the dialogue. The character is too ruthless, too tough, too heartless, too self-interested. I bailed after about 50 minutes. I felt battered.
The movie was like an over-cooked cheeseburger, the beef like a slab of shoe leather.
Se7en
(1995)
GOOD MOVIE - UNTIL THE END
25 March 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I liked the last half of the movie Se7en, with Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. Got in at the chase scene in the middle, when the cops find John Doe. Wow, so well done. Lots more great scenes. Great atmosphere. Such good writing, directing, acting, filming.
But the ending was a terrible let-down, for me. It didn't really make sense, thematically. The whole story is a chase after the truth, after the bad guy. So they finally get the truth and get him, but he is ultimately a cliché. And then the good guy suffers.
I went back and watched the first half again, and it sucked.
(SPOILER ALERT)
The bad guy is self-righteously killing people who commit the seven deadly sins. Ho-hum. Snore. And then, he kills the detective's pregnant wife? Oh, please. Barf! Are we supposed to leave the theater sick at our stomachs? Not my idea of fun. Couldn't they make it more fun?
I hate to admit it, but I wanted a happy ending. Or at least an ending that re-affirms our social values, that the bad guys get what they deserve in the end. That is why crime fiction exists, in my opinion.
But the ending was a terrible let-down, for me. It didn't really make sense, thematically. The whole story is a chase after the truth, after the bad guy. So they finally get the truth and get him, but he is ultimately a cliché. And then the good guy suffers.
I went back and watched the first half again, and it sucked.
(SPOILER ALERT)
The bad guy is self-righteously killing people who commit the seven deadly sins. Ho-hum. Snore. And then, he kills the detective's pregnant wife? Oh, please. Barf! Are we supposed to leave the theater sick at our stomachs? Not my idea of fun. Couldn't they make it more fun?
I hate to admit it, but I wanted a happy ending. Or at least an ending that re-affirms our social values, that the bad guys get what they deserve in the end. That is why crime fiction exists, in my opinion.
Departure
(2019–2022)
UNBEARABLY PREDICTABLE.
21 March 2022
I slogged through an hour of tedium hoping something interesting would happen. Alas, nothing did. They are in the airport. In the plane. They take off. We see weird hints that something is wrong. (SPOILER ALERT) Guess what? Something is, very wrong. Talk about telegraphing your punches.
Did anyone read the script? Does anyone know anything about dramatic theory? You raise a series of questions in the viewer's or the reader's mind. Before you answer the first, you raise a second. And so on. The only questions in my mind were: Why am I watching this drivel? And why is it so predictable?
Did anyone read the script? Does anyone know anything about dramatic theory? You raise a series of questions in the viewer's or the reader's mind. Before you answer the first, you raise a second. And so on. The only questions in my mind were: Why am I watching this drivel? And why is it so predictable?
Heist
(2001)
LOVED IT TILL THE END
19 March 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I loved this movie. My kinda twists and turns.
Amazingly clever and fun.
Until the end. I wanted a happy ending. I wanted the Gene Hackman character to go through some things at the end, which he did, but I wanted him to get away with everything. And I wanted Pinky to be OK.
Maybe I'm just a sucker for a rosy ending.
I wish more movies were this clever.
Amazingly clever and fun.
Until the end. I wanted a happy ending. I wanted the Gene Hackman character to go through some things at the end, which he did, but I wanted him to get away with everything. And I wanted Pinky to be OK.
Maybe I'm just a sucker for a rosy ending.
I wish more movies were this clever.
The Equalizer
(2014)
FUN UNTIL THE ENDING, FOR ME
13 March 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Watched "The Equalizer" again last night. Loved the movie, but the ending left me unhappy, for some reason. McCall killed the big bad guy, but that was not satisfying. Not sure why. Your feelings?
The first two acts are great.
The first two acts are great.
Widows
(2018)
GREAT FIRST HALF, THEN TOO CLEVER BY HALF
2 May 2021
Warning: Spoilers
First half really well done. Powerful.
The end didn't work for me at all.
(Spoiler alert:) I thought her hubby loved her. The whole thing was a setup? Grrrr. That was so disappointing. And how did they know where the money was? I had no clue. The only satisfying thing: The black thug died. But the end was a cluster-grope, too clever by half. I should have expected that. Gillian Flynn's "Gone Girl" annoyed me, too. Overall: C-.
The end didn't work for me at all.
(Spoiler alert:) I thought her hubby loved her. The whole thing was a setup? Grrrr. That was so disappointing. And how did they know where the money was? I had no clue. The only satisfying thing: The black thug died. But the end was a cluster-grope, too clever by half. I should have expected that. Gillian Flynn's "Gone Girl" annoyed me, too. Overall: C-.
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